The Project Gutenberg EBook of Early Kings of Norway, by Thomas Carlyle

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Title: Early Kings of Norway

Author: Thomas Carlyle

Posting Date: October 10, 2008 [EBook #1932]
Release Date: October, 1999

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EARLY KINGS OF NORWAY ***

Produced by Ron Burkey

EARLY KINGS OF NORWAY.

by Thomas Carlyle

Transcriber's Note: The text has been taken from volume 19 of the
"Sterling Edition" of Carlyle's complete works. All footnotes have been
collected as endnotes. The pound (currency) symbol has been replaced by
the word "pounds".

The Icelanders, in their long winter, had a great habit of writing; and
were, and still are, excellent in penmanship, says Dahlmann. It is to
this fact, that any little history there is of the Norse Kings and their
old tragedies, crimes and heroisms, is almost all due. The Icelanders,
it seems, not only made beautiful letters on their paper or parchment,
but were laudably observant and desirous of accuracy; and have left
us such a collection of narratives (_Sagas_, literally "Says") as,
for quantity and quality, is unexampled among rude nations. Snorro
Sturleson's History of the Norse Kings is built out of these old
Sagas; and has in it a great deal of poetic fire, not a little faithful
sagacity applied in sifting and adjusting these old Sagas; and, in a
word, deserves, were it once well edited, furnished with accurate
maps, chronological summaries, &c., to be reckoned among the great
history-books of the world. It is from these sources, greatly aided by
accurate, learned and unwearied Dahlmann, [1] the German Professor, that
the following rough notes of the early Norway Kings are hastily thrown
together. In Histories of England (Rapin's excepted) next to nothing has
been shown of the many and strong threads of connection between English
affairs and Norse.

CHAPTER I. HARALD HAARFAGR.

Till about the Year of Grace 860 there were no kings in Norway, nothing
but numerous jarls,--essentially kinglets, each presiding over a kind of
republican or parliamentary little territory; generally striving each
to be on some terms of human