STARKAD THE OLD

Next after Sigurd Fafnirsbane, the greatest champion of the heroic legends is Starkad,1 to whom are attributed many supernatural qualities and deeds of prowess. His father’s father is said also to have borne the name Starkad, with the surname of Aludreng; he lived at Alufoss (Aluforsar, Ulefoss), he owed his descent to Giants, he had eight arms, and he was capable of wielding four swords at one and the same time. The betrothed of the elder Starkad was named Ogn Alfisprengi; but once while Starkad was making a journey to the north across the Elivagar, she was carried off by Hergrim Sea-Troll. Hergrim’s and Ogn’s son was Grim, father of that Arngrim of Bolm2 from whom Angantyr and Hervor were in their turn descended. On Starkad’s return from his journey he challenged Hergrim to single combat and killed him; Ogn took her own life. Afterward Starkad carried off the fair Alfhild, daughter of king Alf of Alfheim; with her he had a daughter, Baugheid, who became the wife of Grim Hergrimsson. King Alf called upon the god Thor to restore Alfhild. Thor killed Starkad and brought Alfhild back to her father’s house. Not long thereafter she gave birth to a son named Storvirk, a handsome, dark-haired child, uncommonly large and strong. As the years passed he became a great Viking and was admitted as a member of the bodyguard of the mighty king Harold of Agder. Harold made him a leader of the yeomanry and gave him in fee the beautiful island of Thruma or Tromey off the coasts of Agder. There Storvirk made his abode, and thence he undertook great Viking forays. On one of these expeditions he carried off the daughter of an earl of Halogaland, whom he wedded and with whom he had a son named Starkad, the younger Starkad concerning whom the following legends have been handed down. The earl’s sons took their revenge by burning the house down over the heads of Storvirk and all his household. Starkad himself, who was still a small boy, escaped with his life and was put under the care of king Harold as a member of his retinue. Harold had a son named Vikar, who was a little older than Starkad.
At this time there ruled in Hordaland a mighty king named Herthjof, a son of the famous Fridthjof the Brave and Ingeborg the Fair. Herthjof found occasion to attack king Harold, killed him, and subjugated his kingdom, but carried Vikar and the sons of the foremost men of the realm away as hostages. Among Herthjof’s men was one named Grani, also called Horsehair-Grani, who lived on the estate of Ask on the island of Fenring (Askey); this man seized Starkad as a prisoner of war and took the boy to his home, Starkad being at the time only three years of age. With Horsehair-Gram he remained nine years, during which period he grew tall and strong as a giant but spent all his time lying among the ashes of the hearth, doing nothing whatsoever. King Herthjof occupied himself for the most part in warlike expeditions, as a result of which his own realm was often harried in turn; in order to prevent these inroads he built beacons on the mountains and appointed Vikar to take charge of them in Fenring. Vikar made use of the opportunity to visit Starkad, raised him up out of the ashes, provided him with weapons and clothing, and agreed with him upon a means of taking vengeance on Herthjof. Getting hold of a ship, Vikar induced certain champions to become his followers; thirteen in number all told they fell upon Herthjof, who defended himself in a fortified fastness but at last was made to bite the dust. Vikar now took the rule of Herthjof’s realm into his own hand, seized his ships, sailed away to his own hereditary domains of Agder and Jæren and was hailed there as king. Thus he gained suzerainty over all of southern Norway. Afterward he did many mighty deeds, and Starkad turned out to be one of the greatest champions in his army. Vikar won a marked victory at Vänaren over a king named Sisar, who fell before the prowess of Starkad; next he conquered Herthjof’s brother Geirthjof, king of the Uplands, and Fridthjof, king of Telemark, and placed their kingdoms in vassalage to himself. King Vikar gave Starkad a gift of a gold ring weighing three marks. Starkad in his turn gave Vikar the island of Thruma. Starkad remained fifteen summers with Vikar.
