In the year 1010 the Danes were in possession of sixteen English

counties, and they exacted forty-eight thousand pounds for sparing the

rest. But such moderation was not in their policy; and no sooner was the

money theirs, than their atrocities recommenced. The condition of

Kent—which was that of half England—is more graphically described by the

biographer of St. Elphege, archbishop of Canterbury, than by all the

chronicles of the period. When that city was first besieged, there was

some prospect of a defence; the walls were strong, and there were many

strong arms eager to defend their cathedral, their bishop, their wives

and children. But a traitor (and England was full of them) set fire to

about twenty different houses: to extinguish the flames many of the

defenders left their posts; one of the gates was broken open, and the

pirates rushed into the city, while the flames spread on every side. The

men were cut down in the streets, or they were thrown into the devouring

fire; women were violated and speared; children were tossed like balls

from the points of the lances. As a last resource, St. Elphege and his

clergy had taken refuge in the cathedral; but he could not hear of these

excesses without endeavouring to stop them. Rushing from the sacred pile

into the midst of the pirates, he exclaimed, “Spare the city! at least,

if you are men, spare the helplessness of infancy! Turn your weapons

against me, only, who have always condemned your crimes!” They gagged

him, bound him, and led him to witness the fate of his church, to which

thousands of the people had now resorted in the vain hope that its

sanctity would impress even pagans. It was soon on fire; the smoke

ascended in clouds; the flames spread; and as the unfortunate people,

forced by the burning liquid lead, issued from the building, they were

cut down by the ferocious pirates. Of eight thousand inhabitants, about

a tenth of the number were spared, in the hope of ransom; and such as

were unable or unwilling to pay it were put to a cruel death. Among them

was St. Elphege, who might have raised the sum demanded for him—three

thousand pieces of gold—had he signed an order to the churches of his

diocese to pay the money from their treasuries. But he refused to allow

that which had been raised for the poor to be expended on him: he would

not, he said, purchase life on terms so disgraceful. He who, throughout

life, had begged for the indigent, would not be the means of plundering

them in his old age. After being detained for some time, kept in a

loathsome dungeon, starved, tormented, beaten, in the view of subduing

his inflexibility, he was martyred, his last ejaculations being for his

flock, his country, his very enemies.[114]

[Sidenote: 1013 to 1014.]

In 1013 Sweyn arrived, with new reinforcements, to take possession of

the whole island. On landing in the north, the earl of Northumberland

and the whole province submitted. Proceeding to the south, Oxford,

Winchester, Bath, with all the towns of the west, and all the great

thanes, sent in their allegiance. For some time London held out, because

Ethelred was in it; but that doughty hero, having ascertained that duke

Richard of Normandy would receive him for the sake of his wife,

precipitately fled to Rouen, leaving his capital and kingdom in the

hands of the invaders. Sweyn was king of England; and he used the title,

though, owing to the short residue of his life, he was not crowned. That

he exercised all the rights of sovereignty, fully as the Saxon kings had

ever done, is admitted by our own historians. His reign is said to have

been one of severe exaction. He died at Gainsborough in one year after

his elevation, under circumstances of suspicion. The northern annalists

declare that he was killed by prince Edward, afterwards the Confessor;

but no English authority confirms the report. This was not the work of

Edward; but it might be that of Edmund Ironside.[115]

Many years before his death Sweyn probably reverted to Christianity, and

persevered in it unto his death. But whether pagan or Christian, he was

a ferocious warrior and a stern king. With natural talents of a high

order, with indomitable courage, with unwearied activity, he obtained

advantages which none of his predecessors had enjoyed. We have already

alluded to the diversion which his son, with Olaf Trygveson, king of

Norway, created in favour of England. After the death of that hero

(1000), he seized a portion of Norway, while the Swedish king seized

another; and this augmentation of his power no doubt rendered him more

able to conquer England.[116]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAP. II.

SWEDEN.

A.C. 70 to A.D. 1001.

UNCERTAINTY AND CONTRADICTION IN THE CHRONOLOGICAL SERIES OF

KINGS EXPLAINED BY THE FACT THAT THE GOTHS AND SWIONES

WERE UNDER DISTINCT RULERS—HENCE THEIR CONFUSION.—THE

YNGLINGS, OR SACRED FAMILY OF ODIN, REIGN AT UPSAL.—KINGS

OF THAT RACE: ODIN—NIORD—FREYR—FREYA—FIOLNER—SWEGDIR—

VANLAND—VISBUR—DOMALD—DOMAR—DYGVE—DAG—AGNE, ETC.—FATE OF THE

PRINCES OF THIS HOUSE, OF WHOM MOST DIE TRAGICALLY.—LEGEND OF AUN THE

OLD.—INGIALD ILLRADA.—CONQUEST OF SWEDEN BY IVAR VIDFADME.—GOTHIC

KINGS FROM GYLFO TO IVAR VIDFADME.—KINGS OF THE SWEDES AND THE GOTHS.

IN the Introduction to the present volume we have added the tabular list

of kings by archbishop Joannes Magnus, as illustrative of the difficulty

which must accompany all researches into the ancient history of

Sweden.[117] The exploits of those kings, their chronological order,

their very names, rest under a deep cloud. Where, indeed, no two authors

agree,—where the names, not merely of two or three sovereigns, but of

nearly one half, are as different as the actions ascribed to them,—what

can be inferred but this, that little dependence is to be placed on any

one of them? Compare, for example, the list given by the archbishop with

that which modern Swedish critics approve[118]; and what must be the

reader’s surprise to find—110 in the former case, and 37 in the other;

the names, too, for the most part, dissimilar as the number! If we take

that given by the authors of our Universal History[119], we shall,

indeed, have some approximation in respect to the number, but little in

regard to the names, of the kings. Other lists might be produced equally

contrasting with the one contained in the Norwegian authorities. Whence

this diversity, which modern historians have pronounced to be hopelessly

irreconcileable? It arises from a very simple cause. When the Swiones,

the attendants of Odin,—his companions from his Asiatic kingdom,—arrived

in the north, they found a Gothic tribe, the Gothones, under Gylfo their

king, seated along the maritime coast, and extending to the centre of

Sweden. How long this tribe had been settled there when the Swiones

arrived would be vain to inquire. By what means Odin and his followers

obtained a portion of the country, and established the seat of his new

empire at Upsal, has been already related. Here, then, were two distinct

tribes, the Gothones or Goths, and the Swiones or Swedes, to say nothing

of the original tribes, or, at least, fragments of those tribes, who had

been located in these regions many centuries before the arrival of the

Goths. Now the kings whom Joannes Magnus, Torfœus, Loccenius, the

authors of our Universal History, and other writers enumerate, were the

kings of the Goths and Swedes, while those contained in the

Landfedgatal, the Heimskringla, and other Icelandic authorities, were

sovereigns of the Swedes only. That the two people, and, consequently,

the districts which they inhabited, were for many centuries under

distinct rulers, is one of the best ascertained facts of history. The

former called themselves kings of the Goths, or of Gothland, only; the

latter, now kings of the Swedes, now of Upsal. This distinction was not

only observed from the very dawn of their history, but is at this day

preserved in the title of the monarch, who is styled “King of the Swedes

and of the Goths.” Hence the two lists of kings—the two kingdoms—the

distinction of history in both; all which have hitherto been confounded,

and so completely as to baffle the keenest criticism. Not that the king

of the one people was not sometimes the king of both. This could not be

otherwise, when two conterminous nations, jealous of each other’s

prosperity, were eager for the ascendancy. The superiority, no doubt,

was assumed by the sovereigns of the divine race, the descendants of

Odin; but those of Gothland were sometimes the rulers, and hailed as

monarchs of the Swedes. On the other hand, the kings of the Swedes—those

who reigned at Upsal—were still more frequently victors over their

Gothic neighbours. Hence the confusion which, notwithstanding the

important distinction we have been so careful to indicate, will often be

found in the regal lists of this country.[120]

[Sidenote: A.C. 40 to A.D. 14.]

We commence with the hallowed race, the pontiff kings of the Swedes, who

reigned at Upsal. On the death of Odin, _Niord_ succeeded, as prophet,

priest, and king, in the capital of Sigtuna. It was then, no doubt, the

head of a very small state. Many were the kings which held Sweden at

this time: besides Gothia, which was subject to chiefs, who, in the

sequel, were generally at war with the Swiones, each province had its

king. Several of the states were bound in alliance with Niord. Odinsey,

in Fionia, was held by a chief of this nature; Skiold, the son of Odin,

reigned at Ledra, in Zealand; Freyr was the pontiff chief of Upsal;

Heimdal was over the temple at Hemenbiorg; Thor was at Thrudvang, and

Balder at Breidablik.[121] And though Scania was a possession of the

Goths, and not yet subject to the Danish chiefs, it appears to have been

held by some one of the Asser. The reign of Niord was a happy one; the

gifts of nature were extraordinarily abundant, and the benefit was

referred to his influence with the gods. Before his death he wounded

himself as Odin had done. After it, his body was laid on the funeral

pyre, and he was long worshipped as a deity. The sceptre was now

transferred to _Freyr_, the son of Niord. His reign, too, was

prosperous, and he was the idol of his people. He it was who built the

great temple at Upsal, and made it the seat of his government, in

preference to Sigtuna. Here he received the tribute furnished by his

subjects; hence the progressive enrichment of that place. Universal

peace distinguished his administration. He was held in greater esteem

than his predecessors, and his surname of _Yngve_ became the proudest

distinction of his descendants, who were thenceforth called _Ynglings_.

His death—we know not for what reason—was concealed for three years; the

only reason assigned is, that a magnificent tomb was erecting for him

during that period. His son did not immediately ascend the throne of the

Swedes; there was _Freya_, the last of the divine personages who had

accompanied Odin from Asia to the north. She was celebrated in her life,

and still more after her death: her body was not burned on the funeral

pyre, because it was believed she had returned to the gods; and her

statue, as everybody knows, in conjunction with those of Thor and Odin,

long adorned the temple at Upsal. _Fiolner_[122], the son of Freyr,

succeeded. He was contemporary with Frode I., king of Denmark. Both were

equally inclined to peace, and they lived in perfect harmony. More than

once did he visit king Frode at Ledra, whose hospitality was the

admiration of that age. But one of his visits proved fatal. Whatever

might be his other virtues, sobriety was not of the number; his

potations were long and deep; and one night, having occasion to rise, he

fell into a huge vessel of mead which was in the cellar, the trap door

of which had been incautiously left open.[123] The throne now passed to

_Swegdir_, his son. This prince, accompanied by twelve nobles, went into

Asia for the purpose of inquiring into the family and exploits of Odin.

