Chapter 92. Princess Thyri Is Wed to Búrizláf But Escapes to Norway and Marries Óláf
Búrizláf, the king of the Wendish, complained to Earl Sigvaldi, his son-in-law; that the agreements had been broken which Earl Sigvaldi had arranged between him [Búrizláf] and King Svein. Búrizláf was to have received in marriage Thyri, daughter of Harald and sister of King Svein; but that union was not effected because Thyri absolutely refused to be married to a heathen king who also was old. Now King Búrizláf told the earl that he would insist on having that agreement kept, and asked the earl to journey to Denmark and bring him Queen Thyri.
Earl Sigvaldi did not put this aside but travelled to the court of Svein, the king of Denmark, and brought this matter up before him; and the earl was so successful in his arguments that King Svein put into his hands his sister Thyri. In her train were some women and her foster father, Ozur Agason, a man of influence, as well as some other men. It was in the agreement between the king and the earl that the properties in Wendland formerly owned by Queen Gunnhild, should pass into the possession of Thyri, together with other large properties which were to be her dowry. Thyri wept bitterly and went most reluctantly. And when the earl and his company arrived in Wendland, King Búrizláf celebrated his marriage with Queen Thyri. But she was among heathens and she would not have any food or drink from them; and this went on for seven days.
But one night Queen Thyri and Ozur escaped to the woods in the darkness of the night. To make a long story short, they got to Denmark. But there Thyri did not dare remain at any price because she knew that if King Svein, her brother, was informed that she was there, he would quickly deport her back to Wendland. So they continued by stealth till they came to Norway, and there Thyri did not stop till she arrived at the court of King Óláf. He made them welcome, and they stayed there and were hospitably entertained.
Thyri told the king about her troubles and asked him for advice and help, requesting that she might stay in his kingdom. Thyri was a well-spoken woman, and the king was pleased with her words. He observed that she was handsome, and bethought himself that she would be a good match. He broached the matter to her and asked whether she would marry him. Now seeing the difficulties she was in and from which she believed it would be very hard to extricate herself; and on the other hand considering how advantageous a match this was, to be married to so noble a king, she asked him to decide for her and [said] that she would follow his advice. And the outcome of their talk was that King Óláf received Queen Thyri in 999 marriage. The celebration of it was held the same fall when the king had returned from Hálogaland in the north.
King Óláf and Queen Thyri dwelled in Nitharós during the 1000 winter. But in the spring following, the queen complained frequently to King Óláf, weeping bitterly, that she had such large possessions in Wendland, whereas she had no property there in Norway as befitted a queen. At times she would beg the king with sweet words to regain her possessions for her, saying that King Búrizláf was so great a friend of King Óláf that he would let King Óláf have all he wanted as soon as they met. But when the friends of King Óláf learned of what she said, they all of them counselled against this undertaking.
We are told that one day early in the spring when the king was walking in the Street, he met a man in the market place who had [for sale] many stalks of angelica1 remarkably large for so early in the spring. The king took along with him a large stalk and went to where resided Queen Thyri. She was sitting in her room and wept when the king entered. The king said, “Look at this large stalk of angelica for you.”
She struck at it with her hand and said, “Larger gifts bestowed Harald Gormsson, and was less afraid to leave his country and redeem his possessions than you are; and that was shown when he came here to Norway and laid waste most of this land and took possession of all revenues from it; but you don’t dare to proceed through the Danish realm for fear of King Svein, my brother.”
At this, King Óláf sprang to his feet and exclaimed in a loud voice, “Never shall I stand in fear of King Svein, your brother; and if ever we meet he shall have to give way.”
Chapter 93. Óláf Readies His Fleet to Retrieve Thyri’s Possessions in Wendland
A short time thereafter King Óláf summoned an assembly in the town, in which he made known to all the people that he would levy men and ships for war in summer from all the country, and that he demanded a contribution to this levy from every district, both in ships and men. And he made known how many ships he wanted from the Trondheim District. Thereupon he sent messengers both north and south along the land, and both along the coast and inland, and summoned troops. He launched the Long Serpent and all other ships he had, both large arid small. He himself steered the Long Serpent. And when men were chosen for the crews, they were so carefully picked that no one on the Long Serpent was to be older than sixty or younger than twenty, and it was a picked crew both as to strength and valor. Chosen were first of all the bodyguard of King Óláf, because it consisted of picked men as to strength and prowess, both Norwegians and foreigners.