It once happened that Vikar, sailing from Agder to Hordaland, was forced to seek shelter against high winds between certain islands. He and his men be sought the gods in the usual way by means of the so-called sacrificial chips, and the answer came to them that Odin might be appeased through the sacrifice of a man from the army, whom they were to choose by lot and to hang. The lot falling on Vikar, they were all so terrified that they determined to do nothing until the next day. In the middle of the night Horsehair-Grani came to his foster son Starkad, awakened him, and bade that he go with him. Rowing across to another wooded island, they went ashore and passed into the forest to a clearing where a large number of people were met in assembly; eleven men were sitting each on his chair, the twelfth chair being vacant. On it Horsehair-Gram seated himself and was hailed as Odin by all those assembled there. So it turned out to be Odin who all this time had fostered Starkad and borne him company; the eleven others were the eleven chief deities. Odin bade them sit in judgment on the fate of Starkad. Thor at once spoke, saying: “His father’s mother Alfhild chose a Giant as the father of her son instead of Asa-Thor; therefore Starkad shall have neither son nor daughter, and his race shall die with him.” “In lieu thereof he shall live thrice as long as other men,” said Odin. “In each of those spans of life he shall do the deed of a dastard,” said Thor. “He shall possess the best of weapons and armor,” declared Odin. “He shall possess neither grounds nor lands,” rejoined Thor. “He shall have abundance of other possessions,” said Odin. “He shall never think he possesses enough,” replied Thor. “I shall make him victorious and ever ready for battle,” said Odin. “In every combat he shall receive terrible wounds,” answered Thor. “I shall dower him with poetic gifts so that lays shall flow from his lips as easily as the words of common speech,” said Odin. “He shall not be able to recall the poems he has made,” said Thor. “The bravest and best men shall hold him in honor,” said Odin. “But all the common people shall hate him,” said Thor. All these sayings the judges confirmed in passing judgment, and the assembly came to an end. It is not certain whether Starkad had most cause to grieve or to rejoice at what had been granted to him. Odin, or Horsehair-Grani, and Starkad again rowed across to the island. “Now you must repay me for the aid I have given you,” said Horsehair-Grani; “you must despatch Vikar to me, and I will help you to do the deed.” Starkad promised to carry out the command and Odin gave into his hand a spear which, he said, would have the outward semblance of a reed; moreover he taught him the proper mode of going about the task. The next day the king’s counselors came to an agreement that they should offer up a mock sacrifice. Starkad told them how they were to proceed. Near at hand stood a fir tree; beneath it there was a tall stump, and far down on the fir there hung a slender branch. Starkad mounted onto the stump, bent the branch downward, and fastened to it the entrails of a newly slaughtered calf. “Now the gallows are ready for you, O king,” said Starkad, “and it does not look very perilous.” Vikar, who thought as much, ascended the stump, and Starkad laid the noose about his neck. Starkad then stepped down, thrust at the king with the reed, and quit his hold of the branch with the words, “Now I give you to Odin.” The reed instantly turned into a spear that pierced the king’s body, the stump toppled to earth, the entrails became a stout rope, the branch sprang upward lifting the king high in the air, and thus he lost his life. This was Starkad’s first dastard’s deed, which made him so hated of the commonalty that he had to flee from Hordaland. Deeply grieved at his own treachery, he fared to Uppsala, entered the service of the Yngling kings Alrek and Erik, and followed them to the wars. He grew moody and silent, and was compelled to listen to frequent reproaches from the twelve Berserks who served in the king’s bodyguard.
When Alrek and Erik gave over their warfare, Starkad went out to do battle on his own account in the ship that Alrek had given him, manned with Norwegians and Swedes. He encountered many adventures. On one occasion he made common cause with the Norwegian Viking king Haki, who attacked king Hugleik in Uppsala, grandson of king Airek, and won from him the whole realm of Uppsala. In Hugleik’s armies there were two mighty champions, Svipdag and Geigad; Geigad bore hard upon Starkad and gave him a blow on the head from which he was never wholly healed. While Haki ruled peacefully over his realm in Uppsala, Starkad set forth on other Viking forays; he gained victories in Kurland and Samland, slew the Muscovy Berserk Visin (Wisinnus in Saxo), and afterward two other eastern champions, Tanni and Vasi. At length he suffered shipwreck on the coasts of Denmark and so lost all his men. Alone he came to the court of king Frodi the Brave, was well received there, and entered into the service of the king. As a warrior among the hosts of Frodi, Starkad took part in a memorable victory over the Saxons, who had undertaken to free themselves from the overlordship of Denmark; he joined battle with the greatest champion among the Saxons, Hami by name, and killed him but was himself also on this occasion badly wounded. Frodi was at length treacherously slain by Sverting, king of the Germans; his son Ingjald (Ingellus), Starkad’s foster son, became king in his stead. Ingjald gave himself up to all manner of effeminate and luxurious practices and neglected the pursuit of warfare; in consequence he was despised and hated, and Starkad found service at his court so insufferable that he sought a place in the retinue of the Swedish king Halfdan. But when Starkad was gone, matters went from bad to worse; Ingjald so far forgot himself as to wed the daughter of Sverting and to permit a goldsmith to pay court to his own sister Helga. Starkad, on learning of these things, hastened back to Denmark with the purpose of bringing the wastrel king to his senses and of restoring his fallen repute. He went in disguise to the goldsmith’s house, where the king’s daughter happened to be at the time; and, seeing with his own eyes what liberties the suitor was taking with her, he drove the man away in disgrace. Thinking that he had done enough for the nonce, he returned to Sweden. Helga took a higher view of her own position and soon found a worthier suitor in the person of a Norwegian prince named Helgi, who had come in a splendidly fitted ship to ask her hand. Ingjald had nothing against their troth, demanding only that Helgi should make proof of his prowess by meeting in combat any rival suitor who might challenge him. At the spousal ale a challenge came from the doughty Angantyr, who for some time past had courted her in vain. Helgi took up the challenge and even offered to fight Angantyr and his eight brothers at one and the same time; but this promise was so daring that on the counsel of his betrothed he journeyed to Sweden to seek the aid of Starkad. Starkad gave willing consent and, asking Helgi to return to Denmark, he promised to follow in due season. Helgi set out on his journey, for which he used twelve days; Starkad started on the twelfth day, and yet he and Helgi passed together through the gates to Ingjald’s court.
