Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway
him, before any other in this meeting. On the other hand, thou, Thorer,
art well suited to be our chief in this battle against King Olaf; and
thou hast distinct grounds for being so, both because thou hast to
avenge the death of thy relation, and also hast been driven by him as an
outlaw from thy property. Thou hast also promised King Canute, as well
as thy connections, to avenge the murder of thy relative Asbjorn; and
dost thou suppose there ever will be a better opportunity than this of
taking vengeance on Olaf for all these insults and injuries?"
Thorer replies thus to his speech: "I do not confide in myself so much
as to raise the banner against King Olaf, or, as chief, to lead on
this army; for the people of Throndhjem have the greatest part in this
armament, and I know well their haughty spirit, and that they would not
obey me, or any other Halogaland man, although I need not be reminded of
my injuries to be roused to vengeance on King Olaf. I remember well my
heavy loss when King Olaf slew four men, all distinguished both by birth
and personal qualities; namely, my brother's son Asbjorn, my sister's
sons Thorer and Grjotgard, and their father Olver; and it is my duty
to take vengeance for each man of them. I will not conceal that I have
selected eleven of my house-servants for that purpose, and of those who
are the most daring; and I do not think we shall be behind others in
exchanging blows with King Olaf, should opportunity be given."
232. KALF ARNASON'S SPEECH.
Then Kalf Arnason desired to speak. "It is highly necessary," says
he, "that this business we have on hand do not turn out a mockery and
child-work, now that an army is collected. Something else is needful, if
we are to stand battle with King Olaf, than that each should shove the
danger from himself; for we must recollect that although King Olaf has
not many people compared to this army of ours, the leader of them is
intrepid, and the whole body of them will be true to him, and obedient
in the battle. But if we who should be the leaders of this army show any
fear, and will not encourage the army and go at the head of it, it must
happen that with the great body of our people the spirit will leave
their hearts, and the next thing will be that each will seek his own
safety. Although we have now a great force assembled, we shall find our
destruction certain, when we meet King Olaf and his troops, if we, the
chiefs of the people, are not confident in our cause, and have not the
whole army confidently and bravely going along with us. If it cannot
be so, we had better not risk a battle; and then it is easy to see that
nothing would be left us but to shelter ourselves under King Olaf's
mercy, however hard it might be, as then we would be less guilty than we
now may appear to him to be. Yet I know there are men in his ranks who
would secure my life and peace if I would seek it. Will ye now adopt my
proposal--then shalt thou, friend Thorer, and thou, Harek, go under the
banner which we will all of us raise up, and then follow. Let us all be
speedy and determined in the resolution we have taken, and put ourselves
so at the head of the bondes' army that they see no distrust in us; for
then will the common man advance with spirit when we go merrily to work
in placing the army in battle-order, and in encouraging the people to
the strife."
When Kalf had ended they all concurred in what he proposed, and all
would do what Kalf thought of advantage. All desired Kalf to be the
leader of the army, and to give each what place in it he chose.
233. HOW THE LENDERMEN SET UP THEIR BANNERS.
Kalf Arnason then raised his banner, and drew up his house-servants
along with Harek of Thjotta and his men. Thorer Hund, with his troop,
was at the head of the order of battle in front of the banner; and on
both sides of Thorer was a chosen body of bondes, all of them the most
active and best armed in the forces. This part of the array was long
and thick, and in it were drawn up the Throndhjem people and the
Halogalanders. On the right wing was another array; and on the left of
the main array were drawn up the men from Rogaland, Hordaland, the Fjord
districts, and Scgn, and they had the third banner.
234. OF THORSTEIN KNARRARSMID.
There was a man called Thorstein Knarrarsmid, who was a merchant and
master ship-carpenter, stout and strong, very passionate, and a great
manslayer. He had been in enmity against King Olaf, who had taken from
him a new and large merchant-vessel he had built, on account of some
manslaughter-mulct, incurred in the course of his misdeeds, which he
owed to the king. Thorstein, who was with the bondes' army, went forward
in front of the line in which Thorer Hund stood, and said, "Here I will
be, Thorer, in your ranks; for I think, if I and King Olaf meet, to be
the first to strive a weapon at him, if I can get so near, to repay him
for the robbery of the ship he took from me, which was the best that
ever went on merchant voyage." Thorer and his men received Thorstein,
and he went into their ranks.
235. OF THE PREPARATIONS OF THE BONDES.
When the bondes' men and array were drawn up the lendermen addressed
the men, and ordered them to take notice of the place to which each man
belonged, under which banner each should be, who there were in front
of the banner, who were his side-men, and that they should be brisk and
quick in taking up their places in the array; for the army had still
to go a long way, and the array might be broken in the course of march.
Then they encouraged the people; and Kalf invited all the men who had
any injury to avenge on King Olaf to place themselves under the banner
which was advancing against King Olaf's own banner. They should remember
the distress he had brought upon them; and, he said, never was there a
better opportunity to avenge their grievances, and to free themselves
from the yoke and slavery he had imposed on them. "Let him," says he,
"be held a useless coward who does not fight this day boldly; and they
are not innocents who are opposed to you, but people who will not spare
you if ye spare them."
