Heimskringla

by Snorri Sturluson

  264. Let your hirth give hearing

  how, wielder-of-power,

  out of word-hoard, of hardships

  rehearsed are these verses.

  From the swan’s-road8 to Sweden

  set I out, and little

  sleep I had since, riding

  ceaselessly to eastward.

  But when he was speaking with the king, he spoke this verse:

  (76.)

  265. I clung fast, king, as I

  came at last to famous

  Earl Rognvald, to my errands

  all, thy words recalling.

  In his demesne and manor

  many a time with the thane I

  held converse: he’s beholden

  wholly to thee, Óláf.

  (77.)

  266. “Thou shalt,” said he, “shelt’ring,

  shield them who, wielder-

  of-Norway’s-power, come near you

  anon, sent by Rognvald.

  And likewise, belike if,

  Lister’s-king, to eastward

  o’er the main at thy commanding

  men shall fare to Rognvald.”9

  (78.)

  267. Thy false friends from elsewhere

  folk-warder, aye spoke of

  turning traitor to Norway,

  as, trothless, Eirík’s kin urged them.

  To tell the truth: not well couldst

  retain the land from Svein which thou tookst, if so forsook thee

  the son of Úlf,10 for money!

  (79.)

  268. The son of Úlf, King Óláf,

  said that he was ready

  to mediate ’twixt you speedily,

  mighty one, with troth plighted:

  mayhap to settle matters

  if minded and inclined to

  forgive and forget, fore’er, all

  grievances, thou thieves’-foe.

  11 Toward winter the skald Sigvat with two companions left Borg and travelled east through the Forest District and so to Gautland; and on this journey people often shut their door upon them. One evening he came to three farmers, and they all drove him away. Afterwards Sigvat the Skald composed the Verses on a Journey to the East about his experiences.

  Sigvat the Skald arrived at Rognvald’s residence and was hospitably entertained there for a long time. After a while he learned through letters from Princess Ingigerth that emissaries of King Jarizleif12 from Hólmgarth in the east had come to Óláf, the king of Sweden, to ask Ingigerth, his daughter, in marriage for Jarizleif; and also, that King Óláf had taken to that proposal in a most enthusiastic fashion.

  It was at this time that Ástríth, daughter of King Óláf [of Sweden], came to the court of Earl Rognvald. Then a great banquet was made [in her honor]. Sigvat soon became acquainted with the princess. She knew about him and his family, because the skald Óttar, Sigvat’s nephew, had long been a favorite of King Óláf of Sweden. They had many conversations together. Earl Rognvald asked whether King Óláf of Norway might be inclined to have Ástríth in marriage. “And if he is,” he said, “then I wager that for that marriage we will not need the consent of the king of Sweden.” And Princess Ástríth was of the same opinion.

  Following this, Sigvat and his companions returned and arrived in Borg at the king’s court shortly before Yule. Sigvat immediately told King Óláf the news which he had heard. At first, the king was very dejected when Sigvat told him about King Jarizleif’s suit. He said that he had suspected only ill from the Swedish king—“if only we can repay him so he will remember it!”

  But as time wore on, the king asked Sigvat much about affairs in Gautland, and Sigvat told him much about the beauty and cleverness of Princess Ástríth and that everybody there said she was in no wise inferior to her sister Ingigerth. The king listened to that with pleasure. Sigvat related to him all the conversations he had had with Ástríth, and the king liked all that very well and observed, “The king of Sweden will hardly imagine that I would dare to marry his daughter without his consent.” But they did not talk about this matter to others, though King Óláf and Skald Sigvat frequently discussed it. The king asked Sigvat particularly what he knew about Earl Rognvald and “how is he disposed toward us?” Sigvat assured him that the earl was a most faithful friend of King Óláf. Then Sigvat spoke this verse:

  (80.)

  269. Fast shalt, hero, hold with

  him, and shoulder to shoulder

  stand; for to aid thee, always

  Earl Rognvald bestirs him,

  working for thy welfare,

  war-lord, night and day eke.

  Thy best friend in the east he’s

  been, all by the green sea.

