Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 2.djvu/252

 244 CHRONICLE OF THE saga vii. grand. Sigvat the scald talks of this in his song on Knut : — ' « Canute is out beneath the sky — Canute of the clear blue eye ! The king is out on the ocean's breast, Leading his grand fleet from the West. On to the East the ship-masts glide, Glancing and bright each long-ship's side. The conqueror of great Ethelred, Canute, is there, his foeman's dread : His dragon with her sails of blue, All bright and brilliant to the view, High hoisted on the yard-arms wide, Carries great Canute o'er the tide. Brave is the royal progress — fast The proud ship's keel obeys the mast, Dashes through foam, and gains the land, Raising a surge on Lymflord's strand." It is related that King Canute sailed with this vast force from England, and came with all his force safely to Denmark, where he went into Lymfiord, and there he found gathered besides a large army of the men of the country. Chapter Earl Ulf Sprakalegsson had been set as protector Ha^Ieca 1 ' over Denmark when King Canute went to England, nute taken and the king had intrusted his son Hardaknut in in Den mg the earl's hands. This took place the summer be- mark. ^ £ ore ^ as we re i a ted. But the earl immediately gave it out that King Canute had, at parting, made known to him his will and desire that the Danes should take his son Hardaknut as king over the Danish domi- nions. " On that account," says the earl, " he gave the matter into our hands ; as I, and many other chiefs and leading men here in the country, have often com- plained to King Canute of the evil consequences to the country of being without a king, and that former kings thought it honour and power enough to rule over the Danish kingdom alone ; and in the times that are past many kings have ruled over this kingdom. But now there are greater difficulties than have ever been before ; for we have been so fortunate hitherto as to