The Story of Norway

by Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen

But both the earl and Erling were too powerful to make such a course advisable. It is, indeed, strange that Erik, with his great connections abroad, should have tolerated the defiance of this small potentate without in some way trying to break his power. It is true, Erling had a large number of mighty kinsmen and supporters in many of the coast-shires; and he would have been able to make a strong resistance. But it is scarcely credible that he could have maintained himself against Earl Erik, if the latter had seriously resolved to punish him. In fact, Earl Erik, although his early life had been passed in the tumult of war, was essentially a conciliatory character. A mighty warrior he was when duty or diplomatic necessity forced him to fight; but he hesitated to draw his sword, except on extreme provocation. It was his misfortune, by his birth and the circumstances which brought him into power, to represent an age and a régime which were destined to pass away. It was the so-called "heroic" age—that is, the age of turbulent individualism, opposed to the modern conception of the state. It is obvious that Erik had no sympathy with the feudalism instituted by the conquests of Harold the Fairhaired; probably he did not comprehend the progressive idea which dignified King Harold's ambition and made him the conscious or unconscious agent of advancing civilization. It is proof enough of this to state, that Erik allowed the dependencies of Norway, the Orkneys, and the Shetland Isles to detach themselves from the motherland, and made no attempt to force them back to their allegiance. There was no inspiring tradition in his family, as in that of Harold the Fairhaired, demanding a great and united kingdom; but, on the contrary, a local separatistic tradition, identifying him with the greatness and fame of a special locality. To have carried out this tradition completely, the Earls Erik and Sweyn ought to have remained pagans as their father was before them. They seem, indeed, to have been conscious of a certain inconsistency in accepting Christianity, for they made not the faintest attempt to assert their faith in their relation to the people, or to check the relapse into paganism, which became very prevalent during their reign.

Quite in keeping with the general reactionary character of the earls' government, was the revival of the viking cruises which, during the reign of Olaf Tryggvesson, had been diminishing in frequency. Earl Erik himself had been a valiant viking in his youth, and probably could see no harm in the careless and predatory life in which the old Germanic paganism found its most characteristic expression. A great impetus must have been given to this mode of life by Sweyn Forkbeard's repeated expeditions to England, in which a large number of Norsemen participated. It makes little difference if the aggressors were nominally Christians; their actions were an outburst of the old, tribal pagan spirit, which respected no right but that of might.

It was natural that the earls, if they expected to make their dominion permanent, should endeavor to extend their connections beyond Tröndelag. The strength of a government in those days depended largely upon the support which it received among the chieftains or tribal aristocracy, whose sentiments were usually reflected by the peasants. It was therefore necessary in some way to conciliate the late adherents of Olaf Tryggvesson, whose influence upon public opinion could be utilized to advantage. It may have been some such consideration which restrained Earl Erik from attacking Erling Skjalgsson. It is obvious that the overtures which he made to Einar Thambarskelver had the same end in view. We have seen how the young archer came within an inch of ending the earl's days at Svolder, thereby exciting the admiration of Erik for his skill and bravery. After the battle, the earl, with his usual generosity, spared his life, and sought in many ways to secure his friendship. He married him to his sister, the high-minded Bergljot, and gave him large fiefs, so that no chieftain in Tröndelag could rival him in power.

Toward his brother, Sweyn, Earl Erik behaved with the same magnanimity that he showed toward all who had claims on him. Sweyn was dissatisfied because of the disparity in their positions; he ruling over one third of the country as the vassal of the Swedish king, while Erik held two thirds as an independent sovereign. These complaints were repeated with growing importunity, until Erik resolved to abandon the government. He called together the chieftains and the mightiest peasants of the country, and abdicated (1015) in favor of his son Haakon and his brother Sweyn, between whom he divided his share of the land in equal portions. As Haakon was not yet of full age, Einar Thambarskelver was appointed his guardian. In the autumn of the year 1015, Earl Erik set sail for England, and assisted Knut the Mighty in the subjugation of that country. He was joined later by his son Haakon, who was expelled from Norway by Olaf Haroldsson, and was compelled to swear that he would never renew his claims to the kingdom. Earl Erik died in England, from the effect of a surgical operation, in 1023 or 1024. Before their expulsion, the Earls Sweyn and Haakon made peace with Erling Skjalgsson, confirming him in the possession of the fiefs which he had received from Olaf Tryggvesson, embracing all the coast-shires from the Sogne-fiord to Lindesness. To cement their friendship, Earl Sweyn gave his daughter, Sigrid,[A] in marriage to Erling's son, Aslak.

