diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/1150.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/1150.txt | 15179 |
1 files changed, 15179 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/old/1150.txt b/old/1150.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c331d8e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/1150.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15179 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Danish History, Books I-IX, by +Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Learned") + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Danish History, Books I-IX + +Author: Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Learned") + +Release Date: February 11, 2006 [EBook #1150] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DANISH HISTORY, BOOKS I-IX *** + + + + +Produced by Douglas B. Killings and David Widger + + + + + +THE DANISH HISTORY, + +BOOKS I-IX + +by + +Saxo Grammaticus + +("Saxo the Learned") fl. Late 12th - Early 13th Century A.D. + + + PREPARER'S NOTE: + + Originally written in Latin in the early years of the 13th + Century A.D. by the Danish historian Saxo, of whom little is + known except his name. + + The text of this edition is based on that published as + "The Nine Books of the Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus", + translated by Oliver Elton (Norroena Society, New York, 1905). + This edition is in the PUBLIC DOMAIN in the United States. + + This electronic edition was edited, proofed, and prepared by + Douglas B. Killings. + + The preparer would like to thank Mr. James W. Marchand and Mr. + Jessie D. Hurlbut for their invaluable assistance in the + production of this electronic text. Thank you. I am indebted to + you both. + + Although Saxo wrote 16 books of his "Danish History", only the + first nine were ever translated by Mr. Oliver Elton; it is these + nine books that are here included. As far as the preparer knows, + there is (unfortunately) no public domain English translation of + Books X-XVI. Those interested in the latter books should search + for the translation mentioned below. + + + + +SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY: + +ORIGINAL TEXT-- + +Olrik, J and Raeder (Ed.): "Saxo Grammaticus: Gesta Danorum" +(Copenhagen, 1931). + +Dansk Nationallitteraert Arkiv: "Saxo Grammaticus: Gesta Danorum" (DNA, +Copenhagen, 1996). Web-based Latin edition of Saxo, substantiallly based +on the above edition; currently at the + + +OTHER TRANSLATIONS-- + +Fisher, Peter (Trans.) and Hilda Ellis Davidson (Ed.): "Saxo +Grammaticus: History of the Danes" (Brewer, Cambridge, 1979). + + +RECOMMENDED READING-- + +Jones, Gwyn: "History of the Vikings" (Oxford University Press, Oxford, +1968, 1973, 1984). + +Sturlson, Snorri: "The Heimskringla" (Translation: Samual Laing, London, +1844; released as Online Medieval and Classical Library E-text +#15, 1996). Web version at the following URL: +http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/Heimskringla/ + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + + + +SAXO'S POSITION. + +Saxo Grammaticus, or "The Lettered", one of the notable historians of +the Middle Ages, may fairly be called not only the earliest chronicler +of Denmark, but her earliest writer. In the latter half of the twelfth +century, when Iceland was in the flush of literary production, Denmark +lingered behind. No literature in her vernacular, save a few Runic +inscriptions, has survived. Monkish annals, devotional works, and lives +were written in Latin; but the chronicle of Roskild, the necrology of +Lund, the register of gifts to the cloister of Sora, are not literature. +Neither are the half-mythological genealogies of kings; and besides, the +mass of these, though doubtless based on older verses that are lost, +are not proved to be, as they stand, prior to Saxo. One man only, Saxo's +elder contemporary, Sueno Aggonis, or Sweyn (Svend) Aageson, who wrote +about 1185, shares or anticipates the credit of attempting a connected +record. His brief draft of annals is written in rough mediocre Latin. +It names but a few of the kings recorded by Saxo, and tells little that +Saxo does not. Yet there is a certain link between the two writers. +Sweyn speaks of Saxo with respect; he not obscurely leaves him the task +of filling up his omissions. Both writers, servants of the brilliant +Bishop Absalon, and probably set by him upon their task, proceed, like +Geoffrey of Monmouth, by gathering and editing mythical matter. This +they more or less embroider, and arrive in due course insensibly at +actual history. Both, again, thread their stories upon a genealogy of +kings in part legendary. Both write at the spur of patriotism, both to +let Denmark linger in the race for light and learning, and desirous to +save her glories, as other nations have saved theirs, by a record. But +while Sweyn only made a skeleton chronicle, Saxo leaves a memorial in +which historian and philologist find their account. His seven later +books are the chief Danish authority for the times which they relate; +his first nine, here translated, are a treasure of myth and folk-lore. +Of the songs and stories which Denmark possessed from the common +Scandinavian stock, often her only native record is in Saxo's Latin. +Thus, as a chronicler both of truth and fiction, he had in his own +land no predecessor, nor had he any literary tradition behind him. +Single-handed, therefore, he may be said to have lifted the dead-weight +against him, and given Denmark a writer. The nature of his work will be +discussed presently. + + + + +LIFE OF SAXO. + +Of Saxo little is known but what he himself indicates, though much +doubtful supposition has gathered round his name. + +That he was born a Dane his whole language implies; it is full of a glow +of aggressive patriotism. He also often praises the Zealanders at the +expense of other Danes, and Zealand as the centre of Denmark; but that +is the whole contemporary evidence for the statement that he was a +Zealander. This statement is freely taken for granted three centuries +afterwards by Urne in the first edition of the book (1514), but is not +traced further back than an epitomator, who wrote more than 200 years +after Saxo's death. Saxo tells us that his father and grandfather fought +for Waldemar the First of Denmark, who reigned from 1157 to 1182. Of +these men we know nothing further, unless the Saxo whom he names as one +of Waldemar's admirals be his grandfather, in which case his family was +one of some distinction and his father and grandfather probably "King's +men". But Saxo was a very common name, and we shall see the licence of +hypothesis to which this fact has given rise. The notice, however, +helps us approximately towards Saxo's birth-year. His grandfather, if +he fought for Waldemar, who began to reign in 1157, can hardly have been +born before 1100, nor can Saxo himself have been born before 1145 or +1150. But he was undoubtedly born before 1158, since he speaks of the +death of Bishop Asker, which took place in that year, as occurring "in +our time". His life therefore covers and overlaps the last half of the +twelfth century. + +His calling and station in life are debated. Except by the anonymous +Zealand chronicler, who calls him Saxo "the Long", thus giving us the +one personal detail we have, he has been universally known as Saxo +"Grammaticus" ever since the epitomator of 1431 headed his compilation +with the words, "A certain notable man of letters ("grammaticus"), a +Zealander by birth, named Saxo, wrote," etc. It is almost certain that +this general term, given only to men of signal gifts and learning, +became thus for the first time, and for good, attached to Saxo's name. +Such a title, in the Middle Ages, usually implied that its owner was +a churchman, and Saxo's whole tone is devout, though not conspicuously +professional. + +But a number of Saxos present themselves in the same surroundings with +whom he has been from time to time identified. All he tells us himself +is, that Absalon, Archbishop of Lund from 1179 to 1201, pressed him, who +was "the least of his companions, since all the rest refused the task", +to write the history of Denmark, so that it might record its glories +like other nations. Absalon was previously, and also after his +promotion, Bishop of Roskild, and this is the first circumstance giving +colour to the theory--which lacks real evidence--that Saxo the historian +was the same as a certain Saxo, Provost of the Chapter of Roskild, +whose death is chronicled in a contemporary hand without any mark of +distinction. It is unlikely that so eminent a man would be thus barely +named; and the appended eulogy and verses identifying the Provost and +the historian are of later date. Moreover, the Provost Saxo went on +a mission to Paris in 1165, and was thus much too old for the theory. +Nevertheless, the good Bishop of Roskild, Lave Urne, took this identity +for granted in the first edition, and fostered the assumption. Saxo was +a cleric; and could such a man be of less than canonical rank? He was +(it was assumed) a Zealander; he was known to be a friend of Absalon, +Bishop of Roskild. What more natural than that he should have been the +Provost Saxo? Accordingly this latter worthy had an inscription in gold +letters, written by Lave Urne himself, affixed to the wall opposite his +tomb. + +Even less evidence exists for identifying our Saxo with the scribe of +that name--a comparative menial--who is named in the will of Bishop +Absalon; and hardly more warranted is the theory that he was a member, +perhaps a subdeacon, of the monastery of St. Laurence, whose secular +canons formed part of the Chapter of Lund. It is true that Sweyn +Aageson, Saxo's senior by about twenty years, speaks (writing about +1185) of Saxo as his "contubernalis". Sweyn Aageson is known to have had +strong family connections with the monastery of St. Laurence; but there +is only a tolerably strong probability that he, and therefore that Saxo, +was actually a member of it. ("Contubernalis" may only imply comradeship +in military service.) Equally doubtful is the consequence that +since Saxo calls himself "one of the least" of Absalon's "followers" +("comitum"), he was probably, if not the inferior officer, who is called +an "acolitus", at most a sub-deacon, who also did the work of a superior +"acolitus". This is too poor a place for the chief writer of Denmark, +high in Absalon's favor, nor is there any direct testimony that Saxo +held it. + +His education is unknown, but must have been careful. Of his training +and culture we only know what his book betrays. Possibly, like other +learned Danes, then and afterwards, he acquired his training and +knowledge at some foreign University. Perhaps, like his contemporary +Anders Suneson, he went to Paris; but we cannot tell. It is not even +certain that he had a degree; for there is really little to identify him +with the "M(agister) Saxo" who witnessed the deed of Absalon founding +the monastery at Sora. + + + + +THE HISTORY. + +How he was induced to write his book has been mentioned. The expressions +of modesty Saxo uses, saying that he was "the least" of Absalon's +"followers", and that "all the rest refused the task", are not to be +taken to the letter. A man of his parts would hardly be either the least +in rank, or the last to be solicited. The words, however, enable us to +guess an upward limit for the date of the inception of the work. Absalon +became Archbishop in 1179, and the language of the Preface (written, +as we shall see, last) implies that he was already Archbishop when he +suggested the History to Saxo. But about 1185 we find Sweyn Aageson +complimenting Saxo, and saying that Saxo "had `determined' to set forth +all the deeds" of Sweyn Estridson, in his eleventh book, "at greater +length in a more elegant style". The exact bearing of this notice on +the date of Saxo's History is doubtful. It certainly need not imply that +Saxo had already written ten books, or indeed that he had written +any, of his History. All we call say is, that by 1185 a portion of the +history was planned. The order in which its several parts were composed, +and the date of its completion, are not certainly known, as Absalon died +in 1201. But the work was not then finished; for, at the end of Bk. XI, +one Birger, who died in 1202, is mentioned as still alive. + +We have, however, a yet later notice. In the Preface, which, as its +whole language implies, was written last, Saxo speaks of Waldemar II +having "encompassed (`complexus') the ebbing and flowing waves of Elbe." +This language, though a little vague, can hardly refer to anything but +an expedition of Waldemar to Bremen in 1208. The whole History was in +that case probably finished by about 1208. As to the order in which its +parts were composed, it is likely that Absalon's original instruction +was to write a history of Absalon's own doings. The fourteenth and +succeeding books deal with these at disproportionate length, and +Absalon, at the expense even of Waldemar, is the protagonist. Now Saxo +states in his Preface that he "has taken care to follow the statements +("asserta") of Absalon, and with obedient mind and pen to include both +his own doings and other men's doings of which he learnt." + +The latter books are, therefore, to a great extent, Absalon's personally +communicated memoirs. But we have seen that Absalon died in 1201, +and that Bk. xi, at any rate, was not written after 1202. It almost +certainly follows that the latter books were written in Absalon's +life; but the Preface, written after them, refers to events in 1208. +Therefore, unless we suppose that the issue was for some reason +delayed, or that Saxo spent seven years in polishing--which is not +impossible--there is some reason to surmise that he began with that +portion of his work which was nearest to his own time, and added +the previous (especially the first nine, or mythical) books, as a +completion, and possibly as an afterthought. But this is a point which +there is no real means of settling. We do not know how late the Preface +was written, except that it must have been some time between 1208 and +1223, when Anders Suneson ceased to be Archbishop; nor do we know when +Saxo died. + + + + +HISTORY OF THE WORK. + +Nothing is stranger than that a work of such force and genius, unique in +Danish letters, should have been forgotten for three hundred years, and +have survived only in an epitome and in exceedingly few manuscripts. The +history of the book is worth recording. Doubtless its very merits, its +"marvellous vocabulary, thickly-studded maxims, and excellent variety of +images," which Erasmus admired long afterwards, sealed it to the vulgar. +A man needed some Latin to appreciate it, and Erasmus' natural wonder +"how a Dane at that day could have such a force of eloquence" is a +measure of the rarity both of the gift and of a public that could +appraise it. The epitome (made about 1430) shows that Saxo was felt to +be difficult, its author saying: "Since Saxo's work is in many places +diffuse, and many things are said more for ornament than for historical +truth, and moreover his style is too obscure on account of the number +of terms ("plurima vocabula") and sundry poems, which are unfamiliar to +modern times, this opuscle puts in clear words the more notable of +the deeds there related, with the addition of some that happened after +Saxo's death." A Low-German version of this epitome, which appeared in +1485, had a considerable vogue, and the two together "helped to drive +the history out of our libraries, and explains why the annalists and +geographers of the Middle Ages so seldom quoted it." This neglect +appears to have been greatest of all in Denmark, and to have lasted +until the appearance of the "First Edition" in 1511. + +The first impulse towards this work by which Saxo was saved, is found +in a letter from the Bishop of Roskild, Lave Urne, dated May 1512, to +Christian Pederson, Canon of Lund, whom he compliments as a lover of +letters, antiquary, and patriot, and urges to edit and publish "tam +divinum latinae eruditionis culmen et splendorem Saxonem nostrum". +Nearly two years afterwards Christian Pederson sent Lave Urne a copy of +the first edition, now all printed, with an account of its history. "I +do not think that any mortal was more inclined and ready for" the task. +"When living at Paris, and paying heed to good literature, I twice sent +a messenger at my own charges to buy a faithful copy at any cost, and +bring it back to me. Effecting nothing thus, I went back to my country +for this purpose; I visited and turned over all the libraries, but still +could not pull out a Saxo, even covered with beetles, bookworms, mould, +and dust. So stubbornly had all the owners locked it away." A worthy +prior, in compassion offered to get a copy and transcribe it with his +own hand, but Christian, in respect for the prior's rank, absurdly +declined. At last Birger, the Archbishop of Lund, by some strategy, got +a copy, which King Christian the Second allowed to be taken to Paris on +condition of its being wrought at "by an instructed and skilled graver +(printer)." Such a person was found in Jodocus Badius Ascenshls, who +adds a third letter written by himself to Bishop Urne, vindicating his +application to Saxo of the title Grammaticus, which he well defines +as "one who knows how to speak or write with diligence, acuteness, or +knowledge." The beautiful book he produced was worthy of the zeal, and +unsparing, unweariable pains, which had been spent on it by the band +of enthusiasts, and it was truly a little triumph of humanism. Further +editions were reprinted during the sixteenth century at Basic and at +Frankfort-on-Main, but they did not improve in any way upon the first; +and the next epoch in the study of Saxo was made by the edition and +notes of Stephanus Johansen Stephanius, published at Copenhagen in +the middle of the seventeenth century (1644). Stephanius, the first +commentator on Saxo, still remains the best upon his language. Immense +knowledge of Latin, both good and bad (especially of the authors Saxo +imitated), infinite and prolix industry, a sharp eye for the text, and +continence in emendation, are not his only virtues. His very bulkiness +and leisureliness are charming; he writes like a man who had eternity to +write in, and who knew enough to fill it, and who expected readers of an +equal leisure. He also prints some valuable notes signed with the famous +name of Bishop Bryniolf of Skalholt, a man of force and talent, and +others by Casper Barth, "corculum Musarum", as Stephanius calls him, +whose textual and other comments are sometimes of use, and who worked +with a MS. of Saxo. The edition of Klotz, 1771, based on that of +Stephanius, I have but seen; however, the first standard commentary is +that begun by P. E. Muller, Bishop of Zealand, and finished after his +death by Johan Velschow, Professor of History at Copenhagen, where the +first part of the work, containing text and notes, was published in +1839; the second, with prolegomena and fuller notes, appearing in 1858. +The standard edition, containing bibliography, critical apparatus based +on all the editions and MS. fragments, text, and index, is the admirable +one of that indefatigable veteran, Alfred Holder, Strasburg, 1886. + +Hitherto the translations of Saxo have been into Danish. The first that +survives, by Anders Soffrinson Vedel, dates from 1575, some sixty years +after the first edition. In such passages as I have examined it is +vigorous, but very free, and more like a paraphrase than a translation, +Saxo's verses being put into loose prose. Yet it has had a long life, +having been modified by Vedel's grandson, John Laverentzen, in 1715, +and reissued in 1851. The present version has been much helped by the +translation of Seier Schousbolle, published at Copenhagen in 1752. It is +true that the verses, often the hardest part, are put into periphrastic +verse (by Laurentius Thura, c. 1721), and Schousbolle often does not +face a difficulty; but he gives the sense of Saxo simply and concisely. +The lusty paraphrase by the enthusiastic Nik. Fred. Sev. Grundtvig, of +which there have been several editions, has also been of occasional use. +No other translations, save of a scrap here and there into German, seem +to be extant. + + + + +THE MSS. + +It will be understood, from what has been said, that no complete MS. of +Saxo's History is known. The epitomator in the fourteenth century, and +Krantz in the seventeenth, had MSS. before them; and there was that one +which Christian Pedersen found and made the basis of the first edition, +but which has disappeared. Barth had two manuscripts, which are said to +have been burnt in 1636. Another, possessed by a Swedish parish +priest, Aschaneus, in 1630, which Stephenhis unluckily did not know of, +disappeared in the Royal Archives of Stockholm after his death. These +are practically the only MSS. of which we have sure information, +excepting the four fragments that are now preserved. Of these by far the +most interesting is the "Angers Fragment." + +This was first noticed in 1863, in the Angers Library, where it was +found degraded into the binding of a number of devotional works and a +treatise on metric, dated 1459, and once the property of a priest at +Alencon. In 1877 M. Gaston Paris called the attention of the learned to +it, and the result was that the Danish Government received it next year +in exchange for a valuable French manuscript which was in the Royal +Library at Copenhagen. This little national treasure, the only piece of +contemporary writing of the History, has been carefully photographed and +edited by that enthusiastic and urbane scholar, Christian Bruun. In the +opinion both of Dr. Vigfusson and M. Paris, the writing dates from about +1200; and this date, though difficult to determine, owing to the paucity +of Danish MSS. of the 12th and early lath centuries, is confirmed by the +character of the contents. For there is little doubt that the Fragment +shows us Saxo in the labour of composition. The MSS. looks as if +expressly written for interlineation. Besides a marginal gloss by a +later, fourteenth century hand, there are two distinct sets of variants, +in different writings, interlined and running over into the margin. +These variants are much more numerous in the prose than in the verse. +The first set are in the same hand as the text, the second in another +hand: but both of them have the character, not of variants from some +other MSS., but of alternative expressions put down tentatively. If +either hand is Saxo's it is probably the second. He may conceivably +have dictated both at different times to different scribes. No other man +would tinker the style in this fashion. A complete translation of all +these changes has been deemed unnecessary in these volumes; there is +a full collation in Holder's "Apparatus Criticus". The verdict of the +Angers-Fragment, which, for the very reason mentioned, must not be taken +as the final form of the text, nor therefore, despite its antiquity, +as conclusive against the First Edition where the two differ, is to +confirm, so far as it goes, the editing of Ascensius and Pederson. There +are no vital differences, and the care of the first editors, as well as +the authority of their source, is thus far amply vindicated. + +A sufficient account of the other fragments will be found in Holder's +list. In 1855 M. Kall-Rasmussen found in the private archives at +Kronborg a scrap of fourteenth century MS., containing a short passage +from Bk. vii. Five years later G. F. Lassen found, at Copenhagen, a +fragment of Bk. vi believed to be written in North Zealand, and in +the opinion of Bruun belonging to the same codex as Kall-Rasmussen's +fragment. Of another longish piece, found in Copenhagen at the end of +the seventeenth century by Johannes Laverentzen, and belonging to a +codex burnt in the fire of 1728, a copy still extant in the Copenhagen +Museum, was made by Otto Sperling. For fragments, either extant or +alluded to, of the later books, the student should consult the carefully +collated text of Holder. The whole MS. material, therefore, covers but +a little of Saxo's work, which was practically saved for Europe by the +perseverance and fervour for culture of a single man, Bishop Urne. + + + + +SAXO AS A WRITER. + +Saxo's countrymen have praised without stint his remarkable style, for +he has a style. It is often very bad; but he writes, he is not in +vain called Grammaticus, the man of letters. His style is not merely +remarkable considering its author's difficulties; it is capable at need +of pungency and of high expressiveness. His Latin is not that of the +Golden Age, but neither is it the common Latin of the Middle Ages. There +are traces of his having read Virgil and Cicero. But two writers in +particular left their mark on him. The first and most influential is +Valerius Maximus, the mannered author of the "Memorabilia", who lived in +the first half of the first century, and was much relished in the Middle +Ages. From him Saxo borrowed a multitude of phrases, sometimes apt but +often crabbed and deformed, as well as an exemplary and homiletic turn +of narrative. Other idioms, and perhaps the practice of interspersing +verses amid prose (though this also was a twelfth century Icelandic +practice), Saxo found in a fifth-century writer, Martianus Capella, the +pedantic author of the "De Nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii" Such models +may have saved him from a base mediaeval vocabulary; but they were not +worthy of him, and they must answer for some of his falsities of style. +These are apparent. His accumulation of empty and motley phrase, like a +garish bunch of coloured bladders; his joy in platitude and pomposity, +his proneness to say a little thing in great words, are only too easy +to translate. We shall be well content if our version also gives some +inkling of his qualities; not only of what Erasmus called his "wonderful +vocabulary, his many pithy sayings, and the excellent variety of his +images"; but also of his feeling for grouping, his barbaric sense of +colour, and his stateliness. For he moves with resource and strength +both in prose and verse, and is often only hindered by his own wealth. +With no kind of critical tradition to chasten him, his force is often +misguided and his work shapeless; but he stumbles into many splendours. + + + + +FOLK LORE INDEX. + +The mass of archaic incidents, beliefs, and practices recorded by the +12th-century writer seemed to need some other classification than a bare +alphabetic index. The present plan, a subject-index practically, +has been adopted with a view to the needs of the anthropologist and +folk-lorist. Its details have been largely determined by the bulk and +character of the entries themselves. No attempt has been made to +supply full parallels from any save the more striking and obvious old +Scandinavian sources, the end being to classify material rather than to +point out its significance of geographic distribution. With regard to +the first three heads, the reader who wishes to see how Saxo compares +with the Old Northern poems may be referred to the Grimm Centenary +papers, Oxford, 1886, and the Corpus Poeticurn Boreale, Oxford, 1883. + + + + +POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS. + +King--As portrayed by Saxo, the ideal king should be (as in "Beowulf's +Lay") generous, brave and just. He should be a man of accomplishments, +of unblemished body, presumably of royal kin (peasant-birth is +considered a bar to the kingship), usually a son or a nephew, or brother +of his foregoer (though no strict rule of succession seems to appear in +Saxo), and duly chosen and acknowledged at the proper place of election. +In Denmark this was at a stone circle, and the stability of these +stones was taken as an omen for the king's reign. There are exceptional +instances noted, as the serf-king Eormenric (cf. Guthred-Canute +of Northumberland), whose noble birth washed out this blot of his +captivity, and there is a curious tradition of a conqueror setting his +hound as king over a conquered province in mockery. + +The king was of age at twelve. A king of seven years of age has twelve +Regents chosen in the Moot, in one case by lot, to bring him up and rule +for him till his majority. Regents are all appointed in Denmark, in +one case for lack of royal blood, one to Scania, one to Zealand, one to +Funen, two to Jutland. Underkings and Earls are appointed by kings, and +though the Earl's office is distinctly official, succession is sometimes +given to the sons of faithful fathers. The absence of a settled +succession law leads (as in Muslim States) to rebellions and plots. + +Kings sometimes abdicated, giving up the crown perforce to a rival, or +in high age to a kinsman. In heathen times, kings, as Thiodwulf tells us +in the case of Domwald and Yngwere, were sometimes sacrificed for +better seasons (African fashion), and Wicar of Norway perishes, like +Iphigeneia, to procure fair winds. Kings having to lead in war, and +sometimes being willing to fight wagers of battle, are short-lived as a +rule, and assassination is a continual peril, whether by fire at a time +of feast, of which there are numerous examples, besides the classic one +on which Biarea-mal is founded and the not less famous one of Hamlet's +vengeance, or whether by steel, as with Hiartuar, or by trick, as in +Wicar's case above cited. The reward for slaying a king is in one case +120 gold lbs.; 19 "talents" of gold from each ringleader, 1 oz. of gold +from each commoner, in the story of Godfred, known as Ref's gild, "i.e., +Fox tax". In the case of a great king, Frode, his death is concealed for +three years to avoid disturbance within and danger from without. Captive +kings were not as a rule well treated. A Slavonic king, Daxo, offers +Ragnar's son Whitesark his daughter and half his realm, or death, and +the captive strangely desires death by fire. A captive king is exposed, +chained to wild beasts, thrown into a serpent-pit, wherein Ragnar is +given the fate of the elder Gunnar in the Eddic Lays, Atlakvida. The +king is treated with great respect by his people, he is finely clad, and +his commands are carried out, however abhorrent or absurd, as long as +they do not upset customary or statute law. The king has slaves in +his household, men and women, besides his guard of housecarles and his +bearsark champions. A king's daughter has thirty slaves with her, and +the footmaiden existed exactly as in the stories of the Wicked Waiting +Maid. He is not to be awakened in his slumbers (cf. St. Olaf's Life, +where the naming of King Magnus is the result of adherence to this +etiquette). A champion weds the king's leman. + +His thanes are created by the delivery of a sword, which the king +bolds by the blade and the thane takes by the hilt. (English earls were +created by the girding with a sword. "Taking treasure, and weapons +and horses, and feasting in a hall with the king" is synonymous with +thane-hood or gesith-ship in "Beowulf's Lay"). A king's thanes must +avenge him if he falls, and owe him allegiance. (This was paid in the +old English monarchies by kneeling and laying the head down at the +lord's knee.) + +The trick by which the Mock-king, or King of the Beggars (parallel to +our Boy-bishop, and perhaps to that enigmatic churls' King of the "O. E. +Chronicle", s.a. 1017, Eadwiceorla-kyning) gets allegiance paid to +him, and so secures himself in his attack on the real king, is cleverly +devised. The king, besides being a counsel giver himself, and speaking +the law, has "counsellors", old and wise men, "sapientes" (like the +0. E. Thyle). The aged warrior counsellor, as Starcad here and Master +Hildebrand in the "Nibelungenlied", is one type of these persons, +another is the false counsellor, as Woden in guise of Bruni, another +the braggart, as Hunferth in "Beowulf's Lay". At "moots" where laws +are made, kings and regents chosen, cases judged, resolutions taken of +national importance, there are discussions, as in that armed most the +host. + +The king has, beside his estates up and down the country, sometimes +(like Hrothgar with his palace Heorot in "Beowulf's Lay") a great fort +and treasure house, as Eormenric, whose palace may well have really +existed. There is often a primitive and negroid character about +dwellings of formidable personages, heads placed on stakes adorn their +exterior, or shields are ranged round the walls. + +The provinces are ruled by removable earls appointed by the king, +often his own kinsmen, sometimes the heads of old ruling families. The +"hundreds" make up the province or subkingdom. They may be granted to +king's thanes, who became "hundred-elders". Twelve hundreds are in one +case bestowed upon a man. + +The "yeoman's" estate is not only honourable but useful, as Starcad +generously and truly acknowledges. Agriculture should be fostered and +protected by the king, even at the cost of his life. + +But gentle birth and birth royal place certain families above the common +body of freemen (landed or not); and for a commoner to pretend to a +king's daughter is an act of presumption, and generally rigorously +resented. + +The "smith" was the object of a curious prejudice, probably akin to that +expressed in St. Patrick's "Lorica", and derived from the smith's having +inherited the functions of the savage weapon-maker with his poisons and +charms. The curious attempt to distinguish smiths into good and +useful swordsmiths and base and bad goldsmiths seems a merely modern +explanation: Weland could both forge swords and make ornaments of +metal. Starcad's loathing for a smith recalls the mockery with which the +Homeric gods treat Hephaistos. + +Slavery.--As noble birth is manifest by fine eyes and personal beauty, +courage and endurance, and delicate behaviour, so the slave nature +is manifested by cowardice, treachery, unbridled lust, bad manners, +falsehood, and low physical traits. Slaves had, of course, no right +either of honour, or life, or limb. Captive ladies are sent to a +brothel; captive kings cruelly put to death. Born slaves were naturally +still less considered, they were flogged; it was disgraceful to +kill them with honourable steel; to accept a slight service from a +slave-woman was beneath old Starcad's dignity. A man who loved another +man's slave-woman, and did base service to her master to obtain her as +his consort, was looked down on. Slaves frequently ran away to escape +punishment for carelessness, or fault, or to gain liberty. + + + + +CUSTOMARY LAW. + +The evidence of Saxo to archaic law and customary institutions is pretty +much (as we should expect) that to be drawn from the Icelandic Sagas, +and even from the later Icelandic rimur and Scandinavian kaempe-viser. +But it helps to complete the picture of the older stage of North +Teutonic Law, which we are able to piece together out of our various +sources, English, Icelandic, and Scandinavian. In the twilight of Yore +every glowworm is a helper to the searcher. + +There are a few MAXIMS of various times, but all seemingly drawn from +custom cited or implied by Saxo as authoritative:-- + +"It is disgraceful to be ruled by a woman."--The great men of Teutonic +nations held to this maxim. There is no Boudicea or Maidhbh in our own +annals till after the accession of the Tudors, when Great Eliza rivals +her elder kins-women's glories. Though Tacitus expressly notices one +tribe or confederacy, the Sitones, within the compass of his Germania, +ruled by a woman, as an exceptional case, it was contrary to the feeling +of mediaeval Christendom for a woman to be emperor; it was not till late +in the Middle Ages that Spain saw a queen regnant, and France has never +yet allowed such rule. It was not till long after Saxo that the great +queen of the North, Margaret, wielded a wider sway than that rejected by +Gustavus' wayward daughter. + +"The suitor ought to urge his own suit."--This, an axiom of the most +archaic law, gets evaded bit by bit till the professional advocate takes +the place of the plaintiff. "Njal's Saga", in its legal scenes, shows +the transition period, when, as at Rome, a great and skilled chief +was sought by his client as the supporter of his cause at the Moot. In +England, the idea of representation at law is, as is well known, late +and largely derived from canon law practice. + +"To exact the blood-fine was as honourable as to take vengeance."--This +maxim, begotten by Interest upon Legality, established itself both in +Scandinavia and Arabia. It marks the first stage in a progress which, +if carried out wholly, substitutes law for feud. In the society of the +heathen Danes the maxim was a novelty; even in Christian Denmark men +sometimes preferred blood to fees. + + +MARRIAGE.--There are many reminiscences of "archaic marriage customs +in Saxo." The capture marriage has left traces in the guarded king's +daughters, the challenging of kings to fight or hand over their +daughters, in the promises to give a daughter or sister as a reward to +a hero who shall accomplish some feat. The existence of polygamy is +attested, and it went on till the days of Charles the Great and Harold +Fairhair in singular instances, in the case of great kings, and finally +disappeared before the strict ecclesiastic regulations. + +But there are evidences also of later customs, such as "marriage by +purchase", already looked on as archaic in Saxo's day; and the free +women in Denmark had clearly long had a veto or refusal of a husband for +some time back, and sometimes even free choice. "Go-betweens" negotiate +marriages. + +Betrothal was of course the usage. For the groom to defile an espoused +woman is a foul reproach. Gifts made to father-in-law after bridal by +bridegroom seem to denote the old bride-price. Taking the bride home in +her car was an important ceremony, and a bride is taken to her future +husband's by her father. The wedding-feast, as in France in Rabelais' +time, was a noisy and drunken and tumultuous rejoicing, when +bone-throwing was in favor, with other rough sports and jokes. The three +days after the bridal and their observance in "sword-bed" are noticed +below. + +A commoner or one of slave-blood could not pretend to wed a high-born +lady. A woman would sometimes require some proof of power or courage at +her suitor's hands; thus Gywritha, like the famous lady who weds Harold +Fairhair, required her husband Siwar to be over-king of the whole land. +But in most instances the father or brother betrothed the girl, and she +consented to their choice. Unwelcome suitors perish. + +The prohibited degrees were, of course, different from those established +by the mediaeval church, and brother weds brother's widow in good +archaic fashion. Foster-sister and foster-brother may marry, as Saxo +notices carefully. The Wolsung incest is not noticed by Saxo. He only +knew, apparently, the North-German form of the Niflung story. But the +reproachfulness of incest is apparent. + +Birth and beauty were looked for in a bride by Saxo's heroes, and +chastity was required. The modesty of maidens in old days is eulogised +by Saxo, and the penalty for its infraction was severe: sale abroad into +slavery to grind the quern in the mud of the yard. One of the tests of +virtue is noticed, "lac in ubere". + +That favourite "motif", the "Patient Grizzle", occurs, rather, however, +in the Border ballad than the Petrarcan form. + +"Good wives" die with their husbands as they have vowed, or of grief for +their loss, and are wholly devoted to their interests. Among "bad wives" +are those that wed their husband's slayer, run away from their husbands, +plot against their husbands' lives. The penalty for adultery is death to +both, at husband's option--disfigurement by cutting off the nose of +the guilty woman, an archaic practice widely spread. In one case the +adulterous lady is left the choice of her own death. Married women's +Homeric duties are shown. + +There is a curious story, which may rest upon fact, and not be merely +typical, where a mother who had suffered wrong forced her daughter to +suffer the same wrong. + +Captive women are reduced to degrading slavery as "harlots" in one case, +according to the eleventh century English practice of Gytha. + +THE FAMILY AND BLOOD REVENGE.--This duty, one of the strongest links of +the family in archaic Teutonic society, has left deep traces in Saxo. + +To slay those most close in blood, even by accident, is to incur the +guilt of parricide, or kin-killing, a bootless crime, which can only be +purged by religious ceremonies; and which involves exile, lest the gods' +wrath fall on the land, and brings the curse of childlessness on the +offender until he is forgiven. + +BOOTLESS CRIMES.--As among the ancient Teutons, botes and were-gilds +satisfy the injured who seek redress at law rather than by the steel. +But there are certain bootless crimes, or rather sins, that imply +"sacratio", devotion to the gods, for the clearing of the community. +Such are treason, which is punishable by hanging; by drowning in sea. + +Rebellion is still more harshly treated by death and forfeiture; the +rebels' heels are bored and thonged under the sinew, as Hector's feet +were, and they are then fastened by the thongs to wild bulls, hunted +by hounds, till they are dashed to pieces (for which there are classic +parallels), or their feet are fastened with thongs to horses driven +apart, so that they are torn asunder. + +For "parricide", i.e., killing within near degrees, the criminal is hung +up, apparently by the heels, with a live wolf (he having acted as a wolf +which will slay its fellows). Cunning avoidance of the guilt by trick is +shown. + +For "arson" the appropriate punishment is the fire. + +For "incestuous adultery" of stepson with his stepmother, hanging is +awarded to the man. In the same case Swanwhite, the woman, is punished, +by treading to death with horses. A woman accomplice in adultery is +treated to what Homer calls a "stone coat." Incestuous adultery is a +foul slur. + +For "witchcraft", the horror of heathens, hanging was the penalty. + +"Private revenge" sometimes deliberately inflicts a cruel death for +atrocious wrong or insult, as when a king, enraged at the slaying of his +son and seduction of his daughter, has the offender hanged, an instance +famous in Nathan's story, so that Hagbard's hanging and hempen necklace +were proverbial. + +For the slayer by a cruel death of their captive father, Ragnar's sons +act the blood-eagle on Ella, and salt his flesh. There is an undoubted +instance of this act of vengeance (the symbolic meaning of which is not +clear as yet) in the "Orkney Saga". + +But the story of Daxo and of Ref's gild show that for such wrongs +were-gilds were sometimes exacted, and that they were considered highly +honourable to the exactor. + +Among OFFENCES NOT BOOTLESS, and left to individual pursuit, are:-- + +"Highway robbery".--There are several stories of a type such as that of +Ingemund and Ioknl (see "Landnamaboc") told by Saxo of highwaymen; and +an incident of the kind that occurs in the Theseus story (the Bent-tree, +which sprung back and slew the wretch bound to it) is given. The +romantic trick of the mechanic bed, by which a steel-shod beam is +let fall on the sleeping traveller, also occurs. Slain highwaymen are +gibbeted as in Christian days. + +"Assassination", as distinct from manslaughter in vengeance for a wrong, +is not very common. A hidden mail-coat foils a treacherous javelin-cast +(cf. the Story of Olaf the Stout and the Blind King, Hrorec); murderers +lurk spear-armed at the threshold, sides, as in the Icelandic Sagas; a +queen hides a spear-head in her gown, and murders her husband (cf. +Olaf Tryggvason's Life). Godfred was murdered by his servant (and +Ynglingatal). + +"Burglary".--The crafty discovery of the robber of the treasury by +Hadding is a variant of the world-old Rhampsinitos tale, but less +elaborate, possibly abridged and cut down by Saxo, and reduced to a mere +moral example in favour of the goldenness of silence and the danger of +letting the tongue feed the gallows. + +Among other disgraceful acts, that make the offender infamous, but do +not necessarily involve public action:-- + +"Manslaughter in Breach of Hospitality".--Probably any gross breach of +hospitality was disreputable and highly abhorred, but "guest-slaughter" +is especially mentioned. The ethical question as to whether a man should +slay his guest or forego his just vengeance was often a "probleme du +jour" in the archaic times to which these traditions witness. Ingeld +prefers his vengeance, but Thuriswend, in the Lay cited by Paul the +Deacon, chooses to protect his guest. Heremod slew his messmates in his +wrath, and went forth alone into exile. ("Beowulf's Lay".) + +"Suicide".--This was more honourable than what Earl Siward of +Northumberland called a "cow-death." Hadding resolves to commit suicide +at his friend's death. Wermund resolves to commit suicide if his son be +slain (in hopelessness of being able to avenge him, cf. "Njal's Saga", +where the hero, a Christian, prefers to perish in his burning house than +live dishonoured, "for I am an old man and little fitted to avenge my +sons, but I will not live in shame"). Persons commit suicide by slaying +each other in time of famine; while in England (so Baeda tells) they +"decliffed" themselves in companies, and, as in the comic little +Icelandic tale Gautrec's birth, a Tarpeian death is noted as the +customary method of relieving folks from the hateful starvation +death. It is probable that the violent death relieved the ghost or +the survivors of some inconveniences which a "straw death" would have +brought about. + +"Procedure by Wager of Battle".--This archaic process pervades Saxo's +whole narrative. It is the main incident of many of the sagas from +which he drew. It is one of the chief characteristics of early Teutonic +custom-law, and along with "Cormac's Saga", "Landnamaboc", and the +Walter Saga, our author has furnished us with most of the information we +have upon its principles and practice. + +Steps in the process are the Challenge, the Acceptance and Settlement of +Conditions, the Engagement, the Treatment of the vanquished, the Reward +of the conqueror, and there are rules touching each of these, enough +almost to furnish a kind of "Galway code". + +A challenge could not, either to war or wager of battle, be refused with +honor, though a superior was not bound to fight an inferior in rank. An +ally might accept for his principal, or a father for a son, but it was +not honourable for a man unless helpless to send a champion instead of +himself. + +Men were bound to fight one to one, and one man might decline to fight +two at once. Great champions sometimes fought against odds. + +The challenged man chose the place of battle, and possibly fixed the +time. This was usually an island in the river. + +The regular weapons were swords and shields for men of gentle blood. +They fought by alternate separate strokes; the senior had the first +blow. The fight must go on face to face without change of place; for the +ground was marked out for the combatants, as in our prize ring, though +one can hardly help fancying that the fighting ground so carefully +described in "Cormac's Saga", ch. 10, may have been Saxo's authority. +The combatants change places accidentally in the struggle in one story. + +The combat might last, like Cuchullin's with Ferdia, several days; a +nine days' fight occurs; but usually a few blows settled the matter. +Endurance was important, and we are told of a hero keeping himself in +constant training by walking in a mail coat. + +The conqueror ought not to slay his man if he were a stripling, or +maimed, and had better take his were-gild for his life, the holmslausn +or ransom of "Cormac's Saga" (three marks in Iceland); but this was +a mere concession to natural pity, and he might without loss of honor +finish his man, and cut off his head, though it was proper, if the slain +adversary has been a man of honor, to bury him afterward. + +The stakes are sometimes a kingdom or a kingdom's tribute, often a lady, +or the combatants fought for "love" or the point of honor. Giants +and noted champions challenge kings for their daughters (as in the +fictitious parts of the Icelandic family sagas) in true archaic +fashion, and in true archaic fashion the prince rescues the lady from a +disgusting and evil fate by his prowess. + +The champion's fee or reward when he was fighting for his principal and +came off successful was heavy--many lands and sixty slaves. Bracelets +are given him; a wound is compensated for at ten gold pieces; a fee for +killing a king is 120 of the same. + +Of the incidents of the combat, beside fair sleight of fence, there is +the continual occurrence of the sword-blunting spell, often cast by the +eye of the sinister champion, and foiled by the good hero, sometimes +by covering his blade with thin skin, sometimes by changing the blade, +sometimes by using a mace or club. + +The strength of this tradition sufficiently explains the necessity of +the great oath against magic taken by both parties in a wager of battle +in Christian England. + +The chief combats mentioned by Saxo are:-- + +Sciold v. Attila. Sciold v. Scate, for the hand of Alfhild. Gram v. +Swarin and eight more, for the crown of the Swedes. Hadding v. Toste, by +challenge. Frode v. Hunding, on challenge. Frode v. Hacon, on challenge. +Helge v. Hunding, by challenge at Stad. Agnar v. Bearce, by challenge. +Wizard v. Danish champions, for truage of the Slavs. Wizard v. Ubbe, +for truage of the Slavs. Coll v. Horwendill, on challenge. Athisl v. +Frowine, meeting in battle. Athisl v. Ket and Wig, on challenge. Uffe +v. Prince of Saxony and Champion, by challenge. Frode v. Froger, on +challenge. Eric v. Grep's brethren, on challenge, twelve a side. Eric +v. Alrec, by challenge. Hedin v. Hogni, the mythic everlasting battle. +Arngrim v. Scalc, by challenge. Arngrim v. Egtheow, for truage of +Permland. Arrow-Odd and Hialmar v. twelve sons of Arngrim Samsey fight. +Ane Bow-swayer v. Beorn, by challenge. Starkad v. Wisin, by challenge. +Starkad v. Tanlie, by challenge. Starkad v. Wasce--Wilzce, by challenge. +Starkad v. Hame, by challenge. Starkad v. Angantheow and eight of +his brethren, on challenge. Halfdan v. Hardbone and six champions, +on challenge. Halfdan v. Egtheow, by challenge. Halfdan v. Grim, on +challenge. Halfdan v. Ebbe, on challenge, by moonlight. Halfdan v. +Twelve champions, on challenge. Halfdan v. Hildeger, on challenge. Ole +v. Skate and Hiale, on challenge. Homod and Thole v. Beorn and Thore, by +challenge. Ref. v. Gaut, on challenge. Ragnar and three sons v. Starcad +of Sweden and seven sons, on challenge. + +CIVIL PROCEDURE.--"Oaths" are an important art of early procedure, and +noticed by Saxo; one calling the gods to witness and therefor, it is +understood, to avenge perjury if he spake not truth. + +"Testification", or calling witnesses to prove the steps of a legal +action, was known, "Glum's Saga" and "Landnamaboc", and when a manslayer +proceeded (in order to clear himself of murder) to announce the +manslaughter as his act, he brings the dead man's head as his proof, +exactly as the hero in the folk-tales brings the dragon's head or tongue +as his voucher. + +A "will" is spoken of. This seems to be the solemn declaration of +a childless man to his kinsfolk, recommending some person as his +successor. Nothing more was possible before written wills were +introduced by the Christian clergy after the Roman fashion. + + + + +STATUTE LAWS. + +"Lawgivers".--The realm of Custom had already long been curtailed by the +conquests of Law when Saxo wrote, and some epochs of the invasion were +well remembered, such as Canute's laws. But the beginnings were dim, and +there were simply traditions of good and bad lawyers of the past; such +were "Sciold" first of all the arch-king, "Frode" the model lawgiver, +"Helge" the tyrant, "Ragnar" the shrewd conqueror. + +"Sciold", the patriarch, is made by tradition to fulfil, by abolishing +evil customs and making good laws, the ideal of the Saxon and Frankish +Coronation oath formula (which may well go back with its two first +clauses to heathen days). His fame is as widely spread. However, the +only law Saxo gives to him has a story to it that he does not plainly +tell. Sciold had a freedman who repaid his master's manumission of him +by the ingratitude of attempting his life. Sciold thereupon decrees +the unlawfulness of manumissions, or (as Saxo puts it), revoked all +manumissions, thus ordaining perpetual slavery on all that were or might +become slaves. The heathen lack of pity noticed in Alfred's preface +to "Gregory's Handbook" is illustrated here by contrast with the +philosophic humanity of the Civil Law, and the sympathy of the mediaeval +Church. + +But FRODE (known also to the compiler of "Beowulf's Lay", 2025) had, in +the Dane's eyes, almost eclipsed Sciold as conqueror and lawgiver. His +name Frode almost looks as if his epithet Sapiens had become his popular +appellation, and it befits him well. Of him were told many stories, and +notably the one related of our Edwin by Bede (and as it has been told by +many men of many rulers since Bede wrote, and before). Frode was able to +hang up an arm-ring of gold in three parts of his kingdom that no thief +for many years dared touch. How this incident (according to our version +preserved by Saxo), brought the just king to his end is an archaic and +interesting story. Was this ring the Brosinga men? + +Saxo has even recorded the Laws of Frode in four separate bits, which we +give as A, B, C, D. + +A. is mainly a civil and military code of archaic kind: + +(a) The division of spoil shall be--gold to captains, silver to +privates, arms to champions, ships to be shared by all. Cf. Jomswickinga +S. on the division of spoil by the law of the pirate community of Jom. + +(b) No house stuff to be locked; if a man used a lock he must pay a gold +mark. + +(c) He who spares a thief must bear his punishment. + +(d) The coward in battle is to forfeit all rights (cf. "Beowulf", 2885). + +(e) Women to have free choice (or, at least, veto) in taking husbands. + +(f) A free woman that weds a slave loses rank and freedom (cf. Roman +Law). + +(g) A man must marry a girl he has seduced. + +(h) An adulterer to be mutilated at pleasure of injured husband. + +(i) Where Dane robbed Dane, the thief to pay double and peace-breach. + +(k) Receivers of stolen goods suffer forfeiture and flogging at most. + +(l) Deserter bearing shield against his countrymen to lose life and +property. + +(m) Contempt of fyrd-summons or call to military service involves +outlawry and exile. + +(n) Bravery in battle to bring about increase in rank (cf. the old +English "Ranks of Men"). + +(o) No suit to lie on promise and pledge; fine of a gold lb. for asking +pledge. + +(p) Wager of battle is to be the universal mode of proof. + +(q) If an alien kill a Dane two aliens must suffer. (This is practically +the same principle as appears in the half weregild of the Welsh in West +Saxon Law.) + +B. An illustration of the more capricious of the old enactments and the +jealousy of antique kings. + +(a) Loss of gifts sent to the king involves the official responsible; he +shall be hanged. (This is introduced as illustration of the cleverness +of Eric and the folly of Coll.) + +C. Saxo associates another set of enactments with the completion of a +successful campaign of conquest over the Ruthenians, and shows Frode +chiefly as a wise and civilising statesman, making conquest mean +progress. + +(a) Every free householder that fell in war was to be set in his barrow +with horse and arms (cf. "Vatzdaela Saga", ch. 2). + +The body-snatcher was to be punished by death and the lack of sepulture. + +Earl or king to be burned in his own ship. + +Ten sailors may be burnt on one ship. + +(b) Ruthenians to have the same law of war as Danes. + +(c) Ruthenians must adopt Danish sale-marriage. (This involves +the abolition of the Baltic custom of capture-marriage. That +capture-marriage was a bar to social progress appears in the legislation +of Richard II, directed against the custom as carried out on the borders +of the Palatine county of Chester, while cases such as the famous one of +Rob Roy's sons speak to its late continuance in Scotland. In Ireland it +survived in a stray instance or two into this century, and songs like +"William Riley" attest the sympathy of the peasant with the eloping +couple.) + +(d) A veteran, one of the Doughty, must be such a man as will attack one +foe, will stand two, face three without withdrawing more than a little, +and be content to retire only before four. (One of the traditional +folk-sayings respecting the picked men, the Doughty or Old Guard, as +distinguished from the Youth or Young Guard, the new-comers in the +king's Company of House-carles. In Harald Hardrede's Life the Norwegians +dread those English house-carles, "each of whom is a match for four," +who formed the famous guard that won Stamford Bridge and fell about +their lord, a sadly shrunken band, at Senlake.) + +(f) The house-carles to have winter-pay. The house-carle three pieces +of silver, a hired soldier two pieces, a soldier who had finished his +service one piece. + +(The treatment of the house-carles gave Harald Harefoot a reputation +long remembered for generosity, and several old Northern kings have +won their nicknames by their good or ill feeding and rewarding their +comitatus.) + +D. Again a civil code, dealing chiefly with the rights of travellers. + +(a) Seafarers may use what gear they find (the "remis" of the text may +include boat or tackle). + +(b) No house is to be locked, nor coffer, but all thefts to be +compensated threefold. (This, like A, b, which it resembles, seems a +popular tradition intended to show the absolute security of Frode's +reign of seven or three hundred years. It is probably a gloss wrongly +repeated.) + +(c) A traveller may claim a single supper; if he take more he is a +thief (the mark of a prae-tabernal era when hospitality was waxing cold +through misuse). + +(d) Thief and accomplices are to be punished alike, being hung up by +a line through the sinews and a wolf fastened beside. (This, which +contradicts A, i, k, and allots to theft the punishment proper for +parricide, seems a mere distorted tradition.) + +But beside just Frode, tradition spoke of the unjust Kinge HELGE, whose +laws represent ill-judged harshness. They were made for conquered races, +(a) the Saxons and (b) the Swedes. + +(a) Noble and freedmen to have the same were-gild (the lower, of course, +the intent being to degrade all the conquered to one level, and to allow +only the lowest were-gild of a freedman, fifty pieces, probably, in the +tradition). + +(b) No remedy for wrong done to a Swede by a Dane to be legally +recoverable. (This is the traditional interpretation of the conqueror's +haughty dealing; we may compare it with the Middle-English legends of +the pride of the Dane towards the conquered English. The Tradition sums +up the position in such concrete forms as this Law of Helge's.) + +Two statutes of RAGNAR are mentioned:-- + +(a) That any householder should give up to his service in war the worst +of his children, or the laziest of his slaves (a curious tradition, and +used by Saxo as an opportunity for patriotic exaltation). + +(b) That all suits shall be absolutely referred to the judgment of +twelve chosen elders (Lodbroc here appearing in the strange character of +originator of trial by jury). + +"Tributes".--Akin to laws are the tributes decreed and imposed by kings +and conquerors of old. Tribute infers subjection in archaic law. The +poll-tax in the fourteenth century in England was unpopular, because of +its seeming to degrade Englishmen to the level of Frenchmen, who paid +tribute like vanquished men to their absolute lord, as well as for other +reasons connected with the collection of the tax. + +The old fur tax (mentioned in "Egil's Saga") is here ascribed to FRODE, +who makes the Finns pay him, every three years, a car full or sledge +full of skins for every ten heads; and extorts one skin per head from +the Perms. It is Frode, too (though Saxo has carved a number of Frodes +out of one or two kings of gigantic personality), that made the Saxons +pay a poll-tax, a piece of money per head, using, like William the +Conqueror, his extraordinary revenue to reward his soldiers, whom he +first regaled with double pay. But on the conquered folks rebelling, +he marked their reduction by a tax of a piece of money on every limb a +cubit long, a "limb-geld" still more hateful than the "neb-geld." + +HOTHERUS (Hodr) had set a tribute on the Kurlanders and Swedes, and +HROLF laid a tribute on the conquered Swedes. + +GODEFRIDUS-GOTRIC is credited with a third Saxon tribute, a heriot of +100 snow-white horses payable to each Danish king at his succession, and +by each Saxon chief on his accession: a statement that, recalling sacred +snow-white horses kept in North Germany of yore makes one wish for +fuller information. But Godefridus also exacted from the Swedes the +"Ref-gild", or Fox-money; for the slaying of his henchman Ref, twelve +pieces of gold from each man of rank, one from every commoner. And his +Friesland tribute is stranger still, nor is it easy to understand from +Saxo's account. There was a long hall built, 240 feet, and divided up +into twelve "chases" of 20 feet each (probably square). There was a +shield set up at one end, and the taxpayers hurled their money at it; if +it struck so as to sound, it was good; if not, it was forfeit, but not +reckoned in the receipt. This (a popular version, it may be, of some +early system of treasury test) was abolished, so the story goes, by +Charles the Great. + +RAGNAR'S exaction from Daxo, his son's slayer, was a yearly tribute +brought by himself and twelve of his elders barefoot, resembling in part +such submissions as occur in the Angevin family history, the case of the +Calais burgesses, and of such criminals as the Corporation of Oxford, +whose penance was only finally renounced by the local patriots in our +own day. + + + + +WAR. + +"Weapons".--The sword is the weapon par excellence in Saxo's narrative, +and he names several by name, famous old blades like our royal Curtana, +which some believed was once Tristrem's, and that sword of Carlus, whose +fortunes are recorded in Irish annals. Such are "Snyrtir", Bearce's +sword; "Hothing", Agnar's blade; "Lauf", or "Leaf", Bearce's sword; +"Screp", Wermund's sword, long buried and much rust-eaten, but sharp and +trusty, and known by its whistle; Miming's sword ("Mistletoe"), which +slew Balder. Wainhead's curved blade seems to be a halbert; "Lyusing" +and "Hwiting", Ragnald of Norway's swords; "Logthe", the sword of Ole +Siward's son. + +The "war-club" occurs pretty frequently. But it is usually introduced as +a special weapon of a special hero, who fashions a gold-headed club +to slay one that steel cannot touch, or who tears up a tree, like the +Spanish knight in the ballad, or who uses a club to counteract spells +that blunt steel. The bat-shapen archaic rudder of a ship is used as a +club in the story of the Sons of Arngrim. + +The "spear" plays no particular part in Saxo: even Woden's spear Gungne +is not prominent. + +"Bows and arrows" are not often spoken of, but archer heroes, such as +Toki, Ane Bow-swayer, and Orwar-Odd, are known. Slings and stones are +used. + +The shield, of all defensive armour, is far the most prominent. They +were often painted with devices, such as Hamlet's shield, Hildiger's +Swedish shield. Dr. Vigfusson has shown the importance of these painted +shields in the poetic history of the Scandinavians. + +A red shield is a signal of peace. Shields are set round ramparts on +land as round ships at sea. + +"Mail-coats" are worn. Frode has one charmed against steel. Hother has +another; a mail-coat of proof is mentioned and their iron meshes are +spoken of. + +"Helmets" are used, but not so carefully described as in "Beowulf's +Lay"; crested helmets and a gilded helmet occur in Bearca-mal and in +another poem. + +"Banners" serve as rallying points in the battle and on the march. The +Huns' banners are spoken of in the classic passage for the description +of a huge host invading a country. Bearcamal talks of golden banners. + +"Horns" (1) were blown pp at the beginning of the engagement and for +signalling. The gathering of the host was made by delivery of a wooden +arrow painted to look like iron. + +"Tactics".--The hand-to-hand fight of the wager of battle with sword +and shield, and the fighting in ranks and the wedge-column at close +quarters, show that the close infantry combat was the main event of the +battle. The preliminary hurling of stones, and shooting of arrows, +and slinging of pebbles, were harassing and annoying, but seldom +sufficiently important to affect the result of the main engagement. + +Men ride to battle, but fight on foot; occasionally an aged king is +car-borne to the fray, and once the car, whether by Saxo's adorning +hand, or by tradition, is scythe-armed. + +The gathered host is numbered, once, where, as with Xerxes, counting was +too difficult, by making each man as he passed put a pebble in a pile +(which piles survive to mark the huge size of Frode's army). This is, +of course, a folktale, explaining the pebble-hills and illustrating the +belief in Frode's power; but armies were mustered by such expedients of +old. Burton tells of an African army each man of whom presented an egg, +as a token of his presence and a means of taking the number of the host. + +We hear of men marching in light order without even scabbards, and +getting over the ice in socks. + +The war equipment and habits of the Irish, light armoured, clipped at +back of head, hurling the javelin backwards in their feigned flight; of +the Slavs, small blue targets and long swords; of the Finns, with their +darts and skees, are given. + +Watches are kept, and it is noted that "uht", the early watch +after midnight, is the worst to be attacked in (the duke's +two-o'clock-in-the-morning courage being needed, and the darkness and +cold helping the enemy). + +Spies were, of course, slain if discovered. But we have instances of +kings and heroes getting into foeman's camps in disguise (cf. stories of +Alfred and Anlaf). + +The order of battle of Bravalla fight is given, and the ideal array of a +host. To Woden is ascribed the device of the boar's head, hamalt fylking +(the swine-head array of Manu's Indian kings), the terrible column with +wedge head which could cleave the stoutest line. + +The host of Ring has men from Wener, Wermland, Gotaelf, Thotn, Wick, +Thelemark, Throndham, Sogn, Firths, Fialer, Iceland; Sweden, Gislamark, +Sigtun, Upsala, Pannonia. + +The host of Harold had men from Iceland, the Danish provinces, Frisia, +Lifland; Slavs, and men from Jom, Aland, and Sleswick. + +The battle of Bravalla is said to have been won by the Gotland archers +and the men of Throndham, and the Dales. The death of Harald by +treachery completed the defeat, which began when Ubbe fell (after he had +broken the enemy's van) riddled with arrows. + +The defeated, unless they could fly, got little quarter. One-fifth only +of the population of a province are said to have survived an invasion. +After sea-battles (always necessarily more deadly) the corpses choke the +harbours. Seventy sea-kings are swept away in one sea-fight. Heads seem +to have been taken in some cases, but not as a regular Teutonic usage, +and the practice, from its being attributed to ghosts and aliens, +must have already been considered savage by Saxo, and probably by his +informants and authorities. + +Prisoners were slaves; they might be killed, put to cruel death, +outraged, used as slaves, but the feeling in favour of mercy was +growing, and the cruelty of Eormenric, who used tortures to his +prisoners, of Rothe, who stripped his captives, and of Fro, who sent +captive ladies to a brothel in insult, is regarded with dislike. + +Wounds were looked on as honourable, but they must be in front or +honourably got. A man who was shot through the buttocks, or wounded in +the back, was laughed at and disgraced. We hear of a mother helping her +wounded son out of battle. + +That much of human interest centered round war is evident by the mass +of tradition that surrounds the subject in Saxo, both in its public and +private aspects. Quaint is the analysis of the four kinds of warriors: +(a) The Veterans, or Doughty, who kill foes and spare flyers; (b) the +Young men who kill foes and flyers too; (c) the well-to-do, landed, and +propertied men of the main levy, who neither fight for fear nor fly for +shame; (d) the worthless, last to fight and first to fly; and curious +are the remarks about married and unmarried troops, a matter which Chaka +pondered over in later days. Homeric speeches precede the fight. + +"Stratagems of War" greatly interested Saxo (probably because Valerius +Maximus, one of his most esteemed models, was much occupied with such +matters), so that he diligently records the military traditions of the +notably skillful expedients of famous commanders of old. + +There is the device for taking a town by means of the "pretended death" +of the besieging general, a device ascribed to Hastings and many more +commanders (see Steenstrup Normannerne); the plan of "firing" a besieged +town by fire-bearing birds, ascribed here to Fridlev, in the case of +Dublin to Hadding against Duna (where it was foiled by all tame birds +being chased out of the place). + +There is the "Birnam Wood" stratagem, by which men advanced behind a +screen of boughs, which is even used for the concealment of ships, and +the curious legend (occurring in Irish tradition also, and recalling +Capt. B. Hall's "quaker gun" story) by which a commander bluffs off his +enemy by binding his dead to stakes in rows, as if they were living men. + +Less easy to understand are the "brazen horses" or "machines" driven +into the close lines of the enemy to crush and open them, an invention +of Gewar. The use of hooked weapons to pull down the foes' shields and +helmets was also taught to Hother by Gewar. + +The use of black tents to conceal encampment; the defence of a pass by +hurling rocks from the heights; the bridge of boats across the Elbe; +and the employment of spies, and the bold venture, ascribed in our +chronicles to Alfred and Anlaf, of visiting in disguise the enemy's +camp, is here attributed to Frode, who even assumed women's clothes for +the purpose. + +Frode is throughout the typical general, as he is the typical statesman +and law-giver of archaic Denmark. + +There are certain heathen usages connected with war, as the hurling of +a javelin or shooting of an arrow over the enemy's ranks as a "sacratio" +to Woden of the foe at the beginning of a battle. This is recorded in +the older vernacular authorities also, in exact accordance with the +Homeric usage, "Odyssey" xxiv, 516-595. + +The dedication of part of the spoils to the god who gave good omens for +the war is told of the heathen Baltic peoples; but though, as Sidonius +records, it had once prevailed among the Saxons, and, as other witnesses +add, among the Scandinavian people, the tradition is not clearly +preserved by Saxo. + +"Sea and Sea Warfare."--As might be expected, there is much mention of +Wicking adventure and of maritime warfare in Saxo. + +Saxo tells of Asmund's huge ship (Gnod), built high that he might shoot +down on the enemy's craft; he speaks of a ship (such as Godwin gave as +a gift to the king his master), and the monk of St. Bertin and the +court-poets have lovingly described a ship with gold-broidered sails, +gilt masts, and red-dyed rigging. One of his ships has, like the ships +in the Chansons de Geste, a carbuncle for a lantern at the masthead. +Hedin signals to Frode by a shield at the masthead. A red shield was a +peace signal, as noted above. The practice of "strand-hewing", a great +feature in Wicking-life (which, so far as the victualling of raw meat +by the fishing fleets, and its use raw, as Mr. P. H. Emerson informs +me, still survives), is spoken of. There was great fear of monsters +attacking them, a fear probably justified by such occasional attacks of +angry whales as Melville (founding his narrative on repeated facts) has +immortalised. The whales, like Moby Dick, were uncanny, and inspired by +troll-women or witches (cf. "Frithiof Saga" and the older "Lay of +Atle and Rimegerd"). The clever sailing of Hadding, by which he eludes +pursuit, is tantalising, for one gathers that, Saxo knows the details +that he for some reason omits. Big fleets of 150 and a monster armada of +3,000 vessels are recorded. + +The ships were moved by oars and sails; they had rudders, no doubt such +as the Gokstad ship, for the hero Arrow-Odd used a rudder as a weapon. + +"Champions".--Professed fighting men were often kept by kings and +earls about their court as useful in feud and fray. Harald Fairhair's +champions are admirably described in the contemporary Raven Song by +Hornclofe-- + + "Wolf-coats they call them that in battle + Bellow into bloody shields. + They wear wolves' hides when they come into the fight, + And clash their weapons together." + +and Saxo's sources adhere closely to this pattern. + +These "bear-sarks", or wolf-coats of Harald give rise to an O. N. term, +"bear-sarks' way", to describe the frenzy of fight and fury which such +champions indulged in, barking and howling, and biting their shield-rims +(like the ferocious "rook" in the narwhale ivory chessmen in the British +Museum) till a kind of state was produced akin to that of the Malay when +he has worked himself up to "run-a-muck." There seems to have been in +the 10th century a number of such fellows about unemployed, who +became nuisances to their neighbours by reason of their bullying and +highhandedness. Stories are told in the Icelandic sagas of the way such +persons were entrapped and put to death by the chiefs they served when +they became too troublesome. A favourite (and fictitious) episode in +an "edited" Icelandic saga is for the hero to rescue a lady promised to +such a champion (who has bullied her father into consent) by slaying the +ruffian. It is the same "motif" as Guy of Warwick and the Saracen lady, +and one of the regular Giant and Knight stories. + +Beside men-warriors there were "women-warriors" in the North, as Saxo +explains. He describes shield-maidens, as Alfhild, Sela, Rusila +(the Ingean Ruadh, or Red Maid of the Irish Annals, as Steenstrup so +ingeniously conjectures); and the three she-captains, Wigbiorg, who fell +on the field, Hetha, who was made queen of Zealand, and Wisna, whose +hand Starcad cut off, all three fighting manfully at Bravalla fight. + + + + +SOCIAL LIFE AND MANNERS. + +"Feasts".--The hall-dinner was an important feature in the old Teutonic +court-life. Many a fine scene in a saga takes place in the hall while +the king and his men are sitting over their ale. The hall decked with +hangings, with its fires, lights, plate and provisions, appears in Saxo +just as in the Eddic Lays, especially Rigsmal, and the Lives of the +Norwegian Kings and Orkney Earls. + +The order of seats is a great point of archaic manners. Behaviour at +table was a matter of careful observance. The service, especially that +of the cup-bearer, was minutely regulated by etiquette. An honoured +guest was welcomed by the host rising to receive him and giving him a +seat near himself, but less distinguished visitors were often victims to +the rough horseplay of the baser sort, and of the wanton young gentleman +at court. The food was simple, boiled beef and pork, and mutton without +sauce, ale served in horns from the butt. Roast meat, game, sauces, +mead, and flagons set on the table, are looked on by Starcad as foreign +luxuries, and Germany was credited with luxurious cookery. + +"Mimes and jugglers", who went through the country or were attached to +the lord's court to amuse the company, were a despised race because of +their ribaldry, obscenity, cowardice, and unabashed self-debasement; +and their newfangled dances and piping were loathsome to the old +court-poets, who accepted the harp alone as an instrument of music. + +The story that once a king went to war with his jugglers and they ran +away, would represent the point of view of the old house-carle, who +was neglected, though "a first-class fighting man", for these debauched +foreign buffoons. + + + + +SUPERNATURAL BEINGS. + +GODS AND GODDESSES.--The gods spring, according to Saxo's belief, from +a race of sorcerers, some of whom rose to pre-eminence and expelled and +crushed the rest, ending the "wizard-age", as the wizards had ended the +monster or "giant-age". That they were identic with the classic gods he +is inclined to believe, but his difficulty is that in the week-days we +have Jove : Thor; Mercury : Woden; whereas it is perfectly well known +that Mercury is Jove's son, and also that Woden is the father of Thor--a +comic "embarras". That the persians the heathens worshipped as gods +existed, and that they were men and women false and powerful, Saxo +plainly believes. He has not Snorre's appreciation of the humorous side +of the mythology. He is ironic and scornful, but without the kindly, +naive fun of the Icelander. + +The most active god, the Dane's chief god (as Frey is the Swede's god, +and patriarch), is "Woden". He appears in heroic life as patron of great +heroes and kings. Cf. "Hyndla-Lay", where it is said of Woden:-- + + "Let us pray the Father of Hosts to be gracious to us! + He granteth and giveth gold to his servants, + He gave Heremod a helm and mail-coat, + And Sigmund a sword to take. + He giveth victory to his sons, to his followers wealth, + Ready speech to his children and wisdom to men. + Fair wind to captains, and song to poets; + He giveth luck in love to many a hero." + +He appears under various disguises and names, but usually as a one-eyed +old man, cowled and hooded; sometimes with another, bald and ragged, as +before the battle Hadding won; once as "Hroptr", a huge man skilled in +leechcraft, to Ragnar's son Sigfrid. + +Often he is a helper in battle or doomer of feymen. As "Lysir", a rover +of the sea, he helps Hadding. As veteran slinger and archer he helps his +favourite Hadding; as charioteer, "Brune", he drives Harald to his death +in battle. He teaches Hadding how to array his troops. As "Yggr" the +prophet he advises the hero and the gods. As "Wecha" (Waer) the leech he +woos Wrinda. He invented the wedge array. He can grant charmed lives to +his favourites against steel. He prophesies their victories and death. +He snatches up one of his disciples, sets him on his magic horse that +rides over seas in the air, as in Skida-runa the god takes the beggar +over the North Sea. His image (like that of Frey in the Swedish story +of Ogmund dytt and Gunnar helming, "Flatey book", i, 335) could speak by +magic power. + +Of his life and career Saxo gives several episodes. + +Woden himself dwelt at Upsala and Byzantium (Asgard); and the northern +kings sent him a golden image ring-bedecked, which he made to speak +oracles. His wife Frigga stole the bracelets and played him false with a +servant, who advised her to destroy and rob the image. + +When Woden was away (hiding the disgrace brought on him by Frigga his +wife), an imposter, Mid Odin, possibly Loke in disguise, usurped his +place at Upsala, instituted special drink-offerings, fled to Finland on +Woden's return, and was slain by the Fins and laid in barrow. But +the barrow smote all that approached it with death, till the body was +unearthed, beheaded, and impaled, a well-known process for stopping the +haunting of an obnoxious or dangerous ghost. + +Woden had a son Balder, rival of Hother for the love of Nanna, daughter +of King Gewar. Woden and Thor his son fought for him against Hother, +but in vain, for Hother won the laity and put Balder to shameful flight; +however, Balder, half-frenzied by his dreams of Nanna, in turn drove him +into exile (winning the lady); finally Hother, befriended hy luck and +the Wood Maidens, to whom he owed his early successes and his magic +coat, belt, and girdle (there is obvious confusion here in the text), at +last met Balder and stabbed him in the side. Of this wound Balder died +in three days, as was foretold by the awful dream in which Proserpina +(Hela) appeared to him. Balder's grand burial, his barrow, and the magic +flood which burst from it when one Harald tried to break into it, and +terrified the robbers, are described. + +The death of Balder led Woden to seek revenge. Hrossthiof the wizard, +whom he consulted, told him he must beget a son by "Wrinda" (Rinda, +daughter of the King of the Ruthenians), who should avenge his +half-brother. + +Woden's wooing is the best part of this story, half spoilt, however, +by euhemeristic tone and lack of epic dignity. He woos as a victorious +warrior, and receives a cuff; as a generous goldsmith, and gets a +buffet; as a handsome soldier, earning a heavy knock-down blow; but in +the garb of a women as Wecha (Wakr), skilled in leechcraft, he won his +way by trickery; and ("Wale") "Bous" was born, who, after some years, +slew Hother in battle, and died himself of his wounds. Bous' barrow +in Bohusland, Balder's haven, Balder's well, are named as local +attestations of the legend, which is in a late form, as it seems. + +The story of Woden's being banished for misbehaviour, and especially +for sorcery and for having worn woman's attire to trick Wrinda, his +replacement by "Wuldor" ("Oller"), a high priest who assumed Woden's +name and flourished for ten years, but was ultimately expelled by the +returning Woden, and killed by the Danes in Sweden, is in the same +style. But Wuldor's bone vessel is an old bit of genuine tradition +mangled. It would cross the sea as well as a ship could, by virtue of +certain spells marked on it. + +Of "Frey", who appears as "satrapa" of the gods at Upsala, and as the +originator of human sacrifice, and as appeased by black victims, at a +sacrifice called Froblod (Freys-blot) instituted by Hadding, who began +it as an atonement for having slain a sea-monster, a deed for which he +had incurred a curse. The priapic and generative influences of Frey are +only indicated by a curious tradition mentioned. It almost looks as +if there had once been such an institution at Upsala as adorned the +Phoenician temples, under Frey's patronage and for a symbolic means of +worship. + +"Thunder", or "Thor", is Woden's son, strongest of gods or men, patron +of Starcad, whom he turned, by pulling off four arms, from a monster to +a man. + +He fights by Woden's side and Balder's against Hother, by whose magic +wand his club (hammer) was lopped off part of its shaft, a wholly +different and, a much later version than the one Snorre gives in the +prose Edda. Saxo knows of Thor's journey to the haunt of giant Garfred +(Geirrod) and his three daughters, and of the hurling of the iron +"bloom", and of the crushing of the giantesses, though he does not seem +to have known of the river-feats of either the ladies or Thor, if we may +judge (never a safe thing wholly) by his silence. + +Whether "Tew" is meant by the Mars of the Song of the Voice is not +evident. Saxo may only be imitating the repeated catch-word "war" of the +original. + +"Loke" appears as Utgard-Loke, Loke of the skirts of the World, as +it were; is treated as a venomous giant bound in agony under a +serpent-haunted cavern (no mention is made of "Sigyn" or her pious +ministry). + +"Hela" seems to be meant by Saxo's Proserpina. + +"Nanna" is the daughter of Gewar, and Balder sees her bathing and falls +in love with her, as madly as Frey with Gertha in Skirnismal. + +"Freya", the mistress of Od, the patroness of Othere the homely, the +sister of Frey-Frode, and daughter of Niord-Fridlaf, appears as Gunwara +Eric's love and Syritha Ottar's love and the hair-clogged maiden, as Dr. +Rydberg has shown. + +The gods can disguise their form, change their shape, are often met in +a mist, which shrouds them save from the right person; they appear +and disappear at will. For the rest they have the mental and physical +characteristics of the kings and queens they protect or persecute +so capriciously. They can be seen by making a magic sign and looking +through a witch's arm held akimbo. They are no good comates for men or +women, and to meddle with a goddess or nymph or giantess was to ensure +evil or death for a man. The god's loves were apparently not always so +fatal, though there seems to be some tradition to that effect. Most of +the god-sprung heroes are motherless or unborn (i.e., born like Macduff +by the Caesarean operation)--Sigfred, in the Eddic Lays for instance. + +Besides the gods, possibly older than they are, and presumably mightier, +are the "Fates" (Norns), three Ladies who are met with together, who +fulfil the parts of the gift-fairies of our Sleeping Beauty tales, and +bestow endowments on the new-born child, as in the beautiful "Helge +Lay", a point of the story which survives in Ogier of the Chansons de +Geste, wherein Eadgar (Otkerus or Otgerus) gets what belonged to Holger +(Holge), the Helga of "Beowulf's Lay". The caprices of the Fates, where +one corrects or spoils the others' endowments, are seen in Saxo, when +beauty, bounty, and meanness are given together. They sometimes meet +heroes, as they met Helgi in the Eddic Lay (Helgi and Sigrun Lay), +and help or begift them; they prepare the magic broth for Balder, are +charmed with Hother's lute-playing, and bestow on him a belt of victory +and a girdle of splendour, and prophesy things to come. + +The verse in Biarca-mal, where "Pluto weaves the dooms of the mighty and +fills Phlegethon with noble shapes," recalls Darrada-liod, and points to +Woden as death-doomer of the warrior. + +"Giants".--These are stupid, mischievous, evil and cunning in Saxo's +eyes. Oldest of beings, with chaotic force and exuberance, monstrous in +extravagant vitality. + +The giant nature of the older troll-kind is abhorrent to man and woman. +But a giantess is enamoured of a youth she had fostered, and giants +carry off king's daughters, and a three-bodied giant captures young +children. + +Giants live in caves by the sea, where they keep their treasure. One +giant, Unfoot (Ofoti), is a shepherd, like Polyphemus, and has a famous +dog which passed into the charge of Biorn, and won a battle; a giantess +is keeping goats in the wilds. A giant's fury is so great that it takes +twelve champions to control him, when the rage is on him. The troll +(like our Puss-in-Boots Ogre) can take any shape. + +Monstrous apparitions are mentioned, a giant hand (like that in one +story of Finn) searching for its prey among the inmates of a booth +in the wilds. But this Grendel-like arm is torn off by a giantess, +Hardgrip, daughter of Wainhead and niece possibly of Hafle. + +The voice heard at night prophesying is that of some god or monster, +possibly Woden himself. + +"Dwarves".--These Saxo calls Satyrs, and but rarely mentions. The dwarf +Miming, who lives in the desert, has a precious sword of sharpness +(Mistletoe?) that could even pierce skin-hard Balder, and a ring +(Draupnir) that multiplied itself for its possessor. He is trapped by +the hero and robbed of his treasures. + + + + +FUNERAL RITES AND MAN'S FUTURE STATE. + +"Barrow-burials".--The obsequies of great men (such as the classic +funeral of "Beowulf's Lay", 3138-80) are much noticed by Saxo, and we +might expect that he knew such a poem (one similar to Ynglingatal, but +not it) which, like the Books of the Kings of Israel and Judah, recorded +the deaths and burials, as well as the pedigrees and deeds, of the +Danish kings. + +The various stages of the "obsequy by fire" are noted; the byre +sometimes formed out of a ship; the "sati"; the devoted bower-maidens +choosing to die with their mistress, the dead man's beloved (cf. The +Eddic funerals of Balder, Sigfred, and Brunhild, in the Long "Brunhild's +Lay", Tregrof Gudrumar and the lost poem of Balder's death paraphrased +in the prose Edda); the last message given to the corpse on the pyre +(Woden's last words to Balder are famous); the riding round the pyre; +the eulogium; the piling of the barrow, which sometimes took whole days, +as the size of many existing grass mounds assure us; the funeral feast, +where an immense vat of ale or mead is drunk in honor of the dead; the +epitaph, like an ogham, set up on a stone over the barrow. + +The inclusion of a live man with the dead in a barrow, with the live or +fresh-slain beasts (horse and bound) of the dead man, seems to point to +a time or district when burning was not used. Apparently, at one time, +judging from Frode's law, only chiefs and warriors were burnt. + +Not to bury was, as in Hellas, an insult to the dead, reserved for the +bodies of hated foes. Conquerors sometimes show their magnanimity (like +Harald Godwineson) by offering to bury their dead foes. + +The buried "barrow-ghost" was formidable; he could rise and slay and +eat, vampire-like, as in the tale of Asmund and Aswit. He must in such +case be mastered and prevented doing further harm by decapitation and +thigh-forking, or by staking and burning. So criminals' bodies were +often burnt to stop possible haunting. + +Witches and wizards could raise corpses by spells to make them prophesy. +The dead also appeared in visions, usually foretelling death to the +person they visited. + +OTHER WORLDS.--The "Land of Undeath" is spoken of as a place reached by +an exiled hero in his wanderings. We know it from Eric the traveller's +S., Helge Thoreson's S., Herrand and Bose S., Herwon S., Thorstan +Baearmagn S., and other Icelandic sources. But the voyage to the Other +Worlds are some of the most remarkable of the narratives Saxo has +preserved for us. + +"Hadding's Voyage Underground".--(a) A woman bearing in her lap angelica +fresh and green, though it was deep winter, appears to the hero at +supper, raising her head beside the brazier. Hadding wishes to know +where such plants grow. + +(b) She takes him with her, under cover of her mantle, underground. + +(c) They pierce a mist, get on a road worn by long use, pass nobly-clad +men, and reach the sunny fields that bear the angelica:-- + + "Through griesly shadowes by a beaten path, + Into a garden goodly garnished." + --F.Q. ii. 7, 51. + +(d) Next they cross, by a bridge, the "River of Blades", and see "two +armies fighting", ghosts of slain soldiers. + +(e) Last they came to a high wall, which surrounds the land of Life, for +a cock the woman brought with her, whose neck she wrung and tossed over +this wall, came to life and crowed merrily. + +Here the story breaks off. It is unfinished, we are only told that +Hadfling got back. Why he was taken to this under-world? Who took him? +What followed therefrom? Saxo does not tell. It is left to us to make +out. + +That it is an archaic story of the kind in the Thomas of Ercildoune +and so many more fairy-tales, e.g., Kate Crack-a-Nuts, is certain. The +"River of Blades" and "The Fighting Warriors" are known from the Eddic +Poems. The angelica is like the green birk of that superb fragment, the +ballad of the Wife of Usher's Well--a little more frankly heathen, of +course-- + + "It fell about the Martinmas, when nights are long and mirk, + The carline wife's three sons cam hame, and their hats were + o' the birk. + It neither grew in syke nor dyke, nor yet in ony sheugh, + But at the gates o' Paradise that birk grew fair eneuch." + +The mantel is that of Woden when he bears the hero over seas; the cock +is a bird of sorcery the world over; the black fowl is the proper gift +to the Underground powers--a heriot really, for did not the Culture god +steal all the useful beasts out of the underground world for men's use? + +Dr. Rydberg has shown that the "Seven Sleepers" story is an old Northern +myth, alluded to here in its early pre-Christian form, and that with +this is mixed other incidents from voyages of Swipdag, the Teutonic +Odusseus. + +"Thorkill's Second Voyage to Outgarth-Loke to get Knowledge".--(a) +Guthrum is troubled as to the immortality and fate of the soul, and the +reward of piety after death. To spite Thorkill, his enviers advised the +king to send him to consult Outgarth-Loke. He required of the king that +his enemies should be sent with him. + +(b) In one well-stored and hide-defended ship they set out, reached +a sunless, starless land, without fuel; ate raw food and suffered. At +last, after many days, a fire was seen ashore. Thorkill, setting a jewel +at the mast-head to be able to regain his vessel easily, rows ashore to +get fire. + +(c) In a filthy, snake-paved, stinking cavern he sees two horny-nebbed +giants, (2) making a fire. One of the giants offers to direct him to +Loke if he will say three true things in three phrases, and this done, +tells him to row four days and then he would reach a Dark and Grassless +Land. For three more true sayings he obtains fire, and gets back to his +vessel. + +(d) With good wind they make Grassless Land, go ashore, find a huge, +rocky cavern, strike a flint to kindle a fire at the entrance as a +safeguard against demons, and a torch to light them as they explored the +cavern. + +(e) First appears iron seats set amid crawling snakes. + +(f) Next is sluggish water flowing over sand. + +(g) Last a steep, sloping cavern is reached, in a chamber of which lay +Outgarth-Loke chained, huge and foul. + +(h) Thorkill plucks a hair of his beard "as big as a cornel-wood spear." +The stench that arose was fearful; the demens and snakes fell upon the +invaders at once; only Thorkill and five of the crew, who had sheltered +themselves with hides against the virulent poison the demons and snakes +cast, which would take a head off at the neck if it fell upon it, got +back to their ship. + +(i) By vow to the "God that made the world", and offerings, a good +voyage was made back, and Germany reached, where Thorkill became a +Christian. Only two of his men survived the effects of the poison and +stench, and he himself was scarred and spoilt in the face. + +(k) When he reached the king, Guthrum would not listen to his tale, +because it was prophesied to him that he would die suddenly if he heard +it; nay, he even sent men to smite him as he lay in bed, but, by the +device of laying a log in his place, he escaped, and going to the king +as he sat at meat, reproached him for his treachery. + +(l) Guthrum bade him tell his story, but died of horror at hearing his +god Loke foully spoken of, while the stench of the hair that Thorkill +produced, as Othere did his horn for a voucher of his speech, slew many +bystanders. + +This is the regular myth of Loke, punished by the gods, lying bound with +his own soils' entrails on three sharp stones and a sword-blade, (this +latter an addition, when the myth was made stones were the only blades), +with snakes' venom dripping on to him, so that when it falls on him he +shakes with pain and makes earthquakes--a Titan myth in answer to the +question, "Why does the earth quake?" The vitriolic power of the poison +is excellently expressed in the story. The plucking of the hair as a +token is like the plucking of a horn off the giant or devil that occurs +in some folk-tale. + + + + +MAGIC AND FOLK-SCIENCE. + +There is a belief in magic throughout Saxo's work, showing how fresh +heathendom still was in men's minds and memories. His explanations, when +he euhemerizes, are those of his day. + +By means of spells all kinds of wonders could be effected, and the +powers of nature forced to work for the magician or his favourite. + +"Skin-changing" (so common in "Landnamaboc") was as well known as in the +classic world of Lucian and Apuleius; and, where Frode perishes of the +attacks of a witch metamorphosed into a walrus. + +"Mist" is induced by spells to cover and hide persons, as in Homer, +and "glamour" is produced by spells to dazzle foemen's sight. To cast +glamour and put confusion into a besieged place a witch is employed by +the beleaguerer, just as William the Conqueror used the witch in the +Fens against Hereward's fortalice. A soothsayer warns Charles the Great +of the coming of a Danish fleet to the Seine's mouth. + +"Rain and bad weather" may be brought on, as in a battle against +the enemy, but in this, as in other instances, the spell may be +counteracted. + +"Panic Terror" may be induced by the spell worked with a dead horse's +head set up on a pole facing the antagonist, but the spell may be met +and combatted by silence and a counter-curse. + +"Magic help" may be got by calling on the friendly magician's name. +The magician has also the power of summoning to him anyone, however +unwilling, to appear. + +Of spells and magic power to blunt steel there are several instances; +they may be counteracted (as in the Icelandic Sagas) by using the hilt, +or a club, or covering the blade with fine skin. In another case the +champion can only be overcome by one that will take up some of the dust +from under his feet. This is effected by the combatants shifting their +ground and exchanging places. In another case the foeman can only +be slain by gold, whereupon the hero has a gold-headed mace made and +batters the life out of him therewith. The brothers of Swanhild cannot +be cut by steel, for their mail was charmed by the witch Gudrun, but +Woden taught Eormenric, the Gothic king, how to overcome them with +stones (which apparently cannot, as archaic weapons, be charmed against +at all, resisting magic like wood and water and fire). Jordanis tells +the true history of Ermanaric, that great Gothic emperor whose rule +from the Dnieper to the Baltic and Rhine and Danube, and long reign of +prosperity, were broken by the coming of the Huns. With him vanished the +first great Teutonic empire. + +Magic was powerful enough even to raise the dead, as was practised +by the Perms, who thus renewed their forces after a battle. In the +Everlasting battle the combatants were by some strange trick of fate +obliged to fulfil a perennial weird (like the unhappy Vanderdecken). +Spells to wake the dead were written on wood and put under the corpses' +tongue. Spells (written on bark) induce frenzy. + +"Charms" would secure a man against claw or tooth. + +"Love philtres" (as in the long "Lay of Gudrun) appear as everywhere in +savage and archaic society. + +"Food", porridge mixed with the slaver of tortured snakes, gives magic +strength or endues the eater with eloquence and knowledge of beast and +bird speech (as Finn's broiled fish and Sigfred's broiled dragon-heart +do). + +"Poison" like these hell-broths are part of the Witch or Obi +stock-in-trade, and Frode uses powdered gold as an antidote. + +"Omens" are observed; tripping as one lands is lucky (as with our +William the Norman). Portents, such as a sudden reddening of the sea +where the hero is drowned, are noticed and interpreted. + +"Dreams" (cf. Eddic Lays of Attila, and the Border ballads) are +prophetic (as nine-tenths of Europeans firmly believe still); thus the +visionary flame-spouting dragon is interpreted exactly as Hogne's and +Attila's dreams. The dreams of the three first bridals nights (which +were kept hallowed by a curious superstition, either because the dreams +would then bold good, or as is more likely, for fear of some Asmodeus) +were fateful. Animals and birds in dreams are read as persons, as +nowadays. + +A "curse" is powerful unless it can be turned back, when it will harm +its utterer, for harm someone it must. The "curse" of a dying man on his +slayer, and its lack of effect, is noted. + +Sometimes "magic messengers" are sent, like the swans that bore a token +and uttered warning songs to the hero. + +"Witches and wizards" (as belonging to the older layer of archaic +beliefs) are hateful to the gods, and Woden casts them out as accursed, +though he himself was the mightiest of wizards. Heathen Teutonic life +was a long terror by reason of witchcraft, as is the heathen African +life to-day, continual precautions being needful to escape the magic of +enemies. The Icelandic Sagas, such as Gretter's, are full of magic and +witchcraft. It is by witchcraft that Gretter is first lamed and finally +slain; one can see that Glam's curse, the Beowulf motif, was not really +in the original Gretter story. + +"Folk-medicine" is really a branch of magic in old days, even to such +pioneers of science as Paracelsus. + +Saxo's traditions note drinking of a lion's blood that eats men as a +means of gaining might and strength; the drinking of bear's blood is +also declared to give great bodily power. + +The tests for "madness" are of a primitive character, such as those +applied to Odusseus, who, however, was not able, like Hamlet, to evade +them. + +The test for death is the red-hot iron or hot brand (used by the +Abyssinians of to-day, as it was supposed in the thirteenth century to +have been used by Grimhild. "And now Grimhild goes and takes a great +brand, where the house had burnt, and goes to Gernot her brother, and +thrusts the burning brand in his mouth, and will know whether he is dead +or living. But Gernot was clearly dead. And now she goes to Gislher and +thrusts the firebrand in his mouth. He was not dead before, but Gislher +died of that. Now King Thidrec of Bern saw what Grimhild is doing, +and speaks to King Attila. `See how that devil Grimhild, thy wife, is +killing her brothers, the good warriors, and how many men have lost +their lives for her sake, and how many good men she has destroyed, Huns +and Amalungs and Niflungs; and in the same way would she bring thee and +me to hell, if she could do it?' Then spake King Attila, `Surely she is +a devil, and slay thou her, and that were a good work if thou had done +it seven nights ago! Then many a gallant fellow were whole that is now +dead.' Now King Thidrec springs at Grimhild and swings up his sword +Eckisax, and hews her asunder at the middle"). + +It was believed (as in Polynesia, where "Captain Cook's path" was shown +in the grass) that the heat of the hero's body might blast the grass; so +Starcad's entrails withered the grass. + +It was believed that a severed head might bite the ground in rage, and +there were certainly plenty of opportunities for observation of such +cases. + +It was believed that a "dumb man" might be so wrought on by passion that +he would speak, and wholly acquire speech-power. + +Little is told of "surgery", but in one case of intestines protruding +owing to wounds, withies were employed to bind round the trunk and keep +the bowels from risk till the patient could be taken to a house and his +wounds examined and dressed. It was considered heroic to pay little heed +to wounds that were not dangerous, but just to leave them to nature. + +Personal "cleanliness" was not higher than among savages now. A lover is +loused by his lady after the mediaeval fashion. + +CHRISTIANITY--In the first nine books of Saxo, which are devoted to +heathendom, there is not much save the author's own Christian point +of view that smacks of the New Faith. The apostleships of Ansgarius in +Denmark, the conversion of King Eric, the Christianity of several later +Danish Kings, one of whom was (like Olaf Tryggwason) baptised in Britain +are also noticed. + +Of "Christian legends" and beliefs, besides the euhemerist theory, +widely held, of the heathen gods there are few hints, save the idea +that Christ was born in the reign of Frode, Frode having been somehow +synchronised with Augustus, in whose reign also there was a world-peace. + +Of course the christening of Scandinavia is history, and the mythic +books are little concerned with it. The episode in Adam of Bremen, where +the king offers the people, if they want a new god, to deify Eric, one +of their hero-kings, is eminently characteristic and true. + + + + +FOLK-TALES. + +There might be a classification of Saxo's stories akin to that of the +Irish poets, Battles, Sieges, Voyages, Rapes, Cattle Forays, etc.; and +quite apart from the historic element, however faint and legendary, +there are a set of stories ascribed by him, or rather his authorities, +to definite persons, which had, even in his day, probably long been the +property of Tis, their original owners not being known owing to lapse +of time and the wear of memory, and the natural and accidental +catastrophies that impair the human record. Such are the "Dragon-Slayer" +stories. In one type of these the hero (Frithlaf) is cast on a desolate +island, and warned by a dream to attack and slay a dragon guarding +treasure. He wakes, sees the dragon arise out of the waves, apparently, +to come ashore and go back to the cavern or mound wherein the treasure +lay. His scales are too hard to pierce; he is terribly strong, lashing +trees down with his tail, and wearing a deep path through the wood and +over the stones with his huge and perpetual bulk; but the hero, covered +with hide-wrapped shield against the poison, gets down into the +hollow path, and pierces the monster from below, afterward rifling its +underground store and carrying off its treasure. + +Again the story is repeated; the hero (Frode Haddingsson) is warned by +a countryman of the island-dragon and its hoard, is told to cover his +shield and body with bulls' hides against the poison, and smite the +monster's belly. The dragon goes to drink, and, as it is coming back, +it is attacked, slain, and its treasure lifted precisely as before. The +analogies with the Beowulf and Sigfred stories are evident; but no great +poet has arisen to weave the dragon-slaying intimately into the lives of +Frode and Frithlaf as they have been woven into the tragedy of Sigfred +the wooer of Brunhild and, if Dr. Vigffisson be right the conqueror of +Varus, or into the story of Beowulf, whose real engagements were with +sea-monsters, not fiery dragons. + +Another type is that of the "Loathly Worm". A king out hunting (Herod +or Herraud, King of Sweden), for some unexplained reason brings home two +small snakes as presents for his daughter. They wax wonderfully, have +to be fed a whole ox a day, and proceed to poison and waste the +countryside. The wretched king is forced to offer his daughter (Thora) +to anyone who will slay them. The hero (Ragnar) devises a dress of a +peculiar kind (by help of his nurse, apparently), in this case, woolly +mantle and hairy breeches all frozen and ice-covered to resist the +venom, then strapping his spear to his hand, he encounters them boldly +alone. The courtiers hide "like frightened little girls", and the king +betakes him to a "narrow shelter", an euphemism evidently of Saxo's, for +the scene is comic. The king comes forth when the hero is victorious, +and laughing at his hairy legs, nick-names him Shaggy-breech, and bids +him to the feast. Ragnar fetches up his comrades, and apparently seeks +out the frightened courtiers (no doubt with appropriate quip, omitted by +Saxo, who hurries on), feasts, marries the king's daughter, and begets +on her two fine sons. + +Of somewhat similar type is the proud "Maiden guarded" by Beasts. Here +the scene is laid in Gaulardale in Norway. The lady is Ladgerda, the +hero Ragnar. Enamoured of the maiden by seeing her prowess in war, he +accepts no rebuffs, but leaving his followers, enters the house, slays +the guardian Bear and Dog, thrusting one through with a spear and +throttling the other with his hand. The lady is won and wed, and two +daughters and a son (Frithlaf) duly begotten. The story of Alf and +Alfhild combines several types. There are the tame snakes, the baffled +suitors' heads staked to terrify other suitors, and the hero using +red-hot iron and spear to slay the two reptiles. + +The "Proud Lady", (cf. Kudrun and the Niebelungen, and Are's story +of the queen that burnt her suitors) appears in Hermintrude, Queen of +Scotland, who battles and slays her lovers, but is out-witted by the +hero (Hamlet), and, abating her arrogance, agrees to wed him. This seems +an obvious accretion in the original Hamlet story, and probably owing +not to Saxo, but to his authority. + +The "Beggar that stole the Lady" (told of Snio Siwaldson and the +daughter of the King of the Goths), with its brisk dialogue, must have +been one of the most artful of the folk-tales worked on by Saxo or his +informants; but it is only half told, unfortunately. + +The "Crafty Soaker" is another excellent comic folk-tale. A terrible +famine made the king (Snio) forbid brewing to save the barley for +bread, and abolished all needless toping. The Soaker baffled the king by +sipping, never taking a full draught. Rebuked, he declared that he never +drank, but only sucked a drop. This was forbidden him for the future, so +he sopped his bread in ale, and in that inconvenient manner continued to +get drunk, excusing himself with the plea that though it was forbidden +to drink or sip beer, it was not forbidden to eat it. When this was in +turn prohibited, the Soaker gave up any pretence, and brewed and +drank unabashed, telling the angry king that he was celebrating his +approaching funeral with due respect, which excuse led to the repeal of +the obnoxious decree. A good Rabelaisian tale, that must not have +been wide-spread among the Danish topers, whose powers both Saxo and +Shakespeare have celebrated, from actual experience no doubt. + +The "Magician's tricks to elude pursuit", so common an incident in +our fairy tales, e.g., Michael Scot's flight, is ascribed here to the +wonder-working and uncanny Finns, who, when pursued, cast behind +them successively three pebbles, which become to their enemies' eyes +mountains, then snow, which appeared like a roaring torrent. But they +could not cast the glamour on Arngrim a third time, and were forced to +submit. The glamour here and in the case of the breaking of Balder's +barrow is akin to that which the Druid puts on the sons of Uisnach. + +The tale of the king who shuts up his daughter in an "earth-house" or +underground chamber with treasures (weapons and gold and silver), in +fear of invasion, looks like a bit of folk-tale, such as the "Hind in +the Wood", but it may have a traditional base of some kind here. + +A folk-tale, very imperfectly narrated, is the "Clever King's Daughter", +who evidently in the original story had to choose her suitor by his feet +(as the giantess in the prose Edda chooses her husband), and was able to +do so by the device she had practised of sewing up her ring in his leg +sometime before, so that when she touched the flesh she could feel the +hardness of the ring beneath the scar. + +Bits of folk-tales are the "Device for escaping threatened death by +putting a log in one's bed" (as in our Jack the Giant-Killer). The +device, as old as David's wife, of dressing up a dummy (here a basket +with a dog inside, covered outside with clothes), while the hero +escapes, is told of Eormenric, the mighty Gothic King of Kings, who, +like Walter of Aquitaine, Theodoric of Varona, Ecgherht, and Arminius, +was an exile in his youth. This traditional escape of the two lads from +the Scyths should be compared with the true story in Paul the Deacon +of his little ancestor's captivity and bold and successful stroke for +freedom. + +"Disguise" plays a great part in the folk-tales used by Saxo. Woden +disguises himself in a cowl on his earthly travels, and heroes do the +same; a king disguises himself as a slave at his rival's court, to try +and find occasion of slaying him; a hero wraps himself up in skins, like +Alleleirah. + +"Escaped recognition" is accordingly a feature in many of these simple +but artistic plots. A son is not known by his mother in the story of +Hrolf. + +Other "Devices" are exemplified, such as the "booby-trap" loaded with +a millstone, which slays a hateful and despised tyrant, imposed by +a foreign conqueror; evasion by secret passages, and concealment in +underground vaults or earth-houses. The feigning of madness to escape +death occurs, as well as in the better-known Hamlet story. These +stratagems are universal in folk-history. + +To Eric, the clever and quick of speech, is ascribed an excellent +sailor's smuggling trick to hide slaughtered cattle, by sinking them +till the search is over. + +The "Hero's Mighty Childhood" (like David's) of course occurs when +he binds a bear with his girdle. Sciold is full grown at fifteen, and +Hadding is full grown in extreme youth. The hero in his boyhood slays a +full-grown man and champion. The cinder-biting, lazy stage of a mighty +youth is exemplified. + +The "fierce eyes" of the hero or heroine, which can daunt an assassin as +could the piercing glance of Marius, are the "falcon eyes" of the Eddic +Lays. + +The shining, effulgent, "illuminating hair" of the hero, which gives +light in the darkness, is noticed here, as it obtains in Cuaran's +thirteenth century English legend. + +The wide-spread tale of the "City founded on a site marked out by a hide +cut into finest thongs", occurs, told of Hella and Iwarus exactly as our +Kentishmen told it of Hengist, and as it is also told of Dido. + +The incidents of the "hero sleeping by a rill", of the guarded king's +daughter, with her thirty attendants, the king's son keeping sheep, are +part of the regular stock incidents in European folk-tales. So are the +Nausicaa incident of the "king's daughter going a washing", the hero +disguising himself as a woman and winding wool (like a second Heracles). + +There are a certain number of stories, which only occur in Saxo and in +our other Northern sources with attributions, though they are of course +legendary; such are: + +The "Everlasting Battle" between Hedhin and Hogne, a legend connected +with the great Brisinga-men story, and paralleled by the Cordelia-tale +among the Britons. + +The story of the "Children preserved" is not very clearly told, and +Saxo seems to have euhemerized. It is evidently of the same type as the +Lionel-Lancelot story in the Arthurian cycle. Two