EGILS SAGAEGILS SAGAEDITED BY

BJARNI EINARSSONVIKING SOCIETY FOR NORTHERN RESEARCH
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

2003

© Sigrún Hermannsdóttir 2003
Published in cooperation with Stofnun Árna Magnússonar á Íslandi
The maps are based on those in Íslenzk fornrit II (1933)

ISBN: 978 0 903521 54 3

Reprinted by Short Run Press Limited, Exeter, in 2013

PREFACE
When he died in the autumn of the year 2000, Bjarni Einarsson had for anumber of years been working on an edition of Egils saga for Englishspeaking students. He had completed the text of the saga, the Foreword,
Afterword and explanatory notes in English. A beginning had been made ofa glossary. At the same time he had been preparing a textual edition of the
Mö›ruvallabók version of the saga which was published in the year 2001
by Det Arnamagnæanske institut in Copenhagen (Editiones Arnamagnæanæ.
Series A. Vol. 19).
It has been decided by Stofnun Árna Magnússonar á Íslandi, where Bjarni
worked on the students’ edition, and the Viking Society for Northern
Research, with the agreement of Bjarni’s widow Sigrún Hermannsdóttir,that this should be published by the Viking Society. Anthony Faulkes hascompleted Bjarni’s work, adjusting the English parts where necessary andrevising the notes with the needs of the intended readership in mind, andhas compiled a glossary, incorporating many of Bjarni’s explanations ofdifficult words and phrases, and also others from Halldór Halldórsson,
Eglusk‡ringar (1950), and Egils saga, ed. Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir andSvanhildur Óskarsdóttir (1999). The remainder of the vocabulary has beenglossed using the standard dictionaries, though occasionally le mot justehas been found either in the translation by Christine Fell (1975) or in that ofHermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards (1976). In consultation with me Dr
Faulkes has introduced various changes to the orthography of the Icelandic
text in order to reflect the characteristic word-forms of the manuscripts.
This had also been the general policy of Bjarni, but we have now taken it
somewhat further than he had done. Karl Óskar Ólafsson has read proofs ofthe entire text and checked it against Bjarni’s 2001 edition, and also compiled
the Index of Names. Before Bjarni’s death Keneva Kunz went through theEnglish parts of the book, and Bjarni also received valuable advice on
language and style from Theodore Andersson and Robert Cook, for which
he was most grateful.
Stofnun Árna Magnússonar is very pleased that it has been possible topublish this book so soon after agreement was reached with the Viking
Society, and wishes to express its thanks to Anthony Faulkes for his cooperation and significant contribution to its preparation.
Vésteinn Ólason
Reykjavík, July 2002

CONTENTSFOREWORD ....................................................................... ix
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................. xiii
MANUSCRIPTS AND FRAGMENTS CONSULTED ..... xv
EGILS SAGA ....................................................................... 1
AFTERWORD ................................................................. 183
GLOSSARY ..................................................................... 190
INDEX OF NAMES ......................................................... 292

MAPS
The Surroundings of Borg ................................................. viii
Southern Norway .............................................................. 303
Northern Norway .............................................................. 304
Borgarfjƒr›r ................................................ inside back cover

FOREWORD
The purpose of the present edition of Egils saga is both to provide anannotated text of the saga for English-reading students who wish to read thesaga in its original language, and to offer a revised text of the saga based ona fresh reading of the chief manuscript, Mö›ruvallabók (AM 132 fol.,
Reykjavík), a fourteenth-century collection of Sagas of Icelanders.
In addition to the text preserved in Mö›ruvallabók (M), there are twoother extant redactions of the saga, W and K, both inferior to M. The main
manuscript for W is a defective fourteenth-century codex preserved in Die
Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel (9. 10. Aug. 4to). K is preservedin two almost identical copies, AM 453 and 462 4to, made by Ketill
Jörundsson (d. 1670). In addition, parts of the saga are preserved in someparchment fragments and in whole, partially conflated, texts in later paper
manuscripts. Among the first is the oldest fragment of a Saga of Icelanders
in existence, the fragment called q, from about the middle of the thirteenth
century. This fragment seems to present an early, verbose, text of the Mclass. Several seventeenth-century paper manuscripts are of special interestas they contain copies of the Egils saga text derived from Mö›ruvallabók
before two folios of it were lost. In the present edition these two lacunas arefilled with a text based on these manuscripts. Of great interest also are two
eighteenth-century paper manuscripts and one from the early nineteenth
century, which although they contain a conflated text of the saga, havepreserved apparently old passages of the M-class, partially in close agreementwith the text of the q-fragment. The three last-mentioned manuscripts belong
to Landsbókasafn in Reykjavík (Lbs.), and when collectively quoted here,
they have the designation Eyf3 (alluding to their place of origin in Eyjafjör›ur, northern Iceland).
The M-text contains some important episodes lacking in W and K, and itis the only one of the manuscripts to contain the poem Arinbjarnarkvi›a,though defective and written on a page following the text of the saga. On
the other hand, M has only the first stanza of the poem Sonatorrek andnothing at all of the poem Hƒfu›lausn. Only M has the first stanza and therefrain of a poem of praise about A›alsteinn konungr (King Athelstan) andthe first stanzas of two so-called ‘shield-poems’, while nothing is preservedof these in W and K, except that the refrain is preserved in W. But K andW, though generally inferior to M, also have their merits. Most important,x

EGILS SAGAK contains the only complete text of Sonatorrek, and both K and the
Wolfenbüttel-codex have Hƒfu›lausn. In this, as in most editions, all three
poems have been put into the saga at the appropriate places.
Compared with the oldest fragment of the M-class manuscripts, q, andalso in comparison with some passages in K and W, the prose of Egils sagain M is clearly the result of a determined effort to abbreviate the text (theomission of the three long poems shows the same intention). On the whole
this effort has succeeded very well, so that the M-text of Egils saga is aprime example of the much admired concise saga style. But the scribe wascareless in too many places, leaving out essential words or even lines. The
present edition, though based on M, supplies indispensable words and letterswhich the scribe of that manuscript omitted.
This edition does not at all attempt to present the total evidence of themanuscripts; in a few instances, however, q and the three late Lbs. manuscripts(Eyf3), have been cited. In rare instances short passages from the other two
redactions have been added to the saga text in angle brackets (e.g. the endingof the saga). Selected readings from the two other redactions, and from latermanuscripts which fill lacunas in W, and also from a few manuscript fragments of the same class, are occasionally cited in the footnotes if they seem
to preserve a more original reading or offer additional information. It should
be noted that the three Lbs. manuscripts (Eyf3), and AM 463 4to and AM
560 d 4to, as well as the W-fragments, partially represent collateral branchesof the W-tradition. AM 560 d 4to also contains a passage belonging to the
M-class. Words inserted in the main text are distinguished by angle brackets,
and when they are borrowed from the other redactions, the source is given
in a footnote, though emendations in the verses are not always noted. In
passages supplied from paper manuscripts where the text of Mö›ruvallabók
is defective, too, some obvious errors are corrected and apparent omissions
supplied without detailed textual notes, and late word-forms are replaced.
The saga is printed here with the normalised orthography used in the Íslenzk
fornrit editions of the sagas; the variant readings in the footnotes have also
been normalised. In the poems archaic forms are as a rule not supplied except
where the metre requires them.
In all redactions the saga is divided into chapters, though the division is
not always the same. In Mö›ruvallabók, as a rule, a heading in red ink gives
the content of the following chapter. In a few instances the heading is only
capitulum and in two cases the space has remained empty. The headings
were written by another hand than that of the chief scribe, and still another
hand copied some of the stanzas, filling blank spaces left for that purpose;in three cases the space left is still blank (and with no stanzas in theFOREWORD

xi

comparable passages of the other redactions). In these three cases a space
for a stanza is left blank in the edition. A fourth hand added the now almost
totally illegible Arinbjarnarkvi›a.
Although the chapters are not numbered in the manuscript, in this edition
they have been given Arabic numerals where the Latin capitulum is written.
Numbers in the text, which as a rule are written with lower-case Roman
numerals, are written out as words, with the appropriate endings. The stanzas
have been given Arabic numerals.
Egils saga was first printed in 1782 on Hrappsey in Iceland. The printer’s
manuscript was obviously based on a now lost copy of the text in Mö›ruvallabók, which was derived from the same original copy as the above-mentioned
seventeenth-century paper manuscripts (with the exception of the few last
pages, which stem from the K-redaction). The fact that these late manuscripts(and the first printed edition) have preserved the text from the two lost foliosof the Egils saga text in Mö›ruvallabók was unknown until Jón Helgason(1899–1986) published his paper ‘Athuganir um nokkur handrit Egils sögu’
in 1956. Jón Helgason called attention to the need to look more closely at
the paper manuscripts of the saga, and many years later the present editor
published a paper on this subject and produced a text filling the two lacunas,
based on the paper manuscripts and the Hrappsey edition: ‘Um Eglutexta
Mö›ruvallabókar í 17du aldar eftirritum’ (Gripla VIII, 1993). The sametext is printed in the present edition. A critical edition of the text of Egils
saga in Mö›ruvallabók and related fragments (also found in part in someconflated manuscripts) was prepared by the present editor, who had thebenefit of the preliminary work that Jón Helgason left unfinished. It was
published as volume 19 in Series A of Editiones Arnamagnæanæ of theArnamagnæan Institute, the University of Copenhagen, in 2001. Jón Helgason had also planned to include the two other redactions of Egils saga, K
and W, in his edition, and these will appear as volumes 20–21 of the series.
The second printed edition of Egils saga was published in 1809 in
Copenhagen. It was produced for the Arnamagnæan Commission byGu›mundur Magnússon. It has a short introduction in Latin, followed by
the text of the saga and a parallel translation in Latin. The text is in the main
based on that of Mö›ruvallabók (possibly indirectly), but it is very unreliablebecause of countless alterations, only occasionally mentioned in the footnotes. Many variants are quoted, but without any evaluation or discernment.
This voluminous book, 772 pages, became the standard edition of the sagafor the greater part of the nineteenth century, and was the basis of popular
editions and translations. W. C. Green, in the first English translation (1893),
states that in addition to the 1809 edition, he used the editions of Einar

xii

EGILS SAGAﬁór›arson (the publisher), Reykjavík 1856, and Finnur Jónsson, Copenhagen
1888, and also consulted N. M. Petersen’s Swedish (in fact Danish) translation of 1862. It is likely that Green benefitted also from the Latin translation.
Finnur Jónsson’s edition appeared in Copenhagen in 1886–88, and it has
since been the standard edition used by later editors and translators.
Three later English translations, by Gwyn Jones (1960), Christine Fell
(1975) and Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards (1976), are all based on
Sigur›ur Nordal’s edition in Íslenzk fornrit II (1933), which in turn is mostly
based on Finnur Jónsson’s edition. The most recent English translation is in
The Complete Sagas of Icelanders, five volumes, Reykjavík 1997. Egils saga
is there translated by Bernard Scudder, and based on Íslendinga sögur, twovolumes, Reykjavík 1985, and three volumes, Reykjavík 1987, edited by
Bragi Halldórsson, Jón Torfason, Sverrir Tómasson and Örnólfur Thorsson.
Egils saga is based there on the edition of Finnur Jónsson together with thatof Sigur›ur Nordal; the text filling the two large lacunas was supplied by
Bjarni Einarsson from the above-mentioned seventeenth-century manuscripts.

FOREWORD

xiii

Select Bibliography
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, The. A revised translation. Ed. Dorothy Whitelock.
1961.
Alfræ›i íslenzk I. Ed. K. Kålund. 1908.
Battle of Brunanburh, The. Ed. Alistair Campbell. 1938.
Bergljót S. Kristjánsdóttir. ‘Fjöt foldar e›a ein vísa Egils’. Or›AfOr›iheyja›ur Gu›rúnu Kvaran 21. júlí 1993. 1993, 22–28.
Bjarni Einarsson. ‘Fólgi› fé á Mosfelli’. Sjötíu ritger›ir helga›ar Jakobi
Benediktssyni 20. júlí 1977. 1977, 100–06.
Bjarni Einarsson. ‘Gƒfugr bœr’. Maal og minne. 1966, 81–83.
Bjarni Einarsson. ‘Hör› hƒfu›bein’. Minjar og menntir. Afmælisrit helga›
Kristjáni Eldjárn. 1976, 47–54.
Bjarni Einarsson. Litterære forudsætninger for Egils saga. 1975.
Bjarni Einarsson. ‘On the role of verse in saga-literature’. Mediaeval
Scandinavia 7. 1974, 118–25.
Bjarni Einarsson. Skáldasögur. 1961.
Bjarni Einarsson. ‘Skáldi› í Reykjaholti’. Eyvindarbók. Festskrift til Eyvind
Fjeld Halvorsen. 1992, 34–40.
Bjarni Einarsson. To skjaldesagaer. 1976.
Bley, A. Eigla-Studien. 1909.
Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar. Ed. Sigur›ur Nordal. ÍF II. 1933.
Egils saga Skallagrímssonar. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. 1886–88.
Egils saga Skallagrímssonar. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. Editiones Arnamagnæanæ
A 19. 2001.
Fagrskinna. Ágrip af Nóregskonunga sƒgum. Fagrskinna – Nóregs konungatal. Ed. Bjarni Einarsson. ÍF XXIX. 1985.
Grágás. Ed. Vilhjálmur Finsen. 1852.
Gylfaginning = Snorri Sturluson, Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning. Ed.
Anthony Faulkes. 1988.
Hafsta›, Baldur. Die Egils Saga und ihr Verhältnis zu anderen Werken desnordischen Mittelalters. 1995.
Hallberg, Peter. Snorri Sturluson och Egils saga Skallagrímssonar. Studia
Islandica 20. 1962.
Heimskringla = Snorri Sturluson, Heimskringla I–III. Ed. Bjarni A›albjarnarson. ÍF XXVI–XXVIII. 1941–51.
Helgi Gu›mundsson. Um haf innan. 1997.
Hermann Pálsson. ‘Egils saga Skallagrímssonar’. Dictionary of the Middle
Ages IV. 1984, 402–03.

xiv

EGILS SAGAÍF = Íslenzk fornrit. 1933–.
Jómsvíkinga saga. AM 291 4to. Ed. Ólafur Halldórsson. 1969.
Jón Helgason. ‘Ek bar sau›’. Acta Philologica Scandinavica 23. 1955, 94–96.
Jón Helgason. ‘Athuganir um nokkur handrit Egils sögu’. Nordæla: Afmæliskve›ja til Sigur›ar Nordals 14. september 1956. 1956, 110–48.
Jón Helgason. ‘Hƒfu›lausnarhjal’. Einarsbók: Afmæliskve›ja til Einars Ól.
Sveinssonar 12. desember 1969. 1969, 156–76.
Jón Helgason. ‘Norges og Islands digtning’. Nordisk kultur VIII B. Litteraturhistorie. Norge og Island. 1953. 3–179.
Kock, Ernst A. Notationes norrœnæ. 1923–44.
Julku, Kyösti. Kvenland – Kainuunmaa. 1986.
NION = A New Introduction to Old Norse I–III. Ed. Anthony Faulkes. 1999–
2001.
Noreen, Erik. Studier i fornvästnordisk diktning II. 1922.
Ólafur M. Ólafsson. ‘Skáldamál’. Á gó›u dægri. Afmæliskve›ja til Sigur›ar
Nordals 14. september 1951. 1951, 116–23.
Olsen, Magnus. ‘Commentarii Scaldici. I. 1. Sonatorrek’. Arkiv för nordisk
filologi 52. 1938, 209–55.
Orkneyinga saga. Ed. Finnbogi Gu›mundsson. ÍF XXXIV. 1965.
Orkneyinga saga. Ed. Sigur›ur Nordal. 1913–16.
Poole, Russell. ‘Variants and Variability in the Text of Egill’s Hƒfu›lausn’.
The Politics of Editing Medieval Texts. Papers given at the twenty-seventh
annual Conference on Editorial Problems. University of Toronto 1991.
Ed. Roberta Frank. 1993, 65–105.
Sagan af Eigle Skallagríms Syne. Hrappsey 1782.
Skáldskaparmál = Snorri Sturluson, Edda: Skáldskaparmál I–II. Ed. Anthony
Faulkes. 1998.
Skj = Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning. Ed. Finnur Jónsson. 1912–15.
Skjaldevers. Ed. Jón Helgason. 1961.
‘Sonatorrek’. English translation by Gabriel Turville-Petre in Iceland andthe Medieval World. Studies Presented to Ian Maxwell. 1974, 33–55. Also,
in modified form, in Gabriel Turville-Petre. Scaldic Poetry. 1976, 24–41.
Tulinius, Torfi. The Matter of the North. The rise of Literary Fiction in
Thirteenth-Century Iceland. Translated by Randi C. Eldevik. 2002.
Turville-Petre, Gabriel. Origins of Icelandic Literature. 1953.
William of Malmesbury. De Gestis Regum Anglorum. Ed. William Stubbs.
1887–89.

FOREWORD

xv

Manuscripts and Fragments Consulted
AM 132 fol., Mö›ruvallabók (Stofnun Árna Magnússonar á Íslandi,
Reykjavík; M), provides the text of the saga in the present edition as in all
earlier editions. The poem Arinbjarnarkvi›a (incomplete) is in this manuscript alone, but written after the text of the saga. The poem is now illegible
here, but a copy of it is found in AM 146 fol., a copy of the Egils saga textof Mö›ruvallabók, written about 1700 by Ásgeir Jónsson, a secretary ofÁrni Magnússon.
There are two major lacunas in M, each of one leaf. Several manuscripts
contain copies of a now lost copy of M written about 1640, before the leaves
were lost (*M1). The text of the two lost leaves is here provided from JS 28
fol. (Landsbókasafn–Háskólabókasafn, Reykjavík), a seventeenth-century
copy derived from *M1. Other manuscripts deriving from the same lost copyof Mö›ruvallabók are AM 145 fol., AM 426 fol., AM 455 4to, AM 568 4to(all four from the seventeenth century) and TCD 991 (Trinity College,
Dublin). The oldest printed edition of the saga (Hrappsey 1782) is also mostlyof the same origin. AM 455 4to seems to be the most useful in the case of
the now illegible f. 69va in Mö›ruvallabók, as it appears to render mostfaithfully the apparently defective text of the same lost copy of the Mö›ruvallabók text of Egils saga.
The following conflated texts of the saga are also of some importancewith respect to the lost text of the two large lacunas in Mö›ruvallabók:
Thott 984 I fol. (Det kongelige Bibliothek, København), Lbs. 1421 8vo,
Lbs. 1408 4to and Lbs. 2963 4to (Landsbókasafn–Háskólabókasafn,
Reykjavík). Although these Lbs. paper manuscripts are from the lateeighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, they contain a section closely
related to the comparable part of the oldest fragment of Egils saga, the Mclass fragment q (in AM 162 A fol.) and may also be related to it in othersections not comparable in the present state of the fragment. The three Lbs.
manuscripts are here designated Eyf3 as their common place of origin is
Eyjafjör›ur in the north of Iceland.
Other M-class fragments of interest are two short sections of the conflated
Egils saga text of AM 458 4to, which otherwise is mainly derived from W;
part of the first section is closely related to the oldest fragment, q, and it ispossible that the whole first section and the latter section as well were bothcopied from the same, otherwise now lost, manuscript.

xvi

EGILS SAGA

K is a secondary redaction of the saga preserved in two seventeenth-century
copies written by Ketill Jörundarson, AM 453 and 462 4to. It is the only
redaction containing both of the poems Hƒfu›lausn and Sonatorrek. Amongfragments in AM 162 A fol. are e and a; the latter is a remnant of a copy ofe, which in its turn was the original of K.
W, the Wolfenbüttel codex, 9. 10. Aug. 4to (Die Herzog August Bibliothek,
Wolfenbüttel) has extensive lacunas. It contains the poem Hƒfu›lausn. It is
used here in the facsimile edition in Manuscripta Islandica 3 (1956), which
was edited by Jón Helgason with his transcriptions of difficult passages.
Stockholm perg. 4to nr 7 (Kungliga Biblioteket, Stockholm) is a fragment
containing the beginning of the saga as far as the end of Ch. 5. Its text
belongs to the W-redaction, but is generally speaking a better text than thatof W itself.
AM 162 A fol. contains a total of ten vellum fragments of Egils saga,each designated with a Greek letter. The five fragments b, g, d, z and i allcontain pieces of text of the same kind as W itself or even a more originaltext of the same redaction. It also preserves the already mentioned fragmentq, the oldest fragment of a Saga of Icelanders, from about the middle of thethirteenth century, and a and e, parts of the original of the K text of Egils
saga. Lastly, two of the fragments, h and k, may be related in some way
to M.
AM 463 4to, which begins like M, together with AM 560 d 4to, whichlacks the beginning of the saga, and several other manuscripts contain, fromabout the middle of Ch. 17, a text closely related to W. AM 560 d 4to also
contains, earlier in the saga, a piece of text most closely related to M (seeEgils saga 2001, lxi).
The designations 697 and 698 are abbreviations for R 697 and R 698(Uppsala Universitetsbibliotek). Both belong to the same group as AM 463
4to, but diverge occasionally.

Hér hefr upp Egils sƒgu1. Af Kveld-Úlfi búanda
Úlfr hét ma›r, son Bjálfa ok Hallberu, dóttur Úlfs ins óarga; hon var systir
Hallbjarnar hálftrƒlls í Hrafnistu, fƒ›ur Ketils hœngs. Úlfr var ma›r svá 3
mikill ok sterkr at eigi váru hans jafningjar; en er hann var á unga aldri láhann í víkingu ok herja›i. Me› honum var í félagsskap sá ma›r er kalla›rvar Ber›lu-Kári, gƒfugr ma›r ok inn mesti afreksma›r at afli ok áræ›i; hann 6
var berserkr. ﬁeir Úlfr áttu einn sjó› bá›ir ok var me› ﬂeim in kærsta vinátta.
En er ﬂeir ré›usk ór herna›i fór Kári til bús síns í Ber›lu; hann var ma›r
stórau›igr. Kári átti ﬂrjú bƒrn; hét son hans Eyvindr lambi, annarr ¯lvir 9
hnúfa; dóttir hans hét Salbjƒrg; hon var kvenna vænst ok skƒrungr mikill;
hennar fekk Úlfr; fór hann ﬂá ok til búa sinna.1
Úlfr var ma›r au›igr, bæ›i at lƒndum ok lausum aurum. Hann tók lends 12
manns rétt2 svá sem haft hƒf›u langfe›gar hans ok ger›isk ma›r ríkr.
Svá er sagt at Úlfr var bús‡sluma›r mikill; var ﬂat si›r hans at rísa uppárdegis ok ganga ﬂá um s‡slur manna e›a ﬂar er smi›ir váru ok sjá yfir 15
féna› sinn ok akra, en stundum var hann á tali vi› menn ﬂá er rá›a hans
ﬂurftu; kunni hann til alls gó› rá› at leggja, ﬂví at hann var forvitri. En dag
hvern er at kveldi lei› ﬂá ger›isk hann styggr svá at fáir menn máttu or›um 18
vi› hann koma; var hann kveldsvæfr <ok myrginvakr>.a ﬁat var mál mannaat hann væri mjƒk hamrammr; hann var kalla›r Kveld-Úlfr.3
ﬁau Kveld-Úlfr áttu tvá sonu; hét inn ellri ﬁórólfr, en inn yngri Grímr; en 21
er ﬂeir vóxu upp ﬂá váru ﬂeir bá›ir menn miklir ok sterkir svá sem fa›ir
ﬂeira var. Var ﬁórólfr manna vænstr ok gerviligastr; hann var líkr mó›urfrændum sínum, gle›ima›r mikill, ƒrr ok ákafama›r mikill í ƒllu ok inn 24
mesti kappsma›r;b var hann vinsæll af ƒllum mƒnnum. Grímr var svartrma›r ok ljótr, líkr fe›r sínum, bæ›i yfirlits ok at skaplyndi; gjƒr›isk hannums‡sluma›r mikill; hann var hagr ma›r á tré ok járn ok gjƒr›isk inn mesti 27
smi›r; hann fór ok opt um vetrum í síldfiski me› lagnarskútu ok me› honum
húskarlar margir.
a Thus W.

b Thus K and W; kaupma›r M.

1 til búa sinna: to his own estates. The name of Úlfr’s farm is not mentioned, butfrom Ch. 3 it is clear that it is in Fir›afylki.
2 lends manns rétt: in Ch. 5, Kveld-Úlfr speaks about having had stjórn ok umbo›,‘administration and commission’, from the former king, and being willing to serve
King Haraldr in the same way. In stanza 2, he is called hersir. In Old Norwegian law
the right to compensation for injury was called réttr, and it varied according to social
status (cf. jarls rétt in Ch. 3). A lendr ma›r was next below a jarl in status.
3 Kveld-Úlfr’s name means ‘evening-wolf’ and hints at the assumption that he became a wolf during the night; belief in werewolves was widespread in the Middle Ages.

2

EGILS SAGA

En er ﬁórólfr var á tvítugsaldri ﬂá bjósk hann í herna›; fekk Kveld-Úlfrhonum langskip. Til ﬂeirar fer›ar ré›usk synir Ber›lu-Kára, Eyvindr ok
3 ¯lvir—ﬂeir hƒf›u li› mikit ok annat langskip—ok fóru um sumarit í víking
ok <fengu>a sér fjár ok hƒf›u hlutskipti mikit. ﬁat var nƒkkur sumur er ﬂeir
lágu í víking, en váru heima um vetrum me› fe›rum sínum. Haf›i ﬁórólfr
6 heim marga d‡rgripi ok fœr›i fƒ›ur sínum ok mó›ur; var ﬂá bæ›i gott til
fjár ok mannvir›ingar. Kveld-Úlfr var ﬂá mjƒk á efra aldri, en synir hansváru rosknir.

2. Frá ¯lvi ok Solveigub

9Au›bjƒrn hét ﬂá konungr yfir Fir›afylki; Hróaldr hét jarl hans, en ﬁórir son
jarlsins. ﬁá var Atli inn mjóvi jarl; hann bjó á Gaulum; hans bƒrn váru ﬂau
12 Hallsteinn, Hólmsteinn, Hersteinn ok Solveig in fagra. ﬁat var á einu hausti
at fjƒlmennt var á Gaulum at haustblóti; ﬂá sá ¯lvir hnúfa Solveigu ok gjƒr›i
sér um títt; sí›an ba› hann hennar, en jarlinum ﬂótti mannamunr ok vildi
15 eigi gipta hana. Sí›an orti ¯lvir mƒrg mansƒngskvæ›i <um hana>.c Svá mikitgjƒr›i ¯lvir sér um Solveigu at hann lét af herfƒrum, ok váru ﬂá í herfƒrum
ﬁórólfr ok Eyvindr lambi.

3. Haraldr tók ríkib

18

Haraldr son Hálfdanar svarta haf›i tekit arf eptir fƒ›ur sinn <í Vík austr>;chann haf›i ﬂess heit strengt at láta eigi skera hár sitt né kemba fyrr en hann
21 væri einvaldskonungr yfir Nóregi; hann var kalla›r Haraldr lúfa. Sí›anbar›isk hann vi› ﬂá konunga er næstir váru ok sigra›i ﬂá ok eru ﬂar langar
frásagnir;1 sí›an eigna›isk hann Upplƒnd. ﬁa›an fór hann nor›r í ﬁrándheim
24 ok átti ﬂar margar orrostur á›r hann yr›i einvaldi yfir ƒllum ﬁrœndalƒgum.
Sí›an ætla›isk hann at fara nor›r í Naumudal á hendr ﬂeim brœ›rum,
Herlaugi ok Hrollaugi, er ﬂá váru konungar yfir Naumudal. En er ﬂeir brœ›r
27 spur›u til fer›ar hans ﬂá gekk Herlaugr í haug ﬂann me› tólfta mann er á›rhƒf›u ﬂeir gera látit ﬂrjá vetr; var sí›an haugrinn aptr lokinn. En Hrollaugr
konungr veltisk ór konungdómi2 ok tók upp jarls rétt ok fór sí›an á vald
30 Haralds konungs ok gaf upp ríki sitt. Svá eigna›isk Haraldr konungr Naumdœlafylki ok Hálogaland; setti hann ﬂar menn yfir ríki sitt.
a Thus Stockholm perg. 4to nr 7 (W-class).

b Chapter heading from W. c Thus K

and W.
1 eru ﬂar langar frásagnir: there are long stories about that (i.e. in Heimskringla
or some other saga of the kings of Norway).
2 veltisk ór konungdómi: (symbolically) tossed himself from his kingdom, aceremony described in Ch. 8 of Haralds saga hárfagra in Heimskringla.

EGILS SAGA

3

Sí›an bjósk Haraldr konungr ór ﬁrándheimi me› skipali›i ok fór su›r áMœri, átti ﬂar orrostu vi› Húnﬂjóf konung ok haf›i sigr; fell ﬂar Húnﬂjófr;
ﬂá eigna›isk Haraldr konungr Nor›mœri ok Raumsdal.
3
En Sƒlvi klofi son Húnﬂjófs haf›i undan komizk ok fór hann á Sunnmœri
til Arnvi›ar konungs ok ba› hann sér fulltings ok sag›i svá:‘ﬁótt ﬂetta vandræ›i hafi nú borit oss at hendi, ﬂá mun eigi langt til at 6sama vandræ›i mun til y›var koma, ﬂví at Haraldr ætla ek at skjótt man hér
koma ﬂá er hann hefir alla menn ﬂrælkat ok áﬂját sem hann vill á Nor›mœriok í Raumsdal. Munu ﬂér inn sama kost fyrir hƒndum eiga sem vér áttum, at 9verja fé y›vart ok frelsi ok kosta ﬂar til allra ﬂeira manna er y›r er li›s atván, ok vil ek bjó›ask til me› mínu li›i móti ﬂessum ofsa ok ójafna›i; en atƒ›rum kosti munu ﬂér vilja taka upp ﬂat rá› sem Naumdœlir ger›u, at ganga 12me› sjálfvilja í ánau› ok gerask ﬂrælar Haralds. ﬁat ﬂótti fƒ›ur mínum vegr a
at deyja í konungdómi me› sœm› heldr en gerask undirma›r annars konungsá gamals aldri; hygg ek at ﬂér muni ok svá ﬂikja ok ƒ›rum ﬂeim er nƒkkurir 15
eru bor›i ok kappsmenn vilja vera.’
Af slíkum fortƒlum var konungrinn fastrá›inn til ﬂess at safna li›i okverja land sitt; bundu ﬂeir Sƒlvi ﬂá samlag sitt ok sendu or› Au›birni konungi 18
er ré› fyrir Fir›afylki at hann skyldi koma til li›s vi› ﬂá. En er sendimennkómu til Au›bjarnar konungs ok báru honum ﬂessa or›sending, ﬂá rézk
hann um vi› vini sína ok ré›u honum ﬂat allir at safna li›i ok fara til móts 21
vi› Mœri sem honum váru or› til send. Au›bjƒrn konungr lét skera uppherƒr1 ok fara herbo› um allt ríki sitt; hann sendi menn til ríkismanna atbo›a ﬂeim til sín.
24
En er sendimenn konungs kómu til Kveld-Úlfs ok sƒg›u honum sín erendi
ok ﬂat at konungr vill at Kveld-Úlfr komi til hans me› alla húskarla sína,
Kveld-Úlfr svarar svá:
27
‘ﬁat mun konungi skylt ﬂikja at ek fara me› honum, ef hann skal verja
land sitt ok sé herjat í Fir›afylki; en hitt ætla ek mér allóskylt at fara nor›r áMœri ok berjask ﬂar ok verja land ﬂeira. Er y›r ﬂat skjótast at segja, ﬂá er 30
ﬂér hitti› konung y›varn, at Kveld-Úlfr mun heima sitja um ﬂetta herhlaup
ok hann mun eigi herli›i safna ok eigi gera sína ﬂá heimanfer› at berjask
móti Haraldi lúfu, ﬂví at ek hygg at hann hafi ﬂar byr›i gnóga hamingju er 33
konungr várr hafi eigi krepping fullan.’Fóru sendimenn heim til konungs ok sƒg›u honum erendislok sín, en
Kveld-Úlfr sat heima at búm sínum.
36
a Thus K; sœm› W; sigr M.
1 lét skera upp herƒr: had a war-arrow sent round (to summon men to arms; skera
upp literally means ‘carve out’; herƒr was perhaps originally a symbol carved on apiece of wood).

4

EGILS SAGA

4. Frá fer›um Haraldsa
Au›bjƒrn konungr fór me› li› sitt ﬂat er honum fylg›i nor›r á Mœri ok hitti
3 ﬂar Arnvi› konung ok Sƒlva klofa ok hƒf›u ﬂeir allir saman her mikinn.

Haraldr konungr var ﬂá ok nor›an kominn me› sínu li›i ok var› fundr ﬂeira
fyrir innan Sólskel; var ﬂar orrosta mikil ok mannfall mikit í hvárratveggju
6 li›i. ﬁar fellu ór Haralds li›i jarlar tveir, Ásgautr ok Ásbjƒrn, ok tveir synir
Hákonar Hla›ajarls, Grjótgar›r ok Herlaugr, ok margt annat stórmenni, en
af li›i Mœra Arnvi›r konungr ok Au›bjƒrn konungr. En Sƒlvi klofi komsk
9 undan á flótta ok var sí›an víkingr mikill ok ger›i opt ska›a mikinn á ríki
Haralds konungs ok var kalla›r Sƒlvi klofi.
Eptir ﬂat lag›i Haraldr konungr undir sik Sunnmœri. Vémundr bró›ir
12 Au›bjarnar konungs helt Fir›afylki ok ger›isk ﬂar konungr yfir. ﬁetta <varsí›>b um haustit ok ger›u menn ﬂat rá› me› Haraldi konungi at hann skyldi
eigi fara su›r um Sta› á haustdegi. ﬁá setti Haraldr konungr Rƒgnvald jarl
15 yfir Mœri hváratveggju ok Raumsdal ok haf›i <hann>c um sik mikit fjƒlmenni.d ﬁat sama haust veittu synir Atla <jarls>e heimfƒr at ¯lvi hnúfu ok
vildu drepa hann; ﬂeir hƒf›u li› svá mikit at ¯lvir haf›i enga vi›stƒ›u ok
18 komsk me› hlaupi undan. Fór hann ﬂá nor›r á Mœri ok hitti ﬂar Harald
konung, ok gekk ¯lvir til handa honum ok fór nor›r til ﬁrándheims me›
konungi um haustit ok komsk hann í ina mestu kærleika vi› konung ok var
21 me› honum lengi sí›an ok ger›isk skáld hans.
ﬁann vetr fór Rƒgnvaldr jarl it i›ra um Ei›sjó1 su›r í Fjƒr›u ok haf›injósnir af fer›um Vémundar konungs ok kom um nótt ﬂar sem heitir Naustdalr
24 ok var Vémundr ﬂar á veizlu. Tók ﬂar Rƒgnvaldr jarl hús á ﬂeim ok brenndi
konunginn inni me› níu tigum manna. Eptir ﬂat kom Ber›lu-Kári til Rƒgnvalds jarls me› langskip alskipat ok fóru ﬂeir bá›ir nor›r á Mœri; tók Rƒgn27 valdr skip ﬂau er átt haf›i Vémundr konungr ok allt ﬂat lausafé er hann fekk.
Ber›lu-Kári fór ﬂá nor›r til ﬁrándheims á fund Haralds konungs ok ger›iskhans ma›r. Um várit eptir fór Haraldr konungr su›r me› landi me› skipaher
30 ok lag›i undir sik Fjƒr›u ok Fjalir ok skipa›i ﬂar til ríkis mƒnnum sínum;hann setti Hróald jarl yfir Fir›afylki.
Haraldr konungr var mjƒk gjƒrhugall, ﬂá er hann haf›i eignazk ﬂau fylki
33 er n‡komin váru í vald hans, um lenda menn ok ríka búendr ok alla ﬂá erhonum var grunr á at nƒkkurrar uppreistar var af ván. ﬁá lét hann hvern geraa Chapter heading from W. b Thus K; var sí›la Stockholm perg. 4to nr 7 (and therelated text of Heimskringla).

c Thus W (and Codex Frisianus of Heimskringla).

d K has: Raumsdal ok sneri nor›r aptr til ﬁrándheims.

e Thus K and W.

1 it i›ra um Ei›sjó: by the inner route (between the coastal islands and the mainland)
across Ei›sjór. (Some manuscripts of Heimskringla, which have a comparable text,
read um Ei› ‘across the isthmus’, implying the portage inland from Sta›r.)

EGILS SAGA

5

annat hvárt at gerask hans ﬂjónustumann e›a fara af landi á brott, en atﬂri›ja kosti sæta afarkostum e›a láta lífit, en sumir váru hamla›ir at hƒndum
3e›a fótum.
Haraldr konungr eigna›isk í hverju fylki ó›ul ƒll ok allt land, byggt okóbyggt, ok jafnvel sjóinn ok vƒtnin, ok skyldu allir búendr vera hansleiglendingar, svá ﬂeir er á mƒrkina ortu ok saltkarlarnir ok allir vei›imenn, 6bæ›i á sjó ok landi, ﬂá váru allir ﬂeir honum l‡›skyldir.
En af ﬂessi áﬂján fl‡›u margir menn af landi á brott, ok bygg›usk ﬂámargar au›nir ví›a, bæ›i austr í Jamtaland ok Helsingjaland ok Vestrlƒnd, 9Su›reyjar, Dyflinnarskí›i, Írland, Normandí á Vallandi, Katanes á Skotlandi,<Orkneyjar>a ok Hjaltland, Færeyjar. Ok í ﬂann tíma fannsk Ísland.

5. Konungr gjƒr›i or› Kveld-Úlfi

12

Haraldr konungr lá me› her sinn í Fjƒr›um; hann sendi menn ﬂar um land á
fund ﬂeira manna er eigi hƒf›u komit til hans, er hann ﬂóttisk erendi vi›eiga. Konungs sendimenn kómu til Kveld-Úlfs ok fengu ﬂar gó›ar vi›tƒkur. 15
ﬁeir báru upp erendi sín, sƒg›u at konungr vildi at Kveld-Úlfr kœmi á fundhans.
‘Hann hefir,’ sƒg›u ﬂeir, ‘spurn af at ﬂú ert gƒfugr ma›r ok stórætta›r; 18
muntu eiga kost af honum vir›ingar mikillar; er konungi mikit kapp á ﬂví athafa me› sér ﬂá menn at hann spyrr at afreksmenn eru at afli ok hreysti.’
Kveld-Úlfr svarar, sag›i at hann var ﬂá gamall svá at hann var ﬂá ekki 21herfœrr at vera úti á herskipum. ‘Mun ek nú heima sitja ok láta af at ﬂjóna
konungum.’ﬁá mælti sendima›r: ‘Láttu ﬂá fara son ﬂinn til konungs; hann er ma›r 24
mikill ok garpligr. Mun konungr gera ﬂikb lendan mann, ef ﬂú vill ﬂjóna
honum.’‘Ekki vil ek,’ sag›i Grímr, ‘gerask lendr ma›r me›an fa›ir minn lifir, ﬂví 27
at hann skal vera yfirma›r minn me›an hann lifir.’Sendimenn fóru í brott; en er ﬂeir kómu til konungs sƒg›u ﬂeir honum allt
ﬂat er Kveld-Úlfr haf›i rœtt fyrir ﬂeim. Konungr var› vi› styggr ok mælti 30
um nƒkkurum or›um, sag›i at ﬂeir mundu vera menn stórlátir, e›a hvat ﬂeir
mundu fyrir ætlask.
¯lvir hnúfa var ﬂá nær staddr ok ba› konung vera eigi rei›an. ‘Ek mun 33
fara á fund Kveld-Úlfs ok mun hann vilja fara á fund y›varn ﬂegar er hannveit at y›r ﬂikir máli skipta.’
Sí›an fór ¯lvir á fund Kveld-Úlfs ok sag›i honum at konungr var rei›r ok 36
eigi mundi duga nema annarr hvárr ﬂeira fe›ga fœri til konungs, ok sag›i at
ﬂeir myndi fá vir›ing mikla af konungi ef ﬂeir vildi hann ﬂ‡›ask; sag›i frá
a Thus K and W. b hann K and W.

6

EGILS SAGA

mikit sem satt var at konungr var gó›r mƒnnum sínum, bæ›i til fjár okmetna›ar.
3 Kveld-Úlfr sag›i at ﬂat var hans hugbo› ‘at vér fe›gar munim ekki beragæfu til ﬂessa konungs, ok mun ek ekki fara á fund hans; en ef ﬁórólfr kemr
heim í sumar ﬂá mun hann au›be›inn ﬂessar farar ok svá at gerask konungs
6 ma›r. Seg›u svá konungi at ek mun vera vinr hans ok alla menn, ﬂá er atmínum or›um láta, halda til vináttu vi› hann; ek mun ok halda inu sama um
stjórn ok umbo› af hans hendi sem á›r haf›a ek af fyrra konungi, ef konungr
9 vill at svá sé, ok enn sí›ar sjá, hversu semsk me› oss konungi.’Sí›an fór ¯lvir aptr til konungs ok sag›i honum at Kveld-Úlfr mundi
senda honum son sinn ok sag›i at sá var betr til fallinn er ﬂá var eigi heima.
12 Lét konungr ﬂá vera kyrrt; fór hann ﬂá um sumarit inn í Sogn, en er hausta›i
bjósk hann at fara nor›r til ﬁrándheims.

6. Af ﬁórólfi ok Eyvindi
15 ﬁórólfr Kveld-Úlfsson ok Eyvindr lambi kómu um haustit heim ór víking;fór ﬁórólfr til fƒ›ur síns. Taka ﬂeir fe›gar ﬂá tal sín í milli; spyrr ﬁórólfr
eptir hvat verit hefir í erendum ﬂeira manna er Haraldr sendi ﬂagat. Kveld18 Úlfr sag›i at konungr haf›i til ﬂess or› sent at Kveld-Úlfr skyldi geraskma›r hans e›a sonr hans annarr hvárr.
‘Hverneg svara›ir ﬂú?’ kva› ﬁórólfr.
21 ‘Ek sag›a svá sem mér var í hug at ek munda aldri ganga á hƒnd Haraldi
konungi ok svá mundu ﬂit gera bá›ir, ef ek skylda rá›a; ætla ek at ﬂær
lyk›ir muni á ver›a at vér munim aldrtila hljóta af ﬂeim konungi.’
24 ‘ﬁat ver›r <ﬂá> allmjƒk á annan veg,’ sag›i ﬁórólfr, ‘en mér segir hugrum, ﬂví at ek ætla mik skulu af honum hljóta inn mesta frama, ok til ﬂess em
ek fastrá›inn at fara á fund konungs ok gerask hans ma›r, ok ﬂat hefi ek
27 sannspurt at hir› hans er skipu› afreksmƒnnum einum. ﬁiki mér ﬂat allf‡siligt
at koma í ﬂeira sveit, ef ﬂeir vilja vi› mér taka; eru ﬂeir menn haldnir miklu
betr en allir a›rir í ﬂessu landi. Er mér svá frá sagt konungi at hann sé inn
30 mildasti af fégjƒfum vi› menn sína ok eigi sí›r ﬂess ƒrr at gefa ﬂeim framgang
ok veita ríki ﬂeim er honum ﬂikja til ﬂess fallnir. En mér spyrsk á ﬂann veg
til um alla ﬂá er bakverpask vilja vi› honum ok ﬂ‡›ask eigi hann me› vináttu,33 sem allir ver›i ekki at manna: støkkva sumir af landi á brott, en sumir gerask
leigumenn. ﬁiki mér ﬂat undarligt, fa›ir, um svá vitran mann sem ﬂú ert ok
metna›argjarnan, er ﬂú vildir eigi me› ﬂƒkkum taka vegsem› ﬂá er konungr
36 bau› ﬂér. En ef ﬂú ﬂikisk vera forspár um ﬂat at vér munim hljóta af konungi
ﬂessum ófarna› ok hann muni vilja vera várr óvinr, hví fórtu eigi ﬂá til
orrostu í móti honum me› konungi ﬂeim er ﬂú ert á›r handgenginn? Nú ﬂiki
39 mér ﬂat ósœmiligast at vera hvárki vinr hans né óvinr.’

EGILS SAGA

7

‘Eptir gekk ﬂat,’ kva› Kveld-Úlfr, ‘er mér bau› hugr um at ﬂeir mundu
engir sigrfƒr fara er bƒr›usk vi› Harald lúfu nor›r á Mœri; en slíkt sama
mun ﬂat vera satt at Haraldr mun ver›a at miklum ska›a mínum frændum. 3
En ﬂú, ﬁórólfr, munt rá›a vilja athƒfnum ﬂínum. Ekki óttumk ek ﬂat, ﬂótt ﬂúkomir í sveit me› hir›mƒnnum Haralds, at eigi ﬂikir ﬂú hlutgengr e›a jafn
inum fremstum í ƒllum mannraunum; varask ﬂú ﬂat at eigi ætlir ﬂú hóf fyrir 6
ﬂér e›a keppisk vi› ﬂér meiri menn; en eigi muntu fyrir vægja at heldr.’
En er ﬁórólfr bjósk á brott ﬂá leiddi Kveld-Úlfr hann ofan til skips, hvarf
til hans ok ba› hann vel fara ok ba› ﬂá heila hittask.a9

7. Af BjƒrgólfiBjƒrgólfr hét ma›r á Hálogalandi; hann bjó í Torgum; hann var lendr ma›r,
ríkr ok au›igr, en hálfbergrisi at afli ok vexti ok kynfer›. Hann átti son er 12
hét Brynjólfr; hann var líkr fe›r sínum. Bjƒrgólfr var ﬂá gamall ok ƒndu›kona hans, ok haf›i hann selt í hendr ƒll rá› syni sínum ok leitat honum
kvánfangs. Brynjólfr átti Helgu dóttur Ketils hœngs ór Hrafnistu. Bár›r er 15
nefndr son ﬂeira; hann var snemma mikill ok frí›r s‡num ok var› inn mesti
atgervisma›r.
ﬁat var eitt haust at ﬂar var gildi fjƒlmennt ok váru ﬂeir Bjƒrgólfr fe›gar í 18
gildinu gƒfgastir menn. ﬁar var hluta›r tvímenningr1 á ƒptnum sem si›venja
var til. En ﬂar at gildinu var sá ma›r er Hƒgni hét. Hann átti bú í Leku; hannvar ma›r stórau›igr, allra manna frí›astr s‡num, vitr ma›r ok ættsmár ok 21
haf›i hafizk af sjálfum sér. Hann átti dóttur allfrí›a er nefnd er Hildirí›r.
Hon hlaut at sitja hjá Bjƒrgólfi; tƒlu›u ﬂau margt um kveldit; leizk honummærin fƒgr. Litlu sí›ar var slitit gildinu.
24
ﬁat sama haust ger›i Bjƒrgólfr gamli heimanfƒr sína ok haf›i skútu erhann átti ok á ﬂrjátigi menn; hann kom fram í Leku ok gengu ﬂeir heim til
húss tuttugu, en tíu gættu skips. En er ﬂeir kómu á bœinn ﬂá gekk Hƒgni á 27
mót honum ok fagna›i vel, bau› honum ﬂar at vera me› sínu fƒruneyti, en
hann ﬂekk›isk ﬂat ok gengu ﬂeir inn í stufu. En er ﬂeir hƒf›u afklæzk oktekit upp yfirhafnir ﬂá lét Hƒgni bera inn skaptker ok mungát; Hildirí›r 30
bóndadóttir bar ƒl gestum.
Bjƒrgólfr kallar til sín Hƒgna bónda ok segir honum at ‘erendi er ﬂat hingat
at ek vil at dóttir ﬂín fari heim me› mér ok mun ek nú gera til hennar 33
lausabrullaup.’2 En Hƒgni sá engan annan sinn kost en láta allt svá vera sem
a W adds: Fór ﬁórólfr ﬂá nor›r á konungs fund.
1 var hluta›r tvímenningr: lots were drawn to determine how they should pair off
for drinking. The details of this custom are described in Ch. 48.
2 lausabrullaup: a kind of informal wedding or morganatic marriage; its legality
is subsequently denied by the heirs of Bjƒrgólfr.

8

EGILS SAGABjƒrgólfr vildi. Bjƒrgólfr keypti hana me› eyri gulls1 ok gengu ﬂau í eina
rekkju bæ›i; fór Hildirí›r heim me› Bjƒrgólfi í Torgar. Brynjólfr lét illa yfir
3 ﬂessi rá›ager›.
ﬁau Bjƒrgólfr ok Hildirí›r áttu tvá sonu; hét annarr Hárekr, en annarrHrœrekr. Sí›an andask Bjƒrgólfr, en ﬂegar hann var út hafi›r, ﬂá lét Brynjólfr
6 Hildirí›i á brott fara me› sonu sína. Fór hon ﬂá í Leku til fƒ›ur síns okfœddusk ﬂar upp synir Hildirí›ar. ﬁeir váru menn frí›ir s‡num, litlir vexti,
vel viti bornir, líkir mó›urfrændum sínum; ﬂeir váru kalla›ir Hildirí›arsynir.
9 Lítils vir›i Brynjólfr ﬂá ok lét ﬂá ekki hafa af fƒ›urarfi ﬂeira.
Hildirí›r var erfingi Hƒgna ok tók hon ok synir hennar arf eptir hannok bjuggu ﬂá í Leku ok hƒf›u au› fjár. ﬁeir váru mjƒk jafnaldrar Bár›r
12 Brynjólfsson ok Hildirí›arsynir. ﬁeir fe›gar Brynjólfr ok Bjƒrgólfr hƒf›ulengi haft Finnfer› ok Finnskatt.2
Nor›r á Hálogalandi heitir fjƒr›r Vefsnir. ﬁar liggr ey í fir›inum ok heitir
15 Álƒst, mikil ey ok gó›; í henni heitir bœr á Sandnesi.3 ﬁar bjó ma›r er
Sigur›r hét; hann var au›gastr nor›r ﬂar; hann var lendr ma›r ok spakr atviti. Sigrí›r hét dóttir hans ok ﬂótti kostr beztr á Hálogalandi; hon var einberni
18 hans ok átti arf at taka eptir Sigur› fƒ›ur sinn. Bár›r Brynjólfsson ger›iheimanfer› sína, haf›i skútu ok á ﬂrjá tigu manna; hann fór nor›r í Álƒst ok
kom á Sandnes til Sigur›ar. Bár›r hefir uppi or› sín ok ba› Sigrí›ar; ﬂví
21 máli var vel svarat ok líkliga ok kom svá at Bár›i var heitit meyjunni. Rá›
ﬂau skyldu takask at ƒ›ru sumri; skyldi ﬂá Bár›r sœkja nor›r ﬂangat rá›it.

8.
24 Haraldr konungr haf›i ﬂat sumar sent or› ríkismƒnnum ﬂeim er váru á

Hálogalandi ok stefndi til sín ﬂeim er á›r hƒf›u eigi verit á fund hans; var
Brynjólfr rá›inn til ﬂeirar fer›ar ok me› honum Bár›r son hans. Fóru ﬂeir
27 um haustit su›r til ﬁrándheims ok hittu ﬂar konung; tók hann vi› ﬂeim
allfeginsamliga; ger›isk ﬂá Brynjólfr lendr ma›r konungs. Fekk konungr
honum veizlur miklar, a›rar en á›r haf›i hann haft. Hann fekk honum ok
30 Finnfer›, konungss‡slu á fjalli ok Finnkaup. Sí›an fór Brynjólfr á brott okheim til búa sinna, en Bár›r var eptir ok ger›isk konungs hir›ma›r.
1 keypti hana me› eyri gulls: ‘paid one eyrir in gold for her’, a nominal bride-price(mundr; cf. note 1 on p. 12). Hence brú›kaup, ‘wedding’, and the phrase kaupa konu.
2 Finnfer› ok Finnskatt: the right to make the journey to Finnmƒrk in order totrade with the Finns (Lapps, Sami) and collect their tribute. Both the trade and thecollecting of the tribute were royal prerogatives. Cf. Finnkaup in line 30 below.
3 heitir bœr á Sandnesi: a place-name is often presented as a prepositional phrase,
where the preposition varies according to topography and usage but the noun isalways in the dative.

EGILS SAGA

9

Af ƒllum hir›mƒnnum vir›i konungr mest skáld sín; ﬂeir skipu›u annatƒndvegi.1 ﬁeira sat innast Au›un illskælda; hann var elztr ﬂeira ok hann
haf›i verit skáld Hálfdanar svarta, fƒ›ur Haralds konungs. ﬁar næst sat 3
ﬁorbjƒrn hornklofi, en ﬂar næst sat ¯lvir hnúfa, en honum it næsta var skipat
Bár›i; hann var ﬂar kalla›r Bár›r hvíti e›a Bár›r sterki; hann vir›isk ﬂar vel
hverjum manni; me› ﬂeim ¯lvi hnúfu var félagsskapr mikill. ﬁat sama haust 6
kómu til Haralds konungs ﬂeir ﬁórólfr Kveld-Úlfsson ok Eyvindr lambi,
son Ber›lu-Kára; fengu ﬂeir ﬂar gó›ar vi›tƒkur; ﬂeir hƒf›u ﬂangat snekkju,
tvítugsessu, vel skipa›a, er ﬂeir hƒf›u á›r haft í víking. ﬁeim var skipat í 9gestaskála me› sveit sína.
ﬁá er ﬂeir hƒf›u ﬂar dvalizk til ﬂess er ﬂeim ﬂótti tími til at ganga á fundkonungs, gekk ﬂar me› ﬂeim Ber›lu-Kári ok ¯lvir hnúfa; ﬂeir kve›ja konung. 12
ﬁá segir ¯lvir hnúfa at ﬂar er kominn son Kveld-Úlfs ‘sem ek sag›a y›r ísumar at Kveld-Úlfr mundi senda til y›var; munu y›r heit hans ƒll fƒst;megu ﬂér nú sjá sannar jartegnir at hann vill vera vinr y›varr fullkominn, er 15hann hefir sent son sinn hingat til ﬂjónustu vi› y›r, svá skƒruligan mannsem ﬂér megu› nú sjá; er sú bœn Kveld-Úlfs ok allra vár at ﬂú takir vi›
ﬁórólfi vegsamliga ok gerir hann mikinn mann me› y›r.’
18
Konungr svarar vel máli hans ok kvezk svá gera skyldu, ‘ef mér reyniskﬁórólfr jafnvel manna›r sem hann er s‡num fulldrengiligr.’Sí›an ger›isk ﬁórólfr handgenginn konungi ok gekk ﬂar í hir›lƒg, en 21
Ber›lu-Kári ok Eyvindr lambi son hans fóru su›r me› skip ﬂat er ﬁórólfr
haf›i nor›r haft; fór ﬂá Kári heim til búa sinna ok ﬂeir Eyvindr bá›ir.
ﬁórólfr var me› konungi ok vísa›i konungr honum til sætis milli ﬂeira 24¯lvis hnúfu ok Bár›ar ok ger›isk me› ﬂeim ƒllum inn mesti félagsskapr.
ﬁat var mál manna um ﬁórólf ok Bár› at ﬂeir væri jafnir at frí›leik ok á vƒxtok afl ok alla atgervi. Nú er ﬁórólfr ﬂar í allmiklum kærleikum af konungi 27
ok bá›ir ﬂeir Bár›r.
En er vetrinn lei› af ok sumar kom ﬂá ba› Bár›r sér orlofs konung at fara
at vitja rá›s ﬂess er honum haf›i heitit verit it fyrra sumar; en er konungr 30
vissi at Bár›r átti skylt erendi ﬂá lofa›i hann honum heimfer›. En er hannfekk orlof ﬂá ba› hann ﬁórólf fara me› sér nor›r ﬂagat; sag›i hann, sem sattvar, at hann myndi ﬂar mega hitta marga frændr sína gƒfga ﬂá er hann mundi 33
eigi fyrr sét hafa e›a vi› kannask. ﬁórólfi ﬂótti ﬂat f‡siligt ok fá ﬂeir til ﬂess
orlof af konungi, búask sí›an, hƒf›u skip gott ok fƒruneyti; fóru ﬂá lei› sína36
er ﬂeir váru búnir.
En er ﬂeir koma í Torgar ﬂá senda ﬂeir Sigur›i menn ok láta segja honumat Bár›r mun ﬂá vitja rá›a ﬂeira er ﬂeir hƒf›u bundit me› sér it fyrra sumar.
1 skipu›u annat ƒndvegi: ‘occupied the second high-seat’, i.e. opposite the king’s
high-seat, in the middle of one of the platforms or benches along the long walls of
the hall.

10

EGILS SAGA

Sigur›r segir at hann vill ﬂat allt halda sem ﬂeir hƒf›u mælt; gera ﬂá ákve›itum brullaupsstefnu ok skulu ﬂeir Bár›r sœkja nor›r ﬂagat á Sandnes.
3 En er at ﬂeiri stefnu kom, ﬂá fara ﬂeir Brynjólfr ok Bár›r ok hƒf›u me›
sér margt stórmenni, frændr sína ok teng›amenn. Var ﬂat sem Bár›r haf›isagt, at ﬁórólfr hitti ﬂar marga frændr sína ﬂá er hann haf›i ekki á›r vi›
6 kannazk. ﬁeir fóru til ﬂess er ﬂeir kómu á Sandnes ok var ﬂar in prú›ligsta
veizla. En er lokit var veizlunni fór Bár›r heim me› konu sína ok dval›isk
heima um sumarit ok ﬂeir ﬁórólfr bá›ir; en um haustit koma ﬂeir su›r til
9 konungs ok váru me› honum vetr annan. Á ﬂeim vetri anda›isk Brynjólfr.
En er ﬂat spyrr Bár›r at honum haf›i ﬂar arfr tœmzk, ﬂá ba› hann sér
heimfararleyfis, en konungr veitti honum ﬂat; ok á›r ﬂeir skil›isk, ger›isk
12 Bár›r lendr ma›r sem fa›ir hans haf›i verit ok haf›i af konungi veizlur allar
ﬂvílíkar sem Brynjólfr haf›i haft. Bár›r fór heim til búa sinna ok ger›isk
brátt hƒf›ingi mikill; en Hildirí›arsynir fengu ekki af arfinum ﬂá heldr en
15 fyrr. Bár›r átti son vi› konu sinni ok hét sá Grímr. ﬁórólfr var me› konungi
ok haf›i ﬂar vir›ingar miklar.

9.
18 Haraldr konungr bau› út lei›angri miklum ok dró saman skipaher, stefndi

til sín li›i ví›a um lƒnd; hann fór ór ﬁrándheimi ok stefndi su›r í land.a
Hann haf›i ﬂat spurt at herr mikill var saman dreginn um Ag›ir ok Rogaland
21 ok Hƒr›aland ok ví›a til safnat, bæ›i ofan af landi ok austan ór Vík, ok var
ﬂar margt stórmenni saman komit ok ætlar at verja land fyrir Haraldi konungi.
Haraldr konungr helt nor›an li›i sínu; hann haf›i sjálfr skipb mikit ok
24 skipat hir› sinni; ﬂar var í stafni ﬁórólfr Kveld-Úlfsson ok Bár›r hvíti oksynir Ber›lu-Kára, ¯lvir hnúfa ok Eyvindr lambi, en berserkir konungs tólf
váru í sƒxum.
27 Fundr ﬂeira var su›r á Rogalandi í Hafrsfir›i; var ﬂar in mesta orrosta er
Haraldr konungr haf›i átta ok mikit mannfall í hvárratveggju li›i. Lag›ikonungr framarliga skip sitt ok var ﬂar strƒngust orrostan; en svá lauk at
30 Haraldr konungr fekk sigr, en ﬂar fell ﬁórir haklangr konungr af ¯g›um, enKjƒtvi inn au›gi fl‡›i ok allt li› hans ﬂat er upp stó› nema ﬂat er til handa
gekk. Eptir orrostuna, ﬂá er kannat var li› Haralds konungs, var margt fallit
33 ok margir váru mjƒk sárir. ﬁórólfr var sárr mjƒk, en Bár›r meir, ok engi varósárr á konungsskipinu fyrir framan siglu nema ﬂeir er eigi bitu járn, en ﬂatváru berserkir. ﬁá lét konungr binda sár manna sinna ok ﬂakka›i mƒnnum
36 framgƒngu sína ok veitti gjafir ok lag›i ﬂar mest lof til er honum ﬂótti makligt
ok hét ﬂeim at auka vir›ing ﬂeira; nefndi til ﬂess skipstjórnarmenn ok ﬂarnæst stafnbúa sína ok a›ra frambyggja.
a me› landi b (W), 458 (W) and K.

b Thus K and 458 (W); li› M.

EGILS SAGA

11ﬁá orrostu átti Haraldr konungr sí›arst innan lands, ok eptir ﬂat fekk hannenga vi›stƒ›u ok eigna›isk hann sí›an land allt. Konungr lét grœ›a mennsína ﬂá er lífs var au›it, en veita umbúna› dau›um mƒnnum, ﬂann sem ﬂá 3
var si›venja til.
ﬁórólfr ok Bár›r lágu í sárum; tóku sár ﬁórólfs at gróa, en Bár›ar sár
ger›usk banvæn. ﬁá lét hann kalla konung til sín ok sag›i honum svá:6
‘Ef svá ver›r at ek deyja ór ﬂessum sárum ﬂá vil ek ﬂess bi›ja y›r at ﬂér
láti› mik rá›a fyrir arfi mínum.’
En er konungr haf›i ﬂví játat ﬂá sag›i hann: ‘Arf minn allan vil ek at taki 9ﬁórólfr félagi minn ok frændi, lƒnd ok lausa aura; honum vil ek ok gefa
konu mína ok son minn til uppfœzlu, ﬂví at ek trúi honum til ﬂess bezt allra
manna.’
12
Hann festir ﬂetta mál sem lƒg váru til at leyfi konungs. Sí›an andask
Bár›r ok var honum veittr umbúna›r ok var hann harmdau›i mjƒk.
ﬁórólfr var› heill sára sinna ok fylg›i konungi um sumarit ok haf›i fengit 15
allmikinn or›stír. Konungr fór um haustit nor›r til ﬁrándheims; ﬂá bi›rﬁórólfr orlofs at fara nor›r á Hálogaland at vitja gjafar ﬂeirar er hann haf›iﬂegit um sumarit at Bár›i frænda sínum. Konungr lofar ﬂat ok gerir me› 18
or›sending ok jartegnir at ﬁórólfr skal ﬂat allt fá er Bár›r gaf honum; lætrﬂat <fylgja>a at sú gjƒf var gjƒr me› rá›i konungs ok hann vill svá vera láta.
Gerir konungr ﬂá ﬁórólf lendan mann ok veitir honum ﬂá allar veizlur ﬂær 21
sem á›r haf›i Bár›r haft, fær honum Finnfer›ina me› ﬂvílíkum skildaga
sem á›r haf›i haft Bár›r; konungr gaf ﬁórólfi langskip gott me› rei›a ƒllum
ok lét búa fer› hans ﬂa›an sem bezt. Sí›an fór ﬁórólfr ﬂa›an fer› sína ok 24
skil›usk ﬂeir konungr me› inum mesta kærleik.
En er ﬁórólfr kom nor›r í Torgar ﬂá var honum ﬂar vel fagnat; sag›i hannﬂá fráfall Bár›ar ok ﬂat me› at Bár›r haf›i gefit honum eptir sik lƒnd ok 27
lausa aura ok kvánfang ﬂat er hann haf›i á›r átt; berr fram sí›an or› konungs
ok jartegnir.
En er Sigrí›r heyr›i ﬂessi tí›endi ﬂá ﬂótti henni ska›i mikill eptir mann 30
sinn, en ﬁórólfr var henni á›r mjƒk kunnigr ok vissi hon at hann var inn
mesti merkisma›r ok ﬂat gjafor› var allgott; ok me› ﬂví at ﬂat var konungsbo› ﬂá sá hon ﬂat at rá›i ok me› henni vinir hennar at heitask ﬁórólfi, ef ﬂat 33
væri fe›r hennar eigi í móti skapi. Sí›an tók ﬁórólfr ﬂar vi› forrá›um ƒllum
ok svá vi› konungss‡slu.
ﬁórólfr ger›i heimanfƒr sína ok haf›i langskip ok á nær sex tigum manna 36
ok fór sí›an er hann var búinn nor›r me› landi; ok einn dag at kveldi komhann í Álƒst á Sandnes; lƒg›u skip sitt til hafnar. En er ﬂeir hƒf›u tjaldat ok
um búizk fór ﬁórólfr upp til bœjar me› tuttugu menn. Sigur›r fagna›i honum 39
a Thus K and 458 (W).

12

EGILS SAGAvel ok bau› honum ﬂar at vera, ﬂví at ﬂar váru á›r kunnleikar miklir me›
ﬂeim sí›an er mæg› haf›i tekizk me› ﬂeim Sigur›i ok Bár›i; sí›an gingu
3 ﬂeir ﬁórólfr inn í stofu ok tóku ﬂar gisting.
Sigur›r settisk á tal vi› ﬁórólf ok spur›i at tí›endum. ﬁórólfr sag›i frá
orrostu ﬂeiri er verit haf›i um sumarit su›r á landi ok fall margra manna
6 ﬂeira er Sigur›r vissi deili á. ﬁórólfr sag›i at Bár›r mágr hans haf›i andazk
ór sárum ﬂeim er hann fekk í orrostu. ﬁótti ﬂat bá›um ﬂeim inn mesti
mannska›i. ﬁá segir ﬁórólfr Sigur›i hvat verit haf›i í einkamálum me› ﬂeim
9 Bár›i á›r hann anda›isk ok svá bar hann fram or›sendingar konungs at
hann vildi ﬂat allt haldask láta, ok s‡ndi ﬂar me› jartegnir. Sí›an hóf ﬁórólfr
upp bónor› sitt vi› Sigur› ok ba› Sigrí›ar dóttur hans. Sigur›r tók ﬂví máli
12 vel, sag›i at margir hlutir heldu til ﬂess: sá fyrstr at konungr vill svá veraláta, svá ﬂat at Bár›r haf›i ﬂess be›it, ok ﬂat me› at ﬁórólfr var honum
kunnigr ok honum ﬂótti dóttir sín vel gipt. Var ﬂat mál au›sótt vi› Sigur›;
15 fóru ﬂá fram festar ok ákve›in brullaupsstefna í Torgum um haustit.
Fór ﬂá ﬁórólfr heim til bús síns ok hans fƒrunautar ok bjó ﬂar til veizlu
mikillar ok bau› ﬂagat fjƒlmenni miklu; var ﬂar margt frænda ﬁórólfs
18 gƒfugra. Sigur›r bjósk ok nor›an ok haf›i langskip mikit ok mannval gott;var at ﬂeiri veizlu it mesta fjƒlmenni.
Brátt fannsk ﬂat at ﬁórólfr var ƒrr ma›r ok stórmenni mikit; haf›i hann21 um sik sveit mikla, en brátt ger›isk kostna›armikit ok ﬂurfti fƒng mikil. ﬁá
var ár gott ok au›velt at afla ﬂess er ﬂurfti. Á ﬂeim vetri anda›isk Sigur›r á
Sandnesi ok tók ﬁórólfr arf allan eptir hann; var ﬂat allmikit fé.
24 ﬁeir synir Hildirí›ar fóru á fund ﬁórólfs ok hófu upp tilkall ﬂat er ﬂeir
ﬂóttusk ﬂar eiga um fé ﬂat er átt haf›i Bjƒrgólfr fa›ir ﬂeira. ﬁórólfr svarar svá:‘ﬁat var mér kunnigt of Brynjólf ok enn kunnara um Bár› at ﬂeir váru
27 manndómsmenn svá miklir at ﬂeir mundu hafa mi›lat ykr ﬂat af arfiBjƒrgólfs sem ﬂeir vissi at réttindi væri til; var ek nær ﬂví at ﬂit hófu› ﬂetta
sama ákall vi› Bár› ok heyr›isk mér svá sem honum ﬂœtti ﬂar engi sannyndi
30 til, ﬂví at hann kalla›i ykr frillusonu.’
Hárekr sag›i at ﬂeir mundu vitni til fá at mó›ir ﬂeira var mundi keypt,1‘en satt var ﬂat at vit leitu›um ekki fyrst ﬂessa mála vi› Brynjólf bró›ur
33 okkarn; var ﬂar ok me› skyldum at skipta; en af Bár›i væntu vit okr sœm›arí alla sta›i; ur›u ok eigi lƒng vár vi›skipti. En nú er arfr ﬂessi kominn undiróskylda menn okr ok megu vit nú eigi me› ƒllu ﬂegja yfir missu okkarri; en
36 vera kann at enn sé sem fyrr sá ríkismunr at vit fáim eigi rétt af ﬂessu máli
1 mundi keypt: paid for with mundr (bride-price, the sum paid by the bridegroom

to the bride, which became her property after the wedding). In early Icelandic law it
is stated that sá ma›r er eigi arfgengr er mó›ir hans er eigi mundi keypt, ‘a person
is not entitled to inherit if his mother was not paid for with mundr’ (Grágás 1852, I 222).

EGILS SAGA

13

fyrir ﬂér ef ﬂú vill engi vitni heyra, ﬂau er vit hƒfum fram at flytja, at vit sém
menn a›albornir.’aﬁórólfr svarar ﬂá styggliga: ‘ﬁví sí›r ætla ek ykr arfborna at mér er sagt 3
mó›ir ykkur væri me› valdi tekin ok hernumin heim hƒf›.’Eptir ﬂat skil›u ﬂeir ﬂessa rœ›u.

10. Um fer› ﬁórólfs

6ﬁórólfr ger›i um vetrinn fer› sína á fjall upp ok haf›i me› sér li› mikit, eigi
minna en níu tigu manna; en á›r haf›i van›i á verit at s‡slumenn hƒf›u haftﬂrjá tigu manna, en stundum færa; hann haf›i me› sér kaupskap mikinn. 9
Hann ger›i brátt stefnulag vi› Finna ok tók af ﬂeim skatt ok átti vi› ﬂá kaupstefnu; fór me› ﬂeim allt í makendum ok í vinskap, en sumt me› hræzlugœ›i.
ﬁórólfr fór ví›a um mƒrkina; en er hann sótti austr á fjallit spur›i hann at 12
Kylfingar1 váru austan komnir ok fóru ﬂar at Finnkaupum, en sumsta›arme› ránum.
ﬁórólfr setti til Finna at njósna um fer› Kylfinga, en hann fór eptir at leita 15
ﬂeira ok hitti í einu bóli ﬂrjá tigu manna ok drap alla svá at engi komsk
undan, en sí›an hitti hann saman fimmtán e›a tuttugu. Alls drápu ﬂeir nær
hundra›i manna ok tóku ﬂar ógrynni fjár ok kómu aptr um várit vi› svá búit. 18
Fór ﬁórólfr ﬂá til bús síns á Sandnes ok sat ﬂar lengi.
Um várit lét hann gera langskip mikit ok á drekahƒfu›, lét ﬂat búa sem
bezt, haf›i ﬂat nor›an me› sér. ﬁórólfr sópask mjƒk um fƒng ﬂau er ﬂá váru 21
á Hálogalandi, haf›i menn sína í síldveri ok svá í skrei›fiski; selver váru ok
nóg ok eggver; lét hann ﬂat allt at sér flytja. Hann haf›i aldregi færa frelsingja
heima en hundra›. Hann var ƒrr ma›r ok gjƒfull ok vinga›isk mjƒk vi› 24
stórmenni, alla ﬂá menn er honum váru í nánd; hann gjƒr›isk ríkr ma›r ok
lag›i mikinn hug á um skipa búna› sinn ok vápna.

11. ﬁórólfr bau› konungi

27

Haraldr konungr fór ﬂat sumar á Hálogaland ok váru gervar veizlur í móti
honum, bæ›i ﬂar er hans bú váru ok svá ger›u lendir menn ok ríkir bœndr.
ﬁórólfr bjó veizlu í móti konungi ok lag›i á kostna› mikinn; var ﬂat ákve›it 30
nær konungr skyldi ﬂar koma. ﬁórólfr bau› ﬂangat fjƒl›a manns ok haf›i
ﬂar allt it bezta mannval ﬂat er kostr var. Konungr haf›i nær ﬂremr hundru›ummanna er hann kom til veizlunnar, en ﬁórólfr haf›i fyrir fimm hundru› manna. 33
ﬁórólfr haf›i látit búa kornhlƒ›u mikla er ﬂar var, ok látit leggja bekki í oka ó›albornir K and 458 (W); a›albornir in M seems to be a hapax legomenon, butboth words must be synonyms of arfbornir.
1 The Kylfingar seem to have been a Finnish tribe. The name is not found elsewhere,
but in an Old Icelandic geographical treatise it is stated that Kylfingaland is also
called Gar›aríki (the Russian state around Novgorod); cf. Alfræ›i íslenzk I (1908), 8.

14

EGILS SAGA

lét ﬂar drekka, ﬂví at ﬂar var engi stofa svá mikil er ﬂat fjƒlmenni mætti allt
inni vera. ﬁar váru ok festir skildir umhverfis í húsinu.
3 Konungr settisk í hásæti; en er alskipat var it efra ok it fremra1 ﬂá sásk
konungr um ok ro›na›i ok mælti ekki ok ﬂóttusk menn finna at hann var rei›r.
Veizla var in prú›ligsta ok ƒll fƒng in beztu; konungr var heldr ókátr ok
6 var ﬂar ﬂrjár nætr sem ætlat var.
ﬁann dag er konungr skyldi brott fara, gekk ﬁórólfr til hans ok ba› at ﬂeir
skyldu fara ofan til strandar. Konungr ger›i svá; ﬂar flaut fyrir landi dreki sá
9 er ﬁórólfr haf›i gera látit, me› tjƒldum ok ƒllum rei›a. ﬁórólfr gaf konungi
skipit ok ba› at konungr skyldi svá vir›a sem honum haf›i til gengit, at
hann haf›i fyrir ﬂví haft fjƒlmenni svá mikit at ﬂat væri konungi vegsem›,
12 en ekki fyrir kapps sakir vi› hann.
Konungr tók ﬂá vel or›um ﬁórólfs ok ger›i sik ﬂá blí›an ok kátan; lƒg›uﬂá ok margir gó› or› til; sƒg›u, sem satt var, at veizlan var in vegsamligsta
15 ok útleizlan in skƒruligsta ok konungi var styrkr mikill at slíkum mƒnnum;skil›usk ﬂá me› kærleik miklum.
Fór konungr nor›r á Hálogaland sem hann haf›i ætlat ok sneri aptr su›r
18 er á lei› sumarit; fór ﬂá enn at veizlum ﬂar sem fyrir honum var búit.

12. Af Hildirí›arsonum
Hildirí›arsynir fóru á fund konungs ok bu›u honum heim til ﬂriggja nátta
21 veizlu. Konungr ﬂekk›isk bo› ﬂeira ok kva› á nær hann mundi ﬂar koma.

En er at ﬂeiri stefnu kom, ﬂá kom konungr ﬂar me› li› sitt ok var ﬂar ekkifjƒlmenni fyrir, en veizla fór fram it bezta; var konungr allkátr.
24 Hárekr kom sér í rœ›u vi› konung ok kom ﬂar rœ›u hans at hann spyrr
um fer›ir konungs, ﬂær er ﬂá hƒf›u verit um sumarit. Konungr sag›i slíkt erhann spur›i, kva› alla menn hafa sér vel fagnat ok mjƒk hvern eptir fƒngum
27 sínum.
‘Mikill munr,’ sag›i Hárekr, ‘mun ﬂess hafa verit at í Torgum mundi veizlafjƒlmennust.’
Konungr sag›i at svá var. Hárekr segir:
30‘ﬁat var vís ván, ﬂví at til ﬂeirar veizlu var mest aflat, ok báru ﬂér, konungr,
ﬂar stórligar gæfur til er svá snerisk at ﬂér kómu› í engan lífsháska. Fór ﬂat
33 sem líkligt var at ﬂú vart vitrastr ok hamingjumestr, ﬂví at ﬂú gruna›ir ﬂegar
at eigi mundi allt af heilu vera er ﬂú sátt fjƒlmenni ﬂat it mikla er ﬂar var
saman dregit. En mér var sagt at ﬂú létir allt li› ﬂitt jafnan me› alvæpni vera
36 e›a haf›ir var›hƒld ørugg bæ›i nótt ok dag.’
1 it efra ok it fremra: the inner part of the hall and the part nearest the door (or theseats on the long platform benches and the movable seats on the other side of thetables?).

EGILS SAGA

15

Konungr sá til hans ok mælti: ‘Hví mælir ﬂú slíkt, Hárekr, e›a hvat kanntu
ﬂar af at segja?’
Hann segir: ‘Hvárt skal ek mæla í orlofi, konungr, ﬂat er mér líkar?’3‘Mældu,’ segir konungr.
‘ﬁat ætla ek,’ segir Hárekr, ‘ef ﬂú, konungr, <heyr›ir>a hvers manns or› ermenn mæla heima eptir hugﬂokka sínum, hver ákúrun ﬂat ﬂikir er ﬂér veiti› 6ƒllu mannfólki, <at ﬂér ﬂœtti ekki vel vera>.b En y›r er ﬂat sannast at segja,
konungr, at alﬂ‡›una skortir ekki annat til mótgangs vi› y›r en dirf› okforstjóra. En ﬂat er ekki undarligt,’ sag›i hann, ‘um slíka menn sem ﬁórólfr 9er, at hann ﬂikisk um fram hvern mann. Hann skortir eigi afl, eigi frí›leik;hann hefir ok hir› um sik sem konungar; hann hefir mor› fjár, ﬂótt hannhef›i ﬂat eina er hann ætti sjálfr, en hitt er meira at hann lætr sér jafnheimilt 12
annarra fé sem sitt. ﬁér hafi› ok veitt honum stórar veizlur ok var nú búitvi› at hann mundi ﬂat eigi vel launa, ﬂví at ﬂat er y›r sannast frá at segja, ﬂá
er spur›isk at ﬂér fóru› nor›r á Hálogaland me› eigi meira li›i en ﬂér hƒf›u›, 15
ﬂremr hundru›um manna, ﬂá var ﬂat hér rá› manna at hér skyldi herr saman
koma ok taka ﬂik af lífi, konungr, ok allt li› ﬂitt, ok var ﬁórólfr hƒf›ingi
ﬂeirar rá›agjƒr›ar, ﬂví at honum var ﬂat til bo›it at hann skyldi konungr 18
vera yfir Háleygjafylki ok Naumdœlafylki. Fór hann sí›an út ok inn me›
hverjum fir›i ok um allar eyjar ok dró saman hvern mann er hann fekk okhvert vápn, ok fór ﬂat ﬂá ekki leynt at ﬂeim her skyldi stefna í móti Haraldi 21
konungi til orrostu. En hitt er satt, konungr, ﬂótt ﬂér hef›i› li› nƒkkuru
minna ﬂá er ﬂér funduzk, at búandkƒrlum skaut skelk í bringu ﬂegar ﬂeir sásigling y›ra. Var ﬂá hitt rá› tekit at ganga á móti y›r me› blí›u ok bjó›a til 24
veizlu. En ﬂá var ætlat, ef ﬂér yr›i› drukknir ok lægi› sofandi, at veita y›ratgƒngu me› eldi ok vápnum; ok ﬂat til jartegna, ef ek hefi rétt spurt, at y›rvar fylgt í kornhlƒ›u eina, ﬂví at ﬁórólfr vildi eigi brenna upp stofu sína, 27n‡ja ok vanda›a mjƒk. ﬁat var enn til jartegna at hvert hús var fullt af vápnum
ok herklæ›um; en ﬂá er ﬂeir fengu engum vélræ›um vi› y›r komit, tóku
ﬂeir ﬂat rá› sem helzt var til, drápu ƒllu á dreif um ﬂessa fyrirætlan. Ætla ek 30
ﬂat alla kunna at dylja ﬂessa rá›a, ﬂví at fáir hygg ek at sik viti saklausa ef itsanna kemr upp.
‘Nú er ﬂat mitt rá›, konungr, at ﬂú takir ﬁórólf til ﬂín ok látir hann vera í 33
hir› ﬂinni, bera merki ﬂitt ok vera í stafni á skipi ﬂínu; til ﬂess er hannfallinn allra manna bezt. En ef ﬂú vilt at hann sé lendr ma›r, ﬂá fá honum
veizlur su›r í Fjƒr›um; ﬂar er ætterni hans allt. Megu ﬂér ﬂá sjá yfir at hann 36
gerisk eigi of stórr. En fá hér s‡slu á Hálogalandi í hƒnd ﬂeim mƒnnum er
hófsmenn sé ok y›r munu me› trúleik ﬂjóna ok hér eigu kyn ok ﬂeira frændr
hafa hér á›r haft ﬂvílíkt starf. Skulu vit brœ›r vera búnir ok bo›nir til slíks 39
a Thus 560 and K.

b Thus K.

