Chapter I: Denmark (4)

_Ragnar_, the son of Uffo, succeeded to the throne of the Goths, but not until he had rescued it from the domination of his step-mother. His queen was Swanhita, sister of Frode, a king of Denmark; but this alliance did not preserve a good understanding between the two countries. Frode invaded Gothland, but perished in the expedition,—not, observes Saxo, by the hands of the enemy, but through a fever, occasioned alike by the heat and the weight of his armour. On the death of Ragnar, the sceptre of the Goths was seized by _Holward_, or _Hodbrod_, who was a warlike prince. In his expedition to Denmark, which was then governed by Helge and Roe, he left the latter sovereign dead on the field. But he himself, after his return to Gothland, was mortally wounded by Helge, and his kingdom became the prize of the victor. But _Attil I._, the son of Hodbrod, by marrying the daughter of Helge, and, still more, by the bravery of the Goths, was raised to the throne. The issue of this marriage, _Hoder_, became, in the sequel, king of Scania, no less than of Gothland. This is the Hoder of whom Saxo—so absurd in his chronology—makes the contemporary and rival of Balder, the son of Odin.[145] Ruric, the son of Hoder, was also monarch of both states. He, as we have before related, was the grandfather of Hamlet, through the marriage of his daughter with Horwendil, prince of Jutland.[146] He governed Denmark through his viceroys, and always remained in Gothland; for this reason, he has been often omitted in the list of Danish kings. Of _Attil II._ we merely know that he was assassinated by a Danish emissary; of _Hogmor_ and _Hogrin_, who reigned conjointly, that they perished in a battle with the Danes. But _Alaric_, their successor, appears to have been identical with _Elrec_, prince of the Swedes, the brother of Eric[147]; and this conjecture is confirmed by the statement of the Swedish historians,—that the Goths and Swedes were at this time united. Probably Elrec ruled one nation, Eric another. In the Swedish annals, too, _Eric_ ranks as the brother and successor of Alaric;—a confusion of chronology common enough in the historians of this period. _Halfdan_ (or _Halden_) succeeded, who was, probably, the _Alf_ of Snorro.[148] This conjecture, too, is strengthened by the statement of the same Norwegian authority, that Yngve and Alf shared the government of the Swedes. Both would scarcely reign at Upsal; and we have strong reason for inferring that, while Yngve held that throne, Alf, or Halfdan, reigned over the Goths. And there is another confirmation in the fact that, on the death of Alf, the two people obeyed different rulers. In the reigns of _Siward_, _Eric_, _Halfdan II._, _Ragnald_, _Asmund_, and _Haquin_ (or Hako), we observe few points of coincidence between the history of the Goths and the Swedes: probably they were kings of the former people only, with the occasional superiority over Scania. But the name of Hako must not be dismissed without adverting to an incident which the author of _Macbeth_ has admitted into the greatest of his dramas. Hako, resolved to avenge the death of his brothers who had been assassinated at the Danish court, descended with a strong armament on the coast of Zealand, and marched towards the residence of the Danish king. On his way, to avoid observation, he passed through the woods; and when the path diverged into the open plain, he ordered his men each to cut down a large branch, that the paucity of his followers might not be discovered. Great was the wonder of the sentinel, to see a forest approaching the royal fortress, and he immediately carried the information to the king. The latter inquired how far the moving wood was distant from the walls; and, being answered that it was near, he felt that his last hour was also at hand. Issuing from the fortress to meet the foe on the open plain, he met the fate which he had foreseen.[149]

[Sidenote: 448 to 623.]

We now approach historic ground. _Egil Auniff_, the next king of the Goths, is, beyond all doubt, Egil, the son of Aun, whose exploits we have recorded in a former page of this chapter.[150] Those exploits are the same, both in the narration of Snorro, and in that of later historians of the country: the cause and the result were the same. Egil, therefore, was king of the Goths and the Swedes. The _Gothar_ of the Swedish writers, the successor of Egil, is also the _Ottar_ of Snorro: the circumstances of their lives are identical.[151] _Adel_ is the _Adils_, _Ostan_ the _Eystein_, of the Heimskringla: in both histories, as the former was killed by the fall of his horse, so the latter was burned to death.[152] The only difference in the relation is the circumstance that led to the death of Eystein; the Norwegian authority attributing it to Solve, a Jutish pirate; the Swedish, to the rebellion of a Gothland chief. The _Ingvar_ of the Swedish writers is indisputably the _Yngvar_ of Snorro; and the _Asmund_ of the former is the _Onund_, or _Braut-Onund_ of the latter. In this latter reign, we perceive the same encouragement of industry; but the death of the king is variously related. Snorro, as we have before related, attributes it to an avalanche[153]; but the Swedish writers make him fall in battle against a body of rebels. Of the two next rulers mentioned by the Swedish writers—_Siward_ and _Hirvt_—we have no mention in the annals of the Ynglings. The reason is, that they were kings of Gothland only, and, probably, dependent on the monarchs of Upsal: the latter, indeed, is expressly called the king of the Goths. _Ingel_, the next sovereign in the Swedish annals, is, beyond all doubt, the Ingiald Illrada of Snorro Sturleson, who was king of the Goths and the Swedes: his exploits, and tragical death, are the same.[154]

We have thus brought down the contemporary monarchy of the Goths, from the century before Christ to the conquest of Sweden by Ivar Vidfadme, in or about the year 623. By regarding these dynasties as separate, and endeavouring to distinguish kings whom all preceding historians have confounded, we have made the subject intelligible to the reader. The path, in which we have been the first to venture, will, we have no doubt, be traversed by other writers, until it is as well known as any other part of ancient Scandinavian history. It is yet a dark one; and criticism, aided by an extensive use of manuscript authorities, can alone enlighten it.

