‘Burned were the fell folk’s steads,Roofwards the red fire flamed.Hit did the lord of chiefsThe Heiners with hard stones.For their lives the sufferers craved;So great a hurt the flamesThe men of Ringariki wroughtOr ever the fire was stayed.’
‘Burned were the fell folk’s steads,
Roofwards the red fire flamed.
Hit did the lord of chiefs
The Heiners with hard stones.
For their lives the sufferers craved;
So great a hurt the flames
The men of Ringariki wrought
Or ever the fire was stayed.’
¶ After this gave the peasants the whole matter into the hands of the King.
¶ After the death of King Magnus were spent fifteen winters ere the battle of the Niz, and after that two winters or ever Harald and Svein made peace. Thus saith Thiodolf:
‘The prince of the Hords(Brought peace the third year was made)The strife to an end; onThe strand steel hit the shields.’
‘The prince of the Hords
(Brought peace the third year was made)
The strife to an end; on
The strand steel hit the shields.’
¶ After this peace-making endured the war of the King with the Uplanders three half-years. Thus saith Thiodolf:
‘Hard of the King’s work ’tisIn seemly wise to speakWhen to have idle ploughsThe upland men he taught.The chieftain wise hath honour wonThese three half-yearsWhich ever will be minded.’
‘Hard of the King’s work ’tis
In seemly wise to speak
When to have idle ploughs
The upland men he taught.
The chieftain wise hath honour won
These three half-years
Which ever will be minded.’
¶ Edward, the son of Ethelred, was King of England after his brother Hordaknut; he was hight Edward ‘the Good’ and right good he was. ¤ The mother to King Edward was Queen Emma, the daughter of Richard, the Rouen-Earl; and her brother was Earl Robert, the mother of William the Bastard, who was at that time duke of Rouen in Normandy. King Edward was wedded to Queen Gyda,§the daughter of Earl Godwin & he was the son of Wolfnoth. The brothers to Gyda were: the eldest Earl Tosti, the second Earl Morcar, the third Earl Walthiof, the fourth Earl Svein, and fifthly Harald. Now Harald was the youngest and was brought up at the court of King Edward and was his foster-son, and theKing loved him very greatly and eyed him ever as his own son, for the King was childless.
¶ It befell one summer that Harald the son of Godwin had to go a journey to Bretland (Wales) and fared he on a ship, but after they had set sail sprang up a contrary wind & they were driven out to sea.[§]¤ They made land westward in Normandy after undergoing a perilous storm. ¤ And putting into the town of Rouen found they there Earl William, who received Harald and his travelling companions joyfully, and Harald tarried there in good cheer for long during the autumn, for the tempests continued to blow and it was not weather for sailing out at sea. As winter was approaching spoke the Earl and Harald together concerning the dwelling of Harald there throughout the winter. Now Harald sat in the high-seat on one side of the Earl and on the other side of him sat the Earl’s wife, and fairer was she than any other woman whom men had seen. ¤ Harald and she would hold converse together all the time that the cups were going round, and when the Earl retired to rest, as he did betimes, Harald would sit long talking with the wife to the Earl, and so fared things for a long time during the winter. ¤ Once when they were talking together said she: ‘Now hath the Earl spoken with me hereon, and asked what it is we twain ever talk about, and now is he wroth.’ Harald answered: ‘We will forthwith let him know all our conversations.’ ¤ The day thereafter Harald called the Earl to speak with him, & went they to the council-chamber where were also the Earl’s wife and their councillors. ¤ Then Harald spoke the first and said: ‘This must I inform thee, Earl, that there is more in my coming hither than I have revealed to thee: I desire to ask the hand of thy daughter, and have oft-times spoken of this my wish to her mother, and she hath given me her word to support me in this matter with thee.’ ¤ When Harald had made known his desire, all those who were present received the news with gladness and supportedit with the Earl, and this matter was brought to end by the maid being betrothed to Harald; but since she was young some winters’ delay were agreed upon before the time of bridal.
¶ When spring came, equipped Harald his ship and sailed away, and he and the Earl parted in full friendship. ¤ And Harald fared to England, to King Edward, and returned no more to Valland to claim the marriage. King Edward ruled over England for twenty-four winters, & died a straw death in London, None Janurii (5th January); he was interred in St. Paul’s Church§and the English call him sainted. ¤ The sons of Earl Godwin in those days were the most powerful men in England. Tosti had been made captain over the host of the King, and warden of the land when the King began to wax old; and he had been placed over all other Earls. ¤ His brother Harald was ever within the court the next man to the King in all service, & his duty had been to guard the treasure of the King.§It is recorded by men that as the King was approaching to his end was Harald near by, and few other men, and Harald leant over the King and said: ‘I call all of ye to witness that the King gave me but now the kingdom, and all might in England.’ Then was the King borne dead from out his bed. That same day there was a meeting of lords and the taking of a King was discussed, and Harald then let his witnesses testify that King Edward on his death-day had given him the kingdom. ¤ This meeting ended in such fashion that Harald was hailed as King & consecrated with royal consecration in St. Paul’s Church on the 13th day;§when all lords and folk swore fealty to him. ¤ But when his brother, Earl Tosti, heard what had befallen, liked he it no whit, for thought he himself to be equally near the King. ¤ ‘I desire,’ quoth he, ‘that the lords of the land choose him for King whom they deem best fitted therefor.’ And such like words went between the brothers. ¤ King Harald declared that he would not giveup the kingdom for he had been throned in that city which had been the King’s, and had been thereafter anointed and consecrated with royal consecration; with him also sided the multitude, and he had moreover all the treasure of the dead King.
