Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 1.djvu/379

 and submitted to their losses with impatience. In winter they gathered together in a great force to go against King Erling, just as he was at a feast; and they gave battle to him, and he with the most of his men fell.

While Gunhild's sons reigned in Norway the sea¬ sons were always bad, and the longer they reigned the worse were the crops; and the bonders laid the blame on them. They were very greedy, and used the bonders harshly. It came at length to be so bad that fish, as well as corn, were wanting. In Halogaland there was the greatest famine and distress; for scarcely any corn grew, and even snow was lying, and the cattle were bound in the byres all over the country until midsummer. Eyvind Skaldaspiller describes it in his poem, as he came outside of his house and found a thick snow-drift at that season:—

Eyvind composed a poem about the people of Iceland, for which they rewarded him by each bonder giving him three silver pennies, of full weight and white in the fracture And when the silver was brought together at the General Thing, the people resolved to have it purified, and made into a row of clasps; and after the workmanship of the silver was paid, the row of clasps was valued at fifty marks. This they sent to Eyvind; but Eyvind was obliged to separate the clasps from each other, and sell them to