The Guests of Odin Read online

  They were awakened by a commotion from outside. The attendant told them that it was King Adils’ sacred boar, come to kill them. The boar burst into the house, but Bodvar set Hrolf’s hound Gram on the beast and it chased the boar off.

  But before they could celebrate the dog’s victory, Adils and his men came and set fire to the hall. As the thatch burned and the flames licked around the doors, Bodvar suggested they ram the walls until they can break their way out. They did this, although the walls were strong, and they broke out into the street beyond, which was filled with men in mail. Hrolf and his champions cut their way through these warriors. As they did so, Hrolf’s hawk Habrok appeared from Adils’ fortress and landed on Hrolf’s shoulder, having slain all Adils’ hawks.

  Now Adils vanished from among his men, and his men began to surrender to the Danes. Hrolf and his men went into Adils’ hall and sat upon the high seat. Then Hjalti went to check the horses and found they had been mutilated. Yrsa came to the hall and warned Hrolf; “Adils is mustering his troops from all over the kingdom.” She gave him a silver horn and the ring Sviagris, and a great deal of other treasure, far more than that which belonged to Helgi. She also provided them with splendid horses: all red except for Hrolf’s, which was white, and armour and shields and fine clothes. Then they parted.

  Hrolf and his champions rode across the Fyris Wolds, where the king saw a gold ring lying in their path. He would not stop to pick it up, since he suspected a trap, but instead he flung down another ring to join it. Then they heard a blare of horns from all around and saw a vast army riding after them. Hrolf and his men continued to ride at the same pace.

  Now Hrolf began to cast gold behind him, flinging away treasure as the Danes rode onwards. As the pursuing Swedes saw that, they began to leap down off their horses and grab up handfuls of gold, their eyes glinting with greed. When Adils saw this he was angry and he shouted at them, saying they should go after the greatest prize, which they were allowing to escape. He rode ahead, and his men followed grudgingly.

  When Hrolf saw Adils coming, he flung the ring Sviagris down in his path, and Adils got down and grubbed in the dirt for it. Then Hrolf cut him across the buttocks with his sword Skofnung and revealed his identity. Adils was close to fainting from loss of blood and he staggered homewards while Hrolf took back Sviagris, while his men fought off the closest attackers. When Adils turned back, the entire army retreated to Uppsala.

  On the return journey, Hrolf and his men came to Hrani’s farm where the farmer greeted them and said that matters turned out much as he predicted. Then he offered the king a sword, shield, and mailcoat of apparently inferior work. Hrolf refused them and Hrani was angry. The Danes rode on, leaving Hrani behind them, until Bodvar realised that the farmer must have been Odin in disguise. They rode back hastily but found that Hrani and his farm had both vanished. They realised they had lost Odin’s favour. They returned to Hrolf’s kingdom, but Bodvar felt a foreboding that grave news would be quick to reach them.

  9. Skuld’s Battle

  Despite Bodvar’s premonition, peace lay over Hrolf’s kingdom for a long while. Meanwhile, Skuld grew discontent with her lot, and she began to egg her husband on to rise up against Hrolf in revolt. Although Hjorvard was unwilling to cross his overlord, Skuld began her plot by sending word to Hrolf asking to defer payment for tribute for three years. Meanwhile she began to gather a following of robbers and murderers, and cast spells so she was surrounded by evil elves and norns.

  Hrolf and his men lived in luxury. A lavish feast was prepared for Yule, but as the champions ate, drank, and embraced their mistresses. Meanwhile Skuld’s army advanced through the night to pitch tents outside Hrolf’s stronghold.

  Hjalti was going to the house of his mistress when he saw the tents of the enemy. He could see this did not mean good for Hrolf and his folk, but he went to lie with his mistress all the same.

  Then he asked her, “Which would you rather, an old man of eighty or two men of twenty?”

  When his mistress said, “I’d prefer two men of twenty,” he drew his sword, struck off her nose, and asked her, “Who do you think will fight over you now?”

  He took his arms and armour and went to awaken Hrolf and his men. By now Skuld and Hjorvard’s army surrounded the stronghold. Hrolf and his champions sprang awake and prepared for battle, but the king sent a message to his sister that they would drink until they were merry before they fought.

