The Battle of Stamford Bridge

On 25 September 1066 a battle was fought which is sometimes said to mark the end of the Viking Age. It's not always wise to fix firm end dates for historical periods, but the death of Harald Hardrada, king of Norway, on a Yorkshire battlefield in 1066 did mark the end of one phase in England's relationship with the Scandinavian world, and set the stage for Harold Godwineson's defeat at Hastings three weeks later. I'm interested at the moment in the medieval legends and stories which accrued round England's two eleventh-century conquests, the Danish and the Norman, but today reminds us of a third which never happened: the Norwegian Conquest, stopped before it began by Harald's defeat at Stamford Bridge. So this is not a post about the history of the battle (for which you would be better off reading other sources), but about one later retelling of it. The story is in many ways unhistorical, but it brings this fascinating event to life.

Like the Battle of Hastings, Stamford Bridge attracted many legends, in English as well as Scandinavian tradition. Perhaps the most famous is one told by several twelfth-century English historians, here by Henry of Huntingdon:

A battle began that was more arduous than any that had gone before. They engaged at dawn and after fearful assaults on both sides they continued steadfastly until midday, the English superiority in numbers forcing the Norwegians to give way but not to flee. Driven back beyond the river, the living crossing over the dead, they resisted stoutheartedly. A single Norwegian, worthy of eternal fame, resisted on the bridge, and felling more than forty Englishmen with his trusty axe, he alone held up the entire English army until three o'clock in the afternoon. At length someone came up in a boat and through the openings of the bridge struck him in the private parts with a spear. So the English crossed, and killed King Harald and Tostig, and laid low the whole Norwegian line.

Henry, Archdeacon of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum, ed. Diana Greenway (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), 387-9.

One reason to regret that Stamford Bridge doesn't feature on the Bayeux Tapestry is that we don't get to see what it would have made of this scene!

Apart from the heroic Norwegian warrior, the events of Stamford Bridge were largely overshadowed in English history by Hastings, but Scandinavian traditions about the battle, in poetry and prose, are much fuller and more varied. There are too many to cover in a blog post, so today I want to post about just one story which appears in an Old Norse text called Hemings þáttr. Hemings þáttr was probably written in thirteenth-century Iceland, but draws in part on earlier histories of the Norwegian kings, on folktale, and ultimately on oral tradition, possibly English as well as Scandinavian. I posted an extract from this text about Hastings (and the legend of Harold Godwineson's survival) three years ago, but the section which describes Stamford Bridge is, if anything, even better. What we're dealing with here is really historical fiction of a particularly interesting kind: the anonymous author, though separated from the events he describes by several centuries and many miles, had an excellent grasp of what made the situation in 1066 so tense and dramatic. All the elements are there: the loose cannon Tostig Godwineson, driven by jealousy of his brother into an uneasy alliance with a Norwegian king, who follows his advice but actually despises him; the king of Denmark, weighing possibilities and chances; the king of England, briefly a heroic victor but soon to become a victim. The story is much less about politics and battles than it is about relationships between men: between brothers (Harold and Tostig, Harald and his dead brother St Olaf), between cousins (Svein, king of Denmark, and his cousins Harold and Tostig), between kings and their advisers, between friends and fellow-warriors.

Most of all it's just a great read, so let me introduce you to some of my favourite parts. I'll have to summarise in places because it's fairly long, but if you want to read a translation of the whole thing one can be found in the splendidly-named Icelandic Sagas and other Historical Documents relating to the Settlement and Descents of the Northmen on the British Isles, ed. G. W. Dasent (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1894), vol. III, pp. 374-415. (ETA, 2016: and a new translation is now available from the VSNR here)

The Battle of Stamford Bridge, in a 13th-century manuscript (CUL MS Ee.3.59, f.32v)

The saga begins in Norway with the adventures of the titular character, Heming, who (like many a hero of Icelandic saga) does not get on with the Norwegian king, and finds it wise to leave the country. He goes to England, where he becomes acquainted with the leading figures of the English court: King Edward the Confessor and his powerful brothers-in-law, the sons of Earl Godwine. Heming becomes close to Harold, the eldest son, and trains him in various military exploits so well that everyone wonders where he can possibly have learned such amazing skills. (A touch of Scandinavian pride - a Norwegian education is clearly better than an English one!) We are told that Harold is very popular, a paragon of courtesy and of martial virtues, and Heming's loyalty to Harold positions us firmly on his side.

