King Harald in Constantinople

- King Harald: half-brother of the King of Norway, viking explorer that ended up working for the Varangi guard of the Byzantine Emperors. Later, he would regain Norway and die in the famous year of 1066 while trying to conquer England as well.
- Varangian Guard: Byzantium's viking army.
- Georgios: Byzantine general.

Este é um capitulo da Harald's Saga:

Once on an overland march they had decided to camp for the night near a forest. The Varangians were the first to arrive in the area, and they chose the best place they could find for pitching their tents; it was on the highest ground, for the terrain was rather boggy and the rain would turn the lower ground into a swamp ill-suited for camping.
When Georgios arrived and saw where the Varangians had pitched their tents, he ordered them to move their camps elsewhere, saying that he wanted to pitch his own tents there himself.
But Harald said, "If you arrive first at the night quarters, you would choose your own place and we would have to be content with pitching our tents elsewhere. In the same way, you can now camp anywhere you like - except here. I had assumed that it was a privilege of the Varangians here in the Byzantine Empire to be completely free and independent of all others, and to be beholden only to the emperor and empress to whom they owe their allegiance."
They argued this fiercely, until finally they seized their weapons and were on the point of coming to blows. But wiser men intervened and separated them, and said it would be more sensible for them to settle the matter by clear agreement once and for all, to prevent similar disputes arising in the future. So a peace meeting was arranged by the best and wisest men, and there it was agreed with the consent of all parties that lots should be thrown on to a piece of cloth and that the Greeks and the Varangians should then draw the lots to decide which of them should take precedence when riding or rowing or putting in at harbour or choosing the ground for their tents. And the decision reached by the drawing of lots was to be binding on both sides.
Now the lots were made. But before they were marked Harald said to Georgios, "I want to see how you are marking your lot, to make sure we do not mark our lots in the same way".
Georgios agreed. Then Harald marked his own lot and threw it in the cloth alongside the other. The man who had been chosen to draw the lots now picked one of them out and raised it aloft between his fingers and said, "The owner of this lot shall take precedence when riding and rowing and putting in at harbour and choosing the ground for his tents".
Harald seized his hands and snatched the lot away from him and hurled it into the sea. Then he said, "That was my lot that was drawn".
"Why did you not let everyone else see it?" demanded Georgios.
"We should look at the one that`s left" one man said. And when the remaining lot was examined, everyone saw that it had Georgios' mark upon it; so it was decided that the Varangians should take precedence in all the matters that were in dispute.
Many other disagreements arose between them, and Harald always got the better of it in the end.