Stories and Ballads of the Far Past by N. Kershaw

Then said the ghost: "By guile you have overcome me and taken my sword. It was that that brought our struggle to this issue. I have lived in my barrow for a long time, brooding over my riches; but it is not wise to trust too much to one's treasures, however good they may seem. Never would I have thought that you, Mistletoe, my good sword, would do me a hurt."

"A hundred and forty four," said the ghost, "and I never got a scratch. I tried my skill with King Seming who was in Sweden, and he was of the opinion that it would take a long time to vanquish me."

Hromund said: "You have been a curse on men for a long time, and it will be a good deed to kill you at once."

Then he cut off the ghost's head, and burned him to ashes on the fire; and then he went out of the barrow. They asked him on what terms he and Thrain had parted, and he replied that matters had gone according to his wishes:—"For I cut off his head."

Hromund kept for himself the three treasures which he had won in the barrow—the ring, the necklace and Mistletoe; but everyone received a share of the money.

Then King Olaf sailed away to his kingdom in the north, and settled down peacefully in his own country.

V.° After that Hromund grew very famous. He was generous and popular. One day he gave to a man called Hrok a ring of solid gold which weighed an ounce. Voli got to know about that and slew Hrok by night and stole the ring. And when the King heard of it he said he would be even with Voli some day for such a piece of villainy.

The King had two sisters, one called Dagny and the other Svanhvit. Svanhvit was better than her sister in every way, and had no equal between Sweden and Halogaland.

Hromund Greipsson was at home at this time and became friendly with Svanhvit; but he took no precautions against either Voli or Bild. On one occasion she told Hromund that Voli and Bild were busy slandering him to the King.

He said: "I am not afraid of any low wretch, and I shall talk to you as long as you give me the chance."

This slander became so serious that Hromund and his brother had to leave the King's retinue and go home to their father.

"Hromund, who brought us the greatest glory, has now been banished from the royal retinue; and in his place you retain two men who care for neither honour nor virtue."

The King replied: "A rumour reached me that he intended to betray you; and the sword shall part your love."

"You have very soon forgotten," said she, "the time when he went alone into the barrow; and no-one else dared.—Voli and Bild will be hanged first."

VI.° Some time after this, two kings, both called Hadding, came from Sweden, and Helgi the brother of Hröngvith was with them. They challenged King Olaf to battle with them on the frozen surface of Lake Vener in the western part of the land. He preferred fighting them to abandoning his country, so he summoned Hromund and his brothers to follow him. Hromund, however, declined to go, saying that Bild and Voli were mighty fine fellows and always fought for the King.

The King departed with his host. Svanhvit was grieved at what had happened, and went to Hromund's home. Hromund welcomed her.

"Hearken now to my prayer," said she, "more favourably than you did to my brother's request, and help the King. I will give you a shield with a strap attached. Nothing can harm you while you wear this strap."

Hromund thanked her for the gift and she was comforted; so he and his eight brothers made ready to set out.

In the meantime the King and his host reached the frozen Vener, where the Swedish army was waiting for them. And in the morning, as soon as it was light enough to fight, they armed themselves on the ice, and the Swedes made a fierce onslaught. Bild was slain as soon as the battle began, but Voli was nowhere to be seen. King Olaf and King Hadding were wounded.

Hromund had pitched his tent near the side of the lake. His brothers armed themselves early in the morning; but Hromund said:

"I had a bad dream in the night; some misfortune is in store for us, and I am not going into the battle today."

His brothers replied that it was disgraceful not to have the courage to support the King's army, when he had come for that very purpose.

They went into the battle and fought bravely and all those of the army of the Haddings who came against them fell in heaps. A witch had come among them in the likeness of a swan. She sang and worked such powerful spells that none of Olaf's men took heed to defend themselves. Then she flew over the sons of Greip, singing loudly. Her name was Kara. At that same moment Helgi the Bold encountered the eight brothers and slew every one of them.

VII. At this point Hromund entered the battle. Helgi the Bold caught sight of him and cried:

"Here comes the man who slew my brother Hröngvith. Now you must beware of that sword of his which he got in the barrow.—You held aloof while I slew your brothers."

"You need not question my courage, Helgi," replied Hromund, "for one or other of us must fall now."

