Ivar

“ Every man in that retinue looked every inch a warrior; their mustaches, which only high-born men could wear, gave them a martial appearance; their hair hung gracefully on their necks from under their shining, bright helmets. Ivar wore a golden helmet.
The watchmen in the towers at Upsalir had seen Ivar and his following coming, and told Yngvi of their approach, saying to him: “There glitter in the sunshine, helmets, splendid shields and chain-armor, axes and spears. The men look very valiant. Those must be some of thy guests, and from their bearing they are high born.” ”

“ Whoever is wooing her must fight a duel with me. I challenge Ivar to a duel, to take place at Arhaug on the first day of Yule,” and he shouted so loud that everybody in the hall heard him: “Thou, Ivar, shalt be every man’s nithing, if thou comest not to the duel!” Ivar at once accepted the challenge as Hjalmar had done.
At Arhaug, Ketil and his men sacrificed. He practised witchcraft much, and the people believed that no weapons could pierce his chain-armor or hurt him. He only made sacrifices to the sun and to his guardian spirits, for he did not believe in Odin nor in the other gods. ”

“ So be satisfied, though thou mayst find some fault in Ivar, and though the ideal thou hadst of thy lover before thou hadst known him well and lived with him is broken. Many dreams of youth vanish in life. The Nornir are wise, and none of us knows his fate beforehand.”
The following morning Ivar, accompanied by several of the highest-born men of Gotland, and followed by the kinsmen of Hjalmar, went to Yngvi and explained their errand, which was to ask Astrid in marriage for Hjalmar. ”

“ I will also watch carefully over thee, so will Sigurd and Sigmund.”
“That will not serve,” cried Ivar, “if death is fated to me, for no man can change his fate; but I will fall bravely.”
These two successive omens made a deep impression upon Ivar; the ships were dragged ashore, and put under the sheds, and it was announced that no expeditions were to take place that year.
Then Ivar made a special sacrifice to Frey, for he loved Frey more than all the other gods, and often sacrificed to him, and that day he offered up four black oxen, and two of his most valuable horses. ”

“ Hjalmar, astonished, answered him that there was no goat there, nor anything else.
“What is it, then?” inquired Ivar.
“I am afraid,” Hjalmar returned, “that thou must be a death-fated man, and that thou hast seen the spirit that follows and protects thee, warning thee of danger; and if not thyself, some of thy kinsmen may, perhaps, be fated to die. Guard thyself well, foster-brother. ”

“ Then he advanced towards Ivar, and took the three shields that he was to hold before him, and handed two of them to Sigurd and Sigmund; then he said to Ivar: “Foster-brother, let us hope that victory will be thine; but thou hast to fight against one of the greatest champions of our land, a man very skilled in the handling of the sword and of the sax.” ”

“ Hjalmar replied: “Ivar, I can say the same thing of thee. We, thy three foster-brothers, saw how much thou and Randalin were in love with each other. As for thee, Sigmund,” said he, laughing, “this saying proves true in regard to thee: Many a man acts strangely when in love, but blame not man for that, blame love instead.”
“Dear Sigurd,” said all the foster-brothers at once, “thou hast said nothing to us yet about the maiden thou lovest; and thou art our elder, and we know that no one has a greater admiration and regard for women than thou hast, nor loves their society more than thou dost.” ”

“ The following day, Hjalmar said to Ivar: “Let us find out the decrees that fate has in store for us, for I do not like the ‘roller-reddening’ that has taken place at the launching of our ships, or the vision of the bloody goat. Let us consult the oracles, as well as sacrifice to Frey. I still fear some impending misfortune is going to happen to some of us, and that some great sorrow will overtake us. Let us make ready and beware of treachery. Perhaps we may meet a witch full of evil on the way; then it is better to walk on than to lodge in her house, though the night may be stormy. ”

“ When Heid the shield-maiden saw so many valiant men fall, she rushed forward, and however valiant and skilful a man was in the handling of his sword, he was almost sure to meet his death while fighting against her.
Ivar entreated his men to take her alive, but she would not be taken, and fell fighting furiously. As she fell, Ivar sang: “Sunk to the ground is Heid the shield-maiden. The Sviar have slain her, and with her many of her champions. She was more at home in the fight than talking with a wooer, or going to the bridal bench with bridesmaids.” ”

