went into Hafursfiord, where King Harald was waiting with his forces. A great battle began, which was both hard and long; but at last King Harald gained the day. There King Eric fell, and King Sulke, with his brother Earl Sote. Thor Haldang, who was a great berserk, had laid his ship against King Harald’s, and there was above all measure a desperate attack, until Thor Haklang fell, and his whole ship was cleared of men. Then King Kiotve fled to a little isle outside, on which there a was a good place of strength. Thereafter all his men fled, some to their ships, some up to the land; and the latter ran southwards over the country of Jeddern. So says Hornklofe, viz.:—
"Has the news reached you?—have you heard
Of the great fight at Hafurdsfiord,[1]
Between our noble king brave Harald
And King Kiotve rich in gold?
The foemen came from out the East,
Keen for the fray as for a feast.
A gallant sight it was to see
Their fleet sweep o’er the dark-blue sea;
Each war-ship, with its threatening throat
Of dragon fierce or ravenous brute[2]
Grim gaping from the prow; its wales
Glittering with burnished shields[3] like scales;
Its crew of udal men of war,
Whose snow-white targets shone from far;
And many a mailed spearman stout
From the West countries round about,
English and Scotch, a foreign host,
And swordsmen from the far French coast.[4]
And as the foemen’s ships drew near,
The dreadful din you well might hear;
- ↑ Hafrsfiördr, now Hafsfiord, north of Jederen district.
- ↑ The war-ships were called dragons, from being decorated with the head of a dragon, serpent, or other wild animal; and the word “draco” was adopted in the Latin of the middle ages to denote a ship of war of the larger class. The snekke was the cutter or smaller war-ship.
- ↑ The shields were hung over the side rails of the ships.
- ↑ It is curious to find that English, Scotch, and French men-at-arms, from the West countries, were in Kiotve’s army.
