{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_12747/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_12747","id":"gutenberg_12747","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12747","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Adventure","Category: Historical Novels","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fantasy","Grettir \u00c1smundarson, 996-1031 -- Romances","Sagas -- Translations into English"],"text":"THE STORY OF GRETTIR THE STRONG\n\nTRANSLATED FROM THE ICELANDIC\n\nBY\nEIR\u00cdKR MAGN\u00daSSON\nAND\nWILLIAM MORRIS\n\n\n1900\n\n\n\n\n    A life scarce worth the living, a poor fame \n    Scarce worth the winning, in a wretched land,\n    Where fear and pain go upon either hand,\n    As toward the end men fare without an aim\n    Unto the dull grey dark from whence they came:\n    Let them alone, the unshadowed sheer rocks stand\n    Over the twilight graves of that poor band,\n    Who count so little in the great world's game!\n\n    Nay, with the dead I deal not; this man lives,\n    And that which carried him through good and ill,\n    Stern against fate while his voice echoed still\n    From rock to rock, now he lies silent, strives\n    With wasting time, and through its long lapse gives\n    Another friend to me, life's void to fill.\n\n    WILLIAM MORRIS.\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nWe do not feel able to take in hand the wide subject of the Sagas of\nIceland within the limits of a Preface; therefore we have only to say\nthat we put forward this volume as the translation of an old story\nfounded on facts, full of dramatic interest, and setting before\npeople's eyes pictures of the life and manners of an interesting race\nof men near akin to ourselves.\n\nThose to whom the subject is new, we must refer to the translations\nalready made of some other of these works,[1] and to the notes which\naccompany them: a few notes at the end of this volume may be of use to\nstudents of Saga literature.\n\n[Footnote 1: Such as 'Burnt Njal,' Edinburgh, 1861, 8vo, and 'Gisli\nthe Outlaw,' Edinburgh, 1866, 4to, by Dasent; the 'Saga of Viga-Glum,'\nLondon, 1866, 8vo, by Sir E. Head; the 'Heimskringla,' London, 1844,\n8vo, by S. Laing; the 'Eddas,' Prose by Dasent, Stockholm, 1842;\nPoetic by A.S. Cottle, Bristol, 1797, and Thorpe, London and Halle,\n1866; the 'Three Northern Love Stories,' translated by Magn\u00fasson and\nMorris, London, 1875, and 'The Volsunga Saga,' translated by the same,\nLondon, 1870.]\n\nFor the original tale we think little apology is due; that it holds\na very high place among the Sagas of Iceland no student of that\nliterature will deny; of these we think it yields only to the story\nof Njal and his sons, a work in our estimation to be placed beside\nthe few great works of the world. Our Saga is fuller and more complete\nthan the tale of the other great outlaw Gisli; less frightful than\nthe wonderfully characteristic and strange history of Egil, the son\nof Skallagrim; as personal and dramatic as that of Gunnlaug the\nWorm-tongue, if it lack the rare sentiment of that beautiful story;\nwith more detail and consistency, if with less variety, than the\nhistory of Gudrun and her lovers in the Laxdaela; and more a work of\nart than that, or than the unstrung gems of Eyrbyggja, and the great\ncompilation of Snorri Sturluson, the History of the Kings of Norway.\n\nAt any rate, we repeat, whatever place among the best Sagas may be\ngiven to Grettla[2] by readers of such things, it must of necessity\nbe held to be one of the best in all ways; nor will those, we hope,\nof our readers who have not yet turned their attention to the works\nwritten in the Icelandic tongue, fail to be moved more or less by the\ndramatic power and eager interest in human character, shown by our\nstory-teller; we say, we hope, but we are sure that no one of insight\nwill disappoint us in this, when he has once accustomed himself to\nthe unusual, and, if he pleases, barbarous atmosphere of these ancient\nstories.\n\n[Footnote 2: Such is the conversational title of this Saga; many of\nthe other Sagas have their longer title abbreviated in a like manner:\nEgil's saga becomes Egla, Njal's saga Nj\u00e1la; Eyrbyggja saga, Laxdaela\nsaga, Vatnsdaeela saga, Reykdaela saga, Svarfdaela saga, become\nEyrbyggja, Laxdaela, Vatnsdaela, Reykdaela, Svarfdaela (gen. plur.\nmasc. of daelir, dale-dwellers, is forced into a fem. sing. regularly\ndeclined, saga being understood); furthermore, Landn\u00e1ma b\u00f3k (landn\u00e1ma,\ngen. pl. neut.) the book of land settlings, becomes Landn\u00e1ma (fem.\nsing. regularly declined, b\u00f3k being understood); lastly, Sturlunga\nsaga, the Saga of the mighty family of the Sturlungs, becomes\nSturlunga in the same manner.]\n\nAs some may like to know what they are going to read about before\nventuring on beginning the book, we will now give a short outline of\nour Saga.\n\nThe first thirteen chapters (which sometimes are met with separately\nin the Icelandic as the Saga of Onund Treefoot), we have considered as\nan introduction to the story, and have accordingly distinguished them\nfrom the main body of the book. They relate the doings of Grettir's\nancestors in Norway, in the lands West over the Sea and in Iceland,\nand are interesting and in many points necessary for the understanding\nof the subsequent story; one of these we note here for the reader's\nconvenience, viz. the consanguinity of Grettir and King Olaf the\nSaint;[3] for it adds strongly to the significance of the King's\nrefusal to entertain Grettir at his court, or to go further into the\ncase of the murder he was falsely accused of.\n\n[Footnote 3:\n\n\nOnund Treefoot   brother to   Gudbiorg\n       |                         |\nThorgrim Greypate            Gudbrand\n       |                         |\nAsmund the Greyhaired     Asta (mother of)\n       |                         |\nGrettir the Strong.       Olaf the Saint.]\n\nThe genealogies of this part of the work agree closely with those of\nthe Landn\u00e1ma-b\u00f3k, and of the other most reliable Sagas.\n\nAfter this comes the birth of Grettir, and anecdotes (one at least\nsufficiently monstrous) of his unruly childhood; then our hero kills\nhis first man by misadventure, and must leave Iceland; wrecked on\nan isle off Norway, he is taken in there by a lord of that land, and\nthere works the deed that makes him a famous man; the slaying of the\nvillainous bearserks, namely, who would else have made wreck of the\nhonour and goods of Grettir's host in his absence; this great deed,\nwe should say, is prefaced by Grettir's first dealings with the\nsupernatural, which characterise this Saga, and throw a strange light\non the more ordinary matters throughout. The slaying of the bearserks\nis followed by a feud which Grettir has on his hands for the slaying\nof a braggart who insulted him past bearing, and so great the feud\ngrows that Grettir at last finds himself at enmity with Earl Svein,\nthe ruler of Norway, and, delivered from death by his friends, yet\nhas to leave the land and betake himself to Iceland again. Coming back\nthere, and finding himself a man of great fame, and hungry, for more\nstill, he tries to measure himself against the greatest men in the\nland, but nothing comes of these trials, for he is being reserved for\na greater deed than the dealing with mere men; his enemy is Glam\nthe thrall; the revenant of a strange, unearthly man who was himself\nkilled by an evil spirit; Grettir contends with, and slays, this\nmonster, whose dying curse on him is the turning-point of the story.\n\nAll seems fair for our hero, his last deed has made him the foremost\nman in Iceland, and news now coming out of Olaf the Saint, his\nrelative, being King of Norway, he goes thither to get honour at\nhis hands; but Glam's curse works; Grettir gains a powerful enemy by\nslaying an insulting braggart just as he was going on ship-board; and\non the voyage it falls out that in striving to save the life of his\nshipmates by a desperate action, he gets the reputation of having\ndestroyed the sons of a powerful Icelander, Thorir of Garth, with\ntheir fellows. This evil report clings to him when he lands in Norway;\nand all people, including the King from whom he hoped so much, look\ncoldly on him. Now he offers to free himself from the false charge by\nthe ordeal of bearing hot iron; the King assents, and all is ready;\nbut Glam is busy, and some strange appearance in the church, where\nthe ordeal is to be, brings all to nothing; and the foreseeing Olaf\nrefuses to take Grettir into his court, because of his ill-luck. So\nhe goes to his brother, Thorstein Dromund, for a while, and then goes\nback to Iceland. But there, too, his ill-luck had been at work, and\nwhen he lands he hears three pieces of bad news at once; his father is\ndead; his eldest brother, Atli, is slain and unatoned; and he himself\nhas been made an outlaw, by Thorir of Garth, for a deed he has never\ndone.\n\nHe avenges his brother, and seeks here and there harbour from his\nfriends, but his foes are too strong for him, or some unlucky turn of\nfate always pushes him off the help of men, and he has to take to the\nwilderness with a price upon his head; and now the other part of the\ncurse falls on him heavier, for ever after the struggle with the ghost\nhe sees horrible things in the dark, and cannot bear to be alone, and\nruns all kinds of risks to avoid it; and so the years of his outlawry\npass on. From time to time, driven by need, and rage at his unmerited\nill-fortune, he takes to plundering those who cannot hold their own;\nat other times he lives alone, and supports himself by fishing, and\nis twice nearly brought to his end by hired assassins the while.\nSometimes he dwells with the friendly spirits of the land, and chiefly\nwith Hallmund, his friend, who saves his life in one of the desperate\nfights he is forced into. But little by little all fall off from him;\nhis friends durst harbour him no more, or are slain. Hallmund comes\nto a tragic end; Grettir is driven from his lairs one after the other,\nand makes up his mind to try, as a last resource, to set himself\ndown on the island of Drangey, which rises up sheer from the midst\nof Skagafirth like a castle; he goes to his father's house, and bids\nfarewell to his mother, and sets off for Drangey in the company of his\nyoungest brother, Illugi, who will not leave him in this pinch, and\na losel called \"Noise,\" a good joker (we are told), but a slothful,\nuntrustworthy poltroon. The three get out to Drangey, and possess\nthemselves of the live-stock on it, and for a while all goes well;\nthe land-owners who held the island in shares, despairing of ridding\nthemselves of the outlaw, give their shares or sell them to one\nThorbiorn Angle, a man of good house, but violent, unpopular, and\nunscrupulous. This man, after trying the obvious ways of persuasion,\ncajolery, and assassination, for getting the island into his hands, at\nlast, with the help of a certain hag, his foster-mother, has recourse\nto sorcery. By means of her spells (as the story goes) Grettir wounds\nhimself in the leg in the third year of his sojourn at Drangey,\nand though the wound speedily closes, in a week or two gangrene\nsupervenes, and Grettir, at last, lies nearly helpless, watched\ncontinually by his brother Illugi. The losel, \"Noise,\" now that the\nbrothers can no more stir abroad, will not take the trouble to pull\nup the ladders that lead from the top of the island down to the\nbeach; and, amidst all this, helped by a magic storm the sorceress\nhas raised, Thorbiorn Angle, with a band of men, surprises the island,\nunroofs the hut of the brothers, and gains ingress there, and after\na short struggle (for Grettir is already a dying man) slays the great\noutlaw and captures Illugi in spite of a gallant defence; he, too,\ndisdaining to make any terms with the murderers of his brother, is\nslain, and Angle goes away exulting, after he had mutilated the body\nof Grettir, with the head on which so great a price had been put, and\nthe sword which the dead man had borne.\n\nBut now that the mighty man was dead, and people were relieved\nof their fear of him, the minds of men turned against him who had\novercome him in a way, according to their notions, so base and\nunworthy, and Angle has no easy time of it; he fails to get the\nhead-money, and is himself brought to trial for sorcery and practising\nheathen rites, and the 'nithings-deed' of slaying a man already dying,\nand is banished from the land.\n\nNow comes the part so necessary to the Icelandic tale of a hero, the\nrevenging of his death; Angle goes to Norway, and is thought highly of\nfor his deed by people who did not know the whole tale; but Thorstein\nDromund, an elder half-brother of Grettir, is a lord in that land, and\nAngle, knowing of this, feels uneasy in Norway, and at last goes away\nto Micklegarth (Constantinople), to take service with the Varangians:\nThorstein hears of this and follows him, and both are together at last\nin Micklegarth, but neither knows the other: at last Angle betrays\nhimself by showing Grettir's sword, at a 'weapon-show' of the\nVarangians, and Thorstein slays him then and there with the same\nweapon. Thorstein alone in a strange land, with none to speak for him,\nis obliged to submit to the laws of the country, and is thrown into a\ndungeon to perish of hunger and wretchedness there. From this fate he\nis delivered by a great lady of the city, called Spes, who afterwards\nfalls in love with him; and the two meet often in spite of the\nwatchful jealousy of the lady's husband, who is at last so completely\nconquered by a plot of hers (the sagaman here has taken an incident\nwith little or no change from the Romance of Tristram and Iseult),\nthat he is obliged to submit to a divorce and the loss of his wife's\ndower, and thereafter the lovers go away together to Norway, and live\nthere happily till old age reminds them of their misdeeds, and they\nthen set off together for Rome and pass the rest of their lives in\npenitence and apart from one another. And so the story ends, summing\nup the worth of Grettir the Strong by reminding people of his huge\nstrength, his long endurance in outlawry, his gift for dealing\nwith ghosts and evil spirits, the famous vengeance taken for him in\nMicklegarth; and, lastly, the fortunate life and good end of Thorstein\nDromund, his brother and avenger.\n\nSuch is the outline of this tale of a man far above his fellows in all\nmatters valued among his times and people, but also far above them\nall in ill-luck, for that is the conception that the story-teller has\nformed of the great outlaw. To us moderns the real interest in these\nrecords of a past state of life lies principally in seeing events true\nin the main treated vividly and dramatically by people who completely\nunderstood the manners, life, and, above all, the turn of mind of the\nactors in them. Amidst many drawbacks, perhaps, to the modern reader,\nthis interest is seldom or ever wanting in the historical sagas, and\nleast of all in our present story; the sagaman never relaxes his grasp\nof Grettir's character, and he is the same man from beginning to end;\nthrust this way and that by circumstances, but little altered by them;\nunlucky in all things, yet made strong to bear all ill-luck; scornful\nof the world, yet capable of enjoyment, and determined to make the\nmost of it; not deceived by men's specious ways, but disdaining to cry\nout because he must needs bear with them; scorning men, yet helping\nthem when called on, and desirous of fame: prudent in theory, and wise\nin foreseeing the inevitable sequence of events, but reckless beyond\nthe recklessness even of that time and people, and finally capable of\ninspiring in others strong affection and devotion to him in spite of\nhis rugged self-sufficing temper--all these traits which we find in\nour sagaman's Grettir seem always the most suited to the story of\nthe deeds that surround him, and to our mind most skilfully and\ndramatically are they suggested to the reader.\n\nAs is fitting, the other characters are very much subordinate to the\nprincipal figure, but in their way they are no less life-like; the\nbraggart--that inevitable foil to the hero in a saga--was never better\nrepresented than in the Gisli of our tale; the thrall Noise, with his\ncarelessness, and thriftless, untrustworthy mirth, is the very pattern\nof a slave; Snorri the Godi, little though there is of him, fully\nsustains the prudent and crafty character which follows him in all the\nSagas; Thorbiorn Oxmain is a good specimen of the overbearing and sour\nchief, as is Atli, on the other hand, of the kindly and high-minded,\nif prudent, rich man; and no one, in short, plays his part like\na puppet, but acts as one expects him to act, always allowing the\npeculiar atmosphere of these tales; and to crown all, as the story\ncomes to its end, the high-souled and poetically conceived Illugi\nthrows a tenderness on the dreadful story of the end of the hero,\ncontrasted as it is with that of the gloomy, superstitious Angle.\n\nSomething of a blot, from some points of view, the story of Spes and\nThorstein Dromund (of which more anon) must be considered; yet\nwhoever added it to the tale did so with some skill considering its\nincongruous and superfluous nature, for he takes care that Grettir\nshall not be forgotten amidst all the plots and success of the lovers;\nand, whether it be accidental or not, there is to our minds something\ntouching in the contrast between the rude life and tragic end of the\nhero, and the long, drawn out, worldly good hap and quiet hopes for\nanother life which fall to the lot of his happier brother.\n\nAs to the authorship of our story, it has no doubt gone through the\nstages which mark the growth of the Sagas in general, that is, it was\nfor long handed about from mouth to mouth until it took a definite\nshape in men's minds; and after it had held that position for a\ncertain time, and had received all the necessary polish for an\nenjoyable saga, was committed to writing as it flowed ready made from\nthe tongue of the people. Its style, in common with that of all the\nsagas, shows evidences enough of this: for the rest, the only name\nconnected with it is that of Sturla Thordson the Lawman, a man of good\nposition and family, and a prolific author, who was born in 1214 and\ndied 1284; there is, however, no proof that he wrote the present work,\nthough we think the passages in it that mention his name show clearly\nenough that he had something to do with the story of Grettir: on the\nwhole, we are inclined to think that a story of Grettir was either\nwritten by him or under his auspices, but that the present tale is the\nwork of a later hand, nor do we think so complete a saga-teller,\nas his other undoubted works show him to have been, would ever have\nfinished his story with the epilogue of Spes and Thorstein Dromund,\nsteeped as that latter part is with the spirit of the mediaeval\nromances, even to the distinct appropriation of a marked and\nwell-known episode of the Tristram; though it must be admitted that he\nhad probably plenty of opportunity for being versed in that romance,\nas Tristram was first translated into the tongue of Norway in the year\n1226, by Brother Robert, at the instance of King Hakon Hakonson, whose\ngreat favourite Sturla Thordson was, and whose history was written by\nhim.\n\nFor our translation of this work we have no more to say than to\napologise for its shortcomings, and to hope, that in spite of them, it\nwill give some portion of the pleasure to our readers which we felt in\naccomplishing it ourselves.\n\nEIR\u00cdKR MAGN\u00daSSON, WILLIAM MORRIS.\n\nLONDON, <i>April</i> 1869.\n\n\n\n\nCHRONOLOGY OF THE STORY.\n\n     872. The battle of Hafrsfirth.\n     874. Begins the settlement of Iceland.\ncca. 897. Thrand and Ufeigh Grettir settle Gnup-Wardsrape.\ncca. 900. Onund Treefoot comes to Iceland.\ncca. 920. Death of Onund Treefoot.\n     929. The Althing established.\n 997 (?). Grettir born.\n    1000. Christianity sanctioned by law.\n    1004. Skapti Thorodson made lawman.\n    1011. Grettir slays Skeggi; goes abroad, banished for three years.\n    1012. Slaying of Thorir Paunch and his fellows in Haramsey.\n          Earl Eric goes to Denmark.\n    1013. Slaying of Biorn at the Island of Gartar.\n          Slaying of Thorgils Makson. Illugi Asmundson\n          born. Death of Thorkel Krafla.\n    1014. Slaying of Gunnar in Tunsberg. Grettir goes\n          back to Iceland; fights with the men of Meal\n          on Ramfirth-neck. Heath-slayings. Thorgeir\n          Havarson outlawed. Fight with Glam\n          the ghost.\n    1015. Fight of Nesjar in Norway. Slaying of Thorbiorn\n          Tardy. Grettir fares abroad. Burning\n          of the sons of Thorir of Garth. Death of\n          Asmund the Greyhaired.\n    1016. Grettir meets King Olaf; fails to bear iron; goes\n          east to Tunsberg to Thorstein Dromund.\n          Slaying of Atli of Biarg. Grettir outlawed\n          at the Thing for the burning of the sons of\n          Thorir; his return to Iceland. Slaying of\n          Thorbiorn Oxmain and his son Arnor.\n    1017. Grettir at Reek-knolls. Lawsuit for the slaying\n          of Thorbiorn Oxmain. Grettir taken by\n          the Icefirth churls.\n    1018. Grettir at Liarskogar with Thorstein Kuggson;\n          his travels to the East to Skapti the lawman\n          and Thorhall of Tongue, and thence to the\n          Keel-mountain, where he met Hallmund\n          (Air) for the first time.\n    1019-1021. Grettir on Ernewaterheath.\n    1021. Grettir goes to the Marshes.\n    1022-1024. Grettir in Fairwoodfell.\n    1024. Grettir visits Hallmund again.\n    1025. Grettir discovers Thorirs-dale.\n    1025-1026. Grettir travels round by the East; haunts\n          Madderdale-heath and Reek-heath.\n    1026. Thorstein Kuggson slain.\n    1027. Grettir at Sand-heaps in Bard-dale.\n    1028. Grettir haunts the west by Broadfirth-dales,\n          meets Thorod Snorrison.\n    1028-1031. Grettir in Drangey.\n    1029. Grettir visits Heron-ness-thing.\n    1030. Grettir fetches fire from Reeks. Skapti the law\n          man dies.\n    1031. Death of Snorri Godi and Grettir Asmundson.\n    1033. Thorbiorn Angle slain.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n<i>Preface</i>\n\n<i>Chronology of the Story</i>\n\n\n\n\nCHAP.\n\n\nI. XIII. <i>The Forefathers of Grettir</i>\n\n    XIV. <i>Of Grettir as a Child, and his froward ways\n         with his father</i>\n\n     XV. <i>Of the Ball-play on Midfirth Water</i>\n\n    XVI. <i>Of the Slaying of Skeggi</i>\n\n   XVII. <i>Of Grettir's Voyage out</i>\n\n  XVIII. <i>Of Grettir at Haramsey and his dealings with\n         Karr the Old</i>\n\n    XIX. <i>Of Yule at Haramsey, and how Grettir dealt\n         with the Bearserks</i>\n\n     XX. <i>How Thorfinn met Grettir at Haramsey again</i>\n\n    XXI. <i>Of Grettir and Biorn and the Bear</i>\n\n   XXII. <i>Of the Slaying of Biorn</i>\n\n  XXIII. <i>The Slaying of Hiarandi</i>\n\n   XXIV. <i>Of the Slaying of Gunnar, and Grettir's strife\n         with Earl Svein</i>\n\n    XXV. <i>The Slaying of Thorgils Makson</i>\n\n   XXVI. <i>Of Thorstein Kuggson, and the gathering for\n         the Bloodsuit for the Slaying of Thorgils\n         Makson</i>\n\n  XXVII. <i>The Suit for the Slaying of Thorgils Makson</i>\n\n XXVIII. <i>Grettir comes out to Iceland again</i>\n\n   XXIX. <i>Of the Horse-fight at Longfit</i>\n\n    XXX. <i>Of Thorbiorn Oxmain and Thorbiorn Tardy,\n         and of Grettir's meeting with Kormak on\n         Ramfirth-neck</i>\n\n   XXXI. <i>How Grettir met Bardi, the Son of Gudmund,\n         as he came back from the Heath-slayings</i>\n\n  XXXII. <i>Of the Haunting at Thorhall-stead; and how\n         Thorhall took a Shepherd by the rede of\n         Skapti the Lawman, and what befell thereafter</i>\n\n XXXIII. <i>Of the doings of Glam at Thorhall-stead</i>\n\n  XXXIV. <i>Grettir hears of the Hauntings</i>\n\n   XXXV. <i>Grettir goes to Thorhall-stead, and has to do\n         with Glam</i>\n\n  XXXVI. <i>Of Thorbiorn Oxmain's Autumn-feast, and the\n         mocks of Thorbiorn Tardy</i>\n\n XXXVII. <i>Olaf the Saint, King in Norway; the slaying\n         of Thorbiorn Tardy; Grettir goes to\n         Norway</i>\n\nXXXVIII. <i>Of Thorir of Garth and his sons; and how\n         Grettir fetched fire for his shipmates</i>\n\n  XXXIX. <i>How Grettir would fain bear Iron before the\n         King</i>\n\n     XL. <i>Of Grettir and Snoekoll</i>\n\n    XLI. <i>Of Thorstein Dromund's Arms, and what he\n         deemed they might do</i>\n\n   XLII. <i>Of the Death of Asmund the Greyhaired</i>\n\n  XLIII. <i>The Onset on Atli at the Pass and the Slaying\n         of Gunnar and Thorgeir</i>\n\n   XLIV. <i>The Suit for the Slaying of the Sons of Thorir\n         of the Pass</i>\n\n    XLV. <i>Of the Slaying of Atli Asmundson</i>\n\n   XLVI. <i>Grettir outlawed at the Thing at the Suit of\n         Thorir of Garth</i>\n\n  XLVII. <i>Grettir comes out to Iceland again</i>\n\n XLVIII. <i>The Slaying of Thorbiorn Oxmain</i>\n\n   XLIX. <i>The Gathering to avenge Thorbiorn Oxmain</i>\n\n      L. <i>Grettir and the Foster-brothers at Reek-knolls</i>\n\n     LI. <i>Of the Suit for the Slaying of Thorbiorn\n         Oxmain, and how Thorir of Garth would\n         not that Grettir should be made sackless</i>\n\n    LII. <i>How Grettir was taken by the Icefirth Carles</i>\n\n   LIII. <i>Grettir with Thorstein Kuggson</i>\n\n    LIV. <i>Grettir meets Hallmund on the Keel</i>\n\n     LV. <i>Of Grettir on Ernewaterheath, and his dealings\n         with Grim there</i>\n\n    LVI. <i>Of Grettir and Thorir Redbeard</i>\n\n   LVII. <i>How Thorir of Garth set on Grettir on Ernewaterheath</i>\n\n  LVIII. <i>Grettir in Fairwoodfell</i>\n\n    LIX. <i>Gisli's meeting with Grettir</i>\n\n     LX. <i>Of the Fight at Hitriver</i>\n\n    LXI. <i>How Grettir left Fairwoodfell, and of his abiding\n         in Thorir's-dale</i>\n\n   LXII. <i>Of the Death of Hallmund, Grettir's Friend</i>\n\n  LXIII. <i>How Grettir beguiled Thorir of Garth when he\n         was nigh taking him</i>\n\n   LXIV. <i>Of the ill haps at Sand-heaps, and how Guest\n         came to the Goodwife there</i>\n\n    LXV. <i>Of Guest and the Troll-wife</i>\n\n   LXVI. <i>Of the Dweller in the Cave under the Force</i>\n\n  LXVII. <i>Grettir driven from Sand-heaps to the West</i>\n\n LXVIII. <i>How Thorod, the Son of Snorri Godi, went\n         against Grettir</i>\n\n   LXIX. <i>How Grettir took leave of his Mother at Biarg,\n         and fared with Illugi his Brother to Drangey</i>\n\n    LXX. <i>Of the Bonders who owned Drangey between them</i>\n\n   LXXI. <i>How those of Skagafirth found Grettir on Drangey</i>\n\n  LXXII. <i>Of the Sports at Heron-ness Thing</i>\n\n LXXIII. <i>The Handselling of Peace</i>\n\n  LXXIV. <i>Of Grettir's Wrestling; and how Thorbiorn\n         Angle now bought the more part of Drangey</i>\n\n   LXXV. <i>Thorbiorn Angle goes to Drangey to speak with Grettir</i>\n\n  LXXVI. <i>How Noise let the Fire out on Drangey,\n          and how Grettir must needs go aland for more</i>\n\n  LXXVII. <i>Grettir at the Home-stead of Reeks</i>\n\n LXXVIII. <i>Of Haering at Drangey, and the end of him</i>\n\n   LXXIX. <i>Of the Talk at the Thing about Grettir's Outlawry</i>\n\n    LXXX. <i>Thorbiorn Angle goes with his Foster-mother\n          out to Drangey</i>\n\n   LXXXI. <i>Of the Carline's evil Gift to Grettir</i>\n\n  LXXXII. <i>Grettir sings of his Great Deeds</i>\n\n LXXXIII. <i>How Thorbiorn Angle gathered Force and\n          set Sail for Drangey</i>\n\n  LXXXIV. <i>The Slaying of Grettir Asmundson</i>\n\n   LXXXV. <i>How Thorbiorn Angle claimed Grettir's Head-money</i>\n\n  LXXXVI. <i>How Thorbiorn Angle brought Grettir's\n          Head to Biarg</i>\n\n LXXXVII. <i>Affairs at the Althing</i>\n\nLXXXVIII. <i>Thorbiorn Angle goes to Norway, and thence\n          to Micklegarth</i>\n\n  LXXXIX. <i>How the Short-Sword was the easier known\n          when sought for by reason of the notch in\n          the blade</i>\n\n      XC. <i>How the Lady Spes redeemed Thorstein from\n          the Dungeon</i>\n\n     XCI. <i>Of the Doings of Thorstein and the Lady Spes</i>\n\n    XCII. <i>Of the Oath that Spes made before the Bishop</i>\n\n   XCIII. <i>Thorstein and Spes come out to Norway</i>\n\n    XCIV. <i>Thorstein Dromund and Spes leave Norway\n          again</i>\n\n     XCV. <i>How Thorstein Dromund and Spes fared to\n          Rome and died there</i>\n\n\n<i>Notes and Corrections</i>\n\n<i>Index of Persons</i>\n\n<i>Index of Places</i>\n\n<i>Index of Things</i>\n\n<i>Periphrastic Expressions in the Songs</i>\n\n<i>Proverbial Sayings</i>\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF GRETTIR THE STRONG.\n\n\n<i>This First Part tells of the forefathers of Grettir in Norway, and\nhow they fled away before Harald Fairhair, and settled in Iceland; and\nof their deeds in Iceland before Grettir was born</i>.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. I.\n\n\nThere was a man named Onund, who was the son of Ufeigh Clubfoot, the\nson of Ivar the Smiter; Onund was brother of Gudbiorg, the mother of\nGudbrand Ball, the father of Asta, the mother of King Olaf the Saint.\nOnund was an Uplander by the kin of his mother; but the kin of his\nfather dwelt chiefly about Rogaland and Hordaland. He was a great\nviking, and went harrying west over the Sea.[4] Balk of Sotanes, the\nson of Blaeng, was with him herein, and Orm the Wealthy withal, and\nHallvard was the name of the third of them. They had five ships, all\nwell manned, and therewith they harried in the South-isles;[5] and\nwhen they came to Barra, they found there a king, called Kiarval, and\nhe, too, had five ships. They gave him battle, and a hard fray there\nwas. The men of Onund were of the eagerest, and on either side many\nfell; but the end of it was that the king fled with only one ship.\nSo there the men of Onund took both ships and much wealth, and abode\nthere through the winter. For three summers they harried throughout\nIreland and Scotland, and thereafter went to Norway.\n\n[Footnote 4: \"West over the Sea,\" means in the Sagas the British\nisles, and the islands about them--the Hebrides, Orkneys, &c.]\n\n[Footnote 5: South-isles are the Hebrides, and the other islands down\nto Man.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. II.\n\n\nIn those days were there great troubles in Norway. Harald the\nUnshorn,[6] son of Halfdan the Black, was pushing forth for the\nkingdom. Before that he was King of the Uplands; then he went north\nthrough the land, and had many battles there, and ever won the day.\nThereafter he harried south in the land, and wheresoever he came,\nlaid all under him; but when he came to Hordaland, swarms of folk came\nthronging against him; and their captains were Kiotvi the Wealthy, and\nThorir Longchin, and those of South Rogaland, and King Sulki. Geirmund\nHelskin was then in the west over the Sea; nor was he in that battle,\nthough he had a kingdom in Hordaland.\n\n[Footnote 6: \"Harald the Unshorn:\" he was so called at first because\nhe made a vow not to cut his hair till he was sole king of Norway.\nWhen he had attained to this, and Earl Rognvald had taken him to the\nbath and trimmed his hair, he was called \"Fair-hair,\" from its length\nand beauty.]\n\nNow that autumn Onund and his fellows came from the west over the Sea;\nand when Thorir Longchin and King Kiotvi heard thereof, they sent men\nto meet them, and prayed them for help, and promised them honours.\nThen they entered into fellowship with Thorir and his men; for they\nwere exceeding fain to try their strength, and said that there would\nthey be whereas the fight was hottest.\n\nNow was the meeting with Harald the King in Rogaland, in that firth\nwhich is called Hafrsfirth; and both sides had many men. This was the\ngreatest battle that has ever been fought in Norway, and hereof most\nSagas tell; for of those is ever most told, of whom the Sagas are\nmade; and thereto came folk from all the land, and many from other\nlands and swarms of vikings.\n\nNow Onund laid his ship alongside one board of the ship of Thorir\nLongchin, about the midst of the fleet, but King Harald laid his on\nthe other board, because Thorir was the greatest bearserk, and the\nstoutest of men; so the fight was of the fiercest on either side. Then\nthe king cried on his bearserks for an onslaught, and they were called\nthe Wolf-coats, for on them would no steel bite, and when they set\non nought might withstand them. Thorir defended him very stoutly, and\nfell in all hardihood on board his ship; then was it cleared from stem\nto stern, and cut from the grapplings, and let drift astern betwixt\nthe other ships. Thereafter the king's men laid their ship alongside\nOnund's, and he was in the forepart thereof and fought manly; then the\nking's folk said, \"Lo, a forward man in the forecastle there, let him\nhave somewhat to mind him how that he was in this battle.\" Now Onund\nput one foot out over the bulwark and dealt a blow at a man, and even\ntherewith a spear was aimed at him, and as he put the blow from him\nhe bent backward withal, and one of the king's forecastle men smote\nat him, and the stroke took his leg below the knee and sheared it off,\nand forthwith made him unmeet for fight. Then fell the more part of\nthe folk on board his ship; but Onund was brought to the ship of him\nwho is called Thrand; he was the son of Biorn, and brother of Eyvind\nthe Eastman; he was in the fight against King Harald and lay on the\nother board of Onund's ship.\n\nBut now, after these things, the more part of the fleet scattered in\nflight; Thrand and his men, with the other vikings, got them away each\nas he might, and sailed west over the Sea; Onund went with him, and\nBalk and Hallvard Sweeping; Onund was healed, but went with a wooden\nleg all his life after; therefore as long as he lived was he called\nOnund Treefoot.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. III.\n\n\nAt that time were many great men west over the Sea, such as had fled\nfrom their lands in Norway before King Harald, because he had made\nall those outlaws, who had met him in battle, and taken to him their\npossessions. So, when Onund was healed of his wounds, he and Thrand\nwent to meet Geirmund Helskin, because he was the most famed of\nvikings west there over the Sea, and they asked him whether he had any\nmind to seek after that kingdom which he had in Hordaland, and offered\nhim their fellowship herein; for they deemed they had a sore loss of\ntheir lands there, since Onund was both mighty and of great kin.\n\nGeirmund said that so great had grown the strength of King Harald,\nthat he deemed there was little hope that they would win honour in\ntheir war with him when men had been worsted, even when all the folk\nof the land had been drawn together; and yet withal that he was loth\nto become a king's thrall and pray for that which was his own; that\nhe would find somewhat better to do than that; and now, too, he was no\nlonger young. So Onund and his fellows went back to the South-isles,\nand there met many of their friends.\n\nThere was a man, Ufeigh by name, who was bynamed Grettir; he was the\nson of Einar, the son of Olvir Bairn-Carle; he was brother to Oleif\nthe Broad, the father of Thormod Shaft; Steinulf was the name of\nOlvir Bairn-Carle's son, he was the father of Una whom Thorbiorn\nSalmon-Carle had to wife. Another son of Olvir Bairn-Carle was\nSteinmod, the father of Konal, who was the father of Aldis of Barra.\nThe son of Konal was Steinmod, the father of Haldora, the wife of\nEilif, the son of Ketil the Onehanded. Ufeigh Grettir had to wife\nAsny, the daughter of Vestar Haengson; and Asmund the Beardless and\nAsbiorn were the sons of Ufeigh Grettir, but his daughters were these,\nAldis, and Asa, and Asvor. Ufeigh had fled away west over the Sea\nbefore Harald the king, and so had Thormod Shaft his kinsman, and had\nwith them their kith and kin; and they harried in Scotland, and far\nand wide west beyond the sea.\n\nNow Thrand and Onund Treefoot made west for Ireland to find Eyvind\nthe Eastman, Thrand's brother, who was Land-ward along the coasts of\nIreland; the mother of Eyvind was Hlif, the daughter of Rolf, son of\nIngiald, the son of King Frodi; but Thrand's mother was Helga, the\ndaughter of Ondott the Crow; Biorn was the name of the father of\nEyvind and Thrand, he was the son of Rolf from Am; he had had to\nflee from Gothland, for that he had burned in his house Sigfast, the\nson-in-law of King Solver; and thereafter had he gone to Norway, and\nwas the next winter with Grim the hersir, the son of Kolbiorn the\nAbasher. Now Grim had a mind to murder Biorn for his money, so he\nfled thence to Ondott the Crow, who dwelt in Hvinisfirth in Agdir; he\nreceived Biorn well, and Biorn was with him in the winter, but was\nin warfare in summer-tide, until Hlif his wife died; and after that\nOndott gave Biorn Helga his daughter, and then Biorn left off warring.\n\nNow thereon Eyvind took to him the war-ships of his father, and\nwas become a great chief west over the Sea; he wedded Rafarta, the\ndaughter of Kiarval, King of Ireland; their sons were Helgi the Lean\nand Snaebiorn.\n\nSo when Thrand and Onund came to the South-isles, there they met\nUfeigh Grettir and Thormod Shaft, and great friendship grew up betwixt\nthem, for each thought he had gained from hell the last who had been\nleft behind in Norway while the troubles there were at the highest.\nBut Onund was exceeding moody, and when Thrand marked it, he asked\nwhat he was brooding over in his mind. Onund answered, and sang this\nstave--\n\n  \"What joy since that day can I get\n  When shield-fire's thunder last I met;\n  Ah, too soon clutch the claws of ill;\n  For that axe-edge shall grieve me still.\n  In eyes of fighting man and thane,\n  My strength and manhood are but vain,\n  This is the thing that makes me grow\n  A joyless man; is it enow?\"\n\nThrand answered that whereso he was, he would still be deemed a brave\nman, \"And now it is meet for thee to settle down and get married,\nand I would put forth my word and help, if I but knew whereto thou\nlookest.\"\n\nOnund said he did in manly wise, but that his good hope for matches of\nany gain was gone by now.\n\nThrand answered, \"Ufeigh has a daughter who is called Asa, thitherward\nwill we turn if it seem good to thee.\" Onund showed that he was\nwilling enough hereto; so afterwards they talked the matter over with\nUfeigh; he answered well, and said that he knew how that Onund was a\nman of great kin and rich of chattels; \"but his lands,\" said he, \"I\nput at low worth, nor do I deem him to be a hale man, and withal my\ndaughter is but a child.\"\n\nThrand said, that Onund was a brisker man yet than many who were hale\nof both legs, and so by Thrand's help was this bargain struck; Ufeigh\nwas to give his daughter but chattels for dowry, because those lands\nthat were in Norway neither would lay down any money for.\n\nA little after Thrand wooed the daughter of Thormod Shaft, and both\nwere to sit in troth for three winters.\n\nSo thereafter they went a harrying in the summer, but were in Barra in\nthe winter-tide.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. IV.\n\n\nThere were two vikings called Vigbiod and Vestmar; they were\nSouth-islanders, and lay out both winter and summer; they had thirteen\nships, and harried mostly in Ireland, and did many an ill deed there\ntill Eyvind the Eastman took the land-wardship; thereafter they got\nthem gone to the South-isles, and harried there and all about the\nfirths of Scotland: against these went Thrand and Onund, and heard\nthat they had sailed to that island, which is called Bute. Now Onund\nand his folk came there with five ships; and when the vikings see\ntheir ships and know how many they are, they deem they have enough\nstrength gathered there, and take their weapons and lay their ships in\nthe midst betwixt two cliffs, where was a great and deep sound; only\non one side could they be set on, and that with but five ships at\nonce. Now Onund was the wisest of men, and bade lay five ships up into\nthe sound, so that he and his might have back way when they would, for\nthere was plenty of sea-room astern. On one board of them too was a\ncertain island, and under the lee thereof he let one ship lie, and his\nmen brought many great stones forth on to the sheer cliffs above, yet\nmight not be seen withal from the ships.\n\nNow the vikings laid their ships boldly enough for the attack, and\nthought that the others quailed; and Vigbiod asked who they were that\nwere in such jeopardy. Thrand said that he was the brother of Eyvind\nthe Eastman, \"and here beside me is Onund Treefoot my fellow.\"\n\nThen laughed the vikings, and shouted--\n\n  \"Treefoot, Treefoot, foot of tree,\n  Trolls take thee and thy company.\"\n\n\"Yea, a sight it is seldom seen of us, that such men should go into\nbattle as have no might over themselves.\"\n\nOnund said that they could know nought thereof ere it were tried; and\nwithal they laid their ships alongside one of the other, and there\nbegan a great fight, and either side did boldly. But when they came\nto handy blows, Onund gave back toward the cliff, and when the vikings\nsaw this, they deemed he was minded to flee, and made towards his\nship, and came as nigh to the cliff as they might. But in that very\npoint of time those came forth on to the edge of the cliff who were\nappointed so to do, and sent at the vikings so great a flight of\nstones that they might not withstand it.\n\nThen fell many of the viking-folk, and others were hurt so that they\nmight not bear weapon; and withal they were fain to draw back, and\nmight not, because their ships were even then come into the narrowest\nof the sound, and they were huddled together both by the ships and the\nstream; but Onund and his men set on fiercely, whereas Vigbiod was,\nbut Thrand set on Vestmar, and won little thereby; so, when the folk\nwere thinned on Vigbiod's ship, Onund's men and Onund himself got\nready to board her: that Vigbiod saw, and cheered on his men without\nstint: then he turned to meet Onund, and the more part fled before\nhim; but Onund bade his men mark how it went between them; for he was\nof huge strength. Now they set a log of wood under Onund's knee, so\nthat he stood firmly enow; the viking fought his way forward along the\nship till he reached Onund, and he smote at him with his sword, and\nthe stroke took the shield, and sheared off all it met; and then the\nsword drove into the log that Onund had under his knee, and stuck fast\ntherein; and Vigbiod stooped in drawing it out, and even therewith\nOnund smote at his shoulder in such wise, that he cut the arm from off\nhim, and then was the viking unmeet for battle.\n\nBut when Vestmar knew that his fellow was fallen, he leaped into\nthe furthermost ship and fled with all those who might reach her.\nThereafter they ransacked the fallen men; and by then was Vigbiod nigh\nto his death: Onund went up to him, and sang--\n\n  \"Yea, seest thou thy wide wounds bleed?\n  What of shrinking didst thou heed\n  In the one-foot sling of gold?\n  What scratch here dost thou behold?\n  And in e'en such wise as this\n  Many an axe-breaker there is\n  Strong of tongue and weak of hand:\n  Tried thou wert, and might'st not stand.\"\n\nSo there they took much spoil and sailed back to Barra in the autumn.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. V.\n\n\nThe summer after this they made ready to fare west to Ireland. But at\nthat time Balk and Hallvard betook themselves from the lands west over\nthe sea, and went out to Iceland, for from thence came tales of land\ngood to choose. Balk settled land in Ramfirth and dwelt at either\nBalkstead; Hallvard settled Sweepingsfirth, and Hallwick out to the\nStair, and dwelt there.\n\nNow Thrand and Onund met Eyvind the Eastman, and he received his\nbrother well; but when he knew that Onund was come with him, then he\nwaxed wroth, and would fain set on him. Thrand bade him do it not, and\nsaid that it was not for him to wage war against Northmen, and\nleast of all such men as fared peaceably. Eyvind said that he fared\notherwise before, and had broken the peace of Kiarval the King, and\nthat he should now pay for all. Many words the brothers had over this,\ntill Thrand said at last that one fate should befall both him and\nOnund; and then Eyvind let himself be appeased.\n\nSo they dwelt there long that summer, and went on warfare with Eyvind,\nwho found Onund to be the bravest of men. In the autumn they fared to\nthe South-isles, and Eyvind gave to Thrand to take all the heritage of\ntheir father, if Biorn should die before Thrand.\n\nNow were the twain in the South-isles until they wedded their wives,\nand some winters after withal.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. VI.\n\n\nAnd now it came to pass that Biorn, the father of Thrand, died; and\nwhen Grim the hersir hears thereof he went to meet Ondott Crow, and\nclaimed the goods left by Biorn; but Ondott said that Thrand had the\nheritage after his father; Grim said that Thrand was west over seas,\nand that Biorn was a Gothlander of kin, and that the king took the\nheritage of all outland men. Ondott said that he should keep the goods\nfor the hands of Thrand, his daughter's son; and therewith Grim gat\nhim gone, and had nought for his claiming the goods.\n\nNow Thrand had news of his father's death, and straightway got ready\nto go from the South-isles, and Onund Treefoot with him; but Ufeigh\nGrettir and Thormod Shaft went out to Iceland with their kith and kin,\nand came out to the Eres in the south country, and dwelt the first\nwinter with Thorbiorn Salmon-Carle.\n\nThereafter they settled Gnup-Wards'-rape, Ufeigh, the outward part,\nbetween Thwart-river and Kalf-river, and he dwelt at Ufeigh's-stead\nby Stone-holt; but Thormod settled the eastward part, and abode at\nShaft-holt.\n\nThe daughters of Thormod were these: Thorvor, mother of Thorod the\nGodi[7] of Hailti, and Thora, mother of Thorstein, the Godi, the\nfather of Biarni the Sage.\n\n[Footnote 7: \"Godi\" is the name for the rulers of the thirty-nine\ndistricts into which the republic of Iceland was anciently divided.\nWhile the ancient religion lasted, their office combined in itself the\nhighest civil and sacerdotal functions.]\n\nNow it is to be said of Thrand and Onund that they sailed from the\nlands west over the Sea toward Norway, and had fair wind, and such\nspeed, that no rumour of their voyage was abroad till they came to\nOndott Crow.\n\nHe gave Thrand good welcome, and told him how Grim the hersir had\nclaimed the heritage left by Biorn. \"Meeter it seems to me,\nkinsman,\" said he, \"that thou take the heritage of thy father and not\nking's-thralls; good luck has befallen thee, in that none knows of thy\ncoming, but it misdoubts me that Grim will come upon one or other\nof us if he may; therefore I would that thou shouldst take the\ninheritance to thee, and get thee gone to other lands.\"\n\nThrand said that so he would do, he took to him the chattels and got\naway from Norway at his speediest; but before he sailed into the sea,\nhe asked Onund Treefoot whether he would not make for Iceland with\nhim; Onund said he would first go see his kin and friends in the south\ncountry.\n\nThrand said, \"Then must we part now, but I would that thou shouldst\naid my kin, for on them will vengeance fall if I get off clear; but\nto Iceland shall I go, and I would that thou withal shouldst make that\njourney.\"\n\nOnund gave his word to all, and they parted in good love. So Thrand\nwent to Iceland, and Ufeigh and Thormod Shaft received him well.\nThrand dwelt at Thrand's-holt, which is west of Steer's-river.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. VII.\n\n\nOnund went south to Rogaland, and met there many of his kin and\nfriends; he dwelt there in secret at a man's called Kolbein. Now he\nheard that the king had taken his lands to him and set a man thereover\nwho was called Harek, who was a farmer of the king's; so on a night\nOnund went to him, and took him in his house; there Harek was led out\nand cut down, and Onund took all the chattels they found and burnt the\nhomestead; and thereafter he abode in many places that winter.\n\nBut that autumn Grim the hersir slew Ondott Crow, because he might\nnot get the heritage-money for the king; and that same night of his\nslaying, Signy, his wife, brought aboard ship all her chattels, and\nfared with her sons, Asmund and Asgrim, to Sighvat her father; but a\nlittle after sent her sons to Soknadale to Hedin her foster-father;\nbut that seemed good to them but for a little while, and they would\nfain go back again to their mother; so they departed and came at\nYule-tide to Ingiald the Trusty at Hvin; he took them in because of\nthe urgency of Gyda his wife, and they were there the winter through.\nBut in spring came Onund north to Agdir, because he had heard of the\nslaying of Ondott Crow; but when he found Signy he asked her what help\nshe would have of him.\n\nShe said that she would fain have vengeance on Grim the hersir for\nthe slaying of Ondott. Then were the sons of Ondott sent for, and when\nthey met Onund Treefoot, they made up one fellowship together, and\nhad spies abroad on the doings of Grim. Now in the summer was a great\nale-drinking held at Grim's, because he had bidden to him Earl Audun;\nand when Onund and the sons of Ondott knew thereof they went to\nGrim's homestead and laid fire to the house, for they were come there\nunawares, and burnt Grim the hersir therein, and nigh thirty men, and\nmany good things they took there withal. Then went Onund to the\nwoods, but the sons of Ondott took a boat of Ingiald's, their\nfoster-father's, and rowed away therein, and lay hid a little way off\nthe homestead. Earl Audun came to the feast, even as had been settled\nafore, and there \"missed friend from stead.\" Then he gathered men to\nhim, and dwelt there some nights, but nought was heard of Onund and\nhis fellows; and the Earl slept in a loft with two men.\n\nOnund had full tidings from the homestead, and sent after those\nbrothers; and, when they met, Onund asked them whether they would\nwatch the farm or fall on the Earl; but they chose to set on the Earl.\nSo they drove beams at the loft-doors and broke them in; then Asmund\ncaught hold of the two who were with the Earl, and cast them down so\nhard that they were well-nigh slain; but Asgrim ran at the Earl, and\nbade him render up weregild for his father, since he had been in\nthe plot and the onslaught with Grim the hersir when Ondott Crow was\nslain. The Earl said he had no money with him there, and prayed for\ndelay of that payment. Then Asgrim set his spear-point to the Earl's\nbreast and bade him pay there and then; so the Earl took a chain from\nhis neck, and three gold rings, and a cloak of rich web, and gave them\nup. Asgrim took the goods and gave the Earl a name, and called him\nAudun Goaty.\n\nBut when the bonders and neighbouring folk were ware that war was come\namong them, they went abroad and would bring help to the Earl, and a\nhard fight there was, for Onund had many men, and there fell many good\nbonders and courtmen of the Earl. Now came the brothers, and told how\nthey had fared with the Earl, and Onund said that it was ill that he\nwas not slain, \"that would have been somewhat of a revenge on the King\nfor our loss at his hands of fee and friends.\" They said that this\nwas a greater shame to the Earl; and therewith they went away up to\nSorreldale to Eric Alefain, a king's lord, and he took them in for all\nthe winter.\n\nNow at Yule they drank turn and turn about with a man called\nHallstein, who was bynamed Horse; Eric gave the first feast, well and\ntruly, and then Hallstein gave his, but thereat was there bickering\nbetween them, and Hallstein smote Eric with a deer-horn; Eric gat no\nrevenge therefor, but went home straightway. This sore misliked\nthe sons of Ondott, and a little after Asgrim fared to Hallstein's\nhomestead, and went in alone, and gave him a great wound, but those\nwho were therein sprang up and set on Asgrim. Asgrim defended himself\nwell and got out of their hands in the dark; but they deemed they had\nslain him.\n\nOnund and Asmund heard thereof and supposed him dead, but deemed they\nmight do nought. Eric counselled them to make for Iceland, and said\nthat would be of no avail to abide there in the land (i.e. in Norway),\nas soon as the king should bring matters about to his liking. So\nthis they did, and made them ready for Iceland and had each one ship.\nHallstein lay wounded, and died before Onund and his folk sailed.\nKolbein withal, who is afore mentioned, went abroad with Onund.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. VIII.\n\n\nNow Onund and Asmund sailed into the sea when they were ready, and\nheld company together; then sang Onund this stave--\n\n  \"Meet was I in days agone\n  For storm, wherein the Sweeping One,\n  Midst rain of swords, and the darts' breath,\n  Blew o'er all a gale of death.\n  Now a maimed, one-footed man\n  On rollers' steed through waters wan\n  Out to Iceland must I go;\n  Ah, the skald is sinking low.\"\n\nThey had a hard voyage of it and much of baffling gales from the\nsouth, and drove north into the main; but they made Iceland, and were\nby then come to the north off Longness when they found where they\nwere: so little space there was betwixt them that they spake together;\nand Asmund said that they had best sail to Islefirth, and thereto they\nboth agreed; then they beat up toward the land, and a south-east wind\nsprang up; but when Onund and his folk laid the ship close to the\nwind, the yard was sprung; then they took in sail, and therewith were\ndriven off to sea; but Asmund got under the lee of Brakeisle, and\nthere lay till a fair wind brought him into Islefirth; Helgi the Lean\ngave him all Kraeklings' lithe, and he dwelt at South Glass-river;\nAsgrim his brother came out some winters later and abode at North\nGlass-river; he was the father of Ellida-Grim, the father of Asgrim\nEllida-Grimson.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. IX.\n\n\nNow it is to be told of Onund Treefoot that he drave out to sea for\ncertain days, but at last the wind got round to the north, and they\nsailed for land: then those knew who had been there before that they\nhad come west off the Skagi; then they sailed into Strand-Bay, and\nnear to the South-Strands, and there rowed toward them six men in\na ten-oared boat, who hailed the big ship, and asked who was their\ncaptain; Onund named himself, and asked whence they came; they said\nthey were house-carles of Thorvald, from Drangar; Onund asked if all\nland through the Strands had been settled; they said there was little\nunsettled in the inner Strands, and none north thereof. Then Onund\nasked his shipmates, whether they would make for the west country, or\ntake such as they had been told of; they chose to view the land first.\nSo they sailed in up the bay, and brought to in a creek off Arness,\nthen put forth a boat and rowed to land. There dwelt a rich man,\nEric Snare, who had taken land betwixt Ingolfs-firth, and Ufoera in\nFishless; but when Eric knew that Onund was come there, he bade him\ntake of his hands whatso he would, but said that there was little that\nhad not been settled before. Onund said he would first see what there\nwas, so they went landward south past some firths, till they came to\nUfoera; then said Eric, \"Here is what there is to look to; all from\nhere is unsettled, and right in to the settlements of Biorn.\" Now a\ngreat mountain went down the eastern side of the firth, and snow had\nfallen thereon, Onund looked on that mountain, and sang--\n\n  \"Brand-whetter's life awry doth go.\n  Fair lands and wide full well I know;\n  Past house, and field, and fold of man,\n  The swift steed of the rollers ran:\n  My lands, and kin, I left behind,\n  That I this latter day might find,\n  Coldback for sunny meads to have;\n  Hard fate a bitter bargain drave.\"\n\nEric answered, \"Many have lost so much in Norway, that it may not be\nbettered: and I think withal that most lands in the main-settlements\nare already settled, and therefore I urge thee not to go from hence;\nbut I shall hold to what I spake, that thou mayst have whatso of my\nlands seems meet to thee.\" Onund said, that he would take that offer,\nand so he settled land out from Ufoera over the three creeks, Byrgis\nCreek, Kolbein's Creek, and Coldback Creek, up to Coldback Cleft.\nThereafter Eric gave him all Fishless, and Reekfirth, and all\nReekness, out on that side of the firth; but as to drifts there was\nnought set forth, for they were then so plentiful that every man had\nof them what he would. Now Onund set up a household at Coldback, and\nhad many men about him; but when his goods began to grow great he had\nanother stead in Reekfirth. Kolbein dwelt at Kolbein's Creek. So Onund\nabode in peace for certain winters.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. X.\n\n\nNow Onund was so brisk a man, that few, even of whole men, could cope\nwith him; and his name withal was well known throughout the land,\nbecause of his forefathers. After these things, befell that strife\nbetwixt Ufeigh Grettir and Thorbiorn Earl's-champion, which had such\nending, that Ufeigh fell before Thorbiorn in Grettir's-Gill, near\nHeel. There were many drawn together to the sons of Ufeigh concerning\nthe blood-suit, and Onund Treefoot was sent for, and rode south in\nthe spring, and guested at Hvamm, with Aud the Deeply-wealthy, and\nshe gave him exceeding good welcome, because he had been with her west\nover the Sea. In those days, Olaf Feilan, her son's son, was a man\nfull grown, and Aud was by then worn with great eld; she bade Onund\nknow that she would have Olaf, her kinsman, married, and was fain that\nhe should woo Aldis of Barra, who was cousin to Asa, whom Onund had to\nwife. Onund deemed the matter hopeful, and Olaf rode south with him.\nSo when Onund met his friends and kin-in-law they bade him abide with\nthem: then was the suit talked over, and was laid to Kialarnes Thing,\nfor as then the Althing was not yet set up. So the case was settled\nby umpiredom, and heavy weregild came for the slayings, and Thorbiorn\nEarl's-champion was outlawed. His son was Solmund, the father of Kari\nthe Singed; father and son dwelt abroad a long time afterwards.\n\nThrand bade Onund and Olaf to his house, and so did Thormod Shaft, and\nthey backed Olaf's wooing, which was settled with ease, because men\nknew how mighty a woman Aud was. So the bargain was made, and, so much\nbeing done, Onund rode home, and Aud thanked him well for his help to\nOlaf. That autumn Olaf Feilan wedded Aldis of Barra; and then died Aud\nthe Deeply-wealthy, as is told in the story of the Laxdale men.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XI.\n\n\nOnund and Asa had two sons; the elder was called Thorgeir, the younger\nUfeigh Grettir; but Asa soon died. Thereafter Onund got to wife a\nwoman called Thordis, the daughter of Thorgrim, from Gnup in Midfirth,\nand akin to Midfirth Skeggi. Of her Onund had a son called Thorgrim;\nhe was early a big man, and a strong, wise, and good withal in matters\nof husbandry. Onund dwelt on at Coldback till he was old, then he died\nin his bed, and is buried in Treefoot's barrow; he was the briskest\nand lithest of one-footed men who have ever lived in Iceland.\n\nNow Thorgrim took the lead among the sons of Onund, though others of\nthem were older than he; but when he was twenty-five years old he\ngrew grey-haired, and therefore was he bynamed Greypate; Thordis, his\nmother, was afterwards wedded north in Willowdale, to Audun Skokul,\nand their son was Asgeir, of Asgeir's-River. Thorgrim Greypate and\nhis brothers had great possessions in common, nor did they divide the\ngoods between them. Now Eric, who farmed at Arness, as is aforesaid,\nhad to wife Alof, daughter of Ingolf, of Ingolfs-firth; and Flosi was\nthe name of their son, a hopeful man, and of many friends. In those\ndays three brothers came out hither, Ingolf, Ufeigh, and Eyvind, and\nsettled those three firths that are known by their names, and there\ndwelt afterwards. Olaf was the name of Eyvind's son, he first dwelt\nat Eyvind's-firth, and after at Drangar, and was a man to hold his own\nwell.\n\nNow there was no strife betwixt these men while their elders were\nalive; but when Eric died, it seemed to Flosi, that those of Coldback\nhad no lawful title to the lands which Eric had given to Onund; and\nfrom this befell much ill-blood betwixt them; but Thorgrim and his\nkin still held their lands as before, but they might not risk having\nsports together. Now Thorgeir was head-man of the household of those\nbrothers in Reekfirth, and would ever be rowing out a-fishing, because\nin those days were the firths full of fish; so those in the Creek\nmade up their plot; a man there was, a house-carle of Flosi in Arness,\ncalled Thorfin, him Flosi sent for Thorgeir's head, and he went and\nhid himself in the boat-stand; that morning, Thorgeir got ready to row\nout to sea, and two men with him, one called Hamund, the other Brand.\nThorgeir went first, and had on his back a leather bottle and drink\ntherein. It was very dark, and as he walked down from the boat-stand\nThorfin ran at him, and smote him with an axe betwixt the shoulders,\nand the axe sank in, and the bottle squeaked, but he let go the axe,\nfor he deemed that there would be little need of binding up, and would\nsave himself as swiftly as might be; and it is to be told of him that\nhe ran off to Arness, and came there before broad day, and told of\nThorgeir's slaying, and said that he should have need of Flosi's\nshelter, and that the only thing to be done was to offer atonement,\n\"for that of all things,\" said he, \"is like to better our strait,\ngreat as it has now grown.\"\n\nFlosi said that he would first hear tidings; \"and I am minded to think\nthat thou art afraid after thy big deed.\"\n\nNow it is to be said of Thorgeir, that he turned from the blow as the\naxe smote the bottle, nor had he any wound; they made no search\nfor the man because of the dark, so they rowed over the firths to\nColdback, and told tidings of what had happed; thereat folk made much\nmocking, and called Thorgeir, Bottleback, and that was his by-name\never after.\n\nAnd this was sung withal--\n\n  \"The brave men of days of old,\n  Whereof many a tale is told,\n  Bathed the whiting of the shield,\n  In wounds' house on battle-field;\n  But the honour-missing fool,\n  Both sides of his slaying tool,\n  Since faint heart his hand made vain.\n  With but curdled milk must stain.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XII.\n\n\nIn those days befell such hard times in Iceland, that nought like them\nhas been known there; well-nigh all gettings from the sea, and all\ndrifts, came to an end; and this went on for many seasons. One autumn\ncertain chapmen in a big ship were drifted thither, and were wrecked\nthere in the Creek, and Flosi took to him four or five of them; Stein\nwas the name of their captain; they were housed here and there about\nthe Creek, and were minded to build them a new ship from the wreck;\nbut they were unhandy herein, and the ship was over small stem and\nstern, but over big amidships.\n\nThat spring befell a great storm from the north, which lasted near a\nweek, and after the storm men looked after their drifts. Now there was\na man called Thorstein, who dwelt at Reekness; he found a whale driven\nup on the firthward side of the ness, at a place called Rib-Skerries,\nand the whale was a big whale.\n\nThorstein sent forthwith a messenger to Wick to Flosi, and so to the\nnighest farm-steads. Now Einar was the name of the farmer at Combe,\nand he was a tenant of those of Coldback, and had the ward of their\ndrifts on that side of the firths; and now withal he was ware of the\nstranding of the whale: and he took boat and rowed past the firths to\nByrgis Creek, whence he sent a man to Coldback; and when Thorgrim and\nhis brothers heard that, they got ready at their swiftest, and were\ntwelve in a ten-oared boat, and Kolbein's sons fared with them, Ivar\nand Leif, and were six altogether; and all farmers who could bring it\nabout went to the whale.\n\nNow it is to be told of Flosi that he sent to his kin in Ingolfs-firth\nand Ufeigh's-firth, and for Olaf Eyvindson, who then dwelt at Drangar;\nand Flosi came first to the whale, with the men of the Creek, then they\nfell to cutting up the whale, and what was cut was forthwith sent\nashore; near twenty men were thereat at first, but soon folk came\nthronging thither.\n\nTherewith came those of Coldback in four boats, and Thorgrim laid\nclaim to the whale and forbade the men of Wick to shear, allot, or\ncarry off aught thereof: Flosi bade him show if Eric had given Onund\nTreefoot the drift in clear terms, or else he said he should defend\nhimself with arms. Thorgrim thought he and his too few, and would not\nrisk an onset; but therewithal came a boat rowing up the firth, and\nthe rowers therein pulled smartly. Soon they came up, and there was\nSwan, from Knoll in Biornfirth, and his house-carles; and straightway,\nwhen he came, he bade Thorgrim not to let himself be robbed; and great\nfriends they had been heretofore, and now Swan offered his aid. The\nbrothers said they would take it, and therewith set on fiercely;\nThorgeir Bottleback first mounted the whale against Flosi's\nhouse-carles; there the aforenamed Thorfin was cutting the whale, he\nwas in front nigh the head, and stood in a foot-hold he had cut for\nhimself; then Thorgeir said, \"Herewith I bring thee back thy axe,\" and\nsmote him on the neck, and struck off his head.