HKB
Greenland, came even that summer over from that land unto Norway; and King Olaf sought he and from him accepted Christianity, & abode even with King Olaf the winter thereafter.
|| Now it came to pass that Gudrod, he that was the son of Eirik Blood-axe and Gunnhild, had over in the lands to the west done whatsoever he listed and broken the laws of God and of man ever since that time when fled he from his own country before the face of Earl Hakon. But in this summer, of the which somewhat has already been writ, even at the time when Olaf Tryggvason had held sway for four winters over Norway, came Gudrod to Norway with many ships of war, thither having sailed from England. When he deemed himself to be nigh to Norway, turned he his course southward along the coast where he bethought him that he might least chance to fall in with King Olaf and thus sailed he to Vik.
Hardly was he come ashore than began he to plunder the people and bring them into subjection under himself, and of them demanded that they should take him as their King. And when the country-folk saw that a warlike host was come upon them craved they ever for grace and peace, & said to the King that they would send the summons for a Thing throughout the district, and were willing to submit to him rather than suffer at the hands of this his host, & it was agreed that there should be a truce even for so long a space as sat the Thing. Then did the King demand of them that they should provide provender for his men so long as they were waiting for the meeting of the Thing; but the yeomen chose rather that the King and his followers should be their guests for all the time he might need to be so, & the King agreed even to this, that should he travel that country through with some of the men that were with him and they the guests of the yeomen, ever the while others kept guard over his ships. But when the brothers-in-law of King Olaf, even the brothers Hyrning & Thorgeir learned of these happenings furnished they folk & gathered to themselves ships and sailed northward (west) in Vik, and by night were come to the place where lodged King Gudrod, & there fell they upon him and upon his men with fire and sword. So fell King Gudrod and the greater number of his men; while of those that abode on the ships were some slain but others escaped and fled far and wide. And this Gudrod was the last of all the sons of Eirik and Gunnhild; all were now dead.
|| The winter after that King Olaf was come from Halogaland, caused he to be built under the cliffs at Ladir a great ship: a ship far mightier than any other ship of that land, and the stocks whereon she was built are still to be seen.
Of this ship was Thorberg the master-smith, but with him were many others at work, some felling trees, some shaping them, some hammering nails, & some carrying timber. All the material was of the choicest, and the ship was both long and broad, built with great beams, and the bulwarks thereof were high. Now when the outer sheathing was being put on, some errand of necessity carried Thorberg thence unto his homestead, and there he tarried a great while.
When he came back the ship was fully sheathed, and the King went in the evening, and Thorberg with him, even to see how all things had been done; and men said never before had been seen a long-ship so big or so fine.