Heimskringla

by Snorri Sturluson

  That same fall there came to Nitharós from Iceland Kjartan,1 the 999 son of Óláf, who himself was the son of Hoskuld and the nephew, by his daughter, of Egil Skallagrimsson. Kjartan has been called the most promising man ever born in Iceland. In Nitharós there were also Halldor, the son of Guthmund of Mothruvellir; Kolbein, the son of Thórth Freysgothi and the brother of Flosi of the Burning;2 and as the fourth, Sverting, the son of Rúnólf the Gothi.3 All these men were heathen as well as many others, some influential, others less so. There had also come from Iceland some excellent men who had been converted by Thangbrand, such as Gizur the White, the son of Teit Ketilbjarnarson—his mother was Álof, the daughter of Hersir Bothvar, the son of Víkinga-Kári. Bothvar’s brother was Sigurth, the father of Eirík Bjóthaskalli, the father of Ástríth who was King Óláf’s mother. Another Icelander was Hjalti Skeggjason. He was married to Vilborg, the daughter of Gizur the White. Hjalti also was a Christian, and King Óláf received him and Gizur, his kinsman, well, and they stayed at his court.

  Now those Icelanders who commanded ships and were heathen, sought to be on their way as soon as the king was in the town, because they had been told that the king forced everyone to accept Christianity; but the weather was against them, and they drifted back to Nitharhólm. The following men were the skippers of these ships: Thórarin Nefjólfsson, the skald Hallfröth Óttarsson,4 Brand the Generous, and Thorleik Brandsson. King Óláf was told that there were Icelanders in several ships, heathen all, who wanted to avoid meeting him. Then the king sent messengers to them, forbidding them to leave the country and commanding them to put into town. They did so, but did not carry any of their goods on shore.

  Chapter 82. Kjartan and Bolli Are Baptized

  Now came Michaelmas. The king had it observed strictly and had mass sung solemnly. The Icelanders approached and listened to the beautiful singing and the ringing of the bells. And when they returned to their ships, everyone remarked on whether he had liked the proceedings of the Christians. Kjartan spoke favorably about them, but most of the others had no taste for them. But, as the saying goes, “many are the king’s ears.” The king was told about this, so straightway the same day he sent a messenger to Kjartan and bade him come to him. Kjartan went to the king together with some few men. The king received him in kindly fashion. Kjartan was an unusually tall and strong man, very handsome, and spoke well. When they had exchanged but a few words, the king bade Kjartan become a Christian. Kjartan said he would not refuse to if thereby he could gain the friendship of the king. The king promised him complete friendship, and so they came to an agreement between them. On the following day Kjartan was baptized, together with Bolli Thorláksson, a kinsman of his, and their entire crew. Both Kjartan and Bolli were the guests of the king whilst they were in their baptismal robes, and the king showed them great kindness.

  Chapter 83. The Skald Hallfröth Accepts Baptism

  One day King Óláf was walking in the Street1 with some followers when several men met them, and the man at their head greeted the king well. The king asked that man what his name was, and he gave it as Hallfröth. The king said, “Are you the skald?”

  He replied, “I can compose poetry.”

  Then the king said, “I am sure you will want to be baptized and there-after be my man?”

  He replied, “Then I shall make this one condition for being baptized, that you, sir king, yourself be my godfather. I will not be baptized by anyone else.”

  The king said, “I shall do that.” Then Hallfröth was baptized, and it was the king who held him during the baptism.

  Thereupon the king asked Hallfröth, “Will you now be my man?”

  Hallfröth said, “Before, I was a retainer of Earl Hákon. Now I do not want to enter your service or that of any other chieftain, unless you promise me this, that you will not drive me out of your company, whatever may happen to me.”

  “I have been told this about you, Hallfröth,” said the king, “that you are not so wise or so gentle in your ways, and I suspect that you may do something which I will under no condition put up with.”

  “Kill me then,”2 said Hallfröth.

  The king said, “A troublesome skald you are, but my man you shall be.”

