View source for Hjorungavagsmal

Told to the [[Byzantine Envoys]] by a skald in [[Ketelheim]]. He charged them 100gp to teach it to them. According to the skald, these events took place either in 986 or 987 AD.


     Hjorungavagsmal
     by Haldor Okristni
     
     
     King Hakon the Good had a shining helmet and a holy sword named Kvernbit. But on the Isle of Stord he
     fell to an arrow shot by Kisping the Shoe-boy, for even a shoe-boy could see the king in his shining
     helmet among the throngs of battle; and then there was no rightful king in Noregr; and there was civil
     war; and in the end Jarl Hakon took Noregr for the king of the Dan. But although Jarl Hakon was in name a
     subject of the kings of the Dan, really he ruled Noregr alone, and this made the Dan wroth. And King
     Harald Bluetooth grumbled, but had worries enough with his son, who sought the kingdom ere his rightful
     time. For Prince Svein Forkbeard had as advisor Palnatoke the Vend, master of Jomsborg, and he hated the
     king longstanding, because of the saga of the skis and the apple. This is how it happened: Harald
     Bluetooth had founded the Jomsvikings, and had given leadership of the brotherhood to Palnatoke, who
     codified its laws and forged of them a mighty force of Danish and Vendish fighting men. And Harald
     Bluetooth feared as their power waxed so, and accused them of violating their own laws; and the charge
     was just. For one of the laws of the Jomsvikings was that none could be a member unless he be between the
     ages of eighteen and fifty. But one Vagn Akason had come at the age of twelve to Jomsborg and requested
     membership, for he was an orphan without other home, and his uncle Bui Digre [Bui the "thick" or "proud"]
     was a Jomsviking. And Palnatoke had agreed that he might join if he could defeat in holmgang his second
     in command, Sigvaldi Strut-Haraldson. Sigvaldi was known for his cunning, but on the holmgang his right
     arm failed him, and Vagn laid him low. And Palnatoke took Vagn Akason as his foster son, and made of him
     a Jomsviking, although in violation of the law. And it was on this ground that Harald Bluetooth accused
     the Jomsvikings, and bid them disband. But he let Palnatoke assay a test, and this was that his foster
     son would pass by on skis, an apple atop his head, and Palnatoke needs must shoot the apple from his head
     with bow and arrow as he passed. And Palnatoke met his challenge, and pierced the apple clean; and the
     Jomsvikings continued their career; but he never forgave Bluetooth for the risk he took. 
     
     Now Styrbjorn the Strong was the son of King Olof of Svithiod, which is what men call the union of
     Gotaland and Svealand; he was declared too wild and uncontrollable to be king, even of Svithiod, so his
     cousin Erik was made heir, and he himself was exiled. But Styrbjorn, although unruly, was a mighty
     warrior, and made himself the terror of the Eystra Salt. One day he led a small group of men against
     Jomsborg, which he entered by stealth and conquered by puissance, driving Palnatoke from the Jomsvikings
     but keeping their customs otherwise. Styrbjorn was now their master. He brought peace between Bluetooth
     and the Jomsvikings, and victory to the Jomsvikings in many engagements, and he plotted to seize the
     throne of Svithiod from his cousin King Erik. He led the Jomsvikings against King Erik, but, as they
     advanced by ship on his capital of Ostra Aros, Erik's advisor Thorgnyr set wooden stakes in the rivers,
     so they could get no further than Lake Malaren. Then the Jomsvikings set on foot for Ostra Aros, but
     outside the city Thorgnyr set upon them a stampede of cattle bristling with spears and swords tied on.
     This scattered the Jomsvikings, but Styrbjorn rallied them as they fall back, and Erik was unable to
     pursue this advantage. They fought the next day on the plains of Fyrisvellir; Erik had more men, but they
     fought only with axes and bows, for they had set all their other arms upon the cattle, and the battle
     went hard for him. At night the battle paused, and Erik went to Ostra Aros, where the great temple of the
     Aesir stood, and there he promised himself to Odinn for victory. Odinn then granted him ten years of
     victory after which he would be Odinn's. For although Styrbjorn sacrificed to Thor, the Aesir were wroth
     that men would march against Ostra Aros. And the next day on Fyrisvellir the arrows of Odinn fell upon
     the Jomsvikings, and many perished that day, Styrbjorn among them. But when the battle was lost, Sigvaldi
     Strut-Haraldson, in accordance with the law of the Jomsvikings, withdrew the survivors by stratagem, and
     they returned to Jomsborg.
     
     Palnatoke the Vend was at that time exiled from the Jomsvikings and his foster son, and he counseled
     Prince Svein Forkbeard against his father the king. And King Harold Bluetooth fought Svein Forkbeard, off
     Selund, and defeated him, and set his forces to flight, but after the battle he himself perished of his
     wounds, and his men pursued Svein Forkbeard to tell him that he was now their king, and to him they swore
     fealty.
     
