and came to the town and to the bishop.
They related to him all the signs that had presented themselves to them,
and also where they had deposited the king's body. The bishop sent a
message to Einar Tambaskelfer, who came to the town. Then the bishop and
Einar had an audience of the king and Alfifa, in which they asked the
king's leave to have King Olaf's body taken up out of the earth. The
king gave his permission, and told the bishop to do as he pleased in
the matter. At that time there were a great many people in the town.
The bishop, Einar, and some men with them, went to the place where
the king's body was buried, and had the place dug; but the coffin had
already raised itself almost to the surface of the earth. It was then
the opinion of many that the bishop should proceed to have the king
buried in the earth at Clement's church; and it was so done. Twelve
months and five days (Aug. 3, A.D. 1031), after King Olaf's death
his holy remains were dug up, and the coffin had raised itself almost
entirely to the surface of the earth; and the coffin appeared quite
new, as if it had but lately been made. When Bishop Grimkel came to King
Olaf's opened coffin, there was a delightful and fresh smell. Thereupon
the bishop uncovered the king's face, and his appearance was in no
respect altered, and his cheeks were as red as if he had but just fallen
asleep. The men who had seen King Olaf when he fell remarked, also, that
his hair and nails had grown as much as if he had lived on the earth all
the time that had passed since his fall. Thereupon King Svein, and all
the chiefs who were at the place, went out to see King Olaf's body. Then
said Alfifa, "People buried in sand rot very slowly, and it would not
have been so if he had been buried in earth." Afterwards the bishop took
scissors, clipped the king's hair, and arranged his beard; for he had
had a long beard, according to the fashion of that time. Then said the
bishop to the king and Alfifa, "Now the king's hair and beard are such
as when he gave up the ghost, and it has grown as much as ye see has
been cut off." Alfifa answers, "I will believe in the sanctity of his
hair, if it will not burn in the fire; but I have often seen men's hair
whole and undamaged after lying longer in the earth than this man's."
Then the bishop had live coals put into a pan, blessed it, cast incense
upon it, and then laid King Olaf's hair on the fire. When all the
incense was burnt the bishop took the