Varva, where he flew into the peasant's corn-field and took his grain. The peasant came up, took a stone, and killed the sparrow. King Dag was ill pleased that the sparrow did not come home; and as he, in a sacrifice of expiation, inquired after the sparrow, he got the answer that it was killed at Varva. Thereupon he ordered a great army, and went to Gothland; and when he came to Varva he landed with his men and plundered, and the people fled away before him. King Dag returned in the evening to his ships, after having killed many people and taken many prisoners. As they were going across a river at a place called Skiotan's Ford, a labouring thrall came running to the river-side, and threw a hay-fork into their troop. It struck the king on the head, so that he fell instantly from his horse and died, and his men went back to Sweden. In those times the chief who ravaged a country was called Gram[1], and the men-at-arms under him Gramr. Thiodolf sings of it thus:—
"What news is this that the king's men;
Flying eastward through the glen,
Report? That Dag the Brave, whose name
Is sounded far and wide by Fame,—
That Dag, who knew so well to wield
The battle-axe in bloody field,
Where brave men meet, no more will head
The brave—that mighty Dag is dead!
"Varva was wasted with the sword,
And vengeance taken for the bird,—
The little bird that used to bring
News to the ear of the great king.
- ↑ Gram is equivalent to grim, fierce.
with the great population called the Goths, unless a fortuitous similarity of name and a common origin. That the vast hordes called Goths who overwhelmed Italy came from these Gothlands, it is inconsistent with common sense to suppose. The whole coasts of the Baltic could furnish no such masses of armed men now even, when they furnish more subsistence for man.