His brother Tostig, by contrast, is "a big strong man, and a man of many words; he had few friends". We've got a classic pair of saga brothers here: the elder handsome, popular, physically strong, a much-loved son and heir; the younger clever, jealous, sarcastic, untrustworthy - but not unsympathetic. (It's not wrong to be picturing The Avengers' Thor and Loki, is it? The story parallels are pretty close, which I guess makes Harald Hardrada some kind of invading alien monster...) The saga includes a little story about Harold and Tostig's childhood to show us the characters of the two brothers: King Edward comes to visit their family home, bringing with him a precious spear. Harold badly wants the spear, but does not ask the king for it. But Tostig, wanting what his brother wants, and prepared to ask for it, makes a wooden spear for himself and shows it to King Edward, which induces the king to give him the real spear. Edward reads his character in this, and tells him forebodingly "You will never lack greed when you see others more powerful than yourself." The king's prophecy, the story shows us, comes true.

Harold on the Bayeux Tapestry

When Edward dies, and Harold Godwineson becomes king of England, his brother is bitterly jealous. As earl of Northumbria, he already rules a third of England (a þriðjungr, the saga calls it, the word from which we get Yorkshire's 'Ridings') - but Tostig isn't satisfied, and wants the whole thing. He goes to Denmark, where his cousin Svein Estrithson is king, and cunningly asks him whether he doesn't think he (Svein) has a claim to rule England, since it had once been ruled by his uncle and predecessor, Cnut. Svein replies, "I won't hide that I did once think so; but it seems to me that things have turned out well, since my kinsman Harold is ruling there, my cousin on the mother's side." (Harold's mother was the sister of Svein's father). But wily Tostig reminds him that a third of the land already belongs to him, and he is well-placed to win the whole country for Svein. Svein is tempted, but eventually decides that if he tries to overreach himself by invading England, he might lose Denmark too. So he refuses, but tells Tostig to go to Harald Hardrada, king of Norway, and Svein's own bitter enemy.

(Some context for this, because it's crucial to understand the difference between Denmark's relationship with England and Norway's. Svein Estrithson had very close ties to England: he was probably born there, and may have spent some of his youth there. For the first twenty years of his life England and Denmark were ruled, together, by his family, and even after the return of Edward the Confessor meant that Denmark lost control of England, Svein's family were at the heart of the Anglo-Danish aristocracy; his two brothers lived and held earldoms in England, associated closely with their cousins, the Godwinesons. It may perhaps be true that Svein was asked and refused to take part in Tostig's rebellion (that is, he decided not to side with one of his cousins against another). We can't know exactly why - although it was, as things turned out, very prudent - but in Svein's eyes Harold Godwineson ruling England was perhaps a pretty good state of affairs. Svein didn't intervene in English matters until after the Norman Conquest, when the Godwinesons had not only lost control of England but had been effectively wiped out; and then his intervention was on the anti-Norman side, in support of English rebels. With Norway the situation was entirely different: Harald Hardrada had no ties to England, personal or political, and was free to try his luck against a country which seemed ripe for conquest. This is why it's irritating when (as quite often happens) popular accounts of these events claim the Anglo-Saxons fought the Danes at Stamford Bridge. This might not seem like a big mistake, but it is! Not all Vikings are the same. OK, back to the story.)

Anyway, having been unsuccessful with Svein, Tostig goes on to Norway. Even Harald, the most formidable of Viking rulers, is uncertain about Tostig's invasion plan, but he promises to give it some thought and is eventually argued into consenting. Almost before he has done so, the bad omens start: Harald's men have threatening dreams, sailors report mysterious fires at sea and blood pouring out of the sky, a ghost rises up from a graveyard to prophesy that the king will fall. Worst of all, before setting sail, Harald has a vision of St Olaf, his martyred half-brother, who angrily chastises him for what he is about to do. Harald is shaken and Tostig, the "man of many words", has to talk him round, telling him it's just some "English witchcraft" trying to frighten him. But the signs could not be clearer that this invasion will not end well.

By the time they reach the English coast, the relationship between the king and his English egger-on is strained. When they land at Cleveland, they have a tense conversation which is my favourite moment in the narrative:

The king asked Tostig, "What is the name of the hill which is along the land to the north?"

