King Olaf Trygvason's Saga

62. ERLING SKJALGSON'S WOOING.

King Olaf went with his men-at-arms to the Gula-Thing; for the
bondes had sent him word that they would reply there to his
speech. When both parties had come to the Thing, the king
desired first to have a conference with the chief people of the
country; and when the meeting was numerous the king set forth his
errand, -- that he desired them, according to his proposal, to
allow themselves to be baptized. Then said Olmod the Old, "We
relations have considered together this matter, and have come to
one resolution. If thou thinkest, king, to force us who are
related together to such things as to break our old law, or to
bring us under thyself by any sort of violence, then will we
stand against thee with all our might: and be the victory to him
to whom fate ordains it. But if thou, king, wilt advance our
relations' fortunes, then thou shalt have leave to do as thou
desirest, and we will all serve thee with zeal in thy purpose."

The king replies, "What do you propose for obtaining this
agreement?"

Then answers Olmod, "The first is, that thou wilt give thy sister
Astrid in marriage to Erling Skjalgson, our relation, whom we
look upon as the most hopeful young man in all Norway."

King Olaf replied, that this marriage appeared to him also very
suitable; "as Erling is a man of good birth, and a good-looking
man in appearance: but Astrid herself must answer to this
proposal."

Thereupon the king spoke to his sister. She said, "It is but of
little use that I am a king's sister, and a king's daughter, if I
must marry a man who has no high dignity or office. I will
rather wait a few years for a better match." Thus ended this
conference.

63. HORDALAND BAPTIZED.

King Olaf took a falcon that belonged to Astrid, plucked off all
its feathers, and then sent it to her. Then said Astrid, "Angry
is my brother." And she stood up, and went to the king, who
received her kindly, and she said that she left it to the king to
determine her marriage. "I think," said the king, "that I must
have power enough in this land to raise any man I please to high
dignity." Then the king ordered Olmod and Erling to be called
to a conference, and all their relations; and the marriage was
determined upon, and Astrid betrothed to Erling. Thereafter the
king held the Thing, and recommended Christianity to the bondes;
and as Olmod, and Erling, and all their relations, took upon
themselves the most active part in forwarding the king's desire,
nobody dared to speak against it; and all the people were
baptized, and adopted Christianity.

64. ERLING SKJALGSON'S WEDDING.

Erling Skjalgson had his wedding in summer, and a great many
people were assembled at it. King Olaf was also there, and
offered Erling an earldom. Erling replied thus: "All my
relations have been herses only, and I will take no higher title
than they have; but this I will accept from thee, king, that thou
makest me the greatest of that title in the country." The king
consented; and at his departure the king invested his brother-in
law Erling with all the land north of the Sognefjord, and east to
the Lidandisnes, on the same terms as Harald Harfager had given
land to his sons, as before related.

65. RAUMSDAL AND FJORD-DISTRICTS BAPTIZED.

The same harvest King Olaf summoned the bondes to a Thing of the
four districts at Dragseid, in Stad: and there the people from
Sogn, the Fjord-districts, South More, and Raumsdal, were
summoned to meet. King Olaf came there with a great many people
who had followed him from the eastward, and also with those who
had joined him from Rogaland and Hordaland. When the king came
to the Thing, he proposed to them there, as elsewhere,
Christianity; and as the king had such a powerful host with him,
they were frightened. The king offered them two conditions, --
either to accept Christianity, or to fight. But the bondes saw
they were in no condition to fight the king, and resolved,
therefore, that all the people should agree to be baptized. The
king proceeded afterwards to North More, and baptized all that
district. He then sailed to Hlader, in Throndhjem; had the
temple there razed to the ground; took all the ornaments and all
property out of the temple, and from the gods in it; and among
other things the great gold ring which Earl Hakon had ordered to
be made, and which hung in the door of the temple; and then had
the temple burnt. But when the bondes heard of this, they sent
out a war-arrow as a token through the whole district, ordering
out a warlike force, and intended to meet the king with it. In
the meantime King Olaf sailed with a war force out of the fjord
along the coast northward, intending to proceed to Halogaland,
and baptize there. When he came north to Bjarnaurar, he heard
from Halogaland that a force was assembled there to defend the
country against the king. The chiefs of this force were Harek of
Thjotta, Thorer Hjort from Vagar, and Eyvind Kinrifa. Now when
King Olaf heard this, he turned about and sailed southwards along
the land; and when he got south of Stad proceeded at his leisure,
and came early in winter (A.D. 998) all the way east to Viken.