[Sidenote: 623 to 794.]

The four next monarchs of the Swedes and the Goths were also kings of the Danes. Of these, _Ivar Vidfadme_, the conqueror of Ingiald Illrada, was one of the most celebrated. The saga relates of him that he subdued all Sweden, which he joined with Denmark; a great part of Saxland, all Estland, and a fifth part of England. There is, doubtless, some exaggeration in this statement; but this very exaggeration establishes the fact of his conquests. The part of England to which the saga alludes, is said to be Northumbria. No mention, indeed, of such a descent is to be found in the Saxon chronicle, or in Bede; and the silence of this Northumbrian historian, especially, may be a strong argument against its truth. Still, in the troubled state of the times, while the Saxons were struggling with the native Britons for the possession of the territory, the arrival of a new chief might well be overlooked, especially if the conquests of Ivar were confined to that part of Northumbria which lies north of the Tweed. It could not well be south of that river in the time of St. Oswald. But, whether this prince was in England, or not, no doubt can be entertained of his courage. His hereditary domain comprehended Scania only; Jutland he soon added to the rest; but we have no proof that he ever sat on the throne of Ledra. As king of Gothland and Sweden, however, without including his conquests on the coasts of the Baltic, he was a powerful monarch. “From him,” says Snorro, “henceforth descend the kings of the Danes and the Swedes.” On his death, the sceptre of these states was inherited by _Harald_, his grandson, surnamed _Hildetand_, or the Golden-toothed. This monarch far exceeded the former in glory. He appears, from the relation of Saxo, to have had some trouble with the Goths, and also with the Swedes; and for his success over them he was, according to the same veracious authority, indebted to the councils of Odin, who honoured him with a personal interview. From several passages in this historian, and in the sagas of a later age, we may infer that the Goths, dissatisfied at once with the Danes and the Swedes, repeatedly proclaimed their independence. They belonged not to the divine race of Odin; and the freedom which their ancestors had enjoyed before the arrival of “that wizard king,” was often the stimulant to bold deeds. As they had revolted from the Swedes, so they were equally troublesome to the Danes during the four reigns which are now before us. But Harald triumphed, and governed both nations through his royal kinsman. Other parts of the world witnessed his valour: but it was his fate to die in battle, and in his old age, against his nephew Sigurd Ring, who wished to expel him from the throne of Denmark. In the north of Europe, the battle of Bravalla is celebrated as any in ancient or modern times. Saxo, with much care, enumerates the royal chiefs who fought on both sides; but their number, no less than that of the common men, exceeds all belief. The aged and blind Harald was carried about in a war chariot; and, from time to time, he inquired how the battle proceeded. Above all, he was struck with the admirable manner in which Sigurd Ring had drawn up the hostile ranks; and he expressed his conviction that this arrangement was not the result of mortal science, but of Odin’s peculiar favour. The charioteer whom he addressed was no other than Odin, under the form of a Danish chief; and, by the hands of that deity, he received a deadly blow, and was thrown on the ground. According to Saxo, he was succeeded by _Olo_ and _Omund_, in succession; but the Icelandic authorities, who make the conqueror _Sigurd_, or _Siward Ring_, his successor, are more entitled to credit. Probably Olo and Omund were viceroys only, though they might be of royal origin. Many, according to Saxo, were the kings who intervened between Harald Hildetand and _Ragnar Lodbrog_; while the more critical historians of modern times, supported by Icelandic authorities, pass at once from the one to the other. At this distance, and without the aid of documents clearer than any that have yet been published, it is impossible to say which of the lists is the true one: but the probabilities are in favour of the Icelanders; for, though the kings enumerated by Saxo may have ruled in some parts of Denmark, they were, it is believed, rather viceroys than monarchs. By means of local governors, indeed, the four princes whose names fill this paragraph must have reigned; their states were too numerous, too extensive, for personal superintendence, especially when, as was generally the case, they were absent on foreign expeditions. To the exploits of Ragnar we have scarcely alluded, even in the Danish portion of the history; the reason is, that we can see in them little which is consentaneous with truth,—little which is not a monstrous outrage of probability.[155]

[Sidenote: 794 to 1001.]

On the death of Ragnar, the throne of Sweden fell to one of his sons, _Biorn I._, surnamed _Jarnasido_. Of him we know little more than that, in his reign, the first attempts were made to christianise the Swedes. Biorn was not averse from toleration; and he allowed St. Anscar to teach, baptize, and preach unmolested. But the good thus effected was transient: Anscar returned to Germany, to procure from pope and emperor some amplification of his authority; and, during his absence, the mission entirely failed. When Anscar paid a second visit to this kingdom, he found a king named _Olaf_ in possession of the throne. Who was he? Olaf Trætelia had been dead near two centuries, and Olaf Skotkonung did not reign until above a century afterwards. Either, therefore, we have a sad confusion in chronology, or there must have reigned a king whom modern criticism does not acknowledge. The probability is, that Olaf was a king of Gothia, who, in the numerous insurrections of the period, had seized on the royal authority in Sweden, no less than in the more southern provinces. _Eric I._, the son of Biorn, is next classed among the Swedish kings; and, after him, _Eric II._, surnamed _Raefilson_, who was, probably, either a Gothic king, or an usurper. _Emund_ and _Biorn II._—the one ruler of the Gothlands, the other of Sweden—next ascended the throne, and were followed by _Eric III._, the son of Emund; but the reigns of all were short, and they have left no records for posterity. Indeed, the number of kings during the ninth century is so considerable, that we are compelled to infer the existence of separate kingdoms amongst the Goths, while we are unable to distinguish the two dynasties of kings. _Biorn III._ (923) enjoyed a long reign; _Eric IV._, surnamed the Victorious (993), one still longer; and _Eric V._, surnamed _Arsaell_ (1001), closes the list of pagan kings:—not that he was a pagan; on the contrary, as we shall perceive in the chapter devoted to the introduction of Christianity into the north, he died for the new faith. But he had been reared a pagan; at his death the greater part of the kingdom was pagan; and it was reserved for his son, Olaf Skotkonung, to render Christianity the established religion of Sweden and Gothland.[156]

