King Halfdan never had dreams, which appeared to him an extraordinary
circumstance; and he told it to a man called Thorleif Spake (the Wise),
and asked him what his advice was about it. Thorleif said that what he
himself did, when he wanted to have any revelation by dream, was to take
his sleep in a swine-sty, and then it never failed that he had dreams.
The king did so, and the following dream was revealed to him. He thought
he had the most beautiful hair, which was all in ringlets; some so long
as to fall upon the ground, some reaching to the middle of his legs,
some to his knees, some to his loins or the middle of his sides, some
to his neck, and some were only as knots springing from his head. These
ringlets were of various colours; but one ringlet surpassed all the
others in beauty, lustre, and size. This dream he told to Thorleif, who
interpreted it thus:--There should be a great posterity from him, and
his descendants should rule over countries with great, but not all with
equally great, honour; but one of his race should be more celebrated
than all the others. It was the opinion of people that this ringlet
betokened King Olaf the Saint.
King Halfdan was a wise man, a man of truth and uprightness--who made
laws, observed them himself, and obliged others to observe them. And
that violence should not come in place of the laws, he himself fixed
the number of criminal acts in law, and the compensations, mulcts, or
penalties, for each case, according to every one's birth and dignity
(1).
Queen Ragnhild gave birth to a son, and water was poured over him, and
the name of Harald given him, and he soon grew stout and remarkably
handsome. As he grew up he became very expert at all feats, and showed
also a good understanding. He was much beloved by his mother, but less
so by his father.