March 20, 1997
In The Saga of the Jomsvikings during the Icelandic Era, a character named Palnatoki played a major role in influencing the lives of those who surrounded him. His actions ranged from killing a king to starting up a fraternity-like group known as the Jomsvikings. Through Palnatoki's fortune, fame, and glory, his ability to manipulate and charm others was enhanced; therefore assisting him in fulfilling his destiny.
Palnatoki's newly acquired wealth from his raiding expeditions and his return to Denmark posed a serious power threat to King Harold of Denmark. Palnatoki "was considered the most important man in Denmark next to the king, as well as the richest and best endowed with understanding" (49). However, Palnatoki devised a long-term plan that would one day bring down the king from his pedestal. On one occasion, "Palnatoki prepared a banquet and invited him to attend it, and the king accepted _ A woman was assigned to wait on him" (50). At this banquet, King Harold seduced and impregnated a slave nicknamed Saumaesa. As a result, Saumaesa gave birth to the King's child and named him Svein. Three years later, Palnatoki held another banquet in which King Harold attended. However, this time Palnatoki had some manipulative tricks up his sleeve. To start off, Palnatoki made sure he was on his own "turf" when he confronted the king, thus having leverage on a heated argument. Furthermore, he also made sure the king was drunk before he advised Saumaesa to approach King Harold about their newly born son. The king reacted by saying, "An exceedingly bold woman you are, and a foolish one, too. And dare not say this again if you want to keep a whole skin." At that moment, Palnatoki immediately defended Saumaesa by taking her side of the matter and then declared how he would take care of Svein as though he were his own son. At the banquet, Palnatoki followed through with his manipulative plan to prove to King Harold and himself that he would not be a man who backs down from a confrontation.
Palnatoki's plans were nearly impossible to detect due to his uncanny patience. Palnatoki took on the responsibility of raising Svein with the expectation that someday he would eventually become the heir to King Harold's throne. The initiation of the second part of Palnatoki's plan to bring upon the downfall of King Harold took place when Svein was about 15 years old. "Palnatoki bade Svein see his father and demand assistance from him and declare himself his son, whether King Harold liked it or no"(52). Svein followed through with Palnatoki's request a few times and managed to get many ships which enabled him to go on quite a few expeditions. However, King Harold was enraged with Svein's actions and was determined to search for Svein with a fleet of fifty ships with the intent of giving his son a fatal punishment. Subsequently, Palnatoki was expecting King Harold to plot an attack on Svein and therefore was ready to reinforce Svein's fleet when the time came. During this inevitable battle, Palnatoki secretly anchored his ships on the other side of the island while both sides were resting. That same evening Palnatoki went up on land and recognized King Harold in a vulnerable position. Hence, Palnatoki "fixed an arrow in his bow and shot King Harold through. The king dropped dead_ Palnatoki at once returned to his men" (56). The news about King Harold's assassination was kept on the down-low by Palnatoki as he decided not to speak a word of his actions. Palnatoki once again appeared as though he squeezed his way through a tough situation.
The purpose behind Palnatoki's assassination of King Harold benefited both himself and Svein. Palnatoki no longer had to deal with King Harold, and Svein would be declared the new king. For many summers after the death of King Harold, Svein intended to have a funeral feast, but only if Palnatoki were present. However, Palnatoki kept stalling to attend the feast for some reason or another. When Palnatoki finally gave in to his ill-feeling and attended the feast, he was reminded of his carelessness of leaving behind important evidence such as his gold arrow when he assassinated King Harold. From this evidence, the word quickly got around about his direct connection to King Harold's death. This news enraged Svein at the funeral feast, despite the good intentions Palnatoki had sought out for Svein. Palnatoki accomplished his plan to make Svein the new king although Svein strongly disapproved of Palnatoki's method.
A strong reputation can be a great assistant in more ways than one, especially in helping to escape tough situations. Palnatoki validated my aforementioned assumption when Svein ordered his men to kill Palnatoki and the men who were with him; for most people, this case would be a fatal situation. However, Palnatoki became the exception as he defied the odds by letting his great charm and popularity cause hesitation around Svein's men about killing him. As a result, Palnatoki and all of his men, but one, managed to escape without any casualties; a most unlikely feat.
