The Sagas of Olaf Tryggvason and of Harald The Tyrant (Harald Haardraade) Part 9

-- Thus Harek of Tiotta sped from the town with all the haste that might be, whereas Hawk and Sigurd remained with the King, and the twain were both baptized.

Harek continued on his way until he was come home to Tiotta, & from thence sent he word to his friend Eyvind Rent-cheek that Harek of Tiotta had spoken with King Olaf, but had not let himself be cowed into accepting the new G.o.d; & moreover Harek caused Eyvind to be told that King Olaf was minded to bring an host against them come summer-tide & that they must act warily, and Harek bade Eyvind come to him as soon as ever might be. When this message was brought to Eyvind, quoth he that it behoved them greatly to take such steps as would prevent the King from getting the upper hand of them, and he hied him away with all speed in a light skiff with but few men aboard it.

When he was arrived at Tiotta Harek bade him welcome, and straightway went they, Harek and Eyvind, to talk together on the other side of the house-yard, but hardly had they speech of one another than they were fallen on by men of King Olaf, for so it was that these men had followed Harek northward. Eyvind was taken captive and led to their s.h.i.+p, and thereafter fared they away with him, and no pause did they make in their voyage or ever they were come to Throndhjem to find King Olaf in Nidaros. Eyvind was then haled before the King who offered him baptism in like manner as he had offered other men baptism, but to this Eyvind answered, 'Nay.'

Then with fair words the King bade him be baptized and gave him many good reasons therefor, & the Bishop spake after the same fas.h.i.+on as the King, none the less would Eyvind in no wise suffer himself to be persuaded. Then did the King offer him gifts, and the dues and rights of broad lands, but Eyvind put all these away from him. Then did the King threaten him with torture even unto death, but never did Eyvind weaken his resistance. Thereafter caused the King to be brought in a bowl filled with glowing coals, and had it set on the belly of Eyvind, and not long was it ere his belly burst asunder.

Then spake Eyvind: 'Take away the bowl from off me for I would fain speak some words before I die,' and accordingly it was done.

Then the King asked: 'Wilt thou now, Eyvind, believe on Christ?' 'No,'

answered he. 'I am not such as can be baptized, I am a spirit quickened in the human body by the magic of the Lapps for before that had my father and mother never a child.' Then died Eyvind who was the most skilled of wizards.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

-- In the spring which followed on these happenings did King Olaf cause his s.h.i.+ps and men to be made ready for war, taking for his own s.h.i.+p the 'Crane,' and there was mustered a large and goodly host.

All things being now ready shaped he a course from out the fjord, and bringing his fleet north past Byrda fared northward to Halogaland.

Wheresoever he landed, summoned he a Thing, & at it offered the people baptism in the true Faith. Now against this had no man the boldness to speak, therefore came it to pa.s.s that whithersoever he fared were all that were of those lands baptized. King Olaf visited Tiotta and was the guest of Harek, who was baptized at that hour together with all the folk that were about him.

When the King departed thence Harek bestowed on him great gifts and became his man, and from the King received the dignity of bailiff with the dues and rights appertaining unto a lord of the land.

-- Raud the Strong was the name of a peasant who abode at G.o.dey in that fjord which is named Salpti (Salten).

Raud was a man of much wealth and at his beck were many house-carles; a powerful man was he withal, for a large company of Lapps were ready to follow him to war whensoever he needed them.

Raud was zealous as a maker of blood-offerings, and skilled also in witchcraft; even so was he furthermore a warm friend to that man about whom it has been writ before, to wit, Thorir Hart, & even like unto him was he also a mighty chief.

Now when it came to the ears of these men that Olaf was abroad with an host northward even in Halogaland, they too their men mustered, launching out s.h.i.+ps, and a.s.sembling an host. To Raud appertained a great dragon-s.h.i.+p with golden heads thereto, a s.h.i.+p of thirty benches, and broad was she of beam for her length, and had likewise Thorir Hart also a s.h.i.+p of good size.

Southward sailed they their fleet purposing to meet King Olaf, and when they were fallen in with him gave they battle, and fierce was the fight thereof. Soon men began to fall plenteously, but so much the more was this the case among the host of the Halogalanders; their s.h.i.+ps were cleared and thereupon came fear & terror over them, & Raud rowed his dragon out to sea and hoisted the sail thereof. A breeze had he wherever he was minded to go, and this came of his powers of magic; but to cut short the tale of the cruise of Raud is briefly to relate that home sailed he even unto G.o.dey. For land made Thorir Hart in all haste and his folk fled their s.h.i.+ps, but King Olaf pursued after them & put them to the sword. Moreover then as ever when such doings were afoot was the King himself foremost among his men.

