FOOTNOTES
[1]. Joannis Magni Gothorum Suenonumque Historia, lib. i. and ii. p. 18. to 74. edit. Rome, fol. 1554.
Native kings of Sweden who, according to the archbishop, Joannes Magnus, flourished before Christ.
Noah.
Japhet.
1. Magog.
2. Sweno.
3. Gothar, or Gog.
4. Ubbo.
5. Siggo.
6. Eric.
7. Uddo.
8. Alo.
9. Othen (Query Odin).
10. Charles.
11. Biorno.
12. Gothar.
13. Siggo.
14. Berico; in whose reign began the mighty Gothic or Scythian empire, independent of the northern one.
15. Humulf.
16. Humble.
17. Gothilas.
18. Sigtrug.
19. Scarin.
20. Swibdager.
21. Asmund.
22. Uffo.
23. Hunning.
24. Regner.
25. Hodebrod.
26. Attil.
27. Hoder.
28. Roder, or Roderic, or Ruric, surnamed Slingebond, or the Slinger.
29. Attil.
30. Botwild.
31. Charles.
32. Grimer.
33. Tordo.
34. Gothar.
35. Adolf.
36. Algoth.
37. Eric.
38. Alaric.
39. Gestil.
40. Eric.
“In the reign of this prince, says the archbishop,—who even fixes the year, the thirty-fourth of his reign,—our Saviour was born!” Swedish kings subsequent to our Saviour’s birth, yet prior to the introduction of Christianity, according to the same archbishop.
41. Godric.
42. Haldan.
43. Wilmer.
44. Nordian.
45. Siward.
46. Charles.
47. Eric.
48. Haldan.
49. Eugin.
50. Ragnald.
51. Asmund.
52. Hako.
53. Siward.
54. Ingo.
55. Neark.
56. Frode.
57. Urbar.
58. Ostin.
59. Fliolm.
60. Swerker.
61. Walander.
62. Wisbur.
63. Domalder.
64. Domar.
65. Attil.
66. Digner.
67. Dager.
68. Alaric.
69. Ingemar.
70. Ingell.
71. Germund.
72. Haquin Ringo.
73. Egill.
74. Gothar.
75. Fasto.
76. Gudmund.
77. Adel.
78. Ostan.
79. Ingermar.
80. Holstan.
81. Biorno.
82. Rawald.
83. Swartman.
84. Tordo.
85. Rodolf.
86. Hathin.
87. Attil.
88. Tordo.
89. Algoth.
90. Gostag, or Ostan.
91. Arthus.
92. Haquin.
93. Charles.
94. Charles.
95. Birger.
96. Eric.
97. Torill.
98. Biorn.
99. Alaric.
100. Biorn.
101. Bratmund.
102. Siward.
103. Herot.
104. Charles.
105. Biorn.
106. Ingenal, or Ingel.
107. Olaf Tretella.
108. Ingo.
109. Eric.
110. Eric.
In both lists, many of these names the reader will perceive to be identical with the Danish kings given by Saxo Grammaticus. That the two lists have been confounded there can be no doubt. And it as equally certain that many of these kings are unnecessarily multiplied,—those allowed to have reigned before, as well as after, the Christian era. Perhaps, however, none of these princes reigned before Odin; probably all are more recent still; and as so many were contemporary with each other, ample lists have easily been formed.
The compilers of our Universal History begin their list with the following:—
1. Eric.
2. Gylfo.
3. Odin.
4. Niord.
5. Frode.
6. Sigtrug.
7. Swibdager.
8. Asmund.
9. Uffo.
10. Hunding.
11. Regner.
12. Holward.
13. Attil I.
14. Hoder.
15. Roderic, or Ruric.
16. Attil II.
17. Hogmor and Hogrin.
[2]. See the work, part i.
[3]. Torfœus Historia Norvegiæ, tom. i. p. 111–150.
[4]. Wheaton, History of the Northmen. Mallet, Histoire de Dannemarc, tom. i.
[5]. Vetustissima Regum Septentrionis Series Langfedgatal dicta. According to this “Series,” the list of Danish kings prior to Odin is as follows:—Noah, Japhet, Zechim, Ciprus, Celius, Saturn of Crete, Jupiter, Darius, Erichthon, Troes, Ilus, Laomedon, Priam of Troy, Memnon (the son-in-law of Priam), Tror or Thor, Lorith, Einrith, Vingethar, Vingener, Moda, Magus, Seskef, Bedoig, Athra, Iterman, Heremotr, Scealdna, Beaf, Eat, Godulf, Finn, Frealaf—Odin.
Here is a precious list, and we should vainly inquire where it was originally procured. One thing, however, is remarkable,—that of the immediate predecessors of Odin, most are the same as those contained in the Saxon Chronicle, in the genealogy of the Anglo-Saxon kings. Let us now transcribe that of Saxo Grammaticus, who flourished in the twelfth century, and is content with making Dan the ancestor of the Danes, about a thousand years before Christ.
Dan I., Humble, Lother, Skiold, Gram, Swibdager, Guthrum, Hadding, Frode I., Haldan, Roe and Helgo, Rolf or Rollo, Hoder, Ruric, Wiglet, Guitlach, Wermund, Olaf I., Dan II., Hugleth, Frode II., Dan III., Fridleif, Frode III. According to Saxo it was in the reign of Hadding that Odin first appeared in the north. In this case, the reader may say Odin must have flourished long before the period usually assigned, viz., A.C. 70. But most of these princes, doubtless, reigned after the birth of Christ, notwithstanding the positive assertion of Saxo (who is supported by some other chroniclers), that the Redeemer of mankind assumed our nature in the reign of Frode III. Sweyn Aggo is more rational than his contemporary Saxo; he rejects all the sovereigns prior to Odin, and commences his list with Skiold, a son of that deified hero. Undoubtedly Denmark, like the other states, had its kings before that period; but they were mere reguli, perpetually at war with each other in struggling for the ascendancy; and small reliance is to be placed on their alleged actions, or even their names. Saxo, in taking as authorities the popular songs of his country, followed the worst of all guides.
[6]. The list of Norwegian sovereigns prior to Odin is, according to the Landfedgatal, the same as for Denmark. These sovereigns, however, in neither case reigned in the north; they were regarded as Asiatic: it was Odin who first left the country of his ancestors, and established his empire in Scandinavia. In this view there is no inconsistency between that record and Saxo, who does not enumerate the Asiatic monarchs, and who confines himself to the native princes that held the country for ages before Odin was known. These, we have strong reason to infer, were not Gothic, but Finnish, or Jutish, or Lapponic, or whatever else was the denomination of the people who originally possessed the north. Sweyn Aggesen, therefore, by rejecting them, evidently confines himself to the foreign or Gothic dynasty—the dynasty of the conquerors.
[7]. Langebek, Scriptores, tom. i., passim.
[8]. Pinkerton, Dissertation on the Goths. Turner, History of the Anglo-Saxons, vol. i.
[9]. Tacitus, Germania, cap. 34.–40. Wheaton, History of the Northmen, chap. i.
[10]. Mallet, Histoire de Dannemarc, tom. i. Pinkerton, Dissertation on the Goths, passim.
[11]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica; necnon, Heimskringla Snorronis, passim.
[12]. Apud Langebek, Scriptores Rerum Danicarum, tom. ii.
[13]. Wheaton, History, p. 119.
[14]. Depping, Histoire des Expeditions Maritimes des Normands, tom. i. Wheaton, History of the Northmen.
[15]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, lib i.