The confusion at this period of Swedish history, viz., from the close of the eighth to that of the tenth century, is greater than at any former period. No fewer than sixteen kings are said, by different historians, to have swayed the Swedish sceptre in little more than two centuries. The cause of this confusion is very obvious. Not only were the kings of Gothland, when that province happened to have a separate king, enumerated with those of the Swedes, but the successors of Olaf Trætelia were equally confounded with them: in other words, the royal chiefs of _three_ contemporary states have been classed as kings of the Swedes only,—as the sovereigns of Upsal. This confusion has rendered it scarcely possible to distinguish either the royal names of each state, or the actions attributed to them. We may, however, assert, with confidence, that Olaf Trætelia, and Ingel (or Ingiald), his son, were not kings of the Swedes; on the contrary, they were sovereigns of a state far to the west,—Vermeland and Raumarik.[157] If, as some historians assert, a king named _Charles_ reigned at this time in Sweden, his seat could not have been Upsal; it must have been some town of East or West Gothland. The same may, we think, be asserted of _Emund_, who reigned in the south, while Biorn reigned at Upsal, or Birca. But Eric IV., surnamed the _Victorious_, was certainly king of both the Goths and the Swedes. The successful wars in which he engaged, and which procured him that epithet, are too obscure to be distinguished from the chaotic events of this period. _Eric V._, surnamed _Arsaell_, or the Happy-born, the father of Olaf Skotkonung, was also king of the two provinces. He embraced Christianity, and was baptized in public at Upsal, together with many of his nobles. It was, probably, as much for this reason, as for the extraordinary abundance which Sweden enjoyed in his time, that he obtained the epithet that posterity has attached to his name. There is much obscurity over this monarch’s reign. By some writers he is said to have been so alarmed at the murmurs of his people, for his abandonment of the old religion, that, to pacify them, he reverted to it. By others, again, it is asserted that he stedfastly adhered to the new faith; that he laboured, with some success, to withdraw his subjects from the errors of idolatry; that he went so far as to demolish the heathen temples; that at Sigtuna he met with little opposition; but that, when he ventured to lay hands on the magnificent temple of Upsal, the people arose and put him to death. To reconcile these contradictions would be a vain attempt. All that yet remains to be communicated respecting this, and one or two preceding reigns, may be found in the chapter devoted to the origin of Christianity in these regions.[158]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAP. III.

NORWAY.

ABOUT A.C. 70 TO A.D. 1030.

NEW KINGDOM OF THE YNGLINGS IN VERMELAND.—KINGS FROM OLAF TRÆTELIA TO
HALFDAN THE BLACK.—HALFDAN THE TRUE FOUNDER OF THE NORWEGIAN
MONARCHY.—HARALD HARFAGER.—ERIC OF THE BLOODY AXE.—HAKO THE
GOOD.—HARALD GRAAFELD.—HAKO THE JARL.—SURPRISING ADVENTURES OF OLAF
TRYGVESON.—HIS EARLY PIRATICAL EXPLOITS.—HIS ROMANTIC FORTUNES.—HE
BECOMES KING OF NORWAY.—HIS DESTRUCTION OF THE IDOLS.—HIS INTOLERANT
BIGOTRY AND CRUEL PERSECUTIONS.—HIS TRAGICAL DEATH, OR, ACCORDING TO
SOME WRITERS, HIS MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE FROM THE WORLD.—OLAF THE
SAINT.—HIS ADVENTURES OF A PIRATE.—HIS ACCESSION TO THE CROWN OF
NORWAY.—HIS PERSECUTING CHARACTER.—HIS QUARRELS AND SUBSEQUENT
ALLIANCE WITH SWEDEN.—IS DRIVEN INTO EXILE BY CANUTE THE GREAT.—HE
RETURNS, AND IS SLAIN.—HIS PRETENDED SANCTITY.

THAT Norway had its chiefs with the regal title, if not prior to our Saviour’s birth, many centuries before the fall of the Ynglings in Sweden, is undoubted. We find allusions to them in Danish and Swedish history, and in chronicles which, though of a later period, were derived from sources now lost. The country was full of them. Most of them, as we have already observed[159], boasted of their descent from an old Finnish race, which, though half mythologic, had, in primeval times, produced many chiefs of illustrious name. But of their deeds we have no evidence beyond the little supplied by the uncertain voice of tradition; and that little is so exaggerated by fable as to be useless. We will not rescue their names from oblivion: our narrative must accompany the fates of the Ynglings from their first settlement in Vermeland in Sweden, to their conquest of Norway. In regard to the latter country, we shall only observe that when Olaf Trætelia laid the foundation of a new power, it had as many reguli as at any former period. To subjugate them in succession, and to incorporate their petty states into one great monarchy, was the constant aim of his successors.[160]

[Sidenote: 630 to 640.]

