THE STORY OF RAUD AND HIS SONS.
CONTENTS.
PAGE.

Introduction ..
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The Story of RauS and his Sons
Notes ..
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16
31

INTRODUCTION.
The tale of Raut5 (or RauSulf) tells of a visit made byKing Olaf to a powerful chieftain living in the remotevalleys of central Norway bordering on Sweden. Thisvisit is made in course of an enquiry into large thefts ofcattle and swine, which have occurred in the district under
the stewardship of Bjorn, a thoroughly unpopular man,but a favourite of Queen AstriS. Bjgrn calls a district
assembly to investigate the thefts, and casts suspicion on
the inhabitants of the wild border valleys in the north of
this province. The matter is laid before the King, when
he comes on circuit with his retinue to the house of
BJQrn. The two sons of RautS are summoned. The King
refuses to believe in their guilt, and accepts an invitation
to visit their father. When he arrives with all his retinue
he finds a splendid and strongly-fortified homestead.
After a magnificent banquet, the King has a long talk with
Rau8. He discovers that his host has remarkable powersof divination, although he expressly disclaims the gift ofprophecy and the use of sorcery. It appears that RauS
is especially skilled in the interpretation of dreams, an art
very interesting to King Olaf, who desires some revelationof the future in dream.
The King asks whether the sons have learnt any of theirfather's skill. SigurS claims knowledge of astrology, and2

The Story of Raud and his Sons.

Dag professes to read character. The King then calls on
his chief men to specify each man his particular accomplishment. This they do, each in character, and so theevening passes in good entertainment. The King is thenled to sleep in the sumptuous new building which at firsthe had taken for a church. It is a special sleeping-chamber, constructed by RauS and his sons. The form is
circular, and inside there is an outer panelled corridor
with beds for 40. The central part, supported by an
inner ring of pillars, is vaulted, and contains the richest
beds, enough for 80 in all. The chief bed, on a central
platform, is assigned to the King. Here he lies down, andfor some time gazes at the rich decorations of the vault.
It is painted to depict God in glory, surrounded by all theorders of Creation. The ceiling of the outer corridor isalso painted, with deeds of antiquity, and stories offamous men. Finally, the King feels the bed revolving
under him, and he falls asleep and dreams a marvellous
dream.
Next morning, the King first tests the arts of SigurS andDag, to his complete satisfaction. He then consults RauS
about his dreams. Raui5 describes and interprets the
dream, in which the King saw a mighty cross bearing a
crucified figure, the whole enclosed in an aureole. Starting from the head of red gold, the figure was made ofmetals in descending order of value. The parts are
identified with the reigns of succeeding Norwegian kings,
beginning with Olaf 's own reign of red gold. The qualitiesof the different metals are expounded with full use ofallegory, to demonstrate the decline in the rulers of Norway
down to 1155. After a short exchange of complimentswith Raui5, the episode is somewhat abruptly completed
by the unmasking of Bjc/rn. Dag, with his perceptions ofcharacter, declares that Bjorn himself is the thief, and has
the stolen goods hidden in his own farm. ProceedingIntroduction.

3

there, the King finds all as Dag has said, and the matteris closed with the expulsion of the unjust steward.
Within its historical framework, this tale combines muchmaterial both curious and ornate, drawn from foreign
literatures. It is an outstanding record of the taste forbaroque extravagance which spread from the East, toreach as far as Iceland by the thirteenth century. Yet
the native literary tradition was fully capable of assimilating such material. Rauds Pdttr can stand on its own
merits as a piece of narrative literature. Although someof its sources may be far-fetched, there is nothing fantastic
in the finished work. It is fiction, which reflects genuine
beliefs and presents solid characters. Much of thelegendary material which grew up round both the Olafs is
fiction of the same type. Particularly good examples arefound in the stories about the encounters of the ChristianKing with heathenism and sorcery among Norwegianchiefs: such are the meeting of Olaf Tryggvason and the
god Thor (Fms. II, 182-9) and the triumph of S. Olaf overDala-GuSbrand and his idols (ibid., IV. 240-9). In thesetales, faithful details of native life and customs are
blended with hagiographical common-places. So, in
Rauds Pdttr, the descriptions taken from romance arevery prominent; but they do not obscure the grave dignityof the King's purpose and destiny, nor do they violate
native tradition. Rather, the curiousness and splendourof these descriptions emphasize the status of divination as
an honourable art, and the value of a princely style ofliving combined with high intellectual attainments.
This story appears in the composite Saga of Olaf theSaint^ a title which covers a group of recensions combining Snorri's Life of S. Olaf with copious legendary
1 Printed in Fornmanna Sggur (Copenhagen, 1825-35), IV-V, 348. The
material is more fully and accurately presented by 0. A. Johnsen and J.
Helgason, Den Store Saga om Olav den Hellige, 2 vols. (Oslo, 1941); the text ofSnorri's Life of S. Olaf is printed from MS. Stockholm 2, 4to, together with theprincipal interpolations in an appendix.

4

The Story of Raud and, his Sons.

material, taken from the lost work of Styrmir and fromother sources. 2 The Pdttr appears in nine MSS. 3 ; aversion is available in Fornmanna Sggur V, 330-48; from
the MS. Tomasskinna (Royal library of Copenhagen 1008.
fol.), but the present translation is based on MS. Stockholm 4. 4to, printed by Johnsen and Helgason, II, 655-82.
In these nine MSS. the Pdttr replaces Chap. 156 of Snorri'sLife O.H.* which is a selective compression omitting the
2 Fully discussed by S. Nordal, Om Olaf den HelUges Saga (Copenhagen*1914); see especially pp. 69-86. The relations between the various recensions
are minutely examined by Johnsen and Helgason, op. cit.; on the work of
Styrmir, see vol. II, pp. 1128-29.
8 The first eight are described in Fms. IV, 1-26, and are here quoted by thesigla there given.
B.
AM. 68. a. fol. [formerly 75.d.], second half fourteenth century.
D.
AM. 325. V. 4to., second half fourteenth century.
E.
A.M. 75. c. fol., first half fourteenth century. Only 40 leaves remain>oat of an original 120 leaves. Much is missing from R.I>., but
two long passages remain.
F.
Royal Library, Copenhagen 1005, fol. (Flateyjarbok), A.D. 1380-87(first scribe).
H.
AM. 73 b. fol. (B&jarbok), c. 1400. Only 4 leaves survive, but the
text is reconstructed from seventeenth-century paper copies;
the most important are AM. 71. fol., 73. a. fol., 76. a. fol.
I.
AM. 75. a. fol., c. 1300. The MS. was defective even in the seventeenth century, when it was three times its present size. Gaps
are supplied from the seventeenth-century transcript AM. 321
4to. One leaf containing part of R.f>. survives.
K.
Royal Library, Stockholm, i. fol. (Bergsbok), c. r4oo (second scribe).
L.
Royal Library, Copenhagen 1008 fol. (Tomasskinna}, c. 1400. The
text of Fms. V. 330-48 is based on this MS.
St.
Royal Library, Stockholm, 4. 4to., first half fourteenth century.
Other MSS. of Life of S. Olaf are so defective that it is impossible to tellwhether or no they originally contained R.P.; such are AM. 75. b. fol. andAM. 325, VI 4to. R.t>. is found as a separate Pdttr among collections of
extracts; the earliest of these is the Royal Library, Copenhagen 2845, 4to(fifteenth century), where R.P. is taken from Flateyjarbok. Others are copies
of seventeenth and eighteenth cents., mostly taken from known MSS.
The present translation is based on MS. St., as printed by Johnsen andHelgason, II, 655-82; but quoted passages are referred to the text of Fms. V,
330-48, for convenience of reference.
4 The shortened form of Chap. 156 is represented by MSS. AM. 61 andStockholm 2. 4to. The former.is printed in Fms. IV, 379-81. The latter was
first edited by Munch and Unger, Saga Olafs konungs ens Helga (Christiania,1853), and is the basis of the diplomatic text printed by Johnsen and Helgason.
When Snorri's work is mentioned, reference will be made to this Life O.H.;
although the material was afterwards embodied in Heimskringla, the separate
work is the more closely connected with the textual history of Ratio's Pattr.