  After the Yule festival Thórth Skotakoll, the nephew of Skald 1019 Sigvat, and one of Sigvat’s pages secretly departed from the king’s court and journeyed east to Gautland. Both had in the preceding fall journeyed there with Sigvat. And when they arrived at the court of the earl they showed him the tokens Sigvat and he had agreed on when departing. They also produced those tokens which King Óláf himself had sent the earl in confidence. Thereupon immediately the earl set out, together with Princess Ástríth. They had with them nearly a hundred [120] picked men of the earl’s retinue and the sons of influential farmers; and their equipment was most magnificent, both as to weapons, garments, and horses. They rode north to Sarpsborg in Norway, arriving there at Candlemas (February 2).

  Chapter 92. King Óláf Celebrates His Marriage with Ástríth

  There, King Óláf had made all preparations. The choicest beverages obtainable were held ready, and everything else was of the best. He had also summoned to his court many men of influence from the [surrounding] districts. And when the earl arrived there with his company, the king made him most welcome. They were given roomy and good quarters, with excellent furnishings and with servants and others who saw to it that nothing was lacking which could contribute to the festivities. And when these had lasted several days, the king, the earl, and the princess conferred together, and as a result they came to the decision that Earl Rognvald betrothed Ástríth, the daughter of Óláf, king of Sweden, to Óláf, king of Norway, with the same dowry as had been agreed upon for her sister Ingigerth. And the king was to furnish Ástríth with the same bridal gifts as had been promised her sister Ingigerth. Thereupon the festivities were continued with the marital banquet of King Óláf and Queen Ástríth, celebrated with the greatest pomp; whereupon Earl Rognvald returned to Gautland. At their parting the king presented the earl with great and noble gifts, and this close friendship persisted during the life of both men.

  Chapter 93. Princess Ingigerth Marries King Jarizleif

  In the following fall the emissaries of King Jarizleif came to Sweden out of Hólmgarth in the east. Their errand was to claim the fulfilment of the agreement made by King Óláf [of Sweden] in the preceding summer to give his daughter Ingigerth in marriage to Jarizleif. She made this answer, “If I am to marry King Jarizleif, then I demand as my bridal gift Aldeigjuborg Castle and the earldom belonging to it.” The emissaries from Gartharíki assented to this on behalf of their king. Then Ingigerth said, “If I am to go east to Gartharíki, then I shall choose a man from Sweden whom I judge most suitable to go with me. I shall also make the condition that there in the east he is to have a rank not lower than here and in particular no fewer rights or a lesser dignity than he has here.” The king as well as the emissaries assented to this. The king pledged himself to do so, and the emissaries likewise. Then the king asked Ingigerth whom in his kingdom she wanted to have go with her. She replied, “It is my kinsman, Earl Rognvald Úlfsson.”

  The king answered, “I have decided to repay Earl Rognvald in different coin for the treason against his king, going as he did to Norway with my daughter and giving her as a concubine to that fat man, whom he knew to be our greatest enemy; and for that he shall hang this summer.”

  Ingigerth requested her father to keep the pledge he had given her; and she achieved by her entreaties t
hat the king agreed to let Rognvald depart in peace out of Sweden, but not ever to show himself to him or return to Sweden while he, Óláf, was king. Thereupon Ingigerth sent messengers to the earl, informing him of this agreement and appointing a place of meeting with her. And the earl set out straightway for East Gautland, where he procured ships and proceeded with his retinue to where he was to meet Princess Ingigerth. Then they all together journeyed east to Gartharíki in the summer. Then Ingigerth was married to King Jarizleif. Their sons were Valdamar, Vissivald,1 and Holti the Bold. Queen Ingigerth bestowed on Earl Rognvald the castle of Aldeigjuborg and the earldom belonging to it. Earl Rognvald lived there for a long time. He was a man of great renown. The sons of Earl Rognvald and Ingibjorg were Earls Úlf and Eilíf.

