Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 2.djvu/62

 54 CHRONICLE OF THE saga_vii. scatt which the Swedish king required in so far as King Olaf required none upon his account, but re- fused to pay scatt to both. The messengers pro- ceeded farther down the valley ; but received at every Thing they held the same answer, and no money. They went forward to Skogn, held a Thing there, and demanded scatt; but it went there as before. Then they came to Stordal, and summoned a Thing, but the bonders would not come to it. Now the messengers saw that their business was a failure ; and Thorgaut proposed that they should turn about, and go eastward again. " I do not think," says Asgaut, " that we have performed the king's errand unless we go to King Olaf the Thick, since the bonders refer the matter to him." He was their commander; so they proceeded to the town (Nidaros), and took lodg- ing there. The day after they presented themselves to the king, just as he was seated at table; saluted him; and said they came with a message of the Swedish king. The king told them to come to him next day. Next day the king, having heard mass, went to his Thing-house, ordered the messengers of the Swedish king to be called, and told them to pro- duce their message. Then Thorgaut spoke, and told first what his errand was, and next how the Dron- theim people of the interior had replied to it ; and asked the king's decision on the business, that they might know what result their errand there was to have. The king answers, " While the earls ruled over the country, it was not to be wondered at if the country people thought themselves bound to obey thern, as they were at least of the royal race of the kingdom. But it would have been more just if those earls had given assistance and service to the kings who had a right to the country, rather than to foreign kings, or to stir up opposition to their lawful kings, depriving them of their land and kingdom.