Palnatoki's reputation helped him four summers later when he sailed east to Wendland and was offered a district of land called Jom by the king there. The king was heavily influenced by Palnatoki's revered reputation which led to a great intimidation factor. In this situation, Palnatoki was manipulative just by his presence which led to many great offers from the king. Palnatoki wisely accepted these offers and eventually made a strong army of defense for the king. However, Palnatoki wasn't content just yet as he established laws for Jomsborg and made a group of warriors called the Jomsvikings. Palnatoki showed his dominance through his newly assembled upper echelon group. In fact, to become a member of this group there were many exceptional qualifications required. For example, each member had to be between the ages of 18 and 50, and "must avenge any other member as though he were his brother" (63). Also, "No one was to utter words of fear or be afraid of anything, however hopeless matters looked" (63). These attitudes were symbolic of the type of fraternity-like group Palnatoki wanted to comprise. These great warriors often went on expeditions to various countries and achieved immense fortune and fame. Palnatoki justifiably manipulated his way into creating and leading the an elite group; the Jomsvikings.
Predicting prophecies became ordinary for Palnatoki as he found a young boy who had qualities similar to his own. A 12-year old "hot-shot" named Vagn wanted to become a part of the Jomsvikings. Palnatoki was intrigued by Vagn's potential since Vagn reminded him of a younger version of himself. Only problem was that he broke the first law of becoming a Jomsviking of being at least 18 years old. Nonetheless, Vagn refused to be rejected from a group he was destined to be in. Vagn proved his worth by challenging and defeating Sigvaldi in battle. Palnatoki, eventually saw the fire and symbolic character a Jomsviking should have in Vagn; so he decided to make an exception for the exceptional mirror image of himself; Vagn. As a result, Vagn disappointed no one by becoming the most fearless warrior of all the Jomsvikings. Palnatoki appreciated Vagn's ability to shape his own destiny just as Palnatoki had done throughout his whole life.
Towards the end of Palnatoki's life, he made one last decision that would have a major impact on the future of the Jomsvikings. This decision was choosing a new leader on the account of his eminent death. He chose what he thought was the best man for the job by choosing Sigvaldi to step-up as the new leader of the Jomsvikings. Sigvaldi was a shrewd man that was among the forefathers of the Jomsvikings. However, Sigvaldi may have lacked some of the key characteristics a Jomsviking was supposed to have. Being a Jomsviking was about dominating others, pride, and living a life without fear. However, Sigvaldi was nothing special in terms of fighting, and was a man who preferred to run and live, rather than fight and die. For example, in the battle between the Jomsvikings and Earl Hakon, Sigvaldi said, "Now I am going to flee, and let all men do so" (102). Had Palnatoki still been alive, he would have been very disappointed hearing those words come out of a Jomsviking; let alone their leader. On the other hand, Vagn was not about to disgrace everything the Jomsvikings believed in, thus continued to fight. However, Sigvaldi's cowardice angered Vagn and as a result threw a spear Sigvalidi's way, but missed. After the Jomsvikings eventually lost their battle with Earl Hakon, Vagn somehow manipulated his way out of apparent death without losing his pride. The end result for Sigvaldi and Vagn were that they both lived, but only Vagn achieved this feat with honor. Despite Palnatoki's prior success in decision making, passing the torch to Sigvaldi rather than Vagn was a crucial mistake.
Palnatoki led a very economical life in that he maximized satisfaction by getting the most out of his God-given ability. He was a shrewd man that took advantage of his manipulation skills to lead a rich and famous lifestyle. On Palnatoki's route to fulfilling his destiny, he used his cleverness to escape difficult situations, and manipulated people to get what he wanted. Some of Palnatoki's achievements were: marrying his first choice, causing the downfall of King Harold, creating the almighty Jomsvikings, etc. In truth, Palnatoki was atypical in his manipulation, yet justified in that his intentions were always good. These qualities were the epitome of Palnatoki's success as a warrior, explorer, advisor, and leader. As a result of Palnatoki's death, the start of the Jomsvikings downfall began.