TREATS OF ANCIENT DIPLOMACY AMONG THE NORSEMEN, AND SHOWS HOW OUR HERO
TURNS THE TABLES ON A WOULD-BE ASSASSIN.
When King Harald heard the news of the defeat of Hake and the slaughter
of his men by Erling and Glumm, great was his wrath at first, and Jarl
Rongvold had much ado to appease him and prevent him from going at once
to Horlingdal to ravage it with fire and sword. But when he had cooled
a little, and heard the details of the fight from Hake himself, his
anger against the young warriors changed into admiration of their
dauntless courage.
Harald Fairhair was a kingly man in spirit as well as in appearance, and
was above encouraging a mean or vengeful mood. He was indeed fierce and
violent in his rage, and often did things which, when read of in the
calm of a comparatively peaceful time, make one shudder; but it must not
be forgotten that the age in which he lived was a cruel and bloody one,
and, in Norway, without one touch of the gentle religion of Christ to
soften its asperities. He could never have retained his power and rule
over the stern warriors of his day, had he not possessed much of their
own callous indifference to the horrors and cruelties of war.
"Thou hadst tougher work than thou countedst on, it would seem," he said
to Hake; then, turning to Jarl Rongvold, with a laugh, "Methinks I would
fain have this Erling the Bold and his friend Glumm the Gruff among my
men-at-arms."
"I fear, sire, that they will not be easily induced to enter thy
service, for they are both Sea-kings, and independent spirits."
"Such men have submitted to us before now," said the King, with a
peculiar glance.
"Most true," returned the jarl, flushing; "but all men have not the same
belief in your wisdom."
"That may be, yet methinks I could tame this Sea-king--this Erling.
Perchance costly gifts might win him, or it may be that rough blows
would suit him better. What thinkest thou, Hake? thou hast had some
experience in that way."
"If you mean, sire, that you have a mind to receive rough blows at his
hand, I will guarantee him both able and willing to gratify you. I know
not the weight of Thor's hammer, but I am bound to say that it occurred
to my mind when Erling's axe came down on my steel headpiece, and set a
host of stars dancing in my brain."
"I believe thee," said the King, smiling grimly, "and thy visage speaks
for itself."
This was indeed the case. The berserk's countenance was very pale. He
still suffered from the crashing blow with which he had been felled, and
his heart rankled under his defeat, for he was not aware that the blow,
heavy though it was, had been delivered in mercy, or that if his enemy
had not turned aside the edge of his axe it would have cleft him to the
chin. Perchance, if he _had_ known this it would not have improved the
state of his feelings; for Hake possessed no nobility of spirit.
"It may be," continued Harald, "that thou shalt have another opportunity
of measuring swords with this Sea-king. Meanwhile, Jarl Rongvold, go
thou with Rolf, and bring round the Dragon and the other longships to
the fiord, for I mistrust the men of this district, and will fare to the
Springs by sea."
In accordance with these instructions the jarl brought the King's fleet
round without delay. On the following morning they embarked, and set
sail for the appointed place of meeting.
Here the fleet under Haldor and Ulf had already cast anchor. The ships
lay close to the rocks, near the mouth of the river into which Erling
had thrust his cutter just before the battle with the Danes; and a fine
sight it was to behold these, with their painted shields and gilded
masts and figure-heads, lying in the still water, crowded with armed
warriors, while Harald's longship, the Dragon, and all his other
vessels, came by twos and threes into the fiord, the oars tossing foam
on the blue waters, and the gaily coloured sails swelling out before a
gentle breeze.
The King laid his ship alongside of a point of rocks on the south side
of the bay. Then, when all the fleet had assembled, both parties
landed, and the Thing was summoned by sound of horn. It was held on the
level ground where the recent battle had been fought. There were still
strewn about many evidences of the ferocity of that fight; and when the
King looked upon the host of stout and well-armed men who had assembled,
not only from Horlingdal, but from the whole of the surrounding
district, he felt that, however much he might wish to force obedience on
his subjects, "discretion" was at that time "the better part of valour."
