{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_347/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_347","id":"gutenberg_347","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/347","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Historical Novels","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Grettir \u00c1smundarson, 996-1031 -- Fiction","Sagas -- Translations into English","Vikings -- Fiction"],"text":"Produced by Douglas B. Killings, and David Reid, and John Servilio\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE SAGA OF GRETTIR THE STRONG\n\nGRETTIR'S SAGA\n\nBy Unknown Author\n\n\nWritten in Icelandic, sometime in the early 14th Century.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I. THE FAMILY AND EARLY WARS OF ONUND THE SON OF OFEIG\n\n\nThere was a man named Onund, the son of Ofeig Clumsyfoot, who was the\nson of Ivar Horsetail. Onund was the brother of Gudbjorg, the mother of\nGudbrand Knob, the father of Asta, the mother of King Olaf the Saint.\nHis mother came from the Upplands, while his father's relations were\nmostly in Rogaland and Hordland. He was a great viking and used to harry\naway in the West over the sea. He was accompanied on these expeditions\nby one Balki, the son of Blaeing from Sotanes, and by Orm the Wealthy.\nAnother comrade of theirs was named Hallvard. They had five ships, all\nwell equipped. They plundered the Hebrides, reaching the Barra Isles,\nwhere there ruled a king named Kjarval, who also had five ships. These\nthey attacked; there was a fierce battle between them, in which Onund's\nmen fought with the utmost bravery. After many had fallen on both sides,\nthe battle ended with the king taking to flight with a single ship; the\nrest were captured by Onund's force, along with much booty. They stayed\nthere for the winter, and spent the succeeding three summers harrying\nthe coasts of Ireland and Scotland, after which they returned to Norway.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II. THE BATTLE OF HAFRSFJORD\n\n\nAt that time Norway was very disturbed. Harald Shockhead, the son of\nHalfdan the Black, till then king of the Upplands, was aiming at the\nsupreme kingship. He went into the North and fought many battles there,\nin which he was always victorious. Then he marched harrying through\nthe territories to the South, bringing them into subjection wherever he\ncame. On reaching Hordland he was opposed by a motley multitude led by\nKjotvi the Wealthy, Thorir Long-chin, and Soti and King Sulki from South\nRogaland. Geirmund Swarthyskin was then away in the West, beyond the\nsea, so he was not present at the battle, although Hordland belonged to\nhis dominion.\n\nOnund and his party had arrived that autumn from the western seas, and\nwhen Thorir and Kjotvi heard of their landing they sent envoys to ask\nfor their aid, promising to treat them with honour.\n\nThey were very anxious for an opportunity of distinguishing themselves,\nso they joined Thorir's forces, and declared that they would be in the\nthickest part of the battle. They met King Harald in a fjord in Rogaland\ncalled Hafrsfjord. The forces on each side were very large, and the\nbattle was one of the greatest ever fought in Norway. There are many\naccounts of it, for one always hears much about those people of whom the\nsaga is told. Troops had come in from all the country around and from\nother countries as well, besides a multitude of vikings. Onund brought\nhis ship alongside of that of Thorir Long-chin in the very middle of the\nbattle. King Harald made for Thorir's ship, knowing him to be a terrible\nberserk, and very brave. The fighting was desperate on either side. Then\nthe king ordered his berserks, the men called Wolfskins, forward. No\niron could hurt them, and when they charged nothing could withstand\nthem. Thorir defended himself bravely and fell on his ship fighting\nvaliantly. The whole ship from stem to stern was cleared and her\nfastenings were cut, so that she fell out of the line of battle. Then\nthey attacked Onund's ship, in the forepart of which he was standing and\nfighting manfully. The king's men said: \"He bears himself well in the\nforecastle. Let us give him something to remind him of having been in\nthe battle.\" Onund was stepping out with one foot on to the bulwark, and\nas he was striking they made a thrust at him with a spear; in parrying\nit he bent backwards, and at that moment a man on the forecastle of the\nking's ship struck him and took off his leg below the knee, disabling\nhim at a blow. With him fell the greater number of his men. They carried\nhim to a ship belonging to a man named Thrand, a son of Bjorn and\nbrother of Eyvind the Easterner. He was fighting against King Harald,\nand his ship was lying on the other side of Onund's. Then there was a\ngeneral flight. Thrand and the rest of the vikings escaped any way they\ncould, and sailed away westwards. They took with them Onund and Balki\nand Hallvard Sugandi. Onund recovered and went about for the rest of his\nlife with a wooden leg, wherefore he was called Onund Treefoot as long\nas he lived.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III. MEETING OF DEFEATED CHIEFS IN THE WEST AND MARRIAGE OF\nONUND\n\n\nThere were then in the western parts many distinguished men who had fled\nfrom their homes in Norway before King Harald, for he declared all who\nfought against him outlaws, and seized their property. As soon as Onund\nhad recovered from his wound, Thrand went with his party to Geirmund\nSwarthyskin, who was the most eminent of the vikings in the West. They\nasked him whether he was not going to try and regain his kingdom in\nHordland, and offered to join him, hoping by this means to do something\nfor their own properties, for Onund was very wealthy and his kindred\nvery powerful. Geirmund answered that Harald had such a force that there\nwas little hope of gaining any honour by fighting when the whole country\nhad joined against him and been beaten. He had no mind, he said,\nto become the king's thrall, and to beg for that which he had once\npossessed in his own right. Seeing that he was no longer in the vigour\nof his youth he preferred to find some other occupation. So Onund and\nhis party returned to the Southern Islands, where they met many of their\nfriends.\n\nThere was a man named Ofeig, nicknamed Grettir. He was the son of Einar,\nthe son of Olvir the Babyman. He was a brother of Oleif the Broad, the\nfather of Thormod Shaft. Another son of Olvir was named Steinolf, the\nfather of Una, whom Thorbjorn the Salmon-man married. A third son of\nOlvir was Steinmod, who was the father of Konal, the father of Alfdis\nof the Barra Isles. Konal's son was named Steimnod; he was the father of\nHalldora, whom Eilif, the son of Ketil the One-handed, married.\n\nOfeig Grettir married Asny, the daughter of Vestar, the son of Haeing.\nHis sons were Asmund the Beardless and Asbjorn, and his daughters were\nnamed Aldis, Aesa, and Asvor. Ofeig had fled from the wrath of King\nHarald into the West over the sea, along with his kinsman Thormod Shaft\nand all their families. They ravaged far and wide in the western seas.\nThrand and Onund Treefoot were going West to Ireland to join Thrand's\nbrother, Eyvind the Easterner, who had command of the Irish defences.\nEyvind's mother was named Hlif; she was the daughter of Hrolf, the son\nof Ingjald, the son of King Frodi, while Thrand's mother was Helga, the\ndaughter of Ondott Crow. The father of Eyvind and Thrand was Bjorn, the\nson of Hrolf of Ar. He had had to leave Gautland because he had burnt\nin his house Sigfast the father-in-law of King Solvi. Then he went to\nNorway and spent the winter with Grim the Hersir, a son of Kolbjorn\nthe Sneak, who wanted to murder him for his money. Thence Bjorn went\nto Ondott Crow, who lived in Hvinisfjord in Agdir. There he was well\nreceived, stayed the winter, and went campaigning with Ondott in the\nsummer until his wife Hlif died. Eventually Ondott gave Bjorn his\ndaughter Helga, and Bjorn then no longer went out to fight. Eyvind had\ntaken over his father's ships and become a great chief in the western\nparts. He married Rafarta, the daughter of the Irish king Kjarval. Their\nsons were Helgi the Lean and Snaebjorn.\n\nWhen Thrand and Onund came to the Southern Islands they found there\nOfeig Grettir and Thormod Shaft, with whom they became very friendly,\nfor each thought the others had risen from the dead, their last meeting\nhaving been in Norway when the war was at its worst. Onund was very\nsilent, and Thrand, when he noticed it, asked what was on his mind.\nOnund answered with a verse:\n\n     \"No joy is mine since in battle I fought.\n     Many the sorrows that o'er me lower.\n     Men hold me for nought; this thought is the worst\n     of all that oppresses my sorrowing heart.\"\n\nThrand said: \"Why, you still seem as full of vigour as ever you were.\nYou may yet settle down and marry. You shall have my good word and my\ninterest if you will only tell me whom you fancy.\"\n\nOnund said he behaved nobly; but said there had once been a time when\nhis chances of making a profitable marriage had been better.\n\nThrand said: \"Ofeig has a daughter named Aesa; we might mention it if\nyou like.\"\n\nOnund said he would like it, and soon afterwards Ofeig was approached on\nthe subject. He received the proposal favourably, saying he knew the\nman to be of good lineage and to have some wealth in movable property,\nthough his lands were not worth much. \"But,\" he said, \"I do not think he\nis very wise. Why, my daughter is quite a child.\"\n\nThrand said that Onund was more vigorous than many a man whose legs were\nsounder.\n\nSo with the aid of Thrand the terms were settled. Ofeig was to give his\ndaughter a portion in cash, for neither would reckon anything for his\nlands in Norway. Soon afterwards Thrand was betrothed to the daughter of\nThormod Shaft. Both the maids were to remain plighted for three years.\n\nThen they went on fighting expeditions in the summer, remaining in the\nBarra Isles during the winter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV. FIGHT WITH VIKINGS VIGBJOD AND VESTMAR\n\n\nThere were two Vikings from the Southern Isles, named Vigbjod and\nVestmar; they were abroad both summer and winter. They had eight ships,\nand harried mostly round the coast of Ireland, where they did many an\nevil deed until Eyvind undertook the defence of the coast, when they\nretired to the Hebrides to harry there, and right in to the Scotch\nfirths. Thrand and Onund went out against them and learned that they had\nsailed to an island called Bot. Onund and Thrand followed them thither\nwith five ships, and when the vikings sighted them and saw how many\nthere were, they thought their own force was sufficient, so they took to\ntheir arms and advanced to the attack. Onund ordered his ships to\ntake up a position between two rocks where there was a deep but narrow\nchannel, open to attack from one side only, and by not more than five\nships at once. Onund was a very wily man. He sent his five ships forward\ninto the channel so that, as there was plenty of sea room behind them,\nthey could easily retire by merely backing their oars. One ship he\nbrought under an island lying on their beam, and carried a great stone\nto a place on the front of the rock where it could not be seen from the\nenemy's ships. The Vikings came boldly on, thinking they had caught them\nin a trap. Vigbjod asked who they were that he had hemmed in. Thrand\nanswered that he was a brother of Eyvind the Easterner, and the man with\nhim was his comrade, Onund Treefoot. The vikings laughed and said:\n\n     \"Trolls take the rascal Treefoot\n     and lay him even with the ground.\n\nNever yet did I see men go to battle who could not carry themselves.\"\n\nOnund said that could not be known until it was tried. Then the ships\ncame together. There was a great battle in which both sides fought\nbravely. When the battle was thick Onund ordered his ships to back their\noars. The vikings seeing it thought they were taking to flight, and\npushed on with all their might, coming under the rock just at the moment\nwhen the party which had been dispatched for that purpose arrived. They\nlaunched upon the vikings stones so huge that nothing could hold against\nthem. A number of the vikings were killed, and others were so injured\nthat they could fight no more. Then the vikings tried to escape, but\ncould not, as their ships were in the narrowest part of the channel and\nwere impeded both by the current and by the enemy's ships. Onund's men\nvigorously attacked the wing commanded by Vigbjod while Thrand engaged\nVestmar, but effected little. When the men on Vigbjod's ship had been\nsomewhat reduced, Onund's men, he himself with them, prepared to board\nher. On seeing that, Vigbjod spurred on his men resolutely. He turned\nagainst Onund, most of whose men gave way. Onund was a man of immense\nstrength and he bade his followers observe how it fared with them. They\nshoved a log under the stump of his leg, so that he stood pretty firm.\nThe viking dashed forward, reached Onund and hewed at him with his\nsword, which cut right through his shield and into the log beneath his\nleg, where it remained fixed. As Vigbjod bent down to pull his sword\nclear again, Onund dealt him a blow on his shoulder, severing his arm\nand disabling him. When Vestmar saw his comrade fall, he sprang on to\nthe outermost ship and escaped along with all who could get on to her.\nThen they examined the dead. Vigbjod had already expired. Onund went up\nto him and said:\n\n     \"Bloody thy wounds.  Didst thou see me flee?\n     'One-leg' no hurt received from thee.\n     Braver are many in word than in deed.\n     Thou, slave, didst fail when it came to the trial.\"\n\nThey took a large quantity of booty and returned to the Barra Isles in\nthe autumn.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V. VISIT OF ONUND AND THRAND TO EYVIND IN IRELAND\n\n\nThe following summer they made ready for a voyage to the West, to\nIreland. At the same time Balki and Hallvard sailed westwards,\nto Iceland, where they had heard that good land was available for\noccupation. Balki took up some land at Hrutafjord, and had his abode in\ntwo places called Balkastad. Hallvard occupied Sugandafjord and Skalavik\nas far as Stigi, where he lived.\n\nThrand and Onund went to visit Eyvind the Easterner, who welcomed\njoyfully his brother Thrand; but when he heard that Onund had also come,\nhe became very angry and wanted to fight him. Thrand asked him not to\ndo so, and said it would ill become him to quarrel with men from Norway,\nespecially with such as had given no offence. Eyvind said that he had\ngiven offence before, when he made war on Kjarval the king, and that he\nshould now pay for it. The brothers had much to say to each other about\nthe matter, till at last Thrand said that he and Onund should share\ntheir fortune together. Then Eyvind allowed himself to be appeased.\nThey stayed there a long time in the summer and went with Eyvind on his\nexpeditions. Eyvind found Onund to be a man of the greatest valour. In\nthe autumn they went to the Hebrides, and Eyvind made over to Thrand all\nhis share in their father Bjorn's patrimony in the event of Bjorn dying\nbefore Thrand. They stayed in the Hebrides until they married and some\nyears after.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI. DEATH OF BJORN; DISPUTES OVER HIS PROPERTY IN NORWAY\n\n\nThe next thing that happened was the death of Thrand's father Bjorn.\nWhen the news of it reached Grim the Hersir he proceeded against Ondott\nCrow and claimed Bjorn's estate. Ondott held Thrand to be the rightful\nheir of his father, but Grim contended that Thrand was away in the West.\nBjorn, he said, came from Gautland, and the succession to the estate of\nall foreigners passed to the king. Ondott said that he would hold the\nproperty on behalf of Thrand, who was his daughter's son. Grim then\ndeparted, having effected nothing by his claim.\n\nThrand, when he heard of his father's death, prepared to leave the\nHebrides, and Onund Treefoot decided to go with him. Ofeig Grettir and\nThormod Shaft went to Iceland with all their belongings, landing at\nEyrar in the South. They spent the first winter with Thorbjorn the\nSalmon-man, and then occupied Gnupverjahrepp. Ofeig took the outer part\nlying between the rivers Thvera and Kalfa, and lived at Ofeigsstad near\nSteinsholt, while Thormod took the eastern part, living at Skaptaholt.\nThormod's daughters were named Thorvor and Thorve; the former afterwards\nbecame the mother of Thorodd the Godi at Hjalli, Thorve of Thorstein the\nGodi the father of Bjarni the Wise.\n\nWe now return to Thrand and Onund, who sailed back from the West to\nNorway. A strong wind blew in their favour, so that they arrived at the\nhouse of Ondott Crow before any one knew of their journey. He welcomed\nThrand and told him of the claim which Grim the Hersir had raised for\nBjorn's estate.\n\n\"To my thinking, kinsman,\" he said, \"it is better that the property\nshould go to you than to the king's thralls. It is a fortunate thing for\nyou that no one knows of your having come here, for I expect that Grim\nwill make an attack upon one or the other of us if he can. I should\nprefer if you would take over your property and stay in other\ncountries.\"\n\nThrand said that he would do so. He took over the property and prepared\nto leave Norway. Before leaving he asked Onund Treefoot whether he would\nnot come to Iceland. Onund said he wanted first to visit some of his\nrelations and friends in the South.\n\n\"Then,\" said Thrand, \"we must part. I should be glad if you would give\nmy kinsmen your support, for our enemies will certainly try to take\nrevenge upon them when I am gone. I am going to Iceland, and I want you\nto come there too.\"\n\nOnund said he would come, and they parted with great friendship. Thrand\nwent to Iceland, where he met with a welcome from Ofeig and Thormod\nShaft. He took up his dwelling at Thrandarholt to the west of Thjorsa.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII. MURDER OF ONDOTT CROW, AND THE VENGEANCE THEREFOR\n\n\nOnund went to Rogaland in the South and visited many of his relations\nand friends. He lived there in concealment with a man named Kolbeinn. He\nthere learned that King Harald had taken all his property and given it\ninto the charge of a man named Harekr, one of his officials. Onund\nwent by night to Harekr's house and caught him at home; he was led to\nexecution. Then Onund took possession of all the loose property which he\nfound and burnt the building.\n\nThat autumn Grim the Hersir murdered Ondott Crow because he had not\nsucceeded in getting the property for the king. Ondott's wife Signy\ncarried off all their loose property that same night to a ship and\nescaped with her sons Asmund and Asgrim to her father Sighvat. A little\nlater she sent her sons to Hedin, her foster-father in Soknadal, where\nthey remained for a time and then wanted to return to their mother. They\nleft at last, and at Yule-tide came to Ingjald the Trusty at Hvin.\nHis wife Gyda persuaded him to take them in, and they spent the winter\nthere. In the spring Onund came to northern Agdir, having learned of the\nmurder of Ondott. He met Signy and asked her what assistance they would\nhave of him. She said they were most anxious to punish Grim for the\ndeath of Ondott. So the sons were sent for, and when they met Onund\nTreefoot they all joined together and had Grim's doings closely watched.\n\nIn the summer there was a beer-brewing at Grim's for a jarl named Audun,\nwhom he had invited. When Onund and the sons of Ondott heard of it, they\nappeared at his house unexpectedly and set fire to it. Grim the Hersir\nand about thirty men were burnt in the house. They captured a quantity\nof valuables. Then Onund went into the forest, while the two brothers\ntook the boat of their foster-father Ingjald, rowed away and lay in\nhiding a little way off. Soon jarl Audun appeared, on his way to the\nfeast, as had been arranged, but on arriving he missed his host. So\nhe collected his men around him and stayed there a few nights, quite\nunaware of Onund and his companions. He slept in a loft with two other\nmen. Onund knew everything that was going on in the house and sent for\nthe two brothers to come to him. On their arrival he asked them whether\nthey preferred to keep watch on the house or to attack the jarl. They\nchose to attack. They then battered the entrance of the loft with beams\nuntil the door gave way. Asmund seized the two men who were with the\njarl and threw them to the ground with such violence that they were\nwell-nigh killed.\n\nAsgrim rushed at the jarl and demanded of him weregild for his father,\nfor he had been in league with Grim and took part in the attack when\nOndott was murdered. The jarl said he had no money about him and asked\nfor time. Asgrim then placed the point of his spear against his breast\nand ordered him to pay up on the spot. Then the jarl took a necklace\nfrom his neck and gave it to him with three gold rings and a velvet\nmantle. Asgrim took the things and bestowed a name upon the jarl. He\ncalled him Audun Nannygoat.\n\nWhen the farmers and people about heard of the disturbances they all\ncame out to help the jarl. Onund had a large force with him, and there\nwas a great battle in which many a good farmer and many a follower of\nthe jarl were slain. The brothers returned to Onund and reported what\nhad occurred with the jarl. Onund said it was a pity they had not killed\nhim. It would, he said, have been something to make up for the losses\nwhich he had suffered from King Harald. They said the disgrace was far\nworse for the jarl as it was, and they went off to Surnadal to Eirik\nBeery, a Landman there, who took them all in for the winter. At\nYule-tide they had a great drinking bout with a man named Hallsteinn,\nnicknamed Stallion. Eirik opened the feast and entertained them\ngenerously. Then it was Hallsteinn's turn, and they began to quarrel.\nHallsteinn struck Eirik with a deer's horn, for which Eirik got no\nrevenge, but had to go home with it, to the great annoyance of Ondott's\nsons. A little later Asgrim went to Hallsteinn's house and gave him a\nsevere wound. All the people who were present started up and attacked\nAsgrim. He defended himself vigorously and escaped in the dark, leaving\nthem under the belief that they had killed him. Onund and Asmund, on\nhearing that Asgrim had been killed, were at a loss what they could do\nin the matter. Eirik's advice was that they should betake themselves to\nIceland, for it would never do for them to remain in the land where the\nking could get at them. This they determined to do. Each of them had his\nown ship and they made ready for the voyage to Iceland. Hallsteinn was\nlaid low with his wound and died before Onund sailed with his party.\nKolbeinn, the man who was mentioned before, went in the ship with Onund.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII. ONUND AND ASMUND SAIL TO ICELAND\n\n\nOnund and Asmund set sail directly when they were ready and their ships\nkept together. Onund said:\n\n     \"Hallvard and I were aforetime deemed\n     worthy in storm of swords to bear us.\n     With one foot now I step on the ship\n     towards Iceland.  The poet's day is o'er.\"\n\nThey had a rough passage with cross winds, mostly from the south, so\nthat they drifted away to the north. They made Iceland right in the\nNorth, at Langanes, where they regained their reckonings. The ships were\nnear enough to each other for them to speak together. Asmund said they\nhad better make for Eyjafjord, and this was agreed to. They kept under\nthe land and heavy weather set in from the south-east. Just as Onund\nwas tacking, the yard was carried away; they lowered the sail and were\ndriven out to sea. Asmund got under the lee of Hrisey, where he waited\nuntil a fair wind set in which took him up to Eyjafjord. Helgi the Lean\ngave him the whole of Kraeklingahlid, and he lived at South-Glera. A few\nyears later his brother Asgrim came to Iceland and took up his residence\nat North-Glera. His son was Ellidagrim the father of Asgrim.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX. ONUND SETTLES IN KALDBAK\n\n\nOnund Treefoot was driven away from the shore for several days, after\nwhich the wind shifted and blew towards the land. Then they made land\nagain, which those of them who had been there before recognised as the\nwestern coast of the Skagi peninsula. They sailed in to Strandafloi,\nalmost to Sudrstrandir. There came rowing towards them a ten-oared boat\nwith six men on board, who hailed the sea-going ship and asked who was\ntheir captain. Onund told them his name and asked whence they came.\nThey said they were the men of Thorvald from Drangar. Then Onund asked\nwhether all the land round that coast was occupied; they answered there\nwas very little left at Sudrstrandir and none at all in the North. So\nOnund asked his men whether they would seek some land further to the\nWest or take that of which they had just been told. They said they would\nfirst explore a little further. They sailed in along the coast of the\nbay and anchored off a creek near Arnes, where they put off in a boat to\nthe shore.\n\nHere dwelt a wealthy man named Eirik Snare, who had taken the land\nbetween Ingolfsfjord and Ofaera in Veidileysa. On hearing that Onund had\narrived in those parts, he offered to let him have such portion as he\nneeded from his own lands, adding that there was little land which had\nnot already been taken up. Onund said he would first like to see what\nthere was.\n\nThen they went further into the bay past some fjords and came to Ofaera,\nwhere Eirik said: \"Here is what there is to see. From here down to the\nlands of Bjorn is unoccupied.\" A high range of mountains, on which snow\nhad fallen, rose from beside the river. Onund looked at the mountains\nand spoke a verse:\n\n     \"My lands and my might have drifted away\n       as drifts the ship on the ocean.\n     My friends and my home I have left behind me,\n       and bartered my acres for Kaldbak.\"\n\n\"Many a man,\" answered Eirik, \"has lost so much in Norway that it\nmay not be mended. I expect too that nearly all the lands in the main\ndistricts have been taken, so that I will not urge you to leave these\nparts and seek elsewhere. I will keep to my word and let you have\nwhatever lands of my own you may require.\"\n\nOnund said he would take advantage of his offer, and in the end he took\nsome of the Ofaera land and the three creeks Byrgisvik, Kolbeinsvik,\nand Kaldbaksvik as far as Kaldbak's Cliff. Afterwards Eirik gave him\nVeidileysa with Reykjarfjord and the outer part of Reykjanes on that\nside. Nothing was settled about the drift which came to the coast,\nbecause there was so much of it that every one could have what he\nwanted. Onund made his home in Kaldbak and had a large household. His\nproperty increased and he had another house in Reykjarfjord. Kolbeinn\nlived in Kolbeinsvik and for some years Onund lived quietly at home.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X. OFEIG GRETTIR IS KILLED. VISIT OF ONUND TO AUD THE\nDEEP-MINDED\n\n\nOnund was a man of such valour that few, even of those whose limbs were\nsound, could measure themselves against him. His name, too, was renowned\nthroughout the whole country on account of his ancestry. It happened\nthat a dispute arose between Ofeig Grettir and one Thorbjorn called\nJarlakappi, which ended in Ofeig being killed by Thorbjorn in\nGrettisgeil near Haell. The feud was taken up by Ofeig's sons who\nassembled a large force of men. Onund Treefoot was sent for, and in the\nspring he rode South to Hvamm, where he stayed with Aud the Deep-Minded.\nHe had been with her over the sea in the West, and she received him with\nwelcome. Her grandson, Olaf Feilan, was then grown up, and Aud was very\ninfirm. She consulted Onund concerning her kinsman Olaf, for whom she\nwished to ask in marriage Alfdis of the Barra Isles, the cousin of\nOnund's wife Aesa. Onund thought it a very suitable match, and Olaf rode\nwith him to the South. Then Onund met friends and kinsmen, who made him\ntheir guest. The matter of the dispute was talked over between them, and\nfinally laid before the Kjalarnes Thing, for the All-Thing had not yet\nbeen established. Eventually it was settled by arbitration and heavy\nweregilds were imposed for the murder. Thorbjorn Jarlakappi was exiled.\nHis son was Solmund, the father of Svidukari. These kinsmen were long\nabroad after that. Thrand invited Onund and Olaf with his party to stay\nwith him, as did Thormod Shaft. The matter of Olaf's marriage was\nthen pressed, and an agreement easily arrived at, for Aud's rank and\ninfluence were well known to them. The settlement was arranged and\nOnund's party rode home again. Aud thanked him for his aid in behalf of\nOlaf, who married Alfdis of the Barra Isles that autumn. Then Aud the\nDeep-Minded died, as is told in the Laxdaela Saga.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI. DEATH OF ONUND. DISPUTES BETWEEN THE SONS OF ONUND AND OF\nEIRIK\n\n\nOnund and Aesa had two sons; the elder was named Thorgeir, the younger\nOfeig Grettir. Soon afterwards Aesa died and Onund married a second\nwife, Thordis Thorgrim's daughter of Gnup in Midfjord, a kinsman of\nSkeggi of Midfjord. By her Onund had a son named Thorgrim, who grew\nup quickly to manhood, tall and strong, wise and a good manager. Onund\ncontinued to live at Kaldbak until his old age. He died a natural\ndeath and lies in Treefoot's howe. He was the boldest and most active\none-legged man that ever came to Iceland.\n\nAmong Onund's sons Thorgrim was the foremost, although the others were\nolder. When he was twenty-five years old his hair was grey, whence they\nnick-named him Greyhead. His mother Thordis married again, taking as her\nsecond husband Audun Skokull. They had a son named Asgeir of Asgeirsa.\nThorgrim Greyhead and his brothers had a large property, which they\nmanaged together without dividing it up.\n\nEirik lived, as was mentioned, at Arnes. He had married Alof, the\ndaughter of Ingolf of Ingolfsfjord, by whom he had a son named Flosi, a\nvery promising young man with many friends.\n\nThere came to that part of Iceland three brothers, named Ingolf, Ofeig,\nand Eyvind, and took the three fjords which are called by their names,\nwhere they lived. Eyvind had a son named Olaf. He at first lived at\nEyvindsfjord, but went later to Drangar. He was a most capable man.\n\nSo long as their fathers were living no disputes arose among these men;\nbut when Eirik was dead it occurred to Flosi that those of Kaldbak had\nno legal title to the lands which Eirik had given to Onund. Out of\nthis serious dissensions arose between them. Thorgrim and his brothers\ncontinued in possession of the lands as before, but they would not join\nin games together. Thorgeir, the eldest brother, was managing the farm\nat Reykjarfjord, and often rowed out fishing, as the fjords were full\nof fish. The men of Vik now laid their plans. Flosi had a man in Arnes\nnamed Thorfinn, and sent him to fetch Thorgeir's head. This man hid\nhimself in the boatshed. One morning when Thorgeir was preparing to\nrow out with two other men, one of whom was named Brand, Thorgeir was\nwalking ahead with a leather skin on his back containing some drink. It\nwas very dark, and as he passed the boat-house Thorfinn sprang out upon\nhim and dealt him a blow with an axe between his shoulders. The axe\nwent into something and made a squeaking noise. Thorfinn let go his\naxe, feeling quite sure that no bandages would be needed, and being very\nanxious to escape as fast as he could. He ran North, and reaching Arnes\nbefore the day had quite broken, said that he had killed Thorgeir and\nthat Flosi must protect him. The only thing to be done was to offer some\ncompensation in money. \"That,\" he said, \"will be the best thing for us\nafter such a terrible piece of work.\"\n\nFlosi said he must first learn more about it, and that he thought\nThorfinn seemed very frightened after his doughty deed.\n\nWe must now tell what had happened to Thorgeir. He turned round when he\nwas struck, but the blow had gone into the leather bottle, and he was\nunhurt. They could make no search for the man because it was dark,\nso they rowed on down the fjord to Kaldbak, where they told what had\nhappened. People made great game of the affair and called him Thorgeir\nBottleback, a name which stuck to him ever after. A verse was made:\n\n     \"In days gone by men bathed their blades\n     in the streaming gore of a foeman's wound.\n     But now a wretch of all honour bereft\n     reddens his dastard axe in whey.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII. BATTLE AT RIFSKER\n\n\nAt that time there came over Iceland a famine the like of which had\nnever been seen before. Nearly all the fisheries failed, and also the\ndrift wood. So it continued for many years.\n\nOne autumn some traders in a sea-going ship, who had been driven out of\ntheir course, were wrecked at Vik. Flosi took in four or five of\nthem with their captain, named Steinn. They all found shelter in the\nneighbourhood of Vik and tried to rig up a ship out of the wreckage, but\nwere not very successful. The ship was too narrow in the bow and stern\nand too broad amidships. In the spring a northerly gale set in which\nlasted nearly a week, after which men began to look for drift.\n\nThere was a man living in Reykjanes named Thorsteinn. He found a whale\nstranded on the south side of the promontory at the place now called\nRifsker. It was a large rorqual, and he at once sent word by a messenger\nto Flosi in Vik and to the nearest farms.\n\nAt Gjogr lived a man named Einar, a tenant of the Kaldbak men whom they\nemployed to look after the drift on that side of the fjord. He got to\nknow of the whale having been stranded and at once rowed across the\nfjord in his boat to Byrgisvik, whence he sent a messenger to Kaldbak.\nWhen Thorgrim and his brother heard the news they got ready to go with\nall speed to the spot. There were twelve of them in a ten-oared boat,\nand six others, with Ivar and Leif, sons of Kolbeinn. All the farmers\nwho could get away went to the whale.\n\nIn the meantime Flosi had sent word to his kinsmen in the North at\nIngolfsfjord and Ofeigsfjord and to Olaf the son of Eyvind who lived at\nDrangar. The first to arrive were Flosi and the men of Vik, who at once\nbegan to cut up the whale, carrying on shore the flesh as it was cut.\nAt first there were about twenty men, but more came thronging in. Then\nthere came the men of Kaldbak with four ships. Thorgrim laid claim to\nthe whale and forbade the men of Vik to cut, distribute, or carry away\nany portion of it. Flosi called upon him to show proof that Eirik had\nin express words given over the drift to Onund; if not, he said he would\nprevent them by force. Thorgrim saw that he was outnumbered and would\nnot venture on fighting. Then there came a ship across the fjords, the\nmen rowing with all their might. They came up; it was Svan of Hol from\nBjarnarfjord with his men, and he at once told Thorgrim not to let\nhimself be robbed. The two men had been great friends, and Svan offered\nThorgrim his aid, which the brothers accepted, and they attacked\nvaliantly. Thorgeir Bottleback was the first to get on to the whale\nwhere Flosi's men were. Thorfinn, who was spoken of before, was cutting\nit up, standing near the head on the place where he had been carving.\n\"Here I bring you your axe,\" said Thorgeir. Then he struck at Thorfinn's\nneck and cut off his head. Flosi was up on the beach and saw it. He\nurged on his men to give it them back. They fought for a long time and\nthe Kaldbak people were getting the best of it. Most of them had no\nweapons but the axes with which they were cutting up the whale and short\nknives. The men of Vik were driven from the whale on to the sandbanks.\nThe men from the East, however, were armed and able to deal wounds.\nTheir captain Steinn cut off the leg of Kolbeinn's son Ivar, and Ivar's\nbrother Leif beat one of Steinn's men to death with a rib of the whale.\nThen they fought with anything they could get, and men were slain on\nboth sides. At last Olaf came up with a number of ships from Drangar and\njoined Flosi; the men of Kaldbak were then overpowered by numbers. They\nhad already loaded their ships, and Svan told them to get on board. They\ntherefore retired towards the ships, the men of Vik after them. Svan on\nreaching the sea struck at Steinn their captain, wounding him badly, and\nthen sprang into his own ship. Thorgrim gave Flosi a severe wound and\nescaped. Olaf wounded Ofeig Grettir fatally, but Thorgeir carried him\noff and sprang on to his ship with him. The Kaldbak men rowed into the\nfjord and the two parties separated.\n\nThe following verse was composed on these doings:\n\n     \"Hard were the blows which were dealt at Rifsker;\n     no weapons they had but steaks of the whale.\n     They belaboured each other with rotten blubber.\n     Unseemly methinks is such warfare for men.\"\n\nAfter this they made peace, and the dispute was laid before the\nAll-Thing. On the side of the Kaldbak men were Thorodd the Godi, Skeggi\nof Midfjord, and many others from the South. Flosi was exiled, along\nwith several others who had been with him. He was put to great expense,\nfor he insisted upon paying all the fines himself. Thorgrim and his\nbrothers were unable to show that they had paid any money either for the\nland or for the drift which Flosi claimed. The Lawman was Thorkell Mani,\nand the question was referred to him. He declared that by law something\nmust have been paid, though not necessarily the full value.\n\n\"There was a case in point,\" he said, \"between my grandfather Ingolf and\na woman named Steinvor the Old. He gave her the whole of Rosmhvalanes\nand she gave him a dirty cloak for it; the transfer was afterwards held\nto be valid. That was a much more important affair than this. My advice\nis that the land be divided in equal portions between the two; and\nhenceforward it shall be legally established that all drift shall be the\nproperty of the owner of the land upon which it has been stranded.\"\n\nThis was agreed to. Thorgrim and his brothers were to give up\nReykjarfjord with all on that side, and were to keep Kamb. For Ofeig\na large sum of money was paid, and Thorfinn was assessed at nothing at\nall; Thorgeir received compensation for the attack made upon his life,\nand all the parties were reconciled. Flosi went to Norway with Steinn\nthe captain and sold his lands in Vik to Geirmund Hvikatimbr, who lived\nthere thenceforward.\n\nThe ship which Steinn's sailors had built was rather a tub. She was\ncalled Trekyllir--Tree-sack. Flosi went on his journey in her, but\nwas driven back to Oxarfjord; out of this arose the saga of Bodmod the\nChampion and Grimolf.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII. THORGRIM SETTLES AT BJARG AND MARRIES. HIS SON ASMUND\nVISITS NORWAY AND MARRIES TWICE\n\n\nAfter these events Thorgrim and his brothers divided up the property\nbetween them. Thorgrim took the movable property and Thorgeir the lands.\nThen Thorgrim went inland to Midfjord and bought some land at Bjarg\nwith the aid of Skeggi. He married Thordis, the daughter of Asmund\nfrom Asmund's peak who had land in Thingeyrasveit. They had a son named\nAsmund, a great man and strong, also wise, and notable for his abundance\nof hair, which turned grey very early. He was called Longhair.\n\nThorgrim occupied himself with the management of his estate and kept all\nthe men of his household hard at work. Asmund did not want to work,\nso that he and his father got on rather badly together. This continued\nuntil Asmund was grown up, when he asked his father to give him the\nmeans to go abroad. Thorgrim said he should have little enough, but he\ngave him some ready cash. So Asmund went away and soon increased his\ncapital. He sailed to divers lands, became a great trader and very\nwealthy. He was popular and enjoyed good credit, and had many friends\namong the leading men of Norway.\n\nOne autumn Asmund was in the East on a visit to a certain magnate named\nThorsteinn. His family came from the Upplands, and he had a sister named\nRannveig who had excellent prospects. Asmund asked this girl in marriage\nand obtained her through the interest of her brother Thorsteinn; he\nsettled there for a time and was highly thought of. He and Rannveig had\na son named Thorsteinn, who became a handsome man, strong, and with a\npowerful voice. He was very tall and rather sluggish in his movements,\nwherefore he was nicknamed Dromund. When young Thorsteinn was half grown\nup his mother fell ill and died, and Asmund cared no more for Norway.\nThorsteinn was taken over by his mother's relations along with his\nproperty, while Asmund went on voyages and became famous.\n\nAsmund came in his ship to Hunavain, where Thorkell Krafla was chief\nof the Vatnsdalers. On hearing of Asmund's arrival Thorkell went to the\nship and invited him to stay, and Asmund went to visit him in Marsstadir\nin Vatnsdal where he lived. Thorkell was a son of Thorgrim, the Godi of\nKarnsa, and a man of great experience. This was soon after the arrival\nof Bishop Fridrek and Thorvald the son of Kodran, who were living at\nLaekjamot when these events happened, preaching Christianity for the\nfirst time in the North of the island. Thorkell and many of his men\nreceived the prima signatio. Many things might be told of the dealings\nbetween the bishop's men and the Northerners, which, however, do not\nbelong to this saga.\n\nThere was a girl named Asdis who was being brought up in Thorkell's\nhouse. She was a daughter of Bard the son of Jokull, the son of Ingimund\nthe Old, the son of Thorsteinn, the son of Ketil Raum. Her mother's\nname was Aldis, whom we have already heard of as the daughter of Ofeig\nGrettir. Asdis was not betrothed as yet, and was a most desirable match,\nboth on account of her connections and her wealth. Asmund now became\nsick of travelling about and wanted to settle down in Iceland. So he\nspoke up and asked for Asdis as his wife. Thorkell knew all about him\nand knew that he was a man of wealth, able to manage his affairs, so the\nmarriage was arranged. Asmund married Asdis, and became a close friend\nof Thorkell. He was a great man of affairs, learned in the law and\nvery strenuous. Soon afterwards Thorgrim Greyhead died at Bjarg; Asmund\nsucceeded to his property and took up his residence at Bjarg.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV. ASMUND'S CHILDREN. GRETTIR'S CHILDHOOD\n\n\nAsmund Longhair now set up a large and sumptuous household in Bjarg,\nwhere he maintained a numerous retinue and became very popular. His\nchildren were as follows: The eldest was Atli, an able and accomplished\nman, tactful and easy to deal with; he was much liked by all. His second\nson was called Grettir. He was very hard to manage in his bringing up.\nHe spoke little and was rough in his manners and quarrelsome, both in\nwords and deeds. He got little affection from his father Asmund, but his\nmother loved him dearly. Grettir was a handsome man in appearance, with\na face rather broad and short, red-haired and somewhat freckled; not\nvery precocious in his youth. There was a daughter named Thordis,\nwho afterwards married Glum the son of Ospak, Kjallak's son from\nSkridinsenni. Another daughter was named Rannveig; she married Gamli the\nson of Thorhall of Vineland, and they dwelt at Melar in Hrutafjord and\nhad a son named Grim. Glum and Thordis had a son named Ospak who fell\ninto a dispute with Odd the son of Ofeig, which is told of in the \"Saga\nof the Banded Men.\"\n\nGrettir grew up at Bjarg until he was ten years old, when he began to\ndevelop a little. Asmund told him that he must do some work. Grettir\nsaid that would not suit him very well, but asked what he was to do.\n\n\"You must mind the geese,\" said Asmund.\n\n\"That is wretched work, only fit for an idiot,\" Grettir answered.\n\n\"You do that properly,\" his father said, \"and we shall get on better\ntogether.\"\n\nSo Grettir went to mind the geese. There were fifty of them, and a\nnumber of goslings. Before long he began to find them troublesome, and\nthe goslings would not come on quickly enough. This put him out, for he\ncould never control his temper. Soon afterwards some wanderers found the\ngoslings lying outside dead, and the geese with their wings broken.\nThis was in the autumn. Asmund was very much annoyed and asked Grettir\nwhether he had killed the birds. Grettir grinned and answered:\n\n     \"Always when winter is coming on\n     I like to wring the goslings' necks.\n     If among them there are geese\n     I treat the creatures all alike.\"\n\n\"You shan't twist any more of their necks,\" said Asmund.\n\n\"The friend aye warns his friend of ill,\" answered Grettir.\n\n\"I will give you other work to do.\"\n\n\"He knoweth most who most hath tried. But what am I to do now?\" Grettir\nasked.\n\n\"You shall rub my back when I am sitting by the fire, as I am in the\nhabit of having it done.\"\n\n\"Warm work for the hands.\" he answered. \"It is only fit for an idiot.\"\n\nThis for a time was Grettir's occupation. As the autumn advanced Asmund\nwanted more warmth, and was constantly telling Grettir to rub his back\nhard. It was the custom in those days for people to have large rooms\nwith long fires in them in their houses, where men sat by the fire in\nthe evenings on benches, sleeping afterwards at the side away from the\nfires. By day the women carded their wool there.\n\nOne evening when Grettir had to scratch Asmund's back his father said to\nhim: \"Now you will have to put aside your laziness, you good-for-nothing\nyou.\"\n\nGrettir answered: \"`Tis ill to rouse a hasty temper.\"\n\n\"You are fit for nothing at all,\" said Asmund.\n\nGrettir saw some wood-combs lying on one of the benches; he took up one\nof them and drew it along Asmund's back. Asmund sprang up and was going\nto thrash him with his stick, but he escaped. His mother came up and\nasked what they were fighting about. Grettir answered in a verse:\n\n     \"Oh lady, the giver of treasure, I see,\n     has dire intent to burn my hands.\n     With nails uncut I was stroking his back.\n     Clearly I see the bird of wounds.\"\n\nHis mother was much vexed with Grettir for what he had done and said he\nwould not grow up very prudent. The affair did not improve the relations\nbetween Asmund and his son.\n\nSoon after this Asmund spoke to Grettir and told him to look after his\nhorses. Grettir said that would be better than back-fire-warming.\n\n\"You are to do what I tell you,\" said Asmund. \"I have a dun mare with\na dark stripe down her back whom I call Keingala. She is very knowing\nabout the weather and about rain coming. When she refuses to graze it\nnever fails that a storm will follow. You are then to keep the horses\nunder shelter in the stables, and when cold weather sets in keep them\nto the north of the ridge. I hope you will perform this duty better than\nthe two which I gave you before.\"\n\nGrettir said: \"That is cold work, and fit for a man to do; but it seems\nto me rash to trust to the mare, when to my knowledge no one has done so\nbefore.\"\n\nSo Grettir took to minding the horses, and went on until Yule-tide was\npast, when very cold weather set in, with snow, so that grazing was\ndifficult. He was very badly provided with clothes and little hardened\nto the weather. He began to feel it very cold, and Keingala always chose\nthe windiest places whatever the weather was. She never came to the\nmeadow early enough to get home before nightfall. Grettir then thought\nhe would play a trick upon Keingala to pay her out for her wanderings.\nOne morning early he came to the stables, opened the door and found\nKeingala standing in front of the manger. She had taken the whole of\nthe fodder which had been given to all the horses for herself. Grettir\njumped upon her back, with a sharp knife in his hand which he drew\nacross her shoulder and along her back on both sides. The horse was fat\nand fresh; she shied back very frightened and kicked out till her hoofs\nrattled against the walls. Grettir fell off, but picked himself up and\ntried to mount her again. There was a sharp struggle, which ended in his\nshaving all the skin on her back down to her flank. Then he drove the\nhorses out to the meadow. Keingala would not take a bite except off her\nback, and soon after noon she bolted off to the stables. Grettir locked\nthe door and went home. Asmund asked him where the horses were; he said\nhe had looked after them as usual. Asmund said there must be a storm\nclose at hand if the horses would not stay out in such weather as there\nwas then.