King Magnus leads an expedition to Nidaros [1180]

44. In the spring, King Magnus called out a full levy of men from the south of the land, from Lidandisness in the east, and north over Agdi, over Rogaland, Hordaland, and Sogn, from Firdi and the two Mœri, and from Raumsdale; and with all this host he sailed north to Throndham. He had with him Archbishop Eystein, Orm Kings-brother, Nikolas and Philippis, sons of Arni Kings-kin and all the barons of the south country. As it is said here:-

“Followed the Ruler
Rygs and Hords,
A host from Firdi,
Fiali, and Sogn;
From Mœri all,
And Raumsdale men;
Archbishop, and Thronds
From all the shires.”

King Magnus led his force north to Throndham, and anchored near the homestead of Stein, south of the Ness, where he lay some nights. King Sverri was then in Kaupang, and despatched Thorolf Rympil, Thiostar Svarti, Eyiolf Aflason, and Havard Lax, with a large body of men, that they should plan to gain some advantage in opportunity offered. They reached a homestead called Langloar, where a well-wooded dale leads down to the sea, and they lay in the dale. King Magnus's men were unaware of them until the Birkibeins fell on them. King Magnus had gone on shore to the bath-room at Stein, but hurried back to the ships as soon as he knew of the presence of Birkibeins. Nearly thirty of his men were slain. King Magnus's men took their weapons and leapt on shore, but the Birkibeins evaded them and made their escape. After this they returned to Kaupang and told King Sverri.

King Magnus's letter to one of Sverri's men, and King Sverri's reply.

45. King Magnus now sailed up the Fiord to Holm, where he stayed for a time, and King Sverri made himself ready in the town. Afterwards King Magnus dispatched a ship, under the charge of Birgi Gorn and Thrand Lyrta, to take and bring to him a yeoman named, Afli, whose won Eyiolf was serving kin King Sverri's body-guard, And to Eyiolf, whom King Magnus desired to have by him, he sent a letter by a man named Hedin of Hladi, in which was written, that if Eyiolf wished to save his father's life he must come to King Magnus and be his man. Hedin went into the town and brought the letter to Eyilf, and he, finding himself in great difficulty, showed the letter to King Sverri. The King said, “Few bring such to me. We shall find a good remedy; fetch here the man that brought the letter.” The King caused another letter to be written, in which he said, “If you, King Magnus, do harm or hurt to Afli, I will say Eilif Eplastong, Skrudu-Eirik, and Eindridi Slandri. You have with you their sons: Thori Knapp, Eindridi's son: Ulf Kneiti, Eirik's son, and Gunner Eilif's son. The death you inflict on Afli, such shall they die, at the hands of Eyiolf.” The messenger took back this answer and bore the letter to king Magnus. When the King saw it he sprang down from the poop of his ship with the letter, and said, “I see that you mean to decide, and not I, who shall be slain and who will be kept alive.” But Ulf and Thori and Gunnar had now something to say. They begged the King to be calm. The death of an old yeoman fellow, they said, would not bring the King nearer land; and they did not wish to expose their Fathers' lives to King Sverri's evil devices. So Afli was set free, and returned to his home.

King Sverri's proposal to King Magnus. The kings fix on a time and place fore battle.

46. Some days after, King Magnus, rowed to land at Eyra for a conference with King Sverri, who came there to meet him. King Sverri proposed that they shouls share the land between them, and both be Kings, as were the sons of King Magnus Berfœtt and the sons of Harald [Gilli]. The proposal was much discussed, but came to nothing, some of King Magnus's men were favourable, others were opposed, but the King himself would not hear of it. The conference broke up, leaving matters as they were, and King Magnus rowed away again to Holm. While the ships lay at anchor near Holm, King Magnus and his men formed a plan of attacking the town, and supposed that king Sverri would be reluctant to come forth from the wooden castle. They took their anchors and fastened them by ropes to poles intending to row close to Eyra and drop poles and anchors together on the yeomen's ranks. Preparations were made, but the plan was not carried out; many devices were proposed, but nothing was attempted.

