CHAPTER NINE.
SHOWS HOW THE ANCIENT SEA-KINGS TRANSACTED NATIONAL BUSINESS.
Scant was the time allowed the men of Horlingdal for refreshment andrest after the battle of the Springs, for the assembling of Thingsmenarmed to the teeth, as well as the news that King Harald threatened adescent on them, rendered it necessary that a District Thing or Councilshould be held without delay.
Accordingly, after brief repose, Haldor the Fierce, who had returnedwith Erling to his own house up the dale, arose and ordered the horn tobe sounded for a Thing.
Several hundreds of men had by that time assembled, and when they allcame together they formed an imposing band of warriors, whom any wiseking would have deemed it advisable to hold converse with, if possible,on friendly terms.
When the Thing was seated Haldor rose, and, amid profound silence, said:
"Men of Horlingdal, King Harald Haarfager has sent round themessage-token for a Thing to be held at the Springs. The token sent wasone of peace. The token of war was sent round instead, as ye know.Whether this was wise or not does not much concern us now, as ye haveseen with your own eyes that there was good fortune in the change; forwe knew not, when the token was forwarded, of the urgent need thatshould arise at the Springs for our weapons. But, now that the Daneshave been sent home--excepting that goodly number who have gone toValhalla's halls to keep company with Odin and departed warriors--itseems to me that we should meet the King in the manner which he desiresuntil he shall give us occasion to assume arms in defence of our laws.And I would here remind you that Harald is our rightful King, udal-bornto the Kingdom of Norway, his title having been stated and proved at allthe District Things, beginning with the Ore Thing of Drontheim, andhaving been approved by all the people of Norway. I therefore counselpacific measures, and that we should go to the Springs unarmed."
When Haldor sat down there was a slight murmur of assent, but most ofthose present remained silent, wishing to hear more.
Then up started Ulf, and spoke with great heat.
"I agree not with Haldor," he said sternly. "Who does not know thatHarald is rightful King of Norway; that he is descended in a direct linefrom the godars who came over from the east with Odin, and has beenfairly elected King of Norway? But who does not know also, that ourlaws are above our King, that Harald is at this time trampling on theselaws, and is everywhere setting at defiance the small kings, who are astruly udal-born to their rights and titles as himself?"
At this point Ulf's indignation became so great that he found he couldnot talk connectedly, so he concluded by counselling that they should goto the Springs fully armed, and ready to brave the worst. There was aloud shout of approval, and then Erling started up. His manner and tonewere subdued, but his face was flushed; and men could see, as he wenton, that he was keeping down his wrath and his energy.
"I like it ill," he said, "to disagree on this point with my father; butUlf is right. We all know that Harald is King of Norway by _law_, andwe do not meet here to dispute his title; but we also know that kingsare not gods. Men create a law and place it over their own heads, sothat the lawmakers as well as those for whom it is made must bow beforeit; but when it is found that the law works unfairly, the lawmaker mayrepeal it, and cast it aside as useless or unworthy. So kings werecreated for the sole purpose of guiding nations and administering laws,in order that national welfare might be advanced. The moment they ceaseto act their part, that moment they cease to be worthy kings, and becomeuseless. But if, in addition to this, they dare to ignore and break thelaws of the land, then do they become criminal; they deserve not only tobe cast aside, but punished. If, in defence of our rights, we find itnecessary to dethrone the King, we cannot be charged with disloyalty,because the King has already dethroned himself!"
Erling paused a moment at this point, and a murmur of approval ranthrough the circle of his auditors.
"When Harald Haarfager's father," he resumed, "Halfdan the Black, ruledover Norway, he made laws which were approved by the people. He obeyedthem himself, and obliged others to observe them; and, that violenceshould not come in the place of the laws, he himself fixed the number ofcriminal acts in law, and the compensations, mulcts, or penalties, foreach case, according to everyone's birth and dignity, from the Kingdownwards; so that when disputes were settled at the Things the utmostfair play prevailed--death for death, wound for wound; or, if theparties chose, matters could be adjusted by payments in money--eachinjury being valued at a fixed scale; or matters might be settled andput right by single combat. All this, ye know full well, Halfdan theBlack compassed and settled in a _legal manner_, and the good that hasflowed from his wise and legal measures (for I hold that a king is notentitled to pass even wise laws illegally) has been apparent to us eversince. But now all this is to be overturned--with or without theconsent of the Things--because a foolish woman, forsooth, has the powerto stir up the vanity of a foolish king! Shall this be so? Is ourmanhood to be thus riven from us, and shall we stand aloof and see itdone, or, worse still, be consenting unto it? Let death be our portionfirst! It has been rumoured that the people of southern lands have donethis--that they have sold themselves to their kings, so that one man'svoice is law, and paid troops of military slaves are kept up in orderthat this one man may have his full swing, while his favourites and hissoldier-slaves bask in his sunshine and fatten on the people of theland! It is impossible for us of Norway to understand the feelings orideas of the men who have thus sold themselves--for we have never knownsuch tyranny--having, as the scalds tell us, enjoyed our privileges,held our Things, and governed ourselves by means of the collectivewisdom of the people ever since our forefathers came from the East; butI warn ye that if this man, Harald Haarfager, is allowed to have hiswill, our institutions shall be swept away, our privileges will depart,our rights will be crushed, and the time will come when it shall be saidof Norsemen that they have utterly forgotten that they once were free!Again I ask, shall we tamely stand aside and suffer this to be? Shallour children ever have it in their power to say, `There was a time whenour mean-spirited forefathers might have easily stopped the leak thatcaused the flood by which we are now borne irresistibly downward?' Irepeat, let us rather perish! Let us go armed to the Springs and tellthe King that he--equally with ourselves--is subject to the laws of theland!"