When the Thing was assembled the King stood up to speak, and there was
probably not a man upon the ground who did not in his heart acknowledge
that the tall, stout warrior, with the thick mass of golden locks, and
the large masculine features, was, as far as physique went, a worthy
wearer of the crown of Norway. It may be added that physique went a
very long way indeed in those days; yet it is due to the Northmen to say
that, at the same time, intellect was held in higher repute among them
than among any of the feudally governed nations of Europe. One evidence
of this was, that at the Things the best speaker, no matter what his
rank, had a better chance of swaying the people than the King himself;
while, in other countries, might to a large extent was right, and no one
dared to open his mouth against him who chanced to be in power.
But King Harald Haarfager's power lay not merely in his personal
appearance and indomitable will. He was also a good speaker, and, like
all good speakers in a wrong cause, was an able sophist. But he had men
to deal with who were accustomed to think and reason closely, as must
ever be more or less the case with a self-governed people. There were
acute men there, men who had the laws of the land "by heart", in the
most literal sense of those words,--for there were no books to consult
and no precedents to cite in those days; and his hearers weighed with
jealous care each word he said.
The King began by complimenting the men of the district for their
spirit, and their resolution to defend the laws of the realm; and he
enlarged a little on these laws and on the wisdom of his own father,
Halfdan the Black, and the men of his time, who had made and modified
many of them. Then he went on to say that with time the circumstances
of nations altered, and that, with these alterations, there arose a
necessity for the alteration and modification of old laws as well as for
the making of new ones. He deprecated the idea that he wished, as had
been said of him, to trample the laws under his feet, and rule the
country according to his own will and pleasure. Nothing was further
from his intention or his desire. His wish was to amend the laws,
especially those of them that touched on the relative position of King
and people.
Up to this point the people heard him with respectful attention, and
hundreds of those who were more addicted to fighting than to reasoning,
especially among the younger men, began to think that after all, Harald
entertained exceedingly just opinions, and appeared to possess a spirit
of candour and fair play which did not seem to justify the outcry that
had been raised against him. Even these, however, remembered that it
was not very long since a small king of one of the northern glens had
been summoned by Harold to submit to his views of government, and, on
his declining to do so, had been burnt, with all his family and
followers, in his own house, contrary to law! They therefore knitted
their brows and waited to hear more.
The King then began to explain his ideas with regard to the royal
authority over the chief men of the districts, some of which are already
known to the reader. At this point the assembly listened with deep,
earnest attention. Some of the men sat with hands clasped on their
knees, and with stern downcast brows. Some gazed up at the clouds with
the peculiar expression of men who listen and weigh arguments. Others
leaned on their swords or shields, and, with compressed lips and
suspicious gaze, looked the King full in the face, while a few regarded
him with a sneer; but the expression on the faces of the greater part
denoted manliness of feeling and honesty of purpose.
After Harald had stated his views, and assured them that his great aim
was to consolidate the kingdom and to prevent the evils that flowed from
the almost unlimited independence of the petty kings, he asked the
assembly to aid him in carrying out his wishes, and to set an example of
fidelity and obedience, which would restrain others from showing that
unseemly opposition to him which had only resulted in severe and merited
punishment.
He then sat down amid a murmur of mingled applause and disapprobation.
After a few minutes of animated converse among themselves, there arose
an old man with a bald head, a flowing beard, and sightless eyes. He
was the "lagman" or district judge, and law-expounder of Horlingdal.
Deep silence ensued, and he said, in a decided though somewhat tremulous
tone--
"King Harald, I am a very old man now, and can remember the time when
your noble sire, Halfdan the Black, ruled in Norway. I have fought by
his side, and lost my eyes in his service--in a fight in which our
opponents gave us the tooth-ache. [Norse expression signifying `the
worst of it.'] I have also heard him speak those words of wisdom to
which you have referred, and have seen him bow to the laws which were
made _not_ by himself, but by him in conjunction with the Thing legally
assembled for the purpose."
There was a loud murmur of applause at this point.
"And now that we have heard the King's opinions," continued the old man,
turning to the people, "and know that his intentions are good, although
the manner in which he has set about carrying them into effect is
undoubtedly wrong, my counsel is that we nevertheless submit to him in
this matter, for we know that a great number of the small kings have
already submitted, and it were better to have a beneficial change--even
when not carried out exactly according to law--than to plunge this
country into prolonged and useless warfare, in which much blood will,
assuredly, be spilt, and nothing of any value gained."
