Saga of Harald Hardrade

35. HARALD'S ESCAPE INTO THE JUTLAND SEA.

Then King Harald sailed north and had sixty ships and the most of
them large and heavily laden with the booty taken in summer; and
as they sailed north past Thioda King Svein came down from the
land with a great force and he challenged King Harald to land and
fight. King Harald had little more than half the force of King
Svein and therefore he challenged Svein to fight at sea. So says
Thorleik the Fair: --

"Svein, who of all men under heaven
Has had the luckiest birth-hour given,
Invites his foemen to the field,
There to contest with blood-stained shield.
The king, impatient of delay,
Harald, will with his sea-hawks stay;
On board will fight, and fate decide
If Svein shall by his land abide."

After that King Harald sailed north along Vendilskage; and the
wind then came against them, and they brought up under Hlesey,
where they lay all night. A thick fog lay upon the sea; and when
the morning came and the sun rose they saw upon the other side of
the sea as if many lights were burning. This was told to King
Harald; and he looked at it, and said immediately, "Strike the
tilts down on the ships and take to the oars. The Danish forces
are coming upon us, and the fog there where they are must have
cleared off, and the sun shines upon the dragon-heads of their
ships, which are gilded, and that is what we see." It was so as
he had said. Svein had come there with a prodigious armed force.
They rowed now on both sides all they could. The Danish ships
flew lighter before the oars; for the Northmen's ships were both
soaked with water and heavily laden, so that the Danes approached
nearer and nearer. Then Harald, whose own dragon-ship was the
last of the fleet, saw that he could not get away; so he ordered
his men to throw overboard some wood, and lay upon it clothes and
other good and valuable articles; and it was so perfectly calm
that these drove about with the tide. Now when the Danes saw
their own goods driving about on the sea, they who were in
advance turned about to save them; for they thought it was easier
to take what was floating freely about, than to go on board the
Northmen to take it. They dropped rowing and lost ground. Now
when King Svein came up to them with his ship, he urged them on,
saying it would be a great shame if they, with so great a force,
could not overtake and master so small a number. The Danes then
began again to stretch out lustily at their oars. When King
Harald saw that the Danish ships went faster he ordered his men
to lighten their ships, and cast overboard malt, wheat, bacon,
and to let their liquor run out, which helped a little. Then
Harald ordered the bulwarkscreens, the empty casks and puncheons
and the prisoners to be thrown overboard; and when all these were
driving about on the sea, Svein ordered help to be given to save
the men. This was done; but so much time was lost that they
separated from each other. The Danes turned back and the
Northmen proceeded on their way. So says Thorleik the Fair: --

"Svein drove his foes from Jutland's coast, --
The Norsemen's ships would have been lost,
But Harald all his vessels saves,
Throwing his booty on the waves.
The Jutlanders saw, as he threw,
Their own goods floating in their view;
His lighten'd ships fly o'er the main
While they pick up their own again."

King Svein returned southwards with his ships to Hlesey, where he
found seven ships of the Northmen, with bondes and men of the
levy. When King Svein came to them they begged for mercy, and
offered ransom for themselves. So says Thorleik the Fair: --

"The stern king's men good offers make,
If Svein will ransom for them take;
Too few to fight, they boldly say
Unequal force makes them give way.
The hasty bondes for a word
Would have betaken them to the sword,
And have prolonged a bloody strife --
Such men can give no price for life."

