HAROLD GRAYFELL AND HIS BROTHERS (961-970).
The sons of Gunhild lost no time in taking possession of the kingdom of
their fathers. It was not, however, the entire Norway to which they
succeeded, but only the middle districts. In Viken, Tryggve Olafsson and
Gudroed Bjoernsson, both grandsons of Harold the Fairhaired, ruled as
independent kings, and in Troendelag Earl Sigurd, of Hlade, refused to
acknowledge the supremacy of the race of Erik Blood-Axe. Undoubtedly the
brothers were only biding their time until they should be strong enough
to punish these contemptuous rebels; but so bitter was the feeling
against them, even in the provinces which they nominally ruled, that
they had all they could do in maintaining their authority within the
narrow limits which had from the beginning been assigned to them. One of
the chief causes of their unpopularity was their dependence upon the
Danish king, by whose aid they had gained the kingdom, and to whom they
apparently stood in a relation of vassalage. As a consequence of this,
they took no pains to gain the favor of the Norwegian people, but
surrounded themselves with a great throng of Danish warriors who
constituted their court and the main-stay of their strength. Very
unfortunate, too, was the influence which their mother Gunhild exercised
over them. Scarcely had she returned to Norway, when she resumed her
baneful activity, egging her sons on to cruel and treacherous deeds, by
which they forfeited the people's respect and undermined their own
power. Misfortune had not taught her caution, nor had age softened the
fierce malignity of her temper.
[Illustration: CHURCH AT EGILOe, OR EGIL'S ISLAND (ONE OF THE ORKNEYS);
SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN BUILT BEFORE THE VIKING AGE.]
The oldest surviving brother, Harold, surnamed Graafeld (Grayfell)
resembled, in appearance his father, Erik Blood-Axe. He was haughty,
avaricious, and revengeful; tall of stature, finely built, and of lordly
presence, but for all that a weak and vacillating character. He lacked
entirely that kindliness and _bonhommie_ which had made his uncle Haakon
the Good beloved of all the people. Of the other brothers we have no
definite knowledge; they seem, however, all to have inherited their
share of the traits which made their parents odious. Two of them, Gudroed
and Sigurd Sleva, proved themselves worthy sons of the malicious
Gunhild. The others are usually spoken of collectively, and their names
are variously given.
It may have been the sense of his unpopularity which induced Harold
Grayfell to make overtures to the former courtiers of King Haakon.
Several of them, it appears, entered his service, but felt themselves
ill at ease among the foreign warriors who enjoyed his favor and
confidence. Jealousies and petty bickerings were the order of the day;
every allusion to King Haakon's virtues gave offence, and when the song
of Eyvind Scald-Spoiler, praising his former lord, reached the king's
ears, he exclaimed angrily: "You love King Haakon yet, and it is best
that you follow him and become his men."
The men then departed, not suddenly, but one by one, and made the names
of the sons of Gunhild still more detested throughout the land. Eyvind
Scald-Spoiler in a noble verse refused to be King Harold's court poet,
and after his departure made a song in which he compared Haakon with
Harold, much to the latter's disadvantage. There was in that year (962)
a great dearth of food in the land; crops and fisheries failed, and the
cattle had to be fed with leaf-buds instead of grass. In some districts
snow fell in the middle of summer. The people who believed that the gods
had sent these evil times because of their anger at the kings, gave vent
to their discontent in loud murmuring. Harold Grayfell and his brothers,
it appears, had been baptized in their youth in England and were
nominally Christians. They refrained from sacrificing, and broke down
and destroyed many heathen temples. But they made no effort to enlighten
the people regarding the new religion; and probably considered questions
of faith as being of small moment. Surrounded, as they were, by enemies
on all sides, their first ambition was naturally to re-conquer the
kingdom which Harold the Fairhaired had bequeathed to their father. It
became, therefore, a political necessity to break the power of Earl
Sigurd of Hlade, as well as of Tryggve Olafsson and Gudroed Bjoernsson in
Viken. To do this in open warfare was out of the question; and Gunhild,
therefore, persuaded her sons to resort to treachery. By flattery and
promises, Harold bribed Grjotgard Haakonsson, a younger brother of Earl
Sigurd, to send him word when a favorable opportunity should present
itself for killing the earl. At the same time the king sent messengers
with gifts and friendly assurances to the intended victim, but failed
for awhile to lead him into any trap. At last, when these repeated
protestations of friendship had, perhaps, made him relax his vigilance,
Harold Grayfell and his brother Erling, having received notice from
Grjotgard, surprised the earl in the night, while he was away from home,
and burned him and all his retinue. By this deed, however, they raised
up against themselves an enemy who proved more dangerous to them than
the one they had slain. Earl Sigurd's son, Haakon, was twenty-five years
old, when his father died, and a man splendidly equipped in body and
mind. He was a great warrior, handsome in person, sagacious, resolute,
and friendly and affable in his demeanor. His family was, in some
respect, as good as any king's; for he belonged to the old tribal
aristocracy which had maintained its authority in Troendelag from the
earliest Germanic times. When he was born, King Haakon the Good, who
happened just then to be his father's guest, had poured water upon his
head and given him his own name.