children, ordered to +be killed, are saved by the slaying of other children in their place; +and afterwards by their being kept and named as dogs; they come to their +own and avenge their wrongs. + +The "Journey to Hell" story is told of Eric, who goes to a far land to +fetch a princess back, and is successful. It is apparently an adventure +of Swipdag, if everyone had their rights. It is also told of Thorkill, +whose adventures are rather of the "True Thomas" type. + +The "Test of Endurance" by sitting between fires, and the relief of the +tortured and patient hero by a kindly trick, is a variant of the famous +Eddic Lays concerning Agnar. + +The "Robbers of the Island", evidently comes from an Icelandic source +(cf. The historic "Holmveria Saga" and Icelandic folk-tales of later +date), the incident of the hero slaying his slave, that the body might +be mistaken for his, is archaic in tone; the powerful horse recalls +Grani, Bayard, and even Sleipner; the dog which had once belonged to +Unfoot (Ofote), the giant shepherd (cf. its analogues in old Welsh +tales), is not quite assimilated or properly used in this story. +It seems (as Dr. Rydberg suspects) a mythical story coloured by the +Icelandic relater with memory full of the robber-hands of his own land. + +The stratagem of "Starcad", who tried even in death to slay his slayer, +seems an integral part of the Starcad story; as much as the doom of +three crimes which are to be the price for the threefold life that a +triple man or giant should enjoy. The noose story in Starcad (cf. that +told of Bicce in the Eormenric story), is also integral. + + + + +SAXO'S MYTHOLOGY. + +No one has commented upon Saxo's mythology with such brilliancy, such +minute consideration, and such success as the Swedish scholar, Victor +Rydberg. More than occasionally he is over-ingenious and over-anxious to +reduce chaos to order; sometimes he almost loses his faithful reader in +the maze he treads so easily and confidently, and sometimes he stumbles +badly. But he has placed the whole subject on a fresh footing, and much +that is to follow will be drawn from his "Teutonic Mythology" (cited +here from the English version by Rasmus B. Anderson, London, 1889, as +"T.M."). + +Let us take first some of the incontestable results of his +investigations that affect Saxo. + +SCIOLD is the father of Gram in Saxo, and the son of Sceaf in other +older authorities. Dr. Rydberg (97-101) forms the following equations +for the Sciolding patriarchs:-- + + a. Scef--Heimdal--Rig. + b. Sciold--Borgar--Jarl. + c. Gram--Halfdan--Koming. + +Chief among the mythic tales that concern Saxo are the various portions +of the Swipdag-Myth, which Dr. Rydberg has been able to complete with +much success. They may be resumed briefly as follows:-- + +Swipdag, helped by the incantations of his dead mother, whom he had +raised from the dead to teach him spells of protection, sets forth on +his quests. He is the Odusseus of the Teutonic mythology. He desires to +avenge his father on Halfdan that slew him. To this end he must have a +weapon of might against Halfdan's club. The Moon-god tells him of the +blade Thiasse has forged. It has been stolen by Mimer, who has gone out +into the cold wilderness on the rim of the world. Swipdag achieves the +sword, and defeats and slays Halfdan. He now buys a wife, Menglad, of +her kinsmen the gods by the gift of the sword, which thus passes into +Frey's hands. + +How he established a claim upon Frey, and who Menglad was, is explained +in Saxo's story of Eric, where the characters may be identified thus:-- + + Swipdag--Eric + Freya--Gunwara + Frey--Frode III + Niord--Fridlaf + Wuldor--Roller + Thor--Brac + Giants--The Greps + Giants--Coller. + +Frey and Freya had been carried off by the giants, and Swipdag and his +faithful friend resolve to get them back for the Anses, who bewail their +absence. They journey to Monster-land, win back the lady, who ultimately +is to become the hero's wife, and return her to her kindred; but her +brother can only be rescued by his father Niord. It is by wit rather +than by force that Swipdag is successful here. + +The third journey of Swipdag is undertaken on Frey's behalf; he goes +under the name of Scirner to woo giant Gymer's daughter Gerth for his +brother-in-law, buying her with the sword that he himself had paid to +Frey as his sister's bride-price. So the sword gets back to the giants +again. + +Swipdag's dead foe Halfdan left two young "avengers", Hadding and +Guthorm, whom he seeks to slay. But Thor-Brache gives them in charge +of two giant brothers. Wainhead took care of Hadding, Hafle of Guthorm. +Swipdag made peace with Guthorm, in a way not fully explained to us, but +Hadding took up the blood-feud as soon as he was old enough. + +Hadding was befriended by a woman, who took him to the Underworld--the +story is only half told in Saxo, unluckily--and by Woden, who took him +over-sea wrapt in his mantle as they rode Sleipner over the waves; but +here again Saxo either had not the whole story before him, or he wished +to abridge it for some reason or prejudice, and the only result of this +astonishing pilgrimage is that Woden gives the young hero some useful +counsels. He falls into captivity, entrapped by Loke (for what reason +again we are left to guess), and is exposed to wild beasts, but he slays +the wolf that attacks him, and eating its heart as Woden had bidden him, +he gains wisdom and foresight. + +Prepared by these adventures, he gets Guthorm to join him (how or why +the peace between him and Swipdag was broken, we know not), and they +attack their father's slayer, but are defeated, though Woden sunk Asmund +Swipdag's son's ship, Grio, at Hlessey, and Wainhead and Hardgrip his +daughter fought for Hadding. + +Hadding wanders off to the East with his foster-sister and mistress and +Hardgrip, who is slain protecting him against an angry ghost raised from +the Underworld by her spells. However, helped by Heimdal and Woden (who +at this time was an exile), Hadding's ultimate success is assured. + +When Woden came back to power, Swipdag, whose violence and pride grew +horribly upon him, was exiled, possibly by some device of his foes, +and took upon him, whether by will or doom, a sea-monster's shape. His +faithful wife follows him over land and sea, but is not able to save +him. He is met by Hadding and, after a fierce fight, slain. Swipdag's +wife cursed the conqueror, and he was obliged to institute an annual +sacrifice to Frey (her brother) at Upsale, who annuls the curse. Loke, +in seal's guise, tried to steal the necklace of Freya at the Reef of +Treasures, where Swipdag was slain, but Haimdal, also in sealskin, +fought him, and recovered it for the gods. + +Other myths having reference to the goddesses appear in Saxo. There is +the story of "Heimdall and Sol", which Dr. Rydberg has recognised in the +tale of Alf and Alfhild. The same tale of how the god won the sun for +his wife appears in the mediaeval German King Ruther (in which title Dr. +Ryuberg sees Hrutr, a name of the ram-headed god). + +The story of "Othar" (Od) and "Syritha" (Sigrid) is obviously that of +Freya and her lover. She has been stolen by the giants, owing to the +wiles of her waiting-maid, Loke's helper, the evil witch Angrbode. Od +seeks her, finds her, slays the evil giant who keeps her in the cave; +but she is still bewitched, her hair knotted into a hard, horny mass, +her eyes void of brightness. Unable to gain recognition he lets her go, +and she is made by a giantess to herd her flocks. Again found by Od, and +again refusing to recognise him, she is let go again. But this time +she flies to the world of men, and takes service with Od's mother and +father. Here, after a trial of her love, she and Od are reconciled. +Sywald (Sigwald), her father, weds Od's sister. + +The tale of the vengeance of Balder is more clearly given by the Dane, +and with a comic force that recalls the Aristophanic fun of Loka-senna. +It appears that the story had a sequel which only Saxo gives. Woden +had the giantess Angrbode, who stole Freya, punished. Frey, whose +mother-in-law she was, took up her quarrel, and accusing Woden of +sorcery and dressing up like a woman to betray Wrind, got him banished. +While in exile Wuldor takes Woden's place and name, and Woden lives on +earth, part of the time at least, with Scathe Thiasse's daughter, who +had parted from Niord. + +The giants now resolved to attack Ansegard; and Woden, under the name of +Yggr, warned the gods, who recall him after ten years' exile. + +But for Saxo this part of the story of the wars of the gods would be +very fragmentary. + +The "Hildiger story", where a father slays his son unwittingly, and +then falls at his brother's hand, a tale combining the Rustam and +the Balin-Balan types, is one of the Hilding tragedies, and curiously +preserved in the late "Saga of Asmund the Champions' bane". It is an +antithesis, as Dr. Rydberg remarks, to the Hildebrand and Hadubrand +story, where father and son must fight and are reconciled. + +The "story of Orwandel" (the analogue of Orion the Hunter) must be +gathered chiefly from the prose Edda. He was a huntsman, big enough and +brave enough to cope with giants. He was the friend of Thor, the husband +of Groa, the father of Swipdag, the enemy of giant Coller and the +monster Sela. The story of his birth, and of his being blinded, are +lost apparently in the Teutonic stories, unless we may suppose that the +bleeding of Robin Hood till he could not see by the traitorous prioress +is the last remains of the story of the great archer's death. + +Great part of the troubles which befell the gods arose from the +antagonism of the sons of Iwalde and the brethren Sindre and Brokk +(Cinder and Brank), rival artist families; and it was owing to the +retirement of their artist foster-parents that Frey and Freya were left +among the giants. The Hniflung hoard is also supposed to have consisted +of the treasures of one band of primaeval artists, the Iwaldings. + +Whether we have here the phenomenon of mythological doublets belonging +to different tribes, or whether we have already among these early names +that descent of story which has led to an adventure of Moses being +attributed to Garibaldi, given to Theodoric the king the adventures +of Theodoric the god, taken Arthur to Rome, and Charles the Great to +Constantinople, it is hard to say. + +The skeleton-key of identification, used even as ably as Dr. Rydberg +uses it, will not pick every mythologic lock, though it undoubtedly has +opened many hitherto closed. The truth is that man is a finite animal; +that he has a limited number of types of legend; that these legends, as +long as they live and exist, are excessively prehensile; that, like the +opossum, they can swing from tree to tree without falling; as one tree +dies out of memory they pass on to another. When they are scared away +by what is called exact intelligence from the tall forest of great +personalities, they contrive to live humbly clinging to such bare plain +stocks and poles (Tis and Jack and Cinderella) as enable them to find a +precarious perch. + +To drop similitudes, we must be prepared, in unravelling our tangled +mythology, to go through several processes. We must, of course, note the +parallelisms and get back to the earliest attribution-names we can find. +But all system is of late creation, it does not begin till a certain +political stage, a stage where the myths of coalescing clans come into +contact, and an official settlement is attempted by some school of +poets or priests. Moreover, systematization is never so complete that it +effaces all the earlier state of things. Behind the official systems of +Homer and Hesiod lies the actual chaos of local faiths preserved for us +by Pausanias and other mythographers. The common factors in the various +local faiths are much the majority among the factors they each possess; +and many of these common factors are exceedingly primitive, and resolve +themselves into answers to the questions that children still ask, still +receiving no answer but myth--that is, poetic and subjective hypothesis, +containing as much truth as they can receive or their inventors can +grasp. + +Who were our forbears? How did day and night, sun and moon, earth and +water, and fire come? How did the animals come? Why has the bear no +tail? Why are fishes dumb, the swallow cleft-tail? How did evil come? +Why did men begin to quarrel? How did death arise? What will the end be? +Why do dead persons come back? What do the dead do? What is the earth +shaped like? Who invented tools and weapons, and musical instruments, +and how? When did kings and chiefs first come? + +From accepted answers to such questions most of the huge mass of +mythology arises. Man makes his gods in his own image, and the doctrines +of omen, coincidence, and correspondence helped by incessant and +imperfect observation and logic, bring about a system of religious +observance, of magic and ritual, and all the masses of folly and +cruelty, hope and faith, and even charity, that group about their +inventions, and seem to be the necessary steps in the onward path of +progressive races. + +When to these we add the true and exaggerated memories of actual heroes, +the material before the student is pretty completely comprised. Though +he must be prepared to meet the difficulties caused in the contact of +races, of civilisations, by the conversion of persons holding one set of +mythical ideas to belief in another set of different, more attractive, +and often more advanced stage. + +The task of arriving at the scientific, speculative ethic, and the +actual practice of our remote ancestry (for to that end is the student +of mythology and folk-lore aiming) is not therefore easy. Nor is the +record perfect, though it is not so poor in most cases as was once +believed. The Brothers Grimm, patriarchs alike as mythologists and +folk-lorists, the Castor and Pollox of our studies, have proved this as +regards the Teutonic nations, just as they showed us, by many a striking +example, that in great part folk-lore was the mythology of to-day, and +mythology the folk-lore of yesterday. + +In many cases we are helped by quite modern material to make out some +puzzle that an old tale presents, and there is little doubt but that the +present activity in the field of folklore will not only result in fresh +matter but in fresh methods freshly applied. + +The Scandinavian material, at all events, is particularly rich: there is +the extensive Icelandic written literature touching the ninth and +tenth and eleventh centuries; the noble, if fragmentary remains of Old +Northern poetry of the Wickingtide; and lastly, the mass of tradition +which, surviving in oral form, and changing in colour from generation to +generation, was first recorded in part in the seventeenth, and again in +part, in the present century; and all these yield a plentiful field for +research. But their evidence gains immensely by the existence of Saxo's +nine books of traditional and mythic lore, collected and written down in +an age when much that was antique and heathen was passing away forever. +The gratitude due to the Welshman of the twelfth century, whose garnered +hoard has enriched so many poets and romances from his day to now, is +no less due to the twelfth-century Dane, whose faithful and eloquent +enthusiasm has swept much dust from antique time, and saved us such a +story as Shakespeare has not disdained to consecrate to highest use. Not +only Celtic and Teutonic lore are the richer for these two men, but +the whole Western world of thought and speech. In the history of modern +literature, it is but right that by the side of Geoffrey an honourable +place should be maintained for Saxo, and + +"awake remembrance of these mighty dead." + + +--Oliver Elton + + + + ENDNOTES: + (1) A horn and a tusk of great size are described as things of + price, and great uroch's horns are mentioned in Thorkill's + Second Journey. Horns were used for feast as well as fray. + (2) Such bird-beaked, bird-legged figures occur on the Cross at + Papil, Burra Island, Shetland. Cf. Abbey Morne Cross, and + an Onchan Cross, Isle of Man. + + + + + +THE DANISH HISTORY OF SAXO GRAMMATICUS. + + + + +PREFACE. + +Forasmuch as all other nations are wont to vaunt the glory of their +achievements, and reap joy from the remembrance of their forefathers: +Absalon, Chief Pontiff of the Danes, whose zeal ever burned high for the +glorification of our land, and who would not suffer it to be +defrauded of like renown and record, cast upon me, the least of his +followers--since all the rest refused the task--the work of compiling +into a chronicle the history of Denmark, and by the authority of his +constant admonition spurred my weak faculty to enter on a labour too +heavy for its strength. For who could write a record of the deeds of +Denmark? It had but lately been admitted to the common faith: it still +languished as strange to Latin as to religion. But now that the holy +ritual brought also the command of the Latin tongue, men were as +slothful now as they were unskilled before, and their sluggishness +proved as faultful as that former neediness. Thus it came about that my +lowliness, though perceiving itself too feeble for the aforesaid burden, +yet chose rather to strain beyond its strength than to resist his +bidding; fearing that while our neighbours rejoiced and transmitted +records of their deeds, the repute of our own people might appear not +to possess any written chronicle, but rather to be sunk in oblivion and +antiquity. Thus I, forced to put my shoulder, which was unused to the +task, to a burden unfamiliar to all authors of preceding time, +and dreading to slight his command, have obeyed more boldly than +effectually, borrowing from the greatness of my admonisher that good +heart which the weakness of my own wit denied me. + +And since, ere my enterprise reached its goal, his death outran it; I +entreat thee chiefly, Andrew, who wast chosen by a most wholesome and +accordant vote to be successor in the same office and to headship of +spiritual things, to direct and inspire my theme; that I may baulk by +the defence of so great an advocate that spiteful detraction which +ever reviles what is most conspicuous. For thy breast, very fruitful in +knowledge, and covered with great store of worshipful doctrines, is to +be deemed a kind of shrine of heavenly treasures. Thou who hast searched +through Gaul and Italy and Britain also in order to gather knowledge of +letters and amass them abundantly, didst after thy long wandering obtain +a most illustrious post in a foreign school, and proved such a pillar +thereof, that thou seemedst to confer more grace on thy degree than it +did on thee. Then being made, on account of the height of thy honours +and the desert of thy virtues, Secretary to the King, thou didst adorn +that employment, in itself bounded and insignificant, with such works of +wisdom as to leave it a piece of promotion for men of greatest rank to +covet afterwards, when thou wert transferred to that office which now +thou holdest. Wherefore Skaane has been found to leap for joy that she +has borrowed a Pontiff from her neighbours rather than chosen one from +her own people; inasmuch as she both elected nobly and deserved joy of +her election. Being a shining light, therefore, in lineage, in letters, +and in parts, and guiding the people with the most fruitful labours of +thy teaching, thou hast won the deepest love of thy flock, and by thy +boldness in thy famous administration hast conducted the service thou +hast undertaken unto the summit of renown. And lest thou shouldst seem +to acquire ownership on the strength of prescription, thou hast, by +a pious and bountiful will, made over a very rich inheritance to Holy +Church; choosing rather honourably to reject riches (which are covered +with the rust of cares) than to be shackled with the greed of them and +with their burden. Likewise thou hast set about an amazing work upon +the reverend tenets of the faith; and in thy zeal to set the service of +public religion before thy private concerns, hast, by the lesson of thy +wholesome admonitions, driven those men who refused payment of the dues +belonging to religion to do to holy things the homage that they ought; +and by thy pious gift of treasure hast atoned for the ancient neglect of +sacred buildings. Further, those who pursued a wanton life, and yielded +to the stress of incontinence above measure, thou hast redeemed from +nerveless sloth to a more upright state of mind, partly by continuing +instant in wholesome reproof, and partly by the noble example of simple +living; leaving it in doubt whether thou hast edified them more by word +or deed. Thus thou, by mere counsels of wisdom, hast achieved what it +was not granted to any of thy forerunners to obtain. + +And I would not have it forgotten that the more ancient of the Danes, +when any notable deeds of mettle had been done, were filled with +emulation of glory, and imitated the Roman style; not only by relating +in a choice kind of composition, which might be called a poetical work, +the roll of their lordly deeds; but also by having graven upon rocks +and cliffs, in the characters of their own language, the works of their +forefathers, which were commonly known in poems in the mother tongue. +In the footsteps of these poems, being as it were classic books of +antiquity, I have trod; and keeping true step with them as I translated, +in the endeavour to preserve their drift, I have taken care to render +verses by verses; so that the chronicle of what I shall have to +write, being founded upon these, may thus be known, not for a modern +fabrication, but for the utterance of antiquity; since this present work +promises not a trumpery dazzle of language, but faithful information +concerning times past. + +Moreover, how many histories must we suppose that men of such genius +would have written, could they have had skill in Latin and so slaked +their thirst for writing! Men who though they lacked acquaintance with, +the speech of Rome, were yet seized with such a passion for bequeathing +some record of their history, that they encompassed huge boulders +instead of scrolls, borrowing rocks for the usage of books. + +Nor may the pains of the men of Thule be blotted in oblivion; for though +they lack all that can foster luxury (so naturally barren is the +soil), yet they make up for their neediness by their wit, by keeping +continually every observance of soberness, and devoting every instant +of their lives to perfecting our knowledge of the deeds of foreigners. +Indeed, they account it a delight to learn and to consign to remembrance +the history of all nations, deeming it as great a glory to set forth the +excellences of others as to display their own. Their stores, which are +stocked with attestations of historical events, I have examined somewhat +closely, and have woven together no small portion of the present work by +following their narrative, not despising the judgment of men whom I know +to be so well versed in the knowledge of antiquity. And I have taken +equal care to follow the statements of Absalon, and with obedient mind +and pen to include both his own doings and other men's doings of which +he learnt; treasuring the witness of his August narrative as though it +were some teaching from the skies. + +Wherefore, Waldemar, (1) healthful Prince and Father of us all, shining +light of thy land, whose lineage, most glorious from times of old, I am +to relate, I beseech thee let thy grace attend the faltering course of +this work; for I am fettered under the weight of my purpose, and dread +that I may rather expose my unskillfulness and the feebleness of my +parts, than portray thy descent as I duly should. For, not to speak of +thy rich inheritance from thy fathers, thou hast nobly increased thy +realm by conquering thy neighbours, and in the toil of spreading thy +sovereignty hast encompassed the ebbing and flowing waves of Elbe, thus +adding to thy crowded roll of honours no mean portion of fame. And after +outstripping the renown and repute of thy forerunners by the greatness +of thy deeds, thou didst not forbear to make armed, assault even upon +part of the Roman empire. And though thou art deemed to be well endowed +with courage and generosity, thou hast left it in doubt whether thou +dost more terrify to thy foes in warfare or melt thy people by thy +mildness. Also thy most illustrious grandsire, who was sanctioned with +the honours of public worship, and earned the glory of immortality by +an unmerited death, now dazzles by the refulgence of his holiness those +whom living he annexed in his conquests. And from his most holy wounds +more virtue than blood hath flowed. + +Moreover I, bound by an old and inherited duty of obedience, have set +my heart on fighting for thee, if it be only with all the forces of +my mind; my father and grandfather being known to have served thy +illustrious sire in camp with loyal endurance of the toils of war. +Relying therefore on thy guidance and regard, I have resolved to begin +with the position and configuration of our own country; for I shall +relate all things as they come more vividly, if the course of this +history first traverse the places to which the events belong, and take +their situation as the starting-point for its narrative. + +The extremes, then, of this country are partly bounded by a frontier of +another land, and partly enclosed by the waters of the adjacent sea. The +interior is washed and encompassed by the ocean; and this, through the +circuitous winds of the interstices, now straitens into the narrows of a +firth, now advances into ampler bays, forming a number of islands. Hence +Denmark is cut in pieces by the intervening waves of ocean, and has but +few portions of firm and continuous territory; these being divided +by the mass of waters that break them up, in ways varying with the +different angle of the bend of the sea. Of all these, Jutland, being the +largest and first settled, holds the chief place in the Danish kingdom. +It both lies fore-most and stretches furthest, reaching to the frontiers +of Teutonland, from contact with which it is severed by the bed of the +river Eyder. Northwards it swells somewhat in breadth, and runs out to +the shore of the Noric Channel (Skagerrak). In this part is to be found +the fjord called Liim, which is so full of fish that it seems to yield +the natives as much food as the whole soil. + +Close by this fjord also lies Lesser (North) Friesland, which curves in +from the promontory of Jutland in a cove of sinking plains and shelving +lap, and by the favour of the flooding ocean yields immense crops of +grain. But whether this violent inundation bring the inhabitants more +profit or peril, remains a vexed question. For when the (dykes of the) +estuaries, whereby the waves of the sea are commonly checked among that +people, are broken through by the greatness of the storm, such a mass +of waters is wont to overrun the fields that it sometimes overwhelms not +only the tilled lands, but people and their dwellings likewise. + +Eastwards, after Jutland, comes the Isle of Funen, cut off from the +mainland by a very narrow sound of sea. This faces Jutland on the west, +and on the east Zealand, which is famed for its remarkable richness +in the necessaries of life. This latter island, being by far the most +delightful of all the provinces of our country, is held to occupy the +heart of Denmark, being divided by equal distances from the extreme +frontier; on its eastern side the sea breaks through and cuts off +the western side of Skaane; and this sea commonly yields each year an +abundant haul to the nets of the fishers. Indeed, the whole sound is apt +to be so thronged with fish that any craft which strikes on them is with +difficulty got off by hard rowing, and the prize is captured no longer +by tackle, but by simple use of the hands. + +Moreover, Halland and Bleking, shooting forth from the mass of the +Skaane like two branches from a parent trunk, are linked to Gothland and +to Norway, though with wide deviations of course, and with various +gaps consisting of fjords. Now in Bleking is to be seen a rock which +travellers can visit, dotted with letters in a strange character. For +there stretches from the southern sea into the desert of Vaarnsland a +road of rock, contained between two lines a little way apart and very +prolonged, between which is visible in the midst a level space, graven +all over with characters made to be read. And though this lies so +unevenly as sometimes to break through the tops of the hills, sometimes +to pass along the valley bottoms, yet it can be discerned to preserve +continuous traces of the characters. Now Waldemar, well-starred son of +holy Canute, marvelled at these, and desired to know their purport, and +sent men to go along the rock and gather with close search the series of +the characters that were to be seen there; they were then to denote them +with certain marks, using letters of similar shape. These men could not +gather any sort of interpretation of them, because owing to the hollow +space of the graving being partly smeared up with mud and partly worn by +the feet of travellers in the trampling of the road, the long line that +had been drawn became blurred. Hence it is plain that crevices, even in +the solid rock, if long drenched with wet, become choked either by the +solid washings of dirt or the moistening drip of showers. + +But since this country, by its closeness of language as much as of +position, includes Sweden and Norway, I will record their divisions and +their climates also as I have those of Denmark. These territories, lying +under the northern pole, and facing Bootes and the Great Bear, reach +with their utmost outlying parts the latitude of the freezing zone; and +beyond these the extraordinary sharpness of the cold suffers not human +habitation. Of these two, Norway has been allotted by the choice of +nature a forbidding rocky site. Craggy and barren, it is beset all +around by cliffs, and the huge desolate boulders give it the aspect of +a rugged and a gloomy land; in its furthest part the day-star is not +hidden even by night; so that the sun, scorning the vicissitudes of day +and night, ministers in unbroken presence an equal share of his radiance +to either season. + +On the west of Norway comes the island called Iceland, with the mighty +ocean washing round it: a land very squalid to dwell in, but noteworthy +for marvels, both strange occurrences and objects that pass belief. A +spring is there which, by the malignant reek of its water, destroys the +original nature of anything whatsoever. Indeed, all that is sprinkled +with the breath of its vapour is changed into the hardness of stone. +It remains a doubt whether it be more marvellous or more perilous, that +soft and flowing water should be invested with such a stiffness, as by a +sudden change to transmute into the nature of stone whatsoever is put to +it and drenched with its reeking fume, nought but the shape surviving. +Here also are said to be other springs, which now are fed with floods +of rising water, and, overflowing in full channels, cast a mass of spray +upwards; and now again their bubbling flags, and they can scarce be +seen below at the bottom, and are swallowed into deep hiding far under +ground. Hence, when they are gushing over, they bespatter everything +about them with the white spume, but when they are spent the sharpest +eye cannot discern them. In this island there is likewise a mountain, +whose floods of incessant fire make it look like a glowing rock, and +which, by belching out flames, keeps its crest in an everlasting blaze. +This thing awakens our wonder as much as those aforesaid; namely, when +a land lying close to the extreme of cold can have such abundance of +matter to keep up the heat, as to furnish eternal fires with unseen +fuel, and supply an endless provocative to feed the burning. To this +isle also, at fixed and appointed seasons, there drifts a boundless mass +of ice, and when it approaches and begins to dash upon the rugged reefs, +then, just as if the cliffs rang reply, there is heard from the deep a +roar of voices and a changing din of extraordinary clamour. Whence it +is supposed that spirits, doomed to torture for the iniquity of their +guilty life, do here pay, by that bitter cold, the penalty of their +sins. And so any portion of this mass that is cut off when the aforesaid +ice breaks away from the land, soon slips its bonds and bars, though it +be made fast with ever so great joins and knots. The mind stands dazed +in wonder, that a thing which is covered with bolts past picking, and +shut in by manifold and intricate barriers, should so depart after that +mass whereof it was a portion, as by its enforced and inevitable flight +to baffle the wariest watching. There also, set among the ridges +and crags of the mountains, is another kind of ice which is known +periodically to change and in a way reverse its position, the upper +parts sinking to the bottom, and the lower again returning to the top. +For proof of this story it is told that certain men, while they chanced +to be running over the level of ice, rolled into the abyss before them, +and into the depths of the yawning crevasses, and were a little later +picked up dead without the smallest chink of ice above them. Hence it +is common for many to imagine that the urn of the sling of ice first +swallows them, and then a little after turns upside down and restores +them. Here also, is reported to bubble up the water of a pestilent +flood, which if a man taste, he falls struck as though by poison. Also +there are other springs, whose gushing waters are said to resemble the +quality of the bowl of Ceres. There are also fires, which, though they +cannot consume linen, yet devour so fluent a thing as water. Also +there is a rock, which flies over mountain-steeps, not from any outward +impulse, but of its innate and proper motion. + +And now to unfold somewhat more thoroughly our delineation of Norway. +It should be known that on the east it is conterminous with Sweden and +Gothland, and is bounded on both sides by the waters of the neighbouring +ocean. Also on the north it faces a region whose position and name are +unknown, and which lacks all civilisation, but teems with peoples of +monstrous strangeness; and a vast interspace of flowing sea severs it +from the portion of Norway opposite. This sea is found hazardous for +navigation, and suffers few that venture thereon to return in peace. + +Moreover, the upper bend of the ocean, which cuts through Denmark and +flows past it, washes the southern side of Gothland with a gulf of some +width; while its lower channel, passing the northern sides of Gothland +and Norway, turns eastwards, widening much in breadth, and is bounded +by a curve of firm land. This limit of the sea the elders of our race +called Grandvik. Thus between Grandvik and the Southern Sea there lies +a short span of mainland, facing the seas that wash on either shore; +and but that nature had set this as a boundary where the billows almost +meet, the tides of the two seas would have flowed into one, and cut off +Sweden and Norway into an island. The regions on the east of these +lands are inhabited by the Skric-Finns. This people is used to an +extraordinary kind of carriage, and in its passion for the chase strives +to climb untrodden mountains, and attains the coveted ground at the cost +of a slippery circuit. For no crag juts out so high, but they can reach +its crest by fetching a cunning compass. For when they first leave the +deep valleys, they glide twisting and circling among the bases of the +rocks, thus making the route very roundabout by dint of continually +swerving aside, until, passing along the winding curves of the tracks, +they conquer the appointed summit. This same people is wont to use the +skins of certain beasts for merchandise with its neighbours. + +Now Sweden faces Denmark and Norway on the west, but on the south and on +much of its eastern side it is skirted by the ocean. Past this eastward +is to be found a vast accumulation of motley barbarism. + +That the country of Denmark was once cultivated and worked by giants, is +attested by the enormous stones attached to the barrows and caves of +the ancients. Should any man question that this is accomplished by +superhuman force, let him look up at the tops of certain mountains and +say, if he knows how, what man hath carried such immense boulders up to +their crests. For anyone considering this marvel will mark that it is +inconceivable how a mass, hardly at all or but with difficulty movable +upon a level, could have been raised to so mighty a peak of so lofty +a mountain by mere human effort, or by the ordinary exertion of human +strength. But as to whether, after the Deluge went forth, there existed +giants who could do such deeds, or men endowed beyond others with bodily +force, there is scant tradition to tell us. + +But, as our countrymen aver, those who even to-day are said to dwell +in that rugged and inaccessible desert aforesaid, are, by the mutable +nature of their bodies, vouchsafed the power of being now near, now far, +and of appearing and vanishing in turn. The approach to this desert is +beset with perils of a fearful kind, and has seldom granted to those +who attempted it an unscathed return. Now I will let my pen pass to my +theme. + + + + ENDNOTES: + (1) Waldemar the Second (1203-42); Saxo does not reach his + history. + + + + +BOOK ONE. + +Now Dan and Angul, with whom the stock of the Danes begins, were +begotten of Humble, their father, and were the governors and not +only the founders of our race. (Yet Dudo, the historian of Normandy, +considers that the Danes are sprung and named from the Danai.) And these +two men, though by the wish and favour of their country they gained +the lordship of the realm, and, owing to the wondrous deserts of +their bravery, got the supreme power by the consenting voice of their +countrymen, yet lived without the name of king: the usage whereof was +not then commonly resorted to by any authority among our people. + +Of these two, Angul, the fountain, so runs the tradition, of the +beginnings of the Anglian race, caused his name to be applied to the +district which he ruled. This was an easy kind of memorial wherewith +to immortalise his fame: for his successors a little later, when they +gained possession of Britain, changed the original name of the island +for a fresh title, that of their own land. This action was much thought +of by the ancients: witness Bede, no mean figure among the writers of +the Church, who was a native of England, and made it his care to embody +the doings of his country in the most hallowed treasury of his pages; +deeming it equally a religious duty to glorify in writing the deeds of +his land, and to chronicle the history of the Church. + +From Dan, however, so saith antiquity; the pedigrees of our kings +have flowed in glorious series, like channels from some parent spring. +Grytha, a matron most highly revered among the Teutons, bore him two +sons, HUMBLE and LOTHER. + +The ancients, when they were to choose a king, were wont to stand on +stones planted in the ground, and to proclaim their votes, in order to +foreshadow from the steadfastness of the stones that the deed would be +lasting. By this ceremony Humble was elected king at his father's death, +thus winning a novel favour from his country; but by the malice of +ensuing fate he fell from a king into a common man. For he was taken by +Lother in war, and bought his life by yielding up his crown; such, in +truth, were the only terms of escape offered him in his defeat. Forced, +therefore, by the injustice of a brother to lay down his sovereignty, he +furnished the lesson to mankind, that there is less safety, though more +pomp, in the palace than in the cottage. Also, he bore his wrong so +meekly that he seemed to rejoice at his loss of title as though it were +a blessing; and I think he had a shrewd sense of the quality of a king's +estate. But Lother played the king as insupportably as he had played the +soldier, inaugurating his reign straightway with arrogance and crime; +for he counted it uprightness to strip all the most eminent of life or +goods, and to clear his country of its loyal citizens, thinking all his +equals in birth his rivals for the crown. He was soon chastised for his +wickedness; for he met his end in an insurrection of his country; which +had once bestowed on him his kingdom, and now bereft him of his life. + +SKIOLD, his son, inherited his natural bent, but not his behaviour; +avoiding his inborn perversity by great discretion in his tender years, +and thus escaping all traces of his father's taint. So he appropriated +what was alike the more excellent and the earlier share of the family +character; for he wisely departed from his father's sins, and became a +happy counterpart of his grandsire's virtues. This man was famous in his +youth among the huntsmen of his father for his conquest of a monstrous +beast: a marvellous incident, which augured his future prowess. For he +chanced to obtain leave from his guardians, who were rearing him very +carefully, to go and see the hunting. A bear of extraordinary size +met him; he had no spear, but with the girdle that he commonly wore he +contrived to bind it, and gave it to his escort to kill. More than +this, many champions of tried prowess were at the same time of his life +vanquished by him singly; of these Attal and Skat were renowned and +famous. While but fifteen years of age he was of unusual bodily size +and displayed mortal strength in its perfection, and so mighty were the +proofs of his powers that the rest of the kings of the Danes were called +after him by a common title, the SKIOLDUNG'S. Those who were wont to +live an abandoned and flaccid life, and to sap their self-control by +wantonness, this man vigilantly spurred to the practice of virtue in +an active career. Thus the ripeness of Skiold's spirit outstripped +the fulness of his strength, and he fought battles at which one of his +tender years could scarce look on. And as he thus waxed in years and +valour he beheld the perfect beauty of Alfhild, daughter of the King of +the Saxons, sued for her hand, and, for her sake, in the sight of the +armies of the Teutons and the Danes, challenged and fought with Skat, +governor of Allemannia, and a suitor for the same maiden; whom he slew, +afterwards crushing the whole nation of the Allemannians, and forcing +them to pay tribute, they being subjugated by the death of their +captain. Skiold was eminent for patriotism as well as arms. For he +annulled unrighteous laws, and most heedfully executed whatsoever made +for the amendment of his country's condition. Further, he regained by +his virtue the realm that his father's wickedness had lost. He was the +first to proclaim the law abolishing manumissions. A slave, to whom he +had chanced to grant his freedom, had attempted his life by stealthy +treachery, and he exacted a bitter penalty; as though it were just that +the guilt of one freedman should be visited upon all. He paid off all +men's debts from his own treasury, and contended, so to say, with all +other monarchs in courage, bounty, and generous dealing. The sick he +used to foster, and charitably gave medicines to those sore stricken; +bearing witness that he had taken on him the care of his country and not +of himself. He used to enrich his nobles not only with home taxes, but +also with plunder taken in war; being wont to aver that the prize-money +should flow to the soldiers, and the glory to the general. + +Thus delivered of his bitterest rival in wooing, he took as the prize of +combat the maiden, for the love of whom he had fought, and wedded her +in marriage. Soon after, he had by her a son, GRAM, whose wondrous parts +savoured so strongly of his father's virtues that he was deemed to tread +in their very footsteps. The days of Gram's youth were enriched with +surpassing gifts of mind and body, and he raised them to the crest of +renown. Posterity did such homage to his greatness that in the most +ancient poems of the Danes royal dignity is implied in his very name. +He practiced with the most zealous training whatsoever serves to sharpen +and strengthen the bodily powers. Taught by the fencers, he trained +himself by sedulous practice to parrying and dealing blows. He took to +wife the daughter of his upbringer, Roar, she being his foster-sister +and of his own years, in order the better to show his gratefulness for +his nursing. A little while after he gave her in marriage to a certain +Bess, since he had ofttimes used his strenuous service. In this partner +of his warlike deeds he put his trust; and he has left it a question +whether he has won more renown by Bess's valour or his own. + +Gram, chancing to hear that Groa, daughter of Sigtryg, King of the +Swedes, was plighted to a certain giant, and holding accursed an union +so unworthy of the blood royal, entered on a Swedish war; being +destined to emulate the prowess of Hercules in resisting the attempts of +monsters. He went into Gothland, and, in order to frighten people out of +his path, strode on clad in goats' skins, swathed in the motley hides of +beasts, and grasping in his right hand a dreadful weapon, thus feigning +the attire of a giant; when he met Groa herself riding with a very +small escort of women on foot, and making her way, as it chanced, to the +forest-pools to bathe, she thought it was her betrothed who had hastened +to meet her, and was scared with feminine alarm at so strange a garb: +so, flinging up the reins, and shaking terribly all over, she began in +the song of her country, thus: + +"I see that a giant, hated of the king, has come, and darkens the +highways with his stride. Or my eyes play me false; for it has oft +befallen bold warriors to skulk behind the skin of a beast." + +Then began Bess: "Maiden, seated on the shoulders of the steed, tell me, +pouring forth in thy turn words of answer, what is thy name, and of what +line art thou born?" + +Groa replied: "Groa is my name; my sire is a king, glorious in blood, +gleaming in armour. Disclose to us, thou also, who thou art, or whence +sprung!" + +To whom Bess: "I am Bess, brave in battle, ruthless to foes, a terror to +nations, and oft drenching my right hand in the blood of foes." + +Then said Groa: "Who, prithee, commands your lines? Under what captain +raise ye the war-standards? What prince controls the battle? Under whose +guidance is the war made ready?" + +Bess in answer: "Gram, the blest in battle, rules the array: force nor +fear can swerve him; flaming pyre and cruel sword and ocean billow have +never made him afraid. Led by him, maiden, we raise the golden standards +of war." + +Groa once more: "Turn your feet and go back hence, lest Sigtryg vanquish +you all with his own array, and fasten you to a cruel stake, your +throats haltered with the cord, and doom your carcases to the stiff +noose, and, glaring evilly, thrust out your corpses to the hungry +raven." + +Bess again: "Gram, ere he shall shut his own eyes in death, shall first +make him a ghost, and, smiting him on the crest, shall send him to +Tartarus. We fear no camp of the Swedes. Why threaten us with ghastly +dooms, maiden?" + +Groa answered him: "Behold, I will ride thence to see again the roof of +my father which I know, that I may not rashly set eyes on the array of +my brother who is coming. And I pray that your death-doom may tarry for +you who abide." + +Bess replied: "Daughter, to thy father go back with good cheer; nor +imprecate swift death upon us, nor let choler shake thy bosom. For often +has a woman, harsh at first and hard to a wooer, yielded the second +time." + +Whereupon Gram could brook no longer to be silent, and pitching his +tones gruffly, so as to mimic a gruesome and superhuman voice, accosted +the maiden thus: + +"Let not the maiden fear the brother of the fleet giant, nor turn pale +because I am nigh her. For I am sent by Grip, and never seek the couch +and embrace of damsels save when their wish matches mine." + +Groa answered: "Who so mad as to wish to be the leman of giants? Or what +woman could love the bed that genders monsters? Who could be the wife +of demons, and know the seed whose fruit is monstrous? Or who would fain +share her couch with a barbarous giant? Who caresses thorns with her +fingers? Who would mingle honest kisses with mire? Who would unite +shaggy limbs to smooth ones which correspond not? Full ease of love +cannot be taken when nature cries out against it: nor doth the love +customary in the use of women sort with monsters." + +Gram rejoined: "Oft with conquering hand I have tamed the necks of +mighty kings, defeating with stronger arm their insolent pride. Thence +take red-glowing gold, that the troth may be made firm by the gift, and +that the faith to be brought to our wedlock may stand fast." + +Thus speaking, he cast off his disguises, and revealed his natural +comeliness; and by a single sight of him he filled the damsel with +well-nigh as much joy as he had struck her with fear before at his +counterfeit. She was even incited to his embraces by the splendour of +his beauty; nor did he fail to offer her the gifts of love. + +Having won Groa, Bess proceeded and learnt that the road was beset +by two robbers. These he slew simply by charging them as they rushed +covetously forth to despoil him. This done, loth to seem to have done +any service to the soil of an enemy, he put timbers under the carcases +of the slain, fastened them thereto, and stretched them so as to +counterfeit an upright standing position; so that in their death they +might menace in seeming those whom their life had harmed in truth; and +that, terrible even after their decease, they might block the road +in effigy as much as they had once in deed. Whence it appears that in +slaying the robbers he took thought for himself and not for Sweden: for +he betokened by so singular an act how great a hatred of Sweden filled +him. Having heard from the diviners that Sigtryg could only be conquered +by gold, he straightway fixed a knob of gold to a wooden mace, equipped +himself therewith in the war wherein he attacked the king, and obtained +his desire. This exploit was besung by Bess in a most zealous strain of +eulogy: + +"Gram, the fierce wielder of the prosperous mace, knowing not the steel, +rained blows on the outstretched sword, and with a stock beat off the +lances of the mighty. + +"Following the decrees and will of the gods, he brought low the glory +of the powerless Swedes, doing their king to death and crushing him with +the stiff gold. + +"For he pondered on the arts of war: he wielded in his clasp the +ruddy-flashing wood, and victoriously with noble stroke made their +fallen captain writhe. + +"Shrewdly he conquered with the hardness of gold him whom fate forbade +should be slain by steel; unsworded, waging war with the worthier metal. + +"This treasure, for which its deviser claims glory and the height of +honour, shall abide yet more illustrious hereafter, known far and wide +in ampler fame." + +Having now slain Sigtryg, the King of Sweden, Gram desired to confirm +his possession of the empire which he had won in war; and therefore, +suspecting Swarin the governor of Gothland of aspiring to the crown, he +challenged him to combat, and slew him. This man's brethren, of whom +he had seven lawfully born, and nine the sons of a concubine, sought to +avenge their brother's death, but Gram, in an unequal contest, cut them +off. + +Gram, for his marvellous prowess, was granted a share in the sovereignty +by his father, who was now in extreme age, and thought it better +and likewise more convenient to give his own blood a portion of +the supremacy of the realm, than now in the setting of his life to +administer it without a partner. Therefore Ring, a nobly-born Zealander, +stirred the greater part of the Danes with desire for insurrection; +fancying that one of these men was unripe for his rank, and that the +other had run the course of his powers, alleging the weakness in years +of both, and declaring that the wandering wit of an old man made the +one, and that of a boy the other, unfit for royal power. But they fought +and crushed him, making him an example to all men, that no season of +life is to be deemed incompatible with valour. + +Many other deeds also King Gram did. He declared war against Sumble, +King of the Finns; but when he set eyes upon the King's daughter, Signe, +he laid down his arms, the foeman turned into the suitor, and, promising +to put away his own wife, he plighted troth with her. But, while much +busied with a war against Norway, which he had taken up against King +Swipdag for debauching his sister and his daughter, he heard from +a messenger that Signe had, by Sumble's treachery, been promised in +marriage to Henry, King of Saxony. Then, inclining to love the maiden +more than his soldiers, he left his army, privily made his way to +Finland, and came in upon the wedding, which was already begun. Putting +on a garb of the utmost meanness, he lay down at the table in a seat of +no honour. When asked what he brought, he professed skill in leechcraft. +At last, when all were drenched in drunkenness, he gazed at the maiden, +and amid the revels of the riotous banquet, cursing deep the fickleness +of women, and vaunting loud his own deeds of valour, he poured out the +greatness of his wrath in a song like this: + +"Singly against eight at once I drove the darts of death, and smote nine +with a back-swung sword, when I slew Swarin, who wrongfully assumed his +honours and tried to win fame unmerited; wherefore I have oft dyed in +foreign blood my blade red with death and reeking with slaughter, and +have never blenched at the clash of dagger or the sheen of helmet. Now +Signe, the daughter of Sumble, vilely spurns me, and endures vows not +mine, cursing her ancient troth; and, conceiving an ill-ordered love, +commits a notable act of female lightness; for she entangles, lures, and +bestains princes, rebuffing beyond all others the lordly of birth; +yet remaining firm to none, but ever wavering, and bringing to birth +impulses doubtful and divided." + +And as he spoke he leapt up from where he lay, and there he cut Henry +down while at the sacred board and the embraces of his friends, carried +off his bride from amongst the bridesmaids, felled most of the guests, +and bore her off with him in his ship. Thus the bridal was turned into a +funeral; and the Finns might learn the lesson, that hands should not be +laid upon the loves of other men. + +After this SWIPDAG, King of Norway, destroyed Gram, who was attempting +to avenge the outrage on his sister and the attempt on his daughter's +chastity. This battle was notable for the presence of the Saxon forces, +who were incited to help Swipdag, not so much by love of him, as by +desire to avenge Henry. + +GUTHORM and HADDING, the son of Gram (Groa being the mother of the first +and Signe of the second), were sent over to Sweden in a ship by their +foster-father, Brage (Swipdag being now master of Denmark), and put in +charge of the giants Wagnhofde and Hafle, for guard as well as rearing. + +As I shall have briefly to relate doings of these folk, and would fain +not seem to fabricate what conflicts with common belief or outsteps the +faithful truth, it is worth the knowing that there were in old times +three kinds of magicians who by diverse sleights practiced extraordinary +marvels. The first of these were men of monstrous stock, termed +by antiquity giants; these by their exceeding great bodily stature +surpassed the size natural to mankind. Those who came after these were +the first who gained skill in divination from entrails, and attained the +Pythonic art. These surpassed the former in briskness of mental parts as +much as they fell behind them in bodily condition. Constant wars for +the supremacy were waged between these and the giants; till at last the +sorcerers prevailed, subdued the tribe of giants by arms, and acquired +not merely the privilege of ruling, but also the repute of being divine. +Both of these kinds had extreme skill in deluding the eyesight, +knowing how to obscure their own faces and those of others with divers +semblances, and to darken the true aspects of things with beguiling +shapes. But the third kind of men, springing from the natural union of +the first two, did not answer to the nature of their parents either in +bodily size or in practice of magic arts; yet these gained credit for +divinity with minds that were befooled by their jugglings. + +Nor must we marvel if, tempted by the prodigious miracles of these folk, +the barbaric world fell to worshipping a false religion, when others +like unto these, who were mere mortals, but were reverenced with divine +honours, beguiled even the shrewdness of the Latins. I have touched on +these things lest, when I relate of sleights and marvels, I be checked +by the disbelief of the reader. Now I will leave these matters and +return to my theme. + +Swipdag, now that he had slain Gram, was enriched with the realms of +Denmark and Sweden; and because of the frequent importunities of his +wife he brought back from banishment her brother Guthorm, upon his +promising tribute, and made him ruler of the Danes. But Hadding +preferred to avenge his father rather than take a boon from his foe. + +This man's nature so waxed and throve that in the early season of +his youth he was granted the prime of manhood. Leaving the pursuit of +pleasure, he was constantly zealous in warlike exercises; remembering +that he was the son of a fighting father, and was bound to spend his +whole span of life in approved deeds of warfare. Hardgrep, daughter of +Wagnhofde, tried to enfeeble his firm spirit with her lures of love, +contending and constantly averring that he ought to offer the first +dues of the marriage bed in wedlock with her, who had proffered to his +childhood most zealous and careful fostering, and had furnished him with +his first rattle. + +Nor was she content with admonishing in plain words, but began a strain +of song as follows: + +"Why doth thy life thus waste and wander? Why dost thou pass thy years +unwed, following arms, thirsting for throats? Nor does my beauty draw +thy vows. Carried away by excess of frenzy, thou art little prone to +love. Steeped in blood and slaughter, thou judgest wars better than the +bed, nor refreshest thy soul with incitements. Thy fierceness finds no +leisure; dalliance is far from thee, and savagery fostered. Nor is thy +hand free from blasphemy while thou loathest the rites of love. Let +this hateful strictness pass away, let that loving warmth approach, and +plight the troth of love to me, who gave thee the first breasts of milk +in childhood, and helped thee, playing a mother's part, duteous to thy +needs." + +When he answered that the size of her body was unwieldy for the embraces +of a mortal, since doubtless her nature was framed in conformity to her +giant stock, she said: + +"Be not moved by my unwonted look of size. For my substance is sometimes +thinner, sometimes ampler; now meagre, now abundant; and I alter and +change at my pleasure the condition of my body, which is at one time +shrivelled up and at another time expanded: now my tallness rises to the +heavens, and now I settle down into a human being, under a more bounded +shape." + +As he still faltered, and was slow to believe her words, she added the +following song: + +"Youth, fear not the converse of my bed. I change my bodily outline in +twofold wise, and am wont to enjoin a double law upon my sinews. For I +conform to shapes of different figure in turn, and am altered at my +own sweet will: now my neck is star-high, and soars nigh to the lofty +Thunderer; then it falls and declines to human strength, and plants +again on earth that head which was near the firmament. Thus I lightly +shift my body into diverse phases, and am beheld in varying wise; for +changefully now cramped stiffness draws in my limbs, now the virtue of +my tall body unfolds them, and suffers them to touch the cloud-tops. +Now I am short and straitened, now stretch out with loosened knee; and I +have mutably changed myself like wax into strange aspects. He who knows +of Proteus should not marvel at me. My shape never stays the same, and +my aspect is twofold: at one time it contrasts its outstretched limbs, +at another shoots them out when closed; now disentangling the members +and now rolling them back into a coil. I dart out my ingathered limbs, +and presently, while they are strained, I wrinkle them up, dividing +my countenance between shapes twain, and adopting two forms; with the +greater of these I daunt the fierce, while with the shorter I seek the +embraces of men." + +By thus averring she obtained the embraces of Hadding; and her love for +the youth burned so high that when she found him desirous of revisiting +his own land, she did not hesitate to follow him in man's attire, and +counted it as joy to share his hardships and perils. While upon the +journey she had undertaken, she chanced to enter in his company, in +order to pass the night, a dwelling, the funeral of whose dead master +was being conducted with melancholy rites. Here, desiring to pry into +the purposes of heaven by the help of a magical espial, she graved on +wood some very dreadful spells, and caused Hadding to put them under the +dead man's tongue; thus forcing him to utter, with the voice so given, a +strain terrible to hear: + +"Perish accursed he who hath dragged me back from those below, let him +be punished for calling a spirit out of bale! + +"Whoso hath called me, who am lifeless and dead, back from the abode +below, and hath brought me again into upper air, let him pay full +penalty with his own death in the dreary shades beneath livid Styx. +Behold, counter to my will and purpose, I must declare some bitter +tidings. For as ye go away from this house ye will come to the narrow +path of a grove, and will be a prey to demons all about. Then she who +hath brought our death back from out of void, and has given us a sight +of this light once more, by her prayers wondrously drawing forth the +ghost and casting it into the bonds of the body, shall bitterly bewail +her rash enterprise. + +"Perish accursed he who hath dragged me back from those below, let him +be punished for calling a spirit out of bale! + +"For when the black pestilence of the blast that engenders monsters has +crushed out the inmost entrails with stern effort, and when their hand +has swept away the living with cruel nail, tearing off limbs and rending +ravished bodies; then Hadding, thy life shall survive, nor shall the +nether realms bear off thy ghost, nor thy spirit pass heavily to the +waters of Styx; but the woman who hath made the wretched ghost come back +hither, crushed by her own guilt, shall appease our dust; she shall be +dust herself. + +"Perish accursed he who hath dragged me back from those below, let him +be punished for calling a spirit out of bale!" + +So, while they were passing the night in the forest foretold them, in a +shelter framed of twigs, a hand of extraordinary size was seen to wander +over the inside of the dwelling. Terrified at this portent, Hadding +entreated the aid of his nurse. Then Hardgrep, expanding her limbs and +swelling to a mighty bigness, gripped the hand fast and held it to her +foster-child to hew off. What flowed from the noisesome wounds he dealt +was not so much blood as corrupt matter. But she paid the penalty of +this act, presently being torn in pieces by her kindred of the same +stock; nor did her constitution or her bodily size help her against +feeling the attacks of her foes' claws. + +Hadding, thus bereft of his foster-mother, chanced to be made an ally in +a solemn covenant to a rover, Lysir, by a certain man of great age that +had lost an eye, who took pity on his loneliness. Now the ancients, when +about to make a league, were wont to besprinkle their footsteps with +blood of one another, so to ratify their pledge of friendship by +reciprocal barter of blood. Lysir and Hadding, being bound thus in +the strictest league, declared war against Loker, the tyrant of the +Kurlanders. They were defeated; and the old man aforementioned took +Hadding, as he fled on horseback, to his own house, and there refreshed +him with a certain pleasant draught, telling him that he would find +himself quite brisk and sound in body. This prophetic advice he +confirmed by a song as follows: + +"As thou farest hence, a foe, thinking thee a deserter, will assail +thee, that he may keep thee bound and cast thee to be devoured by the +mangling jaws of beasts. But fill thou the ears of the warders with +divers tales, and when they have done the feast and deep sleep holds +them, snap off the fetters upon thee and the loathly chains. Turn thy +feet thence, and when a little space has fled, with all thy might +rise up against a swift lion who is wont to toss the carcases of the +prisoners, and strive with thy stout arms against his savage shoulders, +and with naked sword search his heart-strings. Straightway put thy +throat to him and drink the steaming blood, and devour with ravenous +jaws the banquet of his body. Then renewed strength will come to +thy limbs, then shall undreamed-of might enter thy sinews, and +an accumulation of stout force shall bespread and nerve thy frame +through-out. I myself will pave the path to thy prayers, and will subdue +the henchmen in sleep, and keep them snoring throughout the lingering +night." + +And as he spoke, he took back the young man on his horse, and set him +where he had found him. Hadding cowered trembling under his mantle; but +so extreme was his wonder at the event, that with keen vision he peered +through its holes. And he saw that before the steps of the horse lay +the sea; but was told not to steal a glimpse of the forbidden thing, and +therefore turned aside his amazed eyes from the dread spectacle of the +roads that he journeyed. Then he was taken by Loker, and found by very +sure experience that every point of the prophecy was fulfilled upon +him. So he assailed Handwan, king of the Hellespont, who was entrenched +behind an impregnable defence of wall in his city Duna, and withstood +him not in the field, but with battlements. Its summit defying all +approach by a besieger, he ordered that the divers kinds of birds who +were wont to nest in that spot should be caught by skilled fowlers, and +he caused wicks which had been set on fire to be fastened beneath their +wings. The birds sought the shelter of their own nests, and filled the +city with a blaze; all the townsmen flocked to quench it, and left the +gates defenceless. He attacked and captured Handwan, but suffered him to +redeem his life with gold for ransom. Thus, when he might have cut off +his foe, he preferred to grant him the breath of life; so far did his +mercy qualify his rage. + +After this he prevailed over a great force of men of the East, and came +back to Sweden. Swipdag met him with a great fleet off Gottland; but +Hadding attacked and destroyed him. And thus he advanced to a lofty +pitch of renown, not only by the fruits of foreign spoil, but by +the trophies of his vengeance for his brother and his father. And he +exchanged exile for royalty, for he became king of his own land as soon +as he regained it. + +At this time there was one Odin, who was credited over all Europe with +the honour, which was false, of godhead, but used more continually +to sojourn at Upsala; and in this spot, either from the sloth of the +inhabitants or from its own pleasantness, he vouchsafed to dwell with +somewhat especial constancy. The kings of the North, desiring more +zealously to worship his deity, embounded his likeness in a golden +image; and this statue, which betokened their homage, they transmitted +with much show of worship to Byzantium, fettering even the effigied arms +with a serried mass of bracelets. Odin was overjoyed at such notoriety, +and greeted warmly the devotion of the senders. But his queen Frigga, +desiring to go forth more beautified, called smiths, and had the gold +stripped from the statue. Odin hanged them, and mounted the statue upon +a pedestal, which by the marvellous skill of his art he made to speak +when a mortal touched it. But still Frigga preferred the splendour of +her own apparel to the divine honours of her husband, and submitted +herself to the embraces of one of her servants; and it was by this +man's device she broke down the image, and turned to the service of her +private wantonness that gold which had been devoted to public idolatry. +Little thought she of practicing unchastity, that she might the easier +satisfy her greed, this woman so unworthy to be the consort of a god; +but what should I here add, save that such a godhead was worthy of such +a wife? So great was the error that of old befooled the minds of men. +Thus Odin, wounded by the double trespass of his wife, resented the +outrage to his image as keenly as that to his bed; and, ruffled by these +two stinging dishonours, took to an exile overflowing with noble shame, +imagining so to wipe off the slur of his ignominy. + +When he had retired, one Mit-othin, who was famous for his juggling +tricks, was likewise quickened, as though by inspiration from on high, +to seize the opportunity of feigning to be a god; and, wrapping the +minds of the barbarians in fresh darkness, he led them by the renown of +his jugglings to pay holy observance to his name. He said that the +wrath of the gods could never be appeased nor the outrage to their deity +expiated by mixed and indiscriminate sacrifices, and therefore forbade +that prayers for this end should be put up without distinction, +appointing to each of those above his especial drink-offering. But when +Odin was returning, he cast away all help of jugglings, went to Finland +to hide himself, and was there attacked and slain by the inhabitants. +Even in his death his abominations were made manifest, for those who +came nigh his barrow were cut off by a kind of sudden death; and after +his end, he spread such pestilence that he seemed almost to leave a +filthier record in his death than in his life: it was as though he would +extort from the guilty a punishment for his slaughter. The inhabitants, +being in this trouble, took the body out of the mound, beheaded it, and +impaled it through the breast with a sharp stake; and herein that people +found relief. + +The death of Odin's wife revived the ancient splendour of his name, +and seemed to wipe out the disgrace upon his deity; so, returning from +exile, he forced all those, who had used his absence to assume the +honours of divine rank, to resign them as usurped; and the gangs of +sorcerers that had arisen he scattered like a darkness before the +advancing glory of his godhead. And he forced them by his power not only +to lay down their divinity, but further to quit the country, deeming +that they, who tried to foist themselves so iniquitously into the skies, +ought to be outcasts from the earth. + +Meanwhile Asmund, the son of Swipdag, fought with Hadding to avenge his +father. And when he heard that Henry his son, his love for whom he set +even before his own life, had fallen fighting valiantly, his soul longed +for death, and loathed the light of day, and made a song in a strain +like this: + +"What brave hath dared put on my armour? The sheen of the helmet serves +not him who tottereth, nor doth the breastplate fitly shelter him that +is sore spent. Our son is slain, let us riot in battle; my eager love +for him driveth me to my death, that I may not be left outliving my dear +child. In each hand I am fain to grasp the sword; now without shield let +us ply our warfare bare-breasted, with flashing blades. Let the rumour +of our rage beacon forth: boldly let us grind to powder the column of +the foe; nor let the battle be long and chafe us; nor let our onset be +shattered in rout and be still." + +When he had said this, he gripped his hilt with both hands, and, +fearless of peril, swung his shield upon his back and slew many. Hadding +therefore called on the powers with which he was allied to protect him, +and on a sudden Wagnhofde rode up to fight on his side. And when Asmund +saw his crooked sword, he cried out, and broke into the following +strain: + +"Why fightest thou with curved sword? The short sword shall prove thy +doom, the javelin shall be flung and bring forth death. Thou shouldst +conquer thy foe by thy hand, but thou trustest that he can be rent +by spells; thou trustest more in words than rigour, and puttest thy +strength in thy great resource. Why dost thus beat me back with thy +shield, threatening with thy bold lance, when thou art so covered with +wretched crimes and spotted all over? Thus hath the brand of shame +bestained thee, rotting in sin, lubber-lipped." + +While he thus clamoured, Hadding, flinging his spear by the thong, +pierced him through. But Asmund lacked not comfort even for his death; +for while his life flickered in the socket he wounded the foot of his +slayer, and by this short instant of revenge he memorized his fall, +punishing the other with an incurable limp. Thus crippling of a limb +befell one of them and loss of life the other. Asmund's body was buried +in solemn state at Upsala and attended with royal obsequies. His wife +Gunnhild, loth to outlive him, cut off her own life with the sword, +choosing rather to follow her lord in death than to forsake him by +living. Her friends, in consigning her body to burial, laid her with her +husband's dust, thinking her worthy to share the mound of the man, her +love for whom she had set above life. So there lies Gunnhild, clasping +her lord somewhat more beautifully in the tomb than she had ever done in +the bed. + +After this Hadding, now triumphant, wasted Sweden. But Asmund's son, +named Uffe, shrinking from a conflict, transported his army into +Denmark, thinking it better to assail the house of his enemy than to +guard his own, and deeming it a timely method of repelling his wrongs +to retaliate upon his foe what he was suffering at his hands. Thus the +Danes had to return and defend their own, preferring the safety of +their land to lordship of a foreign realm; and Uffe went back to his own +country, now rid of an enemy's arms. + +Hadding, on returning from the Swedish war, perceived that his treasury, +wherein he was wont to store the wealth he had gotten by the spoils +of war, had been forced and robbed, and straightway hanged its keeper +Glumer, proclaiming by a crafty device, that, if any of the culprits +brought about the recovery of the stolen goods, he should have the +same post of honour as Glumer had filled. Upon this promise, one of +the guilty men became more zealous to reap the bounty than to hide his +crime, and had the money brought back to the king. His confederates +fancied he had been received into the king's closest friendship, and +believed that the honours paid him were as real as they were lavish; and +therefore they also, hoping to be as well rewarded, brought back their +moneys and avowed their guilt. Their confession was received at first +with promotion and favours, and soon visited with punishment, thus +bequeathing a signal lesson against being too confiding. I should judge +that men, whose foolish blabbing brought them to destruction, when +wholesome silence could have ensured their safety, well deserved to +atone upon the gallows for their breach of reticence. + +After this Hadding passed the whole winter season in the utmost +preparation for the renewal of the war. When the frosts had been melted +by the springtime sun, he went back to Sweden and there spent five years +in warfare. By dint of this prolonged expedition, his soldiers, having +consumed all their provision, were reduced almost to the extremity of +emaciation, and began to assuage their hunger with mushrooms from the +wood. At last, under stress of extreme necessity, they devoured their +horses, and finally satisfied themselves with the carcases of dogs. +Worse still, they did not scruple to feed upon human limbs. So, when the +Danes were brought unto the most desperate straits, there sounded in +the camp, in the first sleep of the night, and no man uttering it, the +following song: + +"With foul augury have ye left the abode of your country, thinking to +harry these fields in War. What idle notion mocks your minds? What blind +self-confidence has seized your senses, that ye think this soil can thus +be won. The might of Sweden cannot yield or quail before the War of the +stranger; but the whole of your column shall melt away when it begins +to assault our people in War. For when flight has broken up the furious +onset, and the straggling part of the fighters wavers, then to those +who prevail in the War is given free scope to slay those who turn their +backs, and they have earned power to smite the harder when fate drives +the renewer of the war headlong. Nor let him whom cowardice deters aim +the spears." + +This prophecy was accomplished on the morrow's dawn by a great slaughter +of the Danes. On the next night the warriors of Sweden heard an +utterance like this, none knowing who spake it: + +"Why doth Uffe thus defy me with grievous rebellion? He shall pay the +utmost penalty. For he shall be buried and transpierced under showers of +lances, and shall fall lifeless in atonement for his insolent attempt. +Nor shall the guilt of his wanton rancour be unpunished; and, as I +forebode, as soon as he joins battle and fights, the points shall fasten +in his limbs and strike his body everywhere, and his raw gaping wounds +no bandage shall bind up; nor shall any remedy heal over thy wide +gashes." + +On that same night the armies fought; when two hairless old men, of +appearance fouler than human, and displaying their horrid baldness in +the twinkling starlight, divided their monstrous efforts with opposing +ardour, one of them being zealous on the Danish side, and the other as +fervent for the Swedes. Hadding was conquered and fled to Helsingland, +where, while washing in the cold sea-water his body which was scorched +with heat, he attacked and cut down with many blows a beast of unknown +kind, and having killed it had it carried into camp. As he was exulting +in this deed a woman met him and addressed him in these words: + +"Whether thou tread the fields afoot, or spread canvas overseas, thou +shalt suffer the hate of the gods, and through all the world shalt +behold the elements oppose thy purposes. Afield thou shalt fall, on sea +thou shalt be tossed, an eternal tempest shall attend the steps of +thy wandering, nor shall frost-bind ever quit thy sails; nor shall thy +roof-tree roof thee, but if thou seekest it, it shall fall smitten by +the hurricane; thy herd shall perish of bitter chill. All things shall +be tainted, and shall lament that thy lot is there. Thou shalt be +shunned like a pestilent tetter, nor shall any plague be fouler than +thou. Such chastisement doth the power of heaven mete out to thee, for +truly thy sacrilegious hands have slain one of the dweller's above, +disguised in a shape that was not his: thus here art thou, the slayer of +a benignant god! But when the sea receives thee, the wrath of the prison +of Eolus shall be loosed upon thy head. The West and the furious North, +the South wind shall beat thee down, shall league and send forth their +blasts in rivalry; until with better prayers thou hast melted the +sternness of heaven, and hast lifted with appeasement the punishment +thou hast earned." + +So, when Hadding went back, he suffered all things after this one +fashion, and his coming brought disquiet upon all peaceful places. For +when he was at sea a mighty storm arose and destroyed his fleet in a +great tempest: and when, a shipwrecked man, he sought entertainment, he +found a sudden downfall of that house. Nor was there any cure for his +trouble, ere he atoned by sacrifice for his crime, and was able to +return into favour with heaven. For, in order to appease the deities, he +sacrificed dusky victims to the god Frey. This manner of propitiation by +sacrifice he repeated as an annual feast, and left posterity to follow. +This rite the Swedes call Froblod (the sacrifice or feast of Frey). + +Hadding chanced to hear that a certain giant had taken in troth +Ragnhild, daughter of Hakon, King of the Nitherians; and, loathing so +ignominious a state of affairs, and utterly abominating the destined +union, he forestalled the marriage by noble daring. For he went +to Norway and overcame by arms him that was so foul, a lover for a +princess. For he thought so much more of valour than of ease, that, +though he was free to enjoy all the pleasures of a king, he accounted it +sweeter than any delight to repel the wrongs done, not only to himself, +but to others. The maiden, not knowing him, ministered with healing +tendance to the man that had done her kindness and was bruised with many +wounds. And in order that lapse of time might not make her forget +him, she shut up a ring in his wound, and thus left a mark on his leg. +Afterwards her father granted her freedom to choose her own husband; so +when the young men were assembled at banquet, she went along them and +felt their bodies carefully, searching for the tokens she had stored up +long ago. All the rest she rejected, but Hadding she discovered by the +sign of the secret ring; then she embraced him, and gave herself to be +the wife of him who had not suffered a giant to win her in marriage. + +While Hadding was sojourning with her a marvellous portent befell him. +While he was at supper, a woman bearing hemlocks was seen to raise her +head beside the brazier, and, stretching out the lap of her robe, +seemed to ask, "in what part of the world such fresh herbs had grown in +winter?" The king desired to know; and, wrapping him in her mantle, she +drew him with her underground, and vanished. I take it that the nether +gods purposed that he should pay a visit in the flesh to the regions +whither he must go when he died. So they first pierced through a certain +dark misty cloud, and then advancing along a path that was worn away +with long thoroughfaring, they beheld certain men wearing rich robes, +and nobles clad in purple; these passed, they at last approached sunny +regions which produced the herbs the woman had brought away. Going +further, they came on a swift and tumbling river of leaden waters, +whirling down on its rapid current divers sorts of missiles, and +likewise made passable by a bridge. When they had crossed this, they +beheld two armies encountering one another with might and main. And when +Hadding inquired of the woman about their estate: "These," she said, +"are they who, having been slain by the sword, declare the manner of +their death by a continual rehearsal, and enact the deeds of their past +life in a living spectacle." Then a wall hard to approach and to climb +blocked their further advance. The woman tried to leap it, but in vain, +being unable to do so even with her slender wrinkled body; then she +wrung off the head of a cock which she chanced to be taking down with +her, and flung it beyond the barrier of the walls; and forthwith the +bird came to life again, and testified by a loud crow to recovery of its +breathing. Then Hadding turned back and began to make homewards with +his wife; some rovers bore down on him, but by swift sailing he baffled +their snares; for though it was almost the same wind that helped both, +they were behind him as he clove the billows, and, as they had only just +as much sail, could not overtake him. + +Meantime Uffe, who had a marvellously fair daughter, decreed that the +man who slew Hadding should have her. This sorely tempted one Thuning, +who got together a band of men of Perm (Byarmenses), being fain so to +win the desired advancement. Hadding was going to fall upon him, but +while he was passing Norway in his fleet he saw upon the beach an old +man signing to him, with many wavings of his mantle, to put into shore. +His companions opposed it, and declared that it would be a ruinous +diversion from their journey; but he took the man on board, and was +instructed by him how to order his army. For this man, in arranging +the system of the columns, used to take special care that the front row +consisted of two, the second of four, while the third increased and was +made up to eight, and likewise each row was double that in front of it. +Also the old man bade the wings of the slingers go back to the extremity +of the line, and put with them the ranks of the archers. So when the +squadrons were arranged in the wedge, he stood himself behind the +warriors, and from the wallet which was slung round his neck drew an +arbalist. This seemed small at first, but soon projected with more +prolonged tip, and accommodated ten arrows to its string at once, which +were shot all at once at the enemy in a brisk volley, and inflicted as +many wounds. Then the men of Perm, quitting arms for cunning, by their +spells loosed the sky in clouds of rain, and melted the joyous visage of +the air in dismal drenching showers. But the old man, on the other hand, +drove back with a cloud the heavy mass of storm which had arisen, +and checked the dripping rain by this barrier of mist. Thus Hadding +prevailed. But the old man, when he parted from him, foretold that the +death whereby he would perish would be inflicted, not by the might of an +enemy, but by his own hand. Also he forbade him to prefer obscure wars +to such as were glorious, and border wars to those remote. + +Hadding, after leaving him, was bidden by Uffe to Upsala on pretence of +a interview; but lost all his escort by treachery, and made his escape +sheltered by the night. For when the Danes sought to leave the house +into which they had been gathered on pretext of a banquet, they found +one awaiting them, who mowed off the head of each of them with his +sword as it was thrust out of the door. For this wrongful act Hadding +retaliated and slew Uffe; but put away his hatred and consigned his body +to a sepulchre of notable handiwork, thus avowing the greatness of his +foe by his pains to beautify his tomb, and decking in death with costly +distinctions the man whom he used to pursue in his life with hot enmity. +Then, to win the hearts of the people he had subdued, he appointed +Hunding, the brother of Uffe, over the realm, that the sovereignty might +seem to be maintained in the house of Asmund, and not to have passed +into the hand of a stranger. + +Thus his enemy was now removed, and he passed several years without any +stirring events and in utter disuse of arms; but at last he pleaded the +long while he had been tilling the earth, and the immoderate time he had +forborne from exploits on the seas; and seeming to think war a merrier +thing than peace, he began to upbraid himself with slothfulness in a +strain like this: + +"Why loiter I thus in darksome hiding, in the folds of rugged hills, nor +follow seafaring as of old? The continual howling of the band of wolves, +and the plaintive cry of harmful beasts that rises to heaven, and the +fierce impatient lions, all rob my eyes of sleep. Dreary are the ridges +and the desolation to hearts that trusted to do wilder work. The stark +rocks and the rugged lie of the ground bar the way to spirits who are +wont to love the sea. It were better service to sound the firths with +the oars, to revel in plundered wares, to pursue the gold of others for +my coffer, to gloat over sea-gotten gains, than to dwell in rough lands +and winding woodlands and barren glades." + +Then his wife, loving a life in the country, and weary of the +marin harmony of the sea-birds, declared how great joy she found in +frequenting the woodlands, in the following strain: + +"The shrill bird vexes me as I tarry by the shore, and with its +chattering rouses me when I cannot sleep. Wherefore the noisy sweep of +its boisterous rush takes gentle rest from my sleeping eye, nor doth +the loud-chattering sea-mew suffer me to rest in the night, forcing its +wearisome tale into my dainty ears; nor when I would lie down doth it +suffer me to be refreshed, clamouring with doleful modulation of its +ill-boding voice. Safer and sweeter do I deem the enjoyment of the +woods. How are the fruits of rest plucked less by day or night than by +tarrying tossed on the shifting sea?" + +At this time one Toste emerged, from the obscure spot of Jutland where +he was born, into bloody notoriety. For by all manner of wanton attacks +upon the common people he spread wide the fame of his cruelty, and +gained so universal a repute for rancour, that he was branded with +the name of the Wicked. Nor did he even refrain from wrongdoing to +foreigners, but, after foully harrying his own land, went on to assault +Saxony. The Saxon general Syfrid, when his men were hard put to it in +the battle, entreated peace. Toste declared that he should have what he +asked, but only if he would promise to become his ally in a war against +Hadding. Syfrid demurred, dreading to fulfill the condition, but by +sharp menaces Toste induced him to promise what he asked. For threats +can sometimes gain a request which soft-dealing cannot compass. Hadding +was conquered by this man in an affair by land; but in the midst of his +flight he came on his enemy's fleet, and made it unseaworthy by boring +the sides; then he got a skiff and steered it out to sea. Toste thought +he was slain, but though he sought long among the indiscriminate heaps +of dead, could not find him, and came back to his fleet; when he saw +from afar off a light boat tossing on the ocean billows. Putting out +some vessels, he resolved to give it chase, but was brought back by +peril of shipwreck, and only just reached the shore. Then he quickly +took some sound craft, and accomplished the journey which he had before +begun. Hadding, seeing he was caught, proceeded to ask his companion +whether he was a skilled and practised swimmer; and when the other said +he was not, Hadding despairing of flight, deliberately turned the vessel +over and held on inside to its hollow, thus making his pursuers think +him dead. Then he attacked Toste, who, careless and unaware, was +greedily watching over the remnants of his spoil; cut down his army, +forced him to quit his plunder, and avenged his own rout by that of +Toste. + +But Toste lacked not heart to avenge himself. For, not having store +enough in his own land to recruit his forces--so heavy was the blow he +had received--he went to Britain, calling himself an ambassador. Upon +his outward voyage, for sheer wantonness, he got his crew together to +play dice, and when a wrangle arose from the throwing of the cubes, he +taught them to wind it up with a fatal affray. And so, by means of this +peaceful sport, he spread the spirit of strife through the whole ship, +and the jest gave place to quarrelling, which engendered bloody combat. +Also, fain to get some gain out of the misfortunes of others, he seized +the moneys of the slain, and attached to him a certain rover then +famous, named Koll; and a little after returned in his company to his +own land, where he was challenged and slain by Hadding, who preferred to +hazard his own fortune rather than that of his soldiers. For generals of +antique valour were loth to accomplish by general massacre what could be +decided by the lot of a few. + +After these deeds the figure of Hadding's dead wife appeared before him +in his sleep, and sang thus: + +"A monster is born to thee that shall tame the rage of wild beasts, and +crush with fierce mouth the fleet wolves." + +Then she added a little: "Take thou heed; from thee hath issued a bird +of harm, in choler a wild screech-owl, in tongue a tuneful swan." + +On the morrow the king, when he had shaken off slumber, told the vision +to a man skilled in interpretations, who explained the wolf to denote a +son that would be truculent and the word swan as signifying a daughter; +and foretold that the son would be deadly to enemies and the daughter +treacherous to her father. The result answered to the prophecy. +Hadding's daughter, Ulfhild, who was wife to a certain private person +called Guthorm, was moved either by anger at her match, or with +aspirations to glory, and throwing aside all heed of daughterly love, +tempted her husband to slay her father; declaring that she preferred +the name of queen to that of princess. I have resolved to set forth the +manner of her exhortation almost in the words in which she uttered it; +they were nearly these: + +"Miserable am I, whose nobleness is shadowed by an unequal yoke! Hapless +am I, to whose pedigree is bound the lowliness of a peasant! Luckless +issue of a king, to whom a common man is equal by law of marriage! +Pitiable daughter of a prince, whose comeliness her spiritless father +hath made over to base and contemptible embraces! Unhappy child of +thy mother, with thy happiness marred by consorting with this bed! thy +purity is handled by the impurity of a peasant, thy nobility is bowed +down by ignoble commonness, thy high birth is impaired by the estate of +thy husband! But thou, if any pith be in thee, if valour reign in thy +soul at all, if thou deem thyself fit husband for a king's daughter, +wrest the sceptre from her father, retrieve thy lineage by thy valour, +balance with courage thy lack of ancestry, requite by bravery thy +detriment of blood. Power won by daring is more prosperous than that won +by inheritance. Boldness climbs to the top better than inheritance, +and worth wins power better than birth. Moreover, it is no shame to +overthrow old age, which of its own weight sinks and totters to its +fall. It shall be enough for my father to have borne the sceptre for +so long; let the dotard's power fall to thee; if it elude thee, it will +pass to another. Whatsoever rests on old age is near its fall. Think +that his reign has been long enough, and be it thine, though late in the +day, to be first. Further, I would rather have my husband than my father +king--would rather be ranked a king's wife than daughter. It is better +to embrace a monarch in one's home, than to give him homage from afar; +it is nobler to be a king's bride than his courtier. Thou, too, must +surely prefer thyself to thy wife's father for bearing the sceptre; for +nature has made each one nearest to himself. If there be a will for the +deed, a way will open; there is nothing but yields to the wit of man. +The feast must be kept, the banquet decked, the preparations looked +to, and my father bidden. The path to treachery shall be smoothed by a +pretence of friendship, for nothing cloaks a snare better than the name +of kindred. Also his soddenness shall open a short way to his slaughter; +for when the king shall be intent upon the dressing of his hair, and his +hand is upon his beard and his mind upon stories; when he has parted his +knotted locks, either with hairpin or disentangling comb, then let +him feel the touch of the steel in his flesh. Busy men commonly devise +little precaution. Let thy hand draw near to punish all his sins. It is +a righteous deed to put forth thy hand to avenge the wretched!" + +Thus Ulfhild importuned, and her husband was overcome by her promptings, +and promised his help to the treachery. But meantime Hadding was warned +in a dream to beware of his son-in-law's guile. He went to the feast, +which his daughter had made ready for him with a show of love, and +posted an armed guard hard by to use against the treachery when need +was. As he ate, the henchman who was employed to do the deed of guile +silently awaited a fitting moment for his crime, his dagger hid under +his robe. The king, remarking him, blew on the trumpet a signal to the +soldiers who were stationed near; they straightway brought aid, and he +made the guile recoil on its deviser. + +Meanwhile Hunding, King of the Swedes, heard false tidings that Hadding +was dead, and resolved to greet them with obsequies. So he gathered his +nobles together, and filled a jar of extraordinary size with ale, and +had this set in the midst of the feasters for their delight, and, +to omit no mark of solemnity, himself assumed a servant's part, not +hesitating to play the cupbearer. And while he was passing through the +palace in fulfilment of his office, he stumbled and fell into the jar, +and, being choked by the liquor, gave up the ghost; thus atoning either +to Orcus, whom he was appeasing by a baseless performance of the rites, +or to Hadding, about whose death he had spoken falsely. Hadding, when +he heard this, wished to pay like thanks to his worshipper, and, not +enduring to survive his death, hanged himself in sight of the whole +people. + + + + +BOOK TWO + +HADDING was succeeded by FRODE, his son, whose fortunes were many and +changeful. When he had passed the years of a stripling, he displayed +the fulness of a warrior's prowess; and being loth that this should +be spoilt by slothfulness, he sequestered his mind from delights +and perseveringly constrained it to arms. Warfare having drained his +father's treasury, he lacked a stock of pay to maintain his troops, and +cast about diligently for the supplies that he required; and while +thus employed, a man of the country met him and roused his hopes by the +following strain: + +"Not far off is an island rising in delicate slopes, hiding treasure in +its hills and ware of its rich booty. Here a noble pile is kept by the +occupant of the mount, who is a snake wreathed in coils, doubled in many +a fold, and with tail drawn out in winding whorls, shaking his manifold +spirals and shedding venom. If thou wouldst conquer him, thou must use +thy shield and stretch thereon bulls' hides, and cover thy body with +the skins of kine, nor let thy limbs lie bare to the sharp poison; +his slaver burns up what it bespatters. Though the three-forked tongue +flicker and leap out of the gaping mouth, and with awful yawn menace +ghastly wounds remember to keep the dauntless temper of thy mind; nor +let the point of the jagged tooth trouble thee, nor the starkness of the +beast, nor the venom spat from the swift throat. Though the force of +his scales spurn thy spears, yet know there is a place under his lowest +belly whither thou mayst plunge the blade; aim at this with thy sword, +and thou shalt probe the snake to his centre. Thence go fearless up to +the hill, drive the mattock, dig and ransack the holes; soon fill thy +pouch with treasure, and bring back to the shore thy craft laden." + +Frode believed, and crossed alone to the island, loth to attack the +beast with any stronger escort than that wherewith it was the custom for +champions to attack. When it had drunk water and was repairing to its +cave, its rough and sharp hide spurned the blow of Frode's steel. Also +the darts that he flung against it rebounded idly, foiling the effort +of the thrower. But when the hard back yielded not a whit, he noted the +belly heedfully, and its softness gave entrance to the steel. The beast +tried to retaliate by biting, but only struck the sharp point of its +mouth upon the shield. Then it shot out its flickering tongue again and +again, and gasped away life and venom together. + +The money which the King found made him rich; and with this supply he +approached in his fleet the region of the Kurlanders, whose king Dorn, +dreading a perilous war, is said to have made a speech of the following +kind to his soldiers: + +"Nobles! Our enemy is a foreigner, begirt with the arms and the wealth +of almost all the West; let us, by endeavouring to defer the battle for +our profit, make him a prey to famine, which is all inward malady; and +he will find it very hard to conquer a peril among his own people. It is +easy to oppose the starving. Hunger will be a better weapon against our +foe than arms; famine will be the sharpest lance we shall hurl at him. +For lack of food nourishes the pestilence that eats away men's strength, +and lack of victual undermines store of weapons. Let this whirl the +spears while we sit still; let this take up the prerogative and the duty +of fighting. Unimperilled, we shall be able to imperil others; we can +drain their blood and lose no drop of ours. One may defeat an enemy by +inaction. Who would not rather fight safely than at a loss? Who would +strive to suffer chastisement when he may contend unhurt? Our success +in arms will be more prosperous if hunger joins battle first. Let hunger +captain us, and so let us take the first chance of conflict. Let it +decide the day in our stead, and let our camp remain free from the stir +of war; if hunger retreat beaten, we must break off idleness. He who is +fresh easily overpowers him who is shaken with languor. The hand that +is flaccid and withered will come fainter to the battle. He whom any +hardship has first wearied, will bring slacker hands to the steel. When +he that is wasted with sickness engages with the sturdy, the victory +hastens. Thus, undamaged ourselves, we shall be able to deal damage to +others." + +Having said this, he wasted all the places which he saw would be hard to +protect, distrusting his power to guard them, and he so far forestalled +the ruthlessness of the foe in ravaging his own land, that he left +nothing untouched which could be seized by those who came after. Then he +shut up the greater part of his forces in a town of undoubted strength, +and suffered the enemy to blockade him. Frode, distrusting his power of +attacking this town, commanded several trenches of unwonted depth to +be made within the camp, and the earth to be secretly carried out in +baskets and cast quietly into the river bordering the walls. Then he had +a mass of turf put over the trenches to hide the trap: wishing to cut +off the unwary enemy by tumbling them down headlong, and thinking that +they would be overwhelmed unawares by the slip of the subsiding earth. +Then he feigned a panic, and proceeded to forsake the camp for a short +while. The townsmen fell upon it, missed their footing everywhere, +rolled forward into the pits, and were massacred by him under a shower +of spears. + +Thence he travelled and fell in with Trannon, the monarch of the +Ruthenians. Desiring to spy out the strength of his navy, he made a +number of pegs out of sticks, and loaded a skiff with them; and in this +he approached the enemy's fleet by night, and bored the hulls of the +vessels with an auger. And to save them from a sudden influx of +the waves, he plugged up the open holes with the pegs he had before +provided, and by these pieces of wood he made good the damage done by +the auger. But when he thought there were enough holes to drown the +fleet, he took out the plugs, thus giving instant access to the waters, +and then made haste to surround the enemy's fleet with his own. The +Ruthenians were beset with a double peril, and wavered whether they +should first withstand waves or weapons. Fighting to save their ships +from the foe, they were shipwrecked. Within, the peril was more terrible +than without: within, they fell back before the waves, while drawing +the sword on those without. For the unhappy men were assaulted by two +dangers at once; it was doubtful whether the swiftest way of safety +was to swim or to battle to the end; and the fray was broken off at +its hottest by a fresh cause of doom. Two forms of death advanced in a +single onset; two paths of destruction offered united peril: it was hard +to say whether the sword or the sea hurt them more. While one man was +beating off the swords, the waters stole up silently and took him. +Contrariwise, another was struggling with the waves, when the steel came +up and encompassed him. The flowing waters were befouled with the gory +spray. Thus the Ruthenians were conquered, and Frode made his way back +home. + +Finding that some envoys, whom he had sent into Russia to levy tribute, +had been horribly murdered through the treachery of the inhabitants, +Frode was stung by the double wrong and besieged closely their town +Rotel. Loth that the intervening river should delay his capture of +the town, he divided the entire mass of the waters by making new and +different streams, thus changing what had been a channel of unknown +depth into passable fords; not ceasing till the speed of the eddy, +slackened by the division of its outlet, rolled its waves onward in +fainter current, and winding along its slender reaches, slowly thinned +and dwindled into a shallow. Thus he prevailed over the river; and the +town, which lacked natural defences, he overthrew, his soldiers breaking +in without resistance. This done, he took his army to the city of +Paltisca. Thinking no force could overcome it, he exchanged war for +guile. He went into a dark and unknown hiding-place, only a very few +being in the secret, and ordered a report of his death to be spread +abroad, so as to inspire the enemy with less fear; his obsequies being +also held, and a barrow raised, to give the tale credit. Even the +soldiers bewailed his supposed death with a mourning which was in the +secret of the trick. This rumour led Vespasins, the king of the city, +to show so faint and feeble a defence, as though the victory was already +his, that the enemy got a chance of breaking in, and slew him as he +sported at his ease. + +Frode, when he had taken this town, aspired to the Empire of the East, +and attacked the city of Handwan. This king, warned by Hadding's having +once fired his town, accordingly cleared the tame birds out of all his +houses, to save himself from the peril of like punishment. But Frode +was not at a loss for new trickery. He exchanged garments with a +serving-maid, and feigned himself to be a maiden skilled in fighting; +and having thus laid aside the garb of man and imitated that of woman, +he went to the town, calling himself a deserter. Here he reconnoitred +everything narrowly, and on the next day sent out an attendant with +orders that the army should be up at the walls, promising that he would +see to it that the gates were opened. Thus the sentries were eluded and +the city despoiled while it was buried in sleep; so that it paid for its +heedlessness with destruction, and was more pitiable for its own sloth +than by reason of the valour of the foe. For in warfare nought is found +to be more ruinous than that a man, made foolhardy by ease, should +neglect and slacken his affairs and doze in arrogant self-confidence. + +Handwan, seeing that the fortunes of his country were lost and +overthrown, put all his royal wealth on shipboard and drowned it in the +sea, so as to enrich the waves rather than his enemy. Yet it had been +better to forestall the goodwill of his adversaries with gifts of money +than to begrudge the profit of it to the service of mankind. After this, +when Frode sent ambassadors to ask for the hand of his daughter, he +answered, that he must take heed not to be spoiled by his thriving +fortunes, or to turn his triumph into haughtiness; but let him rather +bethink him to spare the conquered, and in this their abject estate to +respect their former bright condition; let him learn to honour their +past fortune in their present pitiable lot. Therefore, said Handwan, he +must mind that he did not rob of his empire the man with whom he sought +alliance, nor bespatter her with the filth of ignobleness whom he +desired to honour with marriage: else he would tarnish the honour of the +union with covetousness. The courtliness of this saying not only won him +his conqueror for son-in-law, but saved the freedom of his realm. + +Meantime Thorhild, wife of Hunding, King of the Swedes, possessed with +a boundless hatred for her stepsons Ragnar and Thorwald, and fain to +entangle them in divers perils, at last made them the king's shepherds. +But Swanhwid, daughter of Hadding, wished to arrest by woman's wit the +ruin of natures so noble; and taking her sisters to serve as retinue, +journeyed to Sweden. Seeing the said youths beset with sundry prodigies +while busy watching at night over their flocks, she forbade her sisters, +who desired to dismount, in a poem of the following strain: + +"Monsters I behold taking swift leaps and flinging themselves over the +night places. The demon is at war, and the unholy throng, devoted to the +mischievous fray, battles in the mid-thoroughfare. Prodigies of aspect +grim to behold pass by, and suffer no mortal to enter this country. +The ranks galloping in headlong career through the void bid us stay our +advance in this spot; they warn us to turn our rein and hold off from +the accursed fields, they forbid us to approach the country beyond. A +scowling horde of ghosts draws near, and scurries furiously through the +wind, bellowing drearily to the stars. Fauns join Satyrs, and the throng +of Pans mingles with the Spectres and battles with fierce visage. The +Swart ones meet the Woodland Spirits, and the pestilent phantoms strive +to share the path with the Witches. Furies poise themselves on the leap, +and on them huddle the Phantoms, whom Foreboder (Fantua) joined to the +Flatnoses (Satyrs), jostles. The path that the footfarer must tread +brims with horror. It were safer to burden the back of the tall horse." + +Thereon Ragnar declared that he was a slave of the king, and gave as +reason of his departure so far from home that, when he had been banished +to the country on his shepherd's business, he had lost the flock of +which he had charge, and despairing to recover it, had chosen rather +to forbear from returning than to incur punishment. Also, loth to say +nothing about the estate of his brother, he further spoke the following +poem: + +"Think us men, not monsters; we are slaves who drove our lingering +flocks for pasture through the country. But while we took our pastime in +gentle sports, our flock chanced to stray and went into far-off fields. +And when our hope of finding them, our long quest failed, trouble came +upon the mind of the wretched culprits. And when sure tracks of our kine +were nowhere to be seen, dismal panic filled our guilty hearts. That +is why, dreading the penal stripe of the rod, we thought it doleful +to return to our own roof. We supposed it safer to hold aloof from the +familiar hearth than to bear the hand of punishment. Thus we are fain to +put off the punishment; we loathe going back and our wish is to lie hid +here and escape our master's eye. This will aid us to elude the avenger +of his neglected flock; and this is the one way of escape that remains +safe for us." + +Then Swanhwid gazed intently, and surveying his features, which were +very comely, admired them ardently, and said: + +"The radiant flashing of thine eyes is eloquent that thou art of kingly +and not of servile stock. Beauty announces blood, and loveliness of soul +glitters in the flash of the eyes. A keen glance betokens lordly birth, +and it is plain that he whom fairness, that sure sign of nobleness, +commends, is of no mean station. The outward alertness of thine eyes +signifies a spirit of radiance within. Face vouches for race; and the +lustre of forefathers is beheld in the brightness of the countenance. +For an aspect so benign and noble could never have issued from base +parentage. The grace of thy blood makes thy brow mantle with a kindred +grace, and the estate of thy birth is reflected in the mirror of thy +countenance. It is no obscure craftsman, therefore, that has finished +the portrait of so choice a chasing. Now therefore turn aside with all +speed, seek constantly to depart out of the road, shun encounters with +monsters, lest ye yield your most gracious bodies to be the prey and +pasture of the vilest hordes." + +But Ragnar was seized with great shame for his unsightly attire, which +he thought was the only possible device to disguise his birth. So he +rejoined, "That slaves were not always found to lack manhood; that a +strong hand was often hidden under squalid raiment, and sometimes a +stout arm was muffled trader a dusky cloak; thus the fault of nature +was retrieved by valour, and deficiency in race requited by nobleness of +spirit. He therefore feared the might of no supernatural prowess, save +of the god Thor only, to the greatness of whose force nothing human +or divine could fitly be compared. The hearts of men ought not to +be terrified at phantoms, which were only awful from their ghastly +foulness, and whose semblances, marked by counterfeit ghostliness, were +wont for a moment to borrow materiality from the fluent air. Swanhwid +therefore erred in trying, womanlike, to sap the firm strength of men, +and to melt in unmanly panic that might which knew not defeat." + +Swanhwid marvelled at the young man's steadfastness, and cast off the +cloud of mist which overshadowed her, dispelling the darkness which +shrouded her face, till it was clear and cloudless. Then, promising +that she would give him a sword fitted for diver's kinds of battle, she +revealed the marvellous maiden beauty of her lustrous limbs. Thus was +the youth kindled, and she plighted her troth with him, and proffering +the sword, she thus began: + +"King, in this sword, which shall expose the monsters to thy blows, take +the first gift of thy betrothed. Show thyself duly deserving hereof; let +hand rival sword, and aspire to add lustre to its weapon. Let the might +of steel strengthen the defenceless point of thy wit, and let spirit +know how to work with hand. Let the bearer match the burden: and that +thy deed may sort with thy blade, let equal weight in each be thine. +What avails the javelin when the breast is weak and faint, and the +quivering hands have dropped the lance? Let steel join soul, and be +both the body's armour! Let the right hand be linked with its hilt in +alliance. These fight famous battles, because they always keep more +force when together; but less when parted. Therefore if it be joy to +thee to win fame by the palm of war, pursue with daring whatsoever is +hard pressed by thy hand." + +After thus discoursing long in harmoniously-adjusted strains, she sent +away her retinue, and passed all the night in combat against the foulest +throngs of monsters; and at return of daybreak she perceived fallen all +over the fields diverse shapes of phantoms, and figures extraordinary +to look on; and among them was seen the semblance of Thorhild herself +covered with wounds. All these she piled in a heap and burnt, kindling +a huge pyre, lest the foul stench of the filthy carcases might spread +in pestilent vapour and hurt those who came nigh with its taint of +corruption. This done, she won the throne of Sweden for Ragnar, and +Ragnar for her husband. And though he deemed it uncomely to inaugurate +his first campaign with a wedding, yet, moved by gratitude for the +preservation of his safety, he kept his promise. + +Meantime one Ubbe, who had long since wedded Ulfhild the sister of +Frode, trusting in the high birth of his wife, seized the kingdom of +Denmark, which he was managing carelessly as deputy. Frode was thus +forced to quit the wars of the East and fought a great battle in Sweden +with his sister Swanhwid, in which he was beaten. So he got on board a +skiff, and sailed stealthily in a circuit, seeking some way of boring +through the enemy's fleet. When surprised by his sister and asked why +he was rowing silently and following divers meandering courses, he cut +short her inquiry by a similar question; for Swanhwid had also, at the +same time of the night, taken to sailing about alone, and was stealthily +searching out all the ways of approach and retreat through devious and +dangerous windings. So she reminded her brother of the freedom he had +given her long since, and went on to ask him that he should allow her +full enjoyment of the husband she had taken; since, before he started on +the Russian war, he had given her the boon of marrying as she would; and +that he should hold valid after the event what he had himself allowed to +happen. These reasonable entreaties touched Frode, and he made a peace +with Ragnar, and forgave, at his sister's request, the wrongdoing which +Ragnar, seemed to have begun because of her wantonness. They presented +him with a force equal to that which they had caused him to lose: +a handsome gift in which he rejoiced as compensation for so ugly a +reverse. + +Ragnar, entering Denmark, captured Ubbe, had him brought before him, and +pardoned him, preferring to visit his ill deserts with grace rather than +chastisement; because the man seemed to have aimed at the crown rather +at his wife's instance than of his own ambition, and to have been the +imitator and not the cause of the wrong. But he took Ulfhild away from +him and forced her to wed his friend Scot, the same man that founded the +Scottish name; esteeming change of wedlock a punishment for her. As she +went away he even escorted her in the royal chariot, requiting evil +with good; for he regarded the kinship of his sister rather than her +disposition, and took more thought for his own good name than of her +iniquity. But the fair deeds of her brother did not make her obstinate +and wonted hatred slacken a whit; she wore the spirit of her new husband +with her design of slaying Frode and mastering the sovereignty of the +Danes. For whatsoever design the mind has resolutely conceived, it is +slow to quit; nor is a sin that is long schemed swept away by the stream +of years. For the temper of later life follows the mind of childhood; +nor do the traces easily fade of vices which have been stamped upon the +character in the impressible age. Finding the ears of her husband deaf, +she diverted her treachery from her brother against her lord, hiring +bravoes to cut his throat while he slept. Scot was told about this by a +waiting-woman, and retired to bed in his cuirass on the night on which +he had heard the deed of murder was to be wrought upon him. Ulfhild +asked him why he had exchanged his wonted ways to wear the garb of +steel; he rejoined that such was just then his fancy. The agents of +the treachery, when they imagined him in a deep sleep, burst in; but +he slipped from his bed and cut them down. The result was, that he +prevented Ulfhild from weaving plots against her brother, and also left +a warning to others to beware of treachery from their wives. + +Meantime the design occurred to Frode of a campaign against Friesland; +he was desirous to dazzle the eyes of the West with the glory he had won +in conquering the East. He put out to ocean, and his first contest was +with Witthe, a rover of the Frisians; and in this battle he bade his +crews patiently bear the first brunt of the enemy's charge by merely +opposing their shields, ordering that they should not use their missiles +before they perceived that the shower of the enemy's spears was utterly +silent. This the Frisians hurled as vehemently as the Danes received it +impassively; for Witthe supposed that the long-suffering of Frode was +due to a wish for peace. High rose the blast of the trumpet, and loud +whizzed the javelins everywhere, till at last the heedless Frisians had +not a single lance remaining, and they were conquered, overwhelmed by +the missiles of the Danes. They fled hugging the shore, and were cut to +pieces amid the circuitous windings of the canals. Then Frode explored +the Rhine in his fleet, and laid hands on the farthest parts of Germany. +Then he went back to the ocean, and attacked the Frisian fleet, which +had struck on shoals; and thus he crowned shipwreck with slaughter. Nor +was he content with the destruction of so great an army of his foes, but +assailed Britain, defeated its king, and attacked Melbrik, the Governor +of the Scottish district. Just as he was preparing to fight him, he +heard from a scout that the King of the Britons was at hand, and could +not look to his front and his rear both at once. So he assembled the +soldiers, and ordered that they should abandon their chariots, fling +away all their goods, and scatter everywhere over the fields the gold +which they had about them; for he declared that their one chance was to +squander their treasure; and that, now they were hemmed in, their only +remaining help was to tempt the enemy from combat to covetousness. They +ought cheerfully to spend on so extreme a need the spoil they had gotten +among foreigners; for the enemy would drop it as eagerly, when it was +once gathered, as they would snatch it when they first found it; for it +would be to them more burden than profit. + +Then Thorkill, who was a more notable miser and a better orator than +them all, dishelming and leaning on his shield, said: + +"O King! Most of us who rate high what we have bought with our +life-blood find thy bidding hard. We take it ill that we should fling +away what we have won with utmost hazard; and men are loth to forsake +what they have purchased at peril of their lives. For it is utter +madness to spurn away like women what our manly hearts and hands have +earned, and enrich the enemy beyond their hopes. What is more odious +than to anticipate the fortune of war by despising the booty which is +ours, and, in terror of an evil that may never come, to quit a good +which is present and assured? Shall we scatter our gold upon the earth, +ere we have set eyes upon the Scots? Those who faint at the thought of +warring when they are out for war, what manner of men are they to be +thought in the battle? Shall we be a derision to our foes, we who were +their terror? Shall we take scorn instead of glory? The Briton will +marvel that he was conquered by men whom he sees fear is enough to +conquer. We struck them before with panic; shall we be panic-stricken by +them? We scorned them when before us; shall we dread them when they are +not here? When will our bravery win the treasure which our cowardice +rejects? Shall we shirk the fight, in scorn of the money which we fought +to win, and enrich those whom we should rightly have impoverished? What +deed more despicable can we do than to squander gold on those whom +we should smite with steel? Panic must never rob us of the spoils of +valour; and only war must make us quit what in warfare we have won. +Let us sell our plunder at the price at which we bought it; let the +purchase-money be weighed out in steel. It is better to die a noble +death, than to molder away too much in love with the light life. In a +fleeting instant of time life forsakes us, but shame pursues us past the +grave. Further, if we cast away this gold, the greater the enemy thinks +our fear, the hotter will be his chase. Besides, whichever the issue of +the day, the gold is not hateful to us. Conquerors, we shall triumph in +the treasure which now we bear; conquered, we shall leave it to pay our +burying." + +So spoke the old man; but the soldiers regarded the advice of their king +rather than of their comrade, and thought more of the former than of +the latter counsel. So each of them eagerly drew his wealth, whatever +he had, from his pouch; they unloaded their ponies of the various goods +they were carrying; and having thus cleared their money-bags, girded on +their arms more deftly. They went on, and the Britons came up, but broke +away after the plunder which lay spread out before them. Their king, +when he beheld them too greedily busied with scrambling for the +treasure, bade them "take heed not to weary with a load of riches those +hands which were meant for battle, since they ought to know that a +victory must be culled ere it is counted. Therefore let them scorn the +gold and give chase to the possessors of the gold; let them admire the +lustre, not of lucre, but of conquest; remembering, that a trophy +gave more reward than gain. Courage was worth more than dross, if they +measured aright the quality of both; for the one furnished outward +adorning, but the other enhanced both outward and inward grace. +Therefore they must keep their eyes far from the sight of money, and +their soul from covetousness, and devote it to the pursuits of war. +Further, they should know that the plunder had been abandoned by the +enemy of set purpose, and that the gold had been scattered rather to +betray them than to profit them. Moreover, the honest lustre of the +silver was only a bait on the barb of secret guile. It was not thought +to be that they, who had first forced the Britons to fly, would lightly +fly themselves. Besides, nothing was more shameful than riches which +betrayed into captivity the plunderer whom they were supposed to enrich. +For the Danes thought that the men to whom they pretended to have +offered riches ought to be punished with sword and slaughter. Let them +therefore feel that they were only giving the enemy a weapon if they +seized what he had scattered. For if they were caught by the look of the +treasure that had been exposed, they must lose, not only that, but +any of their own money that might remain. What could it profit them to +gather what they must straightway disgorge? But if they refuse to abase +themselves before money, they would doubtless abase the foe. Thus it was +better for them to stand erect in valour than be grovelling in greed; +with their souls not sinking into covetousness, but up and doing for +renown. In the battle they would have to use not gold but swords." + +As the king ended, a British knight, shewing them all his lapful of +gold, said: + +"O King! From thy speech can be gathered two feelings; and one of them +witnesses to thy cowardice and the other to thy ill will: inasmuch as +thou forbiddest us the use of the wealth because of the enemy, and also +thinkest it better that we should serve thee needy than rich. What is +more odious than such a wish? What more senseless than such a counsel? +We recognise these as the treasures of our own homes, and having done +so, shall we falter to pick them up? We were on our way to regain them +by fighting, we were zealous to win them back by our blood: shall we +shun them when they are restored unasked? Shall we hesitate to claim our +own? Which is the greater coward, he who squanders his winnings, or +he who is fearful to pick up what is squandered? Look how chance has +restored what compulsion took! These are, not spoils from the enemy, but +from ourselves; the Dane took gold from Britain, he brought none. Beaten +and loth we lost it; it comes back for nothing, and shall we run away +from it? Such a gift of fortune it were a shame to take in an unworthy +spirit. For what were madder than to spurn wealth that is set openly +before us, and to desire it when it is shut up and kept from us? Shall +we squeamishly yield what is set under our eyes, and clutch at it when +it vanishes? Shall we seek distant and foreign treasure, refraining from +what is made public property? If we disown what is ours, when shall we +despoil the goods of others? No anger of heaven can I experience which +can force me to unload of its lawful burden the lap which is filled with +my father's and my grandsire's gold. I know the wantonness of the Danes: +never would they have left jars full of wine had not fear forced them +to flee. They would rather have sacrificed their life than their liquor. +This passion we share with them, and herein we are like them. Grant that +their flight is feigned; yet they will light upon the Scots ere they +can come back. This gold shall never rust in the country, to be trodden +underfoot of swine or brutes: it will better serve the use of men. +Besides, if we plunder the spoil of the army that prevailed over us, we +transfer the luck of the conqueror to ourselves. For what surer omen of +triumph could be got, than to bear off the booty before the battle, and +to capture ere the fray the camp which the enemy have forsaken? Better +conquer by fear than by steel." + +The knight had scarce ended, when behold; the hands of all were loosed +upon the booty and everywhere plucked up the shining treasure. There you +might have marvelled at their disposition of filthy greed, and watched +a portentous spectacle of avarice. You could have seen gold and grass +clutched up together; the birth of domestic discord; fellow-countrymen +in deadly combat, heedless of the foe; neglect of the bonds of +comradeship and of reverence for ties; greed the object of all minds, +and friendship of none. + +Meantime Frode traversed in a great march the forest which separates +Scotland and Britain, and bade his soldiers arm. When the Scots beheld +his line, and saw that they had only a supply of light javelins, while +the Danes were furnished with a more excellent style of armour, they +forestalled the battle by flight. Frode pursued them but a little way, +fearing a sally of the British, and on returning met Scot, the husband +of Ulfhild, with a great army; he had been brought from the utmost ends +of Scotland by the desire of aiding the Danes. Scot entreated him to +abandon the pursuit of the Scottish and turn back into Britain. So he +eagerly regained the plunder which he had cunningly sacrificed; and got +back his wealth with the greater ease, that he had so tranquilly let +it go. Then did the British repent of their burden and pay for their +covetousness with their blood. They were sorry to have clutched at greed +with insatiate arms, and ashamed to have hearkened to their own avarice +rather than to the counsel of their king. + +Then Frode attacked London, the most populous city of Britain; but the +strength of its walls gave him no chance of capturing it. Therefore he +reigned to be dead, and his guile strengthened him. For Daleman, the +governor of London, on hearing the false news of his death, accepted the +surrender of the Danes, offered them a native general, and suffered them +to enter the town, that they might choose him out of a great throng. +They feigned to be making a careful choice, but beset Daleman in a night +surprise and slew him. + +When he had done these things, and gone back to his own land, one Skat +entertained him at a banquet, desirous to mingle his toilsome warfare +with joyous licence. Frode was lying in his house, in royal fashion, +upon cushions of cloth of gold, and a certain Hunding challenged him to +fight. Then, though he had bent his mind to the joys of wassail, he had +more delight in the prospect of a fray than in the presence of a feast, +and wound up the supper with a duel and the duel with a triumph. In the +combat he received a dangerous wound; but a taunt of Hakon the champion +again roused him, and, slaying his challenger, he took vengeance for +the disturbance of his rest. Two of his chamber-servants were openly +convicted of treachery, and he had them tied to vast stones and +drowned in the sea; thus chastising the weighty guilt of their souls by +fastening boulders to their bodies. Some relate that Ulfhild gave him a +coat which no steel could pierce, so that when he wore it no missile's +point could hurt him. Nor must I omit how Frode was wont to sprinkle his +food with brayed and pounded atoms of gold, as a resource against the +usual snares of poisoners. While he was attacking Ragnar, the King of +Sweden, who had been falsely accused of treachery, he perished, not by +the spears, but stifled in the weight of his arms and by the heat of his +own body. + +Frode left three sons, Halfdan, Ro, and Skat, who were equal in valour, +and were seized with an equal desire for the throne. All thought of +sway, none was constrained by brotherly regard: for love of others +forsaketh him who is eaten up with love of self, nor can any man take +thought at once for his own advancement and for his friendship with +others. Halfdan, the eldest son, disgraced his birth with the sin of +slaying his brethren, winning his kingdom by the murder of his kin; +and, to complete his display of cruelty, arrested their adherents, first +confining them in bonds, and presently hanging them. The most notable +thing in the fortunes of Halfdan was this, that though he devoted every +instant of his life to the practice of cruel deeds, yet he died of old +age, and not by the steel. + +Halfdan's sons were Ro and Helge. Ro is said to have been the founder of +Roskild, which was later increased in population and enhanced in power +by Sweyn, who was famous for the surname Forkbeard. Ro was short and +spare, while Helge was rather tall of stature. Dividing the realm with +his brother, Helge was allotted the domain of the sea; and attacking +Skalk, the King of Sklavia, with his naval force, he slew him. Having +reduced Sklavia into a province, he scoured the various arms of the sea +in a wandering voyage. Savage of temper as Helge was, his cruelty was +not greater than his lust. For he was so immoderately prone to +love, that it was doubtful whether the heat of his tyranny or of his +concupiscence was the greater. In Thorey he ravished the maiden Thora, +who bore a daughter, to whom she afterwards gave the name of Urse. Then +he conquered in battle, before the town of Stad, the son of Syrik, King +of Saxony, Hunding, whom he challenged, attacked, and slew in duel. For +this he was called Hunding's-Bane, and by that name gained glory of his +victory. He took Jutland out of the power of the Saxons, and entrusted +its management to his generals, Heske, Eyr, and Ler. In Saxony he +enacted that the slaughter of a freedman and of a noble should be +visited with the same punishment; as though he wished it to be clearly +known that all the households of the Teutons were held in equal +slavery, and that the freedom of all was tainted and savoured equally of +dishonour. + +Then Helge went freebooting to Thorey. But Thora had not ceased to +bewail her lost virginity, and planned a shameful device in abominable +vengeance for her rape. For she deliberately sent down to the beach +her daughter, who was of marriageable age, and prompted her father to +deflower her. And though she yielded her body to the treacherous lures +of delight, yet she must not be thought to have abjured her integrity +of soul, inasmuch as her fault had a ready excuse by virtue of her +ignorance. Insensate mother, who allowed the forfeiture of her child's +chastity in order to avenge her own; caring nought for the purity of her +own blood, so she might stain with incest the man who had cost her her +own maidenhood at first! Infamous-hearted woman, who, to punish her +defiler, measured out as it were a second defilement to herself, +whereas she clearly by the selfsame act rather swelled than lessened the +transgression! Surely, by the very act wherewith she thought to reach +her revenge, she accumulated guilt; she added a sin in trying to remove +a crime: she played the stepdame to her own offspring, not sparing her +daughter abomination in order to atone for her own disgrace. Doubtless +her soul was brimming over with shamelessness, since she swerved so far +from shamefastness, as without a blush to seek solace for her wrong in +her daughter's infamy. A great crime, with but one atonement; namely, +that the guilt of this intercourse was wiped away by a fortunate +progeny, its fruits being as delightful as its repute was evil. + +ROLF, the son of Urse, retrieved the shame of his birth by signal deeds +of valour; and their exceeding lustre is honoured with bright laudation +by the memory of all succeeding time. For lamentation sometimes ends in +laughter, and foul beginnings pass to fair issues. So that the father's +fault, though criminal, was fortunate, being afterwards atoned for by a +son of such marvellous splendour. + +Meantime Ragnar died in Sweden; and Swanhwid his wife passed away soon +after of a malady which she had taken from her sorrow, following in +death the husband from whom she had not endured severance in life. For +it often happens that some people desire to follow out of life those +whom they loved exceedingly when alive. Their son Hothbrodd succeeded +them. Fain to extend his empire, he warred upon the East, and after a +huge massacre of many peoples begat two sons, Athisl and Hother, and +appointed as their tutor a certain Gewar, who was bound to him by great +services. Not content with conquering the East, he assailed Denmark, +challenged its king, Ro, in three battles, and slew him. Helge, when +he heard this, shut up his son Rolf in Leire, wishing, however he might +have managed his own fortunes, to see to the safety of his heir. When +Hothbrodd sent in governors, wanting to free his country from alien +rule, he posted his people about the city and prevailed and slew them. +Also he annihilated Hothbrodd himself and all his forces in a naval +battle; so avenging fully the wrongs of his country as well as of his +brother. Hence he who had before won a nickname for slaying Hunding, now +bore a surname for the slaughter of Hothbrodd. Besides, as if the +Swedes had not been enough stricken in the battles, he punished them by +stipulating for most humiliating terms; providing by law that no wrong +done to any of them should receive amends according to the form of legal +covenants. After these deeds, ashamed of his former infamy, he hated his +country and his home, went back to the East, and there died. Some think +that he was affected by the disgrace which was cast in his teeth, and +did himself to death by falling upon his drawn sword. + +He was succeeded by his son Rolf, who was comely with every gift of mind +and body, and graced his mighty stature with as high a courage. In his +time Sweden was subject to the sway of the Danes; wherefore Athisl, the +son of Hothbrodd, in pursuit of a crafty design to set his country free, +contrived to marry Rolf's mother, Urse, thinking that his kinship by +marriage would plead for him, and enable him to prompt his stepson more +effectually to relax the tribute; and fortune prospered his wishes. But +Athisl had from his boyhood been imbued with a hatred of liberality, and +was so grasping of money, that he accounted it a disgrace to be called +openhanded. Urse, seeing him so steeped in filthy covetousness, desired +to be rid of him; but, thinking that she must act by cunning, veiled the +shape of her guile with a marvellous skill. Feigning to be unmotherly, +she spurred on her husband to grasp his freedom, and urged and tempted +him to insurrection; causing her son to be summoned to Sweden with a +promise of vast gifts. For she thought that she would best gain her +desire if, as soon as her son had got his stepfather's gold, she could +snatch up the royal treasures and flee, robbing her husband of bed +and money to hoot. For she fancied that the best way to chastise his +covetousness would be to steal away his wealth. This deep guilefulness +was hard to detect, from such recesses of cunning did it spring; because +she dissembled her longing for a change of wedlock under a show of +aspiration for freedom. Blind-witted husband, fancying the mother +kindled against the life of the son, never seeing that it was rather his +own ruin being compassed! Doltish lord, blind to the obstinate +scheming of his wife, who, out of pretended hatred of her son, devised +opportunity for change of wedlock! Though the heart of woman should +never be trusted, he believed in a woman all the more insensately, +because he supposed her faithful to himself and treacherous to her son. + +Accordingly, Rolf, tempted by the greatness of the gifts, chanced to +enter the house of Athisl. He was not recognised by his mother owing to +his long absence and the cessation of their common life; so in jest he +first asked for some victual to appease his hunger. She advised him +to ask the king for a luncheon. Then he thrust out a torn piece of +his coat, and begged of her the service of sewing it up. Finding his +mother's ears shut to him, he observed, "That it was hard to discover a +friendship that was firm and true, when a mother refused her son a meal, +and a sister refused a brother the help of her needle." Thus he punished +his mother's error, and made her blush deep for her refusal of kindness. +Athisl, when he saw him reclining close to his mother at the banquet, +taunted them both with wantonness, declaring that it was an impure +intercourse of brother and sister. Rolf repelled the charge against his +honour by an appeal to the closest of natural bonds, and answered, that +it was honourable for a son to embrace a beloved mother. Also, when +the feasters asked him what kind of courage he set above all others, he +named Endurance. When they also asked Athisl, what was the virtue which +above all he desired most devotedly, he declared, Generosity. Proofs +were therefore demanded of bravery on the one hand and munificence on +the other, and Rolf was asked to give an evidence of courage first. He +was placed to the fire, and defending with his target the side that was +most hotly assailed, had only the firmness of his endurance to fortify +the other, which had no defence. How dexterous, to borrow from his +shield protection to assuage the heat, and to guard his body, which was +exposed to the flames, with that which sometime sheltered it amid the +hurtling spears! But the glow was hotter than the fire of spears; as +though it could not storm the side that was entrenched by the +shield, yet it assaulted the flank that lacked its protection. But a +waiting-maid who happened to be standing near the hearth, saw that he +was being roasted by the unbearable heat upon his ribs; so taking the +stopper out of a cask, she spilt the liquid and quenched the flame, and +by the timely kindness of the shower checked in its career the torturing +blaze. Rolf was lauded for supreme endurance, and then came the request +for Athisl's gifts. And they say that he showered treasures on his +stepson, and at last, in order to crown the gift, bestowed on him an +enormously heavy necklace. + +Now Urse, who had watched her chance for the deed of guile, on the third +day of the banquet, without her husband ever dreaming of such a thing, +put all the king's wealth into carriages, and going out stealthily, +stole away from her own dwelling and fled in the glimmering twilight, +departing with her son. Thrilled with fear of her husband's pursuit, and +utterly despairing of escape beyond, she begged and bade her companions +to cast away the money, declaring that they must lose either life or +riches; the short and only path to safety lay in flinging away the +treasure, nor could any aid to escape be found save in the loss of their +possessions. Therefore, said she, they must follow the example of the +manner in which Frode was said to have saved himself among the Britons. +She added, that it was not paying a great price to lay down the Swedes' +own goods for them to regain; if only they could themselves gain a start +in flight, by the very device which would check the others in their +pursuit, and if they seemed not so much to abandon their own possessions +as to restore those of other men. Not a moment was lost; in order to +make the flight swifter, they did the bidding of the queen. The gold is +cleared from their purses; the riches are left for the enemy to seize. +Some declare that Urse kept back the money, and strewed the tracks of +her flight with copper that was gilt over. For it was thought credible +that a woman who could scheme such great deeds could also have painted +with lying lustre the metal that was meant to be lost, mimicking riches +of true worth with the sheen of spurious gold. So Athisl, when he saw +the necklace that he had given to Rolf left among the other golden +ornaments, gazed fixedly upon the dearest treasure of his avarice, +and, in order to pick up the plunder, glued his knees to the earth and +deigned to stoop his royalty unto greed. Rolf, seeing him lie abjectly +on his face in order to gather up the money, smiled at the sight of a +man prostrated by his own gifts, just as if he were seeking covetously +to regain what he had craftily yielded up. The Swedes were content +with their booty, and Rolf quickly retired to his ships, and managed to +escape by rowing violently. + +Now they relate that Rolf used with ready generosity to grant at the +first entreaty whatsoever he was begged to bestow, and never put off the +request till the second time of asking. For he preferred to forestall +repeated supplication by speedy liberality, rather than mar his kindness +by delay. This habit brought him a great concourse of champions; valour +having commonly either rewards for its food or glory for its spur. + +At this time, a certain Agnar, son of Ingild, being about to wed Rute, +the sister of Rolf, celebrated his bridal with a great banquet. The +champions were rioting at this banquet with every sort of wantonness, +and flinging from all over the room knobbed bones at a certain Hjalte; +but it chanced that his messmate, named Bjarke, received a violent blow +on the head through the ill aim of the thrower; at whom, stung both by +the pain and the jeering, he sent the bone back, so that he twisted the +front of his head to the back, and wrung the back of it to where the +front had been; punishing the wryness of the man's temper by turning his +face sidelong. This deed moderated their wanton and injurious jests, and +drove the champions to quit the place. The bridegroom, nettled at this +affront to the banquet, resolved to fight Bjarke, in order to seek +vengeance by means of a duel for the interruption of their mirth. At the +outset of the duel there was a long dispute, which of them ought to have +the chance of striking first. For of old, in the ordering of combats, +men did not try to exchange their blows thick and fast; but there was +a pause, and at the same time a definite succession in striking: the +contest being carried on with few strokes, but those terrible, so that +honour was paid more to the mightiness than to the number of the blows. +Agnar, being of higher rank, was put first; and the blow which he dealt +is said to have been so furious, that he cut through the front of the +helmet, wounded the skin on the scalp, and had to let go his sword, +which became locked in the vizor-holes. Then Bjarke, who was to deal +the return-stroke, leaned his foot against a stock, in order to give the +freer poise to his steel, and passed his fine-edged blade through the +midst of Agnar's body. Some declare that Agnar, in supreme suppression +of his pain, gave up the ghost with his lips relaxed into a smile. The +champions passionately sought to avenge him, but were visited by Bjarke +with like destruction; for he used a sword of wonderful sharpness and +unusual length which he called Lovi. While he was triumphing in these +deeds of prowess, a beast of the forest furnished him fresh laurels. For +he met a huge bear in a thicket, and slew it with a javelin; and then +bade his companion Hjalte put his lips to the beast and drink the blood +that came out, that he might be the stronger afterwards. For it was +believed that a draught of this sort caused an increase of bodily +strength. By these valorous achievements he became intimate with the +most illustrious nobles, and even, became a favourite of the king; took +to wife his sister Rute, and had the bride of the conquered as the prize +of the conquest. When Rolf was harried by Athisl he avenged himself on +him in battle and overthrew Athisl in war. Then Rolf gave his sister +Skulde in marriage to a youth of keen wit, called Hiartuar, and made him +governor of Sweden, ordaining a yearly tax; wishing to soften the loss +of freedom to him by the favour of an alliance with himself. + +Here let me put into my work a thing that it is mirthful to record. A +youth named Wigg, scanning with attentive eye the bodily size of Rolf, +and smitten with great wonder thereat, proceeded to inquire in jest +who was that "Krage" whom Nature in her beauty had endowed with such +towering stature? Meaning humorously to banter his uncommon tallness. +For "Krage" in the Danish tongue means a tree-trunk, whose branches are +pollarded, and whose summit is climbed in such wise that the foot +uses the lopped timbers as supports, as if leaning on a ladder, and, +gradually advancing to the higher parts, finds the shortest way to the +top. Rolf accepted this random word as though it were a name of honour +for him, and rewarded the wit of the saying with a heavy bracelet. Then +Wigg, thrusting out his right arm decked with the bracelet, put his left +behind his back in affected shame, and walked with a ludicrous gait, +declaring that he, whose lot had so long been poverty-stricken, was glad +of a scanty gift. When he was asked why he was behaving so, he said +that the arm which lacked ornament and had no splendour to boast of +was mantling with the modest blush of poverty to behold the other. The +ingenuity of this saying won him a present to match the first. For +Rolf made him bring out to view, like the other, the hand which he was +hiding. Nor was Wigg heedless to repay the kindness; for he promised, +uttering a strict vow, that, if it befell Rolf to perish by the sword, +he would himself take vengeance on his slayers. Nor should it be omitted +that in old time nobles who were entering. The court used to devote to +their rulers the first-fruits of their service by vowing some mighty +exploit; thus bravely inaugurating their first campaign. + +Meantime, Skulde was stung with humiliation at the payment of the +tribute, and bent her mind to devise deeds of horror. Taunting her +husband with his ignominious estate, she urged and egged him to break +off his servitude, induced him to weave plots against Rolf, and filled +his mind with the most abominable plans of disloyalty, declaring that +everyone owed more to their freedom than to kinship. Accordingly, she +ordered huge piles of arms to be muffled up under divers coverings, +to be carried by Hiartuar into Denmark, as if they were tribute: these +would furnish a store wherewith to slay the king by night. So the +vessels were loaded with the mass of pretended tribute, and they +proceeded to Leire, a town which Rolf had built and adorned with the +richest treasure of his realm, and which, being a royal foundation and +a royal seat, surpassed in importance all the cities of the neighbouring +districts. The king welcomed the coming of Hiartuar with a splendid +banquet, and drank very deep, while his guests, contrary to their +custom, shunned immoderate tippling. So, while all the others were +sleeping soundly, the Swedes, who had been kept from their ordinary rest +by their eagerness on their guilty purpose, began furtively to slip down +from their sleeping-rooms. Straightway uncovering the hidden heap of +weapons, each girded on his arms silently and then went to the palace. +Bursting into its recesses, they drew their swords upon the sleeping +figures. Many awoke; but, invaded as much by the sudden and dreadful +carnage as by the drowsiness of sleep, they faltered in their +resistance; for the night misled them and made it doubtful whether those +they met were friends or foes. Hjalte, who was foremost in tried bravery +among the nobles of the king, chanced to have gone out in the dead of +that same night into the country and given himself to the embraces of a +harlot. But when his torpid hearing caught from afar the rising din of +battle, preferring valour to wantonness, he chose rather to seek the +deadly perils of the War-god than to yield to the soft allurements of +Love. What a love for his king, must we suppose, burned in this warrior! +For he might have excused his absence by feigning not to have known; but +he thought it better to expose his life to manifest danger than save it +for pleasure. As he went away, his mistress asked him how aged a man +she ought to marry if she were to lose him? Then Hjalte bade her come +closer, as though he would speak to her more privately; and, resenting +that she needed a successor to his love, he cut off her nose and made +her unsightly, punishing the utterance of that wanton question with a +shameful wound, and thinking that the lecherousness of her soul ought to +be cooled by outrage to her face. When he had done this, he said he left +her choice free in the matter she had asked about. Then he went quickly +back to the town and plunged into the densest of the fray, mowing down +the opposing ranks as he gave blow for blow. Passing the sleeping-room +of Bjarke, who was still slumbering, he bade him wake up, addressing him +as follows: + +"Let him awake speedily, whoso showeth himself by service or avoweth +himself in mere loyalty, a friend of the king! Let the princes shake off +slumber, let shameless lethargy begone; let their spirits awake and warm +to the work; each man's own right hand shall either give him to glory, +or steep him in sluggard shame; and this night shall be either end or +vengeance of our woes. + +"I do not now bid ye learn the sports of maidens, nor stroke soft +cheeks, nor give sweet kisses to the bride and press the slender +breasts, nor desire the flowing wine and chafe the soft thigh and cast +eyes upon snowy arms. I call you out to the sterner fray of War. We need +the battle, and not light love; nerveless languor has no business here: +our need calls for battles. Whoso cherishes friendship for the king, +let him take up arms. Prowess in war is the readiest appraiser of men's +spirits. Therefore let warriors have no fearfulness and the brave no +fickleness: let pleasure quit their soul and yield place to arms. Glory +is now appointed for wages; each can be the arbiter of his own renown, +and shine by his own right hand. Let nought here be tricked out with +wantonness: let all be full of sternness, and learn how to rid them of +this calamity. He who covets the honours or prizes of glory must not be +faint with craven fear, but go forth to meet the brave, nor whiten at +the cold steel." + +At this utterance, Bjarke, awakened, roused up his chamber-page Skalk +speedily, and addressed him as follows: + +"Up, lad, and fan the fire with constant blowing; sweep the hearth clear +of wood, and scatter the fine ashes. Strike out sparks from the fire, +rouse the fallen embers, draw out the smothered blaze. Force the +slackening hearth to yield light by kindling the coals to a red glow +with a burning log. It will do me good to stretch out my fingers when +the fire is brought nigh. Surely he that takes heed for his friend +should have warm hands, and utterly drive away the blue and hurtful +chill." + +Hjalte said again: "Sweet is it to repay the gifts received from our +lord, to grip the swords, and devote the steel to glory. Behold, each +man's courage tells him loyally to follow a king of such deserts, and to +guard our captain with fitting earnestness. Let the Teuton swords, the +helmets, the shining armlets, the mail-coats that reach the heel, which +Rolf of old bestowed upon his men, let these sharpen our mindful hearts +to the fray. The time requires, and it is just, that in time of war we +should earn whatsoever we have gotten in the deep idleness of peace, +that we should not think more of joyous courses than of sorrowful +fortunes, or always prefer prosperity to hardship. Being noble, let us +with even soul accept either lot, nor let fortune sway our behaviour, +for it beseems us to receive equably difficult and delightsome days; let +us pass the years of sorrow with the same countenance wherewith we took +the years of joy. Let us do with brave hearts all the things that in our +cups we boasted with sodden lips; let us keep the vows which we swore +by highest Jove and the mighty gods. My master is the greatest of the +Danes: let each man, as he is valorous, stand by him; far, far hence be +all cowards! We need a brave and steadfast man, not one that turns his +back on a dangerous pass, or dreads the grim preparations for battle. +Often a general's greatest valour depends on his soldiery, for the +chief enters the fray all the more at ease that a better array of +nobles throngs him round. Let the thane catch up his arms with fighting +fingers, setting his right hand on the hilt and holding fast the shield: +let him charge upon the foes, nor pale at any strokes. Let none offer +himself to be smitten by the enemy behind, let none receive the swords +in his back: let the battling breast ever front the blow. `Eagles fight +brow foremost', and with swift gaping beaks speed onward in the front: +be ye like that bird in mien, shrinking from no stroke, but with body +facing the foe. + +"See how the enemy, furious and confident overduly, his limbs defended +by the steel, and his face with a gilded helmet, charges the thick +of the battle-wedges, as though sure of victory, fearless of rout and +invincible by any endeavour. Ah, misery! Swedish assurance spurns the +Danes. Behold, the Goths with savage eyes and grim aspect advance with +crested helms and clanging spears: wreaking heavy slaughter in our +blood, they wield their swords and their battle-axes hone-sharpened. + +"Why name thee, Hiartuar, whom Skulde hath filled with guilty purpose, +and hath suffered thus to harden in sin? Why sing of thee, villain, who +hast caused our peril, betrayer of a noble king? Furious lust of sway +hath driven thee to attempt an abomination, and, stung with frenzy, to +screen thyself behind thy wife's everlasting guilt. What error hath +made thee to hurt the Danes and thy lord, and hurled thee into such foul +crime as this? Whence entered thy heart the treason framed with such +careful guile? + +"Why do I linger? Now we have swallowed our last morsel. Our king +perishes, and utter doom overtakes our hapless city. Our last dawn has +risen, unless perchance there be one here so soft that he fears to offer +himself to the blows, or so unwarlike that he dares not avenge his lord, +and disowns all honours worthy of his valour. + +"Thou, Ruta, rise and put forth thy snow-white head, come forth from +thy hiding into the battle. The carnage that is being done without calls +thee. By now the council-chamber is shaken with warfare, and the gates +creak with the dreadful fray. Steel rends the mail-coats, the woven mesh +is torn apart, and the midriff gives under the rain of spears. By now +the huge axes have hacked small the shield of the king; by now the long +swords clash, and the battle-axe clatters its blows upon the shoulders +of men, and cleaves their breasts. Why are your hearts afraid? Why is +your sword faint and blunted? The gate is cleared of our people, and is +filled with the press of the strangers." + +And when Hjalte had wrought very great carnage and stained the battle +with blood, he stumbled for the third time on Bjarke's berth, and +thinking he desired to keep quiet because he was afraid, made trial of +him with such taunts at his cowardice as these: + +"Bjarke, why art thou absent? Doth deep sleep hold thee? I prithee, what +makes thee tarry? Come out, or the fire will overcome thee. Ho! Choose +the better way, charge with me! Bears may be kept off with fire; let +us spread fire in the recesses, and let the blaze attack the door-posts +first. Let the firebrand fall upon the bedchamber, let the falling roof +offer fuel for the flames and serve to feed the fire. It is right to +scatter conflagration on the doomed gates. But let us who honour our +king with better loyalty form the firm battle-wedges, and, having +measured the phalanx in safe rows, go forth in the way the king taught +us: our king, who laid low Rorik, the son of Bok the covetous, and +wrapped the coward in death. He was rich in wealth, but in enjoyment +poor, stronger in gain than bravery; and thinking gold better than +warfare, he set lucre above all things, and ingloriously accumulated +piles of treasure, scorning the service of noble friends. And when he +was attacked by the navy of Rolf, he bade his servants take the gold +from the chests and spread it out in front of the city gates, making +ready bribes rather than battle, because he knew not the soldier, and +thought that the foe should be attempted with gifts and not with arms: +as though he could fight with wealth alone, and prolong the war by +using, not men, but wares! So he undid the heavy coffers and the rich +chests; he brought forth the polished bracelets and the heavy caskets; +they only fed his destruction. Rich in treasure, poor in warriors, he +left his foes to take away the prizes which he forebore to give to the +friends of his own land. He who once shrank to give little rings of his +own will, now unwillingly squandered his masses of wealth, rifling his +hoarded heap. But our king in his wisdom spurned him and the gifts he +proffered, and took from him life and goods at once; nor was his foe +profited by the useless wealth which he had greedily heaped up through +long years. But Rolf the righteous assailed him, slew him, and captured +his vast wealth, and shared among worthy friends what the hand of +avarice had piled up in all those years; and, bursting into the camp +which was wealthy but not brave, gave his friends a lordly booty without +bloodshed. Nothing was so fair to him that he would not lavish it, or so +dear that he would not give it to his friends, for he used treasure like +ashes, and measured his years by glory and not by gain. Whence it is +plain that the king who hath died nobly lived also most nobly, that the +hour of his doom is beautiful, and that he graced the years of his life +with manliness. For while he lived his glowing valour prevailed over all +things, and he was allotted might worthy of his lofty stature. He was +as swift to war as a torrent tearing down to sea, and as speedy to begin +battle as a stag is to fly with cleft foot upon his fleet way. + +"See now, among the pools dripping with human blood, the teeth struck +out of the slain are carried on by the full torrent of gore, and are +polished on the rough sands. Dashed on the slime they glitter, and the +torrent of blood bears along splintered bones and flows above lopped +limbs. The blood of the Danes is wet, and the gory flow stagnates far +around, and the stream pressed out of the steaming veins rolls back the +scattered bodies. Tirelessly against the Danes advances Hiartuar, lover +of battle, and challenges the fighters with outstretched spear. Yet +here, amid the dangers and dooms of war, I see Frode's grandson smiling +joyously, who once sowed the fields of Fyriswald with gold. Let us also +be exalted with an honourable show of joy, following in death the doom +of our noble father. Be we therefore cheery in voice and bold in daring; +for it is right to spurn all fear with words of courage, and to meet our +death in deeds of glory. Let fear quit heart and face; in both let us +avow our dauntless endeavours, that no sign anywhere may show us to +betray faltering fear. Let our drawn sword measure the weight of our +service. Fame follows us in death, and glory shall outlive our crumbling +ashes! And that which perfect valour hath achieved during its span shall +not fade for ever and ever. What want we with closed floors? Why doth +the locked bolt close the folding-gates? For it is now the third cry, +Bjarke, that calls thee, and bids thee come forth from the barred room." + +Bjarke rejoined: "Warlike Hjalte, why dost thou call me so loud? I am +the son-in-law of Rolf. He who boasts loud and with big words challenges +other men to battle, is bound to be venturous and act up to his words, +that his deed may avouch his vaunt. But stay till I am armed and have +girded on the dread attire of war. + +"And now I tie my sword to my side, now first I get my body guarded with +mail-coat and headpiece, the helm keeping my brows and the stout +iron shrouding my breast. None shrinks more than I from being burnt a +prisoner inside, and made a pyre together with my own house: though an +island brought me forth, and though the land of my birth be bounded, I +shall hold it a debt to repay to the king the twelve kindreds which he +added to my honours. Hearken, warriors! Let none robe in mail his body +that shall perish; let him last of all draw tight the woven steel; let +the shields go behind the back; let us fight with bared breasts, +and load all your arms with gold. Let your right hands receive the +bracelets, that they may swing their blows the more heavily and plant +the grievous wound. Let none fall back! Let each zealously strive to +meet the swords of the enemy and the threatening spears, that we may +avenge our beloved master. Happy beyond all things is he who can mete +out revenge for such a crime, and with righteous steel punish the guilt +of treacheries. + +"Lo, methinks I surely pierced a wild stag with the Teutonic sword which +is called Snyrtir: from which I won the name of Warrior, when I felled +Agnar, son of Ingild, and brought the trophy home. He shattered and +broke with the bite the sword Hoding which smote upon my head, and would +have dealt worse wounds if the edge of his blade had held out better. +In return I clove asunder his left arm and part of his left side and +his right foot, and the piercing steel ran down his limbs and smote deep +into his ribs. By Hercules! No man ever seemed to me stronger than he. +For he sank down half-conscious, and, leaning on his elbow, welcomed +death with a smile, and spurned destruction with a laugh, and passed +rejoicing in the world of Elysium. Mighty was the man's courage, which +knew how with one laugh to cover his death-hour, and with a joyous face +to suppress utter anguish of mind and body! + +"Now also with the same blade I searched the heart of one sprung from +an illustrious line, and plunged the steel deep in his breast. He was a +king's son, of illustrious ancestry, of a noble nature, and shone with +the brightness of youth. The mailed metal could not avail him, nor his +sword, nor the smooth target-boss; so keen was the force of my steel, it +knew not how to be stayed by obstacles. + +"Where, then, are the captains of the Goths, and the soldiery of +Hiartuar? Let them come, and pay for their might with their life-blood. +Who can cast, who whirl the lance, save scions of kings? War springs +from the nobly born: famous pedigrees are the makers of war. For the +perilous deeds which chiefs attempt are not to be done by the ventures +of common men. Renowned nobles are passing away. Lo! Greatest Rolf, thy +great ones have fallen, thy holy line is vanishing. No dim and lowly +race, no low-born dead, no base souls are Pluto's prey, but he weaves +the dooms of the mighty, and fills Phlegethon with noble shapes. + +"I do not remember any combat wherein swords were crossed in turn and +blow dealt out for blow more speedily. I take three for each I give; +thus do the Goths requite the wounds I deal them, and thus doth the +stronger hand of the enemy avenge with heaped interest the punishment +that they receive. Yet singly in battle I have given over the bodies of +so many men to the pyre of destruction, that a mound like a hill could +grow up and be raised out of their lopped limbs, and the piles of +carcases would look like a burial-barrow. And now what doeth he, who but +now bade me come forth, vaunting himself with mighty praise, and chafing +others with his arrogant words, and scattering harsh taunts, as though +in his one body he enclosed twelve lives?" + +Hjalte answered: "Though I have but scant help, I am not far off. Even +here, where I stand, there is need of aid, and nowhere is a force or a +chosen band of warriors ready for battle wanted more. Already the hard +edges and the spear-points have cleft my shield in splinters, and the +ravening steel has rent and devoured its portions bit by bit in the +battle. The first of these things testifies to and avows itself. Seeing +is better than telling, eyesight faithfuller than hearing. For of the +broken shield only the fastenings remain, and the boss, pierced and +broken in its circle, is all left me. And now, Bjarke, thou art strong, +though thou hast come forth more tardily than was right, and thou +retrievest by bravery the loss caused by thy loitering." + +But Bjarke said: "Art thou not yet weary of girding at me and goading me +with taunts? Many things often cause delay. The reason why I tarried was +the sword in my path, which the Swedish foe whirled against my breast +with mighty effort. Nor did the guider of the hilt drive home the sword +with little might; for though the body was armed he smote it as far as +one may when it is bare or defenceless; he pierced the armour of hard +steel like yielding waters; nor could the rough, heavy breastplate give +me any help. + +"But where now is he that is commonly called Odin, the mighty in battle, +content ever with a single eye? If thou see him anywhere, Rute, tell +me." + +Rute replied: "Bring thine eye closer and look under my arm akimbo: +thou must first hallow thine eyes with the victorious sign, if thou wilt +safely know the War-god face to face." + +Then said Bjarke: "If I may look on the awful husband of Frigg, +howsoever he be covered with his white shield, and guide his tall steed, +he shall in no wise go safe out of Leire; it is lawful to lay low in war +the war-waging god. Let a noble death come to those that fall before the +eyes of their king. While life lasts, let us strive for the power to die +honourably and to reap a noble end by our deeds. I will die overpowered +near the head of my slain captain, and at his feet thou also shalt slip +on thy face in death, so that whoso scans the piled corpses may see in +what wise we rate the gold our lord gave us. We shall be the prey of +ravens and a morsel for hungry eagles, and the ravening bird shall feast +on the banquet of our body. Thus should fall princes dauntless in war, +clasping their famous king in a common death." + +I have composed this particular series of harangues in metrical shape, +because the gist of the same thoughts is found arranged in a short form +in a certain ancient Danish song, which is repeated by heart by many +conversant with antiquity. + +Now, it came to pass that the Goths gained the victory and all the array +of Rolf fell, no man save Wigg remaining out of all those warriors. For +the soldiers of the king paid this homage to his noble virtues in that +battle, that his slaying inspired in all the longing to meet their end, +and union with him in death was accounted sweeter than life. + +HIARTUAR rejoiced, and had the tables spread for feasting, bidding the +banquet come after the battle, and fain to honour his triumph with a +carouse. And when he was well filled therewith, he said that it was +matter of great marvel to him, that out of all the army of Rolf no man +had been found to take thought for his life by flight or fraud. Hence, +he said, it had been manifest with what zealous loyalty they had kept +their love for their king, because they had not endured to survive him. +He also blamed his ill fortune, because it had not suffered the homage +of a single one of them to be left for himself: protesting that he would +very willingly accept the service of such men. Then Wigg came forth, and +Hiartuar, as though he were congratulating him on the gift, asked him if +he were willing to fight for him. Wigg assenting, he drew and proferred +him a sword. But Wigg refused the point, and asked for the hilt, saying +first that this had been Rolf's custom when he handed forth a sword to +his soldiers. For in old time those who were about to put themselves in +dependence on the king used to promise fealty by touching the hilt of +the sword. And in this wise Wigg clasped the hilt, and then drove the +point through Hiartuar; thus gaining the vengeance which he had promised +Rolf to accomplish for him. When he had done this, and the soldiers +of Hiartuar rushed at him, he exposed his body to them eagerly and +exultantly, shouting that he felt more joy in the slaughter of the +tyrant than bitterness at his own. Thus the feast was turned into +a funeral, and the wailing of burial followed the joy of victory. +Glorious, ever memorable hero, who valiantly kept his vow, and +voluntarily courted death, staining with blood by his service the tables +of the despot! For the lively valour of his spirit feared not the hands +of the slaughterers, when he had once beheld the place where Rolf had +been wont to live bespattered with the blood of his slayer. Thus the +royalty of Hiartuar was won and ended on the same day. For whatsoever +is gotten with guile melts away in like fashion as it is sought, and no +fruits are long-lasting that have been won by treachery and crime. +Hence it came to pass that the Swedes, who had a little before been the +possessors of Denmark, came to lose even their own liberty. For they +were straightway cut off by the Zealanders, and paid righteous atonement +to the injured shades of Rolf. In this way does stern fortune commonly +avenge the works of craft and cunning. + + + +BOOK THREE. + +After Hiartuar, HOTHER, whom I mentioned above, the brother of Athisl, +and also the fosterling of King Gewar, became sovereign of both realms. +It will be easier to relate his times if I begin with the beginning +of his life. For if the earlier years of his career are not doomed to +silence, the latter ones can be more fully and fairly narrated. + +When Helgi had slain Hodbrodd, his son Hother passed the length of his +boyhood under the tutelage of King Gewar. While a stripling, he excelled +in strength of body all his foster-brethren and compeers. Moreover, he +was gifted with many accomplishments of mind. He was very skilled in +swimming and archery, and also with the gloves; and further was as +nimble as such a youth could be, his training being equal to his +strength. Though his years were unripe, his richly-dowered spirit +surpassed them. None was more skilful on lyre or harp; and he was +cunning on the timbrel, on the lute, and in every modulation of string +instruments. With his changing measures he could sway the feelings of +men to what passions he would; he knew how to fill human hearts with joy +or sadness, with pity or with hatred, and used to enwrap the soul with +the delight or terror of the ear. All these accomplishments of the youth +pleased Nanna, the daughter of Gewar, mightily, and she began to seek +his embraces. For the valour of a youth will often kindle a maid, and +the courage of those whose looks are not so winning is often acceptable. +For love hath many avenues; the path of pleasure is opened to some +by grace, to others by bravery of soul, and to some by skill in +accomplishments. Courtesy brings to some stores of Love, while most are +commended by brightness of beauty. Nor do the brave inflict a shallower +wound on maidens than the comely. + +Now it befell that Balder the son of Odin was troubled at the sight of +Nanna bathing, and was seized with boundless love. He was kindled by her +fair and lustrous body, and his heart was set on fire by her manifest +beauty; for nothing exciteth passion like comeliness. Therefore he +resolved to slay with the sword Hother, who, he feared, was likeliest to +baulk his wishes; so that his love, which brooked no postponement, might +not be delayed in the enjoyment of its desire by any obstacle. + +About this time Hother chanced, while hunting, to be led astray by a +mist, and he came on a certain lodge in which were wood-maidens; and +when they greeted him by his own name, he asked who they were. +They declared that it was their guidance and government that mainly +determined the fortunes of war. For they often invisibly took part +in battles, and by their secret assistance won for their friends the +coveted victories. They averted, indeed, that they could win triumphs +and inflict defeats as they would; and further told him how Balder had +seen his foster-sister Nanna while she bathed, and been kindled with +passion for her; but counselled Hother not to attack him in war, worthy +as he was of his deadliest hate, for they declared that Balder was a +demigod, sprung secretly from celestial seed. When Hother had heard +this, the place melted away and left him shelterless, and he found +himself standing in the open and out in the midst of the fields, without +a vestige of shade. Most of all he marvelled at the swift flight of the +maidens, the shifting of the place, and the delusive semblance of the +building. For he knew not that all that had passed around him had been a +mere mockery and an unreal trick of the arts of magic. + +Returning thence, he related to Gewar the mystification that had +followed on his straying, and straightway asked him for his daughter. +Gewar answered that he would most gladly favour him, but that he feared +if he rejected Balder he would incur his wrath; for Balder, he said, had +proffered him a like request. For he said that the sacred strength of +Balder's body was proof even against steel; adding, however, that he +knew of a sword which could deal him his death, which was fastened up in +the closest bonds; this was in the keeping of Miming, the Satyr of the +woods, who also had a bracelet of a secret and marvellous virtue, that +used to increase the wealth of the owner. Moreover, the way to these +regions was impassable and filled with obstacles, and therefore hard for +mortal men to travel. For the greater part of the road was perpetually +beset with extraordinary cold. So he advised him to harness a car with +reindeer, by means of whose great speed he could cross the hard-frozen +ridges. And when he had got to the place, he should set up his tent away +from the sun in such wise that it should catch the shadow of the cave +where Miming was wont to be; while he should not in return cast a +shade upon Miming, so that no unaccustomed darkness might be thrown and +prevent the Satyr from going out. Thus both the bracelet and the sword +would be ready to his hand, one being attended by fortune in wealth +and the other by fortune in war, and each of them thus bringing a great +prize to the owner. Thus much said Gewar; and Hother was not slow to +carry out his instructions. Planting his tent in the manner aforesaid, +he passed the nights in anxieties and the days in hunting. But through +either season he remained very wakeful and sleepless, allotting the +divisions of night and day so as to devote the one to reflection on +events, and to spend the other in providing food for his body. Once as +he watched all night, his spirit was drooping and dazed with anxiety, +when the Satyr cast a shadow on his tent. Aiming a spear at him, he +brought him down with the blow, stopped him, and bound him, while he +could not make his escape. Then in the most dreadful words he threatened +him with the worst, and demanded the sword and bracelets. The Satyr was +not slow to tender him the ransom of his life for which he was asked. +So surely do all prize life beyond wealth; for nothing is ever cherished +more among mortals than the breath of their own life. Hother, exulting +in the treasure he had gained, went home enriched with trophies which, +though few, were noble. + +When Gelder, the King of Saxony, heard that Hother had gained these +things, he kept constantly urging his soldiers to go and carry off such +glorious booty; and the warriors speedily equipped a fleet in obedience +to their king. Gewar, being very learned in divining and an expert in +the knowledge of omens, foresaw this; and summoning Hother, told him, +when Gelder should join battle with him, to receive his spears with +patience, and not let his own fly until he saw the enemy's missiles +exhausted; and further, to bring up the curved scythes wherewith the +vessels could be rent and the helmets and shields plucked from the +soldiers. Hother followed his advice and found its result fortunate. For +he bade his men, when Gelder began to charge, to stand their ground and +defend their bodies with their shields, affirming that the victory in +that battle must be won by patience. But the enemy nowhere kept back +their missiles, spending them all in their extreme eagerness to fight; +and the more patiently they found Hother bear himself in his reception +of their spears and lances, the more furiously they began to hurl them. +Some of these stuck in the shields and some in the ships, and few were +the wounds they inflicted; many of them were seen to be shaken off idly +and to do no hurt. For the soldiers of Hother performed the bidding +of their king, and kept off the attack of the spears by a penthouse of +interlocked shields; while not a few of the spears smote lightly on +the bosses and fell into the waves. When Gelder was emptied of all his +store, and saw the enemy picking it up, and swiftly hurling it back +at him, he covered the summit of the mast with a crimson shield, as a +signal of peace, and surrendered to save his life. Hother received him +with the friendliest face and the kindliest words, and conquered him as +much by his gentleness as he had by his skill. + +At this time Helgi, King of Halogaland, was sending frequent embassies +to press his suit for Thora, daughter of Kuse, sovereign of the Finns +and Perms. Thus is weakness ever known by its wanting help from others. +For while all other young men of that time used to sue in marriage with +their own lips, this man was afflicted with so faulty an utterance that +he was ashamed to be heard not only by strangers, but by those of his +own house. So much doth calamity shun all witnesses; for natural defects +are the more vexing the more manifest they are. Kuse despised his +embassy, answering that that man did not deserve a wife who trusted too +little to his own manhood, and borrowed by entreaty the aid of others in +order to gain his suit. When Helgi heard this, he besought Hother, whom +he knew to be an accomplished pleader, to favour his desires, promising +that he would promptly perform whatsoever he should command him. The +earnest entreaties of the youth prevailed on Hother, and he went to +Norway with an armed fleet, intending to achieve by arms the end which +he could not by words. And when he had pleaded for Helgi with the +most dulcet eloquence, Kuse rejoined that his daughter's wish must be +consulted, in order that no paternal strictness might forestall anything +against her will. He called her in and asked her whether she felt a +liking for her wooer; and when she assented he promised Helgi her hand. +In this way Hother, by the sweet sounds of his fluent and well-turned +oratory, opened the ears of Kuse, which were before deaf to the suit he +urged. + +While this was passing in Halogaland, Balder entered the country of +Gewar armed, in order to sue for Nanna. Gewar bade him learn Nanna's +own mind; so he approached the maiden with the most choice and cajoling +words; and when he could win no hearing for his prayers, he persisted in +asking the reason of his refusal. She replied, that a god could not wed +with a mortal, because the vast difference of their natures prevented +any bond of intercourse. Also the gods sometimes used to break their +pledges; and the bond contracted between unequals was apt to snap +suddenly. There was no firm tie between those of differing estate; for +beside the great, the fortunes of the lowly were always dimmed. Also +lack and plenty dwelt in diverse tents, nor was there any fast bond of +intercourse between gorgeous wealth and obscure poverty. In fine, the +things of earth would not mate with those of heaven, being sundered by +a great original gulf through a difference in nature; inasmuch as mortal +man was infinitely far from the glory of the divine majesty. With +this shuffling answer she eluded the suit of Balder, and shrewdly wove +excuses to refuse his hand. + +When Hother heard this from Gewar, he complained long to Helgi of +Balder's insolence. Both were in doubt as to what should be done, and +beat their brains over divers plans; for converse with a friend in the +day of trouble, though it removeth not the peril, yet maketh the heart +less sick. Amid all the desires of their souls the passion of valour +prevailed, and a naval battle was fought with Balder. One would have +thought it a contest of men against gods, for Odin and Thor and the holy +array of the gods fought for Balder. There one could have beheld a war +in which divine and human might were mingled. But Hother was clad in +his steel-defying tunic, and charged the closest bands of the gods, +assailing them as vehemently as a son of earth could assail the powers +above. However, Thor was swinging his club with marvellous might, and +shattered all interposing shields, calling as loudly on his foes +to attack him as upon his friends to back him up. No kind of armour +withstood his onset, no man could receive his stroke and live. +Whatsoever his blow fended off it crushed; neither shield nor helm +endured the weight of its dint; no greatness of body or of strength +could serve. Thus the victory would have passed to the gods, but that +Hother, though his line had already fallen back, darted up, hewed off +the club at the haft, and made it useless. And the gods, when they had +lost this weapon, fled incontinently. But that antiquity vouches for it, +it were quite against common belief to think that men prevailed against +gods. (We call them gods in a supposititious rather than in a real +sense; for to such we give the title of deity by the custom of nations, +not because of their nature.) + +As for Balder, he took to flight and was saved. The conquerors either +hacked his ships with their swords or sunk them in the sea; not content +to have defeated gods, they pursued the wrecks of the fleet with such +rage, as if they would destroy them to satiate their deadly passion for +war. Thus doth prosperity commonly whet the edge of licence. The haven, +recalling by its name Balder's flight, bears witness to the war. Gelder, +the King of Saxony, who met his end in the same war, was set by Hother +upon the corpses of his oarsmen, and then laid on a pyre built of +vessels, and magnificently honoured in his funeral by Hother, who not +only put his ashes in a noble barrow, treating them as the remains of +a king, but also graced them with most reverent obsequies. Then, to +prevent any more troublesome business delaying his hopes of marriage, +he went back to Gewar and enjoyed the coveted embraces of Nanna. Next, +having treated Helgi and Thora very generously, he brought his new queen +back to Sweden, being as much honoured by all for his victory as Balder +was laughed at for his flight. + +At this time the nobles of the Swedes repaired to Demnark to pay their +tribute; but Hother, who had been honoured as a king by his countrymen +for the splendid deeds of his father, experienced what a lying pander +Fortune is. For he was conquered in the field by Balder, whom a little +before he had crushed, and was forced to flee to Gewar, thus losing +while a king that victory which he had won as a common man. The +conquering Balder, in order to slake his soldiers, who were parched with +thirst, with the blessing of a timely draught, pierced the earth deep +and disclosed a fresh spring. The thirsty ranks made with gaping lips +for the water that gushed forth everywhere. The traces of these springs, +eternised by the name, are thought not quite to have dried up yet, +though they have ceased to well so freely as of old. Balder was +continually harassed by night phantoms feigning the likeness of Nanna, +and fell into such ill health that he could not so much as walk, +and began the habit of going his journeys in a two horse car or a +four-wheeled carriage. So great was the love that had steeped his heart +and now had brought him down almost to the extremity of decline. For he +thought that his victory had brought him nothing if Nanna was not his +prize. Also Frey, the regent of the gods, took his abode not far from +Upsala, where he exchanged for a ghastly and infamous sin-offering the +old custom of prayer by sacrifice, which had been used by so many +ages and generations. For he paid to the gods abominable offerings, by +beginning to slaughter human victims. + +Meantime Hother (1) learned that Denmark lacked leaders, and that +Hiartuar had swiftly expiated the death of Rolf; and he used to say +that chance had thrown into his hands that to which he could scarce +have aspired. For first, Rolf, whom he ought to have killed, since he +remembered that Rolf's father had slain his own, had been punished by +the help of another; and also, by the unexpected bounty of events, +a chance had been opened to him of winning Denmark. In truth, if the +pedigree of his forefathers were rightly traced, that realm was his by +ancestral right! Thereupon he took possession, with a very great fleet, +of Isefjord, a haven of Zealand, so as to make use of his impending +fortune. There the people of the Danes met him and appointed him king; +and a little after, on hearing of the death of his brother Athisl, whom +he had bidden rule the Swedes, he joined the Swedish empire to that of +Denmark. But Athisl was cut off by an ignominious death. For whilst, in +great jubilation of spirit, he was honouring the funeral rites of +Rolf with a feast, he drank too greedily, and paid for his filthy +intemperance by his sudden end. And so, while he was celebrating the +death of another with immoderate joviality, he forced on his own apace. + +While Hother was in Sweden, Balder also came to Zealand with a fleet; +and since he was thought to be rich in arms and of singular majesty, +the Danes accorded him with the readiest of voices whatever he asked +concerning the supreme power. With such wavering judgment was the +opinion of our forefathers divided. Hother returned from Sweden and +attacked him. They both coveted sway, and the keenest contest for the +sovereignty began between them; but it was cut short by the flight of +Hother. He retired to Jutland, and caused to be named after him the +village in which he was wont to stay. Here he passed the winter season, +and then went back to Sweden alone and unattended. There he summoned the +grandees, and told them that he was weary of the light of life because +of the misfortunes wherewith Balder had twice victoriously stricken him. +Then he took farewell of all, and went by a circuitous path to a place +that was hard of access, traversing forests uncivilised. For it oft +happens that those upon whom has come some inconsolable trouble of +spirit seek, as though it were a medicine to drive away their sadness, +far and sequestered retreats, and cannot bear the greatness of their +grief amid the fellowship of men; so dear, for the most part, is +solitude to sickness. For filthiness and grime are chiefly pleasing to +those who have been stricken with ailments of the soul. Now he had been +wont to give out from the top of a hill decrees to the people when they +came to consult him; and hence when they came they upbraided the sloth +of the king for hiding himself, and his absence was railed at by all +with the bitterest complaints. + +But Hother, when he had wandered through remotest byways and crossed an +uninhabited forest, chanced to come upon a cave where dwelt some maidens +whom he knew not; but they proved to be the same who had once given him +the invulnerable coat. Asked by them wherefore he had come thither, he +related the disastrous issue of the war. So he began to bewail the ill +luck of his failures and his dismal misfortunes, condemning their breach +of faith, and lamenting that it had not turned out for him as they had +promised him. But the maidens said that though he had seldom come off +victorious, he had nevertheless inflicted as much defeat on the enemy +as they on him, and had dealt as much carnage as he had shared in. +Moreover, the favour of victory would be speedily his, if he could first +lay hands upon a food of extraordinary delightsomeness which had +been devised to increase the strength of Balder. For nothing would be +difficult if he could only get hold of the dainty which was meant to +enhance the rigour of his foe. + +Hard as it sounded for earthborn endeavours to make armed assault upon +the gods, the words of the maidens inspired Hother's mind with instant +confidence to fight with Balder. Also some of his own people said that +he could not safely contend with those above; but all regard for their +majesty was expelled by the boundless fire of his spirit. For in brave +souls vehemence is not always sapped by reason, nor doth counsel defeat +rashness. Or perchance it was that Hother remembered how the might of +the lordliest oft proveth unstable, and how a little clod can batter +down great chariots. + +On the other side, Balder mustered the Danes to arms and met Hother +in the field. Both sides made a great slaughter; the carnage of the +opposing parties was nearly equal, and night stayed the battle. About +the third watch, Hother, unknown to any man, went out to spy upon the +enemy, anxiety about the impending peril having banished sleep. This +strong excitement favours not bodily rest, and inward disquiet suffers +not outward repose. So, when he came to the camp of the enemy he heard +that three maidens had gone out carrying the secret feast of Balder. He +ran after them (for their footsteps in the dew betrayed their flight), +and at last entered their accustomed dwelling. When they asked him who +he was, he answered, a lutanist, nor did the trial belie his profession. +For when the lyre was offered him, he tuned its strings, ordered and +governed the chords with his quill, and with ready modulation poured +forth a melody pleasant to the ear. Now they had three snakes, of whose +venom they were wont to mix a strengthening compound for the food of +Balder, and even now a flood of slaver was dripping on the food from the +open mouths of the serpents. And some of the maidens would, for kindness +sake, have given Hother a share of the dish, had not eldest of the three +forbidden them, declaring that Balder would be cheated if they increased +the bodily powers of his enemy. He had said, not that he was Hother, but +that he was one of his company. Now the same nymphs, in their gracious +kindliness, bestowed on him a belt of perfect sheen and a girdle which +assured victory. + +Retracing the path by which he had come, he went back on the same road, +and meeting Balder plunged his sword into his side, and laid him low +half dead. When the news was told to the soldiers, a cheery shout of +triumph rose from all the camp of Hother, while the Danes held a public +mourning for the fate of Balder. He, feeling no doubt of his impending +death, and stung by the anguish of his wound, renewed the battle on +the morrow; and, when it raged hotly, bade that he should be borne on a +litter into the fray, that he might not seem to die ignobly within his +tent. On the night following, Proserpine was seen to stand by him in a +vision, and to promise that on the morrow he should have her embrace. +The boding of the dream was not idle; for when three days had passed, +Balder perished from the excessive torture of his wound; and his body +given a royal funeral, the army causing it to be buried in a barrow +which they had made. + +Certain men of our day, Chief among whom was Harald, (2) since the story +of the ancient burial-place still survived, made a raid on it by night +in the hope of finding money, but abandoned their attempt in sudden +panic. For the hill split, and from its crest a sudden and mighty +torrent of loud-roaring waters seemed to burst; so that its flying mass, +shooting furiously down, poured over the fields below, and enveloped +whatsoever it struck upon, and at its onset the delvers were dislodged, +flung down their mattocks, and fled divers ways; thinking that if they +strove any longer to carry through their enterprise they would be caught +in the eddies of the water that was rushing down. Thus the guardian gods +of that spot smote fear suddenly into the minds of the youths, taking +them away from covetousness, and turning them to see to their safety; +teaching them to neglect their greedy purpose and be careful of their +lives. Now it is certain that this apparent flood was not real but +phantasmal; not born in the bowels of the earth (since Nature suffereth +not liquid springs to gush forth in a dry place), but produced by some +magic agency. All men afterwards, to whom the story of that breaking in +had come down, left this hill undisturbed. Wherefore it has never been +made sure whether it really contains any wealth; for the dread of peril +has daunted anyone since Harald from probing its dark foundations. + +But Odin, though he was accounted the chief of the gods, began to +inquire of the prophets and diviners concerning the way to accomplish +vengeance for his son, as well as all others whom he had beard were +skilled in the most recondite arts of soothsaying. For godhead that is +incomplete is oft in want of the help of man. Rostioph (Hrossthiof), +the Finn, foretold to him that another son must be born to him by Rinda +(Wrinda), daughter of the King of the Ruthenians; this son was destined +to exact punishment for the slaying of his brother. For the gods had +appointed to the brother that was yet to be born the task of avenging +his kinsman. Odin, when he heard this, muffled his face with a cap, that +his garb might not betray him, and entered the service of the said king +as a soldier; and being made by him captain of the soldiers, and given +an army, won a splendid victory over the enemy. And for his stout +achievement in this battle the king admitted him into the chief place +in his friendship, distinguishing him as generously with gifts as +with honours. A very little while afterwards Odin routed the enemy +single-handed, and returned, at once the messenger and the doer of +the deed. All marvelled that the strength of one man could deal such +slaughter upon a countless host. Trusting in these services, he privily +let the king into the secret of his love, and was refreshed by his most +gracious favour; but when he sought a kiss from the maiden, he received +a cuff. But he was not driven from his purpose either by anger at the +slight or by the odiousness of the insult. + +Next year, loth to quit ignobly the quest he had taken up so eagerly, he +put on the dress of a foreigner and went back to dwell with the king. It +was hard for those who met him to recognise him; for his assumed filth +obliterated his true features, and new grime hid his ancient aspect. He +said that his name was Roster (Hrosstheow), and that he was skilled +in smithcraft. And his handiwork did honour to his professions: for he +portrayed in bronze many and many a shape most beautifully, so that he +received a great mass of gold from the king, and was ordered to +hammer out the ornaments of the matrons. So, after having wrought many +adornments for women's wearing, he at last offered to the maiden a +bracelet which he had polished more laboriously than the rest and +several rings which were adorned with equal care. But no services could +assuage the wrath of Rinda; when he was fain to kiss her she cuffed him; +for gifts offered by one we hate are unacceptable, while those tendered +by a friend are far more grateful: so much doth the value of the +offering oft turn on the offerer. For this stubborn-hearted maiden never +doubted that the crafty old man was feigning generosity in order to +seize an opening to work his lust. His temper, moreover, was keen and +indomitable; for she knew that his homage covered guile, and that under +the devotion of his gifts there lay a desire for crime. Her father fell +to upbraiding her heavily for refusing the match; but she loathed to wed +an old man, and the plea of her tender years lent her some support in +her scorning of his hand; for she said that a young girl ought not to +marry prematurely. + +But Odin, who had found that nothing served the wishes of lovers more +than tough persistency, though he was stung with the shame of his double +rebuff, nevertheless, effacing the form he had worn before, went to the +king for the third time, professing the completest skill in soldiership. +He was led to take this pains not only by pleasure but by the wish to +wipe out his disgrace. For of old those who were skilled in magic gained +this power of instantly changing their aspect and exhibiting the most +different shapes. Indeed, they were clever at imitating any age, not +only in its natural bodily appearance, but also in its stature; and so +the old man, in order to exhibit his calling agreeably, used to ride +proudly up and down among the briskest of them. But not even such a +tribute could move the rigour of the maiden; for it is hard for the mind +to come back to a genuine liking for one against whom it has once borne +heavy dislike. When he tried to kiss her at his departure, she repulsed +him so that he tottered and smote his chin upon the ground. Straightway +he touched her with a piece of bark whereon spells were written, and +made her like unto one in frenzy: which was a gentle revenge to take for +all the insults he had received. + +But still he did not falter in the fulfilment of his purpose; for trust +in his divine majesty buoyed him up with confidence; so, assuming the +garb of a maiden, this indefatigable journeyer repaired for the +fourth time to the king, and, on being received by him, showed himself +assiduous and even forward. Most people believed him to be a woman, as +he was dressed almost in female attire. Also he declared that his name +was Wecha, and his calling that of a physician: and this assertion +he confirmed by the readiest services. At last he was taken into the +household of the queen, and played the part of a waiting-woman to the +princess, and even used to wash the soil off her feet at eventide; and +as he was applying the water he was suffered to touch her calves and the +upper part of the thighs. But fortune goes with mutable steps, and thus +chance put into his hand what his address had never won. For it happened +that the girl fell sick, and looked around for a cure; and she summoned +to protect her health those very hands which aforetime she had rejected, +and appealed for preservation to him whom she had ever held in loathing. +He examined narrowly all the symptoms of the trouble, and declared that, +in order to check the disease as soon as possible, it was needful to use +a certain drugged draught; but that it was so bitterly compounded, that +the girl could never endure so violent a cure unless she submitted to +be bound; since the stuff of the malady must be ejected from the very +innermost tissues. When her father heard this he did not hesitate +to bind his daughter; and laying her on the bed, he bade her endure +patiently all the applications of the doctor. For the king was tricked +by the sight of the female dress, which the old man was using to +disguise his persistent guile; and thus the seeming remedy became an +opportunity of outrage. For the physician seized the chance of love, +and, abandoning his business of healing, sped to the work, not of +expelling the fever, but of working his lust; making use of the sickness +of the princess, whom in sound health he had found adverse to him. It +will not be wearisome if I subjoin another version of this affair. +For there are certain who say that the king, when he saw the physician +groaning with love, but despite all his expense of mind and body +accomplishing nothing, did not wish to rob of his due reward one who had +so well earned it, and allowed him to lie privily with his daughter. +So doth the wickedness of the father sometimes assail the child, when +vehement passion perverts natural mildness. But his fault was soon +followed by a remorse that was full of shame, when his daughter bore a +child. + +But the gods, whose chief seat was then at Byzantium, (Asgard), seeing +that Odin had tarnished the fair name of godhead by divers injuries to +its majesty, thought that he ought to be removed from their society. +And they had him not only ousted from the headship, but outlawed and +stripped of all worship and honour at home; thinking it better that the +power of their infamous president should be overthrown than that public +religion should be profaned; and fearing that they might themselves be +involved in the sin of another, and though guiltless be punished for the +crime of the guilty. For they saw that, now the derision of their great +god was brought to light, those whom they had lured to proffer them +divine honours were exchanging obeisance for scorn and worship for +shame; that holy rites were being accounted sacrilege, and fixed and +regular ceremonies deemed so much childish raving. Fear was in their +souls, death before their eyes, and one would have supposed that the +fault of one was visited upon the heads of all. So, not wishing Odin +to drive public religion into exile, they exiled him and put one Oller +(Wulder?) in his place, to bear the symbols not only Of royalty but also +of godhead, as though it had been as easy a task to create a god as a +king. And though they had appointed him priest for form's sake, they +endowed him actually with full distinction, that he might be seen to be +the lawful heir to the dignity, and no mere deputy doing another's work. +Also, to omit no circumstance of greatness, they further gave his the +name of Odin, trying by the prestige of that title to be rid of the +obloquy of innovation. For nearly ten years Oller held the presidency +of the divine senate; but at last the gods pitied the horrible exile of +Odin, and thought that he had now been punished heavily enough; so he +exchanged his foul and unsightly estate for his ancient splendour; for +the lapse of time had now wiped out the brand of his earlier disgrace. +Yet some were to be found who judged that he was not worthy to approach +and resume his rank, because by his stage-tricks and his assumption of a +woman's work he had brought the foulest scandal on the name of the gods. +Some declare that he bought back the fortune of his lost divinity with +money; flattering some of the gods and mollifying some with bribes; +and that at the cost of a vast sum he contrived to get back to the +distinction which he had long quitted. If you ask how much he paid +for them, inquire of those who have found out what is the price of a +godhead. I own that to me it is but little worth. + +Thus Oller was driven out from Byzantium by Odin and retired into +Sweden. Here, while he was trying, as if in a new world, to repair the +records of his glory, the Danes slew him. The story goes that he was +such a cunning wizard that he used a certain bone, which he had marked +with awful spells, wherewith to cross the seas, instead of a vessel; +and that by this bone he passed over the waters that barred his way as +quickly as by rowing. + +But Odin, now that he had regained the emblems of godhead, shone over +all parts of the world with such a lustre of renown that all nations +welcomed him as though he were light restored to the universe; nor was +any spot to be found on the earth which did not hornage to his might. +Then finding that Boe, his son by Rhlda, was enamoured of the hardships +of war, he called him, and bade him bear in mind the slaying of his +brother: saying that it would be better for him to take vengeande on the +murderers of Balder than to overcome them in battle; for warfare was +most fitting and wholesome when a holy occasion for waging it was +furnished by a righteous opening for vengeande. + +News came meantime that Gewar had been slain by the guile of his own +satrap (jarl), Gunne. Hother determined to visit his murder with the +strongest and sharpest revenge. So he surprised Gunne, cast him on a +blazing pyre, and burnt him; for Gunne had himself treacherously waylaid +Gewar, and burnt him alive in the night. This was his offering of +vengeance to the shade of his foster-father; and then he made his sons, +Herlek and Gerit, rulers of Norway. + +Then he summoned the elders to assembly, and told them that he would +perish in the war wherein he was bound to meet Boe, and said that he +knew this by no doubtful guesswork, but by sure prophecies of seers. +So he besought them to make his son RORIK king, so that the judgment +of wicked men should not transfer the royalty to strange and unknown +houses; averring that he would reap more joy from the succession of +his son than bitterness from his own impending death. This request was +speedily granted. Then he met Boe in battle and was killed; but small +joy the victory gave Boe. Indeed, he left the battle so sore stricken +that he was lifted on his shield and carried home by his foot-soldiers +supporting him in turn, to perish next day of the pain of his wounds. +The Ruthenian army gave his body a gorgeous funeral and buried it in +a splendid howe, which it piled in his name, to save the record of so +mighty a warrior from slipping out of the recollection of after ages. + +So the Kurlanders and the Swedes, as though the death of Hother set them +free from the burden of their subjection, resolved to attack Denmark, to +which they were accustomed to do homage with a yearly tax. By this the +Slavs also were emboldened to revolt, and a number of others were turned +from subjects into foes. Rorik, in order to check this wrongdoing, +summoned his country to arms, recounted the deeds of his forefathers, +and urged them in a passionate harangue unto valorous deeds. But the +barbarians, loth to engage without a general, and seeing that they +needed a head, appointed a king over them; and, displaying all the rest +of their military force, hid two companies of armed men in a dark spot. +But Rorik saw the trap; and perceiving that his fleet was wedged in a +certain narrow creek among the shoal water, took it out from the sands +where it was lying, and brought it forth to sea; lest it should strike +on the oozy swamps, and be attacked by the foe on different sides. Also, +he resolved that his men should go into hiding during the day, where +they could stay and suddenly fall on the invaders of his ships. He said +that perchance the guile might in the end recoil on the heads of its +devisors. And in fact the barbarians who had been appointed to the +ambuscade knew nothing of the wariness of the Danes, and sallying +against them rashly, were all destroyed. The remaining force of the +Slavs, knowing nothing of the slaughter of their friends, hung in doubt +wondering over the reason of Rorik's tarrying. And after waiting long +for him as the months wearily rolled by, and finding delay every day +more burdensome, they at last thought they should attack him with their +fleet. + +Now among them there was a man of remarkable stature, a wizard by +calling. He, when he beheld the squadrons of the Danes, said: "Suffer +a private combat to forestall a public slaughter, so that the danger +of many may be bought off at the cost of a few. And if any of you shall +take heart to fight it out with me, I will not flinch from these terms +of conflict. But first of all I demand that you accept the terms I +prescribe, the form whereof I have devised as follows: If I conquer, let +freedom be granted us from taxes; if I am conquered, let the tribute be +paid you as of old: For to-day I will either free my country from the +yoke of slavery by my victory or bind her under it by my defeat. Accept +me as the surety and the pledge for either issue." One of the Danes, +whose spirit was stouter than his strength, heard this, and proceeded to +ask Rorik, what would be the reward for the man who met the challenger +in combat? Rorik chanced to have six bracelets, which were so +intertwined that they could not be parted from one another, the chain of +knots being inextricaly laced; and he promised them as a reward for +the man who would venture on the combat. But the youth, who doubted his +fortune, said: "Rorik, if I prove successful, let thy generosity award +the prize of the conqueror, do thou decide and allot the palm; but if +my enterprise go little to my liking, what prize canst thou owe to the +beaten, who will be wrapped either in cruel death or in bitter shame? +These things commonly go with feebleness, these are the wages of the +defeated, for whom naught remains but utter infamy. What guerdon must +be paid, what thanks offered, to him who lacks the prize of courage? Who +has ever garlanded with ivy the weakling in War, or decked him with a +conqueror's wage? Valour wins the prize, not sloth, and failure lacks +renown. For one is followed by triumph and honour, the other by an +unsightly life or by a stagnant end. I, who know not which way the issue +of this duel inclines, dare not boldly anticipate that as a reward, of +which I know not whether it be rightly mine. For one whose victory is +doubtful may not seize the assured reward of the victor. I forbear, +while I am not sure of the day, to claim firmly the title to the wreath. +I refuse the gain, which may be the wages of my death as much as of my +life. It is folly to lay hands on the fruit before it is ripe, and to be +fain to pluck that which one is not yet sure is one's title. This hand +shall win me the prize, or death." Having thus spoken, he smote the +barbarian with his sword; but his fortune was tardier than his spirit; +for the other smote him back, and he fell dead under the force of the +first blow. Thus he was a sorry sight unto the Danes, but the Slavs +granted their triumphant comrade a great procession, and received him +with splendid dances. On the morrow the same man, whether he was elated +with the good fortune of his late victory, or was fired with the wish to +win another, came close to the enemy, and set to girding at them in the +words of his former challenge. For, supposing that he had laid low the +bravest of the Danes, he did not think that any of them would have any +heart left to fight further with him upon his challenge. Also, trusting +that, now one champion had fallen, he had shattered the strength of the +whole army, he thought that naught would be hard to achieve upon which +his later endeavours were bent. For nothing pampers arrogance more than +success, or prompts to pride more surely than prosperity. + +So Rorik was vexed that the general courage should be sapped by the +impudence of one man; and that the Danes, with their roll of victories, +should be met presumptuously by those whom they had beaten of old; nay, +should be ignominiously spurned; further, that in all that host not one +man should be found so quick of spirit or so vigorous of arm, that he +longed to sacrifice his life for his country. It was the high-hearted +Ubbe who first wiped off this infamous reproach upon the hesitating +Danes. For he was of great bodily strength and powerful in incantations. +He also purposely asked the prize of the combat, and the king promised +him the bracelets. Then said he: "How can I trust the promise when thou +keepest the pledge in thine own hands, and dost not deposit the gift in +the charge of another? Let there be some one to whom thou canst entrust +the pledge, that thou mayst not be able to take thy promise back. For +the courage of the champion is kindled by the irrevocable certainty of +the prize." Of course it was plain that he had said this in jest; sheer +courage had armed him to repel the insult to his country. But Rorik +thought he was tempted by avarice, and was loth to seem as if, contrary +to royal fashion, he meant to take back the gift or revoke his promise; +so, being stationed on his vessel, he resolved to shake off the +bracelets, and with a mighty swing send them to the asker. But his +attempt was baulked by the width of the gap between them; for the +bracelets fell short of the intended spot, the impulse being too faint +and slack, and were reft away by the waters. For this nickname of +Slyngebond, (swing-bracelet) clung to Rorik. But this event testified +much to the valour of Ubbe. For the loss of his drowned prize never +turned his mind from his bold venture; he would not seem to let his +courage be tempted by the wages of covetousness. So he eagerly went +to fight, showing that he was a seeker of honour and not the slave of +lucre, and that he set bravery before lust of pelf; and intent to prove +that his confidence was based not on hire, but on his own great soul. +Not a moment is lost; a ring is made; the course is thronged with +soldiers; the champions engage; a din arises; the crowd of onlookers +shouts in discord, each backing his own. And so the valour of the +champions blazes to white-heat; falling dead under the wounds dealt by +one another, they end together the combat and their lives. I think that +it was a provision of fortune that neither of them should reap joy and +honour by the other's death. This event won back to Rorik the hearts of +the insurgents and regained him the tribute. + +At this time Horwendil and Feng, whose father Gerwendil had been +governor of the Jutes, were appointed in his place by Rorik to defend +Jutland. But Horwendil held the monarchy for three years, and then, to +will the height of glory, devoted himself to roving. Then Koller, King +of Norway, in rivalry of his great deeds and renown, deemed it would be +a handsome deed if by his greater strength in arms he could bedim the +far-famed glory of the rover; and cruising about the sea, he watched for +Horwendil's fleet and came up with it. There was an island lying in the +middle of the sea, which each of the rovers, bringing his ships up on +either side, was holding. The captains were tempted by the pleasant look +of the beach, and the comeliness of the shores led them to look through +the interior of the springtide woods, to go through the glades, and roam +over the sequestered forests. It was here that the advance of Koller and +Horwendil brought them face to face without any witness. Then Horwendil +endeavoured to address the king first, asking him in what way it was his +pleasure to fight, and declaring that one best which needed the courage +of as few as possible. For, said he, the duel was the surest of all +modes of combat for winning the meed of bravery, because it relied only +upon native courage, and excluded all help from the hand of another. +Koller marvelled at so brave a judgment in a youth, and said: "Since +thou hast granted me the choice of battle, I think it is best to employ +that kind which needs only the endeavours of two, and is free from all +the tumult. Certainly it is more venturesome, and allows of a speedier +award of the victory. This thought we share, in this opinion we agree of +our own accord. But since the issue remains doubtful, we must pay +some regard to gentle dealing, and must not give way so far to our +inclinations as to leave the last offices undone. Hatred is in our +hearts; yet let piety be there also, which in its due time may take the +place of rigour. For the rights of nature reconcile us, though we are +parted by differences of purpose; they link us together, howsoever +rancour estrange our spirit. Let us, therefore, have this pious +stipulation, that the conqueror shall give funeral rites to the +conquered. For all allow that these are the last duties of human +kind, from which no righteous man shrinks. Let each army lay aside its +sternness and perform this function in harmony. Let jealousy depart +at death, let the feud be buried in the tomb. Let us not show such an +example of cruelty as to persecute one another's dust, though hatred has +come between us in our lives. It will be a boast for the victor if he +has borne his beaten foe in a lordly funeral. For the man who pays the +rightful dues over his dead enemy wins the goodwill of the survivor; and +whoso devotes gentle dealing to him who is no more, conquers the living +by his kindness. Also there is another disaster, not less lamentable, +which sometimes befalls the living--the loss of some part of their body; +and I think that succor is due to this just as much as to the worst hap +that may befall. For often those who fight keep their lives safe, but +suffer maiming; and this lot is commonly thought more dismal than any +death; for death cuts off memory of all things, while the living cannot +forget the devastation of his own body. Therefore this mischief also +must be helped somehow; so let it be agreed, that the injury of either +of us by the other shall be made good with ten talents (marks) of gold. +For if it be righteous to have compassion on the calamities of another, +how much more is it to pity one's own? No man but obeys nature's +prompting; and he who slights it is a self-murderer." + +After mutually pledging their faiths to these terms, they began the +battle. Nor was their strangeness his meeting one another, nor the +sweetness of that spring-green spot, so heeded as to prevent them from +the fray. Horwendil, in his too great ardour, became keener to attack +his enemy than to defend his own body; and, heedless of his shield, had +grasped his sword with both hands; and his boldness did not fail. For by +his rain of blows he destroyed Koller's shield and deprived him of it, +and at last hewed off his foot and drove him lifeless to the ground. +Then, not to fail of his compact, he buried him royally, gave him a howe +of lordly make and pompous obsequies. Then he pursued and slew Koller's +sister Sela, who was a skilled warrior and experienced in roving. + +He had now passed three years in valiant deeds of war; and, in order to +win higher rank in Rorik's favour, he assigned to him the best trophies +and the pick of the plunder. His friendship with Rorik enabled him +to woo and will in marriage his daughter Gerutha, who bore him a son +Amleth. + +Such great good fortune stung Feng with jealousy, so that he resolved +treacherously to waylay his brother, thus showing that goodness is not +safe even from those of a man's own house. And behold, when a chance +came to murder him, his bloody hand sated the deadly passion of his +soul. Then he took the wife of the brother he had butchered, capping +unnatural murder with incest. For whoso yields to one iniquity, speedily +falls an easier victim to the next, the first being an incentive to +the second. Also, the man veiled the monstrosity of his deed with such +hardihood of cunning, that he made up a mock pretence of goodwill +to excuse his crime, and glossed over fratricide with a show of +righteousness. Gerutha, said he, though so gentle that she would do no +man the slightest hurt, had been visited with her husband's extremest +hate; and it was all to save her that he had slain his brother; for he +thought it shameful that a lady so meek and unrancorous should suffer +the heavy disdain of her husband. Nor did his smooth words fail in their +intent; for at courts, where fools are sometimes favoured and backbiters +preferred, a lie lacks not credit. Nor did Feng keep from shameful +embraces the hands that had slain a brother; pursuing with equal guilt +both of his wicked and impious deeds. + +Amleth beheld all this, but feared lest too shrewd a behaviour might +make his uncle suspect him. So he chose to feign dulness, and pretend +an utter lack of wits. This cunning course not only concealed his +intelligence but ensured his safety. Every day he remained in his +mother's house utterly listless and unclean, flinging himself on the +ground and bespattering his person with foul and filthy dirt. His +discoloured face and visage smutched with slime denoted foolish and +grotesque madness. All he said was of a piece with these follies; all +he did savoured of utter lethargy. In a word, you would not have thought +him a man at all, but some absurd abortion due to a mad fit of destiny. +He used at times to sit over the fire, and, raking up the embers with +his hands, to fashion wooden crooks, and harden them in the fire, +shaping at their lips certain barbs, to make them hold more tightly +to their fastenings. When asked what he was about, he said that he was +preparing sharp javelins to avenge his father. This answer was not a +little scoffed at, all men deriding his idle and ridiculous pursuit; but +the thing helped his purpose afterwards. Now it was his craft in this +matter that first awakened in the deeper observers a suspicion of his +cunning. For his skill in a trifling art betokened the hidden talent of +the craftsman; nor could they believe the spirit dull where the hand had +acquired so cunning a workmanship. Lastly, he always watched with the +most punctual care over his pile of stakes that he had pointed in the +fire. Some people, therefore, declared that his mind was quick enough, +and fancied that he only played the simpleton in order to hide his +understanding, and veiled some deep purpose under a cunning feint. His +wiliness (said these) would be most readily detected, if a fair woman +were put in his way in some secluded place, who should provoke his mind +to the temptations of love; all men's natural temper being too blindly +amorous to be artfully dissembled, and this passion being also too +impetuous to be checked by cunning. Therefore, if his lethargy were +feigned, he would seize the opportunity, and yield straightway to +violent delights. So men were commissioned to draw the young man in +his rides into a remote part of the forest, and there assail him with a +temptation of this nature. Among these chanced to be a foster-brother of +Amleth, who had not ceased to have regard to their common nurture; +and who esteemed his present orders less than the memory of their past +fellowship. He attended Amleth among his appointed train, being anxious +not to entrap, but to warn him; and was persuaded that he would suffer +the worst if he showed the slightest glimpse of sound reason, and above +all if he did the act of love openly. This was also plain enough to +Amleth himself. For when he was bidden mount his horse, he deliberately +set himself in such a fashion that he turned his back to the neck and +faced about, fronting the tail; which he proceeded to encompass with the +reins, just as if on that side he would check the horse in its furious +pace. By this cunning thought he eluded the trick, and overcame the +treachery of his uncle. The reinless steed galloping on, with rider +directing its tail, was ludicrous enough to behold. + +Amleth went on, and a wolf crossed his path amid the thicket. When his +companions told him that a young colt had met him, he retorted, that in +Feng's stud there were too few of that kind fighting. This was a gentle +but witty fashion of invoking a curse upon his uncle's riches. When +they averred that he had given a cunning answer, he answered that he had +spoken deliberately; for he was loth, to be thought prone to lying +about any matter, and wished to be held a stranger to falsehood; and +accordingly he mingled craft and candour in such wise that, though his +words did lack truth, yet there was nothing to betoken the truth and +betray how far his keenness went. + +Again, as he passed along the beach, his companions found the rudder +of a ship, which had been wrecked, and said they had discovered a huge +knife. "This," said he, "was the right thing to carve such a huge ham;" +by which he really meant the sea, to whose infinitude, he thought, this +enormous rudder matched. Also, as they passed the sandhills, and bade +him look at the meal, meaning the sand, he replied that it had been +ground small by the hoary tempests of the ocean. His companions praising +his answer, he said that he had spoken it wittingly. Then they purposely +left him, that he might pluck up more courage to practise wantonness. +The woman whom his uncle had dispatched met him in a dark spot, as +though she had crossed him by chance; and he took her and would have +ravished her, had not his foster-brother, by a secret device, given him +an inkling of the trap. For this man, while pondering the fittest way +to play privily the prompter's part, and forestall the young man's +hazardous lewdness, found a straw on the ground and fastened it +underneath the tail of a gadfly that was flying past; which he then +drove towards the particular quarter where he knew Amleth to be: an +act which served the unwary prince exceedingly well. The token was +interpreted as shrewdly as it had been sent. For Amleth saw the gadfly, +espied with curiosity the straw which it wore embedded in its tail, and +perceived that it was a secret warning to beware of treachery. Alarmed, +scenting a trap, and fain to possess his desire in greater safety, he +caught up the woman in his arms and dragged her off to a distant and +impenetrable fen. Moreover, when they had lain together, he conjured her +earnestly to disclose the matter to none, and the promise of silence was +accorded as heartily as it was asked. For