When Earl Adils saw his brother’s death, the heavy casualties in his ranks and the men who were fleeing, he realized that the cause was lost. He turned to flee as well and ran for the forest, where he hid with his band. All the troops who had been with them fled too. They sustained heavy casualties and they scattered far and wide across the moor. Earl Adils had thrown down his standard and no one could tell whether it was he who was fleeing, or someone else. Night soon began to fall, and Thorolf and Egil returned to their camp just as King Athelstan arrived with all his army, and they put up their tents and settled down.
Shortly afterwards, King Olaf appeared with his army. They put up their tents and settled for the night where their men had already made camp. King Olaf was told that both his earls, Hring and Adils, had been killed along with many other men.
54 King Athelstan had settled for the night in the fortress mentioned earlier where he had heard about the battle on the moor. He and his whole army made ready at once and went north along the moor, where they heard clear accounts of the outcome of the battle. Thorolf and Egil went to meet the king, and he thanked them for their courage and the victory they had won, pledging them his total friendship. They remained there together for the night.
King Athelstan woke his men early the next morning. He spoke to his leaders and described how his troops were to be arranged. He ordered his band to lead the way, spearheaded by the finest fighters, and put Egil in command of it.
‘Thorolf will stay with his men and some others that I will place there,’ he said. ‘This will be our second column and he will be in charge of it, because the Scots tend to break ranks, run back and forth and appear in different places. They often prove dangerous if you do not keep on the alert, but retreat if you confront them.’
Egil answered the king, ‘I do not want to be separated from Thorolf in battle, but I think we should be assigned where we are needed the most and the fighting is the heaviest.’
Thorolf said, ‘Let the king decide where he wants to assign us. We will support him as he wishes. I can take the place you have been assigned, if you want.’
Egil said, ‘You can decide, but this is an arrangement I will live to regret.’
The men formed columns as the king had ordered and raised the standards. The king’s column stood on the plain and faced towards the river, and Thorolf’s skirted the forest above it.
King Olaf saw that Athelstan had arranged his troops, and he began doing the same. He formed two columns as well, and moved his standard and the column that he commanded, to face King Athelstan and his men. Both armies were so big that it was impossible to tell which was the larger. King Olaf’s other column moved closer to the forest to face the men who were under Thorolf’s command. It was led by Scottish earls and was very large, mostly consisting of Scots.
Then the troops clashed and a great battle soon ensued. Thorolf advanced bravely and had his standard carried along the side of the forest, intending to approach the king’s men from their vulnerable side. He and his men were holding their shields in front of them, using the forest as cover to their right. Thorolf advanced so far that few of his men were in front of him, and when he was least expecting it, Earl Adils and his men ran out of the forest. Thorolf was stabbed with many spears at once and died there beside the forest. Thorfinn, his standard-bearer, retreated to where the troops were closer together, but Adils attacked them and a mighty battle ensued. The Scots let out a cry of victory when they had felled the leader.
When Egil heard their cry and saw Thorolf’s standard being withdrawn, he sensed that Thorolf could not be following it. He then ran out between the columns, and as soon as he met his men he found out what had happened. He urged them to show great courage, and led the way. Holding his sword Adder, he advanced bravely and chopped to either side, and killed many men. Thorfinn carried the standard directly behind Egil, and the rest of the men followed it. A fierce battle took place, and Egil fought on until he came to Earl Adils. They exchanged a few blows before Adils was killed, and many men around him too, and when he died the troops he had led fled the field. Egil and his men pursued them, killing everyone they could catch, and it was pointless for anyone to ask for his life to be spared. The Scottish earls did not remain very long when they saw their companions fleeing, and ran away themselves.
Egil and his men headed for the king’s column, came upon them from their vulnerable side and soon inflicted heavy casualties. The formation broke up and disintegrated. Many of Olaf’s men fled, and the Vikings let out a cry of victory. When King Athelstan sensed that King Olaf’s column was giving way, he urged his own men forward and had his standard brought forward, launching such a fierce assault that they broke ranks and suffered heavy losses. King Olaf was killed there, along with the majority of his men, because all those who fled were killed if they were caught. King Athelstan won a great victory there.
55 King Athelstan left the scene of the battle and his men pursued those who had fled. He rode back to the fortress without stopping for the night until he reached it, while Egil pursued the fleeing troops for a long time, killing every one of them that he caught. Then he returned to the scene of the battle with his band of men and found his dead brother Thorolf. He picked up his body and washed it, then dressed the corpse according to custom. They dug a grave there and buried Thorolf in it with his full weaponry and armour. Egil clasped a gold ring on to each of his arms before he left him, then they piled rocks over the grave and sprinkled it with earth. Then Egil spoke a verse:
17. The slayer of the earl, unfearing,
ventured bravely forth
in the thunder god’s din: thunder gods din: battle
bold-hearted Thorolf fell.