16

EGILS SAGA

sem ﬂér vili› okr til n‡ta. Haf›i fa›ir okkarr hér lengi konungss‡slu; var›
honum ﬂat vel í hƒndum. Eru y›r, konungr, vandsettir hér menn yfir til
3 forrá›a, ﬂví at ﬂér munu› hér sjaldan koma sjálfir. Hér er lítit landsmegin til
ﬂess at ﬂér fari› me› her y›varn ok munu› ﬂat eigi optar gera at fara higatme› fá li›i, ﬂví at hér er ótryggt li› margt.’
6 Konungr reiddisk mjƒk vi› rœ›ur ﬂessar ok mælti ﬂó stilliliga sem hannvar vanr jafnan ﬂá er hann frétti ﬂau tí›endi er mikils váru ver›. Hann spur›iﬂá hvárt ﬁórólfr væri heima í Torgum. Hárekr sag›i at ﬂess var engi ván.
9 ‘Er ﬁórólfr svá viti borinn at hann mundi kunna sér at vera eigi fyrir li›iy›ru, konungr, ﬂví at honum myndi ﬂess ván at eigi skyldi allir svá haldinor›ir
at ﬂú, konungr, mundir <eigi>a varr ver›a vi› ﬂessi tí›endi; fór hann nor›r í
12 Álƒst ﬂegar er hann spur›i at ﬂér váru› nor›an á lei›.’
Konungr rœddi fátt um ﬂessi tí›endi fyrir mƒnnum, en fannsk ﬂat á athann mundi trúna› á festa ﬂessa or›rœ›u er honum var sagt. Fór konungr
15 sí›an fer›ar sinnar; leiddu Hildirí›arsynir hann vir›uliga á brott me› gjƒfum,en hann hét ﬂeim vináttu sinni. ﬁeir brœ›r gáfu sér erendi inn í Naumudal
ok fóru svá í svig vi› konung at ﬂeir hittu hann at ƒ›ru hverju; tók hann
18 jafnan vel máli ﬂeira.

13. Af ﬁorgísli gjallanda
ﬁorgils gjallandi hét ma›r; hann var heimama›r ﬁórólfs ok haf›i af honum
21 mesta vir›ing húskarla hans. Hann haf›i fylgt ﬁórólfi ﬂá er hann var í víking,var ﬂá stafnbúi hans ok merkisma›r. ﬁorgils haf›i verit í Hafrsfir›i í li›i
Haralds konungs ok st‡r›i ﬂá skipi ﬂví er ﬁórólfr átti ok hann haf›i haft í
24 víking. ﬁorgils var rammr at afli ok inn mesti hreystima›r. Konungr haf›iveitt honum vingjafir eptir orrostu ok heitit vináttu sinni. ﬁorgils var forstjóri
fyrir búi í Torgum ﬂá er ﬁórólfr var eigi heima; haf›i ﬁorgils ﬂá ﬂar rá›.
27 En er ﬁórólfr haf›i heiman farit ﬂá haf›i hann til greitt Finnskatt ﬂann
allan er hann haf›i haft af fjalli ok konungr átti, ok fekk í hendr ﬁorgísli okba› hann fœra konungi, ef hann kœmi eigi heim á›r um ﬂat er konungr fœri30 nor›an ok su›r um.
ﬁorgils bjó byr›ing mikinn ok gó›an er ﬁórólfr átti ok bar ﬂar á skattinn
ok haf›i nær tuttugu mƒnnum; sigldi su›r eptir konungi ok fann hann inn í
33 Naumudal. En er ﬁorgils kom á fund konungs ﬂá bar hann konungi kve›juﬁórólfs ok sag›i at hann fór ﬂar me› Finnskatt ﬂann er ﬁórólfr sendi honum.
Konungr sá til hans ok svarar engu ok sá menn at hann var rei›r. Gekk ﬂá
36 ﬁorgils á brott ok ætla›i at fá betra dagrá› at tala vi› konung; hann kom áfund ¯lvis hnúfu ok sag›i honum allt sem farit haf›i <me› ﬂeim konungi>bok spur›i ef hann vissi nƒkkut til hverju gegndi.
a ei 560, K and W. b Thus W.

EGILS SAGA

17

‘Eigi veit ek ﬂat,’ sag›i hann. ‘Hitt hefi ek fundit at konungr ﬂagnar hvert
sinn er ﬁórólfs er getit sí›an er vér várum í Leku, ok grunar mik af ﬂví athann muni rœg›r vera. ﬁat veit ek um Hildirí›arsonu at ﬂeir eru lƒngum á 3einmælum vi› konung, en ﬂat er au›fundit á or›um ﬂeira at ﬂeir eru óvinirﬁórólfs; en ek mun ﬂessa brátt víss ver›a af konungi.’Sí›an fór ¯lvir til fundar vi› konung ok mælti: ‘ﬁorgils gjallandi er hér 6
kominn, vinr y›varr, me› skatt ﬂann er kominn er af Finnmƒrk ok ﬂér eigu›,
ok er skattrinn miklu meiri en fyrr hefir verit ok miklu betri vara. Er honum
títt um fer› sína; gjƒr svá vel, konungr, gakk til ok sé, ﬂví at engi mun sét 9
hafa jafngó›a grávƒru.’Konungr svara›i engu ok gekk ﬂó ﬂar er skipit lá. ﬁorgils bar ﬂegar uppvƒruna ok s‡ndi konungi. En er konungr sá at ﬂat var satt at skattrinn var 12
miklu meiri ok betri en fyrr haf›i verit, ﬂá hóf honum heldr upp brún ok
mátti ﬁorgils ﬂá tala vi› hann. Hann fœr›i konungi bjórskinn nƒkkur erﬁórólfr sendi honum, ok enn fleiri d‡rgripi er hann haf›i fengit á fjalli. 15
Konungr gladdisk ﬂá ok spyrr hvat til tí›enda hef›i vor›it um fer›ir ﬂeiraﬁórólfs. ﬁorgils sag›i ﬂat allt greiniliga.
ﬁá mælti konungr: ‘Ska›i mikill er ﬂat er ﬁórólfr skal eigi vera tryggr mér 18e›a <vilja>a vera banama›r minn.’ﬁá svƒru›u margir er hjá váru ok allir á eina lund, sƒg›u at vera mundi
róg illra manna ef konungi væri slíkt sagt, en ﬁórólfr mundi ósannr at vera. 21
Kom ﬂá svá at konungr kvezk ﬂví mundu heldr af trúa; var konungr ﬂá léttrí ƒllum rœ›um vi› ﬁorgils ok skil›usk sáttir. En er ﬁorgils hitti ﬁórólf, sag›i24hann honum allt sem farit haf›i <me› ﬂeim konungi>.b

14. Af ﬁórólfi
ﬁórólfr fór ﬂann vetr enn á mƒrkina ok haf›i me› sér nær hundra›i manna;
fór hann enn sem inn fyrra vetr, átti kaupstefnu vi› Finna ok fór ví›a um 27
mƒrkina. En er hann sótti langt austr ok ﬂar spur›isk til fer›ar hans, ﬂá kómu
Kvenir1 til hans ok sƒg›u at ﬂeir váru sendir til hans ok ﬂat haf›i gjƒrt Faravi›
konungr af Kvenlandi; <sƒg›u>c at Kirjálar herju›u á land hans, en hann 30
sendi til ﬂess or› at ﬁórólfr skyldi fara ﬂagat ok veita honum li›; fylg›i ﬂator›sending at ﬁórólfr skyldi hafa jafnmikit hlutskipti sem konungr, en hverr
manna hans sem ﬂrír Kvenir. En ﬂat váru lƒg me› Kvenum at konungr skyldi 33
hafa ór hlutskipti ﬂri›jung vi› li›smenn ok um fram at afnámi bjórskinn ƒll
ok safala ok askraka.
a Thus 560 and W (K has vilja vera mér ótrúr ok vera banama›r minn).

b Thus K

and W, which adds: ﬁórólfr lét sér fátt um finnask ok lét val af mundu rei›a. c Thus
W; ok segja K.
1 The Kvenir were a Finnish tribe living in Kvenland, presumably the low coastal
strip around the Gulf of Bothnia; cf. Kyösti Julku, Kvenland – Kainuunmaa, 1986.

18

EGILS SAGA

ﬁórólfr bar ﬂetta fyrir li›smenn sína ok bau› ﬂeim kost á hvárt fara skyldie›a eigi, en ﬂat keru flestir at hætta til, er féfang lá vi› svá mikit, ok var ﬂat
3 af rá›it at ﬂeir fóru austr me› sendimƒnnum.
Finnmƒrk er stórliga ví›; gengr haf fyrir vestan ok ﬂar af fir›ir stórir, svá
ok fyrir nor›an ok allt austr um; en fyrir sunnan er Nóregr, ok tekr mƒrkin
6 náliga allt it efra su›r svá sem Hálogaland it ‡tra. En austr frá Naumudal er
Jamtaland ok ﬂá Helsingjaland ok ﬂá Kvenland, ﬂá Finnland, ﬂá Kirjálaland;en Finnmƒrk liggr fyrir ofan ﬂessi ƒll lƒnd ok eru ví›a fjallbygg›ir upp á
9 mƒrkina, sumt í dali, en sumt me› vƒtnum. Á Finnmƒrk eru vƒtn fur›uliga
stór ok ﬂar me› vƒtnunum marklƒnd stór, en há fjƒll liggja eptir endilangrimƒrkinni, ok eru ﬂat kalla›ir Kilir.
12 En er ﬁórólfr kom austr til Kvenlands ok hitti konung Faravi› ﬂá búask
ﬂeir til fer›ar ok hƒf›u ﬂrjú hundru› manna, en Nor›menn it fjór›a hundra›,ok fóru it efra um Finnmƒrk ok kómu ﬂar fram er Kirjálar váru á fjalli, ﬂeir
15 er fyrr hƒf›u herjat á Kveni. En er ﬂeir ur›u varir vi› ófri›, sƒfnu›usk ﬂeir
saman ok fóru í mót, væntu sér enn sem fyrr sigrs. En er orrosta tóksk gingu
Nor›menn hart fram; hƒf›u ﬂeir skjƒldu enn traustari en Kvenir. Sneri ﬂá
18 mannfalli í li› Kirjála, fell margt, en sumir fl‡›u. Fingu ﬂeir Faravi› konungr
ok ﬁórólfr ﬂar ógrynni fjár, sneru aptr til Kvenlands, en sí›an fór ﬁórólfr okhans li› á mƒrkina. Skil›u ﬂeir Faravi› konungr me› vináttu.
21 ﬁórólfr kom af fjallinu ofan í Vefsni, fór ﬂá fyrst til bús síns á Sandnes,
dval›isk ﬂar um hrí›, fór nor›ana um várit me› li›i sínu til Torga. En erhann kom ﬂar, var honum sagt at Hildirí›arsynir hƒf›u verit um vetrinn í
24 ﬁrándheimi me› Haraldi konungi ok ﬂat me› at ﬂeir mundu ekki af spara atrœgja ﬁórólf vi› konung; var ﬁórólfi margt sagt frá ﬂví hvert efni ﬂeir hƒf›uí um rógit.
27 ﬁórólfr svarar svá: ‘Eigi mun konungr trúa ﬂví ﬂótt slík lygi sé upp borin
fyrir hann, ﬂví at hér eru engi efni til ﬂessa at ek muna svíkja hann, ﬂví athann hefir marga hluti gjƒrt stórvel til mín, en engan hlut illa; ok er at firr at
30 ek munda vilja gera honum mein ﬂótt ek ætta ﬂess kosti, at ek vil miklu
heldr vera lendr ma›r hans en heita konungr ok væri annarr samlendr vi›
mik sá er mik mætti gera at ﬂræli sér ef vildi.’
33

15.

Hildirí›arsynir hƒf›u verit ﬂann vetr me› Haraldi konungi me› tólfta mannok hƒf›u me› sér heimamenn sína ok nábúa. ﬁeir brœ›r váru optliga á tali
36 vi› konung ok fluttu1 enn á sƒmu lei› mál ﬁórólfs.
Hárekr spur›i: ‘Líka›i y›r vel Finnskattrinn, konungr, er ﬁórólfr sendi y›r?’‘Vel,’ sag›i konungr.
a Thus K and W (nor›r in M is obviously wrong).
1 Presumably used ironically here. Cf. 33/22.

EGILS SAGA

19

‘ﬁá mundi y›r margt um finnask,’ segir Hárekr, ‘ef ﬂér hef›i› allan ﬂann
sem ﬂér áttu›, en nú fór ﬂat fjarri; var hitt miklu meiri hlutr er ﬁórólfr dró
undir sik. Hann sendi y›r at gjƒf bjórskinn ﬂrjú, en ek veit víst at hann haf›i 3
eptir ﬂrjá tigu ﬂeira er ﬂér áttu›, ok hygg ek at slíkan mun hafi farit um
annat. Satt mun ﬂat, konungr, ef ﬂú fær s‡sluna í hƒnd okr brœ›rum, at6
meira fé skulu vit fœra ﬂér.’
En allt ﬂat er ﬂeir sƒg›u á hendr ﬁórólfi ﬂá báru fƒrunautar ﬂeira vitni me›
ﬂeim. Kom ﬂá svá at konungr var inn rei›asti.

16. Af ﬁórólfi

9ﬁórólfr fór um sumarit su›r til ﬁrándheims á fund Haralds konungs ok haf›i
ﬂar me› sér skatt allan ok mikit fé annat ok níu tigu manna ok alla vel búna.
En er hann kom til konungs var ﬂeim skipat í gestaskála ok veitt ﬂeim it 12
stórmannligsta.
Eptir um daginn gekk ¯lvir hnúfa til ﬁórólfs frænda síns; tƒlu›usk ﬂeirvi›; sag›i ¯lvir at ﬁórólfr var ﬂá hrópa›r mjƒk ok konungr hl‡ddi á slíkar 15fortƒlur. ﬁórólfr ba› ¯lvi byrja mál sitt vi› konung, ‘ﬂví at ek mun,’ sag›ihann, ‘vera skammtala›r fyrir konungi, ef hann vill heldr trúa rógi vándra
18
manna en sannyndum ok einur› er hann mun reyna at mér.’
Annan dag kom ¯lvir til móts vi› ﬁórólf ok sag›i at hann hef›i rœtt málhans vi› konung. ‘Veit ek nú eigi,’ sag›i hann, ‘gjƒrr en á›r hvat honum er
21
í skapi.’‘Ek skal ﬂá sjálfr ganga til hans,’ segir ﬁórólfr.
Gjƒr›i hann svá, gekk til konungs ﬂá er hann sat yfir matbor›i, ok er hannkom inn heilsa›i hann konungi; konungr tók kve›ju hans ok ba› ﬁórólfi 24
gefa at drekka.
ﬁórólfr sag›i at hann haf›i ﬂar skatt ﬂann er konungr átti, er kominn var
af Finnmƒrk, ‘ok enn fleiri hluti hefi ek til minningar vi› y›r, konungr, ﬂá er 27
ek hefi y›r at fœra; veit ek at ﬂví mun mér vera ƒllu bezt varit er ek hefi gert
til ﬂakka y›varra.’
Konungr segir at ekki mátti hann vænta at ﬁórólfi nema gó›s eina, ‘ﬂví at 30
ek em engis,’ segir hann, ‘annars af ver›r; en ﬂó segja menn nƒkkut tvennt
til hversu varfœrr ﬂú munt um vera hverneg mér skal líka.’‘Eigi em ek ﬂar fyrir sƒnnu haf›r,’ segir ﬁórólfr, ‘ef nƒkkurir segja ﬂat at 33
ek hafa ótrúleika l‡st vi› y›r, konungr. Hygg ek at ﬂeir muni vera ﬂínir vinir
minnia en ek, er slíkt hafa upp borit fyrir ﬂér; en hitt er ljóst at ﬂeir mundu
vilja vera óvinir mínir fullkomnir, en ﬂat er ok líkast at ﬂeir komisk ﬂar at 36
keyptu, ef vér skulum einir vi› eigask.’
Sí›an gekk ﬁórólfr á brott; en annan dag eptir grei›ir ﬁórólfr skattinn af
hendi ok var konungr vi› staddr, ok er ﬂat var allt greitt ﬂá bar ﬁórólfr fram 39
a Thus K and W (meiri in M is obviously wrong).

20

EGILS SAGA

bjórskinn nƒkkur ok safala, sag›i at ﬂat vill hann gefa konungi. Margir mæltu
er ﬂar váru hjá staddir at ﬂat var vel gert ok var vináttu fyrir vert. Konungr
3 sag›i at ﬁórólfr haf›i ﬂar sjálfr sér laun fyrir skapit.
ﬁórólfr sag›i at hann hef›i me› trúleik gert allt ﬂat er hann kunni til skaps
konungs, ‘ok ef enn líkar honum eigi ﬂá mun ek fá ekki at gƒrt. Var konungi
6 ﬂat kunnigt ﬂá er ek var me› honum ok í hans sveit, hverja me›fer› ek
haf›a, en ﬂat ﬂiki mér undarligt ef konungr ætlar mik nú annan mann en ﬂá
reyndi hann mik.’
9 Konungr segir: ‘Vel fórtu, ﬁórólfr, me› ﬂínum háttum er ﬂú vart me› oss;ætla ek ﬂat enn bezt af at gera at ﬂú farir til hir›ar minnar. Tak vi› merkimínu ok ver fyrir ƒ›rum hir›mƒnnum. Mun ﬂá engi ma›r rœgja ﬂik, ef ek
12 má yfir sjá nótt ok dag hverjar me›fer›ir ﬂú hefir.’ﬁórólfr sá til beggja handa sér; ﬂar stó›u húskarlar hans. Hann mælti:‘Trau›r mun ek af hendi láta sveit ﬂessa; muntu rá›a, konungr, nafngiptum
15 vi› mik ok veizlum ﬂínum, en sveitunga mína mun ek ekki af hendi látame›an mér endask fƒng til, ﬂótt ek véla um mína kosti eina. Er hitt bœn mín
ok vili at ﬂér, konungr, fari› at heimbo›i til mín ok heyri› ﬂá or› ﬂeira
18 manna er ﬂú trúir, hvert vitni ﬂeir bera mér um ﬂetta mál; geri› ﬂá eptir semy›r finnask sannindi til.’
Konungr svarar ok segir at eigi mun hann optar veizlu ﬂiggja at ﬁórólfi.
21 Gekk ﬁórólfr ﬂá í brott ok bjósk sí›an til heimfer›ar. En er hann var í brottfarinn ﬂá fekk konungr í hƒnd Hildirí›arsonum s‡slu ﬂá á Hálogalandi erá›r haf›i ﬁórólfr haft ok svá Finnfer›. Konungr kasta›i eigu sinni á bú í
24 Torgum ok allar ﬂær eignir er Brynjólfr haf›i átt; fekk ﬂat allt til var›veizlu
Hildirí›arsonum.
Konungr sendi menn me› jartegnum á fund ﬁórólfs at segja honum ﬂessa
27 tilskipan sem hann haf›i gert. Sí›an tók ﬁórólfr skip ﬂau er hann átti ok bar
ﬂar á lausafé allt ﬂat er hann mátti me› fara ok haf›i me› sér alla menn sína,bæ›i frelsingja ok ﬂræla; fór sí›an nor›r á Sandnes til bús síns. Haf›i ﬁórólfr
30 ﬂar eigi minna fjƒlmenni ok eigi minni rausn.

17. Af Hildirí›arsonum
Hildirí›arsynir tóku vi› s‡slu á Hálogalandi. Mælti engi ma›r í móti fyrir
33 ríki konungs, en mƒrgum ﬂótti ﬂetta skipti mjƒk í móti skapi, ﬂeim er várufrændr ﬁórólfs e›a vinir. ﬁeir fóru um vetrinn á fjall ok hƒf›u me› sér ﬂrjá
tigu manna. ﬁótti Finnum miklu minni vegr at ﬂessum s‡slumƒnnum en ﬂá
36 er ﬁórólfr fór; greiddisk allt miklu verr gjald ﬂat er Finnar skyldu rei›a.
ﬁann sama vetr fór ﬁórólfr upp á fjall me› hundra› manna; fór ﬂá ﬂegar
austr á Kvenland ok hitti Faravi› konung. Gjƒr›u ﬂeir ﬂá rá› sitt ok ré›u ﬂat
39 at fara á fjall enn sem inn fyrra vetr ok hƒf›u fjƒgur hundru› manna okkómu ofan í Kirjálaland, hlupu ﬂar í bygg›ir er ﬂeim ﬂótti sitt fœri vera fyrir

EGILS SAGA

21

fjƒlmennis sakir, herju›u ﬂar ok fingu óf fjár; fóru ﬂá aptr er á lei› vetrinn
upp á mƒrkina.
Fór ﬁórólfr heim um várit til bús síns. Hann haf›i ﬂá menn í skrei›fiski í 3
Vágum, en suma í síldfiski ok leita›i alls konar fanga til bús síns.
ﬁórólfr átti skip mikit. ﬁat var lagt til hafs; ﬂat var vandat at ƒllu sem
mest, steint mjƒk fyrir ofan sjó. ﬁar fylg›i segl stafat me› vendi blám ok 6
rau›um; allr var rei›i vanda›r mjƒk me› skipinu. ﬁat skip lætr ﬁórólfr búa
ok fekk til húskarla sína me› at fara; lét ﬂar á bera skrei› ok hú›ir ok vƒruljósa. ﬁar lét hann ok fylgja grávƒru mikla ok a›ra skinnavƒru ﬂá er hann 9
haf›i haft af fjalli ok var ﬂat fé stórmikit.
Skipi ﬂví lét hann <ﬁorgils gjallanda>a halda vestr til Englands at kaupa
sér klæ›i ok ƒnnur fƒng ﬂau er hann ﬂurfti. Heldu ﬂeir skipi ﬂví su›r me› 12
landi ok sí›an í haf ok kómu fram á Englandi, fengu ﬂar gó›a kaupstefnu,
hló›u skipit me› hveiti ok hunangi, víni ok klæ›um, ok heldu aptr um haustit;
ﬂeim byrja›i vel, kómu at Hƒr›alandi.
15
ﬁat sama haust fóru Hildirí›arsynir me› skatt ok fœr›u konungi, en er
ﬂeir reiddu skattinn af hendi ﬂá var konungr sjálfr vi› ok sá. Hann mælti:‘Er nú allr skattrinn af hƒndum reiddr, sá er ﬂit tóku› vi› á Finnmƒrk?’ 18‘Svá er,’ sƒg›u ﬂeir.
‘Bæ›i er nú,’ sag›i konungr, ‘skattrinn miklu minni ok verr af hendi
goldinn en ﬂá er ﬁórólfr heimti, ok sƒg›u ﬂér at hann fœri illa me› s‡slunni.’ 21‘Vel er ﬂat, konungr,’ segir Hárekr, ‘er ﬂú hefir hugleitt hversu mikill
skattr er vanr at koma af Finnmƒrk, ﬂví at ﬂá veiztu gjƒrr hversu mikils ﬂér
missi›, ef ﬁórólfr ey›ir me› ƒllu Finnskattinum fyrir y›r. Vér várum í vetr 24
ﬂrír tigir manna á mƒrkinni svá sem fyrr hefir verit van›i s‡slumanna. Sí›an
kom ﬂar ﬁórólfr me› hundra› manna; spur›u vér ﬂat til or›a hans at hannætla›i af lífi at taka okr brœ›r ok alla ﬂá menn er okr fylg›u ok fann hann 27
ﬂat til saka er ﬂú, konungr, haf›ir selt okr í hendr s‡slu ﬂá er hann vildi hafa.
Sá vér ﬂann helzt várn kost at firrask fund hans ok for›a oss, ok kómu vér
fyrir ﬂá sƒk skammt frá bygg›um á fjallit, en ﬁórólfr fór um alla mƒrkina 30
me› her manns. Haf›i hann kaup ƒll; guldu Finnar honum skatt, en hannbazk í ﬂví at s‡slumenn y›rir skyldu ekki koma á mƒrkina. Ætlar hann atgerask konungr yfir nor›r ﬂar, bæ›i yfir mƒrkinni ok Hálogalandi, ok er ﬂat 33
undr er ﬂér láti› honum hvetvetna hl‡›a. Munu hér sƒnn vitni til finnask um
fjárdrátt ﬂann er ﬁórólfr hefir af mƒrkinni, ﬂví at knƒrr sá er mestr var á
Hálogalandi var búinn í vár á Sandnesi ok kalla›isk ﬁórólfr eiga einn farm 36
allan ﬂann er á var. Hygg ek at nær væri hla›inn af grávƒru, ok ﬂar hygg ek
at finnask mundi bjórr ok safali meiri en ﬂat er ﬁórólfr fœr›i ﬂér, ok fór me›
ﬁorgils gjallandi. Ætla ek at hann hafi siglt vestr til Englands. En ef ﬂú vill 39
vita sannindi af ﬂessu ﬂá haldi› til njósn um fer› ﬁorgils ﬂá er hann ferra Thus K and W.

22

EGILS SAGA

austr, ﬂví at ek hygg at á ekki kaupskip hafi komit jafnmikit fé á várumdƒgum. Ætla ek ﬂat sannast at segja at ﬂér, konungr, eigi› hvern penning
3 ﬂann er ﬂar var á.’
ﬁetta sƒnnu›u fƒrunautar hans allt er Hárekr sag›i, en hér kunnu engir ímóti at mæla.

18. Frá brœ›rum tveima

6

Sigtryggr snarfari ok Hallvar›r har›fari hétu brœ›r tveir. ﬁeir váru me›
Haraldi konungi, víkverskir menn. Var mó›urætt ﬂeira á Vestfold ok váru
9 ﬂeir í frændsemistƒlu vi› Harald konung. Fa›ir ﬂeira haf›i kyn átt tveim
megum Gautelfar. Hann haf›i bú átt í Hísing ok var ma›r stórau›igr, en ﬂáhƒf›u ﬂeir tekit vi› arfi eptir fƒ›ur sinn. ﬁeir váru fjórir brœ›r; hét einn
12 ﬁór›r, ok ﬁorgeirr, ok váru ﬂeir yngri; ﬂeir váru heima ok ré›u fyrir búi. ﬁeir
Sigtryggr ok Hallvar›r hƒf›u sendifer›ir konungs allar, bæ›i innan lands
ok útan lands, ok hƒf›u margar fer›ir ﬂær farit er háskasamligar váru, bæ›i
15 til aftƒku manna e›a fé upp at taka fyrir ﬂeim mƒnnum er konungr lætrheimfer›ir veita. ﬁeir hƒf›u sveit mikla um sik. Ekki váru ﬂeir vinga›iralﬂ‡›u manns, en konungr mat ﬂá mikils ok váru ﬂeir allra manna bezt fœrir
18 bæ›i á fœti ok á skí›um, svá ok í skipfƒrum váru ﬂeir hvatfœrri en a›rir
menn. Hreystimenn váru ﬂeir ok miklir ok forsjálir um flest. ﬁeir váru ﬂáme› konungi er ﬂetta var tí›enda.
21 Um haustit fór konungr at veizlum um Hƒr›aland. ﬁat var einn dag athann lét kalla til sín ﬂá brœ›r, Hallvar› ok Sigtrygg; en er ﬂeir kómu til hanssag›i hann ﬂeim at ﬂeir skyldu fara me› sveit sína ok halda njósn um skip
24 ﬂat sem ﬁorgils gjallandi fór me›, ‘ok hann haf›i í sumar vestr til Englands.
Fœri› mér skipit ok allt ﬂat er á er nema menn; láti› ﬂá fara í brott lei› sínaí fri›i, ef ﬂeir vilja ekki verja skipit.’
27 ﬁeir brœ›r váru ﬂess albúnir ok tók sitt langskip hvárr ﬂeira; fara sí›an atleita ﬂeira ﬁorgils ok spur›u at hann var vestan kominn ok hann haf›i siglt
nor›r me› landi. ﬁeir fara nor›r eptir ﬂeim ok hitta ﬂá í Furusundi, kenndu
30 brátt skipit ok lƒg›u at annat skipit á útbor›a, en sumir gingu á land upp okút á skipit at bryggj<u>num.
ﬁeir ﬁorgils vissu sér engis ótta ván ok vƒru›usk ekki; fundu ﬂeir eigi fyrr
33 en fjƒl›i manns var uppi á skipinu me› alvæpni ok ﬂeir váru allir handteknir
ok leiddir sí›an á land upp ok vápnlausir ok hƒf›u ekki nema ígangsklæ›iein. En ﬂeir Hallvar›r skutu út bryggjunum ok slógu strenginum ok drógu
36 út skipit, snúa sí›an lei› sína ok sigldu su›r ﬂar til ﬂess er ﬂeir fundu konung;fœr›u honum skipit ok allt ﬂat er á var. En er farmrinn var borinn af skipinu
ﬂá sá konungr at ﬂat var stórfé ok eigi var ﬂat lygi er Hárekr haf›i sagt.
a Heading from W.

EGILS SAGA

23

En ﬁorgils ok hans félagar fengu sér flutningar ok leita ﬂeir á fund KveldÚlfs ok ﬂeira fe›ga ok sƒg›u sínar farar eigi sléttar; fengu ﬂar ﬂó gó›arvi›tƒkur. Sag›i Kveld-Úlfr at ﬂá mundi ﬂar til draga sem honum haf›i fyrir 3bo›at, at ﬁórólfr mundi eigi til alls endis gæfu til bera um vináttu Haralds
konungs, ‘ok ﬂœtti mér ekki mikils vert um félát ﬂetta er ﬁórólfr hefir misst
nú, ef nú fœri eigi hér it meira eptir. Grunar mik enn sem fyrr at ﬁórólfr 6
muni eigi gjƒrr kunna at sjá efni sín vi› ofrefli slíkt sem hann á at skipta;’ okba› ﬁorgils svá segja ﬁórólfi at ‘mitt rá› er ﬂat,’ segir hann, ‘at hann fari ór
landi á brott, ﬂví at vera kann at hann komi sér betr, ef hann sœkir á hƒnd 9
Englakonungi e›a Danakonungi e›a Svíakonungi.’Sí›an fekk hann ﬁorgísli ró›rarskútu eina ok ﬂar me› rei›a allan, svátjƒld ok vistir ok allt ﬂat er ﬂeir ﬂurftu til fer›ar sinnar.
12
Sí›an fóru ﬂeir ok léttu eigi fyrr fer› sinni en ﬂeir kómu nor›r til ﬁórólfs
ok sƒg›u honum ﬂat er til tí›enda haf›i gerzk. ﬁórólfr var› vel vi› ska›a sinn,
sag›i svá at hann mundi ekki fé skorta; ‘er gott félag at eiga vi› konung.’ 15
Sí›an keypti ﬁórólfr mjƒl ok malt ok ﬂat annat er hann ﬂurfti til framflutningar li›i sínu; sag›i hann at húskarlar mundu vera ekki svá fagrbúnir
sem hann haf›i ætlat um hrí›.
18ﬁórólfr seldi jar›ir sínar, en sumar ve›setti hann, en helt upp kostna›i ƒllum
sem fyrr. Haf›i hann ﬂá ok ekki færa li› me› sér en ina fyrri vetr, heldr haf›ihann nƒkkuru fleira manna; svá um veizlur ok heimbo› vi› vini sína, ﬂá 21
haf›i hann meira efni um ﬂat allt en fyrr. Var hann heima ﬂann vetr allan.

19. Af herna›i ﬁórólfsﬁá er vár kom ok snæ leysti ok ísa, ﬂá lét ﬁórólfr fram setja langskip mikit er 24
hann átti ok lét ﬂat búa ok skipa›i húskƒrlum sínum ok haf›i me› sér meiren hundra› manna. Var ﬂat li› it frí›asta ok vápnat allvel.
En er byr gaf helt ﬁórólfr skipinu su›r me› landi ok ﬂegar er hann kom 27
su›r um Byr›u ﬂá heldu ﬂeir útlei› fyrir útan eyjar allar, en stundum svá atsjór var í mi›jum hlí›um, létu svá ganga su›r fyrir landit, hƒf›u ekki tí›endi
af mƒnnum fyrr en ﬂeir kómu austr í Vík. ﬁá spur›u ﬂeir at Haraldr konungr 30
var í Víkinni ok hann ætla›i um sumarit at fara til Upplanda. Ekki vissu landsmenn til um fer› ﬁórólfs. Honum byrja›i vel ok helt hann su›r til Danmerkr
ok ﬂa›an í Austrveg ok herja›i ﬂar um sumarit ok var› ekki gott til fjár.
33
Um haustit helt hann austan til Danmerkr í ﬂann tíma er leystisk Eyrarfloti.
ﬁar haf›i verit um sumarit, sem vant var, fjƒl›i skipa af Nóregi. ﬁórólfr lét
ﬂat li› sigla allt fyrir ok gjƒr›i ekki vart vi› sik; hann sigldi einn dag at 36
kveldi til Mostrasunds; ﬂar var fyrir í hƒfninni knƒrr einn mikill kominn af
Eyri. ﬁórir ﬂruma hét ma›r sá er st‡r›i; hann var árma›r Haralds konungs;
hann ré› fyrir búi hans í ﬁrumu. ﬁat var mikit bú; sat konungr ﬂar lƒngum 39

24

EGILS SAGA

ﬂá er hann var í Víkinni; ﬂurfti ﬂar stór fƒng til bús ﬂess. Haf›i ﬁórir farit
fyrir ﬂá sƒk til Eyrar at kaupa ﬂar ﬂunga, malt ok hveiti ok hunang, ok varit
3 ﬂar til fé miklu er konungr átti.
ﬁeir lƒg›u at knerrinum ok bu›u ﬂeim ﬁóri kost á at verjask, en fyrir ﬂví
at ﬂeir ﬁórir hƒf›u engan li›skost til varnar móti fjƒlmenni ﬂví er ﬁórólfr
6 haf›i, gáfusk ﬂeir upp. Tók ﬁórólfr skip ﬂat me› ƒllum farmi, en setti ﬁóriupp í eyna; helt ﬁórólfr ﬂá skipum ﬂeim bá›um nor›r me› landi.
En er hann kom fyrir Elfina ﬂá lágu ﬂeir ﬂar ok bi›u nætr; en er myrkt var
9 reru ﬂeir langskipinu upp í ána ok lƒg›u til bœjar ﬂess er ﬂeir áttu Hallvar›r
ok Sigtryggr. Koma ﬂeir ﬂar fyrir dag ok slógu manngar›, œptu sí›an herópok vƒknu›u ﬂeir vi› ﬂat er inni váru ok hljópu ﬂegar upp til vápna sinna;
12 fl‡›i ﬁorgeirr ﬂegar út ór svefnskemmunni. Skí›gar›r hár var um bœinn;ﬁorgeirr hljóp at skí›gar›inum ok greip hendinni upp á gar›staurinn okkasta›i sér út um gar›inn. ﬁar var nær staddr ﬁorgils gjallandi; hann sveifla›i
15 til sver›inu eptir ﬁorgeiri ok kom á hƒndina ok tók af vi› gar›staurinn.
Hljóp ﬁorgeirr sí›an til skógar, en ﬁór›r bró›ir hans var ﬂar felldr ok meiren tuttugu menn. Sí›an ræntu ﬂeir ﬂar fé ƒllu ok brenndu bœinn, fóru sí›an
18 út eptir ánni til hafs.
ﬁeim byrja›i vel ok sigldu nor›r í Víkina. ﬁá hittu ﬂeir enn fyrir sér
kaupskip mikit er áttu Víkverjar, hla›it af malti ok mjƒlvi. ﬁeir ﬁórólfr lƒg›u21 at skipi ﬂví. En ﬂeir er fyrir váru ﬂóttusk engi fƒng hafa til varnar ok gáfusk
upp. Gengu ﬂeir á land upp slyppir, en ﬂeir ﬁórólfr tóku skipit me› farmi ok
fóru lei›ar sinnar. Haf›i ﬁórólfr ﬂá ﬂrjú skip er hann sigldi austan um Foldina;
24 sigldu ﬂá ﬂjó›lei› til Lí›andisness; fóru ﬂá sem skyndiligast, en námu nesnám ﬂar sem ﬂeir kómu vi› ok hjuggu strandhƒgg.
En er ﬂeir sigldu nor›r frá Lí›andisnesi fóru ﬂeir meir útlei›, en ﬂar sem
27 ﬂeir kómu vi› land ﬂá ræntu ﬂeir. En er ﬁórólfr kom nor›r fyrir Fjƒr›u ﬂá
sneri hann inn af lei› ok fór á fund Kveld-Úlfs fƒ›ur síns ok fingu ﬂar gó›arvi›tƒkur; sag›i ﬁórólfr fƒ›ur sínum hvat til tí›enda haf›i vor›it í fƒrum
30 hans um sumarit.
ﬁórólfr dval›isk ﬂar litla hrí› ok leiddi Kveld-Úlfr ok ﬂeir fe›gar hann til
skips. En á›r ﬂeir skil›usk, tƒlu›usk ﬂeir vi›; sag›i Kveld-Úlfr:33 ‘Eigi hefir ﬂví fjarri farit, ﬁórólfr, sem ek sag›a ﬂér ﬂá er ﬂú fórt til hir›ar
Haralds konungs, at ﬂér mundi svá út ganga at hvárki ﬂér né oss frændum
ﬂínum mundi hamingja at ver›a. Hefir ﬂú nú ﬂat rá› upp tekit er ek vara›a
36 ﬂik mest vi›, er ﬂú etr kappi vi› Harald konung; en ﬂótt ﬂú sér vel búinn athreysti ok allri atgervi ﬂá hefir ﬂú ekki til ﬂess gæfu at halda til jafns vi›
Harald konung, er engum hefir ƒ›rum enzk hér í landi ﬂótt á›r hafi haft ríki
39 mikit ok fjƒlmenni. Er ﬂat mitt hugbo› at sjá ver›i fundr okkarr inn sí›asti
ok væri ﬂat at skƒpu›u fyrir aldrs sakir at ﬂú lif›ir lengr okkar, en annan vegætla ek at ver›i.’

EGILS SAGA

25

Sí›an steig ﬁórólfr á skip sitt ok helt á brott lei› sína. Er ﬂá ekki sagt fráfer› hans at til tí›enda yr›i á›r hann kom á Sandnes heim ok lét flytja tilbœjar herfang ﬂat allt er hann haf›i heim haft, en setja upp skip sitt; skorti 3
ﬂá eigi fƒng at fœ›a li› sitt um vetrinn. Sat ﬁórólfr heima jafnan ok haf›ifjƒlmenni eigi minna en ina fyrri vetr.

20. Af Yngvari

6Ma›r hét Yngvarr, ríkr ok au›igr; hann haf›i verit lendr ma›r inna fyrri
konunga, en sí›an er Haraldr kom til ríkis settisk Yngvarr heima ok ﬂjóna›iekki konungi. Yngvarr var ma›r kvánga›r ok átti dóttur er hét Bera. Yngvarr 9
bjó í Fjƒr›um; Bera var einberni hans ok stó› til arfs eptir hann.1
Grímr Kveld-Úlfsson ba› Beru til handa sér ok var ﬂat at rá›i gert. Fekk
Grímr Beru ﬂann vetr er ﬂeir ﬁórólfr hƒf›u skilizk á›r um sumarit. Var Grímr 12
ﬂá hálfﬂrítugr at aldri ok var ﬂá skƒllóttr; sí›an var hann kalla›r SkallaGrímr. Hann haf›i ﬂá forrá› ƒll fyrir búi ﬂeira fe›ga ok tilƒflun alla, en ﬂó
var Kveld-Úlfr hress ma›r ok vel fœrr. Margt hƒf›u ﬂeir frelsingja me› sér 15
ok marga ﬂá menn er heima ﬂar hƒf›u upp vaxit ok váru nær jafnaldrar
Skalla-Gríms; váru ﬂeir margir afreksmenn miklir at afli, ﬂví at Kveld-Úlfr
ok ﬂeir fe›gar vƒl›u menn mjƒk at afli til fylg›ar vi› sik ok tƒm›u vi› 18
skaplyndi sitt. Skalla-Grímr var líkr fe›r sínum á vƒxt ok at afli, svá ok at
yfirlitum ok skaplyndi.

21. Af Hildirí›arsonum2

21

Haraldr konungr var í Víkinni ﬂá er ﬁórólfr var í herna›inum ok fór um
haustit til Upplanda ok ﬂa›an nor›r til ﬁrándheims ok sat ﬂar um vetrinn ok
haf›i fjƒlmenni mikit.
24
ﬁar váru ﬂá me› konungi Sigtryggr ok Hallvar›r, ok hƒf›u spurt hvernegﬁórólfr haf›i búit at herbergjum ﬂeira í Hísing ok hvern mannska›a ok
fjárska›a er hann haf›i ﬂar gƒrt. ﬁeir minntu konung opt á ﬂat ok svá ﬂat 27me› at ﬁórólfr haf›i rænt konung ok ﬂegna hans ok farit me› herna›i ﬂar
innan lands. ﬁeir bá›u konung orlofs til at ﬂeir brœ›r skyldu fara me› li›i
ﬂví er vant var ﬂeim at fylgja ok sœkja heim at ﬁórólfi.
30
Konungr svarar svá: ‘Vera munu ykr ﬂikja sakar til ﬂó at ﬂit rá›i› ﬁórólf
af lífi, en ek ætla at ykr skorti mikit hamingju til ﬂess verks; er ﬁórólfr ekkiykkarr maki, ﬂó at ﬂit ﬂikisk vera menn hraustir e›a vel at ykr gervir.’
33
ﬁeir brœ›r sƒg›u at ﬂat mundi brátt reynt ver›a ef konungr vill ﬂeim lof
til gefa, ok segja at ﬂeir hafa opt lagt á hættu mikla vi› ﬂá menn er ﬂeir áttuminna í at hefna ok haf›i ﬂeim optast or›it sigrs au›it.
36
1 Another daughter of Yngvarr is mentioned in Ch. 60.
2 The heading is mistaken; this chapter deals with the brothers Sigtryggr and Hallvar›r.

26

EGILS SAGA

En er vára›i ﬂá bjuggusk menn fer›a sinna; ﬂá var enn sem fyrr var sagt at
ﬂeir Hallvar›r brœ›r heldu á ﬂví máli <vi› konung>a at ﬂeir fari til ok taki
3 ﬁórólf af lífi.b Hann kvazk ﬂá lofa at ﬂeir tœki ﬁórólf af lífi, ‘ok veit ek at ﬂit
munu› fœra mér hƒfu› hans er ﬂit komi› aptr ok me› marga d‡rgripi; en ﬂógeta ﬂess sumir menn,’ segir konungr, ‘ef ﬂit sigli› nor›r, at ﬂit muni› bæ›i
6 sigla ok róa nor›an.’1
Nú búask ﬂeir sem skjótast ok hƒf›u tvau skip ok hálft annat hundra›
manna, ok er ﬂeir váru búnir taka ﬂeir landnyr›ing út eptir fir›inum, en ﬂat
9 er andvi›ri nor›r me› landi.

22. Fall ﬁórólfs Kveld-Úlfssonar c
Haraldr konungr sat ﬂá á Hlƒ›um er ﬂeir Hallvar›r bjuggusk nor›r, ok
12 jafnskjótt bjósk konungr sem skyndiligast ok gekk á skip fjƒgur ok reru inn

eptir fir›inum ok <um Skarnssund>2 ok svá um Beitsjó inn til Elduei›s. Lét
hann ﬂar eptir skipin ok fóru nor›r um ei›i ok til <Naumudals> ok tók hann
15 ﬂar langskip ﬂau er bœndr áttu, gekk hann ﬂar á me› li› sitt; haf›i hann hir›sína ok nær fjórum hundru›um manna; hann haf›i <fimm skip e›a sex okƒll stór>. ﬁeir tóku andvi›ri hvasst ok reru nótt ok dag svá sem ganga mátti;18 nótt var ﬂá farljós.
ﬁeir kómu aptan dags til Sandness eptir sólarfall ok sá ﬂar fyrir bœnum
fljóta langskip mikit tjaldat ok tilbúit. Kenndu ﬂeir at ﬂat var skip ﬂat er
21 ﬁórólfr átti; haf›i hann ﬂat látit til búa ﬂví hann ætla›i af landi í brott, en ﬂá
haf›i hann heita látit fararmungát sitt.
Konungr ba› menn alla ganga af skipunum gjƒrsamliga; lét hann fara upp
24 merki sitt. Skammt var at ganga til bœjarins, en var›menn ﬁórólfs sátu innivi› drykkju ok váru eigi gengnir á vƒr›inn ok var engi ma›r úti; sat allt li›
inni vi› drykkju.
27 Konungr lét slá mannhring um stofuna; lustu ﬂeir ﬂá upp herópi ok var
blásit í konungslú›r herblástr. En er ﬂeir ﬁórólfr heyr›u ﬂat hlupu ﬂeir til
vápna, ﬂví at hvers manns alvæpni hekk yfir rúmi hans. Konungr lét kalla ata Thus W (K not comparable). b The rest of the chapter is taken from W, as the top

part of f. 69va in M is illegible. c The text of this chapter as far as Skal nƒkkut,
p. 27, line 8, is from the seventeenth-century AM 455 4to, which is descended from a
now lost copy of the Mö›ruvallabók text of Egils saga, which is here mostly illegible.
In a few cases the text of 455 can be corrected with the help of a photograph ofMö›ruvallabók itself. Three minor lacunas in the copy, indicated here by pointed
brackets, are filled in accordance with Finnur Jónsson’s readings of M.
1 ‘sail and row as well on the way back’, i.e. be in a great hurry to get back.
2 Skarnssund (Finnur Jónsson’s reading) is not mentioned in the other redactions.
It is the narrow channel between Trondheimsfjord and Beitstadfjord.

EGILS SAGA

27

stofunni ok ba› út ganga konurnar ok ungmenni ok gamalmenni, ﬂræla ok
mansmenn.1
Sí›an gekk út Sigrí›r húsfreyja ok me› henni konur ﬂær er inni váru ok 3a›rir ﬂeir menn er útgƒngu var leyft. Sigrí›r spur›i eptir ef ﬂeir væri ﬂar
synir Ber›lu-Kára; ﬂeir gengu fram bá›ir ok spur›u hvat hon vildi ﬂeim.
‘Fylgi› mér til konungs,’ sag›i hon.
6
ﬁeir gjƒr›u svá. En er hon kom til konungs, spur›i hon:
‘Skal nƒkkuta um sættir tjóa at leita, herra, me› ykr ﬁórólfi?’
Konungr svarar: ‘Vill ﬁórólfr upp gefask ok ganga á vald mitt til miskunnar, 9
ok2 mun hann halda lífi ok limum, en menn hans munu sæta refsingum svá
sem sakir falla til.’Sí›an gekk ¯lvir hnúfa til stofunnar ok lét kalla ﬁórólf til máls vi› sik; 12hann sag›i honum ﬂann kost er konungr ger›i. ﬁórólfr svarar:‘Enga vil ek nau›ungarsætt taka af konungi; bi› ﬂú konung gefa ossútgƒngu; látum ﬂá skeika at skƒpu›u.’
15¯lvir gekk til konungs ok sag›i hvers ﬁórólfr beiddisk. Konungr sag›i:‘Beri eld at stofunni; ekki vil ek berjask vi› ﬂá ok t‡na li›i mínu. Veit ek
at ﬁórólfr mun gera oss mannska›a mikinn ef vér skulum sœkja hann ﬂar, er 18
hann mun seint at vinna inni ﬂótt hann hafi li› minna en vér.’Sí›an var eldr borinn at stofunni ok sóttisk ﬂat skjótt, ﬂví at timbrit var
ﬂurrt ok bræddr vi›rinn en næfrum ﬂakit um ræfrit. ﬁórólfr ba› menn sína 21
brjóta upp bálkinn er var milli stufunnar ok forstofunnar ok sóttisk ﬂat skjótt;en er ﬂeir ná›u timbrstokknum ﬂá tóku svá margir stokkinn einn sem á fengu
haldit ok skutu ƒ›rum endanum í hyrningina svá hart at nafarnar hrutu af 24
fyrir útan ok hljópu í sundr veggirnir svá at ﬂar var útgangr mikill. Gekk ﬂarﬁórólfr fyrstr út ok ﬂá ﬁorgils gjallandi ok svá hverr eptir annan.
Tóksk ﬂá bardaginn ok var ﬂat um hrí› at stofan gætti á bak ﬂeim ﬁórólfi, 27
en er hon tók at brenna ﬂá sótti eldrinn at ﬂeim; fell ﬂá ok margt li› ﬂeira. ﬁáhljóp ﬁórólfr fram ok hjó til beggja handa, sótti ﬂangat at er merki konungs
var. ﬁá fell ﬁorgils gjallandi. En er ﬁórólfr kom fram at skjaldborginni lag›i 30
hann sver›i í gegnum ﬂann mann er merkit bar. ﬁá mælti ﬁórólfr:‘Nú gekk ek ﬂremr fótum til skammt.’
a The following text, corresponding to f. 69vb in M, is here based on the edition of
Finnur Jónsson, as this column in M is now illegible. The original seventeenthcentury copy of the saga in M had a lacuna here. This piece of text ends with sár
manna, p. 28, line 8. The writing on the following page, f. 70ra–b, is partially obscure.
1 mansmenn: bondsmen. According to ancient laws it seems to mean slaves ofboth sexes; the phrase ﬂrælar ok mansmenn here should probably be understood tomean male slaves and other enslaved people.
2 An example of ok introducing the main clause of a sentence after a subordinate
clause (see NION III, ok; Vill ﬁórólfr = ‘If ﬁórólfr is willing’). Cf. 38/28 below.

28

EGILS SAGAﬁá stó›u á honum bæ›i sver› ok spjót, en sjálfr konungr veitti honum
banasár, ok fell ﬁórólfr fram á fœtr konungi. ﬁá kalla›i konungr ok ba›
3 hætta at drepa fleiri menn ok var ﬂá svá gert.
Sí›an ba› konungr menn sína fara ofan til skipa. Hann mælti vi› ¯lvi ok
ﬂá brœ›r:
6 ‘Taki› nú ﬁórólf frænda ykkarn ok veiti› honum umbúna› sœmiligan ok
svá ƒ›rum mƒnnum ﬂeim er hér eru fallnir ok grafi› val allra ﬂeira,a en láti›binda sár manna ﬂeira er lífvænir eru, en ekki skal hér ræna, ﬂví at ﬂetta er
9 allt mitt fé.’Sí›an gekk konungr ofan til skipanna ok flest li› me› honum, en er ﬂeir
váru á skip komnir ﬂá tóku menn at binda sár sín. Konungr gekk um skipit
12 ok leit á sár manna; hann sá hvar ma›r batt svƒ›usár eitt. Konungr sag›i at
ekki haf›i ﬁórólfr veitt ﬂat sár, ‘ok allt bitu honum annan veg vápnin; fáirætla ek at ﬂau bindi sárin er hann veitti ok ska›i mikill er eptir menn slíka.’15 En ﬂegar at morgni dags lét konungr draga <upp>b segl sín ok sigldi su›r<me› landi>b sem af tók. En er á lei› daginn ﬂá fundu ﬂeir konungr ró›rarskipmƒrg í hverju eyjarsundi, ok haf›i li› ﬂat ætlat til fundar vi› ﬁórólf, ﬂví at
18 njósnir hans hƒf›u verit allt su›r í Naumudal ok ví›a um eyjar. Hƒf›u ﬂeir
or›it vísir at ﬂeir Hallvar›r brœ›r váru komnir sunnan me› li› mikit okætlu›u at ﬁórólfi. Hƒf›u ﬂeir Hallvar›r haft jafnan andvi›ri ok hƒf›u ﬂeir
21 dvalizk í ‡msum hƒfnum til ﬂess er njósn haf›i farit it efra um land, ok hƒf›uﬂess or›it varir njósnarmenn ﬁórólfs ok haf›i ﬂetta herhlaup fyrir ﬂá sƒk verit.
Konungr sigldi hra›byrja til ﬂess er hann kom í Naumudal; lét ﬂar skipin
24 eptir, en hann fór landveg í ﬁrándheim; tók hann ﬂar skip sín sem hann haf›ieptir látit; helt ﬂá li›inu út til Hla›a.
Spur›usk brátt ﬂessi tí›endi ok kómu fyrir ﬂá Hallvar› ﬂar er ﬂeir lágu;
27 sneru ﬂeir ﬂá aptr til konungs, ok ﬂótti ﬂeira fer› heldr hæ›ilig.
ﬁeir brœ›r ¯lvir hnúfa ok Eyvindr lambi dvƒl›usk um hrí› á Sandnesi;
létu ﬂeir búa um val ﬂann er ﬂar haf›i fallit. Bjuggu ﬂeir um lík ﬁórólfs eptir
30 si›venju svá sem títt var at búa um lík gƒfugra manna; settu eptir hannbautasteina. ﬁeir létu grœ›a sjúka menn; ﬂeir skipu›u ok til bús me› Sigrí›i;
var ﬂar eptir allr fjárafli, en mestr haf›i inni brunnit húsbúna›r ok bor›33 búna›r ok klæ›na›r manna.
En er ﬂeir brœ›r váru búnir ﬂá fóru ﬂeir nor›an ok kómu á fund Haralds
konungs er hann var í ﬁrándheimi ok váru me› honum um hrí›; ﬂeir váru
36 hljó›ir ok mæltu fátt vi› menn.
ﬁat var einn hvern dag at ﬂeir brœ›r gengu fyrir konung. ﬁá mælti ¯lvir:‘ﬁess orlofs vilju vit brœ›r ﬂik bi›ja, konungr, at ﬂú lofir okr heimfer› til
39 búa okkarra, ﬂví at hér hafa ﬂau tí›endi gjƒrzk er vit berum eigi skaplyndi til
at eiga drykk ok sess vi› ﬂá menn er báru vápn á ﬁórólf frænda okkarn.’a grafi› – ﬂeira unclear in M.

b Thus K and W.

EGILS SAGA

29

Konungr leit vi› honum ok svarar heldr stutt: ‘Eigi mun ek ﬂat lofa ykr;
hér skulu ﬂit vera me› mér.’
3
ﬁeir brœ›r gengu í brott ok aptr til sætis síns.
Annan dag eptir sat konungr í málstufu, lét kalla ﬂangat ﬂá ¯lvi brœ›r.
‘Nú skulu ﬂit vita,’ segir konungr, ‘um erendi ﬂat er ﬂit hófu› vi› mik okbeidduzk heimfer›ar. Hafi ﬂit verit hér um hrí› me› mér ok verit vel si›a›ir; 6hafi ﬂit vel jafnan dugat; hefir mér til ykkar allir hlutir vel hugnat. Nú vil ek,
Eyvindr, at ﬂú farir nor›r á Hálogaland; vil ek gipta ﬂér Sigrí›i á Sandnesi,
konu ﬂá er ﬁórólfr haf›i átt; vil ek gefa ﬂér fé ﬂat allt er ﬁórólfr átti; skaltu 9
ﬂar hafa me› vináttu mína, ef ﬂú kannt til <at>a gæta. En ¯lvir skal mér
fylgja; vil ek hann eigi lausan láta fyrir sakar íﬂrótta hans.’ﬁeir brœ›r ﬂƒkku›u konungi ﬂann sóma er hann veitti ﬂeim, sƒg›u at ﬂeir 12
vildu ﬂat fúsliga ﬂekkjask. Bjósk Eyvindr ﬂá til fer›ar, fekk sér gott skip ﬂat
er honum hœf›i; fekk konungr honum jartegnir sínar til rá›s ﬂessa. Greiddiskfer› Eyvindar vel ok kom fram nor›r í Álƒst á Sandnesi; Sigrí›r tók vel vi› 15
ﬂeim. Sí›an bar Eyvindr fram jartegnir konungs ok erendi sín fyrir Sigrí›i
ok hóf bónor› sitt vi› hana, sag›i at ﬂat var konungs or›sending at Eyvindr
18
nái rá›i ﬂessu.
En Sigrí›r sá ﬂann einn sinn kost, svá sem ﬂá var komit, at láta konung
fyrir rá›a. Fór ﬂat rá› fram at Eyvindr fekk Sigrí›ar; tók hann ﬂá vi› búi á
Sandnesi ok vi› fé ﬂví ƒllu er ﬁórólfr haf›i átt; var Eyvindr gƒfugr ma›r. 21
Var sonb ﬂeira Fi›r skjálgi, fa›ir Eyvindar skáldaspillis, ok Geirlaug er áttiSighvatr rau›i. Fi›r inn skjálgi átti Gunnhildi dóttur Hálfdanar jarls; mó›ir
24
hennar hét Ingibjƒrg, dóttir Haralds konungs ins hárfagra.
Eyvindr lambi helzk í vináttu vi› konung me›an ﬂeir lif›u bá›ir.

23. Dráp Hildirí›arsona
Ketill hœngr hét ma›r, son ﬁorkels Naumdœlajarls ok Hrafnhildar dóttur 27
Ketils hœngs ór Hrafnistu. Hœngr var gƒfugr ma›r ok ágætr. Hann haf›iverit inn mesti vinr ﬁórólfs Kveld-Úlfssonar ok frændi skyldr. Hann var ﬂáí úthlaupi ﬂví er li›safna›r var á Hálogalandi ok menn ætlu›u til li›s vi› 30
ﬁórólf, svá sem fyrr var ritat. En er Haraldr konungr fór nor›an ok mennur›u ﬂess varir at ﬁórólfr var af lífi tekinn ﬂá rufu ﬂeir safna›inn. Hœngr
haf›i me› sér sex tigu manna ok sneri hann til Torga, en ﬂar váru fyrir 33
Hildirí›arsynir ok hƒf›u fátt li›; en er Hœngr kom á bœinn veitti hann ﬂeimatgƒngu. Fellu ﬂar Hildirí›arsynir ok ﬂeir menn flestir er ﬂar váru fyrir, en
36
ﬂeir Hœngr tóku fé allt ﬂat er ﬂeir fengu.
Eptir ﬂat tók Hœngr knƒrru tvá ﬂá er hann fekk mesta; lét ﬂar bera á út fé
ﬂat allt er hann átti ok hann mátti me› komask. Hann haf›i me› sér konu
sína ok bƒrn, svá ﬂá menn alla er at ﬂeim verkum hƒf›u verit me› honum. 39
a Thus K and W.

b So M; Váru bƒrn would be better, since Geirlaug is female.

30

EGILS SAGA

Baugr hét ma›r, fóstbró›ir Hœngs, ættstórr ma›r ok au›igr; hann st‡r›iƒ›rum knerrinum. En er ﬂeir váru búnir ok byr gaf ﬂá sigldu ﬂeir í haf út.
3 Fám vetrum á›r hƒf›u ﬂeir Ingólfr ok Hjƒrleifr1 farit at byggja Ísland ok
var mƒnnum ﬂá alltí›rœtt um ﬂá fer›; sƒg›u menn ﬂar vera allgó›a landkosti.
Hœngr sigldi vestr í haf ok leita›i Íslands; en er ﬂeir ur›u vi› land varir,
6 ﬂá váru ﬂeir fyrir sunnan at komnir. En fyrir ﬂví at ve›r var hvasst en brim á
landit ok ekki hafnligt, ﬂá sigldu ﬂeir vestr um landit fyrir sandana; en erve›rit tók minnka ok lægja brim ﬂá var› fyrir ﬂeim áróss mikill ok heldu
9 ﬂeir ﬂar skipunum upp í ána ok lƒg›u vi› it eystraa land. Sú á heitir núﬁjórsá; fell ﬂá miklu ﬂrøngra ok var djúpari en nú er. ﬁeir ruddu skipin; tóku
ﬂá ok kƒnnu›u landit fyrir austan ána ok fluttu eptir sér búfé sitt; var Hœngr
12 inn fyrsta vetr fyrir útanb Rangá ina ‡tri. En um várit kanna›i hann austrlandit ok nam ﬂá land milli ﬁjórsár ok Markarfljóts, á milli fjalls ok fjƒru,ok bygg›i at Hofi vi› Rangá ina eystri.
15 Ingunn kona hans fœddi barn um várit ﬂá er ﬂau hƒf›u ﬂar verit inn fyrsta
vetr, ok hét sveinn sá Hrafn; en er hús váru ﬂar ofan tekin ﬂá var ﬂar sí›ankallat Hrafntóptir.
18 Hœngr gaf Baugi land í Fljótshlí› ofan frá Merkjá til árinnar fyrir útanBrei›abólsta› ok bjó hann at Hlí›arenda, ok frá Baugi er komin mikil kynsló›
í ﬂeiri sveit. Hœngr gaf land skipverjum sínum en seldi sumum vi› litlu
21 ver›i, ok eru ﬂeir landnámamenn kalla›ir.
Stórólfr hét son Hœngs; hann átti Hválinn ok Stórólfsvƒll; hans son var
Ormr inn sterki. Herjólfr hét annarr son Hœngs; hann átti land í Fljótshlí› til
24 móts vi› Baug ok út til Hválslœkjar; hann bjó undir Brekkum; son hans hét
Sumarli›i, fa›ir Vetrli›ac skálds. Helgi var inn ﬂri›i son Hœngs; hann bjó á
Velli ok átti land til Rangár it efra ok ofan til móts vi› brœ›r sína. Vestarr
27 hét inn fjór›i son Hœngs; hann átti land fyrir austan Rangá milli ok ﬁverár
ok inn ne›ra hlut Stórólfsvallar; hann átti Móei›i dóttur Hildis ór Hildisey;
ﬂeira dóttir var Ásn‡ er átti Ófeigr grettir. Vestarr bjó at Móei›arhváli.d Hrafn
30 var inn fimmti Hœngs son; hann var fyrstr lƒgsƒguma›r á Íslandi; hann bjó
at Hofi eptir fƒ›ur sinn. ﬁórlaug var dóttir Hrafns er átti Jƒrundr go›i; ﬂeira
son var Valgar›r at Hofi. Hrafn var gƒfgastr sona Hœngs.
a eystra is a correction in accordance with W; vestra M.

b útan is a correction inc Vetrli›a: thus K (a correction foraccordance with W and topography; austan M.
Vestli›a in M which is manifestly wrong). d Here a passage is added in M about thepreviously mentioned third son of Hœngr: Helgi Hœngsson átti Móbil, dóttur Hallgeirs
í Hallgeirsey. ﬁeira dóttir var Helga, er átti Oddbjƒrn askasmi›r, er Oddbjarnarlei›
er vi› kennd. This was probably a marginal note in the copyist’s original.
1 Ingólfr and Hjƒrleifr came from the west of Norway; they were reckoned to be
the first permanent settlers in Iceland.

EGILS SAGA

31

24. Hrygg› Kveld-Úlfs
Kveld-Úlfr spur›i fall ﬁórólfs sonar síns; var› hann hryggr vi› ﬂessi tí›endi
svá at hann lag›isk í rekkju af harmi ok elli. Skalla-Grímr kom opt til hans 3
ok tal›i fyrir honum, ba› hann hressa sik, sag›i at allt var annat athœfiligra
en ﬂat at auvir›ask ok leggjask í kƒr; ‘er hitt heldr rá› at vér leitim til hefnda
eptir ﬁórólf; má vera at vér komim í fœri vi› nƒkkura ﬂá menn er verit hafa 6
at falli ﬁórólfs; en ef ﬂat er eigi, ﬂá munu ﬂeir vera menn er vér munum ná er
konungi mun sér ﬂikja móti skapi.’
9
Kveld-Úlfr kva› vísu:
1. Nú frá ek nor›<r> í eyju,
norn erum grimm, til snimma
ﬁundr fell ﬂremja vandar,ﬁórólf und lok fóru.
Létumk ﬂung at ﬂingi
ﬁórs fangvina at ganga,
skjótt munat hefnt, ﬂótt hvetti
hugr, málm-Gnár brug›it.

12

15

Haraldr konungr fór ﬂat sumar til Upplanda ok fór um haustit vestr á Valdres 18
ok allt á Vors. ¯lvir hnúfa var me› konungi ok kom opt á mál vi› konung, ef
hann mundi vilja bœta ﬁórólf, veita Kveld-Úlfi ok Skalla-Grími fébœtr e›amannsóma ﬂann nƒkkurn er ﬂeir mætti vi› una. Konungr varna›i ﬂess eigi 21me› ƒllu, ef ﬂeir fe›gar fœri á fund hans.
Sí›an byrja›i ¯lvir fer› sína nor›r í Fjƒr›u, létti eigi fyrr en hann kom at
kveldi dags til ﬂeira fe›ga; tóku ﬂeir ﬂakksamliga vi› honum; dval›isk hann 24
ﬂar nƒkkura hrí›.
Kveld-Úlfr spur›i ¯lvi vandliga frá atbur›um ﬂeim er gjƒrzk hƒf›u áSandnesi ﬂá er ﬁórólfr fell, svá at ﬂví hvat ﬁórólfr vann til frama á›r hann 27
felli, svá ok hverir vápn báru á hann, e›a hvar hann haf›i mest sár, e›aStanza 1. Nú frá ek ﬁórólf und lok fóru nor›r í eyju; norn erum grimm; til snimma
fell ﬁundr ﬂremja vandar. ﬁung ﬁórs fangvina létumk brug›it at ganga at ﬂingi málmGnár; skjótt munat hefnt ﬂótt hugr hvetti.
ﬁundr (Ó›inn) ﬂremja vandar, Ó›inn of the rod of edges (sword), is a man, warrior;ﬁórs (an obvious correction for ﬂars in the manuscripts) fangvina, the female
wrestling-friend of ﬁórr, i.e. Elli = old age (see Gylfaginning, Chs 46–47); Gná isthe name of a goddess, and málm-Gná (weapon-goddess) is a valkyrie, whose ﬂing
(meeting) is battle.
Now I have heard that ﬁórólfr has died north on the island (Álƒst). The Norn has
been cruel to me. The warrior fell too early. Heavy old age made me unfit to go tobattle. Revenge will not come soon, though I may be eager for it.

32

EGILS SAGA

hverneg fall hans yr›i. ¯lvir sag›i allt ﬂat er hann spur›i, svá ﬂat at Haraldr
konungr veitti honum sár ﬂat er œrit mundi eitt til bana, ok ﬁórólfr fell nær
3 á fœtr konungi á grúfu.
ﬁá svara›i Kveld-Úlfr: ‘Vel hefir ﬂú sagt, ﬂví at ﬂat hafa gamlir mennmælt, at ﬂess manns mundi hefnt ver›a ef hann felli á grúfu, ok ﬂeim nær
6 koma hefndin er fyrir yr›i er hinn felli. En ólíkligt er at oss ver›i ﬂeirar
hamingju au›it.’¯lvir sag›i ﬂeim fe›gum at hann vænti, ef ﬂeir vildi fara á fund konungs
9 ok leita eptir bótum, at ﬂat mundi sómafƒr ver›a, ok ba› ﬂá til ﬂess hætta oklag›i mƒrg or› til.
Kveld-Úlfr sag›i at hann var hvergi fœrr fyrir elli sakar; ‘mun ek vera
12 heima,’ sag›i hann.
‘Vill ﬂú fara, Grímr?’ sag›i ¯lvir.
‘Ekki erendi ætla ek mik eiga,’ sag›i Grímr; ‘mun konungi ek ﬂikja ekki
15 or›snjallr. Ætla ek mik ekki lengi munu bi›ja bótanna.’¯lvir sag›i at hann mundi ﬂess eigi ﬂurfa; ‘skulu vér mæla allt fyrir hƒndﬂína slíkt er vér kunnum.’
18 En me› ﬂví at ¯lvir sótti ﬂat mál mjƒk, ﬂá hét Grímr fer› sinni ﬂá er hannﬂœttisk búinn; kvá›u ﬂeir ¯lvir á me› sér ﬂá stund er Grímr skyldi koma á
konungs fund. Fór ﬂá ¯lvir fyrst á brott ok til konungs.

25. Fer› Skalla-Gríms á konungs fund21

Skalla-Grímr bjósk til fer›ar ﬂeirar er fyrr var frá sagt; hann val›i sér menn
af heimamƒnnum sínum ok nábúum ﬂá er váru sterkastir at afli ok hraustastir
24 ﬂeira er til váru.
Ma›r hét Áni, bóndi einn au›igr; annarr hét Grani, ﬂri›i Grímólfr ok Grímr
bró›ir hans, heimamenn Skalla-Gríms, ok ﬂeir brœ›r ﬁorbjƒrn krumr ok
27 ﬁór›r beigaldi; ﬂeir váru kalla›ir ﬁórƒrnusynir. Hon bjó skammt frá SkallaGrími ok var fjƒlkunnig; Beigaldi var kolbítr.1 Einn hét ﬁórir ﬂurs ok bró›ir
hans ﬁorgeirr jar›langr. Oddr hét ma›r einbúi; Gríss lausingi. Tólf váru ﬂeir
30 til fararinnar ok allir inir sterkustu menn ok margir hamrammir.
ﬁeir hƒf›u ró›rarferju er Skalla-Grímr átti, fóru su›r me› landi, lƒg›u inní Ostrarfjƒr›u, fóru ﬂá landveg upp á Vors til vatns ﬂess er ﬂar ver›r, en lei›
33 ﬂeira bar svá til at ﬂeir skyldu ﬂar yfir fara. Fengu ﬂeir sér ró›rarskip ﬂat ervi› ﬂeira hœfi var; reru sí›an yfir vatnit, en ﬂá var <eigi>a langt til bœjar ﬂess
a ei K and W.
1 kolbítr: coal-biter or coal-eater, a common designation in many folktales of anidle youth who does nothing but lie at the fireside until one day something happens
which makes him rise and demand clothes and arms, and he then shows himself tobe a valiant man. In the present case the designation indicates that Beigaldi was acharacter of that type, but the point is not developed further.

EGILS SAGA

33

er konungrinn var á veizlu. Kómu ﬂeir Grímr ﬂar ﬂann tíma er konungr var
genginn til bor›a. ﬁeir Grímr hittu menn at máli úti í gar›inum ok spur›uhvat ﬂar var tí›enda; en er ﬂeim var sagt, ﬂá ba› Grímr kalla til máls vi› sik 3¯lvi hnúfu.
Sá ma›r gekk inn í stofuna ok ﬂar til er ¯lvir sat ok sag›i honum: ‘Menn
eru hér komnir úti tólf saman, ef menn skal kalla, en líkari eru ﬂeir ﬂursum 6
at vexti ok at s‡n en mennskum mƒnnum.’¯lvir stó› upp ﬂegar ok gekk út; ﬂóttisk hann vita hverir komnir mundu.
Fagna›i hann vel Grími frænda sínum ok ba› hann ganga inn í stufu me› 9
sér. Grímr sag›i fƒrunautum sínum:‘ﬁat mun hér vera si›r at menn gangi vápnlausir fyrir konung; skulu vér
ganga inn sex, en a›rir sex skulu vera úti ok gæta vápna várra.’12
Sí›an ganga ﬂeir inn; gekk ¯lvir fyrir konunginn; Skalla-Grímr stó› atbaki honum. ¯lvir tók til máls:‘Nú er Grímr hér kominn, son Kveld-Úlfs; kunnu vér nú aufúsu, konungr, 15
at ﬂér geri› hans fƒr gó›a hingat, svá sem vér væntum at vera muni. Fá ﬂeir
margir af y›r sœm› mikla er til minna eru komnir en hann ok hvergi nær eru
jafnvel at sér gervir um flestar íﬂróttir sem hann mun vera. Máttu ﬂenna hlut 18
svá gera, konungr, at mér ﬂikir mestu máli skipta, ef <ﬂér> ﬂikir ﬂat nƒkkurs
vert.’¯lvir tala›i langt ok snjallt, ﬂví at hann var or›fœrr ma›r; margir a›rir 21
vinir ¯lvis gingu fyrir konung ok fluttu ﬂetta mál.
Konungr lita›isk um; hann sá at ma›r stó› at baki ¯lvi ok var hƒf›i hærien a›rir menn ok skƒllóttr.
24‘Er ﬂetta hann Skalla-Grímr,’ sag›i konungr, ‘inn mikli ma›r?’
Grímr sag›i at hann kenndi rétt.
‘Ek vil ﬂá,’ sag›i konungr, ‘ef ﬂú bei›isk bóta fyrir ﬁórólf, at ﬂú gerisk 27
minn ma›r ok gangir hér í hir›lƒg ok ﬂjónir mér. Má mér svá vel líka ﬂínﬂjónusta at ek veita ﬂér bœtr eptir bró›ur ﬂinn e›a a›ra sœm› eigi minni en
ek veitta honum ﬁórólfi bró›ur ﬂínum, ok skildir ﬂú betr kunna at gæta en 30
hann, ef ek ger›a ﬂik at svá miklum manni sem hann var or›inn.’
Skalla-Grímr svara›i: ‘ﬁat var kunnigt hversu miklu ﬁórólfr var framaren ek em at sér gerr um alla hluti ok bar hann enga gæfu til at ﬂjóna ﬂér, 33
konungr. Nú mun ek ekki taka ﬂat rá›. Eigi mun ek ﬂjóna ﬂér, ﬂví at ek veit
at ek mun eigi gæfu til bera at veita ﬂér ﬂá ﬂjónustu sem ek munda vilja ok
36vert væri. Hygg ek at mér ver›i meiri muna vant1 en ﬁórólfi.’
Konungr ﬂag›i ok setti hann dreyrrau›an á at sjá. ¯lvir sneri ﬂegar í brottok ba› ﬂá Grím ganga út; ﬂeir ger›u svá, gingu út ok tóku vápn sín; ba›
1 mér ver›i meira muna vant: ‘I would fall shorter’. An ironical allusion to 27/32,
where ﬁórólfr had tried to kill the king in the battle at his farm, and then exclaimed:‘Now I came three feet short!’ i.e. of reaching the king with his sword.

34

EGILS SAGA

¯lvir ﬂá fara í brott sem skjótast. Gekk ¯lvir á lei› me› ﬂeim til vatnsins okmargir menn me› honum.
3 Á›r ﬂeir Skalla-Grímr skil›isk mælti ¯lvir: ‘Annan veg var fƒr ﬂín, Grímrfrændi, til konungs en ek munda kjósa. F‡sta ek ﬂik mjƒk hingatfararinnar,
en nú vil ek hins bi›ja, at ﬂú farir heim sem skyndiligast ok ﬂess me› at ﬂú
6 komir eigi á fund Haralds konungs, nema betri ver›i sætt ykkur en mér ﬂikir
nú á horfask, ok gæt ﬂín vel fyrir konungi ok hans mƒnnum.’Sí›an fóru ﬂeir Grímr yfir vatnit, en ﬂeir ¯lvir gengu ﬂar til er skip ﬂau
9 váru er upp váru sett vi› vatnit ok hjuggu svá at ekki var fœrt, ﬂví at ﬂeir sámannfƒr ofan frá konungsbœnum. Váru ﬂeir menn margir saman ok vápna›irmjƒk ok fóru œsiliga; ﬂá menn haf›i Haraldr konungr sent eptir ﬂeim til
12 ﬂess at drepa Grím.
Haf›i konungr tekit til or›a litlu sí›ar en ﬂeir Grímr hƒf›u út gengit, sag›isvá: ‘ﬁat sé ek á skalla ﬂeim inum mikla at hann er fullr upp úlfú›ar ok hann
15 ver›r at ska›a ﬂeim mƒnnum nƒkkurum er oss mun ﬂikja afnám í, ef hannnáir. Megu ﬂér ﬂat ætla, ﬂeir menn er hann mun kalla at í sƒkum sé vi› hann,at sá skalli mun engan y›varn spara, ef hann kemsk í fœri; fari› nú ﬂá eptir
18 honum ok drepi› hann.’Sí›an fóru ﬂeir ok kómu til vatnsins ok fengu ﬂar engi skip ﬂau er fœrværi; fóru aptr sí›an ok sƒg›u konungi sína fer› ok svá ﬂat at ﬂeir Grímr
21 mundu ﬂá komnir yfir vatnit.
Skalla-Grímr fór lei› sína ok fƒruneyti hans til ﬂess er hann kom heim;
sag›i Skalla-Grímr Kveld-Úlfi frá fer› ﬂeira. Kveld-Úlfr lét vel yfir ﬂví er Grímr
24 haf›i eigi farit til konungs ﬂess erendis at ganga til handa honum, sag›i enn
sem fyrr at ﬂeir mundu af konungi hljóta ska›a einn, en enga uppreist.
Kveld-Úlfr ok Skalla-Grímr rœddu opt um rá›agjƒr› sína ok kom ﬂat allt
27 ásamt me› ﬂeim, sƒg›u svá at ﬂeir mundu ekki mega vera ﬂar í landi heldr
en a›rir menn ﬂeir er í ósætt <væri> vi› konung, ok mundi ﬂeim hitt rá› atfara af landi á brott ok ﬂótti ﬂeim ﬂat f‡siligt at leita til Íslands, ﬂví at ﬂá var
30 sagt ﬂar vel frá landkostum. ﬁar váru ﬂá komnir vinir ﬂeira ok kunningjar,
Ingólfr Arnarson ok fƒrunautar hans, ok <hƒf›u>a tekit sér landskosti ok
bústa›i á Íslandi; máttu menn ﬂar nema sér lƒnd ókeypis ok velja bústa›i.
33 Sta›festisk ﬂat helzt um rá›ager› ﬂeira at ﬂeir mundi breg›a búi sínu1 ok fara
af landi á brott.
ﬁórir Hróaldsson haf›i verit í barnœsku at fóstri me› Kveld-Úlfi ok váru
36 ﬂeir Skalla-Grímr mjƒk jafnaldrar; var ﬂar allkært í fóstbrœ›ralagi. ﬁórira Thus K and W.
1 breg›a búi sínu: ‘give up their household’. This is the ordinary meaning and isused thus in Ch. 81, where Egill in old age gives up his household and hands it over
to ﬁorsteinn, his son. But here much more is involved, as Kveld-Úlfr and SkallaGrímr decide to abandon their possessions in Norway.

