Of Sigurd Brenni and his followers [1189]

110. East of the country in the Marches there was a band which made raids into the Vik and did much injury, slaying some, robbing some, and burning down the homesteads of others. The leader of this hand was a man named Sigurd Brenni, a son of King Ingi Haraldsson. Sigurd Brenni had visited Jon Kuflung, who had acknowledged kinship with him, and this was a sign that he had rightly come to power and high rank. Jon said that he very much resembled his family, and would be found hard in counsel and vigorous in action and he invited him to stay. But Sigurd thought it a small thing to rule over the Kuflungs, confident that he was superior to Jon in governing a land and commanding a body-guard, in wisdom and popularity; all needed, he said, to cope with the designs of Priest Sverri. He said, too, that if he encountered Sverri he would pay scant regard wither to his relationship or his ordination; he intended, he said, thus to treat his kinsmen, for he preferred to go his own way with his band. He had three hundred followers for a time. In the course of the summer, after the fall of Kuflung, the yeomen and some Guardsmen marched against Sigurd Brenni, surprised him and his men, and set on them in a sitting-room. They defended themselves bravely and manfully. When most of those in the sitting-room had fallen, Sigurd called to his foes and bade them listen to him. When obtained silence, he said: “It is likely that you will fulfill your intention to take my life and slay me; and when you have done so, you will tell King Sverri and other chiefs that you have here slain and cut off the leader of this band, Sigurd Brenni, son of King Ingi. But your story is much less worth the telling than you think and many imagine, though you slay me; for I tell you, and it is the truth, my name is Hedin; I am the son of Thorgrim Hrossaprest, and Icelander through all my pedigree; of a mean family as to rank, though you were ready to consider me a King.” After this they shot at him, and he defended himself most manfully. At last they slew him, and they spoke of him as a most valiant man, and a very gallant hardy fellow.

Consecration of Bishop Nikolas.

111. Archbishop Eirik, having obtained the Pallium at Rome, returned to Norway, the summer following the fall of Kuflungs, and sailed north Nidaros to his see. This summer Havard Earls-sons died.

At the election of a Bishop for Stafangr the general choice fell upon Nikolas Kings-brother, son of Arni of Stodreim. King Sverri spoke against him; and when Nikolas heard of it he sent a letter to Queen Margret, in which he wrote many fair and smooth things of King Sverri and also of her, and made mention of his kinship to her.²¹ Whereupon Queen Margret sought King Sverri, and told him of Nikolas's fair primises; but the King answered that he was unwilling to make Nikolas a greater man than he was. “If Nikolas,” he said, “Should obtain any more rule in Norway than he already has, I expect he will retain the same feeling towards me: his fidelity will not increase when he has reached a higher dignity than he now has.” The Queen begged the King not to oppose him, and mentioned the great losses sustained by Nikolas in the death of kinsmen during the contest between Kings Sverri and Magnus. To raise him to high estate would be the best compensation, she said, and he would not show unfaithfulness if he laid aside his weapons and was ordained. The King replied that he would grant her desire; “but I don't expect,” he said, “that a long time will elapse before both we and others will repent.” Afterwards a letter was obtained from the King that Nikolas should be consecrated Bishop. And so it came to pass; the Archbishop consecrated Nikolas Bishop. As that time the Bishop in Oslo died, and Nikolas obtained permission from the Archbishop to occupy the see in Oslo. Bishop Nial was then consecrated to Stafangr, and was Bishop there.

Dissention between the King and the Archbishop

112. When Archbishop Eirik came to the see in Nadaros the canons welcomed him heartily. After that, he preached to the choir and used hard language of the Birkibeins. Forthwith many of the king's men set their minds against him, and an unfriendly felling existed among them. Presently much dissension arose between King Sverri and the Archbishop, because of an agreement²² made by Archbishop Eystein with the yeomen, which King Magnus and Earl Erling allowed to stand all the time they governed the realm. By this agreement, whenever the Archbishop had to receive fines, the ounce of pure silver should be the standard in these debts, whereas aforetime fines had been paid in the current ounce as in the King's suits. Earl Earling had brought himself to sanction this agreement, that the Archbishop might be willing to anoint his son Magnus King. Thus the money standard became doubled. King Sverri demanded of the Archbishop that the old legal satisfaction should stand in the Archbishop's as in the King's suits, and declared that Erling Skakki out not to have broken the laws of King Olaf the Saint to have his son anointed King. For Magnus was not rightly chosen, inasmuch as never before since Norway became Christian had one been King who was not a King's son; nor yet in heathen times; it was also forbidden in the land's law ordained by King Olaf the Saint. “There was a bargain between them,” said King Sverri. “between Archbishop Eystein and Earl Erling. That the Archbishop should anoint Erling's son King, and Earl Erling should permit the Archbishop to carry out all that unlawfulness as far as his authority prevailed with the yeomen. It seems to me as if it had been done neither in accordance with God's law nor land's law. There is another way: if you, Archbishop. Wish to increase greatly your due, then I wish you to give me leave to increase equally the King's due; and do you answer before God, the yeomen, and the land's folk, that the government of the land is according to right.” The Archbishop refused this; he would have his own due, and said that God's due ought ever to increase and never diminish. “Do you Sire,” he said, “take your dues and uphold the laws, as you have sworn, and answer for yourself before God and men whether you perform your oaths or not, for never in the payment of the King's due has there been any raising of the standard of money.”

