Herrod, earl of Gautland, had a fair daughter named Thora, with the surname of Borgarhjort. From her father she got as a present a small grass snake, which she kept in a box and under which she laid a bed of gold. As the snake grew, the gold grew too; but the snake at length became so large that it could no longer find room in her bower but curled itself in a circle about the house. It now showed such bad temper that no one dared approach it except the man who gave it food, and he was compelled to bring it an ox for each meal. The earl, thinking that matters were taking an ill turn, promised his daughter to any man who should kill it, and the gold besides by way of dowry; yet no man dared attempt the task.
King Sigurd Ring of Denmark had a son named Ragnar. He was tall and handsome, and distinguished at an early age for his valor and his deeds of prowess. Having learned of the earl’s offer, he journeyed with his men to Gautland. Before setting out he equipped himself with a shaggy cloak and shaggy breeches that had been steeped in boiling pitch. Clothed in this raiment he went ashore early one morning and, making his way to the earl’s house, thrust his spear through the serpent. Though the serpent spouted venom over him, Ragnar suffered no harm, being protected by his heavy garments. Having thus killed the serpent, he took Thora to wife and with her had two sons, Erik and Agnar. Thora died soon after, and Ragnar mourned her death so deeply that he forsook his kingdom and wandered about, continually engaged in warfare. One summer he came to Spangereid in Norway, and there lay at anchor in the harbor during the night. In the morning he sent his bakers ashore to bake bread. They found a little farm, where two people lived named Aki and Grima — the same two who had killed king Heimir and who now had in their keeping Sigurd Fafnirsbane’s daughter Aslaug or, as she was called there, Kraka.1 The bakers got help in their work from the fair Kraka. She had been out bathing, something that Grima had forbidden her to do, being unwilling that any one should discover the girl’s beauty. Kraka had loosened her long hair, which had grown under the tarred hat she was compelled to wear; fine as silk, it reached down to the very ground when she stood upright. The bakers, who were to go about their work with her, lost their senses completely when they beheld her beauty, and so their loaves were burned. Ragnar, in seeking to learn the cause of their mishap, found out how fair a woman Kraka was. He sent his men to summon her into his presence; but wishing to make trial of her wit, he bade her come neither dressed nor nude, neither hungry nor filled, neither alone nor in the company of another. Kraka removed her clothing, wrapped herself in a net, swathed herself in her own hair as in a garment, took a bite from a leek, and brought the husbandman’s dog along at her heels. In this manner she met the difficult test, and Ragnar was so taken with her beauty and wisdom that he wanted to carry her away with him without further ado. But she would not go with him until he should have returned from a certain expedition which he was about to undertake; if by that time he had not changed his mind, she would consent to be his wife. Ragnar returned indeed in due season, and Kraka went with him aboard the ship, after telling her stepfather and stepmother that she knew of their evil deed but had no mind to take vengeance on them. They were married in state on Ragnar’s returning to his own kingdom, and Kraka bore him sons who were named Ivar Lackbones, Bjorn Ironside, Whitesark, and Ragnvald. The three younger sons were stalwart and brave. Ivar, having cartilage instead of bones, was unable to walk; he had himself carried about in the company of his brothers, and since he surpassed them in shrewdness they always followed his advice. He was also the one among them who first thought of winning honor in Viking forays; he egged the others into making an incursion against Whitby, and they captured the town, but Ragnvald fell in the course of the attack.
