There, too, he had land sown, and called it Acres. Egil's Saga tells the story of the long and brutal life of tenth-century warrior-poet and farmer Egil Skallagrimsson: a morally ambiguous character who was at once the composer of intricately beautiful poetry, and a physical grotesque capable of staggering brutality. Gave as fourth gift to young Egil 'O'er all our ice-fields, But if you wish it, Egil, I will rather myself go to the king and moot the question.'. This Egil accepted, and had his ship set up on rollers; but his crew found them quarters. But as he sat (as was before written), he drew one eye-brow down towards the cheek, the other up to the roots of the hair. Egil said to the maiden: 'Why weep you, maiden? Now as he came over against the Thing-field, Iri came running to meet them, and said that he wished to speak to Thorstein alone. [3][4][5] The work is generally referred to as Egla [kla] by Icelandic scholars. 'I could have been content we should have great loss of life, had ye but slain these Northmen; but now when they come west from the wood and tell these tidings to Norway's king, then may we expect from him the very hardest terms.'. The king let the matter rest. And in the summer they went a-freebooting eastwards, and came home in the autumn, having won much wealth. 'Of father fallen And when the law pleadings were finished, then stood up Egil and spoke thus: 'Are Steinar and Aunund, father and son, present, so that they can hear my words?' egils saga sparknotes - cabottrailadventures.ca 'I think, Egil, that these things will be hard to reconcile, your eagerness and daring, and the king's temper and power. This talk pleased Egil, and was kept up briskly. I can do no better than does my father: I will not overlive my father and brother.' Skallagrim came home about midnight, and then went to his place and lay down in his clothes. Thorstein Egil's son dwelt at Borg. None with his axe-hand Bjorn had carried off Thorir's sister, and obtained consent for marriage after the fact. The king answered and said that he would not again accept entertainment from Thorolf; so Thorolf went out, and made ready to return home. But when Lambi reached his house-door, he dashed in and slammed the door after him, Steinar aiming a blow after him so that the sword stuck in the wood of the door. She went home with him to Hjardarholt. Till now Bergonund's bane First they drank as one drinking-party; but presently it came to this, that each should drink half a horn, Eyvind and Thorvald being paired together to drink, and Alf and Thorfid. Egil and his company turned by the shorter way, which lay over the ridge. Lavish of gold, kin-glorious, There it lay in the smoke all the winter. I am no judge of a man's look if you have not courage and strength enough to hold your own against any house-carle of Thorstein's. Now Egil must not set up such claim before me ad he did before my brother Eric. So he and his men made ready to go, while Alf tried to stop them, and bade them come back, if they saw that the way was trodden: 'None,' he said, 'have passed the wood from the east since you, Egil, went eastward, except these, who, as I suspect, have gone wishing to encounter you.' Egil asked if Thorfinn had seen anything of the rest of his party. He was called Geir the wealthy; his sons were Blund-Kettle and Thorgeir-blund. Fridgeir was not a tall man; he was slenderly built, comely in face, not strong. It was all wave-marked on the surface like a shell. Thither he rode to the house. Guttorm had two sons and two daughters. Sigurd received the proposal well; he said there were many reasons for this; first, the king would have it so; next, Bard had asked it; and further he himself knew Thorolf well, and thought it a good match for his daughter. Sigurd received him well, and asked him to lodge there, for there had been great intimacy between them since the marriage connection between Sigurd and Bard. Egil inquired where in the town Arinbjorn was housed. But when Thorolf came north to Torgar, he was well received. But in the evening after sunset it began to go worse with Egil and his partner. ', Egil said, 'The king will let us get law and justice in this matter, and with your help it seems no great thing in my eyes to take the law of Bergonund. 5.0 (2 ratings) 1 title per month from Audibles entire catalog of best sellers, and new releases. Athelstan's men said that their tents were all full, so full that their people had not nearly enough room. This he bade me when I came west.'. 