\n\nFlosi was up on the foreshore when he saw that, and he egged on his\nmen to meet them hardily; now they fought long together, but those of\nColdback had the best of it: few men there had weapons except the axes\nwherewith they were cutting up the whale, and some choppers. So the\nmen of Wick gave back to the foreshores; the Eastmen had weapons,\nand many a wound they gave; Stein, the captain, smote a foot off\nIvar Kolbeinson, but Leif, Ivar's brother, beat to death a fellow of\nStein's with a whale-rib; blows were dealt there with whatever could\nbe caught at, and men fell on either side. But now came up Olaf and\nhis men from Drangar in many boats, and gave help to Flosi, and then\nthose of Coldback were borne back overpowered; but they had loaded\ntheir boats already, and Swan bade get aboard and thitherward they\ngave back, and the men of Wick came on after them; and when Swan was\ncome down to the sea, he smote at Stein, the sea-captain, and gave him\na great wound, and then leapt aboard his boat; Thorgrim wounded Flosi\nwith a great wound and therewith got away; Olaf cut at Ufeigh Grettir,\nand wounded him to death; but Thorgeir caught Ufeigh up and leapt\naboard with him. Now those of Coldback row east by the firths, and\nthus they parted; and this was sung of their meeting--\n\n  At Rib-skerries, I hear folk tell,\n  A hard and dreadful fray befell,\n  For men unarmed upon that day\n  With strips of whale-fat made good play.\n  Fierce steel-gods these in turn did meet\n  With blubber-slices nowise sweet;\n  Certes a wretched thing it is\n  To tell of squabbles such as this.\n\nAfter these things was peace settled between them, and these suits\nwere laid to the Althing; there Thorod the Godi and Midfirth-Skeggi,\nwith many of the south-country folk, aided those of Coldback; Flosi\nwas outlawed, and many of those who had been with him; and his moneys\nwere greatly drained because he chose to pay up all weregild himself.\nThorgrim and his folk could not show that they had paid money for the\nlands and drifts which Flosi claimed. Thorkel Moon was lawman then,\nand he was bidden to give his decision; he said that to him it seemed\nlaw, that something had been paid for those lands, though mayhap\nnot their full worth; \"For so did Steinvor the Old to Ingolf, my\ngrandfather, that she had from him all Rosmwhale-ness and gave\ntherefor a spotted cloak, nor has that gift been voided, though certes\ngreater flaws be therein: but here I lay down my rede,\" said he, \"that\nthe land be shared, and that both sides have equal part therein; and\nhenceforth be it made law, that each man have the drifts before\nhis own lands.\" Now this was done, and the land was so divided that\nThorgrim and his folk had to give up Reekfirth and all the lands by\nthe firth-side, but Combe they were to keep still. Ufeigh was atoned\nwith a great sum; Thorfin was unatoned, and boot was given to Thorgeir\nfor the attack on his life; and thereafter were they set at one\ntogether. Flosi took ship for Norway with Stein, the ship-master, and\nsold his lands in the Wick to Geirmund Hiuka-timber, who dwelt there\nafterwards. Now that ship which the chapmen had made was very broad of\nbeam, so that men called it the Treetub, and by that name is the\ncreek known: but in that keel did Flosi go out, but was driven back to\nAxefirth, whereof came the tale of Bodmod, and Grimulf, and Gerpir.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XIII.\n\n\nNow after this the brothers Thorgrim and Thorgeir shared their\npossessions. Thorgrim took the chattels and Thorgeir the land;\nThorgrim betook himself to Midfirth and bought land at Biarg by the\ncounsel of Skeggi; he had to wife Thordis, daughter of Asmund of\nAsmund's-peak, who had settled the Thingere lands: Thorgrim and\nThordis had a son who was called Asmund; he was a big man and a\nstrong, wise withal, and the fairest-haired of men, but his head grew\ngrey early, wherefore he was called Asmund the Greyhaired. Thorgrim\ngrew to be a man very busy about his household, and kept all his men\nwell to their work. Asmund would do but little work, so the father and\nson had small fellowship together; and so things fared till Asmund had\ngrown of age; then he asked his father for travelling money;\nThorgrim said he should have little enough, but gave him somewhat of\nhuckstering wares.\n\nThen Asmund went abroad, and his goods soon grew great; he sailed to\nsundry lands, and became the greatest of merchants, and very rich; he\nwas a man well beloved and trusty, and many kinsmen he had in Norway\nof great birth.\n\nOne autumn he guested east in the Wick with a great man who was called\nThorstein; he was an Uplander of kin, and had a sister called Ranveig,\none to be chosen before all women; her Asmund wooed, and gained her by\nthe help of Thorstein her brother; and there Asmund dwelt a while\nand was held in good esteem: he had of Ranveig a son hight Thorstein,\nstrong, and the fairest of men, and great of voice; a man tall of\ngrowth he was, but somewhat slow in his mien, and therefore was he\ncalled Dromund. Now when Thorstein was nigh grown up, his mother fell\nsick and died, and thereafter Asmund had no joy in Norway; the kin\nof Thorstein's mother took his goods, and him withal to foster; but\nAsmund betook himself once more to seafaring, and became a man of\ngreat renown. Now he brought his ship into Hunawater, and in those\ndays was Thorkel Krafla chief over the Waterdale folk; and he heard\nof Asmund's coming out, and rode to the ship and bade Asmund to his\nhouse; and he dwelt at Marstead in Waterdale; so Asmund went to\nbe guest there. This Thorkel was the son of Thorgrim the Godi of\nCornriver, and was a very wise man.\n\nNow this was after the coming out of Bishop Frederick, and Thorvald\nKodran's son, and they dwelt at the Brooks-meet, when these things\ncame to pass: they were the first to preach the law of Christ in the\nnorth country; Thorkel let himself be signed with the cross and\nmany men with him, and things enow betid betwixt the bishop and the\nnorth-country folk which come not into this tale.\n\nNow at Thorkel's was a woman brought up, Asdis by name, who was the\ndaughter of Bard, the son of Jokul, the son of Ingimund the Old, the\nson of Thorstein, the son of Ketil the Huge: the mother of Asdis was\nAldis the daughter of Ufeigh Grettir, as is aforesaid; Asdis was as\nyet unwedded, and was deemed the best match among women, both for her\nkin and her possessions; Asmund was grown weary of seafaring, and\nwas fain to take up his abode in Iceland; so he took up the word, and\nwooed this woman. Thorkel knew well all his ways, that he was a rich\nman and of good counsel to hold his wealth; so that came about, that\nAsmund got Asdis to wife; he became a bosom friend of Thorkel, and\na great dealer in matters of farming, cunning in the law, and\nfar-reaching. And now a little after this Thorgrim Greypate died at\nBiarg, and Asmund took the heritage after him and dwelt there.\n\n\n\n\nHERE BEGINS THE STORY OF THE LIFE\nOF GRETTIR THE STRONG\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XIV.\n\n<i>Of Grettir as a child, and his froward ways with his father</i>.\n\n\nAsmund the Greyhaired kept house at Biarg; great and proud was his\nhousehold, and many men he had about him, and was a man much beloved.\nThese were the children of him and Asdis. Atli was the eldest son;\na man yielding and soft-natured, easy, and meek withal, and all men\nliked him well: another son they had called Grettir; he was very\nfroward in his childhood; of few words, and rough; worrying both in\nword and deed. Little fondness he got from his father Asmund, but his\nmother loved him right well.\n\nGrettir Asmundson was fair to look on, broad-faced, short-faced,\nred-haired, and much freckled; not of quick growth in his childhood.\n\nThordis was a daughter of Asmund, whom Glum, the son of Uspak, the\nson of Kiarlak of Skridinsenni, afterwards had to wife. Ranveig was\nanother daughter of Asmund; she was the wife of Gamli, the son of\nThorhal, the son of the Vendlander; they kept house at Meals in\nRamfirth; their son was Grim. The son of Glum and Thordis, the\ndaughter of Asmund, was Uspak, who quarrelled with Odd, the son of\nUfeigh, as is told in the Bandamanna Saga.\n\nGrettir grew up at Biarg till he was ten years old; then he began to\nget on a little; but Asmund bade him do some work; Grettir answered\nthat work was not right meet for him, but asked what he should do.\n\nSays Asmund, \"Thou shalt watch my home-geese.\"\n\nGrettir answered and said, \"A mean work, a milksop's work.\"\n\nAsmund said, \"Turn it well out of hand, and then matters shall get\nbetter between us.\"\n\nThen Grettir betook himself to watching the home-geese; fifty of them\nthere were, with many goslings; but no long time went by before he\nfound them a troublesome drove, and the goslings slow-paced withal.\nThereat he got sore worried, for little did he keep his temper in\nhand. So some time after this, wayfaring men found the goslings strewn\nabout dead, and the home-geese broken-winged; and this was in autumn.\nAsmund was mightily vexed hereat, and asked if Grettir had killed the\nfowl: he sneered mockingly, and answered--\n\n  \"Surely as winter comes, shall I\n  Twist the goslings' necks awry.\n  If in like case are the geese,\n  I have finished each of these.\"\n\n\"Thou shalt kill them no more,\" said Asmund.\n\n\"Well, <i>a friend should warn a friend of ill</i>,\" said Grettir.\n\n\"Another work shall be found for thee then,\" said Asmund.\n\n\"<i>More one knows the more one tries</i>,\" said Grettir; \"and what\nshall I do now?\"\n\nAsmund answered, \"Thou shalt rub my back at the fire, as I have been\nwont to have it done.\"\n\n\"Hot for the hand, truly,\" said Grettir; \"but still a milksop's work.\"\n\nNow Grettir went on with this work for a while; but autumn came on,\nand Asmund became very fain of heat, and he spurs Grettir on to rub\nhis back briskly. Now, in those times there were wont to be large\nfire-halls at the homesteads, wherein men sat at long fires in the\nevenings; boards were set before the men there, and afterwards folk\nslept out sideways from the fires; there also women worked at the wool\nin the daytime. Now, one evening, when Grettir had to rub Asmund's\nback, the old carle said,--\n\n\"Now thou wilt have to put away thy sloth, thou milk-sop.\"\n\nSays Grettir, \"<i>Ill is it to goad the foolhardy</i>.\"\n\nAsmund answers, \"Thou wilt ever be a good-for-nought.\"\n\nNow Grettir sees where, in one of the seats stood wool-combs: one of\nthese he caught up, and let it go all down Asmund's back. He sprang\nup, and was mad wroth thereat; and was going to smite Grettir with\nhis staff, but he ran off. Then came the housewife, and asked what was\nthis to-do betwixt them. Then Grettir answered by this ditty--\n\n  \"This jewel-strewer, O ground of gold,\n  (His counsels I deem over bold),\n  On both these hands that trouble sow,\n  (Ah bitter pain) will burn me now;\n\n  Therefore with wool-comb's nails unshorn\n  Somewhat ring-strewer's back is torn:\n  The hook-clawed bird that wrought his wound,--\n  Lo, now I see it on the ground.\"\n\nHereupon was his mother sore vexed, that he should have taken to a\ntrick like this; she said he would never fail to be the most reckless\nof men. All this nowise bettered matters between Asmund and Grettir.\n\nNow, some time after this, Asmund had a talk with Grettir, that he\nshould watch his horses. Grettir said this was more to his mind than\nthe back-rubbing.\n\n\"Then shalt thou do as I bid thee,\" said Asmund. \"I have a dun mare,\nwhich I call Keingala; she is so wise as to shifts of weather, thaws,\nand the like, that rough weather will never fail to follow, when she\nwill not go out on grazing. At such times thou shalt lock the horses\nup under cover; but keep them to grazing on the mountain neck yonder,\nwhen winter comes on. Now I shall deem it needful that thou turn this\nwork out of hand better than the two I have set thee to already.\"\n\nGrettir answered, \"This is a cold work and a manly, but I deem it ill\nto trust in the mare, for I know none who has done it yet.\"\n\nNow Grettir took to the horse-watching, and so the time went on till\npast Yule-time; then came on much cold weather with snow, that made\ngrazing hard to come at. Now Grettir was ill clad, and as yet little\nhardened, and he began to be starved by the cold; but Keingala grazed\naway in the windiest place she could find, let the weather be as rough\nas it would. Early as she might go to the pasture, never would she go\nback to stable before nightfall. Now Grettir deemed that he must think\nof some scurvy trick or other, that Keingala might be paid in full\nfor her way of grazing: so, one morning early, he comes to the\nhorse-stable, opens it, and finds Keingala standing all along before\nthe crib; for, whatever food was given to the horses with her, it was\nher way to get it all to herself. Grettir got on her back, and had a\nsharp knife in his hand, and drew it right across Keingala's shoulder,\nand then all along both sides of the back. Thereat the mare, being\nboth fat and shy, gave a mad bound, and kicked so fiercely, that her\nhooves clattered against the wall. Grettir fell off; but, getting\non his legs, strove to mount her again. Now their struggle is of the\nsharpest, but the end of it is, that he flays off the whole of the\nstrip along the back to the loins. Thereafter he drove the horses out\non grazing; Keingala would bite but at her back, and when noon was\nbarely past, she started off, and ran back to the house. Grettir now\nlocks the stable and goes home. Asmund asked Grettir where the horses\nwere. He said that he had stabled them as he was wont. Asmund said\nthat rough weather was like to be at hand, as the horses would not\nkeep at their grazing in such good weather as now it was.\n\nGrettir said, \"<i>Oft fail in wisdom folk of better trust</i>.\"\n\nNow the night goes by, but no rough weather came on. Grettir drove off\nthe horses, but Keingala cannot bear the grazing. This seemed strange\nto Asmund, as the weather changed in nowise from what it had been\ntheretofore. The third morning Asmund went to the horses, and, coming\nto Keingala, said,--\n\n\"I must needs deem these horses to be in sorry case, good as the\nwinter has been, but thy sides will scarce lack flesh, my dun.\"\n\n\"<i>Things boded will happen</i>,\" said Grettir, \"<i>but so will\nthings unboded</i>.\"\n\nAsmund stroked the back of the mare, and, lo, the hide came off\nbeneath his hand; he wondered how this could have happened, and said\nit was likely to be Grettir's doing. Grettir sneered mockingly, but\nsaid nought. Now goodman Asmund went home talking as one mad; he went\nstraight to the fire-hall, and as he came heard the good wife say,\n\"It were good indeed if the horse-keeping of my kinsman had gone off\nwell.\"\n\nThen Asmund sang this stave--\n\n  \"Grettir has in such wise played,\n  That Keingala has he flayed,\n  Whose trustiness would be my boast\n  (Proudest women talk the most);\n  So the cunning lad has wrought,\n  Thinking thereby to do nought\n  Of my biddings any more.\n  In thy mind turn these words o'er.\"\n\nThe housewife answered, \"I know not which is least to my mind, that\nthou shouldst ever be bidding him work, or that he should turn out all\nhis work in one wise.\"\n\n\"That too we will make an end of,\" said Asmund, \"but he shall fare the\nworse therefor.\"\n\nThen Grettir said, \"Well, let neither make words about it to the\nother.\"\n\nSo things went on awhile, and Asmund had Keingala killed; and many\nother scurvy tricks did Grettir in his childhood whereof the story\nsays nought. But he grew great of body, though his strength was not\nwell known, for he was unskilled in wrestling; he would make ditties\nand rhymes, but was somewhat scurrilous therein. He had no will to lie\nanight in the fire-hall and was mostly of few words.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XV.\n\n<i>Of the ball-play on Midfirth Water</i>.\n\n\nAt this time there were many growing up to be men in Midfirth;\nSkald-Torfa dwelt at Torfa's-stead in those days; her son was called\nBessi, he was the shapeliest of men and a good skald.\n\nAt Meal lived two brothers, Kormak and Thorgils, with them a man\ncalled Odd was fostered, and was called the Foundling-skald.\n\nOne called Audun was growing up at Audunstead in Willowdale, he was\na kind and good man to deal with, and the strongest in those north\nparts, of all who were of an age with him. Kalf Asgeirson dwelt\nat Asgeir's-river, and his brother Thorvald with him. Atli also,\nGrettir's brother, was growing into a ripe man at that time; the\ngentlest of men he was, and well beloved of all. Now these men\nsettled to have ball-play together on Midfirth Water; thither came the\nMidfirthers, and Willowdale men, and men from Westhope, and Waterness,\nand Ramfirth, but those who came from far abode at the play-stead.\n\nNow those who were most even in strength were paired together, and\nthereat was always the greatest sport in autumn-tide. But when he was\nfourteen years old Grettir went to the plays, because he was prayed\nthereto by his brother Atli.\n\nNow were all paired off for the plays, and Grettir was allotted to\nplay against Audun, the aforenamed, who was some winters the eldest of\nthe two; Audun struck the ball over Grettir's head, so that he could\nnot catch it, and it bounded far away along the ice; Grettir got angry\nthereat, deeming that Audun would outplay him; but he fetches the ball\nand brings it back, and, when he was within reach of Audun, hurls\nit right against his forehead, and smites him so that the skin was\nbroken; then Audun struck at Grettir with the bat he held in his hand,\nbut smote him no hard blow, for Grettir ran in under the stroke; and\nthereat they seized one another with arms clasped, and wrestled. Then\nall saw that Grettir was stronger than he had been taken to be, for\nAudun was a man full of strength.\n\nA long tug they had of it, but the end was that Grettir fell, and\nAudun thrust his knees against his belly and breast, and dealt hardly\nwith him.\n\nThen Atli and Bessi and many others ran up and parted them; but\nGrettir said there was no need to hold him like a mad dog, \"For,\" said\nhe, \"<i>thralls wreak themselves at once, dastards never</i>.\"\n\nThis men suffered not to grow into open strife, for the brothers, Kalf\nand Thorvald, were fain that all should be at one again, and Audun and\nGrettir were somewhat akin withal; so the play went on as before, nor\ndid anything else befall to bring about strife.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XVI.\n\n<i>Of the slaying of Skeggi</i>.\n\n\nNow Thorkel Krafla got very old; he had the rule of Waterdale and\nwas a great man. He was bosom friend of Asmund the Greyhaired, as was\nbeseeming for the sake of their kinship; he was wont to ride to Biarg\nevery year and see his kin there, nor did he fail herein the spring\nfollowing these matters just told. Asmund and Asdis welcomed him most\nheartily, he was there three nights, and many things did the kinsmen\nspeak of between them. Now Thorkel asked Asmund what his mind\nforeboded him about his sons, as to what kind of craft they would be\nlikely to take to. Asmund said that he thought Atli would be a great\nman at farming, foreseeing, and money-making. Thorkel answered, \"A\nuseful man and like unto thyself: but what dost thou say of Grettir?\"\n\nAsmund said, \"Of him I say, that he will be a strong man and an\nunruly, and, certes, of wrathful mood, and heavy enough he has been to\nme.\"\n\nThorkel answered, \"That bodes no good, friend; but how shall we settle\nabout our riding to the Thing next summer?\"\n\nAsmund answered, \"I am growing heavy for wayfaring, and would fain sit\nat home.\"\n\n\"Wouldst thou that Atli go in thy stead?\" said Thorkel.\n\n\"I do not see how I could spare him,\" says Asmund, \"because of the\nfarm-work and ingathering of household stores; but now Grettir will\nnot work, yet he bears about that wit with him that I deem he will\nknow how to keep up the showing forth of the law for me through thy\naid.\"\n\n\"Well, thou shall have thy will,\" said Thorkel, and withal he rode\nhome when he was ready, and Asmund let him go with good gifts.\n\nSome time after this Thorkel made him ready to ride to the Thing, he\nrode with sixty men, for all went with him who were in his rule: thus\nhe came to Biarg, and therefrom rode Grettir with him.\n\nNow they rode south over the heath that is called Two-days'-ride; but\non this mountain the baiting grounds were poor, therefore they rode\nfast across it down to the settled lands, and when they came down\nto Fleet-tongue they thought it was time to sleep, so they took the\nbridles off their horses and let them graze with the saddles on. They\nlay sleeping till far on in the day, and when they woke, the men went\nabout looking for their horses; but they had gone each his own way,\nand some of them had been rolling; but Grettir was the last to find\nhis horse.\n\nNow it was the wont in those days that men should carry their own\nvictuals when they rode to the Althing, and most bore meal-bags\nathwart their saddles; and the saddle was turned under the belly of\nGrettir's horse, and the meal-bag was gone, so he goes and searches,\nand finds nought.\n\nJust then he sees a man running fast, Grettir asks who it is who is\nrunning there; the man answered that his name was Skeggi, and that\nhe was a house-carle from the Ridge in Waterdale. \"I am one of the\nfollowing of goodman Thorkel,\" he says, \"but, faring heedlessly, I\nhave lost my meal-bag.\"\n\nGrettir said, \"<i>Odd haps are worst haps</i>, for I, also, have lost\nthe meal-sack which I owned, and now let us search both together.\"\n\nThis Skeggi liked well, and a while they go thus together; but all\nof a sudden Skeggi bounded off up along the moors and caught up a\nmeal-sack. Grettir saw him stoop, and asked what he took up there.\n\n\"My meal-sack,\" says Skeggi.\n\n\"Who speaks to that besides thyself?\" says Grettir; \"let me see it,\nfor many a thing has its like.\"\n\nSkeggi said that no man should take from him what was his own; but\nGrettir caught at the meal-bag, and now they tug one another along\nwith the meal-sack between them, both trying hard to get the best of\nit.\n\n\"It is to be wondered at,\" says the house-carle, \"that ye Waterdale\nmen should deem, that because other men are not as wealthy as ye,\nthat they should not therefore dare to hold aught of their own in your\ndespite.\"\n\nGrettir said, that it had nought to do with the worth of men that each\nshould have his own.\n\nSkeggi answers, \"Too far off is Audun now to throttle thee as at that\nball-play.\"\n\n\"Good,\" said Grettir; \"but, howsoever that went, thou at least shall\nnever throttle me.\"\n\nThen Skeggi got at his axe and hewed at Grettir; when Grettir saw\nthat, he caught the axe-handle with the left hand bladeward of\nSkeggi's hand, so hard that straightway was the axe loosed from his\nhold. Then Grettir drave that same axe into his head so that it stood\nin the brain, and the house-carle fell dead to earth. Then Grettir\nseized the meal-bag and threw it across his saddle, and thereon rode\nafter his fellows.\n\nNow Thorkel rode ahead of all, for he had no misgiving of such things\nbefalling: but men missed Skeggi from the company, and when Grettir\ncame up they asked him what he knew of Skeggi; then he sang--\n\n  \"A rock-troll her weight did throw\n  At Skeggi's throat a while ago:\n  Over the battle ogress ran\n  The red blood of the serving-man;\n  Her deadly iron mouth did gape\n  Above him, till clean out of shape\n  She tore his head and let out life:\n  And certainly I saw their strife.\"\n\nThen Thorkel's men sprung up and said that surely trolls had not taken\nthe man in broad daylight. Thorkel grew silent, but said presently,\n\"The matter is likely to be quite other than this; methinks Grettir\nhas in all likelihood killed him, or what could befall?\"\n\nThen Grettir told all their strife. Thorkel says, \"This has come to\npass most unluckily, for Skeggi was given to my following, and was,\nnathless, a man of good kin; but I shall deal thus with the matter: I\nshall give boot for the man as the doom goes, but the outlawry I may\nnot settle. Now, two things thou hast to choose between, Grettir;\nwhether thou wilt rather go to the Thing and risk the turn of matters,\nor go back home.\"\n\nGrettir chose to go to the Thing, and thither he went. But a lawsuit\nwas set on foot by the heirs of the slain man: Thorkel gave handsel,\nand paid up all fines, but Grettir must needs be outlawed, and keep\nabroad three winters.\n\nNow when the chiefs rode from the Thing, they baited under Sledgehill\nbefore they parted: then Grettir lifted a stone which now lies there\nin the grass and is called Grettir's-heave; but many men came up to\nsee the stone, and found it a great wonder that so young a man should\nheave aloft such a huge rock.\n\nNow Grettir rode home to Biarg and tells the tale of his journey;\nAsmund let out little thereon, but said that he would turn out an\nunruly man.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XVII.\n\n<i>Of Grettir's voyage out</i>.\n\n\nThere was a man called Haflidi, who dwelt at Reydarfell in\nWhiteriverside, he was a seafaring man and had a sailing ship, which\nlay up Whiteriver: there was a man on board his ship, hight Bard,\nwho had a wife with him young and fair. Asmund sent a man to Haflidi,\npraying him to take Grettir and look after him; Haflidi said that he\nhad heard that the man was ill ruled of mood; yet for the sake of the\nfriendship between him and Asmund he took Grettir to himself, and made\nready for sailing abroad.\n\nAsmund would give to his son no faring-goods but victuals for the\nvoyage and a little wadmall. Grettir prayed him for some weapon, but\nAsmund answered, \"Thou hast not been obedient to me, nor do I know\nhow far thou art likely to work with weapons things that may be of any\ngain; and no weapon shalt thou have of me.\"\n\n\"<i>No deed no reward</i>,\" says Grettir. Then father and son parted\nwith little love. Many there were who bade Grettir farewell, but few\nbade him come back.\n\nBut his mother brought him on his road, and before they parted she\nspoke thus, \"Thou art not fitted out from home, son, as I fain would\nthou wert, a man so well born as thou; but, meseems, the greatest\nshortcoming herein is that thou hast no weapons of any avail, and my\nmind misgives me that thou wilt perchance need them sorely.\"\n\nWith that she took out from under her cloak a sword well wrought,\nand a fair thing it was, and then she said, \"This sword was owned\nby Jokul, my father's father, and the earlier Waterdale men, and it\ngained them many a day; now I give thee the sword, and may it stand\nthee in good stead.\"\n\nGrettir thanked her well for this gift, and said he deemed it better\nthan things of more worth; then he went on his way, and Asdis wished\nhim all good hap.\n\nNow Grettir rode south over the heath, and made no stay till he came\nto the ship. Haflidi gave him a good welcome and asked him for his\nfaring-goods, then Grettir sang--\n\n  \"Rider of wind-driven steed,\n  Little gat I to my need,\n  When I left my fair birth-stead,\n  From the snatchers of worm's bed;\n  But this man's-bane hanging here,\n  Gift of woman good of cheer,\n  Proves the old saw said not ill,\n  <i>Best to bairn is mother still</i>.\"\n\nHaflidi said it was easily seen that she thought the most of him. But\nnow they put to sea when they were ready, and had wind at will; but\nwhen they had got out over all shallows they hoisted sail.\n\nNow Grettir made a den for himself under the boat, from whence he\nwould move for nought, neither for baling, nor to do aught at the\nsail, nor to work at what he was bound to work at in the ship in even\nshares with the other men, neither would he buy himself off from the\nwork.\n\nNow they sailed south by Reekness and then south from the land; and\nwhen they lost land they got much heavy sea; the ship was somewhat\nleaky, and scarce seaworthy in heavy weather, therefore they had it\nwet enough. Now Grettir let fly his biting rhymes, whereat the men\ngot sore wroth. One day, when it so happened that the weather was both\nsqually and cold, the men called out to Grettir, and bade him now do\nmanfully, \"For,\" said they, \"now our claws grow right cold.\" Grettir\nlooked up and said--\n\n  \"Good luck, scurvy starvelings, if I should behold\n  Each finger ye have doubled up with the cold.\"\n\nAnd no work they got out of him, and now it misliked them of their\nlot as much again as before, and they said that he should pay with his\nskin for his rhymes and the lawlessness which he did. \"Thou art more\nfain,\" said they, \"of playing with Bard the mate's wife than doing thy\nduty on board ship, and this is a thing not to be borne at all.\"\n\nThe gale grew greater steadily, and now they stood baling for days and\nnights together, and all swore to kill Grettir. But when Haflidi heard\nthis, he went up to where Grettir lay, and said, \"Methinks the bargain\nbetween thee and the chapmen is scarcely fair; first thou dost by them\nunlawfully, and thereafter thou castest thy rhymes at them; and now\nthey swear that they will throw thee overboard, and this is unseemly\nwork to go on.\"\n\n\"Why should they not be free to do as they will?\" says Grettir; \"but I\nwell would that one or two of them tarry here behind with me, or ever\nI go overboard.\"\n\nHaflidi says, \"Such deeds are not to be done, and we shall never\nthrive if ye rush into such madness; but I shall give thee good rede.\"\n\n\"What is that?\" says Grettir.\n\n\"They blame thee for singing ill things of them; now, therefore, I\nwould that thou sing some scurvy rhyme to me, for then it might be\nthat they would bear with thee the easier.\"\n\n\"To thee I never sing but good,\" says Grettir: \"I am not going to make\nthee like these starvelings.\"\n\n\"One may sing so,\" says Haflidi, \"that the lampoon be not so foul when\nit is searched into, though at first sight it be not over fair.\"\n\n\"I have ever plenty of that skill in me,\" says Grettir.\n\nThen Haflidi went to the men where they were baling, and said, \"Great\nis your toil, and no wonder that ye have taken ill liking to Grettir.\"\n\n\"But his lampoons we deem worse than all the rest together,\" they\nsaid.\n\nHaflidi said in a loud voice, \"He will surely fare ill for it in the\nend.\"\n\nBut when Grettir heard Haflidi speak blamefully of him, he sang--\n\n  \"Otherwise would matters be,\n  When this shouting Haflidi\n  Ate in house at Reydarfell\n  Curdled milk, and deemed it well;\n  He who decks the reindeer's side\n  That 'twixt ness and ness doth glide,\n  Twice in one day had his fill\n  Of the feast of dart shower shrill.\"[8]\n\n[Footnote 8: This is about as obscure as the original, which seems to\nallude to some event not mentioned in the Saga.]\n\nThe shipmen thought this foul enough, and said he should not put shame\non Skipper Haflidi for nought.\n\nThen said Haflidi, \"Grettir is plentifully worthy that ye should\ndo him some shame, but I will not have my honour staked against his\nill-will and recklessness; nor is it good for us to wreak vengeance\nfor this forthwith while we have this danger hanging over us; but be\nye mindful of it when ye land, if so it seem good to you.\"\n\n\"Well,\" they said, \"why should we not fare even as thou farest? for\nwhy should his vile word bite us more than thee?\"\n\nAnd in that mind Haflidi bade them abide; and thence-forward the\nchapmen made far less noise about Grettir's rhymes than before.\n\nNow a long and a hard voyage they had, and the leak gained on the\nship, and men began to be exceeding worn with toil. The young wife of\nthe mate was wont to sew from Grettir's hands, and much would the crew\nmock him therefor; but Haflidi went up to where Grettir lay and sang--\n\n  \"Grettir, stand up from thy grave,\n  In the trough of the grey wave\n  The keel labours, tell my say\n  Now unto thy merry may;\n  From thy hands the linen-clad\n  Fill of sewing now has had,\n  Till we make the land will she\n  Deem that labour fitteth thee.\"\n\nThen Grettir stood up and sang--\n\n  \"Stand we up, for neath us now\n  Rides the black ship high enow;\n  This fair wife will like it ill\n  If my limbs are laid here still;\n  Certes, the white trothful one\n  Will not deem the deed well done,\n  If the work that I should share\n  Other folk must ever bear.\"\n\nThen he ran aft to where they were baling, and asked what they would\nhe should do; they said he would do mighty little good.\n\n\"Well,\" said he, \"<i>ye may yet be apaid of a man's aid</i>.\"\n\nHaflidi bade them not set aside his help, \"For it may be he shall deem\nhis hands freed if he offers his aid.\"\n\nAt that time pumping was not used in ships that fared over the main;\nthe manner of baling they used men called tub or cask baling, and a\nwet work it was and a wearisome; two balers were used, and one went\ndown while the other came up. Now the chapmen bade Grettir have the\njob of sinking the balers, and said that now it should be tried what\nhe could do; he said that the less it was tried the better it would\nbe. But he goes down and sinks the balers, and now two were got to\nbale against him; they held out but a little while before they were\novercome with weariness, and then four came forward and soon fared in\nlikewise, and, so say some, that eight baled against him before the\nbaling was done and the ship was made dry. Thenceforth the manner of\nthe chapmen's words to Grettir was much changed, for they saw what\nstrength he had to fall back upon; and from that time he was the\nstoutest and readiest to help, wheresoever need was.\n\nNow they bore off east into the main, and much thick weather they had,\nand one night unawares they ran suddenly on a rock, so that the nether\npart of the ship went from under her; then the boat was run down, and\nwomen and all the loose goods were brought off: nearby was a little\nholm whither they brought their matters as they best could in the\nnight; but when it began to dawn they had a talk as to where they were\ncome; then they who had fared between lands before knew the land for\nSouthmere in Norway; there was an island hardby called Haramsey; many\nfolk dwelt there, and therein too was the manor of a lord.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XVIII.\n\n<i>Of Grettir at Haramsey and his dealings with Karr the Old</i>.\n\n\nNow the lord who dwelt in the island was called Thorfinn; he was the\nson of Karr the Old, who had dwelt there long; and Thorfinn was a\ngreat chief.\n\nBut when day was fully come men saw from the island that the chapmen\nwere brought to great straits. This was made known to Thorfinn, and he\nquickly bestirred himself, and had a large bark of his launched, rowed\nby sixteen men, on this bark were nigh thirty men in all; they came up\nspeedily and saved the chapmen's wares; but the ship settled down,\nand much goods were lost there. Thorfinn brought all men from the ship\nhome to himself, and they abode there a week and dried their wares.\nThen the chapmen went south into the land, and are now out of the\ntale.\n\nGrettir was left behind with Thorfinn, and little he stirred, and was\nat most times mighty short of speech. Thorfinn bade give him meals,\nbut otherwise paid small heed to him; Grettir was loth to follow him,\nand would not go out with him in the day; this Thorfinn took ill, but\nhad not the heart to have food withheld from him.\n\nNow Thorfinn was fond of stately house-keeping, and was a man of great\njoyance, and would fain have other men merry too: but Grettir would\nwalk about from house to house, and often went into other farms about\nthe island.\n\nThere was a man called Audun who dwelt at Windham; thither Grettir\nwent every day, and he made friends with Audun, and there he was wont\nto sit till far on in the day. Now one night very late, as Grettir\nmade ready to go home, he saw a great fire burst out on a ness to the\nnorth of Audun's farm. Grettir asked what new thing this might be.\nAudun said that he need be in no haste to know that.\n\n\"It would be said,\" quoth Grettir, \"if that were seen in our land,\nthat the flame burned above hid treasure.\"\n\nThe farmer said, \"That fire I deem to be ruled over by one into whose\nmatters it avails little to pry.\"\n\n\"Yet fain would I know thereof,\" said Grettir.\n\n\"On that ness,\" said Audun, \"stands a barrow, great and strong,\nwherein was laid Karr the Old, Thorfinn's father; at first father\nand son had but one farm in the island; but since Karr died he has so\nhaunted this place that he has swept away all farmers who owned lands\nhere, so that now Thorfinn holds the whole island; but whatsoever man\nThorfinn holds his hand over, gets no scathe.\"\n\nGrettir said that he had told his tale well: \"And,\" says he, \"I shall\ncome here to-morrow, and then thou shalt have digging-tools ready.\"\n\n\"Now, I pray thee,\" says Audun, \"to do nought herein, for I know that\nThorfinn will cast his hatred on thee therefor.\"\n\nGrettir said he would risk that.\n\nSo the night went by, and Grettir came early on the morrow and the\ndigging-tools were ready; the farmer goes with him to the barrow, and\nGrettir brake it open, and was rough-handed enough thereat, and did\nnot leave off till he came to the rafters, and by then the day was\nspent; then he tore away the rafters, and now Audun prayed him hard\nnot to go into the barrow; Grettir bade him guard the rope, \"but I\nshall espy what dwells within here.\"\n\nThen Grettir entered into the barrow, and right dark it was, and a\nsmell there was therein none of the sweetest. Now he groped about to\nsee how things were below; first he found horse-bones, and then he\nstumbled against the arm of a high-chair, and in that chair found a\nman sitting; great treasures of gold and silver were heaped together\nthere, and a small chest was set under the feet of him full of silver;\nall these riches Grettir carried together to the rope; but as he went\nout through the barrow he was griped at right strongly; thereon he let\ngo the treasure and rushed against the barrow-dweller, and now they\nset on one another unsparingly enough.\n\nEverything in their way was kicked out of place, the barrow-wight\nsetting on with hideous eagerness; Grettir gave back before him for a\nlong time, till at last it came to this, that he saw it would not do\nto hoard his strength any more; now neither spared the other, and\nthey were brought to where the horse-bones were, and thereabout they\nwrestled long. And now one, now the other, fell on his knee; but the\nend of the strife was, that the barrow-dweller fell over on his back\nwith huge din. Then ran Audun from the holding of the rope, and deemed\nGrettir dead. But Grettir drew the sword, 'Jokul's gift,' and drave\nit at the neck of the barrow-bider so that it took off his head, and\nGrettir laid it at the thigh of him.[9] Then he went to the rope with\nthe treasure, and lo, Audun was clean gone, so he had to get up the\nrope by his hands; he had tied a line to the treasure, and therewith\nhe now haled it up.\n\n[Footnote 9: The old belief was that by this means only could a ghost\nbe laid.]\n\nGrettir had got very stiff with his dealings with Karr, and now he\nwent back to Thorfinn's house with the treasures, whenas all folk had\nset them down to table. Thorfinn gave Grettir a sharp look when he\ncame into the drinking-hall, and asked him what work he had on hand\nso needful to do that he might not keep times of meals with other\nmen. Grettir answers, \"Many little matters will hap on late eves,\" and\ntherewith he cast down on the table all the treasure he had taken in\nthe barrow; but one matter there was thereof, on which he must needs\nkeep his eyes; this was a short-sword, so good a weapon, that a\nbetter, he said, he had never seen; and this he gave up the last of\nall. Thorfinn was blithe to see that sword, for it was an heirloom of\nhis house, and had never yet gone out of his kin.\n\n\"Whence came these treasures to thine hand?\" said Thorfinn.\n\nGrettir sang--\n\n  \"Lessener of the flame of sea,\n  My strong hope was true to me,\n  When I deemed that treasure lay\n  In the barrow; from to-day\n  Folk shall know that I was right;\n  The begetters of the fight\n  Small joy now shall have therein,\n  Seeking dragon's-lair to win.\"\n\nThorfinn answered, \"Blood will seldom seem blood to thine eyes; no man\nbefore thee has had will to break open the barrow; but, because I\nknow that what wealth soever is hid in earth or borne into barrow is\nwrongly placed, I shall not hold thee blameworthy for thy deed as\nthou hast brought it all to me; yea, or whence didst thou get the good\nsword?\"\n\nGrettir answered and sang--\n\n  \"Lessener of waves flashing flame,\n  To my lucky hand this came\n  In the barrow where that thing\n  Through the dark fell clattering;\n  If that helm-fire I should gain,\n  Made so fair to be the bane\n  Of the breakers of the bow,\n  Ne'er from my hand should it go.\"\n\nThorfinn said, \"Well hast thou prayed for it, but thou must show some\ndeed of fame before I give thee that sword, for never could I get it\nof my father while he lived.\"\n\nSaid Grettir, \"Who knows to whom most gain will come of it in the\nend?\"\n\nSo Thorfinn took the treasures and kept the sword at his bed-head,\nand the winter wore on toward Yule, so that little else fell out to be\ntold of.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XIX.\n\n<i>Of Yule at Haramsey, and how Grettir dealt with the Bearserks</i>.\n\n\nNow the summer before these things Earl Eric Hakonson made ready to\ngo from his land west to England, to see King Knut the Mighty, his\nbrother-in-law, but left behind him in the rule of Norway Hakon, his\nson, and gave him into the hands of Earl Svein, his brother, for the\nwatching and warding of his realm, for Hakon was a child in years.\n\nBut before Earl Eric went away from the land, he called together lords\nand rich bonders, and many things they spoke on laws and the rule of\nthe land, for Earl Eric was a man good at rule. Now men thought it an\nexceeding ill fashion in the land that runagates or bearserks called\nto holm high-born men for their fee or womankind, in such wise, that\nwhosoever should fall before the other should lie unatoned; hereof\nmany got both shame and loss of goods, and some lost their lives\nwithal; and therefore Earl Eric did away with all holm-gangs and\noutlawed all bearserks who fared with raids and riots.\n\nIn the making of this law, the chief of all, with Earl Eric, was\nThorfinn Karrson, from Haramsey, for he was a wise man, and a dear\nfriend of the Earls.\n\nTwo brothers are named as being of the worst in these matters,\none hight Thorir Paunch, the other Ogmund the Evil; they were of\nHalogaland kin, bigger and stronger than other men. They wrought the\nbearserks'-gang and spared nothing in their fury; they would take away\nthe wives of men and hold them for a week or a half-month, and then\nbring them back to their husbands; they robbed wheresoever they came,\nor did some other ill deeds. Now Earl Eric made them outlaws through\nthe length and breadth of Norway, and Thorfinn was the eagerest of men\nin bringing about their outlawry, therefore they deemed that they owed\nhim ill-will enow.\n\nSo the Earl went away from the land, as is said in his Saga; but Earl\nSvein bore sway over Norway. Thorfinn went home to his house, and sat\nat home till just up to Yule, as is aforesaid; but at Yule he made\nready to go to his farm called Slysfirth, which is on the mainland,\nand thither he had bidden many of his friends. Thorfinn's wife could\nnot go with her husband, for her daughter of ripe years lay ill\na-bed, so they both abode at home. Grettir was at home too, and\neight house-carles. Now Thorfinn went with thirty freedmen to the\nYule-feast, whereat there was the greatest mirth and joyance among\nmen.\n\nNow Yule-eve comes on, and the weather was bright and calm; Grettir\nwas mostly abroad this day, and saw how ships fared north and south\nalong the land, for each one sought the other's home where the Yule\ndrinking was settled to come off. By this time the goodman's daughter\nwas so much better that she could walk about with her mother, and thus\nthe day wore on.\n\nNow Grettir sees how a ship rows up toward the island; it was not\nright big, but shield-hung it was from stem to stern, and stained all\nabove the sea: these folk rowed smartly, and made for the boat-stands\nof goodman Thorfinn, and when the keel took land, those who were\ntherein sprang overboard. Grettir cast up the number of the men, and\nthey were twelve altogether; he deemed their guise to be far from\npeaceful. They took up their ship and bore it up from the sea;\nthereafter they ran up to the boat-stand, and therein was that big\nboat of Thorfinn, which was never launched to sea by less than thirty\nmen, but these twelve shot it in one haul down to the shingle of the\nforeshore; and thereon they took up their own bark and bore it into\nthe boat-stand.\n\nNow Grettir thought that he could see clear enough that they would\nmake themselves at home. But he goes down to meet them, and welcomes\nthem merrily, and asks who they were and what their leader was hight;\nhe to whom these words were spoken answered quickly, and said that his\nname was Thorir, and that he was called Paunch, and that his brother\nwas Ogmund, and that the others were fellows of theirs.\n\n\"I deem,\" said Thorir, \"that thy master Thorfinn has heard tell of us;\nis he perchance at home?\"\n\nGrettir answered, \"Lucky men are ye, and hither have come in a good\nhour, if ye are the men I take you to be; the goodman is gone away\nwith all his home-folk who are freemen, and will not be home again\ntill after Yule; but the mistress is at home, and so is the goodman's\ndaughter; and if I thought that I had some ill-will to pay back, I\nshould have chosen above all things to have come just thus; for here\nare all matters in plenty whereof ye stand in need both beer, and all\nother good things.\"\n\nThorir held his peace, while Grettir let this tale run on, then he\nsaid to Ogmund--\n\n\"How far have things come to pass other than as I guessed? and now am\nI well enough minded to take revenge on Thorfinn for having made us\noutlaws; and this man is ready enough of tidings, and no need have we\nto drag the words out of him.\"\n\n\"Words all may use freely,\" said Grettir, \"and I shall give you such\ncheer as I may; and now come home with me.\"\n\nThey bade him have thanks therefor, and said they would take his\noffer.\n\nBut when they came home to the farm, Grettir took Thorir by the hand\nand led him into the hall; and now was Grettir mightily full of words.\nThe mistress was in the hall, and had had it decked with hangings, and\nmade all fair and seemly; but when she heard Grettir's talk, she stood\nstill on the floor, and asked whom he welcomed in that earnest wise.\n\nHe answered, \"Now, mistress, is it right meet to welcome these guests\nmerrily, for here is come goodman Thorir Paunch and the whole twelve\nof them, and are minded to sit here Yule over, and a right good hap it\nis, for we were few enough before.\"\n\nShe answered, \"Am I to number these among bonders and goodmen, who are\nthe worst of robbers and ill-doers? a large share of my goods had I\ngiven that they had not come here as at this time; and ill dost thou\nreward Thorfinn, for that he took thee a needy man from shipwreck and\nhas held thee through the winter as a free man.\"\n\nGrettir said, \"It would be better to take the wet clothes off these\nguests than to scold at me; since for that thou mayst have time long\nenough.\"\n\nThen said Thorir, \"Be not cross-grained, mistress; nought shall thou\nmiss thy husband's being away, for a man shall be got in his place\nfor thee, yea, and for thy daughter a man, and for each of the\nhome-women.\"\n\n\"That is spoken like a man,\" said Grettir, \"nor will they thus have\nany cause to bewail their lot.\"\n\nNow all the women rushed forth from the hall smitten with huge dread\nand weeping; then said Grettir to the bearserks, \"Give into my hands\nwhat it pleases you to lay aside of weapons and wet clothes, for the\nfolk will not be yielding to us while they are scared.\"\n\nThorir said he heeded not how women might squeal; \"But,\" said he,\n\"thee indeed we may set apart from the other home-folk, and methinks\nwe may well make thee our man of trust.\"\n\n\"See to that yourselves,\" said Grettir, \"but certes I do not take to\nall men alike.\"\n\nThereupon they laid aside the more part of their weapons, and\nthereafter Grettir said--\n\n\"Methinks it is a good rede now that ye sit down to table and drink\nsomewhat, for it is right likely that ye are thirsty after the\nrowing.\"\n\nThey said they were ready enough for that, but knew not where to find\nout the cellar; Grettir asked if they would that he should see for\nthings and go about for them. The bearserks said they would be right\nfain of that; so Grettir fetched beer and gave them to drink; they\nwere mightily weary, and drank in huge draughts, and still he let them\nhave the strongest beer that there was, and this went on for a long\ntime, and meanwhile he told them many merry tales. From all this there\nwas din enough to be heard among them, and the home-folk were nowise\nfain to come to them.\n\nNow Thorir said, \"Never yet did I meet a man unknown to me, who would\ndo us such good deeds as this man; now, what reward wilt thou take of\nus for thy work?\"\n\nGrettir answered, \"As yet I look to no reward for this; but if we be\neven such friends when ye go away, as it looks like we shall be, I am\nminded to join fellowship with you; and though I be of less might than\nsome of you, yet shall I not let any man of big redes.\"\n\nHereat they were well pleased, and would settle the fellowship with\nvows.\n\nGrettir said that this they should not do, \"For true is the old saw,\n<i>Ale is another man</i>, nor shall ye settle this in haste any\nfurther than as I have said, for on both sides are we men little meet\nto rule our tempers.\"\n\nThey said that they would not undo what they had said.\n\nWithal the evening wore on till it grew quite dark; then sees Grettir\nthat they were getting very heavy with drink, so he said--\n\n\"Do ye not find it time to go to sleep?\"\n\nThorir said, \"Time enough forsooth, and sure shall I be to keep to\nwhat I have promised the mistress.\"\n\nThen Grettir went forth from the hall, and cried out loudly--\n\n\"Go ye to your beds, women all, for so is goodman Thorir pleased to\nbid.\"\n\nThey cursed him for this, and to hear them was like hearkening to the\nnoise of many wolves. Now the bearserks came forth from the hall, and\nGrettir said--\n\n\"Let us go out, and I will show you Thorfinn's cloth bower.\"\n\nThey were willing to be led there; so they came to an out-bower\nexceeding great; a door there was to it, and a strong lock thereon,\nand the storehouse was very strong withal; there too was a closet good\nand great, and a shield panelling between the chambers; both chambers\nstood high, and men went up by steps to them. Now the bearserks got\nriotous and pushed Grettir about, and he kept tumbling away from them,\nand when they least thought thereof, he slipped quickly out of the\nbower, seized the latch, slammed the door to, and put the bolt on.\nThorir and his fellows thought at first that the door must have got\nlocked of itself, and paid no heed thereto; they had light with them,\nfor Grettir had showed them many choice things which Thorfinn owned,\nand these they now noted awhile. Meantime Grettir made all speed home\nto the farm, and when he came in at the door he called out loudly, and\nasked where the goodwife was; she held her peace, for she did not dare\nto answer.\n\nHe said, \"Here is somewhat of a chance of a good catch; but are there\nany weapons of avail here?\"\n\nShe answers, \"Weapons there are, but how they may avail thee I know\nnot.\"\n\n\"Let us talk thereof anon,\" says he, \"but now let every man do his\nbest, for later on no better chance shall there be.\"\n\nThe good wife said, \"Now God were in garth if our lot might better:\nover Thorfinn's bed hangs the barbed spear, the big one that was\nowned by Karr the Old; there, too, is a helmet and a byrni, and the\nshort-sword, the good one; and the arms will not fail if thine heart\ndoes well.\"\n\nGrettir seizes the helmet and spear, girds himself with the\nshort-sword, and rushed out swiftly; and the mistress called upon the\nhouse-carles, bidding them follow such a dauntless man, four of them\nrushed forth and seized their weapons, but the other four durst come\nnowhere nigh. Now it is to be said of the bearserks that they thought\nGrettir delayed his coming back strangely; and now they began to doubt\nif there were not some guile in the matter. They rushed against the\ndoor and found it was locked, and now they try the timber walls so\nthat every beam creaked again; at last they brought things so far that\nthey broke down the shield-panelling, got into the passage, and thence\nout to the steps. Now bearserks'-gang seized them, and they howled\nlike dogs. In that very nick of time Grettir came up and with both\nhands thrust his spear at the midst of Thorir, as he was about to\nget down the steps, so that it went through him at once. Now the\nspear-head was both long and broad, and Ogmund the Evil ran on to\nThorir and pushed him on to Grettir's thrust, so that all went up to\nthe barb-ends; then the spear stood out through Thorir's back and into\nOgmund's breast, and they both tumbled dead off the spear; then of\nthe others each rushed down the steps as he came forth; Grettir set on\neach one of them, and in turn hewed with the sword, or thrust with the\nspear; but they defended themselves with logs that lay on the green,\nand whatso thing they could lay hands on, therefore the greatest\ndanger it was to deal with them, because of their strength, even\nthough they were weaponless.\n\nTwo of the Halogalanders Grettir slew on the green, and then came up\nthe house-carles; they could not come to one mind as to what weapons\neach should have; now they set on whenever the bearserks gave back,\nbut when they turned about on them, then the house-carles slunk away\nup to the houses. Six vikings fell there, and of all of them was\nGrettir the bane. Then the six others got off and came down to the\nboat-stand, and so into it, and thence they defended themselves with\noars. Grettir now got great blows from them, so that at all times he\nran the risk of much hurt; but the house-carles went home, and had\nmuch to say of their stout onset; the mistress bade them espy what\nbecame of Grettir, but that was not to be got out of them. Two more of\nthe bearserks Grettir slew in the boat-stand, but four slipped out\nby him; and by this, dark night had come on; two of them ran into\na corn-barn, at the farm of Windham, which is aforenamed: here they\nfought for a long time, but at last Grettir killed them both; then\nwas he beyond measure weary and stiff, the night was far gone, and the\nweather got very cold with the drift of the snow. He was fain to leave\nthe search of the two vikings who were left now, so he walked home to\nthe farm. The mistress had lights lighted in the highest lofts at the\nwindows that they might guide him on his way; and so it was that he\nfound his road home whereas he saw the light.\n\nBut when he was come into the door, the mistress went up to him, and\nbade him welcome.\n\n\"Now,\" she said, \"thou hast reaped great glory, and freed me and my\nhouse from a shame of which we should never have been healed, but if\nthou hadst saved us.\"\n\nGrettir answered, \"Methinks I am much the same as I was this evening,\nwhen thou didst cast ill words on me.\"\n\nThe mistress answered, \"We wotted not that thou wert a man of such\nprowess as we have now proved thee; now shall all things in the house\nbe at thy will which I may bestow on thee, and which it may be seeming\nfor thee to take; but methinks that Thorfinn will reward thee better\nstill when he comes home.\"\n\nGrettir answered, \"Little of reward will be needed now, but I keep\nthine offer till the coming of the master; and I have some hope now\nthat ye will sleep in peace as for the bearserks.\"\n\nGrettir drank little that evening, and lay with his weapons about him\nthrough the night. In the morning, when it began to dawn, people were\nsummoned together throughout the island, and a search was set on foot\nfor the bearserks who had escaped the night before; they were found\nfar on in the day under a rock, and were by then dead from cold and\nwounds; then they were brought unto a tidewashed heap of stones and\nburied thereunder.\n\nAfter that folk went home, and the men of that island deemed\nthemselves brought unto fair peace.\n\nNow when Grettir came back to the mistress, he sang this stave--\n\n  \"By the sea's wash have we made\n  Graves, where twelve spear-groves are laid;\n  I alone such speedy end,\n  Unto all these folk did send.\n  O fair giver forth of gold,\n  Whereof can great words be told,\n  'Midst the deeds one man has wrought,\n  If this deed should come to nought?\"\n\nThe good wife said, \"Surely thou art like unto very few men who are\nnow living on the earth.\"\n\nSo she set him in the high seat, and all things she did well to him,\nand now time wore on till Thorfinn's coming home was looked for.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XX.\n\n<i>How Thorfinn met Grettir at Haramsey again</i>.\n\n\nAfter Yule Thorfinn made ready for coming home, and he let those folk\ngo with good gifts whom he had bidden to his feast. Now he fares with\nhis following till he comes hard by his boat-stands; they saw a ship\nlying on the strand, and soon knew it for Thorfinn's bark, the big\none. Now Thorfinn had as yet had no news of the vikings, he bade his\nmen hasten landward, \"For I fear,\" said he, \"that friends have not\nbeen at work here.\"\n\nThorfinn was the first to step ashore before his men, and forthwith he\nwent up to the boat-stand; he saw a keel standing there, and knew it\nfor the bearserks' ship. Then he said to his men, \"My mind misgives\nme much that here things have come to pass, even such as I would have\ngiven the whole island, yea, every whit of what I have herein, that\nthey might never have happed.\"\n\nThey asked why he spake thus. Then he said, \"Here have come the\nvikings, whom I know to be the worst of all Norway, Thorir Paunch\nand Ogmund the Evil; in good sooth they will hardly have kept house\nhappily for us, and in an Icelander I have but little trust.\"\n\nWithal he spoke many things hereabout to his fellows.\n\nNow Grettir was at home, and so brought it about, that folk were slow\nto go down to the shore; and said he did not care much if the goodman\nThorfinn had somewhat of a shake at what he saw before him; but when\nthe mistress asked him leave to go, he said she should have her will\nas to where she went, but that he himself should stir nowhither. She\nran swiftly to meet Thorfinn, and welcomed him cheerily. He was glad\nthereof, and said, \"Praise be to God that I see thee whole and merry,\nand my daughter in likewise. But how have ye fared since I went from\nhome?\"\n\nShe answered, \"Things have turned out well, but we were near being\novertaken by such a shame as we should never have had healing of, if\nthy winter-guest had not holpen us.\"\n\nThen Thorfinn spake, \"Now shall we sit down, but do thou tell us these\ntidings.\"\n\nThen she told all things plainly even as they had come to pass,\nand praised greatly Grettir's stoutness and great daring; meanwhile\nThorfinn held his peace, but when she had made an end of her tale,\nhe said, \"How true is the saw, <i>Long it takes to try a man</i>. But\nwhere is Grettir now?\"\n\nThe goodwife said, \"He is at home in the hall.\"\n\nThereupon they went home to the farm.\n\nThorfinn went up to Grettir and kissed him, and thanked him with many\nfair words for the great heart which he had shown to him; \"And I will\nsay to thee what few say to their friends, that I would thou shouldst\nbe in need of men, that then thou mightest know if I were to thee in\na man's stead or not; but for thy good deed I can never reward thee\nunless thou comest to be in some troublous need; but as to thy abiding\nwith me, that shall ever stand open to thee when thou willest it; and\nthou shalt be held the first of all my men.\"\n\nGrettir bade him have much thank therefor. \"And,\" quoth he, \"this\nshould I have taken even if thou hadst made me proffer thereof\nbefore.\"\n\nNow Grettir sat there the winter over, and was in the closest\nfriendship with Thorfinn; and for this deed he was now well renowned\nall over Norway, and there the most, where the bearserks had erst\nwrought the greatest ill deeds.\n\nThis spring Thorfinn asked Grettir what he was about to busy himself\nwith: he said he would go north to Vogar while the fair was. Thorfinn\nsaid there was ready for him money as much as he would. Grettir said\nthat he needed no more money at that time than faring-silver: this,\nThorfinn said, was full-well due to him, and thereupon went with him\nto ship.\n\nNow he gave him the short-sword, the good one, which Grettir bore as\nlong as he lived, and the choicest of choice things it was. Withal\nThorfinn bade Grettir come to him whenever he might need aid.\n\nBut Grettir went north to Vogar, and a many folk were there; many men\nwelcomed him there right heartily who had not seen him before, for the\nsake of that great deed of prowess which he had done when he saw the\nvikings; many high-born men prayed him to come and abide with them,\nbut he would fain go back to his friend Thorfinn. Now he took ship in\na bark that was owned of a man hight Thorkel, who dwelt in Salft in\nHalogaland, and was a high-born man. But when Grettir came to Thorkel\nhe welcomed him right heartily, and bade Grettir abide with him that\nwinter, and laid many words thereto.\n\nThis offer Grettir took, and was with Thorkel that winter in great\njoyance and fame.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXI.\n\n<i>Of Grettir and Biorn and the Bear</i>.\n\n\nThere was a man, hight Biorn, who was dwelling with Thorkel; he was\na man of rash temper, of good birth, and somewhat akin to Thorkel; he\nwas not well loved of men, for he would slander much those who were\nwith Thorkel, and in this wise he sent many away. Grettir and he\nhad little to do together; Biorn thought him of little worth weighed\nagainst himself, but Grettir was unyielding, so that things fell\nathwart between them. Biorn was a mightily boisterous man, and made\nhimself very big; many young men gat into fellowship with him in these\nthings, and would stray abroad by night. Now it befell, that early in\nwinter a savage bear ran abroad from his winter lair, and got so grim\nthat he spared neither man nor beast. Men thought he had been roused\nby the noise that Biorn and his fellows had made. The brute got so\nhard to deal with that he tore down the herds of men, and Thorkel\nhad the greatest hurt thereof, for he was the richest man in the\nneighbourhood.\n\nNow one day Thorkel bade his men to follow him, and search for the\nlair of the bear. They found it in sheer sea-rocks; there was a high\nrock and a cave before it down below, but only one track to go up to\nit: under the cave were scarped rocks, and a heap of stones down by\nthe sea, and sure death it was to all who might fall down there. The\nbear lay in his lair by day, but went abroad as soon as night fell; no\nfold could keep sheep safe from him, nor could any dogs be set on\nhim: and all this men thought the heaviest trouble. Biorn, Thorkel's\nkinsman, said that the greatest part had been done, as the lair had\nbeen found. \"And now I shall try,\" said he, \"what sort of play we[10]\nnamesakes shall have together.\" Grettir made as if he knew not what\nBiorn said on this matter.\n\n[Footnote 10: Biorn is Icelandic for bear.]\n\nNow it happened always when men went to sleep anights that Biorn\ndisappeared: and one night when Biorn went to the lair, he was aware\nthat the beast was there before him, and roaring savagely. Biorn lay\ndown in the track, and had over him his shield, and was going to wait\ntill the beast should stir abroad as his manner was. Now the bear had\nan inkling of the man, and got somewhat slow to move off. Biorn waxed\nvery sleepy where he lay, and cannot wake up, and just at this time\nthe beast betakes himself from his lair; now he sees where the man\nlies, and, hooking at him with his claw, he tears from him the shield\nand throws it down over the rocks. Biorn started up suddenly awake,\ntakes to his legs and runs home, and it was a near thing that the\nbeast gat him not. This his fellows knew, for they had spies about\nBiorn's ways; in the morning they found the shield, and made the\ngreatest jeering at all this.\n\nAt Yule Thorkel went himself, and eight of them altogether, and there\nwas Grettir and Biorn and other followers of Thorkel. Grettir had on\na fur-cloak, which he laid aside while they set on the beast. It was\nawkward for an onslaught there, for thereat could folk come but by\nspear-thrusts, and all the spear-points the bear turned off him with\nhis teeth. Now Biorn urged them on much to the onset, yet he himself\nwent not so nigh as to run the risk of any hurt. Amid this, when men\nlooked least for it, Biorn suddenly seized Grettir's coat, and cast it\ninto the beast's lair. Now nought they could wreak on him, and had\nto go back when the day was far spent. But when Grettir was going, he\nmisses his coat, and he could see that the bear has it cast under him.\nThen he said, \"What man of you has wrought the jest of throwing my\ncloak into the lair?\"\n\nBiorn says, \"He who is like to dare to own to it.\"\n\nGrettir answers, \"I set no great store on such matters.\"\n\nNow they went on their way home, and when they had walked awhile, the\nthong of Grettir's leggings brake. Thorkel bid them wait for him; but\nGrettir said there was no need of that. Then said Biorn, \"Ye need\nnot think that Grettir will run away from his coat; he will have the\nhonour all to himself, and will slay that beast all alone, wherefrom\nwe have gone back all eight of us; thus would he be such as he is said\nto be: but sluggishly enow has he fared forth to-day.\"\n\n\"I know not,\" said Thorkel, \"how thou wilt fare in the end, but men of\nequal prowess I deem you not: lay as few burdens on him as thou mayst,\nBiorn.\"\n\nBiorn said, that neither of them should pick and choose words from out\nhis mouth.\n\nNow, when a hill's brow was between them, Grettir went back to the\npass, for now there was no striving with others for the onset. He\ndrew the sword, Jokul's gift, but had a loop over the handle of the\nshort-sword, and slipped it up over his hand, and this he did in that\nhe thought he could easier have it at his will if his hand were loose.