EGILS SAGA

35

var or›inn lendr ma›r konungs er ﬂetta var tí›enda, en vinátta ﬂeira SkallaGríms helzk ávallt.
Snemma um várit bjuggu ﬂeir Kveld-Úlfr skip sín; ﬂeir hƒf›u mikinn 3
skipakost ok gó›an, bjuggu tvá knƒrru mikla ok hƒf›u á hvárum ﬂrjá tigu
manna ﬂeira er li›fœrir váru ok um fram konur ok ungmenni. ﬁeir hƒf›ume› sér lausafé allt ﬂat er ﬂeir máttu me› komask, en jar›ir ﬂeira ﬂor›i engi 6ma›r at kaupa fyrir ríki konungs. En er ﬂeir váru búnir ﬂá sigldu ﬂeir í brott;ﬂeir sigldu í eyjar ﬂær er Sólundir heita; ﬂat eru margar eyjar ok stórar ok
svá mjƒk vágskornar at ﬂat er mælt at ﬂar munu fáir menn vita allar hafnir. 9

26.
Guttormr hét ma›r, son Sigur›ar hjartar; hann var mó›urbró›ir Haralds
konungs; hann var fóstrfa›ir konungs ok rá›ama›r fyrir li›i hans, ﬂví at 12
konungr var ﬂá á barns aldri fyrst er hann kom til ríkis. Guttormr var hertogi1
fyrir li›i Haralds konungs ﬂá er hann vann land undir sik, ok var hann íƒllum orrostum ﬂeim er konungr átti ﬂá er hann gekk til lands í Nóregi. En 15
er Haraldr var or›inn einvaldskonungr yfir landi ƒllu ok hann settisk um
kyrrt ﬂá gaf hann Guttormi frænda sínum Vestrfold ok Austr-Ag›ir ok
18
Hringaríki ok land ﬂat allt er átt haf›i Hálfdan svarti fa›ir hans.
Guttormr átti sonu tvá ok dœtr tvær; synir hans hétu Sigur›r ok Ragnarr,en dœtr hans Ragnhildr ok Áslaug. Guttormr tók sótt; en er at honum lei› ﬂásendi hann menn á fund Haralds konungs ok ba› hann sjá fyrir bƒrnum 21
sínum ok fyrir ríki sínu; litlu sí›ar anda›isk hann. En er konungr spur›iandlát hans ﬂá lét hann kalla til sín Hallvar› har›fara ok ﬂá brœ›r, sag›i at
ﬂeir skyldu fara sendifƒr hans austr í Vík; konungr var ﬂá staddr í ﬁrándheimi. 24
ﬁeir brœ›r bjuggusk til fer›ar ﬂeirar sem vegligast; vƒl›u sér li› ok hƒf›uskip ﬂat er ﬂeir fengu bezt; ﬂeir hƒf›u ﬂat skip er átt haf›i ﬁórólfr KveldÚlfsson ok ﬂeir hƒf›u tekit af ﬁorgísli gjallanda. En er ﬂeir váru búnir fer›ar 27
sinnar ﬂá sag›i konungr ﬂeim erendi at ﬂeir skyldu fara austr til Túnsbergs;
ﬂar var ﬂá kaupsta›r; ﬂar haf›i Guttormr haft atsetu.
‘Skulu ﬂit,’ sag›i konungr, ‘fœra mér sonu Guttorms, en dœtr hans skulu 30
ﬂar upp fœ›ask til ﬂess er ek gipti ﬂær; skal ek fá menn til at var›veita ríkit okveita meyjunum fóstr.’
En er ﬂeir brœ›r váru búnir ﬂá fara ﬂeir lei› sína ok byrja›i ﬂeim vel; 33
kómu ﬂeir um várit í Vík austr til Túnsbergs ok báru ﬂar fram erendi sín;
1 hertogi: leader, commander. In the corresponding part of Haralds saga hárfagra
in Heimskringla the same Guttormr is called hertogi, and similarly in Óláfs saga
Tryggvasonar en mesta and in Hálfdanar ﬂáttr svarta in Flateyjarbók. Furthermore
an interpolated passage in the A-text of Fagrskinna tells that King Haraldr hárfagri
appointed Gu›ﬂormr Dagsson, his uncle, hertogi over Ó›inssalr and other districts.
Historically, the title hertogi was first introduced in Norway in 1237.

36

EGILS SAGA

taka ﬂeir Hallvar›r vi› sonum Guttorms ok miklu lausafé. Fara ﬂeir ﬂá er
ﬂeir eru búnir aptr á lei›; byrja›i ﬂeim ﬂá nƒkkurum mun seinna ok var›
3 ekki til tí›enda í ﬂeira fer› fyrr en ﬂeir sigla nor›r um Sognsæ byr gó›an ok
bjart ve›r ok váru ﬂá allkátir.

27. Dráp ﬂeira brœ›ra
6 Kveld-Úlfr ok ﬂeir Skalla-Grímr heldu njósnum jafnan um sumarit inn á

ﬂjó›lei›inni. Skalla-Grímr var hverjum manni skyggnri; hann sá sigling ﬂeira
Hallvar›s ok kenndi skipit, ﬂví at hann haf›i ﬂat skip sét fyrr ﬂá er ﬁorgils
9 fór me›. Skalla-Grímr helt vƒr› á um fer› ﬂeira hvar ﬂeir lƒg›u til hafnar
um kveldit; sí›an ferr hann aptr til li›s síns ok segir Kveld-Úlfi ﬂat er hann
haf›i sét, svá ﬂat at hann haf›i kennt skipit ﬂat er ﬂeir Hallvar›r hƒf›u tekit
12 af ﬁorgísli ok ﬁórólfr haf›i átt, ok ﬂar mundu ﬂeir menn nƒkkurir fylgja ervei›r mundi í vera.
Sí›an búask ﬂeir ok búa bá›a bátana ok hƒf›u tuttugu menn á hvárum;15 st‡r›i ƒ›rum Kveld-Úlfr, en ƒ›rum Skalla-Grímr. Róa ﬂeir sí›an ok leitaskipsins; en er ﬂeir koma at ﬂar er skipit lá ﬂá lƒg›u ﬂeir at landi.
ﬁeir Hallvar›r hƒf›u tjaldat yfir skipi sínu ok hƒf›u ﬂá lagizk til svefns;
18 en er ﬂeir Kveld-Úlfr kómu at ﬂeim ﬂá hljópu var›menn upp er sátu vi›
bryggjuspor› ok kƒllu›u á skip út, bá›u menn upp standa, sƒg›u at ófri›r
fór at ﬂeim; hljópu ﬂeir Hallvar›r til vápna sinna.
21 En er ﬂeir Kveld-Úlfr kómu at bryggjuspor›inum ﬂá gekk hann út atskutbryggju, en Skalla-Grímr gekk fram at bryggjunni. Kveld-Úlfr haf›i íhendi bryntrƒll. En er hann kom á skipit ﬂá ba› hann menn sína ganga it ‡tra24 me› bor›um ok hƒggva tjƒldin ór klofum, en hann ó› aptr til lyptingarinnar
ok svá er sagt at ﬂá hama›isk hann ok fleiri váru ﬂeir fƒrunautar hans er ﬂáhƒmu›usk. ﬁeir drápu menn ﬂá alla er fyrir ﬂeim ur›u; slíkt sama ger›i
27 Skalla-Grímr ﬂar er hann gekk um skipit; léttu ﬂeir fe›gar eigi fyrr en hro›itvar skipit. En er Kveld-Úlfr kom aptr at lyptingunni reiddi hann upp bryntrƒllit ok høggr til Hallvar›s í gegnum hjálminn ok hƒfu›it ok sƒkk allt at
30 skapti; hnykkti hann ﬂá svá hart at sér at hann brá Hallvar›i á lopt ok sløng›i
honum útbyr›is.
Skalla-Grímr ruddi framstafninn ok drap Sigtrygg. Margt hljóp manna á
33 kaf, en menn Skalla-Gríms tóku bátinn er ﬂeir hƒf›u ﬂagat haft ok reru til ok
drápu ﬂá alla er á sundinu váru.
ﬁar lézk alls manna Hallvar›s meir en fimm tigir manna, en ﬂeir Skalla36 Grímr tóku skipit ﬂat er ﬂeir Hallvar›r hƒf›u ﬂangat haft ok fé allt ﬂat sem
á var. ﬁeir tóku hƒndum menn tvá e›a ﬂrjá ﬂá er ﬂeim ﬂótti sem minnstirværi fyrir sér ok gáfu gri› ok hƒf›u af ﬂeim tí›endi, fréttu hverir menn hef›i
39 verit á skipinu ok svá hverneg fer› ﬂeira hef›i ætlu› verit.

EGILS SAGA

37

En er ﬂeir váru vísir or›nir alls ins sanna ﬂá kƒnnu›u ﬂeir valinn ﬂann erá skipinu lá; fannsk ﬂeim ﬂá ﬂat á at meiri hlutr manna haf›i fyrir bor›hlaupit ok hƒf›u t‡nzk en ﬂat er fallit haf›i á skipinu. ﬁeir synir Guttorms 3
hƒf›u fyrir bor› hlaupit ok hƒf›u t‡nzk; ﬂá var annarr ﬂeira tólf vetra enannarr tíu, ok inir vænligstu menn.
Sí›an lét Skalla-Grímr lausa fara ﬂá menn er hann haf›i gri› gefit ok ba› 6
ﬂá fara á fund Haralds konungs ok segja honum vendiliga frá ﬂeim tí›endum
er ﬂar ger›usk, ok svá hverir ﬂar hƒf›u at verit. ‘Skulu ﬂér,’ sag›i hann,‘bera til konungs kvi›ling ﬂenna:’9

2. Nú er hersis hefndvi› hilmi efnd;
gengr úlfr ok ƒrnof ynglings bƒrn.
Flugu hƒggvin hræ
Hallvar›s á sæ;
grár slítr undirari Snarfara.

12

15

Sí›an fluttu ﬂeir Grímr skipit me› farmi út til skipa sinna; skiptu ﬂá skipunum, 18
hló›u ﬂetta er ﬂá hƒf›u ﬂeir fengit, en ruddu hitt er ﬂeir hƒf›u á›r ok minnavar, báru ﬂar í grjót ok brutu ﬂar á raufar ok søkktu ni›r; sigldu sí›an á haf útﬂegar byr gaf.
21
Svá er sagt at ﬂeim mƒnnum væri farit er hamrammir eru e›a ﬂeim er
berserksgangr var á, at me›an ﬂat var framit ﬂá váru ﬂeir svá sterkir at ekki
helzk vi› ﬂeim, en fyrst er af var gengit ﬂá váru ﬂeir ómáttkari en at van›a. 24
Kveld-Úlfr var ok svá at ﬂá er af honum gekk hamremmin ﬂá kenndi hannmœ›i af sókn ﬂeiri er hann haf›i veitt ok var hann ﬂá af ƒllu saman ómáttugr
svá at hann lag›isk í rekkju; en byrr bar ﬂá í haf út.
27
Kveld-Úlfr ré› fyrir skipi ﬂví er ﬂeir hƒf›u tekit af ﬂeim Hallvar›i; ﬂeim
byrja›i vel ok heldu mjƒk samfloti svá at hvárir vissu lƒngum til annarra.
En er sóttisk hafit ﬂá elna›i sótt á hendr Kveld-Úlfi; en er dró at ﬂví at hann 30
var banvænn ﬂá kalla›i hann til skipverja sínaa ok sag›i ﬂeim at honumﬂótti líkligt at ﬂá mundi brátt skilja vega ﬂeira.
‘Hefi ek,’ sag›i hann, ‘ekki kvellisjúkr verit, en ef svá ferr sem mér ﬂikir 33
nú líkligast, at ek ƒndumk, ﬂá geri› mér kistu ok láti› mik fara fyrir bor›, okver›r ﬂetta annan veg en ek hug›a at vera mundi, ef ek skal eigi koma til
a skipverja sína, acc. pl., is a necessary correction in accordance with K and W (tilis adverbial); M has sinna.
Stanza 2. The hersir is Kveld-Úlfr, the hilmir is Haraldr hárfagri. The Ynglings
were the royal line from Uppsala; ynglingr is here used as a common noun, = prince.

38

EGILS SAGAÍslands ok nema ﬂar land. ﬁér skulu› bera kve›ju mína Grími syni mínum
ﬂá er ﬂér finnizk ok segi› honum ﬂat me›, ef svá ver›r at hann kemr til
3 Íslands, ok beri svá at, ﬂótt ﬂat muni ólíkligt ﬂikja, at ek sjá ﬂar fyrir, ﬂá taki
hann sér ﬂar bústa› sem næst ﬂví er ek hefi at landi komit.’
Litlu sí›ar anda›isk Kveld-Úlfr; gjƒr›u skipverjar hans svá sem hann haf›i
6 fyrir mælt, at ﬂeir lƒg›u hann í kistu ok skutu sí›an fyrir bor›.
Grímr hét ma›r, son ﬁóris Ketilssonar kjƒlfara, kynstórr ma›r ok au›igr;
hann var skipveri Kveld-Úlfs. Hann haf›i verit aldavinr ﬂeira fe›ga ok haf›i
9 verit í fer›um bæ›i me› ﬂeim ok ﬁórólfi; haf›i hann ok fengit rei›i konungs
fyrir ﬂá sƒk. Hann tók til forrá›a skipit eptir er Kveld-Úlfr var dau›r.
En er ﬂeir váru komnir vi› Ísland ﬂá sigldu ﬂeir sunnan at landi; ﬂeir
12 sigldu vestr fyrir landit, ﬂví at ﬂeir hƒf›u ﬂat spurt at Ingólfr haf›i sér ﬂar
bústa› tekit. En er ﬂeir kómu fyrir Reykjanes ok ﬂeir sá fir›inum upp lúkaﬂá stefna ﬂeir inn í fjƒr›inn bá›um skipunum. Ve›r ger›i hvasst ok væta15 mikil ok ﬂoka;1 skil›usk ﬂá skipin. Sigldu ﬂeir <Grímr inn háleyski>a inn
eptir Borgarfir›i til ﬂess er ﬂraut sker ƒll; kƒstu›u ﬂá akkerum til ﬂess erve›r læg›i ok ljóst ger›i; ﬂá bi›u ﬂeir flœ›ar. Sí›an fluttu ﬂeir skipit upp í
18 árós nƒkkurn; sú er kƒllu› Gufuá. Leiddu ﬂar skipit upp eptir ánni svá sem
gekk; báru sí›an farm af skipinu ok bjuggusk ﬂar um inn fyrsta vetr.
ﬁeir kƒnnu›u landit me› sæ, bæ›i upp ok út; en er ﬂeir hƒf›u skammt
21 farit ﬂá fundu ﬂeir í vík einni hvar upp var rekin kista Kveld-Úlfs; fluttu ﬂeir
kistuna á nes ﬂat er ﬂar var›, settu hana ﬂar ni›r ok hló›u at grjóti.

28. Skalla-Grímr nam land
24 Skalla-Grímr kom ﬂar at landi er nes mikit gekk í sæ út ok ei› mjótt fyrir

ofan nesit ok báru ﬂar farm af; ﬂat kƒllu›u ﬂeir Knarrarnes.
Sí›an kanna›i Skalla-Grímr landit ok var ﬂar m‡rlendi mikit ok skógar
27 ví›ir, langt í milli fjalls ok fjƒru, selvei›ar gnógar ok fiskifang mikit. En er
ﬂeir kƒnnu›u landit su›r me› sjónum ok2 var› ﬂá fyrir ﬂeim fjƒr›r mikill,en er ﬂeir fóru inn me› fir›i ﬂeim ﬂá léttu ﬂeir eigi fyrr fer›inni en ﬂeir
30 fundu fƒrunauta sína, Grím inn háleyska ok ﬂá fƒrunauta; var› ﬂar fagnafundr.
Sƒg›u ﬂeir Skalla-Grími <andlát fƒ›ur hans ok ﬂat me›>b at Kveld-Úlfr var
ﬂar til lands kominn ok ﬂeir hƒf›u hann jar›at. Sí›an fylg›u ﬂeir Skalla33 Grími ﬂar til ok s‡ndisk honum svá sem ﬂa›an mundi skammt á brott ﬂar er
bólsta›argjƒr› gó› mundi vera.
Fór Grímr ﬂá í brott ok aptr til skipverja sinna, ok sátu ﬂar hvárir um
36 vetrinn sem ﬂeir hƒf›u at komit.
a Thus K (similar in W).

b Thus K and W.

1 ger›i is impersonal; the verb to be must be understood before væta. In d and Wvæta – ﬂoka is acc. (written vætu ok ﬂoku d, vátt ok ﬂoku W).
2 Cf. p. 27, n. 2.

EGILS SAGA

39ﬁá nam Skalla-Grímr land milli fjalls ok fjƒru, M‡rar allar út til Selalóns
ok it efra til Borgarhrauns, en su›r til Hafnarfjalla ok allt ﬂat land er vatnfƒll
deila til sjóvar. Hann flutti um várit eptir skipit su›r til fjar›arins ok inn í 3
vág ﬂann er næstr var ﬂví er Kveld-Úlfr haf›i til lands komit ok setti ﬂar bœ
ok kalla›i at Borg, en fjƒr›inn Borgarfjƒr›, ok svá hera›it upp frá kenndu
ﬂeir vi› fjƒr›inn.
6
Grími inum háleyska gaf hann bústa› fyrir sunnan Borgarfjƒr› ﬂar er kallatvar á Hvanneyri. ﬁar skammt út frá skarsk inn vík ein eigi mikil; fundu ﬂeir
ﬂar andir margar ok kƒllu›u Andakíl, en Andakílsá er ﬂar fell til sjóvar. Upp 9
frá á ﬂeiri til ﬂeirar ár er kƒllu› var Grímsá, ﬂar í milli átti Grímr land.
Um várit ﬂá er Skalla-Grímr lét reka kvikfé sitt útan me› sjó, ﬂá kómu
ﬂeir á nes eitt lítit ok veiddu ﬂar álptir nƒkkurar ok kƒllu›u Álptanes.
12
Skalla-Grímr gaf land skipverjum sínum. Ána gaf hann land milli Langár ok Háfslœkjar ok bjó hann at Ánabrekku; son hans var ¯nundr sjóni.
Grímólfr bygg›i fyrst á Grímólfsstƒ›um; vi› hann er kennd Grímólfsfit ok 15
Grímólfslœkr. Grímr hét son hans er bjó fyrir sunnan fjƒr›; hans son var
Grímarr er bjó á Grímarsstƒ›um; um hann deildu ﬂeir ﬁorsteinn ok TunguOddr.1 Grani bjó at Granastƒ›um í Digranesi. ﬁorbirni krum gaf hann land 18
upp me› Gufuá ok ﬁór›i beigalda; bjó Krumr í Krumshólum, en ﬁór›r at
Beigalda. ﬁóri ﬂurs ok ﬂeim brœ›rum gaf hann land upp frá Einkunnum ok
it ‡tra me› Langá; ﬁórir ﬂurs bjó á ﬁursstƒ›um; hans dóttir var ﬁórdís stƒng 21
er bjó í Stangarholti sí›an; ﬁorgeirr bjó á Jar›langsstƒ›um.
Skalla-Grímr kanna›i land upp um hera›; fór fyrst inn me› Borgarfir›i til
ﬂess er fjƒr›inn ﬂraut, en sí›an me› ánni fyrir vestan er hann kalla›i Hvítá, 24
ﬂví at ﬂeir fƒrunautar hƒf›u eigi sét fyrr vƒtn ﬂau er ór jƒklum hƒf›u fallit;
ﬂótti ﬂeim áin undarliga lit. ﬁeir fóru upp me› Hvítá <til ﬂess er sú á var›fyrir ﬂeim, er fell ór nor›ri frá fjƒllum>;a ﬂá kƒllu›u ﬂeir Nor›rá ok fóru upp 27
me› ﬂeiri á til ﬂess er enn var› á fyrir ﬂeim ok var ﬂat lítit vatnfall. Fóru ﬂeir
yfir á ﬂá ok enn upp me› Nor›rá; sá ﬂá brátt hvar in litla áin fell ór gljúfrum
ok kƒllu›u ﬂá Gljúfrá.
30
Sí›an fóru ﬂeir yfir Nor›rá ok fóru aptr enn til Hvítár ok upp me› henni;
var› ﬂá enn brátt á sú er ﬂvers var› fyrir ﬂeim ok fell í Hvítá; ﬂá kƒllu›u ﬂeir
ﬁverá. ﬁeir ur›u ﬂess varir at ﬂar var hvert vatn fullt af fiskum; sí›an fóru 33
ﬂeir út aptr til Borgar.
a Thus K (similar in W).
1 um hann – Tungu-Oddr: only in M, and the reference is obscure. It may havebeen a marginal note in the scribe’s exemplar, relating to the above-mentioned ¯nundr
sjóni or rather to his son Steinarr (cf. Chs 82–83), whose name appears here in W
and related manuscripts, but has probably been omitted in M. (In K only the
grandfather of Steinarr, Áni, the first settler of this family, is mentioned here.)40

EGILS SAGA

29. Af i›ju Skalla-Gríms
Skalla-Grímr var i›juma›r mikill; hann haf›i me› sér jafnan margt manna,
3 lét sœkja mjƒk fƒng ﬂau er fyrir váru ok til atvinnu mƒnnum váru, ﬂví at ﬂá

fyrst hƒf›u ﬂeir fátt kvikfjár hjá ﬂví sem ﬂurfti til fjƒlmennis ﬂess sem var;
en ﬂat sem var kvikfjárins ﬂá gekk ƒllum vetrum sjálfala í skógum. Skalla6 Grímr var skipasmi›r mikill, en rekavi› skorti eigi vestr fyrir M‡rar. Hann
lét gera bœ á Álptanesi ok átti ﬂar bú annat, lét ﬂa›an sœkja útró›ra ok
selvei›ar ok eggver, er ﬂá váru gnóg fƒng ﬂau ƒll, svá rekavi› at láta at sér
9 flytja. Hvalakvámur váru ﬂá ok miklar ok skjóta mátti sem vildi; allt var ﬂatﬂá kyrrt í vei›istƒ› er ﬂat var óvant manni. It ﬂri›ja bú átti hann vi› sjóinn á
vestanver›um M‡rum; var ﬂar enn betr komit at sitja fyrir rekum ok ﬂar lét
12 hann hafa sæ›i ok kalla at ¯krum. Eyjar lágu ﬂar út fyrir er hvalr fannsk í okkƒllu›u ﬂeir Hvalseyjar. Skalla-Grímr haf›i ok menn sína uppi vi› laxárnar
til vei›a; Odd einbúa setti hann vi› Gljúfrá at gæta ﬂar laxvei›ar; Oddr bjó
15 undir Einbúabrekkum; vi› hann er kennt Einbúanes. Sigmundr hét ma›r er
Skalla-Grímr setti vi› Nor›rá; hann bjó ﬂar er kallat var á Sigmundarstƒ›um;
ﬂar er nú kallat at Haugum; vi› hann er kennt Sigmundarnes. Sí›an fœr›i
18 hann bústa› sinn í Muno›arnes, ﬂótti ﬂar hœgra til laxvei›a. En er framgekk mjƒk kvikfé Skalla-Gríms ﬂá gekk féit upp til fjalla allt á sumrum;hann fann mikinn mun á at ﬂat fé var› betra ok feitara er á hei›um gekk, svá
21 ﬂat at sau›fé helzk á vetrum í fjalldƒlum ﬂótt eigi ver›i ofan rekit. Sí›an lét
Skalla-Grímr gera bœ uppi vi› fjallit ok átti ﬂar bú; lét ﬂar var›veita sau›fésitt; ﬂat bú var›veitti Gríss ok er vi› hann kennd Grísartunga. Stó› ﬂá á
24 mƒrgum fótum fjárafli Skalla-Gríms.
Stundu sí›ar en Skalla-Grímr haf›i út komit kom skip af hafi í Borgarfjƒr›ok átti sá ma›r er Óleifr var kalla›r halti; hann haf›i me› sér konu sína ok
27 bƒrn ok annat frændli› sitt ok haf›i svá ætlat fer› sína at fá sér bústa› áÍslandi. Óleifr var ma›r au›igr ok kynstórr ok spakr at viti. Skalla-Grímr
bau› Óleifi heim til sín til vistar ok li›i hans ƒllu, en Óleifr ﬂekk›isk ﬂat ok
30 var hann me› Skalla-Grími inn fyrsta vetr er Óleifr var á Íslandi. En eptir
um várit vísa›i Skalla-Grímr Óleifi til landskostar fyrir sunnan Hvítá, upp
frá Grímsá til Flókadalsár. Óleifr ﬂekk›isk ﬂat ok fór ﬂangat búferli sínu ok
33 setti ﬂar bústa› er heitir at Varmalœk. Hann var gƒfugr ma›r. Hans synirváru ﬂeir Ragi í Laugardal ok ﬁórarinn Ragabró›ir er lƒgsƒgu tók á Íslandinæst eptir Hrafn Hœngsson. ﬁórarinn bjó at Varmalœk; hann átti ﬁórdísi,
36 dóttur Óláfs feilans, systur ﬁór›ar gellis.

30. Útkváma Yngvars
Haraldr konungr inn hárfagri lag›i eigu sína á jar›ir ﬂær allar er ﬂeir Kveld39 Úlfr ok Skalla-Grímr hƒf›u eptir átt í Nóregi ok allt ﬂat fé annat er hann

EGILS SAGA

41

ná›i. Hann leita›i ok mjƒk eptir mƒnnum ﬂeim er verit hƒf›u í rá›um okvitor›um e›a nƒkkurum tilbeina me› ﬂeim Skalla-Grími um verk ﬂau er
ﬂeir unnu á›r Skalla-Grímr fór ór landi á brott, ok svá kom sá fjándskapr er 3
konungi var á ﬂeim fe›gum at hann hata›isk vi› frændr ﬂeira e›a a›ranau›leytamenn e›a ﬂá menn er hann vissi at ﬂeim hƒf›u allkærir verit ívináttu. Sættu sumir af honum refsingum ok margir fl‡›u undan ok leitu›u 6
sér hælis; sumir innan lands, en sumir fl‡›u me› ƒllu af landi á brott.
Yngvarr mágr Skalla-Gríms var einn af ﬂessum mƒnnum er nú var frá
sagt; tók hann ﬂat rá› at hann var›i fé sínu svá sem hann mátti í lausaeyri ok 9
fekk sér hafskip, ré› ﬂar menn til ok bjó fer› sína til Íslands, ﬂví at hann
haf›i ﬂá spurt at Skalla-Grímr haf›i tekit ﬂar sta›festu ok eigi mundi ﬂar
skorta landakosti me› Skalla-Grími. En er ﬂeir váru búnir ok byr gaf ﬂá 12
sigldi hann í haf ok greiddisk fer› hans vel; kom hann til Íslands fyrir sunnan
landit ok helt vestr fyrir Reykjanes ok sigldi inn á Borgarfjƒr› ok helt inn íLangá ok upp allt til Fors; báru ﬂar farm af skipinu.
15
En er Skalla-Grímr spur›i atkvámu Yngvars ﬂá fór hann ﬂegar á fundhans ok bau› honum til sín me› svá mƒrgum mƒnnum sem hann vildi.
Yngvarr ﬂekk›isk ﬂat; var skipit upp sett, en Yngvarr fór til Borgar me› 18
marga menn ok var ﬂann vetr me› Skalla-Grími. En at vári bau› SkallaGrímr honum landakosti; hann gaf Yngvari bú ﬂat er hann átti á Álptanesi
ok land inn til Leirulœkjar ok út til Straumfjar›ar; sí›an fór hann til útbús 21
ﬂess ok tók ﬂar vi›, ok var hann inn n‡zti ma›r ok haf›i au› fjár. SkallaGrímr ger›i ﬂá bú í Knarrarnesi ok átti ﬂar bú lengi sí›an.
Skalla-Grímr var járnsmi›r mikill ok haf›i rau›ablástr mikinn á vetrinn; 24hann lét gera smi›ju me› sjónum mjƒk langt út frá Borg ﬂar sem heitir
Raufarnes; ﬂótti honum skógar ﬂar <eigi> fjarlægir.a En er hann fekk ﬂarengan stein ﬂann er svá væri har›r e›a sléttr at honum ﬂœtti gott at l‡ja járn 27
vi›—ﬂví at ﬂar er ekki <nema>b malargrjót; eru ﬂar smáir sandar allt me›
sæ—ﬂat var eitt kveld ﬂá er a›rir menn fóru at sofa at Skalla-Grímr gekk til
sjóvar ok hratt fram skipi áttæru er hann átti ok reri út til Mi›fjar›areyja; lét 30
ﬂá hlaupa ni›r stjóra fyrir stafn á skipinu. Sí›an steig hann fyrir bor› okkafa›i ok haf›i upp me› sér stein ok fœr›i upp í skipit; sí›an fór hann sjálfr
upp í skipit ok reri til lands ok bar steininn til smi›ju sinnar ok lag›i ni›r 33
fyrir smi›judyrum ok lú›i ﬂar sí›an járn vi›. Liggr sá steinn ﬂar enn okmikit sindr hjá ok sér ﬂat á steininum at hann er bar›r ofan ok ﬂat er brimsorfit
grjót ok ekki ﬂví grjóti glíkt ƒ›ru er ﬂar er ok munu nú ekki meira hefja 36
fjórir menn.
a eigi is required by the context. The other redactions have: ﬂar var skammt til
skógar (i.e. at Raufarnes; this would be an advantage for the making of the necessary
charcoal for the forging of iron). b Thus K (W not comparable).

42

EGILS SAGA

Skalla-Grímr sótti fast smi›juverkit, en húskarlar hans vƒndu›u um okﬂótti snemma risit; ﬂá orti hann vísu ﬂessa:
369

3. Mjƒk ver›r ár, sá er aura,ísarns mei›r at rísa,vá›ir vidda bró›urve›rseygjar skal kve›ja.
Gjalla læt ek á gulli
geisla njóts me›an ﬂjóta,
heitu, hrœrikyt<j>urhreggs vindfrekar, sleggjur.

31. Hér segir af bƒrnum Skalla-Gríms
12 Skalla-Grímr ok ﬂau Bera áttu bƒrn mjƒk mƒrg ok var ﬂat fyrst at ƒllƒndu›usk; ﬂá gátu ﬂau son ok var vatni ausinn ok hét ﬁórólfr. En er hannfœddisk upp ﬂá var hann snemma mikill vexti ok inn vænsti s‡num; var ﬂat
15 allra manna mál at hann mundi vera inn líkasti ﬁórólfi Kveld-Úlfssyni erhann var eptir heitinn. ﬁórólfr var langt um fram jafnaldra sína at afli; en er
hann óx upp ger›isk hann íﬂróttama›r um flesta ﬂá hluti er ﬂá var mƒnnum
18 títt at fremja, ﬂeim er vel váru at sér gervir. ﬁórólfr var gle›ima›r mikill;snemma var hann svá fullkominn at afli at hann ﬂótti vel li›fœrr me› ƒ›rummƒnnum; var› hann brátt vinsæll af alﬂ‡›u; unni honum ok vel fa›ir ok mó›ir.
21 ﬁau Skalla-Grímr áttu dœtr tvær; hét ƒnnur Sæunnr, en ƒnnur ﬁórunn;váru ﬂær ok efniligar í uppvexti.
Enn áttu ﬂau Skalla-Grímr son; var sá vatni ausinn ok nafn gefit ok kalla›r
24 Egill. En er hann óx upp ﬂá mátti ﬂat brátt sjá á honum at hann mundi ver›amjƒk ljótr ok líkr fe›r sínum, svartr á hár. En ﬂá er hann var ﬂrevetr ﬂá var
Stanza 3. ver›r in line 1 is adopted from the other redactions; tekr in M; ve›rseygjar
in line 4 is Sigur›ur Nordal’s adaptation of the variant in e (K), ve›r seggjar; M hasve›r leggjar and W has ve›r leggja.
Mjƒk ár ver›r at rísa ísarns mei›r, sá er skal kve›ja ve›rseygjar vá›ir vidda bró›uraura. Læt ek sleggjur gjalla á heitu gulli geisla njóts, me›an vindfrekar hreggshrœrikytjur ﬂjóta.
ísarns mei›r, tree of iron, i.e. blacksmith; ve›rseygjar vá›ir, wind-sucking clothes;vidda bró›ur, of the brother of the sea, the wind (cf. Skáldskaparmál, Ch. 27); thewindsucking clothes of the wind are the smith’s bellows; heitu gulli geisla njóts, thehot gold of the enjoyer of the beam (i.e. of the fire or of the smith), is the glowing
iron; vindfrekar hreggs hrœrikytjur, the wind-greedy moving hovels of the wind, i.e.
the smith’s bellows.
The blacksmith must rise very early, he who shall demand wealth from the smith’s
bellows. I make sledge-hammers ring on the hot iron, while the wind-greedy smith’s
bellows howl.

EGILS SAGA

43

hann mikill ok sterkr svá sem ﬂeir sveinar a›rir er váru sex vetra e›a sjau;
hann var brátt málugr ok or›víss; heldr var hann illr vi›reignar er hann var
í leikum me› ƒ›rum ungmennum.
3
ﬁat vár fór Yngvarr til Borgar ok var ﬂat at erendum at hann bau› SkallaGrími til bo›s út ﬂangat til sín ok nefndi til ﬂeirar fer›ar Beru dóttur sína okﬁórólf son hennar ok ﬂá menn a›ra er ﬂau Skalla-Grímr vildu at fœri; Skalla- 6
Grímr hét fƒr sinni. Fór Yngvarr ﬂá heim ok bjó til veizlunnar ok lét ﬂá ƒl heita.
En er at ﬂeiri stefnu kemr er Skalla-Grímr skyldi til bo›sins fara ok ﬂau
Bera, ﬂá bjósk ﬁórólfr til fer›ar me› ﬂeim ok húskarlar svá at ﬂau váru 9
fimmtán saman.
Egill rœddi um vi› fƒ›ur sinn at hann vildi fara.
‘Á ek ﬂar slíkt kynni sem ﬁórólfr,’ segir hann.
12‘Ekki skaltu fara,’ segir Skalla-Grímr, ‘ﬂví at ﬂú kannt ekki fyrir ﬂér atvera í fjƒlmenni ﬂar er drykkjur eru miklar, en ﬂú ﬂikir ekki gó›r vi›skiptis
at ﬂú sér ódrukkinn.’
15
Steig ﬂá Skalla-Grímr á hest sinn ok rei› í brott, en Egill un›i illa vi› sinn
hlut. Hann gekk ór gar›i ok hitti eykhest einn er Skalla-Grímr átti, fór á bak
ok rei› eptir ﬂeim Skalla-Grími. Honum var› ógrei›fœrt um m‡rarnar, ﬂví 18
at hann kunni enga lei›, en hann sá ﬂó mjƒk opt rei› ﬂeira Skalla-Gríms ﬂáer eigi bar fyrir holt e›a skóga. Er ﬂat at segja frá hans fer› at sí› um kveldit
kom hann á Álptanes ﬂá er menn sátu ﬂar at drykkju; gekk hann inn í stufu. 21
En er Yngvarr sá Egil ﬂá tók hann vi› honum feginsamliga ok spur›i hví
hann hef›i svá sí› komit. Egill sag›i hvat ﬂeir Skalla-Grímr hƒf›u vi› mælzk.
Yngvarr setti Egil hjá sér; sátu ﬂeir gagnvert ﬂeim Skalla-Grími ok ﬁórólfi. 24
ﬁat var ﬂar haft <at>a ƒlteiti at menn kvá›u vísur. ﬁá kva› Egill vísu:
4. Kominn em ek til arna
Yngvars ﬂess er be› lyngva,
hann var ek fúss at finna,
fránﬂvengjar gefr drengjum.
Mun eigi ﬂú, ﬂægir,ﬂrevetran mér betra,
ljósundinna landa
linns, ó›arsmi› finna.

27

30

33

Yngvarr helt upp vísu ﬂeiri ok ﬂakka›i vel Agli vísuna; en um daginn eptirﬂá fœr›i Yngvarr Agli at skáldskaparlaunum kúfunga ﬂrjá ok andaregg. En
um daginn eptir vi› drykkju kva› Egill vísu a›ra um bragarlaun:
36
a Thus K; til W.

Stanza 4. arna in line 1 is adopted from d, z (both of the W-class) and e (K); árnaW; erna M; ﬂess er in line 2 is adopted from K and W; omitted in M.

44

3

6

EGILS SAGA

5. Síﬂƒgla gaf sƒglum
sárgagls ﬂrjá Aglihir›imei›r vi› hró›rihagr brimrótar gagra,
ok bekkﬂi›urs blakkabor›vallar gaf fjór›akennimei›r sá er kunni,
kørbe›, Egil gle›ja.

9 Vel lag›i Egill í ﬂƒkk skáldskap sinn vi› marga menn. Ekki var› ﬂá fleira til

tí›enda í fer› ﬂeira. Fór Egill heim me› Skalla-Grími.

32.
12 Bjƒrn hét hersir ríkr í Sogni er bjó á Aurlandi; hans son var Brynjólfr er arf

allan tók eptir fƒ›ur sinn. Synir Brynjólfs váru ﬂeir Bjƒrn ok ﬁór›r; ﬂeir
váru menn á ungum aldri er ﬂetta var tí›enda. Bjƒrn var farma›r mikill, var
15 stundum í víking, en stundum í kaupfer›um; Bjƒrn var inn gerviligsti ma›r.
ﬁat barsk at á einu hverju sumri at Bjƒrn var staddr í Fjƒr›um at veizlunƒkkurri fjƒlmennri; ﬂar sá hann mey fagra ﬂá er honum fannsk mikit um.
18 Hann spur›i eptir hverrar ættar hon var; honum var ﬂat sagt at hon var systirﬁóris hersis Hróaldssonar ok hét ﬁóra hla›hƒnd. Bjƒrn hóf upp bónor› sittok ba› ﬁóru, en ﬁórir synja›i honum rá›sins ok skil›usk ﬂeir at svá gervu.
Kominn em ek til arna Yngvars, ﬂess er gefr drengjum lyngva fránﬂvengjar be›;hann var ek fúss at finna. Eigi mun ﬂú, ﬂægir ljósundinna linns landa, finna ﬂrevetranó›arsmi› betra mér.
lyngva fránﬂvengjar be›, bed of the glittering thong of the heather, i.e. of theserpent, is gold, on which snakes were believed to sleep; ﬂægir ljósundinna linns
landa, shover, i.e. distributor, of the bright-twisted serpent-lands (gold objects) =generous man.
I have come to the home of Yngvarr, who gives gold to men. How eager I was tovisit him! You will not, you generous man, find a three-year-old skald better than me.
Stanza 5. hir›imei›r in line 3 is adopted from K and W for her›imei›r in M; bekkﬂi›urs in line 5 is adopted from K instead of the inexplicable bekk fi›rs in M.
Hagr hir›imei›r sárgagls gaf sƒglum Agli ﬂrjá síﬂƒgla brimrótar gagra vi› hró›ri,
ok bor›vallar blakka kennimei›r, sá er kunni gle›ja Egil, gaf fjór›a, bekkﬂi›urs kørbe›.
hir›imei›r sárgagls, herding-tree, the man who takes care of or feeds the woundgosling (raven) is a warrior, a man; brimrótar gagra, the dogs of the bottom of thesea, are sea-snails; bor›vallar blakka kennimei›r, the tree who knows horses of the
field of planks (ships), is a seafarer, man; bekkﬂi›urs kørbe›r, the favourite bed,chosen bed (or kƒrbe›r, sick-bed) of the capercaillie of the brook (duck), is a duck’s egg.
The skilful man gave the loquacious Egill three taciturn (shells of) sea-snails for(his) praise (verse), and the man, who knew how to make Egill glad, gave as the
fourth gift a duck’s egg.

EGILS SAGA

45

En ﬂat sama haust fekk Bjƒrn sér li›s ok fór me› skútu alskipa›a nor›r íFjƒr›u ok kom til ﬁóris ok svá at hann var eigi heima. Bjƒrn nam ﬁóru ábrott ok haf›i heim me› sér á Aurland; váru ﬂau ﬂar um vetrinn ok vildi 3Bjƒrn gera brú›laup til hennar. Brynjólfi fe›r hans líka›i ﬂat illa er Bjƒrn
haf›i gƒrt, ﬂótti svívir›ing í ﬂví ﬂar sem á›r haf›i lƒng vinátta verit me›
6ﬁóri ok Brynjólfi.
‘ﬁví sí›r skaltu, Bjƒrn,’ segir Brynjólfr, ‘brú›laup til ﬁóru gera hér me›
mér at óleyfi ﬁóris bró›ur hennar, at hon skal hér svá vel sett sem hon væri9
mín dóttir, en systir ﬂín.’
En svá var› at vera allt sem Brynjólfr kva› á ﬂar í hans híb‡lum hvárt er
Birni líka›i vel e›a illa.
Brynjólfr sendi menn til ﬁóris at bjó›a honum sætt ok yfirbœtr fyrir fƒr ﬂá 12
er Bjƒrn haf›i farit. ﬁórir ba› Brynjólf senda heim ﬁóru, sag›i at ekki mundi
af sætt ver›a ella. En Bjƒrn vildi fyrir engan mun láta hana í brott fara ﬂó at
15
Brynjólfr beiddi ﬂess; lei› svá af vetrinn.
En er vára tók ﬂá rœddu ﬂeir Brynjólfr ok Bjƒrn einn dag um rá›ager›ir
sínar; spur›i Brynjólfr hvat hann ætla›isk fyrir. Bjƒrn sag›i ﬂat líkast at
18
hann mundi fara af landi á brott.
‘Er mér ﬂat næst skapi,’ sag›i hann, ‘at ﬂú fáir mér langskip ok ﬂar li›me› ok fara ek í víking.’‘Engi ván er ﬂess,’ sag›i Brynjólfr, ‘at ek fá ﬂér í hendr herskip ok li› 21
mikit, ﬂví at ek veit eigi nema ﬂá komir ﬂú ﬂar ni›r er mér er ƒll óaufúsa á,
ok stendr ﬂó nú á›r œrin óró af ﬂér. Kaupskip mun ek fá ﬂér í hendr ok ﬂarme› kaupeyri; far›u sí›an su›r til Dyflinnar; sú er nú fer› frægst. Mun ek fá 24
ﬂér fƒruneyti gott.’Bjƒrn segir svá at hann mundi ﬂat ver›a upp at taka sem Brynjólfr vildi;
lét hann ﬂá búa kaupskip gott ok fekk menn til; bjósk Bjƒrn ﬂá til ﬂeirar fer›ar 27
ok var› ekki snemmbúinn. En er Bjƒrn var albúinn ok byrr rann á ﬂá steighann á bát me› tólf menn ok reri inn á Aurland ok gengu upp til bœjar ok til
dyngju ﬂeirar er mó›ir hans átti. Sat hon ﬂar inni ok konur mjƒk margar; ﬂar 30
var ﬁóra. Bjƒrn sag›i at ﬁóra skyldi me› honum fara; leiddu ﬂeir hana í brott,en mó›ir hans ba› konurnar vera eigi svá djarfar at ﬂær ger›i vart vi› inn ískálann, sag›i at Brynjólfr mundi illa í hƒndum hafa, ef hann vissi, ok sag›i 33
at ﬂá væri búit vi› geig miklum me› ﬂeim fe›gum. En klæ›na›r ﬁóru ok
gripir váru ﬂar allir lag›ir til handargagns ok hƒf›u ﬂeir Bjƒrn ﬂat allt me›sér. Fóru ﬂeir sí›an um nóttina út til skips síns, drógu ﬂegar <upp>a segl sitt ok 36
sigldu út eptir Sognsæ ok sí›an í haf. ﬁeim byrja›i illa ok hƒf›u réttu stóra
ok velkti lengi í hafi, ﬂví at ﬂeir váru øruggir í ﬂví at firrask Nóreg sem mest.

a Thus W.

46

EGILS SAGA

ﬁat var einn dag at ﬂeir sigldu austan at Hjaltlandi hvasst ve›r ok lestu
skipit í landtƒku vi› Mósey, báru ﬂar af farminn ok fóru í borg ﬂá er ﬂar var
3 ok báru ﬂangat allan varning sinn ok settu upp skipit ok bœttu er brotit var.

33.
Litlu fyrir vetr kom skip til Hjaltlands sunnan ór Orkneyjum; sƒg›u ﬂeir
6 ﬂau tí›endi at langskip haf›i komit um haustit til eyjanna; váru ﬂat sendimenn

Haralds konungs me› ﬂeim erendum til Sigur›ar jarls at konungr vildi drepa
láta Bjƒrn Brynjólfsson hvar sem hann yr›i áhendr, ok slíkar or›sendingar
9 ger›i hann til Su›reyja, allt til Dyflinnar. Bjƒrn spur›i ﬂessi tí›endi ok ﬂatme› at hann var útlægr í Nóregi.
En ﬂegar er Bjƒrn haf›i komit til Hjaltlands ger›i hann brullaup til ﬁóru;
12 sátu ﬂau um vetrinn í Móseyjarborg. En ﬂegar um várit er sjó tók at lægja
setti Bjƒrn fram skip sitt ok bjó sem ákafligast; en er hann var búinn ok byr
gaf sigldi hann í haf; fengu ﬂeir ve›r stór ok váru litla stund úti, kómu sunnan
15 at Íslandi. Gekk ﬂá ve›r á land ok bar ﬂá vestr fyrir landit ok ﬂá í haf út, ener ﬂeim gaf byr aptr ﬂá sigldu ﬂeir at landinu. Engi var sá ma›r ﬂar innanbor›s er verit hef›i fyrr á Íslandi.
18 ﬁeir sigldu inn á fjƒr› einn fur›uliga mikinn ok bar ﬂá at inni vestristrƒndinni, sá ﬂar til lands inn ekki nema bo›a eina ok hafnleysur; beittu ﬂá
sem ﬂverast austr fyrir landit, allt til ﬂess er fjƒr›r var› fyrir ﬂeim ok sigldu
21 ﬂeir inn eptir fir›inum til ﬂess er lokit var skerjum ƒllum ok brimi. ﬁá lƒg›uﬂeir at nesi einu; lá ﬂar ey fyrir útan, en sund djúpt í milli; festu ﬂar skipit.
Vík gekk upp fyrir vestan nesit, en upp af víkinni stó› borg mikil.1
24 Bjƒrn gekk á bát einn ok menn me› honum; Bjƒrn sag›i fƒrunautum sínum
at ﬂeir skyldu varask at segja ﬂat ekki frá fer›um sínum er ﬂeim stœ›ivandræ›i af ﬂví. ﬁeir Bjƒrn reru til bœjarins ok hittu ﬂar menn at máli;
27 spur›u ﬂeir ﬂess fyrst hvar ﬂeir váru at landi komnir. Menn sƒg›u at ﬂat hét
at Borgarfir›i, en bœr sá er ﬂar var hét at Borg, en Skalla-Grímr bóndinn.
Bjƒrn kanna›isk brátt vi› hann ok gekk til móts vi› Skalla-Grím ok tƒlu›usk
30 ﬂeir vi›; spur›i Skalla-Grímr hvat mƒnnum ﬂeir væri. Bjƒrn nefndi sik okfƒ›ur sinn, en Skalla-Grími var allr kunnleiki á Brynjólfi ok bau› Birni
allan forbeina sinn ﬂann er hann ﬂurfti; Bjƒrn tók ﬂví ﬂakksamliga.
33 ﬁá spur›i Skalla-Grímr hvat fleira væri ﬂeira manna á skipi er vir›ingamennværi. Bjƒrn sag›i at ﬂar var ﬁóra Hróaldsdóttir, systir ﬁóris hersis, <ok honværi eiginkona hans>.aa Thus K and W.
1 borg mikil: (here) a great rocky outcrop; hence the name of Skalla-Grímr’s farm,
which was named without explanation in Ch. 28. Fragment e (K) has here, notinappropriately, bœr mikill (W not comparable).

EGILS SAGA

47

Skalla-Grímr var› vi› ﬂat allgla›r ok sag›i svá at ﬂat var skylt ok heimultum systur ﬁóris fóstbró›ur síns at hann ger›i slíkan forbeina sem ﬂurfti e›ahann hef›i fƒng til ok bau› ﬂeim Birni bá›um til sín me› alla skipverja sína. 3Bjƒrn ﬂekk›isk ﬂat.
Var ﬂá fluttr farmr af skipinu upp í tún at Borg; settu ﬂeir ﬂar bú›ir sínar,en skipit var leitt upp í lœk ﬂann er ﬂar ver›r; en ﬂar er kallat Bjarnartƒ›ur 6
sem ﬂeir Bjƒrn hƒf›u bú›ir. Bjƒrn ok ﬂeir skipverjar allir fóru til vistar me›
Skalla-Grími; hann haf›i aldri færi menn me› sér en sex tigu vígra karla.

34. Ávít Skalla-Gríms vi› Bjƒrn

9ﬁat var um haustit ﬂá er skip hƒf›u komit til Íslands af Nóregi at sá kvittr
kom yfir at Bjƒrn mundi hafa hlaupizk á brott me› ﬁóru ok ekki at rá›ifrænda hennar, ok konungr haf›i gert hann útlaga fyrir ﬂat ór Nóregi.
12
En er Skalla-Grímr var› ﬂess varr ﬂá kalla›i hann Bjƒrn til sín ok spur›ihverneg farit væri um kvánfang hans, hvárt ﬂat hef›i gƒrt verit at rá›i frænda.
‘Var mér eigi ﬂess ván,’ sag›i hann, ‘um son Brynjólfs at ek munda eigi 15
vita it sanna af ﬂér.’Bjƒrn sag›i: ‘Satt eitt hefi ek ﬂér sagt, Grímr, en eigi máttu ámæla mér
fyrir ﬂat, ﬂótt ek seg›a ﬂér eigi lengra en ﬂú spur›ir. En ﬂó skal nú vi› ganga 18
ﬂví er satt er at ﬂú hefir sannspurt at ekki var ﬂetta rá› gert vi› samﬂykkiﬁóris bró›ur hennar.’ﬁá mælti Skalla-Grímr rei›r mjƒk: ‘Hví vartu svá djarfr at ﬂú fórt á minn 21
fund, e›a vissir ﬂú eigi hver vinátta var me› okr ﬁóri?’Bjƒrn sag›i: ‘Vissa ek,’ segir hann, ‘at me› ykr var fóstbrœ›ralag ok vinátta
kær; en fyrir ﬂví sótta ek ﬂik heim at mik haf›i hér at landi borit ok ek vissa 24
at mér mundi ekki t‡ja at for›ask ﬂik. Mun nú vera á ﬂínu valdi hverr minnhluti skal ver›a, en gó›s vænti ek af, ﬂví at ek em heimama›r ﬂinn.’Sí›an gekk fram ﬁórólfr son Skalla-Gríms ok lag›i til mƒrg or› ok ba› 27fƒ›ur sinn at hann gæfi Birni eigi ﬂetta at sƒk, er ﬂó haf›i hann tekit vi›
Birni; margir a›rir lƒg›u ﬂar or› til. Kom ﬂá svá at Grímr sefa›isk, sag›i atﬁórólfr mundi ﬂá rá›a, ‘ok tak ﬂú vi› Birni, ef ﬂú vilt; ver til hans svá vel 30
sem ﬂú vilt.’

35. Fœdd Ásger›rﬁóra ól barn um sumarit ok var ﬂat mær; var hon vatni ausin ok nafn gefit ok 33
hét Ásger›r; Bera fekk til konu at gæta meyjarinnar. Bjƒrn var um vetrinnme› Skalla-Grími ok allir skipverjar hans; ﬁórólfr ger›i sér títt vi› Bjƒrn ok36
var honum fylgjusamr.
En er vár kom ﬂá var ﬂat einn hvern dag at ﬁórólfr gekk til máls vi› fƒ›ursinn ok spur›i hann ﬂess, hvert rá› hann vildi leggja til vi› Bjƒrn vetrgest

48

EGILS SAGA

sinn e›a hverja ásjá hann vildi honum veita. Grímr spur›i ﬁórólf hvat hannætla›isk fyrir.
3 ‘ﬁat ætla ek,’ sag›i ﬁórólfr, ‘at Bjƒrn vildi helzt fara til Nóregs, ef hannmætti ﬂar í fri›i vera; ﬂœtti mér ﬂat rá› fyrir liggja, fa›ir, at ﬂú sendir menntil Nóregs at bjó›a sættir fyrir Bjƒrn ok mun ﬁórir mikils vir›a or› ﬂín.’
6 Svá kom ﬁórólfr fyrirtƒlum sínum at Skalla-Grímr skipa›isk vi› ok fekk
menn til útanfer›ar um sumarit; fóru ﬂeir menn me› or›sendingar ok jartegnir
til ﬁóris Hróaldssonar ok leitu›u um sættir me› ﬂeim Birni. En ﬂegar er
9 Brynjólfr vissi ﬂessa or›sending ﬂá lag›i hann allan hug á at bjó›a sættir
fyrir Bjƒrn <son sinn>.a Kom ﬂá svá ﬂví máli at ﬁórir tók sættir fyrir Bjƒrn,ﬂví at hann sá ﬂat at ﬂá var svá komit at Bjƒrn ﬂurfti ﬂá ekki at óttask um
12 sik.1 Tók Brynjólfr ﬂá sættum fyrir Bjƒrn, en sendimenn Gríms váru um
vetrinn me› ﬁóri, en Bjƒrn var ﬂann vetr me› Skalla-Grími.
En eptir um sumarit fóru sendimenn Skalla-Gríms aptr <út til Íslands>,b
15 en er ﬂeir kómu aptr um haustit ﬂá sƒg›u ﬂeir ﬂau tí›endi at Bjƒrn var í sætttekinn í Nóregi.
Bjƒrn var inn ﬂri›ja vetr me› Skalla-Grími, en eptir um várit bjósk hann
18 til brottfer›ar ok sú sveit manna er honum haf›i ﬂagat fylgt. En er Bjƒrn var
búinn fer›ar sinnar ﬂá sag›i Bera at hon vill at Ásger›r fóstra hennar séeptir, en ﬂau Bjƒrn ﬂekk›usk ﬂat ok var mærin eptir ok fœddisk ﬂar upp
21 me› ﬂeim Skalla-Grími.
ﬁórólfr son Skalla-Gríms rézk til fer›ar me› Birni ok fekk Skalla-Grímr
honum fararefni; fór hann útan um sumarit me› Birni. Greiddisk ﬂeim vel
24 ok kómu af hafi útan at Sognsæ; sigldi Bjƒrn ﬂá inn í Sogn ok fór sí›anheim til fƒ›ur síns; fór ﬁórólfr heim me› honum; tók Brynjólfr ﬂá vi› ﬂeim
feginsamliga.
27 Sí›an váru gjƒr or› ﬁóri Hróaldssyni; lƒg›u ﬂeir Brynjólfr stefnu sín ímilli; kom ﬂar ok Bjƒrn til ﬂeirar stefnu; trygg›u ﬂeir ﬁórir ﬂá sættir me›
sér. Sí›an greiddi ﬁórir af hendi fé ﬂat er ﬁóra átti í hans gar›i ok sí›an tóku
30 ﬂeir upp, ﬁórir ok Bjƒrn, vináttu me› teng›um. Var Bjƒrn ﬂá heima á Aurlandime› Brynjólfi. ﬁórólfr var ok ﬂar í allgó›u yfirlæti af ﬂeim fe›gum.

36. Eiríkr ﬂá karfann
33 Haraldr konungr haf›i lƒngum atsetu sína á Hƒr›alandi e›a Rogalandi at

stórbúum ﬂeim er hann átti at Útsteini e›a ¯gvaldsnesi e›a á Fitjum, áÁlreksstƒ›um e›a í Lygru, á Sæheimi; en ﬂann vetr er nú var frá sagt var
36 konungr nor›r í landi.
a Thus K and W.

b Thus W; til Íslands K.

1 Bjƒrn then did not need to fear (because he had a haven in Iceland).

EGILS SAGA

49

En er ﬂeir Bjƒrn ok ﬁórólfr hƒf›u verit einn vetr í Nóregi ok vár kom, ﬂá
bjuggu ﬂeir skip ok ƒflu›u manna til, fóru um sumarit í víking í Austrveg, en
fóru heim at hausti ok hƒf›u aflat fjár mikils. En er ﬂeir kómu heim ﬂá spur›u 3
ﬂeir at Haraldr konungr var ﬂá á Rogalandi ok mundi ﬂar sitja um vetrinn.
ﬁá tók Haraldr konungr at eldask mjƒk, en synir hans váru ﬂá mjƒk á legg
komnir margir. Eiríkr son Haralds konungs er kalla›r var bló›øx var ﬂá á 6
ungum aldri; hann var á fóstri me› ﬁóri hersi Hróaldssyni. Konungr unni
Eiríki mest sona sinna. ﬁórir var ﬂá í inum mestum kærleikum vi› konung.
Bjƒrn ok ﬂeir ﬁórólfr fóru fyrst á Aurland er ﬂeir kómu heim, en sí›an 9
byrju›u ﬂeir fer› sína nor›r í Fjƒr›u at sœkja heim ﬁóri hersi. ﬁeir hƒf›ukarfa ﬂann er reru á bor› tólf menn e›a ﬂrettán, ok hƒf›u nær ﬂremr tigum
manna; skip ﬂat hƒf›u ﬂeir fengit um sumarit í víking; ﬂat var steint mjƒk 12
fyrir ofan sjó ok var it fegrsta. En er ﬂeir kómu til ﬁóris fengu ﬂeir ﬂar gó›arvi›tƒkur ok dvƒl›usk ﬂar nƒkkura hrí›, en skipit flaut tjaldat fyrir bœnum.
ﬁat var einn dag er ﬂeir ﬁórólfr ok Bjƒrn gengu ofan til skipsins; ﬂeir sá at 15
Eiríkr konungsson var ﬂar, gekk stundum á skipit út, en stundum á land upp,
stó› ﬂá ok horf›i á skipit. ﬁá mælti Bjƒrn til ﬁórólfs:‘Mjƒk undrask konungsson skipit, ok bjó› ﬂú honum at ﬂiggja at ﬂér, ﬂví 18
at ek veit at okr ver›r ﬂat at li›sem› mikilli vi› konung, ef Eiríkr er flutningsma›r okkarr; hefi ek heyrt ﬂat sagt at konungr hafi ﬂungan hug á ﬂér af sƒkum
fƒ›ur ﬂíns.’21
ﬁórólfr sag›i at ﬂat mundi vera gott rá›. Gengu ﬂeir sí›an ofan til skipsinsok mælti ﬁórólfr:‘Vandliga hyggr ﬂú at skipinu, konungsson; hversu lízk ﬂér á?’
24‘Vel,’ segir hann, ‘it fegrsta er skipit,’ segir hann.
‘ﬁá vil ek gefa ﬂér,’ sag›i ﬁórólfr, ‘skipit, ef ﬂú vill ﬂiggja.’‘ﬁiggja vil ek,’ segir Eiríkr, ‘en ﬂér munu lítil ﬂikja launin, ﬂótt ek heita 27
ﬂér vináttu minni, en ﬂat stendr ﬂó til vánar, ef ek held lífi.’ﬁórólfr sag›i at ﬂau laun ﬂótti honum miklu meira ver› en skipit. Skil›usk
ﬂá sí›an, en ﬂa›an af var konungsson allkátr vi› ﬂá ﬁórólf.
30
ﬁeir Bjƒrn ok ﬁórólfr koma á rœ›u vi› ﬁóri, hvat hann ætlar, hvárt ﬂat séme› sannindum at konungr hafi ﬂungan hug á ﬁórólfi. ﬁórir dylr ﬂess ekki33
at hann hef›i ﬂat heyrt.
‘ﬁá vilda ek ﬂat,’ sag›i Bjƒrn, ‘at ﬂú fœrir á fund konungs ok flyttir málﬁórólfs fyrir honum, ﬂví at eitt skal ganga yfir okr ﬁórólf bá›a. Ger›i hann36
svá vi› mik ﬂá er ek var á Íslandi.’
Svá kom at ﬁórir hét fer›inni til konungs ok ba› ﬂá freista ef Eiríkr
konungsson vildi fara me› honum; en er ﬂeir ﬁórólfr ok Bjƒrn kómu á ﬂessar
39rœ›ur fyrir Eirík ﬂá hét hann sinni ums‡slu vi› fƒ›ur sinn.
Sí›an fóru ﬂeir ﬁórólfr ok Bjƒrn lei› sína í Sogn, en ﬁórir ok Eiríkr
konungsson skipu›u karfa ﬂann inn n‡gefna ok fóru su›r á fund konungs ok

50

EGILS SAGA

hittu hann á Hƒr›alandi; tók hann feginsamliga vi› ﬂeim. Dvƒl›usk ﬂeir ﬂar
um hrí› ok leitu›u ﬂess dagrá›s at hitta konung at hann var í gó›u skapi;
3 báru ﬂá upp ﬂetta mál fyrir konung, sƒg›u at sá ma›r var ﬂar kominn erﬁórólfr hét, son Skalla-Gríms.
‘Vildu vér ﬂess bi›ja, konungr, at ﬂú minntisk ﬂess er frændr hans hafa
6 vel til ﬂín gƒrt, en létir hann eigi gjalda ﬂess er fa›ir hans ger›i ﬂótt hannhefndi bró›ur síns.’Tala›i ﬁórir um ﬂat mjúkliga, en konungr svara›i heldr stutt, sag›i at
9 ﬂeim haf›i ótili mikill sta›it af Kveld-Úlfi ok sonum hans, ok lét ﬂess ván at
sjá ﬁórólfr1 mundi enn vera skaplíkr frændum sínum.
‘Eru ﬂeir allir,’ sag›i hann, ‘ofsamenn miklir svá at ﬂeir hafa ekki hóf vi›
12 ok hir›a eigi vi› hverja ﬂeir eigu at skipta.’
Sí›an tók Eiríkr til máls, sag›i at ﬁórólfr hef›i vingazk vi› hann ok gefit
honum ágætan grip, skip ﬂat er ﬂeir hƒf›u ﬂar. ‘Hefi ek heitit honum vináttu
15 minni fullkominni; munu fáir til ver›a at vingask vi› mik, ef ﬂessum skal
ekki tjá. Muntu eigi ﬂat vera láta, fa›ir, um ﬂann mann er til ﬂess hefir fyrstr
vor›it at gefa mér d‡rgripi.’
18 Svá kom at konungr hét ﬂeim ﬂví á›r létti at ﬁórólfr skyldi í fri›i vera
fyrir honum.
‘En ekki vil ek,’ kva› hann, ‘at hann komi á minn fund; en gera máttu,21 Eiríkr, hann svá kæran ﬂér sem ﬂú vill e›a fleiri ﬂá frændr, en vera mun
annat hvárt at ﬂeir munu ﬂér ver›a mjúkari en mér hafa ﬂeir vor›it e›a ﬂú
munt ﬂessar bœnar i›rask ok svá ﬂess, ef ﬂú lætr ﬂá lengi me› ﬂér vera.’
24 Sí›an fór Eiríkr bló›øx ok ﬂeir ﬁórir heim í Fjƒr›u; sendu sí›an or› oklétu segja ﬁórólfi hvert ﬂeira erendi var vor›it til konungs.
ﬁeir ﬁórólfr ok Bjƒrn váru ﬂann vetr me› Brynjólfi; en mƒrg sumur lágu
27 ﬂeir í víking, en um vetrum váru ﬂeir me› Brynjólfi, en stundum me› ﬁóri.

37. Bjarmalandsfer›
Eiríkr bló›øx tók ﬂá vi› ríki;a hann haf›i yfirsókn á Hƒr›alandi ok um Fjƒr›u;
30 tók hann ﬂá ok haf›i me› sér hir›menn.
Ok eitt hvert vár bjó Eiríkr bló›øx fƒr sína til Bjarmalands ok vanda›imjƒk li› til ﬂeirar fer›ar. ﬁórólfr rézk til fer›ar me› Eiríki ok var í stafni á
33 skipi hans ok bar merki hans. ﬁórólfr var ﬂá hverjum manni meiri ok sterkari
ok líkr um ﬂat fe›r sínum.
Í fer› ﬂeiri var margt til tí›enda; Eiríkr átti orrostu mikla á Bjarmalandi
36 vi› Vínu. Fekk Eiríkr ﬂar sigr svá sem segir í kvæ›um hans, ok í ﬂeiri fer›a K and W add: miklu af fe›r sínum. Some manuscripts of the W-class have í
Nóregi instead of miklu. The sentence is clearly abbreviated in M. Cf. 93/18–20.
1 sjá ﬁórólfr: this ﬁórólfr (implying he has not forgotten the trouble he had hadwith the elder ﬁórólfr).

EGILS SAGA

51

fekk hann Gunnhildar dóttur ¯zurar tota ok haf›i hana heim me› sér.
Gunnhildr var allra kvenna vænst ok vitrust ok fjƒlkunnig mjƒk. Kærleikar
miklir váru me› ﬂeim ﬁórólfi ok Gunnhildi. ﬁórólfr var ﬂá jafnan á vetrum 3me› Eiríki, en á sumrum í víkingu.
<ﬁat var› ﬂá nær til tí›enda at ﬁóra hla›hƒnd tók sótt ok anda›isk. Nƒkkru
sí›ar fekk Bjƒrn annarrar konu. Hon hét Ólƒf, dóttir Dags ins au›ga. ﬁau 6Bjƒrn áttu dóttur er Gunnhildr hét.>aMa›r hét ﬁorgeirr ﬂyrnifótr; hann bjó á Hƒr›alandi í Fenhring; ﬂar heitirá Aski; hann átti ﬂrjá sonu; hét einn Haddr, annarr Berg-¯nundr, ﬂri›i hét 9Atli inn skammi. Berg-¯nundr var hverjum <manni> meiri ok sterkari okvar ma›r ágjarn ok ódæll. Atli inn skammi var ma›r ekki hár ok ri›vaxinn
ok var rammr at afli. ﬁorgeirr var ma›r stórau›igr at fé; hann var blótma›r 12
mikill ok fjƒlkunnigr. Haddr lá í víking ok var sjaldan heima.

38. Útkváma ﬁórólfsﬁórólfr Skalla-Grímsson bjósk eitt sumar til kaupfer›ar; ætla›i ﬂá sem hann 15
ger›i, at fara til Íslands ok hitta fƒ›ur sinn. Hann haf›i ﬂá lengi á brottu
verit; hann haf›i ﬂá ógrynni fjár ok d‡rgripi marga. En er hann var búinn til
fer›ar ﬂá fór hann á fund Eiríks konungs, en er ﬂeir skil›usk seldi konungr 18
í hendr ﬁórólfi øxi er hann kvezk gefa vilja Skalla-Grími. Øxin var snaghyrnd
ok mikil ok gullbúin, upp skellt skaptit me› silfri, ok var ﬂat inn vir›iligsti
21
gripr.
ﬁórólfr fór fer›ar sinnar ﬂegar hann var búinn ok greiddisk honum vel ok
kom skipi sínu í Borgarfjƒr› ok fór ﬂegar brá›liga heim til fƒ›ur síns; var›
ﬂar fagnafundr mikill er ﬂeir hittusk. Sí›an fór Skalla-Grímr til skips móti 24
ﬁórólfi, lét setja upp skipit, en ﬁórólfr fór heim til Borgar me› tólfta mann.
En er hann kom heim bar hann Skalla-Grími kve›ju Eiríks konungs okfœr›i honum øxi ﬂá er konungr haf›i sent honum. Skalla-Grímr tók vi› 27øxinni, helt upp ok sá á um hrí› ok rœddi ekki um; festi upp hjá rúmi sínu.
ﬁat var um haustit einn hvern dag at Borg at Skalla-Grímr lét reka heim
yxn mjƒk marga er hann ætla›i til hƒggs. Hann lét lei›a tvá yxn saman 30
undir húsvegg ok lei›a á víxl; hann tók hellustein vel mikinn ok skaut ni›r
undir hálsana. Sí›an gekk hann til me› øxina konungsnaut ok hjó yxninabá›a senn svá at hƒfu›it tók af hvárumtveggja, en øxin hljóp ni›r í steininn 33
svá at mu›rinn brast ór allr ok rifna›i upp í gegnum her›una. Skalla-Grímr
sá í eggina ok rœddi ekki um; gekk sí›an inn í eldahús ok steig sí›an á stokk
36
upp ok skaut øxinni upp á hur›ása; lá hon ﬂar um vetrinn.
En um várit l‡sti ﬁórólfr yfir ﬂví at hann ætla›i útan at fara um sumarit.
Skalla-Grímr latti hann, sag›i at ﬂá var gott heilum vagni heim at aka.
a Thus K (similar in W, except that there Ólƒf is dóttir Erlings ins au›ga ór Ostr).

52

EGILS SAGA

‘Hefir ﬂú,’ sag›i hann, ‘farit frem›arfƒr mikla, en ﬂat er mælt, er ‡msarver›r er margar ferr; tak ﬂú nú hér vi› fjárhlut svá miklum at ﬂú ﬂikisk
3 ver›a mega gildr ma›r af.’ﬁórólfr sag›i at hann vill enn fara einhverja fer›, ‘ok á ek nau›synlig
erendi til fararinnar; en ﬂá er ek kem út ƒ›ru sinni mun ek hér sta›festask,
6 en Ásger›r fóstra ﬂín skal fara útan me› mér á fund fƒ›ur síns; bau› hann
mér um ﬂat ﬂá er ek fór austan.’
Skalla-Grímr kva› hann ok rá›a mundu, <‘en svá segir mér hugr um, ef
9 vit skiljumsk nú, sem vit munim eigi finnask sí›an’>.aSí›an fór ﬁórólfr til skips síns ok bjó ﬂat; en er hann var albúinn fluttu ﬂeir út
skipit til Digraness, ok lá ﬂar til byrjar; fór ﬂá Ásger›r til skips me› honum.
12 En á›r ﬁórólfr fór frá Borg ﬂá gekk Skalla-Grímr til ok tók øxina ofan afhur›ásum, konungsgjƒfina, ok gekk út me›; var ﬂá skaptit svart af reyk, enøxin ry›gengin. Skalla-Grímr sá í egg øxinni; sí›an seldi hann ﬁórólfi øxina.
15 Skalla-Grímr kva› vísu:

18

21

24

6. Liggja ‡gs í eggju,
á ek sveigar kƒr deiga,
fox er illt í øxi,undvargs flƒsur margar.
Arghyrnu lát árnaaptr me› roknu skapti.
ﬁƒrf erat mér til ﬂeirar,
ﬂat var hringa gjƒf, hingat.

39. Geirr fekk ﬁórunnar

ﬁat var› til tí›enda me›an ﬁórólfr haf›i verit útanlendis, en Skalla-Grímr
bjó at Borg, at eitt sumar kom kaupskip af Nóregi í Borgarfjƒr›; var ﬂá ví›a
27 hƒf› uppsát kaupskipum í ár e›a í lœkjarósa e›a í sík. Ma›r hét Ketill, er
kalla›r var Ketill blundr, er átti skip ﬂat; hann var norrœnn ma›r, kynstórra Thus d and similar in K (shorter in other manuscripts).

Stanza 6. Margar flƒsur liggja í eggju ‡gs undvargs; á ek deiga sveigar kƒr; illt
fox er í øxi. Lát arghyrnu me› roknu skapti árna aptr. ﬁƒrf erat mér til ﬂeirar hingat.
ﬁat var hringa gjƒf.
undvargr, wound-wolf, is a kenning for axe; sveigar kƒr, sick-bed of the switch, akenning for axe; hringa in M and K (and W by emendation) has not been satisfactorily
explained, and neither ringa in d and z and in 463 (W), nor the original enga in W
(later corrected to hringa), is easily explicable (though ringa could be wk. f. adjective).
There are many flaws in the edge of this vicious-looking axe; I have got a softaxe; there is a bad fraud in the axe. Let this bad axe with the sooty shaft go back. I
have no need for it (to come) here. It was a poor (?) present.

EGILS SAGA

53

ok au›igr. Geirr hét son hans er ﬂá var fulltí›i ok var á skipi me› honum.
Ketill ætla›i at fá sér bústa› á Íslandi; hann kom sí› sumars. Skalla-Grímr
vissi ƒll deili á honum; bau› Skalla-Grímr honum til vistar me› sér me› allt 3fƒruneyti sitt. Ketill ﬂekk›isk ﬂat ok var hann um vetrinn me› Skalla-Grími.
ﬁann vetr ba› Geirr son Ketils ﬁórunnar dóttur Skalla-Gríms ok var ﬂat atrá›i gƒrt; fekk Geirr ﬁórunnar. En eptir um várit vísa›i Skalla-Grímr Katli 6
til lands upp frá landi Óleifs me› Hvítá frá Flókadalsárósi ok til Reykjadalsáróss ok tungu ﬂá alla er ﬂar var á milli upp til Rau›sgils ok Flókadal allan
fyrir ofan brekkur. Ketill bjó í ﬁrándarholti, en Geirr í Geirshlí›; hann átti 9annat bú í Reykjadal at Reykjum inum efrum; hann var kalla›r Geirr inn
au›gi. Hans synir váru ﬂeir Blund-Ketill ok ﬁorgeirr blundr; ﬂri›i var ﬁóroddr
12
hrísablundr er fyrstr bjó í Hrísum.

40. Egill drap mann sjau vetra
Skalla-Grímr hendi mikit gaman at aflraunum ok leikum; um ﬂat ﬂótti honum
gott at rœ›a. Knattleikar váru ﬂá tí›ir; var ﬂar í sveit gott til sterkra manna í 15
ﬂann tíma, en ﬂó haf›i engi afl vi› Skalla-Grím; hann ger›isk ﬂá heldr hniginn
at aldri.
ﬁór›r hét son Grana at Granastƒ›um ok var hann inn mannvænligsti ma›r 18
ok var á ungum aldri; hann var elskr at Agli Skalla-Grímssyni. Egill varmjƒk at glímum; var hann kappsamr mjƒk ok rei›inn, en allir kunnu ﬂat at
21
kenna sonum sínum at ﬂeir væg›i fyrir Agli.
Knattleikr var lagi›r á Hvítárvƒllum allfjƒlmennr á ƒndver›an vetr; sóttu
menn ﬂar til ví›a um hera›. Heimamenn Skalla-Gríms fóru ﬂangat til leiks
margir; ﬁór›r Granason var helzt fyrir ﬂeim. Egill ba› ﬁór› at fara me› 24
honum til leiks; ﬂá var hann á sjaunda vetr. ﬁór›r lét ﬂat eptir honum ok
reiddi hann at baki sér. En er ﬂeir kómu á leikmótit ﬂá var mƒnnum skipt ﬂar
til leiks. ﬁar var ok komit margt smásveina ok ger›u ﬂeir sér annan leik; var 27
ﬂar ok skipt til.
Egill hlaut at leika vi› svein ﬂann er Grímr hét, son Heggs af Heggsstƒ›um; Grímr var ellifu vetra e›a tíu ok sterkr at jƒfnum aldri. En er ﬂeir 30
lékusk vi› ﬂá var Egill ósterkari; Grímr ger›i ok ﬂann mun allan er hannmátti. ﬁá reiddisk Egill ok hóf upp knatttréit ok laust Grím, en Grímr tók
hann hƒndum ok keyr›i hann ni›r fall mikit ok lék hann heldr illa ok kvezk 33
mundu mei›a hann, ef hann kynni sik eigi. En er Egill komsk á fœtr ﬂá gekk
hann ór leiknum, en sveinarnir œptu at honum.
Egill fór til fundar vi› ﬁór› Granason ok sag›i honum hvat í haf›i gerzk. 36
ﬁór›r mælti:‘Ek skal fara me› ﬂér ok skulu vit hefna honum.’
Hann seldi honum í hendr skeggøxi eina er ﬁór›r haf›i haft í hendi; ﬂau 39
vápn váru ﬂá tí›; ganga ﬂeir ﬂar til er sveinaleikrinn var.

54

EGILS SAGA

Grímr haf›i ﬂá hent knƒttinn ok rak undan, en a›rir sveinarnir sóttu eptir.
ﬁá hljóp Egill at Grími ok rak øxina í hƒfu› honum svá at ﬂegar stó› í heila.
3 ﬁeir Egill ok ﬁór›r gengu í brott sí›an ok til manna sinna; hljópu ﬂeir
M‡ramenn ﬂá til vápna ok svá hvárirtveggju. Óleifr halti hljóp til ﬂeira
Borgarmanna me› ﬂá menn er honum fylg›u; váru ﬂeir ﬂá miklu fjƒlmennri
6 ok skil›usk at svá gervu.
ﬁa›an af hófusk deildir me› ﬂeim Óleifi ok Hegg; ﬂeir bƒr›usk á Laxfit
vi› Grímsá. ﬁar fellu sjau menn, en Heggr var› sárr til ólífis ok Kvígr fell,
9 bró›ir hans.
En er Egill kom heim lét Skalla-Grímr sér fátt um finnask, en Bera kva›
Egil vera víkingsefni ok kva› ﬂat mundu fyrir <honum>a liggja ﬂegar hann
12 hef›i aldr til at honum væri fengin herskip. Egill kva› vísu:
7. ﬁat mælti mín mó›ir,
at mér skyldi kaupa
fley ok fagrar árar,fara á brott me› víkingum,
standa upp í stafni,
st‡ra d‡rum knerri,halda svá til hafnar,hƒggva mann ok annan.

15

18

21 ﬁá er Egill var tólf vetra gamall var hann svá mikill vexti at fáir váru mennsvá stórir ok at afli búnir at Egill ynni ﬂá eigi flesta menn í leikum. ﬁann vetr
er honum var inn tólfti var hann mjƒk at leikum. ﬁór›r Granason var ﬂá á
24 tvítugsaldri; hann var sterkr at afli. ﬁat var opt er á lei› vetrinn at ﬂeim Agliok ﬁór›i tveim var skipt í móti Skalla-Grími.
ﬁat var eitt sinn um vetrinn er á lei› at knattleikr var at Borg su›r í Sandvík.
27 ﬁá váru ﬂeir ﬁór›r í móti Skalla-Grími í leiknum ok mœddisk hann fyrir
ﬂeim ok gekk ﬂeim léttara. En um kveldit eptir sólarfall ﬂá tók ﬂeim Agliverr at ganga; gjƒr›isk Grímr ﬂá svá sterkr at hann greip ﬁór› upp ok keyr›i
30 ni›r svá hart at hann lam›isk allr ok fekk hann ﬂegar bana; sí›an greip hanntil Egils. ﬁorger›r brák hét ambátt Skalla-Gríms; hon haf›i fóstrat Egil íbarnœsku. Hon var mikil fyrir sér, sterk sem karlar ok fjƒlkunnig mjƒk.
33 Brák mælti:‘Hamask ﬂú nú, Skalla-Grímr, at syni ﬂínum.’
Skalla-Grímr lét ﬂá lausan Egil, en ﬂreif til hennar. Hon brásk vi› ok rann
36 undan, en Skalla-Grímr eptir; fóru ﬂau svá í útanvert Digranes; ﬂá hljóp hon
út af bjarginu á sund. Skalla-Grímr kasta›i eptir henni steini miklum oksetti milli her›a henni ok kom hvárki upp sí›an; ﬂar er nú kallat Brákarsund.
a Thus k.

