Icelandic Sagas - Gisli The Outlaw, Part 1

Please enjoy the first part of the saga of Gisli the Outlaw! It is believed that the Icelandic Sagas were written down in the 13th and 14th centuries. They recount the family tales of Icelanders from the 10th and 11th centuries and give some fascinating insights into the lives, struggles and interests of the Nordic people of that era...

Transcript

Hello there.

Thank you for joining me for this reading of the first part of the saga of Gisli the Outlaw.

So this is from the Icelandic sagas which it is believed were written down in the 13th and 14th centuries and they detail the lives of various people of Iceland from the 10th and 11th centuries.

So this story is originally called Gisla saga Sursonar and we're going to be reading translation here from 1866 into English by G.

W.

Descent.

So I hope that you're feeling comfortable.

Maybe take a moment a nice exhale and we will dive into the story of Gisli the outlaw.

Chapter one.

The Thrall's Curse.

At the end of the days of Harald Fairhair there was a mighty lord in Norway whose name was Thorkell Goldhelm and he dwelt in Sunnardal in North Meirin.

He had a wedded wife and three sons by her.

The name of the eldest was Auri,

The second was called Gisli and the third Thorbjörn.

They were all young men of promise.

There was a man too named Issi who ruled over the Fjallraðarfok.

His daughter's name was Ingibjörg and she was the fairest of women.

Auri,

Thorkell's son,

Asked her to wife and she was wedded to him.

He got a great dower with her and amongst the rest that she brought with her from her home was a man named Kol.

He was of high degree but he had been taken captive in war and was called a thrall.

So he came with Ingibjörg to Sunnardal.

Thorkell gave over to his son Auri a rich farm up in the dale and there he set up his abode and was looked on as a most rising man.

But now our story goes on to tell of a man named Björn,

Nicknamed Björn the Black.

He was a berserk and much given to jewels.

Twelve men went at his heel and besides he was skilled in the black art and no steel could touch his skin.

No wonder he was unbeloved by the people for he turned aside as he listed into the houses of men and took away their wives and daughters and kept them with him as long as he liked.

All raised an outcry when he came and all were fain when he went away.

Well as soon as this Björn heard that Auri had brought home a fair wife with a rich dower,

He thought he would have a finger in that pie.

So he turned his steps thither with his crew and reached the house at eventide.

As soon as Auri and Björn met,

Björn told him that he wanted to play the master in that house and that Ingibjörg,

The housewife,

Should be at his beck and call whenever he chose.

As for Auri,

He said he might please himself,

Go away or stay,

So he let Björn have his will.

But Auri said he would not go away,

Nor would he let him play the master there.

Very well,

Said Björn,

Thou shalt have another choice.

I will challenge thee to fight on the island,

If thou darest,

Three days from this,

And then we will try whose Ingibjörg shall be,

And he too shall take all the other's goods who wins the day.

Now,

Mind,

I will neither ransom myself with money,

Nor will I suffer anyone else to ransom himself.

One shall conquer and the other die.

Auri said he was willing enough to fight,

So the berserks went their way and busked them to battle.

To make a long story short,

They met on the island and the end of their struggle was that Auri fell.

But the berserk was not wounded,

For no steel would touch him.

Now,

Björn thought he had won wife and land and goods and he gave out that he meant to go at even to Auri's house to claim his own.

Then Gisli,

Auri's brother,

Answered and said,

It will soon be all over with me and mine,

If this disgrace comes to pass,

That this ruffian tramples us underfoot,

But this shall never be,

For I will challenge thee at once to battle tomorrow morning.

I would far rather fall on the island than bear this shame.

Well and good,

Says Björn,

Thou and thy kith and kin shall all fall,

One after the other,

If you dare to fight with me.

After that they parted and Gisli went home to the house that Auri had owned.

Now the tidings were told of what had happened on the island and of Auri's death and all thought that a great blow to the house.

But Gisli goes to Ingibjörg and tells her of Auri's fall and how he had challenged Björn to the island and how they were to fight the very next morning.

That is a bootless undertaking,

Said Ingibjörg,

And I fear it will not turn out well for thee,

Unless thou hast other help to lean on.

Ah,

Said Gisli,

Then I beg that thou and all else who are likeliest to yield help will do their best,

That victory may seem more hopeful than it now looks.

Know this,

Said Ingibjörg,

That I was not so very fond of Auri that I would not rather have had thee.

There is a man,

She said,

Who methinks is likeliest to be able to help in this matter,

So that it may be well with thee.

Who is that?

Asks Gisli.

