9: King Olaf the Thick-Set's Viking Days
<< 8: Jarl Eric and Svein || 10: Reign of King Olaf the Saint >>
King Harald Graenske, who, with another from Russia accidentally
lodging beside him, got burned to death in Sweden, courting that
unspeakable Sigrid the Proud,—was third cousin or so to Tryggve,
father of our heroic Olaf. Accurately counted, he is great-grandson
of Bjorn the Chapman, first of Haarfagr's sons whom Eric Bloodaxe made
away with. His little "kingdom," as he called it, was a district
named the Greenland (Graeneland); he himself was one of those little
Haarfagr kinglets whom Hakon Jarl, much more Olaf Tryggveson, was
content to leave reigning, since they would keep the peace with him.
Harald had a loving wife of his own, Aasta the name of her, soon
expecting the birth of her and his pretty babe, named Olaf,—at the
time he went on that deplorable Swedish adventure, the foolish, fated
creature, and ended self and kingdom altogether. Aasta was greatly
shocked; composed herself however; married a new husband, Sigurd Syr,
a kinglet, and a great-grandson of Harald Fairhair, a man of great
wealth, prudence, and influence in those countries; in whose house, as
favorite and well-beloved stepson, little Olaf was wholesomely and
skilfully brought up. In Sigurd's house he had, withal, a special
tutor entertained for him, one Rane, known as Rane the Far-travelled,
by whom he could be trained, from the earliest basis, in Norse
accomplishments and arts. New children came, one or two; but Olaf,
from his mother, seems always to have known that he was the
distinguished and royal article there. One day his Foster-father,
hurrying to leave home on business, hastily bade Olaf, no other being
by, saddle his horse for him. Olaf went out with the saddle, chose
the biggest he-goat about, saddled that, and brought it to the door by
way of horse. Old Sigurd, a most grave man, grinned sardonically at
the sight. "Hah, I see thou hast no mind to take commands from me;
thou art of too high a humor to take commands." To which, says
Snorro, Boy Olaf answered little except by laughing, till Sigurd
saddled for himself, and rode away. His mother Aasta appears to have
been a thoughtful, prudent woman, though always with a fierce royalism
at the bottom of her memory, and a secret implacability on that head.
At the age of twelve Olaf went to sea; furnished with a little fleet,
and skilful sea-counsellor, expert old Rane, by his Foster-father, and
set out to push his fortune in the world. Rane was a steersman and
counsellor in these incipient times; but the crew always called Olaf
"King," though at first, as Snorro thinks, except it were in the hour
of battle, he merely pulled an oar. He cruised and fought in this
capacity on many seas and shores; passed several years, perhaps till
the age of nineteen or twenty, in this wild element and way of life;
fighting always in a glorious and distinguished manner. In the hour
of battle, diligent enough "to amass property," as the Vikings termed
it; and in the long days and nights of sailing, given over, it is
likely, to his own thoughts and the unfathomable dialogue with the
ever-moaning Sea; not the worst High School a man could have, and
indeed infinitely preferable to the most that are going even now, for
a high and deep young soul.
His first distinguished expedition was to Sweden: natural to go
thither first, to avenge his poor father's death, were it nothing
more. Which he did, the Skalds say, in a distinguished manner; making
victorious and handsome battle for himself, in entering Maelare Lake;
and in getting out of it again, after being frozen there all winter,
showing still more surprising, almost miraculous contrivance and
dexterity. This was the first of his glorious victories, of which the
Skalds reckon up some fourteen or thirteen very glorious indeed,
mostly in the Western and Southern countries, most of all in England;
till the name of Olaf Haraldson became quite famous in the Viking and
strategic world. He seems really to have learned the secrets of his
trade, and to have been, then and afterwards, for vigilance,
contrivance, valor, and promptitude of execution, a superior fighter.
Several exploits recorded of him betoken, in simple forms, what may be
called a military genius.
