Njal's Saga (20 page)

Egil had taken in two Norwegians, one named Thorir and the other Thorgrim. They were on their first trip out to Iceland and were well liked and wealthy. They were good fighters and brave in every way.

Starkad had a good stallion, reddish in colour, and he and his sons thought that no other horse could match it in a fight. One day it happened that the brothers from Sandgil were over near Thrihyrning. They had a great chat about all the farmers in Fljotshlid and eventually discussed whether any of them would fight his horse against theirs. Some men, to praise and flatter them, said that no one dared to fight his horse against theirs, and in fact that no one even owned such a horse.

Then Hildigunn answered, ‘I know a man who would dare to fight his horse against yours.'

‘Name him!' they said.

She said, ‘Gunnar of Hlidarendi has a brown stallion and he will dare to fight it against your horse or anybody else's.'

‘You women always think that no one is a match for Gunnar,' said the men, ‘but just because Geir the Godi and Gizur the White came off so poorly against him, it doesn't mean that we will too.'

‘It will be much worse for you,' she said, and they got into a great quarrel over this.

Starkad said, ‘Gunnar is the last man I'd want you to go after, because it will be hard for you to counter his good luck.'

‘But you will let us challenge him to a horse-fight,' they said.

‘I will,' he said, ‘as long as you don't play any tricks on him.'

They said they would not.

Then they rode to Hlidarendi. Gunnar was at home and came outside. Kolskegg came out too, along with their brother Hjort, and they greeted them warmly and asked where they were headed.

‘No farther than here,' they said. ‘We've been told that you have a good stallion, and we'd like to offer you a horse-fight.'

Gunnar answered, ‘There can't be many stories told about my stallion; he's young and totally untested.'

‘But you will give him a chance to fight, won't you?' they said. ‘Hildigunn mentioned that you were quite proud of your horse.'

‘How did you happen to be speaking about that?' said Gunnar.

‘There were men,' they said, ‘who were saying that no one would dare fight his horse against ours.'

‘I would dare,' said Gunnar, ‘but that seems to me a mean-spirited thing to say.'

‘Can we count on the fight, then?' they said.

‘You'll think your trip was worth making,' said Gunnar, ‘if you have your way, but I want to request this – that we fight our horses to provide pleasure for others and not trouble for ourselves, and that you don't try to shame me. If you do to me as you do to others, my only course will be to turn against you in a way that you'll find hard to take. I'll do the same to you as you do to me.'

They rode back home, and Starkad asked them how it had gone. They said that Gunnar had made their trip a good one – ‘he promised to let his horse fight, and we decided when the fight was to take place. But it was clear from everything that he felt inferior to us and that he was trying to get out of it.'

‘It's often the case with Gunnar,' said Hildigunn, ‘that he's slow to be drawn into quarrels but hard to tame if he can't get out of them.'

Gunnar rode over to see Njal and told him about the horse-fight and the words that had passed between them – ‘and how do you think the horse-fight will turn out?'

‘You will have the upper hand,' said Njal, ‘but the death of many men will come from it.'

‘Will my death perhaps come from this?' said Gunnar.

‘Not from this,' said Njal, ‘but they will remember their old hostility with you and add a new one, and you will have no choice but to fight back.'

Then Gunnar rode home.

There Gunnar learned of the death of his father-in-law Hos-kuld. A few days later Thorgerd at Grjota, the wife of Thrain, gave birth to a boy. She sent a man to her mother and asked her to choose whether the boy should be named Glum or Hoskuld. Hallgerd asked that he be named Hoskuld, and that was the name given to the boy
¹

Gunnar and Hallgerd had two sons. One was called Hogni and the other Grani. Hogni was an able man, quiet, not easily persuaded and truthful.

Men rode to the horse-fight and came in great numbers: Gunnar was there, and his brothers and the Sigfussons and Njal and his sons. Starkad and his sons and Egil and his sons also came. They told Gunnar that they should bring on the horses. Gunnar said that they should.

Skarphedin said, ‘Do you want me to prod your horse, Gunnar my friend?'

‘No, I don't,' said Gunnar.

‘But it would be better if I did,' said Skarphedin. ‘I'm the violent sort, like them.'

