ERIK BLOOD-AXE (930-935).
While Harold's despotism had been civilizing and, on the whole,
beneficent, that of Erik Blood-Axe was disorganizing and destructive.
With him the old turbulent viking spirit ascended the throne. Power
meant with him the means of gratifying every savage impulse. Brave he
was, delighting in battle; cruel and pitiless; and yet not without a
certain sense of fairness and occasional impulses of generosity. In
person he was handsome, of stately presence, but haughty and taciturn.
Unhappily he married a woman who weakened all that was good in him and
strengthened all that was bad. Queen Gunhild possessed a baneful
influence over him during his entire life. She was cruel, avaricious,
and treacherous, and was popularly credited with all the ill deeds which
her husband committed. There are strange legends about her, attributing
to witchcraft the power she had over every one who came in contact with
her. According to Snorre, Erik met her in Finmark, whither she had been
sent by her parents to learn sorcery. For the Finns were in those days
credited with a deep knowledge of the black art. The two sorcerers with
whom she was staying were both determined to marry her, and like the
princess in the fairy-tale, she concealed Prince Erik in her tent, and
begged him to rid her of her troublesome suitors. This, in spite of many
difficulties, Erik did, carried Gunhild away to his ships, and made her
his wife. She was, it is said, small of stature, insinuating, and of
extraordinary beauty; but she was the evil genius of her husband, egging
him on to deeds of treachery and violence which made him detested by his
people. It was in great part the disfavor with which she was regarded
which raised rebels against Erik's authority in various parts of the
country and brought popular support to his brothers in their endeavor to
cast off his yoke. In spite of his father's efforts, Erik's sovereignty
had not been universally recognized, and no sooner was King Harold dead
than Halfdan the Swarthy declared himself to be sovereign in Troendelag
and Olaf [A] in Viken. A few years after that, however, Halfdan died
suddenly, and the rumor said that he had been poisoned by Queen Gunhild.
The men of Troendelag then chose his brother Sigfrid for their king, and
Erik found his kingdom gradually shrinking both from the north and the
south. Being prepared for an attack from Erik, Sigfrid and Olaf
determined to join their forces, and to complete all arrangements, the
former went to visit the latter in Tunsberg. When Erik heard of this, he
went in haste to the town with a large number of men, and surprised and
killed both his brothers. Olaf's son Tryggve escaped, however, and was
kept in concealment, as long as Erik was master in the land.
[Footnote A: Olaf was the son of King Harold and Svanhild, a daughter of
Earl Eystein of Hedemark and Vestfold.]
[Illustration: CYLINDRICAL MOUNTING OF BRONZE PROBABLY FOR THE SHAFT OF
A SPEAR. FOUND NEAR STAVANGER.]
Erik had now killed four of his brothers, if not five, and it was the
common opinion that Gunhild would not rest until she had exterminated
all the race of Harold the Fairhaired outside of her husband's line.
While Erik was a youth, he had made the acquaintance of an Icelander
named Thorolf, the son of Skallagrim (Bald Grim) and nephew of Thorolf
Kveld-Ulf's son, whom King Harold had treacherously slain. This Thorolf,
like his uncle and namesake, was a tall and handsome man, of fine
presence and winning manners. He had made Erik a present of a ship, very
beautifully built and decorated, and had thereby gained his friendship.
In return Erik had obtained from his father permission for Thorolf to
remain unmolested in the country. The handsome Icelander made many
friends in Norway, among whom two mighty men named Thore Herse and Bjoern
the Yeoman. When he returned to Iceland he brought with him, as a gift
from the king to his father, an axe with a handle of precious
workmanship. But Bald Grim, though he received his son well, treated
King Erik's gift with contempt, and finally, when Thorolf again made a
cruise to Norway, he sang an insulting verse and begged to have it
reported to Erik. The axe he also wished to have returned. Thorolf, who
was determined not to revive the ancient feud, threw the axe into the
ocean, and conveyed his father's thanks and greeting to the king. If he
had had his way, the blood-feud would have been at an end. But he had a
younger brother named Egil,[A] who insisted upon bearing him company,
and he soon fanned the dying embers into flame.
[Footnote A: Pronounced _Agil_, "g" hard, as in gimlet, gilt, etc.]
Egil was the very incarnation of the old untamable Norse spirit, the
turbulent and indomitable individualism, which is incapable of
considering any but personal aims, and of submitting to any kind of
discipline. Like his father, Bald Grim, he was large of stature,
swarthy, and ill-favored, and displayed in his childhood a fierce and
revengeful spirit, but also a rare gift of song, which, no less than his
foolhardy deeds, brought him fame during his long and adventurous
career.
The two brothers arrived safely in Norway and became the guests of Thore
Herse, between whose son Arinbjoern and Egil a warm friendship sprung up.
