Chapter XLIX.
Of Halfdan Huitbein.
Halfdan Huitbein became a great king. He was married to Asa, a daughter of Eystein the Severe, who was king of the Upland people, and ruled over Hedemark. Halfdan and Asa had two sons, Eystein and Gudrod. Halfdan subdued a great part of Hedemark, Thoten, Hadeland, and much of Westfold.[1]
He lived to be an old man, and died in his bed at Thoten, from whence his body was transported to Westfold, and was buried under a mound at a place called Skserid, at Skiringsall. [2] So says Thiodolf: —
"Halfdan, esteemed by friends and foes,
Receives at last life’s deep repose:
The aged man at last, though late,
Yielded in Thoten to stern fate.
At Skiringsal hangs o’er his grave
A rock, that seems to mourn the brave.
Halfdan, to chiefs and people dear,
Received from all a silent tear."
Chapter L.
Of Ingiald, brother of Halfdan.
Ingiald, Halfdan’s brother, was king of Vaermeland; but after his death King Halfdan took possession of Vsermeland, raised scatt from it, and placed earls over it as long as he lived.
Chapter LI.
Of King Eystein’s death.
Eystein, Halfdan Huitbein’s son, became king after in Itaumarige and Westfold. He was married to Hilde, a daughter of Eric Agnarson, who was king in Westfold. Agnar, Eric’s father, was a son of Sigtryg,
- ↑ Hedemark, Thoten, Hadeland, Westfold, and the Uplands or Highlands, are all districts in Norway, and in the south of Norway; except the Uplands, which apparently included the upper parts of the valleys of which the waters flow northwards from the dividing ridge, the Dovrefield.
- ↑ Skiringssalr is rather a place of note. It is called "Sciringeshael" in the Voyage of Ottar of Halogaland, written by our King Alfred in the end of the 9th century, and the most learned antiquaries have been puzzled where to look for it. Scania, the neighbourhood of Stockholm, and even Prussia, have been considered the true locality of this ancient seat of trade. The Norwegian antiquary Jacob Aal, in his translation of Snorro, places Skiringssalr in Westfold, in Tiolling parish, in the bailiwick of Laurvig; and the situation, access, ancient names, and remains of tumuli around, make this the probable site of the merchant town of Sciringshael.
