LITMIR.BIZ

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let his men backwater & came nigh to fleeing, whereupon Earl Eirik came up into his place & thrust himself into the battle against Vagn, and Vagn backed his ship, and the craft lay again as they had lain at first. ¤ Then Eirik returned to his own battle, where his men were now going astern, and Bui having cut himself free from his lashings was about to follow the fugitives. ¤ Eirik then laid his ship alongside the ship of Bui, & a sharp hand to hand struggle took place, and two or three of the ships of Eirik set on the one ship whereon was Bui. ¤ Then a storm came on, and there fell hailstones so heavy that one stone alone weighed an ounce. Then did Sigvaldi cut his ship adrift & went about, with the intention of fleeing; Vagn Akason cried out to him bidding him stay, but never a moment would Sigvaldi heed give to what he said, so Vagn sent a javelin after him, and smote the man who held the tiller. Earl Sigvaldi rowed out of the battle with thirty-five ships and left twenty-five behind him. ¤ Then did Earl Hakon bring his ship round to the other side of that of Bui, and short respite then had the men of Bui between the blows. Now there was an anvil with a sharp end standing on the forecastle of the ship that pertained to Bui, and the reason thereof was that some man had made use thereof when welding the hilt of his sword, and Vigfus the son of Vigaglums, who was a man of great strength, took up the anvil & throwing it with both hands, drave it into the head of Aslak Holmskalli, so that the snout thereof entered his brain. No weapon hitherto had scathed Aslak, though he had been laying about him on either side. ¤ He was the foster-son of Bui, and his forecastle man. Yet another of the men to Bui was Havard the Hewer; even stronger was he, and a man of great valour. During this struggle the men of Eirik went up aboard Bui’s ship, & made aft to the poop, towards Bui, and Thorstein Midlang struck him full across the nose, cleaving asunder the nose-piece of his helmet, and leaving a great wound. ¤ Bui then smote Thorstein in the side in such a manner that he cut the man right athwart his middle, and then seizing two chests of gold he shouted: ‘Overboard all the men of Bui,’ and plunged into the sea with the chests, and many of his men likewise sprang overboard, though others fell on the ship, for little avail was it to ask for quarter. The ship was now cleared from stem to stern, and the other craft were likewise cleared one after the other.

      ¶ After this Earl Eirik brought his ships alongside that of Vagn, and from the latter met with right stout resistance; in the end however the ship was cleared, and Vagn and thirty men taken prisoners. Bound were they & taken on land, and Thorkel Leira went up to them and spoke thus: ‘Vagn, thou didst vow to slay me, but me seemeth it is I who am more like to slay thee.’ ¤ Now it happened that Vagn and his men were all sitting on the felled trunks of a mighty tree, and Thorkel had a big axe, & with it he struck at the man who was sitting farthest off on the trunk. ¤ Vagn and his men were so bound that a rope was passed round their feet, but their hands were free. Then said one of them, ‘I have in my hand a cloak-clasp, and into the earth will I thrust it if I wot anything after my head is off’—and his head was struck off, and down fell the clasp from his hand. ¤ Hard by sat a fair man with goodly hair and he swept his hair forward over his face, saying as he stretched forth his neck: ‘Make not my hair bloody.’ A certain man took the hair in his hand and held it fast, and Thorkel swang the axe so as to strike, but the viking drew back his head suddenly & he who was holding his hair moved forward with him, and lo, the axe came down on both his hands and took them off, thereafter cleaving the earth. Then Earl Eirik came up and asked: ‘Who is that fine man?’ ‘Sigurd the lads call me,’ said he, ‘and I am thought to be a son to Bui: not yet are all the vikings of Jomsborg dead.’ ‘Thou must of a surety be a true son to Bui; wilt thou have quarter?’ ‘That dependeth upon who is the bidder thereof,’ said Sigurd. ‘He offereth it who hath power to give it, to wit Earl Eirik.’ ‘Then will I take it,’ and loosed was he from the rope. Then said Thorkel Leira: ‘Though thou grantest quarter, Earl, to all these men, yet never shall Vagn Akason depart hence alive,’ & so saying he ran forward with uplifted axe. Just then the viking Skadi tripped in the rope, and dropped before Thorkel’s feet, and Thorkel fell flat over him, and Vagn seizing the axe dealt Thorkel his death-blow. Then said the Earl: ‘Wilt thou have quarter?’ ‘Yea will I,’ said he, ‘if we all are given quarter.’ ‘Loose them from the rope,’ said the Earl, and so it was done accordingly. ¤ Eighteen of these men were slain, but to twelve was quarter granted.

