MODE OF NAVAL WARFARE OF THE NORTHMEN.
Sea fights—Standard and shield burgh—Method of fighting—Use of
grappling irons—Choice of the crew—Boarding of ships—Battle at the
river Helga—Custom of strengthening ships’ sides before a
combat—Rowers protected by shields—Use of stones as
weapons—Harbours protected by cables—The war levy.
From the numerous sea-fights described in the Sagas, we see that the
most important and decisive part of the struggle took place near the
prow and stem of the ship. Here the strongest and most valiant men were
always stationed,[153] among them the standard-bearer of the chief or
king, round whom they were ranged in battle order, and formed the
_skjald-borg_ (shieldburg).
“During the winter King Harald had a large dragon made and fitted out
very splendidly. He placed on it his hird and Berserks. The stem
defenders were the most carefully selected, for they had the king’s
standard. That part aft of the prow near the pumping-room (_austr-rum_)
was called rausn (forecastle). It was manned with Berserks. Only those
who surpassed others in strength and bravery and all kinds of skill got
into the hird of King Harald. Only with such men was his ship manned,
and he had then a large choice of hirdmen out of every Fylki” (Harald
Fairhair’s Saga, c. 9).
In a sea-fight between Hakon Herdibreid and King Ingi:
“Hakon went on board the east voyage[154] Knörr, and a shieldburgh was
put round him there, but his standard remained on board the longship
where he had been.”[155]
Before the fight it was the custom to sound the horns and hoist the
standards, and to tie the stems of the ships together, so that each line
formed an unbroken whole; sometimes several anchors seem to have been
employed for this purpose, as it is said that they were used to hold the
ships together during the battle. When they came to the attack, the men
sought to drag the ships of the enemy closer by means of grappling-hooks
(_stafnlé_) and anchors. Eirik Jarl decided the battle of Svold by
attacking the outermost ships of Olaf Tryggvason. As soon as one ship
was cleared of men, he loosened its fastenings.
“It was then customary when men fought on board ships to tie them
together and fight in the prows” (Harald Fairhair’s Saga, ch. 11).
In the celebrated battle of Svold most violent and fatal was the defence
on the Long Serpent among the forerooms-men and the stem-defenders (see
pp 192–3).
After leaving Norway Olaf steered the Long Serpent himself, and the crew
was so carefully chosen that no man who was older than sixty or younger
than twenty was to be on board, and they were picked also with regard to
valour and strength. The king’s hirdmen were first chosen, composed of
the strongest and bravest men from the country and foreign lands.
“Ulf the red carried King Olaf’s standard, and was placed in the front
(prow) of the Serpent together with Kolbjörn Stallari, Thorstein Oxfoot,
Vikar of Tiundaland the brother of Arnljót Gellini. The following men
were on the forecastle (rausn) in the bows:—Vakr Raumason Elfski, Bersi
the Strong, An the archer of Jamtaland, Thránd the Hardy of Thelamörk,
and Úthyrmir (Unsparing), his brother. From Hálogaland were:—Thránd the
Squinting, Ögmund Sandi, Hlödvir (Louis) the Long of Saltvik, Harek the
Keen. From the inner part of Thrandheim were:—Ketil the Tall, Thorfinn
the Dashing, Hávar of Orkadal and his brothers. The following were in
the foreroom:—Björn of Studla, Börk of Firdir, Thorgrim Thjódólfsson of
Hvin, Asbjörn and Orm, Thórd of Njardarlög, Thorstein the white of
Oprustadir, Arnor of Mœri, Hallstein and Hauk of Firdir, Eyvind Snake,
Bergthor Bestil, Hallkel of Fjalir, Olaf Dreng (good warrior), Arnfinn
of Sogn, Sigurd Axe, Einar of Hördaland, Finn, Ketil of Rogaland,
Grjótgard the nimble. The following were in the Krapparum[156]:—Einar
Thambarskelfir (he was not up to the standard being only eighteen
winters old), Thorstein Hlifarson, Thórólf, Ivar the Starter, Orm
Hood-nose, and many other very famous men were on the Serpent, though we
cannot name them. Eight men were in every _half-room_ (sixteen in one
room), selected one by one. Thirty men were in the foreroom. People said
that the picked men on board surpassed other men as far in fineness and
strength and bravery as the Long Serpent surpassed other ships. Thorkel
Nefja, the king’s brother, steered the Short Serpent, Thorkel the
Wheedler and Jostein, the king’s uncles, the Trana; both these ships
were very well manned. Eleven large ships left Thrandheim with Olaf,
also twenty-seaters and smaller ships and store-ships (_vistabyrding_)”
(Olaf Tryggvason’s Saga (Heimskringla), c. 102).
When the crew felt that they were unequal to the contest by being
boarded, they then cut the ropes that tied them to other ships, and
tried to avoid the coming danger.