\n\nGrettir said: \"Many seem wise who are lacking in wit.\"\n\nThe night passed and there was no storm. Grettir drove out the horses,\nbut Keingala could not endure the pasture. Asmund thought it very\nstrange that no change came in the weather. On the third morning he went\nhimself to the horses and on seeing Keingala he said: \"Ill indeed have\nthe horses fared in this beautiful weather! Thy back will not deceive\nme, my Bleikala.\"\n\n\"The likely may happen--also the unlikely,\" said Grettir.\n\nAsmund stroked the back of the horse and all her coat came off on\nhis hand. He could not understand how she had got into that state and\nthought Grettir must have done it. Grettir grinned and said nothing.\nAsmund went home and became very abusive. He heard his wife say: \"My\nson's watching of the horses must have prospered well.\"\n\nThen he spoke a verse:\n\n     \"He has cheated me sorely, and Keingala shorn.\n     'Tis the pride of a woman that urges her tongue.\n     Artful he holds my commands in derision.\n     Consider my verses, oh wife of my heart.\"\n\n\"I do not know,\" she said, \"which seems to me the more perverse, for you\nto make him work, or for him always to get out of it in the same way.\"\n\n\"Now there shall be an end to it,\" said Asmund. \"He must have something\nworse than merely making good the damage.\"\n\n\"Let neither speak of it to the other,\" said Grettir, and so it\nremained.\n\nAsmund had Keingala killed. Many more childish pranks did Grettir play\nwhich are not told in the saga. He now began to grow very big, but men\ndid not clearly know what strength he had because he had never been\ntried in wrestling. He kept making verses and ditties which were always\na little ironical. He did not sleep in the common room and was generally\nvery silent.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV. GAMES AT MIDFJORDVATN\n\n\nThere were then a good many youths growing up in Midfjord. A certain\nSkaldtorfa, whose home was in Torfustadir, had a son named Bersi, an\naccomplished young man and a clever poet. Two brothers named Kormak\nand Thorgils lived at Mel and had with them a youth named Odd, who was\ndependent upon them, and was nicknamed Odd the Needy-Skald. Another\nwas named Audun; he grew up in Audunarstad in Vididal, a pleasant\ngood-natured youth and the strongest of his age in the North. Kalf the\nson of Asgeir and his brother Thorvald lived at Asgeirsa. Grettir's\nbrother Atli was then growing to a man; he was most gracious in manners\nand universally liked.\n\nThese youths used to play at ball together at Midfjord Water. Those from\nMidfjord and from Vididal used to meet there, and there came many from\nVestrhop and Vatnsnes with some from Hrutafjord. Those who came from\nafar used to lodge there. Those who were about equal in the ball-game\nwere matched together, and generally they had much fun in the autumn.\nGrettir went to the sports when he was fourteen years old at the request\nof his brother Atli. The parties were made up. Grettir was matched\nagainst Audun, the youth already mentioned, who was a few years the\nelder. Audun struck the ball over Grettir's head so that he could not\nreach it, and it bounded far away over the ice. Grettir lost his temper,\nthinking he had done it out of mischief, but he fetched the ball,\nbrought it back and going up to Audun drove it straight into his\nforehead, so that the skin was broken.\n\nAudun then struck at Grettir with the bat that he was holding, but\nGrettir ducked and the blow missed him. Then they seized each other\nwith their arms and wrestled. It was evident to the people around that\nGrettir was stronger than they had supposed, for Audun was very strong\nindeed of body. They struggled long together until at last Grettir was\nthrown. Audun then set his knees on his stomach and dealt unmercifully\nwith him. Atli and Bersi and a number of the others ran up and separated\nthem. Grettir said they need not hold him like a mad dog, and added:\n\"The thrall alone takes instant vengeance, the coward never.\"\n\nThe rest had no mind to let the affair create discord among them,\nand the brothers Kalf and Thorvald tried to reconcile them. Audun and\nGrettir were distantly related to each other. The games went on and\nthere was no further disturbance.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI. GRETTIR KILLS SKEGGI AND IS OUTLAWED FOR THREE YEARS\n\n\nThorkell Krafla now began to grow very old. He was a great chieftain and\nheld the Vatnsdal Godord. He was a close friend of Asmund Longhair, as\nbefitted the near relations in which they stood to each other. He had,\ntherefore, been in the habit of riding every year in the spring to Bjarg\nto visit his kinsmen there, and he did so in the spring which followed\nthe events just related. Asmund and Asdis received him with both hands.\nHe stayed there three nights and many a matter did the kinsmen discuss\ntogether. Thorkell asked Asmund what his heart told him about his sons,\nand what professions they were likely to follow. Asmund said that Atli\nwould probably be a great landowner, very careful and wealthy.\n\n\"A useful man, like yourself,\" said Thorkell. \"But what can you tell me\nof Grettir?\"\n\n\"I can only say,\" he replied, \"that he will be a strong man; but\nheadstrong and quarrelsome. A heavy trial has he been to me.\"\n\n\"That does not look very promising, kinsman!\" said Thorkell. \"But how\nare we to arrange our journey to the Thing in the summer?\"\n\n\"I am getting difficult to move,\" he said. \"I would rather stay at\nhome.\"\n\n\"Would you like Atli to go for you?\"\n\n\"I don't think I can spare him,\" Asmund said, \"because of the work and\nthe provisioning. Grettir will not do anything. But he has quite wit\nenough to carry out the duties at the Thing on my behalf under your\nguidance.\"\n\n\"It shall be as you please,\" said Thorkell.\n\nThen Thorkell made himself ready and rode home; Asmund dismissed him\nwith presents.\n\nA little later Thorkell journeyed to the Thing with sixty men. All\nthe men of his godord went with him. They passed through Bjarg, where\nGrettir joined them. They rode South through the heath called Tvidaegra.\nThere was very little grazing to be had in the hills, so they\nrode quickly past them into the cultivated land. When they reached\nFljotstunga they thought it was time to sleep, so they took the bits\nfrom their horses and turned them loose with their saddles. They lay\nthere well on into the day, and when they woke began to look for their\nhorses. Every horse had gone off in a different direction and some had\nbeen rolling. Grettir could not find his horse at all. The custom was\nat that time that men should find their own provisions at the Thing, and\nmost of them carried their sacks over their saddles. When Grettir found\nhis horse its saddle was under its belly, and the sack of provisions\ngone. He searched about but could not find it. Then he saw a man running\nvery fast and asked him who he was. He said his name was Skeggi and that\nhe was a man from Ass in Vatnsdal in the North.\n\n\"I am travelling with Thorkell,\" he said. \"I have been careless and lost\nmy provision-bag.\"\n\n\"Alone in misfortune is worst. I also have lost my stock of provisions;\nso we can look for them together.\"\n\nSkeggi was well pleased with this proposal, and so they went about\nseeking for a time. Suddenly, when Grettir least expected it, Skeggi\nstarted running with all his might along the moor and picked up the\nsack. Grettir saw him bend and asked what it was that he had picked up.\n\n\"My sack,\" he said.\n\n\"Who says so besides yourself?\" Grettir asked. \"Let me see it! Many a\nthing is like another.\"\n\nSkeggi said no one should take from him what was his own. Grettir seized\nhold of the sack and they both pulled at it for a time, each trying to\nget his own way.\n\n\"You Midfjord men have strange notions,\" said Skeggi, \"if you think that\nbecause a man is not so wealthy as you are, he is not to dare to hold to\nhis own before you.\"\n\nGrettir said it had nothing to do with a man's degree, and that each\nshould have that which was his own.\n\nSkeggi replied: \"Audun is now too far away to strangle you as he did at\nthe ball-play.\"\n\n\"That is well,\" said Grettir; \"but however that may have been you shall\nnot strangle me.\"\n\nSkeggi then seized his axe and struck at Grettir, who on seeing it\nseized the handle of the axe with his left hand and pulled it forward\nwith such force that Skeggi at once let go. The next moment it stood in\nhis brain and he fell dead to the earth. Grettir took the sack, threw it\nacross his saddle and rode back to his companions.\n\nThorkell rode on, knowing nothing of what had happened. Soon Skeggi was\nmissed in the company, and when Grettir came up they asked him what news\nhe had of Skeggi. He answered in a verse:\n\n     \"Hammer-troll ogress has done him to death.\n     Thirsting for blood the war-fiend came.\n     With hard-edged blade she gaped, o'er his head,\n     nor spared she his teeth.  I saw it myself.\"\n\nThen Thorkell's men sprang up and said it was impossible that a troll\nshould have taken the man in full daylight. Thorkell was silent for a\nmoment. Then he said: \"There must be something more in it. Grettir must\nhave killed him. What was it that really happened, Grettir?\"\n\nGrettir then told him all about their fight. Thorkell said: \"It is a\nmost unfortunate occurrence, because Skeggi was entrusted to my service,\nand was a man of good family. I will take the matter upon myself and pay\nwhatever compensation is adjudged. But a question of banishment does\nnot lie with me. Now, Grettir, there are two things for you to choose\nbetween. Either you can go on to the Thing with us and take the chance\nof what may happen there, or you can turn back and go home.\"\n\nGrettir decided to go on to the Thing, and to the Thing he went. The\nmatter was taken up by the heirs of the man slain. Thorkell gave his\nhand to pay the compensation and Grettir was to be banished for three\nyears.\n\nOn their way back from the Thing all the chiefs halted at Sledaass\nbefore they parted company. It was then that Grettir lifted a stone\nlying in the grass, which is still known as Grettishaf. Many went\nafterwards to see this stone and were astounded that so young a man\nshould have lifted such a mountain.\n\nGrettir rode home to Bjarg and told his father about his adventures.\nAsmund was much put out and said he would be a trouble to everybody.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII. GRETTIR SAILS FOR NORWAY AND IS WRECKED ON HARAMARSEY\n\n\nThere dwelt at Reydarfell on the banks of the Hvita a man named Haflidi,\na mariner, owning a ship of his own which was lying in dock in the Hvita\nriver. He had as his mate a man named Bard who had a young and pretty\nwife. Asmund sent a man to Haflidi asking him to take Grettir and look\nafter him. Haflidi answered that he had heard that Grettir was very\ndifficult to get on with, but out of friendship for Asmund he took him.\nGrettir, therefore, prepared to go to sea. His father would not give\nhim any outfit for his voyage beyond his bare provisions and a little\nwadmal. Grettir asked him to give him some sort of weapon. Asmund\nanswered: \"You have never been obedient to me. Nor do I know what you\nwould do with a weapon that would be of any profit. I shall not give you\nany.\"\n\nGrettir said: \"Work not done needs no reward.\"\n\nFather and son parted with little love between them. Many wished him a\ngood voyage, but few a safe return. His mother went with him along the\nroad. Before they parted she said: \"You have not been sent off in the\nway that I should have wished, my son, or in a way befitting your birth.\nThe most cruel thing of all, I think, is that you have not a weapon\nwhich you can use. My heart tells me that you will want one.\"\n\nThen she took from under her mantle a sword all ready for use, a\nvaluable possession. She said: \"This was the sword of Jokull, my\nfather's father and of the ancient Vatnsdal men, in whose hands it was\nblessed with victory. I give it to you; use it well.\"\n\nGrettir thanked her warmly and said it would be more precious to him\nthan any other possession though of greater value. Then he went on his\nway and Asdis wished him all possible happiness. He rode South over the\nheath and did not stop till he reached his ship. Haflidi received him\nwell and asked him about his outfit for the voyage. Grettir spoke a\nverse:\n\n     \"Oh trimmer of sails I my father is wealthy,\n     but poorly enough he sent me from home.\n     My mother it was who gave me this sword.\n     True is the saying: The mother is best.\"\n\nHaflidi said it was evident that she had most thought for him.\n\nDirectly they were ready and had a wind they got under way. When they\nwere out of shallow water they hoisted their sail. Grettir made himself\na corner under the ship's boat, whence he refused to stir either to bale\nor to trim the sails or to do any work in the ship, as it was his duty\nto do equally with the other men; nor would he buy himself off. They\nsailed to the South, rounded Reykjanes and left the land behind them,\nwhen they met with stormy weather. The ship was rather leaky and became\nvery uneasy in the gale; the crew were very much exhausted. Grettir only\nlet fly satirical verses at them, which angered them sorely.\n\nOne day when it was very stormy and very cold the men called out to\nGrettir to get up and work; they said their claws were quite frozen. He\nanswered:\n\n     \"Twere well if every finger were froze\n     on the hands of such a lubberly crew.\"\n\nThey got no work out of him and liked him even worse than before,\nand said they would pay him out on his person for his squibs and his\nmutinous behaviour.\n\n\"You like better,\" they said, \"to pat the belly of Bard the mate's wife\nthan to bear a hand in the ship. But we don't mean to stand it.\"\n\nThe weather grew steadily worse; they had to bale night and day, and\nthey threatened Grettir. Haflidi when he heard them went up to Grettir\nand said: \"I don't think your relations with the crew are very good. You\nare mutinous and make lampoons about them, and they threaten to pitch\nyou overboard. This is most improper.\"\n\n\"Why cannot they mind their own business?\" Grettir rejoined. \"But I\nshould like one or two to remain behind with me before I go overboard.\"\n\n\"That is impossible,\" said Haflidi. \"We shall never get on upon those\nterms. But I will make you a proposal about it.\"\n\n\"What is that?\"\n\n\"The thing which annoys them is that you make lampoons about them. Now\nI suggest that you make a lampoon about me. Then, perhaps, they will\nbecome better disposed towards you.\"\n\n\"About you I will never utter anything but good,\" said he. \"I am not\ngoing to compare you with the sailors.\"\n\n\"But you might compose a verse which should at first appear foul, but on\ncloser view prove to be fair.\"\n\n\"That,\" he answered, \"I am quite equal to.\"\n\nHaflidi then went to the sailors and said: \"You have much toil; and it\nseems that you don't get on with Grettir.\"\n\n\"His lampoons,\" they answered, \"annoy us more than anything else.\"\n\nThen Haflidi, speaking loud, said: \"It will be the worse for him some\nday.\"\n\nGrettir, when he heard himself being denounced, spoke a verse:\n\n     \"Other the words that Haflidi spake\n     when he dined on curds at Reydarfell.\n     But now two meals a day he takes\n     in the steed of the bays mid foreland shores.\"\n\nThe sailors were very angry and said he should not lampoon Haflidi for\nnothing. Haflidi said: \"Grettir certainly deserves that you should take\nhim down a little, but I am not going to risk my good name because of\nhis ill-temper and caprice. This is not the time to pay him out, when we\nare all in such danger. When you get on shore you can remember it if you\nlike.\"\n\n\"Shall we not endure what you can endure?\" they said. \"Why should a\nlampoon hurt us more than it does you?\"\n\nHaflidi said so it should be, and after that they cared less about\nGrettir's lampoons.\n\nThe voyage was long and fatiguing. The ship sprung a leak, and the\nmen began to be worn out. The mate's young wife was in the habit of\nstitching Grettir's sleeves for him, and the men used to banter him\nabout it. Haflidi went up to Grettir where he was lying and said:\n\n     \"Arise from thy den! deep furrows we plough!\n     Remember the word thou didst speak to the fair.\n     Thy garment she sewed; but now she commands\n     that thou join in the toil while the land is afar.\"\n\nGrettir got up at once and said:\n\n     \"I will rise, though the ship be heavily rolling.\n     The woman is vexed that I sleep in my den.\n     She will surely be wrath if here I abide\n     while others are toiling at work that is mine.\"\n\nThen he hurried aft where they were baling and asked what they wanted\nhim to do. They said he would do little good. He replied: \"A man's help\nis something.\" Haflidi told them not to refuse his help. \"Maybe,\" he\nsaid, \"he is thinking of loosening his hands if he offers his services.\"\n\nIn those days in sea-going ships there were no scuppers for baling; they\nonly had what is called bucket or pot-baling, a very troublesome and\nfatiguing process. There were two buckets, one of which went down while\nthe other came up. The men told Grettir to take the buckets down, and\nsaid they would try what he could do. He said the less tried the better,\nand went below and filled his bucket. There were two men above to\nempty the buckets as he handed them. Before long they both gave in\nfrom fatigue. Then four others took their places, but the same thing\nhappened. Some say that before they were done eight men were engaged\nin emptying the buckets for him. At last the ship was baled dry. After\nthis, the seamen altered their behaviour towards Grettir, for they\nrealised the strength which was in him. From that time on he was ever\nthe forwardest to help wherever he was required.\n\nThey now held an easterly course out to sea. It was very dark. One night\nwhen they least expected it, they struck a rock and the lower part of\nthe ship began to fill. The boats were got out and the women put into\nthem with all the loose property. There was an island a little way off,\nwhither they carried as much of their property as they could get off in\nthe night. When the day broke, they began to ask where they were. Some\nof them who had been about the country before recognised the coast of\nSunnmore in Norway. There was an island lying a little off the mainland\ncalled Haramarsey, with a large settlement and a farm belonging to the\nLandman on it.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII. ADVENTURE IN THE HOWE OF KAR THE OLD\n\n\nThe name of the Landman who lived in the island was Thorfinn. He was a\nson of Kar the Old, who had lived there for a long time. Thorfinn was a\nman of great influence.\n\nWhen the day broke, the people on the island saw that there were some\nsailors there in distress and reported it to Thorfinn, who at once set\nabout to launch his large sixteen-oared boat. He put out as quickly as\npossible with some thirty men to save the cargo of the trader, which\nthen sank and was lost, along with much property. Thorfinn brought all\nthe men off her to his house, where they stayed for a week drying their\ngoods. Then they went away to the South, and are heard of no more in\nthis story.\n\nGrettir stayed behind with Thorfinn, keeping very quiet and speaking\nlittle. Thorfinn gave him his board, but took little notice of him.\nGrettir held rather aloof, and did not accompany him when he went abroad\nevery day. This annoyed Thorfinn, but he did not like to refuse Grettir\nhis hospitality; he was a man who kept open house, enjoyed life and\nliked to see other men happy. Grettir liked going about and visiting the\npeople in the other farms on the island. There was a man named Audun,\nwho dwelt at Vindheim. Grettir went to see him daily and became very\nintimate with him, sitting there all day long.\n\nOne evening very late when Grettir was preparing to return home, he saw\na great fire shoot up on the headland below Audun's place, and asked\nwhat new thing that might be. Audun said there was no pressing need for\nhim to know.\n\n\"If they saw such a thing in our country,\" said Grettir, \"they would say\nthe fire came from some treasure.\"\n\n\"He who rules that fire,\" answered the man, \"is one whom it will be\nbetter not to inquire about.\"\n\n\"But I want to know,\" Grettir said.\n\n\"On that headland,\" said Audun, \"there is a howe, wherein lies Kar\nthe Old, the father of Thorfinn. Once upon a time father and son had a\nfarm-property on the island; but ever since Kar died his ghost has been\nwalking and has scared away all the other farmers, so that now the\nwhole island belongs to Thorfinn, and no man who is under Thorfinn's\nprotection suffers any injury.\"\n\n\"You have done right to tell me,\" said Grettir. \"Expect me here\nto-morrow morning, and have tools ready for digging.\"\n\n\"I won't allow you to have anything to do with it,\" said Audun, \"because\nI know that it will bring Thorfinn's wrath down upon you.\"\n\nGrettir said he would risk that.\n\nThe night passed; Grettir appeared early the next morning, and the\nbondi, who had got all the tools for digging ready, went with Grettir to\nthe howe. Grettir broke open the grave, and worked with all his might,\nnever stopping until he came to wood, by which time the day was already\nspent. He tore away the woodwork; Audun implored him not to go down, but\nGrettir bade him attend to the rope, saying that he meant to find out\nwhat it was that dwelt there. Then he descended into the howe. It was\nvery dark and the odour was not pleasant. He began to explore how it was\narranged, and found the bones of a horse. Then he knocked against a sort\nof throne in which he was aware of a man seated. There was much treasure\nof gold and silver collected together, and a casket under his feet, full\nof silver. Grettir took all the treasure and went back towards the rope,\nbut on his way he felt himself seized by a strong hand. He left the\ntreasure to close with his aggressor and the two engaged in a merciless\nstruggle. Everything about them was smashed. The howedweller made a\nferocious onslaught. Grettir for some time gave way, but found that no\nholding back was possible. They did not spare each other. Soon they came\nto the place where the horse's bones were lying, and here they struggled\nfor long, each in turn being brought to his knees. At last it ended in\nthe howedweller falling backwards with a horrible crash, whereupon Audun\nabove bolted from the rope, thinking that Grettir was killed. Grettir\nthen drew his sword Jokulsnaut, cut off the head of the howedweller and\nlaid it between his thighs. Then he went with the treasure to the rope,\nbut finding Audun gone he had to swarm up the rope with his hands. First\nhe tied the treasure to the lower end of the rope, so that he could haul\nit up after him. He was very stiff from his struggle with Kar, but he\nturned his steps towards Thorfinn's house, carrying the treasure along\nwith him. He found them all at supper. Thorfinn cast a severe glance at\nhim and asked what he had found so pressing to do that he could not keep\nproper hours like other men.\n\n\"Many a trifle happens at eve,\" he replied.\n\nThen he brought out all the treasure which he had taken from the howe\nand laid it on the table. One thing there was upon which more than\nanything else Grettir cast his eyes, a short sword, which he declared to\nbe finer than any weapon which he had ever seen. It was the last thing\nthat he showed. Thorfinn opened his eyes when he saw the sword, for it\nwas an heirloom of his family and had never been out of it.\n\n\"Whence came this treasure?\" he asked.\n\nGrettir then spake a verse:\n\n     \"Scatterer of gold! 'twas the lust of wealth\n     that urged my hand to ravish the grave.\n     This know; but none hereafter, I ween,\n     will be fain to ransack Fafnir's lair.\"\n\nThorfinn said: \"You don't seem to take it very seriously; no one ever\nbefore had any wish to break open the howe. But since I know that all\ntreasure which is hidden in the earth or buried in a howe is in a wrong\nplace I hold you guilty of no misdeed, especially since you have brought\nit to me.\"\n\nGrettir answered:\n\n     \"The monster is slain! in the dismal tomb\n     I have captured a sword, dire wounder of men.\n     Would it were mine I a treasure so rare\n     I never would suffer my hand to resign.\"\n\n\"You have spoken well,\" Thorfinn answered. \"But before I can give you\nthe sword you must display your prowess in some way. I never got it from\nmy father whilst he lived.\"\n\nGrettir said: \"No one knows to whom the greatest profit will fall ere\nall is done.\"\n\nThorfinn took the treasure and kept the sword in his own custody\nnear his bed. The winter came on bringing Yule-tide, and nothing more\nhappened that need be told of.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIX. BERSERKS AT HARAMARSEY\n\n\nThe following summer jarl Eirik the son of Hakon was preparing to leave\nhis country and sail to the West to join his brother-in-law King Knut\nthe Great in England, leaving the government of Norway in the hands of\nHakon his son, who, being an infant, was placed under the government and\nregency of Eirik's brother, jarl Sveinn.\n\nBefore leaving Eirik summoned all his Landmen and the larger bondis to\nmeet him. Eirik the jarl was an able ruler, and they had much discussion\nregarding the laws and their administration. It was considered a scandal\nin the land that pirates and berserks should be able to come into the\ncountry and challenge respectable people to the holmgang for their money\nor their women, no weregild being paid whichever fell. Many had lost\ntheir money and been put to shame in this way; some indeed had lost\ntheir lives. For this reason jarl Eirik abolished all holmgang in Norway\nand declared all robbers and berserks who disturbed the peace outlaws.\nThorfinn the son of Kar of Haramarsey, being a man of wise counsel and a\nclose friend of the jarl, was present at the meeting.\n\nThe worst of these ruffians were two brothers named Thorir Paunch and\nOgmund the Bad. They came from Halogaland and were bigger and stronger\nthan other men. When angry they used to fall into the berserk's fury,\nand nothing escaped that was before them. They used to carry off men's\nwives, keep them for a week or two and then send them back. Wherever\nthey came they committed robberies and other acts of violence. Jarl\nEirik had declared them outlaws throughout Norway. The man who had\nbeen most active in getting them outlawed was Thorfinn, and they were\ndetermined to pay him out in full for his hostility.\n\nThe jarl's expedition is told of in his saga, and the government of\nNorway was left in the hands of jarl Sveinn, with the regency.\n\nThorfinn returned home and remained there until about Yule-tide, as has\nalready been told. Towards Yule-tide he made ready to go on a journey\nto his farm called Slysfjord on the mainland, whither he had invited\na number of his friends. He could not take his wife with him, because\ntheir grown-up daughter was lying sick, so they both had to stay at\nhome. Grettir and eight of the serving men remained with them. Thorfinn\nwent with thirty freemen to the Yule festival, at which there was much\ngladness and merriment.\n\nYule-eve set in with bright and clear weather. Grettir, who was\ngenerally abroad in the daytime, was watching the vessels which came\nalong the coast, some from the North, some from the South, meeting at\nthe places agreed upon for their drinking-bouts. The bondi's daughter\nwas then better and could go out with her mother. So the day passed. At\nlast Grettir noticed a ship rowing up to the island, not large, covered\nwith shields amidships and painted above the water-line. They were\nrowing briskly and making for Thorfinn's boat-houses. They ran the boat\non to the beach and all sprang ashore. Grettir counted the men; there\nwere twelve in all, and their aspect did not look peaceful.\n\nAfter hauling up their boat out of the water they all made for the\nboat-house where Thorfinn's great boat, mentioned already, was stowed.\nShe always required thirty men to put her to sea, but the twelve shoved\nher along the beach at once. Then they brought their own boat into the\nboat-house. It was very evident to Grettir that they did not mean to\nwait for an invitation, so he went up to them, and greeting them in a\nfriendly way asked who they were and who was their captain. The man whom\nhe addressed answered him at once, saying his name was Thorir, called\nPaunch; the others were his brother Ogmund with their companions.\n\"I think,\" he added, \"that your master Thorfinn has heard our names\nmentioned. But is he at home?\"\n\n\"You must be men who have luck,\" said Grettir, \"you have come most\nopportunely, if you are the people I take you for. The bondi has gone\nfrom home with all his freedmen and will not be back until after Yule.\nThe goodwife is at home with her daughter, and if I had any grudge to\nrepay, I would come just as you do, for there is everything here which\nyou want, ale to drink and other delights.\"\n\nThorir was silent while Grettir went on talking. Then he turned to\nOgmund and said: \"Has anything not happened as I said it would? I should\nnot be sorry to punish Thorfinn for having got us outlawed. This man\nseems ready to tell us everything; we don't have to drag the words out\nof his mouth.\"\n\n\"Every one is master of his own words,\" said Grettir. \"If you will come\nhome with me I will give you what entertainment I can.\"\n\nThey thanked him and said they would accept his invitation. When they\nreached the house Grettir took Thorir by the hand and led him into the\nhall. He was very talkative. The mistress was in the hall decorating it\nand putting all in order. On hearing what Grettir said, she came to the\ndoor and asked who it was that Grettir was welcoming so warmly.\n\nGrettir answered: \"It will be advisable, mistress, to be civil to these\nmen who have come. They are the bondi Thorir Paunch and his followers,\nand have come, all twelve of them, to spend Yule-tide here. It is\nfortunate for us, for we have had little company till now.\"\n\nShe said: \"I don't call them bondis, nor are they decent men, but\narrant robbers and malefactors. I would gladly pay a large portion of\nmy property for them not to have come just at this time. It is an ill\nreturn that you make to Thorfinn for having saved you from shipwreck and\nkept you this winter like a free man, destitute as you were.\"\n\n\"You would do better,\" said Grettir, \"if you first took off the wet\nclothes from your guests instead of casting reproaches upon me. You will\nhave plenty of time for that.\"\n\nThen Thorir said: \"Don't be angry, mistress! You shall lose nothing by\nyour husband being away, for you shall have a man in his place and so\nshall your daughter and all the other women.\"\n\n\"That is spoken like a man,\" said Grettir. \"The women shall be quite\ncontented with what they get.\"\n\nThen all the women fled and began to weep, being overcome by terror.\nGrettir said to the berserks: \"Give me all the things which you want to\nlay aside, your weapons and your wet clothes, for the men will not obey\nus while they are frightened.\"\n\nThorir said he cared little for the women's whining. \"But,\" he said, \"we\nmean to treat you in a different way from the other men of the house. It\nseems to me that we may make a comrade of you.\"\n\n\"See to that yourselves,\" said Grettir. \"But I do not look upon all men\nalike.\"\n\nThen they laid aside most of their weapons. Grettir said: \"I think now\nyou had better sit down at the table and have some drink. You must be\nthirsty after your rowing.\"\n\nThey said they were quite ready for a drink, but did not know where the\ncellar was. Grettir asked whether they would let him arrange for their\nentertainment, which they willingly agreed to. So Grettir went and\nfetched some ale which he gave them to drink. They were very tired and\ndrank enormously. He kept them well plied with the strongest ale there\nwas, and they sat there for a long time whilst he told them funny\nstories. There was a tremendous din amongst them all, and the servants\nhad no wish to approach them.\n\nThorir said: \"I never yet met with a stranger who treated me like this\nman. What reward shall we give you for all that you have done, Grettir?\"\n\nGrettir replied: \"I don't expect any reward for my services at present.\nBut if when you depart we are still as good friends as we seem to be\nnow, I should very much like to join your company, and though I may not\nbe able to do as much work as any of you, I will not be a hindrance in\nany doughty undertaking.\"\n\nThey were delighted, and wanted to swear fellowship with him at once.\nGrettir said that could not be, \"for,\" he added, \"there is truth in\nthe saying that Ale is another man, and such a thing should not be done\nhastily, so let it remain at what I said; we are both little in the\nhabit of restraining ourselves.\"\n\nThey declared that they did not mean to go back. The night was now\ncoming on and it was getting very dark. Grettir noticed that they were\nrather fuddled, and asked whether they did not think it was time to go\nto bed. Thorir said: \"So it is; but I have to fulfil my promise to the\nmistress.\" Grettir then went out and called out loud: \"Go to bed, women!\nSuch is the will of Thorir the bondi.\"\n\nThe women execrated him and could be heard howling like wolves. The\nberserks then left the room. Grettir said: \"Let us go outside; I will\nshow you the room in which Thorfinn keeps his clothes.\"\n\nThey were agreeable and all went out to an enormous outhouse, which was\nvery strongly built, and had a strong lock on the outer door. Adjoining\nit was a large and well-built privy, with only a wooden partition\nbetween it and the room of the outhouse, which was raised above\nthe ground and had to be reached by steps. The berserks then began\nskylarking and pushing Grettir about. He fell down the in steps, as if\nin sport, and in a moment was out of the house, had pulled the bolt,\nslammed the door to, and locked it. Thorir and his mates thought at\nfirst that the door had swung to of itself, and paid little attention;\nthey had a light with them by which Grettir had been showing them all\nThorfinn's treasures, and they continued looking at them for some time.\n\nGrettir went off to the homestead, and on reaching the door cried out\nvery loud, asking where the mistress was. She was silent, being afraid\nto answer. He said: \"Here is rather good sport to be had. Are there any\narms which are good for anything?\"\n\n\"There are arms,\" she said; \"but I don't know for what purpose you want\nthem.\"\n\n\"We will talk about that afterwards; but now let each do what he can; it\nis the last chance.\"\n\n\"Now indeed were God in the dwelling,\" she said, \"if anything should\nhappen to save us. Over Thorfinn's bed there hangs the great halberd\nwhich belonged to Kar the Old; there, too, is a helmet and a corselet\nand a good short sword. The weapons will not fail if your heart holds\nfirm.\"\n\nGrettir took the helmet and spear, girt the sword about him and went\nquickly out. The mistress called to her men and bade them follow their\nbrave champion. Four of them rushed to their arms, but the other four\ndurst not go near them.\n\nMeantime the berserks thought that Grettir was a long time away and\nbegan to suspect some treachery. They rushed to the door and found it\nlocked. They strained at the woodwork till every timber groaned. At last\nthey tore down the wooden partition and so gained the passage where the\nprivy was, and thence the steps. Then the berserks' fury fell upon them\nand they howled like dogs.\n\nAt that moment Grettir returned, and taking his halberd in both hands\nhe thrust it right through Thorir's body just as he was about to descend\nthe steps. The blade was very long and broad. Ogmund the Bad was just\nbehind pushing him on, so that the spear passed right up to the hook,\ncame out at his back between the shoulderblades and entered the breast\nof Ogmund. They both fell dead, pierced by the spear. Then all the\nothers dashed down as they reached the steps. Grettir tackled them each\nin turn, now thrusting with the spear, now hewing with the sword, while\nthey defended themselves with logs lying on the ground or with anything\nelse which they could get. It was a terrible trial of a man's prowess to\ndeal with men of their strength, even unarmed.\n\nGrettir slew two of the Halogaland men there in the enclosure. Four of\nthe serving-men then came up. They had not been able to agree upon which\narms each should take, but they came out to the attack directly the\nberserks were running away; when these turned against them they fell\nback on the house. Six of the ruffians fell, all slain by Grettir's own\nhand; the other six then fled towards the landing place and took refuge\nin the boat-house, where they defended themselves with oars. Grettir\nreceived a severe blow from one of them and narrowly escaped a serious\nhurt.\n\nThe serving-men all went home and told great stories of their own\nexploits. The lady wanted to know what had become of Grettir, but they\ncould not tell her. Grettir slew two men in the boat-house, but the\nother four got away, two in one direction, two in another. He pursued\nthose who were nearest to him. The night was very dark. They ran to\nVindheim, the place spoken of before, and took refuge in a barn, where\nthey fought for a long time until at last Grettir killed them. By this\ntime he was terribly stiff and exhausted. The night was far spent;\nit was very cold and there were driving snow-storms. He felt little\ninclination to go after the two who yet remained, so he went back home.\nThe goodwife kindled a light and put it in a window in the loft at the\ntop of the house, where it served him as a guide, and he was able to\nfind his way home by the light. When he came to the door the mistress\ncame to meet him and bade him welcome.\n\n\"You have earned great glory,\" she said, \"and have saved me and my\nhousehold from a disgrace never to be redeemed if you had not delivered\nus.\"\n\n\"I think I am much the same person as I was last evening when you spoke\nso roughly to me,\" said Grettir.\n\n\"We knew not then the might that was in you,\" she said, \"as we know it\nnow. Everything in the house shall be yours, so far as it is fitting\nfor me to bestow and right for you to receive. I doubt not that Thorfinn\nwill reward you in a better way when he comes home.\"\n\n\"There is little that I want as a reward at present,\" said Grettir. \"But\nI accept your offer until your husband returns. I think now that you\nwill be able to sleep in peace undisturbed by the berserks.\"\n\nGrettir drank little before he retired and lay all night in his armour.\nIn the morning, directly the day broke, all the men of the island were\ncalled together to go forth and search for the two berserks who had\nescaped. They were found at the end of the day lying under a rock, both\ndead from cold and from their wounds; they were carried away and buried\nin a place on the shore beneath the tide, with some loose stones over\nthem, after which the islanders returned home, feeling that they could\nlive in peace. When Grettir came back to the house and met the mistress\nhe spoke a verse:\n\n     \"Near the surging sea the twelve lie buried.\n     I stayed not my hand but slew them alone.\n     Great lady!  what deed that is wrought by a man\n     shall be sung of as worthy if this be deemed small.\"\n\nShe answered: \"Certainly you are very unlike any other man now living.\"\nShe set him in the high seat and gave him the best of everything. So it\nremained until Thorfinn returned.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XX. THORFINN'S RETURN. GRETTIR VISITS THE NORTH\n\n\nWhen Yule-tide was past, Thorfinn made ready for his homeward journey\nand dismissed his many guests with gifts. He sailed with all his men and\nlanded near the place where the boat-houses were.\n\nThey saw a ship lying on the sand which they at once recognised as his\ngreat boat. Thorfinn had heard nothing of the vikings and told his\nmen to put him on shore, \"for I suspect,\" he said, \"that they are not\nfriends who have been at work here.\"\n\nThorfinn was the first to land, and went straight to the boat-house,\nwhere he saw a craft which he knew at once to be that of the berserks.\nHe said to his men: \"I suspect that things have taken place here such\nthat I would give the whole island and everything that is in it for them\nnot to have happened.\"\n\nThey asked how that was.\n\n\"Vikings have been here, men whom I know as the worst in all Norway,\nnamely Thorir Paunch and Ogmund the Bad. They will not have dealt gently\nwith us. I mistrust that Icelander.\"\n\nThen he spoke many things to his men. Grettir was at home and detained\nthe men from going down to the shore. He said he did not care if the\nbondi got a little fright from what he saw. The goodwife asked his leave\nto go down, and he said she was mistress of her own ways, but that he\nwas not going. So she hurried away to greet Thorfinn and embraced him\njoyfully. He was rejoiced to see her and said: \"God be praised that I\nsee you well and my daughter too. But what has happened to you since I\nleft?\"\n\n\"It has ended well,\" she said. \"But we were nigh to suffering a disgrace\nwhich could never have been wiped out, had not your winter-guest aided\nus.\"\n\nThorfinn said: \"Let us sit down and you shall tell me everything.\"\n\nThen she told him fully all that had happened, praising highly Grettir's\ncourage and resourcefulness. Thorfinn was silent while she was speaking,\nand when she had finished he said: \"True indeed is the word, `Long shall\na man be tried'. But where is Grettir?\"\n\n\"He is at home in the hall,\" she answered.\n\nThen they went up to the house. Thorfinn went to Grettir and turned\ntowards him and thanked him with the fairest words for his courageous\nconduct.\n\n\"I will say a word to you,\" he said, \"which few would say to their\nfriend. I would it might happen that you should need the help of a man,\nfor you to know whether I count for anything or not; I cannot repay what\nyou have done for me as long as you are not in straits. You shall have\nin my house whatever you desire, and shall be in the highest honour in\nmy household.\"\n\nGrettir thanked him and said he would have accepted his offer even if he\nhad made it earlier.\n\nGrettir stayed there the rest of the winter in high favour with\nThorfinn. The fame of his deed spread through all Norway, especially\nin those parts where the berserks had ravaged most mercilessly. In the\nspring Thorfinn asked him what he would like to do. He said he would go\nNorth to Vagar while the fair was on there. Thorfinn said that any money\nwhich he required should be at his service; Grettir said he did not want\nmore just then than enough to pay for his living. Thorfinn said that\nwas his due, and brought him to a ship, where he gave him the excellent\nshort sword. Grettir kept it as long as he lived; it was a most precious\npossession. Thorfinn bade him come to him if ever he wanted any help.\n\nGrettir then travelled to Vagar, which was crowded with people. Many\nwhom he had never set eyes on before greeted him warmly because of his\nexploit in killing the vikings, and several of the leading men invited\nhim to stay with them, but he preferred to return to his friend\nThorfinn. So he took his passage in a trading ship belonging to one\nThorkell, a man of some consideration in Salfti in Halogaland. Grettir\nwent to visit Thorkell in his home, where he received a hearty welcome\nand a very pressing invitation to stay there for the winter. Grettir\naccepted the invitation and stayed the winter with Thorkell, who treated\nhim with great honour.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXI. ADVENTURE WITH A BEAR\n\n\nThere was a man named Bjorn who was then on a visit to Thorkell. He was\nof a somewhat violent character of good family and related in some way\nto Thorkell. He was not generally liked, because he was too much given\nto talking against the men who were about Thorkell and drove many away\nfrom him. He and Grettir did not get on at all. Bjorn thought him of\nsmall account compared to himself; Grettir paid him little deference,\nand it became an open feud. Bjorn was a boisterous swaggering man, and\nmany of the younger men imitated him, loitering about outside in the\nevenings.\n\nIt happened at the beginning of the winter that a savage brown bear\nbroke out of its den and raged about destroying men and cattle. Every\none declared that it had been provoked by the noise which Bjorn and his\ncompany made. The beast became most mischievous, attacking the flocks in\nthe very face of the men themselves. Thorkell, being the wealthiest man\nof that part, suffered most. One day he called up his men to come with\nhim and search out the bear's den. They found it in a cliff by the sea\nwhere there was a cave under an overhanging rock, with a narrow path\nleading to the entrance. Below was a sheer precipice down to the beach,\nthreatening certain death to any one who stumbled. In this den the\nbear lay in the daytime, going abroad at night. Fences were of no avail\nagainst him, nor could the dogs do anything, so that all were in the\nutmost distress. Thorkell's kinsman Bjorn declared that the main thing\nwas gained now that they had found the den. \"Now we shall see,\" he said,\n\"how the game will go with me and my namesake.\" Grettir pretended not to\nhear what he said.\n\nIn the evenings when the others retired to bed, Bjorn used generally\nto go out. One night he went to the bear's den and found the creature\ninside, growling horribly. He lay down in the path, placing his shield\nover him, intending to wait until the beast came out as usual. Bruin,\nhowever, got wind of him and was rather slow in coming out. Bjorn got\nvery sleepy where he was lying and could not keep awake; in the meantime\nout came the bear from his den and saw a man lying there. He clawed at\nhim, dragged off his shield and threw it down the cliff. Bjorn woke\nup, not a little startled, took to his heels and ran off home, narrowly\nescaping the bear's clutches. His friends knew all about it, having\nwatched his movements; on the next morning they found the shield and\nmade great game of his adventure.\n\nAt Yule-time Thorkell himself went out to the den with Bjorn, Grettir\nand others of his men, a party of eight in all. Grettir had on a fur\ncape which he put off when they were attacking the bear. It was\nrather difficult to get at him, since they could only reach him with\nspear-thrusts, which he parried with his teeth. Bjorn kept urging\nthem on to tackle him, but himself did not go near enough to be in any\ndanger. At last, when no one was looking out, he took Grettir's fur\ncloak and threw it in to the bear. They did not succeed in getting the\nbear out, and when night came on turned to go home. Grettir then missed\nhis cloak and saw that the bear had got it into his grip.\n\n\"Who has been playing tricks on me?\" he cried. \"Who threw my cloak into\nthe cave?\"\n\nBjorn answered: \"He who did it will not be afraid to say so.\"\n\n\"Things of that sort do not trouble me much,\" said Grettir.\n\nThen they started on their way home. After they had gone a little way\nGrettir's garter broke. Thorkell told them to wait for him, but Grettir\nsaid it was not necessary. Then Bjorn said: \"There is no need to suppose\nthat Grettir will run away from his cloak. He wants to have the honour\nof killing the beast all alone, and he will say that we eight men went\naway. Then he would appear to be what he is said to be. He has been\nbackward enough all day.\"\n\n\"I don't know how you stand in that matter,\" said Thorkell. \"You and he\nare not equal in valour; do not make any to-do about him.\"\n\nBjorn said that neither he nor Grettir should choose the words out of\nhis mouth.\n\nThere was a hill between them and Grettir, who had turned back along the\nfootpath. Now he had no others to reckon with in making the attack.