Heimskringla

by Snorri Sturluson

  (100.)

  289. To Swedes a setback gavest,

  scion thou of Skjoldungs.

  Didst batten on blood the wolfish

  brood at Helgaá River.

  Against two kings thou keptest—

  quenched was the ravens’ hunger

  there—thy land. Of their lives were

  lawless caitiffs in terror.

  The skald Thórth Sjáreksson1 composed a memorial poem about Holy King Óláf, which is called the Drápa of the Rood, and in it this encounter is mentioned:

  (101.)

  290. Egthirs’2 ruler, Óláf,

  onsets three had with the

  Isle-Danes’ ever watchful

  arm-ring giver valiant.3

  Sharply shot the Skanings’

  shaft-storm-urger.3 Was not

  Svein’s great son3 faint-hearted

  seen. Howled wolves o’er corpses.

  Chapter 151. The Two Kings Deliberate on a Course of Action

  King Óláf and King Onund sailed east along the lands of the Swedish king, and in the evening of that day made land at a place called Barvík.1 There they lay at anchor during the night. Now it could readily be seen [by the behavior of the Swedes] that they longed to get home. During the night a considerable portion of the Swedish fleet sailed east along the land, and they did not stop till each arrived in his home district. But when King Onund became aware of this at dawn, he had the trumpets sounded for a meeting. Then all the crews went up on land, and an assembly was held. King Onund spoke as follows. “The case is this,” he said. “As you, King Óláf, know, this summer we all proceeded together and harried far and wide in Denmark. We acquired much booty but no land. During the summer I had three hundred and fifty [420] ships; but now there remain only a hundred [120] of them. Now it would seem to me that we cannot win much glory with a force no larger than this, even though you do have the sixty ships you had this summer. Now I consider it most advisable to return to my kingdom; for it is a good thing to drive home with all the cart in one piece. We have acquired wealth on this expedition and lost nothing. Now I shall suggest to you, brother-in-law Óláf, that you come with me, and that we all stay together, this winter. Take of my kingdom as much as you think you need to support yourself and your company. And then let us, when spring comes, take such counsel as seems advisable. Or if you prefer to make your way through our dominions, you are welcome to do so, in case you wish to proceed overland to your kingdom.”

  King Óláf thanked King Onund for this friendly offer. “However, if I am to prevail,” he said, “we shall follow a different course; which is, to keep together the force left us now. In the beginning of summer, before leaving Norway, I had three hundred and fifty [420] vessels, but when I left it, I chose from all that fleet those troops which I considered fittest. With them I manned the sixty ships which I now have. Now it would seem to me, also with regard to your force, that those have run their way who had the least enterprise and on whom one could place least reliance. But here I see all your leaders and captains, and I know that all those troops which belong to the bodyguard are most skilled in the use of weapons. We still have a large force and such good vessels that we can well lie out at sea all winter, as kings have done before in time. Now King Knút will remain in the Áin Helga River but a short while, because there is not sufficient harbor room for the multitude of ships he has, and so he will pursue us eastward. In that case we shall draw away from him and soon acquire more support. But if he returns to where there are harbors sufficiently large to accommodate his fleet, then, just as happened here [with us], many of his troops will most likely be eager to return home. And I expect we have done enough, this summer, so that the cotters, both in Scania and in Seeland, know what is awaiting them. The fleet of King Knút is likely to be scattered far and wide so that it won’t be sure who will win the victory. Let us first of all find out what he intends to do.” And King Óláf concluded his speech in such fashion that everybody concurred with him and the plan he advised was adopted. Spies were sent to find out about King Knút’s movements, and meanwhile both kings lay at anchor.

  Chapter 152. King Knút Abandons the Pursuit

  King Knút saw that the king of Norway and the king of Sweden steered their fleets east along the land. Straightway he despatched troops landward and let them ride day and night, following the course of the fleet of the kings out at sea. Some of his recognizance detachments went forward as others returned, so King Knút every day was informed of the movements of the kings. There were spies in the [very] force of the kings. And when he learned that a large portion of their fleet had left them, he returned with his fleet to Seeland and anchored in the Eyrar Sound with all his force. Some of his ships were moored near Seeland, some near Scania.

  King Knút rode to Hróiskelda1 the day before Michaelmas, together with a large company of men. There his brother-in-law, Earl Úlf, had prepared a banquet for him. The earl treated his guests most liberally and was in exceedingly good spirits. The king was taciturn and rather glum. The earl spoke to him, addressing him on such topics as he expected the king would be most interested in. The king made little reply. The earl asked if he cared to play chess. He said yes. So they took the chess board and played.

