Viking Tales of the North
Saga of Fridthjof the Bold
Fridthjof was successful in gaining fee and fame wheresoever he came; villains and savage vikings he slew; the bondes and chapmen (merchants) he left in peace; and he was now a second time called Fridthjof the Bold. He had gotten by this time a large and well arrayed army, and had become exceedingly rich in chattels. But when Fridthjof had spent three winters in viking expeditions, he sailed west and steered up the Vik. (1) Fridthjof said he had a mind to go ashore; but you, said he, will have to go a harrying this winter; for I am growing tired of warfare, and I am going to the uplands to find king Ring, and have a talk with him; but you shall come back next summer and get me, and I will be here on the first day of summer. Says Bjorn: This is no wise plan; however, your will must prevail; my wish it would be to go north to Sogn, and kill both the kings Halfdan and Helge. Makes answer Fridthjof: That is of no use; I prefer to go and find king Ring and Ingeborg. Says Bjorn: I am unwilling to run the risk of sending you alone into his hands, for although he is somewhat advanced in age, Ring is a wise man and of noble birth. Fridthjof said he must have his own way; and you, Bjorn, said he, will have to be the commander of our company in the meantime. They did as he would have it. So Fridthjof went to the uplands in the fall, for he was curious to see the love betwixt king Ring and Ingeborg. Before he came thither he put on a large cowled cloak over the other clothes, all shaggy. He had two staves in his hands, a mask over his face, and made himself look as old as possible. Afterward he met some herd-swains, and going heavily he asked them: Whence are you? Made answer they: We have our homes in Streitaland (Struggle-land), at the king’s dwelling. Asks the old man: Is Ring a mighty king: Made answer they: To us you seem to be so old a man that you ought to know what manner of man king Ring is in all respects. The old man said he had been thinking more about salt-boiling than about the manner of kings. After this he went up the king’s hall. Toward the close of the day he went in, assumed a very feeble look, and stopping near the door he pulled the cowl over his head and his face. Said then king Ring to Ingeborg: There went a man into the hall much larger than other men. Answered the queen: Such are insignificant tidings here. The king then spoke to the man-servant who stood before the table: Go ask the cowl-man who he is, whence he comes, and where his kinsmen dwell. The swain then ran over the floor to the stranger and said: What is your name, my man? Or where were you last night? Or where are your kinsmen? Says the cowl-man: You ask your questions rapidly, my fellow’ but will you be able to understand if I tell you about these things: Certainly I can, said the swain. Says the cowl-man: Thjof (thief) is my name, at Ulf’s (wolf’s) I spent last night, and in Anger (2) (grief) I am brought up. The swain hastened before the king, and told him the answers of the stranger. Says the king: You understood admirably, swain. I know the land called Anger; besides, it may be that this man’s mind is not at ease. I think he is a wise man, and a man of great worth. Says the queen: This is a remarkable manner of yours to be so eager to talk with every carle that comes here, whosoever he may be; but so far as this man is concerned, I should like to know of what account he is. Says the king: You do not know any better than I do. I see he is a man that thinks more than he talks, and makes good use of his eyes. Thereupon the king sent a man for him, and the cowled man went to the inner part of the hall before the king; he bent forward somewhat, and greeted the king in a low voice. Said the king: What hight you, my large man? Made answer the cowled man by singing this stave:
FRIDTHJOF (peace-thief) I hight
When I fared with the vikings;
HERTHJOF (war-thief) when
The widows I grieved;
GEIRTHJOF (spear-thief) when I
The barbed shafts threw;
GUNNTHJOF (battle-theif) when I
‘Gainst the kings went;
EYTHJOF (isle-theif) when I
The skerries did plunder;
HELTHJOF (death-theif) when I
The babies did toss up;
VALTHJOF (slain-theif) when I
Higher than men was;
But now since then
With salt-boilers about
Have I been wandering;
With needy salt-carles,
Until hither I came.
Said then the king: From many things you have taken the theif’s (Thjof’s) name; but where were you last night? And where is your home? Made answer the cowled man: in Anger (grief) I am born, my mind urged me hitherward, but my home is nowhere. Says the king: It may be that you have been brought up in sorrow for awhile, but I may also be that you were born in peace. You must, I think, have spent last night in the forest, for there is no bonde near this place who hight Ulf (wolf); but when you say you have no home, you undoubtedly mean that you think your home of little consequence, since your heart drove you hitherward. Said Ingeborg now: Go theif (Thjof)! Get yourself other night-quarters, or betake yourself to the guest-chamber! Said the king: I am now old enough to arrange seats for my guests; come, stranger, put off your cloak and take a seat at my other hand. Said the queen: Yea, in your dotage you are, when you ask beggars to sit down by your side.
Said Thjof: It is not becoming sir; better is that which the queen says; I am more accustomed to be among salt-boilers than to sit by the side of rulers. Said the king Do as I will it; for I think my will must prevail this time. Thjof doffed his cloak, under which he was clad in a dark blue kirtle, and had a goodly ring on his hand; a large silver belt was about his waist; down from the belt hung a large purse full of bright silver coins, and a sword was girt at his side; but on his head he wore a large skin cap; his eyes looked dim and his face was all shaggy. Says the king: Now I dare say that things look as we would wish to have them; give him, my queen, a good mantle, and such a one as may be becoming to him. Answered the queen: Your will shall prevail, my lord, but I do not like this Thjof (thief) much. Then a good mantle was given to him, which he donned and sat down in the high seat beside the king. The queen’s face blushed red as blood when she saw the goodly ring, but still she was unwilling to converse with him, while the king was exceedingly cheerful and said: A goodly ring you have on your hand, and you must have been boiling salt a long time before your earned it. Made answer Thjof: this is my whole paternal heritage. Says the king: May be you have more than that, but few salt-boilers are your equal; so I think, lest it should be that old age is fast creeping into my eyes. So Thjof spent the winter here, heartily treated and highly esteemed by all. He was liberal with his fee and cheerful to everybody. The queen seldom talked to him, but the king and he were always happy when they were together.
ENDNOTES:
1. The main part of the present Christiania fjord. [Back]
2. Angr also means a narrow firth, and in this sense it is still found in some noted fjord-names on the coast of Norway, as Stavanger (Icel. Stafangr), and Hardanger. [Back]
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