It is Kol,

My foster father,

Was the answer.

For I wean he has a sword that is said to be better than most others,

Though he seems to set little store by it,

For he calls it his chopper,

But whoever wields that sword wins the day.

So they sent for Kol and he came to meet Gisli and Ingibjörg.

Hast thou ever a good sword?

Asked Gisli.

My sword is no great treasure,

Answers Kol,

But yet there are many things in the Chull's cot which are not in the King Grange.

Wilt thou not lend me the sword for my jewel with Björn?

Said Gisli.

Said Kol.

Then will happen whatever happens with those things that are treasures.

You will never wish to give it up,

But for all that I tell thee now that this sword will bite whatever its blow falls on,

Be it iron or aught else,

Nor can its edge be deadened by spells,

For it was forged by the dwarves,

And its name is Greysteel.

And now make up thy mind that I shall take it very ill if I do not get the sword back when I claim it.

It were most unfair,

Says Gisli,

That thou shouldst not get back the sword after I have had the use of it in my need.

Now Gisli takes the sword,

And the night glides away.

Next morn,

Ere they went from home to the jewel,

Thorbjörn called out to Gisli,

His brother,

And said,

Which of us,

Twain,

Now shall fight with the Berserk today,

And which of us shall slaughter the calf?

My counsel,

Said Gisli,

Is that thou shalt slaughter the calf while I and Björn try our strength.

He did not choose the easiest task.

So they set off to the island,

And Gisli and Björn stood face to face on it.

Then Gisli bade Björn strike the first blow.

No one has ever made me that offer before,

Said Björn.

Indeed,

No one has ever challenged me before this day,

Save thou.

So Björn made a blow at Gisli,

But Gisli threw his shield before him,

And the sword hewed off from the shield all that it smote from below the handle.

Then Gisli smote at Björn in his turn,

And the stroke fell on the tail of the shield,

And sure it right off,

And then passed on and struck off his leg below the knee.

One other stroke he dealt him,

And took off his head.

Then he and his men turned on Björn's followers,

And some are slain,

And some chased away into the woods.

After that Gisli goes home,

And got good fame for this feat.

And then he took the farm as his heritage,

After Auri,

His brother.

And he got Inki Björka also to wife,

For he would not let a good woman go out of the family.

And time rolls on,

But he did not give up the good sword,

Nor had Kol ever asked for it.

One day they two met out of doors,

And Gisli had grey steel in his hand,

And Kol had an axe.

Kol asked whether he thought the sword had stood him in good stead,

And Gisli was full of its praises.

Well now,

Said Kol,

I should like to have it back,

If thou thinkest it has done thee good service in thy need.

Wilt thou sell it?

Says Gisli.

No,

Says Kol.

I will give thee thy freedom and goods,

So that thou mayest fare whither thou wilt with other men.

I will not sell it,

Says Kol.

Then I will give thee thy freedom,

And lease or give thee land,

And besides I will give thee sheep and cattle and goods as much as thou needest.

I will not sell it a whit more for that,

Says Kol.

Indeed,

Says Gisli,

Thou art too willful to cling to it thus.

Put thine own price on it,

Any sum thou choosest in money,

And be sure I will not stand at trifles if thou wilt come to terms in some way.

Besides,

I will give thee thy freedom,

And a becoming match,

If thou hast any liking for anyone.

There is no use talking about it,

Says Kol.

I will not sell it whatsoever thou offerest.

But now it just comes to what I feared at first,

When I said it was not sure whether thou wouldest be ready to give the sword up,

If thou knewest what virtue was in it.

And I too,

Says Gisli,

Will say what will happen.

Good will befall neither of us,

For I have not the heart to give up the sword,

And it shall never come into any other man's hand than mine,

If I may have my will.

Then Kol lifts up his axe,

While Gisli brandished grey steel,

And each smote at the other.

Kol's blow fell on Gisli's head,

So that it sank into the brain.

But the sword fell on Kol's head,

And did not bite.

But still the blow was so stoutly dealt that the skull was shattered,

And the sword broke asunder.

Then Kol said,

It had been better now that I had got back my sword,

When I asked for it.

And yet this is but the beginning of the ill luck which it will bring on thy kith and kin.

Thus both of them lost their lives.

Chapter Two Kolbein's Killing Now,

After that,

Ingi Björkö longed to get away from Sunnadal,

And went home to her father with her goods.

As for Þorpir,

He looked about for a wife,

And went east,

Across the keel,

To Frese,

And wooed a woman named Isgerða,

And got her.

After that,

He went back home to Sunnadal,

And set up housekeeping with his father.

