champion. Ivar Forkbeard, large, robed in gray, hooded in gray, stood beside me.
His features could not be well seen. From a leather box, proffered to him by a
high officer, who, too, had been the presiding official at the contests, Svein
Blue Tooth lifted a fistful of talmits. There was much cheering, much shouting,
much lifting of weapons. Spear blades struck the surfaces of the round, painted,
wooden shields. There were steps leading to the dais. "He who calls himself
Thorgeir of Ax Glacier," proclaimed Svein Blue Tooth, "let him approach!" Ivar
Forkbeard eagerly bounded up the stairs toward the dais. There was not one of
his men who did not tense, and reach to his weapons, reassuring himself as to
their readiness, I looked about, considering the most opportune paths of flight.
If one is immersed in boiling tharlarion oil one dies quickly. On the other
hand, if it is heated slowly, over a tiny fire, this same process consumes
several hours. I studied the face of Svein Blue Tooth. I had little doubt that
he was a patient man. I shuddered. Ivar Forkbeard, Thorgeir of Ax Glacier, now
stood, hooded, on the top stair of the dais, before his enemy. I hoped that
Svein Blue Tooth would simply hand him the talmits and he might rapidly back
down, and we might run for the ship. My heart sank. It was obviously the intent
of Svein Blue Tooth, himself, to honor this great winner, to bind on his
forehead, with his own hands, the talmits. The Blue Tooth reached to brush back
the hood. Ivar drew back his head. Svein Blue Tooth laughed. "Do not fear,
Champion," said he. "There is none here who believes your name, truly, to be
Thorgeir of Ax Glacier." Ivar Forkbeard shrugged and spread his hands, as though
he had been found out, as though his ruse had failed. I felt like beating his
head in with the handle of an ax. "What is your name, Champion?" asked Bera, the
woman of Jarl Svein Blue Tooth. Ivar was silent. "That you have disguised
yourself tells us," said the Blue Tooth, "that you are outlaw." Ivar looked at
him, as though startled at his perception. "But the peace of the thing is upon
you," said Svein Blue Tooth. "You are safe among us. Do not fear, great
Champion. We meet here not to threaten you, but to do you honor. Be not afraid,
for the peace of the thing is upon you, as on all men here." "Great Jarl," said
Ivar Forkbeard, "will you swear upon me the oath of peace, for the time of the
thing, your personal oath, sworn upon the ring of the temple of Thor?" "It is
not necessary," said the Blue Tooth, "but, if you wish, this oath I will swear "
The Forkbeard bowed his head in humble petition. The great ring of the temple of
Thor, stained in the blood of the sacrificial ox, was brought. It was held in
the hands of the high rune-priest of the thing. Svein Blue Tooth grasped it in
both hands. "I swear upon you the peace of the thing," said he, "and I make this
oath of peace, for the time of the thing, mine own as well." I breathed more
easily. I saw the Forkbeard's men about me visibly relax. Only the Forkbeard did
not seem satisfied. "Swear, too," he suggested, "by the side of the ship, by the
shield's rim, by the sword's edge." Svein Blue Tooth looked at him, puzzled. "I
so swear," he sald. "And, too," begged the Forkbeard, "by the fires of your
llearth, by the timbers of the hall and the pillars of your high seat." "Come
now!" said Svein Blue Tooth. "MyJarl-" begged the Forkbeard. "Very well," said
the Blue Tooth, "I swear by the ship's side, the shield's rim, the sword's edge,
the fires of my hearth, the timbers of my hall and the pillars of the high seat
in my house." He then made ready to brush back the hood, but the Forkbeard drew
back once more. "Will you swear, too," he asked, "by the grains of your fields,
the boundary stones of your holdings, the locks on your chests and the salt on
your table?" "Yes, yes!" said Svein Blue Tooth, irritatedly. "I so swear. The
Forkbeard seemed lost in thought. I assumed he was trying to think of ways to
strengthen the Blue Tooth's oath. It seemed to me a mighty oath already. I
thought it quite sufficient. "And, too, I swear," said Svein Blue Tooth, "by the
bronze of my ladles and the bottoms of my butter pansl" "That will not be
necessary," said the Forkbeard, generously. "What is your name, Champion?" asked
Svein Blue Tooth. Ivar Forkbeard threw back his hood. "My name is Ivar