As the bridal ale was being drunk in the palace, Angantyr and his brothers heaped insult and contempt on the aged Starkad. When Helgi and Helga went to bed, Starkad stood guard outside their bower door. On the following morning the combat was to take place. Helgi wakened early, rose and dressed himself; but since daylight was not yet fully come, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep again. As the day dawned Starkad came in but did not have the heart to rouse Helgi; so he went off alone to meet the champions. He sat down on the slope of a hill facing the wind and took off his clothes for the purpose of hunting fleas, though both snow and hail were falling. Soon the nine brothers came up from behind and found Starkad snowed under up to his neck. He sprang to his feet, and when they asked him whether he chose to fight them singly or all together, he declared he would meet them all at once. The battle began, and he was soon able to do away with six of his enemies; but the other three he found it hard to defeat. At last he killed them all; but he had himself received seventeen dangerous wounds, and his entrails were hanging from a gash in his body. His strength failing, he crept to a stone and leaned against it to rest; long afterward men pointed out the impress of his body on the surface of the rock. Several people passed the spot and offered to give him aid, but he turned them all away; for one was a king’s bailiff who lived on the sorrows of other men, another had wedded a bondwoman and was in the service of her master for the purpose of redeeming her, and the third was herself a bondwoman who should have been at home caring for her child: all of these he held in such contempt that he would have nothing to do with them. At length a peasant came driving by in a cart; from this man he accepted aid, allowing him to bind up the wounds with willow withes. The peasant carried Starkad in his cart to Ingjald’s court. There Starkad went inside and made an uproar at the door of Helgi’s bridal chamber. Helgi in the meantime having learned what sort of reception Starkad would like, rushed upon him and struck him a blow in the forehead. In this way Starkad was assured that Helgi was not afraid to risk his life in combat and that Helga might safely be left in his keeping.
Starkad now returned to Sweden; but rumors of Ingjald’s effeminacy brought him once more back to Denmark. He came in disguise to Ingjald’s court bearing a large sack of coals on his back, and took a seat at the foot of the table. The German queen, Sverting’s daughter, met him with the utmost contempt; but Ingjald, soon afterward returning home, at once recognized his foster father, and thereafter both he and the queen sought to make amends for her earlier insolence. But their efforts were of no avail. The luxuries of the table, the many alien customs, and the newfangled modes of living put Starkad in a great rage; he poured out his feelings in violent punitive lays, and at length egged Ingjald to such a pitch that he fell upon Sverting’s sons and killed them. In the warmest and most vigorous terms Starkad commended his deed to the favor of fortune.
Starkad has also been associated with a certain king Ragnvald (Regnaldus), among whose warriors he took part in a great battle in Zealand, from which for the first time of his life he sought safety in flight. But Starkad is known in chief and above all as a retainer of the famous Viking king Haki.
Haki’s brother Hagbard, who also was an eminent king of Vikings, came on one of his expeditions to the court of king Sigar in Zealand and there fell in love with Sigar’s beautiful daughter Signy. She loved him in turn; but an enmity that arose between him and her brothers made it impossible for him to pay court to her openly. In the garb of a woman he accordingly gained entrance to her bower; and Signy, who knew her father’s mind toward her lover, gave him the solemn promise that she would not survive him if death should be his portion. Hagbard being betrayed by a serving maid, Sigar’s men came upon him and in spite of his brave resistance took him captive. Hagbard was haled before the assembly and doomed to hang. When Signy learned what was in store for him, she determined to set fire to her bower and burn it down over the heads of herself and her maidservants, all of whom offered to go to their death with her. Hagbard, seeing his end draw near, craved assurance of her faith. He therefore begged the hangman first to hang his cloak up on the gallows. Those who were looking on from afar thought it was Hagbard himself, and so Signy kindled the fire in her home. When Hagbard saw the flames rising from Signy’s chamber, he burst into paeans of praise for her constancy; soon he should be united with her, and he longed for death. So he ended his life. His brother Haki, intent on avenging his death, set sail with a fleet of ships; but Starkad, who had enjoyed the hospitality of king Sigar, would not go with him. For this reason Haki did not have the best of luck. He won a victory indeed and slew Sigar; but Sigar’s son Sigvaldi drove him out of the island and destroyed a part of the army which he had left behind. Haki was afterward attacked at Uppsala by Jorund, king Hugleik’s kinsman, and slain in battle.
