



Produced by Douglas B. Killings





HEIMSKRINGLA

OR

THE CHRONICLE OF THE KINGS OF NORWAY

By Snorri Sturlason

(c.1179-1241)


Originally written in Old Norse, app. 1225 A.D., by the poet and
historian Snorri Sturlason.


TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:

The "Heimskringla" of Snorri Sturlason is a collection of sagas
concerning the various rulers of Norway, from about A.D. 850 to the year
A.D. 1177.

The Sagas covered in this work are the following:

  1.  Halfdan the Black Saga
  2.  Harald Harfager's Saga
  3.  Hakon the Good's Saga
  4.  Saga of King Harald Grafeld and of Earl Hakon Son of Sigurd
  5.  King Olaf Trygvason's Saga
  6.  Saga of Olaf Haraldson (St. Olaf)
  7.  Saga of Magnus the Good
  8.  Saga of Harald Hardrade
  9.  Saga of Olaf Kyrre
  10. Magnus Barefoot's Saga
  11. Saga of Sigurd the Crusader and His Brothers Eystein and Olaf
  12. Saga of Magnus the Blind and of Harald Gille
  13. Saga of Sigurd, Inge, and Eystein, the Sons of Harald
  14. Saga of Hakon Herdebreid ("Hakon the Broad-Shouldered")
  15. Magnus Erlingson's Saga

While scholars and historians continue to debate the historical accuracy
of Sturlason's work, the "Heimskringla" is still considered an important
original source for information on the Viking Age, a period which
Sturlason covers almost in its entirety.




PREFACE OF SNORRE STURLASON.

In this book I have had old stories written down, as I have heard
them told by intelligent people, concerning chiefs who have have held
dominion in the northern countries, and who spoke the Danish tongue;
and also concerning some of their family branches, according to what
has been told me. Some of this is found in ancient family registers,
in which the pedigrees of kings and other personages of high birth are
reckoned up, and part is written down after old songs and ballads which
our forefathers had for their amusement. Now, although we cannot just
say what truth there may be in these, yet we have the certainty that old
and wise men held them to be true.

Thjodolf of Hvin was the skald of Harald Harfager, and he composed a
poem for King Rognvald the Mountain-high, which is called "Ynglingatal."
This Rognvald was a son of Olaf Geirstadalf, the brother of King Halfdan
the Black. In this poem thirty of his forefathers are reckoned up, and
the death and burial-place of each are given. He begins with Fjolner, a
son of Yngvefrey, whom the Swedes, long after his time, worshipped and
sacrificed to, and from whom the race or family of the Ynglings take
their name.

Eyvind Skaldaspiller also reckoned up the ancestors of Earl Hakon the
Great in a poem called "Haleygjatal", composed about Hakon; and therein
he mentions Saeming, a son of Yngvefrey, and he likewise tells of the
death and funeral rites of each. The lives and times of the Yngling
race were written from Thjodolf's relation enlarged afterwards by the
accounts of intelligent people.

As to funeral rites, the earliest age is called the Age of Burning;
because all the dead were consumed by fire, and over their ashes were
raised standing stones. But after Frey was buried under a cairn at
Upsala, many chiefs raised cairns, as commonly as stones, to the memory
of their relatives.

The Age of Cairns began properly in Denmark after Dan Milkillate had
raised for himself a burial cairn, and ordered that he should be buried
in it on his death, with his royal ornaments and armour, his horse and
saddle-furniture, and other valuable goods; and many of his descendants
followed his example. But the burning of the dead continued, long after
that time, to be the custom of the Swedes and Northmen. Iceland was
occupied in the time that Harald Harfager was the King of Norway. There
were skalds in Harald's court whose poems the people know by heart even
at the present day, together with all the songs about the kings who have
ruled in Norway since his time; and we rest the foundations of our story
principally upon the songs which were sung in the presence of the chiefs
themselves or of their sons, and take all to be true that is found in
such poems about their feats and battles: for although it be the fashion
with skalds to praise most those in whose presence they are standing,
yet no one would dare to relete to a chief what he, and all those who
heard it, knew to be a false and imaginary, not a true account of his
deeds; because that would be mockery, not praise.

