The same autumn (A.D.1139) Sigurd Slembe and Magnus the Blind came from Denmark with thirty ships, manned both with Danes and Northmen.It was near to winter.When the kings heard of this, they set out with their people eastwards to meet them.They met at Hvalar, near Holm the Grey, the day after Martinmas, which was a Sunday.King Inge and King Sigurd had twenty ships, which were all large.There was a great battle; but, after the first assault, the Danes fled home to Denmark with eighteen ships.On this Sigurd's and Magnus's ships were cleared; and as the last was almost entirely bare of men, and Magnus was lying in his bed, Hreidar Griotgardson, who had long followed him, and been his courtman, took King Magnus in his arms, and tried to run with him on board some other ship.But Hreidar was struck by a spear, which went between his shoulders; and people say King Magnus was killed by the same spear.Hreidar fell backwards upon the deck, and Magnus upon him; and every man spoke of how honourably he had followed his master and rightful sovereign.Happy are they who have such praise! There fell, on King Magnus's ship, Lodin Saupprud of Linustadar, Bruse Thormodson; and the forecastle-men to Sigurd Slembidjakn, Ivar Kolbeinson and Halyard Faeger, who had been in Sigurd Slembe's fore-hold.This Ivar had been the first who had gone in, in the night, to King Harald, and had laid hands on him.There fell a great number of the men of King Magnus and Sigurd Slembe, for Inge's men let not a single one escape if they got hold of him; but only a few are named here.
They killed upon a holm more than forty men, among whom were two Icelanders -- the priest Sigurd Bergthorson, a grandson of Mas;the other Clemet, a son of Are Einarson.But three Icelanders obtained their lives: namely, Ivar Skrauthanke, a son of Kalf Range, and who afterwards was bishop of Throndhjem, and was father of the archbishop Eirik.Ivar had always followed King Magnus, and he escaped into his brother Jon Kauda's ship.Jon was married to Cecilia, a daughter of Gyrd Bardson, and was then in King Inge's and Sigurd's armament.There were three in all who escaped on board of Jon's ship.The second was Arnbjorn Ambe, who afterwards married Thorstein's daughter in Audsholt;the third was Ivar Dynta, a son of Stare, but on the mother's side of a Throndhjem family, -- a very agreeable man.When the troops came to know that these three were on board his ship, they took their weapons and assaulted the vessel, and some blows were exchanged, and the whole fleet had nearly come to a fight among themselves; but it came to an agreement, so that Jon ransomed his brothers Ivar and Arnbjorn for a fixed sum in ransom, which, however, was afterwards remitted.But Ivar Dynta was taken to the shore, and beheaded; for Sigurd and Gyrd, the sons of Kolbein, would not take any mulct for him, as they knew he had been at their brother Beintein's murder.Ivar the bishop said, that never was there anything that touched him so nearly, as Ivar's going to the shore under the axe, and turning to the others with the wish that they might meet in joy here-after.
Gudrid Birger's daughter, a sister of Archbishop Jon, told Eirik Odson that she heard Bishop Ivar say this.
11.SIGURD SLEMBE TAKEN PRISONER.
A man called Thrand Gialdkere was the steersman of King Inge's ship.It was come so far, that Inge's men were rowing in small boats between the ships after those who were swimming in the water, and killed those they could get hold of.Sigurd Slembe threw himself overboard after his ship had lost her crew, stripped off his armour under the water, and then swam with his shield over him.Some men from Thrand's vessel took prisoner a man who was swimming, and were about to kill him; but he begged his life, and offered to tell them where Sigurd Slembe was, and they agreed to it.Shields and spears, dead men, weapons, and clothes, were floating all around on the sea about the ships, "Ye can see," said he, "a red shield floating on the water; he is under it." They rowed to it immediately, took him, and brought him on board of Thrand's ship.Thrand then sent a message to Thjostolf, Ottar, and Amunde.Sigurd Slembe had a tinder box on him; and the tinder was in a walnut-shell, around which there was wax.This is related, because it seems an ingenious way of preserving it from ever getting wet.He swam with a shield over him, because nobody could know one shield from another where so many were floating about; and they would never have hit upon him, if they had not been told where he was.When Thrand came to the land with Sigurd, and it was told to the troops that he was taken, the army set up a shout of joy.When Sigurd heard it he said, "Many a bad man will rejoice over my head this day." Then Thjostolf Alason went to where Sigurd was sitting, struck from his head a silk hat with silver fringes, and said."Why wert thou so impudent, thou son of a slave! to dare to call thyself King Magnus Barefoot's son?"Sigurd replied, "Presume not to compare my father to a slave; for thy father was of little worth compared to mine."Hal, a son of the doctor Thorgeir Steinson, King Inge's court-man, was present at this circumstance, and told it to Eirik Odson, who afterwards wrote these relations in a book, which he called "Hryggjarstykke".In this book is told all concerning Harald Gille and his sons, and Magnus the Blind, and Sigurd Slembidjakn, until their deaths.Eirik was a sensible man, who was long in Norway about that time.Some of his narratives he wrote down from Hakon Mage's account; some were from lendermen of Harald's sons, who along with his sons were in all this feud, and in all the councils.Eirik names, moreover, several men of understanding and veracity, who told him these accounts, and were so near that they saw or heard all that happened.Something he wrote from what he himself had heard or seen.
12.TORTURE OF SIGURD SLEMBE.