EGILS SAGA

55

En eptir um kveldit er ﬂeir kómu heim til Borgar var Egill allrei›r. En er
Skalla-Grímr haf›i sezk undir bor› ok alﬂ‡›a manna, ﬂá var Egill eigi kominní sæti sitt. ﬁá gekk hann inn í eldahús ok at ﬂeim manni er ﬂar haf›i ﬂá 3verkstjórn ok fjárforrá› me› Skalla-Grími ok honum var kærstr. Egill hjó
hann banahƒgg ok gekk sí›an til sætis síns. En Skalla-Grímr rœddi ﬂá ekkium ok var ﬂat mál ﬂa›an af kyrrt, en ﬂeir fe›gar rœddusk ﬂá ekki vi›, hvárki 6
gott né illt, ok fór svá fram ﬂann vetr.
En it næsta sumar eptir kom ﬁórólfr út sem fyrr var sagt; en er hann haf›iverit einn vetr á Íslandi ﬂá bjó hann eptir um várit skip sitt í Brákarsundi. En 9
er hann var albúinn ﬂá var ﬂat einn dag at Egill gekk til fundar vi› fƒ›ursinn ok ba› hann fá sér fararefni.
‘Vil ek,’ sag›i hann, ‘fara útan me› ﬁórólfi.’
12
Grímr spur›i ef hann hef›i nƒkkut ﬂat mál rœtt fyrir ﬁórólfi. Egill segir at
ﬂat var ekki; Grímr ba› hann ﬂat fyrst gera. En er Egill vak›i ﬂat mál vi›
ﬁórólf ﬂá kva› hann ﬂess enga ván ‘at ek muna ﬂik flytja me› mér á brott; ef 15
fa›ir ﬂinn ﬂikisk eigi mega um ﬂik tœla hér í híb‡lum sínum, ﬂá ber ek eigi
traust til ﬂess at hafa ﬂik útanlendis me› mér ﬂví at ﬂér mun ﬂat ekki hl‡›aat hafa ﬂar slíkt skaplyndi sem hér.’
18‘Vera má,’ sag›i Egill, ‘at ﬂá fari hvárgi okkarr.’
Um nóttina eptir ger›i á œ›ive›r, útsynning. En um nóttina er myrkt var
ok fló› var sjóvar ﬂá kom Egill ﬂar <at er skipit lá>a ok gekk <út á skipit>b 21
fyrir útan tjƒldin; hjó hann í sundr festar ﬂær er á útbor›a váru. Gekk hannﬂegar sem skjótast upp um bryggjuna, skaut út ﬂegar bryggjunum ok hjó
ﬂær festar er á land upp váru. Rak ﬂá út skipit á fjƒr›inn. En er ﬂeir ﬁórólfr 24
ur›u varir vi› er skipit rak, hljópu ﬂeir í bátinn, en ve›rit var miklu hvassara
en ﬂeir fengi nƒkkut at gƒrt; rak skipit yfir til Andakíls ok ﬂar á eyrar upp, en
Egill fór heim til Borgar.
27
En er menn ur›u varir vi› brag› ﬂat er Egill haf›i gƒrt ﬂá lƒstu›u ﬂatflestir. Hann sag›i at hann skyldi skammt til láta at gera ﬁórólfi meira ska›aok spellvirki ef hann vildi eigi flytja hann í brott. En ﬂá áttu menn hlut at í 30
milli ﬂeira ok kom svá at lyk›um at ﬁórólfr tók vi› Agli ok fór hann útanme› honum um sumarit.
ﬁegar ﬁórólfr kom til skips, ﬂá er hann haf›i tekit vi› øxi ﬂeiri er Skalla- 33
Grímr haf›i fengit í hendr honum, ﬂá kasta›i hann øxinni fyrir bor› á djúpi
svá at hon kom ekki upp sí›an.
ﬁórólfr fór fer›ar sinnar um sumarit ok greiddisk vel um hafit ok kómu 36útan at Hƒr›alandi; stefnir ﬁórólfr ﬂegar nor›r til Sogns. En ﬂar hƒf›u ﬂau
tí›endi vor›it um vetrinn at Brynjólfr haf›i andazk af sótt, en synir hanshƒf›u skipt arfi. Haf›i ﬁór›r Aurland, bœ ﬂann er fa›ir ﬂeira haf›i búit á; 39
haf›i hann gerzk konungi handgenginn ok gƒrzk lendr ma›r.
a Thus W. b Thus K and W.

56

EGILS SAGA

Dóttir ﬁór›ar hét Rannveig, mó›ir ﬂeira ﬁór›ar ok Helga; ﬁór›r var fa›ir
Rannveigar, mó›ur Ingirí›ar er átti Óláfr konungr. Helgi var fa›ir Brynjólfs,3 fƒ›ur ﬂeira Serks ór Sogni ok Sveins.1

41. Af BirniBjƒrn hlaut annan bústa› gó›an ok vir›iligan; gjƒr›isk hann ekki hand6 genginn konungi; ﬂví var hann kalla›r Bjƒrn hƒl›r. Var hann ma›r vellau›igr

ok stórmenni mikit.
ﬁórólfr fór brátt á fund Bjarnar ﬂegar er hann kom af hafi ok fylg›i heim
9 Ásger›i dóttur hans; var› ﬂar fagnafundr. Ásger›r var in vænsta kona ok in
gerviligsta, vitr kona ok allvel kunnandi.
ﬁórólfr fór á fund Eiríks konungs; en er ﬂeir hittusk bar ﬁórólfr Eiríki
12 konungi kve›ju Skalla-Gríms ok sag›i at hann haf›i ﬂakksamliga tekit
sending konungs; bar fram sí›an langskipssegl gott er hann sag›i er SkallaGrímr hef›i sent konungi. Eiríkr konungr tók vel vi› gjƒf ﬂeiri ok bau›
15 ﬁórólfi at vera me› sér um vetrinn. ﬁórólfr ﬂakka›i konungi bo› sitt.
‘Ek mun nú fyrst fara til ﬁóris. Á ek vi› hann nau›synja-erendi.’
Sí›an fór ﬁórólfr til ﬁóris sem hann haf›i sagt ok fekk ﬂar allgó›ar vi›tƒkur;18 bau› ﬁórir honum at vera me› sér. ﬁórólfr sag›i at hann mundi ﬂat ﬂekkjask,‘ok er sá ma›r me› mér at ﬂar skal vist hafa sem ek em; hann er bró›ir minnok hefir hann ekki fyrr heiman gengit, ok ﬂarf hann at ek veita honum umsjá.’
21 ﬁórir sag›i at ﬂat var heimult ﬂó at ﬁórólfr vildi fleiri menn hafa me› sér
ﬂangat; ‘ﬂikir oss,’ segir hann, ‘sveitarbót at bró›ur ﬂínum, ef hann er nƒkkut
ﬂér líkr.’24 Sí›an fór ﬁórólfr til skips síns ok lét ﬂat upp setja ok um búa, en hann fór
ok Egill til ﬁóris hersis. ﬁórir átti son er hét Arinbjƒrn; hann var nƒkkuru
ellri en Egill. Arinbjƒrn var ﬂegar snemma skƒruligr ma›r ok inn mesti
27 íﬂróttama›r. Egill ger›i sér títt vi› Arinbjƒrn ok var honum fylgjusamr, en
heldr var fátt me› ﬂeim brœ›rum.

42. Kvánfang ﬁórólfs
30 ﬁórólfr Skalla-Grímsson hóf rœ›u ﬂá vi› ﬁóri hverneg hann mundi taka ﬂvímáli, ef ﬁórólfr bæ›i Ásger›ar frændkonu hans. ﬁórir tók ﬂví léttliga, sag›iat hann mundi flytjandi ﬂess máls. Sí›an fór ﬁórólfr nor›r í Sogn ok haf›i
33 me› sér gott fƒruneyti. ﬁórólfr kom til bús Bjarnar ok fekk ﬂar gó›ar vi›tƒkur;bau› Bjƒrn honum at vera me› sér svá lengi sem hann vildi. ﬁórólfr bar
brátt upp erendi sitt vi› Bjƒrn; hóf ﬂá bónor› sitt ok ba› Ásger›ar dóttur
36 Bjarnar. Hann tók ﬂví máli vel ok var ﬂat au›sótt vi› hann, ok rézk ﬂat af at
ﬂar fóru festar fram ok kve›it á brullaupsstefnu; skyldi veizla sú vera at
1 This bit of genealogy implies the high status of ﬁór›r of Aurland.

EGILS SAGA

57

Bjarnar ﬂá um haustit. Sí›an fór ﬁórólfr aptr til ﬁóris ok sag›i honum ﬂat
sem til tí›enda haf›i gerzk í fƒr hans; ﬁórir lét vel yfir er ﬂau rá› skyldu takask.
En er at ﬂeiri stefnu kom er ﬁórólfr skyldi sœkja til veizlunnar, ﬂá bau› 3hann mƒnnum til farar me› sér; bau› fyrst ﬁóri ok Arinbirni ok húskƒrlum
ﬂeira ok ríkum búendum, ok var til ﬂeirar fer›ar fjƒlmennt ok gó›mennt. En
ﬂá er mjƒk var komit at stefnudegi ﬂeim er ﬁórólfr skyldi heiman fara ok 6
brú›menn váru komnir, ﬂá tók Egill sótt svá at hann var eigi fœrr. ﬁeir ﬁórólfr
hƒf›u langskip eitt mikit alskipat ok fóru fer›ar sinnar svá sem ákve›it var.

43. Af ¯lvi

9

¯lvir hét ma›r; hann var húskarl ﬁóris ok var forstjóri ok rá›ama›r fyrir búi
hans; haf›i hann skuldaheimtur ok var féhir›ir. ¯lvir var af œskualdri ok ﬂóma›r inn hressasti.
12
Svá bar til at ¯lvir átti heimanfer› at heimta landskyldir ﬁóris, ﬂær er
eptir hƒf›u sta›it um várit; haf›i hann ró›rarferju ok váru ﬂeir á tólf húskarlarﬁóris. ﬁá tók Egill at hressask ok reis hann ﬂá upp; honum ﬂótti ﬂá gerask 15
daufligt heima er alﬂ‡›a manna var á brott farin; kom hann at máli vi› ¯lvi
ok sag›i at hann vildi fara me› honum. En ¯lvi ﬂótti eigi gó›um li›smanniof aukit, ﬂví at skipkostr var œrinn; rézk Egill til fer›ar ﬂeirar. Egill haf›i 18
vápn sín, sver› ok kesju ok buklara. Fara ﬂeir fer›ar sinnar er ﬂeir váru
búnir ok fengu ve›rabálk har›an, hvƒss ve›r ok óhagstœ›, en ﬂeir sóttu
fer›ina knáliga, tóku ró›rarlei›i <ok hƒf›u mjƒk innan vátt>.a
21
Svá bar til <um>a fer› ﬂeira at ﬂeir kómu aptan dags til Atlaeyjar ok lƒg›u
ﬂar at landi, en ﬂar var í eyjunni skammt upp bú mikit er átti Eiríkr konungr.
En ﬂar ré› fyrir ma›r sá er Bár›r hét; hann var kalla›r Atleyjar-Bár›r ok var 24s‡sluma›r mikill ok starfsma›r gó›r; ekki var hann kynstórr ma›r, en kærrmjƒk Eiríki konungi ok Gunnhildi dróttningu.
ﬁeir ¯lvir drógu upp skip sitt ór flœ›armáli, gengu sí›an til bœjar ok hittu 27
Bár› úti ok sƒg›u honum um fer› sína, svá ﬂat at ﬂeir vildu ﬂar vera um
nóttina. Bár›r sá at ﬂeir váru vátir mjƒk ok fylg›i hann ﬂeim til eldahússnƒkkurs; var ﬂat brott frá ƒ›rum húsum. Hann lét gera eld mikinn fyrir ﬂeim 30
ok váru ﬂar ﬂurku› klæ›i ﬂeira.
En er ﬂeir hƒf›u tekit klæ›i sín ﬂá kom Bár›r ﬂar.
‘Nú munu vér,’ segir hann, ‘hér setja y›r bor›; ek veit at y›r mun vera títt 33
at sofa; ﬂér eru› menn mó›ir af vási.’¯lvi líka›i ﬂat vel. Sí›an var sett bor› ok gefinn ﬂeim matr, brau› oksmjƒr, ok settir fram skyraskar stórir.
36
Bár›r sag›i: ‘Harmr er ﬂat nú mikill er ƒl er ekki inni ﬂat er ek mega y›rfagna sem ek vilda; ver›i ﬂér nú at bjargask vi› slíkt sem til er.’a Thus W.

58

EGILS SAGA

ﬁeir ¯lvir váru ﬂyrstir mjƒk ok supu skyrit; sí›an lét Bár›r bera inn afr1
ok drukku ﬂeir ﬂat.
3
‘Fúss munda ek,’ kva› Bár›r, ‘at gefa y›r betra drykk, ef til væri.’Hálm skorti ﬂar eigi inni; ba› hann ﬂá ﬂar ni›r leggjask til svefns.

44. Dráp Bár›ar
6 Eiríkr konungr ok Gunnhildr kómu ﬂat sama kveld í Atley ok haf›i Bár›r

ﬂar búit veizlu móti honum ok skyldi ﬂar vera dísablót ok var ﬂar veizla inbezta ok drykkja mikil inn í stufunni.
9
Konungr spur›i hvar Bár›r væri ‘er ek sé hann hvergi.’
Ma›r segir: ‘Bár›r er úti ok grei›ir fyrir gestum sínum.’‘Hverir eru gestir ﬂeir,’ segir konungr, ‘er hann lætr sér ﬂat skyldara en
12 vera inni hér hjá oss?’Ma›rinn sag›i honum at ﬂar váru komnir húskarlar ﬁóris hersis. Konungrmælti:
15‘Gangi eptir ﬂeim sem tí›ast ok kalli ﬂá inn hingat.’Ok var <svá> gert, sagt at konungr vill hitta ﬂá.
Sí›an ganga ﬂeir <inn>;a fagna›i konungr vel ¯lvi ok ba› hann sitja
18 gagnvert sér í ƒndvegi ok ﬂar fƒrunauta hans útar frá. ﬁeir ger›u svá; sat
Egill næstr ¯lvi.
Sí›an var ﬂeim borit ƒl at drekka. Fóru minni mƒrg <fram>a ok skyldi
21 horn drekka í minni hvert. En er á lei› um kveldit ﬂá kom svá at fƒrunautar¯lvis ger›usk margir ófœrir; sumir spjó ﬂar inni í stufunni, en sumir kómusk
út fyrir dyrr. Bár›r gekk ﬂá at fast at bera ﬂeim drykk.
24
ﬁá tók Egill vi› horni ﬂví er Bár›r haf›i fingit ¯lvi ok drakk af; Bár›rsag›i at hann ﬂyrsti mjƒk ok fœr›i honum ﬂegar hornit fullt ok ba› hann af
drekka. Egill tók vi› horninu ok kva› vísu:
8. Sƒg›u› sverri flag›asumleklu ﬂér, kumla,
ﬂví tel ek, brjótr, ﬂar er blétu›,brag›vísan ﬂik, dísir.

27

30
a Thus K and W.

1 afr (afra K and W), perhaps the same as áfir f. pl., buttermilk. According to thecontext it was some inferior beverage. After ﬂat M adds: ok ﬂá enn enn eptir lagar,
which is corrupt beyond correction.
Stanza 8. ﬁér sƒg›u› sverri flag›a sumbleklu, ﬂar er blétu› dísir, kumlabrjótr; ﬂvítel ek ﬂik brag›vísan. Leyndu› alls til illa hugar fári runna ókunna ﬂér; hafi› ofbrug›it illt brag›, Bárø›r.
sverrir flag›a, enemy of giantesses or trolls, (probably) man; kumlabrjótr, breaker(desecrator) of (heathen) graves, derogatory term for a man.

EGILS SAGA

59

Leyndu› alls til illaókunna ﬂér runna,
illt hafi› brag› of brug›it,
Bárø›r, hugar fári.

3

Bár›r ba› hann drekka ok hætta flimtun ﬂeiri. Egill drakk full hvert er athonum kom ok svá fyrir ¯lvi. ﬁá gekk Bár›r til dróttningar ok sag›i henni 6
at ﬂar var ma›r sá er skƒmm fœr›i at ﬂeim ok aldregi drakk svá at eigi seg›ihann sik ﬂyrsta. Dróttning ok Bár›r blƒndu›u ﬂá drykkinn ólyfjani ok báru
ﬂá inn; signdi Bár›r fullit, fekk sí›an ƒlseljunni; fœr›i hon Agli ok ba› hann 9
drekka. Egill brá ﬂá knífi sínum ok stakk í lófa sér; hann tók vi› horninu okreist á rúnar ok rei› á bló›inu. Hann kva›:
9. Rístum rún á horni,
rjó›um spjƒll í dreyra,
ﬂau vel ek or› til eyrnaó›s d‡rs vi›ar róta.
Drekkum veig sem viljum
vel gl‡ja›ra ﬂ‡ja;
vitum hvé oss of eiri
ƒl ﬂat er Bár›r of signdi.

12

15

18

Hornit sprakk í sundr, en drykkrinn fór ni›r í hálm. ﬁá tók at lí›a at ¯lvia ok
stó› ﬂá Egill upp ok leiddi hann til dyranna. Egill kasta›i yfirhƒfn sinnib á 21
ƒxl sér ok helt á sver›inu undir skikkjunni. <En er ﬂeir kómu at dyrunum>cﬂá gekk Bár›r eptir <ﬂeim>d Egli me› horn fullt ok ba› ¯lvi drekka
a Here a folio is missing in Mö›ruvallabók; the gap is filled from JS 28 fol., which

is descended from a copy of the text in Mö›ruvallabók made before the folio was
lost; cf. Foreword, p. xv. Occasionally a word has been exchanged in favour of oneof the other manuscripts derived from M. b yfirhƒfn sinni is an emendation inaccordance with K (hans hƒf›i in manuscripts derived from M). c Thus W (a blankspace in the original copy of M). d Thus K and d (W).
You told the man (me) there was a lack of beer as you worshipped the goddesses,
you evil man; therefore I consider you cunning. You wickedly concealed your hostility
for men not known to you; Bárø›r (archaic form of Bár›r), you have behaved very badly.
Stanza 9. Rístum rún á horni, rjó›um spjƒll í dreyra; vel ek ﬂau or› til róta eyrnavi›ar ó›s d‡rs; drekkum sem viljum veig vel gl‡ja›ra ﬂ‡ja; vitum hvé oss of eiri ƒl
ﬂat er Bár›r of signdi.
til vi›ar (for the tree) róta eyrna (of the roots of the ears, the part of the head
where the ears are), ó›s d‡rs, of a wild animal, i.e. for the horn.
I carve a rune on the horn; I besmear the rune-words with blood; I choose thesewords for the horn; let us drink as much as we want of the beer of the excitablewaitresses; let us find out how the beer which Bár›r has consecrated agrees with us.

60

EGILS SAGA

<velfararminni sitt á›r hann gengi út>.a Egill stó› í dyrunum, <tók vi› ok
drakk>b ok kva› vísu:
369

10. ¯lvar mik ﬂví at ¯lviƒl gerir nú fƒlvan;
atgeira læt ek ‡rar‡ring of grƒn sk‡ra.
¯llungis kannt illa,
oddsk‡s, fyrir ﬂér n‡sa,
rigna getr at regni,
regnbjó›r, Hárs ﬂegna.
Egill kasta›i ﬂegar ni›r horninu ok greip sver›it ok brá; myrkt var or›it í

12 <for>stofunni.c Egill lag›i sver›inu at Bár›i mi›jum svá bló›refillinn gekk

út um bakit. Fell Bár›r ni›r dau›r, en bló› hljóp út ór undinni. ﬁá fell ¯lvir
ok gaus sp‡ja ór honum.
15 Egill hljóp út um forstofudyrrnar, en ni›amyrkr var úti. Tók Egill ﬂegar á
rás af bœnum.
Gengu menn út ór stofunni ok sá at ﬂeir váru fallnir bá›ir, ¯lvir ok Bár›r,
18 ok hug›u menn fyrst at hvárr ﬂeira mundi hafa vegit annan. En af ﬂví at
dimmt var lét konungr bera til ljós ok sá ﬂá hvat títt var um ¯lvi, at hann lá
ﬂar í sp‡ju sinni í óviti, en Bár›r <var> dau›r ok flaut í bló›i hans allt gólf.
21 ﬁá spur›i konungr hvar sá inn mikli ma›r var er mest haf›i drukkit um
kveldit. Menn sƒg›u at hann gekk fram fyrir ¯lvi.
‘Leiti› at honum ok láti› hann koma til mín.’
24 Sí›an var hans leitat um bœinn ok fannsk hann hvergi; en er ﬂeir kómu í
eldhús ﬂat er ﬂeir ¯lvir hƒf›u matazk í um kveldit ﬂá lágu ﬂar margir fƒrunautar ¯lvis, en sumir lágu úti undir húsveggjum. Konungsmenn spur›u hvárt
27 Egill hef›i nƒkkut ﬂar komit. ﬁeim var sagt at hann hef›i hlaupit ﬂar inn oktekit ofan vápn sín ok gengit út sí›an. ﬁeir fóru inn í stofu ok sƒg›u konungia Another blank space, filled thus later, partially in accordance with K and W.
b Another blank space, later filled thus; agrees with W.

c for d.

Stanza 10. Mik ƒlvar ﬂví at ƒl gerir nú ¯lvi fƒlvan; læt ek atgeira ‡rar ‡ringsk‡ra of grƒn. Kannt ƒllungis illa n‡sa fyrir ﬂér, oddsk‡s regnbjó›r; regni Hárs ﬂegna
getr at rigna.
atgeira ‡rar ‡ring, liquid of the spears of the aurochs, i.e. of the (drinking) horn,
whose liquid is beer; oddsk‡s regn (shield’s rain, battle), whose bjó›r (he who offers)
is a warrior, man; Hárs (Ó›inn’s; the dissyllabic form Háars would improve themetre) ﬂegnar (subjects, skalds?), whose regn (rain) is presumably poetry.
I am getting drunk, as the beer is making ¯lvir pale; I let the beer flow through mybeard (lips). You are not at all wary, my good man; now it is raining with the mead of
poetry (i.e. verses are being declaimed).

EGILS SAGA

61

allt ﬂetta. Konungr ba› menn sína fara sem hvatast ok taka skip ƒll er váru í
eyjunni, ‘en á morgun sem ljóst er skal rannsaka eyna <ok drepa ﬂá manninn>.’a45.

3Egill fór um nóttina ok leita›i ﬂar til er skipin váru, en hvar sem hann kom
til strandar ﬂá váru ﬂar alls sta›ar menn fyrir; fór hann svá nótt ﬂá alla athann fekk ekki skip. En er daga›i ok l‡sa tók ﬂá var hann staddr á nesi 6nƒkkru. Hann sá ﬂá ey a›ra ok var ﬂar sund í milli fur›uliga langt. ﬁat varrá› hans at taka hjálminn ok sver›it—kesjuna braut hann af skapti ok skaut
skaptinu á sjó út—en vápnin batt hann í bagga í yfirhƒfn sinni ok batt svá 9
milli her›a sér.
Sí›an gekk hann á sund ok synti til eyjarinnar; er ﬂat ekki mikit land, en
graslo›in ok ví›a skógarrunnar. Féna›r var ﬂar stórmikill ok margr af nautum 12
ok sau›um sem konungr haf›i til bús síns í Atley. En er Egill kom í eyna ﬂá vatthann sjó ór fƒtum sínum ok bjósk um. ﬁá var dagr or›inn allljóss ok sól farin.
Eiríkr konungr lét ﬂegar rannsaka eyna er l‡sa tók ok var› ﬂat seint at 15
eyin yr›i ƒll kƒnnu› ﬂví at Atley er mikit land, ok fannsk Egill eigi. ﬁá lét
konungr fara til annarra eyja ok lét leita hans.
Var ﬂat sí›ast um kveldit at tólf menn fara til Sau›eyjar á skútu ok skyldu 18
ﬂar leita Egils ok áttu at hafa ﬂa›an slátrfé mikit. Egill sá skipfƒrina til
eyjarinnar. Lag›isk hann ﬂá ni›r í hrísit ok falsk á›r skipit kom at landi. En
er ﬂeir gengu upp ﬂá létu ﬂeir eptir ﬂrjá menn at gæta skips, en níu gengu 21
upp ok skiptu ﬂeir leitinni ok fóru ﬂrír í hvern sta›.
En er leiti bar í milli ﬂeira ok skipsins ﬂá stó› Egill upp ok haf›i á›r greitt
til um vápn sín. Hann gekk ﬂvers til sjóvarins ok fram me› sjónum. En ﬂeir 24
sem skipsins gættu fundu eigi fyrr en hann kom at ﬂeim ok hjó ﬂegar einn
ﬂeira banahƒgg, en annarr tók ﬂegar á rás ok var ﬂar at hlaupa upp á bakka
nƒkkurn. Egill hjó eptir honum ok tók af fótinn; inn ﬂri›i hljóp á skipit út ok 27
skauzk undan landi; Egill tók í festina ok dró at sér skipit ok hljóp sí›an útá ﬂat. Skiptusk ﬂeir litla hrí› hƒggum vi› á›r Egill drap hann ok fœr›iútbyr›is. Sí›an tók hann árar ok reri í brott skipinu ok ﬂá nóttu alla ok eptir 30
um daginn; létti hann eigi sinni fer› fyrr en hann kom heim til ﬁóris.
En ¯lvir ok ﬂeir fƒrunautar hans váru fyrst at øngu fœrir. En ﬂegar ﬂeir
hresstusk leitu›u ﬂeir heim. Lét konungr ﬂá fara í fri›i af ﬂessum sƒkum. 33
En ﬂeir menn er í Sau›ey váru, váru ﬂar nƒkkrar nætr ok drápu féna› til
matar sér ok ger›u sey›i ok bál mikit ﬂar á eyjunni er vissi til Atleyjar,lƒg›u ﬂar í eld ok gjƒr›u ﬂar vita. En er ﬂetta var sét ór Atley ﬂá var róit til 36
ﬂeira ok váru fluttir til lands ﬂeir er eptir lif›u. Konungr var ﬂá brott ór
Atley; fór hann ﬂá til annarrar veizlu.
a Thus d (same sense in K).

62

EGILS SAGA

En af ¯lvi er ﬂat at segja at hann kom fyrri heim en Egill ok váru ﬂeirﬁórólfr ok ﬁórir ﬂá á›r komnir heim. ¯lvir sag›i tí›endi, dráp Bár›ar ok
3 alla ﬂá atbur›i er á›r hƒf›u gjƒrzk; en hann vissi ekki til fer›a Egils sí›an.
ﬁórólfr var› nú allókátr ok svá Arinbjƒrn, ﬂótti ﬂeim sem Egill mundi eigi
aptr koma. En eptir um morguninn ﬂá er ljóst var ﬂá sá menn at Egill lá í
6 rúmi sínu. En er ﬁórólfr var› ﬂess víss ﬂá stó› hann upp ok gekk til fundarvi› Egil ok spur›i me› hverju móti hann hef›i undan komizk e›a hvat til
tí›enda haf›i or›it í fer› hans. ﬁá kva› Egill vísu:
9

12

15

11. Svá hefi ek leystsk ór Lista
lá›var›a›ar gar›i,
ne fága ek dul drjúgan,dá›milds ok Gunnhildar,
at ﬂrifreynis ﬂjónar
ﬂrír nƒkkurir Hlakkar
til hásalar Heljar
helgengnir fƒr dvelja.
Arinbjƒrn lét vel yfir ﬂessum verkum ok sag›i fƒ›ur sínum at hann væri18 skyldr til at sætta Egil ok konung. ﬁórir sag›i at ﬂat ‘man mál manna at

Bár›r haf›i ver›leika til at hann væri drepinn. En ﬂér Egli er of mjƒk ættgengt
at sjá lítt vi› ﬂví at ﬂú fáir konungs rei›i, ﬂví at flestum ver›r ﬂat ﬂungbært;21 en ﬂó man ek vi› leita at sinni at koma ﬂér í sætt vi› Eirík konung.’ﬁórir gjƒr›i brátt heimanfer› sína á fund Eiríks konungs, en Arinbjƒrn var
heima me›an ok lét hann halda njósnum fyrir ﬂeim Egli ok sag›i at eitt
24 skyldi yfir ﬂá ganga alla. En er ﬁórir kom á fund konungs ﬂá bau› hann bo›
fyrir Egil, bau› festu sína ok dóm konungs. Konungr var inn rei›asti ok var
vi› hann or›um allóhœgt at koma, sag›i at ﬂat mundi sannask er Haraldr
27 konungr haf›i sagt at ﬂá frændr mundi seint at tryggja mega, ba› ﬁóri svá til
haga at Egill væri ekki langvistum í hans ríki.
‘En fyrir sakir bœnar ﬂinnar, ﬁórir, ﬂá man ek taka sátt ok fébœtr fyrir
30 menn ﬂessa.’
Stanza 11. Svá hefi ek leystsk ór gar›i dá›milds Lista lá›var›a›ar ok Gunnhildar—né fága ek dul drjúgan—at ﬂrír nƒkkurir ﬂjónar Hlakkar ﬂrifreynis, helgengnir til
hásalar Heljar, dvelja fƒr.
Lista lá›vƒr›u›r, protector of Lister, one of the southernmost parts of Norway,
i.e. the king of Norway; fága dul drjúgan, cultivate self-conceit very much; Hlakkar(valkyrie’s) ﬂrifreynir, thriving rowan-tree, i.e. warrior; helgengnir til hásalar Heljar,
dead and gone to the high hall of Hel (the death-goddess); dvelja fƒr, postpone ajourney, remain where one is.
I have escaped from the residence of the brave king of Norway and of Gunnhildr—
I am not bragging—in such a way that three servants of the warrior (king), dead andgone to the hall of Hel, remain there.

EGILS SAGA

63

Sí›an festi ﬁórir konungi dóm sinn fyrir menn ﬂá er látizk hƒf›u. Skil›u
ﬂeir konungr svá;a fór ﬁórir heim. ﬁórólfr ok Egill váru ﬂann vetr me› ﬁóriok Arinbirni í gó›u yfirlæti.
3

46.
ﬁórólfr ok Egill bjuggu um sumaritb langskip ok fengu manna til ok fóru um
sumarit í Austrveg ok herju›u ﬂar; fengu ﬂeir óf fjár ok áttu orrostur margar 6
ok heldu um sumarit í Kúrland ok lágu ﬂar vi› land um hrí›. ﬁeir lƒg›u vi›
landsmenn hálfs mána›ar fri› ok hƒf›u kaupstefnu vi› ﬂá; en er fri›i var
lokit ﬂá tóku ﬂeir at herja; en landsmenn hƒf›u ﬂá fyrir safnazk á landinu. 9
ﬁeir ﬁórólfr lƒg›u at í ‡msum stƒ›um ﬂar sem ﬂeim ﬂótti vænst.
Einn dag lƒg›u ﬂeir at vi› árós nƒkkurn ok var ﬂar mƒrk mikil ﬂegar á
landit upp. ﬁeir ré›u ﬂar til uppgƒngu. Li›i var skipt í sundr ok tólf menn 12
saman í sveit; ﬂeir gengu yfir skóginn ok var ﬂat ekki langt á›r ﬂar tók
bygg›in til ok var ﬂá heldr ﬂunnb‡lt fyrst. Víkingar tóku ﬂegar at ræna ok
drepa menn, en li›it fl‡›i allt undan. Gengu skógar milli bygg›anna. En er 15
ﬂeir fengu øngva vi›tƒku ﬂá dreif›u ﬂeir li›inu ok fóru ﬂá sveitum.
En er á lei› daginn ﬂá lét ﬁórólfr blása li›inu til ofangƒngu; sneru mennﬂá aptr á skóginn hvar sem ﬂeir váru staddir. En svá framt mátti kanna li›it 18
sem ﬂeir kómu til skipanna; en er ﬂeir rannsƒku›u ﬂá var eigi Egill ofan
kominn ok sveit hans. En ﬂá tók at myrkva af nótt ok ﬂóttusk ﬂeir ﬂá ekkileita mega.
21
Egill haf›i gengit yfir skóg nƒkkurn ok tólf menn me› honum ok sá ﬂá
sléttur miklar ok bygg› ví›a. Bœr mikill stó› nær ﬂeim ok eigi langt frá
skóginum; ﬂeir stefna til bœjarins. En er ﬂeir kómu ﬂar, hlupu ﬂeir inn í hús, 24
ur›u ﬂar ekki vi› menn varir, en tóku ﬂar fé allt er laust var. ﬁar váru mƒrghús at kanna ok dval›isk ﬂeim heldr; en er ﬂeir kómu út ok sneru frá bœnum
ﬂá var li› komit milli ﬂeira ok skógarins ok sótti ﬂat móti ﬂeim.
27
Skí›gar›r var hár frá bœnum til skógarins. Mælti Egill at ﬂeir skyldu ﬂar
fara fram sem eigi mætti ƒllum megin at ﬂeim ganga. ﬁeir gjƒr›u svá, gekk
Egill fyrstr, en sí›an hverr svá nær ƒ›rum at ekki mátti skilja ﬂá. Kúrir skutu 30
at ﬂeim, en gengu ekki í hƒggorrostu vi› ﬂá. ﬁeir Egill fundu eigi fyrr en ﬂeir
gengu me› gar›inum en gar›r gekk á a›ra hƒnd ﬂeim ok gjƒr›isk ﬂar mjóttí milli ﬂar til er lykkja var› ác ok mátti eigi fram komask. Kúrir sóttu eptir 33
ﬂeim í kvína, en sumir sóttu útan at ok lƒg›u spjótum ok sver›um í gegnum
gar›ana, en sumir báru klæ›i á vápn ﬂeira. Ur›u ﬂeir sárir ok ﬂví næst36
handteknir ok allir bundnir, leiddir svá heim til bœjarins.
a Sí›an – svá] Ger›i konungr fések› slíka sem honum s‡ndisk, en ﬁórir galt allt fét
463 (other manuscripts of the W-class omit fét). Obviously both redactions, M andW, have an abridged text. Here K is in agreement with M. b várit K and W. c Again
text from Mö›ruvallabók itself.

64

EGILS SAGA

Ma›r sá er bœ ﬂann átti var ríkr ok au›igr; hann átti son roskinn. Sí›an
var um rœtt hvat vi› ﬂá skyldi gera; sag›i bóndi at honum ﬂótti ﬂat rá› at
3 drepinn væri hverr á fœtr ƒ›rum. Bóndason sag›i at ﬂá ger›i myrkt af nóttok mætti ﬂá enga skemmtan af hafa at kvelja ﬂá; ba› hann láta bí›a morgins.
Var ﬂeim ﬂá skotit í hús eitt ok bundnir rammliga. Egill var bundinn vi› staf
6 einn, bæ›i hendr ok fœtr. Sí›an var húsit læst rammliga, en Kúrir gingu inní stufu ok mƒtu›usk ok váru allkátir ok drukku.
Egill fœr›isk vi› ok treysti stafinn til ﬂess er upp losna›i ór gólfinu; sí›an
9 fell stafrinn; smeyg›isk Egill ﬂá af stafnum; sí›an leysti hann hendr sínarme› tƒnnum <sér>.a En er hendr hans váru lausar, leysti hann bƒnd af fótum
sér; sí›an leysti hann félaga sína.
12 En er ﬂeir váru allir lausir, leitu›usk <ﬂeir> um í húsin hvar líkast var út atkomask. Húsit var gert at veggjum af timbrstokkum stórum, en í annan enda
hússins var skjaldﬂili flatt; hljópu ﬂeir ﬂar at ok brutu ﬂilit. Var ﬂar hús annat
15 er ﬂeir kómu í; váru ﬂar ok timbrveggir um. ﬁá heyr›u ﬂeir manna mál undirfœtr sér ni›r; leitu›usk ﬂeir ﬂá um ok fundu hur› í gólfinu. Luku ﬂeir ﬂar
upp; var ﬂar undir grƒf djúp; heyr›u ﬂeir ﬂangat manna mál. Sí›an spur›i
18 Egill, hvat manna ﬂar væri; sá nefndisk Áki er vi› hann mælti. Egill spur›i,
ef hann vildi upp ór grƒfinni; Áki segir at ﬂeir vildu ﬂat gjarna. Sí›an létu
ﬂeir Egill síga festi ofan í grƒfina ﬂá er ﬂeir váru bundnir me› ok drógu ﬂar
21 upp ﬂrjá menn.
Áki sag›i at ﬂat váru synir hans tveir ok ﬂeir váru menn danskir, hƒf›u
ﬂar or›it herteknir it fyrra sumar.
24 ‘Var ek,’ sag›i hann, ‘vel haldinn í vetr; haf›a ek mjƒk fjárvar›veizlur
búanda, en sveinarnir váru ﬂjá›ir ok un›u ﬂeir illa. Í vár ré›u vér til ok
hlupum á brott ok ur›um sí›an fundnir; váru vér ﬂá hér settir í grƒf ﬂessa.’
27 ‘ﬁér mun hér kunnigt um húsaskipan,’ segir Egill; ‘hvar er oss vænst ábrott at komask?’
Áki sag›i at ﬂar var annat skjaldﬂili. ‘Brjóti ﬂér ﬂat upp; munu ﬂér ﬂá
30 koma fram í kornhlƒ›u, en ﬂar má út ganga sem vill.’ﬁeir Egill ger›u svá, brutu upp ﬂilit, gengu sí›an í hlƒ›una ok ﬂa›an út;
ni›amyrkr var á. ﬁá mæltu ﬂeir fƒrunautar at ﬂeir skyldi skunda á skóginn.
33 Egill mælti vi› Áka:‘Ef ﬂér eru hér kunnig híb‡li, ﬂá muntu vísa oss til féfanga nƒkkurra.’Áki segir at eigi mundi ﬂar skorta lausafé. ‘Hér er lopt mikit er bóndi sefr
36 í; ﬂar skortir eigi vápn inni.’
Egill ba› ﬂá ﬂangat fara til loptsins, en er ﬂeir kómu upp í ri›it ﬂá sá ﬂeir
at loptit var opit; var ﬂar ljós inni ok ﬂjónustumenn ok bjuggu rekkjur manna.
39 Egill ba› ﬂá suma úti vera ok gæta at engi kœmisk út. Egill hljóp inn í loptit,
a Thus K and W.

EGILS SAGA

65

greip ﬂar vápn, ﬂví at ﬂau skorti ﬂar eigi inni. Drápu ﬂar menn alla ﬂá er ﬂar
váru inni; ﬂeir tóku sér allir alvæpni. Áki gekk til ﬂar er hlemmr var í
gólfﬂilinu ok lauk upp, mælti at ﬂeir skyldi ﬂar ofan ganga í undirskemmuna. 3
ﬁeir tóku sér ljós ok gengu ﬂangat; váru ﬂar féhirzlur bónda ok gripir gó›ir
ok silfr mikit; tóku menn sér ﬂar byr›ar ok báru út. Egill tók undir hƒnd sérmjƒ›drekku eina vel mikla ok bar undir hendi sér; fóru ﬂeir ﬂá til skógar. 6
En er ﬂeir kómu í skóginn, ﬂá nam Egill sta› ok mælti: ‘ﬁessi fer› er allill
ok eigi hermannlig; vér hƒfum stolit fé bónda svá at hann veit ekki til. Skal
oss aldregi ﬂá skƒmm henda; fƒrum nú aptr til bœjarins ok látum ﬂá vita 9
hvat títt er.’
Allir mæltu ﬂví í mót, sƒg›u at ﬂeir vildu fara til skips. Egill setr ni›rmjƒ›drekkuna; sí›an hefr hann á rás ok rann til bœjarins. En er hann kom 12
heim til bœjarins, ﬂá sá hann at ﬂjónustusveinar gengu frá eldaskála me›skutildiska ok báru inn í stofuna. Egill sá at í eldahúsinu var eldr mikill okkatlar yfir; gekk hann ﬂangat til. ﬁar hƒf›u verit stokkar stórir fluttir heim 15
ok svá eldar gervir sem ﬂar er si›venja til at eldinn skal leggja í stokksendann ok brennr svá stokkrinn. Egill greip upp stokkinn ok bar heim til
stofunnar ok skaut ﬂeim endanum er loga›i upp undir upsina ok svá upp í 18næfrina <ok festisk ﬂar brátt eldrinn vi›, ok vi›ir lágu ﬂar í gar›inum ok barhann fyrir stofudyrrnar>;a eldrinn las skjótt tró›vi›inn.
En ﬂeir er vi› drykkjuna sátu fundu eigi fyrr en loginn stó› inn um ræfrit; 21
hljópu menn ﬂá til dyranna, en ﬂar var ekki grei›fœrt út, bæ›i fyrir vi›unum,svá ﬂat at Egill var›i dyrrnar. Felldi hann menn bæ›i í dyrunum ok úti fyrir
dyrunum. En ﬂat var svipstund ein á›r stufan brann svá at hon fell ofan. 24
T‡ndisk ﬂar li› allt er ﬂar var inni, en Egill gekk aptr til skógarins, fann ﬂarfƒrunauta sína; fara ﬂá allir saman til skips. Sag›i Egill at mjƒ›drekku ﬂávill hann hafa at afnámsfé, er hann fór me›, en hon var reyndar full af silfri. 27
ﬁeir ﬁórólfr ur›u allfegnir er Egill kom ofan; heldu ﬂeir ﬂá ﬂegar frá landi
er morgna›i.
Áki ok ﬂeir fe›gar váru í sveit Egils. ﬁeir sigldu um sumarit er á lei› til 30
Danmarkar ok lágu ﬂar enn fyrir kaupskipum ok ræntu ﬂar er ﬂeir kómusk vi›.

47. Af ﬁórólfi ok Egli
Haraldr Gormsson haf›i ﬂá tekit vi› ríki í Danmƒrk, en Gormr fa›ir hans 33
var ﬂá dau›r; landit var ﬂá herskátt; lágu víkingar mjƒk úti fyrir Danmƒrku.
Áka var kunnigt í Danmƒrku bæ›i á sjá ok landi; spur›i Egill hann mjƒk36
eptir hvar ﬂeir sta›ir væri er stór féfƒng mundu fyrir liggja.
En er ﬂeir kómu í Eyrarsund ﬂá sag›i Áki at ﬂar var á land upp kaupsta›r
mikill er hét í Lundi, sag›i at ﬂar var féván, en líkligt at ﬂar mundi vera
a Thus z (similar in K).

66

EGILS SAGA

vi›taka er bœjarmenn væri. ﬁat mál <var> upp borit fyrir li›smenn hvárt ﬂar
skyldi rá›a til uppgƒngu e›a eigi; menn tóku ﬂar allmisjafnt á, f‡stu sumir,
3 en sumir lƒttu; var ﬂví máli skotit til st‡rimanna. ﬁórólfr f‡sti heldr uppgƒngu;ﬂá var rœtt vi› Egil hvat honum ﬂótti rá›. Hann kva› vísu:

6

9

12

12. Upp skulum órum sver›um,úlfs tannlitu›r, glitra;
eigum dá› at dr‡gja
í dalmiskunn fiska.
Leiti upp til Lundarl‡›a hverr sem brá›ast.
Gerum ﬂar fyrir setr sólarsei› ófagran vigra.

Sí›an bjuggusk menn til uppgƒngu ok fóru til kaupsta›arins. En er bœjarmennur›u varir vi› ófri› ﬂá stefndu ﬂeir í mót; var ﬂar tréborg um sta›inn. Settu
15 ﬂeir ﬂar menn til at verja; tóksk ﬂar bardagi.1 Egill gengr fyrstr inn um
borgina; sí›an fl‡›u bœjarmenn; var› ﬂar mannfall mikit. Ræntu ﬂeir
kaupsta›inn, en brenndu á›r ﬂeir skil›usk vi›; fóru sí›an ofan til skipa sinna.
18

48. Af vi›rœ›u ﬁóris ok konungsﬁórólfr helt li›i sínu nor›r fyrir Halland ok lƒg›u ﬂar til hafnar er ﬂeim
bæg›i ve›r; ræntu ﬂar ekki. ﬁar var skammt á land upp jarl sá er Arnfi›r er
21 nefndr; en er hann spur›i at víkingar váru ﬂar komnir vi› land ﬂá sendi hannmenn sína á fund ﬂeira ﬂess erendis at vita hvárt ﬂeir vildi ﬂar fri›land hafae›a herna›.
24 En er sendimenn váru komnir á fund ﬁórólfs me› sín erendi ﬂá sag›i hannat ﬂeir mundu ﬂar ekki herja, sag›i at ﬂeim var engi nau›syn til at herja ﬂar
ok fara herskildi, sag›i at ﬂar var land ekki au›igt.
27 Sendimenn fara aptr til jarlsins ok sƒg›u honum erendislok sín; en er
jarlinn var› ﬂess varr at hann ﬂurfti ekki li›i at safna fyrir ﬂá sƒk, ﬂá rei›
1 The Battle of Lundr is described in more detail in W.

Stanza 12. Skulum, úlfs tannlitu›r, glitra upp sver›um órum; eigum at dr‡gja dá›í dalmiskunn fiska. Leiti hverr l‡›a sem brá›ast upp til Lundar. Gerum ﬂar ófagran
vigra sei› fyrir sólar setr.
úlfs tannlitu›r, he who colours, i.e. makes red with blood, the wolf’s teeth, warrior;
glitra cause to flash, glitter; í dalmiskunn fiska, i.e. í miskunn dalfiska, in the mercyof the fish of the valley, i.e. of snakes; what is merciful to snakes is the summer,
when they come alive; ófagr vigra sei›r, ugly (magic) song of spears, i.e. fierce battle.
We shall, warrior, lift our glittering swords; we must accomplish a daring deedthis summer. Let every man of us hasten up to Lund. Let us wage a great battle there
before sunset.

EGILS SAGA

67

hann ofan me› ekki li› til fundar vi› víkinga. En er <ﬂeir> fundusk ﬂá fóru
ﬂar allt vel rœ›ur me› ﬂeim; jarl bau› ﬁórólfi til veizlu me› sér ok li›i hans
ﬂví er hann vildi. ﬁórólfr hét fer›inni.
3
En ﬂá er á var kve›it lét jarlinn senda rei›skjóta ofan móti ﬂeim; ré›usk
ﬂeir til fer›ar bæ›i ﬁórólfr ok Egill ok hƒf›u me› sér ﬂrjá tigu manna. En er
ﬂeir kómu til jarlsins fagna›i hann ﬂeim vel; var ﬂeim fylgt inn í stofu; var 6
ﬂar ﬂegar inni mungát ok gefit ﬂeim at drekka. Sátu ﬂeir ﬂar til kvelds.
En á›r bor› skyldi upp fara ﬂá sag›i jarl at ﬂar skyldi sæti hluta, skyldi
drekka saman karlma›r ok kona svá sem til ynnisk, en ﬂeir sér er fleiri væri. 9
Menn báru ﬂá hluti sína í skaut ok tók jarlinn upp. Jarl átti dóttur allfrí›a ok
ﬂá vel frumvaxta; svá sag›i hlutr til at Egill skyldi sitja hjá jarlsdóttur um
kveldit; hon gekk um gólf ok skemmti sér. Egill stó› upp ok gekk til rúms 12
ﬂess er dóttir jarlsins haf›i setit um daginn. En er menn skipu›usk í sæti sín
ﬂá gekk jarlsdóttir at rúmi sínu; hon kva›:
13. Hvat skaltu, sveinn, í sess minn?
ﬁví at ﬂú sjaldan hefir gefnar
vargi varmar brá›ir;vera vil ek ein um mína.
Sátta›u hrafn í haustiof hræsolli gjalla;
vartat <at> ﬂar er eggjar
á skelﬂunnar runnusk.

15

18

21

Egill tók til hennar ok setti hana ni›r hjá sér; hann kva›:
14. Farit hefi ek bló›gum brandi
svá at mér benﬂi›urr fylg›i,ok gjallanda geiri;
gangr var har›r af víkingum.
Gjƒr›um rei›ir róstu,rann eldr of sjƒt manna,ek lét bló›ga búka
í borghli›um sœfask.
Stanza 13. What do you want, boy, in my seat? For you have seldom given warm
meat to the wolf (i.e. killed men in battle). I prefer to be on my own (to be alone withmy people?). You did not see the raven shriek over the flowing blood in autumn; youwere not there where edges thin as shell met each other.
Stanza 14. benﬂi›urr, wound-bird (capercaillie), i.e. raven.
I have gone with a bloody sword and a yelling spear so that the raven accompaniedme; the vikings fought bravely. We fought a fierce battle, fire consumed houses, I
made bloody bodies die in the gateways of the city wall.

24

27

30

68

EGILS SAGAﬁá drukku ﬂau saman um kveldit ok váru allkát. Var ﬂar veizla in bezta ok svá
um daginn eptir; fóru ﬂá víkingar til skipa sinna; skil›usk ﬂeir jarl me› vináttu
3 ok skiptusk gjƒfum vi›. Heldu ﬂeir ﬁórólfr li›inu til Brenneyja; ﬂar var í ﬂann
tíma víkingabœli mikit, ﬂví at ﬂar sigldu kaupskip mjƒk í gegnum eyjarnar.
Áki fór heim til búa sinna ok synir hans; hann var ma›r vellau›igr ok átti6 mƒrg bú á Jótlandi; skil›usk ﬂeir me› kærleik ok mæltu til vináttu mikillar
milli sín.
En er hausta›i sigldu ﬂeir ﬁórólfr nor›r fyrir Nóreg ok koma fram í Fjƒr›um,
9 fara á fund ﬁóris hersis. Tók hann vel vi› ﬂeim, en Arinbjƒrn son hans miklu
betr; b‡›r hann at Egill skal ﬂar vera um vetrinn; Egill tók ﬂat me› ﬂƒkkum.
En er ﬁórir vissi bo› Arinbjarnar, ﬂá kalla›i hann ﬂat heldr brá›mælt.
12 ‘Veit ek eigi,’ sag›i hann, ‘hversu ﬂat líkar Eiríki konungi, ﬂví at hannmælti svá eptir aftƒku Bár›ar at hann vildi ekki at Egill væri hér í landi.’‘Rá›a máttu vel, fa›ir,’ sag›i Arinbjƒrn, ‘ﬂví vi› konung at hann teli ekki
15 at um vist Egils; ﬂú munt bjó›a ﬁórólfi mági ﬂínum hér at vera, en vit Egill
munum hafa eitt vetrgri› bá›ir.’
En af ﬂessi rœ›u sá ﬁórir at Arinbjƒrn mundi ﬂessu rá›a; bu›u ﬂeir fe›gar
18 ﬂá ﬁórólfi ﬂar vetrgri›, en hann ﬂekk›isk ﬂat. Váru ﬂeir ﬂar vi› tólf mennum vetrinn.
Brœ›r tveir eru nefndir ﬁorvaldr ofsi ok ﬁorfi›r strangi; ﬂat váru náfrændr
21 Bjarnar hƒl›s ok hƒf›u me› honum fœzk; ﬂeir váru menn miklir ok sterkir,
kappsmenn miklir ok framgjarnir. ﬁeir fylg›u Birni ﬂá er hann var í víking,en sí›an er hann settisk um kyrrt ﬂá fóru ﬂeir brœ›r til ﬁórólfs ok váru me›
24 honum í herna›i; ﬂeir váru í stafni á skipi hans, en ﬂá er Egill tók skipstjórn
ﬂá var ﬁorfi›r hans stafnbúi. ﬁeir brœ›r fylg›u ﬁórólfi jafnan ok mat hannﬂá mest skipverja sinna; ﬂeir brœ›r váru ﬂann vetr í hans sveit ok sátu næst27 ﬂeim brœ›rum. ﬁórólfr sat í ƒndvegi ok átti drykkju vi› ﬁóri, en Egill sat
fyrir ádrykkju Arinbjarnar; skyldi ﬂar um gólf ganga at minnum ƒllum.
ﬁórir hersir fór um haustit á fund Eiríks konungs; tók konungr vi› honum
30 forkunnar vel; en er ﬂeir tóku rœ›ur sínar, ﬂá ba› ﬁórir konung at hannskyldi eigi fyrirkunna hann ﬂess er hann haf›i Egil me› sér um vetrinn.
Konungr svarar ﬂví vel, sag›i at ﬁórir mátti ﬂiggja af honum slíkt er hann
33 vildi, ‘en ekki mundi ﬂetta svá fara, ef annarr ma›r hef›i vi› Agli tekit.’
En er Gunnhildr heyr›i hvat ﬂeir rœddu, ﬂá mælti <hon>: ‘ﬁat ætla ek,
Eiríkr, at nú fari enn sem optar at ﬂú sér mjƒk talhl‡›inn ok mant ﬂat eigi
36 lengi er illa er gƒrt til ﬂín, enda muntu til ﬂess draga fram sonu Skalla-Gríms
at ﬂeir munu enn drepa ni›r nƒkkura náfrændr ﬂína; en ﬂótt ﬂú látir ﬂér
engis ﬂikja vert um dráp Bár›ar, ﬂá ﬂiki mér eigi svá ﬂó.’
39 Konungr segir: ‘Meir fr‡r ﬂú mér, Gunnhildr, grimmleiks en a›rir menn;en verit hefir kærra vi› ﬁórólf af ﬂinni hendi en nú er. En ekki mun ek or›
mín aptr taka vi› ﬂá brœ›r.’

EGILS SAGA

69

‘Vel var ﬁórólfr hér,’ sag›i hon, ‘á›r Egill spillti fyrir honum, en nú ætlaek engan mun.’ﬁórir fór heim ﬂá er hann var búinn ok sag›i ﬂeim brœ›rum or› konungs 3
ok dróttningar.

49. Dráp ﬁorvalds ofsa
Eyvindr skreyja ok Álfr <askma›r>a hétu brœ›r Gunnhildar, synir ¯zurar 6
tota; ﬂeir váru menn miklir ok allsterkir ok kappsmennb miklir. ﬁeir hƒf›uﬂá mest yfirlát af Eiríki konungi ok Gunnhildi; ekki váru ﬂeir menn ﬂokkasælir af alﬂ‡›u, váru ﬂá á ungum aldri ok ﬂó fullkomnir at ﬂroska.
9ﬁat var um várit at blót mikit skyldi vera at sumri á Gaulum; ﬂat var ágæzt
hƒfu›hof. Sótti ﬂangat fjƒlmenni mikit ór Fjƒr›um ok af Fjƒlum ok ór Sogni
ok flest allt stórmenni; Eiríkr konungr fór ﬂangat. ﬁá mælti Gunnhildr vi› 12brœ›r sína:‘ﬁat vil ek at ﬂit hagi› svá til í fjƒlmenni ﬂessu at ﬂit fái› drepit annan
hvárn ﬂeira sona Skalla-Gríms ok bazt at bá›ir væri.’15
ﬁeir sƒg›u at svá skyldi vera.
ﬁórir hersir bjósk til fer›ar ﬂeirar; hann kalla›i Arinbjƒrn til máls vi› sik.
‘Nú mun ek,’ sag›i hann, ‘fara til blótsins, en ek vil ekki at Egill fari 18
ﬂangat; ek kann rœ›umc Gunnhildar, en kappsem› Egils, en ríki konungs,
at ﬂess mun eigi hœgt at gæta alls saman; en Egill mun ekki letjask láta
nema ﬂú sér eptir. En ﬁórólfr skal fara me› mér,’ sag›i hann, ‘ok a›rir ﬂeir 21fƒrunautar; skal ﬁórólfr blóta ok leita heilla ﬂeim brœ›rum.’Sí›an sag›i Arinbjƒrn Agli at hann mun heima vera, ‘ok vit bá›ir,’ sag›ihann; Egill kva› svá vera skyldu. En ﬂeir ﬁórir fóru til blótsins ok var ﬂar 24
allmikit fjƒlmenni ok drykkjur miklar. ﬁórólfr fór me› ﬁóri hvar sem hannfór ok skil›usk aldregi dag né nótt.
Eyvindr sag›i Gunnhildi at hann fekk ekki fœri vi› ﬁórólf; hon ba› hann 27
ﬂá drepa einn hvern manna hans, ‘heldr en allt beri undan.’ﬁat var eitt kveld ﬂá er konungr var til svefns genginn ok svá ﬂeir ﬁórir okﬁórólfr, en ﬂeir sátu eptir ﬁorfi›r ok ﬁorvaldr, ﬂá kómu ﬂeir ﬂar brœ›r, 30
Eyvindr ok Álfr, ok settusk hjá ﬂeim ok váru allkátir; drukku fyrst sveitardrykkju. ﬁá kom ﬂar er horn skyldi drekka til hálfs; drukku ﬂeir saman
Eyvindr ok ﬁorvaldr, en Álfr ok ﬁorfi›r. En er á lei› kveldit ﬂá var drukkit 33vi› sleitur ok ﬂví næst or›ahnippingar ok ﬂá stóryr›i. ﬁá hljóp Eyvindr upp
ok brá saxi einu ok lag›i á ﬁorvaldi svá at ﬂat var œrit banasár. Sí›an hljópu
upp hvárirtveggju, konungsmenn ok húskarlar ﬁóris, en menn váru allir 36
vápnlausir inni, ﬂví at ﬂar <var> hofshelgi, ok gengu menn í milli ok skil›uﬂá er ó›astir váru; var› ﬂá ekki fleira til tí›enda ﬂat kveld.
a Thus K; cf. Ch. 57. b Thus K; kaupmenn M; abbreviated in W.

W-manuscripts have kann or kenni vélræ›i.

c rá›um K; the70

EGILS SAGA

Eyvindr haf›i vegit í véum ok var hann vargr or›inn ok var› hann ﬂegar
brott at fara. Konungr bau› bœtr fyrir manninn, en ﬁórólfr ok ﬁorfi›r sƒg›u
3 at ﬂeir hƒf›u aldregi tekit mannbœtr ok ﬂeir vildu ekki ﬂær taka; skil›usk at
svá búnu; fóru ﬂeir ﬁórir heim.
Eiríkr konungr ok ﬂau Gunnhildr sendu Eyvind su›r til Danmerkr til
6 Haralds konungs Gormssonar, ﬂví at hann mátti ﬂá eigi vera í norrœnum
lƒgum; konungrinn tók vel vi› honum ok fƒruneyti hans. Eyvindr haf›i til
Danmarkar langskip allmikit; sí›an setti konungr Eyvind ﬂar til landvarnar
9 fyrir víkingum; Eyvindr var herma›r inn mesti.
En er vár kom eptir vetr ﬂann ﬂá búask ﬂeir ﬁórólfr ok Egill enn at fara ívíking; en er ﬂeir váru búnir ﬂá halda ﬂeir enn í Austrveg. En er <ﬂeir> koma
12 í Víkina ﬂá sigla <ﬂeir> su›r fyrir Jótland ok herja ﬂar, ok ﬂá fara ﬂeir til
Fríslands ok dveljask mjƒk lengi um sumarit, en ﬂá halda <ﬂeir> enn aptr til
Danmerkr.
15 En er ﬂeir koma til landamæris, ﬂar er mœtisk Danmƒrk ok Frísland, oklágu ﬂá vi› land, ﬂá var ﬂat eitt kveld er menn bjuggusk til svefns á skipum
at menn tveir kómu á skip Egils ok sƒg›u at ﬂeir áttu vi› hann ørendi; var
18 ﬂeim fylgt til hans. ﬁeir segja at Áki inn au›gi haf›i sent ﬂá ﬂangat me›
ﬂeim erendum at ‘Eyvindr skreyja liggr úti fyrir Jótlandssí›u ok ætlar atsæta y›r ﬂá er ﬂér fari› sunnan, ok hefir hann li› mikit saman dregit svá at
21 ﬂér hafi› engi áhƒld vi›, ef ﬂér hitti› li› hans allt. En hann sjálfr ferr me›
léttiskipum tveimr ok er nú hér skammt frá y›r.’
En er tí›endi ﬂessi kómu fyrir Egil ﬂá láta ﬂeir ﬂegar af sér tjƒldin; <hann>
24 ba› ﬂá fara hljó›liga; ﬂeir ger›u svá. ﬁeir kómu í dƒgun at ﬂeim Eyvindi ﬂar
er ﬂeir lágu um akkeri; lƒg›u ﬂegar at ﬂeim, létu ganga bæ›i grjót ok vápn;
fell ﬂar li› margt af Eyvindi, en hann sjálfr hljóp fyrir bor› ok komsk me›
27 sundi til lands, ok svá allt ﬂat li› er undan komsk. En ﬂeir Egill tóku skipinok fƒt ﬂeira ok vápn; fóru ﬂá aptr um daginn til li›s síns, hittu ﬂá ﬁórólf;
spyrr hann hvert Egill haf›i farit e›a hvar hann haf›i fengit skip ﬂau er ﬂeir
30 fara me›. Egill segir at Eyvindr skreyja haf›i haft skipin ok ﬂeir hƒf›u af
honum tekit; ﬂá kva› Egill:33

15. Gjƒr›um hƒlzti har›ahrí› fyrir Jótlandssí›u,bar›isk vel sá er var›i,víkingr, Dana ríki,
Stanza 15. Gjƒr›um hƒlzti har›a hrí› fyrir Jótlandssí›u—víkingr sá er var›i Danaríki bar›isk vel—á›r snarfengr Eyvindr skreyja of hljóp me› li› drengja af unnar
hesti á sund fyrir sandi austr.
In line 5 sandi is adopted in accordance with all other manuscripts instead ofsundi in M. In line 7 af is adopted here in accordance with W and K instead of frá in

EGILS SAGA71á›r á sund fyrir sandi
snarfengr me› li› drengja
austr af <unnar> hesti
Eyvindr of hljóp skreyja.

3ﬁórólfr segir: ‘ﬁetta ætla ek y›r svá hafa gert at oss mun ekki haustlangt rá›
6
at fara til Nóregs.’
Egill sag›i at ﬂat var vel ﬂótt ﬂeir leita›i ﬂá í annan sta›.

50. Frá Elfrá›i inum ríka ok hans ættaElfrá›rb inn ríki ré› fyrir Englandi; hann var fyrstr einvaldskonungr yfir 9Englandi sinna kynsmanna; ﬂat var á dƒgum Haralds ins hárfagra Nóregskonungs. Eptir hann var konungr í Englandi son hans Játvar›r; hann var
fa›ir A›alsteins ins sigrsæla, fóstra Hákonar ins gó›a. Í ﬂenna tíma tók 12A›alsteinn konungdóm í Englandi eptir fƒ›ur sinn; ﬂeir váru fleiri brœ›r,synir Játvar›s.
En er A›alsteinn haf›i tekit konungdóm ﬂá hófusk upp til ófri›ar ﬂeir 15hƒf›ingjar er á›r hƒf›u látit ríki sín fyrir ﬂeim langfe›gum; ﬂótti nú semdælst mundi til at kalla er ungr konungr ré› fyrir ríki; váru ﬂat bæ›i Bretar
ok Skotar ok Írar. En A›alsteinn konungr safna›i herli›i at sér ok gaf mála 18
ﬂeim mƒnnum ƒllum er ﬂat vildu hafa til féfangs sér, bæ›i útlenzkum ok
innlenzkum.
ﬁeir brœ›r ﬁórólfr ok Egill heldu su›r fyrir Saxland ok Flæmingjaland; 21ﬂá spur›u ﬂeir at Englandskonungr ﬂóttisk li›s ﬂurfa ok ﬂar var ván féfangs
mikils; gera ﬂeir ﬂá ﬂat rá› at halda ﬂangat li›i sínu. Fóru ﬂeir ﬂá um haustit
til ﬂess er ﬂeir kómu á fund A›alsteins konungs; tók hann vel vi› ﬂeim ok 24
leizk svá á at li›sem› mikil mundi vera at fylg› ﬂeira. Ver›r ﬂat brátt írœ›um Englandskonungs at hann b‡›r ﬂeim til sín at taka ﬂar mála ok gerask
landvarnarmenn hans. Semja ﬂeir ﬂat sín í milli at ﬂeir gerask menn 27
A›alsteins.
England var kristit ok haf›i lengi verit ﬂá er ﬂetta var tí›enda; A›alsteinn
konungr var vel kristinn; hann var kalla›r A›alsteinn inn trúfasti. Konungr 30
a Chapter heading from W, where the name is written A›alrá›i. b Written Álfrá›rhere, and in W, but later Elfrá›r, which is the commoner form.
M; also unnar in accordance with W and K where M has a blank space. Instead ofhestum dat. pl. in M, hesti dat. sg. is adopted here in accordance with all othermanuscripts; unnar hestr is a kenning for ship.
We launched a pretty heavy attack off the coast of Jutland—the viking who
defended the Danish realm fought bravely—until the tough (or bold) Eyvindr skreyja
together with his men leapt overboard off the coast in the east and swam.

72

EGILS SAGAba› ﬁórólf ok ﬂá brœ›r at ﬂeir skyldu láta prímsignask, ﬂví at ﬂat var ﬂá
mikill si›r bæ›i me› kaupmƒnnum ok ﬂeim mƒnnum er á mála gengu me›
3 kristnum mƒnnum, ﬂví at ﬂeir menn er prímsigna›ir váru hƒf›u allt samneytivi› kristna menn ok svá hei›na, en hƒf›u ﬂat at átrúna›i er ﬂeim var
skapfelldast. ﬁeir ﬁórólfr ok Egill ger›u ﬂat eptir bœn konungs ok létu
6 prímsignask bá›ir. ﬁeir hƒf›u ﬂar ﬂrjú hundru› sinna manna, ﬂeira er málatóku af konungi.

51. Af Óláfi Skotakonungi
9 Óláfr rau›i hét konungr á Skotlandi; hann var skozkr at fƒ›urkyni, en danskr

at mó›urkyni ok kominn af ætt Ragnars lo›brókar; hann var ríkr ma›r.
Skotland var kallat ﬂri›jungr ríkis vi› England; Nor›imbraland er kallat
12 fimmtungr Englands ok er ﬂat nor›ast, næst Skotlandi fyrir austan. ﬁat hƒf›uhaft at fornu Danakonungar. Jórvík er ﬂar hƒfu›sta›r. ﬁat ríki átti A›alsteinn<konungr>a ok haf›i sett yfir jarla tvá; hét annarr Álfgeirr, en annarr Go›rekr.
15 ﬁeir sátu ﬂar <til> landvarnar bæ›i fyrir ágangi Skota ok Dana e›a Nor›manna, er mjƒk herju›u á landit ok ﬂóttusk eiga tilkall mikit ﬂar til lands,
ﬂví at á Nor›imbralandi váru ﬂeir einir menn, ef nƒkkut var til, at danska ætt
18 átti at fa›erni e›a mó›erni, en margir hvárirtveggju.
Fyrir Bretlandi ré›u brœ›r tveir, Hringr ok A›ils, ok váru skattgildir undirA›alstein konung ok fylg›i ﬂat ﬂá er ﬂeir váru í her me› konungi at ﬂeir ok
21 ﬂeira li› skyldi vera í brjósti í fylking fyrir merkjum konungs; váru ﬂeir
brœ›r inir mestu hermenn ok eigi allungir menn.
Elfrá›r inn ríki haf›i tekit alla skattkonunga af nafni ok veldi; hétu ﬂeir ﬂá
24 jarlar er á›r váru konungar e›a konungasynir. Helzk ﬂat allt um hans ævi ok
Játvar›ar sonar hans, en A›alsteinn kom ungr til ríkis ok ﬂótti af honum
minni ógn standa; ger›usk ﬂá margir ótryggir ﬂeir er á›r váru ﬂjónustufullir.

52. Af li›ssamandrætti

27Óláfr Skotakonungr dró saman her mikinn ok fór sí›an su›r á England, ener hann kom á Nor›imbraland fór hann allt herskildi; en er ﬂat spur›u jarlarnir
30 er ﬂar ré›u fyrir, stefna ﬂeir saman li›i ok fara móti konungi. En er ﬂeir
finnask var› ﬂar orrosta mikil ok lauk svá at Óláfr konungr haf›i sigr, enGo›rekr jarl fell, en Álfgeirr fl‡›i undan ok mestr hluti li›s ﬂess er ﬂeim
33 haf›i fylgt ok brott komsk ór bardaga. Fekk Álfgeirr b ﬂá enga vi›stƒ›u.
Lag›i Óláfr konungr ﬂá allt Nor›imbraland undir sik.
Álfgeirr fór á fund A›alsteins konungs ok sag›i honum ófarar sínar. En
36 ﬂegar er A›alsteinn konungr spur›i at herr svá mikill var kominn í land hansﬂá ger›i hann ﬂegar menn frá sér ok stefndi at sér li›i, ger›i or› jƒrlum
a Thus W.

b Óláfr konungr W (more likely).

EGILS SAGA

73

sínum ok ƒ›rum ríkismƒnnum; sneri konungr ﬂegar á lei› me› ﬂat li› erhann fekk ok fór í mót Skotum.
En er ﬂat spur›isk at Óláfr Skotakonungr haf›i fengit sigr ok haf›i lagt 3
undir sik mikinn hluta af Englandi, haf›i hann ﬂá her miklu meira enA›alsteinn, en ﬂá sótti til hans margt ríkismanna. En er ﬂetta spyrja ﬂeir
Hringr ok A›ils—hƒf›u ﬂeir saman dregit li› mikit—ﬂá snúask ﬂeir í li› 6me› Óláfi konungi; hƒf›u ﬂeir ﬂá ógrynni li›s.
En er A›alsteinn <konungr>a spur›i ﬂetta allt ﬂá átti hann stefnu vi›hƒf›ingja sína ok rá›amenn, leita›i ﬂá eptir hvat tiltœkiligast væri, sag›i ﬂá 9allri alﬂ‡›u greiniliga ﬂat er hann haf›i frétt um athƒfn Skotakonungs okfjƒlmenni hans. Allir mæltu ﬂar eitt um at Álfgeirr jarl haf›i inn versta hlut
af ok ﬂótti ﬂat til liggja at taka af honum tignina;1 en sú rá›ager› sta›festisk 12
at A›alsteinn konungr skyldi fara aptr ok fara á sunnanvert England ok hafaﬂá fyrir sér li›safna› nor›r eptir landi ƒllu, ﬂví at ﬂeir sá elligar mundi seint
safnask fjƒlmennit svá mikit sem ﬂyrfti, ef eigi drœgi konungr sjálfr at li›it. 15
En sá herr er ﬂá var ﬂar saman kominn, ﬂá setti konungr ﬂar yfir hƒf›ingjaﬁórólf ok Egil; skyldu ﬂeir rá›a fyrir ﬂví li›i er víkingar hƒf›u ﬂangat hafttil konungs, en Álfgeirr sjálfr haf›i ﬂá enn forrá› síns li›s; ﬂá fekk konungr 18
enn sveitarhƒf›ingja ﬂá er honum s‡ndisk. En er Egill kom heim af stefnunni
til félaga sinna ﬂá spur›u ﬂeir hvat hann kynni at segja ﬂeim tí›enda frá
Skotakonungi. Hann kva›:
21
16. Óláfr of kom jƒfri,ótt víg, á bak flótta,ﬂinghar›an spyr ek ﬂengil
ﬂann, er felldi annan.
a Thus K and W.
1 W has an interesting variant reading here, blaming the brothers Hringr and A›ils

as traitors, but does not mention Álfgeirr: Allir mæltu ﬂar eitt um, at ﬂeir Hringr okA›ils hef›i hinn versta hlut af, er ﬂeir váru dróttinssvikar, ok ﬂeir vildu ﬂegar drepa
ﬂá er ﬂeir næ›isk (K not comparable).
Stanza 16. Óláfr of kom flótta á bak jƒfri, er felldi annan: ótt víg. Spyr ek ﬂann
ﬂengil ﬂinghar›an. Go›rekr lét gnóga glapstigu tro›na á mó. Englasker›ir spenr
hálfa jƒr› Álfgeirs und sik.
ﬂinghar›r is not found elsewhere, but probably means ‘hard or difficult to meet inbattle’; glapstigu, fool’s paths; Englasker›ir, he who diminishes the Englishmen,
i.e. their enemy; Álfgeirs is adopted from W instead of Álfgeirr in M and K. This
makes the last two lines inconsistent with the preceding prose where it is said that
King Óláfr conquered the whole of Northumbria. Discrepancies between prose andverse in Sagas of Icelanders are not unknown and the two lines in the verse would be
hard to explain in any other way.

24

74

3

EGILS SAGA

Glapstigu lét gnóga
Go›rekr á mó tro›na.
Jƒr› spenr Englasker›irÁlfgeirs und sik hálfa.
Sí›an gera ﬂeir sendimenn til Óláfs konungs ok finna ﬂat til erenda at

6 A›alsteinn konungr vill hasla honum vƒll ok bjó›a orrostusta› á Vínhei›ivi› Vínuskóga, ok hann vill at ﬂeir heri eigi á land hans, en sá ﬂeira rá›i ríki
á Englandi er sigr fær í orrostu; lag›i til vikustef um fund ﬂeira, en sá bí›r
9 annars viku er fyrr kemr. En ﬂat var ﬂá si›r ﬂegar konungi var vƒllr hasla›r
at hann skyldi eigi herja at skammlausu fyrr en orrostu væri lokit; gjƒr›iÓláfr konungr svá, at hann stƒ›va›i her sinn ok herja›i ekki ok bei› til
12 stefnudags. ﬁá flutti hann her sinn til Vínhei›ar.
Borg ein stó› fyrir nor›an hei›ina; settisk Óláfr konungr ﬂar í borgina ok
haf›i ﬂar mestan hlut li›s síns, ﬂví at ﬂar var út í frá heru› stór, ok ﬂótti
15 honum ﬂar betra til atflutninga um fƒng ﬂau er herrinn ﬂurfti at hafa. En
hann sendi menn sína upp á hei›ina ﬂar sem orrostusta›rinn var ákve›inn;skyldu ﬂeir taka ﬂar tjaldsta›i ok búask ﬂar um á›r herrinn kvæmi.
18 En er ﬂeir menn kómu í ﬂann sta› er vƒllrinn var hasla›r, ﬂá váru ﬂar
settar upp heslistengr allt til ummerkja ﬂar er sá sta›r var er orrostan skyldi
vera. ﬁurfti ﬂann sta› at vanda, at hann væri sléttr, er miklum her skyldi
21 fylkja. Var ﬂar ok svá er orrostusta›rinn skyldi vera at ﬂar var hei›r slétt, enannan veg frá fell á ein, en á annan veg frá var skógr mikill.
En ﬂar er skemmst var milli skógarins ok árinnar, ok var ﬂat mjƒk lƒng24 lei›, ﬂar hƒf›u tjaldat menn A›alsteins konungs; stó›u tjƒld ﬂeira allt milliskógarins ok árinnar. ﬁeir hƒf›u svá tjaldat at eigi váru menn í inu ﬂri›ja
hverju tjaldi ok ﬂó fáir í einu.
27 En <er> menn Óláfs konungs kómu til ﬂeira ﬂá hƒf›u ﬂeir fjƒlmennt fyrir
framan tjƒldin ƒll ok ná›u ﬂeir ekki inn at ganga; sƒg›u menn A›alsteins attjƒld ﬂeira væri ƒll full af mƒnnum svá at hvergi nær hef›i ﬂar rúm li› ﬂeira.
30 En tjƒldin stó›u svá hátt at ekki mátti yfir upp sjá hvárt ﬂau stó›u mƒrg e›afá á ﬂykk›ina. ﬁeir hug›u at ﬂar mundi vera herr manns.
Óláfs konungs menn tjƒldu›u fyrir nor›an hƒslurnar ok var ﬂangat allt
33 nƒkkut afhallt. A›alsteins menn sƒg›u ok annan dag frá ƒ›rum at konungr
ﬂeira mundi ﬂá koma e›a vera kominn í borg ﬂá er var sunnan undir hei›inni;li› drósk til ﬂeira bæ›i dag ok nótt.
36 En er stefna sú var li›in er ákve›it var ﬂá senda menn A›alsteins ørendreka
á fund Óláfs konungs me› ﬂeim or›um at A›alsteinn konungr er búinn tilÓláfr made the earl turn in flight, when he killed another: a furious battle. I havelearned that this king is pugnacious. Go›rekr has made enough false moves (i.e. has
lived long enough, is dead). The enemy of the English conquers half the land of Álfgeirr.

75

EGILS SAGA

orrostu ok hefir her allmikinn, en hann sendir Óláfi konungi ﬂau or› at hannvill eigi at ﬂeir geri svá mikit mannspell sem ﬂá horf›isk til, ba› hann heldr
fara heim í Skotland, en A›alsteinn vill fá honum at vingjƒf skilling silfrs af 3
plógi hverjum um allt ríki sitt ok vill at ﬂeir leggi me› sér vináttu.
En er sendimenn koma til Óláfs konungs ﬂá tók hann at búa her sinn okætla›i at at rí›a; en er sendimenn báru upp erendi ﬂá stƒ›va›i konungr fer› 6
sína ﬂann dag; sat ﬂá í rá›ager› ok hƒf›ingjar hersa me› honum. Lƒg›umenn ﬂar allmisjafnt til; sumir f‡stu mjƒk at ﬂenna kost skyldi taka, sƒg›u
at ﬂat var ﬂá or›in in mesta frem›arfer› at ﬂeir fœri heim ok hef›i tekit gjald 9
svá mikit af A›alsteini; sumir lƒttu ok sƒg›u at A›alsteinn mundi bjó›amiklu meira í annat sinn, ef ﬂetta væri eigi tekit, ok var sú rá›ager› sta›fest.
ﬁá bá›u sendimenn Óláf konung at gefa sér tóm til at ﬂeir hitti enn A›alstein 12
konung ok freista›i ef hann vildi enn meira gjald af hendi rei›a til ﬂess at
fri›r væri; ﬂeir beiddu gri›a einn dag til heimrei›ar, en annan til umrá›a, eninn ﬂri›ja til aptrfer›ar; konungr játta›i ﬂeim ﬂví. Fara sendimenn heim ok 15
koma aptr inn ﬂri›ja dag sem ákve›it var, segja Óláfi konungi at A›alsteinn<konungr>b vill gefa allt slíkt sem hann bau› fyrr ok ﬂar um fram til hlutskiptis
li›i Óláfs konungs skilling manni hverjum frjálsbornum, en mƒrk sveitar- 18
hƒf›ingja hverjum, ﬂeim er ré›i fyrir tólf mƒnnum e›a fleirum, en mƒrkgulls hir›stjóra hverjum, en fimm merkr gulls jarli hverjum.
Sí›an lét konungr ﬂetta upp bera fyrir li› sitt; var enn sem fyrr at sumir 21lƒttu, en sumir f‡stu, en at lyk›um veitti konungr órskur›, segir at ﬂenna
kost vill hann taka, ef ﬂat fylgir at A›alsteinn konungr lætr hann hafaNor›imbraland allt me› ﬂeim skƒttum ok skyldum er ﬂar liggja.
24
Sendimenn bi›ja enn fresta um ﬂrjá daga ok ﬂess me› at Óláfr konungr
sendi ﬂá menn sína at heyra or› A›alsteins konungs, hvárt hann vill e›a eigi
ﬂenna kost, segja at ﬂeir hyggja at A›alsteinn konungr mundi láta fátt vi› 27
nema at sættin tœkisk. Óláfr konungr játtir ﬂví ok sendir menn sína tilA›alsteins konungs; rí›a ﬂá sendimenn allir saman ok hitta A›alstein konungí borg ﬂeiri er var næst hei›inni fyrir sunnan.
30
Sendimenn Óláfs konungs bera upp erendi sín fyrir A›alstein konung oksættabo›. A›alsteins konungs menn sƒg›u ok me› hverju<m bo›um>c ﬂeir
hƒf›u farit til Óláfs konungs ok ﬂat me› at ﬂat var rá›ager› vitra manna at 33
dvelja svá orrostu me›an konungr kœmi eigi.
En A›alsteinn konungr veitti skjótan órskur› um ﬂetta mál ok sag›isendimƒnnum svá:
36
‘Beri› ﬂau or› mín Óláfi konungi at ek vil gefa honum orlof til ﬂess atfara heim til Skotlands me› li› sitt ok gjaldi hann aptr fé ﬂat allt er hann tók
a Probably an error for hans (thus K and 463).

erendum 560.

b Thus K and W.

c Thus W;

76

EGILS SAGA

upp at rƒngu hér í landi; setjum hér sí›an fri› í millum landa várra ok herihvárigir á a›ra. ﬁat skal ok fylgja at Óláfr konungr skal gerask minn ma›r
3 ok halda Skotland af mér ok vera undirkonungr minn; fari› nú,’ segir hann,‘aptr ok segi› honum svá búit.’Sendimenn sneru aptr lei› sína ﬂegar um kveldit ok kómu til Óláfs konungs
6 nær mi›ri nótt; vƒk›u ﬂá upp konung ok sƒg›u honum ﬂegar or› A›alsteins
konungs. Konungr lét ﬂegar kalla til sín jarlana ok a›ra hƒf›ingja, lét ﬂá
sendimenn koma til ok segja upp erendislok sín ok or› A›alsteins konungs.
9 En er ﬂetta var kunnigt gert fyrir li›smƒnnum ﬂá var eitt or›tak allra at ﬂatmundi fyrir liggja at búask til orrostu. Sendimenn sƒg›u ok ﬂat me› atA›alsteinn haf›i fjƒl›a li›s ok hann haf›i ﬂann dag komit til borgarinnar
12 sem sendimenn kómu.
ﬁá mælti A›ils jarl: ‘Nú mun ﬂat fram komit, konungr, sem ek sag›a, at
y›r mundu ﬂeir reynask brƒg›óttir inir ensku; hƒfum vér hér setit langa
15 stund ok be›it ﬂess er ﬂeir hafa dregit at sér allt li› sitt, en konungr ﬂeira
mun verit hafa hvergi nær ﬂá er vér kómum hér; munu ﬂeir nú hafa safnatli›i miklu sí›an vér settumsk. Nú er ﬂat rá› mitt, konungr, at vit brœ›r rí›im
18 ﬂegar í nótt fyrir me› okru li›i. Má ﬂat vera at ﬂeir óttisk nú ekki at sér a er
ﬂeir hafa spurt at konungr ﬂeira er nær me› her mikinn. Skulum vit ﬂá veita
ﬂeim áhlaup, en er ﬂeir ver›a forflótta ﬂá munu ﬂeir láta li› sitt, en ódjarfari
21 sí›an í atgƒngu at móti oss.’
Konungi ﬂótti ﬂetta rá› vel fundit; ‘munum vér búa her várn ﬂegar er l‡sir
ok fara til móts vi› y›r.’
24 Sta›festu ﬂeir ﬂetta rá› ok luku svá stefnunni.

