the late Norse accounts are highly unreliable, some details of the war are mentioned in contemporary scaldic verses and confirm Anund Jacob's intervention. The Battle of Helgeå According to Snorri's account of the Battle of Helgeå, the Swedish and Norwegian fleets arrived at the estuary of Helge å on the east coast of Scania. There they prepared a trap by building a levee of wooden branches and turf close to the estuary. When Cnut's fleet approached, the levee was torn down and the rushing water and floating logs created disorder in the Danish fleet. However, many Danish ships were soon ready to confront the Swedes and Norwegians. In the face of the superior enemy, Anund Jacob and Olaf withdrew. Olaf later sneaked back to Norway with his entourage via Småland and Västergötland. The actual circumstances of the Battle of Helgeå are debated among historians due to conflicting sources. The near-contemporary Anglo-Saxon Chronicle asserts, under the year 1025 (error for 1026): "This year King Cnut went to Denmark with a fleet to the holm by the holy river [Helge å]; where against him there came Ulf and Eilaf, with a very large force both by land and sea, from Sweden. There were very many men lost on the side of King Cnut, both of Danish and English; and the Swedes had possession of the field of battle." The identity of Ulf and Eilaf (probably subordinate officers to Anund Jacob) is not known - possibly they are identical with two brothers by that name who were sons of the Swedish or Geatish magnate Ragnvald Ulfsson. They could also be the Anglo-Danish Ulf Jarl and his brother Eilaf, since some late accounts allege that Ulf fought on the Swedish-Norwegian side in the war. A contemporary scaldic verse by Sigvat Thordarson partly conforms with Snorri by stating that Cnut beat back or stopped the Swedish attack (Svíum hnekkðir Þu) and defended his realm against two kings. However, this is a poem in praise of Cnut and thus not an impartial source. It is therefore not entirely clear if Anund Jacob and Olaf were victorious over or defeated by Cnut. It has even been suggested that the battle in fact was fought in southeastern Uppland, where a river appears to have been called Helgå in the Middle Ages. According to that hypothesis, the site fits the topographical details of Snorri's account much better than eastern