EGIL'S SAGA, Snorri Sturluson?, transl. Hermann Palsson and Paul
Edwards, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1976

This edition has an eleven page introduction suggesting Snorri
Sturluson as the likely author, stating the complexity of Egil's
character and illuminating the genealogical situations that
contribute so significantly to the plot of the story.

The saga itself begins with some sixty pages about Egil's ancestry,
especially about his father Skallagrim (Bald Grim) and his uncle
Thorolf.  Kvedulf, Egil's grandfather, had sensed the luck of Harald
Fairhair, refused to oppose Harald's rise to the kingship of Norway,
refused to support Harald and advised Thorolf not to become Harald's
man. Thorolf ignored this advice. He fought for the king, held the
north for him, managed the Lappish tribute for him, and, hence, was
a prominent target for the tongue of the slanderer.

The Hildiridarsons, whose legitimacy was questioned, were denied
their inheritance. They poisoned Harald's mind against Thorolf.
First, Harald gave control of Halagoland and of the Lappish trade to
the Hildiridarsons. Then Harald seized Thorolf's finest ship
returning from England with the cargo obtained from trading the take
of Thorolf's ventures into Finnmark and Karelia. Thorolf responded
by seizing a ship of Harald's and attacking the farmstead of the
brothers of the two king's men (Sigtrygg Fast Sailor and Hallvard
Hard Sailor) who had taken Thorolf's ship.

King Harald slyly allowed Sigtrygg and Hallvard to move openly and
slowly against Thorolf, while he struck as swiftly as possible,
before a full force assembled to help Thorolf. Harald allowed all
but warriors to come out and then had fire set to Thorolf's house.
The warriors broke out and Thorolf fought his way wounded to the
king, who gave him his deathblow.

Kvedulf and Skallagrim avenged Thorolf by retaking Thorolf's ship
and killing Sigtrygg and Hallvard, as well as most of those aboard.
Then they sailed to Iceland. Kvedulf died on the way. His coffin
was placed in the water, and near where it came to shore Skallagrim
built his farmhouse. Skallagrim was multi-talanted: shipwright,
farmer, smith and able to swim up with an appropriate smithy stone
from the sea bottom.

Egil was precocious, composing a poem boasting no other three year
old was as good a poet. At the age of six he slew a ten year old,
sparking a brawl among nearby adults in which seven men died. When
Egil was twelve, Skallagrim, grown stronger after sunset, killed a
twenty year old friend of Egil's. Egil then killed Skallagrim's
estate manager.

Egil went with his brother Thorolf to Norway. Thorolf was well liked
there and a friend of Eirik Bloodaxe. Eirik's friend Bard was
hosting the king when Egil arrived with a party and Bard told Egil's
group there were only curds and whey to drink. The king invited them
in and Egil learned the truth. He composed verses on Bard's poor
hospitality. Bard sought to poison Egil. Egil drew runes in blood on
the poisoned horn. It broke. Egil slew Bard and escaped furious
Eirik.

Egil and Thorolf went a-viking in the Baltic. Egil and some men were
captured, but they escaped, rescuing an imprisoned Dane in the
process. Egil exchanged verses with an earl's daughter. Eyvind
Shabby, Queen Gunnhild's brother, killed a man and Thorolf refused
the king's offer of compensation. Eyvind went to Denmark. The Dane
Egil had rescued warned Egil that Eyvind was lurking about, and Egil
surprised the lurker, killed some of his men and took his ships.
Eyvind escaped.

Egil and Thorolf left Norway for England and became King Athelstan's
men. King Olaf of Scotland invaded and seized Northumbria. Athelstan
sent Egil and Thorolf with their Vikings, as well as Earl Alfgeir to
hold him, raised an army and moved it to an agreed field marked with
hazel rods. The English delayed the Scots force with talk of paying
tribute, until Athelstan's main army could arrive. When Olaf
realized this, he sent troops to attack at once. This vanquished
Alfgeir's men, and Alfgeir fled to France. The Vikings, however,
fought fiercely and defeated the Scots. Thorolf killed Earl Hring.
Then the two main armies clashed. Thorolf was killed, but Egil
turned back the Scots there and pushed on into the king's area.
Athelstan then advanced and won a great victory. Olaf was killed.

Athelstan rewarded Egil who wrote a praise poem. When Egil left for
Norway to see about Thorolf's family, the English king asked Egil to
return as soon as he could manage it. Egil married Thorolf's widow,
Asgerd. He took her to Iceland. Skallagrim was happy to see him.
Several years later, on the death of Asgerd's father, Egil and
Asgerd returned to Norway to get the inheritance. The case went to
the Gula Assembly.