[16]. The poetical dialogues of Gro with Bessus and Gram—dialogues in which Saxo (lib. i. p. 7, &c.) has put forth all his imagination and all his knowledge of Latin versification—may amuse the learned reader. We have no disposition to translate them.
[17]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. i.
[18]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. i.
[19]. In the Scandinavian superstition every rune was consecrated to some deity. Nearly all the magic of the north consisted in runes. They could raise or allay tempests; they could change times, and they could bring the most distant objects together. They could produce good or bad seasons; they could raise the dead: in short, they were omnipotent over all nature,—the invisible no less than the visible world.
[20]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. i. p. 10, &c., edit. Stephanii, Soræ, 1644.
[21]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. i. p. 10, &c., edit. Stephanii, Soræ, 1644.
[22]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. i.
[23]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. i.
[24]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. ii. p. 20, &c.
[25]. Both Roe and Helge reigned some centuries after the time fixed by Saxo,—as recently as the fifth century of the Christian era.
[26]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. ii.
[27]. Whether there was any other Rolf than the celebrated Rolf Krake, who is thought to have reigned in the sixth century after Christ, is doubtful. The best northern writers admit of no other.
[28]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. ii.
[29]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. i. p. 12., edit. Stephanii, Soræ, 1644. The diffusion of this superstitious notion is a curious subject of speculation. In Hungary, Russia, Wallachia, Greece, Crete, &c. it is rife at this day.
[30]. Ynglinga Saga, cap. i.–v. (apud Heimskringlam, tom. i. p. 1-10., edit. Hafn., 1777).
[31]. Ynglinga Saga, cap. v.–vii.
[32]. Langebek, Scriptores Rerum Danicarum, tom. i. pp. 7, 8. Torfœus, Historia Norvegica, tom. i. p. 138, &c.
[33]. S. Rembertus, Vita S. Anscarii (apud Bollandistas, Acta S. S. die Feb. iii. Adamus Bremensis, Historia Ecclesiastica, lib. i. cap. 12. &c. Konung Olaf Trygvason’s Saga, apud Snorronem Sturlonem Heimskringla tom. ii.).
[34]. Ihre, Dissert. de Institutione Regum Suio-Gotborum, ed. Upsala, 1752.—Geijr, Svea Rikes Häfder, tom. i. p. 432.
[35]. Suhm, Historie af Danmark, tom. i. p. 81. Critiske, Historie, tom. vii. p. 474.
[36]. Jamieson’s Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, p. 444.
[37]. F. Magnussen, Edda Sæmundi, tom. iii. Rigis-Mál, Intro., pp. 147–159. Geijr, Svea Rikes Häfder, tom. i. pp. 486–495.
[38]. See the prose Edda published by Prof. Rask, Stockholm, 1818, ch. xxiii. But Snorre, in his Ynglinga Saga, ch. ix., says that she married Odin afterwards, and that they had many children together.
[39]. To this opinion, we do not subscribe. We have no proof of the existence of two Odins.
[40]. Münter, Kirchengeschichte, &c., tom. i. pp. 68–95. Wheaton, History of the Northmen.
[41]. Wheaton, History of the Northmen, ch. vi. Ynglinga Saga, passim.
[42]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danorum, lib. iii. p. 39, &c.
[43]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danorum, lib. iii. p. 41–43.
[44]. Edda Snorronis, Hist. 28. Stephanii Notæ ad Saxonem, lib. iii.
[45]. Edda Snorronis, Fab. 21.
[46]. Edda Snorronis, Historia, 29. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. notæ in lib. iii.
[47]. The names are mythologic, or rather abstract: Vegtam, the Spoiler; Valtam, Slaughter.
[48].
Hveriar ro maeyiar
Ær at muni grata
Ok a himin Verpa
Halsa Skautvm?
The passage is a dark one. It probably alludes to the custom of the northern women, who uncovered their heads to mourn. These damsels did not uncover; they could weep at pleasure, that is, they were not afflicted. Were they the fatal sisters, who cannot be expected to feel sympathy for mortals? And was Vala their mother?
[49]. The meaning of these expressions will appear when we treat on the Scandinavian mythology.
[50]. DESCENT OF ODIN.
Up rose the king of men with speed,
And saddled straight his coal-black steed;
Down the yawning steep he rode,
That leads to HELA’S drear abode.
Him the Dog of Darkness spied,
His shaggy throat he open’d wide,
While from his jaws, with carnage fill’d,
Foam and human gore distill’d:
Hoarse he bays with hideous din,
Eyes that glow, and fangs that grin;
And long pursues, with fruitless yell,
The Father of the powerful spell.
Onward still his way he takes,
(The groaning earth beneath him shakes,)
Till full before his fearless eyes
The portals nine of hell arise.
Right against the eastern gate,
By the moss-grown pile he sate;
Where long of yore to sleep was laid
The dust of the prophetic Maid.
Facing to the northern clime,
Thrice he trac’d the Runic rhyme;
Thrice pronounc’d, in accents dread,
The thrilling verse that wakes the dead;
Till from out the hollow ground
Slowly breath’d a sullen sound.
Pr.—What call unknown, what charms presume
To break the quiet of the tomb?
Who thus afflicts my troubled sprite,
And drags me from the realms of night?
Long on these mould’ring bones have beat
The winter’s snow, the summer’s heat,
The drenching dews, and driving rain!
Let me, let me sleep again.
Who is he, with voice unblest,
That calls me from the bed of rest?
O.—A Traveller, to thee unknown,
Is he that calls, a Warrior’s Son.
Thou the deeds of light shalt know;
Tell me what is done below,
For whom yon glitt’ring board is spread,
Drest for whom yon golden bed.
Pr.—Mantling in the goblet see
The pure bev’rage of the bee;
O’er it hangs the shield of gold;
‘Tis the drink of Balder bold:
Balder’s head to death is giv’n.
Pain can reach the Sons of Heav’n!
Unwilling I my lips unclose:
Leave me, leave me to repose.
O.—Once again my call obey!
Prophetess, arise, and say,
What dangers Odin’s Child await,
Who the Author of his fate.
Pr.—In Hoder’s hand the Hero’s doom:
His brother sends him to the tomb.
Now my weary lips I close:
Leave me, leave me to repose.
O.—Prophetess, my spell obey!
Once again arise, and say,
Who th’ Avenger of his guilt,
By whom shall Hoder’s blood be spilt?
Pr.—In the caverns of the west,
By Odin’s fierce embrace comprest,
A wond’rous Boy shall Rinda bear,
Who ne’er shall comb his raven hair,
Nor wash his visage in the stream,
Nor see the sun’s departing beam;
Till he on Hoder’s corpse shall smile,
Flaming on the fun’ral pile.
Now my weary lips I close:
Leave me, leave me to repose.
O.—Yet awhile my call obey!
Prophetess, awake, and say,
What Virgins these, in speechless woe,
That bend to earth their solemn brow,
That their flaxen tresses tear,
And snowy veils, that float in air.
Tell me whence their sorrows rose:
Then I leave thee to repose.
Pr.—Ha! no Traveller art thou,
King of Men, I know thee now,
Mightiest of a mighty line——
O.—No boding Maid of skill divine
Art thou, nor Prophetess of good;
But mother of the giant brood!
Pr.—Hie thee hence, and boast at home,
That never shall Enquirer come
To break my iron-sleep again;
Till Lok has burst his tenfold chain.
Never, till substantial Night
Has reassum’d her ancient right;
Till wrapp’d in flames, in ruin hurl’d,
Sinks the fabric of the world.