On the Monday of Rogation week King Magnus rowed to Eyra for a conference, and the two sides incited each other to battle. The Birkibeins pressed King Magnus to land on Eyra, and King Magnus urged them to come out of the wooden castle and join battle with him on the fields of Ila. King Sverri then said, “We will consent to what you now ask.” So the Kings pledged one another to meet the next morning on the fields of Ila and fight there. After this, King Magnus and his men rowed out to his fleet. King Sverri then caused all his force to be told of the battle, and bade them prepare by going to Confession, and getting their weapons ready. At sunrise of Tuesday in Rogation week King Magnus ordered the signal to be given for leaving Holm, the awnings were taken down, and the ships were towed and brought on land under the rock, beyond the Ila. Here the men disembarked. The large sloop belonging to King Magnus lay out at anchor, but the cutters and smaller vessels were towed to the shore. King Magnus and the whole force marched up Steinbiorg, where they remained waiting for the sun to mount the heavens, so that they might not have it full in their faces. After a while they came down and drew up their force for battle. Then King Sverri led his men out of the wooden castle, and having them in battle array, marched to the fields near the rock [Steinbiorg] to meet them. King Magnus had arranged his guardsmen with his standard on the wing that stretched towards the sea, because he saw the standard of King Sverri there. The standard was fine and large, and he though the king himself would be with it; but it was the standard of the marshal. Gudlaug, who had with him the troops of the town, of the districts around, and the levies. King Sverri marched with his standard by the inland road towards the rock, for he expected the fiercest of the battle at that point, because King Magnus's men had not all left the rock. King Magnus had placed a numerous force to attack the Birkibeins in the rear, and had set of it Nikolas, son of Arni, the brother of King Ingi. To oppose it King Sverri had despatched a force having Ulf of Laufness for its chief. So the array of Nikolas came to be no help to King Magnus.

King Sverri's speech to his men before the battle.

47. Before the ranks joined battle, King Sverri addressed his men, beginning his speech in this manner:-

“A great host and fine body-guard are here come together, and it now appears that we have to deal with overwhelming odds. The ranks of King Magnus, with gilt weapons and in goodly raiment, cover the whole fields. It would be good work done if you carried arms and raiment into the town this evening. Lo! now, my brave fellows, it is enough to have a choice between two ways-the one, to win victory; the other, to die with honour. The task of hewing timber in a wood is not like yours, who must exchange blows with the barons of King Magnus. To receive and return heavy blows is no disgrace; and now comes to pass the saying of the poet-

'Carle that combats earl has other work
Than cleaving wood for charcoal.'

Hear what a yeoman said who went with his son to the warships and gave him advice, bidding him be bold and hardy in perils. 'Renown lives longest after one,' he said. 'If you were engaged in a battle and knew beforehand that you were bound to fall, how would you act?' And the son answered 'What good would it be to forbear smiting right and left?' 'And now,' said the yeoman, 'if some one knew and told you of a truth that would not fall in the battle?' The son answered, 'What good would it be to refrain from pressing forward to the utmost?' 'One of two things will happen,' said the father: 'in every battle where you are present, either you will fall or you will come forth alive. Be valiant, therefore, since all is determined beforehand. Nought may send a man to his grave if his time is not come; and if he is doomed to die, nought may save him. To die in flight is the worst death of all.”

Seven of King Sverri's men volunteered to lead the attack- Thorolf Rympil, his brother Karl Kiotlær, and five others- and the placed themselves in front of the array.

King Sverri then spoke again:-

“Birkibeins! Be assured of this: it will not avail to ask quarter of those Heklungs. There is only one way out: stand firmly fast, and give them no room to advance. It is well for you Birkibeins to try your swords on the mead-paunches of those men from the Bik. Our force is fine enough and our numbers large enough for battle. So great and overwhelming are their numbers, they can't all be brought into action; besides, the greatest part of them are more at home at a wedding than a fight, and are more accustomed to mead-drinking than to warfare. I will march my guardsmen and my standard against the standard of King Magnus, for we must expect from his guardsmen the sharpest fight and the fiercest onset. His barons will rather seek to spare themselves; and the crowd of yeomen dragged captive against their will, care not who falls so long as they are unwounded. I know full well the thoughts of all his Thronds: they are those of the poet who says-

'I mean to make that maiden mine,
Ingunn with the rosy mouth,
Howe'er the fighting fare between
Magnus and Sverri, famous Kings.'

March well forward now, my brave fellows, and may God have you in His Keeping.” All this speaking inspired the Birkibeins with much eagerness; they relied greatly on the King's prudence and his foresight of the issue of battles.

King Sverri's victory over King Magnus on the fields of Ila. [Battle of Iluvelli, 27^th May 1180] King Magnus Flees to Denmark.