\nHe went up into the pass forthwith, and when the beast saw a man, it\nrushed against Grettir exceeding fiercely, and smote at him with that\npaw which was furthest off from the rock; Grettir hewed against the\nblow with the sword, and therewith smote the paw above the claws, and\ntook it off; then the beast was fain to smite at Grettir with the paw\nthat was whole, and dropped down therewith on to the docked one, but\nit was shorter than he wotted of, and withal he tumbled into Grettir's\narms. Now he griped at the beast between the ears and held him off,\nso that he got not at him to bite. And, so Grettir himself says, that\nherein he deemed he had had the hardest trial of his strength, thus\nto hold the brute. But now as it struggled fiercely, and the space\nwas narrow, they both tumbled down over the rock; the beast was the\nheaviest of the two, and came down first upon the stone heap below,\nGrettir being the uppermost, and the beast was much mangled on its\nnether side. Now Grettir seized the short-sword and thrust it into\nthe heart of the bear, and that was his bane. Thereafter he went home,\ntaking with him his cloak all tattered, and withal what he had cut\nfrom the paw of the bear. Thorkel sat a-drinking when he came into the\nhall, and much men laughed at the rags of the cloak Grettir had cast\nover him. Now he threw on to the table what he had chopped off the\npaw.\n\nThen said Thorkel, \"Where is now Biorn my kinsman? never did I see thy\nirons bite the like of this, Biorn, and my will it is, that thou make\nGrettir a seemly offer for this shame thou hast wrought on him.\"\n\nBiorn said that was like to be long about, \"and never shall I care\nwhether he likes it well or ill.\"\n\nThen Grettir sang--\n\n  \"Oft that war-god came to hall\n  Frighted, when no blood did fall,\n  In the dusk; who ever cried\n  On the bear last autumn-tide;\n  No man saw me sitting there\n  Late at eve before the lair;\n  Yet the shaggy one to-day\n  From his den I drew away.\"\n\n\"Sure enough,\" said Biorn, \"thou hast fared forth well to-day, and\ntwo tales thou tellest of us twain therefor; and well I know that thou\nhast had a good hit at me.\"\n\nThorkel said, \"I would, Grettir, that thou wouldst not avenge thee on\nBiorn, but for him I will give a full man-gild if thereby ye may be\nfriends.\"\n\nBiorn said he might well turn his money to better account, than to\nboot for this; \"And, methinks it is wisest that in my dealings with\nGrettir <i>one oak should have what from the other it shaves</i>.\"\n\nGrettir said that he should like that very well. But Thorkel said,\n\"Yet I hope, Grettir, that thou wilt do this for my sake, not to do\naught against Biorn while ye are with me.\"\n\n\"That shall be,\" said Grettir.\n\nBiorn said he would walk fearless of Grettir wheresoever they might\nmeet.\n\nGrettir smiled mockingly, but would not take boot for Biorn. So they\nwere here that winter through.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXII.\n\n<i>Of the Slaying of Biorn</i>.\n\n\nIn the spring Grettir went north to Vogar with chapmen. He and Thorkel\nparted in friendship; but Biorn went west to England, and was the\nmaster of Thorkel's ship that went thither. Biorn dwelt thereabout\nthat summer and bought such things for Thorkel as he had given him\nword to get; but as the autumn wore on he sailed from the west.\nGrettir was at Vogar till the fleet broke up; then he sailed from\nthe north with some chapmen until they came to a harbour at an island\nbefore the mouth of Drontheimfirth, called Gartar, where they pitched\ntheir tents. Now when they were housed, a ship came sailing havenward\nfrom the south along the land; they soon saw that it was an England\nfarer; she took the strand further out, and her crew went ashore;\nGrettir and his fellows went to meet them. But when they met, Grettir\nsaw that Biorn was among those men, and spake--\n\n\"It is well that we have met here; now we may well take up our ancient\nquarrel, and now I will try which of us twain may do the most.\"\n\nBiorn said that was an old tale to him, \"but if there has been aught\nof such things between us, I will boot for it, so that thou mayst\nthink thyself well holden thereof.\"\n\nThen Grettir sang--\n\n  \"In hard strife I slew the bear,\n  Thereof many a man doth hear;\n  Then the cloak I oft had worn,\n  By the beast to rags was torn;\n  Thou, O braggart ring-bearer,\n  Wrought that jest upon me there,\n  Now thou payest for thy jest,\n  Not in words am I the best?\"\n\nBiorn said, that oft had greater matters than these been atoned for.\n\nGrettir said, \"That few had chosen hitherto to strive to trip him up\nwith spite and envy, nor ever had he taken fee for such, and still\nmust matters fare in likewise. Know thou that we shall not both of us\ngo hence whole men if I may have my will, and a coward's name will I\nlay on thy back, if thou darest not to fight.\"\n\nNow Biorn saw that it would avail nought to try to talk himself free;\nso he took his weapons and went aland.\n\nThen they ran one at the other and fought, but not long before Biorn\ngot sore wounded, and presently fell dead to earth. But when Biorn's\nfellows saw that, they went to their ship, and made off north along\nthe land to meet Thorkel and told him of this hap: he said it had not\ncome to pass ere it might have been looked for.\n\nSoon after this Thorkel went south to Drontheim, and met there Earl\nSvein. Grettir went south to Mere after the slaying of Biorn, and\nfound his friend Thorfinn, and told him what had befallen. Thorfinn\ngave him good welcome, and said--\n\n\"It is well now that thou art in need of a friend; with me shalt thou\nabide until these matters have come to an end.\"\n\nGrettir thanked him for his offer, and said he would take it now.\n\nEarl Svein was dwelling in Drontheim, at Steinker, when he heard of\nBiorn's slaying; at that time there was with him Hiarandi, the brother\nof Biorn, and he was the Earl's man; he was exceeding wroth when\nhe heard of the slaying of Biorn, and begged the Earl's aid in the\nmatter, and the Earl gave his word thereto.\n\nThen he sent men to Thorfinn and summoned to him both him and Grettir.\nThorfinn and Grettir made ready at once at the Earl's bidding to go\nnorth to Drontheim to meet him. Now the Earl held a council on the\nmatter, and bade Hiarandi to be thereat; Hiarandi said he would not\nbring his brother to purse; \"and I shall either fare in a like wise\nwith him, or else wreak vengeance for him.\" Now when the matter was\nlooked into, the Earl found that Biorn had been guilty towards Grettir\nin many ways; and Thorfinn offered weregild, such as the Earl deemed\nmight be befitting for Biorn's kin to take; and thereon he had much\nto say on the freedom which Grettir had wrought for men north there in\nthe land, when he slew the bearserks, as has been aforesaid.\n\nThe Earl answered, \"With much truth thou sayest this, Thorfinn,\nthat was the greatest land-ridding, and good it seems to us to take\nweregild because of thy words; and withal Grettir is a man well\nrenowned because of his strength and prowess.\"\n\nHiarandi would not take the settlement, and they broke up the meeting.\nThorfinn got his kinsman Arnbiorn to go about with Grettir day by day,\nfor he knew that Hiarandi lay in wait for his life.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXIII.\n\n<i>The Slaying of Hiarandi</i>.\n\n\nIt happened one day that Grettir and Arnbiorn were walking through\nsome streets for their sport, that as they came past a certain court\ngate, a man bounded forth therefrom with axe borne aloft, and drave it\nat Grettir with both hands; he was all unawares of this, and walked on\nslowly; Arnbiorn caught timely sight of the man, and seized Grettir,\nand thrust him on so hard that he fell on his knee; the axe smote the\nshoulder-blade, and cut sideways out under the arm-pit, and a great\nwound it was. Grettir turned about nimbly, and drew the short-sword,\nand saw that there was Hiarandi. Now the axe stuck fast in the road,\nand it was slow work for Hiarandi to draw it to him again, and in this\nvery nick of time Grettir hewed at him, and the blow fell on the upper\narm, near the shoulder, and cut it off; then the fellows of Hiarandi\nrushed forth, five of them, and a fight forthwith befell, and speedy\nchange happed there, for Grettir and Arnbiorn slew those who were with\nHiarandi, all but one, who got off, and forthwith went to the Earl to\ntell him these tidings.\n\nThe Earl was exceeding wroth when he heard of this, and the second day\nthereafter he had a Thing summoned. Then they, Thorfinn and Grettir,\ncame both to the Thing. The Earl put forth against Grettir the guilt\nfor these manslaughters; he owned them all, and said he had had to\ndefend his hands.\n\n\"Whereof methinks I bear some marks on me,\" says Grettir, \"and surely\nI had found death if Arnbiorn had not saved me.\"\n\nThe Earl answered that it was ill hap that Grettir was not slain.\n\n\"For many a man's bane wilt thou be if thou livest, Grettir.\"\n\nThen came to the Earl, Bessi, son of Skald-Torfa, a fellow and a\nfriend to Grettir; he and Thorfinn went before the Earl had prayed him\nrespite for Grettir, and offered, that the Earl alone should doom in\nthis matter, but that Grettir might have peace and leave to dwell in\nthe land.\n\nThe Earl was slow to come to any settlement, but suffered himself to\nbe led thereto because of their prayers. There respite was granted\nto Grettir till the next spring; still the Earl would not settle the\npeace till Gunnar, the brother of Biorn and Hiarandi, was thereat; now\nGunnar was a court-owner in Tunsberg.\n\nIn the spring, the Earl summoned Grettir and Thorfinn east to\nTunsberg, for he would dwell there east while the most sail was\nthereat. Now they went east thither, and the Earl was before them in\nthe town when they came. Here Grettir found his brother, Thorstein\nDromond, who was fain of him and bade him abide with him: Thorstein\nwas a court-owner in the town. Grettir told him all about his matters,\nand Thorstein gave a good hearing thereto, but bade him beware of\nGunnar. And so the spring wore on.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXIV.\n\n<i>Of the Slaying of Gunnar, and Grettir's strife with Earl Svein</i>.\n\n\nNow Gunnar was in the town, and lay in wait for Grettir always\nand everywhere. It happened on a day that Grettir sat in a booth\na-drinking, for he would not throw himself in Gunnar's way. But, when\nhe wotted of it the least, the door was driven at so that it brake\nasunder, four men all-armed burst in, and there was Gunnar and his\nfellows.\n\nThey set on Grettir; but he caught up his weapons which hung over\nhim, and then drew aback into the corner, whence he defended himself,\nhaving before him the shield, but dealing blows with the short-sword,\nnor did they have speedy luck with him. Now he smote at one of\nGunnar's fellows, and more he needed not; then he advanced forth on\nthe floor, and therewith they were driven doorward through the booth,\nand there fell another man of Gunnar's; then were Gunnar and his\nfellows fain of flight; one of them got to the door, struck his foot\nagainst the threshold and lay there grovelling and was slow in getting\nto his feet. Gunnar had his shield before him, and gave back before\nGrettir, but he set on him fiercely and leaped up on the cross-beam by\nthe door. Now the hands of Gunnar and the shield were within the door,\nbut Grettir dealt a blow down amidst Gunnar and the shield and cut off\nboth his hands by the wrist, and he fell aback out of the door; then\nGrettir dealt him his death-blow.\n\nBut in this nick of time got to his feet Gunnar's man, who had lain\nfallen awhile, and he ran straightway to see the Earl, and to tell him\nthese tidings.\n\nEarl Svein was wondrous wroth at this tale, and forthwith summoned a\nThing in the town. But when Thorfinn and Thorstein Dromond knew this,\nthey brought together their kin and friends and came thronging to the\nThing. Very cross-grained was the Earl, and it was no easy matter to\ncome to speech with him. Thorfinn went up first before the Earl and\nsaid, \"For this cause am I come hither, to offer thee peace and honour\nfor these man-slayings that Grettir has wrought; thou alone shall\nshape and settle all, if the man hath respite of his life.\"\n\nThe Earl answered sore wroth: \"Late wilt thou be loth to ask respite\nfor Grettir; but in my mind it is that thou hast no good cause in\ncourt; he has now slain three brothers, one at the heels of the other,\nwho were men so brave that they would none bear the other to purse.\nNow it will not avail thee, Thorfinn, to pray for Grettir, for I\nwill not thus bring wrongs into the land so as to take boot for such\nunmeasured misdeeds.\"\n\nThen came forward Bessi, Skald-Torfa's son, and prayed the Earl to\ntake the offered settlement. \"Thereto,\" he said, \"I will give up my\ngoods, for Grettir is a man of great kin and a good friend of mine;\nthou mayst well see, Lord, that it is better to respite one man's life\nand to have therefor the thanks of many, thyself alone dooming the\nfines, than to break down thine own honour, and risk whether thou\ncanst seize the man or not.\"\n\nThe Earl answered, \"Thou farest well herein, Bessi, and showest at all\ntimes that thou art a high-minded man; still I am loth thus to break\nthe laws of the land, giving respite to men of foredoomed lives.\"\n\nThen stepped forth Thorstein Dromond and greeted the Earl, and made\noffers on Grettir's behalf, and laid thereto many fair words. The Earl\nasked for what cause he made offers for this man. Thorstein said that\nthey were brothers. The Earl said that he had not known it before:\n\"Now it is but the part of a man for thee to help him, but because\nwe have made up our mind not to take money for these man-slayings,\nwe shall make all men of equal worth here, and Grettir's life will we\nhave, whatsoever it shall cost and whensoever chance shall serve.\"\n\nThereat the Earl sprang up, and would listen in nowise to the offered\natonements.\n\nNow Thorfinn and his folk went home to Thorstein's court and made\nready. But when the Earl saw this he bade all his men take weapons,\nand then he went thither with his folk in array. But before he came up\nThorfinn and his men ordered themselves for defence before the gate of\nthe court. Foremost stood Thorfinn and Thorstein and Grettir, and then\nBessi, and each of them had a large following of men with him.\n\nThe Earl bade them to give up Grettir, nor to bring themselves into an\nevil strait; they made the very same offer as before. The Earl would\nnot hearken thereto. Then Thorfinn and Thorstein said that the Earl\nshould have more ado yet for the getting of Grettir's life, \"For one\nfate shall befall us all, and it will be said thou workest hard for\none man's life, if all we have to be laid on earth therefor.\"\n\nThe Earl said he should spare none of them, and now they were at the\nvery point to fight.\n\nThen went to the Earl many men of goodwill, and prayed him not to\npush matters on to such great evils, and said they would have to pay\nheavily before all these were slain. The Earl found this rede to be\nwholesome, and became somewhat softened thereat.\n\nThereafter they drew up an agreement to which Thorstein and Thorfinn\nwere willing enough, now that Grettir should have respite of his life.\nThe Earl spake: \"Know ye,\" quoth he, \"that though I deal by way of\nmean words with these man-slayings at this time, yet I call this no\nsettlement, but I am loth to fight against my own folk; though I see\nthat ye make little of me in this matter.\"\n\nThen said Thorfinn, \"This is a greater honour for thee, Lord, for that\nthou alone wilt doom the weregild.\"\n\nThen the Earl said that Grettir should go in peace, as for him, out to\nIceland, when ships fared out, if so they would; they said that they\nwould take this. They paid the Earl fines to his mind, and parted from\nhim with little friendship. Grettir went with Thorfinn; he and his\nbrother Thorstein parted fondly.\n\nThorfinn got great fame for the aid he had given Grettir against such\noverwhelming power as he had to deal with: none of the men who had\nhelped Grettir were ever after well loved of the Earl, save Bessi.\n\nSo quoth Grettir--\n\n  \"To our helping came\n  The great of name;\n  Thorfinn was there\n  Born rule to bear;\n  When all bolts fell\n  Into locks, and hell\n  Cried out for my life\n  In the Tunsberg strife.\n  The Dromund fair[11]\n  Of red seas was there,\n  The stone of the bane\n  Of steel-gods vain:\n  From Bylest's kin\n  My life to win,\n  Above all men\n  He laboured then.\n\n  Then the king's folk\n  Would strike no stroke\n  To win my head;\n  So great grew dread;\n  For the leopard came\n  With byrni's flame,\n  And on thoughts-burg wall\n  Should that bright fire fall.\"\n\nGrettir went back north with Thorfinn, and was with him till he gat\nhim to ship with chapmen who were bound out to Iceland: he gave him\nmany fair gifts of raiment, and a fair-stained saddle and a bridle\nwithal. They parted in friendship, and Thorfinn bade him come to him\nwhensoever he should come back to Norway.\n\n[Footnote 11: The stone of steel-god's bane in Thorstein; Bylest's kin\nis Hel, death. The leopard is Bessi Skald-Torfason; byrni's flame, his\nsword. Thoughts-burg, a warrior's head.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXV.\n\n<i>The Slaying of Thorgils Makson</i>.\n\n\nAsmund the Greyhaired lived on at Biarg, while Grettir was abroad, and\nby that time he was thought to be the greatest of bonders in Midfirth.\nThorkel Krafla died during those seasons that Grettir was out of\nIceland. Thorvald Asgeirson farmed then at the Ridge in Waterdale,\nand waxed a great chief. He was the father of Dalla whom Isleif had to\nwife, he who afterwards was bishop at Skalholt.\n\nAsmund had in Thorvald the greatest help in suits and in many other\nmatters. At Asmund's grew up a man, hight Thorgils, called Thorgils\nMakson, near akin to Asmund. Thorgils was a man of great strength and\ngained much money by Asmund's foresight.\n\nAsmund bought for Thorgils the land at Brookmeet, and there he farmed.\nThorgils was a great store-gatherer, and went a-searching to the\nStrands every year, and there he gat for himself whales and other\ngettings; and a stout-hearted man he was.\n\nIn those days was at its height the waxing of the foster-brothers,\nThorgeir Havarson and Thormod Coalbrowskald; they had a boat and went\ntherein far and wide, and were not thought men of much even-dealing.\nIt chanced one summer that Thorgils Makson found a whale on the common\ndrift-lands, and forthwith he and his folk set about cutting it up.\n\nBut when the foster-brothers heard thereof they went thither, and at\nfirst their talk had a likely look out. Thorgils offered that they\nshould have the half of the uncut whale; but they would have for\nthemselves all the uncut, or else divide all into halves, both the cut\nand the uncut. Thorgils flatly refused to give up what was cut of the\nwhale; and thereat things grew hot between them, and forthwithal both\nsides caught up their weapons and fought. Thorgeir and Thorgils fought\nlong together without either losing or gaining, and both were of the\neagerest. Their strife was both fierce and long, but the end of it\nwas, that Thorgils fell dead to earth before Thorgeir; but Thormod and\nthe men of Thorgils fought in another place; Thormod had the best of\nthat strife, and three of Thorgils' men fell before him. After the\nslaying of Thorgils, his folk went back east to Midfirth, and brought\nhis dead body with them. Men thought that they had the greatest loss\nin him. But the foster-brothers took all the whale to themselves.\n\nThis meeting Thormod tells of in that drapa that he made on Thorgeir\ndead. Asmund the Greyhaired heard of the slaying of Thorgils his\nkinsman; he was suitor in the case for Thorgils' slaying, he went\nand took witnesses to the wounds, and summoned the case before the\nAlthing, for then this seemed to be law, as the case had happened in\nanother quarter. And so time wears on.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXVI.\n\n<i>Of Thorstein Kuggson, and the gathering for the Bloodsuit for the\nSlaying of Thorgils Makson</i>.\n\n\nThere was a man called Thorstein, he was the son of Thorkel Kugg, the\nson of Thord the Yeller, the son of Olaf Feilan, the son of Thorstein\nthe Red, the son of Aud the Deeply-wealthy. The mother of Thorstein\nKuggson was Thurid the daughter of Asgeir Madpate, Asgeir was father's\nbrother of Asmund the Greyhaired.\n\nThorstein Kuggson was suitor in the case about Thorgils Makson's\nslaying along with Asmund the Greyhaired, who now sent word to\nThorstein that he should come to meet him. Thorstein was a great\nchampion, and the wildest-tempered of men; he went at once to meet\nhis kinsman Asmund, and they talked the blood-suit over together.\nThorstein was mightily wroth and said that no atonement should be for\nthis, and said they had strength of kin enough to bring about for the\nslaying either outlawry or vengeance on men. Asmund said that he\nwould follow him in whatsoever he would have done. They rode north to\nThorvald their kinsman to pray his aid, and he quickly gave his word\nand said yea thereto. So they settled the suit against Thorgeir and\nThormod; then Thorstein rode home to his farmstead, he then farmed at\nLiarskogar in Hvamsveit. Skeggi farmed at Hvam, he also joined in the\nsuit with Thorstein. Skeggi was the son of Thorarinn Fylsenni, the son\nof Thord the Yeller; the mother of Skeggi was Fridgerd, daughter of\nThord of Head.\n\nThese had a many men with them at the Thing, and pushed their suit\nwith great eagerness.\n\nAsmund and Thorvald rode from the north with six tens of men, and sat\nat Liarskogar many nights.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXVII.\n\n<i>The Suit for the Slaying of Thorgils Makson</i>.\n\n\nA man hight Thorgils abode at Reek-knolls in those days, he was the\nson of Ari, the son of Mar, the son of Atli the Red, the son of Ulf\nthe Squinter, who settled at Reekness; the mother of Thorgils Arisen\nwas Thorgerd, the daughter of Alf a-Dales; another daughter of Alf was\nThorelf, mother of Thorgeir Havarson. There had Thorgeir good kinship\nto trust in, for Thorgils was the greatest chief in the Westfirthers'\nquarter. He was a man of such bountifulness, that he gave food to any\nfree-born man as long as he would have it, and therefore there was at\nall times a throng of people at Reek-knolls; thus had Thorgils much\nrenown of his house-keeping. He was a man withal of good will and\nforeknowledge. Thorgeir was with Thorgils in winter, but went to the\nStrands in summer.\n\nAfter the slaying of Thorgils Makson, Thorgeir went to Reek-knolls and\ntold Thorgils Arisen these tidings; Thorgils said that he was ready to\ngive him harbour with him, \"But, methinks,\" he says, \"that they will\nbe heavy in the suit, and I am loth to eke out the troubles. Now I\nshall send a man to Thorstein and bid weregild for the slaying of\nThorgils; but if he will not take atonement I shall not defend the\ncase stiffly.\"\n\nThorgeir said he would trust to his foresight. In autumn Thorgils\nsent a man to Thorstein Kuggson to try settling the case, but he was\ncross-grained to deal with as to the taking money for the blood-suit\nof Thorgils Makson; but about the other man-slayings, he said he\nwould do as wise men should urge him. Now when Thorgils heard this, he\ncalled Thorgeir to him for a talk, and asked him what kind of aid he\nnow deemed meetest for him; Thorgeir said that it was most to his mind\nto go abroad if he should be outlawed. Thorgils said that should be\ntried. A ship lay up Northriver in Burgfirth; in that keel Thorgils\nsecretly paid faring for the foster-brothers, and thus the winter\npassed. Thorgils heard that Asmund and Thorstein drew together many\nmen to the Althing, and sat in Liarskogar. He drew out the time of\nriding from home, for he would that Asmund and Thorstein should have\nridden by before him to the south, when he came from the west; and\nso it fell out. Thorgils rode south, and with him rode the\nfoster-brothers. In this ride Thorgeir killed Bundle-Torfi of\nMarswell, and Skuf withal, and Biarni in Dog-dale; thus says Thormod\nin Thorgeir's-Drapa--\n\n  \"Mighty strife the warrior made,\n  When to earth was Makson laid,\n  Well the sword-shower wrought he there,\n  Flesh the ravens got to tear;\n  Then when Skuf and Biarni fell,\n  He was there the tale to tell;\n  Sea-steed's rider took his way\n  Through the thickest of the fray.\"\n\nThorgils settled the peace for the slaying of Skuf and Biarni then\nand there in the Dale, and delayed no longer than his will was before;\nThorgeir went to ship, but Thorgils to the Althing, and came not\nthither until men were going to the courts.\n\nThen Asmund the Greyhaired challenged the defence for the blood-suit\non the slaying of Thorgils Makson. Thorgils went to the court and\noffered weregild for the slaying, if thereby Thorgeir might become\nfree of guilt; he put forth for defence in the suit whether they had\nnot free catch on all common foreshores. The lawman was asked if this\nwas a lawful defence. Skapti was the lawman, and backed Asmund for the\nsake of their kinship. He said this was law if they were equal men,\nbut said that bonders had a right to take before batchelors. Asmund\nsaid that Thorgils had offered an even sharing to the foster-brothers\nin so much of the whale as was uncut when they came thereto; and\ntherewith that way of defence was closed against them. Now Thorstein\nand his kin followed up the suit with much eagerness, and nought was\ngood to them but that Thorgeir should be made guilty.\n\nThorgils saw that one of two things was to be done, either to set on\nwith many men, not knowing what might be gained thereby, or to suffer\nthem to go on as they would; and, whereas Thorgeir had been got on\nboard ship, Thorgils let the suit go on unheeded.\n\nThorgeir was outlawed, but for Thormod was taken weregild, and he to\nbe quit. By this blood-suit Thorstein and Asmund were deemed to have\nwaxed much. And now men ride home from the Thing.\n\nSome men would hold talk that Thorgils had lightly backed the case,\nbut he heeded their talk little, and let any one say thereon what he\nwould.\n\nBut when Thorgeir heard of this outlawry, he said--\n\n\"Fain am I that those who have made me an outlaw should have full pay\nfor this, ere all be over.\"\n\nThere was a man called Gaut Sleitason, who was akin to Thorgils\nMakson. Gaut had made ready to go in this same ship wherein Thorgeir\nwas to sail. He bristled up against Thorgeir, and showed mighty\nill-will against him and went about scowling; when the chapmen found\nthis out, they thought it far from safe that both should sail in one\nship. Thorgeir said he heeded not how much soever Gaut would bend his\nbrows on him; still it was agreed that Gaut should take himself off\nfrom the ship, whereupon he went north into the upper settlements,\nand that time nought happed between him and Thorgeir, but out of this\nsprang up between them ill blood, as matters showed after.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXVIII.\n\n<i>Grettir comes out to Iceland again</i>.\n\n\nThis summer Grettir Asmundson came out to Skagafirth: he was in those\ndays so famed a man for strength and prowess, that none was deemed\nhis like among young men. He rode home to Biarg forthwith, and Asmund\nwelcomed him meetly. At that time Atli managed the farming matters,\nand well things befell betwixt the brothers.\n\nBut now Grettir waxed so overbearing, that he deemed that nought was\ntoo much for him to do. At that time had many men grown into full\nmanhood who were young in the days when Grettir was wont to play with\nthem on Midfirth-water before he went abroad; one of these was Audun,\nwho then dwelt at Audunstead, in Willowdale; he was the son of Asgeir,\nthe son of Audun, the son of Asgeir Madpate; of all men he was the\nstrongest north there; but he was thought to be the gentlest of\nneighbours. Now it came into Grettir's mind that he had had the worst\nof Audun in that ball-play whereof is told before; and now he would\nfain try which of the twain had ripened the most since then. For this\ncause Grettir took his way from home, and fared unto Audunstead.\nThis was in early mowing tide; Grettir was well dight, and rode in a\nfair-stained saddle of very excellent workmanship, which Thorfinn had\ngiven him; a good horse he had withal, and all weapons of the best.\nGrettir came early in the day to Audunstead, and knocked at the door.\nFew folk were within; Grettir asked if Audun was at home. Men said\nthat he had gone to fetch victuals from the hill-dairy. Then Grettir\ntook the bridle off his horse; the field was unmowed, and the horse\nwent whereas the grass was the highest. Grettir went into the hall,\nsat down on the seat-beam, and thereon fell asleep. Soon after Audun\ncame home, and sees a horse grazing in the field with a fair-stained\nsaddle on; Audun was bringing victuals on two horses, and carried\ncurds on one of them, in drawn-up hides, tied round about: this\nfashion men called curd-bags. Audun took the loads off the horses and\ncarried the curd-bags in his arms into the house.\n\nNow it was dark before his eyes, and Grettir stretched his foot from\nout the beam so that Audun fell flat down head-foremost on to the\ncurd-bag, whereby the bonds of the bag brake; Audun leaped up and\nasked who was that rascal in the way. Grettir named himself.\n\nThen said Audun, \"Rashly hast thou done herein; what is thine errand\nthen?\"\n\nGrettir said, \"I will fight with thee.\"\n\n\"First I will see about my victuals,\" said Audun.\n\n\"That thou mayst well do,\" said Grettir, \"if thou canst not charge\nother folk therewith.\"\n\nThen Audun stooped down and caught up the curd-bag and dashed it\nagainst Grettir's bosom, and bade him first take what was sent him;\nand therewith was Grettir all smothered in the curds; and a greater\nshame he deemed that than if Audun had given him a great wound.\n\nNow thereon they rushed at one another and wrestled fiercely; Grettir\nset on with great eagerness, but Audun gave back before him. Yet he\nfeels that Grettir has outgrown him in strength. Now all things in\ntheir way were kicked out of place, and they were borne on wrestling\nto and fro throughout all the hall; neither spared his might, but\nstill Grettir was the toughest of the twain, and at last Audun fell,\nhaving torn all weapons from Grettir.\n\nNow they grapple hard with one another, and huge cracking was all\naround them. Withal a great din was heard coming through the earth\nunderneath the farmstead, and Grettir heard some one ride up to the\nhouses, get off his horse, and stride in with great strides; he sees\na man come up, of goodly growth, in a red kirtle and with a helmet on\nhis head. He took his way into the hall, for he had heard clamorous\ndoings there as they were struggling together; he asked what was in\nthe hall.\n\nGrettir named himself, \"But who asks thereof?\" quoth he.\n\n\"Bardi am I hight,\" said the new comer.\n\n\"Art thou Bardi, the son of Gudmund, from Asbiornsness?\"\n\n\"That very man am I,\" said Bardi; \"but what art thou doing?\"\n\nGrettir said, \"We, Audun and I, are playing here in sport.\"\n\n\"I know not as to the sport thereof,\" said Bardi, \"nor are ye even men\neither; thou art full of unfairness and overbearing, and he is easy\nand good to deal with; so let him stand up forthwith.\"\n\nGrettir said, \"<i>Many a man stretches round the door to the lock</i>;\nand meseems it lies more in thy way to avenge thy brother Hall[12]\nthan to meddle in the dealings betwixt me and Audun.\"\n\n[Footnote 12: Who was killed in Norway by the sons of Harek, and whose\nrevenge is told of in the Saga of the Heath slayings (existing in\nfragment).]\n\n\"At all times I hear this,\" said Bardi, \"nor know I if that will be\navenged, but none the less I will that thou let Audun be at peace, for\nhe is a quiet man.\"\n\nGrettir did so at Bardi's bidding, nathless, little did it please him.\nBardi asked for what cause they strove.\n\nGrettir sang--\n\n  \"Prithee, Audun, who can tell,\n  But that now thy throat shall swell;\n  That from rough hands thou shalt gain\n  By our strife a certain pain.\n  E'en such wrong as I have done,\n  I of yore from Audun won,\n  When the young, fell-creeping lad\n  At his hands a choking had.\"\n\nBardi said that certes it was a matter to be borne with, if he had had\nto avenge himself.\n\n\"Now I will settle matters between you,\" quoth Bardi; \"I will that ye\npart, leaving things as they are, that thereby there may be an end of\nall between you.\"\n\nThis they let hold good, but Grettir took ill liking to Bardi and his\nbrothers.\n\nNow they all rode off, and when they were somewhat on their way,\nGrettir spake--\n\n\"I have heard that thou hast will to go to Burgfirth this summer, and\nI now offer to go south with thee; and methinks that herein I do for\nthee more than thou art worthy of.\"\n\nHereat was Bardi glad, and speedily said yea thereto, and bade him\nhave thanks for this; and thereupon they parted. But a little after\nBardi came back and said--\n\n\"I will have it known that thou goest not unless my foster-father\nThorarin will have it so, for he shall have all the rule of the\nfaring.\"\n\n\"Well mightest thou, methinks, have full freedom as to thine own\nredes,\" said Grettir, \"and my faring I will not have laid under the\nchoice of other folk; and I shall mislike it if thou castest me aside\nfrom thy fellowship.\"\n\nNow either went their way, and Bardi said he should let Grettir know\nfor sure if Thorarin would that he should fare with him, but that\notherwise he might sit quiet at home. Grettir rode home to Biarg, but\nBardi to his own house.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXIX.\n\n<i>Of the Horse-fight at Longfit</i>.\n\n\nThat summer was settled to be a great horse-fight at Longfit, below\nReeks. Thither came many men. Atli of Biarg had a good horse, a\nblack-maned roan of Keingala's kin, and father and son had great love\nfor that horse. The brothers, Kormak and Thorgils of Meal, had a brown\nhorse, trusty in fight. These were to fight their horse against Atli\nof Biarg. And many other good horses were there.\n\nOdd, the Foundling-skald, of Kormak's kin, was to follow the horse\nof his kinsman through the day. Odd was then growing a big man, and\nbragged much of himself, and was untameable and reckless. Grettir\nasked of Atli his brother, who should follow his horse.\n\n\"I am not so clear about that,\" said he.\n\n\"Wilt thou that I stand by it?\" said Grettir.\n\n\"Be thou then very peaceable, kinsman,\" said Atli, \"for here have we\nto deal with overbearing men.\"\n\n\"Well, let them pay for their own insolence,\" said Grettir, \"if they\nknow not how to hold it back.\"\n\nNow are the horses led out, but all stood forth on the river-bank tied\ntogether. There was a deep hollow in the river down below the bank.\nThe horses bit well at each other, and the greatest sport it was.\n\nOdd drave on his horse with all his might, but Grettir held back, and\nseized the tail with one hand, and the staff wherewith he goaded the\nhorse he held in the other. Odd stood far before his horse, nor was it\nso sure that he did not goad Atli's horse from his hold. Grettir made\nas if he saw it not. Now the horses bore forth towards the river. Then\nOdd drave his staff at Grettir, and smote the shoulder-blade, for that\nGrettir turned the shoulder towards him: that was so mighty a stroke,\nthat the flesh shrank from under it, but Grettir was little scratched.\n\nNow in that nick of time the horses reared up high, and Grettir ran\nunder his horse's hocks, and thrust his staff so hard at the side\nof Odd that three ribs brake in him, but he was hurled out into deep\nwater, together with his horse and all the horses that were tied\ntogether. Then men swam out to him and dragged him out of the river;\nthen was a great hooting made thereat; Kormak's folk ran to their\nweapons, as did the men of Biarg in another place. But when the\nRamfirthers and the men of Waterness saw that, they went betwixt them,\nand they were parted and went home, but both sides had ill-will one\nwith the other, though they sat peacefully at home for a while.\n\nAtli was sparing of speech over this, but Grettir was right unsparing,\nand said that they would meet another time if his will came to pass.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXX.\n\n<i>Of Thorbiorn Oxmain and Thorbiorn Tardy, and of Grettir's meeting\nwith Kormak on Ramfirth-neck</i>.\n\n\nThorbiorn was the name of a man who dwelt at Thorodstead in Ramfirth;\nhe was the son of Arnor Hay-nose,[13] the son of Thorod, who had\nsettled Ramfirth on that side out as far as Bank was on the other.\n\n[Footnote 13: In the Landn\u00e1ma he is called 'Hy-nef;' the meaning is\ndoubtful, but it seems that the author of this history means to call\nhim Hay-nose.]\n\nThorbiorn was the strongest of all men; he was called Oxmain. Thorod\nwas the name of his brother, he was called Drapa-Stump; their mother\nwas Gerd, daughter of Bodvar, from Bodvars-knolls. Thorbiorn was a\ngreat and hardy warrior, and had many men with him; he was noted as\nbeing worse at getting servants than other men, and barely gave he\nwages to any man, nor was he thought a good man to deal with. There\nwas a kinsman of his hight Thorbiorn, and bynamed Tardy; he was a\nsailor, and the namesakes were partners. He was ever at Thorodstead,\nand was thought to better Thorbiorn but little. He was a fault-finding\nfellow, and went about jeering at most men.\n\nThere was a man hight Thorir, the son of Thorkel of Boardere. He\nfarmed first at Meals in Ramfirth; his daughter was Helga, whom\nSleita-Helgi had to wife, but after the man-slaying in Fairslope\nThorir set up for himself his abode south in Hawkdale, and farmed at\nthe Pass, and sold the land at Meals to Thorhall, son of Gamli the\nVendlander.[14] His son was Gamli, who had to wife Ranveig, daughter\nof Asmund the Greyhaired, and Grettir's sister. They dwelt at that\ntime at Meals, and had good hap. Thorir of the Pass had two sons, one\nhight Gunnar, the other Thorgeir; they were both hopeful men, and\nhad then taken the farm after their father, yet were for ever with\nThorbiorn Oxmain, and were growing exceeding unruly.\n\n[Footnote 14: Ed. 1853 has the \"Wide-landed, Vi\u00f0lendings,\" which here\nis altered agreeably to the correction in ch. 14, p. 29.]\n\nThe summer after that just told, Kormak and Thorgils and Narfi their\nkinsman rode south to Northriverdale, on some errand of theirs. Odd\nthe Foundling-skald fared also with them, and by then was gotten\nhealed of the stiffness he gained at the horse-fight. But while they\nwere south of the heath, Grettir fared from Biarg, and with him two\nhouse-carles of Atli's. They rode over to Bowerfell, and thence over\nthe mountain neck to Ramfirth, and came to Meals in the evening.\n\nThey were there three nights; Ranveig and Gamli welcomed Grettir well,\nand bade him abide with them, but he had will to ride home.\n\nThen Grettir heard that Kormak and his fellows were come from the\nsouth, and had guested at Tongue through the night. Grettir got ready\nearly to leave Meals; Gamli offered him men to go with him. Now Grim\nwas the name of Gamli's brother; he was of all men the swiftest; he\nrode with Grettir with another man; they were five in all. Thus they\nrode on till they came to Ramfirth-neck, west of Bowerfell. There\nstands a huge stone that is called Grettir's heave; for he tried long\nthat day to lift that stone, and thus they delayed till Kormak and his\nfellows were come. Grettir rode to meet them, and both sides jumped\noff their horses. Grettir said it was more like free men now to\ndeal blows of the biggest, than to fight with staves like wandering\nchurles. Then Kormak bade them take the challenge in manly wise, and\ndo their best. Thereafter they ran at one another and fought. Grettir\nwent before his men, and bade them take heed, that none came at his\nback. Thus they fought a while, and men were wounded on both sides.\n\nNow Thorbiorn Oxmain had ridden that day over the neck to Bowerfell,\nand when he rode back he saw their meeting. There were with him then\nThorbiorn the Tardy, and Gunnar and Thorgeir, Thorir's sons, and\nThorod Drapa-Stump. Now when they came thereto, Thorbiorn called on\nhis men to go between them. But the others were by then so eager that\nthey could do nought. Grettir broke forth fiercely, and before him\nwere the sons of Thorir, and they both fell as he thrust them from\nhim; they waxed exceeding furious thereat, insomuch that Gunnar dealt\na death-blow at a house-carle of Atli; and when Thorbiorn saw that,\nhe bade them part, saying withal that he would aid which side soever\nshould pay heed to his words. By then were fallen two house-carles of\nKormak, but Grettir saw, that it would hardly do if Thorbiorn should\nbring aid to them against him, wherefore now he gave up the battle,\nand all were wounded who had been at that meeting. But much it\nmisliked Grettir that they had been parted.\n\nThereafter either side rode home, nor did they settle peace after\nthese slayings. Thorbiorn the Tardy made much mocking at all this,\ntherefore things began to worsen betwixt the men of Biarg and\nThorbiorn Oxmain, so that therefrom fell much ill-will as came to be\nknown after. No boot was bidden to Atli for his house-carle, but\nhe made as if he knew it not. Grettir sat at home at Biarg until\nTwainmonth.[15] Nor is it said in story that he and Kormak met ever\nagain after these things betid.\n\n[Footnote 15: The second month in the year, corresponding to our\nSeptember.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXXI.\n\n<i>How Grettir met Bardi, the Son of Gudmund, as he came back from the\nHeath-slayings</i>.\n\n\nBardi, the son of Gudmund, and his brothers, rode home to Asbiornsness\nafter their parting with Grettir.\n\nThey were the sons of Gudmund, the son of Solmund. The mother of\nSolmund was Thorlaug, the daughter of Saemund, the South-Island man,\nthe foster-brother of Ingimund the Old, and Bardi was a very noble\nman.\n\nNow soon he rode to find Thorarin the Wise, his foster-father. He\nwelcomed Bardi well, and asked what gain he had got of followers and\naid, for they had before taken counsel over Bardi's journey. Bardi\nanswered that he had got the aid of that man to his fellow, whose aid\nhe deemed better than that of any other twain. Thorarin got silent\nthereat, and then said,\n\n\"That man will be Grettir Asmundson.\"\n\n\"<i>Sooth is the sage's guess</i>,\" said Bardi; \"that is the very man,\nfoster-father.\"\n\nThorarin answered, \"True it is, that Grettir is much before any other\nman of those who are to choose in our land, and late will he be won\nwith weapons, if he be hale, yet it misdoubts me how far he will bring\nthee luck; but of thy following all must not be luckless, and enough\nye will do, though he fare not with thee: nowise shall he go if I may\nhave my will.\"\n\n\"This I could not have deemed, foster-father,\" said he, \"that thou\nwouldst grudge me the aid of the bravest of men, if my need should be\nhard. A man cannot foresee all things when he is driven on as methinks\nI am.\"\n\n\"Thou wilt do well,\" said Thorarin; \"though thou abidest by my\nforesight.\"\n\nNow thus must things be, even as Thorarin would, that no word more was\nsent to Grettir, but Bardi fared south to Burgfirth, and then befell\nthe Heath-slayings.\n\nGrettir was at Biarg when he heard that Bardi had ridden south; he\nstarted up in anger for that no word had been sent to him, and said\nthat not thus should they part. He had news of them when they\nwere looked for coming from the south, and thereat he rode down to\nThorey's-peak, for the waylaying of Bardi's folk as they came back\nfrom the south: he fared from the homestead up on to the hill-side,\nand abode there. That same day rode Bardi and his men north over\nTwodaysway, from the Heath-slayings; they were six in all, and every\nman sore wounded; and when they came forth by the homestead, then said\nBardi--\n\n\"A man there is up on the hill-side; a big man, armed. What man do ye\ntake him to be?\"\n\nThey said that they wotted not who he was.\n\nBardi said, \"Methinks there,\" quoth he, \"is Grettir Asmundson; and if\nso it is, there will he meet us. I deem that it has misliked him that\nhe fared not with us, but methinks we are not in good case, if he be\nbent on doing us harm. I now shall send after men to Thorey's-peak,\nand stake nought on the chance of his ill-will.\"\n\nThey said this was a good rede, and so was it done.\n\nThereafter Bardi and his folk rode on their way. Grettir saw where\nthey fared, and went in the way before them, and when they met, either\ngreeted other.\n\nGrettir asked for tidings, but Bardi told them fearlessly, even as\nthey were. Grettir asked what men were in that journey with him. Bardi\nsaid that there were his brothers, and Eyulf his brother-in-law.\n\n\"Thou hast now cleared thyself from all blame,\" said Grettir; \"but now\nis it best that we try between us who is of most might here.\"\n\nSaid Bardi, \"Too nigh to my garth have deeds of hard need been, than\nthat I should fight with thee without a cause, and well methinks have\nI thrust these from me.\"\n\n\"Thou growest soft, methinks, Bardi,\" said Grettir, \"since thou durst\nnot fight with me.\"\n\n\"Call that what thou wilt,\" said Bardi; \"but in some other stead would\nI that thou wreak thine high-handedness than here on me; and that is\nlike enough, for now does thy rashness pass all bounds.\"\n\nGrettir thought ill of his spaedom, and now doubted within himself\nwhether he should set on one or other of them; but it seemed rash to\nhim, as they were six and he one: and in that nick of time came up the\nmen from Thorey's-peak to the aid of Bardi and his folk; then Grettir\ndrew off from them, and turned aside to his horse. But Bardi and his\nfellows went on their way, nor were there farewells between them at\nparting.\n\nNo further dealings between Bardi and Grettir are told of after these\nthings betid.\n\nNow so has Grettir said that he deemed himself well matched to fight\nwith most men, though they were three together, but he would have no\nmind to flee before four, without trying it; but against more would\nhe fight only if he must needs defend his hand, as is said in this\nstave--\n\n  \"My life trust I 'gainst three\n  Skilled in Mist's mystery;\n  Whatso in Hilda's weather\n  Shall bring the swords together;\n  If over four they are\n  My wayfaring that bar\n  No gale of swords will I\n  Wake with them willingly.\"\n\nAfter his parting with Bardi, Grettir fared to Biarg, and very ill he\nit thought that he might nowhere try his strength, and searched all\nabout if anywhere might be somewhat wherewith he might contend.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXXII.\n\n<i>Of the Haunting at Thorhall-stead; and how Thorhall took a Shepherd\nby the rede of Skapti the Lawman, and of what befell thereafter</i>.\n\n\nThere was a man hight Thorhall, who dwelt at Thorhall-stead, in\nShady-vale, which runs up from Waterdale. Thorhall was the son of\nGrim, son of Thorhall, the son of Fridmund, who settled Shady-vale.\nThorhall had a wife hight Gudrun. Grim was their son, and Thurid their\ndaughter; they were well-nigh grown up.\n\nThorhall was a rich man, but mostly in cattle, so that no man had so\nmuch of live-stock as he. He was no chief, but an honest bonder he\nwas. Much was that place haunted, and hardly could he get a shepherd\nthat he deemed should serve his turn. He sought counsel of many men\nas to what he might do therewith, but none gave him a rede that might\nserve him. Thorhall rode each summer to the Thing, and good horses\nhe had. But one summer at the Althing, Thorhall went to the booth\nof Skapti Thorodson the Lawman. Skapti was the wisest of men, and\nwholesome were his redes when folk prayed him for them. But he and his\nfather differed thus much, that Thorod was foretelling, and yet was\ncalled under-handed of some folk; but Skapti showed forth to every\nman what he deemed would avail most, if it were not departed from,\ntherefore was he called \"Father-betterer.\"\n\nNow Thorhall went into Skapti's booth, and Skapti greeted him well,\nfor he knew that he was a man rich in cattle, and he asked him what\nwere the tidings.\n\nThorhall answered, \"A wholesome counsel would I have from thee.\"\n\n\"Little am I meet for that,\" said Skapti; \"but what dost thou stand in\nneed of?\"\n\nThorhall said, \"So is the matter grown to be, that but a little while\ndo my shepherds avail me; for ever will they get badly hurt; but\nothers will not serve to the end, and now no one will take the job\nwhen he knows what bides in the way.\"\n\nSkapti answered, \"Some evil things shall be there then, since men\nare more unwilling to watch thy sheep than those of other men. Now,\ntherefore, as thou hast sought rede of me, I shall get thee a shepherd\nwho is hight Glam, a Swede, from Sylgsdale, who came out last summer,\na big man and a strong, though he is not much to the mind of most\nfolk.\"\n\nThorhall said he heeded that little if he watched the sheep well.\n\nSkapti said that little would be the look out for others, if he could\nnot watch them, despite his strength and daring.\n\nThen Thorhall went out from him, and this was towards the breaking\nup of the Thing. Thorhall missed two dun horses, and fared himself to\nseek for them; wherefore folk deem that he was no great man. He went\nup to Sledgehill, and south along the fell which is called Armansfell;\nthen he saw how a man fared down from Godi's-wood, and bore faggots on\na horse. Soon they met together, and Thorhall asked him of his name.\nHe said that he was called Glam. This man was great of growth,\nuncouth to look on; his eyes were grey and glaring, and his hair was\nwolf-grey.\n\nThorhall stared at him somewhat when he saw this man, till he saw that\nthis was he to whom he had been sent.\n\n\"What work hast thou best will to do?\" said Thorhall.\n\nGlam said, \"That he was of good mind to watch sheep in winter.\"\n\n\"Wilt thou watch my sheep?\" said Thorhall. \"Skapti has given thee to\nmy will.\"\n\n\"So only shall my service avail thee, if I go of my own will, for I am\nevil of mood if matters mislike me,\" quoth Glam.\n\n\"I fear no hurt thereof,\" said Thorhall, \"and I will that thou fare to\nmy house.\"\n\n\"That may I do,\" said Glam, \"perchance there are some troubles there?\"\n\n\"Folk deem the place haunted,\" said Thorhall.\n\n\"Such bugs will not scare me,\" quoth Glam; \"life seems to me less\nirksome thereby.\"\n\n\"It must needs seem so,\" said Thorhall, \"and truly it is better that a\nmannikin be not there.\"\n\nThereafter they struck bargain together, and Glam is to come at winter\nnights: then they parted, and Thorhall found his horses even where he\nhad just been searching. Thorhall rode home, and thanked Skapti for\nhis good deed.\n\nSummer slipped away, and Thorhall heard nought of his shepherd, nor\ndid any man know aught about him; but at the appointed time he came\nto Thorhall-stead. The bonder greeted him well, but none of the other\nfolk could abide him, and the good wife least of all.\n\nNow he took to the sheep-watching, and little trouble it seemed to\ngive him; he was big-voiced and husky, and all the beasts would run\ntogether when he whooped. There was a church at Thorhall-stead, but\nnowise would Glam come therein; he was a loather of church-song, and\ngodless, foul-tempered, and surly, and no man might abide him.\n\nNow passed the time till it came to Yule-eve; then Glam got up and\nstraightway called for his meat. The good wife said--\n\n\"No Christian man is wont to eat meat this day, be-. cause that on the\nmorrow is the first day of Yule,\" says she, \"wherefore must men first\nfast to-day.\"\n\nHe answers, \"Many follies have ye, whereof I see no good come, nor\nknow I that men fare better now than when they paid no heed to such\nthings; and methinks the ways of men were better when they were called\nheathens; and now will I have my meat, and none of this fooling.\"\n\nThen said the housewife, \"I know for sure that thou shall fare ill\nto-day, if thou takest up this evil turn.\"\n\nGlam bade her bring food straightway, and said that she should fare\nthe worse else. She durst do but as he would, and so when he was full,\nhe went out, growling and grumbling.\n\nNow the weather was such, that mirk was over all, and the snow-flakes\ndrave down, and great din there was, and still all grew much the\nworse, as the day slipped away.\n\nMen heard the shepherd through the early morning, but less of him\nas the day wore; then it took to snowing, and by evening there was\na great storm; then men went to church, and thus time drew on to\nnightfall; and Glam came not home; then folk held talk, as to whether\nsearch should not be made for him, but, because of the snow-storm and\npitch darkness, that came to nought.\n\nNow he came not home on the night of Yule-eve; and thus men abide till\nafter the time of worship; but further on in the day men fared out to\nthe search, and found the sheep scattered wide about in fens, beaten\ndown by the storm, or strayed up into the mountains. Thereafter they\ncame on a great beaten place high up in the valley, and they thought\nit was as if strong wrestling had gone on there; for that all about\nthe stones had been uptorn and the earth withal; now they looked\nclosely and saw where Glam lay a little way therefrom; he was dead,\nand as blue as hell, and as great as a neat.\n\nHuge loathing took them, at the sight of him, and they shuddered in\ntheir souls at him, yet they strove to bring him to church, but could\nget him only as far as a certain gil-edge a little way below.\n\nThen they fared home to the farm, and told the bonder what had happed.\nHe asked what was like to have been Glam's bane. They said they had\ntracked steps as great as if a cask-bottom had been stamped down, from\nthere where the beaten place was, up to beneath sheer rocks which were\nhigh up the valley, and there along went great stains of blood. Now\nmen drew from this, that the evil wight which had been there before\nhad killed Glam, but had got such wounds as had been full enough for\nhim, for of him none has since been ware.\n\nThe second day of Yule men went afresh to try to bring Glam to church;\ndrag horses were put to him, but could move him nowhere where they\nhad to go on even ground and not down hill; then folk had to go away\ntherefrom leaving things done so far.\n\nThe third day the priest fared with them, and they sought all day, but\nfound not Glam. The priest would go no more on such search, but the\nherdsman was found whenso the priest was not in their company. Then\nthey let alone striving to bring him to church, and buried him there\nwhereto he had been brought.\n\nA little time after men were ware that Glam lay not quiet. Folk got\ngreat hurt therefrom, so that many fell into swoons when they saw him,\nbut others lost their wits thereby. But just after Yule men thought\nthey saw him home at the farm. Folk became exceeding afeard thereat,\nand many fled there and then. Next Glam took to riding the house-roofs\nat night, so that he went nigh to breaking them in. Now he walked\nwell-nigh night and day. Hardly durst men fare up into the dale,\nthough they had errands enough there. And much scathe the men of the\ncountry-side deemed all this.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXXIII.\n\n<i>Of the doings of Glam at Thorhall-stead</i>.\n\n\nIn the spring Thorhall got serving-men, and set up house at his farm;\nthen the hauntings began to go off while the sun was at its height;\nand so things went on to midsummer. That summer a ship came out to\nHunawater, wherein was a man named Thorgaut. He was an outlander of\nkin, big and stout, and two men's strength he had. He was unhired\nand single, and would fain do some work, for he was moneyless. Now\nThorhall rode to the ship, and asked Thorgaut if he would work for\nhim. Thorgaut said that might be, and moreover that he was not nice\nabout work.\n\n\"Be sure in thy mind,\" said Thorhall, \"that mannikins are of small\navail there because of the hauntings that have been going on there for\none while now; for I will not draw thee on by wiles.\"\n\nThorgaut answers, \"I deem not myself given up, though I should see\nsome wraithlings; matters will not be light when I am scared, nor will\nI give up my service for that.\"\n\nNow they come speedily to a bargain, and Thorgaut is to watch the\nsheep when winter comes. So the summer wore on, and Thorgaut betook\nhimself to the shepherding at winter nights, and all liked him well.\nBut ever came Glam home and rode the house-roofs; this Thorgaut deemed\nsport enough, and quoth he--\n\n\"The thrall must come nigher to scare me.\"\n\nThorhall bade him keep silence over that. \"Better will it be that ye\nhave no trial together.\"\n\nThorgaut said, \"Surely all might is shaken out of you, nor shall I\ndrop down betwixt morn and eve at such talk.\"\n\nNow so things go through the winter till Yule-tide. On Yule eve the\nshepherd would fare out to his sheep. Then said the good wife--\n\n\"Need is it that things go not the old way.\"\n\nHe answered, \"Have no fear thereof, goodwife; something worth telling\nof will betide if I come not back.\"\n\nAnd thereafter he went to his sheep; and the weather was somewhat\ncold, and there was much snow. Thorgaut was wont to come home when\ntwilight had set in, and now he came not at that time. Folk went to\nchurch as they were wont. Men now thought things looked not unlike\nwhat they did before; the bonder would have search made for the\nshepherd, but the church-goers begged off, and said that they would\nnot give themselves into the hands of trolls by night; so the bonder\ndurst not go, and the search came to nought.\n\nYule-day, when men were full, they fared out and searched for the\nshepherd; they first went to Glam's cairn, because men thought that\nfrom his deeds came the loss of the herdsman. But when they came nigh\nto the cairn, there they saw great tidings, for there they found the\nshepherd, and his neck was broken, and every bone in him smashed.\nThen they brought him to church, and no harm came to men from Thorgaut\nafterwards.\n\nBut Glam began afresh to wax mighty; and such deeds he wrought, that\nall men fled away from Thorhall-stead, except the good man and his\ngoodwife. Now the same neatherd had long been there, and Thorhall\nwould not let him go, because of his good will and safe ward; he was\nwell on in years, and was very loth to fare away, for he saw that all\nthings the bonder had went to nought from not being watched.\n\nNow after midwinter one morning the housewife fared to the byre to\nmilk the cows after the wonted time; by then was it broad daylight,\nfor none other than the neatherd would trust themselves out before\nday; but he went out at dawn. She heard great cracking in the byre,\nwith bellowing and roaring; she ran back crying out, and said she knew\nnot what uncouth things were going on in the byre.\n\nThe bonder went out and came to the cows, which were goring one\nanother; so he thought it not good to go in there, but went in to the\nhay-barn. There he saw where lay the neatherd, and had his head in one\nboose[16] and his feet in the other; and he lay cast on his back. The\nbonder went up to him, and felt him all over with his hand, and finds\nsoon that he was dead, and the spine of him broken asunder; it had\nbeen broken over the raised stone-edge of a boose.\n\n[Footnote 16: Boose, a cow-stall.]\n\nNow the goodman thought there was no abiding there longer; so he fled\naway from the farm with all that he might take away; but all such live\nstock as was left behind Glam killed, and then he fared all over the\nvalley and destroyed farms up from Tongue. But Thorhall was with his\nfriends the rest of the winter.\n\nNo man might fare up the dale with horse or hound, because straightway\nit was slain. But when spring came, and the sun-light was the\ngreatest, somewhat the hauntings abated; and now would Thorhall\ngo back to his own land; he had no easy task in getting servants,\nnathless he set up house again at Thorhall-stead; but all went the\nsame way as before; for when autumn came, the hauntings began to wax\nagain; the bonder's daughter was most set on, and fared so that she\ndied thereof. Many redes were sought, but nought could be done; men\nthought it like that all Waterdale would be laid waste if nought were\nfound to better this.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXXIV.\n\n<i>Grettir hears of the Hauntings</i>.\n\n\nNow we take up the story where Grettir Asmundson sat at Biarg through\nthe autumn after they parted, he and Slaying-Bardi at Thoreys-peak;\nand when the time of winter-nights had well-nigh come, Grettir\nrode from home north over the neck to Willowdale, and guested at\nAudunstead; he and Audun made a full peace, and Grettir gave Audun a\ngood axe, and they talked of friendship between them. Audun dwelt\nlong at Audunstead, and was a man of many and hopeful kin; his son was\nEgil, who married Ulfheid, daughter of Eyulf Gudmundson, and their son\nwas Eyulf, who was slain at the Althing, he was the father of Orm, who\nwas the chaplain of Bishop Thorlak.\n\nGrettir rode north to Waterdale, and came to see his kin at Tongue. In\nthose days dwelt there Jokull, the son of Bard, the mother's brother\nof Grettir: Jokull was a big man and a strong, and the most violent\nof men; he was a seafaring man, very wild, and yet a man of great\naccount.\n\nHe greeted Grettir well, and he was there three nights. There were so\nmany words about Glam's hauntings, that nought was so much spoken of\nas of that. Grettir asked closely about all things that had happed.\nJokull said that thereof was told no more than the very truth; \"And,\nperchance, thou art wishful to go there, kinsman?\"\n\nGrettir said that so it was.\n\nJokull bade him do it not, \"Because it is a great risk for thy good\nluck, and thy kinsmen have much to hazard where thou art,\" said he,\n\"for of young men we think there is none such as thou; but <i>from ill\ncometh ill</i> whereas Glam is; and far better it is to deal with men\nthan with such evil wights.\"\n\nGrettir said, \"That he had a mind to go to Thorhall-stead and see how\nthings went there.\"\n\nSaid Jokull, \"Now I see it is of no avail to let thee; but so it is,\nas men say, <i>Good luck and goodliness are twain</i>.\"\n\n\"<i>Woe is before one's own door when it is inside one's\nneighbour's</i>; think how it may fare with thyself ere things are\nended,\" said Grettir.\n\nJokull answered, \"Maybe we may both see somewhat of things to come,\nbut neither may help aught herein.\"\n\nThey parted thereafter, and neither thought well of the other's\nforetelling.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXXV.\n\n<i>Grettir goes to Thorhall-stead, and has to do with Glam</i>.\n\n\nGrettir rode to Thorhall-stead, and the bonder gave him good welcome;\nhe asked whither Grettir was minded to fare, but Grettir said he would\nbe there that night if the bonder would have it so.\n\nThorhall said that he thanked him therefor, \"But few have thought it\na treat to guest here for any time; thou must needs have heard what\nis going on here, and I fain would that thou shouldest have no trouble\nfrom me: but though thou shouldest come off whole thyself, that know\nI for sure, that thou wilt lose thy horse, for none keeps his horse\nwhole who comes here.\"\n\nGrettir said that horses were to be had in plenty whatsoever might hap\nto this. Then Thorhall was glad that Grettir was to be there, and gave\nhim a hearty welcome.\n\nNow Grettir's horse was locked up in a strong house, and they went to\nsleep; and so the night slipped by, and Glam came not home.\n\nThen said Thorhall, \"Things have gone well at thy coming, for every\nnight is Glam wont to ride the house-roofs, or break open doors, as\nthou mayest well see.\"\n\nGrettir said, \"Then shall one of two things be, either he shall not\nhold himself back for long, or the hauntings will abate for more than\none night; I will bide here another night and see how things fare.\"\n\nThereafter they went to Grettir's horse, and nought had been tried\nagainst it; then all seemed to the bonder to go one way.\n\nNow is Grettir there another night, and neither came the thrall home;\nthat the farmer deemed very hopeful; withal he fared to see after\nGrettir's horse. When the farmer came there, he found the house broken\ninto, but the horse was dragged out to the door, and every bone in\nhim broken to pieces. Thorhall told Grettir what had happed there, and\nbade him save himself, \"For sure is thy death if thou abidest Glam.\"\n\nGrettir answered, \"I must not have less for my horse than a sight of\nthe thrall.\"\n\nThe bonder said it was no boon to see him, for he was unlike any shape\nof man; \"but good methinks is every hour that thou art here.\"\n\nNow the day goes by, and when men should go to sleep Grettir would\nnot put off his clothes, but lay down on the seat over against the\nbonder's lock-bed. He had a drugget cloak over him, and wrapped one\nskirt of it under his feet, and twined the other under his head, and\nlooked out through the head-opening; a seat-beam was before the seat,\na very strong one, and against this he set his feet. The door-fittings\nwere all broken from the outer door, but a wrecked door was now bound\nthereby, and all was fitted up in the wretchedest wise. The panelling\nwhich had been before the seat athwart the hall, was all broken away\nboth above and below the cross-beam; all beds had been torn out of\nplace, and an uncouth place it was.\n\nLight burned in the hall through the night; and when the third part\nof the night was passed, Grettir heard huge din without, and then one\nwent up upon the houses and rode the hall, and drave his heels against\nthe thatch so that every rafter cracked again.\n\nThat went on long, and then he came down from the house and went\nto the door; and as the door opened, Grettir saw that the thrall\nstretched in his head, which seemed to him monstrously big, and\nwondrous thick cut.