2 1 4 Norway and the Norwegians 



he was warned never to broach the subject again. ' For 

 this time I will not take it amiss of thee,' said Olaf the 

 Swede, ' as thou dost not know what people have to 

 avoid here. That fat fellow shall never receive the 

 name of king in my court.' Hjalti, however, made good 

 use of his time in singing the praises of the Norse king 

 to Ingegerd, the daughter of Olaf, and eventually got 

 so far as to ask her, ' What would be thy answer if the 

 Norway king, Olaf, sent messengers to thee, with the 

 errand to propose marriage to thee ? ' 



She blushed, and answered slowly but gently, ' I 

 have not made up my mind to answer to that ; but if 

 Olaf be in all respects so perfect as thou makest him 

 out to be, I would not wish a better husband ; unless 

 thou hast gilded him overmuch with thy praise.' 



Olaf, the Swede, held firm to his refusal. But his 

 subjects were of a different mind, and were growing 

 more and more incensed at their king's obstinacy. We 

 have a vivid description of the holding of the great 

 Thing at Upsala, whereat Olaf was compelled to listen to 

 the proposals of peace. This took place after the return 

 of Hjalti, when it was decided that Bjorn must go to the 

 Swedish court, a journey in which Earl Eognvald agreed 

 to accompany him. On their way they paused at a 

 house of a certain old bonder called Thorgnyr, who was 

 the Lag-man or lawgiver of the Upsala Thing. This 

 man is a characteristic figure for those days. ' In the 

 high seat sat an old man ; and never had Bjorn and his 

 companions seen a man so stout. His beard was so 

 long that it lay upon his knee, and was spread over his 

 whole breast; and the man, moreover, was gay and 

 lively. . . . They remained there some days before the 



