There was a rumour abroad that Bard had seduced Thordis, Thorbjorn’s daughter, a good-looking and intelligent girl. Thorbjorn took this badly and said that there would be trouble if his son Ari were living at home. Bard remarked that he took no heed of the words of idle men – ‘I will continue as before,’ he said.
Thorkel was a close friend of Bard’s and party to this liaison. Gisli, however, was as deeply offended as his father by the way people were talking.
It is said that Gisli went along with Thorkel and Bard one time to Bard’s farm at Granaskeid. When they were halfway there, with no warning whatsoever, Gisli dealt Bard his death blow. Thorkel was angry and told Gisli that he had done great wrong. Gisli told his brother to calm down and jested with him.
‘We’ll swap swords,’ he said, ‘then you’ll have the one with the better bite.’
Thorkel composed himself and sat down beside Bard’s body. Gisli rode off home to tell his father, who was greatly pleased by the news. There was never the same warmth between the two brothers after this. Thorkel refused the exchange of weapons and, having no desire to stay at home, he went to stay with a close relative of Bard’s, called Skeggi the Dueller, who lived on the island of Saxo. He strongly urged Skeggi the Dueller to avenge his kinsman’s death and take Thordis as his wife.
Twenty men set off for Stokkar and when they reached the farm, Skeggi the Dueller suggested to Thorbjorn that their families be united. ‘I’ll marry your daughter, Thordis,’ he said.
But Thorbjorn did not want the man to marry his daughter. Thordis, it was said, had since become friendly with Kolbjorn. Suspecting this was the real reason his proposal had been rejected, Skeggi went to meet Kolbjorn and challenged him to a duel on the island of Saxo. Kolbjorn agreed to take up the challenge, saying that he would not be worthy of Thordis if he dared not fight Skeggi. Thorkel and Skeggi returned to Saxo and stayed there until the fight was due to be fought. Twenty other men went with them.
After three nights had passed, Gisli went to meet Kolbjorn and asked him if he was ready for the duel. Kolbjorn answered him by asking whether this was really the way to achieve what he wanted.
‘What kind of talk is that?’ said Gisli.
‘I don’t think I’ll fight Skeggi to win Thordis,’ said Kolbjorn.
Gisli told Kolbjorn he was the greatest scoundrel living – ‘And though it shame you forever,’ he said, ‘I will go instead.’
Gisli went to the island of Saxo with eleven men. Skeggi had already arrived at the spot where the duel was to be fought. He announced the rules and marked out where Kolbjorn was to stand, but he could not see his opponent nor anyone to replace him.
There was a man named Ref, who worked for Skeggi as a carpenter. Skeggi asked him to make wooden effigies in the likenesses of Gisli and Kolbjorn.
‘And one will stand behind the other,’ he said, ‘and these figures of scorn* will remain like that forever to mock them.’
Gisli, who was in the woods, heard this and answered, ‘Find some better employment for your farmhands. Here is a man who dares to fight you.’
They took up their duelling positions and began to fight, each of them bearing a shield. Skeggi had a sword called Gunnlogi (War-flame) that rang loud in the air as it struck out at Gisli. Then Skeggi said,
1. War-flame sang
Saxo is amused.
Gisli struck back with his halberd which sliced through the lower end of Skeggi’s shield and cut off his leg. Then Gisli spoke:
2. Spear swept
I struck at Skeggi.
Skeggi bought his way out of the duel, and from that time he walked with a wooden leg. Thorkel went home with his brother Gisli. The two of them were now on very good terms, and Gisli’s reputation was thought to have increased considerably as a result of this affair.
3 Two brothers are mentioned in the story: Einar and Ami, the sons of Skeggi from Saxo. They lived at Flyndrenes, north of Trondheim. The following spring, Einar and Ami gathered together a large party of men and went to see Kolbjorn in Surnadal. They offered him a choice – either he go with them and burn Thorbjorn and his sons to death in their house or they kill him on the spot. He chose to go with them.
Sixty of them left for Stokkar by night and set fire to the houses there. Thorbjorn, his sons and Thordis were all asleep in an outbuilding. In the same outbuilding were two barrels of whey. Gisli, his father and his brother took two goat hides, dipped them in the whey to fight the fire and managed to douse it three times. Then they broke down a wall, and ten of them succeeded in escaping to the mountainside, using the smoke as cover. They were now such a distance from the farm as to be out of range of the dogs’ barking.* Twelve people were burned to death in the fire. The attackers believed they had killed everyone.