Helgi said: "Mistletoe is such a heavy weapon that you cannot use it. I will lend you another that you can manage."

"You need not taunt me with faint-heartedness," cried Hromund. "Remember the blow which I dealt Hröngvith, when I shattered his skull to atoms!"

Helgi said: "You have bound a girl's garter round your hand, Hromund. Lay aside the shield which you are carrying. It will be impossible to wound you so long as you carry that: I am sure that you are dependent on that girl."

Hromund could not endure these galling words, and flung down his shield. Helgi the Bold had always been victorious, and it was by means of magic that he had gained his success. His mistress' name was Kara—she who was present in the form of a swan. Helgi brandished his sword so high over his head that it chopped off the swan's leg. He drove the sword down into the ground as far as the hilt, and said:

Hromund replied: "You were very unlucky, Helgi, to be the slayer of your own mistress, and you will have no more happiness."

Kara dropped down dead. And with the stroke that Helgi made at Hromund, when the sword was buried up to the hilt, the point of the sword caught Hromund's belly and ripped it open, and Helgi fell forward with the force of his own stroke. Hromund was not behindhand then: he struck Helgi on the head with Mistletoe, cleaving helmet and skull down to the shoulders, and breaking a piece out of the sword. Then Hromund took his belt-knife and thrust it into his belly where there was a gaping wound, and forced back the paunch fat which was hanging out. At the same time he stitched up the edges of his belly with a cord, bound his clothes firmly over it, and so continued fighting valiantly. Men fell dead in heaps before him, and he fought on till midnight. Then the survivors of the army of the Haddings fled, and thereupon the battle came to an end.

Then Hromund saw a man standing before him on the ice, and he felt convinced that he must have made the ice on the lake by spells. He perceived that it was Voli. He remarked that it was not unfitting that he should give him his deserts, and rushed at him, brandishing Mistletoe and intending to strike him. Voli blew the sword out of his hand, and it happened to light on a hole in the ice, and sank to the bottom.

Then Voli laughed and said: "You are doomed now that you have lost hold of Mistletoe."

Then he leapt upon Voli and caught him up and dashed him down against the ice, so that his neck-bone was broken. There lay the great sorcerer dead! But Hromund sat him down on the ice, saying:

"I did not take the girl's advice, so now I have got fourteen wounds; and in addition to that my eight brothers lie slain, and my good blade Mistletoe has fallen into the lake, and nothing will ever make up to me for the loss of my sword."

VIII.° Now the King's sisters were sent for. Svanhvit examined Hromund's wound, and stitched his stomach together and tried to bring him round. She got him taken to a man called Hagal to be cured. This man's wife was very skilful, and they made him welcome and nursed him back to health. Hromund discovered that the couple were skilled in magic.

The man was a fisherman, and one day when he was fishing, he caught a pike, and on going home and cutting it open he found Hromund's sword Mistletoe in its maw, and gave it to him. Hromund was glad to get it and kissed the sword-hilt and rewarded the peasant richly.

In King Hadding's army was a man called Blind the Evil. He told the King that Hromund was alive and was being nursed secretly in the home of the peasant couple. The King refused to believe it, declaring that they would not dare to conceal him; but he ordered a search to be made. Blind and some other men went to the dwelling of Hagal and his wife and asked if Hromund was under their care. The woman said he would not be found there. Blind searched thoroughly, but did not find Hromund because the woman had hidden him under her cauldron. Blind and his companions went away, and when they had gone some distance Blind said:

They did so. They went back and found the woman. Blind told her that she was a crafty one and had hidden Hromund under her cauldron.

"Look there then and see if you can find him," said she. This she said because, when she saw them returning, she had dressed Hromund in woman's clothes and set him to grind and turn the handmill. The men now made search in the house and when they came upon the girl turning the handmill they sniffed all round the place, but she cast an unfriendly look on the King's men, and they went away again without finding anything.

And when they had gone away, Blind said that the peasant's wife had made things look different from what they were, and he had his suspicions that it must have been Hromund who was turning the mill, dressed as a woman.—"And I see we have been deceived. We shall do no good struggling with the woman for she is more cunning than we."