48. And now the ranks met, and a fierce contest at once arose; for the Birkibeins hitherto had never brought into battle so large a force, and yet that of King Magnus was far larger. Around King Sverri's standard all his guardsmen and gests were drawn up, and as they advanced, the opposing ranks of King Magnus wavered and were soon in flight. On the other wing the forces of Gudlaug and the townsmen recoiled before the advancing standard of king Magnus. They were soon on the point of flight. Some had begun to run, when King Sverri, who was on horseback, saw the ill fortune of his men, and galloped to them. “Why do you flee?” he shouted with a loud voice. “Turn and fight as best you can. Don't you see all their host in flight to the ships. Show your prowess like men, and drive the fugitives here, as over there.” The men heard his words, and seeing the King, took courage and turned again straightway to face the foe, King Sverri's guardsmen too, seeing the troops of King Magnus in full flight, turned to the spot where they saw his standard, and attacked his guardsmen in the rear. And now a great slaughter befell. “King Magnus is fleeing,” cried one. “Not yet,” said another, and rushing at him dealt him a death-blow. That was King Magnus himself. He and all his host now fled to the ships.

Philippus Arnason fell there, and Bryniolf Blanda, son of Eindrildi Jonsson. Ivar Galli was seriously wounded, and as the host was fleeing, King Sverri, riding among the fallen, came to him, stooped from his horse, and asking if the would could be cured offered him quarter. Ivar answered that he had good hope his would heal if he obtained aid from leech-craft. Close by there lay a man serious wounded, Bryniolf, son of Kalf Sendiman of the Færeys. He raised himself on his knees and struck at the King with a sword, aiming at his neck as he stooped down to Ivar. The King warded the blow the rim of his steep cap, which the edge of the sword struck, but King's ear was grazed, and his neck received a severe wound. He threw himself from his horse, on the other side, and at that same instant swords and halberds fell so thick on Bryniolf that he could scarce sing to the ground. Ivar Galli too was slain, and Sigurd Skiomi, his kinsman, who was supporting Ivar's head.

These barons fell on the fields of Ila: Nikolas Mondul, son of Andres, Jon Kula, Kolbein Gislason, and Eirik Lauk. Nikolas Mondul was a man of the greatest strength, and wore a coat of mail so trusty that no weapon might pierce it. He wielded his sword with both hands, and was the last man to make a stand' He fell finally from exhaustion, and the Birkibeins stripped him of his coat of mail and then slew him. King Magnu's large sloop and many other ships were taken by King Sverri; and the Birkibeins hastening on board, pursued the fugitives. Near Digrmull they seized a ship with Eindridi Kalfsson and thirty men on board. Eindridi escaped t land; the others received quarter. Under the Raudabiorg another ship was taken and two store-ships. Nikolas Arnason and the force under him marched of the Gaulras down to Stein, where he obtained a cutter. Many of King Magnus's men escaped by land. King Magnus sailed south to to Bergen and was well received by the townsmen. Then he held an Assembly, and the men of Bergen begged him to remain there; they said, though, that they fully expected a speedy visit from Sverri, and they offered to defend the town with him. Afterwards King Magnus caused all the merchant-ships in the town to be placed in a line, stretching across from Holm to Monks-quay, and fastened them together and the quays so that one could walk across the bay. But the King's councilors advised him that it was imprudent to trust the men of Bergen so far as to enclose himself and his ships in the bay. The King after that sailed away south, and coastwise, and came to Denmark to his kinsman Valdamar, and dwelt with him for a season.

King Sverri's visit to Bergen. Rising of the Yeomen of Hordaland [1181]

49. King Sverri sailed south during the summer, and came to Bergen the day before Petrs-mass. He gave peace to all the townsmen; and they received him honourably, according to his due. He now brought the whole district into subjection. His barons planned whether they should make an attack on Pal, a baron of King Magnus, or proceed to Bergen. They decided to attack Pal, and reached him at morning-tide, so that he was not aware of them before he heard the sound of trumpets. Pal and his men tore down the awnings and made a brave resistance. There was great slaughter: Pal Andresson fell and many of his men.