Tostig said, "Not every hill is given a name."

The king said, "But this one has a name, and you're going to tell me what it is."

Tostig said, "That's the burial-mound of Ivar the Boneless."

The king replied, "Few who have landed in England near this mound have been victorious."

Tostig said, "It’s just superstition to believe such things now."

Ivar, son of Ragnar Lothbrok, was one of the most famous Vikings to invade England, and the context for this superstition about his burial-mound is explained in Ragnars saga:

When Ivar lay in his last illness, he said that he should be carried to the place where armies came to harry, and he said he thought they should not have the victory when they came to the land. And when he died, it was done as he had said, and he was laid in the burial-mound. And many people say that when King Harald Hardrada came to England, he landed at the place where Ivar was, and he died on that expedition. And when William the Bastard came to the land, he went to the place and opened Ivar’s mound and saw Ivar, undecayed. Then he had a great fire made and had Ivar burned in the flames. After that he fought battles across the country and won the victory.

The difference between the two invaders of 1066 is shown by how they react to Ivar's burial-mound: William is prepared to risk the wrath of the great Viking by burning his bones, but Harald, already convinced he is doomed to die on this expedition, accepts the bad omen as his fate. Tostig's attempt to fob him off with 'not every hill is given a name' (how do you read the tone - impatient, wheedling, matter-of-fact?) is such a great bit of characterisation.

(It only spoils the legend a tiny bit to know that Ivar the Boneless may actually have been buried at Repton in Derbyshire, which is about as far away from the coast as you can get...)

Harald and Tostig win their first battle on English soil, at Fulford, and there's a fantastic subplot involving Waltheof which is sadly too complicated to go into here. The city of York submits to them, and they raid and harry the land all around. But Harald by this time does not trust Tostig at all, and does not listen when Tostig finally gives him wise advice, not to take his men to York in less than full armour. "You can't trust the English if they get their hands on you," Tostig tells him, but Harald won't heed.

That same night, Harold Godwineson came with a huge army from the south of England to York, and there learned the latest news about the Norwegians. And as soon as the people of the city knew that the king had arrived, they broke their promises to the Norwegians and joined Harold's army.

In the morning, Harold took his army down to Stoneford Bridge, which is now called Stamford, and the two armies were ranged against each other. King Harald said, "What's that in the distance - a whirlwind, or the dust of horsemen?"

"The dust of horsemen, for sure," said Tostig, "and now you'll see how trustworthy my countrymen are!"

(I do love sarcastic Tostig.) The two armies draw up their ranks, but there's one last attempt at a peace-settlement:

Three men rode up to the Norwegian army and asked to talk to Earl Tostig. One of them, the one who spoke, was not a big man, slender, and the most courteous of men; he had a golden helmet and a red shield, with a hawk drawn on it in gold... Tostig told him to say what he wanted.

The rider said, "Harold, your brother, sends you God's greeting, and offers you a settlement."

Tostig said, "What's he offering me now more than before?"

The rider said, "He intends to offer you less, after all that's been done."

"We won't amend that with money," said Tostig, "but what is it he's offering?"

The rider said, "He offers you a fifth part of England, and will take no atonement for his brother [who, in this story, was killed at Fulford], but the damage you have done to the land will have to be paid for."

"I won't accept that," Tostig said.

The rider replied, "I will not conceal what he said should be offered to you at the last: that he would rather give you half of England, and the name of king, rather than that the two of you should fight a battle."

"What will he offer Harald, king of Norway?"

"Since he was not content with his own kingdom," said the rider, "I'll give him six feet of English ground - a little more, perhaps, since he's a tall man. But nothing more than that, since I don't care about him."

Tostig said, "These offers have been made too late. I've often heard the Norwegians say that if a good offer was made to me I'd abandon them at once - but that won't happen."

The rider said, "Then the king bade me tell you, the blame will be on your own head."

And they rode away.

While they were talking, King Harald was riding around on a black horse and telling the army how they should arrange themselves. Just then the horse stumbled under the king, three times. The king cried out, "Why is this happening, Olaf my brother?"

Tostig laughed and said, "You think King Olaf made your horse stumble?"

