Thorstein said that this was a very proper request, ‘and I will get you a ship’.
Ingimund said that nothing less would do and went home and told his foster-father.
Ingjald answered, ‘It is a good plan, and I will get another ship for Grim, and the two of you can set out together – with due care and caution. Beware of going where an overwhelming force would oppose you. There is more honour in accumulating little by little than in reaching for the sky and ending up flat on your face.’
In due course Ingimund and Grim set off on their raiding expedition and prospered in their life as Vikings. They did not attack where it made no sense, and had acquired five ships by the autumn, all of them well equipped with weapons, crew and all battle-gear. It soon became clear that Ingimund was a brave man in action and a good sort, trusty and tough with a weapon, loyal and kind, staunch with his friends – he was the sort of man that the greatest chieftains of old must have been. He told Grim that he intended to go home to his father that autumn and remain there for a period over the winter with twenty men, and that is what happened.
It was apparent, however, that Thorstein sensed a certain haughtiness and a lack of due caution during their time there.
Ingimund said, ‘It does not seem so to me, and you ought not to say this; and it would be more suitable for you to ask for anything you want from our winnings as was the old warrior custom, and enjoy that with due honour. It would be very appropriate for you now to offer us hospitality out of our own provisions.’
Thordis said, ‘This is well and nobly spoken, and just as your grandfather would have done.’
Thorstein said, ‘I will do this, and this is admirably spoken.’
They remained there that winter up to Yuletide, and the hospitality was warm and friendly. Everyone thought a great deal of Ingimund, both his manner and appearance. He was talented in all games and very able in every accomplishment and not at all aggressive towards lesser men, but tough and combative with his enemies.
After Yuletide, Ingimund said to his father, ‘Now we warriors are off to my foster-father’s home, and we will stay there for what is left of the winter, because he will be pleased to have us there.’
Thorstein said, ‘I think it would be a good idea for you to remain with us this winter, kinsman.’
Ingimund said that he had decided to follow his own plan of action, and so they did. Ingjald welcomed them very warmly and his pleasure showed on his face; and they stayed there throughout the rest of the winter.
When spring came, Ingimund said that he wanted them to get ready for their raiding trip, and claimed that they were better prepared in every way than before. Ingjald said that this was true. They then set off raiding for a second summer and seized large amounts of booty from pirates and robbers, who had pillaged the goods of farmers and merchants. They carried on like this through the summer.
Then Ingimund said, ‘If there are no great trials on our travels, there is nothing else for it but to continue boldly with the raiding.’
Everyone obeyed his every beck and call.
Well on into autumn, they came to Sviasker. There were Vikings there, and both sides prepared for battle, and they fought first with arrows and stones. The forces differed little in size. Many men were wounded on both sides. Ingimund won great fame that day, and certainly those who were his men believed that they were in the service of a fine leader.
And when it grew dark, there was a lull in the battle.
Then Ingimund said, ‘Let it not be thought that we are easing off, even though this skirmish may have had some rather dangerous moments.’
Then a man stood up in one of the Viking ships. He was both big and brave.
This man said, ‘Who are these men, who have fought against us today; it is discourteous that no word has been exchanged. So far as I know, there have been no previous disputes between us.’
Ingimund replied, ‘If you are asking about the leaders of our troop, then one is called Ingimund and the other is Grim; but who are you?’
He answered, ‘Saemund is my name; I am leader of this troop, a Sognefjord man by birth. I know about you two kinsmen and, in that we are men from the same country, it would be more fitting for us to join forces than to fight each other. We have heard only good things about you. We want to talk about becoming friends with you, though not because we need to sue for peace on account of any difference in size between our forces.’
Ingimund replied, ‘We are willing to consider the matter carefully, and will not speak ill of it. For our part, we are not inclined to oppose you when there is no guarantee of success, but would like to have secure peace and friendship with you.’
They then made a truce and established peace between each other, and thereafter remained together for the rest of the summer, and things went well for them as regards riches and renown; and they sailed around Sognefjord during the autumn.
Saemund then said that there they must part company, but they would meet again as friends next summer. Ingimund agreed to this. Saemund then sailed into the fjord, and Ingimund sailed north along the coast, and had many ships and much wealth. He returned to his father with fifty men.
Grim said, ‘Don’t you feel, foster-brother, that your father will think that there are enough guests?’
He said that he thought that the numbers were close to what was right and proper. Thorstein went to meet his son, and offered him the warmest hospitality. Ingimund said that he would accept this.
Thorstein entertained them splendidly through the winter and declared that he was very happy to have such a son, and said that early on he had spotted in him the luck of the family, ‘and as I see you mature, so will you enjoy more esteem from me’.
Ingimund stayed there over the winter, and his honour seemed to be much on the increase; and the more plentiful his provisions, the more he engaged in gift-giving and other generous acts.
