Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway
him that he was of Finnish (1) race. He was a remarkable little man, but
so swift of foot that no horse could overtake him. He was a particularly
well-excercised runner with snow-shoes, and shooter with the bow. He had
long been in the service of King Hrorek, and often employed in errands
of trust. He knew the roads in all the Upland hills, and was well known
to all the great people. Now when King Hrorek was set under guards on
the journey Fin would often slip in among the men of the guard, and
followed, in general, with the lads and serving-men; but as often as he
could he waited upon Hrorek, and entered into conversation with him. The
king, however, only spoke a word or two with him at a time, to prevent
suspicion. In spring, when they came a little way beyond Viken, Fin
disappeared from the army for some days, but came back, and stayed
with them a while. This happened often, without anyone observing it
particularly; for there were many such hangers-on with the army.
ENDNOTES: (1) The Laplanders are called Fins In Norway and Sweden.--L.
84. MURDER OF OLAF'S COURT-MEN.
King Olaf came to Tunsberg before Easter (A.D. 1018), and remained
there late in spring. Many merchant vessels came to the town, both from
Saxon-land and Denmark, and from Viken, and from the north parts of the
country. There was a great assemblage of people; and as the times were
good, there was many a drinking meeting. It happened one evening that
King Hrorek came rather late to his lodging; and as he had drunk a great
deal, he was remarkably merry. Little Fin came to him with a stoup of
mead with herbs in it, and very strong. The king made every one in the
house drunk, until they fell asleep each in his berth. Fin had gone
away, and a light was burning in the lodging. Hrorek waked the men who
usually followed him, and told them he wanted to go out into the yard.
They had a lantern with them, for outside it was pitch dark. Out in the
yard there was a large privy standing upon pillars, and a stair to go
up to it. While Hrorek and his guards were in the yard they heard a man
say, "Cut down that devil;" and presently a crash, as if somebody fell.
Hrorek said, "These fellows must be dead drunk to be fighting with each
other so: run and separate them." They rushed out; but when they came
out upon the steps both of them were killed: the man who went out the
last was the first killed. There were twelve of Hrorek's men there, and
among them Sigurd Hit, who had been his banner-man, and also little
Fin. They drew the dead bodies up between the houses, took the king with
them, ran out to a boat they had in readiness, and rowed away. Sigvat
the skald slept in King Olaf's lodgings. He got up in the night, and his
footboy with him, and went to the privy. But as they were returning, on
going down the stairs Sigvat's foot slipped, and he fell on his knee;
and when he put out his hands he felt the stairs wet. "I think," said
he, laughing, "the king must have given many of us tottering legs
tonight." When they came into the house in which light was burning the
footboy said, "Have you hurt yourself that you are all over so bloody?"
He replied, "I am not wounded, but something must have happened here."
Thereupon he wakened Thord Folason, who was standard-bearer, and his
bedfellow. They went out with a light, and soon found the blood. They
traced it, and found the corpses, and knew them. They saw also a great
stump of a tree in which clearly a gash had been cut, which, as was
afterwards known, had been done as a stratagem to entice those out
who had been killed. Sigvat and Thord spoke together and agreed it
was highly necessary to let the king know of this without delay. They
immediately sent a lad to the lodging where Hrorek had been. All the men
in it were asleep; but the king was gone. He wakened the men who were in
the house, and told them what had happened. The men arose, and ran out
to the yard where the bodies were; but, however needful it appeared to
be that the king should know it, nobody dared to waken him.
Then said Sigvat to Thord, "What wilt thou rather do, comrade, waken the
king, or tell him the tidings?"
Thord replies, "I do not dare to waken him, and I would rather tell him
the news."
Then said Sigvat, "There is minch of the night still to pass, and before
morning Hrorek may get himself concealed in such a way that it may be
difficult to find him; but as yet he cannot be very far off, for the
bodies are still warm. We must never let the disgrace rest upon us of
concealing this treason from the king. Go thou, up to the lodging, and
wait for me there."
Sigvat then went to the church, and told the bell-ringer to toll for
the souls of the king's court-men, naming the men who were killed.
The-bell-ringer did as he was told. The king awoke at the ringing, sat
up in his bed, and asked if it was already the hours of matins.
Thord replies, "It is worse than that, for there has occurred a very
important affair. Hrorek is fled, and two of the court-men are killed."
The king asked how this had taken place, and Thord told him all he knew.
The king got up immediately, ordered to sound the call for a meeting of
the court, and when the people were assembled he named men to go out
to every quarter from the town, by sea and land, to search for Hrorek.
Thorer Lange took a boat, and set off with thirty men; and when day
dawned they saw two small boats before them in the channel, and when
they saw each other both parties rowed as hard as they could. King
Hrorek was there with thirty men. When they came quite close to each
other Hrorek and his men turned towards the land, and all sprang on
shore except the king, who sat on the aft seat. He bade them farewell,
and wished they might meet each other again in better luck. At the same
moment Thorer with his company rowed to the land. Fin the Little shot
off an arrow, which hit Thorer in the middle of the body, and was his
death; and Sigurd Hit, with his men, ran up into the forest. Thorer's
men took his body, and transported it, together with Hrorek, to
Tunsberg. King Olaf undertook himself thereafter to look after King
Hrorek, made him be carefully guarded, and took good care of his
treason, for which reason he had a watch over him night and day. King
Hrorek thereafter was very gay, and nobody could observe but that he was
in every way well satisfied.
