Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 1.djvu/474

 And Eric too, the bold in fight,

Has broken down the robber-might

Of four great vikings, and has slain

All of the crew—nor spared one Dane.

In Gotland he has seized the town,

In Syssels harried up and down;

And all the people in dismay

Fled to the forests far away.

By land or sea, in field or wave.

What can withstand this earl brave?

All fly before his fiery hand—

God save the earl, and keep the land."

When Eric had been a year in Sweden he went over to Denmark to King Swend the Forked-bearded, the Danish king, and courted his daughter Gyda. The proposal was accepted, and Earl Eric married Gyda; and a year after they had a son, who was called Hakon. Earl Eric was in the winter in Denmark, or sometimes in Sweden; but in summer he went a cruising.

The Danish king, Swend Forked Beard, was married