In Sweden there ruled a king named Eystein, a man most zealous in offering sacrifices. In preference to all other deities he worshipped a cow, Sibilja, that walked before his army in battle, filling the enemy with fear. King Eystein and Ragnar Lodbrok were the best of friends and paid frequent visits to each other. Once upon a time, when Ragnar was feasting at the court of Eystein, Eystein’s fair daughter filled the beakers for the kings; Ragnar’s retainers persuaded him to make her his bride and to put away the humble peasant’s daughter Kraka. King Eystein too favored the match, and so it was agreed that Ragnar was to return later to claim the princess. Ragnar bade his men say nothing about the plan to Kraka; but three birds revealed the secret to the queen, and when he came home she upbraided him with what he purposed doing. Not until that moment had she disclosed to him her true descent and her right name. She was about to give birth to a child, she told him, and it was to be a son who should be marked with the image of a serpent in his eye; this token would prove her to be the daughter of Sigurd Fafnirsbane. It all happened just as she had foretold, and the boy got the name of Sigurd Snake-In-The-Eye. But king Eystein’s wrath was kindled because Ragnar had broken his troth with the princess, and from that time Eystein was Ragnar’s enemy. Ragnar’s eldest sons Erik and Agnar therefore mustered an army to carry the combat within the confines of Sweden, but luck was against them; Agnar fell, and Erik, who would not owe his life to Eystein, chose to die by being thrown upon a spear fixed in the earth. One of his men carried his ring to queen Aslaug, who without delay egged her sons on to avenge his death. With an army they sailed for Sweden and slew king Eystein in battle, Ivar Lackbones having succeeded meanwhile in killing Sibilja. After finishing this enterprise, they continued to make war throughout the south, gaining renown on every hand. They destroyed the powerful stronghold of Vivilsborg, captured Luna, and had no thought of halting their course until they should have reached Rome. From an old man who came to them in Luna they sought to learn how long was the road to Rome. He showed them a pair of iron boots on his feet and another pair slung across his back; both pairs, he declared, he had worn out on the journey from Rome to Luna. The sons of Lodbrok now realized that they would have to give up their plan of pushing on against Rome.
In the meantime Ragnar had remained quietly at home. He soon heard of the renown his sons were winning and determined not to be outdone by them. He gave orders for the building of two great merchant vessels, so large that with them he could transport a whole army overseas to England. Aslaug advised him to divide his host among several smaller ships so as to make landing more easy; but Ragnar would not heed her good counsel. She then gave him at his departure a shirt capable of protecting him against all kinds of wounds, and he set forth on his expedition. On the coasts of England, however, his two ships ran aground; although he effected the landing of his men, he was thus cut off from retreat. Ella was king in England at the time. When the news of Ragnar’s invasion reached him, he gathered a large army and with it destroyed the enemy by force of numbers.
Ragnar himself was taken prisoner and cast by Ella’s orders into a den of serpents. But the shirt protected him from their stings; only when it was stripped from his back did he succumb to their venom. Before he died he sang a lay, in which were these words: “The pigs would grunt if they knew what pains the boar suffers.”
Ragnar’s sons having meanwhile returned to Denmark, Ella sent couriers to acquaint them with the death of their father, with instructions to note carefully how each of them received the tidings. The messengers found Ivar sitting in the high seat, while Whitesark and Sigurd were playing chess, and Bjorn was busied in shaping a spear shaft. As the heralds were delivering their message, Bjorn shook the shaft till it broke in two, Whitesark crushed a chessman in his hands so that the blood sprang from under his nails, while Sigurd, who was paring his nails, cut his finger to the bone without giving the least sign. Ivar alone questioned the messengers closely and spoke quietly with them, the only mark of his agitation being a change of color, from flushed cheeks to paleness. When Ella was told all these things, he said, “Ivar we have to fear, and none other.” The brothers now deliberated on taking vengeance for their father; but Ivar lifted his voice against such a course, advising instead that they accept wergild from Ella. The others, incensed at his speech, mustered an army. Although Ivar went with them to England, he led no armed force and took no part in the battle, in which the brothers were defeated. He sought the presence of Ella by himself to demand a small forfeit for his father: only as much land as he might be able to encompass with an ox hide. Ella deemed this a most reasonable demand; but crafty Ivar cut a softened hide in strips, by means of which he encompassed a large plain. There he built a house and a stronghold and gave the place the name of Lundunaborg (London). He had bound himself by an oath not to make war against Ella; but he used his patrimony to entice the mightiest men of the land away from Ella. When he judged that all things fitted his purpose, he sent word to his brothers that they should muster a large army. They did as he bade them and crossed over to England. Ella found himself unable to put a sufficient force in the field because his liege men had forsworn their faith. In a decisive battle he was taken captive, and at Ivar’s orders the bloody eagle was carved on his back. Thus he died. Ivar now permitted his brothers to maintain their sway over Ragnar’s realm; he took England for himself and ruled there until his death. Whitesark was taken prisoner on an expedition to the shores of the Baltic, and chose as his mode of death to be burned on a pyre of human skulls. Bjorn later ruled in Sweden, and Sigurd Snake-In-The-Eye in Denmark.
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