his departure. It was brought by one of his jarls, Earl Sigvald,
who came with eleven ships, manned by his clansmen, and reported that the
rebel Erik had been joined by the kings of Sweden and Denmark, and the
three fleets of the allies were preparing to fall upon Olaf on his homeward
voyage. But Sigvald assured the King that if he would allow him to pilot
the Norwegian fleet he would take it safely through channels deep enough
for even the "Long Serpent," and elude the hostile armada, which
outnumbered Olaf's fleet three to one.

Sigvald, however, was a traitor. He had promised to lead Olaf into waters
where the allied fleets would be waiting to attack him. And he knew they
would be anchored inside the island of Ruegen, near the islet of Svold.

So Olaf, trusting to his false friend, sailed westward from Wendland to his
last battle. The "Saga" tells how on a bright morning, Erik Jarl and the
two kings watched from Svold the approach of the Norwegian ships, and at
first doubted if Olaf was with them, but when they saw the "Long Serpent"
towering above the rest they doubted no longer, and gave orders for their
180 ships to clear for action, agreeing that Norway should be divided among
them and the "Long Serpent" should be the prize of whoever first set foot
on her deck, so sure were they that numbers would give them victory even
against a champion of the seas like Olaf Tryggveson. The swift "Crane" and
the "Short Serpent," taken from Raud of Salten Fiord, had sailed ahead of
the fleet. They saw the ships of the allies crowding out of the channel
between Svold and the mainland, and turned back to give the alarm.
Thorkild, the half-brother of Olaf, who commanded the "Short Serpent,"
urged the King to bear out to sea and avoid a fight with such desperate
odds. But Olaf's blood was up. Like the triremes of the Mediterranean, the
"Serpents," "Dragons," and "Cranes" of the northern seas used only the oars
in battle, and the King gave the order which meant fighting. "Down with the
sails!" he said. "Who talks of running away? I never fled yet and never
will. My life is in God's hands, but flight would be shame for ever."

The battle that followed is the most famous in Viking story. We know it
chiefly through poetic records. But there is no doubt the "Saga" preserves
for us much of the living tradition of the time, and if its writers yielded
to the temptation of decorating their narrative with picturesque detail, it
must be reme