Those who went with Gisli journeyed until they reached Styrkar’s farm on Fridarey. There they gathered a force of forty men, went to Kolbjorn’s farm and, without warning, set fire to his house. Kolbjorn was burned to death with eleven other men. Then they sold up their lands, bought a ship and left with all their belongings. There were sixty of them on board.† They arrived at a group of islands called the Asen and laid over there before setting out to sea.
They left the Asen Islands in two boats, forty men in all, and sailed north to Flyndrenes. At the same time, Skeggi’s two sons were on their way to collect land rent with a group of seven men. Gisli’s party confronted them and killed them all. Gisli slew three men and Thorkel two. From there they went to the farm and took a great deal of goods and livestock. Skeggi the Dueller was there at his sons’ farm. This time Gisli cut off his head.
4 After this, they went back to their ship and set out to sea. They sailed for more than sixty days and nights, finally reaching the mouth of the Haukadalsa river on the south side of Dyrafjord in the west of Iceland.
Two men are mentioned, both named Thorkel, who lived on opposite sides of the fjord. One of them, Thorkel Eiriksson, lived at Saurar in Keldudal on the south side, and the other, known as Thorkel the Wealthy, lived on the north side at Alvidra. Thorkel Eiriksson was the first man of standing to go down to the ship to greet Thorbjorn Sur (Whey),* who was called that since the time he used whey to escape being burned to death. None of the lands on either side of the fjord were settled at the time, so Thorbjorn Sur bought some land at Saebol in Haukadal on the south side. Gisli built a farm there at which they lived from that time on.
There was a man named Bjartmar who lived at the head of Arnarfjord. His wife, Thurid, was the daughter of Hrafn from Ketilseyri in Dyrafjord, and Hrafn was the son of Dyri who first settled the fjord. Bjartmar and Thurid had several children. The eldest was a girl named Hild, and their sons were named Helgi, Sigurd and Vestgeir.
There was a Norwegian named Vestein, who arrived at the time of the settlement. He lodged at Bjartmar’s farm. Vestein took Bjartmar’s daughter, Hild, as his wife, and it was not long before they had two children, a daughter named Aud and a son named Vestein.
Vestein the Norwegian was the son of Vegeir, the brother of Vebjorn the Champion of Sognefjord. Bjartmar was the son of An Red-cloak, son of Grim Hairy-cheeks, brother of Arrow-Odd, son of Ketil Haeng, son of Hallbjorn Half-troll. An Red-cloak’s mother was Helga, the daughter of An Bow-bender.
Vestein Vesteinsson eventually became a skilled seafarer, though at this point in the story he lived on a farm in Onundarfjord below Hest mountain. He had a wife, Gunnhild, and two sons, Berg and Helgi.
Soon after, Thorbjorn Sur passed away, followed by his wife, Thora. Gisli and his brother Thorkel took over the farm. Thorbjorn and Thora were laid to rest in a burial mound.
5 There was a man named Thorbjorn, nicknamed Selagnup (Seals’ Peak). He lived at Kvigandafell in Talknafjord. He was married to a woman called Thordis and had a daughter named Asgerd. Thorkel, the son of Thorbjorn Sur, asked for Asgerd’s hand and she became his wife. Gisli asked for the hand of Aud, Vestein’s sister, and married her. The two brothers lived together in Haukadal.
One
spring, Thorkel the Wealthy travelled to the Thorsnes Assembly, and Thorbjorn Sur’s two sons accompanied him. At that time, Thorstein Cod-biter, the son of Thorolf Moster-beard, was living at Thorsnes with his wife, Thora, the daughter of Olaf Thorsteinsson, and their children, Thordis, Thorgrim and Bork the Stout. Thorkel settled his business at the assembly, and when it was over, Thorstein invited him, along with Gisli and Thorkel, to his home. When they left, he gave them good gifts, and they responded by inviting Thorstein’s sons to their assembly in the west the following spring.