Erling delivered the last sentence in a voice of thunder, and with afierce wave of the hand, that drew forth shouts of enthusiasticapplause.
Instantly Glumm started up, forgetful, in the heat of the moment, of thejealousy that had so recently sprung up between him and his friend.
"I am not a speaker," he shouted gruffly, "but poor is the man whocannot back up and egg on his friend. Erling speaks the truth; and allI have to suggest is that he should be sent by us to tell all this toKing Harald Haarfager's face!"
Glumm sat down with the prompt decision of a man who has thoroughlydelivered himself of all that he intends to say; and many in theassembly testified their approval of his sentiments.
At this point Ivor the Old arose and gave it as his opinion that thesooner the King should be brought off his high horse the better;whereupon Finn the One-eyed suggested, with a laugh, that the old hermitshould be sent with his bow and arrow to teach him due submission to thelaws. Then there was a good deal of confused, and not a littlepassionate discussion, which waxed louder and more vehement untilGuttorm Stoutheart stood up, and, although not a dalesman, requested theattention of the assembly for a few minutes.
"It is obvious," he said in the hearty tones of a man who knows that heis sure of carrying a large portion of his audience along with him--"itis obvious that you are all pretty much of one mind as to the principleon which we should act at this time; and my good friend Haldor theFierce (who seems of late to have changed his nature, and should,methinks, in future, be styled Haldor the Mild) is evidently on thelosing side. The only thing that concerns us, it seems to me, is themanner in which we shall convey our opinion to the King--how we shallbes
t, as the scald says:--
"`Whisper in the King's unwilling ear That which is wholesome but unsweet to hear.'
"Now, to the quick-witted among you various methods will doubtless havealready been suggested; and I am perchance only echoing the sentimentsof many here, when I say that it would be worthy of the men ofHorlingdal that they should fight the King at once, and put a stop tothe burnings, hangings, torturings, jarl-makings, and subduings of whichhe has been so guilty of late, and which I confess is so unlike hisfree, generous, manly character, that I have found it hard to believethe reports which have reached my ears, and which, after all, can onlybe accounted for by the fact that he is at present led by the nose bythat worst of all creatures, a proud imperious girl, who has thepassions of a warrior and the brains of a bairn! Another method, whichwould signify at least our contempt for Harald's principles, would bethe sending of a thrall to him with a reaping-hook, and a request thathe would cut off his own head and give it to us in token that, havingceased to be a king, he is resolved no longer to continue to be adishonoured man! And that reminds me of one of Ulf's thralls namedKettle Flatnose, who could assist Harald nobly in the work of beheadinghimself, for last night, when he and I fought side by side against theDanes, he used a hook of his own making, with such effect, that I wasfain to pause and laugh, while myself in the very act of splitting aniron headpiece. But perchance that is not a suitable method ofcompassing our ends, besides it would cost the thrall his life, and Ishould be sorry to aid in bringing about the death of Kettle Flatnose,whose island is a happy one if it counts many such clear-headed andable-bodied warriors.
"But another plan was proposed by Glumm the Gruff, which seemed to me tohave the approval of many present, and assuredly it has mine, that weshould send King Erling at once to Harald, to tell him our opinions tohis face, to sound him as to his intentions, and to bring back the newsas fast as possible, so that we may go armed or unarmed to the Springs,as prudence may direct. Moreover, as it would be unfair to send a manalone on such a dangerous errand, I would suggest that he should have acomrade to keep him company and share his fortunes, and that for thisend none better could be found than Glumm the Gruff himself."
This speech settled the mind of the meeting. After a little more talkit was finally arranged that Erling and Glumm should go at once to meetKing Harald, who could not yet, it was thought, have arrived at theSprings, and endeavour to find out his temper of mind in regard to themen of Horlingdal. After that the Thing broke up, and the membersdispersed to partake of "midag-mad", or dinner, in the dwellings oftheir various friends.
Erling the Bold Page 9