   The court was held on a level stretch of ground on which hazel
   poles had been arranged in a circle, with ropes called 'holy
   ropes' going all round. Inside the circle sat the judges, twelve
   from Fjord province, twelve from Sogn and twelve from Hordaland.
   These were the thirty-six men who were to judge the cases. p. 136

Although King Eirik was not fond of Egil, after a dozen men swore to
the truth of Asgerd's claim and Egil recited a poem, he refused to
take sides in the matter. Queen Gunnhild, however, intervened. The
holy ropes were cut and the judges chased away. Egil offerred to
settle the matter in a fair fight. When that didn't happen he spoke
up:

   'I refer this to you, Arinbjorn,' he announced, 'and to you,
   Thord, and to all those who can hear my words, land-holders,
   lawmen, and every common man. I forbid anyone to settle or farm
   the land formerly belonging to Bjorn. I forbid you, Berg-Onund,
   and all other men, native or foreign, high or low, to do so, and
   whoever does will stand accused by me of breaking the laws of the
   land, of violating the peace, and of incurring the anger of the
   gods.' pp. 138-139

The king was enraged, but they were all unarmed. He set after Egil
in six ships. Egil tossed a spear, killing the helmsman who looked
like the king. The king seized one boat and killed ten of Egil's
men. Egil in another passed over shoals that blocked the king's
larger ships. Egil found, fought and slew Berg-Onund and two men
with him, one a foster son of King Eirik. Then there was more
fighting and King Eirik's son was killed.

   Egil went ashore onto the island, picked up a branch of hazel and
   went to a certain cliff that faced the mainland. Then he took a
   horse head, set it up on the pole and spoke these formal words:
   'Here I set up a pole of insult against King Eirik and Queen
   Gunnhild' - then, turning the horse head toward the mainland -
   'and I direct this insult against the guardian spirits of this
   land, so that every one of them shall go astray, neither to
   figure nor find their dwelling places until they have driven King
   Eirik and Queen Gunnhild from this country.'

   Next he jammed the pole into a cleft in the rock and left it
   standing there with the horse head facing towards the mainland,
   and cut runes on the pole declaiming the words of his formal
   speech. p. 148

Then he returned to Iceland. Skallagrim died. Egil dug a hole in the
wall, carried the body through and raised a burial mound. After a
year or two, Egil sailed to join King Athelstan. Egil's ship was
damaged and when he came ashore he learned that it was Eirik held
Northumbria for Athelstan, whose foster son, Hakon, now ruled in
Norway. Egil's friend Arinbjorn brought Egil to Eirik, claiming Egil
had come deliberately to make good the insult with words of praise.
Queen Gunnhild called for Egil's immediate death. Arinbjorn replied
that a night killing would be murder. He took Egil to his house and
when Egil had trouble composing a praise poem because of a swallow's
warbling, Arinbjorn went outside, chased the shape changer away and
stood on guard.

Egil presented his twenty stanza praise poem (pp. 158-162) and
received his head as payment. Arinbjorn escorted Egil to Athelstan.

   On parting, Egil gave Arinbjorn the two gold bracelets he'd been
   given by Athelstan, each weighing a full mark. And in return
   Arinbjorn gave Egil a sword called Dragvendil given him by
   Thorolf Skallagrimsson, who had it from Skallagrim, and he from
   his brother Thorolf Kvedulfsson, who in turn had been given the
   sword by Grim Hairy-Cheek, the son of Ketil Trout. Once the sword
   had belonged to Ketil Trout who used it in single-combat, and
   there wasn't a sharper edge. p. 163

Athelstan asked Egil to stay and lead his army. Egil said first he
had to bring his wife from Iceland. Athelstan gave Egil a ship and
Egil took Thorstein to Norway to seek from Hakon Thorstein's
inheritance. Hakon also gave Egil leave to plead Asgerd's claim at
Gula. Egil went to Arinbjorn's sister's place. There he learned a
beserk named Ljot had asked for the daughter and being refused
challenged the son to a duel. Egil fought the duel and killed Ljot.
At the Gula Assembly, Berg-Onund's brother Atli had twelve men swear
Atli had nothing of Egil's. Egil challenged Atli to combat.