Thorkel the Wealthy and the brothers Gisli and Thorkel returned home. The following spring, Thorstein’s sons went to the Hvolseyri Assembly along with a party often men. On their arrival they met up with Thorbjorn Sur’s sons, who invited them home when the assembly was over. They had already accepted an invitation to the home of Thorkel the Wealthy, but after they visited him they went off to Gisli and Thorkel’s farm and enjoyed an excellent feast there.
Thorgrim, the son of Thorstein, found Thordis, the sister of Gisli and Thorkel, very attractive and asked for her hand in marriage. She was betrothed to him and the wedding followed soon in the wake of the betrothal. Thordis had the farm at Saebol as her dowry, and Thorgrim moved west to live there with her. Bork, however, remained at Thorsnes with his sister’s sons, Outlaw-Stein and Thorodd.
Thorgrim now lived at Saebol, and Gisli and Thorkel moved to Hol where they built a good farmhouse. The two farms, Hol and Saebol, lay side by side, divided by a hayfield wall, and both parties lived on friendly terms. Thorgrim had a godord and afforded both brothers considerable support.
One spring, they left for the Spring Assembly with forty men, all of them wearing coloured clothes.* Vestein, Gisli’s brother-in-law, joined up with them and so did the men from Surnadal.
6 There was a man named Gest, son of Oddleif. He arrived at the assembly and shared a booth with Thorkel the Wealthy. The men from Surnadal were sitting in the Haukadal booth drinking, while the others were at court because there were lawsuits to be heard.
A man came into the Haukadal booth, a noisy fellow named Arnor, and spoke to them: ‘You Haukadal people don’t seem to want to do anything other than drink while your thingmen are dealing with important matters, That’s what everyone thinks, though I’m the only one to say so.’
Then Gisli said, ‘Then we will go to court. It could well be that the others are saying the same.’
So they all walked over to the court where Thorgrim asked if any of them needed his support.
‘Having pledged our support, we will do all in our power to help you, as long as we are standing,’ he told them.
Then Thorkel the Wealthy answered, ‘The matters that men are concerned with at present are of little importance, but we will let you know if we need your support.’
People began to talk about how much finery the group possessed, how imposing they were and how well they spoke.
Then Thorkel said to Gest, ‘How long do you expect the ardour and arrogance of these people from Haukadal to last?’
Gest answered, ‘Three summers from now, the men in that party will no longer see eye to eye.’
Now Arnor was present while they were talking, and he rushed into the Haukadal booth and told them what had been said.
Gisli answered, ‘I am sure this report is correct, but let us make certain that his prediction does not come true. And I see a good way to avert it We four will make our bond of friendship even stronger than before by pledging our sworn brotherhood.’
This seemed good counsel to them, so they walked out to Eyrarhvolsoddi and scored out a long strip of turf, making sure that both ends were still attached to the ground. Then they propped up the arch of raised turf with a damascened spear so long-shafted that a man could stretch out his arm and touch the rivets. All four of them had to go under it, Thorgrim, Gisli, Thorkel and Vestein. Then they drew blood and let it drip down on to the soil beneath the turf strip and stirred it together – the soil and the blood. Then they all fell to their knees and swore an oath that each would avenge the other as if they were brothers, and they called on all the gods as their witnesses.
But as they all clasped hands, Thorgrim said, ‘I will have enough trouble to deal with if I so bind myself to Thorkel and Gisli, my brothers-in-law, but I bear no obligation to Vestein’ – and he quickly withdrew his hand.
‘Then others may do the same,’ said Gisli, and he withdrew his hand, too. ‘I will not burden myself with ties to a man who refuses to bind himself to Vestein, my brother-in-law.’
They were all deeply affected by this. Then Gisli said to Thorkel, his brother, ‘This is what I thought would happen. What has taken place here will come to nothing. I suspect fate will take its course now.’
After this, everyone went home from the assembly.
7 That summer, a ship arrived in Dyrafjord owned by two brothers from Norway. One was named Thorir and the other Thorarin, and they were from Oslo Fjord. Thorgrim rode out to the ship and bought four hundreds of timber, paying part of the sum immediately and leaving the balance until later. Then the traders put up ship in the Sandar estuary and found a place to lodge.