Chapter 94. The Crew of the Long Serpent
Ùlf the Red was the name of the man who carried the standard of King Óláf and was forecastleman on the Serpent. Other commanders were Kolbjorn the Marshal, Thorstein Oxfoot, Víkar of Tíundaland, a brother of Arnljót Gellini. The following were in the forepart of the ship: Vak Raumason of Álfheim, Bersi the Strong, Án the Marksman of Jamtaland, Thránd the Strong of Thelamork and his brother Óthyrmir. The following were from Hálogaland: Thránd the Squinter, Ogmund Sandi, Hlothvir the Long from Saltvík, Hárek the Keen. Then these men hailed from the inner reaches of the Trondheimsfjord: Ketil the Tall, Thorfinn Eisli, and Hávarth with his brothers from Orka Dale. The following were in the middle compartment of the vessel: Bjorn of Stuthla, Thorgrím Thjóthólfsson from Hvinir, the foster brothers Ásbjorn and Orm, Thórth from Njartharlog, Thorstein the White of Oprostathir, Arnór of Mœr, Hallstein and Hauk from the Fjord District, Eyvind Snake, Bergthór Bestil, Hallkel of Fjalir, Óláf the Manly, Arnfinn from Sogn, Sigurth Knife, Einar and Finn of Horthaland, Ketil of Rogaland, and Grjótgarth the Brave. In the compartment before the mast (?) were Einar Thambarskelfir—he was not considered to be up to the mark because he was only eighteen—Hallstein Hlífarson, Thórólf, Ívar Smetta, Orm Neck-of-the-Woods. And many other, very eminent men were on the Serpent though we cannot furnish their names. Eight men were in [each] half-compartment in the Serpent, and each one was picked. Thirty men were in the forward compartment. It was said that the select body of men on the Serpent excelled other men in comeliness, strength, and prowess no less than the Serpent did other vessels. Thorkel Nose, the king’s brother, steered the Short Serpent. Thorkel Dyrthil and Jóstein, maternal uncles of the king, were in command of the Crane; and both of these ships were well staffed. King Óláf had eleven large ships from Trondheim, besides twenty-oared and smaller vessels.
Chapter 95. Gizur the White and Hjalti Skeggjason Are Commissioned to Christianize Iceland
Now when King Óláf had his army nearly ready to leave Nitharós, he divided the people in all the districts around the Trondheimfjord into prefectures and stewardships. Then he sent Gizur the White and Hjalti Skeggjason to Iceland to proclaim Christianity there, and with them a 1000 priest called Thormóth and several other ordained men, but kept with him as hostages four Icelanders that seemed to him the noblest: Kjartan Óláfsson, Halldór Guthmundarson, Kolbein Thórtharson, and Sverting Rúnólfsson. And we are told about the mission of Gizur and Hjalti that they arrived in Iceland before the meeting of the Althing and journeyed to the assembly; and at this assembly Christianity was adopted in Iceland by law, and all the people were baptized.
Chapter 96. Leif Eiríksson Is Sent to Convert the Greenlanders
That same spring King Óláf commissioned Leif Eiríksson to Greenland to preach Christianity there, and he sailed there that summer. At sea he rescued the crew who were marooned on a wreck; and on the same journey he discovered
Wineland the Good. He arrived in Greenland in the summer, and in his company were a priest and some clerics. He went to stay in Brattahlíth with Eirík, his father. People afterwards called him Leif the Fortunate. But his father Eirík said that the two things balanced each other—that Leif had rescued that crew and that he had brought the hypocrite to Greenland. By that he meant the priest.