Forkbeard," he said. Chapter 13 Visitors in the hall of Svein Blue Tooth Ihe
hall of Svein Blue Tooth was of wood, and magnificent. The interior hall, not
counting rooms leading from it on various sides, or the balcony which lined it,
leading to other rooms, was some forty feet high, and forty feet in width, some
two hundred feet in length. It, on the western side, was lined with a great,
long table. Behind this table, its back to the western wall, facing the length
of the hall, facing east, was the high seat, or the rightful seat, the seat of
the master of the house. It was wide enough for three or four men to sit
together on it, and, as a great honor, sometimes others were invited to share
the high seat. On each side of this high seat were two pillars, about eight
inches in diameter, and some eight feet high, the high-seat pillars, or
rightful-seat pillars. They marked the seat, or bench, which might be placed
between them as the high seat, or rightful seat. These pillars had been carved
by craftsmen in the time of Svein Blue Tooth's great grandfather, and bore the
luck signs of his house. On each side of the high seat were long benches.
Opposite, on the other side of the table, too, were long benches. A seat of
honor, incidentally, was that opposite the high seat, where one might converse
with the host. The high seat, though spoken of as "high," was the same height as
the other benches. The men of Torvaldsland, thus, look across the table at one
another, not one down upon the other. The seat is "high" in the sense of being a
seat of great honor. There was, extending almost the length of the hall, a pit
for a "long fire" over which food was prepared for retainers. On the long sides
of the hall, on the north and south, there were long tables, with benches. Salt,
in its bowls on the tables, divided men into rankings. Those sitting above the
salt were accorded greater prestige than those sitting below it. If one sat
between the salt and the high seat, one sat "above" the salt; if one sat between
the salt and the entrance to the hall, one sat "below" the salt. At the
high-seat table, that at which the high seat sat, all counted as being "above
the salt." Similarly, at the tables parallel to the highseat table, smaller
tabies flanking the long fire on both sides, the tables nearest the high seat
counted as being above the salt, those farthest away being below the salt. The
division, was made approximately at the third of the hall closest to the high
seat, but could shift, depending on the numbers of those in attendance worthy to
be above the salt. The line, so to speak, imaginary to be sure, but definitely
felt as a social reality, dividing those above from those below the salt, was
uniformly "drawn" across the width of the hall. Thus, it was not the case that
one at a long side table, who was
above the salt, would be farther away from the
high seat than one at one of the center tables, who was "below" the salt. In
Ivar Forkbeard's hall, incidentally, the salt distinctions were not drawn; in
his hall all being comrades in arms, all were "above the salt." Svein Blue
Tooth's holdings, on the other hand, were quite large and complexly organized.
It would not have seemed proper, at least in the eyes of Svein Blue Tooth and
others, for a high officer to sit at the same table with a fellow whose main
occupation was supervising thralls in the tending of verr. Salt, incidentally,
is obtained by the men of Torvaldsland, most commonly, from sea water or from
the burning of seaweed. It is also, however, a trade commodity, and is sometimes
taken in raids. The red and yellow salts of the south, some of which I saw on
the tables, are not domestic to Torvaldsland. The arrangements of tables,
incidentally, varies in different halls. I describe those appointments
characterizing the hall of Blue Tooth. It is common, however, for the entrance
of the hall to be oriented toward the morning sun, and for the high seat to face
the entrance. None may enter without being seen from the high seat. Similarly,
none are allowed to sit behind the high seat. In a rude country, these defensive
measures are doubtless a sensible precaution. About the edges of the hall hung
the shields of warriors, with their weapons. Even those who sat commonly at the
center tables, and were warriors, kept their shields and spears at the wall. At
night, each man would sleep in his furs behind the tables, under his weapons.