  That done, Hrolf and his men all went out, except Bodvar Bjarki, and no one could see any sign of him. Hrolf and his champions poured out of the stronghold and set upon Hjorvard’s warriors, Hrolf laying about him with his sword Skofnung and slaying many men. Then a bear appeared, fighting at Hrolf’s side, slaughtering the enemy. But Hjalti missed his old comrade Bodvar Bjarki, and he went back to the king’s hall to find the warrior sitting there without moving. Hjalti urged him to rise and join the battle, and finally he did so, but he said that now their chances of winning had been diminished. When they returned to the battle, the bear had vanished and now the tide turned against Hrolf and his warriors.

  A huge boar raced out of Hjorvard’s ranks and Bodvar Bjarki fought this, cutting it apart and fighting his way through the ranks. But now the dead began to rise up and fight him, reanimated by Skuld’s sorcery.

  Hjalti said, “I think I will be sitting in Valhalla this evening,” but Bodvar Bjarki said, “I have seen no sign of Odin on the field.”

  Now Hrolf’s champions began to fall before the barrage of magic, until only Hrolf still stood, but he died soon after in a ring of the slain.

  Now Skuld and Hjorvard seized Hrolf’s kingdom but they held it only a short time. Some say that Bodvar Bjarki’s brother Elk-Frodi avenged his brother’s death, and other say that Vogg led an army against Skuld and defeated her, and had her tortured to death. Another story says that Vogg was the only one of Hrolf’s company to survive the battle, and when he was found he was brought before Hjorvard, who offered to take him on as a warrior. Vogg said, “I will swear to serve you faithfully, but only if I could swear in the way I swore fealty to Hrolf – upon the hilt of a sword.” Hjorvard allowed him to but Vogg snatched the sword from him and slew the king, before the king’s men cut him down.

  But King Hrolf and his champions were buried in barrows, and Hrolf had his sword Skofnung placed beside him. There it remained until the Icelander Skeggi of Midfjord looted the barrows. He took Skofnung, Hjalti’s axe and tried to grab Bodvar Bjarki’s sword Laufi. But Hrolf’s champion rose from the dead and fought Skeggi until Hrolf came to his aid and Skeggi fled.

  Harald Wartooth

  1. King of the Danes

  Harald Wartooth, king of the Danes, was the son of Hroerek Ringslinger and Aud the Deep-Minded, daughter of Ivar Wide-Grasp. After her husband’s death, Aud fled to Russia where she married Radbart, the king, and they had a son named Randver. Harald gained great favour from Odin, who made him invulnerable to arrows. In return, Harald dedicated the souls of those he slew with his sword to the god.

  When he heard that his father had died, Harald went to the Danes, where he was accepted as king. Then he learnt that his mother intended to marry Veseti, king of Scania. He went in disguise to the wedding, and when the guests were all asleep, he smashed his way into the bridal chamber with a wooden beam. Veseti attacked him with a cudgel, knocking out two teeth before Harald killed him and took over his kingdom. Two new teeth grew in the place of those Veseti broke, and these were so large they looked more like tusks, and so he gained the nickname “Wartooth.”

  He took his ships to Sweden to reclaim the lands Ivar had ruled there, but the petty kings who Ivar had exiled returned to regain their realms, thinking it easy to defeat Harald, who was then only fifteen. He defeated the kings and regained Ivar’s lands in Sweden.

  Learning that Asmund, king of Vik in Norway, had been deposed by his sister, Harald went with a single ship to aid him. He entered battle unarmed and dressed as if for a feast, trusting to the god Odin�
��s magic. The arrows fell thick and fast but none of them penetrated him. When the enemy saw this, they rushed at him with their swords, but Harald either slew them or sent them into retreat. Finally, he defeated Asmund’s sister and restored the throne to its rightful owner. When Asmund offered him rewards, he told the king, “Glory is reward enough.”

  In Sweden the king, Alfar, had died leaving his kingdom to his three sons, Olaf, Ing and Ingild. Ing felt his share in the kingdom was too small, so he declared war on the Danes to conquer new lands. Hearing of this, Harald asked of an oracle how the war would go.

