"We are, you know, reconciled men, according to the king's decision; so stand up, Thorkel."Thorkel replied, "The agreement which the king made as between me and Bruse stands good; but what regards the agreement with thee thou alone must determine.Although the king made conditions for my property and safe residence in Orkney, yet I know so well thy disposition that there is no going to the islands for me, unless I go there in peace with thee, Earl Thorfin; and therefore I am willing to promise never to return to Orkney, whatever the king may desire."The earl remained silent; and first, after a long pause, he said, "If thou wilt rather, Thorkel, that I shall judge between us than trust to the king's judgment, then let the beginning of our reconciliation be, that you go with me to the Orkney Islands, live with me, and never leave me but with my will, and be bound to defend my land, and execute all that I want done, as long as we both are in life."Thorkel replies, "This shall be entirely at thy pleasure, earl, as well as everything else in my power." Then Thorkel went on, and solemnly ratified this agreement.The earl said he would talk afterwards about the mulct of money, but took Thorkel's oath upon the conditions.Thorkel immediately made ready to accompany the earl on his voyage.The earl set off as soon as all was ready, and never again were King Olaf and Thorfin together.
108.EARL BRUSE'S DEPARTURE.
Earl Bruse remained behind, and took his time to get ready.
Before his departure the king sent for him, and said, "It appears to me, earl, that in thee I have a man on the west side of the sea on whose fidelity I can depend; therefore I intend to give thee the two parts of the country which thou formerly hadst to rule over; for I will not that thou shouldst be a less powerful man after entering into my service than before: but I will secure thy fidelity by keeping thy son Ragnvald with me.I see well enough that with two parts of the country and my help, thou wilt be able to defend what is thy own against thy brother Thorfin."Bruse was thankful for getting two thirds instead of one third of the country, and soon after he set out, and came about autumn to Orkney; but Ragnvald, Bruse's son, remained behind in the East with King Olaf.Ragnvald was one of the handsomest men that could be seen, -- his hair long, and yellow as silk; and he soon grew up, stout and tall, and he was a very able and superb man, both of great understanding and polite manners.He was long with King Olaf.Otter Svarte speaks of these affairs in the poem he composed about King Olaf: --"From Shetland, far off in the cold North Sea, Come chiefs who desire to be subject to thee:
No king so well known for his will, and his might, To defend his own people from scaith or unright.
These isles of the West midst the ocean's wild roar, Scarcely heard the voice of their sovereign before;Our bravest of sovereigns before could scarce bring These islesmen so proud to acknowledge their king."109.OF THE EARLS THORFIN AND BRUSE.
The brothers Thorfin and Bruse came west to Orkney; and Bruse took the two parts of the country under his rule, and Thorfin the third part.Thorfin was usually in Caithness and elsewhere in Scotland; but placed men of his own over the islands.It was left to Bruse alone to defend the islands, which at that time were severely scourged by vikings; for the Northmen and Danes went much on viking cruises in the west sea, and frequently touched at Orkney on the way to or from the west, and plundered, and took provisions and cattle from the coast.Bruse often complained of his brother Thorfin, that he made no equipment of war for the defence of Orkney and Shetland, yet levied his share of the scat and duties.Then Thorfin offered to him to exchange, and that Bruse should have one third and Thorfin two thirds of the land, but should undertake the defence of the land, for the whole.Although this exchange did not take place immediately, it is related in the saga of the earls that it was agreed upon at last; and that Thorfin had two parts and Bruse only one, when Canute the Great subdued Norway and King Olaf fled the country.
Earl Thorfin Sigurdson has been the ablest earl of these islands, and has had the greatest dominion of all the Orkney earls; for he had under him Orkney, Shetland, and the Hebudes, besides very great possessions in Scotland and Ireland.Arnor, the earls'
skald, tells of his possessions: --
"From Thurso-skerry to Dublin, All people hold with good Thorfin --All people love his sway, And the generous chief obey."Thorfin was a very great warrior.He came to the earldom at five years of age, ruled more than sixty years, and died in his bed about the last days of Harald Sigurdson.But Bruse died in the days of Canute the Great, a short time after the fall of Saint Olaf.
110.OF HAREK OF THJOTTA.