ht up at the Danish king's court. Some of Eirik's sons went
out on viking expeditions as soon as they were old enough, and gathered
property, ravaging all around in the East sea. They grew up quickly to
be handsome men, and far beyond their years in strength and perfection.
Glum Geirason tells of one of them in the Grafeld song:--

"I've heard that, on the Eastland coast,
Great victories were won and lost.
The king, whose hand is ever graced
With gift to skald, his banner placed
On, and still on; while, midst the play
Of swords, sung sharp his good sword's sway
As strong in arm as free of gold,
He thinn'd the ranks of warriors bold."

Then Eirik's sons turned northwards with their troops to Viken and
marauded there; but King Trygve kept troops on foot with which he met
them, and they had many a battle, in which the victory was sometimes on
one side, and sometimes on the other. Sometimes Eirik's sons plundered
in Viken, and sometimes Trygve in Sealand and Halland.

11. KING HAKON AS A LAW-GIVER.

As long as Hakon was king in Norway, there was good peace between the
bondes and merchants; so that none did harm either to the life or goods
of the other. Good seasons also there were, both by sea and land. King
Hakon was of a remarkably cheerful disposition, clever in words, and
very condescending. He was a man of great understanding also, and
bestowed attention on law-giving. He gave out the Gula-thing's laws on
the advice of Thorleif Spake (the Wise); also the Frosta-thing's laws
on the advice of Earl Sigurd, and of other Throndhjem men of wisdom.
Eidsiva-thing laws were first established in the country by Halfdan the
Black, as has before been written.

12. THE BIRTH OF EARL HAKON THE GREAT.

King Hakon kept Yule at Throndhjem, and Earl Sigurd had made a feast
for him at Hlader. The night of the first day of Yule the earl's wife,
Bergljot, was brought to bed of a boy-child, which afterwards King
Hakon poured water over, and gave him his own name. The boy grew up, and
became in his day a mighty and able man, and was earl after his father,
who was King Hakon's dearest friend.

13. OF EYSTEIN THE BAD.

Eystein, a king of the Uplands, whom some called the Great, and some the
Bad, once on a time made war in Throndhjem, and subdued Eyna district
and Sparbyggia district, and set his own son Onund over them; but the
Throndhjem people killed him. Then King Eystein m