Eirik Kings-son's expedition to Eistland. He is raised to the rank of Earl.

113. After the death of King Magnus, Eirik Kings-son asked of his brother King Sverri that he would grant him higher title than he then had and with some share in the realm. But the King bade him remain with the body-guard, in command of a company, like the barons, being, however, the foremost of them in honour; and he declined to the share the land. Eirik showed that he was not pleased, but matters remained as they were for a time. He had a large company, and as he was liberal to his men and had small revenues, his money fell short. The following winter he prepared to leave the country and sail to the Baltic to plunder heathen lands. Many of the King's troops entered his service for this voyage, and he had five ships, of which Ozur Prest commanded one, Thiodolf Pik a second, and Hermind Kvada the third. In the summer they sailed over the Baltic to Eistland, and plundered Viku and Tunta, and seized much booty. Then they turned back to Gotland, and having quarrled with the Saxons, won two cogs from them and took immense wealth. Thence they sailed to Sweden and visited King Knut. They met with good cheer, and King Knut gave Eirik a ling-ship before he sailed away. Eirik and his force sailed past the Swedish and Danish realms, behaving with violence, and returned to Norway about the time of autumn with eleven ships. This autumn-the Hrafnabiorf autumn- the Kuflungs were in the Vik. King Sverri was then in the Vik, and he shared the land with his brother Eirik, agiving him the country from Svinasound in the east to Rygiarbit north, and all the Uplands. At the same time he bestowed on him the title of Earl. After that, Eirik raised a body-guard for himself and became a very great chief. His wife's name was Asa.

Rising of Simun Karason and the Varbelgs. Defeat of Simun by the men of Tunsberg [1190].

114. Simun Karason and Olvi of Godrann and the captains of companies who had been with the Kuflings sailed sout to Denmark. Some went east to the Marches and remained there the following summer, and when the winter as far spent they proceeded to Denmark and there joined Simun Karason. He had a son of Magnus Erlingsson with him named Vikar. They now raised a band and procured a great number of men; in the summer they sailed north to the Vik with sixteen ships. They behaved with violence, robbed both yeomen and merchants; thus they passed over the Vik from the east. When the men of Tunsberg heard these tidings they hastened to their ships; they had some long-ships as well as merchant-ships. These they laid in front of the quays, and assigned a force toe ach ship, and prepared to defend the town. Simun's band was called Varbelgs. When he learnt what the men of Tunsberg had done. And what a force they had gathered together, he did not venture to go near the town, but sailed back east over the Fold, The men of Tunsberg heard of this, and sprang on board their ships and hastened after them, under Thorlak Ulfgestsson, Ulf Svarti, and Asleif Buandi. Simun and his force now sailed away east; the men of Tunsberg followed, seeking them, and found them in the south at Bridstein. They fell upon them without delay, and there was a great and fierce battle,, the yeoman's ships being larger in size and higher in the bulwarks. After the fight had lasted for a time, it became a slaughter of the Varbelgs, and their ships were cleared. The contest ended so that scarcely one escaped, Simun Karason and Olvi of Godrann being slain with almost all of their band. On the ship which Simun had commanded, Vikar, the King of the Varbelgs, a boy a few years old, was found beneath the deck in the fore-room and was immediately slain. By this expedition the men of Tunsberg won great renown and much wealth, and they sailed back after the battle.

Death of Earl Eirik

115. The same year in which the Varbelgs fell, Earl Eirik was taken ill. He was then in Tunsberg; and when his sickness increased he gave himself to a monastery and put on monk's dress. After he had lain there five days he died, and his wife Asa died the same day; and two days later their son died who was named Magnus. These events gave rise to much discussion, and many said that evil men must have given them poison and killed them. After this King Sverri took to himself the domain that had been Eirik's and set bailiffs over it.

Ivar Silki died soon afterwards.

Rising under Thorleif Breidskegg. He is slain by the yeomen [1191]

116. The summer that Earl Eirik died, a band arose east in the Marches under a man named Thorleif Breidskegg; he was said to be a son of King Eystein Haraldsson, and as a sign he bore between his shoulders the scar of a wound healed in the form of a cross.²³ This band came into the Vik and behaved peaceably, purchasing meat and other needful things. Thorleif Breidskegg had been a monk, and his band had little strength. They soon fell short of money, and then some of the band stole, as they were forbidden to plunder. Many men seemed to have heard that Thorleif was so wise a man that no event took him by surprise, and also was so moral that his life more resembled a monk's life subject to the rules of his order, than a layman's. He was also said to be so eloquent, and able to speak so persuasively, that no one could be angry with him who heard him speak. But this was proved afterwards to sheer falsehood and nonsense. This band abode chiefly in the Marches the following winter, and the next summer the yeoman made an attack on them as they were passing the night in a wood. It was then proved that Breidskegg neither had any knowledge of the attack beforehand nor said what made his life any safer than before. He was slain with almost all his company, but some escaped in the wood. Adter the death of Breidskegg a rumour was spread abroad that he was a saint, but the poet Blakk spoke against it and recited this:-