IX. In the following winter Blind saw many things in a dream, and on one occasion he told his dream to the King, saying:

"I dreamed that a wolf came running from the east, and bit you and wounded you, O King."

"A King will come here from some other land, and his coming will be terrible at first; yet afterwards peace will be brought about."

And Blind said that he dreamed he saw many hawks perched on a house—"And there I espied your falcon, Sire. He was all bare and stripped of his feathers."

"I saw a herd of swine running from the south towards the King's hall and rooting up the earth with their snouts."

The King said: "That signifies the flood-tide, wet weather, and grass springing from moisture, when the sun shines on the heath."

"I thought I saw a terrible giant come hither from the east; he gave you a great wound with his teeth."

The King said: "Messengers from some King will come into my hall. They will provoke enmity and I shall be angered thereby."

"Here is a fifth dream," said Blind; "I dreamed that a terrible serpent lay coiled round Sweden."

"I had a sixth dream," said Blind; "I dreamed that dark clouds came over the land with claws and wings, and flew away with thee, O King; and I dreamed moreover that there was a serpent in the house of Hagal the peasant. He attacked people in a terrible manner. He devoured both you and me and all the men belonging to the court. Now what can that signify?"

The King said: "I have heard that there is a bear lurking not far from Hagal's dwelling. I will go and attack the bear, and it will be in a great rage."

"Next I dreamed that a dragon's form had been drawn round the King's hall, and Hromund's belt was hanging from it."

The King said: "You know that Hromund lost his sword and belt in the lake; and are you afraid of Hromund after that?"

Blind dreamed yet more dreams which he told to the King; and the King interpreted them all to his liking, and none of them according to their real significance.

The King said: "The meaning of this dream is that you are going to be hanged; and that will be the end of both of us."

X.° After that King Olaf gathered together an army and went to Sweden. Hromund accompanied him, and they took the hall of King Hadding by surprise. He was in bed in an outer chamber, and was not aware of their presence till they smashed in the door of his room. Hadding shouted to his men and asked who was disturbing the peace of the night. Hromund told him who they were.

Hromund said that he had not come to waste words about the death of his brothers, adding—"Now you will have to pay for it and perish on the spot."

Then one of King Hadding's champions, as big as a giant, leapt up; but Hromund slew him. King Hadding covered himself up in bed and got no wound, because every time Hromund cut down at him, the sword turned and came down flat on him. Then Hromund took a club and beat King Hadding to death.

Then said Hromund: "Here I have laid low King Hadding, the most famous man I have ever seen."

The man Blind, who was also called Bavis, was bound and then hanged; and so his dream was fulfilled.

They got a quantity of gold and other booty there, and then went home. King Olaf married Svanhvit to Hromund. They were devoted to one another, and had a family of sons and daughters; they were people of great distinction in every respect. Kings and great champions sprang from their stock.

INTRODUCTION TO THE SAGA OF HERVÖR AND HEITHREK

The Saga of Hervör and Heithrek is found in two vellums, the Hauksbók (a.m. 544), dating from c. 1325, which for convenience is usually called H; and ms. 2845 ¹ in the Royal Library at Copenhagen, dating from the fifteenth century, and generally called R. Besides these there are a number of paper mss. (h) dating from the seventeenth century. According to Bugge ², these have no independent value and can contribute nothing to our knowledge of the text up to the point at which the vellums break off. They are useful however as continuing the Saga beyond this point. H comes to an end with Gestumblindi's second riddle, while R breaks off just before the close of ch. 12. Beyond this point we are entirely dependent on the paper mss. One of these (a.m. 345 written in 1694) was adopted by Rafn ³ as the text for his edition of the Saga, though he gives H in full as an Appendix.

