HAKI’S BURNING JOURNEY TO VALHALLA
ON their return from the Caspian, the four foster-brothers had found the
country very much disturbed; several Vikings from abroad, with a great
number of ships, had been plundering here and there among the people.
Peace had deserted the land, and great distress from these incursions
prevailed everywhere. Among the greatest plunderers were two famous
brothers of the name of Haki and Hagbard; they were great Vikings, and
had a large host and a great number of powerful and swift ships. These
had gray sails, and were painted of such a color that their vessels
could not be seen far away. Haki and Hagbard had no lands; they lived on
their ships, and never slept under a roof, nor did they ever drink at
the fire-side; their men had no homes, and had left their country,
preferring a life of adventure and warfare with two such famous chiefs.
They attacked people ashore everywhere, and plundered them, and
afterwards returned with their booty to their ships; they wintered in
the rivers, and defied the power of Rome, and of all the Hersirs in the
land. When their ships were old, they bought new ones or captured
others. They had at last become tired of Western countries, had returned
to the Norseland, and had been outlawed by all the Things, or
assemblies, of the people of every realm.
Haki had with him twelve champions, among whom were Starkad the old, and
Ulf the valiant. All his men were berserks, who were often seized by the
berserk fury. Starkad and Ulf were old men, who had been through many a
bloody fight, and had served under Haki’s father, who had never himself
slept under a roof. They all had taken an oath at a great sacrifice that
they would never die in a bed; neither would they ever throw themselves
from a rock in order to go to Odin and Valhalla, but that they would all
die by weapons in battle. Haki himself was one of the greatest of
champions, and so agile as well as powerful, that he was a most
dangerous enemy to deal with.
One day Haki went with his host against Thorkel, a great Hersir, without
warning, for he ruthlessly disregarded the laws of war, so that Thorkel
had hardly time to collect his warriors. The latter had also twelve
champions, among whom were the brothers Svidpad and Geigad, both
far-famed in the North. A fierce battle took place, and Valhalla was
destined to receive many men that day. When the battle was at its
height, Svidpad and Geigad made a furious assault on Haki’s men, and
many of them never saw the light again. All of Haki’s champions were
badly wounded, and could fight no more, being too weak on account of
loss of blood. Then he went forward and broke the shield-burg of Thorkel
and slew him, as well as his standard-bearer, and also Svidpad and
Geigad. He conquered the land and took possession of it, and became the
ruler of the herad of Thorkel. He stayed at home during the winter, and
ruled the land he had conquered, after which his champions sailed away
to southern lands, on Viking expeditions, and earned much wealth for
themselves.
Among other great Vikings who never slept under a roof or drank by the
fire-side, and who disturbed the land and had been outlawed, were the
brothers Eirick and Jorund. After a great battle in which they had slain
the Hersir of Gautaland, they thought themselves far greater men than
before, and wished to try their strength against Haki and Hagbard, and
avenge the disgrace put upon Thorkel, their kinsman; so, when they heard
that Haki had allowed his champions to go away, they collected a large
host. When it was known that they had come to reconquer the land for
their kinsmen, the people from all the country round flocked to their
standards in large numbers, and a great host marched against Haki. A
mighty battle soon took place. For a long time victory was undecided,
champion fighting against champion. Finally, Haki rushed forward, and
fought with such irresistible force, that he slew all near him, among
them Eirick, and cut down the standard-bearers of the brothers,
whereupon Jorund fled to his ships with his men.
But Haki had received such severe wounds that he foresaw that his
remaining days would be few. He had made ready a vessel which he prized
very highly on account of its swiftness, beauty, and war power. He had
it loaded with the bodies of high-born warriors that had fallen in
battle, together with their weapons, and had a large pyre of tarred wood
made on the ship. Then he bade his followers farewell, and told them
that he was going to Odin, and ordered men to carry him, in full war
dress, with chain-armor, helmet, sword, and shield, on board of his
ship. Then he bade them to build a large pyre near the prow, and to lay
him upon it.
After they had done so, he had the rudder adjusted and the sail hoisted
and set, and much gold and many weapons placed on board. Then the tarred
wood was kindled. The wind blew from the shore seaward; the burning ship
sailed away, and the warriors bade Haki and his men a happy journey to
Valhalla. Farther and farther the funeral pyre of Haki and his men went
on its way. The flames rose higher and higher towards the sky; the sail
burned, and at last the mast, looking like a tower of fire, fell upon
the deck. The people believed that the higher the flames rose, the
greater would be the welcome in Valhalla. Then the lurid glare of the
flames became less and less brilliant, and, on a sudden, the ship went
down into the deep. But Haki and his warriors had sailed to Valhalla,
and the people said that this great deed of Haki would live forever in
the memory of man, and would be sung by the scalds to the end of time.
