ÅE FARM:

That fall, Gunnhild called Laki as soon as the first round of flatbread came off the skillet. She spread it with butter, sprinkled on a precious pinch of sugar, and was just folding it in quarters when Laki appeared at the summer cookhouse door.

He fixed his stepmother with a wary gaze. "What?" he asked rudely.

"Like I promised," she said, handing him the treat. "Would you like a story while you eat?"

He shrugged, but perched on a stool nearby while he wolfed down the first bite.

She flipped the second round of flatbread on the skillet, then started rolling the next one. "In the old times, say they, on earth-paths green--" she began.

Laki glanced up at the archaic beginning.

"There wended his way a wise god – ancient, rugged, and mighty. Rig was his name."

No simple folk tale, this. Laki's brows knit as Gunnhild went on with one of the ancient sagas, telling of the origins of three castes of man: thralls, craftsmen, and warriors. Earl, the first of the warriors, had many sons, including Kon the youngest. Kon Ungr mastered not only the skills of warriors like his brothers, but also the most elusive secrets of all, the runes, gaining in knowledge and lore until soon he rivaled even Rig himself.

"Kon Ungr?" broke in Laki. "That's the old word for king!"

"That's right," Gunnhild said. "Do you know who was the first konungr of all?"

"Nei," Laki said. Kling devoured, he sat there still, licking his buttery fingers.

"It was Dan the Magnificent, grandson of Kon Ungr. Before Dan, the rulers of men were called chieftains or warlords. King Dan the Magnificent was the first king of Danmark -- which was named after him, as were his followers who were called Danes. Dan had a sister named Drott, who married into the Yngling dynasty ruling in Sweden."

"I've heard of the Ynglings!"

"I should hope so." Gunnhild kept the flatbread going: flouring, rolling, sliding by peel from breadboard to skillet to stack of crisp barley rounds. "Their realm may have centered in Sweden, but it spread far beyond that land's limits, even to our own dales."

"Here?" Laki cocked his head and hunched forward, hands clasped and elbows on knees.

Gunnhild nodded. "You've heard of Sigurd Ring? He was king of Sweden in the eighth century, a descendant of Queen Drott, fifteen generations later in the Yngling dynasty. He challenged his father's half brother to see who was boldest and mightiest. Sigurd won, and added part of Norway to his realm. Sigurd's son Ragnar Hairy Breeches ruled after him, then his son Bjørn Ironsides. Bjørn split his kingdom between his two sons, the brothers Eirik and Ånund. Eirik got Sweden, and Ånund, Telemark. Ånund had three royal dwellings: one over in Numedal parish, one up in Setesdal parish, and one at Donstad."

"I've been to Donstad – down Morgedal way, the next side valley up from Byggland." Glee shone in his eyes. "A king's dwelling? Øy!"

scene to be continued...

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BEHIND THE SCENES

The Norwegian word "dan" means eager or bold. In English as well as Norwegian, one definition of a "mark" is a tract of land. The Norse pronounce "Dane" as "DAWN-eh".

Yng was another name for the Norse god Freyr, who supposedly was the first ancestor in the Yngling dynasty. Some sources believe the gods of Norse mythology were ancient warriors whose reputations grew each time their stories were told down through the centuries.

Different ancient sources give different parentage for Sigurd Ring. His ancestry as listed here was mentioned in the Gesta Danorum written by Saxo Grammaticus in the 12th century.