Tales of Valhalla

by Martyn Whittock

  And so it came to pass. The next day Bjorn the bear-man was hunted down and killed. Bera was allowed to take his ring from under his left shoulder though none saw what she took. But afterwards the queen forced her to eat a tiny piece of the bear’s cooked flesh, and declared that eating this tiny piece would be enough for her to work her magic.

  In time, Bera gave birth to three boys: one was like an elk below the waist and was named Elk-Frodi; one had feet like a dog and was called Thorir Dog-foot; a third appeared fully human and he was named Bodvar. Eating even a tiny piece of bear-meat had affected the children.

  Elk-Frodi grew up violent and resentful. At twelve years old, he left the company of people, took the smallest portion of the treasure and a small sword and became a robber and murderer in the mountains. When Thorir Dog-foot left home he took an axe from the cave and his share of the treasure. As with Elk-Frodi, only the appropriate weapon would allow itself to be drawn out of the rock by him. He travelled to the mountains to stay with Elk-Frodi a while and then, on his advice, he made his way to Götaland in southern Sweden, where he was made king.

  To Bodvar, Bera revealed all that had happened to his father at the hands of Queen Hvit. Together they went to King Hring to demand vengeance. But Hring asked that for the sake of his love for Hvit they should leave her be and then Bodvar would be compensated with treasure and the rule of the kingdom when Hring died. However, Bodvar wanted vengeance and the king could not stop him. He surprised Queen Hvit and trapped her head within a leather bag that he carried. He beat her and dragged her through the streets and so she died. The king was greatly distressed and soon after this he too died. It was then that Bodvar became king.

  He was not content as king, though, and decided to leave. First, he took his weapon – a magic sword – from the rock in the cave. Its nature was such that it would kill a man every time it was unsheathed; and only three times could it be used by any one owner. He made it a sheath from birch bark and travelled until he reached the home of Elk-Frodi, who did not recognise him since his hood was up. They fought and wrestled until at last Elk-Frodi recognised him. He asked him to stay but Bodvar would not. Elk-Frodi gave him a little of his own blood to drink in order to increase his strength. And he promised to avenge him if Bodvar was killed by another man.

  When Bodvar reached Götaland, King Thorir Dog-foot was away but Bodvar was so similar that even the queen thought he was her husband. At night, they slept together but Bodvar kept a blanket between them. When Thorir Dog-foot returned, he was overjoyed to see his brother. But Bodvar would not stay for he desired to join the warrior companions of King Hrolf, at Hleidargard in Denmark.

  On his way, he was given shelter by an old couple. The mother was weeping because Hott, her son, was cruelly treated by the champions of King Hrolf at Hleidargard. Each evening they pelted him with bones at their feast. Bodvar resolved to save the boy in gratitude for the hospitality the old couple had given him. So it was that when he reached Hleidargard and saw that Hott was hiding behind a shield of bones, he pulled him out and made him sit at the mead bench beside him. When a great bone was thrown, it was Bodvar who hurled it back and killed the man who had thrown it. After this, King Hrolf – who had earlier told his men to desist from their bullying and had been ignored – asked Bodvar to join his champions. But Bodvar would only do this if Hott could accompany him!

  Once he had joined the champions, Bodvar learned that each Yule a huge winged troll attacked the land. That Yule-eve, Bodvar and a very reluctant Hott went out to meet the beast. Drawing his mighty sword, Bodvar killed the animal. Making Hott drink its blood and consume its flesh made him strong and courageous. Then, to demonstrate this transformation to all, they propped up the beast as if it was still alive. Later, as others came to investigate, only Hott would approach it and, taking King Hrolf’s sword named Golden Hilt, he struck the beast, which fell to the ground. In this way, King Hrolf gained two champions: Bodvar and Hott, whose name was changed to Hjalti in honour of his personal transformation.

  This is the end of the story of Bodvar and his brothers.