[A] Her name is differently given as Sigrid and Gunhild.

It was during the reign of the earls that the North American continent was first visited by the Norsemen. An Icelander named Bjarne Herjulfsson, during a voyage to Greenland (986), was blown out of his course, and discovered, while sailing northward, an unknown land on his left. He concluded that it could not be Greenland, as there were no glaciers, but only low, wooded heights sloping gently toward the ocean. On his arrival in Greenland, Bjarne told of the new country he had seen, but was much ridiculed because he had not gone ashore and explored it. His story made a great impression, however, upon the adventurous Leif, son of Erik the Red. He bought Bjarne's ship, and, with a crew of thirty-five men, set sail for the unknown shore in the West (1000). The first land he saw was on his right as he sailed southward. It was full of glaciers and had no grass. He called it Helluland, because it seemed, at the foot of the glaciers, to be one flat expanse.[A] This must have been the present Labrador. Continuing his southward course, Leif came to a country which was well wooded, and had long, smooth beaches. He called it Markland (Woodland), and the supposition is that it was Nova Scotia. With a stiff northeaster, he made considerable headway, and came, after another day's voyage, to an island where a river flowed into the sea. As it was ebb-tide he could not land, but so eager were the men to explore the country, that they jumped overboard and waded ashore. The statement that the sun rose in this region, on the shortest day of the year, at half-past seven and set at half-past four, indicates a latitude of 41° 24' 10"; Leif, accordingly, must have landed somewhere in the neighborhood of Cape Cod or Fall River, Mass. He found the country possessed of many advantages. It was so mild in the winter that cattle would require no stable-feeding. The rivers abounded in salmon and the woods in game. A German, named Tyrker, became so enthusiastic over the discovery of grapes, that he relapsed into his native tongue, and was supposed, by the crew to be intoxicated. Leif and his men put up some booths and spent the winter in the new land, which they called Vinland, but set sail the following spring for Greenland.

[A] Helle, in Norwegian, means a great flat stone.

It is evident from the description here given that there is either some mistake in regard to the latitude, or the climate of New England must have grown severer during the last nine centuries. Cattle could scarcely be left in the open air in the Cape Cod region nowadays. Nor do grapes of any choice variety grow wild in the chill blasts which now gambol about the Massachusetts coast; and the tart fox grape, it seems, could scarcely rouse enthusiasm even in the breast of a German.

A second expedition to Vinland was undertaken in 1006 by the Icelander Thorfinn Karlsevne and his wife Gudrid. Among their followers, who numbered 160, were Erik the Red's son Thorwald and his daughter Freydis. This was the first expedition which was undertaken with a view to colonizing the country. Cattle were therefore taken along, and preparations made for a permanent settlement. Thorfinn found without difficulty the booths abandoned by Leif, and himself added to their number. A strange people, whom the Norsemen called Skraellings, came to them in light boats made of skin and offered furs in exchange for cloth, ornaments, and weapons. Karlsevne, however, refused to sell them weapons; and when, during the negotiations, a bull came out of the woods and began to roar, the Skraellings became frightened and hastened away. From that time forth they became hostile to the settlers and attacked them repeatedly, killing several of their number. This perpetual state of insecurity disheartened the survivors, and after a sojourn of three years in Vinland, they returned to Greenland.