[51]. Vegtaams Quida (apud Edda Saemundar hinns Froda, tom. i. p. 234, &c. edit. Hafniæ, 1787).
[53]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. iii. p. 44–46.
[54]. Ynglinga Saga, cap. 10. (apud Snorronem, Heimskringla, tom. i. p. 14.)
[55]. Quod, inquit, mulierum turpissima, gravissime criminis dissimulationem falso lamenti genere expetis, quæ scorti more lasciviens nefariam ac dedestabilem tori conditionem secuta, viri tui interfectorem pleno incesti sinu amplecteris, et ei qui prolistuæ parentem extinxerat, obscenissimis blandamentorem illecebris adularis?
[56]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. iii. p. 46–52.
[57]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. iii. p. 52, et lib. iv. p. 54, &c.
[58]. Idem, p. 56–59.
[59]. The list is worth transcribing.
| B.C. | |
| 1. Dan | 1038 |
| 2. Humble | 998 |
| 3. Lother | — |
| 4. Skiold | 966 |
| 5. Gram | 888 |
| 6. Swibdager | 856 |
| 7. Guthrum | — |
| 8. Hadding | 816 |
| 9. Frode I. | 761 |
| 10. Halden | 685 |
| 11. Roe and Helge | — |
| 12. Helge alone | 595 |
| 13. Rolf, or Rollo | 566 |
| 14. Hoder | — |
| 15. Ruric Slingeband | 483 |
Consequently Hamlet must have lived nearly four centuries before Christ. What thanks do we not owe to Saxo for his important account of Britain so many years before Cæsar! But to continue.
| B.C. | |
| 16. Wiglet | — |
| 17. Guitlach | — |
| 18. Wermund | 352 |
| 19. Olaf I. | 292 |
| 20. Dan II. | — |
| 21. Hungleth | — |
| 22. Frode II. | 172 |
| 23. Dan III. | — |
| 24. Fridleif | — |
| 25. Frode III. | — |
[60]. Scandinavia, Ancient and Modern (Edinburgh Cab. Lib.), vol. i. chap. ii.
[61]. List of kings after Christ, according to Saxo:—Frode III., Hiarn, Fridleif, Frode IV., Ingel, Olaf II., Frode V., Harald I., Halfdan II., Harald II., Ungwin, Siwald I., Sigar, Siwald II., Halfdan III., Harald III., Olo (or Olof), Omund, Siward I., Bathul, Jarmeric, Broder, Siwald III., Snio, Biorn, Gormo I., Goderic, Olaf III., Hemming, Siward IV., Ringo, Ragnar Lodbrog, Siward II., Eric I., Canute I., Frode IV., Gormo II., Harald IV., Gormo III., Harald V., Sweno.
Our English Universal History, like Sunning and Torfœus, adopts these names, but incorporates three more.
According to the Langfedgatal, which is derived from Norwegian authorities, while Saxo follows the metrical songs and traditions of Denmark:—
Odin, Skiold, Fridleif I., Frode I., Havar, Frode II., Vermund, Olaf, Dan, Frode III., Fridleif II., Frode IV., Ingell (or Ingiald), Halfdan I., Helge and Roe, Rolf Krake, Eric I., Frode V., Halfdan II., Eric II., Harald, Sigurd I., Ragnar Lodbrog, Sigurd II., Harda Canute, Gormo the Aged, Harald II., Sweyn.
And thus, in about twenty different lists which we have examined, there is only diversity, or rather confusion. Those of modern date are not more uniform. Thus Mallet:—
Skiold, Fridleif I., Frode I., Fridleif II., Havar, Frode II., Wermund, Olaf I., Dan, Frode III., Halfdan I., Fridleif III., Olaf II., Frode IV., Ingel, Halfdan II., Frode V., Roe and Helge, Rolf, Ivar, Harald I., Sigurd I., Ragnar Lodbrog, Sigurd II., Harda Canute, Harald II.
The dates of these reigns in the modern histories of Denmark—for the ancient ones do not condescend to such trifles—are beautifully confounded, sometimes a whole century being assigned to a single reign.
[62]. The Skioldungs, or descendants of Odin:—
| Names. | Died. B.C. |
| Skiold | 40 |
| Fridleif I. | 23 |
| A.D. | |
| Frode I. | 35 |
| Fridleif II. | 47 |
| Havar | 59 |
| Frode II. | 87 |
| Wermund the Sage | 140 |
| Olaf the Mild | 190 |
| Dan Mykillati | 270 |
| Frode III., surnamed the Pacific | 310 |
| Halfdan I. | 324 |
| Fridleif III. | 348 |
| Frode IV. | 407 |
| Ingild (or Ingel) | 436 |
| Halfdan II. | 447 |
| Frode V. | 460 |
| Helge and Roe | 494 |
| Frode VI. | 510 |
| Rolf Krake | 522 |
| Frode VII. | 548 |
| Halfdan III. | 580 |
| Ruric Slyngebande | 588 |
| Ivar Vidfadme | 647 |
| Harald Hildetand | 735 |
| Sigurd Ring | 750 |
| Ragnar Lodbrog | 794 |
| Sigurd Snogoje | 803 |
| Harda Canute | 850 |
| Eric I. | 854 |
| Eric II. | 883 |
| Gorm the Old | 941 |
| Harald Blaatand | 991 |
| Sweyn | 1014 |
This is the list of Suhm, the most critical of the Danish historians. Yet there can be no doubt that some of Saxo’s kings ought to be incorporated with it.
[63]. See the dates assigned to the above kings by our Universal History and by Mallet. The difference between them and those given by Suhm may amuse the reader.
[64]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danorum, passim. Mallet, Histoire de Danemarc, tom. iii. Langebek, Scriptores Rerum Danicarum, tom. i. Adamus Bremensis, Historia Ecclesiastica, lib. i.
[65]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist., passim.
[66]. See Introduction, p. [19].
[67]. History of the Germanic Empire (Cab. Cyc.), vol. i.
[68]. Saxo Grammatici, Hist. Dan. lib. v. Suenonis Aggonis Historia Rerum Danicarum, cap. i. (apud Langebek, i. 44.). Petri Olai Roskildensis Chronica Regum Danorum, p. 15. (apud eundem, tom. i.).
[69]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. v.
[70]. According to the Hervarar Saga, this adventure of the sword took place long before the arrival of Arngrim,—in fact, before the union of Swafurlam with Eyvor, whom he won with the magic weapon. There are many variations, too, in the different MSS. of this Saga, so as to greatly alter the circumstances.
[71]. Hervarar Saga, cap. i., ii. p. 1-13., edit. Hafniæ, 1785. Taylor, Historic Survey of German Poetry, vol. i. The account in the text is considerably more amplified than that in the original Saga. This amplification is the work of succeeding Scalds, whose language, from its graphic superiority, and its being more characteristic of northern manners, we have often preferred.
[72]. Hervarar Saga, cap. iii.–v. p. 13–42.
[73].
Awake, Angantyr! sire, awake!
Thy daughter, Hervor, bids thee break
The slumber of thy desert tomb!
Oh, give me, from its yawning womb,
The magic sword—the hardened blade,
By dwarfs for Swafurlami made!
What, silent? Then on you I call,
My sire, my kinsmen, warriors all!
Obey! let Hervor’s voice prevail!
Yes, by the helmet and the mail,
By the sharp sword, the spear, and shield
Ye wore on many a battle field,
Obey my spell! by each of these,
I call you from your tombs beneath the roots of trees.
What! can the sons of Arngrim, erst
In mischief’s busy work the first,
In dust and ashes mouldering rot?