The province of Vermeland, to which Olaf Trætelia retired, and in which he laid the foundation of a new state, was, as we have before observed, situated to the north of the Vener Lake. Here the assiduity with which he and his followers cleared the ground of its forests procured him, at Upsal, the scornful application of _Trætelia_, or Wood-cutter. But he despised the ridicule, and persevered. By degrees, many thousands of the people, whom attachment to the Ynglings, or the hope of greater freedom in the woods, rendered discontented at Upsal, or Sigtuna, or Birca, hastened to join him. Some writers assert that he returned for a season to his capital, and ruled the Swedes as his ancestors had done. But this statement is unsupported by any ancient authority, and is hostile to reason. Vermeland might well be confounded with Upland, for both were and are Swedish provinces. But the very circumstance which should have fortified him against the power of his enemies occasioned his death. The number of new comers was so great that the region, which was yet imperfectly cultivated, was unable to support them; the colony became a prey to famine, and the visitation was, as usual, ascribed to the king. According to the religious notions of the Swiar, every public misfortune was a proof that the gods were offended: but they could not be offended without a cause; and, as the monarch was the representative of the whole society, he was held responsible for the calamity. Besides, Olaf was not very zealous in the observances of religion; he seldom offered sacrifices; and his blood only could propitiate the deities. By a large body of his subjects his house was surrounded, set on fire, and consumed with him,—a meet sacrifice to Odin for an abundant year. This prince deserved a better fate. His name will be held in remembrance, not only as the founder of a new kingdom, but as one who laboured with much zeal for the welfare of his people. By his marriage with Solveig, the daughter of Halfdan, king of Soleyr, a state lying to the west of Vermeland, and founded about a century before his own, he left to his successors a claim on that province.[161]

[Sidenote: 640 to 840.]

Olaf left two sons, Halfdan and Ingiald. The former, on the tragical death of his father, was with his grandfather in Soleyr, but he was followed by the Swedes, and demanded from the old king. The latter, however, having no desire to surrender his grandson to the murderers of the father, resisted, and a battle ensued, in which he lost his life. _Halfdan_ was raised to the government of both states, and, with the aid of both, he subdued Raumarik, a country west of Soleyr. The three formed a compact and scarcely accessible kingdom, which, when governed by chiefs of enterprise and policy, could not fail to extend its limits to the west and north. Like his father, Halfdan studied how to promote the interest of his new state by a matrimonial alliance. North of Raumarik lies Hedmark, a small province subject to a king named Eystein. Its situation was so convenient in respect to Raumarik and Soleyr, that Halfdan eagerly sought and obtained the hand of Esa, daughter of Eystein. This union affording him a pretext for interfering in the affairs of that province, half of it, by force or policy, he soon added to his other states; and he afterwards subdued a considerable portion of Westfold, which he claimed in right of Hilda, princess of Westfold, the wife of his son. He died at Thotnia, one of his new acquisitions; but his body was carried to Westfold, and there interred. Over Vermeland was his brother Ingiald; and after the death of this chief the province was administered by jarls.

[Sidenote: 730 to 840.]

_Eystein_, the son of Halfdan, succeeded to the united crowns of Raumarik and Westfold. As the latter province was maritime, Eystein built vessels, and followed the ordinary as well as most honourable profession of his time,—that of piracy. According to the tradition which the poet Thiodulf perpetuated, he perished in one of his expeditions. He had the temerity to disembark on the coast of Varnia,—the king of which was a great magician,—to lay waste the region bordering on the sea; to carry to his ships everything upon which he could lay his hands, and to slaughter the cattle on the sea-shore. Scarcely had he embarked, when the wizard king arrived. The latter knew how to be avenged. Shaking his mantle in the air, and blowing from his mouth, another vessel suddenly appeared close to that of Eystein, and the spar which was used for distending the sails striking the king, who was sitting at the helm, he was thrown overboard. The sailors flew to his aid, but could not rescue him from the waves until the vital spark had fled. _Halfdan II._, the son of Eystein, is noted for a strange inconsistency in his conduct. To his followers—and as a piratical chief he had many—he gave, in the shape of wages, as many golden as other kings gave silver pieces of money; yet he almost starved them for want of food.[163] The sceptre was now swayed by _Gudred_, the son of Halfdan, who, from his chief pursuit, was called the hunter king. He was also called Gudred the Magnificent, probably from the extent of his dominions, no less than from his wealth. None of his predecessors understood better the art of profiting by matrimonial alliances. His first wife was Alfhilda, daughter of the king of Alfheim; and with her he received, as dowry, a part of Vingulmark. As this province was bounded on the north by Raumarik, on the west by Westfold,—both on the southern confines of Norway and Sweden,—it was a valuable acquisition. On her death, in looking round where his dominions could be most conveniently extended, the maritime coast of Agder, which lay to the south of Westfold, and which, like that province, is now a portion of Christiania, as Raumarik is of Aggerhus, he demanded Asa, daughter of that king. On the refusal of Harald to bestow the princess on him,—probably from a knowledge of his ulterior policy,—he equipped a fleet, sailed to the coast of Agder, disembarked, hastened to the royal abode, and assailed king Harald, who fell in the battle, together with the heir of the province. Agder therefore became an easy prey to this ambitious monarch. But it was his doom to fall by the hand of a domestic, at the instigation of his second wife, Asa, many years after. His states were now divided between _Olaf_ and _Halfdan_; the former his son by Alfhilda, the latter by Asa: the one reigned in the east (Vermeland), the other in the south. Vermeland, at this time, was tributary to the Swedish kings; its contiguity, indeed, to Upsal, rendered it too liable to conquest by the successors of Ivar Torfœus, Historia Norvegica, tom. i. Vidfadme; and its geographical posture placed it within the limits of Sweden rather than those of Norway, into which the dominions of Gudred were now extending. It is to Halfdan, the son of Gudred, that our narrative must chiefly remain, especially as his glory was doomed to eclipse that of all his predecessors.[164]

[Sidenote: 840 to 850.]

