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/* Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla (The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway), c.1225AD */

:To try the fray with the Earl Hakon." [LAING 1844]

* Harald Harfager's Saga

:The forecastle men were picked men, for they had the king's banner." [LAING 1907]

* Saga of Harald Hardrade~~: Part I~~

:* OF ULF AND HALDOR.

::"After Einar's murder the king was so much disliked for that deed that there was nothing that prevented the lendermen and bondes from attacking the king, and giving him battle, but the want of some leader to raise the banner in the bonde army." [LAING 1907]

* Saga of Harald Hardrade: Part II

:* OF KING SVEIN'S ARMAMENT.

::"And when King Svein's '''banner''' was cut down, and his ship cleared of its crew, all his forces took to flight, and some were killed." [LAING 1907]

:* KING HARALD'S BATTLE WITH EARL HAKON

::"Earl Hakon had the same '''banner''' which had belonged to King Magnus Olafson." [LAING 1907]

::"When the war-cry was raised the earl let his '''banner '''advance; but when they came under the hill the king's army rushed down upon them, and killed some of the earl's people, and the rest fled. The Northmen did not pursue the fugitives long, for it was the fall of day; but they took Earl Hakon's '''banner '''and all the arms and clothes they could get hold of. King Harald had both the '''banners '''carried before him as they marched away. They spoke among themselves that the earl had probably fallen. As they were riding through the forest they could only ride singly, one following the other. Suddenly a man came full gallop across the path, struck his spear through him who was carrying the earl's '''banner, ''' seized the '''banner-staff''', and rode into the forest on the other side with the '''banner.''' When this was told the king he said, "Bring me my armour, for the earl is alive." Then the king rode to his ships in the night; and many said that the earl had now taken his revenge." [LAING 1907]

:* SKIRMISH OF ORRE.

::"Eystein Orre came up at this moment from the ships with the men who followed him, and all were clad in armour. Then Eystein got '''King Harald's banner Land-ravager'''; and now was, for the third time, one of the sharpest of conflicts, in which many Englishmen fell, and they were near to taking flight." [LAING 1907]

* The Ynglinga Saga

:* OF KING HAKE

:"There was a great battle, in which King Hake went forward so bravely that he killed all who were nearest to him, and at last killed King Eric, and cut down the '''banner''' of the two brothers."

:* OF EGIL AND TUNNE

:"As soon as King Egil perceived the tumult, he prepared for defence, and set up his banner; but many people deserted him, because Tunne and his men attacked them so boldly, and King Egil saw that nothing was left but to fly."

* King Olaf Trygvason's Saga

:* BATTLE WITH THE JOMSBORG VIKINGS

:"Earl Sigvalde's banner was displayed in the midst of his army, and right against it Earl Hakon arranged his force for attack."

:* THE THRONDHJEM PEOPLE BAPTIZED.

:"But as Skegge was killed, there was no leader in the bondes' army to raise the '''banner''' against King Olaf; so they took the other condition, to surrender to the king's will and obey his order.

:* CREW ON BOARD OF THE LONG SERPENT.

:"Ulf the Red was the name of the man who bore King Olaf's '''banner,''' and was in the forecastle of the Long Serpent; and with him was Kolbjorn the marshal, Thorstein Uxafot, and Vikar of Tiundaland, a brother of Arnliot Gelline."

:* OF KING OLAF.

:"When King Olaf saw that the scattered forces of the enemy gathered themselves together under the '''banners''' of their ships, he asked, "Who is the chief of the force right opposite to us?""

* Saga of Olaf Haraldson

:* OF THE FEAST

:"As they rode up to the house, and were near the room, they saw on the other side of the house the '''banners''' of Olaf coming waving; and there was he himself, with about 100 men all well equipped."

:* OF THE BATTLE AT NESJAR.

:"He had a white banner on which was a serpent figured. but when they saw the king's fleet coming they began to bind the ships together, to set up their '''banners''', and to make ready for the fight."

:* EARL SVEIN'S FLIGHT.

:"Their banner was brought up to the ship that was nearest the earl's, and the king himself followed the banner. So says

:Sigvat: --

:"`On with the king!' his banners waving:

:`On with the king!' the spears he's braving!

:`On, steel-clad men! and storm the deck,

:Slippery with blood and strewed with wreck.

:A different work ye have to share,

:His banner in war-storm to bear,

:From your fair girl's, who round the hall

:Brings the full mead-bowl to us all.'"

:* MURDER OF OLAF'S COURT-MEN.

:There were twelve of Hrorek's men there, and among them Sigurd Hit, who had been his banner-man, and also little Fin."

:* OF THE BAPTISM OF THE VAGABOND FOREST-MEN

:The king then took them into the troop of his court-men, and said they should fight under his banner in the battle."

:* KING OLAF'S SPEECH.

:I will let my banner go forward in the middle of the army, and my-court-men, and pursuivants shall follow it, together with the war forces that joined us from the Uplands, and also those who may come to us here in the Throndhjem land. On the right hand of my banner shall be Dag Hringson, with all the men he brought to our aid; and he shall have the second banner. And on the left hand of our line shall the men be whom the Swedish king gave us, together with all the people who came to us in Sweden; and they shall have the third banner.

:Now let the men divide themselves into separate flocks, and then each flock into ranks; then let each man observe well his proper place, and take notice what banner he is drawn up under."

:* OF KING OLAF'S SKALDS.

:Thormod replies, "It may be, sire, that ye now require prayers most; but it would be thin around the banner-staff if all thy court-men were now on the way to Rome."

:* KING OLAF COMES TO STIKLESTAD

:Then he placed his army in battle array, and raised his banner. Dag was not yet arrived with his men, so that his wing of the battle array was wanting. Then the king said the Upland men should go forward in their place, and raise their banner there."

:* THORD FOLASON.

:Thord Folason carried King Olaf's banner. So says Sigvat the skald, in the death-song which he composed about King Olaf, and put together according to resurrection saga: --

:"Thord. I have heard, by Olaf's side,

:Where raged the battle's wildest tide,

:Moved on, and, as by one accord

:Moved with them every heart and sword.

:The banner of the king on high,

:Floating all splendid in the sky

:From golden shaft, aloft he bore, --

:The Norsemen's rallying-point of yore."

:* KING OLAF'S DREAM.

:There a slumber came upon him, and he slept a little while; but at the same time the bondes' army was seen advancing with raised banners, and the multitude of these was very great.

:* OF ARNLJOT GELLINE'S BAPTISM

:Thereupon Arnljot was baptized. The king taught him so much of the holy faith as appeared to him needful, and placed him in the front rank of the order of battle, in advance of his banner, where also Gauka-Thorer and Afrafaste, with their men, were.

:* OF THE LENDERMEN

:Thorer replies thus to his speech: "I do not confide in myself so much as to raise the banner against King Olaf, or, as chief, to lead on this army;

:* KALF ARNASON'S SPEECH

:Will ye now adopt my proposal -- then shalt thou, friend Thorer, and thou, Harek, go under the banner which we will all of us raise up, and then follow.

:* HOW THE LENDERMEN SET UP THEIR BANNERS.

:Kalf Arnason then raised his banner, and drew up his house-servants along with Harek of Thjotta and his men. Thorer Hund, with his troop, was at the head of the order of battle in front of the banner; and on both sides of Thorer was a chosen body of

bondes, all of them the most active and best armed in the forces. This part of the array was long and thick, and in it were drawn up the Throndhjem people and the Halogalanders. On the right wing was another array; and on the left of the main array were drawn up the men from Rogaland, Hordaland, the Fjord districts, and Scgn, and they had the third banner.

235. OF THE PREPARATIONS OF THE BONDES.

When the bondes' men and array were drawn up the lendermen

addressed the men, and ordered them to take notice of the place

to which each man belonged, under which banner each should be,

who there were in front of the banner, who were his side-men, and

that they should be brisk and quick in taking up their places in

the array; for the army had still to go a long way, and the array

might be broken in the course of march. Then they encouraged the

people; and Kalf invited all the men who had any injury to avenge

on King Olaf to place themselves under the banner which was

advancing against King Olaf's own banner. They should remember

the distress he had brought upon them; and, he said, never was

there a better opportunity to avenge their grievances, and to

free themselves from the yoke and slavery he had imposed on them.

"Let him," says he, "be held a useless coward who does not fight

this day boldly; and they are not innocents who are opposed to

you, but people who will not spare you if ye spare them."

236. OF THE KING'S AND THE BONDES' ARMIES.

Thereafter the bondes' army advanced to Stiklestad, where King

Olaf was already with his people. Kalf and Harek went in front,

at the head of the army under their banners.

238. BEGINNING OF THE BATTLE OF STIKLESTAD.

Now came Thorer Hund, went forward in front of the banner with

his troop, and called out, "Forward, forward, bondemen!"

"Midst in their line their banner flies,

Thither the stoutest bonde hies:

But many a bonde thinks of home,

And many wish they ne'er had come."

Now the ranks in front of the king's

banner began to be thinned, and the king ordered Thord to carry

the banner forward, and the king himself followed it with the

troop he had chosen to stand nearest to him in battle; and these

were the best armed men in the field, and the most expert in the

use of their weapons. Sigvat the skald tells of this: --

"Loud was the battle-storm there,

Where the king's banner flamed in air.

The king beneath his banner stands,

And there the battle he commands."

239. THORGEIR OF KVISTSTAD'S FALL

At the same instant Thord stuck

the banner-pole so fast in the earth that it remained standing.

Thord had got his death-wound, and fell beneath the banner.

At the same time Dag Hringson came up with his people, and began

to put his men in array, and to set up his banner; but on account

of the darkness the onset could not go on so briskly, for they

could not see exactly whom they had before them.