Introduction.

5

striking elaborations of the story—the boasting, thedescription of the sleeping-chamber, and the lengthy
prophetic dream. There can be little doubt that thet>dttr was composed before Snorri wrote, 5 and that the
shorter version embodied in his Life O.H., and later in
Heimskringla, 6 is his own drastic abbreviation. Some
MSS. confuse the Pdttr by alterations of order and wording in accordance with Snorri's shortened version. 7 Suchcontamination still further complicates the intricate
textual history of the Pdttr. Nevertheless, the story isclear enough in outline to warrant a version of the very
interesting material it contains.8
6 In their discussion of this interpolation, Johnsen and Helgason (vol. II,
1129-31) show that the I>dttr existed in a separate form, used independently
by various redactors who put together the Life of S. Olaf. The MSS. of thiscompilation do not follow their usual alignments in the text of Rauds Pdttr,
and thus they betray a separate textual tradition. In each of the three maingroups of MSS. the £>dttr has been interpolated from a separate source, and thedivergences within group C suggest further outside influences.
6 Heimskringla ed, Finnur J6nsson (Copenhagen, 1911), pp. 354-55 (Saga
O.H. ch. 164).
7 See note 9 below, and Notes to Translation 4, 6.
8 Arbitrary variations of nomenclature suggest possible contamination withsome other story. Snorri and AM. 61 use the name Raudr only. In the longer
version, the hero is called Raudr, Raudulfr and Ulfr. Some MSS. have regularised their usage, but none is entirely consistent. Alternative names are
expressly recognized, (i) in the opening sentence by one group of MSS., (ii) a
little further on (Fms. V. 330/19) by another group:—(i) Raudr er maSr nefndr er odro nafne het Ulfr St. Ulfr het madr er halladr
var Raudulfr F. Madr het ulfr inn spaki er sumir katla raud D. (Raudr
het madr K, B, H, I. Raudolfr . . . L. E is deficient here),(ii) Raudr er ydru nafni het Ulfr ( Porolfur L) . . . sifan sendi Raudulfur(Raudr H) . . . B. H. L. I.
Thereafter, the usage of different MSS. varies considerably:—
1. St. B. and L. use all three names interchangeably. St. has Raudr
occasionally, mainly at the beginning, while Ulfr becomes more andmore frequent. Raudulfr is used sporadically throughout. B. agrees
in the main with St., L. not quite so closely.
2. F. uses Raudulfr consistently (once Raudssonum), and so does E. in the
portions extant (once Ulfr).
3. I. generally has Raudulfr, occasionally Ulfr, rarely Raudr. K. (whichsometimes agrees closely with F.), has about equally Raudulfr /Ulfr,
less often Raudr.
4. H. uses Raudr, very seldom Raudulfr; never Ulfr, except once inpassage (ii) above.

6

The Story of Raud and his Sons.

An analysis of the main elements in the story will givesome indications of the diverse sources used, the age of thePdttr, and its relation to Snorri's shorter version. There
are two main components. The first (A) can also be seenin the shorter version; but Snorri has condensed andadapted it to run within the plot of his narrative.
A. is basically a folk tale about a wise man able tointerpret dreams, foretell the weather, read character, andso forth. These gifts are shared by RauS and his sons, but
in the longer version the part of RauS is predominant; inthe shorter version the sons exercise these functions. The
theme of the main plot is the use of these special perceptions to rebut an accusation, and to unmask the real
culprit. The accounts of Snorri and MS. AM. 61. areconfined to this plot. Raut5 is therefore subordinate; heis rich and wise, but the action depends on the gifts of his
two sons. In Snorri's version, interpretation of dreams
is added to SigurS's gifts. 9 Dag, the character-reader,is used by King Olaf as adviser in the following episode of]>6rir 01visson.10
Decorative elaborations of A. are peculiar to Rauds
Pdttr:—(a) A detailed description is given of the magnificent
homestead of RautS and his sons, and of the splendid
entertainment provided for King Olaf and his retinue.
(b) The construction of the svefnskemma is described in5.

D. has Raudulfr twice at the beginning, thereafter it consistently uses
Ulfr; never Raudr, except in passage (i) above.
The translation preserves the usage of MS. St.
9 Life 0. H. ch. 156 SignrSr segir at hann kumni drauma at skilja, ok at deila
doegrafar pott engi scei himintungl; so AM. 61 (Fms. IV, 381/4). The testing of
the sons is clumsily handled in the Pdttr, and many MSS. show duplication, or
rearrangement under the influence of Snorri's account: see Notes to Translation, 4, 6.
10 Fms. IV. 382-3, Life O.H. chs. 157-8. Again, some duplication is seenin the Pdttr; cf. the comment on Rau5's gift in Fms. V. 333, 5. lagdi
konungr af pvl tr&nad a rcsdur hans, with Life O.H. ch. 158 reyndist konungi patallt med sannindum er Dagr sagdi honum, hvart sem fat var lidit e8a dkomitfram.
Festi pd konungr trunad mikinn a rcedum hans.

Introduction.

7

detail. The prototype clearly is the revolving chamberof romance literature, a fanciful description based on thearchitecture and decoration of Byzantine palaces.11 The
closest analogue in Norse literature is the palace of Hugo
in Karlamagnus Saga VII,12 which is ultimately derived
from a French romance, Le Pelerinage de Charlemagne.™
(c) The iprdttir of RautS and his sons are matched by along series of boasts from King Olaf's retinue. The
ultimate source of these would seem to be the gabs of theCharlemagne legend;14 but these are in native style,
maintaining a sobriety and decency entirely different fromthe French series.
B. as a whole is peculiar to Rauds Pdttr. It consists ofa prophetic dream based on Nebuchadnezzar's vision(Dan. ii. 31-45), in which a figure made of different metals
symbolizes succeeding reigns.15 The allegorical elaborations associated with this type of literature were alreadywell developed by Jewish authors at the beginning of theChristian era; Rauds Pdttr gives a fair specimen of themediaeval handling of such material.16 In outline, thedream of Rauds. Pdttr is very close to the Biblical account.
11 See M. Schlauch in Speculum VII, 500-14; and Romance in Iceland(Princeton, 1934), pp. 157-163.
12 Karlamagnus Saga ed. C. R. Unger (Christiarua, 1859), pp. 471-2.
13 See note 23 below.
14 Karlamagnus Saga, pp. 473-76.
15 See S. R. Driver The Boo'; of Daniel (Cambridge Bible, 1900), pp. 94-7;
J. A. Montgomery The Book of Daniel (International Critical Commentary,1927) pp. 166-68. On metal symbolism in Jewish apocalyptic literature, see
Krauss in Jewish Encyclopaedia (New York, 1904), vol. VIII, p. 518.
16 The prophet Daniel was regarded as the father of mediaeval dream-lore.
In an O.E. miscellany of the early eleventh-century (MS. Cotton Tiberius. A
III), there is a Latin Dream-Book with interlinear O.E. gloss, headed De somniorum diversitate secundum ordinem abcdarii danielis prophetae (fol. 27*'-32 b )also an O.E. translation of a similar work, headed Somnile Danielis (fol. 38*39 b); see M. Forster in Archiv CXXI, 32. The apocalyptist Ezra/Esdra wasalso associated with folk-prophecy, in Latin MSS. as early as ninth century;
see Forster in Archiv CX, 437-49. Such fusion of learning and folklore ischaracteristic of vernacular writing in the early Middle Ages. I know of nosuch material preserved in early Icelandic MSS.; but it must surely havebeen known to twelfth-century scholars, in a country where this subject has
always been so eagerly studied.

8

The Story of Raud and his Sons.

