Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway
ordered an adder to be stuck into the mouth of him; but the serpent
would not go into his mouth, but shrunk back when Raud breathed against
it. Now the king ordered a hollow branch of an angelica root to be stuck
into Raud's mouth; others say the king put his horn into his mouth,
and forced the serpent to go in by holding a red-hot iron before the
opening. So the serpent crept into the mouth of Raud and down his
throat, and gnawed its way out of his side; and thus Raud perished. King
Olaf took here much gold and silver, and other property of weapons, and
many sorts of precious effects; and all the men who were with Raud he
either had baptized, or if they refused had them killed or tortured.
Then the king took the dragonship which Raud had owned, and steered it
himself; for it was a much larger and handsomer vessel than the Crane.
In front it had a dragon's head, and aft a crook, which turned up, and
ended with the figure of the dragon's tail. The carved work on each side
of the stem and stern was gilded. This ship the king called the Serpent.
When the sails were hoisted they represented, as it were, the dragon's
wings; and the ship was the handsomest in all Norway. The islands on
which Raud dwelt were called Gylling and Haering; but the whole islands
together were called Godey Isles, and the current between the isles and
the mainland the Godey Stream. King Olaf baptized the whole people of
the fjord, and then sailed southwards along the land; and on this
voyage happened much and various things, which are set down in tales
and sagas,--namely, how witches and evil spirits tormented his men, and
sometimes himself; but we will rather write about what occurred when
King Olaf made Norway Christian, or in the other countries in which he
advanced Christianity. The same autumn Olaf with his fleet returned to
Throndhjem, and landed at Nidaros, where he took up his winter abode.
What I am now going to write about concerns the Icelanders.
88. OF THE ICELANDERS.
Kjartan Olafson, a son's son of Hoskuld, and a daughter's son of Egil
Skallagrimson, came the same autumn (A.D. 999) from Iceland to Nidaros,
and he was considered to be the most agreeable and hopeful man of any
born in Iceland. There was also Haldor, a son of Gudmund of Modruveller;
and Kolbein, a son of Thord, Frey's gode, and a brother's son of
Brennuflose; together with Sverting, a son of the gode Runolf. All
these were heathens; and besides them there were many more,--some men
of power, others common men of no property. There came also from
Iceland considerable people, who, by Thangbrand's help, had been made
Christians; namely, Gissur the white, a son of Teit Ketilbjornson;
and his mother was Alof, daughter of herse Bodvar, who was the son of
Vikingakare. Bodvar's brother was Sigurd, father of Eirik Bjodaskalle,
whose daughter Astrid was King Olaf's mother. Hjalte Skeggjason was
the name of another Iceland man, who was married to Vilborg, Gissur the
White's daughter. Hjalte was also a Christian; and King Olaf was very
friendly to his relations Gissur and Hjalte, who live with him. But the
Iceland men who directed the ships, and were heathens, tried to sail
away as soon as the king came to the town of Nidaros, for they were told
the king forced all men to become Christians; but the wind came stiff
against them, and drove them back to Nidarholm. They who directed the
ships were Thorarin Nefjulson, the skald Halfred Ottarson, Brand the
Generous, and Thorleik, Brand's son. It was told the king that there
were Icelanders with ships there, and all were heathen, and wanted to
fly from a meeting with the king. Then the king sent them a message
forbidding them to sail, and ordering them to bring their ships up to
the town, which they did, but without discharging the cargoes.
(They carried on their dealings and held a market at the king's pier. In
spring they tried three times to slip away, but never succeeded; so they
continued lying at the king's pier. It happened one fine day that
many set out to swim for amusement, and among them was a man who
distinguished himself above the others in all bodily exercises. Kjartan
challenged Halfred Vandredaskald to try himself in swimming against
this man, but he declined it. "Then will I make a trial," said Kjartan,
casting off his clothes, and springing into the water. Then he set after
the man, seizes hold of his foot, and dives with him under water. They
come up again, and without speaking a word dive again, and are much
longer under water than the first time. They come up again, and without
saying a word dive a third time, until Kjartan thought it was time to
come up again, which, however, he could in no way accomplish, which
showed sufficiently the difference in their strength. They were under
water so long that Kjartan was almost drowned. They then came up, and
swam to land. This Northman asked what the Icelander's name was. Kjartan
tells his name.
He says, "Thou art a good swimmer; but art thou expert also in other
exercises?"
Kjartan replied, that such expertness was of no great value.
The Northman asks, "Why dost thou not inquire of me such things as I
have asked thee about?"
Kjartan replies, "It is all one to me who thou art, or what thy name
is."
"Then will I," says he, "tell thee: I am Olaf Trygvason."
He asked Kjartan much about Iceland, which he answered generally, and
wanted to withdraw as hastily as he could; but the king said, "Here is a
cloak which I will give thee, Kjartan." And Kjartan took the cloak with
many thanks.) (1)
ENDNOTES: (1) The part included in parenthesis is not found in the
original text of "Heimskringla", but taken from "Codex
Frisianus".
89. BAPTISM OF THE ICELANDERS.
When Michaelmas came, the king had high mass sung with great splendour.
