p; yet of thy
hurt shalt thou be whole within a sennight and shall shortly thereafter
accept Christianity.' Then Olaf went down to the ships, & verily did
meet with the warlike men who would slay him & his followers, & their
combat ended even as the hermit had foretold, to wit, in such manner
that Olaf was indeed borne out to his ship on a shield & likewise was
whole again after a sennight. Then Olaf felt assured in his mind that it
was the truth that this seer had told him, and that of a truth was he a
wise soothsayer, whencesoever might he have his gift of prophecy.
So Olaf a second time went unto him and held much talk with him, and
questioned him closely as to whence he gat the wisdom to foretell what
was to come. And the hermit saith that the God of the men that were
baptized Himself causeth him to know all that He wisheth. Then recounted
he to Olaf the mighty works of God, & after these persuasions Olaf
assented unto Christianity, & it befell that he was there baptized, &
all the men that were with him. In that place abode he a long time and
learned the true Faith, and in his train bore away with him priests &
other learned men.

|| From the Isles of Scilly Olaf hied in the autumn to England, and there
lay he in a certain haven & lived in peace, for England was a Christian
land & now was he likewise a Christian man.

[Illustration]

|| Now there went throughout the land a summons to a certain Thing, that
all men should come to the Thing, & when there was assemblage thither
came to it a queen whose name was Gyda.[Sec.]

She was the sister of Olav Kvaran who was King of Dublin, which is in
Ireland, and she had been married to a powerful earl in England who was
now dead, but after him she yet ruled his dominion.

Now there was a man in her dominions whose name was Alwin, a mighty
champion & 'holmgangsman.'Sec.

Alwin had wooed Gyda, but she had made answer that she herself would
make choice whom she would have among the men of her dominion, and
forasmuch as she would choose herself a husband was this Thing convened.
Thereto likewise came Alwin decked out in his best raiment, and many
others were there apparelled also in their best. Now Olaf too was come
thither, & he was clad in his bad-weather raiment, wearing a cloak
exceeding rough; and he stood with his followers somewhat aloof from the
others. Gyda walked hither & thither among the men, gazing at each one
favoured in her eyes; but when she was come