The mss. differ considerably among themselves. For instance R omits the first chapter of the Saga, but contains Hjalmar's Death Song. Here, too, many of the riddles are wanting, and the order of the rest is quite different from that of h. Finnur Jónsson ⁴ is of the opinion that R is the best text throughout; but Heusler ⁵, like Valdimar Ásmundarson, keeps the order of the riddles as in h. Petersen ⁶ regards H as the best text and follows it so far as it goes; but when it breaks off he follows R mainly, although he considers the latter ms. to be defective in many places, "at the beginning, middle and end." He has supplied the lacunae in it from Arn. Magn. 192, the paper ms. which comes nearest to it, and also from others but with greater reservation. Valdimar Ásmundarson, like Petersen, and no doubt influenced by him, has followed H very closely in his edition of the Saga ⁷ till it breaks off, and after that the paper mss. (h) most closely related to it. He does not appear to have used R, and therefore omits the details of the fight on Samsø and Hjalmar's Death Song. Ásmundarson's version has been followed closely in the translation given below, but one or two interesting passages omitted by H have been translated separately (see Appendix on pp. 144-150) from the text printed from R in Wimmer's Oldnordisk Læsebog⁸ and from some short excerpts from h printed at the close of Petersen's edition of the Saga.

For a full bibliography of the texts, translations, and literature dealing with this saga the reader is referred to Islandica, Vol. v, pp. 22-26.

In this saga we have what appears to be the history of a certain family for more than four generations. From the point of view of construction, the story can hardly be regarded as a success. Yet it contains scenes at least equal to any others which can be found among sagas of this kind. It also embodies a considerable amount of poetry which is not found elsewhere. Some of this is of high merit, and one piece, dealing with the battle between the Huns and the Goths, is evidently of great antiquity.

The Saga opens in a purely mythical milieu—with Guthmund in Glasisvellir, to whom we have already had reference in the story of Nornagest. Next we have a typical story of the Viking Age—the adventures of the sons of Arngrim and their fight on Samsø. This story is known to us from other sources, the earliest being the poem Hyndluljóth (str. 24), which according to Finnur Jónsson ⁹ cannot be later in date than the latter part of the tenth century, though Mogk ¹⁰ is inclined to doubt this. Other references occur in the Saga of Örvar-Odd, Saxo's Danish History, the later ballads translated below, etc.

We then pass on to the account of Hervör, the daughter of Angantyr (which is only found here and in the ballads), and the striking poem in which she is represented as visiting her father's grave-mound to obtain his sword.

The next and longest section contains the life of Hervör's son Heithrek, which is peculiar to this saga and which in its earlier part likewise seems to be a story of the Viking Age. Towards the end, however, it gradually dawns upon us that there has been an unconscious change of scene, and that Heithrek instead of being a Viking prince of the Northern coasts, is now represented as a King of the Goths, somewhere in the East of Europe—apparently in the neighbourhood of the Dnieper. In the last section of the story, dealing with the adventures of Angantyr and Hlöth, the sons of Heithrek, there is no longer any reminiscence of the Viking Age or the North of Europe. Here we are away back among the Goths and Huns in the fifth or the latter part of the fourth century.

Throughout this strange concatenation of scenes a connecting link is afforded by the magic flaming sword, which is handed on from generation to generation, and which can never be sheathed without having dealt a death wound.

It is abundantly clear that the latter part of the story is of a totally different origin from the first part, and in reality many centuries earlier. The prose here is for the most part little more than a paraphrase of the poem, which probably has its roots in poetry of the Gothic period. But how this story came to be joined on to a narrative of the Viking Age is far from clear.

It is also interesting to note that some of the characters in the saga are repetitions of one another. At all events what is said about Hervör the daughter of Heithrek in the latter part of the story bears a strong resemblance to the description of the more prominent Hervör, the daughter of Angantyr, in the first part.

Three poems of considerable length are preserved in the story. The Riddles of Gestumblindi, though somewhat tedious as a whole, afford a better specimen of this type of composition than is to be found elsewhere in early Norse literature. They cannot fail to be of considerable interest to anyone who studies the Anglo-Saxon Riddles, though unlike the latter they are wholly Teutonic in spirit and form. Direct Latin influence appears to be entirely absent.

Gestumblindi's Riddles, while they belong essentially to popular literature, yet contain many arresting phrases which show a minute observation of nature. They illustrate the condensed, proverbial type of wisdom that prevails in a primitive state of society, as well as its keen interest and delight in the little things of life. They can hardly be called literature as we understand the term; they are rather the stuff of which literature is made. But though it is a far cry from these little nature verses to the more beautiful and more ambitious nature poems of Burns and Tennyson, yet Gestumblindi's loving interest in "every creature of earth" surprised even King Heithrek into comment. The keen and whimsical observation that noted that even a spider is a "marvel" and that it "carries its knees higher than its body" is the same spirit that inspired a poem to the

Wee sleekit, cowrin', tim'rous beastie.

