Six Sagas of Adventure (12 page)

THE SAGA OF HROLF GAUTREKSSON

Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar

CHAPTER I

We begin this saga with King Gautrek, son of King Gauti who ruled Gautland. He was an excellent king in many respects, well-liked and so very generous that his generosity is always praised when ancient kings are mentioned. He had one daughter, and he betrothed her to Gift-Ref, Rennir’s son, on the advice of Jarl Neri.

At that time, King Gautrek’s queen had died. He was bowed down by old age, although he was the most valiant of men. The king always sat on the queen’s burial mound, for her death was a terrible blow to him. His kingdom was quite without governance while the king grieved her loss most deeply.

Later on, the king’s friends asked him to take a wife. They said that they would prefer for his descendants to rule over them, and they said that if he would take their worthy advice, it would be likely to do honor to them all and bring peace for a long time. King Gautrek welcomed their advice, and said that they always showed and had shown great good will towards him, both in counsel and in brave service. A little while later, King Gautrek prepared to go on his journey with eighty men, well equipped with weapons and clothes and the finest of ships. He took great care in organizing this expedition down to the last detail, as befitted his rank.

There was a powerful hersir
[1]
in Norway named Thorir, who had his seat in Sogn. He was an outstanding man of great worth, the mightiest of men. He was married and had one daughter, named Ingibjorg. She was both wise and lovely, and was thought to be the best match. Many powerful men had asked for her hand, and she had shown them all the door, because she felt that not one of them was a suitable match.

Now it happened that King Gautrek arrived with his men. They were welcomed there most warmly. Thorir went to meet him, and invited him and his retinue to stay for as long as he pleased. King Gautrek was given a fine feast with the best provisions and hospitality.

A certain prince had come there from his own country; he was named Olaf. He had a hundred men with him. This prince had asked for Thorir’s daughter Ingibjorg, and she had responded favorably to his proposal. This man was young and handsome. When Gautrek heard of it, he paid no attention. When he had stayed there for a little while, he called Thorir to talk with him.

The king said, “I want to explain to you why I have come: It has been reported to me that you, Thorir, have a beautiful and wise daughter by the name of Ingibjorg. I have made up my mind to ask for her to be my wife, and thus establish bonds of kinship and friendship with you.”

Thorir said, “I have heard it said clearly that you are a ruler of high degree, and for that reason I wish to give a favorable response to your request. I think it likely that my daughter would be well married if she were to come under your purview. But the word has gone out that a young and handsome prince has come here, by the name of Olaf. He has already asked to court my daughter, and we two have had some discussions about it. Now I must decline this obligation and let her choose her own husband, as she has previously asked to do.” Both kings were well pleased with this answer.

A little while later, they and their comrades all went to Ingibjorg’s bower. When she saw her father arrive with the two rulers, she greeted them all cheerfully and invited them to sit down.

Thorir began to speak. “The matter has come to this, daughter: these two kings have come here with me to meet you, as you may see. Both are on exactly the same mission, desiring to ask for your hand in marriage. Now since the old saying is quite true that ‘one can’t make two sons-in-law with one daughter’,  I want you to resolve the matter at hand by choosing which of them you wish to marry. I ask you to give them a clear answer and reach a decision that may befit you and suit us all.”

Ingibjorg answered, “I believe it would be a most difficult matter for me, or for any other woman who is no more experienced than I, to resolve this case reasonably, or to be certain that I am able to choose as my spouse the man fit for me, for I feel that it is most likely that either of these two kings would be of high degree and much more than an equal match for me, whichever one’s guardianship I enter. Rather, I may resolve this matter according to certain precedents: I may most readily compare these two kings to two apple-trees standing in one garden.
[2]
One is young, and it is quite likely that many large and sweet apples will grow there once it has fully come of age, and that signifies King Olaf. There is a second apple tree next to it, standing with its limbs thickly covered with foliage, and bearing apples of every sort. That apple tree signifies the rulership and authority of King Gautrek, who has long governed his kingdom with liberality and honor, and whose rule has lasted for the fullness of time. His bravery and generosity in every respect are known to us. Even were his rule to fail on account of his age, he might still beget bold sons, and it would be good to be happy with them, even were the king to die. Now although Olaf may be the younger man and a promising chieftain, it’s surely a bad thing to pay for hope, and I’ll not elaborate on the matter any further. I choose King Gautrek for myself, for joy and companionship, even though I already know that he may not live long, while Olaf may grow as old as a stone bridge. For my heart tells me that he will never become such a ruler—especially if he only lives for a little while.”
[3]

King Gautrek was overjoyed at the maiden’s words, and he leaped up like a young man. He took the maiden’s hand and married her, right next to King Olaf. King Olaf grew very angry at this, and said that he would take revenge on King Gautrek himself and on his men. King Gautrek said that he would just have to put up with misfortune that he couldn’t change, and they parted with matters as they stood. King Olaf went away with his men, extremely angry.