\n\nGlam fared slowly when he came into the door and stretched himself\nhigh up under the roof, and turned looking along the hall, and laid\nhis arms on the tie-beam, and glared inwards over the place. The\nfarmer would not let himself be heard, for he deemed he had had enough\nin hearing himself what had gone on outside. Grettir lay quiet, and\nmoved no whit; then Glam saw that some bundle lay on the seat, and\ntherewith he stalked up the hall and griped at the wrapper wondrous\nhard; but Grettir set his foot against the beam, and moved in no wise;\nGlam pulled again much harder, but still the wrapper moved not at all;\nthe third time he pulled with both hands so hard, that he drew Grettir\nupright from the seat; and now they tore the wrapper asunder between\nthem.\n\nGlam gazed at the rag he held in his hand, and wondered much who might\npull so hard against him; and therewithal Grettir ran under his hands\nand gripped him round the middle, and bent back his spine as hard as\nhe might, and his mind it was that Glam should shrink thereat; but the\nthrall lay so hard on Grettir's arms, that he shrank all aback because\nof Glam's strength.\n\nThen Grettir bore back before him into sundry seats; but the\nseat-beams were driven out of place, and all was broken that was\nbefore them. Glam was fain to get out, but Grettir set his feet\nagainst all things that he might; nathless Glam got him dragged from\nout the hall; there had they a wondrous hard wrestling, because the\nthrall had a mind to bring him out of the house; but Grettir saw that\nill as it was to deal with Glam within doors, yet worse would it be\nwithout; therefore he struggled with all his might and main against\ngoing out-a-doors.\n\nNow Glam gathered up his strength and knit Grettir towards him when\nthey came to the outer door; but when Grettir saw that he might not\nset his feet against that, all of a sudden in one rush he drave his\nhardest against the thrall's breast, and spurned both feet against the\nhalf-sunken stone that stood in the threshold of the door; for this\nthe thrall was not ready, for he had been tugging to draw Grettir to\nhim, therefore he reeled aback and spun out against the door, so that\nhis shoulders caught the upper door-case, and the roof burst asunder,\nboth rafters and frozen thatch, and therewith he fell open-armed aback\nout of the house, and Grettir over him.\n\nBright moonlight was there without, and the drift was broken, now\ndrawn over the moon, now driven from off her; and, even as Glam fell,\na cloud was driven from the moon, and Glam glared up against her. And\nGrettir himself says that by that sight only was he dismayed amidst\nall that he ever saw.\n\nThen his soul sank within him so, from all these things both from\nweariness, and because he had seen Glam turn his eyes so horribly,\nthat he might not draw the short-sword, and lay well-nigh 'twixt home\nand hell.\n\nBut herein was there more fiendish craft in Glam than in most other\nghosts, that he spake now in this wise--\n\n\"Exceeding eagerly hast thou wrought to meet me, Grettir, but no\nwonder will it be deemed, though thou gettest no good hap of me; and\nthis must I tell thee, that thou now hast got half the strength and\nmanhood, which was thy lot if thou hadst not met me: now I may not\ntake from thee the strength which thou hast got before this; but that\nmay I rule, that thou shalt never be mightier than now thou art;\nand nathless art thou mighty enow, and that shall many an one learn.\nHitherto hast thou earned fame by thy deeds, but henceforth will\nwrongs and man-slayings fall on thee, and the most part of thy doings\nwill turn to thy woe and ill-hap; an outlaw shalt thou be made, and\never shall it be thy lot to dwell alone abroad; therefore this weird I\nlay on thee, ever in those days to see these eyes with thine eyes,\nand thou wilt find it hard to be alone--and that shall drag thee unto\ndeath.\"\n\nNow when the thrall had thus said, the astonishment fell from Grettir\nthat had lain on him, and therewith he drew the short-sword and hewed\nthe head from Glam, and laid it at his thigh.\n\nThen came the farmer out; he had clad himself while Glam had his spell\ngoing, but he durst come nowhere nigh till Glam had fallen.\n\nThorhall praised God therefor, and thanked Grettir well for that he\nhad won this unclean spirit. Then they set to work and burned Glam\nto cold coals, thereafter they gathered his ashes into the skin of a\nbeast, and dug it down whereas sheep-pastures were fewest, or the ways\nof men. They walked home thereafter, and by then it had got far\non towards day; Grettir laid him down, for he was very stiff: but\nThorhall sent to the nearest farm for men, and both showed them and\ntold them how all things had fared.\n\nAll men who heard thereof deemed this a deed of great worth, and in\nthose days it was said by all that none in all the land was like to\nGrettir Asmundson for great heart and prowess.\n\nThorhall saw off Grettir handsomely, and gave him a good horse and\nseemly clothes, for those were all torn to pieces that he had worn\nbefore; so they parted in friendly wise. Grettir rode thence to the\nRidge in Waterdale, and Thorvald received him well, and asked closely\nabout the struggle with Glam. Grettir told him all, and said thereto\nthat he had never had such a trial of strength, so long was their\nstruggle.\n\nThorvald bade him keep quiet, \"Then all will go well with thee, else\nwilt thou be a man of many troubles.\"\n\nGrettir said that his temper had been nowise bettered by this, that he\nwas worse to quiet than before, and that he deemed all trouble worse\nthan it was; but that herein he found the greatest change, in that he\nwas become so fearsome a man in the dark, that he durst go nowhither\nalone after nightfall, for then he seemed to see all kinds of horrors.\n\nAnd that has fallen since into a proverb, that Glam lends eyes, or\ngives Glamsight to those who see things nowise as they are.\n\nBut Grettir rode home to Biarg when he had done his errands, and sat\nat home through the winter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXXVI.\n\n<i>Of Thorbiorn Oxmain's autumn-feast, and the mocks of Thorbiorn\nTardy</i>.\n\n\nThorbiorn Oxmain held a great autumn feast, and many men came thither\nto him, and that was while Grettir fared north to Waterdale in the\nautumn; Thorbiorn the Tardy was there at the feast, and many things\nwere spoken of there. There the Ramfirthers asked of those dealings of\nGrettir on the neck the summer before.\n\nThorbiorn Oxmain told the story right fairly as towards Grettir, and\nsaid that Kormak would have got the worst of it, if none had come\nthere to part them.\n\nThen spake Thorbiorn the Tardy, \"Both these things are true,\" said he:\n\"I saw Grettir win no great honour, and I deem withal that fear shot\nthrough his heart when we came thereto, and right blithe was he to\npart, nor did I see him seek for vengeance when Atli's house-carle was\nslain; therefore do I deem that there is no heart in him if he is not\nholpen enow.\"\n\nAnd thereat Thorbiorn went on gabbling at his most; but many put in a\nword, and said that this was worthless fooling, and that Grettir would\nnot leave things thus, if he heard that talk.\n\nNought else befell worth telling of at the feast, and men went home;\nbut much ill-will there was betwixt them that winter, though neither\nset on other; nor were there other tidings through the winter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXXVII.\n\n<i>Olaf the Saint, King in Norway; the slaying of Thorbiorn Tardy;\nGrettir goes to Norway</i>.\n\n\nEarly the spring after came out a ship from Norway; and that was\nbefore the Thing; these folk knew many things to tell, and first that\nthere was change of rulers in Norway, for Olaf Haraldson was come to\nbe king, and Earl Svein had fled the country in the spring after the\nfight at Ness. Many noteworthy matters were told of King Olaf, and\nthis withal, that he received such men in the best of ways who were of\nprowess in any deeds, and that he made such his men.\n\nThereat were many young men glad, and listed to go abroad, and when\nGrettir heard the tidings he became much minded to sail out; for he,\nlike others, hoped for honour at the king's hands.\n\nA ship lay in Goose-ere in Eyjafirth, therein Grettir got him a berth\nand made ready for the voyage, nor had he yet much of faring-goods.\n\nNow Asmund was growing very feeble with eld, and was well-nigh\nbedridden; he and Asdis had a young son who was called Illugi, and was\nthe hopefullest of men; and, by this time, Atli tended all farming and\nmoney-keeping, and this was deemed to better matters, because he was a\npeaceable and foreseeing man.\n\nNow Grettir went shipward, but in that same ship had Thorbiorn the\nTardy taken passage, before folk knew that Grettir would sail therein.\nNow men would hinder Thorbiorn from sailing in the same ship with\nGrettir, but Thorbiorn said that he would go for all that. He gat him\nready for the voyage out, and was somewhat late thereat, nor did he\ncome to the north to Goose-ere before the ship was ready for sea; and\nbefore Thorbiorn fared from the west, Asmund the Greyhaired fell sick\nand was bedridden.\n\nNow Thorbiorn the Tardy came late one day down to the sand; men were\ngetting ready to go to table, and were washing their hands outside the\nbooths; but when Thorbiorn rode up the lane betwixt the booths, he\nwas greeted, and asked for tidings. He made as if there was nought\nto tell, \"Save that I deem that Asmund, the champion of Biarg, is now\ndead.\"\n\nMany men said that there where he went, departed a worthy goodman from\nthe world.\n\n\"But what brought it about?\" said they.\n\nHe answered, \"Little went to the death of that champion, for in the\nchamber smoke was he smothered like a dog; nor is there loss therein,\nfor he was grown a dotard.\"\n\n\"Thou speakest marvellously of such a man,\" said they, \"nor would\nGrettir like thy words well, if he heard them.\"\n\n\"That must I bear,\" said Thorbiorn, \"and higher must Grettir bear the\nsword than he did last summer at Ramfirth-neck, if I am to tremble at\nhim.\"\n\nNow Grettir heard full well what Thorbiorn said, and paid no heed\nthereto while he let his tale run on; but when he had made an end,\nthen spake Grettir--\n\n\"That fate I foretell for thee, Tardy,\" said he, \"that thou wilt not\ndie in chamber smoke, yet may be withal thou wilt not die of eld; but\nit is strangely done to speak scorn of sackless men.\"\n\nThorbiorn said, \"I have no will to hold in about these things, and\nmethinks thou didst not bear thyself so briskly when we got thee off\nthat time when the men of Meals beat thee like a neat's head.\"\n\nThen sang Grettir--\n\n  \"Day by day full over long,\n  Arrow-dealer, grows thy tongue;\n  Such a man there is, that thou\n  Mayst be paid for all words now;\n  Many a man, who has been fain,\n  Wound-worm's tower with hands to gain,\n  With less deeds his death has bought,\n  Than thou, Tardy-one, hast wrought.\"\n\nSaid Thorbiorn, \"About as feigh do I deem myself as before, despite\nthy squealing.\"\n\nGrettir answered, \"Heretofore my spaedom has not been long-lived, and\nso shall things go still; now beware if thou wilt, hereafter will no\nout-look be left.\"\n\nTherewith Grettir hewed at Thorbiorn, but he swung up his hand, with\nthe mind to ward the stroke from him, but that stroke came on his arm\nabout the wrist, and withal the short-sword drave into his neck so\nthat the head was smitten off.\n\nThen said the chapmen that he was a man of mighty strokes, and\nthat such should king's men be; and no scathe they deemed it though\nThorbiorn were slain, in that he had been both quarrelsome and\nspiteful.\n\nA little after they sailed into the sea, and came in late summer to\nNorway, south at Hordaland, and then they heard that King Olaf was\nnorth at Drontheim; then Grettir took ship in a trading keel to go\nnorth therefrom, because he would fain see the king.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXXVIII.\n\n<i>Of Thorir of Garth and his sons; and how Grettir fetched fire for\nhis shipmates</i>.\n\n\nThere was a man named Thorir, who lived at Garth, in Maindale, he was\nthe son of Skeggi, the son of Botulf. Skeggi had settled Well-wharf up\nto Well-ness; he had to wife Helga, daughter of Thorkel, of Fishbrook;\nThorir, his son, was a great chief, and a seafaring man. He had two\nsons, one called Thorgeir and one Skeggi, they were both hopeful men,\nand fully grown in those days. Thorir had been in Norway that summer,\nwhen King Olaf came east from England, and got into great friendship\nwith the king, and with Bishop Sigurd as well; and this is a token\nthereof, that Thorir had had a large ship built in the wood, and\nprayed Bishop Sigurd to hallow it, and so he did. Thereafter Thorir\nfared out to Iceland and caused the ship to be broken up, when he grew\nweary of sailing, but the beaks of the ship, he had set up over his\nouter door, and they were there long afterwards, and were so full of\nweather wisdom, that the one whistled before a south wind, and the\nother before a north wind.\n\nBut when Thorir knew that King Olaf had got the sole rule over all\nNorway, he deemed that he had some friendship there to fall back on;\nthen he sent his sons to Norway to meet the king, and was minded that\nthey should become his men. They came there south, late in autumn, and\ngot to themselves a row-barge, and fared north along the land, with\nthe mind to go and meet the king.\n\nThey came to a haven south of Stead, and lay there some nights, and\nkept themselves in good case as to meat and drink, and were not much\nabroad when the weather was foul.\n\nNow it is to be told that Grettir and his fellows fared north\nalong the land, and often had hard weather, because it was then the\nbeginning of winter; and when they bore down north on Stead, they had\nmuch foul weather, with snow and frost, and with exceeding trouble\nthey make land one evening all much worn with wet; so they lay to by\na certain dyke, and could thus save their money and goods; the chapmen\nwere hard put to it for the cold, because they could not light any\nfire, though thereon they deemed well-nigh their life and health lay.\n\nThus they lay that evening in evil plight; but as the night wore on\nthey saw that a great fire sprang up in the midst of the sound over\nagainst there whereas they had come. But when Grettir's shipmates saw\nthe fire, they said one to the other that he would be a happy man who\nmight get it, and they doubted whether they should unmoor the ship,\nbut to all of them there seemed danger in that. Then they had a long\ntalk over it, whether any man was of might enow to fetch that fire.\n\nGrettir gave little heed thereto, but said, that such men had been as\nwould not have feared the task. The chapmen said that they were not\nbettered by what had been, if now there was nought to take to.\n\n\"Perchance thou deemest thyself man enough thereto, Grettir,\" said\nthey, \"since thou art called the man of most prowess among the men of\nIceland, and thou wottest well enough what our need is.\"\n\nGrettir answered, \"It seems to me no great deed to fetch the fire, but\nI wot not if ye will reward it according to the prayer of him who does\nit.\"\n\nThey said, \"Why deemest thou us such shameful men as that we should\nreward that deed but with good?\"\n\nQuoth he, \"I may try this if so be that ye think much lies on it, but\nmy mind bids me hope to get nought of good thereby.\"\n\nThey said that that should never be, and bade all hail to his words;\nand thereafter Grettir made ready for swimming, and cast his clothes\nfrom off him; of clothes he had on but a cape and sail-cloth breeches;\nhe girt up the cape and tied a bast-rope strongly round his middle,\nand had with him a cask; then he leaped overboard; he stretched across\nthe sound, and got aland.\n\nThere he saw a house stand, and heard therefrom the talk of men, and\nmuch clatter, and therewith he turned toward that house.\n\nNow is it to be said of those that were there before, that here were\ncome the sons of Thorir, as is aforesaid; they had lain there many\nnights, and bided there the falling of the gale, that they might\nhave wind at will to go north, beyond Stead. They had set them down\na-drinking, and were twelve men in all; their ship rode in the main\nhaven, and they were at a house of refuge for such men to guest in, as\nwent along the coast.\n\nMuch straw had been borne into the house, and there was a great fire\non the floor; Grettir burst into the house, and wotted not who was\nthere before; his cape was all over ice when he came aland, and he\nhimself was wondrous great to behold, even as a troll; now those first\ncomers were exceeding amazed at him, and deemed he must be some evil\nwight; they smote at him with all things they might lay hold of, and\nmighty din went on around them; but Grettir put off all blows strongly\nwith his arms, then some smote him with fire-brands, and the fire\nburst off over all the house, and therewith he got off with the fire\nand fared back again to his fellows.\n\nThey mightily praised his journey and the prowess of it, and said\nthat his like would never be. And now the night wore, and they deemed\nthemselves happy in that they had got the fire.\n\nThe next morning the weather was fair; the chapmen woke early and got\nthem ready to depart, and they talked together that now they should\nmeet those who had had the rule of that fire, and wot who they were.\n\nNow they unmoored their ship, and crossed over the sound; there they\nfound no hall, but saw a great heap of ashes, and found therein many\nbones of men; then they deemed that this house of refuge had been\nutterly burned up, with all those men who had been therein.\n\nThereat they asked if Grettir had brought about that ill-hap, and said\nthat it was the greatest misdeed.\n\nGrettir said, that now had come to pass even as he had misdoubted,\nthat they should reward him ill for the fetching of the fire, and that\nit was ill to help unmanly men.\n\nGrettir got such hurt of this, that the chapmen said, wheresoever they\ncame, that Grettir had burned those men. The news soon got abroad that\nin that house were lost the aforenamed sons of Thorir of Garth, and\ntheir fellows; then they drave Grettir from their ship and would not\nhave him with them; and now he became so ill looked on that scarce any\none would do good to him.\n\nNow he deemed that matters were utterly hopeless, but before all\nthings would go to meet the king, and so made north to Drontheim. The\nking was there before him, and knew all or ever Grettir came there,\nwho had been much slandered to the king. And Grettir was some days in\nthe town before he could get to meet the king.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XXXIX.\n\n<i>How Grettir would fain bear Iron before the King</i>.\n\n\nNow on a day when the king sat in council, Grettir went before the\nking and greeted him well. The king looked at him and said, \"Art thou\nGrettir the Strong?\"\n\nHe answered, \"So have I been called, and for that cause am I come to\nthee, that I hope from thee deliverance from the evil tale that is\nlaid on me, though I deem that I nowise wrought that deed.\"\n\nKing Olaf said, \"Thou art great enough, but I know not what luck thou\nmayest bear about to cast off this matter from thee; but it is like,\nindeed, that thou didst not willingly burn the men.\"\n\nGrettir said he was fain to put from him this slander, if the king\nthought he might do so; the king bade him tell truthfully, how it had\ngone betwixt him and those men: Grettir told him all, even as has been\nsaid before, and this withal, that they were all alive when he came\nout with the fire--\n\n\"And now I will offer to free myself in such wise as ye may deem will\nstand good in law therefor.\"\n\nOlaf the king said, \"We will grant thee to bear iron for this matter\nif thy luck will have it so.\"\n\nGrettir liked this exceeding well; and now took to fasting for the\niron; and so the time wore on till the day came whereas the trial\nshould come off; then went the king to the church, and the bishop and\nmuch folk, for many were eager to have a sight of Grettir, so much as\nhad been told of him.\n\nThen was Grettir led to the church, and when he came thither, many of\nthose who were there before gazed at him and said one to the other,\nthat he was little like to most folk, because of his strength and\ngreatness of growth.\n\nNow, as Grettir went up the church-floor, there started up a lad of\nripe growth, wondrous wild of look, and he said to Grettir--\n\n\"Marvellous is now the custom in this land, as men are called\nChristians therein, that ill-doers, and folk riotous, and thieves\nshall go their ways in peace and become free by trials; yea, and what\nwould the evil man do but save his life while he might? So here now\nis a misdoer, proven clearly a man of misdeeds, and has burnt sackless\nmen withal, and yet shall he, too, have a trial to free him; ah, a\nmighty ill custom!\"\n\nTherewith he went up to Grettir and pointed finger, and wagged head at\nhim, and called him mermaid's son, and many other ill names.\n\nGrettir grew wroth beyond measure hereat, and could not keep himself\nin; he lifted up his fist, and smote the lad under the ear, so that\nforthwith he fell down stunned, but some say that he was slain there\nand then. None seemed to know whence that lad came or what became\nof him, but men are mostly minded to think, that it was some unclean\nspirit, sent thither for Grettir's hurt.\n\nNow a great clamour rose in the church, and it was told the king, \"He\nwho should bear the iron is smiting all about him;\" then King Olaf\nwent down the church, and saw what was going on, and spake--\n\n\"A most unlucky man art thou,\" said he, \"that now the trial should not\nbe, as ready as all things were thereto, nor will it be easy to deal\nwith thine ill-luck.\"\n\nGrettir answered, \"I was minded that I should have gained more honour\nfrom thee, Lord, for the sake of my kin, than now seems like to be;\"\nand he told withal how men were faring to King Olaf, as was said\nafore, \"and now I am fain,\" said he, \"that thou wouldest take me to\nthee; thou hast here many men with thee, who will not be deemed more\nlike men-at-arms than I?\"\n\n\"That see I well,\" said the king, \"that few men are like unto thee for\nstrength and stoutness of heart, but thou art far too luckless a man\nto abide with us: now shall thou go in peace for me, wheresoever thou\nwilt, the winter long, but next summer go thou out to Iceland, for\nthere will it be thy fate to leave thy bones.\"\n\nGrettir answered, \"First would I put from me this affair of the\nburning, if I might, for I did not the deed willingly.\"\n\n\"It is most like,\" said the king; \"but yet, because the trial is now\ncome to nought for thy heedlessness' sake, thou will not get this\ncharge cast from thee more than now it is, <i>For ill-heed still to\nill doth lead</i>, and if ever man has been cursed, of all men must\nthou have been.\"\n\nSo Grettir dwelt a while in the town thereafter, but dealt no more\nwith the king than has been told.\n\nThen he fared into the south country, and was minded east for\nTunsberg, to find Thorstein Dromond, his brother, and there is nought\ntold of his travels till he came east to Jadar.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XL.\n\n<i>Of Grettir and Snoekoll</i>.\n\n\nAt yule came Grettir to a bonder who was called Einar, he was a rich\nman, and was married and had one daughter of marriageable age, who was\ncalled Gyrid; she was a fair woman, and was deemed a right good match;\nEinar bade Grettir abide with him through Yule, and that proffer he\ntook.\n\nThen was it the wont far and wide in Norway that woodmen and misdoers\nwould break out of the woods and challenge men for their women, or\nthey took away men's goods with violence, whereas they had not much\nhelp of men.\n\nNow it so befell here, that one day in Yule there came to Einar the\nbonder many ill-doers together, and he was called Snoekoll who was the\nhead of them, and a great bearserk he was. He challenged goodman Einar\nto give up his daughter, or to defend her, if he thought himself man\nenough thereto; but the bonder was then past his youth, and was no man\nfor fighting; he deemed he had a great trouble on his hands, and asked\nGrettir, in a whisper, what rede he would give thereto: \"Since thou\nart called a famous man.\" Grettir bade him say yea to those things\nalone, which he thought of no shame to him.\n\nThe bearserk sat on his horse, and had a helm on his head, but the\ncheek-pieces were not made fast; he had an iron-rimmed shield before\nhim, and went on in the most monstrous wise.\n\nNow he said to the bonder, \"Make one or other choice speedily, or what\ncounsel is that big churl giving thee who stands there before thee; is\nit not so that he will play with me?\"\n\nGrettir said, \"We are about equal herein, the bonder and I, for\nneither of us is skilled in arms.\"\n\nSnoekoll said, \"Ye will both of you be somewhat afraid to deal with\nme, if I grow wroth.\"\n\n\"That is known when it is tried,\" said Grettir.\n\nNow the bearserk saw that there was some edging out of the matter\ngoing on, and he began to roar aloud, and bit the rim of his shield,\nand thrust it up into his mouth, and gaped over the corner of the\nshield, and went on very madly. Grettir took a sweep along over the\nfield, and when he came alongside of the bearserk's horse, sent up\nhis foot under the tail of the shield so hard, that the shield went up\ninto the mouth of him, and his throat was riven asunder, and his jaws\nfell down on his breast. Then he wrought so that, all in one rush, he\ncaught hold of the helmet with his left hand, and swept the viking off\nhis horse; and with the other hand drew the short-sword that he was\ngirt withal, and drave it at his neck, so that off the head flew. But\nwhen Snoekoll's fellows saw that, they fled, each his own way, and\nGrettir had no mind to follow, for he saw there was no heart in them.\n\nThe bonder thanked him well for his work and many other men too; and\nthat deed was deemed to have been wrought both swiftly and hardily.\n\nGrettir was there through Yule, and the farmer saw him off handsomely:\nthen he went east to Tunsberg, and met his brother Thorstein; he\nreceived Grettir fondly, and asked of his travels and how he won the\nbearserk. Then Grettir sang a stave--\n\n  \"There the shield that men doth save\n  Mighty spurn with foot I gave.\n  Snoekoll's throat it smote aright,\n  The fierce follower of the fight,\n  And by mighty dint of it\n  Were the tofts of tooth-hedge split;\n  The strong spear-walk's iron rim,\n  Tore adown the jaws of him.\"\n\nThorstein said, \"Deft wouldst thou be at many things, kinsman, if\nmishaps went not therewith.\"\n\nGrettir answered, \"<i>Deeds done will be told of</i>.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XLI.\n\n<i>Of Thorstein Dromond's Arms, and what he deemed they might do</i>.\n\n\nNow Grettir was with Thorstein for the rest of the winter and on into\nthe spring; and it befell one morning, as those brothers, Thorstein\nand Grettir, lay in their sleeping-loft, that Grettir had laid his\narms outside the bed-clothes; and Thorstein was awake and saw it. Now\nGrettir woke up a little after, and then spake Thorstein:\n\n\"I have seen thine arms, kinsman,\" said he, \"and I deem it nowise\nwonderful, though thy strokes fall heavy on many, for no man's arms\nhave I seen like thine.\"\n\n\"Thou mayst know well enough,\" said Grettir, \"that I should not have\nbrought such things to pass as I have wrought, if I were not well\nknit.\"\n\n\"Better should I deem it,\" said Thorstein, \"if they were slenderer and\nsomewhat luckier withal.\"\n\nGrettir said, \"True it is, as folk say, <i>No man makes himself</i>;\nbut let me see thine arms,\" said he.\n\nThorstein did so; he was the longest and gauntest of men; and Grettir\nlaughed, and said,\n\n\"No need to look at that longer; hooked together are the ribs in thee;\nnor, methinks, have I ever seen such tongs as thou bearest about, and\nI deem thee to be scarce of a woman's strength.\"\n\n\"That may be,\" said Thorstein; \"yet shall thou know that these same\nthin arms shall avenge thee, else shall thou never be avenged; who may\nknow what shall be, when all is over and done?\"\n\nNo more is told of their talk together; the spring wore on, and\nGrettir took ship in the summer. The brothers parted in friendship,\nand saw each other never after.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XLII.\n\n<i>Of the Death of Asmund the Grey haired</i>.\n\n\nNow must the tale be taken up where it was left before, for Thorbiorn\nOxmain heard how Thorbiorn Tardy was slain, as aforesaid, and broke\nout into great wrath, and said it would please him well that <i>now\nthis and now that should have strokes in his garth</i>.\n\nAsmund the Greyhaired lay long sick that summer, and when he thought\nhis ailings drew closer on him, he called to him his kin, and said\nthat it was his will, that Atli should have charge of all his goods\nafter his day.\n\n\"But my mind misgives me,\" said Asmund, \"that thou mayst scarce sit\nquiet because of the iniquity of men, and I would that all ye of my\nkin should help him to the uttermost but of Grettir nought can I say,\nfor methinks overmuch on a whirling wheel his life turns; and though\nhe be a mighty man, yet I fear me that he will have to heed his own\ntroubles more than the helping of his kin: but Illugi, though he\nbe young, yet shall he become a man of prowess, if he keep himself\nwhole.\"\n\nSo, when Asmund had settled matters about his sons as he would, his\nsickness lay hard on him, and in a little while he died, and was laid\nin earth at Biarg; for there had he let make a church; but his death\nhis neighbours deemed a great loss.\n\nNow Atli became a mighty bonder, and had many with him, and was a\ngreat gatherer of household-stuff. When the summer was far gone, he\nwent out to Snowfellness to get him stockfish. He drave many horses,\nand rode from home to Meals in Ramfirth to Gamli his brother-in-law;\nand on this journey rode with him Grim Thorhallson, Gamli's brother,\nand another man withal. They rode west to Hawkdale Pass, and so on,\nas the road lay west to Ness: there they bought much stockfish, and\nloaded seven horses therewith, and turned homeward when they were\nready.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XLIII.\n\n<i>The Onset on Atli at the Pass and the Slaying of Gunnar and\nThorgeir</i>.\n\n\nThorbiorn Oxmain heard that Atli and Grim were on a journey from home,\nand there were with him the sons of Thorir from the Pass, Gunnar and\nThorgeir. Now Thorbiorn envied Atli for his many friendships, and\ntherefore he egged on the two brothers, the sons of Thorir, to way-lay\nAtli as he came back from the outer ness. Then they rode home to the\nPass, and abode there till Atli and his fellows went by with their\ntrain; but when they came as far as the homestead at the Pass, their\nriding was seen, and those brothers brake out swiftly with their\nhouse-carles and rode after them; but when Atli and his folk saw their\nfaring, Atli bade them take the loads from the horses, \"for perchance\nthey will give me atonement for my house-carle, whom Gunnar slew last\nsummer. Let us not begin the work, but defend ourselves if they be\nfirst to raise strife with us.\"\n\nNow the brothers came up and leaped off their horses. Atli welcomed\nthem, and asked for tidings: \"Perchance, Gunnar, thou wilt give me\nsome atonement for my house-carle.\"\n\nGunnar answered, \"Something else is your due, men of Biarg, than that\nI should lay down aught good therefor; yea, atonement is due withal\nfor the slaying of Thorbiorn, whom Grettir slew.\"\n\n\"It is not for me to answer thereto,\" said Atli; \"nor art thou a\nsuitor in that case.\"\n\nGunnar said he would stand in that stead none-the-less. \"Come, let us\nset on them, and make much of it, that Grettir is not nigh them now.\"\n\nThen they ran at Atli, eight of them altogether, but Atli and his folk\nwere six.\n\nAtli went before his men, and drew the sword, Jokul's gift, which\nGrettir had given him.\n\nThen said Thorgeir, \"Many like ways have those who deem themselves\ngood; high aloft did Grettir bear his short-sword last summer on the\nRamfirth-neck.\"\n\nAtli answered, \"Yea, he is more wont to deal in great deeds than I.\"\n\nThereafter they fought; Gunnar set on Atli exceeding fiercely, and was\nof the maddest; and when they had fought awhile, Atli said,\n\n\"No fame there is in thus killing workmen each for the other; more\nseeming it is that we ourselves play together, for never have I fought\nwith weapons till now.\"\n\nGunnar would not have it so, but Atli bade his house-carles look to\nthe burdens; \"But I will see what these will do herein.\"\n\nThen he went forward so mightily that Gunnar and his folk shrunk\nback before him, and he slew two of the men of those brothers, and\nthereafter turned to meet Gunnar, and smote at him, so that the shield\nwas cleft asunder almost below the handle, and the stroke fell on his\nleg below the knee, and then he smote at him again, and that was his\nbane.\n\nNow is it to be told of Grim Thorhallson that he went against\nThorgeir, and they strove together long, for each was a hardy man.\nThorgeir saw the fall of his brother Gunnar, and was fain to draw off.\nGrim ran after him, and followed him till Thorgeir stumbled, and\nfell face foremost; then Grim smote at him with an axe betwixt the\nshoulders, so that it stood deep sunken therein.\n\nThen they gave peace to three of their followers who were left; and\nthereafter they bound up their wounds, and laid the burdens on the\nhorses, and then fared home, and made these man-slayings known.\n\nAtli sat at home with many men through the winter. Thorbiorn Oxmain\ntook these doings exceedingly ill, but could do naught therein because\nAtli was a man well befriended. Grim was with him through the winter,\nand Gamli, his brother-in-law; and there was Glum, son of Uspak,\nanother kinsman-in-law of his, who at that time dwelt at Ere in Bitra.\nThey had many men dwelling at Biarg, and great mirth was thereat\nthrough the winter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XLIV.\n\n<i>The Suit for the Slaying of the Sons of Thorir of the Pass</i>.\n\n\nThorbiorn Oxmain took on himself the suit for the slaying of the sons\nof Thorir of the Pass. He made ready a suit against Grim and Atli,\nbut they set forth for their defence onset and attack, to make those\nbrothers fall unatoned. The suit was brought to the Hunawater Thing,\nand men came thronging to both sides. Atli had good help because he\nwas exceeding strong of kin.\n\nNow the friends of both stood forth and talked of peace, and all\nsaid that Atli's ways were good, a peaceful man, but stout in danger\nnone-the-less.\n\nNow Thorbiorn deemed that by nought would his honour be served better\nthan by taking the peace offered. Atli laid down before-hand that he\nwould have neither district outlawry nor banishment.\n\nThen were men chosen for the judges. Thorvald, son of Asgeir, on\nAtli's side, and on Thorbiorn's, Solvi the Proud, who was the son of\nAsbrand, the son of Thorbrand, the son of Harald Ring, who had settled\nall Waterness from the Foreland up to Bond-maids River on the west,\nbut on the east all up to Cross-river, and there right across to\nBerg-ridge, and all on that side of the Bergs down to the sea:\nthis Solvi was a man of great stateliness and a wise man, therefore\nThorbiorn chose him to be judge on his behoof.\n\nNow they set forth their judgment, that half-fines should be paid for\nthe sons of Thorir, but half fell away because of the onslaught and\nattack, and attempt on Atli's life, the slaying of Atli's house-carle,\nwho was slain on Ramfirth-neck, and the slaying of those twain who\nfell with the sons of Thorir were set off one against the other. Grim\nThorhallson should leave dwelling in the district, but Atli alone\nshould pay the money atonement.\n\nThis peace pleased Atli much, but Thorbiorn misliked it, but they\nparted appeased, as far as words went; howsoever it fell from\nThorbiorn that their dealings would not be made an end of yet, if\nthings went as he would.\n\nBut Atli rode home from the Thing, and thanked Thorvald well for his\naid. Grim Thorhallson went south to Burgfirth, and dwelt at Gilsbank,\nand was a great bonder.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XLV.\n\n<i>Of the Slaying of Atli Asmundson</i>.\n\n\nThere was a man with Thorbiorn Oxmain who was called Ali; he was a\nhouse-carle, a somewhat lazy and unruly man.\n\nThorbiorn bade him work better, or he would beat him. Ali said he had\nno list thereto, and was beyond measure worrying. Thorbiorn would not\nabide it, and drave him under him, and handled him hardly. Then Ali\nwent off from his service, and fared over the Neck to Midfirth,\nand made no stay till he came to Biarg. Atli was at home, and asked\nwhither he went. He said that he sought service.\n\n\"Art thou not Thorbiorn's workman?\" said Atli.\n\n\"That did not go off so pleasantly,\" said Ali; \"I was not there long,\nand evil I deemed it while I was there, and we parted, so that I\ndeemed his song about my throat nowise sweet; and I will go to dwell\nthere no more, whatso else may hap to me; and true it is that much\nunlike ye are in the luck ye have with servants, and now I would fain\nwork with thee if I might have the choice.\"\n\nAtli answered, \"Enough I have of workmen, though I reach not out to\nThorbiorn's hands for such men as he has hired, and methinks there is\nno gain in thee, so go back to him.\"\n\nAli said, \"Thither I go not of my own free-will.\"\n\nAnd now he dwells there awhile; but one morning he went out to\nwork with Atli's house-carles, and worked so that his hands were\neverywhere, and thus he went on till far into summer. Atli said nought\nto him, but bade give him meat, for he liked his working well.\n\nNow Thorbiorn hears that Ali is at Biarg; then he rode to Biarg with\ntwo men, and called out Atli to talk with him. Atli went out and\nwelcomed him.\n\nThorbiorn said, \"Still wilt thou take up afresh ill-will against me,\nand trouble me, Atli. Why hast thou taken my workman? Wrongfully is\nthis done.\"\n\nAtli answered, \"It is not proven to me that he is thy workman, nor\nwill I withhold him from thee, if thou showest proofs thereof, yet am\nI loth to drag him out of my house.\"\n\n\"Thou must have thy will now,\" said Thorbiorn; \"but I claim the man,\nand forbid him to work here; and I will come again another time, and I\nknow not if we shall then part better friends than now.\"\n\nAtli said, \"I shall abide at home, and take what may come to hand.\"\n\nThen Thorbiorn rode home; but when the workmen come home in the\nevening, Atli tells all the talk betwixt him and Thorbiorn, and bids\nAli go his way, and said he should not abide there longer.\n\nAli answered, \"True is the old saw, <i>over-praised and first to\nfail</i>. I deemed not that thou wouldst drive me away after I had\ntoiled here all the summer enough to break my heart, and I hoped that\nthou wouldst stand up for me somehow; but this is the way of you,\nthough ye look as if good might be hoped from you. I shall be beaten\nhere before thine eyes if thou givest me not some defence or help.\"\n\nAtli altered his mind at this talk of his, and had no heart now to\ndrive him away from him.\n\nNow the time wore, till men began hay-harvest, and one day, somewhat\nbefore midsummer, Thorbiorn Oxmain rode to Biarg, he was so attired\nthat he had a helm on his head, and was girt with a sword, and had a\nspear in his hand. A barbed spear it was, and the barbs were broad.\n\nIt was wet abroad that day. Atli had sent his house-carles to the\nmowing, but some of them were north at Horn a-fishing. Atli was at\nhome, and few other men.\n\nThorbiorn came there about high-noon; alone he was, and rode up to\nthe outer door; the door was locked, and no men were abroad. Thorbiorn\nsmote on the door, and then drew aback behind the houses, so that none\nmight see him from the door. The home-folk heard that the door was\nknocked at, and a woman went out. Thorbiorn had an inkling of the\nwoman, and would not let himself be seen, for he had a mind to do\nsomething else.\n\nNow the woman went into the chamber, and Atli asked who was come\nthere. She said, \"I have seen nought stirring abroad.\" And even as\nthey spake Thorbiorn let drive a great stroke on the door.\n\nThen said Atli, \"This one would see me, and he must have some errand\nwith me, whatever may be the gain thereof to me.\"\n\nThen he went forth and out of the door, and saw no one without.\nExceeding wet it was, therefore he went not out, but laid a hand on\neither door-post, and so peered about him.\n\nIn that point of time Thorbiorn swung round before the door, and\nthrust the spear with both hands amidst of Atli, so that it pierced\nhim through.\n\nThen said Atli, when he got the thrust, \"<i>Broad spears are about\nnow</i>,\" says he, and fell forward over the threshold.\n\nThen came out women who had been in the chamber, and saw that Atli was\ndead. By then was Thorbiorn on horseback, and he gave out the slaying\nas having been done by his hand, and thereafter rode home.\n\nThe goodwife Asdis sent for her men, and Atli's corpse was laid out,\nand he was buried beside his father. Great mourning folk made for his\ndeath, for he had been a wise man, and of many friends.\n\nNo weregild came for the slaying of Atli, nor did any claim atonement\nfor him, because Grettir had the blood-suit to take up if he should\ncome out; so these matters stood still for that summer. Thorbiorn\nwas little thanked for that deed of his; but he sat at peace in his\nhomestead.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XLVI.\n\n<i>Grettir outlawed at the Thing at the Suit of Thorir of Garth</i>.\n\n\nThis summer, whereof the tale was telling e'en now, a ship came out\nto Goose-ere before the Thing. Then was the news told of Grettir's\ntravels, and therewithal men spake of that house-burning; and at that\nstory was Thorir of Garth mad wroth, and deemed that there whereas\nGrettir was he had to look for vengeance for his sons. He rode with\nmany men and set forth at the Thing the case for the burning, but\nmen deemed they knew nought to say therein, while there was none to\nanswer.\n\nThorir said that he would have nought, but that Grettir should be made\nan outlaw throughout the land for such misdeeds.\n\nThen answered Skapti the Lawman, \"Surely an ill deed it is, if things\nare as is said; but a tale is half told if one man tells it, for most\nfolk are readiest to bring their stories to the worser side when there\nare two ways of telling them; now, therefore, I shall not give my word\nthat Grettir be made guilty for this that has been done.\"\n\nNow Thorir was a man of might in his district and a great chief, and\nwell befriended of many great men; and he pushed on matters so hard\nthat nought could avail to acquit Grettir; and so this Thorir made\nGrettir an outlaw throughout all the land, and was ever thenceforth\nthe heaviest of all his foes, as things would oft show.\n\nNow he put a price on his head, as was wont to be done with other\nwood-folk, and thereafter rode home.\n\nMany men got saying that this was done rather by the high hand than\naccording to law; but so it stood as it was done; and now nought else\nhapped to tell of till past midsummer.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XLVII.\n\n<i>Grettir comes out to Iceland again</i>.\n\n\nWhen summer was far spent came Grettir Asmundson out to Whiteriver\nin Burgfirth; folk went down to the ship from thereabout, and these\ntidings came all at once to Grettir; the first, that his father was\ndead, the second, that his brother was slain, the third, that he\nhimself was made an outlaw throughout all the land. Then sang Grettir\nthis stave:--\n\n  \"Heavy tidings thick and fast\n  On the singer now are cast;\n  My father dead, my brother dead,\n  A price set upon my head;\n  Yet, O grove of Hedin's maid,\n  May these things one day be paid;\n  Yea upon another morn\n  Others may be more forlorn.\"\n\nSo men say that Grettir changed nowise at these tidings, but was even\nas merry as before.\n\nNow he abode with the ship awhile, because he could get no horse to\nhis mind. But there was a man called Svein, who dwelt at Bank up from\nThingness, he was a good bonder and a merry man, and often sang such\nsongs as were gamesome to hear; he had a mare black to behold, the\nswiftest of all horses, and her Svein called Saddle-fair.\n\nNow Grettir went one night away from the wolds, but he would not that\nthe chapmen should be ware of his ways; he got a black cape, and threw\nit over his clothes, and so was disguised; he went up past Thingness,\nand so up to Bank, and by then it was daylight. He saw a black horse\nin the homefield and went up to it, and laid bridle on it, leapt on\nthe back of it, and rode up along Whiteriver, and below Bye up to\nFlokedale-river, and then up the tracks above Kalfness; the workmen\nat Bank got up now and told the bonder of the man who had got on his\nmare; he got up and laughed, and sang--\n\n  \"One that helm-fire well can wield\n  Rode off from my well-fenced field,\n  Helm-stalk stole away from me\n  Saddle-fair, the swift to see;\n  Certes, more great deeds this Frey\n  Yet shall do in such-like way\n  As this was done; I deem him then\n  Most overbold and rash of men.\"\n\nThen he took horse and rode after him; Grettir rode on till he came\nup to the homestead at Kropp; there he met a man called Hall, who\nsaid that he was going down to the ship at the Wolds; Grettir sang a\nstave--\n\n  \"In broad-peopled lands say thou\n  That thou sawest even now\n  Unto Kropp-farm's gate anigh,\n  Saddle-fair and Elm-stalk high;\n  That thou sawest stiff on steed\n  (Get thee gone at greatest speed),\n  One who loveth game and play\n  Clad in cape of black to-day.\"\n\nThen they part, and Hall went down the track and all the way down to\nKalfness, before Svein met him; they greeted one another hastily, then\nsang Svein--\n\n  \"Sawest thou him who did me harm\n  On my horse by yonder farm?\n  Even such an one was he,\n  Sluggish yet a thief to see;\n  From the neighbours presently\n  Doom of thief shall he abye\n  And a blue skin shall he wear,\n  If his back I come anear.\"\n\n\"That thou mayst yet do,\" said Hall, \"I saw that man who said that he\nrode on Saddle-fair, and bade me tell it over the peopled lands and\nsettlements; great of growth he was, and was clad in a black cape.\"\n\n\"He deems he has something to fall back on,\" said the bonder, \"but I\nshall ride after him and find out who he is.\"\n\nNow Grettir came to Deildar-Tongue, and there was a woman without the\ndoor; Grettir went up to talk to her, and sang this stave--\n\n  \"Say to guard of deep-sea's flame\n  That here worm-land's haunter came;\n  Well-born goddess of red gold,\n  Thus let gamesome rhyme be told.\n  'Giver forth of Odin's mead\n  Of thy black mare have I need;\n  For to Gilsbank will I ride,\n  Meed of my rash words to bide.'\"\n\nThe woman learned this song, and thereafter Grettir rode on his way;\nSvein came there a little after, and she was not yet gone in, and as\nhe came he sang this--\n\n  \"What foreteller of spear-shower\n  E'en within this nigh-passed hour,\n  Swift through the rough weather rode\n  Past the gate of this abode?\n  He, the hound-eyed reckless one,\n  By all good deeds left alone,\n  Surely long upon this day\n  From my hands will flee away.\"\n\nThen she told him what she had been bidden to; he thought over the\nditty, and said, \"It is not unlike that he will be no man to play\nwith; natheless, I will find him out.\"\n\nNow he rode along the peopled lands, and each man ever saw the other's\nriding; and the weather was both squally and wet.\n\nGrettir came to Gilsbank that day, and when Grim Thorhallson knew\nthereof, he welcomed him with great joy, and bade him abide with him.\nThis Grettir agreed to; then he let loose Saddle-fair, and told Grim\nhow she had been come by. Therewith came Svein, and leapt from his\nhorse, and saw his own mare, and sang this withal--\n\n  \"Who rode on my mare away?\n  What is that which thou wilt pay?\n  Who a greater theft has seen?\n  What does the cowl-covered mean?\"\n\nGrettir by then had doft his wet clothes, and he heard the stave, and\nanswered--\n\n  \"I did ride thy mare to Grim\n  (Thou art feeble weighed with him),\n  Little will I pay to thee,\n  Yet good fellows let us be.\"\n\n\"Well, so be it then,\" said the farmer, \"and the ride is well paid\nfor.\"\n\nThen each sang his own songs, and Grettir said he had no fault to\nfind, though he failed to hold his own; the bonder was there that\nnight, and the twain of them together, and great game they made of\nthis: and they called all this Saddle-fair's lays. Next morning the\nbonder rode home, and he and Grettir parted good friends.\n\nNow Grim told Grettir of many things from the north and Midfirth,\nthat had befallen while he was abroad, and this withal, that Atli was\nunatoned, and how that Thorbiorn Oxmain waxed so great, and was so\nhigh-handed, that it was not sure that goodwife Asdis might abide at\nBiarg if matters still went so.\n\nGrettir abode but few nights with Grim, for he was fain that no news\nshould go before him north over the Heaths. Grim bade him come thither\nif he should have any need of safeguard.\n\n\"Yet shall I shun being made guilty in law for the harbouring of\nthee.\"\n\nGrettir said he did well. \"But it is more like that later on I may\nneed thy good deed more.\"\n\nNow Grettir rode north over Twodaysway, and so to Biarg, and came\nthere in the dead of night, when all folk were asleep save his mother.\nHe went in by the back of the house and through a door that was there,\nfor the ways of the house were well known to him, and came to the\nhall, and got to his mother's bed, and groped about before him.\n\nShe asked who was there, and Grettir told her; then she sat up and\nkissed him, and sighed withal, heavily, and spake, \"Be welcome; son,\"\nshe said, \"but my joyance in my sons is slipping from me; for he is\nslain who was of most avail, and thou art made an outlaw and a guilty\nman, and the third is so young; that he may do nought for me.\"\n\n\"An old saw it is,\" said Grettir, \"<i>Even so shall bale be bettered,\nby biding greater bale</i>; but there are more things to be thought of\nby men than money atonements alone, and most like it is that Atli will\nbe avenged; but as to things that may fall to me, many must even take\ntheir lot at my hand in dealing with me, and like it as they may.\"\n\nShe said that was not unlike. And now Grettir was there a while with\nthe knowledge of few folk; and he had news of the doings of the folk\nof the country-side; and men knew not that Grettir was come into\nMidfirth: but he heard that Thorbiorn Oxmain was at home with few men;\nand that was after the homefield hay-harvest.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XLVIII.\n\n<i>The Slaying of Thorbiorn Oxmain</i>.\n\n\nOn a fair day Grettir rode west over the Necks to Thorodstead, and\ncame there about noon, and knocked at the door; women came out and\nwelcomed him, but knew him not; he asked for Thorbiorn, but they said\nhe was gone to the meadow to bind hay, and with him his son of sixteen\nwinters, who was called Arnor; for Thorbiorn was a very busy man, and\nwell-nigh never idle.\n\nSo when Grettir knew this, he bade them well betide, and went his\nway on the road toward Reeks, there a marsh stretches down from the\nhill-side, and on it was much grass to mow, and much hay had Thorbiorn\nmade there, and now it was fully dry, and he was minded to bind it up\nfor home, he and the lad with him, but a woman did the raking.\n\nNow Grettir rode from below up into the field, but the father and\nson were higher up, and had bound one load, and were now at another;\nThorbiorn had set his shield and sword against the load, and the lad\nhad a hand-axe beside him.\n\nNow Thorbiorn saw a man coming, and said to the lad, \"Yonder is a man\nriding toward us, let us leave binding the hay, and know what he will\nwith us.\"\n\nSo did they, and Grettir leapt off his horse; he had a helm on his\nhead, and was girt with the short-sword, and bore a great spear in his\nhand, a spear without barbs, and the socket inlaid with silver. Now\nhe sat down and knocked out the socket-nail, because he would not that\nThorbiorn should cast the spear back.\n\nThen said Thorbiorn, \"He is a big man, and no man in field know I, if\nthat is not Grettir Asmundson, and he must needs think he has enough\nagainst us; so let us meet him sharply, and let him see no signs of\nfailing in us. We shall deal cunningly; for I will go against him in\nfront, and take thou heed how matters go betwixt us, for I will trust\nmyself against any man if I have one alone to meet; but do thou\ngo behind him, and drive the axe at him with both hands atwixt his\nshoulders; thou needest not fear that he will do thee hurt, as his\nback will be turned to thee.\"\n\nNeither Thorbiorn nor his son had a helm.\n\nNow Grettir got into the mead, and when he came within spear-throw of\nthem, he cast his spear at Thorbiorn, but the head was looser on the\nshaft than he deemed it would be, and it swerved in its flight, and\nfell down from the shaft to the earth: then Thorbiorn took his shield,\nand put it before him, but drew his sword and went against Grettir\nwhen he knew him; then Grettir drew his short-sword, and turned about\nsomewhat, so that he saw how the lad stood at his back, wherefore he\nkept himself free to move here or there, till he saw that the lad was\ncome within reach of him, and therewith he raised the short-sword\nhigh aloft, and sent it back against Arnor's head so mightily that the\nskull was shattered, and that was his bane. Then Thorbiorn ran against\nGrettir and smote at him, but he thrust forth his buckler with his\nleft hand, and put the blow from him, and smote with the short-sword\nwithal, and cleft the shield of Thorbiorn, and the short-sword smote\nso hard into his head that it went even unto the brain, and he fell\ndead to earth beneath that stroke, nor did Grettir give him any other\nwound.\n\nThen he sought for his spear-head, and found it not; so he went to his\nhorse and rode out to Reeks, and there told of the slayings. Withal\nthe woman who was in the meadow saw the slayings, and ran home full of\nfear, and said that Thorbiorn was slain, and his son both; this took\nthose of the house utterly unawares, for they knew nought of Grettir's\ntravelling. So were men sent for to the next homestead, and soon came\nmany folk, and brought the bodies to church. Thorod Drapa-Stump took\nup the blood-suit for these slayings and had folk a-field forthwith.\n\nBut Grettir rode home to Biarg, and found his mother, and told her\nwhat had happed; and she was glad thereat, and said that now he got to\nbe like unto the Waterdale kin. \"Yet will this be the root and stem of\nthine outlawry, and I know for sooth that thou mayest not abide here\nlong because of the kin of Thorbiorn; but now may they know that thou\nmayest be angered.\"\n\nGrettir sang this stave thereupon--\n\n  \"Giant's friend fell dead to earth\n  On the grass of Wetherfirth,\n  No fierce fighting would avail,\n  Oxmain in the Odin's gale.\n  So, and in no other wise,\n  Has been paid a fitting price\n  For that Atli, who of yore,\n  Lay dead-slain anigh his door.\"\n\nGoodwife Asdis said that was true; \"But I know not what rede thou art\nminded to take?\"\n\nGrettir said that he would seek help of his friends and kin in the\nwest; \"But on thee shall no trouble fall for my sake,\" said he.\n\nSo he made ready to go, and mother and son parted in love; but first\nhe went to Meals in Ramfirth, and told Gamli his brother-in-law all,\neven as it had happed, concerning the slaying of Thorbiorn.\n\nGamli told him he must needs depart from Ramfirth while Thorbiorn's\nkin had their folk about; \"But our aid in the suit for Atli's slaying\nwe shall yield thee as we may.\"\n\nSo thereafter Grettir rode west over Laxdale-heath, and stayed not\ntill he came to Liarskogar to Thorstein Kuggson, where he dwelt long\nthat autumn.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XLIX.\n\n<i>The gathering to avenge Thorbiorn Oxmain</i>.\n\n\nThorod Drapa-Stump sought tidings of this who might have slain\nThorbiorn and his son, and when he came to Reeks, it was told him that\nGrettir had been there and given out the slayings as from his hand.\nNow, Thorod deemed he saw how things had come to pass; so he went to\nBiarg, and there found many folk, but he asked if Grettir were there.\n\nThe goodwife said he had ridden away, and that she would not slip him\ninto hiding-places if he were there.\n\n\"Now ye will be well pleased that matters have so been wrought; nor\nwas the slaying of Atli over-avenged, though this was paid for it.\nYe asked not then what grief of heart I had; and now, too, it is well\nthat things are even so.\"\n\nTherewith they rode home, and found it not easy to do aught therein.\n\nNow that spear-head which Grettir lost was not found till within the\nmemory of men living now; it was found in the latter days of Sturla\nThordson the lawman, and in that marsh where Thorbiorn fell, which is\nnow called Spear-mead; and that sign men have to show that Thorbiorn\nwas slain there, though in some places it is said that he was slain on\nMidfit.\n\nThorod and his kin heard that Grettir abode at Liarskogar; then they\ngathered men, and were minded to go thither; but when Gamli of Meals\nwas ware thereof, he made Thorstein and Grettir sure of the farings\nof the Ramfirthers; and when Thorstein knew it, he sent Grettir in to\nTongue to Snorri Godi, for then there was no strife between them, and\nThorstein gave that counsel to Grettir that he should pray Snorri the\nGodi for his watch and ward; but if he would not grant it, he made\nGrettir go west to Reek-knolls to Thorgils Arisen, \"and he will take\nthee to him through this winter, and keep within the Westfirths till\nthese matters are settled.\"\n\nGrettir said he would take good heed to his counsels; then he rode\ninto Tongue, and found Snorri the Godi, and talked with him, and\nprayed him to take him in.\n\nSnorri answered, \"I grow an old man now, and loth am I to harbour\noutlawed men if no need drive me thereto. What has come to pass that\nthe elder put thee off from him?\"\n\nGrettir said that Thorstein had often done well to him; \"But more\nshall I need than him alone, if things are to go well.\"\n\nSaid Snorri, \"My good word I shall put in for thee if that may avail\nthee aught, but in some other place than with me must thou seek a\ndwelling.\"\n\nWith these words they parted, and Grettir turned west to Reekness;\nthe Ramfirthers with their band got as far as Samstead, and there they\nheard that Grettir had departed from Liarskogar, and thereat they went\nback home.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. L.\n\n<i>Grettir and the Foster-brothers at Reek-knolls</i>.\n\n\nNow Grettir came to Reek-knolls about winter-nights, and prayed\nThorgils for winter abode; Thorgils said, that for him as for other\nfree men meat was ready; \"but the fare of guests here is nowise\nchoice.\" Grettir said he was not nice about that.\n\n\"There is yet another thing here for thy trouble,\" said Thorgils:\n\"Men are minded to harbour here, who are deemed somewhat hard to keep\nquiet, even as those foster-brothers, Thorgeir and Thormod; I wot not\nhow meet it may be for you to be together; but their dwelling shall\never be here if they will it so: now mayst thou abide here if thou\nwilt, but I will not have it that either of you make strife with the\nother.\"\n\nGrettir said he would not be the first to raise strife with any man,\nand so much the less as the bonder's will was such.\n\nA little after came those foster-brothers home; things went not\nmerrily betwixt Thorgeir and Grettir, but Thormod bore himself well.\nGoodman Thorgils said to the foster-brothers even as he had said\nto Grettir; and of such worth they held him, that neither cast an\nuntoward word at the other although their minds went nowise the same\nway: and so wore the early winter.\n\nNow men say that Thorgils owned those isles, which are called\nOlaf's-isles, and lie out in the firth a sea-mile and a half off\nReekness; there had bonder Thorgils a good ox that he might not fetch\nhome in the autumn; and he was ever saying that he would fain have him\nagainst Yule. Now, one day those foster-brothers got ready to seek the\nox, if a third man could be gotten to their aid: Grettir offered to go\nwith them, and they were well pleased thereat; they went, the three of\nthem, in a ten-oared boat: the weather was cold, and the wind shifting\nfrom the north, and the craft lay up on Whaleshead-holm.\n\nNow they sail out, and somewhat the wind got up, but they came to the\nisle and got hold of the ox; then asked Grettir which they would do,\nbear the ox aboard or keep hold of the craft, because the surf at\nthe isle was great; then they bade him hold the boat; so he stood\namidships on that side which looked from shore, and the sea took him\nup to the shoulder-blades, yet he held her so that she moved nowise:\nbut Thorgeir took the ox behind and Thormod before, and so hove it\ndown to the boat; then they sat down to row, and Thormod rowed in the\nbows, Thorgeir amidships, and Grettir aft, and therewith they made out\ninto the open bay; but when they came off Goat-rock, a squall caught\nthem, then said Thorgeir, \"The stern is fain to lag behind.\"\n\nThen said Grettir, \"The stern will not be left if the rowing afore be\ngood.\"\n\nThereat Thorgeir fell to rowing so hard that both the tholes were\nbroken: then said he, \"Row on, Grettir, while I mend the thole-pins.\"\n\nThen Grettir pulled mightily while Thorgeir did his mending, but when\nThorgeir took to rowing again, the oars had got so worn that Grettir\nshook them asunder on the gunwale.\n\n\"Better,\" quoth Thormod, \"to row less and break nought.\"\n\nThen Grettir caught up two unshapen oar beams that lay in the boat and\nbored large holes in the gunwales, and rowed withal so mightily\nthat every beam creaked, but whereas the craft was good, and the men\nsomewhat of the brisker sort, they reached Whaleshead-holm.\n\nThen Grettir asked whether they would rather go home with the ox or\nhaul up the boat; they chose to haul up the boat, and hauled it up\nwith all the sea that was in it, and all the ice, for it was much\ncovered with icicles: but Grettir led home the ox, and exceeding stiff\nin tow he was, and very fat, and he grew very weary, and when they\ncame up below Titling-stead could go no more.\n\nThe foster-brothers went up to the house, for neither would help the\nother in his allotted work; Thorgils asked after Grettir, but they\ntold him where they had parted; then he sent men to meet him, and when\nthey came down to Cave-knolls they saw how there came towards them a\nman with a neat on his back, and lo, there was Grettir come, bearing\nthe ox: then all men wondered at his great might.\n\nNow Thorgeir got very envious of Grettir's strength, and one day\nsomewhat after Yule, Grettir went alone to bathe; Thorgeir knew\nthereof, and said to Thormod, \"Let us go on now, and try how Grettir\nwill start if I set on him as he comes from his bathing.\"\n\n\"That is not my mind,\" said Thormod, \"and no good wilt thou get from\nhim.\"\n\n\"I will go though,\" says Thorgeir; and therewith he went down to the\nslope, and bore aloft an axe.\n\nBy then was Grettir walking up from the bath, and when they met,\nThorgeir said; \"Is it true, Grettir,\" says he, \"that thou hast said so\nmuch as that thou wouldst never run before one man?\"\n\n\"That I know not for sure,\" said Grettir, \"yet but a little way have I\nrun before thee.\"\n\nThorgeir raised aloft the axe, but therewith Grettir ran in under\nThorgeir and gave him an exceeding great fall: then said Thorgeir to\nThormod, \"Wilt thou stand by and see this fiend drive me down under\nhim?\"\n\nThormod caught hold of Grettir's feet, and was minded to pull him\nfrom off Thorgeir, but could do nought thereat: he was girt with a\nshort-sword and was going to draw it, when goodman Thorgils came up\nand bade them be quiet and have nought to do with Grettir.\n\nSo did they and turned it all to game, and no more is told of their\ndealings; and men thought Thorgils had great luck in that he kept such\nreckless men in good peace.\n\nBut when spring came they all went away; Grettir went round to\nCodfirth, and he was asked, how he liked the fare of the winter abode\nat Reek-knolls; he answered, \"There have I ever been as fain as might\nbe of my meals when I got at them.\"\n\nThereafter he went west over the heaths.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LI.\n\n<i>Of the suit for the Slaying of Thorbiorn Oxmain, and how Thorir of\nGarth would not that Grettir should be made sackless</i>.\n\n\nThorgils Arison rode to the Thing with many men; and thither came all\nthe great men of the land. Now Thorgils and Skapti the Lawman soon\nmet, and fell to talking.\n\nThen said Skapti, \"Is it true, Thorgils, that thou hast harboured\nthose three men through the winter who are deemed to be the wildest of\nall men; yea, and all of them outlawed withal, and yet hast kept them\nso quiet, that no one of them has done hurt to the other?\"\n\nThorgils said it was true enough.\n\nSkapti said that great might over men it showed forth in him; \"But how\ngoes it, thinkest thou, with the temper of each of them; and which of\nthem thinkest thou the bravest man?\"\n\nThorgils said, \"I deem they are all of them full stout of heart; but\ntwo of them I deem know what fear is, and yet in unlike ways; for\nThormod is a great believer and fears God much; but Grettir is so\nfearsome in the dark, that he dares go nowhither after dusk has set\nin, if he may do after his own mind. But my kinsman Thorgeir I deem\nknows not how to fear.\"\n\n\"Yea, so it is with their minds as thou sayest,\" said Skapti; and with\nthat they left talking.\n\nNow, at this Althing Thorod Drapa-Stump brought forward a suit for the\nslaying of Thorbiorn Oxmain, which he had not brought to a hearing at\nthe Hunawater Thing, because of the kin of Atli, and he deemed that\nhere his case would be less like to be thrown over. The kinsmen of\nAtli sought counsel of Skapti about the case; and he said he saw in\nit a lawful defence, so that full atonement would be forthcoming\ntherefor. Then were these matters laid unto umpiredom, and most men\nwere minded that the slayings of Atli and Thorbiorn should be set one\nagainst the other.