IVAR’S VISIT TO BRITAIN
IVAR himself had concluded that instead of returning to Gotland, he
would go and visit his kinsmen whose forefathers had settled in Britain
in the first century. Accordingly, he left the River Loire, and sailed
eastward, along the shores of Gaul, visited some of the Gotlanders who
had settled peacefully near the sea and on the banks of some of its
rivers, and asked them if they wanted help of men and ships. The Romans
had left them in peaceful possession of their lands, however, thinking
it more prudent to let them alone than to incur their enmity and that of
their kinsmen, who they knew were relentless in their hatred.
After passing the mouth of the Thames, upon whose banks were several
settlements, the largest ones being where the present Greenwich and
Chatham stand, they continued their voyage, sailing along the eastern
coast of Britain, which was as flat as it is to-day, and came to the
coast of the shire of Norfolk (inhabited by the folk of the north), and
cast anchor in an estuary, or bay, to-day called the Wash.
The object of Ivar’s visit in this part of Britain was to see his
kinsman, Grammar Hersir, a foster-brother of his father, who ruled over
a large herad, whose boundary came to the Wash. Nearly two hundred years
before, a great-great-uncle of Ivar had married the daughter of one of
the Hersirs of Norway. This great-great-uncle was young and adventurous,
and had settled somewhat inland of the bay, in the country which is
to-day called Cambridgeshire; a great many people from the coast of
Norway followed him, and the emigration was chiefly from there.
In those early days, that part of Britain was thinly settled by the
aborigines. A great part of the “littoral” along the North Sea was flat
and swampy, and the country was covered with oak forests, and on account
of this was good for shipbuilding; for that very reason this settlement
had been made. The poor aborigines had received these new-comers kindly,
and the extended forest shut them up from the Romans, who had conquered
part of the island. On the sea side, the settlers felt secure, as they
and the Norsemen were masters on the sea.
Grammar’s by, or burg, stood near the shores of the river now called
Cam, somewhat near the present hamlet of Wilbraham. The pioneers and the
first Norse settlers had chosen this peculiar spot so high up the river,
that they might feel safe from the sudden attacks of enemies. Sometimes
feuds broke out among the Norse families in Britain and their kinsmen on
the Baltic; these would come and claim the inheritance of those that
were dead, and war followed. The river-shore here and there was
fortified; high towers had been built where high-born men had their
estates; from their top a good lookout was kept up, and chains were laid
across the river, when they feared hostile incursions, to prevent their
ships from ascending the stream.
The following day after their arrival, the ships having the lightest
draught, specially built for use in shallow water, were picked out, and
then Ivar and his foster-brothers started for Grammar’s by. They had to
take to the oars, as the wind was very light, and the current was
against them. Each craft had fifteen and sixteen benches, and was
consequently rowed by thirty or thirty-two oars, three men on each oar,
while the other men stood at the prow and stern. The peace shields had
been hoisted. When night came, they let down their anchors and raised
their tents. Early the following morning they started, and continued the
ascent of the stream; they had to row all the way. Here and there, they
saw a settlement of the Norsemen, with cultivated land round them, and
their ships lying at the wharves near by.
Finally they came in sight of Grammar’s residence, and of the temple
overlooking the river, where the worship of Odin, Frey, Njord, Thor, and
other gods took place. The structures were similar to those of home, all
of wood, and the new-comers might have fancied they were in their own
country across the sea.
When Grammar, whose, young kinsman’s fame had reached him, heard of
Ivar’s arrival, he sent messengers on board of his ship, and invited him
to come and stay with him, with all his men.
Ivar, his foster-brothers, and all the high-born men of his fleet, after
landing, went to the banqueting hall, and were received with great
honor. Ivar was bid by Grammar to sit on the high seat opposite him, and
his men were seated according to their rank. On each side of Ivar were
the high-born men of Grammar, and on that of the latter were those of
Ivar; Hjalmar being seated on the right of Grammar, and Sigmund on his
left; then Sigurd came next, and the others drew lots for seats, for
many were of equal birth.
The hall was a fine specimen of Northern architecture, and was somewhat
similar to that of Gudbrand at Hrafnista on Engel. The carvings
represented the landing of a body of men on shore in war attire, coming
to take possession of land in Britain. Tapestry hung along the walls,
and a long row of fine shields above the seats encircled the hall.
Grammar was a noble-looking man, and, according to the custom of Hersirs
who had come of mature age, he wore a long, flowing beard, which was of
a beautiful silver-gray. He was tall and majestic in bearing, and had
the deep blue eyes of his kin. His chin and mouth showed great decision
of character, but his benignant smile and soft eye told of the
kindliness of his heart. He ruled his land according to the ancient
customs of the Norselands. The land had been divided and was owned as in
the Viking’s lands generally. He was a great sacrificer, and loved Frey
more than all the other gods, and sacrificed often to him.
He was a widower, his wife, a daughter of the Hersir of the island of
Fyen, in the Cattegat, having died several years before. He had several
beautiful daughters. The eldest was named Hildigunn, a combination of
the names of two Valkyrias, Hild and Gunn, the custom of joining two
names being not uncommon with the Norsemen. The others were named
Brynhild, Sigrun, and Hervor.
