Six Sagas of Adventure (7 page)

THE SAGA OF KING GAUTREK

Gautreks saga

CHAPTER I

Here we begin a jolly tale of a king named Gauti. He was a wise and well-mannered man, generous and outspoken. He ruled over West Gautland. That country lies between Norway and Sweden, east of the Kjolen Mountains, and the Gota Alv River divides Gautland from Uppland. There are great forests there, and traveling through them is hard when the ground has thawed. This king whom we have mentioned often went to the forests with his hawks and hounds, for he was the keenest hunter and found that the best sport.

At that time, there were widely scattered settlements with vast forests standing all around, because many men had cleared the forest and built homesteads far away from the settled lands—men who had gone off the beaten path on account of some misdeed of theirs. Some left because of some quirk, or went off on a sort of escapade, thinking that they would be less mocked or scorned if they were far away from the ridicule of others. They lived out all their lives without ever meeting other people, except for those who lived nearby. Many had sought out places for themselves far from the roads, and so no one came to visit them—except it occasionally happened that people who got lost in the forest stumbled on their households, although they would never have come there willingly.

This King Gauti, whom we have just mentioned, had gone with his household and his best hounds to hunt wild animals in the forest. The king managed to spot a beautiful stag, and he was eager to hunt that very beast. He turned his hounds loose and pursued that animal hotly, as day turned to night. By that time he was all alone, and had gone so far into the forest that he knew he couldn’t reach his own men, because of the dark night and the long distance which he had traveled all that day. What’s more, he had thrown his spear at the stag, and it had stuck fast in the wound. The king by no means wanted to leave that behind, if he could get it; he felt it would be shameful if he failed to recover his own weapon. He had rushed forward so eagerly that he had flung off all his clothes except for his linen underwear; he was barefoot and missing his shoes, and stones and brush had torn his legs and the soles of his feet. He hadn’t caught the stag. Darkness was coming on, so that he couldn’t tell what direction was going in. He held still and listened, in hopes of hearing something. He had been still for only a little while before he heard a dog barking, and he headed in that direction, because he reckoned that people would most probably be there.
[1]

Then the king saw a small farm. He saw a man standing outside, holding a timber axe. As soon as the man saw that the king was making for the farm, he rushed at the dog and killed it and said, “You won’t show guests the way to our home any longer, for I can clearly see that that man is so huge that he’ll eat up everything the farmer owns, if he comes within these walls here. That will never happen, if I have anything to say about it.”

The king heard his words and smiled at them. He thought to himself that he was hardly prepared to sleep outdoors, but he wasn’t sure he’d be welcomed if he were to wait for an invitation. Boldly, he walked towards the doors. The other man got in front of the doors and didn’t want to let him in. The king let the man who was blocking him feel his superior strength and shoved him away from the doors.

The king went into the living room. There were four men and four women before him. There was no greeting for King Gauti, but he sat down, all the same. The man who looked most likely to be the head of the household spoke up, and he said, “Why did you let this man come inside?”

The slave who had stood in the doorway answered, “This man was so strong that I didn’t have the strength to resist him.”

“And what did you do when the dog barked?”

The slave answered, “I killed the dog, because I didn’t want him showing any more ruffians like this the way to the farm.”

The farmer said, “You’re a faithful servant, and even though these awkward things have happened, you can’t be blamed. It’s hard to reward you as you deserve for your thoughtfulness. I will give you your reward in the morning, and you shall go with me.”

The buildings were well built, and the people were handsome and tall in proportion. The king found that they were afraid of him. The farmer had the table set, and food was brought in. When the king saw that food wasn’t being offered to him, he sat down at the table next to the farmer, picked up food and brazenly fell to eating. When the farmer saw that, he stopped eating and pulled his hat down over his eyes. Neither one spoke to the other. When the king had eaten, the farmer raised his hat and ordered the dishes to be taken away from the table—“since there’s no food to keep now.” Then the people went off to bed.

The king lay down to sleep as well. And when he had lain down for a little while, a woman came to him and said, “Wouldn’t it be a better idea for you to accept a favor from me?”