¶ Now when King Harald became aware that his brother Tosti desired to oust him from the kingdom believed he but ill in him, for Tosti was a very wise man and a great warrior, and was full friendly, to boot, with the lords of the land. ¤ So Harald deprived him from command of the host, and of all the power he had had aforetime more than other earls§there in the land. And Earl Tosti, who by no means would suffer himself to be the serving-man to his brother, fared away with his men, and so south to Flanders across the sea, and tarried there a while before faring to Friesland & thence to Denmark, to his kinsman King Svein. Earl Ulf the father to King Svein and Gyda that was mother to Tosti, were brother and sister. The Earl craved the aid of King Svein and men for his assistance, and King Svein bade him come to him & told him that he should have an earl’s realm in Denmark, such as would make him a seemly chief in that country. The Earl answered thus: ‘My desire is to fare back to England, to my heritage; but if I am given no assistance for that purpose from thee, King, then would I liefer make a pact to afford thee all the support I can procure in England, an thou wilt take the Danish hosts thither and conquer the land, even as thy mother’s brother Knut (Canute) conquered it.’ ¤ The King answered: ‘So much less a man am I than my kinsman King Knut that I have hard work to hold the Danish realm against the Norwegians. ¤ Knut the Old gat his Danish kingdom by inheritance but won England by warfare and strife, yet nevertheless at one time seemed he like to lose his life thereby. Norway gat he without battle. ¤ Now would I liefer keep within compass according to my smaller conditions than assay to rival the successof my kinsman Knut.’ Then said Tosti the Earl: ‘Lesser is my errand hither than I had thought for; I deemed not that thou, a bold man, wouldst let me go in need. It may be that I am seeking friendship where it is not meet to seek it. But natheless it may hap that I find a chief who is less afeared of great ventures than thou art, King.’ Thereafter they parted, the King and the Earl, and were not very well of one accord.
¶ Tosti the Earl now turned him another way: he fared onward to Norway, to King Harald who was in Vik, and when they met the Earl made he known his mission to the King, recounting to him all concerning his journey since he had left England. And he craved help of the King so that he might regain his dominions in England. ¤ But the King said as followeth: that the Norwegians had no wish to fare to England and harry with an English chief over them; ‘folk deem,’ said he, ‘that the English are not full trustworthy.’ The Earl answered: ‘I wonder if it is sooth, that which I have heard men say in England, to wit, that thy kinsman King Magnus despatched men to King Edward, with the message that he, Magnus, owned England with no less right than Denmark, that he inherited it from Hordaknut (Hardicanute) and that the pact was ratified by their oaths?’ The King answered: ‘Why did he not have it if he owned it?’ The Earl said: ‘Why hast thou not Denmark even as King Magnus had it before thee?’ The King answered: ‘Little have the Danes to plume themselves on above us Norwegians, for many a hole have we burnt in those kinsmen of thine.’ ¤ Then said the Earl: ‘Though thou wilt not tell me yet can I, nevertheless, tell thee how it was King Magnus took possession of Denmark, to wit, was it because the lords of the land there helped him, but thou gat it not because all the people of the land were against thee. King Magnus fought not to gain England because all the people desired to have Edward for their King. If thou wishest to conquer England then can I bring it about that many ofthe lords there will be thy friends and supporters, for nothing lack I against my brother Harald save the name of King. All men know that there has never been born in the northlands a warrior such as thou art. ¤ Astonished am I that thou who foughtest fifteen winters for Denmark will not take England which is lying at thy hand.’ King Harald pondered with care over what the Earl had said to him, and well wot he that in great measure had he said sooth; and added thereto conceived he the wish to conquer that kingdom. ¤ Thereafter the King and the Earl talked long & oft together, & in the end covenanted they an agreement that come the summer they would fare to England and conquer the country. King Harald sent round the whole of Norway calling out a levy, one half of the general war-muster. ¤ Now all this was much spoken of by men, and many were the guesses as to how things would go on the faring. Some reckoned & counted up all deeds of valour, swearing how naught would be impossible of King Harald, but said others that England would be difficult to conquer inasmuch as the people were exceeding numerous, & those warriors who were called the Thingmanna-host§so doughty that one of them was better than two of Harald’s best men. ¤ Thus answered Ulf the Marshal:
‘Never would the marshalsOf the King (uncompellingEver gat I riches)Turn them to the King’s stern-holdNoble woman, an twain should be pressed back byOne Thingman (other thanThat when young I learned me).’
‘Never would the marshals
Of the King (uncompelling
Ever gat I riches)
Turn them to the King’s stern-hold
Noble woman, an twain should be pressed back by
One Thingman (other than
That when young I learned me).’