Are ye all mute? For Hervor’s sake,
Herwarder, Herwarder, awake!
So may you, then, dishonoured lie,
Till rank corruption putrefy,
Unless ye give the belt and blade
By dwarfs for Swafurlami made.
[Here the tomb opens, the inside of which is all fire, and the following dialogue is chaunted:—]
Angantyr.
Daughter, of potent spells possest,
Why dost thou call us from our rest?
What mad ambition bids thee wake
The slumber of the dead?
Hervor, thy rash demand shall break
In ruin on thy head!
Me were the funeral rites denied,
Father nor friend was there.
Seek for the sword in air;
It decks some living warrior’s side.
Hervor.
Thy words are false! deceiver, no!
May Odin on thy tomb bestow
Such safety, sire, as thou hast got
The fairy sword I seek, or not!
Thy child, thine only child, demands
This dowry at a father’s hands.
Angantyr.
Listen, daughter! Hervor, hear
The voice of prophecy, and fear!
Let not a father’s hand consign
A gift so fatal to thy line.
For, lo! I see before this sword
Thine offspring perish, till restored
To son of thine, who then shall prove
The Heidrek of his people’s love.
Hervor.
I heed thee not; but by the sway
Of spells which spirits must obey,
I charge thee, by enchantments dread,
No rest shall know my kindred dead
Till I obtain the belt and blade
By dwarfs for Swafurlami made!
Angantyr.
Maiden, of more than warrior’s might,
Who visitest the tombs by night,
Trusting to the belt and spear
Of magic power, wander not here.
Hervor.
I deemed thee brave before I came
To seek thee in thy house of flame.
Why do I wait? Give me the blade!
Nor longer be the gift delayed!
Angantyr.
The sword lies here, begirt with fire,
Which once—fit weapon for thy sire—
Hialmar slew: but weak the brand
If wielded by a woman’s hand.
Hervor.
Yet I will wield, if I may gain
The fire-girt sword, Hialmar’s bane.
No spectre-fire can Hervor dread
That idly plays around the dead.
Angantyr.
Then, proud and daring spirit, know,
To save thee from the fires below
I give the sword! Thy suit is won!
Hervor.
Offspring of heroes, wisely done!
Oh, dearer is this gift to me
Than Norway in her pride could be!
Angantyr.
O woman! mad and blind to fate!
Rejoicing now, but wise too late,
When thou shalt see thine offspring all,
Beneath that fatal weapon fall.
Hervor.
Too long in parting I delay;
My heroes call—I must obey.
Let my sons quarrel as they will,
My father’s gift! I hold thee still.
Spirits whom I have roused, farewell!
I feel the fires in which ye dwell
Burning around me. Here I cease.
Spirits, retire, and rest in peace![[75]]
[74]. For this translation we are indebted to a literary friend who furnished us with it many years ago.
[75]. Hervarar Saga, cap. vii.–xviii. pp. 57–221.
[76].
Profane not, youth—it is not thine
To judge the spirit of our line—
The bold berserkars’ rage divine,
Through whose inspiring, deeds are wrought
Past human strength and human thought.
When full upon his gloomy soul
The champion feels the influence roll,
He swims the lake, he leaps the wall,
Heeds not the depth nor plumbs the fall—
Unshielded, mailless, on he goes
Singly against a host of foes;
Their spears he holds as withered reeds,
Their mails like maidens’ silken weeds:
One ‘gainst a hundred will he strive,
Take countless wounds, and yet survive.
How rush the eagles to his cry
Of slaughter and of victory;
And blood he quaffs like Odin’s bowl,
Deep drinks his sword—deep drinks his soul,
And all that meet him in his ire
He gives to ruin, rout, and fire.
Then, like gorged lion, seeks some den,
And couches till he’s man agen.
Harold the Dauntless, Canto iii. st. 8.
[77]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan., passim. Ihre, Glossarium Suio-Gothicum, sub voce Berserker. Depping, Histoire des Expeditions Maritimes des Normands, tom. i. chap. 2.
[78]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. v.
[79]. Son of the celebrated chief of this name. See before, page [77].
[80]. See Introduction, sketch of Odin’s life.
[81]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, lib. vi.–viii. pp. 102–149. Ynglinga Saga, cap. xxix. (apud Snorronis Heimskringlam, tom. i.). Eyrbiggia Saga, passim.
[82]. According to the ancient geographers, the flat earth lay in the centre, while the sea, like a circle, surrounded it. This sea was believed to contain many wonders.
[83]. Saxo evidently alludes to that part of the coast situated on the Arctic Ocean, near the North Cape.
[84]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, lib. viii. p. 160–162.
[85]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danorum, lib. viii. p. 162–164.
[86]. These giants are famous in the Scandinavian mythology. “From the wings of one,” says the lay of Vafthrudnis, “whose abode is in the extremity of the heavens, and who has the eagle’s form, comes all the wind that blows on mankind.”—Edda Sæmundar hinns Froda, 1-21.
[87]. To us these proverbs seem to have no great merit: they are, however, somewhat obscure.
[88]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, lib. viii. p. 164, &c.
[89]. Query, Had Scott this legend in view when, in his Harold the Dauntless, he takes the Durham witch to the place where Zernabek was to be invoked?
[91]. Mallet, Histoire de Dannemarc, tom. iii. Saga af Olaf Trygveson (apud Snorronem, Heimskringla, tom. i.). Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan., lib. viii., ix.
[92]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, lib. ix. Mallet, Histoire, tom. iii.
[93]. Sigurd and Siward are frequently conversive.
[95]. S. Remberti Vita S. Anscharil (apud Langebek, Scriptores Rerum Danicarum, tom. ii.). Suenonis Aggonis Historia Regum Danicæ (apud Langebek, tom. i. p. 48, &c.). Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, lib. ix. Adamus Bremensis, Historia Ecclesiastica, lib. i. Mallet, Histoire, tom. iii. liv. i.
[96]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, lib. x. Suenonis Aggonis Historia Regum Danorum, cap. 3, 4. (apud Langebek, Scriptores Rerum Danicarum, tom. i p. 48, &c.). Gulielmus Gemmeticensis, De Ducibus Normanniæ, lib. iv. Ordericus Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica, lib. viii. Sigebertus Gemblacensis, Chronicon, A. D. 949. Wace, Roman de Rem, tom. i. Mallet, Histoire de Dannemarc, tom. iii. liv. 1. Depping, Histoire des Expeditions Maritimes des Normands, tom. ii. chap. 10.
[97]. Illis temporibus Otto imperater Daciam sibi fecerat tributariam.
[98]. Historia Ecclesiastica, lib. ii. cap. 11.
[99]. Mallet, Histoire, tom. iii. p. 106, &c.
[100]. Mallet, Histoire, tom. iii. liv. i.
[101]. Adamus Bremensis, Historia Ecclesiastica, lib. ii. cap. 19.
[102]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, lib. x. Suenonis Aggonis Historia Regum Daniæ, cap. 4.
[103]. This is another illustration of the truth contained in the fable of “The Three Black Crows.” Mallet pointed out the absurdity of the relation; yet modern historians have continued to adopt it.
[104]. Adamus Bremensis, Historia Ecclesiastica, cap. 72. Suenonis Aggonis Historia Regum Daniæ, cap. 4. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, lib. x.
[105]. “My beard is no traitor!”—Sir Thomas More. Is there any thing new under the sun?
[106]. Saga of Olafi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 42–46. (apud Heimskringlam Snorronis, tom. i. p. 234, &c.). Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, lib. x.