53. Um bardaga
Hringr jarl ok A›ils bró›ir hans bjuggu her sinn ok fóru ﬂegar um nóttina
27 su›r á hei›ina. En er ljóst var ﬂá sá var›menn ﬂeira ﬁórólfs hvar herrinn fór;var ﬂá blásinn herblástr ok herklæddusk menn, tóku sí›an at fylkja li›inu okhƒf›u tvær fylkingar. Ré› Álfgeirr jarl fyrir annarri fylking ok var merki
30 borit fyrir honum; var í ﬂeiri fylking li› ﬂat er honum haf›i fylgt ok svá ﬂatli› er ﬂar haf›i til safnazk ór heru›um. Var ﬂat miklu fleira li› en ﬂat er ﬂeim
ﬁórólfi fylg›i.
33 ﬁórólfr var svá búinn: hann haf›i skjƒld ví›an ok ﬂykkvan, hjálm á hƒf›iallsterkan, gyr›r sver›i ﬂví er hann kalla›i Lang, mikit vápn ok gott; kesju
haf›i hann í hendi; fjƒ›rin var tveggja álna lƒng ok sleginn fram broddr
36 ferstrendr, en upp var fjƒ›rin brei›, falrinn bæ›i langr ok digr, skaptit var
eigi hæra en taka mátti hendi til fals ok fur›uliga digrt; járnteinn var í falnum
ok skaptit allt járnvafit; ﬂau spjót váru kƒllu› brynﬂvarar.
a K adds: er á hei›inni eru.

EGILS SAGA

77

Egill haf›i inn sama búna› sem ﬁórólfr; hann var gyr›r sver›i ﬂví er hannkalla›i Na›r; ﬂat sver› haf›i hann fengit á Kúrlandi; var ﬂat it bezta vápn;
hvárgi ﬂeira haf›i brynju. ﬁeir settu merki upp ok bar ﬂat ﬁorfi›r strangi. 3
Allt li› ﬂeira haf›i norrœna skjƒldu ok allan norrœnan herbúna›; í ﬂeiri
fylking váru allir norrœnir menn ﬂeir er ﬂar váru. Fylktu ﬂeir ﬁórólfr nær
6
skóginum, en Álfgeirs fylking fór me› ánni.
A›ils jarl ok ﬂeir brœ›r sá ﬂat at ﬂeir mundu ekki koma ﬂeim ﬁórólfi áóvart; ﬂá tóku ﬂeir at fylkja sínu li›i; ger›u ﬂeir ok tvær fylkingar ok hƒf›utvau merki. Fylkti A›ils móti Álfgeiri jarli, en Hringr móti víkingum. Sí›an 9
tóksk ﬂar orrosta; gengu hvárirtveggju vel fram.
A›ils jarl sótti hart fram ﬂar til er Álfgeirr lét undan sígask; en A›ils mennsóttu ﬂá hálfu djarfligar; var ﬂá ok eigi lengi á›r en Álfgeirr fl‡›i ok er ﬂat 12
frá honum at segja at hann rei› undan su›r á hei›ina ok sveit manna me›
honum. Rei› hann ﬂar til er hann kom nær borg ﬂeiri er konungr sat. ﬁá
15mælti jarlinn:‘Ekki ætla ek oss fara til borgarinnar; vér fengum mikit or›askak næst er
vér kómum til konungs, ﬂá er vér hƒf›um farit ósigr fyrir Óláfi konungi, okekki mun honum ﬂikja batnat hafa várr kostr í ﬂessi fer›; mun nú ekki ﬂurfa 18
at ætla til sœm›a ﬂar sem hann er.’Sí›an rei› jarl su›r á landit ok er frá hans fer› ﬂat at segja at hann rei› dag ok
nótt ﬂar til er ﬂeir kómu vestr á Jarlsnes. Fekk jarl sér ﬂar far su›r um sæ ok kom 21
fram á Vallandi; ﬂar átti hann kyn hálft; kom hann aldregi sí›an til Englands.
A›ils rak fyrst flóttann ok eigi langt á›r hann sn‡r aptr ok ﬂar til er orrostan
var ok veitti ﬂá atgƒngu. En er ﬁórólfr sá ﬂat sneri hann í mót jarli ok ba› 24
ﬂangat bera merkit, ba› menn sína fylgjask vel ok standa ﬂykkt.
‘ﬁokum at skóginum,’ sag›i hann, ‘ok látum hann hlífa á bak oss, svá at27
ﬂeir megi eigi ƒllum megum at oss ganga.’ﬁeir ger›u svá, fylg›u fram skóginum; var› ﬂá hƒr› orrosta; sótti Egill
móti A›ísli ok áttusk ﬂeir vi› hƒr› skipti. Li›smunr var allmikill ok ﬂó fell
30
meir li› ﬂeira A›ils.
ﬁórólfr ger›isk ﬂá svá ó›r at hann kasta›i skildinum á bak sér, en tók
spjótit tveim hƒndum; hljóp hann ﬂá fram ok hjó e›a lag›i til beggja handa;
stukku menn ﬂá frá tveggja vegna, en hann drap marga. Ruddi hann svá 33
stíginn fram at merki jarlsins Hrings ok helzk ﬂá ekki vi› honum. Hann
drap ﬂann mann er bar merki Hrings jarls ok hjó ni›r merkistƒngina. Sí›an
lag›i hann spjótinu fyrir brjóst jarlinum í gegnum brynjuna ok búkinn svá at 36
út gekk um her›arnar ok hóf hann upp á kesjunni yfir hƒfu› sér ok skautni›r spjótshalanum í jƒr›ina, en jarlinn sœf›isk á spjótinu ok sá ﬂat allir,bæ›i hans menn ok svá hans óvinir. Sí›an brá ﬁórólfr sver›inu ok hjó hann 39
ﬂá til beggja handa; sóttu ﬂá ok at hans menn; fellu ﬂá mjƒk Bretar ok Skotar,en sumir snerusk á flótta.

78

EGILS SAGA

En er A›ils jarl sá fall bró›ur síns ok mannfall mikit af li›i hans, en sumir
fl‡›u, en hann ﬂóttisk hart ni›r koma, ﬂá sneri hann á flótta ok rann til
3 skógarins; hann fl‡›i í skóginn ok hans sveit; tók ﬂá at fl‡ja allt li› ﬂat er
ﬂeim haf›i fylgt. Gjƒr›isk ﬂá mannfall mikit af flóttamƒnnum, ok dreif›isk
ﬂá flóttinn ví›a um hei›ina. A›ils jarl haf›i ni›r drepit merki sínu, ok vissi
6 ﬂá engi hvárt hann fór e›a a›rir menn. Tók ﬂá brátt at myrkva af nótt, en ﬂeirﬁórólfr ok Egill sneru aptr til herbú›a sinna, ok ﬂá jafnskjótt kom ﬂarA›alsteinn konungr me› allan her sinn ok slógu ﬂá landtjƒldum sínum ok
9 bjuggusk um.
Litlu sí›ar kom Óláfr konungr me› sinn her; tjƒldu›u ﬂeir ok bjuggusk
um ﬂar sem ﬂeira menn hƒf›u tjaldat. Var Óláfi konungi ﬂá sagt at fallnir váru
12 ﬂeir bá›ir jarlar hans, Hringr ok A›ils, ok mikill fjƒl›i annarra manna hans.

54. Fall ﬁórólfs
A›alsteinn konungr haf›i verit á›r ina næstu nótt í borg ﬂeiri er fyrr var frá
15 sagt ok ﬂar spur›i hann at bardagi haf›i verit á hei›inni, bjósk ﬂá ﬂegar ok

allr herrinn ok sótti nor›r á hei›ina; spur›i ﬂá ƒll tí›endi gløggliga hverneg
orrosta sú haf›i farit. Kómu ﬂá til fundar vi› konung ﬂeir brœ›r ﬁórólfr ok
18 Egill; ﬂakka›i hann ﬂeim vel framgƒngu sína ok sigr ﬂann er ﬂeir hƒf›u unnit,
hét ﬂeim vináttu sinni fullkominni; dvƒl›usk ﬂeir ﬂar allir samt um nóttina.
A›alsteinn konungr vak›i upp her sinn ﬂegar um morgininn árdegis; hann
21 átti tal vi› hƒf›ingja sína ok sag›i hver skipun vera skyldi fyrir li›i hans.
Skipa›i hann fylking sína fyrst ok ﬂá setti hann í brjósti ﬂeirar fylkingar
sveitir ﬂær er snarpastar váru. ﬁá mælti hann at fyrir ﬂví li›i skyldi vera Egill.
24 ‘En ﬁórólfr,’ sag›i hann, ‘skal vera me› li›i sínu ok ƒ›ru ﬂví li›i er ek set
ﬂar. Skal sú vera ƒnnur fylking í li›i váru er hann skal vera hƒf›ingi fyrir,
ﬂví at Skotar eru jafnan lausir í fylkingu, hlaupa ﬂeir til ok frá ok koma í
27 ‡msum stƒ›um fram; ver›a ﬂeir opt skeinusamir, ef menn varask eigi, en
eru lausir á velli, ef vi› ﬂeim er horft.’
Egill svara›i konungi: ‘Ekki vil ek at vit ﬁórólfr skilimsk í orrostu, en vel
30 ﬂiki mér at okr sé ﬂar skipat er mest ﬂikir ﬂurfa ok har›ast er fyrir.’ﬁórólfr mælti: ‘Látum vit konung rá›a, hvar a hann vill okr skipa; veitum
honum svá at honum líki; mun ek vera heldr, ef ﬂú vill, ﬂar er ﬂér er skipat.’
33 Egill segir: ‘ﬁér munu› nú rá›a, en ﬂessa skiptis mun ek opt i›rask.’
Gengu menn ﬂá í fylkingar svá sem konungr haf›i skipat ok váru sett upp
merki; stó› konungs fylking á ví›lendit til árinnar, en ﬁórólfs fylking fór it
36 efra me› skóginum.
Óláfr konungr tók ﬂá at fylkja li›i sínu ﬂá er hann sá at A›alsteinn haf›ifylkt; hann ger›i ok tvær fylkingar ok lét hann fara sitt merki ok ﬂá fylking
39 er hann ré› sjálfr fyrir móti A›alsteini konungi ok hans fylking. Hƒf›u ﬂáa Thus K and W; hvat M.

EGILS SAGA

79

hvárirtveggju her svá mikinn at engi var munr hvárir fjƒlmennri váru. Enƒnnur fylking Óláfs konungs fór nær skóginum móti li›i ﬂví er ﬁórólfr ré›
fyrir; váru ﬂar hƒf›ingjar jarlar skozkir. Váru ﬂat Skotar flest ok var ﬂat 3fjƒlmenni mikit.
Sí›an gangask á fylkingar ok var› ﬂar brátt orrosta mikil. ﬁórólfr sótti
fram hart ok lét bera merki sitt fram me› skóginum ok ætla›i ﬂar svá fram at 6
ganga at hann kœmi í opna skjƒldu konungs fylkinginni. Hƒf›u ﬂeir skjƒlduna
fyrir sér, en skógrinn var til hœgra vegs; létu ﬂeir hann ﬂar hlífa. ﬁórólfr
gekk svá fram at fáir váru menn hans fyrir honum, en ﬂá er hann var›i 9minnst ﬂá hlaupa ﬂar ór skóginum A›ils jarl ok sveit sú er honum fylg›i;lƒg›u ﬂegar mƒrgum kesjum senn á ﬁórólfi ok fell hann ﬂar vi› skóginn, enﬁorfi›r er merkit bar hopa›i aptr ﬂar er li›it stó› ﬂykkra, en A›ils sótti ﬂá at 12
ﬂeim ok var ﬂar ﬂá orrosta mikil. Œptu Skotar ﬂá sigróp er ﬂeir hƒf›u felldanhƒf›ingjann.
En er Egill heyr›i óp ﬂat ok sá at merki ﬁórólfs fór á hæl ﬂá ﬂóttisk hann 15
vita at ﬁórólfr mundi eigi sjálfr fylgja. Sí›an hleypr hann til ﬂangat fram ímilli fylkinganna. Hann var› skjótt varr ﬂeira tí›enda er ﬂar váru or›in,ﬂegar hann fann sína menn. Hann eggjar ﬂá li›it mjƒk til framgƒngu; var 18
hann fremstr í brjóstinu; hann haf›i sver›it Na›r í hendi. Hann sótti ﬂá framok hjó til beggja handa ok felldi marga menn. ﬁorfi›r bar merkit ﬂegar eptir
honum, en annat li› fylg›i merkinu; var ﬂar in snarpasta orrosta. Egill gekk 21
fram til ﬂess er hann mœtti A›ísli jarli; áttusk ﬂeir fá hƒgg vi› á›r A›ils jarlfell ok margt manna um hann, en eptir fall hans ﬂá fl‡›i li› ﬂat er honum
haf›i fylgt, en Egill ok hans li› fylg›u ﬂeim ok drápu allt ﬂat er ﬂeir ná›u, 24
ﬂví at ekki ﬂurfti ﬂá gri›a at bi›ja. En jarlar ﬂeir inir skozku stó›u ﬂá ekkilengi, ﬂegar er ﬂeir sá at a›rir fl‡›u ﬂeira félagar; tóku ﬂegar á rás undan.
En ﬂeir Egill stefndu ﬂá ﬂar til er var konungs fylkingin ok kómu ﬂá í 27
opna skjƒldu ok ger›u ﬂar brátt mikit mannfall. Ri›la›isk ﬂá fylkingin ok
losna›i ƒll; fl‡›u ﬂá margir af Óláfs mƒnnum, en víkingar œptu ﬂá sigróp.
En er A›alsteinn konungr ﬂóttisk finna at rofna tók fylking Óláfs konungs 30
ﬂá eggja›i hann li› sitt ok lét fram bera merki; gjƒr›i ﬂá atgƒngu har›a svá
at hrƒkk fyrir li› Óláfs ok ger›isk allmikit mannfall. Fell ﬂar Óláfr konungr
ok mestr hluti li›s ﬂess er Óláfr haf›i haft, ﬂví at ﬂeir er á flótta snerusk váru 33
allir drepnir er nát var›. Fekk A›alsteinn konungr ﬂar allmikinn sigr.

55. Egill jar›a›i ﬁórólf
A›alsteinn konungr sneri í brott frá orrostunni, en menn hans ráku flóttann. 36
Hann rei› aptr til borgarinnar ok tók eigi fyrr náttsta› en í borginni, en Egill
rak flóttann ok fylg›i ﬂeim lengi ok drap hvern mann er hann ná›i. Sí›an
sneri hann aptr me› sveitunga sína ok fór ﬂar til er orrostan haf›i verit ok 39
hitti ﬂar ﬁórólf bró›ur sinn látinn. Hann tók upp lík hans ok ﬂó, bjó um

80

EGILS SAGA

sí›an sem si›venja var til. Grófu ﬂeir ﬂar grƒf ok settu ﬁórólf ﬂar í me›
vápnum sínum ƒllum ok klæ›um. Sí›an spennti Egill gullhring á hvára hƒnd3 honum á›r hann skil›isk vi›. Hló›u sí›an at grjóti ok jósu at moldu. ﬁákva› Egill vísu:
6

9

12

17. Gekk sá er ó›isk ekki
jarlmanns bani snarla,
ﬂreklunda›r fell, ﬁundar,ﬁórólfr, í gn‡ stórum.
Jƒr› grœr, en vér ver›um,
Vínu nær of mínum,helnau› er ﬂat, hyljaharm, ágætum barma.
Ok enn kva› hann:

15

18

21

18. Valkƒstum hló› ek vestanvang fyrir merkistangir;
ótt var él ﬂat er sóttak
A›ils bláum Na›ri.
Há›i ungr vi› EnglaÁleifr ﬂrimu stála.
Helt, ne hrafnar sultu,
Hringr á vápna ﬂingi.

Sí›an fór Egill me› sveit sína á fund A›alsteins konungs ok gekk ﬂegar
fyrir konung er hann sat vi› drykkju; ﬂar var glaumr mikill. Ok er konungr
24 sá at Egill var inn kominn ﬂá mælti hann at r‡ma skyldi pallinn ﬂann innóœ›ra fyrir ﬂeim ok mælti at Egill skyldi sitja ﬂar í ƒndvegi gegnt konungi.
Stanza 17. Jarlmanns bani, sá er ó›isk ekki, gekk snarla í stórum ﬁundar gn‡;
ﬂreklunda›r ﬁórólfr fell. Jƒr› grœr of mínum ágætum barma nær Vínu; ﬂat er helnau›,
en vér ver›um hylja harm.
ó›isk in line 1 is adopted from W; óa›isk in M. ﬁundar gn‡r (Ó›inn’s din) means
battle. In the last line harm is adopted from W; harmr in M (and in K).
The killer of the earl, he who did not fear anything, fought bravely in the ferocious
battle; brave ﬁórólfr fell. The earth grows green near Vína over my excellent brother.
That is a terrible grief, but we must conceal our sorrow.
Stanza 18. Hló› ek vang vestan valkƒstum fyrir merkistangir; ótt var él ﬂat er
sóttak A›ils bláum Na›ri. Ungr Áleifr há›i stála ﬂrimu vi› Engla. Hringr helt ávápna ﬂingi; hrafnar ne sultu.
ﬂrima stála, din of steel (arms), and vápna ﬂing, meeting of weapons, both mean battle.
I piled up heaps of slain men in front of the standards on the field in the west; thefight was hard when I attacked A›ils with blue Na›r (Serpent, his sword). YoungÁleifr (Óláfr) fought a battle with the English. Hringr was engaged in battle; ravens
did not starve (were fed).

EGILS SAGA

81

Egill settisk ﬂar ni›r ok skaut skildinum fyrir fœtr sér; hann haf›i hjálm áhƒf›i ok lag›i sver›it um kné sér ok dró annat skei› til hálfs, en ﬂá skelldi
hann aptr í slí›rin. Hann sat uppréttr ok var gneyptr mjƒk. Egill var mikilleitr, 3
ennibrei›r, brúnamikill, nefit ekki langt en ákafliga digrt, granstœ›it vítt ok
langt, hakan brei› fur›uliga ok svá allt um kjálkana, hálsdigr ok her›imikill
svá at ﬂat bar frá ﬂví sem a›rir menn váru, har›leitr ok grimmligr ﬂá er hann 6
var rei›r. Hann var vel í vexti ok hverjum manni hæri, úlfgrátt hárit okﬂykkt ok var› snemma skƒllóttr.
En er hann sat sem fyrr var ritat ﬂá hleypti hann annarri brúninni ofan á 9kinnina, en annarri upp í hárrœtr. Egill var svarteygr ok skolbrúnn. Ekki
vildi hann drekka ﬂó at honum væri borit, en ‡msum hleypti hann brúnunum
12
ofan e›a upp.
A›alsteinn konungr sat í hásæti; hann lag›i ok sver› um kné sér ok er ﬂeir
sátu svá um hrí› ﬂá dró konungr sver›it ór slí›rum ok tók gullhring af hendisér, mikinn ok gó›an, ok dró á bló›refilinn, stó› upp ok gekk á gólfit ok 15
rétti yfir eldinn til Egils. Egill stó› upp ok brá sver›inu ok gekk á gólfit;
hann stakk sver›inu í bug hringinum ok dró at sér, gekk aptr til rúms síns.
Konungr settisk í hásæti. En er Egill settisk ni›r dró hann hringinn á hƒnd 18
sér ok ﬂá fóru br‡nn hans í lag; lag›i hann ﬂá ni›r sver›it ok hjálminn ok
tók vi› d‡rshorni er honum var borit ok drakk af. ﬁá kva› hann:
19. Hrammtangar lætr hanga
hrynvirgil mér brynju
Hƒ›r á hauki tro›num
hei›is vingamei›i.
Rítmœ›is kná ek rei›a,ræ›r gunnvala bræ›ir,
gelgju seil á gálga
geirve›rs, lofi at meira.
Stanza 19. Brynju Hƒ›r lætr hrammtangar hrynvirgil hanga mér á hauki tro›num
hei›is vingamei›i. Kná ek rei›a rítmœ›is gelgju seil á gálga geirve›rs; gunnvalabræ›ir ræ›r at meira lofi.
Brynju Hƒ›r, god of the mailcoat, warrior; hramm- (paw, palm of the hand) is acorrection for hvarm- which is inexplicable here; hrammtƒng, the tongs of the palm,means hand, whose hrynvirgill (sonorous string or rope) is a ring on the arm; hauki
tro›inn, walked on by the hawk; hei›is vingamei›r, the hawk’s wind-swayed tree,i.e. the arm; rítmœ›ir, the exhauster of the shield, i.e. sword, whose gelgja (pole) isthe arm, whose seil (band or string) is an arm-ring; gálgi (gallows) geirve›rs, ofspear-weather (i.e. battle) is a sword; gunnvala (battle-falcons’, i.e. ravens’) bræ›ir(he who gives meat (brá›)), is a warrior.
The warrior (the king) lets an arm-ring hang on my arm. I carry the ring on mysword; the warrior (the king) gains the more praise (because of that).

21

24

27

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EGILS SAGA

ﬁa›an af drakk Egill at sínum hlut ok mælti vi› a›ra menn. Eptir ﬂat lét
konungr bera inn kistur tvær; báru tveir menn hvára; váru bá›ar fullar af
3 silfri. Konungr mælti:‘Kistur ﬂessar, Egill, skaltu hafa, ok ef ﬂú kemr til Íslands, skaltu fœraﬂetta fé fƒ›ur ﬂínum; í sonargjƒld sendi ek honum; en sumu fé skaltu skipta
6 me› frændum ykrum ﬁórólfs ﬂeim er ﬂér ﬂikja ágætastir. En ﬂú skalt taka
hér bró›urgjƒld hjá mér, lƒnd e›a lausa aura, hvárt er ﬂú vill heldr, ok ef ﬂúvilt me› mér dveljask leng›ar ﬂá skal ek hér fá ﬂér sœm› ok vir›ing ﬂá er
9 ﬂú kannt mér sjálfr til segja.’
Egill tók vi› fénu ok ﬂakka›i konungi gjafar ok vinmæli; tók Egill ﬂa›an
af at gle›jask, ok ﬂá kva› hann:
12

15

18

20. Knáttu hvarms af harmi
hnúpgnípur mér drúpa;
nú fann ek ﬂann er ennisósléttur ﬂær rétti.
Gramr hefir ger›ihƒmrum
grundar upp um hrundit,
sá er til ‡gr, af augum,
armsíma, mér grímu.

Sí›an váru grœddir ﬂeir menn er sárir váru ok lífs var au›it.1 Egill dval›isk
21 me› A›alsteini konungi inn næsta vetr eptir fall ﬁórólfs ok haf›i hannallmiklar vir›ingar af konungi; var ﬂá me› honum li› ﬂat allt er á›r haf›ifylgt ﬂeim bá›um brœ›rum ok ór orrostu hƒf›u komizk. ﬁá orti Egill drápu
24 um A›alstein konung ok er í ﬂví kvæ›i ﬂetta:27

21. Nú hefir foldgnárr fellda,
fellr jƒr› und ni› Ellu,
hjaldrsnerrandi, harrahƒfu›ba›mr, ﬂrjá jƒfra.
1 lífs – au›it, (those who were) destined to live, i.e. could be saved (cf. Ch. 9).

Stanza 20. Hvarms hnúpgnípur knáttu drúpa mér af harmi; nú fann ek ﬂann errétti ﬂær ennis ósléttur. Gramr hefr um hrundit upp grímu grundar ger›ihƒmrum af
augum mér; sá er til ‡gr armsíma.
hnúpgnípur (overhanging peaks) hvarms (of the eyelid), i.e. brows; gríma grundar,
ground of the mask, is the face, whose ger›ihamrar (fence-crags) are the brows.
My brows drooped from grief; now I have found one who has smoothed that
unevenness of my brow. The king has lifted the brows from my eyes. He is very
cruel to arm-ring(s) (i.e. very generous).
Stanza 21 (only in M). Nú hefr foldgnárr hjaldrsnerrandi, harra hƒfu›ba›mr, fellda
ﬂrjá jƒfra; jƒr› fellr und ni› Ellu. A›alsteinn of vann annat; allt er lægra kynfrægjum
konungmanni; hér sverjum ﬂess, hyrjar hrannbrjótr.

EGILS SAGA

83

A›alsteinn of vann annat,
allt er lægra kynfrægjum,
hér sverjum ﬂess, hyrjar
hrannbrjótr, konungmanni.

3

En ﬂetta er stefit í drápunni:
22. Nú liggr hæst und hraustum
hreinbraut A›alsteini.

6A›alsteinn gaf ﬂá enn Agli at bragarlaunum gullhringa tvá ok stó› hvárr
9mƒrk ok ﬂar fylg›i skikkja d‡r er konungr sjálfr haf›i á›r borit.
En er vára›i l‡sti Egill yfir ﬂví fyrir konungi at hann ætla›i í brott um
sumarit ok til Nóregs ok vita hvat títt er um hag Ásger›ar, ‘konu ﬂeirar er átt
hefir ﬁórólfr bró›ir minn; ﬂar standa saman fé mikil, en ek veit eigi hvárt 12bƒrn ﬂeira lifa nƒkkur; á ek ﬂar fyrir at sjá ef ﬂau lifa, en ek á arf allan efﬁórólfr hefir barnlauss andazk.’
Konungr sag›i: ‘ﬁat mun vera, Egill, á ﬂínu forrá›i at fara he›an á brott ef 15
ﬂú ﬂikisk eiga skyldarerendi, en hinn veg ﬂiki mér bezt at ﬂú takir hér sta›festume› mér ok slíka kosti sem ﬂú vill bei›ask.’
Egill ﬂakka›i konungi or› sín. ‘Ek mun nú fara fyrst,’ <sag›i hann>,a ‘svá 18
sem mér berr skylda til, en ﬂat er líkara at ek vitjak hingat ﬂessa heita ﬂá er
ek komumk vi›.’
21
Konungr ba› hann svá gera.
Sí›an bjósk Egill brott me› li›i sínu, en margt dval›isk eptir me› konungi;
Egill haf›i eitt langskip mikit ok ﬂar á hundra› manna e›a vel svá. Ok erhann var búinn fer›ar sinnar ok byr gaf ﬂá helt hann til hafs; skil›usk ﬂeir 24A›alsteinn konungr me› mikilli vináttu. Ba› hann Egil koma aptr sem
skjótast; Egill kva› svá vera skyldu.b
a Thus q. b q adds: at hann skyldi aptr koma ﬂegar er eigi banna›i skyld nau›syn.

foldgnárr has not been satisfactorily explained; hjaldrsnerrandi, he who intensifies
the battle, warrior; harra (princes’, kings’) hƒfu›ba›mr (chief tree), most important
descendant in the male line; Ella (Ælle) was the name of three Anglo-Saxon kings,
and it is probably the third, d. 867, who is meant here; hyrjar hrannbrjótr =hrannhyrjar brjótr, breaker of the fire of the wave, i.e. of gold = generous man.
Now the warrior, the great descendant of kings, has killed three princes; the landcomes under the dominion of the descendant of Ella. A›alsteinn has won more thanthat; everything is lower than this noble king; I can swear to that, (you) generous man.
Stanza 22. Nú liggr hæst hreinbraut und hraustum A›alsteini.
hæst hreinbraut, the most high way of the reindeer, mountainous land, Scotland(in the present context).
Now the land of the Scots is under the sway of the valiant A›alsteinn.

84

EGILS SAGA

Sí›an helt Egill til Nóregs ok er hann kom vi› land fór hann sem skyndiligast inn í Fjƒr›u. Hann spur›i ﬂau tí›endi at anda›r var ﬁórir hersir, en
3 Arinbjƒrn haf›i tekit vi› arfi ok gjƒrzk lendr ma›r <konungs>.a Egill fór áfund Arinbjarnar ok fekk ﬂar gó›ar vi›tƒkur; bau› Arinbjƒrn honum ﬂar atvera. Egill ﬂekk›isk ﬂat; lét hann setja upp skipit ok vista li› <sitt>; en
6 Arinbjƒrn tók vi› Agli vi› tólfta mann ok var <hann> me› honum um vetrinn.

56. Kvánfang Egils
Berg-¯nundr son ﬁorgeirs ﬂyrnifótar haf›i ﬂá fingit Gunnhildar dóttur Bjarnar
9 hƒl›s; var hon komin til bús me› honum á Aski. En Ásger›r <Bjarnardóttir>,ber átt haf›i ﬁórólfr Skalla-Grímsson, var ﬂá me› Arinbirni frænda sínum.
ﬁau ﬁórólfr áttu dóttur eina unga <er ﬁórdís hét>c ok var mærin ﬂar me›
12 mó›ur sinni. Egill sag›i Ásger›i lát ﬁórólfs ok bau› henni sína umsjá; Ásger›rvar› mjƒk ókát vi› ﬂá sƒgu, en svara›i vel rœ›um Egils ok tók lítit af ƒllu.
Ok er á lei› haustit tók Egill ógle›i mikla,d sat opt ok drap hƒf›inu ni›r í
15 feld sinn. Eitt hvert sinn gekk Arinbjƒrn til hans ok spur›i hvat ógle›i hans ylli.
‘Nú ﬂó at ﬂú hafir fengit ska›a mikinn um bró›ur ﬂinn, ﬂá er ﬂat karlmannligt at bera ﬂat vel; skal ma›r eptir mann lifa, e›a hvat kve›r ﬂú nú? Láttu
18 mik nú heyra.’
Egill sag›i at hann hef›i ﬂetta fyrir skemmstu kve›it:
23. Ókynni vensk, ennis
ungr ﬂor›a ek vel for›um,
haukaklifs, at hefja,
Hlín, ﬂvergnípur mínar.
Ver› ek í feld, ﬂá er foldar
faldr kemr í hug skaldi
berg-Óneris, brúna
brátt mi›stalli hváta.

21

24

27

a Thus K and W.

b Thus q and K.

c Thus q, K and W.

Egill ókátr, ﬂƒgull ok drakk optast lítt, en q.

d tók – mikla] ﬂá gør›isk

Stanza 23. (The first half of the stanza is only found in the W-redaction.) Haukaklifs
Hlín vensk ókynni; ungr ﬂor›a ek for›um vel at hefja ennis ﬂvergnípur mínar. Ver›ek brátt hváta brúna mi›stalli í feld, ﬂá er berg-Óneris foldar faldr kemr í hug skaldi.
haukaklifs Hlín, goddess of the crag of hawks (of the arm) is a woman; ennis
ﬂvergnípur, the peaks across the forehead, i.e. the brows; brúna mi›stallr, the elevation
between the brows, the nose; berg-Óneris (a giant-kenning) is adopted from q (alsoin K; cf. ‘onens’ W) instead of bergaunundar (the name Berg-¯nundr) in M. According
to the plausible explanation of Sigur›ur Nordal (ÍF II, 148–49), berg-Ónerir is a giant,whose fold (land) is áss (mountain ridge); ger›a is a synonym of faldr. The kenningis thus a punning reference to the name Ásger›r as implied in the following prose.

EGILS SAGA

85

Arinbjƒrn spur›i hver kona sú væri er hann orti mansƒng um, ‘<e›a> hefirﬂú fólgit nafn hennar í vísu ﬂessi?’ ﬁá kva› Egill:
24. Sef-Skuldar fel ek sjaldan,sorg Hlés vita borgar,í ni›erfi Narfa—
nafn aurm‡ils drafnar—
ﬂví at geir-Rótu gƒtva
gn‡ﬂings bragar fingrum
rógs at ræsis veigum
reifendr sumir ﬂreifa.

3

6

9

‘Hér mun vera,’ segir Egill, ‘sem opt er mælt, at segjanda er allt sínum vin;
ek mun segja ﬂér ﬂat er ﬂú spyrr, um hverja konu ek yrki; ﬂar er Ásger›r 12frændkona ﬂín ok ﬂar til vilda ek hafa fullting ﬂitt at ek næ›a ﬂví rá›i.’
Arinbjƒrn segir at honum ﬂikir ﬂat vel fundit. ‘Skal ek víst leggja ﬂar or›
15
til at ﬂau rá› takisk.’Sí›an bar Egill <upp>a ﬂat mál fyrir Ásger›i, en hon skaut til rá›a fƒ›ur
síns ok Arinbjarnar frænda síns. Sí›an rœ›ir Arinbjƒrn vi› Ásger›i ok haf›i
18
hon in sƒmu svƒr fyrir sér; Arinbjƒrn f‡sti ﬂessa rá›s.
Sí›an fara ﬂeir Arinbjƒrn ok Egill á fund Bjarnar, ok hefr Egill ﬂá <uppi>bbónor› ok ba› Ásger›ar dóttur Bjarnar. Bjƒrn tók ﬂví máli vel ok sag›i at
Arinbjƒrn mundi ﬂví mjƒk rá›a. Arinbjƒrn f‡sti mjƒk ok lauk ﬂví máli svá 21
at Egill festic Ásger›i ok skyldi brullaup vera at Arinbjarnar. En er at ﬂeiri
stefnu kemr ﬂá var ﬂar veizla allveglig er Egill kvánga›isk; var hann ﬂá
24allkátr ﬂat er eptir var vetrarins.
a upp mál ﬂat q.

b Thus K.

c fastna›i sér q.

The woman has got used to impropriety (i.e. I have not been attentive to her?);
formerly when I was young I was not afraid to lift my brows (i.e. to look up). (Now)
I must soon thrust my nose in my cloak when Ásger›r comes into the mind of the skald.
Stanza 24. Fel ek sjaldan nafn aurm‡ils sef-Skuldar í ni›erfi Narfa—sorg Hlés
vita borgar drafnar—ﬂví at sumir geir-Rótu gƒtva gn‡ﬂings reifendr ﬂreifa bragar
fingrum at rógs ræsis veigum.
aurm‡ils sef-Skuld, sef-norn of the stone, sef-woman, i.e. sifkona, sister-in-law;ni›erfi Narfa (here the name of a giant), the drink of giants’ sons, is poetry (seeSkáldskaparmál 3–5). Hlés viti, fire of the sea-god, is gold (see Skáldskaparmál,
Ch. 33); borg (hill) of gold is a woman; geir-Rótu (valkyrie’s) gƒtva (clothes’, i.e.
mailcoat’s) gn‡ﬂing (noisy meeting) is battle, whose reifendr (protagonists) are
warriors; rógs ræsir (instigator of battle) is Ó›inn, whose veigar (drinks) are poetry.
I rarely hide the name of my sister-in-law in poetry—her grief abates—becausesome men know how to interpret poetry.

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EGILS SAGA

57.
Egill bjó um várit kaupskip til Íslandsfer›ar; ré› Arinbjƒrn honum ﬂat at
3 sta›festask ekki í Nóregi me›an ríki Gunnhildar væri svá mikit, ‘ﬂví at hon

er allﬂung til ﬂín,’ segir Arinbjƒrn, ‘ok hefir ﬂetta mikit um spillt er ﬂérEyvindr funduzk vi› Jótland.’6 Ok er Egill var búinn ok byr gaf ﬂá siglir hann í haf ok greiddisk hans fer›vel; kemr hann um haustit til Íslands ok helt til Borgarfjar›ar. Hann haf›i ﬂáverit útan tólf vetr. Ger›isk ﬂá Skalla-Grímr ma›r gamall; var› hann ﬂá
9 feginn er Egill kom heim. Fór Egill til Borgar at vistum ok me› honumﬁorfinnr <inn> strangi ok ﬂeir mjƒk margir saman; váru ﬂeir me› SkallaGrími um vetrinn.
12 Egill haf›i ﬂar ógrynni fjár, en ekki er ﬂess getit at Egill skipti silfri ﬂví erA›alsteinn konungr haf›i fingit honum í hendr, hvárki vi› Skalla-Grím néa›ra menn.
15 ﬁann vetr fekk ﬁorfinnr Sæunnar dóttur Skalla-Gríms ok eptir um várit
fekk Skalla-Grímr ﬂeim bústa› at Langárforsi ok land inn frá Leirulœk milli
Langár ok Álptár allt til fjalls. Dóttir ﬁorfinns ok Sæunnar var ﬁórdís er átti18 Arngeirr í Hólmi, son Bersa go›lauss; ﬂeira son var Bjƒrn Hítdœlakappi.
Egill dval›isk ﬂá me› Skalla-Grími nƒkkura vetr; tók hann til fjárforrá›aok búsums‡slu engu mi›r Skalla-Grími. Egill ger›isk enn sno›inn.
21 ﬁá tók hera›it at byggjask ví›a; Hrómundr bró›ir Gríms ins háleyska
bygg›i ﬂá í ﬁverárhlí› ok skipverjar hans. Hrómundr var fa›ir Gunnlaugs,
fƒ›ur ﬁurí›ar dyllu, mó›ur Illuga svarta.
24 Egill haf›i ﬂá verit svá at vetrum skipti mjƒk mƒrgum at Borg; ﬂá var ﬂatá einu sumri, er skip kómu af Nóregi til Íslands, at ﬂau tí›endi spur›usk
austan at Bjƒrn hƒl›r var anda›r. ﬁat fylg›i ﬂeiri sƒgn at fé ﬂat allt er Bjƒrn
27 haf›i átt haf›i upp tekit Berg-¯nundr mágr hans. Hann haf›i flutt heim til
sín alla lausa aura, en jar›ir haf›i hann byggt ok skilit sér allar landskyldir;hann haf›i ok sinni eigu kastat á jar›ir ﬂær allar er Bjƒrn haf›i átt. Ok er
30 Egill heyr›i ﬂetta ﬂá spur›i hann vandliga, hvárt Berg-¯nundr mundi sínumrá›um fram hafa farit um ﬂetta e›a hef›i hann traust til haft sér meiri manna.
Honum var sagt at ¯nundr var kominn í vináttu mikla vi› Eirík konung ok
33 vi› Gunnhildi ﬂó miklu kærra.
Egill lét ﬂat kyrrt vera á ﬂví hausti, en er vetrinn lei› af ok vára tók ﬂá lét
Egill setja fram skip ﬂat er hann átti er sta›it haf›i í hrófi vi› Langárfors.
36 Hann bjó skip ﬂat til hafs ok fekk menn til. Ásger›r kona hans var rá›in til
farar, en ﬁórdís dóttir ﬁórólfs var eptir. Egill sigldi í haf er hann var búinn;er frá hans fer› ekki at segja fyrr en hann kemr til Nóregs; helt hann ﬂegar
39 til fundar vi› Arinbjƒrn sem fyrst mátti hann. Arinbjƒrn tók vel vi› honumok bau› Agli me› sér at vera ok ﬂat ﬂekk›isk hann; fóru ﬂau Ásger›r bæ›i
ﬂangat ok nƒkkurir menn me› ﬂeim.

EGILS SAGA

87

Egill kom brátt á rœ›ur vi› Arinbjƒrn um fjárheimtur ﬂær er Egill ﬂóttisk
eiga ﬂar í landi. Arinbjƒrn segir:‘ﬁat mál ﬂiki mér óvænligt; Berg-¯nundr er har›r ok ódæll, ranglátr ok 3
fégjarn, en hann hefir nú hald mikit af konungi ok dróttningu; er Gunnhildr
inn mesti óvinr ﬂinn, sem ﬂú veizt á›r, ok mun hon ekki f‡sa ¯nund at hanngeri grei›a á málinu.’
6
Egill segir: ‘Konungr mun oss láta ná lƒgum ok réttindum á máli ﬂessu,
en me› li›veizlu ﬂinni ﬂá vex mér ekki í augu at leita laga vi› Berg-¯nund.’Rá›a ﬂeir ﬂat af at Egill skipar skútu; fóru ﬂeir ﬂar á nær tuttugu. ﬁeir fóru 9su›r á Hƒr›aland ok koma fram á Aski; ganga ﬂeir ﬂar til húss ok hitta¯nund. Berr ﬂá Egill upp mál sín ok krefr ¯nund skiptis um arf Bjarnar ok
segir at dœtr Bjarnar væri jafnkomnar til arfs eptir hann at lƒgum, ‘ﬂó at mér 12
ﬂiki,’ kva› Egill, ‘sem Ásger›r muni ﬂikja ættborin miklu betr en Gunnhildr
kona ﬂín.’¯nundr segir ﬂá snellt mjƒk: ‘ﬁú ert fur›uliga djarfr ma›r, Egill, útlagi 15
Eiríks konungs, er ﬂú ferr hingat í land hans ok ætlar hér til ágangs vi›
menn hans. Máttu svá ætla, Egill, at ek hefi velta látit slíka sem ﬂú ert ok af
minnum sƒkum en mér ﬂikja ﬂessar er ﬂú telr til arfs fyrir hƒnd konu ﬂinnar, 18
ﬂví at ﬂat er kunnigt alﬂ‡›u at hon er ﬂ‡borin at mó›erni.’¯nundr var máló›i um hrí›; ok er Egill sá at ¯nundr vildi engan hlutgrei›a um ﬂetta mál ﬂá stefnir Egill honum ﬂing ok sk‡tr málinu til 21
Gulaﬂingslaga. ¯nundr segir:‘Koma mun ek til Gulaﬂings ok munda ek vilja at ﬂú kœmir ﬂa›an eigi
heill í brott.’24
Egill segir at hann mun til ﬂess hætta at koma ﬂó til ﬂings allt at einu;‘ver›r ﬂá sem má hversu málum várum l‡kr.’
Fara ﬂeir Egill sí›an í brott ok er hann kom heim segir hann Arinbirni frá 27
fer› sinni ok frá svƒrum ¯nundar. Arinbjƒrn var› rei›r mjƒk er ﬁórafƒ›ursystir hans var kƒllu› ambátt.
Arinbjƒrn fór á fund Eiríks konungs, bar upp fyrir hann ﬂetta mál. Konungr 30
tók heldr ﬂungt hans máli ok sag›i at Arinbjƒrn hef›i lengi fylgt mjƒk málum
Egils; ‘hefir hann notit ﬂín at ﬂví er ek hefi látit hann vera hér í landi, en nú
mun mér ƒr›igt ﬂikja, ef ﬂú heldr hann til ﬂess at hann gangi á vini mína.’ 33
Arinbjƒrn segir: ‘ﬁú munt láta oss ná lƒgum af ﬂessu máli.’Konungr var heldr styggr í ﬂessu máli; Arinbjƒrn fann at dróttning mundi
36
ﬂó miklu verr vilju›. Ferr Arinbjƒrn aptr ok sag›i at heldr horfir óvænt.
Lí›r af vetrinn ok kemr ﬂar er menn fara til Gulaﬂings; Arinbjƒrn fjƒlmenntimjƒk til ﬂings; var Egill í fƒr me› honum. Eiríkr konungr var ﬂar ok haf›ifjƒlmenni mikit; Berg-¯nundr var í sveit konungs ok ﬂeir brœ›r, ok hƒf›u ﬂeir 39
sveit mikla. En er ﬂinga skyldi um mál manna ﬂá gengu hvárirtveggju ﬂar til
er dómrinn var settr at flytja fram sannindi sín; var ¯nundr ﬂá allstóror›r.

88

EGILS SAGA

En ﬂar er dómrinn var settr var vƒllr sléttr ok settar ni›r heslistengr ívƒllinn í hring, en lƒg› um útan snœri umhverfis; váru ﬂat kƒllu› vébƒnd.
3 En fyrir innan í hringinum sátu dómendr, tólf ór Fir›afylki ok tólf ór
Sygnafylki, tólf a ór Hƒr›afylki. ﬁær ﬂrennar tylftir manna skyldu ﬂar dœmaum mál ƒll. Arinbjƒrn ré› fyrir hverir dómendr váru ór Fir›afylki; en ﬁór›r
6 af Aurlandi hverir ór Sygnafylki váru; ok váru ﬂeir allir eins li›s. Arinbjƒrn
haf›i fjƒlmenni mikit til ﬂings, snekkju alskipa›a ok margt smáskipa, skútur
ok ró›rarferjur er bœndr áttu. Eiríkr konungr haf›i ﬂar mikit li› ok langskip
9 sex e›a sjau. ﬁar var ok mikit li› af bœndum.
Egill hóf svá sitt mál at hann kraf›i dómendr at dœma sér lƒg af máliﬂeira ¯nundar; innti hann ﬂá hver sannindi hann haf›i í tilkalli til fjár ﬂess
12 er átt haf›i Bjƒrn Brynjólfsson. Sag›i hann at Ásger›r, dóttir Bjarnar, en
eiginkona Egils, var til komin arfs ok ó›alborin í allar ættir, en tiginborin
fram í kyn. Kraf›i hann dómendr at dœma Ásger›i til handa hálfan arf
15 Bjarnar, lƒnd ok lausa aura.
Ok er hann hætti sinni rœ›u ﬂá tók Berg-¯nundr til máls: ‘Gunnhildr
kona mín er dóttir Bjarnar ok Álofar, ﬂeirar konu er Bjƒrn haf›i lƒgfengit; er
18 Gunnhildr réttr erfingi Bjarnar. Tók ek fyrir ﬂá sƒk upp fé ﬂat allt er Bjƒrn
haf›i átt at ek vissa at sú ein var dóttir Bjarnar ƒnnur er ekki átti arf at taka;var mó›ir hennar hernumin ok tekin sí›an frillutaki ok ekki at frænda rá›i
21 ok flutt land af landi. En ﬂú, Egill, ætlar at fara hér sem hvarvetna annars
sta›ar me› ofrkapp ﬂitt ok ójafna›; nú mun ﬂér ﬂat ekki hér t‡ja, ﬂví at Eiríkr
konungr ok Gunnhildr dróttning hafa mér ﬂví heitit at ek skuli rétt hafa af
24 hverju máli ﬂar er ﬂeira ríki stendr yfir. Mun ek fœra fram sƒnn vitni fyrir
konungi ok dróttningu ok dómƒndum at ﬁóra hla›hƒnd mó›ir Ásger›ar var
hertekin heiman frá ﬁóri bró›ur sínum ok annat sinn af Aurlandi frá Brynjólfi.
27 Fór hon ﬂá land af landi me› Birni ok víkingum ok útlƒgum konungs ok í
ﬂeiri útleg› gátu ﬂau mey ﬂessa, Ásger›i. Nú er fur›a mikil um Egil er hannætlar at gera ómæt ƒll mál Eiríks konungs; ﬂat fyrst at ﬂú ert hér í landi
30 sí›an Eiríkr konungr ger›i ﬂik útlægan ok ﬂat enn er meira, ﬂótt ﬂú hafir
fengit ambáttar, at kalla hana arfgenga. Vil ek ﬂess krefja dómendr at ﬂeir
dœmi mér allan arf eptir Bjƒrn, en dœmi Ásger›i ambátt konungs, ﬂví at
33 hon var svá getin at fa›ir hennar ok mó›ir váru í útleg› konungs.’ﬁá tók Arinbjƒrn til máls: ‘Vitni munum vér fram bera, konungr, um ﬂetta mál
ok láta ei›a fylgja at ﬂat var til skilit í sætt ﬂeira ﬁóris fƒ›ur míns ok Bjarnar
36 at Ásger›r dóttir ﬂeira Bjarnar ok ﬁóru var til arfs tekin eptir Bjƒrn fƒ›ursinn ok svá ﬂat sem y›r var kunnigt sjálfum, konungr, at ﬂú gjƒr›ir Bjƒrn
innlendan ok ƒllu ﬂví máli var ﬂá lokit er á›r haf›i í milli sta›it sættar manna.’a Here another folio in Mö›ruvallabók is lost; again the text is supplied from JS 28 fol.

Some obviously corrupt readings are corrected from q or from other M-manuscripts.

EGILS SAGA

89

Konungr svarar seint hans máli. ﬁá kva› Egill vísu:
25. ﬁ‡borna kve›r ﬂorna
ﬂorn rei› ár horna,s‡slir hann um sína
síngirnd ¯nundr, mína.
Naddhristir, á ek nesta
norn til arfs of borna.
ﬁigg, Au›a konr, ei›a,ei›sœrt er ﬂat, grei›a.

3

6

9

Arinbjƒrn lét ﬂá fram bera vitnisbur› tólf menn ok allir vel til fallnir okhƒf›u allir heyrt á sætt ﬂeira ﬁóris ok Bjarnar, ok bu›u ﬂeir konungi okdómƒndum at sverja ﬂar eptir. Dómendr vildu taka ei›a ﬂeira ef konungr 12banna›i eigi; konungr sag›i at hann mundi ﬂar hvárki at gjƒra, lofa né banna.
ﬁá tók til máls Gunnhildr dróttning: ‘ﬁat er undarligt, konungr, er ﬂú lætrEgil ﬂenna inn mikla vefja ƒll mál fyrir ﬂér; e›a hvárt mundir ﬂú eigi í móti 15mæla ﬂó at hann kalla›i til konungdómsins í hendr ﬂér? Nú ﬂótt ﬂú vilirøngva órskur›i ﬂá veita er ¯nundi sé li› at, ﬂá skal ek ﬂat eigi ﬂola at Egill
tro›i undir fótum vini vára ok taki me› rangindum fé ﬂetta af ¯nundi. E›a 18
hvar ertu, Askma›r? Far ﬂú til me› sveit ﬂína ﬂar dómendr eru ok lát eigidœma rangindi ﬂessi.’
Sí›an hljóp Askma›r til dómsins ok hans sveitungar ok skáru í sundr 21vébƒndin, en brutu ni›r stengr, en hleyptu í brott dómƒndum. ﬁá gjƒr›isk
ﬂyss mikill á ﬂinginu, en allir menn váru ﬂar vápnlausir.
ﬁá mælti Egill: ‘Má Berg-¯nundr heyra mál mitt?’24‘Heyri ek,’ sag›i hann.
‘Ek vil bjó›a ﬂér hólmgƒngu ok berjask hér á ﬂinginu. Hafi sá fé ﬂetta,lƒnd ok lausa aura, er sigr fær, en ver ﬂú hvers manns ní›ingr ef ﬂú ﬂorir 27
eigi.’ﬁá sag›i Eiríkr: ‘Ef ﬂú, Egill, ert nú allfúss til at berjask ﬂá skulum vér nú
veita ﬂér ﬂat.’
30
Stanza 25. ﬁorna ﬂorn kve›r mína horna ár (or áar, to provide an extra syllable
for the metre) rei› ﬂ‡borna; hann ¯nundr s‡slir um sína síngirnd. Naddhristir, á ek
nesta norn of borna til arfs; ﬂat er ei›sœrt. ﬁigg, Au›a konr, grei›a ei›a.
ﬂorn may either be a brooch or a tree, and ﬂorn ﬂorna is a kenning for man; horna
ár rei›, carriage (i.e. carrier, server) of drinking-horns’ river (i.e. of beer) is a kenningfor woman; naddhristir, spearshaker = warrior, man; nesta norn, norn of brooches, is awoman; Au›i is the name of an ancient king, whose konr (descendant) is the king.
The man asserts that my wife is born of a bondswoman; this ¯nundr has an axe togrind. Man, my wife is a legitimate daughter; that can be sworn. Receive, King,
ready oaths.

90

EGILS SAGA

Egill svarar: ‘Ekki vil ek berjask vi› konungs ríki ok ofrefli li›s, en fyrir
jafnmƒrgum mƒnnum mun ek eigi fl‡ja, ef mér skal ﬂess unna; mun ek at
3 ﬂví gjƒra øngvan mannamun.’aﬁá mælti Arinbjƒrn: ‘Fƒrum í brott, Egill, ekki munum vér hér um s‡sla atsinni.’b
6 Sneri ﬂá Arinbjƒrn brott ok allt li› hans me› honum.
ﬁá snerisk Egill aptr ok mælti hátt: ‘ﬁat skírskota ek undir ﬂik, Arinbjƒrn,ok ﬂik, ﬁór›r, ok ﬂá menn alla er nú heyra mál mitt, lenda menn ok lƒgmenn
9 ok alla alﬂ‡›u, at ek banna jar›ir ﬂær allar er átt hefr Bjƒrn Brynjólfsson, at
byggja ok vinna ok allra gagna af at neyta. Banna ek ﬂér, Berg-¯nundr, okƒllum ƒ›rum mƒnnum, útlenzkum ok innlenzkum, tignum ok ótignum, en
12 hverjum er ﬂat gjƒrir legg ek vi› lagabrot landsréttar, go›agremi ok gri›arof.’
Sí›an gekk Egill á brott me› Arinbirni. Gengu ﬂeir til skipanna ok var ﬂar
at ganga yfir leiti nƒkkut ok eigi allskammt svá at eigi sá skipin af ﬂing15 vellinum.
Ok er ﬂeir kómu til skipanna tala›i Arinbjƒrn fyrir li›inu ok mælti svá:‘¯llum y›r er kunnigt hver ﬂinglok hér hafa or›it at vér hƒfum eigi nát
18 lƒgum, en konungr er rei›r svá at mér er ván at várir menn sæti af honum
afarkostum, ef hann má svá vi› komask. Vil ek at hverr gangi á sitt skip okfari hverr sem ákafast til síns heimilis; bí›i nú engi annars.’
21 Sí›an gekk Arinbjƒrn á skip sitt ok mælti til Egils: ‘Gakk ﬂú nú á skútu er
hér liggr á útbor›a langskipinu ok ver á brottu sem skjótast. Fari› um nætrsem ﬂér megi›, en eigi um daga, ok for›i› y›r, ﬂví at konungr mun eptir
24 leita at fundi y›ra mætti saman bera. Leiti› enn sí›an til mín ﬂá er ﬂessu
l‡kr, hvat sem í kann berask.’
Egill gjƒr›i svá sem Arinbjƒrn mælti; gengu ﬂeir á skútuna ﬂrír tigir manna
27 ok reru sem ákafast; skipit var einka skjótt. ﬁá reri fjƒl›i manna út ór hƒfninni
af li›i Arinbjarnar, skútur ok ró›rarferjur; en langskip sem Arinbjƒrn st‡r›i
fór sí›ast, ﬂví at ﬂat var ﬂyngst undir árum. En skúta sú er Egill var á gekk
30 brátt fram ór samflotinu. ﬁá kva› Egill:33

26. Erfingi ré› arfi
arfljúgr fyrir mér svarfa,mœti ek hans ok heitum
hótun, ﬁyrnifótar;a Here K adds: hvárt er tiginn e›a ótiginn.

b W adds: ﬂat at okr vinni (and same

sense in K).
Stanza 26. Arfljúgr erfingi ﬁyrnifótar ré› svarfa arfi fyrir mér; mœti ek hótun
hans ok heitum; nærgi slíkt rán simla sorgar er goldit, ek gef hánum fjƒt foldar; vér
deildum fold væringja.

EGILS SAGA

91nærgi er simla sorgarslíkt rán, ek gef hánum,vér deildum, fjƒt foldar,
fold væringja, goldit.

3

58.
Eiríkr konungr heyr›i ályk›aror› er Egill mælti á ﬂinginu ok var› rei›r 6mjƒk; en allir menn hƒf›u vápnlausir farit til ﬂingsins, veitti konungr ﬂvíeigi atgƒngu. Hann ba› menn sína ganga til skipa; ﬂeir gjƒr›u sem hannbau›. Ok er ﬂeir kómu til strandar skaut konungr á húsﬂingi ok sag›i 9fyrirætlan sína:‘Vér skulum nú fœra tjƒld af skipum várum ok róa eptir ﬂeim Arinbirni ok
Egli ok skal taka Egil af lífi ok hlífa øngum manni ﬂeim er fyrir honum vill 12
standa.’Sí›an gengu ﬂeir á skip ok bjuggusk um sem skjótast ok reru ﬂar til erskip ﬂeira Arinbjarnar hƒf›u verit; váru ﬂeir ﬂá á brottu. ﬁá lét konungr taka 15
ró›r eptir ﬂeim nor›r um sund ok er hann kom á Sognsæ ﬂá reri li› Arinbjarnar
inn til Sau›ungssunda ok stefnir hann inn eptir ﬂeim ok hitti hann skip
Arinbjarnar inn á Sau›ungssundum. Lag›i konungr at skipunum ok kƒstu›u 18
ﬂeir or›um á ﬂá. Spur›i konungr hvárt Egill væri ﬂar á skipinu.
Arinbjƒrn svarar: ‘Egill er eigi hér,’ segir hann, ‘munu ﬂér skjótt mega sjá
ﬂat, herra, eru ﬂeir einir menn hér innan bor›s at ﬂér munu› kenna. En Egill 21
mun eigi finnask undir ﬂiljum ni›ri ﬂó at ﬂér leiti›.’
Konungr spur›i Arinbjƒrn hvat hann vissi til Egils sí›ast. Hann svarar at
Egill var á skútu einni me› ﬂremr tigum manna, ‘ok reru ﬂeir lei› sína út til 24
Steinssunds.’ﬁá mælti konungr at ﬂeir skyldu róa fram in innri sundin ok stefna svá í27
mót ﬂeim Egli, ok ﬂeir gjƒr›u svá.
Ma›r er nefndr Ketill hƒ›r; hann var hir›ma›r Eiríks konungs, upplenzkr
ma›r at ætt; hann sag›i lei› fyrir konungsskipinu ok st‡r›i ﬂví. Ketill var
mikill ma›r ok frí›r s‡num ok hann var frændi konungs; var ﬂat margra 30
manna mál at ﬂeir væri líkir s‡num.
Egill haf›i látit flota skipi sínu ok fluttan til farm á›r hann fór til ﬂings. En
er ﬂeir hƒf›u skilit vi› Arinbjƒrn ﬂá fóru ﬂeir lei› sína til Steinssunds ﬂar til 33
arfljúgr (an emendation of arflygr), who gets hold of an inheritance by lies; simla
sorg, sorrow or care of oxen, is probably land; fold væringja (of snakes?) is obscure,but may be wealth, property.
The rapacious son of (ﬁorgeirr) ﬁyrnifótr spoiled my inheritance; I must suffer his
threats; whenever this robbery of my lands is repaid, I will give him (a few) feet ofland (i.e. to be buried in); we had a feud over great wealth.

92

EGILS SAGAer ﬂeir kómu til skips síns; gengu ﬂeir ﬂar á; en skútan flaut vi› st‡ri millilands ok skips; lágu ﬂar árar í hƒmlum.
3 Eptir um morguninn er trautt var dagat ﬂá ur›u var›menn varir vi› at skipnƒkkur reru at ﬂeim, ok er Egill vakna›i stó› hann ﬂegar upp ok mælti at
ﬂeir skyldi hlaupa í skútuna. Hann vápna›isk skjótt ok allir ﬂeir. Egill tók
6 upp silfrkisturnar ﬂær er A›alsteinn konungr haf›i gefit honum; ﬂær haf›ihann jafnan me› sér. ﬁeir hlupua í skútuna ok reru fram í milli landsins ok
snekkju ﬂeirar er næst fór landinu, en ﬂat var skip Eiríks konungs.
9 En ﬂví at brá›um bar at, at lítt var l‡st, ﬂá renndusk skipin hjá ok er lyptingar
bar saman ﬂá skaut Egill spjóti ok kom á ﬂann mann mi›jan er vi› st‡rit sat,en ﬂar var Ketill hƒ›r. ﬁá kallar Eiríkr konungr ok ba› menn róa eptir ﬂeim
12 Agli; en er skipin renndu hjá kaupskipinu ﬂá hljópu menn konungs upp á
skipit, en ﬂeir menn er eptir hƒf›u vor›it af Egils mƒnnum ok eigi hljópu í
skútuna ﬂá váru allir drepnir ﬂeir er nát var›, en sumir hljópu á land; ﬂar
15 létusk tíu menn af sveitungum Egils. Sum skipin reru eptir ﬂeim Agli, ensum ræntu kaupskipit; var ﬂar tekit fé ﬂat allt er innan bor›s var, en ﬂeir
brenndu skipit.
18 En ﬂeir er eptir ﬂeim Agli reru sóttu ákaft, tóku tveir eina ár; skortir ﬂar
eigi li› innan bor›s, en ﬂeir Egill hƒf›u ﬂunnskipat; váru ﬂeir ﬂá átján á
skútunni. ﬁá dró saman me› ﬂeim; en fyrir innan eyna var va›ilsund nƒkkut
21 grunnt milli ok annarrar eyjar; útfall var sjávarins. ﬁeir Egill hleyptu skútunni
í ﬂat it grunna sundit, en snekkjurnar flutu ﬂar eigi ok skil›i ﬂar me› ﬂeim.
Sneri ﬂá konungr su›r aptr, en Egill fór nor›r á fund Arinbjarnar. ﬁá kva›
24 Egill vísu:

2730

27. Nú hefir ﬂrym-Rƒgnir ﬂegna
ﬂrótthar›r, en mik var›ak
víti, várrar sveitar
vígelds tíu fellda,
ﬂví at sárlaxa S‡rar,
sendr ór minni hendi,
digr fló beint me›al bjúgra
bifﬂorn Ketils rifja.
a Here the text from Mö›ruvallabók itself resumes.

Stanza 27. Nú hefir ﬂrótthar›r vígelds ﬂrym-Rƒgnir fellda tíu ﬂegna várrar sveitar,en var›ak mik víti, ﬂví at digr bifﬂorn sárlaxa S‡rar, sendr ór minni hendi, fló beintme›al bjúgra rifja Ketils.
vígelds ﬂrymr, war-fire’s (i.e. sword’s) din = battle, whose Rƒgnir (Ó›inn) is awarrior; bifﬂorn sárlaxa S‡rar, shaking thorn of S‡r (one of the names of the goddess
Freyja) of wound-salmon ( i.e. of swords): S‡r of swords is a valkyrie, whose shaking
thorn is a spear.

EGILS SAGA

93

Egill kom á fund Arinbjarnar ok segir honum ﬂessi tí›endi; Arinbjƒrn segir
at honum var ekki vildara af ván um skipti ﬂeira Eiríks konungs, ‘en ekki
mun ﬂik fé skorta, Egill; ek skal bœta ﬂér skipit ok fá ﬂér annat ﬂat er ﬂú 3
megir vel fara á til Íslands.’
Ásger›r kona Egils haf›i verit me› Arinbirni sí›an ﬂeir fóru til ﬂings.
Arinbjƒrn fekk Agli skip ﬂat er vel var haffœranda ok lét ferma af vi›i; 6b‡r Egill skip ﬂat til hafs ok haf›i ﬂá enn nær ﬂremr tigum manna; skiljask
ﬂeir Arinbjƒrn ﬂá me› vináttu. ﬁá kva› Egill:
28. Svá skyldu go› gjalda,
gram reki bƒnd af lƒndum,rei› sé rƒgn ok Ó›inn,
rán míns fjár hánum.
Fólkm‡gi lát fl‡ja,
Freyr ok Njƒr›r, af jƒr›um.
Lei›isk lof›a strí›ilandáss, ﬂann er vé grandar.

9

12

15

59. Eiríkr konungr drap brœ›r sína
Haraldr inn hárfagri setti sonu sína til ríkis í Nóregi ﬂá er hann tók at eldask, 18
ger›i Eirík konung yfirkonung sona sinna allra, ok er Haraldr haf›i verit
sjau tigu vetra konungr ﬂá seldi hann í hendr Eiríki syni sínum ríki.a Í ﬂann
tíma ól Gunnhildr son ok jós Haraldr konungr vatni ok gaf nafn sitt ok lét 21
ﬂat fylgja at hann skyldi konungr vera eptir fƒ›ur sinn, ef honum endisk
aldr til. Haraldr konungr settisk ﬂá í kyrrsetu ok sat optast á Rogalandi e›aHƒr›alandi; en ﬂrem vetrum sí›ar anda›isk Haraldr konungr á Rogalandi 24
ok var gjƒrr haugr eptir hann vi› Haugasund. En eptir andlát hans var deila
mikil milli sona hans, ﬂví at Víkverjar tóku sér til konungs Óláf, en ﬁrœndir
Sigur›; en Eiríkr felldi ﬂá bá›a brœ›r sína í Túnsbergi einum vetri eptir 27
andlát Haralds konungs. Var ﬂat allt á einu sumri er Eiríkr konungr fór af
a lƒnd ok rá› ƒll h; ƒll landrá› W.

Now the vigorous warrior has killed ten men of our troops, but I freed myself from
reproach, because a stout spear, thrown by me, flew straight between Ketill’s bowed ribs.
Stanza 28. Bƒnd reki gram af lƒndum; svá skyldu go› gjalda hánum rán míns
fjár; Ó›inn ok rƒgn sé rei›. Freyr ok Njƒr›r, lát folkm‡gi fl‡ja af jƒr›um; landásslei›isk lof›a strí›i ﬂann er grandar vé.
lof›a strí›ir, enemy of men, tyrant.
May the gods drive the king from his lands; thus the gods should pay him back forthe robbery of my possessions; may Ó›inn and the gods be angry. Freyr and Njƒr›r,
make the oppressor of the people flee from his estates. May ﬁórr hate the tyrant who
spoils the sanctuary (or sanctuaries).

94

EGILS SAGAHƒr›alandi me› her sinn austr í Vík til bardaga vi› brœ›r sína ok á›r hƒf›uﬂeir deilt á Gulaﬂingi Egill ok Berg-¯nundr ok ﬂessi tí›endi er nú var sagt.
3 Berg-¯nundr var heima at búi sínu ﬂá er konungr fór í lei›angr, ﬂví athonum ﬂótti óvarligt at fara frá búi sínu me›an Egill var eigi ór landi farinn;
ﬂar var bró›ir hans, Haddr, ﬂá me› honum.
6 Fró›i hét ma›r, frændi Eiríks konungs ok fóstrson hans; hann var inn
frí›asti ma›r, ungr at aldri ok ﬂó vaxinn ma›r. Eiríkr konungr setti hanneptir til trausts Berg-¯nundi; sat Fró›i á Álreksstƒ›um at búi konungs ok
9 haf›i ﬂar sveit manna.
Rƒgnvaldr er nefndr son Eiríks konungs ok Gunnhildar; hann var ﬂá vetra
tíu e›a ellifu ok var it frí›asta mannsefni; hann var ﬂá me› Fró›a er ﬂetta
12 var tí›enda.
En á›r Eiríkr konungr reri ﬂenna lei›angr ﬂá ger›i hann Egil útlaga fyrir
endilangan Nóreg ok dræpan hverjum manni.
15 Arinbjƒrn var me› konungi í lei›angri, en á›r hann fór heiman ﬂá lag›i
Egill skipi sínu til hafs ok helt í útver ﬂat er Vitar heita, út frá Alda; ﬂat er
komit af ﬂjó›lei›. ﬁar váru fiskimenn ok var ﬂar gott at spyrja tí›endi; ﬂá
18 spur›i hann at konungr haf›i gert hann útlaga. ﬁá kva› Egill vísu:

2124

29. Lƒgbrig›ir hefir lag›a,landálfr, fyrir mér sjálfum,
blekkir brœ›ra søkkva
brú›fang, vegu langa.
Gunnhildi á ek gjalda,
greypt er hennar skap, ﬂenna,
ungr gat ek ok læ launat,
landrekstr, bili grandat.

27 Ve›r váru vindlítil, fjallvindr um nætr, en hafgola um daga. Eitt kveld sigldu

ﬂeir Egill út á haf, en fiskimenn reru ﬂá inn til lands, ﬂeir er til njósnar hƒf›usettir verit um farar ﬂeira Egils. Kunnu ﬂeir ﬂat at segja at Egill haf›i út látit
30 ok á haf siglt ok hann var á brottu; létu ﬂessa njósn koma til Berg-¯nundar;
ok er hann vissi ﬂessi tí›endi, hann sendi ﬂá frá sér menn ﬂá alla er hann
haf›i á›r haft ﬂar til varú›ar. Reri hann ﬂá inn til Álrekssta›a ok bau› Fró›a

Stanza 29. Landálfr, lƒgbrig›ir hefir lag›a langa vegu fyrir mér sjálfum; brú›fang
blekkir brœ›ra søkkva. Á ek gjalda Gunnhildi ﬂenna landrekstr; greypt er hennar
skap; ungr gat ek grandat bili ok launat læ.
landálfr (cf. landáss, st. 28), ﬁórr.
ﬁórr! The law-breaker has put me myself on long roads (i.e. exiled me); the wife(of Eiríkr) deceives the fratricide. I have to repay Gunnhildr for this exile; she has acruel temper; as a young man I was quick to act and repay treachery.

EGILS SAGA

95

til sín, ﬂví at Berg-¯nundr átti ƒl mikit heima at sín. Fró›i fór me› honumok haf›i me› sér nƒkkura menn; tóku ﬂeir ﬂar veizlu gó›a ok hƒf›u gle›i3
mikla; var ﬂar ﬂá allt óttalaust.
Rƒgnvaldr konungsson átti karfa einn, reru sex menn á bor›; hann var
steindr allr fyrir ofan sjó. Hann haf›i me› sér menn tíu e›a tólf ﬂá er honum
fylg›u einart. Ok er Fró›i var heiman farinn ﬂá tók Rƒgnvaldr karfann ok 6
reru ﬂeir út til Her›lu tólf saman; ﬂar var konungsbú mikit ok ré› sá ma›r
fyrir er hét Skegg-ﬁórir. ﬁar haf›i Rƒgnvaldr verit á fóstri í barnœsku; tók
9ﬁórir feginsamliga vi› konungssyni; skorti ﬂar ok eigi drykk mikinn.
Egill sigldi út á haf um nóttina sem fyrr var ritat, ok er morgna›i fellve›rit ok ger›i logn; lƒg›u ﬂeir ﬂá í rétt ok létu rei›a fyrir nƒkkurar nætr; en12
er hafgola kom á sag›i Egill skipurum sínum:‘Nú munum vér sigla at landi, ﬂví at ógjƒrla veit, ef hafvi›ri kemr á hvasst,
hvar vér nám ﬂá landi, en heldr ófri›vænt fyrir í flestum stƒ›um.’
Hásetar bá›u Egil fyrir rá›a ﬂeira fer›; sí›an tóku ﬂeir til segls ok sigldu 15
inn til Her›luvers; fingu ﬂeir ﬂar gó›a hƒfn ok tjƒldu›u yfir skipi sínu oklágu ﬂá um nóttina. ﬁeir hƒf›u á skipinu lítinn bát ok gekk Egill ﬂar á vi›
ﬂri›ja mann. Reri hann ﬂá inn um nóttina til Her›lu, sendi ﬂar mann í eyna 18
upp at spyrja tí›enda. Ok er sá kom ofan til skips sag›i hann at ﬂar á bœnum
var Rƒgnvaldr konungsson ok hans menn, ‘sátu ﬂeir ﬂá vi› drykkju; hitta ekeinn af húskƒrlum ok var sá ƒló›r ok sag›i at hér skyldi eigi minna drekka 21
en at Berg-¯nundar ﬂótt Fró›i væri ﬂar á veizlu ok ﬂeir fimm saman.’
Ekki kva› hann ﬂar fleira manna en heimamenn, nema Fró›a ok hans24
menn.
Sí›an reri Egill aptr til skips ok ba› menn upp standa ok taka vápn sín;ﬂeir ger›u svá; ﬂeir lƒg›u út skipit um akkeri. Egill lét gæta tólf menn skips,
en hann fór á eptirbátinn ok ﬂeir átján saman, reru sí›an inn eptir sundum. 27
ﬁeir stilltu svá til at ﬂeir kómu um kveldit inn í Fenhring ok lƒg›u ﬂar til
leynivágs eins.
ﬁá mælti Egill: ‘Nú vil ek ganga einn upp í eyna ok njósna hvers ek ver›a 30
víss, en ﬂér skulu› bí›a mín hér.’
Egill haf›i vápn sín ﬂau er hann var vanr at hafa, hjálm ok skjƒld, gyr›r
sver›i, hƒggspjót í hendi; sí›an gekk hann upp í eyna ok fram me› skógi 33nƒkkurum. Hann haf›i dregit hƒtt sí›an yfir hjálm. Hann kom ﬂar at er
sveinar nƒkkurir váru ok hjá ﬂeim hjar›tíkr stórar, ok er ﬂeir tókusk at or›um
spur›i hann, hva›an ﬂeir væri e›a fyrir hví ﬂeir væri ﬂar ok hef›i hunda svá 36
stóra.
ﬁeir mæltu: ‘ﬁú munt vera allheimskr ma›r; hefir ﬂú eigi heyrt at hér
gengr bjƒrn um eyna, inn mesti spellvirki, drepr hér bæ›i menn ok féna› ok 39
er lagt fé til hƒfu›s honum? Vƒku vér hér hverja nótt á Aski yfir fé váru er
byrgt er í grindum; e›a hví fer›u me› vápnum um nætr?’96

EGILS SAGA

Hann segir: ‘<Ek>a hræ›umk ok bjƒrninn ok fáir ﬂiki mér sem nú farivápnlausir; hefir bjƒrninn lengi elt mik í nótt; e›a sjái hann nú, ﬂar er hann
3 nú í skógarnefinu. Hvárt eru allir menn í svefni á bœnum?’
Sveinninn sag›i at ﬂeir Berg-¯nundr ok Fró›i mundu enn drekka; ‘ﬂeir
sitja nætr allar.’
6 ‘Segi› ﬂeim ﬂá,’ segir hann Egill, ‘hvar bjƒrninn er, en ek ver› at skynda
heim.’
Hann gekk ﬂá brott, en sveinninn hljóp heim til bœjarins ok til stufunnar
9 er ﬂeir drukku í. Var ﬂá svá komit at allir menn váru sofa farnir nema ﬂeir
ﬂrír, ¯nundr ok Fró›i ok Haddr. Sveinninn segir hvar bjƒrninn var; ﬂeir
tóku vápn sín er ﬂar hengu hjá ﬂeim ok hljópu ﬂegar út ok upp til skógar; ﬂar
12 gingu fram skógarnef af mƒrkinni ok runnar í sumum stƒ›um. Sveinninn
segir ﬂeim hvar bjƒrninn haf›i verit í runninum; ﬂá sá ﬂeir at limarnarhrœr›usk, ﬂóttusk ﬂá skilja at bjƒrninn mundi ﬂar vera. ﬁá mælti Berg-¯nundr
15 at ﬂeir Haddr ok Fró›i skyldu fram renna milli <runnsins ok>b meginmerkrinnar ok gæta at bjƒrninn næ›i eigi skóginum.
Berg-¯nundr rann fram at runninum; hann haf›i hjálm ok skjƒld, gyr›r
18 sver›i, en kesju í hendi. Egill var ﬂar fyrir í runninum, en engi bjƒrn, ok erhann sá hvar Berg-¯nundr var ﬂá brá hann sver›inu, en ﬂar var hƒnk áme›alkaflanum ok dró hann hana á hƒnd sér ok lét ﬂar hanga. Hann tók í
21 hƒnd sér kesjuna ok rann ﬂá fram í mót Berg-¯nundi, ok er Berg-¯nundr sá
ﬂat ﬂá gœddi hann rásina ok skaut skildinum fyrir sik ok á›r ﬂeir mœttusk
ﬂá skaut hvárr kesju at ƒ›rum. Egill laust skildinum vi› kesjunni ok bar
24 hallan svá at reist ór skildinum ok flaug í vƒllinn, en Egils spjót kom ámi›jan skjƒldinn ok gekk í gegnum langt upp á fjƒ›rina ok var› fast spjótit
í skildinum; var› ¯nundi ﬂungbærr skjƒldrinn. Egill greip ﬂá skjótt me›al27 kafla sver›sins; ¯nundr tók ﬂá ok at breg›a sínu sver›i ok er eigi var brug›ittil hálfs ﬂá lag›i Egill í gegnum hann me› sínu sver›i. ¯nundr rata›i vi›
lagit, en Egill kippti at sér sver›inu hart ok hjó til ¯nundar ok af nær hƒfu›it.
30 Sí›an tók Egill kesjuna ór skildinum.
ﬁeir Haddr ok Fró›i sá fall Berg-¯nundar ok runnu ﬂangat til; Egill snerisk
í móti ﬂeim; hann skaut kesjunni at Fró›a ok í gegnum skjƒld hans ok í
33 brjóstit svá at yddi um bakit; fell hann ﬂegar á bak aptr dau›r. Egill tók ﬂá
sver›it ok snerisk í mót Haddi ok skiptusk ﬂeir fám hƒggum vi› á›r Haddr fell.
ﬁá kómu sveinarnir at ok mælti <Egill vi› ﬂá>:c ‘Gæti› hér til ¯nundar
36 húsbónda y›vars ok ﬂeira félaga at eigi slíti d‡r e›a fuglar hræ ﬂeira.’
Egill gekk ﬂá lei› sína ok eigi langt á›r félagar hans kómu í mót honum
ellifu, en sex gættu skips. ﬁeir spur›u hvat hann hef›i s‡slat. Hann kva› ﬂá:
a Thus W. b Thus W; similar in K.

c Egill mælti vi› ﬂá K and W.

EGILS SAGA

97

30. Sátum lyngs til lengi
ljósheims bƒrvi ﬂeima,meir var›a ek fé for›um,
fjar›ƒlna hlut skar›an,á›r Berg-¯nund benjumbensœf›an lét ek venjask;
Bors ni›jar felt ek be›ju
bló›i Hadds ok Fró›a.