Such was the state of the kingdom when _Halfdan the Black_, by the tragical death of his father, became sovereign of one portion. Probably, however, the superiority over the whole rested with his elder brother, Olaf. But when his father died he was only a year old; and his brother Olaf, or his kinsmen, seized the administration of the whole kingdom, except his maternal inheritance of Agder. His position was, therefore, not enviable; and no one, at this moment, could have predicted his future success. To his mother, who, during his minority, undertook the government of Agder, and who raised him under her own eye, he was probably indebted for many advantages. On reaching his eighteenth year he assumed the government of Agder, and hastened into Westfold to demand from his brother Olaf some portion of his inheritance. It was on this occasion that the partition of the province took place, probably to the dissatisfaction of Olaf; but Halfdan had a strong body of troops, and the provincial states, whose authority was superior to that of the crown, were not regardless of justice. But other provinces, the administration of which had been usurped, were yet to be recovered; and events soon proved that he was likely to sustain the interests of his house. With the force at his command he hastened to Vingulmark, to claim the portion of that province formerly held by his father. Though he encountered resistance enough, he attained his object, namely, one half of the province. He next marched into Raumarik, which he recovered. This act brought him into hostility with Sigtrug, king of Hedmark, son of Eystein, who, like other monarchs of the time, had committed the fatal error of dividing his states. Halfdan was victorious; and Sigtrug compelled to flee, wounded by an arrow. Another son of Eystein, who also ruled in Hedmark, attempted to continue the war; and, during the absence of Halfdan in Westfold, invaded Raumarik. The latter hastily returned, defeated this new enemy, and pursued him into Hedmark, which he also subdued. But the resources of Eystein were not exhausted: twice was he enabled by his royal allies in the north to remove the warfare; yet he was twice vanquished. Seeing that there was no hope from hostilities, he threw himself on the mercy of Halfdan, who, says the historian, granted to the kinsman what he had refused to the enemy, namely, one half of Hedmark. Two districts more, bordering on Hedmark,—small in extent, but convenient for their site,—were soon added by him to his other possessions.[165]

[Sidenote: 850.]

Here Halfdan paused in his career of victory, to try what could be gained by marriage. Sogne lay contiguous to one of his districts; its king had, fortunately, no son, but a marriageable daughter; and he obtained her hand. The offspring of this union was a prince, Harald by name, who, according to the manner of the times, was sent in his boyhood to be educated at the court of his maternal grandfather. On the death of that relative, young Harald was hailed as the future sovereign; but the mother and the prince soon followed him to the tomb, and Halfdan had only to march to Sogne to take possession of it, as the nearest heir to all three. At this time the princes who reigned over a portion of Vingulmark endeavoured to surprise him amidst the darkness of night; and though they failed in this purpose, they were able, through their numerical superiority, to defeat him. This check, however, was but temporary: he soon collected a large force, and was the victor in his turn. The whole of Vingulmark soon yielded at his summons.[166]

[Sidenote: 852 to 863.]

Halfdan was too regardful of his interests to pass a long widowhood. The ample province of Ringarik lay immediately west of Westfold. It was ruled by Sigurd, surnamed _Hiort_, or the Stag, from his addiction to the chase. Besides a daughter, this prince had a son; but the latter was yet an infant, and the chances were in favour of the daughter becoming the sole heiress. The circumstances preceding and attending this second marriage are illustrative of social manners. Sigurd was of large proportions, of indomitable bravery, and of great success in duels, which at the age were so common. In his twelfth year he is said to have vanquished a noted berserk, and eleven of his fellows, in succession. But his delight was to ride alone into the most solitary forests and the scarcely accessible mountains of Norway, to fight with beasts of prey. One day, as he was wandering in quest of his four-footed enemies on the confines of Hadaland, he fell in with Hako, a noted berserk, accompanied by thirty more. A combat followed, which proved fatal to Sigurd; but twelve of Hako’s company fell before him, and that chief lost a hand and received some dangerous wounds. He was carried immediately into the neighbouring kingdom of Ringarik, to the residence of the deceased Sigurd. According to the manner of the times, he took Ragnilda, the daughter, and Guthrum, the son, of Sigurd, with an immense prey, and returned into Hadaland, where he had considerable lands. His dearest object was to celebrate his marriage with Ragnilda, but the severity of his wounds rendered some delay unavoidable. His nuptial day was never to come. Halfdan no sooner heard of this event than he ordered Harek, one of his chiefs, to fetch the princess to his palace. Accompanied by a hundred men, Harek hastened to the residence of Hako, approached it during the silence of night, broke into the place, seized Ragnilda and her brother, and, setting fire to the house, returned with the illustrious captives. Hako, indeed, had strength enough to rise and pursue the fugitives. In vain: before he could reach the lake which lay in the path, and which, as it was the yule season, was frozen over, they were far before him. In despair he fell upon his own sword, and was buried on the margin of the lake. Halfdan was on the other bank; and no sooner did he perceive the vehicle moving over the distant ice than he knew his commands had been successfully obeyed. He therefore ordered a banquet to be prepared, and guests to be invited from every part of his own country. That very day, in presence of his assembled guests, the nuptials were celebrated. The issue was the famous Harald, surnamed _Harfager_, or Fair-haired. We have no wish to record the dreams which, previous to the birth of the prince, raised the anxiety of the two parents. Such portents are always invented in regard to men whom fortune has elevated above their fellows.[167]

[Sidenote: 863.]