The ground will grow over
my great brother near Wen;
deep as my sorrow is
I must keep it to myself.
And he spoke another verse:
18. I piled body-mounds, west of where
the poles marked the battlefield.
With black Adder I smote Adils
in a heavy shower of blows.
The young Olaf made
thunder of steel with the English; thunder of steel: battle
Hring entered the weapon-fray
and the ravens did not starve.
Then Egil went with his band of men to see King Athelstan, and approached him where he was sitting and drinking. There was much revelry. And when the king saw Egil arrive, he gave an order to clear the lower bench for his men, and told Egil to sit in the high seat there, facing him.
Egil sat down and put his shield at his feet. He was wearing a helmet and laid his sword across his knees, and now and again he would draw it half-way out of the scabbard, then thrust it back in. He sat upright, but with his head bowed low. Egil had very distinctive features, with a wide forehead, bushy brows and a nose that was not long but extremely broad. His upper jaw was broad and long, and his chin and jawbones were exceptionally wide. With his thick neck and stout shoulders, he stood out from other men. When he was angry, his face grew harsh and fierce. He was well built and taller than other men, with thick wolf-grey hair, although he had gone bald at an early age. When he was sitting in this particular scene, he wrinkled one eyebrow right down on to his cheek and raised the other up to the roots of his hair. Egil had dark eyes and was swarthy. He refused to drink even when served, but just raised and lowered his eyebrows in turn.
King Athelstan was sitting in the high seat, with his sword laid across his knees too. And after they had been sitting there like that for a while, the king unsheathed his sword, took a fine, large ring from his arm and slipped it over the point of the sword, then stood up and walked across the floor and handed it over the fire to Egil. Egil stood up, drew his sword and walked out on to the floor. He put his sword through the ring and pulled it towards him, then went back to his place. The king sat down in his high seat. When Egil sat down, he drew the ring on to his arm, and his brow went back to normal. He put down his sword and h
elmet and took the drinking-horn that was served to him, and finished it. Then he spoke a verse:
19. The god of the armour hangs god of the armour: warrior, king
a jangling snare upon my clutch, jangling snare: ring
the gibbet of hunting-birds, gibbet of hunting-birds: arm
the stamping-ground of hawks.
I raise the ring, the clasp that is worn
on the shield-splitting arm,
on to my rod of the battle-storm, rod of the battle-storm: sword
in praise of the feeder of ravens. feeder of ravens: warrior, i.e. Athelstan
From then onwards, Egil drank his full share and spoke to the others.
Afterwards, the king had two chests brought in, carried by two men each. They were both full of silver.
The king said, ‘These chests are yours, Egil. And if you go to Iceland, you will present this money to your father, which I am sending him as compensation for the death of his son. Share some of the money with Thorolf’s kinsmen, those you regard as the best. Take compensation for your brother from me here, land or wealth, whichever you prefer, and if you wish to stay with me for longer I will grant you any honour and respect that you care to name yourself.’
Egil accepted the money and thanked the king for his gift and friendship. From then on he began to cheer up, and spoke a verse:
20. For sorrow my beetling brows
drooped over my eyelids.
Now I have found one who smoothed
the wrinkles on my forehead:
the king has pushed the cliffs cliffs: eyebrows
that gird my mask’s ground, mask’s ground: face
back above my eyes.
He grants bracelets no quarter.
Afterwards the men who were thought likely to survive had their wounds dressed.
Egil remained with King Athelstan for the winter after Thorolf’s death, and earned great respect from him. All the men who had been with the brothers and survived the battle stayed with him. Egil composed a drapa in praise of the king which includes the following verse:
21. The wager of battle who towers
over the land, the royal progeny,
has felled three kings; the realm
passes to the kin of Ella. Ella: (probably) king of Northumbria, d. 867.
Athelstan did other feats,
the high-born king subdues all.
This I swear, dispenser wave-fire: gold; its dispenser: generous man, king
of golden wave-fire.
This is the refrain in the drapa:
22. Even the highland deer’s paths highland deer’s paths: Scotland
belong to mighty Athelstan now.
As a reward for his poetry, Athelstan gave Egil two more gold rings weighing a mark each, along with an expensive cloak that the king himself had worn.
When spring came, Egil announced to the king that he intended to leave for Norway that summer and find out about the situation of Asgerd, ‘who was my brother Thorolf’s wife. They have amassed plenty of wealth, but I do not know whether any of their children are still alive. I must provide for them if they are alive, but shall inherit everything if Thorolf has died childless.’
The king said, ‘While it is your decision, of course, to leave here if you feel you have duties to attend to, Egil, I would prefer you to do otherwise; stay here permanently and accept anything you care to name.’
Egil thanked the king for this offer: ‘I must leave immediately,’ he said, ‘as is my duty. But I am more likely than not to return to collect what you have promised me, when I can arrange it.’
