Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway
his men. Now when Svein heard that King Magnus had let a great part of
his army go away, and also that he was south in Jutland, he rode from
Svithjod with a great body of peopie which the Swedish king had given
him. When Svein came to Scania the people of that country received him
well, treated him as their king, and men joined him in crowds. He then
went on to Seeland, where he was also well received, and the whole
country joined him. He then went to Fyen, and laid all the islands under
his power; and as the people also joined him, he collected a great army
and many ships of war.
27. OF KING MAGNUS'S MILITARY FORCE.
King Magnus heard this news, and at the same time that the people of
Vindland had a large force on foot. He summoned people therefore to come
to him, and drew together a great army in Jutland. Otto, also, the Duke
of Brunsvik, who had married Ulfhild, King Olaf the Saint's daughter,
and the sister of King Magnus, came to him with a great troop. The
Danish chiefs pressed King Magnus to advance against the Vindland army,
and not allow pagans to march over and lay waste the country; so it was
resolved that the king with his army should proceed south to Heidaby.
While King Magnus lay at Skotborg river, on Hlyrskog Heath, he got
intelligence concerning the Vindland army, and that it was so numerous
it could not be counted; whereas King Magnus had so few, that there
seemed no chance for him but to fly. The king, however, determined on
fighting, if there was any possibility of gaining the victory; but the
most dissuaded him from venturing on an engagement, and all, as one man,
said that the Vindland people had undoubtedly a prodigious force. Duke
Otto, however, pressed much to go to battle. Then the king ordered the
whole army to be gathered by the war trumpets into battle array, and
ordered all the men to arm, and to lie down for the night under their
shields; for he was told the enemy's army had come to the neighbourhood.
The king was very thoughtful; for he was vexed that he should be obliged
to fly, which fate he had never experienced before. He slept but little
all night, and chanted his prayers.
28. OF KING OLAF'S MIRACLE.
The following day was Michaelmas eve. Towards dawn the king slumbered,
and dreamt that his father, King Olaf the Saint, appeared to him, and
said, "Art thou so melancholy and afraid, because the Vindland people
come against thee with a great army? Be not afraid of heathens,
although they be many; for I shall be with thee in the battle. Prepare,
therefore, to give battle to the Vindlanders, when thou hearest my
trumpet." When the king awoke he told his dream to his men, and the day
was then dawning. At that moment all the people heard a ringing of bells
in the air; and those among King Magnus's men who had been in Nidaros
thought that it was the ringing of the bell called Glod, which King Olaf
had presented to the church of Saint Clement in the town of Nidaros.
29. BATTLE OF HLYRSKOG HEATH.
Then King Magnus stood up, and ordered the war trumpets to sound, and at
that moment the Vindland army advanced from the south across the
river against him; on which the whole of the king's army stood up, and
advanced against the heathens. King Magnus threw off from him his coat
of ring-mail, and had a red silk shirt outside over his clothes, and had
in his hands the battle-axe called Hel (1), which had belonged to King
Olaf. King Magnus ran on before all his men to the enemy's army, and
instantly hewed down with both hands every man who came against him. So
says Arnor, the earls' skald:--
"His armour on the ground he flung
His broad axe round his head he swung;
And Norway's king strode on in might,
Through ringing swords, to the wild fight.
His broad axe Hel with both hands wielding,
Shields, helms, and skulls before it yielding,
He seemed with Fate the world to share,
And life or death to deal out there."
This battle was not very long; for the king's men were very fiery, and
where they came the Vindland men fell as thick as tangles heaped up
by the waves on the strand. They who stood behind betook themselves to
flight, and were hewed down like cattle at a slaughter. The king himself
drove the fugitives eastward over the heath, and people fell all over
the moor. So says Thiodolf:--
"And foremost he pursued,
And the flying foe down hewed;
An eagle's feast each stroke,
As the Vindland helms he broke.
He drove them o'er the hearth,
And they fly from bloody death;
But the moor, a mile or more,
With the dead was studded o'er."
It is a common saying, that there never was so great a slaughter of men
in the northern lands, since the time of Christianity, as took place
among the Vindland people on Hlyrskog's Heath. On the other side, not
many of King Magnus's people were killed, although many were wounded.
After the battle the king ordered the wounds of his men to be bound;
but there were not so many doctors in the army as were necessary, so
the king himself went round, and felt the hands of those he thought best
suited for the business; and when he had thus stroked their palms, he
named twelve men, who, he thought, had the softest hands, and told them
to bind the wounds of the people; and although none of them had ever
tried it before, they all became afterwards the best of doctors. There
were two Iceland men among them; the one was Thorkil, a son of Geire,
from Lyngar; the other was Atle, father of Bard Svarte of Selardal, from
whom many good doctors are descended. After this battle, the report
of the miracle which King Olaf the Saint had worked was spread widely
through the country; and it was the common saying of the people, that no
man could venture to fight against King Magnus Olafson, for his father
Saint Olaf stood so near to him that his enemies, on that account, never
could do him harm.