both of them had been under +the same fostering in their childhood; and this early rearing in common +had brought Amleth and the girl into great intimacy. + +So, when he had returned home, they all jeeringly asked him whether he +had given way to love, and he avowed that he had ravished the maid. When +he was next asked where he did it, and what had been his pillow, he said +that he had rested upon the hoof of a beast of burden, upon a cockscomb, +and also upon a ceiling. For, when he was starting into temptation, he +had gathered fragments of all these things, in order to avoid lying. And +though his jest did not take aught of the truth out of the story, the +answer was greeted with shouts of merriment from the bystanders. The +maiden, too, when questioned on the matter, declared that he had done +no such thing; and her denial was the more readily credited when it was +found that the escort had not witnessed the deed. Then he who had marked +the gadfly in order to give a hint, wishing to show Amleth that to his +trick he owed his salvation, observed that latterly he had been singly +devoted to Amleth. The young man's reply was apt. Not to seem forgetful +of his informant's service, he said that he had seen a certain thing +bearing a straw flit by suddenly, wearing a stalk of chaff fixed in its +hinder parts. The cleverness of this speech, which made the rest split +with laughter, rejoiced the heart of Amleth's friend. + +Thus all were worsted, and none could open the secret lock of the young +man's wisdom. But a friend of Feng, gifted more with assurance than +judgment, declared that the unfathomable cunning of such a mind could +not be detected by any vulgar plot, for the man's obstinacy was so great +that it ought not to be assailed with any mild measures; there were +many sides to his wiliness, and it ought not to be entrapped by any one +method. Accordingly, said he, his own profounder acuteness had hit on +a more delicate way, which was well fitted to be put in practice, and +would effectually discover what they desired to know. Feng was purposely +to absent himself, pretending affairs of great import. Amleth should be +closeted alone with his mother in her chamber; but a man should first be +commissioned to place himself in a concealed part of the room and listen +heedfully to what they talked about. For if the son had any wits at all +he would not hesitate to speak out in the hearing of his mother, or fear +to trust himself to the fidelity of her who bore him. The speaker, +loth to seem readier to devise than to carry out the plot, zealously +proffered himself as the agent of the eavesdropping. Feng rejoiced at +the scheme, and departed on pretence of a long journey. Now he who had +given this counsel repaired privily to the room where Amleth was shut up +with his mother, and lay flown skulking in the straw. But Amleth had +his antidote for the treachery. Afraid of being overheard by some +eavesdropper, he at first resorted to his usual imbecile ways, and +crowed like a noisy cock, beating his arms together to mimic the +flapping of wings. Then he mounted the straw and began to swing his +body and jump again and again, wishing to try if aught lurked there in +hiding. Feeling a lump beneath his feet, he drove his sword into +the spot, and impaled him who lay hid. Then he dragged him from his +concealment and slew him. Then, cutting his body into morsels, he +seethed it in boiling water, and flung it through the mouth of an +open sewer for the swine to eat, bestrewing the stinking mire with his +hapless limbs. Having in this wise eluded the snare, he went back to the +room. Then his mother set up a great wailing, and began to lament her +son's folly to his face; but he said: "Most infamous of women; dost +thou seek with such lying lamentations to hide thy most heavy guilt? +Wantoning like a harlot, thou hast entered a wicked and abominable state +of wedlock, embracing with incestuous bosom thy husband's slayer, and +wheedling with filthy lures of blandishment him who had slain the father +of thy son. This, forsooth, is the way that the mares couple with the +vanquishers of their mates; for brute beasts are naturally incited to +pair indiscriminately; and it would seem that thou, like them, hast +clean forgot thy first husband. As for me, not idly do I wear the mask +of folly; for I doubt not that he who destroyed his brother will riot as +ruthlessly in the blood of his kindred. Therefore it is better to choose +the garb of dulness than that of sense, and to borrow some protection +from a show of utter frenzy. Yet the passion to avenge my father still +burns in my heart; but I am watching the chances, I await the fitting +hour. There is a place for all things; against so merciless and dark +spirit must be used the deeper devices of the mind. And thou, who +hadst been better employed in lamenting thine own disgrace, know it is +superfluity to bewail my witlessness; thou shouldst weep for the blemish +in thine own mind, not for that in another's. On the rest see thou +keep silence." With such reproaches he rent the heart of his mother +and redeemed her to walk in the ways of virtue; teaching her to set the +fires of the past above the seductions of the present. + +When Feng returned, nowhere could he find the man who had suggested the +treacherous espial; he searched for him long and carefully, but none +said they had seen him anywhere. Amleth, among others, was asked in jest +if he had come on any trace of him, and replied that the man had gone +to the sewer, but had fallen through its bottom and been stifled by the +floods of filth, and that he had then been devoured by the swine that +came up all about that place. This speech was flouted by those who +heard; for it seemed senseless, though really it expressly avowed the +truth. + +Feng now suspected that his stepson was certainly full of guile, and +desired to make away with him, but durst not do the deed for fear of the +displeasure, not only of Amleth's grandsire Rorik, but also of his own +wife. So he thought that the King of Britain should be employed to +slay him, so that another could do the deed, and he be able to feign +innocence. Thus, desirous to hide his cruelty, he chose rather to +besmirch his friend than to bring disgrace on his own head. Amleth, on +departing, gave secret orders to his mother to hang the hall with +woven knots, and to perform pretended obsequies for him a year thence; +promising that he would then return. Two retainers of Feng then +accompanied him, bearing a letter graven on wood--a kind of writing +material frequent in old times; this letter enjoined the king of the +Britons to put to death the youth who was sent over to him. While they +were reposing, Amleth searched their coffers, found the letter, and read +the instructions therein. Whereupon he erased all the writing on the +surface, substituted fresh characters, and so, changing the purport of +the instructions, shifted his own doom upon his companions. Nor was he +satisfied with removing from himself the sentence of death and passing +the peril on to others, but added an entreaty that the King of Britain +would grant his daughter in marriage to a youth of great judgment whom +he was sending to him. Under this was falsely marked the signature of +Feng. + +Now when they had reached Britain, the envoys went to the king, and +proffered him the letter which they supposed was an implement of +destruction to another, but which really betokened death to themselves. +The king dissembled the truth, and entreated them hospitably and kindly. +Then Amleth scouted all the splendour of the royal banquet like vulgar +viands, and abstaining very strangely, rejected that plenteous feast, +refraining from the drink even as from the banquet. All marvelled that +a youth and a foreigner should disdain the carefully cooked dainties of +the royal board and the luxurious banquet provided, as if it were +some peasant's relish. So, when the revel broke up, and the king was +dismissing his friends to rest, he had a man sent into the sleeping-room +to listen secretly, in order that he might hear the midnight +conversation of his guests. Now, when Amleth's companions asked him why +he had refrained from the feast of yestereve, as if it were poison, he +answered that the bread was flecked with blood and tainted; that there +was a tang of iron in the liquor; while the meats of the feast reeked of +the stench of a human carcase, and were infected by a kind of smack of +the odour of the charnel. He further said that the king had the eyes of +a slave, and that the queen had in three ways shown the behaviour of a +bondmaid. Thus he reviled with insulting invective not so much the feast +as its givers. And presently his companions, taunting him with his old +defect of wits, began to flout him with many saucy jeers, because he +blamed and cavilled at seemly and worthy things, and because he attacked +thus ignobly an illustrious king and a lady of so refined a behaviour, +bespattering with the shamefullest abuse those who merited all praise. + +All this the king heard from his retainer; and declared that he who +could say such things had either more than mortal wisdom or more than +mortal folly; in these few words fathoming the full depth of Amleth's +penetration. Then he summoned his steward and asked him whence he had +procured the bread. The steward declared that it had been made by the +king's own baker. The king asked where the corn had grown of which it +was made, and whether any sign was to be found there of human carnage? +The other answered, that not far off was a field, covered with the +ancient bones of slaughtered men, and still bearing plainly all the +signs of ancient carnage; and that he had himself planted this field +with grain in springtide, thinking it more fruitful than the rest, and +hoping for plenteous abundance; and so, for aught he knew, the bread had +caught some evil savour from this bloodshed. The king, on hearing this, +surmised that Amleth had spoken truly, and took the pains to learn also +what had been the source of the lard. The other declared that his hogs +had, through negligence, strayed from keeping, and battened on the +rotten carcase of a robber, and that perchance their pork had thus come +to have something of a corrupt smack. The king, finding that Amletll's +judgment was right in this thing also, asked of what liquor the steward +had mixed the drink? Hearing that it had been brewed of water and meal, +he had the spot of the spring pointed out to him, and set to digging +deep down; and there he found, rusted away, several swords, the tang +whereof it was thought had tainted the waters. Others relate that Amleth +blamed the drink because, while quaffing it, he had detected some bees +that had fed in the paunch of a dead man; and that the taint, which had +formerly been imparted to the combs, had reappeared in the taste. The +king, seeing that Amleth had rightly given the causes of the taste he +had found so faulty, and learning that the ignoble eyes wherewith Amleth +had reproached him concerned some stain upon his birth, had a secret +interview with his mother, and asked her who his father had really +been. She said she had submitted to no man but the king. But when he +threatened that he would have the truth out of her by a trial, he was +told that he was the offspring of a slave. By the evidence of the avowal +thus extorted he understood the whole mystery of the reproach upon +his origin. Abashed as he was with shame for his low estate, he was so +ravished with the young man's cleverness, that he asked him why he had +aspersed the queen with the reproach that she had demeaned herself like +a slave? But while resenting that the courtliness of his wife had been +accused in the midnight gossip of guest, he found that her mother had +been a bondmaid. For Amleth said he had noted in her three blemishes +showing the demeanor of a slave; first, she had muffled her head in +her mantle as handmaids do; next, that she had gathered up her gown for +walking; and thirdly, that she had first picked out with a splinter, and +then chewed up, the remnant of food that stuck in the crevices between +her teeth. Further, he mentioned that the king's mother had been brought +into slavery from captivity, lest she should seem servile only in her +habits, yet not in her birth. + +Then the king adored the wisdom of Amleth as though it were inspired, +and gave him his daughter to wife; accepting his bare word as though it +were a witness from the skies. Moreover, in order to fulfil the bidding +of his friend, he hanged Amleth's companions on the morrow. Amleth, +feigning offence, treated this piece of kindness as a grievance, and +received from the king, as compensation, some gold, which he afterwards +melted in the fire, and secretly caused to be poured into some hollowed +sticks. + +When he had passed a whole year with the king he obtained leave to +make a journey, and returned to his own land, carrying away of all +his princely wealth and state only the sticks which held the gold. +On reaching Jutland, he exchanged his present attire for his ancient +demeanour, which he had adopted for righteous ends, purposely assuming +an aspect of absurdity. Covered with filth, he entered the banquet-room +where his own obsequies were being held, and struck all men utterly +aghast, rumour having falsely noised abroad his death. At last terror +melted into mirth, and the guests jeered and taunted one another, that +he whose last rites they were celebrating as through he were dead, +should appear in the flesh. When he was asked concerning his comrades, +he pointed to the sticks he was carrying, and said, "Here is both the +one and the other." This he observed with equal truth and pleasantry; +for his speech, though most thought it idle, yet departed not from the +truth; for it pointed at the weregild of the slain as though it were +themselves. Thereon, wishing to bring the company into a gayer mood, +he jollied the cupbearers, and diligently did the office of plying the +drink. Then, to prevent his loose dress hampering his walk, he girdled +his sword upon his side, and purposely drawing it several times, pricked +his fingers with its point. The bystanders accordingly had both sword +and scabbard riveted across with all iron nail. Then, to smooth the way +more safely to his plot, he went to the lords and plied them heavily +with draught upon draught, and drenched them all so deep in wine, that +their feet were made feeble with drunkenness, and they turned to rest +within the palace, making their bed where they had revelled. Then he +saw they were in a fit state for his plots, and thought that here was a +chance offered to do his purpose. So he took out of his bosom the stakes +he has long ago prepared, and went into the building, where the ground +lay covered with the bodies of the nobles wheezing off their sleep and +their debauch. Then, cutting away its support, he brought down the +hanging his mother had knitted, which covered the inner as well as +the outer walls of the hall. This he flung upon the snorers, and then +applying the crooked stakes, he knotted and bound them up in such +insoluble intricacy, that not one of the men beneath, however hard he +might struggle, could contrive to rise. After this he set fire to the +palace. The flames spread, scattering the conflagration far and wide. It +enveloped the whole dwelling, destroyed the palace, and burnt them all +while they were either buried in deep sleep or vainly striving to arise. +Then he went to the chamber of Feng, who had before this been conducted +by his train into his pavilion; plucked up a sword that chanced to be +hanging to the bed, and planted his own in its place. Then, awakening +his uncle, he told him that his nobles were perishing in the flames, and +that Amleth was here, armed with his crooks to help him, and thirsting +to exact the vengeance, now long overdue, for his father's murder. Feng, +on hearing this, leapt from his couch, but was cut down while deprived +of his own sword, and as he strove in vain to draw the strange one. O +valiant Amleth, and worthy of immortal fame, who being shrewdly armed +with a feint of folly, covered a wisdom too high for human wit under +a marvellous disguise of silliness! And not only found in his subtlety +means to protect his own safety, but also by its guidance found +opportunity to avenge his father. By this skilful defence of himself, +and strenuous revenge for his parent, he has left it doubtful whether we +are to think more of his wit or his bravery. (3) + + ENDNOTES: + (1) Saxo now goes back to the history of Denmark. All the + events hitherto related in Bk. III, after the first + paragraph, are a digression in retrospect. + (2) M. conjectures that this was a certain Harald, the bastard + son of Erik the Good, and a wild and dissolute man, who died + in 1135, not long before the probable date of Saxo's birth. + (3) Shakespere's tragedy, "Hamlet", is derived from this story. + + + + +BOOK FOUR. + +Amleth, when he had accomplished the slaughter of his stepfather, feared +to expose his deed to the fickle judgment of his countrymen, and thought +it well to lie in hiding till he had learnt what way the mob of the +uncouth populace was tending. So the whole neighbourhood, who had +watched the blaze during the night, and in the morning desired to know +the cause of the fire they had seen, perceived the royal palace fallen +in ashes; and, on searching through its ruins, which were yet warm, +found only some shapeless remains of burnt corpses. For the devouring +flame had consumed everything so utterly that not a single token was +left to inform them of the cause of such a disaster. Also they saw the +body of Feng lying pierced by the sword, amid his blood-stained raiment. +Some were seized with open anger, others with grief, and some with +secret delight. One party bewailed the death of their leader, the other +gave thanks that the tyranny of the fratricide was now laid at rest. +Thus the occurrence of the king's slaughter was greeted by the beholders +with diverse minds. + +Amleth, finding the people so quiet, made bold to leave his hiding. +Summoning those in whom he knew the memory of his father to be +fast-rooted, he went to the assembly and there made a speech after this +manner: + +"Nobles! Let not any who are troubled by the piteous end of Horwendil +be worried by the sight of this disaster before you; be not ye, I say, +distressed, who have remained loyal to your king and duteous to your +father. Behold the corpse, not of a prince, but of a fratricide. Indeed, +it was a sorrier sight when ye saw our prince lying lamentably butchered +by a most infamous fratricide-brother, let me not call him. With your +own compassionating eyes ye have beheld the mangled limbs of Horwendil; +they have seen his body done to death with many wounds. Surely that most +abominable butcher only deprived his king of life that he might despoil +his country of freedom! The hand that slew him made you slaves. Who +then so mad as to choose Feng the cruel before Horwendil the righteous? +Remember how benignantly Horwendil fostered you, how justly he dealt +with you, how kindly he loved you. Remember how you lost the mildest of +princes and the justest of fathers, while in his place was put a tyrant +and an assassin set up; how your rights were confiscated; how everything +was plague-stricken; how the country was stained with infamies; how the +yoke was planted on your necks, and how, your free will was forfeited! +And now all this is over; for ye see the criminal stifled in his own +crimes, the slayer of his kin punished for his misdoings. What man of +but ordinary wit, beholding it, would account this kindness a wrong? +What sane man could be sorry that the crime has recoiled upon the +culprit? Who could lament the killing of a most savage executioner? Or +bewail the righteous death of a most cruel despot? Ye behold the doer of +the deed; he is before you. Yea, I own that I have taken vengeance for +my country and my father. Your hands were equally bound to the task +which mine fulfilled. What it would have beseemed you to accomplish with +me, I achieved alone. Nor had I any partner in so glorious a deed, or +the service of any man to help me. Not that I forget that you would have +helped this work, had I asked you; for doubtless you have remained loyal +to your king and loving to your prince. But I chose that the wicked +should be punished without imperilling you; I thought that others need +not set their shoulders to the burden when I deemed mine strong enough +to bear it. Therefore I consumed all the others to ashes, and left only +the trunk of Feng for your hands to burn, so that on this at least +you may wreak all your longing for a righteous vengeance. Now haste up +speedily, heap the pyre, burn up the body of the wicked, consume away +his guilty limbs, scatter his sinful ashes, strew broadcast his ruthless +dust; let no urn or barrow enclose the abominable remnants of his bones. +Let no trace of his fratricide remain; let there be no spot in his own +land for his tainted limbs; let no neighbourhood suck infection from +him; let not sea nor soil be defiled by harboring his accursed carcase. +I have done the rest; this one loyal duty is left for you. These must be +the tyrant's obsequies, this the funeral procession of the fratricide. +It is not seemly that he who stripped his country of her freedom should +have his ashes covered by his country's earth. + +"Besides, why tell again my own sorrows? Why count over my troubles? +Why weave the thread of my miseries anew? Ye know them more fully than I +myself. I, pursued to the death by my stepfather, scorned by my mother, +spat upon by friends, have passed my years in pitiable wise, and my days +in adversity; and my insecure life has teemed with fear and perils. +In fine, I passed every season of my age wretchedly and in extreme +calamity. Often in your secret murmurings together you have sighed over +my lack of wits; there was none (you said) to avenge the father, none +to punish the fratricide. And in this I found a secret testimony of your +love; for I saw that the memory of the King's murder had not yet faded +from your minds. + +"Whose breast is so hard that it can be softened by no fellow-feeling +for what I have felt? Who is so stiff and stony, that he is swayed by +no compassion for my griefs? Ye whose hands are clean of the blood of +Horwendil, pity your fosterling, be moved by my calamities. Pity also my +stricken mother, and rejoice with me that the infamy of her who was once +your queen is quenched. For this weak woman had to bear a twofold weight +of ignominy, embracing one who was her husband's brother and murderer. +Therefore, to hide my purpose of revenge and to veil my wit, I +counterfeited a listless bearing; I feigned dulness; I planned a +stratagem; and now you can see with your own eyes whether it has +succeeded, whether it has achieved its purpose to the full; I am content +to leave you to judge so great a matter. It is your turn; trample under +foot the ashes of the murderer! Disdain the dust of him who slew his +brother, and defiled his brother's queen with infamous desecration, who +outraged his sovereign and treasonably assailed his majesty, who +brought the sharpest tyranny upon you, stole your freedom, and crowned +fratricide with incest. I have been the agent of this just vengeance; I +have burned for this righteous retribution; uphold me with a high-born +spirit; pay me the homage that you owe; warm me with your kindly looks. +It is I who have wiped off my country's shame; I who have quenched my +mother's dishonour; I who have beaten back oppression; I who have put to +death the murderer; I who have baffled the artful hand of my uncle with +retorted arts. Were he living, each new day would have multiplied his +crimes. I resented the wrong done to father and to fatherland: I slew +him who was governing you outrageously and more hardly than it beseemed +men. Acknowledge my service, honour my wit, give me the throne if I have +earned it; for you have in me one who has done you a mighty service, and +who is no degenerate heir to his father's power; no fratricide, but the +lawful successor to the throne; and a dutiful avenger of the crime of +murder. It is I who have stripped you of slavery, and clothed you with +freedom; I have restored your height of fortune, and given you your +glory back; I have deposed the despot and triumphed over the butcher. +In your hands is the reward; you know what I have done for you, and from +your righteousness I ask my wage." + +Every heart had been moved while the young man thus spoke; he affected +some to compassion, and some even to tears. When the lamentation ceased, +he was appointed king by prompt and general acclaim. For one and all +rested their greatest hopes on his wisdom, since he had devised the +whole of such an achievement with the deepest cunning, and accomplished +it with the most astonishing contrivance. Many could have been seen +marvelling how he had concealed so subtle a plan over so long a space of +time. + +After these deeds in Denmark, Amleth equipped three vessels, and went +back to Britain to see his wife and her father. He had also enrolled in +his service the flower of the warriors, and arrayed them very choicely, +wishing to have everything now magnificently appointed, even as of old +he had always worn contemptible gear, and to change all his old devotion +to poverty for outlay on luxury. He also had a shield made for him, +whereon the whole series of his exploits, beginning with his earliest +youth, was painted in exquisite designs. This he bore as a record of his +deeds of prowess, and gained great increase of fame thereby. Here were +to be seen depicted the slaying of Horwendil; the fratricide and incest +of Feng; the infamous uncle, the whimsical nephew; the shapes of the +hooked stakes; the stepfather suspecting, the stepson dissembling; the +various temptations offered, and the woman brought to beguile him; the +gaping wolf; the finding of the rudder; the passing of the sand; the +entering of the wood; the putting of the straw through the gadfly; the +warning of the youth by the tokens; and the privy dealings with the +maiden after the escort was eluded. And likewise could be seen the +picture of the palace; the queen there with her son; the slaying of the +eavesdropper; and how, after being killed, he was boiled down, and so +dropped into the sewer, and so thrown out to the swine; how his limbs +were strewn in the mud, and so left for the beasts to finish. Also +it could be seen how Amleth surprised the secret of his sleeping +attendants, how he erased the letters, and put new characters in their +places; how he disdained the banquet and scorned the drink; how +he condemned time face of the king and taxed the Queen with faulty +behaviour. There was also represented the hanging of the envoys, and +the young man's wedding; then the voyage back to Denmark; the festive +celebration of the funeral rites; Amleth, in answer to questions, +pointing to the sticks in place of his attendants, acting as cupbearer, +and purposely drawing his sword and pricking his fingers; the sword +riveted through, the swelling cheers of the banquet, the dance growing +fast and furious; the hangings flung upon the sleepers, then fastened +with the interlacing crooks, and wrapped tightly round them as they +slumbered; the brand set to the mansion, the burning of the guests, the +royal palace consumed with fire and tottering down; the visit to the +sleeping-room of Feng, the theft of his sword, the useless one set +in its place; and the king slain with his own sword's point by his +stepson's hand. All this was there, painted upon Amleth's battle-shield +by a careful craftsman in the choicest of handiwork; he copied truth in +his figures, and embodied real deeds in his outlines. Moreover, Amleth's +followers, to increase the splendour of their presence, wore shields +which were gilt over. + +The King of Britain received them very graciously, and treated them with +costly and royal pomp. During the feast he asked anxiously whether Feng +was alive and prosperous. His son-in-law told him that the man of whose +welfare he was vainly inquiring had perished by the sword. With a flood +of questions he tried to find out who had slain Feng, and learnt that +the messenger of his death was likewise its author. And when the king +heard this, he was secretly aghast, because he found that an old promise +to avenge Feng now devolved upon himself. For Feng and he had determined +of old, by a mutual compact, that one of them should act as avenger of +the other. Thus the king was drawn one way by his love for his daughter +and his affection for his son-in-law; another way by his regard for his +friend, and moreover by his strict oath and the sanctity of their mutual +declarations, which it was impious to violate. At last he slighted +the ties of kinship, and sworn faith prevailed. His heart turned to +vengeance, and he put the sanctity of his oath before family bonds. +But since it was thought sin to wrong the holy ties of hospitality, he +preferred to execrate his revenge by the hand of another, wishing +to mask his secret crime with a show of innocence. So he veiled his +treachery with attentions, and hid his intent to harm under a show of +zealous goodwill. His queen having lately died of illness, he requested +Amleth to undertake the mission of making him a fresh match, saying that +he was highly delighted with his extraordinary shrewdness. He declared +that there was a certain queen reigning in Scotland, whom he vehemently +desired to marry. Now he knew that she was not only unwedded by reason +of her chastity, but that in the cruelty of her arrogance she had +always loathed her wooers, and had inflicted on her lovers the uttermost +punishment, so that not one but of all the multitude was to be found who +had not paid for his insolence with his life. + +Perilous as this commission was Amleth started, never shrinking to obey +the duty imposed upon him, but trusting partly in his own servants, and +partly in the attendants of the king. He entered Scotland, and, when +quite close to the abode of the queen, he went into a meadow by the +wayside to rest his horses. Pleased by the look of the spot, he thought +of resting--the pleasant prattle of the stream exciting a desire to +sleep--and posted men to keep watch some way off. The queen on hearing +of this, sent out ten warriors to spy on the approach of the foreigners +and their equipment. One of these, being quick-witted, slipped past +the sentries, pertinaciously made his way up, and took away the shield, +which Amleth had chanced to set at his head before he slept, so gently +that he did not ruffle his slumbers, though he was lying upon it, nor +awaken one man of all that troop; for he wished to assure his mistress +not only by report but by some token. With equal address he filched the +letter entrusted to Amleth from the coffer in which it was kept. When +these things were brought to the queen, she scanned the shield narrowly, +and from the notes appended made out the whole argument. Then she knew +that here was the man who, trusting in his own nicely calculated scheme, +had avenged on his uncle the murder of his father. She also looked at +the letter containing the suit for her band, and rubbed out all the +writing; for wedlock with the old she utterly abhorred, and desired +the embraces of young men. But she wrote in its place a commission +purporting to be sent from the King of Britain to herself, signed like +the other with his name and title, wherein she pretended that she was +asked to marry the bearer. Moreover, she included an account of the +deeds of which she had learnt from Amleth's shield, so that one would +have thought the shield confirmed the letter, while the letter explained +the shield. Then she told the same spies whom she had employed before to +take the shield back, and put the letter in its place again; playing the +very trick on Amleth which, as she had learnt, he had himself used in +outwitting his companions. + +Amleth, meanwhile, who found that his shield had been filched from under +his head, deliberately shut his eyes and cunningly feigned sleep, hoping +to regain by pretended what he had lost by real slumbers. For he thought +that the success of his one attempt would incline the spy to deceive +him a second time. And he was not mistaken. For as the spy came up +stealthily, and wanted to put back the shield and the writing in their +old place, Amleth leapt up, seized him, and detained him in bonds. +Then he roused his retinue, and went to the abode of the queen. As +representing his father-in-law, he greeted her, and handled her +the writing, sealed with the king's seal. The queen, who was named +Hermutrude, took and read it, and spoke most warmly of Amleth's +diligence and shrewdness, saying, that Feng had deserved his punishment, +and that the unfathomable wit of Amleth had accomplished a deed past +all human estimation; seeing that not only had his impenetrable +depth devised a mode of revenging his father's death and his mother's +adultery, but it had further, by his notable deeds Of prowess, seized +the kingdom of the man whom he had found constantly plotting against +him. She marvelled therefore that a man of such instructed mind could +have made the one slip of a mistaken marriage; for though his renown +almost rose above mortality, he seemed to have stumbled into an obscure +and ignoble match. For the parents of his wife had been slaves, though +good luck had graced them with the honours of royalty. Now (said she), +when looking for a wife a wise man must reckon the lustre of her birth +and not of her beauty. Therefore, if he were to seek a match in a proper +spirit, he should weigh the ancestry, and not be smitten by the looks; +for though looks were a lure to temptation, yet their empty bedizenment +had tarnished the white simplicity of many a man. Now there was a woman, +as nobly born as himself, whom he could take. She herself, whose means +were not poor nor her birth lowly, was worthy his embraces, since he did +not surpass her in royal wealth nor outshine her in the honour of his +ancestors. Indeed she was a queen, and but that her sex gainsaid it, +might be deemed a king; may (and this is yet truer), whomsoever she +thought worthy of her bed was at once a king, and she yielded her +kingdom with herself. Thus her sceptre and her hand went together. It +was no mean favour for such a woman to offer her love, who in the case +of other men had always followed her refusal with the sword. Therefore +she pressed him to transfer his wooing, to make over to her his marriage +vows, and to learn to prefer birth to beauty. So saying, she fell upon +him with a close embrace. + +Amleth was overjoyed at the gracious speech of the maiden, fell to +kissing back, and returned her close embrace, protesting that the +maiden's wish was his own. Then a banquet was held, friends bidden, +the nobles gathered, and the marriage rites performed. When they were +accomplished, he went back to Britain with his bride, a strong band of +Scots being told to follow close behind, that he might have its help +against the diverse treacheries in his path. As he was returning, the +daughter of the King of Britain, to whom he was still married, met him. +Though she complained that she was slighted by the wrong of having a +paramour put over her, yet, she said, it would be unworthy for her to +hate him as an adulterer more than she loved him as a husband: nor would +she so far shrink from her lord as to bring herself to hide in silence +the guile which she knew was intended against him. For she had a son as +a pledge of their marriage, and regard for him, if nothing else, must +have inclined his mother to the affection of a wife. "He," she said, +"may hate the supplanter of his mother, I will love her; no disaster +shall put out my flame for thee; no ill-will shall quench it, or prevent +me from exposing the malignant designs against thee, or from revealing +the snares I have detected. Bethink thee, then, that thou must beware +of thy father-in-law, for thou hast thyself reaped the harvest of +thy mission, foiled the wishes of him who sent thee, and with willful +trespass seized over all the fruit for thyself." By this speech she +showed herself more inclined to love her husband than her father. + +While she thus spoke, the King of Britain came up and embraced his +son-in-law closely, but with little love, and welcomed him with a +banquet, to hide his intended guile under a show of generosity. But +Amleth, having learnt the deceit, dissembled his fear, took a retinue of +two hundred horsemen, put on an under-shirt (of mail), and complied +with the invitation, preferring the peril of falling in with the king's +deceit to the shame of hanging back. So much heed for honour did he +think that he must take in all things. As he rode up close, the king +attacked him just under the porch of the folding doors, and would have +thrust him through with his javelin, but that the hard shirt of mail +threw off the blade. Amleth received a slight wound, and went to the +spot where he had bidden the Scottish warriors wait on duty. He then +sent back to the king his new wife's spy, whom he had captured. This man +was to bear witness that he had secretly taken from the coffer where it +was kept the letter which was meant for his mistress, and thus was +to make the whole blame recoil on Hermutrude, by this studied excuse +absolving Amleth from the charge of treachery. The king without tarrying +pursued Amleth hotly as he fled, and deprived him of most of his forces. +So Amleth, on the morrow, wishing to fight for dear life, and utterly +despairing of his powers of resistance, tried to increase his apparent +numbers. He put stakes under some of the dead bodies of his comrades to +prop them up, set others on horseback like living men, and tied others +to neighbouring stones, not taking off any of their armour, and dressing +them in due order of line and wedge, just as if they were about to +engage. The wing composed of the dead was as thick as the troop of the +living. It was an amazing spectacle this, of dead men dragged out to +battle, and corpses mustered to fight. The plan served him well, for the +very figures of the dead men showed like a vast array as the sunbeams +struck them. For those dead and senseless shapes restored the original +number of the army so well, that the mass might have been unthinned by +the slaughter of yesterday. The Britons, terrified at the spectacle, +fled before fighting, conquered by the dead men whom they had overcome +in life. I cannot tell whether to think more of the cunning or of the +good fortune of this victory. The Danes came down on the king as he was +tardily making off, and killed him. Amleth, triumphant, made a great +plundering, seized the spoils of Britain, and went back with his wives +to his own land. + +Meanwhile Rorik had died, and Wiglek, who had come to the throne, had +harassed Amleth's mother with all manner of insolence and stripped her +of her royal wealth, complaining that her son had usurped the kingdom of +Jutland and defrauded the King of Leire, who had the sole privilege of +giving and taking away the rights of high offices. This treatment Amleth +took with such forbearance as apparently to return kindness for slander, +for he presented Wiglek with the richest of his spoils. But afterwards +he seized a chance of taking vengeance, attacked him, subdued him, and +from a covert became an open foe. Fialler, the governor of Skaane, he +drove into exile; and the tale is that Fialler retired to a spot +called Undensakre, which is unknown to our peoples. After this, +Wiglek, recruited with the forces of Skaane and Zealand, sent envoys to +challenge Amleth to a war. Amleth, with his marvellous shrewdness, +saw that he was tossed between two difficulties, one of which involved +disgrace and the other danger. For he knew that if he took up the +challenge he was threatened with peril of his life, while to shrink from +it would disgrace his reputation as a soldier. Yet in that spirit ever +fixed on deeds of prowess the desire to save his honour won the day. +Dread of disaster was blunted by more vehement thirst for glory; he +would not tarnish the unblemished lustre of his fame by timidly skulking +from his fate. Also he saw that there is almost as wide a gap between a +mean life and a noble death as that which is acknowledged between honour +and disgrace themselves. + +Yet Amleth was enchained by such great love for Hermutrude, that he was +more deeply concerned in his mind about her future widowhood than about +his own death, and cast about very zealously how he could decide on +some second husband for her before the opening of the war. Hermutrude, +therefore, declared that she had the courage of a man, and promised that +she would not forsake him even on the field, saying that the woman who +dreaded to be united with her lord in death was abominable. But she +kept this rare promise ill; for when Amleth had been slain by Wiglek in +battle in Jutland, she yielded herself up unasked to be the conqueror's +spoil and bride. Thus all vows of woman are loosed by change of fortune +and melted by the shifting of time; the faith of their soul rests on a +slippery foothold, and is weakened by casual chances; glib in promises, +and as sluggish in performance, all manner of lustful promptings enslave +it, and it bounds away with panting and precipitate desire, forgetful +of old things in the ever hot pursuit after something fresh. So ended +Amleth. Had fortune been as kind to him as nature, he would have +equalled the gods in glory, and surpassed the labours of Hercules by his +deeds of prowess. A plain in Jutland is to be found, famous for his name +and burial-place. Wiglek's administration of the kingdom was long and +peaceful, and he died of disease. + +WERMUND, his son, succeeded him. The long and leisurely tranquillity of +a most prosperous and quiet time flowed by and Wermund in undisturbed +security maintained a prolonged and steady peace at home. He had no +children during the prime of his life, but in his old age, by a belated +gift of fortune, he begat a son, Uffe, though all the years which had +glided by had raised him up no offspring. This Uffe surpassed all of his +age in stature, but in his early youth was supposed to have so dull and +foolish a spirit as to be useless for all affairs public or private. +For from his first years he never used to play or make merry, but was so +void of all human pleasure that he kept his lips sealed in a perennial +silence, and utterly restrained his austere visage from the business of +laughter. But though through the years of his youth he was reputed +for an utter fool, he afterwards left that despised estate and became +famous, turning out as great a pattern of wisdom and hardihood as he had +been a picture of stagnation. His father, seeing him such a simpleton, +got him for a wife the daughter of Frowin, the governor of the men of +Sleswik; thinking that by his alliance with so famous a man Uffe would +receive help which would serve him well in administering the realm. +Frowin had two sons, Ket and Wig, who were youths of most brilliant +parts, and their excellence, not less than that of Frowin, Wermund +destined to the future advantage of his son. + +At this time the King of Sweden was Athisl, a man of notable fame and +energy. After defeating his neighbours far around, he was loth to leave +the renown won by his prowess to be tarnished in slothful ease, and by +constant and zealous practice brought many novel exercises into vogue. +For one thing he had a daily habit of walking alone girt with splendid +armour: in part because he knew that nothing was more excellent in +warfare than the continual practice of arms; and in part that he might +swell his glory by ever following this pursuit. Self-confidence claimed +as large a place in this man as thirst for fame. Nothing, he thought, +could be so terrible as to make him afraid that it would daunt his +stout heart by its opposition. He carried his arms into Denmark, and +challenged Frowin to battle near Sleswik. The armies routed one another +with vast slaughter, and it happened that the generals came to engage in +person, so that they conducted the affair like a duel; and, in addition +to the public issues of the war, the fight was like a personal conflict. +For both of them longed with equal earnestness for an issue of the +combat by which they might exhibit their valour, not by the help of +their respective sides, but by a trial of personal strength. The end was +that, though the blows rained thick on either side, Athisl prevailed and +overthrew Frowin, and won a public victory as well as a duel, breaking +up and shattering the Danish ranks in all directions. When he returned +to Sweden, he not only counted the slaying of Frowin among the trophies +of his valour, but even bragged of it past measure, so ruining the glory +of the deed by his wantonness of tongue. For it is sometimes handsomer +for deeds of valour to be shrouded in the modesty of silence than to be +blazoned in wanton talk. + +Wermund raised the sons of Frowin to honours of the same rank as their +father's, a kindness which was only due to the children of his friend +who had died for the country. This prompted Athisl to carry the war +again into Denmark. Emboldened therefore by his previous battle, he +called back, bringing with him not only no slender and feeble force, +but all the flower of the valour of Sweden, thinking he would seize the +supremacy of all Denmark. Ket, the son of Frowin, sent Folk, his chief +officer, to take this news to Wermund, who then chanced to be in his +house Jellinge. (1) Folk found the king feasting with his friends, and +did his errand, admonishing him that here was the long-wished-for chance +of war at hand, and pressing itself upon the wishes of Wermund, to whom +was give an immediate chance of victory and the free choice of a speedy +and honourable triumph. Great and unexpected were the sweets of good +fortune, so long sighed for, and now granted to him by this lucky event. +For Athisl had come encompassed with countless forces of the Swedes, +just as though in his firm assurance he had made sure of victory; and +since the enemy who was going to fight would doubtless prefer death to +flight, this chance of war gave them a fortunate opportunity to take +vengeance for their late disaster. + +Wermund, declaring that he had performed his mission nobly and bravely, +ordered that he should take some little refreshment of the banquet, +since "far-faring ever hurt fasters." When Folk said that he had no kind +of leisure to take food, he begged him to take a draught to quench his +thirst. This was given him; and Wermund also bade him keep the cup, +which was of gold, saying that men who were weary with the heat of +wayfaring found it handier to take up the water in a goblet than in the +palms, and that it was better to use a cup for drinking than the hand. +When the king accompanied his great gift with such gracious words, the +young man, overjoyed at both, promised that, before the king should see +him turn and flee, he would take a draught of his own blood to the full +measure of the liquor he had drunk. + +With this doughty vow Wermund accounted himself well repaid, and got +somewhat more joy from giving the boon than the soldier had from gaining +it. Nor did he find that Folk's talk was braver than his fighting. + +For, when battle had begun, it came to pass that amidst divers charges +of the troops Folk and Athisl met and fought a long while together; and +that the host of the Swedes, following the fate of their captain, took +to flight, and Athisl also was wounded and fled from the battle to his +ships. And when Folk, dazed with wounds and toils, and moreover steeped +alike in heat and toil and thirst, had ceased to follow the rout of the +enemy, then, in order to refresh himself, he caught his own blood in +his helmet, and put it to his lips to drain: by which deed he gloriously +requited the king's gift of the cup. Wermund, who chanced to see this, +praised him warmly for fulfilling his vow. Folk answered, that a noble +vow ought to be strictly performed to the end: a speech wherein he +showed no less approval of his own deed than Wermund. + +Now, while the conquerors had laid down their arms, and, as is usual +after battle, were exchanging diverse talk with one another, Ket, the +governor of the men of Sleswik, declared that it was a matter of great +marvel to him how it was that Athisl, though difficulties strewed his +path, had contrived an opportunity to escape, especially as he had been +the first and foremost in the battle, but last of all in the retreat; +and though there had not been one of the enemy whose fall was so +vehemently desired by the Danes. Wermund rejoined that he should know +that there were four kinds of warrior to be distinguished in every army. +The fighters of the first order were those who, tempering valour with +forbearance, were keen to slay those who resisted, but were ashamed to +bear hard on fugitives. For these were the men who had won undoubted +proofs of prowess by veteran experience in arms, and who found their +glory not in the flight of the conquered, but in overcoming those whom +they had to conquer. Then there was a second kind of warriors, who were +endowed with stout frame and spirit, but with no jot of compassion, and +who raged with savage and indiscriminate carnage against the backs as +well as the breasts of their foes. Now of this sort were the men carried +away by hot and youthful blood, and striving to grace their first +campaign with good auguries of warfare. They burned as hotly with the +glow of youth as with the glow for glory, and thus rushed headlong into +right or wrong with equal recklessness. There was also the third kind, +who, wavering betwixt shame and fear, could not go forward for terror, +while shame barred retreat. Of distinguished blood, but only notable for +their useless stature, they crowded the ranks with numbers and not with +strength, smote the foe more with their shadows than with their arms, +and were only counted among the throng of warriors as so many bodies +to be seen. These men were lords of great riches, but excelled more in +birth than bravery; hungry for life because owning great possessions, +they were forced to yield to the sway of cowardice rather than +nobleness. There were others, again, who brought show to the war, and +not substance, and who, foisting themselves into the rear of their +comrades, were the first to fly and the last to fight. One sure token +of fear betrayed their feebleness; for they always deliberately sought +excuses to shirk, and followed with timid and sluggish advance in the +rear of the fighters. It must be supposed, therefore, that these were +the reasons why the king had escaped safely; for when he fled he was not +pursued pertinaciously by the men of the front rank; since these made it +their business to preserve the victory, not to arrest the conquered, and +massed their wedges, in order that the fresh-won victory might be duly +and sufficiently guarded, and attain the fulness of triumph. + +Now the second class of fighters, whose desire was to cut down +everything in their way, had left Athisl unscathed, from lack not of +will but of opportunity; for they had lacked the chance to hurt him +rather than the daring. Moreover, though the men of the third kind, who +frittered away the very hour of battle by wandering about in a flurried +fashion, and also hampered the success of their own side, had had their +chance of harming the king, they yet lacked courage to assail him. In +this way Wermund satisfied the dull amazement of Ket, and declared +that he had set forth and expounded the true reasons of the king's safe +escape. + +After this Athisl fled back to Sweden, still wantonly bragging of the +slaughter of Frowin, and constantly boasting the memory of his exploit +with prolix recital of his deeds; not that he bore calmly the shame of +his defeat, but that he might salve the wound of his recent flight by +the honours of his ancient victory. This naturally much angered Ket and +Wig, and they swore a vow to unite in avenging their father. Thinking +that they could hardly accomplish this in open war, they took an +equipment of lighter armament, and went to Sweden alone. Then, entering +a wood in which they had learnt by report that the king used to take his +walks unaccompanied, they hid their weapons. Then they talked long with +Athisl, giving themselves out as deserters; and when he asked them what +was their native country, they said they were men of Sleswik, and had +left their land "for manslaughter". The king thought that this statement +referred not to their vow to commit the crime, but to the guilt of some +crime already committed. For they desired by this deceit to foil his +inquisitiveness, so that the truthfulness of the statement might +baffle the wit of the questioner, and their true answer, being covertly +shadowed forth in a fiction, might inspire in him a belief that it was +false. For famous men of old thought lying a most shameful thing. Then +Athisl said he would like to know whom the Danes believed to be the +slayer of Frowin. Ket replied that there was a doubt as to who ought +to claim so illustrious a deed, especially as the general testimony was +that he had perished on the field of battle. Athisl answered that it was +idle to credit others with the death of Frowin, which he, and he alone, +had accomplished in mutual combat. Soon he asked whether Frowin had left +any children. Ket answering that two sons of his were alive, said that +he would be very glad to learn their age and stature. Ket replied that +they were almost of the same size as themselves in body, alike in years, +and much resembling them in tallness. Then Athisl said: "If the mind and +the valour of their sire were theirs, a bitter tempest would break upon +me." Then he asked whether those men constantly spoke of the slaying of +their father. Ket rejoined that it was idle to go on talking and talking +about a thing that could not be softened by any remedy, and declared +that it was no good to harp with constant vexation on an inexpiable ill. +By saying this he showed that threats ought not to anticipate vengeance. + +When Ket saw that the king regularly walked apart alone in order to +train his strength, he took up his arms, and with his brother followed +the king as he walked in front of them. Athisl, when he saw them, stood +his ground on the sand, thinking it shameful to avoid threateners. Then +they said that they would take vengeance for his slaying of Frowin, +especially as he avowed with so many arrogant vaunts that he alone was +his slayer. But he told them to take heed lest while they sought to +compass their revenge, they should be so foolhardy as to engage him with +their feeble and powerless hand, and while desiring the destruction of +another, should find they had fallen themselves. Thus they would cut off +their goodly promise of overhasty thirst for glory. Let them then save +their youth and spare their promise; let them not be seized so lightly +with a desire to perish. Therefore, let them suffer him to requite with +money the trespass done them in their father's death, and account it +great honour that they would be credited with forcing so mighty a chief +to pay a fine, and in a manner with shaking him with overmastering fear. +Yet he said he advised them thus, not because he was really terrified, +but because he was moved with compassion for their youth. Ket replied +that it was idle to waste time in beating so much about the bush and +trying to sap their righteous longing for revenge by an offer of pelf. +So he bade him come forward and make trial with him in single combat +of whatever strength he had. He himself would do without the aid of his +brother, and would fight with his own strength, lest it should appear a +shameful and unequal combat, for the ancients held it to be unfair, and +also infamous, for two men to fight against one; and a victory gained by +this kind of fighting they did not account honourable, but more like a +disgrace than a glory. Indeed, it was considered not only a poor, but a +most shameful exploit for two men to overpower one. + +But Athisl was filled with such assurance that he bade them both assail +him at once, declaring that if he could not cure them of the desire to +fight, he would at least give them the chance of fighting more safely. +But Ket shrank so much from this favour that he swore he would accept +death sooner: for he thought that the terms of battle thus offered would +be turned into a reproach to himself. So he engaged hotly with Athisl, +who desirous to fight him in a forbearing fashion, merely thrust lightly +with his blade and struck upon his shield; thus guarding his own safety +with more hardihood than success. When he had done this some while, he +advised him to take his brother to share in his enterprise, and not be +ashamed to ask for the help of another hand, since his unaided efforts +were useless. If he refused, said Athisl, he should not be spared; then +making good his threats, he assailed him with all his might. But Ket +received him with so sturdy a stroke of his sword, that it split the +helmet and forced its way down upon the head. Stung by the wound (for a +stream of blood flowed from his poll), he attacked Ket with a shower of +nimble blows, and drove him to his knees. Wig, leaning more to personal +love than to general usage, (2) could not bear the sight, but made +affection conquer shame, and attacking Athisl, chose rather to defend +the weakness of his brother than to look on at it. But he won more +infamy than glory by the deed. In helping his brother he had violated +the appointed conditions of the duel; and the help that he gave him was +thought more useful than honourable. For on the one scale he inclined to +the side of disgrace, and on the other to that of affection. Thereupon +they perceived themselves that their killing of Athisl had been more +swift than glorious. Yet, not to hide the deed from the common people, +they cut off his head, slung his body on a horse, took it out of the +wood, and handed it over to the dwellers in a village near, announcing +that the sons of Frowin had taken vengeance upon Athisl, King of the +Swedes, for the slaying of their father. Boasting of such a victory as +this, they were received by Wermund with the highest honours; for he +thought they had done a most useful deed, and he preferred to regard +the glory of being rid of a rival with more attention than the infamy of +committing an outrage. Nor did he judge that the killing of a tyrant was +in any wise akin to shame. It passed into a proverb among foreigners, +that the death of the king had broken down the ancient principle of +combat. + +When Wermund was losing his sight by infirmity of age, the King of +Saxony, thinking that Denmark lacked a leader, sent envoys ordering him +to surrender to his charge the kingdom which he held beyond the due term +of life; lest, if he thirsted to hold sway too long, he should strip his +country of laws and defence. For how could he be reckoned a king, whose +spirit was darkened with age, and his eyes with blindness not less black +and awful? If he refused, but yet had a son who would dare to accept a +challenge and fight with his son, let him agree that the victor should +possess the realm. But if he approved neither offer, let him learn that +he must be dealt with by weapons and not by warnings; and in the end +he must unwillingly surrender what he was too proud at first to yield +uncompelled. Wermund, shaken by deep sighs, answered that it was too +insolent to sting him with these taunts upon his years; for he had +passed no timorous youth, nor shrunk from battle, that age should bring +him to this extreme misery. It was equally unfitting to cast in his +teeth the infirmity of his blindness: for it was common for a loss +of this kind to accompany such a time of life as his, and it seemed a +calamity fitter for sympathy than for taunts. It were juster to fix +the blame on the impatience of the King of Saxony, whom it would have +beseemed to wait for the old man's death, and not demand his throne; for +it was somewhat better to succeed to the dead than to rob the living. +Yet, that he might not be thought to make over the honours of his +ancient freedom, like a madman, to the possession of another, he would +accept the challenge with his own hand. The envoys answered that they +knew that their king would shrink from the mockery of fighting a blind +man, for such an absurd mode of combat was thought more shameful than +honourable. It would surely be better to settle the affair by means of +their offspring on either side. The Danes were in consternation, and at +a sudden loss for a reply: but Uffe, who happened to be there with the +rest, craved his father's leave to answer; and suddenly the dumb as it +were spake. When Wermund asked who had thus begged leave to speak, and +the attendants said that it was Uffe, he declared that it was enough +that the insolent foreigner should jeer at the pangs of his misery, +without those of his own household vexing him with the same wanton +effrontery. But the courtiers persistently averred that this man was +Uffe; and the king said: "He is free, whosoever he be, to say out what +he thinks." Then said Uffe, "that it was idle for their king to covet +a realm which could rely not only on the service of its own ruler, but +also on the arms and wisdom of most valiant nobles. Moreover, the king +did not lack a son nor the kingdom an heir; and they were to know that +he had made up his mind to fight not only the son of their king, but +also, at the same time, whatsoever man the prince should elect as his +comrade out of the bravest of their nation." + +The envoys laughed when they beard this, thinking it idle lip-courage. +Instantly the ground for the battle was agreed on, and a fixed time +appointed. But the bystanders were so amazed by the strangeness of +Uffe's speaking and challenging, that one can scarce say if they were +more astonished at his words or at his assurance. + +But on the departure of the envoys Wermund praised him who had made +the answer, because he had proved his confidence in his own valour by +challenging not one only, but two; and said that he would sooner quit +his kingdom for him, whoever he was, than for an insolent foe. But when +one and all testified that he who with lofty self-confidence had spurned +the arrogance of the envoys was his own son, he bade him come nearer +to him, wishing to test with his hands what he could not with his eyes. +Then he carefully felt his body, and found by the size of his limbs and +by his features that he was his son; and then began to believe their +assertions, and to ask him why he had taken pains to hide so sweet an +eloquence with such careful dissembling, and had borne to live through +so long a span of life without utterance or any intercourse of talk, so +as to let men think him utterly incapable of speech, and a born mute. He +replied that he had been hitherto satisfied with the protection of his +father, that he had not needed the use of his own voice, until he saw +the wisdom of his own land hard pressed by the glibness of a foreigner. +The king also asked him why he had chosen to challenge two rather than +one. He said he had desired this mode of combat in order that the death +of King Athisl, which, having been caused by two men, was a standing +reproach to the Danes, might be balanced by the exploit of one, and +that a new ensample of valour might erase the ancient record of their +disgrace. Fresh honour, he said, would thus obliterate the guilt of +their old dishonour. + +Wermund said that his son had judged all things rightly, and bade him +first learn the use of arms, since he had been little accustomed to +them. When they were offered to Uffe, he split the narrow links of the +mail-coats by the mighty girth of his chest, nor could any be found +large enough to hold him properly. For he was too hugely built to be +able to use the arms of any other man. At last, when he was bursting +even his father's coat of mail by the violent compression of his body, +Wermund ordered it to be cut away on the left side and patched with a +buckle; thinking it mattered little if the side guarded by the shield +were exposed to the sword. He also told him to be most careful in fixing +on a sword which he could use safely. Several were offered him; but +Uffe, grasping the hilt, shattered them one after the other into +flinders by shaking them, and not a single blade was of so hard a temper +but at the first blow he broke it into many pieces. But the king had a +sword of extraordinary sharpness, called "Skrep", which at a single blow +of the smiter struck straight through and cleft asunder any obstacle +whatsoever; nor would aught be hard enough to check its edge when driven +home. The king, loth to leave this for the benefit of posterity, and +greatly grudging others the use of it, had buried it deep in the earth, +meaning, since he had no hopes of his son's improvement, to debar +everyone else from using it. But when he was now asked whether he had a +sword worthy of the strength of Uffe, he said that he had one which, if +he could recognize the lie of the ground and find what he had consigned +long ago to earth, he could offer him as worthy of his bodily strength. +Then he bade them lead him into a field, and kept questioning his +companions over all the ground. At last he recognised the tokens, found +the spot where he had buried the sword, drew it out of its hole, and +handed it to his son. Uffe saw it was frail with great age and rusted +away; and, not daring to strike with it, asked if he must prove this +one also like the rest, declaring that he must try its temper before +the battle ought to be fought. Wermund replied that if this sword were +shattered by mere brandishing, there was nothing left which could serve +for such strength as his. He must, therefore, forbear from the act, +whose issue remained so doubtful. + +So they repaired to the field of battle as agreed. It is fast +encompassed by the waters of the river Eider, which roll between, and +forbid any approach save by ship. Hither Uffe went unattended, while +the Prince of Saxony was followed by a champion famous for his strength. +Dense crowds on either side, eager to see, thronged each winding bank, +and all bent their eyes upon this scene. Wermund planted himself on the +end of the bridge, determined to perish in the waters if defeat were +the lot of his son: he would rather share the fall of his own flesh and +blood than behold, with heart full of anguish, the destruction of his +own country. Both the warriors assaulted Uffe; but, distrusting his +sword, he parried the blows of both with his shield, being determined +to wait patiently and see which of the two he must beware of most +heedfully, so that he might reach that one at all events with a single +stroke of his blade. Wermund, thinking that his feebleness was at fault, +that he took the blows so patiently, dragged himself little by little, +in his longing for death, forward to the western edge of the bridge, +meaning to fling himself down and perish, should all be over with his +son. + +Fortune shielded the old father, for Uffe told the prince to engage with +him more briskly, and to do some deed of prowess worthy of his famous +race; lest the lowborn squire should seem braver than the prince. Then, +in order to try the bravery of the champion, he bade him not skulk +timorously at his master's heels, but requite by noble deeds of combat +the trust placed in him by his prince, who had chosen him to be his +single partner in the battle. The other complied, and when shame drove +him to fight at close quarters, Uffe clove him through with the first +stroke of his blade. The sound revived Wermund, who said that he heard +the sword of his son, and asked "on what particular part he had dealt +the blow?" Then the retainers answered that it had gone through no one +limb, but the man's whole frame; whereat Wermund drew back from the +precipice and came on the bridge, longing now as passionately to live as +he had just wished to die. Then Uffe, wishing to destroy his remaining +foe after the fashion of the first, incited the prince with vehement +words to offer some sacrifice by way of requital to the shade of the +servant slain in his cause. Drawing him by those appeals, and warily +noting the right spot to plant his blow, he turned the other edge of +his sword to the front, fearing that the thin side of his blade was too +frail for his strength, and smote with a piercing stroke through the +prince's body. When Wermund heard it, he said that the sound of his +sword "Skrep" had reached his ear for the second time. Then, when the +judges announced that his son had killed both enemies, he burst into +tears from excess of joy. Thus gladness bedewed the cheeks which sorrow +could not moisten. So while the Saxons, sad and shamefaced, bore their +champions to burial with bitter shame, the Danes welcomed Uffe and +bounded for joy. Then no more was heard of the disgrace of the murder of +Athisl, and there was an end of the taunts of the Saxons. + +Thus the realm of Saxony was transferred to the Danes, and Uffe, after +his father, undertook its government; and he, who had not been thought +equal to administering a single kingdom properly, was now appointed to +manage both. Most men have called him Olaf, and he has won the name +of "the Gentle" for his forbearing spirit. His later deeds, lost in +antiquity, have lacked formal record. But it may well be supposed that +when their beginnings were so notable, their sequel was glorious. I am +so brief in considering his doings, because the lustre of the famous +men of our nation has been lost to memory and praise by the lack of +writings. But if by good luck our land had in old time been endowed with +the Latin tongue, there would have been countless volumes to read of the +exploits of the Danes. + +Uffe was succeeded by his son DAN, who carried his arms against +foreigners, and increased his sovereignty with many a trophy; but he +tarnished the brightness of the glory he had won by foul and abominable +presumption; falling so far away from the honour of his famous father, +who surpassed all others in modesty, that he contrariwise was puffed up +and proudly exalted in spirit, so that he scorned all other men. He +also squandered the goods of his father on infamies, as well as his +own winnings from the spoils of foreign nations; and he devoured in +expenditure on luxuries the wealth which should have ministered to his +royal estate. Thus do sons sometimes, like monstrous births, degenerate +from their ancestors. + +After this HUGLEIK was king, who is said to have defeated in battle at +sea Homod and Hogrim, the despots of Sweden. + +To him succeeded FRODE, surnamed the Vigorous, who bore out his name by +the strength of his body and mind. He destroyed in war ten captains of +Norway, and finally approached the island which afterwards had its name +from him, meaning to attack the king himself last of all. This king, +Froger, was in two ways very distinguished, being notable in arms no +less than in wealth; and graced his sovereignty with the deeds of a +champion, being as rich in prizes for bodily feats as in the honours of +rank. According to some, he was the son of Odin, and when he begged the +immortal gods to grant him a boon, received the privilege that no man +should conquer him, save he who at the time of the conflict could catch +up in his hand the dust lying beneath Froger's feet. When Frode found +that Heaven had endowed this king with such might, he challenged him to +a duel, meaning to try to outwit the favour of the gods. So at first, +feigning inexperience, he besought the king for a lesson in fighting, +knowing (he said) his skill and experience in the same. The other, +rejoicing that his enemy not only yielded to his pretensions, but even +made him a request, said that he was wise to submit his youthful mind to +an old man's wisdom; for his unscarred face and his brow, ploughed by +no marks of battle, showed that his knowledge of such matters was but +slender. So he marked off on the ground two square spaces with sides +an ell long, opposite one another, meaning to begin by instructing him +about the use of these plots. When they had been marked off, each took +the side assigned to him. Then Frode asked Froger to exchange arms and +ground with him, and the request was readily granted. For Froger was +excited with the dashing of his enemy's arms, because Frode wore a +gold-hilted sword, a breastplate equally bright, and a headpiece most +brilliantly adorned in the same manner. So Frode caught up some dust +from the ground whence Froger had gone, and thought that he had been +granted an omen of victory. Nor was he deceived in his presage; for he +straightway slew Froger, and by this petty trick won the greatest name +for bravery; for he gained by craft what had been permitted to no man's +strength before. + +After him DAN came to the throne. When he was in the twelfth year of his +age, he was wearied by the insolence of the embassies, which commanded +him either to fight the Saxons or to pay them tribute. Ashamed, he +preferred fighting to payment and was moved to die stoutly rather than +live a coward. So he elected to fight; and the warriors of the Danes +filled the Elbe with such a throng of vessels, that the decks of the +ships lashed together made it quite easy to cross, as though along a +continuous bridge. The end was that the King of Saxony had to accept the +very terms he was demanding from the Danes. + +After Dan, FRIDLEIF, surnamed the Swift, assumed the sovereignty. During +his reign, Huyrwil, the lord of Oland, made a league with the Danes and +attacked Norway. No small fame was added to his deeds by the defeat +of the amazon Rusila, who aspired with military ardour to prowess in +battle: but he gained manly glory over a female foe. Also he took into +his alliance, on account of their deeds of prowess, her five partners, +the children of Finn, named Brodd, Bild, Bug, Fanning, and Gunholm. +Their confederacy emboldened him to break the treaty which he made +with the Danes; and the treachery of the violation made it all the +more injurious, for the Danes could not believe that he could turn +so suddenly from a friend into an enemy; so easily can some veer from +goodwill into hate. I suppose that this man inaugurated the morals of +our own day, for we do not account lying and treachery as sinful and +sordid. When Huyrwil attacked the southern side of Zealand, Fridleif +assailed him in the harbour which was afterwards called by Huyrwil's +name. In this battle the soldiers, in their rivalry for glory, engaged +with such bravery that very few fled to escape peril, and both armies +were utterly destroyed; nor did the victory fall to either side, where +both were enveloped in an equal ruin. So much more desirous were they +all of glory than of life. So the survivors of Huyrwil's army, in order +to keep united, had the remnants of their fleet lashed together at +night. But, in the same night, Bild and Brodd cut the cables with which +the ships were joined, and stealthily severed their own vessels from the +rest, thus yielding to their own terrors by deserting their brethren, +and obeying the impulses of fear rather than fraternal love. When +daylight returned, Fridleif, finding that after the great massacre +of their friends only Huyrwil, Gunholm, Bug, and Fanning were left, +determined to fight them all single-handed, so that the mangled relics +of his fleet might not again have to be imperilled. Besides his innate +courage, a shirt of steel-defying mail gave him confidence; a garb which +he used to wear in all public battles and in duels, as a preservative of +his life. He accomplished his end with as much fortune as courage, and +ended the battle successfully. For, after slaying Huyrwil, Bug, and +Fanning, he killed Gunholm, who was accustomed to blunt the blade of +an enemy with spells, by a shower of blows from his hilt. But while +he gripped the blade too eagerly, the sinews, being cut and disabled, +contracted the fingers upon the palm, and cramped them with life-long +curvature. + +While Fridleif was besieging Dublin, a town in Ireland, and saw from +the strength of the walls that there was no chance of storming them, he +imitated the shrewd wit of Hadding, and ordered fire to be shut up in +wicks and fastened to the wings of swallows. When the birds got back in +their own nesting-place, the dwellings suddenly flared up; and while the +citizens all ran up to quench them, and paid more heed to abating the +fire than to looking after the enemy, Fridleif took Dublin. After this +he lost his soldiers in Britain, and, thinking that he would find +it hard to get back to the coast, he set up the corpses of the slain +(Amleth's device) and stationed them in line, thus producing so nearly +the look of his original host that its great reverse seemed not to have +lessened the show of it a whit. By this deed he not only took out of the +enemy all heart for fighting, but inspired them with the desire to make +their escape. + + + ENDNOTES: + (1) Jellinge. Lat. "Ialunga", Icel. "Jalangr". + (2) General usage. "publicus consuetudini": namely, the rule of + combat that two should not fight against one. + + + + +BOOK FIVE. + +After the death of Fridleif, his son FRODE, aged seven, was elected +in his stead by the unanimous decision of the Danes. But they held an +assembly first, and judged that the minority of the king should be taken +in charge by guardians, lest the sovereignty should pass away owing to +the boyishness of the ruler. For one and all paid such respect to the +name and memory of Fridleif, that the royalty was bestowed on his son +despite his tender years. So a selection was made, and the brothers +Westmar and Koll were summoned to the charge of bringing up the king. +Isulf, also, and Agg and eight other men of mark were not only entrusted +with the guardianship of the king, but also granted authority to +administer the realm under him. These men were rich in strength and +courage, and endowed with ample gifts of mind as well as of body. Thus +the state of the Danes was governed with the aid of regents until the +time when the king should be a man. + +The wife of Koll was Gotwar, who used to paralyse the most eloquent and +fluent men by her glib and extraordinary insolence; for she was potent +in wrangling, and full of resource in all kinds of disputation. Words +were her weapons; and she not only trusted in questions, but was armed +with stubborn answers. No man could subdue this woman, who could not +fight, but who found darts in her tongue instead. Some she would argue +down with a flood of impudent words, while others she seemed to +entangle in the meshes of her quibbles, and strangle in the noose of +her sophistries; so nimble a wit had the woman. Moreover, she was very +strong, either in making or cancelling a bargain, and the sting of +her tongue was the secret of her power in both. She was clever both at +making and at breaking leagues; thus she had two sides to her tongue, +and used it for either purpose. + +Westmar had twelve sons, three of whom had the same name--Grep in +common. These three men were conceived at once and delivered at one +birth, and their common name declared their simultaneous origin. They +were exceedingly skillful swordsmen and boxers. Frode had also given the +supremacy of the sea to Odd; who was very closely related to the king. +Koll rejoiced in an offspring of three sons. At this time a certain +son of Frode's brother held the chief command of naval affairs for the +protection of the country, Now the king had a sister, Gunwar, surnamed +the Fair because of her surpassing beauty. The sons of Westmar and Koll, +being ungrown in years and bold in spirit, let their courage become +recklessness and devoted their guilt-stained minds to foul and degraded +orgies. + +Their behaviour was so outrageous and uncontrollable that they ravished +other men's brides and daughters, and seemed to have outlawed chastity +and banished it to the stews. Nay, they defiled the couches of matrons, +and did not even refrain from the bed of virgins. A man's own chamber +was no safety to him: there was scarce a spot in the land but bore +traces of their lust. Husbands were vexed with fear, and wives with +insult to their persons: and to these wrongs folk bowed. No ties +were respected, and forced embraces became a common thing. Love was +prostituted, all reverence for marriage ties died out, and lust was +greedily run after. And the reason of all this was the peace; for men's +bodies lacked exercise and were enervated in the ease so propitious to +vices. At last the eldest of those who shared the name of Grep, wishing +to regulate and steady his promiscuous wantonness, ventured to seek a +haven for his vagrant amours in the love of the king's sister. Yet +he did amiss. For though it was right that his vagabond and straying +delights should be bridled by modesty, yet it was audacious for a man of +the people to covet the child of a king. She, much fearing the impudence +of her wooer, and wishing to be safer from outrage, went into a +fortified building. Thirty attendants were given to her, to keep guard +and constant watch over her person. + +Now the comrades of Frode, sadly lacking the help of women in the matter +of the wear of their garments, inasmuch as they had no means of patching +or of repairing rents, advised and urged the king to marry. At first +he alleged his tender years as an excuse, but in the end yielded to the +persistent requests of his people. And when he carefully inquired of his +advisers who would be a fit wife for him, they all praised the daughter +of the King of the Huns beyond the rest. When the question was pushed, +what reason Frode had for objecting to her, he replied that he had heard +from his father that it was not expedient for kings to seek alliance far +afield, or to demand love save from neighbours. When Gotwar heard this +she knew that the king's resistance to his friends was wily. Wishing +to establish his wavering spirit, and strengthen the courage of his +weakling soul, she said: "Bridals are for young men, but the tomb awaits +the old. The steps of youth go forward in desires and in fortune; but +old age declines helpless to the sepulchre. Hope attends youth; age is +bowed with hopeless decay. The fortune of young men increases; it will +never leave unfinished what it begins." Respecting her words, he begged +her to undertake the management of the suit. But she refused, pleading +her age as her pretext, and declaring herself too stricken in years to +bear so difficult a commission. The king saw that a bribe was wanted, +and, proffering a golden necklace, promised it as the reward of her +embassy. For the necklace had links consisting of studs, and figures of +kings interspersed in bas-relief, which could be now separated and now +drawn together by pulling a thread inside; a gewgaw devised more for +luxury than use. Frode also ordered that Westmar and Koll, with their +sons, should be summoned to go on the same embassy, thinking that their +cunning would avoid the shame of a rebuff. + +They went with Gotwar, and were entertained by the King of the Huns at a +three days' banquet, ere they uttered the purpose of their embassy. For +it was customary of old thus to welcome guests. When the feast had been +prolonged three days, the princess came forth to make herself pleasant +to the envoys with a most courteous address, and her blithe presence +added not a little to the festal delights of the banqueters. And as the +drink went faster Westmar revealed his purpose in due course, in a very +merry declaration, wishing to sound the mind of the maiden in talk of +a friendly sort. And, in order not to inflict on himself a rebuff, +he spoke in a mirthful vein, and broke the ground of his mission, +by venturing to make up a sportive speech amid the applause of the +revellers. The princess said that she disdained Frode because he lacked +honour and glory. For in days of old no men were thought fit for the +hand of high-born women but those who had won some great prize of glory +by the lustre of their admirable deeds. Sloth was the worst of vices in +a suitor, and nothing was more of a reproach in one who sought marriage +than the lack of fame. A harvest of glory, and that alone, could bring +wealth in everything else. Maidens admired in their wooers not so much +good looks as deeds nobly done. So the envoys, flagging and despairing +of their wish, left the further conduct of the affair to the wisdom +of Gotwar, who tried to subdue the maiden not only with words but with +love-philtres, and began to declare that Frode used his left hand as +well as his right, and was a quick and skillful swimmer and fighter. +Also by the drink which she gave she changed the strictness of the +maiden to desire, and replaced her vanished anger with love and delight. +Then she bade Westmar, Koll, and their sons go to the king and urge +their mission afresh; and finally, should they find him froward, to +anticipate a rebuff by a challenge to fight. + +So Westmar entered the palace with his men-at-arms, and said: "Now thou +must needs either consent to our entreaties, or meet in battle us who +entreat thee. We would rather die nobly than go back with our mission +unperformed; lest, foully repulsed and foiled of our purpose, we should +take home disgrace where we hoped to will honour. If thou refuse thy +daughter, consent to fight: thou must needs grant one thing or +the other. We wish either to die or to have our prayers beard. +Something--sorrow if not joy--we will get from thee. Frode will be +better pleased to hear of our slaughter than of our repulse." Without +another word, he threatened to aim a blow at the king's throat with his +sword. The king replied that it was unseemly for the royal majesty +to meet an inferior in rank in level combat, and unfit that those of +unequal station should fight as equals. But when Westmar persisted in +urging him to fight, he at last bade him find out what the real mind of +the maiden was; for in old time men gave women who were to marry, free +choice of a husband. For the king was embarrassed, and hung vacillating +betwixt shame and fear of battle. Thus Westmar, having been referred +to the thoughts of the girl's heart, and knowing that every woman is as +changeable in purpose as she is fickle in soul, proceeded to fulfil his +task all the more confidently because he knew how mutable the wishes of +maidens were. His confidence in his charge was increased and his zeal +encouraged, because she had both a maiden's simplicity, which was left +to its own counsels, and a woman's freedom of choice, which must be +wheedled with the most delicate and mollifying flatteries; and thus she +would be not only easy to lead away, but even hasty in compliance. But +her father went after the envoys, that he might see more surely into his +daughter's mind. She had already been drawn by the stealthy working of +the draught to love her suitor, and answered that the promise of Frode, +rather than his present renown, had made her expect much of his nature: +since he was sprung from so famous a father, and every nature commonly +answered to its origin. The youth therefore had pleased her by her +regard of his future, rather than his present, glory. These words amazed +the father; but neither could he bear to revoke the freedom he had +granted her, and he promised her in marriage to Frode. Then, having +laid in ample stores, he took her away with the most splendid pomp, and, +followed by the envoys, hastened to Denmark, knowing that a father was +the best person to give away a daughter in marriage. Frode welcomed +his bride most joyfully, and also bestowed the highest honours upon +his future royal father-in-law; and when the marriage rites were over, +dismissed him with a large gift of gold and silver. + +And so with Hanund, the daughter of the King of the Huns, for his wife, +he passed three years in the most prosperous peace. But idleness brought +wantonness among his courtiers, and peace begot lewdness, which they +displayed in the most abominable crimes. For they would draw some men +up in the air on ropes, and torment them, pushing their bodies as they +hung, like a ball that is tossed; or they would put a kid's hide under +the feet of others as they walked, and, by stealthily pulling a rope, +trip their unwary steps on the slippery skill in their path; others they +would strip of their clothes, and lash with sundry tortures of stripes; +others they fastened to pegs, as with a noose, and punished with +mock-hanging. They scorched off the beard and hair with tapers; of +others they burned the hair of the groin with a brand. Only those +maidens might marry whose chastity they had first deflowered. Strangers +they battered with bones; others they compelled to drunkenness with +immoderate draughts, and made them burst. No man might give his daughter +to wife unless he had first bought their favour and goodwill. None might +contract any marriage without first purchasing their consent with a +bribe. Moreover, they extended their abominable and abandoned lust not +only to virgins, but to the multitude of matrons indiscriminately. Thus +a twofold madness incited this mixture of wantonness and frenzy. Guests +and strangers were proffered not shelter but revilings. All these +maddening mockeries did this insolent and wanton crew devise, and thus +under a boy-king freedom fostered licence. For nothing prolongs reckless +sin like the procrastination of punishment and vengeance. This unbridled +impudence of the soldiers ended by making the king detested, not only by +foreigners, but even by his own people, for the Danes resented such an +arrogant and cruel rule. But Grep was contented with no humble loves; +he broke out so outrageously that he was guilty of intercourse with the +queen, and proved as false to the king as he was violent to all other +men. Then by degrees the scandal grew, and the suspicion of his guilt +crept on with silent step. The common people found it out before the +king. For Grep, by always punishing all who alluded in the least to this +circumstance, had made it dangerous to accuse him. But the rumour of his +crime, which at first was kept alive in whispers, was next passed on in +public reports; for it is hard for men to hide another's guilt if they +are aware of it. Gunwar had many suitors; and accordingly Grep, trying +to take revenge for his rebuff by stealthy wiles, demanded the right +of judging the suitors, declaring that the princess ought to make the +choicest match. But he disguised his anger, lest he should seem to have +sought the office from hatred of the maiden. At his request the king +granted him leave to examine the merits of the young men. So he first +gathered all the wooers of Gunwar together on the pretence of a banquet, +and then lined the customary room of the princess with their heads--a +gruesome spectacle for all the rest. Yet he forfeited none of his favour +with Frode, nor abated his old intimacy with him. For he decided that +any opportunity of an interview with the king must be paid for, and gave +out that no one should have any conversation with him who brought no +presents. Access, he announced, to so great a general must be gained +by no stale or usual method, but by making interest most zealously. +He wished to lighten the scandal of his cruelty by the pretence +of affection to his king. The people, thus tormented, vented their +complaint of their trouble in silent groans. None had the spirit to lift +up his voice in public against this season of misery. No one had become +so bold as to complain openly of the affliction that was falling upon +them. Inward resentment vexed the hearts of men, secretly indeed, but +all the more bitterly. + +When Gotar, the King of Norway, heard this, he assembled his soldiers, +and said that the Danes were disgusted with their own king, and longed +for another if they could get the opportunity; that he had himself +resolved to lead an army thither, and that Denmark would be easy to +seize if attacked. Frode's government of his country was as covetous as +it was cruel. Then Erik rose up and gainsaid the project with contrary +reasons. "We remember," he said, "how often coveters of other men's +goods lose their own. He who snatches at both has oft lost both. It must +be a very strong bird that can wrest the prey from the claws of another. +It is idle for thee to be encouraged by the internal jealousies of the +country, for these are oft blown away by the approach of an enemy. For +though the Danes now seem divided in counsel, yet they will soon be of +one mind to meet the foe. The wolves have often made peace between +the quarrelling swine. Every man prefers a leader of his own land to a +foreigner, and every province is warmer in loyalty to a native than to a +stranger king. For Frode will not await thee at home, but will intercept +thee abroad as thou comest. Eagles claw each other with their talons, +and fowls fight fronting. Thou thyself knowest that the keen sight of +the wise man must leave no cause for repentance. Thou hast an ample +guard of nobles. Keep thou quiet as thou art; indeed thou wilt almost be +able to find out by means of others what are thy resources for war. Let +the soldiers first try the fortunes of their king. Provide in peace for +thine own safety, and risk others if thou dost undertake the enterprise: +better that the slave should perish than the master. Let thy servant +do for thee what the tongs do for the smith, who by the aid of his iron +tool guards his hand from scorching, and saves his fingers from burning. +Learn thou also, by using thy men, to spare and take thought for +thyself." + +So spake Erik, and Gotar, who had hitherto held him a man of no parts, +now marvelled that he had graced his answer with sentences so choice +and weighty, and gave him the name of Shrewd-spoken, thinking that his +admirable wisdom deserved some title. For the young man's reputation +had been kept in the shade by the exceeding brilliancy of his brother +Roller. Erik begged that some substantial gift should be added to the +name, declaring that the bestowal of the title ought to be graced by +a present besides. The king gave him a ship, and the oarsmen called it +"Skroter." Now Erik and Roller were the sons of Ragnar, the champion, +and children of one father by different mothers; Roller's mother and +Erik's stepmother was named Kraka. + +And so, by leave of Gotar, the task of making a raid on the Danes +fell to one Hrafn. He was encountered by Odd, who had at that time the +greatest prestige among the Danes as a rover, for he was such a skilled +magician that he could range over the sea without a ship, and could +often raise tempests by his spells, and wreck the vessels of the enemy. +Accordingly, that he might not have to condescend to pit his sea-forces +against the rovers, he used to ruffle the waters by enchantment, and +cause them to shipwreck his foes. To traders this man was ruthless, +but to tillers of the soil he was merciful, for he thought less of +merchandise than of the plough-handle, but rated the clean business +of the country higher than the toil for filthy lucre. When he began to +fight with the Northmen he so dulled the sight of the enemy by the power +of his spells that they thought the drawn swords of the Danes cast their +beams from afar off, and sparkled as if aflame. Moreover, their vision +was so blunted that they could not so much as look upon the sword +when it was drawn from the sheath: the dazzle was too much for their +eyesight, which could not endure the glittering mirage. So Hrafn and +many of his men were slain, and only six vessels slipped back to Norway +to teach the king that it was not so easy to crush the Danes. The +survivors also spread the news that Frode trusted only in the help of +his champions, and reigned against the will of his people, for his rule +had become a tyranny. + +In order to examine this rumour, Roller, who was a great traveller +abroad, and eager to visit unknown parts, made a vow that he would get +into the company of Frode. But Erik declared that, splendid as were his +bodily parts, he had been rash in pronouncing the vow. At last, seeing +him persisting stubbornly in his purpose, Erik bound himself under a +similar vow; and the king promised them that he would give them for +companions whomsoever they approved by their choice. The brethren, +therefore, first resolved to visit their father and beg for the stores +and the necessaries that were wanted for so long a journey. He welcomed +them paternally, and on the morrow took them to the forest to inspect +the herd, for the old man was wealthy in cattle. Also he revealed to +them treasures which had long lain hid in caverns of the earth; and they +were suffered to gather up whatsoever of these they would. The boon was +accepted as heartily as it was offered: so they took the riches out of +the ground, and bore away what pleased them. + +Their rowers meanwhile were either refreshing themselves or exercising +their skill with casting weights. Some sped leaping, some running; +others tried their strength by sturdily hurling stones; others tested +their archery by drawing the bow. Thus they essayed to strengthen +themselves with divers exercises. Some again tried to drink themselves +into a drowse. Roller was sent by his father to find out what had passed +at home in the meanwhile. And when he saw smoke coming from his mother's +hut he went up outside, and, stealthily applying his eye, saw through +the little chink and into the house, where he perceived his mother +stirring a cooked mess in an ugly-looking pot. Also he looked up at +three snakes hanging from above by a thin cord, from whose mouths flowed +a slaver which dribbled drops of moisture on the meal. Now two of these +were pitchy of hue, while the third seemed to have whitish scales, and +was hung somewhat higher than the others. This last had a fastening +on its tail, while the others were held by a cord round their bellies. +Roller thought the affair looked like magic, but was silent on what +he had seen, that he might not be thought to charge his mother with +sorcery. For he did not know that the snakes were naturally harmless, or +how much strength was being brewed for that meal. Then Ragnar and Erik +came up, and, when they saw the smoke issuing from the cottage, entered +and went to sit at meat. When they were at table, and Kraka's son and +stepson were about to eat together, she put before them a small dish +containing a piebald mess, part looking pitchy, but spotted with specks +of yellow, while part was whitish: the pottage having taken a different +hue answering to the different appearance of the snakes. And when each +had tasted a single morsel, Erik, judging the feast not by the colours +but by the inward strengthening effected, turned the dish around +very quickly, and transferred to himself the part which was black but +compounded of stronger juices; and, putting over to Roller the whitish +part which had first been set before himself, throve more on his supper. +And, to avoid showing that the exchange was made on purpose, he said, +"Thus does prow become stern when the sea boils up." The man had no +little shrewdness, thus to use the ways of a ship to dissemble his +cunning act. + +So Erik, now refreshed by this lucky meal, attained by its inward +working to the highest pitch of human wisdom. For the potency of the +meal bred in him the fulness of all kinds of knowledge to an incredible +degree, so that he had cunning to interpret even the utterances of wild +beasts and cattle. For he was not only well versed in all the affairs +of men, but he could interpret the particular feelings which brutes +experienced from the sounds which expressed them. He was also gifted +with an eloquence so courteous and graceful, that he adorned whatsoever +he desired to expound with a flow of witty adages. But when Kraka came +up, and found that the dish had been turned round, and that Erik had +eaten the stronger share of the meal, she lamented that the good luck +she had bred for her son should have passed to her stepson. Soon she +began to sigh, and entreat Eric that he should never fail to help his +brother, whose mother had heaped on him fortune so rich and strange: for +by tasting a single savoury meal he had clearly attained sovereign wit +and eloquence, besides the promise of success in combat. She added also, +that Roller was almost as capable of good counsel, and that he should +not utterly miss the dainty that had been intended for him. She also +told him that in case of extreme and violent need, he could find speedy +help by calling on her name; declaring that she trusted partially in her +divine attributes, and that, consorting as she did in a manner with the +gods, she wielded an innate and heavenly power. Erik said that he was +naturally drawn to stand by his brother, and that the bird was +infamous which fouled its own nest. But Kraka was more vexed by her own +carelessness than weighed down by her son's ill-fortune: for in old +time it made a craftsman bitterly ashamed to be outwitted by his own +cleverness. + +Then Kraka, accompanied by her husband, took away the brothers on their +journey to the sea. They embarked in a single ship, but soon attached +two others. They had already reached the coast of Denmark, when, +reconnoitering, they learned that seven ships had come up at no great +distance. Then Erik bade two men who could speak the Danish tongue well, +to go to them unclothed, and, in order to spy better, to complain to Odd +of their nakedness, as if Erik had caused it, and to report when they +had made careful scrutiny. These men were received as friends by Odd, +and hunted for every plan of the general with their sharp ears. He +had determined to attack the enemy unawares at daybreak, that he might +massacre them the more speedily while they were swathed in their night +garments: for he said that men's bodies were wont to be most dull and +heavy at that hour of dawn. He also told them, thereby hastening what +was to prove his own destruction, that his ships were laden with stones +fit for throwing. The spies slipped off in the first sleep of the night, +reported that Odd had filled all his vessels with pebbles, and also told +everything else they had heard. Erik now quite understood the case, and, +when he considered the smallness of his own fleet, thought that he must +call the waters to destroy the enemy, and win their aid for himself. + +So he got into a boat and rowed, pulling silently, close up to the +keels of the enemy; and gradually, by screwing in an auger, he bored the +planks (a device practiced by Hadding and also by Frode), nearest to the +water, and soon made good his return, the oar-beat being scarce audible. +Now he bore himself so warily, that not one of the watchers noted his +approach or departure. As he rowed off, the water got in through +the chinks of Odd's vessels, and sank them, so that they were seen +disappearing in the deep, as the water flooded them more and more +within. The weight of the stones inside helped them mightily to sink. +The billows were washing away the thwarts, and the sea was flush with +the decks, when Odd, seeing the vessels almost on a level with the +waves, ordered the heavy seas that had been shipped to be baled out with +pitchers. And so, while the crews were toiling on to protect the sinking +parts of the vessels from the flood of waters, the enemy hove close up. +Thus, as they fell to their arms, the flood came upon them harder, and +as they prepared to fight, they found they must swim for it. Waves, not +weapons, fought for Erik, and the sea, which he had himself Enabled to +approach and do harm, battled for him. Thus Erik made better use of the +billow than of the steel, and by the effectual aid of the waters seemed +to fight in his own absence, the ocean lending him defence. The victory +was given to his craft; for a flooded ship could not endure a battle. +Thus was Odd slain with all his crew; the look-outs were captured, and +it was found that no man escaped to tell the tale of the disaster. + +Erik, when the massacre was accomplished, made a rapid retreat, and put +in at the isle Lesso. Finding nothing there to appease his hunger, he +sent the spoil homeward on two ships, which were to bring back supplies +for another year. He tried to go by himself to the king in a single +ship. So he put in to Zealand, and the sailors ran about over the shore, +and began to cut down the cattle: for they must either ease their hunger +or perish of famine. So they killed the herd, skinned the carcases, and +cast them on board. When the owners of the cattle found this out, they +hastily pursued the free-booters with a fleet. And when Erik found that +he was being attacked by the owners of the cattle, he took care that the +carcases of the slaughtered cows should be tied with marked ropes and +hidden under water. Then, when the Zealanders came up, he gave them +leave to look about and see if any of the carcases they were seeking +were in his hands; saying that a ship's corners were too narrow to hide +things. Unable to find a carcase anywhere, they turned their suspicions +on others, and thought the real criminals were guiltless of the plunder. +Since no traces of free-booting were to be seen, they fancied that +others had injured them, and pardoned the culprits. As they sailed off, +Erik lifted the carcase out of the water and took it in. + +Meantime Frode learnt that Odd and his men had gone down. For a +widespread rumour of the massacre had got wind, though the author of the +deed was unknown. There were men, however, who told how they had seen +three sails putting in to shore, and departing again northwards. Then +Erik went to the harbour, not far from which Frode was tarrying, and, +the moment that he stepped out of the ship, tripped inadvertently, and +came tumbling to the ground. He found in the slip a presage of a lucky +issue, and forecast better results from this mean beginning. When Grep +heard of his coming, he hastened down to the sea, intending to +assail with chosen and pointed phrases the man whom he had heard was +better-spoken than all other folk. Grep's eloquence was not so much +excellent as impudent, for he surpassed all in stubbornness of speech. +So he began the dispute with reviling, and assailed Erik as follows: + +Grep: "Fool, who art thou? What idle quest is thine? Tell me, whence or +whither dost thou journey? What is thy road? What thy desire? Who thy +father? What thy lineage? Those have strength beyond others who have +never left their own homes, and the Luck of kings is their houseluck. +For the things of a vile man are acceptable unto few, and seldom are the +deeds of the hated pleasing." + +Erik: "Ragnar is my father; eloquence clothes my tongue; I have ever +loved virtue only. Wisdom hath been my one desire; I have travelled many +ways over the world, and seen the different manners of men. The mind of +the fool can keep no bounds in aught: it is base and cannot control its +feelings. The use of sails is better than being drawn by the oar; the +gale troubles the waters, a drearier gust the land. For rowing goes +through the seas and lying the lands; and it is certain that the lands +are ruled with the lips, but the seas with the hand." + +Grep: "Thou art thought to be as full of quibbling as a cock of dirt. +Thou stinkest heavy with filth, and reekest of nought but sin. There is +no need to lengthen the plea against a buffoon, whose strength is in an +empty and voluble tongue." + +Erik: "By Hercules, if I mistake not, the coward word is wont to come +back to the utterer. The gods with righteous endeavour bring home to +the speaker words cast forth without knowledge. As soon as we espy the +sinister ears of the wolf, we believe that the wolf himself is near. Men +think no credit due to him that hath no credit, whom report accuses of +treachery." + +Grep: "Shameless boy, owl astray from the path, night-owl in the +darkness, thou shalt pay for thy reckless words. Thou shalt be sorry for +the words thou now belchest forth madly, and shalt pay with thy death +for thy unhallowed speech. Lifeless thou shalt pasture crows on thy +bloodless corpse, to be a morsel for beasts, a prey to the ravenous +bird." + +Erik: "The boding of the coward, and the will that is trained to evil, +have never kept themselves within due measure. He who betrays his lord, +he who conceives foul devices, will be as great a snare to himself as +to his friends. Whoso fosters a wolf in his house is thought to feed a +thief and a pest for his own hearth." + +Grep: "I did not, as thou thinkest, beguile the queen, but I was the +guardian of her tender estate. She increased my fortunes, and her favour +first brought me gifts and strength, and wealth and counsel." + +Erik: "Lo, thy guilty disquiet lies heavy on thee; that man's freedom is +safest whose mind remains untainted. Whoso asks a slave to be a friend, +is deceived; often the henchman hurts his master." + +At this Grep, shorn of his glibness of rejoinder, set spurs to his +horse and rode away. Now when he reached home, he filled the palace with +uproarious and vehement clamour; and shouting that he had been worsted +in words, roused all his soldiers to fight, as though he would avenge by +main force his luckless warfare of tongues. For he swore that he would +lay the host of the foreigners under the claws of eagles. But the king +warned him that he should give his frenzy pause for counsel, that blind +plans were commonly hurtful; that nothing could be done both cautiously +and quickly at once; that headstrong efforts were the worst obstacle; +and lastly, that it was unseemly to attack a handful with a host. Also, +said he, the sagacious man was he who could bridle a raging spirit, and +stop his frantic empetuosity in time. Thus the king forced the headlong +rage of the young man to yield to reflection. But he could not wholly +recall to self-control the frenzy of his heated mind, or prevent the +champion of wrangles, abashed by his hapless debate, and finding armed +vengeance refused him, from asking leave at least to try his sorceries +by way of revenge. He gained his request, and prepared to go back to +the shore with a chosen troop of wizards. So he first put on a pole +the severed head of a horse that had been sacrificed to the gods, and +setting sticks beneath displayed the jaws grinning agape; hoping that +he would foil the first efforts of Erik by the horror of this wild +spectacle. For he supposed that the silly souls of the barbarians would +give away at the bogey of a protruding neck. + +Erik was already on his road to meet them, and saw the head from afar +off, and, understanding the whole foul contrivance, he bade his men keep +silent and behave warily; no man was to be rash or hasty of speech, lest +by some careless outburst they might give some opening to the sorceries; +adding that if talking happened to be needed, he would speak for all. +And they were now parted by a river; when the wizards, in order to +dislodge Erik from the approach to the bridge, set up close to the +river, on their own side, the pole on which they had fixed the horse's +head. Nevertheless Erik made dauntlessly for the bridge, and said: "On +the bearer fall the ill-luck of what he bears! May a better issue attend +our steps! Evil befall the evil-workers! Let the weight of the ominous +burden crush the carrier! Let the better auguries bring us safety!" And +it happened according to his prayer. For straightway the head was shaken +off, the stick fell and crushed the bearer. And so all that array +of sorceries was baffled at the bidding of a single curse, and +extinguished. + +Then, as Erik advanced a little, it came into his mind that strangers +ought to fix on gifts for the king. So he carefully wrapped up in his +robe a piece of ice which he happened to find, and managed to take it to +the king by way of a present. But when they reached the palace he sought +entrance first, and bade his brother follow close behind. Already the +slaves of the king, in order to receive him with mockery as he entered, +had laid a slippery hide on the threshold; and when Erik stepped upon +it, they suddenly jerked it away by dragging a rope, and would have +tripped him as he stood upon it, had not Roller, following behind, +caught his brother on his breast as he tottered. So Erik, having half +fallen, said that "bare was the back of the brotherless." And when +Gunwar said that such a trick ought not to be permitted by a king, +the king condemned the folly of the messenger who took no heed against +treachery. And thus he excused his flout by the heedlessness of the man +he flouted. + +Within the palace was blazing a fire, which the aspect of the season +required: for it was now gone midwinter. By it, in different groups, sat +the king on one side and the champions on the other. These latter, when +Erik joined them, uttered gruesome sounds like things howling. The king +stopped the clamour, telling them that the noises of wild beasts ought +not to be in the breasts of men. Erik added, that it was the way of +dogs, for all the others to set up barking when one started it; for all +folk by their bearing betrayed their birth and revealed their race. But +when Koll, who was the keeper of the gifts offered to the king, asked +him whether he had brought any presents with him, he produced the ice +which he had hidden in his breast. And when he had handed it to Koll +across the hearth, he purposely let it go into the fire, as though it +had slipped from the hand of the receiver. All present saw