[107]. Europe during the Middle Ages, vol. iv. p. 22, &c.
[108]. See, in the third chapter of this book, the adventures of Olaf.
[109]. These circumstances, so far as Olaf is concerned, will not be understood by the reader, unless he refers to that monarch’s life, in the chapter devoted to the history of Norway.
[110]. See his reign, in the history of Norway, in the present volume.
[111]. Saxon Chronicle, sub annis.
[112]. Saxon Chronicle, sub annis. Matthæis Westmonasteriensis, Historia, p. 391. Wilhelmus Malmsburiensis, p. 64.
[113]. Saxon Chronicle, sub annis. Turner’s Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii. chap. ix.
[114]. Osbernus, Vita S. Elphagi (apud Wharton, Anglia Sacra, tom. ii. p. 123–141.). Chronica Saxonicum, sub annis.
[115]. Saxon Chronicle, sub annis. Turner’s Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii. p. 321.
[116]. The Saxon Chronicle. Saga af Olafi Tryggva-Syni.
[118]. Kings of Sweden from the first century before our Saviour’s birth to the introduction of Christianity into Sweden; compiled from the Landfedgatal and from the Heimskringla of Snorro Sturleson:—
1. Dynasty of the Ynglings.
| A.C. | |
| Odin | 70 |
| Niord | 20 |
| A.D. | |
| Freyer Yngve | 10 |
| Fiolner | 14 |
| Svegdir | 34 |
| Vanland or Valland | 48 |
| Visbur | 98 |
| Domald | 130 |
| Domar | 162 |
| Dyggve | 190 |
| Dag-Spaka the Wise | 220 |
| Agne | 260 |
| Alrek and Erik | 280 |
| Yngve and Alf | 300 |
| Hugleik | 302 |
| Jorunder and Erik | 312 |
| Aun hinn Gamle the Old | 448 |
| Egill Tunnadolgi | 456 |
| Ottar Vendilkraka | 460 |
| Adils | 505 |
| Eystein | 531 |
| Yngvar | 545 |
| Braut-Onund | 565 |
| Ingiald Illrada | 623 |
| Olaf Tractelia exiled about | 630 |
2. Dynasty of the Skioldungs.
| A.D. | |
| Ivar Vidfadme, died | 647 |
| Harald Hildetand | 735 |
| Sigurd Ring | 750 |
| Ragnar Lodbrok | 794 |
| Biorn Ironside | 804 |
| Erik Biornson | 808 |
| Erik Raefillson | 820 |
| Emund and Biorn | 859 |
| Erik Emundson | 873 |
| Biorn Erikson | 923 |
| Erik the Victorious | 993 |
| Erik Arsael | 1001 |
The figures, it must be observed, are in a majority of cases purely conjectural. They have been adopted after the most careful investigation, by native critics; and we will not be so presumptuous as to reject them, especially when some of them are known to be correct.
[119]. A: Kings of Sweden, according to the Universal History:—
1. Gylfo.
2. Odin.
3. Niord.
4. Frode.
5. Sigtrug.
6. Swibdager.
7. Asmund.
8. Uffo.
9. Hunding.
10. Regner.
11. Holward.
12. Attil I.
13. Hoder.
14. Rodern.
15. Attil II.
16. Hogmor and Hogrin.
17. Alaric.
18. Eric.
19. Halden.
20. Siward.
21. Eric II.
22. Halden II.
23. Ungwin.
24. Regnald.
25. Asmund I.
26. Haquin.
27. Gothar.
28. Adel.
29. Ostan.
30. Ingvar.
31. Asmund II.
32. Siward II.
33. Hirot.
34. Ingel.
35. Olaus Traetelga I.
36. Charles.
37. Bero or Biorn III.
38. Olaf Tretelga.
39. Ingo.
40. Eric III., surnamed Waderhead.
41. Eric IV., surnamed Segersell, or the Victorious.
42. Eric V., surnamed Stenchil Milde, or Happy-born.
The authors admit that they have omitted several names, probably from a doubt whether the kings in question ever reigned. Yet some of the names in both lists may be proved to be the same. How correct this? Doubtless the kings of Gothia sometimes reigned at Upsal, and vice versa. Indeed there is proof for this conjecture.
[120]. Saxo Grammaticus. The Universal History. The Ynglinga Saga, &c.
[121]. Ynglinga Saga, cap. 5.
[122]. This was also the name of Thor’s hammer or thunderbolt.
[123]. The same accident is related by Saxo of a Danish king.
[124]. See Introduction, page [31].
[125]. Ynglinga Saga, cap. 11–15. (apud Snorronis Heimskringlam, tom. i.).
[126]. See Introduction, page [33].
[127]. Ynglinga Saga, cap. 15–22.
[129]. Ynglinga Saga, cap. 22–29, p. 25–35. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, p. 122.
[130]. The reader who may wish to see how beautifully Saxo has confounded these simple events, may turn to the second book of his history.
[131]. Ynglinga Saga, cap. 29–36, p. 35–45.
[132]. A hero of that race.
[133]. Ynglinga Saga, cap. 36–45. p. 45–54.
[134]. Ibid., cap. 45, 46.
[135]. Ynglinga Saga, passim.
[136]. Saxo—Snorro—Johannes Magnus—Torfœus, in multis locis.
[137]. Saxo—Snorro—Johannes Magnus—Torfœus, in multis locis.
[139]. See the extract from Wheaton’s History of the Northmen, p. 40.
[140]. Saxo—Snorro—Johannes Magnus—Tacitus.
[141]. Initâ Gothiâ.
[144]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, lib. i. Johannes Magnus, Historia Gothorum, page 14, &c. Loccenius, Historia Suevica, lib. i. Erici Olai Historia Suevorum Gothorumque, lib. i.
[145]. See Introduction, page [42].
[147]. See before, page [132].
[149]. Authorities:—Saxo Grammaticus, lib. vii. Snorro Sturleson, cap. 22–29. Joannes Magnus, lib. i. Loccenius, lib. i. Ericus Olaus, lib. i.
[153]. See before, page [137].
[154]. Saxonis Grammatici, passim. Snorro Sturleson, Heimskringla, cap. 29–46. Loccenius, Historia Suevica, lib. i. and ii. Erici Olai Historia, lib. i.
[155]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, lib. viii. and ix. Loccenius, Historia Suevica, lib. ii. Erici Olai Historia, lib. i. Mallet, Histoire de Dannemarc, tom. iii. liv. i.
[156]. Authorities:—Saxo—Loccenius—Eric Olaus—Joannes Magnus.
[157]. See the [next chapter].
[158]. Erici Olai Historia Suevorum, lib. i. p. 20, 21. Loccenii Historia Suecana, lib. ii. p. 49–51.
[159]. See Introduction, page [8].
[160]. Torfœus, Historia Rerum Norvegicarum, tom. i. To this work we refer the more curious reader.
[161]. Ynglinga Saga, cap. 47. (apud Heimskringlam Snorronis, tom. i. p. 56.). Torfœus, Historia Norvegica, tom. i.
Chronology to illustrate the reigns of the Ynglings in Sweden and Norway,
by Schoning, editor of Snorro’s Heimskringla.[[162]]
A.C.
105. Birth of Odin.
90. ——— Niord.
75. ——— Skiold.
65. ——— Freyr.
40. Odin’s arrival in the north.
35. Birth of Semming.
32. ——— Fiolner.
17. ——— Frode.
A.D.