Harald said, "I won't have anyone to thank but you, if Olaf has turned against me." He got off his horse and went to stand with the army. He said to Tostig, "Who was that rider who was talking to you?"

Tostig said, "King Harold, my brother."

"Why didn't you say so before?" the king asked.

Tostig said, "I wouldn't betray him, when he rode here trusting in my good faith."

"He is a courteous man," said the king, "and manly, and he stands well in his stirrups; but he will not rule his land long."

That's the wisdom of a doomed man. Tostig's behaviour throughout this scene is brilliantly sketched: he knows that the messenger is his brother Harold, but goes along with the pretence that he's not, so as not to endanger Harold in the midst of his enemies; tempted by Harold's last desperate offer, he still won't accept it unless something is given to King Harald too; knowing full well that the Norwegians don't trust him, he is faithful to them at the last, even as he and Harald are now openly hostile to each other. And the 'six feet of English ground'! Wonderful.

Battle is joined, and now Heming (remember him?) comes to the fore again. He's a good archer - Norway's William Tell - and Harold Godwineson tells him to shoot the Norwegian king, since no one else can pick him out. Heming is afraid of incurring the wrath of St Olaf, but nonetheless he shoots an arrow which leaves a cut in Harald's face, so that the English king knows which one he is; and then Harold Godwineson shoots Harald Hardrada in the throat. As he is dying, Harald tells Tostig to take the offer that his brother made to him; "but as for me, I will take that portion of the realm which was offered to me this morning." And he dies.

Tostig picks up the Norwegian banner, and continues to fight. Heming asks Harold why he doesn't shoot him, and Harold says "I won't be the cause of my brother's death." Then Heming asks to be allowed to shoot him instead. "I will not take revenge for any harm that is done to him," says Harold. And so Heming shoots Tostig through the eye, and he is killed. The English - aided by a Norwegian sharp-shooter - have won the battle.

Afterwards, King Harold has the bodies of the dead, English and Norwegians alike, decently buried in church. Then he rides south (via Waltham Abbey, another English story says) - to his own death.

The death of Harold Godwineson (via Wikipedia)

St Thorlak and the King's Lynn Sausage Miracle

December 23rd is the feast-day of St Thorlak, the patron saint of Iceland, who has some unexpected but interesting connections to medieval England. Born in 1133, Thorlak was bishop of Skálholt from 1178 until his death on December 23, 1193, and you can read about his life at this useful site. What I have to offer today is a brief story which appears to be evidence for the veneration of St Thorlak in England, and which is also comedy of the kind only medieval saints' legends can supply...

Thorlak had studied in England - specifically, in Lincoln, after a spell in Paris. The account of his life in Þorláks saga (which is online here, if you can read Old Norse) says that in Lincoln he "acquired a great amount of learning, and thereby benefited both himself and others".

(Þorláks saga, ch. 4: "Þaðan fór hann til Englands, ok var í Lincolni, ok nam þar enn mikit nám, ok þarfsæligt bæði sèr ok öðrum".)

This would have been probably around 1160. A few years later his nephew Páll, who succeeded him as bishop, also went to study in Lincoln as a young man (and learned, apparently, so much that he was the most well-educated man of his day, "surpassing all other men in Iceland in courtliness and learning, the making of verse, and in book-lore". An English education was clearly a good one in the twelfth century!)

Soon after his death, Thorlak began to be honoured as a saint in Iceland - and apparently in England too. According to Þorláks saga, early in the thirteenth century there was a man named Auðunn living in England in a place the saga calls 'Kynn', usually taken to be King's Lynn, in Norfolk. Auðunn had a statue of St Thorlak made and set up in a church there. One day an English cleric came into the church and saw it, and asked whose likeness it was supposed to be. He was told it was St Thorlak, a bishop from Iceland, at which he burst out laughing. He went into the kitchen and got a bit of sausage, and came back into the church in front of the statue; he held out the sausage to the icon, and said to it mockingly, "Want a bit, suet-man? You're a suet-bishop!" 'Suet-man' (mörlandi) was a derogatory name for Icelanders. Having had his joke, the cleric turned to go; but he could not move from the place where he stood, with his hand clenched immovably around the sausage. People flocked to see the miracle, and asked how it had happened. The cleric confessed his foolishness in front of them all, and repented of it (well, you would!). He begged them to pray for him, and after a time he was freed from his miraculous frozen state. And ever afterwards he learned to treat St Thorlak with respect.

