 Section 15 of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland, and the Search for the Poles. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The World's Story, Volume 8, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland, and the Search for the Poles, edited by Eva March Tappen, Section 15, Stories of Olaf the Saint, 1015 to 1030. Olaf II was king of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was sent to sea to cruise and fight when he was only 12 years old. A wise old counselor went with him but he himself seems really to have been in command when he was hardly more than a boy and to have had ideas of his own even then. One of the most interesting of his schemes was his plan, which is here described, to capture London Bridge. The Danes were in power in London and King Ethel read the second apparently hired Olaf to come to his aid. Olaf aimed at uniting his kingdom and Christianizing his people. He was overcome by Knut and in the attempt to regain his throne he was slain in 1030 by his own subjects. Danish rule under the son of Knut proved to be less desirable than the rebellious chiefs had expected. The good qualities of Olaf were turned to their minds and soon he was looked upon as a saint. The editor, St. Olaf captures London Bridge from the Heimskringla. It was then the case that the Danish kings then forked beard was at that time in England with a Danish army and had been fixed there for some time and had seized upon King Ethelred's kingdom. The Danes had spread themselves so widely over England that it was come so far that King Ethelred had departed from the country and had gone south through the land. The same autumn that King Olaf came to England, it happened that King Sven died suddenly in the night in his bed. And it is said by Englishmen that Edmund the Saint killed him in the same way that the Holy Merchurious had killed the Apostate Julian. When Ethelred the king of the English heard this in Flanders he returned directly to England and no sooner was he come back than he sent an invitation to all the men who would enter into his pay to join him in recovering the country. Then many people flocked to him and among others came King Olaf with a great troop of Northmen to his aid. They steered first to London and sailed into the Thames with their fleet but the Danes had a castle within. On the other side of the river is a great trading place which is called Söder Viki. There the Danes had raised a great work, dug large ditches and went in had built a bulwark of stone, timber and turf where they had stationed a strong army. King Ethelred ordered a great assault but the Danes defended themselves bravely and King Ethelred could make nothing of it. Between the castle and south work there was a bridge so broad that two wagons could pass each other upon it. On the bridge were raised barricades, both towers and wooden parapets in the direction of the river which were nearly brassed high and under the bridge were piles driven into the bottom of the river. When the attack was made the troops stood on the bridge everywhere and defended themselves. King Ethelred was very anxious to get possession of the bridge and he called together all the chiefs to consult how they should get the bridge broken down. Then said King Olaf he would attempt to lay his fleet alongside of it if the other ships would do the same. It was then determined in this council that they should lay their war forces under the bridge and each made himself ready with ships and men. King Olaf ordered great platforms of floating wood to be tied together with hazel bands and for this he took down old houses. With these as a roof he covered over his ship so widely that it reached over the ship's sides. Under this screen he set pillars so high and stout that there both was room for swinging their swords and the roofs were strong enough to withstand the stones cast down upon them. Now when the fleet and men were ready they rode up along the river but when they came near the bridge there were cast down upon them so many stones and missile weapons such as arrows and spears that neither helmet nor shield could hold out against it. And the ships themselves were so greatly damaged that many retreated out of it. But King Olaf and the North men's fleet with him rode quite up under the bridge laid their cables around the piles which supported it and then rode off with all the ships as hard as they could down the stream. The piles were thus shaken in the bottom and were loosened under the bridge. Now as the armed troops stood thicker men under the bridge and there were likewise many heaps of stones and other weapons upon it and the piles under it being loosened and broken the bridge gave way. And a great part of the men upon it fell into the river and all the others fled some into the castle some into south work. Thereafter south work was stormed and taken. Now when the people in the castle saw that the river Timbs was mastered and that they could not hinder the passage of ships up into the country they became afraid surrendered the tower and took out the red to be their king. So says Otar Swarta. London Bridge is broken down. Gold is one and bright renowned. Shields resounding or horns sounding. Hilda shouting in the den. Arrow singing. Mail codes ringing. Odin makes our Olaf win. Saint Olaf and his little brother from the Himes Kringle this winter his stepfather Sigurd Sir died and King Olaf went to Ringgarika where his mother Asta made a great feast for him. Olaf alone bore the title of King now in Norway. It is told that when King Olaf was on his visit to his mother Asta she brought out her children and showed them to him. The king took his brother Gutorm on the one knee and his brother Halfdan on the other. The king looked at Gutorm, made a rye face and pretended to be angry at them at which the boys were afraid. Then Asta brought her youngest son called Harold who was three years old to him. The king made a rye face at him also but he looked the king in the face without regarding it. The king took the boy by the hair and plucked it but the boy seized the king's whiskers and gave them a tug. Then said the king thou wilt be revengeful my friend some day. The following day the king was walking with his mother about the farm and they came to a playground where Asta's sons Gutorm and Halfdan were amusing themselves. They were building great houses and barns in their play and were supposing them full of cattle and sheep and close beside them in a clay pool Harold was busy with chips of wood sating them in his sport along the edge. The king asked him what these were and he answered these were his ships of war. The king laughed and said the time may come friend when thou wilt command ships. Then the king called to him Halfdan and Gutorm and first he asked Gutorm what would thou like best to have corn land replied he and how great would thou like that corn land to be. I would have the whole nest that goes out into the lake sown with corn every summer. On that nest there are ten farms. The king replied there would be a great deal of corn there and turning to Halfdan he asked and what would thou like best to have cows he replied how many would thou like to have. When they went to the lake to be watered I would have so many that they stood as tight around the lake as they could stand. There would be a great housekeeping said the king and therein ye take after your father. Then the king says to Harold and what would thou like best to have house servants and how many would thou have. Oh so many I would like to have as would eat up my brother Halfdan's cows at a single meal. The king laughed and said to Asta your mother thou art bringing up a king and more is not related of them on this occasion. Well King Olaf preached Christianity by John Fulford Bookery. In the summer of that year King Olaf sailed down to Sondmore and leaving his ships in the fjord went across the fields to Lesge and Good Bronze Dahlin. He arrested the chief men in Dover and elsewhere that either to accept Christianity or lose their lives and have their houses burnt. Those who were baptized were forced to give hostages for their future conduct. The result of this strong measure was that men left Norway in large numbers in preference to submitting to what they considered gross tyranny. The king then entered Lom Dahlin and exclaimed when he saw its natural beauty and little farmhouses here and there what a pity such a pretty place should be laid in ashes. He went down the valley to a farm called Noes where he remained five days and the room he occupied remained untouched for centuries. The king sent messages to the men in the district to meet him and accept Christianity with the alternative that they would be visited with fire and sword. Most of them fled to the other end of the Good Bronze Dah where they considered themselves in safety. The chief man was Dale Good Bronze. He was a hearse and had much influence. He sent a boot stick round which in this case was a stick in the form of a bow with a piece of cord at one end and the other charred to signify that they might expect to be hung and their farms burnt. The place of meeting that Good Bronze fixed upon was Handorp in the Good Bronze Dah. It was a place easily accessible by water as well as by land and was well chosen for collecting men promptly. Good Bronze made a speech of forcible character to the men he had assembled. There has come a man called by the name of Ola. He will give us another faith than we have now and will break down the images of our gods because he says that he has a God mightier than our gods. It is a matter of surprise that so unreasonable a man is not swallowed up by the earth and that our gods have not broken his neck long since. But I hope that when we carry Thor out who now stands on his pedestal in the temple he will be to us a comforter and friend. We shall then see this Ola and his men melt like dew before the sun. At these words the bonders shouted that if they got hold of Ola they would kill him and 700 men were sent under Good Bronze's son who was then 18 years of age to bride and to fight the king. They remained there three days and heard much of King Ola from the men who had fled from the district which the king had visited. The king sowed priests broadcast and journeyed towards Brighton where he had heard the bonders had collected enlarged numbers to oppose him. He rested during the night and early in the morning he placed his men in good order for receiving an attack from the bonders. He then rode forward and addressed them. They would not hear him but howled like wolves and struck their swords on their shields. The king's men advanced slowly and threw their spears with such effect that the bonders hesitated and then fled. A few stood their ground and were taken prisoners and amongst them Good Bronze's son. King Olaf remained at Brighton for a few days and sent Good Bronze's son to his father with the message that he, the king, was not afraid to pay him a visit and intended to do so. Good Bronze's son returned and told his father that it was not possible to resist such a man as King Olaf that he feared nothing and possessed the will and courage that no one could resist. What do I hear? said Good Bronze. You have been a short way and lost courage in that little distance. The night after, Good Bronze dreamt that a man appeared to him of bright and shining appearance. Your son said the man has one little honor in opposing King Olaf but if you draw the sword against him you and your people will fall and the wolves will drag your bodies about and the ravens hack them. Good Bronze was frightened that this dream and his fright was not lessened when on telling his dream to another chief of the Good Bronze, Dolan, Thord, Easter, Belg, the latter told him that he had dreamt precisely the same. A council was called of the bonders and Good Bronze advised that before fighting the man from the north they had better hear what he had to say respecting his new doctrine. This appears to have been at once assented to as Good Bronze sent his son to King Olaf with 12 men and instructions to say that