A VOYAGE TO THE CASPIAN
THE following spring, Ivar and his foster-brothers made preparations to
go to the Caspian Sea, by the Volga. They had sent word to several of
their young kinsmen, asking them if they would join them in their
voyage. The proposal had been accepted with eagerness by them all, for
most of those to whom the invitation had been sent had never gone so far
south, and they longed to see the lands of which they had heard so much,
or from which so many costly things came; but two or three among those
invited had been there before to trade, and had made on their return
great profits on their goods, and they wished to try their luck again.
It was not a small undertaking to make a voyage to the Caspian, for it
was tedious, and took a long time. Ivar chose three vessels of very
light draught, that could sail easily on the rivers of the present
Russia, leading to that sea. Special vessels were built for such
voyages, and the models of these craft were beautiful, and could not
even to-day be improved upon for that sort of navigation. One vessel,
very much like those of Ivar, was found at Tune, in Norway, and can be
seen at Christiania to-day.
Provisions were collected, among which was a great deal of hard bread,
very much like that used to-day in Scandinavia. Various articles
necessary for barter were also collected, such as scales and weights; a
great quantity of gold spiral rods of certain size and weight, which
were to be cut into smaller or larger pieces if necessary, and then
weighed, for the Norsemen had no coins, and these rings or pieces were
the medium of exchange. Their scale of value was according to weight.
Their intercourse with Rome, however, had made them acquainted with
Roman coins of gold and silver, and they knew exactly their worth, and
often brought them home and kept them until they visited again the Roman
province. They also had a measure called an ell, two feet in length, to
measure the beautiful fabrics they intended to buy, and also a measure
for wine, for they were to bring back wines with them.
A man named Ulf was to go with them. He was familiar with the navigation
of the Dnieper, the Don, and the Volga, and had sailed several times
from the Baltic to the Black Sea. He had lived chiefly upon the River
Don, where he had a large trading establishment. He was a great trader
and sea-farer, whose business was to go on trading voyages to various
countries. Sometimes he went by sea, at other times by land. He was an
old friend of Hjorvard, who often ordered him to buy goods for him, and
had been very often to Gotland. Ulf was just the man for such an
expedition, and the foster-brothers and their friends congratulated
themselves on his going with them.
In the beginning of June, as soon as the ice allowed them to sail, they
left Dampstadir, and sailed through the Gulf of Finland; thence, after a
difficult navigation through lakes and rivers, and some hard rowing,
they reached the great River Volga, and, descending the stream, they
came to a place called Novgrad, a great mart, where a fair was held once
a year in summer. Novgrad was in the great realm of Holmgard, and they
found there many friends, for the people were of the same kindred. Many
Vikings had married the daughters of the Holmgard people, and much
intercourse took place between them and the Norsemen. Both peoples had
in common the same religious belief.
During the fair, many kinds of people were to be seen there with their
wares. They came from the Caucasus, from the Ural Mountains, from the
shores of the Caspian, from Turkestan, even from China, and many other
lands. Slaves were also sold at Novgrad in the market-places. Peace
reigned at the Novgrad fair, as it did at all the fairs of the Norsemen,
or at the temple or assemblies of the people. No strife or shedding of
blood was allowed to take place, and no one was molested. Ivar and his
friends bought nothing at Novgrad, intending to come back and do so on
their return. From Novgrad they sailed down the Volga, using their oars
when there was no wind. They stopped here and there at several places,
and were well received everywhere.
While on board, every one of the crew had to be cook, for it was then
the custom of traders not to have cooks, all the messmates drawing lots
to see which of them should do the cooking each day. All shipmates also
had to drink together, and a tub with a lid over it stood near the mast
for this purpose.
When finally they reached the Caspian without any serious mishaps, there
was great rejoicing on board. Ulf was the recipient of many praises for
his skilful pilotage. But the most difficult part of the journey was not
yet accomplished—that of crossing the Caspian to the Persian shores, and
the ascent of the Oxus River remained to be done. Before undertaking the
second part of the voyage, the ships were drawn ashore, scraped,
repaired, and painted, for their bottoms had become foul. During those
days the Vikings spent much of their time practising athletic games when
they were ashore, for on no account were these exercises to be
neglected.
When the ships were ready, they crossed the Caspian without encountering
one of those storms that make the water of that shallow sea, so full of
shoals, dangerous to mariners; and after landing they wondered much at
the people they saw, for they differed greatly from the Vikings. They
worshipped the sun and fire; some wore large turbans like the Turks of
to-day, were very industrious, and many led a nomadic life with their
herds. Their women were beautiful, and the men were courteous and
hospitable. The Vikings bought a good deal of beautiful velvet, which
they called pell, and much rich cloth embroidered with gold and silver,
brocades, and also superb linen tablecloths and napkins.