  The reign of King Hrolf: conflicts with King Adils of Sweden, Bodvar Bjarki the bear-man, Odin disguised as Hrani, the death of Hrolf

  It was the custom that whenever the berserkers of King Hrolf returned from campaigning, they challenged every man in the king’s hall – from the king himself downwards! They believed none was their equal. But the next time that the berserkers returned, things were different: for Bodvar and Hjalti (who was once called Hott) were sitting on the mead benches! When Bodvar was challenged, he called the berserker who did so a son of a mare and would have killed him had not King Hrolf restored order! Hjalti did the same. Now that the two new champions were there, things were different in the hall. On the king’s right-hand side sat Bodvar and Hjalti; on his left sat Svipdag and his three brothers; next were the twelve berserkers. So prominent was Bodvar that he married King Hrolf’s only daughter, Drifa.

  One day, while King Hrolf and Bodvar sat feasting, they talked of the greatness of kings and it was then that Bodvar advised the king that his greatness would be diminished so long as King Adils of Sweden held the treasure of Hrolf’s father, Helgi, in Uppsala. King Hrolf agreed but said that it would not be easily regained for Adils was skilled in the dark use of magic. So it was that they set out to travel to Uppsala. On the way, they stayed three nights with a farmer named Hrani and each night they were tested: by cold, by thirst and by heat. Hrani advised King Hrolf to send home those who had failed the test. No one knew it at the time but this farmer, who called himself by the name Hrani, was really Odin in disguise. In the end, only twelve companions rode with the king towards Uppsala.

  When they reached there, Svipdag led the way, for he knew the hall of King Adils and there were many obstacles set in their way that they had to overcome to reach where he was sitting. Pits were dug as traps and wall hangings concealed armed men. They battled through them all. At last King Adils called his men to order and – remarking on how few men King Hrolf had with him – bade them sit. Then a fire was lit to warm them but it blazed so fiercely that it threatened to burn them, for King Adils wanted to separate Hrolf from his men since he assumed he would not endure the heat as easily as his champions. However, Bodvar, Svipdag and Hjalti threw King Adils’ retainers into the fire and Adils himself only evaded them by using magic to escape through a hollow tree at the centre of the hall.

  Then it was that Queen Yrsa sent a servant to attend to the needs of King Hrolf. When he saw the king, he remarked how his face was long and thin like a ladder carved out of a tall pole. In Norse such a carved ladder is called a kraki, and this is how King Hrolf became known as Hrolf Kraki! The servant warned the king that Adils would use magic to cause a troll in the shape of a boar to attack them and that is what occurred. It only retreated when attacked by the hound of Hrolf Kraki. Then King Adils set fire to the hall and the companions only escaped by breaking through the walls. Outside a fierce battle ensued and Hrolf Kraki and his champions were victorious; even his hawk slew all of King Adils’ hawks in the royal mews. Then it was that Adils fled and the victorious warriors took their seats in the surviving part of his hall. Queen Yrsa brought Adils’ treasure to them, including the finest ring that King Adils owned; and she gave them twelve fine horses, for Adils had ordered the maiming of their mounts. Then they left and Hrolf Kraki bid his mother a fond farewell.

  As they rode away they were pursued by King Adils but Hrolf Kraki scattered gold on the road and those pursuing slowed to pick it up! Even Adils stopped when he saw his finest ring on the ground. As he bent to pick it up, Hrolf Kraki mocked him for grovelling like a pig and sliced his buttocks with a sweep of his sword. Then the closest of Adils’ men were killed and the two kings finally parted.

  That evening they came upon a farm and once more they were greeted by the farmer named Hrani. The farmer offered weapons to the king but the king turned him down. At this, Hrani grew very angry and, though it was dark
, Hrolf Kraki and his champions had no choice but to leave. Neither Hrolf Kraki nor Hrani bid farewell to the other. When they were on the road, Bodvar reflected that they had been mistaken not to accept the farmer’s gifts and would be defeated as a result. And Hrolf Kraki agreed, saying that he now knew that they had met Odin the Old and that was why the farmer had only one eye. They turned back and found that the farm and the farmer had vanished. Hrolf Kraki declared that it would be futile to search further, for the farmer was an evil spirit.

  When they reached home, Bodvar advised Hrolf Kraki to no longer go into battle for he feared that the king’s battle-luck had run out due to the encounter on the road. But the king said that fate decided a man’s life and not the evil spirit that was Odin.

