Thránd decried the deed; still he offered compensation for his kinsmen. Leif and Gilli took up the action [because of the slaying of Karl], and nothing came of the compensation [by money payment]. Sigurth was declared outlaw for the wound inflicted on Gilli’s man, and so were Thórth and Gaut, for the slaying of Karl. The Norwegians got ready the ship in which they had come with Karl and sailed east to report to King Óláf what had happened …1 but nothing came of that because of the hostilities which at that time had arisen in Norway and of which we shall tell presently. And that is the end of the story about King Óláf’s demanding tribute from the Faroes. But there arose hostilities in the Faroes after the slaying of Karl of Mœr between the kinsmen of Thránd of Gata, on the one hand, and Leif Ozurarson on the other, concerning which there exist long accounts.2
Chapter 144. The King Proceeds South along the Land with His Fleet
But now we shall tell about the happenings touched on before, namely King Óláf’s sailing with his fleet after having ordered a levy from the land. All the landed-men from the north were with him except Einar Thambarskelfir. He had remained quietly at home on his estates ever since his return, and did not serve the king. Einar had immense possessions and maintained a magnificent standard of living even though he did not have any revenues from the king. With this fleet Óláf steered south around Cape Stath. There he was joined by a large force from the [various] districts. At the time, King Óláf had the ship which he had caused to be built the preceding winter. It was called Visund [Bison], and was a huge ship. As its figurehead it had the head of a bison, all gilded. The skald Sigvat makes mention of it [in this verse]:
(88.)
277. Bore—its beak, with red gold
burnished—his noble warship,
Serpent the Long, the unswerving
son of Tryggvi1 to battle.
Another ship did Óláf,2
oaken-planked and gold-dight
launch—the waves oft washed hard
Vísund’s horns—on seashore.
Then the king sailed south to Horthaland. He learned that Erling Skjálgsson had left the country with a large force and four or five ships. He himself had a large galley, and his sons, three ships of twenty rowers’ benches each, and they had sailed west to join Knút the Powerful. King Óláf then proceeded east [south] along the land with a huge force. He made inquiries whether people knew anything about the plans of Knút the Powerful. They all knew that he was in England. However, King Óláf was told also that Knút had ordered a levy and intended to proceed to Norway. But because King Óláf had a large force and he could not obtain certain information where he should sail for an encounter with Knút, and also because his men considered it unwise to tarry in one spot with so large an army, he came to the decision to steer his fleet south to Denmark; and on that expedition he had with him all that force which he considered most warlike and best equipped, and gave the others leave to return home, as we are told in this verse:
(89.)
278. With shaven oars Óláf
urges Vísund southward.
Cleaves the king of Sweden
crashing waves to northward.
Now then that part of his force returned home which he considered would give him the least reliable support. [After it had left] King Óláf had with him a large and well-equipped force. Composing it were most landed-men in Norway, excepting those who, as was said before, had left the country or had remained at home on their estates.
Chapter 145. King Óláf and King Onund Ravage Denmark
With this fleet King Óláf sailed to Denmark, steering to Seeland, 1027 and when he arrived there he began to harry as soon as he came ashore. The people of the country were robbed, some killed, some taken prisoner, tied up, and brought to the ships. All fled who could, and there was no resistance. King Óláf ravaged the country thoroughly. Now when in Seeland, he was informed that King Onund Óláfsson had ordered a levy and with a large force was sailing around Scania from the east and was harrying there. It was evident now what plans he and King Onund had made, the time they lay at anchor in the [Gaut Elf] River and had agreed on a pact and mutual friendship; in effect, to resist King Knút. King Onund proceeded on his way till he met his brother-in-law, King Óláf. And when they met they announced, both to their forces and the people of the country, that they intended to subject Denmark to their rule, and they requested the people of the country to receive them [as kings]. And as often is the case when the people of a country are exposed to harrying and find no support for making resistance, most of them assented to all the conditions laid upon them in order to buy peace for themselves. So it came that many swore allegiance to the kings and submitted to them. They proceeded to subject the country far and wide to their rule or else they ravaged it. The skald Sigvat makes mention of this warfare in the drápa he composed about Knút the Powerful:
(90.)