66. OLAF PROPOSES MARRIAGE TO QUEEN SIGRID.

Queen Sigrid in Svithjod, who had for surname the Haughty, sat in
her mansion, and during the same winter messengers went between
King Olaf and Sigrid to propose his courtship to her, and she had
no objection; and the matter was fully and fast resolved upon.
Thereupon King Olaf sent to Queen Sigrid the great gold ring he
had taken from the temple door of Hlader, which was considered a
distinguished ornament. The meeting for concluding the business
was appointed to be in spring on the frontier, at the Gaut river.
Now the ring which King Olaf had sent Queen Sigrid was highly
prized by all men; yet the queen's gold-smiths, two brothers, who
took the ring in their hands, and weighed it, spoke quietly to
each other about it, and in a manner that made the queen call
them to her, and ask "what they smiled at?" But they would not
say a word, and she commanded them to say what it was they had
discovered. Then they said the ring is false. Upon this she
ordered the ring to be broken into pieces, and it was found to be
copper inside. Then the queen was enraged, and said that Olaf
would deceive her in more ways than this one. In the same year
(A.D. 998) King Olaf went into Ringenke, and there the people
also were baptized.

67. OLAF HARALDSON BAPTIZED.

Asta, the daughter of Gudbrand, soon after the fall of Harald
Grenske married again a man who was called Sigurd Syr, who was a
king in Ringerike. Sigurd was a son of Halfdan, and grandson of
Sigurd Hrise, who was a son of Harald Harfager. Olaf, the son of
Asta and Harald Grenske, lived with Asta, and was brought up from
childhood in the house of his stepfather, Sigurd Syr. Now when
King Olaf Trygvason came to Ringerike to spread Christianity,
Sigurd Syr and his wife allowed themselves to be baptized, along
with Olaf her son; and Olaf Trygvason was godfather to Olaf, the
stepson of Harald Grenske. Olaf was then three years old. Olaf
returned from thence to Viken, where he remained all winter. He
had now been three years king in Norway (A.D. 998).

68. MEETING OF OLAF AND SIGRID.

Early in spring (A.D. 998) King Olaf went eastwards to
Konungahella to the meeting with Queen Sigrid; and when they met
the business was considered about which the winter before they
had held communication, namely, their marriage; and the business
seemed likely to be concluded. But when Olaf insisted that
Sigrid should let herself be baptized, she answered thus: -- "I
must not part from the faith which I have held, and my
forefathers before me; and, on the other hand, I shall make no
objection to your believing in the god that pleases you best."
Then King Olaf was enraged, and answered in a passion, "Why
should I care to have thee, an old faded woman, and a heathen
jade?" and therewith struck her in the face with his glove which
he held in his hands, rose up, and they parted. Sigrid said,
"This may some day be thy death." The king set off to Viken, the
queen to Svithjod.

69. THE BURNING OF WARLOCKS.

Then the king proceeded to Tunsberg, and held a Thing, at which
he declared in a speech that all the men of whom it should be
known to a certainty that they dealt with evil spirits, or in
witchcraft, or were sorcerers, should be banished forth of the
land. Thereafter the king had all the neighborhood ransacked
after such people, and called them all before him; and when they
were brought to the Thing there was a man among them called
Eyvind Kelda, a grandson of Ragnvald Rettilbeine, Harald
Harfager's son. Eyvind was a sorcerer, and particularly knowing
in witchcraft. The king let all these men be seated in one room,
which was well adorned, and made a great feast for them, and gave
them strong drink in plenty. Now when they were all very drunk,
he ordered the house be set on fire, and it and all the people
within it were consumed, all but Eyvind Kelda, who contrived to
escape by the smoke-hole in the roof. And when he had got a long
way off, he met some people on the road going to the king, and he
told them to tell the king that Eyvind Kelda had slipped away
from the fire, and would never come again in King Olaf's power,
but would carry on his arts of witchcraft as much as ever. When
the people came to the king with such a message from Eyvind, the
king was ill pleased that Eyvind had escaped death.