Saga of Olaf Haroldson

152. KING OLAF'S LEVY OF MEN.

King Olaf made ready in spring (A.D. 1027) to leave Nidaros, and
many people were assembled about him, both from Throndhjem and
the Northern country; and when he was ready he proceeded first
with his men to More, where he gathered the men of the levy, and
did the same at Raumsdal. He went from thence to South More. He
lay a long time at the Herey Isles waiting for his forces; and he
often held House-things, as many reports came to his ears about
which he thought it necessary to hold councils. In one of these
Things he made a speech, in which he spoke of the loss he
suffered from the Farey islanders. "The scat which they promised
me," he said, "is not forthcoming; and I now intend to send men
thither after it." Then he proposed to different men to
undertake this expedition; but the answer was, that all declined
the adventure.

Then there stood up a stout and very remarkable looking man in
the Thing. He was clad in a red kirtle, had a helmet on his
head, a sword in his belt, and a large halberd in his hands. He
took up the word and said, "In truth here is a great want of men.
Ye have a good king; but ye are bad servants who say no to this
expedition he offers you, although ye have received many gifts of
friendship and tokens of honour from him. I have hitherto been
no friend of the king, and he has been my enemy, and says,
besides, that he has good grounds for being so. Now, I offer,
sire, to go upon this expedition, if no better will undertake
it."

The king answers, "Who is this brave man who replies to my offer?
Thou showest thyself different from the other men here present,
in offering thyself for this expedition from which they excuse
themselves, although I expected they would willingly have
undertaken it; but I do not know thee in the least, and do not
know thy name."

He replies, "My name, sire, is not difficult to know, and I think
thou hast heard my name before. I am Karl Morske."

The king -- "So this is Karl! I have indeed heard thy name
before; and, to say the truth, there was a time when our meeting
must have been such, if I had had my will; that thou shouldst not
have had to tell it now. But I will not show myself worse than
thou, but will join my thanks and my favour to the side of the
help thou hast offered me. Now thou shalt come to me, Karl, and
be my guest to-day; and then we shall consult together about this
business." Karl said it should be so.

153. KARL MORSKE'S STORY.

Karl Morske had been a viking, and a celebrated robber. Often
had the king sent out men against him, and wished to make an end
of him; but Karl, who was a man of high connection, was quick in
all his doing's, and besides a man of great dexterity, and expert
in all feats. Now when Karl had undertaken this business the
king was reconciled to him, gave him his friendship, and let him
be fitted out in the best manner for this expedition. There were
about twenty men in the ship; and the king sent messages to his
friends in the Farey Islands, and recommended him also to Leif
Ossurson and Lagman Gille, for aid and defence; and for this
purpose furnished Karl with tokens of the full powers given him.
Karl set out as soon as he was ready; and as he got a favourable
breeze soon came to the Farey Islands, and landed at Thorshavn,
in the island Straumey. A Thing was called, to which there came
a great number of people. Thrand of Gata came with a great
retinue, and Leif and Gille came there also, with many in their
following. After they had set up their tents, and put themselves
in order, they went to Karl Morske, and saluted each other on
both sides in a friendly way. Then Karl produced King Olaf's
words, tokens, and friendly message to Leif and Gille, who
received them in a friendly manner, invited Karl to come to them,
and promised him to support his errand, and give him all the aid
in their power, for which he thanked them. Soon after came
Thrand of Gata, who also received Karl in the most friendly
manner, and said he was glad to see so able a man coming to their
country on the king's business, which they were all bound to
promote. "I will insist, Karl," says he, "on thy taking-up thy
winter abode with me, together with all those of thy people who
may appear to thee necessary for thy dignity."

Karl replies, that he had already settled to lodge with Leif;
"otherwise I would with great pleasure have accepted thy
invitation."

"Then fate has given great honour to Leif," says Thrand; "but is
there any other way in which I can be of service?"

Karl replies, that he would do him a great service by collecting
the scat of the eastern island, and of all the northern islands.

