They fly before him through the night, In such a wild war-cruise as this, Great would he be who could bring peace." * King Sigurd Sleva came to the Herse Klyp's house. Klyp was a son of Thord, and a grandson of Hordakare, and was a man of power and great family. He was not at home; but his wife Alof gave a good reception to the king, and made a great feast at which there was much drinking. Alof was a daughter of Asbiorn, and sister to Jernskiegge,† north in Yrjar. Asbiorn's brother was called Hreidar, who was father to Styrkar, whose son was Eindride, father of Einar Tambaskielver. In the night the king went to bed to Alof against her will, and then set out on his journey. The harvest thereafter, King Harald and his brother King Sigurd Sleva went to Vors, and summoned the bondes to a Thing. There the bondes fell on them, and would have killed them, but they escaped and took different roads. King Harald went to Hardanger, but King Sigurd to Alrekstad. Now when the Herse Klyp heard of this, he and his relations assembled to attack the king; and Vemund Volubriot § was chief of their troop. Now when they came to the house they attacked the king, and Herse Klyp, it is said, ran him through with his sword and Herse,- -a title like Sir or Sira.-L. Now Vos, east of Bergen. Volubrjótr,-literally the one who breaks the vala, that is, breaks the skulls of witches killed him; but instantly Klyp was killed on the spot by Erling Gamle [965]. CHAPTER XV.-Griotgard's Fall. King Harald Grayskin and his brother King Gudrod gathered together a great army in the east country, with which they set out northwards to Throndhjem [968]. When Earl Hakon heard of it he collected men, and set out to More, where he plundered. There his father's brother, Griotgard, had the command and defence of the country on account of Gunhild's sons, and he assembled an army by order of the kings. Earl Hakon advanced to meet him, and gave him battle; and there fell Griotgard and two other earls, and many a man besides. So says Einar Skalaglam : "The helm-crown'd Hakon, brave as stout, The bowl runs o'er with Odin's mead,* Three sons of earls from this one fray Thereafter Earl Hakon went out to sea, and sailed outside the coast, and came to Denmark. He went to the Danish king, Harald Gormson, and was well received by him, and stayed with him all winter [969]. At that time there was also with the Danish king a man called Harald, a son of Knut Gormson, and a * Odin's mead, called Bodn, was the blood or mead the sons of Brage, the god of poets, drank to inspire them.-L. + To dwell with Odin,-viz. slew them.-L. brother's son of King Harald. He was lately come home from a long viking cruise, on which he had gathered great riches, and therefore he was called Gold Harald. He thought he had a good chance of coming to the Danish kingdom. CHAPTER XVI.-King Erling's Fall. King Harald Grayskin and his brothers proceeded northwards to Throndhjem, where they met no opposition. They levied the scat-duties, and all other revenues, and laid heavy penalties upon the bondes; for the kings had for a long time received but little income from Throndhjem, because Earl Hakon was there with many troops, and was at variance with these kings. In autumn King Harald went south with the greater part of the men-at-arms, but King Erling remained behind with his men. He raised great contributions from the bondes, and pressed severely on them; at which the bondes murmured greatly, and submitted to their losses with impatience. In winter they gathered together in a great force to go against King Erling, just as he was at a feast; and they gave battle to him, and he with the most of his men fell [969]. CHAPTER XVII.-Of the Seasons in Norway at this time. While Gunhild's sons reigned in Norway the seasons were always bad, and the longer they reigned the worse were the crops; and the bondes laid the blame on them. They were very greedy, and used the bondes harshly. It came at length to be so bad that fish, as well as corn, were wanting. In Halogaland there was the greatest famine and distress; for scarcely any corn grew, and even snow was lying, and the cattle were bound in the byres all over the country until midsummer. Eyvind Skaldaspiller describes it in his poem, as he came outside of his house and found a thick snow-drift at that season: * ""Tis midsummer, yet deep snows rest On Odin's mother's frozen breast: CHAPTER XVIII.-Of the Icelanders and Eyvind Skaldaspiller. Eyvind composed a poem about the people of Iceland, for which they rewarded him by each bonde giving him three silver pennies, of full weight and white in the fracture. And when the silver was brought together at the Althing, the people resolved to have it purified, and made into a row of clasps; and after the workmanship of the silver was paid, the row of clasps was valued at fifty marks. This they sent to Eyvind; but Eyvind was obliged to separate the clasps from each other, and sell them to buy food for his household. But the same spring a * Byresgards or farms. + These are curious circumstances of the importance of the art of the skald in the estimation of the Iceland people, of the state of their money, and of their dress. The row of clasps was probably similar to the rows of buttons still used by the Friesland fishermen for ornaments on their jackets.-L. shoal of herrings set in upon the fishing ground beyond the coast-side, and Eyvind manned a ship's boat with his house servants and cottars, and rowed to where the herrings were come, and sang: "Now let the steed of ocean bound O'er the North Sea with dashing sound; A like provision to my friends. Welcome provision 'tis, I wot, That the whale drives to our cook's pot." So entirely were his moveable goods exhausted, that he was obliged to sell his arrows to buy herrings, or other meat for his table : * "Our arms and ornaments of gold For the bright arrows of the sea.” * Herrings, from their swift darting along, are called the arrows of the sea; and there is a play upon the words pila (arrows) and sil (herrings), as being similar somewhat in sound.-L. |