SIEGE OF KONGELF. 301 



witli armed men ; and it was not until after a very 

 murderous fight, in which the Wendiaus lost upwards of 

 1,200 of their number, that they succeeded in getting 

 possession of the vessels, as also of the town itself ; for 

 the inhabitants, finding they were unable to prevent 

 their landing, or to meet them on equal terms on shore, 

 retired with their valuables into the fortress, where 

 Saemund Husfreja and Asmund, his son, commanded, the 

 greater part of the women and children seeking safety 

 in the surrounding country. 



The pirates, after plundering and burning the town, 

 prepared to storm the fortress. Before the attack 

 commenced, however. King Rettibur offered the besieged 

 a free departure with their arms and valuables, if they 

 would give up the place ; but the heroic garrison replied 

 with one voice, "they would rather die to the last man 

 than receive favours from the heathen." The proffered 

 terms being thus rejected, the jjirates, incited by rage and 

 the hope of booty, rushed like the waves of the sea against 

 the walls of the place ; but despair converted each of the 

 defenders into a bulwark against the destructive torrent. 

 All kinds of weapons then in use, such as the sword, the 

 javelin, the bow, and the battle-axe, were had recourse 

 to to repel the assailants. The slaughter was great, espe- 

 cially on the side of the Wendians, for each Christian 

 man (the townspeople having the advantage of position) 

 sent sev-eral of the unbaptized, according to the belief of 

 the times, to the regions below. 



Whilst the combat was raging, two friendly chieftains, 

 Sigurd Gyrdarsson and Sigard, advanced, with 600 men, 

 to the relief of the sorely-pressed fortress. But the 

 former, seeing the number of the pirates, cowardly 

 retreated with his 400 followers, his name execrated by 

 his contemporaries and through all after-ages. Sigard, 

 however, died on the field of honour, and his band of 