\n\nBut when Skapti knew that, he went to the judges, and asked whence\nthey had that? They said that they deemed the slain men were bonders\nof equal worth.\n\nThen Skapti asked, which was the first, the outlawry of Grettir or\nthe slaying of Atli? So, when that was reckoned up, there was a week's\nspace betwixt Grettir's outlawry at the Althing and the slaying of\nAtli, which befell just after it.\n\nThen said Skapti, \"Thereof my mind misgave me, that ye had made an\noversight in setting on foot the suit in that ye made him a suitor,\nwho was outlawed already, and could neither defend nor prosecute his\nown case. Now I say that Grettir has nought to do with the case of the\nslaying, but let him take up the blood-suit, who is nighest of kin by\nlaw.\"\n\nThen said Thorod Drapa-Stump, \"And who shall answer for the slaying of\nThorbiorn my brother?\"\n\n\"See ye to that for yourselves,\" said Skapti; \"but the kin of Grettir\nwill never pour out fee for him or his works, if no peace is to be\nbought for him.\"\n\nNow when Thorvald Asgeirson was aware that Grettir was set aside from\nfollowing the blood-suit, he and his sought concerning who was the\nnext of kin; and that turned out to be Skeggi, son of Gamli of\nMeals, and Uspak, son of Glum of Ere in Bitra; they were both of them\nexceeding zealous and pushing.\n\nNow must Thorod give atonement for Atli's slaying, and two hundreds in\nsilver he had to pay.\n\nThen spake Snorri the Godi, \"Will ye now, Ramfirthers,\" says he, \"that\nthis money-fine should fall away, and that Grettir be made sackless\nwithal, for in my mind it is that as a guilty man he will be sorely\nfelt?\"\n\nGrettir's kin took up his word well, and said that they heeded the\nfee nought if he might have peace and freedom. Thorod said that he saw\nGrettir's lot would be full of heavy trouble, and made as if he would\ntake the offer, for his part. Then Snorri bade them first know if\nThorir of Garth would give his leave to Grettir being made free; but\nwhen Thorir heard thereof he turned away exceeding wroth, and said\nthat Grettir should never either get out of his outlawry or be brought\nout of it: \"And the more to bring that about,\" said he, \"a greater\nprice shall be put on his head than on the head of any outlaw or\nwood-man yet.\"\n\nSo, when he took the thing so ill, the freeing of Grettir came to\nnought, and Gamli and his fellows took the money to them, and kept it\nin their ward; but Thorod Drapa-Stump had no atonement for his brother\nThorbiorn.\n\nNow Thorir and Thorod set each of them on Grettir's head three marks\nof silver, and that folk deemed a new thing, for never had any greater\nprice been laid down to such an end before than three marks in all.\n\nSnorri said it was unwisely done to make a sport of keeping a man in\noutlawry who might work so much ill, and that many a man would have to\npay for it.\n\nBut now men part and ride home from the Thing.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LII.\n\n<i>How Grettir was taken by the Icefirth Carles</i>.\n\n\nWhen Grettir came over Codfirth-heath down into Longdale, he swept up\nunsparingly the goods of the petty bonders, and had of every man what\nhe would; from some he took weapons, from some clothes; and these folk\ngave up in very unlike ways; but as soon as he was gone, all said they\ngave them unwillingly.\n\nIn those days dwelt in Waterfirth Vermund the Slender, the brother of\nSlaying-Styr; he had to wife Thorbiorg, the daughter of Olaf Peacock,\nson of Hoskuld. She was called Thorbiorg the Big; but at the time that\nGrettir was in Longdale had Vermund ridden to the Thing.\n\nNow Grettir went over the neck to Bathstead. There dwelt a man called\nHelgi, who was the biggest of bonders thereabout: from there had\nGrettir a good horse, which the bonder owned, and thence he went to\nGiorvidale, where farmed a man named Thorkel. He was well stored with\nvictuals, yet a mannikin withal: therefrom took Grettir what he would,\nnor durst Thorkel blame him or withhold aught from him.\n\nThence went Grettir to Ere, and out along the side of the firth, and\nhad from every farm victuals and clothes, and dealt hardly with many;\nso that most men deemed him a heavy trouble to live under.\n\nNow he fared fearlessly withal, and took no keep of himself, and\nso went on till he came to Waterfirth-dale, and went to the\nmountain-dairy, and there he dwelt a many nights, and lay in the woods\nthere, and took no heed to himself; but when the herdsmen knew that,\nthey went to the farm, and said that to that stead was a fiend come\nwhom they deemed nowise easy to deal with; then the farmers gathered\ntogether, and were thirty men in all: they lurked in the wood, so that\nGrettir was unaware of them, and let a shepherd spy on Grettir till\nthey might get at him, yet they wotted not clearly who the man was.\n\nNow so it befell that on a day as Grettir lay sleeping, the bonders\ncame upon him, and when they saw him they took counsel how they should\ntake him at the least cost of life, and settled so that ten men should\nleap on him, while some laid bonds on his feet; and this they did, and\nthrew themselves on him, but Grettir broke forth so mightily that they\nfell from off him, and he got to his knees, yet thereby they might\ncast the bonds over him, and round about his feet; then Grettir\nspurned two of them so hard about the ears that they lay stunned on\nthe earth. Now one after the other rushed at him, and he struggled\nhard and long, yet had they might to overcome him at the last, and so\nbound him.\n\nThereafter they talked over what they should do with him, and they\nbade Helgi of Bathstead take him and keep him in ward till Vermund\ncame home from the Thing. He answered--\n\n\"Other things I deem more helpful to me than to let my house-carles\nsit over him, for my lands are hard to work, nor shall he ever come\nacross me.\"\n\nThen they bade Thorkel of Giorvidale take and keep him, and said that\nhe was a man who had enow.\n\nBut Thorkel spake against it, and said that for nought would he do\nthat: \"Whereas I live alone in my house with my Carline, far from\nother men; nor shall ye lay that box on me,\" said he.\n\n\"Then, Thoralf of Ere,\" said they, \"do thou take Grettir and do well\nto him till after the Thing; or else bring him on to the next farm,\nand be answerable that he get not loose, but deliver him bound as now\nthou hast him.\"\n\nHe answers, \"Nay, I will not take Grettir, for I have neither victuals\nnor money to keep him withal, nor has he been taken on my land, and I\ndeem it more trouble than honour to take him, or to have aught to do\nwith him, nor shall he ever come into my house.\"\n\nThereafter they tried it with every bonder, but one and all spake\nagainst it; and after this talk have merry men made that lay which is\nhight Grettir's-faring, and added many words of good game thereto for\nthe sport of men.\n\nSo when they had talked it over long, they said, with one assent, that\nthey would not make ill hap of their good-hap; so they went about and\nstraightway reared up a gallows there in the wood, with the mind to\nhang Grettir, and made great clatter thereover.\n\nEven therewith they see six folk riding down below in the dale, and\none in coloured clothes, and they guessed that there would goodwife\nThorbiorg be going from Waterfirth; and so it was, and she was\ngoing to the mountain-dairy. Now she was a very stirring woman, and\nexceeding wise; she had the ruling of the neighbourhood, and settled\nall matters, when Vermund was from home. Now she turned to where the\nmen were gathered, and was helped off her horse, and the bonders gave\nher good welcome.\n\nThen said she, \"What have ye here? or who is the big-necked one who\nsits in bonds yonder?\"\n\nGrettir named himself, and greeted her.\n\nShe spake again, \"What drove thee to this, Grettir,\" says she, \"that\nthou must needs do riotously among my Thing-men?\"\n\n\"I may not look to everything; I must needs be somewhere,\" said he.\n\n\"Great ill luck it is,\" says she, \"that these milksops should take\nthee in such wise that none should fall before thee. What are ye\nminded to do with him?\"\n\nThe bonders told her that they were going to tie him up to the gallows\nfor his lawlessness.\n\nShe answers, \"Maybe Grettir is guilty enough therefor, but it is\ntoo great a deed for you, Icefirthers, to take his life, for he is a\nfamous man, and of mighty kin, albeit he is no lucky man; but now what\nwilt thou do for thy life, Grettir, if I give it thee?\"\n\nHe answered, \"What sayest thou thereto?\"\n\nShe said, \"Thou shalt make oath to work no evil riots here in\nIcefirth, and take no revenge on whomsoever has been at the taking of\nthee.\"\n\nGrettir said that she should have her will, and so he was loosed; and\nhe says of himself that at that time of all times did he most rule his\ntemper, when he smote them not as they made themselves great before\nhim.\n\nNow Thorbiorg bade him go home with her, and gave him a horse for his\nriding; so he went to Waterfirth and abode there till Vermund came\nhome, and the housewife did well to him, and for this deed was she\nmuch renowned far and wide in the district.\n\nBut Vermund took this ill at his coming home, and asked what made\nGrettir there? Then Thorbiorg told him how all had gone betwixt\nGrettir and the Icefirthers.\n\n\"What reward was due to him,\" said Vermund, \"that thou gavest him his\nlife?\"\n\n\"Many grounds there were thereto,\" said Thorbiorg; \"and this, first of\nall, that thou wilt be deemed a greater chief than before in that thou\nhast a wife who has dared to do such a deed; and then withal surely\nwould Hrefna his kinswoman say that I should not let men slay him;\nand, thirdly, he is a man of the greatest prowess in many wise.\"\n\n\"A wise wife thou art withal,\" said Vermund, \"and have thou thanks\ntherefor.\"\n\nThen he said to Grettir, \"Stout as thou art, but little was to be paid\nfor thee, when thou must needs be taken of mannikins; but so ever it\nfares with men riotous.\"\n\nThen Grettir sang this stave--\n\n  \"Ill luck-to me\n  That I should be\n  On sea-roof-firth\n  Borne unto earth;\n  Ill luck enow\n  To lie alow,\n  This head of mine\n  Griped fast by swine.\"\n\n\"What were they minded to do to thee,\" said Vermund, \"when they took\nthee there?\"\n\nQuoth Grettir--\n\n  \"There many men\n  Bade give me then\n  E'en Sigar's meed\n  For lovesome deed;\n  Till found me there\n  That willow fair,\n  Whose leaves are praise,\n  Her stems good days.\"\n\nVermund asked, \"Would they have hanged thee then, if they alone had\nhad to meddle with matters?\"\n\nSaid Grettir--\n\n  \"Yea, to the snare\n  That dangled there\n  My head must I\n  Soon bring anigh;\n  But Thorbiorg came\n  The brightest dame,\n  And from that need\n  The singer freed.\"\n\nThen said Vermund, \"Did she bid thee to her?\"\n\nGrettir answered--\n\n  \"Sif's lord's good aid,\n  My saviour, bade\n  To take my way\n  With her that day;\n  So did it fall;\n  And therewithal\n  A horse she gave;\n  Good peace I have.\"\n\n\"Mighty will thy life be and troublous,\" said Vermund; \"but now thou\nhast learned to beware of thy foes; but I have no will to harbour\nthee, and gain therefor the ill-will of many rich men; but best is it\nfor thee to seek thy kinsmen, though few men will be willing to take\nthee in if they may do aught else; nor to most men art thou an easy\nfellow withal.\"\n\nNow Grettir was in Waterfirth a certain space, and then fared thence\nto the Westfirths, and sought shelter of many great men; but something\never came to pass whereby none of them would harbour him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LIII.\n\n<i>Grettir with Thorstein Kuggson</i>.\n\n\nWhen the autumn was somewhat spent, Grettir turned back by the south,\nand made no stay till he came to Liarskogar to Thorstein Kuggson, his\nkinsman, and there had he good welcome, for Thorstein bade him abide\nthere through the winter, and that bidding he agreed to. Thorstein\nwas a busy man and a good smith, and kept men close to their work;\nbut Grettir had little mind to work, wherefore their tempers went but\nlittle together.\n\nThorstein had let make a church at his homestead; and a bridge he had\nmade out from his house, wrought with great craft; for in the outside\nbridge, under the beams that held it up, were rings wrought all about,\nand din-bells, so that one might hear over to Scarf-stead, half a\nsea-mile off, if aught went over the bridge, because of the shaking of\nthe rings. Thorstein had much to do over this work, for he was a great\nworker of iron; but Grettir went fiercely at the iron-smiting, yet was\nin many minds thereover; but he was quiet through the winter, so\nthat nought befell worthy telling. But when the Ramfirthers knew\nthat Grettir was with Thorstein, they had their band afoot as soon as\nspring came. So when Thorstein knew that, he bade Grettir seek some\nother shelter than his house, \"For I see thou wilt not work, and men\nwho will do nought are not meet men for me.\"\n\n\"Where wouldst thou have me go, then?\" said Grettir.\n\nThorstein bade him fare to the south country, and find his kin, \"But\ncome to me if they avail thee not.\"\n\nNow so Grettir wrought that he went south to Burgfirth, to Grim\nThorhallson, and dwelt there till over the Thing. Then Grim sent him\non to Skapti the Lawman at Hjalli, and he went south by the lower\nheaths and stayed not till he came to Thorhall, son of Asgrim, son\nof Ellida-grim, and went little in the peopled lands. Thorhall knew\nGrettir because of his father and mother, and, indeed, by then was\nthe name of Grettir well renowned through all the land because of his\ngreat deeds.\n\nThorhall was a wise man, and he did well to Grettir, but would not let\nhim abide there long.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LIV.\n\n<i>Grettir meets Hallmund on the Keel</i>.\n\n\nNow Grettir fared from Tongue up to Hawkdale, and thence north upon\nthe Keel, and kept about there long that summer; nor was there trust\nof him that he would not take men's goods from them, as they went from\nor to the north over the Keel, because he was hard put to it to get\nwares.\n\nNow on a day, when as Grettir would keep about the north at\nDoveness-path, he saw a man riding from the north over the Keel; he\nwas huge to behold on horseback, and had a good horse, and an embossed\nbridle well wrought; another horse he had in tow and bags thereon;\nthis man had withal a slouched hat on his head, nor could his face be\nclearly seen.\n\nNow Grettir looked hard at the horse and the goods thereon, and went\nto meet the man, and greeting him asked his name, but he said he was\ncalled Air. \"I wot well what thou art called,\" said he, \"for thou\nshalt be Grettir the Strong, the son of Asmund. Whither art thou\nbound?\"\n\n\"As to the place I have not named it yet,\" said Grettir; \"but as to\nmy errand, it is to know if thou wilt lay down some of the goods thou\nfarest with.\"\n\nSaid Air, \"Why should I give thee mine own, or what wilt thou give me\ntherefor?\"\n\nGrettir answers, \"Hast thou not heard that I take, and give no money\nagain? and yet it seems to most men that I get what I will.\"\n\nSaid Air, \"Give such choice as this to those who deem it good, but not\nthus will I give up what I have; let each of us go his own way.\"\n\nAnd therewithal he rode forth past Grettir and spurred his horse.\n\n\"Nay, we part not so hastily,\" said Grettir, and laid hold of the\nreins of Air's horse in front of his hands, and held on with both\nhands.\n\nSaid Air, \"Go thy ways, nought thou hast of me if I may hold mine\nown.\"\n\n\"That will now be proven,\" said Grettir.\n\nNow Air stretched his hands down the head-gear and laid hold of the\nreins betwixt Grettir's hands and the snaffle-rings and dragged at\nthem so hard that Grettir's hands were drawn down along the reins,\ntill Air dragged all the bridle from him.\n\nGrettir looked into the hollow of his hands, and saw that this man\nmust have strength in claws rather than not, and he looked after him,\nand said, \"Whither art thou minded to fare?\"\n\nAir answered and sang--\n\n  \"To the Kettle's side\n  Now will I ride,\n  Where the waters fall\n  From the great ice-wall;\n  If thou hast mind\n  There mayest thou find\n  With little stone[17]\n  Fist's land alone.\"\n\n[Footnote 17: Hall, a \"stone\": mund, is hand, and by periphrasis \"land\nof fist\"; so that Hallmund is meant by this couplet, and that was the\nreal name of \"Air,\" who is not a mere man, but a friendly spirit of\nthe mountains.]\n\nGrettir said, \"It is of no avail to seek after thine abode if thou\ntellest of it no clearer than this.\"\n\nThen Air spake and sang--\n\n  \"I would not hide\n  Where I abide,\n  If thou art fain\n  To see me again;\n  From that lone weald,\n  Over Burgfirth field,\n  That ye men name\n  Balljokul, I came.\"\n\nThereat they parted, and Grettir sees that he has no strength against\nthis man; and therewithal he sang a stave--\n\n  \"Too far on this luckless day,\n  Atli, good at weapon-play,\n  Brisk Illugi were from me;\n  Such-like oft I shall not be\n  As I was, when I must stand\n  With the reins drawn through my hand\n  By the unflinching losel Air.\n  Maids weep when they know I fear.\"\n\nThereafter Grettir went to the south from the Keel; and rode to Hjalli\nand found Skapti, and prayed for watch and ward from him.\n\nSkapti said, \"It is told me that thou farest somewhat lawlessly, and\nlayest hand on other men's goods; and this beseems thee ill, great of\nkin as thou art. Now all would make a better tale, if thou didst not\nrob and reive; but whereas I have to bear the name of lawman in the\nland, folk would not abide that I should take outlawed men to me, and\nbreak the laws thereby. I will that thou seek some place wherein thou\nwilt not have need to take men's goods from them.\"\n\nGrettir said he would do even so, yet withal that he might scarcely be\nalone because he so feared the dark.\n\nSkapti said that of that one thing then, which he deemed the best, he\nmight not avail himself; \"But put not such trust in any as to fare as\nthou didst in the Westfirths; it has been many a man's bane that he\nhas been too trustful.\"\n\nGrettir thanked him for his wholesome redes, and so turned back to\nBurgfirth in the autumn, and found Grim Thorhallson, his friend,\nand told him of Skapti's counsels; so Grim bade him fare north to\nFishwater lakes on Ernewaterheath; and thus did he.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LV.\n\n<i>Of Grettir on Ernewaterheath, and his dealings with Grim there</i>.\n\n\nGrettir went up to Ernewaterheath and made there a hut for himself\n(whereof are yet signs left) and dwelt there, for now was he fain to\ndo anything rather than rob and reive; he got him nets and a boat\nand caught fish for his food; exceeding dreary he deemed it in the\nmountains, because he was so fearsome of the dark.\n\nBut when other outlaws heard this, that Grettir was come down there,\nmany of them had a mind to see him, because they thought there was\nmuch avail of him. There was a man called Grim, a Northlander, who\nwas an outlaw; with him the Northlanders made a bargain that he should\nslay Grettir, and promised him freedom and gifts of money, if he\nshould bring it to pass; so he went to meet Grettir, and prayed him to\ntake him in.\n\nGrettir answers, \"I see not how thou art the more holpen for being\nwith me, and troublous to heed are ye wood-folk; but ill I deem it to\nbe alone, if other choice there were; but I will that such an one only\nbe with me as shall do whatso work may befall.\"\n\nGrim said he was of no other mind, and prayed hard that he might dwell\nthere; then Grettir let himself be talked round, and took him in; and\nhe was there on into the winter, and watched Grettir, but deemed it\nno little matter to set on him. Grettir misdoubted him, and had his\nweapons by his side night and day, nor durst Grim attack him while he\nwas awake.\n\nBut one morning whenas Grim came in from fishing, he went into the hut\nand stamped with his foot, and would know whether Grettir slept, but\nhe started in nowise, but lay still; and the short-sword hung up over\nGrettir's head.\n\nNow Grim thought that no better chance would happen, so he made a\ngreat noise, that Grettir might chide him, therefore, if he were\nawake, but that befell not. Now he thought that Grettir must surely\nbe asleep, so he went stealthily up to the bed and reached out for the\nshort-sword, and took it down, and unsheathed it. But even therewith\nGrettir sprang up on to the floor, and caught the short-sword just as\nthe other raised it aloft, and laid the other hand on Grim betwixt the\nshoulders, and cast him down with such a fall, that he was well-nigh\nstunned; \"Ah, such hast thou shown thyself,\" said he, \"though thou\nwouldest give me good hope of thee.\" Then he had a true story from\nhim, and thereafter slew him.\n\nAnd now Grettir deemed he saw what it was to take in wood-folk, and\nso the winter wore; and nothing Grettir thought to be of more trouble\nthan his dread of the dark.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LVI.\n\n<i>Of Grettir and Thorir Redbeard</i>.\n\n\nNow Thorir of Garth heard where Grettir had set himself down, and was\nfain to set afoot some plot whereby he might be slain. There was a\nman called Thorir Redbeard; he was the biggest of men, and a great\nman-slayer, and therefore was he made outlaw throughout the land.\nThorir of Garth sent word to him, and when they met he bade him go on\nan errand of his, and slay Grettir the Strong. Redbeard said that was\nno easy task, and that Grettir was a wise man and a wary.\n\nThorir bade him make up his mind to this; \"A manly task it is for so\nbrisk a fellow as thou; but I shall bring thee out of thine outlawry,\nand therewithal give thee money enough.\"\n\nSo by that counsel Redbeard abode, and Thorir told him how he should\ngo about the winning of Grettir. So thereafter he went round the\nland by the east, for thus he deemed his faring would be the less\nmisdoubted; so he came to Ernewaterheath when Grettir had been there a\nwinter. But when he met Grettir, he prayed for winter dwelling at his\nhands.\n\nGrettir answered, \"I cannot suffer you often to play the like play\nwith me that he did who came here last autumn, who bepraised me\ncunningly, and when he had been here a little while lay in wait for my\nlife; now, therefore, I have no mind to run the risk any more of the\ntaking in of wood-folk.\"\n\nThorir answered, \"My mind goes fully with thine in that thou deemest\nill of outlawed men: and thou wilt have heard tell of me as of a\nman-slayer and a misdoer, but not as of a doer of such foul deeds as\nto betray my master. Now, <i>ill it is ill to be</i>, for many deem\nothers to do after their own ways; nor should I have been minded to\ncome hither, if I might have had a choice of better things; withal I\ndeem we shall not easily be won while we stand together; thou mightest\nrisk trying at first how thou likest me, and let me go my ways whenso\nthou markest ill faith in me.\"\n\nGrettir answered, \"Once more then will I risk it, even with thee; but\nwot thou well, that if I misdoubt me of thee, that will be thy bane.\"\n\nThorir bade him do even so, and thereafter Grettir received him, and\nfound this, that he must have the strength of twain, what work soever\nhe took in hand: he was ready for anything that Grettir might set him\nto, and Grettir need turn to nothing, nor had he found his life so\ngood since he had been outlawed, yet was he ever so wary of himself\nthat Thorir never got a chance against him.\n\nThorir Redbeard was with Grettir on the heath for two winters, and now\nhe began to loathe his life on the heath, and falls to thinking what\ndeed he shall do that Grettir will not see through; so one night\nin spring a great storm arose while they were asleep; Grettir awoke\ntherewith, and asked where was their boat. Thorir sprang up, and ran\ndown to the boat, and brake it all to pieces, and threw the broken\npieces about here and there, so that it seemed as though the storm had\ndriven them along. Then he went into the hut, and called out aloud,\n\n\"Good things have not befallen us, my friend,\" said he; \"for our\nboat is all broken to pieces, and the nets lie a long way out in the\nwater.\"\n\n\"Go and bring them in then,\" said Grettir, \"for methinks it is with\nthy goodwill that the boat is broken.\"\n\nThorir answered, \"Among manly deeds swimming is the least handy to\nme, but most other deeds, I think, I may do against men who are not\nmarvellous; thou mayest wot well enough that I was minded that thou\nshouldst not have to work while I abode here, and this I would not bid\nif it were in me to do it.\"\n\nThen Grettir arose and took his weapons, and went to the water-side.\nNow the land was so wrought there that a ness ran into the water, and\na great creek was on the other side, and the water was deep right up\nto the shore.\n\nNow Grettir spake: \"Swim off to the nets, and let me see how skilled a\nman thou art.\"\n\n\"I told thee before,\" said Thorir, \"that I might not swim; and now I\nknow not what is gone with thy manliness and daring.\"\n\n\"Well, the nets I may get in,\" said Grettir, \"but betray thou me not,\nsince I trust in thee.\"\n\nSaid Thorir, \"Deem me not to be so shamed and worthless.\"\n\n\"Thou wilt thyself prove thyself, what thou art,\" said Grettir, and\ntherewith he put off his clothes and weapons, and swam off for the\nnets. He swept them up together, and brought them to land, and cast\nthem on to the bank; but when he was minded to come aland, then Thorir\ncaught up the short-sword and drew it hastily, and ran therewith\nswiftly on Grettir, and smote at him as he set foot on the bank; but\nGrettir fell on his back down into the water, and sank like a stone;\nand Thorir stood gazing out on to the water, to keep him off from\nthe shore if he came up again; but Grettir dived and groped along the\nbottom as near as he might to the bank, so that Thorir might not see\nhim till he came into the creek at his back, and got aland; and Thorir\nheeded him not, and felt nought till Grettir heaved him up over his\nhead, and cast him down so hard that the short-sword flew out of his\nhand; then Grettir got hold of it and had no words with him, but smote\noff his head straightway, and this was the end of his life.\n\nBut after this would Grettir never take outlaws to him, yet hardly\nmight he bear to be alone.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LVII.\n\n<i>How Thorir of Garth set on Grettir on Ernewaterheath</i>.\n\n\nAt the Althing Thorir of Garth heard of the slaying of Thorir\nRedbeard, and now he thought he saw that he had no light task to\ndeal with; but such rede he took that he rode west over the lower\nheathlands from the Thing with well-nigh eighty men, and was minded to\ngo and take Grettir's life: but when Grim Thorhallson knew thereof he\nsent Grettir word and bade him beware of himself, so Grettir ever took\nheed to the goings of men. But one day he saw many men riding who took\nthe way to his abode; so he ran into a rift in the rocks, nor would he\nflee because he had not seen all the strength of those folk.\n\nThen up came Thorir and all his men, and bade them smite Grettir's\nhead from his body, and said that the ill-doer's life would be had\ncheaply now.\n\nGrettir answered, \"<i>Though the spoon has taken it up, yet the mouth\nhas had no sup</i>. From afar have ye come, and marks of the game\nshall some have ere we part.\"\n\nThen Thorir egged on his men busily to set on him; but the pass was\nnarrow, and he could defend it well from one side; yet hereat he\nmarvelled, that howsoever they went round to the back of him, yet\nno hurt he got thereby; some fell of Thorir's company, and some were\nwounded, but nothing might they do.\n\nThen said Thorir, \"Oft have I heard that Grettir is a man of marvel\nbefore all others for prowess and good heart, but never knew I that he\nwas so wise a wizard as now I behold him; for half as many again fall\nat his back as fall before him; lo, now we have to do with trolls and\nno men.\"\n\nSo he bid them turn away and they did so. Grettir marvelled how that\nmight be, for withal he was utterly foredone.\n\nThorir and his men turn away and ride toward the north country, and\nmen deemed their journey to be of the shame fullest; eighteen men had\nthey left there and many were wounded withal.\n\nNow Grettir went up into the pass, and found there one great of\ngrowth, who sat leaning against the rock and was sore wounded. Grettir\nasked him of his name, and he said he was hight Hallmund.\n\n\"And this I will tell thee to know me by, that thou didst deem me to\nhave a good hold of the reins that summer when we met on the Keel;\nnow, methinks, I have paid thee back therefor.\"\n\n\"Yea, in sooth,\" said Grettir, \"I deem that thou hast shown great\nmanliness toward me; whenso I may, I will reward thee.\"\n\nHallmund said, \"But now I will that thou come to my abode, for thou\nmust e'en think time drags heavily here on the heaths.\"\n\nGrettir said he was fain thereof; and now they fare both together\nsouth under Balljokul, and there had Hallmund a huge cave, and a\ndaughter great of growth and of high mind; there they did well to\nGrettir, and the woman healed the wounds of both of them, and Grettir\ndwelt long there that summer, and a lay he made on Hallmund, wherein\nis this--\n\n  \"Wide and high doth Hallmund stride\n  In the hollow mountain side.\"\n\nAnd this stave also is therein--\n\n  \"At Ernewater, one by one,\n  Stole the swords forth in the sun,\n  Eager for the road of death\n  Swept athwart by sharp spears' breath;\n  Many a dead Wellwharfer's lands\n  That day gave to other hands.\n  Hallmund, dweller in the cave,\n  Grettir's life that day did save.\"\n\nMen say that Grettir slew six men in that meeting, but Hallmund\ntwelve.\n\nNow as the summer wore Grettir yearned for the peopled country, to see\nhis friends and kin; Hallmund bade him visit him when he came to the\nsouth country again, and Grettir promised him so to do; then he went\nwest to Burgfirth, and thence to the Broadfirth Dales, and sought\ncounsel of Thorstein Kuggson as to where he should now seek for\nprotection, but Thorstein said that his foes were now so many that few\nwould harbour him; \"But thou mightest fare south to the Marshes and\nsee what fate abides thee there.\"\n\nSo in the autumn Grettir went south to the Marshes.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LVIII.\n\n<i>Grettir in Fairwoodfell</i>.\n\n\nIn those days dwelt at Holm Biorn the Hitdale-Champion, who was the\nson of Arngeir, the son of Berse the Godless, the son of Balk, who\nsettled Ramfirth as is aforesaid; Biorn was a great chief and a hardy\nman, and would ever harbour outlawed men.\n\nNow Grettir came to Holm, and Biorn gave him good cheer, for there had\nbeen friendship between the earlier kin of both of them; so Grettir\nasked if he would give him harbourage; but Biorn said that he had\ngot to himself so many feuds through all the land that men would shun\nharbouring him so long as to be made outlaws therefor: \"But some gain\nwill I be to thee, if thou lettest those men dwell in peace who are\nunder my ward, whatsoever thou dost by other men in the country-side.\"\n\nGrettir said yea thereto. Then said Biorn, \"Well, I have thought over\nit, and in that mountain, which stretches forth outside of Hitriver,\nis a stead good for defence, and a good hiding-place withal, if it be\ncunningly dealt with; for there is a hollow through the mountain, that\nis seen from the way below; for the highway lies beneath it, but above\nis a slip of sand and stones so exceeding steep, that few men may come\nup there if one hardy man stand on his defence above in the lair.\nNow this seems to me the best rede for thee, and the one thing worth\ntalking of for thine abode, because, withal, it is easy to go thence\nand get goods from the Marshes, and right away to the sea.\"\n\nGrettir said that he would trust in his foresight if he would give him\nany help. Then he went up to Fairwoodfell and made his abode there;\nhe hung grey wadmal before the hole in the mountain, and from the way\nbelow it was like to behold as if one saw through. Now he was wont\nto ride for things needful through the country-side, and men deemed a\nwoful guest had come among them whereas he went.\n\nThord Kolbeinson dwelt at Hitness in those days, and a good skald he\nwas; at that time was there great enmity betwixt him and Biorn; and\nBiorn was but half loth, though Grettir wrought some ill on Thord's\nmen or his goods.\n\nGrettir was ever with Biorn, and they tried their skill in many\nsports, and it is shown in the story of Biorn that they were deemed\nequal in prowess, but it is the mind of most that Grettir was the\nstrongest man ever known in the land, since Orm the son of Storolf,\nand Thoralf the son of Skolm, left off their trials of strength.\nGrettir and Biorn swam in one spell all down Hitriver, from the lake\nright away to the sea: they brought those stepping-stones into the\nriver that have never since been washed away either by floods, or the\ndrift of ice, or glacier slips.\n\nSo Grettir abode in Fairwoodfell for one winter, in such wise, that\nnone set on him, though many lost their goods at his hands and could\ndo nought therefor, for a good place for defence he had, and was ever\ngood friend to those nighest to him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LIX.\n\n<i>Gisli's meeting with Grettir</i>.\n\n\nThere was a man hight Gisli, the son of that Thorstein whom Snorri\nGodi had slain. Gisli was a big man and strong, a man showy in\nweapons and clothes, who made much of himself, and was somewhat of\na self-praiser; he was a seafaring man, and came one summer out to\nWhiteriver, whenas Grettir had been a winter on the fell. Thord, son\nof Kolbein, rode to his ship, and Gisli gave him good welcome, and\nbade him take of his wares whatso he would; thereto Thord agreed, and\nthen they fell to talk one with the other, and Gisli said:\n\n\"Is that true which is told me, that ye have no counsel that avails to\nrid you of a certain outlaw who is doing you great ill?\"\n\nThord said, \"We have not tried aught on him yet, but to many he seems\na man hard to deal with, and that has been proven on many a man.\"\n\n\"It is like, methinks, that you should find Biorn a heavy trouble, if\nye may not drive away this man: luckless it is for you withal, that I\nshall be too far off this winter to better matters for you.\"\n\n\"Thou wilt be better pleased to deal with him by hearsay.\"\n\n\"Nay, no need to tell me of Grettir,\" said Gisli; \"I have borne harder\nbrunts when I was in warfare along with King Knut the Mighty, and west\nover the Sea, and I was ever thought to hold my own; and if I should\nhave a chance at him I would trust myself and my weapons well enough.\"\n\nThord said he would not work for nought if he prevailed against\nGrettir; \"For there is more put upon his head than on the head of any\nother of wood-folk; six marks of silver it was; but last summer Thorir\nof Garth laid thereto yet three marks; and men deem he will have\nenough to do therefor whose lot it is to win it.\"\n\n\"All things soever will men do for money,\" says Gisli, \"and we chapmen\nnot the least; but now shall we keep this talk hushed up, for mayhap\nhe will be the warier,\" says he, \"if he come to know that I am with\nyou against him: now I am minded to abide this winter at Snowfellsness\nat Wave-ridge. Is his lair on my way at all? for he will not foresee\nthis, nor shall I draw together many men against him.\"\n\nThord liked the plot well, he rode home therewith and held his peace\nabout this; but now things went according to the saw, <i>a listening\near in the holt is anear</i>; men had been by at the talk betwixt\nThord and Gisli, who were friends to Biorn of Hitdale, and they told\nhim all from end to end; so when Biorn and Grettir met, Biorn showed\nforth the whole matter to him, and said that now he might prove how he\ncould meet a foe.\n\n\"It would not be bad sport,\" said he, \"if thou wert to handle him\nroughly, but to slay him not, if thou mightest do otherwise.\"\n\nGrettir smiled thereat, but spake little.\n\nNow at the folding time in the autumn Grettir went down to\nFlysia-wharf and got sheep for himself; he had laid hold on four\nwethers; but the bonders became ware of his ways and went after him;\nand these two things befell at the same time, that he got up under the\nfell-side, and that they came upon him, and would drive the sheep from\nhim, yet bare they no weapon against him; they were six altogether,\nand stood thick in his path. Now the sheep troubled him and he waxed\nwroth, and caught up two of those men, and cast them down over the\nhill-side, so that they lay stunned; and when the others saw that,\nthey came on less eagerly; then Grettir took up the sheep and locked\nthem together by the horns, and threw them over his shoulders, two on\neach side, and went up into his lair.\n\nSo the bonders turned back, and deemed they had got but ill from him,\nand their lot misliked them now worse than before.\n\nNow Gisli abode at his ship through the autumn till it was rolled\nashore. Many things made him abide there, so he was ready late, and\nrode away but a little before winter-nights. Then he went from the\nsouth, and guested under Raun on the south side of Hitriver. In the\nmorning, before he rode thence, he began a talk with his fellows:\n\n\"Now shall we ride in coloured clothes to-day, and let the outlaw see\nthat we are not like other wayfarers who are drifted about here day by\nday.\"\n\nSo this they did, and they were three in all: but when they came west\nover the river, he spake again to them:\n\n\"Here in these bents, I am told, lurks the outlaw, and no easy way is\nthere up to him; but may it not perchance seem good to him to come and\nmeet us and behold our array?\"\n\nThey said that it was ever his wont so to do. Now that morning Grettir\nhad risen early in his lair; the weather was cold and frosty, and snow\nhad fallen, but not much of it. He saw how three men rode from the\nsouth over Hitriver, and their state raiment glittered and their\ninlaid shields. Then it came into his mind who these should be, and he\ndeems it would be good for him to get some rag of their array; and he\nwas right wishful withal to meet such braggarts: so he catches up his\nweapons and runs down the slip-side. And when Gisli heard the clatter\nof the stones, he spake thus:\n\n\"There goes a man down the hill-side, and somewhat big he is, and he\nis coming to meet us: now, therefore, let us go against him briskly,\nfor here is good getting come to hand.\"\n\nHis fellows said that this one would scarce run into their very\nhands, if he knew not his might; \"And good it is that <i>he bewail who\nbrought the woe</i>.\"\n\nSo they leapt off their horses, and therewith Grettir came up to them,\nand laid hands on a clothes-bag that Gisli had tied to his saddle\nbehind him, and said--\n\n\"This will I have, for oft I lowt for little things.\"\n\nGisli answers, \"Nay, it shall not be; dost thou know with whom thou\nhast to do?\"\n\nSays Grettir, \"I am not very clear about that; nor will I have much\nrespect for persons, since I am lowly now, and ask for little.\"\n\n\"Mayhap thou thinkest it little,\" says he, \"but I had rather pay down\nthirty hundreds; but robbery and wrong are ever uppermost in thy mind\nmethinks; so on him, good fellows, and let see what he may do.\"\n\nSo did they, and Grettir gave back before them to a stone which stands\nby the way and is called Grettir's-Heave, and thence defended himself;\nand Gisli egged on his fellows eagerly; but Grettir saw now that he\nwas no such a hardy heart as he had made believe, for he was ever\nbehind his fellows' backs; and withal he grew aweary of this fulling\nbusiness, and swept round the short-sword, and smote one of Gisli's\nfellows to the death, and leaped down from the stone, and set on so\nfiercely, that Gisli shrank aback before him all along the hill-side:\nthere Gisli's other fellow was slain, and then Grettir spake:\n\n\"Little is it seen in thee that thou hast done well wide in the world,\nand in ill wise dost thou part from thy fellows.\"\n\nGisli answers, \"<i>Hottest is the fire that lies on oneself--with\nhell's-man are dealings ill</i>.\"\n\nThen they gave and took but a little, before Gisli cast away his\nweapons, and took to his heels out along the mountain. Grettir gave\nhim time to cast off whatso he would, and every time Gisli saw a\nchance for it he threw off somewhat of his clothes; and Grettir never\nfollowed him so close but that there was still some space\nbetwixt them. Gisli ran right past that mountain and then across\nColdriver-dale, and then through Aslaug's-lithe and above by\nKolbeinstead, and then out into Burgh-lava; and by then was he in\nshirt and breech alone, and was now exceeding weary. Grettir still\nfollowed after him, and there was ever a stone's throw between them;\nand now he pulled up a great bush. But Gisli made no stay till he came\nout at Haf-firth-river, and it was swollen with ice and ill to ford;\nGisli made straightway for the river, but Grettir ran in on him and\nseized him, and then the strength of either was soon known: Grettir\ndrave him down under him, and said,\n\n\"Art thou that Gisli who would fain meet Grettir Asmundson?\"\n\nGisli answers, \"I have found him now, in good sooth, nor do I know in\nwhat wise we shall part: keep that which thou hast got, and let me go\nfree.\"\n\nGrettir said, \"Nay, thou art scarce deft enow to learn what I have to\nteach thee, so needs must I give thee somewhat to remember it by.\"\n\nTherewith he pulls the shirt up over his head and let the twigs go all\ndown his back, and along both sides of him, and Gisli strove all he\nmight to wriggle away from him; but Grettir flogged him through and\nthrough, and then let him go; and Gisli thought he would learn no\nmore of Grettir and have such another flogging withal; nor did he ever\nagain earn the like skin-rubbing.\n\nBut when he got his legs under him again, he ran off unto a great\npool in the river, and swam it, and came by night to a farm called\nHorseholt, and utterly foredone he was by then. There he lay a week\nwith his body all swollen, and then fared to his abode.\n\nGrettir turned back, and took up the things Gisli had cast down, and\nbrought them to his place, nor from that time forth gat Gisli aught\nthereof.\n\nMany men thought Gisli had his due herein for the noise and swagger\nhe had made about himself; and Grettir sang this about their dealings\ntogether--\n\n  \"In fighting ring where steed meets steed,\n  The sluggish brute of mongrel breed,\n  Certes will shrink back nothing less\n  Before the stallion's dauntlessness,\n  Than Gisli before me to-day;\n  As, casting shame and clothes away,\n  And sweating o'er the marsh with fear,\n  He helped the wind from mouth and rear.\"\n\nThe next spring Gisli got ready to go to his ship, and bade men above\nall things beware of carrying aught of his goods south along the\nmountain, and said that the very fiend dwelt there.\n\nGisli rode south along the sea all the way to his ship, and never met\nGrettir again; and now he is out of the story.\n\nBut things grew worse between Thord Kolbeinson and Grettir, and Thord\nset on foot many a plot to get Grettir driven away or slain.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LX.\n\n<i>Of the Fight at Hitriver</i>.\n\n\nWhen Grettir had been two winters at Fairwoodfell, and the third was\nnow come, he fared south to the Marshes, to the farm called Brook-bow,\nand had thence six wethers against the will of him who owned them.\nThen he went to Acres and took away two neat for slaughtering, and\nmany sheep, and then went up south of Hitriver.\n\nBut when the bonders were ware of his ways, they sent word to Thord at\nHitness, and bade him take in hand the slaying of Grettir; but he hung\nback, yet for the prayers of men got his son Arnor, who was afterwards\ncalled Earls' Skald, to go with them, and bade them withal to take\nheed that Grettir escaped not.\n\nThen were men sent throughout all the country-side. There was a man\ncalled Biarni, who dwelt at Jorvi in Flysia-wharf, and he gathered\nmen together from without Hitriver; and their purpose was that a band\nshould be on either bank of the river.\n\nNow Grettir had two men with him; a man called Eyolf, the son of the\nbonder at Fairwood, and a stout man; and another he had besides.\n\nFirst came up Thorarin of Acres and Thorfinn of Brook-bow, and there\nwere nigh twenty men in their company. Then was Grettir fain to make\nwestward across the river, but therewith came up on the west side\nthereof Arnor and Biarni. A narrow ness ran into the water on the side\nwhereas Grettir stood; so he drave the beasts into the furthermost\nparts of the ness, when he saw the men coming up, for never would he\ngive up what he had once laid his hands on.\n\nNow the Marsh-men straightway made ready for an onslaught, and made\nthemselves very big; Grettir bade his fellows take heed that none came\nat his back; and not many men could come on at once.\n\nNow a hard fight there was betwixt them, Grettir smote with the\nshort-sword with both hands, and no easy matter it was to get at him;\nsome of the Marsh-men fell, and some were wounded; those on the other\nside of the river were slow in coming up, because the ford was not\nvery near, nor did the fight go on long before they fell off; Thorarin\nof Acres was a very old man, so that he was not at this onslaught. But\nwhen this fight was over, then came up Thrand, son of Thorarin, and\nThorgils Ingialdson, the brother's son of Thorarin, and Finnbogi,\nson of Thorgeir Thorhaddson of Hitdale, and Steinulf Thorleifson from\nLavadale; these egged on their men eagerly to set on, and yet another\nfierce onslaught they made. Now Grettir saw that he must either flee\nor spare himself nought; and now he went forth so fiercely that none\nmight withstand him; because they were so many that he saw not how\nhe might escape, but that he did his best before he fell; he was fain\nwithal that the life of such an one as he deemed of some worth might\nbe paid for his life; so he ran at Steinulf of Lavadale, and smote him\non the head and clave him down to the shoulders, and straightway with\nanother blow smote Thorgils Ingialdson in the midst and well-nigh cut\nhim asunder; then would Thrand run forth to revenge his kinsman, but\nGrettir smote him on the right thigh, so that the blow took off all\nthe muscle, and straightway was he unmeet for fight; and thereafter\nwithal a great wound Grettir gave to Finnbogi.\n\nThen Thorarin cried out and bade them fall back, \"For the longer ye\nfight the worse ye will get of him, and he picks out men even as he\nwilleth from your company.\"\n\nSo did they, and turned away; and there had ten men fallen, and five\nwere wounded to death, or crippled, but most of those who had been at\nthat meeting had some hurt or other; Grettir was marvellously wearied\nand yet but a little wounded.\n\nAnd now the Marsh-men made off with great loss of men, for many stout\nfellows had fallen there.\n\nBut those on the other side of the river fared slowly, and came not up\ntill the meeting was all done; and when they saw how ill their men\nhad fared, then Arnor would not risk himself, and much rebuke he got\ntherefor from his father and many others; and men are minded to think\nthat he was no man of prowess.\n\nNow that place where they fought is called Grettir's-point to-day.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXI.\n\n<i>How Grettir left Fairwoodfell, and of his abiding in\nThorir's-dale</i>.\n\n\nBut Grettir and his men took horse and rode up to the fell, for they\nwere all wounded, and when they came to Fairwood there was Eyolf left;\nthe farmer's daughter was out of doors, and asked for tidings; Grettir\ntold all as clearly as might be, and sang a stave withal--\n\n  \"O thou warder of horn's wave,\n  Not on this side of the grave\n  Will Steinulf s head be whole again;\n  Many more there gat their bane;\n  Little hope of Thorgils now\n  After that bone-breaking blow:\n  Eight Gold-scatterers more they say,\n  Dead along the river lay.\"\n\nThereafter Grettir went to his lair and sat there through the winter;\nbut when he and Biorn met, Biorn said to him, that he deemed that much\nhad been done; \"and no peace thou wilt have here in the long run: now\nhast thou slain both kin and friends of mine, yet shall I not cast\naside what I have promised thee whiles thou art here.\"\n\nGrettir said he must needs defend his hands and life, \"but ill it is\nif thou mislikest it.\"\n\nBiorn said that things must needs be as they were.\n\nA little after came men to Biorn who had lost kinsmen at Grettir's\nhands, and bade him not to suffer that riotous man to abide there\nlonger in their despite; and Biorn said that it should be as they\nwould as soon as the winter was over.\n\nNow Thrand, the son of Thorarin of Acres, was healed; a stout man he\nwas, and had to wife Steinun, daughter of Rut of Combeness; Thorleif\nof Lavadale, the father of Steinulf, was a very mighty man, and from\nhim are come the men of Lavadale.\n\nNow nought more is told of the dealings of Grettir with the Marsh-men\nwhile he was on the mountain; Biorn still kept up his friendship\nwith him, though his friends grew somewhat the fewer for that he let\nGrettir abide there, because men took it ill that their kin should\nfall unatoned.\n\nAt the time of the Thing, Grettir departed from the Marsh-country, and\nwent to Burgfirth and found Grim Thorhallson, and sought counsel of\nhim, as to what to do now. Grim said he had no strength to keep him,\ntherefore fared Grettir to find Hallmund his friend, and dwelt there\nthat summer till it wore to its latter end.\n\nIn the autumn Grettir went to Goatland, and waited there till bright\nweather came on; then he went up to Goatland Jokul, and made for\nthe south-east, and had with him a kettle, and tools to strike fire\nwithal. But men deem that he went there by the counsel of Hallmund,\nfor far and wide was the land known of him.\n\nSo Grettir went on till he found a dale in the jokul, long and\nsomewhat narrow, locked up by jokuls all about, in such wise that\nthey overhung the dale. He came down somehow, and then he saw fair\nhill-sides grass-grown and set with bushes. Hot springs there were\ntherein, and it seemed to him that it was by reason of earth-fires\nthat the ice-cliffs did not close up over the vale.\n\nA little river ran along down the dale, with level shores on either\nside thereof. There the sun came but seldom; but he deemed he might\nscarcely tell over the sheep that were in that valley, so many they\nwere; and far better and fatter than any he had ever seen.\n\nNow Grettir abode there, and made himself a hut of such wood as he\ncould come by. He took of the sheep for his meat, and there was more\non one of them than on two elsewhere: one ewe there was, brown with a\npolled head, with her lamb, that he deemed the greatest beauty for\nher goodly growth. He was fain to take the lamb, and so he did, and\nthereafter slaughtered it: three stone of suet there was in it, but\nthe whole carcase was even better. But when Brownhead missed her lamb,\nshe went up on Grettir's hut every night, and bleated in suchwise that\nhe might not sleep anight, so that it misliked him above all things\nthat he had slaughtered the lamb, because of her troubling.\n\nBut every evening at twilight he heard some one hoot up in the valley,\nand then all the sheep ran together to one fold every evening.\n\nSo Grettir says, that a half-troll ruled over the valley, a giant\nhight Thorir, and in trust of his keeping did Grettir abide there;\nby him did Grettir name the valley, calling it Thorir's-dale. He said\nwithal that Thorir had daughters, with whom he himself had good game,\nand that they took it well, for not many were the new-comers thereto;\nbut when fasting time was, Grettir made this change therein, that fat\nand livers should be eaten in Lent.\n\nNow nought happed to be told of through the winter. At last Grettir\nfound it so dreary there, that he might abide there no longer: then\nhe gat him gone from the valley, and went south across the jokul, and\ncame from the north, right against the midst of Shieldbroadfell.\n\nHe raised up a flat stone and bored a hole therein, and said that\nwhoso put his eye to the hole in that stone should straightway behold\nthe gulf of the pass that leads from Thorir's-vale.\n\nSo he fared south through the land, and thence to the Eastfirths; and\nin this journey he was that summer long, and the winter, and met all\nthe great men there, but somewhat ever thrust him aside that nowhere\ngot he harbouring or abode; then he went back by the north, and dwelt\nat sundry places.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXII.\n\n<i>Of the Death of Hallmund, Grettir's Friend</i>.\n\n\nA little after Grettir had gone from Ernewaterheath, there came a man\nthither, Grim by name, the son of the widow at Kropp. He had slain the\nson of Eid Skeggison of the Ridge, and had been outlawed therefor;\nhe abode whereas Grettir had dwelt afore, and got much fish from the\nwater. Hallmund took it ill that he had come in Grettir's stead, and\nwas minded that he should have little good hap how much fish soever he\ncaught.\n\nSo it chanced on a day that Grim had caught a hundred fish, and he\nbore them to his hut and hung them up outside, but the next morning\nwhen he came thereto they were all gone; that he deemed marvellous,\nand went to the water; and now he caught two hundred fish, went home\nand stored them up; and all went the same way, for they were all gone\nin the morning; and now he thought it hard to trace all to one spring.\nBut the third day he caught three hundred fish, brought them home and\nwatched over them from his shed, looking out through a hole in the\ndoor to see if aught might come anigh. Thus wore the night somewhat,\nand when the third part of the night was gone by, he heard one going\nalong outside with heavy footfalls; and when he was ware thereof, he\ntook an axe that he had, the sharpest of weapons, for he was fain\nto know what this one was about; and he saw that the new-comer had a\ngreat basket on his back. Now he set it down, and peered about, and\nsaw no man abroad; he gropes about to the fishes, and deems he has got\na good handful, and into the basket he scoops them one and all; then\nis the basket full, but the fishes were so big that Grim thought that\nno horse might bear more. Now he takes them up and puts himself under\nthe load, and at that very point of time, when he was about to stand\nupright, Grim ran out, and with both hands smote at his neck, so that\nthe axe sank into the shoulder; thereat he turned off sharp, and set\noff running with the basket south over the mountain.\n\nGrim turned off after him, and was fain to know if he had got enough.\nThey went south all the way to Balljokul, and there this man went\ninto a cave; a bright fire burnt in the cave, and thereby sat a woman,\ngreat of growth, but shapely withal. Grim heard how she welcomed her\nfather, and called him Hallmund. He cast down his burden heavily, and\ngroaned aloud; she asked him why he was all covered with blood, but he\nanswered and sang--\n\n  \"Now know I aright,\n  That in man's might,\n  And in man's bliss,\n  No trust there is;\n  On the day of bale\n  Shall all things fail;\n  Courage is o'er,\n  Luck mocks no more.\"\n\nShe asked him closely of their dealings, but he told her all even as\nit had befallen.\n\n\"Now shall thou hearken,\" said he, \"for I shall tell of my deeds and\nsing a song thereon, and thou shall cut it on a staff as I give it\nout.\"\n\nSo she did, and he sung Hallmund's song withal, wherein is this--\n\n  \"When I drew adown\n  The bridle brown\n  Grettir's hard hold,\n  Men deemed me bold;\n  Long while looked then\n  The brave of men\n  In his hollow hands,\n  The harm of lands.\n\n  \"Then came the day\n  Of Thorir's play\n  On Ernelakeheath,\n  When we from death\n  Our life must gain;\n  Alone we twain\n  With eighty men\n  Must needs play then.\n\n  \"Good craft enow\n  Did Grettir show\n  On many a shield\n  In that same field;\n  Natheless I hear\n  That my marks were\n  The deepest still;\n  The worst to fill.\n\n  \"Those who were fain\n  His back to gain\n  Lost head and hand,\n  Till of the band,\n  From the Well-wharf-side,\n  Must there abide\n  Eighteen behind\n  That none can find.\n\n  \"With the giant's kin\n  Have I oft raised din;\n  To the rock folk\n  Have I dealt out stroke;\n  Ill things could tell\n  That I smote full well;\n  The half-trolls know\n  My baneful blow.\n\n  \"Small gain in me\n  Did the elf-folk see,\n  Or the evil wights\n  Who ride anights.\"\n\nMany other deeds of his did Hallmund sing in that song, for he had\nfared through all the land.\n\nThen spake his daughter, \"A man of no slippery hand was that; nor was\nit unlike that this should hap, for in evil wise didst thou begin with\nhim: and now what man will avenge thee?\"\n\nHallmund answered, \"It is not so sure to know how that may be;\nbut, methinks, I know that Grettir would avenge me if he might come\nthereto; but no easy matter will it be to go against the luck of this\nman, for much greatness lies stored up for him.\"\n\nThereafter so much did Hallmund's might wane as the song wore, that\nwell-nigh at one while it befell that the song was done and Hallmund\ndead; then she grew very sad and wept right sore. Then came Grim forth\nand bade her be of better cheer, \"<i>For all must fare when they are\nfetched</i>. This has been brought about by his own deed, for I could\nscarce look on while he robbed me.\"\n\nShe said he had much to say for it, \"<i>For ill deed gains ill\nhap</i>.\"\n\nNow as they talked she grew of better cheer, and Grim abode many\nnights in the cave, and got the song by heart, and things went\nsmoothly betwixt them.\n\nGrim abode at Ernewaterheath all the winter after Hallmund's death,\nand thereafter came Thorkel Eyulfson to meet him on the Heath, and\nthey fought together; but such was the end of their play that Grim\nmight have his will of Thorkel's life, and slew him not. So Thorkel\ntook him to him, and got him sent abroad and gave him many goods; and\ntherein either was deemed to have done well to the other. Grim betook\nhimself to seafaring, and a great tale is told of him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXIII.\n\n<i>How Grettir beguiled Thorir of Garth when he was nigh taking\nhim</i>.\n\n\nNow the story is to be taken up where Grettir came from the firths of\nthe east-country; and now he fared with hidden-head for that he would\nnot meet Thorir, and lay out that summer on Madderdale-heath and in\nsundry places, and at whiles he was at Reek-heath.\n\nThorir heard that Grettir was at Reek-heath, so he gathered men and\nrode to the heath, and was well minded that Grettir should not escape\nthis time.\n\nNow Grettir was scarce aware of them before they were on him; he was\njust by a mountain-dairy that stood back a little from the wayside,\nand another man there was with him, and when he saw their band, speedy\ncounsel must he take; so he bade that they should fell the horses and\ndrag them into the dairy shed, and so it was done.\n\nThen Thorir rode north over the heath by the dairy, and <i>missed\nfriend from stead</i>, for he found nought, and so turned back withal.\n\nBut when his band had ridden away west, then said Grettir, \"They will\nnot deem their journey good if we be not found; so now shall thou\nwatch our horses while I go meet them, a fair play would be shown them\nif they knew me not.\"\n\nHis fellow strove to let him herein, yet he went none-the-less, and\ndid on him other attire, with a slouched hat over his face and a staff\nin his hand, then he went in the way before them. They greeted him and\nasked if he had seen any men riding over the heath.\n\n\"Those men that ye seek have I seen; but little was wanting e'ennow\nbut that ye found them, for there they were, on the south of yon bogs\nto the left.\"\n\nNow when they heard that, off they galloped out on to the bogs, but so\ngreat a mire was there that nohow could they get on, and had to drag\ntheir horses out, and were wallowing there the more part of the day;\nand they gave to the devil withal the wandering churl who had so\nbefooled them.\n\nBut Grettir turned back speedily to meet his fellow, and when they met\nhe sang this stave--\n\n  \"Now make I no battle-field\n  With the searching stems of shield.\n  Rife with danger is my day,\n  And alone I go my way:\n  Nor shall I go meet, this tide,\n  Odin's storm, but rather bide\n  Whatso fate I next may have;\n  Scarce, then, shall thou deem me brave.\n\n  \"Thence where Thorir's company\n  Thronging ride, I needs must flee;\n  If with them I raised the din,\n  Little thereby should I win;\n  Brave men's clashing swords I shun,\n  Woods must hide the hunted one;\n  For through all things, good and ill,\n  Unto life shall I hold still.\"\n\nNow they ride at their swiftest west over the heath and forth by the\nhomestead at Garth, before ever Thorir came from the wilderness with\nhis band; and when they drew nigh to the homestead a man fell in with\nthem who knew them not.\n\nThen saw they how a woman, young and grand of attire, stood without,\nso Grettir asked who that woman would be. The new-comer said that she\nwas Thorir's daughter. Then Grettir sang this stave--\n\n  \"O wise sun of golden stall,\n  When thy sire comes back to hall,\n  Thou mayst tell him without sin\n  This, though little lies therein,\n  That thou saw'st me ride hereby,\n  With but two in company,\n  Past the door of Skeggi's son,\n  Nigh his hearth, O glittering one.\"\n\nHereby the new-comer thought he knew who this would be, and he rode to\npeopled parts and told how Grettir had ridden by.\n\nSo when Thorir came home, many deemed that Grettir had done the bed\nwell over their heads. But Thorir set spies on Grettir's ways, whereso\nhe might be. Grettir fell on such rede that he sent his fellow to the\nwest country with his horses; but he went up to the mountains and was\nin disguised attire, and fared about north there in the early winter,\nso that he was not known.\n\nBut all men deemed that Thorir had got a worse part than before in\ntheir dealings together.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXIV.\n\n<i>Of the ill haps at Sand-heaps, and how Guest came to the Goodwife\nthere</i>.\n\n\nThere was a priest called Stein, who dwelt at Isledale-river, in\nBard-dale; he was good at husbandry and rich in beasts; his son was\nKiartan, a brisk man and a well grown. Thorstein the White was the\nname of him who dwelt at Sand-heaps, south of Isledale-river; his wife\nwas called Steinvor, a young woman and merry-hearted, and children\nthey had, who were young in those days. But that place men deemed much\nhaunted by the goings of trolls.\n\nNow it befell two winters before Grettir came into the north country\nthat Steinvor the goodwife of Sand-heaps fared at Yule-tide to the\nstead of Isledale-river according to her wont, but the goodman abode\nat home. Men lay down to sleep in the evening, but in the night they\nheard a huge crashing about the bonder's bed; none durst arise and\nsee thereto, for very few folk were there. In the morning the goodwife\ncame home, but the goodman was gone, and none knew what had become of\nhim.\n\nNow the next year wears through its seasons, but the winter after\nthe goodwife would fain go to worship, and bade her house-carle abide\nbehind at home; thereto was he loth, but said nathless that she must\nrule; so all went the same way and the house-carle vanished; and\nmarvellous men deemed it; but folk saw certain stains of blood about\nthe outer door; therefore they deemed it sure that an evil wight had\ntaken them both.\n\nNow that was heard of wide through the country-side, and Grettir\nwithal was told thereof; so he took his way to Bard-dale, and came to\nSand-heaps at Yule-eve, and made stay there, and called himself Guest.\nThe goodwife saw that he was marvellous great of growth, but the\nhome-folk were exceeding afeard of him; he prayed for guesting there;\nthe mistress said that there was meat ready for him, \"but as to thy\nsafety see to that thyself.\"\n\nHe said that so he should do: \"Here will I abide, but thou shalt go to\nworship if thou wilt.\"\n\nShe answered, \"Meseems thou art a brave man if thou durst abide at\nhome here.\"\n\n\"<i>For one thing alone will I not be known</i>,\" said he.\n\nShe said, \"I have no will to abide at home, but I may not cross the\nriver.\"\n\n\"I will go with thee,\" says Guest.\n\nThen she made her ready for worship, and her little daughter with her.\nIt thawed fast abroad, and the river was in flood, and therein was the\ndrift of ice great: then said the goodwife,\n\n\"No way across is there either for man or horse.\"\n\n\"Nay, there will be fords there,\" said Guest, \"be not afeard.\"\n\n\"Carry over the little maiden first,\" said the goodwife; \"she is the\nlightest.\"\n\n\"I am loth to make two journeys of it,\" said Guest, \"I will bear thee\nin my arms.\"\n\nShe crossed herself, and said, \"This will not serve; what wilt thou do\nwith the maiden?\"\n\n\"A rede I see for that,\" said he, and therewith caught them both up,\nand laid the little one in her mother's lap, and set both of them\nthus on his left arm, but had his right free; and so he took the ford\nwithal, nor durst they cry out, so afeard were they.\n\nNow the river took him up to his breast forthwith, and a great\nice-floe drave against him, but he put forth the hand that was free\nand thrust it from him; then it grew so deep, that the stream broke\non his shoulder; but he waded through it stoutly, till he came to the\nfurther shore, and there cast them aland: then he turned back, and it\nwas twilight already by then he came home to Sand-heaps, and called\nfor his meat.\n\nSo when he was fulfilled, he bade the home-folk go into the chamber;\nthen he took boards and loose timber, and dragged it athwart the\nchamber, and made a great bar, so that none of the home-folk might\ncome thereover: none durst say aught against him, nor would any of\nthem make the least sound. The entrance to the hall was through the\nside wall by the gable, and dais was there within; there Guest lay\ndown, but did not put off his clothes, and light burned in the chamber\nover against the door: and thus Guest lay till far on in the night.