The Long Ships (26 page)

Orm replied that he hoped to be able to prevail upon King Harald into consenting to his suit, for he knew that the King regarded him highly, both because of the bell he had brought him and for the way in which he had vanquished Sigtrygg.

“But I do not know,” he continued, “how much wealth awaits me in Skania, for it is now seven years since I left my home, and I cannot tell how it stands with my family. It may be that fewer of them are alive than when I saw them last, and that my inheritance is therefore greater. But in any case I have much gold from the south besides the necklace I have already given you, so that even if I own no more than what I have with me, nobody can call me a poor man. And I can obtain more in the way in which I won this.”

Ylva nodded doubtfully and said that this did not sound too promising, her father being a very exacting man. Toke, who had come in while the discussion was afoot, agreed with her and said that this was an occasion when it was necessary to think carefully before deciding what to do.

“It so happens,” he added, “that I am able to tell you the best way to win a wealthy woman of noble blood when her father is unwilling but she herself is agreeable. My mother’s father was called Nose-Tönne. He used to trade with the Smalanders, and possessed a small house, twelve cows, and a great store of wisdom. One day he was on a business trip to Värend, and there saw a girl called Gyda, who was the daughter of a wealthy lord. He determined to win her, partly for the honor it would bring him and partly because he coveted her fine body and thick red hair. But her father, who was named Glum, was a proud man, and he said that Tönne was not good enough to be his son-in-law, though the girl herself thought otherwise. Gyda and Tönne, therefore, wasted no time in inveighing against the old man’s folly, but hastily formed a plan and arranged to meet in the forest while she was nutting there with her maids. The result of this encounter was that she came to be with child, and Tönne had to fight two duels with her brother, the marks of which they both bore till the day they died. In due course she gave birth to twins; whereupon the old man decided that it was no use kicking against the pricks any longer. So they married and lived together in great bliss and contentment, and had seven more children, so that all the people of the district praised my grandfather’s wisdom and good luck, and his reputation waxed enormously and became very great, especially when old Glum died and left them a big inheritance. And if my grandfather had not hit upon such a wise method of obtaining the woman of his choice, I should not be sitting here to give you this good advice; for my mother was one of the twins who were begotten under the nut bushes.”

“If a marriage can only be brought about by producing twins,” said Ylva, “your advice is easier given than followed. And there is a difference between having a farmer from Värend as your father and being daughter to the King of the Danes. I doubt whether such an experiment would turn out as well for us as it did for your grandparents.”

Orm thought there was a good deal to be said both for and against Toke’s plan, though it was but cold comfort for a man who was sick and unlusty; however, he said, he would make no decision until he was well enough to walk and could sound King Harald’s feelings in the matter.

This took some time; but at length he grew better and his wound healed, and his strength began to return to him. The winter was by now almost past. King Harald also had recovered from the effects of Christmas and was in capital spirits, busily supervising the preparation of his warships; for he was making ready to sail to Skanör to collect his herring tax, as well as to dispatch the ships he had promised Styrbjörn at the feast. Orm went to him and explained what was in his mind. King Harald listened to his request amiably, showing no displeasure, but straightway inquired how wealthy Orm was, that he could regard himself as eligible for such a match. Orm furnished him with details of his parentage and ancestry, and enumerated his father’s possessions, not omitting to mention all that he himself was bringing home from his travels abroad.

“In addition to all this,” he concluded, “there is much land in Göinge which my mother was due to inherit, though I do not know whether it has yet come into her possession. Nor can I say which of my kinsmen are still alive, or how it is with them. For much may have occurred in Skania during these seven years that I have been away.”

“The jewel you gave my daughter was a princely gift,” said King Harald, “and you have done me several good services, which I have not forgotten. But to marry a daughter of the King of the Danes is the most ambitious match that a man could hope for, and no man has sought the hand of any of my daughters without offering more than all that you possess. Besides which, you have a brother who stands between you and your father’s wealth. Now, if he be alive and have sons, how then shall you support my daughter? I am beginning to grow somewhat advanced in years, though a man might not mark it, and I am anxious to see my daughters well married while I am yet alive to make a good match for them. For I do not think that Sven will bother his head about them when I am gone.”