That's how Icelandic saints win converts!

The pictures in this post were taken in St Margaret's church, King's Lynn, last August. It's a lovely town, and between suet-bishops and Margery Kempe it has some remarkable medieval history. For a rather more dignified celebration of St Thorlak than the sausage-story, listen to some of the surviving medieval music for his feast-day...

The Battle of Hastings, the Hermit King, and Loyalty unto Death

14 October is the date of the Battle of Hastings, so here is an unusual account of that momentous event. It's from a medieval Old Norse text called 'Hemings þáttr', the story of the adventures of a probably fictional man named Heming. Heming starts off in Norway, but his combative attitude to King Harald Hardrada makes it advisable for him to leave the country, and he goes to England. He lives at the court of Edward the Confessor, but his real loyalty is reserved for Harold Godwinson, and at the time of the Norwegian invasion and Norman Conquest he is fighting at the side of the English Harold. The latter part of his story, telling of the events of 1066, is founded on decent historical sources but elaborated with a great deal of clearly fictional conversations, dream visions, portentous omens, dramatic encounters, etc. It's not in any way reliable as a historical source but it's a very interesting text all the same; I especially like the author's taste for pithy dialogue, which is illustrated to good effect in this extract.

So we take up the story where Harold Godwinson has just defeated the Norwegians (and his own brother Tostig) at the battle of Stamford Bridge, and now he has heard that William of Normandy is intending to invade England.

This is my translation from the Old Norse.

King Harold heard this, and gathered his men around him. His army was very badly wounded. The king bid them leave the country if they thought they were not strong enough to follow him, but all said that they would stay with him. The king said, "Give me up if you will not follow me loyally," but they said they would never part from him.

He mustered his forces to meet William, and a hard battle began. That was nineteen days after the day when Harald Sigurdson [i.e. Harald Hardrada] fell. There was a great slaughter among the Englishmen, because many in the battle were not strong enough to be there. They fought all day, and in the evening King Harold Godwinson fell. But Heming and Helgi and Waltheof drew up their men in a 'swine's snout' formation, and no one could break through it.

Then William said, "I will give you a truce, Waltheof, if you will swear loyalty to me, and you will have your inheritance and your earldom."

Waltheof said, "No oaths will I swear to you, but I will promise loyalty to you, if you do this."

"On those terms, we can make peace," said William.

Waltheof asked, "What options will these others, Helgi and Heming, be given, if they make peace with you?"

William replied, "Helgi shall have his inheritance and earldom. He must swear loyalty to me, and advise me about those matters in which he is better-informed than I. And Heming shall stay with me, and if he is loyal to me, I shall value him more than any other man."

Waltheof asked them, "What do you two plan to do?"

Helgi replied, "Heming shall decide."

Heming replied, "I know that to you Englishmen it will seem best to put an end to this strife, but to me it seems no joy to go on living after this battle. But I will not keep you in danger any longer than you wish, although I think that for Waltheof this peace will prove brief."

Waltheof replied, "Better that we be overthrown than that we trust no one! No more men will lose their lives for my sake."

They gave up the fighting, and made peace. Then William was accepted as king, and rode away from there to London. Waltheof asked for leave to go home, and received it; he rode away with twelve men.

The king watched him go, and said, "It is unwise to allow a man to ride away free who refuses to swear any oaths to us. Ride after him and kill him." They did so. Waltheof dismounted, and forbade his men to defend him. He went to a church and was killed there, and there he was buried; and men believe he is a saint.

[Helgi is a totally fictional character said in this text to be the Earl of Gloucester, but Waltheof was a real person; he almost certainly did not fight at Hastings, but he did lead rebellions against the Normans a few years later and was executed for treason. In this text he appears as an honourable English warrior, treacherously killed by King William. After his execution he was indeed venerated as a martyr - 'men believe he is a saint' - although only at Crowland Abbey.]

The Survival of Harold Godwinson

On the night after Harold Godwinson fell, an old cottager and his wife went to the battlefield to strip the bodies of the slain and get riches for themselves. They saw a great pile of bodies, and noticed a bright light above it. They discussed it, and said that there must be a holy man among the slain. They began to clear away the bodies where they had seen the light, and they saw the arm of a man sticking out of the heap of corpses. There was a large gold ring on it. The cottager took hold of the arm and asked whether the man was alive. He answered, "I'm alive."

