The king, whose hand is ever graced With gift to skald, his banner placed On, and still on; while, midst the play Of swords, sung sharp his good sword's sway As strong in arm as free of gold, He thinn'd the ranks of warriors bold."Then Eirik's sons turned northwards with their troops to Viken and marauded there; but King Trygve kept troops on foot with which he met them, and they had many a battle, in which the victory was sometimes on one side, and sometimes on the other.
Sometimes Eirik's sons plundered in Viken, and sometimes Trygve in Sealand and Halland.
11.KING HAKON AS A LAW-GIVER.
As long as Hakon was king in Norway, there was good peace between the bondes and merchants; so that none did harm either to the life or goods of the other.Good seasons also there were, both by sea and land.King Hakon was of a remarkably cheerful disposition, clever in words, and very condescending.He was a man of great understanding also, and bestowed attention on law-giving.He gave out the Gula-thing's laws on the advice of Thorleif Spake (the Wise); also the Frosta-thing's laws on the advice of Earl Sigurd, and of other Throndhjem men of wisdom.
Eidsiva-thing laws were first established in the country by Halfdan the Black, as has before been written.
12.THE BIRTH OF EARL HAKON THE GREAT.
King Hakon kept Yule at Throndhjem, and Earl Sigurd had made a feast for him at Hlader.The night of the first day of Yule the earl's wife, Bergljot, was brought to bed of a boy-child, which afterwards King Hakon poured water over, and gave him his own name.The boy grew up, and became in his day a mighty and able man, and was earl after his father, who was King Hakon's dearest friend.
13.OF EYSTEIN THE BAD.
Eystein, a king of the Uplands, whom some called the Great, and some the Bad, once on a time made war in Throndhjem, and subdued Eyna district and Sparbyggia district, and set his own son Onund over them; but the Throndhjem people killed him.Then King Eystein made another inroad into Throndhjem, and ravaged the land far and wide, and subdued it.He then offered the people either his slave, who was called Thorer Faxe, or his dog, whose name was Saur, to be their king.They preferred the dog, as they thought they would sooner get rid of him.Now the dog was, by witchcraft, gifted with three men's wisdom; and when he barked, he spoke one word and barked two.A collar and chain of gold and silver were made for him, and his courtiers carried him on their shoulders when the weather or ways were foul.A throne was erected for him, and he sat upon a high place, as kings are used to sit.He dwelt on Eyin Idre (Idre Isle), and had his mansion in a place now called Saurshaug.It is told that the occasion of his death was that the wolves one day broke into his fold, and his courtiers stirred him up to defend his cattle; but when he ran down from his mound, and attacked the wolves, they tore him into pieces.Many other extraordinary things were done by this King Eystein against the Throndhjem people, and in consequence of this persecution and trouble, many chiefs and people fled and left their udal properties.
14.JAMTALAND AND HELSINGJALAND.
Ketil Jamte, a son of Earl Onund of Sparabu, went eastward across the mountain ridge, and with him a great multitude, who took all their farm-stock and goods with them.They cleared the woods, and established large farms, and settled the country afterwards called Jamtaland.Thorer Helsing, Ketil's grandson, on account of a murder, ran away from Jamtaland and fled eastward through the forest, and settled there.Many people followed, and that country, which extends eastward down to the seacoast, was called Helsingjaland; and its eastern parts are inhabited by Swedes.
Now when Harald Harfager took possession of the whole country many people fled before him, both people of Throndhjem and of Naumudal districts; and thus new settlers came to Jamtaland, and some all the way to Helsingjaland.The Helsingjaland people travelled into Svithiod for their merchandise, and thus became altogether subjects of that country.The Jamtaland people, again, were in a manner between the two countries; and nobody cared about them, until Hakon entered into friendly intercourse with Jamtaland, and made friends of the more powerful people.
Then they resorted to him, and promised him obedience and payment of taxes, and became his subjects; for they saw nothing but what was good in him, and being of Norwegian race they would rather stand under his royal authority than under the king of Sweden:
and he gave them laws, and rights to their land.All the people of Helsingjaland did the same, -- that is, all who were of Norwegian race, from the other side of the great mountain ridge.
15.HAKON SPREADS CHRISTIANITY.