The messengers were by no means pleased to take this message back to King Canute. When they told him the reply of Olaf and that he would by no means come and pay scat to him, or lay his head between his knees in sign of subjection, Canute replied: “King Olaf the Thick guesses wrong if he thinks I shall eat up all the kail in England. I will soon let him see that there is something else under my ribs than kail; and cold kail it shall prove for him.”
Soon after that, in 1026, Canute went over to Denmark to see what Olaf was about, and to try to detach the King of Sweden from Olaf’s side; but this he failed to do, for the King of Sweden feared that Canute, if he were successful against Olaf, would turn next against him and swallow him up also; so as soon as Canute had returned to England the King of the Swedes and the King of Norway made a meeting together, and swore to support each other against Canute, both of them meanwhile collecting what forces they could and agreeing to lie in wait for the King of England. By the winter of 1027 Olaf had got a good fleet together, and for himself he had built a very large ship with a bison’s head gilded all over standing out from the bow. He called his vessel the Bison. He sailed eastward with a mighty force, keeping close to land, and everywhere inquiring whether anything had been seen of Canute, but all he could hear was that he was fitting out a levy in England, and getting together a great fleet, over which Earl Hakon was second in command. Many of Olaf’s people got tired of waiting when they heard that Canute had not yet come, and returned home, but the best of his warriors remained with him, and with these he sailed south to Denmark, giving out that he intended to conquer the country. Here the King of the Swedes met him with his army, and together they made fearful ravages in the land, treating the people with great severity, and dragging them bound and wounded to the ships. Many of the people, feeling themselves unable to withstand the united force of the two kings, agreed to submit to them; but the others were wasted with fire and sword. It was joyful tidings for them when they heard that Canute and his fleet had really sailed and were on their way to their help.
Sigvat the skald, who was sometimes with Olaf in Norway and sometimes with Canute in England, made this ballad about the sailing of Canute the Great:
“‘Canute is on the sea
The news is told,
And the Norsemen bold
Repeat it with great glee.
It runs from mouth to mouth—
‘On a lucky day
We came away