Þorkel Goldhelm lived but a little while afterwards,

Ere he fell sick and died,

And Þorpir took all the heritage after his father.

He was afterwards called Þorpir Soursop,

And he dwelt at Stok in Sunnadal.

He and Isgerða had children.

Their eldest son was Þorkel,

The second Kistli,

And the third Auri,

But he was sent at once to be fostered at Frese,

And he is little heard of in this story.

Their daughter's name was Þordisa.

She was their eldest child.

Þorkel was a tall man,

And fairer face,

Of huge strength,

And the greatest dandy.

Kistli was swarthy of hue,

And as tall as the tallest.

It was hard to tell how strong he was.

He was a man who could turn his hand to anything,

And was ever at work,

Mild of temper too.

Their sister Þordisa was a fair woman to look on,

High-minded,

And rather hard of heart.

She was a dashing,

Forward woman.

At that time there were two young men in Surnadal,

Whose names were Bard and Kolbeinn.

They were both well-to-do,

And though they were not akin,

They had each,

A little before,

Lost their father on a cruise to England.

Hetla was the name of Bard's house,

And Granskaith was where Kolbeinn dwelt.

They were much about the same age as Þorpjard's sons,

And they were all full of mirth and frolic.

This was just about the time when Hakon Athelstein's foster child was king of Norway.

Well,

We must go on to say that this Kolbeinn,

Of whom we have spoken,

Grew very fond of coming to Þorpjard's house,

And when there,

Thought it best sport of all to talk with Þordisa.

Before long,

Other folk began to talk about this,

And so much was said about it that it came to her father's ears,

And he thought he saw it all as clear as day.

Then Þorpjard spoke to his sons,

And bade them find a cure for this.

Kistli said it was easy enough to cure things in which there was no harm.

If we are to speak,

Don't say things which seem as though you wanted to pick a quarrel.

I see,

Said Þorpjard,

That this has got wind far too widely,

And that it will be out of our power to smother it.

Nevertheless,

Too,

It seems much more likely that thou and thy brother are cravens with little or no feeling of honour.

Kistli went on to say,

Don't fret thyself,

Father,

About his coming.

I will speak to him to stop his visits hither.

Ah,

Cried out Þorpjard,

Thou art likelier to go and beg and pray him not to come hither,

And be so eager as even to thank him for so doing,

And to show thyself a dastard in every way,

And after all,

To do nothing if he does not listen to thy words.

Now Kistli goes away,

And he and his father stayed their talk.

But the very next time that Kolbeinn came thither,

Kistli went with him on his way home when he left and spoke to him,

And says he will not suffer him to come thither any longer.

For my father frets himself about thy visits,

For folks say that thou beguilest my sister Þortisa,

And that is not at all to my father's mind.

As for me,

I will do all I can,

If thou dost as I wish,

To bring mirth and sport into thy house.

What's the good,

Said Kolbeinn,

Of talking of things which thou knowest can never be?

I know not whether is more irksome to me thy father's fretfulness,

Or the thought of giving way to his wish.

Verily the words of the weak are little worth.

That is not the way to take it,

Answers Kistli.

The end of this will be that,

At last,

When it comes to the push,

I will set most store by my father's will.

Methought now it was worth trying,

Whether thou wouldst do this for my word's sake,

Then thou mightest have asked as much from me another time.

But I am afraid that we shall not like it,

If thou art bent on being cross-grained.

To that Kolbeinn said little,

And so they parted.

Then Kistli went home,

And so things rested for a while,

And Kolbeinn's visits were somewhat fewer and farther between than they had been.

At last,

He thinks it dull at home,

And goes oftener to Thorbjorn's house.

So,

One day,

When he had come thither,

Kistli sat in the hall,

And smithed,

And his father,

And his brother,

And sister were there too.

Thorkell was the cheeriest towards Kolbeinn,

And these three,

Thorkell,

And Thordisa,

And Kolbeinn,

All sat on the crossbench.

But,

When the day was far spent,

And evening fell,

They rose up and went out.

Thorbjorn and Kistli were left behind in the hall,

And Thorbjorn began to say,

Thy begging and praying has not been worth much,

For both thy undertaking was girlish,

And,

Indeed,

I can scarce say whether I am to reckon thee and thy brother as my sons or my daughters.

It is hard to learn,

When one is old,

That one has sons who have no more manly thoughts than women had in olden times,

And ye two are utterly unlike my brothers,

Kistli and Auri.

Thou hast no need,

Answered Kistli,

To take it so much to heart,

For no one can say how a man will behave till he is tried.