While Thorolf went to be married to Aasgerd, the daughter of Bjoern the
Yeoman, Egil was forced by a severe illness to remain at home. When he
became convalescent, he accompanied one of Thore's overseers to a royal
steward named Baard, and met there King Erik and Queen Gunhild. Baard,
in his zeal to please the king, neglected the Icelander, and when the
latter became unruly, at a hint from the queen, mixed soporific herbs in
his beer. Egil's suspicion was aroused, however, and he poured out the
beer and killed Baard. Then he ran for his life, swam out to an island
in the fjord, and when the island was searched, killed some of those who
had been sent to find him; whereupon he made his escape in their boat.
Although King Erik was very angry, he accepted the atonement in money
which Thore Herse offered for Baard's death, and was persuaded to allow
Egil to remain in the land. Queen Gunhild was much incensed at his
forgiving spirit, and asked if he counted the slaying of Baard as
naught; to which the king replied: "For ever thou art egging me on to
violence; but my word, once given, I cannot break."
As no persuasions availed, Gunhild made up her mind to use some one else
as the instrument of her retaliation. It is told that she had been fond
of Baard, whom Egil had slain; but as he was a man of low birth, it was
scarcely this personal fondness, but rather a sense of outraged dignity
which impelled her to persevere in her plans of vengeance. At a great
sacrificial feast, at the temple of Gaule, she made her brother, Eyvind
Skreyja, promise to kill one of Bald Grim's sons; but as no chance
presented itself, he slew instead one of Thorolf's men; in return for
which he was outlawed by Erik, as a _vargr [=i] veum_--_i. e._, wolf in the
sanctuary. The two brothers now went on viking cruises, took service
under Ethelstan, in England, and fought under his standard a great
battle, in which Thorolf fell. Egil now married his widow, Aasgerd, and
returned with her to Iceland. He had then been abroad for twelve years.
Hardly had he settled down, however, when he learned that his
father-in-law, Bjoern the Yeoman, was dead, and that one of Gunhild's
favorites named Berg-Anund, had taken possession of his property. He
therefore lost no time in returning to Norway, and with his friend
Arinbjoern's aid pleaded his case at the _Gulathing_, in the presence of
the king and queen. But the _thing_ broke up in disorder, and Egil had
to sail back to Iceland without having accomplished his purpose.
Considerations of prudence had, however, no weight with him, and before
long he started for the third time for Norway, surprised Berg-Anund, and
killed not only him, but the king's son Ragnvald, who was his guest. In
order to add insult to injury, he mounted a cliff, and raised what was
called a shame-pole, or pole of dishonor, to Gunhild and the king. On
the top of the pole he put the head of a dead horse, while he called out
in a loud voice: "This dishonor do I turn against all the
land-spirits [A] that inhabit this land, so that they may all stray on
wildering ways, and none of them may chance or hit upon his home, until
they shall have chased King Erik and Gunhild from the land."
[Footnote A: The land-spirits were _genii loci_; the alliterative
formula which Egil pronounced was supposed to have magic power.]
Thereupon he cut these words, in runes, into the pole, and sailed back
to Iceland. It seemed, too, as if the curse took effect. For when Erik
had been four years upon the throne, his youngest brother, Haakon,
landed in Troendelag, and the following year was made king. The news ran
like wildfire through the country, and was everywhere received with
jubilation. Erik made a desperate effort to raise an army, but the
people turned away from him, and he was obliged to flee with his wife
and children, and a few followers. Among those who remained faithful to
him was Egil's friend, Arinbjoern. He now sailed about as a viking,
harrying the coasts of Scotland and England, and finally accepted a
portion of Northumberland in fief from King Ethelstan, on condition of
defending the country against Norse and Danish vikings. It was also
stipulated that he should be baptized and accept Christianity. Although
the different sagas which deal with Erik's later life give somewhat
conflicting accounts, it is obvious that he was no more popular in
England than he had been in Norway. It appears that he was once, or
probably twice, expelled from Northumberland, but again returned. By a
most singular chance, a tempest here drove his mortal enemy right into
his clutches.