¶ That spring Ulf the Marshal died, & Harald when he stood by his grave said ere he quitted it: ‘Here lies he that was ever the most faithful & the most dutiful to his lord.’ To Flanders also sailed Earl Tosti in springtide so that he should meet the men the which had followed him from England, with thoseothers also who were to join him from England and likewise from Flanders.
¶ The host to King Harald was gathered together in Solundir§and when all things were made ready and he was about to set sail from Nidaros went he to the shrine of King Olaf, and thrusting his hands into the sanctuary cut he off the hair and the nails pertaining to the saint, and thereafter turned he the key once of the shrine and then threw that same key into the Nid; and since that time forsooth hath the shrine of the holy King Olaf never been opened. ¤ Five and thirty winters had been encompassed since his fall, and five and thirty years had he lived in the world. ¤ Then King Harald and the men that were with him gat them a course southward to meet his host; or ever that time it was a mighty force that met together, and it is told among men that to King Harald were nigh upon two hundred§keels, besides victualling ships and smaller craft. When they were lying off Solundir a certain man named Gyrd, who was on the own ship to the King, dreamed a dream, and to him it seemed as though he stood on that same ship and beheld up on the isle a great troll-woman, & in one hand held she a short sword and in the other a trough. And to him also did it appear that he was looking at all the other ships, and on the prow to each was perched a fowl of the air, and all of those same fowl were either eagles or ravens. ¤ The troll-woman sang:
‘King from the east in soothTo battle incitethMany a warrior westward,(Joyful am I therefor);There may the raven findFor itself food on the ships(It knows enow there is);With thee will I ever fare.’
‘King from the east in sooth
To battle inciteth
Many a warrior westward,
(Joyful am I therefor);
There may the raven find
For itself food on the ships
(It knows enow there is);
With thee will I ever fare.’
¶ Now a certain man hight Thord abode on one of the shipsnigh to the own ship of the King, and on a night dreamed he that he saw the fleet to King Harald faring landward, and he seemed to wot that to England were they coming. ¤ Then he saw on the land a vast host of men & both hosts were making them ready for battle, and for each were many banners held on high. Before the host of the men of the land rode a swarth troll-woman, sitting on a wolf, and the wolf had the body of a man in its mouth, & blood flowed from the corners thereof. And when it had eaten the man she threw yet another into its mouth, and thereafter threw she one man after another, but notwithstanding made it scant ado at swallowing them all. And so she sang:
‘The troll makes the red shield gleam when war comes nigh.Bride of the giant-brood mishap to the King foretells.The quean with the jaws flings flesh of fallen warriors;Raging the wolf’s mouth she dyes red with blood.’
‘The troll makes the red shield gleam when war comes nigh.
Bride of the giant-brood mishap to the King foretells.
The quean with the jaws flings flesh of fallen warriors;
Raging the wolf’s mouth she dyes red with blood.’
¶ Furthermore it befell that King Harald dreamed one night and in his vision lo he was in Nidaros, and there met he his brother, King Olaf, who chanted a verse to him:
‘The burly King in many fights with honour conquered.I gat (because at home I stayed) a holy fall to earth.Still of this I fear me that death is nigh thee, King;The greedy wolves thou fill’st;Ne’er was this caused by God.’
‘The burly King in many fights with honour conquered.
I gat (because at home I stayed) a holy fall to earth.
Still of this I fear me that death is nigh thee, King;
The greedy wolves thou fill’st;
Ne’er was this caused by God.’
¶ Men spake low of many other dreams and omens of divers kinds, and the bulk of them were of ill import. Or ever King Harald left Throndhjem caused he his son Magnus to be accepted as King, and made he him ruler over the kingdom of Norway. ¤ Thora, the daughter of Thorberg, also remained behind, but Queen Ellisif fared forth with King Harald and with them likewise her daughters Mary and Ingigerd; Olaf the son to King Harald also fared with him from the land.
¶ When King Harald was ready, and a favourable wind had sprung up, sailed he out to sea & came to land at the Shetlands,but some of his ships went on to the Orkneys. King Harald lay at these isles a while or ever set he sail for the Orkneys, & from these latter took he with him many men & the Earls Paal and Erling, twain sons to Thorfin the Earl, but behind him left he there Queen Ellisif & their daughters Mary & Ingigerd. Thereafter sailed he southward alongside Scotland, & then alongside England, and went ashore there where it is called Cleveland. ¤ And being come on land forthwith harried he the countryside, bringing it into subjection under him, & withal encountering no resistance. Thereafter went King Harald into Scarborough, & fought there with the men of the town, and he went up on to the cliff there and ordered a vast bonfire to be made and a light thereto put, and when it was ablaze, his men took large forks and with them rolled it down into the town, and then one house after the other began to burn, so that there was naught for the townsmen to do save to surrender. There slew the Norwegians many men, and took all the goods whereon they could lay hands. No choice had then the Englishmen, an they wished to keep their lives, save to make submission to King Harald. ¤ Wheresoever he fared brought he the land into subjection, and he continued on his way southward off the coast with the whole of his host, bringing-to at Holderness, and there a band came against him, and King Harald did battle with them and gained the day.