the bonders wished to discuss the subject with him. And meanwhile that no attempt to attack the king would be made. King Olaf was pleased at this and moved his force to meet the bonders at a place agreed upon. This was between a farm called Lid and Handorp. It was pouring with rain but the king stood up and explained how Christianity had been accepted at Lesge, Bayag, and Lawn. And how about the people there had taken down their heathen temples and believed in the God that had created heaven and earth. When the king sat down, Good Brand rose and said that he did not understand how faith could be placed in a God that no one saw whilst they, on the other hand, had a God they could see. And if it had not been raining so hard that they should have had their God present when the very look of him would inspire fear. If your God is worth anything, King Olaf, let him give us our cloudy day tomorrow with no rain when we can discuss the matter further. King Olaf went to his quarters where he detained Good Brand's son as a hostage. Before they went to bed, the king asked Good Brand's son what the God was that his father had referred to. He replied that it was the image of the God Thor, who was tall and big with his hammer in his hand and supposed to be standing on a mountain ridge. The next day the king rose at daybreak. A church service was held and after an early meal he attended the thing with Bishop Sigurd. The weather was cloudy without rain, as Good Brand has suggested. The bishop wore the full dress of a Catholic cleric and spoke at some length of the advantages of Christianity and the infinite power and goodness of God. Bishop Thor is still bell, rose and said, the old unicorn who has just spoken has the use of his mouth. He has also a crooked staff in his hand and a ram's horn on his head. But can this God make a sunny day tomorrow when we will meet him and his king and either give way or fight and meanwhile let each man go to his quarters. The king had amongst his her means, men of his bodyguard, a man named Kolben, Kempe, on account of the great strength of his arms, he had a broad sword belted to his waist and carried a heavy club. The king told Kolben that he was to stand close to him the next day and directed holes to be bored in the bondage boats that were drawn up on land and their horses led away so that they could not escape in case of a skirmish on the following day. As before the king rose early and after holding a church service he went to the thing and saw a number of men carrying the wooden image of the God Thor. The bondage rose and kneel to their God which was placed in the middle of the thing. The king and his men sat on one side and the bondage on the other. Dale, good brand, rose and said, now king wears your God. He is not present and neither you nor the unicorn, the bishop, appear so cheerful today as you did yesterday. You see the piercing eyes of our God you seem as if you could not open your eyes and I advise you to abandon your stiff neckedness and worship our God who has the power to destroy you in a moment. King Olaf whispered to Kolben Kempe, whilst I am speaking and you see the bondage's eyes are turned away from their idol, knock it down with your club. The king then rose and said, you think we are afraid of your idol, good brand, but there you are mistaken. How can we be afraid of a God who cannot do anything? He is blind and deaf and cannot move from where he is now. You ask where our God is, look to the east and you will see a part of his works. The bondage looked at the early sun and as their heads were turned in that direction, Kolben Kempe smashed the image of the God Thor with his club. A number of lizards, snakes and rats as large as cats came out of the image. They had grown fat on the offerings of the heathen. The bondage ran to their boats but they sank when put into the water on account of the holes which the king had directed to be bored in them. They then ran for their horses but could not find them. At length they returned slowly to the thing's stead, the place of holding the thing. King Olaf's clear voice was heard above the tumult. He pointed out the miserable idol they had worshipped and his forcible speech altered the fortunes of the day. Good brand and his son were baptized and supported the king's efforts to establish Christianity in the good brand's doll. Olaf as a saint from the Himes Kringle, King Olaf was slain by his own people at the battle of Stichlstad in 1030 in his attempt to regain his kingdom from which he had been driven by the Danes. The editor. King Olaf fell on Wednesday the 29th of July. It was near bed day when the two armies met and the battle began before half past one and before three the king fell. The darkness continued from about half past one to three also Sigvat the scald speaks thus of the result of the battle. The loss was great to England's foes when their chief fell beneath the blows by his own thoughtless people given when the king's shield in two was written. The people's sovereign took the field. The people clothe the sovereign shield of all the chiefs that bloody day Doug only came out of the thread. The boundaries did not spoil the slain upon the field of battle for immediately after the battle they came upon many of them who had been against the king. The kind of dread as it were that they held by their evil inclination for they resolved among themselves that none who had fallen with the king should receive the interment which belongs to good men but reckon them all robbers and outlaws. But the men who had power and had relations on the field cared little for this but removed the remains to the churches and took care of their burial. Thorgyll's Halmason and his son Grimm went to the field of battle towards evening when it was dusk took King Olaf's corpse up and brought to a little empty houseman's hut which stood on the other side of their farm. They had light and water with them. Then they took the clothes off the body, swathed in a linen cloth, laid it down in the house and concealed it under some firewood so that nobody could see it even if people came into the hut. Thereafter they went home again to the farmhouse. A great many beggars and poor people had followed both armies who begged for meat and the evening after the battle many remained there and sought lodging round about in all the houses great or small. It is told of a blind man who was poor that a boy attended him and let him. They went out around the farm to seek a lodging and came to the same empty house of which the door was so low that they had almost to creep in. And when the blind man had come in he fumbled about on the floor seeking a place where he could lay himself down. He had a hat on his head which fell down over his face. When he stooped down he felt with his hands that there was moisture on the floor and he put it up his wet hand to raise his hat and in doing so put his fingers on his eyes. There came immediately such an itching in his eyelids that he wiped the water with his fingers from his eyes and went out of the hut saying nobody could lie there it was so wet. When he came out of the hut he could distinguish his hands and all that was near him as far as things can be distinguished by sight in the darkness of night. And he went immediately to the farmhouse into the room and told all the people he had got his sight again and could see everything although many knew he had been blind for a long time for he had been there before going about among the houses of the neighborhood. He said he first got his sight when he was coming out of a little ruinous hut which was all wet inside. I groped in the water said he and rubbed my eyes with my wet hands. He told where the hut stood the people who heard him wondered much at this event and spoke among themselves of what it could be that produced it. But Thorgels the peasant and his son Grimm thought they knew how this came to pass. As they were much afraid the king's enemies might go there and search the hut they went and took the body out of it and removed it to a garden where they concealed it and then returned to the farm and slept there all night. The fifth day after this story or hunt came down the valley of Birdelen to Stiklstad and many people both chiefs and bonders accompanied him. The field of battle was still being cleared and people were carrying away the bodies of their friends and relations and were giving the necessary help to such a wounded as they wished to save. The many had died since the battle. The warrior hunt went to where the king had fallen and searched for his body but not finding it he inquired if anyone could tell him what had become of the corpse but nobody could tell him where it was. Many asked the bonder Thorgels who said I was not in the battle and knew little of what took place there. The many reports are abroad and among others that King Olaf has been seen in the night up at Stath and a troop of people with him. But if he fell in the battle your men must have concealed him in some hole or under some stone heap. Now although Thorger hunt knew for certain that the king had fallen many allowed themselves to believe and to spread abroad the report that the king had escaped from the battle and would in a short time come again upon them with an army. Then Thorer went to his ships and sailed down the fjord and the bonder army dispersed carrying with them all the wounded men who could bear to be removed. Thorgels Hallmason and his son Grim had King Olaf's body and were anxious about preserving it from falling into the hands of the king's enemies and being ill treated for they heard the bonders speaking about burning it or sinking it in the sea. The father and son had seen a clear light burning at night over the spot on the battlefield where King Olaf's body lay. And since while they concealed it they had always seen at night a light burning over the corpse therefore they were afraid the king's enemies might seek the body where this signal was visible. They hastened therefore to take the body to a place where it would be safe. Thorgels and his son accordingly made a coffin which they adorned as well as they could and laid the king's body in it. And afterwards made another coffin in which they laid stone and straw about as much as the weight of a man and carefully closed the coffin. As soon as the whole bonder army had left Stiklstad Thorgels and his son made themselves ready got a large rowing boat and took with them seven or eight men who were all Thorgels relations or friends and privately took the coffin with the king's body down to the boat and set the coffin containing the stones and placed it in the boat where all could see it. And then went down the fjord with a good opportunity of wind and weather and arrived in the dusk of the evening at Nedaris where they brought up at the king's pier. Then Thorgels sent some of his men up to the town to Bishop Sigurd to say that they were come with the king's body. As soon as the bishop heard this news he sent his men down to the pier and they took a small rowing boat came alongside of Thorgels ship and demanded the king's body. Thorgels and his people then took the coffin which stood in view and bore it into the boat and the bishops men rode out into the fjord and sank the coffin in the sea. It was now quite dark. Thorgels and his people now rode up into the river past the town and landed at a place called Saurlyd above the town. Then they carried the king's body to an empty house standing at a distance from other houses and watched over it for the night. While Thorgels went down to the town where he spoke with some of the best friends of King Olaf and asked them if they would dare take charge of the king's body. But none of them dared to do so. Then Thorgels and his men went with the body higher up the river buried it in a sand hill on the banks and leveled all around it so that no one could observe that people had been at work there. They were ready with all this before break of day when they returned to their vessel went immediately out of the river and proceeded on their way home to Stickelstad. In the sand hill where King