Olaf the Glorious: A Story of the Viking Age

by Robert Leighton

  CHAPTER XV: THE EVIL EARL.

  Early on the next morning the ships were within sight of the high lyingcoast of Norway. By Thorir's treacherous advice, Olaf had steered hiscourse for a part of the country where Earl Hakon's power was greatest,and where it was expected that Hakon himself might at that time bestaying. Steering in among the skerries Olaf made a landing on theisland of Moster, in the shire of Hordaland. Here he raised his landtent and planted in front of it the cross, together with his ownstandard; and when all the men were ashore he had his priests celebratethe mass. He met with no opposition, for the people of the place werethen busy on their fields, and there was nothing unusual in the sightof a few peaceful ships anchoring off their shores.

  Thorir had advised a landing on this particular island because, as ithad been arranged, he knew that here he would gain private news of EarlHakon, and learn how he might best betray King Olaf into Hakon'sclutches. When Thorir heard, therefore, that the earl was at Trondelag,he told Olaf that there was nothing for him to do but to keep it wellhidden who he was, and to sail northward with all diligence, so that hemight attack Earl Hakon unawares and slay him. At the same time he sentsecret word to Hakon, bidding him prepare his plans for the slaying ofOlaf Triggvison.

  Believing every word that Thorir told him, and trusting in the man'sseeming honesty, Olaf accepted the advice, and fared northward day andnight until he came to Agdaness, at the mouth of the Thrandheim fiord,and here he made a landing.

  Now a great surprise was in store for Thorir Klakka. All this time,since his setting out west to Ireland in search of Olaf, he had restedassured that the power of Earl Hakon was unassailable, and that thebonders, or landholders, were not only well disposed towards him, butalso ready to stand firmly by him through all dangers. He hadintentionally deceived Olaf Triggvison by representing that the earlmight easily be overthrown and his subjects as easily won over to theside of a new king. To his great dismay he now discovered that, whiletelling a wilful untruth, he had all the time been unwittinglyrepresenting the actual condition of the country. During the absence ofThorir from Norway, Hakon had committed certain acts which had gainedfor him the hatred and contempt of the whole nation. The peasants ofThrandheim were united in open rebellion against him; they had sent awar summons through the countryside, and had gathered in great numbers,intending to fall upon the Evil Earl and slay him.

  Olaf Triggvison could not, therefore, have chosen a more promisingmoment for his arrival in the land. He had only to make himself knownin order to secure the immediate allegiance and homage of the people.

  When Olaf entered the mouth of the fiord with his five longships andanchored off Agdaness, he heard that Earl Hakon was lying with hisships farther up the firth, and also that he was at strife with thebonders. So Olaf made no delay, but weighed anchor again and rowed eastinto the sunlit fiord. He had not gone very far when, from behind arocky headland, three vessels of war appeared upon the blue water,rowing out to meet him, with their red battle shields displayed. Butsuddenly, as they drew nearer to him, they turned about towards theland and fled in all haste. Olaf made no doubt that they were Hakon'sships, so he put extra men to the oars and bade them give chase.

  Now the retreating ships were commanded, not by Earl Hakon, but by hisfavourite son Erland, who had come into the fiord to his father's helpagainst the bonders. When Erland found that he was being pursued agreat fear came upon him lest he should be driven farther into thefiord and into the clutches of the bonders, whom he knew to be waitingto give him battle, so when he saw that Olaf was coming close upon himhe ran his ships aground, leapt overboard, and straightway made for theshore.

  Then Olaf brought his five ships close in upon him and assailed himwith arrows, killing many of his men as they swam to land. Olaf saw aman swimming past who was exceedingly fair; so he caught up the tiller,and, taking good aim, flung it at him, striking him on the head. Thisman was Erland himself, and so he lost his life.

  Olaf and his folk took many of the men prisoners and made them take thepeace. From them he heard the tidings that Earl Hakon had taken flightand that all his warriors had deserted him.

  Now, when this little battle was over, and Erland's ships had beencaptured, Olaf Triggvison rowed yet farther into the fiord toTrondelag, where all the chieftains and peasants were assembled. Herehe went ashore and, dressed in his finest body armour, with histowering gold helmet and his cloak of crimson silk, walked up into themidst of the people, attended only by his friend Kolbiorn Stallare andtwo guards.

