The next morning Ivar went to see two of his uncles, Randvir, a brother of his mother, and Visbur, a brother of his father, who had come to Upsalir with him, and said to them: “Kinsmen, I desire you to ask for me in marriage Randalin, the second daughter of Yngvi, the Hersir of Svithjod.”

“Well done, Ivar,” said his two uncles with one voice. “Thou art wise in thy choice, for Randalin is beautiful, and most accomplished in all that pertains to woman, and will be a wife worthy of thee; she is one of the greatest matches in the Northern lands, and we hope sincerely that both her father and herself will consent to your union.”

“I have told Randalin how much I loved her, and she has said that no one shall ever marry her but me,” replied Ivar.

The same afternoon the two uncles of Ivar went to Yngvi, and said to him: “Kinsman, we have to talk to thee on a very important matter,” and then explained their errand. Visbur was the spokesman, and said: “We are allied to thee by blood and kinship, and we wish furthermore to cement more closely our friendship, so we have come to ask the hand of thy second daughter, Randalin, for Ivar. Thy daughter is high-born, and of all the pedigrees of the Upsalir families, hers is the highest, for she is descended in direct line from the gods themselves. We wish, if it is thy pleasure, that Ivar should be thy son-in-law.”

After a pause, in order to allow Yngvi to reflect upon his proposals, Visbur continued: “Ivar is valiant, has been in many battles, has travelled far and wide, and is, we think, very wise for his age. More than all this, Ivar loves thy daughter Randalin, and we think it will be a happy union for both our families, and will cement the friendship that exists between Gotland and Svithjod.”

Yngvi received their request favorably, and replied: “I know that there will be no disparity in the match, for both Ivar and Randalin are of Odin’s kin; Ivar is a renowned warrior, and rules over one of the powerful realms of the North. There is no obstacle to their marriage, for though they are related by blood, it is only in the fifth degree, and this is the degree in which marriage is allowed between kinsmen and kinswomen. This is one of our wisest laws, which has been adhered to by us Norsemen from the most ancient times; by this we prevent the degeneration of our race.”

“But,” continued Yngvi, “Randalin is wise, and I will not betroth her to any one without her consent. Besides, she is of age, according to law, since she is over fifteen; and as she owns entailed lands in her own right, she can betroth herself to whom she likes, though it would be very unwise for her to do so without my consent. But before I speak to her on the subject, we must find that we are of one mind in regard to the conditions of the marriage concerning property. You are aware that Randalin has, even to-day, a great deal of property in her own right, and that she owns a third of her mother’s inheritance, which includes many large landed estates, and that in the course of time a great deal of wealth is to come to her. Marriage is a civil contract, owing to the relation which man and wife hold towards each other in regard to property. Let us see what will be ‘the dowry,’ or ‘home following,’ and the ‘counter dowry’; if we agree on these points, I see not what should prevent the marriage if Randalin is willing. Her brothers are waging war in the Mediterranean, and they will be delighted to hear of their sister’s marriage with their comrade and remote kinsman, Ivar Hjorvardson.”

Then he added: “According to the laws of our land, a woman has to be provided with a dowry, otherwise her children are not ‘inheritance born,’ and no marriage is valid without dowry; and that dowry, and the counter dowry which we give her, belong to her for life, and afterwards to her children, or to whomsoever she wills them, and her husband must not touch them. If she dies childless, her estates go back to her kinsmen, but the dowry is then returned to her husband; and she is entitled to a third of the property, both personal and real, earned by her husband during their married life.”

“Thou speakest fairly,” said the uncles. “Ivar will give as dowry to Randalin the estates of Bjolstad, of Lis, of Hof, and five hundred marks of gold.”

“This dowry is acceptable to me,” answered the Hersir of Svithjod.

“What counter dowry wilt thou give to Randalin?” inquired the uncles of Ivar.

“I will give her,” replied Yngvi, “the large estate of Rodelsvellir and five hundred marks of gold.”

“This is generous on thy part,” said Visbur and Randvir. “We will not discuss the trousseau which Ivar ought to give Randalin, for we know him to be most generous, and proud of his rank and dignity, and that he wishes Randalin to have such an outfit as becometh the daughter of the Hersir of Svithjod.”

