He replied, “Take it away! I am not porridge-sick.” Then she took a pair of pincers and tried to pull out the iron [head of the arrow], but it was stuck fast and would not budge. Also, it showed but little, the wound having swollen.
Then Thormóth said, “You cut in to reach the iron so that one can take hold of it with the pincers, then let me have them and let me pluck it out.” She did as he told her. Then Thormóth took the gold ring off his arm and gave it to the healer woman, telling her to do with it as she pleased. “There is good value in it,” he said. “King Óláf gave me the ring this morning.” Thereupon Thormóth took the pincers and pulled out the arrow. It had barbs on it, and there were fibers of his heart in it, some red and some white; and when he saw that he said, “Well has the king fed us. I am fat still about the roots of my heart.” Thereupon he leaned back and was dead. And this ends what we have to say about Thormóth.
Chapter 235. The Aftermath of the Battle
King Óláf fell on Wednesday the fourth Calends of August [July 1030 29th].1 It was close to midday when the armies met, and early in the afternoon when the battle began. The king fell before high noon [three o’clock], and the darkness lasted from midday till high noon. Sigvat tells this about the end of the battle:
(162.)
351. Loath I am, our liege’s
loss to bear, the time that—
cleft was his shield—o’ercome in
clash he was by foemen.
Of land and life reft Óláf
lawless hordes—were splintered
shields. Unsheltered, the fray he
shunned not; but Dag was laggard.
He recited also this verse:
(163.)
352. Never before, of farmers
folk had seen so many
gathered—they did to death the
dear lord—nor of hersar,
seeing that such a king the
sea-steed-steerers laid low—
drenched in dew-of-wounds2 lay
doughty men—as was Óláf.
The farmers did not pilfer the dead, for right after the battle a dread fell upon many who had fought against the king. Yet they clung to their ill-will [against him] and decided between them that all those who had fallen on the king’s side should have no care given their bodies nor burial as befitted good men, and declared them all robbers and outlaws. But men of power who had kinsmen among the fallen paid no heed to this but brought their bodies to the churches and gave them burial.
Chapter 236. The King’s Blood Restores a Blind Man’s Vision
Thorgils Hálmuson and his son Grím went to the battlefield after it had grown dark. They took up the body of King Óláf and bore it to a certain small, empty hovel distant from their farmstead. They had lights and water along, removed the clothes from the corpse, washed it, then swathed it in linen cloths, deposited it there in the hut, and hid it under wood so that it could not be seen even if people came into the hut. Then they went home to their farm.
Both armies had been followed by many mendicants and poor folk who begged for food. Now on the evening following the battle many of them had remained behind there, and when night fell, they sought shelter in all houses, both large and small. One blind man is told of. He was poor, and his boy went with him, leading him. They went about the farm, looking for shelter, and came to this same deserted hut. The door was so low that they almost had to creep in. And when this blind man came inside he groped about on the floor to find a place where he might lie down. He had a hood on his head, and when he bent down it slid down over his face. With his hands he felt that there was a pool on the floor. He lifted his wet hand to raise up the hood, and when his fingers touched his eyes there was at once such an itching in his eyelids that he passed over the eyes themselves with his wet fingers. Then he backed out of the house, saying that everything in there was so wet one could not lie there. And when he came out of the house he could at once distinguish his hands, and then all the things near him that could be seen in the darkness of night. He straightway went back to the farm and into the sitting room, and there told all the people that he had regained his sight and could now see everything. Now many knew that he had been blind for a long time, for he had been there before and had gone about the settlements. His sight returned to him only then when he came out of a certain mean little house, “and all was wet inside there,” he said. “I got in it with my hands and with my wet hands rubbed my eyes.” He also told them where that house was. But the people who heard and saw this wondered greatly about this occurrence and talked about what might be in the house. But Farmer Thorgils and his son Grím believed they knew what the connection was. They greatly feared that enemies of the king might come and ransack the house. So they stole away, went to the hut, and moved the king’s body out into the pasture where they hid it. Then they returned home and slept during the night.
Chapter 237. Thorgils Hálmuson Hides the King’s Body from Thórir the Hound
On the fifth day [of the week, Thursday] Thórir the Hound came down the Vera Valley to Stiklarstathir, together with many troops. There was also a large part of the farmers’ army. At that time the battlefield was still being cleared. Men were moving the bodies of their friends and kinsmen and gave help to those whom they wanted to restore to health. But a great number had died since the battle had ended. Thórir the Hound went to the place where the king had fallen, looking for his body, but not finding it he inquired whether anyone could tell him what had become of it; but no one could tell him. Then he asked Farmer Thorgils if he knew where the king’s body was. Thorgils made this reply: “I was not in the battle, and I know little of what happened there. Many stories are current about it now. People say that King Óláf had been seen last night up at Staf together with a troop of men. But if he fell, your men probably hid his body in the woods or in stone piles.” And though Thórir thought he knew that the king had fallen, many were willing [to believe the opposite] and spread the rumor that the king probably escaped from the battle and that it might be but a little while before he gathered troops and fell upon them. So Thórir went to his ships and sailed through the fjord and out to sea. Then all the army of the farmers scattered, taking with them all the wounded men capable of being moved.