With this,

Kistli could not bear to listen longer to his father's jibes,

And went out.

Just then,

Thorkell and Kolbeinn were going out at the gate,

And Thordisa had turned back for the hall.

Kistli went out after them,

And so they all walked along together.

Again,

Kistli besought Kolbeinn to cease his visits,

But Kolbeinn said he weaned that no good would come of that.

Then Kistli said,

So you set small store by my words,

And now we shall jay down our companionship in a worse way than I thought.

I don't see how I can help that,

Said Kolbeinn.

Why,

Said Kistli,

One of two things must happen,

Either that thou settest some store by my words,

Or,

If thou dost not,

Then I will forsake all the friendship that has been between us.

Thou must settle that as thou pleasest,

Said Kolbeinn,

But for all that,

I cannot find it in my heart to break off my visits.

At that,

Kistli drew his sword and smote at him,

And that one stroke was more than enough for Kolbeinn.

Thorkell was very vexed at the deed,

But Kistli bade his brother be soothed.

Let us change swords,

He said,

And take thou that with the keenest edge.

This he said,

Mocking,

But Thorkell was soothed,

And sat down by Kolbeinn.

Then Kistli went home to his father's hall,

And Thorpjorn asked,

Well,

How has thy begging and praying sped?

Well,

Said Kistli,

I think I may say that it has well sped,

Because we settled,

Ere we parted just now,

That Kolbeinn should cease his visits,

That they might not anger thee.

That can only be,

Said Thorpjorn,

If he be dead.

Then be all the better pleased,

Says Kistli,

That thy will hath been done in this matter.

Good luck to thy hand,

Said Thorpjorn.

But may be,

After all,

That I have not daughters alone to my children?

Chapter Three The Burning of the Old House As for Thorkell,

Who had been Kolbeinn's greatest friend,

He could not bear to be at home,

Nor would he change swords with Kistli,

But went his way to a man called Dueling Skekki in the Isle of Saxa.

He was near a kin to Kolbeinn,

And in his house Thorkell stayed.

In a little while,

Thorkell egged Skekki on to avenge his kinsman,

And at the same time to woo his sister,

Thordisa.

So they went to stock,

For that was the name of Thorpjorn's farm,

Twenty of them together.

And when they came to the house,

Skekki began to talk of King Thorpjorn's son-in-law,

And of having Thordisa to wife.

But Thorpjorn would not hear of the match.

The story went that Bard,

Kolbeinn's friend,

Had settled it all with Thordisa,

And at any rate,

Skekki made up his mind that Bard was to blame for the loss of the match.

So he set off to find Bard,

And challenge him to fight on the Isle of Saxa.

Bard said he would be sure to come.

He was not worthy to have Thordisa if he did not dare to fight for her with Skekki.

So Thorkell and Skekki set out for Saxa with twenty-one men in all,

And waited for the day fixed for the duel.

But when three nights had come and gone,

Gisli went to find Bard and ask whether he were ready for the combat.

Bard says yes,

And asked whether if he thought he should have the match.

"'Twill be time to talk of that afterwards,

' says Gisli.

"'Well,

' says Bard,

"'methinks,

I had better not fight with Skekki.

' "'Out on thee,

For a dastard,

' says Gisli,

"'but though thou broughtest us all to shame,

Still for all that I will go myself.

' Now Gisli goes to the Isle with eleven men.

Meantime,

Skekki had come to the Isle and staked out the lists for Bard,

And laid down the lore of the combat,

And after all saw neither him nor anyone to fight on the Isle in his stead.

There was a man named Fox,

Who was Skekki's smith,

And Skekki bade Fox to carve likenesses of Gisli and Bard,

And see,

He said,

That one stands just behind the back of the other,

And this laughingstock shall stand for I to put them to shame.

These words Gisli heard in the wood,

And called out,

"'Thy housecarls shall have other handier work to do.

Here,

Behold a man who dares to do battle with thee.

' Then they stepped on the Isle and fought,

And each bore his own shield before him.

Skekki had a sword called Warflame,

And with it he smote at Gisli till the blade sang again,

And Skekki chanted,

"'Warflame,

Fierce,

Flickered,

Flaring on Saxa!

' But Gisli smote back at him with his battleaxe,

And took off the tail of his shield,

And Skekki's leg along with it,

And as he smote,

He chanted,

"'Grimly,

Grinned,

Ogre more,

Gaping at Skekki!

' As for Skekki,

He ransomed himself from the Island,

And went ever after on a wooden leg.