“The king’s men attacked the jarl’s ship and almost got up on it. When
the jarl saw his danger he called to the men in the forepart of the ship
to cut the ropes (by which the ships were fastened together) and let
them loose; they did so. The king’s men threw their grappling hooks on
the club-formed beaks of the prow, and thus held them fast. Then the
jarl bade the men in the prow cut off the beaks, which they did. Einar
Thambarskelfir had laid his ship on the other side of the jarl’s, and
cast an anchor into the prow of the jarl’s ship, and thus they got out
on the fjord” (St. Olaf’s Saga, c. 48).
“At this time there was a great war in Norway; Harald Lúfa, the son of
Halfdan Svarti (black), was subduing the country.... When he came to
Hördaland a mass of warriors met to fight him.... Both sides had many
men. This was one of the greatest battles in Norway; most Sagas mention
it, for there came men from the whole country, and many from other
countries, with a great number of Vikings. Önund laid his ship at the
side of that of Thorir Chinlong, which was nearly in the middle of the
fleet. King Harald with his ship attacked that of Thorir Chinlong, who
was known as the greatest berserk and very valiant. There ensued the
severest fights on both sides. The king urged his berserks to attack;
they were called Ulfhednar (the wolf-skin coats), and no weapons wounded
them; and when they rushed forward nothing withstood them. Thorir
defended himself very manfully and fell on his ship with great valour;
it was cleared of men from stem to stern, and as the ropes were cut it
drifted backward between the others. The king’s men then attacked the
ship of Önund; he was in the fore part of the ship, and fought bravely.
The king’s men said: ‘That man fights hard in the stem; let us give him
some mark in memory of his having been in the battle.’ Önund was
standing with one of his feet on the side of the ship, and as he dealt a
man a blow a spear was thrust at him; as he parried the blow he bent
backwards, when one of the king’s stem-defenders cut off his leg below
the knee, after which he could fight no more. The greater part of the
men on his ship fell. Önund was carried on board the ship of Thrand, the
son of Björn and brother of Eyvind Eastman; he was against King Harald,
and lay on one side of Önund’s ship. After this the main fleet broke
into flight. Thrand, and the other Vikings who were able to, got away
and sailed westward. Önund, as well as Balki and Hallvard Súgandi (gush
of wind), went with him. When he was healed he afterwards walked with a
wooden leg; from this he was called Önund tree-foot while he lived”
(Gretti’s Saga, c. 2).
We see that at that period expeditions to and from the west were common.
The battle at the river Helga (Sweden) is thus described:—
“One evening the spies of Önund saw Knut sailing not far off. Önund let
a war blast be blown. His men took down their tents, armed themselves,
and rowed out of the harbour (at the mouth of the river) and eastwards
along the coast; they laid their ships side by side and tied them
together, and made ready for battle. Önund sent spies ashore to tell
Olaf, who had the dam broken and let the river into its bed. He then
went down to his ships in the night. When Knut came off the harbour, he
saw the host of the kings ready for battle. It seemed to him it would be
too late in the day to begin a battle, as the whole of his host was not
ready. His fleet needed much space for sailing, and there was a long way
between his foremost and hindmost ship, and the outermost and the one
next to the land. There was little wind. When he saw the Swedes and
Northmen had left the harbour, he went in with such ships as could get
room there, but the greater part of his host lay out on the sea (outside
the harbour). Next morning, when it was almost day, many of their men
were on land, some talking, others at their games. They suspected
nothing until the water rushed down upon them like a torrent; large
timbers followed, and were driven against their ships; these were
damaged, and the water flowed all over the fields; the men on land, and
also many of those on the ships, lost their lives. All who could, cut
their anchor-ropes, and the ships drifted in great disorder. The large
dragon, on which the king was, floated out with the current; it was not
easy to move it with oars, and it drifted out to the fleet of the kings.
When they recognized it, they at once surrounded it. As the ship had
sides as high as the walls of a burgh, and many chosen and well-armed
men were on board, it was not easy to capture it. After a short time Ulf
jarl came up with his ships, and the battle began. Thereupon the host of
Knut gathered from all sides. Then Olaf and Önund saw that they had
gained as much advantage as was then possible; they pulled back and got
loose from the host of Knut, and separated the fleets. Because this
attack had not been as Knut had ordered, he did not row after them; they
began to array the ships and make themselves ready. When they had
separated, and each fleet was mustered, the kings counted their men, and
found that they had not lost many; they saw also that the odds would be
so great if they waited till Knut had made ready all his great host, and
attacked them, that there was little hope of victory. They decided to
row with all their ships eastward along the coast” (St. Olaf, c.
106).[157]
Before the conflict the sides of the ships were strengthened by
_viggyrdil_ (war-girdle) or _vigfleki_ (war-hurdle).
“King Sverri was at Bergen (Björgyn) with his host, and all his ships
lay ready and war-girdled at the gangways” (Sverri’s Saga, c. 52).
When King Svein of Denmark was pursuing King Harald with an overwhelming
force,
“He (Harald) bid the men lighten his (ship) by throwing overboard malt,
wheat, and pork, and to cut holes in the ale-barrels: this helped
awhile. Then he had _viggyrdils_, vats, and empty barrels, as well as
the prisoners of war, thrown into the sea” (Harald Hardradi’s Saga, c.