“ One day, as Ivar was seated with Hjalmar on the mound of Hjovard, and was in one of his meditative moods, he said: “After all, Hjalmar, a man is not utterly unhappy, even though he be in ill health; some are happy in sons or in daughters, some in kinsmen, some in much wealth, some in good deeds, and some in friends. To his friend a man should be a friend, to him and to his friend, but no man should be the friend of his enemy’s friend. If thou hast a friend whom thou trustest well, and if thou wilt get good from him, thou must blend thoughts with him, and go often and meet him. ”

“ Beneath the rough archway of the triple ramparts at the foot of the rock, and up the sharp ascent, there rode one day the herald of Ivar, the Danish King of Limerick. Through the gate-way of the palace he passed, and striding into the audience-hall, spoke thus to Mahon the King:
"Hear, now, O King! Ivar, the son of Sitric, King of Limerick and sole Over-lord of Munster, doth summon thee, his vassal, to give up to him this fortress of Cashel, to disperse thy followers, to send to him at Limerick, bounden with chains, the body of Brian the outlaw, and to render unto him tribute and hostage." ”

“ The ash is the largest and best of trees; it stands ever green; its branches spread all over the world, and reach up over the heaven; three roots of the tree hold it up, and spread very widely. Under one of the roots is the well in which wisdom and intellect are hidden.
Towards midnight, when every one was profoundly asleep, and deep silence reigned in the house, Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, according to the belief of the Norse people, came to forecast the fate of little Ivar. They bade him become the most valiant of chiefs, and the best of rulers. ”

“ I desire to have Rangvid in my mound, if I die; Hjalmar shall have his shirt and his weapons. He who lives shall raise a mound over the other.”
Then the combat began in earnest, and was fought with the greatest violence. Both struck hard and often.
When Ivar and Sigurd and Sigmund had looked on for a while, they went to a place some distance away, and made ready for the fight with the other eleven sons of Hervard. Ivar said to the berserks: “We will fight according to the custom of warriors, and not that of thralls. One of you, and no more, shall fight me at a time, if your courage fails not.” ”

“ They wished for the evening entertainment to come, so that they might come into the hall.
The Vikings themselves, especially Ivar and his foster-brothers, wished likewise for the day to pass quickly.
One evening, as the brothers were by themselves, and thought of the beautiful girls they had met, and were talking of love in a general way, Ivar said:
“What men call love springs from the mind, for the mind is the seat and source of all our thoughts; the heart does not think, and cannot love; it palpitates quicker, it is true, with love, but it is only the reflection of the mind. ”

“ Each maiden had in her hand a drinking horn of gold, filled either with mead, ale, or wine, and she offered it to the guests. Afterwards, lots were drawn by the warriors to decide where they were to sit, and fortunate were the men who had drawn the lots which permitted them to be by the side of maidens. Ivar had as a seat companion Randalin; Hjalmar, Astrid; Sigurd, Svanhild; Sigmund, Solveig. They talked much to each other during the evening, and were delighted at their good fortune; and all hoped to have the same chance again, so pleased were they with each other. ”

“ After Ivar’s arrival, the sons of Ingimund came to him and said: “Thou art the head of our kinsmen, and thou knowest that it is the custom from immemorial time when a man does not die by weapons to make him ready for his journey to Hel. We ask of thee to put the Hel-shoes on the feet of our dead father, for, as thou knowest, the ancient faith that has come down to us tells us that such shoes should go to Hel with the man that takes that journey. ”

“ Never in his life had Ivar been so hard pressed, but finally the pressure of other combatants separated them.
Ubi the Frisian advanced before the host of Ivar, and all retraced their steps before him, so deadly were his blows. When the archers recognized him, they said, “We will not shoot elsewhere, but let us all aim our arrows at this man for a while, for we will never get the victory until he is dead.” ”