'Great wonder is this, sir king, that thou lettest this big Egil make such a coil of the whole cause before thee. ', Gunnhilda said, 'Well can I see by this, Arinbjorn, that thou art more faithful to Egil than to king Eric. Then sang Egil: 'In struggle sternly hard These had got to know how Hallvard and his brother were come from the south with a large force meaning to attack Thorolf. Then the ship was driven out into the firth. East o'er billows came Whom fair-haired king Bjorn bade him be with him as long as he would. He said that Thorolf had made friends with him, and given him a noble present that ship which they had there. Egil said that nothing was done. He had in his hand his sword Adder. They were feasted well there, and they made merry, with no fear of danger. Most of those who were within perished. Two of these he had led under the house-wall, and placed with heads crossing. Then Bard had the king called to him, and spoke thus: 'If it so be that I die of these wounds, then I would ask this of thee, that I may myself name my heir.'. By the greedy surge. Neither of the two had shirt of mail. Green grows on soil of Vin-heath One summer at the Thing Einar went to the booth of Egil Skallagrimsson, and they began to talk, and soon their talk took this turn that they spoke of poetry. Then he said that Egil should command these: 'But Thorolf,' said he, 'shall be with his own men and such others as I add thereto. No easy way had he over the moor, for he did not know the road; but he kept his eyes on the riders before him when copse or wood were not in the way. Egil sent messengers to Thord, his wife's kinsman, at Aurland, and gave him charge to arrange for those lands that Egil owned in Sogn and Hordaland, bidding him sell them if there were a buyer. Egil said that he thanked him heartily, and would choose it to be so. Bera was his only child and heiress. Thus Brynjolf got atonement accepted for Bjorn, and Skallagrim's messengers abode with Thorir for the winter. With him were his wife and children and other of his kin, and the aim of his voyage was to get him a home in Iceland. But before Egil went away the earl paid them the tribute. Skallagrim made him ready for this journey, choosing out of his household and neighbours the strongest and doughtiest that were to be found. And as to feasts and friends entertained at his house, he had more means for all this than before. Egil said, 'How many will they be, think you, if it is as you say? England in battle thunder: A coronal fair, But king Athelstan made a quick decision on this matter, and thus bespake the messengers: 'Bear ye these my words to king Olaf, that I will give him leave for this, to go home to Scotland with his forces; only let him restore all the property that he has wrongfully taken here in the land. Bergonund was beyond other men tall and strong, and he was grasping and ungentle; Atli the short was of small stature, square-built, of sturdy strength. Thorolf made for this ship, and offered Thorir and his crew the choice to defend themselves, but, as they had no force to make defence against such numbers, they yielded. I will neither hear his words nor see him. These cases both begin with a man of wealth and power who marries twice, one of the two marriages being in some way of doubtful legality, and illustrate the effect upon the family of the two conflicting lines of descent." Ball-play was then a common game. The brothers made themselves an errand into Naumdale, and so went round about as to cross the king's path now and again; he always received their words well. Bald-head I weakly fall: But all men had gone weaponless to the Thing, therefore the king attempted no attack. We have stolen the goodman's property without his knowing thereof. When King Harald Tangle-Hair rolls over Norway to subject all its petty kings to his rule, his handsome forecastleman Thorolf, son of Kveldulf, serves with distinction, and is made a great chief. There was a man named Ulf, son of Bjalf, and Hallbera, daughter of Ulf the fearless; she was sister of Hallbjorn Half-giant in Hrafnista, and he the father of Kettle Hing. It was pitch dark. Now wielder of wound-flash, 'Folk bear witness Soon after this Asgerdr died. Nothing is told of further tidings at that Thing. Then he went near with the axe - the king's gift - and hewed at the oxen both at once, so that he took off the heads of the two. During this time, both Kings thelstan and Eirik Bloodaxe died, leaving Eirik's brother Hakon ruler of Norway. Arinbjorn had good choice of ships. ', Then Gyda went to Egil and said: 'I will tell you, Egil, how things stand here with us. Egil and his rowers ran their cutter into that shallow sound, but the long-ships could not float there; thus pursuers and pursued were parted. egils saga sparknotes - uniskip.com After this Skallagrim and his men took out to their ships and captured ship and her cargo. . Egil's Saga - PenguinRandomhouse.com Then came other men against them from above on