3

6ﬁá mælti Egill: ‘Vér skulum nú snúa aptr til bœjarins ok fara hermannliga, 9drepa menn ﬂá alla er vér nám,a en taka fé allt ﬂat er vér megum me› komask.’ﬁeir fara til bœjarins ok hlaupa ﬂar inn í hús ok drepa ﬂar menn fimmtáne›a sextán; sumir kómusk undan af hlaupi. ﬁeir ræntu ﬂar ƒllu fé, en spilltu 12
ﬂví er ﬂeir máttu eigi me› fara. ﬁeir ráku búfé til strandar ok hjuggu, báru á
bátinn sem hann tók vi›; fóru sí›an lei› sína ok reru út um eyjasund.
Egill var nú allrei›r svá at ﬂá mátti ekki vi› hann mæla; sat hann vi› st‡ri 15
á bátinum; ok er ﬂeir sóttu út á fjƒr›inn til Her›lu ﬂá reru útan í móti ﬂeimRƒgnvaldr konungsson ok ﬂeir ﬂrettán saman á karfanum ﬂeim inum steinda.
ﬁeir hƒf›u ﬂá spurt at skip Egils lá í Her›luveri; ætlu›u ﬂeir at gera ¯nundi 18
njósn um fer›ir Egils; ok er Egill sá skipit ﬂá kenndi hann ﬂegar. Hannst‡r›i sem beinst á ﬂá ok er skipin renndusk at, ﬂá kom bar› skútunnar á
kinnung karfans; halla›i honum svá at sjór fell inn á annat bor› ok fylldi 21
skipit. Egill hljóp ﬂá upp á ok greip kesjuna, hét á menn sína at ﬂeir skyldu
engan láta me› lífi á brott komask ﬂann er á karfanum var. ﬁat var ﬂá hœgt,ﬂví at ﬂar var ﬂá engi vƒrn; váru allir ﬂeir á kafi drepnir, en engi komsk 24
undan.1 Létusk ﬂeir ﬂar ﬂrettán, Rƒgnvaldr ok fƒrunautar hans. ﬁeir Egill
reru ﬂá inn til eyjarinnar Her›lu. ﬁá kva› Egill vísu:a K and W make clear that Egill means vígir menn.
1 According to the other redactions Rƒgnvaldr and his men defended themselves
bravely.

Stanza 30. Sátum til lengi ﬂeima lyngs fjar›ƒlna ljósheims bƒrvi skar›an hlut;meir var›a ek fé for›um, á›r ek lét Berg-¯nund bensœf›an venjask benjum; felt ek
be›ju Bors ni›jar bló›i Hadds ok Fró›a.
lyngs fjar›ƒlna ljósheims bƒrvi: lyngs fjƒr›r, earth, whose ƒlunn (fish) is a snake,
whose ljósheimr (luminous world) is gold, whose bƒrr (tree) is a man; skar›r hlutr,
diminished lot or share (especially one caused by overbearing); felt (past of falda),
covered; be›ja Bors ni›jar, wife of Borr’s son, Ó›inn = Jƒr› (i.e. earth).
Too long have I endured the loss this man has caused me; formerly I defended myproperty better, until I killed Berg-¯nundr; I have made the earth red with the bloodof Haddr and Fró›i.

98

3

6

EGILS SAGA

31. Bƒr›umsk vér, ne vir›ak,
vígleiptr sonar, heiptir
Bló›øxar, rau› ek bló›ibƒ›mildr, ok Gunnhildar.
ﬁar fellu nú ﬂollar
ﬂrettán lagar mána,
stendr af styrjarskyndi
starf, á einum karfa.

9 Ok er ﬂeir Egill kómu til Her›lu ﬂá runnu ﬂeir ﬂegar upp til bœjar me›alvæpni. En er ﬂat sá ﬁórir ok hans heimamenn ﬂá runnu ﬂeir ﬂegar af bœnum
ok for›u›u sér allir ﬂeir er ganga máttu, karlar ok konur. ﬁeir Egill ræntu
12 ﬂar ƒllu fé ﬂví er ﬂeir máttu hƒndum á koma; fóru sí›an út til skips. Var ﬂá
ok eigi langt at bí›a at byrr rann á af landi. Búask ﬂeir til at sigla, ok er ﬂeir
váru seglbúnir gekk Egill upp í eyna.
15 Hann tók í hƒnd sér heslistƒng ok gekk á bergsnƒs nƒkkura ﬂá er vissi til
lands inn; ﬂá tók hann hrosshƒfu› ok setti upp á stƒngina. Sí›an veitti hannformála ok mælti svá:
18 ‘Hér set ek upp ní›stƒng ok sn‡ ek ﬂessu ní›i á hƒnd Eiríki konungi ok
Gunnhildi dróttningu’—hann sneri hrosshƒf›inu inn á land—‘sn‡ ek ﬂessu
ní›i á landvættir ﬂær er land ﬂetta byggja svá at allar fari ﬂær villar vega,
21 engi hendi né hitti sitt inni fyrr en ﬂær reka Eirík konung ok Gunnhildi ór
landi.’
Sí›an sk‡tr hann stƒnginni ni›r í bjargrifu ok lét ﬂar standa. Hann sneri
24 ok hƒf›inu inn á land, en hann reist rúnar á stƒnginni ok segja ﬂær formála
ﬂenna allan.
Eptir ﬂat gekk Egill á skip; tóku ﬂeir til segls ok sigldu á haf út, tók ﬂá
27 byrrinn at vaxa ok ger›i ve›r hvasst ok hagstœtt; gekk ﬂá skipit mikit. ﬁákva› Egill:30

32. ﬁél høggr stórt fyrir stáli
stafnkvígs á veg jafnan
út me› éla meitliandœrr jƒtunn vandar,
Stanza 31. Vér bƒr›umsk, né vir›ak heiptir (Bló›øxar); rau› ek bƒ›mildr vígleiptr
bló›i sonar Bló›øxar ok Gunnhildar. ﬁar fellu nú ﬂrettán lagar mána ﬂollar á einum
karfa; starf stendr af styrjarskyndi. (Bló›øxar (gen.) is taken with two separate nouns.)vígleiptr, battle-lightning, sword; lagar mána ﬂollar: moon (light) of the sea isgold, whose trees are men; styrjarskyndir, speeder of battle, is a warlike man.
We fought and I did not mind the wrath of Eiríkr bló›øx; I, warlike, made mysword red with the blood of the son of Bló›øx and Gunnhildr. There thirteen men
were killed on one ship. Deeds are done by the warrior.

EGILS SAGA

99

en svalbúinn selju
sverfr eirarvanr ﬂeiri
Gestils álpt me› gustum
gandr of stál fyrir brandi.

3

Sí›an sigldu ﬂeir í haf ok greiddisk vel fer› ﬂeira ok kómu af hafi íBorgarfjƒr›; helt hann skipi sínu ﬂar til hafnar ok báru fƒt sín á land; fór ﬂá 6
Egill heim til Borgar, en skiparar hans vistu›usk.
Skalla-Grímr ger›isk ﬂá gamall ok hrumr af elli; tók Egill ﬂá til fjárforrá›aok búsvar›veizlu.
960. Andlát Skalla-Gríms
ﬁorgeirr <lambi>a hét ma›r; hann átti ﬁórdísi Yngvarsdóttur, systur Beru,mó›ur Egils. ﬁorgeirr bjó <inn frá>b Álptanesi á Lambastƒ›um. Hann haf›i 12
komit út me› Yngvari; hann var au›igr ok vir›r vel af mƒnnum. Son ﬂeira
ﬁorgeirs var ﬁór›r er bjó á Lambastƒ›um eptir fƒ›ur sinn í ﬂenna tíma er
Egill kom til Íslands.
15
ﬁat var ﬂá um haustit nƒkkuru fyrir vetr at ﬁór›r rei› inn til Borgar at hitta
Egil frænda sinn ok bau› honum heim til veizlu; haf›i hann látit heita mungát
út ﬂar.
18
Egill hét fer›inni ok var kve›it á vikustef nƒkkut; ok er svá var li›it bjósk
Egill til fer›ar ok me› honum Ásger›r kona hans; váru ﬂau saman tíu e›atólf. Ok er Egill var búinn ﬂá gekk Skalla-Grímr út me› honum ok hvarf til 21
hans á›r Egill steig á bak ok mælti:‘Seint ﬂiki mér ﬂú, Egill, hafa greitt fé ﬂat er A›alsteinn konungr sendimér, e›a hverneg ætlar ﬂú at fara skyli fé ﬂat?’
24
Egill segir: ‘Er ﬂér nú féfátt mjƒk, fa›ir? Ek vissa ﬂat eigi; ﬂegar skal ek
láta ﬂik hafa silfr er ek veit er ﬂú ﬂarft, en ek veit at ﬂú munt enn hafa atvar›veita eina kistu e›a tvær, fullar af silfri.’27‘Svá ﬂiki mér,’ segir Grímr, ‘sem ﬂú munir ﬂikjask skipt hafa lausafé me›okr; muntu láta ﬂér vel hugna at ek gera slíkt er mér líkar af ﬂví er ek var›veiti.’a Thus K and W.

b Thus W; á M.
Stanza 32. Andœrr vandar jƒtunn høggr út ﬂél stórt fyrir stáli me› éla meitli ájafnan stafnkvígs veg, en svalbúinn selju gandr sverfr eirarvanr me› gustum ﬂeiri
Gestils álpt of stál fyrir brandi.
andœrr, breathing furiously; vandar jƒtunn (giant, enemy of the mast or tree) is astorm; stafnkvígs vegr, stem-bull-calf’s, i.e. ship’s, road, the sea; svalbúinn, full of
coldness; selju gandr, enemy of the willow, storm; Gestill is the name of a sea-king,whose álpt (swan) is a ship; me› gustum (a correction by former editors for á›rgustu, which has proved inexplicable), with gusts.
The furious wind cuts out mightily a file before the stem with a chisel of storms
on the even sea, and the cold storm files, merciless with gusts, on the ship’s stem infront of the prow.

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Egill segir: ‘ﬁú munt engis lofs ﬂikjask ﬂurfa at bi›ja mik um ﬂetta, ﬂví atﬂú munt rá›a vilja hvat sem ek mæli.’3 Sí›an rei› Egill í brott ﬂar til er hann kom á Lambasta›i; var ﬂar tekit vi›
honum vel ok feginsamliga; skyldi hann ﬂar sitja ﬂrjár nætr.
ﬁat sama kveld er Egill haf›i heiman farit lét Skalla-Grímr sƒ›la sér hest;
6 rei› hann ﬂá heiman er a›rir menn fóru at sofa. Hann reiddi í knjám sér
kistu vel mikla, en hann haf›i í handarkrika sér eirketil er hann fór í brott.
Hafa menn ﬂat sí›an fyrir satt at hann hafi látit fara annat hvárt e›a bæ›i í
9 Krumskeldu ok látit ﬂar fara á ofan hellustein mikinn.
Skalla-Grímr kom heim um mi›nættisskei› ok gekk ﬂá til rúms síns oklag›isk ni›r í klæ›um sínum. En um morgininn er l‡sti ok menn klæddusk
12 ﬂá sat Skalla-Grímr fram á stokk ok var ﬂá anda›r ok svá stir›r at menn
fingu hvergi rétt hann né hafit ok var alls vi› leitat.
ﬁá var hesti skotit undir einn mann; hleypti sá sem ákafligast til ﬂess er
15 hann kom á Lambasta›i; gekk hann ﬂegar á fund Egils ok segir honum ﬂessi
tí›endi. ﬁá tók Egill vápn sín ok klæ›i ok rei› heim til Borgar um kveldit ok
ﬂegar hann haf›i af baki stigit gekk hann inn ok í skot er var um eldahúsit,18 en dyrr váru fram ór skotinu at setum innanver›um. Gekk Egill fram í setita
ok tók í her›ar Skalla-Grími ok kneikti hann aptr á bak, lag›i hann ni›r í
setit ok veitti honum ﬂá nábjargir. ﬁá ba› Egill taka graftól ok brjóta vegginn
21 fyrir sunnan. Ok er ﬂat var gƒrt ﬂá tók Egill undir hƒf›ahlut Skalla-Grími,
en a›rir tóku fótahlutinn; báru ﬂeir hann um ﬂvert húsit ok svá út í gegnum
vegginn ﬂar er á›r var brotinn. Báru ﬂeir hann ﬂá í hrí›inni ofan í Naustanes;
24 var ﬂar tjaldat yfir um nóttina; en um morgininn at fló›i var lag›r SkallaGrímr í skip ok róit me› hann út til Digraness. Lét Egill ﬂar gera haug á
framanver›u nesinu; var ﬂar í lag›r Skalla-Grímr ok hestr hans ok vápn
27 hans ok smí›artól; ekki er ﬂess getit at lausafé væri lagt í haug hjá honum.
Egill tók ﬂar vi› arfi, lƒndum ok lausum aurum; ré› hann ﬂá fyrir búi; ﬂarvar me› Agli ﬁórdís dóttir ﬁórólfs ok Ásger›ar.
30

61. Englandsfer› Egils

Eiríkr konungr ré› <einn vetr>b fyrir Nóregi eptir andlát fƒ›ur síns, Haralds
konungs, á›r Hákon A›alsteinsfóstri, annarr son Haralds konungs, kom til
33 Nóregs vestan af Englandi, ok ﬂat sama sumar fór Egill Skalla-Grímsson tilÍslands. Hákon fór nor›r til ﬁrándheims; var hann ﬂar til konungs tekinn;váru ﬂeir Eiríkr um vetrinn bá›ir konungar í Nóregi. En eptir um várit dró
36 hvárrtveggi her saman; var› Hákon miklu fjƒlmennri; sá Eiríkr ﬂá engan
sinn kost annan en fl‡ja land; fór hann ﬂá á brott me› Gunnhildi konu sínaok bƒrn ﬂeira.
a K adds: ok at baki Skalla-Grími.

b Thus W.

EGILS SAGA

101

Arinbjƒrn hersir var fóstbró›ir Eiríks konungs ok barnfóstri hans; hannvar kærstr konungi af ƒllum lendum mƒnnum; haf›i konungr sett hannhƒf›ingja yfir allt Fir›afylki. Arinbjƒrn var ór landi me› konungi; fóru fyrst 3
vestr um haf til Orkneyja. ﬁá gipti hann Ragnhildi dóttur sína Arnfinni jarli.
Sí›an fór hann me› li›i sínu su›r fyrir Skotland ok herja›i ﬂar; ﬂa›an fór
hann su›r til Englands ok herja›i ﬂar. Ok er A›alsteinn konungr spur›i ﬂat 6safna›i hann li›i ok fór í mót Eiríki; ok er ﬂeir hittusk váru borin sáttmál
milli ﬂeira ok var ﬂat at sættum at A›alsteinn konungr fekk Eiríki til forrá›aNor›imbraland, en hann skyldi vera landvarnarma›r A›alsteins konungs 9
fyrir Skotum ok Írum. A›alsteinn konungr haf›i skattgilt undir sik Skotland
eptir fall Óláfs konungs, en ﬂó var ﬂat fólk jafnan ótrútt honum. <Eiríkr
12
konungr haf›i jafnan atsetu í Jórvík.>aSvá er sagt at Gunnhildr lét sei› efla ok lét ﬂat sei›a at Egill SkallaGrímsson skyldi aldri ró bí›a á Íslandi fyrr en hon sæi hann. En ﬂat sumar er
ﬂeir Hákon ok Eiríkr hƒf›u hizk ok deilt um Nóreg ﬂá var farbann til allra 15
landa ór Nóregi ok kómu ﬂat sumar engi skip til Íslands ok engi tí›endi ór
Nóregi.
Egill Skalla-Grímsson sat at búi sínu; en ﬂann vetr annan er hann bjó at 18
Borg eptir andlát Skalla-Gríms ﬂá ger›isk Egill ókátr ok var ﬂví meiri ógle›ihans er meir lei› á vetrinn. Ok er sumar kom ﬂá l‡sti Egill yfir ﬂví at hannætlar at búa skip sitt til brottfarar um sumarit; tók hann ﬂá háseta. Hann 21ætlar ﬂá at sigla til Englands; ﬂeir váru á skipi ﬂrír tigir manna. Ásger›r var
ﬂá eptir ok gætti bús ﬂeira, en Egill ætla›i ﬂá at fara á fund A›alsteins konungs24
ok vitja heita ﬂeira er hann haf›i heitit Agli at skilna›i ﬂeira.
Egill var› ekki snemmbúinn ok er hann lét í haf ﬂá byrja›i heldr seint, tók
at hausta ok stœr›i ve›rin; sigldu ﬂeir fyrir nor›an Orkneyjar; vildi Egill
ﬂar ekki vi› koma, ﬂví at hann hug›i at ríki Eiríks konungs mundi allt yfir 27
standa í eyjunum. Sigldu ﬂeir ﬂá su›r fyrir Skotland ok hƒf›u storm mikinn
ok ve›r ﬂvert; fengu ﬂeir beitt fyrir Skotland ok svá nor›an fyrir England.
En aptan dags er myrkva tók var ve›r hvasst; finna ﬂeir eigi fyrr en grunnfƒll 30
váru á útbor›a ok svá fram fyrir. Var ﬂá engi annarr til en stefna á land upp
ok svá ger›u ﬂeir, sigldu ﬂá til brots ok kómu at landi vi› Humru mynni.
ﬁar b heldusk menn allir ok mestr hluti fjár, annat en skip; ﬂat brotna›i í 33
spán.
Ok er ﬂeir hittu menn at máli spur›u ﬂeir ﬂau tí›endic er Agli ﬂóttu
háskasamlig, at Eiríkr konungr bló›øx var ﬂar fyrir ok Gunnhildr, ok ﬂau 36hƒf›u ﬂar ríki til forrá›a, ok hann var skammt ﬂa›an uppi í borginni Jórvík.
ﬁat spur›i hann ok at Arinbjƒrn hersir var ﬂar me› konungi ok í miklum
39kærleik vi› konunginn.
a Thus W; similar in K. b Thus K and W; ﬂá M. c W adds: er ﬂeim ﬂóttu gó› vera

at A›alsteinn konungr var heill ok ríki hans, en ﬂau ƒnnur (similar in K).

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Ok er Egill var víss vor›inn ﬂessa tí›enda ﬂá ger›i hann rá› sitt; ﬂótti
honum sér óvænt til undankvámu, ﬂótt hann freista›i ﬂess at leynask ok fara
3 hul›u hƒf›i lei› svá langa sem vera mundi á›r hann kœmi ór ríki Eiríks
konungs. Var hann ﬂá au›kenndr ﬂeim er hann sæi; ﬂótti honum ﬂatlítilmannligt at vera tekinn í flótta ﬂeim. Her›i hann ﬂá huginn ok ré› ﬂat af
6 at ﬂegar um nóttina er ﬂeir hƒf›u ﬂar komit ﬂá fær hann sér hest ok rí›r
ﬂegar til borgarinnar. Kom hann ﬂar at kveldi dags ok rei› hann ﬂegar í
borgina. Hann haf›i sí›an hatt yfir hjálmi ok alvæpni haf›i hann.
9 Egill spur›i hvar gar›r sá væri í borginni er Arinbjƒrn átti; honum var ﬂat
sagt; hann rei› ﬂangat í gar›inn. En er hann kom at stufunni steig hann af hesti
sínum ok hitti mann at máli; var honum ﬂá sagt at Arinbjƒrn sat yfir matbor›i.
12 Egill mælti: ‘Ek vilda, gó›r drengr, at ﬂú gingir inn í stufuna ok spyrArinbjƒrn hvárt hann vill heldr úti e›a inni tala vi› Egil Skalla-Grímsson.’
Sá ma›r segir: ‘ﬁat er mér lítit starf at reka ﬂetta erendi.’
15 Hann gekk inn í stufuna ok mælti stundar hátt: ‘Ma›r er hér kominn úti
fyrir dyrum,’ segir hann, ‘mikill sem trƒll; en sá ba› mik ganga inn ok spyrja
hvárt ﬂú vildir úti e›a inni tala vi› Egil Skalla-Grímsson.’18 Arinbjƒrn segir: ‘Gakk ok bi› hann bí›a úti ok mun hann eigi lengi ﬂurfa.’
Hann ger›i sem Arinbjƒrn mælti, gekk út ok sag›i sem mælt var vi› hann.
Arinbjƒrn ba› taka upp bor›in, sí›an gekk hann út ok allir húskarlar hans
21 me› honum; ok er Arinbjƒrn hitti Egil, heilsa›i hann honum ok spur›i hví
hann var ﬂar kominn.
Egill segir í fám or›um it ljósasta af um fer› sína; ‘en nú skaltu fyrir sjá
24 hvert rá› ek skal taka, ef ﬂú vilt nƒkkurt li› veita mér.’‘Hefir ﬂú nƒkkura menn hitt í borginni,’ segir Arinbjƒrn, ‘ﬂá er ﬂik muni
kennt hafa á›r ﬂú komt hér í gar›inn?’
27 ‘Engi,’ segir Egill.
‘Taki menn ﬂá vápn sín,’ segir Arinbjƒrn.
ﬁeir ger›u svá, ok er ﬂeir váru vápna›ir ok allir húskarlar Arinbjarnar ﬂá
30 gekk hann í konungsgar›. En er ﬂeir kómu til hallar ﬂá klappa›i Arinbjƒrn á
dyrum ok ba› upp láta ok segir hverr ﬂar var. Dyrver›ir létu ﬂegar upp hur›ina.
Konungr sat yfir bor›um. Arinbjƒrn ba› ﬂá ganga inn tólf menn, nefndi til
33 ﬂess Egil ok tíu menn a›ra:‘Nú skaltu, Egill, fœra Eiríki konungi hƒfu› ﬂitt ok taka um fót honum, en
ek mun túlka mál ﬂitt.’
36 Sí›an ganga ﬂeir inn; gekk Arinbjƒrn fyrir konung ok kvaddi hann.
Konungr fagna›i honum ok spur›i hvat er hann vildi.
Arinbjƒrn mælti: ‘Ek fylgi hingat ﬂeim manni er kominn er um langan
39 veg at sœkja y›r heim ok sættask <vill>a vi› y›r; er y›r ﬂat vegr mikill,a Thus K and W.

EGILS SAGA

103

herra, er óvinir y›rir fara sjálfviljandi af ƒ›rum lƒndum ok ﬂikjask eigi megabera rei›i y›ra ﬂó at ﬂér sé› hvergi nær. Láttu ﬂér nú ver›a hƒf›ingliga vi›
ﬂenna mann; lát hann fá af <ﬂér>a sætt gó›a fyrir ﬂat er hann hefir gert veg 3
ﬂinn svá mikinn sem nú má sjá, farit yfir mƒrg <stór>a hƒf ok torlei›i heiman
frá búum sínum; bar honum enga nau›syn til ﬂessar farar nema gó›vili vi›
y›r.’b6ﬁá lita›isk konungr um ok sá hann fyrir ofan hƒfu› mƒnnum hvar Egill
stó›. <Konungr kenndi hann skjótt>c ok hvessti augun á hann ok mælti:‘Hví vartu svá djarfr, Egill, at ﬂú ﬂor›ir at fara á fund minn? Leystisk ﬂú 9
svá he›an næstumd at ﬂér var engi ván lífs af mér.’ﬁá gekk Egill at bor›inu ok tók um fót konungi; hann kva› ﬂá:
33. Kominn em ek á jó Íva
angrbeittan veg langanƒldu enskrar foldar
atsitjanda at vitja.
Nú hefir sískelfir sjálfan
snarﬂátt Haralds áttar
vi›r ofrhuga yfrinn
undar bliks of fundinn.

12

15

18

Eiríkr konungr sag›i: ‘Ekki ﬂarf ek at telja upp sakir á hendr ﬂér, en ﬂó
eru ﬂær svá margar ok stórar at ein hver má vel endask til <ﬂess>e at ﬂú 21
komir aldri he›an lífs; áttu engis annars af ván en ﬂú munt hér deyja skulu;
máttir ﬂú ﬂat vita á›r at ﬂú mundir enga sætt af mér fá.’ﬁá kva› Egill:f24

a Thus K and W. b K and W add: ﬂví at vel mátti hann gæta sín á Íslandi fyrir rei›i

ﬂinni. c Thus W (similar in K). d svá leystisk ﬂú ór Nóregi K and W. e Thus K and W.
f Mö›ruvallabók has a blank space here for a stanza; no traces of a stanza in K and W.
Stanza 33. Ek em kominn langan angrbeittan ƒldu veg á Íva jó at vitja atsitjanda
enskrar foldar. Nú hefir sískelfir undar bliks vi›r yfrinn ofrhuga of fundinn sjálfan
snarﬂátt Haralds áttar.
Ívi is not found elsewhere, but is probably a sea-king’s name, so Íva jór (horse) isa ship; sískelfir undar bliks, continual shaker of wound’s light or fire (i.e. sword), isa warrior; snarﬂáttr Haralds áttar (hard-spun strand of Haraldr’s kin) is Haraldr’sson (his favourite son according to the saga, 49/7–8 above).
I have come on my ship on a long and arduous voyage to visit the king of English
land. Now the warrior has with dauntless courage met Haraldr’s son in person.

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Gunnhildr mælti: ‘Hví skal eigi <ﬂegar>a drepa Egil, e›a mantu eigi nú,
konungr, hvat Egill hefir gert <til ﬂín>,a drepit vini ﬂína ok frændr ok ﬂar á ofan
3 son ﬂinn, en nítt sjálfan ﬂik; e›a hvar viti menn slíku bellt vi› konungmann?’
Arinbjƒrn segir: ‘Ef Egill hefir mælt illa til konungs ﬂá má hann ﬂat bœtaí lofsor›um ﬂeim er allan aldr megi uppi vera.’
6 Gunnhildr <mælti>:b ‘Vér viljum ekki lof hans heyra; láttu, konungr, lei›aEgil út ok hƒggva hann; vil ek eigi heyra or› hans ok eigi sjá hann.’ﬁá mælti Arinbjƒrn: ‘Eigi mun konungr láta at eggjask um ƒll ní›ingsverk
9 ﬂín; eigi mun hann láta Egil drepa í nótt, ﬂví at náttvíg eru mor›víg.’
Konungr segir: ‘Svá skal vera, Arinbjƒrn, sem ﬂú bi›r, at Egill skal lifa ínótt; haf›u hann heim me› ﬂér ok fœr mér hann á morgin.’
12 Arinbjƒrn ﬂakka›i konungi or› sín; ‘væntu vér, herra, at he›an af muni
skipask mál Egils á betri lei›; en ﬂó at Egill hafi stórt til saka gƒrt vi› y›r, ﬂá
líti ﬂér á ﬂat at hann hefir mikils misst fyrir y›rum frændum. Haraldr konungr
15 fa›ir ﬂinn tók af lífi ágætan mann, ﬁórólf, fƒ›urbró›ur hans, af rógi <vándra>amanna, en af engum sƒkum. En ﬂér, konungr, brutu› lƒg á Agli fyrir sakir
Berg-¯nundar, en ﬂar á ofan vildu ﬂér hafa Egil at dau›amanni ok drápu›
18 menn af honum, en ræntu› hann fé ƒllu, ok ﬂar á ofan ger›u ﬂér hann útlaga
ok ráku› hann af landi, en Egill er engi ertingama›r. En hvert mál er ma›rskal dœma ver›r at líta á tilger›ir. Ek mun nú,’ segir Arinbjƒrn, ‘hafa Egil
21 me› mér í nótt heim í gar› minn.’
Var nú svá; ok er ﬂeir kómu í gar›inn ﬂá ganga ﬂeir tveir í lopt nƒkkurt
lítit ok rœ›a um ﬂetta mál. Segir Arinbjƒrn svá:
24 ‘Allrei›r var konungr nú, en heldr ﬂótti mér m‡kjask skaplyndi hans nƒkkut
á›r létti, ok mun nú hamingja skipta hvat upp kemr; veit ek at Gunnhildr
mun allan hug á leggja at spilla ﬂínu máli. Nú vil ek ﬂat rá› gefa at ﬂú vakir
27 í nótt ok yrkir lofkvæ›i um Eirík konung; ﬂœtti mér ﬂá vel ef ﬂat yr›i drápa
tvítug ok mættir ﬂú kve›a á morgin er vit komum fyrir konung. Svá ger›i
Bragi frændi ﬂinn1 ﬂá er hann var› fyrir rei›i Bjarnar Svíakonungs, at hann
30 orti drápu tvítuga um hann eina nótt ok ﬂá ﬂar fyrir hƒfu› sitt. Nú mætti vera
at vér bærim gæfu til vi› konung svá at ﬂér kœmi ﬂat í fri› vi› konung.’
Egill segir: ‘Freista skal ek ﬂessa rá›s er ﬂú vill, en ekki hefi ek vi› ﬂví
33 búizk at yrkja lof um Eirík konung.’
Arinbjƒrn ba› hann freista; sí›an gekk hann á brott til manna sinna; sátu
ﬂeir at drykkju til mi›rar nætr. ﬁá gekk Arinbjƒrn til svefnhúss ok sveit
36 hans, ok á›r hann afklæddisk gekk hann upp í loptit til Egils ok spur›i hvatﬂá li›i um kvæ›it. Egill segir at ekki var ort; ‘hefir hér setit svala ein vi›
glugginn ok klakat í alla nótt, svá at ek hefi aldregi be›it ró fyrir.’a Thus K and W.

b Thus W; segir K.

1 Usually emended to minn, since no relationship between Egill and Bragi is known.

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Sí›an gekk Arinbjƒrn á brott ok út um dyrr ﬂær er ganga mátti upp á húsit
ok settisk <vi›>a glugg ﬂann á loptinu er fuglinn haf›i á›r vi› setit; hann sáhvar hamhleypa nƒkkur fór annan veg af húsinu. Arinbjƒrn sat ﬂar vi› 3
glugginn alla nóttina til ﬂess er l‡sti. En sí›an er Arinbjƒrn haf›i ﬂar komitﬂá orti Egill alla drápuna ok haf›i fest svá at hann mátti kve›a um morgininn
ﬂá er hann hitti Arinbjƒrn. ﬁeir heldu vƒr› á nær tími mundi vera at hitta konung. 6

62. Egill flutti kvæ›it
Eiríkr konungr gekk til bor›a at van›a sínum ok var ﬂá fjƒlmenni mikit me›honum; ok er Arinbjƒrn var› ﬂess varr ﬂá gekk hann me› alla sveit sína 9
alvápna›a í konungsgar› ﬂá er konungr sat yfir bor›um. Arinbjƒrn kraf›i
sér inngƒngu í hƒllina; honum var ﬂat ok heimult gƒrt; ganga ﬂeir Egill inn
12me› helming sveitarinnar; annarr helmingr stó› úti fyrir dyrum.
Arinbjƒrn kvaddi konung, en konungr fagna›i honum vel. Arinbjƒrn mælti:‘Nú er hér kominn Egill; hefir hann ekki leitat til brotthlaups í nótt. Núviljum vér vita, herra, hverr hans hluti skal vera; vænti ek gó›s af y›r.b Hefi 15
ek ﬂat gƒrt sem vert var, at ek hefi engan hlut til ﬂess sparat at gera ok mælasvá at y›varr vegr væri ﬂá meiri en á›r. Hefi ek ok látit allar mínar eigur okfrændr ok vini er ek átta í Nóregi ok fylgt y›r, en allir lendir menn y›rir 18
skil›usk vi› y›r, ok er ﬂat makligt, ﬂví at ﬂú hefir marga hluti til mín stórvel
gƒrt.’ﬁá mælti Gunnhildr: ‘Hættu, Arinbjƒrn, ok tala ekki svá langt um ﬂetta; 21
margt hefir ﬂú vel gƒrt vi› Eirík konung ok hefir hann ﬂat fullu launat; er
ﬂér miklu meiri vandi á vi› Eirík konung en Egil. Er ﬂér ﬂess ekki bi›janda
at Egill fari refsingalaust he›an af fundi Eiríks konungs, slíkt sem hann 24
hefir til saka gƒrt.’ﬁá segir Arinbjƒrn: ‘Ef ﬂú, konungr, ok ﬂit Gunnhildr hafi› ﬂat einrá›it at
Egill skal hér enga sætt fá, ﬂá er ﬂat drengskapr at gefa honum frest ok 27
fararleyfi um viku sakir at hann for›i sér—ﬂó hefir hann at sjálfvilja sínum
farit hingat á fund y›varn ok vænti sér af ﬂví fri›ar—fara ﬂá enn skipti y›ur
30
sem ver›a má ﬂa›an frá.’
Gunnhildr mælti: ‘Sjá kann ek á ﬂessu, Arinbjƒrn, at ﬂú ert hollari Agli en
Eiríki konungi. Ef Egill skal rí›a he›an viku í brott í fri›i, ﬂá mun hann kominn
til A›alsteins konungs á ﬂessi stundu. En Eiríkr konungr ﬂarf nú ekki at dyljask 33
í ﬂví at honum ver›a nú allir konungar ofreflismenn, en fyrir skƒmmu mundi
ﬂat ﬂikja ekki líkligt at Eiríkr konungr mundi eigi hafa til ﬂess vilja ok atfer›36
at hefna harma sinna á hverjum manni slíkum sem Egill er.’a Thus K and W. b vænti – y›r] vænti ek af y›r konungr at ﬂér munu› láta hannnjóta or›a minna, ﬂví at mér ﬂikir ﬂetta allmiklu skipta at Egill fái sætt af y›r K (andthe W-manuscripts for the most part).

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Arinbjƒrn segir: ‘Engi ma›r mun Eirík <konung>a kalla at meira mann ﬂóat hann drepi einn bóndason útlendan ﬂann er gengit hefir á vald hans. En ef
3 hann vill miklask af ﬂessu ﬂá skal ek ﬂat veita honum at ﬂessi tí›endi skulu
heldr ﬂikja frásagnarver›, ﬂví at vit Egill munum nú veitask at svá at jafnsnemma skal okr mœta bá›um. Muntu, konungr, ﬂá d‡rt kaupa líf Egils um
6 ﬂat er vér erum allir at velli lag›ir, ek ok sveitungar mínir; mundi mik annars
vara af y›r en ﬂú mundir mik vilja leggja heldr at jƒr›u en láta mik ﬂiggja líf
eins manns er ek bi›.’
9 ﬁá segir konungr: ‘Allmikit kapp leggr ﬂú á ﬂetta, Arinbjƒrn, at veita Aglili›; trau›r mun ek til vera at gera ﬂér ska›a, ef ﬂví er at skipta, ef ﬂú vill
heldr leggja fram líf ﬂitt en hann sé drepinn; en œrnar eru sakir til vi› Egil,
12 hvat sem ek læt gera vi› hann.’
Ok er konungr haf›i ﬂetta mælt, ﬂá gekk Egill fyrir hann ok hóf upp kvæ›itok kva› hátt ok fekk ﬂegar hljó›:1
1. Vestr fór ek of ver,en ek Vi›ris ber
munstrandar mar,svá er mitt of far.
Dró ek eik á flotvi› ísa brot;hló› ek mær›ar hlutmíns knarrar skut.

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2. Bu›umk hilmir lƒ›,nú á ek hró›rar kvƒ›;ber ek Ó›ins mjƒ›
á Engla bjƒ›.

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a Thus K and W.
1 Nothing of the poem Hƒfu›lausn is found in Mö›ruvallabók, and no empty
space for a stanza. The poem is found in the W-codex itself and in K; most of it isalso in e. Fragments of four stanzas are found in Snorra Edda. Lastly, there is aredaction together with an explicatory essay by Björn Jónsson of Skar›sá from 1634
(AM 552 R 4to). His text seems to be based upon both W and e. Björn’s redaction
together with a Latin translation of the explication was printed in Ole Worm’s
Literatura Runica in 1636. The following redaction is in the main based upon the
text of e (and K), with several corrections, mostly in accordance with W.
Hƒfu›lausn
1 Vi›ris munstrandar marr, the sea of Ó›inn’s mind-shore (breast), i.e. the poetic
mead, poetry; ísa brot, breaking of ice, is spring.
I came west across the sea, and I bring a poem; such is my situation. I launched
my ship at ice-break; I loaded the stern of my vessel with a cargo of praise (a poem).

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Lofat vísa vann,víst mæri ek ﬂann;
hljó›s æsti ek hann,
ﬂví at hró›r of fann.
3. Hygg, vísi, at,vel sómir ﬂat,hvé ek ﬂylja fet
ef ek ﬂƒgn of get.
Flestr ma›r of frá
hvat fylkir vá;
en Vi›rir sáhvar valr of lá.
4. Óx hjƒrva glƒmvi› hlífar ﬂrƒm;gu›r óx of gram,gramr sótti fram.
ﬁar heyr›isk ﬂá,ﬂaut mækis á,málmhrí›ar spá,sú var mest of lá.
5. Varat villr sta›arvefr darra›arof grams gla›argeirvangs ra›ar,
2 The king offered me hospitality, now I am obliged to offer a poem of praise; I
bring Ó›inn’s mead (a poem) to the land of the English. I have completed a eulogyof the prince, assuredly I praise him; I ask him for a hearing, because I have deviseda praise-poem.
3 Pay heed, king, that is most fit, to how I shall recite if I receive silence. Most
men have heard what (battle) the king fought; and Ó›inn saw where the slain lay.
4 hjƒrva glƒm is supposed to mean clash of swords, though glƒm is not foundelsewhere (cf. glamm and glaumr); mækis á, river of the sword, is blood, or perhaps
battle.
The clash of swords against the rim of the shield increased; battle increased aroundthe king, the king pressed forward. There was heard then—the river of the sword(battle) roared—the incantation of the metal-storm (din of batttle); this was the greatest(battle) across the sea.
5 varat – sta›ar, did not go astray; vefr darra›ar, spear’s web, is battle; geirvangsra›ar, spear-land’s (shield’s) rows; inn brimils mó›i, unexplained (brimill, a sort oflarge seal).

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ﬂar er í bló›i
inn brimils mó›ivƒllr of ﬂrum›i,
und véum glum›i.
6. Hné fólk á fit
vi› fleina hnit;or›stír of gat
Eiríkr at ﬂat.
7. Fremr mun ek segja
ef firar ﬂegja;
frágum fleira
til frama ﬂeira:brustu brandarvi› bláar randar;óxu undirvi› jƒfurs fundi.
8. Hlam heinsƒ›ulvi› hjaldrrƒ›ul,beit bengrefill;ﬂat var bló›refill.
Frá ek at felli
fyrir fetilsvelliÓ›ins eikií járnleiki.
9. ﬁar var odda atok eggja gnat;
or›stír of gat
Eiríkr at ﬂat.
The battle raged around the king’s shining shields, where in blood the battlefield. . . remained(?) . . . resounded beneath the banners.
6 fleina hnit (collison of spears) is battle.
The army fell on the meadows under the onslaught of spears. Eiríkr gained renown
from that.
7 I shall speak further if men keep silence; I have heard more to their glory: swords
broke against dark shields; wounds increased with the king’s encounters.
8 heinsƒ›ull, saddle of the whetstone, (probably) sword; hjaldrrƒ›ull, sun of battle,
shield or sword; bengrefill, wound digger, the point of a sword (cf. bló›refill); fetilsvell, sword-strap ice, sword; Ó›ins eiki (oak forest), troops; járnleikr, iron-game, battle.
There was a clanging of sword against shield, the sword bit, it was the point of asword. I heard that troops fell before the sword in battle.

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10. Rau› hilmir hjƒr;ﬂar var hrafna gjƒr;fleinn sótti fjƒr;flugu dreyrug spjƒr.
Ól flag›s gota
fárbjó›r Skota;
tra› nipt Nara
náttver› ara.
11. Flaug hjaldrtranaá hræs lanar;várut bló›s vanarbenmás granar.
Sleit und freki,en oddbreki
gnú›i hrafniá hƒfu›stafni.
12. Kom grí›ar læat Gjálpar skæ;bau› úlfum hræ
Eiríkr of sæ.
13. Beit fleinn floginn,
ﬂá var fri›r loginn;var álmr dreginn;
ﬂví var› úlfr feginn.
9 There was conflict of points and clashing of blades; Eiríkr gained renown from that.
10 hrafna gjƒr, flock of ravens (especially when crowding over food); flag›s goti
(giantess’s horse) = wolf; fárbjó›r Skota, the enemy of the Scots, i.e. King Eiríkr;
nipt Nara, Nari’s sister, is Hel (the death-goddess); náttver›r ara, the eagle’s supper(i.e. the corpses of the slain) or supper for the eagle.
The king reddened his sword; there was a hustling of ravens; arrows took lives;
bloody spears flew; the enemy of the Scots fed the giantess’s steed; the goddess ofdeath stalked on the dead (or Hel trod or trampled down supper for the eagle, i.e.
killed men).
11 hjaldrtrana (crane of battle), carrion bird; benmás granar, wound-gull’s, carrion
bird’s, lips, i.e. beaks of ravens; oddbreki, point-wave, i.e. blood.
The carrion bird flew on the heaps of the slain; the beaks of ravens were not shortof blood. The wolf tore or ripped open the wound, and blood roared at the raven’s
head-prow (beak).
12 grí›ar, greed’s (Grí›r is also common as the name of a giantess in kennings);
læ, bane; the bane of greed is satiety. Gjálp is a giantess, her skær (steed) is a wolf.
The wolf was fed; across the sea Eiríkr offered carnage to wolves.

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Brustu broddar,
en bitu oddar;báru hƒrvar
af bogum ƒrvar.
14. Verpr broddfleti
af baugsetihjƒrleiks hvati;hann er ﬂjó›skati.
ﬁróask hjaldr sem hvarof hilmi ﬂar.
Frétt er austr of mar
Eiríks of far.
15. Jƒfurr sveig›i ‡,flugu unda b‡.
Bau› úlfum hræ
Eiríkr of sæ.
16. Enn mun ek vilja
fyrir verum skilja
skapleik skata,skal mær› hvata.
Lætr snót saka
sver›-Frey vaka,
en skers Hakaskí›gar› braka.
13 The thrown spear bit, then peace was broken; elmwood-bow was drawn; thatmade the wolf joyful. Arrow-tips broke, and points bit; strings bore arrows from bows.
14 broddflet, the bench of the arrow-tip, i.e. shield; af baugseti, from the seat of
the ring, i.e. his arm.
The instigator of sword-play (battle) throws a shield from his arm: he is a very
generous man. The battle arises everywhere around the king. The behaviour of Eiríkr
is heard of east across the sea.
15 unda b‡, bees of wounds, i.e. arrows.
The king bent his yew-bow; arrows flew. Across the sea Eiríkr offered carnage towolves.
16 This stanza is adopted here from two extra half-stanzas in W (and put in thisplace in accordance with the redaction of Björn Jónsson).
snót saka, lady of contests or battles, i.e. valkyrie (Hildr); sver›-Freyr, warrior,i.e. the king; vaka keep awake; Haki is the name of a sea-king, whose sker (rock inthe sea) is the sea, whose skí› (board) is a ship, whose gar›r (fence) is a shield.
I shall wish to describe further for men the disposition of this generous man; his
praise must be hastened. Hildr incites the king (to battle) and causes the shields tocrack. (Lines 5–6 seem to be an allusion to a story told in Skáldskaparmál, Ch. 50.)

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17. Br‡tr bógvita
bjó›r hrammﬂvita;
muna hringdofa
hodd-Freyr lofa.
Gla›ar flotna fjƒlvi› Fró›a mjƒl;mjƒk er hilmi fƒl
haukstrandar mƒl.
18. Stó›sk fólkhagivi› fjƒrlagi;gall ‡bogi
at eggtogi.
Verpr ábrandi,en jƒfurr landi
heldr hornklofi;
hann er næstr lofi.
19. Jƒfurr hyggi at
hvé ek yrkja fat;gott ﬂikjumk ﬂat
er ek ﬂƒgn of gat.
Hrœr›a ek munni
af munar grunniÓ›ins ægiof jƒru fægi.
17 bógviti (arm-fire) is gold, whose bjó›r (offerer) is a generous man, the king;hrammﬂviti (hand-stone) is gold; hringdofi (ring-torpor) is non-spending of gold;
hodd-Freyr (gold-Freyr) is a wealthy man, the king; Fró›i was a legendary king,whose mjƒl (meal, the product of his mill) is gold (Skáldskaparmál, Ch. 43); fƒlhilmi, available to (or from?), to be disposed of by, the king; haukstrandar mƒl,shingle of the land of the hawk, the arm, is gold.
The generous man breaks (i.e. distributes) gold; the wealthy man (the king) will
not praise non-spending of gold. He makes many men happy with gold; the king isvery willing to spend gold.
18 Fólkhagi battle-manager, probably the king; fjƒrlag, laying down of life, i.e.
death; ábrandr, river-flame, i.e. gold (see Skáldskaparmál, Ch. 33); hornklofi has
not been adequately explained; perhaps metaphorically ‘in tongs made of horn’.
The king resisted death; the yew-wood bow twanged at the drawing of the sword.
He throws gold, but the king holds his land firmly; he is closest to praise.
19 munar grunn, the mind’s shoal, i.e. the breast; Ó›ins ægir (sea) is the mead of
poetry, i.e. poem; jƒru fægir, cultivator of battle, warrior (here the king).
May the king consider how I have composed my poem; I am glad that I gained
silence. With my mouth I stirred up from my breast the poem about the king.

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20. Bar ek ﬂengils lofá ﬂagnar rof;kann ek mála mjƒtof manna sjƒt.
Ó› fœri ek framof ítran gramór hlátra ham
svá hann of nam.

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21. Njóti bauga
sem Bragi auga
vagna várae›r Vili tára.

912

63. Lífgjƒf Egils
Eiríkr konungr sat uppréttr me›an Egill kva› kvæ›it ok hvessti augun á
15 hann; ok er lokit var drápunni ﬂá mælti konungr:‘Bezta er kvæ›it fram flutt, en nú hefi ek hugsat, Arinbjƒrn, um mál várt
Egils, hvar koma skal. ﬁú hefir flutt mál Egils me› ákafa miklum er ﬂú b‡›r
18 at etja vandræ›um vi› mik. Nú skal ﬂat gera fyrir ﬂínar sakir sem ﬂú hefir
be›it at Egill skal fara frá mínum fundi heill ok ósaka›r. En ﬂú, Egill, hátta
svá fer›um ﬂínum at sí›an er ﬂú kemr frá mínum fundi af ﬂessi stufu, ﬂá
21 kom ﬂú aldregi í augs‡n mér oka sonum mínum ok ver› aldri fyrir mér né
mínu li›i. En ek gef ﬂér nú hƒfu› ﬂitt at sinni; fyrir ﬂá sƒk er ﬂú gekkt á mittvald ﬂá vil ek eigi gera ní›ingsverk á ﬂér, en vita skaltu ﬂat til sanns at ﬂetta
24 er engi sætt vi› mik né sonu mína ok enga frændr vára ﬂá sem réttar vilja reka.’a né K and W.

20 ﬂagnar rof, gap of silence, i.e. hearing, hljó› (cf. the last words before thepoem: ok fekk ﬂegar hljó›); mjƒt mála, measure of speech, i.e. correct talk; hlátra
hamr (enclosure) is the breast.
I bore the king’s praise when I got a hearing; I know how to speak correctly in
dwellings of men. I bring forth a eulogy about the glorious king from my breast sothat he apprehended it.
21 sem Bragi auga vagna vára, as Bragi (enjoyed) the eye of the wains’ defender (?), i.e. (probably) Ó›inn, who pawned his eye to obtain wisdom. On theother hand, vagna vára should perhaps be taken with tára, which otherwise would
be inexplicable; vagna várar might then be understood as ‘goddesses of the wains’(vára, gen. pl. of Vár). But as Freyja is the only goddess who is said to have travelled
in a wain (rei›, carriage), and moreover the only goddess whose tears are gold, it isperhaps permissible to assume that the plural is to be understood as singular in thiscase. (Cf. Russell Poole, 1993, 94–95.)
May he enjoy wealth as Bragi availed himself of Ó›inn’s eye or Vili of gold.

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ﬁá kva› Egill:
34.

Erumka leittﬂótt ljótr of sé
hjálma klett
af hilmi at ﬂiggja.
Hvar er sá er gat
af gƒfuglyndumœ›ri gjƒf
allvalds syni?

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Arinbjƒrn ﬂakka›i konungi me› fƒgrum or›um ﬂá sœm› ok vináttu er
konungr hefir veitt honum. ﬁá ganga ﬂeir Arinbjƒrn ok Egill heim í gar›Arinbjarnar; sí›an lét Arinbjƒrn búa rei›skjóta li›i sínu. Rei› hann brott 12me› Agli ok hundra› manna alvápna›ra me› honum. Arinbjƒrn rei› me›li› ﬂat til ﬂess er ﬂeir kómu til A›alsteins konungs ok fingu ﬂar gó›arvi›tƒkur; bau› konungr Agli me› sér at veraa ok spur›i hverneg farit haf›i 15
me› ﬂeim Eiríki konungi. ﬁá kva› Egill:
35. Svartbrúnum lét sjónum
sannsparr Hugins varra,
hugr tjá›um mjƒk mága,magna›r Egil fagna.
Arfstóli kná ek Álaáttgƒfgu›um hattar
fyrir regna›ar regni
rá›a nú sem á›an.
a K adds: svá lengi sem hann vildi í miklum metor›um; W adds: í miklumkærleikum.
Stanza 34. Erumka: pres. of vera with suffixed pronoun and negative, is not tome; leitt, hateful, unpleasant; hjálma klettr (crag of helmets), head.
I am not unwilling, though it is ugly, to accept my head from the king. Who hasever got a nobler gift from a generous prince?
Stanza 35. Sannsparr Hugins varra magna›r lét Egil fagna svartbrúnum sjónum;hugr mága tjá›um mjƒk. Kná ek rá›a áttgƒfgu›um Ála hattar arfstóli fyrir regna›arregni nú sem á›an.
Hugins vƒrr, raven’s wake or sea, is blood, whose magna›r (intensifier) is a warrior;Ála (sea-king’s) hƒttr (hat) is a helmet, whose arfstóll, inherited seat, is the head;regni seems to be dative of reginn (god), but regna›ar has not been satisfactorily
explained, though regna›ar reginn seems to be a kenning for warrior.
The iniquitous man let Egill keep his eyes with the dark brows; the mind of my inlaw (i.e. Arinbjƒrn) helped me very much. Now as before I am in command of myown well-born head in spite of the warrior (King Eiríkr).

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En at skilna›i ﬂeira Arinbjarnar ok Egils ﬂá gaf Egill Arinbirni gullhringaﬂá tvá er A›alsteinn konungr gaf honum ok stó› mƒrk hvárr, en Arinbjƒrn
3 gaf Agli sver› ﬂat er Dragvandill hét. ﬁat haf›i gefit Arinbirni ﬁórólfr SkallaGrímsson, en á›r haf›i Skalla-Grímr ﬂegit af ﬁórólfi bró›ur sínum, en ﬁórólfi
gaf sver›it Grímr lo›inkinni, son Ketils hœngs. ﬁat sver› haf›i átt Ketill
6 hœngr ok haft í hólmgƒngum, ok var ﬂat allra sver›a bitrast. Skil›usk ﬂeirme› kærleik inum mesta; fór Arinbjƒrn heim í Jórvík til Eiríks konungs. Enfƒrunautar Egils ok skipverjar hans hƒf›u ﬂar fri› gó›an ok vƒr›u varningi
9 sínum í trausti Arinbjarnar; en er á lei› vetrinn fluttusk ﬂeir su›r til Englands
ok fóru á fund Egils.

64. Af Eiríki alspak ok Agli
12 Eiríkr alspakr hét lendr ma›r í Nóregi; hann átti ﬁóru, dóttur ﬁóris hersis,

systur Arinbjarnar; hann átti eignir í Vík austr; hann var ma›r stórau›igr ok
inn mesti vir›ingama›r, spakr at viti. ﬁorsteinn hét son ﬂeira; hann fœddisk
15 upp me› Arinbirni ok var ﬂá vaxinn mjƒk ok ﬂó á ungum aldri; hann haf›ifarit vestr til Englands me› Arinbirni.
En ﬂat sama haust sem Egill haf›i komit til Englands spur›usk af Nóregi
18 ﬂau tí›endi at Eiríkr alspakr var anda›r, en arf hans hƒf›u tekit ármenn
konungs ok kastat á konungs eign. Ok er Arinbjƒrn ok ﬁorsteinn spur›u
ﬂessi tí›endi ﬂá ger›u ﬂeir ﬂat rá› at ﬁorsteinn skyldi fara austr ok vitja arfsins.
21 Ok <er> várit lei› fram ok menn bjuggu skip sín, ﬂeir er fara ætlu›u landa í
millum, ﬂá fór ﬁorsteinn su›r til Lundúna ok hitti ﬂar A›alstein konung; barhann fram jartegnir ok or›sending Arinbjarnar til konungs ok svá til Egils at
24 hann væri flutningsma›r vi› konung, at A›alsteinn konungr ger›i or›sendingsína til Hákonar konungs fóstra síns at ﬁorsteinn næ›i arfi ok eignum í Nóregi.
A›alsteinn konungr var ﬂess au›be›inn, ﬂví at Arinbjƒrn var honum
27 kunnigr at gó›u. ﬁá kom ok Egill at máli vi› A›alstein konung ok sag›ihonum fyrirætlan sína:‘Vil ek í sumar,’ segir hann, ‘fara austr til Nóregs at vitja fjár ﬂess er Eiríkr
30 konungr rænti mik ok ﬂeir Berg-¯nundr; sitr nú yfir ﬂví fé Atli inn skammi,
bró›ir Berg-¯nundar; veit ek ef or›sendingar y›rar koma til at ek mun nálƒgum af ﬂví máli.’33 Konungr segir at Egill skal rá›a fer›um sínum, ‘en bezt ﬂœtti mér at ﬂúværir me› mér ok ger›isk landvarnarma›r minn ok ré›ir fyrir herli›i mínu;
mun ek fá ﬂér veizlur stórar.’
36 Egill segir: ‘ﬁessi kostr ﬂiki mér allf‡siligr at taka; vil ek ﬂví játa, en eigi
níta; en ﬂó ver› ek fyrst at fara til Íslands ok vitja konu minnar ok fjár ﬂess
er ek á ﬂar.’
39 A›alsteinn konungr gaf Agli kaupskip gott ok ﬂar me› farminn; var ﬂar átil ﬂunga hveiti ok hunang ok enn mikit fé annat í ƒ›rum varningi. Ok er

EGILS SAGA

115

Egill bjó skip sitt til hafs ﬂá rézk til farar me› honum ﬁorsteinn Eiríksson, er
fyrr var getit, er sí›an var kalla›r ﬁóruson, ok er ﬂeir váru búnir ﬂá sigldu
3
ﬂeir; skil›usk ﬂeir A›alsteinn konungr ok Egill me› inni mestu vináttu.
ﬁeim Agli greiddisk vel fer›in, kómu at Nóregi í Vík austr ok heldu skipinu
inn allt í Óslóarfjƒr›; ﬂar átti ﬁorsteinn bú á land upp ok svá inn allt á
Raumaríki. Ok er ﬁorsteinn kom ﬂar til lands ﬂá veitti hann tilkall um fƒ›urarf 6
sinn vi› ármennina er sezk hƒf›u í bú hans; veittu ﬁorsteini margir li› at
ﬂessu. Váru ﬂar stefnur til lag›ar; átti ﬁorsteinn ﬂar marga frændr gƒfga.
Lauk ﬂar svá er skotit var til konungs órskur›ar, en ﬁorsteinn tók vi› var›- 9
veizlu fjár ﬂess er fa›ir hans haf›i átt.
Egill fór til vetrvistar me› ﬁorsteini ok ﬂeir tólf saman; var ﬂangat flutt
heim til ﬁorsteins hveiti ok hunang. Var ﬂar um vetrinn gle›i mikil ok bjó 12
ﬁorsteinn rausnarsamliga, ﬂví at nóg váru fƒng til.

65. Egill ok ﬁorsteinn fundu konung
Hákon konungr A›alsteinsfóstri ré› ﬂá fyrir Nóregi sem fyrr var sagt; konungr 15
sat ﬂann vetr nor›r í ﬁrándheimi. En er á lei› vetrinn byrja›i ﬁorsteinn fer›sína ok Egill me› honum; ﬂeir hƒf›u nær ﬂremr tigum manna. Ok er ﬂeir
váru búnir fóru ﬂeir fyrst til Upplanda, ﬂa›an nor›r um Dofrafjall til 18
ﬁrándheims ok kómu ﬂar á fund Hákonar konungs. Báru ﬂeir upp erendi sínvi› konung; sag›i ﬁorsteinn skyn á máli sínu ok kom fram vitnum me› sér
at hann átti arf ﬂann allan er hann kalla›i til. Konungr tók ﬂví máli vel, lét 21
hann ﬁorstein ná eignum sínum ok ﬂar me› ger›isk hann lendr ma›r konungs
svá sem fa›ir hans haf›i verit.
Egill gekk á fund Hákonar konungs ok bar fyrir hann sín erendi ok ﬂar 24me› or›sending A›alsteins konungs ok jartegnir hans. Egill tal›i til fjár
ﬂess er átt haf›i Bjƒrn hƒl›r, landa ok lausaaura. Tal›i hann sér helming fjár
ﬂess ok Ásger›i konu sinni, bau› ﬂar fram vitni ok ei›a me› máli sínu, 27
sag›i ok at hann haf›i ﬂat allt fram borit fyrir Eiríki konungi, lét ﬂat fylgja
at hann haf›i ﬂá eigi nát lƒgum fyrir ríki Eiríks konungs en eggjan1 Gunnhildar. Egill innti upp allan ﬂann málavƒxt er fyrr haf›i í gjƒrzk á Gulaﬂingi; 30
beiddi hann ﬂá konung unna sér laga á ﬂví máli.
Hákon konungr svarar: ‘Svá hefi ek spurt at Eiríkr bró›ir minn muni ﬂat
kalla, ok ﬂau Gunnhildr bæ›i, at ﬂú, Egill, munir hafa kastat steini um megn 33
ﬂér í y›rum skiptum; ﬂœtti mér ﬂú vel mega yfir láta, Egill, at ek leg›a ekkitil ﬂessa máls, ﬂó at vit Eiríkr bærim eigi gæfu til samﬂykkis.’
Egill mælti: ‘Ekki máttu, konungr, ﬂegja yfir svá stórum málum, ﬂví at 36
allir menn hér í landi, innlenzkir ok útlenzkir, skulu hl‡›a y›ru bo›i <ok
1 eggjan, incitement, referring to Gunnhildr’s having urged the king to take Berg-¯nundr’s side against Egill.

116

EGILS SAGA

banni>.a Ek hefi spurt at ﬂér seti› lƒg hér í landi ok rétt hverjum manni. Núveit ek at ﬂér munu› mik láta ﬂeim ná sem a›ra menn; ﬂikjumk ek hafa til
3 ﬂess bur›i ok frændastyrk hér í landi at hafa vi› Atla inn skamma.b En um
mál <okkur>c Eiríks konungs er y›r ﬂat at segja at ek var á hans fund ok
skil›umsk vit svá at hann ba› mik í fri›i fara hvert er ek vilda. Vil ek bjó›a
6 y›r, herra, mína fylg› ok ﬂjónustu; veit ek at vera munu hér me› y›r ﬂeir
menn er ekki munu ﬂikja vígligri á velli at sjá en ek em. Er ﬂat mitt hugbo›
at eigi lí›i langt á›r fundi ykra Eiríks konungs muni saman bera, ef ykr
9 endisk aldr til; ﬂiki mér ﬂat undarligt ef eigi skal ﬂar koma at ﬂér ﬂiki
Gunnhildr eiga sona uppreist marga.’dKonungr segir: ‘Ekki muntu, Egill, gerask mér handgenginn; miklu hafi
12 ﬂér frændr meira skar› hƒggit í ætt vára en ﬂér muni duga at sta›festask hér
í landi. Far ﬂú til Íslands út ok ver ﬂar at fƒ›urarfi ﬂínum; mun ﬂér ﬂá ver›aekki mein at oss frændum, en hér í landi er ﬂess ván um alla ﬂína daga at
15 várir frændr sé ríkastir. En fyrir sakir A›alsteins konungs fóstra míns ﬂáskaltu hafa hér fri› í landi ok ná lƒgum ok landsrétti, ﬂví at ek veit atA›alsteinn konungr hefir mikla elsku á ﬂér.’
18 Egill ﬂakka›i konungi or› sín ok beiddisk ﬂess at konungr skyldi fá honumsannar jartegnir sínar til ﬁór›ar á Aurland e›a annarra lendra manna í Sogni
ok á Hƒr›alandi. Konungr segir at svá skyldi vera.
21

66. Egill drap Ljót inn bleika

ﬁorsteinn ok Egill bjuggu fer› sína ﬂegar ﬂeir hƒf›u lokit erendum sínum;fara ﬂeir ﬂá aptr á lei›, ok er ﬂeir koma su›r um Dofrafjall, ﬂá segir Egill at
24 hann vill fara ofan til Raumsdals ok sí›an su›r sundalei›.
‘Vil ek,’ segir hann, ‘lúka erendum mínum í Sogni ok á Hƒr›alandi, ﬂví at
ek vil búa skip mitt í sumar til Íslands út.’27 ﬁorsteinn ba› hann rá›a fer› sinni; skiljask ﬂeir ﬁorsteinn ok Egill; fór
ﬁorsteinn su›r um Dali ok alla lei› til ﬂess er hann kom til búa sinna. Bar
hann ﬂá fram jartegnir konungs ok or›sending fyrir ármennina at ﬂeir skyldu
30 láta fé ﬂat allt er ﬂeir hafa upp tekit ok ﬁorsteinn kalla›i til.
Egill fór lei›ar sinnar ok ﬂeir tólf saman; kómu ﬂeir fram í Raumsdal;
fingu sér ﬂá flutningar; fóru sí›an su›r á Mœri. Er ekki sagt frá fer› ﬂeira
33 fyrr en ﬂeir kómu í ey ﬂá er Hƒ› heitir ok fóru til gistingar á bœ ﬂann er
heitir á Blindheimi; ﬂat var gƒfugr bœr. ﬁar bjó lendr ma›r er Fri›geirr hét;hann var ungr at aldri; haf›i n‡tekit vi› fƒ›urarfi sínum. Mó›ir hans hét
a Thus K and W (an alliterative phrase, repeated entire in Ch. 67). b vi› Atla innskamma] lƒg (rétt W) af Atla inum skamma K and W. c Thus K and W (essential).
d sona – marga] œrit (heldr K) marga sonu W and K (which probably renders thesense of the rare phrase in M).

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117

Gy›a; hon var systir Arinbjarnar hersis, skƒrungr mikill ok gƒfug kona.
Hon var at rá›um me› syni sínum Fri›geiri; hƒf›u ﬂau ﬂar rausnarbú mikit.
ﬁar fingu ﬂeir allgó›ar vi›tƒkur; sat Egill um kveldit it næsta Fri›geiri ok 3fƒrunautar hans ﬂar útar frá; var ﬂar drykkja mikil ok d‡rlig veizla.
Gy›a húsfreyja gekk um kveldit til tals vi› Egil; hon spur›i at Arinbirni
bró›ur sínum ok enn at fleirum frændum sínum ok vinum ﬂeim er til Englands 6hƒf›u farit me› Arinbirni. Egill sag›i henni ﬂat sem hon spur›i. Hon spur›ihvat til tí›enda hef›i gjƒrzk í fer›um Egils; hann segir henni af it ljósasta.
9ﬁá kva› hann:
36. Ur›umk lei› in ljóta
landbei›a›ar rei›i.
Syngrat gaukr ef glamma
gamm veit um sik ﬂramma.
ﬁar naut ek sem optar
arnstalls sjƒtulbjarnar.
Hnígrat allr sá er holla
hjálpendr of fƒr gjálpar.

1215

Egill var allkátr um kveldit, en Fri›geirr ok heimamenn váru heldr hljó›ir. 18
Egill sá ﬂar mey fagra ok vel búna; honum var sagt at hon var systir Fri›geirs;mærin var ókát ok grét einart um kveldit; ﬂat ﬂótti ﬂeim undarligt.
ﬁar váru <ﬂeir> um kveldit.a En um morgininn var ve›r hvasst ok eigi 21sæfœrt; ﬂar ﬂurftu ﬂeir far ór eyjunni. ﬁá gekk Fri›geirr ok bæ›i ﬂau Gy›atil fundar vi› Egil; bu›u ﬂau honum ﬂar at sitja me› fƒrunauta sína til ﬂess
er gott væri fœrive›r, ok hafa ﬂa›an fararbeina ﬂann sem ﬂeir ﬂyrfti. Egill 24
ﬂekk›isk ﬂat; sátu ﬂeir ﬂar ve›rfastir ﬂrjár nætr ok var ﬂar inn mesti mannfagna›r.
Eptir ﬂat ger›i ve›r lygnt; stó›u ﬂeir Egill ﬂá upp snemma um morgininn 27
ok bjuggusk; gingu ﬂá til matar ok var ﬂeim gefit ƒl at drekka ok sátu ﬂeir
a ﬂeir um nóttina K and W.

Stanza 36. Ur›umk lei› in ljóta rei›i landbei›a›ar. Syngrat gaukr ef veit glamma
gamm ﬂramma um sik. ﬁar naut ek arnstalls sjƒtulbjarnar sem optar. Hnígrat allr sá
er gjálpar holla hjálpendr of fƒr.
landbei›u›r, he who claims land, the king; glamma gammr, vulture of the din (ofbattle?), eagle; arnstalls sjƒtulbjƒrn evidently means Arinbjƒrn, cf. grjótbjƒrn in
Arinbjarnarkvi›a 17; arnstalls sjƒtull seems to mean the seat of an eagle (ƒrn), i.e.
a rock (cf. arinn).
I got tired of the ugly anger of the king. The cuckoo does not sing while he knowsthat the eagle is waylaying him. There as often before I enjoyed the help of Arinbjƒrn.
He who rejoices in faithful helpers on his journey need not drop dead.

118

EGILS SAGAum hrí›; sí›an tóku ﬂeir klæ›i sín. Egill stó› upp ok ﬂakka›i bónda ok
húsfreyju beina sinn ok gengu sí›an út. Bóndi ok mó›ir hans gengu á gƒtu3 me› ﬂeim. ﬁá gekk Gy›a til máls vi› Fri›geir son sinn ok tala›i vi› hannlágt; Egill stó› me›an ok bei› ﬂeira.
Egill mælti vi› meyna: ‘Hvat grætr ﬂú, mær? Ek sé ﬂik aldri káta.’6 Hon mátti engu svara ok grét at meir.
Fri›geirr svarar mó›ur sinni hátt: ‘Ekki vil ek nú bi›ja ﬂess; ﬂeir eru núbúnir fer›ar sinnar.’
9 ﬁá gekk Gy›a at Agli ok mælti: ‘Ek mun segja ﬂér, Egill, tí›endi ﬂau sem
hér eru me› oss. Ma›r heitir Ljótr inn bleiki; hann er berserkr ok hólmgƒnguma›r; hann er óﬂokkasæll. Hann kom hér ok ba› dóttur minnar, en
12 vér svƒru›um skjótt ok synju›um honum rá›sins; sí›an skora›i hann til
hólmgƒngu á Fri›geir son minn ok skal á morgin koma til hólmsins í ey ﬂá
er Vƒrl heitir. Nú vilda ek, Egill, at ﬂú fœrir til hólmsins me› Fri›geiri.
15 Mundi ﬂat sannask, ef Arinbjƒrn væri hér í landi, at vér mundum eigi ﬂola
ofríki slíkum manni sem Ljótr er.’
<Egill svarar>:a ‘Skylt er ﬂat, húsfreyja, fyrir sakir Arinbjarnar frænda ﬂíns,
18 at ek fara <me› Fri›geiri fƒr ﬂessa>,b ef honum ﬂikir sér ﬂat nƒkkut fullting.’‘ﬁá gerir ﬂú vel,’ segir Gy›a, ‘skulu vér ﬂá ganga inn í stufu ok vera ƒll
saman daglangt.’
21 Ganga ﬂeir Egill ﬂá inn í stufu ok drukku; sátu ﬂeir ﬂar um daginn, en um
kveldit kómu vinir Fri›geirs, ﬂeir er til fer›ar váru rá›nir me› honum, ok
var ﬂar fjƒlmennt um nóttina; var ﬂar ﬂá veizla mikil.
24 En eptir um daginn bjósk Fri›geirr til fer›ar ok margt manna me› honum;var ﬂar Egill í fƒr. ﬁá var gott fœrive›r; fara ﬂeir sí›an ok koma í eyna Vƒrl.
ﬁar var fagr vƒllr skammt frá sjónum er hólmstefnan skyldi vera; var ﬂar
27 marka›r hólmsta›r, lag›ir steinar í hring útan um.
Nú kom ﬂar Ljótr me› li› sitt; bjósk hann ﬂá til hólmgƒngu; hann haf›iskjƒld ok sver›. Ljótr var allmikill ma›r ok sterkligr. Ok er hann gekk fram30 á vƒllinn at hólmsta›num ﬂá kom á hann berserksgangr, tók hann ﬂá at grenja
illiliga ok beit í skjƒld sinn.
Fri›geirr var ma›r ekki mikill, grannligr ok frí›r sjónum ok ekki sterkr;
33 haf›i hann ok ekki sta›it í bardƒgum.
Ok er Egill sá <Ljót>c ﬂá kva› hann vísu:
36

37. Era Fri›geiri fœri,fƒrum hólms á vit, sƒrvar,skulum banna mjƒk manni
mey, ørlygi at heyja
a Thus W; Egill s. K.

b Thus K (similar in W).

c Thus K and W; ﬂat M.

EGILS SAGA

119

vi› ﬂann er bítr ok blótarbƒnd élhvƒtu› Gƒndlar,
alfeigum sk‡tr œgiraugum, skjƒld at baugi.

3

Ljótr sá hvar Egill stó› ok heyr›i or› hans ok mælti: ‘Gakk ﬂú hingat, inn
mikli ma›r, á hólminn ok bersk vi› mik, ef ﬂú ert allfúss til, ok reynum me› 6okr; er ﬂat miklu jafnligra en ek berjumk vi› Fri›geir, ﬂví at ek ﬂikjumk eigi
at meiri ma›r, ﬂó at ek leggja hann at jƒr›u.’ﬁá kva› Egill:9
38. Erat lítillar Ljóti,
leik ek vi› hal bleikanvi› bifteini, bœnar,brynju, rétt at synja.
Búumsk til vígs, en væg›ar
ván lætka ek hánum.
Skapa ver›um vit skjaldiskœru, drengr, á Mœri.

12

15

Sí›an bjósk Egill til hólmgƒngu vi› Ljót. Egill haf›i skjƒld ﬂann sem hann 18
var vanr at hafa, en hann var gyr›r sver›i ﬂví er hann kalla›i Na›r, en hann
haf›i Dragvandil í hendi. Hann gekk inn yfir mark ﬂat er hólmstefnan skyldi
vera, en Ljótr var ﬂá eigi búinn. Egill skók sver›it ok kva› vísu:
21

Stanza 37. Era Fri›geiri fœri—fƒrum, sƒrvar, á vit hólms; skulum mjƒk banna
manni mey—at heyja ørlygi vi› ﬂann Gƒndlar élhvƒtu›, er bítr skjƒld at baugi ok
blótar bƒnd; œgir sk‡tr alfeigum augum.
Gƒndul is the name of a valkyrie, her él (storm) is battle, whose hvƒtu›r (inciter)is a warrior.
It is not possible for Fri›geirr—let us, warriors, go to the duelling-field; we will
decisively save the maiden from this man—to fight a battle with this warrior who
bites his shield-rim and worships the gods; the warrior rolls his death-bound eyes.
Stanza 38. Erat rétt at synja Ljóti lítillar bœnar; ek leik vi› bleikan hal vi› bifteini
brynju. Búumsk til vígs, en lætka ek hánum væg›ar ván. Vit ver›um, drengr, skapa
skjaldi skœru á Mœri.
bifteinn brynju, swinging twig of the mailcoat, sword (or spear); skapa skjaldiskœru create a fight for the shield.
It is not right to refuse one little request to Ljótr; I play a game with the palefellow with my sword. Let us prepare for the fight, but I am not going to spare him.
We must, young man, have a fight here in Mœrr.

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3

6

EGILS SAGA

39. Hƒggum hjaltvƒnd, skygg›um,hœfum rƒnd me› brandi,
reynum randar mána,
rjó›um sver› í bló›i.
St‡fum Ljót af lífi,
leikum sárt vi› bleikan,
kyrrum kappa errinn,
komi ƒrn á hræ, járnum.

9 ﬁá kom Ljótr fram á vígvƒllinn ok sí›an rennask ﬂeir at, ok høggr Egill til

Ljóts, en Ljótr brá vi› skildinum, en Egill hjó hvert hƒgg at ƒ›ru svá at Ljótr
fekk ekki hƒggit í móti. Hann hopa›i undan til hƒggrúmsins, en Egill fór
12 jafnskjótt eptir ok hjó sem ákafast. Ljótr fór út um marksteinana ok ví›a umvƒllinn; gekk svá in fyrsta hrí›. ﬁá beiddisk Ljótr hvíldar; Egill lét ﬂat okvera; nema ﬂeir ﬂá sta› ok hvíla sik. ﬁá kva› Egill:
15

18

21

40. Fyrir ﬂiki mér fúra
fleins støkkvandi nøkkut,
hræ›isk hodda bei›ir
happlauss, fara kappi.
Stendrat fast sá er frestar
fleindƒggar stafr hƒggum.
Vábei›an ferr ví›anvƒll fyrir rotnum skalla.

Stanza 39. Hƒggum hjaltvƒnd, hœfum rƒnd me› skygg›um brandi, reynum randarmána, rjó›um sver› í bló›i. St‡fum Ljót af lífi, leikum sárt vi› bleikan, kyrrum
errinn kappa járnum, komi ƒrn á hræ.
hjaltvƒndr, hilt-wand, sword; randar máni, shield’s moon, sword.
Let us strike the sword (i.e. make the swords meet), let us hit the shield with thepolished blade, let us try the sword, let us make it red in blood. Let us kill Ljótr, let
us ill-treat the pallid one, let us make the pugnacious champion quiet with swords,
let the eagle have carrion.
Stanza 40. ﬁiki mér fúra fleins støkkvandi fara nøkkut kappi fyrir, hræ›isk
happlauss hodda bei›ir. Fleindƒggar stafr sá er frestar hƒggum stendrat fast. Vábei›anferr ví›an vƒll fyrir rotnum skalla.
fúrr fleins, fire of the spear (sword), whose støkkvandi (wielder) is a warrior;hodda bei›ir, he who asks for (hoards of) gold, man; fleindƒgg, spear-dew, blood,
whose stafr, post, tree, is a warrior; vábei›a, one who desires trouble or evil, evildoer,
the berserk.
It seems to me that the warrior is rather eager to retreat, the hapless man isfrightened. The warrior who is reluctant to fight does not stand firm. The evil-doerroams over the broad field fleeing from the bald-headed one.

EGILS SAGA

121

ﬁat váru hólmgƒngulƒg í ﬂann tíma at sá er skorar á mann annan til eins
hvers hlutar ok fengi sá sigr er á skora›i ﬂá skyldi sá hafa sigrmál ﬂat er
hann haf›i til skorat. En ef hann fengi ósigr ﬂá skyldi hann leysa sik ﬂvílíku 3
fé sem ákve›it væri. En ef hann felli á hólminum ﬂá haf›i hann fyrirvegit
allri sinni eigu, ok skyldi sá taka arf hans er hann felldi á hólmi. ﬁat váru oklƒg, ef útlendr ma›r anda›isk sá er ﬂar í landi átti engan erfingja, ﬂá gekk sá 6
arfr í konungsgar›.
Egill ba› at <Ljótr>a skyldi búinn ver›a; ‘vil ek at vér b reynim nú hólmgƒngu ﬂessa.’
9
Sí›an hljóp Egill at honum ok hjó til hans; gekk hann ﬂá svá nær honumat hann hrƒkk fyrir ok bar ﬂá skjƒldinn af honum. ﬁá hjó Egill til Ljóts ok
kom á fyrir ofan kné ok tók af fótinn; fell Ljótr ﬂá ok var ﬂegar ørendr. ﬁá 12
gekk Egill ﬂar til er ﬂeir Fri›geirr váru; var ﬂetta verk honum allvel ﬂakkat.
ﬁá kva› Egill:
41. Fell sá er flest it illa,
fót hjó skáld af Ljóti,úlfgrennir hefir unnit;
eir veitta ek Fri›geiri.
Séka ek lóns til launa
logbrjótanda í móti;
jafnt var mér í gn‡ geira
gamanleikr vi› hal bleikan.

15

18

21

Ljótr var lítt harma›r af flestum mƒnnum, ﬂví at hann haf›i verit inn mestióeiruma›r. Hann var svænskr at ætt ok átti engva frændr ﬂar í landi; hann 24
haf›i komit ﬂangat ok aflat sér fjár á hólmgƒngum. Hann haf›i fellt marga
gó›a bœndr ok skorat á›r á ﬂá til hólmgƒngu ok til jar›a ﬂeira ok ó›ala; varﬂá vor›inn stórau›igr bæ›i at lƒndum ok lausaaurum.
27
Egill fór heim me› Fri›geiri af hólmstefnunni; dval›isk hann ﬂar ﬂá litlahrí› á›r hann fór su›r á Mœri. Skil›usk ﬂeir Egill ok Fri›geirr me› miklumkærleik; bau› Egill Fri›geiri um at heimta jar›ir ﬂær er Ljótr haf›i átt. Fór 30
a Thus K and W.

b vit K and W (more likely).

Stanza 41. Fell úlfgrennir sá er hefir unnit flest it illa; skáld hjó fót af Ljóti; veitta
ek Fri›geiri eir. Séka ek til launa lóns logbrjótanda í móti; mér var jafnt gamanleikrvi› bleikan hal í geira gn‡.
úlfgrennir, feeder of wolves, warrior; lóns log, flame of the lagoon, gold, whose
brjótandi (breaker, distributor) is a generous man; geira gn‡r, din of spears, battle.
The warrior who has committed most evil deeds fell; the skald cut the leg off
Ljótr; I granted peace to Fri›geirr. I do not want any reward from the generous man(Fri›geirr) in return. I always enjoyed fighting the pallid man.

122

EGILS SAGA

Egill sína lei›, kom fram í Fjƒr›um; ﬂa›an fór hann inn í Sogn á fund ﬁór›ará Aurlandi. Tók hann vel vi› honum. Bar hann fram erendi sín ok or›3 sendingar Hákonar konungs. Tók ﬁór›r vel rœ›um Egils ok hét honumli›veizlu sinni um ﬂat mál. Dval›isk Egill ﬂar lengi um várit me› ﬁór›i.