  Earl Úlf was quick spoken and ruthless, both in his talk and in all other matters, also a most enterprising man in his dominions. He was a great man of war, and there exists a long saga about him. He was the most powerful man in Denmark next to the king. His sister was Gytha, who married Earl Guthini [Godwine], the son of Úlfnath. Their sons were Harald, later the king of England, Earl Tóstig, Earl Valtheow, Earl Morkere, and Earl Svain. The name of their daughter was Gytha, whom King Eadward the Good of England married.

  Chapter 153. King Knút Has Earl Úlf Slain

  Now when they played chess, King Knút and Earl Úlf, the king made a false move, and the earl took a knight from him. The king put his figure back and said he was going to make a different move. The earl became angry, tossed the chess board down, rose, and went away.

  The king said, “Are you running away, Úlf the Cowardly?”

  The earl turned back by the door and said, “You would have run further in the Helgaá River if you had been able to. You did not call me Úlf the Cowardly then when I laid my ship alongside yours to help you when the Swedes beat you like dogs.” Thereupon the earl left the room and laid himself down to sleep.

  Next morning, when the king put on his clothes he said to his page, “Go to Earl Úlf and kill him.” The man went and was gone for a while, then returned. Then the king said, “Did you kill the earl?”

  He answered, “I did not, because he had gone to Saint Lucius Church.”

  There was a certain man called Ívar the White, a Norwegian by birth. At that time he was one of the bodyguard of King Knút and groom of the chamber. The king said to Ívar, “You go and kill the earl!”

  Ívar went to the church and into the choir, and there he ran his sword through the earl’s body. Earl Úlf died there. Ívar went to the king with the bloody sword in his hand. The king asked, “Did you kill the earl now?”

  Ívar replied, “Now I killed him.”

  “Then you did well,” said the king.

  But after the earl was killed the monks had the church locked. The king was told that. He sent a man to the monks, ordering them to open the church and sing masses. They did as the king commanded. But when the king attended church he added large properties of land to the endowment of the church so that it comprises a large district, and later that place rose to great importance. For this reason these lands have ever since belonged to that church. Thereupon the king rode to the coast and his ships where he dwelled a long time during the fall with a huge force.

  Chapter 154. The Two Kings Part Company

  When King Óláf and King Onund learned that King Knút had sailed to the Eyrar Sound and lay there with his fleet, the two kings called for a council meeting. King Óláf spoke, and said that matters had turned out
as he had surmised, that King Knút had not remained long in the Áin Helga harbor. “Now I expect that my surmise concerning our encounter will be borne out in other respects. He now has a small force, compared to what he had this summer; and he is likely to have one smaller still later on, because they will like no more than we to be lying out at sea on the ships later on in fall; and we may be granted the victory if we have sufficient perseverance and daring. That is the way it went this summer when we had a smaller force but they suffered loss of both life and property from us.”

  Then the Swedes spoke up and said that it was not advisable to wait there for winter and frost to come—“even though the Norwegians would have us to. They do not know how much ice will form here, and often the sea freezes over during winter. We want to go home and not stay here any longer.” And there was murmuring among the Swedes, and all talked at once. They came to the decision that King Onund left with all his force, leaving King Óláf behind.

  Chapter 155. King Óláf Performs His First Miracle

  But as he lay anchored there, King Óláf often took counsel with his men. One night Egil Hallsson and a man called Tófi Valgautsson had to keep watch on the king’s ship. The latter belonged to a family of West Gautland and was of noble birth. And as they were mounting guard they heard weeping and lamentation from where sat captives in their bonds. They were tied up on land for the night. Tófi said he could not stand to hear this wailing, and asked Egil to go with him to release these people and let them escape. So they did—they went up to them, cut their bonds, and let all of them escape. There was great indignation about that. The king, too, was so furious that they stood in danger of life and limb. Later on, when Egil fell sick, the king for a long time refused to go and see him, even though many asked him to. Then Egil was very sorry for what he had done to incur the king’s wrath, and begged him for forgiveness. At last the king granted that. He laid his hands on Egil’s side where it hurt and said his prayers over it, and straightway it stopped hurting. After that Egil recovered. Later, Tófi was reconciled with the king. We are told that, in order to achieve that, he was to get his father to come to King Óláf. Valgaut was a rank heathen. He became a Christian through the words of the king and died as soon as he had been baptized.

  Chapter 156. King Knút Bribes King Óláf’s Subjects

  Now when King Óláf had spoken with his men, he sought the advice of the chieftains as to what course to take now. But there was little agreement on that among them. Some called that ill-advised which to others seemed a good idea, and they debated the matter for a very long time. Spies of King Knút were constantly among them and got to speak with many men. They promised money and the friendship of King Knút; and many allowed themselves to be won over and bound themselves to swear allegiance to King Knút and to support him if he landed in Norway. With many, this came out later, though at first it was kept secret. Some took money right away, and some were promised rewards later. Besides there were a great many who had already received large gifts from him; because that is to be said of King Knút that everyone he got to know and who seemed to him to be a man of some mettle and inclined to attach himself to him, got his handfuls of money from him. Because of that he became immensely well regarded. He was especially liberal to foreigners, and the more so the more distant the lands they came from.