Chapter 238. Thorgils Brings the King’s Body to Nitharós
Thorgils Hálmuson and his son Grím had the mortal remains of King Óláf in their keeping, and they were greatly concerned how they should go about it that the enemies of the king should not get to mistreat the corpse; because they had heard the farmers say it would be advisable to burn the body of the king if it were found, or else to take it out to sea and drop it there. Both father and son had seen what seemed like a candle burning at night on the spot where the body of King Óláf had lain on the battlefield; and also, after they had hidden it, they saw a light always burning at night at the place where the king reposed. They were afraid that the enemies of the king might search for the body where it was hidden if they saw the signs. So they were anxious to remove the body to some place where it would be safe. They made a coffin, taking great pains to have it well made, and in it they deposited the body of the king. And afterwards they made another coffin which they filled with straw and stones to weigh as much as a man’s body and closed it carefully. Now when all of the troops of the farmers had left Stiklarstath, Thorgils made ready to depart [with the coffins]. He procured a large rowboat which he manned with seven or eight of his kinsmen or friends. They brought the body of the king on board in all secrecy, placing the coffin beneath the floorboards. The coffin which they had filled with stones they also had along, placing it where everyone could see it. Then they sailed through the fjord. They had a favorable breeze and in the evening as it began to grow dark they arrived in Nitharós and made fast at the royal pier.
Then Thorgils sent men into the town to tell Bishop Sigurth that they had come with the body of King Óláf. As soon as the bishop heard this he sent his men down to the pier. They fetched
a rowboat and laid it alongside that of Thorgils, demanding to have the king’s body. Thorgils and his companions lifted up the coffin that lay on top of the floorboards and carried it over to the bishop’s boat. Thereupon his men rowed out into the fjord and there dropped the coffin overboard.
By that time it had become dark night. Then Thorgils and his friends rowed up the river to the end of the town and landed at a place called Saurhlith which is outside the town. They carried the coffin with the king’s body into a certain empty house standing above the other houses there. There they kept vigil during the night over the body. Thorgils went down to the town then. There he spoke with some men who had been among the king’s best friends. He asked them if they would take care of the king’s body, but no one dared to do that. Thereupon Thorgils and his companions moved the body [further] up the river and buried it in a sandbank there, then levelled the ground so that no one should see that anyone had been digging there. They were done with all this before dawn. Then they returned to their boat and at once rowed out of the river [into the fjord], then pursued their course till they were back again at Stiklarstathir.
Chapter 239. King Svein’s Harsh Laws Embitter the Norwegians
Svein, the son of King Knút and of Álfífa, the daughter of Earl Álfrim, had been appointed to rule Jómsborg in Wendland; but then there came to him the message of King Knút, his father, that he was to come to Denmark; moreover that then he was to proceed to Norway to rule that land, and that the title of king of Norway was to be conferred upon him. Thereupon Svein proceeded to Denmark with a great force. With him went Earl Harald and many other men of influence. This is mentioned by Thórarin Loftunga in the poem which he composed about Svein, the son of Álfífa, and which is called Glœlognskvitha:1
(164.)
353. No one doubts
what dapper band
of Danes were
with the Dogling:2
first of all
came Earl Harald;
after him
every man’s son
following him
more fit than th’other.
Then Svein proceeded to Norway, accompanied by Álfífa, his mother; and he was accepted as king at every general assembly. He had arrived in Vík, coming from the east [south], at the time the battle of Stiklarstathir occurred and King Óláf fell. Svein did not stop in his journey till in the fall he arrived north in the Trondheim District. He was accepted there as king as he had been in other places.
King Svein instituted new laws in the land concerning many matters. They were patterned after the Danish laws, but some were much harsher. No one was to depart from the country except with the king’s leave; but if he left nevertheless, then his property was to revert to the king. And everyone who killed a person was to forfeit land and chattels. If a man was outlawed and an inheritance came to him, then this inheritance fell to the king. At Yuletide every farmer was to bring to the king a measure of malt for every hearth and also the ham of a three year old ox—that was called vinartoddi [pasture tax]—also, a pail of butter. And every housewife was to pay of rykkjartó—that is, of undressed linen [thread]—so much as could be grasped between thumb and the long finger. Farmers were in duty bound to construct all the houses the king desired to have on his estates. Seven men, including every [boy] five years old, were to equip one man for war duty and perform their share in the same proportion in the building and equipping of ships levied. Every man who rowed out to sea [for fishing] was to pay the king land-tax, from whatever place he started, to the amount of five fish. Every ship leaving the land was to reserve for the king’s [purposes] one space across the ship. Everyone travelling to Iceland was to pay land-dues, both Norwegians and Icelanders. Among these statutes was also this one that Danes were to have such weight in Norway that one Danish witness was to outweigh the witness of ten Norwegians.
