Canute kept informed as to the situation in the enemies' fleet and army but did not attempt pursuit. It would seem that a great opportunity was thus permitted to slip past; but the King probably did not so regard it. To fight the Swedes was not a part of his present plan; his hope was to detach King Anund from his more vigorous ally. When he learned that the hostile fleet was about to dissolve, he returned to Zealand and blocked the Sound, hoping, no doubt, to intercept the Norwegian King on his return northward. As we have seen, however, Olaf appreciated the danger and refused to risk an ambush. That same season saw him on the march through south-western Sweden to his manors on the shores of the great Firth. On his arrival in his own land, he dismissed the larger part of his host; only a small body of trusted men including several prominent magnates remained with him at Sarpsborg, where he prepared to spend the winter.[314]
Of this campaign we have, broadly speaking, but one detailed account,—the one given in the sagas. As these are far from contemporary, doubts have been cast upon the story, but in the main it seems reliable. That there was a battle at Holy River we know from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which states that Canute was defeated at that place by Ulf and Eglaf supported by a large force of Swedes. As to the strategic device of King Olaf, we cannot be so sure; but the account in the sagas reveals a topographical knowledge so specific as to argue strongly for the belief that the authors must have had access to reliable sources. There is also a question as to the date of the battle: Snorre seems to place it in 1027; the Old English Chronicle has it in 1025. The battle seems to have been fought some time in September, 1026. It evidently occurred before Canute made his pilgrimage to Rome, where we find him at Easter, 1027.
Though Canute suffered a defeat at Holy River, the outcome gave no advantage to his enemies. The Swedes were discouraged and tired of a conflict which, after all, did not seem to concern them. King Olaf was discredited: a King who had abandoned his ships was not in position to claim a victory. From that day he found disloyalty everywhere. The pretender had only to appear on the Norwegian coasts with ships and men to secure the enthusiastic allegiance of the rebellious Norsemen.
Canute was not prepared, however, to move against Olaf at this time. Autumn was coming on, a season that was far too short for naval operations. And soon a tragedy was enacted at the Danish court, the consequences of which probably caused a complete rearrangement of Canute's immediate plans. The day before Michaelmas the King proceeded to Roeskild, where Earl Ulf had prepared an elaborate entertainment for him and his train. According to the sagas Ulf was aggressive, vigorous, and brave; but he was also tactless and careless in speech, and possessed a temper that was not easily controlled. The festivities did not seem to please the King—he was moody and silent. In the evening Ulf suggested a game of chess, hoping, no doubt, that the play would help to restore the royal good humour.
But as they were playing at chess, King Canute and Earl Ulf, the King made a wrong move and the Earl took one of his knights. The King moved his opponent's chessman back and told him to make another play; this angered the Earl; he overturned the chessboard, rose, and left the table. Then said the King, "Are you running away now, timid Wolf!" The Earl turned in the doorway and replied, "Farther you would have run at Holy River, if you had been able. You did not then call Ulf timid, when I rushed up to help you, when the Swedes were threshing you and your men like dogs." With that the Earl left the room and went to sleep.[315]
It is not likely, however, that the Earl's rest was wholly undisturbed that night, for in the morning he was found to have sought sanctuary in Holy Trinity Church. Nor did sleep appease the King's anger; while he was dressing the next morning, he ordered his shoe-swain to go at once and slay Ulf. But the servant dared not strike him within the sacred precincts. Then the King called Ivar White, one of his guardsmen, a Norseman who is said to have been Earl Eric's nephew,[316] and sent him with similar orders. Ivar soon returned to the King with a bloody sword as evidence that his sister's husband was no more.
Lines from the oldest fragment of Snorre's History (written about 1260). The fragment tells the story of the battle of Holy River and the murder of Ulf.
A Longship Model of the Gokstad ship on the waves.