The saga about the Vikings

The Saga of the 3-Swords

 

In the days of old, when the land was divided and kings clashed, the wind from the sea carried with it the scent of salt and blood.
By the shores of Hafrsfjord, men gathered from all the western lands – chieftains, petty kings, and a young warlord with mighty dreams: Harald, son of Halfdan the Black.

​

Harald had sworn an oath. Never would he cut nor comb his hair until he ruled as the sole king of Norway. Thus they called him Harald the Tangle-Haired. But in his heart burned a fire, and the sagas would remember him as Harald Fairhair.

Around the year 872, steel struck shield, and the sea at Hafrsfjord ran red. Harald faced Kjotve the Rich and Haklang, and with sword and axe he crushed his rivals. When the battle was won, Norway stood united – and Harald raised his great sword over the land.

Yet times change, and new lords rose.

From Sola came another chieftain, Erling Skjalgsson, the man the farmers called their kinsman. He ruled with honor and strength, and when he wed Astrid, sister of King Olaf Tryggvason, he became the most powerful man south of Trøndelag.

Erling was more than a lord – he was the farmers’ shield, standing against kings who sought to bind free men in chains. When Saint Olaf tried to break Jæren, Erling stood like an oak in the storm. But betrayal struck at Bokn, where Erling fell in blood, and the land lost its champion of freedom.

​

Now stand the Swords in Rock at Hafrsfjord.
The tallest – for Harald, who united the realm.
The two smaller – for the petty kings who bowed, and for men like Erling, who stood for freedom.
And because the swords are bound in stone, they shall never be drawn

– they speak not of war, but of peace won through blood and struggle.