He wandered over “Turkland” and Great “Swionia,” the Asheim or Godheim

of the Swedes. Here he found many of his own blood. While in the

territory of the Vanir[124], he married a lady of that nation, and by

her had a son, whom he called Vanland. At the end of five years, he

returned to Upsal; but if any reliance is to be placed on tradition, he

afterwards took a second journey to those distant regions, and never

returned. A wondrous legend has been invented to account for his death.

“To the east of Great Fionia,” says Snorro, “there is a large villa

called _Stein_, a rock, from one being placed there so huge, as to equal

a house. One evening, after sunset, as the king was about to pass from

his cups to his bed, he saw a fairy sitting under that great rock. He

and his companions, being excited by wine, ran towards the place, and

the fairy desired Swegdir to enter if he wished to converse with Odin.

He did enter, and was seen no more.”[125]

[Sidenote: 34 to 220.]

By the death of Swegdir, _Vanland_ became the acknowledged head of the

Swiones. He was the first of Odin’s descendants who exhibited a warlike

character, or rather the first that actually went to war. In the infancy

of this theocratic state, when, through weakness, it was compelled to

cultivate the good will of its neighbours, of conquest there was no

dream; but when the young lion had gained strength, its natural

character was unfolded. His conquests, however, have not been recorded;

and we can only conjecture that they were chiefly in the provinces

bounding on Upland. Nor do we know that it was a warlike expedition that

led him into Finland. That country, however, was to him a fatal as well

as a romantic one, While there he married the daughter of an old Swede

established among the Finns. Her he soon left, with the promise of

returning in three years; but ten having elapsed without any tidings of

him, she sent Visbur, their son, to his palace at Upsal. Still, as he

showed no disposition to visit her, she took counsel with Hulda, a

famous witch,—and Finland was full of them,—how she might compel him to

return. The witch readily undertook to bring him, or, if she failed, to

destroy him. Her secret charms were immediately exerted, and Vanland,

though enthroned at Upsal with the attributes of a demi-god, felt their

power. On a sudden his heart was drawn towards Finland; the impulse to

return was scarcely resistible: but his friends and counsellors

dissuaded him from the voyage, assuring him that he was merely under the

temporary influence of magic. Sleep now overcame him; but scarcely was

he laid on his couch than he cried out that he was oppressed by that

mysterious demon, the nightmare. His attendants hastened to assist him,

but in vain: the power of the demon was resistless; and, after violent

distortions of his limbs, he was suffocated. His body was burned; on the

banks of the Skuta his mighty cairn was erected; and _Visbur_ became the

monarch of the Swedes. This prince was not more faithful, as a husband,

than his father had been. Having married a lady by whom he had two sons,

he unceremoniously dismissed her and them to her father, and took

another to his bed. The offspring of this second marriage was Domald,

whom his nurse, foreseeing that dangers menaced him, endeavoured to

protect by incantations. In the mean time, Gisle and Ondur, sons of the

repudiated queen, applied to Visbur for the restoration of their

mother’s dowry, especially of a magnificent golden necklace; on his

refusal, they prayed that the ornament might be his destruction, and

that of his offspring. To effect this object, they had recourse to

magic; and Hulda, who had destroyed the father, boasted that she would

destroy him, and leave this doom to the whole of the Ynglings,—that

either their arms should always be turned against one another, or they

should perish tragically by some other means. The operations of magic,

however, were too slow for their impatience; and they burned their

father with the house in which they found him. _Domald_ succeeded; but

the fates were not to be averted. During three years a grievous famine

afflicted Sweden. The first autumn, oxen were offered to propitiate the

gods; the second, human victims bled on the altar. When neither availed,

the nobles and priests, assembled at Upsal, decreed that, as the famine

was owing to king Domald, he should be the next sacrifice, and the

decree was carried into effect. Of the two next kings, _Domar_, the son

of Domald, and _Dygve_, the son of Domar, nothing is recorded except

that they reigned and died; but _Dag the Wise_, the son of the

last-named sovereign, is celebrated in northern history. Well might he

enjoy the epithet, if, as tradition asserts, he understood the language

of birds. He had a sparrow which performed the same office for him that

the ravens did for Odin[126]; it flew over the earth and brought him

intelligence of everything that passed. One day, however, as this bird

was picking some grains in a field of Redgothia, a country clown killed

it with a stone. Finding that his bird did not return, Dag consulted the

gods, and learned its fate. To avenge himself, he led an army against

the Goths, and laid waste the region in which the misfortune had

happened. Having taken many prisoners, and left many dead on the field,

he was returning to his vessels, when a dart from an obscure hand sent

him to the halls of Odin.[127]

[Sidenote: 220 to 448.]

_Agne_, the son of Dag, mounted the vacant throne of the Swedes. Rich

and warlike, he was held in high esteem; but the fate which hung over

the sacred line of the Ynglings made him another of its victims. In a

successful expedition against the Finns, in which he had slain the

Finnish king, and, agreeably to the manners of the times, had made

Skiolfa, the orphan daughter of the king, his mistress or wife, he had

just returned to Stocksund, disembarked his troops, and pitched his tent

on the margin of a wood. Here, to perform with passing splendour the

last rites to the memory of Skiolfa’s father, he assembled a great

number of guests. The cup went round until the king became intoxicated.

As he wore the chain which had belonged to Visbur, Skiolfa besought him

to confide the precious ornament to her care; but he fastened it the

more closely round his neck and fell asleep. The tent was at the foot of

a tree, and Skiolfa, assisted by her Finnish connections, tied a strong

cord to the ornament, threw one end over a branch of the tree, and

pulling with all their might, the body of Agne was raised, and left to

dangle in the nightly breeze. The following morning Skiolfa and her

companions were on their voyage to Finland, and nothing remained to the

Swedes but the performance of the last rites to the royal victim.

_Alaric_ or _Elrac_ and _Eric_, his two sons, divided the supreme power

between them. For a season they were prosperous; but they were doomed to

share the fate which hung over the house of Yngve. They were fond of

equestrian exercises, especially of taming the most spirited horses. One

day they rode at full gallop over an extensive plain; but they were

never again seen alive: their corpses were found with their sculls

fractured; and, as neither had any arms, it was supposed that they had

killed each other with the reins, or that some malignant demon had

destroyed them both. _Yngve_ and _Alf_, the sons of Alaric, shared the

government of the Swedes; but they were dissimilar in character. The

latter was studious of peace, a man of few words, and severe in manner;

the former was fond of war, of his cups, and of conversation, and often

protracted his orgies into the silence of night. Two such men, whose

jealousy was further increased by the unwise division of power, could

not long bear the society of each other. One evening Yngve stabbed his

brother; but the victim had strength enough left to return the fatal

blow. The supreme power was now held by one, _Hugleik_, the son of Alf.

His end, too, was tragical. Being assailed by Hako, a celebrated sea

king and Danish jarl, who numbered among his captains the unrivalled

Sterkodder[128], he was vanquished and slain,—Snorro assures us by the

hands of Hako; but it was, perhaps, by those of Sterkodder. The victor

was not satisfied with the death of Hugleik: he subdued the Swiones, and

forced them to acknowledge him as their king. Yet he is not ranked by

the Icelandic writers among the lawful kings of the Swedes. He was a

usurper whom _Jorund_ and _Eric_, both sons, both sea kings, assailed

and slew in the vicinity of Upsal. But Eric had received a mortal wound,

and Jorund was hailed as the monarch of the Swedes. The new sovereign,

who, during his exile, had obtained considerable reputation on the deep,

retained his attachment for the profession, which he exercised in the

summer. But it led to his ruin. During his exile he had slain Gudlaug,

king of Halogia: by Gylaug, the son of that chief, he was met, in

Limafiord, defeated, and hung. _Aun_, the son of Jorund, surnamed _hinn

Gamle_, or the Old, now ascended the throne of the Swedes. He was a

prudent man, a great worshipper of the gods, and not fond of war. During

his reign, says Snorro,—and the information is valuable,—Dan Mykillati,

Frode the Pacific, Halfdan, and Fridleif III. were, in succession, kings

of the Danes. His peaceful habits, probably, led to the aggressions

which were committed upon him. He was twice expelled from his

kingdom,—the first time by Halfdan, who reigned twenty-five years in his

capital, Upsal, and there died. This remarkable event is mentioned by

Saxo; but, in his usual manner of confounding names and dates, the

Danish historian calls the Swedish king Eric instead of Aun. He adds

that Halfdan was held in great veneration by the Swedes, who, in their

deplorable blindness, regarded him as the son of the great Thor. After

his twenty-five years’ reign in Gothia, Aun consulted the gods

respecting the duration of his life, and, to render them more

propitious, he offered his own son on the altar of Odin. The response

was, that, though he was now sixty years of age, he should live sixty

more. But, if he was to live, he was not to reign that time; for in

twenty-five years from the date of this sacrifice, he was again expelled

by Ali, the son of Fridleif. At the end of twenty-five years more, Ali,

we are told, was slain by Sterkodder. Aun was again obeyed by the Goths.

All this is sufficiently fabulous; but the following is more so:—After

reigning another period of twenty-five years, he offered his second son

to Odin; and the response was, that, if he sacrificed a son every ten

years to that deity, he should live for ever; but his vigour was not to

be commensurate with his life. After the seventh sacrifice, he was

unable, during ten years, to walk, and was carried on a litter. After

the eighth, during ten whole years, he was confined to his bed. After

the ninth, he was fed like a child with milk from the horn. He had still

a son, and would have offered him as the tenth victim had not the Swedes

forbidden the sacrifice. So king Aun died; and his name was afterwards

used proverbially to denote the diseases inseparable from old age.[129]

[Sidenote: 448 to 545.]

_Egil_, whose blood should have stained the altar of Odin, became, by

his father’s death, monarch of the Swedes. He now experienced an enemy

in Tunne, who, though a slave, had been the treasurer of Aun. As Tunne

had tasted the sweets of power, he had no wish to revert to his former

condition; and when he perceived that no distinction was made between

him and his fellows, he repaired to the spot where Aun had buried a

large treasure, dug it up, and with it hired a numerous body of men to

execute his purposes. At first the new chief betook himself to the less

accessible parts of the country; by degrees, as his band increased,—and

there can be no doubt, by proclaiming a servile war, it rapidly

increased,—he issued from the mountain or the forest, and swept the

neighbouring plains. He was a bandit on a large scale. Egil raised some

force, and hastened to chastise the rebel; but, being surprised by night

in his camp, he lost many of his followers, and was compelled to consult

his safety by flight. This signal event increased the power of the

rebel, and though forces were repeatedly brought into the field, victory

declared for Tunne in eight consecutive engagements. In this emergency

the king fled to the court of the Danish king, Frode V., in Zealand, and

offered as the condition of aid an annual tribute. Frode accepted the

offer; and, with a Danish reinforcement, Egil triumphed over the rebel.

