The Tale
of Toki Tokason
© Peter Tunstall,
2005
In the days when Olaf[1]
was king in Sarpsborg, it once happened that a large
stranger came before the king and greeted him. And the king received him well
and asked him his name. The man said he was called Toki, son of Toki, the son
of Toki the Elder. He asked if he could stay awhile among the retainers. The
king granted him that and assigned to him a very worthy seat. Toki was quiet,
kept himself to himself, and seldom drank much. He was pleasant and polite and
well liked by all. The king found Toki to be both wise and inquisitive,
answering all questions well and with good sense. The king enjoyed his
conversation. People saw that Toki was an old man, and yet they could also see
that he must once have been an exceptionally big and handsome man.
One day the king was talking with Toki and asked how old he
was. Toki said he wasn’t really sure, “But this much I do know: I was fated to
live two times the human span, and it seems to me likely it’ll end soon, given
the length of most men’s lives.”
The king said, “You must remember King Half and his heroes,
then, or Hrolf Kraki and
his champions.”
Toki answered, “I remember each of them, because I was with
them both.”
The king enquired, “Who do you think was best?”
Toki answered, “That’s for you to say, lord, but I will
tell you a tale about it. I was a lively fellow in those days, and travelled
from land to land, and I had a band of picked men with me, but only those who
matched my standards, because I was counted then among the bravest sort. It was
also true that at that time there wasn’t much I considered impossible. So I
journeyed far and wide, wanting to test the hospitality of chiefs and the fame
of their champions.
“Along with the lifespan, a doom was laid on me that I’d
never enjoy more than twelve months in one place, and I found that to be true.
Then I heard about Hrolf Kraki,
his generosity and kindness, fame and feats, and the prowess of his champions:
that they weren’t like anyone else you could name, for strength or any skill. I
became eager to meet this king and his men. So off I went, taking my comrades
along too, till I came to
“I asked then where I should sit. He told me to sit
wherever I could make a space and pull a man off his seat. I said I was much
obliged. I was very confident. I went straight for the place where Bodvar Bjarki sat. The king had
ordered them not to fight back. So I grabbed hold of Bodvar
and braced my feet against the footboard. I hunched my shoulders and strained
with my arms. I tried then with all my strength, but he sat perfectly still and
there was no way I could budge him. And one moment he was red as blood, and the
next white as bast, or blue as death, or pale as a
corpse, just like that, he kept turning all these colours.
“Next I took hold of Hjalti the Gallant.
Each of us strove as well as we could. I managed jerk him to the edge of the
dais, but then he always righted himself and sat back down again before I could.
This went on a while, till I gave up. Next I settled on Hvitserk
the Keen and gave it my best shot. I jerked him forwards and likewise each of
the others. In this way I went right around the hall and pulled everyone out of
their seats. After that I and my men could sit where we wanted. We all got the
most important seats. There was real grandeur apparent in everything there, and
hospitality, and it seems to me like the best place anywhere. But when summer
came, I went to King Hrolf and thanked him for my
winter stay, and I said that I must be off now. And he begged me to stay, but I
wasn’t content there.
“Then I went on, travelling far and wide once more, till I
heard tell of King Half and his heroes. Much was made of them, what valiant men
they were. So I went on some more till I came to
“That’s obvious,” said the king, “King Half’s heroes were
much stronger, but no one would seem to me to have been a better or more
open-handed king than Hrolf Kraki,
in his day. But are you a baptised man or not?”
Toki answered, “I’ve been prime-signed,[2]
but not baptised, as I’ve spent my time among both heathens and Christians,
although I believe in the White-Christ.[3]
In fact, that’s also the reason I came to see you, because I want to get
baptised and to have the gospel you are offering, as I doubt I could have it
from a better man.”
The king was glad that he wanted to be baptised and serve
God. Toki was baptised then by King Olaf’s own bishop
and died in white.[4]
[1] Saint Olaf (Óláfr inn helgi). Missionary king of
[2] prímsigndr. He
had received the prima signatio, a preliminary to baptism in the early church
consisting of being marked on the forehead with the sign of the cross. Many heathen
Scandinavians underwent this ritual as it allowed them to have dealings with
the Christians abroad, e.g. as merchants or mercenaries.
[3] Jesus, so called because of the prevalence of white in Christian worship: in vestments, churches, etc.
[4] That is, in his Christening robe: within a week of being baptised.