Kalf's speech was received with loud applause, and shouts of
encouragement were heard through the whole army.
236. OF THE KING'S AND THE BONDES' ARMIES.
Thereafter the bondes' army advanced to Stiklestad, where King Olaf was
already with his people. Kalf and Harek went in front, at the head of
the army under their banners. But the battle did not begin immediately
on their meeting; for the bondes delayed the assault, because all their
men were not come upon the plain, and they waited for those who came
after them. Thorer Hund had come up with his troop the last, for he had
to take care that the men did not go off behind when the battlecry was
raised, or the armies were closing with each other; and therefore Kalf
and Harek waited for Thorer. For the encouragement of their men in the
battle the bondes had the field-cry--"Forward, forward, bondemen!"
King Olaf also made no attack, for he waited for Dag and the people who
followed him. At last the king saw Dag and his men approaching. It is
said that the army of the bondes was not less on this day than a hundred
times a hundred men. Sigvat the skald speaks thus of the numbers:--
"I grieve to think the king had brought
Too small a force for what he sought:
He held his gold too fast to bring
The numbers that could make him king.
The foemen, more than two to one,
The victory by numbers won;
And this alone, as I've heard say,
Against King Olaf turned the day."
237. MEETING OF THE KING AND THE BONDES.
As the armies on both sides stood so near that people knew each other,
the king said, "Why art thou here, Kalf, for we parted good friends
south in More? It beseems thee ill to fight against us, or to throw a
spear into our army; for here are four of thy brothers."
Kalf replied, "Many things come to pass differently from what may appear
seemly. You parted from us so that it was necessary to seek peace with
those who were behind in the country. Now each must remain where he
stands; but if I might advise, we should be reconciled."
Then Fin, his brother, answered, "This is to be observed of Kalf, that
when he speaks fairly he has it in his mind to do ill."
The king answered, "It may be, Kalf, that thou art inclined to
reconciliation; but, methinks, the bondes do not appear so peaceful."
Then Thorgeir of Kviststad said, "You shall now have such peace as many
formerly have received at your hands, and which you shall now pay for."
The king replies, "Thou hast no occasion to hasten so much to meet us;
for fate has not decreed to thee to-day a victory over me, who raised
thee to power and dignity from a mean station."
238. BEGINNING OF THE BATTLE OF STIKLESTAD.
Now came Thorer Hund, went forward in front of the banner with his
troop, and called out, "Forward, forward, bondemen!" Thereupon the
bondemen raised the war-cry, and shot their arrows and spears. The
king's men raised also a war-shout; and that done, encouraged each other
to advance, crying out, "Forward, forward, Christ-men! cross-men! king's
men!" When the bondes who stood outermost on the wings heard it, they
repeated the same cry; but when the other bondes heard them they thought
these were king's men, turned their arms against them, and they fought
together, and many were slain before they knew each other. The weather
was beautiful, and the sun shone clear; but when the battle began the
heaven and the sun became red, and before the battle ended it became as
dark as at night. King Olaf had drawn up his army upon a rising ground,
and it rushed down from thence upon the bonde-army with such a fierce
assault, that the bondes' array went before it; so that the breast of
the king's array came to stand upon the ground on which the rear of the
bondes' array had stood, and many of the bondes' army were on the way
to fly, but the lendermen and their house-men stood fast, and the battle
became very severe. So says Sigvat:--
"Thundered the ground beneath their tread,
As, iron-clad, thick-tramping, sped
The men-at-arms, in row and rank,
Past Stiklestad's sweet grassy bank.
The clank of steel, the bowstrings' twang,
The sounds of battle, loudly rang;
And bowman hurried on advancing,
Their bright helms in the sunshine glancing."
The lendermen urged their men, and forced them to advance. Sigvat speaks
of this:--
"Midst in their line their banner flies,
Thither the stoutest bonde hies:
But many a bonde thinks of home,
And many wish they ne'er had come."
Then the bonde-army pushed on from all quarters. They who stood in front
hewed down with their swords; they who stood next thrust with their
spears; and they who stood hindmost shot arrows, cast spears, or threw
stones, hand-axes, or sharp stakes. Soon there was a great fall of men
in the battle. Many were down on both sides. In the first onset fell
Arnljot Gelline, Gauka-Thorer, and Afrafaste, with all their men, after
each had killed a man or two, and some indeed more. Now the ranks in
front of the king's banner began to be thinned, and the king ordered
Thord to carry the banner forward, and the king himself followed it with
the troop he had chosen to stand nearest to him in battle; and these
were the best armed men in the field, and the most expert in the use of
their weapons. Sigvat the skald tells of this:--
"Loud was the battle-storm there,
Where the king's banner flamed in air.
The king beneath his banner stands,
And there the battle he commands."
Olaf came forth from behind the shield-bulwark, and put himself at the