35).
“We will carry out on the boards (i.e. the sides of the ship)
_vigfleki_, and defend ourselves as best we can, but not attack them”
(Flateyjarbok).
A man with his shields protected the rowers from the missiles of the
enemy; but in spite of this, many were often killed. Three men were
generally stationed in each _half-room_, one for rowing, one for
protecting the rower, and one for fighting.
Erling Skakki said to King Ingi: “If we now attack them and row against
the current, and have three men in every _half-room_, then one must row,
the other protect him, and we shall then have not more than one-third of
our host in the fight” (Hakon Herdibreid’s Saga, c. 6).
“When the men on board the jarl’s ships began to fall and get wounded,
and the line of men on their gunwales got thin, King Olaf’s men went on
board. Their standard was carried on board the ship next to the jarl’s,
and followed by the king himself” (St. Olaf’s Saga, ch. 48).
Stones were extensively used in sea fights.
Svein Ulfsson,[158] King of Denmark, fought a battle outside Árós
(Aarhus) against King Magnus of Norway, of which it is said,
“Svein’s men armed themselves and tied together their ships. There at
once ensued a hard battle.... They fought in the stems. Only those who
stood there could reach to use their swords; those who stood in the
foreroom used _kesjas_ (a kind of lance), and those still farther aft
shorter javelins or large arrows; some threw stones with slings, while
those who were aft of the mast used bows” (Magnus the Good, c. 31).
“A battle was fought at the mouth of the Gauta river between the kings
Ingi and Hakon; there were thrown down on them _kesjas_ (spears), and
stones so large, that they were forced to retreat” (Hakon Herdibreid’s
Saga, c. 2).
Cables were stretched across the mouths of rivers or harbours, in order
to prevent the ships of the enemy from entering.
“Olaf went to Saudungssund and lay there; he stationed one ship on each
side of the Sound, and had a thick cable stretched between them. Hakon
jarl (son of Eirik who was son of the famous Hakon jarl) rowed shortly
after into the Sound with a manned skeid. He thought that two trading
vessels were in the Sound, so rowed into it between them. Olaf’s men
drew the cable under the middle of the keel of the skeid, and hauled it
with windlasses; as soon as it touched the skeid its stern was lifted,
and the prow plunged forwards so that the sea came in; the ship was
filled and upset” (St. Olaf’s Saga, c. 28).
The country was divided into _skipreida_, or ship levy districts, in
Norway, and no doubt there were similar divisions in the other countries
of the Northmen. Every skipreida had to build, equip, and man a certain
number of ships, some more than others.
_Leidangr_ was the term applied to a levy of men, ships, and money. A
levy when necessary was effected in the following manner.
“When a ship has been loosened from its fastenings and a man has not
come in to his half-room then his oar shall be raised (= stand with its
blade into the air), and witnesses called that he is liable to pay a
fine of three marks (merkur). If a man goes on board another ship than
the one he should go to he shall row in the expedition of the levy and
(besides) pay the fine” (Gulath, 301).
“Olaf summoned a Thing in the town (Nidarós). He made it known to all
people that he wanted to have a levy that summer from the country; he
wanted a certain number of men and ships from each Fylki; he stated how
many ships he wished to have from the fjord (Trondhjemsfjord). Then he
sent word southwards and northwards along the coast and inland, and
summoned men for war. He had the Long Serpent launched, and all his
other ships, small and large” (Olaf Tryggvason’s Saga, c. 107,
Heimskringla).
“Hakon Jarl had also equipped his men, intending to do warfare, and had
twelve large ships. After Gull Harald had departed, Hakon Jarl went to
the king and said: ‘Now we may go on the expedition, and nevertheless
have to pay the fine for default in the levy (leidviti). Now Gull Harald
will slay Harald Gráfeld, and then take the kingship in Norway’” (Olaf
Tryggvason’s Saga, vol. i., Fornmanna Sögur).
Leidviti was the tax which was paid instead of the leidangr, when the
latter was not needed, being originally the fine for neglecting to
participate in leidangr. It was also paid by the one who took part in
the warfare, but on the wrong ship. It seems to be the latter which the
jarl refers to—a warfare with loss, in consequence of lack of
forethought.
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Footnote 153:
They were called _Stafnbúar_, stem or prow men.
Footnote 154:
East voyage = voyage in the East Baltic (Russia, &c.).
Footnote 155:
Cf. also Olaf Tryggvason’s Saga, c. 115.
Footnote 156:
The narrow room, the third room or space from the stern.
Footnote 157:
Cf. also St. Olaf, 185, 186; Njala, c. 30.
Footnote 158:
_Svein Ulfsson_ was the son of Ulf jarl and Astrid, the sister of Knut
the Great. He carried on long war against King Magnus the Good, and at
last was acknowledged as King of Denmark. This was about the middle of
the 11th century.