_The Battle of Stiklestad (1030)_
In the summer of 1029 Earl Haakon went to England to fetch his bride,
Gunhild, a daughter of Canute's sister. Everything was satisfactorily
arranged, but on his return voyage his vessel foundered, and all on
board were lost.
One of King Olaf's best friends, Biorn Stallare,[5] believing that
Olaf would not return to Norway, had been induced by great gifts and
promises to give allegiance to Earl Haakon and King Canute; but when he
heard that the earl had perished, so that the country was again without
a chief, he greatly regretted that he had failed to be true to King
Olaf, and it seemed to him that there was now some hope that Olaf might
again become king if he came back to Norway. He therefore immediately
journeyed east to Russia to Olaf, and told him of Earl Haakon's death,
and brought him other news from Norway. When the king asked him how
his friends had kept their fidelity toward him, Biorn answered that it
had been different with different people. Then he fell at the king's
feet, and said: "All is in your power, sire, and in God's. I have taken
money from King Canute's men, and sworn them allegiance; but now I
will follow thee, and not part from thee so long as we both live." The
king answered: "Arise, Biorn; thou shalt be reconciled with me; but
reconcile thy perjury with God. I must know that but few men in Norway
have adhered to their fealty to me, when such a man as thou art could
be false to me." Biorn named those who had principally bound themselves
to be his enemies; among them were Erling's sons, Einar Thambaskelfer,
Kalf Arneson, Thorer Hund and Harek of Thiotta.
[5] A _Stallare_ was a very influential officer, a kind of court
marshal.
Olaf now made preparations for his return to Norway, and shortly after
Christmas started with two hundred and forty men. His young son,
Magnus, was left behind with King Jaroslav in Russia. In Sweden, King
Anund received his brother-in-law well, and gave him four hundred and
eighty picked warriors to go with him. When it was reported in Norway
that King Olaf had come from the east to Sweden, his friends gathered
aid for him in Norway. The most distinguished man in this party was
Harald Sigurdson, Olaf's half-brother, who was then quite young, but
very stout and manly of growth. Many other brave men were there also;
and they were in all seven hundred and twenty men, when they proceeded
eastward through the Eid forest and Vermeland, and met Olaf in Sweden.
Olaf's kinsman, Dag Ringson, collected an army of about 1,400 men, with
which he joined King Olaf.
When King Olaf had crossed the mountain and was descending on the west
side, where it declines toward the sea, and he could see the country
for many miles, he became sad and rode by himself in silence for quite
a while. Finally, Bishop Sigurd rode up to him, and asked him why he
was so silent, and what he was thinking of. The king answered: "Strange
things came into my mind a while ago. As I looked down the valley, it
appeared to me that I was looking over all Norway. It then came into my
mind how many happy days I have had in this country. My vision went
further, until I looked over the whole wide world, both land and sea.
I recognized places where I have been before; but I also saw places
of which I had never heard, both inhabited and uninhabited, as far as
the world goes." Then the bishop dismounted from his horse, kissed the
king's foot, and said: "It is a holy man whom we are now following."
When King Olaf came down into Verdalen, he mustered his force, and he
then had over 3,600 men. Among them were about six hundred who were
heathens, and who refused to be baptized. These men were sent back, as
Olaf would not have any heathens among his warriors.
In the evening Olaf's whole forces took up their night-quarter in
one place, and lay down under their shields; the king lay long awake
in prayer to God, and slept but little. Toward morning he slumbered
for a while, and when he awoke, day was breaking. The king thought
it too early to awaken the army, and asked where the bard Thormod
Kolbrunarskald was. Thormod was near by, and asked what the king
desired. The king said: "Sing us a song." Thormod arose and sang, so
loud that the whole army could hear him, the old Biarkemaal.[6] Then
the troops awoke, and, when the song was ended, the people thanked him
for it, and the king gave him a fine gold ring.
[6] The _Biarkemaal_ is so called because it was composed and sung by
Bodvar Biarke, a Norwegian, who, with Rolf Krake and others, was killed
in battle. Rolf Krake was king in Seeland (Denmark); he had twelve
powerful warriors called _Berserks_ (_i.e._ dressed in bear skins);
among them was Bodvar Biarke. Rolf and his men were attacked during
the night, and the Biarkemaal was then sung to encourage Rolf's men to
fight valiantly for their chief.
The king now led his army further down the valley until he came to
Stiklestad, where he placed his army in battle array against the
peasants' army. The lendermen and peasants had collected a vast army;
it is said to have numbered 14,400 men. When the armies were near
together, Thorer Hund went forward in front of the banner with his
troop, and called out: "Forward, forward, Bonde-men!" The peasants
repeated this war-cry and shot their arrows and spears. The king's men
now raised their battle-cry, and encouraged each other to advance,
shouting: "Forward, forward, Christ-men! cross-men! king's-men!" King
Olaf's army rushed down the hill upon the peasant army with a fierce
assault, and for a moment drove it from its original position; but the
chiefs urged their men forward, and forced them to advance again. The
peasant army pushed forward from all quarters, and the battle became
very severe. Those who stood in front hewed down with their swords;
those who stood next thrust with their spears, while those in the
rear shot arrows, cast spears, or threw stones, hand-axes, or pieces
of timber. Many fell on both sides. When the ranks in front of the
king's banner began to be thinned, he ordered the banner moved forward,
and the king himself followed with a party of chosen men, and placed
himself in the front rank. King Olaf fought most desperately. He hewed
at Thorer Hund, and struck him across the shoulders; but the sword
would not cut, and it was as if dust flew from Thorer's reindeer-skin
coat. Then the king said to Biorn Stallare: "Do thou kill the dog on
whom steel will not bite." (Thorer's surname Hund means dog.) Biorn
turned the axe in his hand, and gave Thorer such a blow with the hammer
of it on the shoulder that he staggered; but the next moment Thorer
ran his spear through the body of Biorn, and killed him, saying:
"Thus we hunt bears north in Finmark." (Biorn means bear.) Thorstein
Knarrarsmid, one of Thorer Hund's followers, struck at King Olaf with
his axe, and the blow hit his left leg above the knee. Fin Arneson
immediately felled Thorstein; but the king, badly wounded, staggered
toward a stone, threw down his sword and shield, and prayed God to help
him. Then Thorer Hund struck at him with his spear, and the stroke went
in under his mail-coat and into his abdomen. Still another wound was
given the king on the left side of the neck, and these three wounds
caused the death of King Olaf. He was then thirty-five years old.
The battle had lasted an hour and a half, and was now virtually ended.
Dag Ringson and his men still fought desperately for a while, but
they were soon overwhelmed by numbers and fatigue, and were obliged
to retire. There was a valley through which many fled, and men lay
scattered on both sides; many were severely wounded, and many so
fatigued that they were unable to move. The peasants pursued them only
a short way; for their leaders soon returned to the battlefield, where
they had friends and relatives to care for.
It is said that Thorer Hund went to where King Olaf's body lay, laid
it out on the ground, and spread a cloak over it. He told afterward
that when he wiped the blood from the face it was very beautiful,
and the cheeks were red. Some of the king's blood came on Thorer's
wounded hand, and it healed so speedily that he did not need to dress
it. This was told by Thorer himself when King Olaf's holiness came to
be generally reported among the people; and Thorer Hund was among the
first of the king's powerful opponents who endeavored to spread abroad
the belief in Olaf's sanctity.
Harald Sigurdson, King Olaf's half-brother, was severely wounded at
Stiklestad; but one of Olaf's men brought him to a peasant's house the
night after the battle, and the peasant cared for Harald, and healed
his wound in secret, and afterward gave him his son to attend him.
Some time after the battle, two young men were one day riding across
the mountain to Jemteland in order to reach Sweden. One of them was a
peasant's son from Verdalen, the other a young warrior, the last one of
King Olaf's men who fled from the country. As they were passing over
the ridge, the young man turned to his companion, and sang:
"The wounds were bleeding as I rode;
And down below the peasants strode,
Killing the wounded with the sword,
The followers of their rightful lord.
From wood to wood I crept along,
Unnoticed by the peasant-throng;
Who knows, I thought, a day may come
My name will yet be great at home."
It was Olaf's brother, Harald, who was setting out to try his luck in
foreign countries, whence he was to return one day, rich in honors and
goods.