“On Monday, when King Harald Sigurdarson and his men had had their day meal, he sounded the horns to go ashore; he made his host ready, and selected those who should remain or go ashore;[[433]] he let two men from each detachment[[434]] go, and one remain. Tosti jarl prepared himself and his host to go ashore with the king; but Olaf, the king’s son, and Eystein Orri (black cock) were left behind to guard the ships; also the son of Thorberg Arnason, who was then the most renowned and dearest of all lendirmen in Norway to the king—Harald had promised him his daughter Maria—the jarls of the Orkneys, Pál and Erlend, remained behind. The weather was exceedingly fine, and the sun so hot that the men left their armour behind, and went up with shields, helmets, spears, and swords; many carried bows and arrows, and they were in high spirits. When they came near the town they saw great clouds of dust, and a large host on horseback, with fine shields and shining brynjas. The king stopped, and, calling Tosti jarl, asked what men those were who were coming against them. The jarl said: ‘They are most likely foes, though it may be that they are some of our kinsmen who come to seek friendship and mercy from us, and give us in return their faith and trust.’ The king said that they would stop there and find out about this host; they did so, and the nearer the host approached the more numerous it seemed. It was so well armed, and the weapons glittered so, that it was as if one looked at broken shining ice. Then Tosti jarl said: ‘Herra (lord), let us take a good expedient. It cannot be doubted that these are foes, and the king himself probably leads them.’ The king asked: ‘What is your advice?’ Tosti answered: ‘The first is to go back as soon as we can to the ships to fetch the rest of our men and our coats of mail (brynjas), then let us fight as well as we can; or otherwise let us go on board the ships, and then the horsemen cannot reach us.’ The king said: ‘I will follow another plan. I will put three brave men on the swiftest horses, and let them ride to our men as fast as they can, and tell them what has happened; their aid will soon come, for the English will have a hard fight before we are defeated.’ The jarl said: ‘You shall have your will, lord, in this as in other things; but I am not more eager to flee than any other man, though I said what I thought advisable.’ Harald put up his standard, the land-waster, and arrayed his host, and made the line (fylking) long, but not thick; then he bent the wings (arms) backwards, so that they met each other; it was a wide thick circle, equal on all sides; it had shield against shield on all sides, and shields above also.[[435]] The array was thus formed because the king knew that the horsemen were wont to rush up in small squads (ridil) and draw back at once; the king’s guard, very picked men, was inside the circle, the archers also, and Tosti with his men. Then the king ordered the jarl to go forward where it was most needed. ‘Those who stand outermost in the array,’ he said, ‘shall put the handles of their spears down on the ground, and the points against the breasts of the horsemen if they attack; those who stand next shall direct their spear points against the breasts of their horses; keep the spears thus everywhere that they cannot advance; let us stand firm and take care not to break this array.’
“Harald, son of Godwin, had come thither with an overwhelming host both of horsemen and footmen; it is told that King Harald had not the half of his men. Harald Sigurdarson, on a black horse with a white spot on its forehead, rode about his army and examined how it was arranged; his horse stumbled, and he fell forward off it; as he rose, he said: ‘A fall bodes a lucky journey.’
“King Harald Gudinason said to the Northmen who were with him: ‘Do you know the tall man with the blue kirtle (kyrtil) and the fine helmet who fell off his horse?’ ‘It is the king of the Northmen,’ they said. The king added: ‘He is a tall and noble-looking man, but nevertheless it is likely that his luck is now gone.’ Then twenty English horsemen[[436]] rode forth, fully armoured, as were also their horses; when they came to the array of the Northmen, one of them asked: ‘Where is Tosti jarl in the host?’ Tosti answered: ‘It is not to be concealed that you may find him here.’ The horseman said: ‘Harald thy brother sends thee greeting, and the message that thou shalt have peace, and get Northumberland, and rather than that thou shouldst not join him he will give thee one-third of all his realm.’ The jarl replied: ‘Then something else is offered than the enmity and disgrace of last winter; if this had been offered then, many who now are dead would be alive, and the realm of the King of England would stand more firm. Now if I accept these terms, what will my brother Harald offer to the King of Norway for his trouble?’ The horseman answered: ‘He has said what he will grant King Harald Sigurdarson: it is a space of seven feet, and it is so long because he is taller than most other men.’ The jarl answered: ‘Go and tell my brother, King Harald, to prepare for battle; it shall not be said among Northmen that Tosti jarl left Harald, King of Norway, and went into the host of his foes when he made warfare in England; rather will we all resolve to die with honour, or win England with a victory.’ As the horsemen rode back to their host, King Harald asked the jarl: ‘Who was that eloquent man?’ ‘It was my brother, Harald, son of Godwin.’ The king said: ‘Too long was this hidden from us, for they had come so near our host that this Harald would not have been able to tell of the death of our men.’[[437]] The jarl said: ‘It is true, lord, that he acted incautiously, and I saw that it might have been as you said; but when he came to offer me peace and great power, I should have been his slayer if I had betrayed who he was; I acted thus because I will rather suffer death from my brother, than be his slayer, if I may choose.’ The king said to his men: ‘This man (Harald) was little and nimble, and stood proudly in the stirrups.’ Then King Harald Hardradi went into the ring (circle) of the shieldburgh and sang this stanza:—
‘Forth we go
In the array;
Armour-less
Under the blue edge;
The helmets shine,
I have not mine (brynja, namely)
Now lies our war-dress