The Saga of the Volsungs

by Jackson Crawford

  we have a long voyage ahead.

  If our swords are good,

  Eystein will no longer be king

  in Uppsala, no matter

  how much he has sacrificed."

  After he said this, his brothers began to change their minds somewhat. And then Áslaug said, "Now, my son, you show that you want to do as I wish. But I do not think it is likely that just you and I can accomplish this ourselves if we don’t have the assistance of your brothers. But it may be that we can get vengeance, and that would seem best to me. You please me, my son."

  Bjorn now spoke this poem:

  "There may be a brave heart

  in a hawk-bold man’s chest,

  though the man stays silent

  and keeps his own counsel.

  I don’t have any serpents

  or glistening snakes in my eyes,

  but my half-brothers cheered me,

  and I remember them, your stepsons."

  Then Hvítserk spoke this poem:

  "Let’s think, before we promise,

  and let us rejoice

  that Agnar’s death

  will be avenged.

  Let us set sail,

  break through the sea-ice,

  see how fast our boats

  can be made ready."

  {111} Hvítserk mentioned breaking through the sea-ice because there was a great deal of ice on the ocean, and their ships were pinned in by sheets of ice. And now Ívar said that he had been convinced to take some part in this, and he spoke this poem:

  "You all have great courage,

  you’re not lacking in boldness—

  and together with that, we’ll need

  plenty of toughness, too.

  Carry me at the head of the troops,

  brothers, boneless as I am,

  so that I can use both my hands

  in our battle for vengeance."

  And Ívar added, "And now it has come to this, that we will apply as much courage as we are able in preparing the ships and gathering enough troops, because we will need everything we can get if we will be victorious."

  And now Áslaug went away.

  Chapter 11. The Attack by Áslaug and the Ragnarssons

  Sigurð Snake-Eye had a foster-father, and this man had the ships prepared and the troops assembled in good order as a favor to Sigurð. And now the work went so swiftly that the troops Sigurð Snake-Eye wanted were made ready after only three nights had passed, and he had five ships, all of them well outfitted.

  And after five nights had passed, Hvítserk and Bjorn had fourteen well-prepared ships. Ívar had ten ships prepared and Áslaug had another ten. Seven nights after they had discussed it and promised to make the journey, they all met together and reported to each other how many troops they had collected. Ívar reported that he had also sent a mounted regiment overland.

  {112} Áslaug said, "If I had thought that troops sent overland might make a difference, I would have sent a large number of them."

  "Let’s not dwell on it," said Ívar. "Let’s depart with the troops we’ve gotten together."

  Áslaug said that she wished to come with her sons, "And then I will see for myself how hard you try to avenge your brothers."

  Ívar said, "You will certainly not come on our ships. But if you wish, you can lead the troops going overland."

  Áslaug said that she would do so, and now her name was changed and she was called Randalín ever after.

  Each of the divisions now departed, and Ívar told them where to meet. The journey went well for both groups, and they met at the appointed place. And wherever they went in Sweden in the kingdom of King Eystein, they raided and burned everything in their path. And they killed every human being and every other thing that breathed.

  Chapter 12. The Fall of King Eystein

  Now it happened that some men escaped and came to King Eystein, and told him that a great army had come into his kingdom, cruel men who were difficult to deal with and left nothing undone when it came to destroying everything in every place they went, and they left not one house standing.

  When King Eystein heard this news, he thought he knew who these Vikings must be. He ordered the war-arrow sent all through his kingdom, calling to him all the men who owed him allegiance and wished to give him aid and who could hold a shield.

  Eystein said, "We will take our goddess the cow Síbilja with us, and let her run at the front of the troops, and I suspect that it will go as before and they will be unable to stand her mooing. I will urge my troops to fight as best they can, and then we will rid ourselves of this large and menacing enemy army."

  And now his orders were carried out, and Síbilja was let loose. Ívar saw the cow and heard its terrible mooing. He instructed all his troops to make a huge racket with their weapons and shouting, to drown out {113} the noise made by the evil creature coming against them. Ívar told the men carrying him to take him as close to the cow as they could. "And when the cow comes at us, throw me onto it, and then either I will lose my life or I will kill the cow. And now take a large tree, and make a bow out of it and some arrows."

  A large bow was made and brought to him together with some big arrows, and his men thought no one else would have been able to use such large weapons. Ívar encouraged each of his men to fight his hardest. The troops went forward with great ferocity and noise, and Ívar was carried forth ahead of all of them. There was such a loud noise made when Síbilja mooed that they heard it just as clearly as if they had been silent and stood at attention. The mooing drove all of the men insane, except the Ragnarssons, so much so that they wanted to fight among themselves.

  While these monstrous things were happening, the men who were carrying Ívar saw him pulling back on his great bow as if it were nothing more than a flimsy elm branch, and having done so, they saw him put two arrows on it. And then they heard him shoot the arrows, and the bowstring snapped louder than they had ever heard. They saw that his arrows were flying out one after the other as fast as if they had been shot from the strongest crossbow, and they flew so true that each arrow hit Síbilja in a different eye. And now the cow fell, tumbling over headfirst, and its mooing became much worse than before.

  The cow now came charging at them again, and Ívar told his men to throw him at the cow, and he seemed as light when they threw him as if he were a little child. They did not stand very close to the cow when they threw Ívar at it.

  When Ívar landed on the back of the cow, he fell as heavily as a boulder would. Every bone inside the cow broke, and the cow met its death in this way.

  Ívar ordered his men to pick him up as fast as they could. When they had picked him up, he spoke, and his voice carried so loudly that every man in the army felt that he was speaking to him directly even if he was far away, and they listened carefully to his instructions. As he ended his speech, his men who had been fighting one another stopped, and not much damage had been done as they had not been fighting one another long. Ívar encouraged them to fight as hard as they could against their enemies, and he said, "I think the worst part is past, since their cow is dead."

  {114} Now each side had regrouped its warriors, and they fell together in battle. The battle was so hard that all the Swedes swore they had never been in a harder trial by combat. The brothers Hvítserk and Bjorn pushed forward so hard that no enemy could stand against them. Such a large part of King Eystein’s army was killed that only a minority were left standing, and some were in retreat. The battle ended with the death of King Eystein and the victory of Ragnar’s sons. They spared whatever enemies of theirs were left alive.

  Ívar said that he did not wish to raid any longer in this land now that it no longer had a ruler. "I would prefer if we went where we’d find more opposition," he said. And Randalín went home with some of their troops, but her son Sigurð Snake-Eye went with his brothers in every one of their raids afterwards.

  Chapter 13. The Ragnarssons Take Vífilsborg

  The Ragnarssons agreed that they would go ra
iding in the Southern Empire. In this expedition, they assaulted every large city that they came to and fought so hard that not one of them could withstand them. They soon learned of a city that was not only large and populous but also well defended. Ívar said that he wished to sail there. The names of this city and its ruler are told as follows: the chieftain was named Vífil, and the city was named Vífilsborg after him. The brothers went about attacking and destroying every city that lay between them and their objective until they came to the gates of Vífilsborg itself. The ruler was away from home, and he had taken a large army with him.

  The brothers set up camp in the valleys outside the city, and one day they came to the city and spoke with its inhabitants, and they kept the peace that day. The Ragnarssons offered them either to give up their city willingly, in which case peace would be given to every inhabitant, or else to be conquered by superior arms and force, in which case no one would receive mercy.

  But the city’s defenders shot arrows at the Ragnarssons in reply, and they said that the brothers would never defeat the city or force its {115} inhabitants to give it up. "First you would have to prove yourselves, and show us your boldness and valor."

  The next night passed, and the day after, the Ragnarssons tried to take the city but failed. They laid siege to the city for half a month, and every day they tried to take it with various strategies. But they failed worse the longer they kept trying, and they began to think of giving up. When the inhabitants of Vífilsborg realized the Ragnarssons were near to giving up, they went out on the walls of their city and spread golden tapestries over all the walls, together with all the most beautiful fabrics they had in their city. On top of these they placed all their gold and the biggest jewels that were in their city. Then one of the men of Vífilsborg said, "We thought that these men, the Ragnarssons and their troops, were tough fighters, but now we can say they have not come any closer than others have." And after this the men of Vífilsborg hollered at them and beat on their shields and tried to provoke the Ragnarssons as best they could.

  When Ívar heard this, it affected him so badly that he became sick and could not move, and his troops waited to see whether he would recover or die from his illness. He lay like this the entire day until evening, saying nothing. But then he ordered the men near him to tell Bjorn, Hvítserk, and Sigurð Snake-Eye that he wanted to see them and all the wisest men they had with them. And when the best leaders in the army had all come together, Ívar asked them if any of them had ideas that were more likely to succeed than those they had tried already.

  But all of them said they were not clever enough to come up with a plan that might succeed. "As always, we’ll have to follow your advice."

  Then Ívar said, "One idea has occurred to me that we haven’t tried. There is a large forest not far from here, and when night falls, we will secretly leave our tents and go into the forest, but leave our tents still standing behind us. And once we are in the forest, each one of us will take a load of firewood in his arms, and when this is done, we’ll surround the city from every side and set fire to the wood we’ve gathered, and this will make a huge bonfire. The lime in the city walls will melt from the heat, and then we will take our catapults to the walls and see just how strong they are."

  They did this, and they all went to the forest and spent as much time there as Ívar thought they needed. Then they went to the city, following {116} Ívar’s plan, and when they set fire to their piles of firewood, it made such a large fire that the walls could not stand, and the lime in them melted out. Then the attackers went at the walls with their catapults and broke numerous holes in the sides, and a battle began. Now that they were fighting on more even terms, most of the city’s defenders were killed, and some fled. The battle ended with the Ragnarssons and their army killing every human being who was in the city. Then they took all the valuables there, and they burned the city before they left.