\nHe drew his sword Jokulsnaut and tied a loop round the handle which he\npassed over his wrist, because he thought that he could carry out his\nplans better if his hand were free. He went along the path. When the\nbear saw a man coming, he charged savagely, and struck at him with the\npaw that was on the side away from the precipice. Grettir aimed a blow\nat him with his sword and cut off his paw just above the claws. Then the\ncreature tried to strike him with his sound paw, but to do so he had to\ndrop on the stump, which was shorter than he expected, and over he fell\ninto Grettir's embraces. Grettir seized the beast by the ears and held\nhim off so that he could not bite. He always said that he considered\nthis holding back the bear the greatest feat of strength that he ever\nperformed. The beast struggled violently; the space was very narrow, and\nthey both fell over the precipice. The bear being the heavier came down\nfirst on the beach; Grettir fell on the top of him, and the bear was\nbadly mauled on the side that was down. Grettir got his sword, ran it\ninto the heart of the bear and killed him. Then he went home, after\nfetching his cloak which was torn to pieces. He also took with him the\nbit of the paw which he had cut off.\n\nThorkell was sitting and drinking when Grettir entered. They all laughed\nat the ragged cloak which he was wearing. Then he laid the piece of the\npaw upon the table. Thorkell said: \"Where is my kinsman Bjorn? I never\nsaw iron bite like that in your hands. Now I would like you to show\nGrettir some honour to make up for the shame which you cast upon him.\"\n\nBjorn said that could wait, and that it mattered little to him whether\nGrettir was pleased or not. Grettir then spoke a verse:\n\n     \"Oft returned the watcher at night\n     trembling home, but sound in limb.\n     None ever saw me sit in the dusk\n     at the cave; yet now I am home returned.\"\n\n\"It is true,\" said Bjorn, \"that you have fought well; and also true that\nour opinions differ. I suppose you think that your taunts hurt me.\"\n\nThorkell said: \"I should be glad, Grettir, if you would not revenge\nyourself upon Bjorn. I will pay the full weregild of a man for you to be\nreconciled.\"\n\nBjorn said he might invest his money better than in paying for that;\nand that it would be better for him and Grettir to go on bickering since\n\"each oak has that which it scrapes from the other.\" Thorkell said: \"But\nI ask you, Grettir, to do so much for my sake as not to attack Bjorn\nwhile you are both with me.\"\n\n\"That I promise,\" said Grettir.\n\nBjorn said that he would walk without fear of Grettir wherever they met.\nGrettir grinned, and would accept no money on account of Bjorn. They\nstayed there the winter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXII. GRETTIR KILLS BJORN AND IS SUMMONED BEFORE JARL SVEINN\n\n\nIn the spring Grettir went North to Vagar with Thorkell's men. They\nparted with friendship. Bjorn went West to England in Thorkell's ship,\nof which he was master, staying there for the summer and transacting the\nbusiness which Thorkell had entrusted to him. In the end of the autumn\nhe returned from the western parts. Grettir stayed in Vagar till the\ntrading ships left, and then sailed South with some of the traders, as\nfar as the port of Gartar at the mouth of the Thrandheim's Fjord, where\nhe set up the awnings to make a stay. When they were settled down a ship\ncame up along the coast from the South, which they at once recognised as\none of the ships from England. She made fast further out off the coast\nand her crew landed. Grettir went out with his companions to visit them.\nOn their meeting Grettir found Bjorn amongst the company and said: \"It\nis well that we meet here, for now we can continue our former quarrel. I\nshould like to try which of us is the better man.\"\n\nBjorn said that was all past now, as far as he was concerned. \"But,\"\nhe said, \"if there has been anything between us I will pay you such\ncompensation that you shall be satisfied.\" Grettir spoke a verse:\n\n     \"Time was when the bear was slain by my hand;\n     my cloak in tatters was torn.\n     A rascally knave was the cause of it all\n     but now he shall make me amends.\"\n\nBjorn said that weightier matters than this had been settled by payment.\nGrettir said that few men had any reason to act maliciously towards him;\nhe had accepted no money-atonement, nor would he do so now; that if\nhe had his way they should not both go away unhurt, and that if Bjorn\nrefused to fight he would brand him as a coward. Bjorn saw that excuses\nwould not avail him, so he took his arms and went out. They rushed at\neach other and fought; soon Bjorn was wounded and then he fell dead to\nthe ground. On seeing that, his men went on board their ship, sailed\naway to the North along the coast to Thorkell's place and told him what\nhad happened. He said it had not come sooner than he expected. Directly\nafterwards he sailed to the South to Thrandheim where he found jarl\nSveinn.\n\nGrettir, after slaying Bjorn, went to More to his friend Thorfinn and\ntold him exactly what had happened. Thorfinn received him in a most\nfriendly way. \"I am glad,\" he said, \"that you will now have need of a\nfriend. You must stay with me until this affair is finished.\"\n\nGrettir thanked him for his invitation and said he would accept it.\n\nJarl Sveinn was staying at Steinker in Thrandheim when he heard of the\nSlaying of Bjorn. With him was a brother of Bjorn named Hjarrandi, as\none of his bodyguard. On hearing of Bjorn's death he became very angry\nand begged the jarl for his support in the matter, which the jarl\npromised that he should have. He sent messengers to Thorfinn to summon\nboth him and Grettir to appear before him. Immediately on receiving the\njarl's commands they both made ready and came to Thrandheim. The jarl\nheld a council on the matter and ordered Hjarrandi to be present.\nHjarrandi said he was not going to weigh his brother against his purse,\nand that he must either follow him or avenge him.\n\nWhen the case was looked into, it became evident that Bjorn had given\nGrettir many provocations. Thorfinn offered to pay a fine such as the\njarl thought suitable to the position of his kinsman, and dwelt at\nlength upon Grettir's achievement in killing the berserks, and how he\nhad delivered the men in the North from them.\n\nThe jarl answered: \"Truth do you speak, Thorfinn! that was indeed a\ncleansing! It would befit us well to accept the compensation for your\nsake. Grettir, too, is a fine fellow, and noted for his strength and\nvalour.\"\n\nHjarrandi, however, would accept no compensation, and the meeting came\nto an end. Thorfinn appointed one of his kinsmen, Arnbjorn, to accompany\nGrettir every day, for he knew that Hjarrandi was plotting against his\nlife.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIII. GRETTIR KILLS HJARRANDI\n\n\nOne day Grettir and Arnbjorn were walking along the road for their\ndiversion when they passed a gate, whence a man rushed out holding an\naxe aloft with both hands and struck at Grettir, who was not on his\nguard and was moving slowly. Arnbjorn, however, saw the man coming,\nseized Grettir and pushed him aside with such force that he fell on his\nknee. The axe struck him in the shoulder-blade and cut down to below\nthe arm, inflicting a severe wound. Grettir turned quickly and drew his\nsword; he saw that it was Hjarrandi who had attacked him. The axe had\nstuck fast in the road, and Hjarrandi was slow in recovering it. Grettir\nstruck at him and cut off his arm at the shoulder. Then there came\nrunning up five of Hjarrandi's followers and a battle began with them.\nThey were soon routed; Grettir and Arnbjorn killed the five who were\nwith Hjarrandi; one man escaped and bore the tale to the jarl forthwith.\nThe jarl was very angry indeed, and summoned the assembly for the next\nday. Thorfinn and his party appeared thereat. The jarl brought a charge\nof manslaughter against Grettir, who admitted it and said that he had\nbeen obliged to defend himself. \"I bear the marks of it,\" he said. \"I\nshould have been killed if Arnbjorn had not defended me.\"\n\nThe jarl said it was a pity he had not been killed, for this affair\nwould lead to many a man being slain if he lived.\n\nThere had come to the jarl's court Bersi the son of Skaldtorfa,\nGrettir's comrade and friend. He and Thorfinn stepped before the jarl\nand begged for pardon for Grettir. They asked that the jarl should\ndecide the matter himself as he thought best, only that Grettir should\nhave his life and the freedom of the country. The jarl was averse to any\nterms being granted to him, but gave way to their entreaties. He granted\nimmunity to Grettir until the spring, but not absolutely until Gunnar\nthe brother of Bjorn and Hjarrandi should be present. Gunnar was a\nlanded proprietor in Tunsberg.\n\nIn the spring the jarl ordered Grettir and Thorfinn to appear at\nTunsberg, where he himself intended to be while the shipping was\nassembled. So thither they went, and found the jarl was already in the\ntown. There Grettir met his brother Thorsteinn Dromund, who greeted\nhim joyfully and invited him to be his guest. He was a landowner in the\ntown. Grettir told him all about his case, and Thorsteinn took his view\nof it, but told him to beware of Gunnar. So the spring passed.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIV. GRETTIR KILLS GUNNAR. HIS FRIENDS RALLY ROUND HIM AND SAVE\nHIM FROM THE VENGEANCE OF THE JARL\n\n\nGunnar was in the town and was plotting against Grettir's life. Wherever\nhe went Gunnar dogged his steps wherever he found a chance of getting\nnear him. One day Grettir was sitting in a booth and drinking, because\nhe wanted to keep out of Gunnar's way. Suddenly there was a bang at the\ndoor, so hard that it broke in pieces, and in rushed four men armed and\nattacked Grettir. They were Gunnar with his followers. Grettir seized\nhis arms which were hanging above his head and ran into a corner, where\nhe defended himself, holding his shield before him, and hewing with\nhis sword. They made little way against him. One blow he succeeded in\ndelivering upon one of Gunnar's followers, who needed nothing more. Then\nGrettir advanced, driving them before him out of the booth, and killing\nanother of them. Gunnar would fain have got away with his men, but on\nreaching the door he caught his foot on the doorstep, fell over and was\nnot able to recover himself at once. He held his shield before him and\nretreated as Grettir pressed him hard. Then Grettir sprang on to the\ncrossbenches near the door. Gunnar's hands and the shield were still\ninside the door, and Grettir struck down between him and the shield,\ncutting off both his hands at the wrist. He fell backwards out of the\ndoor, and Grettir gave him his death-blow. Then the man who was behind\nhim got on his feet and ran off at once to tell the jarl what had\nhappened. Sveinn was furious, and called the assembly to meet there and\nthen in the town. When Thorfinn and Thorsteinn Dromund heard the news,\nthey called all their followers and friends together and went to the\nmeeting in force. The jarl was very wroth, and it was no easy matter to\nget speech with him. Thorfinn was the first to come before the jarl, and\nhe said: \"I have come to offer an honourable atonement for the man who\nhas been slain by Grettir. The judgment shall remain with you alone if\nyou but spare his life.\"\n\nThe jarl replied in great wrath: \"It is too late to beg for Grettir's\nlife, and you have no case that I can see. He has killed three brothers,\none at the feet of the other; men of noble minds who would not weigh\neach other against their purses. Now, Thorfinn, it will not avail you\nto beg for Grettir; I will not do such a wrong in the land as to accept\natonement for such a crime as this.\"\n\nThen Bersi the son of Skaldtorfa came up and begged the jarl to accept\nblood-money. \"Grettir,\" he said, \"is a man of high birth and is my good\nfriend. I offer you what I possess. May you see, my lord, that it is\nbetter by sparing one man to earn the goodwill of many and to fix the\npenalty yourself than to refuse honourable terms and risk whether you\ncan arrest the man or not.\"\n\nThe jarl replied: \"You do right, Bersi; and herein as ever you show your\nworth. But I do not mean to break the laws of the land by granting life\nto a man who has forfeited it.\"\n\nThen Thorsteinn Dromund came forward, and he, too, offered blood-money\non behalf of Grettir, adding many fair words thereto.\n\nThe jarl asked what moved him to offer blood-money for the man.\nThorsteinn said Grettir was his brother. The jarl said he had not known\nthat.\n\n\"It shows a manly spirit in you,\" he said, \"that you want to help him.\nBut as I am determined not to accept blood-money in this case, I must\ntreat the requests of all of you alike. I must have Grettir's life\nwhatever it cost, directly I can get him.\"\n\nThen the jarl rose quickly up and refused to hear any more about\natonement. They all went home with Thorsteinn and made their\npreparations, whereupon the jarl ordered all the men of his guard under\narms and went forth with a large force. Before they came up, Grettir's\nfriends had made ready to defend the house. Thorfinn, Thorsteinn,\nGrettir himself, and Bersi were in the forefront, each with a large\nforce of followers behind him. The jarl summoned them to give up\nGrettir, and not to bring trouble on themselves. They repeated their\nformer offers, but the jarl would not listen to them. Thorfinn and\nThorsteinn said that more was at stake for the jarl than the taking of\nGrettir's life. \"One fate shall fall upon us all,\" they cried, \"and men\nshall say that you have given much for the life of one man when we are\nall laid low with the ground.\"\n\nThe jarl said he would spare none of them, and they were on the very\nverge of a battle when many of the well-disposed men came up to him and\nbegged him not to land himself in such a difficulty. He should bear\nin mind that these men would work great havoc among his own followers\nbefore they fell. The jarl thought this counsel was wise and let himself\nbe somewhat appeased. Then the terms of atonement were settled. Thorfinn\nand Thorsteinn were ready to pay so long as Grettir's life was spared.\nThe jarl said: \"You must know that although I agree to this compromise,\nI do not consider it a full amnesty. Only I have no mind to fight\nagainst my own men, although they appear to hold me of little account in\nthe matter.\"\n\nThorfinn said: \"Yours is all the greater honour, my lord, that you will\nhave the fixing of the penalty yourself.\"\n\nThe jarl said that Grettir should have leave from him to depart from the\ncountry in peace for Iceland, directly there was a ship leaving, if so\nit seemed good to them. They agreed and paid the money to the jarl to\nhis satisfaction. They parted with little friendship. Grettir went\nwith Thorfinn after bidding an affectionate farewell to his brother\nThorsteinn.\n\nThorfinn earned great honour for the support which he had given Grettir\nagainst such odds as he had to deal with. Not one of the men who had\nhelped Grettir was ever received into favour again with the jarl,\nexcepting Bersi.\n\nGrettir then spoke:\n\n     \"Comrade of Odin, Thorfinn was born\n     to rescue my life from the fangs of Hel.\n     No less was Thorsteinn Dromund's aid\n     when I was doomed to the realm of the dead.\"\n\nAnd again:\n\n     \"The prince's retainers withdrew in fear\n     when Bersi threatened their hearts to pierce.\"\n\nGrettir returned with Thorfinn to the North and stayed with him until he\nfound a ship with some traders who were bound for Iceland. Thorfinn gave\nhim many valuable garments and a coloured saddle with a bridle. They\nparted with friendship, and Thorfinn invited him to come and see him if\never he returned to Norway.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXV. EVENTS IN ICELAND. THORGILS MAKSSON ATTACKED BY THE\nFOSTER-BROTHERS AND SLAIN\n\n\nAsmund Longhair was in Bjarg whilst Grettir was away, and was much\nrespected as a bondi in Midfjord. Thorkell Krafla had died during\nGrettir's absence. Thorvald Asgeirsson dwelt in Ass in Vatnsdal and was\na great chief. He was the father of Dalla who married Isleif, afterwards\nbishop in Skalaholt. Asmund had great support from Thorvald in legal\nsuits and in other matters.\n\nThere grew up in Asmund's household a youth named Thorgils Maksson, a\nnear kinsman of his. Thorgils was a strong man of his body and made\nmuch money under Asmund's guidance; he dwelt at Laekjamot, on a property\nwhich Asmund had bought for him. Thorgils was a good manager and went to\nStrandir every year, where he obtained whales and other things. He was\na man of great courage, and went as far as the eastern Almenningar.\nAt that time the two foster-brothers Thorgeir Havarsson and Thormod\nCoalbrow-Skald were very much to the front; they kept a boat, gathering\nwhat they wanted from the country around, and had not the reputation of\ndealing fairly.\n\nOne summer Thorgils Maksson found a whale at the Almenningar and went\nout at once with his men to cut it up. When the two foster-brothers\nheard of it they went there too, and at first it seemed as if matters\nwould be settled peaceably. Thorgils proposed that they should share\nequally that part of the whale which was yet uncut, but they wanted\nto have all the uncut part or else to share the entire whale. Thorgils\npositively refused to give up any portion of what had already been cut.\nThey began to use threats and at last took to their arms and fought.\nThorgeir and Thorgils fought each of them desperately together without\neither prevailing. After a long and furious battle Thorgils fell slain\nby Thorgeir. In another place Thormod was fighting with the followers\nof Thorgils, and he overcame them, killing three. Those who remained of\nThorgils' party went off after he fell to Midfjord, taking his body\nwith them and feeling that they had suffered a great loss. The\nfoster-brothers took possession of the whole whale. The affair is\nreferred to in the memorial poem which Thormod composed upon Thorgeir.\n\nNews of the death of his kinsman was brought to Asmund Longhair, on whom\nas nearest of kin the blood-feud devolved. He went to the spot, called\nwitnesses to testify to the wounds and brought the case before the\nAll-Thing, which appeared to be the proper course in this case where\nthe act had been committed in another quarter. Some time was passed over\nthis.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVI. THE FEUD WITH THE FOSTER-BROTHERS IS TAKEN UP BY ASMUND\nAND THORSTEINN KUGGASON\n\n\nThere was a man named Thorsteinn; he was the son of Thorkell Kuggi, the\nson of Thord Yeller, the son of Olaf Feilan, the son of Thorsteinn the\nRed, the son of Aud the Deep-Minded. Thorsteinn Kuggason's mother was\nThurid, daughter of Asgeir Hothead. Asgeir was the brother of Asmund\nLonghair's father. Thorsteinn Kuggason was equally responsible in the\nblood-feud over Thorgils' death with Asmund Longhair, who now sent for\nhim. Thorsteinn was a great warrior and very masterful. He came at\nonce to his kinsman Asmund and they had a talk together about the suit.\nThorsteinn was for extreme measures. He said that no blood-money should\nbe accepted; that with their connections they were powerful enough to\ncarry through a sentence of either banishment or death on the slayer.\nAsmund said he would support any measures whatever that he chose to\nadopt. They rode then North to Thorvald their kinsman and asked for his\nsupport, which he at once promised them. So the suit was begun against\nThorgeir and Thormod. Thorsteinn then rode home to his dwelling\nat Ljarskogar in the Hvamm district. Skeggi in Hvamm also joined\nThorsteinn. He was a son of Thorarin Fylsenni, a son of Thord the\nYeller. His mother was Fridgerd, a daughter of Thord from Hofdi. They\nhad a large following at the All-Thing and pressed their suit valiantly.\nAsmund and Thorvald rode from the North with sixty men, halting several\ndays at Ljarskogar.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVII. SENTENCES ON THE FOSTER-BROTHERS\n\n\nThere dwelt at Reykjaholar a man named Thorgils, the son of Ari, the son\nof Mar, the son of Atli the Red, the son of Ulf Squint-Eye, the first\nsettler at Reykjanes. Thorgils' mother was Thorgerd the daughter of Alf\nof Dalir. Alf had another daughter named Thorelf, who was the mother\nof Thorgeir the son of Havar. Thorgeir, therefore, had a very strong\nbacking through his connections, for Thorgils was the most powerful\nchief in the Vestfirding quarter. He was very open-handed and gave\nhospitality to any free-man for as long as he would. There was\nconsequently always a crowd at Reykjaholar, and he lived in great\ngrandeur. He was both kindly and wise. Thorgeir stayed with him in the\nwinter and went to Strandir in the summer.\n\nAfter slaying Thorgils the son of Mak, Thorgeir went to Reykjaholar and\ntold Thorgils Arason what had happened. Thorgils told him his house was\nopen to him. \"But,\" he said, \"they will press the matter vigorously, and\nI am most unwilling to involve myself in difficulties. I will send a man\nnow to Thorsteinn and offer him blood-money for the Thorgils affair; if\nhe will not accept it I will not adopt any violent measures.\"\n\nThorgeir declared that he would submit to his wisdom. In the autumn\nThorgils sent a messenger to Thorsteinn Kuggason to try and arrange\na settlement. Thorsteinn was very disinclined to accept any money in\natonement for the slaying of Thorgils, although for the others he was\nwilling to follow the advice of men of counsel. Thorgils on receiving\nthe report of his messenger called Thorgeir to a consultation with him\nand asked him what support he thought was proper. Thorgeir said that if\na sentence of banishment were passed upon him he would go. Thorgils said\nthat his resolve would be put to the trial.\n\nThere came a ship into the Nordra river in Borgarfjord, and Thorgils\nsecretly took a passage in her for the two foster-brothers. The winter\nnow passed, and Thorgils heard that Thorsteinn and his party had\nassembled in great force for the All-Thing and were then in Ljarskogar.\nSo he put off his departure, intending that they should arrive from the\nNorth before he came up from the West. So it came to pass. Thorgils and\nThorgeir then rode towards the South, Thorgeir killing one Boggul-Torfi\non the way at Marskelda and two other men named Skuf and Bjarni at\nHundadal. Thormod sings about this affair in his Thorgeir's drapa:\n\n     \"The hem slew the son of Mak;\n     there was storm of swords and raven's food.\n     Skuf and Bjarni he also felled;\n     gladly he bathed his hands in blood.\"\n\nThorgils settled for the slaying of Skuf and Bjarni there and then\nin the dale, and was delayed by the affair longer than he intended.\nThorgeir embarked on the ship and Thorgils went to the Thing, where\nhe did not arrive before they were proceeding to judgment in Thorgils\nMaksson's case. Asmund Longhair then called for the defence. Thorgils\nappeared before the court and offered blood-money in atonement on\ncondition of Thorgeir not being sentenced to banishment. He endeavoured\nto meet the charge by pleading that finds in the Almenningar were\nfree to all. The question whether this was a valid defence or not was\nreferred to the Lawman, who at that time was Skapti. He upheld Asmund's\nview on account of their kinship together. He declared that this was\nindeed the law in the case of men equal in position, but that a bondi\nhad precedence over a vagrant. Asmund further urged that Thorgils had\noffered to share the uncut portion of the whale with the foster-brothers\nwhen they arrived. The defendants were non-suited on that point. Then\nThorsteinn and his party pressed their suit resolutely and said they\nwould not be satisfied with any sentence short of banishment upon\nThorgeir. Thorgils saw that no choice was left to him but either to call\nup his men and try to carry his case with violence, the issue of which\nwould be uncertain, or else to submit to the sentence demanded by\nthe opposite party, and since Thorgeir was already on board his ship\nThorgils had no desire to press the case further. Thorgeir was banished,\nbut Thormod was discharged upon payment of blood-money.\n\nAsmund and Thorsteinn gained great glory by this case. The men rode home\nfrom the Thing. There were some who said that Thorgils had not taken\nmuch trouble in the case, but he paid little attention and let them say\nwhat they pleased.\n\nWhen Thorgeir heard that he was banished, he said that if he had his\nway, those who had brought it about should be repayed in full before it\nwas over.\n\nThere was a man named Gaut, called the son of Sleita, a kinsman of\nThorgils Maksson. He was intending to travel in the same ship with\nThorgeir, with whom he was on very bad terms, and frowned on him. The\ntraders thought it would never do to have them both together in the\nship. Thorgeir said he did not care what Gaut did with his eyebrows.\nNevertheless they decided that Gaut should leave the ship. He went\ninto the northern districts and for that time nothing happened, but the\naffair brought about a feud between them which broke out later.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXVIII. GRETTIR'S VISIT TO AUDUN IN VIDIDAL; OFFERS HIS SERVICES\nTO BARDI\n\n\nIn the course of that summer Grettir Asmundsson returned to Skagafjord.\nHe had such a reputation for strength that none of the younger men was\nsupposed to be his equal. He soon came to his home in Bjarg, and Asmund\ngave him a fitting welcome. Atli was then managing the property and the\nbrothers agreed well together, but Grettir became so over-weening that\nhe thought nothing was beyond his powers.\n\nMany of the youths with whom Grettir had played at Midfjordsvatn before\nhe left were now grown up. Audun, the son of Asgeir, the son of Audun,\nwas now living at Audunarstad in Vididal. He was a good bondi and a\nkindly man, and was the strongest of all the men in the northern parts,\nas well as the most modest.\n\nGrettir had not forgotten how he had seemingly been worsted by Audun at\nthe ball-play, as related above, and he was anxious to try which of them\nhad gained most since. With this object he went at the beginning of the\nhay-harvest to Audunarstad. Grettir put on all his finery and rode with\nthe coloured and richly ornamented saddle which Thorfinn had given him,\non a splendid horse and in his best armour to Audun's place, where he\narrived early in the day and knocked at the door. Few of the men were\nin the house, and to Grettir's question whether Audun was at home, they\nreplied that he had gone to the hill-dairy to bring home some produce.\nGrettir took the bridle off his horse. The hay had not been mown in the\nmeadow and the horse went for the part where the grass was thickest.\nGrettir entered the room and sat down on the bench, where he fell\nasleep. Soon Audun returned home and saw a horse in the meadow with\na coloured saddle on its back. He was bringing two horses loaded with\ncurds in skins tied at the mouth--so-called \"curd-bags.\" Audun took the\nskins off the horses and was carrying them in his arms so that he could\nnot see in front of him. Grettir's leg was stretched out before him\nand Audun stumbled over it, falling on the curd-bags which broke at\nthe neck. Audun sprang up and asked what rascal that was in his house.\nGrettir told him his name.\n\n\"That was very awkward of you,\" said Audun. \"But what do you want here?\"\n\n\"I want to fight with you.\"\n\n\"First I must look after my dairy produce,\" Audun said.\n\n\"You can do that,\" answered Grettir, \"if you have no one else to do it\nfor you.\"\n\nAudun bent down, gathered up the skin and threw it right into Grettir's\nbreast, telling him to take what he sent him. Grettir was all covered\nwith curds, and felt more disgusted than at any wound which Audun\ncould have given him. Then they went for each other and wrestled pretty\nsmartly. Grettir rushed at him, but Audun escaped his grasp. He saw,\nhowever, that Grettir had gained upon him. They drove up and down the\nroom, overthrowing everything that was near them. Neither of them spared\nhimself, but Grettir had the advantage, and at last Audun fell, after\ntearing off all Grettir's weapons. They struggled hard and the din was\nterrific.\n\nThen there was a loud noise below. Grettir heard a man ride up to the\nhouse, get off his horse and come quickly inside. He saw a handsome man\nin a red jacket wearing a helmet. Hearing the commotion going on in the\nroom where they were wrestling, he came in and asked what was in the\nroom. Grettir told him his name; \"but who is it that wants to know?\" he\nasked.\n\n\"My name is Bardi,\" answered the stranger.\n\n\"Are you Bardi the son of Gudmund from Asbjarnarnes?\"\n\n\"The same,\" he replied. \"But what are you after?\"\n\nGrettir said: \"I and Audun are playing here.\"\n\n\"I don't know about your play,\" said Bardi. \"But you are not alike. You\nare overbearing and insolent, while he is modest and good-natured. Let\nhim get up at once.\"\n\nGrettir said: \"Many a man seizes the lock for the door. You would do\nbetter to avenge your brother Hall than to come between me and Audun\nwhen we are contending.\"\n\n\"I am always hearing that,\" said Bardi, \"and I don't know whether I\nshall ever obtain my vengeance. But I want you to leave Audun in peace,\nfor he is a quiet man.\"\n\nGrettir said he was willing to do so because of Bardi's intercession,\nthough he did not like it much. Bardi asked what they were contending\nabout. Grettir replied in a verse:\n\n     \"I know not if for all your pride\n     he may not try your throat to squeeze.\n     Thus when within my home I dwelt\n     did he once belabour me.\"\n\nBardi said there was certainly some excuse if he was taking revenge.\n\"Let me now settle it between you,\" he said. \"Let matters remain as they\nare and cease your strife.\"\n\nSo they consented, for they were kinsmen. But Grettir had little liking\nfor Bardi or his brothers. They all rode away together. On the way\nGrettir said: \"I hear, Bardi, that you intend to go South to Borgarfjord\nthis summer; I propose that I shall go with you, which I think is more\nthan you deserve.\"\n\nBardi was very pleased with this offer, and at once accepted it most\nthankfully. Then they parted. Bardi then turned back and said to\nGrettir: \"I would like it to be understood that you only come with me\nif it meets with Thorarin's approval, since all the arrangements for the\nexpedition are with him.\"\n\n\"I thought,\" said Grettir, \"you were competent to make your arrangements\nfor yourself. I do not leave my affairs to other people to settle. I\nshall take it very ill if you refuse me.\"\n\nThen each went his own way. Bardi promised to send Grettir word \"if\nThorarin wished him to go.\" Otherwise he could remain quietly at home.\nGrettir then rode to Bjarg and Bardi to his own home.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXIX. HORSE-FIGHT AT LANGAFIT\n\n\nThat summer there was a great horse-fight at Langafit below Reykir,\nwhither a great many people came together. Atli of Bjarg had a good\nstallion of Keingala's race; grey with a dark stripe down his back.\nBoth father and son valued the horse highly. The two brothers Kormak and\nThorgils in Mel had a very mettlesome brown stallion, and they arranged\nto match it against that of Atli from Bjarg. Many other excellent\nstallions were brought. Odd the Needy-Skald, Kormak's kinsman, had the\ncharge of their horse on the day. He had grown into a strong man and had\na high opinion of himself; he was surly and reckless. Grettir asked Atli\nwho should have charge of his stallion.\n\n\"That is not so clear to me,\" said Atli.\n\n\"Would you like me to back him?\"\n\n\"Then you must keep very cool, kinsman,\" he said. \"We have men to deal\nwith who are rather overbearing.\"\n\n\"Let them pay for their bluster,\" he said, \"if they cannot control it.\"\n\nThe stallions were led out and the mares tethered together in the front\non the bank of the river. There was a large pool just beyond the bank.\nThe horses fought vigorously and there was excellent sport. Odd managed\nhis horse pluckily and Grettir gave way before him, holding the tail\nof his horse with one hand and with the other the stick with which he\npricked it on. Odd stood in the front by his horse, and one could not\nbe sure that he was not pricking off Atli's horse from his own. Grettir\npretended not to notice it. The horses then came near the river. Then\nOdd thrust with his pointed stick at Grettir and caught him in the\nshoulder-blade which Grettir was turning towards him. He struck pretty\nhard, and the flesh swelled up, but Grettir was little hurt. At the same\nmoment the horses reared. Grettir ducked beneath the flank of his horse\nand drove his stick into Odd's side with such violence that three of his\nribs were broken and Odd fell into the pool with his horse and all the\nmares that were tethered there by the bank. Some people swam out and\nrescued them. There was great excitement about it. Kormak's men on one\nside and those of Bjarg on the other seized their arms, but the men of\nHrutafjord and Vatnsnes came between them and parted them.\n\nThey all went home in great wrath, but kept quiet for a time. Atli said\nvery little, but Grettir rather swaggered and said that they should meet\nagain if he had his way.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXX. THORBJORN OXMAIN AND THE FRAY AT HRUTAFJARDARHALS\n\n\nThere was living in Thoroddsstad in Hrutafjord a man named Thorbjorn. He\nwas the son of Arnor Downy-Nose, the son of Thorodd who had settled in\nthat side of Hrutafjord which lies opposite to Bakki. Thorbjorn was of\nall men the strongest, and was called Oxmain. He had a brother named\nThorodd, called Drapustuf. Their mother was Gerd, daughter of Bodvar\nfrom Bodvarsholar. Thorbjorn was a great swashbuckler and kept a large\ntroop of followers. He was noted for being worse at getting servants\nthan other men, and scarcely paid them any wages. He was not a man easy\nto deal with. There was a kinsman of his, also named Thorbjorn, called\nSlowcoach. He was a mariner, and the two namesakes were in partnership\ntogether. He was always at Thoroddsstad and people did not think he made\nThorbjorn any better. He liked to talk scandal and spoke offensively of\nseveral men.\n\nThere was a man named Thorir, a son of Thorkell, at Bordeyr. He first\nlived at Melar in Hrutafjord, and had a daughter named Helga who married\nSleitu-Helgi. After the Fagrabrekka affair Thorir went South to Haukadal\nand lived in Skard, selling the property at Melar to Thorhall the\nWinelander, the son of Gamli. Thorhall's son Gamli married Rannveig, the\ndaughter of Asmund Longhair, Grettir's sister. They lived at that time\nin Melar and had a good establishment. Thorir of Skard had two sons,\nGunnar and Thorgeir, both promising men, who took over the property from\ntheir father, but were always with Thorbjorn Oxmain, and became very\noverbearing.\n\nIn the summer of that year Kormak and Thorgils rode with a kinsman\nof theirs named Narfi South to Nordrardal on some business. Odd the\nNeedy-Skald had recovered from the hurts which he had received at the\nhorse-fight and was of the party. While they were south of the heath\nGrettir was journeying from his home at Bjarg with two of Atli's men.\nThey rode to Burfell and then across the neck to Hrutafjord, reaching\nMelar in the evening, where they spent three nights. Rannveig and Gamli\ngave Grettir a friendly reception and invited him to stay, but he wanted\nto return home. Then Grettir learned of Kormak's company having come\nfrom the South, and that they were staying at Tunga at night. He\nprepared to leave Melar at once, and Gamli offered to send some of his\nmen with him. Gamli's brother Grim, who was very smart and active,\nand another rode with Grettir. The party, five in number, came to\nHrutafjardarhals to the west of Burfell, where the great stone called\nGrettishaf lies; he struggled a long time with that stone, trying to\nlift it, and delayed his journey thereby until Kormak's party came up.\nGrettir went towards them and both alighted from their horses. Grettir\nsaid it would be more seemly for free men to set to work with all their\nmight instead of fighting with sticks like tramps. Kormak told them to\ntake up the challenge like men and to do their best. So they went for\neach other. Grettir was in front of his men and told them to see that\nnobody got behind him. They fought for a time and both were hurt.\n\nOn the same day Thorbjorn Oxmain had ridden across the neck to Burfell,\nand as he returned with Thorbjorn Slowcoach, Gunnar and Thorgeir, the\nsons of Thorir, and Thorodd Drapustuf, he saw the fight going on. On\ncoming up, Thorbjorn called upon his men to go between them, but they\nwere struggling so furiously that nobody could get at them. Grettir was\nmaking a clean sweep of everything round him. Before him were the sons\nof Thorir. He pushed them back and they both fell over. This made them\nfurious, and the consequence was that Gunnar gave a blow to one of\nAtli's men which killed him. Thorbjorn on seeing that ordered them to\nseparate, saying that he would give his support to whichever side obeyed\nhim. By then two of Kormak's men had fallen. Grettir saw that it would\nscarcely do if Thorbjorn joined the opposite side, so he gave up\nthe battle. All those who had fought were wounded. Grettir was much\ndisgusted at their being separated, but both parties rode home and were\nnot reconciled on this occasion.\n\nThorbjorn Slowcoach made great game of all this, and the relations\nbetween the men of Bjarg and Thorbjorn Oxmain became strained in\nconsequence, until at last there was a regular feud, which however broke\nout later. No compensation was offered to Atli for his man, and he\nwent on as if he knew nothing of it. Grettir stayed at Bjarg till the\nTvi-month. It is not known that he and Kormak ever met again; at least\nit is not mentioned anywhere.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXI. GRETTIR'S VAIN ENDEAVOUR TO PROVOKE BARDI\n\n\nBardi the son of Gudmund and his brothers rode home to Asbjarnarnes when\nthey left Grettir. They were the sons of Gudmund the son of Solmund.\nSolmund's mother was Thorlaug, daughter of Saemund the Southerner,\nthe foster-brother of Ingimund the Old. Bardi was a man of great\ndistinction. Soon he went to see his foster-father Thorarin the Wise,\nwho welcomed him and asked what help he had been able to obtain,\nfor Bardi's journey had been arranged beforehand by them both. Bardi\nanswered that he had engaged a man whose help he thought worth more\nthan that of two others. Thorarin was silent for a moment and then said:\n\"That must be Grettir the son of Asmund.\"\n\n\"The guess of the wise is truth,\" said Bardi. \"That is the very man, my\nfoster-father.\"\n\nThorarin answered: \"It is true that Grettir is beyond all other men of\nwhom there is now choice in the country; nor will he be easily subdued\nby arms so long as he is sound. But great arrogance is in him now, and\nI have misgivings as to his luck. It is important for you that all your\nmen on your expedition are not men of an evil star. It is enough if he\ndoes not fare with you. He shall not come if my counsel is followed.\"\n\n\"I did not expect, my foster-father,\" said he, \"that you would deny me\nthe man who is bravest in all that he undertakes. A man in such straits\nas I seem to be in cannot provide against everything.\"\n\n\"It will be better for you,\" he replied, \"to let me provide.\"\n\nSo it came about that as Thorarin desired, word was not sent to Grettir.\nBardi went to the South and the battle of the Heath was fought.\n\nGrettir was at Bjarg when he received the news that Bardi had started\non his expedition. He was very angry that word had not been sent to him,\nand said it should not end there. He found out when they were expected\nback from the South, and rode off to Thoreyjargnup, where he meant\nto lie in wait for Bardi and his men as they rode back. He left the\nhomestead behind and remained at the cliffs. On that day rode Bardi back\nfrom the battle of the Heath from Tvidaegra; there were six of them in\nhis party, all sorely wounded. When they came to the homestead Bardi\nsaid: \"There is a man up there on the cliff, very tall and armed. Whom\ndo you take him for?\"\n\nThey could not say who he was. Bardi said: \"I believe it is Grettir the\nson of Asmund. If it is, he will be wanting to meet us, for I expect he\nis little pleased at not having been with us. It seems to me that we are\nnot in a very fit condition if he wants to annoy us. I will send home\nto Thoreyjargnup for some men and not allow myself to be put out by his\nevil intentions.\"\n\nThey said that was the best thing he could do, and it was done. Bardi's\nparty rode on; Grettir watched where they were going and went there too.\nThey met and greeted each other. Grettir asked what the news was, and\nBardi told him without hesitation. Grettir asked who had been with them.\nBardi answered that his brothers and Eyjvolf his brother-in-law had been\nwith him.\n\n\"You have wiped out your disgrace,\" said Grettir. \"Now the next thing is\nfor us two here to try which is the stronger.\"\n\n\"I have more urgent business,\" said Bardi, \"than to fight with you about\nnothing. I think I may be excused that now.\"\n\n\"It seems to me that you are afraid, Bardi; that is the reason why you\ndare not fight me.\"\n\n\"Call it what you please. If you wish to bully, find some one else; that\nseems to be what you want, for your insolence passes all bounds.\"\n\nGrettir thought luck was against him. He hesitated now whether he should\nattack any of them; it seemed rather rash as they were six and he was\nonly one. Then the men from Thoreyjargnup came up and joined Bardi's\nparty, so he left them and went back to his horse. Bardi and his men\nwent on, and there was no greeting between them when they parted. We are\nnot told that any strife arose between Bardi and Grettir after this.\n\nGrettir once said that he would trust himself to fight with most men if\nthere were not more than three against him. Even with four he would\nnot give way without trying, but more he would not attempt, except in\nself-defence. Thus he says in a verse:\n\n     \"Oh skilled in war!  When three are before me\n     I yet will endeavour to fight with them all.\n     But more than four I dare not encounter\n     in the clashing of arms, if the choice is with me.\"\n\nOn leaving Bardi, Grettir returned to Bjarg, and was much aggrieved\nat finding nothing to try his strength on. He sought everywhere for\nsomething to fight with.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXII. THE SPOOK AT THORHALLSSTAD. GLAM THE SHEPHERD KILLED BY A\nFIEND. HIS GHOST WALKS\n\n\nThere was a man named Thorhall living in Thorhallsstad in Forsaeludal,\nup from Vatnsdal. He was the son of Grim, the son of Thorhall, the son\nof Fridmund, who was the first settler in Forsaeludal. Thorhall's wife\nwas named Gudrun; they had a son named Grim and a daughter named Thurid\nwho were just grown up. Thorhall was fairly wealthy, especially in\nlive-stock. His property in cattle exceeded that of any other man.\nHe was not a chief, but an honest bondi nevertheless. He had great\ndifficulty in getting a shepherd to suit him because the place was\nhaunted. He consulted many men of experience as to what he should do,\nbut nobody gave him any advice which was of any use. Thorhall had good\nhorses, and went every summer to the Thing. On one occasion at the\nAll-Thing he went to the booth of the Lawman Skapti the son of Thorodd,\nwho was a man of great knowledge and gave good counsel to those who\nconsulted him. There was a great difference between Thorodd the father\nand Skapti the son in one respect. Thorodd possessed second sight, but\nwas thought by some not to be straight, whereas Skapti gave to every man\nthe advice which he thought would avail him, if he followed it exactly,\nand so earned the name of Father-betterer.\n\nSo Thorhall went to Skapti's booth, where Skapti, knowing that he was a\nman of wealth, received him graciously, and asked what the news was.\n\n\"I want some good counsel from you,\" said Thorhall.\n\n\"I am little fit to give you counsel,\" he replied; \"but what is it that\nyou need?\"\n\n\"It is this: I have great difficulty in keeping my shepherds. Some get\ninjured and others cannot finish their work. No one will come to me if\nhe knows what he has to expect.\"\n\nSkapti answered: \"There must be some evil spirit abroad if men are less\nwilling to tend your flocks than those of other men. Now since you have\ncome to me for counsel, I will get you a shepherd. His name is Glam, and\nhe came from Sylgsdale in Sweden last summer. He is a big strong man,\nbut not to everybody's mind.\"\n\nThorhall said that did not matter so long as he looked after the sheep\nproperly. Skapti said there was not much chance of getting another if\nthis man with all his strength and boldness should fail. Then Thorhall\ndeparted. This happened towards the end of the Thing.\n\nTwo of Thorhall's horses were missing, and he went himself to look for\nthem, which made people think he was not much of a man. He went up under\nSledaass and south along the hill called Armannsfell. Then he saw a man\ncoming down from Godaskog bringing some brushwood with a horse. They met\nand Thorhall asked him his name. He said it was Glam. He was a big man\nwith an extraordinary expression of countenance, large grey eyes and\nwolfgrey hair. Thorhall was a little startled when he saw him, but soon\nfound out that this was the man who had been sent to him.\n\n\"What work can you do best?\" he asked.\n\nGlam said it would suit him very well to mind sheep in the winter.\n\n\"Will you mind my sheep?\" Thorhall asked. \"Skapti has given you over to\nme.\"\n\n\"My service will only be of use to you if I am free to do as I please,\"\nhe said. \"I am rather crossgrained when I am not well pleased.\"\n\n\"That will not hurt me,\" said Thorhall. \"I shall be glad if you will\ncome to me.\"\n\n\"I can do so,\" he said. \"Are there any special difficulties?\"\n\n\"The place seems to be haunted.\"\n\n\"I am not afraid of ghosts. It will be the less dull.\"\n\n\"You will have to risk it,\" said Thorhall. \"It will be best to meet it\nwith a bold face.\"\n\nTerms were arranged and Glam was to come in the autumn. Then they\nparted. Thorhall found his horses in the very place where he had just\nbeen looking for them. He rode home and thanked Skapti for his service.\n\nThe summer passed. Thorhall heard nothing of his shepherd and no one\nknew anything about him, but at the appointed time he appeared at\nThorhallsstad. Thorhall treated him kindly, but all the rest of the\nhousehold disliked him, especially the mistress. He commenced his work\nas shepherd, which gave him little trouble.\n\nHe had a loud hoarse voice. The beasts all flocked together whenever he\nshouted at them. There was a church in the place, but Glam never went to\nit. He abstained from mass, had no religion, and was stubborn and surly.\nEvery one hated him.\n\nSo the time passed till the eve of Yule-tide. Glam rose early and called\nfor his meal. The mistress said: \"It is not proper for Christian men to\neat on this day, because to-morrow is the first day of Yule and it is\nour duty to fast to-day.\"\n\n\"You have many superstitions,\" he said; \"but I do not see that much\ncomes of them. I do not know that men are any better off than when there\nwas nothing of that kind. The ways of men seemed to me better when they\nwere called heathen. I want my food and no foolery.\"\n\n\"I am certain,\" she said, \"that it will fare ill with you to-day if you\ncommit this sin.\"\n\nGlam told her that she should bring his food, or that it would be the\nworse for her. She did not dare to do otherwise than as he bade her.\nWhen he had eaten he went out, his breath smelling abominably. It was\nvery dark; there was driving snow, the wind was howling and it became\nworse as the day advanced. The shepherd's voice was heard in the early\npart of the day, but less later on. Blizzards set in and a terrific\nstorm in the evening. People went to mass and so the time passed. In\nthe evening Glam did not return. They talked about going out to look\nfor him, but the storm was so violent and the night so dark that no one\nwent. The night passed and still he had not returned; they waited till\nthe time for mass came. When it was full day some of the men set forth\nto search. They found the animals scattered everywhere in the snow and\ninjured by the weather; some had strayed into the mountains. Then they\ncame upon some well-marked tracks up above in the valley. The stones and\nearth were torn up all about as if there had been a violent tussle.