‘You wouldn't have to say or do much,' said Gunnar, ‘before trouble arose, but this way it will come more slowly, even though it turns out the same.'

The horses were then brought on. Gunnar prepared for the prodding, and Skarphedin brought up his horse. Gunnar was wearing a red tunic and a wide silver belt; he was holding a stick in his hand. The horses went to it and bit at each other for a long time so that there was no need to touch them, and it was great sport.

Then Thorgeir and Kol made a plan that the next time the horses went at each other they would give their horse a push and see if this would knock Gunnar down. The horses went to it, and Thorgeir and Kol shoved their horse from behind. Gunnar pushed back with his, and in no time at all Thorgeir and Kol were flat on the ground, with their horse on top of them. They sprang up and rushed at Gunnar. Gunnar jumped to the side and grabbed Kol and threw him on the ground so hard that he lay senseless. Thorgeir Starkadarson struck such a blow at Gunnar's horse that its eye fell out. Gunnar hit Thorgeir with his stick. He too fell senseless.

Gunnar went over to his horse and said to Kolskegg, ‘Kill this horse – he must not live maimed.'

Kolskegg killed the horse.

Then Thorgeir got to his feet and took his weapons and wanted to rush at Gunnar, but a great crowd came up and he was stopped.

Skarphedin spoke: ‘I'm getting tired of this jostling – it's much more manly when men fight with weapons.'

Gunnar stood so calmly that one man was enough to hold him, and he said nothing that was improper. Njal tried to make a settlement or a truce, but Thorgeir said he would neither give nor receive any pledges of peace and that he would prefer to see Gunnar dead because of the blow he struck.

Kolskegg spoke: ‘Gunnar has always stood too firm to be felled by mere words, and so it is now.'

Men rode away from the horse-fight then, each to his home.

Nobody made an attack on Gunnar, and things stayed this way during the winter.

At the Thing the following summer Gunnar met his brother-in-law Olaf Peacock,
²
and Olaf invited him home, but warned him to be on his guard – ‘because they will do us whatever harm they can, so always travel in large numbers.'

Olaf gave him much sound advice, and they declared great friendship for each other.

Asgrim Ellida-Grimsson had a case to prosecute at the Althing; it was an inheritance case. The defendant was Ulf Uggason. Asgrim was doing well until – and this was unusual – there was a flaw in his case: the flaw was that he had named five neighbours to the panel when he should have named nine, and the other side made this their defence.

Gunnar spoke: ‘I challenge you to a duel, Ulf Uggason, if people can not get their rights from you. Njal and my friend Helgi
¹
would expect me to take part in your defence, Asgrim, if they could not be here themselves.'

‘This is not a quarrel between you and me,' said Ulf.

‘It comes to the same thing,' said Gunnar.

The outcome was that Ulf had to pay over the full amount.

Asgrim then said to Gunnar, ‘I invite you to my home this summer, and I shall always take your side in lawsuits, and never be against you.'

Gunnar rode home from the Thing.

Shortly after, he met with Njal. Njal asked him to be on his guard and said that he had been told that the men up at Thrihyrning were planning to attack him and he asked Gunnar never to travel in small numbers and always to have his weapons handy. Gunnar said he would do so. He said that Asgrim had invited him for a visit – ‘and I plan to go there in the autumn.'

‘Let no one know beforehand that you're going,' said Njal, ‘or how
long you will be away. In any case, I'll have my sons ride with you, and then you won't be attacked.'

They came to an understanding on this.

The summer went on until it was eight weeks before winter. Gunnar said to Kolskegg, ‘Get ready for a trip – we're going to ride to Tunga for a visit.'

‘Shouldn't you send word to Njal's sons?' said Kolskegg.

‘No,' said Gunnar. ‘They must not get into trouble because of me.'

The three of them, Gunnar, Kolskegg and Hjort, rode together. Gunnar had his halberd and the sword that Olvir had given him, and Kolskegg had his short sword. Hjort was also fully armed. They rode to Tunga. Asgrim welcomed them, and they stayed there for some time. After that they made it known that they planned to go home. Asgrim gave them good gifts and offered to ride east with them. Gunnar said that this was not needed, and so Asgrim did not go along.

