The Heimskringla on Halfdan the Black

Heimskringla > The Chronicle Of The Kings Of Norway > Preliminary Remarks.

• comparison: The story of Halfdan's dream appears in both Fagrskinna and Flateyjarbok

  "The story about Halfdan's dream is found both in "Fagrskinna" and in "Flateyjarbok"."

Heimskringla > The Chronicle Of The Kings Of Norway > 1. Halfdan Fights With Gandalf And Sigtryg.

• attestation: Halfdan was one year old when his father was killed

  "Halfdan was a year old when his father was killed"

• attestation: Halfdan received the name 'the Black' because of his black hair

  "by reason of his black hair, was called Halfdan the Black."

• attestation: Halfdan took his kingdom in Agder at age eighteen and then went to Vestfold

  "When he was eighteen years old he took his kingdom in Agder, and went immediately to Vestfold"

• attestation: Halfdan fought King Gandalf over Vingulmark and eventually they agreed to split it equally

  "he went with an army to Vingulmark against King Gandalf. They had many battles, and sometimes one, sometimes the other gained the victory; but at last they agreed that Halfdan should have half of Vingulmark"

• attestation: Halfdan defeated and killed King Sigtryg, who was struck by an arrow under the left arm while fleeing

  "just as King Sigtryg and his troops were turning about to fly, an arrow struck him under the left arm, and he fell dead."

Heimskringla > The Chronicle Of The Kings Of Norway > 2. Battle Between Halfdan And Eystein.

• attestation: Halfdan defeated Eystein multiple times, chasing him from Hedemark to the Dales

  "Halfdan gained the victory, and Eystein fled up to Hedemark, pursued by Halfdan. Another battle took place, in which Halfdan was again victorious; and Eystein fled northwards, up into the Dales to the herse Gudbrand."

• attestation: Halfdan gave Eystein half of Hedemark but kept Thoten, Land, and Hadeland for himself

  "King Halfdan gave King Eystein half of Hedemark, which he and his relations had held before; but kept to himself Thoten, and the district called Land. He likewise appropriated to himself Hadeland"

Heimskringla > The Chronicle Of The Kings Of Norway > 3. Halfdan'S Marriage

• relationship: Halfdan the Black married Ragnhild, daughter of Harald Gulskeg (Goldbeard), a king in Sogn

  "Halfdan the Black got a wife called Ragnhild, a daughter of Harald Gulskeg (Goldbeard), who was a king in Sogn."

• attestation: Halfdan and Ragnhild had a son named Harald, raised in Sogn by his maternal grandfather

  "They had a son, to whom Harald gave his own name; and the boy was brought up in Sogn, by his mother's father, King Harald."

• attestation: Halfdan claimed Sogn as his son's heritage and took the kingdom without opposition

  "he took the road northwards to Sogn with a great force, and was well received. He claimed the heritage and dominion after his son; and no opposition being made, he took the whole kingdom."

Heimskringla > The Chronicle Of The Kings Of Norway > 4. Halfdan'S Strife With Gandalf'S Sons.

• attestation: Halfdan was overwhelmed and fled to the forest, losing his foster-father Olver Spake in the battle

  "Halfdan being overpowered by the numbers of people fled to the forest, leaving many of his men on this spot. His foster-father, Olver Spake (the Wise), fell here."

• attestation: Halfdan regrouped and defeated Gandalf's sons at Eid near Lake Oieren, killing Hysing and Helsing

  "They met at Eid, near Lake Oieren, and fought there. Hysing and Helsing fell, and their brother Hake saved himself by flight."

• attestation: After this victory Halfdan took possession of all Vingulmark, and Hake fled to Alfheimar

  "King Halfdan then took possession of the whole of Vingulmark, and Hake fled to Alfheimar."

Heimskringla > The Chronicle Of The Kings Of Norway > 5. Halfdan'S Marriage With Hjort'S Daughter.

• attestation: Halfdan sent Harek Gand to rescue Ragnhild from Hake's house during early morning

  "he called to him Harek Gand, and told him to go over to Hadeland, and bring him Ragnhild, Sigurd Hjort's daughter."

• attestation: Halfdan married Ragnhild on the same day she was rescued, making her a great queen

  "the same day there was a good feast which was also Halfdan's marriage-feast with Ragnhild, who became a great queen."

