Heimskringla. Snorri Sturluson

Halfdan's son Helge ruled at that time over Leidre. He came to Sweden with so great an army, that King Adils saw no other way than to fly at once. King Helge landed with his army, plundered, and made a great booty. He took Queen Yrsa prisoner, carried her with him to Leidre, took her to wife, and had a son by her called Rolf Krake. When Rolf was three years old, Queen Alof came to Denmark, and told Queen Yrsa that her husband, King Helge, was her own father, and that she, Alof, was her mother. Thereupon Yrsa went back to Sweden to King Adils, and was queen there as long as she lived. King Helge fell in a war expedition; and Rolf Krake, who was then eight years old, was taken to be king in Leidre. King Adils had many disputes with a king called Ole of the Uplands; and these kings had a battle on the ice of the Venner lake, in which King Ole fell, and King Adils won the battle. There is a long account of this battle in the "Skjoldunga Saga", and also about Rolf Krake's coming to Adils, and sowing gold upon the Fyrisvold. King Adils was a great lover of good horses, and had the best horses of these times. One of his horses was called Slongve, and another Raven. This horse he had taken from Ole on his death, and bred from him a horse, also called Raven, which the king sent in a present to King Godgest in Halogaland. When Godgest mounted the horse he was not able to manage him, and fell off and was killed. This accident happened at Omd in Halogaland. King Adils was at a Disa sacrifice; and as he rode around the Disa hall his horse' Raven stumbled and fell, and the king was thrown forward upon his head, and his skull was split, and his brains dashed out against a stone. Adils died at Upsal, and was buried there in a mound. The Swedes called him a great king. Thjodolf speaks thus of him: --

      "Witch-demons, I have heard men say,

      Have taken Adils' life away.

      The son of kings of Frey's great race,

      First in the fray, the fight, the chase,

      Fell from his steed -- his clotted brains

      Lie mixed with mire on Upsal's plains.

      Such death (grim Fate has willed it so)

      Has struck down Ole's deadly foe."

      33. Rolf Krake's Death.

       Table of Contents

      Eystein, King Adils' son, ruled next over Sweden, and in his lifetime Rolf Krake of Leidre fell. In those days many kings, both Danes and Northmen, ravaged the Swedish dominions; for there were many sea-kings who ruled over many people, but had no lands, and he might well be called a sea-king who never slept beneath sooty roof-timbers.

      34. Of Eystein and the Jutland King Solve.

       Table of Contents

      There was a sea-king called Solve, a son of Hogne of Njardo, who at that time plundered in the Baltic, but had his dominion in Jutland. He came with his forces to Sweden, just as King Eystein was at a feast in a district called Lofond. Solve came unexpectedly in the night on Eystein, surrounded the house in which the king was, and burned him and all his court. Then Solve went to Sigtun, and desired that the Swedes should receive him, and give him the title of king; but they collected an army, and tried to defend the country against him, on which there was a great battle, that lasted, according to report, eleven days. There King Solve was victorious, and was afterwards king of the Swedish dominions for a long time, until at last the Swedes betrayed him, and he was killed. Thjodolf tells of it thus: --

      "For a long time none could tell

      How Eystein died -- but now I know

      That at Lofond the hero fell;

      The branch of Odin was laid low,

      Was burnt by Solve's Jutland men.

      The raging tree-devourer fire

      Rushed on the monarch in its ire;

      First fell the castle timbers, then

      The roof-beams -- Eystein's funeral pyre."

      35. Of Yngvar's Fall.

       Table of Contents

      Yngvar, who was King Eystein's son, then became king of Sweden. He was a great warrior, and often lay out with his warships; for the Swedish dominions were much ravaged then by Danes and East-country men. King Yngvar made a peace with the Danes; but betook himself to ravaging the East country in return. One summer he went with his forces to Estland, and plundered at a place called Stein. The men of Estland came down from the interior with a great army, and there was a battle; but the army of the country was so brave that the Swedes could not withstand them, and King Yngvar fell, and his people fled. He was buried close to the seashore under a mound in Estland; and after this defeat the Swedes returned home. Thjodolf sings of it thus: --

      "Certain it is the Estland foe

      The fair-haired Swedish king laid low.

      On Estland's strand, o'er Swedish graves,

      The East Sea sings her song of waves;

      King Yngvar's dirge is ocean's roar

      Resounding on the rock-ribbed shore."

      36. Of Onund the Land-clearer.

       Table of Contents

      Onund was the name of Yngvar's son who succeeded him. In his days there was peace in Sweden, and he became rich in valuable goods. King Onund went with his army to Estland to avenge his father, and landed and ravaged the country round far and wide, and returned with a great booty in autumn to Sweden. In his time there were fruitful seasons in Sweden, so that he was one of the most popular of kings. Sweden is a great forest land, and there are such great uninhabited forests in it that it is a journey of many days to cross them. Onund bestowed great diligence and expense on opening the woods and cultivating the cleared land. He made roads through the desert forests; and thus cleared land is found all through the forest country, and great districts are settled. In this way extensive tracts of land were brought into cultivation, for there were country people enough to cultivate the land. Onund had roads made through all Sweden, both through forests and morasses, and also over mountains; and he was therefore called Onund Roadmaker. He had a house built for himself in every district of Sweden, and went over the whole country in guest-quarters.

      37. Of Ingjald the Bad.

       Table of Contents

      Onund had a son called Ingjald, and at that time Yngvar was king of the district of Fjadryndaland. Yngvar had two sons by his wife -- the one called Alf, the other Agnar -- who were about the same age as Ingjald. Onund's district-kings were at that time spread widely over Sweden, and Svipdag the Blind ruled over Tiundaland, in which Upsal is situated, and where all the Swedish Things are held. There also were held the mid-winter sacrifices, at which many kings attended. One year at midwinter there was a great assembly of people at Upsal, and King Yngvar had also come there with his sons. Alf, King Yngvar's son, and Ingjald, King Onund's son, were there -- both about six years old. They amused themselves with child's play, in which each should be leading on his army. In their play Ingjald found himself not so strong as Alf, and was so vexed that he almost cried. His foster-brother Gautvid came up, led him to his foster-father Svipdag the Blind, and told him how ill it appeared that he was weaker and less manly than Alf, King Yngvar's son. Svipdag replied that it was a great shame. The day after Svipdag took the heart of a wolf, roasted it on the tongs, and gave it to the king's son Ingjald to eat, and from that time he became a most ferocious person, and of the worst disposition. When