One point will illustrate the relationship: Nebuchadnezzar
requires his magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to tell the dream before interpreting it (Dan. ii. 5);
their discomfiture is the occasion of Daniel's triumph. In
the Pdttr, Rau8 also narrates the whole dream before
interpreting it, although no motive is given. This native
version of a wise man with no sorcery about him is atypical example of the adaptation of alien material. The
visionary figure is interpreted in terms of Norwegiankings after Olaf, down to 1155. Episodes from ancient
story are depicted, including the deeds of Sigurd Fafnisbane and Harold Finehair; these are not allegorical, but
purely decorative.
B. is further decorated with enrichments from othersources:—(a) The figure (" a great image." Dan. ii. 31)
is described as Christ crucified, in the style of Byzantine
iconography. The figure has long locks,17 a girdle
reaching up to the armpits, and crossed feet pierced by asingle nail. This last feature was apparently introduced
into the West about 1200 A.D.18(b) The whole figure is enclosed in an oval aureole orgloria, within which are depicted the orders of Creation.
This complex description is of course ideal. It cannot be
visualised as a whole, although the detail is in some parts
precise. Lavish application of allegory causes confusion,and once at least direct contradiction. The aureole isdescribed as a ring, being without beginning or end (Fms.,
V, 343/19 f.). Yet, in the next sentence, it is described as
pointed above and below, broadening in the middle.
(c) One of the metals described appears to be electrum,
the alloy of gold and silver.19 This metal is twice
17 See O. M. Dalton, Byzantine Art and Architecture (Oxford, 1911), p. 671.
18 Ibid,, pp. 661-2.
19 Fms. V, 346/4. The readings of the MSS. vary; see notes 10, ii to translation. The distinction made between rautt gull and bleikt gull in the following
sentence seems to indicate that the alloy of gold and silver is meant. Some
illustration of this terminology and its meaning can be gathered from theIntroduction.

9

mentioned in the visions of Ezekiel (Ezek. i, 4, viii, 2), as
representing a brilliance almost incandescent.20 It seems
likely enough that the author of Rauds Pdttr drew onother prophetic visions of the Old Testament besides theBook of Daniel: he may well have been using someallegorical work based upon such vision literature.
The dating of Rauds Pdttr is a many-sided problem.
The prophetic list of Norwegian kings shows that it was
written after 1155. Elements derived from foreign
literatures give no precise indications of date. The
circular vaulted hall belongs to a tradition going back as
far as Ovid, 21 and it is not clear how early this description

fragment Ndtttirusteinar (Alfrcedi I. 77-83), which seems to go back to a
twelfth-century translation of the Liber Lapidum of Bishop Marbod (lateeleventh century). The Latin text reads: (from Hildeberti Opera ed. Beaugendre, Paris, 1708, col. 1677).
Ethiopum tellus lapidem Crisopacion edit
Quem tenebrae produnt, occultant terripora lucis,
Noctibus igne micans, vanescit luce diurna,
Absque nitore iacens auri pallore sepultus . . .
The Icelandic translation runs as follows: (Alfrcedi I. 81) Crisopacius kemr
af Ethiopia, hann hefir lios i myrkri enn i liosi myrkt. Hann gloar sem elldr
um nott, enn um dag er hann sem bleikt gull.
Pallor is denned by Du Cange as " pallida lux, lumen tenue."
The Frenchtranslation of the twelfth century (see L. Pannier, Les Lapidaires franfais duMoyen Age, Bibliotheque de 1'Ecole des Hautes Etudes, fasc. 52 (1882) reads:
en jalnur sevelist. With these descriptions, compare the definition of the
Criselectrus (omitted in the Icelandic version) :•—Esse Criselectrus similis describitur auro
Cujus ad electrum color inclinare videtur . . .
(Beaugendre, op. cit. col. 1675).
Both descriptions are expansions of passages in Isidore's Etymologiae: XVI,
XIV, 8. Chrysoprasus aethiopicus est; quern lapidem lux celat, prodit
obscuritas. Nocte enim igneus est, die aureus . . . XV, 3. Chryselectrus
similis auro, sed in colorem electri vergens.
Both similis auro and aureus might be rendered ' near-gold' a roughequivalent of nastagull: i.e. modified gold, as seen in the pale glitter of thegold alloy, electrum.
20 Hebrew Hashmal, LXX. ri\£KTpov, Vulgate electrum (Ezech. i. 4. quasi
species electri, VIII. 2. ut visio electri). The A. V. has ' amber,' which is
linguistically possible, but contextually inappropriate; see G. A. Cooke The
Book of Ezekiel (Internal. Crit. Comm., 1936), p. 10, Krauss in Jewish
Encyclopaedia VIII, 515.
V
21 See. M. Schlauch in Speculum VII, 510, and in Romance in Iceland, p. ij7f.

io

The Story of Raud and his Sons.

attracted another widespread motive, that of the revolving bed.22 The association of the wondrous hall with theboasts of the king and his retinue is a feature of thelegendary travels of Charlemagne in the Orient, as seen in
the Old French romance Le Pelerinage de Charlemagne.
This poem, surviving in an Anglo-Norman MS. of thethirteenth to fourteenth centuries (London, B.M., /lost
since 1789) was assigned by its editor, E. Koschwitz, 23 to
the late eleventh century. In a later study E. Coulet24
argued that it could not have been composed before
1125-1160. Coulet shows that the germ of these fabulous
travels is found in a chronicle written by an Italian monkin the late tenth century. This simple account lacking
the decorative motives here in question was the basis of theearliest of the narratives collected in Karlamagnus Saga.
About the second decade of the twelfth century, the samematerial was used in Descriptio qualiter Karolus M.
clavum et coronam Domini a Constantinopoli Aquisgranidetulerit, qualiterque K. Calvus hec ad S. Dyonisium
retulerit?5 a work written round the relics of the Abbey of
S. Denis. 26 The legend was richly developed during thetwelfth century, and became widely known. A Welsh

22 See Schlauch, Romance in Iceland, p. 161.
23 Karls ties Grossen Reise nach Jerusalem und Constantinopel; sechster
Auflage, besorgt von G. Thurau. (Leipzig, 1913). The passage containing thedescriptions of the palace, the feast, and the sleeping-chamber is conveniently
accessible in the Historical French Reader of Studer and Waters (Oxford, 1924),
XV. ii. 84-176 ( = PeUrinage, II. 342-432). These editors accept the dating ofBedier (Les Legendes Epiques IV. 142-156) and Coulet to mid-twelfth century,
arguing that the poem must have been composed some time after the First
Crusade. Koschwitz bases his earlier date chiefly on linguistic arguments.
F. Schiirr, Das altfranzosische Epos (Miinchen 1926) assigns the poem in its
present form to the mid-twelfth century, discerning some influence from theEastern marvels described in the Alexander cycle.
24 £tudes sur Vancien Poeme Francais du Voyage de Charlemagne en Orient
Montpellier, 1907), p. 271.
25 M. Rauschen Die Legende Karls des Grossen im XI und XII. Jahrhundert(Gesellsch. fiirrhein. Geschichtskunde VII; Leipzig, 1890).
26 See Coulet, op. cit., p. 233.

