Burislaf was the name of the king in Wendland. He was a very wealthy
monarch and held in high esteem throughout the countries of the Baltic,
and his court was the frequent meeting place of the great men of that
time. Now Burislaf had three very beautiful daughters--Geira, Gunnhild,
and Astrid--whom many noble and kingly men sought vainly to win in
marriage. Geira, the eldest of the three, held rule and dominion in the
land, for it was much the wont of mighty kings in those days that they
should let the queen, or the eldest daughter, have half the court to
sustain it at her own cost out of the revenues that came to her share.
So when Geira heard that alien folk were come into Wendland, with a
great fleet of viking ships, and that the chief of them was a young man
of unusual prowess and noble mien, she sent friendly messengers to the
coast and bade the newcomers be her guests that wintertide, for the
summer was now far spent, and the weather hard and stormy. And Olaf
Triggvison took her bidding, and went with his chosen captains to the
court, where he was well received and most hospitably entertained.
It is told that when Geira saw how kingly of aspect Olaf was, and how
handsome and courteous withal, she at once yearned for his love and
craved that he should wed with her and become a ruler in the land. Many
legends which have come down to us from that time even state that she
straightway fell a-wooing him, and that in the end they were married,
and ruled the realm side by side. But it is not easy to believe that
one who was heir to the throne of Norway would be content to remain in
Wendland at the bidding of a woman he did not love, and it is to be
remembered that Olaf was still little more than a youth, while Geira
was already well advanced in years. Moreover, Olaf had at this same
time met Thyra, the daughter of the king of Denmark--a princess who was
not only more beautiful, but also much nearer his own age than Geira,
and who afterwards became his wife and queen. Howsoever it be, Olaf had
lived but a few months in Wendland when Geira was stricken with an
illness and died.
Among the guests of King Burislaf were two men who in the later time
had a large share in the shaping of Olaf's destiny, first as his
friends, and afterwards as his enemies. Their names were Earl Sigvaldi
of Jomsburg and Sweyn of Denmark.
Earl Sigvaldi was the son of Strut-Harald, sometime King of Skaney, and
at the time of his meeting with Olaf in Wendland he was lord over the
great company of vikings who had their stronghold in Jomsburg. He was a
very mighty man, and his wealth and personal prowess were such that
Burislaf's daughter Astrid encouraged his wooing of her with the result
that they were wedded.
Earl Sweyn was a younger man, the son of Harald Bluetooth, King of
Denmark. He had come into Wendland in the company of his friend
Sigvaldi, for they had both been a-warring together, and, being beaten
in a great sea fight, they had taken refuge in the court of Burislaf.
Their warring had been against Sweyn's own father, King Harald. Sweyn
had craved dominion in his father's realm, but Harald Bluetooth
preferred to retain his throne undivided. Then Sweyn gathered warships
together and got the help of the Jomsburg vikings, and stood towards
Zealand, where King Harald lay with his fleet ready to fare to the wars
against Norway. So Sweyn fell upon his father's ships, and there was a
great battle, in which Harald Bluetooth got the victory, but also his
death wound. Now the arrow with which King Harald was killed was one
bearing marks which showed it to be of his own son's making, and Sweyn
fled lest vengeance should overtake him.
Now Sigvaldi, knowing that it would not be long ere the Danes claimed
Sweyn as their king, was anxious to assure a peace between Wendland and
Denmark, and with this purpose he had brought Sweyn in his company to
King Burislaf's court, and it was then arranged that Sweyn should wed
Gunnhild, daughter of Burislaf, and that thereafter there should be
peace between the two lands. So when the wedding was over, King Sweyn
fared home to Denmark with Gunnhild his wife, and they became the
parents of Canute the Mighty--the same who in his manhood fought
against Edmund Ironsides and reigned as King of England.
In those days the Danes and their neighbours the Wends made great
threats of sailing with a host to Norway, and Olaf Triggvison heard
much talk of this threatened expedition from Earl Sigvaldi. He learned,
too, something of what had been taking place in his native land since
the time of the death of King Triggvi.
By their evil work Queen Gunnhild and the sons of Erik Bloodaxe had, as
they thought, put an end to the family of Harald Fairhair, for they had
lost all trace of Queen Astrid and her boy Olaf, and none remained to
dispute the throne of Norway. In the province of Thrandheim, however,
there reigned a certain Earl Sigurd, who yet gave them great trouble.
To rid themselves of all danger from him they resorted to treachery.
They had murdered King Triggvi and his four brothers, and they had
little scruple in employing the same means towards Earl Sigurd, so they
entrapped him and put him to death. After this deed Harald Greyfell
reigned as King of Norway for five troublous and unfruitful years. By
the slaying of Earl Sigurd, however, the sons of Erik raised up against
themselves an enemy who proved more dangerous to them than any they had
yet encountered. This was Earl Hakon, the son of Sigurd, a most
powerful and sagacious warrior, whose one desire was to avenge his
father's death and drive the whole race of Erik Bloodaxe from the land.