\n\nThe goodwife came to Isledale-river at church-time, and men marvelled\nhow she had crossed the river; and she said she knew not whether a man\nor a troll had brought her over.\n\nThe priest said he was surely a man, though a match for few; \"But\nlet us hold our peace hereon,\" he said; \"maybe he is chosen for the\nbettering of thy troubles.\" So the goodwife was there through the\nnight.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXV.\n\n<i>Of Guest and the Troll-wife</i>.\n\n\nNow it is to be told of Guest, that when it drew towards midnight,\nhe heard great din without, and thereafter into the hall came a huge\ntroll-wife, with a trough in one hand and a chopper wondrous great in\nthe other; she peered about when she came in, and saw where Guest\nlay, and ran at him; but he sprang up to meet her, and they fell\na-wrestling terribly, and struggled together for long in the hall. She\nwas the stronger, but he gave back with craft, and all that was before\nthem was broken, yea, the cross-panelling withal of the chamber. She\ndragged him out through the door, and so into the outer doorway, and\nthen he betook himself to struggling hard against her. She was fain to\ndrag him from the house, but might not until they had broken away all\nthe fittings of the outer door, and borne them out on their shoulders:\nthen she laboured away with him down towards the river, and right down\nto the deep gulfs.\n\nBy then was Guest exceeding weary, yet must he either gather his might\ntogether, or be cast by her into the gulf. All night did they contend\nin such wise; never, he deemed, had he fought with such a horror for\nher strength's sake; she held him to her so hard that he might turn\nhis arms to no account save to keep fast hold on the middle of the\nwitch.\n\nBut now when they came on to the gulf of the river, he gives the hag a\nswing round, and therewith got his right hand free, and swiftly seized\nthe short-sword that he was girt withal, and smote the troll therewith\non the shoulder, and struck off her arm; and therewithal was he free,\nbut she fell into the gulf and was carried down the force.\n\nThen was Guest both stiff and weary, and lay there long on the rocks,\nthen he went home, as it began to grow light, and lay down in bed, and\nall swollen and blue he was.\n\nBut when the goodwife came from church, she thought her house had\nbeen somewhat roughly handled: so she went to Guest and asked what had\nhapped that all was broken and down-trodden. He told her all as it had\nbefallen: she deemed these things imported much, and asked him what\nman he was in good sooth. So he told her the truth, and prayed that\nthe priest might be fetched, for that he would fain see him: and so it\nwas done.\n\nBut when Stein the priest came to Sand-heaps, he knew forthwith, that\nthither was come Grettir Asmundson, under the name of Guest.\n\nSo the priest asked what he deemed had become of those men who had\nvanished; and Grettir said that he thought they would have gone into\nthe gulf: the priest said that he might not trow that, if no signs\ncould be seen thereof: then said Grettir that later on that should be\nknown more thoroughly. So the priest went home.\n\nGrettir lay many nights a-bed, and the mistress did well to him, and\nso Yule-tide wore.\n\nNow Grettir's story is that the troll-wife cast herself into the gulf\nwhen she got her wound; but the men of Bard-dale say that day dawned\non her, while they wrestled, and that she burst, when he cut the arm\nfrom her; and that there she stands yet on the cliff, a rock in the\nlikeness of a woman.\n\nNow the dale-dwellers kept Grettir in hiding there; but in the winter\nafter Yule, Grettir fared to Isledale-river, and when he met the\npriest, he said, \"Well, priest, I see that thou hadst little faith in\nmy tale; now will I, that thou go with me to the river, and see what\nlikelihood there is of that tale being true.\"\n\nSo the priest did; and when they came to the force-side, they saw a\ncave up under the cliff; a sheer rock that cliff was, so great that in\nno place might man come up thereby, and well-nigh fifty fathoms was it\ndown to the water. Now they had a rope with them, but the priest said:\n\n\"A risk beyond all measure, I deem it to go down here.\"\n\n\"Nay,\" said Grettir, \"it is to be done, truly, but men of the greatest\nprowess are meetest therefor: now will I know what is in the force,\nbut thou shall watch the rope.\"\n\nThe priest bade him follow his own rede, and drave a peg down into the\nsward on the cliff, and heaped stones up over it, and sat thereby.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXVI.\n\n<i>Of the Dweller in the Cave under the Force</i>.\n\n\nNow it is to be told of Grettir that he set a stone in a bight of the\nrope and let it sink down into the water.\n\n\"In what wise hast thou mind to go?\" said the priest.\n\n\"I will not go bound into the force,\" said Grettir; \"such things doth\nmy heart forebode.\"\n\nWith that he got ready for his journey, and was lightly clad, and girt\nwith the short-sword, and had no weapon more.\n\nThen he leapt off the cliff into the force; the priest saw the soles\nof his feet, and knew not afterwards what was become of him. But\nGrettir dived under the force, and hard work it was, because the\nwhirlpool was strong, and he had to dive down to the bottom, before he\nmight come up under the force. But thereby was a rock jutting out, and\nthereon he gat; a great cave was under the force, and the river fell\nover it from the sheer rocks. He went up into the cave, and there was\na great fire flaming from amidst of brands; and there he saw a giant\nsitting withal, marvellously great and dreadful to look on. But when\nGrettir came anigh, the giant leapt up and caught up a glaive and\nsmote at the new-comer, for with that glaive might a man both cut and\nthrust; a wooden shaft it had, and that fashion of weapon men called\nthen, heft-sax. Grettir hewed back against him with the short-sword,\nand smote the shaft so that he struck it asunder; then was the giant\nfain to stretch aback for a sword that hung up there in the cave; but\ntherewithal Grettir smote him afore into the breast, and smote off\nwell-nigh all the breast bone and the belly, so that the bowels\ntumbled out of him and fell into the river, and were driven down along\nthe stream; and as the priest sat by the rope, he saw certain fibres\nall covered with blood swept down the swirls of the stream; then he\ngrew unsteady in his place, and thought for sure that Grettir was\ndead, so he ran from the holding of the rope, and gat him home.\nThither he came in the evening and said, as one who knew it well, that\nGrettir was dead, and that great scathe was it of such a man.\n\nNow of Grettir must it be told that he let little space go betwixt\nhis blows or ever the giant was dead; then he went up the cave, and\nkindled a light and espied the cave. The story tells not how much he\ngot therein, but men deem that it must have been something great. But\nthere he abode on into the night; and he found there the bones of two\nmen, and bore them together in a bag; then he made off from the cave\nand swam to the rope and shook it, and thought that the priest would\nbe there yet; but when he knew that the priest had gone home, then\nmust he draw himself up by strength of hand, and thus he came up out\non to the cliff.\n\nThen he fared home to Isledale-river, and brought into the church\nporch the bag with the bones, and therewithal a rune-staff whereon\nthis song was marvellous well cut--\n\n  \"There into gloomy gulf I passed,\n  O'er which from the rock's throat is cast\n  The swirling rush of waters wan,\n  To meet the sword-player feared of man.\n  By giant's hall the strong stream pressed\n  Cold hands against the singer's breast;\n  Huge weight upon him there did hurl\n  The swallower of the changing whirl.\"\n\nAnd this other one withal--\n\n  \"The dreadful dweller of the cave\n  Great strokes and many 'gainst me drave;\n  Full hard he had to strive for it,\n  But toiling long he wan no whit;\n  For from its mighty shaft of tree\n  The heft-sax smote I speedily;\n  And dulled the flashing war-flame fair\n  In the black breast that met me there.\"\n\nHerein was it said how that Grettir had brought those bones from the\ncave; but when the priest came to the church in the morning he found\nthe staff and that which went with it, but Grettir was gone home to\nSand-heaps.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXVII.\n\n<i>Grettir driven from Sand-heaps to the West</i>.\n\n\nBut when the priest met Grettir he asked him closely about what had\nhapped; so he told him all the tale of his doings, and said withal\nthat the priest had been unfaithful to him in the matter of the\nrope-holding; and the priest must needs say that so it was.\n\nNow men deemed they could see that these evil wights had wrought the\nloss of the men there in the dale; nor had folk hurt ever after from\naught haunting the valley, and Grettir was thought to have done great\ndeeds for the cleansing of the land. So the priest laid those bones in\nearth in the churchyard.\n\nBut Grettir abode at Sand-heaps the winter long, and was hidden there\nfrom all the world.\n\nBut when Thorir of Garth heard certain rumours of Grettir being in\nBard-dale, he sent men for his head; then men gave him counsel to get\nhim gone therefrom, so he took his way to the west.\n\nNow when he came to Maddervales to Gudmund the Rich, he prayed Gudmund\nfor watch and ward; but Gudmund said he might not well keep him. \"But\nthat only is good for thee,\" said he, \"to set thee down there, whereas\nthou shouldst have no fear of thy life.\"\n\nGrettir said he wotted not where such a place might be.\n\nGudmund said, \"An isle there lies in Skagafirth called Drangey; so\ngood a place for defence it is, that no man may come thereon unless\nladders be set thereto. If thou mightest get there, I know for sure\nthat no man who might come against thee, could have good hope while\nthou wert on the top thereof, of overcoming thee, either by weapons or\ncraft, if so be thou shouldst watch the ladders well.\"\n\n\"That shall be tried,\" said Grettir, \"but so fearsome of the dark am I\ngrown, that not even for the keeping of my life may I be alone.\"\n\nGudmund said, \"Well, that may be; but trust no man whatsoever so much\nas not to trust thyself better; for many men are hard to see through.\"\n\nGrettir thanked him for his wholesome redes, and then fared away from\nMaddervales, nor made stay before he came to Biarg; there his mother\nand Illugi his brother welcomed him joyfully, and he abode there\ncertain nights.\n\nThere he heard of the slaying of Thorstein Kuggson, which had befallen\nthe autumn before Grettir went to Bard-dale; and he deemed therewithal\nthat felling went on fast enough.\n\nThen Grettir rode south to Holtbeacon-heath, and was minded to avenge\nHallmund if he might meet Grim; but when he came to Northriverdale,\nhe heard that Grim had been gone two winters ago, as is aforesaid; but\nGrettir had heard so late of these tidings because he had gone about\ndisguised those two winters, and the third winter he had been in\nThorirs-dale, and had seen no man who might tell him any news. Then\nhe betook himself to the Broadfirth-dales, and dwelt in Eastriverdale,\nand lay in wait for folk who fared over Steep-brent; and once more he\nswept away with the strong hand the goods of the small bonders. This\nwas about the height of summer-tide.\n\nNow when the summer was well worn, Steinvor of Sand-heaps bore a\nman-child, who was named Skeggi; he was first fathered on Kiartan, the\nson of Stein, the priest of Isle-dale-river. Skeggi was unlike unto\nhis kin because of his strength and growth, but when he was fifteen\nwinters old he was the strongest man in the north-country, and was\nthen known as Grettir's son; men deemed he would be a marvel among\nmen, but he died when he was seventeen years of age, and no tale there\nis of him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXVIII.\n\n<i>How Thorod, the Son of Snorri Godi, went against Grettir</i>.\n\n\nAfter the slaying of Thorstein Kuggson, Snorri Godi would have little\nto do with his son Thorod, or with Sam, the son of Bork the Fat; it is\nnot said what they had done therefor, unless it might be that they had\nhad no will to do some great deed that Snorri set them to; but withal\nSnorri drave his son Thorod away, and said he should not come back\ntill he had slain some wood-dweller; and so must matters stand.\n\nSo Thorod went over to the Dales; and at that time dwelt at\nBroadlair-stead in Sokkolfsdale a widow called Geirlaug; a herdsman\nshe kept, who had been outlawed for some onslaught; and he was a\ngrowing lad. Now Thorod Snorrison heard thereof, and rode in to\nBroadlair-stead, and asked where was the herdsman; the goodwife said\nthat he was with the sheep.\n\n\"What wilt thou have to do with him?\"\n\n\"His life will I have,\" says Thorod, \"because he is an outlaw, and a\nwood-wight.\"\n\nShe answers, \"No glory is it for such a great warrior as thou deemest\nthyself, to slay a mannikin like that; I will show thee a greater\ndeed, if thine heart is so great that thou must needs try thyself.\"\n\n\"Well, and what deed?\" says he.\n\nShe answers, \"Up in the fell here, lies Grettir Asmundson; play thou\nwith him, for such a game is more meet for thee.\"\n\nThorod took her talk well; \"So shall it be,\" says he, and therewith he\nsmote his horse with his spurs, and rode along the valley; and when he\ncame to the hill below Eastriver, he saw where was a dun horse, with\nhis saddle on, and thereby a big man armed, so he turned thence to\nmeet him.\n\nGrettir greeted him, and asked who he was. Thorod named himself, and\nsaid,\n\n\"Why askest thou not of my errand rather than of my name?\"\n\n\"Why, because,\" said Grettir, \"it is like to be such as is of little\nweight: art thou son to Snorri Godi?\"\n\n\"Yea, yea,\" says Thorod; \"but now shall we try which of us may do the\nmost.\"\n\n\"A matter easy to be known,\" says Grettir; \"hast thou not heard that\nI have ever been a treasure-hill that most men grope in with little\nluck?\"\n\n\"Yea, I know it,\" said Thorod; \"yet must somewhat be risked.\"\n\nAnd now he drew his sword therewith and set on Grettir eagerly; but\nGrettir warded himself with his shield, but bore no weapon against\nThorod; and so things went awhile, nor was Grettir wounded.\n\nAt last he said, \"Let us leave this play, for thou wilt not have\nvictory in our strife.\"\n\nBut Thorod went on dealing blows at his maddest. Now Grettir got\naweary of dealing with him, and caught him and set him down by his\nside, and said--\n\n\"I may do with thee even as I will, nor do I fear that thou wilt ever\nbe my bane; but the grey old carle, thy father, Snorri, I fear in good\nsooth, and his counsels that have brought most men to their knees:\nand for thee, thou shouldst turn thy mind to such things alone as thou\nmayst get done, nor is it child's play to fight with me.\"\n\nBut when Thorod saw that he might bring nought to pass, he grew\nsomewhat appeased, and therewithal they parted. Thorod rode home to\nTongue and told his father of his dealings with Grettir. Snorri Godi\nsmiled thereat, and said,\n\n\"<i>Many a man lies hid within himself</i>, and far unlike were your\ndoings; for thou must needs rush at him to slay him, and he might have\ndone with thee even as he would. Yet wisely has Grettir done herein,\nthat he slew thee not; for I should scarce have had a mind to let thee\nlie unavenged; but now indeed shall I give him aid, if I have aught to\ndo with any of his matters.\"\n\nIt was well seen of Snorri, that he deemed Grettir had done well to\nThorod, and he ever after gave his good word for Grettir.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXIX.\n\n<i>How Grettir took leave of his Mother at Biarg, and fared with\nIllugi his Brother to Drangey</i>.\n\n\nGrettir rode north to Biarg a little after he parted with Thorod, and\nlay hid there yet awhile; then so great grew his fear in the dark,\nthat he durst go nowhere as soon as dusk set in. His mother bade him\nabide there, but said withal, that she saw that it would scarce avail\nhim aught, since he had so many cases against him throughout all the\nland. Grettir said that she should never have trouble brought on her\nfor his sake.\n\n\"But I shall no longer do so much for the keeping of my life,\" says\nhe, \"as to be alone.\"\n\nNow Illugi his brother was by that time about fifteen winters old,\nand the goodliest to look on of all men; and he overheard their talk\ntogether. Grettir was telling his mother what rede Gudmund the Rich\nhad given him, and now that he should try, if he had a chance, to get\nout to Drangey, but he said withal, that he might not abide there,\nunless he might get some trusty man to be with him. Then said Illugi,\n\n\"I will go with thee, brother, though I know not that I shall be of\nany help to thee, unless it be that I shall be ever true to thee, nor\nrun from thee whiles thou standest up; and moreover I shall know more\nsurely how thou farest if I am still in thy fellowship.\"\n\nGrettir answered, \"Such a man thou art, that I am gladder in thee than\nin any other; and if it cross not my mother's mind, fain were I that\nthou shouldst fare with me.\"\n\nThen said Asdis, \"Now can I see that it has come to this, that two\ntroubles lie before us: for meseems I may ill spare Illugi, yet I know\nthat so hard is thy lot, Grettir, that thou must in somewise find rede\ntherefor: and howsoever it grieves me, O my sons, to see you both turn\nyour backs on me, yet thus much will I do, if Grettir might thereby be\nsomewhat more holpen than heretofore.\"\n\nHereat was Illugi glad, for that he deemed it good to go with Grettir.\n\nSo she gave them much of her chattels, and they made them ready for\ntheir journey. Asdis led them from out the garth, and before they\nparted she spake thus:\n\n\"Ah, my sons twain, there ye depart from me, and one death ye shall\nhave together; for no man may flee from that which is wrought for him:\non no day now shall I see either of you once again; let one fate\nbe over you both, then; for I know not what weal ye go to get for\nyourselves in Drangey, but there shall ye both lay your bones, and\nmany will begrudge you that abiding place. Keep ye heedfully from\nwiles, yet none the less there shall ye be bitten of the edge of the\nsword, for marvellously have my dreams gone: be well ware of sorcery,\nfor <i>little can cope with the cunning of eld</i>.\"\n\nAnd when she had thus spoken she wept right sore.\n\nThen said Grettir, \"Weep not, mother, for if we be set on with\nweapons, it shall be said of thee, that thou hast had sons, and not\ndaughters: live on, well and hale.\"\n\nTherewithal they parted. They fared north through the country side and\nsaw their kin; and thus they lingered out the autumn into winter; then\nthey turned toward Skagafirth and went north through Waterpass and\nthence to Reekpass, and down Saemunds-lithe and so unto Longholt, and\ncame to Dinby late in the day.\n\nGrettir had cast his hood back on to his shoulders, for in that wise\nhe went ever abroad whether the day were better or worse. So they went\nthence, and when they had gone but a little way, there met them a man,\nbig-headed, tall, and gaunt, and ill clad; he greeted them, and either\nasked other for their names; they said who they were, but he called\nhimself Thorbiorn: he was a land-louper, a man too lazy to work, and\na great swaggerer, and much game and fooling was made with him by some\nfolk: he thrust himself into their company, and told them much from\nthe upper country about the folk there. Grettir had great game and\nmerriment of him; so he asked if they had no need of a man who should\nwork for them, \"for I would fain fare with you,\" says he; and withal\nhe got so much from their talk that they suffered him to follow them.\n\nMuch snow there was that day, and it was cold; but whereas that man\nswaggered exceedingly, and was the greatest of tomfools, he had a\nby-name, and was called Noise.\n\n\"Great wonder had those of Dinby when thou wentest by e'en now\nunhooded, in the foul weather,\" said Noise, \"as to whether thou\nwouldst have as little fear of men as of the cold: there were two\nbonders' sons, both men of great strength, and the shepherd called\nthem forth to go to the sheep-watching with him, and scarcely could\nthey clothe themselves for the cold.\"\n\nGrettir said, \"I saw within doors there a young man who pulled on his\nmittens, and another going betwixt byre and midden, and of neither of\nthem should I be afeared.\"\n\nThereafter they went down to Sorbness, and were there through the\nnight; then they fared out along the strand to a farm called Reeks,\nwhere dwelt a man, Thorwald by name, a good bonder. Him Grettir prayed\nfor watch and ward, and told him how he was minded to get out to\nDrangey: the bonder said that those of Skagafirth would think him no\ngod-send, and excused himself therewithal.\n\nThen Grettir took a purse his mother had given to him, and gave it\nto the bonder; his brows lightened over the money, and he got three\nhouse-carles of his to bring them out in the night time by the light\nof the moon. It is but a little way from Reeks out to the island, one\nsea-mile only. So when they came to the isle, Grettir deemed it good\nto behold, because it was grass-grown, and rose up sheer from the sea,\nso that no man might come up thereon save there where the ladders were\nlet down, and if the uppermost ladder were drawn up, it was no man's\ndeed to get upon the island. There also were the cliffs full of fowl\nin the summer-tide, and there were eighty sheep upon the island which\nthe bonders owned, and they were mostly rams and ewes which they had\nmind to slaughter.\n\nThere Grettir set himself down in peace; and by then had he been\nfifteen or sixteen winters in outlawry, as Sturla Thordson has said.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXX.\n\n<i>Of the Bonders who owned Drangey between them</i>.\n\n\nIn the days when Grettir came to Drangey, these were chief men of the\ncountry side of Skagafirth. Hialti dwelt at Hof in Hialtidale, he\nwas the son of Thord, the son of Hialti, the son of Thord the Scalp:\nHialti was a great chief, a right noble man, and much befriended.\nThorbiorn Angle was the name of his brother, a big man and a strong,\nhardy and wild withal. Thord, the father of these twain, had married\nagain in his old age, and that wife was not the mother of the\nbrothers; and she did ill to her step-children, but served Thorbiorn\nthe worst, for that he was hard to deal with and reckless. And on a\nday Thorbiorn Angle sat playing at tables, and his stepmother passed\nby and saw that he was playing at the knave-game, and the fashion of\nthe game was the large tail-game. Now she deemed him thriftless, and\ncast some word at him, but he gave an evil answer; so she caught up\none of the men, and drave the tail thereof into Thorbiorn's cheek-bone\nwherefrom it glanced into his eye, so that it hung out on his cheek.\nHe sprang up, caught hold of her, and handled her roughly, insomuch\nthat she took to her bed, and died thereof afterwards, and folk say\nthat she was then big with child.\n\nThereafter Thorbiorn became of all men the most riotous; he took his\nheritage, and dwelt at first in Woodwick.\n\nHaldor the son of Thorgeir, who was the son of Head-Thord, dwelt at\nHof on Head-strand, he had to wife Thordis, the daughter of Thord\nHialtison, and sister to those brothers Hialti and Thorbiorn Angle.\nHaldor was a great bonder, and rich in goods.\n\nBiorn was the name of a man who dwelt at Meadness in the Fleets; he\nwas a friend to Haldor of Hof. These men held to each other in all\ncases.\n\nTongue-Stein dwelt at Stonestead; he was the son of Biorn, the son of\nUfeigh Thinbeard, son of that Crow-Hreidar to whom Eric of God-dales\ngave the tongue of land down from Hall-marsh. Stein was a man of great\nrenown.\n\nOne named Eric was the son of Holmgang-Starri, the son of Eric of\nGod-dales, the son of Hroald, the son of Geirmund Thick-beard; Eric\ndwelt at Hof in God-dales.\n\nNow all these were men of great account.\n\nTwo brothers there were who dwelt at a place called Broad-river\nin Flat-lithe, and they were both called Thord; they were wondrous\nstrong, and yet withal peaceable men both of them.\n\nAll these men had share in Drangey, and it is said that no less than\ntwenty in all had some part in the island, nor would any sell his\nshare to another; but the sons of Thord, Hialti and Thorbiorn Angle,\nhad the largest share, because they were the richest men.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXI.\n\n<i>How those of Skagafirth found Grettir on Drangey</i>.\n\n\nNow time wears on towards the winter solstice; then the bonders get\nready to go fetch the fat beasts for slaughter from the island; so\nthey manned a great barge, and every owner had one to go in his stead,\nand some two.\n\nBut when these came anigh the island they saw men going about there;\nthey deemed that strange, but guessed that men had been shipwrecked,\nand got aland there: so they row up to where the ladders were, when\nlo, the first-comers drew up the ladders.\n\nThen the bonders deemed that things were taking a strange turn, and\nhailed those men and asked them who they were: Grettir named himself\nand his fellows withal: but the bonders asked who had brought him\nthere.\n\nGrettir answered, \"He who owned the keel and had the hands, and who\nwas more my friend than yours.\"\n\nThe bonders answered and said, \"Let us now get our sheep, but come\nthou aland with us, keeping freely whatso of our sheep thou hast\nslaughtered.\"\n\n\"A good offer,\" said Grettir, \"but this time let each keep what he\nhas got; and I tell you, once for all, that hence I go not, till I am\ndragged away dead; for it is not my way to let that go loose which I\nhave once laid hand on.\"\n\nThereat the bonders held their peace, and deemed that a woeful guest\nhad come to Drangey; then they gave him choice of many things, both\nmoneys and fair words, but Grettir said nay to one and all, and they\ngat them gone with things in such a stead, and were ill content with\ntheir fate; and told the men of the country-side what a wolf had got\non to the island.\n\nThis took them all unawares, but they could think of nought to do\nherein; plentifully they talked over it that winter, but could see no\nrede whereby to get Grettir from the island.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXII.\n\n<i>Of the Sports at Heron-ness Thing</i>.\n\n\nNow the days wore till such time as men went to the Heron-ness Thing\nin spring-tide, and many came thronging there from that part of the\ncountry, wherefrom men had to go to that Thing for their suits. Men\nsat there long time both over the suits and over sports, for there\nwere many blithe men in that country-side. But when Grettir heard that\nall men fared to the Thing, he made a plot with his friends; for he\nwas in goodwill with those who dwelt nighest to him, and for them\nhe spared nought that he could get. But now he said that he would\ngo aland, and gather victuals, but that Illugi and Noise should stay\nbehind. Illugi thought this ill counselled, but let things go as\nGrettir would.\n\nSo Grettir bade them watch the ladders well, for that all things\nlay thereon; and thereafter he went to the mainland, and got what he\ndeemed needful: he hid himself from men whereso he came, nor did\nany one know that he was on the land. Withal he heard concerning the\nThing, that there was much sport there, and was fain to go thither;\nso he did on old gear and evil, and thus came to the Thing, whenas men\nwent from the courts home to their booths. Then fell certain young men\nto talking how that the day was fair and good, and that it were well,\nbelike, for the young men to betake them to wrestling and merrymaking.\nFolk said it was well counselled; and so men went and sat them down\nout from the booths.\n\nNow the sons of Thord, Hialti and Thorbiorn Angle, were the chief\nmen in this sport; Thorbiorn Angle was boisterous beyond measure, and\ndrove men hard and fast to the place of the sports, and every man must\nneeds go whereas his will was; and he would take this man and that by\nthe hands and drag him forth unto the playing-ground.\n\nNow first those wrestled who were weakest, and then each man in his\nturn, and therewith the game and glee waxed great; but when most men\nhad wrestled but those who were the strongest, the bonders fell to\ntalking as to who would be like to lay hand to either of the Thords,\nwho have been aforenamed; but there was no man ready for that. Then\nthe Thords went up to sundry men, and put themselves forward for\nwrestling, but <i>the nigher the call the further the man</i>. Then\nThorbiorn Angle looks about, and sees where a man sits, great of\ngrowth, and his face hidden somewhat. Thorbiorn laid hold of him,\nand tugged hard at him, but he sat quiet and moved no whit. Then said\nThorbiorn,\n\n\"No one has kept his place before me to-day like thou hast; what man\nart thou?\"\n\nHe answers, \"Guest am I hight.\"\n\nSaid Thorbiorn, \"Belike thou wilt do somewhat for our merriment; a\nwished-for guest wilt thou be.\"\n\nHe answered, \"About and about, methinks, will things change speedily;\nnor shall I cast myself into play with you here, where all is unknown\nto me.\"\n\nThen many men said he were worthy of good at their hands, if he, an\nunknown man, gave sport to the people. Then he asked what they would\nof him; so they prayed him to wrestle with some one.\n\nHe said he had left wrestling, \"though time agone it was somewhat of a\nsport to me.\"\n\nSo, when he did not deny them utterly, they prayed him thereto yet the\nmore.\n\nHe said, \"Well, if ye are so fain that I be dragged about here, ye\nmust do so much therefor, as to handsel me peace, here at the Thing,\nand until such time as I come back to my home.\"\n\nThen they all sprang up and said that so they would do indeed; but\nHafr was the name of him who urged most that peace should be given to\nthe man. This Hafr was the son of Thorarin, the son of Hafr, the son\nof Thord Knob, who had settled land up from the Weir in the Fleets to\nTongue-river, and who dwelt at Knobstead; and a wordy man was Hafr.\n\nSo now he gave forth the handselling grandly with open mouth, and this\nis the beginning thereof.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXIII.\n\n<i>The Handselling of Peace</i>.\n\n\nSays he, \"<i>Herewith I establish peace betwixt all men, but most\nof all betwixt all men and this same Guest who sits here, and so is\nnamed; that is to say, all men of rule, and goodly bonders, and all\nmen young, and fit to bear arms, and all other men of the country-side\nof Heron-ness Thing, whencesoever any may have come here, of men\nnamed or unnamed. Let us handsel safety and full peace to that unknown\nnew-comer, yclept Guest by name, for game, wrestling, and all glee,\nfor abiding here, and going home, whether he has need to fare over\nwater, or over land, or over ferry; safety shall he have, in all\nsteads named and unnamed, even so long as needs be for his coming home\nwhole, under faith holden. This peace I establish on behoof of us,\nand of our kin, friends, and men of affinity, women even as men,\nbondswomen, even as bonds-men, swains and men of estate. Let him be\na shamed peace-breaker, who breaks the peace, or spills the troth\nsettled; turned away and driven forth from God, and good men of the\nkingdom of Heaven, and all Holy ones. A man not to be borne of any\nman, but cast out from all, as wide as wolves stray, or Christian men\nmake for Churches, or heathen in God's-houses do sacrifice, or fire\nburns, or earth brings forth, or a child, new-come to speech, calls\nmother, or mother bears son, or the sons of men kindle fire, or ships\nsweep on, or shields glitter, or the sun shines, or the snow falls,\nor a Finn sweeps on skates, or a fir-tree waxes, or a falcon flies\nthe spring-long day with a fair wind under either wing, or the\nHeavens dwindle far away, or the world is built, or the wind turns</i>\n<i>waters seaward, or carles sow corn. Let him shun churches, and\nChristian folk, and heathen men, houses and caves, and every home but\nthe home of Hell. Now shall we be at peace and of one mind each with\nthe other, and of goodwill, whether we meet on fell or foreshore, ship\nor snow-shoes, earth or ice-mount, sea or swift steed, even as each\nfound his friend on water, or his brother on broad ways; in just such\npeace one with other, as father with son, or son with father in all\ndealings together. Now we lay hands together, each and all of us,\nto hold well this say of peace, and all words spoken in our settled\ntroth: As witness God and good men, and all those who hear my words,\nand nigh this stead chance to stand</i>.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXIV.\n\n<i>Of Grettir's Wrestling: and how Thorbiorn Angle now bought the more\npart of Drangey</i>.\n\n\nThen many fell to saying that many and great words had been spoken\nhereon; but now Guest said,\n\n\"Good is thy say and well hast thou spoken it; if ye spill not things\nhereafter, I shall not withhold that which I have to show forth.\"\n\nSo he cast off his hood, and therewith all his outer clothes.\n\nThen they gazed one on the other, and awe spread over their faces, for\nthey deemed they knew surely that this was Grettir Asmundson, for\nthat he was unlike other men for his growth and prowess' sake: and all\nstood silent, but Hafr deemed he had made himself a fool. Now the\nmen of the country-side fell into twos and twos together, and one\nupbraided the other, but him the most of all, who had given forth the\nwords of peace.\n\nThen said Grettir; \"Make clear to me what ye have in your minds,\nbecause for no long time will I sit thus unclad; it is more your\nmatter than mine, whether ye will hold the peace, or hold it not.\"\n\nThey answered few words and then sat down: and now the sons of Thord,\nand Halldor their brother-in-law, talked the matter over together;\nand some would hold the peace, and some not; so as they elbowed one\nanother, and laid their heads together. Grettir sang a stave--\n\n  \"I, well known to men, have been\n  On this morn both hid and seen;\n  Double face my fortune wears,\n  Evil now, now good it bears;\n  Doubtful play-board have I shown\n  Unto these men, who have grown\n  Doubtful of their given word;\n  Hafr's big noise goes overboard.\"\n\nThen said Tongue-stein, \"Thinkest thou that, Grettir? Knowest thou\nthen what the chiefs will make their minds up to? but true it is thou\nart a man above all others for thy great heart's sake: yea, but dost\nthou not see how they rub their noses one against the other?\"\n\nThen Grettir sang a stave--\n\n  \"Raisers-up of roof of war,\n  Nose to nose in counsel are;\n  Wakeners of the shield-rain sit\n  Wagging beard to talk of it:\n  Scatterers of the serpent's bed\n  Round about lay head to head.\n  For belike they heard my name;\n  And must balance peace and shame.\"\n\nThen spake Hialti the son of Thord; \"So shall it not be,\" says he; \"we\nshall hold to our peace and troth given, though we have been beguiled,\nfor I will not that men should have such a deed to follow after, if we\ndepart from that peace, that we ourselves have settled and handselled:\nGrettir shall go whither he will, and have peace until such time as\nhe comes back from this journey; and then and not till then shall this\nword of truce be void, whatsoever may befall betwixt us meanwhile.\"\n\nAll thanked him therefor, and deemed that he had done as a great\nchief, such blood-guilt as there was on the other side: but the speech\nof Thorbiorn Angle was little and low thereupon.\n\nNow men said that both the Thords should lay hand to Grettir, and he\nbade them have it as they would: so one of the brothers stood forth;\nand Grettir stood up stiff before him, and he ran at Grettir at his\nbriskest, but Grettir moved no whit from his place: then Grettir\nstretched out his hand down Thord's back, over the head of him, and\ncaught hold of him by the breeches, and tripped up his feet, and cast\nhim backward over his head in such wise that he fell on his shoulder,\nand a mighty fall was that.\n\nThen men said that both those brothers should go against Grettir at\nonce; and thus was it done, and great swinging and pulling about there\nwas, now one side, now the other getting the best of it, though one\nor other of the brothers Grettir ever had under him; but each in turn\nmust fall on his knee, or have some slip one of the other; and so hard\nthey griped each at each, that they were all blue and bruised.\n\nAll men thought this the best of sport, and when they had made an end\nof it, thanked them for the wrestling; and it was the deeming of those\nwho sat thereby, that the two brothers together were no stronger than\nGrettir alone, though each of them had the strength of two men of the\nstrongest: so evenly matched they were withal, that neither might get\nthe better of the other if they tried it between them.\n\nGrettir abode no long time at the Thing; the bonders bade him give up\nthe island, but he said nay to this, nor might they do aught herein.\n\nSo Grettir fared back to Drangey, and Illugi was as fain of him as\nmight be; and there they abode peacefully, and Grettir told them the\nstory of his doings and his journeys; and thus the summer wore away.\n\nAll men deemed that those of Skagafirth had shown great manliness\nherein, that they held to their peace given; and folk may well mark\nhow trusty men were in those days, whereas Grettir had done such deeds\nagainst them.\n\nNow the less rich men of the bonders spake together, that there\nwas little gain to them in holding small shares in Drangey; so they\noffered to sell their part to the sons of Thord; Hialti said that he\nwould not deal with them herein, for the bonders made it part of the\nbargain, that he who bought of them should either slay Grettir or get\nhim away. But Thorbiorn Angle said, that he would not spare to take\nthe lead of an onset against Grettir if they would give him wealth\ntherefor. So his brother Hialti gave up to him his share in the\nisland, for that he was the hardest man, and the least befriended of\nthe twain; and in likewise too did other bonders; so Thorbiorn Angle\ngot the more part of the island for little worth, but bound himself\nwithal to get Grettir away.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXV.\n\n<i>Thorbiorn Angle goes to Drangey to speak with Grettir</i>.\n\n\nWhenas summer was far spent, Thorbiorn Angle went with a well-manned\nbarge out to Drangey, and Grettir and his fellows stood forth on the\ncliff's edge; so there they talked together. Thorbiorn prayed Grettir\nto do so much for his word, as to depart from the island; Grettir said\nthere was no hope of such an end.\n\nThen said Thorbiorn, \"Belike I may give thee meet aid if thou dost\nthis, for now have many bonders given up to me their shares in the\nisland.\"\n\nGrettir answered, \"Now hast thou shown forth that which brings me to\nsettle in my mind that I will never go hence, whereas thou sayest\nthat thou now hast the more part of the island; and good is it that we\ntwain alone share the kale: for in sooth, hard I found it to have all\nthe men of Skagafirth against me; but now let neither spare the\nother, for not such are we twain, as are like to be smothered in the\nfriendship of men; and thou mayst leave coming hither, for on my side\nis all over and done.\"\n\n\"<i>All things bide their day</i>,\" said Thorbiorn, \"and an ill day\nthou bidest.\"\n\n\"I am content to risk it,\" said Grettir; and in such wise they parted,\nand Thorbiorn went home.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXVI.\n\n<i>How Noise let the fire out on Drangey, and how Grettir must needs\ngo aland for more</i>.\n\n\nSo the tale tells, that by then they had been two winters on Drangey,\nthey had slaughtered well-nigh all the sheep that were there, but one\nram, as men say, they let live; he was piebald of belly and head, and\nexceeding big-horned; great game they had of him, for he was so wise\nthat he would stand waiting without, and run after them whereso they\nwent; and he would come home to the hut anights and rub his horns\nagainst the door.\n\nNow they deemed it good to abide on the island, for food was plenty,\nbecause of the fowl and their eggs; but firewood was right hard to\ncome by; and ever Grettir would let the thrall go watch for drift, and\nlogs were often drifted there, and he would bear them to the fire;\nbut no need had the brothers to do any work beyond climbing into the\ncliffs when it liked them. But the thrall took to loathing his work,\nand got more grumbling and heedless than he was wont heretofore: his\npart it was to watch the fire night by night, and Grettir gave him\ngood warning thereon, for no boat they had with them.\n\nNow so it befell that on a certain night their fire went out; Grettir\nwas wroth thereat, and said it was but his due if Noise were beaten\nfor that deed; but the thrall said that his life was an evil life,\nif he must lie there in outlawry, and be shaken and beaten withal if\naught went amiss.\n\nGrettir asked Illugi what rede there was for the matter, but he said\nhe could see none, but that they should abide there till some keel\nshould be brought thither: Grettir said it was but blindness to hope\nfor that. \"Rather will I risk whether I may not come aland.\"\n\n\"Much my mind misgives me thereof,\" said Illugi, \"for we are all lost\nif thou comest to any ill.\"\n\n\"I shall not be swallowed up swimming,\" said Grettir; \"but\nhenceforward I shall trust the thrall the worse for this, so much as\nlies hereon.\"\n\nNow the shortest way to the mainland from the island, was a sea-mile\nlong.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXVII.\n\n<i>Grettir at the home-stead of Reeks</i>.\n\n\nNow Grettir got all ready for swimming, and had on a cowl of\nmarket-wadmal, and his breeches girt about him, and he got his fingers\nwebbed together, and the weather was fair. So he went from the island\nlate in the day, and desperate Illugi deemed his journey. Grettir made\nout into the bay, and the stream was with him, and a calm was over\nall. He swam on fast, and came aland at Reekness by then the sun had\nset: he went up to the homestead at Reeks, and into a bath that night,\nand then went into the chamber; it was very warm there, for there had\nbeen a fire therein that evening, and the heat was not yet out of the\nplace; but he was exceeding weary, and there fell into a deep sleep,\nand so lay till far on into the next day.\n\nNow as the morning wore the home folk arose, and two women came\ninto the chamber, a handmaid and the goodman's daughter. Grettir was\nasleep, and the bed-clothes had been cast off him on to the floor; so\nthey saw that a man lay there, and knew him.\n\nThen said the handmaiden: \"So may I thrive, sister! here is Grettir\nAsmundson lying bare, and I call him right well ribbed about the\nchest, but few might think he would be so small of growth below; and\nso then that does not go along with other kinds of bigness.\"\n\nThe goodman's daughter answered: \"Why wilt thou have everything on thy\ntongue's end? Thou art a measure-less fool; be still.\"\n\n\"Dear sister, how can I be still about it?\" says the handmaid. \"I\nwould not have believed it, though one had told me.\"\n\nAnd now she would whiles run up to him and look, and whiles run back\nagain to the goodman's daughter, screaming and laughing; but Grettir\nheard what she said, and as she ran in over the floor by him he caught\nhold of her, and sang this stave--\n\n  \"Stay a little, foolish one!\n  When the shield-shower is all done,\n  With the conquered carles and lords,\n  Men bide not to measure swords:\n  Many a man had there been glad,\n  Lesser war-gear to have had.\n  With a heart more void of fear;\n  Such I am not, sweet and dear.\"\n\nTherewithal he swept her up into the bed, but the bonder's daughter\nran out of the place; then sang Grettir this other stave--\n\n  \"Sweet amender of the seam,\n  Weak and worn thou dost me deem:\n  O light-handed dear delight,\n  Certes thou must say aright.\n  Weak I am, and certainly\n  Long in white arms must I lie:\n  Hast thou heart to leave me then,\n  Fair-limbed gladdener of great men?\"\n\nThe handmaid shrieked out, but in such wise did they part that she\nlaid no blame on Grettir when all was over.\n\nA little after, Grettir arose, and went to Thorvald the goodman, and\ntold him of his trouble, and prayed bring him out; so did he, and lent\nhim a boat, and brought him out, and Grettir thanked him well for his\nmanliness.\n\nBut when it was heard that Grettir had swam a sea-mile, all deemed his\nprowess both on sea and land to be marvellous.\n\nThose of Skagafirth had many words to say against Thorbiorn Angle, in\nthat he drave not Grettir away from Drangey, and said they would take\nback each his own share; but he said he found the task no easy one,\nand prayed them be good to him, and abide awhile.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXVIII.\n\n<i>Of Haring at Drangey, and the end of him</i>.\n\n\nThat same summer a ship came to the Gangpass-mouth, and therein was a\nman called Haering--a young man he was, and so lithe that there was no\ncliff that he might not climb. He went to dwell with Thorbiorn Angle,\nand was there on into the autumn; and he was ever urging Thorbiorn to\ngo to Drangey, saying that he would fain see whether the cliffs were\nso high that none might come up them. Thorbiorn said that he should\nnot work for nought if he got up into the island, and slew Grettir, or\ngave him some wound; and withal he made it worth coveting to Haering.\nSo they fared to Drangey, and set the eastman ashore in a certain\nplace, and he was to set on them unawares if he might come up on\nto the island, but they laid their keel by the ladders, and fell to\ntalking with Grettir; and Thorbiorn asked him if he were minded now to\nleave the place; but he said that to nought was his mind so made up as\nto stay there.\n\n\"A great game hast thou played with us,\" said Thorbiorn; \"but thou\nseemest not much afeard for thyself.\"\n\nThus a long while they gave and took in words, and came nowise\ntogether hereon.\n\nBut of Haering it is to be told that he climbed the cliffs, going on\nthe right hand and the left, and got up by such a road as no man has\ngone by before or since; but when he came to the top of the cliff, he\nsaw where the brothers stood, with their backs turned toward him, and\nthought in a little space to win both goods and great fame; nor were\nthey at all aware of his ways, for they deemed that no man might\ncome up, but there whereas the ladders were. Grettir was talking with\nThorbiorn, nor lacked there words of the biggest on either side; but\nwithal Illugi chanced to look aside, and saw a man drawing anigh them.\n\nThen he said, \"Here comes a man at us, with axe raised aloft, and in\nright warlike wise he seems to fare.\"\n\n\"Turn thou to meet him,\" says Grettir, \"but I will watch the ladders.\"\n\nSo Illugi turned to meet Haering, and when the eastman saw him, he\nturned and fled here and there over the island. Illugi chased him\nwhile the island lasted, but when he came forth on to the cliff's edge\nHaering leapt down thence, and every bone in him was broken, and\nso ended his life; but the place where he was lost has been called\nHaering's-leap ever since.\n\nIllugi came back, and Grettir asked how he had parted from this one\nwho had doomed them to die.\n\n\"He would have nought to do,\" says Illugi, \"with my seeing after\nhis affairs, but must needs break his neck over the rock; so let the\nbonders pray for him as one dead.\"\n\nSo when Angle heard that, he bade his folk make off. \"Twice have I\nfared to meet Grettir, but no third time will I go, if I am nought the\nwiser first; and now belike they may sit in Drangey as for me; but\nin my mind it is, that Grettir will abide here but a lesser time than\nheretofore.\"\n\nWith that they went home, and men deemed this journey of theirs worser\nthan the first, and Grettir abode that winter in Drangey, nor in that\nseason did he and Thorbiorn meet again.\n\nIn those days died Skapti Thorodson the Lawman, and great scathe\nwas that to Grettir, for he had promised to busy himself about his\nacquittal as soon as he had been twenty winters in outlawry, and this\nyear, of which the tale was told e'en now, was the nineteenth year\nthereof.\n\nIn the spring died Snorri the Godi, and many matters befell in that\nseason that come not into this story.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXIX.\n\n<i>Of the Talk at the Thing about Grettir's Outlawry</i>.\n\n\nThat summer, at the Althing, the kin of Grettir spake many things\nconcerning his outlawry, and some deemed he had outworn the years\nthereof, if he had come at all into the twentieth year; but they who\nhad blood-suits against him would not have it so, and said, that he\nhad done many an outlaw's deed since he was first outlawed, and deemed\nhis time ought to last longer therefor.\n\nAt that time was a new lawman made, Stein, the son of Thorgest, the\nson of Stein the Far-sailing, the son of Thorir Autumn-mirk; the\nmother of Stein was Arnora, the daughter of Thord the Yeller; and\nStein was a wise man.\n\nNow was he prayed for the word of decision; and he bade them search\nand see whether this were the twentieth summer since Grettir was made\nan outlaw, and thus it seemed to be.\n\nBut then stood forth Thorir of Garth, and brought all into dispute\nagain, for he found that Grettir had been one winter out here a\nsackless man, amidst the times of his outlawry, and then nineteen were\nthe winters of his outlawry found to be. Then said the lawman that no\none should be longer in outlawry than twenty winters in all, though he\nhad done outlaw's deeds in that time.\n\n\"But before that, I declare no man sackless.\"\n\nNow because of this was the acquittal delayed for this time, but\nit was thought a sure thing that he would be made sackless the next\nsummer. But that misliked the Skagafirthers exceeding ill, if Grettir\nwere to come out of his outlawry, and they bade Thorbiorn Angle do\none of two things, either give back the island or slay Grettir; but\nhe deemed well that he had a work on his hands, for he saw no rede for\nthe winning of Grettir, and yet was he fain to hold the island; and\nso all manner of craft he sought for the overcoming of Grettir, if he\nmight prevail either by guile or hardihood, or in any wise soever.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXX.\n\n<i>Thorbiorn Angle goes with his Foster-mother out to Drangey</i>.\n\n\nThorbiorn Angle had a foster-mother, Thurid by name, exceeding old,\nand meet for little, as folk deemed, very cunning she had been in\nmany and great matters of lore, when she was young, and men were yet\nheathen; but men thought of her as of one, who had lost all that. But\nnow, though Christ's law were established in the land, yet abode still\nmany sparks of heathendom. It had been law in the land, that men were\nnot forbidden to sacrifice secretly, or deal with other lore of eld,\nbut it was lesser outlawry if such doings oozed out. Now in such wise\nit fared with many, that <i>hand for wont did yearn</i>, and things\ngrew handiest by time that had been learned in youth.\n\nSo now, whenas Thorbiorn Angle was empty of all plots, he sought for\nhelp there, whereas most folk deemed it most unlike that help was--at\nthe hands of his foster-mother, in sooth, and asked, what counsel was\nin her therefor.\n\nShe answered, \"Now belike matters have come to this, even as the saw\nsays--<i>To the goat-house for wool</i>: but what could I do less than\nthis, to think myself before folk of the country-side, but be a man\nof nought, whenso anything came to be tried? nor see I how I may fare\nworse than thou, though I may scarce rise from my bed. But if thou art\nto have my rede, then shall I have my will as to how and what things\nare done.\"\n\nHe gave his assent thereto, and said that she had long been of\nwholesome counsel to him.\n\nNow the time wore on to Twainmonth of summer; and one fair-weather day\nthe carline spake to Angle,\n\n\"Now is the weather calm and bright, and I will now that thou fare\nto Drangey and pick a quarrel with Grettir; I shall go with thee, and\nwatch how heedful he may be of his words; and if I see them, I shall\nhave some sure token as to how far they are befriended of fortune, and\nthen shall I speak over them such words as seem good to me.\"\n\nAngle answered, \"Loth am I to be faring to Drangey, for ever am I of\nworser mind when I depart thence than when I come thereto.\"\n\nThen said the carline, \"Nought will I do for thee if thou sufferest me\nto rule in no wise.\"\n\n\"Nay, so shall it not be, foster-mother,\" said he; \"but so much have\nI said, as that I would so come thither the third time that somewhat\nshould be made of the matter betwixt us.\"\n\n\"The chance of that must be taken,\" said the carline \"and many a heavy\nlabour must thou have, or ever Grettir be laid to earth; and oft will\nit be doubtful to thee what fortune thine shall be, and heavy troubles\nwilt thou get therefrom when that is done; yet art thou so bounden\nhere-under, that to somewhat must thou make up thy mind.\"\n\nThereafter Thorbiorn Angle let put forth a ten-oared boat, and he went\nthereon with eleven men, and the carline was in their company.\n\nSo they fell to rowing as the weather went, out to Drangey; and when\nthe brothers saw that, they stood forth at the ladders, and they began\nto talk the matter over yet once more; and Thorbiorn said, that he was\ncome yet again, to talk anew of their leaving the island, and that\nhe would deal lightly with his loss of money and Grettir's dwelling\nthere, if so be they might part without harm. But Grettir said that he\nhad no words to make atwixt and atween of his going thence.\n\n\"Oft have I so said,\" says he, \"and no need there is for thee to talk\nto me thereon; ye must even do as ye will, but here will I abide,\nwhatso may come to hand.\"\n\nNow Thorbiorn deemed, that this time also his errand was come to\nnought, and he said,\n\n\"Yea, I deemed I knew with what men of hell I had to do; and most like\nit is that a day or two will pass away ere I come hither again.\"\n\n\"I account that not in the number of my griefs, though thou never\ncomest back,\" said Grettir.\n\nNow the carline lay in the stern, with clothes heaped up about and\nover her, and with that she moved, and said,\n\n\"Brave will these men be, and luckless withal; far hast thou outdone\nthem in manliness; thou biddest them choice of many goodly things,\nbut they say nay to all, and few things lead surer to ill, than not to\nknow how to take good. Now this I cast over thee, Grettir, that thou\nbe left of all health, wealth, and good-hap, all good heed and wisdom:\nyea, and that the more, the longer thou livest; good hope I have,\nGrettir, that thy days of gladness shall be fewer here in time to come\nthan in the time gone by.\"\n\nNow when Grettir heard these words, he was astonied withal, and said,\n\n\"What fiend is there in the boat with them?\" Illugi answers, \"I deem\nthat it will be the carline, Thorbiorn's foster-mother.\"\n\n\"Curses on the witch-wight!\" says Grettir, \"nought worse could have\nbeen looked for; at no words have I shuddered like as I shuddered\nat those words she spake; and well I wot that from her, and her foul\ncunning, some evil will be brought on us; yet shall she have some\ntoken to mind her that she has sought us here.\"\n\nTherewithal he caught up a marvellous great stone, and cast it down on\nto the boat, and it smote that clothes-heap; and a longer stone-throw\nwas that than Thorbiorn deemed any man might make; but therewithal a\ngreat shriek arose, for the stone had smitten the carline's thigh, and\nbroken it.\n\nThen said Illugi, \"I would thou hadst not done that!\"\n\n\"Blame me not therefor,\" said Grettir, \"I fear me the stroke has been\ntoo little, for certes not overmuch weregild were paid for the twain\nof us, though the price should be one carline's life.\"\n\n\"Must she alone be paid?\" said Illugi, \"little enough then will be\nlaid down for us twain.\"\n\nNow Thorbiorn got him gone homeward, with no greetings at parting. But\nhe said to the carline,\n\n\"Now have matters gone as I thought, that a journey of little glory\nthou shouldst make to the island; thou hast got maimed, and honour\nis no nigher to us than before, yea, we must have bootless shame on\nbootless shame.\"\n\nShe answered, \"This will be the springing of ill-hap to them; and\nI deem that henceforth they are on the wane; neither do I fear if I\nlive, but that I shall have revenge for this deed they have thus done\nme.\"\n\n\"Stiff is thine heart, meseems, foster-mother,\" said Thorbiorn. With\nthat they came home, but the carline was laid in her bed, and abode\nthere nigh a month; by then was the hurt thigh-bone grown together\nagain, and she began to be afoot once more.\n\nGreat laughter men made at that journey of Thorbiorn and the carline,\nand deemed he had been often enow out-played in his dealings with\nGrettir: first, at the Spring-Thing in the peace handselling; next,\nwhen Haering was lost, and now again, this third time, when the\ncarline's thigh-bone was broken, and no stroke had been played against\nthese from his part. But great shame and grief had Thorbiorn Angle\nfrom all these words.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXXI.\n\n<i>Of the Carline's evil Gift to Grettir</i>.\n\n\nNow wore away the time of autumn till it wanted but three weeks of\nwinter; then the carline bade bear her to the sea-shore. Thorbiorn\nasked what she would there.\n\n\"Little is my errand, yet maybe,\" she says, \"it is a foreboding of\ngreater tidings.\"\n\nNow was it done as she bade, and when she came down to the strand,\nshe went limping along by the sea, as if she were led thereto, unto\na place where lay before her an uprooted tree, as big as a man might\nbear on his shoulder. She looked at the tree and bade them turn it\nover before her eyes, and on one side it was as if singed and rubbed;\nso there whereas it was rubbed she let cut a little flat space; and\nthen she took her knife and cut runes on the root, and made them\nred with her blood, and sang witch-words over them; then she went\nbackwards and widdershins round about the tree, and cast over it many\na strong spell; thereafter she let thrust the tree forth into the sea,\nand spake in such wise over it, that it should drive out to Drangey,\nand that Grettir should have all hurt therefrom that might be.\nThereafter she went back home to Woodwick; and Thorbiorn said that he\nknew not if that would come to aught; but the carline answered that he\nshould wot better anon.\n\nNow the wind blew landward up the firth, yet the carline's root went\nin the teeth of the wind, and belike it sailed swifter than might have\nbeen looked for of it.\n\nGrettir abode in Drangey with his fellows as is aforesaid, and in\ngood case they were; but the day after the carline had wrought her\nwitch-craft on the tree the brothers went down below the cliffs\nsearching for firewood, so when they came to the west of the island,\nthere they found that tree drifted ashore.\n\nThen said Illugi, \"A big log of firewood, kinsman, let us bear it\nhome.\"\n\nGrettir kicked it with his foot and said, \"An evil tree from evil\nsent; other firewood than this shall we have.\"\n\nTherewithal he cast it out into the sea, and bade Illugi beware of\nbearing it home, \"For it is sent us for our ill-hap.\" And therewith\nthey went unto their abode, and said nought about it to the thrall.\nBut the next day they found the tree again, and it was nigher to the\nladders than heretofore; Grettir drave it out to sea, and said that it\nshould never be borne home.\n\nNow the days wore on into summer, and a gale came on with much wet,\nand the brothers were loth to be abroad, and bade Noise go search for\nfirewood.\n\nHe took it ill, and said he was ill served in that he had to drudge\nand labour abroad in all the foulest weather; but withal he went down\nto the beach before the ladders and found the carline's tree there,\nand deemed things had gone well because of it; so he took it up and\nbore it to the hut, and cast it down thereby with a mighty thump.\n\nGrettir heard it and said, \"Noise has got something, so I shall go out\nand see what it is.\"\n\nTherewithal he took up a wood-axe, and went out, and straightway Noise\nsaid,\n\n\"Split it up in as good wise as I have brought it home, then.\"\n\nGrettir grew short of temper with the thrall, and smote the axe with\nboth hands at the log, nor heeded what tree it was; but as soon as\never the axe touched the wood, it turned flatlings and glanced off\ntherefrom into Grettir's right leg above the knee, in such wise that\nit stood in the bone, and a great wound was that. Then he looked at\nthe tree and said,\n\n\"Now has evil heart prevailed, nor will this hap go alone, since that\nsame tree has now come back to us that I have cast out to sea on these\ntwo days. But for thee, Noise, two slips hast thou had, first, when\nthou must needs let the fire be slaked, and now this bearing home of\nthat tree of ill-hap; but if a third thou hast, thy bane will it be,\nand the bane of us all.\"\n\nWith that came Illugi and bound up Grettir's hurt, and it bled little,\nand Grettir slept well that night; and so three nights slipped by in\nsuch wise that no pain came of the wound, and when they loosed the\nswathings, the lips of the wound were come together so that it was\nwell-nigh grown over again. Then said Illugi,\n\n\"Belike thou wilt have no long hurt of this wound.\"\n\n\"Well were it then,\" said Grettir, \"but marvellously has this\nbefallen, whatso may come of it; and my mind misgives me of the way\nthings will take.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXXII.\n\n<i>Grettir sings of his Great Deeds</i>.\n\n\nNow they lay them down that evening, but at midnight Grettir began to\ntumble about exceedingly. Illugi asked why he was so unquiet. Grettir\nsaid that his leg had taken to paining him, \"And methinks it is like\nthat some change of hue there be therein.\"\n\nThen they kindled a light, and when the swathings were undone, the leg\nshowed all swollen and coal-blue, and the wound had broken open,\nand was far more evil of aspect than at first; much pain there went\ntherewith so that he might not abide at rest in any wise, and never\ncame sleep on his eyes.\n\nThen spake Grettir, \"Let us make up our minds to it, that this\nsickness which I have gotten is not done for nought, for it is of\nsorcery, and the carline is minded to avenge her of that stone.\"\n\nIllugi said, \"Yea, I told thee that thou wouldst get no good from that\nhag.\"\n\n\"<i>All will come to one end</i>,\" said Grettir, and sang this song\nwithal--\n\n  \"Doubtful played the foredoomed fate\n  Round the sword in that debate,\n  When the bearserks' outlawed crew,\n  In the days of yore I slew.\n  Screamed the worm of clashing lands\n  When Hiarandi dropped his hands\n  Biorn and Gunnar cast away,\n  Hope of dwelling in the day.\n\n  \"Home again then travelled I;\n  The broad-boarded ship must lie,\n  Under Door-holm, as I went,\n  Still with weapon play content,\n  Through the land; and there the thane\n  Called me to the iron rain,\n  Bade me make the spear-storm rise,\n  Torfi Vebrandson the wise.\n\n  \"To such plight the Skald was brought,\n  Wounder of the walls of thought,\n  Howsoever many men\n  Stood, all armed, about us then,\n  That his hand that knew the oar,\n  Grip of sword might touch no more;\n  Yet to me the wound who gave\n  Did he give a horse to have.\n\n  \"Thorbiorn Arnor's son, men said,\n  Of no great deed was afraid,\n  Folk spake of him far and wide;\n  He forbade me to abide\n  Longer on the lovely earth;\n  Yet his heart was little worth,\n  Not more safe alone was I,\n  Than when armed he drew anigh.\n\n  \"From the sword's edge and the spears\n  From my many waylayers,\n  While might was, and my good day,\n  Often did I snatch away;\n  Now a hag, whose life outworn\n  Wicked craft and ill hath borne,\n  Meet for death lives long enow,\n  Grettir's might to overthrow.\"[18]\n\n[Footnote 18: This song is obviously incomplete, and the second and\nthird stanzas speak of matters that do not come into this story.]\n\n\"Now must we take good heed to ourselves,\" said Grettir, \"for\nThorbiorn Angle must be minded that this hap shall not go alone; and\nI will, Noise, that thou watch the ladders every day from this time\nforth, but pull them up in the evening, and see thou do it well and\ntruly, even as though much lay thereon, but if thou bewrayest us,\nshort will be thy road to ill.\"\n\nSo Noise promised great things concerning this. Now the weather grew\nharder, and a north-east wind came on with great cold: every night\nGrettir asked if the ladders were drawn up.\n\nThen said Noise, \"Yea, certainly! men are above all things to be\nlooked for now. Can any man have such a mind to take thy life, that\nhe will do so much as to slay himself therefor? for this gale is far\nother than fair; lo now, methinks thy so great bravery and hardihood\nhas come utterly to an end, if thou must needs think that all things\nsoever will be thy bane.\"\n\n\"Worse wilt thou bear thyself than either of us,\" said Grettir, \"when\nthe need is on us; but now go watch the ladders, whatsoever will thou\nhast thereto.\"\n\nSo every morning they drave him out, and ill he bore it.\n\nBut Grettir's hurt waxed in such wise that all the leg swelled up, and\nthe thigh began to gather matter both above and below, and the lips of\nthe wound were all turned out, so that Grettir's death was looked for.\n\nIllugi sat over him night and day, and took heed to nought else, and\nby then it was the second week since Grettir hurt himself.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXXIII.\n\n<i>How Thorbiorn Angle gathered Force and set Sail for Drangey</i>.\n\n\nThorbiorn Angle sat this while at home at Woodwick, and was\nill-content in that he might not win Grettir; but when a certain space\nhad passed since the carline had put the sorcery into the root, she\ncomes to talk with Thorbiorn, and asks if he were not minded to go see\nGrettir. He answers, that to nought was his mind so made up as that he\nwould not go; \"perchance thou wilt go meet him, foster-mother,\" says\nThorbiorn.