The lagman sat down, but only a few of those present indicated their
approval of his sentiments.
Immediately Haldor the Fierce stood up, and men could see that his
spirit was stirred within him, for a dark frown lowered on a brow which
was at most times fair and unruffled like the summer sky. There was
deep silence in the assembly before he began to speak, and the King,
despite the suppressed anger which rankled in his breast, could not
choose but look upon his commanding figure with respect, also with
surprise, for he recognised the strong resemblance between him and
Erling, though he knew not their relationship.
"I agree not," said Haldor, "with what has just been said by our
respected lagman. A change, even for the better, ought _never_ to be
accepted if not made according to law, No one can say that any change
will certainly be for the better until it is tried; and should this one,
perchance, turn out for the worse, then shall we have neither advantage
nor law on our side. For my part I had rather see my country plunged
into warfare--which no one, unless he is gifted with the foreknowledge
of the gods, can say will be either prolonged or useless--than see her
laws trampled under foot; for well do I know that, if the King be
permitted to make himself an outlaw, blood will be kept boiling
perpetually from one end of the land to the other, and it were better,
methinks, that that blood should spill than boil. My counsel is, that
the King be advised to call a Thing in the regular way, so that the
changes he would make shall be fully considered, and either be made law
or rejected; for, if he attempts to enforce his plans on us as he has
done on other small kings, we will assuredly resist him as long as there
is a man left in the district to wield a battle-axe."
There was a great shout and clash of arms when this was said, and the
King's face became crimson with rage, for he saw clearly that the
feeling of the majority was against him.
At this point Jarl Rongvold stood up and spoke in the bland tones of a
man who wishes to throw oil on troubled waters.
He said that it was his earnest entreaty to the bonders and
house-holding men, both great and small, then and there assembled, that
they should calmly consider the proposals of the King, and not allow
themselves to be carried away by unsound reasoning, although it might
seem very plausible, for he was certain that the King's desire was the
good of the country; and although circumstances had rendered it
necessary that some of the rebellious should be punished, no one could
say that the King was not willing and ready to do all that he did in a
fair, open, and straightforward manner.
At this Erling was unable to restrain himself. He sprang up, and, with
a passionate flow of words that burst forth like a mountain torrent,
exclaimed--
"Thinkest thou, Jarl Rongvold, that our brains are so addled that we
cannot distinguish between black and white? Is thy memory so short, is
thy slavery to the King so complete, that thou must say evil is good and
good evil? Hast thou and has the King so soon forgotten that two
strangers came to the court with a message from one of the legal
assemblies of this land,--that, trusting to the honour of the King, they
came without following, and with only such arms as were needful for
personal defence,--and that the honour to which they trusted was not
proof against the temptation to send a noted berserk and nineteen men to
waylay and slay them? Is all this clean gone from your memory, Jarl and
King? or is your wit so small that ye should think we will believe in
soft words about fair play when such foul deeds are so recent that the
graves are yet wet with the blood of those whom Glumm and I were
compelled to slay in self-defence?"
At this the King started up, and his face became white and red by turns,
as he said--
"Ye shall, both of you, rue this day, Erling and Glumm!"
Erling made no reply, but Glumm started up and was in so great a passion
that he could hardly speak; nevertheless he made shift to splutter out--
"Threats, King Harald, are like water spilt on a shield which can only
rust if left there; I wipe them off and fling them away!"
He could add no more, but with a contemptuous motion of the hand he
struck his fist violently against his shirt of mail, and the bonders
laughed while they applauded him.
Then stood up a man in the troop of the Springdal men, who was of great
stature and grim countenance, clad in a leather cloak, with an axe on
his shoulder and a great steel hat upon his head. He looked sternly,
and said--
"When rights are not respected then the crows flap their wings and caw,
for they know that ere long they shall glut themselves with human
blood."