The Icelanders went there, listening to the fine singing and the sound
of the bells; and when they came back to their ships every man told his
opinion of the Christian man's worship. Kjartan expressed his pleasure
at it, but most of the others scoffed at it; and it went according to
the proverb, "the king had many ears," for this was told to the king.
He sent immediately that very day a message to Kjartan to come to him.
Kjartan went with some men, and the king received him kindly. Kjartan
was a very stout and handsome man, and of ready and agreeable speech.
After the king and Kjartan had conversed a little, the king asked him to
adopt Christianity. Kjartan replies, that he would not say no to that,
if he thereby obtained the king's friendship; and as the king promised
him the fullest friendship, they were soon agreed. The next day Kjartan
was baptized, together with his relation Bolle Thorlakson, and all their
fellow-travelers. Kjartan and Bolle were the king's guests as long
as they were in their white baptismal clothes, and the king had much
kindness for them. Wherever they came they were looked upon as people of
distinction.
90. HALFRED VANDREDASKALD BAPTIZED.
As King Olaf one day was walking in the street some men met him, and he
who went the foremost saluted the king. The king asked the man his name,
and he called himself Halfred.
"Art thou the skald?" said the king.
"I can compose poetry," replied he.
"Wilt thou then adopt Christianity, and come into my service?" asked the
king.
"If I am baptized," replies he, "it must be on one condition,--that thou
thyself art my godfather; for no other will I have."
The king replies, "That I will do." And Halfred was baptized, the king
holding him during the baptism.
Afterwards the king said, "Wilt thou enter into my service?"
Halfred replied, "I was formerly in Earl Hakon's court; but now I will
neither enter into thine nor into any other service, unless thou promise
me it shall never be my lot to be driven away from thee."
"It has been reported to me," said the king, "that thou are neither so
prudent nor so obedient as to fulfil my commands."
"In that case," replied Halfred, "put me to death."
"Thou art a skald who composes difficulties," says the king; "but into
my service, Halfred, thou shalt be received."
Halfred says, "if I am to be named the composer of difficulties, what
cost thou give me, king, on my name-day?"
The king gave him a sword without a scabbard, and said, "Now compose me
a song upon this sword, and let the word sword be in every line of the
strophe." Halfred sang thus:
"This sword of swords is my reward.
For him who knows to wield a sword,
And with his sword to serve his lord,
Yet wants a sword, his lot is hard.
I would I had my good lord's leave
For this good sword a sheath to choose:
I'm worth three swords when men use,
But for the sword-sheath now I grieve."
Then the king gave him the scabbard, observing that the word sword was
wanting in one line of his strophe. "But there instead are three
swords in one of the lines," says Halfred. "That is true," replies the
king.--Out of Halfred's lays we have taken the most of the true and
faithful accounts that are here related about Olaf Trygvason.
91. THANGBRAND RETURNS FROM ICELAND.
The same harvest (A.D. 999) Thangbrand the priest came back from Iceland
to King Olaf, and told the ill success of his journey; namely, that the
Icelanders had made lampoons about him; and that some even sought to
kill him, and there was little hope of that country ever being made
Christian. King Olaf was so enraged at this, that he ordered all the
Icelanders to be assembled by sound of horn, and was going to kill all
who were in the town, but Kjartan, Gissur, and Hjalte, with the other
Icelanders who had become Christians, went to him, and said, "King,
thou must not fail from thy word--that however much any man may irritate
thee, thou wilt forgive him if he turn from heathenism and become
Christian. All the Icelanders here are willing to be baptized; and
through them we may find means to bring Christianity into Iceland: for
there are many amongst them, sons of considerable people in Iceland,
whose friends can advance the cause; but the priest Thangbrand proceeded
there as he did here in the court, with violence and manslaughter, and
such conduct the people there would not submit to." The king harkened
to those remonstrances; and all the Iceland men who were there were
baptized.
92. OF KING OLAF'S FEATS.
King Olaf was more expert in all exercises than any man in Norway whose
memory is preserved to us in sagas; and he was stronger and more agile
than most men, and many stories are written down about it. One is that
he ascended the Smalsarhorn, and fixed his shield upon the very peak.
Another is, that one of his followers had climbed up the peak after him,
until he came to where he could neither get up nor down; but the king
came to his help, climbed up to him, took him under his arm, and bore
him to the flat ground. King Olaf could run across the oars outside of
the vessel while his men were rowing the Serpent. He could play with
three daggers, so that one was always in the air, and he took the one
falling by the handle. He could walk all round upon the ship's rails,
could strike and cut equally well with both hands, and could cast two
spears at once. King Olaf was a very merry frolicsome man; gay and
social; was very violent in all respects; was very generous; was very
finical in his dress, but in battle he exceeded all in bravery. He was
distinguished for cruelty when he was enraged, and tortured many of his
enemies. Some he burnt in fire; some he had torn in pieces by mad
dogs; some he had mutilated, or cast down from high precipices. On this
account his friends were attached to him warmly, and his enemies
feared him greatly; and thus he made such a fortunate advance in his