Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway

7. OF HALFDAN'S DREAM.

King Halfdan never had dreams, which appeared to him an extraordinary circumstance; and he told it to a man called Thorleif Spake (the Wise), and asked him what his advice was about it. Thorleif said that what he himself did, when he wanted to have any revelation by dream, was to take his sleep in a swine-sty, and then it never failed that he had dreams. The king did so, and the following dream was revealed to him. He thought he had the most beautiful hair, which was all in ringlets; some so long as to fall upon the ground, some reaching to the middle of his legs, some to his knees, some to his loins or the middle of his sides, some to his neck, and some were only as knots springing from his head. These ringlets were of various colours; but one ringlet surpassed all the others in beauty, lustre, and size. This dream he told to Thorleif, who interpreted it thus:—There should be a great posterity from him, and his descendants should rule over countries with great, but not all with equally great, honour; but one of his race should be more celebrated than all the others. It was the opinion of people that this ringlet betokened King Olaf the Saint.

King Halfdan was a wise man, a man of truth and uprightness—who made laws, observed them himself, and obliged others to observe them. And that violence should not come in place of the laws, he himself fixed the number of criminal acts in law, and the compensations, mulcts, or penalties, for each case, according to every one's birth and dignity (1).

Queen Ragnhild gave birth to a son, and water was poured over him, and the name of Harald given him, and he soon grew stout and remarkably handsome. As he grew up he became very expert at all feats, and showed also a good understanding. He was much beloved by his mother, but less so by his father.

   ENDNOTES:

(1) The penalty, compensation, or manbod for every injury, due
     the party injured, or to his family and next of kin if the
     injury was the death or premeditated murder of the party,
     appears to have been fixed for every rank and condition,
     from the murder of the king down to the maiming or beating a
     man's cattle or his slave.  A man for whom no compensation
     was due was a dishonored person, or an outlaw.  It appears
     to have been optional with the injured party, or his kin if
     he had been killed, to take the mulct or compensation, or to
     refuse it, and wait for an opportunity of taking vengeance
     for the injury on the party who inflicted it, or on his kin.
     A part of each mulct or compensation was due to the king;
     and, these fines or penalties appear to have constituted a
     great proportion of the king's revenues, and to have been
     settled in the Things held in every district for
     administering the law with the lagman.—L.