\n\n\"Nay, I shall not go meet-him,\" says the carline; \"but I have sent my\ngreeting to him, and some hope I have that it has come home to him;\nand good it seems to me that thou go speedily to meet him, or else\nshalt thou never have such good hap as to overcome him.\"\n\nThorbiorn answered: \"So many shameful journeys have I made thither,\nthat there I go not ever again; moreover that alone is full enough\nto stay me, that such foul weather it is, that it is safe to go\nnowhither, whatso the need may be.\"\n\nShe answered: \"Ill counselled thou art, not to see how to overcome\nherein. Now yet once again will I lay down a rede for this; go thou\nfirst and get thee strength of men, and ride to Hof to Halldor thy\nbrother-in-law, and take counsel of him. But if I may rule in some way\nhow Grettir's health goes, how shall it be said that it is past hope\nthat I may also deal with the gale that has been veering about this\nwhile?\"\n\nThorbiorn deemed it might well be that the carline saw further than he\nhad thought she might, and straightway sent up into the country-side\nfor men; but speedy answer there came that none of those who had given\nup their shares would do aught to ease his task, and they said that\nThorbiorn should have to himself both the owning of the island and the\nonset on Grettir. But Tongue-Stein gave him two of his followers, and\nHialti, his brother, sent him three men, and Eric of God-dales one,\nand from his own homestead he had six. So the twelve of them ride from\nWoodwick out to Hof. Halldor bade them abide there, and asked their\nerrand; then Thorbiorn told it as clearly as might be. Halldor asked\nwhose rede this might be, and Thorbiorn said that his foster-mother\nurged him much thereto.\n\n\"That will bear no good,\" said Halldor, \"because she is cunning in\nsorcery, and such-like things are now forbidden.\"\n\n\"I may not look closely into all these matters before-hand,\" said\nThorbiorn, \"but in somewise or other shall this thing have an end if I\nmay have my will. Now, how shall I go about it, so that I may come to\nthe island?\"\n\n\"Meseems,\" says Halldor, \"that thou trustest in somewhat, though I wot\nnot how good that may be. But now if thou wilt go forward with it, go\nthou out to Meadness in the Fleets to Biorn my friend; a good keel\nhe has, so tell him of my word, that I would he should lend you the\ncraft, and thence ye may sail out to Drangey. But the end of your\njourney I see not, if Grettir is sound and hale: yea, and be thou sure\nthat if ye win him not in manly wise, he leaves enough of folk behind\nto take up the blood-suit after him. And slay not Illugi if ye may do\notherwise. But methinks I see that all is not according to Christ's\nlaw in these redes.\"\n\nThen Halldor gave them six men withal for their journey; one was\ncalled Karr, another Thorleif, and a third Brand, but the rest are not\nnamed.\n\nSo they fared thence, eighteen in company, out to the Fleets, and came\nto Meadness and gave Biorn Halldor's message, he said that it was but\ndue for Halldor's sake, but that he owed nought to Thorbiorn; withal\nit seemed to him that they went on a mad journey, and he let them from\nit all he might.\n\nThey said they might not turn back, and so went down to the sea, and\nput forth the craft, and all its gear was in the boat-stand hard by;\nso they made them ready for sailing, and foul enow the weather seemed\nto all who stood on land. But they hoisted sail, and the craft shot\nswiftly far into the firth, but when they came out into the main part\nthereof into deep water, the wind abated in such wise that they deemed\nit blew none too hard.\n\nSo in the evening at dusk they came to Drangey.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXXIV.\n\n<i>The Slaying of Grettir Asmundson</i>.\n\n\nNow it is to be told, that Grettir was so sick, that he might not\nstand on his feet, but Illugi sat beside him, and Noise was to keep\nwatch and ward; and many words he had against that, and said that they\nwould still think that life was falling from them, though nought\nhad happed to bring it about; so he went out from their abode right\nunwillingly, and when he came to the ladders he spake to himself and\nsaid that now he would not draw them up; withal he grew exceeding\nsleepy, and lay down and slept all day long, and right on till\nThorbiorn came to the island.\n\nSo now they see that the ladders are not drawn up; then spake\nThorbiorn, \"Now are things changed from what the wont was, in that\nthere are none afoot, and their ladder stands in its place withal;\nmaybe more things will betide in this our journey than we had thought\nof in the beginning: but now let us hasten to the hut, and let no man\nlack courage; for, wot this well, that if these men are hale, each one\nof us must needs do his best.\"\n\nThen they went up on to the island, and looked round about, and saw\nwhere a man lay a little space off the landing-place, and snored hard\nand fast. Therewith Thorbiorn knew Noise, and went up to him and drave\nthe hilt of his sword against the ear of him, and bade him, \"Wake up,\nbeast! certes in evil stead is he who trusts his life to thy faith and\ntroth.\"\n\nNoise looked up thereat and said, \"Ah! now are they minded to go\non according to their wont; do ye, may-happen, think my freedom too\ngreat, though I lie out here in the cold?\"\n\n\"Art thou witless,\" said Angle, \"that thou seest not that thy foes are\ncome upon thee, and will slay you all?\"\n\nThen Noise answered nought, but yelled out all he might, when he knew\nthe men who they were.\n\n\"Do one thing or other,\" says Angle, \"either hold thy peace forthwith,\nand tell us of your abode, or else be slain of us.\"\n\nThereat was Noise as silent as if he had been thrust under water; but\nThorbiorn said, \"Are they at their hut, those brothers? Why are they\nnot afoot?\"\n\n\"Scarce might that be,\" said Noise, \"for Grettir is sick and come nigh\nto his death, and Illugi sits over him.\"\n\nThen Angle asked how it was with their health, and what things had\nbefallen. So Noise told him in what wise Grettir's hurt had come\nabout.\n\nThen Angle laughed and said, \"Yea, sooth is the old saw, <i>Old\nfriends are the last to sever</i>; and this withal, <i>Ill if a thrall\nis thine only friend</i>, whereso thou art, Noise; for shamefully hast\nthou bewrayed thy master, albeit he was nought good.\"\n\nThen many laid evil things to his charge for his ill faith, and beat\nhim till he was well-nigh past booting for, and let him lie there; but\nthey went up to the hut and smote mightily on the door.\n\n\"Pied-belly[19] is knocking hard at the door, brother,\" says Illugi.\n\n[Footnote 19: 'Pied-belly,' the name of the tame ram told of before.]\n\n\"Yea, yea, hard, and over hard,\" says Grettir; and therewithal the\ndoor brake asunder.\n\nThen sprang Illugi to his weapons and guarded the door, in such wise\nthat there was no getting in for them. Long time they set on him\nthere, and could bring nought against him save spear-thrusts, and\nstill Illugi smote all the spear-heads from the shafts. But when they\nsaw that they might thus bring nought to pass, they leapt up on to the\nroof of the hut, and tore off the thatch; then Grettir got to his feet\nand caught up a spear, and thrust out betwixt the rafters; but before\nthat stroke was Karr, a home-man of Halldor of Hof, and forthwithal it\npierced him through.\n\nThen spoke Angle, and bade men fare warily and guard themselves well,\n\"for we may prevail against them if we follow wary redes.\"\n\nSo they tore away the thatch from the ends of the ridge-beam, and bore\non the beam till it brake asunder.\n\nNow Grettir might not rise from his knee, but he caught up the\nshort-sword, Karr's-loom, and even therewith down leapt those men in\nbetwixt the walls, and a hard fray befell betwixt them. Grettir\nsmote with the short-sword at Vikar, one of the followers of Hialti\nThordson, and caught him on the left shoulder, even as he leapt in\nbetwixt the walls, and cleft him athwart the shoulder down unto the\nright side, so that the man fell asunder, and the body so smitten\natwain tumbled over on to Grettir, and for that cause he might not\nheave aloft the short-sword as speedily as he would, and therewith\nThorbiorn Angle thrust him betwixt the shoulders, and great was that\nwound he gave.\n\nThen cried Grettir, \"<i>Bare is the back of the brotherless</i>.\" And\nIllugi threw his shield over Grettir, and warded him in so stout a\nwise that all men praised his defence.\n\nThen said Grettir to Angle, \"Who then showed thee the way here to the\nisland?\"\n\nSaid Angle, \"The Lord Christ showed it us.\"\n\n\"Nay,\" said Grettir, \"but I guess that the accursed hag, thy\nfoster-mother, showed it thee, for in her redes must thou needs have\ntrusted.\"\n\n\"All shall be one to thee now,\" said Angle, \"in whomsoever I have put\nmy trust.\"\n\nThen they set on them fiercely, and Illugi made defence for both in\nmost manly wise; but Grettir was utterly unmeet for fight, both for\nhis wounds' sake and for his sickness. So Angle bade bear down Illugi\nwith shields, \"For never have I met his like, amongst men of such\nage.\"\n\nNow thus they did, besetting him with beams and weapons till he might\nward himself no longer; and then they laid hands on him, and so held\nhim fast. But he had given some wound or other to the more part of\nthose who had been at the onset, and had slain outright three of\nAngle's fellows.\n\nThereafter they went up to Grettir, but he was fallen forward on to\nhis face, and no defence there was of him, for that he was already\ncome to death's door by reason of the hurt in his leg, for all the\nthigh was one sore, even up to the small guts; but there they gave him\nmany a wound, yet little or nought he bled.\n\nSo when they thought he was dead, Angle laid hold of the short-sword,\nand said that he had carried it long enough; but Grettir's fingers\nyet kept fast hold of the grip thereof, nor could the short-sword be\nloosened; many went up and tried at it, but could get nothing done\ntherewith; eight of them were about it before the end, but none the\nmore might bring it to pass.\n\nThen said Angle, \"Why should we spare this wood-man here? lay his hand\non the block.\"\n\nSo when that was done they smote off his hand at the wrist, and the\nfingers straightened, and were loosed from the handle. Then Angle took\nthe short-sword in both hands and smote at Grettir's head, and a right\ngreat stroke that was, so that the short-sword might not abide it, and\na shard was broken from the midst of the edge thereof; and when men\nsaw that, they asked why he must needs spoil a fair thing in such\nwise.\n\nBut Angle answered, \"More easy is it to know that weapon now if it\nshould be asked for.\"\n\nThey said it needed not such a deed since the man was dead already.\n\n\"Ah! but yet more shall be done,\" said Angle, and hewed therewith\ntwice or thrice at Grettir's neck, or ever the head came off; and then\nhe spake,\n\n\"Now know I for sure that Grettir is dead.\"\n\nIn such wise Grettir lost his life, the bravest man of all who have\ndwelt in Iceland; he lacked but one winter of forty-five years whenas\nhe was slain; but he was fourteen winters old when he slew Skeggi, his\nfirst man-slaying; and from thenceforth all things turned to his fame,\ntill the time when he dealt with Glam, the Thrall; and in those days\nwas he of twenty winters-; but when he fell into outlawry, he was\ntwenty-five years old; but in outlawry was he nigh nineteen winters,\nand full oft was he the while in great trials of men; and such as his\nlife was, and his needs, he held well to his faith and troth, and most\nhaps did he foresee, though he might do nought to meet them.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXXV.\n\n<i>How Thorbiorn Angle claimed Grettir's Head-money</i>.\n\n\n\"A great champion have we laid to earth here,\" said Thorbiorn; \"now\nshall we bring the head aland with us, for I will not lose the money\nwhich has been laid thereon; nor may they then feign that they know\nnot if I have slain Grettir.\"\n\nThey bade him do his will, but had few words to say hereon, for to all\nthe deed seemed a deed of little prowess.\n\nThen Angle fell to speaking with Illugi,\n\n\"Great scathe it is of such a brave man as thou art, that thou hast\nfallen to such folly, as to betake thee to ill deeds with this outlaw\nhere, and must needs lie slain and unatoned therefore.\"\n\nIllugi answered, \"Then first when the Althing is over this summer,\nwilt thou know who are outlaws; but neither thou nor the carline, thy\nfoster-mother, will judge in this matter, because that your sorcery\nand craft of old days have slain Grettir, though thou didst, indeed,\nbear steel against him, as he lay at death's door, and wrought that so\ngreat coward's deed there, over and above thy sorcery.\"\n\nThen said Angle, \"In manly wise speakest thou, but not thus will it\nbe; and I will show thee that I think great scathe in thy death, for\nthy life will I give thee if thou wilt swear an oath for us here, to\navenge thyself on none of those who have been in this journey.\"\n\nIllugi said, \"That might I have deemed a thing to talk about, if\nGrettir had been suffered to defend himself, and ye had won him with\nmanliness and hardihood; but now nowise is it to be thought, that I\nwill do so much for the keeping of my life, as to become base, even as\nthou art: and here I tell thee, once for all, that no one of men shall\nbe of less gain to thee than I, if I live; for long will it be or ever\nI forget how ye have prevailed against Grettir.--Yea, much rather do I\nchoose to die.\"\n\nThen Thorbiorn Angle held talk with his fellows, whether they should\nlet Illugi live or not; they said that, whereas he had ruled the\njourney, so should he rule the deeds; so Angle said that he knew not\nhow to have that man hanging over his head, who would neither give\ntroth, nor promise aught.\n\nBut when Illugi knew that they were fully minded to slay him, he\nlaughed, and spake thus,\n\n\"Yea, now have your counsels sped, even as my heart would.\"\n\nSo at the dawning of the day they brought him to the eastern end of\nthe island, and there slaughtered him; but all men praised his great\nheart, and deemed him unlike to any of his age.\n\nThey laid both the brothers in cairn on the island there; and\nthereafter took Grettir's head, and bore it away with them, and whatso\ngoods there were in weapons or clothes; but the good short-sword Angle\nwould not put into the things to be shared, and he bare it himself\nlong afterwards. Noise they took with them, and he bore himself as ill\nas might be.\n\nAt nightfall the gale abated, and they rowed aland in the morning.\nAngle took land at the handiest place, and sent the craft out to\nBiorn; but by then they were come hard by Oyce-land, Noise began to\nbear himself so ill, that they were loth to fare any longer with him,\nso there they slew him, and long and loud he greeted or ever he was\ncut down.\n\nThorbiorn Angle went home to Woodwick, and deemed he had done in manly\nwise in this journey; but Grettir's head they laid in salt in the\nout-bower at Woodwick, which was called therefrom Grettir's-bower; and\nthere it lay the winter long. But Angle was exceeding ill thought\nof for this work of his, as soon as folk knew that Grettir had been\novercome by sorcery.\n\nThorbiorn Angle sat quiet till past Yule; then he rode to meet Thorir\nof Garth, and told him of these slayings; and this withal, that he\ndeemed that money his due which had been put on Grettir's head.\nThorir said that he might not hide that he had brought about Grettir's\noutlawry,\n\n\"Yea, and oft have I dealt hardly with him, yet so much for the taking\nof his life I would not have done, as to make me a misdoer, a man of\nevil craft, even as thou hast done; and the less shall I lay down that\nmoney for thee, in that I deem thee surely to be a man of forfeit life\nbecause of thy sorcery and wizard-craft.\"\n\nThorbiorn Angle answers, \"Meseems thou art urged hereto more by\nclosefistedness and a poor mind, than by any heed of how Grettir was\nwon.\"\n\nThorir said that a short way they might make of it, in that they\nshould abide the Althing, and take whatso the Lawman might deem\nmost rightful: and in such wise they parted that there was no little\nill-will betwixt Thorir and Thorbiorn Angle.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXXVI.\n\n<i>How Thorbiorn Angle brought Grettir's Head to Biarg</i>.\n\n\nThe kin of Grettir and Illugi were exceeding ill-content when they\nheard of these slayings, and they so looked on matters as deeming that\nAngle had wrought a shameful deed in slaying a man at death's door;\nand that, besides that, he had become guilty of sorcery. They sought\nthe counsel of the wisest men, and everywhere was Angle's work ill\nspoken of. As for him, he rode to Midfirth, when it lacked four weeks\nof summer; and when his ways were heard of, Asdis gathered men to\nher, and there came many of her friends: Gamli and Glum, her\nbrothers-in-law, and their sons, Skeggi, who was called the\nShort-handed, and Uspak, who is aforesaid. Asdis was so well\nbefriended, that all the Midfirthers came to aid her; yea, even those\nwho were aforetime foes to Grettir; and the first man there was Thorod\nDrapa-Stump, and the more part of the Ramfirthers.\n\nNow Angle came to Biarg with twenty men, and had Grettir's head with\nhim; but not all those had come yet who had promised aid to Asdis;\nso Angle and his folk went into the chamber with the head, and set it\ndown on the floor; the goodwife was there in the chamber, and many men\nwith her; nor did it come to greetings on either side; but Angle sang\nthis stave--\n\n  \"A greedy head I bring with me\n  Up from the borders of the sea;\n  Now may the needle-pliers weep,\n  The red-haired outlaw lies asleep;\n  Gold-bearer, cast adown thine eyes,\n  And see how on the pavement lies,\n  The peace-destroying head brought low,\n  That but for salt had gone ere now.\"\n\nThe goodwife sat silent when he gave forth the stave, and thereafter\nshe sang--\n\n  \"O thou poor wretch, as sheep that flee\n  To treacherous ice when wolves they see,\n  So in the waves would ye have drowned\n  Your shame and fear, had ye but found\n  That steel-god hale upon the isle:\n  Now heavy shame, woe worth the while!\n  Hangs over the north country-side,\n  Nor I my loathing care to hide.\"\n\nThen many said that it was nought wonderful, though she had brave\nsons, so brave as she herself was, amid such grief of heart as was\nbrought on her.\n\nUspak was without, and held talk with such of Angle's folk as had\nnot gone in, and asked concerning the slayings; and all men praised\nIllugi's defence; and they told withal how fast Grettir had held the\nshort-sword after he was dead, and marvellous that seemed to men.\n\nAmidst these things were seen many men riding from the west, and\nthither were coming many friends of the goodwife, with Gamli and\nSkeggi west from Meals.\n\nNow Angle had been minded to take out execution after Illugi, for he\nand his men claimed all his goods; but when that crowd of men came up,\nAngle saw that he might do nought therein, but Gamli and Uspak were of\nthe eagerest, and were fain to set on Angle; but those who were wisest\nbade them take the rede of Thorwald their kinsman, and the other chief\nmen, and said that worse would be deemed of Angle's case the more wise\nmen sat in judgment over it; then such truce there was that Angle rode\naway, having Grettir's head with him, because he was minded to bear it\nto the Althing.\n\nSo he rode home, and thought matters looked heavy enough, because\nwell-nigh all the chief men of the land were either akin to Grettir\nand Illugi, or tied to them and theirs by marriage: that summer,\nmoreover, Skeggi the Short-handed took to wife the daughter of Thorod\nDrapa-Stump, and therewithal Thorod joined Grettir's kin in these\nmatters.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXXVII.\n\n<i>Affairs at the Althing</i>.\n\n\nNow men rode to the Althing, and Angle's helpers were fewer than he\nhad looked for, because that his case was spoken ill of far and wide.\n\nThen asked Halldor whether they were to carry Grettir's head with them\nto the Althing.\n\nAngle said that he would bear it with him.\n\n\"Ill-counselled is that,\" said Halldor; \"for many enough will thy foes\nbe, though thou doest nought to jog the memories of folk, or wake up\ntheir grief.\"\n\nBy then were they come on their way, and were minded to ride south\nover the Sand; so Angle let take the head, and bury it in a hillock of\nsand, which is called Grettir's Hillock.\n\nThronged was the Althing, and Angle put forth his case, and praised\nhis own deeds mightily, in that he had slain the greatest outlaw in\nall the land, and claimed the money as his, which had been put on\nGrettir's head. But Thorir had the same answer for him as was told\nafore.\n\nThen was the Lawman prayed for a decision, and he said that he would\nfain hear if any charges came against this, whereby Angle should\nforfeit his blood-money, or else he said he must have whatsoever had\nbeen put on Grettir's head.\n\nThen Thorvald Asgeirson called on Skeggi the Short-handed to put forth\nhis case, and he summoned Thorbiorn Angle with a first summons for the\nwitch-craft and sorcery, whereby Grettir must have got his bane, and\nthen with another summons withal, for that they had borne weapons\nagainst a half-dead man, and hereon he claimed an award of outlawry.\n\nNow folk drew much together on this side and on that, but few they\nwere that gave aid to Thorbiorn; and things turned out otherwise\nthan he had looked for, because Thorvald, and Isleif, his son-in-law,\ndeemed it a deed worthy of death to bring men to their end by evil\nsorcery; but through the words of wise men these cases had such end,\nthat Thorbiorn should sail away that same summer, and never come\nback to Iceland while any such were alive, as had the blood-suit for\nGrettir and Illugi.\n\nAnd then, moreover, was it made law that all workers of olden craft\nshould be made outlaws.\n\nSo when Angle saw what his lot would be, he gat him gone from the\nThing, because it might well hap that Grettir's kin would set on him;\nnor did he get aught of the fee that was put on Grettir's head, for\nthat Stein the Lawman would not that it should be paid for a deed\nof shame. None of those men of Thorbiorn's company who had fallen in\nDrangey were atoned, for they were to be made equal to the slaying of\nIllugi, but their kin were exceeding ill content therewith.\n\nSo men rode home from the Thing, and all blood-suits that men had\nagainst Grettir fell away.\n\nSkeggi, the son of Gamli, who was son-in-law of Thorod Drapa-Stump,\nand sister's son of Grettir, went north to Skagafirth at the instance\nof Thorvald Asgeirson, and Isleif his son-in-law, who was afterwards\nBishop of Skalholt, and by the consent of all the people got to him a\nkeel, and went to Drangey to seek the corpses of the brothers, Grettir\nand Illugi; and he brought them back to Reeks, in Reek-strand, and\nburied them there at the church; and it is for a token that Grettir\nlies there, that in the days of the Sturlungs, when the church of the\nReeks was moved, Grettir's bones were dug up, nor were they deemed\nso wondrous great, great enough though they were. The bones of Illugi\nwere buried afterwards north of the church, but Grettir's head at home\nin the church at Biarg.\n\nGoodwife Asdis abode at home at Biarg, and so well beloved she was,\nthat no trouble was ever brought against her, no, not even while\nGrettir was in outlawry.\n\nSkeggi the Short-handed took the household at Biarg after Asdis, and\na mighty man he was; his son was Gamli, the father of Skeggi of\nScarf-stead, and Asdis the mother of Odd the Monk. Many men are come\nfrom him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXXVIII.\n\n<i>Thorbiorn Angle goes to Norway, and thence to Micklegarth</i>.\n\n\nThornbiorn Angle took ship at Goose-ere, with whatso of his goods he\nmight take with him; but Hialti his brother took to him his lands,\nand Angle gave him Drangey withal. Hialti became a great chief in\naftertimes, but he has nought more to do with this tale.\n\nSo Angle fared out to Norway; he yet made much of himself, for he\ndeemed he had wrought a great deed in the slaying of Grettir, and so\nthought many others, who knew not how all had come to pass, for many\nknew how renowned a man Grettir had been; withal Angle told just so\nmuch of their dealings together as might do him honour, and let such\nof the tale lie quiet as was of lesser glory.\n\nNow this tale came in the autumn-tide east to Tunsberg, and when\nThorstein Dromund heard of the slayings he grew all silent, because it\nwas told him that Angle was a mighty man and a hardy; and he called\nto mind the words which he had spoken when he and Grettir talked\ntogether, long time agone, concerning the fashion of their arms.\n\nSo Thorstein put out spies on Angle's goings; they were both in\nNorway through the winter, but Thorbiorn was in the north-country, and\nThorstein in Tunsberg, nor had either seen other; yet was Angle ware\nthat Grettir had a brother in Norway, and thought it hard to keep\nguard of himself in an unknown land, wherefore he sought counsel as to\nwhere he should betake himself. Now in those days many Northmen went\nout to Micklegarth, and took war-pay there; so Thorbiorn deemed it\nwould be good to go thither and get to him thereby both fee and fame,\nnor to abide in the North-lands because of the kin of Grettir. So he\nmade ready to go from Norway, and get him gone from out the land, and\nmade no stay till he came to Micklegarth, and there took war-hire.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. LXXXIX.\n\n<i>How the Short-Sword was the easier known when sought for by reason\nof the notch in the blade</i>.\n\n\nThorstein Dromund was a mighty man, and of the greatest account; and\nnow he heard that Thorbiorn Angle had got him gone from the land out\nto Micklegarth; speedy were his doings thereon, he gave over his lands\ninto his kinsmen's hands, and betook himself to journeying and to\nsearch for Angle; and ever he followed after whereas Angle had gone\nafore, nor was Angle ware of his goings.\n\nSo Thorstein Dromund came out to Micklegarth a little after Angle, and\nwas fain above all things to slay him, but neither knew the other. Now\nhad they will to be taken into the company of the Varangians, and\nthe matter went well as soon as the Varangians knew that they were\nNorthmen; and in those days was Michael Katalak king over Micklegarth.\n\nThorstein Dromund watched for Angle, if in some wise he might know\nhim, but won not the game because of the many people there; and ever\nwould he lie awake, ill-content with his lot, and thinking how great\nwas his loss.\n\nNow hereupon it befell that the Varangians were to go on certain\nwarfare, and free the land from harrying; and their manner and law it\nwas before they went from home to hold a weapon-show, and so it was\nnow done; and when the weapon-show was established, then were all\nVarangians to come there, and those withal who were minded to fall\ninto their company, and they were to show forth their weapons.\n\nThither came both Thorstein and Angle; but Thorbiorn Angle showed\nforth his weapons first; and he had the short-sword, Grettir's-loom;\nbut when he showed it many praised it and said that it was an\nexceeding good weapon, but that it was a great blemish, that notch in\nthe edge thereof; and asked him withal what had brought that to pass.\n\nAngle said it was a thing worthy to be told of, \"For this is the next\nthing to be said,\" says he, \"that out in Iceland I slew that champion\nwho was called Grettir the Strong, and who was the greatest warrior\nand the stoutest-hearted of all men of that land, for him could no man\nvanquish till I came forth for that end; and whereas I had the good\nhap to win him, I took his life; though indeed he had my strength many\ntimes over; then I drave this short-sword into his head, and thereby\nwas a shard broken from out its edge.\"\n\nSo those who stood nigh said, that he must have been hard of head\nthen, and each showed the short-sword to the other; but hereby\nThorstein deemed he knew now who this man was, and he prayed withal\nto see the short-sword even as the others; then Angle gave it up with\ngood will, for all were praising his bravery and that daring onset,\nand even in such wise did he think this one would do; and in no wise\ndid he misdoubt him that Thorstein was there, or that the man was akin\nto Grettir.\n\nThen Dromund took the short-sword, and raised it aloft, and hewed at\nAngle and smote him on the head, and so great was the stroke that it\nstayed but at the jaw-teeth, and Thorbiorn Angle fell to earth dead\nand dishonoured.\n\nThereat all men became hushed; but the Chancellor of the town seized\nThorstein straightway, and asked for what cause he did such an\nill-deed there at the hallowed Thing.\n\nThorstein said that he was the brother of Grettir the Strong, and that\nwithal he had never been able to bring vengeance to pass till then;\nso thereupon many put in their word, and said that the strong man must\nneeds have been of great might and nobleness, in that Thorstein had\nfared so far forth into the world to avenge him: the rulers of the\ncity deemed that like enough; but whereas there was none there to bear\nwitness in aught to Thorstein's word, that law of theirs prevailed,\nthat whosoever slew a man should lose nought but his life.\n\nSo then speedy doom and hard enow did Thorstein get; for in a dark\nchamber of a dungeon should he be cast and there abide his death, if\nnone redeemed him therefrom with money. But when Thorstein came into\nthe dungeon, there was a man there already, who had come to death's\ndoor from misery; and both foul and cold was that abode; Thorstein\nspake to that man and said,\n\n\"How deemest thou of thy life?\"\n\nHe answered, \"As of a right evil life, for of nought can I be holpen,\nnor have I kinsmen to redeem me.\"\n\nThorstein said, \"Nought is of less avail in such matters than lack of\ngood rede; let us be merry then, and do somewhat that will be glee and\ngame to us.\"\n\nThe man said that he might have no glee of aught.\n\n\"Nay, then, but let us try it,\" said Thorstein. And therewithal he\nfell to singing; and he was a man of such goodly voice that scarcely\nmight his like be found therefor, nor did he now spare himself.\n\nNow the highway was but a little way from the dungeon, and Thorstein\nsang so loud and clear that the walls resounded therewith, and great\ngame this seemed to him who had been half-dead erst; and in such wise\ndid Thorstein keep it going till the evening.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XC.\n\n<i>How the Lady Spes redeemed Thorstein from the Dungeon</i>.\n\n\nThere was a great lady of a castle in that town called Spes, exceeding\nrich and of great kin; Sigurd was the name of her husband, a rich man\ntoo, but of lesser kin than she was, and for money had she been wedded\nto him; no great love there was betwixt them, for she thought she had\nbeen wedded far beneath her; high-minded she was and a very stirring\nwoman.\n\nNow so it befell, that, as Thorstein made him merry that night, Spes\nwalked in the street hard by the dungeon, and heard thence so fair a\nvoice, that she said she had never yet heard its like. She went with\nmany folk, and so now she bade them go learn who had that noble voice.\nSo they called out and asked who lay there in such evil plight; and\nThorstein named himself.\n\nThen said Spes, \"Art thou a man as much skilled in other matters as in\nsinging?\"\n\nHe said there was but little to show for that.\n\n\"What ill-deed hast thou done,\" said she, \"that thou must needs be\ntormented here to the death?\"\n\nHe said that he had slain a man, and avenged his brother thereby, \"But\nI could not show that by witnesses,\" said Thorstein, \"and therefore\nhave I been cast into ward here, unless some man should redeem me, nor\ndo I hope therefor, for no man have I here akin to me.\"\n\n\"Great loss of thee if thou art slain! and that brother of thine whom\nthou didst avenge, was he a man so famed, then?\"\n\nHe said that he was more mighty than he by the half; and so she asked\nwhat token there was thereof. Then sang Thorstein this stave--\n\n  \"Field of rings, eight men, who raise\n  Din of sword in clattering ways,\n  Strove the good short-sword in vain\n  From the strong dead hand to gain;\n  So they ever strained and strove,\n  Till at last it did behove,\n  The feared quickener of the fight,\n  From the glorious man to smite.\"\n\n\"Great prowess such a thing shows of the man,\" said those who\nunderstood the stave; and when she knew thereof, she spake thus,\n\n\"Wilt thou take thy life from me, if such a choice is given thee?\"\n\n\"That will I,\" said Thorstein, \"if this fellow of mine, who sits\nhereby, is redeemed along with me; or else will we both abide here\ntogether.\"\n\nShe answers, \"More of a prize do I deem thee than him.\"\n\n\"Howsoever that may be,\" said Thorstein, \"we shall go away in company\nboth of us together, or else shall neither go.\"\n\nThen she went there, whereas were the Varangians, and prayed for\nfreedom for Thorstein, and offered money to that end; and to this were\nthey right willing; and so she brought about by her mighty friendships\nand her wealth that they were both set free. But as soon as Thorstein\ncame out of the dungeon he went to see goodwife Spes, and she took him\nto her and kept him privily; but whiles was he with the Varangians in\nwarfare, and in all onsets showed himself the stoutest of hearts.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XCI.\n\n<i>Of the doings of Thorstein and the Lady Spes</i>.\n\n\nIn those days was Harald Sigurdson at Micklegarth, and Thorstein fell\ninto friendship with him. Of much account was Thorstein held, for Spes\nlet him lack no money; and greatly they turned their hearts one to\nthe other, Thorstein and Spes; and many folk beside her deemed great\nthings of his prowess.\n\nNow her money was much squandered, because she ever gave herself to\nthe getting of great friends; and her husband deemed that he could see\nthat she was much changed, both in temper and many other of her ways,\nbut most of all in the spending of money; both gold and good things he\nmissed, which were gone from her keeping.\n\nSo on a time Sigurd her husband talks with her, and says that she has\ntaken to strange ways. \"Thou givest no heed to our goods,\" says he,\n\"but squanderest them in many wise; and, moreover, it is even as if\nI saw thee ever in a dream, nor ever wilt thou be there whereas I am;\nand I know for sure that something must bring this about.\"\n\nShe answered, \"I told thee, and my kinsfolk told thee, whenas we came\ntogether, that I would have my full will and freedom over all such\nthings as it was beseeming for me to bestow, and for that cause I\nspare not thy goods. Hast thou perchance aught to say to me concerning\nother matters which may be to my shame?\"\n\nHe answers, \"Somewhat do I misdoubt me that thou holdest some man or\nother whom thou deemest better than I be.\"\n\n\"I wot not,\" says she, \"what ground there may be thereto; but meseems\nthou mayest speak with little truth; and yet, none-the-less, we two\nalone shall not speak on this matter if thou layest this slander on\nme.\"\n\nSo he let the talk drop for that time; she and Thorstein went on in\nthe same way, nor were they wary of the words of evil folk, for\nshe ever trusted in her many and wise friends. Oft they sat talking\ntogether and making merry; and on an evening as they sat in a certain\nloft, wherein were goodly things of hers, she bade Thorstein sing\nsomewhat, for she thought the goodman was sitting at the drink, as\nhis wont was, so she bolted the door. But, when he had sung a certain\nwhile, the door was driven at, and one called from outside to open;\nand there was come the husband with many of his folk.\n\nThe goodwife had unlocked a great chest to show Thorstein her dainty\nthings; so when she knew who was there, she would not unlock the door,\nbut speaks to Thorstein, \"Quick is my rede, jump into the chest and\nkeep silent.\"\n\nSo he did, and she shot the bolt of the chest and sat thereon herself;\nand even therewith in came the husband into the loft, for he and his\nhad broken open the door thereof.\n\nThen said the lady, \"Why do ye fare with all this uproar? are your\nfoes after you then?\"\n\nThe goodman answered, \"Now it is well that thou thyself givest proof\nof thyself what thou art; where is the man who trolled out that song\nso well e'en now? I wot thou deemest him of far fairer voice than I\nbe.\"\n\nShe said: \"Not altogether a fool is he who can be silent; but so it\nfares not with thee: thou deemest thyself cunning, and art minded to\nbind thy lie on my back. Well, then, let proof be made thereof! If\nthere be truth in thy words, take the man; he will scarce have leapt\nout through the walls or the roof.\"\n\nSo he searched through the place, and found him not, and she said,\n\"Why dost thou not take him then, since thou deemest the thing so\nsure?\"\n\nHe was silent, nor knew in sooth amid what wiles he was come; then\nhe asked his fellows if they had not heard him even as he had. But\nwhereas they saw that the mistress misliked the matter, their witness\ncame to nought, for they said that oft folk heard not things as they\nwere in very sooth. So the husband went out, and deemed he knew that\nsooth well enough, though they had not found the man; and now for a\nlong time he left spying on his wife and her ways.\n\nAnother time, long after, Thorstein and Spes sat in a certain\ncloth-bower, and therein were clothes, both cut and uncut, which the\nwedded folk owned; there she showed to Thorstein many kinds of cloth,\nand they unfolded them; but when they were least ware of it the\nhusband came on them with many men, and brake into the loft; but while\nthey were about that she heaped up clothes over Thorstein, and leaned\nagainst the clothes-stack when they came into the chamber.\n\n\"Wilt thou still deny,\" said the goodman, \"that there was a man with\nthee, when such men there are as saw you both?\"\n\nShe bade them not to go on so madly. \"This time ye will not fail,\nbelike; but let me be at peace, and worry me not.\"\n\nSo they searched through the place and found nought, and at last gave\nit up.\n\nThen the goodwife answered and said, \"It is ever good to give better\nproof than the guesses of certain folk; nor was it to be looked for\nthat ye should find that which was not. Wilt thou now confess thy\nfolly, husband, and free me from this slander?\"\n\nHe said, \"The less will I free thee from it in that I trow thou art\nin very sooth guilty of that which I have laid to thy charge; and thou\nwilt have to put forth all thy might in this case, if thou art to get\nthis thrust from thee.\"\n\nShe said that that was in nowise against her mind, and therewithal\nthey parted.\n\nThereafter was Thorstein ever with the Varangians, and men say that\nhe sought counsel of Harald Sigurdson, and their mind it is that\nThorstein and Spes would not have taken to those redes but for the\ntrust they had in him and his wisdom.\n\nNow as time wore on, goodman Sigurd gave out that he would fare\nfrom home on certain errands of his own. The goodwife nowise let him\nherein; and when he was gone, Thorstein came to Spes, and the twain\nwere ever together. Now such was the fashion of her castle that it\nwas built forth over the sea, and there were certain chambers therein\nwhereunder the sea flowed; in such a chamber Thorstein and Spes ever\nsat; and a little trap-door there was in the floor of it, whereof none\nknew but those twain, and it might be opened if there were hasty need\nthereof.\n\nNow it is to be told of the husband that he went nowhither, save into\nhiding, that he might spy the ways of the housewife; so it befell\nthat, one night as they sat alone in the sea-loft and were glad\ntogether, the husband came on them unawares with a crowd of folk, for\nhe had brought certain men to a window of the chamber, and bade them\nsee if things were not even according to his word: and all said that\nhe spake but the sooth, and that so belike he had done aforetime.\n\nSo they ran into the loft, but when Spes heard the crash, she said to\nThorstein,\n\n\"Needs must thou go down hereby, whatsoever be the cost, but give me\nsome token if thou comest safe from the place.\"\n\nHe said yea thereto, and plunged down through the floor, and the\nhousewife spurned her foot at the lid, and it fell back again into its\nplace, and no new work was to be seen on the floor.\n\nNow the husband and his men came into the loft, and went about\nsearching, and found nought, as was likely; the loft was empty, so\nthat there was nought therein save the floor and the cross-benches,\nand there sat the goodwife, and played with the gold on her fingers;\nshe heeded them little, and made as if there was nought to do.\n\nAll this the goodman thought the strangest of all, and asked his folk\nif they had not seen the man, and they said that they had in good\nsooth seen him.\n\nThen said the goodwife, \"Hereto shall things come as is said;\n<i>thrice of yore have all things happed</i>, and in likewise hast\nthou fared, Sigurd,\" says she, \"for three times hadst thou undone my\npeace, meseems, and are ye any wiser than in the beginning?\"\n\n\"This time I was not alone in my tale,\" said the goodman; \"and now to\nmake an end, shall thou go through the freeing by law, for in nowise\nwill I have this shame unbooted.\"\n\n\"Meseems,\" says the goodwife, \"thou biddest me what I would bid of\nthee, for good above all things I deem it to free myself from this\nslander, which has spread so wide and high, that it would be great\ndishonour if I thrust it not from off me.\"\n\n\"In likewise,\" said the goodman, \"shalt thou prove that thou hast not\ngiven away or taken to thyself my goods.\"\n\nShe answers, \"At that time when I free myself shall I in one wise\nthrust off from me all charges that thou hast to bring against me; but\ntake thou heed whereto all shall come; I will at once free myself\nfrom all words that have been spoken here on this charge that thou now\nmakest.\"\n\nThe goodman was well content therewith, and got him gone with his men.\n\nNow it is to be told of Thorstein that he swam forth from under the\nchamber, and went aland where he would, and took a burning log, and\nheld it up in such wise that it might be seen from the goodwife's\ncastle, and she was abroad for long that evening, and right into the\nnight, for that she would fain know if Thorstein had come aland; and\nso when she saw the fire, she deemed that she knew that Thorstein had\ntaken land, for even such a token had they agreed on betwixt them.\n\nThe next morning Spes bade her husband speak of their matters to\nthe bishop, and thereto was he fully ready. Now they come before the\nbishop, and the goodman put forward all the aforesaid charges against\nher.\n\nThe bishop asked if she had been known for such an one aforetime,\nbut none said that they had heard thereof. Then he asked with what\nlikelihood he brought those things against her. So the goodman brought\nforward men who had seen her sit in a locked room with a man beside\nher, and they twain alone: and therewith the goodman said that he\nmisdoubted him of that man beguiling her.\n\nThe bishop said that she might well free herself lawfully from this\ncharge if so she would. She said that it liked her well so to do, \"and\ngood hope I have,\" said Spes, \"that I shall have great plenty of women\nto purge me by oath in this case.\"\n\nNow was an oath set forward in words for her, and a day settled\nwhereon the case should come about; and thereafter she went home, and\nwas glad at heart, and Thorstein and Spes met, and settled fully what\nthey should do.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XCII.\n\n<i>Of the Oath that Spes made before the Bishop</i>.\n\n\nNow that day past, and time wore on to the day when Spes should\nmake oath, and she bade thereto all her friends and kin, and arrayed\nherself in the best attire she had, and many noble ladies went with\nher.\n\nWet was the weather about that time, and the ways were miry, and a\ncertain slough there was to go over or ever they might come to the\nchurch; and whenas Spes and her company came forth anigh this slough,\na great crowd was there before them, and a multitude of poor folk who\nprayed them of alms, for this was in the common highway, and all who\nknew her deemed it was their part to welcome her, and prayed for good\nthings for her as for one who had oft holpen them well.\n\nA certain staff-propped carle there was amidst those poor folk, great\nof growth and long-bearded. Now the women made stay at the slough,\nbecause that the great people deemed the passage across over miry, and\ntherewith when that staff-carle saw the goodwife, that she was better\narrayed than the other women, he spake to her on this wise,\n\n\"Good mistress,\" said he, \"be so lowly as to suffer me to bear thee\nover this slough, for it is the bounden duty of us staff-carles to\nserve thee all we may.\"\n\n\"What then,\" says she, \"wilt thou bear me well, when thou mayst not\nbear thyself?\"\n\n\"Yet would it show forth thy lowliness,\" says he, \"nor may I offer\nbetter than I have withal; and in all things wilt thou fare the\nbetter, if thou hast no pride against poor folk.\"\n\n\"Wot thou well, then,\" says she, \"that if thou bearest me not well it\nshall be for a beating to thee, or some other shame greater yet.\"\n\n\"Well, I would fain risk it,\" said he; and therewithal he got on to\nhis feet and stood in the slough. She made as if she were sore afeard\nof his carrying her, yet nathless she went on, borne on his back; and\nhe staggered along exceeding slowly, going on two crutches, and when\nhe got midmost of the slough he began to reel from side to side. She\nbade him gather up his strength.\n\n\"Never shalt thou have made a worse journey than this if thou easiest\nme down here.\"\n\nThen the poor wretch staggers on, and gathers up all his courage and\nstrength, and gets close to the dry land, but stumbles withal, and\nfalls head-foremost in such wise, that he cast her on to the bank, but\nfell into the ditch up to his armpits, and therewithal as he lay there\ncaught at the goodwife, and gat no firm hold of her clothes, but set\nhis miry hand on her knee right up to the bare thigh.\n\nShe sprang up and cursed him, and said that ever would evil come from\nwretched gangrel churles: \"and thy full due it were to be beaten, if I\nthought it not a shame, because of thy misery.\"\n\nThen said he, \"Meted in unlike ways is man's bliss; me-thought I had\ndone well to thee, and I looked for an alms at thy hands, and lo,\nin place thereof, I get but threats and ill-usage and no good again\nwithal;\" and he made as if he were exceeding angry.\n\nMany deemed that he looked right poor and wretched, but she said that\nhe was the wiliest of old churles; but whereas many prayed for him,\nshe took her purse to her, and therein was many a penny of gold; then\nshe shook down the money and said,\n\n\"Take thou this, carle; nowise good were it, if thou hadst not full\npay for the hard words thou hadst of me; now have I parted with thee,\neven according to thy worth.\"\n\nThen he picked up the gold, and thanked her for her good deed. Spes\nwent to the church, and a great crowd was there before her. Sigurd\npushed the case forward eagerly, and bade her free herself from those\ncharges he had brought against her.\n\nShe said, \"I heed not thy charges; what man dost thou say thou hast\nseen in my chamber with me? Lo now oft it befalls that some worthy man\nwill be with me, and that do I deem void of any shame; but hereby will\nI swear that to no man have I given gold, and of no man have I had\nfleshly defilement save of my husband, and that wretched staff-carle\nwho laid his miry hand on my thigh when I was borne over the slough\nthis same day.\"\n\nNow many deemed that this was a full oath, and that no shame it was to\nher, though the carle had laid hand on her unwittingly; but she said\nthat all things must be told even as they were.\n\nThereafter she swore the oath in such form as is said afore, and many\nsaid thereon that she showed the old saw to be true, <i>swear loud and\nsay little</i>. But for her, she said that wise men would think that\nthis was not done by guile.\n\nThen her kin fell to saying that great shame and grief it was for\nhigh-born women to have such lying charges brought against them\nbootless, whereas it was a crime worthy of death if it were openly\nknown of any woman that she had done whoredoms against her husband.\nTherewithal Spes prayed the bishop to make out a divorce betwixt her\nand her husband Sigurd, because she said she might nowise bear his\nslanderous lying charges. Her kinsfolk pushed the matter forward for\nher, and so brought it about by their urgency that they were divorced,\nand Sigurd got little of the goods, and was driven away from the land\nwithal, for here matters went as is oft shown that they will, and\n<i>the lower must lowt</i>; nor could he bring aught about to avail\nhim, though he had but said the very sooth.\n\nNow Spes took to her all their money, and was deemed the greatest of\nstirring women; but when folk looked into her oath, it seemed to them\nthat there was some guile in it, and were of a mind that wise men must\nhave taught her that way of swearing; and men dug out this withal,\nthat the staff-carle who had carried her was even Thorstein Dromund.\nYet for all that Sigurd got no righting of the matter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XCIII.\n\n<i>Thorstein and Spes come out to Norway</i>.\n\n\nThorstein Dromund was with the Varangians while the talk ran highest\nabout these matters; so famed did he become that it was deemed that\nscarce had any man of the like prowess come thither; the greatest\nhonours he gat from Harald Sigurdson, for he was of his kin; and after\nhis counsels did Thorstein do, as men are minded to think.\n\nBut a little after Sigurd was driven from the land, Thorstein fell to\nwooing Spes to wife, and she took it meetly, but went to her kinsmen\nfor rede; then they held meetings thereon, and were of one accord that\nshe herself must rule the matter; then was the bargain struck, and\ngood was their wedded life, and they were rich in money, and all men\ndeemed Thorstein to be a man of exceeding good luck, since he had\ndelivered himself from all his troubles.\n\nThe twain were together for two winters in Micklegarth, and then\nThorstein said to his goodwife that he would fain go back to see his\npossessions in Norway. She said he should have his will, so they sold\nthe lands they had there, and gat them great wealth of chattels, and\nthen betook them from that land, with a fair company, and went all the\nway till they came to Norway. Thorstein's kin welcomed them both right\nheartily, and soon saw that Spes was bountiful and high-minded, and\nshe speedily became exceeding well befriended. Some children they had\nbetween them, and they abode on their lands, and were well content\nwith their life.\n\nIn those days was Magnus the Good king over Norway. Thorstein soon\nwent to meet him, and had good welcome of him, for he had grown famous\nfor the avenging of Grettir the Strong (for men scarce know of its\nhappening that any other Icelander, save Grettir Asmundson, was\navenged in Micklegarth); and folk say that Thorstein became a man of\nKing Magnus, and for nine winters after he had come to Norway he abode\nin peace, and folk of the greatest honour were they deemed, he and his\nwife.\n\nThen came home from Micklegarth king Harald Sigurdson, and King Magnus\ngave him half Norway, and they were both kings therein for a while;\nbut after the death of King Magnus many of those who had been his\nfriends were ill-content, for all men loved him; but folk might not\nabide the temper of King Harald, for that he was hard and was wont to\npunish men heavily.\n\nBut Thorstein Dromund was fallen into eld, though he was still the\nhalest of men; and now was the slaying of Grettir Asmundson sixteen\nwinters agone.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XCIV.\n\n<i>Thorstein Dromund and Spes leave Norway again</i>.\n\n\nAt that time many urged Thorstein to go meet King Harald, and become\nhis man; but he took not kindly to it.\n\nThen Spes spake, \"I will, Thorstein,\" says she, \"that thou go not to\nmeet Harald the king, for to another king have we much more to pay,\nand need there is that we turn our minds to that; for now we both\ngrow old and our youth is long departed, and far more have we followed\nafter worldly devices, than the teaching of Christ, or the ways of\njustice and uprightness; now wot I well that this debt can be paid for\nus neither by our kindred or our goods, and I will that we ourselves\nshould pay it: now will I therefore that we change our way of life\nand fare away from this land and unto the abode of the Pope, because I\nwell believe that so only may my case be made easy to me.\"\n\nThorstein said, \"As well known to me as to thee are the things thou\ntalkest of; and it is meet that thou have thy will herein, since thou\ndidst ever give me my will, in a matter of far less hope; and in all\nthings will we do as thou biddest.\"\n\nThis took men utterly unawares; Thorstein was by then sixty-seven\nyears of age, yet hale in all wise.\n\nSo now he bid to him all his kindred and folk allied to him, and laid\nbefore them the things he had determined on. Wise men gave good words\nthereto, though they deemed of their departing as of the greatest\nloss.\n\nBut Thorstein said that there was nought sure about his coming back:\n\"Now do I give thanks to all of you,\" says he, \"for the heed ye paid\nto my goods when I was last away from the land; now I will offer you,\nand pray you to take to you my children's havings, and my children,\nand bring them up according to the manliness that is in you; for I am\nfallen so far into eld that there is little to say as to whether I may\nreturn or not, though I may live; but ye shall in such wise look after\nall that I leave behind me here, even as if I should never come back\nto Norway.\"\n\nThen men answered, that good redes would be plenteous if the housewife\nshould abide behind to look after his affairs; but she said--\n\n\"For that cause did I come hither from the out-lands, and from\nMicklegarth, with Thorstein, leaving behind both kin and goods,\nfor that I was fain that one fate might be over us both; now have I\nthought it good to be here; but I have no will to abide long in Norway\nor the North-lands if he goes away; ever has there been great love\nbetwixt us withal, and nought has happed to divide us; now therefore\nwill we depart together, for to both of us is known the truth about\nmany things that befell since we first met.\"\n\nSo, when they had settled their affairs in this wise, Thorstein bade\nchosen folk divide his goods into halves; and his kin took the half\nwhich his children were to own, and they were brought up by their\nfather's kin, and were in aftertimes the mightiest of men, and great\nkin in the Wick has come from them. But Thorstein and Spes divided\ntheir share of the goods, and some they gave to churches for their\nsouls' health, and some they took with them. Then they betook\nthemselves Romeward, and many folk prayed well for them.\n\n\n\n\nCHAP. XCV.\n\n<i>How Thorstein Dromund and Spes fared to Rome and died there</i>.\n\n\nNow they went their ways till they came to Rome-town; and so when they\ncame before him, who was appointed to hear the shrifts of men, they\ntold him well and truly all things even as they had happed, and\nwith what cunning and craft they had joined together in wedlock;\ntherewithal they gave themselves up with great humility to such\npenance for the amending of their lives as he should lay on them; but\nbecause that they themselves had turned their minds to the atoning\nof their faults, without any urging or anger from the rulers of the\nchurch, they were eased of all fines as much as might be, but were\nbidden gently that they should now and henceforth concern themselves\nreasonably for their souls' health, and from this time forward live in\nchastity, since they had gotten them release from all their guilt; and\nherewith they were deemed to have fared well and wisely.\n\nThen said Spes, \"Now, meseems, our matters have gone well and are come\nto an end, and no unlucky life have we had together; yet maybe fools\nwill do after the pattern of our former life; now therefore let us\nmake such an end to all, that good men also may follow after us and do\nthe like: so let us go bargain with those who are deft in stone-craft;\nthat they make for each of us a cell of stone, that we may thereby\natone for what we have done against God.\"\n\nSo Thorstein laid down money for the making of a stone cell for each\nof them, and for such-like other things as they might need, and might\nnot be without for the keeping of their lives; and then, when the\nstone work was done, and the time was meet therefor and all things\nwere ready, they departed their worldly fellowship of their own free\nwill, that they might the more enjoy a holy fellowship in another\nworld. And there they abode both in their stone cells, and lived as\nlong as God would have it, and so ended their lives. And most men say\nthat Thorstein Dromund and Spes his wife may be deemed to be folk of\nthe greatest good luck, all things being accounted of; but neither\nhis children or any of his issue have come to Iceland for a tale to be\nmade of them.\n\nNow Sturla the Lawman says so much as that he deems no outlawed man\never to have been so mighty as Grettir the Strong; and thereto he puts\nforth three reasons--\n\nAnd first in that he was the wisest of them all; for the longest in\noutlawry he was of any man, and was never won whiles he was hale.\n\nAnd again, in that he was the strongest in all the land among men of\na like age; and more fitted to lay ghosts and do away with hauntings\nthan any other.\n\nAnd thirdly, in that he was avenged out in Micklegarth, even as\nno other man of Iceland has been; and this withal, that Thorstein\nDromund, who avenged him, was so lucky a man in his last days.\n\nSo here ends the story of Grettir Asmundson, our fellow-countryman.\nThank have they who listened thereto; but thank little enow to him who\nscribbled out the tale.\n\n  GOOD PEOPLE, HERE THE WORK HATH END:\n  MAY ALL FOLK TO THE GOOD GOD WEND!\n\n\n\n\nNOTES AND CORRECTIONS.\n\n\nP. 29. The genealogy of Gamli of Meals, as here recorded, seems to be\npeculiar to Grettir's saga. Yet its statements are inconsistent in\nthe matter, for it gives this twofold genealogy of the man. See Ed.\nKaupmannah\u00f6fn: 1853.\n\nP. 22. Ranveig was the wife of Gamli, the son of <i>Thorald</i>, the\nson of the <i>Vendlander</i>.\n\nP. 70. And (Thorir of the Pass) sold the land at Meals to\n<i>Thorhalli</i>, son of Gamli the <i>Widelander</i>. His son was\nGamli, who had to wife Ranveig, the daughter of Asmund Greyhaired.\n\nAccording to 'Landn\u00e1ma,' this Gamli of Meals, Asmund's son-in-law,\nwas son of Thord, and great-great-grandson of Thorhrolf or Thorolf\nFasthaldi (Fastholding), who settled lands on the north coast of\nIcefirth-deep (Isafjart\u00f0ardj\u00fap), and farmed at Snowfells (Snaefj\u00f6ll).\nWe have given Thorhall in our translation in both places as the\nman's name. Perhaps Thoraldr is nothing but a corruption of Thor\u00f3lfr\nfasthaldi; and Thorhalli again a corruption of the first. But Gamli\nthe Vendlander or Widelander, we have no means of identifying.\n\nP. 30. 'Now in those times there were wont to be large fire-halls\nat the homesteads.' The hall, <i>holl, sk\u00e1li, stofa</i>, was the\nprincipal room in every home. <i>Elda-sk\u00e1li</i>, or fire-hall, as\nthe one alluded to at Biarg, was so called from its serving as a\ncooking-hall and a sitting-hall at once. The main features in the\nconstruction of a hall were the following: it was generally built from\neast to west, in an oblong form, having doors either at one or both\nends through the south-side wall, where it met the gable end. These\ntwo entrances were called carles'-door and queens'-door (<i>karldyrr,\nkvenndyrr</i>), being respectively for the ingress and egress of\nmen and women. Sometimes the men's-door was adorned with the beaks\n(<i>brandar</i>) of a hewn-up ship, as was the case with the hall of\nThorir of Garth, standing as door-posts on either side. The door led\nto a front-hall (<i>fork\u00e1li, fortofa, and-dyri, framh\u00fas</i>), which,\nsometimes at least, seems to have been portioned off into an inner\nroom (<i>klefi</i>), or bay, and the vestibule proper. In the bay were\nkept victuals, such as dried fish, flour, and sometimes, no doubt,\nbeer. Within, the hall fell into three main portions: the main hall,\nor the nave, and the aisles on either side thereof (<i>skot</i>):\nThe plan of the hall was much like that of one of our regular-built\nchurches without chancel, say like a Suffolk church of the fifteenth\ncentury, the nave being lighted by a clerestory, and the aisles\nrunning the whole way along the nave, and communicating behind the\ndais. These aisles were used for sleeping-places; so that along the\nwhole length of the hall, and behind the dais, all was partitioned\ninto bedsteads, open or locked,--open, that is to say, communicating\nwith the nave by a doorless aperture,--locked, that is, shut out of\nview from the nave (<i>lok-rekkja, lok-hvila</i>).\n\nOn the wall between nave and aisles, which was covered with a\npanelling on its inside at least, were hung the shields and weapons\nof the chief and his retainers, or home-men. Sometimes it was painted\nwith mythic subjects, and adorned with fantastic carvings; on great\noccasions it was covered with hangings. Along both side-walls ran a\nrow of seats, called benches (<i>bekkr</i>), the north-most of which,\nor the one which faced the sun, was called the nobler bench (<i>ae\u00f0ri\nbekkr</i>), the south-most one, the less noble bench, (<i>\u00faoe\u00f0ri\nbekkr</i>). In the middle of either bench was a seat, called the high\nseat (<i>\u00f6ndvegi</i>); that of the nobler bench being occupied by the\nchief or head of the house, unless he had for his guest a man nobler\nthan himself, in which case the latter took it; that of the less noble\nbench being allotted to the noblest among the guests. The nobler bench\nwas on ordinary occasions the bench for the chief and the household.\nThe less noble for the guests. In front of the chiefs high-seat were\nthe high-seat-poles which in the early ages of Paganism in the North\nwere objects of much veneration, and must always accompany the chief\nif he moved his abode, and point out his new homestead, if he fared\nfor it over sea, by the spot where they drifted ashore, as, when land\nwas sighted, they were thrown overboard. In front of the seat-rows\njust described were placed the tables whereon the meals were put\nforth. And when the number of people exceeded the capacity of the\nordinary benches, a new row of benches was placed in front of the\ntables, so that there were two rows of benches down along either\nside of the hall with the tables between them. The last-named rows of\nbenches were called <i>forsoeti</i>; and their occupiers, when seated\nat table, faced those of the upper and lower bench. In the centre of\nthe hall, if of the fashion, as it probably was in early times, of a\nfire-hall, was a narrow oblong stone-pavement, probably as long as the\nrows of the benches, whereon fires were lit for heating of the room,\nfor cooking of food in some cases, and for the purpose of lighting up\nthe hall. The smoke that rose from the burning fuel found its way out\nthrough the luffer or louvre, in the middle of the ridge of the roof\n(<i>lj\u00f3ri</i>); the <i>reyk-beri</i>, reek-bearer, seems to have been\na contrivance for creating draught to carry the smoke out through\nthe <i>lj\u00f3ri</i>. In that end of the hall which was opposite to the\nentrance was the cross-bench, dais (<i>pallr</i>), occupied by the\nwomen. Here was also a high seat (<i>\u00f6ndvegi \u00e1 palli</i>), which was\ngenerally taken by the mistress of the house. In our saga it seems\nthat the hall of Sand-heaps made an exception to this general rule, as\nit apparently had the dais immediately within the doorway.\n\nP. 77 (cpr. 110). It is worth observing here, that Thorvald, son of\nAsgeir Madpate the younger, dwells at As in Waterdale, about 1013,\nwhen Thorgils Makson was slain. When Grettir played, as a youth, on\nMidfirth-water (or <i>cca</i>. 1010), he dwelt at Asgeirsriver. We\nmention this because there has been some confusion about the matter.\nOn the slight authority of the \u00de\u00e1ttr af Isleifi biskupi', Biskupa\nS\u00f6gur I. 54, it has been maintained that he dwelt at Asgeirsriver\neven as late as <i>cca</i>. 1035, when his daughter Dalla was wooed by\nIsleif the Bishop. G. Vigf\u00fasson, Safn til S\u00f6gu Islands, I. 337. On\nthe other hand, the statement of Hungrvaka that he farmed at As\n(<i>i.e.</i>, at the Ridge), at the time aforesaid, has given rise\nto the conjecture that thereby must be meant Valdar-As, a farm in\nWillowdale, near Asgeirsriver, the manor of the Madpate family. G.\nVigf\u00fasson, in Biskupa S\u00f6gur, I. 61, note 2. It seems there is no need\nof setting aside the clear statement of our saga, that the As was As\nin Waterdale (<i>see</i> Index), and not Valdar\u00e1s in Willowdale at\nall, or that Thorvald had, by 1013, moved up to the neighbouring\ncountry-side of Waterdale, and settled among the kin of his\ngreat-grandmother.\n\nP. 114, 1. 1. 'The men of Meals,' is a close translation of the\noriginal, which, however, is incorrect; for the men of Meals were\nGrettir's kin-in-law, and natural allies. The saga means the men of\nMeal, Kormak and his followers, and the original should be either,\n\u00feeir Mel-menn, or Mels-menn, or \u00feeir Kormakr fr\u00e1 Mel.\n\nP. 129, 1. 10, 11. We have purposely altered the text from: en \u00fe\u00fa\n\u00f6ruggr \u00ed einangri, <i>i.e.</i>, 'but thou stout in danger,' into:\nen <i>\u00fe\u00f3, i.e.