Olaf's body had lain on the ground a beautiful spring of water came up and many human ailments and infirmities were cured by its waters. Things were put in order around it and the water ever since has been carefully preserved. There was first a chapel built and an altar consecrated where the king's body had lain but now Christ's church stands upon the spot. Archbishop Einstein had a high altar raised upon the spot where the king's grave had been when he erected the great temple which now stands there. And it is the same spot on which the altar of the old Christ church had stood. It is said that Olaf's church stands on the spot on which the empty house had stood in which King Olaf's body had been laid for the night. The place over which the holy remains of King Olaf were carried up from the vessel is now called Olaf's road and is now in the middle of the town. The bishop adorned King Olaf's holy remains and cut his nails and hair for both grew as if he had still been alive. So says Sigmat the scald, I lie not when I say the king seemed as alive and everything. His nails, his yellow hair still growing and round his ruddy chin still flowing as when to please the Russian queen his yellow locks adorned were seen. Or to the blind he cured, he gave, at rest their precious sight to save. In section 15, this recording is in the public domain. Section 16 of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland and the Search for the Poles, read for Liberfox.org by phone. The ancient church of Gull, photograph page 76. The oldest stave or wooden churches of Norway, of which 24 survive, were built about 1100. There is a theory that they were reared by ship carpenters and certainly they do manifest in many details the methods of shipbuilding. Moreover, their gables are ornamented with dragons heads in the fashion of the old Viking boats. The decorations are a strange mixture of all sorts of things. The four carved on capitals and portals of the doorways are found centaurs, dragons, beasts, birds, saga stories and mythological legends. Charles Loring Brace says of one of these churches, The first sensation on coming interview with it in the solitary mountain valley is as if suddenly seeing a huge mailed animal with many necks and hands resting on the earth of something fantastic and living. You cannot in the least understand its structure or shape as a church on approaching. The church of Gull, which is here pictured, was originally at Gull in Hallindal, but it was carried to Bygdø and set up in the Norwegian National Museum, the famous out-of-door collection which illustrates so perfectly the history and customs of Norway. And the section 16. This recording is in the public domain. Section 17 of Norway, Sweden and Denmark, Iceland, Greenland and the Search for the Pole. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The World's Story, Volume 8. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland and the Search for the Poles, edited by Eva March-Tappen. Section 17, King Magnus, who was reformed by a poem, reigned from 1035 to 1047 by Halmar H. Boyesson. When he, Magnus, was born, he was so small and feeble that it seemed as if he could not live many hours. It was in the middle of the night and no one dared to wake the king. His friend, Sigvatskald, was therefore called, and he assumed the responsibility of naming the child Magnus after Carolus Magnus, the German Emperor. A priest was then found who baptized it. When the king heard of the occurrence, he was very wroth and chided the Skald. There was no one in his family named Magnus, and perhaps he even suspected that Sigvatskald had made a mistake in selecting the Latin surname of the Emperor, rather than his real name, Carl. It was under these unpropitious circumstances that the boy was born who became the heir to St. Olaf's kingdom, and the love which a repentant people lavished upon his memory. He was not quite eleven years old when he was proclaimed king at the Orr thing, but well grown and intelligent. He allowed himself, during the first years of his reign, to be guided by the council of Einar, Tamberskelver, and Kulf Arnesen, but soon gained sufficient independence of judgment to assert his own will. It was but a short time after the proclamation of Magnus as king that Harthenut prepared to invade Norway. Magnus, who was eager to punish the race of Knut for their insidious ploddings against his father, also made war-like preparations, apparently with the intention of invading Denmark. Whether any actual fighting took place is not known. It is not improbable that some insignificant skirmishing may have been done. But before any decisive battle was fought, the chieftains in both countries interfered and persuaded the two youthful combatants to make peace. At a meeting at the Bren Islands at the mouth of the Goethe Elve, an agreement was made in accordance with which each made the other his heir and successor, in case he died without issue 1038. This might indeed seem to be a remote contingency, but it actually came to pass four years later when Harthenut died and Magnus was without opposition, proclaimed king of Denmark at the Viborgting and received the allegiance of the people. Thus Norway and Denmark were for the first time united and the descendants of Herald the Fairhaired were recognized by the Danish branch of Ragnar Lodbrock's race as their equals, as they already had been recognized by the branch governing Sweden. Magnus must have been aware that it was to the sainthood of his father that he owed this recognition and he lost no opportunity to show his reverence for his memory. He commenced the erection of a church in Nitaros, which was to bear St. Olaf's name, and made him a new sarcophagus adorned with gold and silver and precious stones. It was natural enough that he should take pleasure in the society of those who had been nearest to his father and stood at his side at Stegelstad, but the hostility aroused by the battle and the events that led to it existed in some measure yet. And one party began to fan the smoldering embers of distrust in the king's mind and incite him to vengeance against the other. In spite of the amnesty which he had in Russia given to those who had borne arms against St. Olaf, he began now to punish all the leaders in the rebellion with great harshness. It was the Tronders, particularly, who had to bear the brunt of his wrath, because it was they who had made common cause with Canute, and had been foremost in driving the sainthood king into exile. Calf Arneson was among the first to experience the changed temper of King Magnus. Jealousy's had early arisen between him and Inar Timberskelver, both of whom called the king their foster son, and prided themselves on possessing his confidence. Once, it is said, Calf had seated himself in Inar's seat next to the king, whereupon Inar sat down upon Calf's shoulder, saying, It behooves an old bull to be stalled before the calf. At a party at the estate hoag in Beridolin the king uttered to Inar a desire to visit the field where his father had fallen. I can give you no information about that, answered Inar, as I was not present. But let Calf ride along with you. He can give you full particulars. Then thou shalt accompany me, Calf, said the king, and Calf, though he was very reluctant, was obliged to follow. When they reached the battlefield the king dismounted and asked to be shown the spot where his father had received his death wound. He lay here, said Calf, pointing with his spear. Where doth thou stand, then, Calf? asked Magnus. Here, where I am now standing. Then thy axe could well reach him, cried the king, flushing violently. My axe did not reach him, Calf replied, jumped on his horse and rode away. He had already given orders to have his ship in readiness, loaded with all his movable goods, and as soon as he reached home he put to sea and sailed for the Orkneys. The great possessions which he left behind were confiscated by Magnus. Tor Ruhund escaped punishment by making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, from which he never returned. Harek of Thotha was slain with the king's consent by a private enemy, and many others were deprived of their cattle and otherwise molested. The odious laws which had been given by Swain Alfifasun were not repealed, and the king acted as if he regarded himself as a master of everyone's goods, life and liberty. But the Norsemen were not accustomed to endure arbitrary conduct in their kings, a general dissatisfaction spread through the country, and threatened to break out an open rebellion. In Sagan the peasants were already under arms, and at Trundalag a largely attended meeting was held at which the bitterest denunciation of the king found utterance. Happily, however, some were present who were yet kindly disposed to Magnus, and these determined to let him know how the people felt toward him. The question then arose as to who was to undertake this hazardous mission, for Magnus was hot-tempered and had, moreover, made up his mind to inflict exemplary punishment upon the rebellious sonnings. His friends determined to let chance decide. They drew lots, and the lot fell upon Sigvatskald, who, in a song called the Lay of Candor, took the king earnestly to task for his inconsiderate harshness, warned him of the consequences, and reminded him of his duties to the people, who had of their own accord made him king. The song made a deep impression upon Magnus, and he was from that day a changed man. He gave up all plans of vengeance, became gentle and forgiving, and governed the land in accordance with the law. His kindness and charm of manner made him now so popular that scarcely enough could be said in his praise. The people called him Magnus the Good. Magnus, however, never forgot that he was king, and that it behooved him to rule his kingdom and punish its enemies. Swain, one of his earls, was unfaithful to him, and the king pursued him and overcame him in two naval battles. He also broke up an old nest of pirates at Johnsburg, on the German coast. In the spring of 1044, when Magnus was twenty years old, he returned to Norway. His fame filled the north, for so great things scarcely any king of his race had achieved at so early an age. In spite of his hot temper he was well-beloved by all his people, for with all his vehemence he was upright, generous, and noble. A pleasant story is told of him which throws much light upon his character. In Magnus's guard there was a high-born Icelander named Torstein, son of Cedahal. Like most of his countrymen he was not amenable to discipline, and offended the king by going to Dublin without his permission. In return for this he was outlawed, but relying upon his friends and family connections he returned to Norway, paying no heed to the judgment of outlawry. He brought with him some fine stud horses and offered them as a gift to Einar Tamberskelver, whose influence with the king was known to be great. Einar declined them, but his son, Eindrida, not knowing of his father's refusal, accepted them with joy. He even invited Torstein to be his guest for the winter, and had the hardy-hood to bring him in his company to the king's yule-feast. He was, however, persuaded by his father to return home with the outlaw before the king had seen him. On the fourth day after Christmas Einar, who was sitting at Magnus's side, ventured to put in a good word for Torstein, to which the king answered, Let us talk of something else, for I would not willingly anger thee. Four days later Einar again mentioned the Icelander, but the king, with a perfectly friendly manner, dismissed the subject. Then Einar let five days pass, and once more asked that the Icelander be forgiven. We will not speak of that, said Magnus, with some irritation. I do not understand how that canst presume to protect a man who has provoked my wrath. That was my son Eindrida's doing, rather than mine, replied Einar. But I did think that my prayer for a single man would have some weight with thee, when we in all things have done and will continue to do what will promote thy honour. I, my lord, shall be in an evil plight if you will not accept