King Harald Sigurdson said to the earl, "Who was the man who spoke so well?"The earl replied, "That was King Harald Godwinson."Then, said King Harald Sigurdson, "That was by far too long concealed from me; for they had come so near to our army, that this Harald should never have carried back the tidings of our men's slaughter."Then said the earl, "It was certainly imprudent for such chiefs, and it may be as you say; but I saw he was going to offer me peace and a great dominion, and that, on the other hand, I would be his murderer if I betrayed him; and I would rather he should be my murderer than I his, if one of two be to die."King Harald Sigurdson observed to his men, "That was but a little man, yet he sat firmly in his stirrups."It is said that Harald made these verses at this time: --"Advance! advance!
No helmets glance, But blue swords play In our array.
Advance! advance!
No mail-coats glance, But hearts are here That ne'er knew fear."His coat of mail was called Emma; and it was so long that it reached almost to the middle of his leg, and so strong that no weapon ever pierced it.Then said King Harald Sigurdson, "These verses are but ill composed; I must try to make better;" and he composed the following: --"In battle storm we seek no lee, With skulking head, and bending knee, Behind the hollow shield.
With eye and hand we fend the head;
Courage and skill stand in the stead Of panzer, helm, and shield, In hild's bloody field."Thereupon Thiodolf sang: --"And should our king in battle fall, --
A fate that God may give to all, --
His sons will vengeance take;
And never shone the sun upon Two nobler eaglet; in his run, And them we'll never forsake."95.OF THE BEGINNING OF THE BATTLE.
Now the battle began.The Englishmen made a hot assault upon the Northmen, who sustained it bravely.It was no easy matter for the English to ride against the Northmen on account of their spears; therefore they rode in a circle around them.And the fight at first was but loose and light, as long as the Northmen kept their order of battle; for although the English rode hard against the Northmen, they gave way again immediately, as they could do nothing against them.Now when the Northmen thought they perceived that the enemy were making but weak assaults, they set after them, and would drive them into flight; but when they had broken their shield-rampart the Englishmen rode up from all sides, and threw arrows and spears on them.Now when King Harald Sigurdson saw this, he went into the fray where the greatest crash of weapons was, and there was a sharp conflict, in which many people fell on both sides.King Harald then was in a rage, and ran out in front of the array, and hewed down with both hands; so that neither helmet nor armour could withstand him, and all who were nearest gave way before him.It was then very near with the English that they had taken to flight.So says Arnor, the earls' skald: --"Where battle-storm was ringing, Where arrow-cloud was singing, Harald stood there, Of armour bare, His deadly sword still swinging.
The foeman feel its bite;
His Norsemen rush to fight, Danger to share, With Harald there, Where steel on steel was ringing."96.FALL OF KING HARALD.
King Harald Sigurdson was hit by an arrow in the windpipe, and that was his death-wound.He fell, and all who had advanced with him, except those who retired with the banner.There was afterwards the warmest conflict, and Earl Toste had taken charge of the king's banner.They began on both sides to form their array again, and for a long time there was a pause in fighting.
Then Thiodolf sang these verses: --
"The army stands in hushed dismay;
Stilled is the clamour of the fray.
Harald is dead, and with him goes The spirit to withstand our foes.
A bloody scat the folk must pay For their king's folly on this day.
He fell; and now, without disguise, We say this business was not wise."But before the battle began again Harald Godwinson offered his brother, Earl Toste, peace, and also quarter to the Northmen who were still alive; but the Northmen called out, all of them together, that they would rather fall, one across the other, than accept of quarter from the Englishmen.Then each side set up a war-shout, and the battle began again.So says Arnor, the earls'
skald: --
"The king, whose name would ill-doers scare, The gold-tipped arrow would not spare.
Unhelmed, unpanzered, without shield, He fell among us in the field.
The gallant men who saw him fall Would take no quarter; one and all Resolved to die with their loved king, Around his corpse in a corpse-ring."97.SKIRMISH OF ORRE.
Eystein Orre came up at this moment from the ships with the men who followed him, and all were clad in armour.Then Eystein got King Harald's banner Land-ravager; and now was, for the third time, one of the sharpest of conflicts, in which many Englishmen fell, and they were near to taking flight.This conflict is called Orre's storm.Eystein and his men had hastened so fast from the ships that they were quite exhausted, and scarcely fit to fight before they came into the battle; but afterwards they became so furious, that they did not guard themselves with their shields as long as they could stand upright.At last they threw off their coats of ringmail, and then the Englishmen could easily lay their blows at them; and many fell from weariness, and died without a wound.Thus almost all the chief men fell among the Norway people.This happened towards evening; and then it went, as one might expect, that all had not the same fate, for many fled, and were lucky enough to escape in various ways; and darkness fell before the slaughter was altogether ended.
98.OF STYRKAR THE MARSHAL.