He saw whither Thorir ran (and Thorir was exceeding fleet of foot) and thither went the King after him, followed by his dog Vigi. And the King called out: 'Vigi, catch the hart,' and Vigi sprang ahead after Thorir and straightway leapt up at him.

Then Thorir had perforce to stop and the King threw a javelin after him, but Thorir struck the dog with his sword & wounded it sore, and at the same moment the King's javelin flew under Thorir's hand and went through him & out at the other side, and thus ended Thorir his life; but Vigi was borne wounded to the s.h.i.+ps.

To all those who asked it and were willing to accept baptism gave King Olaf quarter.

-- Thence sailed King Olaf with his host northward along the coast, baptizing all folk withersoever he went, & being come north to Salpti was he minded to go up the fjord & seek Raud. Foul weather howsoever set in with a gale blowing fiercely down the fjord, and though the King lay there nigh upon a week the same wind blew ever the while from the land, though without the fjord was there a fresh and favourable breeze for to sail north along the coast.

Therefore it came to pa.s.s that the King set sail and fared all the way northward to Amd, and there the folk became Christians.

After that went he about, and when he was come south again to Salpti he found a gale blowing down the fjord and driving spray into his countenance.

There lay the King even a few more nights, but the weather waxing no better inquired he then of Bishop Sigurd whether or not he wotted of some remedy against the fiendcraft.

-- So thereupon took Bishop Sigurd all the appurtenances that belonged unto the Holy Ma.s.s, and walked he forward therewith even to the prow of the King's s.h.i.+p. There was a candle lit & was incense carried forward & thereafter was ye Holy Rood set at the prow.

The gospel was read and also many prayers, and the Bishop sprinkled holy water over the whole of the s.h.i.+p. Thereafter bade he the crew uns.h.i.+p the tilts and row up the fjord, and the King commanded that the other s.h.i.+ps should row after them.

No sooner had the crew of the 'Crane' fallen to their oars, & she the s.h.i.+p was set well up to the fjord, than felt they that there was no more wind against them, & in her wake was free sea and calm; but on both sides of her flew the spray & it drave so that no man could perceive the mountains on either side of the fjord. So it fared that one s.h.i.+p rowed after the other in the calm, and thus pursued they one another the whole livelong day, & throughout the night thereafter; and a little before dawn came they to G.o.dey, and brought-to off the house of Raud, and there found his great dragon lying off-sh.o.r.e.

Forthwith went King Olaf to the house with his men and made for the upper chamber wherein Raud was sleeping, and his folk burst open the door and ran in.

Then was Raud taken and bound, but of the other men who were therein some were killed & others taken prisoners. Thereafter the King's men went to the room wherein slept the house-carles of Raud, and some of them were then slain and some bound & some beaten. Then caused the King Raud to be led before him & offered him baptism. 'Take from thee thy possessions I then will not,' quoth the King, 'but will the rather be thy friend, an thou wilt show thyself worthy of my friends.h.i.+p.' Against this did Raud loudly raise his voice, saying that never would he believe on Christ, and blaspheming G.o.d.

Then did the King wax wroth, and swore that Raud should suffer the worst of deaths, and the King commanded that he be taken and bound with his back to a pole and that a bit of wood be placed betwixt his teeth so that his mouth might be open, and caused an adder to be taken and set in his mouth, but the adder would in no wise enter therein but writhed away when Raud blew upon it. Then did the King cause the adder to be taken & put in a hollow stick of angelica and set in the mouth of Raud (albeit some say that the King let his horn be taken & put into the mouth of Raud, and that the adder was placed in this and pushed down with a red-hot rod of iron), and then the adder slid into the mouth of Raud, and thereafter down his throat, and cut its way out through his side.

After this manner ended the life of Raud. Then did the King take thence very great wealth in gold & silver and other chattels, weapons, & divers kinds of valuable things. The King caused all the fellows that had been with Raud to be baptized save those who, not suffering this, were slain or tortured. Then King Olaf took the dragon that had pertained unto Raud and himself was her steersman, and a much larger and finer s.h.i.+p was she than the 'Crane': forward she was fas.h.i.+oned with a dragon's head and aft with a crook-- ending in like manner as the tail of a dragon, & both the prow & the whole of the stern were overlaid with gold. Now the King called this s.h.i.+p the 'Serpent,' for when the sail was hoisted aloft was it like unto the wings of a dragon, and this was the fairest s.h.i.+p in all Norway.

The islands whereon Raud had lived were called Gilling and Haering, but together were they styled G.o.dey, & the G.o.dey current (G.o.dostrom) lies over to the north, betwixt them and the mainland. All that lived around this fjord did King Olaf convert unto Christianity, and then went he southward along the coast, and there happened much on that cruise which is set forth in many legends about a giant and evil spirits which attacked his men & sometimes himself, but rather will we write of facts even such as the conversion of Norway & of those other lands whither he bore Christianity. That same autumn did the King lead his host to Throndhjem, bringing-to at Nidaros, and there making ready for a winter sojourn.

