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Orkneys where he
purposed killing Rognvald's son Earl Einar in the same or some similar way as they had
disposed of Rognvald, and thus acquire for
himself this earldom. The saga goes on to say: Halfdan
Haleg came very unexpectedly to Orkney, and
Earl Einar immediately fled; but came back soon
after, about harvest time, unnoticed by Halfdan.
They met, and after a short battle, Halfdan
fled the same night. Einar and his men lay all
night without tents, and when it was light in the morning, they searched
the whole island, and killed every man they could lay hold of. Then Einar said, "What is that I see upon the isle of
Rinansey? Is it a man or a bird? Sometimes it
raises itself up, and sometimes lies down again." They went to it,
and found it was Halfdan Haleg,
and took him prisoner.
Earl Einar sang the following song the evening before he
went into this battle:
Where is the
spear of Hrollaug?
Where Is stout
Rolf Ganger's bloody spear!
I see them not;
yet never fear,
For Einar will not vengeance spare
Against his
father's murderers, though
Hrollaug and Rolf are
somewhat slow,
And silent Thorer sits and dreams
At home, beside
the mead-bowl's streams.
Thereafter Earl Einar went up to Halfdan,
and cut a spread eagle upon his back, by striking his sword through his
back into his belly, dividing his ribs from the backbone down to his
loins, and tearing out his lungs; and so Halfdan
was killed. Einar then sang:
For Rognvald's death my sword is red;
Of vengeance it
cannot be said
That Einar's share is left unsped.
So now, brave
boys, let's raise a mound:-
Heap stones and
gravel on the ground
O'er Halfdan's corpse; this is the way
We Norsemen our
scat duties pay.
Then Earl Einar took possession of the Orkney Isles as before.
Now when these tidings came to Norway, Halfdan's
brothers took it much to heart; and thought that his death demanded
vengeance; and many were of the same opinion. When Einar
heard this, he sang:
Many a stout udal-man, I know
Has cause to
wish my head laid low:
And many an
angry udal knife
Would gladly
drink of Einar's life.
But ere they lay
Earl Einar low,-
Ere this stout
heart betrays its cause,
Full many a
heart will writhe, we know,
In the wolf's
fangs, or eagle's claws.
Einar it seems had
changed his arms to the Eagle, nevertheless he did not lose sight of the
fact that he was of the wolf family, and he taunted his enemies with the
fact that the whole wolf pack would unite against them. There is no reference
to the Lion's claws, so he was not expecting help from Rollo.
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