Orm was compelled to admit that he had little to offer in return for the hand of such a woman. “But I may well find when I reach home,” he said, “that the whole inheritance is mine. My father was already beginning to show his years when I sailed away, and my brother Odd spent all his summers in Ireland and showed little inclination to stay at home. And I have heard that the Vikings in Ireland have fared poorly during the past few years, since King Brian became powerful there.”

King Harald nodded, and said that King Brian had caused the death of many Danes in Ireland and of many seafarers who had ventured into his coastal waters; though, in one sense, this had been something of a blessing, since these men included a good many who had been mischief-makers in their own land.

“But this Brian, this King of Munster,” he said, “has had his head turned by the surfeit of his successes, so that he is now demanding tribute not only from my good friend King Olof of Cork, but also from my own kinsman, Sigtrygg Silk-Beard of Dublin. Such self-importance sits ill upon the head of an Irish king, and in good time I shall send a fleet to his island to trip his arrogance. It might be a good thing to bring him here and keep him tethered to the door of my hall, not merely to provide sport for my men when they are drinking, but also to teach him a lesson in Christian humility and to provide a warning for other kings. For I have always been of the opinion that the King of the Danes ought to be regarded with veneration by all other monarchs.”

“It is my belief, lord,” said Orm, “that you are the mightiest of kings. Even among the Andalusians and the blue men
1
there are warriors who know your name and speak of the great deeds that you have done.”

“You have chosen your words well,” said King Harald, “though previously you showed insufficient humility in begging for the hand of one of my fairest daughters when you were not even certain how you were placed as regards your inheritance and possessions. I shall not condemn you too severely for this, however, since you are young and unreflective. But I shall not immediately accede to your request, nor shall I refuse it. This is my decision. Come to me again in the autumn, when I have returned from my expedition and you are better informed concerning your wealth and expectations; and if I then find them sufficient, you shall have the girl, because of the friendship I bear you. And if not, there will always be a place for you in my bodyguard. Until then you must contain yourself in patience.”

When Orm told Ylva how his interview with King Harald had resulted, she flew into a great fury. Tears swelled into her eyes, and she shrieked that she would pluck the old man’s beard from his chin to punish him for his closefistedness and obstinacy, and then lose no time in doing as Toke had advised her. But when she had recovered her composure, she thought it wiser, after all, to abandon this plan.

“I am not afraid of his wrath,” she said, “not even when he bellows like a bull and flings his ale-cup at me; for I am too quick for him, so that he has never yet managed to hit me, and his fits soon pass. But it is so with him that if anyone gainsays him once his mind is set on a thing, he remembers his grievance darkly and will never cease to seek revenge for it. Therefore I think it best that we should not oppose him in this matter, lest he turn his wrath against us both and give me away to the first rich man who catches his eye, merely to spite me and show which of us is the stronger. But know this, Orm, that I desire no husband but you, and am ready to wait till the autumn for you, though the interval will be long and tedious. If then he still opposes our match, I will wait no longer, but will follow you whithersoever you lead me.”

“When I hear you speak like that,” said Orm, “I almost begin to feel myself a man again.”

1.
Negroes.

KING HARALD fitted out twenty ships for his expedition. Twelve of these were for Styrbjörn, while with the remainder he intended to assert his authority at Skanör, where a strong force of men was always needed to collect the herring tax. He chose his crews with great care; and every Dane was eager to serve on the ships that were to sail with Styrbjörn, for they knew that much booty might be gained there.