  The peasants stared at him amazed, wondering what manner of great manthis was who had so suddenly appeared before them. And two of theirchieftains went forward to meet him, uncovering their heads. One askedhim his name and the reason of his coming.

  "Your questions are soon answered," said he; and the clear ring of hisvoice was heard even by those who stood far apart. "I am come to offermyself to the people of this land, to defend them against all wrong,and to uphold their laws and rights. My name is Olaf. I am the son ofKing Triggvi Olafson, who was the grandson of King Harald Fairhair."

  At hearing these words the whole crowd of people arose with one accordand rent the air with their joyous greetings, for it needed no greatproof for them to be assured that he was indeed of the race of the oldkings of Norway. Some of the elder men, seeing him, declared that hewas surely King Hakon the Good come back to earth again, younger andfairer and nobler than he had been of yore. The young warriors whostood near were lost in admiration of his tall and handsome figure, ofhis giant strength, his large clear eyes and long golden hair, and theyenvied him the splendour of his costly armour and beautiful clothing.To follow such a man into battle, they thought, would be worth all theglories of Valhalla.

  "All hail to King Olaf!" they cried. And the cry was echoed upon everyside.

  Many of those present wanted Olaf to be at once formally proclaimedking of all Norway, but others of the more sober sort objected.

  "King he shall surely be," they said. "But let him be made so withoutundue haste. Let him first prove his worthiness by some act of prowess."

  "I am ready to prove it in whatsoever way you wish," said Olaf. "Whatwould you have me do?"

  One of the chieftains then stepped in front of him and said:

  "There is one thing, lord, that we would have you do; and by the doingof it you would gain the gratitude of every man and woman inThrandheim."

  "And what thing is that?" asked Olaf.

  "It is that you shall follow in pursuit of Earl Hakon and bring him tohis bane."

  "Gladly will I pursue him," returned Olaf, "if I may know whatdirection he has taken, or in what part of the land I may most surelyfind him."

  Then the chieftain called one of the young warriors to him andquestioned him closely concerning Hakon.

  The young man explained that the earl had escaped from out of Gauldale,where he had been in hiding, and that he had gone off attended only bya certain thrall named Kark. Men had given chase to him, and at theedge of a deep morass they had found the footprints of the earl'shorse. Following the footprints they had come into the middle of themorass, and there they found the horse itself struggling in the mire,with Hakon's cloak lying near, seeming to show that the morass had beenhis death.

  "Earl Hakon is wily enough to have put both horse and cloak in themorass with intent to deceive his pursuers," said one of thebystanders. "For my own part I would stake my hopes of Valhalla upon itthat he might even now be found at the farmstead of Thora of Rimul; forThora is his dearest friend of all the dale folk."

  Thora of Rimul sat spinning at the doorway of her home in a sheltereddale among the hills. The birch trees were breaking out into freshbuds, the young lambs gambolled on the flowery knolls, and the air wasmusical with the songs of birds. Thora was considered the fairest womanin all Thrandheim. Her hair was as fair as the flax upon her spindle,and her eyes were as blue as the clear sky above her head. Her heartwas lightsome, too; for she had won the love of the great EarlHakon--Hakon, the conq
ueror of the vikings of Jomsburg, the proud rulerof all Norway. It was he who had given her the gold ring that was nowupon her white finger, and he had promised her that he would make herhis queen. She did not believe that what people said of him wastrue--that he was black of heart, and cruel and base. His hollow wordshad not sounded hollow to her ears nor had she seen anything ofdeceitfulness in his eyes.

  He had praised her beauty and declared that he loved her, and so sheloved him in return.

  As she sat there spinning, there was a sudden commotion among the ewesand lambs. She looked up and beheld two men standing in the shadow ofthe trees. One of them presently left the other and came towards her.He was a low browed, evil looking man, with a bushy black beard andlong tangled hair. She rose and went to meet him, knowing him for Kark,Earl Hakon's thrall. He bade her go in among the trees, where the earlwas waiting. So she went on into the wood, wondering why Hakon had notcome forth and greeted her in the open as was his custom.