But Þorkell went home with his brother Gisli,

And now their friendship was pretty good,

And Gisli was thought to have grown a great man by these dealings.

That same winter Einar and Sigurd,

The sons of Skekki,

Set off from their house at Flidrnes with nigh forty men,

And marched till they came in the night to Surnadir.

They went first to Bard's house at Hetla,

And seized all the doors.

Two choices were given him,

The first that he should lose his life,

The other that he should go with them against Þorpjarn and his sons.

Bard said there were no ties between him and Þorpjarn and his sons.

I set most store on my life,

He says.

As for the other choice,

I think nothing of doing it.

So he set out with them,

And ten men followed him.

They were then in all fifty men.

They come unawares on Þorpjarn's house,

At stock.

His men were so arranged that some of them were in the hall,

And some in the storeroom.

This storeroom Gisli had built some years before,

And made it in such wise that every plank had been cut asunder,

And a loose panel left in the middle,

And on the outside they were all fitted together,

While within they were held by iron bolts and bars,

And yet on the outside the planks looked as if they were all one piece.

The weather that night was in this wise,

The air was thick,

And the wind sharp,

And the blast stood right on to the storeroom.

Einar and Sigurd heaped a pile of wood,

Both before the hall and the storeroom,

And set fire to them.

But when those in the storeroom were aware of this,

They threw open the outer door.

By the entry stood two large pails,

Or casks,

Of whey,

And they took the whey in goatskins,

And threw it on the fire,

And quenched it thrice.

But the foe made the pile up again,

A little way from the door on either side,

And then the fire soon began to catch the beams of the house.

The heads of the household were all in that storeroom,

Thorpjörð,

And Thorkell,

And Gisli,

And Iskerðr,

And Þordisr.

Then Gisli stole away from the doorway to the gable end,

And pushed back the bolts,

And thrust out a plank.

After that he passed out there,

And all the others after him.

No men were on the watch there,

For they were all guarding the door to see that none came out,

But no man was aware of what was happening.

Gisli and his kindred followed the smoke away from the house,

And so got to the woods,

And when they got so far,

They turned and looked back,

And saw that the hall and the whole homestead were ablaze.

Then Gisli chanted,

Flames,

Flare,

Fierce,

Our roof and rafter,

High the hubbub,

Loud the laughter,

Hissed with croak,

And bark with howl,

Ravens flit,

And grey wolves prowl.

Father mine,

For lesser matter,

E'erst I fleshed my maiden's steel,

Hear me swear amid this clatter,

Soon our foes my sword shall feel.

Now these are there in the waste,

But their house burns to cold ashes.

Those brothers,

Einar and Sigurd,

Never left the spot till they made up their minds that Thorbjörn and his sons and all his household had been burnt inside.

They were thirty souls who were burnt inside the hall.

So,

Wherever those brothers went,

They told this story,

That Thorbjörn was dead,

And all his household.

But Gisli and his kindred never showed themselves till the others were well away.

Then they got forced together by stealth,

And afterwards they fare by night to Bard's house,

And set fire to the homestead,

And burnt it up,

And the men who were inside it.

When they had done that deed,

They went back,

And set about rebuilding their house.

All at once Gisli took himself off,

And no man knew what had become of him.

But when spring came,

He came with it.

Then they set to work,

And sold their lands secretly,

But their goods and chattels they carried off.

Now it was plain that Thorbjörn and his sons meant to change their abode and leave Norway,

And that was why Gisli had gone away,

That he might be busy building their ship.

And all this was done so silently,

That few knew they had broken up their household before they had gone on ship aboard,

Thirty men told besides women.

After that,

They hold on their course for the sea,

And lay to in a haven under the lee of an island,

And meant to wait there for a fair wind.

One day,

When the weather was good,

Gisli and his brother got into their boats.

Ten men stayed behind with their ship,

And ten got into each of the boats,

But Thorbjörn stayed by the ship.

Gisli and his brother row north along the land,

And steer for Flithrones.

For Gisli says he wishes to look those brothers up,

Ere he leaves Norway for good and all.

But when they got to Flithrones,

They hear that Einar and Sigurd had gone from home to gather King Hakon's Jews.

So Gisli and his men turned after them,

And lay in wait for them,

In the path which they knew they must take.

Those brothers were fifteen in all,

And so they met,

And there was a hard fight.

The end of it was that Einar and Sigurd fell,

And all their followers.

Gisli slew five men,

And Thorkell three.

When the fight was over,

Gisli says,

He has got an errand to do up at the farm.

And Gisli went up to the farm,

And into the hall,

And sees where Skeggi lies,

And comes on him,

And hews off his head.

