The Story of Norway

by Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen

The other shire-kings were of the same opinion, and all pledged their kinsman their support. The people were immediately summoned to a thing, at which Olaf eloquently affirmed his right to the throne and was proclaimed king. In return he promised, according to ancient usage, to rule in accordance with the laws, and to protect the land against external enemies. A great multitude of warriors thronged forward to enroll themselves under his banner, and his following became so great as to cause him inconvenience. For food was not abundant, and the levying of supplies from the country might easily alienate the people. Again, if he meant to surprise Earl Sweyn, who was at that time sojourning at Steinker in Tröndelag, it was important to attract as little attention as possible, and to choose unfrequented routes over mountains and through wildernesses. Nevertheless, he succeeded in penetrating into Orkdale[A] with about 360 men, and to induce an army of 900 peasants, which had been sent against him by Einar Thambarskelver, to swear him allegiance. Earl Sweyn, hearing of this disaster, fled southward to Frosten and escaped only by a stratagem from falling into his pursuer's hands. The Trönders were now summoned to meet Olaf at the thing and compelled to recognize him as their king (1015). But they did this reluctantly, being strongly attached to the race of the earls of Hlade. Many of the most powerful chieftains, among them Einar Thambarskelver, were absent from the thing, preferring to make common cause with the earl.

[A] Orkdale is a part of Tröndelag.

In spite of the insecurity of his position, King Olaf determined to celebrate Christmas in Nidaros, the town founded by Olaf Tryggvesson, and later known as Drontheim. The earls, caring little for commerce, had allowed this trading-post to go to ruin; and of its former prosperity there was scarcely a vestige left. Olaf, emphasizing here as ever his rôle as the legitimate heir of his great kinsman, began to repair the dilapidated houses and arranged himself as well as he could with his retinue. He might, however, have saved himself the trouble; for no sooner had he moved his goods up from the ships than Earl Sweyn and Einar Thambarskelver descended upon him in the night with 2,400 men, and would have made an end of his career, if his sentinels had not warned him in the nick of time of the impending danger. He made his escape southward to the Oplands, where he was again well received by his step-father. His one endeavor now was to raise an army large enough to crush his rival. Sigurd Syr's popularity and influence stood him in good stead, and many chieftains who had hitherto held aloof were induced to join him. Among these was Ketil Calf of Ringeness. The remainder of the winter was occupied in ship-building and in securing resources for a decisive campaign. It was at this time that the great galley "Karlshoved" (Churl's Head) was built, the prow of which was adorned with a man's head, which the king himself had carved. In the spring, as soon as the ice broke up, he sailed out of the Folden Fjord with about twenty ships and from 1,500 to 2,000 men.

Earl Sweyn, in the meanwhile, had strained all his powers to meet the emergency. With the aid of Erling Skjalgsson of Sole and Einar Thambarskelver he had got together a fleet of forty-five well-equipped ships, manned with about 3,000 warriors. With this formidable force he met Olaf at Nessje, a head-land on the coast of Vestfold. It was Palm Sunday (March 25, 1016), and, according to the story, Olaf sent a messenger to the earl requesting him to grant a truce until the next day. The earl, however, who had no scruples on account of the holiday, refused the request, and the battle commenced. As was the custom in naval battles, the ships were tied together with ropes, "The Churl's-Head" occupying the centre and the smaller crafts the extreme wings. On board the king's ship were 120 picked men, all clad in ring armor and with French helmets on their heads. Their shields were white, with crosses of red or blue or gilt; crosses of the same colors also adorned their helmets. The king instructed his men to appear at first to act on the defensive, saving their spears until the enemy had thrown away theirs. This stratagem proved effective; for, as the king's battle-array bore down upon that of the earl, he was received with a storm of missiles. His men, however, were only at pains to protect themselves, thereby redoubling the martial zeal of their opponents, who imagined they were afraid. Then, when spears and arrows grew scarce on the earl's side, a vehement onslaught from the king met with no adequate resistance. Olaf took advantage of the momentary surprise to steer up to the earl's ship and engage him at close quarters. The fight there was long and bitter, and men fell in heaps on both sides. At last Earl Sweyn's men began to waver, and one by one the ships were cut loose and prepared to flee. But Olaf's men held them fast with boat-hooks until Sweyn ordered the prows to be cut off; even thus he would not have escaped with his life, if his brother-in-law, Einar Thambarskelver, had not flung an anchor aboard to him, and by means of the rope attached to it hauled him out of the line of battle. For all that, he managed to collect his ships further out in the fjord, and for a while it looked as if a fresh attack was imminent. Sigurd Syr urged Olaf not to let the opportunity escape of utterly destroying Erling Skjalgsson and Einar Thambarskelver.

