KING OLAF HAHALDSS<>.\. 483 



Knut went to Rome with him" (Jornsvikiuga Sa^a, cc 51, 



52). 



King Olaf Haraklsson, surnamed Digri (the Stout), known 

 also under the name of St. Olaf, was a great warrior, and made 

 wars in the Baltic, in Friesland, England, France, and other 

 countries. Fifteen of these expeditions are described in his 

 Saga. 



The Northmen under Olaf came to help ^Ethelred against 

 the Danes. 



" King Olaf then sailed westwards to England. It was re- 

 ported that Svein Tjiiguskegg, Danish king at this time, was in 

 England with the Danish host, and had stayed there awhile 

 and ravaged the land of King ^Ethelred. The Danes had 

 spread far and wide over the country, and King -ZEthelred had 

 fled from the land and gone to Valland. The same autumn 

 that Olaf came to England it happened that King Svein 

 Haraklsson died suddenly during the night in his bed ; and it 

 was said by the English that Edmund the saint had slain him, 

 in the same manner as the holy Mercury slew Julian the 

 Nithing (Apostate). When ^Bthelred heard of this in Flaeming- 

 jaland (Flandres), he at once returned to England. When he 

 came back, he sent word to all who wanted to get property to 

 come and win the land ; and a mass of men joined him. Then 

 Olaf came to his assistance with a large following of North- 

 men. They first sailed for London (Lundimir), and entered 

 the Thames, while the Danes held the burg. On the other side 

 of the river there was a large trading-town, which is called 

 Sudvirki (Southwark) ; there the Danes had made great forti- 

 fications, dug large ditches, and built inside them walls of 

 wood, stones, and turf, and there had a large force. ^Ethelred 

 caused a fierce attack to be made on it ; but the Danes 

 defended it, and the king could not capture it. There were 

 such broad bridges across the river between the city and 

 Southwark, that waggons could pass each other (on them). On 

 the bridges were bulwarks, which reached higher than tin- 

 middle of a man, and beneath the bridges piles were driven 

 into the bottom of the river. When the attack was made the 

 whole host stood on the bridges, and defended them " (St. 

 Olaf s Saga, c. 11). 



" Olaf was leader of the host when they went to Kantarabyrgi 

 ( = Canterbury), and they fought there until they took it, slew 

 many, and burned the town. Then Olaf had to defend the 



2 i 2 



