Heimskringla, or the Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Part 69

The vows by Svein solemnly given, On holy bones of saints in heaven, To Magnus seemed both fair and fast; He found they were too fair to last."

Earl Svein went thereafter to Denmark, and the whole nation received him well. He established a court about him, and soon became a great man.

In winter (A.D. 1043), he went much about the country, and made friends among the powerful chiefs; and, indeed, he was beloved by all the people of the land.

25. KING MAGNUS'S FORAY.

King Magnus proceeded northward to Norway with his fleet, and wintered there; but when the spring set in (A.D. 1048) he gathered a large force, with which he sailed south to Demnark, having heard the news from Vindland that the Vindland people in Jomsborg had withdrawn from their submission to him. The Danish kings had formerly had a very large earldom there, and they first founded Jomsborg; and now the place was become a very strong fortress. When King Magnus heard of this, he ordered a large fleet and army to be levied in Denmark, and sailed in summer to Vindland with all his forces, which made a very large army altogether. Arnor, the earls' skald, tells of it thus:--

"Now in this strophe, royal youth!

I tell no more than the plain truth.

Thy armed outfit from the strand Left many a keel-trace on the sand, And never did a king before SO many s.h.i.+ps to any sh.o.r.e Lead on, as thou to Vindland's isle: The Vindland men in fright recoil."

Now when King Magnus came to Vindland he attacked Jomsborg, and soon took the fortress, killing' many people, burning and destroying both in the town and in the courttry all around, and making the greatest havoc.

So says Arnor, the earl's skald:--

"The robbers, hemmed 'twixt death and fire, Knew not how to escape thy ire; O'er Jomsborg castle's highest towers Thy wrath the whirlwind-fire pours.

The heathen on his false G.o.ds calls, And trembles even in their halls; And by the light from its own flame The king this viking-hold o'ercame."

Many people in Vindland submitted to King Magnus, but many more got out of the way and fled. King Magnus returned to Denmark, and prepared to take his winter abode there, and sent away the Danish, and also a great many of the Norwegian people he had brought with him.

26. SVEIN RECEIVES THE t.i.tLE OF KING.

The same winter (A.D. 1043), in which Svein Ulfson was raised to the government of the whole Danish dominions, and had made friends of a great number of the princ.i.p.al chiefs in Denmark, and obtained the affections of the people, he a.s.sumed by the advice of many of the chiefs the t.i.tle of king. But when in the spring thereafter he heard that King Magnus had come from the north with a great army, Svein went over to Scania, from thence up to Gautland, and so on to Svithjod to his relation, King Emund, where he remained all summer, and sent spies out to Denmark, to inquire about the king's proceedings and the number of his men. Now when Svein heard that King Magnus had let a great part of his army go away, and also that he was south in Jutland, he rode from Svithjod with a great body of peopie which the Swedish king had given him. When Svein came to Scania the people of that country received him well, treated him as their king, and men joined him in crowds. He then went on to Seeland, where he was also well received, and the whole country joined him. He then went to Fyen, and laid all the islands under his power; and as the people also joined him, he collected a great army and many s.h.i.+ps of war.

27. OF KING MAGNUS'S MILITARY FORCE.

King Magnus heard this news, and at the same time that the people of Vindland had a large force on foot. He summoned people therefore to come to him, and drew together a great army in Jutland. Otto, also, the Duke of Brunsvik, who had married Ulfhild, King Olaf the Saint's daughter, and the sister of King Magnus, came to him with a great troop. The Danish chiefs pressed King Magnus to advance against the Vindland army, and not allow pagans to march over and lay waste the country; so it was resolved that the king with his army should proceed south to Heidaby.