During the three years which intervened between this event and his own

death, Egil sent large _presents_ to the Danish king; but he would not

allow them to be called tribute. Death was to him, like most of the

Ynglings, tragical: it was occasioned by a wild bull, while hunting in

the forest. _Ottar_, the son of Egil, succeeded. Being summoned by the

Danish king to pay the tribute which had been promised, he returned a

peremptory refusal. Frode invaded Swionia, laid waste the country; while

Ottar, equipping a powerful armament, disembarked in Zealand, and

committed equal depredations. But the latter was defeated and slain by

the Danes, and his body exposed to the fury of wild beasts. _Adils_, the

son of Ottar, was the next king. He was a noted pirate, who, in summer,

visited and ravaged most of the coasts round the Baltic. On one occasion

he descended on that of Saxony, laid waste the country, took much spoil,

among which was Ursa, a lady of surpassing beauty. Of her the victor

became enamoured, and he married her: but, being expelled from his

kingdom by Helge, the son of Halfdan, who reigned at Ledra, this queen

fell into the power of the victor, who, also, married her, and the issue

of this union was Rolf Krake. But Ursa, who was discovered to be the

daughter of Helge, returned to the court of Adils, with whom she

remained during the rest of her life. On the death of Helge, in one of

his piratical expeditions, Rolf, or Rollo, young as he was, was

acknowledged king of Ledra. Adils did not long survive his enemy; he was

killed by the fall of his horse.[130] _Eystein_, the son of Adils, next

swayed the sceptre of the Swedes. His reign was a troubled one, his

kingdom being continually infested by the royal ships of Denmark and

Norway, or, what was worse, by the fierce sea kings. “In those days,”

says Snorro, “were many sea kings, who levied large forces, though they

had no countries to rule. He was esteemed worthy to be a sea king who

never slept under a tent, and never emptied his horn by the hearth

side.” The most powerful enemy of Eystein was Solvi, a chief of the

Jutes, whose piratical expeditions were known on many coasts. One night

this marauder advanced to the tent where Eystein was entertaining his

friends; and setting fire to the place, all within were consumed. To

obtain the royal title, Solvi hastened to Sigtuna; and for a moment he

enjoyed it: but the inhabitants rising to avenge their late king, and to

free themselves from the new yoke, this adventurer soon bade farewell to

empire and to life. The lawful successor of Eystein was his son

_Yngvar_, who, being of a martial disposition, visited many coasts. But

in 545 he was slain on that of Esthonia.[131]

[Sidenote: 545 to 623.]

The next person who filled the throne of the Ynglings, _Braut-Onund_,

was a much wiser man than his predecessors. His great object was, to

clear the forests, to drain the marshes of Swionia, and thus, to convert

desert and useless into arable and pasture land. His efforts were

crowned with success. Where the stagnant pool had stood, golden harvests

waved; forests were replaced by huts full of industrious labourers; and

highways were made to pass over mountain and fen. “Many,” says Snorro,

“were the provincial kings subject to him.” But this patriotic monarch,

like so many of the Ynglinga, came to an untimely end: as he and his

retinue were one day in the mountains, they were overwhelmed by a huge

avalanche. The sceptre now devolved to the unfortunate _Ingiald

Illrada_, son of the deceased king. In his infancy this prince, we are

told, was of too gentle, too mild a disposition, for the turbulent

people with whom he had to deal. This defect, however, was cured by a

peculiar diet,—that of roasted wolves’ hearts; and Ingiald became as

ferocious as he had formerly been the reverse. But this change of

character was not for the happiness of the Swedes; and he was destined

to be the last of the Ynglings that should rule at Upsal. His first

object was, to exterminate the local kings, who, like mushrooms, had

sprung up in the country, and who, though subject to the descendants of

Odin, frequently acted as if they were independent. In the entertainment

which he gave at Upsal, alike to celebrate the obsequies of his father,

and his own inauguration, his character was fully displayed. Here were

six kings,—all who owed obedience to Ingiald, except the one of

Sudermania,—with a great number of jarls, and other nobles. On these

occasions, the king, or jarl, previous to receiving the homage of all

present,—a homage expressed by a general shout,—seated himself on a low

seat at the foot of the one which his predecessor had filled. The

Bragacup was then brought, filled with wine to the brim; and this the

new heir, after giving some pledge, was expected to quaff before he

ascended the high seat. When the cup—a huge horn—was brought to Ingiald,

before emptying it, he vowed to Braga, the god, that he would, in every

direction, double his dominions, or perish in the attempt. They who

applauded the vow little foresaw the fate which awaited them. That very

night the six kings and the jarls were burnt, together with the house of

feasting. By this atrocious act Ingiald was absolute master of all

Swionia, except that district of Sudermania which owed obedience to the

absent king, Grammar. This king soon heard of the deed; and knowing that

his own life was menaced, he entered into an alliance with a famous sea

king, Hiorvardar by name, to whom he gave his daughter Hildegund. The

entertainment at which this marriage was first projected is

characteristic of the manners of the times. On one high seat was king

Granmer; on another, the pirate king; and by the side of each sat his

chiefs and friends. To honour the guest, Granmer called for his daughter

Hildegund to present the cup. She appeared, beautiful as the day, filled

the cup, and approaching Hiorvardar, said, “Hail to the Ilsings! I drink

to the memory of Rolf Krake!”[132] She then emptied the half of the cup,

and presented it to Hiorvardar, who, seizing it and her hand, prayed her

to sit beside him. “Such,” replied the damsel, “is not the custom of

pirates; they do not allow females to sit and drink with them.” “Never

mind that custom,” pursued the chief; “but be persuaded to share my seat

and cup.” Hildegund yielded; she drank and talked with the chief until

the night was far advanced; and the next day she was affianced to him.

By this alliance Granmer acquired a valiant ally; and in the battle

which both had soon to wage against Ingiald they were the victors. The

monarch of the Swedes was compelled to flee; but, through the

intervention of friends, peace was concluded, on this condition,—that,

so long as the three lived, not one of them should molest the others.

Granmer could now go to Upsal to join in the great sacrifice and to

consult the oracles. The response was, that his days were numbered: and

numbered they were. While he and his son-in-law were in one of their

rural manors, Ingiald, with a select force, silently approached and

consumed with fire both them and the house. He then subjugated the

districts which the two kings had ruled, and those of their allies. His

surname of _Illrada_, the Deceitful, sufficiently shows the estimation

in which he was held. He had a daughter, Asa by name, who was the

heiress of his bad qualities. Married to Gudred king of Scania, she

persuaded her husband to murder his brother, Halfdan III., king of

Zealand. She then joined in a plot for the destruction of her husband;

but this object was no sooner effected than she was obliged to flee for

protection to the court of Upsal. Yet here she was not safe. Ivar

Vidfadme, the son of Halfdan, in the resolution of avenging his father’s

death, invaded Swionia, and wrapped it in blood and flames. When the

news of this invasion reached Ingiald, he was at an entertainment, with

his daughter and many nobles. He knew that he was hated; that resistance

was impossible; that escape was hopeless; and by the advice of Asa he

adopted an expedient which would, for ever, make his death as remarkable

as his life. This was, to burn himself, his daughter, his guests,

together with the house which contained them.[133]

[Sidenote: 623 to 630.]

By the death of Ingiald, his son, _Olaf Trætelia_, was the last of the

Ynglings; but his claim to the throne, however sanctioned by custom or

blood, was not likely to avail in opposition to so powerful an enemy as

Ivar Vidfadme. At this moment, Ivar was at the head of the Danish, the

Swedish, part of the Saxon and Anglian states (the Angles of Holstein);

and his career was not to be resisted by a youth without army, without

followers. Indeed, Olaf made no effort to resist; he saw that the people

were resolved on the expulsion of the Ynglings; and, with the few

friends who adhered to him, he hastened to the desert lands north and

west of the Vener Lake. There he cleared off the forests,—hence his

surname of Trætelia, or the Tree-feller,—drained them, and not only

rendered them habitable, but in a short time made them the foundation of

a new state, that of Vermeland. From him descended the famous Harald

Harfager, monarch of Norway, the restorer of the ancient glory of the

Ynglings.[134]

The crimes and misfortunes of this dynasty must, to every reader,

contrast strangely with its pretended divine origin. Compared to it, the

fate of our Stuarts was a happy one. If we except the companions of

Odin, the ends of most were tragical. Fiolner was drowned in a butt of

mead; Swegdir, whatever the manner of his death, did not leave this

world in a natural way; Vanland perished, not by the hands of witches,

but those of conspirators; Visbur was burnt to death by his own sons;

Domald was sacrificed on Odin’s altar by his subjects; Dag was killed by

a slave; Agne was hung by his bride; Alaric and Eric were killed by each

other’s hands, or by conspirators; Alf and Yngve certainly slew each

other; Hugleik was slain by Hako or Sterkodder; Eric died in battle;

Jorund was ignominiously hung; Egil was gored to death by a wild bull;

Ottar was killed by the Danes; Adils by the fall of his horse; Eystein

perished by the hands of pirates; Ingvar by those of the Esthonians;

Braut-Onund by an avalanche; Ingiald Illrada was forced to destroy

himself; and Olaf Trætelia was driven into everlasting exile. Thus, out

of twenty-two sovereigns, from Fiolner to Olaf, three only died a

natural death; for that of Olaf, as we shall soon perceive, was also

tragical. Assuredly there was nothing in the pre-eminence, divine as it

was, of the Ynglings, to render it an object of envy, either to their

own times or to posterity.[135]

The fortunes of Olaf Trætelia and of his successors may be found in the

chapter devoted to the early Norwegian history. Henceforth Sweden, or to

speak more precisely, the Swedes, are under the sceptre of the

Skioldungs, and not of the Ynglings, though the former, like the latter,

were of Odin’s race, being descended from Skiold, whose seat was

established at Ledra in Zealand. They did not exercise the sacerdotal

functions; they were not pontiff kings; consequently, they were not held

in the same veneration as those who were privileged to officiate at

Odin’s altar.—Before we proceed with this Swedish branch of the

Skioldungian dynasty, we must revert to the Gothic dynasty established

in another part of Sweden. At every step we take in the history of this

obscure period, we are more fully convinced that the hypothesis we have

framed is based on truth; viz., that while the Swiones or Swedes were

located in the provinces bordering on Upsal, and were governed by their

own kings, the Goths were in the more southern and western provinces,

with a dynasty of their own. Where was the seat of this latter dynasty?

