most of his like in their cruising: "Sweyn had in the spring hard
work, and made them lay down very much seed, and looked much
after it himself. But when that toil was ended, he fared away
every spring on a viking-voyage, and harried about among the
southern isles and Ireland, and came home after midsummer. That
he called spring-viking. Then he was at home until the corn-
fields were reaped down, and the grain seen to and stored. Then
he fared away on a viking-voyage, and then he did not come home
till the winter was one month off, and that he called his autumn-
viking." (6)

Toward the end of the ninth century Harold Fairhair, either
spurred by the example of Charlemagne, or really prompted, as
Snorri Sturluson tells us, resolved to bring all Norway under
him. As Snorri has it in "Heimskringla": "King Harold sent his
men to a girl hight Gyda.... The king wanted her for his leman;
for she was wondrous beautiful but of high mood withal. Now when
the messengers came there and gave their message to her, she made
answer that she would not throw herself away even to take a king
for her husband, who swayed no greater kingdom than a few
districts; `And methinks,' said she, `it is a marvel that no king
here in Norway will put all the land under him, after the fashion
that Gorm the Old did in Denmark, or Eric at Upsala.' The
messengers deemed this a dreadfully proud-spoken answer, and
asked her what she thought would come of such an one, for Harold
was so mighty a man that his asking was good enough for her. But
although she had replied to their saying otherwise than they
would, they saw no likelihood, for this while, of bearing her
along with them against her will, so they made ready to fare back
again. When they were ready and the folk followed them out, Gyda