OF THE PRIEST ARE FRODE

The priest Are Frode (the learned), a son of Thorgils the son of Geller,
was the first man in this country who wrote down in the Norse language
narratives of events both old and new. In the beginning of his book he
wrote principally about the first settlements in Iceland, the laws and
government, and next of the lagmen, and how long each had administered
the law; and he reckoned the years at first, until the time when
Christianity was introduced into Iceland, and afterwards reckoned from
that to his own times. To this he added many other subjects, such as
the lives and times of kings of Norway and Denmark, and also of England;
beside accounts of great events which have taken place in this country
itself. His narratives are considered by many men of knowledge to be the
most remarkable of all; because he was a man of good understanding,
and so old that his birth was as far back as the year after Harald
Sigurdson's fall. He wrote, as he himself says, the lives and times of
the kings of Norway from the report of Od Kolson, a grandson of Hal of
Sida. Od again took his information from Thorgeir Afradskol, who was an
intelligent man, and so old that when Earl Hakon the Great was killed
he was dwelling at Nidarnes--the same place at which King Olaf Trygvason
afterwards laid the foundation of the merchant town of Nidaros (i.e.,
Throndhjem) which is now there. The priest Are came, when seven years
old, to Haukadal to Hal Thorarinson, and was there fourteen years. Hal
was a man of great knowledge and of excellent memory; and he could even
remember being baptized, when he was three years old, by the priest
Thanghrand, the year before Christianity was established by law in
Iceland. Are was twelve years of age when Bishop Isleif died, and at
his death eighty years had elapsed since the fall of Olaf Trygvason. Hal
died nine years later than Bishop Isleif, and had attained nearly the
age of ninety-four years. Hal had traded between the two countries, and
had enjoyed intercourse with King Olaf the Saint, by which he had
gained greatly in reputation, and he had become well acquainted with the
kingdom of Norway. He had fixed his residence in Haukadal when he was
thirty years of age, and he had dwelt there sixty-four years, as Are
tells us. Teit, a son of Bishop Isleif, was fostered in the house of
Hal at Haukadal, and afterwards dwelt there himself. He taught Are the
priest, and gave him information about many circumstances which Are
afterwards wrote down. Are also got many a piece of information from
Thurid, a daughter of the gode Snorre. She was wise and intelligent, and
remembered her father Snorre, who was nearly thirty-five years of age
when Christianity was introduced into Iceland, and died a year after
King Olaf the Saint's fall. So it is not wonderful that Are the priest
had good information about ancient events both here in Iceland,
and abroad, being a man anxious for information, intelligent and of
excellent memory, and having besides learned much from old intelligent
persons. But the songs seem to me most reliable if they are sung
correctly, and judiciously interpreted.




HALFDAN THE BLACK SAGA.


PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

Of this saga there are other versions found in "Fagrskinna" and in
"Flateyjarbok". The "Flateyjarbok" version is to a great extent a copy
of Snorre. The story about Halfdan's dream is found both in "Fagrskinna"
and in "Flateyjarbok". The probability is that both Snorre and
the author of "Fagrskinna" must have transcribed the same original
text.--Ed.




1. HALFDAN FIGHTS WITH GANDALF AND SIGTRYG.

Halfdan was a year old when his father was killed, and his mother Asa
set off immediately with him westwards to Agder, and set herself there
in the kingdom which her father Harald had possessed. Halfdan grew up
there, and soon became stout and strong; and, by reason of his black
hair, was called Halfdan the Black. When he was eighteen years old he
took his kingdom in Agder, and went immediately to Vestfold, where he
divided that kingdom, as before related, with his brother Olaf. The same
autumn he went with an army to Vingulmark against King Gandalf. They had
many battles, and sometimes one, sometimes the other gained the victory;
but at last they agreed that Halfdan should have half of Vingulmark,
as his father Gudrod had had it before. Then King Halfdan proceeded to
Raumarike, and subdued it. King Sigtryg, son of King Eystein, who then
had his residence in Hedemark, and who had subdued Raumarike before,
having heard of this, came out with his army against King Halfdan, and
there was great battle, in which King Halfdan was victorious; and just
as King Sigtryg and his troops were turning about to fly, an arrow
struck him under the left arm, and he fell dead. Halfdan then laid the
whole of Raumarike under his power. King Eystein's second son, King
Sigtryg's brother, was also called Eystein, and was then king in
Hedemark. As soon as Halfdan had returned to Vestfold, King Eystein went
out with his army to Raumarike, and laid the whole country in subjection
to him.




2. BATTLE BETWEEN HALFDAN AND EYSTEIN.

When King Halfdan heard of these disturbances in Raumarike, he again
gathered his army together; and went out against King Eystein. A battle
took place between them, and Halfdan gained the victory, and Eystein
fled up to Hedemark, pursued by Halfdan. Another battle took place, in
which Halfdan was again victorious; and Eystein fled northwards, up
into the Dales to the herse Gudbrand. There he was strengthened with
new people, and in winter he went towards Hedemark, and met Halfdan the
Black upon a large island which lies in the Mjosen lake. There a great
battle was fought, and many people on both sides were slain, but Halfdan
won the victory. There fell Guthorm, the son of the herse Gudbrand, who
was one of the finest men in the Uplands. Then Eystein fled north up the
valley, and sent his relation Halvard Skalk to King Halfdan to beg for
peace. On consideration of their relationship, King Halfdan gave King
Eystein half of Hedemark, which he and his relations had held before;
but kept to himself Thoten, and the district called Land. He likewise
appropriated to himself Hadeland, and thus became a mighty king.




