IVAR’S VISIT TO YNGVI
SIGRLIN was extremely desirous that Ivar should appear at the games and
before the daughters of the Hersir of Svithjod as befitted his rank and
wealth. For several months she had been preparing his outfit. Ivar
himself wanted to have his best apparel and weapons, for men who went to
the games or to the Thing wore their finest garments and arms. When
everything was ready, and before they were packed, his mother called him
and asked him to look at his outfit.
First she showed him the cloaks, or rather mantles; these were made of
woven stuffs that had come from the Caspian, and were very costly. They
were worn over the shoulders, and only by men of high birth; they were
similar in shape to the _paludamentum_, or military cloak of the Romans,
or the _chlamys_ of the Greeks; they were a mark of dignity and honor,
and were fastened with most costly brooches. They were of variegated
hues—green, red, blue, scarlet, and purple—and bordered with a wide
braid of different colors, or with a kind of lace; these mantles were
the handsomest and most costly part of Ivar’s outfit. The Norsemen took
great pride in them. There were also rain and dust cloaks.
The silk and linen underwear, such as vests, undershirts, drawers; silk,
linen, and woollen shirts, were like ours, but without collars attached
to them. Those of wool were of varied patterns and colors. Kirtles were
also plentiful; they were longer than the shirts, were of silk, linen,
and wool. These were put over the shirts, and worn next to the
chain-armor, and extended somewhat below it. There were also many pairs
of trousers; these were of wool, almost tight-fitting, socks and legs in
one piece.
Ivar thanked his mother for all the care she had taken in selecting his
outfit, which could not be more elaborate and costly. He himself chose
the weapons he was to take with him, for there was nothing of which the
Vikings were more proud than their arms. His were unrivalled for beauty
and quality. The chain-armor suits, or “brynjas,” were marvels of
workmanship, and one of them was of gold; the blades of his swords and
saxes were all beautifully damascened, and their hilts were
gold-ornamented, and their scabbards also ornamented with gold; his
shields were gold-rimmed, and adorned with superb designs, representing
warlike deeds of great Vikings.
There was a rich assortment of leather belts, with buckles of gold,
inlaid with precious stones. Some of these buckles were enamelled in
red, green, blue, and black. The Norsemen excelled in the art of
enamelling. A large collection of brooches for fastening his mantles
were in a special box.
His toilet-box contained combs, ear-picks, and tweezers of gold.
But the gems in jewellery were the fastenings of his chain-armor. These
were of bronze, covered with a sheet of gold of exquisite _repoussé_
work.
One of the fastenings had a rosette in the centre, surrounded by nine
heads, but the other circle was of a richness of design in which the
artist had displayed his greatest skill and taste. In that were four
rosettes at equal distance from each other; between each of these was a
figure of a man in a sitting posture, which perhaps represented Ægir,
the god of the sea. Each figure was surrounded by fishes, ducks of
different sizes, etc.
His riding accoutrements could not be excelled for beauty: the stirrups
were of silver, inlaid with gold; the spurs were of solid gold,
ornamented with exquisite filigree work; the bridle was a gilt-bronze
chain.
All those who were to go with him were also to dress with great
magnificence, and their riding gear and weapons were to vie with those
of the richest men of the land.
* * * * *
The fleet of dragon-ships which took Ivar and his retinue to Svithjod
were the finest ships of Gotland, and no handsomer ones could be seen in
the Viking lands. Their red-burnished gold dragons glowed as fire when
the sun shone upon them, and some of them were so much ornamented that
their entire hulls seemed to be of gold. They carried handsome striped
sails of different colors, red and blue stripes predominating. Their
pennants and standards were gold-embroidered. The shields that were to
hang outside, along the gunwales, had gold rims, and were painted in
yellow and black, or red and white, so that their effect, as they lay
side by side, overlapping each other, was very striking.
Fifteen provision ships followed the fleet. Two of these carried some
superb horses which Ivar intended as a present for the Hersir of
Svithjod, for Gotland was celebrated for its breed of horses. Among the
horses were thoroughbred stallions of dark chestnut color. Ivar was to
present him, also, with a new dragon-ship sheeted with thin gold above
the water-line.
Hjalmar, Sigurd, and Sigmund had joined Ivar, each with a handsome
skeid.