CHAPTER II

Now when King Gautrek had stayed there for a while, which he enjoyed very much, he prepared to go home with his future wife Ingibjorg, because he wanted to celebrate his wedding at home in Gautland. Thorir sent his daughter away in grand style, and sent much gold and silver with her.

King Gautrek and his retinue went on their way home. One day, when they had come close to a certain forest, King Olaf attacked him with his own men. The fiercest battle broke out between then. When they had battled for a while, Olaf said, “King Gautrek, you must want me to give you the chance to save your life. Surrender the girl to me, along with all her dowry, and then you shall go in peace anywhere you want, because it’s not right for such an old man to take a tumble with such a lovely maiden. This is the only way you can save yourself from death.”

When King Gautrek heard his words, he said: “Though I have fewer men than you, before evening comes you’ll find that this old man is no coward.”

King Gautrek was so enraged that he often broke through Olaf’s ranks, and he didn’t stop until Olaf and all his men had fallen. King Gautrek won the victory and suffered few casualties. After that, he didn’t break his journey until he came home to Gautland. This expedition had greatly increased his fame.

When he had been home for a short while, he commanded a great feast to be held, and he invited all the prominent men in the land. He drank to his betrothal to Ingibjorg with the strongest ale. When the feast ended, he presented suitable gifts to all the powerful men whom he had invited, and this brought him great renown. Warm love began to grow between him and his wife, and they lived peaceably in his kingdom.

Not long afterwards, Gautrek fathered a child with his wife. It was a male child, and he was brought to the king. The king had the boy sprinkled with water and named: he was to be called Ketil.
[4]
He grew up there in the household. Three winters afterwards, Ingibjorg bore another boy. He was big and handsome, and he was named Hrolf.

These boys were raised nobly, as was fitting for sons of a king, but each of the brothers had his own personality. Ketil was the smallest and swiftest of men, a noisy lad, ambitious and reckless, full of daring and most impertinent. He was called Ketil the Stunted because he was so little. Hrolf was the tallest and strongest of men, and handsome to see. He was taciturn, trustworthy, and not ambitious. If something were said or done to offend him, he pretended not to know at first—but some time later, when the other person least expected it, he would avenge the offense harshly. And when certain problems that concerned him were brought before him, he would pay no attention at first—but some time later, even several years later, once he had devised a solution to the problem, he made it known, whether it was to his advantage or not. Matters would then have to go as he wanted them to go. He was popular with all his people, and men loved him much.

Time passed until Ketil was ten years old, and Hrolf was seven.

CHAPTER III

In those days a king named Hring ruled over Denmark, a mighty and beloved king. He had a beautiful, wise queen. They had a son named Ingjald; he was young, but most promising. King Hring and King Gautrek were the best of friends. Each gave the other feasts and costly gifts and many royal honors, for as long as their friendship lasted. They had always gone raiding together when they were younger, and they never broke their friendship for as long as they treated each other fairly. But now their friendship began to be strained because of the intervention of wicked men who kindled strife between them. Matters came to the point that each of them was preparing to go to war with the other.

On one occasion, King Hring of Denmark came to speak with his queen: “As you supposed, it has been brought to my attention that King Gautrek means to make war on our kingdom. I am not certain what excuse he will give us, but I think it’s wiser to be the first to strike, for it is said that ‘he who strikes first comes out on top.’ I don’t know whether he is guilty of the treachery which has been reported to me.”