The cottager said, "Get the corpses off him - I think it's the king."

They pulled the man up and asked if he could be healed. The king said, "I think I could be healed, but I don't think you two could do it."

The old woman said, "We'll try."

They picked him up and laid him in their cart, and went home with him.

They keep him in secret, and lie to King William's men when they come looking for Harold's body, by saying that the bloody trail leading to their house (!) is caused by the old woman, who has gone mad and killed their horse. The king's men believe them, and go back and tell William that Harold is dead and his body can't be found. Then the old woman goes to Heming, and tells him that Harold is still alive.

The next day Heming came to the king and there was a very joyful meeting. They talked all that day. Heming asked the king to go through the whole country and gather an army. "You'll soon win the land back from William."

The king said, "I see that might be done; but then many men would be forced to break their oaths [to William], and I do not want so much evil to happen because of me. I will follow the example of King Olaf Tryggvason [king of Norway], who after he was defeated at Wendland would not go back to his kingdom, but went out to Greece, and served God there while he lived. I will have a hermit's cell built for me now in Canterbury, where I will be able to see King William in the church as often as possible. And I will live only on the food you bring me."

This Heming agreed to. The king gave the peasants ample money, and then he went into his hermit's cell. He was there for three years, and no one knew who he was, except Heming and the priest who heard his confessions. Then one day when Heming came to see Harold, he told him he had contracted an illness which would be his death.

And one day when King William was sitting at table, they heard bells ringing throughout the town. The king asked why they were ringing so beautifully. Heming answered, "I think a monk has died - the one named Harold."

"Which Harold is that?" asked the king.

"Godwinson," said Heming.

"Who has been looking after him?" asked the king.

Heming replied, "I have."

"If that is true," said the king, "it will be your death! But we wish to see his body."

He went to the cell where the body lay. It had been stripped bare, but they all recognised King Harold. The body was beautiful and fair to look on, and they noticed a sweet smell, so that all who were there understood that he was truly a holy man.

The king asked Heming what he was prepared to do to save his life. Heming asked, "What are you asking for?"

The king said, "That you swear this to me: that you will be as true to me, all your life, as you have been to King Harold, and that you will follow me as you followed him."

Heming said, "I would rather die with him than live with you. I might have betrayed you long ago, if I had wished to!"

"It is true," said the king, "that if you were killed, there would be one less valiant man in England. I will now make you an offer: you will be the foremost baron in England, you will be in my own bodyguard, and you will be the leader of them all. If you do not want that, I will give you three pounds every year in reward for your service, and you can live anywhere you like in England."

Heming thanked the king for his offer, and said, "I will accept to stay in England, but from henceforth I have no desire to own any goods. This I will ask from you: that you promise to give me this very cell, and here I will live the rest of my days."

The king was silent for a long time, and then he said, "Because this request is made with a pure heart, it will be granted."

Then King William had King Harold's body clothed in a king's shroud, and his body carried out as honourably as possible. He was interred with the greatest honours. Shortly afterwards, Heming went into this cell, and served God there until the days of his old age; and at last his sight failed, and he died in that hermitage. And now there is no more to tell of Heming.

I love this ending - so much better than what really happened. I'm a sucker for legends about Harold's survival after Hastings, and the idea of him spending the rest of his life as a hermit in Canterbury is just amazing. (In this alternative reality, we could imagine him living in Canterbury at the same time as the Bayeux Tapestry was being made there.)

A Viking Woos

An episode from Laxdaela saga, one of the best of the Icelandic sagas, telling how Ólafr Pái won his wife. The background, in a nutshell, is this: Olaf is the son of an Irish princess who was captured in a viking raid and brought to Iceland as a slave by Hoskuld, Olaf's father. Olaf has just distinguished himself on a journey abroad, where he met his grandfather (the Irish king) and found favour with the king of Norway. Now back in Iceland, his father wants him to marry the daughter of Egill Skallagrimsson, famous warrior-poet (perhaps more peaceable and rational in this episode than in any of the other sagas he appears in!). Olaf isn't all that keen on getting married, but is convinced of the advantage of it, so agrees that his father shall arrange it for him. And they do so at the social hub which was the Icelandic Thing:

Þar var fjölmennt. Egill Skalla-Grímsson var á þingi. Allir menn höfðu á máli er Ólaf sáu hversu fríður maður hann var og fyrirmannlegur. Hann var vel búinn að vopnum og klæðum.