After an uneventful voyage, the fleet sighted the shores of Svithjod,
and soon afterwards arrived opposite the fjord leading to Lake Malar.
The fastest vessels let down their sails, cast anchor, and waited for
those lagging behind; and when they had come in sight of each other, the
shields were hung outside of the gunwales of every vessel. The peace
shields were hoisted, and the standards of the different Vikings were
seen floating gracefully on the breeze. The fleet remained at anchor for
the night, and next morning the horns were sounded for the anchors to be
raised and to move forward. The wind was fair and fresh, and as the
ships sailed they passed by many small hamlets nestling in nooks along
the picturesque shore. Slaves in their white garments were seen tilling
the soil, or cutting down trees that were to be used in the construction
of houses or vessels. The harvest had taken place, and rye, barley, and
oats were still stacked in the field. Everything was peaceful, but
behind these hills and these forests lived the Sviar, or the Sueones of
the Romans and their kindred, the bravest and most daring people the
Roman Empire had ever come in contact with.
The fjord leading towards Lake Malar had, in those days, about the same
appearance as to-day. Their granite walls protected them against the
daughters of Ægir and Ran. Island after island lined the coast and the
entrance of the fjord, and the shores were clad in many places with
woods and forests of gigantic oak and pine, and some which witnessed the
scenes I describe are still to be seen here and there. When evening
came, the horns sounded for the vessels to cast anchor for the night.
The following morning, at dawn of day, the ships were again under way.
The voyage drew towards its end, Lake Malar was entered, the old town of
Sigtuna came in sight, and soon afterwards they cast anchor for the last
time.
Then Ivar, two of his uncles, his three foster-brothers, and the men of
high birth who had followed him, left their ships and landed. All were
splendidly attired. Ivar wore over his shoulders a superb red cloak, and
his followers likewise. These cloaks were so long that their swords
could not be seen under them. They mounted their horses, which had been
sent ashore. They rode slowly along, with their hawks resting on their
shoulders or on their wrists. Ivar’s hawk was called Habrok, and was
very famous on account of its skill in catching large birds and hares.
Every man in that retinue looked every inch a warrior; their mustaches,
which only high-born men could wear, gave them a martial appearance;
their hair hung gracefully on their necks from under their shining,
bright helmets. Ivar wore a golden helmet.
The watchmen in the towers at Upsalir had seen Ivar and his following
coming, and told Yngvi of their approach, saying to him: “There glitter
in the sunshine, helmets, splendid shields and chain-armor, axes and
spears. The men look very valiant. Those must be some of thy guests, and
from their bearing they are high born.”
The people watched them as they rode towards Upsalir. When they arrived
in front of the gate they stopped, and after it was opened they entered
the large square, or town, and went to the great banqueting hall,
dismounted near the door, and then went in.
Yngvi was seated on his high seat, and received Ivar and his kinsmen and
warriors with great courtesy, and bade him be seated, as a mark of
honor, in the second high seat. Yngvi was of medium height; he wore a
long, flowing, white beard, for he was of that age when Hersirs wore
beards, instead of a moustache; he had deep blue eyes and a benevolent
countenance, and was clad in a long, flowing robe of great beauty,
embroidered all over with gold. He looked at Ivar intently for a while.
What were his thoughts nobody could tell; but probably he was trying to
read the character of the son of Hjorvard, his kinsman. He, perhaps,
also thought that one of his daughters would make a good match by
marrying the son of Hjorvard.
Ivar was tall and strong; his physique, under the constant training of
athletic games, was superb. His features were regular, his cheeks rather
prominent; his nose was aquiline, his eyes of a most beautiful deep
blue, and, when looking at you, seemed to search your innermost
thoughts; and his long hair was fair and silky.
In the evening there was great feasting and drinking, but the daughters
of the Hersir of Svithjod did not make their appearance.
* * * * *
Wonderful, indeed, was Upsalir, and it was not strange that its fame
extended far and wide, for it was the most beautiful burg in all the
northern lands. The buildings and houses that faced the immense
quadrangle which they surrounded made an extraordinary sight; there were
houses with wooden walls that had stood the storms of centuries, some of
which, it was believed, had been built by Frey himself. What
immense-sized oaks and fir trees had been used in the construction of
these buildings! The timbers had become so hardened on account of the
resin having been absorbed by the fibres of the wood, that they seemed
indestructible. Gold and silver had not been spared in the inside
ornamentation of many of these structures; the best architects and
artists of those days had been employed in their construction,
ornamentation, and carvings. Many of these houses looked very weird and
fantastic, and were of the same style of architecture as those of
Dampstadir, but of an earlier date.
