Hulda]. Oc oþrovis get ec venna mvno at at orca en hataz viþ alla þa menn er baðan ero. Konvngrenn let þetta vel melt. oc qvað hans raþom scyldo fram fara. Konvngr callaþi Carll til sin vm morgoninn. oc siþan melti konvngr til hans. Sva litz mer a þic at þv ser giptvvenligr maðr. oc þat vill Magnvs konvngs son at þu hafi r griþ. oc ero þer nv.ii. costir gervir af minni hendi. annarr at þv farir til scips y þars. oc fø ec yþr oc vist. farit með cavpeyri yðarnn sem yþr syniz. ella far þv til min oc ver með mer i vetr[1256].
(Now there is no peace between Svein Alfi fason and konung Jarizleif because konung Jarizleif thinks that Norwegians have betrayed saint konung Olaf, and for some time there was no trade peace between them. A man is called Karl and another man is called Bjцrn. They were two brothers, of humble birth but men of prowess. They were salt-makers earlier in their lives and they thus acquired money, and now it happened so that they became rich merchants…
Then Karl spoke and said to his mates, «… I am going to make a trade voyage to the Eastern Route but nowadays this trip cannot be called safe because there is a disagreement between konung Svein and konung Jarizleif and there is no peace between them…».
And they take their decision and go now with him until they come to the Eastern Country [i. e. Rus’] and stopped at a large trade town and want to buy some necessities for themselves. But as soon as the men of the land learned that they were Norwegians, they not only refused to sell anything to them but it came close to a battle, and the men of the land wanted to attack them. And when Karl saw that it was getting dangerous he said to the men of the land, «It can be regarded as reckless and bold [to take a decision] instead of your konung to maim or rob foreigners while they came here with their wares and make you no hostilities. And one can never know if the konung would approve of you or not. Now it is wiser of you to wait for konung’s decision on this matter». The men of the land got soothed with this and restrained from attacking them. Nevertheless, Karl sees that it will not end like that, and he starts his trip to the konung Nothing is said about his trip until he came to Jarizleif konung and greeted him. The konung asked him who he was. «I am a Norwegian, he says, of humble birth and I came here with good money and my companions with peace». The konung said, «How is it that you got so bold to come here? Do you think that your luck is larger than that of other men or do you think that you can profi t from your wares while others could not preserve their lives? And those Norwegians never get as much evil from me, as they are worth». Karl said, «Not all men are equal in this. I am a salt-maker of humble birth, though now I have money, and I have always been ready for any opportunity and I have never been against Olaf konung in my thoughts». «I suppose, the konung says, that you’ll turn out to be like all other Norwegians». The konung ordered to take him and put him into irons, and it was done. And later the konung speaks to Magnus, his fosterson, and asks for his advice on what is to be done with those Norwegians. Magnus answers, «Until now you have asked little for my advice, my foster-father, but it seems to me that Norway won’t become mine soon if it comes to killing all those who originate from there. But you will be well-disposed, my foster-father, because they all have right to be called my thegns. And I think that it is better for me to behave diff erently than to share hatred with all those who are from there». The konung thought it well spoken and said that it would be done according to his advice. The konung called for Karl in the morning and then said to him, «It seems to me that you are a man promising good luck, and Magnus, the konung’s son, wants that you should be given peace. And there are two possibilities that I can grant you. The fi rst of them is that you go to your ship and I shall give you wine and food and you will go with your merchandise as you wish. Or you go to me and stay a winter with me…»).
The narration contains numerous indications to the political relations of Rus’ and Norway and to the trade connections of the two countries in the form of both author’s statements and depiction of events caused by the state of aff airs. The author’s summary of the political situation, i.e. his declaration about the absence of peace between Jaroslav and Svein, stands apart from the enormous bulk of the «Russian evidences» of the sagas. The characteristic of political situation in Rus’ was irrelevant for the saga authors as travels to Rus’ and Eastern Baltic were always presented as private enterprises organized and carried out on the personal basis with no interference of the authorities. The only other survey of the political situation in Rus’ can be found in «Eymundar þáttr». Eymund’s decision to go to Rus’ and to serve with Jaroslav’s army is motivated by a feud between the sons of great prince Vladimir, and the description of the causes of the feud and the aims of each of Vladimir’s sons provides the outline of the political turbulence in Rus’ after the death of Vladimir the Saint[1257]. This summary, correct in its essence but wrong in many details, was highly appropriate in a saga telling about a viking who participated in all these events profi ting by opposing interests of the Russian rulers. However, even this survey has nothing to do with the international relations of Rus’. Eymund’s voyage was his personal adventure and of no concern of Norwegian authorities.