¶ Now having come thus far on his journey King Harald fared south to the Humber and went up that river and lay in it beside the banks. ¤ At that time there were up in Jerirk (York) Earl Morcar and his brother Earl Walthiof and with them was a vast host. King Harald was lying in the Ouse when the host of the Earls swooped down against him. ¤ And King Harald went ashore and set to arraying his host, and one arm of the array was ranked on the banks of the river, whereas the other stretched up inland over towards a certain dyke, and a deep marsh was there, both broad, and full of water. ¤ TheEarls bade the whole multitude of their array slink down alongside the river. ¤ Now the banner to the King was nigh unto the river and there the ranks were serried, but near the dyke were they more scattered, and the men thereof also the least trustworthy. ¤ The Earls then came down along by the dyke, and that arm of the battle-array of the Norwegians which faced the dyke gave way, and thereon the English pushed forward after them and deemed that the Norwegians would flee. Therefore did the banner of Morcar fare forward.
¶ But when King Harald saw that the array of the English had descended alongside the dyke and was coming right toward them, then commanded he the war-blast to be sounded, and eagerly encouraged his men, and let the banner ‘Land-waster’ be carried forward; and even so fierce was their advance on the English, that all were repulsed and there fell a many men in the host of the Earls. ¤ This host was even soon routed, and some fled up beside the river and some down, but the most of the folk ran right out into the dyke, and there the fallen lay so thick that the Norwegians could walk dry-shod across the marsh. ¤ There too fell Earl Morcar.§Thus saith Stein Herdason:
‘Many in the river sank(The sunken men were drowned);All round about young Morcar of yore lay many a lad.To flight the chieftain put them;The host to swiftest runningOlaf the Mighty is.’§
‘Many in the river sank
(The sunken men were drowned);
All round about young Morcar of yore lay many a lad.
To flight the chieftain put them;
The host to swiftest running
Olaf the Mighty is.’§
¶ The song that followeth was wrought by Stein Herdason about Olaf ye son to King Harald, and he saith, the which also we wot of that Olaf was in the battle with his father. This is told likewise in ‘Haraldsstikka:’
‘There the dead layDown in the marshWalthiof’s fightersWeapon-bitten,So that they mightThe war-wonted horsemenThere wend their wayOn corses only.’
‘There the dead lay
Down in the marsh
Walthiof’s fighters
Weapon-bitten,
So that they might
The war-wonted horsemen
There wend their way
On corses only.’
¶ Earl Walthiof and those men that contrived to make their escape from out the battle fled even up to the town of York, and there it was that the greatest slaughter took place. This battle was on the Wednesday§or ever St. Matthew’s Day.
¶ Earl Tosti had come west (south) from Flanders to King Harald, and being even come to England joined himself with the Earl so that he had his part in all three battles. And now things came to pass even as he had told Harald at their meeting they would come to pass, to wit, that a number of men would flock to them in England, and these were both kinsmen and friends to Tosti; and their company added greatly to the strength of the King. ¤ After the battle whereof we have but now heard related, all the men of the countryside hailed King Harald, albeit some few fled. And now set King Harald forth to take the city, and placed he his host by Stanford Bridge,§but for the reason that the King had won so fair a victory over great lords and overwhelming odds were the people dismayed & deemed it hopeless to withstand him. Then took the citizens council together, & they were of one mind to send word to the King giving themselves and likewise the town into his power. This same was proffered even at such time that on the Sunday[§]fared King Harald and his men to the city, and there they held a council of war without the walls, and the citizens came out and were present at the council. ¤ Then did all the folk promise obedience to King Harald; and gave him as hostages the sons of great men even according as Tosti chose, for the Earl knew all men in this town; and in the evening fared the King to his ships elated with the victory he had won and withal was very joyful. ¤ Itwas furthermore covenanted there should be held a Thing in the city§early on that Monday when would King Harald appoint governors and grant fiefs and rights. Now that self-same evening, after the sun had gone down, approached King Harald Godwinson with a vast host the city from the south, and rode he into the city by the will and consent of all the citizens. ¤ Then were men posted at all the gates, and at all the roads, so that to the Norwegians there might get no tidings of what had befallen, and this host passed the night within the walls.
¶ On the Monday,[§]when Harald Sigurdson had eaten his fill at dinner, ordered he a blast to be sounded for a landing. And thereon made he ready his host and parted them, some to fare and some to tarry; and of each company he let two men go up for every one left behind. ¤ And Tosti the Earl prepared him to go up with his company, but to guard his ship there tarried behind Olaf own son to the King, Paal and Erling the Orkney Earls, and Eystein Blackcock, the son of Thorberg Arnason, who was in those days the man of most renown and withal dearest to the King of all feudatories, & King Harald had at that time promised him the hand of his daughter Maria. Very fine was the weather with warm sunshine, and wherefore because of this left the men their shirts of mail behind them and went with their shields and helms and spears, with their swords girded on; and many had likewise bows and arrows, and withal were they very merry. But as they advanced on the city, behold a great host rode out towards them and they saw the smoke of horses, and here and there fair shields and white coats of mail. Then halted the King his host and summoned Earl Tosti to him, and asked what manner of host this was like to be. ¤ And the Earl answered and said that he deemed it might be strife, yet nevertheless it might be that they were some of his kinsmen who were seeking for protection & friendship, & would promise the King their supportand fealty in return. Then the King said that they would first of all keep quiet and learn more particulars anent this host. So they did this, & the host waxed greater the nearer it came, and everywhere was it like a sheet of ice to behold, so white was the gleaming of the weapons.