They sacked the house,

And behaved as much like enemies as they could,

And took all they could carry with them.

After that they rowed to their ships,

And landed on the island,

And made a great sacrifice,

And vowed vows for a fair wind,

And the wind comes.

So they put to sea,

And have Iceland in their mind's eye.

Chapter four.

The Soursops in Iceland.

Well,

They had a long and hard passage,

And are out more than a hundred days.

They made the north of the island,

And coasted it westward along the strand,

And so on west off the Firths.

At last they ran their ship into Dyrra Firth,

At the mouth of the Hawkdale River.

Then they unlaid their ship,

And set up tents,

And it was soon noised abroad that a ship had come.

There was a man named Þórkell,

Who dwelt at Alvidra,

On the north side of Dyrra Firth.

He was a wealthy man,

Of good birth.

In Springdale,

On the south side of the Firth,

Dwelt another Þórkell,

The son of Erik.

At that time,

All the land round the west Firths was settled.

This Þórkell,

Erik's son,

Sold land in Hawkdale to Þorpjarn Soursop,

For he was so called after he quenched the fire with the sour whey.

The inner bite of the stream was already settled,

And Þórgrim Bottlenose was the name of the man who lived there.

Far up the dale dwelt another Þórkell,

And his nickname was Fawlty.

He had a wife,

And her name was Þórhatla.

She was a sister of Þórgrim Bottlenose.

Þórkell the Fawlty was just what his nickname called him,

But it could not be said that Þórhatla made any of his Fawlts better,

For she was worse than her husband.

They had a son called Þorstein.

He was tall and strong.

In Tweeddale,

That turns aside from Hawkdale,

Dwelt a man whose name was Þoynund.

He was well to do,

And a trustworthy man.

So there,

At Saipól in Hawkdale,

Þorpjarn and Gisli and Þórkell took up their abode,

And Gisli built their house.

In the same neighbourhood dwelt Vestin,

The son of Vestin.

He was a seafaring man,

But he had a house under Hest,

A hill,

In Þoynundarfyrth.

His sister's name was Þoyða.

Just about this time Þorpjarn Sáursop and Ískerða,

His wife,

Died,

And were buried in a howl in Hawkdale.

Þórkell and Gisli took the homestead at Saipól after him.

A little after Þórkell looked out for a wife.

There was a man named Þorpjarn Sílnip.

He dwelt at Tálknarfyrth.

His wife's name was Þordisa,

And Ískerða was their daughter.

Þórkell Sáursop asked Ískerða to wife and got her.

But his brother Gisli wooed Þoyða,

The sister of Vestin,

And got her.

So,

Both of them went on living under the same roof at Saipól in Hawkdale,

And did not part their goods,

Though they were married.

The story goes on to say that one spring Þórkell of Alvidra had to make a journey south to Þorsnes Thing,

And Gisli and Þórkell,

The Sáursops,

Went with him.

At that time Þorstein Kodbiter dwelt on Þorsnes.

He was the son of Þórolf Mostrarskeg.

Þorgrim and Bork the Stout were the sons of Þorstein,

And his daughter's name was Þordisa.

When Þórkell had got through his business at the Thing,

Þorstein Kodbiter asked him and the Sáursops to come to his house,

And gave them good gifts.

And ere they parted,

They asked Þorstein's sons to come and see them the spring after,

West at the Dyrrfyrth Thing.

So the winter passed over,

And there were no tidings.

Now the next spring comes,

And the sons of Þorstein fared from home,

Þorgrim and Bork,

And fourteen men more.

When they came west,

To the Valseri Thing,

They met the Sáursops there,

And they asked the sons of Þorstein to come home with them after the Thing,

For up to that time they had been guests of Þorkell of Alvidr.

So they accepted the bidding,

And fared home with the Sáursops.

But Þordisa,

The sister of those brothers,

Seemed fair in the eyes of Þorgrim,

And he lifted up his voice and asked for her.

And she was then and there betrothed to Þorgrim,

And the wedding feast took place at once.

And it was settled that she should have Saipól for her dower,

The farm where these brothers had dwelt before.

Then Gisli and Þorkell went to Hól,

And set up their abode there.

But Þorgrim took up his abode there in the west,

And dwelt at Saipól.

Bork,

His brother,

Had the management in Þorsnes,

When his father Þorstein died,

And there with him dwelt his nephews,

Quarrelsome Steyn and Þorrod.

So those brothers-in-law dwell hard by as neighbours in Horkdale,

And are great friends.

Þorkell and Gisli built a fine house at Hól,

So that it was soon no lesser homestead than Saipól.

