the latter by Asa: the one reigned in the east (Vermeland), the other in the south. Vermeland, at this time, was tributary to the Swedish kings; its contiguity, indeed, to Upsal, rendered it too liable to conquest by the successors of Ivar Torfœus, Historia Norvegica, tom. i. Vidfadme; and its geographical posture placed it within the limits of Sweden rather than those of Norway, into which the dominions of Gudred were now extending. It is to Halfdan, the son of Gudred, that our narrative must chiefly remain, especially as his glory was doomed to eclipse that of all his predecessors.[164]
|840 to 850.|
Such was the state of the kingdom when Halfdan the Black, by the tragical death of his father, became sovereign of one portion. Probably, however, the superiority over the whole rested with his elder brother, Olaf. But when his father died he was only a year old; and his brother Olaf, or his kinsmen, seized the administration of the whole kingdom, except his maternal inheritance of Agder. His position was, therefore, not enviable; and no one, at this moment, could have predicted his future success. To his mother, who, during his minority, undertook the government of Agder, and who raised him under her own eye, he was probably indebted for many advantages. On reaching his eighteenth year he assumed the government of Agder, and hastened into Westfold to demand from his brother Olaf some portion of his inheritance. It was on this occasion that the partition of the province took place, probably to the dissatisfaction of Olaf; but Halfdan had a strong body of troops, and the provincial states, whose authority was superior to that of the crown, were not regardless of justice. But other provinces, the administration of which had been usurped, were yet to be recovered; and events soon proved that he was likely to sustain the interests of his house. With the force at his command he hastened to Vingulmark, to claim the portion of that province formerly held by his father. Though he encountered resistance enough, he attained his object, namely, one half of the province. He next marched into Raumarik, which he recovered. This act brought him into hostility with Sigtrug, king of Hedmark, son of Eystein, who, like other monarchs of the time, had committed the fatal error of dividing his states. Halfdan was victorious; and Sigtrug compelled to flee, wounded by an arrow. Another son of Eystein, who also ruled in Hedmark, attempted to continue the war; and, during the absence of Halfdan in Westfold, invaded Raumarik. The latter hastily returned, defeated this new enemy, and pursued him into Hedmark, which he also subdued. But the resources of Eystein were not exhausted: twice was he enabled by his royal allies in the north to remove the warfare; yet he was twice vanquished. Seeing that there was no hope from hostilities, he threw himself on the mercy of Halfdan, who, says the historian, granted to the kinsman what he had refused to the enemy, namely, one half of Hedmark. Two districts more, bordering on Hedmark—small in extent, but convenient for their site—were soon added by him to his other possessions.[165]
|850.|
Here Halfdan paused in his career of victory, to try what could be gained by marriage. Sogne lay contiguous to one of his districts; its king had, fortunately, no son, but a marriageable daughter; and he obtained her hand. The offspring of this union was a prince, Harald by name, who, according to the manner of the times, was sent in his boyhood to be educated at the court of his maternal grandfather. On the death of that relative, young Harald was hailed as the future sovereign; but the mother and the prince soon followed him to the tomb, and Halfdan had only to march to Sogne to take possession of it, as the nearest heir to all three. At this time the princes who reigned over a portion of Vingulmark endeavoured to surprise him amidst the darkness of night; and though they failed in this purpose, they were able, through their numerical superiority, to defeat him. This check, however, was but temporary: he soon collected a large force, and was the victor in his turn. The whole of Vingulmark soon yielded at his summons.[166]
|852 to 863.|
Halfdan was too regardful of his interests to pass a long widowhood. The ample province of Ringarik lay immediately west of Westfold. It was ruled by Sigurd, surnamed Hiort, or the Stag, from his addiction to the chase. Besides a daughter, this prince had a son; but the latter was yet an infant, and the chances were in favour of the daughter becoming the sole heiress. The circumstances preceding and attending this second marriage are illustrative of social manners. Sigurd was of large proportions, of indomitable bravery, and of great success in duels, which at the age were so common. In his twelfth year he is said to have vanquished a noted berserk, and eleven of his fellows, in succession. But his delight was to ride alone into the most solitary forests and the scarcely accessible mountains of Norway, to fight with beasts of prey. One day, as he was wandering in quest of his four-footed enemies on the confines of Hadaland, he fell in with Hako, a noted berserk, accompanied by thirty more. A combat followed, which proved fatal to Sigurd; but twelve of Hako’s company fell before him, and that chief lost a hand and received some dangerous wounds. He was carried immediately into the neighbouring kingdom of Ringarik, to the residence of the deceased Sigurd. According to the manner of the times, he took Ragnilda, the daughter, and Guthrum, the son, of Sigurd, with an immense prey, and returned into Hadaland, where he had considerable lands. His dearest object was to celebrate his marriage with Ragnilda, but the severity of his wounds rendered some delay unavoidable. His nuptial day was never to come. Halfdan no sooner heard of this event than he ordered Harek, one of his chiefs, to fetch the princess to his palace. Accompanied by a hundred men, Harek hastened to the residence of Hako, approached it during the silence of night, broke into the place, seized Ragnilda and her brother, and, setting fire to the house, returned with the illustrious captives. Hako, indeed, had strength enough to rise and pursue the fugitives. In vain: before he could reach the lake which lay in the path, and which, as it was the yule season, was frozen over, they were far before him. In despair he fell upon his own sword, and was buried on the margin of the lake. Halfdan was on the other bank; and no sooner did he perceive the vehicle moving over the distant ice than he knew his commands had been successfully obeyed. He therefore ordered a banquet to be prepared, and guests to be invited from every part of his own country. That very day, in presence of his assembled guests, the nuptials were celebrated. The issue was the famous Harald, surnamed Harfager, or Fair-haired. We have no wish to record the dreams which, previous to the birth of the prince, raised the anxiety of the two parents. Such portents are always invented in regard to men whom fortune has elevated above their fellows.[167]
|863.|
Halfdan the Black was, for his age, a superior prince. He made some laws, and, what is much better, he caused them to be observed. His legislation, of course, was truly Gothic; that is, crimes were visited with pecuniary mulcts, varied according to the rank of the culprit and of the person injured. He was not so fond of his youthful son Harald as was the mother, Ragnilda; yet the qualities of the boy were such as to excite the admiration of an heroic age. The death of this king was, in the superstitious opinion of the times, preceded by a wonderful circumstance. As he was sitting at table with a multitude of guests, to celebrate the yule festival, the meats and drinks suddenly disappeared. The latter, alarmed at the portent, quitted the table, and left the king alone. What could be the meaning? A Finnish magician was seized, put to the torture, and commanded to say what the portent indicated. But he could or would say nothing; and he besought prince Harald to procure his liberation. Harald applied to the king; but finding him inexorable, he allowed the poor Finn to escape, and was the companion of his flight. At this time, Harald was only ten years of age; and he was to see his father no more. Immediately after this event Halfdan returned, on a sledge, towards another part of his dominions. In his way was a lake, which was to be crossed over the ice. But holes had been made in it, for the cattle to be watered; a thaw had commenced, and the king had not proceeded far before the ice gave way, and he was engulfed in the cold abyss; most of his attendants perishing with him. Thus ended the short but memorable career of Halfdan the Black. His memory was always dear to Norway; and during his life he was always reverenced as one of the greatest benefactors of his people. A prodigious crowd arrived to honour his funeral; but they would not allow the body to be interred in Raumarik. During his reign the land had been so fertile that he was believed to be an especial favourite of the gods. Wherever he was, dead or alive, prosperity was expected; and the warriors from the different states of his kingdom demanded that he should be buried in their district. The dispute, we are told,