279. Was Knút under heaven—1
Heard I have that
Harald’s scion2 was
hardy in battle.
South o’er the sea
sailed his dragons
Óláf, the earls’
overlord mighty.
(91.)
280. Carry the king2
keel-horses southward
with bellying sails
to Seeland’s plain.
Onund another
army brings up
on great galleys
‘gainst the Danish.
Chapter 146. King Knút Assembles a Great Fleet
King Knút had learned, west in England, that Óláf, king of Norway, had called for a levy; also that he had sailed to Denmark with that large fleet and that there were hostilities in his dominions. Then Knút began to assemble a force. Soon a large army and a multitude of ships gathered together. Earl Hákon was second in command over his force. The skald Sigvat that summer arrived in England from Rútha [Rouen] in Valland to the west [south], together with a man called Berg. They had made a trading voyage there the preceding summer. Sigvat composed the flokk which is named Vestrfararvísur [Verses on a Journey to the West] whose beginning is as follows:
(92.)
281. Berg, we remember many a
morning how I fast made
in Rúthaborg roadstead,
riding there at anchor.
Now when Sigvat arrived in England, he went at once to the court of King Knút, intending to request permission to journey to Norway. King Knút had issued an embargo on all merchant ships until he had equipped his force. Now when Sigvat arrived at the court, he went to the building in which the king resided. He found it barred, and stood outside for a long time. But when he got to speak with the king, he was given the permission to recite his poem as he had requested. Then he recited this verse:
(93.)
282. Outside, asking, stood I
ere that—was the house door
locked—I was given leave to
lay my case before him;
when inside the hall, the
high-born lord of Denmark—
byrnie I often bore in
battle—granted my wishes.
But when Sigvat became aware that King Knút was preparing to go to war against King Óláf, and when he knew how great was the force King Knút had, then he spoke this verse:
(94.)
283. His whole force has Knút out,
Hákon eke: they threaten
our liege’s life and kingdom—
loath would be his passing.
Keep thee, king, to the mountains:
Knút and the earls won’t like that:
on the fells their fight would be
fairer, once he ’scaped hence.
Sigvat composed still other verses about the expedition of Knút and Hákon. He also recited this verse:
(95.)
284. Terms to make between them
toiled the noble earl oft,
with Óláf arguing ’gainst
agèd yeomen sharply.
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Heads they hewed off more than
Hákon—great is Eirík’s
kin—could cause them not to
clash again in fury.1
Chapter 147. King Knút Arrives in Denmark
Knút the Powerful had got his army ready to depart from the country. He had a tremendous force and huge ships. He himself had a dragon ship so large that there were sixty rowers’ benches in it. It had gilded figureheads. Earl Hákon had another dragon ship, with forty rowers’ benches. It also had a gilded figurehead, and the sails on both ships had stripes of blue, red, and green. All their ships were painted above the water line, and all their equipment was of the best. They had many other ships, large and well equipped. The skald Sigvat mentions this in his Knút’s drápa:
(96.)
285. Was Knút under heaven.
Heard from the east
the Danes’ keen-eyed
king [of warfare].
From westward wended
well-rigged galleys,
the atheling bearing,
Æthelred’s foe.
(97.)
286. And bore in the breeze
blue sails on yards
the dauntless sovran’s
dragons aloft.
From the west coming,
the keel-stags sailed,
lashed by storms, to
Limfjord’s shorelands.
We are here told that King Knút led this large fleet east from England and arrived with all his force intact in Denmark and anchored in the Limfjord. There they found a great gathering of people of the country.
