The next morning Ivar went to see two of his uncles, Randvir, a brother of his mother, and Visbur, a brother of his father, who had come to Upsalir with him, and said to them: “Kinsmen, I desire you to ask for me in marriage Randalin, the second daughter of Yngvi, the Hersir of Svithjod.”
“Well done, Ivar,” said his two uncles with one voice. “Thou art wise in thy choice, for Randalin is beautiful, and most accomplished in all that pertains to woman, and will be a wife worthy of thee; she is one of the greatest matches in the Northern lands, and we hope sincerely that both her father and herself will consent to your union.”
“I have told Randalin how much I loved her, and she has said that no one shall ever marry her but me,” replied Ivar.
The same afternoon the two uncles of Ivar went to Yngvi, and said to him: “Kinsman, we have to talk to thee on a very important matter,” and then explained their errand. Visbur was the spokesman, and said: “We are allied to thee by blood and kinship, and we wish furthermore to cement more closely our friendship, so we have come to ask the hand of thy second daughter, Randalin, for Ivar. Thy daughter is high-born, and of all the pedigrees of the Upsalir families, hers is the highest, for she is descended in direct line from the gods themselves. We wish, if it is thy pleasure, that Ivar should be thy son-in-law.”
After a pause, in order to allow Yngvi to reflect upon his proposals, Visbur continued: “Ivar is valiant, has been in many battles, has travelled far and wide, and is, we think, very wise for his age. More than all this, Ivar loves thy daughter Randalin, and we think it will be a happy union for both our families, and will cement the friendship that exists between Gotland and Svithjod.”
Yngvi received their request favorably, and replied: “I know that there will be no disparity in the match, for both Ivar and Randalin are of Odin’s kin; Ivar is a renowned warrior, and rules over one of the powerful realms of the North. There is no obstacle to their marriage, for though they are related by blood, it is only in the fifth degree, and this is the degree in which marriage is allowed between kinsmen and kinswomen. This is one of our wisest laws, which has been adhered to by us Norsemen from the most ancient times; by this we prevent the degeneration of our race.”
“But,” continued Yngvi, “Randalin is wise, and I will not betroth her to any one without her consent. Besides, she is of age, according to law, since she is over fifteen; and as she owns entailed lands in her own right, she can betroth herself to whom she likes, though it would be very unwise for her to do so without my consent. But before I speak to her on the subject, we must find that we are of one mind in regard to the conditions of the marriage concerning property. You are aware that Randalin has, even to-day, a great deal of property in her own right, and that she owns a third of her mother’s inheritance, which includes many large landed estates, and that in the course of time a great deal of wealth is to come to her. Marriage is a civil contract, owing to the relation which man and wife hold towards each other in regard to property. Let us see what will be ‘the dowry,’ or ‘home following,’ and the ‘counter dowry’; if we agree on these points, I see not what should prevent the marriage if Randalin is willing. Her brothers are waging war in the Mediterranean, and they will be delighted to hear of their sister’s marriage with their comrade and remote kinsman, Ivar Hjorvardson.”
Then he added: “According to the laws of our land, a woman has to be provided with a dowry, otherwise her children are not ‘inheritance born,’ and no marriage is valid without dowry; and that dowry, and the counter dowry which we give her, belong to her for life, and afterwards to her children, or to whomsoever she wills them, and her husband must not touch them. If she dies childless, her estates go back to her kinsmen, but the dowry is then returned to her husband; and she is entitled to a third of the property, both personal and real, earned by her husband during their married life.”
“Thou speakest fairly,” said the uncles. “Ivar will give as dowry to Randalin the estates of Bjolstad, of Lis, of Hof, and five hundred marks of gold.”
“This dowry is acceptable to me,” answered the Hersir of Svithjod.