Finally, Starkad is associated with the Norwegian king Ali the Bold, an ally of the mighty Sigurd Ring. Sigurd Ring was an under-king in Sweden subject to his father’s brother, the Dane Harold Hilditonn. When Harold had become old and blind, it came to his mind that he would rather die in battle than on a bed of sickness; he therefore sent a messenger to Sigurd Ring asking him to muster a strong force from the whole of his kingdom, Harold on his part undertaking to summon a force of his own, whereupon the two were to do battle against each other. There followed seven years of preparation for warfare. At the end of that time the two armies met at Bravalla in Östergotland; there the combat took place, doubtless the most famous battle in all the legendary history of the North. Harold Hilditonn had men from Denmark, Saxony, and the Slavic countries; Sigurd, from Sweden and Norway. Among Sigurd’s warriors were Ali the Bold, Starkad, and many other champions. In Harold’s army Ubbi the Frisian, the shield-maiden Vebjorg, and Haki fought most fiercely. Ubbi killed sixteen common soldiers and six champions before he fell pierced by the Telemark archers. Vebjorg, encountering Starkad, shore through his chin so that it hung down and he was able to hold it up only by biting his beard. She was later killed by Thorkel Thra. Starkad brought to earth many Danish champions and cut off the hand of the shield-maiden Visma, who bore Harold’s standard. Afterward he engaged Haki, whom he found a hard nut to crack; he killed his enemy indeed, but in the combat he himself received grievous wounds, one in his throat through which a man might look into his body, one in the chest so that a lung hung from the gash, and one that shore off a finger. King Harold Hilditonn himself, sitting in his chariot of war, fought valiantly in spite of his blindness; at last he fell beneath the stroke of a mace in the hands of his own servant Bruni, who was supposed to be Odin himself in disguise. The Danes then fled, and Sigurd Ring remained master of the field. Denmark he put under his own sway; Zealand and Fyn came beneath the rule of Ali the Bold. Some while later Sigurd Ring engaged in warfare against the Gjukungs, Sigurd Fafnirsbane being at the time still alive. Sigurd Ring sent against them his brothers-in-law, the sons of Gandalf of Alfheim, he himself being occupied in a campaign against Kurland and Kvænland. Starkad was a warrior in the army, and in the battle that now took place he encountered Sigurd Fafnirsbane in person. In him, however, Starkad found his master. Sigurd put him to flight, after striking him in the mouth so that two of his teeth were loosened.
Starkad continued to sojourn with Ali the Bold until the severe judgment passed upon him by Thor brought him new misfortunes. Twelve Danish chiefs conspired against the life of Ali and persuaded Starkad for 120 gold marks to murder the king. He came upon the king in his bath; at first he fell back before the sharp eyes of Ali, which no man had hitherto been able to endure; but Ali felt that his time had come and therefore, covering his eyes with his hands, made Starkad’s task easier for him. Starkad thrust him through the body and so accomplished his third Bastard’s deed.1 But being at once seized with remorse for his act, in his wrath he killed several of those who had misled him. Bent with sorrow he then wandered through the world with the money, the price of his treachery, bound about his neck; with his gains he meant to pay some one or other to wreak vengeance upon him. He was so old and feeble that he walked by the aid of two crutches, and yet he bore two swords at his side. At last he met with a young man of high lineage named Hader, whom he persuaded by means of gold and eloquent speech to sever his head from his shoulders. Starkad said that if the youth found it possible to jump between the head and the trunk before the body sank to the ground, he should thereafter be invulnerable. Here his old-time malice, the unhappy gift of Thor, expressed itself again. Hader promptly hewed off his head but did not attempt the leap, knowing very well that if he tried he should be crushed beneath the weight of Starkad’s gigantic body. So fierce a champion was Starkad that his head, even after being severed from the trunk, bit at the grass.
Starkad sang his own praises in many a lay, and in this respect he had better fortune than Thor’s judgment allowed him. Though he forgot his own lays, others remembered them; and thus it came about that the men of antiquity knew most of his songs, notably his ballad of the Battle of Bravalla.