Chapter 97. King Óláf Sails to Wendland
King Óláf proceeded south along the land with his fleet. Then he was joined by many friends of his, powerful men who were ready to go with the king on his expedition. The first among them was his brother-in-law, Erling Skjálgsson, with the large man-of-war he owned. It had thirty rowers’ benches, and its crew was a select one. The king was joined also by his relatives, Hyrning and Thorgeir, each of whom steered a large ship. Many other men of power followed him. When he left Norway he had sixty warships, and with them he sailed south through the Eyrar Sound past Denmark, and arrived in Wendland, where he arranged for a meeting with King Búrizláf. When the kings met they discussed the possessions King Óláf laid claim to, and all went amicably between them, and there was promptness shown about agreeing to the claims King Óláf preferred. King Óláf remained long there during the summer and met many of his friends.
Chapter 98. The Alliance between King Svein Forkbeard, King Óláf of Sweden, and Earl Eirík
As was written above, King Svein Forkbeard had married Sigríth the Haughty. Sigríth was King Óláf’s bitterest enemy, because King Óláf had broken the agreement with her and had slapped her face, as was written above. She constantly incited King Svein to wage war against King Óláf Tryggvason, saying that sufficient reason for that was having shared Thyri’s, King Svein’s sister’s, bed “without asking your permission; nor would your forebears have stood for that.” Such pleadings Queen Sigríth often made, and succeeded so well that King Svein was persuaded to follow her advice. And early in spring King Svein sent messengers east to Sweden to the court of Óláf, king of Sweden, his stepson, and Earl Eirík, informing them that Óláf, king of Norway, had called out an army and intended to sail to Wendland in the summer. The messengers furthermore were charged to request the Swedish king and Earl Eirík to levy troops and with them join King Svein, when they all together were to give battle to King Óláf. The king of Sweden and the earl were quite ready to join this enterprise. They gathered a large fleet in Sweden and with it sailed south to Denmark, arriving there after King Óláf had sailed east [south]. Halldór the Unchristened1 mentions this in the poem he composed about Earl Eirík:
(154.)
171. South from Sweden Óláf
summoned mighty forces.
Swiftly the kings’-cower2
came, eager for battle.
Willingly would all the
wielders-of-steel-blue-broadswords—
gorged the gulls-of-fray3 on
gore—then follow Eirík.
The king of Sweden and Earl Eirík proceeded to join the Danish king, and then they altogether had an immense army.
Chapter 99. Earl Sigvaldi’s Treachery
After summoning his army King Svein sent Earl Sigvaldi to reconnoiter about the movements of King Óláf Tryggvason and to contrive to bring about an encounter between him, King Svein, and King Óláf Tryggvason. So Earl Sigvaldi betook himself to Wendland and to Jómsborg, where he sought out King Óláf Tryggvason. Much friendship was shown between the two, and the earl managed to win the king’s confidence. Ástríth, the wife of the earl and daughter of King Búrizláf, was a great friend of King Óláf [Tryggvason], chiefly because of their former relationship, when King Óláf had as wife her sister, Queen Geira. Earl Sigvaldi was a shrewd and resourceful man. And as he came to know the plans of King Óláf, he managed to delay his sailing west [north] with a great number of reasons. But the troops of King Óláf chafed much at that—they wanted to return home, and lay there all ready to sail, with a favorable breeze to be expected. Earl Sigvaldi secretly received the message from Denmark that the fleet of the Danish king had arrived from the east [? west], that Earl Eirík also had readied his forces, and that these chieftains were about to approach Wendland from the east. It was agreed between them that they were to await the coming of King Óláf near the island called Svolth,1 and that the earl [Sigvaldi] was to manage it so that they would encounter King Óláf there.
Chapter 100. King Óláf with His Fleet Leaves Wendland
Then a rumor spread in Wendland that King Svein of Denmark had mustered an army, and there was a report that he intended to encounter King Óláf in battle. But Earl Sigvaldi said to the king, “It cannot be the intention of King Svein to enter into battle with you with only the Danish fleet, considering the large force you have here. But if you entertain any suspicion of hostilities against you, I shall join you with my fleet; and it has always hitherto been regarded as a point of main strength to have Jómsvíkings supporting the troops of chieftains. I shall provide you with eleven well-manned ships” The king agreed to that. A light and fair breeze was blowing. Then the king gave the order to cast off the cables and to give the trumpet signal for departure. Then the sails were hoisted. The smaller vessels made better headway and sailed out to sea leaving the others behind.