A great many people were there. Egil Skallagrimson was at the Thing. Every one who saw Olaf talked about what a handsome man he was, and how noble his bearing. He was well arrayed as to weapons and clothes.

[And now you see why he was known as Ólafr Pái, 'Olaf the Peacock'!]

Það er sagt einn dag er þeir feðgar Höskuldur og Ólafur gengu frá búð og til fundar við Egil. Egill fagnar þeim vel því að þeir Höskuldur voru mjög málkunnir. Höskuldur vekur nú bónorðið fyrir hönd Ólafs og biður Þorgerðar. Hún var og þar á þinginu. Egill tók þessu máli vel, kvaðst hafa góða frétt af þeim feðgum: "Veit eg og Höskuldur," segir Egill, "að þú ert ættstór maður og mikils verður en Ólafur er frægur af ferð sinni. Er og eigi kynlegt að slíkir menn ætli framarla til því að hann skortir eigi ætt né fríðleika. En þó skal nú þetta við Þorgerði ræða því að það er engum manni færi að fá Þorgerðar án hennar vilja."

It is told how one day the father and son, Hoskuld and Olaf, went forth from their booth to find Egill. Egill greeted them well, because he and Hoskuld knew each other very well by word of mouth. Hoskuld now broaches the wooing on behalf of Olaf, and asks for the hand of Thorgerd. She was also at the Thing. Egil received the suggestion well, and said he had always heard both father and son well spoken of. "And I also know, Hoskuld," said Egill, "that you are a high-born man and of great worth, and Olaf is much renowned on account of his journey. It is no wonder that such men should look high for a match, for he lacks neither lineage nor good looks. But this must be talked over with Thorgerd, for it is no man's task to get Thorgerd for wife against her will."

Höskuldur mælti: "Það vil eg Egill að þú ræðir þetta við dóttur þína."

Egill kvað svo vera skyldu.

Egill gekk nú til fundar við Þorgerði og tóku þau tal saman.

Þá mælti Egill: "Maður heitir Ólafur og er Höskuldsson og er hann nú frægstur maður einnhver. Höskuldur faðir hans hefir vakið bónorð fyrir hönd Ólafs og beðið þín. Hefi eg því skotið mjög til þinna ráða. Vil eg nú vita svör þín. En svo líst oss sem slíkum málum sé vel fellt að svara því að þetta gjaforð er göfugt."

Þorgerður svarar: "Það hefi eg þig heyrt mæla að þú ynnir mér mest barna þinna. En nú þykir mér þú það ósanna ef þú vilt gifta mig ambáttarsyni þótt hann sé vænn og mikill áburðarmaður."

Hoskuld said, "Egill, I would like you to talk this over with your daughter." Egill said that should be done. Egill now went away to find his daughter, and they talked together. Egill said, "There is here a man named Olaf, who is the son of Hoskuld, and he is now one of the most renowned of men. Hoskuld, his father, has broached a wooing on behalf of Olaf, and has asked for your hand. I have left the matter mostly to your own decision, and now I want to know your answer. But it seems to me that it behoves you to give a good answer to such a proposal, for this match is a noble one." Thorgerd answered, "I have often heard you say that you love me best of all your children, but now it seems to me you make that a lie if you wish me to marry the son of a slave-woman, however handsome and great a dandy he may be."

Egill segir: "Eigi ertu um þetta jafnfréttin sem um annað. Hefir þú eigi það spurt að hann er dótturson Mýrkjartans Írakonungs? Er hann miklu betur borinn í móðurkyn en föðurætt og væri oss það þó fullboðið."

Ekki lét Þorgerður sér það skiljast.

Nú skilja þau talið og þykir nokkuð sinn veg hvoru.

Egill said, "In this matter you're not as well-informed as you usually are. Haven't you heard that he is the son of the daughter of Myrkjartan, king of Ireland? He is much higher born on his mother's side than on his father's - which would still be quite good enough for us." Thorgerd refused to see this. They dropped the subject, each being of a different opinion.

