Egil’s Saga (48 page)

⁵
H
OLMGANG
(hólmganga); Lit. ‘a walking on the holm,
or
isle’; (‘Tybalt, you rat-catcher, will you walk?’): the Northern variety of the wager of battle found in so many early systems of law. The present passage is a
locus classicus
in the subject, as are also
ch.
LXV
, Korin, IO and 12, and Gunnl. 14. Magnússon in a valuable note (Hkr.
IV
, pp. 349–51) gives reasons for thinking most of these instances, with their elaborate rules about ‘hazelled fields’ (the hazel never grew in Iceland), not holmgangs at all; he holds the holmgang proper to have been a purely Icelandic (as distinct from Norse) institution. It took its name
from the ‘holm’ or islet in the little river Axewater which runs through the Thingfields in Iceland. The right to challenge your opponent in a law-suit to single combat on that little isle dates probably from the foundation of the Althing in 930, and lasted until 1006, when Gunnlaug the Worm-tongue and Hrafn fought. “On the second day after this it was made law in the law-court that, henceforth, all holmgangs should be forbidden; and this was done by the counsel of all the wisest men that were at the Thing; and there, indeed, were all the men of most counsel in all the land. And this was the last holmgang fought in Iceland, this, wherein Gunnlaug and Hrafn fought” (Gunnl. 14).

The preparations for Kormak’s fight with Holmgang-Bersi are thus described: “That was the holmgang-law, that there shall be a cloak five ells in the skirt, and loops in the comers; there should there be set pegs with heads on one end; that was named
tjösnir.
He that made it ready should walk to the
tjösnir
so as he might see the heaven betwixt his legs while he held the lobes of his ears, with that formular which since is followed in that blood-offering which is called
tjösnublót.
Three borders shall be round about the cloak, of a foot’s breadth. Out from the borders shall be four poles, and that is named
hazels
; that is a hazelled field that so is made. A man shall have three shields, but when they are spent, then shall [the men] go upon the cloak though before they should by chance have left it; then shall they shield themselves with their weapons thenceforth. That one shall hew [sc. the first blow] who was challenged. If one be hurt so that blood come on the cloak, they are not bound to fight longer. If a man step with one foot out beyond the hazels ‘fareth he on heel’, but ‘runneth’ if he step with both. His own man shall hold shield before each of them that fight. That one shall pay holm-ransom who is the more wounded: three marks of silver” (Korm. 10).

⁶
B
ERSERKS-GANG
(berserksgangr). See notes on ‘Berserk’, p. 244 and ‘Shape-strong’, p. 245.

⁷
S
TAVE.
‘Quickener of Gondul’s storm’: Gondul is a Valkyrie; her storm—
battle
: the quickener or ‘whetter’ of that—a fighting man, i.e.
Ljot.
There seems to be little point in stating that Ljot ‘does blood-offering unto Powers’ (blótar bǫnd), unless it is meant as a reproach. This meaning it could only carry if the stave is (as F.J. believes it is) a late (christian) fabrication, and none of Egil’s. The ‘ring-god’ (Æger bauga), Ægir of rings, an open-handed man—and so a
man
simply. ‘Eyes all-fey’ (alfeigom augom); a ‘fey’ man is one
death
-
bound
, fated to die.

⁸
S
TAVE. ‘
Quivering sprout of byrny’—
spear.

⁹
S
TAVE.
‘Shield’s moon’—
sword.
The last couplet is:

Kyrrom kappa errenn
(Kome ǫrn á hrœ) jǫrnom.

¹⁰
S
TAVE.
That Ljot ‘fares somewhat ahead’ is said in mockery. ‘Flood-fires’ flinger’—
man
; (addressed to Fridgeir). ‘Treasure-hankerer’; cf. ‘woe-hankerer’ below; Ljot desires treasure for himself and woe for others. ‘Dart-storm’s staff’ (fleindǫggvar stafr), the staff of the rain (
or
dew) of javelins—a
man.
‘Bald-head’ (rotinn skalli), lit. ‘rotten bald-pate’;
rotinn
is used especially of a hide where tanning has made the hair fall off (
D.
s.v.). Egil is never tired of his personal peculiarities, his bald pate, black brows, swarthy looks, etc.

¹¹
S
TAVE.
‘Feaster of wolves’ (ulfgrenner), lit. ‘wolf-battener’. ‘Breaker of lowe of sea-loch’ (lóns logbrjótanda), ‘fire of sea-loch’—
gold
; he who breaks that (i.e. breaks up gold rings and gives the bits among those who have deserved well of him), is the bounteous man—here,
Fridgeir.

