BATTLE OF STAMFORD BRIDGE. ;, | ] 



brother, and all Northmen who were left alive ; but the North- 

 men shouted all at once, and said that sooner would every one 

 of them fall than accept truce from the English. Then the 

 Northmen raised a war-cry, and the battle began a second 

 time. Tosti jarl was then chief of the host ; he fought 

 valiantly and followed up the standards, and ere the fight 

 ended fell there with great bravery and renown. At that 

 moment Eystein Orri came from the ships with the men who 

 followed him ; they were in full war-dress, and Eystein at once 

 took the standard of Harald, the " landeyda." Then there was 

 a third and very severe battle ; many of the English fell and 

 they almost fled; this was called Orrahrid (the tempest of 

 Orri). Eystein and his men had hurried so much from the 

 ships that they were almost disabled by weariness (exhaustion) 

 before they began the fight ; but afterwards they were so eager 

 that they did not spare themselves while they were able, and 

 at last took off their coats of mail (ring-brynjas) ; then the 

 English could easily find places for wounding them. Some 

 died unwounded from over-exertion, and nearly all the high- 

 born Northmen fell there ; this was late in the day. It 

 happened as it always does, where many people gather, that 

 all were not equally brave ; many tried to escape in various 

 ways. It went as fate would ; some were destined to a longer 

 life and escaped. It was dark in the evening when the man- 

 slaughter was over. Styrkar, the stallari (marshal) of Kin<^ 

 Harald, was a famous man ; he got a horse in the evening, and 

 rode away, but it was blowing a strong and cold gale ; he had 

 no other clothes than a shirt (skyrta), a helmet, and a dra\\n 

 sword ill his hand; he soon cooled when the weariness left 

 him. A waggoner (vagn-karl) who had on a lined jacket 

 (kosung) met him. Styrkar asked : 'Wilt thou sell the jacket, 

 bondi? ' He answered : ' Not to thee ; thou must be a North- 

 man ; I know thy speech.' Styrkar said : ' If I am a Northman, 

 what will thou then?' ' I will slay thee,' replied the boudi, 

 'but now it is so bad that I have not got a weapon that I can 

 use.' Styrkar added : ' If thou canst not slay me, bondi, I 

 will try to slay thee.' He raised his sword and smote his 

 neck so that his head dropped down; Styrkar then took 

 the skin-jacket and put it on, jumped on his horse, and 

 rode down to the shore. Ariior jarla skald sang about this 

 battle, now told of, which was the last that Harald and his 

 men fought, in the erridrapa (funeral song) which he made 

 about the king. Arnor says: 'It is doubtful if any other king 

 under the sun has fought with such a valour and lira very as 

 Harald.' 



"It was on the second day of the week (Monday) that King 



