Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway
who was a son of Eystein Giumra, and brother of Ragnvald earl of
More. After Sigurd his son Guthorm was earl for one year. After him
Torf-Einar, a son of Ragnvald, took the earldom, and was long earl,
and was a man of great power. Halfdan Haleg, a son of Harald Harfager,
assaulted Torf-Einar, and drove him from the Orkney Islands; but Einar
came back and killed Halfdan in the island Ronaldsha. Thereafter King
Harald came with an army to the Orkney Islands. Einar fled to Scotland,
and King Harald made the people of the Orkney Islands give up their udal
properties, and hold them under oath from him. Thereafter the king and
earl were reconciled, so that the earl became the king's man, and
took the country as a fief from him; but that it should pay no scat or
feu-duty, as it was at that time much plundered by vikings. The earl
paid the king sixty marks of gold; and then King Harald went to plunder
in Scotland, as related in the "Glym Drapa". After Torf-Einar, his sons
Arnkel, Erlend, and Thorfin Hausakljufer (1) ruled over these lands. In
their days came Eirik Blood-axe from Norway, and subdued these earls.
Arnkel and Erlend fell in a war expedition; but Thorfin ruled the
country long, and became an old man. His sons were Arnfin, Havard,
Hlodver, Liot, and Skule. Their mother was Grelad, a daughter of Earl
Dungad of Caithness. Her mother was Groa, a daughter of Thorstein Raud.
In the latter days of Earl Thorfin came Eirik Blood-axe's sons, who
had fled from Earl Hakon out of Norway, and committed great excesses in
Orkney. Earl Thorfin died on a bed of sickness, and his sons after him
ruled over the country, and there are many stories concerning them.
Hlodver lived the longest of them, and ruled alone over this country.
His son was Sigurd the Thick, who took the earldom after him, and became
a powerful man and a great warrior. In his days came Olaf Trygvason from
his viking expedition in the western ocean, with his troops, landed in
Orkney and took Earl Sigurd prisoner in South Ronaldsha, where he lay
with one ship. King Olaf allowed the earl to ransom his life by letting
himself be baptized, adopting the true faith, becoming his man, and
introducing Christianity into all the Orkney Islands. As a hostage,
King Olaf took his son, who was called Hunde or Whelp. Then Olaf went to
Norway, and became king; and Hunde was several years with King Olaf in
Norway, and died there. After his death Earl Sigurd showed no obedience
or fealty to King Olaf. He married a daughter of the Scottish king
Malcolm, and their son was called Thorfin. Earl Sigurd had, besides,
older sons; namely, Sumarlide, Bruse, and Einar Rangmund. Four or five
years after Olaf Tryrgvason's fall Earl Sigurd went to Ireland, leaving
his eldest sons to rule the country, and sending Thorfin to his mother's
father, the Scottish king. On this expedition Earl Sigurd fell in
Brian's battle (l). When the news was received in Orkney, the brothers
Sumarlide, Bruse, and Einar were chosen earls, and the country was
divided into three parts among them. Thorfin Sigurdson was five years
old when Earl Sigurd fell. When the Scottish king heard of the earl's
death he gave his relation Thorfin Caithness and Sutherland, with the
title of earl, and appointed good men to rule the land for him. Earl
Thorfin was ripe in all ways as soon as he was grown up: he was stout
and strong, but ugly; and as soon as he was a grown man it was easy to
see that he was a severe and cruel but a very clever man. So says Arnor,
the earls' skald:--
"Under the rim of heaven no other,
So young in years as Einar's brother,
In battle had a braver hand,
Or stouter, to defend the land."
ENDNOTES: (1) Hausakljufer--the splitter of skulls.--L.
(2) Brian's battle is supposed to have taken place on the 23rd
April 1014, at Clontart, near Dublin; and is known in Irish
history as the battle of Clontarf, and was one of the
bloodiest of the age. It was fought between a viking called
Sigtryg and Brian king of Munster, who gained the victory,
but lost his life.--L.
100. OF THE EARLS EINAR AND BRUSE.
The brothers Einar and Bruse were very unlike in disposition. Bruse
was a soft-minded, peaceable man,--sociable, eloquent, and of good
understanding. Einar was obstinate, taciturn, and dull; but ambitious,
greedy of money, and withal a great warrior. Sumarlide, the eldest of
the brothers, was in disposition like Bruse, and lived not long, but
died in his bed. After his death Thorfin claimed his share of the Orkney
Islands. Einar replied, that Thorfin had the dominions which their
father Sigurd had possessed, namely, Caithness and Sutherland, which
he insisted were much larger than a third part of Orkney; therefore he
would not consent to Thorfin's having any share. Bruse, on the other
hand, was willing, he said, to divide with him. "I do not-desire," he
said, "more than the third part of the land, and which of right belongs
to me." Then Einar took possession of two parts of the country, by which
he became a powerful man, surrounded by many followers. He was often in
summer out on marauding expeditions, and called out great numbers of the
people to join him; but it went always unpleasantly with the division of
the booty made on his viking cruises. Then the bondes grew weary of all
these burdens; but Earl Einar held fast by them with severity, calling
in all services laid upon the people, and allowing no opposition from
any man; for he was excessively proud and overbearing. And now there
came dearth and scarcity in his lands, in consequence of the services
and money outlay exacted from the bondes; while in the part of the
country belonging to Bruse there were peace and plenty, and therefore he
was the best beloved by the bondes.