Introduction.

nversion exists in the Red Book of Hergest. 27 So too, it
was included in the heterogeneous material collected forKing Hakon of Norway in the early thirteenth century,
under the title of Karlamagnus Saga ok kappa nans. Part
VII of this work is in effect translated from an earlier
prototype of the PeUrinage, transmitted through versions
closely allied to the Welsh translations. 28 In a detailed
textual comparison of the Swedish prose version, theDanish chronicle, and Karlamagnus Saga, Koschwitz29
demonstrates that the two independent recensions of thelatter must descend from an original of the early thirteenth century, on which the other Scandinavian versions
are also based. It is therefore quite possible that one ofthese intermediary versions was known to the author ofRauds Pdttr. The iconography of the vision, in particular
the crossed feet, is appropriate to a work composed roundabout 1200.
Both the main elements in Rauds Pdttr—the decorative
extravagances of A, and the detailed symbolism of B—fit
well into the context of twelfth-century literature in
Iceland. To this period belongs the compilations oflegendary history known as Veraldar Saga [G.P. V-VII],30(earliest MS. a fragment of c. 1200). Leidarvisir, apilgrim itinerary of Europe and the Near East drawn up
by Abbot Nikolas of E>vera about 1150, survives in alater recension of the fourteenth century (Alfrcedi I. 3-31);
the source is largely the Origines of Isidore of Seville.
Many scraps of curious learning—often with allegoricalmeanings attached—are found in the miscellany A.M.
194, 8vo. printed in Alfrcedi Islenzk I; thus the paragraphs Ndtturusteinar (p. 77) and Merking steina (pp.
27 Printed, with translation, by J. Rhys, in E. Koschwitz, Seeks Bearbeitungendes altfmnzos.-Gedichts van Karls lies Grossen Reise nach Jerusalem «. Constantinopel (Heilbronn, 1879).
28 See the Stammbawm in Koschwitz's edition, p. xii.
29 Boehmers Romanische Studien II (Strassburg, 1875), pp. 7-21.
30 G.P. = Gislasons Praver af Oldnordisk Sprog og Literatur (Copenhagen,1860).

12

The Story of Raud and his Sons.

40-33) are derived from the Liber Lapidum of Bishop
Marbod (eleventh century), early versified in AngloNorman. The Physiologus fragments are also very old,being preserved in a MS. of c. I200. 31 Such works were
widely read and translated on the Continent at this time.
Their contents were freely used to embellish the elaborate
metrical romances compiled in France during the twelfth
century; among the chief sources of these early romances,
Faral enumerates: " les recits orientaux et les ecrits
didactiques les plus divers, bestiaries et volucraires,
lapidaires et' mappemondes', herbiers et encyclopedies." 32
It seems that an intensive revival of antiquity, and arenewed taste for classical studies, were important stimuli
of literary production in the French schools and centres
likely to be frequented by Icelanders at this time.33 The
works of Ovid and Statius were the richest sources fordescriptions of elaborate and curious decoration. In the
Roman de Thebes (first half of the twelfth century), arichly-decorated tent is described (11. 2921, 3979-4068), in
which are depicted the five zones of the earth, the twelve
months, the animal kingdom, astronomical bodies, as wellas the nine spheres, the War of the Titans, and allegoricalfigures representing the Seven Arts. Simpler cosmographic ornament is seen in the mostier of Jerusalem,
described in Le Pelerinage de Charlemagne (11. 123-8).
The taste for marvels, ingenious decorative devices often
wrought by magic, was highly developed in the Alexander
cycle, first presented in the vernacular in a fragmentarypoem by one Alberic (early twelfth century). Faral
characterizes such descriptions as " tout empreints descouleurs feeriques de 1'Orient, et ou gisaient les admirables
trouvailles de rimagination greco-byzantine,"34
81 See the recent edition by Halld6r Hermaunson (Islandica vol. XXVII,1938), a facsimile reproduction with valuable historical introduction.
32 E. Faral, Recherches sur les Sources latines des Contes et Romans courtois de
Moyen Age. (Paris, 1913), p. 406.
33 Cf. G. TurviUe-Petre, " The Intellectual History of the Icelanders,"
History, XXVII, p. 112.
34 op. cit., p. 406.

Introduction.

13

There can be no doubt (on the evidence of early MSS)
that material of this kind was freely presented in thevernacular in twelfth-century Iceland. Such works,
however, are not mentioned in the sober survey ofvernacular literature given in the First GrammaticalTreatise of the mid or later twelfth century. The author
mentions original compositions and compilations: laws,
genealogies, and the learned historical works of Ari. The
only translation-literature he considers are the Tpydingar
helgar; here he probably alludes to early lives of theSaints, also perhaps to the Dialogues of Pope Gregory,extant in a MS. of c. I200.35 A legendary successor of
pious content might be the Fabella Alexii of the thirteenth
century [G.P. xxi]. 36 Here again, oriental wonders take aprominent place. But works of a more pronounced
theological and ecclesiastical cast were already translated,
introducing the characteristic symbolism and the didactic
allegory of the age.
Moral allegory was alreadydeveloping in works mainly decorative and curious: inthe Physiologies, for instance, and in other kinds ofencyclopaedic literature. 37 The tendency towards metaphysical interpretation was naturally much stronger inworks primarily religious. The eleventh century was aperiod of great opportunity for the Church, in France andelsewhere, and it is at this time that secular themes anddescriptions were attracted into the orbit of religious
literature, and remoulded in the new upsurge of devout
enthusiasm.38 The Benedictine nunnery of Herford in
Saxony, where the first Icelandic bishops received theireducation, was well known both for religious zeal and forclassical studies during the eleventh century.39 The
predominant influence of the Cluniac reform of the
35 Leifar (Copenhagen, 1878) pp. 87-150. Selections in G.P., XXIII-XXV.
36 Ed. by F. J6nsson, Helgensagaer (S.T.U.A.G.N.L., 1927), pp. 47-53.
37 Cf. F. Schiirr, Das altfranzosiche Epos (Munich, 1926), pp. 1718.
38 Ibid., pp. 62-5.
39 See F. Paasche, Kristendom og Kvad (Christiania, 1914), pp. 58-60.

14

The Story of Raud and Ms Sons.

Benedictine rule counted greatly in France; it should be
remembered that the two important centres of learning inNorthern Iceland, Pingeyrar and Pverd, were bothBenedictine foundations, of 1133 and 1155 respectively,
and that much of the literary production of that age canbe directly associated with one or other of these centres.40
In this period, the apocalyptic and visionary literature of
the Bible was being exploited.41 Early in this century,
the Elucidarius was compiled, as a manual of moral
allegory, by the elusive Honorius; the Icelandic translation belongs to the end of the century.42
More important and original handling of allegory is seenin the Icelandic homilies composed in the course of thetwelfth century. Most of these are to be found in the
Homiliu-bok of c. I200.43 Although the fragments now
extant in contemporary MSS. or in later recensions aremeagre enough, we can glean sufficient material tounderstand something of the vigorous and many-sided
literary activity in twelfth-century Iceland. Rauds
Pdttr is a product of this period, when Icelandic scholars
were pillaging the newly-discovered riches of European
literature, from the Bible to oriental romances. It isindeed a time of discovery and rapid assimilation, not as
yet regulated by the more exacting critical and aesthetic
standards of the succeeding century. A good instance ofthe changes imposed by these standards can be discernedin the composition of Fostbr&dra Saga, assigned to c. 1200
in its earliest form. One MS. of this saga includes somecurious klausur, each a small excursus of historical,
encyclopaedic or merely rhetorical matter serving as
decorative additions to the narrative. Nordal has
shown44 that these decorative pendants should be
40 Cf. G. Turville-Petre loc. cit., p. 116.
41 For this element in the Lapidaires, cf. Faral, op. cit., pp. 353-56.
48 Ed. by K. Gislason in Annaler for nordisk Oldkyndighed, 1858.
43 MS. Stockholm 15 4*°, ed. by T. Wisen (Lund, 1872).
14 Vestfiriinga Sggur (Islenzk Fornrit&r, Reykjavik, 193$), pp. LXX-LXXI.

Introduction.