Heimskringla > The Chronicle Of The Kings Of Norway > 7. Of Halfdan'S Dream.

• attestation: Halfdan never had dreams, which he found extraordinary

  "King Halfdan never had dreams, which appeared to him an extraordinary circumstance"

• attestation: Halfdan dreamed his hair was in ringlets of various lengths and colors, with one surpassing all others in beauty and size

  "He thought he had the most beautiful hair, which was all in ringlets; some so long as to fall upon the ground"

• attestation: People believed the greatest ringlet in Halfdan's dream represented King Olaf the Saint

  "It was the opinion of people that this ringlet betokened King Olaf the Saint."

• attestation: Halfdan was wise, truthful, and upright; he established laws and fixed penalties according to birth and rank

  "King Halfdan was a wise man, a man of truth and uprightness--who made laws, observed them himself, and obliged others to observe them."

Heimskringla > The Chronicle Of The Kings Of Norway > 8. Halfdan'S Meat Vanishes At A Feast

• attestation: All meat and ale mysteriously disappeared from Halfdan's Yule feast table in Hadeland

  "all the meat and all the ale disappeared from the table. The king sat alone very confused in mind"

• attestation: Halfdan captured and tortured a Finn to learn the cause of the vanished feast, but got no information

  "he ordered a Fin to be seized who was particularly knowing, and tried to force him to disclose the truth; but however much he tortured the man, he got nothing out of him."

Heimskringla > The Chronicle Of The Kings Of Norway > 9. Halfdan S Death.

• attestation: Halfdan the Black drowned at age forty when his sled broke through ice at Rykinsvik on Lake Rand

  "as the king drove over it the ice broke, and King Halfdan and many with him perished. He was then forty years old."

• attestation: Halfdan was considered one of the most fortunate kings for producing good crop seasons

  "He had been one of the most fortunate kings in respect of good seasons."

• attestation: Districts competed over Halfdan's body, believing whoever possessed it would have good harvests

  "All desired to take the body with them to bury it in their own district, and they thought that those who got it would have good crops to expect."

• attestation: Halfdan's body was divided into four parts, with the head buried at Stein in Ringerike

  "At last it was agreed to divide the body into four parts. The head was laid in a mound at Stein in Ringerike, and each of the others took his part home and laid it in a mound"

• attestation: The burial mounds containing Halfdan's body parts became known as Halfdan's Mounds

  "these have since been called Halfdan's Mounds."

Heimskringla > The Chronicle Of The Kings Of Norway > 1. Harald'S Strife With Hake And His Father Gandalf.

• attestation: After Halfdan's death, King Gandalf, Hogne and Frode sons of Eystein, and Hogne Karuson all coveted his domains

  "After Halfdan the Black's death, many chiefs coveted the dominions he had left. Among these King Gandalf was the first; then Hogne and Frode, sons of Eystein, king of Hedemark; and also Hogne Karuson came from Ringerike."

Heimskringla > The Chronicle Of The Kings Of Norway > 39. Reconciliation Of The Kings.

• attestation: The reconciliation was settled so that Halfdan kept his entire kingdom while Eirik was left in peace.

  "it was so settled that Halfdan should retain the whole of his kingdom as he had it before, and should let his brother Eirik sit in peace."

Heimskringla > The Chronicle Of The Kings Of Norway > 44. Eirik Brought To The Sovereignty.

• attestation: Halfdan the Black responded by taking a king's high-seat in Throndhjem with the consent of the people.

  "King Halfdan the Black also took a king's high-seat, and took all Throndhjem land, with the consent of all the people, under his rule as upper king."

• attestation: Two years after Eirik's elevation, Halfdan the Black died suddenly at a feast in Throndhjem, reportedly poisoned by a witch bribed by Gunhild.

  "Two years after this, Halfdan the Black died suddenly at a feast in Throndhjem and the general report was that Gunhild had bribed a witch to give him a death-drink."

Heimskringla > The Chronicle Of The Kings Of Norway > 11. King Hakon As A Law-Giver.

• attestation: The Eidsiva-thing laws were first established by Halfdan the Black

  "Eidsiva-thing laws were first established in the country by Halfdan the Black"