\nOn searching further they came upon Glam lying on the ground a short\ndistance off. He was dead; his body was as black as Hel and swollen\nto the size of an ox. They were overcome with horror and their hearts\nshuddered within them. Nevertheless they tried to carry him to the\nchurch, but could not get him any further than the edge of a gully a\nshort way off. So they left him there and went home to report to the\nbondi what had happened. He asked what could have caused Glam's death.\nThey said they had tracked him to a big place like a hole made by the\nbottom of a cask thrown down and dragged along up below the mountains\nwhich were at the top of the valley, and all along the track were great\ndrops of blood. They concluded that the evil spirit which had been about\nbefore must have killed Glam, but that he had inflicted wounds upon\nit which were enough, for that spook was never heard of again. On the\nsecond day of the festival they went out again to bring in Glam's body\nto the church. They yoked oxen to him, but directly the downward incline\nceased and they came to level ground, they could not move him; so they\nwent home again and left him. On the third day they took a priest with\nthem, but after searching the whole day they failed to find him. The\npriest refused to go again, and when he was not with them they found\nGlam. So they gave up the attempt to bring him to the church and buried\nhim where he was under a cairn of stones.\n\nIt was not long before men became aware that Glam was not easy in his\ngrave. Many men suffered severe injuries; some who saw him were struck\nsenseless and some lost their wits. Soon after the festival was over,\nmen began to think they saw him about their houses. The panic was great\nand many left the neighbourhood. Next he began to ride on the house-tops\nby night, and nearly broke them to pieces. Almost night and day he\nwalked, and people would scarcely venture up the valley, however\npressing their business. The district was in a grievous condition.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIII. DOINGS OF GLAM'S GHOST. AWFUL CONDITION OF VATNSDAL\n\n\nIn the spring Thorhall procured servants and built a house on his\nlands. As the days lengthened out the apparitions became less, until\nat midsummer a ship sailed up the Hunavatn in which was a man named\nThorgaut. He was a foreigner, very tall and powerful; he had the\nstrength of two men. He was travelling on his own account, unattached,\nand being without money was looking out for employment. Thorhall rode to\nthe ship, saw him and asked if he would take service with him. Thorgaut\nsaid he would indeed, and that there would be no difficulties.\n\n\"You must be prepared,\" said Thorhall, \"for work which would not be\nfitting for a weak-minded person, because of the apparitions which have\nbeen there lately. I will not deceive you about it.\"\n\n\"I shall not give myself up as lost for the ghostlings,\" he said.\n\n\"Before I am scared some others will not be easy. I shall not change my\nquarters on that account.\"\n\nThe terms were easily arranged and Thorgaut was engaged for the sheep\nduring the winter. When the summer had passed away he took over charge\nof them, and was on good terms with everybody. Glam continued his rides\non the roofs. Thorgaut thought it very amusing and said the thrall must\ncome nearer if he wished to frighten him. Thorhall advised him not to\nsay too much, and said it would be better if they did not come into\nconflict.\n\nThorgaut said: \"Surely all the spirit has gone out of you. I shall not\nfall dead in the twilight for stories of that sort.\"\n\nYule was approaching. On the eve the shepherd went out with his sheep.\nThe mistress said: \"Now I hope that our former experiences will not be\nrepeated.\"\n\n\"Have no fear for that, mistress,\" he said. \"There will be something\nworth telling of if I come not back.\"\n\nThen he went out to his sheep. The weather was rather cold and there was\na heavy snowstorm. Thorgaut usually returned when it was getting dark,\nbut this time he did not come. The people went to church as usual, but\nthey thought matters looked very much as they did on the last occasion.\nThe bondi wanted them to go out and search for the shepherd, but the\nchurchgoers cried off, and said they were not going to trust themselves\ninto the power of trolls in the night; the bondi would not venture out\nand there was no search. On Yule day after their meal they went out to\nlook for the shepherd, and first went to Glam's cairn, feeling sure\nthat the shepherd's disappearance must be due to him. On approaching the\ncairn they saw an awful sight; there was the shepherd, his neck broken,\nand every bone in his body torn from its place. They carried him to the\nchurch and no one was molested by Thorgaut.\n\nGlam became more rampageous than ever. He was so riotous that at last\neverybody fled from Thorhallsstad, excepting the bondi and his wife.\n\nThorhall's cowherd had been a long time in his service and he had become\nattached to him; for this reason and because he was a careful herdsman\nhe did not want to part with him. The man was very old and thought it\nwould be very troublesome to have to leave; he saw, too, that everything\nthe bondi possessed would be ruined if he did not stay to look after\nthem. One morning after midwinter the mistress went to the cow-house to\nmilk the cows as usual. It was then full day, for no one would venture\nout of doors till then, except the cowherd, who went directly it\nwas light. She heard a great crash in the cow-house and tremendous\nbellowing. She rushed in, shouting that something awful, she knew not\nwhat, was going on in the cow-house. The bondi went out and found the\ncattle all goring each other. It seemed not canny there, so he went into\nthe shed and there saw the cowherd lying on his back with his head in\none stall and his feet in the other.\n\nHe went up and felt him, but saw at once that he was dead with his back\nbroken. It had been broken over the flat stone which separated the two\nstalls. Evidently it was not safe to remain any longer on his estate,\nso he fled with everything that he could carry away. All the live-stock\nwhich he left behind was killed by Glam. After that Glam went right up\nthe valley and raided every farm as far as Tunga, while Thorhall stayed\nwith his friends during the rest of the winter. No one could venture\nup the valley with a horse or a dog, for it was killed at once. As the\nspring went on and the sun rose higher in the sky the spook diminished\nsomewhat, and Thorhall wanted to return to his land, but found it not\neasy to get servants. Nevertheless, he went and took up his abode at\nThorhallsstad. Directly the autumn set in, everything began again, and\nthe disturbances increased. The person most attacked was the bondi's\ndaughter, who at last died of it. Many things were tried but without\nsuccess. It seemed likely that the whole of Vatnsdal would be devastated\nunless help could be found.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIV. GRETTIR VISITS HIS UNCLE JOKULL\n\n\nWe have now to return to Grettir, who was at home in Bjarg during the\nautumn which followed his meeting with Warrior-Bardi at Thoreyjargnup.\nWhen the winter was approaching, he rode North across the neck to\nVididal and stayed at Audunarstad. He and Audun made friends again;\nGrettir gave him a valuable battle-axe and they agreed to hold together\nin friendship. Audun had long lived there, and had many connections. He\nhad a son named Egill, who married Ulfheid the daughter of Eyjolf, the\nson of Gudmund; their son Eyjolf, who was killed at the All-Thing, was\nthe father of Orin the chaplain of Bishop Thorlak.\n\nGrettir rode to the North to Vatnsdal and went on a visit to Tunga,\nwhere dwelt his mother's brother, Jokull the son of Bard, a big strong\nman and exceedingly haughty. He was a mariner, very cantankerous, but\na person of much consideration. He welcomed Grettir, who stayed three\nnights with him. Nothing was talked about but Glam's walking, and\nGrettir inquired minutely about all the particulars. Jokull told him\nthat no more was said than had really happened.\n\n\"Why, do you want to go there?\" he asked.\n\nGrettir said that it was so. Jokull told him not to do it.\n\n\"It would be a most hazardous undertaking,\" he said. \"Your kinsmen incur\na great risk with you as you are. There does not seem to be one of the\nyounger men who is your equal. It is ill dealing with such a one as\nGlam. Much better fight with human men than with goblins of that sort.\"\n\nGrettir said he had a mind to go to Thorhallsstad and see how things\nwere. Jokull said: \"I see there is no use in dissuading you. The saying\nis true that Luck is one thing, brave deeds another.\"\n\n\"Woe stands before the door of one but enters that of another,\" answered\nGrettir. \"I am thinking how it may fare with you yourself before all is\ndone.\"\n\n\"It may be,\" said Jokull, \"that we both see what is before us, and yet\nwe may not alter it.\"\n\nThen they parted, neither of them well pleased with the other's\nprophetic saying.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXV. THE FIGHT WITH GLAM'S GHOST\n\n\nGrettir rode to Thorhallsstad where he was welcomed by the bondi.\n\nHe asked Grettir whither he was bound, and Grettir said he wished to\nspend the night there if the bondi permitted. Thorhall said he would\nindeed be thankful to him for staying there.\n\n\"Few,\" he said, \"think it a gain to stay here for any time. You must\nhave heard tell of the trouble that is here, and I do not want you to be\ninconvenienced on my account. Even if you escape unhurt yourself, I know\nfor certain that you will lose your horse, for no one can keep his beast\nin safety who comes here.\"\n\nGrettir said there were plenty more horses to be had if anything\nhappened to this one.\n\nThorhall was delighted at Grettir's wishing to remain, and received him\nwith both hands. Grettir's horse was placed securely under lock and\nkey and they both went to bed. The night passed without Glam showing\nhimself.\n\n\"Your being here has already done some good,\" said Thorhall. \"Glam has\nalways been in the habit of riding on the roof or breaking open the\ndoors every night, as you can see from the marks.\"\n\n\"Then,\" Grettir said, \"either he will not keep quiet much longer, or he\nwill remain so more than one night. I will stay another night and see\nwhat happens.\"\n\nThen they went to Grettir's horse and found it had not been touched.\nThe bondi thought that all pointed to the same thing. Grettir stayed\na second night and again the thrall did not appear. The bondi became\nhopeful and went to see the horse. There he found the stable broken\nopen, the horse dragged outside and every bone in his body broken.\nThorhall told Grettir what had occurred and advised him to look to\nhimself, for he was a dead man if he waited for Glam.\n\nGrettir answered: \"I must not have less for my horse than a sight of the\nthrall.\"\n\nThe bondi said there was no pleasure to be had from seeing him: \"He is\nnot like any man. I count every hour a gain that you are here.\"\n\nThe day passed, and when the hour came for going to bed Grettir said\nhe would not take off his clothes, and lay down on a seat opposite to\nThorkell's sleeping apartment. He had a shaggy cloak covering him with\none end of it fastened under his feet and the other drawn over his head\nso that he could see through the neck-hole. He set his feet against a\nstrong bench which was in front of him. The frame-work of the outer\ndoor had been all broken away and some bits of wood had been rigged up\nroughly in its place. The partition which had once divided the hall\nfrom the entrance passage was all broken, both above the cross-beam\nand below, and all the bedding had been upset. The place looked rather\ndesolate. There was a light burning in the hall by night.\n\nWhen about a third part of the night had passed Grettir heard a loud\nnoise. Something was going up on to the building, riding above the hall\nand kicking with its heels until the timbers cracked again. This went on\nfor some time, and then it came down towards the door. The door opened\nand Grettir saw the thrall stretching in an enormously big and ugly\nhead. Glam moved slowly in, and on passing the door stood upright,\nreaching to the roof. He turned to the hall, resting his arms on the\ncross-beam and peering along the hall. The bondi uttered no sound,\nhaving heard quite enough of what had gone on outside. Grettir lay quite\nstill and did not move. Glam saw a heap of something in the seat,\ncame farther into the hall and seized the cloak tightly with his hand.\nGrettir pressed his foot against the plank and the cloak held firm.\nGlam tugged at it again still more violently, but it did not give way. A\nthird time he pulled, this time with both hands and with such force that\nhe pulled Grettir up out of the seat, and between them the cloak was\ntorn in two. Glam looked at the bit which he held in his hand and\nwondered much who could pull like that against him. Suddenly Grettir\nsprang under his arms, seized him round the waist and squeezed his back\nwith all his might, intending in that way to bring him down, but the\nthrall wrenched his arms till he staggered from the violence. Then\nGrettir fell back to another bench. The benches flew about and\neverything was shattered around them. Glam wanted to get out, but\nGrettir tried to prevent him by stemming his foot against anything he\ncould find. Nevertheless Glam succeeded in getting him outside the hall.\nThen a terrific struggle began, the thrall trying to drag him out of\nthe house, and Grettir saw that however hard he was to deal with in the\nhouse, he would be worse outside, so he strove with all his might to\nkeep him from getting out. Then Glam made a desperate effort and gripped\nGrettir tightly towards him, forcing him to the porch. Grettir saw that\nhe could not put up any resistance, and with a sudden movement he dashed\ninto the thrall's arms and set both his feet against a stone which was\nfastened in the ground at the door. For that Glam was not prepared,\nsince he had been tugging to drag Grettir towards him; he reeled\nbackwards and tumbled hind-foremost out of the door, tearing away the\nlintel with his shoulder and shattering the roof, the rafters and the\nfrozen thatch. Head over heels he fell out of the house and Grettir fell\non top of him. The moon was shining very brightly outside, with light\nclouds passing over it and hiding it now and again. At the moment when\nGlam fell the moon shone forth, and Glam turned his eyes up towards it.\nGrettir himself has related that that sight was the only one which ever\nmade him tremble. What with fatigue and all else that he had endured,\nwhen he saw the horrible rolling of Glam's eyes his heart sank so\nutterly that he had not strength to draw his sword, but lay there\nwell-nigh betwixt life and death. Glam possessed more malignant power\nthan most fiends, for he now spoke in this wise:\n\n\"You have expended much energy, Grettir, in your search for me. Nor is\nthat to be wondered at, if you should have little joy thereof. And now\nI tell you that you shall possess only half the strength and firmness of\nheart that were decreed to you if you had not striven with me. The might\nwhich was yours till now I am not able to take away, but it is in my\npower to ordain that never shall you grow stronger than you are now.\nNevertheless your might is sufficient, as many shall find to their cost.\nHitherto you have earned fame through your deeds, but henceforward there\nshall fall upon you exile and battle; your deeds shall turn to evil and\nyour guardian-spirit shall forsake you. You will be outlawed and your\nlot shall be to dwell ever alone. And this I lay upon you, that these\neyes of mine shall be ever before your vision. You will find it hard to\nlive alone, and at last it shall drag you to death.\"\n\nWhen the thrall had spoken the faintness which had come over Grettir\nleft him. He drew his short sword, cut off Glam's head and laid it\nbetween his thighs. Then the bondi came out, having put on his clothes\nwhile Glam was speaking, but he did not venture to come near until he\nwas dead. Thorhall praised God and thanked Grettir warmly for having\nlaid this unclean spirit. Then they set to work and burned Glam to cold\ncinders, bound the ashes in a skin and buried them in a place far away\nfrom the haunts of man or beast. Then they went home, the day having\nnearly broken.\n\nGrettir was very stiff and lay down to rest. Thorhall sent for some men\nfrom the next farms and let them know how things had fared. They all\nrealised the importance of Grettir's deed when they heard of it; all\nagreed that in the whole country side for strength and courage and\nenterprise there was not the equal of Grettir the son of Asmund.\n\nThorhall bade a kindly farewell to Grettir and dismissed him with a\npresent of a fine horse and proper clothes, for all that he had been\nwearing were torn to pieces. They parted in friendship. Grettir rode to\nAss in Vatnsdal and was welcomed by Thorvald, who asked him all about\nhis encounter with Glam. Grettir told him everything and said that\nnever had his strength been put to trial as it had been in their long\nstruggle. Thorvald told him to conduct himself discreetly; if he did\nso he might prosper, but otherwise he would surely come to disaster.\nGrettir said that his temper had not improved, that he had even less\ndiscretion than before, and was more impatient of being crossed. In one\nthing a great change had come over him; he had become so frightened of\nthe dark that he dared not go anywhere alone at night. Apparitions of\nevery kind came before him. It has since passed into an expression,\nand men speak of \"Glam's eyes\" or \"Glam visions\" when things appear\notherwise than as they are.\n\nHaving accomplished his undertaking Grettir rode back to Bjarg and spent\nthe winter at home.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVI. THORBJORN SLOWCOACH AT HOME\n\n\nThorbjorn Oxmain gave a great feast in the autumn at which many were\nassembled, whilst Grettir was in the North in Vatnsdal. Thorbjorn\nSlowcoach was there and many things were talked about. The Hrutafjord\npeople inquired about Grettir's adventure on the ridge in the summer.\nThorbjorn Oxmain praised Grettir's conduct, and said that Kormak would\nhave had the worst of it if no one had come to part them. Then Thorbjorn\nSlowcoach said: \"What I saw of Grettir's fighting was not famous; and\nhe seemed inclined to shirk when we came up. He was very ready to leave\noff, nor did I see him make any attempt to avenge the death of Atli's\nman. I do not believe there is much heart in him, except when he has a\nsufficient force behind him.\"\n\nThorbjorn went on jeering at him in this way. Many of the others had\nsomething to say about it, and they thought that Grettir would not leave\nit to rest if he heard what Thorbjorn was saying.\n\nNothing more happened at the festivities; they all went home, and there\nwas a good deal of ill-will between them all that winter, though no one\ntook any action. Nothing more happened that winter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVII. GRETTIR SAILS FOR NORWAY AND KILLS THORBJORN SLOWCOACH\n\n\nEarly in the spring, before the meeting of the Thing, there arrived a\nship from Norway. There was much news to tell, above all of the change\nof government. Olaf the son of Harald was now king, having driven away\njarl Sveinn from the country in the spring which followed the battle of\nNesjar. Many noteworthy things were told of King Olaf. Men said that he\ntook into favour all men who were skilled in any way and made them his\nfollowers. This pleased many of the younger men in Iceland and made them\nall want to leave home. When Grettir heard of it he longed to go too,\ndeeming that he merited the king's favour quite as much as any of the\nothers. A ship came up to Gasar in Eyjafjord; Grettir engaged a passage\nin her and prepared to go abroad. He had not much outfit as yet.\n\nAsmund was now becoming very infirm and scarcely left his bed. He and\nAsdis had a young son named Illugi, a youth of much promise. Atli had\ntaken over all the management of the farm and the goods, and things went\nmuch better, for he was both obliging and provident.\n\nGrettir embarked on his ship. Thorbjorn Slowcoach had arranged to travel\nin the same vessel without knowing that Grettir would be in her. Some of\nhis friends tried to dissuade him from travelling in Grettir's\ncompany, but he insisted upon going. He was rather a long time over his\npreparations and did not get to Gasar before the ship was ready to sail.\nBefore he left home Asmund Longhair was taken ill and was quite confined\nto his bed. Thorbjorn Slowcoach arrived on the beach late in the day,\nwhen the men were going on board and were washing their hands outside\nnear their booths. When he rode up to the rows of booths they greeted\nhim and asked what news there was.\n\n\"I have nothing to tell,\" he said, \"except that the valorous Asmund at\nBjarg is now dead.\"\n\nSome of them said that a worthy bondi had left the world and asked how\nit happened.\n\n\"A poor lot befell his Valour,\" he replied. \"He was suffocated by the\nsmoke from the hearth, like a dog. There is no great loss in him, for he\nwas in his dotage.\"\n\n\"You talk strangely about such a man as he was,\" they said. \"Grettir\nwould not be much pleased if he heard you.\"\n\n\"I can endure Grettir's wrath,\" he said. \"He must bear his axe higher\nthan he did at Hrutafjardarhals if he wishes to frighten me.\"\n\nGrettir heard every word that Thorbjorn said, but took no notice as long\nas he was speaking. When he had finished Grettir said:\n\n\"I prophesy, Slowcoach, that you will not die of the smoke from the\nhearth, and yet perhaps you will not die of old age either. It is\nstrange conduct to say shameful things of innocent men.\"\n\nThorbjorn said: \"I have nothing to unsay. I never thought you would fire\nup like this on the day when we got you out of the hands of the men of\nMel who were belabouring you like an ox's head.\"\n\nThen Grettir spoke a verse:\n\n     \"Too long is the tongue of the spanner of bows.\n     Full often he suffers the vengeance due.\n     Slowcoach!  I tell thee that many a man\n     has paid for less shameful speech with his life.\"\n\nThorbjorn said his life was neither more nor less in danger than it was\nbefore.\n\n\"My prophecies are not generally long-lived,\" said Grettir, \"nor shall\nthis one be. Defend yourself if you will; you never will have better\noccasion for it than now.\"\n\nGrettir then struck at him. He tried to parry the blow with his arm, but\nit struck him above the wrist and glanced off on to his neck so that his\nhead flew off. The sailors declared it was a splendid stroke, and that\nsuch were the men for the king. No one would grieve, they said, because\na man so quarrelsome and scurrilous as Thorbjorn had been killed.\n\nSoon after this they got under way and towards the end of the summer\nreached the south coast of Norway, about Hordland, where they learned\nthat King Olaf was in the North at Thrandheim. Grettir took a passage\nthither with some traders intending to seek audience of the king.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXVIII. GRETTIR FETCHES FIRE--THE SONS OF THORIR ARE BURNT\n\n\nThere was a man named Thorir dwelling in Gard in Adaldal. He was a son\nof Skeggi Bodolfsson, who had settled in Kelduhverfi, on lands extending\nright up to Keldunes, and had married Helga the daughter of Thorgeir\nat Fiskilaek. Thorir was a great chief, and a mariner. He had two sons\nwhose names were Thorgeir and Skeggi, both men of promise, and pretty\nwell grown up at that time. Thorir had been in Norway in the summer in\nwhich Olaf came East from England, and had won great favour with the\nking as well as with Bishop Sigurd. In token of this it is related that\nThorir asked the bishop to consecrate a large sea-going ship he had\nbuilt in the forest, and the bishop did so. Later he came out to Iceland\nand had his ship broken up because he was tired of seafaring. He set\nup the figures from her head and stem over his doors, where they long\nremained foretelling the weather, one howling for a south, the other for\na north wind.\n\nWhen Thorir heard that Olaf had become sole ruler of Norway he thought\nhe might expect favour from him, so he dispatched his sons to Norway to\nwait upon the king, hoping that they would be received into his service.\nThey reached the south coast late in the autumn and engaged a rowing\nvessel to take them up the coast to the North, intending to go to the\nking. They reached a port to the south of Stad, where they put in for\na few days. They were well provided with food and drink, and did not go\nout much because of the bad weather.\n\nGrettir also sailed to the North along the coast, and as the winter was\njust beginning he often fell in with dirty weather. When they reached\nthe neighbourhood of Stad the weather became worse, and at last one\nevening they were so exhausted with the snow and frost that they were\ncompelled to put in and lie under a bank where they found shelter for\ntheir goods and belongings. The men were very much distressed at not\nbeing able to procure any fire; their safety and their lives seemed\nalmost to depend upon their getting some. They lay there in a pitiful\ncondition all the evening, and as night came on they saw a large fire\non the other side of the channel which they were in. When Grettir's\ncompanions saw the fire they began talking and saying that he who\ncould get some of it would be a happy man. They hesitated for some\ntime whether they should put out, but all agreed that it would be too\ndangerous. Then they had a good deal of talk about whether there was any\nman living doughty enough to get the fire. Grettir kept very quiet, but\nsaid that there probably had been men who would not have let themselves\nbe baulked. The men said that they were none the better for what had\nbeen if there were none now.\n\n\"But won't you venture, Grettir? The people of Iceland all talk so much\nabout your prowess, and you know very well what we want.\"\n\nGrettir said: \"It does not seem to me such a great thing to get the\nfire, but I do not know whether you will reward it any better than he\nrequires who does it.\"\n\n\"Why,\" they said, \"should you take us to be men of so little honour that\nwe shall not reward you well?\"\n\n\"Well,\" said Grettir, \"if you really think it so necessary I will try\nit; but my heart tells me that no good will come to me therefrom.\"\n\nThey said it would not be so, and told him that he should have their\nthanks.\n\nThen Grettir threw off his clothes and got ready to go into the water.\nHe went in a cloak and breeches of coarse stuff. He tucked up the cloak,\ntied a cord of bast round his waist, and took a barrel with him. Then\nhe jumped overboard, swam across the channel and reached the land on the\nother side. There he saw a house standing and heard sounds of talking\nand merriment issuing from it. So he went towards the house.\n\nWe have now to tell of the people who were in the house. They were the\nsons of Thorir who have been mentioned. They had been there some days\nwaiting for a change of weather and for a wind to carry them to the\nNorth. There were twelve of them and they were all sitting and drinking.\nThey had made fast in the inner harbour where there was a place of\nshelter set up for men who were travelling about the country, and they\nhad carried in a quantity of straw. There was a huge fire on the ground.\nGrettir rushed into the house, not knowing who was there. His cloak had\nall frozen directly he landed, and he was a portentous sight to behold;\nhe looked like a troll. The people inside were much startled, thinking\nit was a fiend. They struck at him with anything they could get, and\na tremendous uproar there was. Grettir pushed them back with his arms.\nSome of them struck at him with firebrands, and the fire spread all\nthrough the house. He got away with his fire and returned to his\ncompanions, who were loud in praise of his skill and daring, and said\nthere was no one like him. The night passed and they were happy now that\nthey had fire.\n\nOn the next morning the weather was fine. They all woke early and made\nready to continue their journey. It was proposed that they should go and\nfind out who the people were who had had the fire, so they cast off and\nsailed across the channel. They found no house there, nothing but a heap\nof ashes and a good many bones of men amongst them. Evidently the house\nwith all who were in it had been burned. They asked whether Grettir had\ndone it, and declared it was an abominable deed. Grettir said that what\nhe expected had come to pass, and that he was ill rewarded for getting\nthe fire for them. He said it was thankless work to help such miserable\nbeings as they were. He suffered much annoyance in consequence, for\nwherever the traders went they told that Grettir had burned the men in\nthe house. Soon it became known that it was the sons of Thorir of Gard\nand their followers who had been burned. The traders refused to have\nGrettir on board their ship any longer and drove him away. He was so\nabhorred that scarcely any one would do him a service. His case seemed\nhopeless, and his only desire was at any cost to appear before the king.\nSo he went North to Thrandheim where the king was, and had heard the\nwhole story before Grettir came, for many had been busy in slandering\nhim. Grettir waited several days in the town before he was able to\nappear before the king.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XXXIX. GRETTIR APPEARS BEFORE THE KING AND FAILS TO UNDERGO THE\nORDEAL\n\n\nOne day when the king was sitting in judgment Grettir came before him\nand saluted him respectfully. The king looked at him and said:\n\n\"Are you Grettir the Strong?\"\n\n\"So I have been called,\" he replied, \"and I have come here in the hope\nof obtaining deliverance from the slanders which are being spread about\nme, and to say that I did not do this deed.\"\n\nThe king said: \"You are worthy enough; but I know not what fortune you\nwill have in defending yourself. It is quite possible that you did not\nintend to burn the men in the house.\"\n\nGrettir said that he was most anxious to prove his innocence if the king\nwould permit him. Then the king bade him relate faithfully all that had\nhappened. Grettir told him everything exactly as it was, and declared\nthat they were all alive when he escaped with his fire; he was ready to\nundergo any ordeal which the king considered that the law required.\n\nKing Olaf said: \"I decree that you shall bear iron, if your fate so\nwills it.\"\n\nGrettir was quite content with that, and began his fast for the ordeal.\nWhen the day for the ceremony arrived the king and the bishop went to\nthe church together with a multitude of people who came out of curiosity\nto see a man so much talked about as Grettir. At last Grettir himself\nwas led to the church. When he entered many looked at him and remarked\nthat he excelled most men in strength and stature. As he passed down the\naisle there started up a very ill-favoured, overgrown boy and cried to\nhim:\n\n\"Wondrous are now the ways in a land where men should call themselves\nChristians, when evil-doers and robbers and thieves walk in peace to\npurge themselves. What should a wicked man find better to do than to\npreserve his life so long as he may? Here is now a malefactor convicted\nof guilt, one who has burnt innocent men in their houses, and yet is\nallowed to undergo purgation. Such a thing is most unrighteous.\"\n\nThen he went at Grettir, pointing at him with his finger, making\ngrimaces and calling him son of a sea-ogress, with many other bad names.\nThen Grettir lost his temper and his self-control. He raised his hand\nand gave him a box on the ear so that he fell senseless, and some\nthought he was dead. No one seemed to know whence the boy had come nor\nwhat became of him afterwards, but it was generally believed that he was\nsome unclean spirit sent forth for the destruction of Grettir.\n\nThere arose an uproar in the church; people told the king that the man\nwho had come to purge himself was fighting with those around him. King\nOlaf came forward into the church to see what was going on, and said:\n\n\"You are a man of ill luck, Grettir. All was prepared for the ordeal,\nbut it cannot take place now. It is not possible to contend against your\nill-fortune.\"\n\nGrettir said: \"I expected, oh king, more honour from you for the sake of\nmy family than I now seem likely to obtain.\"\n\nThen he told again the story as he had done before of what had taken\nplace with the men. \"Gladly,\" he said, \"would I enter your service;\nthere is many a man with you who is not my better as a warrior.\"\n\n\"I know,\" said the king, \"that few are your equals in strength and\ncourage, but your luck is too bad for you to remain with me. You have my\nleave to depart in peace whithersoever you will for the winter, and then\nin the summer you may return to Iceland, where you are destined to lay\nyour bones.\"\n\n\"First I should like to clear myself of the charge of burning, if I\nmay,\" said Grettir; \"for I did not do it intentionally.\"\n\n\"Very likely it is so,\" said the king; \"but since the purgation has come\nto naught through your impatience you cannot clear yourself further\nthan you have done. Impetuosity always leads to evil. If ever a man was\ndoomed to misfortune you are.\"\n\nAfter that Grettir remained for a time in the town, but he got nothing\nmore out of Olaf. Then he went to the South, intending after that to go\nEast to Tunsberg to find his brother Thorsteinn Dromund. Nothing is told\nof his journey till he came to Jadar.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XL. ADVENTURE WITH THE BERSERK SNAEKOLL\n\n\nAt Yule Grettir came to a bondi named Einar, a man of wealth who had a\nwife and a marriageable daughter named Gyrid. She was a beautiful maiden\nand was considered an excellent match. Einar invited Grettir to stay\nover Yule, and he accepted.\n\nIt was no uncommon thing throughout Norway that robbers and other\nruffians came down from the forest and challenged men to fight for their\nwomen, or carried off their property with violence if there was not\nsufficient force in the house to protect them. One day at Yule-tide\nthere came a whole party of these miscreants to Einar's house. Their\nleader was a great berserk named Snaekoll. He challenged Einar to hand\nover his daughter to him or else to defend her, if he felt himself man\nenough to do so. Now the bondi was no longer young, and no fighter. He\nfelt that he was in a great difficulty, and asked Grettir privately what\nhelp he would give him, seeing that he was held to be so famous a man.\nGrettir advised him to consent only to what was not dishonourable. The\nberserk was sitting on his horse wearing his helmet, the chin-piece of\nwhich was not fastened. He held before him a shield bound with iron and\nlooked terribly threatening. He said to the bondi:\n\n\"You had better choose quickly: either one thing or the other. What does\nthat big fellow standing beside you say? Would he not like to play with\nme himself?\"\n\n\"One of us is as good as the other,\" said Grettir, \"neither of us is\nvery active.\"\n\n\"All the more afraid will you be to fight with me if I get angry.\"\n\n\"That will be seen when it is tried,\" said Grettir.\n\nThe berserk thought they were trying to get off by talking. He began\nto howl and to bite the rim of his shield. He held the shield up to his\nmouth and scowled over its upper edge like a madman. Grettir stepped\nquickly across the ground, and when he got even with the berserk's horse\nhe kicked the shield with his foot from below with such force that it\nstruck his mouth, breaking the upper jaw, and the lower jaw fell down on\nto his chest. With the same movement he seized the viking's helmet with\nhis left hand and dragged him from his horse, while with his right hand\nhe raised his axe and cut off the berserk's head. Snaekoll's followers\nwhen they saw what had happened fled, every man of them. Grettir did\nnot care to pursue them for he saw that there was no heart in them. The\nbondi thanked him for what he had done, as did many other men, for the\nquickness and boldness of his deed had impressed them much. Grettir\nstayed there for Yule and was well taken care of till he left, when the\nbondi dismissed him handsomely. Then Grettir went East to Tunsberg to\nvisit his brother Thorsteinn, who received him joyfully and asked him\nabout his adventures. Grettir told him how he had killed the berserk,\nand composed a verse:\n\n     \"The warrior's shield by my foot propelled\n     in conflict came with Snaekoll's mouth.\n     His nether jaw hung down on his chest,\n     wide gaped his mouth from the iron ring.\"\n\n\"You would be very handy at many things,\" said Thorsteinn, \"if\nmisfortune did not follow you.\"\n\n\"Men will tell of deeds that are done,\" said Grettir.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLI. THORSTEINN DROMUND'S ARMS\n\n\nGrettir stayed with Thorsteinn for the rest of the winter and on into\nthe spring. One morning when Thorsteinn and Grettir were above in their\nsleepingroom Grettir put out his arm from the bed-clothes and Thorsteinn\nnoticed it when he awoke. Soon after Grettir woke too, and Thorsteinn\nsaid: \"I have been looking at your arms, kinsman, and think it is not\nwonderful that your blows fall heavily upon some. Never have I seen any\nman's arms that were like yours.\"\n\n\"You may know,\" said Grettir, \"that I should not have done the deeds I\nhave if I had not been very mighty.\"\n\n\"Yet methinks it would be of advantage,\" said Thorsteinn, \"if your arm\nwere more slender and your fortune better.\"\n\n\"True,\" said Grettir, \"is the saying that no man shapes his own fortune.\nLet me see your arm.\"\n\nThorsteinn showed it to him. He was a tall lanky man. Grettir smiled and\nsaid:\n\n\"There is no need to look long at that; all your ribs are run together.\nI never saw such a pair of tongs as you carry about! Why, you are\nscarcely as strong as a woman!\"\n\n\"It may be so,\" said Thorsteinn, \"and yet you may know that these\nthin arms of mine and no others will avenge you some day;--if you are\navenged.\"\n\n\"Who shall know how it will be when the end comes?\" said Grettir; \"but\nthat seems unlikely.\"\n\nNo more is related of their conversation. The spring came and Grettir\ntook a ship for Iceland in the summer. The brothers parted with\nfriendship and never saw one another again.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLII. DEATH OF ASMUND LONGHAIR\n\n\nWe have now to return to where we broke off before. Thorbjorn Oxmain\nwhen he heard of the death of Thorbjorn Slowcoach flew into a violent\npassion and said he wished that more men might deal blows in other\npeople's houses. Asmund Longhair lay sick for some time in the summer.\nWhen he thought his end was nigh he called his kinsmen round him and\nsaid his will was that Atli should take over all the property after his\nday. \"I fear,\" he said, \"that the wicked will scarce leave you in peace.\nAnd I wish all my kinsmen to support him to the best of their power. Of\nGrettir I can say nothing, for his condition seems to me like a rolling\nwheel. Strong though he is, I fear he will have more dealing with\ntrouble than with kinsmen's support. And Illugi, though young now, shall\nbecome a man of valiant deeds if he remain unscathed.\"\n\nWhen Asmund had settled everything with his sons according to his wish\nhis sickness grew upon him. He died soon after and was buried at Bjarg,\nwhere he had had a church built. All felt his loss deeply.\n\nAtli became a great bondi and kept a large establishment. He was a great\ndealer in household provisions. Towards the end of the summer he went\nto Snaefellsnes to get dried fish. He drove several horses with him and\nrode from home to Melar in Hrutafjord to his brother-in-law, Gamli. Then\nGrim, the son of Thorhall, Gamli's brother, made ready to accompany him\nalong with another man. They rode West by way of Haukadalsskard and\nthe road which leads out to the Ness, where they bought much fish\nand carried it away on seven horses; when all was ready they turned\nhomewards.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIII. THE SONS OF THORIR OF SKARD ARE SLAIN BY ATLI AND GRIM\n\n\nThorbjorn Oxmain heard of Atli and Grim having left home just when\nGunnar and Thorgeir, the sons of Thorir of Skard, were with him.\nThorbjorn was jealous of Atli's popularity and egged on the two\nbrothers, the sons of Thorir, to lie in wait for him as he returned\nfrom Snaefellsnes. They rode home to Skard and waited there for Atli\nreturning with his loads. They could see the party from their house\nas they passed Skard, and made ready quickly to pursue them with their\nservants. Atli on seeing them ordered his horses to be unloaded.\n\n\"Perhaps,\" he said, \"they want to offer me compensation for my man whom\nGunnar slew last summer. We will not be the first to attack, but if they\nbegin fighting us we will defend ourselves.\"\n\nThen they came up and at once sprang off their horses. Atli greeted them\nand asked what news there was, and whether Gunnar desired to offer him\nsome compensation for his servant. Gunnar answered:\n\n\"You men of Bjarg, you deserve something else than that I should pay\ncompensation for him with my goods. Thorbjorn whom Grettir slew is worth\na higher atonement than he.\"\n\n\"I have not to answer for that,\" said Atli, \"nor are you the\nrepresentative of Thorbjorn.\"\n\nGunnar said it would have to be so nevertheless. \"And now,\" he cried,\n\"let us go for them and profit by Grettir being away.\"\n\nThere were eight of them, and they set upon Atli's six. Atli led on his\nmen and drew the sword Jokulsnaut which Grettir had given him. Thorgeir\ncried: \"Good men are alike in many things. High did Grettir bear his\nsword last summer on Hrutafjardarhals.\"\n\nAtli answered: \"He is more accustomed to deeds of strength than I am.\"\n\nThen they fought. Gunnar made a resolute attack on Atli, and fought\nfiercely. After they had battled for a time Atli said:\n\n\"There is nothing to be gained by each of us killing the other's\nfollowers. The simplest course would be for us to play together, for I\nhave never fought with weapons before.\"\n\nGunnar, however, would not have it. Atli bade his servants look to\nthe packs, and he would see what the others would do. He made such a\nvigorous onslaught that Gunnar's men fell back, and he killed two of\nthem. Then he turned upon Gunnar himself and struck a blow that severed\nhis shield right across below the handle, and the sword struck his leg\nbelow the knee. Then with another rapid blow he killed him.\n\nIn the meantime Grim, the son of Thorhall, was engaging Thorgeir, and\na long tussle there was, both of them being men of great valour. When\nThorgeir saw his brother Gunnar fall he wanted to get away, but Grim\npressed upon him and pursued him until at last his foot tripped and he\nfell forward. Then Grim struck him with an axe between the shoulders,\ninflicting a deep wound. To the three followers who were left they gave\nquarter. Then they bound up their wounds, reloaded the packs on to the\nhorses and went home, giving information of the battle. Atli stayed at\nhome with a strong guard of men that autumn. Thorbjorn Oxmain was not at\nall pleased, but could do nothing, because Atli was very wary. Grim\nwas with him for the winter, and his brother-in-law Gamli. Another\nbrother-in-law, Glum the son of Ospak from Eyr in Bitra, was with them\ntoo. They had a goodly array of men settled at Bjarg, and there was much\nmerriment there during the winter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIV. SETTLEMENT OF THE FEUD AT THE HUNAVATN THING\n\n\nThorbfron Oxmain took up the suit arising from the death of Thorir's\nsons. He prepared his case against Grim and Atli, and they prepared\ntheir defence on the grounds that the brothers had attacked them\nwrongfully and were, therefore, \"ohelgir.\" The case was brought before\nthe Hunavatn Thing and both sides appeared in force. Atli had many\nconnections, and was, therefore, strongly supported. Then those who were\nfriends of both came forward and tried to effect a reconciliation; they\nurged that Atli was a man of good position and peacefully disposed,\nthough fearless enough when driven into a strait. Thorbjorn felt that\nno other honourable course was open to him but to agree to a\nreconciliation. Atli made it a condition that there should be no\nsentence of banishment either from the district or the country. Then men\nwere appointed to arbitrate: Thorvald Asgeirsson on behalf of Atli, and\nSolvi the Proud on behalf of Thorbjorn. This Solvi was a son of\nAsbrand, the son of Thorbrand, the son of Harald Ring who had settled in\nVatnsnes, taking land as far as Ambattara to the West, and to the East\nup to the Thvera and across to Bjargaoss and the whole side of Bjorg as\nfar as the sea. Solvi was a person of much display, but a man of sense,\nand therefore Thorbjorn chose him as his arbitrator.\n\nThe decree of the arbitrators was that half penalties should be paid\nfor Thorir's sons and half should be remitted on account of the wrongful\nattack which they made and their designs on Atli's life. The slaying\nof Atli's man at Hrutafjardarhals should be set off against the two of\ntheirs who had been killed. Grim the son of Thorhall was banished\nfrom his district and the penalties were to be paid by Atli. Atli was\nsatisfied with this award, but Thorbjorn was not; they parted nominally\nreconciled, but Thorbjorn let drop some words to the effect that it was\nnot over yet if all happened as he desired.\n\nAtli rode home from the Thing after thanking Thorvald for his\nassistance. Grim the son of Thorhall betook himself to the South to\nBorgarfjord and dwelt at Gilsbakki, where he was known as a worthy\nbondi.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLV. ATLI MURDERED BY THORBJORN OXMAIN\n\n\nThere was dwelling with Thorbjorn Oxmain a man whose name was Ali,\na servant, rather stubborn and lazy. Thorbjorn told him he must work\nbetter or he would be beaten. Ali said he had no mind for work and\nbecame abusive. Thorbjorn was not going to endure that, and got him down\nand handled him roughly. After that Ali ran away and went to the North\nacross the neck to Midfjord; he did not stop till he reached Bjarg. Atli\nwas at home and asked whither he was going. He said he was seeking an\nengagement.\n\n\"Are you not a servant of Thorbjorn?\" Atli asked.\n\n\"We did not get on with our bargain. I was not there long, but it seemed\nto me a bad place while I was there. Our parting was in such a way that\nhis song on my throat did not please me. I will never go back there,\nwhatever becomes of me. And it is true that there is a great difference\nbetween you two in the way you treat your servants. I would be glad to\ntake service with you if there is a place, for me.\"\n\nAtli said: \"I have servants enough without stretching forth my hands for\nthose whom Thorbjorn has hired. You seem an impatient man and had better\ngo back to him.\"\n\n\"I am not going there of my own free will,\" said Ali.\n\nHe stayed there for the night, and in the morning went out to work with\nAtli's men, and toiled as if he had hands everywhere. So he continued\nall the summer; Atli took no notice of him, but allowed him his food,\nfor he was pleased with the man's work. Soon Thorbjorn learned that Ali\nwas at Bjarg. He rode thither with two others and called to Atli to come\nout and speak with him. Atli went out and greeted him.\n\n\"You want to begin again provoking me to attack you, Atli,\" he said.\n\"Why have you taken away my workman? It is a most improper thing to do.\"\n\nAtli replied: \"It is not very clear to me that he is your workman. I do\nnot want to keep him if you can prove that he belongs to your household;\nbut I cannot drive him out of my house.\"\n\n\"You must have your way now,\" said Thorbjorn; \"but I claim the man and\nprotest against his working for you. I shall come again, and it is not\ncertain that we shall then part any better friends than we are now.\"\n\nAtli rejoined: \"I shall stay at home and abide whatever comes to hand.