the shining +fragment, and it seemed as though molten metal had fallen into the fire. +Erik, maintaining that it had been jerked away by the carelessness of +him who took it, asked what punishment was due to the loser of the gift. + +The king consulted the opinion of the queen, who advised him not to +relax the statute of the law which he had passed, whereby he gave +warning that all who lost presents that were transmitted to him should +be punished with death. Everyone else also said that the penalty by law +appointed ought not to be remitted. And so the king, being counselled to +allow the punishment as inevitable, gave leave for Koll to be hanged. + +Then Frode began to accost Erik thus: "O thou, wantoning in insolent +phrase, in boastful and bedizened speech, whence dost thou say that thou +hast come hither, and why?" + +Erik answered: "I came from Rennes Isle, and I took my seat by a stone." + +Frode rejoined: "I ask, whither thou wentest next?" + +Erik answered. "I went off from the stone riding on a beam, and often +again took station by a stone." + +Frode replied: "I ask thee whither thou next didst bend thy course, or +where the evening found thee?" + +Then said Erik: "Leaving a crag, I came to a rock, and likewise lay by a +stone." + +Frode said: "The boulders lay thick in those parts." + +Erik answered: "Yet thicker lies the sand, plain to see." + +Frode said: "Tell what thy business was, and whither thou struckest off +thence." + +Then said Erik: "Leaving the rock, as my ship ran on, I found a +dolphin." + +Frode said: "Now thou hast said something fresh, though both these +things are common in the sea: but I would know what path took thee after +that?" + +Erik answered: "After a dolphin I went to a dolphin." + +Frode said: "The herd of dolphins is somewhat common." + +Then said Erik: "It does swim somewhat commonly on the waters." + +Frode said: "I would fain blow whither thou wert borne on thy toilsome +journey after leaving the dolphins?" + +Erik answered: "I soon came upon the trunk of a tree." + +Frode rejoined: "Whither didst thou next pass on thy journey?" + +Then said Erik: "From a trunk I passed on to a log." + +Frode said: "That spot must be thick with trees, since thou art always +calling the abodes of thy hosts by the name of trunks." + +Erik replied: "There is a thicker place in the woods." + +Frode went on: "Relate whither thou next didst bear thy steps." + +Erik answered: "Oft again I made my way to the lopped timbers of the +woods; but, as I rested there, wolves that were sated on human carcases +licked the points of the spears. There a lance-head was shaken from the +shaft of the king, and it was the grandson of Fridleif." + +Frode said: "I am bewildered, and know not what to think about the +dispute: for thou hast beguiled my mind with very dark riddling." + +Erik answered: "Thou owest me the prize for this contest that is +finished: for under a veil I have declared to thee certain things thou +hast ill understood. For under the name I gave before of `spear-point' I +signified Odd, whom my hand had slain." + +And when the queen also had awarded him the palm of eloquence and the +prize for flow of speech, the king straightway took a bracelet from his +arm, and gave it to him as the appointed reward, adding: "I would fain +learn from thyself thy debate with Grep, wherein he was not ashamed +openly to avow himself vanquished." + +Then said Erik: "He was smitten with shame for the adultery wherewith he +was taxed; for since he could bring no defence, he confessed that he had +committed it with thy wife." + +The king turned to Hanund and asked her in what spirit she received +the charge; and she not only confessed her guilt by a cry, but also put +forth in her face a blushing signal of her sin, and gave manifest token +of her fault. The king, observing not only her words, but also the signs +of her countenance, but doubting with what sentence he should punish the +criminal, let the queen settle by her own choice the punishment which +her crime deserved. When she learnt that the sentence committed to +her concerned her own guilt, she wavered awhile as she pondered how +to appraise her transgression; but Grep sprang up and ran forward to +transfix Erik with a spear, wishing to buy off his own death by slaying +the accuser. But Roller fell on him with drawn sword, and dealt him +first the doom he had himself purposed. + +Erik said: "The service of kin is best for the helpless." + +And Roller said: "In sore needs good men should be dutifully summoned." + +Then Frode said: "I think it will happen to you according to the common +saying, `that the striker sometimes has short joy of his stroke', and +`that the hand is seldom long glad of the smiting'." + +Erik answered: "The man must not be impeached whose deed justice +excuses. For my work is as far as from that of Grep, as an act of +self-defence is from an attack upon another." + +Then the brethren of Grep began to spring up and clamour and swear that +they would either bring avengers upon the whole fleet of Erik, or would +fight him and ten champions with him. + +Erik said to them: "Sick men have to devise by craft some provision for +their journey. He whose sword-point is dull should only probe things +that are soft and tender. He who has a blunt knife must search out the +ways to cut joint by joint. Since, therefore, it is best for a man in +distress to delay the evil, and nothing is more fortunate in trouble +than to stave off hard necessity, I ask three days' space to get ready, +provided that I may obtain from the king the skill of a freshly slain +ox." + +Frode answered: "He who fell on a hide deserves a hide"; thus openly +taunting the asker with his previous fall. But Erik, when the hide was +given him, made some sandals, which he smeared with a mixture of tar and +sand, in order to plant his steps the more firmly, and fitted them on to +the feet of himself and his people. At last, having meditated what spot +he should choose for the fight--for he said that he was unskilled in +combat by land and in all warfare--he demanded it should be on the +frozen sea. To this both sides agreed. The king granted a truce for +preparations, and bade the sons of Westmar withdraw, saying that it was +amiss that a guest, even if he had deserved ill should be driven +from his lodging. Then he went back to examine into the manner of the +punishment, which he had left to the queen's own choice to exact. For +she forebore to give judgment, and begged pardon for her slip. Erik +added, that woman's errors must often be forgiven, and that punishment +ought not to be inflicted, unless amendment were unable to get rid of +her fault. So the king pardoned Hanund. As twilight drew near, Erik +said: "With Gotar, not only are rooms provided when the soldiers are +coming to feast at the banquet, but each is appointed a separate place +and seat where he is to lie." Then the king gave up for their occupation +the places where his own champions had sat; and next the servants +brought the banquet. But Erik, knowing well the courtesy of the king, +which made him forbid them to use up any of the meal that was left, +cast away the piece of which he had tasted very little, calling whole +portions broken bits of food. And so, as the dishes dwindled, the +servants brought up fresh ones to the lacking and shamefaced guests, +thus spending on a little supper what might have served for a great +banquet. + +So the king said: "Are the soldiers of Gotar wont to squander the meat +after once touching it, as if it were so many pared-off crusts? And to +spurn the first dishes as if they were the last morsels?" + +Erik said: "Uncouthness claims no place in the manners of Gotar, neither +does any disorderly habit feign there." + +But Frode said: "Then thy manners are not those of thy lord, and thou +hast proved that thou hast not taken all wisdom to heart. For he who +goes against the example of his elders shows himself a deserter and a +renegade." + +Then said Erik: "The wise man must be taught by the wiser. For knowledge +grows by learning, and instruction is advanced by doctrine." + +Frode rejoined: "This affectation of thine of superfluous words, what +exemplary lesson will it teach me?" + +Erik said: "A loyal few are a safer defence for a king than many +traitors." + +Frode said to him: "Wilt thou then show us closer allegiance than the +rest?" + +Erik answered: "No man ties the unborn (horse) to the crib, or the +unbegotten to the stall. For thou hast not yet experienced all things. +Besides, with Gotar there is always a mixture of drinking with +feasting; liquor, over and above, and as well as meat, is the joy of the +reveller." + +Frode said: "Never have I found a more shameless beggar of meat and +drink." + +Erik replied: "Few reckon the need of the silent, or measure the wants +of him who holds his peace." + +Then the king bade his sister bring forth the drink in a great goblet. +Erik caught hold of her right hand and of the goblet she offered at the +same time, and said: "Noblest of kings, hath thy benignity granted me +this present? Dost thou assure me that what I hold shall be mine as an +irrevocable gift?" + +The king, thinking that he was only asking for the cup, declared it was +a gift. But Erik drew the maiden to him, as if she was given with the +cup. When the king saw it, he said: "A fool is shown by his deed; with +us freedom of maidens is ever held inviolate." + +Then Erik, feigning that he would cut off the girl's hand with his +sword, as though it had been granted under the name of the cup, said: +"If I have taken more than thou gavest, or if I am rash to keep the +whole, let me at least get some." The king saw his mistake in his +promise, and gave him the maiden, being loth to undo his heedlessness +by fickleness, and that the weight of his pledge might seem the greater; +though it is held an act more of ripe judgment than of unsteadfastness +to take back a foolish promise. + +Then, taking from Erik security that he would return, he sent him to the +ships; for the time appointed for the battle was at hand. Erik and his +men went on to the sea, then covered near with ice; and, thanks to the +stability of their sandals, felled the enemy, whose footing was slippery +and unsteady. For Frode had decreed that no man should help either side +if it wavered or were distressed. Then he went back in triumph to the +king. So Gotwar, sorrowing at the destruction of her children who had +miserably perished, and eager to avenge them, announced that it would +please her to have a flyting with Erik, on condition that she should +gage a heavy necklace and he his life; so that if he conquered he should +win gold, but if he gave in, death. Erik agreed to the contest, and the +gage was deposited with Gunwar. So Gotwar began thus: + + "Quando tuam limas admissa cote bipennem, + Nonne terit tremulas mentula quassa nates?" + +Erik rejoined: + + "Ut cuivis natura pilos in corpore sevit, + Omnis nempe suo barba ferenda loco est. + Re Veneris homines artus agitare necesse est; + Motus quippe suos nam labor omnis habet. + Cum natis excipitur nate, vel cum subdita penem + Vulva capit, quid ad haec addere mas renuit?" + +Powerless to answer this, Gotwar had to give the gold to the man +whom she had meant to kill, and thus wasted a lordly gift instead of +punishing the slayer of her son. For her ill fate was crowned, instead +of her ill-will being avenged. First bereaved, and then silenced +by furious words, she lost at once her wealth and all reward of her +eloquence. She made the man blest who had taken away her children, and +enriched her bereaver with a present: and took away nothing to make up +the slaughter of her sons save the reproach of ignorance and the loss of +goods. Westmar, when he saw this, determined to attack the man by force, +since he was the stronger of tongue, and laid down the condition that +the reward of the conqueror should be the death of the conquered, so +that the life of both parties was plainly at stake. Erik, unwilling to +be thought quicker of tongue than of hand, did not refuse the terms. + +Now the manner of combat was as follows. A ring, plaited of withy or +rope, used to be offered to the combatants for them to drag away by +wrenching it with a great effort of foot and hand; and the prize went to +the stronger, for if either of the combatants could wrench it from the +other, he was awarded the victory. Erik struggled in this manner, and, +grasping the rope sharply, wrested it out of the hands of his opponent. +When Erode saw this, he said: "I think it is hard to tug at a rope with +a strong man." + +And Erik said: "Hard, at any rate, when a tumour is in the body or a +hunch sits on the back." + +And straightway, thrusting his foot forth, he broke the infirm neck and +back of the old man, and crushed him. And so Westmar failed to compass +his revenge: zealous to retaliate, he fell into the portion of those who +need revenging; being smitten down even as those whose slaughter he had +desired to punish. + +Now Frode intended to pierce Erik by throwing a dagger at him. But +Gunwar knew her brother's purpose, and said, in order to warn +her betrothed of his peril, that no man could be wise who took no +forethought for himself. This speech warned Erik to ward off the +treachery, and he shrewdly understood the counsel of caution. For at +once he sprang up and said that the glory of the wise man would be +victorious, but that guile was its own punishment; thus censuring his +treacherous intent in very gentle terms. But the king suddenly flung his +knife at him, yet was too late to hit him; for he sprang aside, and the +steel missed its mark and ran into the wall opposite. Then said Erik: +"Gifts should be handed to friends, and not thrown; thou hadst made +the present acceptable if thou hadst given the sheath to keep the blade +company." + +On this request the king at once took the sheath from his girdle and +gave it to him, being forced to abate his hatred by the self-control of +his foe. Thus he was mollified by the prudent feigning of the other, and +with goodwill gave him for his own the weapon which he had cast with +ill will. And thus Erik, by taking the wrong done him in a dissembling +manner, turned it into a favour, accepting as a splendid gift the steel +which had been meant to slay him. For he put a generous complexion on +what Frode had done with intent to harm. Then they gave themselves up +to rest. In the night Gunwar awoke Erik silently, and pointed out to him +that they ought to fly, saying that it was very expedient to return with +safe chariot ere harm was done. He went with her to the shore, where he +happened to find the king's fleet beached: so, cutting away part of +the sides, he made it unseaworthy, and by again replacing some laths he +patched it so that the damage might be unnoticed by those who looked at +it. Then he caused the vessel whither he and his company had retired to +put off a little from the shore. + +The king prepared to give them chase with his mutilated ships, but soon +the waves broke through; and though he was very heavily laden with his +armour, he began to swim off among the rest, having become more anxious +to save his own life than to attack that of others. The bows plunged +over into the sea, the tide flooded in and swept the rowers from their +seats. When Erik and Roller saw this they instantly flung themselves +into the deep water, spurning danger, and by swimming picked up the +king, who was tossing about. Thrice the waves had poured over him and +borne him down when Erik caught him by the hair, and lifted him out of +the sea. The remaining crowd of the wrecked either sank in the waters, +or got with trouble to the land. The king was stripped of his dripping +attire and swathed round with dry garments, and the water poured in +floods from his chest as he kept belching it; his voice also seemed +to fail under the exhaustion of continual pantings. At last heat was +restored to his limbs, which were numbed with cold, and his breathing +became quicker. He had not fully got back his strength, and could sit +but not rise. Gradually his native force returned. But when he was asked +at last whether he sued for life and grace, he put his hand to his eyes, +and strove to lift up their downcast gaze. But as, little by little, +power came back to his body, and as his voice became more assured, he +said: + +"By this light, which I am loth to look on, by this heaven which I +behold and drink in with little joy, I beseech and conjure you not to +persuade me to use either any more. I wished to die; ye have saved me in +vain. I was not allowed to perish in the waters; at least I will die by +the sword. I was unconquered before; thine, Erik, was the first wit to +which I yielded: I was all the more unhappy, because I had never been +beaten by men of note, and now I let a low-born man defeat me. This +is great cause for a king to be ashamed. This is a good and sufficient +reason for a general to die; it is right that he should care for nothing +so much as glory. If he want that, then take it that he lacks all else. +For nothing about a king is more on men's lips than his repute. I was +credited with the height of understanding and eloquence. But I have been +stripped of both the things wherein I was thought to excel, and am all +the more miserable because I, the conqueror of kings, am seen conquered +by a peasant. Why grant life to him whom thou hast robbed of honour? I +have lost sister, realm, treasure, household gear, and, what is greater +than them all, renown: I am luckless in all chances, and in all thy +good fortune is confessed. Why am I to be kept to live on for all this +ignominy? What freedom can be so happy for me that it can wipe out all +the shame of captivity? What will all the following time bring for me? +It can beget nothing but long remorse in my mind, and will savour only +of past woes. What will prolonging of life avail, if it only brings back +the memory of sorrow? To the stricken nought is pleasanter than death, +and that decease is happy which comes at a man's wish, for it cuts not +short any sweetness of his days, but annihilates his disgust at all +things. Life in prosperity, but death in adversity, is best to seek. +No hope of better things tempts me to long for life. What hap can quite +repair my shattered fortunes? And by now, had ye not rescued me in my +peril, I should have forgotten even these. What though thou shouldst +give me back my realm, restore my sister, and renew my treasure? Thou +canst never repair my renown. Nothing that is patched up can have the +lustre of the unimpaired, and rumour will recount for ages that +Frode was taken captive. Moreover, if ye reckon the calamities I have +inflicted on you, I have deserved to die at your hands; if ye recall the +harms I have done, ye will repent your kindness. Ye will be ashamed of +having aided a foe, if ye consider how savagely he treated you. Why do +ye spare the guilty? Why do ye stay your hand from the throat of your +persecutor? It is fitting that the lot which I had prepared for you +should come home to myself. I own that if I had happened to have you in +my power as ye now have me, I should have paid no heed to compassion. +But if I am innocent before you in act, I am guilty at least in will. I +pray you, let my wrongful intention, which sometimes is counted to stand +for the deed, recoil upon me. If ye refuse me death by the sword I will +take care to kill myself with my own hand." + +Erik rejoined thus: "I pray that the gods may turn thee from the folly +of thy purpose; turn thee, I say, that thou mayst not try to end a most +glorious life abominably. Why, surely the gods themselves have forbidden +that a man who is kind to others should commit unnatural self-murder. +Fortune has tried thee to find out with what spirit thou wouldst meet +adversity. Destiny has proved thee, not brought thee low. No sorrow has +been inflicted on thee which a happier lot cannot efface. Thy prosperity +has not been changed; only a warning has been given thee. No man behaves +with self-control in prosperity who has not learnt to endure adversity. +Besides, the whole use of blessings is reaped after misfortunes have +been graciously acknowledged. Sweeter is the joy which follows on the +bitterness of fate. Wilt thou shun thy life because thou hast once had a +drenching, and the waters closed over thee? But if the waters can crush +thy spirit, when wilt thou with calm courage bear the sword? Who would +not reckon swimming away in his armour more to his glory than to his +shame? How many men would think themselves happy were they unhappy +with thy fortune? The sovereignty is still thine; thy courage is in its +prime; thy years are ripening; thou canst hope to compass more than thou +hast yet achieved. I would not find thee fickle enough to wish, not only +to shun hardships, but also to fling away thy life, because thou couldst +not bear them. None is so unmanly as he who from fear of adversity loses +heart to live. No wise man makes up for his calamities by dying. Wrath +against another is foolish, but against a man's self it is foolhardy; +and it is a coward frenzy which dooms its owner. But if thou go +without need to thy death for some wrong suffered, or for some petty +perturbation of spirit, whom dost thou leave behind to avenge thee? +Who is so mad that he would wish to punish the fickleness of fortune by +destroying himself? What man has lived so prosperously but that ill +fate has sometimes stricken him? Hast thou enjoyed felicity unbroken +and passed thy days without a shock, and now, upon a slight cloud of +sadness, dost thou prepare to quit thy life, only to save thy anguish? +If thou bear trifles so ill, how shalt thou endure the heavier frowns +of fortune? Callow is the man who has never tasted of the cup of sorrow; +and no man who has not suffered hardships is temperate in enjoying ease. +Wilt thou, who shouldst have been a pillar of courage, show a sign of a +palsied spirit? Born of a brave sire, wilt thou display utter impotence? +Wilt thou fall so far from thy ancestors as to turn softer than women? +Hast thou not yet begun thy prime, and art thou already taken with +weariness of life? Whoever set such an example before? Shall the +grandson of a famous man, and the child of the unvanquished, be too weak +to endure a slight gust of adversity? Thy nature portrays the courage of +thy sires; none has conquered thee, only thine own heedlessness has hurt +thee. We snatched thee from peril, we did not subdue thee; wilt thou +give us hatred for love, and set our friendship down as wrongdoing? Our +service should have appeased thee, and not troubled thee. May the gods +never desire thee to go so far in frenzy, as to persist in branding +thy preserver as a traitor! Shall we be guilty before thee in a matter +wherein we do thee good? Shall we draw anger on us for our service? Wilt +thou account him thy foe whom thou hast to thank for thy life? For thou +wert not free when we took thee, but in distress, and we came in time to +help thee. And, behold, I restore thy treasure, thy wealth, thy goods. +If thou thinkest thy sister was betrothed to me over-hastily, let her +marry the man whom thou commandest; for her chastity remains inviolate. +Moreover, if thou wilt accept me, I wish to fight for thee. Beware lest +thou wrongfully steel thy mind in anger. No loss of power has shattered +thee, none of thy freedom has been forfeited. Thou shalt see that I +am obeying, not commanding thee. I agree to any sentence thou mayst +pronounce against my life. Be assured that thou art as strong here as-in +thy palace; thou hast the same power to rule here as in thy court. Enact +concerning us here whatsoever would have been thy will in the palace: we +are ready to obey." Thus much said Erik. + +Now this speech softened the king towards himself as much as towards his +foe. Then, everything being arranged and made friendly, they returned to +the shore. The king ordered that Erik and his sailors should be taken in +carriages. But when they reached the palace he had an assembly summoned, +to which he called Erik, and under the pledge of betrothal gave him +his sister and command over a hundred men. Then he added that the queen +would be a weariness to him, and that the daughter of Gotar had taken +his liking. He must, therefore, have a fresh embassy, and the business +could best be done by Erik, for whose efforts nothing seemed too hard. +He also said that he would stone Gotwar to death for her complicity in +concealing the crime; but Hanund he would restore to her father, that he +might not have a traitress against his life dwelling amongst the Danes. +Erik approved his plans, and promised his help to carry out his bidding; +except that he declared that it would be better to marry the queen, when +she had been put away, to Roller, of whom his sovereignty need have no +fears. This opinion Frode received reverentially, as though it were some +lesson vouchsafed from above. The queen also, that she might not seem +to be driven by compulsion, complied, as women will, and declared that +there was no natural necessity to grieve, and that all distress of +spirit was a creature of fancy: and, moreover, that one ought not to +bewail the punishment that befell one's deserts. And so the brethren +celebrated their marriages together, one wedding the sister of the king, +and the other his divorced queen. + +Then they sailed back to Norway, taking their wives with them. For +the women could not be torn from the side of their husbands, either by +distance of journey or by dread of peril, but declared that they would +stick to their lords like a feather to something shaggy. They found that +Ragnar was dead, and that Kraka had already married one Brak. Then they +remembered the father's treasure, dug up the money, and bore it off. +But Erik's fame had gone before him, and Gotar had learnt all his good +fortune. Now when Gotar learnt that he had come himself, he feared that +his immense self-confidence would lead him to plan the worst against the +Norwegians, and was anxious to take his wife from him and marry him to +his own daughter in her place: for his queen had just died, and he was +anxious to marry the sister of Frode more than anyone. Erik, when he +learnt of his purpose, called his men together, and told them that his +fortune had not yet got off from the reefs. Also he said that he saw, +that as a bundle that was not tied by a band fell to pieces, so likewise +the heaviest punishment that was not constrained on a man by his own +fault suddenly collapsed. They had experienced this of late with Frode; +for they saw how at the hardest pass their innocence had been protected +by the help of the gods; and if they continued to preserve it they +should hope for like aid in their adversity. Next, they must pretend +flight for a little while, if they were attacked by Gotar, for so they +would have a juster plea for fighting. For they had every right to +thrust out the hand in order to shield the head from peril. Seldom +could a man carry to a successful end a battle he had begun against the +innocent; so, to give them a better plea for assaulting the enemy, he +must be provoked to attack them first. + +Erik then turned to Gunwar, and asked her, in order to test her +fidelity, whether she had any love for Gotar, telling her it was +unworthy that a maid of royal lineage should be bound to the bed of a +man of the people. Then she began to conjure him earnestly by the power +of heaven to tell her whether his purpose was true or reigned? He said +that he had spoken seriously, and she cried: "And so thou art prepared +to bring on me the worst of shame by leaving me a widow, whom thou +lovedst dearly as a maid! Common rumour often speaks false, but I have +been wrong in my opinion of thee. I thought I had married a steadfast +man; I hoped his loyalty was past question; but now I find him to be +more fickle than the winds." Saying this, she wept abundantly. + +Dear to Erik was his wife's fears; presently he embraced her and said: +"I wished to know how loyal thou wert to me. Nought but death has the +right to sever us, but Gotar means to steal thee away, seeking thy love +by robbery. When he has committed the theft, pretend it is done with thy +goodwill; yet put off the wedding till he has given me his daughter in +thy place. When she has been granted, Gotar and I will hold our +marriage on the same day. And take care that thou prepare rooms for +our banqueting which have a common party-wall, yet are separate: lest +perchance, if I were before thine eyes, thou shouldst ruffle the king +with thy lukewarm looks at him. For this will be a most effective trick +to baffle the wish of the ravisher." Then he bade Brak (one of his +men), to lie in ambush not far from the palace with a chosen band of his +quickest men, that he might help him at need. + +Then he summoned Roller, and fled in his ship with his wife and all his +goods, in order to tempt the king out, pretending panic: So, when he saw +that the fleet of Gotar was pressing him hard, he said: "Behold how the +bow of guile shooteth the shaft of treachery;" and instantly rousing his +sailors with the war-shout, he steered the ship about. Gotar came close +up to him and asked who was the pilot of the ship, and he was told that +it was Erik. He also shouted a question whether he was the same man who +by his marvellous speaking could silence the eloquence of all other men. +Erik, when he heard this, replied that he had long since received the +surname of the "Shrewd-spoken", and that he had not won the auspicious +title for nothing. Then both went back to the nearest shore, where +Gotar, when he learnt the mission of Erik, said that he wished for the +sister of Frode, but would rather offer his own daughter to Frode's +envoy, that Erik might not repent the passing of his own wife to another +man. Thus it would not be unfitting for the fruit of the mission to fall +to the ambassador. + +Erik, he said, was delightful to him as a son-in-law, if only he could +win alliance with Frode through Gunwar. + +Erik lauded the kindness of the king and approved his judgment, +declaring he could not have expected a greater thing from the immortal +gods than what was now offered him unasked. Still, he said, the king +must first discover Gunwar's own mind and choice. She accepted the +flatteries of the king with feigned goodwill, and seemed to consent +readily to his suit, but besought him to suffer Erik's nuptials to +precede hers; because, if Erik's were accomplished first, there would be +a better opportunity for the king's; but chiefly on this account, +that, if she were to marry again, she might not be disgusted at her new +marriage troth by the memory of the old recurring. She also declared +it inexpedient for two sets of preparations to be confounded in one +ceremony. The king was prevailed upon by her answers, and highly +approved her requests. + +Gotar's constant talks with Erik furnished him with a store of most +fairshapen maxims, wherewith to rejoice and refresh his mind. So, not +satisfied with giving him his daughter in marriage he also made over to +him the district of Lither, thinking that their connection deserved some +kindness. Now Kraka, whom Erik, because of her cunning in witchcraft, +had brought with him on his travels, feigned weakness of the eyes, and +muffled up her face in her cloak, so that not a single particle of her +head was visible for recognition. When people asked her who she was, +she said that she was Gunwar's sister, child of the same mother but a +different father. + +Now when they came to the dwelling of Gotar, the wedding-feast of +Alfhild (this was his daughter's name) was being held. Erik and the king +sat at meat in different rooms, with a party-wall in common, and also +entirely covered on the inside with hanging tapestries. Gunwar sat by +Gotar, but Erik sat close between Kraka on the one side and Alfhild on +the other. Amid the merrymaking, he gradually drew a lath out of the +wall, and made an opening large enough to allow the passage of a human +body; and thus, without the knowledge of the guests, he made a space +wide enough to go through. Then, in the course of the feast, he began to +question his betrothed closely whether she would rather marry himself or +Frode: especially since, if due heed were paid to matches, the daughter +of a king ought to go to the arms of one as noble as herself, so that +the lowliness of one of the pair might not impair the lordliness of the +other. She said that she would never marry against the permission of her +father; but he turned her aversion into compliance by promises that she +should be queen, and that she should be richer than all other women, for +she was captivated by the promise of wealth quite as much as of glory. +There is also a tradition that Kraka turned the maiden's inclinations to +Frode by a drink which she mixed and gave to her. + +Now Gotar, after the feast, in order to make the marriage-mirth go fast +and furious, went to the revel of Erik. As he passed out, Gunwar, as +she had been previously bidden, went through the hole in the party-wall +where the lath had been removed, and took the seat next to Erik. Gotar +marvelled that she was sitting there by his side, and began to ask +eagerly how and why she had come there. She said that she was Gunwar's +sister, and that the king was deceived by the likeness of their looks. +And when the king, in order to look into the matter, hurried back to the +royal room, Gunwar returned through the back door by which she had come +and sat in her old place in the sight of all. Gotar, when he saw her, +could scarcely believe his eyes, and in the utmost doubt whether he had +recognized her aright, he retraced his steps to Erik; and there he saw +before him Gunwar, who had got back in her own fashion. And so, as often +as he changed to go from one hall to the other, he found her whom he +sought in either place. By this time the king was tormented by great +wonder at what was no mere likeness, but the very same face in both +places. For it seemed flatly impossible that different people should +look exactly and undistinguishably alike. At last, when the revel broke +up, he courteously escorted his daughter and Erik as far as their room, +as the manner is at weddings, and went back himself to bed elsewhere. + +But Erik suffered Alfhild, who was destined for Frode, to lie apart, and +embraced Gunwar as usual, thus outwitting the king. So Gotar passed a +sleepless night, revolving how he had been apparently deluded with +a dazed and wandering mind: for it seemed to him no mere likeness of +looks, but sameness. Thus he was filled with such wavering and doubtful +judgment, that though he really discerned the truth he thought he must +have been mistaken. At last it flashed across his mind that the +wall might have been tampered with. He gave orders that it should be +carefully surveyed and examined, but found no traces of a breakage: in +fact, the entire room seemed to be whole and unimpaired. For Erik, early +in the night, had patched up the damage of the broken wall, that his +trick might not be detected. Then the king sent two men privily into +the bedroom of Erik to learn the truth, and bade them stand behind the +hangings and note all things carefully. They further received orders +to kill Erik if they found him with Gunwar. They went secretly into the +room, and, concealing themselves in the curtained corners, beheld +Erik and Gunwar in bed together with arms entwined. Thinking them only +drowsy, they waited for their deeper sleep, wishing to stay until a +heavier slumber gave them a chance to commit their crime. Erik snored +lustily, and they knew it was a sure sign that he slept soundly; so they +straightway came forth with drawn blades in order to butcher him. Erik +was awakened by their treacherous onset, and seeing their swords hanging +over his head, called out the name of his stepmother, (Kraka), to which +long ago he had been bidden to appeal when in peril, and he found a +speedy help in his need. For his shield, which hung aloft from the +rafter, instantly fell and covered his unarmed body, and, as if on +purpose, covered it from impalement by the cutthroats. He did not fail +to make use of his luck, but, snatching his sword, lopped off both feet +of the nearest of them. Gunwar, with equal energy, ran a spear through +the other: she had the body of a woman, but the spirit of a man. + +Thus Erik escaped the trap; whereupon he went back to the sea and made +ready to sail off by night. But Roller sounded on his horn the signal +for those who had been bidden to watch close by, to break into the +palace. When the king heard this, he thought it meant that the enemy was +upon them, and made off hastily in a ship. Meanwhile Brak, and those who +had broken in with him, snatched up the goods of the king, and got them +on board Erik's ships. Almost half the night was spent in pillaging. +In the morning, when the king found that they had fled, he prepared to +pursue them, but was advised by one of his friends not to plan anything +on a sudden or do it in haste. His friend, indeed, tried to convince him +that he needed a larger equipment, and that it was ill-advised to pursue +the fugitives to Denmark with a handful. But neither could this curb +the king's impetuous spirit; it could not bear the loss; for nothing had +stung him more than this, that his preparations to slay another should +have recoiled on his own men. So he sailed to the harbour which is now +called Omi. Here the weather began to be bad, provision failed, and +they thought it better, since die they must, to die by the sword than +by famine. And so the sailors turned their hand against one another, and +hastened their end by mutual blows. The king with a few men took to the +cliffs and escaped. Lofty barrows still mark the scene of the slaughter. +Meanwhile Erik ended his voyage fairly, and the wedding of Alfhild and +Frode was kept. + +Then came tidings of an inroad of the Sclavs, and Erik was commissioned +to suppress it with eight ships, since Frode as yet seemed inexperienced +in war. Erik, loth ever to flinch from any manly undertaking, gladly +undertook the business and did it bravely. Learning that the pirates had +seven ships, he sailed up to them with only one of his own, ordering +the rest to be girt with timber parapets, and covered over with pruned +boughs of trees. Then he advanced to observe the number of the enemy +more fully, but when the Sclavs pursued closely, he beat a quick retreat +to his men. But the enemy, blind to the trap, and as eager to take the +fugitives, rowed smiting the waters fast and incessantly. For the ships +of Erik could not be clearly distinguished, looking like a leafy +wood. The enemy, after venturing into a winding strait, suddenly saw +themselves surrounded by the fleet of Erik. First, confounded by the +strange sight, they thought that a wood was sailing; and then they saw +that guile lurked under the leaves. Therefore, tardily repenting their +rashness, they tried to retrace their incautious voyage: but while they +were trying to steer about, they saw the enemy boarding them; Erik, +however, put his ship ashore, and slung stones against the enemy +from afar. Thus most of the Sclavs were killed, and forty taken, who +afterwards under stress of bonds and famine, and in strait of divers +torments, gave up the ghost. + +Meantime Frode, in order to cross on an expedition into Sclavia, had +mustered a mighty fleet from the Danes, as well as from neighbouring +peoples. The smallest boat of this fleet could carry twelve sailors, and +be rowed by as many oars. Then Erik, bidding his men await him patiently +went to tell Frode the tidings of the defeat he had inflicted. As he +sailed along he happened to see a pirate ship aground on some shallows; +and being wont to utter weighty words upon chance occurrences, he said, +"Obscure is the lot of the base-born, and mean is the fortune of the +lowly." Then he brought his ship up close and destroyed the pirates, who +were trying to get off their own vessel with poles, and busily engrossed +in saving her. This accomplished, he made his way back to the king's +fleet; and wishing to cheer Frode with a greeting that heralded his +victory, he said, "Hail to the maker of a most prosperous peace!" The +king prayed that his word might come true, and declared that the spirit +of the wise man was prophetic. Erik answered that he spoke truly, and +that the petty victory brought an omen of a greater one; declaring that +a presage of great matters could often be got from trifles. Then the +king counselled him to scatter his force, and ordered the horsemen of +Jutland to go by the land way, while the rest of the army went by +the short sea-passage. But the sea was covered with such a throng of +vessels, that there were not enough harbours to take them in, nor shores +for them to encamp on, nor money for their provisions; while the land +army is said to have been so great that, in order to shorten the way, it +levelled mountains, made marshes passable, filled up pits with material, +and the hugest chasms by casting in great boulders. + +Meanwhile Strunik the King of the Sclavs sent envoys to ask for a truce; +but Frode refused him time to equip himself, saying that an enemy ought +not to be furnished with a truce. Moreover, he said, he had hitherto +passed his life without experience of war, and now he ought not to delay +its beginning by waiting in doubt; for the man that conducted his first +campaign successfully might hope for as good fortune in the rest. For +each side would take the augury afforded by the first engagements as a +presage of the combat; since the preliminary successes of war were +often a prophecy of the sequel. Erik commended the wisdom of the reply, +declaring that the game ought to be played abroad just as it had been +begun at home: meaning that the Danes had been challenged by the Sclavs. +After these words he fought a furious battle, slew Strunik with the +bravest of his race, and received the surrender of the rest. Then Frode +called the Sclavs together, and proclaimed by a herald that any man +among them who had been trained to theft or plunder should be speedily +given up; promising that he would reward the character of such men with +the highest honours. He also ordered that all of them, who were versed +in evil arts should come forth to have their reward. This offer pleased +the Sclavs: and some of them, tempted by their hopes of the gift, +betrayed themselves with more avarice than judgment, before the others +could make them known. These were misled by such great covetousness, +that they thought less of shame than lucre, and accounted as their glory +what was really their guilt. When these had given themselves up of their +own will, he said: "Sclavs! This is the pest from which you must clear +your land yourselves." And straightway he ordered the executioners to +seize them, and had them fixed upon the highest gallows by the hand of +their own countrymen. The punishers looked fewer than the punished. And +thus the shrewd king, by refusing to those who owned their guilt the +pardon which he granted to the conquered foe, destroyed almost the +entire stock of the Sclavic race. Thus the longing for an undeserved +reward was visited with a deserved penalty, and the thirst for an +undue wage justly punished. I should think that these men were rightly +delivered to their doom, who brought the peril on their own heads by +speaking, when they could have saved their lives by the protection of +silence. + +The king, exalted by the honours of his fresh victory, and loth to seem +less strong in justice than in battle, resolved to remodel his army by +some new laws, some of which are retained by present usage, while others +men have chosen to abolish for new ones. (a) For he decreed, when the +spoil was divided, that each of the vanguard should receive a greater +share than the rest of the soldiery: while he granted all gold that was +taken to the generals (before whom the standards were always borne in +battle) on account of their rank; wishing the common soldiers to +be content with silver. He ordered that the arms should go to the +champions, but the captured ships should pass to the common people, as +the due of those who had the right of building and equipping vessels. +(b) Also he forbade that anyone should venture to lock up his household +goods, as he would receive double the value of any losses from the +treasury of the king; but if anyone thought fit to keep it in locked +coffers, he must pay the king a gold mark. He also laid down that anyone +who spared a thief should be punished as a thief. (d) Further, that the +first man to flee in battle should forfeit all common rights. (e) But +when he had returned into Denmark he wished to amend by good measures +any corruption caused by the evil practices of Grep; and therefore +granted women free choice in marriage, so that there might be no +compulsory wedlock. And so he provided by law that women should be held +duly married to those whom they had wedded without consulting their +fathers. (f) But if a free woman agreed to marry a slave, she must fall +to his rank, lose the blessing of freedom, and adopt the standing of a +slave. (g) He also imposed on men the statute that they must marry any +woman whom they had seduced. (h) He ordained that adulterers should be +deprived of a member by the lawful husbands, so that continence might +not be destroyed by shameful sins. (I) Also he ordained that if a Dane +plundered another Dane, he should repay double, and be held guilty of +a breach of the peace. (k) And if any man were to take to the house of +another anything which he had got by thieving, his host, if he shut the +door of his house behind the man, should incur forfeiture of all his +goods, and should be beaten in full assembly, being regarded as having +made himself guilty of the same crime. (l) Also, whatsoever exile should +turn enemy to his country, or bear a shield against his countrymen, +should be punished with the loss of life and goods. (m) But if any man, +from a contumacious spirit, were slack in fulfilling the orders of the +king, he should be punished with exile. For, on all occasion of any +sudden and urgent war, an arrow of wood, looking like iron, used to be +passed on everywhere from man to man as a messenger. (n) But if any one +of the commons went in front of the vanguard in battle, he was to rise +from a slave into a freeman, and from a peasant into a nobleman; but if +he were nobly-born already, he should be created a governor. So great +a guerdon did valiant men earn of old; and thus did the ancients think +noble rank the due of bravery. For it was thought that the luck a man +had should be set down to his valour, and not his valour to his luck. +(o) He also enacted that no dispute should be entered on with a promise +made under oath and a gage deposited; but whosoever requested another +man to deposit a gage against him should pay that man half a gold mark, +on pain of severe bodily chastisement. For the king had foreseen that +the greatest occasions of strife might arise from the depositing of +gages. (p) But he decided that any quarrel whatsoever should be decided +by the sword, thinking a combat of weapons more honourable than one of +words. But if either of the combatants drew back his foot, and stepped +out of the ring of the circle previously marked, he was to consider +himself conquered, and suffer the loss of his case. But a man of the +people, if he attacked a champion on any score, should be armed to meet +him; but the champion should only fight with a truncheon an ell long. +(q) Further, he appointed that if an alien killed a Dane, his death +should be redressed by the slaying of two foreigners. + +Meanwhile, Gotar, in order to punish Erik, equipped his army for war: +and Frode, on the other side, equipped a great fleet to go against +Norway. When both alike had put into Rennes-Isle, Gotar, terrified by +the greatness of Frode's name, sent ambassadors to pray for peace. Erik +said to them, "Shameless is the robber who is the first to seek peace, +or ventures to offer it to the good. He who longs to win must struggle: +blow must counter blow, malice repel malice." + +Gotar listened attentively to this from a distance, and then said, +as loudly as he could: "Each man fights for valour according as he +remembers kindness." Erik said to him: "I have requited thy kindness by +giving thee back counsel." By this speech he meant that his excellent +advice was worth more than all manner of gifts. And, in order to show +that Gotar was ungrateful for the counsel he had received, he said: +"When thou desiredst to take my life and my wife, thou didst mar the +look of thy fair example. Only the sword has the right to decide between +us." Then Gotar attacked the fleet of the Danes; he was unsuccessful in +the engagement, and slain. + +Afterwards Roller received his realm from Frode as a gift; it stretched +over seven provinces. Erik likewise presented Roller with the province +which Gotar had once bestowed upon him. After these exploits Frode +passed three years in complete and tranquil peace. + +Meanwhile the King of the Huns, when he heard that his daughter had been +put away, allied himself with Olmar, King of the Easterlings, and in two +years equipped an armament against the Danes. So Frode levied an army +not only of native Danes, but also of Norwegians and Sclavs. Erik, whom +he had sent to spy out the array of the enemy, found Olmar, who had +received the command of the fleet, not far from Russia; while the King +of the Huns led the land forces. He addressed Olmar thus: + +"What means, prithee, this strong equipment of war? Or whither dost thou +speed, King Olmar, mighty in thy fleet?" + +Olmar. "We are minded to attack the son of Fridleif. And who art thou, +whose bold lips ask such questions?" + +Erik. "Vain hope of conquering the unconquered hath filled thy heart; +over Frode no man can prevail." + +Olmar. "Whatsoever befalls, must once happen for the first time; and +often enough the unexpected comes to pass." + +By this saying he let him know that no man must put too much trust in +fortune. Then Erik rode up to inspect the army of the Huns. As it passed +by him, and he in turn by it, it showed its vanguard to the rising and +its rear to the setting sun. So he asked those whom he met, who had the +command of all those thousands. Hun, the King of the Huns, happened to +see him, and heard that he had undertaken to reconnoitre, and asked +what was the name of the questioner. Erik said he was the man who came +everywhere and was found nowhere. Then the king, when an interpreter +was brought, asked what work Frode was about. Erik replied, "Frode never +waits at home for a hostile army, nor tarries in his house for his foe. +For he who covets the pinnacle of another's power must watch and wake +all night. No man has ever won a victory by snoring, and no wolf has +ever found a carcase by lying asleep." + +The king, perceiving that he was a cunning speaker of choice maxims, +said: "Here, perchance, is that Erik who, as I have heard, accused my +daughter falsely." + +But Erik, when they were bidden to seize him instantly, said that it was +unseemly for one man to be dragged off by really; and by this saying +he not only appeased the mind of the king, but even inclined him to be +willing to pardon him. But it was clear that this impunity came more +from cunning than kindness; for the chief reason why he was let go was +that he might terrify Frode by the report of their vast numbers. When he +returned, Frode bad him relate what he had discovered, and he said that +he had seen six kings each with his fleet; and that each of these fleets +contained five thousand ships, each ship being known to hold three +hundred rowers. Each millenary of the whole total he said consisted of +four wings; now, since the full number of a wing is three hundred, he +meant that a millenary should be understood to contain twelve hundred +men. When Frode wavered in doubt what he could do against so many, and +looked eagerly round for reinforcements, Erik said: "Boldness helps the +righteous; a valiant dog must attack the bear; we want wolf-hounds, and +not little unwarlike birds." This said, he advised Frode to muster his +fleet. When it was drawn up they sailed off against the enemy; and so +they fought and subdued the islands lying between Denmark and the East; +and as they advanced thence, met some ships of the Ruthenian fleet. +Frode thought it shameful to attack such a handful, but Erik said: +"We must seek food from the gaunt and lean. He who falls shall seldom +fatten, nor has that man the power to bite whom the huge sack has +devoured." By this warning he cured the king of all shame about making +an assault, and presently induced him to attack a small number with a +throng; for he showed him that advantage must be counted before honour. + +After this they went on to meet Olmar, who because of the slowness of +his multitude preferred awaiting the enemy to attacking it; for the +vessels of the Ruthenians seemed disorganized, and, owing to their size, +not so well able to row. But not even did the force of his multitudes +avail him. For the extraordinary masses of the Ruthenians were stronger +in numbers than in bravery, and yielded the victory to the stout handful +of the Danes. + +When Frode tried to return home, his voyage encountered an unheard-of +difficulty. For the crowds of dead bodies, and likewise the fragments of +shields and spears, bestrewed the entire gulf of the sea, and tossed on +the tide, so that the harbours were not only straitened, but stank. The +vessels stuck, hampered amid the corpses. They could neither thrust off +with oars, nor drive away with poles, the rotting carcases that floated +around, or prevent, when they had put one away, another rolling up and +driving against the fleet. You would have thought that a war had arisen +with the dead, and there was a strange combat with the lifeless. + +So Frode summoned the nations which he had conquered, and enacted (a) +that any father of a family who had fallen in that war should be +buried with his horse and all his arms and decorations. And if any +body-snatcher, in his abominable covetousness, made an attempt on him, +he was to suffer for it, not only with his life, but also with the loss +of burial for his own body; he should have no barrow and no funeral. +For he thought it just that he who despoiled another's ashes should be +granted no burial, but should repeat in his own person the fate he +had inflicted on another. He appointed that the body of a centurion +or governor should receive funeral on a pyre built of his own ship. He +ordered that the bodies of every ten pilots should be burnt together +with a single ship, but that every earl or king that was killed should +be put on his own ship and burnt with it. He wished this nice attention +to be paid in conducting the funerals of the slain, because he wished +to prevent indiscriminate obsequies. By this time all the kings of the +Russians except Olmar and Dag had fallen in battle. (b) He also ordered +the Russians to conduct their warfare in imitation of the Danes, +and never to marry a wife without buying her. He thought that bought +marriages would have more security, believing that the troth which +was sealed with a price was the safest. (d) Moreover, anyone who durst +attempt the violation of a virgin was to be punished with the severance +of his bodily parts, or else to requite the wrong of his intercourse +with a thousand talents. (e) He also enacted that any man that applied +himself to war, who aspired to the title of tried soldier, should attack +a single man, should stand the attack of two, should only withdraw his +foot a little to avoid three, but should not blush to flee from four. +(f) He also proclaimed that a new custom concerning the pay of the +soldiers should be observed by the princes under his sway. He ordered +that each native soldier and housecarl should be presented in the winter +season with three marks of silver, a common or hired soldier with two, a +private soldier who had finished his service with only one. By this law +he did injustice to valour, reckoning the rank of the soldiers and not +their courage; and he was open to the charge of error in the matter, +because he set familiar acquaintance above desert. + +After this the king asked Erik whether the army of the Huns was as large +as the forces of Olmar, and Erik answered in the following song: + +"By Hercules, I came on a countless throng, a throng that neither earth +nor wave could hold. Thick flared all their camp-fires, and the whole +wood blazed up; the flame betokened a numberless array. The earth sank +under the fraying of the horse-hoofs; creaking waggons rattled swiftly. +The wheels rumbled, the driver rode upon the winds, so that the chariots +sounded like thunder. The earth hardly bore the throngs of men-at-arms, +speeding on confusedly; they trod it, but it could not bear their +weight. I thought that the air crashed and the earth was shaken, so +mighty was the motion of the stranger army. For I saw fifteen standards +flickering at once; each of them had a hundred lesser standards, and +after each of these could have been seen twenty; and the captains in +their order were equal in number to the standards." + +Now when Frode asked wherewithal he was to resist so many, Erik +instructed him that he must return home and suffer the enemy first to +perish of their own hugeness. His counsel was obeyed, the advice being +approved as heartily as it was uttered. But the Huns went on through +pathless deserts, and, finding provisions nowhere, began to run the +risk of general starvation; for it was a huge and swampy district, and +nothing could be found to relieve their want. At last, when the beasts +of burden had been cut down and eaten, they began to scatter, lacking +carriages as much as food. Now their straying from the road was as +perilous to them as their hunger. Neither horses nor asses were spared, +nor did they refrain from filthy garbage. At last they did not even +spare dogs: to dying men every abomination was lawful; for there is +nothing too hard for the bidding of extreme need. At last when they +were worn out with hunger, there came a general mortality. Bodies were +carried out for burial without end, for all feared to perish, and none +pitied the perishing. Fear indeed had cast out humanity. So first the +divisions deserted from the king little by little; and then the army +melted away by companies. He was also deserted by the prophet Ygg, a man +of unknown age, which was prolonged beyond the human span; this man +went as a deserter to Frode, and told him of all the preparations of the +Huns. + +Meanwhile Hedin, prince of a considerable tribe of the Norwegians, +approached the fleet of Frode with a hundred and fifty vessels. Choosing +twelve out of these, he proceeded to cruise nearer, signalling the +approach of friends by a shield raised on the mast. He thus greatly +augmented the forces of the king, and was received into his closest +friendship. A mutual love afterwards arose between this man and Hilda, +the daughter of Hogni, a chieftain of the Jutes, and a maiden of most +eminent renown. For, though they had not yet seen one another, each +had been kindled by the other's glory. But when they had a chance of +beholding one another, neither could look away; so steadfast was the +love that made their eyes linger. + +Meanwhile, Frode distributed his soldiers through the towns, and +carefully gathered in the materials needed for the winter supplies; but +even so he could not maintain his army, with its burden of expense: and +plague fell on him almost as great as the destruction that met the Huns. +Therefore, to prevent the influx of foreigners, he sent a fleet to the +Elbe to take care that nothing should cross; the admirals were Revil +and Mevil. When the winter broke up, Hedin and Hogni resolved to make +a roving-raid together; for Hogni did not know that his partner was in +love with his daughter. Now Hogni was of unusual stature, and stiff in +temper; while Hedin was very comely, but short. Also, when Frode saw +that the cost of keeping up his army grew daily harder to bear, he +sent Roller to Norway, Olmar to Sweden, King Onef and Glomer, a rover +captain, to the Orkneys for supplies, each with his own forces. Thirty +kings followed Frode, and were his friends or vassals. But when Hun +heard that Frode had sent away his forces he mustered another and a +fresh army. But Hogni betrothed his daughter to Hedin, after they had +sworn to one another that whichever of them should perish by the sword +should be avenged by the other. + +In the autumn, the men in search of supplies came back, but they were +richer in trophies than in food. For Roller had made tributary the +provinces Sundmor and Nordmor, after slaying Arthor their king. But +Olmar conquered Thor the Long, the King of the Jemts and the Helsings, +with two other captains of no less power, and also took Esthonia and +Kurland, with Oland, and the isles that fringe Sweden; thus he was a +most renowned conqueror of savage lands. So he brought back 700 ships, +thus doubling the numbers of those previously taken out. Onef and +Glomer, Hedin and Hogni, won victories over the Orkneys, and returned +with 900 ships. And by this time revenues had been got in from far and +wide, and there were ample materials gathered by plunder to recruit +their resources. They had also added twenty kingdoms to the sway of +Frode, whose kings, added to the thirty named before, fought on the side +of the Danes. + +Trusting in their strength, they engaged with the Huns. Such a carnage +broke out on the first day of this combat that the three chief rivers +of Russia were bestrewn with a kind of bridge of corpses, and could be +crossed and passed over. Also the traces of the massacre spread so wide +that for the space of three days' ride the ground was to be seen covered +with human carcases. So, when the battle had been seven days prolonged, +King Hun fell; and his brother of the same name, when he saw the line of +the Huns giving way, without delay surrendered himself and his company. +In that war 170 kings, who were either Huns or fighting amongst the +Huns, surrendered to the king. This great number Erik had comprised in +his previous description of the standards, when he was giving an account +of the multitude of the Huns in answer to the questions of Frode. So +Frode summoned the kings to assembly, and imposed a rule upon them that +they should all live under one and the same law. Now he set Olmar +over Holmgard; Onef over Conogard; and he bestowed Saxony on Hun, his +prisoner, and gave Revil the Orkneys. To one Dimar he allotted the +management of the provinces of the Helsings, of the Jarnbers, and the +Jemts, as well as both Laplands; while on Dag he bestowed the government +of Esthonia. Each of these men he burdened with fixed conditions of +tribute, thus making allegiance a condition of his kindness. So the +realms of Frode embraced Russia on the east, and on the west were +bounded by the Rhine. + +Meantime, certain slanderous tongues accused Hedin to Hogni of having +tempted and defiled his daughter before the rites of betrothal; which +was then accounted an enormous crime by all nations. So the credulous +ears of Hogni drank in this lying report, and with his fleet he attacked +Hedin, who was collecting the king's dues among the Slavs; there was +an engagement, and Hogni was beaten, and went to Jutland. And thus the +peace instituted by Frode was disturbed by intestine war, and natives +were the first to disobey the king's law. Frode, therefore, sent men to +summon them both at once, and inquired closely what was the reason of +their feud. When he had heard it, he gave judgment according to the +terms of the law he had enacted; but when he saw that even this could +not reconcile them (for the father obstinately demanded his daughter +back), he decreed that the quarrel should be settled by the sword--it +seemed the only remedy for ending the dispute. The fight began, and +Hedin was grievously wounded; but when he began to lose blood and bodily +strength, he received unexpected mercy from his enemy. For though Hogni +had an easy chance of killing him, yet, pitying youth and beauty, he +constrained his cruelty to give way to clemency. And so, loth to cut off +a stripling who was panting at his last gasp, he refrained his sword. +For of old it was accounted shameful to deprive of his life one who was +ungrown or a weakling; so closely did the antique bravery of champions +take heed of all that could incline them to modesty. So Hedin, with the +help of his men, was taken back to his ship, saved by the kindness of +his foe. + +In the seventh year after, these same men began to fight on Hedin's +isle, and wounded each other so that they died. Hogni would have been +lucky if he had shown severity rather than compassion to Hedin when he +had once conquered him. They say that Hilda longed so ardently for her +husband, that she is believed to have conjured up the spirits of the +combatants by her spells in the night in order to renew the war. + +At the same time came to pass a savage war between Alrik, king of the +Swedes, and Gestiblind, king of the Goths. The latter, being the weaker, +approached Frode as a suppliant, willing, if he might get his aid, to +surrender his kingdom and himself. He soon received the aid of Skalk, +the Skanian, and Erik, and came back with reinforcements. He had +determined to let loose his attack on Alrik, but Erik thought that he +should first assail his son Gunthion, governor of the men of Wermland +and Solongs, declaring that the storm-weary mariner ought to make +for the nearest shore, and moreover that the rootless trunk seldom +burgeoned. So he made an attack, wherein perished Gunthion, whose tomb +records his name. Alrik, when he heard of the destruction of his +son, hastened to avenge him, and when he had observed his enemies, he +summoned Erik, and, in a secret interview, recounted the leagues of +their fathers, imploring him to refuse to fight for Gestiblind. +This Erik steadfastly declined, and Alrik then asked leave to fight +Gestiblind, thinking that a duel was better than a general engagement. +But Erik said that Gestiblind was unfit for arms by reason of old age, +pleading his bad health, and above all his years; but offered himself +to fight in his place, explaining that it would be shameful to decline a +duel on behalf of the man for whom he had come to make a war. Then +they fought without delay: Alrik was killed, and Erik was most severely +wounded; it was hard to find remedies, and he did not for long time +recover health. Now a false report had come to Frode that Erik had +fallen, and was tormenting the king's mind with sore grief; but Erik +dispelled this sadness with his welcome return; indeed, he reported to +Frode that by his efforts Sweden, Wermland, Helsingland, and the islands +of the Sun (Soleyar) had been added to his realm. Frode straightway +made him king of the nations he had subdued, and also granted to him +Helsingland with the two Laplands, Finland and Esthonia, under a yearly +tribute. None of the Swedish kings before him was called by the name of +Erik, but the title passed from him to the rest. + +At the same time Alf was king in Hethmark, and he had a son Asmund. +Biorn ruled in the province of Wik, and had a son Aswid. Asmund was +engaged on an unsuccessful hunt, and while he was proceeding either to +stalk the game with dogs or to catch it in nets, a mist happened to +come on. By this he was separated from his sharers on a lonely track, +wandered over the dreary ridges, and at last, destitute of horse and +clothing, ate fungi and mushrooms, and wandered on aimlessly till he +came to the dwelling of King Biorn. Moreover, the son of the king and +he, when they had lived together a short while, swore by every vow, in +order to ratify the friendship which they observed to one another, that +whichever of them lived longest should be buried with him who died. For +their fellowship and love were so strong, that each determined he would +not prolong his days when the other was cut off by death. + +After this Frode gathered together a host of all his subject nations, +and attacked Norway with his fleet, Erik being bidden to lead the land +force. For, after the fashion of human greed, the more he gained the +more he wanted, and would not suffer even the dreariest and most rugged +region of the world to escape this kind of attack; so much is increase +of wealth wont to encourage covetousness. So the Norwegians, casting +away all hope of self-defence, and losing all confidence in their power +to revolt, began to flee for the most part to Halogaland. The maiden +Stikla also withdrew from her country to save her chastity, proferring +the occupations of war to those of wedlock. + +Meanwhile Aswid died of an illness, and was consigned with his horse +and dog to a cavern in the earth. And Asmund, because of his oath of +friendship, had the courage to be buried with him, food being put in for +him to eat. + +Now just at this time Erik, who had crossed the uplands with his army, +happened to draw near the barrow of Aswid; and the Swedes, thinking +that treasures were in it, broke the hill open with mattocks, and saw +disclosed a cave deeper than they had thought. To examine it, a man was +wanted, who would lower himself on a hanging rope tied around him. One +of the quickest of the youths was chosen by lot; and Asmund, when he saw +him let down in a basket following a rope, straightway cast him out and +climbed into the basket. Then he gave the signal to draw him up to those +above who were standing by and controlling the rope. They drew in the +basket in the hopes of great treasure; but when they saw the unknown +figure of the man they had taken out, they were scared by his +extraordinary look, and, thinking that the dead had come to life, flung +down the rope and fled all ways. For Asmund looked ghastly and seemed to +be covered as with the corruption of the charnel. He tried to recall the +fugitives, and began to clamour that they were wrongfully afraid of a +living man. And when Erik saw him, he marvelled most at the aspect of +his bloody face: the blood flowing forth and spurting over it. For +Aswid had come to life in the nights, and in his continual struggles had +wrenched off his left ear; and there was to be seen the horrid sight of +a raw and unhealed scar. And when the bystanders bade him tell how he +had got such a wound, he began to speak thus:-- + +"Why stand ye aghast, who see me colourless? Surely every live man fades +among the dead. Evil to the lonely man, and burdensome to the single, +remains every dwelling in the world. Hapless are they whom chance hath +bereft of human help. The listless night of the cavern, the darkness of +the ancient den, have taken all joy from my eyes and soul. The ghastly +ground, the crumbling barrow, and the heavy tide of filthy things have +marred the grace of my youthful countenance, and sapped my wonted pith +and force. Besides all this, I have fought with the dead, enduring the +heavy burden and grievous peril of the wrestle; Aswid rose again and +fell on me with rending nails, by hellish might renewing ghastly warfare +after he was ashes. + +"Why stand ye aghast, who see me colourless? Surely every live man fades +among the dead. + +"By some strange enterprise of the power of hell the spirit of Aswid +was sent up from the nether world, and with cruel tooth eats the +fleet-footed (horse), and has given his dog to his abominable jaws. Not +sated with devouring the horse or hound, he soon turned his swift nails +upon me, tearing my cheek and taking off my ear. Hence the hideous sight +of my slashed countenance, the blood-spurts in the ugly wound. Yet the +bringer of horrors did it not unscathed; for soon I cut off his head +with my steel, and impaled his guilty carcase with a stake. + +"Why stand ye aghast who see me colourless? Surely every live man fades +among the dead." + +Frode had by this taken his fleet over to Halogaland; and here, in order +to learn the numbers of his host, which seemed to surpass all bounds +and measure that could be counted, he ordered his soldiers to pile up +a hill, one stone being cast upon the heap for each man. The enemy also +pursued the same method of numbering their host, and the hills are still +to be seen to convince the visitor. Here Frode joined battle with the +Norwegians, and the day was bloody. At nightfall both sides determined +to retreat. As daybreak drew near, Erik, who had come across the land, +came up and advised the king to renew the battle. In this war the Danes +suffered such slaughter that out of 3,000 ships only 170 are supposed to +have survived. The Northmen, however, were exterminated in such a mighty +massacre, that (so the story goes) there were not men left to till even +a fifth of their villages. + +Frode, now triumphant, wished to renew peace among all nations, that +he might ensure each man's property from the inroads of thieves and now +ensure peace to his realms after war. So he hung one bracelet on a crag +which is called Frode's Rock, and another in the district of Wik, +after he had addressed the assembled Norwegians; threatening that these +necklaces should serve to test the honesty which he had decreed, and +threatening that if they were filched punishment should fall on all the +governors of the district. And thus, sorely imperilling the officers, +there was the gold unguarded, hanging up full in the parting of the +roads, and the booty, so easy to plunder, a temptation to all covetous +spirits. (a) Frode also enacted that seafarers should freely use oars +wherever they found them; while to those who wished to cross a river he +granted free use of the horse which they found nearest to the ford. He +decreed that they must dismount from this horse when its fore feet only +touched land and its hind feet were still washed by the waters. For he +thought that services such as these should rather be accounted kindness +than wrongdoing. Moreover, he ordained that whosoever durst try and +make further use of the horse after he had crossed the river should +be condemned to death. (b) He also ordered that no man should hold his +house or his coffer under lock and key, or should keep anything guarded +by bolts, promising that all losses should be made good threefold. Also, +he appointed that it was lawful to claim as much of another man's food +for provision as would suffice for a single supper. If anyone exceeded +this measure in his takings, he was to be held guilty of theft. Now, a +thief (so he enacted) was to be hung up with a sword passed through his +sinews, with a wolf fastened by his side, so that the wicked man might +look like the savage beast, both being punished alike. He also had the +same penalty extended to accomplices in thefts. Here he passed seven +most happy years of peace, begetting a son Alf and a daughter Eyfura. + +It chanced that in these days Arngrim, a champion of Sweden, who had +challenged, attacked, and slain Skalk the Skanian because he had once +robbed him of a vessel, came to Frode. Elated beyond measure with his +deed, he ventured to sue for Frode's daughter; but, finding the king +deaf to him, he asked Erik, who was ruling Sweden, to help him. Erik +advised him to win Frode's goodwill by some illustrious service, and +to fight against Egther, the King of Permland, and Thengil, the King of +Finmark, since they alone seemed to repudiate the Danish rule, while all +men else submitted. Without delay he led his army to that country. +Now, the Finns are the uttermost peoples of the North, who have taken a +portion of the world that is barely habitable to till and dwell in. They +are very keen spearmen, and no nation has a readier skill in throwing +the javelin. They fight with large, broad arrows; they are addicted to +the study of spells; they are skilled hunters. Their habitation is not +fixed, and their dwellings are migratory; they pitch and settle wherever +they have caught game. Riding on curved boards (skees or snow-skates), +they run over ridges thick with snow. These men Arngrim attacked, in +order to win renown, and he crushed them. They fought with ill success; +but, as they were scattering in flight, they cast three pebbles behind +them, which they caused to appear to the eyes of the enemy like three +mountains. Arngrim's eyes were dazzled and deluded, and he called back +his men from the pursuit of the enemy, fancying that he was checked by a +barrier of mighty rocks. Again, when they engaged and were beaten on +the morrow, the Finns cast snow upon the ground and made it look like +a mighty river. So the Swedes, whose eyes were utterly deluded, +were deceived by their misjudgment, for it seemed the roaring of +an extraordinary mass of waters. Thus, the conqueror dreading the +unsubstantial phantom of the waters, the Finns managed to escape. They +renewed the war again on the third day; but there was no effective +means of escape left any longer, for when they saw that their lines were +falling back, they surrendered to the conqueror. Arngrim imposed on them +the following terms of tribute: that the number of the Finns should be +counted, and that, after the lapse of (every) three years, every ten of +them should pay a carriage-full of deer-skins by way of assessment. Then +he challenged and slew in single combat Egther, the captain of the men +of Permland, imposing on the men of Permland the condition that each of +them should pay one skin. Enriched with these spoils and trophies, +he returned to Erik, who went with him into Denmark, and poured loud +praises of the young warrior into the ear of Frode, declaring that he +who had added the ends of the world to his realms deserved his daughter. +Then Frode, considering his splendid deserts, thought it was not amiss +to take for a son-in-law a man who had won wide-resounding fame by such +a roll of noble deeds. + +Arngrim had twelve sons by Eyfura, whose names I here subjoin: Brand, +Biarbe, Brodd, Hiarrande; Tand, Tyrfing, two Haddings; Hiortuar, +Hiartuar, Hrane, Anganty. These followed the business of sea-roving from +their youth up; and they chanced to sail all in one ship to the island +Samso, where they found lying off the coast two ships belonging to +Hialmar and Arvarodd (Arrow-Odd) the rovers. These ships they attacked +and cleared of rowers; but, not knowing whether they had cut down the +captains, they fitted the bodies of the slain to their several thwarts, +and found that those whom they sought were missing. At this they were +sad, knowing that the victory they had won was not worth a straw, and +that their safety would run much greater risk in the battle that was to +come. In fact, Hialmar and Arvarodd, whose ships had been damaged by +a storm, which had torn off their rudders, went into a wood to hew +another; and, going round the trunk with their axes, pared down the +shapeless timber until the huge stock assumed the form of a marine +implement. This they shouldered, and were bearing it down to the beach, +ignorant of the disaster of their friends, when the sons of Eyfura, +reeking with the fresh blood of the slain, attacked them, so that they +two had to fight many; the contest was not even equal, for it was a +band of twelve against two. But the victory did not go according to the +numbers. For all the sons of Eyfura were killed; Hialmar was slain +by them, but Arvarodd gained the honours of victory, being the only +survivor left by fate out of all that band of comrades. He, with an +incredible effort, poised the still shapeless hulk of the rudder, and +drove it so strongly against the bodies of his foes that, with a single +thrust of it, he battered and crushed all twelve. And, so, though they +were rid of the general storm of war, the band of rovers did not yet +quit the ocean. + +This it was that chiefly led Frode to attack the West, for his one +desire was the spread of peace. So he summoned Erik, and mustered a +fleet of all the kingdoms that bid him allegiance, and sailed to Britain +with numberless ships. But the king of that island, perceiving that he +was unequal in force (for the ships seemed to cover the sea), went +to Frode, affecting to surrender, and not only began to flatter his +greatness, but also promised to the Danes, the conquerors of nations, +the submission of himself and of his country; proffering taxes, +assessment, tribute, what they would. Finally, he gave them a hospitable +invitation. Frode was pleased with the courtesy of the Briton, though +his suspicions of treachery were kept by so ready and unconstrained +a promise of everything, so speedy a surrender of the enemy before +fighting; such offers being seldom made in good faith. They were also +troubled with alarm about the banquet, fearing that as drunkenness came +on their sober wits might be entangled in it, and attacked by hidden +treachery. So few guests were bidden, moreover, that it seemed unsafe +for them to accept the invitation; and it was further thought foolish to +trust their lives to the good faith of an enemy whom they did not know. + +When the king found their minds thus wavering he again approached Frode, +and invited him to the banquet with 2,400 men; having before bidden +him to come to the feast with 1,200 nobles. Frode was encouraged by the +increase in the number of guests, and was able to go to the banquet +with greater inward confidence; but he could not yet lay aside his +suspicions, and privily caused men to scour the interior and let him +know quickly of any treachery which they might espy. On this errand they +went into the forest, and, coming upon the array of an armed encampment +belonging to the forces of the Britons, they halted in doubt, but +hastily retraced their steps when the truth was apparent. For the tents +were dusky in colour, and muffled in a sort of pitchy coverings, that +they might not catch the eye of anyone who came near. When Frode learned +this, he arranged a counter-ambuscade with a strong force of nobles, +that he might not go heedlessly to the banquet, and be cheated of timely +aid. They went into hiding, and he warned them that the note of the +trumpet was the signal for them to bring assistance. Then with a select +band, lightly armed, he went to the banquet. The hall was decked with +regal splendour; it was covered all round with crimson hangings of +marvellous rich handiwork. A curtain of purple dye adorned the propelled +walls. The flooring was bestrewn with bright mantles, which a man +would fear to trample on. Up above was to be seen the twinkle of many +lanterns, the gleam of lamps lit with oil, and the censers poured forth +fragrance whose sweet vapour was laden with the choicest perfumes. The +whole way was blocked by the tables loaded with good things; and the +places for reclining were decked with gold-embroidered couches; the +seats were full of pillows. The majestic hall seemed to smile upon +the guests, and nothing could be noticed in all that pomp either +inharmonious to the eye or offensive to the smell. In the midst of the +hall stood a great butt ready for refilling the goblets, and holding an +enormous amount of liquor; enough could be drawn from it for the huge +revel to drink its fill. Servants, dressed in purple, bore golden cups, +and courteously did the office of serving the drink, pacing in ordered +ranks. Nor did they fail to offer the draught in the horns of the wild +ox. + +The feast glittered with golden bowls, and was laden with shining +goblets, many of them studded with flashing jewels. The place was filled +with an immense luxury; the tables groaned with the dishes, and the +bowls brimmed over with divers liquors. Nor did they use wine pure and +simple, but, with juices sought far and wide, composed a nectar of many +flavours. The dishes glistened with delicious foods, being filled mostly +with the spoils of the chase; though the flesh of tame animals was not +lacking either. The natives took care to drink more sparingly than the +guests; for the latter felt safe, and were tempted to make an orgy; +while the others, meditating treachery, had lost all temptations to be +drunken. So the Danes, who, if I may say so with my country's leave, +were seasoned to drain the bowl against each other, took quantities of +wine. The Britons, when they saw that the Danes were very drunk, began +gradually to slip away from the banquet, and, leaving their guests +within the hall, made immense efforts, first to block the doors of the +palace by applying bars and all kinds of obstacles, and then to set fire +to the house. The Danes were penned inside the hall, and when the fire +began to spread, battered vainly at the doors; but they could not get +out, and soon attempted to make a sally by assaulting the wall. And the +Angles, when they saw that it was tottering under the stout attack of +the Danes, began to shove against it on their side, and to prop the +staggering pile by the application of large blocks on the outside, to +prevent the wall being shattered and releasing the prisoners. But +at last it yielded to the stronger hand of the Danes, whose efforts +increased with their peril; and those pent within could sally out with +ease. Then Frode bade the trumpet strike in, to summon the band that +had been posted in ambush; and these, roused by the note of the clanging +bugle, caught the enemy in their own trap; for the King of the Britons, +with countless hosts of his men, was utterly destroyed. Thus the +band helped Frode doubly, being both the salvation of his men and the +destruction of his enemies. + +Meantime the renown of the Danish bravery spread far, and moved the +Irish to strew iron calthrops on the ground, in order to make their land +harder to invade, and forbid access to their shores. Now the Irish use +armour which is light and easy to procure. They crop the hair close with +razors, and shave all the hair off the back of the head, that they may +not be seized by it when they run away. They also turn the points of +their spears towards the assailant, and deliberately point their sword +against the pursuer; and they generally fling their lances behind their +back, being more skilled at conquering by flight than by fighting. +Hence, when you fancy that the victory is yours, then is the moment of +danger. But Frode was wary and not rash in his pursuit of the foe who +fled so treacherously, and he routed Kerwil (Cearbal), the leader of +the nation, in battle. Kerwil's brother survived, but lost heart +for resistance, and surrendered his country to the king (Frode), who +distributed among his soldiers the booty he had won, to show himself +free from all covetousness and excessive love of wealth, and only +ambitious to gain honour. + +After the triumphs in Britain and the spoiling of the Irish they +went back to Denmark; and for thirty years there was a pause from all +warfare. At this time the Danish name became famous over the whole +world almost for its extraordinary valour. Frode, therefore, desired to +prolong and establish for ever the lustre of his empire, and made it +his first object to inflict severe treatment upon thefts and brigandage, +feeling these were domestic evils and intestine plagues, and that if the +nations were rid of them they would come to enjoy a more tranquil life; +so that no ill-will should mar and hinder the continual extention of +peace. He also took care that the land should not be devoured by any +plague at home when the enemy was at rest, and that intestine wickedness +should not encroach when there was peace abroad. At last he ordered that +in Jutland, the chief district of his realm, a golden bracelet, very +heavy, should be set up on the highways (as he had done before in the +district of Wik), wishing by this magnificent price to test the honesty +which he had enacted. Now, though the minds of the dishonest were vexed +with the provocation it furnished, and the souls of the evil tempted, +yet the unquestioned dread of danger prevailed. For so potent was the +majesty of Frode, that it guarded even gold that was thus exposed to +pillage, as though it were fast with bolts and bars. The strange +device brought great glory upon its inventor. After dealing destruction +everywhere, and gaining famous victories far and wide, he resolved +to bestow quiet on all men, that the cheer of peace should follow the +horrors of war, and the end of slaughter might be the beginning of +safety. He further thought that for the same reason all men's property +should be secured to them by a protective decree, so that what had been +saved from a foreign enemy might not find a plunderer at home. + +About the same time, the Author of our general salvation, coming to the +earth in order to save mortals, bore to put on the garb of mortality; +at which time the fires of war were quenched, and all the lands were +enjoying the calmest and most tranquil peace. It has been thought that +the peace then shed abroad so widely, so even and uninterrupted over the +whole world, attended not so much an earthly rule as that divine birth; +and that it was a heavenly provision that this extraordinary gift of +time should be a witness to the presence of Him who created all times. + +Meantime a certain matron, skilled in sorcery, who trusted in her art +more than she feared the severity of the king, tempted the covetousness +of her son to make a secret effort for the prize; promising him +impunity, since Frode was almost at death's door, his body failing, and +the remnant of his doting spirit feeble. To his mother's counsels +he objected the greatness of the peril; but she bade him take hope, +declaring, that either a sea-cow should have a calf, or that the king's +vengeance should be baulked by some other chance. By this speech she +banished her son's fears, and made him obey her advice. When the deed +was done, Frode, stung by the affront, rushed with the utmost heat and +fury to raze the house of the matron, sending men on to arrest her and +bring her with her children. This the woman foreknew, and deluded her +enemies by a trick, changing from the shape of a woman into that of a +mare. When Frode came up she took the shape of a sea-cow, and seemed to +be straying and grazing about the shore; and she also made her sons +look like calves of smaller size. This portent amazed the king, and he +ordered that they should be surrounded and cut off from returning to +the waters. Then he left the carriage, which he used because of the +feebleness of his aged body, and sat on the ground marvelling. But the +mother, who had taken the shape of the larger beast, charged at the king +with outstretched tusk, and pierced one of his sides. The wound killed +him; and his end was unworthy of such majesty as his. His soldiers, +thirsting to avenge his death, threw their spears and transfixed the +monsters, and saw, when they were killed, that they were the corpses of +human beings with the heads of wild beasts: a circumstance which exposed +the trick more than anything. + +So ended Frode, the most famous king in the whole world. The nobles, +when he had been disembowelled, had his body kept embalmed for three +years, for they feared the provinces would rise if the king's end +were published. They wished his death to be concealed above all from +foreigners, so that by the pretence that he was alive they might +preserve the boundaries of the empire, which had been extended for +so long; and that, on the strength of the ancient authority of their +general, they might exact the usual tribute from their subjects. So, the +lifeless corpse was carried away by them in such a way that it seemed to +be taken, not in a funeral bier, but in a royal carriage, as if it were +a due and proper tribute from the soldiers to an infirm old man not in +full possession of his forces. Such splendour did his friends bestow +on him even in death. But when his limbs rotted, and were seized with +extreme decay, and when the corruption could not be arrested, they +buried his body with a royal funeral in a barrow near Waere, a bridge of +Zealand; declaring that Frode had desired to die and be buried in what +was thought the chief province of his kingdom. + + + +BOOK SIX. + +After the death of Frode, the Danes wrongly supposed that Fridleif, +who was being reared in Russia, had perished; and, thinking that the +sovereignty halted for lack of an heir, and that it could no longer be +kept on in the hands of the royal line, they considered that the sceptre +would be best deserved by the man who should affix to the yet fresh +grave of Frode a song of praise in his glorification, and commit the +renown of the dead king to after ages by a splendid memorial. Then one +HIARN, very skilled in writing Danish poetry, wishing to give the fame +of the hero some notable record of words, and tempted by the enormous +prize, composed, after his own fashion, a barbarous stave. Its purport, +expressed in four lines, I have transcribed as follows: + +"Frode, whom the Danes would have wished to live long, they bore long +through their lands when he was dead. The great chief's body, with this +turf heaped above it, bare earth covers under the lucid sky." + +When the composer of this song had uttered it, the Danes rewarded him +with the crown. Thus they gave a kingdom for an epitaph, and the weight +of a whole empire was presented to a little string of letters. Slender +expense for so vast a guerdon! This huge payment for a little poem +exceeded the glory of Caesar's recompense; for it was enough for the +divine Julius to pension with a township the writer and glorifier of +those conquests which he had achieved over the whole world. But now the +spendthrift kindness of the populace squandered a kingdom on a churl. +Nay, not even Africanus, when he rewarded the records of his deed, rose +to the munificence of the Danes. For there the wage of that laborious +volume was in mere gold, while here a few callow verses won a sceptre +for a peasant. + +At the same time Erik, who held the governorship of Sweden, died of +disease; and his son Halfdan, who governed in his father's stead, +alarmed by the many attacks of twelve brothers of Norwegian birth, and +powerless to punish their violence, fled, hoping for reinforcements, to +ask aid of Fridleif, then sojourning in Russia. Approaching him with a +suppliant face, he lamented that he was himself shattered and bruised +by a foreign foe, and brought a dismal plaint of his wrongs. From him +Fridleif heard the tidings of his father's death, and granting the aid +he sought, went to Norway in armed array. At this time the aforesaid +brothers, their allies forsaking them, built a very high rampart within +an island surrounded by a swift stream, also extending their earthworks +along the level. Trusting to this refuge, they harried the neighborhood +with continual raids. For they built a bridge on which they used to get +to the mainland when they left the island. This bridge was fastened to +the gate of the stronghold; and they worked it by the guidance of ropes, +in such a way that it turned as if on some revolving hinge, and at one +time let them pass across the river; while at another, drawn back from +above by unseen cords, it helped to defend the entrance. + +These warriors were of valiant temper, young and stalwart, of splendid +bodily presence, renowned for victories over giants, full of trophies of +conquered nations, and wealthy with spoil. I record the names of some +of them--for the rest have perished in antiquity--Gerbiorn, Gunbiorn, +Arinbiorn, Stenbiorn, Esbiorn, Thorbiorn, and Biorn. Biorn is said to +have had a horse which was splendid and of exceeding speed, so that +when all the rest were powerless to cross the river it alone stemmed the +roaring eddy without weariness. This rapid comes down in so swift and +sheer a volume that animals often lose all power of swimming in it, and +perish. For, trickling from the topmost crests of the hills, it comes +down the steep sides, catches on the rocks, and is shattered, falling +into the deep valleys with a manifold clamour of waters; but, being +straightway rebuffed by the rocks that bar the way, it keeps the speed +of its current ever at the same even pace. And so, along the whole +length of the channel, the waves are one turbid mass, and the white foam +brims over everywhere. But, after rolling out of the narrows between the +rocks, it spreads abroad in a slacker and stiller flood, and turns into +an island a rock that lies in its course. On either side of the rock +juts out a sheer ridge, thick with divers trees, which screen the river +from distant view. Biorn had also a dog of extraordinary fierceness, +a terribly vicious brute, dangerous for people to live with, which had +often singly destroyed twelve men. But, since the tale is hearsay rather +than certainty, let good judges weigh its credit. This dog, as I have +heard, was the favourite of the giant Offot (Un-foot), and used to watch +his herd amid the pastures. + +Now the warriors, who were always pillaging the neighbourhood, used +often to commit great slaughters. Plundering houses, cutting down +cattle, sacking everything, making great hauls of booty, rifling houses, +then burning them, massacring male and female promiscuously--these, and +not honest dealings, were their occupations. Fridleif surprised them +while on a reckless raid, and drove them all back for refuge to the +stronghold; he also seized the immensely powerful horse, whose rider, in +the haste of his panic, had left it on the hither side of the river in +order to fly betimes; for he durst not take it with him over the bridge. +Then Fridleif proclaimed that he would pay the weight of the dead body +in gold to any man who slew one of those brothers. The hope of the prize +stimulated some of the champions of the king; and yet they were fired +not so much with covetousness as with valour; so, going secretly to +Fridleif, they promised to attempt the task, vowing to sacrifice their +lives if they did not bring home the severed heads of the robbers. +Fridleif praised their valour and their vows, but bidding the onlookers +wait, went in the night to the river, satisfied with a single companion. +For, not to seem better provided with other men's valour than with his +own, he determined to forestall their aid by his own courage. Thereupon +he crushed and killed his companion with a shower of flints, and flung +his bloodless corpse into the waves, having dressed it in his own +clothes; which he stripped off, borrowing the cast-off garb of the +other, so that when the corpse was seen it might look as if the king had +perished. He further deliberately drew blood from the beast on which he +had ridden, and bespattered it, so that when it came back into camp he +might make them think he himself was dead. Then he set spur to his +horse and drove it into the midst of the eddies, crossed the river +and alighted, and tried to climb over the rampart that screened the +stronghold by steps set up against the mound. When he got over the top +and could grasp the battlements with his hand, he quietly put his foot +inside, and, without the knowledge of the watch, went lightly on tiptoe +to the house into which the bandits had gone to carouse. And when he had +reached its hall, he sat down under the porch overhanging the door. Now +the strength of their fastness made the warriors feel so safe that they +were tempted to a debauch; for they thought that the swiftly rushing +river made their garrison inaccessible, since it seemed impossible +either to swim over or to cross in boats. For no part of the river +allowed of fording. + +Biorn, moved by the revel, said that in his sleep he had seen a beast +come out of the waters, which spouted ghastly fire from its mouth, +enveloping everything in a sheet of flame. Therefore the holes and +corners of the island should, he said, be searched; nor ought they to +trust so much to their position, as rashly to let overweening confidence +bring them to utter ruin. No situation was so strong that the mere +protection of nature was enough for it without human effort. Moreover +they must take great care that the warning of his slumbers was not +followed by a yet more gloomy and disastrous fulfilment. So they all +sallied forth from the stronghold, and narrowly scanned the whole +circuit of the island; and finding the horse they surmised that Fridleif +had been drowned in the waters of the river. They received the horse +within the gates with rejoicing, supposing that it had flung off its +rider and swum over. But Biorn, still scared with the memory of the +visions of the night, advised them to keep watch, since it was not safe +for them yet to put aside suspicion of danger. Then he went to his room +to rest, with the memory of his vision deeply stored in his heart. + +Meanwhile the horse, which Fridleif, in order to spread a belief in his +death, had been loosed and besprinkled with blood (though only with that +which lies between flesh and skin), burst all bedabbled into the camp of +his soldiers. They went straight to the river, and finding the carcase +of the slave, took it for the body of the king; the hissing eddies +having cast it on the bank, dressed in brave attire. Nothing helped +their mistake so much as the swelling of the battered body; inasmuch as +the skin was torn and bruised with the flints, so that all the features +were blotted out, bloodless and wan. This exasperated the champions who +had just promised Fridleif to see that the robbers were extirpated: +and they approached the perilous torrent, that they might not seem to +tarnish the honour of their promise by a craven neglect of their vow. +The rest imitated their boldness, and with equal ardour went to the +river, ready to avenge their king or to endure the worst. When Fridleif +saw them he hastened to lower the bridge to the mainland; and when he +had got the champions he cut down the watch at the first attack. Thus +he went on to attack the rest and put them to the sword, all save Biorn; +whom he tended very carefully and cured of his wounds; whereupon, under +pledge of solemn oath, he made him his colleague, thinking it better to +use his services than to boast of his death. He also declared it would +be shameful if such a flower of bravery were plucked in his first youth +and perished by an untimely death. + +Now the Danes had long ago had false tidings of Fridleif's death, and +when they found that he was approaching, they sent men to fetch him, +and ordered Hiarn to quit the sovereignty, because he was thought to +be holding it only on sufferance and carelessly. But he could not bring +himself to resign such an honour, and chose sooner to spend his life for +glory than pass into the dim lot of common men. Therefore he resolved +to fight for his present estate, that he might not have to resume his +former one stripped of his royal honours. Thus the land was estranged +and vexed with the hasty commotion of civil strife; some were of Hiarn's +party, while others agreed to the claims of Fridleif, because of the +vast services of Frode; and the voice of the commons was perplexed and +divided, some of them respecting things as they were, others the memory +of the past. But regard for the memory of Frode weighed most, and its +sweetness gave Fridleif the balance of popularity. + +Many wise men thought that a person of peasant rank should be removed +from the sovereignty; since, contrary to the rights of birth, and only +by the favour of fortune, he had reached an unhoped-for eminence; and +in order that the unlawful occupant might not debar the rightful heir to +the office, Fridleif told the envoys of the Danes to return, and request +Hiarn either to resign the kingdom or to meet him in battle. Hiarn +thought it more grievous than death to set lust of life before honour, +and to seek safety at the cost of glory. So he met Fridleif in the +field, was crushed, and fled into Jutland, where, rallying a band, he +again attacked his conqueror. But his men were all consumed with the +sword, and he fled unattended, as the island testifies which has taken +its name from his (Hiarno). And so, feeling his lowly fortune, and +seeing himself almost stripped of his forces by the double defeat, he +turned his mind to craft, and went to Fridleif with his face +disguised, meaning to become intimate, and find an occasion to slay him +treacherously. + +Hiarn was received by the king, hiding his purpose under the pretence +of servitude. For, giving himself out as a salt-distiller, he performed +base offices among the servants who did the filthiest work. He used also +to take the last place at meal-time, and he refrained from the baths, +lest his multitude of scars should betray him if he stripped. The king, +in order to ease his own suspicions, made him wash; and when he knew his +enemy by the scars, he said: "Tell me now, thou shameless bandit, how +wouldst thou have dealt with me, if thou hadst found out plainly that +I wished to murder thee?" Hiarn, stupefied, said: "Had I caught thee I +would have first challenged thee, and then fought thee, to give thee a +better chance of wiping out thy reproach." Fridleif presently took +him at his word, challenged him and slew him, and buried his body in a +barrow that bears the dead man's name. + +Soon after FRIDLEIF was admonished by his people to think about +marrying, that he might prolong his line; but he maintained that the +unmarried life was best, quoting his father Frode, on whom his wife's +wantonness had brought great dishonour. At last, yielding to the +persistent entreaties of all, he proceeded to send ambassadors to ask +for the daughter of Amund, King of Norway. One of these, named Frok, was +swallowed by the waves in mid-voyage, and showed a strange portent at +his death. For when the closing flood of billows encompassed him, +blood arose in the midst of the eddy, and the whole face of the sea was +steeped with an alien redness, so that the ocean, which a moment before +was foaming and white with tempest, was presently swollen with crimson +waves, and was seen to wear a colour foreign to its nature. + +Around implacably declined to consent to the wishes of the king, and +treated the legates shamefully, declaring that he spurned the embassy +because the tyranny of Frode had of old borne so heavily upon Norway. +But Amund's daughter, Frogertha, not only looking to the birth of +Fridleif, but also honouring the glory of his deeds, began to upbraid +her father, because he scorned a son-in-law whose nobility was perfect, +being both sufficient in valour and flawless in birth. She added that +the portentous aspect of the sea, when the waves were suddenly turned +into blood, simply and solely signified the defeat of Norway, and was +a plain presage of the victory of Denmark. And when Fridleif sent a +further embassy to ask for her, wishing to vanquish the refusal by +persistency, Amund was indignant that a petition he had once denied +should be obstinately pressed, and hurried the envoys to death, wishing +to offer a brutal check to the zeal of this brazen wooer. Fridleif heard +news of this outrage, and summoning Halfdan and Biorn, sailed round +Norway. Amund, equipped with his native defences, put out his fleet +against him. The firth into which both fleets had mustered is called +Frokasund. Here Fridleif left the camp at night to reconnoitre; and, +hearing an unusual kind of sound close to him as of brass being beaten, +he stood still and looked up, and heard the following song of three +swans, who were crying above him: + +"While Hythin sweeps the sea and cleaves the ravening tide, his serf +drinks out of gold and licks the cups of milk. Best is the estate of the +slave on whom waits the heir, the king's son, for their lots are rashly +interchanged." Next, after the birds had sung, a belt fell from on high, +which showed writing to interpret the song. For while the son of Hythin, +the King of Tellemark, was at his boyish play, a giant, assuming the +usual appearance of men, had carried him off, and using him as an +oarsman (having taken his skiff over to the neighbouring shore), was +then sailing past Fridleif while he was occupied reconnoitering. But the +king would not suffer him to use the service of the captive youth, and +longed to rob the spoiler of his prey. The youth warned him that he +must first use sharp reviling against the giant, promising that he would +prove easy to attack, if only he were assailed with biting verse. Then +Fridleif began thus: + +"Since thou art a giant of three bodies, invincible, and almost reachest +heaven with thy crest, why does this silly sword bind thy thigh? Why +doth a broken spear gird thy huge side? Why, perchance, dost thou defend +thy stalwart breast with a feeble sword, and forget the likeness of thy +bodily stature, trusting in a short dagger, a petty weapon? Soon, soon +will I balk thy bold onset, when with blunted blade thou attemptest war. +Since thou art thyself a timid beast, a lump lacking proper pith, thou +art swept headlong like a flying shadow, having with a fair and famous +body got a heart that is unwarlike and unstable with fear, and a spirit +quite unmatched to thy limbs. Hence thy frame totters, for thy goodly +presence is faulty through the overthrow of thy soul, and thy nature in +all her parts is at strife. Hence shall all tribute of praise quit +thee, nor shalt thou be accounted famous among the brave, but shalt be +reckoned among ranks obscure." + +When he had said this he lopped off a hand and foot of the giant, made +him fly, and set his prisoner free. Then he went straightway to the +giant's headland, took the treasure out of his cave, and carried it +away. Rejoicing in these trophies, and employing the kidnapped youth +to row him over the sea, he composed with cheery voice the following +strain: + +"In the slaying of the swift monster we wielded our blood-stained swords +and our crimsoned blade, whilst thou, Amund, lord of the Norwegian ruin, +wert in deep slumber; and since blind night covers thee, without any +light of soul, thy valour has melted away and beguiled thee. But we +crushed a giant who lost use of his limbs and wealth, and we pierced +into the disorder of his dreary den. There we seized and plundered his +piles of gold. And now with oars we sweep the wave-wandering main, and +joyously return, rowing back to the shore our booty-laden ship; we fleet +over the waves in a skiff that travels the sea; gaily let us furrow +those open waters, lest the dawn come and betray us to the foe. Lightly +therefore, and pulling our hardest, let us scour the sea, making for our +camp and fleet ere Titan raise his rosy head out of the clear waters; +that when fame noises the deed about, and Frogertha knows that the spoil +has been won with a gallant struggle, her heart may be stirred to be +more gentle to our prayer." + +On the morrow there was a great muster of the forces, and Fridleif had +a bloody battle with Amund, fought partly by sea and partly by land. For +not only were the lines drawn up in the open country, but the warriors +also made an attack with their fleet. The battle which followed cost +much blood. So Biorn, when his ranks gave back, unloosed his hound and +sent it against the enemy; wishing to win with the biting of a dog the +victory which he could not achieve with the sword. The enemy were by +this means shamefully routed, for a square of the warriors ran away when +attacked with its teeth. + +There is no saying whether their flight was more dismal or more +disgraceful. Indeed, the army of the Northmen was a thing to blush for; +for an enemy crushed it by borrowing the aid of a brute. Nor was it +treacherous of Fridleif to recruit the failing valour of his men with +the aid of a dog. In this war Amund fell; and his servant Ane, surnamed +the Archer, challenged Fridleif to fight him; but Biorn, being a man of +meaner estate, not suffering the king to engage with a common fellow, +attacked him himself. And when Biorn had bent his bow and was fitting +the arrow to the string, suddenly a dart sent by Ane pierced the top of +the cord. Soon another arrow came after it and struck amid the joints of +his fingers. A third followed, and fell on the arrow as it was laid to +the string. For Ane, who was most dexterous at shooting arrows from a +distance, had purposely only struck the weapon of his opponent, in order +that, by showing it was in his power to do likewise to his person, he +might recall the champion from his purpose. But Biorn abated none of +his valour for this, and, scorning bodily danger, entered the fray with +heart and face so steadfast, that he seemed neither to yield anything +to the skill of Ane, nor lay aside aught of his wonted courage. Thus +he would in nowise be made to swerve from his purpose, and dauntlessly +ventured on the battle. Both of them left it wounded; and fought another +also on Agdar Ness with an emulous thirst for glory. + +By the death of Amund, Fridleif was freed from a most bitter foe, and +obtained a deep and tranquil peace; whereupon he forced his savage +temper to the service of delight; and, transferring his ardour to love, +equipped a fleet in order to seek the marriage which had once been +denied him. At last he set forth on his voyage; and his fleet being +becalmed, he invaded some villages to look for food; where, being +received hospitably by a certain Grubb, and at last winning his daughter +in marriage, he begat a son named Olaf. After some time had passed he +also won Frogertha; but, while going back to his own country, he had a +bad voyage, and was driven on the shores of an unknown island. A certain +man appeared to him in a vision, and instructed him to dig up a treasure +that was buried in the ground, and also to attack the dragon that +guarded it, covering himself in an ox-hide to escape the poison; +teaching him also to meet the envenomed fangs with a hide stretched over +his shield. Therefore, to test the vision, he attacked the snake as it +rose out of the waves, and for a long time cast spears against its scaly +side; in vain, for its hard and shelly body foiled the darts flung at +it. But the snake, shaking its mass of coils, uprooted the trees which +it brushed past by winding its tail about them. Moreover, by constantly +dragging its body, it hollowed the ground down to the solid rock, and +had made a sheer bank on either hand, just as in some places we see +hills parted by an intervening valley. So Fridleif, seeing that the +upper part of the creature was proof against attack, assailed the +lower side with his sword, and piercing the groin, drew blood from +the quivering beast. When it was dead, he unearthed the money from the +underground chamber and had it taken off in his ships. + +When the year had come to an end, he took great pains to reconcile Biorn +and Ane, who had often challenged and fought one another, and made them +exchange their hatred for friendship; and even entrusted to them his +three-year-old son, Olaf, to rear. But his mistress, Juritha, the mother +of Olaf, he gave in marriage to Ane, whom he made one of his warriors; +thinking that she would endure more calmly to be put away, if she wedded +such a champion, and received his robust embrace instead of a king's. + +The ancients were wont to consult the oracles of the Fates concerning +the destinies of their children. In this way Fridleif desired to search +into the fate of his son Olaf; and, after solemnly offering up his vows, +he went to the house of the gods in entreaty; where, looking into the +chapel, he saw three maidens, sitting on three seats. The first of them +was of a benignant temper, and bestowed upon the boy abundant beauty +and ample store of favour in the eyes of men. The second granted him +the gift of surpassing generosity. But the third, a woman of more +mischievous temper and malignant disposition, scorning the unanimous +kindness of her sisters, and likewise wishing to mar their gifts, marked +the future character of the boy with the slur of niggardliness. Thus the +benefits of the others were spoilt by the poison of a lamentable doom; +and hence, by virtue of the twofold nature of these gifts Olaf got his +surname from the meanness which was mingled with his bounty. So it came +about that this blemish which found its way into the gift marred the +whole sweetness of its first benignity. + +When Fridleif had returned from Norway, and was traveling through +Sweden, he took on himself to act as ambassador, and sued successfully +for Hythin's daughter, whom he had once rescued from a monster, to +be the wife of Halfdan, he being still unwedded. Meantime his wife +Frogertha bore a son FRODE, who afterwards got his surname from +his noble munificence. And thus Frode, because of the memory of his +grandsire's prosperity, which he recalled by his name, became from his +very cradle and earliest childhood such a darling of all men, that +he was not suffered even to step or stand on the ground, but was +continually cherished in people's laps and kissed. Thus he was not +assigned to one upbringer only, but was in a manner everybody's +fosterling. And, after his father's death, while he was in his twelfth +year, Swerting and Hanef, the kings of Saxony, disowned his sway, and +tried to rebel openly. He overcame them in battle, and imposed on the +conquered peoples a poll-tax of a coin, which they were to pay as his +slaves. For he showed himself so generous that he doubled the ancient +pay of the soldiers: a fashion of bounty which then was novel. For he +did not, as despots do, expose himself to the vulgar allurements of +vice, but strove to covet ardently whatsoever he saw was nearest honour; +to make his wealth public property; to surpass all other men in bounty, +to forestall them all in offices of kindness; and, hardest of all, to +conquer envy by virtue. By this means the youth soon won such favour +with all men, that he not only equalled in renown the honours of his +forefathers, but surpassed the most ancient records of kings. + +At the same time one Starkad, the son of Storwerk, escaped alone, either +by force or fortune, from a wreck in which his friends perished, and +was received by Frode as his guest for his incredible excellence both of +mind and body. And, after being for some little time his comrade, he was +dressed in a better and more comely fashion every day, and was at last +given a noble vessel, and bidden to ply the calling of a rover, with +the charge of guarding the sea. For nature had gifted him with a body of +superhuman excellence; and his greatness of spirit equalled it, so that +folk thought him behind no man in valour. So far did his glory spread, +that the renown of his name and deeds continues famous even yet. He +shone out among our own countrymen by his glorious roll of exploits, and +he had also won a most splendid record among all the provinces of the +Swedes and Saxons. Tradition says that he was born originally in the +country which borders Sweden on the east, where barbarous hordes of +Esthonians and other nations now dwell far and wide. But a fabulous yet +common rumour has invented tales about his birth which are contrary to +reason and flatly incredible. For some relate that he was sprung from +giants, and betrayed his monstrous birth by an extraordinary number of +hands, four of which, engendered by the superfluity of his nature, they +declare that the god Thor tore off, shattering the framework of the +sinews and wrenching from his whole body the monstrous bunches of +fingers; so that he had but two left, and that his body, which had +before swollen to the size of a giant's, and, by reason of its shapeless +crowd of limbs looked gigantic, was thenceforth chastened to a better +appearance, and kept within the bounds of human shortness. + +For there were of old certain men versed in sorcery, Thor, namely, +and Odin, and many others, who were cunning in contriving marvellous +sleights; and they, winning the minds of the simple, began to claim +the rank of gods. For, in particular, they ensnared Norway, Sweden +and Denmark in the vainest credulity, and by prompting these lands to +worship them, infected them with their imposture. The effects of their +deceit spread so far, that all other men adored a sort of divine power +in them, and, thinking them either gods or in league with gods, +offered up solemn prayers to these inventors of sorceries, and gave to +blasphemous error the honour due to religion. Hence it has come about +that the holy days, in their regular course, are called among us by the +names of these men; for the ancient Latins are known to have named these +days severally, either after the titles of their own gods, or after the +planets, seven in number. But it can be plainly inferred from the mere +names of the holy days that the objects worshipped by our countrymen +were not the same as those whom the most ancient of the Romans called +Jove and Mercury, nor those to whom Greece and Latium paid idolatrous +homage. For the days, called among our countrymen Thors-day or +Odins-day, the ancients termed severally the holy day of Jove or of +Mercury. If, therefore, according to the distinction implied in the +interpretation I have quoted, we take it that Thor is Jove and Odin +Mercury, it follows that Jove was the son of Mercury; that is, if the +assertion of our countrymen holds, among whom it is told as a matter +of common belief, that Thor was Odin's son. Therefore, when the Latins, +believing to the contrary effect, declare that Mercury was sprung from +Jove, then, if their declaration is to stand, we are driven to consider +that Thor was not the same as Jove, and that Odin was also different +from Mercury. Some say that the gods, whom our countrymen worshipped, +shared only the title with those honoured by Greece or Latium, but that, +being in a manner nearly equal to them in dignity, they borrowed from +them the worship as well as the name. This must be sufficient discourse +upon the deities of Danish antiquity. I have expounded this briefly for +the general profit, that my readers may know clearly to what worship in +its heathen superstition our country has bowed the knee. Now I will go +back to my subject where I left it. + +Ancient tradition says that Starkad, whom I mentioned above, offered the +first-fruits of his deeds to the favour of the gods by slaying Wikar, +the king of the Norwegians. The affair, according to the version of some +people, happened as follows:-- + +Odin once wished to slay Wikar by a grievous death; but, loth to do +the deed openly, he graced Starkad, who was already remarkable for his +extraordinary size, not only with bravery, but also with skill in the +composing of spells, that he might the more readily use his services to +accomplish the destruction of the king. For that was how he hoped that +Starkad would show himself grateful for the honour he paid him. For the +same reason he also endowed him with three spans of mortal life, that +he might be able to commit in them as many abominable deeds. So Odin +resolved that Starkad's days should be prolonged by the following crime: +Starkad presently went to Wikar and dwelt awhile in his company, hiding +treachery under homage. At last he went with him sea-roving. And in a +certain place they were troubled with prolonged and bitter storms; and +when the winds checked their voyage so much that they had to lie still +most of the year, they thought that the gods must be appeased with human +blood. When the lots were cast into the urn it so fell that the king was +required for death as a victim. Then Starkad made a noose of withies and +bound the king in it; saying that for a brief instant he should pay +the mere semblance of a penalty. But the tightness of the knot acted +according to its nature, and cut off his last breath as he hung. And +while he was still quivering Starkad rent away with his steel the +remnant of his life; thus disclosing his treachery when he ought to +have brought aid. I do not think that I need examine the version which +relates that the pliant withies, hardened with the sudden grip, acted +like a noose of iron. + +When Starkad had thus treacherously acted he took Wikar's ship and went +to one Bemon, the most courageous of all the rovers of Denmark, in order +to take up the life of a pirate. For Bemon's partner, named Frakk, weary +of the toil of sea-roving, had lately withdrawn from partnership with +him, after first making a money-bargain. Now Starkad and Bemon were so +careful to keep temperate, that they are said never to have indulged +in intoxicating drink, for fear that continence, the greatest bond of +bravery, might be expelled by the power of wantonness. So when, after +overthrowing provinces far and wide, they invaded Russia also in their +lust for empire, the natives, trusting little in their walls or arms, +began to bar the advance of the enemy with nails of uncommon sharpness, +that they might check their inroad, though they could not curb their +onset in battle; and that the ground might secretly wound the soles of +the men whom their army shrank from confronting in the field. But not +even such a barrier could serve to keep off the foe. The Danes were +cunning enough to foil the pains of the Russians. For they straightway +shod themselves with wooden clogs, and trod with unhurt steps upon the +points that lay beneath their soles. Now this iron thing is divided into +four spikes, which are so arranged that on whatsoever side chance may +cast it, it stands steadily on three equal feet. Then they struck into +the pathless glades, where the woods were thickets, and expelled Flokk, +the chief of the Russians, from the mountain hiding-places into which +he had crept. And here they got so much booty, that there was not one of +them but went back to the fleet laden with gold and silver. + +Now when Bemon was dead, Starkad was summoned because of his valour by +the champions of Permland. And when he had done many noteworthy deeds +among them, he went into the land of the Swedes, where he lived at +leisure for seven years' space with the sons of Frey. At last he left +them and betook himself to Hakon, the tyrant of Denmark, because when +stationed at Upsala, at the time of the sacrifices, he was disgusted by +the effeminate gestures and the clapping of the mimes on the stage, and +by the unmanly clatter of the bells. Hence it is clear how far he kept +his soul from lasciviousness, not even enduring to look upon it. Thus +does virtue withstand wantonness. + +Starkad took his fleet to the shore of Ireland with Hakon, in order that +even the furthest kingdoms of the world might not be untouched by the +Danish arms. The king of the island at this time was Hugleik, who, +though he had a well-filled treasury, was yet so prone to avarice, that +once, when he gave a pair of shoes which had been adorned by the hand +of a careful craftsman, he took off the ties, and by thus removing the +latches turned his present into a slight. This unhandsome act blemished +his gift so much that he seemed to reap hatred for it instead of thanks. +Thus he used never to be generous to any respectable man, but to spend +all his bounty upon mimes and jugglers. For so base a fellow was bound +to keep friendly company with the base, and such a slough of vices to +wheedle his partners in sin with pandering endearments. + +Still Hugleik had the friendship of Geigad and Swipdag, nobles of tried +valour, who, by the lustre of their warlike deeds, shone out among their +unmanly companions like jewels embedded in ordure; these alone were +found to defend the riches of the king. When a battle began between +Hugleik and Hakon, the hordes of mimes, whose light-mindedness +unsteadied their bodies, broke their ranks and scurried off in panic; +and this shameful flight was their sole requital for all their king's +benefits. Then Geigad and Swipdag faced all those thousands of the enemy +single-handed, and fought with such incredible courage, that they seemed +to do the part not merely of two warriors, but of a whole army. Geigad, +moreover, dealt Hakon, who pressed him hard, such a wound in the breast +that he exposed the upper part of his liver. It was here that Starkad, +while he was attacking Geigad with his sword, received a very sore wound +on the head; wherefore he afterwards related in a certain song that +a ghastlier wound had never befallen him at any time; for, though the +divisions of his gashed head were bound up by the surrounding outer +skin, yet the livid unseen wound concealed a foul gangrene below. + +Starkad conquered, killed Hugleik and routed the Irish; and had the +actors beaten whom chance made prisoner; thinking it better to order a +pack of buffoons to be ludicrously punished by the loss of their skins +than to command a more deadly punishment and take their lives. Thus +he visited with a disgraceful chastisement the baseborn throng +of professional jugglers, and was content to punish them with the +disgusting flouts of the lash. Then the Danes ordered that the wealth of +the king should be brought out of the treasury in the city of Dublin and +publicly pillaged. For so vast a treasure had been found that none took +much pains to divide it strictly. + +After this, Starkad was commissioned, together with Win, the chief of +the Sclavs, to check the revolt of the East. They, having fought against +the armies of the Kurlanders, the Sembs, the Sangals, and, finally, all +the Easterlings, won splendid victories everywhere. + +A champion of great repute, named Wisin, settled upon a rock in Russia +named Ana-fial, and harried both neighbouring and distant provinces with +all kinds of outrage. This man used to blunt the edge of every weapon by +merely looking at it. He was made so bold in consequence, by having lost +all fear of wounds, that he used to carry off the wives of distinguished +men and drag them to outrage before the eyes of their husbands. Starkad +was roused by the tale of this villainy, and went to Russia to destroy +the criminal; thinking nothing too hard to overcome, he challenged +Wisin, attacked him, made even his tricks useless to him, and slew him. +For Starkad covered his blade with a very fine skin, that it might not +met the eye of the sorcerer; and neither the power of his sleights +nor his great strength were any help to Wisin, for he had to yield to +Starkad. Then Starkad, trusting in his bodily strength, fought with +and overcame a giant at Byzantium, reputed invincible, named Tanne, and +drove him to fly an outlaw to unknown quarters of the earth. Therefore, +finding that he was too mighty for any hard fate to overcome him, he +went to the country of Poland, and conquered in a duel a champion +whom our countrymen name Wasce; but the Teutons, arranging the letters +differently, call him Wilzce. + +Meanwhile the Saxons began to attempt a revolt, and to consider +particularly how they could destroy Frode, who was unconquered in war, +by some other way than an open conflict. Thinking that it would be best +done by a duel, they sent men to provoke the king with a challenge, +knowing that he was always ready to court any hazard, and that his high +spirit would not yield to any admonition whatever. They fancied that +this was the best time to attack him, because they knew that Starkad, +whose valour most men dreaded, was away on business. But while Frode +hesitated, and said that he would talk with his friends about the +answer to be given, Starkad, who had just returned from his sea-roving, +appeared, and blamed such a challenge, principally (he said) because it +was fitting for kings to fight only with their equals, and because +they should not take up arms against men of the people; but it was more +fitting for himself, who was born in a lowlier station, to manage the +battle. + +The Saxons approached Hame, who was accounted their most famous +champion, with many offers, and promised him that, if he would lend his +services for the duel they would pay him his own weight in gold. +The fighter was tempted by the money, and, with all the ovation of a +military procession, they attended him to the ground appointed for the +combat. Thereupon the Danes, decked in warlike array, led Starkad, who +was to represent his king, out to the duelling-ground. Hame, in his +youthful assurance, despised him as withered with age, and chose to +grapple rather than fight with an outworn old man. Attacking Starkad, he +would have flung him tottering to the earth, but that fortune, who would +not suffer the old man to be conquered, prevented him from being hurt. +For he is said to have been so crushed by the fist of Hame, as he dashed +on him, that he touched the earth with his chin, supporting himself on +his knees. But he made up nobly for his tottering; for, as soon as he +could raise his knee and free his hand to draw his sword, he clove Hame +through the middle of the body. Many lands and sixty bondmen apiece were +the reward of the victory. + +After Hame was killed in this manner the sway of the Danes over the +Saxons grew so insolent, that they were forced to pay every year a small +tax for each of their limbs that was a cubit (ell) long, in token of +their slavery. This Hanef could not bear, and he meditated war in his +desire to remove the tribute. Steadfast love of his country filled his +heart every day with greater compassion for the oppressed; and, longing +to spend his life for the freedom of his countrymen, he openly showed +a disposition to rebel. Frode took his forces over the Elbe, and killed +him near the village of Hanofra (Hanover), so named after Hanef. But +Swerting, though he was equally moved by the distress of his countrymen, +said nothing about the ills of his land, and revolved a plan for freedom +with a spirit yet more dogged than Hanef's. Men often doubt whether +this zeal was liker to vice or to virtue; but I certainly censure it as +criminal, because it was produced by a treacherous desire to revolt. It +may have seemed most expedient to seek the freedom of the country, but +it was not lawful to strive after this freedom by craft and treachery. +Therefore, since the deed of Swerting was far from honourable, neither +will it be called expedient; for it is nobler to attack openly him whom +you mean to attack, and to exhibit hatred in the light of day, than to +disguise a real wish to do harm under a spurious show of friendship. But +the gains of crime are inglorious, its fruits are brief and fading. For +even as that soul is slippery, which hides its insolent treachery by +stealthy arts, so is it right that whatsoever is akin to guilt should be +frail and fleeting. For guilt has been usually found to come home to its +author; and rumour relates that such was the fate of Swerting. For he +had resolved to surprise the king under the pretence of a banquet, and +burn him to death; but the king forestalled and slew him, though slain +by him in return. Hence the crime of one proved the destruction of both; +and thus, though the trick succeeded against the foe, it did not bestow +immunity on its author. + +Frode was succeeded by his son Ingild, whose soul was perverted +from honour. He forsook the examples of his forefathers, and utterly +enthralled himself to the lures of the most wanton profligacy. Thus +he had not a shadow of goodness and righteousness, but embraced vices +instead of virtue; he cut the sinews of self-control, neglected the +duties of his kingly station, and sank into a filthy slave of riot. +Indeed, he fostered everything that was adverse or ill-fitted to an +orderly life. He tainted the glories of his father and grandfather by +practising the foulest lusts, and bedimmed the brightest honours of his +ancestors by most shameful deeds. For he was so prone to gluttony, that +he had no desire to avenge his father, or repel the aggressions of his +foes; and so, could he but gratify his gullet, he thought that decency +and self-control need be observed in nothing. By idleness and sloth he +stained his glorious lineage, living a loose and sensual life; and his +soul, so degenerate, so far perverted and astray from the steps of his +fathers, he loved to plunge into most abominable gulfs of foulness. +Fowl-fatteners, scullions, frying-pans, countless cook-houses, different +cooks to roast or spice the banquet--the choosing of these stood to him +for glory. As to arms, soldiering, and wars, he could endure neither +to train himself to them, nor to let others practise them. Thus he cast +away all the ambitions of a man and aspired to those of women; for +his incontinent itching of palate stirred in him love of every +kitchen-stench. Ever breathing of his debauch, and stripped of every rag +of soberness, with his foul breath he belched the undigested filth in +his belly. He was as infamous in wantonness as Frode was illustrious in +war. So utterly had his spirit been enfeebled by the untimely seductions +of gluttony. Starkad was so disgusted at the excess of Ingild, that he +forsook his friendship, and sought the fellowship of Halfdan, the King +of Swedes, preferring work to idleness. Thus he could not bear so +much as to countenance excessive indulgence. Now the sons of Swerting, +fearing that they would have to pay to Ingild the penalty of their +father's crime, were fain to forestall his vengeance by a gift, and gave +him their sister in marriage. Antiquity relates that she bore him sons, +Frode, Fridleif, Ingild, and Olaf (whom some say was the son of Ingild's +sister). + +Ingild's sister Helga had been led by amorous wooing to return the +flame of a certain low-born goldsmith, who was apt for soft words, and +furnished with divers of the little gifts which best charm a woman's +wishes. For since the death of the king there had been none to honour +the virtues of the father by attention to the child; she had lacked +protection, and had no guardians. When Starkad had learnt this from the +repeated tales of travellers, he could not bear to let the wantonness of +the smith pass unpunished. For he was always heedful to bear kindness in +mind, and as ready to punish arrogance. So he hastened to chastise +such bold and enormous insolence, wishing to repay the orphan ward the +benefits he had of old received from Frode. Then he travelled through +Sweden, went into the house of the smith, and posted himself near the +threshold muffling his face in a cap to avoid discovery. The smith, who +had not learnt the lesson that "strong hands are sometimes found under a +mean garment", reviled him, and bade him quickly leave the house, saying +that he should have the last broken victuals among the crowd of paupers. +But the old man, whose ingrained self-control lent him patience, was +nevertheless fain to rest there, and gradually study the wantonness of +his host. For his reason was stronger than his impetuosity, and curbed +his increasing rage. Then the smith approached the girl with open +shamelessness, and cast himself in her lap, offering the hair of his +head to be combed out by her maidenly hands. + +Also he thrust forward his loin cloth, and required her help in picking +out the fleas; and exacted from this woman of lordly lineage that +she should not blush to put her sweet fingers in a foul apron. Then, +believing that he was free to have his pleasure, he ventured to put his +longing palms within her gown and to set his unsteady hands close to her +breast. But she, looking narrowly, was aware of the presence of the old +man whom she once had known, and felt ashamed. She spurned the wanton +and libidinous fingering, and repulsed the unchaste hands, telling the +man also that he had need of arms, and urging him to cease his lewd +sport. + +Starkad, who had sat down by the door, with the hat muffling his head, +had already become so deeply enraged at this sight, that he could not +find patience to hold his hand any longer, but put away his covering and +clapped his right hand to his sword to draw it. Then the smith, whose +only skill was in lewdness, faltered with sudden alarm, and finding that +it had come to fighting, gave up all hope of defending himself, and saw +in flight the only remedy for his need. Thus it was as hard to break out +of the door, of which the enemy held the approach, as it was grievous to +await the smiter within the house. At last necessity forced him to put +an end to his delay, and he judged that a hazard wherein there lay but +the smallest chance of safety was more desirable than sure and manifest +danger. Also, hard as it was to fly, the danger being so close, yet he +desired flight because it seemed to bring him aid, and to be the nearer +way to safety; and he cast aside delay, which seemed to be an evil +bringing not the smallest help, but perhaps irretrievable ruin. But just +as he gained the threshold, the old man watching at the door smote him +through the hams, and there, half dead, he tottered and fell. For the +smiter thought he ought carefully to avoid lending his illustrious hands +to the death of a vile cinder-blower, and considered that ignominy would +punish his shameless passion worse than death. Thus some men think +that he who suffers misfortune is worse punished than he who is slain +outright. Thus it was brought about, that the maiden, who had never had +parents to tend her, came to behave like a woman of well-trained nature, +and did the part, as it were, of a zealous guardian to herself. And when +Starkad, looking round, saw that the household sorrowed over the late +loss of their master, he heaped shame on the wounded man with more +invective, and thus began to mock: + +"Why is the house silent and aghast? What makes this new grief? Or where +now rest that doting husband whom the steel has just punished for his +shameful love? Keeps he still aught of his pride and lazy wantonness? +Holds he to his quest, glows his lust as hot as before? Let him while +away an hour with me in converse, and allay with friendly words my +hatred of yesterday. Let your visage come forth with better cheer; let +not lamentation resound in the house, or suffer the faces to become +dulled with sorrow. + +"Wishing to know who burned with love for the maiden, and was deeply +enamoured of my beloved ward, I put on a cap, lest my familiar face +might betray me. Then comes in that wanton smith, with lewd steps, +bending his thighs this way and that with studied gesture, and likewise +making eyes as he ducked all ways. His covering was a mantle fringed +with beaver, his sandals were inlaid with gems, his cloak was decked +with gold. Gorgeous ribbons bound his plaited hair, and a many-coloured +band drew tight his straying locks. Hence grew a sluggish and puffed-up +temper; he fancied that wealth was birth, and money forefathers, and +reckoned his fortune more by riches than by blood. Hence came pride unto +him, and arrogance led to fine attire. For the wretch began to think +that his dress made him equal to the high-born; he, the cinder-blower, +who hunts the winds with hides, and puffs with constant draught, who +rakes the ashes with his fingers, and often by drawing back the bellows +takes in the air, and with a little fan makes a breath and kindles the +smouldering fires! Then he goes to the lap of the girl, and leaning +close, says, `Maiden, comb my hair and catch the skipping fleas, and +remove what stings my skin.' Then he sat and spread his arms that +sweated under the gold, lolling on the smooth cushion and leaning back +on his elbow, wishing to flaunt his adornment, just as a barking brute +unfolds the gathered coils of its twisted tail. But she knew me, and +began to check her lover and rebuff his wanton hands; and, declaring +that it was I, she said, `Refrain thy fingers, check thy promptings, +take heed to appease the old man sitting close by the doors. The sport +will turn to sorrow. I think Starkad is here, and his slow gaze scans +thy doings.' The smith answered: `Turn not pale at the peaceful raven +and the ragged old man; never has that mighty one whom thou fearest +stooped to such common and base attire. The strong man loves shining +raiment, and looks for clothes to match his courage.' Then I uncovered +and drew my sword, and as the smith fled I clove his privy parts; his +hams were laid open, cut away from the bone; they showed his entrails. +Presently I rise and crush the girl's mouth with my fist, and draw blood +from her bruised nostril. Then her lips, used to evil laughter, were wet +with tears mingled with blood, and foolish love paid for all the sins +it committed with soft eyes. Over is the sport of the hapless woman who +rushed on, blind with desire, like a maddened mare, and makes her +lust the grave of her beauty. Thou deservest to be sold for a price to +foreign peoples and to grind at the mill, unless blood pressed from thy +breasts prove thee falsely accused, and thy nipple's lack of milk clear +thee of the crime. Howbeit, I think thee free from this fault; yet bear +not tokens of suspicion, nor lay thyself open to lying tongues, nor give +thyself to the chattering populace to gird at. Rumour hurts many, and a +lying slander often harms. A little word deceives the thoughts of common +men. Respect thy grandsires, honour thy fathers, forget not thy parents, +value thy forefathers; let thy flesh and blood keep its fame. What +madness came on thee? And thou, shameless smith, what fate drove thee in +thy lust to attempt a high-born race? Or who sped thee, maiden, worthy +of the lordliest pillows, to loves obscure? Tell me, how durst thou +taste with thy rosy lips a mouth reeking of ashes, or endure on thy +breast hands filthy with charcoal, or bring close to thy side the arms +that turn the live coals over, and put the palms hardened with the use +of the tongs to thy pure cheeks, and embrace the head sprinkled with +embers, taking it to thy bright arms? + +"I remember how smiths differ from one another, for once they smote me. +All share alike the name of their calling, but the hearts beneath are +different in temper. I judge those best who weld warriors' swords and +spears for the battle, whose temper shows their courage, who betoken +their hearts by the sternness of their calling, whose work declares +their prowess. There are also some to whom the hollow mould yields +bronze, as they make the likeness of divers things in molten gold, who +smelt the veins and recast the metal. But Nature has fashioned these of +a softer temper, and has crushed with cowardice the hands which she +has gifted with rare skill. Often such men, while the heat of the blast +melts the bronze that is poured in the mould, craftily filch flakes of +gold from the lumps, when the vessel thirsts after the metal they have +stolen." + +So speaking, Starkad got as much pleasure from his words as from his +works, and went back to Halfdan, embracing his service with the closest +friendship, and never ceasing from the exercise of war; so that he +weaned his mind from delights, and vexed it with incessant application +to arms. + +Now Ingild had two sisters, Helga and Asa; Helga was of full age to +marry, while Asa was younger and unripe for wedlock. Then Helge the +Norwegian was moved with desire to ask for Helga for his wife, and +embarked. Now he had equipped his vessel so luxuriously that he had +lordly sails decked with gold, held up also on gilded masts, and tied +with crimson ropes. When he arrived Ingild promised to grant him his +wish if, to test his reputation publicly, he would first venture to meet +in battle the champions pitted against him. Helge did not flinch at the +terms; he answered that he would most gladly abide by the compact. +And so the troth-plight of the future marriage was most ceremoniously +solemnized. + +A story is remembered that there had grown up at the same time, on the +Isle of Zealand, the nine sons of a certain prince, all highly gifted +with strength and valour, the eldest of whom was Anganty. This last was +a rival suitor for the same maiden; and when he saw that the match +which he had been denied was promised to Helge, he challenged him to +a struggle, wishing to fight away his vexation. Helge agreed to the +proposed combat. The hour of the fight was appointed for the wedding-day +by the common wish of both. For any man who, being challenged, refused +to fight, used to be covered with disgrace in the sight of all men. Thus +Helge was tortured on the one side by the shame of refusing the battle, +on the other by the dread of waging it. For he thought himself attacked +unfairly and counter to the universal laws of combat, as he had +apparently undertaken to fight nine men single-handed. While he was +thus reflecting his betrothed told him that he would need help, and +counselled him to refrain from the battle, wherein it seemed he would +encounter only death and disgrace, especially as he had not stipulated +for any definite limit to the number of those who were to be his +opponents. He should therefore avoid the peril, and consult his safety +by appealing to Starkad, who was sojourning among the Swedes; since it +was his way to help the distressed, and often to interpose successfully +to retrieve some dismal mischance. + +Then Helge, who liked the counsel thus given very well, took a small +escort and went into Sweden; and when he reached its most famous city, +Upsala, he forbore to enter, but sent in a messenger who was to invite +Starkad to the wedding of Frode's daughter, after first greeting him +respectfully to try him. This courtesy stung Starkad like an insult. He +looked sternly on the youth, and said, "That had he not had his beloved +Frode named in his instructions, he should have paid dearly for his +senseless mission. He must think that Starkad, like some buffoon or +trencherman, was accustomed to rush off to the reek of a distant kitchen +for the sake of a richer diet." Helge, when his servant had told him +this, greeted the old man in the name of Frode's daughter, and asked him +to share a battle which he had accepted upon being challenged, saying +that he was not equal to it by himself, the terms of the agreement being +such as to leave the number of his adversaries uncertain. Starkad, when +he had heard the time and place of the combat, not only received the +suppliant well, but also encouraged him with the offer of aid, and told +him to go back to Denmark with his companions, telling him that he would +find his way to him by a short and secret path. Helge departed, and if +we may trust report, Starkad, by sheer speed of foot, travelled in one +day's journeying over as great a space as those who went before him are +said to have accomplished in twelve; so that both parties, by a chance +meeting, reached their journey's end, the palace of Ingild, at the very +same time. Here Starkad passed, just as the servants did, along the +tables filled with guests; and the aforementioned nine, howling horribly +with repulsive gestures, and running about as if they were on the stage, +encouraged one another to the battle. Some say that they barked like +furious dogs at the champion as he approached. Starkad rebuked them for +making themselves look ridiculous with such an unnatural visage, and for +clowning with wide grinning cheeks; for from this, he declared, soft and +effeminate profligates derived their wanton incontinence. When Starkad +was asked banteringly by the nine whether he had valour enough to fight, +he answered that doubtless he was strong enough to meet, not merely one, +but any number that might come against him. And when the nine heard this +they understood that this was the man whom they had heard would come +to the succour of Helge from afar. Starkad also, to protect the +bride-chamber with a more diligent guard, voluntarily took charge of the +watch; and, drawing back the doors of the bedroom, barred them with +a sword instead of a bolt, meaning to post himself so as to give +undisturbed quiet to their bridal. + +When Helge woke, and, shaking off the torpor of sleep, remembered his +pledge, he thought of buckling on his armour. But, seeing that a little +of the darkness of night yet remained, and wishing to wait for the hour +of dawn, he began to ponder the perilous business at hand, when sleep +stole on him and sweetly seized him, so that he took himself back to +bed laden with slumber. Starkad, coming in on him at daybreak, saw him +locked asleep in the arms of his wife, and would not suffer him to be +vexed with a sudden shock, or summoned from his quiet slumbers; lest +he should seem to usurp the duty of wakening him and breaking upon the +sweetness of so new a union, all because of cowardice. He thought it, +therefore, more handsome to meet the peril alone than to gain a comrade +by disturbing the pleasure of another. So he quietly retraced his steps, +and scorning his enemies, entered the field which in our tongue is +called Roliung, and finding a seat under the slope of a certain hill, +he exposed himself to wind and snow. Then, as though the gentle airs of +spring weather were breathing upon him, he put off his cloak, and set to +picking out the fleas. He also cast on the briars a purple mantle which +Helga had lately given him, that no clothing might seem to lend him +shelter against the raging shafts of hail. Then the champions came and +climbed the hill on the opposite side; and, seeking a spot sheltered +from the winds wherein to sit, they lit a fire and drove off the cold. +At last, not seeing Starkad, they sent a man to the crest of the hill, +to watch his coming more clearly, as from a watch-tower. This man +climbed to the top of the lofty mountain, and saw, on its sloping side, +an old man covered shoulder-high with the snow that showered down. He +asked him if he was the man who was to fight according to the promise. +Starkad declared that he was. Then the rest came up and asked him +whether he had resolved to meet them all at once or one by one. But he +said, "Whenever a surly pack of curs yelps at me, I commonly send them +flying all at once, and not in turn." Thus he let them know that he +would rather fight with-them all together than one by one, thinking that +his enemies should be spurned with words first and deeds afterwards. + +The fight began furiously almost immediately, and he felled six of them +without receiving any wound in return; and though the remaining three +wounded him so hard in seventeen places that most of his bowels gushed +out of his belly, he slew them notwithstanding, like their brethren. +Disembowelled, with failing strength, he suffered from dreadful straits +of thirst, and, crawling on his knees in his desire to find a draught, +he longed for water from the streamlet that ran close by. But when he +saw it was tainted with gore he was disgusted at the look of the water, +and refrained from its infected draught. For Anganty had been struck +down in the waves of the river, and had dyed its course so deep with his +red blood that it seemed now to flow not with water, but with some ruddy +liquid. So Starkad thought it nobler that his bodily strength should +fail than that he should borrow strength from so foul a beverage. +Therefore, his force being all but spent, he wriggled on his knees, up +to a rock that happened to be lying near, and for some little while lay +leaning against it. A hollow in its surface is still to be seen, just as +if his weight as he lay had marked it with a distinct impression of +his body. But I think this appearance is due to human handiwork, for it +seems to pass all belief that the hard and uncleavable rock should so +imitate the softness of wax, as, merely by the contact of a man leaning +on it, to present the appearance of a man having sat there, and assume +concavity for ever. + +A certain man, who chanced to be passing by in a cart, saw Starkad +wounded almost all over his body. Equally aghast and amazed, he turned +and drove closer, asking what reward he should have if he were to tend +and heal his wounds. But Starkad would rather be tortured by grievous +wounds than use the service of a man of base estate, and first asked +his birth and calling. The man said that his profession was that of a +sergeant. Starkad, not content with despising him, also spurned him with +revilings, because, neglecting all honourable business, he followed the +calling of a hanger-on; and because he had tarnished his whole career +with ill repute, thinking the losses of the poor his own gains; +suffering none to be innocent, ready to inflict wrongful accusation +upon all men, most delighted at any lamentable turn in the fortunes of +another; and toiling most at his own design, namely of treacherously +spying out all men's doings, and seeking some traitorous occasion to +censure the character of the innocent. + +As this first man departed, another came up, promising aid and remedies. +Like the last comer, he was bidden to declare his condition; and he +said that he had a certain man's handmaid to wife, and was doing peasant +service to her master in order to set her free. Starkad refused to +accept his help, because he had married in a shameful way by taking a +slave to his embrace. Had he had a shred of virtue he should at least +have disdained to be intimate with the slave of another, but should have +enjoyed some freeborn partner of his bed. What a mighty man, then, must +we deem Starkad, who, when enveloped in the most deadly perils, showed +himself as great in refusing aid as in receiving wounds! + +When this man departed a woman chanced to approach and walk past the +old man. She came up to him in order to wipe his wounds, but was first +bidden to declare what was her birth and calling. She said that she was +a handmaid used to grinding at the mill. Starkad then asked her if she +had children; and when he was told that she had a female child, he told +her to go home and give the breast to her squalling daughter; for he +thought it most uncomely that he should borrow help from a woman of the +lowest degree. Moreover, he knew that she could nourish her own flesh +and blood with milk better than she could minister to the wounds of a +stranger. + +As the woman was departing, a young man came riding up in a cart. He saw +the old man, and drew near to minister to his wounds. On being asked who +he was, he said his father was a labourer, and added that he was used +to the labours of a peasant. Starkad praised his origin, and pronounced +that his calling was also most worthy of honour; for, he said, such men +sought a livelihood by honourable traffic in their labour, inasmuch as +they knew not of any gain, save what they had earned by the sweat +of their brow. He also thought that a country life was justly to be +preferred even to the most splendid riches; for the most wholesome +fruits of it seemed to be born and reared in the shelter of a middle +estate, halfway between magnificence and squalor. But he did not wish +to pass the kindness of the youth unrequited, and rewarded the esteem +he had shown him with the mantle he had cast among the thorns. So the +peasant's son approached, replaced the parts of his belly that had been +torn away, and bound up with a plait of withies the mass of intestines +that had fallen out. Then he took the old man to his car, and with the +most zealous respect carried him away to the palace. + +Meantime Helga, in language betokening the greatest wariness, began to +instruct her husband, saying that she knew that Starkad, as soon as +he came back from conquering the champions, would punish him for his +absence, thinking that he had inclined more to sloth and lust than to +his promise to fight as appointed. Therefore he must withstand Starkad +boldly, because he always spared the brave but loathed the coward. Helge +respected equally her prophecy and her counsel, and braced his soul +and body with a glow of valorous enterprise. Starkad, when he had been +driven to the palace, heedless of the pain of his wounds, leaped swiftly +out of the cart, and just like a man who was well from top to toe, burst +into the bridal-chamber, shattering the doors with his fist. Then Helge +leapt from his bed, and, as he had been taught by the counsel of his +wife, plunged his blade full at Starkad's forehead. And since he seemed +to be meditating a second blow, and to be about to make another thrust +with his sword, Helga flew quickly from the couch, caught up a shield, +and, by interposing it, saved the old man from impending destruction; +for, notwithstanding, Helge with a stronger stroke of his blade smote +the shield right through to the boss. Thus the praiseworthy wit of the +woman aided her friend, and her hand saved him whom her counsel had +injured; for she protected the old man by her deed, as well as her +husband by her warning. Starkad was induced by this to let Helge go +scot-free; saying that a man whose ready and assured courage so surely +betokened manliness, ought to be spared; for he vowed that a man ill +deserved death whose brave spirit was graced with such a dogged will to +resist. + +Starkad went back to Sweden before his wounds had been treated with +medicine, or covered with a single scar. Halfdan had been killed by his +rivals; and Starkad, after quelling certain rebels, set up Siward as the +heir to his father's sovereignty. With him he sojourned a long time; but +when he heard--for the rumour spread--that Ingild, the son of Frode (who +had been treacherously slain), was perversely minded, and instead +of punishing his father's murderers, bestowed upon them kindness and +friendship, he was vexed with stinging wrath at so dreadful a crime. +And, resenting that a youth of such great parts should have renounced +his descent from his glorious father, he hung on his shoulders a mighty +mass of charcoal, as though it were some costly burden, and made his +way to Denmark. When asked by those he met why he was taking along so +unusual a load, he said that he would sharpen the dull wits of King +Ingild to a point by bits of charcoal. So he accomplished a swift and +headlong journey, as though at a single breath, by a short and speedy +track; and at last, becoming the guest of Ingild, he went up, as his +custom was, in to the seat appointed for the great men; for he had been +used to occupy the highest post of distinction with the kings of the +last generation. + +When the queen came in, and saw him covered over with filth and clad +in the mean, patched clothes of a peasant, the ugliness of her guest's +dress made her judge him with little heed; and, measuring the man by the +clothes, she reproached him with crassness of wit, because he had gone +before greater men in taking his place at table, and had assumed a seat +that was too good for his boorish attire. She bade him quit the place, +that he might not touch the cushions with his dress, which was fouler +than it should have been. For she put down to crassness and brazenness +what Starkad only did from proper pride; she knew not that on a high +seat of honour the mind sometimes shines brighter than the raiment. The +spirited old man obeyed, though vexed at the rebuff, and with marvellous +self-control choked down the insult which his bravery so ill deserved; +uttering at this disgrace he had received neither word nor groan. But +he could not long bear to hide the bitterness of his anger in silence. +Rising, and retreating to the furthest end of the palace, he flung his +body against the walls; and strong as they were, he so battered them +with the shock, that the beams quaked mightily; and he nearly brought +the house down in a crash. Thus, stung not only with his rebuff, but +with the shame of having poverty cast in his teeth, he unsheathed +his wrath against the insulting speech of the queen with inexorable +sternness. + +Ingild, on his return from hunting, scanned him closely, and, when +he noticed that he neither looked cheerfully about, nor paid him the +respect of rising, saw by the sternness written on his brow that it was +Starkad. For when he noted his hands horny with fighting, his scars in +front, the force and fire of his eye, he perceived that a man whose +body was seamed with so many traces of wounds had no weakling soul. +He therefore rebuked his wife, and charged her roundly to put away her +haughty tempers, and to soothe and soften with kind words and gentle +offices the man she had reviled; to comfort him with food and drink, +and refresh him with kindly converse; saying, that this man had been +appointed his tutor by his father long ago, and had been a most tender +guardian of his childhood. Then, learning too late the temper of the old +man, she turned her harshness into gentleness, and respectfully waited +on him whom she had rebuffed and railed at with bitter revilings. +The angry hostess changed her part, and became the most fawning of +flatterers. She wished to check his anger with her attentiveness; and +her fault was the less, inasmuch as she was so quick in ministering +to him after she had been chidden. But she paid dearly for it, for she +presently beheld stained with the blood of her brethren the place where +she had flouted and rebuffed the brave old man from his seat. + +Now, in the evening, Ingild took his meal with the sons of Swerting, +and fell to a magnificent feast, loading the tables with the profusest +dishes. With friendly invitation he kept the old man back from leaving +the revel too early; as though the delights of elaborate dainties could +have undermined that staunch and sturdy virtue! But when Starkad had set +eyes on these things, he scorned so wanton a use of them; and, not to +give way a whit to foreign fashions, he steeled his appetite against +these tempting delicacies with the self-restraint which was his greatest +strength. He would not suffer his repute as a soldier to be impaired +by the allurements of an orgy. For his valour loved thrift, and was a +stranger to all superfluity of food, and averse to feasting in excess. +For his was a courage which never at any moment had time to make luxury +of aught account, and always forewent pleasure to pay due heed to +virtue. So, when he saw that the antique character of self-restraint, +and all good old customs, were being corrupted by new-fangled luxury +and sumptuosity, he wished to be provided with a morsel fitter for a +peasant, and scorned the costly and lavish feast. + +Spurning profuse indulgence in food, Starkad took some smoky and rather +rancid fare, appeasing his hunger with a bitter relish because more +simply; and being unwilling to enfeeble his true valour with the tainted +sweetness of sophisticated foreign dainties, or break the rule of +antique plainness by such strange idolatries of the belly. He was also +very wroth that they should go, to the extravagance of having the same +meat both roasted and boiled at the same meal; for he considered an +eatable which was steeped in the vapours of the kitchen, and which the +skill of the cook rubbed over with many kinds of flavours, in the light +of a monstrosity. + +Unlike Starkad Ingild flung the example of his ancestors to the winds, +and gave himself freer licence of innovation in the fashions of the +table than the custom of his fathers allowed. For when he had once +abandoned himself to the manners of Teutonland, he did not blush to +yield to its unmanly wantonness. No slight incentives to debauchery have +flowed down our country's throat from that sink of a land. Hence came +magnificent dishes, sumptuous kitchens, the base service of cooks, and +all sorts of abominable sausages. Hence came our adoption, wandering +from the ways of our fathers, of a more dissolute dress. Thus our +country, which cherished self-restraint as its native quality, has +gone begging to our neighbours for luxury; whose allurements so charmed +Ingild, that he did not think it shameful to requite wrongs with +kindness; nor did the grievous murder of his father make him heave one +sigh of bitterness when it crossed his mind. + +But the queen would not depart without effecting her purpose. Thinking +that presents would be the best way to banish the old man's anger, she +took off her own head a band of marvellous handiwork, and put it in his +lap as he supped: desiring to buy his favour since she could not blunt +his courage. But Starkad, whose bitter resentment was not yet abated, +flung it back in the face of the giver, thinking that in such a gift +there was more scorn than respect. And he was wise not to put this +strange ornament of female dress upon the head that was all bescarred +and used to the helmet; for he knew that the locks of a man ought not to +wear a woman's head-band. Thus he avenged slight with slight, and repaid +with retorted scorn the disdain he had received; thereby bearing himself +well-nigh as nobly in avenging his disgrace as he had borne himself in +enduring it. + +To the soul of Starkad reverence for Frode was grappled with hooks of +love. Drawn to him by deeds of bounty, countless kindnesses, he could +not be wheedled into giving up his purpose of revenge by any sort of +alluring complaisance. Even now, when Frode was no more, he was eager +to pay the gratitude due to his benefits, and to requite the kindness +of the dead, whose loving disposition and generous friendship he had +experienced while he lived. For he bore graven so deeply in his heart +the grievous picture of Frode's murder, that his honour for that most +famous captain could never be plucked from the inmost chamber of his +soul; and therefore he did not hesitate to rank his ancient friendship +before the present kindness. Besides, when he recalled the previous +affront, he could not thank the complaisance that followed; he could not +put aside the disgraceful wound to his self-respect. For the memory of +benefits or injuries ever sticks more firmly in the minds of brave +men than in those of weaklings. For he had not the habits of those who +follow their friends in prosperity and quit them in adversity, who pay +more regard to fortune than to looks, and sit closer to their own gain +than to charity toward others. + +But the woman held to her purpose, seeing that even so she could not win +the old man to convivial mirth. Continuing with yet more lavish courtesy +her efforts to soothe him, and to heap more honours on the guest, she +bade a piper strike up, and started music to melt his unbending rage. +For she wanted to unnerve his stubborn nature by means of cunning +sounds. But the cajolery of pipe or string was just as powerless to +enfeeble that dogged warrior. When he heard it, he felt that the respect +paid him savoured more of pretence than of love. Hence the crestfallen +performer seemed to be playing to a statue rather than a man, and learnt +that it is vain for buffoons to assail with, their tricks a settled and +weighty sternness, and that a mighty mass cannot be shaken with the +idle puffing of the lips. For Starkad had set his face so firmly in his +stubborn wrath, that he seemed not a whit easier to move than ever. For +the inflexibility which he owed his vows was not softened either by the +strain of the lute or the enticements of the palate; and he thought that +more respect should be paid to his strenuous and manly purpose than to +the tickling of the ears or the lures of the feast. Accordingly he flung +the bone, which he had stripped in eating the meat, in the face of the +harlequin, and drove the wind violently out of his puffed cheeks, so +that they collapsed. By this he showed how his austerity loathed the +clatter of the stage; for his ears were stopped with anger and open to +no influence of delight. This reward, befitting an actor, punished +an unseemly performance with a shameful wage. For Starkad excellently +judged the man's deserts, and bestowed a shankbone for the piper to pipe +on, requiting his soft service with a hard fee. None could say whether +the actor piped or wept the louder; he showed by his bitter flood of +tears how little place bravery has in the breasts of the dissolute. For +the fellow was a mere minion of pleasure, and had never learnt to bear +the assaults of calamity. This man's hurt was ominous of the carnage +that was to follow at the feast. Right well did Starkad's spirit, +heedful of sternness, hold with stubborn gravity to steadfast revenge; +for he was as much disgusted at the lute as others were delighted, +and repaid the unwelcome service by insultingly flinging a bone; thus +avowing that he owed a greater debt to the glorious dust of his mighty +friend than to his shameless and infamous ward. + +But when Starkad saw that the slayers of Frode were in high favour +with the king, his stern glances expressed the mighty wrath which he +harboured, and his face betrayed what he felt. The visible fury of his +gaze betokened the secret tempest in his heart. At last, when Ingild +tried to appease him with royal fare, he spurned the dainty. Satisfied +with cheap and common food, he utterly spurned outlandish delicacies; +he was used to plain diet, and would not pamper his palate with any +delightful flavour. When he was asked why he had refused the generous +attention of the king with such a clouded brow, he said that he had come +to Denmark to find the son of Frode, not a man who crammed his proud +and gluttonous stomach with rich elaborate feasts. For the Teuton +extravagance which the king favoured had led him, in his longing for the +pleasures of abundance, to set to the fire again, for roasting, dishes +which had been already boiled. Thereupon he could not forbear from +attacking Ingild's character, but poured out the whole bitterness of +his reproaches on his head. He condemned his unfilial spirit, because +he gaped with repletion and vented his squeamishness in filthy hawkings; +because, following the lures of the Saxons, he strayed and departed far +from soberness; because he was so lacking in manhood as not to pursue +even the faintest shadow of it. But, declared Starkad, he bore the +heaviest load of infamy, because, even when he first began to see +service, he forgot to avenge his father, to whose butchers, forsaking +the law of nature, he was kind and attentive. Men whose deserts were +most vile he welcomed with loving affection; and not only did he let +those go scot-free, whom he should have punished most sharply, but he +even judged them fit persons to live with and entertain at his table, +whereas he should rather have put them to death. Hereupon Starkad is +also said to have sung as follows: + +"Let the unwarlike youth yield to the aged, let him honour all the years +of him that is old. When a man is brave, let none reproach the number of +his days. + +"Though the hair of the ancient whiten with age, their valour stays +still the same; nor shall the lapse of time have power to weaken their +manly heart. + +"I am elbowed away by the offensive guest, who taints with vice his +outward show of goodness, whilst he is the slave of his belly and +prefers his daily dainties to anything. + +"When I was counted as a comrade of Frode, I ever sat in the midst of +warriors on a high seat in the hall, and I was the first of the princes +to take my meal. + +"Now, the lot of a nobler age is reversed; I am shut in a corner, I am +like the fish that seeks shelter as it wanders to and fro hidden in the +waters. + +"I, who used surely in the former age to lie back on a couch handsomely +spread, am now thrust among the hindmost and driven from the crowded +hall. + +"Perchance I had been driven on my back at the doors, had not the wall +struck my side and turned me back, and had not the beam, in the way made +it hard for me to fly when I was thrust forth. + +"I am baited with the jeers of the court-folk; I am not received as +a guest should be; I am girded at with harsh gibing, and stung with +babbling taunts. + +"I am a stranger, and would gladly know what news are spread abroad by +busy rumour; what is the course of events; what the order of the land; +what is doing in your country. + +"Thou, Ingild, buried in sin, why dost thou tarry in the task of +avenging thy father? Wilt thou think tranquilly of the slaughter of thy +righteous sire? + +"Why dost thou, sluggard, think only of feasting, and lean thy belly +back in ease, more effeminate than harlots? Is the avenging of thy +slaughtered father a little thing to thee? + +"When last I left thee, Frode, I learned by my prophetic soul that thou, +mightiest of kings, wouldst surely perish by the sword of enemies. + +"And while I travelled long in the land, a warning groan rose in my +soul, which augured that thereafter I was never to see thee more. + +"Wo is me, that then I was far away, harrying the farthest peoples of +the earth, when the traitorous guest aimed craftily at the throat of his +king. + +"Else I would either have shown myself the avenger of my lord, or +have shared his fate and fallen where he fell, and would joyfully have +followed the blessed king in one and the same death. + +"I have not come to indulge in gluttonous feasting, the sin whereof I +will strive to chastise; nor will I take mine ease, nor the delights of +the fat belly. + +"No famous king has ever set me before in the middle by the strangers. I +have been wont to sit in the highest seats among friends. + +"I have come from Sweden, travelling over wide lands, thinking that I +should be rewarded, if only I had the joy to find the son of my beloved +Frode. + +"But I sought a brave man, and I have come to a glutton, a king who is +the slave of his belly and of vice, whose liking has been turned back +towards wantonness by filthy pleasure. + +"Famous is the speech men think that Halfdan spoke: he warned us it +would soon come to pass that an understanding father should beget a +witless son. + +"Though the heir be deemed degenerate, I will not suffer the wealth of +mighty Frode to profit strangers or to be made public like plunder." + +At these words the queen trembled, and she took from her head the ribbon +with which she happened, in woman's fashion, to be adorning her hair, +and proffered it to the enraged old man, as though she could avert his +anger with a gift. Starkad in anger flung it back most ignominiously in +the face of the giver, and began again in a loud voice: + +"Take hence, I pray thee, thy woman's gift, and set back thy headgear on +thy head; no brave man assumes the chaplets that befit Love only. + +"For it is amiss that the hair of men that are ready for battle should +be bound back with wreathed gold; such attire is right for the throngs +of the soft and effeminate. + +"But take this gift to thy husband, who loves luxury, whose finger +itches, while he turns over the rump and handles the flesh of the bird +roasted brown. + +"The flighty and skittish wife of Ingild longs to observe the fashions +of the Teutons; she prepares the orgy and makes ready the artificial +dainties. + +"For she tickles the palate with a new-fangled feast; she pursues the +zest of an unknown flavour, raging to load all the tables with dishes +yet more richly than before. + +"She gives her lord wine to drink in bowls, pondering all things with +zealous preparation; she bids the cooked meats be roasted, and intends +them for a second fire. + +"Wantonly she feeds her husband like a hog; a shameless whore, +trusting.... + +"She roasts the boiled, and recooks the roasted meats, planning the meal +with spendthrift extravagance, careless of right and wrong, practising +sin, a foul woman. + +"Wanton in arrogance, a soldier of Love, longing for dainties, she +abjures the fair ways of self-control, and also provides devices for +gluttony. + +"With craving stomach she desires turnip strained in a smooth pan, cakes +with thin juice, and shellfish in rows. + +"I do not remember the Great Frode putting his hand to the sinews of +birds, or tearing the rump of a cooked fowl with crooked thumb. + +"What former king could have been so gluttonous as to stir the stinking +filthy flesh, or rummage in the foul back of a bird with plucking +fingers? + +"The food of valiant men is raw; no need, methinks, of sumptuous tables +for those whose stubborn souls are bent on warfare. + +"It had been fitter for thee to have torn the stiff beard, biting hard +with thy teeth, than greedily to have drained the bowl of milk with thy +wide mouth. + +"We fled from the offence of the sumptuous kitchen; we stayed our +stomach with rancid fare; few in the old days loved cooked juices. + +"A dish with no sauce of herbs gave us the flesh of rams and swine. We +partook temperately, tainting nothing with bold excess. + +"Thou who now lickest the milk-white fat, put on, prithee, the spirit of +a man; remember Frode, and avenge thy father's death. + +"The worthless and cowardly heart shall perish, and shall not parry the +thrust of death by flight, though it bury itself in a valley, or crouch +in darkling dens. + +"Once we were eleven princes, devoted followers of King Hakon, and here +Geigad sat above Helge in the order of the meal. + +"Geigad used to appease the first pangs of hunger with a dry rump of +ham; and plenty of hard crust quelled the craving of his stomach. + +"No one asked for a sickly morsel; all took their food in common; the +meal of mighty men cost but slight display. + +"The commons shunned foreign victual, and the greatest lusted not for a +feast; even the king remembered to live temperately at little cost. + +"Scorning to look at the mead, he drank the fermented juice of Ceres; he +shrank not from the use of undercooked meats, and hated the roast. + +"The board used to stand with slight display, a modest salt-cellar +showed the measure of its cost; lest the wise ways of antiquity should +in any wise be changed by foreign usage. + +"Of old, no man put flagons or mixing-bowls on the tables; the steward +filled the cup from the butt, and there was no abundance of adorned +vessels. + +"No one who honoured past ages put the smooth wine-jars beside the +tankards, and of old no bedizened lackey heaped the platter with +dainties. + +"Nor did the vainglorious host deck the meal with little salt-shell +or smooth cup; but all has been now abolished in shameful wise by the +new-fangled manners. + +"Who would ever have borne to take money in ransom for the death of a +lost parent, or to have asked a foe for a gift to atone for the murder +of a father? + +"What strong heir or well-starred son would have sat side by side with +such as these, letting a shameful bargain utterly unnerve the warrior? + +"Wherefore, when the honours of kings are sung, and bards relate the +victories of captains, I hide my face for shame in my mantle, sick at +heart. + +"For nothing shines in thy trophies, worthy to be recorded by the pen; +no heir of Frode is named in the roll of the honourable. + +"Why dost thou vex me with insolent gaze, thou who honourest the foe +guilty of thy father's blood, and art thought only to take thy vengeance +with loaves and warm soup? + +"When men speak well of the avengers of crimes, then long thou to lose +thy quick power of hearing, that thy impious spirit may not be ashamed. + +"For oft has the virtue of another vexed a heart that knows its guilt, +and the malice in the breast is abashed by the fair report of the good. + +"Though thou go to the East, or live sequestered in the countries of +the West, or whether, driven thence, thou seek the midmost place of the +earth; + +"Whether thou revisit the cold quarter of the heaven where the pole is +to be seen, and carries on the sphere with its swift spin, and looks +down upon the neighbouring Bear; + +"Shame shall accompany thee far, and shall smite thy countenance with +heavy disgrace, when the united assembly of the great kings is taking +pastime. + +"Since everlasting dishonour awaits thee, thou canst not come amidst +the ranks of the famous; and in every clime thou shalt pass thy days in +infamy. + +"The fates have given Frode an offspring born into the world when gods +were adverse, whose desires have been enthralled by crime and ignoble +lust. + +"Even as in a ship all things foul gather to the filthy hollow of the +bilge, even so hath a flood of vices poured into Ingild. + +"Therefore, in terror of thy shame being published, thou shalt lie +crushed in the corners of the land, sluggish on thy foul hearth, and +never to be seen in the array of the famous. + +"Then shalt thou shake thy beard at thine evil fate, kept down by the +taunts of thy mistresses, when thy paramour galls thy ear with her +querulous cries. + +"Since chill fear retards thy soul, and thou dreadest to become the +avenger of thy sire, thou art utterly degenerate, and thy ways are like +a slave's. + +"It would have needed scant preparation to destroy thee; even as if a +man should catch and cut the throat of a kid, or slit the weazand of a +soft sheep and butcher it. + +"Behold, a son of the tyrant Swerting shall take the inheritance of +Denmark after thee; he whose slothful sister thou keepest in infamous +union. + +"Whilst thou delightest to honour thy bride, laden with gems and shining +in gold apparel, we burn with all indignation that is linked with shame, +lamenting thy infamies. + +"When thou art stirred by furious lust, our mind is troubled, and +recalls the fashion of ancient times, and bids us grieve sorely. + +"For we rate otherwise than thou the crime of the foes whom now thou +holdest in honour; wherefore the face of this age is a burden to me, +remembering the ancient ways. + +"I would crave no greater blessing, O Frode, if I might see those guilty +of thy murder duly punished for such a crime." + +Now he prevailed so well by this stirring counsel, that his reproach +served like a flint wherewith to strike a blazing flame of valour in the +soul that had been chill and slack. For the king had at first heard +the song inattentively; but, stirred by the earnest admonition of +his guardian, he conceived in his heart a tardy fire of revenge; and, +forgetting the reveller, he changed into the foeman. At last he leapt up +from where he lay, and poured the whole flood of his anger on those at +table with him; insomuch that he unsheathed his sword upon the sons of +Swerting with bloody ruthlessness, and aimed with drawn blade at the +throats of those whose gullets he had pampered with the pleasures of the +table. These men he forthwith slew; and by so doing he drowned the +holy rites of the table in blood. He sundered the feeble bond of their +league, and exchanged a shameful revel for enormous cruelty; the host +became the foe, and that vilest slave of excess the bloodthirsty agent +of revenge. For the vigorous pleading of his counsellor bred a breath of +courage in his soft and unmanly youth; it drew out his valour from its +lurking-place, and renewed it, and so fashioned it that the authors of a +most grievous murder were punished even as they deserved. For the young +man's valour had been not quenched, but only in exile, and the aid of +an old man had drawn it out into the light; and it accomplished a deed +which was all the greater for its tardiness; for it was somewhat nobler +to steep the cups in blood than in wine. What a spirit, then, must we +think that old man had, who by his eloquent adjuration expelled from +that king's mind its infinite sin, and who, bursting the bonds of +iniquity, implanted a most effectual seed of virtue. Starkad aided the +king with equal achievements; and not only showed the most complete +courage in his own person, but summoned back that which had been rooted +out of the heart of another. When the deed was done, he thus begun: + +"King Ingild, farewell; thy heart, full of valour, hath now shown a deed +of daring. The spirit that reigns in thy body is revealed by its fair +beginning; nor did there lack deep counsel in thy heart, though thou +wert silent till this hour; for thou dost redress by thy bravery what +delay had lost, and redeemest the sloth of thy spirit by mighty valour. +Come now, let us rout the rest, and let none escape the peril which +all alike deserve. Let the crime come home to the culprit; let the sin +return and crush its contriver. + +"Let the servants take up in a car the bodies of the slain, and let the +attendant quickly bear out the carcases. Justly shall they lack the +last rites; they are unworthy to be covered with a mound; let no funeral +procession or pyre suffer them the holy honour of a barrow; let them be +scattered to rot in the fields, to be consumed by the beaks of birds; +let them taint the country all about with their deadly corruption. + +"Do thou too, king, if thou hast any wit, flee thy savage bride, lest +the she-wolf bring forth a litter like herself, and a beast spring from +thee that shall hurt its own father. + +"Tell me, Rote, continual derider of cowards, thinkest thou that we have +avenged Frode enough, when we have spent seven deaths on the vengeance +of one? Lo, those are borne out dead who paid homage not to thy sway in +deed, but only in show, and though obsequious they planned treachery. +But I always cherished this hope, that noble fathers have noble +offspring, who will follow in their character the lot which they +received by their birth. Therefore, Ingild, better now than in time past +dost thou deserve to be called lord of Leire and of Denmark. + +"When, O King Hakon, I was a beardless youth, and followed thy leading +and command in warfare, I hated luxury and wanton souls, and practiced +only wars. Training body and mind together, I banished every unholy +thing from my soul, and shunned the pleasures of the belly, loving +deeds of prowess. For those that followed the calling of arms had rough +clothing and common gear and short slumbers and scanty rest. Toil drove +ease far away, and the time ran by at scanty cost. Not as with some men +now, the light of whose reason is obscured by insatiate greed with its +blind maw. Some one of these clad in a covering of curiously wrought +raiment effeminately guides the fleet-footed (steed), and unknots his +dishevelled locks, and lets his hair fly abroad loosely. + +"He loves to plead often in the court, and to covet a base pittance, and +with this pursuit he comforts his sluggish life, doing with venal tongue +the business entrusted to him. + +"He outrages the laws by force, he makes armed assault upon men's +rights, he tramples on the innocent, he feeds on the wealth of others, +he practices debauchery and gluttony, he vexes good fellowship with +biting jeers, and goes after harlots as a hoe after the grass. + +"The coward falls when battles are lulled in peace. Though he who fears +death lie in the heart of the valley, no mantlet shall shelter him. His +final fate carries off every living man; doom is not to be averted by +skulking. But I, who have shaken the whole world with my slaughters, +shall I enjoy a peaceful death? Shall I be taken up to the stars in a +quiet end? Shall I die in my bed without a wound?" + + + +BOOK SEVEN. + +We are told by historians of old, that Ingild had four sons, of whom +three perished in war, while OLAF alone reigned after his father; but +some say that Olaf was the son of Ingild's sister, though this opinion +is doubtful. Posterity has but an uncertain knowledge of his deeds, +which are dim with the dust of antiquity; nothing but the last counsel +of his wisdom has been rescued by tradition. For when he was in the last +grip of death he took thought for his sons FRODE and HARALD, and bade +them have royal sway, one over the land and the other over the sea, and +receive these several powers, not in prolonged possession, but in yearly +rotation. Thus their share in the rule was made equal; but Frode, who +was the first to have control of the affairs of the sea, earned disgrace +from his continual defeats in roving. His calamity was due to his +sailors being newly married, and preferring nuptial joys at home to the +toils of foreign warfare. After a time Harald, the younger son, received +the rule of the sea, and chose soldiers who were unmarried, fearing to +be baffled like his brother. Fortune favoured his choice; for he was as +glorious a rover as his brother was inglorious; and this earned him his +brother's hatred. Moreover, their queens, Signe and Ulfhild, one of +whom was the daughter of Siward, King of Sweden, the other of Karl, the +governor of Gothland, were continually wrangling as to which was the +nobler, and broke up the mutual fellowship of their husbands. Hence +Harald and Frode, when their common household was thus shattered, +divided up the goods they held in common, and gave more heed to the +wrangling altercations of the women than to the duties of brotherly +affection. + +Moreover, Frode, judging that his brother's glory was a disgrace to +himself and brought him into contempt, ordered one of his household to +put him to death secretly; for he saw that the man of whom he had the +advantage in years was surpassing him in courage. When the deed +was done, he had the agent of his treachery privily slain, lest the +accomplice should betray the crime. Then, in order to gain the credit of +innocence and escape the brand of crime, he ordered a full inquiry to be +made into the mischance that had cut off his brother so suddenly. But he +could not manage, by all his arts, to escape silent condemnation in the +thoughts of the common people. He afterwards asked Karl, "Who had killed +Harald?" and Karl replied that it was deceitful in him to ask a question +about something which he knew quite well. These words earned him his +death; for Frode thought that he had reproached him covertly with +fratricide. + +After this, the lives of Harald and Halfdan, the sons of Harald by Signe +the daughter of Karl, were attempted by their uncle. But the guardians +devised a cunning method of saving their wards. For they cut off the +claws of wolves and tied them to the soles of their feet; and then +made them run along many times so as to harrow up the mud near their +dwelling, as well as the ground (then covered with, snow), and give the +appearance of an attack by wild beasts. Then they killed the children +of some bond-women, tore their bodies into little pieces, and scattered +their mangled limbs all about. So when the youths were looked for in +vain, the scattered limbs were found, the tracks of the beasts were +pointed out, and the ground was seen besmeared with blood. It was +believed that the boys had been devoured by ravening wolves; and hardly +anyone was suffered to doubt so plain a proof that they were mangled. +The belief in this spectacle served to protect the wards. They were +presently shut up by their guardians in a hollow oak, so that no trace +of their being alive should get abroad, and were fed for a long time +under pretence that they were dogs; and were even called by hounds' +names, to prevent any belief getting abroad that they were hiding. (1) + +Frode alone refused to believe in their death; and he went and inquired +of a woman skilled in divination where they were hid. So potent were +her spells, that she seemed able, at any distance, to perceive anything, +however intricately locked away, and to summon it out to light. She +declared that one Ragnar had secretly undertaken to rear them, and had +called them by the names of dogs to cover the matter. When the young +men found themselves dragged from their hiding by the awful force of +her spells, and brought before the eyes of the enchantress, loth to be +betrayed by this terrible and imperious compulsion, they flung into her +lap a shower of gold which they had received from their guardians. When +she had taken the gift, she suddenly feigned death, and fell like one +lifeless. Her servants asked the reason why she fell so suddenly; and +she declared that the refuge of the sons of Harald was inscrutable; +for their wondrous might qualified even the most awful effects of her +spells. Thus she was content with a slight benefit, and could not +bear to await a greater reward at the king's hands. After this Ragnar, +finding that the belief concerning himself and his wards was becoming +rife in common talk, took them, both away into Funen. Here he was taken +by Frode, and confessed that he had put the young men in safe keeping; +and he prayed the king to spare the wards whom he had made fatherless, +and not to think it a piece of good fortune to be guilty of two +unnatural murders. By this speech he changed the king's cruelty into +shame; and he promised that if they attempted any plots in their own +land, he would give information to the king. Thus he gained safety for +his wards, and lived many years in freedom from terror. + +When the boys grew up, they went to Zealand, and were bidden by their +friends to avenge their father. They vowed that they and their uncle +should not both live out the year. When Ragnar found this out, he went +by night to the palace, prompted by the recollection of his covenant, +and announced that he was come privily to tell the king something he had +promised. But the king was asleep, and he would not suffer them to wake +him up, because Frode had been used to punish any disturbance of his +rest with the sword. So mighty a matter was it thought of old to break +the slumbers of a king by untimely intrusion. Frode heard this from the +sentries in the morning; and when he perceived that Ragnar had come +to tell him of the treachery, he gathered together his soldiers, and +resolved to forestall deceit by ruthless measures. Harald's sons had +no help for it but to feign madness. For when they found themselves +suddenly attacked, they began to behave like maniacs, as if they were +distraught. And when Frode thought that they were possessed, he gave +up his purpose, thinking it shameful to attack with the sword those who +seemed to be turning the sword against themselves. But he was burned +to death by them on the following night, and was punished as befitted a +fratricide. For they attacked the palace, and first crushing the queen +with a mass of stones and then, having set fire to the house, they +forced Frode to crawl into a narrow cave that had been cut out long +before, and into the dark recesses of tunnels. Here he lurked in hiding +and perished, stifled by the reek and smoke. + +After Frode was killed, HALFDAN reigned over his country about three +years, and then, handing over his sovereignty to his brother Harald as +deputy, went roving, and attacked and ravaged Oland and the neighbouring +isles, which are severed from contact with Sweden by a winding sound. +Here in the winter he beached and entrenched his ships, and spent three +years on the expedition. After this he attacked Sweden, and destroyed +its king in the field. Afterwards he prepared to meet the king's +grandson Erik, the son of his own uncle Frode, in battle; and when he +heard that Erik's champion, Hakon, was skillful in blunting swords with +his spells, he fashioned, to use for clubbing, a huge mace studded with +iron knobs, as if he would prevail by the strength of wood over the +power of sorcery. Then--for he was conspicuous beyond all others for his +bravery--amid the hottest charges of the enemy, he covered his head with +his helmet, and, without a shield, poised his club, and with the help +of both hands whirled it against the bulwark of shields before him. No +obstacle was so stout but it was crushed to pieces by the blow of the +mass that smote it. Thus he overthrew the champion, who ran against him +in the battle, with a violent stroke of his weapon. But he was conquered +notwithstanding, and fled away into Helsingland, where he went to one +Witolf (who had served of old with Harald), to seek tendance for his +wounds. This man had spent most of his life in camp; but at last, after +the grievous end of his general, he had retreated into this lonely +district, where he lived the life of a peasant, and rested from the +pursuits of war. Often struck himself by the missiles of the enemy, he +had gained no slight skill in leechcraft by constantly tending his own +wounds. But if anyone came with flatteries to seek his aid, instead of +curing him he was accustomed to give him something that would secretly +injure him, thinking it somewhat nobler to threaten than to wheedle for +benefits. When the soldiers of Erik menaced his house, in their desire +to take Halfdan, he so robbed them of the power of sight that they could +neither perceive the house nor trace it with certainty, though it was +close to them. So utterly had their eyesight been dulled by a decisive +mist. + +When Halfdan had by this man's help regained his full strength, he +summoned Thore, a champion of notable capacity, and proclaimed war +against Erik. But when the forces were led out on the other side, and +he saw that Erik was superior in numbers, he hid a part of his army, and +instructed it to lie in ambush among the bushes by the wayside, in order +to destroy the enemy by an ambuscade as he marched through the narrow +part of the path. Erik foresaw this, having reconnoitred his means of +advancing, and thought he must withdraw for fear, if he advanced along +the track he had intended, of being hard-pressed by the tricks of the +enemy among the steep windings of the hills. They therefore joined +battle, force against force, in a deep valley, inclosed all round by +lofty mountain ridges. Here Halfdan, when he saw the line of his +men wavering, climbed with Thore up a crag covered with stones and, +uprooting boulders, rolled them down upon the enemy below; and the +weight of these as they fell crushed the line that was drawn up in the +lower position. Thus he regained with stones the victory which he +had lost with arms. For this deed of prowess he received the name of +Biargramm ("rock strong"), a word which seems to have been compounded +from the name of his fierceness and of the mountains. He soon gained so +much esteem for this among the Swedes that he was thought to be the son +of the great Thor, and the people bestowed divine honours upon him, and +judged him worthy of public libation. + +But the souls of the conquered find it hard to rest, and the insolence +of the beaten ever struggles towards the forbidden thing. So it came to +pass that Erik, in his desire to repair the losses incurred in flight, +attacked the districts subject to Halfdan. Even Denmark he did not +exempt from this harsh treatment; for he thought it a most worthy deed +to assail the country of the man who had caused him to be driven from +his own. And so, being more anxious to inflict injury than to repel it, +he set Sweden free from the arms of the enemy. When Halfdan heard that +his brother Harald had been beaten by Erik in three battles, and slain +in the fourth, he was afraid of losing his empire; he had to quit the +land of the Swedes and go back to his own country. Thus Erik regained +the kingdom of Sweden all the more quickly, that he quitted it so +lightly. Had fortune wished to favour him in keeping his kingdom as much +as she had in regaining it, she would in nowise have given him into +the hand of Halfdan. This capture was made in the following way: When +Halfdan had gone back into Sweden, he hid his fleet craftily, and went +to meet Erik with two vessels. Erik attacked him with ten; and Halfdan, +sailing through sundry winding channels, stole back to his concealed +forces. Erik pursued him too far, and the Danish fleet came out on +the sea. Thus Erik was surrounded; but he rejected the life, which was +offered him under condition of thraldom. He could not bear to think more +of the light of day than liberty, and chose to die rather than serve; +lest he should seem to love life so well as to turn from a slave into +a freeman; and that he might not court with new-born obeisance the man +whom fortune had just before made only his equal. So little knows virtue +how to buy life with dishonour. Wherefore he was put in chains, and +banished to a place haunted by wild beasts; an end unworthy of that +lofty spirit. + +Halfdan had thus become sovereign of both kingdoms, and graced his fame +with a triple degree of honour. For he was skillful and eloquent in +composing poems in the fashion of his country; and he was no less +notable as a valorous champion than as a powerful king. But when he +heard that two active rovers, Toke and Anund, were threatening the +surrounding districts, he attacked and routed them in a sea-fight. For +the ancients thought that nothing was more desirable than glory which +was gained, not by brilliancy of wealth, but by address in arms. +Accordingly, the most famous men of old were so minded as to love +seditions, to renew quarrels, to loathe ease, to prefer fighting to +peace, to be rated by their valour and not by their wealth, to find +their greatest delight in battles, and their least in banquetings. + +But Halfdan was not long to seek for a rival. A certain Siwald, of +most illustrious birth, related with lamentation in the assembly of the +Swedes the death of Frode and his queen; and inspired in almost all of +them such a hatred of Halfdan, that the vote of the majority granted him +permission to revolt. Nor was he content with the mere goodwill of their +voices, but so won the heart of the commons by his crafty canvassing +that he induced almost all of them to set with their hands the royal +emblem on his head. Siwald had seven sons, who were such clever +sorcerers that often, inspired with the force of sudden frenzy, they +would roar savagely, bite their shields, swallow hot coals, and go +through any fire that could be piled up; and their frantic passion could +only be checked by the rigour of chains, or propitiated by slaughter +of men. With such a frenzy did their own sanguinary temper, or else the +fury of demons, inspire them. + +When Halfdan had heard of these things while busy roving, he said it +was right that his soldiers, who had hitherto spent their rage upon +foreigners, should now smite with the steel the flesh of their own +countrymen, and that they who had been used to labour to extend their +realm should now avenge its wrongful seizure. On Halfdan approaching, +Siwald sent him ambassadors and requested him, if he was as great in act +as in renown, to meet himself and his sons in single combat, and save +the general peril by his own. When the other answered, that a combat +could not lawfully be fought by more than two men, Siwald said, that +it was no wonder that a childless bachelor should refuse the proffered +conflict, since his nature was void of heat, and had struck a +disgraceful frost into his soul and body. Children, he added, were not +different from the man who begot them, since they drew from him their +common principle of birth. Thus he and his sons were to be accounted +as one person, for nature seemed in a manner to have bestowed on them +a single body. Halfdan, stung with this shameful affront, accepted +the challenge; meaning to wipe out with noble deeds of valour such an +insulting taunt upon his celibacy. And while he chanced to be walking +through a shady woodland, he plucked up by the roots all oak that stuck +in his path, and, by simply stripping it of its branches, made it look +like a stout club. Having this trusty weapon, he composed a short song +as follows: + +"Behold! The rough burden which I bear with straining crest, shall unto +crests bring wounds and destruction. Never shall any weapon of leafy +wood crush the Goths with direr augury. It shall shatter the towering +strength of the knotty neck, and shall bruise the hollow temples with +the mass of timber. The club which shall quell the wild madness of +the land shall be no less fatal to the Swedes. Breaking bones, and +brandished about the mangled limbs of warriors, the stock I have +wrenched off shall crush the backs of the wicked, crush the hearths of +our kindred, shed the blood of our countrymen, and be a destructive pest +upon our land." + +When he had said this, he attacked Siwald and his seven sons, and +destroyed them, their force and bravery being useless against the +enormous mass of his club. + +At this time one Hardbeen, who came from Helsingland, gloried in +kidnapping and ravishing princesses, and used to kill any man who +hindered him in his lusts. He preferred high matches to those that were +lowly; and the more illustrious the victims he could violate, the more +noble he thought himself. No man escaped unpunished who durst measure +himself with Hardbeen in valour. He was so huge, that his stature +reached the measure of nine ells. He had twelve champions dwelling with +him, whose business it was to rise up and to restrain his fury with the +aid of bonds, whenever the rage came on him that foreboded of battle. +These men asked Halfdan to attack Hardbeen and his champions man by man; +and he not only promised to fight, but assured himself the victory with +most confident words. When Hardbeen heard this, a demoniacal frenzy +suddenly took him; he furiously bit and devoured the edges of his +shield; he kept gulping down fiery coals; he snatched live embers in his +mouth and let them pass down into his entrails; he rushed through the +perils of crackling fires; and at last, when he had raved through every +sort of madness, he turned his sword with raging hand against the hearts +of six of his champions. It is doubtful whether this madness came from +thirst for battle or natural ferocity. Then with the remaining band +of his champions he attacked Halfdan, who crushed him with a hammer of +wondrous size, so that he lost both victory and life; paying the +penalty both to Halfdan, whom he had challenged, and to the kings whose +offspring he had violently ravished. + +Fortune never seemed satisfied with the trying of Halfdan's strength, +and used to offer him unexpected occasions for fighting. It so happened +that Egther, a Finlander, was harrying the Swedes on a roving raid. +Halfdan, having found that he had three ships, attacked him with the +same number. Night closed the battle, so that he could not conquer him; +but he challenged Egther next day, fought with and overthrew him. He +next heard that Grim, a champion of immense strength, was suing, under +threats of a duel, for Thorhild, the daughter of the chief Hather, and +that her father had proclaimed that he who put the champion out of the +way should have her. Halfdan, though he had reached old age a bachelor, +was stirred by the promise of the chief as much as by the insolence of +the champion, and went to Norway. When he entered it, he blotted out +every mark by which he could be recognized, disguising his face with +splashes of dirt; and when he came to the spot of the battle, drew his +sword first. And when he knew that it had been blunted by the glance of +the enemy, he cast it on the ground, drew another from the sheath, with +which he attacked Grim, cutting through the meshes on the edge of his +cuirass, as well as the lower part of his shield. Grim wondered at the +deed, and said, "I cannot remember an old man who fought more keenly;" +and, instantly drawing his sword, he pierced through and shattered the +target that was opposed to his blade. But as his right arm tarried on +the stroke, Halfdan, without wavering, met and smote it swiftly with his +sword. The other, notwithstanding, clasped his sword with his left hand, +and cut through the thigh of the striker, revenging the mangling of +his own body with a slight wound. Halfdan, now conqueror, allowed the +conquered man to ransom the remnant of his life with a sum of money; +he would not be thought shamefully to rob a maimed man, who could not +fight, of the pitiful remainder of his days. By this deed he showed +himself almost as great in saving as in conquering his enemy. As a +prize for this victory he won Thorhild in marriage, and had by her a +son Asmund, from whom the kings of Norway treasure the honour of being +descended; retracing the regular succession of their line down from +Halfdan. + +After this, Ebbe, a rover of common birth, was so confident of his +valour, that he was moved to aspire to a splendid marriage. He was +a suitor for Sigrid, the daughter of Yngwin, King of the Goths, and +moreover demanded half the Gothic kingdom for her dowry. Halfdan was +consulted whether the match should be entertained, and advised that +a feigned consent should be given, promising that he would baulk the +marriage. He also gave instructions that a seat should be allotted to +himself among the places of the guests at table. Yngwin approved the +advice; and Halfdan, utterly defacing the dignity of his royal presence +with an unsightly and alien disguise, and coming by night on the wedding +feast, alarmed those who met him; for they marvelled at the coming of a +man of such superhuman stature. + +When Halfdan entered the palace, he looked round on all and asked, who +was he that had taken the place next to the king? Upon Ebbe replying +that the future son-in-law of the king was next to his side, Halfdan +asked him, in the most passionate language, what madness, or what +demons, had brought him to such wantonness, as to make bold to unite his +contemptible and filthy race with a splendid and illustrious line, or to +dare to lay his peasant finger upon the royal family: and, not content +even with such a claim, to aspire, as it seemed, to a share even in the +kingdom of another. Then he bade Ebbe fight him, saying that he must get +the victory before he got his wish. The other answered that the night +was the time to fight with monsters, but the day the time with men; +but Halfdan, to prevent him shirking the battle by pleading the hour, +declared that the moon was shining with the brightness of daylight. +Thus he forced Ebbe to fight, and felled him, turning the banquet into a +spectacle, and the wedding into a funeral. + +Some years passed, and Halfdan went back to his own country, and +being childless he bequeathed the royal wealth by will to Yngwin, and +appointed him king. YNGWIN was afterwards overthrown in war by a rival +named Ragnald, and he left a son SIWALD. + +Siwald's daughter, Sigrid, was of such excellent modesty, that though a +great concourse of suitors wooed her for her beauty, it seemed as if she +could not be brought to look at one of them. Confident in this power of +self-restraint, she asked her father for a husband who by the sweetness +of his blandishments should be able to get a look back from her. For in +old time among us the self-restraint of the maidens was a great subduer +of wanton looks, lest the soundness of the soul should be infected by +the licence of the eyes; and women desired to avouch the purity of their +hearts by the modesty of their faces. Then one Ottar, the son of Ebb, +kindled with confidence in the greatness either of his own achievements, +or of his courtesy and eloquent address, stubbornly and ardently desired +to woo the maiden. And though he strove with all the force of his wit to +soften her gaze, no device whatever could move her downcast eyes; and, +marvelling at her persistence in her indomitable rigour, he departed. + +A giant desired the same thing, but, finding himself equally foiled, he +suborned a woman; and she, pretending friendship for the girl, served +her for a while as her handmaid, and at last enticed her far from her +father's house, by cunningly going out of the way; then the giant rushed +upon her and bore her off into the closest fastnesses of a ledge on +the mountain. Others think that he disguised himself as a woman, +treacherously continued his devices so as to draw the girl away from her +own house, and in the end carried her off. When Ottar heard of this, he +ransacked the recesses of the mountain in search of the maiden, found +her, slew the giant, and bore her off. But the assiduous giant had bound +back the locks of the maiden, tightly twisting her hair in such a way +that the matted mass of tresses was held in a kind of curled bundle; nor +was it easy for anyone to unravel their plaited tangle, without using +the steel. Again, he tried with divers allurements to provoke the maiden +to look at him; and when he had long laid vain siege to her listless +eyes, he abandoned his quest, since his purpose turned out so little to +his liking. But he could not bring himself to violate the girl, loth +to defile with ignoble intercourse one of illustrious birth. She then +wandered long, and sped through divers desert and circuitous paths, and +happened to come to the hut of a certain huge woman of the woods, who +set her to the task of pasturing her goats. Again Ottar granted her his +aid to set her free, and again he tried to move her, addressing her in +this fashion: "Wouldst thou rather hearken to my counsels, and embrace +me even as I desire, than be here and tend the flock of rank goats? + +"Spurn the hand of thy wicked mistress, and flee hastily from thy +cruel taskmistress, that thou mayst go back with me to the ships of thy +friends and live in freedom. + +"Quit the care of the sheep entrusted to thee; scorn to drive the steps +of the goats; share my bed, and fitly reward my prayers. + +"O thou whom I have sought with such pains, turn again thy listless +beams; for a little while--it is an easy gesture--lift thy modest face. + +"I will take thee hence, and set thee by the house of thy father, and +unite thee joyfully with thy loving mother, if but once thou wilt show +me thine eyes stirred with soft desires. + +"Thou, whom I have borne so oft from the prisons of the giants, pay thou +some due favour to my toil of old; pity my hard endeavours, and be stern +no more. + +"For why art thou become so distraught and brainsick, that thou wilt +choose to tend the flock of another, and be counted among the servants +of monsters, sooner than encourage our marriage-troth with fitting and +equal consent?" + +But she, that she might not suffer the constancy of her chaste mind to +falter by looking at the world without, restrained her gaze, keeping her +lids immovably rigid. How modest, then, must we think, were the women of +that age, when, under the strongest provocations of their lovers, they +could not be brought to make the slightest motion of their eyes! So when +Ottar found that even by the merits of his double service he could not +stir the maiden's gaze towards him, he went back to the fleet, wearied +out with shame and chagrin. Sigrid, in her old fashion, ran far away +over the rocks, and chanced to stray in her wanderings to the abode of +Ebb; where, ashamed of her nakedness and distress, she pretended to be +a daughter of paupers. The mother of Ottar saw that this woman, though +bestained and faded, and covered with a meagre cloak, was the scion of +some noble stock; and took her, and with honourable courtesy kept her +by her side in a distinguished seat. For the beauty of the maiden was +a sign that betrayed her birth, and her telltale features echoed her +lineage. Ottar saw her, and asked why she hid her face in her robe. +Also, in order to test her mind more surely, he feigned that a woman was +about to become his wife, and, as he went up into the bride-bed, gave +Sigrid the torch to hold. The lights had almost burnt down, and she +was hard put to it by the flame coming closer; but she showed such an +example of endurance that she was seen to hold her hand motionless, and +might have been thought to feel no annoyance from the heat. For the +fire within mastered the fire without, and the glow of her longing soul +deadened the burn of her scorched skin. At last Ottar bade her look to +her hand. Then, modestly lifting her eyes, she turned her calm gaze upon +him; and straightway, the pretended marriage being put away, went up +unto the bride-bed to be his wife. Siwald afterwards seized Ottar, and +thought that he ought to be hanged for defiling his daughter. + +But Sigrid at once explained how she had happened to be carried away, +and not only brought Ottar back into the king's favour, but also induced +her father himself to marry Ottar's sister. After this a battle was +fought between Siwald and Ragnald in Zealand, warriors of picked valour +being chosen on both sides. For three days they slaughtered one another; +but so great was the bravery of both sides, that it was doubtful how +the victory would go. Then Ottar, whether seized with weariness at +the prolonged battle, or with desire of glory, broke, despising death, +through the thickest of the foe, cut down Ragnald among the bravest +of his soldiers, and won the Danes a sudden victory. This battle was +notable for the cowardice of the greatest nobles. For the whole mass +fell into such a panic, that forty of the bravest of the Swedes are said +to have turned and fled. The chief of these, Starkad, had been used to +tremble at no fortune, however cruel, and no danger, however great. But +some strange terror stole upon him, and he chose to follow the flight of +his friends rather than to despise it. I should think that he was filled +with this alarm by the power of heaven, that he might not think himself +courageous beyond the measure of human valour. Thus the prosperity of +mankind is wont ever to be incomplete. Then all these warriors embraced +the service of King Hakon, the mightiest of the rovers, like remnants of +the war drifting to him. + +After this Siwald was succeeded by his son SIGAR, who had sons Siwald, +Alf, and Alger, and a daughter Signe. All excelled the rest in spirit +and beauty, and devoted himself to the business of a rover. Such a grace +was shed on his hair, which had a wonderful dazzling glow, that his +locks seemed to shine silvery. At the same time Siward, the king of the +Goths, is said to have had two sons, Wemund and Osten, and a daughter +Alfhild, who showed almost from her cradle such faithfulness to modesty +that she continually kept her face muffled in her robe, lest she should +cause her beauty to provoke the passion of another. Her father banished +her into very close keeping, and gave her a viper and a snake to rear, +wishing to defend her chastity by the protection of these reptiles +when they came to grow up. For it would have been hard to pry into her +chamber when it was barred by so dangerous a bolt. He also enacted that +if any man tried to enter it, and failed, he must straightway yield his +head to be taken off and impaled on a stake. The terror which was thus +attached to wantonness chastened the heated spirits of the young men. + +Alf, the son of Sigar, thinking that peril of the attempt only made it +nobler, declared himself a wooer, and went to subdue the beasts that +kept watch beside the room of the maiden; inasmuch as, according to the +decree, the embraces of the maiden were the prize of their subduer. Alf +covered his body with a blood-stained hide in order to make them more +frantic against him. Girt with this, as soon as he had entered the doors +of the enclosure, he took a piece of red-hot steel in the tongs, and +plunged it into the yawning throat of the viper, which he laid dead. +Then he flung his spear full into the gaping mouth of the snake as it +wound and writhed forward, and destroyed it. And when he demanded the +gage which was attached to victory by the terms of the covenant, Siward +answered that he would accept that man only for his daughter's husband +of whom she made a free and decided choice. None but the girl's mother +was stiff against the wooer's suit; and she privately spoke to her +daughter in order to search her mind. The daughter warmly praised her +suitor for his valour; whereon the mother upbraided her sharply, that +her chastity should be unstrung, and she be captivated by charming +looks; and because, forgetting to judge his virtue, she cast the gaze of +a wanton mind upon the flattering lures of beauty. Thus Alfhild was led +to despise the young Dane; whereupon she exchanged woman's for man's +attire, and, no longer the most modest of maidens, began the life of a +warlike rover. + +Enrolling in her service many maidens who were of the same mind, she +happened to come to a spot where a band of rovers were lamenting the +death of their captain, who had been lost in war; they made her their +rover captain for her beauty, and she did deeds beyond the valour of +woman. Alf made many toilsome voyages in pursuit of her, and in winter +happened to come on a fleet of the Blacmen. The waters were at this time +frozen hard, and the ships were caught in such a mass of ice that they +could not get on by the most violent rowing. But the continued frost +promised the prisoners a safer way of advance; and Alf ordered his men +to try the frozen surface of the sea in their brogues, after they had +taken off their slippery shoes, so that they could run over the level +ice more steadily. The Blacmen supposed that they were taking to flight +with all the nimbleness of their heels, and began to fight them, but +their steps tottered exceedingly and they gave back, the slippery +surface under their soles making their footing uncertain. But the Danes +crossed the frozen sea with safer steps, and foiled the feeble advance +of the enemy, whom they conquered, and then turned and sailed to +Finland. Here they chanced to enter a rather narrow gulf, and, on +sending a few men to reconnoitre, they learnt that the harbour was being +held by a few ships. For Alfhild had gone before them with her fleet +into the same narrows. And when she saw the strange ships afar off, she +rowed in swift haste forward to encounter them, thinking it better to +attack the foe than to await them. Alf's men were against attacking +so many ships with so few; but he replied that it would be shameful +if anyone should report to Alfhild that his desire to advance could be +checked by a few ships in the path; for he said that their record of +honours ought not to be tarnished by such a trifle. + +The Danes wondered whence their enemies got such grace of bodily beauty +and such supple limbs. So, when they began the sea-fight, the young +man Alf leapt on Alfhild's prow, and advanced towards the stern, +slaughtering all that withstood him. His comrade Borgar struck off +Alfhild's helmet, and, seeing the smoothness of her chin, saw that he +must fight with kisses and not with arms; that the cruel spears must be +put away, and the enemy handled with gentler dealings. So Alf rejoiced +that the woman whom he had sought over land and sea in the face of so +many dangers was now beyond all expectation in his power; whereupon he +took hold of her eagerly, and made her change her man's apparel for +a woman's; and afterwards begot on her a daughter, Gurid. Also Borgar +wedded the attendant of Alfhild, Groa, and had by her a son, Harald, to +whom the following age gave the surname Hyldeland. + +And that no one may wonder that this sex laboured at warfare, I will +make a brief digression, in order to give a short account of the estate +and character of such women. There were once women among the Danes who +dressed themselves to look like men, and devoted almost every instant +of their lives to the pursuit of war, that they might not suffer their +valour to be unstrung or dulled by the infection of luxury. For they +abhorred all dainty living, and used to harden their minds and +bodies with toil and endurance. They put away all the softness and +lightmindedness of women, and inured their womanish spirit to masculine +ruthlessness. They sought, moreover, so zealously to be skilled in +warfare, that they might have been thought to have unsexed themselves. +Those especially, who had either force of character or tall and comely +persons, used to enter on this kind of life. These women, therefore +(just as if they had forgotten their natural estate, and preferred +sternness to soft words), offered war rather than kisses, and would +rather taste blood than busses, and went about the business of arms more +than that of amours. They devoted those hands to the lance which they +should rather have applied to the loom. They assailed men with their +spears whom they could have melted with their looks, they thought of +death and not of dalliance. Now I will cease to wander, and will go back +to my theme. + +In the early spring, Alf and Alger, who had gone back to sea-roving, +were exploring the sea in various directions, when they lighted with +a hundred ships upon Helwin, Hagbard, and Hamund, sons of the kinglet +Hamund. These they attacked and only the twilight stayed their +blood-wearied hands; and in the night the soldiers were ordered to keep +truce. On the morrow this was ratified for good by a mutual oath; for +such loss had been suffered on both sides in the battle of the day +before that they had no force left to fight again. Thus, exhausted bye +quality of valour, they