67. Af fer›um Egils
6 Egill ger›i fer› sína su›r á Hƒr›aland. Hann haf›i til ﬂeirar <fer›ar> ró›rar-

ferju ok ﬂar á ﬂrjá tigu manna. ﬁeir koma einn dag í Fenhring á Ask; gekk
Egill ﬂar til <bœjar>a me› tuttugu menn, en tíu gættu skips. Atli inn skammi
9 var ﬂar fyrir me› nƒkkura menn. Egill lét hann út kalla ok segja at Egill
Skalla-Grímsson átti erendi vi› hann. Atli tók vápn sín ok allir ﬂeir menn er
ﬂar váru vígir fyrir ok gingu út sí›an.
12 Egill mælti: ‘Svá er mér sagt, Atli, at ﬂú munir hafa at var›veita fé ﬂat er
ek á at réttu ok Ásger›r kona mín; muntu heyrt hafa ﬂar fyrr um rœtt at ek
kalla›a mér arf Bjarnar hƒl›s er Berg-¯nundr bró›ir <ﬂinn> helt fyrir mér.
15 Em ek nú kominn at vitja fjár ﬂess, landa ok lausaaura, ok krefja ﬂik, at ﬂú
látir laust ok grei›ir mér í hendr.’
Atli segir: ‘Lengi hƒfum vér ﬂat heyrt, Egill, at ﬂú sér ójafna›arma›r, en
18 nú mun ek at raun um koma, ef ﬂú ætlar at kalla til ﬂess fjár í hendr mér er
Eiríkr konungr dœm›i <til handa>b ¯nundi bró›ur mínum. Átti Eiríkr konungr
ﬂá at rá›a bo›i ok banni hér í landi. Hug›a ek nú, Egill, at ﬂú mundir fyrir
21 ﬂví hér kominn at bjó›a mér gjƒld fyrir brœ›r mína er ﬂú tókt af lífi, ok ﬂúmundir bœta vilja rán ﬂat er ﬂú ræntir hér á Aski. Munda ek ﬂá veita svƒrﬂessu máli, ef ﬂú flyttir ﬂetta erendi fram, en hér kann ek engu svara.’
24 ‘ﬁat vil ek,’ segir Egill, ‘bjó›a ﬂér sem ek bau› ¯nundi at Gulaﬂingslƒg
skipi um mál okkur; tel ek brœ›r ﬂína hafa fallit ógilda á sjálfra sinna verkum,
ﬂví at ﬂeir hƒf›u á›r rænt mik lƒgum ok landsrétti ok tekit fé mitt at herfangi.
27 Hefi ek til ﬂessa konungsleyfi at leita laga vi› ﬂik um ﬂetta mál; vil ek
stefna ﬂér til Gulaﬂings ok hafa ﬂar lagaórskur› um ﬂetta mál.’‘Koma mun ek,’ segir Atli, ‘til Gulaﬂings ok megu vit ﬂar rœ›a um ﬂessi
30 mál.’Sí›an fór Egill í brott me› fƒruneyti sitt; fór hann ﬂá nor›r í Sogn ok inn
á Aurland til ﬁór›ar mágs síns ok dval›isk ﬂar til Gulaﬂings.
33 Ok er menn kómu til ﬂings ﬂá kom Egill ﬂar; Atli inn skammi var ok ﬂar
kominn. Tóku ﬂeir ﬂá at tala sín mál ok fluttu fram fyrir ﬂeim mƒnnum er
um skyldu dœma. Flutti Egill fram fjárheimtu, en Atli bau› lƒgvƒrn í mót,
36 tylftarei›a, at hann hef›i ekki fé ﬂat at var›veita er Egill ætti.
Ok er Atli gekk at dómum me› ei›ali› sitt ﬂá gekk Egill mót honum <me›sína sveit>c ok segir at eigi vill hann ei›a hans taka fyrir fé sitt; ‘vil ek bjó›aa Thus K; húss W.

b Thus K and W. c Thus W.

EGILS SAGA

123

ﬂér ƒnnur lƒg, ﬂau at vit gangim á hólm hér á ﬂinginu, ok hafi sá fé ﬂetta er
sigr fær.’ﬁat váru ok lƒg er Egill mælti ok forn si›venja at hverjum manni var rétt 3
at skora á annan til hólmgƒngu, hvárt er hann skyldi verja sakir fyrir sik e›asœkja.
Atli sag›i at hann mundi eigi synja at ganga á hólm vi› Egil, ‘ﬂví at ﬂú 6mælir ﬂat er ek ætta at mæla, ﬂví at œrinna harma á ek at hefna á ﬂér. ﬁú
hefir at jƒr›u lagt brœ›r mína tvá ok er mér mikilla muna vant at ek halda
réttu máli, ef ek skal heldr láta lausar eignir mínar aflaga fyrir ﬂér en berjask 9vi› ﬂik er ﬂú b‡›r mér ﬂat.’
Sí›an taka ﬂeir Atli ok Egill hƒndum saman ok festa ﬂat me› sér, at ﬂeir
skulu á hólm ganga ok sá er sigr fær skal eiga jar›ir ﬂær er ﬂeir deildu á›r um. 12
Eptir ﬂat búask ﬂeir til hólmgƒngu; gekk Egill fram ok haf›i hjálm á hƒf›iok skjƒld fyrir sér ok kesju í hendi, en sver›it Dragvandil festi hann vi›hœgri hƒnd sér. ﬁat var si›r hólmgƒngumanna at ﬂurfa ekki at breg›a sver›i 15
sínu á hólmi, láta heldr sver›it hendi fylgja svá at ﬂegar væri sver›it tiltœkt
er hann vildi.
Atli haf›i inn sama búna› sem Egill; hann var vanr hólmgƒngum; hann 18
var sterkr ma›r ok inn mesti fullhugi.aﬁar var leiddr fram gra›ungr mikill ok gamall; var ﬂat kallat blótnaut; ﬂatskyldi sá hƒggva er sigr hef›i. Var ﬂat stundum eitt naut, stundum lét sitt 21
hvárr fram lei›a sá er á hólm gekk.
Ok er ﬂeir váru búnir til hólmgƒngu ﬂá hlaupask ﬂeir at ok skutu fyrst
spjótum ok festi hvártki spjótit í skildi, námu bæ›i í jƒr›u sta›ar. Sí›an taka 24
ﬂeir bá›ir til sver›a sinna, gengusk ﬂá at fast ok hjuggusk til; gekk Atli ekkiá hæl;b ﬂeir hjuggu títt ok hart ok ón‡ttusk skjótt skildirnir. Ok er skjƒldrAtla var mjƒk ón‡ttr ﬂá kasta›i hann honum, tók ﬂá sver›it tveim hƒndum 27
ok hjó sem tí›ast. Egill hjó til hans á ƒxlina ok beit ekki sver›it; hann hjó annat
ok it ﬂri›ja. Var honum ﬂá hœgt at leita hƒggsta›ar á Atla at hann haf›i enga
hlíf. Egill reiddi sver›it af ƒllu afli, en ekki beit hvar sem hann hjó til.
30
Sér ﬂá Egill at eigi mun hl‡›a svá búit, ﬂví at skjƒldr hans ger›isk ﬂáón‡tr. ﬁá lét Egill laust sver›it ok skjƒldinn ok hljóp at Atla ok greip hannhƒndum. Kenndi ﬂá aflsmunar ok fell Atli á bak aptr, en Egill greyf›isk at 33
ni›r ok beit í sundr í honum barkann; lét Atli ﬂar líf sitt.
Egill hljóp upp skjótt ok ﬂar til er blótnautit stó›, greip annarri hendi í
granarnar, en annarri í hornit ok snara›i svá at fœtr vissu upp <á gra›ung- 36
num>c en í sundr hálsbeinit. Sí›an gekk Egill ﬂar til er stó› fƒruneyti hans.
ﬁá kva› Egill:a K adds: hann var ok mjƒk fjƒlkunnigr (similar in W).

Atli hvergi fyrir Egli W.

c Thus W; á gri›unginum K.

b gekk – hæl] ok hopar

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6

EGILS SAGA

42. Beitat nú sá er brug›um,
blár Dragvandill randir,
af ﬂví at eggjar deyf›iAtli fram inn skammi.
Neytta ek afls vi› ‡tiƒrmálgastan hjƒrva.
Jaxlbró›ur lét ek ey›a
ek bar sau› me› nau›um.

9 Sí›an eigna›isk Egill jar›ir ﬂær allar er hann haf›i til deilt ok hann kalla›iat Ásger›r kona hans hef›i átt at taka eptir fƒ›ur sinn. Ekki er getit at ﬂá yr›ifleira til tí›enda á ﬂví ﬂingi. Egill fór ﬂá fyrst inn í Sogna ok skipa›i jar›ir
12 ﬂær er hann haf›i ﬂá fengit at eiginor›i. Dval›isk hann ﬂar mjƒk lengi um
várit. Sí›an fór hann me› fƒruneyti sitt austr í Vík; fór hann ﬂá á fundﬁorsteins ok var ﬂar um hrí›.
15

68. Útkváma Egils

Egill bjó skip sitt um sumarit ok fórb ﬂegar hann var búinn. Hann helt tilÍslands; honum fórsk vel. Helt hann til Borgarfjar›ar ok kom skipinu skammt
18 frá bœ sínum; lét hann flytja heim varning sinn, en setti upp skipit. Var Egill
vetr ﬂann at búi sínu. Egill haf›i nú út haft allmikit fé; var hann ma›r
stórau›igr; hann haf›i mikit bú ok risuligt.
21 Ekki var Egill íhlutunarsamr um mál manna ok ótilleitinn vi› flesta mennﬂá er hann var hér á landi; ger›usk menn ok ekki til ﬂess at sitja yfir hlut
hans. Egill var ﬂá at búi sínu svá at ﬂat skipti vetrum eigi allfám.
24 Egill ok Ásger›r áttu bƒrn ﬂau er nefnd eru: Bƒ›varr hét son ﬂeira, annarr
Gunnarr, ﬁorger›r dóttir ok Bera; ﬁorsteinn var yngstr. ¯ll váru bƒrn Egils
mannvæn ok vel viti borin; ﬁorger›r var elzt barna Egils, Bera ﬂar næst.
a W adds: til ﬁór›ar (sc. Brynjólfssonar).

b sigldi á haf K and W.

Stanza 42. Beitat nú randir blár Dragvandill, sá er brug›um, af ﬂví at Atli inn
skammi deyf›i eggjar fram. Ek neytta afls vi› ƒrmálgastan hjƒrva ‡ti. Ek lét jaxlbró›urey›a ek bar sau› me› nau›um.
randir is adopted from K as it fits better metrically than unda (M and W). On theother hand, randir does not agree with the story in the prose; hjƒrva ‡tir, pusher ofswords, i.e. a warrior; jaxlbró›ir, brother of the molar, tooth; ek bar sau› is most
likely correctly explaned as the equivalent of bark á (acc. of ær f. ewe), a punning
substitution for barka (acc. of barki m. windpipe), i.e. an intricate case of ofljóst(word-play, punning); cf. Jón Helgason, 1955.
The blue Dragvandill which I drew did not bite the shields just now, because Atliinn skammi kept making the edges blunt (by witchcraft). I used force against themost loquacious warrior. I was compelled to make my tooth bite through his throat.

EGILS SAGA

125

69. Útanfer› Egils
Egill spur›i ﬂau tí›endi austan um haf at Eiríkr bló›øx hef›i fallit í vestrvíking, en Gunnhildr ok synir ﬂeira váru farin til Danmerkr su›r, ok brottu 3
var af Englandi ﬂat li› allt er ﬂeim Eiríki haf›i ﬂangat fylgt. Arinbjƒrn var
ﬂá kominn til Nóregs; haf›i hann fengit veizlur sínar ok eignir ﬂær <er>hann haf›i átt, ok var kominn í kærleika mikla vi› <Hákon>a konung. ﬁótti 6
Agli ﬂá enn f‡siligt gerask at fara til Nóregs. ﬁat fylg›i ok tí›endasƒgu atA›alsteinn konungr var anda›r; ré› ﬂá fyrir Englandi bró›ir hans Játmundr.
Egill bjó ﬂá skip sitt ok ré› háseta til. ¯nundr sjóni rézk ﬂar til, son Ána 9
frá Ánabrekku. ¯nundr var mikill ok ﬂeira manna sterkastr er ﬂá váru ﬂar í
sveit; eigi var um ﬂat einmælt at hann væri eigi hamrammr.b ¯nundr haf›i
opt verit í fƒrum landa í milli. Hann var nƒkkuru ellri en Egill; me› ﬂeim 12
haf›i lengi verit vingott.
Ok er Egill var búinn lét hann í haf ok greiddisk ﬂeira fer› vel; kómu at
mi›jum Nóregi. Ok er ﬂeir sá land stefndu ﬂeir inn í Fjƒr›u. Ok er ﬂeir 15
fengu tí›endi af landi var ﬂeim sagt at Arinbjƒrn var heima at búum sínum;heldr Egill ﬂangat skipi sínu í hƒfn sem næst bœ Arinbjarnar.
Sí›an fór Egill at finna Arinbjƒrn ok var› ﬂar fagnafundr mikill me› ﬂeim; 18bau› <Arinbjƒrn>c Agli ﬂangat til vistar ok fƒruneyti hans ﬂví er hann vildi
at ﬂangat fœri. Egill ﬂekk›isk ﬂat ok lét rá›a skipi sínu til hlunns, en hásetar
vistu›usk; Egill fór til Arinbjarnar ok ﬂeir tólf saman. Egill haf›i látit gera 21
langskipssegl mjƒk vandat; segl ﬂat gaf hann Arinbirni ok enn fleiri gjafirﬂær er sendiligar váru. Var Egill ﬂar um vetrinn í gó›u yfirlæti.
Egill fór um vetrinn su›r í Sogn at landskyldum sínum; dval›isk ﬂar mjƒk 24
lengi; sí›an fór hann nor›r í Fjƒr›u.
Arinbjƒrn haf›i jólabo› mikit, bau› til sín vinum sínum ok hera›sbóndum;
var ﬂar fjƒlmenni mikit ok veizla gó›. Hann gaf Agli at jólagjƒf slœ›ur 27
gervar af silki ok gullsauma›ar mjƒk, settar fyrir allt gullknƒppum í gegnumni›r; Arinbjƒrn haf›i látit gera klæ›i ﬂat vi› vƒxt Egils <á Englandi>.a
Arinbjƒrn gaf Agli alklæ›na› n‡skorinn at jólum; váru ﬂar skorin í ensk 30
klæ›i me› mƒrgum litum. Arinbjƒrn gaf margs konar vingjafir um jólin
ﬂeim mƒnnum er hann hƒf›u heimsótt, ﬂví at Arinbjƒrn var allra mannaƒrvastr ok mestr skƒrungr. ﬁá orti Egill vísu:
33
43. Sjálfrá›i lét slœ›ursilki drengr of fengit
gullknappa›ar greppi;
36
get ek aldri vin betra.
a Thus W. b eigi – hamrammr] ok var ﬂat margra manna mál at hann væri eigi

einhamr W (similar in K); both readings mean he was commonly believed to be aberserk. c Thus K and W.

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Arinbjƒrn hefir árnat
eirarlaust e›a meira,sí› man seggr of fœ›ask
slíkr, oddvita ríki.

70. Ógle›i Egils
6 Egill fekk ógle›i mikla eptir jólin svá at hann kva› eigi or›; ok er Arinbjƒrn

fann ﬂat ﬂá tók hann rœ›u vi› Egil ok spur›i hverju ﬂat gegndi, ógle›i sú er
hann haf›i.
9 ‘Vil ek,’ segir hann, ‘at ﬂú látir mik vita hvárt ﬂú ert sjúkr e›a berr annat
til; megum vér ﬂá bœtr á <vinna>.’a
Egill segir: ‘Engar hefi ek kvellisóttir, en áhyggjur hefi ek miklar um ﬂat
12 hversu ek skal ná fé ﬂví er ek vann til ﬂá er ek fellda Ljót inn bleika nor›r áMœri. Mér er sagt at ármenn konungs hafi ﬂat fé allt upp tekit ok kastat á
konungs eigu. Nú vil ek ﬂar til hafa ﬂitt li›sinni um ﬂessa fjárheimtu.’
15 Arinbjƒrn segir: ‘Ekki ætla ek ﬂat fjarri lands lƒgum at ﬂú eigna›isk fé
ﬂat, en ﬂó ﬂiki mér nú féit fastliga komit; er konungsgar›r rúmr inngangs,
en ﬂrƒngr brottfarar. Hafa oss or›it margar torsóttar fjárheimtur vi› ofreflis18 mennina ok sátu vér ﬂá í meira trausti vi› konung en nú er, ﬂví at vinátta
okkur Hákonar konungs stendr grunnt, ﬂó at ek ver›a svá at gera sem
fornkve›it or› er, at ﬂá ver›r eik at fága er undir skal búa.’
21 ‘ﬁar leikr ﬂó minn hugr á,’ segir Egill, ‘ef vér hƒfum lƒg at mæla, at vér
freistim. Má svá vera at konungr unni oss hér af rétts,1 ﬂví at mér er sagt at
konungr sé ma›r réttlátr ok haldi vel lƒg ﬂau er hann setr hér í landi. Telsk mér
24 ﬂat helzt í hug at ek muna fara á fund konungs ok freista ﬂessa mála vi› hann.’
Arinbjƒrn segir at hann var ekki fúss ﬂess; ‘ﬂiki mér sem ﬂví muni óhœgt
saman at koma, Egill, kappi ﬂínu ok dirf›, en skaplyndi konungs ok ríki
27 hans, ﬂví at ek hygg hann vera engan vin ﬂinn ok ﬂikja honum ﬂó sakir tilvera. Vil ek heldr at vit látim ﬂetta mál ni›r falla ok hefim eigi upp; en ef ﬂúvill ﬂat, Egill, ﬂá skal ek heldr fara á fund konungs me› ﬂessi málaleitan.’
30 Egill segir at hann kynni ﬂess mikla ﬂƒkk ok aufúsu ok hann vill ﬂenna
kost gjarna. Hákon var ﬂá á Rogalandi, en stundum á Hƒr›alandi; var› ekki
torsótt at sœkja hans fund. Var ﬂat ok eigi miklu sí›ar en rœ›an haf›i verit.
a Thus K (W not comparable).
1 Cf. K: mun konungr unna oss ﬂess sem rétt er.

Stanza 43. Drengr lét of fengit sjálfrá›i greppi gullknappa›ar silkislœ›ur; get ek
aldri betra vin. Arinbjƒrn hefr eirarlaust árnat oddvita ríki e›a meira; sí› man slíkr
seggr of fœ›ask.
The worthy man gave the skald willingly a gold-buttoned silken gown; I will never
get a better friend. Arinbjƒrn has determinedly earned a prince’s domain or more; noman like him will ever be born again (‘a prince’s domain’ is guesswork for oddvita ríki).

EGILS SAGA

127

Arinbjƒrn bjó fer› sína; var ﬂat ﬂá gert ljóst fyrir mƒnnum at hann ætla›i til
konungs fundar; skipa›i hann húskƒrlum sínum tvítugsessu er hann átti.
Egill skyldi heima vera; vildi Arinbjƒrn eigi at hann fœri. Fór Arinbjƒrn ﬂá 3
er hann var búinn ok fórsk honum vel. Fann hann Hákon konung ok fekk
ﬂar gó›ar vi›tƒkur.
Ok er hann haf›i litla hrí› dvalizk ﬂar, bar hann upp erendi sín vi› konung 6
ok segir at Egill Skalla-Grímsson er ﬂar kominn til lands ok hann ﬂóttisk
eiga fé ﬂat allt er átt haf›i Ljótr inn bleiki. ‘Er oss svá sagt, konungr, at Egill
muni lƒg mæla um ﬂetta, en féit hafa tekit upp ármenn y›rir ok kastat á 9y›varri eigu; vil ek y›r ﬂess bi›ja, herra, at Egill nái ﬂar af lƒgum.’Konungr svarar hans máli ok tók seint til or›a: ‘Eigi veit ek hví ﬂú gengrme› slíku máli fyrir hƒnd Egils. Kom hann eitt sinn á minn fund ok sag›a 12
ek honum at ek ekki vilda hér í landi vistir hans af ﬂeim sƒkum sem y›r er
á›r kunnigt. Nú ﬂarf Egill ekki at hefja upp slíkt tilkall vi› mik sem vi›
Eirík bró›ur minn. En ﬂér, Arinbjƒrn, er ﬂat at segja at ﬂú skalt <ﬂá eina> 15
stunda vera hér í landi at ﬂú metir eigi meira útlenda menn en mik e›a mínor›, ﬂví at ek veit at hugir ﬂínir standa ﬂar til er Haraldr er Eiríksson, fóstrson
ﬂinn, ok er ﬂér sá kostr beztr at fara til fundar vi› ﬂá brœ›r ok vera me› 18
ﬂeim, ﬂví at mér er mikill grunr á at <mér>b muni slíkir menn illir tiltaks, ef
ﬂat ﬂarf at reyna um skipti vár sona Eiríks.’Ok er konungr tók ﬂessu máli svá ﬂvert, ﬂá sá Arinbjƒrn at ekki mundi tjá 21
at leita ﬂeira mála vi› hann; bjósk hann ﬂá til heimfer›ar. Konungr var heldr
styggr ok óblí›r til Arinbjarnar sí›an hann vissi erendi hans. Arinbjƒrn haf›iﬂá ok ekki skaplyndi til at mjúklæta sik vi› konung um ﬂetta mál; skil›usk 24
ﬂeir vi› svá búit. Fór Arinbjƒrn heim ok sag›i Agli erendislok sín; ‘mun ek
eigi slíkra mála optar leita vi› konung.’
Egill var› allófr‡nn vi› ﬂessa sƒgn, ﬂóttisk ﬂar mikils fjár missa ok eigi at 27
réttu. Fám dƒgum sí›ar var ﬂat snemma einn morgin ﬂá er Arinbjƒrn var íherbergi sínu—var ﬂar ﬂá ekki margt manna—ﬂá lét hann kalla ﬂangat Egil,
ok er hann kom ﬂar ﬂá lét Arinbjƒrn lúka upp kistu ok reiddi ﬂar ór fjóra tigu 30
marka silfrs ok mælti svá:‘ﬁetta fé geld ek ﬂér, Egill, fyrir jar›ir ﬂær er Ljótr inn bleiki haf›i átt.
ﬁiki mér ﬂat sannligt at ﬂú hafir ﬂessi laun af okr Fri›geiri frændum fyrir ﬂat 33
er ﬂú leystir líf hans af Ljóti, en ek veit at ﬂú lézt mín at njóta.1 Em ek ﬂvískyldr at láta ﬂik eigi lƒgræning af ﬂví máli.’36
Egill tók vi› fénu ok ﬂakka›i Arinbirni; ger›isk Egill ﬂá enn einteiti.
a skalt . . . stund, an uncertain reading of faded letters; cf. K: skalt ﬂá eina stund,and W: skalt ﬂær einar stundir.

b Thus K and W.

1 Cf. 118/17–18, where Egill says: Skylt er ﬂat, húsfreyja, fyrir sakir Arinbjarnarfrænda ﬂíns, at ek fara.

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71. Frá Arinbirni a
Arinbjƒrn var ﬂenna vetr heima at búum sínum, en eptir um várit l‡sti hann
3 yfir ﬂví at hann ætlar at fara í víking. Arinbjƒrn haf›i skipakost gó›an; bjó

hann um várit ﬂrjú langskip ok ƒll stór; hann haf›i ﬂrjú hundru› manna.
Haf›i hann húskarla á skipi sínu ok var ﬂat allvel skipat. Hann haf›i ok
6 marga bóndasonu me› sér. Egill rézk til farar me› honum; st‡r›i hann skipi
ok fór me› honum margt af fƒruneyti ﬂví er hann haf›i haft me› sér afÍslandi. En kaupskip ﬂat er Egill haf›i haft af Íslandi lét hann flytja austr í
9 Vík; fekk hann ﬂar manna til at fara me› varna› sinn. En ﬂeir Arinbjƒrn ok
Egill heldu langskipunum su›r me› landi; sí›an stefndu ﬂeir li›inu su›r til
Saxlands ok herju›u ﬂar um sumarit ok fengu sér fé. En er hausta tók heldub
12 ﬂeir nor›r aptr ok lágu vi› Frísland.
Einhverja nótt ﬂá er ve›r var kyrrt lƒg›u ﬂeir upp í mó›u eina, ﬂar er illt
<var>c til hafna ok útfiri mikil. ﬁar váru á land upp sléttur miklar ok skammt
15 til skógar. ﬁar váru vellir blautir, ﬂví at regn hƒf›u verit mikil. ﬁar ré›u ﬂeir
til uppgƒngu ok létu eptir ﬂri›jung li›s at gæta skipa; ﬂeir gingu upp me›ánni, milli ok skógarins. ﬁá var› brátt fyrir ﬂeim ﬂorp eitt ok bygg›u ﬂar
18 margir bœndr. Li›it rann ór ﬂorpinu á landit ﬂar er mátti, ﬂegar er vart var›vi› herinn, en víkingar sóttu eptir ﬂeim. Var ﬂá sí›an annat ﬂorp ok it ﬂri›ja;li›it fl‡›i allt ﬂat er ﬂví kom vi›. ﬁar var jafnlendi ok sléttur miklar; díki
21 váru skorin ví›a um landit ok stó› í vatn. Hƒf›u ﬂeir lukt um akra sína okeng, en í sumum stƒ›um váru settir staurar stórir yfir díkin ﬂar er fara skyldi;váru brúar ok lag›ir yfir vi›ir.
24 Landsfólkit fl‡›i í mƒrkina; en er víkingar váru komnir langt í bygg›ina
ﬂá sƒfnu›usk Frísir saman í skóginum, ok er ﬂeir hƒf›u aukin ﬂrjú hundru›
manna ﬂá stefna ﬂeir í móti víkingum ok rá›a til orrostu vi› ﬂá. Var› ﬂar
27 har›r bardagi, en svá lauk at Frísir fl‡›u, en víkingar ráku flóttann; dreif›iskbœjarli›it ví›s vegar, ﬂat er undan fór; ger›u ﬂeir ok svá er eptir fóru; komﬂá svá at fáir fóru hvárir saman.
30 Egill sótti ﬂá hart eptir ﬂeim ok fáir menn me› honum, en mjƒk margir
fóru undan. Kómu Frísir ﬂar at er díki var fyrir ﬂeim ok fóru ﬂar yfir; sí›antóku ﬂeir af bryggjuna.d ﬁá koma ﬂeir Egill at ƒ›rum megin; ré› Egill ﬂegar
33 til ok hljóp yfir díkit, en ﬂat var ekki annarra manna hlaup, enda ré› ok engi
til. Ok er Frísir sá ﬂat ﬂá sœkja ﬂeir at honum, en hann var›isk. ﬁá sóttu athonum ellifu menn, en svá lauk ﬂeira vi›skiptum at hann felldi ﬂá alla.
36 Eptir ﬂat skaut Egill yfir brúnni ok fór ﬂá aptr yfir díkit; sá hann ﬂá at li›
ﬂeira allt haf›i snúit til skipanna. Hann var ﬂá staddr nær skóginum; sí›ana Heading from W.
d brúna K and W.

b Thus K and W; herju›u M (dittography).

c Thus K and W.

EGILS SAGA

129

fór Egill fram me› skóginum ok svá til skipanna at hann átti kost skógarins
ef hann ﬂyrfti.
Víkingar hƒf›u haft mikit herfang ofan ok strandhƒgg ok er ﬂeir kómu til 3
skipanna hjuggu sumir búféit, sumir fluttu út á skipin fen<g>a ﬂeira, sumir
stó›u fyrir ofan í skjaldborg, ﬂví at Frísir váru ofan komnir ok hƒf›u mikitli› ok skutu á ﬂá; hƒf›u Frísir ﬂá a›ra fylking. Ok er Egill kom ofan ok hann 6
sá hvat títt var ﬂá rann hann at sem snarast ﬂar sem múginn stó›; haf›i hannkesjuna fyrir sér ok tók hana tveim hƒndum, en kasta›i skildinum á bak sér.
Hann lag›i fram kesjunni ok stƒkk frá allt ﬂat er fyrir stó› ok gafsk honum 9
svá rúm fram í gegnum fylkingina; sótti hann svá ofan til manna sinna;ﬂóttusk ﬂeir hafa hann ór helju heimtan.
Ganga ﬂeir sí›an á skip sín ok heldu brott frá landi. Sigldu ﬂeir ﬂá til 12
Danmerkr; ok er ﬂeir koma til Limafjar›ar ok lágu at Hálsi ﬂá átti Arinbjƒrn
húsﬂing vi› li› sitt ok sag›i mƒnnum fyrirætlan sína.
‘Nú mun ek,’ sag›i hann, ‘leita á fund Eiríkssona vi› li› ﬂat er mér vill 15
fylgja. Ek hefi nú spurt at ﬂeir brœ›r eru hér í Danmƒrku ok halda sveitir
stórar ok eru á sumrum í herna›i, en sitja á vetrum hér í Danmƒrk. Vil ek nú
gefa leyfi ƒllum mƒnnum at fara til Nóregs, ﬂeim er ﬂat vilja heldr en fylgja 18
mér; s‡nisk mér ﬂat rá›, Egill, at ﬂú snúir aptr til Nóregs ok leitir enn sem
brá›ast til Íslands út ﬂegar vit skiljumsk.’
Sí›an skiptusk menn á skipunum; ré›usk ﬂeir til Egils er aptr vildu fara til 21
Nóregs, en hitt var meiri hluti li›s miklu er fylg›i Arinbirni. Skil›usk ﬂeir
Arinbjƒrn ok Egill me› blí›u ok vináttu; fór Arinbjƒrn á fund Eiríkssona okí sveit me› Haraldi gráfeld fóstrsyni sínum ok var sí›an me› honum me›an 24
ﬂeir lif›u bá›ir.
Egill fór nor›r í Víkina ok helt inn í Óslóarfjƒr›. Var ﬂar fyrir kaupskip
hans ﬂat er hann haf›i látit flytja su›r um várit; ﬂar var ok varna›r hans ok 27
sveitungar ﬂeir er me› skipinu hƒf›u farit.
ﬁorsteinn ﬁóruson kom á fund Egils ok bau› honum me› sér at vera um
vetrinn ok ﬂeim mƒnnum er hann vildi me› sér hafa. Egill ﬂekk›isk ﬂat, lét 30
upp setja skip sín ok fœra varna› til sta›ar. En li› ﬂat er honum fylg›ivista›isk ﬂar sumt, en sumir fóru nor›r í land ﬂar er ﬂeir áttu heimili. Egill
ferr til ﬁorsteins ok váru ﬂar saman tíu e›a tólf; var Egill ﬂar um vetrinn í 33
gó›um fagna›i.

a feng, an emendation for fen, suggested by Jón Helgason as a more probablereading in this context than fén (earlier editors). A missing last letter (even letters)
is rather common in M. K and W not comparable.

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72. Sendifer› til Vermalands
Haraldr konungr inn hárfagri haf›i lagt undir sik austr Vermaland.a Vermaland
3 haf›i unnit fyrstr Óláfr trételgja, fa›ir Hálfdanar hvítbeins, er fyrst var
konungr í Nóregi sinna kynsmanna, en Haraldr konungr var ﬂa›an kominn
at langfe›gatali ok hƒf›u ﬂeir allir langfe›gar rá›it fyrir Vermalandi ok tekit
6 skatta af, en setta menn yfir til landsgæzlu.
Ok er Haraldr konungr var gamall vor›inn ﬂá ré› fyrir Vermalandi jarl sá
er Arnfi›r hét. Var ﬂar ﬂá sem mjƒk ví›a annars sta›ar at skattar greiddusk
9 verr b en ﬂá er Haraldr konungr var á léttasta skei›i aldrs, svá ok ﬂá er synir
Haralds deildu um ríki í Nóregi; var ﬂá lítt sét eptir um skattlƒndin ﬂau er
fjarri lágu. En ﬂá er Hákon <konungr>c sat í fri›i ﬂá leita›i hann eptir um ríki
12 ﬂat allt er Haraldr fa›ir hans haf›i haft.
Hákon konungr haf›i sent menn austr á Vermaland tólf saman; hƒf›u ﬂeir
fengit skatt af jarlinum; ok er ﬂeir fóru aptr um Ei›askóg ﬂá kómu at ﬂeim
15 stigamenn ok drápu ﬂá alla. Á sƒmu lei› fór um a›ra sendimenn er Hákon
konungr sendi austr á Vermaland at menn váru drepnir, en fé kom eigi aptr.
Var ﬂat ﬂá sumra manna mál at Arnvi›r jarl mundi setja menn sína til at
18 drepa menn konungsins, en hafa <féit> at fœra jarlinum.
ﬁá sendir Hákon konungr ina ﬂri›ju menn; var hann ﬂá í ﬁrándheimi; okskyldu ﬂeir fara í Vík austr til fundar vi› ﬁorstein ﬁóruson me› ﬂeim or›um
21 at hann skyldi fara austr á Vermaland at heimta skatta konungi til handa, enat ƒ›rum kosti skyldi ﬁorsteinn fara ór landi,d ﬂví at konungr haf›i ﬂá spurt
at Arinbjƒrn mó›urbró›ir hans var kominn su›r til Danmerkr ok var me›
24 Eiríkssonum, ﬂat ok me› at ﬂeir hƒf›u ﬂar miklar sveitir ok váru í herna›ium sumrum. ﬁótti Hákoni konungi ﬂeir allir saman ekki trúligir, ﬂví at honumvar ván ófri›ar af Eiríkssonum, ef ﬂeir hef›i styrk nƒkkurn til ﬂess at gera
27 uppreist móti Hákoni konungi. ﬁá ger›i <hann> til allra frænda Arinbjarnar
ok mága e›a vina, rak hann ﬂá marga ór landi e›a ger›i ﬂeim a›ra afarkosti.
Kom ﬂat ok ﬂar fram er ﬁorsteinn var, at konungr ger›i fyrir ﬂá sƒk <mest
30 vi› hann>e ﬂetta kostabo›.
Ma›r sá er erendi ﬂetta bar <hét Kolr>;f hann var allra landa ma›r, haf›iverit lƒngum í Danmƒrk ok í Svíaveldi. Var honum ﬂar allt kunnigt fyrir,
33 bæ›i um lei›ir ok mannadeili; hann haf›i ok ví›a farit um Nóreg. Ok erhann bar ﬂetta mál ﬁorsteini ﬁórusyni, ﬂá segir ﬁorsteinn Agli me› hverjum
erendum ﬂessir menn fóru ok spur›i hversu svara skyldi.g
a W omits austr and adds: Hann haf›i ﬂá ríki austr til Vænis.

b Here many leaves

are missing in W. The lacuna is filled from the parallel W-text in AM 463 4to. c Thus
K. d Nóregi af eignum sínum K. e Thus K. f Thus K (similar in W). g K adds: sag›i
sér mikit ﬂikja at láta eignir sínar allar ok vera rekinn ór landi (similar in W).

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131

Egill segir: ‘Au›sætt lízk mér um or›sending ﬂessa at konungr vill ﬂik ór
landi sem a›ra frændr Arinbjarnar, ﬂví at ﬂetta kalla ek forsending svá gƒfgum
manni sem ﬂú ert.a Er ﬂat mitt rá› er ﬂú kallir til tals vi› ﬂik sendimenn 3
konungs ok vil ek vera vi› rœ›u y›ra; sjám ﬂá hvat í gerisk.’ﬁorsteinn ger›i sem hann mælti, kom ﬂeim í talit; sƒg›u ﬂá sendimenn
allt it sanna frá erendum sínum ok or›sending konungs at ﬁorsteinn skyldi 6
fara ﬂessa sendifƒr, en vera útlægr at ƒ›rum kosti. ﬁá segir Egill:‘Sé ek gerla um erendi y›vart; ef ﬁorsteinn vill eigi fara ﬂá munu ﬂér faraskulu at heimta skattinn.’9
Sendimenn sƒg›u at hann gat rétt. <Egill mælti>:b‘Eigi mun ﬁorsteinn fara ﬂessa fer›, ﬂví at hann er ekki ﬂess skyldr, svágƒfugr ma›r, at fara svá órífligar sendifer›ir. En hitt mun ﬁorsteinn gera, er 12hann er til skyldr, at fylgja konungi innan lands ok útan lands, ef konungr vill
ﬂess krefja. Svá ok ef ﬂér vili› nƒkkura menn hafa he›an til ﬂessar fer›ar, ﬂá
mun y›r ﬂat heimult ok allan farargrei›a ﬂann er ﬂér vili› ﬁorsteini til segja.’ 15
Sí›an tƒlu›u sendimenn sín í milli ok kom ﬂat ásamt me› ﬂeim <at ﬂeir
skyldi ﬂenna kost upp taka>,b ef Egill vildi fara í fer›ina. ‘Er konungi,’sƒg›u ﬂeir, ‘allilla til hans ok mun honum ﬂikja vár fer› allgó›, ef vér komum 18
ﬂví til lei›ar at hann sé drepinn; má hann ﬂá reka ﬁorstein ór landi, ef honum
líkar.’
Sí›an segja ﬂeir ﬁorsteini at ﬂeir láta sér líka, ef Egill ferr ok siti ﬁorsteinn 21
heima.
‘ﬁat skal ﬂá vera,’ segir Egill, ‘at ek mun ﬁorstein undan fer› ﬂessi <leysa>,be›a hversu marga menn ﬂikizk ﬂér ﬂurfa he›an at hafa?’
24‘Vér erum saman átta,’ sƒg›u ﬂeir, ‘viljum vér at he›an fari fjórir menn;
eru vér ﬂá tólf.’Egill segir at svá skyldi vera.
27¯nundr sjóni ok ﬂeir nƒkkurir sveitungar Egils hƒf›u farit út til sjóvar at
sjá um skip ﬂeira ok annan varna› er ﬂeir hƒf›u selt til var›veizlu um haustit,
ok kómu ﬂeir eigi heim. ﬁótti Agli ﬂat mikit mein, ﬂví at konungsmenn létu 30
ó›liga um fer›ina ok vildu ekki bí›a.

73. Vermalandsfer›
Egill bjósk til fer›ar ok ﬂrír menn a›rir hans fƒrunautar; hƒf›u ﬂeir hesta ok 33
sle›a svá sem konungsmenn; ﬂá váru snjóvar miklir ok breyttir vegir allir.
Rá›a ﬂeir til fer›ar er ﬂeir váru búnir ok óku upp á land, ok er ﬂeir sóttu
austr til Ei›a<skógs>,b ﬂá var ﬂat á einni nótt at fell snjár mikill svá at ógerla 36
sá veguna. Fórsk ﬂeim ﬂá seint um daginn eptir, ﬂví at kafhlaup váru ﬂegar
a K adds: ﬂví at ﬂeir hafa enn øngvir aptr komit er ﬂessa fer› skyldu farit hafa.
b Thus K and W.

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EGILS SAGA

af fór veginum. Ok er á lei› daginn dvƒl›usk ﬂeir ok á›u hestum sínum. ﬁarvar nær skógarháls einn.
3 ﬁá mæltu ﬂeir vi› Egil: ‘Nú skiljask hér vegar, en hér fram undan hálsinumb‡r bóndi sá er heitir Arnaldr, vinr várr; munu vér fƒrunautar fara ﬂangat til
gistingar, en ﬂér skulu› fara hér upp á hálsinn, ok ﬂá er ﬂér komi› ﬂar mun
6 brátt ver›a fyrir y›r bœr mikill ok er y›r ﬂar vís gisting. ﬁar b‡r stórau›igr
ma›r er heitir Ármó›r skegg. En á morgin árdegis skulu vér hittask ok faraannat kveld til Ei›askógs; ﬂar b‡r gó›r bóndi er ﬁorfinnr heitir.’
9 Sí›an skiljask ﬂeir. Fara ﬂeir Egill upp á hálsinn, en frá konungsmƒnnum
er ﬂat at segja at ﬂegar er s‡n fal í milli ﬂeira Egils ﬂá tóku ﬂeir skí› sín er
ﬂeir hƒf›u haft ok stigu ﬂar á; létu sí›an ganga aptr á lei› sem ﬂeir máttu.
12 Fóru ﬂeir nótt ok dag ok sneru til Upplanda ok ﬂa›an nor›r um Dofrafjall ok
léttu eigi fyrr en ﬂeir kómu á fund Hákonar konungs ok sƒg›u um sína fer›
sem farit haf›i.
15 Egill ok fƒrunautar hans fóru um kveldit yfir hálsinn. Var ﬂat ﬂar skjótast
af at segja at ﬂeir fóru ﬂegar af veginum; var snjórinn mikill; lágu hestarnirá kafi annat skei› svá at draga var› upp. ﬁar váru kleifar ok kjarrskógar
18 nƒkkurir, en um kjƒrrin ok kleifarnar var alltorsótt; var ﬂeim ﬂá seinkan
mikil at hestunum, en mannfœr›in var in ﬂyngsta. Mœddusk ﬂeir ﬂá mjƒk,en ﬂó kómusk ﬂeir af hálsinum ok sá ﬂá fyrir sér bœ mikinn ok sóttu ﬂangat
21 til; ok er ﬂeir kómu í túnit ﬂá sá ﬂeir at ﬂar stó›u menn úti, Ármó›r ok
sveinar hans. Kƒstu›usk ﬂeir or›um á ok spur›usk tí›enda; ok er Ármó›rvissi at ﬂeir váru sendimenn konungs ﬂá bau› hann ﬂeim ﬂar gisting. ﬁeir
24 ﬂekk›usk ﬂat. Tóku húskarlar Ármó›s vi› hestum ﬂeira ok rei›a, en bóndi
ba› <ﬂá>a Egil ganga inn í stufu ok ﬂeir ger›u svá. Ármó›r setti Egil í ƒndvegi
á inn óœ›ra bekk ok ﬂar fƒrunauta hans útar frá.
27 ﬁeir rœddu margt um hversu erfilliga ﬂeir hƒf›u farit um kveldit, enheimamƒnnum ﬂótti mikit undr er ﬂeir hƒf›u fram komizk ok sƒg›u at ﬂarværi engum manni fœrt ﬂó at snjólaust væri.
30 ﬁá mælti Ármó›r: ‘ﬁikir y›r eigi sá beini beztr at y›r sé bor› sett ok
gefinn náttver›r, en sí›an fari ﬂér at sofa? Munu ﬂér ﬂá hvílask bezt.’‘ﬁat líkar oss allvel,’ segir Egill.
33 Ármó›r lét ﬂá setja ﬂeim bor›, en sí›an váru settir fram stórir askar fullir
af skyri. ﬁá lét Ármó›r at honum ﬂœtti ﬂat illa er hann haf›i eigi mungát at
gefa ﬂeim. ﬁeir Egill váru mjƒk ﬂyrstir af mœ›i; tóku ﬂeir upp askana ok
36 drukku ákaft skyrit ok ﬂó Egill miklu mest. Engi kom ƒnnur vistin fram.
ﬁar var margt hjóna; húsfreyja sat á ﬂverpalli ok ﬂar konur hjá henni;
dóttir bónda var á gólfinu, tíu vetra e›a ellifu. Húsfreyja kalla›i hana til sín ok
39 mælti í eyra henni; sí›an fór mærin útar fyrir bor›it ﬂar er Egill sat. Hon kva›:a Thus K and W.

EGILS SAGA

133

44. ﬁví sendi mín mó›ir
mik vi› ﬂik til fundar
ok or› bera Agliat ér varir skyldu›.
Hildr mælti ﬂat horna:
Haga svá maga ﬂínum,eigu órir gestirœ›ra nest á frestum.

3

6Ármó›r laust meyna ok ba› hana ﬂegja; ‘mælir ﬂú ﬂat jafnan er verst gegnir.’ 9Mærin gekk á brott, en Egill skaut ni›r skyraskinum ok var ﬂá nær tómr;
váru ﬂá ok brott teknir askarnir frá ﬂeim. Gengu ﬂá ok heimamenn í sæti sín
ok váru bor› upp tekin um alla stufu ok sett á vist; ﬂví næst kómu inn 12
sendingar ok váru ﬂá settar fyrir Egil sem fyrir a›ra menn.
ﬁví næst var ƒl inn borit ok var ﬂat it sterkasta mungát; var ﬂá brátt drukkinn
einmenningr; skyldi einn ma›r drekka af d‡rshorni. Var ﬂar mestr gaumr at 15
gefinn er Egill var ok sveitungar hans <at ﬂeir>a skyldu drekka sem ákafast.
Egill drakk ósleitiliga fyrst langa hrí›; en er fƒrunautar hans ger›usk ófœrir
ﬂá drakk hann fyrir ﬂá ﬂat er ﬂeir máttu eigi. Gekk svá til ﬂess er bor› fóru 18
brott; ger›usk ﬂá ok allir mjƒk drukknir ﬂeir er inni váru, en hvert full erÁrmó›r drakk, ﬂá mælti hann:21‘Drekk ek til ﬂín, Egill.’
En húskarlar drukku til fƒrunauta Egils ok hƒf›u inn sama formála.
Ma›r var til ﬂess fenginn at bera ﬂeim Agli hvert full ok eggja›i sá mjƒkat ﬂeir skyldi skjótt drekka. Egill mælti vi› fƒrunauta sína at ﬂeir skyldu ﬂá 24
ekki drekka, en hann drakk fyrir ﬂá ﬂat er ﬂeir máttu eigi annan veg undan
komask.
Egill fann ﬂá at honum myndi eigi svá búit eira; stó› hann ﬂá upp ok gekk 27
um gólf ﬂvert ﬂangat er Ármó›r sat; hann tók hƒndum í axlir honum okkneikti hann upp at stƒfum. Sí›an ﬂeysti Egill upp ór sér sp‡ju mikla okgaus <hon>b í andlit Ármó›i, í augun ok nasirnar ok í munninn; rann svá 30
ofan um <skeggit ok>a bringuna. En Ármó›i var vi› andhlaup ok er hannfekk ƒndunni frá sér hrundit ﬂá gaus upp sp‡ja. En allir mæltu ﬂeir er hjá
váru, húskarlar Ármó›s, at Egill skyldi fara allra manna armastr ok hann 33
a Thus K.

b Thus K; sú W.

Stanza 44. In lines 4 and 7 the older forms ér and órir are adopted here instead ofthe manuscript forms ﬂér and várir to provide alliteration. Hildr (valkyrie) horna(of the drinking horns) is a woman.
My mother sent me to you to tell Egill that you should be wary. The woman (mymother) said this: ‘Take care of your stomach, our guests can expect a better meal
after a while.’

134

EGILS SAGAværi inn versti ma›r af ﬂessu verki, er hann skyldi eigi ganga út er hannvildi sp‡ja, en ver›a eigi at undrum inni í drykkjustufunni.
3 Egill segir: ‘Ekki er at hallmæla mér um ﬂetta ﬂótt ek gera sem bóndi
gerir, sp‡r hann af ƒllu afli eigi sí›r en ek.’Sí›an gekk Egill til rúms síns ok settisk ni›r, ba› ﬂá gefa sér at drekka. ﬁá
6 kva› Egill vi› raust:
45. Títt erum ver› at vátta,vætti ber ek at ek hætta
ﬂung til ﬂessar gƒngu,ﬂinn kinnalá minni.
Margr velr gestr ﬂar er gistir,gjƒld, finnumsk vér sjaldan,Ármó›i liggr, œ›ri,
ƒl›ra dƒgg í skeggi.

912

15 Ármó›r hljóp upp ok út, en Egill ba› gefa sér drekka. ﬁá mælti húsfreyjavi› ﬂann mann er ﬂeim haf›i skenkt um kveldit at hann skyldi gefa drykk
svá at ﬂá skyrti eigi me›an ﬂeir vildi drekka. Sí›an tók hann d‡rshorn mikit
18 ok fylldi ok bar til Egils. Egill <tók vi› ok>a kneyf›i af horninu í einum
drykk. ﬁá kva› hann:
46. Drekkum ór, ﬂó at Ekkils
eykrí›r beri tí›um
horna sund at hendi,
hvert full, bragar Ulli.
Leifi ek vætr, ﬂó at Laufa
leikstœrir mér fœrihrosta tjƒrn í horni,
horn til dags at morni.

21

24

27
a Thus K.

Stanza 45. Erum títt at vátta ver› ﬂinn kinnalá minni; ber ek ﬂung vætti at ekhætta til ﬂessar gƒngu. Margr gestr velr œ›ri gjƒld ﬂar er gistir; vér finnumsk sjaldan;Ármó›i liggr ƒl›ra dƒgg í skeggi.
kinnalá, liquid of the cheeks, i.e. vomit; ƒl›ra dƒgg, beer-dew, i.e. beer dregs.
I want to bear witness to your catering with my vomit; it is obvious that I took arisk walking (across the floor). Many guests pay better for night quarters. We do notmeet often. Ármó›r has beer-vomit in his beard.
Stanza 46. Drekkum ór hvert full, ﬂó at Ekkils eykrí›r beri tí›um horna sund at
hendi bragar Ulli. Leifi ek vætr, ﬂó at Laufa leikstœrir fœri mér horn, hrosta tjƒrn í
horni til dags at morgni.
Ekkils (sea-king’s) eykrí›r (horse-rider), seaman, man; horna sund, beer; bragar(poetry’s) Ullr (a god), skald; Laufa (sword’s) leikr is battle, its stœrir is a warrior;
hrosti, mash, whose tjƒrn, small lake, is beer.

EGILS SAGA

135

Egill drakk um hrí› ok kneyf›i hvert horn er at honum kom, en lítil var ﬂágle›i í stofunni ﬂótt nƒkkurir menn drykki. Sí›an stendr Egill upp okfƒrunautar hans ok taka vápn sín af veggjum er ﬂeir hƒf›u upp fest. Ganga 3
sí›an til kornhlƒ›u ﬂeirar er hestar ﬂeira váru inni. Lƒg›usk ﬂeir ﬂar ni›r íhálm ok sváfu um nóttina.

74. Egill fann Ármó› skegg

6

Egill stó› upp um morgininn ﬂegar er daga›i. Bjuggusk ﬂeir fƒrunautar ok
fóru ﬂegar er ﬂeir váru búnir aptr til bœjarins ok leita Ármó›s. Ok er ﬂeir
kómu til skemmubúrs ﬂess er Ármó›r svaf í ok kona hans ok dóttir, ﬂá hratt 9Egill upp hur›unni ok gekk til rekkjunnar Ármó›s. Hann brá ﬂá sver›i, en
annarri hendi greip hann í skegg Ármó›i ok hnykkti honum á stokk fram, en
kona Ármó›ar ok dóttir hljópu uppa ok bá›u Egil at hann dræpi eigi Ármó›. 12
Egill segir at hann skyldi ﬂat gera fyrir ﬂeira sakir, ‘ﬂví at ﬂat er makligt; enhef›i hann ver›leika til at ek dræpa hann.’
15ﬁá kva› Egill:
47. N‡tr illsƒgull ‡tir
armlinns konu sinnar,
oss er vi› ógnar hvessióttalaust, ok dóttur.
ﬁeygi muntu vi› ﬂenna
ﬂykkjask ver›r fyrir drykkju
grepp, skulum á veg vappa
vítt, svágƒru hlíta.

18

21

Sí›an snei› Egill af honum skeggit vi› hƒkuna; sí›an krœkti hann fingrinum 24
í augat svá at úti lá á kinninni; eptir ﬂat gekk Egill á brott ok til fƒrunauta sinna.
Fara ﬂeir ﬂá lei› sína, koma at dagver›armáli til bœjar ﬁorfinns; hann bjó
vi› Ei›askóg. ﬁeir Egill krƒf›u dagver›ar ok æja hestum sínum. ﬁorfinnr 27
bóndi lét heimult skyldu ﬂat. Ganga ﬂeir Egill ﬂá inn í stufu.
a K adds: ok fengu tekit um háls honum.

Let us empty every horn (toast), although the man incessantly brings beer to the poet.
I’ll leave nothing, though the man bring me horns and beer until tomorrow morning.
Stanza 47. Illsƒgull ‡tir armlinns n‡tr konu sinnar ok dóttur; oss er óttalaust vi›ógnar hvessi. ﬁeygi muntu ﬂykkjask ver›r fyrir drykkju hlíta svágƒru vi› ﬂenna
grepp; skulum vappa vítt á veg.
‡tir armlinns, the pusher, giver, of the arm-snake (i.e. gold ring) is a generous
man; ógnar hvessir, inciter of battle, warrior, man.
Thanks to his wife and daughter the life of this malicious man will be spared (byimplication, cf. the preceding prose). I do not fear this man. Nevertheless you will
not think you deserve to suffer this from the skald for your drink. Let us be off.

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EGILS SAGA

Egill spur›i ef ﬁorfinnr hef›i varr or›it vi› fƒrunauta hans; ‘hƒf›u vér hérmælt mót me› oss.’
3 ﬁorfinnr segir svá: ‘Fóru hér sex menn saman nƒkkuru fyrir dag ok váru
vápna›ir mjƒk.’ﬁá mælti húskarl ﬁorfinns: ‘Ek ók í nótt eptir vi›i ok fann ek sex menn á
6 lei› ok váru ﬂat húskarlar Ármó›s ok var ﬂat miklu fyrir dag. Nú veit ek eigi
hvárt ﬂeir munu allir einir ok hinir sex menn er ﬂú sag›ir frá.’
ﬁorfinnr segir at ﬂeir menn er hann haf›i hitt hƒf›u sí›ar farit en húskarlinn
9 kom heim me› vi›arhlassit.
Ok er ﬂeir Egill sátu ok mƒtu›usk ﬂá sá Egill, at kona sjúk lá í ﬂverpallinum.
Egill spur›i ﬁorfinn hver kona sú væri er ﬂar var svá ﬂungliga haldin. ﬁorfinnr
12 segir at hon hét Helga ok var dóttir hans; ‘hefir hon haft langan vanmátt,’ ok
ﬂat var krƒm mikil; fekk hon enga nótt svefn ok var sem hamstoli væri.
‘Hefir nƒkkurs í verit leitat,’ segir Egill, ‘um mein hennar?’
15 ﬁorfinnr segir: ‘Ristnar hafa verit rúnar ok er sá einn bóndason he›anskammt í brott er ﬂat ger›i ok er sí›an miklu verr en á›r; e›a kanntu, Egill,nƒkkut gera at slíkum meinum?’
18 Egill segir: ‘Vera kann at ekki spillisk vi› ﬂó at ek koma til.’Ok er Egill var mettr gekk hann ﬂar til er konan lá ok rœddi vi› hana.
Hann ba› ﬂá hefja hana ór rúminu ok leggja undir hana hrein klæ›i ok nú
21 var svá gƒrt. Sí›an rannsaka›i hann rúmit er hon haf›i hvílt í ok ﬂar fannhann tálkn ok váru ﬂar á rúnar. Egill las ﬂær ok sí›an telg›i hann af rúnarnar
ok skóf ﬂær í eld ni›r; hann brenndi tálknit allt ok lét bera í vind klæ›i ﬂau
24 er hon haf›i haft á›r. ﬁá kva› Egill:27

30

48. Skalat ma›r rúnar rísta
nema rá›a vel kunni.
ﬁat ver›r mƒrgum manni
er um myrkvan staf villisk.
Sá ek á telg›u tálkni
tíu launstafi ristna.
ﬁat hefir lauka lindi
langs oftrega fengit.

33 Egill reist rúnar ok lag›i undir hœgindit í hvíluna ﬂar er hon hvíldi. Henniﬂótti sem hon vakna›i ór svefni ok sag›i at hon var ﬂá heil, en ﬂó var hon

Stanza 48. lauka lind, tree of herbs, woman.
Nobody ought to carve runes unless he knows well how to read them. It happens
to many a man to be mistaken about an obscure letter. I saw ten secret runes carved
on a shaped bone. This has caused long suffering to the woman.

137

EGILS SAGA

máttlítil, en fa›ir hennar ok mó›ir ur›u stórum fegin.a Bau› ﬁorfinnr at
Egill skyldi ﬂar hafa allan forbeina ﬂann er hann ﬂóttisk ﬂurfa.

75. Egill kom til Álfs bónda

3

Egill segir fƒrunautum sínum at hann vill fara fer› sína ok bí›a eigi lengr.
ﬁorfinnr átti son er Helgi hét; hann var vaskligr ma›r. ﬁeir fe›gar bu›u Aglifƒruneyti sitt umb skóginn. Sƒg›u ﬂeir at ﬂeir vissi til sanns at Ármó›r skegg 6
haf›i gƒrt menn sex á skóginn fyrir ﬂá ok ﬂó líkara at vera mundi fleiri
sátirnar á skóginum, ef in fyrsta slyppi. Váru ﬂeir ﬁorfinnr fjórir saman er til
9
fer›ar bu›usk.c ﬁá kva› Egill vísu:
49. Veiztu, ef ek fer me› fjóra,færat sex ﬂá er víxli
hlífa hneitiknífum
hjaldrgo›s vi› mik ro›num.
En ef ek em me› átta,erat ﬂeir tólf er skelfi
at samtogi sver›asvartbrúnum mér hjarta.

12

15

ﬁeir ﬁorfinnr ré›u ﬂessu at ﬂeir fóru á skóginn me› Agli ok váru ﬂeir ﬂá átta 18
saman. Ok er ﬂeir kómu ﬂar er sátin var fyrir, ﬂá sá ﬂeir ﬂar menn. En ﬂeir
húskarlar Ármó›ar er ﬂar sátu sá at ﬂar fóru átta menn, ok ﬂótti ﬂeim sér
ekki fœri til at rá›a; leyndusk ﬂá í brott á skóginn. En er ﬂeir Egill kómu ﬂar 21
sem njósnarmenn hƒf›u verit, ﬂá sá ﬂeir at eigi var allt frítt. ﬁá mælti Egill
at ﬂeir ﬁorfinnr skyldu aptr fara, en ﬂeir bu›u at fara lengra. Egill vildi ﬂat
eigi ok ba› ﬂá fara heim ok ﬂeir ger›u svá ok hurfu aptr, en ﬂeir Egill heldu 24
fram fer›inni ok váru ﬂá fjórir saman.
Ok er á lei› daginn ur›u ﬂeir Egill varir vi› at ﬂar váru sex menn áskóginum ok ﬂóttusk vita at ﬂar mundu vera húskarlar Ármó›s. Njósnarmenn 27a K adds: ﬂessum atbur›; W adds: heilsu hennar.
Egill váru ok fjórir saman (similar in W).

b austr yfir K.

c K adds: ﬂeir

Stanza 49. Veiztu, ef ek fer me› fjóra, færat sex ﬂá er víxli vi› mik ro›num hlífa
hneitiknífum hjaldrgo›s. En ef ek em me› átta, erat ﬂeir tólf er skelfi mér svartbrúnum
hjarta at samtogi sver›a.
ro›num (pp. of rjó›a), reddened, made red with blood; hlífa hneitiknífar, cutting
knives of shields, i.e. swords (cf. st. 50); hjaldrgo›s, i.e. Ó›inn’s, seems superfluous;
samtog sver›a, drawing together of swords, i.e. battle.
You know, if I have four men, there are no six who are able to fight against me.
But if I have eight, there are no twelve who can frighten my heart (the heart of theman with the black brows) in battle.

138

EGILS SAGA

hljópu upp ok ré›u at ﬂeim, en ﬂeir í mót ok var› sá fundr ﬂeira at Egill
felldi tvá menn, en hinir er eptir váru hljópu ﬂá í skóginn.
3 Sí›an fóru ﬂeir Egill sína lei› ok ger›isk ﬂá ekki til tí›enda á›r ﬂeir kómu
af skóginum ok tóku gisting vi› skóginn at bónda ﬂess er Álfr hét ok var
kalla›r Álfr inn au›gi. Hann var ma›r gamall ok au›igr at fé, ma›r einrœnn
6 svá at hann mátti ekki hafa hjón me› sér nema fá ein. Gó›ar vi›tƒkur haf›iEgill ﬂar ok var Álfr vi› hann málreitinn; spur›i Egill margra tí›enda, enÁlfr sag›i slíkt er hann spur›i. ﬁeir rœddu flest um jarlinn ok um sendimenn
9 Nóregskonungs ﬂá er fyrr hƒf›u farit austr ﬂangat at heimta skatt. Álfr var
engi vinr jarls í rœ›um sínum.

76. Egill heimti skatt
12 Egill bjósk snemma um morgininn til farar ok ﬂeir fƒrunautar, en at skilna›i

gaf Egill Álfi lo›ólpu. Álfr tók ﬂakksamliga vi› gjƒfinni, ‘ok má hér gera
mér af lo›kápu,’ ok ba› Egil ﬂar koma til sín er hann fœri aptr. Skil›usk ﬂeir
15 vinir ok fór Egill fer›ar sinnar ok kom aptan dags til hir›ar jarlsins Arnvi›arok fekk ﬂar allgó›ar vi›tƒkur; var ﬂeim fƒrunautum skipat næst ƒndvegismanni.
18 Ok er ﬂeir Egill hƒf›u ﬂar verit um nótt ﬂá bera ﬂeir upp erendi sín vi›
jarlinn ok or›sending konungs ór Nóregi ok segja at hann vill hafa skatt ﬂann
allan af Vermalandi sem á›r hefir eptir sta›it sí›an Arnvi›r var ﬂar yfir settr.
21 Jarlinn segir at hann hef›i af hƒndum greitt allan skatt ok fengit í hendr
sendimƒnnum konungs, ‘en eigi veit ek hvat ﬂeir hafa sí›an vi› gƒrt, hvárt
ﬂeir hafa fingit konungi e›a hafa ﬂeir hlaupit af landi á brott me›. En ﬂví at
24 ﬂér beri› sannar jartegnir til at konungr hefir y›r sent, ﬂá mun ek grei›askatt ﬂann allan sem hann á at réttu ok fá y›r í hƒnd, en eigi vil ek ábyrgjask
sí›an hverneg y›r fersk me›.’27 Dveljask ﬂeir Egill ﬂar um hrí›, en á›r Egill fœri í brott grei›ir jarl ﬂeimskattinn; var ﬂat sumt í silfri, sumt í grávƒru.
Ok er ﬂeir Egill váru búnir, ﬂá fóru ﬂeir aptr á lei›; segir Egill jarli at
30 skilna›i ﬂeira:‘Nú munum vér fœra konungi skatt ﬂenna er vér hƒfum vi› tekit, en ﬂat
skaltu vita, jarl, at ﬂetta er fé miklu minna en konungr ﬂikisk hér eiga, ok er
33 ﬂat ﬂó ekki talit er honum mun ﬂikja at ﬂér eigi› at gjalda aptr sendimennhans manngjƒldum ﬂá er menn kalla at ﬂér munu› hafa drepa látit.’
Jarl segir at ﬂat var eigi satt; skil›usk ﬂeir at ﬂessu.
36 Ok er Egill var á brottu ﬂá kalla›i jarl til sín brœ›r tvá er hvárrtveggi hétÚlfr. Hann mælti svá:
‘Egill sjá inn mikli er hér var um hrí› ætla ek at oss muni allóﬂarfr er hann
39 kemr til konungs; megu vér af ﬂví marka hverneg hann mun bera fyrir konung

EGILS SAGA

139

várt mál er hann jós slíku í augu oss upp, aftƒku konungsmanna.a Nú skulu
ﬂit fara eptir ﬂeim ok drepa ﬂá alla ok láta ﬂá ekki bera róg ﬂetta fyrir konung;ﬂiki mér ﬂat rá›ligast at ﬂér sæti› ﬂeim á Ei›askógi. Hafi› me› y›r menn 3
svá marga at ﬂat sé víst at engi ﬂeira komisk undan, en ﬂér fái› ekki mannspell
af ﬂeim.’Nú búask ﬂeir brœ›r til fer›ar ok hƒf›u ﬂrjá tigu manna; fóru ﬂeir á skóginn 6
ok kunnu ﬂeir ﬂar hvern stíg fyrir; heldu ﬂeir ﬂá njósn um fer› Egils.
Á skóginum váru tvennar lei›ir; var ƒnnur at fara yfir ás nƒkkurn ok var
ﬂar klif bratt ok einstigi yfir at fara—var sú lei›in skemmri—en ƒnnur var 9
fyrir framan ásinn at fara ok váru ﬂar fen stór ok hƒggnar á lágir ok var ﬂar
ok einstigi yfir at fara; ok sátu fimmtán í hvárum sta›.

77. ﬁeir Egill drápu hálfan ﬂri›ja tug manna

12

Egill fór til ﬂess er hann kom til Álfs ok var ﬂar um nótt í gó›um beinleika.
Eptir um morgininn stó› hann upp fyrir dag, bjósk ﬂá til fer›ar; ok er ﬂeir
15
sátu yfir dagver›i ﬂá kom ﬂar Álfr bóndi. Hann mælti:‘Snemma búizk ﬂér, Egill, en hitt mundi mitt rá› at hrapa ekki fer›inni,sjásk heldr fyrir, ﬂví at ek ætla at menn muni settir fyrir y›r á skóginn. Ek
hefi ekki menn til at fá ﬂér til fylg›ar svá at ﬂér sé styrkr at, en ﬂat vil ek 18
bjó›a at ﬂú dvelisk hér me› mér ﬂar til er ek kann ﬂat segja ﬂér at fœrt mun
um skóginn.’
Egill segir: ‘ﬁat mun ekki nema hégómi einn <at menn muni sitja fyrir 21oss>;b mun ek fara veg minn sem ek hefi á›r ætlat.’ﬁeir Egill bjuggusk til farar, en Álfr latti ok ba› hann aptr fara, ef hannyr›i varr vi› at vegrinn væri tro›inn, sag›i at ﬂar hef›i engi ma›r farit yfir 24
skóginn austan sí›an er Egill fór austr, ‘nema ﬂessir hafi farit er mér er ván
at y›r vili finna.’<Egill mælti>:c ‘Hvat ætlar ﬂú hversu margir ﬂeir muni vera, ef svá er sem 27
ﬂér segi›? Ekki eru vér uppnæmir ﬂótt nƒkkurr sé li›smunr.’
Hann segir: ‘Ek var farinn fram til skógarins ok húskarlar mínir me› mér
ok kómu vér d á mannafar ok lá sú sló› fram á skóginn ok mundu ﬂeir hafa 30
verit margir saman. En ef ﬂú trúir eigi ﬂví er ek segi ﬂér, ﬂá far ﬂangat ok sjá
sló›ina, en snú aptr, ef ﬂér s‡nisk sem ek segi ﬂér.’
Egill fór sína lei›; ok er ﬂeir kómu á veginn ﬂann er á skóginn lá, ﬂá sá 33
ﬂeir ﬂar bæ›i manna spor ok hrossa. ﬁá mæltu fƒrunautar Egils at ﬂeir skyldu
aptr hverfa.
a aftƒku konungsmanna] at vér mundum hafa tekit af lífi sendimenn konungs ok
myr›a i (similar in the other manuscripts of the W-redaction; almost the same in K).
b Thus K and W. c Thus K. d Thus i (W); vit M.

140

EGILS SAGA

‘Fara munu vér,’ sag›i Egill, ‘ﬂiki mér ﬂat ekki undarligt ﬂótt menn hafi
farit um Ei›askóg, ﬂví at ﬂat er alﬂ‡›ulei›.’
3 Sí›an fara ﬂeir ok helzk ferillinn ok var ﬂá fjƒl›i spora, ok er ﬂeir koma
ﬂar er lei›ir skil›i, ﬂá skil›i ok sló›ina ok var ﬂá jafnmikil í hvárn sta›. ﬁámælti Egill:
6 ‘Nú ﬂiki mér vera mega at Álfr hafi satt sagt; skulu vér nú búask um svá
sem oss sé ván at fundr várr muni ver›a.’
Sí›an kasta ﬂeir Egill af sér skikkjum ok ƒllum lausaklæ›um; leggja ﬂeir
9 ﬂat í sle›a. Egill haf›i haft í sle›a sínum bastlínu mjƒk mikla, ﬂví at ﬂat er
si›r manna er aka langar lei›ir at hafa me› sér lausataugir, ef at rei›a ﬂarf at
gera. Egill tók hellustein mikinn ok lag›i fyrir brjóst sér ok kvi›inn. Sí›an
12 rábendi hann ﬂar at tauginni ok vaf›i henni sívafi ok bjó svá allt upp um
her›arnar <ok axlir. Eptir ﬂat fara ﬂeir lei› sína>.a ﬁá kva› Egill:b

Ei›askógr c er á ﬂann veg at mƒrk er stór allt at bygg›inni hvárritveggju, en um
15 mi›jan skóginn er ví›a smávi›i ok kjƒrr, en sumsta›ar skóglaust me› ƒllu.
ﬁeir Egill sneru lei› ina skemmri er yfir hálsinn lá; allir hƒf›u ﬂeir skjƒldu
ok hjálma ok hƒggvápn ok lagvápn. Egill fór fyrir; ok er ﬂeir fóru at hálsinum
18 ﬂá var ﬂar undir ni›ri skógr, en skóglaust uppi á klifinu.
En er ﬂeir váru komnir upp í klifit ﬂá hljópu sjau menn ór skóginum ok
upp í kleifina eptir ﬂeim ok skutu at ﬂeim. ﬁeir Egill snerusk vi› ok stó›u
21 ﬂeir jafnfram um ﬂvera gƒtuna; ﬂá kómu a›rir menn ofan at ﬂeim á hamarinn
ok gr‡ttu ﬂeir ﬂa›an á ﬂá ok var ﬂeim ﬂat miklu hættara.
ﬁá mælti Egill: ‘Nú skulu ﬂér fara á hæli undan í kleifina ok hlífask sem
24 ﬂér megi›, en ek mun leita upp á bergit.’
ﬁeir ger›u svá; ok er Egill kom upp ór klifinu ﬂá váru ﬂar fyrir átta mennok gengu allir senn at honum ok sóttu hann. En ekki er at segja frá hƒggva27 vi›skiptum, svá lauk at hann felldi ﬂá alla. Sí›an gekk hann á bergit fram ok
bar ofan grjót ok stó› ﬂar ekki vi›; lágu ﬂar eptir ﬂrír inir vermsku, en fjórir
kómusk í skóginn, ok váru ﬂeir sárir ok bar›ir.
a Thus K.

b A blank space for a stanza in M; no traces of a stanza in K or W.

c Thus K and some manuscripts of the W-class; skógr M, where the first part of theword seems to have been effaced.

EGILS SAGA

141

Sí›an tóku ﬂeir Egill hesta sína ok fóru fram á lei› til ﬂess er ﬂeir kómu
yfir hálsinn. En ﬂeir inir vermsku er undan hƒf›u komizk ger›u njósn félƒgum
sínum ﬂeim er vi› fenin váru. Stefndu ﬂeir ﬂá fram ina ne›ri lei›ina ok svá 3fram fyrir ﬂá Egil á veginn.
ﬁá sag›i Úlfr félƒgum sínum: ‘Nú skulu vér fara at rá›um vi› ﬂá, stillasvá til at ﬂeir nái eigi at renna. Hér er ﬂanneg til farit,’ segir hann, ‘at lei›in 6
liggr fram me› hálsinum, en feninu víkr at upp ok er ﬂar hamarr fyrir ofan,en brautin liggr ﬂar fram í milli ok er eigi brei›ari en gƒtubreidd. Skulu
sumir fara fram um hamarinn ok taka vi› ﬂeim, ef ﬂeir vilja fram, en sumir 9
skulu leynask hér í skóginum ok hlaupa sí›an á bak ﬂeim er ﬂeir koma framum; gætum svá til at engi komisk undan.’ﬁeir ger›u svá sem Úlfr mælti; fór Úlfr fram um bergit ok tíu menn me› 12honum.
ﬁeir Egill fara sína lei› ok vissu ekki til ﬂessar rá›ager›ar fyrr en ﬂeir
kómu í einstigit; ﬂá hljópu ﬂar <níu>a menn á bak ﬂeim ok báru ﬂegar vápn á 15
ﬂá. ﬁeir Egill snerusk í móti ok vƒr›usk. Nú drífa ok menn at ﬂeim, ﬂeir erverit hƒf›u fyrir framan hamarinn, ok er Egill sá ﬂat snerisk hann í mót
ﬂeim. Var ﬂar skammt hƒggva í millum ok felldi Egill ﬂar suma í gƒtunni, 18
en sumir hurfu aptr ﬂar er jafnlendit var meira. Egill sótti ﬂá eptir ﬂeim. ﬁarfell Úlfr ok at lyk›um drap Egill ﬂar einn ellifu menn. Sí›an sótti hann ﬂar
til er fƒrunautar hans vƒr›u gƒtuna fyrir átta mƒnnum; váru ﬂar hvárirtveggju 21
sárir. Ok er Egill kom til ﬂá fl‡›u ﬂegar inir vermsku, en skógrinn var vi›
sjálft; kómusk ﬂar undan fimm ok allir sárir mjƒk, en ﬂrír fellu ﬂar.
Egill haf›i mƒrg sár ok engi stór. Fóru ﬂeir nú sína lei›. Hann batt sár 24fƒrunauta sinna ok váru engi banvæn. Settusk ﬂeir ﬂá í sle›a <sína>b ok óku
ﬂat er eptir var dagsins.
En ﬂeir inir vermsku er undan kómusk tóku hesta sína ok drógusk austr af 27
skóginum til bygg›a; váru ﬂá bundin sár ﬂeira. Fá ﬂeir sér fƒruneyti til ﬂess
er ﬂeir kómu á fund jarls ok segja honum sínar ófarar. ﬁeir segja at hvárrtveggiÚlfr er fallinn ok dau›ir váru hálfr ﬂri›i tøgr manna, ‘en fimm einir kómusk 30
undan me› lífi ok ﬂó ﬂeir allir sárir ok bar›ir.’
Jarl spur›i hvat ﬂá væri tí›enda um Egil ok hans fƒrunauta. ﬁeir svƒru›u:‘Ógjƒrla vissu vér hversu mjƒk ﬂeir váru sárir, en œrit djarfliga sóttu ﬂeir 33
at oss; ﬂá er vér várum átta, en ﬂeir fjórir, ﬂá fl‡›um vér; kómusk fimm áskóginn, en ﬂrír létusk; en eigi sáum vér annat en ﬂeir Egill væri ﬂá spánn‡ir.’
Jarl sag›i at ﬂeira fer› var or›in in versta; ‘munda ek kunna ﬂví at vér 36
hef›im mannalát mikit, ef ﬂér hef›i› drepit ﬂá Nor›mennina, en nú er ﬂeir
koma vestr af skóginum ok segja ﬂessi tí›endi Nóregskonungi, ﬂá eigu vér
af honum ván inna mestu afarkosta.’39
a Thus K.

b Thus K ; sle›a sinn W.

142

EGILS SAGA

78. Egill kom til ﬁorfinns
Egill fór til ﬂess er hann kom vestr af skóginum; sóttu ﬂeir til ﬁorfinns at
3 kveldi ok fengu ﬂar allgó›ar vi›tƒkur; váru ﬂá bundin sár ﬂeira Egils.

Nƒkkurar nætr váru ﬂeir ﬂar—Helga dóttir bónda var ﬂá á fótum ok heil
meina sinna; ﬂakka›i hon ok ƒll ﬂau Agli ﬂat—hvíldu sik ﬂar ok eyki sína.
6 En ma›r sá er Helgu haf›i rúnar ristit var ﬂa›an skammt á brott; kom ﬂatﬂá upp at hann haf›i be›it hennar, en ﬁorfinnr vildi eigi gipta hana. ﬁá vildi
bóndason glepja hana, en hon vildi eigi; ﬂá ﬂóttisk <hann> rísta henni
9 manrúnar, en hann kunni ﬂat eigi ok haf›i hann ﬂat ristit henni er hon fekk
meinsemi af.
Ok er Egill var til brottfarar búinn ﬂá fylg›i ﬁorfinnr honum ok ﬂeir fe›gar
12 á gƒtu; váru ﬂeir ﬂá saman tíu e›a tólf. Fóru ﬂeir ﬂá dag ﬂann allan me›
ﬂeim til varú›ar fyrir Ármó›i ok húskƒrlum hans. Ok er ﬂessi tí›endi spur›usk
at ﬂeir Egill hƒf›u barizk vi› ofrefli li›s á skóginum ok sigrat, ﬂá ﬂótti
15 Ármó›i engi ván at hann mundi mega reisa rƒnd vi› Agli; sat Ármó›r ﬂvíheima vi› alla sína menn.
ﬁeir Egill ok ﬁorfinnr skiptusk gjƒfum vi› at skilna›i ok mæltu til vináttu
18 me› sér. Sí›an fóru ﬂeir Egill lei› sína ok er ekki sagt at til tí›enda yr›i ífer› ﬂeira á›r ﬂeir kómu til ﬁorsteins. Váru ﬂá grœdd sár ﬂeira; dvƒl›usk
ﬂeir Egill ﬂar til várs. En ﬁorsteinn fekk sendimenn til Hákonar konungs at
21 fœra honum skatt ﬂann er Egill haf›i sótt til Vermalands. Ok er ﬂeir kómu á
konungs fund ﬂá sƒg›u ﬂeir honum tí›endi ﬂau er gerzk hƒf›u í fer› ﬂeira
Egils ok fœr›u honum skattinn. Konungr ﬂóttisk ﬂá vita at ﬂat mundi satt24 vera er á›r haf›i hann grunat um at Arnvi›r jarl mundi hafa látit drepa
sendimenn hans tvenna er hann haf›i austr sent; sag›i konungr at ﬁorsteinnskyldi ﬂá hafa landsvist ok vera í sætt vi› hann. Fara sendimenn sí›an
27 heimlei›is, ok er ﬂeir koma aptr til ﬁorsteins ﬂá segja ﬂeir honum at konungr
lét vel yfir ﬂessi fer› ok ﬁorsteinn skyldi ﬂá vera í sætt ok vináttu vi› konung.
Hákon konungr fór í Vík austr um sumarit, en ﬂa›an ger›i hann fer› sína
30 austr á Vermaland me› mikit li›. Arnvi›r jarl fl‡›i undan, en konungr tók
stór gjƒld af bóndum ﬂeim er honum ﬂóttu í sƒkum vi› sik svá sem sagt er af
ﬂeim er skattinn sóttu. Setti hann ﬂar yfir jarl annan ok tók gíslar af honum
33 ok bóndum.
Hákon konungr fór í ﬂeiri fer› ví›a um Gautland it vestra ok lag›i ﬂatundir sik svá sem sagt er í sƒgu hans ok finnsk í kvæ›um ﬂeim er <um> hann
36 hafa ort verit. ﬁá er ok sagt at hann fór til Danmerkr ok herja›i ﬂar ví›a. ﬁáhrau› hann tólf skip af Dƒnum me› tveim skipum, ok ﬂá gaf hannkonungsnafn Tryggva Óláfssyni, bró›ursyni sínum, ok vald yfir Víkinni austr.
39 Egill bjó kaupskip sitt um sumarit ok ré› ﬂar til fƒruneyti, en langskip ﬂat
er hann haf›i haft um haustit ór Danmƒrku gaf hann ﬁorsteini at skilna›i.

EGILS SAGA

143

ﬁorsteinn gaf Agli gó›ar gjafir ok mæltu til mikillar vináttu sín í milli. Egill
ger›i sendimenn til ﬁór›ar á Aurland, mágs síns, ok fekk honum umbo› sittat skipa jar›ir ﬂær er Egill átti í Sogni ok á Hƒr›alandi ok ba› hann selja, ef 3
kaupendr væri til.
Ok er Egill var búinn fer›ar sinnar ok byr gaf, ﬂá sigldu ﬂeir út eptir
Víkinni ok svá lei› sína nor›r fyrir Nóreg ok sí›an í haf út. Byrja›i ﬂeim til 6
gó›rar hlítar, kómu af hafi í Borgarfjƒr› ok helt Egill skipinu inn eptir
fir›inum ok til hafnar skammt frá bœ sínum ok lét heim flytja varna› sinn,en rá›a skipi til hlunns. Egill fór heim til bús síns. Ur›u menn honum fegnir. 9
Dval›isk Egill ﬂar ﬂann vetr.