Halfdan the Black was, for his age, a superior prince. He made some laws, and, what is much better, he caused them to be observed. His legislation, of course, was truly Gothic; that is, crimes were visited with pecuniary mulcts, varied according to the rank of the culprit and of the person injured. He was not so fond of his youthful son Harald as was the mother, Ragnilda; yet the qualities of the boy were such as to excite the admiration of an heroic age. The death of this king was, in the superstitious opinion of the times, preceded by a wonderful circumstance. As he was sitting at table with a multitude of guests, to celebrate the yule festival, the meats and drinks suddenly disappeared. The latter, alarmed at the portent, quitted the table, and left the king alone. What could be the meaning? A Finnish magician was seized, put to the torture, and commanded to say what the portent indicated. But he could or would say nothing; and he besought prince Harald to procure his liberation. Harald applied to the king; but finding him inexorable, he allowed the poor Finn to escape, and was the companion of his flight. At this time, Harald was only ten years of age; and he was to see his father no more. Immediately after this event Halfdan returned, on a sledge, towards another part of his dominions. In his way was a lake, which was to be crossed over the ice. But holes had been made in it, for the cattle to be watered; a thaw had commenced, and the king had not proceeded far before the ice gave way, and he was engulfed in the cold abyss; most of his attendants perishing with him. Thus ended the short but memorable career of Halfdan the Black. His memory was always dear to Norway; and during his life he was always reverenced as one of the greatest benefactors of his people. A prodigious crowd arrived to honour his funeral; but they would not allow the body to be interred in Raumarik. During his reign the land had been so fertile that he was believed to be an especial favourite of the gods. Wherever he was, dead or alive, prosperity was expected; and the warriors from the different states of his kingdom demanded that he should be buried in their district. The dispute, we are told, was ended by the division of his body into four parts, corresponding with the four shires of Raumarik, Ringarik, Hedmark, and Westfold. The head was buried in Ringarik, the other members in each of the other districts. Hence, says the historian, the number of sepulchres which are still called the tombs of Halfdan.[168]

[Sidenote: 863.]

As _Harald Harfager_ was but a child when his father was drowned, the neighbouring reguli, under the pretext of recovering what their predecessors had lost, hastened to divide his ample inheritance. One party invaded Hedmark, a second Westfold, a third advanced towards the residence of Harald, to make him prisoner. But he had a noble defender in his uncle, Guthrum[169], whom he made general of his troops, and his minister. This chief collected troops, and, with the young king, marched against the invader of Westfold, whom he defeated and left dead in the field. The place where this great victory was achieved was called _Hakadal_, or Hako’s Dale, from the name of the chief who fell there. Another invader of that province, Gandulf, was defeated; but, more fortunate than Hako, he contrived to escape with life. Seeing the fate of these two battles, the remaining princes determined not to fight singly, but in concert; and a meeting was appointed in the rock mountains of the upland province of Hedmark. But the intention was soon known to the two heroes; and, proceeding, without loss of time, to the appointed place, they fell, at midnight, on the outposts of the camp, while two of the chiefs were sleeping, and in the skirmish which ensued, sent two other kings to join them in the hall of Odin. The fruits of this victory were not only the recovery of all which had been invaded, but the acquisition of several districts to the north and west of his hereditary possessions. When Gandulf returned to the charge, he was again defeated, and sent to drink mead, to feed on the grisly boar, and to fight with the dark shades of Odin’s warrior ghosts: his dominions as far as the river Raum became the prize of the victor.[170]

[Sidenote: 865 to 868.]

After these unexpected successes, Harald thought that he might aspire to the favours of any princess in the north. Hearing of the charms of Gyda, daughter of Eric, jarl or king of Hordaland, he sent messengers to her, not with the offer of his hand, but of his heart. The reply of the lady, if any faith is to be reposed in tradition, was unequalled for its pride. So far from being the mistress, she would not be the wife, of one whose territory consisted in a few insignificant provinces; she would never marry any one beneath the dignity of a monarch,—who did not, like Eric of Sweden, and Gorm of Denmark, hold absolute sway over the whole country. The answer of the heroine being brought to the king, he admired her ambition, and vowed to the gods that he would never cut or comb his hair until he had subdued the whole of Norway—until its revenues and authority were his: and if he failed in his attempt, the penalty should be his life. All this is fable: Harald needed not a woman’s advice to enter on a career which he had long meditated, and which his father had, probably, meditated before him. He might, however, make the vow. In pursuance of that vow, which was highly pleasing to Guthrum, he enlisted all the forces he could, and marched towards the north, through Godbrandsdalia, having the Dofrafeld mountains on his left. The inhabitants fled at his approach into the uplands; some into Orkadal, others into Ganlardal, others into the recesses of the mountains; but many—perhaps the greater number—preferred his yoke to exile and ruin: they did homage, and were unmolested. Pursuing his way into Orkadal, which lay beyond the Dofrafeld chain, in the modern province of Drontheim, he defeated an army, there assembled to oppose him, received the homage of the royal general, and annexed Orkadal, as he had done the intervening regions, to the other dependencies of his crown. Nor must it be forgotten that he was the great champion of the feudal system. Wherever he conquered, he abolished the allodial law of inheritance, and converted all lands into fiefs, to be held from him alone, on the usual obligations. But he did more: he insisted that all rents should be paid in kind; that one third of the portion accruing to the crown should be set apart for the support of the local government. Over each province he placed a jarl, whose duties were, to defend it against all enemies, to collect the revenues, to preside over the local administration. Associated with each jarl were four, at least two, herser or councillors, whose office was at once military and administrative; and to each was awarded a benefice of twenty marks in yearly value. In time of war each jarl was to support sixty, each of the herser twenty, armed men, at his own expense. So ample were the revenues of each province, that the jarls were more wealthy and more powerful than many royal chiefs of the period. Hence the dignity was an object of ambition, and he who could bestow it did not want applicants for it: in the hope of obtaining it, most of the nobles hastened to join him whenever he entered a province.[171]

[Sidenote: 867 to 882.]