3. HALFDAN'S MARRIAGE

Halfdan the Black got a wife called Ragnhild, a daughter of Harald
Gulskeg (Goldbeard), who was a king in Sogn. They had a son, to whom
Harald gave his own name; and the boy was brought up in Sogn, by his
mother's father, King Harald. Now when this Harald had lived out his
days nearly, and was become weak, having no son, he gave his dominions
to his daughter's son Harald, and gave him his title of king; and he
died soon after. The same winter his daughter Ragnhild died; and the
following spring the young Harald fell sick and died at ten years of
age. As soon as Halfdan the Black heard of his son's death, he took the
road northwards to Sogn with a great force, and was well received. He
claimed the heritage and dominion after his son; and no opposition being
made, he took the whole kingdom. Earl Atle Mjove (the Slender), who was
a friend of King Halfdan, came to him from Gaular; and the king set
him over the Sogn district, to judge in the country according to the
country's laws, and collect scat upon the king's account. Thereafter
King Halfdan proceeded to his kingdom in the Uplands.




4. HALFDAN'S STRIFE WITH GANDALF'S SONS.

In autumn, King Halfdan proceeded to Vingulmark. One night when he was
there in guest quarters, it happened that about midnight a man came to
him who had been on the watch on horseback, and told him a war force was
come near to the house. The king instantly got up, ordered his men to
arm themselves, and went out of the house and drew them up in battle
order. At the same moment, Gandalf's sons, Hysing and Helsing, made
their appearance with a large army. There was a great battle; but
Halfdan being overpowered by the numbers of people fled to the forest,
leaving many of his men on this spot. His foster-father, Olver Spake
(the Wise), fell here. The people now came in swarms to King Halfdan,
and he advanced to seek Gandalf's sons. They met at Eid, near Lake
Oieren, and fought there. Hysing and Helsing fell, and their brother
Hake saved himself by flight. King Halfdan then took possession of the
whole of Vingulmark, and Hake fled to Alfheimar.




5. HALFDAN'S MARRIAGE WITH HJORT'S DAUGHTER.

Sigurd Hjort was the name of a king in Ringerike, who was stouter and
stronger than any other man, and his equal could not be seen for a
handsome appearance. His father was Helge Hvasse (the Sharp); and his
mother was Aslaug, a daughter of Sigurd the worm-eyed, who again was a
son of Ragnar Lodbrok. It is told of Sigurd that when he was only twelve
years old he killed in single combat the berserk Hildebrand, and eleven
others of his comrades; and many are the deeds of manhood told of him in
a long saga about his feats. Sigurd had two children, one of whom was
a daughter, called Ragnhild, then twenty years of age, and an excellent
brisk girl. Her brother Guthorm was a youth. It is related in regard
to Sigurd's death that he had a custom of riding out quite alone in the
uninhabited forest to hunt the wild beasts that are hurtful to man, and
he was always very eager at this sport. One day he rode out into the
forest as usual, and when he had ridden a long way he came out at a
piece of cleared land near to Hadeland. There the berserk Hake came
against him with thirty men, and they fought. Sigurd Hjort fell there,
after killing twelve of Hake's men; and Hake himself lost one hand, and
had three other wounds. Then Hake and his men rode to Sigurd's house,
where they took his daughter Ragnhild and her brother Guthorm, and
carried them, with much property and valuable articles, home to
Hadeland, where Hake had many great farms. He ordered a feast to be
prepared, intending to hold his wedding with Ragnhild; but the time
passed on account of his wounds, which healed slowly; and the berserk
Hake of Hadeland had to keep his bed, on account of his wounds, all the
autumn and beginning of winter. Now King Halfdan was in Hedemark at the
Yule entertainments when he heard this news; and one morning early, when
the king was dressed, he called to him Harek Gand, and told him to go
over to Hadeland, and bring him Ragnhild, Sigurd Hjort's daughter. Harek
got ready with a hundred men, and made his journey so that they came
over the lake to Hake's house in the grey of the morning, and beset all
the doors and stairs of the places where the house-servants slept. Then
they broke into the sleeping-room where Hake slept, took Ragnhild, with
her brother Guthorm, and all the goods that were there, and set fire
to the house-servants' place, and burnt all the people in it. Then they
covered over a magnificent waggon, placed Ragnhild and Guthorm in it,
and drove down upon the ice. Hake got up and went after them a while;
but when he came to the ice on the lake, he turned his sword-hilt to
the ground and let himself fall upon the point, so that the sword went
through him. He was buried under a mound on the banks of the lake. When
King Halfdan, who was very quick of sight, saw the party returning over
the frozen lake, and with a covered waggon, he knew that their errand