Last couplet:

jafn vas mér gnýr geira
gamanleik viþ hal bleikan.

Lit. ‘Even with (i.e. equal to) a game of play it was to me, the din of spears with the pale man’.

CHAPTER LXV

¹
T
HE SWORD BIT NOT
(beit ekki sverðit). Atli had ‘deaved the edge of it’—see note 3 below, on Egil’s stave on the subject. Generally on ‘not biting’, see note, p. 261.

²
B
IT ASUNDER HIS WEASAND
(beit í sundr í honum barkann). F.J. quotes a parallel from the Franco-Prussian war.

³
S
TAVE.
‘Deaved’ (deyfa), i.e. blunted, sc. with his deadly glance. The last couplet—

jaxlbróþor létk eyþa
[ek bar sauþ] af nauþom—

is lit. ‘I let gag-tooth’s brother waste
or
destroy [words in square brackets are corrupt and untranslatable] at need’. ‘Gag-tooth’ should be properly ‘jaw-tooth’, a molar: its ‘brother’, an incisor, or canine.

For the power of a wizard’s eye on weapons, cf. Grim Droplaugson’s coming to holm with two swords because his foe ‘knew how to deave edges’ (
Droplaugarsona Saga
, at end). Odin Himself in the old mystical poem
Hávamál
says:

Edges I deave of Mine adversaries:
Bite not their weapons, as wands.

CHAPTER LXVI

¹
N
O
FEW WINTERS.
I.e. from 938 till 954 (F.J.).

²
T
HORSTEIN.
Youngest, and also the most famous. See below.

CHAPTER LXVII

¹
O
NUND SJONI.
See note, p. 269.

²
Y
ULE
(Jól). The great heathen festivity of the winter season, held at Midwinter-night (12th Jan.) for three days. King Hakon Athelstane’s-fosterling, who was privately a Christian before he dare be so publicly, ‘made a law that Yule should be holden the same time as Christian men hold it, and that every man at that tide should brew a meal of malt or pay money else, and keep holy tide while Yule lasted’ (Hak. 15).

³
S
TAVE.
‘Arinbiorn hath the warding withal of a lord’s unpitying might’ (Arenbjǫrn of hefr árnat eirarlaust oddvita ríke), lit. ‘Arinbiorn withal hath served (F.J. subdued) without pity,
or
without sparing (sc. himself), a leader’s might’. The sense is obscure: I have taken it to be that Arinbiorn has had a difficult job between his friend Egil and his liege-lord Eric.

CHAPTER LXVIII

¹
Egil’s insufferable greed of money is well displayed in this chapter.

²
H
ARALD
E
RICSON.
Harald Greycloak: see note, p. 286.

CHAPTER LXIX

¹
S
HIELD-BURG.
See note, p. 265.

²
L
IMFIRTH
...
THE
N
ECK.
This was to be later the scene of Arinbiorn’s death; cf. note, p. 251.

³
B
UT IT WAS BY MUCH THE GREATER PART…THAT FOLLOWED
A
RINBIORN
(en hitt var meiri hluti liðs miklu, er fylgði Arinbirni). The Icel.
hitt
, ‘that other’, is sharply distinctive, and there is no ambiguity (as there is—short of long-winded explanation—in English) as to the meaning, viz. that most of them went with Arinbiorn to Denmark.

⁴
W
ITH BLITHENESS AND FRIENDSHIP.
It was their last parting.

CHAPTER LXX

¹
H
IGHWAYMEN.
Icel.
stígamenn
(path-men).

²
F
OR-SENDING
(forsending). ‘A sending one to certain death, a dangerous mission’ (D.
ad loc.
). For once, I fear I have used an English word of doubtful authority.

³
To
FOLLOW THE KING
. Cf. the similar view expressed by Kveldulf, p. 4.

CHAPTER LXXI

¹
A
RNALD.
The sequel gives ground for thinking that this ‘friend of ours’ was a Mrs Harris.

²
S
NOW-SHOES
(skíð). Modern Norse
ski:
a word which everyone knows to-day and most people mispronounce.

³
C
URDS
(skyr). See note, p. 274.

⁴
S
TAVE.
‘Hild of Hornés’ (Hildr horna), the Hild (a Goddess) of the drinking-horns—i.e. a
woman.