  Now, so soon as she saw him she knew that some great ill had happened,for his hands trembled and his legs shook under him. His eyes that shehad thought so beautiful were bleared and bloodshot, and there weredeep lines about his face which she had never before seen. It seemed toher that he had suddenly become a decrepit old man.

  "Why do you tremble so?" she asked as she took his hand.

  He looked about him in fear.

  "Hide me!" he cried. "Hide me! I am in danger. Shame and death areovertaking me. The young King Olaf is in the land, and he is hunting medown!"

  "And who is the young King Olaf that he has power to fill the heart ofthe great Earl Hakon with terror?" asked Thora. "You who havevanquished the vikings of Jomsburg can surely withstand the enmity ofone weak man."

  "Not so," answered Hakon in a trembling voice. "King Olaf is mightierfar than I. And he has the whole of Norway at his back, while I--I havebut this one faithful servant. Saving him alone every man in the landis against me."

  He looked round in renewed fear. Even the rustling of the tree branchesstruck terror to his heart.

  "Hide me! hide me!" he cried again.

  "Little use is there in hiding you in this place," returned Thora."King Olaf will be seeking you here before very long, for many men knowthat I would fain help you, and they will surely lead him here andsearch for you in my household both within and without. Yet, for thelove I bear you, Earl Hakon, I will indeed hide you so that neithershame nor death shall come near you."

  She led him through among the trees to the back of the steadings."There is but one place where I deem that King Olaf will not think ofseeking for such a man as you," she said; "and that is in the ditchunder the pig sty."

  "The place is not one that I would have chosen," said Hakon. "But wemust take heed to our lives first of all."

  Then they went to the sty, which was built with its back against alarge boulder stone. Kark took a spade and cleared away the mire, anddug deep until by removing many stones and logs he opened up a sort ofcave. When the rubbish had been borne away Thora brought food andcandles and warm rugs. Earl Hakon and the thrall hid themselves in thehole and then Thora covered them over with boards and mould, and thepigs were driven over it.

  Now, when evening was falling there came along the strath certainhorsemen, and the leader of them was King Olaf Triggvison. Thora ofRimul saw them coming, with the light of the setting sun glittering ontheir armour, and when they halted at her door she greeted them in goodfriendship.

  King Olaf dismounted and asked her if she knew ought of Earl Hakon ofLade. At sight of the handsome young king she for a moment hesitated,thinking to betray the earl. But when Olaf asked her again she shookher head and said that she was not Earl Hakon's keeper, nor knew wherehe might be.

  Nevertheless, King Olaf doubted her, and he bade his followers make asearch within and without the farmstead. This they did, but none couldfind trace of the man they sought. So Olaf called all his men about himto speak to them, and he stood up on the same boulder stone that was atthe back of the swine sty. He declared in a loud voice that he wouldgive a great reward and speedy furtherance to the man who should findEarl Hakon and bring him to his death.

  Now, this speech was plainly heard by both Earl Hakon himself and histhrall as they crouched together in the cave, and by the light of thecandle that stood on the ground between them each eagerly watched theother's face.

  "Why are you so pale, and now again as black as earth?" asked EarlHakon. "Is it not that, tempted by this offer of reward, you intend tobetray me?"

  "Nay," answered Kark. "For all King Olaf's gold I will not betray you."

  "On one and the same night were we both born," said the earl, "and weshall not be far apart in our deaths."

  For a long time they sat in trembling silence, mistrustful of eachother, and neither daring to sleep. But as the night wore on Kark'sweariness got the better of him, but he tossed about and muttered inhis sleep. The earl waked him and asked what it was that he had beendreaming.

  Kark answered, rubbing his eyes: "I dreamt that we were both on boardthe same ship, and that I stood at the helm as her captain."

  "That must surely mean that you rule over your own destiny as well asmine," said Earl Hakon. "Be faithful to me, therefore, and when betterdays come you shall be well rewarded."

  Again Kark curled himself up to sleep, and again, as it seemed, he wasdisturbed by dreams; so Hakon roused him once more and asked him totell his dream.

