Heimskringla | Page 7

have any revelation
by dream, was to take his sleep in a swine-sty, and then it never failed
that he had dreams. The king did so, and the following dream was
revealed to him. He thought he had the most beautiful hair, which was
all in ringlets; some so long as to fall upon the ground, some reaching
to the middle of his legs, some to his knees, some to his loins or the
middle of his sides, some to his neck, and some were only as knots
springing from his head. These ringlets were of various colours; but
one ringlet surpassed all the others in beauty, lustre, and size. This
dream he told to Thorleif, who interpreted it thus: -- There should be a
great posterity from him, and his descendants should rule over
countries with great, but not all with equally great, honour; but one of
his race should be more celebrated than all the others. It was the
opinion of people that this ringlet betokened King Olaf the Saint.
King Halfdan was a wise man, a man of truth and uprightness -- who
made laws, observed them himself, and obliged others to observe them.
And that violence should not come in place of the laws, he himself
fixed the number of criminal acts in law, and the compensations,
mulcts, or penalties, for each case, according to every one's birth and
dignity (1).
Queen Ragnhild gave birth to a son, and water was poured over him,
and the name of Harald given him, and he soon grew stout and
remarkably handsome. As he grew up he became very expert at all feats,
and showed also a good understanding. He was much beloved by his
mother, but less so by his father.
ENDNOTES:
(1) The penalty, compensation, or manbod for every injury, due the
party injured, or to his family and next of kin if the injury was the death
or premeditated murder of the party, appears to have been fixed for
every rank and condition, from the murder of the king down to the
maiming or beating a man's cattle or his slave. A man for whom no
compensation was due was a dishonored person, or an outlaw. It
appears to have been optional with the injured party, or his kin if he

had been killed, to take the mulct or compensation, or to refuse it, and
wait for an opportunity of taking vengeance for the injury on the party
who inflicted it, or on his kin. A part of each mulct or compensation
was due to the king; and, these fines or penalties appear to have
constituted a great proportion of the king's revenues, and to have been
settled in the Things held in every district for administering the law
with the lagman. -- L.

8. HALFDAN'S MEAT VANISHES AT A FEAST
King Halfdan was at a Yule-feast in Hadeland, where a wonderful thing
happened one Yule evening. When the great number of guests
assembled were going to sit down to table, all the meat and all the ale
disappeared from the table. The king sat alone very confused in mind;
all the others set off, each to his home, in consternation. That the king
might come to some certainty about what had occasioned this event, he
ordered a Fin to be seized who was particularly knowing, and tried to
force him to disclose the truth; but however much he tortured the man,
he got nothing out of him. The Fin sought help particularly from Harald,
the king's son, and Harald begged for mercy for him, but in vain. Then
Harald let him escape against the king's will, and accompanied the man
himself. On their journey they came to a place where the man's chief
had a great feast, and it appears they were well received there. When
they had been there until spring, the chief said, "Thy father took it
much amiss that in winter I took some provisions from him, -- now I
will repay it to thee by a joyful piece of news: thy father is dead; and
now thou shalt return home, and take possession of the whole kingdom
which he had, and with it thou shalt lay the whole kingdom of Norway
under thee."

9. HALFDAN S DEATH.
Halfdan the Black was driving from a feast in Hadeland, and it so
happened that his road lay over the lake called Rand. It was in spring,
and there was a great thaw. They drove across the bight called
Rykinsvik, where in winter there had been a pond broken in the ice for
cattle to drink at, and where the dung had fallen upon the ice the thaw
had eaten it into holes. Now as the king drove over it the ice broke,