When spring came, the foster-brothers discussed their travels. Grim said that he had no wish to change and would follow him. They then set off raiding and Saemund met up with them as agreed, and they all went together during the summer. They stayed as a group in the western seas for three successive summers and won wealth and great fame. Ingimund excelled in sound advice, good sense and nobility, and their fellowship was outstanding in every way. Ingimund wintered with his father. Thorstein felt that he could never honour his son Ingimund sufficiently when he saw the kind of man he wanted to become.
8 It is said that in the last summer that Ingimund and Saemund held fellowship together, they returned with far more booty than ever before, and it so happened at the same time in Norway that an army had assembled in the east by Jaeren, and nearly all the arms-bearing men of the country were then assembled in two locations. On one side was Harald, nicknamed Tangle-hair.* He fought against the local chieftains, and the battle he fought at Havsfjord was his last before he brought the whole country under his control.
At that moment Ingimund and Saemund landed, as was said earlier, close to the spot where the troops were assembled.
Then Ingimund said, ‘Great news is in prospect now, because all the mightiest men in the land are committed here; but I think that King Harald is the worthiest of them, and he is a man after my own heart and I want to offer him my support, because some help is always better than none.’
Saemund said that he would not risk his life for the king’s sake; and he took no part in the battle.
Ingimund replied, ‘You can see, foster-brother, that the king’s strength is great, and you may judge whether things will go better for those who stand by him, or with those who are set against him. As I see it, he will reward well those who show him honour and support, and it seems to me uncertain as to what might lie ahead if his wishes are not followed; and this will be the parting of the ways for us.’
Then Saemund and his men sailed into and along Sognefjord, and Ingimund sailed into Havsfjord and joined King Harald’s fleet. The most important leaders opposing King Harald were
Thorir Long-chin and Asbjorn the Fleshy. Their forces were large in number and tough. Ingimund tied up alongside the raised deck of the king’s ship and greeted the king thus: ‘Hail, my lord, hail.’
The king replied, ‘You greet me handsomely, but who are you?’
‘My name is Ingimund and I am the son of Thorstein, and I have come here because I want to offer you my support, and we believe that those who support you will fare better than those others who rise up against you. I am newly returned from raiding with several ships.’
The king received his greeting warmly, and said that he had heard good things about him, ‘and I would want you rewarded for your efforts, because I will bring all Norway under my control, and I will treat those who wish to serve me very differently from those who now flee to the ranks of our enemies, or to their estates, as I have heard that Saemund, your companion, has done; and I declare that there is greater manliness to be seen in the kind of actions which you have taken’.
Ingimund said that there were many good points about Saemund.
9 After that, horns sounded throughout the troops and men prepared themselves, each as best he could. This was King Harald’s greatest battle. With him were Rognvald of More and many other great chieftains and those berserks known as ‘Wolf-skins’ – they used wolf-skin cloaks for corslets and defended the bow of the king’s ship, and the king himself defended the stern with the greatest bravery and valour. Many a mighty blow could be seen there. Many and great deeds were done there in a short time, with blows and spear-thrusts along with fierce stone-throwing. Before long many men had fallen on both sides. Ingimund supported King Harald valiantly and won great praise for himself. The battle ended, as is well known to many and has become very famous, with King Harald winning a great victory and becoming thereafter sole ruler over all Norway. He rewarded all those chieftains who had supported him, and also all his other followers with the greatest generosity.
He rewarded Rognvald with an earldom and said, ‘You have shown great courage in your support of me; you have also lost your son for my sake, and he cannot be restored to you, but I can reward you with honours – first by making you an earl, and also by giving you those islands which lie over the sea to the west, and are called the Orkney Islands. You will have those islands as compensation for your son; and you will receive many another honour from me.’
The king was as good as his word. Rognvald sent his son Hallad west, but he was unable to defend the islands against the Vikings. He then sent his son Turf-Einar, saying that he felt sure that he could hold the islands. He was the first earl in the Orkney Islands, and all the Orkney earls are descended from him.
King Harald gave substantial grants of land to many people in return for their support, and it made a big difference whether men had been for or against him, in that he rewarded his supporters in a variety of ways, but those others, who had been opposed to him, he drove from the land, or maimed or killed, so that none of them received any reparation.
Then the king said to Ingimund, ‘You have shown me great friendship, and added to your renown. I will always be a friend to you; and your share of the spoils will be three ships and their crews. Along with this you will have the war gear of all those Vikings against whom you fought and, as a token that you were present at Havsfjord, you will have as a gift the talisman* which Asbjorn the Fleshy owned, and which he valued the most. That will be a better token of this battle than great riches would be, and it is an honour for you to receive it from our hand. And when we have put our kingdom in order, then I will reward your support with a feast and with gifts of friendship.’
Ingimund thanked the king for his gifts and generous words, and with that they parted. The king also said that he would be mindful of Saemund because of his designs and treason against him.
10 Ingimund met Saemund soon after the battle of Havsfjord and said to him that his prophecy about the conflict had turned out to be not far off the mark: ‘I know also because of the words of the king, that it is not your lot to live in peace, and I think it would be a good idea for you to go away, because the king will carry out his threat, but I would like to spare you from a harsher fate because of our friendship. It seems to me not a bad idea for you to head for Iceland, as many worthy men do these days who cannot be sure of defending themselves against the power of King Harald.’