¶ Then King Harald Sigurdson spake and said: ‘Let us now take goodly & wise counsel together, for it cannot be hidden that this forebodes strife, and most like it is the King himself.’ To which the Earl answered: ‘Our first course is to turn back and go our swiftest to the ships that we may fetch folk and weapons, and thereafter offer what resistance we can; or even might we also let the ships protect us and then no power would thehorsemenhave over us.’ Then said King Harald: ‘Another counsel will I choose, namely to send three bold fellows on our swiftest horses and let them ride hotly a’pace and impart to our men what hath befallen; then will they the sooner come to our aid, and a right sharp combat shall the Englishmen fight or ever we suffer defeat.’ The Earl answered and said that the King should decide in this matter as in all else: ‘no manner of desire had he either to flee.’ Then caused the King his banner ‘Land-waster’ to be borne aloft, and Fridrek was the man hight who bore the banner.
¶ After these things arrayed King Harald his host. ¤ And he let the muster be long and not dense, and then after doing this doubled he both the arms thereof backward so that they reached together and made a wide ring thick and even on all sides without, shield by shield, and the same within likewise; and the King’s company was without the ring and there too was his banner. ¤ In another spot was Earl Tosti with his company, and another banner had he, and the men to him were all picked men. Now the array was made in this fashion because the King wist that the horsemen§were wont to ride forward in a mass & thereupon fall back. Now said the King that his company should advance whithersoever it were mostneeded, ‘but our archers shall also be with us, and those who stand farthest forward will set their spear handles in the earth and point their spears at the breasts of the riders if they should ride us down, and those who stand in the next row will thrust their spears into the chests of the horses.’
¶ It was with an exceeding vast host that King Harald Godwinson had come thither, a host of both horse and foot-folk. Around his array rode King Harald Sigurdson having a wary eye to see how it had been ranked, and he bestrode a black piebald horse. ¤ Now the horse fell under him but the King arose in haste & said: ‘Falling when faring betokens fortune.’Then said Harald, the King of the English, to those Norwegians who were with him: ‘Knowest thou the big man yonder who fell from his horse, the man with the blue kirtle and the fair helme?’ ‘That is the King,’ said they. ¤ ‘A big man and of masterful appearance, yet belike his luck is over,’ answered the English King.
¶ Twenty horsemen rode forward from the Thingmanna host before the battle-array of the Norwegians; and they were wholly clad in chain-mail and their horses like unto them. Then said one horseman: ‘Is Earl Tosti in the host?’ to which was made answer: ‘There is no hiding it, ye can find him there.’ ¤ Then said the horseman: ‘Harald, thy brother, sent thee a greeting, and word therewith that thou shouldst have grace & the whole of Northumberland; and rather than thou shouldst not go over to him will he give thee a third share of the whole of his kingdom.’ Then answered the Earl: ‘That is a very different message from the strife and scorn of the winter: had it been offered then many a man would still be alive who is now dead, & more firmly too would the kingdom stand in England. Now if I should accept these terms, what would he offer King Harald Sigurdson for his pains?’ ‘He hath said something of what he would grant him in England, Seven feet of room or as much longer as he is taller than othermen,’ made answer that rider. ‘Fare thee now to King Harald and bid him make ready for battle,’ said the Earl, ‘other shall be said among Norwegians than that Earl Tosti quitteth King Harald Sigurdson for the fellowship of his foemen when he hath to fight in England. Nay, let us all rather be of one mind: to die with honour or to win England by conquest.’ Then did the horseman ride away, and King Harald Sigurdson asked of the Earl, ‘who was that long-tongued man, yonder?’ ‘That was King Harald Godwinson,’ said the Earl. ‘Too long was this kept from us,’ said King Harald Sigurdson, ‘they were come so nigh unto our host, that nought would this Harald have known how to tell of the death of our men.’ ‘True it is,’ said the Earl, ‘that such a chief went right unwarily, and that it might have been as thou sayest; I saw that he wished to offer me grace and much dominion, but that I should be his slayer an I said who he was. Rather would I that he should be my slayer than I his.’ Then said King Harald Sigurdson: ‘A little man was he, but firm in his stirrups.’ ¤ It is said that King Harald chanted this verse:
‘Forward go we in folk arrayWithout our mailUnder blue blades;The helmets shine,No mail have I;On the ships yonderOur garb doth lie.’
‘Forward go we in folk array
Without our mail
Under blue blades;
The helmets shine,
No mail have I;
On the ships yonder
Our garb doth lie.’
¶ Now the mail-shirt to Harald was hight ‘Emma,’ and it was so long that it reached down even unto the midst of his foot, and so strong that no weapon had ever lodged fast in it. Then said King Harald Sigurdson: ‘That was ill wrought; I must make another, a better verse in its place,’ and then he chanted this:
‘Ne’er do we in battleCreep behind our shields,The clash of weapons fearing(E’en so the word-fast woman bade me).Of yore the necklet-wearer bade meCarry high my head in battle,Where sword and shield do meet.’