* * * * *
During this time, Ivar and his foster-brothers had gathered a large host
and made his vessels ready, for he intended to make war on the Viking
raiders who infested the sea and brought trouble and insecurity upon the
land. As they were being launched, Hjalmar’s ship struck one man as it
came down the rollers, and killed him. This accident happened once in a
great while at the launching of ships—an operation that was always
attended with danger, the more so if it were not carefully done. Such an
accident was called “roller-reddening,” and was considered a very bad
omen, therefore the intended expedition was abandoned. Ivar and his
foster-brothers thought that some faithless family spirits wished them
evil, and had abandoned their watch over them.
The next day, when Ivar and Hjalmar were walking together, Ivar thought
he saw a pet goat of his, which had been always in the habit of coming
into the courtyard. No one was allowed to drive him away. Suddenly he
said: “This is strange!”
“What dost thou see that seems strange to thee?” asked Hjalmar.
“It seems to me,” Ivar answered, “that the goat which lies in this
hollow place is covered with blood.”
Hjalmar, astonished, answered him that there was no goat there, nor
anything else.
“What is it, then?” inquired Ivar.
“I am afraid,” Hjalmar returned, “that thou must be a death-fated man,
and that thou hast seen the spirit that follows and protects thee,
warning thee of danger; and if not thyself, some of thy kinsmen may,
perhaps, be fated to die. Guard thyself well, foster-brother. I will
also watch carefully over thee, so will Sigurd and Sigmund.”
“That will not serve,” cried Ivar, “if death is fated to me, for no man
can change his fate; but I will fall bravely.”
These two successive omens made a deep impression upon Ivar; the ships
were dragged ashore, and put under the sheds, and it was announced that
no expeditions were to take place that year.
Then Ivar made a special sacrifice to Frey, for he loved Frey more than
all the other gods, and often sacrificed to him, and that day he offered
up four black oxen, and two of his most valuable horses. The following
day, Hjalmar said to Ivar: “Let us find out the decrees that fate has in
store for us, for I do not like the ‘roller-reddening’ that has taken
place at the launching of our ships, or the vision of the bloody goat.
Let us consult the oracles, as well as sacrifice to Frey. I still fear
some impending misfortune is going to happen to some of us, and that
some great sorrow will overtake us. Let us make ready and beware of
treachery. Perhaps we may meet a witch full of evil on the way; then it
is better to walk on than to lodge in her house, though the night may be
stormy. Often wicked women sit near the road, who blunt both swords and
sense. Let us never go out of doors without our weapons, for it is hard
to know, when out on the roads, if a man may need his spear. The sons of
men need eyes of foresight.”
They made, therefore, another sacrifice, and dipped the sacrificial
chips into the blood of the sacrificed animal, that was kept in the
sacred copper bowl which stood on the altar of the temple. The
sacrificing chips were thrown into the air, and the answer was that Ivar
would not die, but must remain at home that year, and that a kinsman
very dear to him would be killed in battle. So Ivar stayed quietly at
home.
The following summer Ivar made the Elidi ready and sailed for Norway;
but on the voyage, while in the Cattegat, he was obliged to stay on an
island on account of head winds. There they threw the sacrificial chips
again to get fair winds, and, as they fell, they indicated that Odin was
to receive one man out of their host before a fair wind would come. They
then sailed toward the coast and cast anchor, and there they landed. Not
far from their place of landing was a great sacrificing ring, in the
midst of which lay a huge stone, or altar. The people were in the habit
of coming there from the surrounding country to make human sacrifice and
to break the backs of men given to Odin on that altar. Agnar was the
name of the man whom the oracles, speaking through the sacrificial
chips, had designated, and upon the altar his back was broken, and he
was given to Odin, and they reddened the altar with his blood. After
this the men returned to their ships and sailed away with a fair wind.
This sacrificing ring where Agnar was given to Odin is seen to this day
near Blomholm in the province of Bohuslan, where a large ring composed
of eleven stones is still standing, with a sacrificial boulder in the
centre.
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