  Chapter 94. Earl Emund’s Parables

  There was a man from Skara called Emund. He was the lawspeaker in West Gautland and a man of great shrewdness and eloquence. He was of noble origin, had many kinsmen, and was very rich. He was considered a guileful person and not to be relied on. He was the most powerful man in West Gautland after the earl had left. Now in the spring, when 1019 Earl Rognvald had departed, the Gautar held an assembly and there they frequently discussed what the king of Sweden might intend [concerning them]. They were informed that he was angry with them for having befriended King Óláf of Norway, rather than be at odds with him. Also, he made accusations against those who had accompanied his daughter Ástríth to Norway. Some were of the opinion that they should seek the support of the king of Norway and offer him their services. Others warned, saying that the West Gautar did not have the power to contend with the Swedes. “But the king of Norway is too far removed,” they said, “because his chief resources are at a great distance from us. It will be wiser for us to send men to the king of Sweden and try to reach some agreement with him. But if we can’t attain that, then we can have recourse to seek the support of the king of Norway.”

  Then the farmers requested Emund to go on this mission, and he assented, and with thirty men journeyed till he came to East Gautland. Many of his kinsmen and friends lived there. He was well received there and talked with the wisest men about the trouble they were in. And all were agreed that the way the king behaved toward them was against all law and decency. Thereafter Emund journeyed to Sweden [proper] and there discussed the matter with many men of influence, and they came to the same conclusion. He continued on his journey until one day at evening he arrived in Uppsala. There they took good lodgings and stayed overnight.

  The next day Emund sought an audience with the king as he sat at a meeting with a great many men about him. Emund went before him, bowed, and saluted him. The king looked at him, greeted him, and asked him about news.

  Emund replied, “The news from us Gautar is of but little importance. But this we consider news that Atti the Fool from Vermaland this winter went up into the forest on his skis and with his bow. Him we consider a great hunter. In the mountains he gathered so many squirrel pelts that he had filled his ski sled with as many as he could drag after him, and then he returned from the woods. Then he saw a squirrel up in a tree. He shot at it but missed it. Then he grew furious. He abandoned the sled and ran after the squirrel. But the squirrel always jumped to where the woods were thickest, sometimes it went among the roots of the trees, sometimes up into the branches, and then it would sail between the branches to another tree. And when Atti shot at it, the arrow would fly too high or too low; but he never lost sight of that squirrel. He became so intent on this chase that he hunted the squirrel all day long, but never did bag it. And when it began to grow dark he threw himself down on the snow, as he was accustomed to, and lay there during the night. Then there came a snowstorm. Next day Atti went to look for his ski sled. But he never found it again and so returned home empty-handed. This is my news, sire.”

  The king said, “Small news this, if there is not more to tell.”

  Emund replied, “Something else happened a short time ago which might be called news. It is that Gauti Tófason proceeded down the Gaut Elf River with five warships; and when he lay before the Eikrey Islands, five big Danish merchantmen appeared. Gauti and his men quickly conquered four of the ships without losing a man and gathered a lot of booty; but the fifth ship escaped out to sea and got up sail. Gauti gave chase with one ship and at first began to gain on them. But then the wind got stronger, and the merchant ship then went faster and disappeared out at sea. Then Gauti wanted to return, but a storm came on, and he suffered shipwreck at Hlésey Island, losing all his property and the greater part of his crew. Meanwhile his companions were to wait for him in the Eikrey Islands. Then the Danes came at them with fifteen merchantmen, killed them all, and took all the goods they had gotten before. Thus their greed was repaid.”

  The king said, “This is important news and worth telling. But what is your errand here?”

  Emund replied, “I come, sire, to seek a solution of the difficulties arising through our laws differing from the Uppsala laws.”

  The king asked, “What is it you want to complain about?”

  Emund said, “There were two men, of noble family, of equal birth but not equal as to property and disposition. They quarreled about lands, and each did damage to the other, and most he who was the more powerful of the two, until their quarrel was settled and judged in the general assembly. Then he who was the most powerful had to pay a fine. And as a first payment he substituted a gosling for a goose, a pig for a hog, and instead of a mark of burnt gold he paid out half a mark of gold and the other half in clay and mud, besides threatening retribution on him who got this payment for his debt. How would you judge this case, sire?”