The poet who noticed that water falling as hail on rock looks white by contrast, yet forms little black circles when it falls into the sand as rain, had much in common with one who noticed that rock and sand yield opposite sounds when struck by the same object—

Low on the sand and loud on the stone

The last wheel echoed away.

But though these things are pleasing in themselves, they are, of course, slight. Gestumblindi cannot rise to the heights of true poetry reached by Burns or Tennyson.

Besides the Riddles, this saga has preserved for us two far finer poems—in fact two of the finest Norse poems that we possess—the dialogue between Hervör and Angantyr at the Barrows of Samsø, and the narrative of the great battle between the Goths and the Huns, the Chevy Chase of the North. The ruthlessness and barbaric splendour of the Hunnish leaders, the cruelty and the poetry of warfare a thousand years ago, are here vividly depicted in Norse verse at its simplest and best.

We may notice too the little vignettes that appear from time to time both in the poetry itself and in the prose narrative, some of which is evidently derived from lost verses.—Hervör standing at sunrise on the summit of the tower and looking southward towards the forest; Angantyr marshalling his men for battle and remarking drily that there used to be more of them when mead drinking was in question; great clouds of dust rolling over the plain, through which glittered white corslet and golden helmet, as the Hunnish host came riding on.

The dialogue between Hervör and Angantyr, despite a certain melodramatic element in the setting, is treated with great delicacy and poetic feeling, and an atmosphere of terror and mystery pervades the whole poem. The midnight scene in the eerie and deserted burial-ground, the lurid flickering of the grave fires along the lonely beach, the tombs opening one by one as the corpses start to life—all these work on the imagination and create an atmosphere of dread. The poet understood the technique of presenting the supernatural, and he is deliberately vague and suggestive. Much more is implied than is stated, and much is left to the imagination.

The greatest charm of the poem, however, lies in the sympathetic treatment of Hervör. The Hervör of the prose narrative is perfectly consistent with the Hervör of the poem, but at the same time the poem—which is probably more than a century older than the saga—would lead us to conclude that her character was not correctly understood by the writer of the saga. Obviously unsympathetic, he denounces her with an indignation which would have made the writer of the poem smile.

"She grew up to be a beautiful girl ... but as soon as she could do anything it was oftener harm than good; and when she had been checked she escaped to the woods.... And when the Earl heard of it he had her caught and brought home."

The picture which the poem presents to us is that of a high-spirited girl, headstrong and impulsive, not unlike Brynhild in the Völsung story. When she goes to the barrows, every nerve is strung up to gain the treasure that has fired her imagination:

What care I though the death-fires blaze,

They sink and tremble before my gaze,

They quiver out and die!

Surely in terror I drew my breath

Between the worlds of life and death

When the grave fires girt me round.

Surveying the saga as a whole, perhaps the most striking feature is its extraordinary diversity of interest. It would be difficult to find elsewhere in Norse literature—or indeed perhaps in any literature—so great a variety of subjects and of literary forms brought together within such narrow limits.

Of the poems contained in the saga, the first is romantic, the second gnomic, the third heroic—and the prose narrative itself is not less varied in character. The conclusion of the saga appears to be purely historical; indeed it is generally regarded as one of the most important authorities for early Swedish history. Elsewhere also historical elements are probably not wanting, but they are interwoven in a network of romance and folklore. Thus whoever King Heithrek may have been, the part which he has come to play in the saga is chiefly that of linking together a number of folk-tales and illustrating popular saws. As regards chronology, the war described in ch. 12-15 must belong to a period nearly seven centuries before the incidents related at the close of the saga. Still more strange is the fact that the victor in this war, the younger Angantyr, would seem to have lived some four or five centuries before his great grandfather and namesake who perished at Samsø—if indeed the latter story rests on any genuine tradition. In spite of these and similar inconsistencies, however, the saga is on the whole perhaps the most attractive of all the Fornaldarsögur.

Footnote 1: This ms. is identical with the one referred to as A in the Introduction to the Tháttr of Nornagest (cf. p. 11 above).