1. Swegdir.
34. Vanlaud.
45. Drifa.
67. Visbur.
100. Domald.
127. Daup.
133. Domar.
146. Dyggve.
148. Drotta.
170. Dan Mikillati.
191. Dag.
216. Agne.
220. Froste.
235. Frode II.
241. Alrek.
245. Skialfa.
262. Gudlaug.
265. Yngve II.
267. Alf.
290. Jorund.
290. Halfdan I.
292. Hugleik.
295. Hako. Gylaug.
300. Hagbard.
300. Fridleif III.
310. Starkater II.
316. Aune.
338. Ale.
370. Frode IV. Fraekne.
386. Egill.
391. Augvald, king of Rogaland.
419. Ottar Vendilkraka.
438. Helge.
446. Adils.
460. Ale, the Uplander.
465. Godgiest.
479. Hrolf Krake.
485. Eystein.
510. Solve, from Niardey.
518. Yngvar.
551. Braut-Aunund.
554. Halfdan.
565. Gudraud.
577. Hiordvard Ylfing.
580. Ingiald.
587. Ivar Vidfadme.
600. Asa.
613. Olaf Trætelja.
620. Solveiga or Solva.
630. Eystein Hardrade.
640. Ingiald.
658. Halfdan Huitbein.
663. Asa, daughter of Eystein.
677. Eirik, the son of Agnar.
691. Gudraud.
705. Eystein.
705. King Skiold.
710. Hilda, daughter of Eirik.
710. Dag, king of Westmaur.
738. Halfdan Millde.
738. King Alfarin.
743. Hlifa, daughter of Dag.
770. King Eystein.
771. Alfgeir.
771. King Gudreyd Mikillati.
774. Alfhilda, daughter of Alfarin.
804. Olaf, Alf of Gierstaden.
805. King Gandalf.
806. King Haugne.
823. Halfdan the Black.
824. King Gudreid died.
832. Ragnhilda, the mother of Harold Harfagre, born.
833. Rognvald born.
841. Halfdan the Black made king of Agder and Westfold.
847. King Sigurd the Stag died.
851. Halfdan made king of Sogne.
852. Takes to wife Ragnhilda, daughter of Sigurd the Stag.
853. Harald Harfagre born.
861. Nadodd discovers Iceland.
863. King Halfdan dies, and is succeeded by Harald.
864. Gardar visits Iceland.
865. Harald’s war with king Gandolf and others.
866. Alfheim subdued by Harald.
867. He undertakes an expedition to Drontheim.
867. Floke sails to Iceland.
869. Harald subdues Naumdal; marries Asa.
870. Compels Vermeland to submit.
870. Ingiolf visits Iceland.
871. Harald leads an expedition to western Gothland, and overthrows the Goths in battle.
872. Takes Snæfrida to wife. Second expedition into Drontheim.
875. Ingulf first settles in Iceland.
880. Harald’s nuptials with Gyda.
881. Nordmor and Raumadal submit to his arms.
882. Conquers Sunnmore.
883. Occupies the district of Fiord.
885. Is victor in the battle of Harfur’s Bay; becomes master of all Norway.
886. Visits Halogaland.
888. Undertakes an expedition to the western sea.
890. Cuts his hair, and receives the surname of Harfagre.
890. Thorolf is killed in Halogaland.
891. Queldulf and Skalgrim, having killed the two sons of duke Guthrum, go to Iceland.
893. Rognvald, jarl of Mörio, killed.
894. King Harald marries Ragnhilda.
895. Harald’s expedition to the Orkney Islands.
895. Hrolfus, or Rollo, compelled to leave Norway.
896. Enters Neustria or Normandy.
898. Eric called Blodöxe.
903. Harald divides his kingdom between his sons.
910. Eric of the Bloody Axe undertakes a piratical expedition.
918. Takes Gunhilda to wife. Kills Biorn’s brother.
923. Hako, afterwards Athelstane’s godson, born.
931. Sent to England.
932. Harald’s third expedition to the western sea.
933. Resigns the kingdom to his son Eric.
934. Harald, afterwards called Grafeld, born.
935. Halfdan the Black, king of Drontheim, dies.
936. Harald Harfagre dies.
937. King Erik Blodöxe kills his brothers Gudred and Olaf.
937. Hako, Athelstane’s godson, received as king by the people of Drontheim.
938. King Erik Blodöxe, forced to abandon his kingdom and Norway.
938. Hako Jarl, the son of Sigurd, born.
939. Erik made king of Northumberland.
940. King Hako publishes the code of Gulathing.
941. Publishes the code of Frosta.
941. Death of Athelstane.
943. Jamtland, and part of Helsing, added by king Hako to his dominions.
952. King Erik Blodöxe falls in battle.
953. Erik, the son of Harald, and his brothers, infest Norway.
935. Hako’s expedition to Denmark.
956. The Christian religion attempted to be introduced into Norway.
957. Part of Vikia occupied by the sons of Erik. King Hako defeats them and the Danes.
958. In another battle, in the island of Fredey, they are again vanquished. 958. King Harald Grenske, father of St. Olaf, born.
963. King Hako dies of his wounds.
963. The sons of Erik made kings of Norway.
965. Jarl Sigurd killed.
968. The emperor Otho I.’s expedition into Denmark.
968. Sigmund, son of Breste, born.
969. The sons of Erik slay the kings Trygve and Gudred.
969. Olaf, son of Trygve, born.
969. Jarl Erik, the son of Hako, born.
970. Jarl Hako flees into Denmark.
971. Returns to Drontheim.
972. Olaf, son of Trygve, comes to Esthonia.
974. Klype sent to England by king Sigurd.
975. King Sigurd dies. A grievous famine in Norway.
976. Jarl Hako goes to Denmark.
976. The emperor Otho II.’s expedition to Denmark.
977. King Harald Graafeld dies.
978. Harald, the son of Gorm, received in the kingdom of Norway. Hako made jarl of Norway.
978. Olaf Trygveson comes to the palace of Valdemar, king of Holmgard.
979. King Ragenfred recovers part of Norway.
980. Overthrown in battle, and forced to leave Norway.
981. Erik kills Skopte.
982. Harald son of Gorm’s expedition into Norway.
986. Olaf Trygveson marries Gyra.
988. Otho III.’s expedition into Denmark.
989. Gyra, the wife of Olaf Trygveson, dies.
990. Death of Harald, son of Gorm.
993. Olaf Trygveson baptized.
993. Saint Olaf born.
994. Jarl Hako’s war with the Jomsberg pirates.
996. Jarl Hako killed; Olaf Trygveson made king of Norway.
998. Saint Olaf baptized.
1000. Battle in which king Olaf loses his life and kingdom.
The preceding list differs in some respects from that of Suhm. We give only the kings from the Tree-cutter to the Saint.
| Died A.D. | |
| Olaf Trætelia | 640 |
| Halfdan Whitben | 700 |
| Eystein | 730 |
| Halfdan Millde | 784 |
| Gudred Mikillati | 824 |
| Olaf Geirstada | 840 |
| Halfdan Swart | 863 |
| Harald Haarfager | 934 |
| Erik Blodöxe | 940 |
| Hako the Good | 963 |
| Harald Graafeld | 977 |
| Hako Jarl | 995 |
| Olaf Trygveson | 1000 |
| Olaf the Saint | 1030 |
[162]. Here are Danish and Gothic as well as Swedish princes and chiefs who had not the regal title. Schoning’s orthography, which we shall not alter, often differs from that which we have adopted in the text.
[163]. Ynglinga Saga, cap. 48–52. p. 57–60.
[164]. Ynglinga Saga, cap. 53–55. p. 60–64.