Now when these laws were made known to the people there was immediate opposition and there arose grumbling as they met together. Those who had not participated in the campaign against King Óláf said, “Now you people from the inner reaches of the fjord are shown the friendship and reward of the Knytlings3 for having fought against King Óláf and deprived him of his country. Peace and better justice were promised you, but now you have oppression and servitude [from them], and in addition you have committed a great misdeed and villainy.”
It was not easy to contradict them, because all could see that they had taken ill advice. Yet people did not dare to make resistance against King Svein, chiefly because they had given their sons or other near kinsmen as hostages to King Knút, and also because they had no leader for such resistance. Soon people complained greatly of King Svein, though most blamed Álfífa for what irritated them. But now the truth came to be heard by many concerning King Óláf.
Chapter 240. King Óláf’s Sainthood Is Recognized
That winter there arose much talk among the people of Trondheim that King Óláf was in truth a saint and that many miracles had come to pass testifying to his sainthood. Many began to invoke King Óláf about matters of importance to them. Many were benefited by these prayers, some in their health, some in the furthering of their voyages or of other matters where help seemed needful.
Chapter 241. Einar Thambarskelfir Champions King Óláf’s Sanctity
Einar Thambarskelfir had returned home to his estates from the west in England and was enjoying the revenues which King Knút had bestowed upon him when they had met in Trondheim; and that was almost an earldom. Einar Thambarskelfir had not joined in the rebellion against King Óláf, and that he boasted of himself. Einar was mindful of the fact that Knút had promised him the earldom over Norway, and also that the king had not kept his promise. Einar was the first among men of influence to maintain the sanctity of King Óláf.
Chapter 242. Kálf Árnason Restores His Brothers to Health
Finn Árnason dwelled but a short time with Kálf at Egg because he was exceedingly put out by Kálf’s having been in the battle against King Óláf; and for that reason Finn reproached Kálf bitterly. Thorberg Árnason showed much more restraint in this matter than Finn; yet he too was eager to return home to his estate. Kálf provided his two brothers with a good man-of-war equipped with all tackle and other gear as well as with a good crew. So they returned to their estates. Árni Árnason lay for a long time laboring with his wounds, but recovered finally without being in any way a cripple. Later in winter he journeyed south to his estate. All of the brothers made their peace with King Svein and settled down in their homes.
Chapter 243. Bishop Sigurth Flees the Country
The summer after there was much talk about the sanctity of King 1031 Óláf, and [now] all this talk about the king took a different turn. There were many then who confirmed the sanctity of the king who had been his sworn enemies and had not at any time done him justice. Then they began to heap reproaches on those who had most urged them on in their hostility against the king. Much of that was blamed on Bishop Sigurth; and people showed such great hostility to him that he thought it wisest to leave the country and sail west to England and join King Knút. Thereupon the people of Trondheim sent messengers to the Uppland districts inviting Bishop Grímkel to come north to Trondheim. King Óláf had sent Bishop Grímkel back to Norway when he himself proceeded east to Gartharíki, and since that time Bishop Grímkel had lived in the Uppland District. When this message came to him, he at once made ready to go. A special reason for his going was that he believed there might be truth in what was said about the miracles and the sainthood of King Óláf.
Chapter 244. King Óláf’s Body Is Disinterred
Bishop Grímkel then set out to meet Einar Thambarskelfir. Einar received the bishop joyfully and they discussed many matters, and also the great events which had taken place in the land. They came to agree on all matters. Thereupon the bishop journeyed to the town, and there all the people received him well. He inquired carefully into the miracles told of King Óláf and learned only good reports about them.
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Thereupon the bishop sent word to Thorgils and his son, Grím, requesting them to come to the town and meet with him. They did so at once and came to the bishop and told him of all the signs they had noted and also where they had deposited the body of the king. Thereupon the bishop sent word to Einar Thambarskelfir. He came to the town, and both then had speech with the king and Álfífa, requesting them to give permission to disinter the body of King Óláf. The king gave it and told the bishop to proceed with it as he pleased. There was at that time a great multitude of people in the town.
The bishop, Einar, and some men went to the place where the body of the king had been interred and had them spade up the ground for it. The coffin had by then about come to view. Many advised the bishop to have the king buried by the Church of Saint Clemens. Now when twelve months and five days had passed after the death of King Óláf, his holy remains were again disinterred. By that time the coffin had again emerged considerably out of the ground, and looked span-new as though it were but recently planed. Bishop Grímkel was present when the coffin of King Óláf was opened. A delicious odor met them. Then the bishop bared the countenance of the king, and its aspect had changed in nowise, and there was a ruddiness on his cheeks as though he had only recently fallen asleep. Those who had seen King Óláf when he fell now saw a great change in that his hair and nails had grown almost as much as they would have if he had been alive all the time since he fell. Then King Svein approached to view the body of King Óláf, and so did all the chieftains present.
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