The Story of Grettir the Strong by Eiríkr Magnússon and William Morris (bookstand for reading txt) 📕

href="#CHAP_LXV">CHAP. LXV.
Of Guest and the Troll-wife
CHAP. LXVI.
Of the Dweller in the Cave under the Force
CHAP. LXVII.
Grettir driven from Sand-heaps to the West
CHAP. LXVIII.
How Thorod, the Son of Snorri Godi, went
against Grettir
CHAP. LXIX.
How Grettir took leave of his Mother at Biarg,
and fared with Illugi his Brother to Drangey
CHAP. LXX.
Of the Bonders who owned Drangey between them
CHAP. LXXI.
How those of Skagafirth found Grettir on Drangey
CHAP. LXXII.
Of the Sports at Heron-ness Thing
CHAP. LXXIII.
The Handselling of Peace
CHAP. LXXIV.
Of Grettir's Wrestling; and how Thorbiorn
Angle now bought the more part of Drangey
CHAP. LXXV.
Thorbiorn Angle goes to Drangey to speak with Grettir
CHAP. LXXVI.
How Noise let the Fire out on Drangey,
and how Grettir must needs go aland for more
CHAP. LXXVII.
Grettir at the Home-stead of Reeks
CHAP. LXXVIII.
Of Haering at Drangey, and the end of him
CHAP. LXXIX.
Of the Talk at the Thing about Grettir's Outlawry
CHAP. LXXX.
Thorbiorn Angle goes with his Foster-mother
out to Drangey
CHAP. LXXXI.
Of the Carline's evil Gift to Grettir
CHAP. LXXXII.
Grettir sings of his Great Deeds
CHAP. LXXXIII.
How Thorbiorn Angle gathered Force and
set Sail for Drangey
CHAP. LXXXIV.
The Slaying of Grettir Asmundson
CHAP. LXXXV.
How Thorbiorn Angle claimed Grettir's Head-money
CHAP. LXXXVI.
How Thorbiorn Angle brought Grettir's
Head to Biarg
CHAP. LXXXVII.
Affairs at the Althing
CHAP. LXXXVIII.
Thorbiorn Angle goes to Norway, and thence
to Micklegarth
CHAP. LXXXIX.
How the Short-Sword was the easier known
when sought for by reason of the notch in
the blade
CHAP. XC.
How the Lady Spes redeemed Thorstein from
the Dungeon
CHAP. XCI.
Of the Doings of Thorstein and the Lady Spes
CHAP. XCII.
Of the Oath that Spes made before the Bishop
CHAP. XCIII.
Thorstein and Spes come out to Norway
CHAP. XCIV.
Thorstein Dromund and Spes leave Norway
again
CHAP. XCV.
How Thorstein Dromund and Spes fared to
Rome and died there

NOTES AND CORRECTIONS.
INDICES.
INDEX I.
INDEX II.
INDEX III.
PERIPHRASTIC EXPRESSIONS IN THE SONGS.
PROVERBS AND PROVERBIAL SAYINGS THAT OCCUR IN THE STORY.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE STORY. 872. The battle of Hafrsfirth.

874. Begins the settlement of Iceland.
cca.897. Thrand and Ufeigh Grettir settle Gnup-Wardsrape.
cca.900. Onund Treefoot comes to Iceland.
cca.920. Death of Onund Treefoot.
929. The Althing established.
997 (?). Grettir born.
1000. Christianity sanctioned by law.
1004. Skapti Thorodson made lawman.
1011. Grettir slays Skeggi; goes abroad, banished for three years.
1012. Slaying of Thorir Paunch and his fellows in Haramsey.
Earl Eric goes to Denmark.
1013. Slaying of Biorn at the Island of Gartar.
Slaying of Thorgils Makson. Illugi Asmundson
born. Death of Thorkel Krafla.
1014. Slaying of Gunnar in Tunsberg. Grettir goes
back to Iceland; fights with the men of Meal
on Ramfirth-neck. Heath-slayings. Thorgeir
Havarson outlawed. Fight with Glam
the ghost.
1015. Fight of Nesjar in Norway. Slaying of Thorbiorn
Tardy. Grettir fares abroad. Burning
of the sons of Thorir of Garth. Death of
Asmund the Greyhaired.
1016. Grettir meets King Olaf; fails to bear iron; goes
east to Tunsberg to Thorstein Dromund.
Slaying of Atli of Biarg. Grettir outlawed
at the Thing for the burning of the sons of
Thorir; his return to Iceland. Slaying of
Thorbiorn Oxmain and his son Arnor.
1017. Grettir at Reek-knolls. Lawsuit for the slaying
of Thorbiorn Oxmain. Grettir taken by
the Icefirth churls.
1018. Grettir at Liarskogar with Thorstein Kuggson;
his travels to the East to Skapti the lawman
and Thorhall of Tongue, and thence to the
Keel-mountain, where he met Hallmund
(Air) for the first time.
1019-1021. Grettir on Ernewaterheath.
1021. Grettir goes to the Marshes.
1022-1024. Grettir in Fairwoodfell.
1024. Grettir visits Hallmund again.
1025. Grettir discovers Thorirs-dale.
1025-1026. Grettir travels round by the East; haunts
Madderdale-heath and Reek-heath.
1026. Thorstein Kuggson slain.
1027. Grettir at Sand-heaps in Bard-dale.
1028. Grettir haunts the west by Broadfirth-dales,
meets Thorod Snorrison.
1028-1031. Grettir in Drangey.
1029. Grettir visits Heron-ness-thing.
1030. Grettir fetches fire from Reeks. Skapti the law
man dies.
1031. Death of Snorri Godi and Grettir Asmundson.
1033. Thorbiorn Angle slain.
[1] THE STORY OF GRETTIR THE STRONG.