High officers, of course, and the Blue Tooth, and members of his family, would
retire to private rooms. The hall was ornately carved, and, above the shields,
decorated with cunningly sewn tapestries and hangings. On these were, usually,
warlike scenes, or those dealing with ships and hunting. There was a lovely
scene of the hunting of tabuk in a forest. Another tapestry, showing numerous
ships, in a war fleet, dated from the time of the famine in Torvaldsland, a
generation ago. That had been a time of great raids to the south. Svein Blue
Tooth had not been much pleased on the fields of the contests, on his
purple-draped dais, when Ivar Forkbeard had announced his identity. "Seize him
and heat oil!" had been the first cry of the Blue Tooth. "Your oath! Your oath!"
had cried the horrified, startled rune-priests. "Seize him!" screamed the Blue
Tooth, but his men had, forcibly, restrained him, they glaring at Ivar Forkbeard
with ill-disguised disapproval. "You tricked me!" cried out the Blue Tooth.
"Yes," adrnitted the Forkbeard. "It is true." Svein Blue Tooth, held in the arms
of his men, struggled to unsheath his great sword of blued steel. The high
rune-priest of the thing interposed himself between the violent Blue Tooth and
the Forkbeard, who was, innocently, regarding cloud formations. The rune-priest
held up the heavy, golden ring of Thor, the temple ring itself, stained in- the
blood of the sacrificial ox. "On this ring you have sworn!" he cried. "And by
many other things as well," added the Forkbeard, unnecessarily to my mind. The
veins stood out on the forehead and neck of Svein Blue Tooth. He was a powerful
man. It was not easy for his officers to restrain him. At last, eyes blazing, he
subsided. "We will hold parley," he said. He, with his high officers, retired to
the back of the dais. Many heated words were passed between them. More than one
cast a rather dark look in the direction of the Forkbeard, who, then, his
disguise cast off, was cheerily waving to various acquaintances in the crowd.
"Long live the Forkbeard!" cried a man in the throng. The men-at-arms of Svein
Blue Tooth stirred uneasily. They edged more closely about the dais. I ascended
the steps of the dais and stood at the back of the Forkbeard, hand on the hilt
of the sword, to protect him if necessary. "You are insane," I informed him.
"Look," he said, "there is Hafnir of the Inlet of Iron Walls. I have not seen
him since I was outlawed." "Good," I said. He waved to the man. "Ho, there,
Hafnir!" he cried. "Yes, it is I, Ivar Forkbeard!" The men-at-arms ofSvein Blue
Tooth were now uncornfortably close. I pushed away spear points with my left
hand. Meanwhile the debate at the back of the dais went on. The issues seemed
reasonably clear, though I could catch only snatches of what was said; they
concerned the pleasures of boiling the Forkbeard and his retinue alive as
opposed to the dangerous precedent which rnight be set if the peace of the thing
was sundered, and the loss of credit which might accrue to Svein Blue Tooth if
he reneged on his pledged oaths, deep oaths publicly and voluntarily given.
There were also considerations to the effect that the rune-priests would be
distressed if the oaths were broken, and that the gods, too, might not look
lightly upon such a violation of faith, and might, too, more seriously, evidence
their displeasure by such tokens as blights, plagues, hurricanes and famines.
