This chapter begins on p. 86 when Hadding, an escaped prisoner, steals a boat and ends on 92 when he comes into his own as the Dane-king. The following chapter begins:
"That year the fields throughout Denmark bore overflowingly, kine grew fat, and fishermen filled their nets. The Danes thought this was because they had a rightful king again." (XIII, p. 92)
On pp. 86-92, there is almost no dialogue. This chapter summarizes several years of activity. Hadding gathers a following, leads a viking fleet and raids in Gardariki. They range the Eastlands for four years. Among other experiences, they hear a poet read from the steps of a temple in a Roman city. They become rich as mercenaries. Hadding buys more ships and weapons and hires more men. Meanwhile, his enemy, King Loker, has ridden into the wilds and never returned. Again Hadding wonders about Loker.
After five years, Hadding returns to Denmark with scores of ships, uniquely united by banners on their masts, and defeats King Svipdag's fleet near Gotland. Svipdag falls. Hadding is hailed.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
If a people has trust and confidence in their gov't, and that gov't shows itself sensible and reasonably competent, those factors will help enormously in fostering prosperity.
I can think of real world analogies, in the negative sense, but I'll hush up!
Ad astra! Sean
Simply knowing you're reasonably safe from robbery at home and that your government will back you up with foreigners encouraged trade and other forms of investment -- clearing new farmland, for example, or building a watermill.
Note that in the premodern world this could -not- be counted on. Even at the height of the Roman Empire and even in Italy, there were still highwaymen and bandits, though usually on a fairly petty scale.
The Romans managed to suppress piracy in the Mediterranean for a while, but before and after that it was rampant -- right down to the early 19th century in the central and western Mediterranean, and down to the 1850's and 60's east of Sicily.
(There are still pirates operating in some parts of Africa and Asia.)
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
And it's a very bad sign that some of the US states, like California, are refusing to crack down on banditry, robbery, looting. Notoriously, we are seeing brazen looters openly plundering stores in CA.
And I'm aware of the pirates infesting the Horn of Africa and the waters of Indonesia and Malaysia. Another bad sign!
The only way to stop such piracy is by using naval force to suppress it! By sinking pirate boats and hanging captured pirates. It's a principle of international law, going back to Grotius, that pirates are the enemies of the human race.
Ad astra! Sean
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