Probably it was not always stationary. It appears to have been sometimes

in West, sometimes in East, Gothland; just as those provinces obeyed one

or two kings. Scania too, which, politically, was a province of Denmark,

yet geographically a portion of Sweden, was inhabited by Goths, the seat

of whose government was Lund. As the kings of Scania, or of East and

West Gothia, obtained the preponderance, they were called kings of the

Goths. In the same measure, when the Danish star was triumphant, Ledra,

or Odensee, or Lund, or some town of Jutland, was regarded as the

metropolis of the Goths. But in each of the Gothic provinces of Sweden

there was a resident court, and consequently a capital, whose ruler was

sometimes dependent on the king of Scania, sometimes on him of Upsal,

but more frequently, perhaps, independent of them all. However this be,

it is certain that the kings of all these provinces, except Jutland,

have been confounded. Hence the uncertainty of regal lists, and, in many

instances, their contradiction to one another. In general, the prince

who happened to have the preponderance for the moment, whether his seat

was in the Gothlands or in Scania, was called king of the Goths. All

were, or professed to be, equally descended from Odin; nor is this

improbable, when we perceive how frequently a conqueror divided, at his

death, his dominions among his sons. This fatal example, as we have

seen, was set by Odin himself. Over Scania he placed his son Heimdal;

over Zealand and the surrounding islands, his son Skiold; over Jutland

and Holstein, his son Balder; over the Swedes at Upsal, his kinsman

Freyr; and over the Norwegians, as we shall soon perceive, his son

Semming. Such, at least, is the consistent voice of tradition, as

perpetuated in the oldest records now extant.[136]

From the preceding observations, and from many others in this and the

last chapter, the reader will be prepared for the amazing variations in

the chronological lists of northern kings, as given by Saxo, Snorro

Sturleson, and Joannes Magnus. Thus the king of Scania was sometimes the

chief of all the Danes, sometimes of all the Goths, sometimes of both;

but in general the kings of the two Gothlands were the acknowledged

heads of their nation, whether they happened to be independent, or

politically subject to the Danes on the one side, or the Swedes on the

other. Besides, the intermarriages which constantly took place among

these sovereigns would make them, eventually, of one great family, even

if most of them had not derived their origin from the warrior god of the

north. Still there were kings who had no such boast, who descended from

a regal stem more ancient than theirs, whose ancestors were rulers in

the Gothic provinces of Sweden, centuries, perhaps, before Odin was

born. And for anything we can prove to the contrary, there might, in the

interior of Sweden, be reguli who descended from the original, almost

indigenous rulers—from the old Finnish stock; for though the Goths, who

were there before the arrival of the kindred tribe of the Swiones, were

the dominant caste, they would govern the inland provinces through

native chiefs. At this distance of time, however, it is impossible to

distinguish the two; nor is it often possible to distinguish the earlier

from the subsequent Gothic princes,—those who sprung from ancestors

prior to Odin’s arrival, from those who descended from the Swionian

branch.[137]

According to the Heimskringla, the oldest and best authority for Swedish

history, when Odin arrived in the north he found a monarch named Gylfo

in possession of the supreme power.[138] Was this Gylfo of the Gothic or

of the anterior race? This question cannot be answered. From one

circumstance, viz., his alleged proficiency in magic science, we should

infer that he was a Finn, were it not doubtful whether the Goths did not

also cultivate this pretended science, and whether, from the facility of

his intercourse with Odin, and from the locality which he occupied, he

was not of a race kindred with that of the Swiones,—one that had

immigrated into these regions from Asiatic Scythia centuries, perhaps,

before “this king of the Turks.” Gylfo is said to have ceded to the

strangers a portion of his territory, and that they settled to the north

of him. This statement, again, confirms the inference of his Gothic

descent. However, from that day down to the permanent union of the two

nations—the Goths and the Swedes—under one head (temporary unions had

been frequently effected), the more southern people had their own king,

their own government and laws. By what degrees the Swiar obtained the

ascendancy over the Goths may be easily conjectured. The latter were, at

an early period, induced to embrace the religion of the former, or, we

should rather say, a modification of that religion; for that they, like

the Norwegians, combined a few more ancient tenets with the faith of

Odin, may be inferred from many passages. And with all due allowance for

this circumstance, we cannot but feel surprise at the facility with

which both Norwegians and Goths were brought to the temples of the new

faith. This could scarcely be the result of force, since the Swiar do

not appear to have been very numerous in comparison with the rest of the

population. Like the Saxons in England; and the Scots in Ireland, and

the Mohammedans in India, they were the dominant caste, and no doubt

their individual valour was superior to that of the natives. Still, in

the earliest Norwegian and Danish accounts of these remote transactions,

we do not read of the physical so much as of the moral influence of Odin

and his immediate successors. They might be numerous enough to obtain

possession of any neighbouring province, or even to defeat the petty

chiefs with which the country swarmed; but they would scarcely be

sufficient to make both Goths and Norwegians embrace a new faith.

Between temporal and religious domination there is a wide difference;

and all history proves that men will fight more willingly, more

perseveringly, for speculative opinions, than for the most substantial

social advantages. The comparative ease with which Odin, or rather his

immediate successors, thus forced the positive or modified observance of

their religious system on a great population, has led some northern

writers to assume that before his arrival another Odin had been there,

the apostle of a kindred faith.[139] But this assumption is gratuitous;

we have no good reason for it; and even if we had, the question would

still occur, “By what means did this _former_ prophet procure the

ascendancy of _his_ religion?” There is but one mode of solving this

difficulty, and this is hypothetical. Probably, as both Goths and

Swedes—perhaps, too, a considerable portion of the older race—had come

from the same Asiatic Scythia, there was between _some_ of their

religious opinions an affinity, if not an identity; and this affinity

would naturally facilitate the progress of the new faith. If to this

consideration we add the pomp with which the sacrifices were

conducted—the splendour of the temple—the crowd of officiating priests,

with the king at their head—the imposing solemnity of the scene—the

alleged godlike descent of the pontiff chief—the reputation which all

the Asser priests enjoyed for supernatural knowledge—we shall scarcely

be surprised at the rapid progress of the Odinic worship. As a prophet,

too, especially one so highly descended, Odin must have pretended to the

gift of miracles, or, what is the same thing, to the power of effecting

wonderful results by his knowledge of nature’s mysteries. This

combination of circumstances must have imposed on the Goths, as on the

Norwegian and other ancient tribes. It may account for the facility with

which both nations embraced the new faith, and ultimately acknowledged

even the temporal superiority of the Swiar. It is certain that as early

as even the time of Tacitus, the latter were the dominant tribe; yet, as

they occupied the sea-coast,—the usual locality of the last comers,—we

may doubt whether they had been there above two centuries. But this

superiority being of a moral, not of a physical nature, was often

resisted by the Gothic kings, who did not hesitate to march on Upsal, to

put the half divine pontiff to death, and to ascend his throne.[140]

[Sidenote: A.C. 70 to A.D. 260.]

The names, succession, and chief exploits of these sacerdotal kings,

from Odin to Ingiald Illrada, we have, thanks to the industry of Snorro,

been able to lay before the reader. But over those of the royal Goths a

cloud hangs which time can never remove. All that can now be done is,

from Saxo Grammaticus and the Heimskringla itself, to reserve a few

scattered names. Gylfo we have already mentioned; and from the alleged

fact—which we have no reason to dispute—that Scania was previously ceded

by Odin to his son Heimdal, the seat of Gylfo’s empire must have been in

one of the Gothlands. He was followed by _Frode_ and _Sigtrug_; the

former, remarkable for his liberal presents to the great temple of

Sigtuner; the latter, for his misfortunes. Gram, a Danish king (probably

the ruler of Scania), having carried off the daughter of Sigtrug, a war

followed, which proved fatal to the Gothic king, who was dethroned and

slain. That he reigned in Gothland is expressly affirmed by Saxo

Grammaticus[141], who relates a graphic incident illustrative of ancient

manners. Gram, says the Danish historian, had heard that the princess

was affianced to a giant, and he resolved to rescue her from the

humiliation; he therefore went into Gothia, and found the royal maiden,

with some of her female train, washing at one of the rural streams. Of

course she became the prize of the victor, and so did the Gothic

kingdom. But _Gram_ did not use his success with moderation; and by

_Swibdager_, a king of Norway, he was slain in his turn.[142] Swibdager

was now the lord of three states,—of Scania, Gothia, and his hereditary

one; but the first he resigned to Guthrum, son of Gram. It was the lot

of Swibdager to fall, untimely, by the hands of Hadding, another son of

Gram.[142] In his Gothic and Norwegian states he was succeeded by his

son _Asmund_, who, desiring to avenge the death of the father, was also

slain by Hadding. _Uffo_, the son of _Asmund_, succeeded to the quarrel,

though not to the throne, of his two predecessors. That throne was in

possession of Hadding; but he was able to raise forces and make a

diversion, by landing on the coast of Scania (or, perhaps, Jutland), and

forcing the Danish king to return to the defence of his dominions. As it

was not Uffo’s design to risk a battle in a foreign state, he sailed for

Gothland, and took possession of his hereditary dignity. But with the

returning spring Hadding resumed his desire of conquest, and, with a

considerable force, landed on the Gothic continent. His followers,

however, were soon exhausted by hunger and fatigue; and in the ensuing

battle he was signally defeated, and compelled to retreat into

Denmark.[143] Unable to accomplish the destruction of his enemy by

force, Hadding had recourse to treachery: he sought an interview with

Uffo, and removed that prince by assassination; but, according to the

Danish account, he placed _Hunding_, the brother of Uffo, on the vacant

throne. The Swedes, however, assert that it was their nation, not the

Danes, who thus acted; and their statement is far more credible.

Probably there was, as the former assert, a fierce war between the two;

and when both found that no advantage was to be expected from it, they

eagerly made peace, and were thenceforward more distinguished for their

friendship than they had been for their animosity. In the fabulous

spirit of the times, it is said that, when one of them heard of the

other’s death, he killed himself through grief. We may, however, admit

that they died within a short interval of each other. We may add, that

this Hadding is not admitted into the list of Danish, that is, of

Zealand kings, by the best critics; and that for his actions we are

indebted to Saxo. Probably he did not reign at Ledra.[144]

[Sidenote: About 260 to 448.]