From Orkadal Harald transferred his arms to Ganlardal, which is now also a portion of Drontheim, immediately to the east of the Swedish province of Jamtland. In this expedition he is said to have been joined by Hako, a powerful jarl, by whose aid he subdued the whole province, and the adjoining one of Strinda. In reward for this timely service he placed Hako over the new conquest, with the dignity and rights of jarl. Proceeding still to the north, the conqueror subdued Stiordal, Veradal, Scaunia, and Sparbyggia, all situated in the modern government of Drontheim. The islands in the west were, at the same time, subjected to his sway. Still Harald proceeded to the north, and the two kings of Naumdal submitted, one of them being invested with the dignity of jarl. Thinking that he had now penetrated far enough into the north, since there was nothing beyond Naumdal but vast marshes and trackless forests, scarcely habitable by men[172], Harald returned into Drontheim, where he resolved to await the return of spring, before pursuing his conquests in the south. In that province he fixed his abode, and built a town, which he resolved to make his usual seat of government. There he forgot Gyda, so far as to marry Asa, the daughter of jarl Hako; but perhaps he was merely tired of celibacy, and relied on his royal prerogative of obtaining another wife whenever he pleased. He did not, however, pass this season in mere indulgence; most of it was spent in constructing new vessels, and in the discipline of his followers. No one, says the historian, was allowed to enter his palace, except such as excelled in bodily strength or courage. To them he committed the building of his ships, and the command when built. The rewards which he held out to all champions were so ample that hundreds flocked to his standard. When spring arrived he had a formidable fleet, and a large army,—large, we mean, in comparison of those which northern kings usually brought into the field. The first people were the Möre Fylke, or the maritime inhabitants immediately south of Drontheim. Here he had to oppose two kings, and, as usual, victory shone on his banners,—both chiefs being sent to Odin’s hall. With the two provinces over which they had presided he adopted the same policy as with those of the east and north; that is, he subjected them to feudal obligations. They were intrusted as fiefs to jarl Rognevald, and with them both ships and men to defend the coast no less than the interior. This Rognevald was celebrated alike for valour and wisdom, and was the father of Rollo, first duke of Normandy, to whose exploits we shall advert in a future chapter. The summer and autumn were passed in consolidating their conquests; the winter was spent in Drontheim in preparing for new wars; nor did Harald affect to conceal his intention of subduing Sunmore, a province immediately south of Raumadal, as Raumadal was south of Nordmore,—both subject to Rognevald. In one respect this announcement of his views—this manifest approach to universal empire—was imprudent, since it enabled the king of Sunmore to form alliances with the neighbouring reguli, whom the same common danger served to unite. But before the confederation could acquire much strength, he met and defeated the three chiefs who had brought their powers to oppose him. Sunmore was the reward of this victory. The king of the Fiords was next vanquished, and the two districts added to the two other conquests by jarl Rognevald. Not that these conquests were obtained without bloodshed. They were sometimes dearly purchased by the loss of his valiant jarls and bravest followers. Sometimes, too, the ambition of those chiefs was injurious to the progress of the royal arms. Thus Hako, the father-in-law of Harald, and another jarl, contended with each other for the government of Sogne (Sygna-fylke); and one died in the field; the other received a mortal wound, and died soon afterwards.[173]

[Sidenote: 882 to 884.]

The success of Harald gave equal umbrage and alarm to Eric, the son of Emund, king of the Swedes.[174] Taking the field, the latter subdued Vermeland, and placed over it a jarl, whose jurisdiction should extend to Swinasund in the south. Nor was he satisfied with this acquisition: on the contrary, he asserted that he would not lay down his arms until he had incorporated with his dominions Westfold, Raumarik, and the whole of southern Norway as far as the ocean,—possessions which he claimed on the pretext that they had once belonged to his ancestors. This was an unexpected blow to Harald; but he hoped to arrest its consequences by negotiation; and for this purpose he solicited an interview with Eric, in Vermeland. As he had reason, far more than suspicion, that some of the chiefs in these provinces were in communication with Eric, he assembled the _Thing_, or provincial assembly, in each, and complained of the traitors. Some cleared themselves by the ordeal; some redeemed themselves by the ordinary pecuniary mulct; others were punished in various ways. From these states he hastened to Vermeland, to the house of Aki, a vassal of his, celebrated alike for his riches and dignity, who had readily undertaken to be the host of the two kings. On this occasion Aki is said to have adopted the strange expedient of lodging Eric in old apartments, and Harald in new ones; and of making the same distinction between the plate, the furniture, and drinking horns. The interview was not satisfactory to Eric, and, perhaps, brought no advantage to Harald; but the latter was grateful for the hospitality of Aki, while the former resented the manner in which he had been treated. Having seen Harald on horseback, and, as if he had a presentiment of his fate, confided to that king the interests of his son, he next attended Eric to the neighbouring wood. Being asked by this monarch the reason of the distinctions which he had made, he replied that he hoped king Eric had no reason to complain of ill-treatment; that, because Eric was an elderly and Harald a young man, he had thus acted. This reply did not lessen the anger of Eric, who reminded Aki that he had once been his vassal. “I have not forgotten that,” replied Aki, “and I also remember that thou wast once mine.”[175] The king immediately drew his sword, and killed the man whose hospitality he had so lately shared. Harald, being informed of the deed, rode in pursuit of Eric, whom, had he overtaken him, he would certainly have sacrificed to his vengeance. This unfortunate circumstance embittered the enmity already subsisting between the rivals. From year to year hostilities were renewed, chiefly in Gothland, or the confines of Vermeland; but they were not of importance enough to recall Harald from the east and centre of Norway, especially after he had placed his uncle Guthrum as jarl over all the regions which he held in Sweden.[176]

[Sidenote: 885.]