atonement in money from my son for Torstein, instead of fighting with him. For I cannot bring it over my heart to carry arms against you, but this will I say, that I do not perceive that you remember how I went to find you east in Russia, became your foster father, and have since supported and strengthened your kingdom, thinking late and early of how I could advance your honour. Now I will depart from the land, and no more aid thee, but there will be those who say that thou will not be the gainer by all this. Thus spoke Einar in anger, jumped up from his seat, and went toward the door. But the king arose, hurried after him, and flung his arms about his neck. Come back, my dear foster father, he cried, never shall ought whatever it be how the power to break our friendship. Take the man in peace, as it may please thee. End of section number seventeen. This recording is in the public domain. Section eighteen of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland, and the search for the poles. This is a LibreVox recording. All LibreVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibreVox.org. The Royal Story, volume eight, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland, and the search for the poles. Edited by Eva March Tappan. Section eighteen. Al King Harold Hardruler gave his treasure for his life, ten forty-nine, by Pierre-Mar H. Boyesson. His, Harold's, annual summer amusement consisted for some time in surprising the exposed ports on the Danish coast and harrying them with savage cruelty. At last, when both sides grew tired of this aimless destruction, it was agreed that Swen Astridson should meet Harold at the mouth of the Gotha Elf and that the issue of the battle should decide in regard to the latter's claim to the throne of Denmark. At the time appointed, however, Swen failed to make his appearance and Harold, after having waited for him in vain, sailed southward with his fleet, ravaging the coast of Newtland, burning the great city of Haida B. Sleswick, and carrying away a number of high-born women besides an enormous moody. He was far from expecting to be pursued by the Danes and accordingly allowed his ships to scatter on their homeward way, had winds and foggy weather delayed the Norsemen, and one morning when they were laying, too, under the island of Lasso, they saw a sudden flash through the fog which caused alarm. The king was called and asked where he supposed it to be. The Danish fleet is upon us, he said, that which shines is the golden dragon heads which flash in the morning sun. Resistance was not to be thought of and flight seemed also hopeless, but the king's presence of mind did not desert him. He ordered the men to the oars, but the ships which were heavy and swollen, from having been long in the water, made little headway, and as the fog lifted, the Danish fleet, counting several hundred galleys, was seen bearing down upon them. Harold then commanded his men to nail bright garments and other precious things to logs and throw them overboard, the Danes who could not resist the temptation to stop and pick them up, thereby lost time and were rebuked by Swain for their folly. Again the pursuit began and Harold was obliged to throw overboard, malt, beer, and pork in order to lighten his ships. Nevertheless, Swain was still gaining upon him and Harold's own dragon ship which was the hindmost was in danger of being captured. Then, in sheer desperation, he made rafts out of barrels and boards, put the Danish matrons and maidens upon them, and lowered them into the sea. One after another of these rafts was sent out at intervals and the pursuers seeing their wives and daughters, stretching out their arms to them, crying to be rescued, and some even struggling in the water, could not forbear to pause and save them. Thus Harold escaped and Swain cursed as ill luck. Nevertheless, when he captured some ligards among the Norse galleys, he refused to take vengeance upon them. During a later expedition to Denmark, Harold displayed again the same presence of mind and daring invention. He had just beaten Swain in the battle of Deur-Sa and felt perfectly safe in entering the long and narrow, limb-fewered for purposes of plunder. But Swain, hearing that his antagonists had gone into such a trap, hastily gathered what forces he could command, and laid to at halls where the fjord is so narrow that a few ships could easily engage a much superior number. Harold, perceiving that he was caught, gave orders to sail in through the fjord to the very end. Here a narrow isthmus separates the fjord from the North Sea. With enormous difficulty, he now dragged his ships across the isthmus and sail galleys northward while Swain lay guarding the empty cage from which he had escaped. End of Section 18. This recording is in the public domain. Now King Sigurd smoked out the pirates, 1107, from the Heimskringla. In 1103 Magnus Barefoot died and the kingdom was divided among his three sons. Four years later the second son, Sigurd, set out on a crusade. On his way he paid a friendly visit to the English king Henry I, then sailed to Spain, Italy, and the Holy Land. On the Spanish island of Formantara, one of the Balearic islands, he heard the smoking out of the pirates, which is here described, the editor. King Sigurd then sailed eastward along the coast of Sirkland, footnote Northern Africa, end of footnote, and came to an island there called Formantara. There a great many heathen moors had taken up their dwelling in a cave and had built a strong stone wall before its mouth. It was high up to climb to the wall so that whoever attempted to ascend was driven back with stones or missile weapons. They harried the country all round and carried all their booty to their cave. King Sigurd landed on this island and went to the cave, but it lay in a precipice and there was a high winding path to the stone wall and the precipice above projected over it. The heathens defended the stone wall and were not afraid of the Northmen's arms for they could throw stones or shoot down upon the Northmen under their feet. Neither did the Northmen under such circumstances dare to mount up. The heathens took out their clothes and other valuable things, carried them out upon the wall, spread them out before the Northmen, shouted and defied them and up braided them as cowards. Then Sigurd fell upon this plan. He had two ships boats, such as we call barks, drawn up the precipice right above the mouth of the cave and had thick ropes fastened around the stem, stern, and hull of each. Then these boats as many men went as could find room and then the boats were lowered by the ropes down in front of the mouth of the cave and the men in the boats shot with stones and missiles into the cave and the heathens were thus driven from the stone wall. Then Sigurd with his troops climbed up to the precipice to the foot of the stone wall which they succeeded in breaking down so that they came into the cave. Now the heathens fled within the stone wall that was built across the cave on which the king ordered large trees to be brought to the cave, made a great pile in the mouth of it, and set fire to the wood. When the fire and smoke got the upper hand, some of the heathens lost their lives in it, some fled, some fell by the hands of the Northmen, and part were killed, part burned, and the Northmen made the greatest booty they had got on all their expeditions. So says Haldor the scald. Tours a feast of renown, the boat lowered down, with the boats crew brave in front of the cave, while up the rocks scaling and comrades up trailing, the Northmen gain and the blue men are slain. End of Section 19. This recording is in the public domain. Section 20 of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland and the Search for the Poles Read for LibriVox.org by Sandra Schmidt Birch legs carrying King Hakon by Knut Berksleen, Norwegian painter, born 1827, painting page 88. During the 12th century, Norway was torn by the strife of two contending factions, a popular or democratic party, the Birkebinas, birch legs, so-called because at first their poverty was so great that they were compelled to wear shoes of birch bark and the church party, or bagelos, cruzier man. In 1184, Sveri, the leader of the Birkebinas, succeeded in gaining the crown and ruled Norway with a firm hand until his death. But in 1205 the line of King Sveri had apparently died out and Norway was again in a state of confusion and anarchy. There was an heir to the throne, however, a baby of a year and a half, the child of Sveri's son and the beautiful Inge, daughter of King Inge of Nidoros. The priest who had baptized the child and named him Hakon advised that his birth be concealed, lest in the strife of parties he should come to harm. At length, however, he decided to entrust the secret to one, Erland of Husibi, a faithful friend. Erland realized, even better perhaps than the priest, the danger in which the child stood and urged that he be sent to his grandfather, King Inge. In the depths of winter, as it was, the boy was carried by the two friends through the snowy wilderness to Nidoros. Here he was well cared for, and in 1217 he was made King. End of Section 20. This recording is in the public domain. Section 21 of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland and the Search for the Colts, read for LibriFox.org by phone. Norway Part 3. Life in the Far North, Historical Note In 1397, Denmark, Norway and Sweden were united by the Union of Kalmar. This was pleasing to Denmark, but Norway and Sweden were by no means contentant. In 1523, under the lead of Gustavus Vasa, Sweden became free, Norway had less strength to resist and remained the province of Denmark. In the readjustment of thrones after the Napoleonic Wars the powers demanded the Union of Norway and Sweden but with independence for Norway within her own boundaries. The determination to be entirely free grew stronger, and in 1905 Norway declared that the Union with Sweden was dissolved. The Norwegian crown was bestowed upon Prince Charles, the second son of Frederick VIII of Denmark, who ascended the throne as Hakun VIII. During the Union with Denmark, the literature of Norway was much influenced by the writings of that country, but during the last century she has been making a literature of her own. The works of two of her authors, Ebsen and Bjonsen, are known everywhere. Equally famous are the compositions of two of her musicians, Ole Bull and Edvald Krik. End of section 21. This recording is in the public domain. Section 22 of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland and the Search for the Poles. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The World's Story, volume 8, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland and the Search for the Poles. Edited by Eva March Tappen, section 22. Thin Blood, 19th century by Jonas Lai. The following story is included both because it illustrates the superstitious fear and dislike of the Finns and because it was written by one of Norway's best-known novelists. It is said that to this day, sailors are unwilling to sail under a Finn captain, the editor. In Svartfjord, north of Senja, throughout the land called Eilert, his neighbors were seafaring fins and among their children was a pale little girl, remarkable for her long black hair and her large eyes. They dwelt behind the crag on the other side of the promontory and fished for a livelihood as also did Eilert's parents, wherefore there was no particular goodwill between the families for the nearest fishing ground was but a small one and each would have liked to row there alone. Nevertheless, though his parents did not like it at all and even for bad it, Eilert used to sneak regularly down to the Finns. There they had always strange tales to tell and he heard wondrous things about the recesses of the mountains, where the original home of the Finns was and where in the olden time dwelt the Finns kings who were masters among the magicians. There, too, he heard tell of all that was beneath the sea where the merman and the drog held sway, the latter are gloomy evil powers and many a time his blood stood still in his veins as he sat and listened. They told him that the drought usually showed himself on the strand in the moonlight on those spots which were covered with sea rock that he had a bunch of seaweed instead of a head but shaped so peculiarly that whoever came across him absolutely could not help gazing into his pale and horrible face. They themselves had seen him many a time and once they had driven him thought by thought out of the boat where he had sat one morning and turned the oars upside down. When Eilert hastened home was in the darkness round the headland along the strand over heaps of sea, he darescaresly look around him and many a time the sweat absolutely streamed from his forehead. In proportion as hostility increased among the old people they had a good deal of fault to find with one another and Eilert heard no end of evil things spoken about the fins at home. Now it was this and now it was that they did not even row like Anna spoke for after the finished fashion they took high and swift strokes as if they were women kind and they all talked together and made a noise while they rode instead of being silent in the boat. But what impressed Eilert most of all was the fact that in the Fin women's family they practiced sorcery and idolatry or so folk said. He also heard of something beyond all question and that was the shame of having Fin blood in one's veins which also was the reason why the Fin's were not as good as other honest folk so that the magistrates gave them their own distinct burial ground in the church yard and their own separate Fin pens in church. Eilert had seen this with his own eyes in the church at Berg. All this made him very angry for he could not help liking the Fin folks down yonder and especially little Zilla. They two were always together she knew such a lot about the Merman henceforth his conscience always plagued him when he played with her and whenever she stared at him with her large black eyes while she told him tales he used to begin to feel a little bit afraid for at such times he reflected that she and her people belonged to the accursed and that was why they knew so much about such things but on the other hand the thought of it made him so bitterly angry especially on her account. She too was frequently taken aback by his odd behavior towards her which she could not understand at all and then as was her want she would begin laughing at and teasing him by making him run after her while she went and hid herself. One day he found her sitting on a boulder by the sea shore she had in her lap an Eider duck which had been shot and could only have died quite recently for it was still warm and she wept bitterly over it. It was she sobbed the same bird which made its nest every year beneath the shelter of their outhouse she knew it quite well and she showed him a red-colored feather in its white breast it had been struck dead by a single shot and only a single red drop had come out of it it had tried to reach his nest but had died on its way on the strand she wept as if her heart would break and dried her face with her hair in impetuous fin fashion Eilert laughed at her as boys will but he overdid it and was very pale the whole time he did not tell her that that very day he had taken a random shot with his father's gun from behind the headland at a bird a long way off which was swimming ashore one autumn Eilert's father was downright desperate day after day on the fishing grounds his lines caught next to nothing while he was forced to look on and see the fin pull up one rich catch after another he was sure too that he had noticed malicious gestures over in the fin's boat after that his whole house nourished a double bitterness against them and when they talked it over in the evening it was agreed as a thing beyond our question that Finnish sorcery had something to do with it against this there was only one remedy and that was to rub corpse mold on the lines but one must be aware of doing so lest one should thereby offend the dead and expose oneself to their vengeance while the sea folk would gain power over one at the same time Eilert bothered his head a good deal over all this it almost seemed to him as if he had had a share in the deed because he was on such a good footing with the fin folks on the following Sunday both he and the fin folks were at Burg church and he secretly abstracted a handful of mold from one of the fin graves and put it in his pocket the same evening when they came home he strewed the mold over his father's lines unobserved and oddly enough the very next time his father cast his lines as many fish were caught as in the good old times but after this Eilert's anxiety became indescribable he was especially cautious while they were working of an evening around the fireside and it was dark in the distant corners of the room he sat there with a piece of steel in his pocket to beg forgiveness of the dead as the only helpful means against the consequences of such deeds is his otherwise one will be dragged off at night by an invisible hand to the churchyard though one were last fast to the bed by our ship's hausel when Eilert on the following preaching Sunday went to church he took very good care to go to the grave and beg forgiveness of the dead as Eilert grew older he got to understand that the fin folks must after all be pretty much the same sort of people as his own folks at home on the other hand another thought was now uppermost in his mind the thought namely that the fins must be of an inferior stock with a taint of disgrace about them nevertheless he could not very well do without zealous society and they were very much together as before especially at the time of their confirmation but when Eilert became a man and mixed more with the people of the parish he began to fancy that this old companionship lowered him somewhat in the eyes of his neighbors there was nobody who did not believe as a matter of course that there was something shameful about fin blood and he therefore always tried to avoid her in company the girl understood it all well enough for laterally she took care to keep out of his way nevertheless one day she came as had been her want from childhood down to their house and begged for leave to go in their boat when they rode to church next day there were lots of strangers present from the village and so Eilert left folks should think that they were engaged answered mockingly so that everyone could hear him that church cleansing was perhaps a very good thing for a finished sorcery but she must find someone else to ferry her across after that she never spoke to him at all but Eilert was anything but happy in consequence now it happened when winter that Eilert was out all alone fishing for Greenland shark a shark suddenly bit the boat was small and the fish was very big but Eilert would not give in the business was that his boat capsized all night long he lay on the top of it in the mist and the cruel sea as now he sat there fainting for drowsiness and dimly conscious that the end was not far off and that sooner it came the better he suddenly saw a man in semen's clothes sitting astride the other end of the boat's bottom and glaring savagely at him with a pair of dull reddish eyes he was so heavy that the boat's bottom began to sink down at the end where he sat then he suddenly vanished but it seemed to Eilert as if the seafog lifted a bit the sea had all at once grown quite calm at least there was now only a gentle swell and right in front of him lay a little low gray island towards which the boat was slowly drifting the skeery was wet as if the sea had only recently been flowing over it and on it he saw pale girl with such lovely eyes she wore a green kirtle and round her body a broad silver girdle with figures upon it such as fins her body was of tar brown skin and beneath her stayed laces which seemed to be a green sea grass was a foam white chemise like the feathery breast of a seabird when the boat came drifting onto the island she came down to him and said as if she knew him quite well so you come at last Eilert I've been waiting for you so long it seemed to Eilert as if an icy cold shutter ran through his body when he took the hand which helped him ashore but it was only for the moment when he forgot it instantly in the midst of the island there was an opening with a brazen flight of steps leading down to a splendid cabin whilst he stood there thinking things over a bit he saw two dogfish swimming close by they were at least 12 to 14 owls long as they descended the dogfish sank down to each on one side of the brazen steps oddly enough it looked as if the island was transparent when the girl perceived that he was frightened she told him that they were only two of her father's bodyguard and shortly afterwards they disappeared she then said that she wanted to take him to her father who was waiting for them she added that if he did not find the old gentleman precisely as handsome as he might expect he had nevertheless no need to be frightened nor was he to be astonished too much of what he saw he now perceived that he was underwater but for all that there was no sign of moisture he was on a white bottom covered with chalk white red blue and silvery bright shells he saw meadows of seagrass mountains thick with woods of bushy sea weed and searack and the fish is darted about on every side just as the bird swam about the rocks that sea fowl haunt as they do with us walking along together she explained many things to him high up he saw something which looked like a black cloud without white lining and beneath it moved backwards and forwards as shape resembling one of the dogfish what do you see there is a vessel said she there's nasty weather up there now and beneath the boat goes he who was sitting along with you on the bottom of the boat just now if it is not wrecked it will belong to us and then you will not be able to speak to father today as she said this there was a wild rapacious gleam in her eyes but it was gone again immediately and in point of fact it was no easy matter to make out the meaning of her they were unfathomably dark with the luster of a night below through which the sea fire sparkles but occasionally when she laughed they took a bright sea green glitter as when the sun shines deep down into the sea now again they passed by a boat or vessel half buried in the sand out and in of the cabin doors and windows of which fish swam to and fro close by the wrecks wandered human shapes which seemed to consist of nothing but blue smoke his conductress explained to him that these were the spirits of drowned men who had not had Christian burial one must always beware of them for dead ones of this sort are malignant they always know when one of their own race is about to be wrecked at such times they held the death warning of the drought through the wintry night then they went farther on their way right across a deep dark valley in the rocky walls above him he saw a row of four cornered white doors from which a sort of glimmer as from the northern lights shot downwards through the darkness this valley stretched in a northeastwardly direction right under Denmark she said and inside the white doors were the old thin kings who had perished on the sea then she went and opened the nearest of these doors here down in the salt ocean was the last of the kings who had capsized in the very breeze that he himself had conjured forth but could not afterwards quell there on a block of stone sat a wrinkled yellow fin with running eyes and a polished dark red crown his large head rocked backwards and forwards on his withered neck as if it were in the swirl of an ocean current beside him on the same block sat a still more shriveled and yellow little woman who also had a crown on and her garments were covered with all sorts of colored stones she was stirring up a brew with a stick if she only had fire beneath it the girl told Eilert she and her husband would very soon have dominion again over the salt sea for the thing she was stirring about was magic stuff in the middle of a plain which opened right before them at a turn of the road stood a few