‘Ne’er do we in battle
Creep behind our shields,
The clash of weapons fearing
(E’en so the word-fast woman bade me).
Of yore the necklet-wearer bade me
Carry high my head in battle,
Where sword and shield do meet.’
And Thiodolf likewise sang thus:
‘Never, if e’en the prince himself to earth should fall,(As God wills so goeth it)Will I flee from the heirs of the chief.The sun shines not better on these than these twain shine.Avengers of Harald are resourceful hawks full grown.’
‘Never, if e’en the prince himself to earth should fall,
(As God wills so goeth it)
Will I flee from the heirs of the chief.
The sun shines not better on these than these twain shine.
Avengers of Harald are resourceful hawks full grown.’
¶ And now they fall to battle, and the English ride onward toward the Norwegians, but the resistance is stubborn, and because of the shots it is not easy for the English to ride against the Norwegians, and so they ride round about them in a ring. At first the battle is altogether even, that is so long as the Norwegians hold their array, but the English charge them & then if they have done no hurt ride aback, and when the Norwegians see this, namely that the English seem to ride on them without spirit, set they themselves upon them and would have pursued them, but behold no sooner is the wall of shields broken than the English ride towards them from all directions bringing spears and shots to bear on them. And King Harald Sigurdson seeing this goeth forth into the brunt of the battle, even there where the hardest struggle is taking place, and many men falling from both hosts. ¤ King Harald Sigurdson waxeth so fierce that he runneth forward right out from the array, & heweth with both hands, & hath neither helme, nor shield holden before him. ¤ All those who are nighest to him draw aback, and far are the English from fleeing. Thus saith Arnor Earl’s-skald:
‘In battle swift the chief’s heart ne’er did quake,And the strong King the greatest courage showed ‘mid the helmes’ thunder,There, where in the hersirs’ chief the hosts saw this,That by his bloody sword the men to death were wounded.’
‘In battle swift the chief’s heart ne’er did quake,
And the strong King the greatest courage showed ‘mid the helmes’ thunder,
There, where in the hersirs’ chief the hosts saw this,
That by his bloody sword the men to death were wounded.’
¶ Now it happened that King Harald Sigurdson was wounded by an arrow in the throat, and this was his death-wound. He fell with the whole of that company which was advancing with him, save those that drew back; and these held stoutly to the banner. ¤ Yet a conflict full as hard was foughten after Tosti the Earl had taken his place under the King’s banner. Then both the hosts fell to arraying themselves for the second time, and an exceeding long truce was there in the battle. Thereof sang Thiodolf:
‘Mishap hath fallen on us,(in peril is now the host);In vain hath Harald brought usThis journey from the east.The chieftain shrewd’s life-passageSo hath ended that we now(the King bepraised his life lost)Row in peril of our lives.’
‘Mishap hath fallen on us,
(in peril is now the host);
In vain hath Harald brought us
This journey from the east.
The chieftain shrewd’s life-passage
So hath ended that we now
(the King bepraised his life lost)
Row in peril of our lives.’
¶ But ere the combatants again joined issue offered Harald Godwinson his brother Tosti grace, and he likewise offered grace to the other men surviving from the Norwegian host; but the Norwegians shouted out that they would rather fall one above the other, than accept quarter from the English. And thereon shouted they their war-cry, & then the battle began for the second time. ¤ Thus saith Arnor Earl’s-skald:
‘In an hour of misfortuneThe King austere gat death;The arrows gold-inwovenSpared not the robbers’ foe.Gentle and bounteous King—His friends choose all to fallRound their host-wonted chiefRather than quarter seek.’
‘In an hour of misfortune
The King austere gat death;
The arrows gold-inwoven
Spared not the robbers’ foe.
Gentle and bounteous King—
His friends choose all to fall
Round their host-wonted chief
Rather than quarter seek.’
¶ Now it befell that Eystein Blackcock came up just at that moment from the ships with his company, and they were in full armour, and Eystein gat him hold of the King’s banner ‘Land-waster,’ and for the third time the men fell to battle; exceeding sharp was it and the English lost men full heavily and were on the point of fleeing. That fray was called ‘Blackcock’s Brunt.’ Eystein’s men had hastened so furiously from the ships that at first, or ever they were come to the combat, they were weary and scarce fit for battle, but afterwards so raging were they that they defended themselves as long as they could stand upright. At the last cast they from off them their mail-shirts, and then was it easy for the English to find a vulnerable spot on them; but some who were unwounded yet died from their haste and fury. ¤ Nearly all the great men among the Norwegians fell at that time. ¤ This befell late in the day. ¤ As was to be looked for not all men fared alike in fortune, many fled & many who thus made their escape met differing fates. Mirk was it in the evening ere the slaughtering was brought to an end.