85. OF HROREK'S ASSAULT.
It happened on Ascension-day that King Olaf went to high mass, and the
bishop went in procession around the church, and conducted the king; and
when they came back to the church the bishop led the king to his seat
on the north side of the choir. There Hrorek sat next to the king,
and concealed his countenance in his upper cloak. When Olaf had seated
himself Hrorek laid his hand on the king's shoulder, and felt it.
"Thou hast fine clothes on, cousin, today," said he.
King Olaf replies, "It is a festival today, in remembrance that Jesus
Christ ascended to heaven from earth."
King Hrorek says, "I understand nothing about it so as to hold in my
mind what ye tell me about Christ. Much of what ye tell me appears to me
incredible, although many wonderful things may have come to pass in old
times."
When the mass was finished Olaf stood up, held his hands up over his
head, and bowed down before the altar, so that his cloak hung down
behind his shoulders. Then King Hrorek started up hastily and sharply,
and struck at the king with a long knife of the kind called ryting; but
the blow was received in the upper cloak at the shoulder, because the
king was bending himself forwards. The clothes were much cut, but the
king was not wounded. When the king perceived the attack he sprang upon
the floor; and Hrorek struck at him again with the knife, but did not
reach him, and said, "Art thou flying, Olaf, from me, a blind men?" The
king ordered his men to seize him and lead him out of the church, which
was done. After this attempt many hastened to King Olaf, and advised
that King Hrorek should be killed. "It is," said they, "tempting your
luck in the highest degree, king, to keep him with you, and protect him,
whatever mischief he may undertake; for night and day he thinks upon
taking your life. And if you send him away, we know no one who can watch
him so that he will not in all probability escape; and if once he gets
loose he will assemble a great multitude, and do much evil."
The king replies, "You say truly that many a one has suffered death for
less offence than Hrorek's; but willingly I would not darken the victory
I gained over the Upland kings, when in one morning hour I took five
kings prisoners, and got all their kingdoms: but yet, as they were my
relations, I should not be their murderer but upon need. As yet I can
scarcely see whether Hrorek puts me in the necessity of killing him or
not."
It was to feel if King Olaf had armour on or not that Hrorek had laid
his hand on the king's shoulder.
86. KING HROREK'S JOURNEY TO ICELAND.
There was an Iceland man, by name Thorarin Nefiulfson, who had his
relations in the north of the country. He was not of high birth, but
particularly prudent, eloquent, and agreeable in conversation with
people of distinction. He was also a far-travelled man, who had been
long in foreign parts. Thorarin was a remarkably ugly man, principally
because he had very ungainly limbs. He had great ugly hands, and
his feet were still uglier. Thorarin was in Tunsberg when this event
happened which has just been related, and he was known to King Olaf by
their having had conversations together. Thorarin was just then done
with rigging out a merchant vessel which he owned, and with which he
intended to go to Iceland in summer. King Olaf had Thorarin with him as
a guest for some days, and conversed much with him; and Thorarin even
slept in the king's lodgings. One morning early the king awoke while
the others were still sleeping. The sun had newly risen in the sky, and
there was much light within. The king saw that Thorarin had stretched
out one of his feet from under the bed-clothes, and he looked at the
foot a while. In the meantime the others in the lodging awoke; and the
king said to Thorarin, "I have been awake for a while, and have seen a
sight which was worth seeing; and that is a man's foot so ugly that I
do not think an uglier can be found in this merchant town." Thereupon he
told the others to look at it, and see if it was not so; and all agreed
with the king. When Thorarin observed what they were talking about, he
said, "There are few things for which you cannot find a match, and that
may be the case here."
The king says, "I would rather say that such another ugly foot cannot be
found in the town, and I would lay any wager upon it."
Then said Thorarin, "I am willing to bet that I shall find an uglier
foot still in the town."
The king--"Then he who wins shall have the right to get any demand from
the other he chooses to make."
"Be it so," said Thorarin. Thereupon he stretches out his other foot
from under the bed-clothes, and it was in no way handsomer than the
other, and moreover, wanted the little toe. "There," said Thorarin, "see
now, king, my other foot, which is so much uglier; and, besides, has no
little toe. Now I have won."
The king replies, "That other foot was so much uglier than this one by
having five ugly toes upon it, and this has only four; and now I have
won the choice of asking something from thee."
"The sovereign's decision must be right," says Thorarin; "but what does
the king require of me?"
"To take Hrorek," said the king, "to Greenland, and deliver him to Leif
Eirikson."
Thorarin replies, "I have never been in Greenland."
The king--"Thou, who art a far-travelled man, wilt now have an