The earl kept near the king’s ship and called out to them, asking the king to follow his lead. “I know exactly,” he said, “where it is deepest in the straits between the islands, and you may require that for those large ships of yours.” Then Earl Sigvaldi headed the fleet with his ships. He had eleven ships, and the king followed in his wake with his large ships. He also had eleven ships. But all the rest of his fleet had sailed out to sea. Now when Earl Sigvaldi approached Svolth from seaward a skiff came rowing toward them. Men on it told the earl that the fleet of the king of Denmark was moored in the harbor close by. Then the earl lowered the sails on his ships and they rowed up to the island. As Halldór the Unchristened says:
(155.)
172. With seventy sails and one then
sailed the long-ship’s-steerer1
from the south—his sword the
sovran reddened, battling—
since the sea-steeds’-reiner2
summoned ships from Skáney—
broken were oaths that bound them
both—to aid in combat.
Here we are told that King Óláf and Earl Sigvaldi had seventy-one ships when they proceeded from the south.
Chapter 101. The Allies Watch the Approach of Óláf’s Fleet
Svein, the king of the Danes, Óláf, the king of the Swedes, and Earl Eirík were at that place then, with their combined forces. It was fair weather with bright sunshine. All the chieftains now went up on the island, together with some bodies of men. They saw very many ships out at sea, and presently they saw a large and handsome ship sailing along. Then both kings said, “That is a large ship and a mighty beautiful one. That is likely to be the Long Serpent.” Earl Eirík answered that this was not the Long Serpent; nor was it. It belonged to Eindrithi of Grimsar.
A short time afterwards they saw another ship which was much larger than the first. Then King Svein said, “Afraid is Óláf Tryggvason now, since he dares not sail with the dragon head fastened on his ship.”
Then Earl Eirík replied, “This is not the king’s ship. I know that ship and its sail, because it is striped. It is Erling Skjálgson’s. Let it sail on. It is better for us to have a hole and gap in King Óláf’s fleet than [to fight] that ship which is so well outfitted.”
A while after they saw and recognized Earl Sigvaldi’s ships, and they steered toward the island where they were. Then they saw three ships come sailing, one of them a large vessel. Then King Svein bade his men go on board his ships, saying that this was the Long Serpent. But Earl Eirík said, “They have many other large and stately vessels beside the Long Serpent. Let us wait still.”
Then a great many exclaimed, “Earl Eirík does not want to fight now and avenge his father. It is a big shame, which will be noised abroad, that
we lie here with such a large fleet and let King Óláf sail out to sea right past us.”
And when they had talked about that for a while, they saw four ships come sailing, one of them a huge dragonship, all ornamented with gold. Then King Svein arose and said, “On high the Serpent is going to bear me this evening. That ship I mean to steer.” Then many said that the Serpent was a marvelous, big, and handsome ship, and that it was a grand thing to have so beautiful a ship built.
Then Earl Eirík said in the hearing of several men, “Even though King Óláf did not have any bigger ships than that one, King Svein would never get it away from him with the Danish fleet alone.”
The allied kings see Óláf Tryggvason’s ships sail by.
Then the crews hurried to the ships and removed the ship awnings. But while the chieftains were talking about this, as put down above, they saw three huge ships come sailing, and a fourth one last, and that was the Long Serpent. But as to the other two ships which had sailed past and which they thought were the Long Serpent, the first of them was the Crane, and the next, the Short Serpent. But when they saw the Long Serpent, they all recognized it, and no one contradicted that on it sailed Óláf Tryggvason.1 They boarded their ships and made ready for the attack.
It was agreed among the chieftains—King Svein, King Óláf, and Earl Eirík—that each one was to have a third of Norway if they cut down King Óláf Tryggvason, and that he who first boarded the Serpent was to have all the booty to be got on it; also, that each of them was to have the ships they themselves cleared of their crews. Earl Eirík owned a mighty big ship which he was accustomed to take on his viking expeditions. It had a beak [or ram] on the upper part of the prow, fore and aft, and below that heavy iron plates as broad as the beak itself, which went down to the waterline.
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