houses together like a little town and a little farther on Eilert saw a church turned upside down looking with its long pointed tower as if it were mirrored in the water the girl explained to him that her father drove in these houses and the church was one of the seven withered all over Helgeland and Thinmark no service was held in them yet but it would be held when the drowned bishop who sat outside in a brown study could only hit upon the name of the lord that was to be served and then all the drugs should go to church the bishop she said had been sitting and pondering the matter over these 800 years so he would no doubt very soon get to the bottom of it 100 years ago the bishop had advised them to send up to the church to find out all about it but every time the word he wanted was mentioned he could not catch the sound of it in the mountain Cunin King Olaf had hung a church bell of pure gold and it is guarded by the first priest who ever came to Nordland who stands there in a white chastible on the day the priest rings the bell Cunin will become a big stone church to which all Nordland both above and below the sea will resort but time flies and therefore all who come down here below are asked by the bishop if they can tell him that name that this other felt very queer indeed and he felt queer still when he began reflecting and found to his horror but he also had forgotten that name while he stood there in thought the girl looked at him anxiously it was almost as if she wanted to help him to find it and could not so it is that the strange sights and scenes continued like the weird happenings of a nightmare after a long long time he fancied that the long dark era of a girl was flying about him like a curtain and she had eyes that he remembered well then she smiled at him and said it is I with that he awoke and saw that the sunbeams were running over the wet scary and the mermaid was still sitting by his side but presently the whole thing changed before his eyes it was the sun shining through the window panes on a bed in the fin's hut and by his side sat the fin girl supporting his back for they thought he was about to die he'd lain there delirious for six weeks ever since the fin had rescued him after capsizing and this was his first moment of consciousness after that it seemed to him that he had never heard anything so absurd and presumptuous as the twaddle that would fix the stigma of shame or contempt on thin blood and the same spring he and the thin girlzilla were betrothed in the autumn they were married there were fins in the bridal procession and perhaps many said a little more about that than he had done but everyone at the wedding agreed that the fiddler who was also a fin was the best fiddler in the whole parish and the bride the prettiest girl in a section 22 this recording is in the public domain section 23 of Norway, Sweden, Denmark Iceland, Greenland and the search for the poles read for Libervox.org by phone a home in the north photograph page 92 the northern part of Norway is inhabited by laps as the Norwegians call them that is nomads but they call themselves Samme or Sammelats they are thought to have once ruled all Scandinavia but there are not more than 30,000 of them now surviving they have no settled abodes but wonder about as they like living upon roots and plants and the reindeer milk and flesh their custom is to milk the reindeer twice a week and make cheese of the milk they own from 150,000 to 200,000 of these animals and use them for transportation as well as food in the summer the laps make tents of skin in the winter they live in huts of earth covered with turf their fire is built in the center of the hut on the hard beaten floor and the hole in the roof allows the smoke to escape for their beds they lay twigs and moss on this floor and cover them with reindeer skins they have triangular faces high cheekbones and flat noses their eyes are small and black their hair is usually black but sometimes chestnut they are short but wonderfully enduring they can bear extreme cold they can go for several days without food and drink and they can make journeys scores of miles in length without any apparent exhaustion the laps do not change their clothing and they have a horror of water therefore it is no wonder that they are of swarthy aspect the skins of the lap babies however are said to be fair and white beside the fjeld laps or land laps there are also sea laps these spend much of their time on the water carrying on the annual fisheries with the rest of the people they make their homes in settled villages end of section 23 this recording is in the public domain section 24 of Norway, Sweden, Denmark Iceland, Greenland and the search for the poles read for librafox.org by phone the narrow dahl is thus described by Helen Hunt Jackson five miles down this cleft called valley to Gudvangen run the road and the little river and the narrow strips of meadow dark, thin and ghostly long months in utter darkness this narrow dahl lies and never even at summer's best and longest has it more than a half day of sun the mountains rise in sheer black walls on either hand bare rock in colossal shafts and peaks three, four and even five thousand feet high snow in the rifts at top patches of gaunt furs here and there great spaces of tumbled rocks where avalanches have slid pebbly and sandy channels worn out from side to side of the valley where torrents have rushed down and torn away across white streams from top to bottom of the precipices all foam and quiver like threads spun out on the sword more than can be counted they seem to swing down out of the sky as spider threads swing swift and countless in a dewy morning sana shuddered now you see I could not spend a whole day in narrow dahl valley, she said it does not wonder me that any people live here every spring the mountains do fall and people are killed the most striking object in this wonderful valley is jordalsnut a mountain three thousand six hundred and twenty feet high this peak has the form of a gigantic thimble and as it is composed of a silvery felt spar it fairly glitters in the sun or glows resplendent in the evening light an object never to be forgotten and section 24 this recording is in the public domain recording by phone section 25 of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland and the search for the poles this is a LibriVox recording while LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the world's story section 28 Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland and the search for the poles edited by Eva March Tappen section 25 How the Laplanders Live by A.F. Mochler-Ferryman although laps are occasionally seen in charge of reindeer herds on some of the southern mountain tracks of Norway the real home is in the far north not only of Norway but Finland and Russia and the country which they inhabit is known as Lapland that portion of it which belongs to Norway covers only some 3,000 or 4,000 square miles while the whole of the land of the laps has an area of something like 35,000 square miles but statistics show that in Norwegian Lapland there are a great many more inhabitants than there are in Russian Finnish and Swedish Lapland put together and the people whether they be under the rule of Russia, Sweden or Norway are all of the same race asiatics and Mongols totally unlike Europeans in appearance in the first place they are dark and what we consider ugly though it is quite possible that in their eyes we ourselves are hideous then they are short a 5 foot lap would be almost a giant but what they lack in stature they make up in sturdiness for although spare a body probably no men in the world could do a longer days work or survive greater hardships dirty they are certainly since they never change their clothes and sell them comb their hair yet for all that they are perfectly healthy and happy they have gradually split up into three groups known as sea laps, sea laps and river laps the first being nomads or wanderers and the other two settlers by the sea or river will abandon the original mode of life of their race mountain laps are the most restless individual it is possible to imagine winter and summer they are always on the move and three days are seldom passed in one place time does not enslave them for they do not trouble about it routine is nothing to them they eat and drink when they feel inclined and they sleep when a favorable opportunity occurs in such matters as well as in many others they resemble wild animals but in some respects they are methodical they work by the seasons and their wanderings take the same lines each year in the summer months they are down by the sea during the remainder of the year in the mountains though at Christmas time they usually arrange to encamp somewhere in the vicinity of a church for Christmas is a great event in the lives of the laps since they profess Christianity and if they are able to go to church at no other time of the year they make a point of doing so at this season today these people are law abiding and peaceable but they are a strange mixture of good and bad they are kind of evil and of a cheerful disposition at the same time they can be cruel cunning and selfish while their love of money is no less than their love of drink when they can obtain it for one thing only does the mountain lap live is heard of reindeer they provide all his wants food clothing and the wherewithal to purchase luxuries they are his wealth his very existence depends on them in consequence his mode of living has to be accommodated to the habits of his reindeer with or so ever they choose to graze their owner has to follow and he deems it no hardship to pitch his rough tent on the snowy ways in winter or even to sleep out under a rock with a thermometer at 70 degrees below zero it is his life from earlier childhood he is no no other he is content with it and it is not only the men who pass their lives thus for the lat family is to some extent a united one and the women and children thoroughly enjoy the wild free life apparently suffering no ill effects from the rigors of the climate a lat baby starts life in a very queer way until he is able to walk it is kept in what is called a comsa a kind of cradle made of strips of wood covered with leather and just large enough to take the baby the little creature is rolled up in sheepskin and put into the cradle which is then stuffed with moss and the leather covering lays securely all around so that only the baby's face is seen to protect its head the comsa is provided with a wooden hood like most cradles and there is generally a shawl which can be thrown over the whole thing in severe weather in fact when the baby has been properly done up in its comsa it might go by parcel posts without coming to much harm it is a very excellent arrangement because the family is incessantly moving about and the mothers have their work to do so cannot always be bothering about their babies the thong of leather stretches from head to foot of the comsa which the mother can thus sling on her shoulder when going about and by this thong the baby can be hung up to a tent pole or to the branch of a tree if its mother is busy but as often as not the comsa are just stuck up on end in the snow or against a rock while work is going on as soon as the child can walk and has finished its cradle existence it is dressed in clothes similar to those of his or her father or mother and looks most quaint the life which these children lead is devoid of much amusement from the beginning they are helping to pack up and move the tent in to look after the reindeer they are nothing more than little men and women their toys are miniatures or models of such things as they will have to use later in life lasso, snowshoes, sleighs and their games are restricted to learning the use of the same they are treated by their parents more or less as if they were grown up and allowed to do much as they please consequently they become self willed and have little respect for their elders after all the mode of life of the laps does not differ very greatly from that of our own gypsies though of the