With the earliest peep of dawn Gudrun went forth upon
her lonely way, and never again did she come under
the same roof with King Olaf.
At this time there lived in Sweden a certain queen
named Sigrid. She was the widow of King Erik
the Victorious and the mother of King Olaf the Swede.
She was very rich and possessed many great manors
in Sweden and large landed estates among the islands
of the Baltic. Many of the kings of Scandinavia
sought to wed with her, wishing to share her wealth
and add her dominions to their own. But Sigrid,
who, by reason of her great pride and the value that
she set upon her own charms, was named Sigrid the
Haughty, would have none of them, although often enough
she welcomed them as wooers and listened to their
fine speeches and their flatteries.
One king there was who wooed her with such ardour
that she resolved to rid herself of him at all costs.
His name was Harald Groenske (the father of Saint
Olaf), and, as he was of the kin of King Harald Fairhair,
he considered himself in all respects her equal.
Three several times did he journey into Sweden to pay
court to her. On the third time he found that
there was another wooer at her manor house, one King
Vissavald of Gardarike. Both kings were well
received, and lodged in a great hall with all their
attendant company. The hall was a very old building,
as was all its furniture, but there was no lack of
good fare. So hospitable, indeed, was Queen Sigrid,
that, ere the night was half spent, the two suitors
and all their men were drunk, and the guards slept
heavily.
In the middle of the night Queen Sigrid surrounded
the hall with dry faggots and set a lighted torch
to them. The hall was quickly burned to the ground,
and all who were within it lost their lives.
“I will teach these little kings what risks
they run in wooing me!” said the queen, as from
her chamber window she watched the rising flames.
Now Queen Sigrid grew weary of waiting for the coming
of a king whom she could consider in all ways worthy
of her. Her eyes were lustreless, and her hair
was besprinkled with gray, and yet the right man did
not offer himself. But in good time she heard
of King Olaf the Glorious, and of his great wealth
and his prowess, and of how in his person he was so
tall and handsome, that men could only compare him
with Balder the Beautiful. And now she deemed
that she had at last discovered one whose magnificence
would match with her own. So she caused messengers
to fare across the frontier into Norway to sing her
praises, so that King Olaf might learn how fair she
was, and how well suited to reign by his side.
And it seemed that her messages had the effect that
she wished.
On a certain summer day Queen Sigrid sat at her chamber
window, overlooking a wide and beautiful river that
lay between her own kingdom and Norway. From
afar she saw a company of horsemen. They came
nearer and nearer, and at last they halted at the gates.
Their leader entered and the queen went down to meet
him, guessing that he had come upon some errand of
great importance.