There was a man named Odd, the son of Orlyg, who lived at Eyri in Skutilsfjord. Thorgrim lodged the skipper and the helmsman at his house, then he sent his son, Thorodd, to stack and count the timber because he wanted it brought to his house soon. Thorodd went and took the timber and stacked it, and found that it was far from being the bargain his father had described. Then he spoke harshly to the Norwegians, which they could not tolerate, and they set about him and killed him.
After this, the Norwegians left their ship and travelled about Dyrafjord, where they obtained some horses, and then headed off towards their lodgings. They travelled all day and night, eventually arriving at a valley that leads up out of Skutilsfjord. They ate breakfast there and then went to sleep.
When Thorgrim heard the news, he set out from home without delay, had someone ferry him across the fjord and then pursued the Norwegians alone. He arrived at the spot where they were sleeping and woke Thorarin by prodding at him with the shaft of his spear. Thorarin jumped up and, recognizing his assailant, was about to grab his sword, but Thorgrim thrust out with his spear and killed him. Then Thorir awoke, ready to avenge his brother, but Thorgrim speared him clean through. The place is now called Dagverdardal (Breakfast dale) and Austmannafall (Eastman’s fall). This done, Thorgrim returned home and became renowned as a result of this expedition.
Thorgrim remained at his farm for the winter, and when spring arrived, he and his brother-in-law, Thorkel, fitted out the ship that had belonged to the Norwegians. The two men from Oslo Fjord had been great trouble-makers in Norway and they had not been safe there. With the ship fully ready, Thorgrim and Thorkel set sail. That summer, Vestein and Gisli also set off from Skeljavik in Steingrimsfjord. Thus both ships were at sea. Onund from Medaldal was left in charge of Thorkel and Gisli’s farm, while Outlaw-Stein and Thordis took care of the farm at Saebol.
All this took place when Harald Grey-cloak ruled Norway. Thorgrim and Thorkel came ashore in the north of that country and soon afterwards arrived at the court, where they presented themselves to the king and greeted him warmly. The king gave them a friendly welcome, and they pledged themselves as his followers. They became wealthy and well established.
Gisli and Vestein had been at sea for more than fifty days and nights when they eventually ran ashore at Hordaland. It was early winter, in the dead of night, and a great blizzard was blowing. Their ship was wrecked, but the crew escaped drowning and the goods were salvaged.
8 There was a man named Beard-Bjalfi, who owned a trading ship and was about to set out south for Denmark. Gisli and Vestein asked him if they could buy a half share in the ship. He replied that he had heard that they were decent men and agreed to the deal. They responded at once by giving him gifts worth more than the price of their share.
They sailed south to Denmark and arrived at a place called Viborg
, staying the winter there with a man named Sigurhadd. There were three of them, Vestein, Gisli and Bjalfi, and they were all good friends and gave each other gifts. Early in the spring, Bjalfi prepared his ship to sail for Iceland.
There was a man named Sigurd, a trading partner of Vestein’s and a Norwegian by birth, who at that time was living out west in England. He sent word to Vestein, saying that he wanted to break up their partnership, claiming that he no longer needed Vestein’s money. Vestein asked Gisli’s leave to go and meet the man.
‘Then you must promise me,’ said Gisli, ‘if you return safely, you will never leave Iceland again without my consent.’
Vestein agreed to these terms.
One morning Gisli arose early and went out to the smithy. He was a very skilled craftsman and a man of many talents. He made a coin, worth no less than an ounce of silver, and riveted it together with twenty studs, ten on each half, so that the coin appeared whole even though it could be separated into two halves.
It is said that he pulled the coin apart and gave one half to Vestein, asking him to keep it as a token.
‘We will only have these sent to each other if our lives are in danger,’ said Gisli. ‘And something tells me that we will need to send them, even though we may never meet each other again.’
Vestein then went west to England. Gisli and Bjalfi made for Norway, and in the summer they sailed to Iceland. They became wealthy and well-respected men and eventually parted on good terms, Bjalfi buying Gisli’s share of the ship.
Then Gisli went west to Dyrafjord on a cargo vessel with eleven men.
9 Thorkel and Thorgrim made their ship ready in another place and they arrived at the Haukadal estuary in Dyrafjord later on the same day that Gisli had sailed in on board the cargo vessel. They met up soon afterwards and greeted each other warmly, then each of them went off to his own home. Thorgrim and Thorkel had also become wealthy.
The Sagas of the Icelanders Page 70