two the laps are certainly the better people the wandering spirit is inherent in both but a portion of each sooner or later shakes it off and leads a more settled life some there are however who will never be anything but wanderer so long as there remains a free country wherein they are liberty to roam let us now see the kind of place which the mountain lap calls home it cannot be anything very elaborate or bulky as it has to be packed up and moved about nearly every day and it has to be carried on the backs of the reindeer in summer or drawn by them in sleighs in the winter so it is nothing more than a most unconventional form of tent not altogether unlike the wigwam of the red indians or the dwelling of many other nomadic people a few long poles are stuck up on a circle with their ends fastened together to form a sort of cone and over this framework is stretched to cover of course woollen material at one side there is a loose flap forming a door and the whole of the top part of the tent round about the ends of the poles is left open to emit light and to allow the smoke from the fire to issue forth the diameter of the tent is about 12 or 15 feet in the height in the center 8 or 10 feet this is the kitchen larder, storeroom drawing room, dining room and bedroom of the family men, women, boys, girls babies, dogs and all a few branches of trees are spread on the ground and in the middle immediately under the opening in the roof is the fire which is kept a light day and night around it the inmates sit on the ground by day and sleep by night there is no furniture of any kind and only a few cooking pots with some wooden bowls and spoons of wood or of horn beds and blankets and such like luxuries are also absent so undressing, dressing, washing and absurdities of that kind are not indulged in when the time has come to go to sleep those who are in the tent just roll themselves close up to the fire and sleep quite comfortably in the clothes which they probably have not taken off for a year or two the whole family is not likely to be in the tent at the same time some members of it must always be looking after the reindeer as the herd can never be left to its own devices consequently there is generally plenty of room meals are free and easy affairs there is no dinner bell and no fixed time for eating but food is always ready hanging in a pot over the fire and when anyone feels inclined to eat the hand is plunged into the pot and a piece of meat pulled out and devoured in addition to reindeer meat of which the laps consume a great deal the food consists of cheese and sometimes a kind of porridge or drink they have water milked at snow, reindeer milk and on occasions coffee the latter they are very fond of but few families can afford to drink it often so also with spirits which however they only manage to obtain in the towns thus live the mountain laps year in and year out today a family is in one place tomorrow a dozen miles away now and again other families are met with and receive hospitality but for the most part the family and its herd keep to themselves since to do otherwise might lead to difficulties about grazing the rain floods their tent the snow buries it the wind blows it down yet they survive in glory in their free life the sea laps though much more numerous than their brethren on the mountains are not so interesting they live by the coast and huts built of wood or of sods obtain a livelihood by fishing the river laps on the other hand are both herdsmen and fishermen residing in small settlements on the banks of the rivers they keep reindeer as well as a few cows and sheep and they do a little in the way of farming the land around the settlement many of them are even intellectual and the advantages of having their children properly educated in the schools are gradually becoming appreciated end of section 25 this recording is in the public domain section 26 of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland Greenland and the Search for the Poles read for Librox.org by Monika MC market day in the far north photograph page 106 the laps are a simple folk who love the frozen country from missionaries and settlers many have learned to read and write and have adopted some of the ways of civilization most of them are nominally Christians but the rites of heathenism are not yet forgotten and some of these are said to be still practiced in secret the dress of the man consists of a coat or tunic and tight trousers the former use of leather is giving way to that of the start Norwegian cloth called vatmal there were boots of reindeer skin and woolen caps the women dress in much the same fission the gowns or tunics are sometimes ornamented with silver trimmings are with bands of some contrasting color and are confined at the waist by a belt often adorned with ornaments of either silver or copper according to the wealth of the wearer a small knife and a pair of scissors sometimes hang from this belt the laps who live near the sea prefer to make their homes close to the towns they are rather shrewd at a bargain and regard summer tourists as being in a commercial way their most valuable friends in the illustration they are shown bringing reindeer horns bits of carved bone in which art they have some skill bags of reindeer cheese etc to be sold to travelers the faces of these laps vary as much as would those of a group of any fork taking at random from utter stolidity to quiet self-possessed dignity one or two even manifest a keen sense of humor many settlers from surrounding countries have taken up their boat in Lepland and it is probable that intermarriage will eventually bring about the disappearance of the lads as a separate people section 26 this recording is in the public domain section 27 of Norway, Sweden Denmark, Iceland, Greenland and the search for the poles this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the world's story volume 8 Norway, Sweden, Denmark Iceland, Greenland and the search for the poles edited by Eva March-Tappin section 27 the music of Ole Bull by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow the scene of Longfellow's Tales of a Wayside Inn from which the following poem is taken was the Red Horse Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts here he placed in imagination a group of his friends the musician is Ole Bull the Norwegian violinist the Spanish Jew Israel Adrehi the student Henry Ware-Wales the poet T.W. Parsons the Sicilian Luigi Monti the theologian Professor Daniel Treadwell the assembling of these at the inn is not altogether fancy for the last three were accustomed to spend the summer at this hostelry the editor last musician as he stood illumined by that fire of wood fair-haired blue-eyed his aspect blithe his figure tall and straight and lithe and every feature of his face revealing his Norwegian race a radiance streaming from within around his eyes and forehead beamed the angel with the violin painted by Raphael he seemed he lived in that ideal world whose language is not speech but song around him ever more the throng of elves and sprites their dances world the strong Carl sang the cataract hurled its headlong waters from the height the wild delight the scream of seabirds in their flight the rumour of the forest trees the plunge of the implacable seas the tumult of the wind at night voices of eld like trumpets blowing all ballads and wild melodies through mist and darkness pouring forth like Elevegar's river flowing out of the glaciers of the north the instrument on which he played was in Cremona's workshops made by a great master of the past he yet was lost the art divine fashioned of maple and of pine that interiorly and forest vast had rocked and wrestled with the blast exquisite was it in design perfect in each minutest part a marvel of the Lutists art and in its hollow chamber thus the maker from whose hands it came had written his unrivaled name Antonius Stradivarius and when he played the atmosphere was filled with magic and the ear called echoes of that harp of gold whose music had so weird a sound the hunted stag forgot to bound the leaping rivulet backward rolled the birds came down from bush and tree the dead came from beneath the sea the maiden to the harper's knee the music ceased the applause was loud the pleased musicians smiled and bowed the wood fire clapped its hands of flame the shadows on the wanes got stirred and from the harps he called there came an extremely murmur of a claim a sound like that sent down at night by birds of passage in their flight from the remotest distance heard end of section 27 recording by Alan Mapstone in Oxford England section 28 of Norway Sweden, Denmark Iceland, Greenland and the search for the polls Sweden, Part 1 Stories of Viking Life and Adventure Historical note The Vikings or Scandinavian and Danish pirates first came down upon the eastern and southern coasts of England toward the end of the 8th century in less than a hundred years they had a firm footing there and in 1014 the Dane Knut became ruler of the land which did not pass into Saxon hands again until 1042 Charlemagne was able to hold back the Norsemen from his domains but early in the 10th century they got possession of the greater part of the valley of the Loire the Vikings plundered the coast of Spain Africa and the Balearic Isles dashed into the Turinian sea and even ventured as far as Greece they voyaged to the islands north of Scotland and Ireland and settled not only in these but also in Iceland from Iceland they went to Greenland the Swedish Vikings attacked the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea and seemed to have made their way inland as far as Novgorod they were driven back but were soon invited to return and rule the land a century later they were sweeping down the Black Sea and threatening Constantinople with their thousand boats of warriors before this they had entered the Caspian Sea and had found their way to Persia toward the end of the 14th century King Valdemar Atterdeg of Denmark died and the Danes elected his little grandson Olaf to be their king his mother Margaret, Valdemar's daughter acted as his guardian and ruled in his place then Margaret's husband who was king of Norway died the child Olaf was now entitled to a second crown and his mother became governor of Norway as well as Denmark but there was trouble in Sweden the nobles were enraged with their king and they came to the conclusion that their best course was to offer the crown to this powerful Margaret who had Norway and Denmark to support her Albert the deposed sovereign led a German army against her but was completely routed through Margaret's influence the Union of Kalmar was formed in 1397 between Denmark Norway and Sweden end of section 28 this recording is in the public domain section 29 of Norway, Sweden, Denmark Iceland, Greenland and the Search for the Poles read for LibriVox.org by Thomas Peter The Hall of the Early Chiefs by Henry Morley the hall is long and wide say 200 feet by 40 with a high roof and curved gables there is at each extremity an entrance in the middle of the wall protected by a porch that has continued at its farther end to form cellar and pantry we pass into the hall a spacious nave with narrow side aisles pillars dividing aisles from naves support the central roof the nave is the great hall itself and down the middle of its floor run the stone hearts upon which blaze great timber fires at the upper end is the raised seat of the chief at a crossbench where his wife who fills the cups of the guests at his familiar thanes or those whom he distinguishes sit with him on each side of the long hearth there runs a line of tables flanked with benches and stools at which sit the people who are the chief's hearth sheriffs at the lower end in the space corresponding to the days is a table for their drinking cups between the rows of pillars and the outer walls spaces are parted off within the narrow aisles to the sleeping benches of the warriors and some of the spaces are the gilded vats of liquor into which the pales of the cupbearers are dipped if women sleep in the hall the recesses of the pillars behind