Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway
with his men, day by day; first into Gudbrandsdal, and from thence out
to Redemark. Now it was seen who had been his friends, for they followed
him; but those who had served him with less fidelity separated from him,
and some showed him even indifference, or even full hostility, which
afterwards was apparent; and also it could be seen clearly in many
Upland people that they took very ill his putting Thorer to death, as
before related. King Olaf gave leave to return home to many of his
men who had farms and children to take care of; for it seemed to them
uncertain what safety there might be for the families and property of
those who left the country with him. Then the king explained to his
friends his intention of leaving the country, and going first east into
Svithjod, and there taking his determination as to where he should go;
but he let his friends know his intention to return to the country, and
regain his kingdoms, if God should grant him longer life; and he did not
conceal his expectation that the people of Norway would again return
to their fealty to him. "I think," says he, "that Earl Hakon will have
Norway but a short time under his power, which many will not think an
extraordinary expectation, as Earl Hakon has had but little luck against
me; but probably few people will trust to my prophecy, that Canute the
Great will in the course of a few years die, and his kingdoms vanish;
and there will he no risings in favour of his race." When the king had
ended his speech, his men prepared themselves for their departure. The
king, with the troop that followed him, turned east to Eid forest. And
there were along with him the Queen Astrid; their daughter Ulfhild;
Magnus, King Olaf's son; Ragnvald Brusason; the three sons of Arne,
Thorberg, Fin, and Arne, with many lendermen; and the king's attendants
consisted of many chosen men. Bjorn the marshal got leave to go home,
and he went to his farm, and many others of the king's friends returned
home with his permission to their farms. The king begged them to let him
know the events which might happen in the country, and which it might be
important for him to know; and now the king proceeded on his way.
191. KING OLAF PROCEEDS TO RUSSIA.
It is to be related of King Olaf's journey, that he went first from
Norway eastward through Eid forest to Vermaland, then to Vatnsby, and
through the forests in which there are roads, until he came out in
Nerike district. There dwelt a rich and powerful man in that part called
Sigtryg, who had a son, Ivar, who afterwards became a distinguished
person. Olaf stayed with Sigtryg all spring (A.D. 1029); and when summer
came he made ready for a journey, procured a ship for himself, and
without stopping went on to Russia to King Jarisleif and his queen
Ingegerd; but his own queen Astrid, and their daughter Ulfhild, remained
behind in Svithjod, and the king took his son Magnus eastward with him.
King Jarisleif received King Olaf in the kindest manner, and made him
the offer to remain with him, and to have so much land as was necessary
for defraying the expense of the entertainment of his followers. King
Olaf accepted this offer thankfully, and remained there. It is related
that King Olaf was distinguished all his life for pious habits, and
zeal in his prayers to God. But afterwards, when he saw his own power
diminished, and that of his adversaries augmented, he turned all his
mind to God's service; for he was not distracted by other thoughts, or
by the labour he formerly had upon his hands, for during all the time he
sat upon the throne he was endeavouring to promote what was most
useful: and first to free and protect the country from foreign chiefs'
oppressions, then to convert the people to the right faith; and also
to establish law and the rights of the country, which he did by letting
justice have its way, and punishing evil-doers.
192. CAUSES OF THE REVOLT AGAINST KING OLAF.
It had been an old custom in Norway that the sons of lendermen, or other
great men, went out in war-ships to gather property, and they marauded
both in the country and out of the country. But after King Olaf came
to the sovereignty he protected the country, so that he abolished all
plundering there; and even if they were the sons of powerful men who
committed any depredation, or did what the king considered against law,
he did not spare them at all, but they must suffer in life or limbs; and
no man's entreaties, and no offer of money-penalties, could help them.
So says Sigvat:--
"They who on viking cruises drove
With gifts of red gold often strove
To buy their safety--but our chief
Had no compassion for the thief.
He made the bravest lose his head
Who robbed at sea, and pirates led;
And his just sword gave peace to all,
Sparing no robber, great or small."
And he also says:--
"Great king! whose sword on many a field
Food to the wandering wolf did yield,
And then the thief and pirate band
Swept wholly off by sea and land--
Good king! who for the people's sake
Set hands and feet upon a stake,
When plunderers of great name and bold
Harried the country as of old.
The country's guardian showed his might
When oft he made his just sword bite
Through many a viking's neck and hair,
And never would the guilty spare.
King Magnus' father, I must say,
Did many a good deed in his day.
Olaf the Thick was stern and stout,
Much good his victories brought out."
He punished great and small with equal severity, which appeared to
the chief people of the country too severe; and animosity rose to the
highest when they lost relatives by the king's just sentence, although
they were in reality guilty. This was the origin of the hostility of the
great men of the country to King Olaf, that they could not bear his
just judgments. He again would rather renounce his dignity than omit
righteous judgment. The accusation against him, of being stingy with his
money, was not just, for he was a most generous man towards his friends;
but that alone was the cause of the discontent raised against him, that
he appeared hard and severe in his retributions. Besides, King Canute
offered great sums of money, and the great chiefs were corrupted by
this, and by his offering them greater dignities than they had possessed
before. The inclinations of the people, also, were all in favour of
Earl Hakon, who was much beloved by the country folks when he ruled the
country before.
