VARIOUS MEANINGS OF " KING." 499 



King Hrolf like others of his under-kings who had to pay him 

 homage " (Hrolf Kraki's Saga, c. 23). 



But there were men to whom the name of king was given 

 who had neither land nor power, and finally it came to imply 

 a leader who ruled over warriors, and who was called host- 

 king, in the same way that the commander of a ship was called 

 a sea-king. The latter sometimes possessed no land, and they 

 were only leaders of smaller or larger parties of Vikings. 1 As 

 soon as a king's son or some other prominent man had 

 acquired a number of war-ships, he was at once called king by 

 his companions. These men roamed wherever they pleased, 

 plundering every man's land ; their estate was upon " Ban's 

 land ): -the sea ; their ships were their houses. Their acts 

 of daring must have been numerous indeed, and the following 

 passage gives a vivid idea of a sea-king : 



"Eystein the son of Adils ruled Sviaveldi after his father; 

 at that time Hrolf Kraki fell at Hleidra, and kings plundered 

 much in the Swedish realm, both Danes and Northmen. There 

 were many sea-kings who ruled over many men, and had no 

 land. He only was thought to fully deserve the name of sea-king, 

 who never slept under a sooty rafter and never drank at the 

 hearth-corner (fire-place) " (Ynglinga Saga, c. 34). 



" As soon as Olaf got men and ships, his warriors gave him 

 the name of king, for it was the custom that host kings, who 

 went on Viking expeditions, if they were king-born, should be 

 given the name of king, although they ruled over no lauds " 

 (St. Olaf's Saga, c. 4). 



Many of the valorous deeds of the sea-kings, whose names 

 are only mentioned, are lost to us, but this confirms how much 

 of the history of the famous men of the North has been lost. 



It was the custom for the head kings to receive taxes from 

 tributary or tax-kings. 



"Now Kniit the Powerful had won England by battles and 

 fights, and he met with much difficulty before the people of 

 the land became obedient to him. He considered himself as 

 possessing all Norway as an inheritance ; but Hakon, his 

 nephew, thought he owned part of it, and that he had been 

 forced to leave it in a shameful manner. One reason thai 



1 The word Viking has, of course, nothing to do with king. 



2 K 2 



