Wayward Heroes by Halldór Laxness

Author:Halldór Laxness
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780914671107
Publisher: Steerforth Press
Published: 2016-10-24T23:00:00+00:00

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A KING NAMED Sweyn, the son of Harald Bluetooth, ruled over Denmark. In their books, the Danes call him Twobeard, and the Icelanders Forkbeard. In English books he has the nickname Father-Slayer, after having adorned himself with far more glory than any other king by fighting against his father and killing him. In his childhood, Sweyn had been received into Christianity by the German emperor, but had renounced his faith and now desired to kill all Christians, clergymen in particular.

King Sweyn heard report of England as a place where intrepid kings might win great renown, so he assembled an imposing fleet in Denmark and sailed with it to England in order to harrow the land.

The Danes arrived in England’s east, and ordered a part of their troops ashore and the rest to remain aboard ship. Sweyn Bluetoothsson was quite a different king from Thorkell Strutharaldsson. The latter was a sea-king whose experience was solely aboard ships, making him more of a marauder than a conqueror. He gave little thought to subjugating countries, even when given the opportunity, which is why he plundered King Æthelred’s England of all its valuables rather than occupy it. Sweyn, for his part, was more bent on conquering countries than plundering them, and his men diligently subdued towns and shires. Wherever they came, they began immediately to reorganize things to their liking, and beheaded or mutilated the leading aldermen and clerics, while sparing people’s property. Many Englishmen came to parley with King Sweyn and pledge him their allegiance, stating that they preferred their king to be a foreign, heathen patricide and sworn enemy of Christians than a native, devout Christian king who carved bones in peacetime and vomited in wartime, and never commanded his troops against anyone but his own subjects.

As for King Æthelred, he was as generous as ever to his foreign enemies, and just as King Thorkell had obtained from him all the struck silver that he demanded, along with other treasures, so too did the newly arrived king receive almost everything that he desired. King Æthelred’s first reaction was to vomit mightily, as usual, and to remain beneath his bedsheets as Sweyn subdued town after town. When Æthelred was finally able to speak again, he sent to King Sweyn to inquire of his demands, and to inform him that all he asked would be his. Sweyn, however, sent back word that he demanded the kingdom of England.

King Æthelred had yielded all of his wealth to King Thorkell, and now he handed over his realm to King Sweyn, leaving him with nothing but Queen Emma and seven birds carved from bone. Some compassionate fishermen then offered him their boat and transported him and his queen to Rouen, where he met his brother-in-law, Duke Richard, and supplicated for his aid.

The Vikings had stopped their attacks for the time being and, as defenders of Duke Richard’s realm, were entertaining themselves in Rouen, some in the castles and others on their ships. As was usual when Vikings hired out their services to kings, the townsfolk met their every demand.

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