The king invited him to do so. Then Egil made ready to leave with his men, although many remained behind with the king. Egil had a great longship with a hundred men or more on board. And when he was ready to set off and a fair wind got up, he put out to sea. He and King Athelstan parted in great friendship. He asked Egil to come back as quickly as he possibly could. Egil said he would do so.
Then Egil headed for Norway, and when he reached land he sailed straight to Fjordane. He was told that Thorir the Hersir had died and that his son Arinbjorn had succeeded to his titles and become one of the king’s men. Egil went to meet Arinbjorn and was well received by him. Arinbjorn invited him to stay there, and Egil accepted the offer. He had his ship pulled up on the beach, and his men were given places to stay. Arinbjorn took Egil and eleven other men into his house, and he spent the winter with him.
56 Berg-Onund, son of Thorgeir Thorn-foot, had married Bjorn the Landowner’s daughter Gunnhild, and she was living with him at Ask. Asgerd, now Thorolf Skallagrimsson’s widow, was staying with her kinsman Arinbjorn. She and Thorolf had a young daughter named Thordis, who was with her mother. Egil told Asgerd of Thorolf’s death and offered to provide for her. Asgerd was very upset at the news but she answered Egil fittingly, and played the matter down.
As autumn progressed, Egil grew very melancholy and would often sit down with his head bowed into his cloak.
Once, Arinbjorn went to him and asked what was causing his melancholy – ‘Even though you have suffered a great loss with your brother’s death, the manly thing to do is bear it well. One man lives after another’s death. What poetry have you been composing? Let me hear some.’
Egil told him this was his most recent verse:
23. The goddess of the arm where hawks perch, goddess of the arm: woman
woman, must suffer my rudeness;
when young I would easily dare
to lift the sheer cliffs of my brow. lift… my brow: i.e. look up
Now I must conceal in my cloak
the outcrop between my brows outcrop between my brows: nose
when she enters the poet’s mind,
head-dress of the rock-giant’s earth. head-dress of the rock-giant’s earth: woman (possibly also a play on As-gerd, which means ‘God-fence’ but its components can also be read as ‘hill-head-dress’)
Arinbjorn asked who this woman was that he was making love poems about – ‘There seems to be a clue about her name concealed in the verse.’
Then Egil spoke this verse:
24. I seldom hide the name
of my female relative
in the drink of the giant’s kin; drink of the giant’s kin: poetry
sorrow wanes in sea-fire’s fortress. sea-fire: gold; its fortress: woman
Some who stir the din
of valkyries’ armour valkyries’ armour: battle
have poetic fingers that feel
the essence of the war-god’s wine. war-god: Odin; his wine: poetry
‘This is a case where the saying applies that you can tell anything to a friend,’ said Egil. ‘I will answer your question who the woman is that I make poems about. It is your kinswoman Asgerd, and I would like your support in arranging this marriage.’
Arinbjorn said he thought this was a fine idea, ‘and I will certainly put in a word to bring the match about’.
Afterwards, Egil put his proposal to Asgerd, but she referred it for the advice of her father and her kinsman Arinbjorn. Then Arinbjorn discussed it with Asgerd, and she gave the same answer as before. Arinbjorn urged her to accept the offer of marriage. After that, Arinbjorn and Egil went to see Bjorn and Egil made a proposal to marry his daughter. Bjorn responded favourably, saying that it was up to Arinbjorn to decide. Arinbjorn favoured it strongly, so in the end they became betrothed, and their wedding was arranged to be held at Arinbjorn’s house. When the appointed time came, a lavish feast was held there, and Egil took her for his wife. He remained in good spirits for the rest of the winter.
In the spring, Egil equipped a merchant ship to sail to Iceland. Arinbjorn had advised him not to stay in Norway while Queen Gunnhild held such power.
‘She is very ill-disposed towards you,’ Arinbjorn said, ‘and it made things much worse when you ran into Eyvind off Jutland.’
When Egil was ready and a favourable wind got up, he sailed out to sea and had an easy passage. He reached Iceland in the autumn and
headed for Borgarfjord. He had been away for twelve years. Skallagrim was growing very old by then, and was delighted when Egil returned. Egil went to stay at Borg, taking with him Thorfinn the Strong and many of his men. They spent the winter with Skallagrim. Egil had an enormous amount of wealth, but it is not mentioned whether he ever shared the silver that King Athelstan had presented to him, either with Skallagrim or anyone else.
That winter, Thorfinn married Skallagrim’s daughter Saeunn, and the following spring Skallagrim gave them a place to live at Langarfoss, and the land stretching inshore from the Leirulaek brook between the Langa and Alfta rivers, all the way up to the mountains. Thorfinn and Saeunn had a daughter named Thordis, who married Arngeir from Holm, the son of Bersi the Godless. Their son was Bjorn, Champion of the Hitardal people.
The Sagas of the Icelanders Page 19