Harald Harfager's Saga

27. OF EARL TORFEINAR'S OBTAINING ORKNEY.

When Earl Ragnvald in More heard of the death of his brother Earl
Sigurd, and that the vikings were in possession of the country,
he sent his son Hallad westward, who took the title of earl to
begin with, and had many men-at-arms with him. When he arrived
at the Orkney Islands, he established himself in the country; but
both in harvest, winter, and spring, the vikings cruised about
the isles plundering the headlands, and committing depredations
on the coast. Then Earl Hallad grew tired of the business,
resigned his earldom, took up again his rights as an allodial
owner, and afterwards returned eastward into Norway. When Earl
Ragnvald heard of this he was ill pleased with Hallad, and said
his son were very unlike their ancestors. Then said Einar, "I
have enjoyed but little honour among you, and have little
affection here to lose: now if you will give me force enough, I
will go west to the islands, and promise you what at any rate
will please you -- that you shall never see me again." Earl
Ragnvald replied, that he would be glad if he never came back;
"For there is little hope," said he, "that thou will ever be an
honour to thy friends, as all thy kin on thy mother's side are
born slaves." Earl Ragnvald gave Einar a vessel completely
equipped, and he sailed with it into the West sea in harvest.
When he came to the Orkney Isles, two vikings, Thorer Treskeg and
Kalf Skurfa, were in his way with two vessels. He attacked them
instantly, gained the battle, and slew the two vikings. Then
this was sung: --

"Then gave he Treskeg to the trolls,
Torfeinar slew Skurfa."

He was called Torfeinar, because he cut peat for fuel, there
being no firewood, as in Orkney there are no woods. He
afterwards was earl over the islands, and was a mighty man. He
was ugly, and blind of an eye, yet very sharp-sighted withal.

28. KING EIRIK EYMUNDSON'S DEATH.

Duke Guthorm dwelt principally at Tunsberg, and governed the
whole of Viken when the king was not there. He defended the
land, which, at that time, was much plundered by the vikings.
There were disturbances also up in Gautland as long as King Eirik
Eymundson lived; but he died when King Harald Harfager had been
ten years king of all Norway.

29.GUTHORM'S DEATH IN TUNSBERG.

After Eirik, his son Bjorn was king of Svithjod for fifty years.
He was father of Eirik the Victorious, and of Olaf the father of
Styrbjorn. Guthorm died on a bed of sickness at Tunsberg, and
King Harald gave his son Guthorm the government of that part of
his dominions and made him chief of it.

30. EARL RAGNVALD BURNT IN HIS HOUSE.

When King Harald was forty years of age many of his sons were
well advanced, and indeed they all came early to strength and
manhood. And now they began to take it ill that the king would
not give them any part of the kingdom, but put earls into every
district; for they thought earls were of inferior birth to them.
Then Halfdan Haleg and Gudrod Ljome set off one spring with a
great force, and came suddenly upon Earl Ragnvald, earl of More,
and surrounded the house in which he was, and burnt him and sixty
men in it. Thereafter Halfdan took three long-ships, and fitted
them out, and sailed into the West sea; but Gudrod set himself
down in the land which Ragnvald formerly had. Now when King
Harald heard this he set out with a great force against Gudrod,
who had no other way left but to surrender, and he was sent to
Agder. King Harald then set Earl Ragnvald's son Thorer over
More, and gave him his daughter Alof, called Arbot, in marriage.
Earl Thorer, called the Silent, got the same territory his father
Earl Ragnvald had possessed.

31. HALFDAN HALEG'S DEATH.

Halfdan Haleg came very unexpectedly to Orkney, and Earl Einar
immediately fled; but came back soon after about harvest time,
unnoticed by Halfdan. They met and after a short battle Halfdan
fled the same night. Einar and his men lay all night without
tents, and when it was light in the morning they searched the
whole island and killed every man they could lay hold of. Then
Einar said "What is that I see upon the isle of Rinansey? Is it
a man or a bird? Sometimes it raises itself up, and sometimes
lies down again." They went to it, and found it was Halfdan
Haleg, and took him prisoner.

Earl Einar sang the following song the evening before he went
into this battle: --

"Where is the spear of Hrollaug? where
Is stout Rolf Ganger's bloody spear!
I see them not; yet never fear,
For Einar will not vengeance spare
Against his father's murderers, though
Hrollaug and Rolf are somewhat slow,
And silent Thorer sits add dreams
At home, beside the mead-bowl's streams."

Thereafter Earl Einar went up to Halfdan, and cut a spread eagle
upon his back, by striking his sword through his back into his
belly, dividing his ribs from the backbone down to his loins, and
tearing out his lungs; and so Halfdan was killed. Einar then
sang: --

"For Ragnvald's death my sword is red:
Of vengeance it cannot be said
That Einar's share is left unsped.
So now, brave boys, let's raise a mound, --
Heap stones and gravel on the ground
O'er Halfdan's corpse: this is the way
We Norsemen our scat duties pay."