Footnote 3: Fornaldarsögur Northrlanda (Copenhagen, 1829), Vol. i; Antiquités russes etc. (Copenhagen, 1850-2), Vol. i.

Footnote 4: Oldnorske og Oldislandske Litteraturs Historie, Vol. ii, p. 839 f.

Footnote 6: Cf. Forord to N. M. Petersen's edition of Hervarar Saga ok Heithreks Konungs (published by the 'Nordiske Literatur-Samfund,' Copenhagen, 1847).

Footnote 7: See Fornaldarsögur Northrlanda (Reykjavík, 1891), Vol. i, pp. 309-360.

Footnote 10: Geschichte der Norwegisch-Isländischen Literatur (Strassburg, 1904), p. 605.]

THE SAGA OF HERVÖR AND HEITHREK °

I. It is said that in the days of old the northern part of Finnmark was called Jötunheimar, and that there was a country called Ymisland to the south between it and Halogaland. These lands were then the home of many giants and half-giants; for there was a great intermixture of races at that time, because the giants took wives from among the people of Ymisland.

There was a king in Jötunheimar called Guthmund. He was a mighty man among the heathen. He dwelt at a place called Grund in the region of Glasisvellir. He was wise and mighty. He and his men lived for many generations, and so heathen men believed that the fields of immortality lay in his realm; and whoever went there cast off sickness or old age and became immortal.

After Guthmund's death, people worshipped him and called him their god. His son's name was Höfund. He had second sight and was wise of understanding, and was judge of all suits throughout the neighbouring kingdoms. He never gave an unjust judgment, and no-one dared violate his decision.

There was a man called Hergrim who was a giant dwelling in the rocks. He carried off from Ymisland Ama the daughter of Ymir, and afterwards married her. Their son Thorgrim Halftroll took from Jötunheimar Ögn Alfasprengi, and afterwards married her. Their son was called Grim. She had been betrothed to Starkath Aludreng, who had eight hands; but she was carried off while he was away to the north of Elivagar. When he came home he slew Hergrim in single combat; but Ögn ran herself through with a sword rather than marry Starkath. After that Starkath carried off Alfhild the daughter of King Alf from Alfheimar, but he was afterwards slain by Thor.

Then Alfhild went to her kinsfolk, and Grim was with her there till he went raiding and became a great warrior. He married Bauggerth the daughter of Starkath Aludreng and set up his dwelling on an island off Halogaland called Bolm. He was called Ey-grim Bolm. His son by Bauggerth was called Arngrim the Berserk, who afterwards lived in Bolm and was a very famous man.

II.° There was a King called Sigrlami who was said to be a son of Othin. His son Svafrlami succeeded to the kingdom after his father and was a very great warrior. One day as the King rode a-hunting he got separated from his men, and at sunset he came upon a big stone and two dwarfs beside it. The King banned them with his graven sword from entering the stone. The dwarfs begged him to spare their lives.

The King said: "As you are the most cunning of all dwarfs you must make me a sword, the best you can. The hilt and the grip must be of gold, and it must cut iron as easily as if it were cloth and never rust; and it must bring victory to whoever uses it in battle and single combat."

And when the appointed day came, the King rode to the stone. The dwarfs were outside, and they handed to the King a sword which was very beautiful.

"Your sword, Svafrlami, will be the death of a man every time it is drawn; and moreover it will be the instrument of three pieces of villainy; and to you yourself also it shall bring death."

Then the King struck at the dwarfs with the sword. But they sprang into the stone, and the sword came down on it—sinking so deep that both the ridges of the blade were hidden; for the door into the stone closed as they disappeared. The King called the sword 'Tyrfing,' and ever afterwards he carried it in battle and single combat, and was always victorious.

The King had a daughter who was called Eyfura, an exceedingly beautiful and clever girl.

At that time Arngrim was raiding among the Perms in the Baltic. He raided the Kingdom of King Svafrlami and fought against him. They met face to face, and King Svafrlami struck at Arngrim who parried the blow with his shield; but the lower part of the shield was cut away and the sword plunged into the earth. Then Arngrim struck off the King's hand, so that he had to let Tyrfing fall. Arngrim caught up Tyrfing and cut down first the King, and then many others. He took great booty there, and carried off Eyfura, the King's daughter and took her to his home in Bolm.