Thrand said it was both his duty and interest to assist in the
king's business, and thereupon Thrand returned to his tent; and
at that Thing nothing else worth speaking of occurred. Karl took
up his abode with Leif Ossurson, and was there all winter (A.D.
1028). Leif collected the scat of Straumey Island, and all the
islands south of it. The spring after Thrand of Gata fell ill,
and had sore eyes and other complaints; but he prepared to attend
the Thing, as was his custom. When he came to the Thing he had
his tent put up, and within it another black tent, that the light
might not penetrate. After some days of the Thing had passed,
Leif and Karl came to Thrand's tent, with a great many people,
and found some persons standing outside. They asked if Thrand
was in the tent, and were told he was. Leif told them to bid
Thrand come out, as he and Karl had some business with him. They
came back, and said that Thrand had sore eyes, and could not come
out; "but he begs thee, Leif, to come to him within." Leif told
his comrades to come carefully into the tent, and not to press
forward, and that he who came last in should go out first. Leif
went in first, followed by Karl, and then his comrades; and all
fully armed as if they were going into battle. Leif went into
the black tent and asked if Thrand was there. Thrand answered
and saluted Leif. Leif returned his salutation, and asked if he
had brought the scat from the northern islands, and if he would
pay the scat that had been collected. Thrand replies, that he
had not forgotten what had been spoken of between him and Karl,
and that he would now pay over the scat. "Here is a purse, Leif,
full of silver, which thou canst receive." Leif looked around,
and saw but few people in the tent, of whom some were lying upon
the benches, and a few were sitting up. Then Leif went to
Thrand, and took the purse, and carried it into the outer tent,
where it was light, turned out the money on his shield, groped
about in it with his hand, and told Karl to look at the silver.
When they had looked at it a while, Karl asked Leif what he
thought of the silver. He replied, "I am thinking where the bad
money that is in the north isles can have come from." Thrand
heard this, and said, "Do you not think, Leif, the silver is
good?" "No," says he. Thrand replies, "Our relations, then, are
rascals not to be trusted. I sent them in spring to collect the
scat in the north isles, as I could not myself go anywhere, and
they have allowed themselves to be bribed by the bondes to take
false money, which nobody looks upon as current and good; it is
better, therefore, Leif, to look at this silver which has been
paid me as land-rent." Leif thereupon carried back this silver,
and received another bag, which he carried to Karl, and they
looked over the money together. Karl asked Leif what he thought
of this money. He answered, that it appeared to him so bad that
it would not be taken in payment, however little hope there might
be of getting a debt paid in any other way: "therefore I will not
take this money upon the king's account." A man who had been
lying on the bench now cast the skin coverlet off which he had
drawn over his head, and said, "True is the old word, -- he grows
worse who grows older: so it is with thee, Thrand, who allowest
Karl Morske to handle thy money all the day." This was Gaut the
Red. Thrand sprang up at Gaut's words, and reprimanded his
relation with many angry words. At last he said that Leif should
leave this silver, and take a bag which his own peasants had
brought him in spring. "And although I am weak-sighted, yet my
own hand is the truest test." Another man who was lying on the
bench raised himself now upon his elbow; and this was Thord the
Low. He said, "These are no ordinary reproaches we suffer from
Karl Morske, and therefore he well deserves a reward for them."
Leif in the meantime took the bag, and carried it to Karl; and
when they cast their eyes on the money, Leif said, "We need not
look long at this silver, for here the one piece of money is
better than the other; and this is the money we will have. Let a
man come to be present at the counting it out." Thrand says that
he thought Leif was the fittest man to do it upon his account.
Leif and Karl thereupon went a short way from the tent, sat down.
and counted and weighed the silver. Karl took the helmet off his
head, and received in it the weighed silver. They saw a man
coming to them who had a stick with an axe-head on it in his
hand, a hat low upon his head, and a short green cloak. He was
bare-legged, and had linen breeches on tied at the knee. He laid
his stick down in the field, and went to Karl and said, "Take
care, Karl Morske, that thou does not hurt thyself against my
axe-stick." Immediately a man came running and calls with great
haste to Leif Ossurson, telling him to come as quickly as
possible to Lagman Gille's tent; "for," says he, "Sirurd
Thorlakson ran in just now into the mouth of the tent, and gave
one of Gille's men a desperate wound." Leif rose up instantly,
and went off to Gille's tent along with his men. Karl remained
sitting, and the Norway people stood around in all corners. Gaut
immediately sprang up, and struck with a hand-axe over the heads
of the people, and the stroke came on Karl's head; but the wound
was slight. Thord the Low seized the stick-axe, which lay in the
field at his side, and struck the axe-blade right into Karl's
skull. Many people now streamed out of Thrand's tent. Karl was
carried away dead. Thrand was much grieved at this event, and
offered money-mulcts for his relations; but Leif and Gille, who
had to prosecute the business, would accept no mulct. Sigurd was
banished the country for having wounded Gille's tent comrade, and
Gaut and Thord for the murder of Karl. The Norway people rigged
out the vessel which Karl had with him, and sailed eastward to
Olaf, and gave him these tidings. He was in no pleasant humour
at it, and threatened a speedy vengeance; but it was not allotted
by fate to King Olaf to revenge himself on Thrand and his
relations, because of the hostilities which had begun in Norway,
and which are now to be related. And there is nothing more to be
told of what happened after King Olaf sent men to the Farey
Islands to take scat of them. But great strife arose after
Karl's death in the Farey Islands between the family of Thrand of
Gata and Leif Ossurson, and of which there are great sagas.