Page:The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway Vol 3.djvu/96

 84 CHRONICLE OF THE SAGA IX. Chapteii LXXXVIII. The battle at the H umber. ther Earl Walthiof of Hundatunir *, and they had an immense army. While the army of the earls was coming down from the upper part of the coun- try, King Harald lay in the Usa.f King Harald now went on the land, and drew up his men. The one arm of his line stood at the outer edge of the river, the other turned up towards the land along a ditch ; and there was also a morass, deep, broad, and full of water. The earls let their army proceed slowly doAvn along the river, with all their troops in line. The king's banner was next the river, where the line was thickest. It was thinnest at the ditch, where also th^ weakest of the men were. When the earls advanced downwards along the ditch, the arm of the Northmen's line which was at the ditch gave way ; and the Englishmen followed, think- ing the Northmen would fly. The banner of Earl Mauro-kaare advanced then bravely. When King Harald saw that the English array had come to the ditch against him, he ordered the charge to be sounded, and urged on his men. He ordered the banner which was called the Land-ravager to be carried before him, and made so severe an assault that all had to give way before it ; and there was a great loss among the men of the earls, and they soon broke into flight, some running up the river, some down, and the most leaping into the ditch, which was so filled with dead that the Norsemen could go dry- foot over the fen. There Earl Mauro-kaare fell. So says Stein Herdisarson : — " The gallant Harald drove along. Flying but fighting, the whole throng. At last, confused, they could not fight. And the whole body took to flight. Up from the river's silent stream At once rose desperate splash and scream.; Huntington. t The Ouse.