The king answered, “Things are looking up, now that you want to talk with me, because this household’s a gloomy one.”

“There’s no need to be surprised at that, because we’ve never had a guest in all our lives, and I suppose that the farmer doesn’t find you a welcome guest.”

The king said, “When I return home, I can reward the farmer well, for all the trouble he’s taken on my behalf.”

She replied, “I think this accident will bring us more than honors from you.”

The king said, “I’d like you to tell me what your family’s names are.”

She answered, “My father is named Skafnortung. He’s called that because he is so stingy with his resources that he can’t bear to watch his food disappear, or anything else that he owns.
[2]
My mother’s name is Totra. She has that name because she never wants to own any clothes except those which have already been ripped and made into rags. She feels that this is remarkably good sense.”
[3]

The king asked, “What are your brothers’ names?”

She answered, “One is named Fjolmod
[4]
, the second is Imsigull
[5]
, and the third is Gilling
[6]
.”

The king said, “What are your and your sisters’ names?”

She answered, “My name is Snotra. I have that name because I’m the wisest of us all.
[7]
My sisters are called Hjotra and Fjotra.
[8]
There’s a rock crag here, next to our farm, called Gilling’s Crag.
[9]
Right there on one side is a cliff that we call Family Cliff. It’s such a high, sheer cliff that any living thing loses its life if it falls off. It’s called Family Cliff because we reduce our family size with it, as soon as anything dreadful happens to us. All our kinfolk die there, without suffering from any illness, and then they go to Odin. Our elders don’t have to be a burden or an obstacle to us, because this blissful place is equally free to all our kin. We don’t need to live in poverty or hunger, nor to put up with any other strange occurrences or disasters that may happen. You should know that my father finds it the strangest thing that you’ve come to our house. It would be a great wonder if a commoner had eaten food here, but it’s unbelievable that a king, frozen and without clothes, should come to our house, because nothing like this has ever happened before. That’s why my father and mother have decided to divide the inheritance among us brothers and sisters in the morning, but they want to take the slave with them and go over Family Cliff, and so go to Valhalla.
[10]
Since our slave tried to drive you from the doors, my father wants to reward him for his good will with nothing less than enjoying this blessing along with him. He’s certain that Odin would never receive the slave unless he were in my father’s retinue.”
[11]

The king said, “I see that you’re the most well-spoken one here, and I’ll place my trust in you. I know that you must be a virgin, and you must sleep with me tonight.”

She said that it was up to the king.

In the morning, when the king was awake, he said, “I have to ask you for a favor, Skafnortung. I came to your farm barefoot, so I’d like to get shoes from you.”

He didn’t answer, but he gave him shoes and pulled out the laces.
[12]
The king said,

A set of shoes

Skafnortung gave me,

but then he took the thongs.

You won’t get gifts

without guile, I say,

from any man so mean.

Then the king left, and Snotra showed him the road. The king said, “I’d like to invite you to come with me, because I suspect that something will come of our encounter. If you’re pregnant with a boy, have him named Gautrek. Take his name from my name, plus the wreck I’ve made of your household.”
[13]

She answered, “I do believe you’ve guessed right. But I can’t come with you right now. Today my brothers and sisters have to divide up the inheritance from our father and mother, who intend to go over Family Cliff.”

The king wished her a happy life, and invited her to come meet him whenever she felt the time was right. Then the king traveled until he reached his own men, and he rested quietly.

CHAPTER II

Now it’s time to tell how Snotra’s father was sitting over his wealth when she entered the house. He said, “A terrible calamity has befallen us: that king has come to our homestead and eaten up many of our belongings right before our eyes—and the ones that we were least willing to give up. I can’t see how we can maintain all our family, thanks to this ruination. So I’ve put together everything I own, and I intend to divide the inheritance with you my sons, but for me and my wife and slave to go to Valhalla. I can’t reward the slave any better for his trustiness than to have him go with me. Gilling and his sister Snotra shall have my fine ox. Fjolmod and his sister Hjotra shall have my bars of gold. Imsigull and his sister Fjotra shall have all the grain and fields. But I beg you, my children, not to increase your numbers, because you won’t be able to hold onto my inheritance that way.”

