HOW THE CHIEFS WERE BAPTIZED.
For a moment the chiefs stared at the King, incredulous and amazed.
Then, as they caught the meaning of his ironic speech, the four men
he had named leaped to their feet, and an angry roar went up from
all. Olaf's uplifted hand stilled the murmur.
"Wait! You do not seem so eager for the companionship of your gods;
can it be that you doubt their power to save you? If that is really
the case, and you wish to release me from that oath of mine, I will
be right glad to have you all baptized, and believe in the mighty,
gentle and kind God whom I and my men serve."
At these words Sigurd blew his horn, and the doors in the side of the
hall flew open. His men brought in the spoils of the Ladi temple and
laid them at Olaf's feet, while other armed men filed silently into
the room.
"Here," exclaimed Olaf, pointing to the temple utensils and
trappings, "you see how powerless your gods are to save their
belongings! Now think it over, while my men watch the doors; I will
return in a few minutes."
With these words he left the hall, followed by Sigurd. Outside the
door he gripped the boy's arm joyfully, and was about to speak when
an indignant voice broke on their ears:
"What is this tale I hear, King Olaf?"
Looking up they saw before them the old English Bishop, Sigurd, clad
in his vestments. His face was stern and cold as Olaf bowed to him.
"Is this tale true? That you hold the Thrandheim chiefs in the great
hall, offering them their choice of baptism or death? Answer me!"
Astounded, the King gazed at the Bishop, then after a moment his eyes
fell.
"Why, Bishop, it is true, certainly! What mean you?"
The old man's eyes flashed. "Think you that this is the way to
spread the gospel of Christ? Is baptism a thing to be forced on men,
or a thing which they must choose willingly? Better lose this
kingdom of yours and flee back over the ocean again than to do this
thing, Olaf Triggveson!"
At this the boy spoke out. "Bishop, it it my fault, for I suggested
the plan; but why is it so bad? Did not the chiefs entrap Olaf a
week or two ago?"
Bishop Sigurd turned on him. "What of that? Do as you will with the
bodies of these men, Olaf, but force not their souls! Let them come
to Christ willingly." His voice softened. "I know that you both are
only overzealous; but believe me, King and Jarl, this is not
Christianity. Christ said, 'Come unto me'; think you he would have
men driven to him with whips and swords, who died to save men?"
Olaf bent his head, and Sigurd dropped on his knees. "Pardon,
Bishop! I had not thought of it that way; I see how wrong it was
now!"
The Bishop put his hand on Sigurd's head. "And you, Olaf? Do you
not see that I am right? Must you be led by this boy?"
Olaf, fixing his keen eyes on the old man, nodded slowly. "I see,
Bishop, and I will obey your unspoken thought."
He turned slowly, and Sigurd followed him to the door of the great
hall. As they entered there was a hush, and Olaf curtly bade his men
leave the building, waiting in silence as they filed out.
Then, ascending the high-seat, he said bitterly:
"Chiefs, I came among you preaching the Word of God, the gospel of
peace and salvation; but my own acts have been as those of a pagan
and worse. Small wonder that you refused to accept my faith! Too
late I see that I have done ill by you; now I stand ready to repair
my faults, and to act as a true Christian. Go in peace; those of you
who wish to accept Christianity will be welcomed. If it is your wish
that a heathen King rule over you, I will return whence I came, and
will bring no fire and sword into the land."
The chiefs gazed in amazement at the King, and Orm Lugg, one of the
greatest spoke out:
"Is this truth, King? Are we free to go to our homes?"
"Yes," said Olaf, a flush mounting to his brow. "I have proved
myself a poor Christian, friends, but forgive me for this time; go,
and whatever is your will I shall abide by it."
One by one, silent, incredulous, the chiefs left the hall, and Sigurd
alone remained with the King. Then the boy, grasping Olaf's hand,
cried with tears in his eyes:
"Olaf, we have been wrong, but how you must suffer! Will you really
go back to Ireland if the chiefs refuse to accept the gospel?"
"Yes, my friend," and Olaf's tone was very low and soft. "The good
Bishop yonder showed me more in that minute than I can tell you. I
have been proud, Sigurd, and my pride is shattered; the Hammer of
Thor is not like Christ's Cross. I thought to use the Cross like a
weapon, like Thor uses his Hammer; but the Cross is a symbol, not of
pride and might, but of gentleness, of pity, of humility. Yes, my--"
Suddenly the doors opened, and in came the chiefs, to the King's
amazement. Their faces were very changed now; the fierceness, the
resistance, seemed to have given way to some new emotion.