Against these considerations it was argued that not even the gods thernselves
could blarne Svein Blue Tooth, under these circumstances, for not honoring a
piddling oath, extracted under false pretenses; one bold fellow even went so far
as to insist that, under these special circumstances, it was a solemn obligation
incumbent on the Blue Tooth to renounce his oath and commit the Forkbeard and
his followers, with the exception of slaves, who would be confiscated, to the
oil pots. Fortunately, in the midst of his eloquence, this fellow sneezed, which
omen at once, decisively, wiped away the weightiness of his point. At last the
Blue Tooth turned to face the Forkbeard. Svein's face was red with rage. The
high rune-priest lifted the sacred temple ring. "The peace of the thing," said
the Blue Tooth, "and the peace of my house, for the time of the thing, is upon
you. This I have sworn. This I uphold." There was much cheering. The Forkbeard
beamed. "I knew it would be so, my Jarl," he said. The high rune-priest lowered
the temple ring. I rather admired Svein Blue Tooth. He was a man of his word. By
his word he would stand, even though, as in the present case, any objective
observer would have been forced to admit that his provocation to betray it, his
temptation to betray it, must have been unusual in the extreme. In honor such a
high jarl must set an example to the men of Torvaldsland. He had, nobly, if not
cheerfully, set the example. "By tomorrow night," said he, "when the thing is
done, be free of this place. My oath is for the time of the thing, and for no
longer." "You have six talmits of mine, I believe," said the Forkbeard. Svein
Blue Tooth looked at him in rage. "There is one for swimming," said the
Forkbeard, "one for climbing the mast, one for leaping the crevice, one for
walking the oar, and two for prowess with the spear." Blue Tooth was speechless.
"That is six," said the Forkbeard. "Never before in the history of the thing has
a champion done this well." The Blue Tooth thrust the talmits toward the
Forkbeard But the Forkbeard, humbly, inclined his head. Then Svein Blue Tooth,
as high jarl in Torvaldsland, one by one, tied about the forehead of Ivar
Forkbeard the six talmits. There was much cheering. I, too, cheered. Svein Blue
Tooth was, in his way, not a bad fellow. "By tomorrow night," repeated Svein
Blue Tooth to the Forkbeard, "when the thing is done, be free of this place My
oath is for the time of the thung, and for no longer." "You frown upon me, and
would put me below the salt," said Ivar Forkbeard, "because I am outlaw." "I
frown upon you, and would not let you within the doors of my hall, said Svein
Blue Tooth, "because you are the greatest scoundrel and rogue in Torvaldsland!"
I could see that this compliment much pleased the Forkbeard, who, a vain fellow,
was jealous of his reputation. "But I have," said the Forkbeard, "the means
wherewith to buy myself free of the outlawry you yourself pronounced upon me.
"That is preposterous!" snorted the Blue Tooth. Several of his men laughed. "No
man," said the Blue Tooth, looking suddenly at Ivar Forkbeard, "could pay such
wergild as I set for you." "You have heard," inquired Ivar Forkbeard, "of the
freeing of Chenbar, the Sea Sleen, from the dungeons of Port Kar?" He smiled.
"You have heard," he inquired, "of the sack of the temple of Kassau?" "You!"
cried the Blue Tooth. I saw the eyes of the Blue Tooth suddenly gleam with
avarice. I knew then, surely, that he was of Torvaldsland. There is a streak of
the raider in them all. "The wergild I set you," said he slowly, "was such that
no man, by my intent, could pay it. It was one hundred stone of gold, the weight
of a grown man in the sapphires of Schendi, and the only daughter of my enemy,
Thorgard of Scagnar." "May I pay my respects to you this night in your hall?"
asked the Forkbeard. Svein Blue Tooth looked at him, startled. He fingered the
heavy tooth, on its chain, which hung about his neck, that tooth of a Hunjer
whale, dyed blue. Bera, his woman, rose to her feet. I could see that her mind
was moving with rapidity. "Come tonight to our hall, Champion," said she. The
Blue Tooth did not gainsay her. The woman of the Jarl had spoken. Free women in
the north have much power. TheJarl's Woman, in the Kaissa oit the north, is a
more powerful piece than the Ubara in the Kaissa of the south. This is not to
deny that the Ubara in the south, in fact, exercises as much or more power than
her northern counterpart. It is only to recognize that her power in the south is
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