THE YOUTH OF OLAF TRYGGVESSON.
The story of Olaf Tryggvesson's youth, as related in the sagas, is so
marvellous that it can scarcely claim absolute credibility. The
wonder-loving tradition seized upon him from his very birth as its
favorite hero, and adorned every incident of his career with a multitude
of romantic details. To separate the framework of fact from the
embellishments of fiction is, under such circumstances, no easy task.
That Olaf's career, even stripped of all fanciful additions, was as
remarkable as any romance, there can be no question. We have seen how
Queen Gunhild with untiring vigilance tracked him through forests and
wildernesses while he was an infant, and how his mother Aastrid finally
found a place of refuge with Haakon the Old in Sweden. Her sense of
security could scarcely have been increased when Earl Haakon succeeded
the sons of Gunhild; for the earl was not of royal blood, and must fear,
no less than Gunhild, a scion of the race of Harold the Fairhaired.
Aastrid therefore determined to go with her son to Gardarike, or Russia,
where her brother, Sigurd Eriksson, held a position of authority under
King Vladimir. She took passage for herself, her son, and their
attendants, upon a merchant-ship bound for a Russian port, but the ship
was captured by vikings, who killed some of the passengers and sold
others as slaves. The young Olaf, his foster-father Thoralf Lousy-Beard,
and the latter's son Thorgills, became the property of a viking named
Klerkon, who killed Thoralf because he was too old to command any price
in the slave-markets. The two boys he bartered away in Esthonia for a
big ram. The purchaser again disposed of them for a coat and a cape to a
man named Reas, who treated Olaf kindly, while he put Thorgills to hard
labor. With him Olaf remained for six years. His mother, Aastrid, in the
meanwhile, had been found at a slave-market by a rich Norse merchant
named Lodin, who had recognized her in spite of her miserable
appearance, and offered to ransom her on condition of her becoming his
wife. She had gladly given her consent and had returned with him to
Norway.
One day Olaf's uncle, Sigurd Eriksson, had occasion to visit the town in
Esthonia where his nephew was living. He was just riding across the
market-place, when his attention was attracted to a group of boys who
were playing. There was especially one of them whose appearance struck
him, and he called to him and asked him his name. The boy said that his
name was Olaf. Sigurd now discovered by further questioning that it was
his nephew he was addressing. He made haste to buy him and his
foster-brother Thorgills, and took them with him to his house. He
enjoined upon Olaf to say nothing about his race and birth, and the boy
promised to be silent. One day, however, when he was out walking, he
caught sight of the viking Klerkon who had slain his foster-father.
Without a moment's reflection, he went up and split his skull with an
axe which he happened to have in his hand. Now the penalty for breaking
the public peace was death, and a crowd of people rushed together,
demanding that the boy should be killed. His uncle, in order to save
him, took him to the queen, Olga, or Allogia, told her who he was, and
implored her protection. The queen became greatly interested in the
beautiful boy, and had him educated, as behooved a king's son, in the
use of arms and all athletic sports. At the age of twelve he received
men and ships from Vladimir, and spent some years roaming about as a
viking. He is said to have done important service to his benefactor,
reconquering a province which had rebelled; but the favor which he
enjoyed raised him up enemies who slandered him, representing him as a
dangerous rival of the king in the affections both of the queen and the
people. Olaf then, at the advice of Olga, left Russia with his men and
ships and went to Wendland,[A] where he was received with distinction by
King Burislav. He did not, however, reveal himself as an heir to the
throne of Norway, but travelled under the name Ole the Russian.
Burislav's eldest daughter, or, more probably, sister, Geira, fell in
love with him, and he married her, performed many valiant deeds in the
service of his father-in-law, and finally, at the death of his wife,
sailed once more in search of adventures. He was then twenty-one years
old. A dream induced him to go to Greece and accept Christianity, and he
is also said to have sent a bishop to Russia who converted Vladimir and
Olga to the Christian faith. Thence Olaf went to Northumberland,
Denmark, Scotland, and France, and had adventures without number. At the
age of twenty-five he found himself in England, and was summoned to
appear before Princess Gyda, sister of the Irish king, Olaf Kvaran. She
had been the wife of an earl, but was yet a young and beautiful woman. A
great many wooers were importuning her, among whom a certain Alfvine, a
great champion and man-slayer. A day had been fixed on which Gyda had
promised to choose a husband, and many high-born men had come together,
hoping to be chosen. All were splendidly attired, and glittered in
scarlet and gold. Olaf, with a few companions, came sauntering up to the
market-place, and stationed themselves somewhat apart from the rest as
if merely to look on. He had pulled a fur hood and cape over his head
and shoulders, and was otherwise plainly clad. Gyda, after having
somewhat listlessly regarded the ranks of her wooers, caught sight of
the tall stranger with the fur hood. She approached him, lifted up his
hood, and looked long and earnestly into his eyes.
[Footnote A: The present Baltic provinces of Prussia. The Wends were a
Slavonic people, and not identical with the Vandals, with whom they have
often been confounded. The latter, according to the best authority, were
of Germanic origin.]