The principal, and to us the alone interesting, of his exploits seem
to have lain in England, and, what is further notable, always on the
anti-Svein side. English books do not mention him at all that I can
find; but it is fairly credible that, as the Norse records report, in
the end of Ethelred's reign, he was the ally or hired general of
Ethelred, and did a great deal of sea-fighting, watching, sailing, and
sieging for this miserable king and Edmund Ironside, his son. Snorro
says expressly, London, the impregnable city, had to be besieged again
for Ethelred's behoof (in the interval between Svein's death and young
Knut's getting back from Denmark), and that our Olaf Haraldson was the
great engineer and victorious captor of London on that singular
occasion,—London captured for the first time. The Bridge, as usual,
Snorro says, offered almost insuperable obstacles. But the
engineering genius of Olaf contrived huge "platforms of wainscoting
[old walls of wooden houses, in fact], bound together by withes;"
these, carried steadily aloft above the ships, will (thinks Olaf)
considerably secure them and us from the destructive missiles, big
boulder stones, and other, mischief profusely showered down on us,
till we get under the Bridge with axes and cables, and do some good
upon it. Olaf's plan was tried; most of the other ships, in spite of
their wainscoting and withes, recoiled on reaching the Bridge, so
destructive were the boulder and other missile showers. But Olaf's
ships and self got actually under the Bridge; fixed all manner of
cables there; and then, with the river current in their favor, and the
frightened ships rallying to help in this safer part of the
enterprise, tore out the important piles and props, and fairly broke
the poor Bridge, wholly or partly, down into the river, and its Danish
defenders into immediate surrender. That is Snorro's account.
On a previous occasion, Olaf had been deep in a hopeful combination
with Ethelred's two younger sons, Alfred and Edward, afterwards King
Edward the Confessor: That they two should sally out from Normandy in
strong force, unite with Olaf in ditto, and, landing on the Thames, do
something effectual for themselves. But impediments, bad weather or
the like, disheartened the poor Princes, and it came to nothing. Olaf
was much in Normandy, what they then called Walland; a man held in
honor by those Norman Dukes.
What amount of "property" he had amassed I do not know, but could
prove, were it necessary, that he had acquired some tactical or even
strategic faculty and real talent for war. At Lymfjord, in Jutland,
but some years after this (A.D. 1027), he had a sea-battle with the
great Knut himself,—ships combined with flood-gates, with roaring,
artificial deluges; right well managed by King Olaf; which were within
a hair's-breadth of destroying Knut, now become a King and Great; and
did in effect send him instantly running. But of this more
particularly by and by.
What still more surprises me is the mystery, where Olaf, in this
wandering, fighting, sea-roving life, acquired his deeply religious
feeling, his intense adherence to the Christian Faith. I suppose it
had been in England, where many pious persons, priestly and other,
were still to be met with, that Olaf had gathered these doctrines; and
that in those his unfathomable dialogues with the ever-moaning Ocean,
they had struck root downwards in the soul of him, and borne fruit
upwards to the degree so conspicuous afterwards. It is certain he
became a deeply pious man during these long Viking cruises; and
directed all his strength, when strength and authority were lent him,
to establishing the Christian religion in his country, and suppressing
and abolishing Vikingism there; both of which objects, and their
respective worth and unworth, he, must himself have long known so
well.
It was well on in A.D. 1016 that Knut gained his last victory, at
Ashdon, in Essex, where the earth pyramids and antique church near by
still testify the thankful piety of Knut,—or, at lowest his joy at
having won instead of lost and perished, as he was near doing there.
And it was still this same year when the noble Edmund Ironside, after
forced partition-treaty "in the Isle of Alney," got scandalously
murdered, and Knut became indisputable sole King of England, and
decisively settled himself to his work of governing there. In the
year before either of which events, while all still hung uncertain for
Knut, and even Eric Jarl of Norway had to be summoned in aid of him,
in that year 1015, as one might naturally guess and as all Icelandic
hints and indications lead us to date the thing, Olaf had decided to
give up Vikingism in all its forms; to return to Norway, and try
whether he could not assert the place and career that belonged to him
there. Jarl Eric had vanished with all his war forces towards
England, leaving only a boy, Hakon, as successor, and Svein, his own
brother,—a quiet man, who had always avoided war. Olaf landed in
Norway without obstacle; but decided to be quiet till he had himself
examined and consulted friends.
His reception by his mother Aasta was of the kindest and proudest, and
is lovingly described by Snorro. A pretty idyllic, or epic piece, of
Norse Homeric type: How Aasta, hearing of her son's advent, set all
her maids and menials to work at the top of their speed; despatched a
runner to the harvest-field, where her husband Sigurd was, to warn him
to come home and dress. How Sigurd was standing among his harvest
folk, reapers and binders; and what he had on,—broad slouch hat, with
veil (against the midges), blue kirtle, hose of I forget what color,
with laced boots; and in his hand a stick with silver head and ditto
ring upon it;—a personable old gentleman, of the eleventh century, in
those parts. Sigurd was cautious, prudentially cunctatory, though
heartily friendly in his counsel to Olaf as to the King question.