193. OF JOKUL BARDSON.
Earl Hakon had sailed with his fleet from Throndhjem, and gone south to
More against King Olaf, as before related. Now when the king bore away,
and ran into the fjord, the earl followed him thither; and then Kalf
Arnason came to meet him, with many of the men who had deserted King
Olaf. Kalf was well received. The earl steered in through Todar fjord to
Valdal, where the king had laid up his ships on the strand. He took
the ships which belonged to the king, had them put upon the water and
rigged, and cast lots, and put commanders in charge of them according to
the lots. There was a man called Jokul, who was an Icelander, a son of
Bard Jokulson of Vatnsdal; the lot fell upon Jokul to command the Bison,
which King Olaf himself had commanded. Jokul made these verses upon
it:--
"Mine is the lot to take the helm
Which Olaf owned, who owned the realm;
From Sult King Olaf's ship to steer
(Ill luck I dread on his reindeer).
My girl will never hear the tidings,
Till o'er the wild wave I come riding
In Olaf's ship, who loved his gold,
And lost his ships with wealth untold."
We may here shortly tell what happened a long time after.--that this
Jokul fell in with King Olaf's men in the island of Gotland, and
the king ordered him to be taken out to be beheaded. A willow twig
accordingly was plaited in with his hair, and a man held him fast by it.
Jokul sat down upon a bank, and a man swung the axe to execute him; but
Jokul hearing the sound, raised his head, and the blow struck him in
the head, and made a dreadful wound. As the king saw it would be his
death-wound, he ordered them to let him lie with it. Jokul raised
himself up, and he sang:--
"My hard fate I mourn,--
Alas! my wounds burn,
My red wounds are gaping,
My life-blood escaping.
My wounds burn sore;
But I suffer still more
From the king's angry word,
Than his sharp-biting sword."
194. OF KALF ARNASON.
Kalf Arnason went with Earl Hakon north to Throndhjem, and the earl
invited him to enter into his service. Kalf said he would first go home
to his farm at Eggja, and afterwards make his determination; and Kalf
did so. When he came home he found his wife Sigrid much irritated; and
she reckoned up all the sorrow inflicted on her, as she insisted, by
King Olaf. First, he had ordered her first husband Olver to be killed.
"And now since," says she, "my two sons; and thou thyself, Kalf, wert
present when they were cut off, and which I little expected from thee."
Kalf says, it was much against his will that Thorer was killed. "I
offered money-penalty for him," says he; "and when Grjotgard was killed
I lost my brother Arnbjorn at the same time." She replies, "It is well
thou hast suffered this from the king; for thou mayest perhaps avenge
him, although thou wilt not avenge my injuries. Thou sawest how thy
foster-son Thorer was killed, with all the regard of the king for thee."
She frequently brought out such vexatious speeches to Kalf, to which he
often answered angrily; but yet he allowed himself to be persuaded by
her to enter into the earl's service, on condition of renewing his fiefs
to him. Sigrid sent word to the earl how far she had brought the matter
with Kalf. As soon as the earl heard of it, he sent a message to
Kalf that he should come to the town to him. Kalf did not decline the
invitation, but came directly to Nidaros, and waited on the earl, who
received him kindly. In their conversation it was fully agreed upon that
Kalf should go into the earl's service, and should receive great fiefs.
After this Kalf returned home, and had the greater part of the interior
of the Throndhjem country under him. As soon as it was spring Kalf
rigged out a ship that belonged to him, and when she was ready he put
to sea, and sailed west to England; for he had heard that in spring King
Canute was to sail from Denmark to England, and that King Canute had
given Harald, a son of Thorkel the High, an earldom in Denmark. Kalf
Arnason went to King Canute as soon as he arrived in England. Bjarne
Gullbrarskald tells of this:--
"King Olaf eastward o'er the sea
To Russia's monarch had to flee;
Our Harald's brother ploughed the main,
And furrowed white its dark-blue plain.
Whilst thou--the truth I still will say,
Nor fear nor favour can me sway--
Thou to King Canute hastened fast,
As soon as Olaf's luck was past."
Now when Kalf came to King Canute the king received him particularly
well, and had many conversations with him. Among other things, King
Canute, in a conference, asked Kalf to bind himself to raise a warfare
against King Olaf, if ever he should return to the country. "And for
which," says the king, "I will give thee the earldom, and place thee
to rule over Norway; and my relation Hakon shall come to me, which will
suit him better, for he is so honourable and trustworthy that I believe
he would not even throw a spear against the person of King Olaf if he
came back to the country." Kalf lent his ear to what the king proposed,
for he had a great desire to attain this high dignity; and this
conclusion was settled upon between King Canute and Kalf. Kalf then