They ascended afterward the River Oxus, the ascent of which was very
tedious. The current was strong and against them, but no one tried to
molest them, and every one was anxious to barter with them. There they
bought silk goods and velvets, and spent the beginning of the winter on
the river, and the later winter months on the Caspian, whence they
sailed and rowed up the Volga before the melting of the snow and ice in
the north; and by the time these had melted, and swelled the stream and
made the current very rapid, they were far up. Here they waited until
the river should have fallen to its usual size, remaining all the time
on board of their ships, spending their days in playing chess or
gambling with dice, for almost all the Vikings were great gamblers.
Their voyage northward was far more tedious than that southward. It was
necessary to place three men at each oar on account of the current, and
the end of September found them once more in the Baltic, with their
ships loaded with precious merchandise.
Hjorvard and the Gotlanders were delighted to see Ivar and all his
companions back. Not a single death had occurred during the voyage. Ulf
had had an eye to business, and a good part of the cargo belonged to
him. Ivar presented his father with several casks of wine and many
precious objects, and to his mother he gave costly woollen, velvets, and
silk stuff.
The fame of Ivar had spread far and wide all over the land. Scalds in
the halls of Hersirs recounted his brilliant warlike exploits. He was
very mature for his age, and gifted with great tact. People said he
would be exactly like his father. He had reached the age when parents
think about looking for a wife for their sons.
One morning, accordingly, Hjorvard called Ivar and said to him: “Listen
to what I am going to tell thee. We have been told Frey had seated
himself on Hlidskjalf, the high seat from which Odin could see over all
worlds. When he looked to the north he saw on an estate, or farm, a
large and fine house towards which a woman was walking. When she lifted
her arms to open the door, a light shone from them on the sea, and the
air and all the worlds were brightened by her. This woman, as thou
knowest, was Gerd, the daughter of Gymir by his wife Orboda, and was the
most beautiful of all women. Frey’s great boldness in sitting down on
the holy seat was thus punished, for he went away full of sorrow, having
fallen deeply in love with her. When he returned home he did not speak,
nor could he sleep or drink, and no one dared to question him. Then
Njord called Skirnir, the page of Frey, and told him to go to him and
ask Frey with whom he was so angry that he would not speak to anyone.
Skirnir obeyed, though unwillingly, and when he came to Frey he asked
him why he was so sad and did not speak to anyone. Frey answered that he
had seen a beautiful woman, and for her sake he was full of grief. ‘Now
thou shalt go,’ he said, ‘and ask her in marriage for me, and bring her
home hither, whether her father be willing or not. I will reward thee
well for the deed.’
“Skirnir replied that he would go and deliver this message if Frey gave
him his sword. This sword was so powerful that it fought of itself. Frey
gave it to him, and then Skirnir departed and asked the woman of Gymir
in marriage for Frey, and Gerd promised him that she would come after
three nights, and keep her wedding with Frey.
“When Skirnir had told Frey of the result of his journey, Frey sang:
‘Long is one night, long is another. How can I endure three? Often a
month to me seemed shorter than one-half this forthcoming wedding
night.’”
Hjorvard having thus told the story of Frey, said: “Ivar, my son, when I
look from Dampstadir over the sea, I see yonder, towards the west, where
we often behold so many grand sunsets, a beautiful maiden, nay, three
beautiful ones, walking in the green paths leading to Upsalir. These
three maidens are the daughters of Yngvi, the Hersir of Svithjod, and,
as thou knowest, their beauty and accomplishments are known all over our
northern lands. Thou hast come to that age when it is time for thee to
find a wife, and I have thought of a match for thee, kinsman, if thou
wilt follow my advice, and nothing would please me more than to have
thee marry one of Yngvi’s daughters. Thou mightest visit many countries
and find no maidens more accomplished than they are, and it would be of
good advantage to our family and to Gotland if thou didst marry one of
them, and bring our kinship still closer than it was before with the
Hersir of Svithjod.”
Ivar replied that he knew how much his father had his welfare at heart,
but said: “Thou must not forget, father, that the daughters of Yngvi
have the highest pedigree in all the Northern lands, and the realm of
Gotland may not be large enough for their ambition. It may be possible
that these daughters may wish to wed men having greater possessions than
myself. I think it would be prudent, before thou and our kinsmen propose
the match, that I obtain greater renown than I have.”
“There is no difficulty, my son, about thy pedigree, for we are all of
Odin’s kin, and you would be equally matched.”
The conversation ended there for the present, Ivar leaving the matter of
his marriage in his father’s hands, though he thought much of what
Hjorvard had said, and of his earnest wish to have him happily and
honorably married. He knew, too, that Yngvi and Hjorvard were great
friends, and visited one another, and gave feasts to each other, and
that a connection by marriage between the two families would be very
advantageous and agreeable to his parents.
------------------------------------------------------------------------