“ As time went along, the love between Ivar and his foster-parents increased greatly. As he became older he grew in strength and manliness, each following year showing great improvement of mind and body. Both lads had been taught how to write runic characters, and also had learned the meaning of mystic runes—a knowledge that was only acquired by the sons of high-born men—so that when necessary they might send messages that could only be deciphered by those for whom they were intended. ”

“ They all separated, very happy, and when Yngvi was alone with his daughter, after the kinsmen of Ivar had departed, he said to her: “Daughter, thou thinkest that Ivar is perfection. A short time after thou art married to him, thou wilt find that he has faults, and thou wilt perhaps regret that thou didst not marry Thorstein, who, like Ivar, loved thee, and who aspired silently to thy hand; but I assure thee that if thou hadst married Thorstein, thou wouldst also find fault in him, for there is no man, no matter how good and brave he is, that is without a fault. ”

“ In the midst of profound silence, Sigurd advanced towards Ivar and the three other Vikings, and said to them: “You are aware that from immemorial time, it has been the custom of valiant men, who make this agreement of foster-brotherhood between themselves, that the one that lives the longest should avenge the others, if they are slain with weapons or otherwise.” ”

“ It is better to be merry than to be down-hearted, whatever may come to hand. Glad and cheerful should every man be until he meets his death.”
The fleet was behaving splendidly in the tempest; the ships rode over the waves as if they had been birds of storms.
The dragon-ships of Sigmund and Sigurd came within hailing distance of the Elidi, and Ivar shouted to them: “Foster-brothers, have the daughters of Ran treated you roughly?”
“Yes,” shouted each in turn. “Several of our men have gone to the hall of Ran, and we have prepared ourselves for this journey, for we are fearless men.” ”

“ Arnfid wanted them to stay longer, but Ivar said to him: “One should take leave in good time. The guest should not remain too long; the loved one often becomes loathed by staying over many days.”
So they parted in great friendship. Arnfid gave Ivar a handsome sword, with hilt and scabbard ornamented with gold; also an axe inlaid with gold, of very fine workmanship, and costly presents to his foster-brothers and men. Ivar gave also costly presents to Arnfid and his men.
Ingegerd, from her bower, with a heavy heart, watched the ships sailing away, and wondered if she would ever see Ivar again. ”

“ Thou art the challenged man, and thou hast the right to choose which of the two thou wilt have.”
Ivar answered: “I choose the Holmganga, for there is more honor and fame in this than in the other; and when I left Gotland for Upsalir, to participate in the games, it was to win more fame than I had before. There are two alternatives before me: the one, to get bravely the victory in fighting against thee; the other, to fall with valor; and that is better than to live with shame and dishonor.” ”

“ BETROTHAL OF IVAR AND RANDALIN The next morning Ivar went to see two of his uncles, Randvir, a brother of his mother, and Visbur, a brother of his father, who had come to Upsalir with him, and said to them: “Kinsmen, I desire you to ask for me in marriage Randalin, the second daughter of Yngvi, the Hersir of Svithjod.”
“Well done, Ivar,” said his two uncles with one voice. “Thou art wise in thy choice, for Randalin is beautiful, and most accomplished in all that pertains to woman, and will be a wife worthy of thee ”

“ After the battle had raged fiercely for a season, Ivar attacked the apex of the array of Starkad. His father’s sword Hrotti shone like fire, and he cut down the host of Starkad like saplings. Neither helmet, chain-armor, nor shield could withstand his blows. He went through the host with his foster-brothers, and slew all those who were in his way. The shield-maiden Heid, seeing the appalling death of men in the array of Starkad, rushed towards Ivar. Many men engaged in single combat stopped by common accord to see the conflict. ”

“ Hjorvard, thy father, is dead, but fell gloriously in the midst of victory.”
“The tokens that forebode the death of a kinsman have then proved true,” said Ivar, with a deep sigh; “the sacrificial chips foretold this.” Then he added sorrowfully, and with a voice full of emotion: “A death-fated man cannot be saved. All is dangerous to the death-fated. A man who is not death-fated cannot receive his death-wound, he will escape in some way or other; but every one must die the day he is death-fated. The decrees which the Nornir made the day of my father’s birth had to be fulfilled.” ”