_Ragnar_, the son of Uffo, succeeded to the throne of the Goths, but not

until he had rescued it from the domination of his step-mother. His

queen was Swanhita, sister of Frode, a king of Denmark; but this

alliance did not preserve a good understanding between the two

countries. Frode invaded Gothland, but perished in the expedition,—not,

observes Saxo, by the hands of the enemy, but through a fever,

occasioned alike by the heat and the weight of his armour. On the death

of Ragnar, the sceptre of the Goths was seized by _Holward_, or

_Hodbrod_, who was a warlike prince. In his expedition to Denmark, which

was then governed by Helge and Roe, he left the latter sovereign dead on

the field. But he himself, after his return to Gothland, was mortally

wounded by Helge, and his kingdom became the prize of the victor. But

_Attil I._, the son of Hodbrod, by marrying the daughter of Helge, and,

still more, by the bravery of the Goths, was raised to the throne. The

issue of this marriage, _Hoder_, became, in the sequel, king of Scania,

no less than of Gothland. This is the Hoder of whom Saxo—so absurd in

his chronology—makes the contemporary and rival of Balder, the son of

Odin.[145] Ruric, the son of Hoder, was also monarch of both states. He,

as we have before related, was the grandfather of Hamlet, through the

marriage of his daughter with Horwendil, prince of Jutland.[146] He

governed Denmark through his viceroys, and always remained in Gothland;

for this reason, he has been often omitted in the list of Danish kings.

Of _Attil II._ we merely know that he was assassinated by a Danish

emissary; of _Hogmor_ and _Hogrin_, who reigned conjointly, that they

perished in a battle with the Danes. But _Alaric_, their successor,

appears to have been identical with _Elrec_, prince of the Swedes, the

brother of Eric[147]; and this conjecture is confirmed by the statement

of the Swedish historians,—that the Goths and Swedes were at this time

united. Probably Elrec ruled one nation, Eric another. In the Swedish

annals, too, _Eric_ ranks as the brother and successor of Alaric;—a

confusion of chronology common enough in the historians of this period.

_Halfdan_ (or _Halden_) succeeded, who was, probably, the _Alf_ of

Snorro.[148] This conjecture, too, is strengthened by the statement of

the same Norwegian authority, that Yngve and Alf shared the government

of the Swedes. Both would scarcely reign at Upsal; and we have strong

reason for inferring that, while Yngve held that throne, Alf, or

Halfdan, reigned over the Goths. And there is another confirmation in

the fact that, on the death of Alf, the two people obeyed different

rulers. In the reigns of _Siward_, _Eric_, _Halfdan II._, _Ragnald_,

_Asmund_, and _Haquin_ (or Hako), we observe few points of coincidence

between the history of the Goths and the Swedes: probably they were

kings of the former people only, with the occasional superiority over

Scania. But the name of Hako must not be dismissed without adverting to

an incident which the author of _Macbeth_ has admitted into the greatest

of his dramas. Hako, resolved to avenge the death of his brothers who

had been assassinated at the Danish court, descended with a strong

armament on the coast of Zealand, and marched towards the residence of

the Danish king. On his way, to avoid observation, he passed through the

woods; and when the path diverged into the open plain, he ordered his

men each to cut down a large branch, that the paucity of his followers

might not be discovered. Great was the wonder of the sentinel, to see a

forest approaching the royal fortress, and he immediately carried the

information to the king. The latter inquired how far the moving wood was

distant from the walls; and, being answered that it was near, he felt

that his last hour was also at hand. Issuing from the fortress to meet

the foe on the open plain, he met the fate which he had foreseen.[149]

[Sidenote: 448 to 623.]

We now approach historic ground. _Egil Auniff_, the next king of the

Goths, is, beyond all doubt, Egil, the son of Aun, whose exploits we

have recorded in a former page of this chapter.[150] Those exploits are

the same, both in the narration of Snorro, and in that of later

historians of the country: the cause and the result were the same. Egil,

therefore, was king of the Goths and the Swedes. The _Gothar_ of the

Swedish writers, the successor of Egil, is also the _Ottar_ of Snorro:

the circumstances of their lives are identical.[151] _Adel_ is the

_Adils_, _Ostan_ the _Eystein_, of the Heimskringla: in both histories,

as the former was killed by the fall of his horse, so the latter was

burned to death.[152] The only difference in the relation is the

circumstance that led to the death of Eystein; the Norwegian authority

attributing it to Solve, a Jutish pirate; the Swedish, to the rebellion

of a Gothland chief. The _Ingvar_ of the Swedish writers is indisputably

the _Yngvar_ of Snorro; and the _Asmund_ of the former is the _Onund_,

or _Braut-Onund_ of the latter. In this latter reign, we perceive the

same encouragement of industry; but the death of the king is variously

related. Snorro, as we have before related, attributes it to an

avalanche[153]; but the Swedish writers make him fall in battle against

a body of rebels. Of the two next rulers mentioned by the Swedish

writers—_Siward_ and _Hirvt_—we have no mention in the annals of the

Ynglings. The reason is, that they were kings of Gothland only, and,

probably, dependent on the monarchs of Upsal: the latter, indeed, is

expressly called the king of the Goths. _Ingel_, the next sovereign in

the Swedish annals, is, beyond all doubt, the Ingiald Illrada of Snorro

Sturleson, who was king of the Goths and the Swedes: his exploits, and

tragical death, are the same.[154]

We have thus brought down the contemporary monarchy of the Goths, from

the century before Christ to the conquest of Sweden by Ivar Vidfadme, in

or about the year 623. By regarding these dynasties as separate, and

endeavouring to distinguish kings whom all preceding historians have

confounded, we have made the subject intelligible to the reader. The

path, in which we have been the first to venture, will, we have no

doubt, be traversed by other writers, until it is as well known as any

other part of ancient Scandinavian history. It is yet a dark one; and

criticism, aided by an extensive use of manuscript authorities, can

alone enlighten it.

[Sidenote: 623 to 794.]

The four next monarchs of the Swedes and the Goths were also kings of

the Danes. Of these, _Ivar Vidfadme_, the conqueror of Ingiald Illrada,

was one of the most celebrated. The saga relates of him that he subdued

all Sweden, which he joined with Denmark; a great part of Saxland, all

Estland, and a fifth part of England. There is, doubtless, some

exaggeration in this statement; but this very exaggeration establishes

the fact of his conquests. The part of England to which the saga

alludes, is said to be Northumbria. No mention, indeed, of such a

descent is to be found in the Saxon chronicle, or in Bede; and the

silence of this Northumbrian historian, especially, may be a strong

argument against its truth. Still, in the troubled state of the times,

while the Saxons were struggling with the native Britons for the

possession of the territory, the arrival of a new chief might well be

overlooked, especially if the conquests of Ivar were confined to that

part of Northumbria which lies north of the Tweed. It could not well be

south of that river in the time of St. Oswald. But, whether this prince

was in England, or not, no doubt can be entertained of his courage. His

hereditary domain comprehended Scania only; Jutland he soon added to the

rest; but we have no proof that he ever sat on the throne of Ledra. As

king of Gothland and Sweden, however, without including his conquests on

the coasts of the Baltic, he was a powerful monarch. “From him,” says

Snorro, “henceforth descend the kings of the Danes and the Swedes.” On

his death, the sceptre of these states was inherited by _Harald_, his

grandson, surnamed _Hildetand_, or the Golden-toothed. This monarch far

exceeded the former in glory. He appears, from the relation of Saxo, to

have had some trouble with the Goths, and also with the Swedes; and for

his success over them he was, according to the same veracious authority,

indebted to the councils of Odin, who honoured him with a personal

interview. From several passages in this historian, and in the sagas of

a later age, we may infer that the Goths, dissatisfied at once with the

Danes and the Swedes, repeatedly proclaimed their independence. They

belonged not to the divine race of Odin; and the freedom which their

ancestors had enjoyed before the arrival of “that wizard king,” was

often the stimulant to bold deeds. As they had revolted from the Swedes,

so they were equally troublesome to the Danes during the four reigns

which are now before us. But Harald triumphed, and governed both nations

through his royal kinsman. Other parts of the world witnessed his

valour: but it was his fate to die in battle, and in his old age,

against his nephew Sigurd Ring, who wished to expel him from the throne

of Denmark. In the north of Europe, the battle of Bravalla is celebrated

as any in ancient or modern times. Saxo, with much care, enumerates the

royal chiefs who fought on both sides; but their number, no less than

that of the common men, exceeds all belief. The aged and blind Harald

was carried about in a war chariot; and, from time to time, he inquired

how the battle proceeded. Above all, he was struck with the admirable

manner in which Sigurd Ring had drawn up the hostile ranks; and he

expressed his conviction that this arrangement was not the result of

mortal science, but of Odin’s peculiar favour. The charioteer whom he

addressed was no other than Odin, under the form of a Danish chief; and,

by the hands of that deity, he received a deadly blow, and was thrown on

the ground. According to Saxo, he was succeeded by _Olo_ and _Omund_, in

succession; but the Icelandic authorities, who make the conqueror

_Sigurd_, or _Siward Ring_, his successor, are more entitled to credit.

Probably Olo and Omund were viceroys only, though they might be of royal

origin. Many, according to Saxo, were the kings who intervened between

Harald Hildetand and _Ragnar Lodbrog_; while the more critical

historians of modern times, supported by Icelandic authorities, pass at

once from the one to the other. At this distance, and without the aid of

documents clearer than any that have yet been published, it is

impossible to say which of the lists is the true one: but the

probabilities are in favour of the Icelanders; for, though the kings

enumerated by Saxo may have ruled in some parts of Denmark, they were,

it is believed, rather viceroys than monarchs. By means of local

governors, indeed, the four princes whose names fill this paragraph must

have reigned; their states were too numerous, too extensive, for

personal superintendence, especially when, as was generally the case,

they were absent on foreign expeditions. To the exploits of Ragnar we

have scarcely alluded, even in the Danish portion of the history; the

reason is, that we can see in them little which is consentaneous with

truth,—little which is not a monstrous outrage of probability.[155]

[Sidenote: 794 to 1001.]

On the death of Ragnar, the throne of Sweden fell to one of his sons,

_Biorn I._, surnamed _Jarnasido_. Of him we know little more than that,

in his reign, the first attempts were made to christianise the Swedes.