¶ Among those who escaped was Styrkar, the marshal of King Harald Sigurdson, & this befell from his getting him a horse and thereon riding away. Now a wind sprang up in the evening and the weather waxed somewhat cold, and Styrkar had no other apparel than his shirt, a helme on his head, and a naked sword in his hand. ¤ And he waxed cold as his weariness wore off. Then a certain waincarle came driving towards him, and this man had a lined coat. Styrkar said unto him: ‘Wilt thou sell thy jacket, peasant?’ ‘Not to thee,’ quoth he, ‘thou art a Norwegian, as I wist by thy tongue.’ ¤ ‘An I am a Norwegian what wilt thou do then?’ said Styrkar. ‘I would slay thee; but alack I have no weapon to do it with,’ the peasant replied. ‘If thou canst not slay me, peasant, I will make trial if I cannot slay thee,’ and therewith Styrkar swung his sword and brought it down on the man’s neck so that his head wascut off; and then took he the fur coat and springing on to his horse rode down to the shore.
¶ Now tidings were borne to the Rouen Earl, William the Bastard, of the death of King Edward his kinsman, & furthermore was it told how Harald Godwinson had been acclaimed as King of England and had been consecrated thereto. Now William deemed he had a better right to that kingdom than Harald, to wit by reason of the kinship betwixt him & King Edward, and withal furthermore inasmuch as he deemed it but fair to avenge himself on Harald for the slight of that broken betrothal with his own daughter. ¤ For all these self-same reasons, then, assembled William an host together in Normandy, and a multitude of men were mustered, with a goodly sufficiency of ships. And on the day that he rode from the city unto his ships, when he had mounted up on to his horse, his wife went to him & would have spoken with him, but when he saw this he thrust at her with his heel, setting his spur in her breast so that it penetrated deep therein, and she fell and straightway died.§But the Earl rode to his ships and fared with his host over to England. At that time was his brother Otta with him. ¤ When the Earl came to England plundered he there, & brought the land into subjection under him wheresoever he went. ¤ Earl William was bigger and stronger than other men, a good horseman, the greatest of warriors, and very cruel; a very wise man was he withal, but accounted in no wise trustworthy.
¶ King Harald Godwinson gave Olaf, the son of King Harald Sigurdson, permission to fare his way, and in like fashion treated he those men of the host who had been with the King and had not fallen. King Harald then turned southward with his host, for he had learned that William Bastard was faring northward through England, & was conquering the country. There were with Harald Godwinson at that time his brethren Svein,§Gyrd, and Walthiof. King Harald and Earl Williammet in the south of England at Hastings and a great battle befell there. ¤ In it were slain King Harald and his brother Earl Gyrd, & a great part of their host. Nineteen nights was it after the fall of King Harald Sigurdson,§Earl Walthiof, own brother to Harald, made good his escape by flight, and at even fell in with a band of William’s men; whereupon Earl Walthiof set fire to the forest and burned them all up. Thus saith Thorkel Skallson in Walthiof’s lay:
‘An hundred King’s own court-menThe warrior had burnedIn hottest fire (to the menAn eve of singeing was it).’Tis said that the men’Neath the wolf’s claw must lie;Gray steed of the troll-queanGave victuals to the swords.’
‘An hundred King’s own court-men
The warrior had burned
In hottest fire (to the men
An eve of singeing was it).
’Tis said that the men
’Neath the wolf’s claw must lie;
Gray steed of the troll-quean
Gave victuals to the swords.’
¶ Thereon caused William himself to be proclaimed King of England, and thereafter sent he to Earl Walthiof proffering him peace & appointing a truce so that a meeting might take place betwixt them. The Earl fared to it with but few men, and when he was come on the heath north of the castle bridge two of the King’s bailiffs advanced upon him with a band of men, and when they had taken him they put him in chains; thereafter he was beheaded. The English call him sainted.§Thus saith Thorkel:
‘’Tis doubtless that manly WalthiofBy William (he who from the southAcross the chill main came)Is bewrayed in his trusting.Sooth is that long ’twill beEre ends the slaying of menIn England (swift was my master.No prince like him doth live).’
‘’Tis doubtless that manly Walthiof
By William (he who from the south
Across the chill main came)
Is bewrayed in his trusting.
Sooth is that long ’twill be
Ere ends the slaying of men
In England (swift was my master.
No prince like him doth live).’
¶ Afterwards lived William as King of England for one andtwenty winters, and ever since have his descendants ruled as Kings of England.
¶ Now Olaf the son to King Harald Sigurdson took his men and fared away from England, sailing forth from Ravenseer whence they came in autumn to the Orkneys, & there learned they the tidings that Maria the daughter of King Harald Sigurdson had died of a sudden death on the self-same day and in that same hour as her father King Harald had perished. Olaf tarried in the Orkneys the winter through but the summer thereafter fared he east to Norway, and was made King there together with his brother Magnus. ¤ Queen Ellisif journeyed eastward with her step-son Olaf and her daughter Ingigerd. ¤ Skuli also, he who was afterwards called King’s-fosterer, & his brother Ketil Crook, likewise fared overseas with Olaf. The twain of them were doughty men, and noble in England, and both were very sage and well-beloved by the King. Ketil Crook fared northward to Halogaland and King Olaf gat him a good marriage, and from him are descended many great men. Skuli, King’s-fosterer, was a wise and strong man, very fair to behold; he became captain of King Olaf’s body-guard, lent his counsel at the Things, and ruled with the King in all governances of the land. King Olaf desired to give Skuli a province in Norway, whichever he was minded to have, with all the incomes and dues that the King held disposition over, but Skuli thanked him for this offer and said that he would liefer ask for other things because should there be a change of kings perchance the gift would be taken back: ‘I will,’ said he, ‘accept certain domains which lie nigh to the towns, where ye, Sire, are wont to be, and where the Yule feasts are held.’ So King Olaf gave him his word thereon, and made over to him lands in the east at Konungahella, and at Oslo, at Tunsberg, at Borg, at Bergen, and in the north at Nidaros. They were nigh upon the best estates at each place, and they have ever since been the possessions ofmen of the lineage of Skuli. ¤ King Olaf married Skuli to his kinswoman Gudrun Nefsteinsdotir, whose mother was Ingirid the daughter of King Sigurd Sow and his wife Asta. Asta was own sister of King Olaf the Saint & of King Harald. The son of Skuli and Gudrun was Asolf of Reini who was wedded to Thora the daughter of Skopti Ogmundson. The son of Asolf and Thora was Guthorm of Reini, the father of Bard, the father of King Ingi and Duke Skuli.