Their lands touched,

And their friendship seemed likely to last.

Þorgrim had the priesthood,

And he was a great stay to those brothers.

Now they fare in springtime to the leit,

Forty men of them together,

And they were all in holiday clothes.

There,

Too,

Was Vesteyn,

Gisli's brother-in-law,

And every man of the soursops following.

Ghest,

The son of Oddleif,

The wisest man in Iceland,

Had also come to that leit,

And he turned into the booth of Þorkell the wealthy of Alvidr.

The Horkdale men sit at drink,

While the rest of the free men were at the court,

For it was a thing for trying suits.

All at once there came into the Horkdale booth a great oaf,

Artnor by name,

Who spoke and said,

You Horkdale men are strange fellows,

Who take heed for naught but drink,

And never go near the court where your followers have suits to settle.

This is what all think,

Though I alone utter it.

Then Gisli said,

Let us go to the courts as soon as ever we can,

May be that others than Artnor utter this.

Now they go to the courts,

And Þorkell asks if there were any there who stood in need of their help,

For we will leave nothing undone to help our men,

And they shall never be shorn of their rights so long as we stand straight.

Then Þorkell the wealthy spoke and said,

This business that we have in hand is little worth.

We will send and tell you as soon as we need your help.

Now men fell to talking about their band,

How brave it was in attire,

And about Þorgrim's haughty speech,

And about his gallant bearing.

And when men went home to their booths,

Þorkell the wealthy said to Ghest the wise,

How long thinkest thou that the spirit of these Hawkdale men will last?

How long will they bear all before them?

They will not,

Said Ghest,

Be all of one and the same mind as they are now.

Three springs hence.

But Artnor the oaf was by when Ghest said this,

And ran at once to the Hawkdale booth,

And told these words which had passed between Þorkell and Ghest.

Then Ghestly answered,

He must have said this because all feel it,

But let us beware that it does not turn out true.

For Ghest says sooth about many things,

And now,

Methinks,

I see a plan by which we may well guard against it.

What is that?

We shall bind ourselves by more lasting utterances than ever.

Let us four take the oath of Foster Brothers.

Well,

They all thought that good counsel,

And after that they went out of their booth to the point of the air,

And there cut up a sod of turf in such wise that both its ends were still fast to the earth,

And propped it up by a spear scored with runes,

So tall that a man might lay his hand on the socket of the spearhead.

Under this yoke they were all four to pass,

Þorgrim,

Ghestly,

Þorkell,

And Vestane.

Now they breathe each a vein,

And let their blood fall together on the mould,

Whence the turf had been cut up,

And all touch it.

And afterwards they all fall on their knees,

And were to take hands,

And swear to avenge each the other as though he were his brother,

And to call all the gods to witness.

But now,

Just as they were going to take hands,

Þorgrim said,

I shall have quite enough on my hands if I do this towards Þorkell and Ghestly,

My brother's-in-law,

But towards Vestane I have no tie to bind me to so great a charge.

As he said this,

He drew back his hand.

Then more will do the like,

Says Ghestly,

And drew back his hand.

I will be bound by no tie to the man who will not be bound by the same tie to my brother-in-law,

Vestane.

Now men began to think there was some weight in Ghest's spiderm.

But Ghestly said to Þorkell,

All this happened as I foreboded,

And this which we have done is of no good,

For I guess that fate rules in this too.

Now men fare home from the leet,

And all is still and tidingless.

Chapter 5.

The Soursops Abroad That summer there came a ship from the sea into Direfyrth,

Owned by two brothers,

Norsemen.

One's name was Þorir,

And the other's Þoraurin.

They were men from Þe Bay in south Norway.

The story runs that Þorgrim the priest rides to the ship,

And buys of the captain's wood worth four hundreds in woolen,

And pays some of the price down,

And promises to pay the rest.

So the Easterlings made their ship snug at Sandwater Mouth,

And got winter quarters for themselves and their men at the house of a man called Oddi,

Who lived in Skuttilsfyrth.

Now Þorgrim sends his son Þorod to fetch home the wood,

And bade him reckon it and know well every plank as he took it.

So he comes up to the ship,

And thought the terms of the bargain were not so clear as Þorgrim had told him,

For now the Easterlings were unwilling to keep to what they had agreed at first.

And the end was that Þorod spake ill words to the Easterlings,

That they would not stand,

And fell on him,

And slew him there and then.

After that the Easterlings left the ship,

And took horse,

And went to ride to their quarters in Skuttilsfyrth.