     And the Forkbeard feared the Jomsvikings still, as his father had, for they would fight fearlessly for
     any man who met their price, and called for them to be dissolved again. But Jarl Sigvaldi Strut-Haraldson
     lay in his ship and feigned illness, but let it be known that he had a message of some import for the
     king. And King Svein Forkbeard went by stealth aboard the ship, to surprise Sigvaldi Strut-Haraldson; but
     Sigvaldi was well, and took Svein at swordpoint, and held him hostage seven days, until King Svein made
     of the Jomsvikings a nation independent forever, and granted them his land in Vendland for their land.
     And then they let him go. But in those seven days, as Sigvaldi waited for King Svein to buckle, always
     King Svein had spoken against Jarl Hakon, who worshiped the Krist and flouted the rule of the Dan in
     Noregr. And at the end of seven days, when Svein gave the Jomsvikings freedom, Sigvaldi was filled with
     hatred against the Jarl. 
     
     Now that they were free, the Jomsvikings called a banquet in Jomsborg in celebration, and there the drink
     flowed freely. And after three drinks Jarl Sigvaldi Strut-Haraldson stood and vowed that ere three years
     had passed he would come to Noregr and either slay Jarl Hakon or drive him into exile. And then his
     brother Thorkill the High stood and vowed to go to Noregr with his brother, and fight Jarl Hakon, never
     flee from battle so long as Sigvaldi was fighting. And then Bui Digre of Burgundarholm stood and vowed to
     accompany them to Noregr, and fight Jarl Hakon, and not flee from battle so long as Sigvaldi and Thorkill
     were fighting. And then his son Sigurd Fairhair stood and vowed to go as well, and fight Jarl Hakon, and
     never flee from battle as long as his three companions and the greater part of the Jomsvikings were still
     in battle. And then, for good measure, Vagn Akason stood and vowed that he would go with them to Noregr
     and slay Thorkill Leira and lie with his Ingabjorg, his beautiful daughter. And then everyone stood and
     made their vows, for they were deep in their cups. But the next day everyone woke late, and they were
     sober, and they regretted their rash vows, for Jarl Hakon was strong and many must die to drive him from
     Noregr. But the Jomsvikings were bound by their laws, and needs must go. So they took heart and sailed up
     Noregr, harrying as they went, and letting none live to spread the word of their coming.
     
     But one Geirmund, fought them and, losing his hand to Sigvaldi's ax, escaped in a fast ship and fled to
     Jarl Erik, Hakon's bastard son, to tell him that the Jomsvikings were invading. Erik took the man to his
     father to give him the news. But Hakon hated his son, and did not believe him. So Geirmund held out the
     stump of his arm and said, My hand is even now witness to their deeds. And Jarl Hakon made ready for war.
     He sent out his spies and prepared his fleet to sail.
     
     Hakon's fleet sailed in search of the Jomsvikings, but they found only corpses, and scorched earth. And
     the Jomsvikings continued to harry, but could find no sign of Hakon, until a carl said to them, You have
     come and slain many cattle, but why do you now slay the bear, as he stands nearby? The Jomsvikings asked
     him what he meant by this, and he explained that Jarl Hakon was moored in Haleksvik, with only two ships.
     And the Jomsvikings left the man there and got in their ships, and made ready to attack. But really the
     carl had underspoken the number of ships, and Hakon had with him 160, and among them great fighting men,
     such as his sons Erik and Sven, and Thorkill Leira, and Gissur of Valders, and Vigfus Vigaglumsson, the
     second strongest man in the Northlands, after Havard the Hewer; and Havard the Hewer was one of Bui
     Digre's men. Young Jarl Erik the Bastard was already known as a tactician, and he commanded the ships on
     the right. And they met off the coast of Hjorungavag.
     
     The Jomsvikings had twice as many ships, and these stronger, but Hakon bethought how at Fyrisvellir King
     Erik the Victorious had called upon Odinn to give the Jomsvikings their only defeat; and then and there
     Hakon gave his infant son Erling to a priest, who cast him into the fire, and bade Thor call up a
     hailstorm to befuddle them. But before the storm could rise, the battle was joined, and it was very
     thick. Hakon was surrounded, and by the time he fought free, his metal coat was so chopped and buffeted
     that it fell to pieces about him, and Hakon removed the tatters from his shoulders, lest the jagged rings
     remaining cut him. But hardest pressing was Vagn Akason, who desired Thorkill Leira's daughter, and he
     was facing Sven Hakonsson, who had to fall back and pull his ships away from the battle. Vagn sought to
     pursue, but Jarl Erik cut him off, and it fell to Bui Digre to pursue him. But Jarl Erik managed to pull
     alongside Bui's ship, and they grappled. Erikâ€™s brother Sven came to safety; and then the hail struck.
     