Chapter 148. Hortha-Knút Renounces His Royal Title
Earl Úlf, the son of Sprakalegg had been appointed to defend Denmark while King Knút was in England; and the king had entrusted to Earl Úlf his son, whose name was Hortha-Knút. That was in the preceding summer, as was set down before. But the earl straightway alleged that, when they parted, King Knút had indicated his will that the Danes were to take HorthaKnút, his son, as king over the Danish dominions.
“He entrusted him to us for that purpose. Both I,” he said, “and many other chieftains and leaders of this country have frequently complained to King Knút that people thought it dangerous to be here without a king, seeing that former Danish rulers considered they had their hands full just being kings of Denmark. But in the olden days there were many kings over this realm. Yet [governing it] presents more difficulty now than before, because heretofore we have been so fortunate as to be spared the attacks of foreign potentates, whereas now we hear that the king of Norway plans to invade us, and we suspect that the king of Sweden may join him in such an attempt. And King Knút is in England now.”
And then the earl presented a letter bearing the seal of King Knút, confirming what he had stated. Many other chieftains supported him in this matter. And what with the pleadings of all of them, the people decided at this same assembly to elect Hortha-Knút king. It was Queen Emma who had been the originator of this plan, and it was she who had had this letter written and sealed, having obtained the king’s seal by trickery. But he himself knew nothing about all this.
Now when Hortha-Knút and Earl Úlf were informed that King Óláf had come from Norway in the north with a large fleet, they proceeded to Jutland, because there is the center of greatest strength in the Danish dominions. They sent out the war-arrows and called together a great army. But when they learned that the king of Sweden had also arrived with an army, they considered they did not have a sufficient force to do battle with both. Then they kept the army they had gathered in Jutland [in readiness], intending to defend that part of the land against the kings. Their whole fleet they stationed in the Limfjord, and thus they waited for the arrival of King Knút. And when they learned that King Knút had come to the Limfjord from the west, they sent messengers to him as well as to Queen Emma, asking her to find out whether or no the king had taken amiss [what they had done] and to let them know.
The queen spoke with the king about the matter. She said that Hortha-Knút, their son, would make amends for it according to the king’s pleasure, in case he had contravened his intentions. The king answered, saying that Hortha-Knút had not done this on his own initiative. “It has gone,” he said, “just as might have been expected, since he who is still a child, and foolish, wanted to be called king; and then when difficulties arose there was danger that all the country might be overrun and subjected by foreign leaders unless our army came to their rescue. Now if he wants to arrive at a reconciliation with me, then let him come to me and lay down that empty title and this letting himself be called king.”
These same words the queen sent to Hortha-Knút, together with her prayer not to tarry about coming. She added that, as was indeed the case, he would not get any support to oppose his father.
Now when this message came to Hortha-Knút he sought the advice of the earl and other chieftains he had with him. But it was quickly apparent that so soon as the people of the land learned that Knút the Old had arrived, all the men of the countryside joined his colors, considering that in him lay all their security. Earl Úlf and those with him perceived that they had only two alternatives: either, to go to the king and submit to his decision, or else, to flee the country. But all urged Hortha-Knút to go to meet his father; and so he did. And when they met, he knelt down to his father and laid the seal, which went with the royal title, in his lap. King Knút took Hortha-Knút by the hand and assigned him a seat as high as that which he had had before. Earl Úlf sent his son Svein to the royal court—he was the son of Knút’s sister. He sought quarter for his father and pleaded for a reconciliation with the king, offering to stay with him as a hostage for his father. Svein and Hortha-Knút were of the same age. King Knút sent word to the earl, commanding him to collect his army and his ships and join the forces of the king. They would discuss a reconciliation afterwards. The earl did so.
Chapter 149. King Óláf Prepares a Stratagem
Now when King Óláf and King Onund learned that King Knút had arrived from the west with an unconquerable force, they sailed east around Scania, harrying and burning the countryside, then proceeded eastward around the land toward the realm of the king of Sweden. But as soon as the people [in Denmark] learned that King Knút had come from the west, they would hear of no more submission to the kings. The skald Sigvat makes mention of this:
(98.)