He sat down, and immediately after Ulf of Romsdal stood up. Ulf had
fully as much fire as Erling or Glumm, but he possessed greater power of
self-restraint, and, as he spoke with deliberation, his words had all
the more weight. He said--
"King Harald, when in the exercise of our udal rights we bonders elected
thee to be our King at the Thing held in Drontheim, we stated and traced
thy descent from Odin through the Vingling dynasty, proved thy udal
right to the crown, and truly thought that we had placed it on the head
of one who would walk in the footsteps of his father, and respect that
authority and power in virtue of which he held his own high position.
But we now find that thou hast constituted thyself a law higher than the
law which made thee what thou art, and thou now wouldst have us, of our
own free will, bend our necks so low that thou mayest with the more ease
set thy foot on them and keep us down. We have served thee in all good
faith up to the present time; we have readily met thy demands for men,
ships, arms, and money, by calling together our assemblies and voting
these supplies; and now thou wouldst rob us of this our old right, and
tax us without our consent, so that thou mayest raise men for thyself,
and have it all thine own way. This must not, shall not, be. Even now,
we bonders will unanimously hold by the law if it be passed in the
proper assembly and receives our yea, and we will follow thee and serve
thee as our King as long as there is a living man amongst us. But thou,
King, must use moderation towards us, and only require of us such things
as it is lawful or possible for us to obey thee in. If, however, thou
wilt take up this matter with a high hand, and wilt try thy power and
strength against us, we have resolved among ourselves to part with thee,
and to take to ourselves some other chief who will respect those laws by
which alone society can be held together. Now, King Harald, thou must
choose one or other of these conditions before the Thing is ended."
The loud applause which followed this speech showed that the bonders
heartily sympathised with it, and indeed several of them rose and said
that it expressed their will exactly, and they would stand or fall by
what had been spoken.
When silence had been restored, Jarl Rongvold, who had whispered in the
King's ear some earnest words, stood forth and said:
"It is King Harald's will to give way to you in this matter for he does
not wish to separate himself from your friendship."
This brought the Thing to a close. Thereafter the two parties returned
to their ships, intending to feast and pass the night in them.
The King was very affable, and invited Haldor and some of the others
whose language had been comparatively moderate to feast with him, but
they declined the honour, and retired to their own ships.
In the evening, while the sounds of revelry were heard everywhere, a
boat approached Erling's ship. It was rowed by a single man, who, when
it touched her side, leaped on board and went aft to where Erling was
seated with Guttorm Stoutheart.
"King Harald would speak with thee," said the man, who was no other than
Hake the berserk.
"Methinks his intentions can scarce be friendly," said Erling, with a
grim smile, "when he sends so trusty a messenger."
"It may be so," replied Hake coolly, "but that is nothing to me. My
business is to deliver the message and offer to conduct thee to him."
"And pray, what surety have I that thou wilt not upset me in the fiord?"
asked Erling, laughing.
"The surety that if I upset thee we shall be on equal terms in the
water," replied Hake gruffly.
"Nay, that depends on which of us can swim best," returned Erling; "and,
truly, if thou canst fight as well in the water as on the land, we
should have a rare struggle, Hake."
"Am I to say to the King that thou art afraid of him?" asked the
berserk, with a look of scorn.
"Yea, truly, if it is thy desire to tell him a lie," retorted Erling.
"But get thee into the boat, fellow; I will follow anon."
Hake turned on his heel and returned to the boat, while Erling took
Guttorm aside.
"Now, art thou fey?" [death-doomed] said Guttorm. "What has made thee
so tired of life that thou shouldest put thy neck under his heel thus
readily?"
"Fear not, my friend," said Erling; "now that I have seen King Harald a
second time, I think him a better man than at first I did. Ambition
will no doubt lead him to do many things that are contrary to his
nature; but I do not think he will violate the laws of hospitality after
what has passed. However, I may be wrong; so I would ask thee, Guttorm,
to go aboard of your ship, which lies nearest to that of the King, and,
should ye see anything like a struggle, or hear a shout do thou haste to
the rescue. I will have my men also in readiness."