On the contrary, the survey in «Magnúss saga góða ok Haralds hardráða» is a characteristic of political relations between Rus’ and Norway. It is a brief declaration of the absence of peace (úfriðr) between Jaroslav and Svein after the death of Olaf Haraldsson. The state of úfriðr meant a war or hostility between the partners and it seems, in spite of the lack of corroborating evidence in Old Russian and Old Norse sources, that the enmity did exist at that time. Rus’ became an asylum for Svein’s enemies who had earlier supported Olaf Haraldsson. Jaroslav was bringing up Olaf’s underage son Magnus who later expelled Svein and became the king of Norway. Another prominent relative of Olaf, Harald the Hard-Ruler, who participated in the battle at Stiklastadir found refuge in Rus’ and later married Jaroslav’s daughter. In this context, the characteristic of the relations between Jaroslav and Svein in the saga does not seem wrong. The hostility to Danish Norway in the early 1030s was a continuation of Jaroslav’s policy in the Baltic in the second half of the 1020s. The idea of the state of úfriðr is further elaborated in the saga by literary means. Jaroslav’s negative attitude to Norwegians is expressed in a number of speeches of Jaroslav and Magnus and in the retelling about Jaroslav’s treatment of Björn and Karl on their arrival to his court. According to the saga, Jaroslav’s hostility to the Danish ruler of Norway was accompanied by his hatred to all Norwegians. He is said to accuse them of betraying their lord, Olaf Haraldsson, to regard them worth the most cruel punishment, and to execute all the Norwegians coming to Rus’. Though the speeches, as well as probably the episode of the arrest of Karl and Björn are nothing more than illustrations and literary embodiment of úfriðr their introduction is signifi cant as an indication of the author’s position.
Another manifestation of the úfriðr was the break of trade. The saga author makes a special note of the absence of trade peace (kaupfriðr) for some time (noccora stvnd). This is the only occasion to my knowledge that a rupture in trade between Rus’ and a Scandinavian country is mentioned in a saga. Trade voyages like all other voyages to Rus’ were represented as private enterprises even if a konung participated in the partnership (félag) with his money. The success or the failure of a merchant therefore was depicted as depending utterly on his own abilities. In «Magnúss saga góða ok Haralds hardráða» on the contrary, the offi cial status of the break in trade is stressed. It is kaupfriðr between Jaroslav and Svein, the rulers of the states, i.e. between the two states, that is suspended. Like the úfriðr, the absence of kaupfriðr is regarded as a governmental action. Thus, both the situation itself and its presentation in the saga is quite diff erent from the traditional stereotypes. In the context of the actual deterioration of political relations between Rus’ and Norway, the prohibition of trade activities could have really taken place.
Temporal suspension of trade with a specifi c partner by Novgorod authorities seems rather a common practice. The First Novgorod chronicle tells s. a. 1188 about a confl ict between Novgorodian and German merchants on Gotland[1258] which resulted in the break of trade peace. Russian merchants were not allowed to go overseas while Scandinavian merchants left Novgorod «without peace» and with no offi cials to accompany them, i.e. with no one to secure their safety en route[1259].
The mention of the absence of kaupfriðr on a state level for a period of time presupposes its existence earlier. It might mean that some time before the 1030s a trade treaty had been concluded by Russian and Norwegian rulers which established offi cial kaupfriðr between the two countries.
There are no grounds to suppose that this treaty appeared before Jaroslav’s times. It could have been rather a result of Jaroslav’s active policy in the Baltic, and the possible span of time for its conclusion is rather short. A treaty with Olaf Haraldsson’s Norway was impossible while Jaroslav maintained close and friendly relations with Knut. It was the time when Olaf’s enemies were well received in Rus’, like Eymund Hringsson employed by Jaroslav in 1018 (1019). Only after Jaroslav joined the Swedish and Norwegian alliance against Denmark which emerged after Anund-Jacob’s enthronization in 1022, the treaty could have been concluded. The defeat of Olaf Haraldsson in 1028 and his escape to Sweden and Rus’ is the upper limit for the conclusion of the treaty.