  It was soon after this that Skuld – the half-elven half-sister of Hrolf – incited her husband, King Hjorvard, to deny tribute to King Hrolf Kraki. It was this tribute-paying that had been tricked out of him by the incident involving the belt and the sword. Then Skuld used her magical powers to summon elves, norns and many horrible creatures to join the army she was assembling. King Hrolf Kraki was unaware of these preparations even as Skuld and Hjorvard arrived outside Hleidargard with their army; he was too confident in the strength of his rule and his champions, and too concerned with enjoying life at Hleidargard. It is not said that he and his warriors worshipped the old gods; rather, they put too much trust in their own abilities and valour.

  It was then that Hjalti (who was once called Hott) went to lie with his mistress outside the fortress and saw the assembled enemies. At the same time, he bit off her nose (some say for her unfaithfulness) and declared how treachery can fool anyone for a while. Then he raised the alarm. Hrolf rallied his champions, including Bodvar, who men also called Bjarki (‘little bear’) because he had defeated the berserkers.

  The king and his champions drank deeply and then went out to battle. And terrible that battle was: corpses piled up and Hrolf Kraki’s sword, Skofnung, sang as it shattered bones. All the time a huge bear fought on the side of Hrolf Kraki. It tore and crushed men and horses and no weapon could harm it.

  It was then that Hjalti saw that Bodvar Bjarki was missing and summoned him from the hall, chiding him for remaining there. But when Bodvar Bjarki appeared on the battlefield, the great bear vanished and the battle turned against Hrolf Kraki. For now Skuld could work her magic and a terrible boar appeared and slaughtered Hrolf Kraki’s men. Bodvar Bjarki saw too that the dead warriors in the enemy army were being brought back to life. He called to Hjalti that, even as he had hacked apart King Hjorvard, the man had not fallen and that this was clearly all the work of Odin, son of the devil, although he could not see him. It was then that King Hrolf Kraki fell, surrounded by his enemies and overwhelmed by magic. He could not prevail because he did not know the true God.

  So it was that Skuld prevailed but little good did it do her. For Bodvar Bjarki was avenged by his brothers, Elk-Frodi and King Thorir Dog-foot and a Swedish army sent by Queen Yrsa. They overcame Skuld and her magic, tortured and killed her and returned Denmark to the rule of the line of Hrolf Kraki through his daughters. Then a great burial mound was raised over the grave of Hrolf Kraki and his sword, Skofnung, and mounds were raised over the graves of all the champions.

  So ends the story of King Hrolf Kraki and his champions.

  24

  Journeys to Vinland

  THESE STORIES OF the journeys to Vinland, in North America, end this section of ‘Norse legends’. They are more firmly rooted in later historic times than the fornaldar-sagas (sagas of the ancient times) that we have just been exploring. Even so, they still contain some mythic features and even the most apparently ‘historic’ of them contain legendary larger-than-life characters that remind us of Arthur in his more ‘historic’ forms, Robin Hood or the more legendary aspects of Robert the Bruce’s exploits, in British traditions.

  The accounts in this chapter are found in two thirteenth-century sagas from Iceland: Eric the Red’s Saga and The Saga of the Greenlanders. The account here of these western voyages and the discovery of North America is a composite made by combining information from both of these sagas. This works remarkably well as often one source adds detail to something that is only recorded in outline in the other or does not form part of its tradition at all. At points, though, they offer distinctly different versions of the same traditions. For example: Eric the Red’s Saga says that it was Eric’s son, Thorstein, who purchased a ship from Gudrid’s father, with which to sail west; whereas The Saga of the Greenlanders says that the ship was purchased from Bjarni Herjolfsson by Eric’s son, Leif. In these cases a decision has to be made; the more detailed account is usually followed in order to provide the best ‘story’. Occasionally another factor may come into play, such as the account chosen dovetails more exactly with another aspect of the story. Eric the Red’s Saga contains a lot of information about the settlement of Greenland but is used here mostly for the information it provides about the female explorer, Gudrid Thorbjornsdottir (who plays a significant part in the settlement of Vinland) and the additional information it provides concerning the journeys to Vinland.

  The lands ‘discovered’ in these medieval accounts were, for a long time, regarded as legendary and the products of medieval Norse imagination. However, more recent study of the medieval texts, comparison with North American geography and, finally, archaeological evidence of Norse settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows on the northern tip of Newfoundland in Canada, have meant that we are now sure that these accounts are based on real events, albeit interwoven with some legendary material. The site at L’Anse aux Meadows may correspond to the camp known as Straumsfjord (Old Norse: Straumfjörð) that is mentioned in Eric the Red’s Saga.