When the intelligence of Earl Sigurd's death reached him, Haakon called
the Troenders together, and a great multitude responded to his summons.
They clamored for vengeance upon the treacherous sons of Gunhild,
confirmed Haakon in the dignity which his father had possessed, and
declared themselves ready to follow him. With a great fleet he sailed
out of the Drontheim fiord; but the sons of Gunhild fled southward and
did not venture to give battle. The Troenders, having given their
allegiance to Earl Haakon, refused to pay taxes to Harold Grayfell, who,
after some indecisive fights, was compelled virtually to recognize his
rival's independence. Haakon, however, was well aware what such a
concession must have cost the haughty king, and he knew, too, that his
independence would last only so long as he was able to defend it. With a
view to strengthening his position, he therefore formed an alliance with
the two kings in Viken, which only had the effect of speedily bringing
down upon the latter the vengeance of Gunhild's sons. Harold Grayfell
and his brother Gudroed made a pretence of quarrelling, and feigned a
furious hostility to each other. A viking cruise which they were about
to undertake together was accordingly deferred, and Gudroed, complaining
of his brother's conduct, sent a friendly message to Tryggve Olafsson,
begging him to accompany him on his cruise. Tryggve accepted the
invitation, and on arriving at the appointed place of meeting was foully
murdered with all his men. King Gudroed Bjoernsson (the son of Bjoern the
Merchant) was about the same time surprised at a banquet by Harold
Grayfell, and slain after a desperate resistance. After these exploits,
Harold and Gudroed re-united and took possession of Viken. They hastened
to King Tryggve's dwelling in the hope of exterminating his whole race.
But Tryggve's widow, Aastrid, anticipating their intention, had fled
with her foster-father, Thorolf Luse-skjegg, (Lousy-Beard), and a few
attendants. She was then with child, and on a little islet in the Rand's
fiord, where she was hiding, she bore her son Olaf Tryggvesson. Wherever
she went Gunhild's spies pursued her. Hearing that she had borne a son,
the wily queen spared no effort to get her in her power. During the
entire summer Aastrid was compelled to remain on the solitary islet,
venturing out only in the night, and hiding among the underbrush in the
daytime. When toward autumn the nights began to grow darker, she went
ashore with her attendants, travelling only when the darkness protected
them. After many hardships she reached her father Erik Ofrestad's estate
in the Oplands; but even here the wily Gunhild left her no peace. A man
named Haakon was despatched with thirty armed attendants to search for
her and her child; but Erik of Ofrestad got news of their mission in
time to send his daughter and grandson away. Disguised as beggars,
Aastrid and Thoralf Lousy-Beard travelled on foot from farm to farm, and
came toward evening to the house of a man named Bjoern. They asked for
food and shelter, but were rudely driven away by the inhospitable
peasant. At a neighboring farm, however, they were kindly received by a
peasant named Thorstein. Gunhild's emissaries, having searched in vain
at Ofrestad, got on the track of the fugitives, and learned at the house
of Bjoern that a handsome woman in poor attire, bearing a babe in her
arms, had applied for shelter early in the evening. This conversation
one of Thorstein's servants happened to overhear, and on arriving home,
related it to his master. Thorstein immediately, with loud chiding and
pretended wrath, roused the supposed beggars from their sleep, and drove
them out into the night. This he did in order to deceive the servants
and other listeners. But when Aastrid and Thoralf were well under way,
he told them that Gunhild's hired assassins had arrived at the
neighboring farm, and that his only desire was to save them. He also
gave them a trusted attendant who could show them the best hiding-places
in the forest. At the shores of a lake they concealed themselves among
the tall bulrushes.
[Illustration: SCISSORS AND ARROW-HEADS OF IRON.]
Thorstein, in the meanwhile, sent their pursuers in the opposite
direction, and led them a dance through forest and field in a vain
search for the fugitives. The next night, when Haakon and his men had
given up the search, he sent food and clothes to Aastrid, and furnished
her with an escort to Sweden, where she found a place of refuge with a
friend of her father's named Haakon the Old. Gunhild, however, was not
to be discouraged. She sent two embassies to King Erik of Sweden,
demanding the surrender of Olaf Tryggvesson, and received each time
permission to capture the child, without interference on the part of the
king. But Haakon the Old was a mighty man, and determined to defend his
guests. The threats of Gunhild's embassador did not frighten him. While
the latter was speaking, a half-witted thrall, named Buste, seized a
dung-fork, and rushed at him, threatening to strike. The embassador,
fearing to be soiled, took to his heels, and was pursued by the thrall.
How the queen received him on his return is not recorded.
Of the internal enemies of Gunhild's sons, Earl Haakon of Hlade now
alone remained; and it was not an unnatural desire on their part to
reduce him to subjection. Anticipating, as usual, their action, the earl
was on the look-out for them; but having ascertained the size of their
fleets, he saw the hopelessness of his cause, and forthwith sailed to
Denmark, where he was well received by King Harold Bluetooth (964). It
will thus be seen that the friendship between Harold Grayfell and the
Danish king had not endured the strain of diverging interests. The
former, as soon as he felt secure in his power, refused to recognize the
latter's claim to Viken, and paid him no taxes. Harold Bluetooth,
therefore, allied himself with Earl Haakon, the bitterest enemy of the
sons of Gunhild, hoping, by his aid, to regain his lost dominion. What
particularly encouraged him in this expectation was the continued
dearth which prevailed in Norway, and the resulting unpopularity of the
kings which, with every year, grew more pronounced. It was of no avail
that Harold Grayfell almost every summer went on viking cruises, gaining
a great fame as a warrior and bringing home rich treasures. The people
hated him only less than they hated his mother Gunhild. An exploit of
his brother Sigurd Sleva aroused a demonstration of wrath which came
near culminating in open rebellion. Sigurd Sleva had paid a visit to a
mighty yeoman named Klypp Thorsson, and had, in the absence of the
master of the house, been hospitably received by his beautiful wife
Aaluf. He had become enamoured of his hostess, and had grievously
insulted her. Klypp, on his return, learned what had occurred; and swore
to avenge the shame which had been brought upon him by Gunhild's son.
When Harold Grayfell and Sigurd, in the autumn of 964, held a _thing_ at
Vors, they were attacked by the enraged peasants, and had to save
themselves by flight. Klypp, with a number of his friends, pursued
Sigurd, slew him with his own hand, and was himself slain by one of
Sigurd's men.
Earl Haakon, who, from his Danish retreat, watched the events in Norway,
heard these tidings with satisfaction. The sudden check which his
ambition had received had made him ill, and for some time he appeared
listless, refusing to eat and drink, or to communicate with anybody. But
when his plans of vengeance were matured, he rose from his bed, strode
forth with his old vigor, and proceeded to weave a complicated net of
intrigues. Harold Bluetooth had at that time a difficulty with his
nephew Gold-Harold, who demanded a share in the government; and, having
confidence in the sagacity of the earl, he asked his advice. The earl
saw here his opportunity, and had no scruple in availing himself of it.
He dissuaded the king from killing his nephew, because such a deed would
arouse indignation and alienate the great party in Denmark, who desired
to see Gold-Harold on the throne. Far better would it be if he employed
Gold-Harold to punish Harold Grayfell and his brothers, and in the end
reward him with the throne of Norway. Thereby the king would increase
his own power, and convert a dangerous rival into a friend and ally.
This advice seemed good to Harold Bluetooth, and after some persuasion
he found courage to act upon it. He sent a friendly message to his
foster-son, Harold Grayfell, inviting him to come and take possession of
his old fief in Denmark, the income of which he might, indeed, need
during the hard times that prevailed in Norway. Harold Grayfell, after
some vacillation, accepted this invitation, and sailed to Denmark with
three ships and two hundred and forty men; but no sooner had he set foot
upon Danish soil than he was attacked by Gold-Harold, who slew him and
nearly all his men.
This was the first act in the drama which Earl Haakon had planned. The
second contained a surprise. The earl went to Harold Bluetooth, and
represented to him that his nephew, as king of Norway, would become a
more dangerous rival than he had been before; and frankly offered to
kill him, if the king would promise not to avenge his death.
Furthermore, he demanded, as his reward, the kingdom of Norway in fief,
under the overlordship of the king. All this seemed very tempting to
Harold Bluetooth; and like all weak and vicious men, he made objections
only for the purpose of having them overcome. In the end he gave his
consent; and Gold-Harold was immediately attacked and killed by Earl
Haakon. With a large army the two conspirators now sailed for Norway,
and won the whole country without striking a blow. So great was the
hatred of Gunhild and her sons, that not a man drew his sword in their
defence. The two surviving brothers, Gudroed and Ragnfred, made a
pretence of resistance, rallying a few followers about them; but did not
venture to give battle. Seeing the hopelessness of their cause, they
fled with their mother to the Orkneys (965). Ragnfred, however, returned
the following year with a considerable fleet, largely made up of vikings
who had gathered about him, and fought an indicisive battle with Earl
Haakon. He even succeeded in reconquering four of the northwestern
shires. For nearly a year Haakon made no effort to expel him. It was not
until the spring of 967, that he felt himself strong enough to appeal to
arms once more; and this time Ragnfred and his brother Gudroed, who in
the meantime had joined him, were defeated at Dingeness, and driven into
exile. According to the most reliable accounts, they went to Scotland,
but continued for several years to harass the coast of Norway by sudden
attacks. They were, however, no longer sufficiently formidable to cause
the earl any serious inconvenience, although he was not slow to seize
upon their attacks as a pretext for discontinuing the payment of the tax
which he had pledged to the Danish king. Gunhild died, in all
probability, either in Scotland or the Orkneys, although one of the
sagas relates, that she was enticed to Denmark by Harold Bluetooth,
under promise of marriage, and at his command drowned in a swamp
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