were driven perforce to make peace. About the +same time Hildigisl, a Teuton Of noble birth, relying on his looks and +his rank, sued for Signe, the daughter of Sigar. But she scorned him, +chiefly for his insignificance, inasmuch as he was not brave, but wished +to adorn his fortunes with the courage of other people. But this woman +was inclined to love Hakon, chiefly for the high renown of his great +deeds. For she thought more of the brave than the feeble; she admired +notable deeds more than looks, knowing that every allurement of beauty +is mere dross when reckoned against simple valour, and cannot weigh +equal with it in the balance. For there are maids that are more charmed +by the fame than by the face of their lovers; who go not by the looks, +but by the mind, and whom naught but regard for a man's spirit can +kindle to pledge their own troth. Now Hagbard, going to Denmark with the +sons of Sigar, gained speech of their sister without their knowledge, +and in the end induced her to pledge her word to him that she would +secretly become his mistress. Afterwards, when the waiting-women +happened to be comparing the honourable deeds of the nobles, she +preferred Hakon to Hildigisl, declaring that the latter had nothing to +praise but his looks, while in the case of the other a wrinkled visage +was outweighed by a choice spirit. Not content with this plain kind of +praise, she is said to have sung as follows: + +"This man lacks fairness, but shines with foremost courage, measuring +his features by his force. + +"For the lofty soul redeems the shortcoming of harsh looks, and conquers +the body's blemish. + +"His look flashes with spirit, his face, notable in its very harshness, +delights in fierceness. + +"He who strictly judges character praises not the mind for the fair hue, +but rather the complexion for the mind. + +"This man is not prized for beauty, but for brave daring and war-won +honour. + +"While the other is commended by his comely head and radiant countenance +and crest of lustrous locks. + +"Vile is the empty grace of beauty, self-confounded the deceptive pride +of comeliness. + +"Valour and looks are swayed by different inclinations: one lasts on, +the other perishes. + +"Empty red and white brings in vice, and is frittered away little by +little by the lightly gliding years; + +"But courage plants firmer the hearts devoted to it, and does not slip +and straightway fall. + +"The voice of the multitude is beguiled by outward good, and forsakes +the rule of right; + +"But I praise virtue at a higher rate, and scorn the grace of +comeliness." + +This utterance fell on the ears of the bystanders in such a way, that +they thought she praised Hagbard under the name of Hakon. And Hildigisl, +vexed that she preferred Hagbard to himself, bribed a certain blind man, +Bolwis, to bring the sons of Sigar and the sons of Hamund to turn their +friendship into hatred. For King Sigar had been used to transact almost +all affairs by the advice of two old men, one of whom was Bolwis. The +temper of these two men was so different, that one used to reconcile +folk who were at feud, while the other loved to sunder in hatred those +who were bound by friendship, and by estranging folk to fan pestilent +quarrels. + +So Bolwis began by reviling the sons of Hamund to the sons of Sigar, in +lying slanders, declaring that they never used to preserve the bonds of +fellowship loyally, and that they must be restrained by war rather than +by league. Thus the alliance of the young men was broken through; and +while Hagbard was far away, the sons of Sigar, Alf and Alger, made an +attack, and Helwin and Hamund were destroyed by the harbour which is +called Hamund's Bay. Hagbard then came up with fresh forces to avenge +his brothers, and destroyed them in battle. Hildigisl slunk off with a +spear through both buttocks, which was the occasion for a jeer at the +Teutons, since the ugliness of the blow did not fail to brand it with +disgrace. + +Afterwards Hagbard dressed himself in woman's attire, and, as though he +had not wronged Sigar's daughter by slaying her brothers, went back to +her alone, trusting in the promise he had from her, and feeling more +safe in her loyalty than alarmed by reason of his own misdeed. Thus does +lust despise peril. And, not to lack a pretext for his journey, he gave +himself out as a fighting-maid of Hakon, saying that he took an embassy +from him to Sigar. And when he was taken to bed at night among the +handmaids, and the woman who washed his feet were wiping them, they +asked him why he had such hairy legs, and why his hands were not at all +soft to touch, he answered: + +"What wonder that the soft hollow of my foot should harden, and that +long hairs should stay on my shaggy leg, when the sand has so often +smitten my soles beneath, and the briars have caught me in mid-step? + +"Now I scour the forest with leaping, now the waters with running. Now +the sea, now the earth, now the wave is my path. + +"Nor could my breast, shut in bonds of steel, and wont to be beaten with +lance and missile, ever have been soft to the touch, as with you who are +covered by the mantle or the smooth gown. + +"Not the distaff or the wool-frails, but spears dripping from the +slaughter, have served for our handling." + +Signe did not hesitate to back up his words with like dissembling, and +replied that it was natural that hands which dealt more in wounds than +wools, and in battle than in tasks of the house should show the hardness +that befitted their service; and that, unenfeebled with the pliable +softness of women, they should not feel smooth to the touch of others. +For they were hardened partly by the toils of war, partly by the habit +of seafaring. For, said she, the warlike handmaid of Hakon did not +deal in woman's business, but had been wont to bring her right hand +blood-stained with hurling spears and flinging missiles. It was no +wonder, therefore, if her soles were hardened by the immense journeys +she had gone; and that, when the shores she had scoured so often had +bruised them with their rough and broken shingle, they should toughen +in a horny stiffness, and should not feel soft to the touch like theirs, +whose steps never strayed, but who were forever cooped within the +confines of the palace. Hagbard received her as his bedfellow, under +plea that he was to have the couch of honour; and, amid their converse +of mutual delight, he addressed her slowly in such words as these: + +"If thy father takes me and gives me to bitter death, wilt thou +ever, when I am dead, forget so strong a troth, and again seek the +marriage-plight? + +"For if the chance should fall that way, I can hope for no room for +pardon; nor will the father who is to avenge his sons spare or have +pity. + +"For I stripped thy brothers of their power on the sea and slew them; +and now, unknown to thy father, as though I had done naught before +counter to his will, I hold thee in the couch we share. + +"Say, then, my one love, what manner of wish wilt thou show when thou +lackest the accustomed embrace?" + +Signe answered: + +"Trust me, dear; I wish to die with thee, if fate brings thy turn to +perish first, and not to prolong my span of life at all, when once +dismal death has cast thee to the tomb. + +"For if thou chance to close thy eyes for ever, a victim to the maddened +attack of the men-at-arms;--by whatsoever doom thy breath be cut off, +by sword or disease, by sea or soil, I forswear every wanton and corrupt +flame, and vow myself to a death like thine; that they who were bound by +one marriage-union may be embraced in one and the same punishment. Nor +will I quit this man, though I am to feel the pains of death; I have +resolved he is worthy of my love who gathered the first kisses of my +mouth, and had the first fruits of my delicate youth. I think that no +vow will be surer than this, if speech of woman have any loyalty at +all." + +This speech so quickened the spirit of Hagbard, that he found more +pleasure in her promise than peril in his own going away (to his death). +The serving-women betrayed him; and when Sigar's men-at-arms attacked +him, he defended himself long and stubbornly, and slew many of them in +the doorway. But at last he was taken, and brought before the assembly, +and found the voices of the people divided over him. For very many said +that he should be punished for so great an offence; but Bilwis, the +brother of Bolwis, and others, conceived a better judgment, and advised +that it would be better to use his stout service than to deal with him +too ruthlessly. Then Bolwis came forward and declared that it was evil +advice which urged the king to pardon when he ought to take vengeance, +and to soften with unworthy compassion his righteous impulse to anger. +For how could Sigar, in the case of this man, feel any desire to spare +or pity him, when he had not only robbed him of the double comfort of +his sons, but had also bestained him with the insult of deflowering +his daughter? The greater part of the assembly voted for this opinion; +Hagbard was condemned, and a gallows-tree planted to receive him. Hence +it came about that he who at first had hardly one sinister voice against +him was punished with general harshness. Soon after the queen handed him +a cup, and, bidding him assuage his thirst, vexed him with threats after +this manner: + +"Now, insolent Hagbard, whom the whole assembly has pronounced worthy of +death, now to quench thy thirst thou shalt give thy lips liquor to drink +in a cup of horn. + +"Wherefore cast away fear, and, at this last hour of thy life, taste +with bold lips the deadly goblet; + +"That, having drunk it, thou mayst presently land by the dwellings of +those below, passing into the sequestered palace of stern Dis, giving +thy body to the gibbet and thy spirit to Orcus." + +Then the young man took the cup offered him, and is said to have made +answer as follows: + +"With this hand, wherewith I cut off thy twin sons, I will take my last +taste, yea the draught of the last drink. + +"Now not unavenged shall I go to the Elysian regions, not unchastising +to the stern ghosts. For these men have first been shut in the dens of +Tartarus by a slaughter wrought by my endeavours. This right hand was +wet with blood that was yours, this hand robbed thy children of the +years of their youth, children whom thy womb brought to light; but +the deadly sword spared it not then. Infamous woman, raving in spirit, +hapless, childless mother, no years shall restore to thee the lost, no +time and no day whatsoever shall save thy child from the starkness of +death, or redeem him!" + +Thus he avenged the queen's threats of death by taunting her with the +youths whom he had slain; and, flinging back the cup at her, drenched +her face with the sprinkled wine. + +Meantime Signe asked her weeping women whether they could endure to bear +her company in the things which she purposed. They promised that they +would carry out and perform themselves whatsoever their mistress should +come to wish, and their promise was loyally kept. Then, drowned in +tears, she said that she wished to follow in death the only partner of +her bed that she had ever had; and ordered that, as soon as the signal +had been given from a place of watch, torches should be put to the room, +then that halters should be made out of their robes; and to these they +should proffer their throats to be strangled, thrusting away the support +to the feet. They agreed, and that they might blench the less at death, +she gave them a draught of wine. After this Hagbard was led to the hill, +which afterwards took its name from him, to be hanged. Then, to test +the loyalty of his true love, he told the executioners to hang up his +mantle, saying that it would be a pleasure to him if he could see the +likeness of his approaching death rehearsed in some way. The request +was granted; and the watcher on the outlook, thinking that the thing +was being done to Hagbard, reported what she saw to the maidens who were +shut within the palace. They quickly fired the house, and thrusting away +the wooden support under their feet, gave their necks to the noose to +be writhen. So Hagbard, when he saw the palace wrapped in fire, and the +familiar chamber blazing, said that he felt more joy from the loyalty of +his mistress than sorrow at his approaching death. He also charged the +bystanders to do him to death, witnessing how little he made of his doom +by a song like this: + +"Swiftly, O warriors! Let me be caught and lifted into the air. Sweet, O +my bride! Is it for me to die when thou hast gone. + +"I perceive the crackling and the house ruddy with flames; and the love, +long-promised, declares our troth. + +"Behold, thy covenant is fulfilled with no doubtful vows, since thou +sharest my life and my destruction. + +"We shall have one end, one bond after our troth, and somewhere our +first love will live on. + +"Happy am I, that have deserved to have joy of such a consort, and not +to go basely alone to the gods of Tartarus! + +"Then let the knot gripe the midst of the throat; nought but pleasure +the last doom shall bring, + +"Since there remains a sure hope of the renewal of love, and a death +which will soon have joys of its own. + +"Either country is sweet; in both worlds shall be held in honour the +repose of our souls together, our equal truth in love, + +"For, see now, I welcome the doom before me; since not even among the +shades does very love suffer the embrace of its partner to perish." And +as he spoke the executioners strangled him. And, that none may think +that all traces of antiquity have utterly disappeared, a proof of the +aforesaid event is afforded by local marks yet existing; for the killing +of Hagbard gave his name to the stead; and not far from the town of +Sigar there is a place to be seen, where a mound a little above the +level, with the appearance of a swelling in the ground, looks like an +ancient homestead. Moreover, a man told Absalon that he had seen a beam +found in the spot, which a countryman struck with his ploughshare as he +burrowed into the clods. + +Hakon, the son of Hamund, heard of this; but when he was seen to be on +the point of turning his arms from the Irish against the Danes in +order to avenge his brother, Hakon the Zealander, the son of Wigar, and +Starkad deserted him. They had been his allies from the death of Ragnald +up to that hour: one, because he was moved by regard for friendship, +the other by regard for his birth; so that different reasons made both +desire the same thing. + +Now patriotism diverted Hakon (of Zealand) from attacking his country; +for it was apparent that he was going to fight his own people, while all +the rest warred with foreigners. But Starkad forbore to become the foe +of the aged Sigar, whose hospitality he had enjoyed, lest he should be +thought to wrong one who deserved well of him. For some men pay +such respect to hospitality that, if they can remember ever to have +experienced kindly offices from folk, they cannot be thought to inflict +any annoyance on them. But Hakon thought the death of his brother a +worse loss than the defection of his champions; and, gathering his fleet +into the haven called Herwig in Danish, and in Latin Hosts' Bight, he +drew up his men, and posted his line of foot-soldiers in the spot where +the town built by Esbern now defends with its fortifications those who +dwell hard by, and repels the approach of barbarous savages. Then +he divided his forces in three, and sent on two-thirds of his ships, +appointing a few men to row to the river Susa. This force was to advance +on a dangerous voyage along its winding reaches, and to help those on +foot if necessary. He marched in person by land with the remainder, +advancing chiefly over wooded country to escape notice. Part of this +path, which was once closed up with thick woods, is now land ready for +the plough, and fringed with a scanty scrub. And, in order that when +they got out into the plain they might not lack the shelter of trees, +he told them to cut and carry branches. Also, that nothing might burden +their rapid march, he bade them cast away some of their clothes, as +well as their scabbards; and carry their swords naked. In memory of this +event he left the mountain and the ford a perpetual name. Thus by his +night march he eluded two pickets of sentries; but when he came upon +the third, a scout, observing the marvellous event, went to the +sleeping-room of Sigar, saying that he brought news of a portentous +thing; for he saw leaves and shrubs like men walking. Then the king +asked him how far off was the advancing forest; and when he heard that +it was near, he added that this prodigy boded his own death. Hence +the marsh where the shrubs were cut down was styled in common parlance +Deadly Marsh. Therefore, fearing the narrow passages, he left the town, +and went to a level spot which was more open, there to meet the enemy +in battle. Sigar fought unsuccessfully, and was crushed and slain at the +spot that is called in common speech Walbrunna, but in Latin the Spring +of Corpses or Carnage. Then Hakon used his conquest to cruel purpose, +and followed up his good fortune so wickedly, that he lusted for an +indiscriminate massacre, and thought no forbearance should be shown to +rank or sex. Nor did he yield to any regard for compassion or shame, +but stained his sword in the blood of women, and attacked mothers and +children in one general and ruthless slaughter. + +SIWALD, the son of Sigar, had thus far stayed under his father's roof. +But when he heard of this, he mustered an army in order to have his +vengeance. So Hakon, alarmed at the gathering of such numbers, went back +with a third of his army to his fleet at Herwig, and planned to depart +by sea. But his colleague, Hakon, surnamed the Proud, thought that he +ought himself to feel more confidence at the late victory than fear at +the absence of Hakon; and, preferring death to flight, tried to defend +the remainder of the army. So he drew back his camp for a little, and +for a long time waited near the town of Axelsted, for the arrival of the +fleet, blaming his friends for their tardy coming. For the fleet that +had been sent into the river had not yet come to anchor in the appointed +harbour. Now the killing of Sigar and the love of Siwald were stirring +the temper of the people one and all, so that both sexes devoted +themselves to war, and you would have thought that the battle did not +lack the aid of women. + +On the morrow Hakon and Siwald met in an encounter and fought two whole +days. The combat was most frightful; both generals fell; and victory +graced the remnants of the Danes. But, in the night after the battle, +the fleet, having penetrated the Susa, reached the appointed haven. It +was once possible to row along this river; but its bed is now choked +with solid substances, and is so narrowed by its straits that +few vessels can get in, being prevented by its sluggishness and +contractedness. At daybreak, when the sailors saw the corpses of their +friends, they heaped up, in order to bury the general, a barrow of +notable size, which is famous to this day, and is commonly named Hakon's +Howe. + +But Borgar, with Skanian chivalry suddenly came up and slaughtered a +multitude of them. When the enemy were destroyed, he manned their ships, +which now lacked their rowers, and hastily, with breathless speed, +pursued the son of Hamund. He encountered him, and ill-fortune befell +Hakon, who fled in hasty panic with three ships to the country of the +Scots, where, after two years had gone by, he died. + +All these perilous wars and fortunes had so exhausted the royal line +among the Danes, that it was found to be reduced to GURID alone, the +daughter of Alf, and granddaughter of Sigar. And when the Danes saw +themselves deprived of their usual high-born sovereigns, they committed +the kingdom to men of the people, and appointed rulers out of the +commons, assigning to Ostmar the regency of Skaane, and that of Zealand +to Hunding; on Hane they conferred the lordship of Funen; while in the +hands of Rorik and Hather they put the supreme power of Jutland, the +authority being divided. Therefore, that it may not be unknown from what +father sprang the succeeding line of kings, some matters come to my mind +which must be glanced at for a while in a needful digression. + +They say that Gunnar, the bravest of the Swedes, was once at feud with +Norway for the most weighty reasons, and that he was granted liberty to +attack it, but that he turned this liberty into licence by the greatest +perils, and fell, in the first of the raids he planned, upon the +district of Jather, which he put partly to the sword and partly to the +flames. Forbearing to plunder, he rejoiced only in passing through the +paths that were covered with corpses, and the blood-stained ways. +Other men used to abstain from bloodshed, and love pillage more than +slaughter; but he preferred bloodthirstiness to booty, and liked best +to wreak his deadly pleasure by slaughtering men. His cruelty drove +the islanders to forestall the impending danger by a public submission. +Moreover, Ragnald, the King of the Northmen, now in extreme age, when he +heard how the tyrant busied himself, had a cave made and shut up in +it his daughter Drota, giving her due attendance, and providing her +maintenance for a long time. Also he committed to the cave some swords +which had been adorned with the choicest smith-craft, besides the royal +household gear; so that he might not leave the enemy to capture and use +the sword, which he saw that he could not wield himself. And, to prevent +the cave being noticed by its height, he levelled the hump down to the +firmer ground. Then he set out to war; but being unable with his aged +limbs to go down into battle, he leaned on the shoulders of his escort +and walked forth propped by the steps of others. So he perished in the +battle, where he fought with more ardour than success, and left his +country a sore matter for shame. + +For Gunnar, in order to punish the cowardice of the conquered race by +terms of extraordinary baseness, had a dog set over them as a governor. +What can we suppose to have been his object in this action, unless it +were to make a haughty nation feel that their arrogance was being more +signally punished when they bowed their stubborn heads before a yapping +hound? To let no insult be lacking, he appointed governors to look after +public and private affairs in its name; and he appointed separate ranks +of nobles to keep continual and steadfast watch over it. He also +enacted that if any one of the courtiers thought it contemptible to do +allegiance to their chief, and omitted offering most respectful homage +to its various goings and comings as it ran hither and thither, he +should be punished with loss of his limbs. Also Gunnar imposed on the +nation a double tribute, one to be paid out of the autumn harvest, the +other in the spring. Thus he burst the bubble conceit of the Norwegians, +to make them feel clearly how their pride was gone, when they saw it +forced to do homage to a dog. + +When he heard that the king's daughter was shut up in some distant +hiding-place, Gunnar strained his wits in every nerve to track her +out. Hence, while he was himself conducting the search with others, his +doubtful ear caught the distant sound of a subterranean hum. Then he +went on slowly, and recognized a human voice with greater certainty. He +ordered the ground underfoot to be dug down to the solid rock; and +when the cave was suddenly laid open, he saw the winding tunnels. The +servants were slain as they tried to guard the now uncovered entrance +to the cave, and the girl was dragged out of the hole, together with the +booty therein concealed. With great foresight, she had consigned at +any rate her father's swords to the protection of a more secret place. +Gunnar forced her to submit to his will, and she bore a son Hildiger. +This man was such a rival to his father in cruelty, that he was ever +thirsting to kill, and was bent on nothing but the destruction of men, +panting with a boundless lust for bloodshed. Outlawed by his father +on account of his unbearable ruthlessness, and soon after presented by +Alver with a government, he spent his whole life in arms, visiting +his neighbours with wars and slaughters; nor did he, in his estate of +banishment, relax his accustomed savagery a whir, but would not change +his spirit with his habitation. + +Meanwhile Borgar, finding that Gunnar had married Drota, the daughter of +Ragnald, by violence, took from him both life and wife, and wedded Drota +himself. She was not an unwilling bride; she thought it right for her to +embrace the avenger of her parent. For the daughter mourned her father, +and could never bring herself to submit with any pleasure to his +murderer. This woman and Borgar had a son Halfdan, who through all his +early youth was believed to be stupid, but whose later years proved +illustrious for the most glorious deeds, and famous for the highest +qualities that can grace life. Once, when a stripling, he mocked in +boyish fashion at a champion of noble repute, who smote him with a +buffet; whereupon Halfdan attacked him with the staff he was carrying +and killed him. This deed was an omen of his future honours; he had +hitherto been held in scorn, but henceforth throughout his life he had +the highest honour and glory. The affair, indeed, was a prophecy of the +greatness of his deeds in war. + +At this period, Rothe, a Ruthenian rover, almost destroyed our country +with his rapine and cruelty. His harshness was so notable that, while +other men spared their prisoners utter nakedness, he did not think +it uncomely to strip of their coverings even the privy parts of their +bodies; wherefore we are wont to this day to call all severe and +monstrous acts of rapine Rothe-Ran (Rothe's Robbery). He used also +sometimes to inflict the following kind of torture: Fastening the men's +right feet firmly to the earth, he tied the left feet to boughs for +the purpose that when these should spring back the body would be rent +asunder. Hane, Prince of Funen, wishing to win honour and glory, tried +to attack this man with his sea-forces, but took to flight with one +attendant. It was in reproach of him that the proverb arose: "The cock +(Hane) fights better on its own dunghill." Then Borgar, who could not +bear to see his countrymen perishing any longer, encountered Rothe. +Together they fought and together they perished. It is said that in this +battle Halfdan was sorely stricken, and was for some time feeble with +the wounds he had received. One of these was inflicted conspicuously +on his mouth, and its scar was so manifest that it remained as an open +blotch when all the other wounds were healed; for the crushed portion of +the lip was so ulcerated by the swelling, that the flesh would not grow +out again and mend the noisome gash. This circumstance fixed on him a +most insulting nickname,... although wounds in the front of the body +commonly bring praise and not ignominy. So spiteful a colour does the +belief of the vulgar sometimes put upon men's virtues. + +Meanwhile Gurid, the daughter of Alf, seeing that the royal line was +reduced to herself alone, and having no equal in birth whom she could +marry, proclaimed a vow imposing chastity on herself, thinking it better +to have no husband than to take one from the commons. Moreover, to +escape outrage, she guarded her room with a chosen band of champions. +Once Halfdan happened to come to see her. The champions, whose brother +he had himself slain in his boyhood, were away. He told her that she +ought to loose her virgin zone, and exchange her austere chastity for +deeds of love; that she ought not to give in so much to her inclination +for modesty as to be too proud to make a match, and so by her service +repair the fallen monarchy. So he bade her look on himself, who was +of eminently illustrious birth, in the light of a husband, since it +appeared that she would only admit pleasure for the reason he had named. +Gurid answered that she could not bring her mind to ally the remnants of +the royal line to a man of meaner rank. Not content with reproaching +his obscure birth, she also taunted his unsightly countenance. Halfdan +rejoined that she brought against him two faults: one that his blood was +not illustrious enough; another, that he was blemished with a cracked +lip whose scar had never healed. Therefore he would not come back to ask +for her before he had wiped away both marks of shame by winning glory in +war. + +Halfdan entreated her to suffer no man to be privy to her bed until she +heard certain tidings either of his return or his death. The champions, +whom he had bereaved of their brother long ago, were angry that he had +spoken to Gurid, and tried to ride after him as he went away. When +he saw it, he told his comrades to go into ambush, and said he would +encounter the champions alone. His followers lingered, and thought it +shameful to obey his orders, but he drove them off with threats, saying +that Gurid should not find that fear had made him refuse to fight. +Presently he cut down an oak-tree and fashioned it into a club, fought +the twelve single-handed, and killed them. After their destruction, not +content with the honours of so splendid an action, and meaning to do one +yet greater, he got from his mother the swords of his grandfather, one +of which was called Lyusing.... and the other Hwyting, after the sheen +of its well-whetted point. But when he heard that war was raging between +Alver, the King of Sweden, and the Ruthenians (Russians), he instantly +went to Russia, offered help to the natives, and was received by all +with the utmost honour. Alver was not far off, there being only a little +ground to cross to cover the distance between the two. Alver's soldier +Hildiger, the son of Gunnar, challenged the champions of the Ruthenians +to fight him; but when he saw that Halfdan was put up against him, +though knowing well that he was Halfdan's brother, he let natural +feeling prevail over courage, and said that he, who was famous for the +destruction of seventy champions, would not fight with an untried +man. Therefore he told him to measure himself in enterprises of lesser +moment, and thenceforth to follow pursuits fitted to his strength. He +made this announcement not from distrust in his own courage, but in +order to preserve his uprightness; for he was not only very valiant, but +also skilled at blunting the sword with spells. For when he remembered +that Halfdan's father had slain his own, he was moved by two +feelings--the desire to avenge his father, and his love for his brother. +He therefore thought it better to retire from the challenge than to be +guilty of a very great crime. Halfdan demanded another champion in +his place, slew him when he appeared, and was soon awarded the palm +of valour even by the voice of the enemy, being accounted by public +acclamation the bravest of all. On the next day he asked for two men to +fight with, and slew them both. On the third day he subdued three; on +the fourth he overcame four who met him; and on the fifth he asked for +five. + +When Halfdan conquered these, and when the eighth day had been reached +with an equal increase in the combatants and in the victory, he laid low +eleven who attacked him at once. Hildiger, seeing that his own record of +honours was equalled by the greatness of Halfdan's deeds could not bear +to decline to meet him any longer. And when he felt that Halfdan had +dealt him a deadly wound with a sword wrapped in rags, he threw away his +arms, and, lying on the earth, addressed his brother as follows: + +"It is pleasing to pass an hour away in mutual talk; and, while the +sword rests, to sit a little on the ground and while away the time by +speaking in turn, and keep ourselves in good heart. Time is left for our +purpose; our two destinies have a different lot; one is surely doomed to +die by a fatal weird, while triumph and glory and all the good of living +await the other in better years. Thus our omens differ, and our portions +are distinguished. Thou art a son of the Danish land, I of the country +of Sweden. Once, Drota thy mother had her breast swell for thee; she +bore me, and by her I am thy foster-brother. Lo now, there perishes +a righteous offspring, who had the heart to fight with savage spears; +brothers born of a shining race charge and bring death on one another; +while they long for the height of power, they lose their days, and, +having now received a fatal mischief in their desire for a sceptre, they +will go to Styx in a common death. Fast by my head stands my Swedish +shield, which is adorned with (as) a fresh mirror of diverse chasing, +and ringed with layers of marvellous fretwork. There a picture of really +hues shows slain nobles and conquered champions, and the wars also and +the notable deed of my right hand. In the midst is to be seen, painted +in bright relief, the figure of my son, whom this hand bereft of his +span of life. He was our only heir, the only thought of his father's +mind, and given to his mother with comfort from above. An evil lot, +which heaps years of ill-fortune on the joyous, chokes mirth in +mourning, and troubles our destiny. For it is lamentable and wretched +to drag out a downcast life, to draw breath through dismal days and to +chafe at foreboding. But whatsoever things are bound by the prophetic +order of the fates, whatsoever are shadowed in the secrets of the divine +plan, whatsoever are foreseen and fixed in the course of the destinies, +no change of what is transient shall cancel these things." + +When he had thus spoken, Halfdan condemned Hildiger for sloth in avowing +so late their bond of brotherhood; he declared he had kept silence that +he might not be thought a coward for refusing to fight, or a villain +if he fought; and while intent on these words of excuse, he died. +But report had given out among the Danes that Hildiger had overthrown +Halfdan. After this, Siwar, a Saxon of very high birth, began to be a +suitor for Gurid, the only survivor of the royal blood among the Danes. +Secretly she preferred Halfdan to him, and imposed on her wooer the +condition that he should not ask her in marriage till he had united into +one body the kingdom of the Danes, which was now torn limb from limb, +and restored by arms what had been wrongfully taken from her. Siwar made +a vain attempt to do this; but as he bribed all the guardians, she was +at last granted to him in betrothal. Halfdan heard of this in Russia +through traders, and voyaged so hard that he arrived before the time of +the wedding-rites. On their first day, before he went to the palace, he +gave orders that his men should not stir from the watches appointed them +till their ears caught the clash of the steel in the distance. Unknown +to the guests, he came and stood before the maiden, and, that he +might not reveal his meaning to too many by bare and common speech, he +composed a dark and ambiguous song as follows: + +"As I left my father's sceptre, I had no fear of the wiles of woman's +device nor of female subtlety. + +"When I overthrew, one and two, three and four, and soon five, and next +six, then seven, and also eight, yea eleven single-handed, triumphant in +battle. + +"But neither did I then think that I was to be shamed with the taint of +disgrace, with thy frailness to thy word and thy beguiling pledges." + +Gurid answered: "My soul wavered in suspense, with slender power over +events, and shifted about with restless fickleness. The report of thee +was so fleeting, so doubtful, borne on uncertain stories, and parched by +doubting heart. I feared that the years of thy youth had perished by +the sword. Could I withstand singly my elders and governors, when they +forbade me to refuse that thing, and pressed me to become a wife? My +love and my flame are both yet unchanged, they shall be mate and match +to thine; nor has my troth been disturbed, but shall have faithful +approach to thee. + +"For my promise has not yet beguiled thee at all, though I, being alone, +could not reject the counsel of such manifold persuasion, nor oppose +their stern bidding in the matter of my consent to the marriage bond." + +Before the maiden had finished her answer, Halfdan had already run his +sword through the bridegroom. Not content with having killed one man, he +massacred most of the guests. Staggering tipsily backwards, the Saxons +ran at him, but his servants came up and slaughtered them. After this +HALFDAN took Gurid to wife. But finding in her the fault of barrenness, +and desiring much to have offspring, he went to Upsala in order to +procure fruitfulness for her; and being told in answer, that he must +make atonement to the shades of his brother if he would raise up +children, he obeyed the oracle, and was comforted by gaining his desire. +For he had a son by Gurid, to whom he gave the name of Harald. Under his +title Halfdan tried to restore the kingdom of the Danes to its ancient +estate, as it was torn asunder by the injuries of the chiefs; but, while +fighting in Zealand, he attacked Wesete, a very famous champion, in +battle, and was slain. Gurid was at the battle in man's attire, from +love for her son. She saw the event; the young man fought hotly, but +his companions fled; and she took him on her shoulders to a neighbouring +wood. Weariness, more than anything else, kept the enemy from pursuing +him; but one of them shot him as he hung, with an arrow, through the +hinder parts, and Harald thought that his mother's care brought him more +shame than help. + +HARALD, being of great beauty and unusual size, and surpassing those of +his age in strength and stature, received such favour from Odin (whose +oracle was thought to have been the cause of his birth), that steel +could not injure his perfect soundness. The result was, that shafts +which wounded others were disabled from doing him any harm. Nor was the +boon unrequited; for he is reported to have promised to Odin all the +souls which his sword cast out of their bodies. He also had his father's +deeds recorded for a memorial by craftsmen on a rock in Bleking, whereof +I have made mention. + +After this, hearing that Wesete was to hold his wedding in Skaane, he +went to the feast disguised as a beggar; and when all were sunken in +wine and sleep, he battered the bride-chamber with a beam. But Wesete, +without inflicting a wound, so beat his mouth with a cudgel, that he +took out two teeth; but two grinders unexpectedly broke out afterwards +and repaired their loss: an event which earned him the name of +Hyldetand, which some declare he obtained on account of a prominent row +of teeth. Here he slew Wesete, and got the sovereignty of Skaane. Next +he attacked and killed Hather in Jutland; and his fall is marked by the +lasting name of the town. After this he overthrew Hunding and Rorik, +seized Leire, and reunited the dismembered realm of Denmark into its +original shape. Then he found that Asmund, the King of the Wikars, had +been deprived of his throne by his elder sister; and, angered by such +presumption on the part of a woman, went to Norway with a single ship, +while the war was still undecided, to help him. The battle began; and, +clothed in a purple cloak, with a coif broidered with gold, and with his +hair bound up, he went against the enemy trusting not in arms, but in +his silent certainty of his luck, insomuch that he seemed dressed more +for a feast than a fray. But his spirit did not match his attire. +For, though unarmed and only adorned with his emblems of royalty, he +outstripped the rest who bore arms, and exposed himself, lightly-armed +as he was, to the hottest perils of the battle. For the shafts aimed +against him lost all power to hurt, as if their points had been blunted. +When the other side saw him fighting unarmed, they made an attack, and +were forced for very shame into assailing him more hotly. But Harald, +whole in body, either put them to the sword, or made them take to +flight; and thus he overthrew the sister of Asmund, and restored him his +kingdom. When Asmund offered him the prizes of victory, he said that the +reward of glory was enough by itself; and demeaned himself as greatly +in refusing the gifts as he had in earning them. By this he made all men +admire his self-restraint as much as his valour; and declared that the +victory should give him a harvest not of gold but glory. + +Meantime Alver, the King of the Swedes, died leaving sons Olaf, Ing, +and Ingild. One of these, Ing, dissatisfied with the honours his father +bequeathed him, declared war with the Danes in order to extend his +empire. And when Harald wished to inquire of oracles how this war would +end, an old man of great height, but lacking one eye, and clad also in a +hairy mantle, appeared before him, and declared that he was called Odin, +and was versed in the practice of warfare; and he gave him the most +useful instruction how to divide up his army in the field. Now he told +him, whenever he was going to make war with his land-forces, to divide +his whole army into three squadrons, each of which he was to pack into +twenty ranks; the centre squadron, however, he was to extend further +than the rest by the number of twenty men. This squadron he was also to +arrange in the form of the point of a cone or pyramid, and to make the +wings on either side slant off obliquely from it. He was to compose the +successive ranks of each squadron in the following way: the front should +begin with two men, and the number in each succeeding rank should only +increase by one; he was, in fact, to post a rank of three in the second +line, four in the third, and so on behind. And thus, when the men +mustered, all the succeeding ranks were to be manned at the same rate +of proportion, until the end of (the edge that made) the junction of men +came down to the wings; each wing was to be drawn up in ten lines from +that point. Likewise after these squadrons he was to put the young men, +equipped with lances, and behind these to set the company of aged men, +who would support their comrades with what one might call a veteran +valour if they faltered; next, a skilful reckoner should attach wings of +slingers to stand behind the ranks of their fellows and attack the enemy +from a distance with missiles. After these he was to enroll men of any +age or rank indiscriminately, without heed of their estate. Moreover, he +was to draw up the rear like the vanguard, in three separated divisions, +and arranged in ranks similarly proportioned. The back of this, joining +on to the body in front would protect it by facing in the opposite +direction. But if a sea-battle happened to occur, he should withdraw a +portion of his fleet, which when he began the intended engagement, was +to cruise round that of the enemy, wheeling to and fro continually. +Equipped with this system of warfare, he forestalled matters in Sweden, +and killed Ing and Olaf as they were making ready to fight. Their +brother Ingild sent messengers to beg a truce, on pretence of his +ill-health. Harald granted his request, that his own valour, which had +learnt to spare distress, might not triumph over a man in the hour +of lowliness and dejection. When Ingild afterwards provoked Harald +by wrongfully ravishing his sister, Harald vexed him with long and +indecisive war, but then took him into his friendship, thinking it +better to have him for ally than for enemy. + +After this he heard that Olaf, King of the Thronds, had to fight with +the maidens Stikla and Rusila for the kingdom. Much angered at this +arrogance on the part of women, he went to Olaf unobserved, put on dress +which concealed the length of his teeth, and attacked the maidens. He +overthrew them both, leaving to two harbours a name akin to theirs. It +was then that he gave a notable exhibition of valour; for defended +only by a shirt under his shoulders, he fronted the spears with unarmed +breast. + +When Olaf offered Harald the prize of victory, he rejected the gift, +thus leaving it a question whether he had shown a greater example of +bravery or self-control. Then he attacked a champion of the Frisian +nation, named Ubbe, who was ravaging the borders of Jutland and +destroying numbers of the common people; and when Harald could not +subdue him to his arms, he charged his soldiers to grip him with their +hands, throw him on the ground, and to bind him while thus overpowered. +Thus he only overcame the man and mastered him by a shameful kind of +attack, though a little before he thought he would inflict a heavy +defeat on him. But Harald gave him his sister in marriage, and thus +gained him for his soldier. + +Harald made tributaries of the nations that lay along the Rhine, levying +troops from the bravest of that race. With these forces he conquered +Sclavonia in war, and caused its generals, Duk and Dal, because of their +bravery, to be captured, and not killed. These men he took to serve with +him, and, after overcoming Aquitania, soon went to Britain, where he +overthrew the King of the Humbrians, and enrolled the smartest of the +warriors he had conquered, the chief of whom was esteemed to be Orm, +surnamed the Briton. The fame of these deeds brought champions from +divers parts of the world, whom he formed into a band of mercenaries. +Strengthened by their numbers, he kept down insurrections in all +kingdoms by the terror of his name, so that he took out of their rulers +all courage to fight with one another. Moreover, no man durst assume any +sovereignty on the sea without his consent; for of old the state of the +Danes had the joint lordship of land and sea. + +Meantime Ingild died in Sweden, leaving only a very little son, Ring, +whom he had by the sister of Harald. Harald gave the boy guardians, and +put him over his father's kingdom. Thus, when he had overcome princes +and provinces, he passed fifty years in peace. To save the minds of his +soldiers from being melted into sloth by this inaction, he decreed that +they should assiduously learn from the champions the way of parrying +and dealing blows. Some of these were skilled in a remarkable manner of +fighting, and used to smite the eyebrow on the enemy's forehead with an +infallible stroke; but if any man, on receiving the blow, blinked for +fear, twitching his eyebrow, he was at once expelled the court and +dismissed the service. + +At this time Ole, the son of Siward and of Harald's sister, came to +Denmark from the land of Norway in the desire to see his uncle. Since it +is known that he had the first place among the followers of Harald, and +that after the Swedish war he came to the throne of Denmark, it bears +somewhat on the subject to relate the traditions of his deeds. Ole, +then, when he had passed his tenth to his fifteenth year with his +father, showed incredible proofs of his brilliant gifts both of mind and +body. Moreover, he was so savage of countenance that his eyes were like +the arms of other men against the enemy, and he terrified the bravest +with his stern and flashing glance. He heard the tidings that Gunn, +ruler of Tellemark, with his son Grim, was haunting as a robber the +forest of Etha-scog, which was thick with underbrush and full of gloomy +glens. The offence moved his anger; then he asked his father for a +horse, a dog, and such armour as could be got, and cursed his youth, +which was suffering the right season for valour to slip sluggishly away. +He got what he asked, and explored the aforesaid wood very narrowly. He +saw the footsteps of a man printed deep on the snow; for the rime was +blemished by the steps, and betrayed the robber's progress. Thus guided, +he went over a hill, and came on a very great river. This effaced the +human tracks he had seen before, and he determined that he must cross. +But the mere mass of water, whose waves ran down in a headlong torrent, +seemed to forbid all crossing; for it was full of hidden reefs, and the +whole length of its channel was turbid with a kind of whirl of foam. +Yet all fear of danger was banished from Ole's mind by his impatience +to make haste. So valour conquered fear, and rashness scorned peril; +thinking nothing hard to do if it were only to his mind, he crossed +the hissing eddies on horseback. When he had passed these, he came upon +defiles surrounded on all sides with swamps, the interior of which was +barred from easy approach by the pinnacle of a bank in front. He took +his horse over this, and saw an enclosure with a number of stalls. Out +of this he turned many horses, and was minded to put in his own, when +a certain Tok, a servant of Gunn, angry that a stranger should wax so +insolent, attacked him fiercely; but Ole foiled his assailant by simply +opposing his shield. Thinking it a shame to slay the fellow with the +sword, he seized him, shattered him limb by limb, and flung him across +into the house whence he had issued in his haste. This insult quickly +aroused Gunn and Grim: they ran out by different side-doors, and charged +Ole both at once, despising his age and strength. He wounded them +fatally; and, when their bodily powers were quite spent, Grim, who could +scarce muster a final gasp, and whose force was almost utterly gone, +with his last pants composed this song: + +"Though we be weak in frame, and the loss of blood has drained our +strength; since the life-breath, now drawn out by my wound, scarce +quivers softly in my pierced breast: + +"I counsel that we should make the battle of our last hour glorious +with dauntless deeds, that none may say that a combat has anywhere been +bravelier waged or harder fought; + +"And that our wild strife while we bore arms may, when our weary flesh +has found rest in the tomb, win us the wage of immortal fame. + +"Let our first stroke crush the shoulder-blades of the foe, let our +steel cut off both his hands; so that, when Stygian Pluto has taken us, +a like doom may fall on Ole also, and a common death tremble over three, +and one urn cover the ashes of three." + +Here Grim ended. But his father, rivalling his indomitable spirit, and +wishing to give some exhortation in answer to his son's valiant speech, +thus began: + +"What though our veins be wholly bloodless, and in our frail body the +life be brief, yet our last fight be so strong and strenuous that it +suffer not the praise of us to be brief also. + +"Therefore aim the javelin first at the shoulders and arms of the foe, +so that the work of his hands may be weakened; and thus when we are +gone three shall receive a common sepulchre, and one urn alike for three +shall cover our united dust." + +When he had said this, both of them, resting on their knees (for the +approach of death had drained their strength), made a desperate effort +to fight Ole hand to hand, in order that, before they perished, they +might slay their enemy also; counting death as nothing if only they +might envelope their slayer in a common fall. Ole slew one of them with +his sword, the other with his hound. But even he gained no bloodless +victory; for though he had been hitherto unscathed, now at last he +received a wound in front. His dog diligently licked him over, and he +regained his bodily strength: and soon, to publish sure news of his +victory, he hung the bodies of the robbers upon gibbets in wide view. +Moreover, he took the stronghold, and put in secret keeping all the +booty he found there, in reserve for future use. + +At this time the arrogant wantonness of the brothers Skate and Hiale +waxed so high that they would take virgins of notable beauty from +their parents and ravish them. Hence it came about that they formed the +purpose of seizing Esa, the daughter of Olaf, prince of the Werms; +and bade her father, if he would not have her serve the passion of a +stranger, fight either in person, or by some deputy, in defence of his +child. When Ole had news of this, he rejoiced in the chance of a battle, +and borrowing the attire of a peasant, went to the dwelling of Olaf. +He received one of the lowest places at table; and when he saw the +household of the king in sorrow, he called the king's son closer to him, +and asked why they all wore so lamentable a face. The other answered, +that unless someone quickly interposed to protect them, his sister's +chastity would soon be outraged by some ferocious champions. Ole next +asked him what reward would be received by the man who devoted his life +for the maiden. Olaf, on his son asking him about this matter, said that +his daughter should go to the man who fought for her: and these words, +more than anything, made Ole long to encounter the danger. + +Now the maiden was wont to go from one guest to another in order to scan +their faces narrowly, holding out a light that she might have a surer +view of the dress and character of those who were entertained. It is +also believed that she divined their lineage from the lines and features +of the face, and could discern any man's birth by sheer shrewdness of +vision. When she stood and fixed the scrutiny of her gaze upon Olaf, +she was stricken with the strange awfulness of his eyes, and fell almost +lifeless. But when her strength came slowly back, and her breath went +and came more freely, she again tried to look at the young man, but +suddenly slipped and fell forward, as though distraught. A third time +also she strove to lift her closed and downcast gaze, but suddenly +tottered and fell, unable not only to move her eyes, but even to control +her feet; so much can strength be palsied by amazement. When Olaf saw +it, he asked her why she had fallen so often. She averred that she was +stricken by the savage gaze of the guest; that he was born of kings; and +she declared that if he could baulk the will of the ravishers, he was +well worthy of her arms. Then all of them asked Ole, who was keeping +his face muffled in a hat, to fling off his covering, and let them see +something by which to learn his features. Then, bidding them all lay +aside their grief, and keep their heart far from sorrow, he uncovered +his brow; and he drew the eyes of all upon him in marvel at his great +beauty. For his locks were golden and the hair of his head was radiant; +but he kept the lids close over his pupils, that they might not terrify +the beholders. + +All were heartened with the hope of better things; the guests seemed to +dance and the courtiers to leap for joy; the deepest melancholy seemed +to be scattered by an outburst of cheerfulness. Thus hope relieved their +fears; the banquet wore a new face, and nothing was the same, or +like what it had been before. So the kindly promise of a single guest +dispelled the universal terror. Meanwhile Hiale and Skate came up +with ten servants, meaning to carry off the maiden then and there, and +disturbed all the place with their noisy shouts. They called on the king +to give battle, unless he produced his daughter instantly. Ole at once +met their frenzy with the promise to fight, adding the condition that +no one should stealthily attack an opponent in the rear, but should only +combat in the battle face to face. Then, with his sword called Logthi, +he felled them all, single-handed--an achievement beyond his years. The +ground for the battle was found on an isle in the middle of a swamp, +not far from which is a stead that serves to memorise this slaughter, +bearing the names of the brothers Hiale and Skate together. + +So the girl was given him as prize of the combat, and bore him a son +Omund. Then he gained his father-in-law's leave to revisit his father. +But when he heard that his country was being attacked by Thore, with +the help of Toste Sacrificer, and Leotar, surnamed.... he went to fight +them, content with a single servant, who was dressed as a woman. When +he was near the house of Thore, he concealed his own and his attendant's +swords in hollowed staves. And when he entered the palace, he disguised +his true countenance, and feigned to be a man broken with age. He said +that with Siward he had been king of the beggars, but that he was now in +exile, having been stubbornly driven forth by the hatred of the king's +son Ole. Presently many of the courtiers greeted him with the name of +king, and began to kneel and offer him their hands in mockery. He told +them to bear out in deeds what they had done in jest; and, plucking out +the swords which he and his man kept shut in their staves, attacked the +king. So some aided Ole, taking it more as jest than earnest, and would +not be false to the loyalty which they mockingly yielded him; but most +of them, breaking their idle vow, took the side of Thore. Thus arose an +internecine and undecided fray. At last Thore was overwhelmed and slain +by the arms of his own folk, as much as by these of his guests; and +Leotar, wounded to the death, and judging that his conqueror, Ole, was +as keen in mind as he was valorous in deeds, gave him the name of the +Vigorous, and prophesied that he should perish by the same kind of trick +as he had used with Thore; for, without question he should fall by the +treachery of his own house. And, as he spoke, he suddenly passed away. +Thus we can see that the last speech of the dying man expressed by its +shrewd divination the end that should come upon his conqueror. + +After these deeds Ole did not go back to his father till he had restored +peace to his house. His father gave him the command of the sea, and he +destroyed seventy sea-kings in a naval battle. The most distinguished +among these were Birwil and Hwirwil, Thorwil, Nef and Onef, Redward (?), +Rand and Erand (?). By the honour and glory of this exploit he excited +many champions, whose whole heart's desire was for bravery, to join +in alliance with him. He also enrolled into a bodyguard the wild young +warriors who were kindled with a passion for glory. Among these he +received Starkad with the greatest honour, and cherished him with more +friendship than profit. Thus fortified, he checked, by the greatness of +his name, the wantonness of the neighbouring kings, in that he took from +them all their forces and all liking and heart for mutual warfare. + +After this he went to Harald, who made him commander of the sea; and at +last he was transferred to the service of Ring. At this time one Brun +was the sole partner and confidant of all Harald's councils. To this man +both Harald and Ring, whenever they needed a secret messenger, used to +entrust their commissions. This degree of intimacy he obtained because +he had been reared and fostered with them. But Brun, amid the toils of +his constant journeys to and fro, was drowned in a certain river; and +Odin, disguised under his name and looks, shook the close union of the +kings by his treacherous embassage; and he sowed strife so guilefully +that he engendered in men, who were bound by friendship and blood, +a bitter mutual hate, which seemed unappeasable except by war. Their +dissensions first grew up silently; at last both sides betrayed their +leanings, and their secret malice burst into the light of day. So they +declared their feuds, and seven years passed in collecting the materials +of war. Some say that Harald secretly sought occasions to destroy +himself, not being moved by malice or jealousy for the crown, but by a +deliberate and voluntary effort. His old age and his cruelty made him a +burden to his subjects; he preferred the sword to the pangs of disease, +and liked better to lay down his life in the battle-field than in his +bed, that he might have an end in harmony with the deeds of his past +life. Thus, to make his death more illustrious, and go to the nether +world in a larger company, he longed to summon many men to share his +end; and he therefore of his own will prepared for war, in order to make +food for future slaughter. For these reasons, being seized with as great +a thirst to die himself as to kill others, and wishing the massacre on +both sides to be equal, he furnished both sides with equal resources; +but let Ring have a somewhat stronger force, preferring he should +conquer and survive him. + + + ENDNOTES: + (1) A parallel is the Lionel-Lancelot story of children saved by + being turned into dogs. + + + + +BOOK EIGHT. + +STARKAD was the first to set in order in Danish speech the history of +the Swedish war, a conflict whereof he was himself a mighty pillar; the +said history being rather an oral than a written tradition. He set forth +and arranged the course of this war in the mother tongue according to +the fashion of our country; but I purpose to put it into Latin, and will +first recount the most illustrious princes on either side. For I have +felt no desire to include the multitude, which are even past exact +numbering. And my pen shall relate first those on the side of Harald, +and presently those who served under Ring. + +Now the most famous of the captains that mustered to Harald are +acknowledged to have been Sweyn and Sambar (Sam?), Ambar and Elli; Rati +of Funen, Salgard and Roe (Hrothgar), whom his long beard distinguished +by a nickname. Besides these, Skalk the Scanian, and Alf the son of Agg; +to whom are joined Olwir the Broad, and Gnepie the Old. Besides these +there was Gardh, founder of the town Stang. To these are added the +kinsfolk or bound followers of Harald: Blend (Blaeng?), the dweller +in furthest Thule, (1) and Brand, whose surname was Crumb (Bitling?). +Allied with these were Thorguy, with Thorwig, Tatar (Teit), and Hialte. +These men voyaged to Leire with bodies armed for war; but they were also +mighty in excellence of wit, and their trained courage matched their +great stature; for they had skill in discharging arrows both from bow +and catapult, and at fighting their foe as they commonly did, man to +man; and also at readily stringing together verse in the speech of their +country: so zealously had they trained mind and body alike. Now out of +Leire came Hortar (Hjort) and Borrhy (Borgar or Borgny), and also Belgi +and Beigad, to whom were added Bari and Toli. Now out of the town of +Sle, under the captains Hetha (Heid) and Wisna, with Hakon Cut-cheek +came Tummi the Sailmaker. On these captains, who had the bodies of +women, nature bestowed the souls of men. Webiorg was also inspired with +the same spirit, and was attended by Bo (Bui) Bramason and Brat the +Jute, thirsting for war. In the same throng came Orm of England, Ubbe +the Frisian, Ari the One-eyed, and Alf Gotar. Next in the count came Dal +the Fat and Duk the Sclav; Wisna, a woman, filled with sternness, and +a skilled warrior, was guarded by a band of Sclavs: her chief followers +were Barri and Gnizli. But the rest of the same company had their bodies +covered by little shields, and used very long swords and targets of +skiey hue, which, in time of war, they either cast behind their backs or +gave over to the baggage-bearers; while they cast away all protection to +their breasts, and exposed their bodies to every peril, offering battle +with drawn swords. The most illustrious of these were Tolkar and Ymi. +After these, Toki of the province of Wohin was conspicuous together with +Otrit surnamed the Young. Hetha, guarded by a retinue of very active +men, brought an armed company to the war, the chiefs of whom were Grim +and Grenzli; next to whom are named Geir the Livonian, Hame also and +Hunger, Humbli and Biari, bravest of the princes. These men often fought +duels successfully, and won famous victories far and wide. + +The maidens I have named, in fighting as well as courteous array, led +their land-forces to the battle-field. Thus the Danish army mustered +company by company. There were seven kings, equal in spirit but +differing in allegiance, some defending Harald, and some Ring. Moreover, +the following went to the side of Harald: Homi and Hosathul (Eysothul?), +Him...., Hastin and Hythin (Hedin) the Slight, also Dahar (Dag), named +Grenski, and Harald Olafsson also. From the province of Aland came Har +and Herlewar (Herleif), with Hothbrodd, surnamed the Furious; these +fought in the Danish camp. But from Imisland arrived Humnehy (?) and +Harald. They were joined by Haki and by Sigmund and Serker the sons of +Bemon, all coming from the North. All these were retainers of the king, +who befriended them most generously; for they were held in the highest +distinction by him, receiving swords adorned with gold, and the choicest +spoils of war. There came also.... the sons of Gandal the old, who were +in the intimate favour of Harald by reason of ancient allegiance. Thus +the sea was studded with the Danish fleet, and seemed to interpose a +bridge, uniting Zealand to Skaane. To those that wished to pass between +those provinces, the sea offered a short road on foot over the dense +mass of ships. But Harald would not have the Swedes unprepared in +their arrangements for war, and sent men to Ring to carry his public +declaration of hostilities, and notify the rupture of the mediating +peace. The same men were directed to prescribe the place of combat. +These then whom I have named were the fighters for Harald. + +Now, on the side of Ring were numbered Ulf, Aggi (Aki?), Windar +(Eywind?), Egil the One-eyed; Gotar, Hildi, Guti Alfsson; Styr the +Stout, and (Tolo-) Stein, who lived by the Wienic Mere. To these were +joined Gerd the Glad and Gromer (Glum?) from Wermland. After these are +reckoned the dwellers north on the Elbe, Saxo the Splitter, Sali the +Goth; Thord the Stumbler, Throndar Big-nose; Grundi, Oddi, Grindir, +Tovi; Koll, Biarki, Hogni the Clever, Rokar the Swart. Now these scorned +fellowship with the common soldiers, and had formed themselves into +a separate rank apart from the rest of the company. Besides these +are numbered Hrani Hildisson and Lyuth Guthi (Hljot Godi), Svein the +Topshorn, (Soknarsoti?), Rethyr (Hreidar?) Hawk, and Rolf the Uxorious +(Woman-lover). Massed with these were Ring Adilsson and Harald who came +from Thotn district. Joined to these were Walstein of Wick, Thorolf the +Thick, Thengel the Tall, Hun, Solwe, Birwil the Pale, Borgar and Skumbar +(Skum). But from, Tellemark came the bravest of all, who had most +courage but least arrogance--Thorleif the Stubborn, Thorkill the Gute +(Gothlander), Grettir the Wicked and the Lover of Invasions. Next to +these came Hadd the Hard and Rolder (Hroald) Toe-joint. + +From Norway we have the names of Thrand of Throndhjem, Thoke (Thore) +of More, Hrafn the White, Haf (war), Biarni, Blihar (Blig?) surnamed +Snub-nosed; Biorn from the district of Sogni; Findar (Finn) born in +the Firth; Bersi born in the town F(I)alu; Siward Boarhead, Erik the +Story-teller, Holmstein the White, Hrut Rawi (or Vafi, the Doubter), +Erling surnamed Snake. Now from the province of Jather came Odd the +Englishman, Alf the Far-wanderer, Enar the Paunched, and Ywar surnamed +Thriug. Now from Thule (Iceland) came Mar the Red, born and bred in the +district called Midfirth; Grombar the Aged, Gram Brundeluk (Bryndalk?) +Grim from the town of Skier (um) born in Skagafiord. Next came Berg the +Seer, accompanied by Bragi and Rafnkel. + +Now the bravest of the Swedes were these: Arwakki, Keklu-Karl +(Kelke-Karl), Krok the Peasant, (from Akr), Gudfast and Gummi from +Gislamark. These were kindred of the god Frey, and most faithful +witnesses to the gods. Ingi (Yngwe) also, and Oly, Alver, Folki, all +sons of Elrik (Alrek), embraced the service of Ring; they were men ready +of hand, quick in counsel, and very close friends of Ring. They likewise +held the god Frey to be the founder of their race. Amongst these from +the town of Sigtun also came Sigmund, a champion advocate, versed in +making contracts of sale and purchase; besides him Frosti surnamed Bowl: +allied with him was Alf the Lofty (Proud?) from the district of Upsala; +this man was a swift spear-thrower, and used to go in the front of the +battle. + +Ole had a body-guard in which were seven kings, very ready of hand and +of counsel; namely, Holti, Hendil, Holmar, Lewy (Leif), and Hame; with +these was enrolled Regnald the Russian, the grandson of Radbard; and +Siwald also furrowed the sea with eleven light ships. Lesy (Laesi), the +conqueror of the Pannonians (Huns), fitted with a sail his swift galley +ringed with gold. Thririkar (Erik Helsing) sailed in a ship whose prows +were twisted like a dragon. Also Thrygir (Tryggve) and Torwil sailed +and brought twelve ships jointly. In the entire fleet of Ring there were +2,500 ships. + +The fleet of Gotland was waiting for the Swedish fleet in the harbour +named Garnum. So Ring led the land-force, while Ole was instructed +to command the fleet. Now the Goths were appointed a time and a place +between Wik and Werund for the conflict with the Swedes. Then was the +sea to be seen furrowed up with prows, and the canvas unfurled upon +the masts cut off the view over the ocean. The Danes had so far been +distressed with bad weather; but the Swedish fleet had a fair voyage, +and had reached the scene of battle earlier. Here Ring disembarked his +forces from his fleet, and then massed and prepared to draw up in line +both these and the army he had himself conducted overland. When these +forces were at first loosely drawn up over the open country, it was +found that one wing reached all the way to Werund. The multitude was +confused in its places and ranks; but the king rode round it, and posted +in the van all the smartest and most excellently-armed men, led by Ole, +Regnald, and Wivil; then he massed the rest of the army on the two wings +in a kind of curve. Ung, with the sons of Alrek, and Trig, he ordered +to protect the right wing, while the left was put under the command +of Laesi. Moreover, the wings and the masses were composed mainly of a +close squadron of Kurlanders and of Esthonians. Last stood the line of +slingers. + +Meantime the Danish fleet, favoured by kindly winds, sailed, without +stopping, for twelve days, and came to the town (stead) of Kalmar. +The wind-blown sails covering the waters were a marvel; and the canvas +stretched upon the yards blotted out the sight of the heavens. For the +fleet was augmented by the Sclavs and the Livonians and 7,000 Saxons. +But the Skanians, knowing the country, were appointed as guides and +scouts to those who were going over the dry land. So when the Danish +army came upon the Swedes, who stood awaiting them, Ring told his men to +stand quietly until Harald had drawn up his line of battle; bidding them +not to sound the signal before they saw the king settled in his chariot +beside the standards; for he said he should hope that an army would +soon come to grief which trusted in the leading of a blind man. Harald, +moreover, he said, had been seized in extreme age with the desire of +foreign empire, and was as witless as he was sightless; wealth could +not satisfy a man who, if he looked to his years, ought to be well-nigh +contented with a grave. The Swedes therefore were bound to fight for +their freedom, their country, and their children, while the enemy had +undertaken the war in rashness and arrogance. Moreover, on the other +side, there were very few Danes, but a mass of Saxons and other unmanly +peoples stood arrayed. Swedes and Norwegians should therefore consider, +how far the multitudes of the North had always surpassed the Germans +and the Sclavs. They should therefore despise an army which seemed to be +composed more of a mass of fickle offscourings than of a firm and stout +soldiery. + +By this harangue of King Ring he kindled high the hearts of the +soldiers. Now Brun, being instructed to form the line on Harald's +behalf, made the front in a wedge, posting Hetha on the right flank, +putting Hakon in command of the left, and making Wisna standard-bearer. +Harald stood up in his chariot and complained, in as loud a voice as he +could, that Ring was requiting his benefits with wrongs; that the man +who had got his kingdom by Harald's own gift was now attacking him; so +that Ring neither pitied an old man nor spared an uncle, but set his own +ambitions before any regard for Harald's kinship or kindness. So he bade +the Danes remember how they had always won glory by foreign conquest, +and how they were more wont to command their neighbours than to obey +them. He adjured them not to let such glory as theirs to be shaken by +the insolence of a conquered nation, nor to suffer the empire, which he +had won in the flower of his youth, to be taken from him in his outworn +age. + +Then the trumpets sounded, and both sides engaged in battle with all +their strength. The sky seemed to fall suddenly on the earth, fields and +woods to sink into the ground; all things were confounded, and old Chaos +come again; heaven and earth mingling in one tempestuous turmoil, and +the world rushing to universal ruin. For, when the spear-throwing began, +the intolerable clash of arms filled the air with an incredible thunder. +The steam of the wounds suddenly hung a mist over the sky, the daylight +was hidden under the hail of spears. The help of the slingers was of +great use in the battle. But when the missiles had all been flung from +hand or engines, they fought with swords or iron-shod maces; and it was +now at close quarters that most blood was spilt. Then the sweat streamed +down their weary bodies, and the clash of the swords could be heard +afar. + +Starkad, who was the first to set forth the history of this war in the +telling, fought foremost in the fray, and relates that he overthrew the +nobles of Harald, Hun and Elli, Hort and Burgha, and cut off the right +hand of Wisna. He also relates that one Roa, with two others, Gnepie and +Gardar, fell wounded by him in the field. To these he adds the father of +Skalk, whose name is not given. He also declares that he cast Hakon, the +bravest of the Danes, to the earth, but received from him such a wound +in return that he had to leave the war with his lung protruding from +his chest, his neck cleft to the centre, and his hand deprived of one +finger; so that he long had a gaping wound, which seemed as if it would +never either scar over or be curable. The same man witnesses that the +maiden Weghbiorg (Webiorg) fought against the enemy and felled Soth +the champion. While she was threatening to slay more champions, she was +pierced through by an arrow from the bowstring of Thorkill, a native of +Tellemark. For the skilled archers of the Gotlanders strung their bows +so hard that the shafts pierced through even the shields; nothing proved +more murderous; for the arrow-points made their way through hauberk and +helmet as if they were men's defenceless bodies. + +Meanwhile Ubbe the Frisian, who was the readiest of Harald's soldiers, +and of notable bodily stature, slew twenty-five picked champions, +besides eleven whom he had wounded in the field. All these were of +Swedish or Gothic blood. Then he attacked the vanguard and burst into +the thickest of the enemy, driving the Swedes struggling in a panic +every way with spear and sword. It had all but come to a flight, when +Hagder (Hadd), Rolder (Hroald), and Grettir attacked the champion, +emulating his valour, and resolving at their own risk to retrieve +the general ruin. But, fearing to assault him at close quarters, they +accomplished their end with arrows from afar; and thus Ubbe was riddled +by a shower of arrows, no one daring to fight him hand to hand. A +hundred and forty-four arrows had pierced the breast of the warrior +before his bodily strength failed and he bent his knee to the earth. +Then at last the Danes suffered a great defeat, owing to the Thronds +and the dwellers in the province of Dala. For the battle began afresh +by reason of the vast mass of the archers, and nothing damaged our men +more. + +But when Harald, being now blind with age, heard the lamentable murmur +of his men, he perceived that fortune had smiled on his enemies. So, +as he was riding in a chariot armed with scythes, he told Brun, who was +treacherously acting as charioteer, to find out in what manner Ring had +his line drawn up. Brun's face relaxed into something of a smile, and he +answered that he was fighting with a line in the form of a wedge. +When the king heard this he began to be alarmed, and to ask in great +astonishment from whom Ring could have learnt this method of disposing +his line, especially as Odin was the discoverer and imparter of this +teaching, and none but himself had ever learnt from him this new pattern +of warfare. At this Brun was silent, and it came into the king's mind +that here was Odin, and that the god whom he had once known so well +was now disguised in a changeful shape, in order either to give help or +withhold it. Presently he began to beseech him earnestly to grant the +final victory to the Danes, since he had helped them so graciously +before, and to fill up his last kindness to the measure of the first; +promising to dedicate to him as a gift the spirits of all who fell. But +Brun, utterly unmoved by his entreaties, suddenly jerked the king out of +the chariot, battered him to the earth, plucked the club from him as +he fell, whirled it upon his head, and slew him with his own weapon. +Countless corpses lay round the king's chariot, and the horrid heap +overtopped the wheels; the pile of carcases rose as high as the pole. +For about 12,000 of the nobles of Ring fell upon the field. But on the +side of Harald about 30,000 nobles fell, not to name the slaughter of +the commons. + +When Ring heard that Harald was dead, he gave the signal to his men to +break up their line and cease fighting. Then under cover of truce he +made treaty with the enemy, telling them that it was vain to prolong the +fray without their captain. Next he told the Swedes to look everywhere +among the confused piles of carcases for the body of Harald, that the +corpse of the king might not wrongfully lack its due rights. So the +populace set eagerly to the task of turning over the bodies of the +slain, and over this work half the day was spent. At last the body was +found with the club, and he thought that propitiation should be made to +the shade of Harald. So he harnessed the horse on which he rode to the +chariot of the king, decked it honourably with a golden saddle, and +hallowed it in his honour. Then he proclaimed his vows, and added his +prayer that Harald would ride on this and outstrip those who shared his +death in their journey to Tartarus; and that he would pray Pluto, the +lord of Orcus, to grant a calm abode there for friend and foe. Then he +raised a pyre, and bade the Danes fling on the gilded chariot of their +king as fuel to the fire. And while the flames were burning the body +cast upon them, he went round the mourning nobles and earnestly charged +them that they should freely give arms, gold, and every precious thing +to feed the pyre in honour of so great a king, who had deserved so nobly +of them all. He also ordered that the ashes of his body, when it was +quite burnt, should be transferred to an urn, taken to Leire, and there, +together with the horse and armour, receive a royal funeral. By paying +these due rites of honour to his uncle's shade, he won the favour of the +Danes, and turned the hate of his enemies into goodwill. Then the Danes +besought him to appoint Hetha over the remainder of the realm; but, that +the fallen strength of the enemy might not suddenly rally, he severed +Skaane from the mass of Denmark, and put it separately under the +governorship of Ole, ordering that only Zealand and the other lands +of the realm should be subject to Hetha. Thus the changes of fortune +brought the empire of Denmark under the Swedish rule. So ended the +Bravic war. + +But the Zealanders, who had had Harald for their captain, and still had +the picture of their former fortune hovering before their minds, thought +it shameful to obey the rule of a woman, and appealed to OLE not to +suffer men that had been used to serve under a famous king to be kept +under a woman's yoke. They also promised to revolt to him if he would +take up arms to remove their ignominious lot. Ole, tempted as much by +the memory of his ancestral glory as by the homage of the soldiers, was +not slow to answer their entreaties. So he summoned Hetha, and forced +her by threats rather than by arms to quit every region under her +control except Jutland; and even Jutland he made a tributary state, so +as not to allow a woman the free control of a kingdom. He also begot a +son whom he named Omund. But he was given to cruelty, and showed himself +such an unrighteous king, that all who had found it a shameful thing to +be ruled by a queen now repented of their former scorn. + +Twelve generals, whether moved by the disasters of their country, or +hating Ole for some other reason, began to plot against his life. Among +these were Hlenni, Atyl, Thott, and Withne, the last of whom was a Dane +by birth, though he held a government among the Sclavs. Moreover, not +trusting in their strength and their cunning to accomplish their deed, +they bribed Starkad to join them. He was prevailed to do the deed with +the sword; he undertook the bloody work, and resolved to attack the +king while at the bath. In he went while the king was washing, but was +straightway stricken by the keenness of his gaze and by the restless and +quivering glare of his eyes. His limbs were palsied with sudden dread; +he paused, stepped back, and stayed his hand and his purpose. Thus he +who had shattered the arms of so many captains and champions could not +bear the gaze of a single unarmed man. But Ole, who well knew about his +own countenance, covered his face, and asked him to come closer and tell +him what his message was; for old fellowship and long-tried friendship +made him the last to suspect treachery. But Starkad drew his sword, +leapt forward, thrust the king through, and struck him in the throat as +he tried to rise. One hundred and twenty marks of gold were kept for +his reward. Soon afterwards he was smitten with remorse and shame, and +lamented his crime so bitterly, that he could not refrain from tears +if it happened to be named. Thus his soul, when he came to his senses, +blushed for his abominable sin. Moreover, to atone for the crime he +had committed, he slew some of those who had inspired him to it, thus +avenging the act to which he had lent his hand. + +Now the Danes made OMUND, the son of Ole, king, thinking that more heed +should be paid to his father's birth than to his deserts. Omund, when he +had grown up, fell in nowise behind the exploits of his father; for he +made it his aim to equal or surpass the deeds of Ole. + +At this time a considerable tribe of the Northmen (Norwegians) was +governed by Ring, and his daughter Esa's great fame commended her to +Omund, who was looking out for a wife. + +But his hopes of wooing her were lessened by the peculiar inclination of +Ring, who desired no son-in-law but one of tried valour; for he found +as much honour in arms as others think lies in wealth. Omund therefore, +wishing to become famous in that fashion, and to win the praise of +valour, endeavoured to gain his desire by force, and sailed to Norway +with a fleet, to make an attempt on the throne of Ring under plea of +hereditary right. Odd, the chief of Jather, who declared that Ring had +assuredly seized his inheritance, and lamented that he harried him with +continual wrongs, received Omund kindly. Ring, in the meantime, was on +a roving raid in Ireland, so that Omund attacked a province without a +defender. Sparing the goods of the common people, he gave the private +property of Ring over to be plundered, and slew his kinsfolk; Odd +also having joined his forces to Omund. Now, among all his divers and +manifold deeds, he could never bring himself to attack an inferior +force, remembering that he was the son of a most valiant father, and +that he was bound to fight armed with courage, and not with numbers. + +Meanwhile Ring had returned from roving; and when Omund heard he was +back, he set to and built a vast ship, whence, as from a fortress, he +could rain his missiles on the enemy. To manage this ship he enlisted +Homod and Thole the rowers, the soils of Atyl the Skanian, one of whom +was instructed to act as steersman, while the other was to command at +the prow. Ring lacked neither skill nor dexterity to encounter them. +For he showed only a small part of his forces, and caused the enemy to +be attacked on the rear. Omund, when told of his strategy by Odd, sent +men to overpower those posted in ambush, telling Atyl the Skanian to +encounter Ring. The order was executed with more rashness than success; +and Atyl, with his power defeated and shattered, fled beaten to Skaane. +Then Omund recruited his forces with the help of Odd, and drew up his +fleet to fight on the open sea. + +Atyl at this time had true visions of the Norwegian war in his dreams, +and started on his voyage in order to make up for his flight as quickly +as possible, and delighted Omund by joining him on the eve of battle. +Trusting in his help, Omund began to fight with equal confidence and +success. For, by fighting himself, he retrieved the victory which he had +lost when his servants were engaged. Ring, wounded to the death, gazed +at him with faint eyes, and, beckoning to him with his hand, as well +as he could--for his voice failed him--he besought him to be his +son-in-law, saying that he would gladly meet his end if he left his +daughter to such a husband. Before he could receive an answer he died. +Omund wept for his death, and gave Homod, whose trusty help he had +received in the war, in marriage to one of the daughters of Ring, taking +the other himself. + +At the same time the amazon Rusla, whose prowess in warfare exceeded the +spirit of a woman, had many fights in Norway with her brother, Thrond, +for the sovereignty. She could not endure that Omund rule over the +Norwegians, and she had declared war against all the subjects of the +Danes. Omund, when he heard of this, commissioned his most active men +to suppress the rising. Rusla conquered them, and, waxing haughty on +her triumph, was seized with overweening hopes, and bent her mind upon +actually acquiring the sovereignty of Denmark. She began her attack on +the region of Halland, but was met by Homod and Thode, whom the king +had sent over. Beaten, she retreated to her fleet, of which only thirty +ships managed to escape, the rest being taken by the enemy. Thrond +encountered his sister as she was eluding the Danes, but was conquered +by her and stripped of his entire army; he fled over the Dovrefjeld +without a single companion. Thus she, who had first yielded before the +Danes, soon overcame her brother, and turned her flight into a victory. +When Omund heard of this, he went back to Norway with a great fleet, +first sending Homod and Thole by a short and secret way to rouse the +people of Tellemark against the rule of Rusla. The end was that she was +driven out of her kingdom by the commons, fled to the isles for safety, +and turned her back, without a blow, upon the Danes as they came up. +The king pursued her hotly, caught up her fleet on the sea, and utterly +destroyed it, the enemy suffered mightily, and he won a bloodless +victory and splendid spoils. But Rusla escaped with a very few ships, +and rowed ploughing the waves furiously; but, while she was avoiding the +Danes, she met her brother and was killed. So much more effectual +for harm are dangers unsurmised; and chance sometimes makes the less +alarming evil worse than that which threatens. The king gave Thrond a +governorship for slaying his sister, put the rest under tribute, and +returned home. + +At this time Thorias (?) and Ber (Biorn), the most active of the +soldiers of Rusla, were roving in Ireland; but when they heard of the +death of their mistress, whom they had long ago sworn to avenge, they +hotly attacked Omund, and challenged him to a duel, which it used to be +accounted shameful for a king to refuse; for the fame of princes of +old was reckoned more by arms than by riches. So Homod and Thole came +forward, offering to meet in battle the men who had challenged the king. +Omund praised them warmly, but at first declined for very shame to allow +their help. At last, hard besought by his people, he brought himself +to try his fortune by the hand of another. We are told that Ber fell in +this combat, while Thorias left the battle severely wounded. The king, +having first cured him of his wounds, took him into his service, and +made him prince (earl) over Norway. Then he sent ambassadors to exact +the usual tribute from the Sclavs; these were killed, and he was even +attacked in Jutland by a Sclavish force; but he overcame seven kings +in a single combat, and ratified by conquest his accustomed right to +tribute. + +Meantime, Starkad, who was now worn out with extreme age, and who seemed +to be past military service and the calling of a champion, was loth to +lose his ancient glory through the fault of eld, and thought it would be +a noble thing if he could make a voluntary end, and hasten his death by +his own free will. Having so often fought nobly, he thought it would be +mean to die a bloodless death; and, wishing to enhance the glory of his +past life by the lustre of his end, he preferred to be slain by some +man of gallant birth rather than await the tardy shaft of nature. So +shameful was it thought that men devoted to war should die by disease. +His body was weak, and his eyes could not see clearly, so that he hated +to linger any more in life. In order to buy himself an executioner, he +wore hanging on his neck the gold which he had earned for the murder of +Ole; thinking there was no fitter way of atoning for the treason he had +done than to make the price of Ole's death that of his own also, and to +spend on the loss of his own life what he had earned by the slaying of +another. This, he thought, would be the noblest use he could make of +that shameful price. So he girded him with two swords, and guided his +powerless steps leaning on two staves. + +One of the common people, seeing him, thinking two swords superfluous +for the use of an old man, mockingly asked him to make him a present +of one of them. Starkad, holding out hopes of consent, bade him come +nearer, drew the sword from his side, and ran him through. This was +seen by a certain Hather, whose father Hlenne Starkad had once killed in +repentance for his own impious crime. Hatfier was hunting game with his +dogs, but now gave over the chase, and bade two of his companions +spur their horses hard and charge at the old man to frighten him. They +galloped forward, and tried to make off, but were stopped by the staves +of Starkad, and paid for it with their lives. Hather, terrified by the +sight, galloped up closer, and saw who the old man was, but without +being recognized by him in turn; and asked him if he would like to +exchange his sword for a carriage. Starkad replied that he used in old +days to chastise jeerers, and that the insolent had never insulted him +unpunished. But his sightless eyes could not recognize the features +of the youth; so he composed a song, wherein he should declare the +greatness of his anger, as follows: + +"As the unreturning waters sweep down the channel; so, as the years run +by, the life of man flows on never to come back; fast gallops the cycle +of doom, child of old age who shall make an end of all. Old age smites +alike the eyes and the steps of men, robs the warrior of his speech and +soul, tarnishes his fame by slow degrees, and wipes out his deeds of +honour. It seizes his failing limbs, chokes his panting utterance, and +numbs his nimble wit. When a cough is taken, when the skin itches with +the scab, and the teeth are numb and hollow, and the stomach turns +squeamish,--then old age banishes the grace of youth, covers the +complexion with decay, and sows many a wrinkle in the dusky skin. Old +age crushes noble arts, brings down the memorials of men of old, and +scorches ancient glories up; shatters wealth, hungrily gnaws away the +worth and good of virtue, turns athwart and disorders all things. + +"I myself have felt the hurtful power of injurious age, I, dim-sighted, +and hoarse in my tones and in my chest; and all helpful things have +turned to my hurt. Now my body is less nimble, and I prop it up, leaning +my faint limbs on the support of staves. Sightless I guide my steps with +two sticks, and follow the short path which the rod shows me, trusting +more in the leading of a stock than in my eyes. None takes any charge +of me, and no man in the ranks brings comfort to the veteran, unless, +perchance, Hather is here, and succours his shattered friend. Whomsoever +Hather once thinks worthy of his duteous love, that man he attends +continually with even zeal, constant to his purpose, and fearing to +break his early ties. He also often pays fit rewards to those that have +deserved well in war, and fosters their courage; he bestows dignities +on the brave, and honours his famous friends with gifts. Free with his +wealth, he is fain to increase with bounty the brightness of his name, +and to surpass many of the mighty. Nor is he less in war: his strength +is equal to his goodness; he is swift in the fray, slow to waver, ready +to give battle; and he cannot turn his back when the foe bears him hard. +But for me, if I remember right, fate appointed at my birth that wars +I should follow and in war I should die, that I should mix in broils, +watch in arms, and pass a life of bloodshed. I was a man of camps, and +rested not; hating peace, I grew old under thy standard, O War-god, in +utmost peril; conquering fear, I thought it comely to fight, shameful to +loiter, and noble to kill and kill again, to be for ever slaughtering! +Oft have I seen the stern kings meet in war, seen shield and helmet +bruised, and the fields redden with blood, and the cuirass broken by the +spear-point, and the corselets all around giving at the thrust of the +steel, and the wild beasts battening on the unburied soldier. Here, as +it chanced, one that attempted a mighty thing, a strong-handed warrior, +fighting against the press of the foe, smote through the mail that +covered my head, pierced my helmet, and plunged his blade into my crest. +This sword also hath often been driven by my right hand in war, and, +once unsheathed, hath cleft the skin and bitten into the skull." + +Hather, in answer, sang as follows: + +"Whence comest thou, who art used to write the poems of thy land, +leaning thy wavering steps on a frail staff? Or whither dost thou speed, +who art the readiest bard of the Danish muse? All the glory of thy great +strength is faded and lost; the hue is banished from thy face, the joy +is gone out of thy soul; the voice has left thy throat, and is hoarse +and dull; thy body has lost its former stature; the decay of death +begins, and has wasted thy features and thy force. As a ship wearies, +buffeted by continual billows, even so old age, gendered by a long +course of years, brings forth bitter death; and the life falls when its +strength is done, and suffers the loss of its ancient lot. Famous old +man, who has told thee that thou mayst not duly follow the sports of +youth, or fling balls, or bite and eat the nut? I think it were better +for thee now to sell thy sword, and buy a carriage wherein to ride +often, or a horse easy on the bit, or at the same cost to purchase a +light cart. It will be more fitting for beasts of burden to carry weak +old men, when their steps fail them; the wheel, driving round and round, +serves for him whose foot totters feebly. But if perchance thou art loth +to sell the useless steel, thy sword, if it be not for sale, shall be +taken from thee and shall slay thee." + +Starkad answered: "Wretch, thy glib lips scatter idle words, unfit for +the ears of the good. Why seek the gifts to reward that guidance, which +thou shouldst have offered for naught? Surely I will walk afoot, and +will not basely give up my sword and buy the help of a stranger; nature +has given me the right of passage, and hath bidden me trust in my own +feet. Why mock and jeer with insolent speech at him whom thou shouldst +have offered to guide upon his way? Why give to dishonour my deeds of +old, which deserve the memorial of fame? Why requite my service with +reproach? Why pursue with jeers the old man mighty in battle, and put +to shame my unsurpassed honours and illustrious deeds, belittling my +glories and girding at my prowess? For what valour of thine dost thou +demand my sword, which thy strength does not deserve? It befits not the +right hand or the unwarlike side of a herdsman, who is wont to make his +peasant-music on the pipe, to see to the flock, to keep the herds in the +fields. Surely among the henchmen, close to the greasy pot, thou dippest +thy crust in the bubbles of the foaming pan, drenching a meagre slice +in the rich, oily fat, and stealthily, with thirsty finger, licking the +warm juice; more skilled to spread thy accustomed cloak on the ashes, to +sleep on the hearth, and slumber all day long, and go busily about the +work of the reeking kitchen, than to make the brave blood flow with +thy shafts in war. Men think thee a hater of the light and a lover of a +filthy hole, a wretched slave of thy belly, like a whelp who licks the +coarse grain, husk and all. + +"By heaven, thou didst not try to rob me of my sword when thrice at +great peril I fought (for?) the son of Ole. For truly, in that array, my +hand either broke the sword or shattered the obstacle, so heavy was the +blow of the smiter. What of the day when I first taught them, to run +with wood-shod feet over the shore of the Kurlanders, and the path +bestrewn with countless points? For when I was going to the fields +studded with calthrops, I guarded their wounded feet with clogs below +them. After this I slew Hame, who fought me mightily; and soon, with the +captain Rin the son of Flebak, I crushed the Kurlanders, yea, or all the +tribes Esthonia breeds, and thy peoples, O Semgala! Then I attacked the +men of Tellemark, and took thence my head bloody with bruises, shattered +with mallets, and smitten with the welded weapons. Here first I learnt +how strong was the iron wrought on the anvil, or what valour the common +people had. Also it was my doing that the Teutons were punished, when, +in avenging my lord, I laid low over their cups thy sons, O Swerting, +who were guilty of the wicked slaughter of Frode. + +"Not less was the deed when, for the sake of a beloved maiden, I slew +nine brethren in one fray;--witness the spot, which was consumed by the +bowels that left me, and brings not forth the grain anew on its scorched +sod. And soon, when Ker the captain made ready a war by sea, with a +noble army we beat his serried ships. Then I put Waske to death, and +punished the insolent smith by slashing his hinder parts; and with the +sword I slew Wisin, who from the snowy rocks blunted the spears. Then +I slew the four sons of Ler, and the champions of Permland; and then +having taken the chief of the Irish race, I rifled the wealth of Dublin; +and our courage shall ever remain manifest by the trophies of Bravalla. +Why do I linger? Countless are the deeds of my bravery, and when I +review the works of my hands I fail to number them to the full. The +whole is greater than I can tell. My work is too great for fame, and +speech serves not for my doings." + +So sang Starkad. At last, when he found by their talk that Hather was +the son of Hlenne, and saw that the youth was of illustrious birth, +he offered him his throat to smite, bidding him not to shrink from +punishing the slayer of his father. He promised him that if he did so he +should possess the gold which he had himself received from Hlenne. And +to enrage his heart more vehemently against him, he is said to have +harangued him as follows: + +"Moreover, Hather, I robbed thee of thy father Hlenne; requite me this, +I pray, and strike down the old man who longs to die; aim at my throat +with the avenging steel. For my soul chooses the service of a noble +smiter, and shrinks to ask its doom at a coward's hand. Righteously may +a man choose to forstall the ordinance of doom. What cannot be escaped +it will be lawful also to anticipate. The fresh tree must be fostered, +the old one hewn down. He is nature's instrument who destroys what is +near its doom and strikes down what cannot stand. Death is best when +it is sought: and when the end is loved, life is wearisome. Let not the +troubles of age prolong a miserable lot." + +So saying, he took money from his pouch and gave it him. But Hather, +desiring as much to enjoy the gold as to accomplish vengeance for his +father, promised that he would comply with his prayer, and would not +refuse the reward. Starkad eagerly handed him the sword, and at once +stooped his neck beneath it, counselling him not to do the smiter's work +timidly, or use the sword like a woman; and telling him that if, when +he had killed him, he could spring between the head and the trunk before +the corpse fell, he would be rendered proof against arms. It is not +known whether he said this in order to instruct his executioner or to +punish him, for perhaps, as he leapt, the bulk of the huge body would +have crushed him. So Hather smote sharply with the sword and hacked off +the head of the old man. When the severed head struck the ground, it is +said to have bitten the earth; thus the fury of the dying lips declared +the fierceness of the soul. But the smiter, thinking that the promise +hid some treachery, warily refrained from leaping. Had he done so +rashly, perhaps he would have been crushed by the corpse as it fell, and +have paid with his own life for the old man's murder. But he would not +allow so great a champion to lie unsepulchred, and had his body buried +in the field that is commonly called Rolung. + +Now Omund, as I have heard, died most tranquilly, while peace was +unbroken, leaving two sons and two daughters. The eldest of these, +SIWARD, came to the throne by right of birth, while his brother Budle +was still of tender years. At this time Gotar, King of the Swedes, +conceived boundless love for one of the daughters of Omund, because of +the report of her extraordinary beauty, and entrusted one Ebb, the son +of Sibb, with the commission of asking for the maiden. Ebb did his work +skilfully, and brought back the good news that the girl had consented. +Nothing was now lacking to Gotar's wishes but the wedding; but, as he +feared to hold this among strangers, he demanded that his betrothed +should be sent to him in charge of Ebb, whom he had before used as +envoy. + +Ebb was crossing Halland with a very small escort, and went for a +night's lodging to a country farm, where the dwellings of two brothers +faced one another on the two sides of a river. Now these men used to +receive folk hospitably and then murder them, but were skilful to +hide their brigandage under a show of generosity. For they had hung on +certain hidden chains, in a lofty part of the house, an oblong beam like +a press, and furnished it with a steel point; they used to lower this in +the night by letting down the fastenings, and cut off the heads of those +that lay below. Many had they beheaded in this way with the hanging +mass. So when Ebb and his men had been feasted abundantly, the servants +laid them out a bed near the hearth, so that by the swing of the +treacherous beam they might mow off their heads, which faced the fire. +When they departed, Ebb, suspecting the contrivance slung overhead, told +his men to feign slumber and shift their bodies, saying that it would be +very wholesome for them to change their place. + +Now among these were some who despised the orders which the others +obeyed, and lay unmoved, each in the spot where he had chanced to lie +down. Then towards the mirk of night the heavy hanging machine was set +in motion by the doers of the treachery. Loosened from the knots of its +fastening, it fell violently on the ground, and slew those beneath it. +Thereupon those who had the charge of committing the crime brought in +a light, that they might learn clearly what had happened, and saw that +Ebb, on whose especial account they had undertaken the affair, had +wisely been equal to the danger. He straightway set on them and punished +them with death; and also, after losing his men in the mutual slaughter, +he happened to find a vessel, crossed a river full of blocks of ice, +and announced to Gotar the result, not so much of his mission as of his +mishap. + +Gotar judged that this affair had been inspired by Siward, and prepared +to avenge his wrongs by arms. Siward, defeated by him in Halland, +retreated into Jutland, the enemy having taken his sister. Here he +conquered the common people of the Sclavs, who ventured to fight without +a leader; and he won as much honour from this victory as he had got +disgrace by his flight. But a little afterwards, the men whom he had +subdued when they were ungeneraled, found a general and defeated Siward +in Funen. Several times he fought them in Jutland, but with ill-success. +The result was that he lost both Skaane and Jutland, and only retained +the middle of his realm without the head, like the fragments of some +body that had been consumed away. His son Jarmerik (Eormunrec), with his +child-sisters, fell into the hands of the enemy; one of these was sold +to the Germans, the other to the Norwegians; for in old time marriages +were matters of purchase. Thus the kingdom of the Danes, which had been +enlarged with such valour, made famous by such ancestral honours, and +enriched by so many conquests, fell, all by the sloth of one man, from +the most illustrious fortune and prosperity into such disgrace that it +paid the tribute which it used to exact. But Siward, too often defeated +and guilty of shameful flights, could not endure, after that glorious +past, to hold the troubled helm of state any longer in this shameful +condition of his land; and, fearing that living longer might strip him +of his last shred of glory, he hastened to win an honourable death in +battle. For his soul could not forget his calamity, it was fain to cast +off its sickness, and was racked with weariness of life. So much did +he abhor the light of life in his longing to wipe out his shame. So he +mustered his army for battle, and openly declared war with one Simon, +who was governor of Skaane under Gotar. This war he pursued with +stubborn rashness; he slew Simon, and ended his own life amid a great +slaughter of his foes. Yet his country could not be freed from the +burden of the tribute. + +Jarmerik, meantime, with his foster-brother of the same age as himself, +Gunn, was living in prison, in charge of Ismar, the King of the Sclavs. +At last he was taken out and put to agriculture, doing the work of a +peasant. So actively did he manage this matter that he was transferred +and made master of the royal slaves. As he likewise did this business +most uprightly, he was enrolled in the band of the king's retainers. +Here he bore himself most pleasantly as courtiers use, and was soon +taken into the number of the king's friends and obtained the first place +in his intimacy; thus, on the strength of a series of great services, +he passed from the lowest estate to the most distinguished height of +honour. Also, loth to live a slack and enfeebled youth, he trained +himself to the pursuits of war, enriching his natural gifts by +diligence. All men loved Jarmerik, and only the queen mistrusted the +young man's temper. A sudden report told them that the king's brother +had died. Ismar, wishing to give his body a splendid funeral, prepared a +banquet of royal bounty to increase the splendour of the obsequies. + +But Jarmerik, who used at other times to look after the household +affairs together with the queen, began to cast about for means of +escape; for a chance seemed to be offered by the absence of the king. +For he saw that even in the lap of riches he would be the wretched +thrall of a king, and that he would draw, as it were, his very breath +on sufferance and at the gift of another. Moreover, though he held the +highest offices with the king, he thought that freedom was better than +delights, and burned with a mighty desire to visit his country and learn +his lineage. But, knowing that the queen had provided sufficient guards +to see that no prisoner escaped, he saw that he must approach by craft +where he could not arrive by force. So he plaited one of those baskets +of rushes and withies, shaped like a man, with which countrymen used to +scare the birds from the corn, and put a live dog in it; then he took +off his own clothes, and dressed it in them, to give a more plausible +likeness to a human being. Then he broke into the private treasury of +the king, took out the money, and hid himself in places of which he +alone knew. + +Meantime Gunn, whom he had told to conceal the absence of his friend, +took the basket into the palace and stirred up the dog to bark; and when +the queen asked what this was, he answered that Jarmerik was out of +his mind and howling. She, beholding the effigy, was deceived by the +likeness, and ordered that the madman should be cast out of the house. +Then Gunn took the effigy out and put it to bed, as though it were his +distraught friend. But towards night he plied the watch bountifully with +wine and festal mirth, cut off their heads as they slept, and set them +at their groins, in order to make their slaying more shameful. The +queen, roused by the din, and wishing to learn the reason of it, hastily +rushed to the doors. But while she unwarily put forth her head, the +sword of Gunn suddenly pierced her through. Feeling a mortal wound, she +sank, turned her eyes on her murderer, and said, "Had it been granted +me to live unscathed, no screen or treachery should have let thee leave +this land unpunished." A flood of such threats against her slayer poured +from her dying lips. + +Then Jarmerik, with Gunn, the partner of his noble deed, secretly set +fire to the tent wherein the king was celebrating with a banquet the +obsequies of his brother; all the company were overcome with liquor. The +fire filled the tent and spread all about; and some of them, shaking +off the torpor of drink, took horse and pursued those who had endangered +them. But the young men fled at first on the beasts they had taken; +and at last, when these were exhausted with their long gallop, took to +flight on foot. They were all but caught, when a river saved them. For +they crossed a bridge, of which, in order to delay the pursuer, they +first cut the timbers down to the middle, thus making it not only +unequal to a burden, but ready to come down; then they retreated into a +dense morass. + +The Sclavs pressed on them hard and, not forseeing the danger, unwarily +put the weight of their horses on the bridge; the flooring sank, and +they were shaken off and flung into the river. But, as they swam up +to the bank, they were met by Gunn and Jarmerik, and either drowned or +slain. Thus the young men showed great cunning, and did a deed beyond +their years, being more like sagacious old men than runaway slaves, and +successfully achieving their shrewd design. When they reached the strand +they seized a vessel chance threw in their way, and made for the deep. +The barbarians who pursued them, tried, when they saw them sailing off, +to bring them back by shouting promises after them that they should be +kings if they returned; "for, by the public statute of the ancients, +the succession was appointed to the slayers of the kings." As they +retreated, their ears were long deafened by the Sclavs obstinately +shouting their treacherous promises. + +At this time BUDLE, the brother of Siward, was Regent over the Danes, +who forced him to make over the kingdom to JARMERIK when he came; so +that Budle fell from a king into a common man. At the same time Gotar +charged Sibb with debauching his sister, and slew him. Sibb's kindred, +much angered by his death, came wailing to Jarmerik, and promised to +attack Gotar with him, in order to avenge their kinsman. They kept +their promise well, for Jarmerik, having overthrown Gotar by their help, +gained Sweden. Thus, holding the sovereignty of both nations, he was +encouraged by his increased power to attack the Sclavs, forty of whom he +took and hung with a wolf tied to each of them. This kind of punishment +was assigned of old to those who slew their own kindred; but he chose +to inflict it upon enemies, that all might see plainly, just from their +fellowship with ruthless beasts, how grasping they had shown themselves +towards the Danes. + +When Jarmerik had conquered the country, he posted garrisons in all the +fitting places, and departing thence, he made a slaughter of the Sembs +and the Kurlanders, and many nations of the East. The Sclavs, thinking +that this employment of the king gave them a chance of revolting, killed +the governors whom he had appointed, and ravaged Denmark. Jarmerik, +on his way back from roving, chanced to intercept their fleet, and +destroyed it, a deed which added honour to his roll of conquests. He +also put their nobles to death in a way that one would weep to see; +namely, by first passing thongs through their legs, and then tying them +to the hoofs of savage bulls; then hounds set on them and dragged them +into miry swamps. This deed took the edge off the valour of the Sclavs, +and they obeyed the authority of the king in fear and trembling. + +Jarmerik, enriched with great spoils, wished to provide a safe +storehouse for his booty, and built on a lofty hill a treasure-house of +marvellous handiwork. Gathering sods, he raised a mound, laying a mass +of rocks for the foundation, and girt the lower part with a rampart, the +centre with rooms, and the top with battlements. All round he posted a +line of sentries without a break. Four huge gates gave free access on +the four sides; and into this lordly mansion he heaped all his splendid +riches. Having thus settled his affairs at home, he again turned his +ambition abroad. He began to voyage, and speedily fought a naval battle +with four brothers whom he met on the high seas, Hellespontines by race, +and veteran rovers. After this