  A tall old man with one eye came to him, and identified himself as Odin. He advised Harald, “Divide your land force into three troops, each of which should have twenty ranks, the central troop having twenty more men than the other two, and which should be arranged in a triangular formation shaped like a boar’s head. With your fleet, you should have a mobile column of ships with which to harry the edges of the enemy fleet.” Odin told Harald that if he used these tactics he would be sure of victory.

  Harald went to Sweden and fought as Odin had said, and he defeated Olaf and Ing before they had readied themselves for battle. Ingild begged for a truce on grounds of ill health, which Harald accepted. But when Ingild raped Harald’s sister, the Danes went to war again and it dragged on for a long time before Harald and Ingild made peace once more.

  Meanwhile, Harald’s brother Randver married Asa, daughter of King Harald Redbeard from Norway, and they had a son named Sigurd Hring.

  Now Harald heard that Olaf, king of Trondheim, was fighting the shieldmaidens Stikla and Rusila for control of his kingdom. Harald went to Trondheim in disguise, and fought for Olaf wearing nothing more than his shirt, defeating the two women. Olaf offered him a reward for his valour, but again he turned it down, wanting only glory.

  When he returned to his own kingdom he found that a Frisian named Ubbi was raiding the Jutland borders and slaughtering many people. Harald found he could not subdue Ubbi with weapons, so he told his warriors to force him down and bind him when he was overpowered. But when they made peace, Harald gave Ubbi one of his sisters to marry and he joined the Danish host.

  Harald conquered the people living along the Rhine, and with a levy from this region he went on to attack the Wends, taking prisoner their leaders Duk and Dal the Fat, rather than killing them, because he was impressed by their courage. They fought with him when he went on to conquer Aquitania and remained when he invaded England and overthrew the king of Northumbria. Here, once again, he took on the bravest of the warriors who fought him, whose leader was Orm the Englishman.

  Now Harald Wartooth turned this warband into a mercenary force that put down rebellions in many kingdoms and maintained a peace on land and at sea throughout the north due to the terror of his name. After Ingild died, Harald made Sigurd Hring king of Sweden, and peace continued to reign over the north. He had a son named Thrand, later known as Thrand the Old, and another called Eystein Beli, who was later slain by the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, who went on to conquer England.

  2 Ali the Brave

  Harald’s nephew was Ali the Brave, son of Fridleif, who came to be one of Harald’s chief warriors. When he was a small boy the norns, goddesses of fate, had prophesised that he would be handsome and know men’s good will; that he would be generous; but also that he would be niggardly. Wielding the sword Logdir, Ali proved himself a great warrior from an early age, and his gaze was so fierce that few could withstand it. He had a half-brother named Frodi with whom he feuded throughout his life. After several adventures in which he showed his savagery and cunning, he came to join Harald and was given control of the fleet. During this time, he vanquished seventy sea kings in one battle and gained a glorious reputation. Warriors flocked to his banner, including Starkad the Old, though Ali would one day regret this. Later he became one of Sigurd Hring’s right hand men.

  3. The Bravic War

  At that time, Bruni was Harald’s chief counsellor, and he was the only man trusted to carry messages between Harald and Sigurd Hring. One day, however, during one of his many journeys, Bruni drowned in a river, and his place was taken by Odin in disguise. Now Odin began to sow dissension between the two kings, because he wanted them to join him in Valhalla.

  After a plot against Harald, when several of his nobles tried to murder him in his bath, the king decided that he was too old to rule and that he should die in battle. He saw no chance for this in the peace that had reigned over the North since he had defeated all his enemies. Now old and blind, he demanded Sigurd Hring pay vast amounts of tribute in order to encourage him to fight him. The preparations for the war took seven years.

  Men flocked to Harald from Lejre and shieldmaidens came from Slesvig; warrior-poets came from Iceland; and all Harald’s old companions came to his standard, including Orm the Englishman and Ubbi the Frisian, the Wends Dal and Duk. Visna the shieldmaiden came and with her Wendish warriors armed with long swords and bucklers, and many others, including men from Norway like Sigmund and Serkir, the sons of the sea-king Beimuni; Alfar and Alfarin, the sons of Gandalf of Alfheim; and Herraud, the son of Hring, the king of East Gautland. The Danish fleet was so vast it formed a bridge across the Oresund between Zealand and Scania.