  Chapter 14. The Ragnarssons Raid in the Southern Empire

  Now they traveled further on, until they came to a city called Luna. By this time they had destroyed nearly every city and fortress in the whole Southern Empire, and they had become so famous all across the world that there was no small child anywhere who did not know their name. They planned not to let up until they came to Rome itself, because they had heard that this city was great and populous and wonderful and rich. Yet they did not have a clear idea of how far it was, and they had such a large army that they could not feed their men.

  They stopped at the city of Luna, and spoke among themselves about their expedition. A wise old man approached them then, and they asked him who he was. He said that he was a vagabond who had traveled widely his whole life.

  "Then you will know a great deal of news to tell us about the things we want to know about."

  The old man answered, "I doubt there are any lands you might want to ask about that I couldn’t tell you about."

  "We want you to tell us how far it is from here to Rome."

  He said, "I can tell you something that will speak to this. Here you can see this pair of iron-soled shoes I have on my feet, and they are old, and this other worn-out pair I’m wearing across my back. When I left Rome, I had the shoes that are now on my back on my feet, and both pairs were new, and I have been on the road from there the whole time since."

  {117} When the old man had told them this, they thought they probably could not complete the journey they had intended to Rome. And so they turned away with their troops, and conquered many cities that had never been taken before, and the signs of their work remain to this day.

  Chapter 15. The Death of King Ragnar in England

  It is told that Ragnar sat at home in his kingdom and knew neither where his sons were nor where Randalín his wife was. But he heard all of his men saying that no one could be compared with his sons, and it seemed to him that no one was more famous than his sons had become. He began to think about what kind of great deed he might try to accomplish that might not achieve less fame.

  He made up his mind at last, and hired shipmakers and ordered a forest of trees cut down to make two huge ships, and the people thereabouts saw that these would be two ocean-going warships so big that none of such size had ever been made before in Scandinavia. Ragnar also ordered every man in his entire kingdom to arm himself for war. And with that, people understood that Ragnar meant to leave the land on some raiding expedition. The news traveled widely across neighboring lands, and the people there and their rulers feared that they would be driven out of their lands and kingdoms. And every lord and chieftain ordered men to keep watch over his lands, in case anyone should attack.

  And one time Randalín asked Ragnar what destination he intended to sail for. He told her that he intended to go to England, and to take with him no more ships than these two new large ships, and only as many troops as these could carry.

  Randalín said, "This journey you’re considering seems unwise to me. I think it would be wiser to bring smaller ships, but more of them."

  "It’s nothing special," said Ragnar, "if men conquer lands with many ships. But it’s never been heard of before that such a land as England was conquered with just two ships. But if I am defeated, it will be all the better that I didn’t take too many ships away from our land."

  {118} Randalín answered, "I don’t think it would cost you more if you prepared many more longships for this journey before those two large ships are finished. And you know that it is difficult to sail near England. If it happens that your ships are lost, then your men are lost to you even if they do get to land, if an army shows up from the countryside. And it’s easier to sail a longship than a large ocean-going ship into a harbor."

  Then Ragnar spoke this poem:

  "A man shouldn’t spare his gold

  if he wants his fighters’ loyalty;

  an abundance of followers

  is better than an abundance of cash.

  It does no good to stand

  in the middle of a battle with golden rings.
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  I’ve known many a rich man to die

  while his treasure survived him."

  Now Ragnar ordered his ships made ready, and he assembled an army to fill his two ships. There was much talk about his plans. And now he spoke this poem:

  "What is this I hear

  echoing off the mountain walls,

  that the wise, generous warlord

  will sail his ships away?

  If the gods are willing, lady,

  the sea will rule the fate

  of the unfearing man,

  and receive his gold."

  Once his ships were ready, together with his troops, and once the weather had turned favorable, Ragnar said that he would board his ships. When he was ready, Randalín went with him to his ships. Before they parted, she said that she would loan him the shirt he had given her. He asked what kind of shirt this was. She replied with this poem:

  {119} "With my whole heart,

  I give you this long shirt:

  it is of one piece, woven

  from a single long, gray hair.

  No wound will bleed you,

  no blade will bite you

  in this holy armor—

  it was blessed by the gods."

  Ragnar said that he would accept it. And as they parted, it was clear to see that saying farewell weighed heavily on Randalín.

  Ragnar then sailed his ships to England, as he had intended. The winds were fierce, and as he drew near to England both of his ships wrecked, and all his troops were driven to shore in their armor and weapons. And in England, wherever he came to a farm or town or castle, Ragnar had the victory.

  There was a king named Ella who ruled England at this time. He had heard about Ragnar when he left on his expedition. He had set men to watch so that he would know if the army came to land in England. These men came to Ella now and told him about the army. Ella had his orders sent all throughout his kingdom, commanding every man to come to him who could hold a shield and ride a horse and who dared to fight. He assembled such a large army that it was an amazing sight. Ella and his men now prepared for battle, and King Ella said to his men: "If we win this battle, and you notice that Ragnar is within sight, do not attack him with weapons, because he has sons who will never let us forget him if he is killed."