Many men came down to Jellinge to join the fleet; and when King Harald had made his choice, Orm and Toke sought among the ones who were left to find folk whom they might hire to row them home in the ship they had stolen from Almansur; but oarsmen were asking a high price, and this they were unwilling to pay, for, now that they had come so near home, they were reluctant to part with any more of what they had won. Eventually, to save themselves the expense, they made an agreement with a man from Fyn called Ake to the effect that he should buy the ship from them and, in return, crew it and convey them both to their respective homes, Orm to the Mound and Toke to Lister, as well as being responsible for providing food for the voyage. There was a tremendous amount of haggling about this, and at one stage it appeared likely to end in a fight between Toke and Ake, for Toke wanted to have a sum of money as well as his passage, since, he asserted, the ship was practically new and thoroughly stable and seaworthy, if somewhat on the small side. Ake, however, refused to accept this valuation; the ship, he protested, was foreign and of inferior workmanship, and, indeed, virtually worthless, so that he was already on the bad end of the bargain. In the end they asked Hallbjörn, the groom, to arbitrate their case, and the matter was concluded without a fight, though Orm and Toke made little profit on the transaction.

Neither of them felt inclined to join Styrbjörn, for they both had other things uppermost in their minds; and Orm’s strength returned but slowly to him, so that he thought he would be an invalid for the rest of his days. He was sad, too, to think that he would shortly have to part from Ylva, who was now permanently chaperoned by a couple of old women, to make sure that she and Orm should not see too much of each other. But although the old women performed their duties conscientiously, they were frequently driven to complain that the King had allotted them a task too arduous for their aged bones.

When the fleet was at last ready to sail, King Harald bade the Bishop bless all the ships; but he refused to take him with him, because of the bad weather-luck that all priests were known to bring. The Bishop wanted to go to Skania to visit his priests and his churches there and to count the number of conversions that had been made; but King Harald told him he would have to wait until another ship sailed to those parts. For he himself, he roundly swore, would never take any bishop to sea with him, nor even a common priest.

“For I am too old to tempt fortune,” he said, “and all sailors know that sea-robbers and water-trolls and all sea-powers hate nothing so much as a shaven man, and set traps to drown him as soon as he leaves the land. My nephew, Gold-Harald, once sailed homewards from Brittany with a large number of newly captured slaves at his oars and straightway encountered storms and blizzards and fearful seas, though it was yet but early in the autumn. When his ship was on the point of sinking, he bethought himself and discovered two shaven men among his rowers. He threw them overboard, and enjoyed excellent weather for the rest of the voyage. He could do this because he was a heathen, but it would ill become me to throw a bishop overboard to calm the weather. So he will have to remain here.”

On the morning that the fleet was due to sail, which was also the morning that Orm and Toke had fixed for their departure, King Harald came down to the jetties to board his ship. He wore a white cloak and a silver helmet, and had a great company of men with him; and his standards were borne before him. When he reached the place where Orm’s ship lay, he halted, bade his followers wait awhile, and climbed aboard unaccompanied to have a few words with Orm in private.

“I honor you thus publicly,” he said, “to show evidence of the friendship I bear you, that no man may suppose any enmity to exist between us because I have not yet granted you my daughter’s hand. She is now confined in the women’s house, where she is the cause of much disturbance; for she is a high-spirited wench and would otherwise be quite capable of running down to your ship the moment I turned my back, to try to tempt you to take her with you, which would be a bad thing for both of you. I and you must now part for a while, and unfortunately I have, at the moment, no adequate gift with which to repay you for the bell you brought me; but I am sure that things will be different when you return in the autumn.”

It was a fine spring morning, with a clear sky and a gentle breeze blowing, and King Harald was in a merry humor. He examined the ship closely, noting its foreign workmanship, for he was well versed in the ways of ships and knew as much about decks and rowlocks as any shipwright, so that he found a number of points worth commenting upon. While he was thus engaged, Toke climbed aboard, staggering beneath the weight of an ernormous chest. He seemed taken aback to see King Harald there, but lowered his chest carefully to the deck and came forward to greet him.