\"\n\nThorbjorn then went off home. When the workmen came back in the evening\nAtli told them of his conversation with Thorbjorn and said to Ali that\nhe must go his own ways, for he was not going to be drawn into a quarrel\nfor employing him.\n\nAli said: \"True is the ancient saying: The over-praised are the worst\ndeceivers. I did not think that you would have turned me off now after\nI had worked here till I broke in the summer. I thought that you\nwould have given me protection. Such is your way, however you play the\nbeneficent. Now I shall be beaten before your very eyes if you refuse to\nstand by me.\"\n\nAtli's mind was changed after the man had spoken; he no longer wanted to\ndrive him away.\n\nSo the time passed until the hay-harvest began. One day a little before\nmidsummer Thorbjorn Oxmain rode to Bjarg. He wore a helmet on his head,\na sword was girt at his side, and in his hand was a spear which had a\nvery broad blade. The weather was rainy; Atli had sent his men to mow\nthe hay, and some were in the North at Horn on some work. Atli was at\nhome with a few men only. Thorbjorn arrived alone towards midday and\nrode up to the door. The door was shut and no one outside. Thorbjorn\nknocked at the door and then went to the back of the house so that he\ncould not be seen from the door. The people in the house heard some one\nknocking and one of the women went out. Thorbjorn got a glimpse of\nthe woman, but did not let himself be seen, for he was seeking another\nperson. She went back into the room and Atli asked her who had come.\nShe said she could see nobody outside. As they were speaking Thorbjorn\nstruck a violent blow on the door. Atli said:\n\n\"He wants to see me; perhaps he has some business with me, for he seems\nvery pressing.\"\n\nThen he went to the outer door and saw nobody there. It was raining\nhard, so he did not go outside, but stood holding both the door-posts\nwith his hands and peering round. At that moment Thorbjorn sidled round\nto the front of the door and thrust his spear with both hands into\nAtli's middle, so that it pierced him through. Atli said when he\nreceived the thrust: \"They use broad spear-blades nowadays.\"\n\nThen he fell forward on the threshold. The women who were inside came\nout and saw that he was dead. Thorbjorn had then mounted his horse; he\nproclaimed the slaying and rode home. Asdis, the mistress of the house,\nsent for men; Atli's body was laid out and he was buried beside his\nfather. There was much lamentation over his death, for he was both\nwise and beloved. No blood-money was paid for his death, nor was any\ndemanded, for his representative was Grettir, if he should ever return\nto Iceland. The matter rested there during the summer. Thorbjorn gained\nlittle credit by this deed, but remained quietly at home.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVI. SENTENCE OF OUTLAWRY PASSED UPON GRETTIR AT THE ALL-THING\n\n\nIn that same summer before the assembly of the Thing there came a\nship out to Gasar bringing news of Grettir and of his house-burning\nadventure. Thorir of Gard was very angry when he heard of it and\nbethought himself of vengeance for his sons upon Grettir. Thorir rode\nwith a large retinue to the Thing and laid a complaint in respect of the\nburning, but men thought nothing could be done as long as there was no\none to answer the charge. Thorir insisted that he would be content with\nnothing short of banishment for Grettir from the whole country after\nsuch a crime.\n\nThen Skapti the Lawman said: \"It certainly was an evil deed if all\nreally happened as has been told. But One man's tale is but half a tale.\nMost people try and manage not to improve a story if there is more\nthan one version of it. I hold that no judgment should be passed for\nGrettir's banishment without further proceedings.\"\n\nThorir was a notable person and possessed great influence in the\ndistrict; many powerful men were his friends. He pressed his suit so\nstrongly that nothing could be done to save Grettir. Thorir had him\nproclaimed an outlaw throughout the country, and was ever afterwards the\nmost bitter of his opponents, as he often found. Having put a price upon\nhis head, as it was usual to do with other outlaws, he rode home. Many\nsaid that the decree was carried more by violence than by law, but it\nremained in force. Nothing more happened until after midsummer.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVII. GRETTIR RETURNS TO BJARG--SVEINN AND HIS HORSE\nSADDLE-HEAD\n\n\nLater in the summer Grettir the son of Asmund came back to Iceland,\nlanding in the Hvita in Borgarfjord. People about the district went down\nto the ship and all the news came at once upon Grettir, first that his\nfather was dead, then that his brother was slain, and third that he was\ndeclared outlaw throughout the land. Then he spoke this verse:\n\n     \"All fell at once upon the bard,\n     exile, father dead and brother.\n     Oh man of battle!  Many an one\n     who breaks the swords shall smart for this.\"\n\nIt is told that Grettir changed his manner no whit for these tidings,\nbut was just as merry as before. He remained on board his ship for a\ntime because he could not get a horse to suit him.\n\nThere was a man named Sveinn who dwelt at Bakki up from Thingnes.\n\nHe was a good bondi and a merry companion; he often composed verses\nwhich it was a delight to listen to. He had a brown mare, the swiftest\nof horses, which he called Saddle-head. Once Grettir left Vellir in the\nnight because he did not wish the traders to know of it. He got a black\ncape and put it over his clothes to conceal himself. He went up past\nThingnes to Bakki, by which time it was light. Seeing a brown horse in\nthe meadow he went up and put a bridle on it, mounted on its back and\nrode up along the Hvita river below Baer on to the river Flokadalsa and\nup to the road above Kalfanes. The men working at Bakki were up by\nthen, and told the bondi that a man was riding his horse. He got up and\nlaughed and spoke a verse:\n\n     \"There rode a man upon Saddle-head's back;\n     close to the garth the thief has come.\n     Frey of the Odin's cloud, dreadful of aspect,\n     appears from his strength to be busy with mischief.\"\n\nThen he took a horse and rode after him. Grettir rode on till he came to\nthe settlement at Kropp, where he met a man named Halli who said he was\ngoing down to the ship at Vellir. Grettir then spoke a verse:\n\n     \"Tell, oh tell in the dwellings abroad\n     tell thou hast met with Saddle-head.\n     The handler of dice in sable cowl\n     sat on his back; hasten, oh Halli!\"\n\nThen they parted. Halli went along the road as far as Kalfanes before he\nmet Sveinn. They greeted each other hurriedly and Sveinn said:\n\n     \"Saw you that loafer ride from the dwellings?\n     Sorely he means my patience to try.\n     The people about shall deal with him roughly;\n     blue shall his body be if I meet him.\"\n\n\"You can know from what I tell you,\" said Halli, \"that I met the man who\nsaid he was riding Saddle-head, and he told me to spread it abroad in\nthe dwellings and the district. He was a huge man in a black cloak.\"\n\n\"Well, he seems to think something of himself,\" said the bondi. \"I mean\nto know who he is.\"\n\nThen he went on after him. Grettir came to Deildartunga and found a\nwoman outside. He began to talk to her and spoke a verse:\n\n     \"Mistress august!  Go tell of the jest\n     that the serpent of earth has past on his way.\n     The garrulous brewer of Odin's mead\n     will come to Gilsbakki before he will rest.\"\n\nThe woman learned the verse and Grettir rode on. Soon after Sveinn rode\nup; she was still outside, and when he came he spoke the verse:\n\n     \"Who was the man who a moment ago\n     rode past on a dusky horse in the storm?\n     The hound-eyed rascal, practised in mischief.\n     This day I will follow his steps to the end.\"\n\nShe told him as she had been taught. He considered the lines and said:\n\"It is not unlikely that this man is no play-fellow for me. But I mean\nto catch him.\"\n\nHe then rode along the cultivated country. Each could see the other's\npath. The weather was stormy and wet. Grettir reached Gilsbakki that\nday, where Grim the son of Thorhall welcomed him warmly and begged him\nto stay, which he did. He let Saddle-head run loose and told Grim how he\nhad come by her. Then Sveinn came up, dismounted and saw his horse. Then\nhe said:\n\n     \"Who has ridden on my mare?\n     Who will pay me for her hire?\n     Who ever saw such an arrant thief?\n     What next will be the cowl-man's game?\"\n\nGrettir had then put off his wet clothes, and heard the ditty. He said:\n\n     \"Home I rode the mare to Grim's,\n     a better man than the hovel-dweller!\n     Nothing will I pay for hire!\n     Now we may be friends again.\"\n\n\"Just so shall it be,\" said the bondi. \"Your ride on the horse is fully\npaid for.\"\n\nThen they each began repeating verses, and Grettir said he could not\nblame him for looking after his property. The bondi stayed there the\nnight and they had great jokes about the matter. The verses they made\nwere called \"Saddle-head verses.\" In the morning the bondi rode home,\nparting good friends with Grettir. Grim told Grettir of many things that\nhad been done in Midfjord in the North during his absence, and that\nno blood-money had been paid for Atli. Thorbjorn Oxmain's interest,\nhe said, was so great that there was no certainty of Grettir's mother,\nAsdis, being allowed to remain at Bjarg if the feud continued.\n\nGrettir stayed but a few nights with Grim, for he did not want it to\nbecome known that he was about to travel North across the Heath. Grim\ntold him to come back to visit him if he needed protection. \"Yet,\" he\nsaid, \"I would gladly avoid the penalty of being outlawed for harbouring\nyou.\"\n\nGrettir bade him farewell and said: \"It is more likely that I shall need\nyour good services still more later on.\"\n\nThen Grettir rode North over the Tvidaegra Heath to Bjarg, where he\narrived at midnight. All were asleep except his mother. He went to the\nback of the house and entered by a door which was there, for he knew\nall the ways about. He entered the hall and went to his mother's bed,\ngroping his way. She asked who was there. Grettir told her. She sat up\nand turned to him, heaving a weary sigh as she spoke:\n\n\"Welcome, my kinsman! My hoard of sons has quickly passed away. He is\nkilled who was most needful to me; you have been declared an outlaw and\na criminal; my third is so young that he can do nothing.\"\n\n\"It is an ancient saying,\" said Grettir, \"that one evil is mended by a\nworse one. There is more in the heart of man than money can buy; Atli\nmay yet be avenged. As for me, there will be some who think they have\nhad enough in their dealings with me.\"\n\nShe said that was not unlikely. Grettir stayed there for a time, but\nfew knew of it, and he obtained news of the movements of the men of the\ndistrict. It was not known then that he had come to Midfjord. He learned\nthat Thorbjorn Oxmain was at home with few men. This was after the\nhay-harvest.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLVIII. DEATH OF THORBJORN OXMAIN\n\n\nOne fine day Grettir rode to the West across the ridge to Thoroddsstad,\nwhere he arrived about noon and knocked at the door. Some women came\nout and greeted him, not knowing who he was. He asked for Thorbjorn, and\nthey told him that he was gone out into the fields to bind hay with his\nsixteen-year-old son Arnor. Thorbjorn was a hard worker and was scarcely\never idle. Grettir on hearing that bade them farewell and rode off North\non the road to Reykir. There is some marsh-land stretching away from the\nridge with much grass-land, where Thorbjorn had made a quantity of hay\nwhich was just dry. He was just about to bind it up for bringing in with\nthe help of his son, while a woman gathered up what was left. Grettir\nrode to the field from below, Thorbjorn and his son being above him;\nthey had finished one load and were beginning a second. Thorbjorn had\nlaid down his shield and sword against the load, and his son had his\nhand-axe near him.\n\nThorbjorn saw a man coming and said to his son: \"There is a man riding\ntowards us; we had better stop binding the hay and see what he wants.\"\n\nThey did so; Grettir got off his horse. He had a helmet on his head, a\nshort sword by his side, and a great spear in his hand without barbs and\ninlaid with silver at the socket. He sat down and knocked out the rivet\nwhich fastened the head in order to prevent Thorbjorn from returning the\nspear upon him.\n\nThorbjorn said: \"This is a big man. I am no good at judging men if\nthat is not Grettir the son of Asmund. No doubt he thinks that he has\nsufficient business with us. We will meet him boldly and show him no\nsigns of fear. We must act with a plan. I will go on ahead towards him\nand see how we get on together, for I will trust myself against any man\nif I can meet him alone. Do you go round and get behind him; take your\naxe with both hands and strike him between the shoulders. You need not\nfear that he will hurt you, for his back will be turned towards you.\"\n\nNeither of them had a helmet. Grettir went along the marsh and when he\nwas within range launched his spear at Thorbjorn. The head was not so\nfirm as he had intended it to be, so it got loose in its flight and fell\noff on to the ground. Thorbjorn took his shield, held it before him,\ndrew his sword and turned against Grettir directly he recognised him.\nGrettir drew his sword, and, turning round a little, saw the boy behind\nhim; so he kept continually on the move. When he saw that the boy was\nwithin reach he raised his sword aloft and struck Arnor's head with the\nback of it such a blow that the skull broke and he died. Then Thorbjorn\nrushed upon Grettir and struck at him, but he parried it with the\nbuckler in his left hand and struck with his sword a blow which severed\nThorbjorn's shield in two and went into his head, reaching the brain.\nThorbjorn fell dead. Grettir gave him no more wounds; he searched for\nthe spear-head but could not find it. He got on to his horse, rode to\nReykir and proclaimed the slaying.\n\nThe woman who was out in the field with them witnessed the battle. She\nran home terrified and told the news that Thorbjorn and his son were\nkilled. The people at home were much taken aback, for no one was aware\nof Grettir's arrival. They sent to the next homestead for men, who came\nin plenty and carried the body to the church. The blood-feud then fell\nto Thorodd Drapustuf, who at once called out his men.\n\nGrettir rode home to Bjarg and told his mother what had happened.\n\nShe was very glad and said he had now shown his kinship to the Vatnsdal\nrace. \"And yet,\" she said, \"this is the root and the beginning of your\noutlawry; for certain I know that your dwelling here will not be for\nlong by reason of Thorbjorn's kinsmen, and now they may know that they\nhave the means of annoying you.\"\n\nGrettir then spoke a verse:\n\n     \"Atli's death was unatoned;\n     fully now the debt is paid.\"\n\nAsdis said it was true: \"but I know not what counsel you now mean to\ntake.\"\n\nGrettir said he meant now to visit his friends and kinsmen in the\nwestern regions, and that she should have no unpleasantness on his\naccount. Then he made ready to go, and parted with much affection from\nhis mother. First he went to Melar in Hrutafjord and recounted to his\nbrother-in-law Gamli all his adventure with Thorbjorn. Gamli begged him\nto betake himself away from Hrutafjord while the kinsmen of Thorbjorn\nwere abroad with their men, and said they would support him in the suit\nabout Atli's slaying to the best of their power. Then Grettir rode to\nthe West across the Laxardal Heath and did not stop before he reached\nLjarskogar, where he stayed some time in the autumn with Thorsteinn\nKuggason.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XLIX. GRETTIR VISITS THORSTEINN KUGGASON AND SNORRI GODI\n\n\nThorodd Drapustuf now made inquiries who it was who had killed Thorbjorn\nand his son. They went to Reykir, where they were told that Grettir had\nproclaimed the slaying. Thorodd then saw how matters stood and went to\nBjarg, where he found many people and asked whether Grettir was there.\nAsdis said that he was gone, and that he would not hide if he were at\nhome.\n\n\"You can be well content to leave things as they are. The vengeance for\nAtli was not excessive, if it be reckoned up. No one asked what I had to\nsuffer then, and now it were well for it to rest.\"\n\nThen they rode home, and it seemed as if there were nothing to be done.\nThe spear which Grettir had lost was never found until within the memory\nof men now living. It was found in the later days of Sturla the Lawman,\nthe son of Thord, in the very marsh where Thorbjorn fell, now called\nSpearmarsh. This is the proof that he was killed there and not in\nMidfitjar, as has been elsewhere asserted.\n\nThorbjorn's kinsmen learned of Grettir's being in Ljarskogar and called\ntogether their men with the purpose of going there. Gamli heard of this\nat Melar and sent word to Thorsteinn and Grettir of their approach.\nThorsteinn sent Grettir on to Tunga to Snorri the Godi, with whom he was\nthen at peace, and advised Grettir to ask for his protection, and if it\nwere refused to go West to Thorgils the son of Ari in Reykjaholar, \"who\nwill surely take you in for the winter. Stay there in the Western fjords\nuntil the affair is settled.\"\n\nGrettir said he would follow his counsel. He rode to Tunga where he\nfound Snorri and asked to be taken in. Snorri answered: \"I am now an old\nman, and have no mind to harbour outlaws, unless in a case of necessity.\nBut what has happened that the old man should have turned you out?\"\n\nGrettir said that Thorsteinn had often shown him kindness; \"but we shall\nneed more than him alone to do any good.\"\n\nSnorri said: \"I will put in my word on your behalf, if it will be of any\nuse to you. But you must seek your quarters elsewhere than with me.\"\n\nSo they parted. Grettir then went West to Reykjanes. The men of\nHrutafjord came with their followers to Samsstad, where they heard that\nGrettir had left Ljarskogar, and went back home.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER L. GRETTIR WINTERS WITH THORGILS AT REYKJAHOLAR IN COMPANY WITH\nTHE FOSTER-BROTHERS\n\n\nGrettir came to Reykjaholar towards the beginning of the winter and\nasked Thorgils to let him stay the winter with him. Thorgils said he was\nwelcome to his entertainment, like other free men; \"but,\" he said, \"we\ndo not pay much attention to the preparation of the food.\"\n\nGrettir said that would not trouble him.\n\n\"There is another little difficulty,\" Thorgils continued. \"Some men are\nexpected here who are a little hot-headed, namely, the foster-brothers\nThorgeir and Thormod. I do not know how it will suit you to be together\nwith them. They shall always have entertainment here whenever they wish\nfor it. You may stay here if you will, but I will not have any of you\nbehaving ill to the others.\"\n\nGrettir said that he would not be the first to raise a quarrel with any\nman, more especially since the bondi had expressed his wish to him.\n\nSoon after the foster-brothers came up. Thorgeir and Grettir did not\ntake very kindly to one another, but Thormod behaved with propriety.\nThorgils said to them what he had said to Grettir, and so great was the\ndeference paid to him that none of them spoke an improper word to the\nother, although they did not always think alike. In this way the first\npart of the winter was passed.\n\nMen say that the islands called Olafseyjar, lying in the fjord about\na mile and a half from Reykjanes, belonged to Thorgils. He had there a\nvaluable ox, which he had not brought away in the autumn. He was always\nsaying that he wanted him to be brought in before Yule. One day the\nfoster-brothers prepared to go and fetch the ox, but wanted a third man\nto help them. Grettir offered to go with them and they were very glad to\nhave him. So the three set out in a ten-oared boat. The weather was cold\nand the wind from the North; the boat was lying at Hvalshausholm. When\nthey left the wind had freshened a little; they reached the island and\ncaught the ox. Grettir asked whether they preferred to ship the ox or to\nhold the boat, for there was a high surf running on the shore. They told\nhim to hold the boat. He stood by her middle on the side away from the\nland, the sea reaching right up to beneath his shoulders, but he held\nthe boat firmly so that she could not drift. Thorgeir took the ox by the\nstern and Thormod by the head, and so they hove him into the boat.\nThen they started heading for the bay, Thormod taking the bow-oars with\nThorgeir amidships and Grettir in the stern. By the time they reached\nHafraklett the wind was very high. Thorgeir said: \"The stern is\nslackening.\"\n\nGrettir said: \"The stern will not be left behind if the rowing amidships\nis all right.\"\n\nThorgeir then bent his back to the oars and pulled so violently that\nboth the rowlocks carried away. He said:\n\n\"Pull on, Grettir, whilst I mend the rowlocks.\"\n\nGrettir pulled vigorously whilst Thorgeir mended the rowlocks. But when\nThorgeir was about to take over the oars again they were so damaged that\non Grettir giving them a shake on the gunwale they broke. Thormod said\nit would be better to row less and not to break the ship. Then Grettir\ntook two spars which were on board, bored two holes in the gunwale, and\nrowed so energetically that every timber creaked. As the boat was well\nfound and the men in good condition they reached Hvalshausholm. Grettir\nasked whether they would go on home with the ox or whether they would\nbeach the boat. They preferred to beach the boat, and they did so with\nall the water that was in her all frozen. Grettir got off the ox, which\nwas very stiff in its limbs and very fat and tired; when they got to\nTitlingsstad it could go no more. The foster-brothers went home, for\nnone of them would help the other at his job. Thorgils asked after\nGrettir; they told him how they had parted, and he sent men out to him.\nWhen they came below Hellisholar they saw a man coming towards them with\nan ox on his back; it was Grettir carrying the ox. They all admired his\ngreat feat, but Thorgeir became rather jealous of Grettir's strength.\n\nOne day soon after Yule Grettir went out alone to bathe. Thorgeir knew\nof it and said to Thormod: \"Let us go out now and see what Grettir does\nif I attack him as he comes out of the water.\"\n\n\"I don't care to do that,\" Thormod said; \"and I do not think you will\nget any good from him.\"\n\n\"I mean to go,\" Thorgeir said.\n\nHe went down to the bank, carrying his axe aloft. Grettir was just\ncoming out of the water, and when they met Thorgeir said: \"Is it true,\nGrettir, that you once said you would not run away from any single\nperson.\"\n\n\"I don't know whether I did,\" Grettir said; \"but I have scarcely run\naway from you.\"\n\nThorgeir raised his axe. In a moment Grettir ran at him and brought\nhim over with a heavy fall. Thorgeir said to Thormod: \"Are you going to\nstand there while this devil knocks me down?\"\n\nThormod then got Grettir by the leg and tried to drag him off Thorgeir\nbut could not. He was wearing a short sword, and was just about to draw\nit when Thorgils came up and told them to behave themselves and not to\nfight with Grettir. They did as he bade and made out that it was all\nplay. They had no more strife, so far as has been told, and men thought\nThorgils blessed by fortune in having been able to pacify men of such\nviolent tempers.\n\nWhen the spring set in they all departed. Grettir went on to\nThorskafjord. When some one asked him how he liked his entertainment at\nReykjaholar he answered: \"Our fare was such that I enjoyed my food very\nmuch--when I could get it.\" Then he went West over the heath.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LI. GRETTIR'S CASE OVERBORNE AT THE ALL-THING\n\n\nThorgils, the son of Ari, rode to the Thing with a large following. All\nthe magnates were there from all parts of the country, and he soon met\nwith Skapti the Lawman and had some talk with him. Skapti said:\n\n\"Is it true, Thorgils, that you have been giving winter entertainment to\nthree of the most unruly men in the country, all three of them outlaws,\nand that you kept order so well that none of them did any harm to the\nother?\"\n\nThorgils said it was true.\n\nSkapti said: \"Well, I think it shows what authority you possess. But\nhow did their characters appear to you? Who is the most valorous among\nthem?\"\n\n\"They are all entirely valiant,\" he answered, \"but of two of them I will\nnot say that they never fear; only there is a difference. Thormod fears\nGod, and is a man of great piety; and Grettir fears the dark. He will\nnot, if he may follow his own inclination, venture anywhere after\nnightfall. But Thorgeir, my kinsman, he I think cannot fear.\"\n\n\"They must be each of them as you say,\" said Skapti, and there their\nconversation ended.\n\nAt the Thing Thorodd Drapustuf laid his complaint in the matter of the\nslaying of Thorbjorn Oxmain, for he had failed in the Hunavatn Thing\nthrough the influence of Atli's kinsmen. Here he thought that there was\nless likelihood of his case being overborne. Atli's party sought counsel\nof Skapti the Lawman; he said that their defence appeared to him a good\none, and that full blood-money would have to be paid for Atli. Then the\ncase was brought before the judges, and the opinion of the majority was\nthat the slaying of Atli was set off by that of Thorbjorn. Skapti when\nhe heard of it went to the judges and asked them on what grounds their\ndecision rested; they said that the two slain bondis were of equal rank.\n\nSkapti asked: \"Which happened first, the outlawing of Grettir or the\ndeath of Atli?\"\n\nThey reckoned up and found that a week had elapsed between the two\nevents. Grettir was outlawed at the All-Thing and Atli was killed just\nafter it.\n\n\"That was what I expected,\" Skapti said. \"You have overlooked the facts;\nyou have treated as a party to the suit a man who was an outlaw, a\nman who was stopped from appearing either as plaintiff or defendant. I\nmaintain that Grettir has no standing in the case, and that it must be\nbrought by the kinsmen of the deceased who are nearest at law.\"\n\nThorodd Drapustuf said: \"Who then is to answer for the slaying of my\nbrother Thorbjorn?\"\n\n\"See to that yourself,\" said Skapti. \"Grettir's kinsmen are not liable\nto pay for his deeds unless his sentence be removed.\"\n\nWhen Thorvald the son of Asgeir learned of Grettir's status in court\nhaving been disallowed, inquiry was made for Atli's nearest of kin, and\nthese were found to be Skeggi the son of Gamli at Melar and Ospak\nthe son of Glum of Eyr in Bitra. Both were valiant and strenuous men.\nThorodd was then mulcted in blood-money for the slaying of Atli and had\nto pay two hundreds of silver.\n\nThen Snorri the Godi spoke:\n\n\"Men of Hrutafjord! Are you willing now to agree to the remission of\nthe fine in consideration of Grettir's sentence being commuted? I expect\nthat as an outlaw he will bite you sorely.\"\n\nGrettir's kinsmen welcomed this proposal, and said they did not care\nabout the money if Grettir could have peace and freedom. Thorodd said he\nsaw that his case was beset with difficulties, and that for his part he\nwas willing to accept the proposal. Snorri said that inquiry must first\nbe made whether Thorir of Gard would agree to Grettir being freed. When\nThorir heard of it he was furious, and said that never should Grettir\neither go or come out of his outlawry. So far from consenting to his\nbeing amnestied, he would put a higher price upon his head than was put\nupon any other outlaw.\n\nWhen they knew that he would take it so ill, nothing more was said about\nthe amnesty. Ospak and Skeggi took the money that was paid and kept it,\nwhile Thorodd Drapustuf got no compensation for his brother Thorbjorn.\nHe and Thorir each offered a reward of three marks of silver for\nGrettir's head; this seemed to men to be an innovation, for never before\nhad more than three marks in all been offered. Snorri said it was very\nunwise to make such efforts to keep a man outlawed who could do so much\nmischief, and that many would suffer for it. Then they parted and men\nrode home from the Thing.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LII. GRETTIR IS CAPTURED BY FARMERS AND RELEASED BY THORBJORG\n\n\nGrettir went over the Thorskafjord Heath to Langadal, where he let his\nhands sweep over the property of the smaller cultivators, taking what\nhe wanted from every one. From some he got weapons, from others clothes.\nThey gave up their property very variously, but when he was gone all\nsaid that they had been compelled to do it.\n\nThere dwelt on the Vatnsfjord one Vermund the Slender, a brother of\nViga-Styr, who had married Thorbjorg the daughter of Olaf Peacock, the\nson of Hoskuld, called Thorbjorg the Fat. At the time when Grettir was\nin Langadal Vermund was away at the Thing. He went across the ridge\nto Laugabol where a man named Helgi was living, one of the principal\nbondis. Thence Grettir took a good horse belonging to the bondi and rode\non to Gervidal, where dwelt a man named Thorkell. He was well provided\nbut in a small way of business. Grettir took from him what he wanted,\nThorkell daring neither to withhold anything nor to protest. Thence\nGrettir went to Eyr and on to the coast of the fjord, obtaining food and\nclothes from every homestead and making himself generally disagreeable,\nso that men found it hard to live while he was about.\n\nGrettir went boldly on, taking little care of himself. He went on until\nhe came to Vatnsfjardardal and entered a dairy shelter, where he\nstayed several nights. There he lay sleeping in the forest, fearing\nfor nothing. When the shepherds learned of it they reported in the\nhomesteads that a fiend had come into the place who they thought would\nbe hard to deal with. All the farmers came together and a band of thirty\nof them concealed themselves in the forest where Grettir could not know\nof them. They set one of the shepherds to watch for an opportunity of\nseizing him, without however knowing very clearly who the man was.\n\nOne day when Grettir was lying asleep the farmers came up to him.\n\nThey considered how they should take him with least danger to\nthemselves, and arranged that ten should fall upon him while others\nlaid bonds round his feet. They threw themselves on to him, but Grettir\nstruggled so violently that he threw them all off and came down on his\nhands and knees. Then they threw ropes round his feet. Grettir kicked\ntwo of them in the ears and they fell senseless. One came on after the\nother; long and hard he struggled, but at last they succeeded in getting\nhim down and binding him. Then they began to ask themselves what they\nwere going to do with him. They asked Helgi of Laugabol to take him over\nand look after him until Vermund returned from the Thing.\n\nHe said: \"I have something better to do than to keep my men guarding\nhim. I have labour enough with my lands, and he shall not come in my\nway.\"\n\nThen they asked Thorkell of Gervidal to take him and said he had\nsufficient means. He objected strongly and said he had no accommodation\nfor him, \"I lie at home with my wife, far from other men. You shall not\nbring your basket to me.\"\n\n\"Then you, Thoralf of Eyr,\" they said; \"you take Grettir and look after\nhim well while the Thing lasts, or else hand him on to the next farm;\nonly be answerable for his not escaping. Give him over bound, just as\nyou receive him.\"\n\nHe said: \"I am not going to take Grettir. I have neither means nor money\nto keep him, nor was he captured on my property. So far as I can see\nmuch more trouble than credit is to be got by taking him or having\nanything to do with him. He shall not enter my house.\"\n\nEach of the bondis was asked, but all refused. Some witty person wrote a\npoem about these confabulations and called it \"Grettir's Faring,\" adding\nmany jests of his own for the dilectification of men. After parleying\nfor a long time they all came to an agreement that they would not throw\naway their luck, and set to work to raise a gallows there and then\nin the forest upon which Grettir should hang. Their delight over this\nproposal was uproarious.\n\nThen they saw three people riding along the valley from below, one\nof them in a dyed dress. They guessed that it must be Thorbjorg the\nmistress of Vatnsfjord on her way to the dairy, and so it was. Thorbjorg\nwas a person of great magnificence, and tremendously wise. She was the\nleading personage of the district and managed everything when Vermund\nwas away. She came up to where the crowd was gathered and was lifted\nfrom her horse; the bondis saluted her respectfully. She said:\n\n\"What is your meeting about? Who is this thick-necked man sitting there\nin bonds?\"\n\nGrettir told his name and saluted her.\n\n\"What has moved you, Grettir,\" she said, \"to commit violence upon my\nThing-men?\"\n\n\"I cannot overlook everything,\" he said. \"I must be somewhere.\"\n\n\"You are indeed unfortunate,\" she said, \"that a pack of churls like\nthese should have captured you and that none of them should have paid\nfor it. What are you men going to do with him?\"\n\nThe bondis said that they were going to hoist him on to a gallows for\nhis misdeeds.\n\nShe said: \"It may be that Grettir has deserved it, but it will bring\ntrouble upon you men of Isafjord if you take the life of a man so\nrenowned and so highly connected as Grettir, ill-starred though he be.\nNow what will you do for your life, Grettir, if I give it to you?\"\n\n\"What do you wish me to do?\"\n\n\"You shall swear never to commit any violence here in Isafjord; nor\nshall you take revenge upon those who have had a hand in capturing you.\"\n\nGrettir said it should be as she desired, and he was released. He said\nit was the greatest effort of self-restraint that he ever made that he\ndid not thrash the men who were there triumphing over him. Thorbjorg\ntold him to come home with her and gave him a horse to ride on. So he\nwent to Vatnsfjord and stayed there well cared for by the mistress until\nVermund returned. She gained great renown from this deed through the\ndistrict. Vermund was very much put out when he got home and asked why\nGrettir was there. Thorbjorg told him everything which had happened with\nthe Isafjord men.\n\n\"To what does he owe it that you gave him his life?\" he asked.\n\n\"Many reasons there were,\" she said. \"The first is that you might be the\nmore respected as a chief for having a wife who would dare to do such a\nthing. Next, his kinswoman Hrefna will surely say that I could not let\nhim be slain; and thirdly, because he is in many respects a man of the\nhighest worth.\"\n\n\"You are a wise woman,\" he said, \"in most things. I thank you for what\nyou have done.\"\n\nThen he said to Grettir: \"You have sold yourself very cheap, such a man\nof prowess as you are, to let yourself be taken by churls. This is what\nalways happens to those who cannot control themselves.\"\n\nGrettir then spoke a verse:\n\n     \"Full was my cup in Isafjord\n     when the old swine held me at ransom.\"\n\n\"What were they going to do with you when they took you?\" Vermund asked.\n\n     \"To Sigar's lot my neck was destined\n     when noble Thorbjorg came upon them.\"\n\n\"Would they have hanged you then if they had been left to themselves?\"\n\n     \"My neck would soon have been in the noose,\n     had she not wisely saved the bard.\"\n\n\"Did she invite you to her home?\"\n\n     \"She bade me home with her to fare.\n     A steed she gave me, life and peace.\"\n\n\"Great will your life be and troublous,\" said Vermund; \"but now you\nhave learnt to beware of your foes. I cannot keep you here, for it would\nrouse the enmity of many powerful men against me. Your best way is to\nseek your kinsmen; there are not many who will be willing to take you in\nif they can do anything else; nor are you one who will easily follow the\nwill of another man.\"\n\nGrettir remained for a time in Vatnsfjord and went thence to the Western\nfjords and tried several of the leading men there, but something always\nhappened to prevent their taking him in.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LIII. GRETTIR WINTERS IN LJARSKOGAR WITH THORSTEINN KUGGASON\n\n\nDuring the autumn Grettir returned to the South and did not stop till he\ncame to his kinsman Thorsteinn Kuggason in Ljarskogar, who welcomed\nhim. He accepted Thorsteinn's invitation to stay the winter with him.\nThorsteinn was a man who worked very hard; he was a smith, and kept a\nnumber of men working for him. Grettir was not one for hard work, so\nthat their dispositions did not agree very well. Thorsteinn had had a\nchurch built on his lands, with a bridge from his house, made with much\ningenuity. Outside the bridge, on the beam which supported it, rings\nwere fastened and bells, which could be heard from Skarfsstadir half a\nsea-mile distant when any one walked over the bridge. The building of\nthe bridge had cost Thorsteinn, who was a great worker in iron, much\nlabour. Grettir was a first-rate hand at forging the iron, but was not\noften inclined to work at it. He was very quiet during the winter so\nthat there is not much to relate.\n\nThe men of Hrutafjord heard that Grettir was with Thorsteinn, and\ngathered their forces in the spring. Thorsteinn then told Grettir that\nhe must find some other hiding-place for himself, since he would not\nwork. Men who did nothing did not suit him.\n\n\"Where do you mean me to go to?\" asked Grettir.\n\nThorsteinn told him to go South to his kinsmen, but to return to him if\nhe found them of no use.\n\nGrettir did so. He went to Borgarfjord in the South to visit Grim the\nson of Thorhall, and stayed with him till the Thing was over. Grim sent\nhim on to Skapti the Lawman at Hjalli. He went South over the lower\nheaths and did not stop before he reached Tunga, where he went to\nThorhall, the son of Asgrim the son of Ellidagrim, and paid few visits\nto the farms around. Thorhall knew of Grettir through the relations\nwhich had been between their ancestors; indeed Grettir's name was well\nknown throughout the country because of his exploits. Thorhall was a\nwise man and treated Grettir well, but did not want to keep him there\nfor very long.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LIV. ADVENTURE WITH LOPT\n\n\nGrettir went from Tunga up the Haukadal valley northwards to Kjol and\nwas there for some time in the summer. For men travelling either to the\nNorth or to the South there was no certainty of their not being stripped\nof what they had on them, for he was hard pressed for the means of\nliving.\n\nOne day when Grettir was keeping to the North near Dufunesskeid he saw a\nman riding South along the Kjol valley. He was a tall man on horseback,\nriding a good horse with a studded bridle, and was leading another horse\nloaded with sacks. He had a slouched hat on his head, so that his face\nwas not clearly seen. Grettir was very pleased to see his horse and his\nproperty, and went to meet him and asked him his name. He said it was\nLopt, and added: \"I know what your name is; you are Grettir the Strong,\nson of Asmund. Whither are you going?\"\n\n\"I have not made up my mind yet about that,\" said Grettir. \"My present\nbusiness is to know whether you will lay off some of the property which\nyou are travelling with.\"\n\n\"Why should I give you what belongs to me? What will you give me for the\nthings?\"\n\n\"Have you not heard that I never pay anything? And yet it seems to most\npeople that I get what I want.\"\n\nLopt said: \"Make this offer to those who seem good to you; I am not\ngoing to give my property away for nothing. Let us each go our own way.\"\nThen he whipped on his horse and was about to ride away from Grettir.\n\n\"We shall not part so quickly as that,\" said Grettir, and seized the\nbridle of Lopt's horse in front of his hands, pulled it from him and\nheld it with both hands.\n\n\"Go your own way,\" said Lopt; \"you will get nothing from me as long as I\nam able to hold it.\"\n\n\"That shall now be tried,\" said Grettir.\n\nLopt reached down along the cheek-strap and got hold of the reins\nbetween the end ring and Grettir's hands, pulling with such force that\nGrettir let go, and at last Lopt wrenched the whole bridle away from\nhim. Grettir looked at his palms and thought that this man must have\nstrength in his claws rather than not. Then he looked at him and said:\n\"Where are you going to now?\"\n\nHe answered:\n\n     \"To the storm-driven den, over ice-clad heights,\n     I ride to the rock and the rest of the hand.\"\n\nGrettir said: \"There is no certainty to be had from asking where your\ndwelling is if you do not speak more clearly.\" Then Lopt spake and said:\n\n     \"I seek not to hide thy ways from thy ken.\n     'Tis the place which the Borgfirdings Balljokull call.\"\n\nThen they parted. Grettir saw that he had no strength against this man.\nThen he spoke a verse:\n\n     \"Illugi brave and Atli were far.\n     Never again may such hap be mine!\n     The bridle was torn away from my hand.\n     Her tears will flow when I am afeared.\"\n\nAfter this Grettir left Kjol and went South to Hjalli where he asked\nSkapti for shelter. Skapti said: \"I am told that you are acting with\nviolence and are robbing men of their property; that ill becomes a man\nso highly connected as you are. It would be easier to negotiate if you\ngave up robbing. Now as I am called Lawman of this country, it would not\nbe seemly for me to break the law by harbouring outlaws. I would\nlike you to betake yourself somewhere where you do not need to commit\nrobbery.\"\n\nGrettir said he would be very glad to, but that he could scarcely\nlive alone owing to his fear of the dark. Skapti said he would have to\ncontent himself with something short of the best: \"And trust no one so\nfully that what happened to you in the Western fjords may be repeated.\nMany have been brought to death by over-confidence.\"\n\nGrettir thanked him for his good advice and turned back to Borgarfjord\nin the autumn, when he went to his friend Grim, the son of Thorhall, and\ntold him what Skapti had said. Grim advised him to go to the North to\nFiskivotn in the Arnarvatn Heath, and he did so.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LV. GRETTIR IN THE ARNARVATN HEATH. DEATH OF GRIM THE FOREST-MAN\n\n\nGrettir went up to the Arnarvatn Heath and built himself a hut there of\nwhich the remains are still to be seen. He went there because he wanted\nto do anything rather than rob, so he got himself a net and a boat and\nwent out fishing to support himself.\n\nIt was a weary time for him in the mountains because of his fear of the\ndark. Other outlaws heard of his having come there and wanted to go and\nsee him, thinking that he would be a great protection to them.\n\nThere was an outlaw from the North named Grim. This man was bribed by\nthose of Hrutafjord to kill Grettir. They promised him pardon and money\nif he succeeded. He went to visit Grettir and asked for his hospitality.\n\nGrettir said: \"I do not see how you will be holpen by coming to me, and\nyou men of the forest are untrustworthy. But it is ill to live alone;\nI have no choice. Only he shall be with me who is willing to work at\nwhatever comes to hand.\"\n\nGrim said that was just what he wished and pressed Grettir much, until\nGrettir let himself be persuaded and took him in. He stayed there right\ninto the winter, and watched Grettir closely, but it seemed no easy\nmatter to attack him, for Grettir was suspicious and kept his weapons\nat hand night and day; when he was awake the man would not venture to\napproach him.\n\nOne morning Grim came home from fishing and went into the hut stamping\nwith his feet and wanting to know whether Grettir was asleep. Grettir\nlay still and did not move. There was a short sword hanging above his\nhead. Grim thought he would never have a better opportunity. He made a\nloud noise to see whether Grettir took any notice, but he did not,\nso Grim felt sure that he was asleep. He crept stealthily to the bed,\nreached up to the sword, took it down and raised it to strike. Just at\nthe moment when he raised it Grettir sprang up on to the floor, and,\nseizing the sword with one hand, Grim with the other, hurled him over\nso that he fell nearly senseless. \"This is how you have proved yourself\nwith all your friendly seeming,\" he said. Then he got the whole truth\nout of him and killed him. He learned from this what it was to take in\na forest-man. So the winter passed. The hardest thing of all to bear was\nhis fear of the dark.\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LVI. TREACHERY AND DEATH OF THORIR REDBEARD\n\n\nThorir of Gard now heard where Grettir had taken up his abode and meant\nto leave no stone unturned to get him slain. There was a man named\nThorir Redbeard, a stout man and a great fighter, on which account he\nhad been declared outlaw throughout the country.\n\nThorir of Gard sent word to him, and when they met asked Redbeard to\nundertake the business of slaying Grettir. Redbeard said that was no\neasy task, as Grettir was very wide awake and very cautious. Thorir told\nhim to try it, saying: \"It would be a splendid deed for a valiant man\nlike you; I will get your outlawing removed and give you sufficient\nmoney as well.\"\n\nSo Redbeard agreed and Thorir told him how he should go to work to\ndeal with Grettir. Redbeard then went away into the East in order that\nGrettir might not suspect where he came from. Thence he came to the\nArnarvatn Heath, where Grettir had then been for one winter, found\nGrettir and asked him for entertainment. He said: \"I cannot allow\npeople to play with me again as the man did who came here last autumn,\npretending to be very friendly; before he had been here very long\nhe began plotting against my life. I cannot risk taking in anymore\nforest-men.\"\n\n\"I think you have reason,\" Thorir said, \"to mistrust forest-men. It may\nbe you have heard tell of me as a man of blood and a disturber of peace,\nbut never did you hear of such a monstrous deed of me as that I betrayed\nmy host. Ill is the lot of him who has an ill name; for men think of him\nbut as such; nor would I have come here if I had had any better choice.\nAll is not lost for us if we stand together. You might venture so\nmuch to begin with as to try how you like me, and then if you find any\nunfitness in me turn me away.\"\n\n\"Well,\" said Grettir, \"I will risk it with you; but know of a surety\nthat if I suspect you of any treachery it will be your death.\"\n\nThorir agreed. Grettir took him in and found that in whatever he did he\nhad the strength of two men. He was ready for anything that Grettir gave\nhim to do. Nothing did Grettir need to do for himself, and he had never\nlived so comfortably since he had become an outlaw. Nevertheless he was\nso wary that Thorir got no chance. Two years was Thorir Redbeard with\nGrettir on the Heath, and at last he began to weary of it. He thought\nover what he could do to take Grettir off his guard.\n\nOne night in the spring a heavy gale sprang up while they were asleep.\nGrettir awoke and asked where their boat was. Thorir sprang up, ran to\nthe boat, broke her all in pieces, and threw the fragments about so that\nit looked as if the storm had wrecked her. Then he returned to the\nhut and said aloud: \"You have had bad luck, my friend. Our boat is all\nbroken in pieces and the nets are lying far out in the lake.\"\n\n\"Get them back then,\" said Grettir. \"It seems to me to be your doing\nthat the boat is smashed.\"\n\n\"Of all things which I can do,\" said Thorir, \"swimming is that which\nsuits me least. In almost anything else I think I can hold my own with\nany ordinary man. You know very well that I have been no burden to you\nsince I came here; nor would I ask you to do this if I were able to do\nit myself.\"\n\nGrettir then arose, took his arms and went to the lake. There was a\npoint of land running out into the lake with a large bay on the further\nside of it. The water was deep up to the shore. Grettir said: \"Swim out\nto the nets and let me see what you are able to do.\"\n\n\"I told you before,\" Thorir said, \"that I cannot swim. I do not know now\nwhere all your boldness and daring are gone to.\"\n\n\"I could get the nets,\" he said; \"but betray me not if I trust you.