Egil, it is told, was restless and discontented at home; and the common
belief was that Gunhild by sorcery had stolen his peace of mind. He
wandered uneasily along the strand and looked out for sails, and took no
pleasure in his wife and children. Finally, when he could stay at home
no longer, he equipped a ship and sailed southward to England. He was
shipwrecked at the mouth of the Humber, lost his ship, but saved himself
and his thirty warriors. From people whom he met, he learned that Erik
Blood-Axe ruled over the country; and knowing that there was slight
chance of escape, he rode boldly into York and sought his friend
Arinbjoern. Together they went to Erik, who inquired of Egil how he could
be so foolish, as to expect any thing but death at his hands. Gunhild,
when she saw him demanded impatiently, that he should be killed on the
spot. She had thirsted so long for his blood; she could not endure a
moment's delay in her hotly-desired vengeance. Erik, however, granted
the Icelander a respite until the next morning; Arinbjoern begged him, as
a last bid for life, to spend the night in composing a song in honor of
Erik. This Egil promised; and Arinbjoern had food and drink brought to
him and bade him do his best. Being naturally anxious, he went to his
friend in the night and asked him how the song was progressing. Egil
replied that he had not been able to compose a line, because there was a
swallow sitting in the window whose incessant screaming disturbed him,
and he could not chase it away. Arinbjoern darted out into the hall, and
caught a glimpse of a woman, who ran at the sight of him. At that very
instant, too, the swallow disappeared. To prevent her from returning,
Arinbjoern seated himself outside of Egil's door and kept watch through
the night. For he knew that the swallow was none other than the queen,
who by sorcery had assumed the guise of the bird.
The next morning Egil had finished his song and committed it to memory.
Arinbjoern now armed all his men, and went with Egil and his warriors to
the king's house. He reminded Erik of his fidelity to him, when others
had forsaken him, and asked, as a reward for his services, that his
friend's life be spared. Gunhild begged him to be silent; and the king
made no response. Then Arinbjoern stepped forward and declared that Egil
should not die, until he and his last man were dead.
"At that price," answered the king, "I would not willingly buy Egil's
death, although, he has amply deserved whatever I may do to him."
Suddenly, when the king had spoken, Egil began to recite with a clear,
strong voice, and instantly there was silence in the hall. This is a
portion of his song:
[Illustration: IRON CHISEL FOUND IN AAMOT PARISH, OESTERDALEN.]
[Illustration: IRON POINT OF A SPEAR WITH INLAID WORK OF SILVER, FOUND
AT NESNE, IN NORDLAND.]
Westward I sailed o'er the sea.
Vidrar [A] himself gave me
The ichor of his breast,[B]
And with joy I roamed.
As the ice-floes broke,[C]
Forth I launched the oak;[D]
For my mind's hull [E]
Of thy praise was full.
For thy fame, O king,
Made me fain to sing;
And to England's shore,
Odin's mead [F] I bore.
Lo, in Erik's praise,
Loud my voice I raise.
May my song resound
The wide earth around.
List to me, my king,
Well remembering
What I sing to thee
Now, unquailingly.
For the world knows well
How men round thee fell;
Glad has Odin seen
The field where thou hast been.
Burst the shield and bayed
Deep the battle-blade.
At its ruddy draught
The Valkyrias laughed.[G]
Lo, the sword-stream swayed
Like a wild cascade.
O'er the fields away
Rang the steel's strong lay.
Men with eager feet
Sprang their foe to meet;
None thy band knew save
Heroes true and brave.
For in heart and frame
Bright burned valor's flame;
'Neath their thund'ring tread
Shook the earth with dread.
'Mid the weapons' clank
Men in death-throes sank:
From the heaps of slain
Rose thy fame amain.
[Footnote A: Odin.]
[Footnote B: The gift of song.]
[Footnote C: In the spring.]
[Footnote D: The ship.]
[Footnote E: Literally: In my mind's ship (_i. e._, in my breast) bore I
this draught of praise.]
[Footnote F: Odin's mead is the gift of poetry.]
[Footnote G: The maids of Odin, the choosers of the slain, the
Valkyrias, had to keep watch of Erik, to receive the souls of the many
whom he slew, and conduct them to Valhalla.]
Erik sat immovable while Egil sang, watching his face narrowly. When the
song was at an end, the king said: "The song is excellent, and I have
now considered what I will do for Arinbjoern's sake. Thou, Egil, shalt
depart hence unharmed; because I will not do the dastardly deed to kill
a man who gave himself voluntarily into my power. But from the moment
thou leavest this hall, thou shalt never come before my eyes again, nor
before the eyes of my sons. Nor is this to be regarded as a
reconciliation between thee and me or my sons and kinsmen." Thus Egil
bought his head by his song, and the song is therefore called
"Hoefudlausn," or "The Ransom of the Head."
Egil then took his leave, visited Ethelstan once more; went to Norway
and had many adventures, before he returned to Iceland, where he died
between 990 and 995. He was then over ninety years old.[A] Another of
his poems, called Sonartorek, "The Loss of the Son," is the most
beautiful poem in the Icelandic language.
[Footnote A: His life is minutely related in Saga Egils
Skallagrims-sonar.]
Erik Blood-Axe remained in England and suffered many vicissitudes of
fate, until he fell in battle in 950 or 954. He is repeatedly mentioned
by the English chroniclers under the name of Erik Haroldson. After his
death Gunhild had a _draapa_ composed in his honor, an interesting
fragment of which is still extant. She then went to Denmark with her
sons, and was well received by the Danish king, Harold Bluetooth
(Blaatand), the son of Gorm the Old.
[Illustration]
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