  Hallfröth replied: “What will you, sir king, give me if you bestow this name of ‘Troublesome Skald’ on me?”3 The king gave him a sword, but one without a scabbard.

  The king said, “Now compose a stanza about this sword, and let the word ‘sword’ occur in every line.” Hallfröth recited this verse:

  (146.)

  163. A sword of swords this, which

  sword-rich now did make me.

  Sword-some will’t now seem to

  sword-bearing brave warriors.

  No worse off for swords were I—

  worth am I three swords now—

  with the sword if, sire,

  seemly sheath be given.

  Thereupon the king gave him a scabbard. From the poems of Hallfröth we have gathered the information and true facts which are told about King Óláf Tryggvason.

  Chapter 84. All Icelanders at the Court Are Baptized

  That same fall Thangbrand the priest arrived from Iceland at 999 King Óláf’s court and told him that his mission had not been so successful, that the Icelanders had composed lampoons about him, and that some had wanted to kill him. He considered it unlikely that that land would ever be Christian. The king became so furiously angry that he had the trumpets sounded to summon all Icelanders then in the town, and said that all were to be killed. But Kjartan, Gizur, and Hjalti, as well as the others who at that time had been baptized, went before the king and said, “You will not want to go back on your word, sir king, because you have been saying that there is no man, however much he has done to provoke your wrath, who will not be pardoned by you if he will let himself be baptized and will give up heathenish ways. Now all Icelanders here are willing to let themselves be baptized; and we shall find ways and means to bring it about that Christianity is accepted in Iceland. There are here many influential men’s sons from Iceland, and their fathers are likely to afford us great help in this matter. But Thangbrand proceeded there, as he did here with you, with overbearing, and committed manslaughter, and people there would not stand for that.” Then the king began to listen to what they had to say. And then all Icelanders who were there were baptized.

  Chapter 85. King Óláf Tryggvason’s Character and Accomplishments

  King Óláf was in all bodily accomplishments the foremost of all the men in Norway of whom we are told. He was stronger and more agile than anyone else, and many stories are told about that. One of these is that he climbed the Smalsarhorn1 and fastened his shield on top of the mountain; and another, that he helped down one of his followers who had before him climbed the mountain, and now could get neither up nor down. The king went up to him and on his arm carried him down to even ground. King Óláf could walk along the oars outside the Serpent while his men rowed. He could juggle with three daggers, with one always up in the air, and he always caught them by the hilt. He wielded his sword equally well with either hand, and hurled two spears at the same time. King Óláf was of a most cheerful disposition and full of fun. He was friendly and affable, impetuous in all matters, exceedingly generous, and a fine dresser. He exceeded everyone in bravery when in battle. When angered he was very cruel, inflicting tortures on his enemies. Some of them he burned with fire, some he let wild dogs tear to pieces, others he had maimed or cast down from high cliffs. For these reasons he was beloved by his friends and feared by his enemies. And he had such success, because some out of friendship and good will did what he wanted done, and some, because of their fear of him.

  Chapter 86. Leif Eiríksson Joins the King’s Court

  Leif, the son of Eirík the Red, the man who first settled in Greenland, had that summer come from Greenland to Norway. He went to the court of King Óláf, received the baptism, and stayed with King Óláf during the winter.

  Chapter 87. K
ing Guthröth Eiríksson Is Slain

  Guthröth, one of the sons of Eirík Bloodyaxe and Gunnhild, had been raiding in the British Islands ever since he fled from Earl Hákon. 999 But this summer of which we have just written, when King Óláf Tryggvason had been ruler of Norway for four years, Guthröth came to Norway with many warships. He had sailed from England; and when he expected to sight land in Norway, he steered south along the land to where there was less chance of meeting King Óláf, and sailed south [east] toward Vík. And as soon as he made land he began to harry and to force people into submission, requiring them to acknowledge him as king. But when the people of the country saw that a large army had descended upon them, they begged for peace and expressed their willingness to come to an agreement. They offered King Guthröth to have an assembly called and rather accept him as king than to suffer the depredations of his army; and there was to be a respite until the assembly could gather.