While the stout-hearted old Sea-king, in compliance with this request,
got into a small boat and rowed to his own vessel, Erling gave
particular directions to his chief house-carle to keep a sharp lookout
and be ready to act at a moment's notice. Then he went into Hake's
boat, and was rowed alongside the Dragon, where the King received him
with much condescension, and took him aft to the cabin under the high
poop. Here he offered him a horn of ale, which, however, Erling
declined, and then began to use his utmost powers of persuasion to
induce him to enter his service. At first he tried to influence him by
flattery, and commended him for his bold and straightforward conduct at
the Thing, which, he said, showed to all men that he merited well his
distinctive title; but, on finding that our hero was not to be won by
flattery, he quickly and adroitly changed his ground, began to talk of
the future prospects of Norway, and the necessity for improved
legislation. In this he was so successful that he secured the interest,
and to some extent the sympathy, of the young warrior, who entered
eagerly and somewhat more respectfully into the discussion.
"But, sire," he said, at the close of one of the King's remarks, "if
these are your sentiments, why did you not state them more fully to-day
at the Thing, and why should you not even now call a meeting of the Stor
Thing, and have the matter properly discussed by all in the land who
have a right to speak?"
"Hadst thou had any experience of kingcraft, Erling, thou hadst not
asked the question. If I were now to do as thou dost suggest, the
numerous small kings who have already been put down by force would band
against me, and bring such a following of opponents to the Thing that
fair discussion would be out of the question."
Erling thought in his own mind, "One false step always necessitates
another; you should have called a meeting of the Thing before putting
down anyone;" however, he did not give utterance to the thought, but
said--
"I think you are mistaken, sire; there may be many who, out of revenge,
might oppose you, but certain am I that those who would vote for that
which is for the wellbeing of the land would form a vast majority.
Besides, it is the only course left open to you."
At this the King flushed with a feeling of anger, and, drawing himself
up, touched the hilt of his sword without uttering a word.
"When I said the only course," remarked Erling, "I meant the only lawful
course. Sorry should I be to see you, King Harald, draw the sword in a
bad cause; but if you do, be assured that thousands of good blades will
gleam in opposition."
At this the King's eyes flashed, and, turning suddenly upon Erling, he
shook back the masses of his yellow hair with lion-like ferocity,
exclaiming--
"Dost thou dare to speak thus to me in mine own ship, Erling?"
"It is because I am in your ship that I dare. Were I in my own, the
laws of hospitality had shut my mouth."
"Knowest thou not," said the King, waxing still more angry at the rebuke
conveyed in this speech, and laying his hand on his sword, "that I have
power to shut thy mouth now and for ever?"
"It may be so, and it may be not so," replied Erling, stepping back, and
laying his hand on the hilt of his own weapon.
At this the King laughed sarcastically. "And if," said he, "thou hadst
the power and skill to overcome my feeble arm, hast thou the folly to
think that ye could clear the Dragon of all her men?"
Erling replied: "The remembrance, King Harald, of the way in which I
treated some of thy men in the woods not long ago, inclines me to
believe that I could give them some trouble to slay me, and the thought
of that transaction induced me, before I came hither, to make such
arrangements that at all events my fall should not go unavenged."
For a moment or two the King's countenance lowered ferociously on the
youth, and he ground his teeth together as if unable to restrain his
passion; but suddenly he uttered a short laugh, and said--
"Truly thou shouldst have been styled prudent as well as bold. But go,
I will take counsel with others, and perhaps thou shalt hear again of
this matter."
Our hero retired immediately, but he observed in passing that Hake was
summoned to attend the King, and that another man stepped into the boat
to row him to his own ship.
"Is all well?" growled the rich voice of old Guttorm as he passed the
vessel of that worthy.
Erling told the rower to stop, and, glancing up, beheld the stern yet
good-humoured visage of his bluff friend looking over the rows of bright
shields that hung on the bulwarks.
"All is well," replied Erling.
"It is well for the King that it is so," rejoined Guttorm, "for my hand
was itching to give him a taste of our northern metal. Assuredly, if a
mouse had but squeaked on board the Dragon, I had deemed it sufficient
ground on which to have founded an immediate onslaught. But get thee to
bed, Erling, and let me advise thee to sleep with thy windward eye
open."
"Trust me," said Erling, with a laugh, as he pushed off; "I will not
sleep with both eyes shut to-night!"