15

associated with an early, uncritical version of the saga, andthat they were omitted by writers of maturer taste who
made later recensions. Once Snorri had composed his
masterly interpretations of past history and literary forms,
a new stamp was set upon Icelandic literature. The
period of tutelage was abruptly brought to an end. Men'seyes were opened to the relative values of the foreign
works they read, and of the works they wrote in theirown language.
The relations between Rauds Pdttr and Snorri's accountof RauS and his sons illustrate very well the conditions of
Icelandic literary products in the late twelfth century to
the early thirteenth century. The first scholars to study
the problem seriously took the longer version to be theolder; from this, Snorri selected a few points for his very
brief version. This view is confirmed by the monumental
work of Johnsen and Helgason. It is supported bygeneral indications about the age of the material, and bywhat we know of Snorri's sources and methods of composition. It would be very like him to extract the main
events of this tale, and shape them to his purpose,
neglecting the decorative and allegorical elaborations.
Such elaborations are not at all foreign to the literatureof the age, but they have no place in Snorri's personaland critical reconstruction of the past. The visionary
extravagances of Rauds Pdttr are cloudy and even lurid,
compared with the ordered brilliance of such a work as
Heimskringla.

i6

THE STORY OF RAUD AND HIS SONS.
There was a man called Rau$, known also as Ulf,1 who
lived up in Eystridalir.2 His wife's name was Ragnhild,and their sons were Dag and Sigurd. These were gifted
and resourceful men. They were attending this district
assembly, defending the case on behalf of the valleydwellers, and upholding them against this accusation. 3
Their behaviour seemed to Bjorn very arrogant, and heconsidered them excessive and over-reaching in display ofdress and weapons; so he turned the charge upon the twobrothers, declaring that it was not at all unlike them tohave done such a deed. They denied the charge and thisbrought the sitting of the assembly to an end.
Shortly afterwards, King Olaf with his retinue arrived,
and received official entertainment at the house of Bjorn
the steward. The dispute which had already been
publicly heard was then laid before the King. Bjorn said
that he considered the sons of Rau8 the most likely to be
responsible for the outrage. They were summoned; butwhen they came before the King, he declared that thesemen had nothing of the robber about them. He absolved
them of the charge brought by Bjorn, and gave it as his
opinion that they had no part in this affair. They invitedthe King to visit their father, and to receive entertainment
there for three nights. The King promised to do so, anda day was fixed for his arrival.
Bjorn counselled against this expedition, but the King
went none the less. It was rather late in the day when
the King arrived at RauSulfs homestead, with a retinueof two hundred men. He saw high walls forming a strong
enclosure. But when he and his retinue came to theentrance, they found it open, and it was excellently

The Story of Raud and his Sons.

17

constructed; there was a gate turning on iron hinges, andonce it was locked, it would be no easy matter to get in.
When the King and his retinue rode in at the gate,
RautSulf the householder with his sons and a great
host of followers were mustered within the courtyard.
RautS and all those present gave a great welcome to theKing and his men, who dismounted from their horses.
Raui5 and his sons had set up a magnificent homestead.
The King next asked the master of the house: " Is that achurch, the fine building I see here in the courtyard ? "He replied: " That, my lord, is my sleeping-chamber,'built this last summer, and only just now finished." Theroofs of all the buildings were shingle-thatched, being atthat time newly thatched and tarred. Next they went
to the living-apartment; the King saw that it was a verylarge building, freshly thatched and well-tarred. In the
courtyard the King saw many large buildings and somesmall, all of them finely constructed. The King asked
whether there was any church in the courtyard; '' There isnone " replied the master of the house, " for no bishop
has come here as yet, except the one now with you."
Then the Bishop had his travelling-tent pitched on thespace in front of the living-apartment. There he sangevensong, which went on until nightfall. After that, theKing entered the living apartment, with candles borne
before him. When he came into the room, the seating had
been carefully arranged. So the King took his place inthe high-seat which had been made ready, with the
Bishop on his right hand, and the Queen to his left withthe chief ladies beyond her. Bjgrn the marshal sat
facing the King on the lower bench, and on either side of
him sat the chieftains of the court. On the far side of thebishop sat Finn Arnason, then his brother Kalf, I>orberg
Arnason beyond him, then Arnbjgrn, Kolbjc/rn and Arni
Arnason; all the brothers were landowners holding theirestates from King Olaf. When seats on the dais had been

i8

The Story of Raud and his Sons.

assigned to all the followers of the King, the seats along
the walls of the upper end of the room were fully occupied.
Members of the household and guests from the neighbourhood occupied the stools and inner benches. RauSulf
the householder sat out in front, on the stool facing thelandowners. That was a most splendid banquet, withmany kinds of drink, all good. The sons of Rauti went
round serving, and directed the whole thing in the mannermost fitting. The King became gracious and very genial;
he was much impressed by the ease and good breeding
shown throughout, the entertainment being so magnificent
and so excellently arranged. The King fell into conversation then with RauS the householder, and he readily
perceived that the man was both eloquent and wise. The
whole room was soon in lively humour, as the drink went
round. The King questioned Ulf about many obscurematters, and Ulf had an answer ready in every case.
Sometimes the King knew in advance how matters stood,
but sometimes he did not, and had no previous information; but everything he could check tallied with Ulf's
account, and therefore the King believed all he said. Ulf
never went beyond what the King had asked. King Olafthen questioned him on the course of events which had not
yet taken place. Ulf gave some information about mostof them. The King then exclaimed: " Are you a prophet,
Ulf? " "Certainly not, my lord," he replied. "Thenhow have you foreknowledge of such matters," said theKing, "when they have not yet happened? " "Do notbelieve seriously in my romancing, Sire " said Ulf; " I run
on before you because I do not venture to keep silence whenyou question me, although I have no certain knowledge ofsuch matters.'' The King replied: " I have followed closely, and it is my considered opinion that you make no statement beyond your own conviction. Tell me, how comesit that you know in advance things that have not yet
happened, if you are not a prophet ? I know that you

The Story of Rau d and his Sons.

19

are a good Christian, and therefore you cannot be using
sorcery for the purpose." Ulf replied: " Some of myconclusions I draw from the direction of the winds, somefrom the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon or stars, andsome from dreams." The King then enquired into eachof these various methods, and to every question which heasked Ulf gave an explanation which satisfied him entirely.
For the most part, they discussed the nature of dreams.
" Can you suggest to me," said the King, " any means
whereby I can have a prophetic dream on a subject which
I particularly desire to known. about ?" "I cannot
instruct you, Sire " said Ulf, " for you know everythingin advance, and are much better informed than I. But
this is what I do from time to time, when I desire foreknowledge in dream of the issue of important matters:
I put on fresh clothes, and lie down on a new bed or couch,standing in a new position, in such a way that no-one has
slept just there before, in those clothes, nor in that bed,
nor in that building. I pay special attention to what I
dream then, and the course of events will in the main
fall out according to my interpretation of that dream."
The King then asked: " What is your principal accomplishment, Ulf ? I can see that you are well versed inmany things." Ulf replied that he was not a man ofgreat accomplishments: " But all the same," said he, " If
I must assert some claim, I reckon that my chief abilitylies in explaining dreams in the sense of things to come."
Said the King: " Have you taught all your accomplishments to your sons ? " Ulf replied: " Ask them yourself,
Sire." So the King had them brought before him, andspoke thus: " Your father Ulf has shown himself a wiseman. Now, have you learnt all his accomplishments ? "SigurS, the elder of the brothers, replied: " I am far fromknowing them all, for he has taught me but one, and I
recognise that I have not learnt to practise it as well as he;and this is only one of his many accomplishments."

20

The Story of Raud and his Sons.

