by Odin, and he thought good luck would be with him any
day he liked to go to battle. Then he set fire to his ships, landed
his men, and went over all the country with armed hand. Earl Ottar, who
ruled over Gautland, came against him, and they held a great battle with
each other; but Earl Hakon gained the day, and Earl Ottar and a great
part of his men were killed. Earl Hakon now drove with fire and
sword over both the Gautlands, until he came into Norway; and then he
proceeded by land all the way north to Throndhjem. The "Vellekla" tells
about this:--

"On the silent battle-field,
In viking garb, with axe and shield,
The warrior, striding o'er the slain,
Asks of the gods 'What days will gain?'
Two ravens, flying from the east,
Come croaking to the bloody feast:
The warrior knows what they foreshow--
The days when Gautland blood will flow.
A viking-feast Earl Hakon kept,
The land with viking fury swept,
Harrying the land far from the shore
Where foray ne'er was known before.
Leaving the barren cold coast side,
He raged through Gautland far and wide,--
Led many a gold-decked viking shield
O'er many a peaceful inland field.
Bodies on bodies Odin found
Heaped high upon each battle ground:
The moor, as if by witchcraft's power,
Grows green, enriched by bloody shower.
No wonder that the gods delight
To give such luck in every fight
To Hakon's men--for he restores
Their temples on our Norway shores."

29. THE EMPEROR OTTA RETURNS HOME.

The Emperor Otta went back to his kingdom in the Saxon land, and parted
in friendship with the Danish king. It is said that the Emperor Otta
stood godfather to Svein, King Harald's son, and gave him his name;
so that he was baptized Otta Svein. King Harald held fast by his
Christianity to his dying day.

King Burizleif went to Vindland, and his son-in-law King Olaf went with
him. This battle is related also by Halfred Vandredaskald in his song on
Olaf:--

"He who through the foaming surges
His white-winged ocean-coursers urges,
Hewed from the Danes, in armour dressed,
The iron bark off mail-clad breast."

30. OLAF'S JOURNEY FROM VINDLAND.

Olaf Trygvason was three years in Vindland (A.D. 982-984) when Geira
his queen fell sick, and she died of her illness. Olaf felt his loss so
great that he had no pleasure in Vindland after