This First Part tells of the forefathers of Grettir in Norway, and how they fled away before Harald Fairhair, and settled in Iceland; and of their deeds in Iceland before Grettir was born.

CHAP. I.

There was a man named Onund, who was the son of Ufeigh Clubfoot, the son of Ivar the Smiter; Onund was brother of Gudbiorg, the mother of Gudbrand Ball, the father of Asta, the mother of King Olaf the Saint. Onund was an Uplander by the kin of his mother; but the kin of his father dwelt chiefly about Rogaland and Hordaland. He was a great viking, and went harrying west over the Sea.[4] Balk of Sotanes, the son of Blaeng, was with him herein, and Orm the Wealthy withal, and Hallvard was the name of the third of them. They had five ships, all well manned, and therewith they harried in the South-isles;[5] and when they came to Barra, they found there a king, called Kiarval, and he, too, had five ships. They gave him battle, and a hard fray there was. The men of Onund were of the eagerest, and on either side many fell;[2] but the end of it was that the king fled with only one ship. So there the men of Onund took both ships and much wealth, and abode there through the winter. For three summers they harried throughout Ireland and Scotland, and thereafter went to Norway.

CHAP. II.

In those days were there great troubles in Norway. Harald the Unshorn,[6] son of Halfdan the Black, was pushing forth for the kingdom. Before that he was King of the Uplands; then he went north through the land, and had many battles there, and ever won the day. Thereafter he harried south in the land, and wheresoever he came, laid all under him; but when he came to Hordaland, swarms of folk came thronging against him; and their captains were Kiotvi the Wealthy, and Thorir Longchin, and those of South Rogaland, and King Sulki. Geirmund Helskin was then in the west over the Sea; nor was he in that battle, though he had a kingdom in Hordaland.

Now that autumn Onund and his fellows came from the west over the Sea; and when Thorir Longchin and King Kiotvi heard thereof, they sent men to meet them, and prayed them for help, and promised them honours. Then they entered into fellowship with Thorir and his men; for they were exceeding fain to try their strength, and said that there would they be whereas the fight was hottest.

Now was the meeting with Harald the King in Rogaland,[3] in that firth which is called Hafrsfirth; and both sides had many men. This was the greatest battle that has ever been fought in Norway, and hereof most Sagas tell; for of those is ever most told, of whom the Sagas are made; and thereto came folk from all the land, and many from other lands and swarms of vikings.

Now Onund laid his ship alongside one board of the ship of Thorir Longchin, about the midst of the fleet, but King Harald laid his on the other board, because Thorir was the greatest bearserk, and the stoutest of men; so the fight was of the fiercest on either side. Then the king cried on his bearserks for an onslaught, and they were called the Wolf-coats, for on them would no steel bite, and when they set on nought might withstand them. Thorir defended him very stoutly, and fell in all hardihood on board his ship; then was it cleared from stem to stern, and cut from the grapplings, and let drift astern betwixt the other ships. Thereafter the king's men laid their ship alongside Onund's, and he was in the forepart thereof and fought manly; then the king's folk said, "Lo, a forward man in the forecastle there, let him have somewhat to mind him how that he was in this battle." Now Onund put one foot out over the bulwark and dealt a blow at a man, and even therewith a spear was aimed at him, and as he put the blow from him he bent backward withal, and one of the king's forecastle men smote at him, and the stroke took his leg below the knee and sheared it off, and forthwith made him unmeet for fight. Then fell the more part of the folk on board his ship; but Onund was brought to the ship of him who is called Thrand; he was the son of Biorn, and brother of Eyvind the Eastman; he was in the fight against King Harald and lay on the other board of Onund's ship.[4]

But now, after these things, the more part of the fleet scattered in flight; Thrand and his men, with the other vikings, got them away each as he might, and sailed west over the Sea; Onund went with him, and Balk and Hallvard Sweeping; Onund was healed, but went with a wooden leg all his life after; therefore as long as he lived was he called Onund Treefoot.

CHAP. III.

At that time were many great men west over the Sea, such as had fled from their lands in Norway before King Harald, because he had made all those outlaws, who had met him in battle, and taken to him their possessions. So, when Onund was healed of his wounds, he and Thrand went to meet Geirmund Helskin, because he was the most famed of vikings west there over the Sea, and they asked him whether he had any mind to seek after that kingdom which he had in Hordaland, and offered him their fellowship herein; for they deemed they had a sore loss of their lands there, since Onund was both mighty and of great kin.

Geirmund said that so great had grown the strength of King Harald, that he deemed there was little hope that they would win honour in their war with him when men had been worsted, even when all the folk of the land had been drawn together; and yet withal that he was loth to become a king's thrall and pray for that which was his own; that he would find somewhat better to do than that; and now, too, he