the vats are kept sacred to them and they are in the aisles if the hall be the chief's dwelling distinct enclosures for the occupation of the family the sleeping space behind the pillars might perhaps be parted from the hall by panelling and tapestry End of section 29 This recording is in the public domain Section 30 of Norway, Sweden, Denmark Iceland, Greenland and the search for the Poles Read for LibriVox.org by Alan Mapstone How the Swedes Elected their King by Neander N. Kronholm The manner in which the Swedes in olden time elected their king was as follows The Upper Swedes met at Mora Stone near Uppsala This was an open space where on replaced 13 stones 12 in a circle and one in the centre The lawmen sat on the ring of stones and the king when elected on the centre one After the bonders at the Al's Hajar thing had signified the man of their choice then did the lawman of the upland a judge him king if he was properly elected The old law says the Swedes have a right to elect their king to depose him The most competent man became king The king's son was often selected to succeed him because such men were competent having been trained from childhood for their high office The ceremony was characteristic After election the king was placed on a shield resting on the shoulders of state warriors who marched around and showed him to the people These proceedings signified first that he was elevated by the people to this high office and secondly that he could hold it only so long as he was supported by the people It was an old custom that after the election a herald should blow a blast on the horn or trumpet and then proclaim Now is A B elected king of the Shfair and Gotar He and none other Many of these old customs have come down to the present day End of Section 30 This recording is in the public domain Section 31 of Norway, Sweden, Denmark Iceland, Greenland and the search for the Poles This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The World's Story Volume 8 Norway, Sweden, Denmark Iceland, Greenland and the search for the Poles Edited by Eva March Tappen Section 31 How the Swedes Learned of Christianity 850 by S. Bearing Gould Regardless of the reputation of the Northmen for ferocity the monk Ansgar went among them to preach Christianity for some time his work seemed unheard of nothing but it linked one Harigar counselor of the Swedish king became a Christian and through his influence Argar one of Ansgar's assistants whom he had sent to Sweden was allowed to preach as much as he chose the editor that chief Harigar was no half-hearted believer and openly confronted the malice of the pagan party on one occasion as they were boasting of the power and of the many blessings they had received by remaining faithful to their worship he bade them put the matter to an open and decisive proof if there be so much doubts that he concerning the superior might of our respective gods let us see whose power is greatest whether that of the many whom ye call gods or that of my one omnipotent lord Jesus Christ lo the season of rain is at hand do ye call upon the names of your gods that the rain may be restrained from falling upon you and I will call upon the name of my lord Jesus Christ that no drop may fall upon me and the god that Ansgar our prayers let him be god the heathen party agreed and reparing to a neighboring field took their seats in great numbers on one side while Harigar attended only by a little child sat on the other in a few moments the rain descended in torrents drenched the heathens to the skin and swept away their tents while on Harigar and that little child no drop fell and even the ground around them remained dry ye see he cried which is the true god that may not then desert the faith I have adopted but rather lay aside your errors and come to a knowledge of the truth on another occasion the town of Burka was attacked by a parotical expedition of Danes and Swedes under the command of a king of Sweden who had been expelled from his realm the place was close to the investor and there seemed to be no prospect of a successful defense in their alarm the townspeople offered numerous sacrifices to their gods and when all other means failed collected such treasures as they possessed together with a hundred pounds of silver and succeeded in coming to terms with the host of chiefs but their followers not satisfied with the amount prepared to storm the town again the gods were consulted the altars raised the victims offered but with results equally unpromising Harigar now interposed rebuke the people for their obstinate adherence to the worship of gods that could not give aid in trouble and when they bat him suggest some device and promise to follow his counsel he urged them to make a solemn bow of obedience to the lord of the Christians assuring them that if they turn to him he at any rate would not fail them in the hour of danger the people took his advice went forth to an open plane and there solemnly vowed to keep a fast in honor of the god of the Christians if he would rescue them from their enemies help came in an unexpected fashion the Swedish king while the army was clamoring for the signal to attack suggested that the god should be consulted by lot whether it was their will that burka should be destroyed there are many great and powerful deities there said he there also formerly a church was built and even now the worship of the great Christ is observed by many and he is more powerful than any other god we ought then to inquire first whether it is the divine will that we attack the place accordingly the lots were cast and it was discovered that the auspices were not favorable for the assault and thus burka was spared the arrival therefore of Ardgar was well timed and he was not only welcomed by Harigar in their adherence to the faith by his coming a little later Ardgar himself who had now been made an archbishop set out for Sweden the time of his landing was unfortunate the heath and party had been roused by the native priests and a crusader was proclaimed against the strange doctrines suborning a man who pretended to have received a message from the native deities the priest announced it to be the will of heaven that if the people wished for new gods they should admit into their company the late king Eric and allowed divine honors to be paid to him this brought up the feelings of the populace to such a pitch that the retinue of the archbishop announced it absolute madness to persevere in his undertaking but Ansgar was not thus to be thwarted he invited Olaf to a feast set before him the present sent by the king of Jutland and announced the object of his visit Olaf on his part was not then disposed of the concessions he desired but as former missionaries had been expelled from the country he suggested that it would be well to submit the affair once for all to the solemn decision of the sacred lots and consult in an open council the feelings of the people Ansgar agreed and a day was fixed for deciding the question first the council of the chiefs was formally asked and their opinion requested they craved the casting of the sacred lots the lots were accordingly cast what was declared to be favorable to the admission of the archbishop and his retinue then the general assembly of the people of Berka was convened and at the command of the king a herald proclaimed aloud the purport of the archbishop's visit this was the signal for a great tumult in the midst of which an aged chief arose and thus addressed the assembly hear me O king and people the god whom we are invited to worship is not unknown to us nor the aid he can render those that put their trust in him many of us have already proved this by experience and have felt his assistance in many perils and especially in the sea why then reject what we know to be useful and necessary for us not long ago some of us went to door stop and believing that this new religion could profit as much willingly professed ourselves as disciples now the voyage dither is beset with dangers and pirates abound on every shore why then reject a religion thus brought to our very doors why not permit the servants of god who is protecting aid we have already experienced to abide amongst us listen to my counsel then O king and people and reject not what is plainly for our advantage we see our own deities failing us and unable to aid us in time of danger surely it is a good thing to obtain the favor of a god who always can and will aid those that call upon him his words found favor with the people and it was unanimously resolved that the archbishop should be permitted to take up his abode in the country and should not be hindered in disseminating the Christian faith in section 31 this recording is in the public domain please visit LibriVox.org recording by Sandra Schmidt the world's story volume 8 Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland and the search for the Poles edited by Evermarch Teppen section 32 how Ragnar Lodbrok won a wife and the nickname by Saxo Grammaticus Ragnar Lodbrok was a half-legendary Viking according to tradition in the 8th or 9th century the editor Herod, the king of the Swedes happening to go and hunt in the woods brought home some snakes found by his escort for his daughter Turir she speedily obeyed the instructions of her father and endured Turir a race of eddars with her maiden hands moreover she took care that they should daily have a whole ox carcass to gorge upon the vipers grew up and scorched the countryside with their pestilential breath were upon the king repenting of his sluggishness proclaimed that whosoever removed the pest should have his daughter many warriors were attracted by courage as much as by desire but all idly and perilously wasted their pains Ragnar learning from men who traveled to and fro how the matter stood asked his nurse for a woollen mantle and for some thigh pieces that were very hairy with which he could repel the snakebites he thought that he ought to use a dress stuffed with hair to protect himself and also took one that was not unwieldy that he might move nimbly and when he had landed in Sweden he deliberately plunged his body in water while there was a frost falling and wetting his dress to make it the less penetrable he let the cold freeze it thus attired he took leave of his companions exorted them to remain loyal to freed life and went on to the palace alone when he saw it he tied his sword to his side and lashed a spear to his right hand with a thong as he went on an enormous snake glided up and met him another equally huge crawled up following in the trail of the first they strove now to buffet the young man with the coils of their tails and now to spit and belch their venom stubbornly upon him meantime the courtiers but taking themselves to safer hiding watched a struggle from afar like a frighted little girl the king was stricken with equal fear and fled with few followers to a narrow shelter but Ragnar, trusting in the hardness of his frozen dress foiled to poisonous assaults not only with his arms but with his attire and single-handed in unwearable combat stood up against the two gaping creatures stubbornly poured forth their venom upon him for their teeth he repelled with his shield their poison with his dress at last he cast his spear and drove it against the bodies of the brutes who were attacking him hard he pierced both their hearts and his spattle ended in victory the king scanned his dress closely and saw that he was rough and hairy but above all he laughed at the shaggy lower portion of his garb and chiefly the uncouth aspect of his britches that he gave him in jest the nickname of Lord Brogue footnote, shaggy breach the epithet for a hawk and a footnote also he invited him to feast with his friends to refresh him after his labours Ragnar said that he would first go back to the witnesses whom he had left behind he set out and brought them back splendidly attired for the coming feast at last when the banquet was over he received a prize that was appointed for the victory by her he begot two nobly gifted sons Radbald and Tunot end of section 32 this recording is in the public domain