\"\n\n\"Do not think such shameful and monstrous things of me,\" said Thorir.\n\n\"You will prove yourself what you are,\" Grettir said.\n\nThen he threw off his clothes and his weapons and swam out to the nets.\nHe gathered them together, returned to the shore and cast them up on to\nthe bank. Just as he was about to land Thorir quickly seized his short\nsword and drew it. He ran towards Grettir as he stepped on to the bank\nand aimed a blow at him. Grettir threw himself down backwards into the\nwater and sank like a stone. Thorir stood by the shore intending to\nguard it until he came up. Grettir swam beneath the water, keeping close\nto the bank so that Thorir could not see him, and so reached the bay\nbehind him, where he landed without letting himself be seen. The first\nThorir knew of it was when Grettir lifted him up over his head and\ndashed him down with such violence that the sword fell out of his hand.\nGrettir got possession of it and without speaking a word cut off his\nhead. So his life ended. After that Grettir refused to take in any\nforest-men, and yet he could not live alone.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LVII. ATTACK ON GRETTIR BY THORIR OF GARD WITH EIGHTY MEN\nREPULSED WITH THE AID OF HALLMUND\n\n\nAt the All-Thing Thorir of Gard learned of Thorir Redbeard having been\nkilled. It was evident that the matter was not so easy to deal with. He\nnow determined to ride from the Thing in a westerly direction through\nthe lower heath, and with the aid of about eighty men whom he had with\nhim to take Grettir's life. Grim the son of Thorhall heard of his\nplans and sent word to Grettir, bidding him beware of himself. Grettir\ntherefore continued closely to watch the movements of men who came and\nwent.\n\nOne day he saw a number of men coming in the direction of his place of\ndwelling. He went into a gorge between two rocks, but did not go right\naway because he did not see the whole of the troop. Thorir then came\nup with his whole party and bade them go between his head and his body,\nsaying that the scoundrel had but a poor chance now.\n\n\"A filled cup is not yet drunk,\" answered Grettir. \"You have come far\nto seek me, and some of you shall bear the marks of our game before we\npart.\"\n\nThorir urged his men on to attack him. The gorge was very narrow so that\nhe could easily defend it from one end, and he wondered much that they\ndid not get round to his rear to hurt him. Some of Thorir's men fell\nand some were wounded, but they effected nothing. Then Thorir said: \"I\nalways heard that Grettir was distinguished for his courage and daring,\nbut I never knew that he was so skilled in magic as I now see he is; for\nthere fall half as many again behind his back as before his face, and I\nsee that we have to do with a troll instead of a man.\"\n\nSo he bade his men retire, and they did so. Grettir wondered what the\nexplanation could be, but was terribly exhausted. Thorir and his\nmen withdrew and rode into the northern parts. Their expedition was\nconsidered very disgraceful. Thorir had left eighteen men on the ground\nand had many wounded.\n\nGrettir then went up the gorge and found there a man of huge stature\nsitting up against the rock and sorely wounded. Grettir asked his name,\nand he said it was Hallmund, adding: \"That you may recognise me I may\nremind you that you thought I gripped the reins rather tightly when I\nmet you in Kjol last summer. I think I have now made that good.\"\n\n\"Indeed,\" said Grettir, \"I think you have done me a manly service;\nwhenever I can I will repay it.\"\n\n\"Now I wish,\" said Hallmund, \"that you may come to my home, for it must\nseem wearisome to you here on the Heath.\"\n\nGrettir said he would come willingly, and they both went together to\nthe foot of the Balljokull, where Hallmund had a large cave. There they\nfound his daughter, a fine and well-grown maiden. They treated Grettir\nwell, and the daughter nursed both the wounded men to health again.\nGrettir stayed there some time that summer. He composed an ode on\nHallmund in which the line occurs:\n\n     \"Hallmund steps from his mountain hall\";\n\nfurther:\n\n     \"The war-fain sword in Arnarvatn\n     went forth to hew its bloody path.\n     Heroes inherit Kelduhverfi.\n     Hallmund the brave came forth from his den.\"\n\nIt is said that at that encounter Grettir slew six men and Hallmund\ntwelve.\n\nAs the summer passed Grettir began to long for the habitations of men,\nand to see his friends and kinsmen. Hallmund told him to visit him\nwhen he returned to the South and Grettir promised to do so. He went\nwestwards to Borgarfjord and thence to Breidafjardardalir and sought\ncounsel of Thorsteinn Kuggason as to where he should go next. Thorsteinn\nsaid that his enemies were now becoming so numerous that few would care\nto take him in; but told him to go to Myrar and see what he found there.\nSo in the autumn he went to Myrar.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LVIII. GRETTIR VISITS BJORN THE HITDALE WARRIOR AND TAKES REFUGE\nIN THE FAGRASKOGAFJALL\n\n\nThere lived in Holm Bjorn the Hitdale Warrior, who was the son of\nArngeir, the son of Bersi the Godless, the son of Balki, who was the\nfirst settler in Hrutafjord, as has already been told. Bjorn was a great\nchief and a valiant man, always ready to take in outlaws. He received\nGrettir well when he came to Holm on account of the friendship which had\nexisted between their former kinsmen. Grettir asked if he would give him\nshelter, and Bjorn said that he had so many quarrels throughout the land\nthat men would be reluctant to take him in for fear of being outlawed\nthemselves. \"But,\" he said, \"I will give you some help if you will leave\nthe men who are under my protection in peace, whatever you do to others\nin this part.\"\n\nGrettir promised that he would, and Bjorn continued: \"I have thought of\nsomething. In the mountain which stretches away from the Hitara river\nthere is a good position for defence, and likewise a good hiding-place\nif it is skilfully managed. There is a hole through the mountain from\nwhich you can see down upon the high road that lies immediately beneath\nit, and a sandy slope down to the road so steep that few could get up it\nif it were defended above by one doughty man up in the hollow. It may, I\nthink, be worth your while to consider whether you can stay there; it\nis easy to go down from there to the Myrar to get your supplies, and to\nreach the sea.\"\n\nGrettir said he would trust to his foresight if he would help him a\nlittle. Then he went to Fagraskogafjall and made himself a home there.\nHe hung some grey wadmal in front of the hole, and it looked from the\nroad below as if one could see through. Then he began to get in his\nsupplies, but the Myramen thought they had an unhappy visitor in\nGrettir.\n\nThord the son of Kolbeinn was an excellent poet who dwelt in Hitarnes.\nThere was a great feud between him and Bjorn at that time, and Bjorn\nthought it would be more than half useful to him if Grettir were to busy\nhimself with Thord's men or his cattle. Grettir was a great deal with\nBjorn and they had many games of strength. It is related in Bjorn's saga\nthat they were considered equal in strength, but the opinion of most\npeople is that Grettir was the strongest man that had been in the land\nsince the days when Orin Storolfsson and Thoralf Skolmsson ceased their\ntrials of strength. Grettir and Bjorn swam in one course the whole\nlength of the Hitara from the lake at its head down to the sea. They\nbrought the stepping-stones into the river which neither floods nor\nfreezing nor icedrifts have since moved from their places. Grettir\nstayed a year in Fagraskogafjall without any attack being made upon him,\nand yet many lost their property through his means and got nothing for\nit, because his position was strong for defence and he was always in\ngood friendship with those who were nearest to him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LIX. THE CHASTISEMENT OF GISLI\n\n\nThere was a man named Gisli; he was the son of that Thorsteinn whom\nSnorri the Godi had caused to be slain. He was a big strong man, very\nostentatious in his dress and in his armour, a man with a high opinion\nof himself and very boastful. He was a mariner, and landed at the Hvita\nriver in the summer after Grettir had spent a winter in the mountains.\nThord the son of Kolbeinn rode to his ship and was welcomed by Gisli,\nwho offered him of his wares whatever he cared to have. Thord accepted\nhis offer and they began to have some talk together. Gisli asked: \"Is\nit true what I hear that you are in difficulty how to rid yourself of a\nforest-man who is doing you much hurt?\"\n\n\"We have made no attempt yet,\" said Thord, \"because a great many think\nhe is difficult to reach, and have found it so.\"\n\n\"It seems likely that you will have trouble with Bjorn, unless you drive\nhim away. All the worse it is that I must be too far away next winter to\ngive you any help.\"\n\n\"It is better for you to know of him only by hearsay.\"\n\n\"Don't talk to me about Grettir,\" said Gisli. \"I have been in much\ngreater straits in my campaigns with King Knut the Mighty and in the\nwestern seas, where I was always considered to have held my own. Only\nlet me come within reach of him and I will trust myself and my armour.\"\n\nThord answered that he should not do it for nothing if he killed\nGrettir: \"There is more money on his head than on that of any other\noutlaw. First there were six marks of silver, this summer Thorir of Gard\nadded three more, and men think that he who wins it will have had enough\ntrouble.\"\n\n\"Everything will be attempted for money,\" said Gisli: \"especially with\nus traders. But we must keep quiet about what we have been saying, for\nGrettir will be more on his guard if he hears that you have taken me\ninto your counsels. I intend next winter to be at Olduhrygg; is there\nany hiding-place of his on my way there? He will not be prepared for\nthis, and I shall not take many men with me to attack him.\"\n\nThord approved of his proposal. He rode home soon after and kept very\nquiet about it. And now was proved what has often been said, that:\nOff in the woods is a listener nigh. Men who were friends of Bjorn in\nHitardal overheard their conversation and reported it accurately to him.\nBjorn told Grettir of it when they met, and said now he should see how\nto encounter him. \"It would be no bad joke,\" he said, \"if you were to\ninjure him in some way without killing him if you can.\"\n\nGrettir grinned but said little. Towards the time of gathering in the\ncattle Grettir went down to Flysjuhverfi to get some sheep and got four\nwethers. The bondis heard of his having come and went after him.\nThey came up just at about the moment when he reached the foot of his\nmountain and wanted to drive the sheep away from him. But they would not\nattack him with weapons. There were six of them and they stood across\nhis path to bar his way. He was concerned about his sheep, got angry,\nseized three of them and threw them down the hill so that they\nlay senseless. The others when they saw it went at him, but rather\nhalfheartedly. Grettir took the sheep, fastened them together by the\nhorns, threw two over each shoulder and carried them off. Then he went\nup into his den. The bondis turned back feeling they had had the worst\nof it, and were more discontented with their lot than ever.\n\nGisli stayed with his ship that autumn until she was ready to be hauled\nup. Several things happened to delay him, so that he was late in getting\naway and rode off very little before the winter nights. Then he rode\nNorth and stayed at Hraun on the south bank of the Hitara. Next morning\nbefore he rode out he said to his servants: \"Now we will ride in red\nclothes and let the forest-man see that we are not like the other\ntravellers who beat about here every day.\"\n\nThere were three of them and they did as he bade. When they had crossed\nthe river he said: \"Here I am told dwells the forest-man, up in that\npeak; but the way is not an easy one. Would it not please him to come to\nus and see our array?\" They said this was always his habit.\n\nThat morning Grettir had got up early. The weather was cold, it was\nfreezing and some snow had fallen, but very little. He saw three men\nriding from the South across the Hitara, and the light shone from their\napparel and from their enamelled shields. It occurred to Grettir who\nit might be, and he thought he would relieve them of some of their\naccoutrements. He was very curious to meet a man who went about so\nostentatiously. So he took his weapons and hurried down the hillside.\nGisli when he heard the clattering of the stones said: \"A man, rather\ntall, is coming down the hill and wants to meet us. Let us act boldly\nand we shall have good sport.\" His men said that this fellow had great\nconfidence in himself to run into their hands; but that he who asked\nshould have. Then they got off their horses. Grettir came up to them and\nlaid hold of a bag of clothes which Gisli had behind him on his saddle,\nsaying:\n\n\"I must have this; I often stoop to little things.\"\n\nGisli said: \"You shall not; do not you know with whom you have to do?\"\n\nGrettir said: \"No; that is not so clear to me. Nor do I make much\ndifference between one man and another since I claim so little.\"\n\n\"May be it seems little to you,\" said Gisli; \"but I would sooner part\nwith thirty hundred ells of wadmal. It seems that extortion is your way.\nGo for him, boys! Let us see what he can do.\"\n\nThey obeyed. Grettir fell back a little and reached a stone which is\nstill standing by the side of the way and is called Grettishaf, where\nhe stood at bay. Gisli urged on his men, and Grettir saw that he was not\nquite so valiant as he pretended to be, for he kept well behind them.\nGrettir got tired of being hemmed in, so he made a lunge with his sword\nand killed one of Gisli's men, sprang from his stone and assailed them\nso vigorously that Gisli fell back all along the foot of the hill. Then\nhis other man was killed.\n\nGrettir said: \"One would scarcely see that you have achieved much in the\nworld abroad, and you have shamefully forsaken your comrades.\"\n\nGisli answered: \"The fire is hottest to him who is in it; it is ill\ndealing with men from Hel.\"\n\nThey had exchanged few more blows when Gisli threw away his arms and\nbolted right away along the foot of the mountain. Grettir gave him time\nto throw away whatever he liked, and at every opportunity he threw off\nsomething more of his clothes. Grettir never followed him so closely\nthat there was not some distance between them. He ran right away\nfrom the mountains, across Kaldardal, round Aslaug's Cliff, above\nKolbeinsstad and out to Borgarhraun.\n\nBy that time he had nothing left on him but his shirt, and was terribly\nexhausted. Grettir still followed, keeping now within reach of him.\nHe pulled off a great branch. Gisli did not stop till he reached\nHaffjardara river, which was all swollen and difficult to ford. Gisli\nwas going right out into the river when Grettir pressed forward and\nseized him and showed him the difference in their strength.\n\nGrettir got him down, sat on the top of him and asked: \"Are you the\nGisli who wanted to meet Grettir?\"\n\n\"I have found him now,\" he answered; \"but I know not how I shall part\nwith him. Keep what you have taken and let me go free.\"\n\nGrettir said: \"You will not understand what I am going to tell you, so\nI must give you something to remember it by.\" Then he pulled up Gisli's\nshirt over his head and let the rod play on both sides of his back.\nGisli struggled to get away, but Grettir gave him a sound whipping and\nthen let him go. Gisli thought that he would sooner not learn anything\nfrom Grettir than have another such flogging, nor did he do anything\nmore to earn it. Directly he got his feet under him again he ran off to\na large pool and swam across the river. In the evening he reached the\nsettlement called Hrossholt, very exhausted. There he lay for a week,\nhis body covered with blisters, and afterwards went on to his own place.\n\nGrettir turned back, gathered up all the things which Gisli had thrown\naway and took them home. Gisli never got them back again; many thought\nhe had only got what he deserved for his noisy boasting. Grettir made a\nverse about their encounter:\n\n     \"The horse whose fighting teeth are blunted\n     runs from the field before his foe.\n     With many an afterthought ran Gisli.\n     Gone is his fame, his glory lost!\"\n\nIn the spring after this Gisli prepared to go on board his ship and\nforbade in the strongest terms anything which belonged to him being\ncarried South by the way of the mountains; for he said that the Fiend\nhimself was there. Gisli when he went South to join his ship kept\nall the way along the coast and he never met Grettir again. Nobody\nconsidered him worth thinking about, nor do we hear any more of him in\nthis saga. Grettir's relations with Thord the son of Kolbeinn became\nworse than ever, and Thord tried every means to get Grettir driven away\nor killed.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LX. THE BATTLE WITH THE MYRAMEN\n\n\nWhen Grettir had been two winters in Fagraskogafjall and the third\nwinter had set in, he went South into Myrar to the farm called\nLaekjarbug, where he took six wethers without their owner's permission.\nThen he went down to Akrar and drove off two oxen for slaughter with\nseveral sheep, and went up South to the Hitara. When the bondis heard of\nhis exploits they sent word to Thord at Hitarnes and asked him to take\nthe lead in the slaying of Grettir. He was rather reluctant, but as they\nhad asked him he sent his son Arnor, afterwards called Jarlsbard, to go\nwith them, and told them not to let Grettir escape. Messengers were then\nsent round to all the farms.\n\nThere was a man named Bjarni who dwelt in Jorvi in Flysjuhverfi. He\ncollected men on the other side of the Hitara; the intention was that\neach band should keep on its own side. Grettir had two men with him,\none named Eyjolf, a stout man, the son of a bondi in Fagraskogar, and\nanother. The party came on, about twenty in number, under Thorarin from\nAkrar and Thorfinn of Laekjarbug. Grettir tried to get out across the\nriver, but was met by Arnor and Bjarni coming from the coast. There was\na narrow point jutting out into the river on Grettir's side, and when\nhe saw the men approaching he drove his animals on to it, for he never\nwould let go anything of which he had once got possession. The Myramen\nprepared to attack in good order and Grettir told his companions to\nguard his rear. They could not all come on at once. There was a hard\nstruggle between them; Grettir used his short sword with both hands and\nthey found it not easy to get at him. Some of the Myramen fell and some\nwere wounded. The men on the other side of the river were rather slow in\ncoming up because there was no ford near. Before they had been fighting\nvery long they fell back. Thorarin of Akrar was a very old man and not\nable to join in the fighting. When the battle was over there came up\nhis son Thrand, his brother Ingjald's son Thorgils, Finnbogi the son\nof Thorgeir, the son of Thorhadd of Hitardal, and Steinolf the son\nof Thorleif of Hraundal. They set on their men and there was a hard\nstruggle.\n\nGrettir saw that there was no choice left but either to flee or else\nto do his utmost and not spare himself. He pressed on hard and nothing\ncould hold against him, for his foes were so numerous that there was\nno chance of escaping except by fighting to the last before he fell. He\ntried always to engage those who seemed most courageous; first he went\nfor Steinolf of Hraundal and cleft his skull down to his shoulders; then\nhe struck at Thorgils the son of Ingjald and almost cut him in two. Then\nThrand tried to spring forward and avenge his kinsmen, and Grettir hewed\nat his right thigh, cutting out all the muscles so that he could fight\nno more. Next he gave Finnbogi a severe wound. Then Thorarin ordered\nthem off. \"The longer you fight,\" he said, \"the worse you will get from\nhim and the more will he choose out the men from your company.\"\n\nThey obeyed and fell back. Ten had fallen; five were wounded to death or\ncrippled, and nearly all who had been in the battle were hurt. Grettir\nwas terribly fatigued but little wounded. The Myramen drew off, having\nsuffered heavy losses, for many a good man had fallen. Those who were\nbeyond the river came over slowly and did not arrive till the fight was\nover, and when they saw the plight of their men Arnor would not risk\nhimself any further, for which he was much blamed by his father and by\nothers. Men thought he was not much of a warrior. The place where they\nfought is now called Grettisoddi.\n\nGrettir and his companions were all wounded; they took their horses and\nrode back along the foot of the mountain. When they reached Fagraskogar\nEyjolf was behind. There was a bondi's daughter there and she asked for\ntheir tidings, which Grettir told her fully and spoke a verse:\n\n     \"Goddess of horn-floods!  Steinolf's wounds\n     are such that scarcely may be healed.\n     Of Thorgils' life is little hope;\n     his bones are smashed; eight more are dead.\"\n\nThen Grettir went to his retreat and spent the winter there.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXI. GRETTIR WINTERS UNDER THE GEITLAND GLACIER\n\n\nThe next time that Bjorn met Grettir he told him that this was a very\nserious affair, and that he would not be able to stay there in peace\nmuch longer. \"You have killed kinsmen and friends of mine, but I will\nnot depart from my promise to you so long as you are here.\"\n\nGrettir said he was sorry to have given him offence, but that he had to\ndefend his hands and his life. Bjorn said it would have to remain\nso. Soon there came to him some of the men who had lost their kinsmen\nthrough Grettir and petitioned him not to allow such a ruffian as he was\nto stay there any longer and molest them. Bjorn said he would do as they\ndesired directly the winter was over.\n\nThrand the son of Thorarin of Akrar had now recovered from his wound. He\nwas a man of much worth, and had married Steinunn the daughter of Hrut\nof Kambsnes. Steinolf's father Thorleif of Hraundal was a great man;\nfrom him are sprung the Hraundal men.\n\nNo more meetings are told of between Grettir and the Myramen while he\nwas in the mountains. Bjorn continued in friendship with him, but some\nof Bjorn's other friends fell away from him because of his allowing\nGrettir to remain there, for they were annoyed at getting no\ncompensation for the slaying of their kinsmen. When the Thing assembled\nGrettir left the Myrar district and went to Borgarfjord, where he\nvisited Grim the son of Thorhall and sought counsel of him where he\nshould move to next. Grim said he was not powerful enough to keep him\nthere, so Grettir went off to his friend Hallmund and stayed there till\nthe end of the summer.\n\nIn the autumn Grettir went to Geitland, where he stayed till bright\nweather set in. Then he ascended the Geitlandsjokull and turned his\nsteps South-east along the glacier, taking with him a kettle and fuel.\nIt is supposed that he went there by the counsel of Hallmund, who knew\nthe country far and wide. He went on till he came to a long and rather\nnarrow valley in the glacier, shut in on every side by the ice\nwhich overhung the valley. He went about everywhere, and found fair\ngrass-grown banks and brushwood. There were hot springs, and it seemed\nas if volcanic fires had kept the ice from closing in above the valley.\n\nA little stream flowed down the dale with smooth banks on either side.\nLittle did the light of the sun enter there, and the number of sheep\nin the valley seemed to him countless. They were much better and fatter\nthan any which he had ever seen.\n\nGrettir stayed there and built himself a hut out of logs which he found\nabout. He caught a sheep to eat, and it was better for slaughter than\ntwo in other places. There was a ewe there with her lamb; she had a\nbrown head and excelled all the others in size. He was anxious to have\nthe lamb, so he caught it and slaughtered it and got half a measure of\nsuet out of it, and it was better in every way. When Brownhead missed\nher lamb she came up every night to Grettir's hut and bleated so that he\nnever could get any sleep. He regretted much having killed the lamb on\naccount of the disturbance which she caused him. Every evening when the\ntwilight set in he heard a voice calling in the valley, and then the\nsheep used to run together into a place of shelter. Grettir has told us\nthat a blending ruled over the valley, a giant named Thorir, under whose\nprotection he remained. Grettir called the valley after him Thorisdal.\nHe said that Thorir had daughters with whom he had some play, and that\nthey were very pleased, because not many people came there. And when the\ndays of fasting came Grettir remembered to tell them that fat and liver\nshould be eaten in Lent. Nothing particular occurred that winter, and\nGrettir found it so dull that he could not stay there any longer. He\nleft the valley and went to the South through the glacier, reaching the\nmiddle of Skjaldbreid from the North. There he took up a stone, cut a\nhole in it and said that if a man put his eye to the hole he could see\ninto the gully which flows out of Thorisdal. Then he went across the\ncountry South and reached the eastern fjords. He spent the summer and\nthe winter on this journey and visited all the great men, but found them\nall against him so that nowhere could he get lodging or shelter. So he\nreturned to the North and stayed in various places.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXII. HALLMUND IS KILLED BY A FOREST-MAN NAMED GRIM\n\n\nSoon after Grettir had left the Arnarvatn Heath there came a man there\nnamed Grim, the son of a widow at Kropp. He had killed the son of Eid\nof Ass, the son of Skeggi, and been outlawed for it. So there he stayed\nwhere Grettir had been before him and got plenty of fish out of the\nlake. Hallmund was not at all pleased at Grim being there instead of\nGrettir, and said that he should have little advantage from his great\ncatches of fish. One morning Grim had caught a hundred fish, which he\nbrought to the hut and arranged outside. The next morning when he went\nthere every fish was gone. He thought it very strange, but returned\nto the lake and caught this time two hundred. He carried them home and\narranged them; again everything happened as before; in the morning all\nwere gone, evidently through the same agency as before. The third day he\ncaught three hundred, carried them home and kept a watch on his hut. He\nlooked out through a hole in the door to see if any one came, and so\nhe remained for a time. When about one third of the night had passed\nhe heard some one walking near and stepping rather heavily; so he\nimmediately took his axe, which was very sharp, and wanted to know what\nwas the matter. There came a man with a big basket on his back; he put\nit down and looked round, but saw no one outside. He rummaged about\namong the fish and seemed to think that they would do for him to lay\nhands upon. He threw them all into his basket and they quite filled it.\nThe fishes were so large that Grim thought no horse would be able to\ncarry more. This man then took the load and got beneath it. Just as\nhe was about to rise Grim rushed out and taking his axe in both hands\nstruck a blow at his neck which went through the skin. He started in\nsurprise and then ran off towards the south of the hill with his basket.\nGrim went after him to see whether he had got him. They went south along\nthe foot of the Balljokull where the man entered a cave. There was\na bright fire in the cave and a woman standing in it, very tall but\nshapely. Grim heard her greet her father, calling him Hallmund. He flung\ndown his load and heaved a great sigh. She asked why he was covered with\nblood. He answered in a verse:\n\n     \"No man, I see, may trust his might.\n     His luck and heart will fail at death.\"\n\nThen she pressed him to say what had happened, and he told her\neverything.\n\n\"Hear now,\" he said, \"what I tell you of my adventure. I will tell it to\nyou in verse, and you shall cut it in runes on a staff.\"\n\nShe did so, and he spoke the Hallmundarkvida, in which the following\noccurs:\n\n     \"I was strong when Grettir's bridle I seized\n     I saw him gazing long at his palms.\n\n     Then Thorir came on the Heath with his men.\n     'Gainst eighty we two had play with our spears.\n\n     Grettir's hands knew how to strike;\n     much deeper the marks that were left by mine.\n\n     Arms and heads then flew as they tried\n     to gain my rear; eighteen of them fell.\n\n     The giant-kind and the grim rock-dwellers,\n     demons and blendings fell before me,\n     elves and devils have felt my hand.\"\n\nMany exploits of his did Hallmund recount in the lay, for he had been in\nevery land.\n\nThe daughter said: \"That man was not going to let his catch slip away\nfrom him. It was only to be expected, for you treated him very badly.\nBut who is going to avenge you?\"\n\n\"It is not certain that anybody will, but I think that Grettir would\navenge me if he were able. It will not be easy to go against this man's\nluck; he is destined to great things.\" Then as the lay continued his\nstrength began to fail. Hallmund died almost at the moment when he\nfinished the song. She grieved much for him and wept sorely. Then Grim\ncame forward and bade her be comforted. \"All,\" he said, \"must depart\nwhen their fate calls. It was partly his own fault, for I could not look\non and see myself robbed.\"\n\nShe said he might speak much about that: \"The unjust man prospers ill.\"\n\nShe was somewhat cheered by the talk with him. Grim stayed several\nnights in the cave and learned the lay; all went well with them. Grim\nwas in the Arnarvatn Heath all the winter after Hallmund's death.\nAfterwards Thorkell the son of Eyjolf came to the heath and fought with\nhim. The meeting ended by Grim having Thorkell's life in his power, but\nhe would not kill him. Thorkell then took him in, sent him abroad and\nsupplied him with means; each was considered to have acted generously\ntowards the other. Grim became a great traveller and there is a long\nsaga about him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXIII. GRETTIR'S MEETING WITH THORIR ON THE REYKJA HEATH\n\n\nWe now return to Grettir, who came from the eastern fjords, travelling\nin disguise and hiding his head because he did not wish to meet Thorir.\nThat summer he spent in Modrudal Heath and other places. For a time\ntoo he was on Reykja Heath. Thorir heard of his being on Reykja Heath,\ngathered his men and rode thither, determined not to let him escape.\nGrettir scarcely knew of their plans before they came upon him. He was\nin a hill-dairy a little off the road with another man, and when they\nsaw the troop they had to lay their plans quickly. Grettir said they\nshould make their horses lie down inside the house, and they did so.\nThorir rode forward across the heath in a northerly direction, missed\nthe place, did not find Grettir and turned back home. When the troop had\nridden round to the West, Grettir said: \"They will not be pleased with\ntheir expedition if they do not meet me. You stay and mind the horses\nwhile I go after them. It would be a good jest if they did not recognise\nme.\"\n\nHis companion tried to dissuade him, but he would go. He changed his\ndress, put on a wide hat which came down over his face and took a stick\nin his hand. Then he went along the road towards them. They addressed\nhim and asked whether he had seen any men riding over the heath.\n\n\"I have seen the men whom you are seeking,\" he said, \"you very nearly\ncame upon them; they were on your left hand just south of the marshes.\"\n\nOn hearing this they galloped off towards the marshes, which were so\nswampy that they could not get through and had to spend a great part\nof the day dragging their horses out. They swore much at the supposed\ntraveller for playing a practical joke upon them.\n\nGrettir returned speedily home to his companion, and when they met spoke\na verse:\n\n     \"I will not ride to the warriors' arms;\n     too great the danger is.\n     I dare not meet the storm of Vidri;\n     but homeward turn my steps.\"\n\nThey rode off as fast as they could westwards towards the homestead in\nGard before Thorir could come there with his company. When they were\nnear the place they met a man on the road who did not know them. There\nwas a young woman standing outside, very much dressed up, and Grettir\nasked who she was. The man who had come up said she was Thorir's\ndaughter. Then Grettir spoke a verse:\n\n     \"Maiden, when thy father comes\n     tell him, little though it please him,\n     how I rode his dwelling past;\n     only two who with me rode.\"\n\nFrom this the man learnt who it was, and rode to the house to tell them\nthat Grettir had come round. When Thorir returned many men thought that\nhe had been bamboozled by Grettir. He then set spies to watch Grettir's\nmovements. Grettir took the precaution of sending his companion to the\nwestern districts with his horse, while he himself went North into the\nmountains at the beginning of the winter, muffling up his face so that\nno one should recognise him. Every one thought that Thorir had fared no\nbetter but even worse than at their former encounter.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXIV. GHOSTS IN BARDARDAL\n\n\nThere was dwelling at Eyjardalsa in Bardardal a priest named Steinn, a\ngood farmer and wealthy. His son Kjartan was grown up and was now a fine\nyoung man. Thorsteinn the White was a man who dwelt at Sandhaugar to\nthe south of Eyjardalsa; his wife Steinvor was young and of a merry\ndisposition. They had children who at this time were yet young. Their\nplace was generally thought to be much haunted by trolls. Two winters\nbefore Grettir came North into those parts, Steinvor the mistress of\nSandhaugar went as usual to spend Yule at Eyjardalsa, while her husband\nstayed at home. Men lay down to sleep in the evening, and in the night\nthey heard a great noise in the room near the bondi's bed. No one dared\nto get up to see what was the matter because there were so few of\nthem. The mistress of the house returned home the next morning, but her\nhusband had disappeared and no one knew what had become of him. So the\nnext season passed. The following winter the mistress wanted to go to\nmass, and told her servant to stay at home; he was very unwilling but\nsaid she should be obeyed. It happened just as before; this time the\nservant disappeared. People thought it very strange and found some drops\nof blood upon the outer door, so they supposed that some evil spirit\nmust have carried off both the men. The story spread all through the\ndistrict and came to the ears of Grettir, who being well accustomed to\ndeal with ghosts and spectres turned his steps to Bardardal and arrived\nat Yule-eve at Sandhaugar. He retained his disguise and called himself\nGest. The lady of the house saw that he was enormously tall, and the\nservants were terribly afraid of him. He asked for hospitality; the\nmistress told him that food was ready for him but that he must see after\nhimself. He said he would, and added: \"I will stay in the house while\nyou go to mass if you would like it.\"\n\nShe said: \"You must be a brave man to venture to stay in the house.\"\n\n\"I do not care for a monotonous life,\" he said.\n\nThen she said: \"I do not want to remain at home, but I cannot get across\nthe river.\"\n\n\"I will come with you,\" said Gest. Then she made ready to go to mass\nwith her little daughter. It was thawing outside; the river was flooded\nand was covered with ice. She said: \"It is impossible for either man or\nhorse to cross the river.\"\n\n\"There must be fords,\" said Gest; \"do not be afraid.\"\n\n\"First carry the maiden over,\" she said; \"she is lighter.\"\n\n\"I don't want to make two journeys of it,\" said he; \"I will carry you in\nmy arms.\"\n\nShe crossed herself and said: \"That is impossible; what will you do with\nthe girl?\"\n\n\"I will find a way,\" he said, taking them both up and setting the girl\non her mother's knee as he bore them both on his left arm, keeping his\nright arm free. So he carried them across. They were too frightened to\ncry out. The river came up to his breast, and a great piece of ice drove\nagainst him, which he pushed off with the hand that was free. Then the\nstream became so deep that it broke over his shoulder, but he waded on\nvigorously till he reached the other bank and put them on shore. It was\nnearly dark by the time he got home to Sandhaugar and called for some\nfood. When he had eaten something he told the servants to go to the\nother end of the hall. Then he got some boards and loose logs and laid\nthem across the hall to make a great barricade so that none of the\nservants could get across. No one dared to oppose him or to object to\nanything. The entrance was in the side wall of the hall under the back\ngable, and near it was a cross bench upon which Grettir laid himself,\nkeeping on his clothes, with a light burning in the room. So he lay till\ninto the night.\n\nThe mistress reached Eyjardalsa for mass and every one wondered how she\nhad crossed the river. She said she did not know whether it was a man or\na troll who had carried her over. The priest said it was certainly a man\nthough unlike other men. \"Let us keep silence over it; may be that he\nmeans to help you in your difficulties.\"\n\nShe stayed there the night.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXV. ADVENTURE WITH A TROLL-WOMAN\n\n\nWe return now to tell of Gest. Towards midnight he heard a loud noise\noutside, and very soon there walked a huge troll-wife into the room. She\ncarried a trough in one hand and a rather large cutlass in the other.\nShe looked round the room as she entered, and on seeing Gest lying there\nshe rushed at him; he started up and attacked her furiously. They\nfought long together; she was the stronger but he evaded her skilfully.\nEverything near them and the panelling of the back wall were broken to\npieces. She dragged him through the hall door out to the porch, where he\nresisted vigorously. She wanted to drag him out of the house, but before\nthat was done they had broken up all the fittings of the outer door and\nborne them away on their shoulders. Then she strove to get to the river\nand among the rocks. Gest was terribly fatigued, but there was no choice\nbut either to brace himself or be dragged down to the rocks. All night\nlong they struggled together, and he thought he had never met with such\na monster for strength. She gripped him so tightly to herself that he\ncould do nothing with either hand but cling to her waist. When at last\nthey reached a rock by the river he swung the monster round and got his\nright hand loose. Then he quickly seized the short sword which he was\nwearing, drew it and struck at the troll's right shoulder, cutting off\nher right arm and releasing himself. She sprang among the rocks and\ndisappeared in the waterfall. Gest, very stiff and tired, lay long by\nthe rock.\n\nAt daylight he went home and lay down on his bed, blue and swollen all\nover.\n\nWhen the lady of the house came home she found the place rather in\ndisorder. She went to Gest and asked him what had happened, and why\neverything was broken to pieces. He told her everything just as it had\nhappened. She thought it a matter of great moment and asked him who\nhe was. He told her the truth, said that he wished to see a priest and\nasked her to send for one. She did so; Steinn came to Sandhaugar and\nsoon learnt that it was Grettir the son of Asmund who had come there\nunder the name of Gest. The priest asked him what he thought had become\nof the men who had disappeared; Grettir said he thought that they must\nhave gone among the rocks. The priest said he could not believe his word\nunless he gave some evidence of it. Grettir said that later it would be\nknown, and the priest went home. Grettir lay many days in his bed and\nthe lady did all she could for him; thus Yule-tide passed. Grettir\nhimself declared that the trollwoman sprang among the rocks when she was\nwounded, but the men of Bardardal say that the day dawned upon her while\nthey were wrestling; that when he cut off her arm she broke, and that\nshe is still standing there on the mountain in the likeness of a woman.\nThe dwellers in the valley kept Grettir there in hiding.\n\nOne day that winter after Yule Grettir went to Eyjardalsa and met the\npriest, to whom he said: \"I see, priest, that you have little belief in\nwhat I say. Now I wish you to come with me to the river and to see what\nprobability there is in it.\"\n\nThe priest did so. When they reached the falls they saw a cave up under\nthe rock. The cliff was there so abrupt that no one could climb it, and\nnearly ten fathoms down to the water. They had a rope with them. The\npriest said: \"It is quite impossible for any one to get down to that.\"\n\nGrettir answered: \"It is certainly possible; and men of high mettle are\nthose who would feel themselves happiest there. I want to see what there\nis in the fall. Do you mind the rope.\"\n\nThe priest said he could do so if he chose. He drove a stake into the\nground and laid stones against it.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXVI. GRETTIR SLAYS A GIANT\n\n\nGrettir now fastened a stone in a loop at the end of the rope, and\nlowered it from above into the water.\n\n\"Which way do you mean to go?\" asked the priest.\n\n\"I don't mean to be bound when I come into the fall,\" Grettir said. \"So\nmy mind tells me.\"\n\nThen he prepared to go; he had few clothes on and only a short sword; no\nother arms. He jumped from a rock and got down to the fall. The priest\nsaw the soles of his feet but after that did not know what had become of\nhim. Grettir dived beneath the fall.\n\nIt was very difficult swimming because of the currents, and he had to\ndive to the bottom to get behind the fall. There was a rock where he\ncame up, and a great cave under the fall in front of which the water\npoured. He went into the cave, where there was a large fire burning\nand a horrible great giant most fearful to behold sitting before it. On\nGrettir entering the giant sprang up, seized a pike and struck at him,\nfor he could both strike and thrust with it. It had a wooden shaft and\nwas of the kind called \"heptisax.\" Grettir struck back with his sword\nand cut through the shaft. Then the giant tried to reach up backwards to\na sword which was hanging in the cave, and at that moment Grettir\nstruck at him and cut open his lower breast and stomach so that all his\nentrails fell out into the river and floated down the stream. The priest\nwho was sitting by the rope saw some debris being carried down all\ncovered with blood and lost his head, making sure that Grettir was\nkilled. He left the rope and ran off home, where he arrived in the\nevening and told them for certain that Grettir was dead, and said it was\na great misfortune to them to have lost such a man.\n\nGrettir struck few more blows at the giant before he was dead. He then\nentered the cave, kindled a light and explored. It is not told how much\ntreasure he found there, but there is supposed to have been some. He\nstayed there till late into the night and found the bones of two men,\nwhich he carried away in a skin. Then he came out of the cave, swam to\nthe rope and shook it, thinking the priest was there; finding him gone\nhe had to swarm up the rope and so reached the top. He went home to\nEyjardalsa and carried the skin with the bones in it into the vestibule\nof the church together with a rune-staff, upon which were most\nbeautifully carved the following lines:\n\n     \"Into the fall of the torrent I went;\n     dank its maw towards me gaped.\n     The floods before the ogress' den\n     Mighty against my shoulder played\";\n\nand then:\n\n     \"Hideous the friend of troll-wife came.\n     Hard were the blows I dealt upon him.\n     The shaft of Heptisax was severed.\n     My sword has pierced the monster's breast.\"\n\nThere too it was told how Grettir had brought the bones from the cave.\nThe priest when he came to the church on the next morning found the\nstaff and all that was with it and read the runes. Grettir had then\nreturned home to Sandhaugar.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXVII. VISIT TO GUDMUND THE MIGHTY\n\n\nWhen the priest met Grettir again he asked him to say exactly what had\nhappened, and Grettir told him all about where he had been. He said that\nthe priest had held the rope very faithlessly, and the priest admitted\nthat it was true. Men felt no doubt that these monsters were responsible\nfor the disappearance of the men in the valley, nor was there any\nhaunting or ghost-walking there afterwards; Grettir had evidently\ncleared the land of them. The bones were buried by the priest in the\nchurchyard. Grettir stayed the winter in Bardardal, but unknown to the\ngeneral public.\n\nThorir of Gard heard rumours of Grettir being in Bardardal and set some\nmen on to take his life. Men thereupon advised him to depart, and he\nwent into the West to Modruvellir, where he met Gudmund the Mighty and\nasked him for protection. Gudmund said it would not be convenient for\nhim to take him in.\n\n\"You must,\" he said, \"find a place to settle in where you need be in no\nfear for your life.\"\n\nGrettir said he did not know where such a place was.\n\n\"There is an island,\" Gudmund said, \"in Skagafjord, called Drangey. It\nis excellent for defence; no one can get up to it without a ladder. If\nonce you can reach it there is no chance of any one attacking you there\nwith arms or with craft, so long as you guard the ladder well.\"\n\n\"That shall be tried,\" said Grettir. \"But I am in such dread of the dark\nthat even for the sake of my life I cannot live alone.\"\n\n\"It may be that it is so,\" said Gudmund; \"but trust no man so well that\nyou trust not yourself better. Many are unfit to be trusted.\"\n\nGrettir thanked him for his excellent advice and departed from\nModruvellir. He went on straight to Bjarg, where his mother and\nIllugi greeted him joyfully. He stayed there several days and heard of\nThorsteinn Kuggason having been slain in the autumn before he went to\nBardardal. Fate, he thought, was striking hard against him. Then he rode\nSouth to Holtavarda Heath, intending to revenge the death of Hallmund if\nhe could meet with Grim. On reaching Nordrardal he learnt that Grim had\nleft two or three years before, as has already been related. Grettir\nhad not received news of it because he had been in hiding there for two\nyears and a third in Thorisdal and had met no one to tell him of what\nhad happened. Then he turned his steps towards the Breidafjord valleys\nand waylaid those who passed over Brattabrekka. He continued to let his\nhands sweep over the property of the small farmers during the height of\nthe summer season.\n\nWhen the summer was passing away, Steinvor at Sandhaugar gave birth to\na son who was named Skeggi. He was at first fathered on Kjartan, the son\nof Steinn the priest at Eyjardalsa. Skeggi was unlike all his family\nin his strength and stature. When he was fifteen years old he was the\nstrongest man in the North, and then they put him down to Grettir. There\nseemed a prospect of his growing into something quite extraordinary, but\nhe died when he was seventeen and there is no saga about him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXVIII. FIGHT WITH THORODD THE SON OF SNORRI\n\n\nAfter the death of Thorsteinn Kuggason, Snorri the Godi was on bad terms\nwith his son Thorodd and with Sam the son of Bork the Fat. It is not\nclearly stated what they had done to displease him except that they had\nrefused to undertake some important work which he had given them to do;\nwhat is known is that Snorri turned off his son Thorodd and told him\nnot to come back until he had slain some forest-man, and so it remained.\nThorodd then went to Dalir. There dwelt at Breidabolstad in Sokkolfsdal\na certain widow named Geirlaug; she kept as her shepherd a grown-up\nyouth who had been outlawed for wounding some one. Thorodd Snorrason\nheard of this, rode to Breidabolstad and asked where the shepherd was.\nThe woman said he was with the sheep and asked what Thorodd wanted with\nhim.\n\n\"I want to take his life,\" he said; \"he is an outlaw and a forest-man.