Biorn was not averse from toleration; and he allowed St. Anscar to

teach, baptize, and preach unmolested. But the good thus effected was

transient: Anscar returned to Germany, to procure from pope and emperor

some amplification of his authority; and, during his absence, the

mission entirely failed. When Anscar paid a second visit to this

kingdom, he found a king named _Olaf_ in possession of the throne. Who

was he? Olaf Trætelia had been dead near two centuries, and Olaf

Skotkonung did not reign until above a century afterwards. Either,

therefore, we have a sad confusion in chronology, or there must have

reigned a king whom modern criticism does not acknowledge. The

probability is, that Olaf was a king of Gothia, who, in the numerous

insurrections of the period, had seized on the royal authority in

Sweden, no less than in the more southern provinces. _Eric I._, the son

of Biorn, is next classed among the Swedish kings; and, after him, _Eric

II._, surnamed _Raefilson_, who was, probably, either a Gothic king, or

an usurper. _Emund_ and _Biorn II._—the one ruler of the Gothlands, the

other of Sweden—next ascended the throne, and were followed by _Eric

III._, the son of Emund; but the reigns of all were short, and they have

left no records for posterity. Indeed, the number of kings during the

ninth century is so considerable, that we are compelled to infer the

existence of separate kingdoms amongst the Goths, while we are unable to

distinguish the two dynasties of kings. _Biorn III._ (923) enjoyed a

long reign; _Eric IV._, surnamed the Victorious (993), one still longer;

and _Eric V._, surnamed _Arsaell_ (1001), closes the list of pagan

kings:—not that he was a pagan; on the contrary, as we shall perceive in

the chapter devoted to the introduction of Christianity into the north,

he died for the new faith. But he had been reared a pagan; at his death

the greater part of the kingdom was pagan; and it was reserved for his

son, Olaf Skotkonung, to render Christianity the established religion of

Sweden and Gothland.[156]

The confusion at this period of Swedish history, viz., from the close of

the eighth to that of the tenth century, is greater than at any former

period. No fewer than sixteen kings are said, by different historians,

to have swayed the Swedish sceptre in little more than two centuries.

The cause of this confusion is very obvious. Not only were the kings of

Gothland, when that province happened to have a separate king,

enumerated with those of the Swedes, but the successors of Olaf Trætelia

were equally confounded with them: in other words, the royal chiefs of

_three_ contemporary states have been classed as kings of the Swedes

only,—as the sovereigns of Upsal. This confusion has rendered it

scarcely possible to distinguish either the royal names of each state,

or the actions attributed to them. We may, however, assert, with

confidence, that Olaf Trætelia, and Ingel (or Ingiald), his son, were

not kings of the Swedes; on the contrary, they were sovereigns of a

state far to the west,—Vermeland and Raumarik.[157] If, as some

historians assert, a king named _Charles_ reigned at this time in

Sweden, his seat could not have been Upsal; it must have been some town

of East or West Gothland. The same may, we think, be asserted of

_Emund_, who reigned in the south, while Biorn reigned at Upsal, or

Birca. But Eric IV., surnamed the _Victorious_, was certainly king of

both the Goths and the Swedes. The successful wars in which he engaged,

and which procured him that epithet, are too obscure to be distinguished

from the chaotic events of this period. _Eric V._, surnamed _Arsaell_,

or the Happy-born, the father of Olaf Skotkonung, was also king of the

two provinces. He embraced Christianity, and was baptized in public at

Upsal, together with many of his nobles. It was, probably, as much for

this reason, as for the extraordinary abundance which Sweden enjoyed in

his time, that he obtained the epithet that posterity has attached to

his name. There is much obscurity over this monarch’s reign. By some

writers he is said to have been so alarmed at the murmurs of his people,

for his abandonment of the old religion, that, to pacify them, he

reverted to it. By others, again, it is asserted that he stedfastly

adhered to the new faith; that he laboured, with some success, to

withdraw his subjects from the errors of idolatry; that he went so far

as to demolish the heathen temples; that at Sigtuna he met with little

opposition; but that, when he ventured to lay hands on the magnificent

temple of Upsal, the people arose and put him to death. To reconcile

these contradictions would be a vain attempt. All that yet remains to be

communicated respecting this, and one or two preceding reigns, may be

found in the chapter devoted to the origin of Christianity in these

regions.[158]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAP. III.

NORWAY.

ABOUT A.C. 70 TO A.D. 1030.

NEW KINGDOM OF THE YNGLINGS IN VERMELAND.—KINGS FROM OLAF TRÆTELIA TO

HALFDAN THE BLACK.—HALFDAN THE TRUE FOUNDER OF THE NORWEGIAN

MONARCHY.—HARALD HARFAGER.—ERIC OF THE BLOODY AXE.—HAKO THE

GOOD.—HARALD GRAAFELD.—HAKO THE JARL.—SURPRISING ADVENTURES OF OLAF

TRYGVESON.—HIS EARLY PIRATICAL EXPLOITS.—HIS ROMANTIC FORTUNES.—HE

BECOMES KING OF NORWAY.—HIS DESTRUCTION OF THE IDOLS.—HIS INTOLERANT

BIGOTRY AND CRUEL PERSECUTIONS.—HIS TRAGICAL DEATH, OR, ACCORDING TO

SOME WRITERS, HIS MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE FROM THE WORLD.—OLAF THE

SAINT.—HIS ADVENTURES OF A PIRATE.—HIS ACCESSION TO THE CROWN OF

NORWAY.—HIS PERSECUTING CHARACTER.—HIS QUARRELS AND SUBSEQUENT

ALLIANCE WITH SWEDEN.—IS DRIVEN INTO EXILE BY CANUTE THE GREAT.—HE

RETURNS, AND IS SLAIN.—HIS PRETENDED SANCTITY.

THAT Norway had its chiefs with the regal title, if not prior to our

Saviour’s birth, many centuries before the fall of the Ynglings in

Sweden, is undoubted. We find allusions to them in Danish and Swedish

history, and in chronicles which, though of a later period, were derived

from sources now lost. The country was full of them. Most of them, as we

have already observed[159], boasted of their descent from an old Finnish

race, which, though half mythologic, had, in primeval times, produced

many chiefs of illustrious name. But of their deeds we have no evidence

beyond the little supplied by the uncertain voice of tradition; and that

little is so exaggerated by fable as to be useless. We will not rescue

their names from oblivion: our narrative must accompany the fates of the

Ynglings from their first settlement in Vermeland in Sweden, to their

conquest of Norway. In regard to the latter country, we shall only

observe that when Olaf Trætelia laid the foundation of a new power, it

had as many reguli as at any former period. To subjugate them in

succession, and to incorporate their petty states into one great

monarchy, was the constant aim of his successors.[160]

[Sidenote: 630 to 640.]

The province of Vermeland, to which Olaf Trætelia retired, and in which

he laid the foundation of a new state, was, as we have before observed,

situated to the north of the Vener Lake. Here the assiduity with which

he and his followers cleared the ground of its forests procured him, at

Upsal, the scornful application of _Trætelia_, or Wood-cutter. But he

despised the ridicule, and persevered. By degrees, many thousands of the

people, whom attachment to the Ynglings, or the hope of greater freedom

in the woods, rendered discontented at Upsal, or Sigtuna, or Birca,

hastened to join him. Some writers assert that he returned for a season

to his capital, and ruled the Swedes as his ancestors had done. But this

statement is unsupported by any ancient authority, and is hostile to

reason. Vermeland might well be confounded with Upland, for both were

and are Swedish provinces. But the very circumstance which should have

fortified him against the power of his enemies occasioned his death. The

number of new comers was so great that the region, which was yet

imperfectly cultivated, was unable to support them; the colony became a

prey to famine, and the visitation was, as usual, ascribed to the king.

According to the religious notions of the Swiar, every public misfortune

was a proof that the gods were offended: but they could not be offended

without a cause; and, as the monarch was the representative of the whole

society, he was held responsible for the calamity. Besides, Olaf was not

very zealous in the observances of religion; he seldom offered

sacrifices; and his blood only could propitiate the deities. By a large

body of his subjects his house was surrounded, set on fire, and consumed

with him,—a meet sacrifice to Odin for an abundant year. This prince

deserved a better fate. His name will be held in remembrance, not only

as the founder of a new kingdom, but as one who laboured with much zeal

for the welfare of his people. By his marriage with Solveig, the

daughter of Halfdan, king of Soleyr, a state lying to the west of

Vermeland, and founded about a century before his own, he left to his

successors a claim on that province.[161]

[Sidenote: 640 to 840.]

Olaf left two sons, Halfdan and Ingiald. The former, on the tragical

death of his father, was with his grandfather in Soleyr, but he was

followed by the Swedes, and demanded from the old king. The latter,

however, having no desire to surrender his grandson to the murderers of

the father, resisted, and a battle ensued, in which he lost his life.

_Halfdan_ was raised to the government of both states, and, with the aid

of both, he subdued Raumarik, a country west of Soleyr. The three formed

a compact and scarcely accessible kingdom, which, when governed by

chiefs of enterprise and policy, could not fail to extend its limits to

the west and north. Like his father, Halfdan studied how to promote the

interest of his new state by a matrimonial alliance. North of Raumarik

lies Hedmark, a small province subject to a king named Eystein. Its

situation was so convenient in respect to Raumarik and Soleyr, that

Halfdan eagerly sought and obtained the hand of Esa, daughter of

Eystein. This union affording him a pretext for interfering in the

affairs of that province, half of it, by force or policy, he soon added

to his other states; and he afterwards subdued a considerable portion of

Westfold, which he claimed in right of Hilda, princess of Westfold, the

wife of his son. He died at Thotnia, one of his new acquisitions; but

his body was carried to Westfold, and there interred. Over Vermeland was

his brother Ingiald; and after the death of this chief the province was

administered by jarls.

[Sidenote: 730 to 840.]