Among those structures stood one finer than all the others; this was the
great banqueting hall, famed all over the Norselands on account of its
splendor, size, and peculiar outside ornamentation of gargoyles. The two
doors leading into the interior were marvellous specimens of carving.
The door-jambs represented the different ceremonies attending the
funeral of Baldr, according to Norse belief, and a heavy gold knocker
adorned each door.
The hall itself was superb; the walls were adorned with carvings, and
represented a sacrifice made to Odin, and many other religious subjects.
Shields hung all along the walls, and these were all adorned with gold,
and with beautiful designs, many telling of the great deeds of the
heroes of the race. They had been collected by each successive ruler of
Svithjod, or had been given to them as presents by the most renowned
smiths of the day. Tapestries hung where there was no carving, and these
had been chiefly embroidered by the daughters and wives of the Hersirs
who had ruled over Upsalir. Here was a tapestry representing ships
gliding over the water with their gold-ornamented dragons; another
represented a body of men dressed in war costume, ready to land. Many
were hunting scenes with dogs or hawks.
The collection of Grecian glass gathered by different rulers, such as
bowls, cups, beakers, and drinking horns, was exquisite. There were
goblets with Greek inscriptions upon them; a beautiful bowl of glass, of
sapphire color, was partly encircled with a delicate open silver work,
showing the color of the glass behind. All these objects illustrated the
great taste and refinement of those who had collected them, and told of
the high civilization of those times in the North. There were numbers of
Roman and Greek bronze vessels of most graceful forms, showing the Roman
and Greek art at its best in that particular branch of industry. Some of
these vessels were fluted on the sides, and the fastenings of the
handles represented winged women’s heads, lions, or other graceful
figures. Upon one of these vases was a Latin inscription in letters of
silver. Roman and Greek statuettes of bronze, of men and women, were
scattered here and there.
But the objects which Yngvi prized more than any others were a
collection of Roman coins anterior to Augustus, of the time of the
republic; these had been coined by patrician families, and showed that
the Sviar made voyages to the Mediterranean, and incursions along its
shores, long before our era. As Yngvi showed them to Ivar, he said:
“Many of our kinsmen have been buried on the Mediterranean, for in the
time of the Etruscan they traded there, and their graves are seen to
this day in that country, and can be easily recognized, for they are
exactly like those found in the Norselands.”
Among the valuable objects from the North were two large and superb
drinking horns, made of bands of gold, with figures in _repoussé_ work,
having strange mythical representations, among which were three-headed
men, shields, swords, horned men, men on horseback, stars, pigs, snakes,
fishes, deer, and other animals. Each of these horns weighed between
seven and eight pounds. There were other vessels of silver, with
beautiful _repoussé_ work in gold near the rim, representing deer,
birds, and animals, which were of Greek or Roman origin.
In this hall the most sumptuous entertainments were given, but only on
great occasions, or when mighty chiefs came on a visit, or when a
wedding took place. Then the scalds recited in the evening, by the light
of heavy wax candles, the deeds of the forefathers and the great
warriors of the race, or the old and wise taught wisdom to those who
were around them. The high seats were of gold. Above the high seat of
Yngvi hung his sword, with the peace bands round it; under it were his
helmet and shield.
Not far from Upsalir were the “idrottir” grounds, or athletic fields, a
place famed all over the North. The name idrottir was applied to all
bodily and mental exercises. Men practised there all kinds of games and
gymnastic exercises.
The most important championship games took place in the spring, before
men left upon Viking expeditions, and in the autumn when they had
returned home. Old and young were equally eager for these contests. When
a ship was at anchor near the shore, the crew always landed to play
games; no opportunity was ever lost when the occasion allowed them to
practise. To gain the championship of the herad was considered a great
honor, but a still greater one was to gain that of several herads, when
many men were pitted against each other. But the contest that was to
take place for the championship of all the Norselands was on a far
greater scale, and was to be a memorable occasion in the lives of those
who were to become contestants.
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