At the Frosta-thing, where a great number of people were assembled, King Haakon made an earnest speech, in which he said that it was his command and his prayer to all, rich and poor, young and all, that they should forsake the old heathen gods, be baptized, and believe in the one living God, Jesus Christ, the son of the Virgin Mary, abstain from work every seventh day, Sunday, and fast every Friday. A great murmur ran through the crowd of peasants, who complained that the king wanted to deprive them of their work and their old faith, and the mighty peasant, Asbiorn of Medalhus, arose and made a speech to the king, in which he said that they had had great faith in him when they chose him for their king, but now they had made up their minds to part with him and choose another if they were not left free to retain the religion they believed in. And the king was told that he must accept one of these conditions before the meeting was concluded. The king felt that there was no escape but to yield to the peasants, and Earl Sigurd of Lade, who had all the time been near the king, arose and said: "King Haakon is willing to acquiesce in your wishes, peasants. Never will he give up your friendship." Encouraged by this the peasants afterward made the king participate in their heathen sacrifices, and the king was obliged to give up the attempt to introduce Christianity in Norway. King Haakon soon afterward had to meet other demands upon him, when the southern parts of the country were attacked by the sons of his brother Erik, who, after their mother, were called the Gunhild-sons. Several times Haakon defeated the invaders, and after one great battle they stayed away for six years. Finally, in the twenty-sixth year of Haakon's reign, while he and his men were enjoying a feast at Fitje on the island Stord in Hordaland, the enemy appeared again with a great naval force. Although greatly outnumbered by the enemy, Haakon's men won the battle, and the aggressors were obliged to flee to their ships; but when Haakon pursued them without his coat of mail, he was hit in the armpit by a deadly arrow and received a wound from which he died, after being brought, shortly after the battle, to "Haakon's Rock," where he had been born. Before he died he requested his friends to send a ship after the sons of Gunhild, with the message asking them to return and assume the government, giving due respect to his adherents. He himself had no sons, and his daughter Thora could not, according to the law, succeed to the throne. Haakon was deeply mourned by friends and foes, and all said that Norway would never again get such a good king. The poet Eyvind Skaldaspiller composed a poem in his honor, the Haakonarmaal, in which he praised his virtues and described his reception in Odin's Valhalla. CHAPTER VIII _Harald Grayfell and his Brothers (961-970)_