The queen said, “You’re speaking unwisely if you believe such slanders from wicked men that you want to go to war with King Gautrek, since you know that the two of you have been the best of friends. It is an utterly unkingly act to want to vanquish one’s own sworn brother. If it comes to that, let him be the one to break faith with you, rather than doing him any harm yourself and so losing his friendship. Do well, my lord, so that such paltriness may not be found in your breast that you would wish to throw down and trample on so many great deeds that each of you has done with the other. Be loyal to King Gautrek, my lord, with gallantry and boldness founded on good will, with love and perfect peace. Don’t lose the friendship of such a good man on account of the slanderous words of wicked men. He has married a woman so wise and kind that she will mend your fellowship completely, and resolve whatever’s gone wrong. And King Gautrek has such vigorous sons that they will quickly avenge any offense to their father. My lord, take the advice that I give you: Go yourself in one ship to meet King Gautrek, along with the wisest of your counsellors, and offer to foster his son Hrolf with you. If they’re willing to accept, he may become an everlasting source of strength for you and for your kingdom, and bring us all worldly honors as well.”

When the queen had finished her counsel, the king felt that she had spoken wisely and well, and he said that he would not ignore her advice. He had preparations made for his journey as the queen had advised. When he was ready, he set out and came to Gautland with all his goods.

When King Gautrek heard of his arrival, he called Queen Ingibjorg to speak with her, and he said, “I have been informed that King Hring has arrived in our kingdom from Denmark, in one ship. Since you have heard that we have been informed of his enmity, I shall pay him back for all that before we part. Now that he has fallen into my hands, I may well do this without any risk to my life.”

When the queen heard his words, she spoke to the king in this way: “There’s little wisdom in the words you’ve tossed out, if you want to cause any harm to King Hring, since I’d say that he’s come to meet you as if he’s expecting honor and good will from you, since you two once bound yourselves together. You can see that King Hring would not have come here with so few men unless he trusted you just as much as before. He must have been falsely accused of being your enemy. Now this is my advice: Send men to meet him and invite him to a fine feast with all his retinue. Be merry and cheerful with him, and when he has entered the hall with his men, pay close attention and see whether you find him in any way guilty of what he is accused of. And if there is any disagreement between you, resolve it all, with the counsel of the best men. Then keep your sworn brotherhood in spite of any disagreement, for as long as you both live.”

When the king heard his queen’s advice, he had a splendid feast laid on, and he began by inviting King Hring to come with all his retinue. He summoned many other mighty and wise men to this feast as well, whose counsel the king wanted to have. As the kings sat and made merry in the hall, they discussed how their friendship had been spoiled. When they both realized that there were no true grounds for disagreement between them, and found that it was the slander and evil rumors of wicked men, they renewed their friendship completely. As a new beginning, King Hring invited Hrolf Gautreksson to be fostered with him. Since King Gautrek accepted gladly, King Hring prepared to travel home with Hrolf, and he was sent off with worthy gifts. Both kings felt that matters had turned out well. Now the kings parted in love and joy, and they held to their friendship for as long as they lived.

Hrolf went to Denmark with King Hring, who fostered him in the noblest fashion. The king found the greatest master in the Northern lands for him, who taught him all the skills that brave and bold men were eager to learn at that time. Hrolf and Ingjald came to be the best of friends, and they swore brotherhood with each other. They grew up in Denmark, and Hrolf became the most outstanding man, superior to others in both strength and size.

Ketil grew up in Gautland with his father, and he was the shortest and most vigorous of men. Yet he was not much like King Gautrek in temperament, because of his boisterousness and energy.

CHAPTER IV

A king named Eirek ruled over Sweden. He had a wise and well-mannered queen. They had one child, a daughter named Thornbjorg. She was lovelier and wiser than any woman that anyone knew. She grew up at home with her own father and mother. Men have said of this maiden that she was more skilled than any woman that people had ever heard of, at any skill that a woman might turn her hand to. Besides that, she practiced jousting and fencing with sword and shield. She knew these skills just as well as knights who know how to wield their weapons well and skillfully.

King Eirek wasn’t pleased that she was behaving like a man, and he asked her to stay in her bower like other princesses. She replied, “Since you have no more than one lifetime to rule the kingdom, and I am your only child and will inherit everything, I may well need to defend this kingdom from kings or princes, if I lose you. I would most likely find it bad to be married to one of them against my will, if that were to happen, and so I want to learn some knightly ways. Then I think it’s more likely that I will be able to hold this kingdom with the strength and loyalty of good followers. So I ask you, father, to give me some of your kingdom to rule in trust while you are alive, and I will try my hand at ruling and overseeing such people as are given into my power. There’s also this to consider: if any men ask for my hand in marriage and I refuse to consent, it’s more likely that your kingdom will be left in peace from their tyranny if I respond to them, instead of you.”