" And what is that ? " asked the King. SigurS replied:" To define the course of the heavenly bodies visible to me,
and to distinguish the stars which indicate periods of time,so that I can reckon duration of time by day and night.
Even without seeing the heavenly bodies, I can determine
all the hours, by day and by night." " That is a great
accomplishment," said the King: " And now Dag, what isyour accomplishment ? " " It will seem a trivial thing toyou, Sire " said he. " No matter," said the King " Whatis it ? " "I have learnt from my father one accomplishment which seems worth mentioning, and even so myfather is much better at it than I." The King asked
what this might be. Dag replied: " If I look a man
intently in the eyes, and survey all his appearance andbehaviour, I can penetrate his nature and perceive whatkind of man he is, what his vices and virtues are." Said
the King: " That is a powerful glance, if what you say istrue. I can soon put it to the test."4 Then the King
turned to the Bishop and said: " It seems that we are
guests of a farmer who has no equal in all our train, I
should think, for lore and skill—and the same applies tohis sons. We reckon to have a picked company, and in all
Norway no more talented men can be found than thosehere with us, and yet I think we fall short of this man andhis sons in most respects. What accomplishment, mylord Bishop, will you profess, as being your special
province ? " The Bishop replied: " My chief speciality,
if I must instance something, is to be able to sing withoutbook all the services prescribed for the whole twelve
months." " That is a great accomplishment," said theKing, " in its own way, and fitting for you, my lord."
Then said the Bishop: " Now we should like to hear, Sireking, what accomplishment you profess." The King
replied: " Certainly. This is my contribution: if I oncesee a man and choose to consider him attentively, I am
sure to recognise him later, wherever I see him." TheThe Story of Raud and his Sons.

21

Bishop rejoined: " This accomplishment is based onremarkable intelligence and perception." Then King
Olaf declared: " This amusement that we have set afootmust spread further round the room. Speak up, Kalf
Arnason, and say what accomplishment you profess."
He replied: " I never swallow my wrath, however long I
have to nurse it." The King continued " Finn, you must
now declare your accomplishments." Finn replied:" Where there is none, Sire, it cannot be declared." Said
the King: "Think of something." "Then I would
instance as my accomplishment that I will never desert
my liege lord in any peril, for as long as he survives andmeans to stand his ground." The King said: "To be
sure, it is likely enough that you will carry this out." Hewent on: " Now, J>orberg, let us hear what you have tosay." ]>orberg replied: " As my contribution, I say that
I mean never to break vow nor bond with my liege lord."
The King said: " Brave words, and like enough to provetrue of such a man as you; yet there are many who breakfaith with me at this time, whom I could not have thoughtcapable of it but a short while ago." Then the King
turned to Arnbjgrn, and said: " In what accomplishment
do you excel? " Arnbjorn, a sturdy fellow, spoke thus:" It may be that I am wrong, but I consider myself apassably good shot, and I think there will be no bow
found here in Norway that I cannot handle." The Kingagreed that it might well be so. The King next asked
Kolbjorn what accomplishments he would claim forhimself. He replied: " I have three accomplishments,
which I reckon all on a level, but none better than goodof its kind; accurate shooting, ski-running, and swimming." The King remarked that his claim was not at all
in excess of his ability—" For," said he, " in theseaccomplishments you are as ready as the best of yourequals in strength." Then the King asked Ami what hewished to contribute. Arni replied: " If I sail my racing

22

The Story of Raud and his Sons.

ship along the coast, managing the sail myself, there isno twenty-oared ship of the same size will overtake me,
nor shall I be the first to reef sail." The King said thatno-one was in a position to question his ability; for, hesaid, no-one had a nicer sense of how near the wind to sail.
The King then asked Bjgrn the marshal what accomplishment he considered to be his best. " This is the point
I would soonest put forward ", said Bjorn, " when at aThing-meeting I report a decree or message from my liege
lord, there is none among the audience so powerful that
I need lower my voice nor speak haltingly, whether heapproves or not." " I can well believe it," said the King," since the time at Uppsala Thing, when you spoke out
and angered King Olaf of Sweden. There are few who
would not have lost heart." Then they all talked
together among themselves, asserting their own accomplishments. It was good and merry entertainment.
Then the King retired to bed. Rautiulf the masterof the house led him to the new building that the King
had noticed earlier in the evening, and had taken for achurch. The weather was fair and clear, not a cloud toto be seen. The King asked SigurS: "What will theweather be like tomorrow ? " "A fall of snow " he replied.
" I hardly think so," said the King. He went next
to his sleeping quarters, which had been splendidly
prepared. As the King entered the sleeping-chamber,a lighted candle was borne before him. He looked about
while he was in the outer corridor, and examined theform of the building, which he saw at once to be constructed on a circular plan. Going further in, he foundpanelling all the way round on the inner side of thecorridor. There were four main doors to the building,equidistantly placed. Round the outer walls, finelyfurnished beds had been prepared, all hung with curtains
where it pleased the eye. Twenty high, stout posts
had been erected inside the building; they stood in a

The Story of Raud and his Sons.

23

circle upholding the vaulted roof, which was all decorated
with designs in colour. The spaces between the posts
were screened, and within were set beds for the nobility.
There was ample room for 20 men in each quarter, andbeds for 40 more in the surrounding corridor, where
members of the King's household were accommodated.
In the centre of the building was a broad, circular platform of wood, with steps to mount it running round.
On the platform stood a large bed, fashioned withsurpassing skill. Most of the woodwork was finishedwith the turner's chisel; it was painted all over andplated with gold here and there. The corner-posts
were surmounted by huge knobs of gilded brass. Running out from the corner-posts were iron bars bearing
candlesticks, and upon them were fixed three-branchedprocessional candles. Ulf told the King that he shouldlie down on the bed there made ready if he wished to
dream a prophetic dream. The Queen was to sleep
in a separate bed that night. The King agreed. So
he undressed, mounted the bed, and laid himself down
to sleep. He saw that the Bishop and his priests wereaccommodated to his right in the central screened partition, while to his left lay the Queen with her ladies-inwaiting.
The quarter behind the bed's head was
occupied by Kalf, Arnbjgrn and Kolbjgrn, sons of Arni,
and their followers. In the quarter opposite the footof the bed lay Finn, E>orberg and Arni, sons of Arni.
King Olaf lay awake far into the night, as was his
custom. First he recited his prayers, then gave himself
up Jo long meditation. He gazed up at the ceiling, andthere he saw depicted God himself within his orb ofmight. Higher and beyond were shown the angelic
hosts, lower down the firmament which encloses in its
circuit all the regions of air, and there also were depicted
the heavenly bodies. Below came the clouds and thewinds, then many kinds of winged creatures ; lowest

24

The Story of Rauo and, his Sons.

of all the earth, with its plants and trees and diverse
animals, the seas and lakes too, with many kinds ofsea-beasts. On the lower ceiling running round outside
the central pillars, deeds of antiquity were portrayed,and stories of famous kings. The King looked longupon all this. As he reflected upon it, a thing happened
which seemed stranger to him than all else: he felt as
if the bed were revolving beneath him, or it might havebeen the whole building. Then drowsiness overcame
him, and he slept for a while. When he woke, he thought
over his dreams.. Dawn soon came, and the Bishop rose
up to sing matins. The King dressed, and went to theservice and followed the prayers. Afterwards he went
to the living-apartment and summoned RauS the masterof the house, to whom he related his dream. In the
dream, he said, he had seen a cross of most remarkable
form, and then he described in what fashion it was.
When he had done, the King said: " Today, after High
Mass, you shall tell me the meaning of this dream."" I think your dream truly remarkable," said RautS," and I can make something of it. But you, Sire, must.correct me if you judge its meaning to be different fromthat I put upon it."
The weather was overcast, and snow was falling, as
SigurS had predicted. The King then summoned SigurSand Dag into his presence. He sent a man out to observe
the weather, and there was not a patch of clear sky to
be seen. The King then asked Sigurft to determine
how far the sun had travelled. He gave a precise answer.
So the King had the sun-stone 5 held aloft, and observed
where it cast out a beam; the altitude it showed wasexactly as SigurtS had said. Then the King asked Dag:
" What flaw do you perceive in my character? " " Mylord," he answered, " that is more than I can see. I
may make rash statements about the general run ofmen, but this is a very different matter, beyond my

The Story of Raud and his Sons.