While King Magnus lay at s...o...b..rg river, on Hlyrskog Heath, he got intelligence concerning the Vindland army, and that it was so numerous it could not be counted; whereas King Magnus had so few, that there seemed no chance for him but to fly. The king, however, determined on fighting, if there was any possibility of gaining the victory; but the most dissuaded him from venturing on an engagement, and all, as one man, said that the Vindland people had undoubtedly a prodigious force. Duke Otto, however, pressed much to go to battle. Then the king ordered the whole army to be gathered by the war trumpets into battle array, and ordered all the men to arm, and to lie down for the night under their s.h.i.+elds; for he was told the enemy's army had come to the neighbourhood.

The king was very thoughtful; for he was vexed that he should be obliged to fly, which fate he had never experienced before. He slept but little all night, and chanted his prayers.

28. OF KING OLAF'S MIRACLE.

The following day was Michaelmas eve. Towards dawn the king slumbered, and dreamt that his father, King Olaf the Saint, appeared to him, and said, "Art thou so melancholy and afraid, because the Vindland people come against thee with a great army? Be not afraid of heathens, although they be many; for I shall be with thee in the battle. Prepare, therefore, to give battle to the Vindlanders, when thou hearest my trumpet." When the king awoke he told his dream to his men, and the day was then dawning. At that moment all the people heard a ringing of bells in the air; and those among King Magnus's men who had been in Nidaros thought that it was the ringing of the bell called Glod, which King Olaf had presented to the church of Saint Clement in the town of Nidaros.

29. BATTLE OF HLYRSKOG HEATH.

Then King Magnus stood up, and ordered the war trumpets to sound, and at that moment the Vindland army advanced from the south across the river against him; on which the whole of the king's army stood up, and advanced against the heathens. King Magnus threw off from him his coat of ring-mail, and had a red silk s.h.i.+rt outside over his clothes, and had in his hands the battle-axe called Hel (1), which had belonged to King Olaf. King Magnus ran on before all his men to the enemy's army, and instantly hewed down with both hands every man who came against him. So says Arnor, the earls' skald:--

"His armour on the ground he flung His broad axe round his head he swung; And Norway's king strode on in might, Through ringing swords, to the wild fight.

His broad axe Hel with both hands wielding, s.h.i.+elds, helms, and skulls before it yielding, He seemed with Fate the world to share, And life or death to deal out there."

This battle was not very long; for the king's men were very fiery, and where they came the Vindland men fell as thick as tangles heaped up by the waves on the strand. They who stood behind betook themselves to flight, and were hewed down like cattle at a slaughter. The king himself drove the fugitives eastward over the heath, and people fell all over the moor. So says Thiodolf:--

"And foremost he pursued, And the flying foe down hewed; An eagle's feast each stroke, As the Vindland helms he broke.

He drove them o'er the hearth, And they fly from b.l.o.o.d.y death; But the moor, a mile or more, With the dead was studded o'er."

It is a common saying, that there never was so great a slaughter of men in the northern lands, since the time of Christianity, as took place among the Vindland people on Hlyrskog's Heath. On the other side, not many of King Magnus's people were killed, although many were wounded.

After the battle the king ordered the wounds of his men to be bound; but there were not so many doctors in the army as were necessary, so the king himself went round, and felt the hands of those he thought best suited for the business; and when he had thus stroked their palms, he named twelve men, who, he thought, had the softest hands, and told them to bind the wounds of the people; and although none of them had ever tried it before, they all became afterwards the best of doctors. There were two Iceland men among them; the one was Thorkil, a son of Geire, from Lyngar; the other was Atle, father of Bard Svarte of Selardal, from whom many good doctors are descended. After this battle, the report of the miracle which King Olaf the Saint had worked was spread widely through the country; and it was the common saying of the people, that no man could venture to fight against King Magnus Olafson, for his father Saint Olaf stood so near to him that his enemies, on that account, never could do him harm.

ENDNOTES: (1) Hel--Death: the G.o.ddess of Death.--L.