     Jarl Hakon hated Jarl Erik, his own son, although a bastard, and perhaps he sought to slay him along with
     his enemies, for the hail fell on both, and each stone weighed a pound. Many of the Jomsvikings met Ran
     beneath the hail. Jarl Sigvaldi had enough then, and turned his ship to flee. Vagn called to him to stop,
     for remembrance of their oaths, but Sigvaldi sailed on. So Vagn grabbed a spear and hurled it after
     Sigvaldi, and slew his tillerman, who stood alongside Sigvaldi. But Sigvaldi sailed on, and away.
     
     Then Bui Digre, who sailed clear of the hail, found himself pressed by the ships of Jarl Hakon himself.
     Aslak Holmskalli, Bui's foster son, fought so well that all Hakon's men fell before him, and no man could
     touch him, and he had not a scratch, for his eyes could blunt all swords he saw. So Vigfus Vigaglumsson,
     the second strongest man in the Northlands, who was on Hakon's ship, went belowdecks, and brought up the
     anvil that men had that morning been mending their swords upon. And Vigfus heaved it across the ships at
     Aslak so that the point drove into his brain, and Aslak fell. But Havard the Hewer still stood on Bui's
     ship, and dealt much death.
     
     Jarl Erik, his ship damaged by hail, had followed Bui Digre out of the storm, and pulled up behind him.
     And his right-hand man Thorstein Midlag left upon the ship and struck Bui across the face, such that his
     sword passed through the nose-guard of his helmet and into his face; and it was a grievous wound. But Bui
     still lived, and he cut Thorstein in two with a single blow through his waist. And Bui grabbed two chests
     of gold and leapt into the water, and many of his men followed him, but those who did not perished on the
     deck, for no quarter was given. And Havard the Hewer had both legs cut out from under him.
     
     And then the Jomsvikings' fleet scattered, until only the ship of Vagn Akason held its ground, and Jarl
     Erik led the forces of Jarl Hakon against it until all had perished except Vagn himself, and twenty men,
     and they were taken prisoner. And these Erik took ashore and sat upon a fallen oak, and their legs were
     all lashed together with ropes, but their hands were free. And Thorkill Leira crowed, That vow didst thou
     make to slay me, Vagn, but it seemeth more likely that I shall slay thee. Then Thorkill Leira took up a
     great ax, and one by one he lopped the heads from the men on the log. And one of the men said, I have in
     my hands a clasp, and if when my head is off I still have sense, I will stick it in the ground; for
     always have I wondered what knows a man after his head comes off. But when his head was struck off, the
     clasp fell from his limp hands.
     
     Then Thorkill Leira came to Sigurd Fairhair, son of Bui Digre, and his hair was as fair as his name held,
     and long and lovely as well. And he gathered his hair up in his hands and twisted it into a knot, and
     said, Let thou no blood come upon my hair. And Jarl Erik's man Ragnvald of Aervik held the hair as
     Thorkill raised his ax. But at the last moment, Sigurd pulled his head back, and the ax as it fell cut
     off both Ragnvald's hands. And Jarl Erik was watching, and was so impressed that he asked the man's
     identity and, learning it, offered him peace. And Sigurd Buason, learning that it was Jarl Erik who
     offered him peace, accepted it gladly, and then was mercy shown to all the captives. But Thorkill Leira
     said, Mercy shall they have, but Vagn shall know mercy never. And he betook his ax and charged at Vagn.
     But Vagn's man Skardi leapt forward, so that the rope that bound him to his fellows stretched taut before
     Thorkill, and Thorkill went sprawling at Vagn's feet. Vagn snatched from him his ax and dispatched him,
     and then cut his own bonds with it, and stood ready to fight Hakon's army. But Jarl Erik laughed, and
     said that peace had already been called, and so Vagn accepted the peace. 
     
     Jarl Hakon was watching, sitting with his men on a tree trunk, and he liked not that his bastard should
     give quarter to these men, and he stood up to call for their deaths. Just then a bowstring's twang was
     heard from Bui's ship, and Gissur of Valders, who was sitting beside Hakon, fell with an arrow through
     the brainpan. And Hakon's men ran to Bui's ship, Vigfus Vigaglumsson in the front, and there they found
     Havard the Hewer, balanced on his knees on the ship's bulwark, for below the knees his legs had been cut
     off, and in his hands a bow. Havard asked who it was that he had struck off the trunk, and Vigfus told
     him it was not Hakon but Gissur. Havard said, Then my luck is not as good as it might have been. Vigfus
     replied, Your luck was good enough for one day. And he turned his back as the men finished Havard off.
     
     And Jarl Hakon returned to Trondheim. And Sigurd Buason returned to the Dan. And Sigvaldi Strut-Haraldson
     returned to Jomsborg with Thorkill the High. But Bui Digre never returned to Burgundarholm. And Vagn
     Akason went to the Helgelands with Jarl Erik, and there he married Ingabjorg Thorkillsdottir. And from
     King Ari Gardar of Irland came gifts of boars' pelts with the hair as sharp as daggers; and from King Odo
     of Rom came gifts of Kristni relics; and from King Kalin of Bjarmaland came a fire kindled from the
     flames of his Egiptilander bird. But Hakon sent no gift at all.