   What Egil had said was law and ancient custom. Every man who went
   to law had the right to challenge his opponent to a duel, whether
   he was the plaintiff or the defendant. p. 174

There was a great fight. Egil's sword couldn't harm Atli, so Egil
threw it away, grappled with Atli and killed him by biting his
throat. Then he twisted the head of the sacrificial bull. Then Egil
went to Iceland. After some years, hearing Eirik had been killed in
Britain and Arinbjorn had returned to Norway, Egil went to see
Arinbjorn. Onund Sjoni, who may have been a shape-changer, went with
Egil. When Arinbjorn asked King Hakon for what Egil should get for
killing Ljot, Hakon became angry and refused. Arinbjorn himself gave
Egil money for that.

Next spring, Arinbjorn and Egil in two long ships went a-viking in
Saxony and Friesland. Then Arinbjorn went to Denmark where he joined
Harald Eiriksson. King Hakon sent envoys to request Arinbjorn's
nephew Thorstein to go and obtain the tribute from Vermaland or else
leave the country. It was no easy task since those sent the previous
two times had not returned. Egil went in Thorstein's stead. Egil and
his three men were left to flounder in the snow, but made their way
to a farmstead where there was imperfect hospitality. At the next
farm Egil checked into the case of a sick girl.

   Then he asked for her to be lifted out of bed, and clean sheets
   to be placed under her. This was done. Egil searched the bed
   where she had been lying and found a whale-bone there with runes
   carved on it. After he had read them, he scraped them off and
   burnt them in the fire. He burnt the whole bone and had the bed
   clothes she had been using thrown to the winds. Then he made this
   verse:

   None should write runes
   Who can't read what he carves:
   A mystery mistaken
   Can bring men to misery.
   I saw cut on the curved bone
   Ten secret characters,
   These gave the young girl
   Her grinding pain.

   Egil carved some runes and placed them under the pillow of the
   bed where she was resting, and it seemed to her as if she had
   woken from sleep. She said she was well again though still a
   little weak. p. 191

Egil and his men proceeded, fighting their way through an ambush,
gaining the friendship of another landowner and then obtaining from
Earl Arnvid the tribute owed to King Hakon.. Arnvid sent men to kill
Egil. Egil killed a lot of them. Egil brought the tribute to
Thorstein who sent it to King Hakon. Egil, after exchanging gifts
with Thorstein, sailed to Iceland. There Thordis, Egil's neice,
married Grim the Law Speaker. Egil's daughter Thorgerd married Olaf
grandson of King Muirchaertach of Ireland.

Egil's son Bodvar was on a boat that foundered. Egil placed the
washed up body inside Skallagrim's burial mound. Egil brooded, not
eating or drinking for three days, until his daughter Thorgerd came
wanting to carve in runes a dirge Egil composed for her brother.
So Egil composed a poem (pp. 204-209), regained his spirits, held a
funeral feast for Bodvar and lived long and peacefully in Iceland.

Egil composed a poem in praise of Arinbjorn (pp. 210-215) mentioning
Arinbjorn's help in dealing with Eirik, Arinbjorn's kindness,
generosity and safeguarding of sacred sites. A poet named Einar
became a friend of Egil's. Einar wrote a praise poem for Earl Hakon
Sigurdarson who gave Einar:

   a shield painted with illustrations of heroic legends, inlaid
   between the pictures with spangles of gold and set with jewels.
   p. 217

Einar gave the shield to Egil who wrote a poem about the gift. He
also wrote a poem about the shield gift of Thorstein Thoruson.
Thorstein Egilsson children are named. Onund Sjoni's son Steinar
quarrelled with Thorstein Egilsson. Twice Thorstein killed Steinar's
cow herders when Steinar insisted on grazing Thorstein's land. This
case went to law with Thorstein threatened with outlawry. Then Egil
rode in with eighty warriors and Onund Sjoni removed the case from
Steinar and asked Egil to settle it. Egil said his father Skallagrim
had given the land that Steinar now farmed to Ani, that the boundary
was known, that the slaves died on Thorstein's land and engaged in
illegal activity, so there'd be no compensation and for his illegal
activity, Steinar was banished from the area.

Steinar took eleven men to ambush Thorstein, but Thorstein's sharp
eyed man Iri spotted them and warned Thorstein. Thorstein was
attacked on his way to a harvest festival. His ten year old son Grim
and two servants were killed. On Thorstein's way back from the
festival, Steinar was waiting with his sword Skrymir, but Lambi, a
local farmer, saw him and foiled the ambush.

Egil lived into his eighties, but he went blind in his old age. When
he died, a mound was built for him and he was placed in it with his
clothes and weapons.

Michael McKenny February 8-12, 2003 C.E.


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