Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 2.djvu/40

 32 CHRONICLE OF THE saga vii. Hedemark two brothers ruled — Raereck and Ring; the Upland in Gudbrandsdal, Gudrod : and there was also a king Nonva* ° f m Raumarike ; and one had Hadeland and Thoten ; and in Yalders also there was a king. With these district-kings Sigurd had a meeting up in Hadeland, and Olaf Haraldsson also met with them. To these district-kings whom Sigurd had assembled he set forth his stepson Olaf 's purpose, and asked their aid, both of men and in counsel and consent ; and repre- sented to them how necessary it was to cast off the yoke which the Danes and Swedes had laid upon them. He said that there was now a man before them who could head such an enterprise ; and he re- counted the many brave actions which Olaf had achieved upon his war-expeditions. Then King Raereck says, " True it is that Harald Haarfager's kingdom has gone to decay, none of his race being supreme king over Norway. But the people here in the country have experienced many things. When King Hakon, Athelstan's foster-son, was king, all were content ; but when Gunhild's sons ruled over the country, all were so weary of their tyranny and injustice that they would rather have foreign men as kings, and be themselves more their own rulers*; for the foreign kings were usually abroad, and cared little about the customs of the people if the scatt they laid on the country was paid. When enmity arose between the Danish king Harald and Earl Hakon, the Jomsburg vikings made an expedition against Norway ; then the whole people arose, and threw the hostilities from themselves ; and thereafter the people encouraged Earl Hakon to keep the country, and defend it with sword and spear during the 400 years they were annexed to Denmark previous to 1814. They enjoyed no political liberty, hut had all their old civil liberty and customs.
 * This was very much the social condition of the people of Norway