158 Norivay and the Norivegians 



him that the sons of Erik had come to the south, and had 

 driven out the under-king of the Vik country; and that 

 many of the people had submitted to them. Hakon re- 

 conciled himself with his Throndhjem subjects, collected 

 a large fleet and army, and sailed southward. Mean- 

 time the brothers, the Erikssons, had sailed round to the 

 west coast, and the rival fleets met near the island of 

 Karmo. Karmo lies just on the north. side of the Bukken 

 Ejord, and thus nearly opposite Stavanger ; steamers, as 

 we have said, pass just inside of it on their way from 

 Stavanger to Bergen. Here there was a hard-fought 

 battle. But Hakon gained the victory, and with his 

 own hand slew one of the sons of Erik, Guthorm by 

 name. The others took to flight, sailed out to sea, and 

 returned to Jutland. 



Gunhild's sons continued to make predatory expedi- 

 tions, now against one part of the country and now 

 against another. Sometimes they came in force suffi- 

 cient to venture upon an attack on the fleet commanded 

 by the king. We have already pointed out how the 

 formation of the coasts and islands of Norway lend 

 themselves to this sort of desultory warfare by sea, as the 

 formation of the ridges and valleys of the kingdom lend 

 themselves to the same kind of desultory warfare by 

 land ; and how difficult it is for the ruler of the country 

 to force an inferior enemy to a decisive engagement. 

 Hakon, however, held his own during a reign of six- 

 and-twenty years. His nephews never abandoned their 

 hopes and schemes. The unappeasable Gunhild took 

 good heed that they should not do so. 



There is, as we have said, some reason to believe that 

 Gunhild, whom Norse traditions represent as a sorceress. 