⁵
T
HAT THEY SHOULD SWIFTLY DRINK.
The reader must keep constantly in mind (as Egil obviously did) the probability that Armod meant to make Egil and his men helpless with drink, and then murder them. There is a Rabelaisian gaiety in the following scene (from here to end of ch.) which, if we will but shake off for the moment our modern squeamishness, is very delightful.

⁶
S
TAVE.
The first two couplets:

Títt erom verþ at vátta,
vœtte berk at hœttak
þung til þessar gǫngo,
þinn, kinnalǫ minne;

of which the literal translation appears to be: ‘I am eager to testify to thy victuals; I bear heavy testimony that in this walk [sc. across the floor] I hazarded my cheek-surge’.

⁷
S
TAVE.
‘Ekkil’s… bestrider’ (Ekkels eykríþr), lit. ‘rider of Ekkil’s [a sea-king’s] draught-horse’, a sailor, and so simply—a
man.
‘Song-god’ (bragar Ulle)—a
poet.
‘Horn-mere’ (hornasund), lit. ‘horn-sound’ (sea)—
ale.
‘Froth-mash tarn’ (hrosta tjǫrn):
hrosti
is the mash of malt for brewing; cf.
Sonatorrek
(p. 192), where Aegir, the brewer of the Gods, is called ‘Judge of the Froth-mash’.

The last couplet has a rousing swing:

hrosta tjǫrn í horne
horns, til dags at morne.

⁸
S
LEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT.
It is to be presumed, in all the circumstances, that somebody kept watch.

CHAPTER LXXII

¹
S
TAVE.
‘Giver of arm-snakes’ (ýter armlinns), i.e. of
rings
: a bountiful man (doubtless ironical). ‘Terror-eker (ógnar hvesser), ‘whetter of terror’, warrior—i.e.
Armod.
The last two couplets are very obscure. F.J. interprets them as meaning, ‘I hold it unworthy to stand such treatment from this man; still, we will go our ways’—meaning, I suppose, that it was hardly decent not to kill Armod. My own reading is, ‘
You
may think you have not been paid properly for the drink you gave me [with double meaning—(
a
) that I should have respected my host, or (
b
) that your proper payment would have been that I should slay you]; still, we will go our ways.’

²
A
SICK WOMAN.
For the sequel to this little episode, see
here
. As to Runes, see
note
.

³
S
TAVE. ‘
A mirk stave’ (myrkvan staf), i.e. an obscure one. ‘Leek-linden’ (lauka lind), ‘lime-tree of the leek’—a
woman
. The leek, or garlic, is used poetically and metaphorically of sleek, taperformed things, and so of an elegant woman.

CHAPTER LXXIII

¹
S
TAVE.
‘Red snicking-knives of Din-God’ (roþnom hneiteknífom hjaldrgoþs)—
swords.
F.J. considers this stave decidedly not genuine; partly, it appears, because the estimates submitted are too modest for such a hero as Egil, and partly because it contains late words (e.g.
hneite
) which could not have been used by Egil. He thinks it is merely a fabrication based on Egil’s stave on a similar theme on p. 200.
C.P.B.
, on the other hand, who go in general to the extreme in rejecting as spurious the vast bulk of the shorter verses in
Egla
, print this among the few they are disposed to accept as genuine. Those who incline to the
C.P.B.
view can urge that modesty is perhaps as good an argument for as against genuineness: that the late words may have crept in later, and in any case some of the readings are doubtful: and, finally, that the stave has intrinsic merit, and the reference to ‘black-browed me’ (svartbrúnom mér) is characteristic.

CHAPTER LXXIV

¹
M
AN-GILDS
(manngjöld). Engl. ‘weregild’. See note on ‘Boot’.

²
E
ACH NAMED
W
OLF.
F.J. quotes parallels for this inconvenient practice.

³
S
PLASHED THIS UP IN OUR EYES
(jós slíku í augu oss upp). Lit. ‘sprinkled such-like (things) up in our eyes’.

CHAPTER LXXV

¹
F
AIRY-BABES
(hégómi). Cf. ‘All the bugbeares of the night, and terrors and
fairybabes
of tombes’, etc. (Burton,
Anat. Mel.
Part 1, Sec.
III
, Mem. 2, Subs, iii): it is really ‘fear-babes’, and has in this context exactly the feeling of Icel.
hégómi
, something that is false to the touch or taste, an empty imagining (‘leere einbildung’, F.J.). Cf. p. 211, where I have translated it as ‘vain falsehood’.