25

reason and judgment. I hardly think there can be any
blemish on your character." " Speak on," said theKing, " there is no chance to back out now." Dagreplied: " Then here it is, Sire: a trait common to many,
delight in women." " You speak true," said the King:" and you three, father and sons, are far ahead of mostpeople I know in wisdom and penetrating intelligence." 6Then the King went to Mass.
When the service was done, the King passed to sit
in council. The Bishop, the Queen, and the great
landowners accompanied him. Rau$ and his sons
were also present. " Ulf," said the King, " can it be,that the bed I slept on last night revolved beneath me, as
I thought—or was it the building itself? " He replied:" Things were so arranged, Sire, that you should always be
facing the sun, and your dream should follow the courseof the sun, together with every turn of your thoughts
and all your questioning." Then said the King: " Irequire of you, Ulf, to recite my dream, and explain
the meaning of it." Ulf replied: " First of all, I will
relate something that you have not asked me: whatthoughts you had before you fell asleep. You prayed
God to reveal to you in some sort the outcome of the
disturbance—warfare, almost—which is now breaking
out, and the fortunes of the kingdom from this time
forward. And then, before you slept, you signed yourself with the sign o£ the holy Cross. ' " All this you
have said is quite true," replied the King, " but what
account can you give of the dream?" Ulf then said:" In your dream there appeared a great cross, green as
grass, standing upon the earth, and there was a figure
upon it. The head of the crucifix that you looked on
was made of red gold. But when you gazed on the
countenance, you seemed to see a circle round about it,in hue as the rainbow, but enlarged like God's aureoleof might; within it the angels and the splendours of the

26

The Story of Raud and his Sons.

heavenly kingdom were depicted. This cross and the
crucified figure portend warfare. The head of the figurein the dream relates to you, as head of a kingdom. Just
as the head appeared to be made of red gold, and its
radiance like shining gold of yore, 7 so will your dignity
shine forth above that of all men in this land, even as
red gold is more precious than any other metal. With
the face are associated speech, sight, and also hearing;and it was in this place that the kingdom of heaven wasshown you, in all its glory. Herein was shown yourdiie reward for converting many a people to the true
faith, by your decrees and your authority. Since theface of man is rounder than it is long, I judge that shortlife and brief temporal dominion have been foretoldfor you." The King asked: " What is the meaning of
the aureole of glory that appeared to me ? " Ulf replied:" that aureole betokens the course of your life and themajesty of your reign. The ring was without end, andthus will be your renown. That aureole appeared to you
sharply pointed above and below; even so is the courseof your life, for the beginnings were harsh, when you
lost both your father and many other powerful kinsmen,
and cruel will be the last days of your reign. The aureole
broadened towards the middle, and contracted again
towards the close; this is the form your reign has taken,
and your earthly dominion. The neck of the figure
seemed to you to be made of copper, the hardest of
metals, which is therefore used for making the bells of
loudest tone. The reign after yours 8 will be glorious,and proclaim itself in the ears of all men, like the soundof great bells. Greek fire was playing round about theneck; that is the most deadly means of warfare, terrifying and spasmodic. Copper is hard and brittle; likewise,that reign will be harsh. Inasmuch as there was a decisivechange of metals above and below, that reign will notlast long, and no lines of descent will survive it in thisThe Story 'of Raud and his Sons.

27

land. You seemed to see golden locks springing fromthe head and reaching right down to the shoulders;
this betokens that your renown will be greatly celebrated
in this land and far abroad." Continuing, Ulf said:" When you cast your eyes upon the breast of the figure,with its embracing arms outstretched upon the cross,
it appeared to be made of refined silver. There was
depicted the planetary circuits, the sun and stars, themoon in its brilliance and beauty. The reign to follow
will be very gracious, even as the heavenly bodies irradiate
the earth and sky, and all men rejoice in the brightnessof the sun, which benefits all creation. The sun gives
light to this world, it warms the earth and makes it
fruitful; even so will that reign be beloved, bringing
prosperity and fortune for the benefit of all its subjects.
Inasmuch as you saw the crucified figure extending its
embrace, so likewise will he who succeeds to the kingdom
enfold much more in his grasp than former princes ofthis country, and will extend a wider sway over kingdoms
and peoples in other lands. Inasmuch as those golden
locks, fast-rooted in the flesh, 9 fell down over the breast,
even so this worshipful ruler will carry on your work
to some extent and rejoice in the glory of your name.
Although the scope of the embrace was wide, its length
was short; and thus his rule will not be long." Still Ulf
continued: " You saw next, below the breast, a broad
girdle encircling the crucifix almost up to the armpits.
The girdle was made of iron, polished like the blade ofa sword: a girdle of might indeed. The reign next following will be supported by powerful rulers. It was shown
to you as highly-polished iron; even so many a flashingsword will be raised aloft both early and late. This
girdle was adorned with devices, and wondrous craftsmanship. You seemed to see it engraved with events ofancient story—you discerned upon it the glories of
SigurS Fafnisbane and Harald Hilditonn, and some of

28

The Story of Raud and his Sons.

the deeds of Harald Finehair. So the king to comewill achieve many a mighty enterprise in his victorious
might, such as will be princely, wise and skilful in theeyes of men. You were shown the great deeds of mighty
and famous rulers, kings and other men of great wisdom;
this king will show all these qualities in his own person,
and will mould himself on their examples. Now, ironis a hard metal, applied to the destruction of many
people: so many a man will count that reign harsh anddestructive from beginning to end, all the time it continues." Ulf went on: " Below the iron girdle, you
saw the belly showing the glitter of electrum, that is,gold alloy;10 it had an exquisite gloss and polish, andupon it were engraved flowers and trees and every kindof plant that grows on earth, and diverse beasts thatmove upon the earth. All this was fashioned with theutmost skill. Here was represented that reign which is
to follow, having a gloss like the gold of the head above ;nbut red gold and gold alloy have nothing in common
but the mere name. Hence I would suppose that thisking is to bear your name, and will be an illustrious
ruler, but nothing in comparison with you. As thedesigns showed the luxuriant fruits of the earth and theexcellent beauty of this world, so this king will adorn
the kingdom with wise rule; his age will bring wise
government and abundant prosperity. Even as manifold
craftsmanship was displayed to you, so will he be inmany ways a benefactor to his people." Ulf continued:" And when you looked, attentively and reflectively,
further down that same figure, it appeared that fromthe navel downwards and over the genitals was the glossof silver, unrefined silver, but of splendid hue nevertheless.
Such silver is current in this country, and will buy all
manner of wares here, but abroad it does not pass current.
The prince to come will be a mighty ruler, a glory toeveryone in this country, but abroad his reign will not

The Story of Raud and his Sons.

29

be as renowned as that of the prince betokened by therefined silver. 12 Inasmuch as that silver was highlypolished and beautiful, so will he be well-pleasing to all
his subjects, and his reign will be maintained in fameand splendour. He shall also fulfil his destiny and thefortunes of his kin, to the very end of his life. From
him the kingship will branch out and be dispersed inmany directions. Now the whole of the figure has beensurveyed down to the legs; and as the trunk is part of
the whole, by this same token, this king will be in themain equal to his predecessors." Ulf continued: " Looking at the thighs, you saw that they bore the bright colourof flesh. So, in the reign next following, the country
will be cleft in two, and two brothers will share it; andas both thighs appeared to you to bear the hue of flesh,so will they transact their affairs duly and equably.
The legs support the whole body: these men, too, will
maintain the rightful observances and good exampleof their predecessors, and that reign will keep an evencourse of order and human decency." Ulf went on:" Below the knees, two legs appeared to you, made ofwood. Now it is an old saying, that a man's affairs
move on crutches, when many things go awry. . The
reign to come will be harsh and oppressive to endure,
when kinsmen divide it between them. I forecast
that their dealings will come to an evil end, although
they will be of the same lineage. Clashes between
kinsmen will arise, and fatal quarrels. You looked
next at the ankles, which were all of wood. It seemed
as if the feet were awkwardly placed on the cross, with
an iron spike driven through both ankles, the toes of
one foot covering those of the other. In this way,
you have been shown the crooked dealings and unnatural
practices of those rulers, when brother will raise spear
against brother. You saw one iron spike piercing bothankles, and the toes of one foot placed over those of

