Now came the messengers back to King Harald, bringing him the words of the girl, and saying she was so bold and foolish that she well deserved that the king should send a greater troop of people for her, and inflict on her some disgrace.Then answered the king, "This girl has not spoken or done so much amiss that she should be punished, but rather she should be thanked for her words.She has reminded me," said he, "of something which it appears to me wonderful I did not think of before.And now,"added he, "I make the solemn vow, and take God to witness, who made me and rules over all things, that never shall I clip or comb my hair until I have subdued the whole of Norway, with scat (1), and duties, and domains; or if not, have died in the attempt." Guthorm thanked the king warmly for his vow; adding, that it was royal work to fulfil royal words.
ENDNOTES:
(1) Scat was a land-tax, paid to the king in money, malt, meal, or flesh-meat, from all lands, and was adjudged by the Thing to each king upon his accession, and being proposed and accepted as king.
5.THE BATTLE IN ORKADAL.
After this the two relations gather together a great force, and prepare for an expedition to the Uplands, and northwards up the valley (Gudbrandsdal), and north over Dovrefjeld; and when the king came down to the inhabited land he ordered all the men to be killed, and everything wide around to be delivered to the flames.
And when the people came to know this, they fled every one where he could; some down the country to Orkadal, some to Gaulardal, some to the forests.But some begged for peace, and obtained it, on condition of joining the king and becoming his men.He met no opposition until he came to Orkadal.There a crowd of people had assembled, and he had his first battle with a king called Gryting.Harald won the victory, and King Gryting was made prisoner, and most of his people killed.He took service himself under the king, and swore fidelity to him.Thereafer all the people in Orkadal district went under King Harald, and became his men.
6.KING HARALD S LAWS FOR LAND PROPERTY.
King Harald made this law over all the lands he conquered, that all the udal property should belong to him; and that the bondes, both great and small, should pay him land dues for their possessions.Over every district he set an earl to judge according to the law of the land and to justice, and also to collect the land dues and the fines; and for this each earl received a third part of the dues, and services, and fines, for the support of his table and other expenses.Each earl had under him four or more herses, each of whom had an estate of twenty marks yearly income bestowed on him and was bound to support twenty men-at-arms, and the earl sixty men, at their own expenses.The king had increased the land dues and burdens so much, that each of his earls had greater power and income than the kings had before; and when that became known at Throndhjem, many great men joined the king and took his service.
7.BATTLE IN GAULARDAL.
It is told that Earl Hakon Grjotgardson came to King Harald from Yrjar, and brought a great crowd of men to his service.Then King Harald went into Gaulardal, and had a great battle, in which he slew two kings, and conquered their dominions; and these were Gaulardal district and Strind district.He gave Earl Hakon Strind district to rule over as earl.King Harald then proceeded to Stjoradal, and had a third battle, in which he gained the victory, and took that district also.There upon the Throndhjem people assembled, and four kings met together with their troops.
The one ruled over Veradal, the second over Skaun, third over the Sparbyggja district, and the fourth over Eyin Idre (Inderoen);and this latter had also Eyna district.These four kings marched with their men against King Harald, but he won the battle; and some of these kings fell, and some fled.In all, King Harald fought at the least eight battles, and slew eight kings, in the Throndhjem district, and laid the whole of it under him.
8.HARALD SEIZES NAUMUDAL DISTRICT.
North in Naumudal were two brothers, kings, -- Herlaug and Hrollaug; and they had been for three summers raising a mound or tomb of stone and lime and of wood.Just as the work was finished, the brothers got the news that King Harald was coming upon them with his army.Then King Herlaug had a great quantity of meat and drink brought into the mound, and went into it himself, with eleven companions, and ordered the mound to be covered up.King Hrollaug, on the contrary, went upon the summit of the mound, on which the kings were wont to sit, and made a throne to be erected, upon which he seated himself.Then he ordered feather-beds to be laid upon the bench below, on which the earls were wont to be seated, and threw himself down from his high seat or throne into the earl's seat, giving himself the title of earl.Now Hrollaug went to meet King Harald, gave up to him his whole kingdom, offered to enter into his service, and told him his whole proceeding.Then took King Harald a sword, fastened it to Hrollaug's belt, bound a shield to his neck, and made him thereupon an earl, and led him to his earl's seat; and therewith gave him the district Naumudal, and set him as earl over it ((A.D.866)).(1)ENDNOTES:
(1) Before writing was in general use, this symbolical way of performing all important legal acts appears to have entered into the jurisprudence of all savage nations; and according to Gibbon, chap.44, "the jurisprudence of the first Romans exhibited the scenes of a pantomime; the words were adapted to the gestures, and the slightest error or neglect in the forms of proceeding was sufficient to annul the substance of the fairest claims." -- Ed.
9.KING HARALD'S HOME AFFAIRS.