"King Olaf," said Orm, the spokesman, "we found it as you said; the
palace is unguarded, the streets are clear. Oh, King, I have a hard
thing to say, but mayhap you will understand! Listen.
"We bonders have in truth resisted your faith because, as you said
just now, you preached one thing to us, and you acted another thing.
We have resisted, not because we love the old gods, but because we
could not see wherein the White Christ was better."
Orm paused, fixing his eyes on the King's. "But to-day, King Olaf,
you have shown us a new thing. We have not known you long, yet we
have found in you a strong man, a proud man, a man used to ruling the
wills of others, and for this we have rejoiced in a worthy King.
To-day, Olaf, we have found that there was one thing stronger than
these, a thing able to overcome all your strength, pride--even your
will; and because this is so, we freely accept from your hand the
Cross of Christ."
For a moment Olaf gazed at the men around him, unable to speak.
Then, the tears flowing down his cheeks, he pressed their hands, one
by one, and said:
"My friends, this is a victory where I had found a defeat. I cannot
tell you what it means to me, but I think that none of us will forget
this day. Jarl Sigurd and I have to-day learned a lesson from you
and from ourselves; pray God we may never have to learn it over
again!"
Then Sigurd summoned the Bishop, telling him what had happened on the
way, and without delay the chiefs were baptized in Olaf's new church,
together with their men. That night Olaf and Sigurd sat in Astrid's
chamber, talking over the events of the day until late.
King Olaf had given Astrid part of Jarl Hakon's forfeited estates, to
compensate her for those she possessed in Vendland, so that she might
be able to live as became her dignity; further, he constituted
himself her ward, although with the laughing declaration that he
would run the risk of forcing her to marry against her will. He had
also promised to give Sigurd an earldom, as soon as he had put the
country into some kind of order.
"What are now your plans, my lord?" asked the girl, that same night.
Olaf shook his head.
"Truly, Astrid, I know not. Practically all of the greater chiefs
from the Thrandheim districts were baptized to-day, and I think that
the bond established between us will never be broken. Ironbeard
alone holds out; I am strongly minded to visit him at once, during
the winter sacrifice, and try to win him over. To-morrow, Sigurd, we
will go to Thrandheim and demolish the great temple there."
For a minute Sigurd looked at Olaf, then the latter smiled. "No,
Sigurd, I have learned my lesson. There will be no bloodshed, either
there or at the winter sacrifice, if I can help it. But the greatest
chiefs have been baptized; now it is essential that Ironbeard be
either forced to accept my rule or leave the country."
So, without the least opposition, Olaf and Sigurd burned the old
temple of the war-god the very next day. Many of the chiefs so
recently baptized showed their sincerity by joining Olaf or sending
men to his aid; and the idols were taken out before all the people,
and burned. Sigurd longed for Vagn to be there, as he remembered
their adventure with Jarl Hakon; but his cousin was far away to the
south.
The work was finished by midday, and the party returned to Nidaros.
The sudden conversion of their greatest chiefs seemed to have
demoralized the bonders, for no longer were threats heard against
Olaf, but instead, many of them came to Nidaros and were baptized by
the good Bishop.
The day after the destruction of the Thrandheim temple, Olaf prepared
to go to Moeri, where the winter sacrifice was held. He took all his
men, sailing up Thrandheim Firth with his largest ships, and came to
Moeri the day of the sacrifice.
The King sent Sigurd ashore, demanding that the people first hold an
Assembly. Fairhair found a great multitude assembled from all the
countryside, with Ironbeard and his men all present. They at once
agreed to Olaf's demand, so the King landed with his men, and the
Assembly was constituted on the plain before the temple.
When the noise and talking of the opening had subsided, Olaf arose in
his seat and told the bonders what had taken place in his hall at
Nidaros, told them how he had found his mistake, and would no longer
try to force a religion on them that they did not want.
Sigurd could see a change sweep over the faces of the bonders before
him, and they glanced at each other and began whispering. At this,
however, Ironbeard leaped to his feet--an immense man, wearing the
robes of a priest of Thor, and with an iron-gray beard that swept
over his chest. He lifted his hand and began to speak, slowly and
with great dignity.