Randalin was sent for, and Yngvi said to her: “I have a marriage to propose to thee, my daughter, which I think will suit thee well. I did not wish to betroth thee without thy consent. What thinkest thou of marrying Ivar Hjorvardson, the Hersir of Gotland? No better union couldst thou form in all the Northern lands.”

Randalin replied: “Father, no one could better please me, and the goddess Var has listened to the vows made between us, for Ivar and I love each other.”

Then Ivar was summoned to the conference, and Yngvi addressed him thus: “I would not give my daughter to thee, Ivar, if I did not like thee; and I would rather have thee than any of the other men in our Northern lands marry Randalin, for I consider thee the foremost in mind, courage, and daring.” Ivar thanked Yngvi for his kind words and for his consent to his marriage with Randalin.

After all the conditions were agreed to, each side called six men of high rank, and the agreement of the marriage was recited before them, as the law required, and they stood as witnesses of the contract.

It was agreed that the betrothal should not be for more than twelve months, unless unforeseen circumstances occurred.

Yngvi then said to Randalin: “I betroth thee according to law, as thy father and guardian. It is a complete betrothal.”

Then Ivar advanced toward Yngvi, who declared Ivar betrothed to Randalin, his daughter, and then they named witnesses to their betrothal.

Randalin next came forward and said: “Thou, Ivar, in presence of these witnesses, hast betrothed thyself to me lawfully; give me the counter dowry, and clasp my hand as the fulfilment and performance of the whole agreement, which a little while ago was recited before us without fraud or trick. This will be a complete and lawful match.”

“According to law,” said Ivar, “we name witnesses, Randalin, that thou hast betrothed thyself to me, Ivar Hjorvardson, lawfully. I give thee the counter dowry, with handshaking to seal the agreement, as the fulfilment and performance of the whole contract, which was but just now recited between us.”

Then, laughingly, one of the uncles of Ivar said to him: “Thou knowest, Ivar, that the breaking of a betrothal by either party is punished, and whichever party breaks it forfeits the dowry promised.”

“No fear of this,” exclaimed Ivar and Randalin at the same time, as they stood side by side.

Then said Yngvi, addressing Ivar, “Randalin has no faults or blemishes on her person. If thou findest faults or blemishes in her which I have not told thee of, it is because I do not know them. Her mother, as thou knowest, is dead, and she is the one that could tell. Randalin herself says she has no blemish. If she has, thou canst refuse to marry her; and if thou canst prove that I knew it, thou mayest claim the dowry according to law.”

They all separated, very happy, and when Yngvi was alone with his daughter, after the kinsmen of Ivar had departed, he said to her: “Daughter, thou thinkest that Ivar is perfection. A short time after thou art married to him, thou wilt find that he has faults, and thou wilt perhaps regret that thou didst not marry Thorstein, who, like Ivar, loved thee, and who aspired silently to thy hand; but I assure thee that if thou hadst married Thorstein, thou wouldst also find fault in him, for there is no man, no matter how good and brave he is, that is without a fault. So be satisfied, though thou mayst find some fault in Ivar, and though the ideal thou hadst of thy lover before thou hadst known him well and lived with him is broken. Many dreams of youth vanish in life. The Nornir are wise, and none of us knows his fate beforehand.”

The following morning Ivar, accompanied by several of the highest-born men of Gotland, and followed by the kinsmen of Hjalmar, went to Yngvi and explained their errand, which was to ask Astrid in marriage for Hjalmar.

The Hersir of Svithjod listened to them, and said: “It was my intention to betroth my daughter to another man, for I did not know that Hjalmar and Astrid loved each other. I think much of Hjalmar, for he is valiant, and is one of my land defenders, and I think the marriage a good one, as his family is also descended from Odin.”

The conditions of the marriage and the length of the betrothal were then agreed upon before witnesses. Sigmund was also betrothed in the same way, and for the same length of time, to Solveig, leaving Sigurd the only one of the four foster-brothers with free heart and hand.