It came to pass the same winter, on Monday night in the second week of Lent, that King Sverri's watchmen observed long-ships rowing into the bay, and on one of them a standard was aloft; they heard, too, a loud clashing of arms among the men on board. Instantly they caused the trumpets to be sounded, and a great din arose among the Birkibeins, and a rumour spread immediately that King Magnus had come with his host. Many dressed themselves with all speed; some seized weapons, and some not; but all fled either into the churches or up into the fell. King Sverri had left his room, and was out on the balcony when the first blast of the trumpets sounded. “Now God and King Olaf the Saint preserve us!” he said. Then he leapt down into the yard and ran along the street through the town, but saw no many on the way until he reached the Nunnusetr. Here a yeoman on horseback met him, and the King demanded his rose; but the yeoman refused and out not give it up. The King began to contend earnestly for the horse, saying he would have it by force if he could not get it by other means. So great was his need of a horse that he strove with vehemence for one which no amount of gold or silver would have tempted him to ride unless compelled; for he always afterwards declared that he had never ridden an more wretched animal. However; he rode up to Alrek-steads, where he found some Birkibeins. They waited there awhile, and others came up from the town, tow or three, five or seven together. Then they learnt that this was not King Magnus's host, but yeomen from Vors, and Austrey, and Hordaland. Their leader was Jon Kutiza; they had rowed their ships to Jons-quay, on the other side, where they landed, and having drawn up their ranks on Jons-fields, had marched close to the head of the bay, but made no attack on the town. A part of their force landed at Holm at the entrance of the bay. These marched beyond Kristkirk yard, blew their trumpets, and raised a war-cry; some leapt into the King's courtyard, but acted rather cautiously. The night was dark, so that the Birkibeins could not see them, and therefore fled; if they had known the truth about them, they would soon have driven them off, for this was a body of yeomen, and not the force of King Magnus, he called around him all his men present, and bade them return to the town. The whole force of the Birkibeins would soon rally, he said, when they heard his trumpet Andvaka; for he expected that many had taken refuge in the churches, or were hidden here and there in the town, and they would all come to him if they could. As the King marched back to the town, his men gradually collected around him. The day was now breaking, and when he reached Olafskirk he ordered Andvaka to be blown and his standard to be raised. Many Birkibeins had fled into Olafskirk and Krosskirk, Nikolaskirk and Steinkirk, and these all came forth to his standard, as well as many from the town. The King then arrayed his men above All-Hallows-kirk, and addressed them, bidding them march bravely to the battle. “The yeoman' he said, “will fare the worse at our hands the more there are of them together.” The Birkibeins then cried out all at once, “May the man never thrive that is afraid of a yeomen's host,” and raising the war-cry straightway, sprang out of the ranks and ran to the fields to the yeomen's array, shouting and calling and encouraging one another. As the day broke, and the yeomen beheld the king's standard wave on high, they were filled with fear, and each man got behind another. The Birkibeins pursued after them, and hewed them down like cattle. Some of the yeomen fled to the ships, others plunged into the water, many perished, and some were taken swimming. The Birkibeins followed them to the strand. After the host had been put to flight, the king turned back to the fields. And round the head of the bay into the town. Here many of the yeomen came to him, and he gave quarter to all who asked; and as he marched through the town he kissed all the chief churches. It was now daylight. Jon Kutiza had not left the ships, for he was an old man and inform. When the yeomen were safe on board they rowed hastily out of the bay, and the sooner a man got away the happier he was. And the truth came to them, that no expedition so imposing in magnitude as theirs had ever fared worse.

The yeomen make peace with the King.

50. A little later King Sverri sailed south coastwise, with a fleet of cutters into Hardangr, and far and wide over Hordaland. He received from the yeomen fines for reconciliation, because many of the South Hords had joined the yeomen's force. He summoned before him the men of Vors and North Hordaland. Many came and were reconciled; many fled east to the Vik to King Magnus, if haply they might find him.

King Magnus spent the winter in Denmark with his kinsman King Valdamar, having good cheer. He had bailiffs all over the Nik and received tax and tribute. Orm Kings-brother was usually in the Vik, and some of the barons with him, others being in Denmark with King Magnus. Orm Kings-brother and those with him had a large body of followers all together, and when Lent drew to a close they sailed south with their force to join King Magnus. King Sverri abode in Bergen until Easter was past, and them prepared to leave, taking with him a numerous and well-equipped force. His ships were large and densely manned. And King Sverri said to his men, “I have now in my pocket assurance of the fidelity of all King Magnus's barons except Nikolas Kufung.” By this he meant that all the barons of King Magnus had sent him secret letters, in which they sought from him peace and friendship. These letter the King had in his pocket.