Annan dag eftir gengur Egill til búðar Höskulds og fagnar Höskuldur honum vel, taka nú tal saman. Spyr Höskuldur hversu gengið hafi bónorðsmálin. Egill lét lítt yfir, segir allt hversu farið hafði. Höskuldur kvað fastlega horfa "en þó þykir mér þér vel fara."

Ekki var Ólafur við tal þeirra. Eftir það gengur Egill á brott.

The next day Egill went to Hoskuld's booth, and Hoskuld gave him a good welcome. They talked together, and Hoskuld asked how this wooing matter had sped. Egill held out little hope, and told him all that had come to pass. Hoskuld said it looked like the subject was closed, "But I think you have behaved well." Olaf did not hear this talk of theirs. After that Egil went away.

Fréttir Ólafur nú hvað líði bónorðsmálum. Höskuldur kvað seinlega horfa af hennar hendi.

Ólafur mælti: "Nú er sem eg sagði þér faðir að mér mundi illa líka ef eg fengi nokkur svívirðingarorð að móti. Réðstu meir er þetta var upp borið. Nú skal eg og því ráða að eigi skal hér niður falla. Er það og satt að sagt er, að úlfar eta annars erindi. Skal nú og ganga þegar til búðar Egils."

Höskuldur bað hann því ráða.

Now Olaf asks how the wooing had gone. Hoskuld said it had not gone well on her side. Olaf said, "It is now as I told you, father, that I should take it very ill if I should have to hear shameful words in answer to my wooing. The one who receives wooing has more power than the one who woos! But now I shall decide for myself: this shall not drop here. The saying is true, that 'wolves eat each others' prey' [i.e. don't trust others to do what you could do yourself]. Now I shall go straightway to Egil's booth." Hoskuld told him to have his own way.

Ólafur var búinn á þá leið að hann var í skarlatsklæðum er Haraldur konungur hafði gefið honum. Hann hafði á höfði hjálm gullroðinn og sverð búið í hendi er Mýrkjartan konungur hafði gefið honum.

Nú ganga þeir Höskuldur og Ólafur til búðar Egils. Gengur Höskuldur fyrir en Ólafur þegar eftir. Egill fagnar þeim vel og sest Höskuldur niður hjá honum en Ólafur stóð upp og litaðist um. Hann sá hvar kona sat á pallinum í búðinni. Sú kona var væn og stórmannleg og vel búin. Vita þóttist hann að þar mundi vera Þorgerður dóttir Egils. Ólafur gengur að pallinum og sest niður hjá henni.

Olaf now dressed himself in this way: he had on the scarlet clothes King Harald had given him, with a golden helmet on his head, and the gold-adorned sword in his hand that King Myrkjartan had given him. Then Hoskuld and Olaf went to Egill's booth. Hoskuld went first, and Olaf followed close behind. Egill greeted them well, and Hoskuld sat down by him, but Olaf remained standing, and looked about him. He saw a woman sitting on the dais in the booth. She was beautiful, with the look of a high-born woman, and very well dressed. He thought to himself this must be Thorgerd, Egil's daughter. Olaf went up to the dais and sat down by her.

Þorgerður heilsar þessum manni og spyr hver hann sé. Ólafur segir nafn sitt og föður síns: "Mun þér þykja djarfur gerast ambáttarsonurinn er hann þorir að sitja hjá þér og ætlar að tala við þig."

Þorgerður svarar: "Það muntu hugsa að þú munt þykjast hafa gert meiri þoranraun en tala við konur."

Síðan taka þau tal milli sín og tala þann dag allan. Ekki heyra aðrir menn til tals þeirra. Og áður þau slitu talinu er til heimtur Egill og Höskuldur. Tekst þá af nýju ræða um bónorðsmálið Ólafs. Víkur Þorgerður þá til ráða föður síns.

Thorgerd greeted the man, and asked who he was. Olaf gave his own name and his father's, and said, "You must think it very bold that the son of a slave should dare to sit down by you and venture to talk to you." She said, "I know your meaning: you're thinking you've done deeds of greater daring than talking to women." Then they began to talk together, and they talked all day; but nobody heard their conversation. And before they parted Egil and Hoskuld were called to them; and the matter of Olaf's wooing was now talked over again, and Thorgerd came round to her father's wish.

Of course she did! Text and translation (which I've modified a bit for ease of reading) are from here.