Aasta had a Spartan tone in her wild maternal heart; and assures Olaf
that she, with a half-reproachful glance at Sigurd, will stand by him
to the death in this his just and noble enterprise. Sigurd promises
to consult farther in his neighborhood, and to correspond by messages;
the result is, Olaf resolutely pushing forward himself, resolves to
call a Thing, and openly claim his kingship there. The Thing itself
was willing enough: opposition parties do here and there bestir
themselves; but Olaf is always swifter than they. Five kinglets
somewhere in the Uplands,(11)—all descendants of Haarfagr; but averse
to break the peace, which Jarl Eric and Hakon Jarl both have always
willingly allowed to peaceable people,—seem to be the main opposition
party. These five take the field against Olaf with what force they
have; Olaf, one night, by beautiful celerity and strategic practice
which a Friedrich or a Turenne might have approved, surrounds these
Five; and when morning breaks, there is nothing for them but either
death, or else instant surrender, and swearing of fealty to King Olaf.
Which latter branch of the alternative they gladly accept, the whole
five of them, and go home again.
This was a beautiful bit of war-practice by King Olaf on land. By
another stroke still more compendious at sea, he had already settled
poor young Hakon, and made him peaceable for a long while. Olaf by
diligent quest and spy-messaging, had ascertained that Hakon, just
returning from Denmark and farewell to Papa and Knut, both now under
way for England, was coasting north towards Trondhjem; and intended on
or about such a day to land in such and such a fjord towards the end
of this Trondhjem voyage. Olaf at once mans two big ships, steers
through the narrow mouth of the said fjord, moors one ship on the
north shore, another on the south; fixes a strong cable, well sunk
under water, to the capstans of these two; and in all quietness waits
for Hakon. Before many hours, Hakon's royal or quasi-royal barge
steers gaily into this fjord; is a little surprised, perhaps, to see
within the jaws of it two big ships at anchor, but steers gallantly
along, nothing doubting. Olaf with a signal of "All hands," works his
two capstans; has the cable up high enough at the right moment,
catches with it the keel of poor Hakon's barge, upsets it, empties it
wholly into the sea. Wholly into the sea; saves Hakon, however, and
his people from drowning, and brings them on board. His dialogue with
poor young Hakon, especially poor young Hakon's responses, is very
pretty. Shall I give it, out of Snorro, and let the reader take it
for as authentic as he can? It is at least the true image of it in
authentic Snorro's head, little more than two centuries later.
"Jarl Hakon was led up to the king's ship. He was the handsomest man
that could be seen. He had long hair as fine as silk, bound about his
head with a gold ornament. When he sat down in the forehold the king
said to him:
King. "'It is not false, what is said of your family, that ye are
handsome people to look at; but now your luck has deserted you.'
Hakon. "'It has always been the case that success is changeable;
and there is no luck in the matter. It has gone with your family as
with mine to have by turns the better lot. I am little beyond
childhood in years; and at any rate we could not have defended
ourselves, as we did not expect any attack on the way. It may turn
out better with us another time.'
King. "'Dost thou not apprehend that thou art in such a condition
that, hereafter, there can be neither victory nor defeat for thee?'
Hakon. "'That is what only thou canst determine, King, according to
thy pleasure.'
King. "'What wilt thou give me, Jarl, if, for this time, I let thee
go, whole and unhurt?'
Hakon. "'What wilt thou take, King?'
King. "'Nothing, except that thou shalt leave the country; give up
thy kingdom; and take an oath that thou wilt never go into battle
against me.'"(12)
Jarl Hakon accepted the generous terms; went to England and King Knut,
and kept his bargain for a good few years; though he was at last
driven, by pressure of King Knut, to violate it,—little to his
profit, as we shall see. One victorious naval battle with Jarl Svein,
Hakon's uncle, and his adherents, who fled to Sweden, after his
beating,—battle not difficult to a skilful, hard-hitting king,—was
pretty much all the actual fighting Olaf had to do in this enterprise.
He various times met angry Bonders and refractory Things with arms in
their hand; but by skilful, firm management,—perfectly patient, but
also perfectly ready to be active,—he mostly managed without coming
to strokes; and was universally recognized by Norway as its real king.
A promising young man, and fit to be a king, thinks Snorro. Only of
middle stature, almost rather shortish; but firm-standing, and
stout-built; so that they got to call him Olaf the Thick (meaning Olaf
the Thick-set, or Stout-built), though his final epithet among them
was infinitely higher. For the rest, "a comely, earnest,
prepossessing look; beautiful yellow hair in quantity; broad, honest
face, of a complexion pure as snow and rose;" and finally (or firstly)
"the brightest eyes in the world; such that, in his anger, no man
could stand them." He had a heavy task ahead, and needed all his
qualities and fine gifts to get it done.
__________
(11) Snorro, Laing's Translation, ii. p. 31 et seq., will minutely
specify.
(12) Snorro, ii. pp. 24, 25.
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