      ¶ Now Earl Hakon & many of his men with him were sitting on a log. ¤ Suddenly there twanged a bowstring from Bui’s ship, but the arrow struck Gizur of Valders, a feudatory who was sitting by the Earl & was clad in brave apparel, & forthwith went sundry of Hakon’s men out to the ship and found on it Havard the Hewer kneeling by the bulwarks, for his feet had been smitten off him. A bow had he in his hand and when they were come out to the ship, as aforesaid, Havard asked: ‘Who fell off the tree-trunk?’ ‘One named Gizur,’ they say. ‘Then was my luck lesser than I wished.’ ‘Ill-luck enough,’ say they, ‘and more hurt shalt thou not do,’ & therewith they slew him. After these things the dead were searched, and the booty brought together for division; five and twenty ships belonging to the Jomsborg vikings were thus cleared of booty. Tind saith as follows:

      ‘He, feeder of ravens,

      (Their swords did smite their thighs)

      Against the friends of the Wends long did struggle,

      Until he who shields destroyed had

      Five and twenty ships laid waste.’

      ¶ Thereafter were the hosts dispersed. ¤ Earl Hakon betook him to Throndhjem, taking it full ill that Eirik had given Vagn Akason quarter. ¤ Men say that during this battle Earl Hakon made sacrifice of his son Erling in order to gain the victory, and afterwards the hailstorm came, and that then the slaughtering changed over out of the hands of the Jomsborgers. After the battle Earl Eirik went to the Uplands, and from there east to his dominions, and with him went Vagn Akason. Thereafter Eirik gave the daughter of Thorkel Leira—Ingibiorg was her name—in marriage to Vagn, & a goodly long-ship to boot, well furnished in all things appertaining thereto, & a crew did he get him for the ship, and they parted in all friendship. Vagn thence fared southward home to Denmark, and became thereafter a famous man. ¤ Many men of might are descended from him.

      ¶ Now it hath been heretofore related how Harald the Grenlander was King of Vestfold, and how Asta, the daughter of Gudbrand Kula had he taken to wife. One summer when he was out laying waste the countries to the eastward, came he to Sweden where Olaf the Swede was King in those days. Olaf was the son of Eirik the Victorious and of Sigrid the daughter of Skogla-Tosti. ¤ Sigrid was now a widow and to her pertained many great manors in Sweden. When she heard that her foster-brother Harald the Grenlander had come ashore not far from where at that time she was abiding, sent she messengers to him, bidding him to a feast which she was making ready to give. Thereat was Harald glad, and fared to Astrid with a great following of men. And a goodly feast was it withal: the King and the Queen sat in the high-seat and in the evening drank both together, and among the men flowed the ale freely. ¤ At night when the King went to his rest his bed had on it a costly coverlet, and was hung with precious cloths; in that house there were but few men. And the King having unclad him, & gotten into bed, the Queen came hither to him and poured out a cup, and pressed him hard to drink; right kind was she to him withal. Now the King was exceeding drunken, and the Queen likewise. ¤ Then fell the King asleep, and Sigrid went away to her bed. Now the Queen was a very wise woman, and far seeing in many things. The next morning flowed the drink ever apace, but as ofttimes cometh to pass when men have drunk heavily, even so the more wary of drink are most of them on the morrow. Yet was the Queen merry, and she and Harald spake much together, and as their talk ran on, the Queen said that she deemed her lands & kingdom in Sweden to be of no less worth than his in Norway. Now at this manner of talking the King waxed moody, and found but little pleasure in anything thereafter, and heavy at heart he made him ready to go; yet was the Queen exceeding merry, gave him great gifts, & accompanied him on his way.

      ¶ So back to Norway fared he that autumn, & abode at home during that winter, but little enough pleasure gat he the while. The summer thereafter went he eastward with his host, and shaped his course for Sweden. Word sent he to Sigrid that he desired to meet her, & she rode down to him, & they talked together; then without more ado he asked her whether she would have him for mate, to which Sigrid made answer that to do such a thing would indeed be foolish,

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