_Eystein_, the son of Halfdan, succeeded to the united crowns of

Raumarik and Westfold. As the latter province was maritime, Eystein

built vessels, and followed the ordinary as well as most honourable

profession of his time,—that of piracy. According to the tradition which

the poet Thiodulf perpetuated, he perished in one of his expeditions. He

had the temerity to disembark on the coast of Varnia,—the king of which

was a great magician,—to lay waste the region bordering on the sea; to

carry to his ships everything upon which he could lay his hands, and to

slaughter the cattle on the sea-shore. Scarcely had he embarked, when

the wizard king arrived. The latter knew how to be avenged. Shaking his

mantle in the air, and blowing from his mouth, another vessel suddenly

appeared close to that of Eystein, and the spar which was used for

distending the sails striking the king, who was sitting at the helm, he

was thrown overboard. The sailors flew to his aid, but could not rescue

him from the waves until the vital spark had fled. _Halfdan II._, the

son of Eystein, is noted for a strange inconsistency in his conduct. To

his followers—and as a piratical chief he had many—he gave, in the shape

of wages, as many golden as other kings gave silver pieces of money; yet

he almost starved them for want of food.[163] The sceptre was now swayed

by _Gudred_, the son of Halfdan, who, from his chief pursuit, was called

the hunter king. He was also called Gudred the Magnificent, probably

from the extent of his dominions, no less than from his wealth. None of

his predecessors understood better the art of profiting by matrimonial

alliances. His first wife was Alfhilda, daughter of the king of Alfheim;

and with her he received, as dowry, a part of Vingulmark. As this

province was bounded on the north by Raumarik, on the west by

Westfold,—both on the southern confines of Norway and Sweden,—it was a

valuable acquisition. On her death, in looking round where his dominions

could be most conveniently extended, the maritime coast of Agder, which

lay to the south of Westfold, and which, like that province, is now a

portion of Christiania, as Raumarik is of Aggerhus, he demanded Asa,

daughter of that king. On the refusal of Harald to bestow the princess

on him,—probably from a knowledge of his ulterior policy,—he equipped a

fleet, sailed to the coast of Agder, disembarked, hastened to the royal

abode, and assailed king Harald, who fell in the battle, together with

the heir of the province. Agder therefore became an easy prey to this

ambitious monarch. But it was his doom to fall by the hand of a

domestic, at the instigation of his second wife, Asa, many years after.

His states were now divided between _Olaf_ and _Halfdan_; the former his

son by Alfhilda, the latter by Asa: the one reigned in the east

(Vermeland), the other in the south. Vermeland, at this time, was

tributary to the Swedish kings; its contiguity, indeed, to Upsal,

rendered it too liable to conquest by the successors of Ivar Torfœus,

Historia Norvegica, tom. i. Vidfadme; and its geographical posture

placed it within the limits of Sweden rather than those of Norway, into

which the dominions of Gudred were now extending. It is to Halfdan, the

son of Gudred, that our narrative must chiefly remain, especially as his

glory was doomed to eclipse that of all his predecessors.[164]

[Sidenote: 840 to 850.]

Such was the state of the kingdom when _Halfdan the Black_, by the

tragical death of his father, became sovereign of one portion. Probably,

however, the superiority over the whole rested with his elder brother,

Olaf. But when his father died he was only a year old; and his brother

Olaf, or his kinsmen, seized the administration of the whole kingdom,

except his maternal inheritance of Agder. His position was, therefore,

not enviable; and no one, at this moment, could have predicted his

future success. To his mother, who, during his minority, undertook the

government of Agder, and who raised him under her own eye, he was

probably indebted for many advantages. On reaching his eighteenth year

he assumed the government of Agder, and hastened into Westfold to demand

from his brother Olaf some portion of his inheritance. It was on this

occasion that the partition of the province took place, probably to the

dissatisfaction of Olaf; but Halfdan had a strong body of troops, and

the provincial states, whose authority was superior to that of the

crown, were not regardless of justice. But other provinces, the

administration of which had been usurped, were yet to be recovered; and

events soon proved that he was likely to sustain the interests of his

house. With the force at his command he hastened to Vingulmark, to claim

the portion of that province formerly held by his father. Though he

encountered resistance enough, he attained his object, namely, one half

of the province. He next marched into Raumarik, which he recovered. This

act brought him into hostility with Sigtrug, king of Hedmark, son of

Eystein, who, like other monarchs of the time, had committed the fatal

error of dividing his states. Halfdan was victorious; and Sigtrug

compelled to flee, wounded by an arrow. Another son of Eystein, who also

ruled in Hedmark, attempted to continue the war; and, during the absence

of Halfdan in Westfold, invaded Raumarik. The latter hastily returned,

defeated this new enemy, and pursued him into Hedmark, which he also

subdued. But the resources of Eystein were not exhausted: twice was he

enabled by his royal allies in the north to remove the warfare; yet he

was twice vanquished. Seeing that there was no hope from hostilities, he

threw himself on the mercy of Halfdan, who, says the historian, granted

to the kinsman what he had refused to the enemy, namely, one half of

Hedmark. Two districts more, bordering on Hedmark,—small in extent, but

convenient for their site,—were soon added by him to his other

possessions.[165]

[Sidenote: 850.]

Here Halfdan paused in his career of victory, to try what could be

gained by marriage. Sogne lay contiguous to one of his districts; its

king had, fortunately, no son, but a marriageable daughter; and he

obtained her hand. The offspring of this union was a prince, Harald by

name, who, according to the manner of the times, was sent in his boyhood

to be educated at the court of his maternal grandfather. On the death of

that relative, young Harald was hailed as the future sovereign; but the

mother and the prince soon followed him to the tomb, and Halfdan had

only to march to Sogne to take possession of it, as the nearest heir to

all three. At this time the princes who reigned over a portion of

Vingulmark endeavoured to surprise him amidst the darkness of night; and

though they failed in this purpose, they were able, through their

numerical superiority, to defeat him. This check, however, was but

temporary: he soon collected a large force, and was the victor in his

turn. The whole of Vingulmark soon yielded at his summons.[166]

[Sidenote: 852 to 863.]

Halfdan was too regardful of his interests to pass a long widowhood. The

ample province of Ringarik lay immediately west of Westfold. It was

ruled by Sigurd, surnamed _Hiort_, or the Stag, from his addiction to

the chase. Besides a daughter, this prince had a son; but the latter was

yet an infant, and the chances were in favour of the daughter becoming

the sole heiress. The circumstances preceding and attending this second

marriage are illustrative of social manners. Sigurd was of large

proportions, of indomitable bravery, and of great success in duels,

which at the age were so common. In his twelfth year he is said to have

vanquished a noted berserk, and eleven of his fellows, in succession.

But his delight was to ride alone into the most solitary forests and the

scarcely accessible mountains of Norway, to fight with beasts of prey.

One day, as he was wandering in quest of his four-footed enemies on the

confines of Hadaland, he fell in with Hako, a noted berserk, accompanied

by thirty more. A combat followed, which proved fatal to Sigurd; but

twelve of Hako’s company fell before him, and that chief lost a hand and

received some dangerous wounds. He was carried immediately into the

neighbouring kingdom of Ringarik, to the residence of the deceased

Sigurd. According to the manner of the times, he took Ragnilda, the

daughter, and Guthrum, the son, of Sigurd, with an immense prey, and

returned into Hadaland, where he had considerable lands. His dearest

object was to celebrate his marriage with Ragnilda, but the severity of

his wounds rendered some delay unavoidable. His nuptial day was never to

come. Halfdan no sooner heard of this event than he ordered Harek, one

of his chiefs, to fetch the princess to his palace. Accompanied by a

hundred men, Harek hastened to the residence of Hako, approached it

during the silence of night, broke into the place, seized Ragnilda and

her brother, and, setting fire to the house, returned with the

illustrious captives. Hako, indeed, had strength enough to rise and

pursue the fugitives. In vain: before he could reach the lake which lay

in the path, and which, as it was the yule season, was frozen over, they

were far before him. In despair he fell upon his own sword, and was

buried on the margin of the lake. Halfdan was on the other bank; and no

sooner did he perceive the vehicle moving over the distant ice than he

knew his commands had been successfully obeyed. He therefore ordered a

banquet to be prepared, and guests to be invited from every part of his

own country. That very day, in presence of his assembled guests, the

nuptials were celebrated. The issue was the famous Harald, surnamed

_Harfager_, or Fair-haired. We have no wish to record the dreams which,

previous to the birth of the prince, raised the anxiety of the two

parents. Such portents are always invented in regard to men whom fortune

has elevated above their fellows.[167]

[Sidenote: 863.]

Halfdan the Black was, for his age, a superior prince. He made some

laws, and, what is much better, he caused them to be observed. His

legislation, of course, was truly Gothic; that is, crimes were visited

with pecuniary mulcts, varied according to the rank of the culprit and

of the person injured. He was not so fond of his youthful son Harald as

was the mother, Ragnilda; yet the qualities of the boy were such as to

excite the admiration of an heroic age. The death of this king was, in

the superstitious opinion of the times, preceded by a wonderful

circumstance. As he was sitting at table with a multitude of guests, to

celebrate the yule festival, the meats and drinks suddenly disappeared.

The latter, alarmed at the portent, quitted the table, and left the king

alone. What could be the meaning? A Finnish magician was seized, put to

the torture, and commanded to say what the portent indicated. But he

could or would say nothing; and he besought prince Harald to procure his

liberation. Harald applied to the king; but finding him inexorable, he

allowed the poor Finn to escape, and was the companion of his flight. At

this time, Harald was only ten years of age; and he was to see his

father no more. Immediately after this event Halfdan returned, on a

sledge, towards another part of his dominions. In his way was a lake,

which was to be crossed over the ice. But holes had been made in it, for

the cattle to be watered; a thaw had commenced, and the king had not

proceeded far before the ice gave way, and he was engulfed in the cold

abyss; most of his attendants perishing with him. Thus ended the short

but memorable career of Halfdan the Black. His memory was always dear to

Norway; and during his life he was always reverenced as one of the

greatest benefactors of his people. A prodigious crowd arrived to honour

his funeral; but they would not allow the body to be interred in

Raumarik. During his reign the land had been so fertile that he was

believed to be an especial favourite of the gods. Wherever he was, dead

or alive, prosperity was expected; and the warriors from the different

states of his kingdom demanded that he should be buried in their

district. The dispute, we are told, was ended by the division of his

body into four parts, corresponding with the four shires of Raumarik,

Ringarik, Hedmark, and Westfold. The head was buried in Ringarik, the

other members in each of the other districts. Hence, says the historian,

the number of sepulchres which are still called the tombs of

Halfdan.[168]

[Sidenote: 863.]

As _Harald Harfager_ was but a child when his father was drowned, the

neighbouring reguli, under the pretext of recovering what their

predecessors had lost, hastened to divide his ample inheritance. One

party invaded Hedmark, a second Westfold, a third advanced towards the

residence of Harald, to make him prisoner. But he had a noble defender

in his uncle, Guthrum[169], whom he made general of his troops, and his

minister. This chief collected troops, and, with the young king, marched

against the invader of Westfold, whom he defeated and left dead in the

field. The place where this great victory was achieved was called

_Hakadal_, or Hako’s Dale, from the name of the chief who fell there.

