In the legend of Olav Tryggvason we learn that it is Odin himself who tells the story of King Augvald to Olav Tryggvason. Snorre claims that Varin killed Augvald, while in " The Saga of Half & His Heroes " it is Hækling who reputedly took his life. At Ferkingstad, on the island of Karmøy, the story of Augvald is closely tied with the ancient legend of King Ferking.

King Ferking

The name Ferking/Farking is probably derived from the nickname or title Farthegn, meaning "travelling gentleman" or "travelling merchant". The King, in one of the versions of this legend, is referred to as "Kverking".

The legend tells of the royal fortress, Kongsborgen, which was burnt to the ground during the 7^th century. The Fartegn estate was later raised on the same site by Ferking's son, who also bore the name Fartegn. The legend deals therefore with two main characters: Ferking and Fartegn, father and son. It is fair to assume that these are in fact the same name.

The actual identity of the owner of the royal fortress and Augvald's adversary has become a casualty of both time and memory. Perhaps it was Varin, or Hekling, as we have heard from historical sources? Here we choose to follow the legend identifying Augvald's murderer as Ferking.

Archaeological evidence of remains from a large building known as "Kongsborgen" (the Kings fortress)  at Ferkingstad was visible until the turn of the century. These remains date back to the Migration Period (ca. 400 – 500 AD). Bishop Neumann wrote in 1837 that the remains of these building surpassed everything "that history had preserved of the power and splendour of ancient times".

When J. Neumann visited Ferkingstad, a sketch was drawn up of the site at "Hedlabakkene". The sketch was used as the basis for this proposed reconstruction. The total area for the site was 3,300km².

1. banquet halls ca. 60 metres long lange,

2. storehouse,

3. sauna,

4. barn,

5  house for food making

6  farmhouse,

7. farnhouse,

8. farmhouse,

9.farmhouse.

THE LEGENDS OF KING FERKING AND KING AUGVALD

King Augvald was the son of Rognvald, son of Rugalf. Rugalf was the son of Gard Agde who in turn was the son of Nor from Gotland.

King Augvald originally had his throne at Roga in Jøsursheid between Rogaland and Telemark. His kingdom was limited and only covered the area stretching from Jøsurfjord in Hjelmeland to Brunkeberg and Fyresdal.

As a result of successful battles at sea he managed to capture the land belonging to the holmrygr (those who lived at the islands of Rogaland)  as he banished the former rulers there and set up his new base on the best possible location on the island of Kormt  (Karmøy). This place, Avaldsnes, has since then borne the name of King Augvald.

King Augvald was a battle-hungry man who often raided foreign land, amassing great wealth and honour in his stride. He possessed a sacred cow which he worshipped and which he took with him wherever he travelled. Some say the cow was named Audhumla and that it wore a golden collar around its neck. Augvald believed the cow was responsible for his victories and that her milk provided strength and vitality.

King Augvald had several daughters, two of which were female warriors, known as shield-maidens (valkyries), who fought together with their father in all of his battles.

Once, when Augvald was out hunting with his entourage, his Queen gave birth to a son by the name of Jøsur who was raised by Gunnvald Stordajarl.

Ferking was the name of the sea king that reigned on the west side of Karmøy. Some believe that Ferking was not his original name but rather a nickname given to him as a result of his frequent raiding expeditions.

Ferking owned several large houses built of stone that were later collectively known as Kongsborgen (the Kings fortress). Close by was an enormous banquet hall, large enough to hold 500 men as they danced in honour of the golden calf, the deity of Ferking.

King Ferking built numerous large boathouses, but his son built the largest of these at Hop. Ferking ruled over many people and their need for corn was so great that he was forced to attack vessels loaded with corn on their way up the coast from Jæren in order to provide the necessary food. Ferking was a brave and courageous man who always emerged victorious from battles.

The battle between King Augvald and King Ferking

The legend tells us nothing of whether Ferking governed all of Karmøy before Augvald's arrival. It is also unclear as to whether this midwinter sacrificial banquet took place before or after Augvald had settled at Augvaldsnes. What is clear, however, is that Ferking could not tolerate the presence of Augvald on Karmøy.

Ferking decided therefore to travel north with his army but came no further than Skeie, where King Augvald and his army met him. There were many fatalities on both sides, though none could claim to be the outright victor.

The final and greatest battle between these two kings took place at the site now known as  Stavasletta (The field of Stava). Here there were two gorges, some distance from each other, on this ancient coastal road; a road that was surrounded by beach and quicksand. Ferking and his advisors believed that the area between these gorges was the best place to attack Augvald, so they hid themselves here, lying in wait for him to appear.

Augvald was, as usual, accompanied by his sacred cow. He also had his two warrior daughters, the shield-maidens, with him. Both Augvald and his sacred cow were slain between the gorges at the field of Stava..

The death of the shiled-maidens

Having witnessed the death of their father, the daughters gave off a terrifying scream before jumping in the river and drowning. These daughters were later buried at the field of Stava where memorial stones were raised over their graves. To this day these stones are known as 'Skjoldmøyane' –  “The Shield-maidens”.

Historical sources tell of how both King Augvald and his cow were taken back to Augvaldsnes for burial. In Odd Munk's manuscript from approx. 1190, we can read that Olav Tryggvason later excavated the burial mounds where Augvald and his cow were buried. He found human remains in the first mound and bovine remains in the other.