When Skafnortung had said what he wanted to say, they all went up onto Gilling’s Crag. The children led their father and mother over Family Cliff, and they went gladly and cheerfully to Odin.

Now that the brothers and sisters were in charge of the farm, they thought they needed to set their affairs right. They took sticks and pinned homespun cloth around themselves, so that none of them could touch another’s bare skin. They thought this would be the trustiest way to ensure that their numbers wouldn’t increase.
[14]

Snotra found that she was pregnant. She shifted the pins in the homespun cloth so that she could be touched by hand. She pretended to be sleeping, and as Gilling was waking up and stirring, he flung out his hand towards her and touched her cheek. And when he was awake, he said, “Something awkward’s happened here. I must have done you harm. It looks to me as if you’re much fatter than you were.”

She answered, “Keep this a secret, as best you can.”

He answered, “I’ll do no such thing—once our numbers increase, there’s no way to hide it.”

A little later, Snotra gave birth to a handsome boy, and named him Gautrek. Gilling said, “A dreadful calamity has happened, and there’s no hiding it now. I must go tell my brothers.” They said, “Now all our plans will come to nothing, thanks to this disaster that’s struck. This is a serious violation of the rules.” Gilling said,

How stupid of me

to stir my hand

and feel that woman’s face.

Siring sons, I’d say,

is a simple matter;

that’s how Gautrek was begotten.

They said that he wasn’t to blame, since he’d repented and never wanted this to happen. He said that he was quite eager to go over Family Cliff, and added that it would be counted as a lesser calamity. They asked him to wait for what else might happen.

Fjolmod brooded over his wealth all day, and carried his bars of gold with him wherever he went. One day he was sleeping, and he awoke to see that two black snails had crawled over his gold bars. It looked to him like there were dents where they’d smeared dark slime on the gold, and he felt that his treasure had shrunk badly. He said, “This loss of money is a terrible thing, and if it happens again, it’ll be no good going to Odin penniless. I will go over Family Cliff and not have to suffer this poverty any more, because my affairs have never looked so bleak since my father shared out his wealth with me.”

He told his brothers of the calamity that had struck, and asked them to share out his inheritance. Then he said,

Stumpy snails

ate stone before my eyes,

now everything’s all wrong;

I must mope,

my money’s all gone,

since snails have shaved my gold.

Then he and his wife went to Gilling’s Crag and went right over Family Cliff.

One day, Imsigul was walking through his fields. Right before his eyes, he saw the bird that’s called a sparrow; it’s about the size of a titmouse. He feared that matters had taken a turn for the worse. He went through the fields and saw that the bird had taken one seed from an ear of grain. Then he said,

It was spoilage

that the sparrow wreaked

in Imsigul’s acres.

Stricken was an ear,

stolen was a grain:

that will trouble Totra’s kin forever.

He and his wife left at once, and they gladly went over Family Cliff. They didn’t want to suffer such losses any longer.

When Gautrek was seven years old, he was outside and saw the fine ox. As it happened, he stabbed the ox with a spear and killed it. And when Gilling saw that, he said,

The young lad struck down

the steer before my eyes,

these are baleful forebodings.

Never again

will I get such a jolly

treasure, as long as I live.

He said, “Now this is just unbearable.” Then he went to Gilling’s Crag and went right over Family Cliff.

Two people were left, Snotra and her son Gautrek. She readied herself and her son for a journey. They traveled until they found King Gauti, and he welcomed his son warmly. He was raised there in his father’s household, and soon grew to manhood.
[15]

Several years passed, until Gautrek had fully come of age. Then it happened that King Gauti fell ill, and he summoned his friends. The king said, “You have been faithful and obedient to me in everything, but now I think it’s quite likely that this sickness I have will sever our friendship. I want to give this kingdom which I have owned to my son Gautrek, and the title of king along with it.”