There was a man named Sigurd Swine-head. His home was at Thjorsa, and he had promised to spy on Gunnar's movements. Now he came to Thrihyrning and told them about Gunnar's return and said that there would be no better time than this, since Gunnar was with only two others.

‘How many will we need for an ambush?' said Starkad.

‘Ordinary men will be weak facing him,' he said. ‘It's not wise to have fewer than thirty men.'

Starkad said, ‘Where shall we ambush him?'

At Knafaholar,' said Sigurd. ‘There he won't see us until he arrives.'

‘Go to Sandgil,' said Starkad, ‘and tell Egil to get fifteen men ready from there, and we'll head for Knafaholar with another fifteen.'

Thorgeir spoke to Hildigunn: ‘Tonight this hand will bring you evidence of Gunnar's death.'

‘My guess,' she said, ‘is that you will be carrying both head and hand low when you come from this encounter.'

Starkad and his three sons left Thrihyrning along with eleven others. They went to Knafaholar and waited there.

Sigurd came to Sandgil and said, ‘I've been sent here by Starkad and his sons to say that you, Egil, and your sons should go to Knafaholar to lie in wait for Gunnar.'

‘How many of us should go?' asked Egil.

‘Fifteen, counting me,' he said.

Kol spoke: ‘Today I'll try myself against Kolskegg.'

‘I would say you're taking on a lot,' said Sigurd.

Egil asked his Norwegian guests to come along. They said they had no quarrel with Gunnar – ‘and you must need a lot of help,' said Thorir, ‘if it takes such a horde to attack three men.'

Egil left them in anger. His wife said to Thorir, ‘My daughter Gudrun was wrong to put aside her pride and sleep with you, if you don't dare to go along with your father-in-law. You're just a coward.'

‘I'll go with your husband,' he said, ‘but neither of us will come back.'

He went to his companion Thorgrim and said, ‘Take the keys to my chests since I won't be unlocking them any more. I want you to take as much of our property as you wish and leave Iceland, and don't think of avenging me. If you don't leave, it will be your death.'

Thorir gathered his weapons and took his place in their band.

Now to return to Gunnar: he rode east across the Thjorsa river, and when he was only a short way beyond the river he became very sleepy. He asked his companions to stop, and they did so. He fell into a deep sleep but slept restlessly.

Kolskegg said, ‘Gunnar is having a dream.'

Hjort said, ‘I'd like to wake him.'

‘Don't do that,' said Kolskegg. ‘Let him finish his dream.'

Gunnar lay there for a long time and then threw off his cloak, and he was very warm.

Kolskegg said, ‘What were you dreaming, brother?'

‘I dreamed something,' said Gunnar, ‘that would have kept me from leaving Tunga with so few men, if I had dreamed it there.'

Kolskegg said, ‘Tell us the dream.'

‘I dreamed,' said Gunnar, ‘that I was riding past Knafaholar. There I saw many wolves, and they attacked me, but I got away and down to the Ranga river. There they attacked again, from all sides, and we defended ourselves. I shot all those who were in front, until they came too close for me to use my bow. So I drew my sword and swung it with one hand, and with the other hand I thrust with my halberd. I didn't shield myself, and I didn't know what was shielding me. I killed many wolves, and you were by my side, Kolskegg, but they trampled Hjort down and tore open his chest, and one wolf had his heart in his mouth. I was so angry that I sliced the wolf in two, just behind the shoulder, and after that the wolves fled. Now, brother Hjort, it's my advice that you ride back west to Tunga.'

‘That I won't do,' said Hjort. ‘Though I know my death to be certain, I will stay with you.'

They rode on east and came to Knafaholar. Kolskegg said, ‘Do you see all those spears coming up behind the hills, Gunnar, and men with weapons?'

‘It's no surprise to me,' said Gunnar, ‘that my dream is coming true.'

‘What are we to do now?' asked Kolskegg. ‘I guess you don't want to run away from them.'

‘They won't be able to taunt us with that,' said Gunnar. ‘Let's ride down to that point of land by the Ranga river. That's a place to defend ourselves.'

They rode down to the point and prepared to fight. When they rode past, Kol said, ‘Are you going to run away, Gunnar?'

Kolskegg answered, ‘Ask that when this day is done.'