[165]. Snorro Sturleson, Saga Halfdanar Swarta, cap. 1-3. (apud Heimskringlam, tom. i. p. 65, &c.).
[166]. Saga Halfdanar Swarta, cap. 3, 4. p. 67, 68.
[167]. Saga Halfdanar Swarta, cap. 5-7. p. 68–72. (apud Heimskringlam Snorronis, tom. i.).
[168]. Saga Halfdanar Swarta, cap. 7-9.
[169]. The brother of Ragnilda; see page [165].
[170]. Harald’s Saga ens Harfagra, cap. 1, 2. (apud Heimskringlam Snorronis, tom. i. p. 75–77.).
[171]. Haralld’s Saga ens Harfagra, cap. 3-6. p. 77–80.
[172]. Transcriber’s Note: the footnote marker on page 170 has no corresponding footnote text.
[173]. Haralld’s Saga ens Harfagra, cap. 6–13.
[174]. Missing footnote text at bottom of page.
[175]. These words are remarkable, and they confirm the observations which we made in the preceding chapter.
[176]. Haralld’s Saga ens Harfagra, cap. 13–18. p. 88–93.
[177]. Haralld’s Saga ens Harfagra, cap. 18, 19. p. 93–95. The following is the ode of Hornkloft, as translated by the Hon. W. Herbert, and, in some trifling respects, improved by Mr. Wheaton:—
“Loud in Hafur’s echoing bay,
Heard ye the din of battle bray,
’Twixt Kiötve rich, and Harald bold?
Eastward sails the ships of war;
The graven bucklers gleam afar,
And dragons’ heads adorn the prows of gold.
“Glittering shields of purest white,
And swords, and Celtic falchions bright,
And western chiefs the vessels bring:
Loudly roar the wolfish rout,
And maddening champions wildly shout.
And long and loud the twisted hauberks ring.
“Firm in fight they proudly vie
With Him whose might will make them fly,
Of Eastmen kings the warlike head.
Forth his gallant fleet he drew,
Soon as the hope of battle grew,
But many a buckler brake ere Haklang bled.
“Fled the lusty Kiötve then
Before the Fair-haired king of Men,
And bade the islands shield his flight.
Warriors wounded in the fray,
Beneath the thwarts all gasping lay,
Where, headlong cast, they mourn’d the loss of light.
“Gall’d by many a massive stone
(Their golden shields behind them thrown),
Homeward the grieving warriors speed;
Swift from Hafur’s bay they hie:
East-mountaineers o’er Jardar fly,
And thirst for goblets of the sparkling mead.”
[178]. Haralld’s Saga ens Harfagra, cap. 19–25. p. 95–103. Snæfrida was, probably, a supernatural damsel—at least, on one side. So was Guendolen, in the bridal of Triermain; but the British Arthur broke the charm which bound him in three months, while Harald was spell-bound for as many years. The description in Scott is exquisite.
[179]. Haralld’s Saga ens Harfagra, cap. 26.
[180]. Haralld’s Saga ens Harfagra, passim. Fragmentum Islandicum de Regibus Dano-Norvegicis (apud Langebek, Scriptores Rerum Danicarum, tom. ii.).
[181]. Haralld’s Saga ens Harfagra, passim. Fragmentum Islandicum de Regibus Dano-Norvegicis (apud Langebek, Scriptores Rerum Danicarum, tom. ii.).
[182]. Haralld’s Saga ens Harfagra, cap. 34.
[183]. Haralld’s Saga ens Harfagre, cap. 45.
[184]. Wallingford, Chronicon, p. 540. Theodoric, Historia Norwegica, cap. 2. Snorro, Haralld’s Saga ens Harfagra, cap. 42, 43.; necnon Saga Hakonar Goda, cap. 1.
[185]. Matthæi Westmonasteriensis Historia, p. 369. Simeonis Dunelmensis Hist. 204. Arembs de Mailros, p. 148. Saga Hakonar Goda, cap. 3, 4. p. 127–129.
[186]. Saga Hakonar Goda, cap. 4-15., passim.
[187]. See Introduction, page [33].
[188]. Saga Hakonar Goda, p. 139.
[189]. That on the constitution and laws of the ancient Scandinavians, in the next volume of this compendium.
[190]. Saga Hakonar Goda, cap. 17.
[191]. Saga Hakonar Goda, cap. 17–19.
[192]. Saga Hakonar Goda, cap. 20–25.
[193]. Saga Hakonar Goda, cap. 25–32.
[194]. This Song of Hako—Hakonar Mal—has been rendered into English verse by the Hon. W. Herbert.
[195]. See the chapter on the subject in Vol. II. of this compendium.
[196]. Saga Hakonar Goda, cap. 33.
[197]. Saga of Haralldi Grafelld Konungi de Hakoni Jarli Sigurdar Syni, cap. 1-10. (apud Heimskringlam Snorronis, tom. i. p. 165–179.).
[198]. Saga af Haralldi Grafelld Konungi, &c., cap. 11–13.
[199]. Saga af Olafi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 1-16.
[200]. Saga af Olafi Konungi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 16–37.
[201]. Saga af Olafi Konungi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 38–49. p. 229–245.
[202]. The same authority.
[203]. Saga af Olafi Konungi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 1-3. p. 187, &c. Historia Olavi Tryggvii-filii tom. i. cap. 44. p 86–90. Hafniæ, 1828.
The latter work, for which we are indebted to the Icelandic Society of Copenhagen, has many interesting particulars omitted by Snorro. It was composed by Gunlaug, a monk of Iceland, in the thirteenth century.
[204]. Saga af Olafi Konungi-iSyni, cap. 4. Historia Olavi Tryggvii-filii, tom. i. cap. 45.
[205]. Now a part of Russia, to the east and south of the Gulf of Finland.
[206]. Saga af Olafi Konungi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 4-21. Historia Olavi Tryggvii-filii, tom. i. cap. 46, &c.
[207]. See before, page [108].
[208]. Saga Olafi Konungi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 21–35. p. 211–227. Historia Olavi Regis, tom. i. cap. 73–82. p. 157–175.
[209]. See before, page [205].
[210]. The same authorities.
[211]. Of these associates no mention is made by Snorro, and we think his authority preferable to that of Gunlaug.
[212]. Saga of Olafi Konungi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 51, 52. p. 246–248. Historia Olavi Tryggvii-filii, cap. 93, 94, 98.
[213]. This symbol in Christian times was superseded by the cross. See the notes to Scott’s “Lady of the Lake.”
[214]. 2 Saga af Olafi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 52, 53. Historia Olavi Tryggvii-filii, tom. i. cap. 99–102.
[215]. The same authorities.
[216]. Saga af Olafi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 53–56. Historia Olavi Tryggvii-filii, tom. i. cap. 103, 104.
[217]. The same authorities.
[218]. Saga af Olafi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 57–65. Historia Olavi Tryggvii-filii, tom. i. cap 106. et seq.
[219]. Saga af Olafi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 66–71.
[220]. Saga af Olafi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 72–74. Historia Olavi, tom. ii. cap. 165.
[221]. See before, page [214].
[222]. Saga af Olafi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 72–74. Historia Olafi, tom. ii. cap. 165.
[223]. Saga af Olafi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 84–87. Historia Olavi, tom. ii.
[224]. Historia Olavi, cap. 172.
[225]. Saga af Olafi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 66, 98–100. Historia Olavi, tom. ii. cap. 195.
[226]. See before, page [115].
[227]. Saga af Olafi Tryggva-Syni, cap. 100. ad finem. Historia Olavi, tom. iii. cap. 256, &c.