¶ On a winter after the fall of King Harald was his body transported from England to Nidaros and interred there in the Church of St. Mary, that selfsame church the which he himself had caused to be builded. ¤ It was allowed by all that King Harald had exceeded other men in wisdom & resourcefulness, both when he had been fain to act swiftly or had debated long, either for himself or others. The most valiant of all men was he, and victorious withal, even as hath been set forth this while:
‘The waster of Zealand’s dwellersIn boldness ne’er was lacking;Mind ruleth half of victory,And soothly Harald proveth it.’
‘The waster of Zealand’s dwellers
In boldness ne’er was lacking;
Mind ruleth half of victory,
And soothly Harald proveth it.’
¶ King Harald was stately and goodly to behold, fair hair and a fair beard had he, and a long moustache; of his eyebrows the one was somewhat higher than the other, & he had large hands and feet, but either shapely. Five ells was he in stature. Towards his foes was he cruel, and when withstood revengeful. Thus saith Thiodolf:
‘Sage Harald doth arroganceIn his thanes chastise;Methinks the King’s men bearBut that which they mete out.Such burdens bear theyAs for themselves they care to have(The law is used for each against the other);Thus doth Harald change revenge.’
‘Sage Harald doth arrogance
In his thanes chastise;
Methinks the King’s men bear
But that which they mete out.
Such burdens bear they
As for themselves they care to have
(The law is used for each against the other);
Thus doth Harald change revenge.’
¶ King Harald vastly loved power & all worldly advantages, but towards his friends, even to those whom he liked well, was he very bountiful. Thiodolf telleth us as followeth:
‘Of ships’-battle the awakenerFor my work a mark bestowed;To praise vouchsafeth heEach one who proveth him thereof worthy.’
‘Of ships’-battle the awakener
For my work a mark bestowed;
To praise vouchsafeth he
Each one who proveth him thereof worthy.’
¶ King Harald was fifty years of age when he fell. We have no tales of count regarding his up-growing, or ever he was fifteen winters old and was at Stiklastad, in the battle, with his brother King Olaf. Thereafter lived he for five and thirty years, and during all that time had ever turmoil and strife. King Harald never fled from any battle, but oft-times sought he expedients when the odds of war were against him. ¤ All men who followed him in battle or warfare avowed that when he found himself hard pressed or was obliged to make a swift resolution, he chose that course which afterwards all men saw to be the likeliest to avail.
¶ Halldor, the son of Bryniolf the Camel, hight likewise the Old, was a wise man and a great lord, and thus spake he when he heard the conversation of men in respect to the very different natures of King Olaf the Saint and his brother King Harald. ¤ ‘I was with both brothers,’ said he, ‘and high in favour, and I wotted the natures of both: never did I find two men so alike at heart. Both were very wise and valiant men, loving possessions and power, masterful, not lowly-hearted, overbearing, haughty, and quick to chastise. King Olaf constrained the people of the land to Christianity and the true Faith, but punished harshly those who turned a deaf ear to his commands. ¤ The chiefs of the land who would not suffer his even-handed dispensation of justice rose up against him and slew him in his own land, and it is for that reason he is called saintly. ¤ But King Harald harried for renown and dominion, bringing under his yoke all people that he couldbring under it, and he fell in the land of other kings. ¤ Both these brothers in normal life were men of religion and had regard for their honour; they were likewise travelled & vigorous in mind, & it is from such-like qualities that they waxed so far-famed.’
¶ King Magnus Haraldson ruled Norway the first winter after the fall of King Harald, but thereafter ruled he the land for two winters together with his brother King Olaf, and there were then two kings together, Magnus having dominion in the northern half of the land & Olaf in the eastern half. King Magnus had a son who was hight Hakon & his foster-father was Steig-Thorir; a youth of promise was he.
¶ After the death of King Harald Sigurdson,Svein, the Danish King, gave out that peace was at an end betwixt Norwegians and Danes, for the pact was made to endure only as long as both kings lived. So then were men mustered in both realms; King Harald’s sons called out a general-host and ships from Norway, and King Svein fared northward with the host of the Danes. ¤ And so it was that messengers were thereafter despatched betwixt the kings with offers of peace, and the Norwegians said that they would either keep to the covenant which had been made aforetime or fight. For that reason the following verse was sung: