Battle of Stiklestad 233 



forward, boudermen ! " Thereupon the bondermen raised 

 the war-cry, and shot their arrows and spears. The 

 kincr's men raised also a war-shout, and that done, en- 

 couraged each other to advance, crying out, " Forward, 

 forward, Christ-men ! cross-men ! king's men ! " When 

 the bonders who stood outermost on the wings heard it, 

 they repeated the same cry; but when the other 

 bonders heard them they thought these were king's 

 men, turned their arms against them, and they fought 

 together, and many were slain before they knew each 

 other. The weather was beautiful, and the sun shone 

 clear ; but when the battle began the heaven and the 

 sun became red, and before the battle ended it became 

 as dark as at night. King Olaf had drawn up his 

 army upon a rising ground, and it rushed down from 

 thence upon the bonder army with such a fierce assault 

 that the bonders' array bent before it, so that the 

 breast of the king's array came to stand upon the 

 ground on which the rear of the bonders' array had 

 stood, and many of the bonders' army were on the way 

 to fly, but the lendermen and their house-men stood 

 fast, and the battle became very severe. The lender- 

 men urged their men, and forced them to advance. 



' Then the bonder-army pushed on from all quarters. 

 They who stood in front hewed down with their swords : 

 they who stood next thrust with their spears ; and they 

 who stood hindmost shot arrows, cast spears, or threw 

 stones, hand-axes, or sharp stakes. Soon there was a 

 great fall of men in the battle. Many were down on 

 both sides. In the first onset fell Arnliot Gellini, 

 Gauka Thorir, and Afarfasti, with all their men, after 

 each had killed a man or two, and some indeed more. 



