[Footnote A: See Munch, ii., p. 430.] [Footnote B: Thjodrek Munk, Cap. 29. Quoted from Munch Det Norske Folk's Historie.] The story of Olaf the Quiet occupies but a few pages in the sagas, while that of his father and his son, both great warriors, fills much space. The work of destroying lives, in which the latter were accomplished, appealed more to the warlike historian of the kings of Norway than the quiet activity for the preservation of life and the amelioration of its ills, to which Olaf devoted his energies. The little that Snorre says about him is, indeed, all in his praise, and very likely there was no one in those days who thought of singing songs or otherwise preserving other deeds than those of the sword. The scald who has sung Olaf's praise has, therefore, dwelt chiefly upon his participation in his father's foolhardy expedition to England, and his battle with Sweyn Estridsson. It was natural that a man of Olaf's character should have small sympathy with the viking spirit which was yet to a certain extent prevalent; and though we do not know what he did to discourage viking cruises, we hear that this form of piracy became very much rarer during his reign. One circumstance which must have been discouraging to the vikings was the greatly increased risk which they ran, on account of the consolidation and increased power of the states which they were wont to attack. England under William the Conqueror was no longer a congenial stopping-place for Norse pirates, and France, Spain, and Germany had likewise taken measures for the protection of their coasts, which greatly interfered with the summer amusements of the Norse chieftains. A trip to Ireland, to be sure, still offered some inducements in the way of slaves and plunder; but along the Swedish and the Russian coasts of the Baltic, the native tribes had proved apt pupils of the vikings, and had commenced plundering on their own account, thus diminishing the chances of profit for the Norsemen. That the influence of Christianity may also have been active in weaning men from their predatory habits we would fain believe, if the long carnival of bloodshed which followed did not seem to prove the contrary. The material considerations just cited, were evidently the more powerful; though in the case of the king, who himself set the example of devotion to peaceful industries, there is no doubt that his religion influenced his life by strengthening the unwarlike side of his character. He manifested his sincerity as a Christian, not only by his fondness for the priests, whose vestments he often assisted in putting on, but more particularly by his efforts to change and suppress every thing which he believed to be antagonistic to the spirit of the religion of Christ. Thus he was the first king of Norway who endeavored to put an end to serfdom. He gave the law, that every shire in the kingdom should annually manumit one thrall. His first