Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of NorwaySnorri Sturluson
History
Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway
Snorri Sturluson
Iceland -- History; Norway -- History; Sagas -- Translations into English; Scandinavia -- History
Then the king proceeded to Tunsberg, and held a Thing, at which he
declared in a speech that all the men of whom it should be known to a
certainty that they dealt with evil spirits, or in witchcraft, or were
sorcerers, should be banished forth of the land. Thereafter the king had
all the neighborhood ransacked after such people, and called them all
before him; and when they were brought to the Thing there was a man
among them called Eyvind Kelda, a grandson of Ragnvald Rettilbeine,
Harald Harfager's son. Eyvind was a sorcerer, and particularly knowing
in witchcraft. The king let all these men be seated in one room, which
was well adorned, and made a great feast for them, and gave them strong
drink in plenty. Now when they were all very drunk, he ordered the house
be set on fire, and it and all the people within it were consumed, all
but Eyvind Kelda, who contrived to escape by the smoke-hole in the roof.
And when he had got a long way off, he met some people on the road going
to the king, and he told them to tell the king that Eyvind Kelda had
slipped away from the fire, and would never come again in King Olaf's
power, but would carry on his arts of witchcraft as much as ever. When
the people came to the king with such a message from Eyvind, the king
was ill pleased that Eyvind had escaped death.
70. EYVIND KELDA'S DEATH.
When spring (A.D. 998) came King Olaf went out to Viken, and was on
visits to his great farms. He sent notice over all Viken that he would
call out an army in summer, and proceed to the north parts of the
country. Then he went north to Agder; and when Easter was approaching
he took the road to Rogaland with 300 (=360) men, and came on Easter
evening north to Ogvaldsnes, in Kormt Island, where an Easter feast was
prepared for him. That same night came Eyvind Kelda to the island with
a well-manned long-ship, of which the whole crew consisted of sorcerers
and other dealers with evil spirits. Eyvind went from his ship to the
land with his followers, and there they played many of their pranks of
witchcraft. Eyvind clothed them with caps of darkness, and so thick a
mist that the king and his men could see nothing of them; but when they
came near to the house at Ogvaldsnes, it became clear day. Then it went
differently from what Eyvind had intended: for now there came just such
a darkness over him and his comrades in witchcraft as they had made
before, so that they could see no more from their eyes than from the
back of their heads but went round and round in a circle upon the
island. When the king's watchman saw them going about, without knowing
what people these were, they told the king. Thereupon he rose up with
his people, put on his clothes, and when he saw Eyvind with his men
wandering about he ordered his men to arm, and examine what folk these
were. The king's men discovered it was Eyvind, took him and all his
company prisoners, and brought them to the king. Eyvind now told all he
had done on his journey.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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