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Audun of the West Fjords

Long ago in Iceland, there lived a man named Audun.
He was a very poor man and owned no land or livestock by which to make a living.
One winter, Audun went to Norway to work in the service of a farmer named Thorstein,
for Thorstein’s son had left the previous summer to serve King Harald in battle.
in return, for his labor, Thorstein gave Audun food, lodging, and money
and promised to take him abroad when the weather permitted safe sea travel.
Audun worked hard all winter, saving up all his earnings
so that, when the hard ground thawed and the sun rode high in her chariot,
he could send his mother money for food and lodging during the three years that he would be away.

It was well into spring before it was safe to travel by sea,
and Audun told Thorstein that he wished to go to Greenland.
The two spent the year in Greenland trading and working.
As summer approached once more, Audun was ready to return to Norway,
but before he left, he gave everything he owned to purchase a great black bear.
Audun told Thorstein that he planned to take this treasure to King Svein in Denmark.
When they arrived back at Thorstein's farm in Norway,
Audun immediately began his journey to Denmark with his bear.
When Audun reached the southern border of Norway,
he was surprised to find that King Harald had heard of his arrival with the bear.
He was even more surprised to find Thorstein’s son Jaskeggi waiting to take him to King Harald's hall.

Upon his arrival at the hall, Audun and King Harald exchanged greetings.
The King then asked Audun if it was true that he possessed a great bear.
Audun affirmed that he did have a bear, for which he had traded everything he owned.
King Harald asked Audun if he would sell the bear for double what he paid.
Audun replied that he did not wish to sell the bear.
King Harald then asked if Audun would give him the bear,
to which Audun answered that he would not,
for he wished to go to Denmark and give the bear to King Svein.

Bear
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King Harald laughed at this,
and asked Audun how he planned to do this when their two countries were at war.
Audun replied that the assurance of his passage was up to the king,
but that he would do with the bear only what he proposed.
King Harald admitted that he was curious
and agreed to allow Audun passage if he promised to return
and tell him how King Svein had rewarded him for the gift.
Audun promised to do so and went on his way.

When Audun arrived in Denmark,
he went to the king’s hall in order to present him with the bear.
At his hall, King Svein asked Audun who he was and why he had come.
Audun answered that he was a farmhand from Iceland
and had traveled great distances to present the bear to him as a gift.
King Svein graciously accepted the bear and asked Audun to stay as his guest.
Audun accepted the king’s offer and stayed in Denmark for the remainder of the winter.

When summer came, Audun came to King Svein and requested permission to leave Denmark.
The King looked surprised and asked Audun where he would rather be
if not staying as the king’s guest in Denmark.
Audun replied that he would like to make a pilgrimage to Troy,
so that he could visit the land where the gods had once lived.
King Svein agreed that this was a noble journey, and therefore gave him a pouch of silver
and granted him leave.

Audun did indeed go to Troy, and he stayed there for many months,
but on his return to Denmark, Audun had once again expended his resources.
He was forced to beg for food in order to make the rest of his journey.
When Audun arrived back at King Svein’s hall the king greeted him,
and asked how his pilgrimage had gone.
Audun assured the king that it had been quite extraordinary.
King Svein then requested that Audun stay in Denmark permanently,
and offered him a position as his cupbearer.
Audun thanked the king for offering him such an honor,
but admitted that he could not live in luxury while his mother was in Iceland
with only a few months worth of provisions left.

King Svein agreed that to do this would be wrong,
but he told Audun that he wanted to repay him for the bear.
King Svein decided to give Audun a fine longship so that he could return home.
He also gave Audun another pouch of silver and the gold band he wore around his arm.
Audun left Denmark and headed home for Iceland,
but did not forget his promise to return to King Harald.
Audun told King Harald that King Svein had accepted his gift,
and in return had given him leave and money for his pilgrimage,
and offered him a position in his hall as cupbearer.
When Audun had refused the position,
King Svein had given him a longship and silver so that he could return home.
King Harald looked puzzled and told Audun that he would have done the same.
Audun added that King Svein had given him the gold armband, which he wore,
and had told him not to part with it unless he should need to repay an honorable man
so dearly that he could give it up.

Audun took the arm ring off, placed it into the King’s hand, and spoke these words:
“My lord, you had the power to end my journey before it began.
You could have taken the bear from me and ended my life.
Instead, you allowed me safe passage, where few men are allowed to go
In order to bestow a great treasure upon your enemy.”
King Harald warmly accepted the gift,
and gave many other gifts and honors to Audun before his return home.

Fjords
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Author's Note: This is probably my favorite story from the Sagas of Icelanders because it illustrates the ideals of the Norse people. Both kings and poor men were expected to act virtuously, and this story is by far one of the best examples of that. A major change that I felt it necessary to make (somewhat reluctantly, I might add) is the time period in which the story takes place. These stories were written in the 13th and 14th centuries after the Scandinavians had converted to Christianity. This does not really fit the time frame of my storybook, so I had to change that. In the original saga, Audun takes leave of King Svein to make a pilgrimage to Rome. I changed this to Troy because of the Trojan origins that the gods of the Aesir are supposed to have had. Also, in the original story, there is no mention of Thorstein having a son. The Sagas of the Icelanders inform us that younger men would often raid or fight in the summer months to make money, then return to their father's farms in the winter to work. I wanted to give Thorstien a reason to need Audun's help and also have a character that I could use later in connection with Audun on his journey.

Source Information

Story: The Tale of Audun from the West Fjords
Book: The Sagas of Icelanders
Preface: Jane Smiley
Date: 2000
Source: Hardcopy published by Penguin Cassics

Electronic version
Author: Letitia MacColl Elton
Date: 1887

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