Harald was very angry at this, and summoned the bondes to a Thing
at Fold, where he laid an accusation against them for treason
towards him. Some bondes defended themselves from the
accusation, some paid fines, some were punished. He went thus
through the whole district during the summer, and in harvest he
did the same in Raumarike, and laid the two districts under his
power. Towards winter he heard that Eirik king of Sweden was,
with his court, going about in Vermaland in guest-quarters.



15. HARALD AT A FEAST OF THE PEASANT AKE.

King Harald takes his way across the Eid forest eastward, and
comes out in Vermaland, where he also orders feasts to be
prepared for himself. There was a man by name Ake, who was the
greatest of the bondes of Vermaland, very rich, and at that time
very aged. He sent men to King Harald, and invited him to a
feast, and the king promised to come on the day appointed. Ake
invited also King Eirik to a feast, and appointed the same day.
Ake had a great feasting hall, but it was old; and he made a new
hall, not less than the old one, and had it ornamented in the
most splendid way. The new hall he had hung with new hangings,
but the old had only its old ornaments. Now when the kings came
to the feast, King Eirik with his court was taken into the old
hall; but Harald with his followers into the new. The same
difference was in all the table furniture, and King Eirik and his
men had the old-fashioned vessels and horns, but all gilded and
splendid; while King Harald and his men had entirely new vessels
and horns adorned with gold, all with carved figures, and shining