the crag's brow, and cast stones at them, and this was by far the greater danger. The king was rather sullen and gloomy towards Arinbjorn after he knew his errand; but Arinbjorn was not in the mood to humble himself before the king about this matter. But the business here in Halogaland put thou into the hands of men who are moderate and will serve thee faithfully, and have kinsfolk here, men whose relatives have had the same work here before. Lambi, who dwelt at Lamba-stead, saw what Steinar was doing. Thora was there. And with that ship went Thorgils Yeller, and I believe he sailed westwards for England. Thorir welcomed this readily, saying that he would be his pleader in this suit. Thorolf had this ship made ready, and put aboard some of his house-carles as crew; he freighted it with dried fish and hides, and ermine and gray furs too in abundance, and other peltry such as he had gotten from the fell; it was a most valuable cargo. Staggered the wordy foeman; They sailed in the summer, now far spent, to Denmark, where they lay in wait for merchant-ships, and plundered when they got the chance. But sufficient are the charges against Egil, whatever I cause to be done with him.'. He has not sought to run away in the night. (Here he turned the horse's head landwards.) I will go on my way as I before meant to do.'. ', 'Then tell them,' said Egil, 'where the bear is; but I will hasten home.'. Thanks to the poem, Egill is allowed to leave Eirkr's court alive, since killing him would make Eirkr look like a fool. . Now this is my counsel, O king, that thou keep Thorolf near thee, and let him be in thy guard, and bear thy standard, and be in the forecastle of thy ship; for this duty no man is fitter. But when day dawned, he was standing on a certain ness. Iri then ran up to the fell as fast as he could. The king fixed such fine as he thought fit; Thorir paid it all and went home. Thorstein Egil's son when he grew up was a most handsome man, white-haired, bright-faced. But Egil took his ships, cargo, and weapons. They answered: 'We know not for sure how much they were wounded; but full boldly did they set on us when we were eight and they four; then we fled. Whom friends all fail. But when Egil saw Ljot, then he sang a stave: 'It fits not young Fridgeir King Hacon, Athelstan's foster-son, long ruled over Norway; but in the latter part of his life Eric's sons came to Norway and strove with him for the kingdom; and they had battles together, wherein Hacon ever won the victory. To such high monarch yields.' Bereaved and lone. A few days after, early one morning when Arinbjorn was in his chamber and few men were present, he had Egil called thither; and when he came, then Arinbjorn had a chest opened, and weighed out forty marks of silver, adding these words: 'This money I pay you, Egil, for those lands which belonged to Ljot the Pale. The earl said that that was not true. A noble barque steering, Egil ran into the loft, seized weapons, of which there was no lack. He thought he had little hope of escape, though he should try to conceal himself and to go disguised as long as he might till he were clear of Eric's dominions. In the following winter Egil composed a poem about the gift of the shield: it is called Buckler-poem, and this is the beginning: 'List to the stream of lay Sword-teeth keenly bit; With savage blow: There he dropped an anchor from the bows of the boat, then stepped overboard, and dived down to the bottom, and brought up a large stone, and lifted it into the boat. When the Friend of men And then he freed his comrades; but when they were all loosed they searched round for the likeliest place to get out. And so far stretched the enmity of the king against father and son, that he bore hatred against their kith and kin, or any whom he knew to have been their dear friends. 'Of the stay of our house Skallagrim was an old man by this time. And when Egil got past the rock out on the top, there were in front eight men, who all at once set upon him. Eyvind Lambi kept the king's friendship so long as they both lived. I to his sea-borne barque Egil said that he had slain Grim's thralls, also that he had hidden the chests, but where he had hidden them he told no man. But when Kveldulf with his men came to the gangway-end, he went out by the stern gangway, while Skallagrim went forward to the other gangway. He was then fighting with Harold Knut's son, who was called Gold-Harold, and earl Hacon was there. He now laid down sword and helm, took the horn that they bare to him, and drank it off. He kept about him a large following, whereof the cost was great, and much provision was needed; but the year was good, and needful supplies were easily found.
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