FRODI THE PEACEFUL AND HIS MILL

King Frodi of Denmark was the son of Fridleif, who in turn was the son of Odin’s son Skjold. During his minority the land was governed by twelve men of rank, with the brothers Koll and Vestmar at their head, but so badly governed that it sank into the utmost misery. The evil wife of Koll, Gautvor, abetted by his sons and Vestmar’s sons, disturbed the peace of men’s homes and of the court itself. Frodi was kept in a state of nonage; his own wife was tempted to unfaithfulness by Vestmar’s son Greip, who at the same time had the hardihood to pay court to the king’s sister Gunnvor. Two brothers, Erik and Roll (Roller, Saxo’s Rollerus) from Rennesey in Ryfylke, learning how badly things stood in Denmark, sought to use the occasion to gain power in the land. Sailing to Denmark in three ships, they first of all slew Odd, the captain of Frodi’s fleet. Then Erik landed from one of the ships on the coast of Zealand, intending to spy upon Frodi’s court, and advanced inland with his brother Roll. Greip rode out to meet him and, as was his habit, overwhelmed him with terms of abuse; but Erik, being a wise man, gave him meet answer. When Greip realized that he was being worsted in the combat of words, he hastened home and erected a spite pole against Erik in order to keep him away. The pole, which was to be erected near a bridge, was surmounted by a horse’s head. Erik, however, before leaving Norway had eaten of a magical dish, prepared by his stepmother Kraka, compounded of the venom of serpents; by this means he had become so sagacious as even to understand the language of beasts. Thus it was easy for him to conjure away the effect of Greip’s witchcraft. He caused the horse’s head to fall from the pole in such a manner as to bring about the death of the man who was carrying the pole. Erik now proceeded on his journey, even to the very court of Frodi, where he was received with all kinds of gross ribaldry, hootings, clamor, and insult; but he pretended to notice nothing at all. With him he carried a lump of ice, which he declared to be a present for the king; every one supposed that it was a precious stone. He handed his gift across the fire to Koll; but as the king’s man was about to take it, Erik craftily let it fall and then maintained that Koll had been careless enough to allow the gift to be lost in the flames. By way of punishment for his mistake, Koll was hanged. In ambiguous terms Erik now told the king all that had befallen him on the journey and ended his story by revealing the secret understanding between Greip and the queen. The queen confessed and begged for mercy. Greip attempted to thrust Erik through the body; Roll, however, anticipating his intent, killed Greip, who thus came to the end his evil deeds deserved. Greip’s brothers challenged Erik to single combat, but by the aid of trickery he succeeded in killing them all; their mother Gautvor he defeated in a duel of words; and finally he laid Vestmar himself low in a wrestling match. When Erik through guile had induced Frodi to promise his sister’s hand in marriage, Frodi came to the conclusion that matters were going too far, and so Erik found that there was nothing for him to do but to seek safety in flight; in advance, meanwhile, he had loosened certain planks in Frodi’s ships. As the king set out in pursuit, his ships filled and sank; but Erik promptly came to the rescue and pulled him out of the water. Frodi at first felt so humbled by his misfortune and disgrace that he begged Erik to take his life; but Erik heartened him and, promising to devote all his wisdom to the service of the king, returned with him to the court. There Erik wedded Gunnvor; and Roll wedded the queen whom the king had put away. Erik became the king’s earl, cleansed the court of evil hangers-on, and restored order throughout the land. From this time forth, good fortune befell Frodi in all his undertakings: he became rich, mighty, and famous; he conquered the Slavs, the Russians, the Huns, the Britons, and the Irish, and subjugated the better part of Norway and Sweden. Advised by Erik, he made many excellent laws and saw that they were strictly enforced; above all, he rendered property inviolate, so that no man dared steal from another: on the heath of Jællinge in Jutland and on Frodi’s Hill near Tunsberg hung gold rings that no one ventured to lay hands upon. Being sated with strife, he proclaimed universal peace throughout his far-flung empire. This armistice, called the peace of Frodi, endured for thirty years. Our forefathers, who gave full credence to these legends, associated the Peace of Frodi with the Roman Peace of Augustus, and regarded it as a mark of divine providence that tranquility thus reigned both in the North and in the South at the birth of Christ.
Frodi was a good friend of king Fjolnir in Uppsala, the son of Frey. Once Frodi came as his friend’s guest to a great banquet, where he bought two tall and strong bondwomen of Giant race, named Fenja and Menja; these he carried back with him to Denmark. Some time later Fjolnir visited Frodi and was received with the most lavish hospitality; but one night Fjolnir drank too much, fell into a huge tun of mead, and so met his death. Frodi set his bondwomen to grinding at a mill that had been given to him by a man named Hengikjopt.
The millstones were so heavy that no man in Denmark had the strength to turn them; but they had the capability of producing anything that might be required of them. Fenja and Menja alone were able to turn Grotti, for so the mill was called; they were therefore assigned the task of grinding out for the king gold, peace, and fair fortune. He allowed them to rest only so long as it took them to sing a song. When they had ground for a while, they sang the so-called Grotti Song, which still is preserved: in it they voiced the wish that Frodi might be set upon and killed. And their wish was fulfilled. That selfsame night appeared the sea-king Mysing; he fell upon Frodi, killed him, and so put an end to the Peace of Frodi. Mysing carried off with him Grotti and the two sisters. He at once put them to work at grinding salt, and they ground till the ships sank in Pentland Firth; ever since that time there has been a maelstrom where the sea rushes in and out through the hole in the millstone.