  As a result, the lands mentioned in these thirteenth-century sagas are now identified as follows:

  Helluland is named from the Norse word for ‘flat stones’ and today many experts believe that it refers to Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut.

  Markland is named from the Norse word for ‘forest’ and probably refers to the coast of Labrador.

  Vinland is named from the Norse word for ‘grapes’ (or ‘wine’) and probably refers to the area from Newfoundland to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and, perhaps, as far south as north-eastern New Brunswick since wild grapevines are found there.

  * * *

  The settlement of Greenland

  Bjarni Herjolfsson and his father, Herjolf, sailed with Eric the Red to Greenland and settled there. They sailed in the company of a Christian Hebridean who was a poet.

  On Greenland, Herjolf and his family settled at Herjolfsnes and Eric the Red settled at Brattahlid. Eric’s children were Leif, Thorvald, Thorstein, and his (illegitimate) daughter was named Freydis and she was a domineering woman. She was married to Thorvard who was rich but had little else going for him.

  One of those famous in the story of the settlement of Greenland and Vinland was a woman named Gudrid. She travelled to Greenland from Iceland with her father in a group of thirty settlers. It was a hard time that they had, since half of them fell sick and died but those who survived were eventually rescued.

  It was then that a woman who could foretell the future told Gudrid her fortune. It came about in a strange way, for that woman – a seeress by the name of Thorbjorg – visited the farm on which Gudrid lived and asked if any women there could join her in chanting the songs needed if she was to foretell the future. Gudrid said that she had been taught them as a child, but could not take part because she was now a Christian. But she was asked to do it to help the people on the farm and so she joined in the traditional chants. After this, Thorbjorg thanked her and said that due to Gudrid’s chanting the spirits had revealed to Thorbjorg that the time of hardship on Greenland would soon end; illness troubling Gudrid would soon cease; and that Gudrid would make a good marriage in Greenland, travel to Iceland to put down roots there and be the one from whom an illustrious family would descend.

  Later,
Gudrid travelled to the hall of the famous adventurer, Eric the Red. It was at this time that Eric’s son, Leif, was ordered by King Olaf of Norway to convert the settlers on Greenland to Christianity. This was because the settlers there at that time were heathen. Both Leif and Gudrid played their part in the settlement of Vinland, as we shall shortly see.

  The finding of land to the west of Greenland . . . the discovery of Vinland

  The ancient tales tell of two accounts of how the land of Vinland was discovered. One account tells of how Bjarni Herjolfsson was blown off course on a sea voyage to Greenland and saw a strange land far to the west. It was a land of small hills and forested; it was located where no land was known to exist. He saw that land but he did not anchor his ship there or go ashore. He kept the land on his port (left-hand) side and then sailed away from it for two days before once more seeing land. He realised that this too was not Greenland for it had no glaciers; this land was flat and wooded. The crew wanted to put ashore for wood and water but Bjarni Herjolfsson would not do it. Instead, they sailed away from that land for three days, until they came to a third land. This third land had high mountains and glaciers. Once more they did not land and, instead, they sailed around it and saw that it was an island. They then sailed away from it for four days. At the end of this time they came on a fourth land. This was Greenland and they made landfall at the place where Bjarni Herjolfsson’s father had settled.

  The other tale tells how Leif Ericsson too was blown off course on a sea voyage and he too came upon an unknown land far to the west of Greenland. He found it to be a land of self-sown wheat and vines, where maple trees grew. Some say that he got lost while sailing to Greenland from Norway, while others say that Leif sailed to the west directly from Greenland.

  Those who say most about it tell that it came about in this way. Leif had bought a ship from Bjarni Herjolfsson and asked Eric, his father, to accompany him on an exploration, sailing from Greenland to the west. But Eric decided that he was too old for such adventurers. After this he changed his mind, buried all his gold and rode down to where Leif had moored his ship. But on the way Eric fell from his horse, breaking several ribs and hurting his shoulder, and so he decided that it was time to go back home to his farm; consequently, Leif sailed without him.