History Literature / TheSagaOfTheJomsvikings

* TheKingslayer: Palnatóki, foster-father to the young Svein Forkbeard, instructs his foster-son to raise a rebellion against his own father Harald Gormsson, King of Denmark. In the night after the first (indecisive) battle, Palnatóki sneaks near Harald's camp and kills him with a well-aimed arrow. With Harald dead, his troops submit to Svein, and Svein is made king. As king, Svein hosts a remembrance feast for his father at which he presents the arrow which killed Harald and interrogates all guests about what they know about Harald's murder. Palnatóki bluntly admits that he killed Harald, upon which Svein at once (even though he owes his kingship to him) wants him killed. Palnatóóki and his men can escape from the hall, but go into exile and never return to Denmark.

* SinisterSchnoz: When Sigvaldi is introduced, he is described as tall, strong, "shrewd", and having "very fine eyes but an ugly nose". Sigvaldi's "ugly nose", which mars an otherwise handsome appearance, hints at the flaws of his character, namely, his penchant for treachery, which later shows when he deviously abducts King Svein in order to blackmail him to make peace with Burisleif, and when he retreats from the Battle of Hjórunga Bay, in the process abandoning Vagn and his men to their fate.

* TheBerserker: Aslak Holmskalle and Vagn are the first to board Jarl Erik's ship and "each plowed forward on either side of the ship, clearing the deck, so that everybody fell back". They "[slay] many a man". Aslak is moreover invulnerable to weapons and though he wears no helmet, and gets hit on the head with swords, he stays unharmed. Aslak is only stopped when his skull is bashed in with an anvil; Vagn, who is not invulnerable but is nevertheless "killing men savagely", continues to advance until he takes a hit with an oaken club which splits his helmet and prompts him to jump back onto his own ship. Jarl Erik then retreats from the battle line, because he has lost too many defenders.

* TheKingslayer: Palnatóki, foster-father the young Svein Forkbeard, instructs his foster-son to raise a rebellion against his own father Harald Gormsson, King of Denmark. In the night after the first battle, Palnatóki sneaks near Harald's camp and assassinates him with a well-aimed arrow. With Harald dead, his troops submit to Svein, and Svein is made king. As king, Svein hosts a remembrance feast for his father at which he presents the arrow which killed Harald and interrogates all guests what they know about Harald's murder. Palnatóki bluntly admits that he killed Harald, upon which Svein at once (even though he owes his kingship to him) wants him killed. Palnatoki and his men can escape from the hall, but go into exile and never return to Denmark.

[[caption-width-right:345: [- "Hailstorm at the Battle of Hjorunga Bay" (Halfdan Egedius, 1899) -] ]]

Having become somewhat snobbish by all their victories, Palnatoki and his lot, henceforward known as the Jomsvikings, decide that only the crème de la crème of warriors can join their club, and establish the law of Jomsborg that makes bravery and recklessness mandatory. Applicants arrive from whom Palnatoki picks the captains of Jomsborg – Sigvaldi, Thorkell the Tall, Bui the Stout, Sigurd Cape, and Palnatoki's own grandson Vagn Akason with his veteran mentor, Bjorn the Welshman. Together, they form the most prestigious viking host to ever haunt the seas, and heap up fame and fortune in spades.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Just as Sigvaldi is turning to flight from the Battle of Hjorunga Bay, Bui's ship is boarded and Bui gets both his hands cut off at the wrists by Sigmund Brestisson. With his last strength, Bui picks up his two chests of gold with his arm stumps and jumps overboard while calling on his remaining men to do the same.
* BigBadassBattleSequence: The Battle of Hjorunga Bay is the saga's climax.

* CoolOldGuy: Bjorn the Welshman is already an old man by the time of the Battle of Hjorunga Bay, but still renowned for his bravery.

* DragonHoard: The saga speculates that a sea-serpent seen in Hjorunga Bay is the ghost of the Jomsviking Bui, guarding the two chests of gold he took with him to his watery grave.
* DragonsAreDemonic: The saga speculates that a sea-serpent seen in Hjorunga Bay is either the ghost of Bui guarding the two chests of gold he took with him to the sea-bottom, or else that "some evil spirit" has taken possession of the treasure.

* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: The warrior Thorkel Midlong splits Bui's chin with a sword-blow, but Bui returns the blow while Thorkel slips on the wet planks and topples against the gunwale, and "the blow struck him in the middle, and he was cut in two against the gunwale."

* HonorBeforeReason: Sigvaldi and the Jomsvikings when they decide to keep the vows they swore while they were wasted, even though they know they have bitten off more than they can chew. Vagn Akason when he refuses to retreat from the Battle of Hjorunga Bay, preferring death or captivity over flight.

* LastBreathBullet: At daybreak the day after the Battle of Hjorunga Bay, the victorious Norwegians are busy binding up their wounds when they "heard the twang of a bowstring" from one of the ships of the Jomsvikings which are still drifting in the bay, and an arrow strikes and kills Gudbrand, a relative of Jarl Hakon. They search the ships and find Hávard the Hewing, who is still alive even though both his feet are cut off. Before he is put to death, Hávard expresses his disappointment that the man he killed was not Jarl Hakon himself.
* LastMinuteReprieve: Of seventy Jomsvikings captured after the Battle of Hjorunga Bay, ten have already been beheaded when Jarl Erik is so impressed with their defiant behavior in the face of death that he saves Svein Buason by taking him into his retinue. When he makes the same offer to Vagn, Vagn makes it a condition that all the others are set free too, or else he would rather be executed. Jarl Erik accepts and grants them their lives.

* OffWithTheHead: After the Battle of Hjorunga Bay, seventy Jomsvikings who have failed to get away are taken prisoner by the Norwegians, and are set to be executed by beheading. One by one, ten vikings get decapitated until their death-defiance impresses the captors sufficiently they pardon the rest.

* RainOfArrows: Pours over the Jomsvikings in Hjörunga Bay.
* TakingYouWithMe: After the battle of Hjorunga Bay, Vagn and the other captured Jomsvikings are set to be executed by Thorkel Leira, whom Vagn has earlier vowed to kill. As Thorkel Leira is about to behead Vagn, Bjorn the Welshman kicks Vagn so that he falls. Thorkel misses Vagn, trips and drops his sword, which accidentally cuts the fetters on Vagn's hands, and Vagn grabs the sword and kills Thorkel. Despite there still seems to be no chance for him to get away alive, Vagn voices his satisfaction that he has made good on his vow. Vagn is then saved by Jarl Erik, who takes him into his retinue.

* WeatherOfWar: It looks like the Jomsvikings are going to win the Battle of Hjorunga Bay until Jarl Hakon of Norway uses a lull in the battle to sacrifice to the goddesses Thorgerd and Irpa and call on them for victory. When the battle resumes, suddenly the sky casts over and a storm with thunder, lightning and heavy fall of hail arises. The wind is blowing into the faces of the Jomsvikings and is so strong so "that they could hardly stand up" and all their missiles are turned back on them "to join the shower of missiles from their enemies". Initially the Jomsvikings continue to fight as before, but when the storm gets even stronger after a while, Sigvaldi orders a retreat.

* WhereAreTheyNow: The saga ends with a short summary of what later became of the Jomsviking chiefs that survived Hjorunga Bay: Vagn marries Ingibjörg, the daughter of Thorkel Leira, and moves back to Fyn, Bjorn lives out his life in Wales, Sigurd Cape returns to Bornholm, and also that Bui (who jumped overboard in Hjorunga Bay) ''may'' have turned into a sea-dragon.

* AnvilOnHead: Fully literal the death of Aslak Holmskalle. Played serious (or is it?).

* TheBerserker: Aslak Holmskalle and Vagn are the first to board Jarl Erik's ship and "each plowed forward on either side of the ship, clearing the deck, so that everybody fell back". They "[slay] many a man". Aslak is moreover invulnerable to weapons and though he wears no helmet, and gets hit on the head with swords, he stays unharmed. Aslak is only stopped when his skull is bashed in with an anvil; Vagn, who is "killing men savagely", continues to advance until he takes a hit with an oaken club which splits his helmet and prompts him to jump back onto his own ship. Jarl Erik then retreats from the battle line, because he has lost too many defenders.