[228]. See before, page [122].
[229]. Saga af Olafi hinns Helga, cap. 1 &c. Historia Regis Olavi Sancti tom. i.
[230]. See before, page [204].
[231]. Saga af Olafi Konungs hinns Helga, cap. 1-4. Historia Regis Olavi Sancti, tom. i. cap. 18–25. p. 31–36.
[232]. See before, page [121].
[233]. Saga af Olafi hinns Helga, cap. 4-26. Historia Regis Olavi Sancti, tom. i. cap. 25–42.
[234]. Saga af Olafi hinns Helga, cap. 26–32. Historia Regis Olavi Sancti, tom. i. p. 69–78.
[235]. Saga af Olafi hinns Helga, cap. 26–32. Historia Regis Olavi Sancti, tom. i. p. 69–78.
[236]. Saga af Olafi hinns Helga, cap. 36–42. Historia Olavi Regis Sancti, tom. i.
[237]. Saga af Olafi hinns Helga, cap. 36–42. Historia Olavi Regis Sancti, tom. i.
[238]. Saga af Olafi hinns Helga (ad cap. 56.). Historia Regis Olavi Sancti, tom. i. (ad cap. 60.).
[239]. Saga of Olafi hinns Helga (ad cap. 56.). Historia Regis Olavi Sancti, tom. i. (ad cap. 60.).
[240]. Saga af Olafi hinns Helga, cap. 60–81. Historia Regis Olafi, tom. i. (pluribus capitibus).
[241]. This allusion will be hereafter explained.
[242]. Saga af Olafi hinns Helga. Historia Regis Olavi Sancti.
[243]. The same authorities.
[244]. Saga af Olafi hins Helga, cap. 72–74. p. 89–95. Historia Olavi Regis, tom. i. p. 141, &c.
[245]. The same authorities.
[246]. Saga af Olafi hins Helga, cap. 110–116. Historia Regis Olavi Sancti, tom. i.
[247]. Alluding, we suppose, to his pointed mitre.
[248]. Saga of Olafi hins Helga, cap. 117–120. Historia Regis Olavi Sancti, tom. i.
[249]. The same authorities.
[250]. Saga af Olafi hins Helga, cap. 154–159. Saxonis Grammatici, lib. x. p. 194. Mallet, Histoire de Dannemarc, tom. iii. liv. ii. p. 139, &c.
[251]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, lib. x. p. 194. Snorronis Heimskringla, tom. ii. p. 271.
[252]. This has a parallel in the Mohammedan governor of Calcutta, whom no one durst awake when the English were dying in the Black Hole.
[253]. Saga af Olafi hinom Helga, cap. 166–180. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. x.
[254]. Saga af Olafi hinom Helga, cap. 180–191. Historia Regis Olavi Sancti tom. ii.
[255]. The same authorities.
[256]. Saga af Olafi hinom Helga, cap. 211, &c. Historia Regis Olavi Sancti, tom. iii. (pluribus capitibus).
[257]. Saga af Olafi, cap. 131. Historia Regis Olavi, tom. ii. cap. 120.
[258]. See [Appendix A].
[259]. See [Appendix B].
[260]. Eutropius, Epitome. Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica, lib. i. cap. 1. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, lib. i. et ii.
[261]. See before, page [158].
[262]. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica, lib. viii. Depping, Histoire des Expeditions Maritimes des Normands, tom. i. chap. 1.
[263]. Eutropius, Epitome, lib. ix. cap. 13. Tacitus, de Moribus Germanorum, cap. 44.
[264]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan., passim. Depping, Histoire, tom. i. chap. 3.
[265]. Turner’s Anglo-Saxons, vol. i. p. 147.
[266]. Turner’s Anglo-Saxons, vol. i. p. 152, &c.
[267]. See England, by Sir James Mackintosh, vol. i.; and Europe during the Middle Ages, vol. iii.
[268]. The Saxon Chronicle (sub annis).
[269]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. lib. v.
[270]. Turner’s Anglo-Saxons, vol. i.
[271]. See before, page [150].
[272]. Saxonis Grammatici Hist. Dan. Ynlinga Saga, cap. 46.
[274]. Turner’s Anglo-Saxons, vol. i. Europe during the Middle Ages, vol. iii.
[275]. Europe during the Middle Ages, vol. iii.
[276]. See Mackintosh’s England, vol. i.; and Europe during the Middle Ages, vol. iii.
[277]. Turner’s Anglo-Saxons, vol. i.
[278]. The Saxon Chronicle, A.D. 937. Johnstone, Antiquitates Celto-Scandicæ, p. 31. See Europe during the Middle Ages, vols. iii. and iv.
[281]. The French historians in the collection of Bouquet.
[282]. See his reign, in the chapter on Denmark, page [102]. Wace, Roman de Rou, tom. i. part i.
[283]. Wace, Roman de Rou, tom. i. Pontoppidan, Gesta et Vestigia Danorum extra Daniam, tom. i. p. 225, &c. Depping, Histoire des Expeditions Maritimes des Normands, tom. i. chap. 4.
[284]. Pontoppidan, Gesta et Vestigia Danorum, tom. i. p. 117–119. Wace, Roman de Rou, tom. i. part i. For a parallel incident in Danish history, see before, page [27].
[285]. Wace, Roman de Ron, tom. i. part i. Benoit de St. Maur, Chronique des Ducs de Normandie, liv. i. Pontoppidan, Gesta et Vestigia Danorum, tom. i. p. 214.
[286]. Wace—Dudo de St. Quentin—Benoit de St. Maur—Pontoppidan.
[287]. Wace, Roman de Rou, tom. i. part ii. Pontoppidan, Gesta et Vestigia, tom. i. (sub annis).
De la sainte Kemise ke la dame vesti,
Ki mere e vierge fu quant de lie dex naski,
Out Rou si grant pour et tant s’en, esbahi,
N’i osa arester; vers als nes tost s’enfui.
[289]. Abbonis Floriacensis Poema de Obsidione Parisiensi, lib. i. et ii. Pontoppidan, Gesta et Vestigia, tom. i. p. 244–264. Wace, Roman de Rou, part ii. Depping, Histoire des Expeditions, tom. ii. chap. 7.
[290]. The same authorities.
[291]. Authorities:—Dudo of St. Quentin, Wace, Benoit of St. Maur, Pontoppidan, and Depping. The last-named writer makes a sad confusion of the chronology.
[292]. The same authorities.
[293]. Authorities:—Dudo of St. Quentin, Wace, Pontoppidan, Depping.
[294]. Moore’s History of Ireland, vol. ii.
[295]. Saxonis Grammatici, Hist. Dan. lib. i. tom. v. Waræus, De Antiquitatibus Hiberniæ, cap. 24. Pontoppidan, Gesta et Vestigia, tom. ii. p. 299, &c. Moore, History of Ireland, vol. ii. chap. xv. and xvi.
[296]. The same authorities.
[297]. Authorities:—Saxo Grammaticus, Pontoppidan, and the Irish Chronicles, as quoted by Usher and Moore.
[298]. The same authorities.
[299]. Depping, Histoire, tom. ii. Moore, History, vol. ii. Pontoppidan, Gesta et Vestigia, tom. ii.
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
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- Transcriber’s Note:
- All footnotes have been gathered together and placed at after the [Appendix].
- The footnote marker number 173 attached to the text “scarcely habitable by men” on page [170] was not attached to any footnote text.
- Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
- Typographical errors were silently corrected.
- Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant form was found in this book.