287. The twain brave kings
could not ever
subdue stubborn
Denmark by war.
Then scathe much did
in Scania’s plains
the foe of Danes.
foremost of princes.
Thereupon the two kings steered east along the land and cast anchor by a river called Áin Helga [Helgeå, “Holy River”], and remained there for a while. When they learned that King Knút was pursuing them with his fleet, they took counsel and hit on this stratagem that King Óláf with his force landed and went through the forests to the lake out of which the Áin Helga River flows. There at the outlet [from the lake] they made a dam of tree trunks and turf, thus damming up the water. Then they dug deep trenches, causing several creeks to flow together, thereby creating widespread marshes. And into the river bed they felled large trees. This work occupied them a number of days, with King Óláf having supervision of this stratagem while King Onund had command of the fleet. King Knút was informed of the whereabouts of the kings and of all the damage they had inflicted in his realm, and he moved against them where they lay anchored in the Áin Helga River. He had a huge force, half again as large as the combined force of both kings. The skald Sigvat makes mention of this:
(99.)
288. Would not the prince—
people soon found out—
let his land be
laid waste resistless.
The Danes’ buckler
brooked no rapine
but fended his folklands.
foremost of princes.
Chapter 150. The Ba
ttle off the Áin Helga River
One day toward evening King Onund’s lookout men saw the fleet of King Knút approaching, nor were they far away. Then King Onund had the war trumpets blown. The crews thereupon took the tent coverings down and armed themselves, rowed out of the harbor and east along the land, then gathered their ships, bound them together, and made ready for battle. King Onund sent his lookout men running up into the country to find King Óláf and tell him what was happening. Then King Óláf had the dam breached, so that the river flowed along its old bed, and during the night went down to his own ships.
King Knút arrived in front of the harbor, and there saw where lay the fleet of the kings all ready to do battle. Then it appeared to him rather late in the day to give battle until his force could be ready for that, because his fleet needed much room at sea for sailing. There was a long distance between the foremost ship and the last, also between that one which was farthest to sea and the one nearest the land. The wind was nearly calm. But when the king saw that the Swedes and the Norwegians had left the harbor, he moved into it with the ships for which there was room. But the greater part of his fleet nevertheless lay outside at sea.
In the morning, when there was full daylight, a great many men of the Danish force were on land, some conversing, some disporting themselves. Then all of a sudden the waters came rushing down upon them with the swiftness of a cataract, and along with them, big trees which drifted against their ships, which suffered damage from them while the waters flowed over all the fields. The men who had gone ashore were drowned, many died also who were aboard the ships. And those who were able to do so cut their cables and drifted out to sea, and the ships scattered. The large dragon ship which bore the king himself was carried along with the current, nor was it easily turned with the oars, so it drifted out to where lay the fleet of King Onund. And when the Swedes recognized the ship they promptly surrounded it. But because the ship had high sides as though it was a fort and had a multitude of men on board, a picked crew, well armed and fearless, it was not so easily attacked. Nor was it long before Earl Úlf came up with his fleet, and then the battle began. Soon also King Knút’s fleet approached from all sides. Then the kings Óláf and Onund saw that they had won as great a victory as fate allowed for the time being. They pulled out, stern first, and got themselves clear of the ships of King Knút, so the fleets separated. But because this attack had not gone the way King Knút had planned, his ships had not been maneuvered as was intended, and so no [further] attack was made. King Knút mustered his forces, re-arranged them, and prepared [for battle again]. But when the fleets had separated and each proceeded by itself, the kings mustered their forces and found they had not suffered any loss of men. They also saw that if they waited till King Knút had re-arranged all the forces he had and then attacked them, that then the odds would be so great against them that there was little hope of their winning the victory, and that most certainly, in the event of a battle, there would be a very great loss of life. So they decided to row east along the land with all their ships. And when they saw that King Knút’s fleet did not pursue them, they raised their masts and hoisted sail. Óttar the Black speaks about this encounter in the drápa he composed about Knút the Powerful:
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