* TheBerserker: Aslak Holmskalle.

* DragonHoard: The saga speculates that a sea-serpent seen in Hjorunga Bay is the ghost of Bui, guarding the two chests of gold he took with him to the sea-bottom.

* GetItOverWith: Several variants of this are spoken by the Jomsvikings about to be executed.

* ICanStillFight: Havard the Hewer fights on even with his feet cut off.
* LastMinuteReprieve: Of 70 Jomsvikings captured after the Battle of Hjorunga Bay, ten have already been beheaded when Jarl Erik is so impressed with their defiant behavior in the face of death that he saves Svein Buason by taking him into his retinue. When he makes the same offer to Vagn, Vagn makes it a condition that all the others are set free too, or else he would rather be executed. Jarl Erik accepts and grants them their lives.

* OffWithHisHead: What awaits the captured Jomsvikings.

* AdoptedIntoRoyalty: To hush up an incestuous affair, Jarl Arnfinn of Saxony abandons his newborn son in a forest so it will be found by king Gorm of Denmark. Gorm, who at once infers from the costly garments and the gold found along with him that the boy is of noble birth, has him raised like a son and eventually names him his heir. The boy, Knut, becomes king and gives his name to the royal house of Knytlings.

* BrotherSisterIncest: Knut, the founder of the Danish royal house of Knytlings, is the result of an incestuous affair a Saxon jarl called Arnfinn had with his sister. The parents keep the boy a secret and abandon him in a forest so he will be found by King Gorm of Denmark.
-->''The jarl had a beautiful sister, and he was fonder of her than he should have been and begot a child with her.''

* DoorstopBaby: Jarl Arnfinn, wishing to keep his incestuous affair with his own sister a secret, arranges for his newborn son to be abandoned in a forest where the Danish king Gorm the Childless is hunting. As planned, the boy is found and brought to the king, who has him raised as a royal and eventually names him his successor. Because the boy is left with gold knotted into a cloth hanging from branches above his head, Gorm calls him Knútr ("knot"), and he becomes the founder of the Danish royal house of Knytlings.

* DoorstopBaby: Jarl Arnfinn, wishing to keep his incestuous affair with his own sister a secret, arranges for his newborn son to be abandoned in a forest where the Danish king Gorm the Childless is hunting. As planned, the boy is found and brought to the king, who has him raised as a royal and eventually names him his successor. Because the boy is left with a gold ring knotted into a cloth hanging from branches above his head, Gorm calls him Knútr ("knot"), and he becomes the founder of the Danish royal house of Knytlings.

* DoorstopBaby: Jarl Arnfinn, wishing to keep his incestuous affair with his own sister a secret, arranges for his newborn son to be abandoned in a forest where the Danish king Gorm the Childless is hunting. As planned, the boy is found and brought to the king, who takes him in his care, has him raised as a royal and eventually names him his successor.

* DoorstopBaby: Knut, from whom the Knytling dynasty derives its name, is found as a baby in a forest by King Gorm the Childless and adopted as a son by him.

* BrotherSisterIncest: Earl Arnfinn and his sister, the true parents of Knut the Foundling. How anybody could know about this is not explained by the saga.

* NighInvulnerability: Aslak Holmskalle is immune to regular weapons, as berserkers usually are.

* NobodyTouchesTheHair: Svein Buason: "Whose hands are in my hair?"

* WeAllDieSomeday: Invoked by one of the Jomsvikings led to execution:

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Just as Sigvaldi is turning to flight from the Battle of Hjorung Bay, Bui's ship is boarded and Bui gets both his hands cut off at the wrists by Sigmund Brestisson. With his last strength, Bui picks up his two chests of gold with his arm stumps and jumps overboard while calling on his remaining men to do the same.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: When there's no hope left, Bui jumps overboard to his death.

* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Bui's sword blow cuts the warrior Thorkel Midlong in two.

* LastMinuteReprieve: For Svein Buason, Vagn and the few remaining captives.

* TakingYouWithMe: Vagn Akason and his [[spoiler:would-be]] executioner Thorkel Leira.