30. BATTLE AT RE.

King Magnus immediately turned round with his army against Svein, whom he called his earl, although the Danes called him their king; and he collected s.h.i.+ps, and a great force, and on both sides a great strength was a.s.sembled. In Svein's army were many chiefs from Scania, Halland, Seeland, and Fyen; while King Magnus, on the other hand, had mostly Norway and Jutland men, and with that war-force he hastened to meet Svein. They met at Re, near Vestland; and there was a great battle, which ended in King Magnus gaining the victory, and Svein taking flight.

After losing many people, Svein fled back to Scania, and from thence to Gautland, which was a safe refuge if he needed it, and stood open to him. King Magnus returned to Jutland, where he remained all winter (A.D.

1044) with many people, and had a guard to watch his s.h.i.+ps. Arnor, the earls' skald, speaks of this:--

"At Re our battle-loving lord In b.l.o.o.d.y meeting stained his sword,-- At Re upon the western sh.o.r.e, In Vestland warrior's blood once more."

31. BATTLE AT AROS.

Svein Ulfson went directly to his s.h.i.+ps as soon as he heard that King Magnus had left his fleet. He drew to him all the men he could, and went round in winter among the islands, Seeland, Fyen, and others. Towards Yule he sailed to Jutland, and went into Limfjord, where many people submitted to him. He imposed scat upon some, but some joined King Magnus. Now when King Magnus heard what Svein was doing, he betook himself to his s.h.i.+ps with all the Northmen then in Denmark, and a part of the Danish troops, and steered south along the land. Svein was then in Aros with a great force; and when he heard of King Magnus he laid his vessels without the town, and prepared for battle. When King Magnus heard for certain where Svein was, and that the distance between them was but short, he held a House-thing, and addressed his people thus: "It is reported to me that the earl and his fleet are lying not far from us, and that he has many people. Now I would let you know that I intend to go out against the earl and fight for it, although, we have fewer people. We will, as formerly, put our trust in G.o.d, and Saint Olaf, my father, who has given us victory sometimes when we fought, even though we had fewer men than the enemy. Now I would have you get ready to seek out the enemy, and give battle the moment we find him by rowing all to attack, and being all ready for battle." Thereupon the men put on their weapons, each man making himself and his place ready; and then they stretched themselves to their oars. When they saw the earl's s.h.i.+ps they rowed towards them, and made ready to attack. When Svein's men saw the forces they armed themselves, bound their s.h.i.+ps together, and then began one of the sharpest of battles. So says Thiodolf, the skald:--

"s.h.i.+eld against s.h.i.+eld, the earl and king Made s.h.i.+elds and swords together ring.

The gold-decked heroes made a play Which Hild's iron-s.h.i.+rt men say They never saw before or since On battle-deck; the brave might wince, As spear and arrow whistling flew, Point blank, death-bringing, quick and true."

They fought at the bows, so that the men only on the bows could strike; the men on the forecastle thrust with spears: and all who were farther off shot with light spears or javelins, or war-arrows. Some fought with stones or short stakes; and those who were aft of the mast shot with the bow. So Says Thiodolf:--

"Steel-pointed spear, and sharpened stake, Made the broad s.h.i.+eld on arm shake: The eagle, hovering in the air, Screamed o'er the prey preparing there.

And stones and arrows quickly flew, And many a warrior bold they slew.

The bowman never tw.a.n.ged his bow And drew his shaft so oft as now; And Throndhjem's bowmen on that day Were not the first tired of this play: Arrows and darts so quickly fly, You could not follow with the eye."

Here it appears how hot the battle was with casting weapons. King Magnus stood in the beginning of the battle within a s.h.i.+eld-rampart; but as it appeared to him that matters were going on too slowly, he leaped over the s.h.i.+elds, and rushed forward in the s.h.i.+p, encouraging his men with a loud cheer, and springing to the bows, where the battle was going on hand to hand. When his men saw this they urged each other on with mutual cheering, and there was one great hurrah through all the s.h.i.+ps. So says Thiodolf:--

"'On with our s.h.i.+ps! on to the foe!'

Cry Magnus' men--on, on they go.

Spears against s.h.i.+elds in fury rattle,-- Was never seen so fierce a battle."