Then Earl Einar took possession of the Orkney Isles as before.
Now when these tidings came to Norway, Halfdan's brothers took it
much to heart, and thought that his death demanded vengeance; and
many were of the same opinion. When Einar heard this, he sang:
--

"Many a stout udal-man, I know,
Has cause to wish my head laid low;
And many an angry udal knife
Would gladly drink of Eina's life.
But ere they lay Earl Einar low, --
Ere this stout heart betrays its cause,
Full many a heart will writhe, we know,
In the wolf's fangs, or eagle's claws."

32. HARALD AND EINAR RECONCILED.

King Harald now ordered a levy, and gathered a great force, with
which he proceeded westward to Orkney; and when Earl Einar heard
that King Harald was come, he fled over to Caithness. He made
the following verses on this occasion: --

"Many a bearded man must roam,
An exile from his house and home,
For cow or horse; but Halfdan's gore
Is red on Rinansey's wild shore.
A nobler deed -- on Harald's shield
The arm of one who ne'er will yield
Has left a scar. Let peasants dread
The vengeance of the Norsemen's head:
I reck not of his wrath, but sing,
`Do thy worst! -- I defy thee, king! --'"

Men and messages, however, passed between the king and the earl,
and at last it came to a conference; and when they met the earl
submitted the case altogether to the king's decision, and the
king condemned the earl Einar and the Orkney people to pay a fine
of sixty marks of gold. As the bondes thought this was too heavy
for them to pay, the earl offered to pay the whole if they would
surrender their udal lands to him. This they all agreed to do:
the poor because they had but little pieces of land; the rich
because they could redeem their udal rights again when they
liked. Thus the earl paid the whole fine to the king, who
returned in harvest to Norway. The earls for a long time
afterwards possessed all the udal lands in Orkney, until Sigurd
son of Hlodver gave back the udal rights.

33. DEATH OF GUTHORM AND HALFDAN THE WHITE.

While King Harald's son Guthorm had the defence of Viken, he
sailed outside of the islands on the coast, and came in by one
of the mouths of the tributaries of the Gaut river. When he lay
there Solve Klofe came upon him, and immediately gave him battle,
and Guthorm fell. Halfdan the White and Halfdan the Black went
out on an expedition, and plundered in the East sea, and had a
battle in Eistland, where Halfdan the White fell.

34. MARRIAGE OF EIRIK.

Eirik, Harald's son, was fostered in the house of the herse
Thorer, son of Hroald, in the Fjord district. He was the most
beloved and honoured by King Harald of all his sons. When Eirik
was twelve years old, King Harald gave him five long-ships, with
which he went on an expedition, -- first in the Baltic; then
southwards to Denmark, Friesland, and Saxland; on which
expedition he passed four years. He then sailed out into the
West sea and plundered in Scotland, Bretland, Ireland, and
Valland, and passed four years more in this way. Then he sailed
north to Finmark, and all the way to Bjarmaland, where he had
many a battle, and won many a victory. When he came back to
Finmark, his men found a girl in a Lapland hut, whose equal for
beauty they never had seen. She said her name was Gunhild, and
that her father dwelt in Halogaland, and was called Ozur Tote.
"I am here," she said, "to learn sorcery from two of the most
knowing Fins in all Finmark, who are now out hunting. They both
want me in marriage. They are so skilful that they can hunt out
traces either upon the frozen or the thawed earth, like dogs; and
they can run so swiftly on skees that neither man nor beast can
come near them in speed. They hit whatever they take aim at, and
thus kill every man who comes near them. When they are angry the
very earth turns away in terror, and whatever living thing they
look upon then falls dead. Now ye must not come in their way;
but I will hide you here in the hut, and ye must try to get them
killed." They agreed to it, and she hid them, and then took a
leather bag, in which they thought there were ashes which she
took in her hand, and strewed both outside and inside of the hut.
Shortly after the Fins came home, and asked who had been there;
and she answered, "Nobody has been here." "That is wonderful,"
said they, "we followed the traces close to the hut, and can find
none after that." Then they kindled a fire, and made ready their
meat, and Gunhild prepared her bed. It had so happened that
Gunhild had slept the three nights before, but the Fins had
watched the one upon the other, being jealous of each other.
"Now," she said to the Fins, "come here, and lie down one on each
side of me." On which they were very glad to do so. She laid an
arm round the neck of each and they went to sleep directly. She
roused them up; but they fell to sleep again instantly, and so
soundly the she scarcely could waken them. She even raised them
up in the bed, and still they slept. Thereupon she too two great
seal-skin bags, and put their heads in them, and tied them fast
under their arms; and then she gave a wink to the king's men.
They run forth with their weapons, kill the two Fins, and drag
them out of the hut. That same night came such a dreadful
thunder-storm that they could not stir. Next morning they came to
the ship, taking Gunhild with them, and presented her to Eirik.
Eirik and his followers then sailed southwards to Halogaland and
he sent word to Ozur Tote, the girl's father, to meet him. Eirik
said he would take his daughter in marriage, to which Ozur Tote
consented, and Eirik took Gunhild and went southwards with her
(A.D. 922).