They rode all that day,

And the night after,

Till they came to the dale,

Which turns off from Skuttilsfyrth.

Here they break their fast,

And afterwards rode on again.

Meanwhile Þorgrim had heard what had happened,

How his son was slain,

And the wood not handed over.

Then he busked him for a journey,

And had himself put across the firth.

After the Easterlings he goes all alone,

And comes upon them as they lay,

And slept on a bit of mead.

Þorgrim wakes Þoraurin,

And prods him with the butt of his spear.

He springs up,

And was about to draw his sword,

For he knows Þorgrim,

But Þorgrim thrusts his spear through him.

Now Þorrir wakes,

And would avenge his brother,

But Þorgrim slew him too with his spear.

So that is called Breakfast Dale,

Where they broke their fast,

And the Easterlings Fall,

Where they lost their lives.

Now Þorgrim goes home,

And is famous for this deed.

All that winter he stayed at home,

But next spring the two brothers-in-law,

Þorgrim and Þorkell,

Fitted out the ship which the Easterlings had owned for a foreign cruise,

And they laid her with their goods,

And were to sail for Norway.

As for those Easterlings,

They had been ill-doers in Norway,

And were under a ban there.

So they set sail the same summer,

And Gisli also went abroad with his brother-in-law,

Vestane,

And they sailed from Skelljavik in Steinkrimsfjörð.

Øynund of Twindale had care of Þorkell's and Gisli's farm while they were away,

And Quarrelsome Steyn took charge of Þorgrim's farm at Seipol,

Along with his wife Þordisa.

At that time,

Harald Greifel ruled over Norway.

Þorgrim and Þorkell went north to Drondheim,

And met the king there.

They went in before him,

And hailed him,

And he was gracious to them.

They became his thanes.

They were well off,

But they were well off both for goods and honour.

As for Gisli and Vestane,

They were more than a hundred days out,

And about the first day of winter came upon the coast of Hordaland in Norway,

In a great fog and storm at dead of night.

Their ship was dashed to pieces,

But they saved their goods and crew.

There was a man off the coast called Birdbjalf.

He owned a ship and was on his way to Denmark.

So Gisli and Vestane dealt with him for half the ship.

He heard they were brave fellows and gave them half the ship,

And they repaid him at once by giving him more than half her worth in goods.

So they held on their course for Denmark,

To that mart called Viborg.

They stayed there that winter with a man called Sigurðad.

There they were all three in good fellowship,

Gisli,

Vestane and Bjalf.

They were great friends,

And many gifts passed between them.

At that time Christianity had come into Denmark,

And Gisli and his companions were marked with the cross,

For it was much the want in those days of all who went on trading voyages.

For so they entered into full fellowship with Christian men.

Early the spring after,

Bjalf fitted out his ship for Iceland.

Now there was a man named Sigurð,

A Norseman.

He was a trading partner of Vestane's and was then away west in England.

He sent word to Vestane and said he wished to cease partnership with him,

For he thought he needed his goods no longer.

So Vestane asked leave of Gisli to go to meet him,

For he said,

I have money and goods to seek in that country.

Thou shalt pledge me thy word first,

Said Gisli,

Never to leave Iceland again if thou comest safe back,

Unless I give thee leave.

To that Vestane agreed.

Next morning Gisli rises up early and goes to the smithy.

He was the handiest of men and had the quickest wit.

So Gisli smithies a silver coin which weighed an ounce.

He bent back the coin and broke it in two and forged it with 20 teeth.

When it was in two pieces there were 10 teeth on one bit and 10 on the other,

But when they were put together it looked as though it were one whole,

Yet it might be taken asunder at once.

Now Gisli takes the coin in two and gives one half into Vestane's hand and the other he keeps himself.

He bids him keep that as a token if anything befell them which they thought of weight.

And,

Says Gisli,

We will only send these tokens between us if our life is at stake.

And in truth my heart tells me we shall need to send them,

Though we do not see each other face to face.

With that they parted and Vestane sails to England,

But Gisli and Bjalf to Norway.

That summer they set sail for Iceland and had thriven well in goods and honour,

And they ceased their partnership and Bjalf bought back the half of the ship that Gisli owned.

So Gisli goes home to his house in Dyrrefyrth with 12 men.

That same spring Thorgrim and Thorkell fitted out their ship and came to Dyrrefyrth in the summer,

And the very same day that Gisli had sailed into the mouth of the Horkdale river,

Thorgrim and Thorkell sailed into it after him.

So those brothers,

Gisli and Thorkell,

Met and that was a very joyful meeting.

So each of them went to his own home.