Saemund said, ‘In this, as in everything else, you show your good faith and friendship, and I will take your advice.’
Ingimund urged him to do so, ‘but it would have been better if you had followed me at Havsfjord; you would not now need to head for that desolate outcrop’.
Saemund said that in many ways his words were not far from the truth. He then secretly sold his land and made ready to depart, and thanked Ingimund for his advice and pledged continuing friendship. Saemund then journeyed to Iceland and landed in Skagafjord; in all directions at that time there was land still to be settled. He set out carrying fire, in accordance with the old custom, and laid claim to land which is now called Saemundarhlid in Skagafjord and became a formidable man. He had a son named Geirmund and his daughter was Reginleif, who married Thorodd Helmet. Their daughter was Hallbera, mother of Gudmund the Powerful of Modruvellir, and of Einar of Thvera.
Ingimund, in great honour, visited his father after the battle of Havsfjord. Thorstein welcomed him with open arms and said to him that through good fortune he had turned his affairs around. He said that this was to be expected, ‘because you are the grandson of earl Ingimund, the noblest of men’.
He remained there over the winter, and during that time Ingjald came to Thorstein and there was a happy reunion.
Ingjald said that things had turned out for Ingimund as he had prophesied, ‘and I have now prepared a feast for you, my foster-son, with all the resources which I have at my disposal’.
Ingimund said that he would be present.
Ingjald returned home and invited many people to the feast. All those invited duly attended. Ingjald and his men prepared a magic rite in the old heathen fashion, so that men could examine what the fates had in store for them. A Lapp enchantress was among those present. Ingimund and Grim arrived at the feast along with a large retinue. The Lapp woman, splendidly attired, sat on a high seat. Men left their benches and went forward to ask about their destinies. For each of them she predicted that which eventually came to pass, but each took the news in a different way.
The foster-brothers sat in their places and did not go up to enquire about the future; they placed no trust in her predictions.
The seeress said, ‘Why do those young men not ask about their futures, because they seem to me to be the most outstanding of the men assembled here?’
Ingimund answered, ‘It is not important for me to know my future before it happens, and I do not think that my future life lies at the roots of your tongue.’
She answered, ‘I will nevertheless tell you without being asked. You will settle in a land which is called Iceland; it is as yet not widely settled. There you will become a man of honour and live to a great age. Many of your kinsfolk will be noble figures in that land.’
Ingimund answered, ‘That is all very well, seeing that I have made up my mind never to go to that place, and I won’t be a successful merchant if I sell my many fine ancestral lands and head off to that wilderness.’
The Lapp woman answered, ‘What I am saying will come to pass and, as a sign of this, an amulet is missing from your purse – the gift which King Harald gave you at Havsfjord – and it now lies in the wood where you will settle, and on this silver amulet the figure of Frey is carved and when you establish your homestead there, then my prophecy will be fulfilled.’
Ingimund answered, ‘If it were not for offending my foster-father, you would receive your reward on your skull; but because I am not an aggressive or irritable man, we will let it pass.’
She said that there was no need for angry words. Ingimund said that ill fortune had brought her there. She said that things would turn out
as she had stated, whether he liked it or not.
She went on – ‘the destinies of Grim and of his brother Hromund also lie in Iceland; and they will both become worthy farmers’.
The next morning Ingimund searched for the amulet and could not find it. That did not seem to him a good omen.
Ingjald told him to cheer up and not let this get him down or stand in the way of the festivities, and said that many worthy men now regarded it as no shame to go to Iceland – ‘Even though I did invite the Lapp woman here, I intended nothing but good.’
Ingimund said that he could not thank him for that, ‘but our friendship will never come to an end’.
Ingimund then went home to his father and remained there through the winter.
When spring came, he asked his foster-brothers what they thought of heading off on a voyage.
Grim said that he thought there was nothing to be gained from fighting against fate, ‘and I am off to Iceland this summer along with my brother, and many consider this no shame even though they are of noble birth. I have heard good things about the land – that livestock feed themselves during the winters, that there are fish in every river and lake, and great forests, and that men are free from the assaults of kings and criminals.’
Ingimund said, ‘I will not go there, and this will be the parting of the ways for us.’
Grim said that this may be so, ‘but it would not surprise me if we were to meet each other in Iceland, because it is not possible to fly from fate’s decree’.
Ingimund said that their parting was certainly a loss for him.
Grim set sail that summer along with his brother; they reached Borgarfjord and put in at Hvanneyri. Grim said that he thought he would take that land as his own and settle on it. He claimed so much land that many farms now occupy what was once his estate. Hromund said that he would head for the hills and settle happily on the mountain ends. Grim said that things had worked out well, in that they would have the best of the high ground but also the benefits of the sea. Hromund settled at Thverarhlid and was considered a remarkable man, blessed with good offspring; Illugi the Black was descended from him. Grim also was fortunate in his kinsfolk, and many worthy people are descended from him though they are not named here.
The Sagas of the Icelanders Page 32