240. KING OLAF'S FALL.

"Warrior! who Olaf dared withstand,

Who against Olaf held the land,

Thou hast withstood the bravest, best,

Who e'er has gone to his long rest.

At Stiklestad thou wast the head;

With flying banners onwards led

Thy bonde troops, and still fought on,

Until he fell -- the much-mourned one."

241. BEGINNING OF DAG HRINGSON'S ATTACK.

There a great number of the bondes fell,

and these lendermen, Erlend of Gerde and Aslak of Finey; and the

banner also which they had stood under was cut down.

246. OF THORMOD KOLBRUNARSKALD.

Thormod Kolbrunarskald was under King Olaf's banner in the

battle; but when the king had fallen, the battle was raging so

that of the king's men the one fell by the side of the other, and

the most of those who stood on their legs were wounded.

Saga of Magnus the Good

32. SVEIN'S FLIGHT

"Spattered with mud from heel to head,

Our gallant lord his true men led.

Will Lund's earl halt his hasty flight,

And try on land another fight?

His banner yesterday was seen,

The sand-bills and green trees between,

Through moss and mire to the strand,

In arrow flight, leaving the land."

34. BATTLE AT HELGANES

"And now the Norsemen storm along,

Following their banner in a throng:

King Magnus' banner flames on high,

A star to guide our roaming by.

To Lund, o'er Scania's peaceful field,

My shoulder bore my useless shield;

A fairer land, a better road,

As friend or foe, I never trod."

Across Fiona's moor again,

The paths late trodden by our men

We tread once more, until quite near,

Through morning mist, the foes appear.

Then up our numerous banners flare

In the cold early morning air;

And they from Magnus' power who fly

Cannot this quick war-work deny."

35. OF KING MAGNUS'S CAMPAIGN.

"To fair Fiona's grassy shore

His banner now again he bore:

He who the mail-shirt's linked chains

Severs, and all its lustre stains, --

He will be long remembered there,

The warrior in his twentieth year,

Whom their black ravens from afar

Saluted as he went to war."

Magnus Barefoot's Saga

27. FALL OF KING MAGNUS

The king answered, "Call all the men together with the war-horns

under the banner, and the men who are here shall make a rampart

with their shields, and thus we will retreat backwards out of the

mires; and we will clear ourselves fast enough when we get upon

firm ground."

Vidkun Jonson instantly killed the man who had

given the king his death-wound, and fled, after having received

three wounds; but brought the king's banner and the sword Legbit

to the ships.

Saga of Magnus the Blind and of Harald Gille

2. OF THE FORCES OF HARALD AND MAGNUS.

Then the war-horns sounded, and all Harald's men went out from

the house to an enclosed field, and set up their banners. King

Harald had on two shirts of ring-mail, but his brother Kristrod

had no armour on; and a gallant man he was.

12. OF MAGNUS THE BLIND.

On Hlesey's plain the foe must quail

'Fore him who dyes their shirts of mail.

His storm-stretched banner o'er his head

Flies straight, and fills the foe with dread."

Saga of Sigurd, Inge, and Eystein, the Sons of Harald

2. OF SIGURD SLEMBIDJAKN

It is related that Thjostolf Alason carried King

Inge in his belt as long as the battle lasted, and stood under

the banner

27. OF GREGORIUS DAGSON

It is true that there is but little help in thee on account of thy ill health, but I should think thy will should not be less to hold thy hand

over thy friends, and I am now quite ready to go from hence to

meet Sigurd, and my banner is flying in the yard."

Saga of Hakon Herdebreid ("Hakon the Broad-Shouldered")

3. KING HAKON'S FLIGHT

There the man who carried his banner was slain,

just as he was going to step on shore. Gregorius ordered Hal, a

son of Audun Halson, to take up the banner, which he did, and

bore the banner up to the pier.

11. KING HAKON'S FLIGHT

Thereupon he ordered his banner to be set up, which

was done; and they rowed across the river.

14. OF THE FALL OF GREGORIUS DAGSON

Then he ordered the banner to be advanced, and

immediately went out on the ice with the men.

18. KING INGE'S FALL

An assault was made against King Inge's banner, and in this conflict

King Inge fell; but his brother Orm continued the battle, while

many of the army fled up into the town.

Magnus Erlingson's Saga

10. EARL SIGURD'S CONDEMNATION

The people of Viken were very friendly to Erling and

King Magnus, principally from the popularity of the late King

Inge Haraldson; for the Viken people had always served under his

banner.

13. OF EARL SIGURD'S BATTLE ARRAY

We have a good battle-field. Let them

cross the bridge; but as soon as the banner comes over it let us

then rush down the hill upon them, and none desert his

neighbour."

14. EARL SIGURD'S FALL

They first used spears then edge weapons; and the earl's banner soon

retired so far back, that Erling and his men scaled the ridge

42. THE FALL OF KING EYSTEIN.

Then the Birkebeins' banner was cut down; those who

were nearest gave way and some took to flight

==Late Roman Draco Standards==

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