\"\n\nShe said: \"Such a warrior as you has nothing to gain by killing a\nmiserable creature like him. I will show you a much doughtier deed,\nshould you have a mind to try it.\"\n\n\"What is that?\" he asked.\n\n\"Up there in the mountains,\" she said, \"is Grettir the son of Asmund;\ndeal with him; that will be more fitting for you.\"\n\nThorodd liked the proposal and said he would do it. Then he put spurs to\nhis horse and rode up along the valleys. On reaching the hills below the\nAustra river he saw a light-coloured horse saddled, with a big man in\narmour, and at once directed his steps towards them. Grettir hailed him\nand asked who he was. Thorodd told his name and asked: \"Why do you not\nrather ask my business than my name?\"\n\n\"Because,\" he said, \"it is not likely to be very weighty. Are you a son\nof Snorri the Godi?\"\n\n\"So it is indeed; we shall now try which of us is the stronger.\"\n\n\"That is easily done,\" said Grettir, \"but have you not heard that I have\nnot proved a mound of wealth to most of those who have had to do with\nme?\"\n\n\"I know that; but I mean to risk something on it now.\"\n\nThen he drew his sword and went valiantly for Grettir, who defended\nhimself with his shield but would not use his weapons against Thorodd.\nThey fought for a time without his being wounded. Grettir then said:\n\n\"Let us stop this play; you will not gain the victory in a battle with\nme.\"\n\nThorodd struck at him most furiously. Grettir was tired of it, so he\ntook hold of him and set him down next to himself, saying: \"I could do\nwhat I liked with you; but I have no fear of your killing me. I am much\nmore afraid of your grey-headed father, Snorri the Godi, and of his\ncounsels, which have brought many a man to his knees. You should take up\ntasks which you are able to accomplish; it is no child's play to fight\nwith me.\"\n\nWhen Thorodd saw that there was nothing to be done he quieted down,\nand then they parted. He rode home to Tunga and told his father of his\nencounter with Grettir. Snorri smiled and said: \"Many a man has a high\nopinion of himself; but the odds against you were too great. While you\nwere aiming blows at him he was doing what he pleased with you. But he\nwas wise not to kill you, for it would not have been my purpose to leave\nyou unavenged. I will now rather use my influence on his side if I ever\nhave to do with his affairs.\"\n\nSnorri showed his approval of Grettir's action towards Thorodd, for his\ncounsels were always friendly to Grettir.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXIX. GRETTIR'S LAST VISIT TO BJARG AND JOURNEY WITH ILLUGI TO\nDRANGEY\n\n\nSoon after Thorodd left him Grettir rode North to Bjarg and remained\nthere in hiding for a time. His fear of the dark grew so upon him that\nhe dared go nowhere after dusk. His mother offered to keep him there,\nbut said she saw that it would not do for him because of the feuds\nwhich he had throughout the land. Grettir said she should not fall into\ntrouble through him, \"but,\" he said, \"I can no longer live alone even to\nsave my life.\"\n\nIllugi his brother was then fifteen years old and was a most goodly\nyoung man. He heard what they were saying. Grettir told his mother what\nGudmund the Mighty had advised him to do, and declared he would try to\nget to Drangey if he could. Yet, he said, he could not go there unless\nhe could find some faithful man to stay with him. Then Illugi said: \"I\nwill go with you, brother. I know not whether I shall be a support to\nyou, but I will be faithful to you and will not run from you so long as\nyou stand upright. And I shall know the better how it fares with you if\nI am with you.\"\n\nGrettir answered: \"You are such an one amongst men as I most rejoice\nin. And if my mother be not against it I would indeed that you should go\nwith me.\"\n\nAsdis then said: \"It has now come to this, that I see two difficulties\nmeeting each other. It is hard for me to lose Illugi, but I know that so\nmuch may be said for Grettir's condition that he will find some way out.\nAnd though it is much for one to bid farewell to both of you, yet I will\nconsent to it if Grettir's lot is bettered thereby.\"\n\nIllugi was pleased at her words, for his heart was set upon going with\nGrettir. She gave them plenty of money to take with them and they made\nready for their journey. Asdis took them along the road, and before they\nparted she said: \"Go forth now, my sons twain. Sad will be your death\ntogether, nor may any man escape that which is destined for him. I shall\nsee neither of you again; let one fate befall you both. I know not what\nsafety you seek in Drangey, but there shall your bones be laid, and many\nwill begrudge you your living there. Beware of treachery; yet shall you\nbe smitten with weapons, for strange are the dreams which I have had.\nGuard yourselves against witchcraft, for few things are stronger than\nthe ancient spells.\"\n\nThus she spoke and wept much. Grettir said: \"Weep not, my mother. It\nshall be said that you had sons and not daughters if we are attacked\nwith arms. Live well, and farewell.\"\n\nThen they parted. The two travelled North through the districts and\nvisited their kinsmen while the autumn passed into winter. Then they\nturned their steps to Skagafjord, then North to Vatnsskard on to\nReykjaskard below Saemundarhlid to Langholt, reaching Glaumbaer as\nthe day was waning. Grettir had slung his hat over his shoulder; so\nhe always went when out of doors whether the weather was good or bad.\nThence they continued their journey, and when they had gone a short way\nthey met a man with a big head, tall and thin and ill clad. He greeted\nthem and each asked the other's name. They told theirs and he said his\nname was Thorbjorn. He was a vagrant, had no mind to work and swaggered\nmuch. It was the habit of some to make game of him or fool him. He\nbecame very familiar and told them much gossip about the district and\nthe people therein. Grettir was much amused. He asked whether they did\nnot want a man to work for them and said he would much like to go with\nthem. So much he got from his talk that they let him join them. It was\nvery cold and there was a driving snow-storm. As the man was so fussy\nand talkative they gave him a nickname and called him Glaum.\n\n\"The people in Glaumbaer,\" he said, \"were much exercised about your\ngoing without a hat in this weather, and wanted to know whether you were\nany the braver for being proof against the cold. There were two sons of\nbondis there, men of great distinction; the shepherd told them to come\nout and mind the sheep with him, but they could scarcely get their\nclothes on for the cold.\"\n\nGrettir said: \"I saw a young man inside the door putting on his mittens,\nand another going between the cow-house and the dung-heap. Neither of\nthem will frighten me.\"\n\nThen they went on to Reynines and stayed the night there; then to the\nsea-shore to a farm called Reykir where a man, a good farmer, named\nThorvald, lived. Grettir asked him for shelter and told him of his\nintention of going to Drangey. The bondi said that men of Skagafjord\nwould not think his a very friendly visit and drew back. Then Grettir\ntook the purse of money which his mother had given him and gave it to\nthe bondi. The man's brows unbent when he saw the money and he told\nthree of his servants to take them out in the night by the moonlight.\nFrom Reykir is the shortest distance to the island, about one sea-mile.\n\nWhen they reached the island Grettir thought it looked quite pleasant;\nit was all overgrown with grass and had steep cliffs down to the sea\nso that no one could get on to it except where the ladders were. If the\nupper ladder was pulled up it was impossible for any one to get on to\nthe island. There was also a large crag full of sea birds in the summer,\nand there were eighty sheep in the island belonging to the bondis,\nmostly rams and ewes, which were meant for slaughter.\n\nThere Grettir quietly settled down. He had been fifteen or sixteen years\nan outlaw, so Sturla the son of Thord has recorded.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXX. THE PEOPLE OF SKAGAFJORD\n\n\nWhen Grettir came to Drangey the following chiefs were in Skagafjord:\n\nHjalti lived at Hof in Hjaltadal, the son of Thord, the son of Hjalti,\nthe son of Thord Skalp. He was a great chief, very distinguished and\nvery popular. His brother was named Thorbjorn Angle, a big man, strong\nand hardy and rather quarrelsome. Thord their father had married in his\nold age, and his then wife was not the mother of these two. She was\nvery much against her stepsons, especially Thorbjorn, because he was\nintractable and headstrong. One day when he was playing at \"tables\",\nhis stepmother came up and saw that he was playing at \"hnettafl\"; they\nplayed with big peg pieces. She considered that very lazy of him and\nspoke some words to which he answered hastily. She took up the piece and\nstruck him on the cheek bone with the peg, and it glanced into his eye\nwhich hung down on his cheek. He started up and handled her mercilessly\nso that she was confined to her bed and soon afterwards died; they\nsay that she was pregnant at the time. After that he became a regular\nruffian. He took over his property and went first to live in Vidvik.\n\nHalldor the son of Thorgeir, the son of Thord of Hofdi, lived at Hof\nin Hofdastrand. He married Thordis the daughter of Thord, the sister of\nHjalti and Thorbjorn Angle. Halldor was a worthy bondi and wealthy.\n\nBjorn was the name of a man who lived at Haganes in Fljot, a friend of\nHalldor of Hof, and the two held together in every dispute.\n\nTungu-Steinn dwelt at Steinsstadir. He was the son of Bjorn, the son of\nOfeig Thinbeard, the son of Crow-Hreidar, to whom Eirik of Guddal gave\nTunga below Skalamyr. He was a man of renown.\n\nEirik was the son of Holmgang-Starri, the son of Eirik of Guddal, the\nson of Hroald, the son of Geirmund Straightbeard. He lived at Hof in\nGuddal.\n\nAll these were men of high rank. Two brothers dwelt at a place called\nBreida in Slettahlid, both named Thord. They were very strong men, but\npeaceable.\n\nAll the men now named had a share in Drangey. It is said that the island\nwas owned by no fewer than twenty men, and none of them would part with\nhis share to the others. The largest share belonged to the sons of Thord\nsince they were the richest.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXI. THE BONDIS CLAIM THEIR PROPERTY IN DRANGEY\n\n\nMidwinter was passed, and the bondis prepared to bring in their animals\nfrom the island for slaughter. They manned a boat and each had a man of\nhis own on board, some two.\n\nWhen they reached the island they saw men on it moving about. They\nthought it very strange, but supposed that some one had been wrecked and\nhad gone on shore there. So they rowed to where the ladders were. The\npeople on the shore pulled the ladders up. This seemed very strange\nbehaviour and they hailed the men and asked who they were. Grettir told\nhis name and those of his companions. The bondis asked who had taken\nthem out to the island.\n\nGrettir answered: \"He brought me out who took me here, and had hands,\nand was more my friend than yours.\"\n\nThe bondis said: \"Let us take our animals and come to the land with us.\nYou shall have freely whatever you have taken of our property.\"\n\nGrettir said: \"That is a good offer; but each of us shall have that\nwhich he has got. I may tell you at once that hence I go not, unless\nI am dead or dragged away; nor will I let go that which my hands have\ntaken.\"\n\nThe bondis said no more, but thought that most unhappy visitors had come\nto Drangey. They offered money and made many fair promises, but Grettir\nrefused them all, and so they had to return home much disgusted, having\naccomplished nothing. They told all the people of the district of the\nwolves who had come into the island. This had come upon them unawares\nand nothing could be done. They talked it over that winter but could\nthink of no way of getting Grettir out of the island.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXII. GRETTIR VISITS THE THING AT HEGRANES\n\n\nThe time passed on until the spring, when men assembled at the Hegranes\nThing. They came in great numbers from all the districts under its\njurisdiction, and stayed there a long time, both palavering and\nmerry-making, for there were many who loved merriment in the country\nround.\n\nWhen Grettir heard that everybody had gone to the Thing he laid a plan\nwith his friends, for he was always on good terms with those who were\nnearest to him, and for them he spared nothing which he was able to\nget. He said he would go to the land to get supplies and that Illugi and\nGlaum should remain behind. Illugi thought it very imprudent but he\nlet Grettir have his way. He told them to guard the ladder well since\neverything depended upon that. Then he went to the land and obtained\nwhat he wanted. He kept his disguise wherever he went and no one knew\nthat he had come. He heard of the festivities that were going on at the\nThing and was curious to see them, so he put on some old clothes that\nwere rather shabby and arrived just as they were going from the Logretta\nhome to their booths. Some of the young men were talking about the\nweather, said it was good and fair, and that it would be a good thing to\nhave some games and wrestling; they thought it a good proposal. So they\nsat down in front of their booths. The foremost men in the games were\nthe sons of Thord. Thorbjorn Angle was very uppish and was arranging\neverything himself for the sports. Every one had to do as he bade, and\nhe took them each by the shoulders and pushed them into the field. The\nwrestling was begun by the less strong ones in pairs, and there was\ngreat sport. When most of them had wrestled except the strongest, there\nwas much talk as to who should tackle the two Thords mentioned above,\nand there was no one who would do it. They went round inviting men to\nwrestle, but the more they asked the more their invitation was declined.\nThorbjorn Angle looked round and saw a big man sitting there, but could\nnot clearly see his face. He seized hold of him and gave a violent tug,\nbut the man sat still and did not move.\n\nThorbjorn said: \"Nobody has held so firm against me to-day as you. But\nwho is this fellow?\"\n\n\"My name is Gest.\"\n\nThorbjorn said: \"You will be wanting to play with us. You are a welcome\nGuest.\"\n\n\"Things may change quickly,\" he said. \"I cannot join in your games for I\nhave no knowledge of them.\"\n\nMany of them said that they would take it kindly of him if he, a\nstranger, would play a little with the men. He asked what they wanted\nhim to do, and they asked him to wrestle with some one. He said he had\ngiven up wrestling, though he once used to take pleasure in it. As he\ndid not directly refuse they pressed him all the more.\n\n\"Well,\" he said, \"if you want to drag me in you must do one thing for me\nand grant me peace here at the Thing until I reach my home.\"\n\nThey all shouted and said they would gladly do that. The man who was\nforemost in urging that peace should be given was one Haf the son of\nThorarin, the son of Haf, the son of Thord Knapp, who had settled in the\nland between Stifla in Fljot and Tungua. He lived at Knappsstad and\nwas a man of many words. He spoke in favour of the peace with great\nauthority and said:\n\n\"Hereby do I declare PEACE between all men, in particular between this\nman here seated who is named Gest and all Godord's men, full bondis, all\nmen of war and bearers of arms, all other men of this district of the\nHegranes Thing whencesoever they have come, both named and unnamed.\nI declare PEACE and full Immunity in behoof of this newcomer to us\nunknown, Gest yclept, for the practice of games, wrestling and all kinds\nof sport, while abiding here, and during his journey home, whether he\nsail or whether he travel, whether by land or whether by sea. He shall\nhave PEACE in all places, named and unnamed, for such time as he needeth\nto reach his home in safety, by our faith confirmed. And I establish\nthis PEACE on the part of ourselves and of our kinsmen, our friends and\nbelongings, alike of women and of men, bondsmen and thralls, youths\nand adults. Be there any truce-breaker who shall violate this PEACE\nand defile this faith, so be he rejected of God and expelled from the\ncommunity of righteous men; be he cast out from Heaven and from the\nfellowship of the holy; let him have no part amongst mankind and become\nan outcast from society. A vagabond he shall be and a wolf in places\nwhere Christians pray and where heathen worship, where fire burneth,\nwhere the earth bringeth forth, where the child lispeth the name of\nmother, where the mother beareth a son, where men kindle fire, where\nthe ship saileth, where shields blink, sun shineth, snow lieth, Finn\nglideth, fir-tree groweth, falcon flieth the live-long day and the fair\nwind bloweth straight under both her wings, where Heaven rolleth and\nearth is tilled, where the breezes waft mists to the sea, where corn is\nsown. Far shall he dwell from church and Christian men, from the sons of\nthe heathen, from house and cave and from every home, in the torments\nof Hel. At PEACE we shall be, in concord together, each with other in\nfriendly mind, wherever we meet, on mountain or strand, on ship or on\nsnow-shoes, on plains or on glaciers, at sea or on horseback, as friends\nmeet in the water, or brothers by the way, each at PEACE with other, as\nson with father, or father with son, in all our dealings.\n\n\"Our hands we lay together, all and every to hold well the PEACE and the\nwords we have spoken in this our faith, in the presence of God and of\nholy men, of all who hear my words and here are present.\"\n\nMany said that a great word had been spoken. Gest said: \"You have\ndeclared and spoken well; if you go not back upon it, I will not delay\nto show that of which I am capable.\"\n\nThen he cast off his hood and after that all his upper garments. Each\nlooked at the other and woe spread over their lips; for they knew that\nit was Grettir who had come to them, by his excelling all other men in\nstature and vigour. All were silent and Haf looked foolish. The men of\nthe district went two and two together, each blaming the other, and most\nof all blaming him who had declared the peace. Then Grettir said: \"Speak\nplainly to me and declare what is in your minds, for I will not sit here\nlong without my clothes. You have more at stake than I have, whether you\nhold the peace or not.\"\n\nThey answered little and sat themselves down. The sons of Thord and\ntheir brother-in-law Halldor then talked together. Some wished to uphold\nthe peace and some not. Each nodded to the other. Then Grettir spoke a\nverse:\n\n     \"Many a man is filled with doubt.\n     A twofold mask has the prover of shields.\n     The skilful tongue is put to shame.\n     They doubt if they shall hold the troth.\"\n\nThen said Tungu-Steinn: \"Think you so, Grettir? Which then will the\nchieftains do? But true it is that you excel all men in courage. See you\nnot how they are putting their noses together?\"\n\nGrettir then said:\n\n     \"Together they all their noses laid;\n     they wagged their beards in close converse.\n     They talked with each other by two and two,\n     regretting the peace they afore declared.\"\n\nThen said Hjalti the son of Thord: \"It shall not be so; we will hold\nthe peace with you although our minds have altered. I would not that\nmen should have the example of our having broken the peace which\nwe ourselves gave and declared. Grettir shall depart unhindered\nwhithersoever he will, and shall have peace till such time as he reach\nhis home from this journey. And then this truce shall have expired\nwhatever happen with us.\" They all thanked him for his speech, and\nthought he had acted as a chieftain should under such circumstances.\nThorbjorn Angle was silent. Then it was proposed that one or the other\nof the Thords should close with Grettir, and he said that they might do\nas they chose.\n\nOne of the two brothers Thord then came forward. Grettir stood upright\nbefore him and Thord went for him with all his might, but Grettir never\nmoved from his place. Then Grettir stretched over across his back and\nseizing his breeches tripped up his foot and cast him backwards over his\nhead so that he fell heavily upon his shoulders. Then the people said\nthat both the brothers should tackle him together, and they did so.\nThere arose a mighty tussle, each in turn having the advantage, although\nGrettir always had one of them down. Now one, now the other was brought\nto his knees or met with a reverse. So fiercely they gripped that all of\nthem were bruised and bloody. Everybody thought it splendid sport,\nand when they ceased thanked them for their wrestling. Those that were\nsitting near judged that the two together were no stronger than Grettir\nalone, although each had the strength of two strong men. They were\nso equal that when they strove together neither gained the advantage.\nGrettir did not stay long at the Thing. The bondis asked him to give up\nthe island, but this he refused to do, and they accomplished nothing.\n\nGrettir returned to Drangey where Illugi rejoiced much at seeing him\nagain. They stayed there in peace and Grettir told them of his journeys;\nso the summer passed. All thought the men of Skagafjord had acted most\nhonourably in upholding their peace, and from this may be seen what\ntrusty men lived in those days, after all that Grettir had done against\nthem. The less wealthy ones among the bondis began to talk amongst\nthemselves and say that there was little profit in keeping a small share\nof the island, and now offered to sell their holdings to the sons\nof Thord, but Hjalti said he did not want to buy them. The bondis\nstipulated that any one who wanted to buy a share should either kill\nGrettir or get him away. Thorbjorn Angle said that he was ready to take\nthe lead, and would spare no pains to attack Grettir if they would pay\nhim for it. Hjalti his brother resigned to him his share of the island\nbecause Thorbjorn was the more violent and was unpopular. Several other\nbondis did the same, so that Thorbjorn Angle got a large part of the\nisland at a small price, but he bound himself to get Grettir away.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXIII. VISIT OF THORBJORN ANGLE TO DRANGEY\n\n\nAt the end of the summer Thorbjorn Angle went with a boat fully manned\nto Drangey. Grettir and his party came forward on the cliff and they\ntalked together. Thorbjorn begged Grettir to do so much for his asking\nas to quit the island. Grettir said there was not much hope of that.\nThorbjorn said: \"It may be that I can give you some assistance which\nwill make it worth your while to do this. Many of the bondis have now\ngiven up the shares which they had in the island to me.\"\n\nGrettir said: \"Now for the very reason that you have just told me,\nbecause you own the greater part of the island, I am determined never\nto go hence. We may now divide the cabbage. It is true that I thought it\nirksome to have the whole of Skagafjord against me, but now neither\nneed spare the other, since neither is suffocated with the love of his\nfellows. You may as well put off your journeys hither, for the matter is\nsettled so far as I am concerned.\"\n\n\"All abide their time,\" he said, \"and you abide evil.\"\n\n\"I must risk that,\" he said. And so they parted. Thorbjorn returned home\nagain.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXIV. THE FIRE GOES OUT IN DRANGEY\n\n\nGrettir had, it is said, been two years in Drangey, and they had\nslaughtered nearly all the sheep. One ram, it is told, they allowed to\nlive; it was grey below and had large horns. They had much sport\nwith it, for it was very tame and would stand outside and follow them\nwherever they went. It came to the hut in the evening and rubbed its\nhorns against the door. They lived very comfortably, having plenty\nto eat from the birds on the island and their eggs, nor had they much\ntrouble in gathering wood for fire. Grettir always employed the man to\ncollect the drift, and there were often logs cast ashore there which he\nbrought home for fuel. The brothers had no need to work beyond going to\nthe cliffs, which they did whenever they chose. The thrall began to\nget very slack at his work; he grumbled much and was less careful than\nbefore. It was his duty to mind the fire every night, and Grettir bade\nhim be very careful of it as they had no boat with them. One night it\ncame to pass that the fire went out. Grettir was very angry and said it\nwould only be right that Glaum should have a hiding. The thrall said\nhe had a very poor life of it to have to lie there in exile and be\nill-treated and beaten if anything went wrong. Grettir asked Illugi what\nwas to be done, and he said he could think of nothing else but to wait\nuntil a ship brought them some fire.\n\nGrettir said that would be a very doubtful chance to wait for. \"I will\nventure it,\" he said, \"and see whether I can reach the land.\"\n\n\"That is a desperate measure,\" said Illugi. \"We shall be done for if you\nmiscarry.\"\n\n\"I shall not drown in the channel,\" he said. \"I shall trust the thrall\nless in future since he has failed in a matter of such moment to us.\"\n\nThe shortest passage from the island to the mainland is one sea-mile.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXV. GRETTIR SWIMS TO THE MAINLAND FOR FIRE\n\n\nGrettir then prepared for his swim. He wore a cloak of coarse material\nwith breeches and had his fingers webbed. The weather was fine; he left\nthe island towards the evening. Illugi thought his journey was hopeless.\nGrettir had the current with him and it was calm as he swam towards the\nfjord. He smote the water bravely and reached Reykjanes after sunset.\nHe went into the settlement at Reykir, bathed in the night in a warm\nspring, and then entered the hall, where it was very hot and a little\nsmoky from the fire which had been burning there all day. He was very\ntired and slept soundly, lying on right into the day. When it was a\nlittle way on in the morning the servants rose, and the first to enter\nthe room were two women, the maid with the bondi's daughter. Grettir was\nasleep, and his clothes had all fallen off on to the floor. They saw a\nman lying there and recognised him. The maid said:\n\n\"As I wish for salvation, sister, here is Grettir the son of Asmund\ncome. He really is large about the upper part of his body, and is lying\nbare. But he seems to me unusually small below. It is not at all in\nkeeping with the rest of him.\"\n\nThe bondi's daughter said: \"How can you let your tongue run on so? You\nare more than half a fool! Hold your tongue!\"\n\n\"I really cannot be silent, my dear sister,\" said the maid; \"I would not\nhave believed it if any one had told me.\"\n\nThen she went up to him to look more closely, and kept running back to\nthe bondi's daughter and laughing. Grettir heard what she said, sprang\nup and chased her down the room. When he had caught her he spoke a\nverse:\n\n(VERSE MISSING IN MANUSCRIPT)\n\nSoon afterwards Grettir went to the bondi Thorvald, told him his\ndifficulty and asked him to take him out to the island again, which he\ndid, lending him a ship and taking him over. Grettir thanked him for his\ncourtesy. When it became known that Grettir had swum a sea-mile, every\none thought his courage extraordinary both on sea and on land. The men\nof Skagafjord blamed Thorbjorn Angle much for not having ridded Drangey\nof Grettir, and all wanted their shares back again. That did not suit\nhim and he asked them to have patience.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXVI. ADVENTURE OF HAERING IN DRANGEY\n\n\nThat summer a ship came to Gonguskardsos, on board of which was a man\nnamed Haering. He was a young man and very active; he could climb\nany cliff. He went to visit Thorbjorn Angle and stayed there into the\nautumn. He pressed Thorbjorn much to take him to Drangey, that he\nmight see whether the cliff was so high that he could not get up there.\nThorbjorn said it should not be for nothing if he succeeded in getting\nup on to the island and either killing or wounding Grettir; he made it\nappear attractive as a task for Haering to undertake.\n\nOne day they went to Drangey and he put the Easterner ashore in a\ncertain place, telling him not to let himself be seen if he got to the\ntop. Then they set up the ladder and began a conversation with Grettir's\npeople. Thorbjorn asked him whether he would not leave the island. He\nsaid there was nothing on which he was so determined.\n\n\"You have played much with us,\" said Thorbjorn, \"and we do not seem\nlikely to have our revenge, but you have not much fear for yourself.\"\n\nThus they disputed for long, but came to no agreement.\n\nWe have now to tell of Haering. He climbed all about on the cliffs and\ngot to the top in a place which no other man ever reached before or\nsince. On reaching the top he saw the two brothers standing with their\nbacks turned to him. He hoped in a short time to win money and glory\nfrom both. They had no inkling of his being there, and thought that\nnobody could get up except where the ladders were. Grettir was occupied\nwith Thorbjorn's men, and there was no lack of derisive words on both\nsides. Then Illugi looked round and saw a man coming towards them,\nalready quite close. He said: \"Here is a man coming towards us with his\naxe in the air; he has a rather hostile appearance.\"\n\n\"You deal with him,\" said Grettir, \"while I look after the ladder.\"\nIllugi then advanced against the Easterner, who on seeing him turned and\nran about all over the island. Illugi chased him to the furthest end of\nthe island; on reaching the edge he leaped down and broke every bone\nin his body; thus his life ended. The place where he perished was\nafterwards called Haering's leap. Illugi returned and Grettir asked him\nhow he had parted with his man.\n\n\"He would not trust me to manage for him,\" he said. \"He broke his neck\nover the cliff. The bondis may pray for him as for a dead man.\"\n\nWhen Angle heard that he told his men to shove off. \"I have now been\ntwice to meet Grettir,\" he said. \"I may come a third time, and if then\nI return no wiser than I am now, it is likely that they may stay in\nDrangey, so far as I am concerned. But methinks Grettir will not be\nthere so long in the future as he has been in the past.\"\n\nThey then returned home and this journey seemed even worse than the\none before. Grettir stayed in Drangey and saw no more of Thorbjorn\nthat winter. Skapti the Lawman died during the winter, whereby Grettir\nsuffered a great loss, for he had promised to press for a removal of his\nsentence when he had been twenty years an outlaw, and the events just\nrelated were in the nineteenth year. In the spring died Snorri the Godi,\nand much more happened during this winter season which does not belong\nto our saga.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXVII. GRETTIR'S CASE BEFORE THE ALL-THING\n\n\nThat summer at the All-Thing Grettir's friends spoke much about\nhis outlawry, and some held that his term was fulfilled when he had\ncompleted any portion of the twentieth year. This was disputed by the\nopposite party, who declared that he had committed many acts deserving\nof outlawry since, and that, therefore, his sentence ought to be all the\nlonger. A new Lawman had been appointed, Steinn the son of Thorgest,\nthe son of Steinn the Far-traveller, the son of Thorir Autumn-mist.\nThe mother of Steinn the Lawman was Arnora, the daughter of Thord the\nYeller. He was a wise man, and was asked for his opinion. He told them\nto make a search to find out whether this was the twentieth year of his\noutlawry, and they did so. Then Thorir of Gard went to work to put every\npossible difficulty in the way, and found out that Grettir had spent one\nyear of the time in Iceland, during which he must be held to have been\nfree of his outlawry. Consequently it had only lasted nineteen years.\n\nThe Lawman declared that no man could be outlawed for longer than twenty\nyears in all, even though he committed an outlaw's acts during that\ntime. But before that he would allow no man to be freed.\n\nThus the endeavour to remove his sentence broke down for the moment, but\nthere seemed a certainty of his being freed in the following summer. The\nmen of Skagafjord were little pleased at the prospect of Grettir being\nfreed, and they told Thorbjorn Angle that he must do one of the two,\nresign his holding in the island or kill Grettir. He was in great\nstraits, for he saw no way of killing Grettir, and yet he wanted to keep\nthe island. He tried everything he could think of to get the better of\nGrettir by force or by fraud or in any other way that he could.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXVIII. THORBJORN'S FOSTER-MOTHER\n\n\nThorbjorn Angle had a foster-mother named Thurid. She was very old and\nof little use to mankind, but she had been very skilled in witchcraft\nand magic when she was young and the people were heathen. Now she seemed\nto have lost it all. Still, although the land was Christian, many sparks\nof heathendom remained. It was not forbidden by the law of the land to\nsacrifice or perform other heathen rites in private; only the one who\nperformed them openly was sentenced to the minor exile. Now it happened\nto many as it is said: The hand turns to its wonted skill, and that\nwhich we have learned in youth is always most familiar to us. So\nThorbjorn Angle, baffled in all his plans, turned for help to the\nquarter where it would have been least looked for most people, namely,\nto his foster-mother, and asked her what she could do for him.\n\nShe replied, \"Now it seems to me to have come to this, as the saying is:\nMany go to the goat-house to get wool. What would I less than to think\nmyself above the other men of the country, and then to be as nothing\nwhen it comes to the trial? I see not that it fares worse with me than\nwith you, even though I scarce rise from my bed. If you will have my\ncounsel then I must have my way in all that is done.\"\n\nHe consented, and said that she had long given him counsel for his good.\nThe \"double month\" of the summer was now approaching. One fine day the\nold woman said to Angle: \"The weather is now calm and bright; I will\nthat you go to Drangey and pick a quarrel with Grettir. I will go with\nyou and learn what caution is in his words. I shall have some surety\nwhen I see how far they are prospering, and then I will speak over them\nsuch words as I please.\"\n\nAngle said: \"Let us not go to Drangey. It is always worse in my mind\nwhen I leave that place than when I arrive.\"\n\nThe woman said: \"I will not help you if you will not let me do as I\nlike.\"\n\n\"Far be that from me, my foster-mother. I have said that I will go there\na third time, that something may come of it for us.\"\n\n\"You may venture it,\" she said, \"much labour will you have before\nGrettir is laid in the earth; often your lot will be doubtful and hard\nwill it go with you before it is finished. And yet you are so bound that\nsomehow you must get yourself out of it.\"\n\nThen Thorbjorn Angle had a ten-oared boat manned and went on board with\neleven men. The woman was with them and they rowed out to Drangey. When\nthe brothers saw them coming they came forward to the ladder and began\nonce more to talk about their case. Thorbjorn said he had come once more\nto hear their answer whether Grettir would leave the place. He said he\nwould treat the destruction of his property and Grettir's stay there\nas a light thing, provided they parted in peace. Grettir said he had\nno intention of coming to any terms about his going away. \"I have often\ntold you,\" he said, \"that there is no use in talking to me about it. You\nmay do whatever you please; I mean to stay here and abide what happens.\"\n\nThorbjorn saw that his end would not be gained this time, and said: \"I\nknew very well with what men of Hel I had to do. It is most likely that\nsome days will pass before I come here again.\"\n\n\"It would not hurt me if you never came at all,\" said Grettir.\n\nThe woman was lying in the stern sheets covered up with clothes. Then\nshe began to stir and said:\n\n\"These men are brave and unfortunate; there is much difference between\nyou; you offer them good and they refuse everything. There are few more\ncertain tokens of evil than not to know how to accept the good. Now I\nsay this of you, Grettir, that you be deprived of health, of all good\nluck and fortune, of all protection and counsel, ever the more the\nlonger you live. I wish that your days may be less happy in the future\nthan they have been in the past.\"\n\nWhen Grettir heard that he started violently and said: \"What fiend is\nthat in the ship with them?\"\n\nIllugi said: \"I think that must be the old woman, Thorbjorn's\nfoster-mother.\"\n\n\"Curse the hag!\" he said. \"I could have thought of nothing worse!\nNothing that was ever said startled me more than her words, and I know\nthat some evil will befall me from her and her spells. She shall have\nsomething to remind her of her visit here.\"\n\nThen he took up an enormous stone and threw it down into the boat. It\nfell into the heap of clothes. Thorbjorn had not thought that any man\ncould throw so far. A loud scream was heard, for the stone had struck\nher thigh and broken it.\n\nIllugi said: \"I wish you had not done that.\"\n\n\"Do not blame me for it,\" said Grettir. \"I fear it has been just too\nlittle. One old woman would not have been too great a price for us two.\"\n\n\"How will she pay for us? That will be a small sum for the pair of us.\"\n\nThorbjorn then returned home; no greeting passed between them when\nhe left. He spoke to the old woman and said: \"It has happened as I\nexpected. Little credit has the journey to the island brought you. You\nhave been injured for the rest of your life, and we have no more\nhonour than we had before; we have to endure unatoned one insult after\nanother.\"\n\nShe answered: \"This is the beginning of their destruction; I say that\nfrom this time onwards they will go downwards. I care not whether I live\nor not, if I do not have vengeance for the injury they have done me.\"\n\n\"You seem to be in high spirits, foster-mother,\" he said. Then they\narrived home. The woman lay in bed for nearly a month before her leg was\nset and she was able to walk again. Men laughed much over the journey of\nThorbjorn and the old woman. Little luck had come from the meetings with\nGrettir, first at the peace declaration at the Thing, next when Haering\nwas killed, and now the third time when the woman's thigh was broken,\nwhile nothing had been done on their side. Thorbjorn Angle suffered much\nfrom their talk.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXIX. THE SPELL TAKES EFFECT\n\n\nThe autumn passed and but three weeks remained till the winter. The old\nwoman asked to be driven to the sea-shore. Thorbjorn asked what she was\ngoing to do.\n\n\"A small thing only,\" she said, \"yet maybe the signal of greater things\nto come.\"\n\nThey did as she asked them. When they reached the shore she hobbled on\nby the sea as if directed to a spot where lay a great stump of a tree\nas large as a man could bear on his shoulder. She looked at it and bade\nthem turn it over before her; the other side looked as if it had been\nburned and smoothed. She had a small flat surface cut on its smooth\nside; then she took a knife, cut runes upon it, reddened them with her\nblood and muttered some spells over it. After that she walked backwards\nagainst the sun round it, and spoke many potent words. Then she made\nthem push the tree into the sea, and said it should go to Drangey and\nthat Grettir should suffer hurt from it. Then she went back to Vidvik.\nThorbjorn said he did not know what would come of it. The woman said he\nwould know more clearly some day. The wind was towards the land up the\nfjord, but the woman's stump drifted against the wind, and not more\nslowly than would have been expected.\n\nGrettir was sitting in Drangey with his companions very comfortably, as\nhas been told. On the day following that on which the old woman had\ncast her spells upon the tree they went down from the hill to look for\nfirewood. When they got to the western side of the island they found a\ngreat stump stranded there.\n\n\"Here is a fine log for fuel,\" cried Illugi, \"let us carry it home.\"\nGrettir gave it a kick with his foot and said: \"An ill tree and ill\nsent. We must find other wood for the fire.\"\n\nHe pushed it out into the sea and told Illugi to beware of carrying it\nhome, for it was sent for their destruction. Then they returned to their\nhut and said nothing about the tree to the thrall. The next day they\nfound the tree again, nearer to the ladder than on the day before.\nGrettir put it back into the sea and said he would never carry it home.\nThat night passed and dirty weather set in with rain, so that they did\nnot care to go out and told Glaum to fetch fuel. He grumbled very much\nand declared it was cruel to make him plague himself to death in every\nkind of weather. He descended the ladder and found there the woman's\nlog. He thought himself lucky, laboured home with it to the hut and\nthrew it down with a great noise which Grettir heard.\n\n\"Glaum has got something; I must go out and see what it is,\" he said,\nand went out, taking his wood-cutting axe with him.\n\n\"Let your cutting up of it be no worse than my carrying of it home!\"\nsaid Glaum.\n\nGrettir was irritated with the thrall; he used his axe with both hands\nand did not notice what tree it was. Directly the axe touched the tree\nit turned flat and glanced off into Grettir's right leg. It entered\nabove his right knee and pierced to the bone, making a severe wound.\nGrettir turned to the tree and said: \"He who meant me evil has\nprevailed; it will not end with this. This is the very log which I twice\nrejected. Two disasters have you now brought about, Glaum; first you let\nour fire go out, and now you have brought in this tree of ill-fortune. A\nthird mistake will be the death of you and of us all.\"\n\nIllugi then bound the wound. It bled little; Grettir slept well that\nnight and three days passed without its paining him. When they opened\nthe bandages the flesh had grown together and the wound was almost\nhealed. Illugi said: \"I do not think that you will suffer very long with\nthis wound.\"\n\n\"That would be well,\" said Grettir; \"it has happened strangely however\nit ends; but my mind tells me otherwise.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXX. THE SPELL CONTINUES TO WORK\n\n\nOne evening they all went to bed, and about midnight Grettir began to\ntoss about. Illugi asked him why he was so restless. Grettir said his\nleg was hurting him and he thought there must be some change in its\nappearance. They fetched a light, unbound the wound and found it swollen\nand blue as coal. It had opened again and was much worse than at first.\nHe had much pain after that and could not keep quiet, nor would any\nsleep come to his eyes.\n\nGrettir said: \"We must be prepared for it. This illness of mine is\nnot for nothing; there is witchcraft in it. The old woman has meant to\npunish me for the stone which I threw at her.\" Illugi said: \"I told you\nthat no good would come of that old woman.\"\n\n\"It will be all the same in the end,\" said Grettir, and spoke a verse:\n\n     \"Often when men have threatened my life\n     I have known to defend it against the foe:\n     but now 'tis a woman has done me to death.\n     Truly the spells of the wicked are mighty.\"\n\n\"Now we must be on the watch; Thorbjorn Angle will not leave it to end\nhere. You, Glaum, must in future guard the ladder every day and pull it\nup in the evening. Do this trustily, for much depends thereon. If you\nbetray us your end will be a short one.\"\n\nGlaum promised most faithfully. The weather now became severe. A\nnorth-easterly wind set in and it was very cold. Every evening Grettir\nasked if the ladder was drawn in.\n\n\"Are we now to look for men?\" said Glaum. \"Is any man so anxious to take\nyour life that he will lose his own for it? This weather is much worse\nthan impossible. Your warlike mood seems to have left you utterly if you\nthink that everything is coming to kill you.\"\n\n\"You will always bear yourself worse than either of us,\" said Grettir,\n\"whatever happens. But now you must mind the ladder however unwilling\nyou may be.\"\n\nThey drove him out every morning, much to his disgust. The pain of\nthe wound increased, and the whole leg was swollen; the thigh began\nto fester both above and below the wound, which spread all round, and\nGrettir thought he was likely to die. Illugi sat with him night and day,\npaying no heed to anything else. They were now in the second week of his\nillness.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXI. THORBJORN AGAIN VISITS DRANGEY\n\n\nThorbjorn Angle was now at home in Vidvik, much put out at not having\nbeen able to overcome Grettir. When about a week had passed from the\nday when the old woman had bewitched the log, she came to speak with\nThorbjorn and asked whether he did not mean to visit Grettir. He said\nthere was nothing about which he was more determined.\n\n\"But do you wish to meet him, foster-mother?\" he asked.\n\n\"I have no intention of meeting him,\" she said; \"I have sent him my\ngreeting, which I expect he has received. But I advise you to set off\nat once and go quickly to see him, otherwise it will not be your fate to\novercome him.\"\n\nHe replied: \"I have made so many inglorious journeys there that I am not\ngoing again. This weather is reason enough; it would not be possible,\nhowever pressing it were.\"\n\n\"You are indeed without counsel if you see not through these wiles. Now,\nI will advise you. First go and collect men; ride to your brother-in-law\nHalldor in Hof and get help from him. Is it too wild a thing to suppose\nthat I may have to do with this breeze that is now playing?\"\n\nThorbjorn thought it might be that the woman saw further than he\nsupposed, so he sent through the country for men. Answer came very\nquickly that none of those who had given up their shares would do\nanything to help him. They said that both the island and the Grettir\naffair were Thorbjorn's. Tungu-Steinn gave him two men, Hjalti his\nbrother three, Eirik in Guddal sent him one. Of his own he had six.\nThese twelve rode out from Vidvik to Hof, where Halldor invited them to\nstay and asked their news. Thorbjorn told him everything fully. Halldor\nasked who had done it all; he said his foster-mother had urged him much.\n\n\"That will lead to no good. She is a sorceress, and sorcery is now\nforbidden.\"\n\n\"I cannot overlook everything,\" said Thorbjorn; \"I am determined that\nit shall now be brought to an end somehow. But how shall I go to work to\nget on to the island?\"\n\n\"It seems to me,\" said Halldor, \"that you are relying upon something,\nbut I know not whether it is anything good. If you want to accomplish\nanything go out to my friend Bjorn in Haganes in Fljot. He has a good\nboat; ask him from me to lend it to you, and then you will be able to\nsail on to Drangey. It seems to me that if you find Grettir well and\nhearty your journey will have been in vain. One thing know for certain:\ndo not slay him in open fight, for there are enough men to avenge him.\nDo not slay Illugi if you can help it. I fear that my counsel may not\nappear altogether Christian.\"\n\nHalldor then gave him six men; one was named Kar, another Thorleif, the\nthird Brand. The names of the others are not mentioned.\n\nThese eighteen men then went to Fljot, reached Haganes, and gave\nHalldor's message to Bjorn. He said it was his duty to do it for\nHalldor's sake, but that he was under no obligation to Thorbjorn.\n\nHe said it was an insane journey to make, and tried hard to dissuade\nthem. They answered that they could not turn back, so they went down to\nthe sea and launched the boat, which was ready with all her gear in the\nboat-house. Then they made ready to sail. All those who were standing on\nthe shore thought it impossible to cross. They hoisted the sail and the\nboat was soon under way, far out in the fjord. When they got right out\nto sea the weather quieted and was no longer too heavy. In the evening\nas it was getting dark they reached Drangey.