KINGS OF NORWAY. 193 placed his son-in-law Earl Eric, the son of Earl Hakon, saga vn. to defend the country. The brothers Eric and Swend, Earl Hakon's sons, ruled the land until Earl Eric went west to England, on the invitation of his bro- ther-in-law Canute the Great, when he left behind his son Earl Hakon, sister's son of Canute the Great, to govern Norway. But when Olaf the Thick came first to Norway, as before related, he took prisoner Earl Hakon, the son of Eric, and deposed hirn from the kingdom. Then Hakon proceeded to his mother's brother, Canute the Great, and had been with him constantly until the time to which here in our saga we have now come. Canute the Great had conquered England by blows and weapons, and had a long strug- gle before the people of the land were subdued. But when he had set himself perfectly firm in the govern- ment of the country, he remembered that he also had right to a kingdom which he had not brought under his authority ; and that was Norway. He thought he had hereditary right to all Norway ; and his sister's son Hakon, who had held a part of it, appeared to him to have lost it with disgrace. The reason why Canute and Hakon had remained quiet with respect to their claims upon Norway was, that when King Olaf Haraldsson landed in Norway the people and commonalty ran together in crowds, and would hear of nothing but that Olaf should be king over all the country, although some afterwards, who thought that the people upon account of his power had no self- government left to them, went out of the country. Many powerful men, or rich bonders' sons, had there- fore gone to Canute the Great, and pretended various errands ; and every one who came to Canute and de- sired his friendship was loaded with presents. With Canute, too, could be seen greater splendour and pomp than elsewhere, both with regard to the multitude of people who were daily in attendance, and also to the VOL. II. o