Grammar expressed his great pleasure in seeing his young kinsman, and
told him that he had fought by the side of his grandfather and father,
and, pointing to a sword hanging over his high seat, with peace bands
fastened around it, he said: “This sword is called ‘Stone-biter’ on
account of the sharpness and quality of its blade, and was given to me,
Ivar, by thy grandfather when I had just begun warfare as a young lad,
and was on board of his own ship. It is a most excellent weapon, and
victory has always followed it. It is an heirloom in our family.”
Then he inquired how Hjorvard and the folks were in dear Gotland, in
Engel, and in old Norway, and added that he hoped to go and see once
more the land of his ancestors before he should go on his burning
journey to Valhalla and lie under his mound.
Ivar told him of the great deeds that had taken place since all the
fleets had scattered, and what he had himself accomplished in foreign
lands.
“Well done,” said Grammar; “I can see that thou art a Yngling, and
worthy of thy kinsmen who are dead.”
Then Ivar presented to him two magnificent velvet cloaks from Greece; a
superb coat of mail of exquisite workmanship, made by a smith from
Gotland; several brooches to fasten his cloaks with; helmets, saxes, and
swords of fine workmanship; a beautiful necklace of gold for Hildigunn,
and bracelets for his other daughters. Ivar noticed that the dress of
the women and men, the weapons and ornaments, were of the same style as
those worn by the people in the Viking lands. Like the emigrants of our
days, they had brought their customs, religion, and fashions with them.
A few jewels which had come with the people who had first landed at
Wilbraham were still kept as family heirlooms, though most of them had
been buried with the dead. These were “fibulæ,” or brooches, of
cruciform and circular shape, mosaic and glass beads, which were worn by
the people in the first and second centuries.
Not far from Grammar’s residence and temple, and overlooking the river,
was the graveyard of the first Norse settlers who had come to that part
of Britain. There were graves where the bodies had not been burned; in
others the burned bones were preserved in cinerary urns, or in wooden
buckets with bronze trappings. Weapons, jewels, ornaments of bronze,
tweezers with ear-pickers, iron spears, iron shears, knives, glass and
mosaic beads, had been put on the pyre and fired or destroyed by its
fire. Coins of Trajan, 96-98 A.D.; Hadrian, 117-138 A.D.; Aurelius,
160-180 A.D.; Maximus, 286-305 A.D., told the age of the graveyard,
which was a very exact counterpart of the burial places of the mother
country.
One day, while a great feast was taking place, Hildigunn and her sisters
came into the hall. She was tall and slender; her hair was flaxen,
falling gracefully over her shoulders, far below her waist; her eyes
were of a deep, soft blue, which contrasted charmingly with her
delicate, rosy complexion. She walked toward Ivar and said to him: “Hail
to thee, my kinsman, we also are of Odin’s kin. Hail you all Ynglingar
and Skoldungar and high-born men who are with us here to-day.”
Then, sipping some ale from the horn she held in her hand, she handed it
to Ivar. He took the horn and her hand at the same time, and said to her
that she must sit by him.
“It is not the custom of Vikings to drink in pair with women,” replied
Hildigunn.
Ivar answered that it was, and that he would rather change the Viking
laws if it was the case, so that he could drink with her. Then she sat
down by his side, and spoke of many things with him during the evening.
The poets of Grammar recited the songs which told of the great deeds
accomplished by him with Hjorvard, or by their ancestors.
Days passed pleasantly for Ivar and his foster-brothers at Grammar’s by,
for many maidens had come around from the surrounding estates to welcome
the Vikings, and their presence made life so much pleasanter for all.
Every evening these maidens and warriors met in the great banqueting
hall. These fair Viking daughters, in whose veins the blood of the
Norsemen flowed, listened to the scalds who had come with Ivar and
recited the great deeds of valor the Vikings had accomplished in the
expeditions from which they had just returned, and heard with wonder of
the hair-breadth escapes of Ivar, and of many of his companions.
No Viking could tell himself of his brave feats, for it was thought
unbecoming to do so; but they could tell of the countries they had seen,
and of the people they had met in far-off lands, and when they did, the
maidens listened to them with wonder and admiration, and their eyes were
fixed upon those who told of their strange adventures, and their cheeks
flushed with animation.
Finally, the admiration turned into love, without their knowing it; but
there could be no mistake, for during the day, while in the skemma, they
could not help thinking all the time of the one they admired the most.
They wished for the evening entertainment to come, so that they might
come into the hall.
The Vikings themselves, especially Ivar and his foster-brothers, wished
likewise for the day to pass quickly.
One evening, as the brothers were by themselves, and thought of the
beautiful girls they had met, and were talking of love in a general way,
Ivar said:
“What men call love springs from the mind, for the mind is the seat and
source of all our thoughts; the heart does not think, and cannot love;
it palpitates quicker, it is true, with love, but it is only the
reflection of the mind. There is a beginning in love, as in everything
else that the gods have created—like the flower, it must be born first,
grow, bud, and bloom. The bud is the beginning of love, and when love is
young it is fickle.
“Trust not love too soon when it is young, for fickle is the mind of man
towards woman, and if one searches well, he will find that many a good
maiden is fickle to man, for their hearts were shaped like a whirling
wheel, and fickleness was laid in their breasts.”
The day of parting came at last. The life shaped by the Nornir had to
continue; the future was hidden from sight, but what stories of the
budding of love could be told, for many a blushing maiden had lost her
heart with a brave warrior, and many a Viking had lost his also.
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