  Meanwhile, Sigurd Hring was making his own preparations, and gathering his own men, many of whom came from East and West Gautland, and others from Norway, Iceland, and Sweden, including Ali the Brave, who now fought for Sigurd Hring. His bodyguard included seven kings and he controlled the fleet, which had two and a half thousand ships.

  The battlefield was decided upon as Bravalla, in East Gautland, where the site was marked out by hazel rods. Sigurd Hring’s forces reached the place first. The king had his best men placed in the centre, and the rest, mainly Estlanders and Kurlanders, on either side in curving wings. Behind them was a line of slingers.

  The Danish fleet beached at Kalmar. They marched to the battlefield of Bravalla where Sigurd Hring’s forces awaited them.

  Sigurd Hring told them, “Wait until Harald has drawn up his battle-lines and do not advance until he is seen in his chariot.”

  He added, “An army that is led by a blind man will soon be defeated. Harald is not only blind but senile, wishing to extend his empire at an age when he should be content with the thought of coming death. Our side fights for freedom and our country, while the others – many of whom are feeble Saxons and Wends - have taken the field out of arrogance and foolishness.”

  On the other side, Bruni arranged the battle line with the front in a wedge formation. The shieldmaiden Heid stood on the right flank, carrying the king’s banner and accompanied by a hundred champions and a group of berserks; Haki Scarface of Slesvig was on the left, and Visna the shieldmaiden bore a banner and was surrounded by her Wends.

  Harald stood up in his chariot and said loudly, ‘Sigurd Hring wrongs his old uncle, who has been so generous to him in the past.” He reminded his forces of the victories they had won in the past, and told them, “Do not accept the insolence of those I conquered in my youth.”

  The horns boomed on either side and the battle began. The sky darkened with spears and arrows and slingshot. When all missiles had been thrown, the warriors drew swords or brandished axes then clashed in the centre of the field.

  On Sigurd Hring’s side, Starkad slew many men. He encountered Visna the shieldmaiden as she held Harald’s banner.

  She said, “You are greedy for death, you old ogre.”

  “Before I die I will make you drop that standard,” he told her, and he cut off her hand.

  Later he felled Haki Scarface, but first he was severely wounded by him. He saw Vebjorg the shieldmaiden kill Soti the champion but fall to an arrow loosed by Thorkill of Telemark. Later, he received an arrow from Ubbi the Frisian but survived.

  Ubbi killed and wounded over thirty champions. Then he attacked the enemy vanguard and sent them into confusion. But three Icelanders riddled him with arrows and he sank to the ground at last. The
n more Telemark archers began to attack the Danes and many of Harald’s men fell.

  Harald, perceiving that his forces were losing, asked Bruni, who was acting as his charioteer, “What formation have Sigurd Hring’s forces adopted?”

  Bruni told him, “They are advancing in a wedge formation.”

  Harald was alarmed by this, and he wanted to know, “Who taught Sigurd those tactics, when Odin himself had told me of them?”

  Bruni said nothing, and now Harald began to suspect the truth: that Bruni was Odin, and that the god had had betrayed him.

  He begged Odin, “Give victory to the Danes! I will give you all the souls of the slain, just as I dedicated them in my warlike youth.”

  But Odin was deaf to his pleas, and he cast the king from the chariot, took his own club, and beat Harald to death with it.

  Now the piled-up corpses surrounded the chariot, reaching as high up as the wheels. Twelve thousand of Sigurd Hring’s nobles had fallen, while Harald Wartooth’s side lost thirty thousand nobles. Sigurd Hring sued for peace, telling the Danes, “You have no reason to fight now your king is slain.”

  He had his men search the field for Harald’s body and when he found it, he gave it its proper rites, harnessing the horse that had pulled the chariot, and hallowing it in Harald’s honour. Then he prayed that Harald should ride this horse to Valhalla, and that Odin would give him a warm welcome. Then he had a pyre built using the chariot for fuel, and as Harald’s body burnt upon it he asked his men to cast rich gifts into the flames.

  Warrior and Valkyrie

  1. Hjorvard

  There was a king named Hjorvard who had four wives. His first wife was named Alfhild and their son was Hedin. The second was called Saereid and they had a son named Humlung. The third wife was named Sinrjod, and their son was Hymling. Now King Hjorvard vowed to have for his fourth wife the fairest woman in the world.