ENDNOTES: (1) Hel--Death: the goddess of Death.--L.
30. BATTLE AT RE.
King Magnus immediately turned round with his army against Svein, whom
he called his earl, although the Danes called him their king; and he
collected ships, and a great force, and on both sides a great strength
was assembled. In Svein's army were many chiefs from Scania, Halland,
Seeland, and Fyen; while King Magnus, on the other hand, had mostly
Norway and Jutland men, and with that war-force he hastened to meet
Svein. They met at Re, near Vestland; and there was a great battle,
which ended in King Magnus gaining the victory, and Svein taking flight.
After losing many people, Svein fled back to Scania, and from thence
to Gautland, which was a safe refuge if he needed it, and stood open to
him. King Magnus returned to Jutland, where he remained all winter (A.D.
1044) with many people, and had a guard to watch his ships. Arnor, the
earls' skald, speaks of this:--
"At Re our battle-loving lord
In bloody meeting stained his sword,--
At Re upon the western shore,
In Vestland warrior's blood once more."
31. BATTLE AT AROS.
Svein Ulfson went directly to his ships as soon as he heard that King
Magnus had left his fleet. He drew to him all the men he could, and went
round in winter among the islands, Seeland, Fyen, and others. Towards
Yule he sailed to Jutland, and went into Limfjord, where many people
submitted to him. He imposed scat upon some, but some joined King
Magnus. Now when King Magnus heard what Svein was doing, he betook
himself to his ships with all the Northmen then in Denmark, and a part
of the Danish troops, and steered south along the land. Svein was then
in Aros with a great force; and when he heard of King Magnus he laid
his vessels without the town, and prepared for battle. When King Magnus
heard for certain where Svein was, and that the distance between them
was but short, he held a House-thing, and addressed his people thus: "It
is reported to me that the earl and his fleet are lying not far from us,
and that he has many people. Now I would let you know that I intend
to go out against the earl and fight for it, although, we have fewer
people. We will, as formerly, put our trust in God, and Saint Olaf, my
father, who has given us victory sometimes when we fought, even though
we had fewer men than the enemy. Now I would have you get ready to seek
out the enemy, and give battle the moment we find him by rowing all to
attack, and being all ready for battle." Thereupon the men put on their
weapons, each man making himself and his place ready; and then they
stretched themselves to their oars. When they saw the earl's ships they
rowed towards them, and made ready to attack. When Svein's men saw the
forces they armed themselves, bound their ships together, and then began
one of the sharpest of battles. So says Thiodolf, the skald:--
"Shield against shield, the earl and king
Made shields and swords together ring.
The gold-decked heroes made a play
Which Hild's iron-shirt men say
They never saw before or since
On battle-deck; the brave might wince,
As spear and arrow whistling flew,
Point blank, death-bringing, quick and true."
They fought at the bows, so that the men only on the bows could strike;
the men on the forecastle thrust with spears: and all who were farther
off shot with light spears or javelins, or war-arrows. Some fought with
stones or short stakes; and those who were aft of the mast shot with the
bow. So Says Thiodolf:--
"Steel-pointed spear, and sharpened stake,
Made the broad shield on arm shake:
The eagle, hovering in the air,
Screamed o'er the prey preparing there.
And stones and arrows quickly flew,
And many a warrior bold they slew.
The bowman never twanged his bow
And drew his shaft so oft as now;
And Throndhjem's bowmen on that day
Were not the first tired of this play:
Arrows and darts so quickly fly,
You could not follow with the eye."
Here it appears how hot the battle was with casting weapons. King Magnus
stood in the beginning of the battle within a shield-rampart; but as it
appeared to him that matters were going on too slowly, he leaped over
the shields, and rushed forward in the ship, encouraging his men with
a loud cheer, and springing to the bows, where the battle was going on
hand to hand. When his men saw this they urged each other on with mutual
cheering, and there was one great hurrah through all the ships. So says
Thiodolf:--
"'On with our ships! on to the foe!'
Cry Magnus' men--on, on they go.
Spears against shields in fury rattle,--
Was never seen so fierce a battle."
And now the battle was exceedingly sharp; and in the assault Svein's
ship was cleared of all her forecastle men, upon and on both sides of
the forecastle. Then Magnus boarded Svein's ship, followed by his men;
and one after the other came up, and made so stout an assault that
Svein's men gave way, and King Magnus first cleared that ship, and then
the rest, one after the other. Svein fled, with a great part of his
people; but many fell, and many got life and peace. Thiodolf tells of
this:--
"Brave Magnus, from the stern springing
On to the stem, where swords were ringing
From his sea-raven's beak of gold
Deals death around--the brave! the bold!
The earl's housemen now begin
To shrink and fall: their ranks grow thin--
The king's luck thrives--their decks are cleared,
Of fighting men no more appeared.
The earl's ships are driven to flight,
Before the king would stop the fight:
The gold-distributor first then
Gave quarters to the vanquished men."
This battle was fought on the last Sunday before Yule. So says
Thiodolf:--