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXII. THE LAST BATTLE--DEATH OF GRETTIR AND ILLUGI\n\n\nIt has now to be told how Grettir became so ill that he could not stand\non his feet. Illugi sat with him and Glaum had to hold watch. He still\ncontinued to object, and said they might think their lives were going to\nfall out of them, but there was no reason for it. He went out, but most\nunwillingly. When he came to the ladder he said to himself that there\nwas no need to draw it up. He felt very sleepy, lay down and slept all\nday, and did not wake until Thorbjorn reached the island. They saw then\nthat the ladder was not drawn up. Thorbjorn said: \"The situation has\nchanged from what it used to be; there are no men moving about, and the\nladder is in its place. It may be that more will come of our journey\nthan we expected at first. Now let us go to the hut and not let our\ncourage slacken. If they are well we may know for certain that there\nwill be need for each to do his very best.\"\n\nThey went up the ladder, looked round and saw close to the ascent a\nman lying and snoring aloud. Thorbjorn recognised Glaum, went up to the\nrascal and told him to wake up, striking his ear with the hilt of his\nsword and saying: \"Truly he is in a bad case whose life is entrusted to\nyour keeping.\"\n\nGlaum looked up and said: \"They are going on as usual. Do you think my\nfreedom such a great thing while I am lying here in the cold?\"\n\nAngle said: \"Have you lost your wits? Don't you see that your enemies\nare upon you and about to kill you all?\"\n\nGlaum said nothing, but on recognising the men cried out as loud as he\ncould.\n\n\"Do one thing or the other,\" said Angle; \"either be silent this moment\nand tell me all about your household, or be killed.\"\n\nGlaum was as silent as if he had been dipped in water.\n\nThorbjorn said: \"Are the brothers in the hut? Why are they not about?\"\n\n\"That would not be so easy,\" said Glaum, \"for Grettir is sick and nigh\nto death and Illugi is sitting with him.\"\n\nThorbjorn asked about his condition, and what had happened. Then Glaum\ntold him all about Grettir's wound.\n\nAngle laughed and said: \"True is the ancient saying that Old friends are\nthe last to break away, and also this, that It is ill to have a thrall\nfor your friend--such a one as you, Glaum! You have shamefully betrayed\nyour liege lord, though there was little good in him.\"\n\nThen the others cast reproaches at him for his villainy; they beat him\nalmost helpless and left him lying there. Then they went on to the hut\nand knocked violently at the door.\n\nIllugi said: \"Greybelly [1] is knocking at the door, brother.\"\n\n\"He is knocking rather loud,\" said Grettir; \"most unmercifully.\" Then\nthe door broke in pieces. Illugi rushed to his arms and defended the\ndoor so that they could not get in. They assailed it long, but could get\nnothing in but the points of their spears, all of which Illugi severed\nfrom their shafts. Seeing that they could do nothing, they sprang on\nto the roof and began to break it in. Then Grettir got on to his\nfeet, seized a spear and thrust it between the rafters. It struck Kar,\nHalldor's man from Hof, and went right through him. Angle told them to\ngo to work warily and be careful of themselves. \"We shall only overcome\nthem,\" he said, \"if we act with caution.\"\n\nThen they laid open the end of one of the timbers and bore upon it until\nit broke. Grettir was unable to rise from his knees, but he seized the\nsword Karsnaut at the moment when they all sprang in from the roof, and\na mighty fray began. Grettir struck with his sword at Vikar, a man of\nHjalti the son of Thord, reaching his left shoulder as he sprang from\nthe roof. It passed across his shoulder, out under his right arm, and\ncut him right in two. His body fell in two parts on the top of Grettir\nand prevented him from recovering his sword as quickly as he wished,\nso that Thorbjorn Angle was able to wound him severely between the\nshoulders. Grettir said: \"Bare is his back who has no brother!\"\n\nIllugi threw his shield before Grettir and defended him so valiantly\nthat all men praised his prowess.\n\nGrettir said to Angle: \"Who showed you the way to the island?\"\n\n\"Christ showed us the way,\" he said.\n\n\"I guess,\" said Grettir, \"that it was the wicked old woman, your\nfoster-mother, who showed you; hers were the counsels that you relied\nupon.\"\n\n\"It shall now be all the same to you,\" said Angle, \"upon whom I relied.\"\n\nThey returned to the attack; Illugi defended himself and Grettir\ncourageously, but Grettir was unfit for fighting, partly from his\nwounds, partly from his illness. Angle then ordered them to bear Illugi\ndown with their shields, saying he had never met with his like amongst\nolder men than he. They did so, and pressed upon him with a wall of\narmour against which resistance was impossible. They took him prisoner\nand kept him. He had wounded most of those who were attacking him and\nkilled three. Then they went for Grettir, who had fallen forward on his\nface. There was no resistance in him for he was already dead from his\nwounded leg; his thigh was all mortified up to the rectum. Many more\nwounds they gave him, but little or no blood flowed.\n\nWhen they thought he was quite dead Angle took hold of his sword, saying\nhe had borne it long enough, but Grettir's fingers were so tightly\nlocked around the hilt that he could not loosen them. Many tried before\nthey gave it up, eight of them in turn, but all failed. Angle then said:\n\"Why should we spare a forest-man? Lay his hand upon the log.\"\n\nThey did so, and he hewed off the hand at the wrist. Then the fingers\nstraightened and were loosed from the hilt. Angle took his sword in both\nhands and hewed at Grettir's head. So mighty was the blow that the sword\ncould not hold against it, and a piece was broken out of the edge. When\nasked why he spoilt a good weapon, he replied: \"It will be more easily\nknown if there be any question.\"\n\nThey said this was unnecessary, as the man was dead before. \"I will do\nmore,\" he said, and struck two or three blows at Grettir's neck before\nhe took off his head. Then he said:\n\n\"Now I know for certain that Grettir is dead; a great man of war have we\nlaid even with the earth. We will take his head with us, for I have no\nwish to lose the money which was put upon it. There shall not be any\ndoubt that it was I who slew Grettir.\"\n\nThey said he might do as he pleased, but they felt much disgusted, and\nthought his conduct contemptible.\n\nThen Angle said to Illugi: \"It is a great pity that a man so valiant as\nyou should have committed such a folly as to cast in your lot with this\noutlaw and follow his evil ways, at last to die unatoned.\"\n\nIllugi answered: \"When the All-Thing is over next summer you shall know\nwho are outlawed. Neither you nor the woman, your foster-mother, shall\njudge this case, for it is your spells and sorcery that have killed\nGrettir, though you bore your iron weapons against him when he was\nat the door of death. Many a base deed did you do over and above your\nwitchcraft.\"\n\nAngle said: \"You speak bravely, but it shall not be so. I will show how\nI value you by sparing your life if you will swear by your honour\nto take no vengeance upon any person who has been with us on this\noccasion.\"\n\n\"I might have thought of it,\" he said, \"if Grettir had been able to\ndefend himself or if you had killed him in honourable battle. But now\nyou need not hope that I will try to save my life by becoming a poltroon\nlike you. I tell you at once that if I live no man shall be more\nburdensome to you than I. Long will it be before I forget how you have\ndealt with Grettir; far sooner will I choose to die.\"\n\nThen Thorbjorn consulted with his companions whether they should allow\nIllugi to live. They said he should decide their doings himself, as he\nwas the leader of the expedition. Angle said he was not going to have\na man threatening his head who would not promise to hold faith. When\nIllugi knew that they intended to slay him he laughed and said: \"Now you\nhave resolved upon that which was nearest to my heart.\"\n\nWhen the day broke they led him to the eastern side of the island and\nthere slew him. All praised his courage, and said there was no man of\nhis years who was like him. They buried both the brothers in the island,\nbut took Grettir's head with all weapons and clothes which had any value\naway with them. His good sword Angle would not allow to come amongst\nthe spoils for division, but bore it long himself. They took Glaum with\nthem, still complaining and resisting. The weather had calmed down in\nthe night, and in the morning they rowed to the mainland. Angle sailed\nfor the most convenient place, and sent the ship on to Bjorn. When they\ncame near to Osland, Glaum became so obstreperous that they refused to\ncarry him any further and slew him there where he was, crying as loud as\nhe could until he was killed. Angle went home to Vidvik and considered\nthat on this journey he had been successful. They laid Grettir's head\nin salt and put it for the winter in the out-house called Grettisbur in\nVidvik. Angle was much blamed for this affair when men came to know that\nGrettir had been overcome by sorcery. He remained quietly at home till\nafter Yule. Then he went to seek Thorir in Gard and told him of the\nslayings, adding that he considered that he had a right to the money\nwhich had been put on Grettir's head.\n\nThorir said that he would not deny that he had brought about Grettir's\nsentence. \"I have often suffered wrong from him; but I would not to take\nhis life have become an evil-doer as you have done. I will not pay the\nmoney to you, for you seem to me as one who will be doomed to death for\nmagic and witchcraft.\"\n\nAngle said: \"I think it is much more avarice and meanness on your part\nthan any scruples about the way in which Grettir was killed.\"\n\nThorir said there was an easy way of settling it between them; they need\nonly wait for the All-Thing and accept what seemed right to the Lawman.\nThey then parted with nothing but ill-feeling between Thorir and\nThorbjorn Angle.\n\n\nENDNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 1: The tame ram, see chapter lxxiv.]\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXIII. THORBJORN VISITS GRETTIR'S MOTHER AT BJARG\n\n\nThe kinsmen of Grettir and Illugi were deeply grieved when they heard of\ntheir death. They held that Angle had done a dastardly deed in slaying\na man at the point of death, and they also accused him of practising\nsorcery. They applied to the most learned men, and Angle's case was\nill-spoken of.\n\nFour weeks after the beginning of summer he rode Westwards to Midfjord.\nWhen Asdis heard of his being in the neighbourhood she gathered her\nmen around her. She had many friends, Gamli and Glum, Skeggi, called\nShort-hand, and Ospak, who was mentioned before. So much beloved was\nshe that the whole of Midfjord rose to help her, even those who had once\nbeen Grettir's enemies. Chief among these was Thorodd Drapustuf, who was\njoined by most of the Hrutafjord men.\n\nAngle reached Bjarg with a following of twenty men, bringing Grettir's\nhead with him. All those who had promised their support had not yet\ncome in. Angle's party entered the room with the head and set it on\nthe floor. The mistress of the house was there and several others; no\ngreeting passed between them. Angle spoke a verse:\n\n     \"Grettir's head I bring thee here.\n     Weep for the red-haired hero, lady.\n     On the floor it lies; 'twere rotten by this,\n     but I laid it in salt.  Great glory is mine.\"\n\nShe sat silent while he spoke his verse; then she said:\n\n     \"The swine would have fled like sheep from the fox\n     if Grettir had stood there hearty and strong.\n     Shame on the deeds that were done in the North!\n     Little the glory you gain from my lay.\"\n\nMany said it was small wonder that she had brave sons, so brave was she\nherself before the insults which she had received. Ospak was outside\nand was talking with those of Angle's men who had not gone in. He asked\nabout the fray, and they all praised Illugi for the defence that he had\nmade. They also told of Grettir's firm grip on his sword after he was\ndead, and the men thought it marvellous. Then a number of men were seen\nriding from the West; they were the friends of Asdis with Gamli and\nSkeggi, who had come from Melar.\n\nAngle had intended to have an execution against Illugi and to claim all\nhis property, but when all these men came up he saw that it would not\ndo. Ospak and Gamli were very forward in wanting to fight with Angle,\nbut the wiser heads told them to get the advice of their kinsmen\nThorvald and other chiefs, and said that the more men of knowledge\noccupied themselves with the affair the worse it would be for Angle.\nThrough their intervention Angle got away and took with him Grettir's\nhead, which he intended to produce at the All-Thing. He rode home\nthinking that matters were going badly for him, for nearly all the\nchiefs in the land were either relations or connections of Grettir and\nIllugi.\n\nThat summer Skeggi Short-hand married the daughter of Thorodd Drapustuf,\nwho then took part in the case on the side of Grettir's kinsmen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXIV. THORBJORN IS EXILED AT THE THING\n\n\nMen now rode to the Thing. Angle's party was smaller than he had\nexpected, because the matter had come to be badly spoken of. Halldor\nasked whether they were to take Grettir's head with them to the\nAll-Thing. Angle said he meant to take it.\n\n\"That is an ill-advised thing to do,\" said Halldor; \"there are quite\nenough men against you as it is, without your doing such a thing as that\nto re-awaken their grief.\"\n\nThey were then on the road, and meant to ride South by Sand, so Angle\nlet him take the head and bury it in a sand-hill, which is now called\nGrettisthuf.\n\nThe Thing was very full. Angle brought forward his case, making the most\nof his own deeds. He told them how he had killed the forest-man on whose\nhead the highest price had been laid, and he claimed the money. Thorir\nreplied as before. Then the Lawman was asked for his opinion. He said\nthat he wished to hear whether any counter-charge was made, by which\nAngle should forfeit the outlaw money; if not, the money offered for\nGrettir's head must be paid. Then Thorvald the son of Asgeir asked\nShort-hand to bring the case before the court, and he declared a first\nsummons against Thorbjorn Angle for witchcraft and sorcery through which\nGrettir had met with his death, and a second for having killed a man who\nwas half dead, crimes which he said were punishable with outlawry.\n\nThere was a great division of parties, but those who supported Thorbjorn\nwere few. It went very unexpectedly for him, for Thorvald and his\nson-in-law Isleif held that to do a man to death by sorcery was a crime\nworthy of death. Finally, by the counsel of wise men sentence was passed\nthat Thorbjorn was to leave Iceland that summer and not to return during\nthe lifetime of any of the men concerned in the case on the side of\nIllugi and Grettir. It was enacted as a law that all sorcerers should be\noutlawed.\n\nWhen Thorbjorn saw what his fate was going to be he got away from the\nThing, for Grettir's friends were making preparations to attack him.\nNone of the money that was set upon Grettir's head did he get; Steinn\nthe Lawman would not allow it because of his dishonourable conduct;\nnor was any blood-money paid for the men who had fallen on his side in\nDrangey; they were set off against Illugi, an arrangement, however, with\nwhich Illugi's kinsmen were not at all pleased.\n\nMen rode home from the Thing, and all the feuds which had arisen\non Grettir's account were now at an end. Skeggi the son of Gamli,\nson-in-law of Thorodd Drapustuf and sister's son of Grettir, went North\nto Skagafjord with the assistance of Thorvald Asgeirsson and of his\nson-in-law Isleif, who afterwards became bishop of Skalaholt. After\nobtaining the consent of the whole community he took ship and went to\nDrangey, where he found the bodies of Grettir and Illugi and brought\nthem to Reykir in Reykjastrand and buried them in the church. Testimony\nof Grettir lying there is in the fact that in the days of the Sturlungs,\nwhen the church at Reykir was moved to another place, Grettir's bones\nwere dug up, and were found to be enormously big and strong. Illugi was\nburied later on the north side of the church, and Grettir's head was\nburied in the church at his home in Bjarg.\n\nAsdis remained in Bjarg and was so beloved that no one molested her any\nmore than they did while Grettir was an outlaw. The property at Bjarg\npassed after her death to Skeggi Short-hand, who became a great man.\nHis son was Gamli, the father of Skeggi of Skarfsstad and of Alfdis the\nmother of Odd the Monk, from whom many are descended.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXV. THORBJORN GOES TO NORWAY AND CONSTANTINOPLE\n\n\nThorbjorn Angle embarked at Gasar with as much of his own property as\nhe was able to get. His lands went to his brother Hjalti, including\nDrangey, which Angle gave him. Hjalti became a great chief later on, but\nis not mentioned again in our story.\n\nAngle went to Norway and still made himself very important. He was\nsupposed to have done a great deed of valour in slaying Grettir, and\nmany who did not know how it really happened honoured him accordingly;\nbut there were some to whom Grettir's fame was known. He only told so\nmuch of the story as tended to his own glory, but whatever was less\ncreditable to him he omitted. In the autumn his account reached Tunsberg\nand came to the ears of Thorsteinn Dromund, who kept very quiet, for\nhe had been told that Angle was a very doughty man and valiant. He\nremembered the talk which he had had with Grettir in days long past\nabout his arms, and obtained news of Angle's movements. They were both\nin Norway that winter, but Thorbjorn was in the North and Thorsteinn in\nTunsberg, so that they did not see each other. Angle knew, however,\nthat Grettir had a brother in Norway, and did not feel very secure in\na strange country; so he asked advice as to what he had better do. In\nthose days many of the Norsemen used to go to Mikligard [2] to take\nservice. Thorbjorn thought it would suit him very well to go there and\nearn wealth and glory instead of staying in the northern parts where\nthere were relations of Grettir. So he made ready to leave Norway,\nembarked, and did not stop until he reached Constantinople, and obtained\nservice there.\n\n\nENDNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 2: Constantinople.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXVI. GRETTIR'S DEATH AVENGED BY HIS BROTHER THORSTEINN\nDROMUND\n\n\nThorsteinn Dromund was a wealthy man and highly thought of. On hearing\nof Angle's departure to Constantinople he handed over his property to\nhis kinsmen and followed him, dogging his movements as he went,\nwithout Angle knowing. He reached Constantinople very soon after Angle,\nintending at all costs to kill him. Neither knew of the other.\n\nBoth wanted to be received into the Varangian Guards, and their offer\nwas well received directly it was known that they were Norsemen. At that\ntime Michael Catalactus was king over Constantinople. Thorsteinn Dromund\nwatched for an opportunity of meeting Angle where he might recognise\nhim, but failed amidst the crowd, so he kept on the watch, caring little\nfor his own well-being and ever thinking how much he had lost.\n\nThe next thing that happened was that the Varangians were ordered on\nfield service for the defence of the country. The custom and the law\nwere that before they marched a review was held for the inspection\nof their weapons; this was done on the present occasion. On the day\nappointed for the review all the Varangians and all who were marching\nwith them had to appear and show their arms. Thorsteinn and Angle both\npresented themselves. Thorbjorn was the first to show his weapons and\nhe presented the sword Grettisnaut. As he showed it all marvelled and\ndeclared that it was indeed a noble weapon, but said it was a bad fault\nthat a piece was out of the middle of the edge, and they asked how that\nhad come about. Angle said that was a tale worth telling.\n\n\"The first thing I must tell you,\" he said, \"is that out in Iceland I\nslew a hero named Grettir the Strong. He was a tremendous warrior and so\nvalorous that no one could succeed in killing him until I came. But as\nI was destined to be his slayer, I overcame him, although he was many\ntimes stronger than I am. I cut off his head with this sword and broke a\npiece out of the edge.\"\n\nThose who stood by said he must have had a hard skull, and they showed\nthe sword round. From this Thorsteinn came to know which was Angle, and\nasked to be shown the sword with the others. Angle willingly showed it\nto him, for they were all praising his strength and courage, and he,\nhaving no notion of its being Thorsteinn or any relation of Grettir,\nthought he would do likewise. Dromund took the sword, at once raised it\naloft and struck a blow at Angle. It came into his head with such force\nthat it penetrated to his jaw and Thorbjorn fell dead to the ground.\nThereupon all the men became silent. The officer of the place put\nThorsteinn under arrest and asked him why he had committed such a breach\nof discipline in the sanctity of the Assembly. Thorsteinn said he was a\nbrother of Grettir the Strong and that he had never been able to obtain\nhis vengeance till that moment. Then many of them stood up for him and\nsaid there was much excuse for a man who had come such a long way to\navenge his brother. The elders of the town thought that this might be\ntrue, but as there was no one present to bear out his word they fell\nback upon their own law, which declared that any man who slew another\nshould lose nothing else than his life.\n\nJudgment was quickly passed upon Thorsteinn, and it was rather hard.\nHe was to sit in a dark chamber in a dungeon and there await his death\nunless some one came to pay a ransom for him. When he reached the\ndungeon he found a man who had been there a long time and was all but\ndead from misery. It was both foul and cold. Thorsteinn asked him: \"How\ndo you find your life?\"\n\n\"Most evil,\" he replied; \"no one will help me, for I have no kinsmen to\npay a ransom.\"\n\n\"There are many ways out of a difficulty,\" said Thorsteinn, \"let us be\nhappy and do something to cheer ourselves.\"\n\nThe man said he had no joy in anything.\n\n\"We will try it,\" said Thorsteinn.\n\nThen he began to sing songs. He was such a singer that it would be hard\nto find his like, and he spared nothing. The dungeon was close to the\npublic road and Thorsteinn sang so loud that it resounded from the\nwalls; the man who before was half dead had much joy therefrom. In this\nway he sang every evening.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXVII. THE LADY SPES\n\n\nThere was a very distinguished lady in that town, the owner of a\nlarge establishment, very rich and highly born. Her name was Spes. Her\nhusband's name was Sigurd; he too was wealthy, but of lower birth than\nshe was. She had been married to him for his money. There was not much\nlove between them, and the marriage was thought an unhappy one. She was\nvery proud, and had much dignity.\n\nOne evening when Thorsteinn was diverting himself she happened to pass\nalong the street near the dungeon and heard singing so sweet that she\ndeclared she had never heard the like. She was walking with several\nretainers, and told them to go in and find out who it was that had such\na magnificent voice. They called out and asked who was there in such\nclose confinement. Thorsteinn told his name. Spes said:\n\n\"Are you as good at other things as you are at singing?\"\n\nHe said there was not much in that.\n\n\"What have you done,\" she asked, \"that they should torture you here to\ndeath?\"\n\nHe said he had killed a man and avenged his brother; \"but I have no\nwitness to prove it,\" he said; \"so I have been put here unless some one\ncomes to release me, of which there seems little hope, since I have no\nrelations here.\"\n\n\"A great loss would it be if you were killed,\" she said. \"Was your\nbrother then a man of such renown, he whom you avenged?\"\n\nThorsteinn said he was half as good a man again as himself.\n\nShe asked what token there was of that. Then Thorsteinn spoke this\nverse:\n\n     \"Goddess of rings!  No eight could meet him,\n     or gain the sword from his vanquished hand.\n     Brave was Grettir; his foemen doughty\n     severed the hand of the ruler of ships.\"\n\nThose who understood the song declared that it told of great nobility.\nWhen she heard that she asked:\n\n\"Will you receive your life at my hands if the choice is offered you?\"\n\n\"Indeed I will,\" he said, \"if this companion of mine sitting here\nis released along with me. If not, we must both remain sitting here\ntogether.\"\n\nShe answered: \"I think you are more worth paying for than he is.\"\n\n\"However that may be,\" he said, \"either we both of us come out from here\ntogether or neither of us comes out.\"\n\nSo she went to the Varangians' quarters and asked for the release of\nThorsteinn, offering money. They agreed. With her interest and her\nwealth she brought it about that both of them were released. Directly\nThorsteinn came out of the dungeon he went to pay his respects to the\nlady Spes. She welcomed him and kept him there secretly. From time to\ntime he went campaigning with the Varangians, and was distinguished for\nhis courage in all their engagements.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXVIII. ADVENTURES OF THORSTEINN AND SPES\n\n\nAt that time Harald the son of Sigurd [3] was in Constantinople, and\nThorsteinn became friendly with him. Thorsteinn was now a very great\npersonage, for Spes kept him well supplied with money, and they became\nvery much attached to one another. She was a great admirer of his skill.\nHer expenses were very great because she tried to keep up many friends.\nHer husband noticed a great change in her character and her behaviour,\nand especially that she had become very extravagant. Treasures of gold\nand other property which were in her keeping disappeared. One day her\nhusband Sigurd spoke with her and said that he was much surprised at her\nconduct. \"You pay no attention to our affairs,\" he said, \"and squander\nmoney in many ways. You seem as if you were in a dream, and never wish\nto be where I am. I am certain that something is going on.\"\n\nShe replied: \"I told you as I told my kinsmen when we married that I\nmeant to be my own mistress in all matters which concern myself; that is\nwhy I do not spare your money. Or is there anything more than this that\nyou wish to speak about with me? Do you accuse me of anything shameful?\"\n\nHe said: \"I am not without my suspicions that you are keeping some man\nwhom you prefer to me.\"\n\n\"I do not know,\" she said, \"that there would be very much in that; and\nyet of a surety there is no truth in what you say. I will not speak with\nyou alone if you bring such improper accusations against me.\"\n\nHe dropped the subject for the time. She and Thorsteinn continued to\ncarry on as before, and were not very heedful of the talk of evil-minded\npeople; they relied upon her wits and her popularity. They were often\nsitting together and diverting themselves.\n\nOne evening when they were sitting in an upper room in which her\ntreasures were kept she asked Thorsteinn to sing something, and thinking\nthat her husband was as usual sitting at drink she fastened the door.\nWhen he had sung for a time there was a banging at the door, and some\none called to them to open it. It was her husband with a number of his\nfollowers. The lady had opened a large chest to show Thorsteinn the\ntreasures. When she knew who was outside she refused to open the door,\nand said to Thorsteinn: \"Quickly! Jump into the chest and keep very\nquiet.\"\n\nHe did so. She locked the chest and sat upon it. Her husband then\nentered, having forced his way in. She said:\n\n\"What are you coming here for with all this uproar? Are there robbers\nafter you?\"\n\nHe said: \"Now it is well that you yourself give proof of what you are.\nWhere is the man who was letting his voice run on so grandly? No doubt\nyou think his voice is better than mine.\"\n\n\"No man is a fool if he keeps silence,\" she said; \"that applies to you.\nYou think yourself very cunning, and would like to fasten your lies on\nto me, as in this case. Well, if you have spoken the truth, find the\nman. He will not escape through the walls or the roof.\"\n\nHe searched all through the room and found nothing.\n\n\"Why don't you take him,\" she said, \"if you are so certain?\"\n\nHe was silent and knew not how he could have been deceived. He asked his\nmen whether they had not heard what he heard, but when they saw that the\nlady was displeased there was nothing to be got out of them; they\nsaid that one was often mistaken about sounds. He then went away, not\ndoubting that he knew the truth, though he could not find the man. After\nthat he ceased for some time to pry into his wife's concerns.\n\nOn another occasion, much later, Thorsteinn and Spes were sitting in a\ntiring-room where dresses were kept which belonged to them, both made up\nand in the piece. She showed many of the cloths to Thorsteinn and spread\nthem out. When they were least expecting it her husband came up with a\ntroop of men and broke into the room. While they were forcing their way\nin she covered Thorsteinn up with a bundle of clothes and leaned against\nthe heap when they entered.\n\n\"Do you again deny,\" he said, \"that there was a man here with you? There\nare those present here now who saw you both.\"\n\nShe told him not to be so violent. \"You will not fail to catch him now,\"\nshe said. \"Only leave me in peace and do not push me about.\"\n\nThey searched the room, but finding nothing had to give it up.\n\n\"It is always good to have better proofs than people suppose. It was\nonly to be expected that you would not find what was not there. Now,\nmy husband, will you admit your folly and free me from this slanderous\naccusation?\"\n\n\"By no means will I free you,\" he said, \"for I know that what I have\naccused you of is true, and it will cost you an effort to free yourself\nof the charge.\"\n\nShe said she was quite ready to do that, and therewith they parted.\n\nAfter this Thorsteinn remained entirely with the Varangians. Men say\nthat he acted by the advice of Harald the son of Sigurd, and it is\nthought that they would not have got out of it as they did if they had\nnot made use of him and his wits.\n\nAfter a time Sigurd gave out that he was about to go abroad on some\nbusiness. His wife did not try to dissuade him. When he was gone\nThorsteinn came to Spes and they were always together. Her house was\nbuilt on the very edge of the sea and there were some of the rooms under\nwhich the sea flowed.\n\nHere it was that Spes and Thorsteinn always sat. There was a small\ntrap-door in the floor, known to no one but these two, and it was kept\nopen in case of its being wanted in a hurry.\n\nSigurd, it must be told, did not go away, but concealed himself so as to\nbe able to watch his wife's doings. One evening when they were sitting\nunconcernedly in the room over the sea and enjoying themselves, in came\nher husband with a party of men, taking them by surprise. He had taken\nsome of the men to the window of the room that they might see whether it\nwas not as he had said. They all said that he had spoken truly, and that\nit must have been so too on the former occasions. Then they rushed into\nthe room.\n\nOn hearing the noise Spes said to Thorsteinn: \"You must go down here\nwhatever it costs. Give me some sign that you have got away from the\nhouse.\"\n\nHe promised that he would, and descended through the floor. The lady\nclosed the trap-door with her foot, and it fell back into its place so\nthat no one could see any mark of the floor having been touched. Sigurd\nentered the room with his men, searched, and of course found nothing.\nThe room was uninhabited and there was no furniture in it, but only the\nbare floor and a bed, on which the lady was sitting and twirling her\nfingers. She paid little attention to them and seemed as if their\nbusiness did not concern her. Sigurd thought it altogether ridiculous\nand asked his followers if they had not seen the man. They declared that\nthey had seen him most assuredly.\n\nThe lady said: \"Now we may say as the proverb has it: All good things\nare in threes. This is your case, Sigurd. Three times you have disturbed\nme, if I remember rightly; and now are you any the wiser than you were\nin the beginning?\"\n\n\"This time I am not alone to tell the story,\" he said. \"For all that you\nwill have to clear yourself, for on no terms will I allow your shameful\ndeeds to go unpunished.\"\n\n\"It seems,\" she said, \"that you require the very thing which I would\nmyself propose. It will please me well to show the falsehood of this\naccusation, which has been so thoroughly aired that I shall be disgraced\nif I cannot refute it.\"\n\n\"At the same time,\" he said, \"you will have to deny that you have\nexpended my money and my property.\"\n\nShe replied: \"At the time when I clear myself I will refute all the\nmatters which you brought against me, and you may consider how it will\nall end. I mean to go at once, to-morrow morning, before the bishop that\nhe may grant me full compurgation from this charge.\"\n\nHer husband was satisfied with this and went away with his men.\n\nIn the meantime Thorsteinn had swum away from the house and landed at a\nconvenient place, where he got a firebrand and held it aloft so that\nit could be seen from the lady's house. She stayed long outside in the\nevening and the night, for she was anxious to know whether Thorsteinn\nhad reached the land. When she saw the light she knew that he had\nlanded, for that was the signal which they had agreed upon.\n\nThe next morning Spes proposed to her husband that they should speak\nwith the bishop on their matter. This he was quite ready to do, so they\nwent before the bishop and Sigurd repeated his accusation. The bishop\nasked whether she had ever been accused of misbehaviour before, but\nnobody had heard of such a thing. Then he asked upon what evidence this\ncharge was brought against her, and Sigurd produced the men who had\nseen her sitting in a room with the door locked and a man with her.\nHer husband said that this was ground enough for supposing that the man\nmeant to seduce her.\n\nThe bishop said that she might very well purge herself from this\naccusation if she so desired. She replied that she desired it very much.\n\"I hope,\" she said, \"that I shall have many women to swear for me on\nthis charge.\"\n\nThe form of the oath which she was to swear was then communicated to her\nand the day for the compurgation fixed. She returned home and was quite\nhappy. She and Thorsteinn met and laid their plans.\n\n\nENDNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 3: The same Harald who, as King of Norway, would later\nchallenge King Harald I for the throne of England.  He lost at the\nBattle of Stamford Bridge--three weeks before Hastings (A.D. 1066).]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER LXXXIX. THE ORDEAL\n\n\nThe day now arrived when Spes was to make oath. She invited all her\nfriends and relations, and appeared in the finest clothes that she\npossessed, with many a fine lady in her train. It was raining heavily\nand the roads were flooded; on the way to the church there was a swamp\nto be passed. When Spes came with her company to the swamp there was a\ngreat crowd on the high road, and a multitude of poor people asking for\nalms, for all who knew her thought it a duty to give her a greeting and\nwish her well because of the kindnesses which they had often received\nfrom her.\n\nAmongst these poor people there was a beggar very large of stature and\nwith a long beard. The women halted at the swamp; being people of high\nrank they did not like to cross the dirty slough. The big beggar, seeing\nthat Spes was better dressed than the other ladies, said to her: \"Good\nlady, have the condescension to allow me to carry you over the swamp. It\nis the duty of us gaberlunzies to serve you in whatever way we can.\"\n\n\"How can you carry me,\" she said, \"when you can scarcely carry\nyourself?\"\n\n\"Nevertheless, it would be a great condescension. I cannot offer you\nmore than I have, and you will prosper the better in other things for\nhaving had no pride with a poor man.\"\n\n\"Know then for a surety,\" she said, \"that if you carry me not properly\nthe skin shall be flayed from your back.\"\n\n\"Gladly will I venture upon that,\" he said, and waded out into the\nstream. She pretended to dislike very much being carried by him;\nnevertheless, she got upon his back. He staggered along very slowly,\nusing two crutches, and when they reached the middle he was reeling in\nevery direction. She told him to pull himself together. \"If you drop me\nhere,\" she said, \"it shall be the worst journey that you ever made.\"\n\nThe poor wretch gathered up all his strength and still went on. By dint\nof a valiant effort he had all but reached the shore when he struck his\nfoot against something and fell forwards, projecting her on to the bank\nwhile he himself fell into the mire up to his armpits. There as he lay\nhe put out his hands, not on her clothes, but on her legs. She sprang up\ncursing and said she always suffered ill from low vagabonds. \"It would\nonly be right that you should have a good beating,\" she said, \"were I\nnot ashamed to beat such a miserable creature as you are.\"\n\nHe said: \"Unequal is the lot of man. I thought to earn some benefit and\nto receive alms from you, and you only give me abuse and insult without\nany reward.\" And he pretended to be very much disgusted. Many felt pity\nfor him, but she said he was a very cunning rascal. When they all began\nto beg for him she took out her purse, wherein was many a golden penny.\nShe shook out the money, saying: \"Take that, fellow! It would not be\nright that you should go unpaid for all my scoldings. You are now paid\nfor what you have done.\"\n\nHe gathered up the money and thanked her for her liberality. Spes then\nwent to the church, which was full of people. Sigurd proceeded with\nenergy and told her to clear herself of the charge which he had brought\nagainst her.\n\n\"I pay no heed to your accusation,\" she said; \"but I want to know what\nman it was whom you pretend to have seen in the room with me, because\nthere is always some proper man near me; there is nothing to be ashamed\nof in that. But this I will swear, that to no man have I given money and\nthat by no man has my body been defiled excepting by my husband and\nby that beggar, who put his muddy hands upon my leg to-day when I was\ncarried over the ditch.\"\n\nMany then were satisfied and declared that her oath was perfectly\ngood and that she was in no way disgraced by a man having touched her\nunwittingly. She said she had to tell the story just as it happened, and\nthen she swore the oath in the words appointed for her. Many said that\nshe would be observing the saying that: Nothing should be omitted from\nan oath. But she replied that wise men would hold that there was no\ncause for suspicion. Then her relations began to talk with her and\nsaid that it was a great insult to a woman of high birth that such lies\nshould be told about her and go unpunished, for they said it was an\noffence punishable with death if a woman were proved to have been\nunfaithful to her husband. So Spes asked the bishop to divorce her from\nSigurd, saying that she would not endure the lies which he had told.\nHer kinsmen supported her, and with their help her request was granted.\nSigurd got little of the property and had to leave the country. So it\nhappened as usual that the weaker had to bow, nor could he accomplish\nanything although the right was on his side. Spes took all the money\nand was held in high esteem, but when men came to consider her oath they\nthought it was not altogether above suspicion, and they concluded that\nvery skilful men had composed the Latin formula for her. They ferreted\nout that the beggar who carried her was Thorsteinn Dromund. But Sigurd\ngot no redress.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XC. THORSTEINN AND SPES RETURN TO NORWAY\n\n\nWhile the affair was being talked about Thorsteinn Dromund remained\nwith the Varangians, where he was held in such high estimation that his\nprowess was considered to be beyond that of nearly every man who had\ncome to them. Especially Harald the son of Sigurd did him honour, and\nclaimed kinship with him; it was supposed to have been by his advice\nthat Thorsteinn had acted.\n\nSoon after Sigurd was driven from the country Thorsteinn proposed\nmarriage to Spes; she was quite agreeable, but referred it to her\nkinsmen. There were family meetings and all agreed that she herself\nought to decide. Matters were settled between them; their union was most\nprosperous and they had plenty of money. Thorsteinn was considered lucky\nto have got out of his difficulties in such a way. After they had lived\ntogether for two years in Constantinople, Thorsteinn told her that he\nwould like to visit his property once more in Norway. She said he should\ndo as he pleased, and he then sold his property so as to have some ready\nmoney. They left the country with a good company of followers and sailed\nall the way to Norway. Thorsteinn's kinsmen welcomed them both, and\nsoon saw that Spes was both generous and noble; accordingly she quickly\nbecame very popular. They had three children, and remained on their\nproperty very well contented with their condition.\n\nThe king of Norway was at that time Magnus the Good. Thorsteinn soon\nwent to meet him, and was well received because of the fame which he had\nearned through having avenged Grettir the Strong. Scarcely an example\nwas known of a man from Iceland having been avenged in Constantinople,\nexcepting Grettir the son of Asmund. It is said that Thorsteinn entered\nhis bodyguard. Thorsteinn remained nine years in Norway, both he and\nhis wife being in high honour. After that King Harald the son of Sigurd\nreturned from Constantinople, and King Magnus gave him the half of\nNorway. Both kings were together in Norway for a time. After Magnus's\ndeath some who had been his friends were less contented, for he was\nbeloved of all, but Harald was not easy to get on with, since he was\nhard and severe. Thorsteinn Dromund then began to grow old, but was\nstill very vigorous. Sixteen winters had now passed since the death of\nGrettir.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCI. ABSOLUTION IN ROME\n\n\nThere were many who urged Thorsteinn to visit King Harald and become his\nman, but he would not. Spes said to him: \"I would not, Thorsteinn, that\nyou go to Harald, for a larger debt remains unpaid to another King,\nwhereto we must now turn our thoughts. Our youth is now passed; we are\nboth becoming old, and we have lived more after our desires than after\nChristian doctrine or regard for righteousness. Now I know that neither\nkinsmen nor wealth may pay this debt if we pay it not ourselves. I would\ntherefore that we now change our way of life and leave the country\nto betake ourselves to Pafagard. [4] I have hope that so I shall be\nabsolved from my sin.\"\n\nThorsteinn answered: \"The matter of which you speak is as well known\nto me as it is to you. It is right that you should rule now, and most\nseemly, since you allowed me to rule when our matter was much less\nhopeful. And so shall it be now in all that you say.\"\n\nThis resolve of theirs took men by surprise. Thorsteinn was then two\nyears past of sixty-five, but still vigorous in all that he undertook.\nHe summoned all his kinsmen and connections to him and told them\nhis plans. The wiser men approved of his resolve, while holding his\ndeparture a great misfortune for themselves. Thorsteinn said there was\nno certainty of his return. He said:\n\n\"I wish now to thank you all for the care of my goods which you took\nwhile I was absent. Now I ask you to take over my children along with\nmy property, and to bring them up in your own ways; for I am now come\nto such an age that even if I live there is much doubt about whether I\nshall return. Manage all that I leave behind as if I should never return\nto Norway.\"\n\nThe men answered that matters would be more easily managed if his wife\nremained to look after them.\n\nShe answered: \"I left my own country and came from Mikligard with\nThorsteinn, I bade farewell to my kinsmen and my possessions, because\nI wished that one fate should befall us both. And now it has seemed\npleasant to me here, but no desire have I to remain in Norway or in\nthese Northern lands after he has departed. There has always been\ngoodwill between us and no dissension. Now we must both depart together;\nfor we ourselves know best about many things which have happened since\nwe first met.\"\n\nWhen they had thus dealt with their own condition, Thorsteinn appointed\ncertain impartial men to divide his property in two parts. Thorsteinn's\nkinsmen took over the half which was to go to the children, and brought\nthem up with their father's relations. They became in time men of the\nutmost valour, and a large posterity in the Vik is sprung from them.\nThorsteinn and Spes divided their share, giving some to the church for\nthe good of their souls and keeping some for themselves. So they set off\nfor Rome, bearing the good wishes of many with them.\n\n\nENDNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 4: Rome.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCII. THE END OF THORSTEINN AND SPES\n\n\nThey travelled then the whole way to Rome, and appeared before him\nwho was appointed to hear confessions. They related truly all that\nhad happened, all the cunning tricks wherewith they had achieved their\nunion. They submitted with humility to the penances laid upon them,\nand by reason of their having voluntarily turned their hearts to desire\nabsolution from their sins, without any pressure from the elders of the\nchurch, their penance was lightened so far as it was possible, and\nthey were gently admonished to arrange their lives with wisdom for the\nwell-being of their souls, and, after receiving absolution in full, to\nlive henceforward in purity. They were declared to have acted wisely and\nwell.\n\nThen the lady Spes said: \"Now, I think it has gone well; and now we have\nnot suffered only misfortune together. It may be that foolish men will\nfollow the example of our former lives. Let us now end in such way that\nwe may be an example to the good. We will come to an agreement with some\nmen skilled in building to erect for each of us a stone retreat, thus\nmay we atone for all the offences which we have committed against God.\"\n\nSo Thorsteinn advanced money to stone-masons and such other persons\nas might be needed, that they might not be without the means of\nsubsistence. When these works were completed and all matters were\nsettled, a fitting time was chosen for them to part company with each\nother, each to live alone, in order more surely to partake of the\neternal life in another world. They remained each in their own retreat,\nliving as long as it pleased God to spare them, and thus ending their\nlives.\n\nMost men consider Thorsteinn Dromund and Spes to have been most\nfortunate in escaping from the difficulties which they had fallen into.\nNone of their children or posterity are mentioned as having come to\nIceland.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XCIII. THE TESTIMONY OF STURLA THE LAWMAN\n\n\nSturla the Lawman has declared that no outlaw was ever so distinguished\nas Grettir the Strong. For this he assigns three reasons. First, that he\nwas the cleverest, inasmuch as he was the longest time an outlaw of\nany man without ever being captured, so long as he was sound in health.\nSecondly, that he was the strongest man in the land of his age, and\nbetter able than any other to deal with spectres and goblins. Thirdly,\nthat his death was avenged in Constantinople, a thing which had never\nhappened to any other Icelander.\n\nFurther, he says that Thorsteinn Dromund was a man who had great luck in\nthe latter part of his life.\n\nHere endeth the story of Grettir the son of Asmund.","title":"The Saga of Grettir the Strong: Grettir's Saga","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":70618}