"For," said he, "I well foresee that thou with thy character and ambition, wilt scarcely ever reach the point, when thou canst trust those magnates who are accustomed to bid defiance to chieftains."

Before Olaf had time to answer, the earl's fleet suddenly scattered, and the opportunity for destroying the chiefs was lost. The king's first act after the battle was to kneel upon the strand and thank God for the victory.

Earl Sweyn, though he had yet a large following and sufficient resources to continue the struggle, sailed eastward to Sweden where he was well received by his brother-in-law, King Olaf the Swede. He seems to have contemplated a fresh campaign against Norway, and was encouraged by the Swedish king to avenge his defeat. Instead of that, however, he undertook during the following summer a warlike expedition into Russia, probably to replenish his treasury, was taken ill and died on the way (1016).

Olaf availed himself of the earl's absence to extort oaths of allegiance from the peasantry along the coast; he hesitated, however, for some reason to attack Erling Skjalgsson and passed by the provinces which he held in fief without landing. He returned to Nidaros, rebuilt the ruined "king's hall," and the Church of St. Clement. From his sojourn abroad he had learned a lesson in regard to the advantages of commercial intercourse, and he encouraged merchants and artisans to take up their abode in the resuscitated city. He had small confidence in the good-will of the Trönders; and therefore liked to surround himself with men who were free from local ties and traditions. The death of Earl Sweyn, however, as soon as the rumor of it reached Norway, changed the situation. The Trönders, having now no chieftain of their own, began to send the king friendly messages and in various ways to court his favor. Presently he felt himself safe in summoning chiefs and peasantry to meet him at the thing, and his formal recognition as king followed in all the shires of Tröndelag. But it will be remembered that four of these shires, besides the adjacent provinces of Nordmöre, Raumsdale, and Söndmöre, had after the battle of Svolder been awarded to the king of Sweden, in whose behalf Earl Sweyn had governed them. A great wrath, therefore, possessed King Olaf the Swede, when he heard that the Trönders had sworn allegiance to "Olaf the Big." This was the nickname which he had conferred upon his opponent on account of his stoutness and burly frame. He could never refer to him except with oaths and opprobrious terms. His threats and insults, however, brought no response, and finally he determined to send a party of tax-gatherers into his former provinces. Having vainly solicited the tax, they sought an audience with King Olaf, who commanded them to go home and invite the King of Sweden to meet him at the boundary between the two countries. "Then," he said, "he may, if he chooses, come to an agreement with me, on the condition that each keeps the kingdom to which his birthright entitles him."

Twelve of the tax-gatherers who ventured to disobey his command, were captured and hanged. Such an insult the Swedish king could not allow to pass unavenged, and Olaf made preparations to receive him. He built a rude fortress on a headland projecting into the river Glommen, near the cataract Sarpen. In connection with these fortifications he founded a city called Borg or Sarpsborg, built a "king's hall," and offered protection to traders who came to settle there. The expected invasion from Sweden would naturally be directed through this district, and the site of the new city was therefore chosen chiefly for its strategic value. For a while, however, no decisive action was taken by the king of Sweden, who contented himself with killing Olaf's tax-gatherers in Jemteland in retaliation. The fact was that the feud was purely a personal one between the two kings, while their subjects, having no grudge against each other, desired peace. The king's friend and marshal, Björn Stallare, was induced to speak in the people's cause, and was finally commissioned to go as Olaf's embassador to Sweden, proposing peace on the conditions already named. But this embassy involved great danger, as Olaf the Swede, in his fury, did not even permit the name of his enemy to be mentioned in his presence. Björn therefore sent his friend, the Icelander, Hjalte Skeggesson, in advance to prepare the way for him, while he himself tarried with Ragnvald, the earl of Vestergötland, who had married the sister of Olaf Tryggvesson. Ragnvald's foster-father was the mighty peasant, Thorgny Thorgnysson, the law-man.[A] By securing the friendship of the earl, Björn accordingly assured himself of protection, in case the king should attempt violence against him. At the great winter thing in Upsala, where the king was present, he suddenly rose out of the throng of the people and said in a loud voice; so that all could hear him: "King Olaf sends me hither to offer the king of Sweden peace and the boundary which from ancient times has been between Norway and Sweden."

[A] Laga-madr is not a lawyer in the modern sense, but rather a kind of judge. The office had a slightly different significance in Sweden from what it acquired in Norway when introduced there by King Sverre.