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 him2.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.