  Guthröth Eiríksson’s men harry in Vík.

  Then the king demanded a contribution in food for the time until the assembly met. But the farmers preferred to entertain the king as long as he needed it until then. And he accepted that alternative and went about the country, being entertained, together with part of his force, while part of it guarded his ships. But when Hyrning and Thorgeir, King Óláf’s relatives by marriage learned of this, they gathered a force and procured ships and then sailed north to Vík, and one night came to the place where King Guthröth was being entertained. They attacked it with fire and arms; and King Guthröth fell there, together with most of his company. But those of his force who had remained on the ships were either slain or escaped, fleeing every which way. Then all the sons of Eirík and Gunnhild were dead.

  Chapter 88. The Long Serpent Is Defaced and Then Improved by Thorberg

  The winter following, when King Óláf had returned from Hálogaland, he ordered a large ship built underneath the Hlathir Cliffs which was much larger than any other ship then in the country, and the stocks on which it was built still exist and can be seen. Thorberg Skafhogg was the name of the man who fashioned the stem and stern of the ship, but many others were engaged in its building, some fitting the timbers together, some shaping it with their adzes, some riveting the nails, some transporting the timber. All parts were wrought very carefully. The vessel was both long and broad, stood high out of the water, and was constructed of big timbers. And when they were fashioning the gunwales on it, Thorberg was obliged to go home on a necessary errand and stayed there a long time. And when he returned, the ship had bulwarks of full height. In the evening the king straightway went with Thorberg to inspect the ship and see what had been done, and everyone declared that they had never seen a ship as large and handsome. Thereupon the king returned to the town.

  The Long Serpent.

  Early next morning the king again went to the ship together with Thorberg. The workmen had already arrived there, but all stood about and did nothing. The king asked what was the matter. They said that the ship was ruined, that somebody had gone from the stem to the raised afterdeck and had given the uppermost course of the ship’s side one damaging blow after the other. The king then went closer and saw that it was true. Then he spoke at once and vowed that if he found out who because of jealousy had ruined the ship, that man should die. “But he who can tell me who did it shall be handsomely rewarded.”

  Then Thorberg said, “I can tell you, sir king, who did this.”

  “I would not have expected,” said the king, “anyone else to be so lucky as to be able to tell me who did it.”

  “I shall tell you, sir king,” he said, “who has done it. I did it.”

  Then the king said, “In that case you are to repair the ship so that it is as good as before. Your life depends on it.” Then Thorberg went to work with his adze, with the result that all traces of the damage inflicted disappeared. Then the king and all the others declared that the ship looked far better on that side which Thorberg had cut out. Then the king bade him do so on both sides, and offered him thanks for what he had done; whereupon Thorberg was made chief builder until the ship was completed.

  It was constructed as a dragon ship, on the model of the Serpent which the king had taken along from Hálogaland; only it was much larger and more carefully wrought in all respects. He called it the Long Serpent, and the other one, the Short Serpent. The Long Serpent had thirty-four compartments. The head and the tail were all gilt. And the gunwales were as high as those on a seagoing ship. This was the best ship ever built in Norway, and the most costly.

  Chapter 89. Earl Eirík Hákonarson Harries in the Baltic

  Earl Eirík Hákonarson, his brothers, and many other prominent 995 kinsmen of theirs had fled the country after the death of Earl Hákon. Earl Eirík journeyed to Sweden to join the court of Óláf, the king of Sweden, where he was received well. King Óláf gave the earl the freedom of the country and large revenues so he could maintain himself and his men well. This is mentioned by Thórth Kolbeinsson [in these verses]:1

  (147.)

  164. Curber of outlaws! Cut short

  caitiff traitors a little

  while since—harsh is fate oft—

  Hákon’s, thy father’s, life-span,

  what time Tryggvi’s kinsman

  to this land came, which the

  atheling erst had conquered,

  o’er the sea from Westlands.

  (148.)

  165. Much in mind had Eirík—

  more than thought was—’gainst the

  sower-of-wealth: certes,

  such was to be looked for.

  Wrothly sought the Swedish

  sovran’s help—durst none

  hinder that—the Thronders’

  thane. That tribe proved stubborn.

  A great number of people who had fled Norway from King Óláf Tryggvason joined Earl Eirík. Then Earl Eirík determined to procure himself ships and undertake a warlike expedition to obtain property for himself and his company. First he sailed to Gotland, where he lay for a long time during the summer, waylaying merchantmen sailing to land, or vikings. Now and then he went up on land, raiding far and wide along the coast. As is said in the Bandadrápa:2

  (149.)

  166. Hard frays many more the

  mail-clad lord, besides these,

  fought—that have we found out—

  Fray-loving Earl Eirík3—

  he who harried Gotland’s

  hapless shorelands often

  far and wide with fury.

  furthered storm-of-arrows.

  Later on Earl Eirík sailed south to Wendland, and there, before [the headland of] Staur,4 he encountered some viking ships and gave battle to them. Eirík was victorious and slew the vikings. As is told in the Bandadrápa:

  (150.)

  167. His stem-horses at Staur, the

  strengthener of men anchored—

  ordered thus the atheling.

  Eager for the fray, the—5

  Slit the sea-gull-of-wounds,6 at

  sword-contest fierce, men’s

  bodies on island’s edges—

  earl rules land god-warded.

  Chapter 90. Earl Eirík Marries the Daughter of King Svein Forkbeard

  In the following autumn, Earl Eirík returned to Sweden and 997 remained there another winter. But in spring the earl readied his force and sailed into the Baltic. And when he came to the realm of King Valdamar he began to harry and to kill people, and to burn down everything where he went, thus laying the land waste. He reached Aldeigjuborg1 and beleaguered it until he conquered that town, killing many there, and breaking down and burning the entire town. Thereupon he went about Gartharíki, raiding far and wide, as is told in the Bandadrápa:

  (151.)

  168. Waste laid then the warrior—

  waxed battle thereafter—

  Valdamar’s land and lieges

  likewise with sword and fire.

  Didst Aldeigja level,

  dreaded leader—such news<
br />
  heard we for sure—when you

  harried east in Garthar.

  Altogether, Earl Eirík was engaged in these expeditions during five summers. When he left Gartharíki he raided throughout Athalsýsla and Eysýsla,2 where he took four galleys from the Danes and killed all their crews; as is told in the Bandadrápa:

  (152.)

  169. Heard have I how the

  hardy blood-wand3 wielder

  fought in the firth ’twixt islands.

  Fray-loving Earl Eirík—4

  Cleared then of their caitiff

  crews four Danish warships,

  learned we, fiercely fighting.

  —furthered storm-of-arrows.

  (153.)

  170. Battle gave ye ’gainst the

  Gautar, in their stronghold

  afterward ye entered.

  Eager for the fray, the—

  Went the god-of-war5—to

  wights he gave no surcease—

  into all the districts.

  earl rules land god-warded.

  After passing one winter in Sweden Earl Eirík journeyed to Denmark. There he went to the court of Svein Forkbeard, the Danish king, and asked for the hand of Gytha, his daughter; and upon his agreeing to that, Earl Eirík married her. And a year later they had a son who was called Hákon. During the winters Earl Eirík sometimes sojourned in Denmark and sometimes in Sweden, but in summer he went on warlike expeditions.

  Chapter 91. King Svein Forkbeard Marries Sigríth the Haughty

  King Svein of Denmark was married to Gunnhild, a daughter of King Búrizláf of Wendland. But in the times of which we have just written, it happened that Queen Gunnhild took sick and died; and a short time afterwards King Svein married Sigríth the Haughty, the daughter of Skoglar-Tósti and the mother of Óláf, king of Sweden. With these bonds of relationship there came great friendship between the two kings and also with Earl Eirík Hákonarson.