  The king replied, “Let him pay in full what he was ordered to, and threefold to his king. And if that is not paid within the year he is to leave all his possessions as an outlaw, half his property going to the royal coffers, half to him whom he was to repay.”

  Emund submitted this decision to all those men there who were of the greatest influence, and referred it to the laws valid at the Uppsala Assembly. Thereupon he saluted the king and went his way. Then others brought their complaints before the king, and he sat till late in the day, adjudicating their affairs. But when he sat down at table he asked what had become of Emund the Lawspeaker. He was told that he was in his lodgings. Then the king said: “Fetch him, he is to be my guest today.”

  Then delicacies were brought in, and after that there came in jesters with harps and fiddles and other musical instruments, and then drinks were served. The king was in a most cheerful mood and had many eminent men as his guests, and had quite forgotten about Emund. The king drank during the remainder of the day, then slept the night through. But in the morning, when he awoke, he remembered what Emund had spoken of the day before. And when he was clad, he had his advisers summoned. King Óláf had about him twelve of the wisest men who, together with him, sat in judgment about difficult matters, though that was not easy since the king was ill-pleased if the judgments were not according to justice;1 and it was useless to contradict him. When they were met, the king spoke and bade Emund the Lawspeaker to be called there. His messenger returned and said, “Sire, Emund the Lawspeaker rode away yesterday as soon as he had eaten.”

  Then the king said, “Tell me, good chieftains, what was the meaning of the legal question Emund put to me?”

  They answered: “Sire, you will probably have found out by yourself if he meant something else than he said.”

  The king said, “The two men of noble extraction he talked about who had been at odds, one being the more powerful, and each inflicting damage on the other, by them he meant me and Óláf the Stout.”

  They replied, “So it is, sire, exactly as you said.”

  The king said, “A decision was made at the Uppsala Assembly in the matter between us. But what was his meaning when he said that unfair payment was made in giving a gosling for a goose, a pig for a hog, and half clay for gold?”

  Arnvith the Blind answered, “My lord, red gold and c
lay are most unlike, but there is more difference than that between a king and a thrall. You promised Óláf the Stout your daughter Ingigerth. She is of royal birth in all her kin and of Uppland Swedish lineage, which is noblest of all in the North, for it is descended from the very gods. But Óláf has now married Ástríth; but though she is a king’s child, her mother is a servant maid, and Wendish at that. There is a great difference between two kings when one of them is content with such a deal and is grateful for it. Now it is only to be expected that a Norwegian is not the equal of an Uppsala king. Let us all be thankful that this is acceptable, for the gods have for a long time taken much loving care of their favorites though there now be men who are negligent in their belief in them.”

  They were three brothers: Arnvith the Blind, his eyesight was so poor that he was scarcely able to bear arms, though he was a most valiant man. The second was Thorvith the Stammerer, he could not manage to say two words together, but was an exceedingly bold and determined man. The third was Freyvith the Deaf, he was hard of hearing. They all were powerful and wealthy men, of noble race, wise, and much respected by the king.

  Then the king said, “What could be the meaning of what Emund said about Atti the Foolish?” No one gave answer, each looking at the other. The king said, “Come now, say it!”

  Then Thorvith the Stammerer said, “Atti: quarrelsome, covetous, malicious; dœlskr: foolish.”2

  Then the king said, “At whom is this insult aimed?”

  Then said Freyvith the Deaf, “Sire, people would speak more plainly if you gave them your permission.”

  The king said, “Go on then, Freyvith, you have my permission.”

  Then Freyvith spoke as follows: “My brother Thorvith, who is called the wisest of us, says that all this—Atti and quarrelsome, dœlskr and foolish—refers to one and the same person. He calls him so who is so weary of peace that he covets trumperies, without getting them, while passing up matters of great importance. Now I am to be sure deaf; still so many have spoken out that I can readily perceive that both men of power and commoners are displeased with your not keeping your promise given to the king of Norway and, worse still, your going back on the decision rendered by all the people at the Uppsala Assembly. You will not need to fear either the king of Norway or the king of Denmark, or anyone else, as long as the Swedish army will follow you; but if all the people with one accord turn against you, then we, your friends, can see no help that will avail you.”