The same autumn (A.D. 1139) Sigurd Slembe and Magnus the Blind came from
Denmark with thirty ships, manned both with Danes and Northmen. It was
near to winter. When the kings heard of this, they set out with their
people eastwards to meet them. They met at Hvalar, near Holm the Grey,
the day after Martinmas, which was a Sunday. King Inge and King Sigurd
had twenty ships, which were all large. There was a great battle; but,
after the first assault, the Danes fled home to Denmark with eighteen
ships. On this Sigurd's and Magnus's ships were cleared; and as the
last was almost entirely bare of men, and Magnus was lying in his bed,
Hreidar Griotgardson, who had long followed him, and been his courtman,
took King Magnus in his arms, and tried to run with him on board some
other ship. But Hreidar was struck by a spear, which went between his
shoulders; and people say King Magnus was killed by the same spear.
Hreidar fell backwards upon the deck, and Magnus upon him; and every
man spoke of how honourably he had followed his master and rightful
sovereign. Happy are they who have such praise! There fell, on King
Magnus's ship, Lodin Saupprud of Linustadar, Bruse Thormodson; and
the forecastle-men to Sigurd Slembidjakn, Ivar Kolbeinson and Halyard
Faeger, who had been in Sigurd Slembe's fore-hold. This Ivar had been
the first who had gone in, in the night, to King Harald, and had laid
hands on him. There fell a great number of the men of King Magnus and
Sigurd Slembe, for Inge's men let not a single one escape if they got
hold of him; but only a few are named here. They killed upon a holm
more than forty men, among whom were two Icelanders--the priest Sigurd
Bergthorson, a grandson of Mas; the other Clemet, a son of Are Einarson.
But three Icelanders obtained their lives: namely, Ivar Skrauthanke, a
son of Kalf Range, and who afterwards was bishop of Throndhjem, and was
father of the archbishop Eirik. Ivar had always followed King Magnus,
and he escaped into his brother Jon Kauda's ship. Jon was married to
Cecilia, a daughter of Gyrd Bardson, and was then in King Inge's and
Sigurd's armament. There were three in all who escaped on board of Jon's
ship. The second was Arnbjorn Ambe, who afterwards married Thorstein's
daughter in Audsholt; the third was Ivar Dynta, a son of Stare, but on
the mother's side of a Throndhjem family,--a very agreeable man. When
the troops came to know that these three were on board his ship,
they took their weapons and assaulted the vessel, and some blows
were exchanged, and the whole fleet had nearly come to a fight among
themselves; but it came to an agreement, so that Jon ransomed his
brothers Ivar and Arnbjorn for a fixed sum in ransom, which, however,
was afterwards remitted. But Ivar Dynta was taken to the shore, and
beheaded; for Sigurd and Gyrd, the sons of Kolbein, would not take any
mulct for him, as they knew he had been at their brother Beintein's
murder. Ivar the bishop said, that never was there anything that touched
him so nearly, as Ivar's going to the shore under the axe, and turning
to the others with the wish that they might meet in joy here-after.
Gudrid Birger's daughter, a sister of Archbishop Jon, told Eirik Odson
that she heard Bishop Ivar say this.