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The Story of Raud and his Sons.

the other, as when children make rams with their fingers :13
so the descendants of those rulers will strive for the downfall and ruin of one another. Now Sire," said Ulf, " thisis the end of the dream; I have interpreted it according
to the meaning which seemed to me most probable."
The King thanked RauS, and expressed the opinion
that his equal in wisdom would scarcely be found, unless
his sons were to follow in his footsteps. Then the King
left the council-chamber, and went to meat. Next
day, the King questioned Ulf about his lineage, and thatof his wife. RauSulf said that he came of a Swedish
family, and that he had been wealthy and supported
by powerful kinsmen. " But I made off from thatcountry," said he, " with this woman, whom I afterwards
married. She is the sister of King Hring, the son ofDag." From this, the King was able to trace the descentof both parties. He had perceived that the father andhis sons were very wise men. So the King asked .Dag
what flaw of character he saw in Bjgrn the steward.
Dag replied that Bjc/rn was a thief; and he went on todescribe how Bjorn had hidden away, at his farm, horns,
bones and hides, the product of the cattle he had stolen
during the autumn, fastening the guilt upon others.
" He is responsible," said Dag, " for all the losses bytheft that people in this district suffered last autumn;
and these he has laid to the charge of others." Andhe went on to give the King detailed instructions as
to where a search should be made.
When the King left RauS's house, he was sped on his
way with rich gifts. The sons of Raut5 accompanied
him, for he thought that now he could not do withoutthem. The King straightway visited Bjgrn the steward,
and everything fell out just as Dag had said. Thenthe King banished Bjgrn from the country. It was
thanks to the Queen that he escaped with life and limb.

NOTES.
1 On the variations of nomenclature, see Introduction note (8).
2 The valleys grouped as Eystridalir form one of the easternmost districts ofcentral Norway, running between the R. Glommen and the present Swedish
border.
3 Large thefts of cattle and swine had occurred within the province of
Bjorn, the unpopular steward. He had therefore summoned a ping, ordistrict assembly, to investigate the matter.
* MS. E. here inserts Snorri's shortened account of the two separate occasions
on which Dag's gift is tested: i.e., the statement of King Olaf's skaplgst is
combined with the final unmasking of Bjorn. In St., the first is placed on thenext morning, side by side with the fulfilment of Sigurd's weather-forecast,while the second concludes the t>dttr. This clearly is the proper sequence ofthe fuller version, which some other scribes have spoilt by drawing uncriticallyon Snorri (see note (6) below).
5 A solarsteinn is mentioned in Hrafns Saga (Biskupa SQgur I, 674), and inparallel passages in Gudmundar Saga Goda -(ibid., I, 506, 565). In thesepassages it is a precious gift from Bishop GuSmund. When thieves took it,
they abandoned it,because, through a miracle, it looked no better than a pebble(fjgrusteinn) or flint (? hegeitill). In Abbot Arngrim's Life of Guomund it isinterpreted ndttitradur kristallus (" a crystal with specific properties," Bisk. II,
55-56). These passages suggest that the author of Rauds Pdttr thought of thesolarsteinnas an optical instrument of crystal,such as felspar.by means of which
the position of the sun could -be determined, even if its rays were not visible(cf.-Fritzner s.v. solarsteinn). " Sunstone " (the soils gemma, of Pliny) is aterm applied to aventurine felspar.
Solarsteinar several times appear among the inventories of church property inthe later Middle Ages (Dipt. Isl. II, 451, 668, 775), but these entries do notshow what they are.
Vigfusson (s.v.) equates it with lodestone, which is hardly supported by thepassages quoted.
6 Here MSS: B.D.I.H. insert Snorri's shortened version, in which the testingof both sons is immediately followed by Dag's revelation that Bjorn is thethief (see note (4) above). In this way, these MSS. displace the proper denouement of the tale; at the end, they substitute a tame reckoning of the timespent by King Olaf at RauS's house. Further influence from Snorri is seen in
the way B. and F. treat the conclusion: B. adds the tests according to theshortened version although they have already appeared in the appropriate
places of the longer version, while F. adds the same passage still further
compressed.
7 Aflyse guile: so all MSS., except L. which reads liostt guile. According toFritzner (Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, Christiania 1886), vol. II., lysigutt
is sometimes equivalent to bleikt gull; cf. quotation from Sagan af PjalarJ6ni; i sumum hlutum tysigull en i sumutn rautt gull. But it is also used in a
general descriptive sense as ' gold of incandescent brilliance," or even' brilliance of the carbuncle.'

32

The Story of Raud and his Sons.

8 The metal symbolism is adapted to succeeding rulers of Norway, as
follows:—
Copper: the Dane Sveinn Alfifuson (1030-35).
Refined silver: Magnus Olafsson (1035-47).
Iron: Harald Haroradi (1047-66).
Electrum: Olaf Kyrri (1066-93).
Unrefined silver: Magnus Berfoettr (1093-1103).
Thighs (like flesh) : the sons of Magnus, Sigurd J6rsalafari (d. 1130) and
Eysteinn (d. 1123).
Legs and'feet of wood: the time of strife beginning with the appearance ofHarald Gilli, who claimed to be a son of Magnus. He was opposed by Sigur&
Slembidjakn, who claimed the same paternity, and by Magnus, son of Sigurd
J6rsalafari. The two young sons of Harald, Sigurd Munn and Ingi, were
established as joint rulers, until Ingi and his party attacked and killed Sigurd
in 1155.
9 Ok voro holldgronir appears only in MS. E; but this is one of the earliest
MSS., and is described as a reliable text, written by an intelligent scribe from agood exemplar (Johnsen and Helgason, II. 914).
10 This represents the reading of St. and E.: litr sem nasta gull eda bleikt gull(ncesta sem E.). Readings of other MSS. fall into two groups:—(i) bleikur asyndar sem ncestagull B.I.L. (bleikr asynis B.), (vestagull L.).
blceikr sagdi Raudr sva aasyndar ncestagull H.
(ii) litr miok sem blect gull K.
Hit miogh sem bleikt gull F.
D. awkwardly combines both readings: litr sem bleikt hesta gull. The
unparalleled compound ntestagull has evidently puzzled some of the scribes; L.
has vesta-, D. Hesta - (or nesta ?), while E. gives an ingenious evasion, ncesta sem
gull. The same compound recurs below in MSS. B.I.H.L. (see note n). It
seems to indicate the alloy of gold and silver (as it were, ' near-gold' ?),electrum, which was familiar to ecclesiastical writers as a type of dazzling
brilliance (see Introd. notes 19, 20). Bleikt gull, ' pale gold ' as contrasted withthe pure and precious mutt gull, I have translated ' gold alloy.'
11 Translating the reading of St. E.F.K.: fat var gullict sem uppe (um F.K.)
hefudit. Another group, B.I.H.L., gives a different version: gulligt til at sia
sem ntesta (nesta I.L.) gull, en per syndiz sem (om I.H.) mutt gull uppi (um addedby H.) haufopit ropunar (en uppi haufud rodunnar var ath sia sem rautt gull L.).
D. has a clumsy contraction: sem uppi gulligt haufudit.
12 St. alone has man time hans verda ecke sva mikill sem pess hins uskira silfrs.
I have preferred the readings of the other MSS. mun time (om. L) hans eigi
verpa (vera ecki I",) sva mikill sem pess (hins L.) er hit skira (biarttazta L) silfur(sylfrit H) birtiz (merckir L) fyrir. B.I.H.L.
F and K have a slightly different version: mun hans time (K. om. h.t.) aigi
verda sem hit skira silfr birti.
MS. E. is defective at this point, and D. skips over the whole passage.
13 This interesting allusion is omitted by St., but is present in the other MSS.
The game is described by ()lalui Davidsson in Islenzkar Skemtanir, p. 163(tslenzkar Gdtur etc. by J. Arnason and O. Davidsson, vol. II. Copenhagen,
1888-92).