</i>, 'but stout in danger none-the-less.' The former\nreading seems barely to give any sense, the last a natural and the\nrequired one.\n\nP. 169. Hallmund. Our saga is one among the historic sagas of Iceland\nwhich deals with traditions of ancient belief in the spirits of the\nunknown regions of the land that are interested in the well-being of\nthe mere men who dwell near them. Hallmund and the giant Thorir are\nthe representatives of these powers in our saga. Of these Hallmund is\nthe more interesting of the two, both for his human sympathies, his\ntragic end, and the poetry ascribed to him. At one time or other he\nhas had a great name in the Icelandic folk-lore among the spirits of\nthe land, the so-called land wights <i>(land-voetir)</i>, and there is\nstill existing a poem of ancient type, the refrain of which is closely\nsimilar to that of Grettir's song on Hallmund, but which is stated to\nbe by some cave-wight that lived in a deep and gloomy cavern somewhere\nin Deepfirth, on the north side of Broadfirth. In the so-called\nBergb\u00faa\u00fe\u00e1ttr or cave-dweller's tale (Edited by G. Vigf\u00fasson in\nNordiske Old-skrifter, xxvii., pp. 123-128, and 140-143, Copenhagen,\n1860), this song is said to have been heard by two men, who, on their\nway to church, had lost their road, and were overtaken by the darkness\nof night, and, in order to escape straying too far out of their way,\nsought shelter under the lee of a sheer rock which chanced to be on\ntheir way. They soon found a mouth of a cave where they knew not that\nany cave was to be looked for, whereupon one of the wayfarers set up a\ncross-mark in the door of the cave, and then with his fellow-traveller\nsat down on two stones at the mouth of the cave, as they did not dare\nto risk themselves too far in the gloomy abode away from the cross.\nWhen the first third part of the night was spent they heard something\ncome along from within the cave doorwards out to them.[20] They signed\nthemselves with the sign of the cross, and prayed God's mercy to be\non them, for they thought the doings within the deep of the cavern now\ngrew big enough. On looking into the darkness they saw a sight like\nunto two full-moons, or huge targets, with some monstrous figure\n(unreadable in the MS.) between them. They thought this was nothing\nbut two eyes, and that nowise narrow of face might he be who bore such\ntorches. Next they heard a chanting of a monstrous kind and in a big\nvoice. A lay there was sung of twelve staves, with the final refrain\nof each twice repeated.\n\n[Footnote 20: <i>Innan eptir</i>, as here rendered, is the reading of\nthe MS. from which Bergbua p\u00e1ttr is edited. <i>Innar eptir</i>, as the\naforesaid edition of the tale has it, is wrong.]\n\nThe poem seems to be a death-song over the cave-kin of the country by\nthe new change of thought brought in by Christianity.\n\nP. 189. 'Grettir lay out that summer on Madderdale-heath, and in\nsundry places, and at whiles he was at Reek-heath.' A corroboration\nof the saga has been clearly set forth by the discovery of a\nGrettir's-lair, in Axefirth-peak, in 1862. True the saga passes over\nGrettir's doings on these vast eastern wildernesses, but tradition has\npreserved the name for the place, and it shows by its construction and\nposition that it must have been constructed by one skilled in choosing\na good fighting stand, and a good and wide view at the same time. An\nIcelandic farmer has thus given an accurate and reliable description\nof Grettir's lair:\n\n'In the summer of 1850, when I came north to Axefirth, I heard talk\nof a Grettir's lair upon Axefirth-peak.... Many who had seen it made\na slight matter of it, which brought me to think it must have few\npeculiarities of antiquarian interest to show. But on the 7th of\nSeptember, this summer (1862), I went with the rape-ruler Arni J\u00f3nsson\nof Wood-stead to inspect the lair. Walking up to it from the level\nground below took us three minutes. The lair stands in the lower part\nof a slip of stones beneath some sheer rocks between a sandstone rock,\ncalled the carline, and the stone slip from the peak. It is built\nup of stones, straight as a line, and runs, 4-3/4 ells in length, 10\ninches broad, and is, within walls, 7/8 of an ell deep. The half of it\nis deftly covered in with flat stones, the longest of which are 2 ells\n9 inches long, and about half an ell in thickness, and a little more\nin breadth. Small thin fragments of stone are wedged in between these\nwhere their junctures do not close tight, and so firmly are they\nfixed, that without instruments they may not be removed. One stone in\nthe south wall is so large that we deemed it fully the task of\nfrom four to six men to move it when loose. The north side wall is\nbeginning to give way, where the room is covered in. On the outside\nit is overgrown with black scurf and grey moss. The head end we deemed\nwas the one which is turned to the rock and is not covered in,\nand evidently has been open from the beginning. Here the floor\nis overgrown with moss, grass, thyme, ferns, crow-foot, and\nlady's-mantle. In all likelihood the inmate has closed that part of\nthe room in with hides, when needful. On sitting up, all who went to\nand fro on the road below, must have been within view; not only those\nwho came from the north of Foxplain (Melrakkasl\u00e8tta) and Nupa-sveit,\nbut also far toward the north he had a view even unto the open sea,\nnay, even unto Budlunga-haven. Looking southwards, he must have seen\nall who came up from the outer firth; for from the lair there is a\nclear view even unto Burn-river, past which the high-road goes. A\npopular tradition says, too, that all who must needs pass this way,\nwhen Grettir was in the Peak, had taken at last to going over the\ntop of the Peak, where there was no road, but the sheep-wilds of the\nAxefirthers. The lair-bider, even if he was set on by an overwhelming\nforce, was not easily won, and least of all a man of such prowess as\nGrettir, except by shot; for he might at a moment's notice take his\nstand in the rock above his head, where one side only gives the chance\nof an onset, and where there is an ample supply of loose stones, large\nand small, on the Peak side of the rock to defend oneself; on three\nsides sheer rocks hem in the position, and those overhead are many\ntimes the height of a man's.'\n\nP. 208. Knave-game. Perhaps the truer rendering would have been\n'nut-game,' if indeed 'hnet tafl' here stands not for 'hnef-tafl,'\nas we at first supposed. It is undoubtedly true that among the early\ngames of Iceland the 'hettafl,' 'hnottafl,' was a distinct kind of\ngame, as was also the 'hneftafl,' 'hnefatafl,' knave-game. If we\nfollow the text as it stands, the game that Thorbiorn played is\nsupposed to have borne some resemblance to what is now called in\nIceland 'refsk\u00e1k,' fox-play, anglice 'fox and geese,' the aim of\nwhich is, by twelve pieces, called lambs, to bring the fox into such a\nposition as to leave him no place to move, whichso way he turns.\n\nP. 240. Pied-belly we call the Ram, although the saga seems to mean\nthat he was called Autumn-belly, which is a name of little, if of\nany, sense at all. We suppose that <i>haus-m\u00f6g\u00f3ttr</i>, p. 169, and\n<i>haust-magi</i>, p. 184, is one and the same thing, the <i>t</i>\nhaving spuriously crept into the text from a scribe's inadvertence.\n\nP. 243 (cpr. 207, 225, 272). 'In such wise Grettir lost his life, &c.'\nThe hardest thing to account for, or to bring to an intelligible issue\nin Grettir's saga, is the incongruity between the statements as to his\nage at his death and the number of years of his outlawry, as compared\nwith the truthful account of the events told in the saga itself. From\nthe time when Grettir slew his first man, all the events of the\nsaga may be traced clearly year for year up to his death, and their\ntruthfulness is borne out whensoever they chance to run parallel to\nevents mentioned in other trustworthy sagas, and they fall in with the\nright time nearly without an exception. But the statement on the page\nreferred to above, that he was fourteen years old when he slew Skeggi,\nthat he was twenty when he dealt with Glam; twenty-five when he fell\ninto outlawry, and forty-four when he was slain, is utterly confuted\nby the chronology of the saga itself.\n\nThese numbers given above are obviously made to fall in with the story\nin page 225 about the talk of the time of his outlawry at the Thing.\nThe question is stated to have been this: whether he had been a\nfraction of the twentieth year an outlaw, his friends hoping that in\nsuch case a part might count <i>pro toto</i>. But the truth of the\nmatter was that he had neither been an outlaw for a fraction of the\ntwentieth year, nor even for anything like nineteen years. He was\noutlawed at the Thing held in 1016, his year of outlawry dated from\nThing to Thing; this talk befell in 1031, consequently he had been\nfull fifteen years and no fraction of a year in outlawry. The story,\ntherefore, of the twenty years, or nineteen years and a fraction, of\noutlawry falls utterly to the ground when brought to the test of the\nactual facts as recorded in the saga.\n\nBut, despite of this, it is not to be supposed that this episode at\nthe Thing in 1031 is brought in at random and without any cause. There\nare two obvious reasons for assigning twenty years to the length of\nGrettir's outlawry, and for bringing into the tale a discussion on\nthat subject just where it is done. The one we may call the reason of\ntraditional belief, the other the reason of dramatic effect. Grettir\nwas indisputably for all reasons the greatest of Icelandic outlaws,\nand the fond imagination of his biographers at all times urged them\nto give the longest endurance to the time of his outlawry above all\noutlaws, without inquiring closely as to whether it agreed with\nthe saga itself or not. The other, or the dramatic motive, lies\nin bringing in the discussion on this long outlawry just at this\nparticular Thing of 1031; for it was obviously the teller's object to\nsuggest to the reader the hope of the great outlaw's legal restoration\nto the cherished society of man just before the falling of the\ncrushing blow, in order to give an enhanced tragic interest to his\nend, and he undoubtedly succeeds in doing this. To these reasons,\nbesides others less obvious, we imagine this main inconsistency in\nGrettir's saga is to be ascribed.\n\nNevertheless, it is worth observing that blunders of scribes may have\nin a measure been at work here. If we are not mistaken most of the\nexisting MSS. of our saga state that when he fell (p. 243) 'he was one\nwinter short of--<i>var h\u00e1num vetri f\u00e1tt \u00e1</i>'--whatever number\nof years they give as his age. And we venture the suggestion\nthat originally the passage ran thus: var h\u00e1num vetri f\u00e1tt \u00e1 h\u00e1lf\niv{tugum},[21] <i>i.e.</i>, he lacked one winter of thirty-five years,\nwhen he was slain. If a subsequent scribe committed the easy blunder\nof dropping I before V, the reading of our original (Edition, 53)\nwould be the natural result, and an offspring of that same blunder\nwould also as easily be the other reading, common to one class of the\nGrettir MSS.: var h\u00e1num vetri f\u00e1tt \u00ed v{tugum} or \u00ed hinum v. tug, by\ndropping the syllable 'h\u00e1lf.'\n\n[Footnote 21: A man of twenty, thirty, forty, &c., is in the Icelandic\nexpressed by the adjective <i>tv\u00edtugr, pr\u00edtugr, fertugr</i>; a man\ntwenty-five, thirty-five, &c., is <i>h\u00e1lf-pr\u00edtugr, h\u00e1lf-fertugr</i>,\n&c.; the units beyond the tens are expressed by the particle\n<i>um</i>, a man of twenty-one, thirty-seven, or forty-nine, is said\nto have <i>einn</i> (<i>i.e.</i>, vetr. winter) um = beyond, tv\u00edtugt,\nsj\u00f6 um \u00fer\u00edtugt, n\u00edu um fertugt, &c.]\n\nIf the whole passage on page 243, beginning with the words quoted in\nthe commencement of this note, be not indeed a later interpolation, we\nbelieve that all that follows the words, 'till the time when he dealt\nwith Glam, the Thrall,' must, indeed, be taken as an interpolation of\nlater commentators.\n\nOur suggestion recommends itself in this at least, that it brings\nabout full harmony between the statements, here treated of, and the\nsaga itself, for when Grettir left the land in 1011 he was fourteen\nyears of age, and twenty years later, or 1031, he fell. How far his\nage thus given agrees or not with the decrepitude of his father, who\ndied in 1015, having been apparently already a bedridden man for some\ntime, is a matter of itself, and need not affect the accuracy of our\nsuggestion, which, however, we only put forth as a conjecture, not\nhaving within reach the MSS. of Grettir's saga. A critical examination\nof these might, perhaps, allow of a more positive discourse on\nthis vexed point, which to all commentators on Grettir has hitherto\nremained an insoluble riddle.\n\nP. 251, 1. 12. The original makes Asdis daughter of Skeggi the\nShort-handed. This is here corrected agreeably to Landn\u00e1ma, and other\nrecords of her family.\n\n\n\n\nINDICES.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX I.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nPERSONAL NAMES.\n\nAir (Loptr), <i>alias</i> Hallmund, the mountain sprite, 160, 161, 162\nAldis Konal's-daughter, called A. from Barra, 5, 18, 19\nAldis, Ufeigh Grettir's daughter, 5, 27\nAlf a-Dales, 5, 27\nAli, an house-carle of Thorbiorn Oxmain's, 130, 131, 132\nAlof Ingolf's-daughter, wife of Eric Snare, 20\nAngle. <i>See</i> Thorbiorn Angle.\nAri Marson, 80\nArinbiorn. <i>See</i> Arnbiorn.\nArnbiorn, kinsman of Thorfinn of Haramsey, Grettir's companion, 70, 71\nArngeir Berseson, father of Biorn Hitdale-champion, 170\nArni J\u00f3nsson, 277\nArnor Thorbiornson, 140-143\nArnor Thordson, called Earls' skald (Jarlask\u00e1ld), 178, 179, 180\nArnor Thorodson, called Hay-nose (heynef, or h\u00fdnef, Landn\u00e1ma), 89\nArnora, Thord Yeller's daughter, 225\nAsa, Ufeigh Grettir's daughter, first wife of Onund Treefoot, 5, 6,\n  18, 19\nAsbiorn, Ufeigh Grettir's son, 5\nAsbrand Thorbrandson, 129\nAsdis, Bard Jokulson's daughter, the mother of Grettir Asmundson,27,\n   28, 30, 33, 36, 40, 112, 133, 139, 142, 143, 204, 205, 246,\n   247, 251\nAsdis Gamli's-daughter, 251\nAsgeir Audunson the older, called Madpate (son of Audun Skokul,\n  al. Onund Treefoot), 20, 79, 83\nAsgeir Audunson the younger, grandson of the preceding, called Madpate\n  34, 77, 83, 151\nAsgrim Ellida-Grimson, 16, 159\nAsgrim Ondottson, 13, 14, 15, 16\nAsmund from Asmund's-peak, 25\nAsmund Ondottson, 13, 14, 15, 16\nAsmund Thorgrimson, called the Greyhaired (haerul\u00e1ngr), the father of\n  Grettir the Strong, 25-27, 28-33, 35-36, 39, 40, 77-79, 81, 82,\n  90, 112, 113, 125, 126, 273\nAsmund Ufeigh's-son, called the Beardless (skegglauss), 5\nAsny Vestar's-daughter, wife of Ufeigh Grettir, 5\nAsta Gudbrand's-daughter, mother of Olaf the Saint, King of Norway, 1\nAsvor, Ufeigh Grettir's daughter, 5\nAtli Asmundson, Grettir's brother, 28, 29, 30, 36, 83, 87, 88, 89, 90,\n  91, 92, 111, 112, 125, 127, 128, 129, 130-133, 135, 139, 140, 143,\n  144, 150, 162\nAtli Ulfson, called the Red (hinn rau\u00f0i), 80\nAud (<i>alias</i> Unnr) the Deeply Wealthy,18, 19, 79\nAudun, Asgeir Madpate's son, 83\nAudun Asgeir's-son, of Audunstead, 34, 35, 38, 83, 84, 85, 86, 104\nAudun Goaty (geit), an Earl in Norway, 13, 14\nAudun Skokul (sk\u00f6kull), 20\nAudun, goodman of Windham in Haramsey, 46, 47, 48\n\nBalk Blaengson of Sotaness, 1, 4, 10, 170\nBard Jokulson,27, 104\nBard, the mate of Haflidi's ship, 40\nBardi (al. Slaying-Bardi) Gudmundson, of Asbiornsness, 85, 86, 87, 92,\n  93, 94, 95, 104\nBessi Balkson, called the Godless (go\u00f0lauss), 170\nBessi Skald-Torfa's-son, 34, 71, 73, 74, 75\nBiarni, <i>See</i> Biorn, the settler of Biornfirth.\nBiarni of Dog-dale, 81\nBiarni of Jorvi in Flysia-Wharf, 179, 277\nBiarni Thorsteinson, the Sage (hinn spaki), 11\nBiorn Arngeirson, called Hitdale-Champion, 170, 171, 172, 173, 181, 182\nBiorn, settler of Biornfirth, 17, 273\nBiorn, kinsman of Thorkel in Salft, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69\nBiorn of Meadness, 208, 237, 238, 245\nBiorn Rolfson, father of Eyvind the Eastman, 3, 5, 10, 11, 12\nBiorn Ufeigh's-son, 208\nBloeng of Sotaness, 1\nBodmod, 25\nBodvar of Bodvar's-knolls, 89\nBork the Fat, 201\nBotulf, grandfather of Thorir of Garth, 115\nBrand, a fisherman, one of Thorgeir Bottleback's house-carles, 20\nBrand, one of Thorbiorn Angle's followers at the slaying of Grettir, 238\nBundle-Torfi, 81\n\nCrow-Hreidar. <i>See</i> Hreida.\n\nDalla Thorvald's-daughter, wife of Bishop Isleif, 77\nDromund. <i>See</i> Thorstein Dromund.\n\nEgil Audunson, 104\nEid Skeggison, from the Ridge,184\nEilif Ketilson, 5\nEinar, a bonder in Jadar, 122\nEinar of Combe, 22\nEinar Olvirson, 5\nEllida-Grim Asgrimson, 16, 159\nEric Alefain (\u00f6lf\u00fass), of Sorreldale, 14, 15\nEric Hakonson, Earl of Norway, 50, 51\nEric Hroaldson, of God-dales, 208, 237\nEric Snare (snara), 17, 20, 23\nEric Starrison, 208\nEyulf, brother-in-law of Slaying-Bardi, 94\nEyolf of Fairwood, 179, 181\nEyulf Egilson, 104\nEyulf Gudmundson, 104\nEyvind Biornson, called the Eastman (austma\u00f0r), 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10\nEyvind (Herraudson), settler of Eyvind's-firth, 20\n\nFinnbogi Thorgeirson, 179, 180\nFlosi Ericson, of Arnes, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25\nFrederick the Bishop, 26\nFridgerd Thord's-daughter, 79\nFridmund of Shady-vale, 95\nFrodi, the King, 5\n\nGamli Skeggison, 251\nGamli, the Vendlander or Widelander (Vi\u00f0lendingr, Vindlendingr)\n  29, 90, 273\nGamli Thorhallson, of Meals, 29, 90, 126, 128, 143, 144, 151, 246,\n  248, 250, 273\nGaut Sleitason, 82, 83\nGeirlaug, goodwife of Broadlair-stead, 202\nGeirmund Helskin (heljarskinn), king of Hordaland, 2, 4\nGeirmund Hiuka-timber, 25\nGerd Bodvar's-daughter, 89\nGerpir, 25\nGisli Thorsteinson, 172, 174, 175, 176, 177\nGlam from Sylgsdales, afterwards a ghost, 96-110, 243\nGlum Uspakson, 29, 128, 246\nGrettir Asmundson, called the Strong, 28-33, 34-35, 36-39, 40-45,\n  46-59, 60-62, 63-76, 83-87, 88-89, 90-91, 92-94, 95, 104-110,\n  112-114, 116-121, 122-123, 124-125, 133-134, 135-140, 141-143,\n  144, 145-148, 149, 150, 151, 152-157, 158-159, 159-162, 163-164,\n  165-167, 168-170, 171, 173-178, 179-180, 181-183, 187, 189-191,\n  192-199, 200, 201, 202-203, 204-207, 209-210, 210-212, 213-217,\n  218, 219-220, 220-222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 228-229, 230, 231, 232,\n  233-235, 238-243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253,\n  254, 272\nGrim Gamlison, 29\nGrim Kolbiornson, a hersir in Norway, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14\nGrim the Northlander, an outlaw and hired assassin, 163, 164\nGrim Thorhallson, of Thorhall-stead in Shady-vale, 95\nGrim Thorhallson, grandson of the preceding, 95\nGrim Thorhallson of Meals, afterwards of Gilsbank, 90, 126, 128, 129,\n  130, 138, 139, 159, 162, 163, 168, 182\nGrim, son of the Widow of Kropp, 184, 185, 188, 200, 201\nGrimulf, 25\nGudbiorg Ufeigh's-daughter, 1\nGudbrand Ball (k\u00fala), 1\nGudbrandr Vigf\u00fasson, 275, 276\nGudmund the Rich (hinn r\u00edki), of Maddervales, 200, 204\nGudmund Solmundson, 85, 92\nGudrun, wife of Thorhall Grimson of Shady-vale, 95\nGuest (= Grettir Asmundson), 192, 193, 194, 212-214\nGunnar, Court-owner in Tunsberg, 71, 72, 73\nGunnar Thorirson, of the Pass, 90, 91, 126, 127, 128\nGyda, wife of Ingiald the Trusty, 13\nGyrid Einar's-daughter, 122\n\nHaeng, father of Vestar, 5\nHaering, 222, 223, 224, 230\nHaflidi of Reydarfell, a skipper, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45\nHafr Thorarinson, 212, 214, 215\nHafr Thordson, 212\nHakon, Earl of Norway, 50\nHakon Ericson, an Earl of Norway, 50\nHaldor Thorgeirson of Hof in Head-strand, 208, 215, 236, 237, 238,\n  240, 249, 278\nHaldora Steinmod's-daughter, 5\nHalfdan the Black (hinn svarti), 2\nHall Gudmundson of Asbiornsness, 86\nHall of Kropp, 136, 137\nHallmund, a mountain sprite, 169, 170, 182, 184, 185-188, 200, 276\nHallstein Horse (hestr), 14, 15\nHallvard Sweeping (s\u00fagandi), 1, 4, 10, 15\nHamund, a fisherman, one of Thorgeir Bottleback's household, 20\nHarald Halfdanson, called the Unshorn (l\u00fafa) and the Fair-hair\n  (h\u00e1rfagri), King of Norway, 2, 3, 4, 5\nHarald Ring, 129\nHarald Sigurdson, Varangian chief, afterwards King of Norway, 257,\n  260, 267, 268, 269\nHarek, a king's farmer in Norway, 12, 13\nHead-Thord = Thord of Hofdi, 79, 208\nHedin, a Skald.\nHedin of Soknadale, 13\nHelga Ondott's-daughter, second wife of Biorn Rolfson, and mother of\n  Thrand, 5\nHelga Thorkel's-daughter, of Fishbrook, 115\nHelga Thorir's-daughter, from Boardere, 90\nHelgi of Bathstead, 152, 153\nHelgi Eyvindson, called the Lean (hinn magri), 6, 16\nHjalti Thord Scalp's-son, 207\nHialti Thordson, of Hof, 207, 209, 211, 215, 216, 217, 237, 241, 251\nHiarandi, Earl Svein's man, 69, 70, 71\nHlif Rolfs-daughter, the first wife of Biorn Rolfson, 5\nHolmgang-Starri. <i>See</i> Starri Ericson.\nHoskuld, father of Olaf Peacock, 152\nHrefna Asgeir's-daughter (d. of Asgeir Madpate the Younger), 156\nHrei\u00f0ar, called Crow-Hrei\u00f0ar (Kr\u00e1ku-H.), 208\nHroald Geirmundson, 208\n\nIllugi Asmundson, 112, 126, 162, 200, 204, 205, 211, 217, 219, 220,\n  223, 224, 229, 231, 232, 233, 238, 240, 241, 243, 244, 245, 246,\n  248, 250, 251\nIngiald the Trusty (tryggvi) of Hvin, 13\nIngiald Frodison, an Earl, 5\nIngimund Thorsteinson, called the Old (hinn gamli), 27, 92\nIngolf (Herraudson), of Ingolf's-firth, 20\nIngolf Ornsorn, 24\nJokul Bardson, 104, 105\nJokul Ingimundson, 27\nIsleif Gissurson, first Bishop of Skalholt, 77, 250, 275\nIvar Kolbeinson, 22, 23\nIvar Smiter (beytill), 1\n\nKalf Asgeirson, of Asgeir's-river, son of Asgeir Madpate the younger,\n  34, 35\nKari Solmundson, called Singed-(svi\u00f0u)-Kari, 19\nKarr, one of Thorbiorn Angle's followers in the slaying of Grettir,\n  238, 240\nKarr the Old, a ghost, 46, 47, 48, 56\nKetil the Huge (raumr), 27\nKetil the Onehanded (hinn ein-hendi), 57\nKiarlak of Skridinsenni, 29\nKiartan Steinson, of Isledale-river, 191, 201\nKiarval, a sea-king, 1\nKiarval, king of Ireland, 6, 10\nKiotvi the Wealthy (hinn au\u00f0gi), 2\nKnut the Mighty, king of England, 50, 173\nKolbein (of Rogaland), 12, 15\nKolbiorn the Abasher (sneypir), 5\nKonal Steinmodson, 5\nKormak of Meal in Midfirth, 34, 87, 88, 90, 91, 92, 111\n\nLeif Kolbeinson, 22, 23\n\nMagnus the Good, king of Norway, 268\nMar Atlison, 80\nMichael Katalak, 'king' of Constantinople, 253\nMidfirth-Skeggi, 19, 24, 25\n\nNarfi, kinsman of Kormak and Thorgils of Meal, 90\nNoise. <i>See</i> Thorbiorn Noise.\n\nOdd Foundling-Skald (\u00famaga-sk\u00e1ld), 34, 87, 88, 90\nOdd, the Monk, 251\nOdd Ufeigh's son, 29\nOgmund the Evil (illi), 51-57, 60\nOlaf Eyvindson of Drangar, 20, 22, 23, 24\nOlaf Haraldson, Saint, king of Norway, 1, 112, 114, 115, 118, 119,\n  120, 121\nOlaf Hoskuldson, called Peacock (p\u00e1), 152\nOlaf Thorsteinson, called Feilan, 18, 19, 79\nOleif Einarson, called the Broad (brei\u00f0r), 5\nOlvir Bairn-Carle (barnakarl), 5\nOndott Crow (kr\u00e1ka), 5, 11, 12, 13, 14\nOnund Ufeigh's son, called Treefoot (tr\u00e8f\u00f3tr), 1, 2-4, 5-9, 10, 11,\n  12-15, 16-18, 19, 20, 23\nOrm Eyolfson, chaplain of Bishop Thorlak, 104\nOrm Storolfson, 172, 277\nOrm the Wealthy (hinn audgi), 1\n\nRafarta Kiarval's-daughter, 5\nRanveig Asmund's-daughter, 29, 90, 273\nRanveig, first wife of Asmund Gray-hair, 26\nRedbeard. <i>See</i> Thorir Redbeard.\nRognvald, an earl, 2\nRolf of Am, father of Biorn, 5\nRolf Ingialdson, father of Hlif, 5\nRut of Combeness, 182\n\nSaemund, the South-Island man, 92, 276\nSam Borkson, 201\nSigfast, son-in-law of King Solver, 5\nSighvat, father-in-law of Ondott Crow, 13\nSigny Sighvat's-daughter, 13\nSigurd, Bishop, 115\nSigurd, the husband of Spes, 255, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 266,\n  267\nSkald-Torfa, 34, 71, 73\nSkapti Thorodson of Hjalli, lawman, 82, 95, 96, 97, 134, 149, 150,\n  159, 162, 163, 224\nSkeggi. <i>See</i> Midfirth Skeggi.\nSkeggi Botulfson, 115\nSkeggi Gamlison, of Scarf-stead, 251\nSkeggi, a house-carle from the Ridge in Waterdale, 37, 38, 243, 250\nSkeggi of the Ridge, 184\nSkeggi, son of Steinvor, fathered on Kiartan, 201\nSkeggi Thorarinson, 79\nSkeggi Thorirson, from Garth, 115\nSkeggi Gamlison (from Meals), called the Short-handed (Skammh\u00f6nd\u00fangr),\n  151, 246, 248, 249, 250, 251\nSkeggi Gamlison, grandson of the preceding, 251\nSkuf of Dog-dale, 81\nSlaying-Styr, 152\nSleita-Helgi, 90\nSnaebiorn Eyvindson, 6\nSnaeskoll, a bearserk, 122, 123\nSnorri Thorgrimson, called S. Godi, 144, 145, 151, 152, 201, 202, 203,\n  224\nSolmund (Eilifson), 92\nSolmund Thorbiornson, 19\nSolver, King of Gothland, 5\nSolvi Asbrandson, called the Proud (pr\u00fa\u00f0i), 129\nSons of Thord = Hjalti of Hof and Thorbiorn Angle, 215\nSons of Thorir = Gunnar and Thorgeir from the Pass, 91, 126, 129\nSons of Thorir = Thorgeir and Skeggi, from Garth, 117, 118, 134\nSpes, the wife of Sigurd, afterwards wife of Thorstein Dromund, 255\nStarri Ericson, called Holmgang-Starri (H\u00f3lmgaungu-S.), 208\nStein Biornson, called Tongue-Stein (T\u00fangu-S.), 208, 237\nStein, priest of Isledale-river, 191, 195, 201\nStein, a shipwrecked Skipper, 22, 23, 24, 25\nStein Thorgestson, lawman, 225, 250\nStein Thorirson, called the Far-sailing (mj\u00f6ksiglandi), 225\nSteinmod Konalson, 5\nSteinmod Olvirson, 5\nSteinulf Olvirson, 5\nSteinulf Thorleifson, from Lavadale, 179, 180, 182\nSteinun Rut's-daughter, 182\nSteinvor the Old (gamla), 24\nSteinvor of Sand-heaps, 191, 192, 201\nSturla Thordson, lawman, 144, 207, 272\nSulki, a king in Norway, 2\nSwan of Knoll, 23, 24\nSvein of Bank, 135-139\nSvein, Earl of Norway, 50, 51, 69, 70, 71, 73. 74. 75, 112\n\nTardy. <i>See</i> Thorbiorn Tardy.\nThora Thormod's-daughter, 11\nThoralf of Ere in Icefirth, 154\nThoralf Skolmson, 172, 277\nThorarin Hafrson, 212\nThorarin Ingialdson of Acres, 179, 180, 182\nThorarin Thordson, called Fylsenni, 79\nThorarin the Wise (hinn spaki), 87, 92, 93\nThorbiorg Olaf's-daughter, called the Big (digra), 152, 154, 155,\n  156, 157\nThorbiorn Arnorson, called Oxmain (\u00f6xnamegin), 89, 90, 91, 92, 111,\n  125, 126, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133. 139. 140, 141, 142,143, 144,\n  150, 151, 234\nThorbiorn Earls' champion (Jarlakappi), 18, 19\nThorbiorn Noise (glaumr), Grettir's servant-man, 206, 211, 219, 231,\n  232, 235, 239, 240, 245\nThorbiorn Salmon-Carle, 5, 11\nThorbiorn Thordson, called Angle, 208, 209, 211, 212, 215, 216, 217,\n  218, 222, 223, 224, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 234, 235, 236,\n  237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249,\n  250, 251, 252, 253, 254\nThorbiorn Tardy (fer\u00f0al\u00e1ngr), 89, 91, 111, 112-114, 125, 126, 128\nThorbrand Haraldson, 129\nThord Hialtison, 207, 208\nThord of Hofdi (==Head-Thord), 79\nThord Knob, 212\nThord Kolbeinson, of Hitness, 171, 172, 173, 178\nThord Scalp, 207\nThord Olafson, called the Yeller (gellir), 78, 79, 225\nThord Thordson (son of Head-Thord). <i>See</i> Thorgeir.\nThordis Asmund's-daughter, wife of Thorgrim Greypate, 25\nThordis Asmund's daughter, wife of Glum Uspakson, 29\nThordis Thord's-daughter, 208\nThordis Thorgrim's-daughter, second wife of Onund Treefoot, 19, 20\nThords, two brothers of Broad-river in Flat-lithe in Skagafirth, 209,\n  211, 216\nThorelf Alf a-Dales'-daughter, 80\nThorfinn of Brook-bow, 179\nThorfinn, house-carle of Flosi in Arnes, 20, 23, 25\nThorfinn Karrson of Haramsey, 46-50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 59, 60, 62, 69,\n  70,71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 84\nThorgaut, a herdsman of Thorhall-stead in Shady-vale, 101, 102\nThorgeir Havarson, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 145, 146, 147, 148,\n  149\nThorgeir Onundson, called Bottleback (fl\u00f6skubak), 19, 20, 21, 23,\n  24, 25\nThorgeir Thordson (s. of Head-Thord), 208, 278\nThorgeir Thorhaddson of Hitdale, 179\nThorgeir Thorirson from Garth, 115\nThorgeir Thorirson, from the Pass, 90, 91, 126, 127, 128\nThorgerd Alf a-Dales'-daughter, 80\nThorgest Steinson, 225\nThorgils Arison, of Reek-knolls, 80, 81, 82, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148,\n  149\nThorgils Ingialdson, 179, 180, 289\nThorgils Makson, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81,82\nThorgils of Meal in Midfirth, 34, 87, 90\nThorgrim of Gnup in Midfirth, 19\nThorgrim (Hallormson), the Godi of Cornriver, 26\nThorgrim Onundson, called Greypate (haerukollr), 19, 20, 22, 23, 24,\n  25, 26, 27\nThorhadd Steinson, 179\nThorhall Asgrimson, of Tongue, 159\nThorhall Fridmundson, 95\nThorhall Gamlison, 29, 90, 273\nThorhall Grimson, of Thorhall-stead in Shady-vale, 95-102, 105,\n  106-110\nThorir Autumn-mirk (haustmyrkr), 225\nThorir Longchin (hakl\u00e1ngr), 2, 3\nThorir Thorkelson, of the Pass, 89, 90, 273\nThorir Redbeard (rau\u00f0skeggr), an outlaw and hired assassin, 164-168\nThorir Skeggison, of Garth, 115, 117, 118, 129, 133, 134, 151, 164,\n  165, 168, 169, 173, 186, 188, 190, 191, 200, 225, 245, 246\nThorir Paunch (\u00de\u00f6mb), 51-57, 60\nThorir in Thorirs-dale, a mountain-sprite, 183, 276\nThorkel of Boardere, 89\nThorkel Eyulfson, 188\nThorkel of Fishbrook, 115\nThorkel of Giorvidale, 152, 153, 154\nThorkel Moon (M\u00e1ni), 24\nThorkel Thordson, called Kugg, 78\nThorkel Thorgrimson, called Krafla, 26, 27, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 77\nThorkel of Salft, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67,69\nThorlak (Thorhallson, Saint), Bishop of Skalholt, 104\nThorlaug Saemund's daughter, 92\nThorleif, one of Thorbiorn Angle's followers at the slaying of\n  Grettir, 238\nThorleif of Lavadale, 182\nThormod Coalbrowskald (kolbr\u00fanarsk\u00e1ld), 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 145, 146,\n  147, 148, 149\nThormod Oleifson, called Shaft (skapti), 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 19\nThorod, who settled Ramfirth, 89\nThorod Arnorson, called Drapa-Stump (dr\u00e1pust\u00fafr), 89, 91, 142, 143,\n  144, 150, 151, 246, 248, 250\nThorod Eyvindson, the Godi, of Hjalli, 11, 24,96\nThorod Snorrison, 201, 202, 203,204\nThorolf of Ere, 154\nThorolf, called the Fastholding (fasthaldi), 273\nThorolf Skolmson. <i>See</i> Thoralf.\nThorstein Asmundson, called Dromund, 26, 71, 74, 75, 121-125, 252,\n  253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264-272\nThorstein, whom Snorri Godi had slain, 172\nThorstein Godi, 11\nThorstein Ketilson, 27\nThorstein the Red (rau\u00f0r), 79\nThorstein of Reekness, 22\nThorstein, Thorkel Kugg's son, called Kuggson, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82,\n  143, 144, 145, 158, 159, 170, 200, 201\nThorstein the Uplander, 26\nThorstein the White (hv\u00edti), of Sand-heaps, 191\nThorvald Asgeirson, son of Asgeir Madpate the younger, 34, 35, 77,\n  79, 110, 129, 130, 151, 248, 249, 250\nThorvald of Drangar, 16\nThorvald Kodranson, 27\nThorvald of Reeks in Skagafirth, 207, 222\nThorvor, Thormod's daughter, 11\nThrand Biornson, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 19\nThrand Thorarinson, 179, 180, 182\nThurid Asgeir's-daughter, d. of Asgeir Madpate the older, 79\nThurid Thorhall's-daughter, 95, 104\nThurid, Thorbiorn Angle's stepmother, 208, 226-231\nTongue-Stein. <i>See</i> Stein Biornson.\nTorfi Vebrandson, 234\nUfeigh, the father of Odd, 29\nUfeigh Ivarson, called Clubfoot (burluf\u00f3tr), 1\nUfeigh Einarson, called Grettir, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 18\nUfeigh (Herraudson), the Settler of Ufeigh's-firth, 20\nUfeigh Hrei\u00f0arson (Crow-Hr.), called Thinbeard (\u00deunnskeggr), 208\nUfeigh Onundson, called Grettir, 19, 24, 25\nUlf the Squinter (skj\u00e1lgi), 80\nUlfheid Eyulf's-daughter, 104\nUna Steinulf's-daughter, 5\nUspak Glumson, of Ere in Bitra, 29, 151, 246, 247, 248\nUspak Kiarlakson of Skridinsenni, 29\nVermund the Slender, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157\nVestar Haengson, 5\nVestmar, a viking, 7, 9\nVigbiod, a viking, 7, 8, 9\nVikar, one of Thord Angle's followers at the slaying of Grettir, 241\n\n\n\n\nINDEX II.\n\nLOCAL NAMES.\n\nAcres (Akrar), 178, 179, 182\nAgdir, now Nedenes-Lister-og Mandals-Fogderi, in Norway, 5, 13\nArmansfell, 97\nArness in the Strands, 17, 20, 21\nAsbiornsness (Asbjarnarnes) in Willowdale, 85, 92\nAsgeir's-River (Asgeirs\u00e1), a farm in Willowdale, 20, 34, 275\nAslaugs-lithe (Aslaugarhli\u00f0), 176\nAudunstead in Willowdale (Au\u00f0unarsta\u00f0ir), 34, 83, 84, 104\nAxefirth (Axarfj\u00f6r\u00f0r), 25, 277\nAxefirth-peak (Axarfjardar-nupr), 277\n\nBalkstead (B\u00e1lkasta\u00f0ir), two farm-steads in Ramfirth, 10\nBall-jokull, 161, 169\nBank (Bakki), a farmstead in Ramfirth, 89\nBank (Bakki), a farmstead above Thingness, in Bugfirth, 135, 136\nBard-dale (B\u00e1r\u00f0ardalr), north of Islefirth, 191, 192, 196, 200\nBarra (Barrey), one of the Hebrides, 1, 5, 7, 9\nBathstead (Laugab\u00f3l), a farmhouse in Icefirth, 152, 153\nBerg-Ridge (Bjarga-\u00e1s), in Waterness, in Hunawater Thing, 129\nBergs (Bj\u00f6rg), ibid. 129\nBiarg, a farmstead in Midfirth, Grettir's birthplace, 25, 27, 28, 29,\n  35, 39-77, 83, 87, 88, 90, 92, 93, 95, 104, 111, 113, 126, 127, 128,\n  130, 131, 132, 139, 142, 144, 200, 204, 246, 247, 251\nBitra, 128, 151\nBiornfirth (Bjarnarfj\u00f6r\u00f0r), in the Strands, 23\nBoardere (Bor\u00f0eyri), a farmstead in Ramfirth, 90\nBodvar's-knolls (B\u00f6\u00f0varsh\u00f3lar), in Westhope, in Hunawaterthing, 89\nBondmaid's-River (Amb\u00e1ttar\u00e1), 129\nBowerfell (B\u00farfell), a farmstead on Ramfirth-neck, 90, 91\nBrakeisle (Hr\u00edsey), in Islefirth, 16\nBrakelithe, <i>see</i> Kraeklingslithe.\nBroadfirth (Brei\u00f0ifj\u00f6r\u00f0r),276\nBroadfirth-dales (Brei\u00f0afjar\u00f0ardalir), 170, 201\nBroadlair-stead (Brei\u00f0ib\u00f3lsta\u00f0r), in Sokkolfsdale, 202\nBroad-river (Brei\u00f0\u00e1), a farmstead in Flat-lithe, in Skagafirth, 209\nBrooks-meet (Laekjam\u00f3t), a farmstead in Willowdale, 27, 77\nBrook-bow (Laekjarbugr), a farmstead in the Marshes, 178, 179\nBurgfirth (Borgarfj\u00f6r\u00f0r), 81, 93, 130, 135, 159, 161, 162, 170, 182\nBurglava (Borgarhraun), 176\nBurn-river (Brunn\u00e1), 278\nBute (B\u00f3tz, or B\u00f3t), isle of, 7\nByrgirs-Creek (Byrgisv\u00edk), 18, 22\nBye (Baer), a farmstead in Burgfirth, 136\n\nCave-Knolls (Hellish\u00f3lar), on Reekness, 147\nCodfirth (\u00feorskafj\u00f6r\u00f0r) in Bardastrandsylla, 148\nCodfirth-heath (\u00feorskafjar\u00f0arhei\u00f0i), 152\nColdback (Kaldbak), a fell in the Strands, 17, 18\nColdback, the farmstead of Onund Treefoot, in the Strands, 18, 19, 20,\n  21, 22, 23\nColdback-cleft (Kaldbakskleif), 18\nColdback-Creek (Kaldbaksvik), 18, 23, 24\nColdriver-dale (Kald\u00e1rdalr), 176\nCombe (Gj\u00f6gr), a farmstead in the Strands, 22\nCombe (Kambr), in Reekness in the Strands, 25\nCombeness (Kambnes), 182\nCornriver (Korns\u00e1), a farm in Waterdale, 26\nCreek, 20, 22. = Treetub-creek.\nCross-river (\u00dever\u00e1), a stream in Waterness, 129\n\nDales = Broadfirth-dales, 202\nDeepfirth (Dj\u00fapifj\u00f6rdr), 276\nDeildar-Tongue (D-T\u00fanga), 137\nDinby (Glaumbaerr), a farmstead in Skagafirth, 206\nDog-dale (Hundadalr), 81\nDoor-holm (Dyrh\u00f3lmr), the southeastmost point of Iceland, 234\nDoveness-path (D\u00fafuness-skei\u00f0i), a portion of the way over the Keel, 160\nDrangar, a farmstead in the Strands, 16, 20, 22\nDrangey, an island in Skagafirth, 200, 204, 207, 209, 210, 217, 218,\n  219, 222, 223, 224, 227, 228, 231, 237, 238, 250, 251\nDrontheim (\u00der\u00e1ndheimr), now Trondhiem, in Norway, 69, 114, 118\nDrontheimfirth (\u00der\u00e1ndheimsfj\u00f6r\u00f0r), 67\n\nEastfirths (Austfir\u00f0ir), 184\nEastriver (Austr\u00e1), 202\nEastriverdale (Austr\u00e1rdalr), one of the Broadfirth-dales, 201\nEngland, 50, 115\nEre (Eyri, al. Uspakseyri), in Bitra, 128, 151\nEre (Eyri), in Icefirth, 152, 154\nEres (Eyrar, now Eyrabakki), on the south coast of Iceland, 11\nEyjafirth, 112 = Islefirth.\nEyvindsfirth (Eyvindarfj\u00f6r\u00f0r), 20\nErnelakeheath, 186 = Ernewaterheath.\nErnewaterheath (Arnarvatnsheit\u00f0i), 163, 165, 184, 188\n\nFairslope (Fagrabrekka), 90\nFairwood (F\u00f6grusk\u00f3gar), a farm near Fairwoodfell, 179, 181, 277\nFairwoodfell (Fagrask\u00f3garfjall), north of the Marsh country and\n  west side of Hitdale, 171, 172, 178, 277\nFishbrook (Fiskilaekr), 115\nFishwaterlakes (Fiskiv\u00f6tn), 163\nFishless (Vei\u00f0ilausa), in the Strands, 17, 18\nFlat-lithe (Sl\u00e8ttahl\u00ed\u00f0), in Skagafirth, 209\nFleets (Flj\u00f3t), on the north side of the mouth of Skagafirth, 208,\n  212, 237, 238\nFleet-tongue (Flj\u00f3tst\u00fanga), 37\nFlokedale-river (Fl\u00f3kadals\u00e1), in Burgfirth, 136\nFlysja-wharf (Flysju-hverfi or Flysu-hverfi), 174, 179\nFoxplain (Melrakkasl\u00e8tta), 278\n\nGangpass-mouth (Gaunguskar\u00f0s\u00f3s, better Gaunguskar\u00f0s\u00e1r\u00f3s), 222\nGartar, now Garten, an island in the mouth of Drontheimfirth, 67\nGarth (Gar\u00f0r), in Maindale, 115, 118, 133, 134, 151, 190, 200\nGilsbank (Gilsbakki), 130, 137, 138\nGjorvidale, 152\nGnup-Wards'-rape (Gn\u00fapverjahreppr), 11\nGnup, a farmstead in Midfirth, 19\nGoatland (Geitland), 182\nGoatland's-jokul (Geitland's-j\u00f6kull), 182\nGoat-rock (Hafraklettr), 147\nGod-dales (Go\u00f0dalir), 208, 237\nGodis-wood (Go\u00f0ask\u00f3gr), 97\nGoosere (G\u00e1seyri, G\u00e1sir, prop. Geese, or perhaps Creeks), a\n  market-place in Islefirth, 112, 113, 133, 251\nGothland (Gautland), 5\nGrettirs-point (G-Oddi), 180\nGrettirs-hillock (G-\u00feufa), 249\nGrettirs-Gill, 18\n\n\nHafrsfirth (Hafrsfjor\u00f0r), now Hafsfjord, in Jadar in Norway, 3\nHaffirth-river (Hafsfjar\u00f0rara), in the Marshes, 176\nHall-marsh (Sk\u00e1lamyrr), in Skagafirth, 208\nHallwick (Sk\u00e1lav\u00edk), in Sweeping's firth 10\nHalogaland, now Nordlandene, in Norway, 62\nHaramsey, properly H\u00e1rhamars-ey, now Harams\u00f6, in South-Mere, in\n  Norway, 45, 50, 51\nHawkdale (Haukadalr), a valley in the Broadfirth-dales, 90\nHawkdale (Haukadalr), a farmstead in Biskupst\u00fangr in Arnesthing, 159\nHawkdale-pass (Haukadals-skar\u00f0), a mountain road between Hawkdale\n  and Ramfirth, 126\nHead, a farm on Head-strand, 79, 276\nHead-strand (H\u00f6f\u00f0astrond), in Skagafirth, 208\nHeel (Haell), 18\nHeron-ness (Hegranes), in Skagafirth, 210, 213\nHjalli in Olfus, 11, 159, 162\nHjaltidale (Hjaltadalr), in Skagafirth, 207\nHitdale (Hitardalr), north of the Marshes, 173, 179\nHitness (Hitarnes), in the Marshes, 171, 178\nHitriver (Hitar\u00e1), in the Marshes, 171, 172, 174, 175, 178, 179\nHof in Hjaltidale, 207\nHof on Head-strand, 208, 237\nHof\u00f0i (Hof\u00f0i), 79, 276\nHolm (H\u00f3lmr), the homestead of Biorn the Hitdale-champion in\n  the Marshes, 170\nHoltbeacon-heath (Holtav\u00f6r\u00f0uhei\u00f0i), a mountain over which lay the\n  main road between Northriverdale and Ramfirth, 200\nHordaland, a province of Norway, now S\u00f6ndre Bergenhus Amt, 1, 2, 4, 114\nHorn, 132\nHorseholt (Hrossholt), in the Marshes, 177\nHunawater (H\u00fanavatn), 26, 101,\nHvamm, a farmstead in Hvamsveit by Hvamsfirth 18, 79\nHvamsveit, 79\nHvin, now Kvinen, in Norway, 13\nHvinisfirth, now Fedde-Fjorden, in Norway, 5\nHaeringsleap, in Drangey, 224\n\nJadar, now Jaederen, in Norway, 121\n\nIcefirth (Isafj\u00f6r\u00f0ar), 155\nIcefirth-deep (Isafjar\u00f0ar-dj\u00fap), 273\nIceland (Island), 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 19, 27, 75,77, 115, 116, 121,\n243, 250, 253, 272\nIngolfs-firth (Ing\u00f3ilfafj\u00f6rdr), 17, 20, 22\n\nJorvi (Jorvi) in Flysia-wharf, 179\n\nIreland (Irland), 2, 5, 6, 7, 10\nIslefirth (Eyjafirth, Eyjafj\u00f6r\u00f0r), 16\nIsledale-river (Eyjardals\u00e1), a farmstead in Bard-dale, 191, 192, 194,\n  196, 198, 201\n\nKalf-river (K\u00e1if\u00e1), in Gnup-Wards'-rape, 18\nKalfness (Kalfanes), 136, 137\n\nKeel (Kj\u00f6lr), a mountain between the North and South quarter of,\n  Iceland, over which a main road led from Biskupst\u00fangur to Islefirth,\n  159, 162, 169\nKialarnes, 19\nKnobstead (Knappsta\u00f0ir), a farmstead in the Fleets, 212\nKnoll (H\u00f3ll), in the Strands, the farm of Swan, 23\nKolbeins-Creek (Kolbeinsvik) in the Strands, 18\nKolbeinstead (Kolbeinssta\u00f0ir), a farmstead in the Marshes, 176\nKraeklings-lithe, a country side in Islefirth, 16, 277\nKropp, 137\n\nLavadale (Hraundalr), in the Marshlands, 179, 180, 182\nLaxdale-heath (Lax\u00e1rdalshei\u00f0i), a mountain road between Laxardale\n  and Ramfirth, 143\nLiarskogar (Lj\u00e1rsk\u00f3gar), a farmstead in Hvamsveit, 79, 81, 143, 144,\n  145, 158\nLongdale (Langidalr), in Icefirth, 152\nLongfit (Langafit), below Reeks in Midfirth, 87\nLongholt (Langholt), in Skagafirth, 206\nLongness (Langanes), the north-eastmost promontory of Iceland, 16\n\nMadderdale-heath (M\u00f6\u00f0rudalshei\u00f0i), in the north-east of Iceland, 189,\n  277\nMaddervales (M\u00f6\u00f0ruvellir) in Islefirth, 200\nMaindale (A\u00f0aldalr), in the north-east of Iceland, 115\nMarshes (M\u00fdrar; Marsh-country), 170, 171, 178\nMarstead (M\u00e1rsta\u00f0ir) in Waterdale, 26\nMarswell (M\u00e1rskelda), 81\nMeadness (Haganes), a farmstead in the Fleets, 208, 237, 238\nMeal (Melr, now Melsta\u00f0r) in Midfirth, 34, 87, 114\nMeals (Melar) in Ramfirth, 29, 90, 126, 143, 144, 151, 248, 275\nMere (Moeri) = South-Mere, 69\nMicklegarth (Constantinople), 252, 253, 268, 270, 272\nMidfirth (Mi\u00f0fj\u00f6r\u00f0r) in Hunawaterthing, 19, 25, 34, 77, 78, 130,\n  139, 140, 246\nMidfirth-Water (Mi\u00f0fj\u00f6r\u00f0arvatn), 34, 83\nMidfit (Mi\u00f0fitjar) in Ramfirth, 144\n\nNeck (= Ramfirth-neck), 130\nNecks (= Ramfirth--and--Midfirth-neck), 140\nNes (Nesjar) in Norway, 112\nNess = Snowfellsness, 126\nNorth-Glass-river (Gler\u00e1 en nyr\u00f0ri), in Islefirth, 16\nNorthriver (Nor\u00f0r\u00e1), a stream in Burgfirth, 81\nNorthriverdale (Nor\u00f0r\u00e1rdalr), ibid. 90, 201,\nNorway (Noregr), 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 11, 12, 17, 26, 45, 50, 60, 61, 76,\n  112, 114, 115, 122, 251, 252, 268, 270\nN\u00fapasveit in Axefirth, 278\n\nOlaf's-isles (Olafseyjar) in Broadfirth, 146\nOyce-land (Osland) in Skagafirth, 245\n\nPass (Skar\u00f0) the, a farm in Hawkdale, 90, 126, 127, 129, 273\n\nRamfirth (Hr\u00fatafj\u00f6\u00f0r), in Hunawaterthing, 10, 29, 89, 90, 126\nRamfirth-neck (Hr\u00fatafjar\u00f0arh\u00e1ls), 91, 113, 127, 130, 143\nRaun (Hraun), a farmstead in the Marshes, 174\nReekfirth (Reykjafj\u00f6r\u00f0r), a bay in the Strands, 18, 25\nReekfirth, a farmstead in the last-named bay, 18, 20\nReek-heath (Reykjahei\u00f0i), in the North-East of Iceland, 189\nReek-knolls (Reykh\u00f3lar), a farmstead on Reekness in Broadfirth, 80,\n  144, 145\nReekness (Reykjanes), a promontory in the Strands, 18, 22\nReekness, a farmstead on the last-named ness, 22\nReekness, south-westmost point of Iceland, 40\nReekness, east side of Codfirth, in Broadfirth, 80, 145, 146\nReekpass (Reykjaskar\u00f0) in Skagafirth, 205\nReeks (Reykir), a farmstead in Midfirth below Biarg, 87\nReeks, a farmstead nigh to Thorodstead in Ramfirth, 140, 142, 143\nReeks, a farmstead in Reek-strand in Skagafirth, 207, 220, 250, 251\nReek-strand (Reykjastr\u00f6nd), in Skagafirth, 250\nReydarfell in Whiteriverside, in Burgfirth, 39\nRib-skerries (Rifsker) in Reekfirth, 22, 24\nRidge, the, (As, al. Odds\u00e1s) in Waterdale, the farm of Thorvald Asgeirson,\n  37, 77, 110\nRidge, the, (As, al. St\u00f3ri\u00e1s), in Burgfirth, 184\nRidge (As, al. Valdar\u00e1s), in Willowdale, 275\nRogaland, now Stavanger Amt, in Norvay, 1, 2, 3, 12\nRome, 271\nRosmwhale-ness (Rosmhvalanes), 24\n\nSaemund's-lithe (Saemundarhl\u00ed\u00f0) in Skagafirth, 206\nSalft (prop. S\u00e1lpti or S\u00e1lfti), now\nSalten in Salten-Fjord, in Halogafand, 62\nSamstead (S\u00e1mssta\u00f0ir), 145\nSand, a wilderness between the North and the South Country,\n  crossed by a road from Skagafirth south to Burgfirth and\n  Thingvellir, 249\nSand-heaps (Sandhaugar), 191, 192, 195, 199. 201, 273\nScarf-stead (Skarfssta\u00f0ir), 158, 251\nScotland, 2, 5, 7\nShady-vale (Forsaeludalr), inland of Waterdale, 95\nSlaftholt (Skaptaholt), in Gnup-Wards'-rape, 11\nShieldbroadfell (Skjaldbrei\u00f0), a volcano north-east of Thingvellir, 183\nSkagafirth, 83, 200, 205, 207, 217, 250\nSkagi, a mountain promontory between Strandbay and Skagafirth, 16\nSkalholt (Sk\u00e1laholt), in Biskupst\u00fangur, 77, 250\nSkridinsenni, a farmstead in Bitra, 29\nSledgehill (Sle\u00f0a\u00e1s), north of Thingvellir, 39, 97\nSlysfirth (Slysfj\u00f6r\u00f0r, prop. Slygsfj\u00f6r\u00f0r), now Storfjorden in S\u00f6ndm\u00f6res\n  Fogderi, in Norway, 51\nSnowfells (Snaefj\u00f6ll), 275\nSnowfellsness (Snaefellsnes), the West-most promontory of Iceland,\n  126, 173\nSokkolfsdale (S\u00f6kkolfsdalr), in the Broadfirth-dales, 202\nSoknadale (S\u00f3knadalr, or S\u00f3knardalr), now Sognedalen, in Norway, 13\nSorbness (Reynines), in Skagafirth, 206\nSorreldale (S\u00farnadalr), now Surendalen, in Norway, 14\nSotanes, in Norway, 1\nSouth-Glass-river (Gler\u00e1 en sy\u00f0ri), a farmstead in Islefirth, 16\nSouth-Mere (Summaeri), now S\u00f6ndm\u00f6res Fogderi, in Norway, 45, cpr. 69\nSouth-Isles (Su\u00f0r-eyjar), the Hebrides, 1, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11\nSouth-Strands (Su\u00f0r-strandir), 16\nSpear-mead (Spj\u00f3tsm\u00fdrr), in Ramfirth, 144\nStair (Stigi), a foreland peak east of Sweepingsfirth, 10\nStead (Sta\u00f0r), now Stadtland, promontory in Norway, 115, 116, 117\nSteep-brent (Brattabrekka), 201\nSteersriver (\u00fei\u00f3rs\u00e1), 12\nSteinker, an Earl's seat in Drontheim, 69\nStone-holt (Steinsholt), in Gnup-Wards'-rape, 11\nStonestead (Steinsta\u00f0ir), in Skagafirth, 208\nStrandbay (Strandafl\u00f3i), 16\nStrands (Strandir), north-westmost part of Iceland, 16, 77, 80\nSweepingsfirth (S\u00fagandafj\u00f6r\u00f0r), 10\nSylgdale (Sylgsdalir), in Sweden, 96\nThingere-lands (\u00fe\u00edngeyrasveit), in Hunawaterthing, 25\nThingness (\u00fe\u00edngnes), in Burghfirth, 135, 136\nThoreys-peak (\u00fe\u00f3reyjar-n\u00fapr) a farm in Willowdale, 93, 94, 104\nThorhall-stead (\u00fe\u00f3rhallssta\u00f0ir) in Shady-vale, 95, 97, 98, 102, 103, 105\nThorodstead (\u00fe\u00f3roddsstadir) in Ramfirth, 89, 140\nThorir's-dale (\u00fe\u00f3rir's-vale, 184, Thorisdalr), 183, 184, 201\nThrandsholt (\u00fer\u00e1ndarholt), in Gnup-Ward's-rape, 11\nThwart-river (\u00fever\u00e1), a stream in Gnup-Ward's-rape, 11\nTitling-stead (Titl\u00edngasta\u00f0ir), on Reekness, 147\nTongue (T\u00fanga, Sael\u00edngsdalst\u00fanga), Snorri Godi's home, 144, 145, 203\nTongue (T\u00fanga), a farmstead in Waterdale, 90\nTongue (T\u00fanga, now N\u00fapsdalst\u00fanga(?)), a farmstead in Midfirth, 90\nTongue (T\u00fanga), the home of Asgrim Ellida Grimson, in Arnesthing, 159\nTongue-river (T\u00fangu\u00e1), a stream in the Fleets, 212\nTorfa's-stead (Torfusta\u00feir), a homestead in Midfirth, 34\nTreetub-creek, the Creek, the Wick, (Tr\u00e8kyllisv\u00edk), in the Strands,\n  20, 22, 23, 24, 25\nTunsberg, a market-place in Norway, now T\u00f6nsberg, 71, 75, 121, 123,\n  251, 252\nTwodays-way (Twodays-ride, Tv\u00eddaegra), a mountain-road from\n  Northriverdale to the Midfirth-dales and Willowdale, 93, 139\n\nUfeigh's-firth (Ufeigsfj\u00f6r\u00f0r), in the Strands, 22\nUfeigh's-stead (Ufeigssta\u00f0ir), in Gnup-Ward's-rape, 11\nUfaera, in the Strands, 17\nUplands (Uppl\u00f6nd), Oplandene in Norway, 2\n\nVogar a fish-fair in Halogaland, in Norway, now Vaagen, 62, 67\n\nWaterdale (Vatnsdalr), in Euna-waterthing, 26, 38, 40, 77, 104, 110,\n  111, 275, 276\nWaterfirth (Vatnsfj\u00f6r\u00f0r), home-stead of Vermund the Slender,\n  152, 154, 155, 158\nWaterfirth-dale (Vatnsfjar\u00f0andalr), in Icefirth, 153\nWaterness (Vatnsnes), pron. between Hunafirth and Midfirth, 129\nWaterpass (Vatnsskar\u00f0), between Hunawaterthing and Skagafirth, 205\nWave-ridge (\u00d6lduhryggr), in Sta\u00f0arsveit, 173\nWeir (St\u00fdfla), in the Fleets, 212\nWell-ness (Keldunes), 115\nWell-wharf (Kelduhverfi), 115\nWell-wharfside, id. 187\nWestfirths (Vestfir\u00f0ir), 144, 158, 162\nWesthope, (Vestrh\u00f3p), in Hunawaterthing, 34\nWetherfirth=Ramfirth, 143\nWhalesheadholme, (Hvalshaush\u00f3lmr), 146,147\nWhiteriver (Hv\u00edt\u00e1), in Burgfirth, 135, 136, 172\nWhiteriverside (Hv\u00edt\u00e1rs\u00edda), in Burgfirth, 39\nWick (V\u00edkin), in Norway, 26\nWick=Treetub-Creek.\nWillowdale (V\u00ed\u00f0dalr), west of Waterdale, 20,34,83, 104, 275\nWindham (Vindheimr), a farmstead of Haramsey, 46, 47\nWolds (Vellir), a harbour on the Whiteriver, 135,136\nWoods-tead (Sk\u00f3gar), a farm in Axefirth, 277\nWoodwick (Vi\u00f0v\u00edk), a farmstead in Skagafirth, 208, 231, 236, 237, 245\n\n\n\n\nINDEX III.\n\nTHINGS.\n\nA nithing's deed, setting on a dying man with weapons, 250\nArson, 2, 5, 13\nAssassins (hired), 163, 167\n\nBarrow of Karr the Old of Haramsey, 47, 49\n  of Onund Treefoot, called \"Treefoot's-barrow,\" 19\n<i>Battles and Fights</i>.\n  Battle of Barra, between Onund Treefoot, and King Kiarval, 1, 2\n  of Bute, between Onund Treefoot and the Vikings, Vigbiod\n    and Vestmar, 7, 9\n  of Ernewaterheath, between Grettir and Hallmund on one\n    side, and Thorir of Garth with eighty men on the other, 168, 170\n  of Grettirsoddi by Hitriver, between Grettir and the Marshmen,\n    179, 180\n  of Hafrsfirth, between Harald Fairhair and several Norwegian petty\n    kings, 3, 4\n  of Nesjar, between St. Olaf and Earl Svein, 112\n  of the Pass, between Ath Asmundson and the Sons of Thorir of the\n    Pass, 127, 128\n  at Bowerfell, between Grettir and the men of Meal, 91\n\n  Fight in Drangey, between the Brothers Grettir and Illugi, on one\n    side, and Thorbiorn Angle and his band on the other, 240, 241\n\n  Fight on Ernewaterheath, with the Assassins Grim and Thorir\n    Redbeard, 163, 164\n  at Fairwoodfell with Gish, 176,177\n  at Fleet-tongue with Skeggi, 38\n  in Gartar, with Biorn, 68\n  at Goosere, with Thorbiorn Tardy, 144\n  in Grettir's-Gill, between Ufeigh Grettir and Thorbiorn\n    Earls' Champion, 18, 19\n  in Haramsey, with Karr the Old, in his harrow, 48, 49\n  in Haramsey, with twelve Bearserks, 56, 58\n  on Midfit, with Thorbiorn Oxmain, 141\n  on Reekness, between the men of the Creek and those\n    of Coldback, over a whale, 23\n  on a common driftland in the Strands over a whale, between\n    the foster-brothers \u00deorgeir Havarson and Thormod\n    Coalbrowskald on one side, and Thorgils Makson on the other, 77,78\n  at Sand-heaps, with a troll-wife, 194, 195\n  nigh to Sand-heaps, in a cave, with a giant, 197\n  at Steinker, with Hiarandi, 70, 71\nFight at Thorhall-stead with Glam the Thrall, 107, 109\n  in Tunsberg, with Gunnar, the brother of Hiarandi, 72, 73\n  with Snaekoll the bearserk, 122, 123\n\nBridge of Liarskogar, a work of great art, hung with rings and\n  'din-bells,' 158\n\n<i>Domestic Implements</i>.\n  Bottles of leather, for keeping drink in, 20\n  Chopper, 23, 194\n  Clothes-bag, 175\n  Curd-bags, hides drawn up to fetch curds in from mountain dairies, 84\n  Deer-horn, for drinking at feasts, 15\n  Digging-tools, 47\n  Kettle, 182\n  Meal-bags, wherein victuals were kept for the thing-ride, 38\n  Tools to strike fire, 182\n  Trough, 194\n  Wool-combs. 30\n\nDowry, 7\n\n<i>Dress and Ornamental Apparel</i>.\n  Breeches (of sail-cloth, 117), 176, 220\n  Cape, 117, 136, 137\n  Chain, round the neck, 14\n  Cloak of rich web, 14\n  Coloured clothes (over--clothes), 154, 174\n  Cowl, 220 Drugget-cloak, 107\n  Fur-cloak, 64\n  Hat (slouched), 169, 189\n  Hood, 206\n  Kirtle (red), 85\n  Leggings (hose), 65\n  Mittens, 206\n  Rings of gold, 14\n  Shirt, 176\n  Spurs, 202\n  State-raiment, 175\n  Thongs (hose-thongs), 65\nFair in Vagar in Halogaland, 62\nFamine, 21\n\n<i>Feasts</i>.\n  (There were three principal festals in the year: at Winter-nights,\n   Yule, and Midsummer.)\n\n  Autumn-feast (= winter nights' feast, Oct. 14), at Thorbiorn\n  Oxmain's, III \"Drinking turn and turn about,\" is probably the same\n  that elsewhere is called \"Sambur\u00f0Sarol,\" an ale-club or rotation\n  drinking by common subscription, 14 Yule-ale, 51 Yule-biddings,\n  51, 52\n\n<i>Fights, see</i> Battles and Fights.\n\n<i>Food and Drink</i>.\n  (The Saga mentions no imported articles of food.)\n  Beer, 53, 56\n  Curds, 84\n  Fish (stockfish), 131, 132\n  Lent-fare, fat and livers, 183\n  Mutton, <i>passim</i>.\nFire above hid treasure, 47\nFoster-brothers (sworn brothers), 78, 81, 92, 93\nGodi's-wood, a wood said to have belonged to six Godar, 97\nGrettir's-heave, 39, 91, 176\n<i>Horse-Outfit</i>.\n  Bridle (embossed, 160), 76, 136\n  Head-gear, 160 Saddle (fair-stained, 84), 38\n  Snaffle-rings, 160 Hospitality, 54,\nHospitality, 54, 80\n<i>Houses and their Outfit</i>.\nBeaks of vessels put over the door, 115\nBed, 107\nBoards (= tables), 30\nBolt, 56\nBoose (= cow-stall in a byre), 103\nBooth at the thing, 96\n--for drinking assemblages, 72\n--for trade-purposes, 113\nBower, serving as a ward-robe, cloth-bower, 56\n--a storehouse apart from other houses, out-bower, 56, 245\nCloset, 56\nCorn-barn, 58\nCross-beam (= tie-beam), 107, 108\nCross-bench (= dais), 193\nDoor, 56 and <i>passim</i>.\nDoorcase, 108\nDoorpost, 133\nDungeon, 254\nGable, 193\nHall, fire-hall, <i>passim</i>, see also note on hall pp. 273-275\nHangings, 53\nHigh-chair, 48\nHill-dairy, 84, 153, 154\nHorse-stable, 106\nHouse of refuge (s\u00e1luh\u00fas), 117\nLatch, 56\nLock-bed, 107\nLoft (sleeping-loft), 14, 124\nLong-fires, 30\nRafters, 108\nRoof, 107, 240\nSeat-beam, 84, 107\nSide-wall, 193\nThatch, 108, 240\nThreshold, 108, 133\nTie-beam, 107\n\n<i>Landwights</i>.\n\nAmongst these are to be numbered Hallmund and Thorir the half-troll\nof Thorir's-dale, and the wights told of in Hallmund's Song, 187\n\nAtonement. <i>See</i> Weregild.\n\n<i>Law, Suits, Penalties</i>.\n\nBoot for insulting language, 66\nBanishment, 129\nDeclaring manslaughter as having been done by one's own hand, 133, 142\nDistrict-outlawry, 129\nExecution (f\u00e9r\u00e1nsd\u00f3mr), 247-248\nFine, 39, and <i>passim</i>.\nHandselling of a lawsuit, 39\nHandselling of lawful truce, 212, 214\n\nLaw-provisions:\n  For drift-right, 25\n  For bearserks challenging men to holm, 51\n  For heritage of outlawed men in Norway in the days of\n    Harold Fairhair, 11\n  For the utmost limit of outlawry, 225\n  For heathen sacrifices in the earliest days of Christianity\n    in Iceland, 226\n  For a rightful suitor in a blood-suit, 150\n\nLawsuits, 18, 19, 24, 39, 79, 129, 130, 149, 151, 238, 249, 250\n\n<i>Manners and Customs, Civil and Religious</i>.\n\nBathing, 148, 220\nBurial of misdoers in cairns and tidewashed heap of stones, 59, 241\nBurial in barrows. <i>See</i> Barrows.\n--at churches, 126, 142\n\nFasting on Yule-eve, 98\n--to iron birth, 119\n\nHallowing of a vessel by a bishop, 115\n\nIron-birth, 119\n\nMeal-times, 49\n\nRiding, to the Althing, 36, 79\nRubbing of one's back by the fire, 30\n\nSailors' duties have to be per-formed on board ship by the\n  passengers, 41, <i>sqq</i>.\nSitting at table in the evening, 48\nSleeping in fire-halls, 30\n\nThing-men have to provide themselves,\neach one with fare at\nhis own cost, 38\n\nVarangian weapon-show, 253\n\nWashing of hands ere going to\ntable, 113\n\n<i>Money</i>.\n\nHundred in silver, 151\n\nMark in silver, 151, 173\n\n<i>Names of folk derived from their</i>\n   <i>country or dwelling-stead</i>.\n\n  Axefirthers, 278\n  Gothlander, 11\n  Halogalander, 57\n  Icefirthers, 155, 156\n  Lavadale-men, 182\n  Marshmen, 182\n  Northlanders, 163\n  Northmen, 10, 253\n  Ramfirthers, 34, and <i>passim</i>.\n  South-Islander, 7, 92\n  The men of Biarg, 88, 92\n  The men of Coldback, 20, <i>sqq.</i>\n  The men of the Creek, 20, <i>sqq.\n</i> Varangians, 253, <i>sqq.</i>\n  Waterdale-folk, 26, 38\n  Waterdale-kin, 142\n  Waterness-men, 34, 88\n  Well-wharfers, 170\n  Westfirthers, 80\n  Westhope-men, 34\n  Willowdale-men, 34\n\n<i>Occupations</i>.\n\n  Binding of hay into horseloads for being conveyed into rick-yard\n    or barn, 140, 141\n  Catching of fowl, 219\n  Drift-watching, 22\n  Fetching home victuals from mountain dairies, 84\n  Fetching home stockfish on horses, 126, 128\n  Fishing in sea and fresh water, 163, 166, 184\n  Folding, gathering sheep in autumn up from the wilds\n    and mountains, to be sorted for their owners according to\n    the marks in the ears of each sheep, 174\n  Gathering of eggs, 214\n  Hay-harvest, falls into two parts, the first, the haymaking in the\n    manured homefield, the second, in unmanured meads and mountains,\n    132, 140\n  Iron-smithying, 158\n  Mowing-tide, the whole season of the summer while grass can be\n    mown, 84, 132\n  Watching of home-geese, 29\n           of horses in winter, 31\n           of neat, 102\n           of sheep, 98, 101, 206\n  Whale-getting, 21, 77\n  Whale-cutting, 23\n\n<i>Pet Animals</i>.\n\n  Keingala, a mare, 31\n  Pied-belly, a ram, 240\n  Saddle-fair, a mare, 135\n\n<i>Runes</i>.\n\n  Songs cut on staffs, in runes, 186, 198\n  Baneful runes cut on a bewitched log of wood, 230, 231\n\n<i>Sagas Quoted</i>.\n\n  The saga of the Bandamenn, 29\n    of Bodmod, Grimulf, and Gerpir, 25\n    of Eric the Earl, 51\n    of Grim who slew Hallmund, 188\n    of the heath-slayings, 86\nThe saga of the Laxdale-men, 19\n\nSettlings of land in Iceland, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17\n\n<i>Ships and their outfit</i>.\n\n  Boat, ten oars aboard, 22, 227\n  Boat-stand, 20, <i>and passim</i>\n  Beaks, 115\n  Bark (karfi), of sixteen oars aboard, 46, 52, 62\n  Bulwark, 3\n  Forecastle, 3\n  Grapplings, 3\n  Gunwale, 147\n  Row-barge, 115\n  Sail, 16, 41\n  Ship shield-hung from stem to stern, 52\n    stained above sea, 52\n    cleared from stem to stern, 3\n    stem, stern, 3, 52\n  Viking-ship, I\n  War-ship, 6\n  Work in connection with ship:\n    baling, 41, 42, 45\n    pumping, 44\n    rolling ship ashore, 174\n    launching of, 46\n    building of, 25\n  Yard, 16\n\n<i>Skalds named in the Saga</i>.\n\n  Arnor Earls'-skald, 179\n  Bessi, Skald-Torfa's son, 34, 71\n  Grettir Asmundson.\n  Hallmund, 161, 186-187\n  Odd the Foundling-Skald, 34, 87-88\n  Skald-Torfa, 34\n  Svein of Bank, 135\n  Thormod Coalbrowskald, 77\n\n<i>Social Stations</i>.\n\n  Bonder, 14, and <i>passim</i>\n  Chapmen, <i>passim</i>\n  Court-owner, an owner of all such houses in a town as form the\n    surrounding of a court, 71\n  Earl, a man next after the king in dignity, 14, 50 <i>sqq</i>.,\n     69 <i>sqq</i>., 112\n  Free-men, 53\n  Godi, a chief combining in his person the religious and administrative\n    authority of the district over which he ruled, 11, 26\n  Hand-maid, 220, 221\n  Herdsman. <i>See</i> Occupations.\n  Hersir, a man next to an earl in dignity, 14\n  Home-folk, 54\n  Home-women, 54\n  House-carle, <i>passim</i>.\n\n<i>Sports and Games</i>.\n\n  Ball-play, 34\n  Ball, 35\n  Bat, 35\n  Horse-fight, 87, 88\n  Knave-game (note), 208\n  Sports at Heron-ness thing, 210, 212\n  Swimming, 117, 167, 220\n  Tale-game, 208\n  Wrestling, 211, 212, 216\n\n<i>Things, or Public Law-assemblages</i>.\n\n  The Althing, <i>passim</i>\n  The Thing of Kialarness, 19\n    Heron-ness, 210\n    Hunawater, 129, 150\n  Trade on England, 67\n\n<i>Trolls and Evil Wights</i>.\n\n  See Hallmund's song, 187\n  Troll-carle, 197\n  Troll-wife, 194-195\n  The wight that slew Glam, 96, 99, 100\nTroth, to sit in troth for three winters, 7\n  Twainmonth, the second month in the year, corresponding to our\n    September (Aug. 24--Sept. 22).\n  Wadmall as an article of trade, 40, 220\n\n<i>Weapons and War-gear</i>.\n\n  Axe, <i>passim</i>.\n  Barb-end, 57\n  Barb, 57, 132\n  Buckler, 142\n  Byrni, 57\n  Chopper, 194\n  Cheek-pieces of a helmet, 122\n  Glaive (heft-sax), 197\n  Grigs of the sword, 241\n  Hand-axe, 141\n  Helmet, 57, 85, 122, 132\n  Shield (iron-rimmed, inlaid), 72, 122, 128, 175, 203, 241\n  Socket inlaid with silver, 141\n  Socket-nail, 141\n  Short-sword, Karrs-loom, 49, and <i>passim</i>\n  Spear, great without barbs, 141\n    with broad barbs, 56, 132\n  Stones used for missiles, 8\n  Spear-head, 57\n  Sword, girt with a sword, 132, 241\n    Jokul's gift, the heirloom of the kinsmen of Ingimund the\n    Old, 40, and <i>passim</i>.\n  Weird of a ghost, 109\n    of a sorceress, 229\n  Winter-nights, the first days in winter about Oct. 14, 145\n\n<i>Witchcraft and Sorcery</i>.\n\n  Gale of wind brought on by evil craft, 236-237\n  Witchcraft, an illegal means for overcoming an enemy, 244, 250\n  Witchcraft wrought into a log of wood, the manner thereof, 230, 231\n  Wound growing deadly through the effect of evil and witchcrafty\n    runes, 244, 250\n  Wooing, 6, 7, 19\n\n\n\n\nPERIPHRASTIC EXPRESSIONS IN THE SONGS.\n\nAn Axe: Battle ogress, rock-troll, 38\nBlood: Rain of swords, 15\nCave (Hallmund's): Kettle, where waters fall from great\n    ice-wall, 160\nFight: Dart's breath, 15\n    Dart-shower, 43\n    Gale of death, 15\n    Gale of swords, 95\n    Hilda's[22] weather, 95\n    Iron-rain, 234\n    Mist's[22] mystery, 95\n    Odin's gale; Odin's storm, 143, 190\n    Shield-fire's thunder, 6\n    Shield-rain, 215\n    Spears' breath, 170\n    Spear-shower, 138\n    Spear-storm, 234\n    Sword-shower, 81\n\nGallows: Sigar's meed for lovesome deed, (Sigarr hung Hag-bard\n    the Viking for having befooled his daughter), 157\nGold: Deep sea's flame, 137\n    Dragon's lair, 49\n    Serpent's bed, 215\n    The flame of sea, 49\n    Wave's flashing flame, 49\n    Worm's bed, 41\n    Worm-land, 131\nGrettir (an Eddaic name for a serpent): Fell-creeping lad, 86\nHead: Thoughts' burg, 76\nMan: Elm-stalk, 136\n    Gold-scatterer, 181\n    Helm-stalk, 136\n    Jewel-strewer, 30\n    Lessener of the flame of sea, 49\n    Lessener of waves' flashing flame, 49\n    Ring-bearer, 68\n    Ring-strewer, 30\n    Scatterer of serpent's bed, 215\n    Wormland's haunter, 137\n    Snatcher of worm's bed, 41\nMouth: Tofts of tooth-hedge, 124\nSailor: He who decks the reindeer's side that 'twixt ness and\n    ness doth glide, 43\nRider of wind-driven steed, 41\nSea-steeds' rider, 81; Shield: Roof of war, 215\nSpear-walk, 12\nShip: Reindeer that 'twixt ness and ness doth glide, 43\n    Sea-steed, 81\n    Steed of the rollers, 17\n    Wind-driven steed, 41\nSkald: Giver forth of Odin's mead (Svein of Bank), 137\nSword: Byrni's flame, 76\n\n[Footnote 22: Hilda (Hildr) and Mist, goddesses of fight and\nmanslaughter.]\n\nSword: Helmfire, 50, 136\n    Man's-bane, 41\n    War-flame, 199\n    Whiting of the shield, 21\n    Wound-worm, 114\nThor: Sifs lord, 157\nWarrior: Arrow-dealer, 114\n    Axe-breaker, 2\n    Begetter of fight, 49\n    Brand-whetter, 17\n    Breaker of the bow, 50\n    Foreteller of spear-shower, 138\nWarrior: Grove of Hedin's maid, 125\n    Raiser-up of roof of war, 215\n    Spear-grove, 59\n    Stem of shield, 190\n    Sword-player, 199\n    War-god, 66\n    Wound-worm's tower, 114\nWool-combe: Hook-clawed bird, 31\nWoman: Giver forth of gold, 59\n    Goddess of red gold, 137\n    Ground of gold, 30\n    Son of golden stall, 190\n    Warder of horns' wave, 181\n\n\n\n\nPROVERBS AND PROVERBIAL SAYINGS THAT OCCUR IN THE STORY.\n\nPAGE\n\nA friend should warn a friend of ill ............................. 30\nAle is another man ............................................... 55\nAll must fare when they are fetched............................... 188\nAll things bide their day......................................... 218\nAll will come to an end .......................................... 233\nBare is the back of the brotherless .............................. 241\nBest to bairn is mother still .................................... 41\nBewail he, who brought the woe ................................... 175\nBroad spears are about now ....................................... 133\nDeeds done will be told of ....................................... 224\nEven so shall bale be bettered by biding greater bale ............ 140\nFor one thing alone will I not be known .......................... 192\nFrom ill cometh ill .............................................. 105\nGood luck and goodliness are twain ............................... 105\nHand for wont doth yearn ......................................... 226\nHottest is the fire that lies on oneself ......................... 176\nIll deed gains ill hap ..........................................  188\nIll heed still to ill doth lead .................................  121\nIll if a thrall is thine only friend ............................. 240\nIll it is ill to be .............................................. 165\nIll it is to goad the foolhardy .................................. 30\nLet one oak have what from the other it shaves ................... 67\nLittle can cope with cunning of eld .............................. 205\nLong it takes to try a man ....................................... 61\nMany a man lies hid within himself ............................... 203\nMany a man stretches round the door to the lock .................. 86\nMore one knows the more one tries ................................ 30\nNo man makes himself ............................................. 125\nNow this, now that has strokes in his garth ...................... 125\nOdd haps are worst haps .......................................... 37\nOft a listening ear in the holt is anear ......................... 173\nOft fail in wisdom folk of better trust .......................... 32\nOld friends are the last to sever ................................ 240\nOne may be apaid of a man's aid .................................. 44\nOverpraised, and first to fail ................................... 132\nSooth is the sage's guess ........................................ 92\nSwear loud and say little ........................................ 266\nThe lower must lowt .............................................. 267\nThe nigher the call, the further the man ......................... 211\nThings boded will happen, so will things unboded ................. 32\nThough the spoon has taken it up, yet the mouth has had no sup ... 168\nThralls wreak themselves at once, dastards never ................. 35\nThrice of yore have all things happed ............................ 262\nTo the goat-house for wool ....................................... 226\nWith hell's man are dealings ill ................................. 176\nWoe is before one's own door when it is inside\none's neighbour's ................................................ 105","title":"The Story of Grettir the Strong","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":94165}