2 1 6 Norway and the Norwegians 



he arose all the bonders stood up, who before had 

 been sitting, and rushed together from all parts to 

 listen to what lagman Thorgnyr would say. At first 

 there was a great din of peoples and weapons, but when 

 the noise was settled into silent listening Thorgnyr 

 made his speech ' — which it would be pleasant to give, 

 as a fine specimen of the independent speaking of those 

 times. It ended by the open threat : ' If thou wilt not 

 do as we desire, make peace with the king of Norway, 

 we will now attack thee and put thee to death, for we 

 will no longer suffer law and peace to be disturbed.' 

 Thereupon the whole public approved, with clash of arms 

 and loud shouts, the lagman's speech. 



Olaf Skattkonung had to give way. His daughter, 

 Ingegerd, was betrothed to Olaf of Norway, But her 

 father continued to postpone the marriage, and finally 

 gave her hand to the liussian king — king, that is, of 

 Greater Suithiod — Jarisleif. The Norse Olaf, by the 

 help of Earl Eognvald, and without asking the consent 

 of her father, got for his wife Astrid, Olaf's illegitimate 

 daughter, ' but,' as the Saga says, ' a very lovely girl : 

 her words came well in her talk ; she was merry, but 

 modest and very generous.' 



Not long after this the Swedes deposed their king, and 

 raised his twelve-year-old sou, Jacob, also called Onund, 

 to the throne. But another party continued to support 

 the father, and it was finally agreed that there should 

 be two kimrs in Sweden, the father and son, Olaf and 

 Onund. After this peace was made between Sweden 

 and Norway. 



With a country and with a population such as the 

 Norwegian, the former naturally divided into districts 



o 