36. OF HARALD.

King Harald was a great man, who ruled his kingdom well in home-
concerns. Very prudent was he, of good understanding; and it is
the universal opinion that no chief ever was in northern lands of
such deep judgment and ready counsel as Harald. He was a great
warrior; bold in arms; strong and expert in the use of his
weapons beyond any others, as has been before related, although
many of the feats of his manhood are not here written down. This
is owing partly to our uncertainty about them, partly to our wish
not to put stories into this book for which there is no
testimony. Although we have heard, many things talked about, and
even circumstantially related, yet we think it better that
something may be added to, than that it should be necessary to
take something away from our narrative. A great part of his
history is put in verse by Iceland men, which poems they
presented to him or his sons, and for which reason he was their
great friend. He was, indeed, a great friend to all the people
of that country; and once, when a very dear time set in, he
allowed four ships to transport meal to Iceland, and fixed that
the shippund should not be dearer than 100 ells of wadmal. He
permitted also all poor people, who could find provisions to keep
them on the voyage across the sea, to emigrate from Iceland to
Norway; and from that time there was better subsistence in the
country, and the seasons also turned out better. King Harold
also sent from Norway a bell for the church of which Olaf the
Saint had sent the timbers to Iceland, and which was erected on
the Thing-plain. Such remembrances of King Harald are found here
in the country, besides many great gifts which he presented to
those who visited him.

37. OF HALDOR SNORRASON.

Haldor Snorrason and Ulf Uspakson, as before related, came to
Norway with King Harald. They were, in many respects, of
different dispositions. Haldor was very stout and strong, and
remarkably handsome in appearance. King Harald gave him this
testimony, that he, among all his men, cared least about doubtful
circumstances, whether they betokened danger or pleasure; for,
whatever turned up, he was never in higher nor in lower spirits,
never slept less nor more on account of them, nor ate or drank
but according to his custom. Haldor was not a man of many words,
but short in conversation, told his opinion bluntly and was
obstinate and hard; and this could not please the king, who had
many clever people about him zealous in his service. Haldor
remained a short time with the king; and then came to Iceland,
where he took up his abode in Hjardarholt, and dwelt in that farm
to a very advanced age.

38. OF ULF USPAKSON.

Ulf Uspakson stood in great esteem with King Harald; for he was a
man of great understanding, clever in conversation, active and
brave, and withal true and sincere. King Harald made Ulf his
marshal, and married him to Jorun, Thorberg's daughter, a sister
of Harald's wife, Thora. Ulf and Jorun's children were Joan the
Strong of Rasvol, and Brigida, mother of Sauda-Ulf, who was
father of Peter Byrdar-Svein, father of Ulf Fly and Sigrid. Joan
the Strong's son was Erlend Himalde, father of Archbishop Eystein
and his brothers. King Harald gave Ulf the marshal the rights of
a lenderman and a fief of twelve marks income, besides a half-
district in the Throndhjem land. Of this Stein Herdison speaks
in his song about Ulf.

39. OF THE BUILDING OF CHURCHES AND HOUSES.

King Magnus Olafson built Olaf's church in the town (Nidaros), on
the spot where Olaf's body was set down for the night, and which,
at that time, was above the town. He also had the king's house
built there. The church was not quite finished when the king
died; but King Harald had what was wanting completed. There,
beside the house, he began to construct a stone hall, but it was
not finished when he died. King Harald had the church called
Mary Church built from the foundations up, at the sandhill close
to the spot where the king's holy remains were concealed in the
earth the first winter after his fall. It was a large temple,
and so strongly built with lime that it was difficult to break it
when the Archbishop Eystein had it pulled down. Olaf's holy
remains were kept in Olaf's church while Mary Church was
building. King Harald had the king's house erected below Mary
Kirk, at the side of the river, where it now is; and he had the
house in which he had made the great hall consecrated and called
Gregorius Church.

40. BEGINNING OF HAKON IVARSON'S STORY.

There was a man called Ivar the White, who was a brave lenderman
dwelling in the Uplands, and was a daughter's son of Earl Hakon
the Great. Ivar was the handsomest man that could be seen.
Ivar's son was called Hakon; and of him it was said that he was
distinguished above all men then in Norway for beauty, strength
and perfection of figure. In his very youth he had been sent out
on war expeditions, where he acquired great honour and
consideration, and became afterwards one of the most celebrated
men.