-- And now will I next write what there is to tell of the men of Iceland.

-- That same autumn there came to Nidaros from Iceland Kiartan, the son of Olaf Hoskuldson and the grandson, on his mother's side, of Eigil Skallagrimson, who hath been called the likeliest man of those born in Iceland.

There was also Halldor the son of Gudmund of Modruvellir, and Kolbein the son of Thord Frey's-priest, the brother of Burning-Flosi, and fourthly Sverting the son of Runolf the Priest.

These were all heathen, as were many others: some powerful, and others not so powerful.

There came also from Iceland n.o.ble men who had accepted the true Faith from Thangbrand, and one that was of these was Gizur the White, the son of Teit Ketilbiarnson, whose mother was Alof, the daughter of Bodvar Viking-Karason the 'hersir.' Bodvar's brother was Sigurd the father of Eirik Biodaskalli, the father of Astrid, who was the mother of King Olaf. Another Icelander was named Hialti Skeggiason, and he had to wife Vilborg the daughter of Gizur the White; Hialti was a Christian, and King Olaf received with pleasure Gizur and his son-in-law Hialti, and with the King did they abide. Those of the Icelanders, however, who were captains of the s.h.i.+ps and were heathens to boot, sought to sail away even so soon as the King was come to town, for it was told them that the King constrained all men to embrace the faith of Christ. It so befell natheless that the wind was set against them, & drave them back off Nidarholm. The captains of the s.h.i.+ps were hight Thorarin Nefiolfson, Hallfrod the Skald, the son of Ottar, Brand the Bountiful and Thorleik Brandson. Now it being told to King Olaf that some of the Icelanders, and they heathens, were hard by with their s.h.i.+ps and were about to flee the town, he sent to them and forbade them to sail, but commanded them instead to come and lie off the town, and this they did but unloaded not their s.h.i.+ps.

-- Then came the holy season of Michaelmas,-- and the King caused the feast to be well kept and a solemn Ma.s.s was said. Thereat were the Icelanders witnesses and hearkened to the fair singing and the ringing of bells.

When they were come back to their s.h.i.+ps each of them said what he had thought of the Christian men's ways & Kiartan praised them, but most of the others mocked at them, & it befell that the King heard of this, for as the saying goes, 'many are the King's ears.' Then forthwith that self-same day sent he an emissary to Kiartan, and bade him come unto him, & Kiartan went unto him with but few men, and the King bade him welcome. Now Kiartan was one of the biggest and fairest of men, with a great gift of speech. When they had parleyed a while did the King make proffer to Kiartan that he should embrace the true Faith, and Kiartan made answer unto him that he would not say nay to this if he might thus gain the friends.h.i.+p of the King, whereupon swore the King to him & pledged him his hearty friends.h.i.+p, & after this fas.h.i.+on was a compact struck between them. On the morrow was Kiartan baptized, and with him Bolli Thorleikson his kinsman, and all their fellows.

Kiartan and Bolli were the guests of the King as long as they went in white weeds,-- and the King was of kindly countenance toward them.

-- It befell one day that King Olaf was walking in the street when some men came toward him, and he who was walking foremost greeted the King.

The King asked of the man his name, and the latter said he was hight Hallfrod.

Then said the King, 'Art thou a skald?' 'I can make verses,' said he.

Then the King answered: 'Thou wilt accept baptism as I trow and thereafter be my man?'

Quoth Hallfrod: 'There must be a bargain on that matter if I am to suffer myself to be baptized, to wit, that thou, King, holdest me thyself at the font, for from no man else will I take it.' 'So be it,'

said the King, & so Hallfrod was baptized and the King held him himself at the font. Thereafter the King asked Hallfrod: 'Wilt thou be my man?'

& Hallfrod made answer: 'I was of Earl Hakon's body-guard; and now will I not be the liege-man of thee or of any other chief unless thou givest me thy word that such a thing shall never befall as that thou shouldst drive me away from thee.'

'From all that is told me of thee, Hallfrod,' said the King, 'thou art neither so wise nor so meek but that thou mightest not do a thing which I could in no wise suffer.'

'Slay me then,' said Hallfrod. The King said, 'Thou art a troublesome skald, but my man shalt thou be all the same.' Hallfrod answered: 'What wilt thou give me, King, as a name-gift if I am to be called "Troublous-Skald"?' Then did the King give him a sword, but it had no scabbard; and the King said, 'Make now a stave about the sword, & let "sword" be in every line.' Hallfrod sang: