BETROTHAL OF IVAR AND RANDALIN
THE next morning Ivar went to see two of his uncles, Randvir, a brother
of his mother, and Visbur, a brother of his father, who had come to
Upsalir with him, and said to them: “Kinsmen, I desire you to ask for me
in marriage Randalin, the second daughter of Yngvi, the Hersir of
Svithjod.”
“Well done, Ivar,” said his two uncles with one voice. “Thou art wise in
thy choice, for Randalin is beautiful, and most accomplished in all that
pertains to woman, and will be a wife worthy of thee; she is one of the
greatest matches in the Northern lands, and we hope sincerely that both
her father and herself will consent to your union.”
“I have told Randalin how much I loved her, and she has said that no one
shall ever marry her but me,” replied Ivar.
The same afternoon the two uncles of Ivar went to Yngvi, and said to
him: “Kinsman, we have to talk to thee on a very important matter,” and
then explained their errand. Visbur was the spokesman, and said: “We are
allied to thee by blood and kinship, and we wish furthermore to cement
more closely our friendship, so we have come to ask the hand of thy
second daughter, Randalin, for Ivar. Thy daughter is high-born, and of
all the pedigrees of the Upsalir families, hers is the highest, for she
is descended in direct line from the gods themselves. We wish, if it is
thy pleasure, that Ivar should be thy son-in-law.”
After a pause, in order to allow Yngvi to reflect upon his proposals,
Visbur continued: “Ivar is valiant, has been in many battles, has
travelled far and wide, and is, we think, very wise for his age. More
than all this, Ivar loves thy daughter Randalin, and we think it will be
a happy union for both our families, and will cement the friendship that
exists between Gotland and Svithjod.”
Yngvi received their request favorably, and replied: “I know that there
will be no disparity in the match, for both Ivar and Randalin are of
Odin’s kin; Ivar is a renowned warrior, and rules over one of the
powerful realms of the North. There is no obstacle to their marriage,
for though they are related by blood, it is only in the fifth degree,
and this is the degree in which marriage is allowed between kinsmen and
kinswomen. This is one of our wisest laws, which has been adhered to by
us Norsemen from the most ancient times; by this we prevent the
degeneration of our race.”
“But,” continued Yngvi, “Randalin is wise, and I will not betroth her to
any one without her consent. Besides, she is of age, according to law,
since she is over fifteen; and as she owns entailed lands in her own
right, she can betroth herself to whom she likes, though it would be
very unwise for her to do so without my consent. But before I speak to
her on the subject, we must find that we are of one mind in regard to
the conditions of the marriage concerning property. You are aware that
Randalin has, even to-day, a great deal of property in her own right,
and that she owns a third of her mother’s inheritance, which includes
many large landed estates, and that in the course of time a great deal
of wealth is to come to her. Marriage is a civil contract, owing to the
relation which man and wife hold towards each other in regard to
property. Let us see what will be ‘the dowry,’ or ‘home following,’ and
the ‘counter dowry’; if we agree on these points, I see not what should
prevent the marriage if Randalin is willing. Her brothers are waging war
in the Mediterranean, and they will be delighted to hear of their
sister’s marriage with their comrade and remote kinsman, Ivar
Hjorvardson.”
Then he added: “According to the laws of our land, a woman has to be
provided with a dowry, otherwise her children are not ‘inheritance
born,’ and no marriage is valid without dowry; and that dowry, and the
counter dowry which we give her, belong to her for life, and afterwards
to her children, or to whomsoever she wills them, and her husband must
not touch them. If she dies childless, her estates go back to her
kinsmen, but the dowry is then returned to her husband; and she is
entitled to a third of the property, both personal and real, earned by
her husband during their married life.”
“Thou speakest fairly,” said the uncles. “Ivar will give as dowry to
Randalin the estates of Bjolstad, of Lis, of Hof, and five hundred marks
of gold.”
“This dowry is acceptable to me,” answered the Hersir of Svithjod.
“What counter dowry wilt thou give to Randalin?” inquired the uncles of
Ivar.
“I will give her,” replied Yngvi, “the large estate of Rodelsvellir and
five hundred marks of gold.”
“This is generous on thy part,” said Visbur and Randvir. “We will not
discuss the trousseau which Ivar ought to give Randalin, for we know him
to be most generous, and proud of his rank and dignity, and that he
wishes Randalin to have such an outfit as becometh the daughter of the
Hersir of Svithjod.”
Randalin was sent for, and Yngvi said to her: “I have a marriage to
propose to thee, my daughter, which I think will suit thee well. I did
not wish to betroth thee without thy consent. What thinkest thou of
marrying Ivar Hjorvardson, the Hersir of Gotland? No better union
couldst thou form in all the Northern lands.”
Randalin replied: “Father, no one could better please me, and the
goddess Var has listened to the vows made between us, for Ivar and I
love each other.”
Then Ivar was summoned to the conference, and Yngvi addressed him thus:
“I would not give my daughter to thee, Ivar, if I did not like thee; and
I would rather have thee than any of the other men in our Northern lands
marry Randalin, for I consider thee the foremost in mind, courage, and
daring.” Ivar thanked Yngvi for his kind words and for his consent to
his marriage with Randalin.
After all the conditions were agreed to, each side called six men of
high rank, and the agreement of the marriage was recited before them, as
the law required, and they stood as witnesses of the contract.
It was agreed that the betrothal should not be for more than twelve
months, unless unforeseen circumstances occurred.
Yngvi then said to Randalin: “I betroth thee according to law, as thy
father and guardian. It is a complete betrothal.”
Then Ivar advanced toward Yngvi, who declared Ivar betrothed to
Randalin, his daughter, and then they named witnesses to their
betrothal.
Randalin next came forward and said: “Thou, Ivar, in presence of these
witnesses, hast betrothed thyself to me lawfully; give me the counter
dowry, and clasp my hand as the fulfilment and performance of the whole
agreement, which a little while ago was recited before us without fraud
or trick. This will be a complete and lawful match.”
“According to law,” said Ivar, “we name witnesses, Randalin, that thou
hast betrothed thyself to me, Ivar Hjorvardson, lawfully. I give thee
the counter dowry, with handshaking to seal the agreement, as the
fulfilment and performance of the whole contract, which was but just now
recited between us.”
Then, laughingly, one of the uncles of Ivar said to him: “Thou knowest,
Ivar, that the breaking of a betrothal by either party is punished, and
whichever party breaks it forfeits the dowry promised.”
“No fear of this,” exclaimed Ivar and Randalin at the same time, as they
stood side by side.
Then said Yngvi, addressing Ivar, “Randalin has no faults or blemishes
on her person. If thou findest faults or blemishes in her which I have
not told thee of, it is because I do not know them. Her mother, as thou
knowest, is dead, and she is the one that could tell. Randalin herself
says she has no blemish. If she has, thou canst refuse to marry her; and
if thou canst prove that I knew it, thou mayest claim the dowry
according to law.”
They all separated, very happy, and when Yngvi was alone with his
daughter, after the kinsmen of Ivar had departed, he said to her:
“Daughter, thou thinkest that Ivar is perfection. A short time after
thou art married to him, thou wilt find that he has faults, and thou
wilt perhaps regret that thou didst not marry Thorstein, who, like Ivar,
loved thee, and who aspired silently to thy hand; but I assure thee that
if thou hadst married Thorstein, thou wouldst also find fault in him,
for there is no man, no matter how good and brave he is, that is without
a fault. So be satisfied, though thou mayst find some fault in Ivar, and
though the ideal thou hadst of thy lover before thou hadst known him
well and lived with him is broken. Many dreams of youth vanish in life.
The Nornir are wise, and none of us knows his fate beforehand.”
The following morning Ivar, accompanied by several of the highest-born
men of Gotland, and followed by the kinsmen of Hjalmar, went to Yngvi
and explained their errand, which was to ask Astrid in marriage for
Hjalmar.
The Hersir of Svithjod listened to them, and said: “It was my intention
to betroth my daughter to another man, for I did not know that Hjalmar
and Astrid loved each other. I think much of Hjalmar, for he is valiant,
and is one of my land defenders, and I think the marriage a good one, as
his family is also descended from Odin.”
The conditions of the marriage and the length of the betrothal were then
agreed upon before witnesses. Sigmund was also betrothed in the same
way, and for the same length of time, to Solveig, leaving Sigurd the
only one of the four foster-brothers with free heart and hand.
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