On his return to Drontheim, where he passed the following winter, Harald found that the reguli of the provinces were still unconquered; and even many of the chiefs who lay within his hereditary jurisdiction were confederating to crush, or, at least, to resist him. It was, indeed, a formidable confederacy. To crush it, Harald, with his usual celerity, collected his forces, both maritime and land, and proceeded towards the south. The armament which he encountered in the bay of Hafursfiord was very different from those which he had hitherto encountered: here were more kings, more vassals, more men, among whom were the greatest heroes of Norway. The fate of that country manifestly depended upon the fate of the ensuing battle. It was a struggle between monarchy and aristocracy,—between the sovereign power and a multitude of independent states,—between an established government and perpetual anarchy,—between society and domestic piracy. They whose ancestors had for ages been accustomed to the piratical life, and had considered it their proudest calling, were eager to fight for what they deemed their privileges. The struggle was worthy of the occasion; prodigies of valour were performed on both sides; but, in the end, victory declared for Harald. Long was this victory celebrated in the north. It was held equal to the most celebrated in ancient times. It was the subject of several poems, among which is one by Hornkloft, the Icelandic bard attached to the court of Harald, whose metrical history was of such service to Snorro, the compiler of Heimskringla.[177]

[Sidenote: 885.]

After this victory, Norway was unable to resist the conqueror. The reguli, and jarls, and native chiefs, who refused to submit, were driven into exile. Some, preferring liberty, or rather an unbridled licence, to an established government, voluntarily exiled themselves. From this year may be dated the colonisation, by Norwegian settlers, of the Orkneys, the Hebrides, the Shetlands, the Feroes, Iceland; the depredations on the coasts of Great Britain, and Ireland, and Spain; the invasion of Russia and Normandy by successful hordes of pirates. So great an emigration might, one would suppose, greatly weaken the physical resources of Harald; but this does not appear to have been the fact: on the contrary, he spared numerous families to people the wilds of Jamta, Helsingia, and other regions more to the north, which, prior to his time, are said to have been wholly or partially desert. But if Norway was thus his, he had no idle life. The pirates whom he had banished infested his coasts, until he, in person, must dislodge them from their strong holds in the islands of the western ocean. To _their_ and _his_ maritime transactions we shall advert on a future occasion.—Harald, being now the monarch of Norway, says the Saga, remembered that he had accomplished his vow, and that his hair might be cut and combed. It was surely high time, if, as we are told, he had resembled, previously, a wild beast rather than a man, and had been called Harald _Lufa_, or “Harald with the Horrid Hair.” When this deformity was removed,—when the shears and the bath had done their work,—he obtained the epithet of Harfager, or Fair-hair. And he now remembered the saying of the maiden who had excited him to all his successes. Sending for her, he made her the partner of his throne; and by her had a daughter and four sons.—All this is fabulous, but unequal to what follows, which appears to have occurred some years before this marriage. One winter, the king hastened to the uplands to hold the festivities of Yule; and he ordered the banquet to be prepared in the villa of Thopte. The evening before the opening of the feast, as he sat at table, a domestic advanced to say that a Finn, waiting at the door, wished to see him. At this bold message the anger of the king and the surprise of all present may be conceived, and an indignant answer was returned. But Swaso was resolute: he bade Harald be informed that he was the Finn whose hut was on the other side of the mountain, and whom he had promised to visit. The monarch went to the door, and immediately said that he would accompany him to the hut. On their entrance, the daughter of Swaso—a wondrous beauty—arose, and presented a horn of mead to the royal visitor. It was a magic drink, designed to make the king amorous, and it had its effect. He wished to take her as his mistress; but she had too much art for this; she would be the affianced bride, or nothing. That ceremony was promptly and easily performed, and the royal wish was gratified. So much was he captivated with the beautiful Snæfrida, that for years, though he visited, he forgot his country, capital, his subjects, his throne, his very existence. Four sons were the issue of this connection,—Sigurd, Halfdan, Gudred, Rognevald. She then died; but her corpse preserved the same spotless white as when living. Corruption could not take hold of it. During three whole years he sat by the corpse, thinking that every moment life would revisit it; and his subjects deeply bewailed his infatuation. To dissolve the spell was the work of Thorleif the Wise, one of his jarls. The corpse was removed from the bed on which it lay, when suddenly the most offensive odour was emitted by it. It was hastily borne to the funeral pile: serpents, and lizards, and toads, and every species of venomous reptile continued to issue from it; yet the king did not regain his sound mind until the corpse was consumed. Ashamed of his weakness, he resumed his royal duties, and at once became the pride of his people. Magic drinks, we need scarcely observe, are of perpetual occurrence in the annals of the ancient north. Saxo alludes to many; but none surely was ever so potent as this,—none before or since, in the wildest dreams of fancy, could preserve the empire of love for three years after the death of its object.[178]