  "I thought I was at Lade," answered the thrall, "and there I saw KingOlaf Triggvison. He spoke to me, and I thought that he laid a goldnecklace about my neck."

  "The meaning of that must be that Olaf Triggvison will put a blood redring about your neck whensoever ye meet," said the earl. "Thereforebeware of him, Kark, and be faithful to me. Then you will enjoy goodthings from me always, as you have done before; so betray me not."

  Thereafter they both sat wakeful, staring at each other with theflickering candlelight between them. Neither dared to close his eyes.But towards morning Earl Hakon leaned back against the rock, with hishead thrown back. Sleep overwhelmed him, yet he was troubled, for hestarted and rolled uneasily as though in a nightmare, and at times hemoaned and muttered as if in anguish, so that Kark could not look uponhim but with horror. At last, when the earl was quiet, Kark sprang up,gripped a big knife from out of his belt and thrust it into hismaster's throat.

  That was the bane of Earl Hakon.

  On the next day Olaf Triggvison was in Lade, and there came to him aman naming himself Kark, bringing with him the severed head of EarlHakon, which he offered to the king. When Olaf had received proof thatthe head was indeed that of the earl, he asked Kark how he had come byit, and the thrall told all that had befallen and claimed his reward.

  Now King Olaf hated a traitor beyond all men, so he had Kark led away,and ordered one of his berserks to smite the head off him, thusfulfilling the murdered earl's prophecy, for a ring not of gold but ofblood was put about the traitor's neck.

  King Olaf then fared with many of the bonders out to Nid holm. Thisisland, at the mouth of the river Nid, was kept in those days for theslaying of thieves and evil men, and a gallows stood there upon whichthe head of Earl Hakon was now hung, side by side with that of histhrall. The bonders crowded round the foot of the gallows, throwingstones and clods of earth at the heads, and crying out that there theyfared meetly together, rascal by rascal.

  And now that Earl Hakon was dead the people did not shrink fromspeaking their minds concerning him, and giving free vent to theirhatred of his low cunning and his faithlessness, his cruelty and hisprofligacy. Even his zeal for blood offering and his strong belief inthe pagan gods were now regarded with wide disfavour, for it could notbe forgotten that he had sacrificed his own son to propitiate the godof war, and this act, added to the evil deeds that he had more recentlycommitted had brought upon him such contempt that the whole of Norwayrejoiced at his death.

  Olaf Triggvison's claim to the throne of Norway was not for a momentdisputed. In the
first place his manly beauty and his resemblance toKing Hakon the Good gained him immediate favour, and his personalstrength and prowess might have been in itself sufficient to warranthis being chosen as a successor to Earl Hakon. But in addition to thisthere was the undoubted fact that he was a direct descendant of HaraldFairhair, and had therefore the greatest of all claims to the kingdomin which his fathers had reigned. So, very soon after the death ofHakon, a general Thing, or gathering of the people, was held inTrondelag, and Olaf was formally proclaimed the king of all Norway, andthe rule given to him according to ancient laws.

  The district of Thrandheim was at that time the most populous andimportant in the land, and the Thranders had exercised the right (aright which they reserve to this day) of proclaiming a new monarch inthe name of the whole nation. Nevertheless it was necessary for KingOlaf to travel throughout the country to lay personal claim to hisdominion, and to receive the allegiance of his subjects remote andnear. The news of his coming into Norway was not long in reaching thefarthest extremities of the realm. Everywhere it was told how, havingby help of his mother's bravery escaped the wrath of the wicked QueenGunnhild, he had lived as a slave in Esthonia, how he had been rescuedby Sigurd Erikson and educated at the court of King Valdemar, how hehad roved as a viking on the Baltic, and, after invading England, hadat last come back to his native land to claim his own. So that whereverhe journeyed he found that his fame had gone before him to prepare theway. He was greeted everywhere with enthusiastic homage. His naturalkindliness, his manly bearing, and his winning manners attractedeveryone with whom he came in contact, and he was recognized as a kingof whom the nation might well be proud. In token of the glory that hehad won in foreign lands the people gave him the name of Olaf theGlorious.