Otherwise the reign of Olaf was a happy one; he was loved by his friends and feared by his foes. But, as was usual when things went well, enemies began to gather about him, and a coalition was formed between the Danish King Sweyn Fork-beard, and the Swedish King, who was his brother-in-law, to fight Olaf, and drive him out of his kingdom. It was Sweyn’s wife, Sigrid the Haughty, who urged him on to this. She had once been betrothed to Olaf, but the betrothal had come to an end because Olaf insisted that she should be baptized before he married her. When he spake thus to her she had replied: “It is for you to choose whatever religion suits you best; but as for me, I will not part from my own faith, which was the faith of my forefathers before me.” Olaf was enraged at that, and he struck her face with his glove in his passion, and rose up saying, “Why should I care to marry thee, an aged woman and a heathen?” and with that he left her. Sigrid the Haughty had never forgiven the insult put on her by Olaf, and when she was married to Sweyn she thought her time was come to be revenged; so she stirred him up to make war on Olaf. Olaf was very fond of having fine war-vessels built for him, of greater size and height than any that had been built hitherto. He had a fleet of over seventy vessels, all good craft, to meet King Sweyn, but chief of these were his own three ships, the _Crane_, the _Long Serpent_, and the _Short Serpent_. These were the finest vessels that had been planned in Norway, and were known all over the world. The lighter craft sailed first, and got out to sea, Olaf with his great ships following more slowly behind. Along with him was Earl Sigvalde, whom he thought to be his friend, but who was secretly in the pay of King Sweyn; he had induced Olaf to postpone sailing on one pretence or another, until he heard that Sweyn had collected his whole army and fleet together, and was lying under the island of Svold, in the Baltic, awaiting Olaf Trygveson. The Swedish King, together with Earl Eirik were, with all their forces, watching anxiously for the coming of Olaf’s fleet. The weather was fine, with clear sunshine, and they went upon the island to see the vessels coming in from the open sea, sailing close together. They saw among them one large and shining ship. The two kings said: “That is a large and very beautiful vessel; that will be the _Long Serpent_.” But Earl Eirik replied: “That is not the _Long Serpent_; the vessel in which Olaf sails is greater still than that.” Soon they saw another vessel following, much larger than the first, but no figure-head on her prow. “That,” said King Sweyn, “must be Olaf’s ship, but it is evident that he is afraid of us, for he has taken the dragon off his prow, that we may not recognize his ship.” Eirik said again: “That is not yet the King’s ship, for his ship has striped sails. It must be Erling Skialgson’s ship. Let it pass on, that it may be separated from Olaf’s fleet.”