By her he had twelve sons. The eldest was Angantyr, then Hervarth, then Hjörvarth, Sæming and Hrani, Brami, Barri, Reifnir, Tind and Bui, and the two Haddings who only did one man's work between them, because they were twins and the youngest of the family; whereas Angantyr, who was a head taller than other men, did the work of two. They were all berserks, and were unequalled in strength and courage. Even when they went marauding there were never more than just the twelve brothers on one ship. They raided far and wide in many lands, and had much success and won great renown. Angantyr had Tyrfing, and Sæming Mistletoe, Hervarth had Hrotti, and each of the others possessed a sword famous in single combat. And it was their custom when they had only their own men with them, to land when they felt the berserks' fury coming upon them, and wrestle with trees or great rocks; for they had been known to slay their own men and disable their ship. Great tales were told about them and they became very famous.

III.° One Yule Eve at Bolm, Angantyr made a vow over the pledge cup, as the custom then was, that he would wed Ingibjörg the daughter of King Yngvi of Upsala—the cleverest and most beautiful maiden in all the Northlands—or perish in the attempt and marry no-one else. No more of their vows are recorded.

Tyrfing had this characteristic, that whenever it was unsheathed it shone like a sunbeam, even in the dark, and could only be sheathed with human blood still warm upon it. Never did he whose blood was shed by Tyrfing live to see another day. It is very famous in all stories of the olden days.

Next summer the brothers went to Upsala in Sweden, and when they had entered the hall, Angantyr told the King his vow and that he intended to wed his daughter.

Everybody in the hall listened. Angantyr asked the King to declare what was to be the result of their errand, whereupon Hjalmar the stout-hearted rose from the table, and addressed the King:

"Call to mind, Sire, how much honour I have won for you since I came into your kingdom, and how many times I have risked my life for you. In return for these my services I beg that you will give me your daughter in marriage. And moreover I consider myself more deserving a favourable answer than these berserks, who do harm to everyone."

The King pondered over the matter, and found it difficult to decide the question in such a way as to give rise to as little trouble as possible; and he answered at last:

She replied: "If you want to marry me to anyone, then I would rather have a man whose good qualities I know already than one of whom I have only known by hearsay, and nothing but evil at that."

Angantyr said: "I will not bandy words with you; for I can see that you love Hjalmar. But as for you, Hjalmar, come south to Samsø and meet me in single combat. If you do not appear next midsummer you will be a coward in the eyes of all men."

Hjalmar said that he would not fail to come and fight, and the sons of Arngrim went home to their father and told him what had happened. He replied that this was the first time he had ever felt any anxiety on their behalf.

They spent the winter at home, and in the spring made ready to start, going first to Earl Bjartmar, where a feast was made for them. And during the evening Angantyr asked the Earl for the hand of his daughter and in this as in the rest they got their wish. The wedding took place, and afterwards the sons of Arngrim prepared to set out. But the night before they left, Angantyr had a dream which he related to the Earl:

"I dreamed that I and my brothers were in Samsø. We found many birds there and killed all that we saw. Then I dreamed that as we were setting out again upon the island, two eagles flew towards us. I went against one and we had a stiff encounter; and at last we sank down and had no strength left in us. But the other eagle fought with my eleven brothers and overcame them all."

The Earl said: "The death of mighty men has been revealed to you in this dream."

Then Angantyr and his brothers went away and came to Samsø, and went ashore to look for Hjalmar; and the story of their adventures there is related in the Saga of Örvar-Odd. First they came to Munarvagar, where they slew all the men from the two ships of Hjalmar and Odd; and afterwards they went ashore and encountered Hjalmar and Odd themselves on the island. Odd slew Angantyr's eleven brothers, and Hjalmar slew Angantyr, and afterwards died there himself of his wounds.

Then Odd had all the rest of them placed in great barrows with all their weapons; but Hjalmar's body he took home to Sweden. And when Ingibjörg the King's daughter saw Hjalmar's body, she fell down dead and they were both laid together in one barrow at Upsala.

INTRODUCTION TO THE SAGA OF HERVÖR AND HEITHREK

THE SAGA OF HERVÖR AND HEITHREK°

THE SAGA OF HERVÖR AND HEITHREK °