"If thou wilt have me," she said, "then I choose thee for my husband."
Olaf replied that he was not unwilling to take her at her word; and
their betrothal was forthwith published. Alfvine in great wrath now
challenged the Norseman, fought, and was conquered. The wedding was then
celebrated, and Olaf spent several years in England and Ireland. He
became here more intimately acquainted with Christianity, was baptized,
and became a zealous defender of the faith. In Greece, he had, according
to the legend, only been _primsigned_--_i.e._, marked with the sign of
the cross. This was regarded as a sort of compromise between the old
faith and the new, and was supposed to secure a certain favor from
Christ the White, without entirely forfeiting the good-will of the old
gods.
The Anglo-Saxon annals contain repeated references to Olaf Tryggvesson,
and name him as the chieftain of a great viking fleet, which, in the
year 994, ravaged the coasts of Essex, Kent, Sussex, and Hampshire. He
even landed with a considerable army, and put up his winter quarters in
Southampton, levying supplies from the neighboring country. The unhappy
proposition was then made to King Ethelred II. to buy immunity from
further depredations, and the sum of L10,000 was paid to Olaf and by him
apportioned among his men. Sweyn Forkbeard, the son of Harold Bluetooth,
then exiled from his native land, is also named as one of the chieftains
concerned in this expedition, though in the treaty of peace between King
Ethelred and the vikings, which is yet preserved, his name does not
occur. At the confirmation of Olaf, which took place with great pomp in
the same year, King Ethelred was present, and it is said that Olaf
solemnly vowed, on that occasion, that he would henceforth never more
molest the inhabitants of England. This promise he appears to have kept.
Sweyn, however, tempted by the great sums of money which he had
extorted, returned again and again, expelled Ethelred for a time from
his kingdom, and for many years was the virtual ruler of England.
The fame of Olaf Tryggvesson's deeds spread far and wide, and also
reached Norway, where Earl Haakon anxiously listened to every rumor
regarding him. That this daring young adventurer would, as soon as he
felt himself strong enough, lay claim to his paternal kingdom, the earl
could not doubt; and as his own popularity waned, he looked forward with
increasing uneasiness to the conflict. He well knew the devotion of the
people to the race of Harold the Fairhaired, and the thought took
possession of him that his own safety demanded Olaf Tryggvesson's death.
He confided his plan to his friend, Thore Klakka, and begged him to sail
to Dublin, where Olaf was then staying, and either kill him, if the
chance presented itself, or entice him over to Norway where he could
easily destroy him. Thore Klakka accepted this mission, met Olaf in
Dublin, and readily gained his confidence. The young man was eager for
information concerning his native land, and the earl's emissary lost no
opportunity to urge him to sail thither, the sooner the better, and take
possession of his inheritance. The earl, said Thore Klakka, was indeed
powerful, but if the peasants heard that a descendant of Harold the
Fairhaired was in the land, they would all forsake him and join the
legitimate king. Olaf was easily persuaded to believe these flattering
assurances, and in the spring of the year 995 sailed with five ships for
Norway. In accordance with Thore Klakka's treacherous advice, he went
straight to the northwestern shires where Earl Haakon's power was the
greatest, and landed on the island Moster in Hoerdaland. He raised his
tent, planted the cross on the beach, and had the mass celebrated. Being
convinced of Thore's disinterestedness, he also accepted his advice not
to reveal who he was, but sail northward to Troendelag in order to attack
the earl unawares and slay him. Great must have been Thore's surprise
when, on landing at the mouth of the Drontheim fjord, he found that he
had truthfully represented the condition of the country. The peasants
were united in open rebellion against his master, and Olaf had only to
make himself known in order to secure immediate allegiance. Of his
speech at Rimul, and the ignominious death of the earl, we have already
spoken. All the chieftains and peasants of Troendelag were now summoned
to meet at the Oere-_thing_, at the mouth of the river Nid, and here
Olaf Tryggvesson was formally proclaimed King of all Norway. The
Troenders from this time forth reserved for themselves the right to
proclaim the king in the name of the whole country, and even to this day
the sovereigns of Norway are crowned in Drontheim. Nevertheless, the
king was required to travel from district to district and receive the
allegiance of the people. This Olaf now did, and was everywhere
greeted with enthusiastic homage.
[Illustration: OLAF TRYGGVESSON'S ARRIVAL IN NORWAY.]
The above narrative exhibits several improbabilities, which, however, do
not of necessity vitiate its essential truthfulness. Of Olaf's sojourn
in Russia there can be no doubt, although, to be sure, the Vladimir who
at that time reigned in Novgorod had no wife named Allogia or Olga, and
if it was his grandmother Olga to whom reference is made, the king's
jealousy seems altogether unreasonable. Likewise Olaf's visit to
Wendland and his marriage there are capable of proof from contemporary
poems, while the deeds which are attributed to him in King Burislav's
service have a suspiciously legendary character. The adventure with Gyda
in England also conceals a framework of fact under its mythical
embroidery.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]