101. OF THORKEL AMUNDASON.
There was a rich and powerful man who was called Amunde, who dwelt in
Hrossey at Sandvik, in Hlaupandanes. His son, called Thorkel, was one
of the ablest men in the islands. Amunde was a man of the best
understanding, and most respected in Orkney. One spring Earl Einar
proclaimed a levy for an expedition, as usual. The bondes murmured
greatly against it, and applied to Amunde with the entreaty that he
would intercede with the earl for them. He replied, that the earl was
not a man who would listen to other people, and insisted that it was of
no use to make any entreaty to the earl about it. "As things now stand,
there is a good understanding between me and the earl; but, in my
opinion, there would be much danger of our quarrelling, on account of
our different dispositions and views on both sides; therefore I will
have nothing to do with it." They then applied to Thorkel, who was also
very loath to interfere, but promised at last to do so, in consequence
of the great entreaty of the people. Amunde thought he had given his
promise too hastily. Now when the earl held a Thing, Thorkel spoke on
account of the people, and entreated the earl to spare the people from
such heavy burdens, recounting their necessitous condition. The earl
replies favourably, saying that he would take Thorkel's advice. "I had
intended to go out from the country with six ships, but now I will only
take three with me; but thou must not come again, Thorkel, with any such
request." The bondes thanked Thorkel for his assistance, and the earl
set out on a viking cruise, and came back in autumn. The spring after,
the earl made the same levy as usual, and held a Thing with the bondes.
Then Thorkel again made a speech, in which he entreated the earl to
spare the people. The earl now was angry, and said the lot of the bondes
should be made worse in consequence of his intercession; and worked
himself up into such a rage, that he vowed they should not both come
next spring to the Thing in a whole skin. Then the Thing was closed.
When Amunde heard what the earl and Thorkel had said at the Thing, he
told Thorkel to leave the country, and he went over to Caithness to Earl
Thorfin. Thorkel was afterwards a long time there, and brought up the
earl in his youth, and was on that account called Thorkel the Fosterer;
and he became a very celebrated man.
102. THE AGREEMENT OF THE EARLS.
There were many powerful men who fled from their udal properties in
Orkney on account of Earl Einar's violence, and the most fled over to
Caithness to Earl Thorfin: but some fled from the Orkney Islands to
Norway, and some to other countries. When Earl Thorfin was grown up
he sent a message to his brother Einar, and demanded the part of the
dominion which he thought belonged to him in Orkney; namely, a third of
the islands. Einar was nowise inclined to diminish his possessions. When
Thorfin found this he collected a warforce in Caithness, and proceeded
to the islands. As soon as Earl Einar heard of this he collected people,
and resolved to defend his country. Earl Bruse also collected men, and
went out to meet them, and bring about some agreement between them. An
agreement was at last concluded, that Thorfin should have a third part
of the islands, as of right belonging to him, but that Bruse and Einar
should lay their two parts together, and Einar alone should rule over
them; but if the one died before the other, the longest liver should
inherit the whole. This agreement seemed reasonable, as Bruse had a son
called Ragnvald, but Einar had no son. Earl Thorfin set men to rule
over his land in Orkney, but he himself was generally in Caithness.
Earl Einar was generally on viking expeditions to Ireland, Scotland, and
Bretland.
103. EYVIND URARHORN'S MURDER.
One summer (A.D. 1018) that Earl Einar marauded in Ireland, he fought in
Ulfreks-fjord with the Irish king Konofogor, as has been related before,
and suffered there a great defeat. The summer after this (A.D. 1019)
Eyvind Urarhorn was coming from the west from Ireland, intending to go
to Norway; but the weather was boisterous, and the current against him,
so he ran into Osmundwall, and lay there wind-bound for some time. When
Earl Einar heard of this, he hastened thither with many people, took
Eyvind prisoner, and ordered him to be put to death, but spared the
lives of most of his people. In autumn they proceeded to Norway to King
Olaf, and told him Eyvind was killed. The king said little about it, but
one could see that he considered it a great and vexatious loss; for he
did not usually say much if anything turned out contrary to his wishes.
Earl Thorfin sent Thorkel Fosterer to the islands to gather in his scat.
Now, as Einar gave Thorkel the greatest blame for the dispute in which
Thorfin had made claim to the islands, Thorkel came suddenly back to
Caithness from Orkney, and told Earl Thorfin that he had learnt that
Earl Einar would have murdered him if his friends and relations had not
given him notice to escape. "Now," says he, "it is come so far between
the earl and me, that either some thing decisive between us must take
place if we meet, or I must remove to such a distance that his power
will not reach me." The earl encouraged Thorkel much to go east to
Norway to King Olaf. "Thou wilt be highly respected," says he, "wherever
thou comest among honourable men; and I know so well thy disposition
and the earl's, that it will not be long before ye come to extremities."
Thereupon Thorkel made himself ready, and proceeded in autumn to Norway,
and then to King Olaf, with whom he stayed the whole winter (A.D. 1020),
and was in high favour. The king often entered into conversation with
him, and he thought, what was true, that Thorkel was a high-minded man,
of good understanding. In his conversations with Thorkel, the king found
a great difference in his description of the two earls; for Thorkel was
a great friend of Earl Thorfin, but had much to say against Einar. Early