Nor was he long in fulfilling his designs. By a daring intrigue, and
with help from Denmark, he succeeded not only in bringing King Harald
Greyfell to his bane, but also in winning his own way to the throne of
Norway. Queen Gunnhild and her two surviving sons then fled over sea to
the Orkneys, and that was the end of them.
Now, when Olaf heard these things and understood that Earl Hakon,
although not of royal birth or lineage, was still recognized as the
king in Norway, he resolved to join issue with the Danes and Wends in
their projected expedition, and he spoke with Earl Sigvaldi, offering
the support of all his ships and men. Well satisfied was Sigvaldi at
hearing this offer made, and he gladly accepted it, for he had quickly
discerned that Ole the Esthonian was a young warrior whose help would
be most valuable, even apart from the great force of battleships and
fighting men that were under his command.
So when the winter had passed by, and the sea was clear of ice, Olaf
had his ships refitted, mustered his men, and set sail along the
Wendland coast towards the island of Wollin, at the mouth of the river
Oder, upon which stood the great stronghold of Jomsburg.
Jomsburg had been founded and built by King Harald Bluetooth of
Denmark, who possessed a great earldom in Wendland. He had garrisoned
the place with vikings on the condition that they should defend the
land, and be always ready to support him in any warlike expedition.
There was a very fine harbour or dock made within the Burgh, in which
three hundred longships could lie at the same time, all being locked
within the strongly built walls of granite with their massive gates of
iron. The Jomsburg vikings were a well disciplined company of pirates
who made war their exclusive business, living by rapine and plunder.
Their firm belief in the heathen gods justified them in following this
mode of life, and often they fought for mere fighting's sake. They were
bound by very strict laws to obey their chief. No man older than fifty
or younger than eighteen winters could be received into the fellowship;
they were all to be between these two ages. No man could join the band
who was known to have ever yielded in fight to an opponent his match in
strength of arms. Every member admitted swore by the hammer of Thor to
revenge all the rest as his brother. Slander was forbidden. No woman or
child was ever to be molested or carried away as captive, and all the
spoil or plunder of war was to be equally divided. One very important
law was that no member of the band was ever to utter a word of fear or
to flinch from pain, or to attempt to dress his wounds until they had
bled for four and twenty hours. Nothing could occur within the Burgh
over which the chief should not have full power to rule as he liked. If
any broke these rules he was to be punished by instant expulsion from
the community.
For two days after the time when Olaf's fleet anchored abreast of the
gates of Jomsburg, there was the work of inspecting all his men and
ships and arms. Some two score of the men were rejected by Earl
Sigvaldi, some because they were at enmity with certain vikings who
were already of the band, others because they had killed some near
kinsman of one of the members, and yet others who refused to follow or
obey any other chief than Olaf Triggvison alone. But the ships and
their equipment were all pronounced seaworthy and in good condition;
so, after the vows had been made, there was held a great feast, and
Olaf was chosen as a captain under Earl Sigvaldi, holding the command
of his own division of the Jomsburg fleet.
Now, during the summer months of that same year, Olaf went out upon a
viking cruise into the Gulf of Bothnia. On the coast of Jemptland and
Helsingialand he encountered many Swedish warships, cleared them, and
slew many men, and took all the wealth of them. It was his habit to lie
hidden behind some rocky promontory, or at the mouth of some vik, or
creek, and thence dart out upon his unsuspecting prey; and he would
thus creep along the coast from vik to vik, harrying and plundering
wheresoever he went. And in all his battles he never received a wound
or lost a ship, but always got the victory. He was accounted the most
favoured by the gods among all the vikings of Jomsburg, and his renown
spread far and wide.
When Olaf returned at the beginning of the winter to Jomsburg he heard
that Earl Sigvaldi's father, Strut-Harald of Skaney, had just died. Now
it was the custom in those days that a high born man, before he could
take possession of any inheritance left to him by his father, should
hold an arvel, or inheritance feast. King Sweyn was at this time
preparing to hold such a feast before taking possession of the Danish
kingdom, so it was arranged that Sweyn and Sigvaldi should make one
arvel serve for them both, and Sweyn sent word to Sigvaldi inviting him
with all his captains and chosen warriors to join him in Zealand, and
so arrange it that the greatest possible honour should be done to the
dead.
Sigvaldi accordingly left Jomsburg with a large host of his vikings and
two score of ships. Among his captains were Olaf Triggvison, Kolbiorn
Stallare, Bui the Thick of Borgund holm, Thorkel the High, and Vagn
Akison. It was winter time, and the seas were rough, but the fleet
passed through the Danish islands without disaster, and came to an
anchorage in a large bay near which now stands the city of Copenhagen.
King Sweyn welcomed Earl Sigvaldi and all his men with great kindness.
The feast was held in a very large hall, specially built for the
reception of guests, and ornamented with splendid wood carvings and
hung about with peace shields and curtains of beautiful tapestry. King
Sweyn was dressed in very fine clothes of purple, with gold rings on
his arms and round his neck, and a band of burnished gold, set with
gems, upon his head. His beard, which was as yet but short, was trimmed
in a peculiar way--divided into two prongs--which won for him the
nickname of Sweyn Forkbeard. The tables were loaded with cooked food
and white bread; sufficient to serve all the great company for three
days. The ale and mead flowed abundantly, and there was much good cheer
in the hall. Many high born women were present, and the guests sat in
pairs, each man and woman together. Olaf Triggvison had for his partner
the Princess Thyra, sister of the king.
In the midst of the feasting Thyra turned to Olaf and asked him his
true name.
"Men call me Ole the Esthonian," answered Olaf.
"I had known so much already," returned Thyra. "It is the same name
that you bore at the time we first met in Wendland. But when I look at
you, and see your silken hair and your fair skin, it seems to me that
you must be of kingly birth."
"It is not well always to judge by appearances," Olaf said with a
smile. And he drew down the gold ring from the thick part of his bare
left arm. Thyra's eyes rested upon his arm for a moment, and she saw
imprinted there the seared brand that showed him to have been a slave;
and from that moment she ceased to regard him with personal interest.
It was the custom at such feasts as this that the high seat, or throne,
of the man whom the guests were met to do honour to, should be left
vacant until the memorial toast of the deceased, and of the mightiest
of their departed kinsmen, had been proposed. In accordance with this
custom King Sweyn stood up and drank the cup of memory to his father.
Then he stepped into the high seat, and by this act took possession of
his inheritance. The cup was filled and emptied to the last drop by
each man in turn.
The Jomsburg vikings drank eagerly on that first evening, and ever as
their drinking horns were emptied they were filled again, brimming of
the strongest. After it had gone on thus for a while, King Sweyn saw
that his guests were nearly all drunk.
"Here is great merriment," said he, rising and holding aloft his silver
drinking horn. "And I propose that we shall find a new entertainment
which will long hereafter be remembered."
Sigvaldi answered, "We think it most becoming and best for the
entertainment, that you, lord, should make the first proposal, for we
all have to obey you and follow your example."
Then the king laughed and said: "I know it has always been customary at
great feasts and meetings that all present should make vows to perform
great and valorous deeds, and I am willing to try that now. For, as
you, Jomsvikings, are far more famous than all other men in this
northern half of the world, so the vows you will make here will be as
much more renowned than others, as you are greater than other men. And
to set you an example, I will myself begin."
He filled his drinking horn to the brim and held it high, while all
waited eagerly and silently to hear what vow he should make.
"This it is," said he in a loud voice which those at the farthest end
of the hall could clearly hear. "I vow that I will, before the third
winter nights hereafter have passed, have driven King Ethelred of
England out of his realm, or else have slain him, and thus have got his
kingdom to myself!"
And so saying he quaffed his deep horn.
All wondered at this great vow, for not many had heard even the name of
King Ethelred.
"Now it is thy turn, Sigvaldi," cried Sweyn, wiping his wet lips with
the back of his hand, "and make no less a vow than mine."
Then the drink bearers bore to the vikings the biggest horns of the
strongest drink that was there, and Sigvaldi rose to his feet. He first
proposed the memory of his dead father, and before raising the drink to
his lips added this oath:
"I swear," said he, "that before three winters are worn away I will
sail over to Norway and slay Earl Hakon, or else drive him from the
land."
Now, this was the selfsame oath that Olaf Triggvison had resolved to
swear when it should come to his turn, and he was annoyed that Earl
Sigvaldi had, as it were, snatched it from his lips. He now thought
over what other vow he could make in its stead. But it chanced that ere
his turn came round all the company were either asleep or so full of
strong drink that they could not listen, so in the end he made no vow
whatsoever. Yet to the last he was as sober as when he first entered
the hall, and he remembered ever afterwards the boastful oaths that had
been made. Many of his fellow vikings--as Thorkel the High, Bui the
Thick, and Vagn Akison--declared that they would but follow their chief
to Norway, while others of Sweyn's following in like manner vowed to
accompany the king to England; and once having made these promises,
none dared to go back from them.
On the morrow, when the vikings regained their senses, they thought
they had spoken big words enough, so they met and took counsel how they
should bring about this expedition against Earl Hakon, and the end of
it was that they determined to set about it as early as might be. For
the rest of that wintertide the men of Jomsburg accordingly bestirred
themselves in making preparations for the journey. They fitted out
their best warships and loaded them with weapons, and their warriors
were mustered to the number of eight thousand well trained men, with
eighty chosen battleships.
So, when the snows of that winter had melted in the vales and the seas
were clear of ice floes, Sigvaldi led his host north through the Eyr
Sound and lay for a time in Lyme Firth. There he divided his forces,
leaving twenty of Olaf Triggvison's longships in the firth, so that
they might perchance intercept Earl Hakon should he escape the main
fleet. This was an ill judged measure, but Sigvaldi was not aware that
the forces of Earl Hakon were vastly superior in number to his own.
Olaf's ships were left in the charge of Kolbiorn Stallare, while Olaf
himself went aboard the dragonship of Vagn Akison.
Earl Sigvaldi then sailed out into the main with sixty ships, and came
to Agdir, in the south of Norway. And there he fell to pillaging in the
dominion of Earl Hakon.