Another invader of that province, Gandulf, was defeated; but, more

fortunate than Hako, he contrived to escape with life. Seeing the fate

of these two battles, the remaining princes determined not to fight

singly, but in concert; and a meeting was appointed in the rock

mountains of the upland province of Hedmark. But the intention was soon

known to the two heroes; and, proceeding, without loss of time, to the

appointed place, they fell, at midnight, on the outposts of the camp,

while two of the chiefs were sleeping, and in the skirmish which ensued,

sent two other kings to join them in the hall of Odin. The fruits of

this victory were not only the recovery of all which had been invaded,

but the acquisition of several districts to the north and west of his

hereditary possessions. When Gandulf returned to the charge, he was

again defeated, and sent to drink mead, to feed on the grisly boar, and

to fight with the dark shades of Odin’s warrior ghosts: his dominions as

far as the river Raum became the prize of the victor.[170]

[Sidenote: 865 to 868.]

After these unexpected successes, Harald thought that he might aspire to

the favours of any princess in the north. Hearing of the charms of Gyda,

daughter of Eric, jarl or king of Hordaland, he sent messengers to her,

not with the offer of his hand, but of his heart. The reply of the lady,

if any faith is to be reposed in tradition, was unequalled for its

pride. So far from being the mistress, she would not be the wife, of one

whose territory consisted in a few insignificant provinces; she would

never marry any one beneath the dignity of a monarch,—who did not, like

Eric of Sweden, and Gorm of Denmark, hold absolute sway over the whole

country. The answer of the heroine being brought to the king, he admired

her ambition, and vowed to the gods that he would never cut or comb his

hair until he had subdued the whole of Norway—until its revenues and

authority were his: and if he failed in his attempt, the penalty should

be his life. All this is fable: Harald needed not a woman’s advice to

enter on a career which he had long meditated, and which his father had,

probably, meditated before him. He might, however, make the vow. In

pursuance of that vow, which was highly pleasing to Guthrum, he enlisted

all the forces he could, and marched towards the north, through

Godbrandsdalia, having the Dofrafeld mountains on his left. The

inhabitants fled at his approach into the uplands; some into Orkadal,

others into Ganlardal, others into the recesses of the mountains; but

many—perhaps the greater number—preferred his yoke to exile and ruin:

they did homage, and were unmolested. Pursuing his way into Orkadal,

which lay beyond the Dofrafeld chain, in the modern province of

Drontheim, he defeated an army, there assembled to oppose him, received

the homage of the royal general, and annexed Orkadal, as he had done the

intervening regions, to the other dependencies of his crown. Nor must it

be forgotten that he was the great champion of the feudal system.

Wherever he conquered, he abolished the allodial law of inheritance, and

converted all lands into fiefs, to be held from him alone, on the usual

obligations. But he did more: he insisted that all rents should be paid

in kind; that one third of the portion accruing to the crown should be

set apart for the support of the local government. Over each province he

placed a jarl, whose duties were, to defend it against all enemies, to

collect the revenues, to preside over the local administration.

Associated with each jarl were four, at least two, herser or

councillors, whose office was at once military and administrative; and

to each was awarded a benefice of twenty marks in yearly value. In time

of war each jarl was to support sixty, each of the herser twenty, armed

men, at his own expense. So ample were the revenues of each province,

that the jarls were more wealthy and more powerful than many royal

chiefs of the period. Hence the dignity was an object of ambition, and

he who could bestow it did not want applicants for it: in the hope of

obtaining it, most of the nobles hastened to join him whenever he

entered a province.[171]

[Sidenote: 867 to 882.]

From Orkadal Harald transferred his arms to Ganlardal, which is now also

a portion of Drontheim, immediately to the east of the Swedish province

of Jamtland. In this expedition he is said to have been joined by Hako,

a powerful jarl, by whose aid he subdued the whole province, and the

adjoining one of Strinda. In reward for this timely service he placed

Hako over the new conquest, with the dignity and rights of jarl.

Proceeding still to the north, the conqueror subdued Stiordal, Veradal,

Scaunia, and Sparbyggia, all situated in the modern government of

Drontheim. The islands in the west were, at the same time, subjected to

his sway. Still Harald proceeded to the north, and the two kings of

Naumdal submitted, one of them being invested with the dignity of jarl.

Thinking that he had now penetrated far enough into the north, since

there was nothing beyond Naumdal but vast marshes and trackless forests,

scarcely habitable by men[172], Harald returned into Drontheim, where he

resolved to await the return of spring, before pursuing his conquests in

the south. In that province he fixed his abode, and built a town, which

he resolved to make his usual seat of government. There he forgot Gyda,

so far as to marry Asa, the daughter of jarl Hako; but perhaps he was

merely tired of celibacy, and relied on his royal prerogative of

obtaining another wife whenever he pleased. He did not, however, pass

this season in mere indulgence; most of it was spent in constructing new

vessels, and in the discipline of his followers. No one, says the

historian, was allowed to enter his palace, except such as excelled in

bodily strength or courage. To them he committed the building of his

ships, and the command when built. The rewards which he held out to all

champions were so ample that hundreds flocked to his standard. When

spring arrived he had a formidable fleet, and a large army,—large, we

mean, in comparison of those which northern kings usually brought into

the field. The first people were the Möre Fylke, or the maritime

inhabitants immediately south of Drontheim. Here he had to oppose two

kings, and, as usual, victory shone on his banners,—both chiefs being

sent to Odin’s hall. With the two provinces over which they had presided

he adopted the same policy as with those of the east and north; that is,

he subjected them to feudal obligations. They were intrusted as fiefs to

jarl Rognevald, and with them both ships and men to defend the coast no

less than the interior. This Rognevald was celebrated alike for valour

and wisdom, and was the father of Rollo, first duke of Normandy, to

whose exploits we shall advert in a future chapter. The summer and

autumn were passed in consolidating their conquests; the winter was

spent in Drontheim in preparing for new wars; nor did Harald affect to

conceal his intention of subduing Sunmore, a province immediately south

of Raumadal, as Raumadal was south of Nordmore,—both subject to

Rognevald. In one respect this announcement of his views—this manifest

approach to universal empire—was imprudent, since it enabled the king of

Sunmore to form alliances with the neighbouring reguli, whom the same

common danger served to unite. But before the confederation could

acquire much strength, he met and defeated the three chiefs who had

brought their powers to oppose him. Sunmore was the reward of this

victory. The king of the Fiords was next vanquished, and the two

districts added to the two other conquests by jarl Rognevald. Not that

these conquests were obtained without bloodshed. They were sometimes

dearly purchased by the loss of his valiant jarls and bravest followers.

Sometimes, too, the ambition of those chiefs was injurious to the

progress of the royal arms. Thus Hako, the father-in-law of Harald, and

another jarl, contended with each other for the government of Sogne

(Sygna-fylke); and one died in the field; the other received a mortal

wound, and died soon afterwards.[173]

[Sidenote: 882 to 884.]

The success of Harald gave equal umbrage and alarm to Eric, the son of

Emund, king of the Swedes.[174] Taking the field, the latter subdued

Vermeland, and placed over it a jarl, whose jurisdiction should extend

to Swinasund in the south. Nor was he satisfied with this acquisition:

on the contrary, he asserted that he would not lay down his arms until

he had incorporated with his dominions Westfold, Raumarik, and the whole

of southern Norway as far as the ocean,—possessions which he claimed on

the pretext that they had once belonged to his ancestors. This was an

unexpected blow to Harald; but he hoped to arrest its consequences by

negotiation; and for this purpose he solicited an interview with Eric,

in Vermeland. As he had reason, far more than suspicion, that some of

the chiefs in these provinces were in communication with Eric, he

assembled the _Thing_, or provincial assembly, in each, and complained

of the traitors. Some cleared themselves by the ordeal; some redeemed

themselves by the ordinary pecuniary mulct; others were punished in

various ways. From these states he hastened to Vermeland, to the house

of Aki, a vassal of his, celebrated alike for his riches and dignity,

who had readily undertaken to be the host of the two kings. On this

occasion Aki is said to have adopted the strange expedient of lodging

Eric in old apartments, and Harald in new ones; and of making the same

distinction between the plate, the furniture, and drinking horns. The

interview was not satisfactory to Eric, and, perhaps, brought no

advantage to Harald; but the latter was grateful for the hospitality of

Aki, while the former resented the manner in which he had been treated.

Having seen Harald on horseback, and, as if he had a presentiment of his

fate, confided to that king the interests of his son, he next attended

Eric to the neighbouring wood. Being asked by this monarch the reason of

the distinctions which he had made, he replied that he hoped king Eric

had no reason to complain of ill-treatment; that, because Eric was an

elderly and Harald a young man, he had thus acted. This reply did not

lessen the anger of Eric, who reminded Aki that he had once been his

vassal. “I have not forgotten that,” replied Aki, “and I also remember

that thou wast once mine.”[175] The king immediately drew his sword, and

killed the man whose hospitality he had so lately shared. Harald, being

informed of the deed, rode in pursuit of Eric, whom, had he overtaken

him, he would certainly have sacrificed to his vengeance. This

unfortunate circumstance embittered the enmity already subsisting

between the rivals. From year to year hostilities were renewed, chiefly

in Gothland, or the confines of Vermeland; but they were not of

importance enough to recall Harald from the east and centre of Norway,

especially after he had placed his uncle Guthrum as jarl over all the

regions which he held in Sweden.[176]

[Sidenote: 885.]

On his return to Drontheim, where he passed the following winter, Harald

found that the reguli of the provinces were still unconquered; and even

many of the chiefs who lay within his hereditary jurisdiction were

confederating to crush, or, at least, to resist him. It was, indeed, a

formidable confederacy. To crush it, Harald, with his usual celerity,

collected his forces, both maritime and land, and proceeded towards the

south. The armament which he encountered in the bay of Hafursfiord was

very different from those which he had hitherto encountered: here were

more kings, more vassals, more men, among whom were the greatest heroes

of Norway. The fate of that country manifestly depended upon the fate of

the ensuing battle. It was a struggle between monarchy and

aristocracy,—between the sovereign power and a multitude of independent

states,—between an established government and perpetual anarchy,—between

society and domestic piracy. They whose ancestors had for ages been

accustomed to the piratical life, and had considered it their proudest

calling, were eager to fight for what they deemed their privileges. The

struggle was worthy of the occasion; prodigies of valour were performed

on both sides; but, in the end, victory declared for Harald. Long was

this victory celebrated in the north. It was held equal to the most

celebrated in ancient times. It was the subject of several poems, among

which is one by Hornkloft, the Icelandic bard attached to the court of

Harald, whose metrical history was of such service to Snorro, the

compiler of Heimskringla.[177]

[Sidenote: 885.]