  Chapter 157. King Óláf Decides to Take the Landway Home

  King Óláf frequently met with his men to seek their advice. And when he noticed that everyone had his own opinion, he suspected that there were some who would seem to give counsel contrary to what appeared most advisable, and he was not quite sure whether everyone was to be trusted in his allegiance to him. Many urged him to take advantage of a favorable wind and sail to Eyrar Sound and then north to Norway. They declared the Danes would not dare to attack them even though they lay there with a great fleet. But the king was so shrewd that he saw that such a course was not feasible. He also recalled that disaster had overtaken Óláf Tryggvason when with a small fleet he offered battle to a large fleet that lay in wait for him, thinking the Danes would not dare to fight. He also knew that there were a great number of Norwegians in the army of King Knút. So the king suspected that those who advised him to take that course might be more friendly inclined to King Knút than to himself; and he made this decision that he told all men who would follow him to get ready to travel the land-way through Gautland and to Norway. “But our ships,” he said, “and all heavy goods we cannot take along with us I shall send east to the king of Sweden for him to have in safe-keeping for us.”

  Chapter 158. Hárek of Thjótta Passes Through the Danish Fleet

  Hárek of Thjótta made answer to King Óláf’s speech and spoke as follows: “It is easily seen that I cannot travel on foot to Norway. I am an old man, heavy, and little accustomed to marching. Also, I am reluctant to part with my ship. I have bestowed so much care on that ship and its equipment that I am unwilling to let my enemies get hold of it.”

  The king answered, “Go with us, Hárek. We shall carry you along if you cannot walk.” Then Hárek spoke this verse:

  (102.)

  291. Set I have my mind on

  sailing hence upon my

  wave-tossed water-horse-of-

  war, rather than walking,

  even though without, in

  Eyrar Sound, with warships

  famous Knút—know folk me

  fearless—lie in waiting.

  Then King Óláf made ready for his journey. The men wore their usual apparel and carried their weapons, and all the horses they could get were loaded with packs of clothing and chattels. The king sent some of the crews with their ships to Kalmar. There they had the ships drawn ashore and all the tackle and other property taken care of.

  Hárek did as he had said: he waited for a favorable breeze, then sailed west around Scania till, going west, he came to Halar,1 and that was toward evening. There was a fresh favorable wind. Then he lowered the sail and the mast and took off the vane. The entire ship above the waterline he had covered with gray hangings and let a few men ply the oars forward and aft, but most men he had sit low in the ship. King Knút’s watchmen observed it and discussed between themselves what kind of ship that might be, and guessed that it carried a load of salt or herring, since they saw few men aboard and few oars being plied. It seemed to them gray and untarred and as though faded by the sun. Also they saw that it sat very low in the water.

  But as soon as Hárek had gone some distance in the Sound and past the fleet, he raised the mast and hoisted the sail and set up the gilded weather vane. The sail was white as driven snow and had red and blue stripes. Then King Knút’s men saw that and told him that most likely King Óláf had sailed past them. But King Knút replied that King Óláf was too shrewd a man to sail through the fleet of King Knút with only one ship, and gave it as his opinion that this probably was Hárek of Thjótta or somebody like him. And it is thought that King Knút knew about Hárek’s passing through and that Hárek would not have proceeded thus if there had not been assurances of friendship between King Knút and him. And this was considered evident later, when the friendship between King Knút and Hárek became known to everybody. When sailing north about Vethrey Island2 Hárek composed this verse:

  (103.)

  292. Ladies of Lund shall not

  laugh and think I dare not—

  nor Danish maids make mock of

  me—luff we round this island!—

  sail the open sea, and

  seek my home, this fall, o’er

  leagues of Fróthi’s-flat-land3

  faring, in the Northlands.

  Hárek continued on his journey and did not stop until he arrived in Hálogaland in the north and at his estate of Thjótta.

  Chapter 159. King Óláf’s Return to Norway

  King Óláf started on his journey, proceeding first through Smáland, and arrived in West Gautland. He proceeded peacefully and quietly, and the people of the country gave them good furthe
rance. So the king journeyed on till he arrived in Vík. Then he continued north in Vík till he arrived at Sarpsborg. There he remained and had his winter quarters prepared for him. He gave permission to most of his troops to return home, but kept as many of the landed-men about him as he thought wise, among them all the sons of Árni Armóthsson. Them he honored most highly. At that time he was joined by Gellir Thorkelsson who had come the previous summer from Iceland, as was set down before.