battle had lasted three days, he ceased +fighting, having bargained for their sister and half the tribute which +they had imposed on those they had conquered. + +After this, Bikk, the son of the King of the Livonians, escaped from +the captivity in which he lay under these said brothers, and went to +Jarmerik. But he did not forget his wrongs, Jarmerik having long before +deprived him of his own brothers. He was received kindly by the king, in +all whose secret counsels he soon came to have a notable voice; and, as +soon as he found the king pliable to his advice in all things, he led +him, when his counsel was asked, into the most abominable acts, and +drove him to commit crimes and infamies. Thus he sought some device to +injure the king by a feint of loyalty, and tried above all to steel him +against his nearest of blood; attempting to accomplish the revenge of +his brother by guile, since he could not by force. So it came to pass +that the king embraced filthy vices instead of virtues, and made himself +generally hated by the cruel deeds which he committed at the instance of +his treacherous adviser. Even the Sclavs began to rise against him; and, +as a means of quelling them, he captured their leaders, passed a rope +through their shanks, and delivered them to be torn asunder by horses +pulling different ways. So perished their chief men, punished for their +stubbornness of spirit by having their bodies rent apart. This kept the +Sclavs duly obedient in unbroken and steady subjugation. + +Meantime, the sons of Jarmerik's sister, who had all been born and bred +in Germany, took up arms, on the strength of their grandsire's title, +against their uncle, contending that they had as good a right to the +throne as he. The king demolished their strongholds in Germany with +engines, blockaded or took several towns, and returned home with a +bloodless victory. The Hellespontines came to meet him, proffering their +sister for the promised marriage. After this had been celebrated, at +Bikk's prompting he again went to Germany, took his nephews in war, and +incontinently hanged them. He also got together the chief men under the +pretence of a banquet and had them put to death in the same fashion. + +Meantime, the king appointed Broder, his son by another marriage, to +have charge over his stepmother, a duty which he fulfilled with full +vigilance and integrity. But Bikk accused this man to his father of +incest; and, to conceal the falsehood of the charge, suborned witnesses +against him. When the plea of the accusation had been fully declared, +Broder could not bring any support for his defence, and his father +bade his friends pass sentence upon the convicted man, thinking it less +impious to commit the punishment proper for his son to the judgment of +others. All thought that he deserved outlawry except Bikk, who did not +shrink from giving a more terrible vote against his life, and declaring +that the perpetrator of an infamous seduction ought to be punished with +hanging. But lest any should think that this punishment was due to the +cruelty of his father, Bikk judged that, when he had been put in the +noose, the servants should hold him up on a beam put beneath him, so +that, when weariness made them take their hands from the burden, they +might be as good as guilty of the young man's death, and by their own +fault exonerate the king from an unnatural murder. He also pretended +that, unless the accused were punished, he would plot against his +father's life. The adulteress Swanhild, he said, ought to suffer a +shameful end, trampled under the hoofs of beasts. + +The king yielded to Bikk; and, when his son was to be hanged, he made +the bystanders hold him up by means of a plank, that he might not +be choked. Thus his throat was only a little squeezed, the knot was +harmless, and it was but a punishment in show. But the king had the +queen tied very tight on the ground, and delivered her to be crushed +under the hoofs of horses. The story goes that she was so beautiful, +that even the beasts shrank from mangling limbs so lovely with their +filthy feet. The king, divining that this proclaimed the innocence of +his wife, began to repent of his error, and hastened to release the +slandered lady. But meantime Bikk rushed up, declaring that when she was +on her back she held off the beasts by awful charms, and could only be +crushed if she lay on her face; for he knew that her beauty saved her. +When the body of the queen was placed in this manner, the herd of beasts +was driven upon it, and trod it down deep with their multitude of feet. +Such was the end of Swanhild. + +Meantime, the favourite dog of Broder came creeping to the king making +a sort of moan, and seemed to bewail its master's punishment; and his +hawk, when it was brought in, began to pluck out its breast-feathers +with its beak. The king took its nakedness as an omen of his +bereavement, to frustrate which he quickly sent men to take his son down +from the noose: for he divined by the featherless bird that he would be +childless unless he took good heed. Thus Broder was freed from death, +and Bikk, fearing he would pay the penalty of an informer, went and told +the men of the Hellespont that Swanhild had been abominably slain by +her husband. When they set sail to avenge their sister, he came back to +Jarmerik, and told him that the Hellespontines were preparing war. + +The king thought that it would be safer to fight with walls than in the +field, and retreated into the stronghold which he had built. To stand +the siege, he filled its inner parts with stores, and its battlements +with men-at-arms. Targets and shields flashing with gold were hung round +and adorned the topmost circle of the building. + +It happened that the Hellespontines, before sharing their booty, accused +a great band of their men of embezzling, and put them to death. Having +now destroyed so large a part of their forces by internecine slaughter, +they thought that their strength was not equal to storming the palace, +and consulted a sorceress named Gudrun. She brought it to pass that the +defenders of the king's side were suddenly blinded and turned their arms +against one another. When the Hellespontines saw this, they brought up +a shield-mantlet, and seized the approaches of the gates. Then they tore +up the posts, burst into the building, and hewed down the blinded ranks +of the enemy. In this uproar Odin appeared, and, making for the thick +of the ranks of the fighters, restored by his divine power to the Danes +that vision which they had lost by sleights; for he ever cherished them +with fatherly love. He instructed them to shower stones to batter the +Hellespontines, who used spells to harden their bodies against weapons. +Thus both companies slew one another and perished. Jarmerik lost both +feet and both hands, and his trunk was rolled among the dead. BRODER, +little fit for it, followed him as king. + +The next king was SIWALD. His son SNIO took vigorously to roving in his +father's old age, and not only preserved the fortunes of his country, +but even restored them, lessened as they were, to their former estate. +Likewise, when he came to the sovereignty, he crushed the insolence +of the champions Eskil and Alkil, and by this conquest reunited to his +country Skaane, which had been severed from the general jurisdiction of +Denmark. At last he conceived a passion for the daughter of the King +of the Goths; it was returned, and he sent secret messengers to seek a +chance of meeting her. These men were intercepted by the father of the +damsel and hanged: thus paying dearly for their rash mission. Snio, +wishing to avenge their death, invaded Gothland. Its king met him with +his forces, and the aforesaid champions challenged him to send strong +men to fight. Snio laid down as condition of the duel, that each of the +two kings should either lose his own empire or gain that of the other, +according to the fortune of the champions, and that the kingdom of the +conquered should be staked as the prize of the victory. The result was +that the King of the Goths was beaten by reason of the ill-success of +his defenders, and had to quit his kingdom for the Danes. Snio, learning +that this king's daughter had been taken away at the instance of her +father to wed the King of the Swedes, sent a man clad in ragged attire, +who used to ask alms on the public roads, to try her mind. And while he +lay, as beggars do, by the threshold, he chanced to see the queen, and +whined in a weak voice, "Snio loves thee." She feigned not to have heard +the sound that stole on her ears, and neither looked nor stepped back, +but went on to the palace, then returned straightway, and said in a low +whisper, which scarcely reached his ears, "I love him who loves me"; and +having said this she walked away. + +The beggar rejoiced that she had returned a word of love, and, as he sat +on the next day at the gate, when the queen came up, he said, briefly +as ever, "Wishes should have a tryst." Again she shrewdly caught his +cunning speech, and passed on, dissembling wholly. A little later +she passed by her questioner, and said that she would shortly go to +Bocheror; for this was the spot to which she meant to flee. And when the +beggar heard this, he insisted, with his wonted shrewd questions, upon +being told a fitting time for the tryst. The woman was as cunning as +he, and as little clear of speech, and named as quickly as she could the +beginning of the winter. + +Her train, who had caught a flying word of this love-message, took her +great cleverness for the raving of utter folly. And when Snio had been +told all this by the beggar, he contrived to carry the queen off in +a vessel; for she got away under pretence of bathing, and took her +husband's treasures. After this there were constant wars between Snio +and the King of Sweden, whereof the issue was doubtful and the victory +changeful; the one king seeking to regain his lawful, the other to keep +his unlawful love. + +At this time the yield of crops was ruined by most inclement weather, +and a mighty dearth of corn befell. Victuals began to be scarce, and +the commons were distressed with famine, so that the king, anxiously +pondering how to relieve the hardness of the times, and seeing that the +thirsty spent somewhat more than the hungry, introduced thrift among the +people. He abolished drinking-bouts, and decreed that no drink should be +prepared from gram, thinking that the bitter famine should be got rid +of by prohibiting needless drinking, and that plentiful food could be +levied as a loan on thirst. + +Then a certain wanton slave of his belly, lamenting the prohibition +against drink, adopted a deep kind of knavery, and found a new way to +indulge his desires. He broke the public law of temperance by his own +excess, contriving to get at what he loved by a device both cunning +and absurd. For he sipped the forbidden liquor drop by drop, and so +satisfied his longing to be tipsy. When he was summoned for this by the +king, he declared that there was no stricter observer of sobriety than +he, inasmuch as he mortified his longing to quaff deep by this device +for moderate drinking. He persisted in the fault with which he was +taxed, saying that he only sucked. At last he was also menaced with +threats, and forbidden not only to drink, but even to sip; yet he could +not check his habits. For in order to enjoy the unlawful thing in +a lawful way, and not to have his throat subject to the command of +another, he sopped morsels of bread in liquor, and fed on the pieces +thus soaked with drink; tasting slowly, so as to prolong the desired +debauch, and attaining, though in no unlawful manner, the forbidden +measure of satiety. + +Thus his stubborn and frantic intemperance risked his life, all for +luxury; and, undeterred even by the threats of the king, he fortified +his rash appetite to despise every peril. A second time he was summoned +by the king on the charge of disobeying his regulation. Yet he did not +even theft cease to defend his act, but maintained that he had in no +wise contravened the royal decree, and that the temperance prescribed +by the ordinance had been in no way violated by that which allured +him; especially as the thrift ordered in the law of plain living was so +described, that it was apparently forbidden to drink liquor, but not to +eat it. Then the king called heaven to witness, and swore by the general +good, that if he ventured on any such thing hereafter he would punish +him with death. But the man thought that death was not so bad as +temperance, and that it was easier to quit life than luxury; and +he again boiled the grain in water, and then fermented the liquor; +whereupon, despairing of any further plea to excuse his appetite, he +openly indulged in drink, and turned to his cups again unabashed. Giving +up cunning for effrontery, he chose rather to await the punishment of +the king than to turn sober. Therefore, when the king asked him why he +had so often made free to use the forbidden thing, he said: + +"O king, this craving is begotten, not so much of my thirst, as of my +goodwill towards thee! For I remembered that the funeral rites of a king +must be paid with a drinking-bout. Therefore, led by good judgment more +than the desire to swill, I have, by mixing the forbidden liquid, taken +care that the feast whereat thy obsequies are performed should not, by +reason of the scarcity of corn, lack the due and customary drinking. Now +I do not doubt that thou wilt perish of famine before the rest, and +be the first to need a tomb; for thou hast passed this strange law of +thrift in fear that thou wilt be thyself the first to lack food. Thou +art thinking for thyself, and not for others, when thou bringest thyself +to start such strange miserly ways." + +This witty quibbling turned the anger of the king into shame; and when +he saw that his ordinance for the general good came home in mockery to +himself, he thought no more of the public profit, but revoked the edict, +relaxing his purpose sooner than anger his subjects. + +Whether it was that the soil had too little rain, or that it was too +hard baked, the crops, as I have said, were slack, and the fields gave +but little produce; so that the land lacked victual, and was worn with +a weary famine. The stock of food began to fail, and no help was left +to stave off hunger. Then, at the proposal of Agg and of Ebb, it +was provided by a decree of the people that the old men and the tiny +children should be slain; that all who were too young to bear arms +should be taken out of the land, and only the strong should be +vouchsafed their own country; that none but able-bodied soldiers and +husbandmen should continue to abide under their own roofs and in the +houses of their fathers. When Agg and Ebb brought news of this to their +mother Gambaruk, she saw that the authors of this infamous decree had +found safety in crime. Condemning the decision of the assembly, she said +that it was wrong to relieve distress by murder of kindred, and declared +that a plan both more honourable and more desirable for the good of +their souls and bodies would be, to preserve respect towards their +parents and children, and choose by lot men who should quit the country. +And if the lot fell on old men and weak, then the stronger should offer +to go into exile in their place, and should of their own free will +undertake to bear the burden of it for the feeble. But those men who +had the heart to save their lives by crime and impiety, and to prosecute +their parents and their children by so abominable a decree, did not +deserve life; for they would be doing a work of cruelty and not of love. +Finally, all those whose own lives were dearer to them than the love +of their parents or their children, deserved but ill of their country. +These words were reported to the assembly, and assented to by the vote +of the majority. So the fortunes of all were staked upon the lot and +those upon whom it fell were doomed to be banished. Thus those who had +been loth to obey necessity of their own accord had now to accept the +award of chance. So they sailed first to Bleking, and then, sailing past +Moring, they came to anchor at Gothland; where, according to Paulus, +they are said to have been prompted by the goddess Frigg to take the +name of the Longobardi (Lombards), whose nation they afterwards founded. +In the end they landed at Rugen, and, abandoning their ships, began to +march overland. They crossed and wasted a great portion of the world; +and at last, finding an abode in Italy, changed the ancient name of the +nation for their own. + +Meanwhile, the land of the Danes, where the tillers laboured less and +less, and all traces of the furrows were covered with overgrowth, began +to look like a forest. Almost stripped of its pleasant native turf, it +bristled with the dense unshapely woods that grew up. Traces of this are +yet seen in the aspect of its fields. What were once acres fertile in +grain are now seen to be dotted with trunks of trees; and where of old +the tillers turned the earth up deep and scattered the huge clods there +has now sprung up a forest covering the fields, which still bear the +tracks of ancient tillage. Had not these lands remained untilled and +desolate with long overgrowth, the tenacious roots of trees could never +have shared the soil of one and the same land with the furrows made by +the plough. Moreover, the mounds which men laboriously built up of old +on the level ground for the burial of the dead are now covered by a mass +of woodland. Many piles of stones are also to be seen interspersed among +the forest glades. These were once scattered over the whole country, but +the peasants carefully gathered the boulders and piled them into a heap +that they might not prevent furrows being cut in all directions; for +they would sooner sacrifice a little of the land than find the whole of +it stubborn. From this work, done by the toil of the peasants for +the easier working of the fields, it is judged that the population in +ancient times was greater than the present one, which is satisfied with +small fields, and keeps its agriculture within narrower limits than +those of the ancient tillage. Thus the present generation is amazed to +behold that it has exchanged a soil which could once produce grain for +one only fit to grow acorns, and the plough-handle and the cornstalks +for a landscape studded with trees. Let this account of Snio, which I +have put together as truly as I could, suffice. + +Snio was succeeded by BIORN; and after him HARALD became sovereign. +Harald's son GORM won no mean place of honour among the ancient generals +of the Danes by his record of doughty deeds. For he ventured into fresh +fields, preferring to practise his inherited valour, not in war, but in +searching the secrets of nature; and, just as other kings are stirred by +warlike ardour, so his heart thirsted to look into marvels; either what +he could experience himself, or what were merely matters of report. And +being desirous to go and see all things foreign and extraordinary, he +thought that he must above all test a report which he had heard from the +men of Thule concerning the abode of a certain Geirrod. For they boasted +past belief of the mighty piles of treasure in that country, but said +that the way was beset with peril, and hardly passable by mortal man. +For those who had tried it declared that it was needful to sail over the +ocean that goes round the lands, to leave the sun and stars behind, to +journey down into chaos, and at last to pass into a land where no light +was and where darkness reigned eternally. + +But the warrior trampled down in his soul all fear of the dangers that +beset him. Not that he desired booty, but glory; for he hoped for a +great increase of renown if he ventured on a wholly unattempted quest. +Three hundred men announced that they had the same desire as the king; +and he resolved that Thorkill, who had brought the news, should be +chosen to guide them on the journey, as he knew the ground and was +versed in the approaches to that country. Thorkill did not refuse the +task, and advised that, to meet the extraordinary fury of the sea they +had to cross, strongly-made vessels should be built, fitted with many +knotted cords and close-set nails, filled with great store of provision, +and covered above with ox-hides to protect the inner spaces of the ships +from the spray of the waves breaking in. Then they sailed off in only +three galleys, each containing a hundred chosen men. + +Now when they had come to Halogaland (Helgeland), they lost their +favouring breezes, and were driven and tossed divers ways over the seas +in perilous voyage. At last, in extreme want of food, and lacking even +bread, they staved off hunger with a little pottage. Some days passed, +and they heard the thunder of a storm brawling in the distance, as if +it were deluging the rocks. By this perceiving that land was near, they +bade a youth of great nimbleness climb to the masthead and look out; and +he reported that a precipitous island was in sight. All were overjoyed, +and gazed with thirsty eyes at the country at which he pointed, eagerly +awaiting the refuge of the promised shore. At last they managed to reach +it, and made their way out over the heights that blocked their way, +along very steep paths, into the higher ground. Then Thorkill told them +to take no more of the herds that were running about in numbers on the +coast, than would serve once to appease their hunger. If they disobeyed, +the guardian gods of the spot would not let them depart. But the +seamen, more anxious to go on filling their bellies than to obey orders, +postponed counsels of safety to the temptations of gluttony, and loaded +the now emptied holds of their ships with the carcases of slaughtered +cattle. These beasts were very easy to capture, because they gathered in +amazement at the unwonted sight of men, their fears being made bold. +On the following night monsters dashed down upon the shore, filled the +forest with clamour, and beleaguered and beset the ships. One of them, +huger than the rest, strode over the waters, armed with a mighty club. +Coming close up to them, he bellowed out that they should never +sail away till they had atoned for the crime they had committed in +slaughtering the flock, and had made good the losses of the herd of the +gods by giving up one man for each of their ships. Thorkill yielded +to these threats; and, in order to preserve the safety of all by +imperilling a few, singled out three men by lot and gave them up. + +This done, a favouring wind took them, and they sailed to further +Permland. It is a region of eternal cold, covered with very deep snows, +and not sensible to the force even of the summer heats; full of pathless +forests, not fertile in grain and haunted by beasts uncommon elsewhere. +Its many rivers pour onwards in a hissing, foaming flood, because of the +reefs imbedded in their channels. + +Here Thorkill drew up his ships ashore, and bade them pitch their tents +on the beach, declaring that they had come to a spot whence the passage +to Geirrod would be short. Moreover, he forbade them to exchange any +speech with those that came up to them, declaring that nothing enabled +the monsters to injure strangers so much as uncivil words on their part: +it would be therefore safer for his companions to keep silence; none +but he, who had seen all the manners and customs of this nation before, +could speak safely. As twilight approached, a man of extraordinary +bigness greeted the sailors by their names, and came among them. All +were aghast, but Thorkill told them to greet his arrival cheerfully, +telling them that this was Gudmund, the brother of Geirrod, and the most +faithful guardian in perils of all men who landed in that spot. When the +man asked why all the rest thus kept silence, he answered that they were +very unskilled in his language, and were ashamed to use a speech they +did not know. Then Gudmund invited them to be his guests, and took them +up in carriages. As they went forward, they saw a river which could +be crossed by a bridge of gold. They wished to go over it, but Gudmund +restrained them, telling them that by this channel nature had divided +the world of men from the world of monsters, and that no mortal track +might go further. Then they reached the dwelling of their guide; and +here Thorkill took his companions apart and warned them to behave like +men of good counsel amidst the divers temptations chance might throw in +their way; to abstain from the food of the stranger, and nourish their +bodies only on their own; and to seek a seat apart from the natives, +and have no contact with any of them as they lay at meat. For if they +partook of that food they would lose recollection of all things, and +must live for ever in filthy intercourse amongst ghastly hordes of +monsters. Likewise he told them that they must keep their hands off the +servants and the cups of the people. + +Round the table stood twelve noble sons of Gudmund, and as many +daughters of notable beauty. When Gudmund saw that the king barely +tasted what his servants brought, he reproached him with repulsing his +kindness, and complained that it was a slight on the host. But Thorkill +was not at a loss for a fitting excuse. He reminded him that men who +took unaccustomed food often suffered from it seriously, and that the +king was not ungrateful for the service rendered by another, but was +merely taking care of his health, when he refreshed himself as he was +wont, and furnished his supper with his own viands. An act, therefore, +that was only done in the healthy desire to escape some bane, ought +in no wise to be put down to scorn. Now when Gudmund saw that the +temperance of his guest had baffled his treacherous preparations, +he determined to sap their chastity, if he could not weaken their +abstinence, and eagerly strained every nerve of his wit to enfeeble +their self-control. For he offered the king his daughter in marriage, +and promised the rest that they should have whatever women of his +household they desired. Most of them inclined to his offer: but Thorkill +by his healthy admonitions prevented them, as he had done before, from +falling into temptation. + +With wonderful management Thorkill divided his heed between the +suspicious host and the delighted guests. Four of the Danes, to whom +lust was more than their salvation, accepted the offer; the +infection maddened them, distraught their wits, and blotted out their +recollection: for they are said never to have been in their right mind +after this. If these men had kept themselves within the rightful +bounds of temperance, they would have equalled the glories of Hercules, +surpassed with their spirit the bravery of giants, and been ennobled for +ever by their wondrous services to their country. + +Gudmund, stubborn to his purpose, and still spreading his nets, extolled +the delights of his garden, and tried to lure the king thither to gather +fruits, desiring to break down his constant wariness by the lust of the +eye and the baits of the palate. The king, as before, was strengthened +against these treacheries by Thorkill, and rejected this feint of kindly +service; he excused himself from accepting it on the plea that he must +hasten on his journey. Gudmund perceived that Thorkill was shrewder +than he at every point; so, despairing to accomplish his treachery, +he carried them all across the further side of the river, and let them +finish their journey. + +They went on; and saw, not far off, a gloomy, neglected town, looking +more like a cloud exhaling vapour. Stakes interspersed among the +battlements showed the severed heads of warriors and dogs of great +ferocity were seen watching before the doors to guard the entrance. +Thorkill threw them a horn smeared with fat to lick, and so, at slight +cost, appeased their most furious rage. High up the gates lay open +to enter, and they climbed to their level with ladders, entering +with difficulty. Inside the town was crowded with murky and misshapen +phantoms, and it was hard to say whether their shrieking figures were +more ghastly to the eye or to the ear; everything was foul, and the +reeking mire afflicted the nostrils of the visitors with its unbearable +stench. Then they found the rocky dwelling which Geirrod was rumoured to +inhabit for his palace. They resolved to visit its narrow and horrible +ledge, but stayed their steps and halted in panic at the very entrance. +Then Thorkill, seeing that they were of two minds, dispelled their +hesitation to enter by manful encouragement, counselling them, to +restrain themselves, and not to touch any piece of gear in the house +they were about to enter, albeit it seemed delightful to have or +pleasant to behold; to keep their hearts as far from all covetousness as +from fear; neither to desire what was pleasant to take, nor dread +what was awful to look upon, though they should find themselves amidst +abundance of both these things. If they did, their greedy hands would +suddenly be bound fast, unable to tear themselves away from the thing +they touched, and knotted up with it as by inextricable bonds. Moreover, +they should enter in order, four by four. + +Broder and Buchi (Buk?) were the first to show courage to attempt to +enter the vile palace; Thorkill with the king followed them, and the +rest advanced behind these in ordered ranks. + +Inside, the house was seen to be ruinous throughout, and filled with +a violent and abominable reek. And it also teemed with everything that +could disgust the eye or the mind: the door-posts were begrimed with the +soot of ages, the wall was plastered with filth, the roof was made up of +spear-heads, the flooring was covered with snakes and bespattered with +all manner of uncleanliness. Such an unwonted sight struck terror into +the strangers, and, over all, the acrid and incessant stench assailed +their afflicted nostrils. Also bloodless phantasmal monsters huddled +on the iron seats, and the places for sitting were railed off by leaden +trellises; and hideous doorkeepers stood at watch on the thresholds. +Some of these, armed with clubs lashed together, yelled, while others +played a gruesome game, tossing a goat's hide from one to the other with +mutual motion of goatish backs. + +Here Thorkill again warned the men, and forbade them to stretch forth +their covetous hands rashly to the forbidden things. Going on through +the breach in the crag, they beheld an old man with his body pierced +through, sitting not far off, on a lofty seat facing the side of the +rock that had been rent away. Moreover, three women, whose bodies were +covered with tumours, and who seemed to have lost the strength of their +back-bones, filled adjoining seats. Thorkill's companions were very +curious; and he, who well knew the reason of the matter, told them that +long ago the god Thor had been provoked by the insolence of the giants +to drive red-hot irons through the vitals of Geirrod, who strove with +him, and that the iron had slid further, torn up the mountain, and +battered through its side; while the women had been stricken by the +might of his thunderbolts, and had been punished (so he declared) for +their attempt on the same deity, by having their bodies broken. + +As the men were about to depart thence, there were disclosed to them +seven butts hooped round with belts of gold; and from these hung +circlets of silver entwined with them in manifold links. Near these was +found the tusk of a strange beast, tipped at both ends with gold. Close +by was a vast stag-horn, laboriously decked with choice and flashing +gems, and this also did not lack chasing. Hard by was to be seen a very +heavy bracelet. One man was kindled with an inordinate desire for this +bracelet, and laid covetous hands upon the gold, not knowing that the +glorious metal covered deadly mischief, and that a fatal bane lay +hid under the shining spoil. A second also, unable to restrain his +covetousness, reached out his quivering hands to the horn. A third, +matching the confidence of the others, and having no control over his +fingers, ventured to shoulder the tusk. The spoil seemed alike lovely to +look upon and desirable to enjoy, for all that met the eye was fair and +tempting to behold. But the bracelet suddenly took the form of a snake, +and attacked him who was carrying it with its poisoned tooth; the horn +lengthened out into a serpent, and took the life of the man who bore it; +the tusk wrought itself into a sword, and plunged into the vitals of its +bearer. + +The rest dreaded the fate of perishing with their friends, and thought +that the guiltless would be destroyed like the guilty; they durst not +hope that even innocence would be safe. Then the side-door of another +room showed them a narrow alcove: and a privy chamber with a yet richer +treasure was revealed, wherein arms were laid out too great for those of +human stature. Among these were seen a royal mantle, a handsome hat, and +a belt marvellously wrought. Thorkill, struck with amazement at these +things, gave rein to his covetousness, and cast off all his purposed +self-restraint. He who so oft had trained others could not so much as +conquer his own cravings. For he laid his hand upon the mantle, and +his rash example tempted the rest to join in his enterprise of plunder. +Thereupon the recess shook from its lowest foundations, and began +suddenly to reel and totter. Straightway the women raised a shriek that +the wicked robbers were being endured too long. Then they, who were +before supposed to be half-dead or lifeless phantoms, seemed to obey the +cries of the women, and, leaping suddenly up from their seats, attacked +the strangers with furious onset. The other creatures bellowed hoarsely. + +But Broder and Buchi fell to their old and familiar arts, and attacked +the witches, who ran at them, with a shower of spears from every side; +and with the missiles from their bows and slings they crushed the +array of monsters. There could be no stronger or more successful way +to repulse them; but only twenty men out of all the king's company +were rescued by the intervention of this archery; the rest were torn in +pieces by the monsters. The survivors returned to the river, and were +ferried over by Gudmund, who entertained them at his house. Long and +often as he besought them, he could not keep them back; so at last he +gave them presents and let them go. + +Buchi relaxed his watch upon himself; his self-control became unstrung, +and he forsook the virtue in which he hitherto rejoiced. For he +conceived an incurable love for one of the daughters of Gudmund, and +embraced her; but he obtained a bride to his undoing, for soon his brain +suddenly began to whirl, and he lost his recollection. Thus the hero who +had subdued all the monsters and overcome all the perils was mastered by +passion for one girl; his soul strayed far from temperance, and he lay +under a wretched sensual yoke. For the sake of respect, he started to +accompany the departing king; but as he was about to ford the river +in his carriage, his wheels sank deep, he was caught up in the violent +eddies and destroyed. + +The king bewailed his friend's disaster and departed hastening on his +voyage. This was at first prosperous, but afterwards he was tossed by +bad weather; his men perished of hunger, and but few survived, so that +he began to feel awe in his heart, and fell to making vows to heaven, +thinking the gods alone could help him in his extreme need. At last the +others besought sundry powers among the gods, and thought they ought to +sacrifice to the majesty of divers deities; but the king, offering both +vows and peace-offerings to Utgarda-Loki, obtained that fair season of +weather for which he prayed. + +Coming home, and feeling that he had passed through all these seas and +toils, he thought it was time for his spirit, wearied with calamities, +to withdraw from his labours. So he took a queen from Sweden, and +exchanged his old pursuits for meditative leisure. His life was +prolonged in the utmost peace and quietness; but when he had almost come +to the end of his days, certain men persuaded him by likely arguments +that souls were immortal; so that he was constantly turning over in his +mind the questions, to what abode he was to fare when the breath left +his limbs, or what reward was earned by zealous adoration of the gods. + +While he was thus inclined, certain men who wished ill to Thorkill +came and told Gorm that it was needful to consult the gods, and that +assurance about so great a matter must be sought of the oracles of +heaven, since it was too deep for human wit and hard for mortals to +discover. + +Therefore, they said, Utgarda-Loki must be appeased, and no man +would accomplish this more fitly than Thorkill. Others, again, laid +information against him as guilty of treachery and an enemy of the +king's life. Thorkill, seeing himself doomed to extreme peril, demanded +that his accusers should share his journey. Then they who had aspersed +an innocent man saw that the peril they had designed against the life of +another had recoiled upon themselves, and tried to take back their plan. +But vainly did they pester the ears of the king; he forced them to sail +under the command of Thorkill, and even upbraided them with cowardice. +Thus, when a mischief is designed against another, it is commonly sure +to strike home to its author. And when these men saw that they were +constrained, and could not possibly avoid the peril, they covered their +ship with ox-hides, and filled it with abundant store of provision. + +In this ship they sailed away, and came to a sunless land, which knew +not the stars, was void of daylight, and seemed to overshadow them with +eternal night. Long they sailed under this strange sky; at last their +timber fell short, and they lacked fuel; and, having no place to boil +their meat in, they staved off their hunger with raw viands. But most of +those who ate contracted extreme disease, being glutted with undigested +food. For the unusual diet first made a faintness steal gradually +upon their stomachs; then the infection spread further, and the malady +reached the vital parts. Thus there was danger in either extreme, which +made it hurtful not to eat, and perilous to indulge; for it was found +both unsafe to feed and bad for them to abstain. Then, when they were +beginning to be in utter despair, a gleam of unexpected help relieved +them, even as the string breaks most easily when it is stretched +tightest. For suddenly the weary men saw the twinkle of a fire at no +great distance, and conceived a hope of prolonging their lives. Thorkill +thought this fire a heaven-sent relief, and resolved to go and take some +of it. + +To be surer of getting back to his friends, Thorkill fastened a jewel +upon the mast-head, to mark it by the gleam. When he got to the shore, +his eyes fell on a cavern in a close defile, to which a narrow way led. +Telling his companions to await him outside, he went in, and saw two +men, swart and very huge, with horny noses, feeding their fire with any +chance-given fuel. Moreover, the entrance was hideous, the door-posts +were decayed, the walls grimy with mould, the roof filthy, and the floor +swarming with snakes; all of which disgusted the eye as much as the +mind. Then one of the giants greeted him, and said that he had begun a +most difficult venture in his burning desire to visit a strange god, and +his attempt to explore with curious search an untrodden region beyond +the world. Yet he promised to tell Thorkill the paths of the journey he +proposed to make, if he would deliver three true judgments in the +form of as many sayings. Then said Thorkill: "In good truth, I do not +remember ever to have seen a household with more uncomely noses; nor +have I ever come to a spot where I had less mind to live." Also he said: +"That, I think, is my best foot which can get out of this foremost." + +The giant was pleased with the shrewdness of Thorkill, and praised his +sayings, telling him that he must first travel to a grassless land which +was veiled in deep darkness; but he must first voyage for four days, +rowing incessantly, before he could reach his goal. There he could visit +Utgarda-Loki, who had chosen hideous and grisly caves for his filthy +dwelling. Thorkill was much aghast at being bidden to go on a voyage so +long and hazardous; but his doubtful hopes prevailed over his present +fears, and he asked for some live fuel. Then said the giant: "If thou +needest fire, thou must deliver three more judgments in like sayings." +Then said Thorkill: "Good counsel is to be obeyed, though a mean fellow +gave it." Likewise: "I have gone so far in rashness, that if I can get +back I shall owe my safety to none but my own legs." And again: "Were I +free to retreat this moment, I would take good care never to come back." + +Thereupon Thorkill took the fire along to his companions; and finding a +kindly wind, landed on the fourth day at the appointed harbour. With +his crew he entered a land where an aspect of unbroken night checked the +vicissitude of light and darkness. He could hardly see before him, +but beheld a rock of enormous size. Wishing to explore it, he told his +companions, who were standing posted at the door, to strike a fire +from flints as a timely safeguard against demons, and kindle it in the +entrance. Then he made others bear a light before him, and stooped his +body through the narrow jaws of the cavern, where he beheld a number of +iron seats among a swarm of gliding serpents. Next there met his eye a +sluggish mass of water gently flowing over a sandy bottom. He crossed +this, and approached a cavern which sloped somewhat more steeply. +Again, after this, a foul and gloomy room was disclosed to the visitors, +wherein they saw Utgarda-Loki, laden hand and foot with enormous chains. +Each of his reeking hairs was as large and stiff as a spear of cornel. +Thorkill (his companions lending a hand), in order that his deeds might +gain more credit, plucked one of these from the chin of Utgarda-Loki, +who suffered it. Straightway such a noisome smell reached the +bystanders, that they could not breathe without stopping their noses +with their mantles. They could scarcely make their way out, and were +bespattered by the snakes which darted at them on every side. + +Only five of Thorkill's company embarked with their captain: the poison +killed the rest. The demons hung furiously over them, and cast their +poisonous slaver from every side upon the men below them. But the +sailors sheltered themselves with their hides, and cast back the venom +that fell upon them. One man by chance at this point wished to peep out; +the poison touched his head, which was taken off his neck as if it had +been severed with a sword. Another put his eyes out of their shelter, +and when he brought them back under it they were blinded. Another thrust +forth his hand while unfolding his covering, and, when he withdrew his +arm, it was withered by the virulence of the same slaver. They besought +their deities to be kinder to them; vainly, until Thorkill prayed to +the god of the universe, and poured forth unto him libations as well +as prayers; and thus, presently finding the sky even as before and the +elements clear, he made a fair voyage. + +And now they seemed to behold another world, and the way towards the +life of man. At last Thorkill landed in Germany, which had then been +admitted to Christianity; and among its people he began to learn how +to worship God. His band of men were almost destroyed, because of +the dreadful air they had breathed, and he returned to his country +accompanied by two men only, who had escaped the worst. But the corrupt +matter which smeared his face so disguised his person and original +features that not even his friends knew him. But when he wiped off the +filth, he made himself recognizable by those who saw him, and inspired +the king with the greatest eagerness to hear about his quest. But the +detraction of his rivals was not yet silenced; and some pretended that +the king would die suddenly if he learnt Thorkill's tidings. The king +was the more disposed to credit this saying, because he was already +credulous by reason of a dream which falsely prophesied the same thing. +Men were therefore hired by the king's command to slay Thorkill in the +night. But somehow he got wind of it, left his bed unknown to all, and +put a heavy log in his place. By this he baffled the treacherous device +of the king, for the hirelings smote only the stock. + +On the morrow Thorkill went up to the king as he sat at meat, and said: +"I forgive thy cruelty and pardon thy error, in that thou hast decreed +punishment, and not thanks, to him who brings good tidings of his +errand. For thy sake I have devoted my life to all these afflictions, +and battered it in all these perils; I hoped that thou wouldst requite +my services with much gratitude; and behold! I have found thee, and thee +alone, punish my valour sharpliest. But I forbear all vengeance, and +am satisfied with the shame within thy heart--if, after all, any shame +visits the thankless--as expiation for this wrongdoing towards me. I +have a right to surmise that thou art worse than all demons in fury, +and all beasts in cruelty, if, after escaping the snares of all these +monsters, I have failed to be safe from thine." + +The king desired to learn everything from Thorkill's own lips; and, +thinking it hard to escape destiny, bade him relate what had happened +in due order. He listened eagerly to his recital of everything, till +at last, when his own god was named, he could not endure him to +be unfavourably judged. For he could not bear to hear Utgarda-Loki +reproached with filthiness, and so resented his shameful misfortunes, +that his very life could not brook such words, and he yielded it up in +the midst of Thorkill's narrative. Thus, whilst he was so zealous in the +worship of a false god, he came to find where the true prison of sorrows +really was. Moreover, the reek of the hair, which Thorkill plucked from +the locks of the giant to testify to the greatness of his own deeds, was +exhaled upon the bystanders, so that many perished of it. + +After the death of Gorm, GOTRIK his son came to the throne. He was +notable not only for prowess but for generosity, and none can say +whether his courage or his compassion was the greater. He so chastened +his harshness with mercy, that he seemed to counterweigh the one with +the other. At this time Gaut, the King of Norway, was visited by Ber +(Biorn?) and Ref, men of Thule. Gaut treated Ref with attention and +friendship, and presented him with a heavy bracelet. + +One of the courtiers, when he saw this, praised the greatness of the +gift over-zealously, and declared that no one was equal to King Gaut in +kindliness. But Ref, though he owed thanks for the benefit, could not +approve the inflated words of this extravagant praiser, and said that +Gotrik was more generous than Gaut. Wishing to crush the empty boast of +the flatterer, he chose rather to bear witness to the generosity of +the absent than tickle with lies the vanity of his benefactor who was +present. For another thing, he thought it somewhat more desirable to be +charged with ingratitude than to support with his assent such idle and +boastful praise, and also to move the king by the solemn truth than +to beguile him with lying flatteries. But Ulf persisted not only in +stubbornly repeating his praises of the king, but in bringing them to +the proof; and proposed their gainsayer a wager. + +With his consent Ref went to Denmark, and found Gotrik seated in state, +and dealing out the pay to his soldiers. When the king asked him who +he was, he said that his name was "Fox-cub" The answer filled some with +mirth and some with marvel, and Gotrik said, "Yea, and it is fitting +that a fox should catch his prey in his mouth." And thereupon he drew +a bracelet from his arm, called the man to him, and put it between his +lips. Straightway Ref put it upon his arm, which he displayed to them +all adorned with gold, but the other arm he kept hidden as lacking +ornament; for which shrewdness he received a gift equal to the first +from that hand of matchless generosity. At this he was overjoyed, not so +much because the reward was great, as because he had won his contention. +And when the king learnt from him about the wager he had laid, he +rejoiced that he had been lavish to him more by accident than of set +purpose, and declared that he got more pleasure from the giving than the +receiver from the gift. So Ref returned to Norway and slew his opponent, +who refused to pay the wager. Then he took the daughter of Gaut captive, +and brought her to Gotrik for his own. + +Gotrik, who is also called Godefride, carried his arms against +foreigners, and increased his strength and glory by his successful +generalship. Among his memorable deeds were the terms of tribute +he imposed upon the Saxons; namely, that whenever a change of kings +occurred among the Danes, their princes should devote a hundred +snow-white horses to the new king on his accession. But if the Saxons +should receive a new chief upon a change in the succession, this chief +was likewise to pay the aforesaid tribute obediently, and bow at +the outset of his power to the sovereign majesty of Denmark; thereby +acknowledging the supremacy of our nation, and solemnly confessing his +own subjection. Nor was it enough for Gotrik to subjugate Germany: he +appointed Ref on a mission to try the strength of Sweden. The Swedes +feared to slay him with open violence, but ventured to act like bandits, +and killed him, as he slept, with the blow of a stone. For, hanging a +millstone above him, they cut its fastenings, and let it drop upon his +neck as he lay beneath. To expiate this crime it was decreed that each +of the ringleaders should pay twelve golden talents, while each of +the common people should pay Gotrik one ounce. Men called this "the +Fox-cub's tribute". (Refsgild). + +Meanwhile it befell that Karl, King of the Franks, crushed Germany in +war, and forced it not only to embrace the worship of Christianity, but +also to obey his authority. When Gotrik heard of this, he attacked the +nations bordering on the Elbe, and attempted to regain under his sway as +of old the realm of Saxony, which eagerly accepted the yoke of Karl, and +preferred the Roman to the Danish arms. Karl had at this time withdrawn +his victorious camp beyond the Rhine, and therefore forbore to engage +the stranger enemy, being prevented by the intervening river. But when +he was intending to cross once more to subdue the power of Gotrik, he +was summoned by Leo the Pope of the Romans to defend the city. + +Obeying this command, Karl intrusted his son Pepin with the conduct of +the war against Gotrik; so that while he himself was working against a +distant foe, Pepin might manage the conflict he had undertaken with his +neighbour. For Karl was distracted by two anxieties, and had to furnish +sufficient out of a scanty band to meet both of them. Meanwhile Gotrik +won a glorious victory over the Saxons. Then gathering new strength, and +mustering a larger body of forces, he resolved to avenge the wrong he +had suffered in losing his sovereignty, not only upon the Saxons, but +upon the whole people of Germany. He began by subduing Friesland with +his fleet. + +This province lies very low, and whenever the fury of the ocean bursts +the dykes that bar its waves, it is wont to receive the whole mass of +the deluge over its open plains. On this country Gotrik imposed a kind +of tribute, which was not so much harsh as strange. I will briefly +relate its terms and the manner of it. First, a building was arranged, +two hundred and forty feet in length, and divided into twelve spaces; +each of these stretching over an interval of twenty feet, and thus +making together, when the whole room was exhausted, the aforesaid total. +Now at the upper end of this building sat the king's treasurer, and in a +line with him at its further end was displayed a round shield. When the +Frisians came to pay tribute, they used to cast their coins one by one +into the hollow of this shield; but only those coins which struck the +ear of the distant toll-gatherer with a distinct clang were chosen by +him, as he counted, to be reckoned among the royal tribute. The result +was that the collector only reckoned that money towards the treasury of +which his distant ear caught the sound as it fell. But that of which the +sound was duller, and which fell out of his earshot, was received indeed +into the treasury, but did not count as any increase to the sum paid. +Now many coins that were cast in struck with no audible loudness +whatever on the collector's ear, so that men who came to pay their +appointed toll sometimes squandered much of their money in useless +tribute. Karl is said to have freed them afterwards from the burden of +this tax. After Gotrik had crossed Friesland, and Karl had now come back +from Rome, Gotrik determined to swoop down upon the further districts of +Germany, but was treacherously attacked by one of his own servants, and +perished at home by the sword of a traitor. When Karl heard this, he +leapt up overjoyed, declaring that nothing more delightful had ever +fallen to his lot than this happy chance. + + + ENDNOTES: + (1) Furthest Thule--The names of Icelanders have thus crept + into the account of a battle fought before the discovery of + Iceland. + + + + +BOOK NINE. + +After Gotrik's death reigned his son OLAF; who, desirous to avenge his +father, did not hesitate to involve his country in civil wars, putting +patriotism after private inclination. When he perished, his body was put +in a barrow, famous for the name of Olaf, which was built up close by +Leire. + +He was succeeded by HEMMING, of whom I have found no deed worthy of +record, save that he made a sworn peace with Kaiser Ludwig; and yet, +perhaps, envious antiquity hides many notable deeds of his time, albeit +they were then famous. + +After these men there came to the throne, backed by the Skanians and +Zealanders, SIWARD, surnamed RING. He was the son, born long ago, of the +chief of Norway who bore the same name, by Gotrik's daughter. Now Ring, +cousin of Siward, and also a grandson of Gotrik, was master of Jutland. +Thus the power of the single kingdom was divided; and, as though its two +parts were contemptible for their smallness, foreigners began not only +to despise but to attack it. These Siward assailed with greater hatred +than he did his rival for the throne; and, preferring wars abroad to +wars at home, he stubbornly defended his country against dangers for +five years; for he chose to put up with a trouble at home that he +might the more easily cure one which came from abroad. Wherefore Ring +(desiring his) command, seized the opportunity, tried to transfer the +whole sovereignty to himself, and did not hesitate to injure in his +own land the man who was watching over it without; for he attacked the +provinces in the possession of Siward, which was an ungrateful requital +for the defence of their common country. Therefore, some of the +Zealanders who were more zealous for Siward, in order to show him firmer +loyalty in his absence, proclaimed his son Ragnar as king, when he was +scarcely dragged out of his cradle. Not but what they knew he was too +young to govern; yet they hoped that such a gage would serve to rouse +their sluggish allies against Ring. But, when Ring heard that Siward had +meantime returned from his expedition, he attacked the Zealanders with a +large force, and proclaimed that they should perish by the sword if they +did not surrender; but the Zealanders, who were bidden to choose between +shame and peril, were so few that they distrusted their strength, and +requested a truce to consider the matter. It was granted; but, since it +did not seem open to them to seek the favour of Siward, nor honourable +to embrace that of Ring, they wavered long in perplexity between fear +and shame. In this plight even the old were at a loss for counsel; but +Ragnar, who chanced to be present at the assembly, said: "The short bow +shoots its shaft suddenly. Though it may seem the hardihood of a boy +that I venture to forestall the speech of the elders, yet I pray you +to pardon my errors, and be indulgent to my unripe words. Yet the +counsellor of wisdom is not to be spurned, though he seem contemptible; +for the teaching of profitable things should be drunk in with an open +mind. Now it is shameful that we should be branded as deserters and +runaways, but it is just as foolhardy to venture above our strength; +and thus there is proved to be equal blame either way. We must, then, +pretend to go over to the enemy, but, when a chance comes in our way, we +must desert him betimes. It will thus be better to forestall the wrath +of our foe by reigned obedience than, by refusing it, to give him a +weapon wherewith to attack us yet more harshly; for if we decline the +sway of the stronger, are we not simply turning his arms against our own +throat? Intricate devices are often the best nurse of craft. You need +cunning to trap a fox." By this sound counsel he dispelled the wavering +of his countrymen, and strengthened the camp of the enemy to its own +hurt. + +The assembly, marvelling at the eloquence as much as at the wit of one +so young, gladly embraced a proposal of such genius, which they thought +excellent beyond his years. Nor were the old men ashamed to obey the +bidding of a boy when they lacked counsel themselves; for, though it +came from one of tender years, it was full, notwithstanding, of weighty +and sound instruction. But they feared to expose their adviser to +immediate peril, and sent him over to Norway to be brought up. Soon +afterwards, Siward joined battle with Ring and attacked him. He slew +Ring, but himself received an incurable wound, of which he died a few +days afterwards. + +He was succeeded on the throne by RAGNAR. At this time Fro (Frey?), the +King of Sweden, after slaying Siward, the King of the Norwegians, put +the wives of Siward's kinsfolk in bonds in a brothel, and delivered +them to public outrage. When Ragnar heard of this, he went to Norway to +avenge his grandfather. As he came, many of the matrons, who had either +suffered insult to their persons or feared imminent peril to their +chastity, hastened eagerly to his camp in male attire, declaring that +they would prefer death to outrage. Nor did Ragnar, who was to punish +this reproach upon the women, scorn to use against the author of the +infamy the help of those whose shame he had come to avenge. Among them +was Ladgerda, a skilled amazon, who, though a maiden, had the courage +of a man, and fought in front among the bravest with her hair loose +over her shoulders. All-marvelled at her matchless deeds, for her locks +flying down her back betrayed that she was a woman. + +Ragnar, when he had justly cut down the murderer of his grandfather, +asked many questions of his fellow soldiers concerning the maiden whom +he had seen so forward in the fray, and declared that he had gained the +victory by the might of one woman. Learning that she was of noble birth +among the barbarians, he steadfastly wooed her by means of messengers. +She spurned his mission in her heart, but feigned compliance. Giving +false answers, she made her panting wooer confident that he would gain +his desires; but ordered that a bear and a dog should be set at the +porch of her dwelling, thinking to guard her own room against all the +ardour of a lover by means of the beasts that blocked the way. Ragnar, +comforted by the good news, embarked, crossed the sea, and, telling his +men to stop in Gaulardale, as the valley is called, went to the dwelling +of the maiden alone. Here the beasts met him, and he thrust one through +with a spear, and caught the other by the throat, wrung its neck, and +choked it. Thus he had the maiden as the prize of the peril he had +overcome. By this marriage he had two daughters, whose names have not +come down to us, and a son Fridleif. Then he lived three years at peace. + +The Jutlanders, a presumptuous race, thinking that because of his recent +marriage he would never return, took the Skanians into alliance, and +tried to attack the Zealanders, who preserved the most zealous and +affectionate loyalty towards Ragnar. He, when he heard of it, equipped +thirty ships, and, the winds favouring his voyage, crushed the Skanians, +who ventured to fight, near the stead of Whiteby, and when the winter +was over he fought successfully with the Jutlanders who dwelt near the +Liim-fjord in that region. A third and a fourth time he conquered the +Skanians and the Hallanders triumphantly. + +Afterwards, changing his love, and desiring Thora, the daughter of the +King Herodd, to wife, Ragnar divorced himself from Ladgerda; for he +thought ill of her trustworthiness, remembering that she had long ago +set the most savage beasts to destroy him. Meantime Herodd, the King +of the Swedes, happening to go and hunt in the woods, brought home some +snakes, found by his escort, for his daughter to rear. She speedily +obeyed the instructions of her father, and endured to rear a race of +adders with her maiden hands. Moreover, she took care that they should +daily have a whole ox-carcase to gorge upon, not knowing that she was +privately feeding and keeping up a public nuisance. The vipers grew up, +and scorched the country-side with their pestilential breath. Whereupon +the king, repenting of his sluggishness, proclaimed that whosoever +removed the pest should have his daughter. + +Many warriors were thereto attracted by courage as much as by desire; +but all idly and perilously wasted their pains. Ragnar, learning from +men who travelled to and fro how the matter stood, asked his nurse for +a woolen mantle, and for some thigh-pieces that were very hairy, with +which he could repel the snake-bites. He thought that he ought to use a +dress stuffed with hair to protect himself, and also took one that +was not unwieldy, that he might move nimbly. And when he had landed in +Sweden, he deliberately plunged his body in water, while there was a +frost falling, and, wetting his dress, to make it the less penetrable, +he let the cold freeze it. Thus attired, he took leave of his +companions, exhorted them to remain loyal to Fridleif, and went on to +the palace alone. When he saw it, he tied his sword to his side, +and lashed a spear to his right hand with a thong. As he went on, an +enormous snake glided up and met him. Another, equally huge, crawled up, +following in the trail of the first. They strove now to buffet the young +man with the coils of their tails, and now to spit and belch their venom +stubbornly upon him. Meantime the courtiers, betaking themselves to +safer hiding, watched the struggle from afar like affrighted little +girls. The king was stricken with equal fear, and fled, with a few +followers, to a narrow shelter. But Ragnar, trusting in the hardness of +his frozen dress, foiled the poisonous assaults not only with his arms, +but with his attire, and, singlehanded, in unweariable combat, stood +up against the two gaping creatures, who stubbornly poured forth their +venom upon him. For their teeth he repelled with his shield, their +poison with his dress. At last he cast his spear, and drove it against +the bodies of the brutes, who were attacking him hard. He pierced both +their hearts, and his battle ended in victory. + +After Ragnar had thus triumphed the king scanned his dress closely, +and saw that he was rough and hairy; but, above all, he laughed at the +shaggy lower portion of his garb, and chiefly the uncouth aspect of his +breeches; so that he gave him in jest the nickname of Lodbrog. Also he +invited him to feast with his friends, to refresh him after his labours. +Ragnar said that he would first go back to the witnesses whom he had +left behind. He set out and brought them back, splendidly attired for +the coming feast. At last, when the banquet was over, he received +the prize that was appointed for the victory. By her he begot two +nobly-gifted sons, Radbard and Dunwat. These also had brothers--Siward, +Biorn, Agnar, and Iwar. + +Meanwhile, the Jutes and Skanians were kindled with an unquenchable fire +of sedition; they disallowed the title of Ragnar, and gave a certain +Harald the sovereign power. Ragnar sent envoys to Norway, and besought +friendly assistance against these men; and Ladgerda, whose early love +still flowed deep and steadfast, hastily sailed off with her husband and +her son. She brought herself to offer a hundred and twenty ships to the +man who had once put her away. And he, thinking himself destitute of all +resources, took to borrowing help from folk of every age, crowded the +strong and the feeble all together, and was not ashamed to insert some +old men and boys among the wedges of the strong. So he first tried to +crush the power of the Skanians in the field which in Latin is called +Laneus (Woolly); here he had a hard fight with the rebels. Here, too, +Iwar, who was in his seventh year, fought splendidly, and showed the +strength of a man in the body of a boy. But Siward, while attacking the +enemy face to face, fell forward upon the ground wounded. When his men +saw this, it made them look round most anxiously for means of flight; +and this brought low not only Siward, but almost the whole army on the +side of Ragnar. But Ragnar by his manly deeds and exhortations comforted +their amazed and sunken spirits, and, just when they were ready to be +conquered, spurred them on to try and conquer. + +Ladgerda, who had a matchless spirit though a delicate frame, covered by +her splendid bravery the inclination of the soldiers to waver. For she +made a sally about, and flew round to the rear of the enemy, taking them +unawares, and thus turned the panic of her friends into the camp of the +enemy. At last the lines of HARALD became slack, and HARALD himself was +routed with a great slaughter of his men. LADGERDA, when she had gone +home after the battle, murdered her husband.... in the night with a +spear-head, which she had hid in her gown. Then she usurped the whole +of his name and sovereignty; for this most presumptuous dame thought +it pleasanter to rule without her husband than to share the throne with +him. + +Meantime, Siward was taken to a town in the neighbourhood, and gave +himself to be tended by the doctors, who were reduced to the depths of +despair. But while the huge wound baffled all the remedies they applied, +a certain man of amazing size was seen to approach the litter of the +sick man, and promised that Siward should straightway rejoice and be +whole, if he would consecrate unto him the souls of all whom he should +overcome in battle. Nor did he conceal his name, but said that he was +called Rostar. Now Siward, when he saw that a great benefit could be got +at the cost of a little promise, eagerly acceded to this request. Then +the old man suddenly, by the help of his hand, touched and banished the +livid spot, and suddenly scarred the wound over. At last he poured dust +on his eyes and departed. Spots suddenly arose, and the dust, to the +amaze of the beholders, seemed to become wonderfully like little snakes. + +I should think that he who did this miracle wished to declare, by +the manifest token of his eyes, that the young man was to be cruel in +future, in order that the more visible part of his body might not lack +some omen of his life that was to follow. When the old woman, who had +the care of his draughts, saw him showing in his face signs of little +snakes; she was seized with an extraordinary horror of the young man, +and suddenly fell and swooned away. Hence it happened that Siward got +the widespread name of Snake-Eye. + +Meantime Thora, the bride of Ragnar, perished of a violent malady, which +caused infinite trouble and distress to the husband, who dearly +loved his wife. This distress, he thought, would be best dispelled by +business, and he resolved to find solace in exercise and qualify his +grief by toil. To banish his affliction and gain some comfort, he bent +his thoughts to warfare, and decreed that every father of a family +should devote to his service whichever of his children he thought +most contemptible, or any slave of his who was lazy at his work or of +doubtful fidelity. And albeit that this decree seemed little fitted for +his purpose, he showed that the feeblest of the Danish race were better +than the strongest men of other nations; and it did the young men great +good, each of those chosen being eager to wipe off the reproach of +indolence. Also he enacted that every piece of litigation should be +referred to the judgment of twelve chosen elders, all ordinary methods +of action being removed, the accuser being forbidden to charge, and the +accused to defend. This law removed all chance of incurring litigation +lightly. Thinking that there was thus sufficient provision made against +false accusations by unscrupulous men, he lifted up his arms against +Britain, and attacked and slew in battle its king, Hame, the father of +Ella, who was a most noble youth. Then he killed the earls of Scotland +and of Pictland, and of the isles that they call the Southern or +Meridional (Sudr-eyar), and made his sons Siward and Radbard masters of +the provinces, which were now without governors. He also deprived Norway +of its chief by force, and commanded it to obey Fridleif, whom he also +set over the Orkneys, from which he took their own earl. + +Meantime, some of the Danes who were most stubborn in their hatred +against Ragnar were obstinately bent on rebellion. They rallied to the +side of Harald, once an exile, and tried to raise the fallen fortunes of +the tyrant. By this hardihood they raised up against the king the most +virulent blasts of civil war, and entangled him in domestic perils when +he was free from foreign troubles. Ragnar, setting out to check them +with a fleet of the Danes who lived in the isles, crushed the army of +the rebels, drove Harald, the leader of the conquered army, a fugitive +to Germany, and forced him to resign unbashfully an honour which he had +gained without scruple. Nor was he content simply to kill his prisoners: +he preferred to torture them to death, so that those who could not be +induced to forsake their disloyalty might not be so much as suffered to +give up the ghost save under the most grievous punishment. Moreover, the +estates of those who had deserted with Harald he distributed among those +who were serving as his soldiers, thinking that the fathers would be +worse punished by seeing the honour of their inheritance made over to +the children whom they had rejected, while those whom they had loved +better lost their patrimony. But even this did not sate his vengeance, +and he further determined to attack Saxony, thinking it the refuge of +his foes and the retreat of Harald. So, begging his sons to help him, he +came on Karl, who happened then to be tarrying on those borders of his +empire. Intercepting his sentries, he eluded the watch that was posted +on guard. But while he thought that all the rest would therefore be easy +and more open to his attacks, suddenly a woman who was a soothsayer, a +kind of divine oracle or interpreter of the will of heaven, warned the +king with a saving prophecy, and by her fortunate presage forestalled +the mischief that impended, saying that the fleet of Siward had moored +at the mouth of the river Seine. The emperor, heeding the warning, and +understanding that the enemy was at hand, managed to engage with and +stop the barbarians, who were thus pointed out to him. A battle was +fought with Ragnar; but Karl did not succeed as happily in the field +as he had got warning of the danger. And so that tireless conqueror of +almost all Europe, who in his calm and complete career of victory had +travelled over so great a portion of the world, now beheld his army, +which had vanquished all these states and nations, turning its face from +the field, and shattered by a handful from a single province. + +Ragnar, after loading the Saxons with tribute, had sure tidings from +Sweden of the death of Herodd, and also heard that his own sons, owing +to the slander of Sorle, the king chosen in his stead, had been robbed +of their inheritance. He besought the aid of the brothers Biorn, +Fridleif, and Ragbard (for Ragnald, Hwitserk, and Erik, his sons by +Swanloga, had not yet reached the age of bearing arms), and went to +Sweden. Sorle met him with his army, and offered him the choice between +a public conflict and a duel; and when Ragnar chose personal combat, he +sent against him Starkad, a champion of approved daring, with his band +of seven sons, to challenge and fight with him. Ragnar took his three +sons to share the battle with him, engaged in the sight of both armies, +and came out of the combat triumphant. + +Biorn, having inflicted great slaughter on the foe without hurt to +himself, gained from the strength of his sides, which were like iron, a +perpetual name (Ironsides). This victory emboldened Ragnar to hope that +he could overcome any peril, and he attacked and slew Sorle with the +entire forces he was leading. He presented Biorn with the lordship +of Sweden for his conspicuous bravery and service. Then for a little +interval he rested from wars, and chanced to fall deeply in love with +a certain woman. In order to find some means of approaching and winning +her the more readily, he courted her father (Esbern) by showing him the +most obliging and attentive kindness. He often invited him to banquets, +and received him with lavish courtesy. When he came, he paid him the +respect of rising, and when he sat, he honoured him with a set next to +himself. He also often comforted him with gifts, and at times with the +most kindly speech. The man saw that no merits of his own could be the +cause of all this distinction, and casting over the matter every way in +his mind, he perceived that the generosity of his monarch was caused +by his love for his daughter, and that he coloured this lustful purpose +with the name of kindness. But, that he might balk the cleverness of +the lover, however well calculated, he had the girl watched all the more +carefully that he saw her beset by secret aims and obstinate methods. +But Ragnar, who was comforted by the surest tidings of her consent, went +to the farmhouse in which she was kept, and fancying that love must +find out a way, repaired alone to a certain peasant in a neighbouring +lodging. In the morning he exchanged dress with the women, and went +in female attire, and stood by his mistress as she was unwinding wool. +Cunningly, to avoid betrayal, he set his hands to the work of a maiden, +though they were little skilled in the art. In the night he embraced +the maiden and gained his desire. When her time drew near, and the girl +growing big, betrayed her outraged chastity, the father, not knowing to +whom his daughter had given herself to be defiled, persisted in asking +the girl herself who was the unknown seducer. She steadfastly affirmed +that she had had no one to share her bed except her handmaid, and he +made the affair over to the king to search into. He would not allow an +innocent servant to be branded with an extraordinary charge, and was not +ashamed to prove another's innocence by avowing his own guilt. By this +generosity he partially removed the woman's reproach, and prevented an +absurd report from being sown in the ears of the wicked. Also he added, +that the son to be born of her was of his own line, and that he wished +him to be named Ubbe. When this son had grown up somewhat, his wit, +despite his tender years, equalled the discernment of manhood. For he +took to loving his mother, since she had had converse with a noble bed, +but cast off all respect for his father, because he had stooped to a +union too lowly. + +After this Ragnar prepared an expedition against the Hellespontines, +and summoned an assembly of the Danes, promising that he would give the +people most wholesome laws. He had enacted before that each father of +a household should offer for service that one among his sons whom he +esteemed least; but now he enacted that each should arm the son who was +stoutest of hand or of most approved loyalty. Thereon, taking all the +sons he had by Thora, in addition to Ubbe, he attacked, crushed in +sundry campaigns, and subdued the Hellespont with its king Dia. At last +he involved the same king in disaster after disaster, and slew him. +Dia's sons, Dia and Daxo, who had before married the daughters of the +Russian king, begged forces from their father-in-law, and rushed with +most ardent courage to the work of avenging their father. But Ragnar, +when he saw their boundless army, distrusted his own forces; and he put +brazen horses on wheels that could be drawn easily, took them round on +carriages that would turn, and ordered that they should be driven with +the utmost force against the thickest ranks of the enemy. This device +served so well to break the line of the foe, that the Danes' hope of +conquest seemed to lie more in the engine than in the soldiers: for its +insupportable weight overwhelmed whatever it struck. Thus one of the +leaders was killed, while one made off in flight, and the whole army +of the area of the Hellespont retreated. The Scythians, also, who were +closely related by blood to Daxo on the mother's side, are said to +have been crushed in the same disaster. Their province was made over +to Hwitserk, and the king of the Russians, trusting little in his own +strength, hastened to fly out of the reach of the terrible arms of +Ragnar. + +Now Ragnar had spent almost five years in sea-roving, and had quickly +compelled all other nations to submit; but he found the Perms in open +defiance of his sovereignty. He had just conquered them, but their +loyalty was weak. When they heard that he had come they cast spells upon +the sky, stirred up the clouds, and drove them into most furious storms. +This for some time prevented the Danes from voyaging, and caused their +supply of food to fail. Then, again, the storm suddenly abated, and now +they were scorched by the most fervent and burning heat; nor was this +plague any easier to bear than the great and violent cold had been. +Thus the mischievous excess in both directions affected their bodies +alternately, and injured them by an immoderate increase first of cold +and then of heat. Moreover, dysentery killed most of them. So the mass +of the Danes, being pent in by the dangerous state of the weather, +perished of the bodily plague that arose on every side. And when Ragnar +saw that he was hindered, not so much by a natural as by a factitious +tempest, he held on his voyage as best he could, and got to the country +of the Kurlanders and Sembs, who paid zealous honour to his might and +majesty, as if he were the most revered of conquerors. This service +enraged the king all the more against the arrogance of the men of +Permland, and he attempted to avenge his slighted dignity by a sudden +attack. Their king, whose name is not known, was struck with panic at +such a sudden invasion of the enemy, and at the same time had no heart +to join battle with them; and fled to Matul, the prince of Finmark. He, +trusting in the great skill of his archers, harassed with impunity the +army of Ragnar, which was wintering in Permland. For the Finns, who are +wont to glide on slippery timbers (snowskates), scud along at whatever +pace they will, and are considered to be able to approach or depart very +quickly; for as soon as they have damaged the enemy they fly away as +speedily as they approach, nor is the retreat they make quicker than +their charge. Thus their vehicles and their bodies are so nimble that +they acquire the utmost expertness both in advance and flight. + +Ragnar was filled with amazement at the poorness of his fortunes when +he saw that he, who had conquered Rome at its pinnacle of power, was +dragged by an unarmed and uncouth race into the utmost peril. He, +therefore, who had signally crushed the most glorious flower of the +Roman soldiery, and the forces of a most great and serene captain, now +yielded to a base mob with the poorest and slenderest equipment; and he +whose lustre in war the might of the strongest race on earth had failed +to tarnish, was now too weak to withstand the tiny band of a miserable +tribe. Hence, with that force which had helped him bravely to defeat the +most famous pomp in all the world and the weightiest weapon of military +power, and to subdue in the field all that thunderous foot, horse, and +encampment; with this he had now, stealthily and like a thief, to endure +the attacks of a wretched and obscure populace; nor must he blush to +stain by a treachery in the night that noble glory of his which had been +won in the light of day, for he took to a secret ambuscade instead +of open bravery. This affair was as profitable in its issue as it was +unhandsome in the doing. + +Ragnar was equally as well pleased at the flight of the Finns as he had +been at that of Karl, and owned that he had found more strength in that +defenceless people than in the best equipped soldiery; for he found the +heaviest weapons of the Romans easier to bear than the light darts of +this ragged tribe. Here, after killing the king of the Perms and routing +the king of the Finns, Ragnar set an eternal memorial of his victory +on the rocks, which bore the characters of his deeds on their face, and +looked down upon them. + +Meanwhile Ubbe was led by his grandfather, Esbern, to conceive an unholy +desire for the throne; and, casting away all thought of the reverence +due to his father, he claimed the emblem of royalty for his own head. + +When Ragnar heard of his arrogance from Kelther and Thorkill, the earls +of Sweden, he made a hasty voyage towards Gothland. Esbern, finding that +these men were attached with a singular loyalty to the side of Ragnar, +tried to bribe them to desert the king. But they did not swerve from +their purpose, and replied that their will depended on that of Biorn, +declaring that not a single Swede would dare to do what went against his +pleasure. Esbern speedily made an attempt on Biorn himself, addressing +him most courteously through his envoys. Biorn said that he would never +lean more to treachery than to good faith, and judged that it would be a +most abominable thing to prefer the favour of an infamous brother to the +love of a most righteous father. The envoys themselves he punished with +hanging, because they counselled him to so grievous a crime. The Swedes, +moreover, slew the rest of the train of the envoys in the same way, as +a punishment for their mischievous advice. So Esbern, thinking that his +secret and stealthy manoeuvres did not succeed fast enough, mustered his +forces openly, and went publicly forth to war. But Iwar, the governor of +Jutland, seeing no righteousness on either side of the impious conflict, +avoided all unholy war by voluntary exile. + +Ragnar attacked and slew Esbern in the bay that is called in Latin +Viridis; he cut off the dead man's head and bade it be set upon the +ship's prow, a dreadful sight for the seditious. But Ubbe took to +flight, and again attacked his father, having revived the war in +Zealand. Ubbe's ranks broke, and he was assailed single-handed from all +sides; but he felled so many of the enemy's line that he was surrounded +with a pile of the corpses of the foe as with a strong bulwark, +and easily checked his assailants from approaching. At last he was +overwhelmed by the thickening masses of the enemy, captured, and taken +off to be laden with public fetters. By immense violence he disentangled +his chains and cut them away. But when he tried to sunder and rend the +bonds that were (then) put upon him, he could not in any wise escape +his bars. But when Iwar heard that the rising in his country had been +quelled by the punishment of the rebel, he went to Denmark. Ragnar +received him with the greatest honour, because, while the unnatural +war had raged its fiercest, he had behaved with the most entire filial +respect. + +Meanwhile Daxo long and vainly tried to overcome Hwitserk, who ruled +over Sweden; but at last he enrapped him under pretence of making a +peace, and attacked him. Hwitserk received him hospitably, but Daxo had +prepared an army with weapons, who were to feign to be trading, ride +into the city in carriages, and break with a night-attack into the house +of their host. Hwitserk smote this band of robbers with such a slaughter +that he was surrounded with a heap of his enemies' bodies, and could +only be taken by letting down ladders from above. Twelve of his +companions, who were captured at the same time by the enemy, were given +leave to go back to their country; but they gave up their lives for +their king, and chose to share the dangers of another rather than be +quit of their own. + +Daxo, moved with compassion at the beauty of Hwitserk, had not the heart +to pluck the budding blossom of that noble nature, and offered him not +only his life, but his daughter in marriage, with a dowry of half his +kingdom; choosing rather to spare his comeliness than to punish his +bravery. But the other, in the greatness of his soul, valued as nothing +the life which he was given on sufferance, and spurned his safety as +though it were some trivial benefit. Of his own will he embraced the +sentence of doom, saying, that Ragnar would exact a milder vengeance +for his son if he found that he had made his own choice in selecting the +manner of his death. The enemy wondered at his rashness, and promised +that he should die by the manner of death which he should choose for +this punishment. This leave the young man accepted as a great kindness, +and begged that he might be bound and burned with his friends. Daxo +speedily complied with his prayers that craved for death, and by way of +kindness granted him the end that he had chosen. When Ragnar heard of +this, he began to grieve stubbornly even unto death, and not only put on +the garb of mourning, but, in the exceeding sorrow of his soul, took +to his bed and showed his grief by groaning. But his wife, who had more +than a man's courage, chid his weakness, and put heart into him with her +manful admonitions. Drawing his mind off from his woe, she bade him be +zealous in the pursuit of war; declaring that it was better for so brave +a father to avenge the bloodstained ashes of his son with weapons than +with tears. She also told him not to whimper like a woman, and get as +much disgrace by his tears as he had once earned glory by his valour. +Upon these words Ragnar began to fear lest he should destroy his ancient +name for courage by his womanish sorrow; so, shaking off his melancholy +garb and putting away his signs of mourning, he revived his sleeping +valour with hopes of speedy vengeance. Thus do the weak sometimes nerve +the spirits of the strong. So he put his kingdom in charge of Iwar, and +embraced with a father's love Ubbe, who was now restored to his ancient +favour. Then he transported his fleet over to Russia, took Daxo, bound +him in chains, and sent him away to be kept in Utgard. (1) + +Ragnar showed on this occasion the most merciful moderation towards the +slayer of his dearest son, since he sufficiently satisfied the vengeance +which he desired, by the exile of the culprit rather than his death. +This compassion shamed the Russians out of any further rage against +such a king, who could not be driven even by the most grievous wrongs +to inflict death upon his prisoners. Ragnar soon took Daxo back into +favour, and restored him to his country, upon his promising that he +would every year pay him his tribute barefoot, like a suppliant, +with twelve elders, also unshod. For he thought it better to punish +a prisoner and a suppliant gently, than to draw the axe of bloodshed; +better to punish that proud neck with constant slavery than to sever it +once and for all. Then he went on and appointed his son Erik, surnamed +Wind-hat, over Sweden. Here, while Fridleif and Siward were serving +under him, he found that the Norwegians and the Scots had wrongfully +conferred the title of king on two other men. So he first overthrew the +usurper to the power of Norway, and let Biorn have the country for his +own benefit. + +Then he summoned Biorn and Erik, ravaged the Orkneys, landed at last +on the territory of the Scots, and in a three-days' battle wearied out +their king Murial, and slew him. But Ragnar's sons, Dunwat and Radbard, +after fighting nobly, were slain by the enemy. So that the victory their +father won was stained with their blood. He returned to Denmark, and +found that his wife Swanloga had in the meantime died of disease. +Straightway he sought medicine for his grief in loneliness, and +patiently confined the grief of his sick soul within the walls of +his house. But this bitter sorrow was driven out of him by the sudden +arrival of Iwar, who had been expelled from the kingdom. For the Gauls +had made him fly, and had wrongfully bestowed royal power on a certain +Ella, the son of Hame. Ragnar took Iwar to guide him, since he was +acquainted with the country, gave orders for a fleet, and approached the +harbour called York. Here he disembarked his forces, and after a battle +which lasted three days, he made Ella, who had trusted in the valour of +the Gauls, desirous to fly. The affair cost much blood to the English +and very little to the Danes. Here Ragnar completed a year of conquest, +and then, summoning his sons to help him, he went to Ireland, slew +its king Melbrik, besieged Dublin, which was filled with wealth of the +barbarians, attacked it, and received its surrender. There he lay in +camp for a year; and then, sailing through the midland sea, he made his +way to the Hellespont. He won signal victories as he crossed all the +intervening countries, and no ill-fortune anywhere checked his steady +and prosperous advance. + +Harald, meanwhile, with the adherence of certain Danes who were +cold-hearted servants in the army of Ragnar, disturbed his country with +renewed sedition, and came forward claiming the title of king. He was +met by the arms of Ragnar returning from the Hellespont; but being +unsuccessful, and seeing that his resources of defence at home were +exhausted, he went to ask help of Ludwig, who was then stationed at +Mainz. But Ludwig, filled with the greatest zeal for promoting his +religion, imposed a condition on the Barbarian, promising him help if he +would agree to follow the worship of Christ. For he said there could +be no agreement of hearts between those who embraced discordant creeds. +Anyone, therefore, who asked for help, must first have a fellowship in +religion. No men could be partners in great works who were separated by +a different form of worship. This decision procured not only salvation +for Ludwig's guest, but the praise of piety for Ludwig himself, who, as +soon as Harald had gone to the holy font, accordingly strengthened him +with Saxon auxiliaries. Trusting in these, Harald built a temple in the +land of Sleswik with much care and cost, to be hallowed to God. Thus +he borrowed a pattern of the most holy way from the worship of Rome. He +unhallowed, pulled down the shrines that had been profaned by the error +of misbelievers, outlawed the sacrificers, abolished the (heathen) +priesthood, and was the first to introduce the religion of Christianity +to his uncouth country. Rejecting the worship of demons, he was zealous +for that of God. Lastly, he observed with the most scrupulous care +whatever concerned the protection of religion. But he began with more +piety than success. For Ragnar came up, outraged the holy rites he had +brought in, outlawed the true faith, restored the false one to its old +position, and bestowed on the ceremonies the same honour as before. As +for Harald, he deserted and cast in his lot with sacrilege. For though +he was a notable ensample by his introduction of religion, yet he was +the first who was seen to neglect it, and this illustrious promoter of +holiness proved a most infamous forsaker of the same. + +Meanwhile, Ella betook himself to the Irish, and put to the sword or +punished all those who were closely and loyally attached to Ragnar. Then +Ragnar attacked him with his fleet, but, by the just visitation of the +Omnipotent, was openly punished for disparaging religion. For when he +had been taken and cast into prison, his guilty limbs were given to +serpents to devour, and adders found ghastly substance in the fibres +of his entrails. His liver was eaten away, and a snake, like a deadly +executioner, beset his very heart. Then in a courageous voice he +recounted all his deeds in order, and at the end of his recital added +the following sentence: "If the porkers knew the punishment of the +boar-pig, surely they would break into the sty and hasten to loose him +from his affliction." At this saying, Ella conjectured that some of his +sons were yet alive, and bade that the executioners should stop and the +vipers be removed. The servants ran up to accomplish his bidding; but +Ragnar was dead, and forestalled the order of the king. Surely we must +say that this man had a double lot for his share? By one, he had a fleet +unscathed, an empire well-inclined, and immense power as a rover; while +the other inflicted on him the ruin of his fame, the slaughter of his +soldiers, and a most bitter end. The executioner beheld him beset with +poisonous beasts, and asps gorging on that heart which he had borne +steadfast in the face of every peril. Thus a most glorious conqueror +declined to the piteous lot of a prisoner; a lesson that no man should +put too much trust in fortune. + +Iwar heard of this disaster as he happened to be looking on at the +games. Nevertheless, he kept an unmoved countenance, and in nowise broke +down. Not only did he dissemble his grief and conceal the news of +his father's death, but he did not even allow a clamour to arise, and +forbade the panic-stricken people to leave the scene of the sports. +Thus, loth to interrupt the spectacle by the ceasing of the games, +he neither clouded his countenance nor turned his eyes from public +merriment to dwell upon his private sorrow; for he would not fall +suddenly into the deepest melancholy from the height of festal joy, or +seem to behave more like an afflicted son than a blithe captain. + +But when Siward heard the same tidings, he loved his father more than he +cared for his own pain, and in his distraction plunged deeply into his +foot the spear he chanced to be holding, dead to all bodily troubles in +his stony sadness. For he wished to hurt some part of his body severely, +that he might the more patiently bear the wound in his soul. By this act +he showed at once his bravery and his grief, and bore his lot like a son +who was more afflicted and steadfast. But Biorn received the tidings +of his father's death while he was playing at dice, and squeezed so +violently the piece that he was grasping that he wrung the blood from +his fingers and shed it on the table; whereon he said that assuredly +the cast of fate was more fickle than that of the very die which he was +throwing. When Ella heard this, he judged that his father's death had +been borne with the toughest and most stubborn spirit by that son of the +three who had paid no filial respect to his decease; and therefore he +dreaded the bravery of Iwar most. + +Iwar went towards England, and when he saw that his fleet was not strong +enough to join battle with the enemy, he chose to be cunning rather than +bold, and tried a shrewd trick on Ella, begging as a pledge of peace +between them a strip of land as great as he could cover with a horse's +hide. He gained his request, for the king supposed that it would cost +little, and thought himself happy that so strong a foe begged for a +little boon instead of a great one; supposing that a tiny skin would +cover but a very little land. But Iwar cut the hide out and lengthened +it into very slender thongs, thus enclosing a piece of ground large +enough to build a city on. Then Ella came to repent of his lavishness, +and tardily set to reckoning the size of the hide, measuring the little +skin more narrowly now that it was cut up than when it was whole. For +that which he had thought would encompass a little strip of ground, he +saw lying wide over a great estate. Iwar brought into the city, when +he founded it, supplies that would serve amply for a siege, wishing the +defences to be as good against scarcity as against an enemy. + +Meantime, Siward and Biorn came up with a fleet of 400 ships, and with +open challenge declared war against the king. This they did at the +appointed time; and when they had captured him, they ordered the +figure of an eagle to be cut in his back, rejoicing to crush their most +ruthless foe by marking him with the cruellest of birds. Not satisfied +with imprinting a wound on him, they salted the mangled flesh. Thus Ella +was done to death, and Biorn and Siward went back to their own kingdoms. + +Iwar governed England for two years. Meanwhile the Danes were stubborn +in revolt, and made war, and delivered the sovereignty publicly to a +certain SIWARD and to ERIK, both of the royal line. The sons of Ragnar, +together with a fleet of 1,700 ships, attacked them at Sleswik, and +destroyed them in a conflict which lasted six months. Barrows remain to +tell the tale. The sound on which the war was conducted has gained +equal glory by the death of Siward. And now the royal stock was almost +extinguished, saving only the sons of Ragnar. Then, when Biorn and Erik +had gone home, Iwar and Siward settled in Denmark, that they might curb +the rebels with a stronger rein, setting Agnar to govern England. +Agnar was stung because the English rejected him, and, with the help +of Siward, chose, rather than foster the insolence of the province that +despised him, to dispeople it and leave its fields, which were matted in +decay, with none to till them. He covered the richest land of the island +with the most hideous desolation, thinking it better to be lord of a +wilderness than of a headstrong country. After this he wished to avenge +Erik, who had been slain in Sweden by the malice of a certain Osten. But +while he was narrowly bent on avenging another, he squandered his +own blood on the foe; and while he was eagerly trying to punish the +slaughter of his brother, sacrificed his own life to brotherly love. + +Thus SIWARD, by the sovereign vote of the whole Danish assembly, +received the empire of his father. But after the defeats he had +inflicted everywhere he was satisfied with the honour he received at +home, and liked better to be famous with the gown than with the sword. +He ceased to be a man of camps, and changed from the fiercest of despots +into the most punctual guardian of peace. He found as much honour in +ease and leisure as he had used to think lay in many victories. Fortune +so favoured his change of pursuits, that no foe ever attacked him, nor +he any foe. He died, and ERIK, who was a very young child, inherited his +nature, rather than his realm or his tranquillity. For Erik, the brother +of Harald, despising his exceedingly tender years, invaded the country +with rebels, and seized the crown; nor was he ashamed to assail the +lawful infant sovereign, and to assume an unrightful power. In thus +bringing himself to despoil a feeble child of the kingdom he showed +himself the more unworthy of it. Thus he stripped the other of his +throne, but himself of all his virtues, and cast all manliness out of +his heart, when he made war upon a cradle: for where covetousness and +ambition flamed, love of kindred could find no place. But this brutality +was requited by the wrath of a divine vengeance. For the war between +this man and Gudorm, the son of Harald, ended suddenly with such +slaughter that they were both slain, with numberless others; and the +royal stock of the Danes, now worn out by the most terrible massacres, +was reduced to the only son of the above Siward. + +This man (Erik) won the fortune of a throne by losing his kindred; it +was luckier for him to have his relations dead than alive. He forsook +the example of all the rest, and hastened to tread in the steps of his +grandfather; for he suddenly came out as a most zealous practitioner of +roving. And would that he had not shown himself rashly to inherit +the spirit of Ragnar, by his abolition of Christian worship! For he +continually tortured all the most religious men, or stripped them of +their property and banished them. But it were idle for me to blame the +man's beginnings when I am to praise his end. For that life is more +laudable of which the foul beginning is checked by a glorious close, +than that which begins commendably but declines into faults and +infamies. For Erik, upon the healthy admonitions of Ansgarius, laid +aside the errors of his impious heart, and atoned for whatsoever he had +done amiss in the insolence thereof; showing himself as strong in the +observance of religion as he had been in slighting it. Thus he not only +took a draught of more wholesome teaching with obedient mind, but wiped +off early stains by his purity at the end. He had a son KANUTE by the +daughter of Gudorm, who was also the granddaughter of Harald; and him he +left to survive his death. + +While this child remained in infancy a guardian was required for the +pupil and for the realm. But inasmuch it seemed to most people either +invidious or difficult to give the aid that this office needed, it +was resolved that a man should be chosen by lot. For the wisest of the +Danes, fearing much to make a choice by their own will in so lofty +a matter, allowed more voice to external chance than to their own +opinions, and entrusted the issue of the selection rather to luck than +to sound counsel. The issue was that a certain Enni-gnup (Steep-brow), +a man of the highest and most entire virtue, was forced to put his +shoulder to this heavy burden; and when he entered on the administration +which chalice had decreed, he oversaw, not only the early rearing of the +king, but the affairs of the whole people. For which reason some who +are little versed in our history give this man a central place in its +annals. But when Kanute had passed through the period of boyhood, +and had in time grown to be a man, he left those who had done him the +service of bringing him up, and turned from an almost hopeless youth +to the practice of unhoped-for virtue; being deplorable for this reason +only, that he passed from life to death without the tokens of the +Christian faith. + +But soon the sovereignty passed to his son FRODE. This man's fortune, +increased by arms and warfare, rose to such a height of prosperity +that he brought back to the ancient yoke the provinces which had once +revolted from the Danes, and bound them in their old obedience. He also +came forward to be baptised with holy water in England, which had for +some while past been versed in Christianity. But he desired that his +personal salvation should overflow and become general, and begged that +Denmark should be instructed in divinity by Agapete, who was then Pope +of Rome. But he was cut off before his prayers attained this wish. His +death befell before the arrival of the messengers from Rome: and indeed +his intention was better than his fortune, and he won as great a reward +in heaven for his intended piety as others are vouchsafed for their +achievement. + +His son GORM, who had the surname of "The Englishman," because he was +born in England, gained the sovereignty in the island on his father's +death; but his fortune, though it came soon, did not last long. He left +England for Denmark to put it in order; but a long misfortune was the +fruit of this short absence. For the English, who thought that their +whole chance of freedom lay in his being away, planned an open revolt +from the Danes, and in hot haste took heart to rebel. But the greater +the hatred and contempt of England, the greater the loyal attachment of +Denmark to the king. Thus while he stretched out his two hands to both +provinces in his desire for sway, he gained one, but lost the lordship +of the other irretrievably; for he never made any bold effort to regain +it. So hard is it to keep a hold on very large empires. + +After this man his son HARALD came to be king of Denmark; he is +half-forgotten by posterity, and lacks all record for famous deeds, +because he rather preserved than extended the possessions of the realm. + +After this the throne was obtained by GORM, a man whose soul was ever +hostile to religion, and who tried to efface all regard for Christ's +worshippers, as though they were the most abominable of men. All those +who shared this rule of life he harassed with divers kinds of injuries +and incessantly pursued with whatever slanders he could. Also, in +order to restore the old worship to the shrines, he razed to its lowest +foundations, as though it were some unholy abode of impiety, a temple +which religious men had founded in a stead in Sleswik; and those whom +he did not visit with tortures he punished by the demolition of the holy +chapel. Though this man was thought notable for his stature, his mind +did not answer to his body; for he kept himself so well sated with power +that he rejoiced more in saving than increasing his dignity, and thought +it better to guard his own than to attack what belonged to others: +caring more to look to what he had than to swell his havings. + +This man was counselled by the elders to celebrate the rites of +marriage, and he wooed Thyra, the daughter of Ethelred, the king of +the English, for his wife. She surpassed other women in seriousness +and shrewdness, and laid the condition on her suitor that she would not +marry him till she had received Denmark as a dowry. This compact was +made between them, and she was betrothed to Gorm. But on the first night +that she went up on to the marriage-bed, she prayed her husband most +earnestly that she should be allowed to go for three days free from +intercourse with man. For she resolved to have no pleasure of love till +she had learned by some omen in a vision that her marriage would +be fruitful. Thus, under pretence of self-control, she deferred her +experience of marriage, and veiled under a show of modesty her wish to +learn about her issue. She put off lustful intercourse, inquiring, under +the feint of chastity, into the fortune she would have in continuing +her line. Some conjecture that she refused the pleasures of the nuptial +couch in order to win her mate over to Christianity by her abstinence. +But the youth, though he was most ardently bent on her love, yet chose +to regard the continence of another more than his own desires, and +thought it nobler to control the impulses of the night than to +rebuff the prayers of his weeping mistress; for he thought that her +beseechings, really coming from calculation, had to do with modesty. +Thus it befell that he who should have done a husband's part made +himself the guardian of her chastity so that the reproach of an infamous +mind should not be his at the very beginning of his marriage; as +though he had yielded more to the might of passion than to his own +self-respect. Moreover that he might not seem to forestall by his +lustful embraces the love which the maiden would not grant, he not only +forbore to let their sides that were next one another touch, but even +severed them by his drawn sword, and turned the bed into a divided +shelter for his bride and himself. But he soon tasted in the joyous form +of a dream the pleasure which he postponed from free loving kindness. +For, when his spirit was steeped in slumber, he thought that two birds +glided down from the privy parts of his wife, one larger than the other; +that they poised their bodies aloft and soared swiftly to heaven, and, +when a little time had elapsed, came back and sat on either of his +hands. A second, and again a third time, when they had been refreshed +by a short rest, they ventured forth to the air with outspread wings. +At last the lesser of them came back without his fellow, and with wings +smeared with blood. He was amazed with this imagination, and, being in a +deep sleep, uttered a cry to betoken his astonishment, filling the whole +house with an uproarious shout. When his servants questioned him, he +related his vision; and Thyra, thinking that she would be blest with +offspring, forbore her purpose to put off her marriage, eagerly relaxing +the chastity for which she had so hotly prayed. Exchanging celibacy +for love, she granted her husband full joy of herself, requiting his +virtuous self-restraint with the fulness of permitted intercourse, and +telling him that she would not have married him at all, had she not +inferred from these images in the dream which he had related, the +certainty of her being fruitful. + +By a device as cunning as it was strange, Thyra's pretended modesty +passed into an acknowledgment of her future offspring. Nor did fate +disappoint her hopes. Soon she was the fortunate mother of Kanute and +Harald. When these princes had attained man's estate, they put forth a +fleet and quelled the reckless insolence of the Sclavs. Neither did +they leave England free from an attack of the same kind. Ethelred was +delighted with their spirit, and rejoiced at the violence his nephews +offered him; accepting an abominable wrong as though it were the richest +of benefits. For he saw far more merit in their bravery than in piety. +Thus he thought it nobler to be attacked by foes than courted by +cowards, and felt that he saw in their valiant promise a sample of their +future manhood. + +For he could not doubt that they would some day attack foreign realms, +since they so boldly claimed those of their mother. He so much preferred +their wrongdoing to their service, that he passed over his daughter, and +bequeathed England in his will to these two, not scrupling to set the +name of grandfather before that of father. Nor was he unwise; for he +knew that it beseemed men to enjoy the sovereignty rather than women, +and considered that he ought to separate the lot of his unwarlike +daughter from that of her valiant sons. Hence Thyra saw her sons +inheriting the goods of her father, not grudging to be disinherited +herself. For she thought that the preference above herself was +honourable to her, rather than insulting. + +Kanute and Harald enriched themselves with great gains from sea-roving, +and most confidently aspired to lay hands on Ireland. Dublin, which was +considered the capital of the country, was beseiged. Its king went into +a wood adjoining the city with a few very skilled archers, and with +treacherous art surrounded Kanute (who was present with a great throng +of soldiers witnessing the show of the games by night), and aimed a +deadly arrow at him from afar. It struck the body of the king in front, +and pierced him with a mortal wound. But Kanute feared that the enemy +would greet his peril with an outburst of delight. He therefore wished +his disaster to be kept dark; and summoning voice with his last breath, +he ordered the games to be gone through without disturbance. By this +device he made the Danes masters of Ireland ere he made his own death +known to the Irish. + +Who would not bewail the end of such a man, whose self-mastery served to +give the victory to his soldiers, by reason of the wisdom that outlasted +his life? For the safety of the Danes was most seriously endangered, and +was nearly involved in the most deadly peril; yet because they obeyed +the dying orders of their general they presently triumphed over those +they feared. + +Germ had now reached the extremity of his days, having been blind for +many years, and had prolonged his old age to the utmost bounds of the +human lot, being more anxious for the life and prosperity of his sons +than for the few days he had to breathe. But so great was his love +for his elder son that he swore that he would slay with his own hand +whosoever first brought him news of his death. As it chanced, Thyra +heard sure tidings that this son had perished. But when no man durst +openly hint this to Germ, she fell back on her cunning to defend her, +and revealed by her deeds the mischance which she durst not speak +plainly out. For she took the royal robes off her husband and dressed +him in filthy garments, bringing him other signs of grief also, to +explain the cause of her mourning; for the ancients were wont to use +such things in the performance of obsequies, bearing witness by their +garb to the bitterness of their sorrow. Then said Germ: "Dost thou +declare to me the death of Kanute?" (2) And Thyra said: "That is +proclaimed by thy presage, not by mine." By this answer she made out her +lord a dead man and herself a widow, and had to lament her husband as +soon as her son. Thus, while she announced the fate of her son to her +husband, she united them in death, and followed the obsequies of both +with equal mourning; shedding the tears of a wife upon the one and of +a mother upon the other; though at that moment she ought to have been +cheered with comfort rather than crushed with disasters. + + + ENDNOTES: + (1) Utgard. Saxo, rationalising as usual, turns the mythical + home of the giants into some terrestrial place in his + vaguely-defined Eastern Europe. + (2) Kanute. Here the vernacular is far finer. The old king + notices "Denmark is drooping, dead must my son be!", puts on + the signs of mourning, and dies. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Danish History, Books I-IX, by +Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Learned") + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DANISH HISTORY, BOOKS I-IX *** + +***** This file should be named 1150.txt or 1150.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/1/5/1150/ + +Produced by Douglas B. Killings and David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |