Olaf the Glorious: A Story of the Viking Age

by Robert Leighton

  CHAPTER XIV: THORIR KLAKKA.

  During all this time of Olaf Triggvison's wanderings Earl Hakon of Ladecontinued to hold the sovereign rule in Norway, and there was greatpeace in the land, with fruitful harvests and good fishing. In hisearly years he was very popular for his kindliness and generosity, hisfearless courage and his great strength in battle. But it seems thatthe greater power which he afterwards acquired disturbed the finebalance of his mind, and he became deceitful, even to his nearestfriends, and cruel to a degree which presently won for him the hatredof his people, who murmured against him in secret while fearing tobreak out into open rebellion.

  Earl Hakon knew nothing of the strong feelings that were rising againsthim, nor did he doubt that he should enjoy his power unmolested to theend of his days. One thought alone disturbed his sense of security. Itchanced that rumours had reached him concerning a certain viking whocalled himself Ole, and who was said to have won great renown in therealm of King Ethelred. Now Hakon was told that this same Ole had spenthis younger days in Gardarike, and he deemed that the lad must be ofthe blood of the Norse kings, for it was no secret that King TriggviOlafson had had a son who had fared east into Gardarike, and beennourished there at the court of King Valdemar, and that he was calledOlaf.

  Earl Hakon had sought far and wide for Olaf Triggvison, but in vain.Some men had, indeed, said that in the battle of the Jomsvikings theyhad seen a young champion, named Ole the Esthonian, whose aspect wasthat of the race of Harald Fairhair, and it was said that this samechampion was one of those who had been made prisoners and put to death.But, in spite of this story, Hakon still believed in the later rumours.He believed that the adventurous Ole the Viking was none other thanOlaf Triggvison, nor could he doubt that this daring young rover wouldsooner or later lay claim to the kingdom of Norway.

  As his own popularity grew less and less, Hakon looked forward withincreasing uneasiness to the inevitable conflict. He well understoodthe devotion of the Norse people to the family of Harald Fairhair, andhe now considered that his own safety could only be secured by thedeath of this possible rival.

  Earl Hakon had a great friend named Thorir Klakka, a man who had beenmany years at viking work, and had often gone on trading voyages toEngland and Ireland and other lands bordering on the Western Sea. Theearl spoke with Thorir and confided to him his plan, bidding him go ona trading voyage to Dublin, where Ole the Esthonian was then supposedto be living, and if it was found that this man Ole was indeed the sonof King Triggvi, or any other offspring of the kingly stem of thenorth, then Thorir was either to kill him or to entice him over toNorway where Hakon himself would deal with him.

  So without delay, Thorir went forth upon his mission, and sailed westinto Ireland. It was in the early springtime when he reached Dublin,and he was not long in learning that Ole was then living at the courtof King Kuaran, his brother-in-law.

  On a certain day Thorir was in the marketplace, buying some Irishhorses that were for sale. There was a beautiful white pony that hegreatly coveted, and he offered a high price for it. But there wasanother who offered yet more--a tall young man, with long fair hair andvery clear blue eyes, who wore a very beautiful cloak of crimson silkbordered with gold lace. Thorir at once knew him to be a Norseman, andhe also guessed that this was the man of whom he was in search. Now thepony at last fell to Thorir's bidding. Then Thorir took the animal byits halter and went and stood by the side of the handsome Norseman.

  "I beg you will take the pony as a gift from me," said he, speaking inthe English tongue; "for I see that you are a great lord in this land,and such a beautiful animal is better suited to such as you than to amere seafarer who has little use for it."

  "And why should I take such a gift from a stranger, who owes me nothingin the world?" returned Olaf Triggvison. "The pony is yours, my man,for you have bought it and paid for it in fair market. If it indeed bethat you have no wish to keep the animal, then I will gladly buy itfrom you at the price you paid. But I cannot take it as a free gift."

  Olaf paid him his price in gold of Ethelred's coinage, and sent thepony away in charge of one of his servants. But even when the businesswas over, Thorir did not seem willing to leave, but stood near to Olaflooking searchingly into his face.

  "Why do you linger?" asked Olaf. "Is there something so very unusualabout me that you stare at me so?"

  "There is much that is unusual about you, lord," answered Thorir; "andlittle marvel is there that I should look upon you with interest.Nowhere, save in my own birthland of Norway, have I ever seen a man sotall and strong and fair."

  "Certainly, there are many such men in Norway," said Olaf; "but alsothere are many in these western lands; as to which witness those whoare about us here in this marketplace."

  He glanced across to where his friend Kolbiorn Stallare was standing.

  "There is one at your back who seems not less strong than I."

  Thorir looked round at Kolbiorn, then back at Olaf. "You are well nigha head and shoulders taller than that one," said he; "and there is thatabout you which seems to tell me you have spent the larger part of yourlife in Norway."

  Olaf said: "Since I was a babe in arms, I have been but once in thatland; and then only during two changes of the moon or so. Nevertheless,I will not deny that there is indeed a vein of the Norse blood in me,and for that reason I should be well enough pleased to hear from yousome news of what has been happening in Norway these few summers past."

  "Little is there to tell," returned Thorir; "for, since the rascallysons of Erik Bloodaxe were driven from the land, there have been nogreat wars. True it is, that Earl Sigvaldi of Jomsburg did lately makean attempt to win dominion in Norway. He led his host of vikings, withI know not how many battleships, against Earl Hakon; but he wasdefeated with great slaughter and took to flight."

  "Of that famous fight I have already had tidings," said Olaf. "I haveheard that many well known vikings were vanquished on that day, andthat Vagn Akison was the only chief who stood his ground to the end."

  Thorir looked with quick eyes into Olaf's face, and said: "Yes, Vagnproved himself a valiant warrior in that encounter. But there was onewho was quite as brave and mighty as he--one who named himself Ole theEsthonian. Men say that this same Ole has since won great renown inEngland."

  Olaf smiled, but was silent for some moments. Then at last he began toask many questions concerning the Upland kings, and who of them wereyet alive, and what dominion they had. Of Earl Hakon also he asked, andhow well beloved he might be in the land.

  Thorir answered: "The earl is so mighty a man that he now has the wholeof Norway in his power, and none dares to speak a word but in hispraise. And yet," he added, remembering the terms of his mission, "EarlHakon is not all that a peaceful people would wish. Many would prefersome other monarch if they but knew where to find one better to theirtaste. A pity it is that there is no man of the blood of King HaraldFairhair living, whom the Norsemen could put upon the throne. None suchhave we to turn to; and for this cause it would little avail any mannot kingly born to contend with Earl Hakon."

  Now, when Olaf Triggvison heard these things, there came upon him acertain impatient desire to fare across to Norway and proclaim himselfa direct descendant of Harald the Fairhaired and the rightful heir tothe throne. So on the next day he again sought out the man Thorir, andwhen they had spoken together for a little while, Olaf said:

  "A long time ago, as I have heard, there was a young son of KingTriggvi Olafson who escaped with his mother, Queen Astrid, into Sweden.Has no one heard whether that lad lived or died? Why do none of theNorse folk seek him out and set him to reign over them in place of thisHakon, who is neither kingly born nor kingly mannered?"

  Thorir answered: "It was not for lack of trying that Queen Gunnhild didnot bring the child to his death. She pursued him far and wide; but thegods protected him and he escaped. It is said by many men that he fellinto bondage; others say that he took refuge in Holmgard, where KingValdemar reigns; and I have even heard it hinted that the
viking naminghimself Ole the Esthonian, who has lately been warring in England, isnone other than Olaf Triggvison. Howbeit, there now lives in Viken awoman who is said to be the widow of King Triggvi--Astrid is hername--and she has declared that her son Olaf is surely dead, else wouldhe have come back to Norway of his own accord to claim his greatinheritance."

  As he spoke these last words Thorir saw for the first time that achange had come into Olaf's face, and he deemed that here truly was theman whom Earl Hakon had sent him to entrap. Yet he held his own counselfor a while, believing that if this were indeed Olaf Triggvison thefact would speedily be brought to light, and that he would soon havesome chance of either putting him to death or of beguiling him into thehands of Earl Hakon.

  For many moments Olaf strode to and fro in silence. There was a newlight in his eyes, and his cheeks were flushed, and when he spoke therewas a tremor in his voice that showed how deeply this news of his longlost mother had affected him.

  "How long time is it since this woman, this Queen Astrid, came backinto Norway?" he asked.

  "Many years," answered Thorir.

  "Then it may be that she is already dead?" said Olaf.

  But Thorir shook his head.

  "That is not likely," said he, "for I saw her with my own eyes atYuletide past, and she was then living very happily with her husband inViken."

  "Her husband?" echoed Olaf. "And what manner of man is he? A kingsurely, for none but a king is worthy of such a wife."

  "He is no king, but a wealthy man and of good kin," returned Thorir."His name is Lodin, and he went oft on trading voyages aboard a shipwhich he owned himself. On a certain summer he made east for Esthoniaand there did much business. Now, in the marketplace of one of theEsthonian seaports many thralls were brought for sale, and, among otherthralls who were to be sold, Lodin saw a certain woman. As he lookedupon her he knew by the beauty of her eyes that she was Astrid, Erik'sdaughter, who had been wedded to King Triggvi Olafson. And yet she wasvery unlike what she had been in her earlier days, being pale now, andlean, and ill clad. So Lodin went up to her and asked her how it faredwith her, and how she came to be in such a place, and so far away fromNorway. She said: 'It is a heavy tale to tell. I am sold at thrallmarkets and am brought hither now for sale,' and therewith she, knowingLodin, prayed him to buy her and take her back with him to her kindredin Norway. 'I will give you a choice over that,' said he. 'I will takeyou back to Norway if you will wed me.' Then Astrid promised him somuch, and he bought her and took her to Norway, and wedded her with herkindred's goodwill."

  Then Olaf said, "This is indeed the gladdest news that I have heard formany a long year!" But the words had scarcely fallen from his lips whenhe realized that he had unwittingly betrayed his long kept secret, forwhy else should he look upon this as such glad news if he were nothimself the lost son of this same Queen Astrid? And it seemed thatThorir had already guessed everything, for he said:

  "Glad news must it always be when a son hears that his mother, whom hethought dead, is still alive."

  "I did not tell you that Queen Astrid was my mother," Olaf cried inassumed surprise.

  "There was no need to tell me," returned Thorir. "For even before I hadspoken a word with you I had guessed both your name and kin. You arethe son of King Triggvi Olafson. It was you who, in your infancy, werepursued through the land by Queen Gunnhild's spies. It was you who,escaping from Sweden with your mother, were captured by Esthonianvikings and sold into slavery. Then, by some chance which I know notof, you were received at the court of King Valdemar the Sunny.Afterwards you joined the vikings of Jomsburg and passed by the name ofOle the Esthonian. It was you who, in the sea fight against Earl Hakon,rivalled in skill and prowess the most famous vikings of allScandinavia. A pity it is that instead of going a-warring in Englandyou did not again direct your force against Earl Hakon and drive himfrom the throne which you, and you alone of all living men, shouldoccupy. It is you, and not Earl Hakon, who are the rightful king of allNorway. The realm is yours by the right of your royal descent from KingHarald Fairhair, and I make no doubt that were you to sail intoThrandheim fiord, you would at once be hailed by the people as theirdeliverer and accepted as their sovereign king."

  Thus with guileful speech and subtle flattery did Thorir Klakka seek toentice Olaf over to Norway, to the end that Earl Hakon might secretlywaylay him and bring him to his death, and so clear his own path of arival whom he feared. And Olaf, listening, received it all as the verytruth, nor doubted for an instant that the people were waiting ready towelcome him back to the land of his fathers.

  There were many reasons urging him to this journey. In the first place,his beautiful young wife, the Princess Gyda, had died very suddenlyonly a few weeks after their coming to Dublin. She had been taken offby a fever, and her death gave Olaf so much sorrow that he found nomore happiness in the home to which she had brought him. There was allher wealth for Olaf to enjoy if he had so wished, and he might evenhave become the king in Dublin. But he had wealth of his own and inplenty, and had no great desire to wait for the death of hisbrother-in-law before being raised to the Irish kingship. There wasalso the thought of again joining Queen Astrid, his mother, who haddone so much for him in his infancy, and who now, doubtless, believedhim to be dead. For her sake alone, if for no other, he wanted moreearnestly than ever before to go back to Norway. Moreover, he had heardfrom Thorir that the people of Norway were still strong believers inthe old gods, and in blood sacrifice and the worship of wooden images;he had heard that Earl Hakon was a bitter enemy of the Christians, thathe forebade his people to give hospitality to any christened man orwoman; and this knowledge had put a new ambition into Olaf's mind--theambition to establish the Christian faith throughout the length andbreadth of Norway.

  So not many days had passed by ere he got ready five of his ships andset sail. He took with him several Christian priests who had followedhim from England, and Thorir was in company with him. He sailed firstto the South Isles, and thence up north into the Pentland Firth. Herehe encountered a terrible storm. His seamen were afraid, but he calledupon them to put their trust in God, and they took new courage. Yet thestorm did not abate, so Olaf made for the Orkneys, and there hadshelter in a quiet haven.

  Right glad were the Orkney folk to see him among them once again, fornow they deemed that he had come to fulfil his former promise anddeliver them from the oppressive rule of Earl Hakon.

  Now Thorir had charged Olaf not to reveal his true name to any manuntil he should be safe in Norway and sure of his success. Accordinglythe islanders regarded him as a brave viking and nothing more.Nevertheless, they gathered round him, saying that they were ready andwilling to follow him across the sea and to help him to drive EarlHakon to his deserved doom. To test their fidelity Olaf summoned agreat meeting of the folk and called one of their jarls before him. Fewwords were spoken before Olaf, to the surprise of all present, declaredthat the jarl must let himself be christened or that there and then heshould die.

  "If you and your people refuse to be baptized," Olaf said, "then I willfare through the isles with fire and sword, and I will lay waste thewhole land!"

  Thorir Klakka laughed to himself at hearing this bold threat, and hethought how ill it would go with any man who should attempt such athing in Norway.

  But there was something in Olaf Triggvison's nature which compelledobedience. The Orkney jarl saw well that the threat was made in seriousearnest, and he chose to be christened.

  Now this meeting of the islanders was held on the margin of one of thelakes, where stood the heathen temple which Olaf himself had helped tobuild. And now he had his men pull down this temple to the ground, sothat not a stone of it remained standing in its place. Having thus madea semblance of banishing the old faith in Odin and Thor, he set aboutteaching the greater faith in Christ. He had in his company a certainpriest named Thangbrand, a mighty man who could wield the sword as wellas any viking, and whose voice was as the sound of thunder. Thangbrandstood up to his knees in the lake, and as
the people came out to him,one by one, he sprinkled them with water and made upon them the sign ofthe cross. Thus were all the islanders, men, women, and children, madeChristians. So when these ceremonies were over, Olaf weighed anchor andsailed out eastward for Norway.

  Ill content was Thorir Klakka at seeing with what ease Olaf Triggvisonhad gained influence over these people, and how ready all men were tofollow and obey him. If his power were so strong over men who owed himno allegiance, and who did not even know of his royal birth, how muchgreater must it be over the people of Norway, whose adherence to thefamily of Harald Fairhair would give them a double reason for obeyinghim? If Olaf should ever set foot in Norway and proclaim his real namethen it might go far more ill with Hakon of Lade than the earl hadsupposed, when he sent his friend Thorir across to Ireland. As theships sailed eastward across the sea Thorir thought this matter over,and it came into his mind that it would be better for Hakon's safetythat Olaf Triggvison should never be allowed to reach his intendeddestination.

  On a certain night Olaf stood alone at the forward rail of his ship,looking dreamily out upon the sea. The oars were inboard, and therewere but few men about the decks, for a good wind that was blowing fromthe southwest filled the silken sails and sent the vessel onward with arush of snowy foam along her deep sides, and there was no work to bedone save by the man who stood at the tiller. To the south the sea andsky were dark, but in the northern heavens there was an arch ofcrimson, flickering light, from which long trembling shafts of afainter red shot forth into the zenith, casting their ruddy reflectionsupon the waves. The gaunt, gilded dragon at the prow stood as thoughbathed in fire, and the burnished gold of Olaf's crested helmet, therings on his bare arms, the hilt of his sword, and the knitted chainsof his coat of mail gleamed and glanced in the red light as though theywere studded with gems.

  This red light, flashing in the midnight sky, was believed by theNorsemen to be the shining of Thor's beard. But as Olaf Triggvison nowlooked upon it from his ship's bow, he understood it to be a message ofhope sent from Heaven, beckoning him onward to his native land in thenorth, there to avenge his father's death, to reconquer his realm, andto reign as the first truly Christian King of Norway. And yet as hisvessel sailed on, plunging through the dashing foam, with her prowrising and falling within the wide span of that great rosy arch,strange doubts came over him, the old beliefs still lingered in hismind, and he began to think that perhaps his new learning was false,that Thor might after all be supreme in the world, and that this redlight in the sky was an evidence of his continued power, a visibledefiance of Christ.

  Olaf was thinking these thoughts when, above the wailing of the windand the swishing of the waves, he heard, or fancied he heard, someonewalking behind him across the deck. He turned quickly. No one could beseen; but his eyes rested upon the shadow cast by the hilt of his swordupon the boards of the deck. The shadow was in the form of the cross.The sign was prophetic, and in an instant all his doubts vanished.

  "Christ is triumphant!" he cried.

  The words were still on his lips when he heard the creaking of abowstring. An arrow flashed before him, struck against the peak of hishelmet and fell at his feet upon the deck. Then he saw the cloakedfigure of a man steal quickly away into the shadow of the sails.

  Olaf picked up the arrow and examined it. By a mark upon its shaft andthe trimming of its feathers he knew it to be an arrow taken from hisown cabin. He also knew that its point was poisoned.

  "Never did I suspect that I had a traitor in my following," he said ashe went aft towards his cabin. "Some man has attempted to take my life.But whosoever he be, I shall surely find him and punish him!"

  He searched among the shadows of the bulwarks and down among therowers' benches, but saw no trace of his secret enemy. When he enteredhis cabin he found only Thorir Klakka, lying, as it seemed, asleep uponthe floor with an empty drinking horn beside him and breathing heavily.Olaf thought that the man had been taking over much mead, so left himthere and went out upon the deck to tell his friend Kolbiorn of thisattempt upon his life. But as soon as Olaf was out of the cabin Thorirrose, wakeful enough now that he was alone, and took from under him alongbow which he placed in the rack.

  "The man bears a charmed life!" muttered Thorir, "or else he has eyesin the back of his head. Ill luck is mine! Had I but aimed a finger'sbreadth lower he would now have been dead, and Earl Hakon might havebeen saved the trouble of laying traps for him!"

  Throughout that night Olaf was engaged searching for his unknown enemy;but without avail. He questioned every man on board, but all swore bythe sign of the cross that they had seen nothing. For a time Olaf wasforced to suspect Thorir Klakka; but he soon dismissed the thought.Thorir's conduct towards him had been from the time of their firstmeeting so full of goodwill and seeming friendliness that it wasimpossible to fix suspicion on him, and indeed there was no man amongall the ship's company who showed more concern over this matter thandid Thorir, or who made greater efforts to discover the miscreant whohad dared to attempt the life of the well beloved chief.