79. Dráp ﬁór›ar Lambasonarﬁá er ﬂetta var tí›enda at Egill var út kominn ór ﬂessi fer›, ﬂá var hera›it 12
albyggt. Váru ﬂá anda›ir allir landnámamenn, en synir ﬂeira lif›u <eptir>ae›a sonarsynir ok bjuggu ﬂeir ﬂá í hera›i.
Ketill gufa kom til Íslands ﬂá er land var mjƒk byggt; hann var inn fyrsta 15
vetr at Gufuskálum á Rosmhvalanesi. Ketill haf›i komit vestan um haf afÍrlandi; hann haf›i me› sér ﬂræla marga írska. Lƒnd váru ƒll bygg› á Rosmhvalanesi ﬂann tíma; rézk Ketill ﬂví ﬂa›an í brott ok inn á Nes ok sat annan 18
vetr á Gufunesi ok fekk ﬂar engan rá›stafa. Sí›an fór hann inn í Borgarfjƒr›ok sat ﬂar inn ﬂri›ja vetr er sí›an er kallat at Gufuskálum, en áin Gufuá er
ﬂar fellr í ofan er hann haf›i skip sitt í um vetrinn.
21ﬁór›r Lambason bjó ﬂá á Lambastƒ›um. Hann var kvánga›r ok átti son er
Lambi hét; hann var ﬂá vaxinn ma›r, mikill ok sterkr at jƒfnum aldri. Eptirum sumarit ﬂá er menn ri›u til ﬂings, rei› Lambi til ﬂings. En Ketill gufa var 24
ﬂá farinn vestr í Brei›afjƒr› at leita ﬂar um bústa›i. ﬁá hljópu ﬂrælar hans ábrott. ﬁeir kómu fram um nótt at ﬁór›ar á Lambastƒ›um ok báru ﬂar eld athúsum ok brenndu ﬂar inni ﬁór› ok hjón hans ƒll, en brutu upp búr hans ok 27
báru út gripi ok vƒru. Sí›an ráku ﬂeir heim hross ok klyfju›u ok fóru sí›anút til Álptaness.
ﬁann morgin um sólarupprásarskei› kom Lambi heim ok haf›i hann sét 30
eldinn um nóttina; ﬂeir váru nƒkkurir menn saman. Hann rei› ﬂegar at leitaﬂrælanna; rí›a ﬂar menn af bœjum til móts vi› hann. Ok er ﬂrælarnir sá
eptirfƒr ﬂá stefndu ﬂeir undan, en létu lausan ránsfeng sinn. Hljópu sumir á 33
M‡rar út, en sumir út me› sjó til ﬂess at fjƒr›r var fyrir ﬂeim. ﬁá sóttu ﬂeir
Lambi eptir ﬂeim ok drápu ﬂar ﬂann er Kóri hét; ﬂví heitir ﬂar sí›an Kóranes.
En Skorri ok ﬁormó›r ok Svartr gengu á kaf ok summu frá landi. Sí›an 36
leitu›u ﬂeir Lambi at skipum ok reru at leita ﬂeira, ok fundu ﬂeir Skorra í
Skorrey ok drápu hann ﬂar. ﬁá reru ﬂeir út til ﬁormó›sskers ok drápu ﬂar
a Thus K.

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ﬁormó›; er vi› hann skerit kennt. ﬁeir hendu ﬂrælana enn fleiri ﬂar sem
sí›an eru ørnefni vi› kennd.
3 Lambi bjó sí›an á Lambastƒ›um ok var gildr bóndi; hann var rammr atafli; engi var hann uppivƒzluma›r.
Ketill gufa fór sí›an vestr í Brei›afjƒr› ok sta›festisk í ﬁorskafir›i; vi›
6 hann er kenndr Gufudalr ok Gufufjƒr›r. Hann átti †ri, dóttur Geirmundar
heljarskinns; Váli var son ﬂeira.
Grímr hét ma›r ok var Svertingsson; hann bjó at Mosfelli fyrir ne›an
9 Hei›i; hann var au›igr ok ættstórr. Rannveig var systir hans sammœ›ra erátti ﬁóroddr a go›i í ¯lfusi; var ﬂeira son Skapti lƒgsƒguma›r. Grímr var oklƒgsƒguma›r sí›an. Hann ba› ﬁórdísar ﬁórólfsdóttur, bró›urdóttur Egils ok
12 stjúpdóttur. Egill unni ﬁórdísi engum mun minna en sínum bƒrnum. Hon
var in frí›asta kona. En fyrir ﬂví at Egill vissi at Grímr var ma›r gƒfugr ok
sá rá›akostr var gó›r, ﬂá var ﬂat at rá›i gƒrt. Var ﬁórdís gipt Grími; leysti
15 Egill ﬂá af hendi fƒ›urarf hennar. Fór hon til bús me› Grími ok bjuggu ﬂau
lengi at Mosfelli.

80. Óláfr fekk ﬁorger›ar
18 Óláfr hét ma›r, son Hƒskulds Dala-Kollssonar ok son Melkorku, dóttur

M‡rkjartans Írakonungs. Óláfr bjó í Hjar›arholti í Laxárdal vestr í Brei›afjar›ardƒlum. Óláfr var stórau›igr at fé; hann var ﬂeira manna frí›astr s‡num
21 er ﬂá váru á Íslandi; hann var skƒrungr mikill. Óláfr ba› ﬁorger›ar dóttur
Egils. ﬁorger›r var væn kona ok kvenna mest, vitr ok heldr skapstór, en
hversdagliga kyrrlát. Egill kunni ƒll deili á Óláfi ok vissi at ﬂat gjafor› var
24 gƒfugt, ok fyrir ﬂví var ﬁorger›r gipt Óláfi; fór hon til bús me› honum í
Hjar›arholt. ﬁeira bƒrn váru ﬂau Kjartan, ﬁorbergr, Halldórr, Steindórr,
ﬁurí›r, ﬁorbjƒrg, Bergﬂóra; hana átti ﬁórhallr go›i Oddason. ﬁorbjƒrgu átti27 fyrr Ásgeirr Knattarson, en sí›ar Vermundr ﬁorgrímsson. ﬁurí›i átti Gu›mundr Sƒlmundarson; váru ﬂeira synir Hallr ok Víga-Bar›i.
¯zurr Eyvindarson, bró›ir ﬁórodds í ¯lfusi, fekk Beru dóttur Egils.
30 Bƒ›varr son Egils var ﬂá frumvaxta; hann var inn efniligsti ma›r, frí›rs‡num, mikill ok sterkr, svá sem verit haf›i Egill e›a ﬁórólfr á hans aldri.
Egill unni honum mikit; var Bƒ›varr ok elskr at honum.
33 ﬁat var eitt sumar at skip var í Hvítá ok var ﬂar mikil kaupstefna; haf›iEgill ﬂar keypt vi› margan ok lét flytja heim á skipi; fóru húskarlar ok hƒf›uskip áttært er Egill átti. ﬁat var ﬂá eitt sinn at Bƒ›varr beiddisk at fara me›
36 ﬂeim ok ﬂeir veittu honum ﬂat; fór hann ﬂá inn á Vƒllu me› húskƒrlum; ﬂeir
váru sex saman á áttæru skipi. Ok er ﬂeir skyldu <út>b fara, ﬂá var flœ›rinsí› dags ok er ﬂeir ur›u hennar at bí›a, ﬂá fóru ﬂeir út um kveldit sí›. ﬁá
a Thus W (ﬁór›r incorrectly M and K).

b Thus W.

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hljóp á útsynningr steinó›i, en ﬂar gekk í móti útfallsstraumr. Ger›i ﬂá stórtá fir›inum sem ﬂar kann opt ver›a; lauk ﬂar svá at skipit kaf›i undir ﬂeim
ok t‡ndusk ﬂeir allir.
3
En eptir um daginn skaut upp líkunum; kom lík Bƒ›vars inn í Einarsnes,
en sum kómu fyrir sunnan fjƒr›inn ok rak ﬂangat skipit; fannsk ﬂat inn vi›
Reykjarhamar.
6ﬁann dag spur›i Egill ﬂessi tí›endi ok ﬂegar rei› hann at leita líkanna;hann fann rétt lík Bƒ›vars. Tók hann ﬂat upp ok setti í kné sér ok rei› me› útí Digranes til haugs Skalla-Gríms. Hann lét ﬂá opna hauginn ok lag›i Bƒ›var 9
ﬂar ni›r hjá Skalla-Grími; var sí›an aptr lokinn haugrinn ok var eigi fyrr
lokit en um dagsetrs skei›. Eptir ﬂat rei› Egill heim til Borgar, ok er hannkom heim ﬂá gekk hann ﬂegar til lokrekkju ﬂeirar er hann var vanr at sofa í. 12
Hann lag›isk ni›r ok skaut fyrir loku; engi ﬂor›i at krefja hann máls.
En svá er sagt ﬂá er ﬂeir settu Bƒ›var ni›r at Egill var búinn: hosan var
streng› fast at beini, hann haf›i fustanskyrtil rau›an, ﬂrƒngvan upphlutinn 15
ok láz at sí›u. En ﬂat er sƒgn manna at hann ﬂrútna›i svá at kyrtillinn rifna›i
af honum ok svá hosurnar.
En eptir um daginn lét Egill ekki upp lokrekkjuna; hann haf›i ﬂá ok engan 18
mat né drykk. Lá hann ﬂar ﬂann dag ok nóttina eptir; engi ma›r ﬂor›i atmæla vi› hann.
En inn ﬂri›ja morgin ﬂegar er l‡sti ﬂá lét Ásger›r skjóta hesti undir mann— 21
rei› sá sem ákafligast vestr í Hjar›arholt—ok lét segja ﬁorger›i ﬂessi tí›endi
ƒll saman, ok var ﬂat um nónskei› er hann kom ﬂar. Hann sag›i ok ﬂat me›at Ásger›r haf›i sent henni or› at koma sem fyrst su›r til Borgar.
24
ﬁorger›r lét ﬂegar sƒ›la sér hest ok fylg›u henni tveir menn; ri›u ﬂau um
kveldit ok nóttina til ﬂess er ﬂau kómu til Borgar; gekk ﬁorger›r ﬂegar inn íeldahús. Ásger›r heilsa›i henni ok spur›i hvárt ﬂau hef›i náttver› etit. 27
ﬁorger›r segir hátt:‘Engvan hefi ek náttver› haft, ok engan mun ek fyrr en at Freyju. Kann ek
mér eigi betri rá› en fa›ir minn; vil ek ekki lifa eptir fƒ›ur minn ok bró›ur.’ 30
Hon gekk at lokhvílunni ok kalla›i: ‘Fa›ir, lúk upp hur›unni; vil ek at vit
farim eina lei› bæ›i.’
Egill spretti frá lokunni; gekk ﬁorger›r upp í hvílugólfit ok lét loku fyrir 33
hur›ina; lag›isk hon ni›r í a›ra rekkju er ﬂar var.
ﬁá mælti Egill: ‘Vel ger›ir ﬂú, dóttir, er ﬂú vill fylgja fe›r ﬂínum; miklaást hefir ﬂú s‡nt vi› mik. Hver ván er at ek muna lifa vilja vi› harm ﬂenna?’ 36
Sí›an ﬂƒg›u ﬂau um hrí›. ﬁá mælti Egill:‘Hvat er nú, dóttir, tyggr ﬂú nú nƒkkut?’‘Tygg ek sƒl,’ segir hon, ‘ﬂví at ek ætla at mér muni ﬂá verra en á›r; ætla 39
ek ella at ek muna of lengi lifa.’‘Er ﬂat illt manni?’ segir Egill.

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‘Allillt,’ segir hon, ‘villtu eta?’‘Hvat man var›a?’ segir hann.
3 En stundu sí›ar kalla›i hon ok ba› gefa sér <vatn at>a drekka; sí›an var
henni gefit at drekka. ﬁá mælti Egill:‘Slíkt gerir at er sƒlin etr, ﬂyrstir æ ﬂess at meir.’
6 ‘Villtu drekka, fa›ir?’ segir hon.
Hann tók vi› ok svalg stórum ok var ﬂat í d‡rshorni. ﬁá mælti ﬁorger›r:‘Nú eru vit vélt; ﬂetta er mjólk.’9 ﬁá beit Egill skar› ór horninu, allt ﬂat er tennr tóku, ok kasta›i horninu sí›an.
ﬁá mælti ﬁorger›r: ‘Hvat skulu vit nú til rá›s taka? Lokit er nú ﬂessi
ætlan. Nú vilda ek, fa›ir, at vit leng›im líf okkart svá at ﬂú mættir yrkja
12 erfikvæ›i eptir Bƒ›var, en ek mun rísta á kefli, en sí›an deyju vit, ef okrs‡nisk. Seint ætla ek ﬁorstein son ﬂinn yrkja kvæ›it eptir Bƒ›var, en ﬂat
hl‡›ir eigi at hann sé eigi erf›r, ﬂví at eigi ætla ek okr sitja at drykkjunni
15 ﬂeiri at hann er erf›r.’
Egill segir at ﬂat var ﬂá óvænt at hann mundi ﬂá yrkja mega, ﬂótt hannleita›i vi›, ‘en freista má ek ﬂess,’ segir hann.
18 Egill haf›i ﬂá átt son er Gunnarr hét ok haf›i sá ok andazk litlu á›r, ok er
ﬂetta upphaf kvæ›is:1
1. Mjƒk erum tregt
tungu at hrœra
e›r loptvætt
ljó›pundara,era nú væntum Vi›urs ﬂ‡fi
né hógdrœgt
ór hugar fylgsni.

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a Thus K and W; M and W add vatn after gefit in the next clause (an obvious lapse;

omitted here).
1Mö›ruvallabók has only the first stanza of the poem Sonatorrek. There is a lacunain W itself, but some manuscripts of the W-redaction have the first stanza. On theother hand the two K manuscripts have the whole poem; and st. 23 and lines 1–4 ofst. 24 are also found in Snorra Edda. The text of the poem is the result of a longseries of copies and is in some instances corrupt beyond correction. Editors havemade various emendations. The present text follows in the main the edition by Jón
Helgason in Skjaldevers (1961), where various proposed emendations not adopted
here are quoted in the notes. Readers are also advised to consult the editions withEnglish translation by Gabriel Turville-Petre in Iceland and the Medieval World(1974), 33–55 and Scaldic Poetry (1976), 24–41. Cf. also Magnus Olsen (1938).

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2. Era au›ﬂeystr,
ﬂví at ekki veldrhƒfugligr,
ór hyggju sta›fagnafundr
Friggjar ni›jaár borinnór jƒtunheimum.
3. Lastalauss
er lifna›iá nƒkkversnƒkkva bragi;jƒtuns háls
undir ﬂjóta
Náins ni›rfyrir naustdyrum.
4. ﬁví at ætt mín
á enda stendr,hræbarnir
sem hlynir marka,
Sonatorrek
1 loptvætt (hapax legomenon) is a conjecture for loptvæi K (ór lopt ætt M), raisingup; ljó›pundari, the weigher or steelyard of song, the tongue; vænt (M, vænligt K),
promising; Vi›urr is a name for Ó›inn, whose ﬂ‡fi, theft (an allusion to Ó›inn’s
theft of the mead of poetry, Skáldskaparmál 4–5) is poetry.
I can hardly move my tongue, or lift up the steelyard of song (tongue); now there islittle hope of poetry, nor is it easy to draw it (poetry) out of the hiding place of the mind.
2 au›ﬂeystr (a conjecture for andﬂeist), easy to make flow; ór hyggju sta›, frommind’s place, the bosom; fagnafundr Friggjar (conjecture for ﬂriggja) ni›ja, thejoyful find of the kinsmen of Frigg, (the mead of) poetry.
It is not easy, because of my heavy sobbing, to let poetry, which in times of yore
was carried away from the lands of giants, flow from my bosom.
3 Lines 1–4 have not been satisfactorily explicated; jƒtuns háls undir, (the blood
gushing from) the wounds on the neck of the giant, i.e. the sea; ﬂjóta is a probableconjecture for flota; Náinn is the name of a dwarf, whose naustdyrr is the doorwayof his house, i.e. a rock.
The sea is roaring down in front of the rocks.
4 Lines 3–4 are corrupt, and line 3 is metrically wrong (hræbarnir sem hlynir
marka, crushed like wood, is a conjecture); kƒgla (a conjecture for ﬂaugla), thejoints (which together with hrørs seems to mean the dead body); ni›r is a conjecture
for rí›r.

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era karskr ma›r
sá er kƒgla berrfrænda hrørs
af fletjum ni›r.
5. ﬁó mun ek mittok mó›ur hrørfƒ›ur fall
fyrst um telja;
ﬂat ber ek útór or›hofimær›ar timbrmáli laufgat.
6. Grimmt vƒrum hli›
ﬂat er hrƒnn um brautfƒ›ur mínsá frændgar›i;veit ek ófullt
ok opit standa
sonar skar›er mér sjár um vann.
7. Mjƒk hefir Rán
ryskt um mik,
em ek ofsnau›r
at ástvinum;
Because my lineage has come to an end, like weather-beaten trees of the forest, it
is not a glad man who carries the dead body of a relative out of the house.
5 or›hof, temple of speech, i.e. the mouth; mær›ar timbr, timber of praise, i.e. thepoem.
Yet I must first speak of the death of my mother and my father; I carry out of thetemple of words the timber of praise, leaved with words.
6 hli›, gateway, an empty space (here = skar› in line 7).
Cruel to me was the gap which the sea broke in the lineage of my father; I see theempty and open place which the sea has caused me, by depriving me of my son.
7 ryskt um is a metrically unsatisfactory conjecture for of rysk›an; marr in line 5
is a conjecture for mars; snaran in line 7 is added later in one of the two K manuscripts(AM 462 4to). Originally both had an empty space. Cf. snarﬂáttr, hard-spun strand,
in st. 33 (p. 103).
The sea has given me rough treatment; I have too few dear friends; the sea broke
the strings of my kin, a hard-spun strand of myself.
8 The whole stanza is linguistically and metrically corrupt, and the suggested
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sleit marr bƒndminnar ættar,<snaran> ﬂátt
af sjálfum mér.
8. Veiztu um ﬂá sƒk
sver›i of rækak,var ƒlsmi›<r>allra tíma;hro›a vágs brœ›r
ef vega mættak,fœra ek andvígrÆgis mani.
9. En ek ekki
eiga ﬂóttumk
sakar aflvi› sonar bana,
ﬂví at alﬂjó›
fyrir augum ver›r
gamals ﬂegns
gengileysi.
10. Mik hefir marr
miklu ræntan;
grimmt er fallfrænda at telja,
than var, but is metrically unacceptable; hro›a in line 5 is a correction for ro›a;hro›i vágs could possibly mean wind, whose brother is the sea (Skáldskaparmál
39/13–14); ef vega is a likely correction for um voga; Ægis man, Rán, wife of Ægir,like him a personification of the sea.
You know, if I took revenge with the sword for that offence, Ægir would be dead;
if I could kill them, I would fight Ægir and Rán.
9 In line 1 a monosyllable like sízt or vætr would fit better than ekki; eiga in line 2
is a conjecture for eigna; sonar in line 4 is a fitting conjecture for the inexplicable su›s.
But I thought I had not the strength to contend with my son’s slayer, because an
old man’s powerlessness is obvious to all.
10 á munvega, on the paths of joy, heaven (?—the expression is not foundelsewhere); ættarskjƒldr, the shield, i.e. defender, of the family (perhaps ‘the prideof the family’); aflífi adj. indecl.(?), dead (written af lífi).
The sea has deprived me of a great deal; it is painful to enumerate the deaths ofkinsmen, since the prime of my family died and went to the world of delight (theabode of the gods?).

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sí›an er minná munvegaættarskjƒldr
aflífi hvarf.
11. Veit ek ﬂat sjálfr
at í syni mínum
vara ills ﬂegns
efni vaxit,
ef sá randvi›rrƒskvask næ›iunz her-Gauts
hendr of tœki.
12. Æ lét flest
ﬂat er fa›ir mælti,ﬂótt ƒll ﬂjó›
annat seg›i,ok mér upp helt
um verbergi
ok mitt afl
mest um studdi.
13. Opt kemr mér
mána bjarnar
í byrvindbrœ›raleysi;
hyggjumk um
er hildr ﬂróask,n‡sumk hins
ok hygg at ﬂví:
11 vara (i.e. was not) is a plausible conjecture for var; randvi›r, shield-tree, i.e.
man; her-Gautr probably means Ó›inn, but could perhaps mean warrior; ef – tœki(past subj. of taka), if this man could have matured until he got a soldier’s arms (?).
I know myself that the stuff that a bad man is made of had not developed in myson, if this young man could have matured until he became a grown man.
12 Lines 5–6 are inexplicable and metrically wrong.
Nearly always he complied with his father’s words, though everybody else
objected . . . and most supported my efforts.
13 mána is a conjecture for m a, which would normally be manna; máni bjarnar,
enemy of the moon, is probably a kenning for giant, whose byrvindr, favourable
wind, means mind (cf. Gylfaginning 14/34–35; Skáldskaparmál 108/28–30).
The loss of brothers often comes to my mind; I consider (what to do) when thebattle rages, I rack my brain about it and reflect about this:EGILS SAGA

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14. Hverr mér huga›rá hli› standi
annarr ﬂegnvi› ó›ræ›i?
ﬁarf ek ﬂess optof ﬂvergƒrum,ver› ek varfleygrer vinir ﬂverra.
15. Mjƒk er torfyndr
sá er trúa knegumof alﬂjó›
Elgjar gálga,ﬂví at niflgó›rni›ja steypirbró›ur hrørvi› baugum selr.
16. Finn ek ﬂat opt
er fjár bei›ir...
17. ﬁat er ok mæltat engi geti
sonar i›gjƒld
nema sjálfr ali
enn ﬂann ni›
er ƒ›rum séborinn ma›r
í bró›ur sta›.
14 ó›ræ›i and varfleygr are hapax legomena; ﬂvergƒrum is a conjecture for hergƒrum, which is inexplicable, and in any case a ﬂ is necessary to the alliteration.
What other courageous person will support me against sudden danger? I am often
in need of it against obstinate men. I become wary (?) when friends depart.
15 knegum in line 2 should perhaps be read as subj. knegim; alﬂjó› Elgjar(Ó›inn’s?) gálga (gallows), all the people of the world-tree, Yggdrasill (cf. Hávamál138), i.e. everyone in the world (even giants and gods); niflgó›r (hapax legomenon),evil (?); ni›ja steypir, traitor to his kin.
It is hard to find anyone trustworthy among all the people, because an evil traitor
to his relations takes rings for the killing of a brother (i.e. instead of taking revenge).
16 I often feel, when asking for money . . . (a doubtful attempt to translate an
unfinished sentence).
17 Lines 4–5 ali enn is a conjecture for some inexplicable letters.

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18. Erumka ﬂekkt
ﬂjó›a sinni,ﬂótt sérhverr
sátt um haldi;
burr er Bileygsí bœ kominn,kvánar son,kynnis leita.
19. En mér fensí fƒstum ﬂokk
hrosta hilmir
á hendi stendr;
máka ek upp
jƒr›u grímu,r‡nnis rei›,réttri halda,
20. síz son minnsóttar brími
heiptugligr
ór heimi nam,ﬂann ek veit
at varna›i
vamma varrvi› vámæli.
The saying is also that no man gets compensation for a son unless he himself rears
another son, one who is born instead in order to take the place of a brother.
18 Line 1 ﬂekkt is a conjecture for ﬂokt; burr er Bileygs is a conjecture for bir erbiskips; Bileygs í bœ, to the home of Ó›inn, cf. í go›heim in st. 21.
I do not like the company of men, even though they are in agreement; my son has
arrived in the world of the gods, the son of my wife, to pay a visit (i.e. to Ó›inn).
19 fens is a conjecture for fanst; hrosta fen (fen of the beer-mash) is beer, and its
hilmir (chieftain) is Ægir, the sea-god (cf. st. 8 and Hymiskvi›a); jƒr›u is a conjecture
for the inexplicable í áróar; jƒr› grímu, ground of the mask, the face, head; r‡nnis(knowledge’s; a conjecture for rínis) rei› (carriage), the head; réttri is a conjecture
for rétti.
But Ægir (the sea) weighs me down with firm mind; I cannot hold my head upright,
20 vámæli (conjecture for námæli), slander.
since cruel fever removed my son from the world, the one—himself without
blemish—who I know kept clear of slander.

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21. ﬁat man ek enn
er upp um hóf
í go›heim
Gauta spjalliættar ask
ﬂann er óx af mér
ok kynvi›kvánar minnar.
22. Átta ek gottvi› geirs dróttin,
ger›umk tryggr
at trúa honum,á›r vináttvagna rúni,
sigrhƒfundr,um sleit vi› mik.
23. Blœtka ek ﬂví
bró›ur Vílis,go›ja›ar,at ek gjarn sék;ﬂó hefir Míms vinr
mér um fengnarbƒlva bœtr,ef it betra telk.
24. Gáfumk íﬂróttúlfs of bági
vígi vanr
vammi firr›a
21 Gauta spjalli, friend of the Gautar, Ó›inn.
I still remember when Ó›inn raised up to the world of the gods the ash-tree of myrace which sprouted from me and the family branch of my wife.
22 geirs (conjecture for geira) dróttinn, lord of the spear, i.e. Ó›inn; vinátt aconjecture for umat, but not fully satisfying since this form is unique (= vinátta,friendship); vagna rúni, friend of carriages (or of the wains, constellations?), Ó›inn.
I had good relations with Ó›inn, I had confidence in him, until Ó›inn, the Lord ofVictory, broke off friendship with me.
23 bró›ir Vílis, Ó›inn; go›ja›arr, protector of the gods, Ó›inn; Míms vinr, Ó›inn.
I do not worship Ó›inn, the protector of the gods, because I am keen to; neverthelessÓ›inn has, if I consider the better side of it, granted me recompense for my ills.

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ok ﬂat ge›
er ek gjƒr›a mér
vísa fjándr
at vélƒndum.

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25. Nú er mér torvelt,
Tveggja báganjƒrvanipt
á nesi stendr,
skal ek ﬂó gla›rme› gó›an vilja
ok óhryggr
heljar bí›a.

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Egill tók at hressask svá sem fram lei› at yrkja kvæ›it, ok er lokit var kvæ›inu
ﬂá fœr›i hann ﬂat Ásger›i ok ﬁorger›i ok hjónum sínum; reis hann ﬂá upp
15 ór rekkju ok settisk í ƒndvegi; kvæ›i ﬂetta kalla›i hann Sonatorrek. Sí›an
lét Egill erfa sonu sína eptir fornri si›venju. En er ﬁorger›r fór heim ﬂá
leiddi Egill hana me› gjƒfum í brott.
18 Egill bjó at Borg langa ævi ok var› ma›r gamall, en ekki er getit at hannætti málaferli vi› menn hér á landi. Ekki er ok sagt frá hólmgƒngum hanse›a vígaferlum sí›an er hann sta›festisk hér á Íslandi.
21 Svá segja menn at Egill fœri ekki í brott af Íslandi sí›an er ﬂetta var tí›enda
er nú var á›r frá sagt, ok bar ﬂat mest til ﬂess at Egill mátti ekki vera í
Nóregi af ﬂeim sƒkum sem fyrr var frá sagt at konungar ﬂóttusk eiga vi›
24 hann. Bú haf›i hann rausnarsamligt, ﬂví at fé skorti eigi. Hann haf›i ok gottskaplyndi til ﬂess.
Hákon konungr A›alsteinsfóstri ré› fyrir Nóregi langa stund, en inn efra
27 hlut ævi hans ﬂá kómu synir Eiríks <konungs>a til Nóregs ok deildu til ríkis
í Nóregi vi› Hákon konung, ok áttu ﬂeir orrostur saman ok haf›i Hákon
jafnan sigr. Ina sí›arstu orrostu áttu ﬂeir á Hƒr›alandi í Stor› á Fitjum; ﬂar
30 fekk Hákon konungr sigr ok ﬂar me› banasár. Eptir ﬂat tóku ﬂeir konungdóm
í Nóregi Eiríkssynir.
a Thus K and W.

24 úlfs of bági, enemy of the wolf (Fenrisúlfr), Ó›inn.
Ó›inn, the experienced fighter, gave me a faultless art (the gift of poetry), and themind which enabled me to make shifty cowards of obvious enemies.
25 Tveggja bági, Ó›inn’s enemy, Fenrisúlfr; his nipt (sister) is Hel, the goddess ofdeath (Gylfaginning 27); njƒrva- is probably a weak adjective meaning close (of arelationship); nesi a conjecture for nesin.
Now I am in trouble, Hel stands on the headland; nevertheless I shall, glad andunconcerned and with good-will, await death.

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Arinbjƒrn hersir var me› Haraldi Eiríkssyni ok ger›isk rá›gjafi hans ok haf›i
af honum veizlur stórliga miklar; var hann forstjóri fyrir li›i <hans>a ok landvƒrn.
Arinbjƒrn var herma›r mikill ok sigrsæll; hann haf›i at veizlum Fjar›afylki. 3
Egill Skalla-Grímsson spur›i ﬂessi tí›endi, atb konungaskipti var or›it í
Nóregi, ok ﬂat me› at Arinbjƒrn var ﬂá kominn í Nóreg til búa sinna okhann var ﬂá í vir›ing mikilli. ﬁá orti Egill kvæ›i um Arinbjƒrn <ok sendi 6
honum til Nóregs>,c ok er ﬂetta upphaf at:1
1. Emk hra›kvæ›rhilmi at mæra,en glapmáll
um gløggvinga,
opinspjallrum jƒfurs dá›um,
en ﬂagmælskr
um ﬂjó›lygi,
2. skaupi gnœg›rskrƒkberƒndum,
emk vilkvæ›r
um vini mína.
Sótt hefi ek mƒrgmildinga sjƒtme› grunlaust
grepps um œ›i.
a Thus K and W.

b ok M.

c Thus K; similar in W.

1 Here Mö›ruvallabók has a blank space for a stanza; most of the following poem,

Arinbjarnarkvi›a, has been written after the end of the saga on f. 99v. The page is,however, mostly unreadable in its present state, and the poem as a whole is notfound elsewhere. Stanzas 24 and 25 are only found in the Third Grammatical Treatise.
In addition, st. 15 is also found in the Third Grammatical Treatise, and lines 5–8 ofst. 17 are also in Snorra Edda (R and W), as well as lines 1–4 of st. 8 (W only).
The present text is based on a copy of the Mö›ruvallabók text of Egils saga, AM
146 fol., written c.1700 by Ásgeir Jónsson, the scribe of Árni Magnússon; and on
Finnur Jónsson’s edition in Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning (1912–15); cf. also
the edition of Sigur›ur Nordal in ÍF II.
Arinbjarnarkvi›a
1 ﬂjó›lygi, (probably) common treachery.
I am ready enough to compose praise about a prince, but stiff-spoken (i.e. unwilling)(in composing) about misers, outspoken about the feats of a prince, but taciturnabout common treachery,
2 full of contempt for liars, willing to sing the praise of my friends. I have visitedmany palaces of kings with the integrity of a poet (man).

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EGILS SAGA

3. Haf›a ek endr
Ynglings burar,ríks konungs,
rei›i fengna;
dró ek djarfhƒtt
um døkkva skƒr,lét ek hersi
heim um sóttan,
4. ﬂar er allvaldrund œgishjálmi,ljó›frƒmu›r,
at landi sat;st‡r›i konungrvi› stir›an hugí Jórvíkúrgum hjƒrvi.
5. Vara ﬂat tunglskin
tryggt at líta
né ógnlaust
Eiríks bráa,ﬂá er ormfránn
ennimáni
skein allvaldsœgigeislum.
6. ﬁó ek bólstrver›
um bera ﬂor›amaka hœngs
markar dróttni,
3 dró ek djarfhƒtt um døkkva skƒr, I put a daring hat on my dark hair (i.e. I screwed
up my courage).
In former times I had incurred the wrath of a powerful king; I screwed up mycourage and visited the prince,
4 und œgishjálmi, with a helmet of terror (i.e. terrifying); ljó›frƒmu›r, supporterof his men, prince; st‡r›i: written st‡rir; in line 8 the copy has hiaurui after úrgum,
and as a marginal note hiarni.
where the mighty prince reigned with hard hand; the severe king reigned in Yorkwith his bloody (?) sword.
5 ennimáni, moon of the forehead, eye.
That moon-beam of Eiríkr’s eyelashes (glance) was not safe to look at, nor unterrifying, when the eye of the monarch, flashing like a snake, shone with awful glance.

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svá at Yggs full
‡randa kom
at hvers manns
hlusta munnum.
7. Né hamfagrt
hƒl›um ﬂóttiskáldfé mittat skata húsum,ﬂá er úlfgráttvi› Yggjar mi›ihattar staup
at hilmi ﬂák.
8. Vi› ﬂví tók,
en <tvau> fylg›usøkk sámleit
sí›ra brúna
ok sá mu›r,
er mína barhƒfu›lausn
fyrir hilmis kné.
9. ﬁar er tannfjƒl›me› tungu ﬂák
ok hlertjƒld
hlustum gƒfgu›,
6 bólstrver› maka hœngs, poetry (a poem). The kenning is based upon the story
about how Ó›inn acquired the mead of poetry (see Skáldskaparmál 3–5); markar
dróttinn, the king; Yggs full, Ó›inn’s cup, i.e. the mead of poetry, a poem; hlusta
munnar, mouths of the (inner) ears, earholes.
Nevertheless I ventured to offer the king my poem, so that the cup of Ó›inn (thepoem) came foaming to every man’s ears.
7 Yggjar mjƒ›r, Ó›inn’s mead, poetry; hattar staup, knob of the hood, head.
Nor did the men think my reward for the poem at the abode of the generous man
was fair to look at, when I received from the king my wolf-grey head for my poetry.
8 tvau is a conjecture for the inexplicable tiru in Snorra Edda (W; in spite of E. A.
Kock, Notationes norrœnæ, § 1038); søkk sámleit (black jewels (?)) sí›ra brúna (oflow shaggy eyebrows), black eyes; hƒfu›lausn is a conjecture for hof› (Ásgeir
Jónsson’s copy) or hof l (according to Finnur Jónsson), but doubtless correct.
I accepted it together with two dark eyes and the mouth which brought my headransom before the king.
9 hlertjƒld, listening-hangings or -tents, ears.

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EGILS SAGAen sú gjƒfgulli betri
hró›ugs konungs
um heitin var.
10. ﬁar stó› mérmƒrgum betri
hoddfinnƒndum
á hli› a›ratryggr vinr minnsá er ek trúa knáttak,hei›ﬂróa›rhverju rá›i.
11. Arinbjƒrn
er oss einn um hóf,
knía fremstr,
frá konungs fjónum,vinr ﬂjó›ans,er vættki laugí herskáshilmis gar›i.
12. Ok . . .
. . . stu›li lét
margfrƒmu›rminna dá›a,syni . . . gd
sonar Hálfdanarat í væri
ættar ska›i.
There I received many teeth and a tongue, and ears together with hearing, and thatgift from the famous king was considered better than gold.
10 hoddfinnƒndum (dat. pl. pres. participle, cf. finna), (than) those who find gold,men; but better metrically (and comparable with fégrimmr in st. 22) would be
hoddfjƒndum, enemies of gold, generous men; hei›ﬂróa›r (become illustrious?)
hverju rá›i, adding to his honour with every deed.
There stood by my side, better than many generous men, my faithful friend whom
I could count on, excelling with every deed.
11 Arinbjƒrn, the most outstanding of champions, who saved me from the hatredof the king; the friend of the king, who never lied in the palace of the martial king.
12 is too corrupt to give any coherent meaning.

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13. Mun ek vinﬂjófr
ver›a heitinn
ok váljúgr
at Vi›ris fulli,
hró›rs ørver›rok heitrofi,nema ek ﬂess gagnsgjƒld um vinnak.
14. Nú er ﬂat sét,hvar er setja skal
bratt stiginn
bragar fótum
fyrir mannfjƒl›,margra sjónir,hró›r máttigs
hersa kundar.
15. Erum au›skœfómunlokri
magar ﬁórismær›ar efni,
vinar míns,
ﬂví at vali› liggja
tvenn ok ﬂrenn
á tungu mér.
16. ﬁat tel ek fyrst,
er flestr um veit
ok alﬂjó›
eyru sœkir,13 I will be called a false friend and insincere in my poetry, not worthy of any
praise and a breaker of promises, unless I pay back that help.
14 bratt stiginn bragar fótum, difficult to compose (the phrase goes with hró›r, praise).
Now it is clear where to place the painstaking composition of praise of the powerful
son of lords, so that it can be seen by many.
15 ómunlokri (instrumental dat.), with the plane (lokarr) of the voice, the tongue.
It is easy for me to shape the stuff of fame with the plane of the voice about myfriend, the son of ﬁórir (Arinbjƒrn), for the material is abundant.
16 birkis ótti, the fear of the birch, fire, whose bjó› (tables) are the fireplace,arinn (hearthstones), giving the first element of the name Arinbjƒrn.
First I mention that which is well known and everybody has heard about, how
generous Arinbjƒrn has been.

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EGILS SAGA

hvé mildge›rmƒnnum ﬂóttibjó›a bjƒrn
birkis ótta.
17. ﬁat allsheri
at undri gefsk,
hvé hann urﬂjó›
au›i gnœgir,en grjótbjƒrn
um gœddan hefr
Freyr ok Njƒr›r
at fjárafli.
18. En Hróaldsá hƒfu›ba›miau›s i›gnóttat ƒlnum sifjar,
sér vinrei›
af vegum ƒllum
á vindkers
ví›um botni.
19. Hann drógseil
um eiga gat
sem hildingr
heyrnar spanna,go›um ávar›rme› gumna fjƒl›,vinr Véﬂorms,
veklinga tƒs.
17 urﬂjó› (the common) people; grjótbjƒrn, i.e. Arinbjƒrn.
It has amazed people how much wealth he has given to many men, but Freyr andNjƒr›r have endowed Arinbjƒrn with riches.
18 Hróalds hƒfu›ba›mr, the chief tree, the main progeny of Hróaldr (thegrandfather of Arinbjƒrn), is Arinbjƒrn himself; sér (impers.; a conjecture for sem),is seen; vindkers (wind-vessel’s, the sky’s) botn (bottom) is the earth.
The first half of the stanza is mostly obscure. The latter half probably means: On
all roads on earth friends are seen riding (sc. to visit Arinbjƒrn).
19 has resisted attempts at interpretation, in spite of apparent good preservation(the two first lines must nevertheless be corrupt owing to the absence of alliteration).
20 vi›r (= vinnr, pres. 3rd sg. of vinna), works, accomplishes; kve›ka, i.e. kve›ek-a (I do not say it is, it is not) skammt (adv., a short distance) me›al skata (between
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161

20. ﬁat hann vi›r,
er ﬂrjóta munflesta menn,ﬂótt fé eigi.
Kve›ka ek skammt
milli skata húsa
né au›skept
almanna spjƒr.
21. Gekk ma›r engi
at Arinbjarnar
ór legverslƒngum knerrihá›i leiddr
né heiptkvi›umme› atgeirs
au›ar tóptir.
22. Hinn er fégrimmr,er í Fjƒr›um b‡r,
sá er of dólgr
Draupnis ni›ja,
en sƒkunautr
Sónar hvinna,hringum hættr,hoddvegandi.
nor is it easy to make shafts to all people’s spear-heads, i. e. to act so that all shall bepleased.
He accomplishes what most men fail to do, even though they have the means.
Generous men are rare; indeed it is not easy to solve everybody’s problems.
21 legvers (the bedstead’s) langr knƒrr (long ship), hall; há›i leiddr, mocked; né
heiptkvi›um, or with unkind, evil words; atgeirs tóptir, the site of the spear’s dwelling,is the hands.
At Arinbjƒrn’s house no man left his hall mocked or spurned or empty-handed.
22 Hinn er – b‡r, The other one (i.e. the man we are speaking about, Arinbjƒrn,who lives in Fir›ir is cruel to money (i.e. generous); Draupnis ni›ja dólgr, enemy ofDraupnir’s descendants, rings (of gold, cf. Skáldskaparmál 42/10, 26–27), a generous
man (Ásgeir Jónsson’s text ends here); sƒkunautr Sónar hvinna, enemy of thieves ofthe vessel of poetic mead, here probably the giant Baugi, Ó›inn’s assistant in stealing
the mead of poetry (Skáldskaparmál 3–5), in gen. pl. (bauga), i.e. of rings; theoutcome of this pun (as explained by Sigur›ur Nordal) is a generous man; hringumhættr, dangerous to rings, generous; hoddvegandi, gold-killer, a generous man.
The man who lives in Fir›ir (i.e. Arinbjƒrn), is a generous man (four times repeated).

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23. Hann aldrteig
um eiga gat
fjƒl<sáinn>fri›ar spjƒllum . . .
24. ﬁat er órétt,ef orpit hefir
á máskei›mƒrgu gagni,
ramri›inRƒkkva stó›i,vellvƒnu›r
ﬂví er veitti mér.
25. Var ek árvakr,
bar ek or› samanme› málﬂjóns
morginverkum,
hló› ek lofkƒst
ﬂann er lengi stendróbrotgjarn
í bragar túni.

21 Einarr hét ma›r; hann var son Helga Óttarssonar, Bjarnarsonar ins austrœna

er nam lƒnd í Brei›afir›i. Einarr var bró›ir Ósvífrs ins spaka. Einarr var
ﬂegar á unga aldri mikill ok sterkr ok inn mesti atgervima›r; hann tók at
24 yrkja ﬂegar er hann var ungr ok var ma›r námgjarn.
ﬁat var eitt sumar á alﬂingi at Einarr gekk til bú›ar Egils Skalla-Grímssonar
ok tókusk ﬂeir at or›um ok kom ﬂar brátt talinu at ﬂeir rœddu um skáldskap;
27 ﬂótti hvárumtveggja ﬂær rœ›ur skemmtiligar. Sí›an van›isk Einarr optliga
at ganga til tals vi› Egil; ger›isk ﬂar vinátta mikil. Einarr haf›i litlu á›r
23 aldrteigr (lifetime, but teigr means a stretch of ground) fjƒlsáinn (sáinn is aconjecture for faded letters) fri›ar spjƒllum, a course of life fully sown with detrimentof peace, i.e. battles. No more of the poem is legible in M.
During his lifetime peace was often disturbed, or, his has been a life of many
battles.
24 máskei› (pl.), gull’s tracks, the sea; orpit á máskei› (cf. modern Icelandic
kasta á glæ), thrown away; Rƒkkvi is the name of a sea-king, whose stó› (herd ofhorses) is ships; the sea is ramri›in, vigorously ridden, i.e. sailed by many ships;
vellvƒnu›r, diminisher of gold, generous man.
It is unjust if the many favours this generous man has granted me have been wasted.
25 málﬂjónn, language-servant, tongue.
I woke early, I put words together with my tongue early in the day, I built a pile ofpraise which will stand long secure on the infield of poetry (i.e. in memory?).

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komit út ór fƒr. Egill spur›i Einar mjƒk austan tí›enda ok at vinum sínum,svá ok at ﬂeim er hann ﬂóttisk vita at óvinir hans váru; hann spur›i ok mjƒkeptir stórmenni. Einarr spur›i ok í móti Egil frá ﬂeim tí›endum er fyrr hƒf›u 3
gerzk um fer›ir Egils ok stórvirki hans, en ﬂat tal ﬂótti Egli gott ok rœttisk
af vel. Einarr spur›i Egil hvar hann hef›i ﬂess verit staddr at hann haf›i6mest reynt sik ok ba› hann ﬂat segja sér. Egill kva›:
50. Bƒr›umk ek einn vi› átta,en vi› ellifu tysvar,
svá fingum val vargi;
var› ek einn bani ﬂeira.
Skiptumsk hart af heiptum
hlífar skelfiknífum.
Lét ek af Emblu aski
eld valbasta kastat.

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ﬁeir Egill ok Einarr mæltu til vináttu me› sér at skilna›i. Einarr var lƒngum 15
útanlendis me› tignum mƒnnum. Einarr var ƒrr ma›r ok optast félítill, en skƒrungr mikill ok drengr gó›r. Hann var hir›ma›r Hákonar jarls Sigur›arsonar.
Í ﬂann tíma var í Nóregi ófri›r mikill ok bardagar me› ﬂeim Hákoni jarli 18
ok Eiríkssonum ok stukku ‡msir ór landi. Haraldr konungr Eiríksson fellsu›r í Danmƒrk at Hálsi í Limafir›i, ok var hann svikinn. ﬁá bar›isk hann21vi› Harald Knútsson er kalla›r var Gull-Haraldr, ok ﬂá Hákon jarl.1
ﬁar fell ok ﬂá me› Haraldi konungi Arinbjƒrn hersir er fyrr var frá sagt.a
Ok er Egill spur›i fall Arinbjarnar, ﬂá kva› hann:a Three late paper manuscripts, Eyf3, may have preserved here a more originaltext of the M-class (W is not comparable, while K agrees with M): Haraldr Eiríksson
fell í Danmƒrk at Hálsi í Limafir›i ok var véltr (written villtur). ﬁá bar›isk hann vi›
Harald Knútsson, er kalla›r var Gull-Haraldr. ﬁar fell ok ﬂá me› Haraldi konungi
Arinbjƒrn hersir ór Fjƒr›um. The text of Eyf3 is in better agreement with the Kings’
Sagas, according to which Earl Hákon was the instigator of the treacherous assault
on King Haraldr of Norway, but did not take part in the battle. Furthermore, thewords ór Fjƒr›um fit better here than the strangely superfluous er fyrr var frá sagt.
1 ok ﬂá Hákon jarl: either ‘and then (he fought) Earl Hákon’, or ‘and with both
him and Earl Hákon’.
Stanza 50. Ek bƒr›umk einn vi› átta, en tysvar vi› ellifu, svá fingum vargi val;var› ek einn bani ﬂeira. Skiptumsk hlífar skelfiknífum hart af heiptum. Lét ek eld
valbasta kastat af Emblu aski.
hlífar skelfiknífar, terrible knives of the shield, swords (cf. st. 49); valbƒst is perhaps
part of the hilt; its eldr (fire) is a sword; Embla was the first woman (Gylfaginning, Ch. 9);
her askr (spear; small vessel) seems to mean hand, though the kenning may be confused.
I fought alone against eight (men), and twice against eleven (men), thus we gave
dead bodies to the wolf; I killed them all alone. We fought furiously with swords. I
let the sword be thrown by my hand.

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51. ﬁverra nú, ﬂeir er ﬂverr›u,
ﬂingbirtingar Ingva,
hvar skal ek mildra manna,mja›veitar dag, leita,
ﬂeira er hauks fyrir handanháfjƒll digulsnjávi
jar›ar gjƒr› vi› or›um
eyneglda mér hegldu?

9 Einarr Helgason skáld var kalla›r skálaglamm; hann orti drápu um Hákon

jarl er kƒllu› er Vellekla ok var ﬂat mjƒk lengi at jarlinn vildi eigi hl‡›akvæ›inu, ﬂví at hann var rei›r Einari. ﬁá kva› Einarr:
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52. Gør›a ek <veig> um vir›avƒr› ﬂann er sitr at jƒr›u,i›rumk ﬂess, me›an a›rir,ƒrr Váfa›ar, sváfu.
Hykk, at hodda støkkvi,
hinnig sótta ek gram, ﬂótti,f‡sinn, frœknum vísa,
ferri, skáld in verra.
Ok enn kva› hann:

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53. Sœkjum jarl ﬂann er aukaúlfs ver› ﬂorir sver›um;
skipum bor›róinn bar›abaugskjƒldum Sigvalda.
Stanza 51. ﬁverra nú Ingva ﬂingbirtingar, ﬂeir er ﬂverr›u mja›veitar dag; hvarskal ek leita mildra manna, ﬂeirra er fyrir handan eyneglda jar›ar gjƒr› hegldu hauksháfjƒll mér digulsnjávi vi› or›um?
Ingvi is a sea-king; his ﬂing is battle, whose birtingar (illustrious ones?) are fighting
men, chieftains; mja›veit (mead-ditch, i.e. drinking horn (?), cf. mjƒ›r), whose dagr isgold; jar›ar gjƒr›, earth’s girdle, the sea; eyneglda, studded with islands; hauks háfjƒll,hawk’s mountains, arms; hegldu, covered with hail; digulsnjár, crucible-snow, i.e. silver.
The illustrious men who gave gold are now becoming scarce; where will I find thegenerous men who beyond the sea showered silver over my arms for my words (poetry)?
Stanza 52. Gør›a ek ƒrr veig Váfa›ar um vir›a vƒr› ﬂann er sitr at jƒr›u, me›ana›rir sváfu; i›rumk ﬂess. Hykk ferri at hodda støkkvi, frœknum vísa, ﬂótti in verra
skáld; sótta ek f‡sinn gram hinnig.
veig (added in accordance with Jómsvíkinga saga) Váfa›ar, drink of Ó›inn, poetry,
poem; hodda støkkvir, gold-spreader, generous man.
I hurried to compose a poem about the defender of men (jarl) who reigns over theland, while others slept; (now) I regret it. I think the generous man, the brave prince,
considers no poet to be worse; I was eager to visit the other prince.

EGILS SAGA

165

Drepr <eigi> sá sveigir
sárlinns, er gram finnum,rƒnd berum út á andra
Endils, vi› mér hendi.

3

Jarlinn vildi eigi at Einarr fœri á brott ok hl‡ddi ﬂá kvæ›inu, ok sí›an gaf
hann Einari skjƒld, ok var hann in mesta gersemi. Hann var skrifa›r 6
fornsƒgum, en allt milli skriptanna váru lag›ar yfir spengr af gulli, ok settr
steinum. Einarr fór til Íslands ok til vistar me› Ósvífi bró›ur sínum. En um
haustit rei› Einarr vestan ok kom til Borgar ok gisti ﬂar. Egill var ﬂá eigi 9heima ok var hann farinn nor›r til hera›a ok var hans ﬂá heim ván. Einarrbei› hans ﬂrjár nætr, en ﬂat var engi si›r at sitja lengr en ﬂrjár nætr at kynni.
Bjósk Einarr ﬂá í brott, ok er hann var búinn ﬂá gekk hann til rúms Egils ok 12
festi ﬂar upp skjƒldinn ﬂann inn d‡ra ok sag›i heimamƒnnum at hann gaf
Agli skjƒldinn. Sí›an rei› Einarr í brott, en ﬂann sama dag kom Egill heim.
En er hann kom inn til rúms síns ﬂá sá hann skjƒldinn ok spur›i hverr gersemi 15ﬂá átti. Honum var sagt at Einarr skálaglamm haf›i ﬂar komit ok hann haf›igefit honum skjƒldinn. ﬁá mælti Egill:‘Gefi hann allra manna armastr! Ætlar hann at ek skyla ﬂar vaka yfir ok 18
yrkja um skjƒld hans? Nú taki hest minn; skal ek rí›a eptir honum ok drepa
hann.’
Honum var ﬂá sagt at Einarr haf›i ri›it snemma um morgininn; ‘mun 21
hann nú kominn vestr til Dala.’Sí›an orti Egill drápu ok er ﬂetta upphaf at:
54. Mál er lofs at l‡sa
ljósgar›, er ﬂá ek, bar›a,mér kom heim at hendi
hoddsendis bo›, enda.
Stanza 53. Sœkjum jarl ﬂann er ﬂorir auka úlfs ver› sver›um; skipum bor›róinnbar›a Sigvalda baugskjƒldum. Sá sveigir sárlinns drepr eigi hendi vi› mér, er finnum
gram; berum rƒnd út á Endils andra.
eigi is added here in accordance with the stanza in Jómsvíkinga saga; sveigir
sárlinns, swinger of wound-snake (sword), warrior; Endill is the name of a sea-king,whose andrar (skis) are ships.
Let us visit the jarl who dares to increase the wolf’s food with swords; let us line
the ship (with oars on both sides) of Sigvaldi with fine shields. That warrior will notturn me away, when I visit the prince; let us carry shields on board.
Stanza 54. Mál er at l‡sa ljósgar› bar›a, er ﬂá ek, lofs enda; mér kom bo›
hoddsendis heim at hendi. Skalat mér ver›a misfengnir taumar at Gylfa grundar
Glaums jar›gróins; hl‡›i ﬂér til or›a.
ljósgar›r bar›a, ship’s shining fence, shield (shields were fixed along the gunnels);l‡sa lofs enda, make manifest with the end of praise, which may mean no more than

24

27

166

EGILS SAGASkalat at grundar Gylfa
Glaums misfengnir taumar,hl‡›i ﬂér til or›a,jar›gróins mér ver›a.

3

Egill ok Einarr heldu vináttu sinni me›an ﬂeir lif›u bá›ir. En svá er sagt at
6 fœri skjƒldrinn um sí›ir at Egill haf›i hann me› sér í brú›fƒr ﬂá er hann fór

nor›r á Ví›im‡ri me› ﬁorkatli Gunnvaldssyni ok ﬂeir Rau›a-Bjarnarsynir,
Trefill ok Helgi. ﬁá var spillt skildinum ok kastat í s‡ruker. En sí›an lét
9 Egill taka af búna›inn ok váru tólf aurar gulls í spƒngunum.

81. Af ﬁorsteini Egilssyni
ﬁorsteinn son Egils ﬂá er hann óx upp var allra manna frí›astr s‡num, hvítr
12 á hár ok bjartr álitum. Hann var mikill ok sterkr ok ﬂó ekki eptir ﬂví semfa›ir hans <var>.a ﬁorsteinn var vitr ma›r ok kyrrlátr, hógværr, stilltr manna
bezt. Egill unni honum lítit. ﬁorsteini var ok ekki vi› hann ástú›igt, en ﬂau
15 Ásger›r ok ﬁorsteinn unnusk mikit. Egill tók ﬂá at eldask mjƒk.
ﬁat var eitt hvert sumar er ﬁorsteinn rei› til alﬂingis, en Egill sat ﬂá heima;en á›r ﬁorsteinn fœri heiman stilltu ﬂau Ásger›r um ok tóku ór kistu Egils
18 silkislœ›ur Arinbjarnarnauta ok haf›i ﬁorsteinn til ﬂings. Ok er hann haf›iá ﬂinginu ﬂá váru honum dragsí›ar ok ur›u saurgar ne›an ﬂá er ﬂeir váru íLƒgbergsgƒngu. Ok er hann kom heim ﬂá hir›i Ásger›r slœ›urnar ﬂar sem
21 á›r váru. En mjƒk miklu sí›ar ﬂá er Egill lauk upp kistu sína ﬂá fann hann atspillt var slœ›unum ok leita›i ﬂá máls um vi› Ásger›i hverju ﬂat gegndi.
Hon sag›i ﬂá it sanna til. ﬁá kva› Egill:55. Áttka ek erfinytja,arfa, mér til ﬂarfan;
mik hefir son of svikit,
svik tel ek í ﬂví, kvikvan.

24

27
a Thus K.

simply ‘praise’; hoddsendir, gold-dispatcher, generous man; Gylfa is a conjecture
for gilia; Gylfi is a sea-king, whose grund (land) is the sea; Glaumr is the name of ahorse; the horse of the sea is a ship; jar›gróinn, (probably) one grown in earth, a dwarf(Gylfaginning 15/33–34), whose ship is poetry, a poem (Skáldskaparmál 3/26–4/5).
It is high time to praise the shield which I received; the message of the generous
man was brought to me at home. My poem shall not miscarry; listen to my words.
Stanza 55. Áttka ek erfinytja, arfa, mér til ﬂarfan; son hefr of svikit mik kvikvan;
tel ek svik í ﬂví. Vel mætti vatna viggrí›andi bí›a ﬂess er hafskí›a hljótendr hlœ›i
grjóti of mik.
vatna viggrí›andi, water-horse (ship) rider, seaman, man; hafskí›a hljótendr, those
who acquire sea-skis (ships), seamen, men.

EGILS SAGA

167

Vel mætti ﬂess vatna
viggrí›andi bí›a,er hafskí›a hlœ›ihljótendr of mik grjóti.

3

ﬁorsteinn fekk Jófrí›ar dóttur Gunnars Hlífarsonar; mó›ir hennar var Helgadóttir Óláfs feilans, systir ﬁór›ar gellis. Jófrí›i haf›i átt fyrr ﬁóroddr son 6
Tungu-Odds.
Litlu eptir ﬂetta anda›isk Ásger›r. Eptir ﬂat brá Egill búi ok seldi í hendr<ﬁorsteini>,a en Egill fór ﬂá su›r til Mosfells til Gríms mágs síns, ﬂví at 9hann unni mest ﬁórdísi stjúpdóttur sinni, ﬂeira manna er ﬂá váru á lífi.
ﬁat var eitt sumar at skip kom út í Leiruvági ok st‡r›i sá ma›r er ﬁormó›rhét; hann var norrœnn ok húskarl ﬁorsteins <hersis>b ﬁórusonar. Hann haf›i 12me› at fara skjƒld er ﬁorsteinn haf›i sent Agli Skalla-Grímssyni ok var ﬂatágætagripr. ﬁormó›r fœr›i Agli skjƒldinn, en hann tók vi› ﬂakksamliga.
Eptir um vetrinn orti Egill drápu um skjaldargjƒfina er kƒllu› er Berudrápa, 15
ok er ﬂetta upphaf at:
56. Heyri fúrs á forsa
fallhadds vinar stalla,
hyggi, ﬂegn, til ﬂagnar
ﬂinn l‡›r, konungs, mína.
Opt skal arnar kjaptaƒr› gó› of trƒ› Hƒr›a,hrafnst‡randi hrœra
hregna, mín of fregnask.
ﬁorsteinn Egilsson bjó at Borg; hann átti tvá laungetna sonu, Hriflu ok Hrafn,en sí›an hann kvánga›isk áttu ﬂau Jófrí›r tíu bƒrn. Helga in fagra var ﬂeiraa Thus W (K not comparable).

b Thus K and W.

I did not have the heir I need; my son has cheated me while I am alive; I count thischeating. The man could well have waited until men had piled stones over me (i.e.
buried me).
Stanza 56. Heyri ﬂegn konungs á mína forsa fallhadds stalla fúrs vinar; hyggi
ﬂinn l‡›r til ﬂagnar. Opt skal mín gó› arnar kjapta ƒr› of fregnask of Hƒr›a trƒ›,hrœra hregna hrafnst‡randi.
forsar fallhadds stalla fúrs vinar, waterfalls of the long-haired friend of the altarfire, i.e. of Ó›inn, whose waterfall is the mead of poetry, a poem; l‡›r is a conjecture
for ei›r; ƒr› arnar kjapta, produce of the eagle’s beak (cf. Skáldskaparmál 5), poetry;hrœra hregna has not been satisfactorily explained (movable mountains, i.e. waves?),
but together with hrafn it seems to mean ship; its st‡randi is he who steers, sailor, man.
Listen, king’s man, to my poetry; your household should give a hearing. My good
poems will often be heard of in the land of the Hƒr›ar (Hƒr›aland, Norway), man.

18

21

24

168

EGILS SAGA

dóttir er ﬂeir deildu um, Skáld-Hrafn ok Gunnlaugr ormstunga.1 Grímr var
elztr sona ﬂeira, annarr Skúli, ﬂri›i ﬁorgeirr, fjór›i Kollsveinn, fimmti
3 Hjƒrleifr, sétti Halli, sjaundi Egill, átti ﬁór›r. ﬁóra hét dóttir ﬂeira er áttiﬁormó›r Kleppjárnsson. Frá bƒrnum ﬁorsteins er komin kynsló› mikil okmargt stórmenni; ﬂat er kallat M‡ramannakyn, allt ﬂat er frá Skalla-Grími
6 er komit.

82. Af ¯nundi sjóna¯nundr sjóni bjó at Ánabrekku ﬂá er Egill bjó at Borg. ¯nundr sjóni átti9 ﬁorger›i dóttur Bjarnar ins digra af Snæfellsstrƒnd. Bƒrn ﬂeira ¯nundarváru ﬂau Steinarr ok Dalla er átti ¯gmundr Galtason, ﬂeira synir ﬁorgils ok
Kormákr.2 Ok er ¯nundr ger›isk gamall ok s‡ndr lítt ﬂá seldi hann af hendi
12 bú; tók ﬂá vi› Steinarr son hans; ﬂeir fe›gar áttu au› fjár. Steinarr var allra
manna mestr ok rammr at afli, ljótr ma›r, bjúgr í vexti, fóthár ok mi›skammr.
Steinarr var uppivƒzluma›r mikill ok ákafama›r, ódæll ok har›fengr, inn
15 mesti kappsma›r.
Ok er ﬁorsteinn Egilsson bjó at Borg ﬂá ger›isk ﬂegar fátt um me› ﬂeim
Steinari. Fyrir sunnan Háfslœk liggr m‡rr er heitir Stakksm‡rr; standa ﬂar
18 yfir vƒtn á vetrinn, en á várit er ísa leysir ﬂá er ﬂar útbeit svá gó› nautum at
ﬂat var kallat jafnt ok stakkr tƒ›u. Háfslœkr ré› ﬂar landamerkjum at fornu
fari. En á várum gingu naut Steinars mjƒk á Stakksm‡ri er ﬂau váru rekin
21 útan at Háfslœk, en húskarlar ﬁorsteins vƒndu›u um. Steinarr gaf at ﬂví
engan gaum ok fór svá fram it fyrsta sumar at ekki var› til tí›enda.
En annat vár ﬂá helt Steinarr beitinni <sem fyrr>,a en ﬁorsteinn lag›i ﬂá í
24 umrœ›u vi› hann ok rœddi ﬂó stilliliga, ba› hann Steinar halda beit búfjár
síns svá sem at fornu haf›i verit. Steinarr segir at fé mundi ganga ﬂar sem
ﬂat vildi; hann rœddi um allt heldr festiliga ok skiptusk ﬂeir ﬁorsteinn vi›
27 nƒkkurum or›um. Sí›an lét ﬁorsteinn hnekkja nautunum út á m‡rar yfir
Háfslœk, ok er Steinarr var› ﬂess varr ﬂá fekk hann til Grana ﬂræl sinn atsitja at nautunum á Stakksm‡ri ok sat hann ﬂar alla daga. ﬁetta var inn efra
30 hlut sumars; beittusk ﬂá upp allar engjar fyrir sunnan Háfslœk.
Nú var ﬂat einn dag at ﬁorsteinn haf›i gengit upp á borg at sjásk um; hannsá hvar naut Steinars fóru. Hann gekk út á m‡rar; ﬂat var sí› dags. Hann sá
33 at nautin váru ﬂá komin langt út í holtasundit. ﬁorsteinn rann út um m‡rarnar,
ok er Grani sá ﬂat ﬂá rak hann nautin óvægiliga til ﬂess er ﬂau kómu ástƒ›ul. ﬁorsteinn kom ﬂá eptir ok hittusk ﬂeir Grani í gar›shli›inu. ﬁorsteinn
a Thus K (W not comparable).
1 Cf. Gunnlaugs saga, ÍF III.
2 Cf. Kormáks saga, ÍF VIII.

EGILS SAGA

169

vá hann ﬂar; ﬂat heitir Granahli› sí›an; ﬂat er á túngar›inum. ﬁorsteinn
hratt gar›inum ofan á Grana ok hul›i svá hræ hans. Sí›an fór ﬁorsteinn
heim til Borgar, en konur ﬂær er til stƒ›uls fóru fundu Grana ﬂar er hann lá. 3
Eptir ﬂat fóru ﬂær heim til húss ok sƒg›u Steinari ﬂessi tí›endi. Steinarr
leiddi hann uppi í holtunum, en sí›an fekk Steinarr til annan ﬂræl at fylgja
nautunum ok er sá eigi nefndr. ﬁorsteinn lét ﬂá sem hann vissi eigi um beit 6
ﬂat sem eptir var sumarsins.
ﬁat var› til tí›enda at Steinarr fór inn fyrra hlut vetrar út á Snæfellsstrƒnd
ok dval›isk ﬂar um hrí›. Steinarr sá ﬂá ﬂræl er ﬁrándr hét; hann var allra 9
manna mestr ok sterkastr. <Steinarr fala›i>a ﬂræl ﬂann ok bau› vi› ver› mikit,
en sá er átti ﬂrælinn mat hann fyrir ﬂrjár merkr silfrs ok mat hann hálfud‡rra en me›alﬂræl ok var ﬂat kaup ﬂeira; hann haf›i ﬁránd me› sér heim. 12
Ok er ﬂeir kómu heim ﬂá rœ›ir Steinarr vi› ﬁránd: ‘Nú er svá til farit at ek
vil hafa verkna› af ﬂér; er hér skipat á›r til verka allra. Nú mun ek verk fyrir
ﬂik leggja er ﬂér er lítit erfi›i í. ﬁú skalt sitja at nautum mínum; ﬂiki mér ﬂat 15
miklu skipta at ﬂeim sé vel til haga haldit. Vil ek at ﬂú hafir ﬂar engis manns
hóf vi› nema ﬂitt hvar hagi er beztr á m‡rum. Má ek eigi á manni sjá, ef ﬂú
hefir eigi til ﬂess hug e›a afl at halda til fulls vi› einn hvern húskarl ﬁorsteins.’ 18
Steinarr seldi í hendr ﬁrándi øxi mikla, nær álnar fyrir munn, ok var hon
hárhvƒss.
‘Svá lízk mér á ﬂik, ﬁrándr,’ segir Steinarr, ‘sem eigi sé s‡nt hversu mikils 21
ﬂú metr go›or› ﬁorsteins, ef ﬂit sjáizk tveir á.’
ﬁrándr svarar: ‘Engan vanda ætla ek mér á vi› ﬁorstein, en skilja ﬂikjumk
ek hvert verk ﬂú hefir fyrir mik lagt; mantu ﬂikjask litlu til verja ﬂar sem ek 24
em. En ek ætla mér vera gó›an kost, hvárr sem upp kemr, ef vit ﬁorsteinnskulum reyna me› okr.’
Sí›an tók ﬁrándr til nautagæzlu. Honum haf›i ﬂat skilizk, ﬂótt hann hef›i 27
eigi lengi verit, hvert Steinarr haf›i nautum sínum látit halda ok sat ﬁrándr
at nautum á Stakksm‡ri.
Ok er ﬁorsteinn var› ﬂess varr ﬂá sendi hann húskarl sinn til fundar vi› 30
ﬁránd ok ba› segja honum landamerki me› ﬂeim Steinari. Ok er húskarl
hitti ﬁránd ﬂá sag›i hann honum erendi sín ok ba› hann halda nautunum
annan veg, sag›i at ﬂat var land ﬁorsteins Egilssonar er nautin váru ﬂá í 33
komin.
ﬁrándr segir: ‘ﬁat hir›i ek aldri hvárr ﬂeira land á; mun ek naut hafa ﬂar
sem mér ﬂikir hagi beztr.’
36
Sí›an skil›usk ﬂeir; fór húskarl heim ok segir ﬁorsteini svƒr ﬂrælsins.
ﬁorsteinn lét ﬂá kyrrt vera, en ﬁrándr tók ﬂá at sitja at nautum nætr ok daga.

a Thus K; text abbreviated in W (463).

170

EGILS SAGA

83. Dráp ﬁrándar
ﬁorsteinn stó› upp einn morgin vi› sól ok gekk upp á borg; hann sá hvar
3 naut Steinars váru. Sí›an gekk ﬁorsteinn út á m‡rar til ﬂess er hann kom til

nautanna. ﬁar stendr skógarklettr vi› Háfslœk, en uppi á klettinum svaf ﬁrándr
ok haf›i leyst af sér skúa sína. ﬁorsteinn gekk upp á klettinn ok haf›i øxi í
6 hendi ekki mikla ok engi fleiri vápn. ﬁorsteinn stakk øxarskaptinu á ﬁrándi
ok ba› hann vaka; hann spratt upp skjótt ok hart ok greip tveim hƒndum
øxina ok reiddi upp. Hann spur›i hvat ﬁorsteinn vildi.
9 Hann segir: ‘Ek vil segja ﬂér at ek á land ﬂetta, en ﬂér eigu› hagabeit fyrirútan lœkinn; er ﬂat eigi undarligt, ﬂóttú vitir eigi landamerki hér.’ﬁrándr segir: ‘Engu ﬂiki mér skipta hverr land á; mun ek ﬂar láta naut vera
12 er ﬂeim ﬂikir bezt.’‘Hitt er líkligra,’ segir ﬁorsteinn, ‘at ek muna nú rá›a vilja fyrir landi
mínu, en eigi ﬂrælar Steinars.’
15 ﬁrándr segir: ‘Miklu ertu, ﬁorsteinn, óvitrari ma›r <en> ek hug›a, ef ﬂúvilt eiga náttból undir øxi minni ok hætta til ﬂess vir›ingu ﬂinni. Mér s‡nisk
at ætla til sem ek muna hafa tvau ƒfl ﬂín, en mik skortir eigi hug; ek em ok
18 vápna›r betr en ﬂú.’ﬁorsteinn mælti: ‘Á ﬂá hættu mun ek leggja, ef ﬂú gerir eigi at um beitina;vænti ek at mikit skili hamingju okra svá sem málaefni eru ójƒfn.’21 ﬁrándr segir: ‘Nú skaltu sjá, ﬁorsteinn, hvárt ek hræ›umk nƒkkut hót ﬂín.’Sí›an settisk ﬁrándr ni›r ok batt skó sinn, en ﬁorsteinn reiddi upp øxina
hart ok hjó á háls ﬁrándi svá at hƒfu›it fell á bringuna. Sí›an bar ﬁorsteinn
24 grjót at honum ok hul›i hræ hans, gekk sí›an heim til Borgar.
En ﬂann dag kómu seint heim naut Steinars, ok er ﬂrotin ván ﬂótti ﬂess ﬂá
tók Steinarr hest sinn ok lag›i á sƒ›ul; hann haf›i alvæpni sitt. Hann rei› su›r
27 til Borgar ok er hann kom ﬂar hitti hann menn at máli. Hann spur›i hvarﬁorsteinn væri; honum var sagt at hann sat inni. ﬁá ba› Steinarr at ﬁorsteinnkœmi út, kvazk eiga erendi vi› hann; ok er ﬁorsteinn heyr›i ﬂetta tók hann
30 vápn sín ok gekk út í dyrr. Sí›an spur›i hann Steinar hver erendi hans væri.
‘Hefir ﬂú drepit ﬁránd ﬂræl minn?’ segir Steinarr.
‘Svá er víst,’ segir ﬁorsteinn, ‘ﬂarftu ﬂat ekki ƒ›rum mƒnnum at ætla.’
33 ‘ﬁá sé ek at ﬂú munt ﬂikjask har›hendliga verja land ﬂitt er ﬂú hefir drepit
ﬂræla mína tvá; en mér ﬂikir ﬂat ekki svá mikit framaverk. Nú mun ek geraﬂér á ﬂessu miklu betra kost, ef ﬂú vilt me› kappi verja landit ﬂitt, ok skal
36 ekki ƒ›rum mƒnnum nú at hlíta at reka nautin, en vita skaltu ﬂat at nautin
skulu bæ›i dag ok nótt í ﬂínu landi vera.’‘Svá er,’ segir ﬁorsteinn, ‘at ek drap fyrr í sumar a ﬂræl ﬂinn ﬂann er ﬂú
39 fekkt til at beita nautunum í land mitt, en sí›an lét ek y›r hafa beit sem ﬂéra í fyrra sumar K and W.

EGILS SAGA

171

vildu› allt til vetrar. Nú hefi ek drepit annan ﬂræl ﬂinn fyrir ﬂér; gaf ek
ﬂessum ina sƒmu sƒk sem inum fyrra. Nú skaltu hafa beit he›an í frá ísumar sem ﬂú vill, en at sumri, ef ﬂú beitir land mitt ok fær menn til ﬂess at 3
reka hingat fé ﬂitt, ﬂá mun ek enn drepa fyrir ﬂér einn hvern mann ﬂann er
fénu fylgir, svá ﬂó at ﬂú fylgir sjálfr; mun ek svá gera á hverju sumri me›anﬂú heldr teknum hætti um beitina.’
6
Sí›an rei› Steinarr í brott ok heim til Brekku, ok litlu sí›ar rei› Steinarr
upp í Stafaholt. ﬁar bjó ﬂá Einarr; hann var go›or›sma›r. Steinarr ba› hannli›s ok bau› honum fé til. Einarr segir:
9‘ﬁik mun litlu skipta um mína li›sem› nema fleiri vir›ingamenn veiti at
ﬂessu máli.’Eptir ﬂat rei› Steinarr upp í Reykjardal á fund Tungu-Odds ok ba› hann 12li›s ok bau› honum fé til. Oddr tók vi› fénu ok hét li›veizlu sinni, at hannskyldi efla Steinar at koma fram lƒgum vi› ﬁorstein.a Steinarr rei› sí›an heim.
En um várit fóru ﬂeir Oddr ok Einarr me› Steinari stefnufƒr <til Borgar>b 15
ok hƒf›u fjƒlmenni mikit. Stefndi Steinarr ﬁorsteini um ﬂræladráp ok lét
var›a fjƒrbaugsgar› um hvárt vígit, ﬂví at ﬂat váru lƒg, ﬂar er ﬂrælar váru
drepnir fyrir manni, enda væri eigi fœr› ﬂrælsgjƒldin fyrir ina ﬂri›ju sól. En 18
jafnt skyldu metask tvær fjƒrbaugssakir ok ein skóggangssƒk.
ﬁorsteinn stefndi engum sƒkum í mót, ok litlu sí›ar sendi ﬁorsteinn mennsu›r á Nes; kómu ﬂeir til Mosfells til Gríms ok sƒg›u ﬂar ﬂessi tí›endi. Egill 21
lét sér fátt um finnask ok spur›i ﬂó at í hljó›i vandliga um skipti ﬂeira
ﬁorsteins ok Steinars ok svá at ﬂeim mƒnnum er Steinar hƒf›u styrkt til
ﬂessa máls. Sí›an fóru sendimenn heim, ok lét ﬁorsteinn vel yfir ﬂeira fer›. 24
ﬁorsteinn Egilsson fjƒlmennti mjƒk til várﬂings ok kom ﬂar nótt fyrr ena›rir menn ok tjƒldu›u bú›ir sínar ok ﬂingmenn hans er ﬂar áttu bú›ir. Ok
er ﬂeir hƒf›u um búizk ﬂá lét ﬁorsteinn ganga til ﬂingmannali› sitt ok ger›u 27
ﬂar bú›arveggi mikla. Sí›an lét hann bú› tjalda miklu meiri en a›rar bú›ir
ﬂær er ﬂar váru; í ﬂeiri bú› váru engir menn.
Steinarr rei› til ﬂings ok fjƒlmennti mjƒk; ﬂar ré› Tungu-Oddr fyrir li›i 30
ok var allfjƒlmennr; Einarr ór Stafaholti var ok fjƒlmennr; tjƒldu›u ﬂeir
bú›ir sínar. Var ﬂingit fjƒlmennt; fluttu menn fram mál sín. ﬁorsteinn bau›
engar sættir fyrir sik, en svara›i ﬂví ﬂeim mƒnnum er um sættir leitu›u at 33
hann ætla›i at láta dóms bí›a, sag›i at honum ﬂóttu mál lítils ver› ﬂau er
Steinarr fór me› um dráp ﬂræla hans, en tal›i ﬂræla Steinars hafa nógar
sakir til gƒrt.
36
Steinarr lét stórliga yfir málum sínum; ﬂóttu honum sakir lƒgligar, enli›safli nógr at koma lƒgum fram; var hann ﬂví framgjarn um sín mál.
a K adds: ﬁá fór Steinarr í burt ok kom í Stafholt, ok rézk Einarr ﬂá til li›s vi› hannum ﬂessi mál. b Thus K and W.

172

EGILS SAGA

ﬁann dag gingu menn í ﬂingbrekku ok mæltu menn málum sínum, en um
kveldit skyldu dómar út fara til sóknar. Var ﬁorsteinn ﬂar me› flokk sinn;
3 hann ré› ﬂar ﬂingskƒpum mest, ﬂví at svá haf›i verit me›an Egill fór me›go›or› ok mannaforrá›. ﬁeir hƒf›u hvárirtveggju alvæpni.
Menn sá af ﬂinginu at flokkr manna rei› ne›an me› Gljúfrá ok bliku›u
6 ﬂar skildir vi›. Ok er ﬂeir ri›u á ﬂingit ﬂá rei› ﬂar <mikill>a ma›r fyrir íblárri kápu, haf›i hjálm á hƒf›i gullro›inn, en skjƒld á hli› gullbúinn, íhendi krókaspjót; var ﬂar gullrekinn falrinn. Hann var sver›i gyr›r. ﬁar var
9 kominn Egill Skalla-Grímsson <ok haf›i me› sér>b átta tigu manna, alla vel
vápna›a svá sem til bardaga væri búnir. ﬁat li› var valit mjƒk; haf›i Egill
haft me› sér ina beztu bóndasonu af Nesjum sunnan, ﬂá er honum ﬂóttu
12 vígligstir. Egill rei› me› flokkinn til bú›ar ﬂeirar er ﬁorsteinn haf›i tjalda
látit ok á›r var au›; stigu ﬂeir af hestum sínum.
Ok er ﬁorsteinn kenndi fer› fƒ›ur síns ﬂá gekk hann í móti honum me›
15 allan flokk sinn ok fagna›i honum vel; létu ﬂeir Egill bera inn fargervi sína
í bú›, en reka hesta í haga. Ok er ﬂetta var s‡slat gekk Egill ok ﬁorsteinn me›
flokkinn allan upp í ﬂingbrekku ok settusk ﬂar sem ﬂeir váru vanir at sitja.
18 Sí›an stó› Egill upp ok mælti hátt: ‘Hvárt er ¯nundr sjóni hér í ﬂingbrekkunni?’¯nundr kvazk ﬂar vera: ‘Ek em feginn or›inn, Egill, er ﬂú ert kominn;
21 mun ﬂat allt bœta til um ﬂat er hér stendr milli máls manna.’<Egill spur›i>:c ‘Hvárt ræ›r ﬂú ﬂví er Steinarr son ﬂinn sœkir sƒkum
ﬁorstein son minn ok hefir dregit saman fjƒlmenni til ﬂess at gera ﬁorstein
24 at ur›armanni?’1‘ﬁví veld ek eigi,’ segir ¯nundr, ‘er ﬂeir eru ósáttir; hefi ek ﬂar til lagtmƒrg or› ok be›it Steinar sættask vi› ﬁorstein, ﬂví at mér hefir verit í hvern
27 sta› ﬁorsteinn son ﬂinn sparari til ósœm›ar ok veldr ﬂví sú in forna ástvinátta
er me› okr hefir verit, Egill, sí›an er vit fœddumsk hér upp samt‡nis.’‘Brátt mun ﬂat,’ segir Egill, ‘ljóst ver›a hvárt ﬂú mælir ﬂetta af alvƒru e›a
30 af hégóma, ﬂótt ek ætla ﬂat sí›r vera munu. Man ek ﬂá daga at hvárumtveggja
okrum mundi ﬂikja ólíkligt at vit mundim sƒkum sœkjask e›a stilla eigi
sonu okra at ﬂeir fari eigi me› fíflsku slíkri sem ek heyri at hér horfisk til.
33 S‡nisk mér ﬂat rá› me›an vit erum á lífi ok svá nær staddir deilu ﬂeira at vit
takim mál ﬂetta undir okr ok setim ni›r, en látim eigi ﬂá Tungu-Odd ok
Einar etja saman sonum okrum sem kapalhestum. Látum ﬂá hafa annat he›an
36 í frá til févaxtar sér en taka á slíku.’a Thus K; ma›r mikill W. b Thus K; similar in W. c Thus K; s(egir) Egill (after ﬂví) W.
1 ur›arma›r (hapax legomenon), an outlaw (= skógarma›r). In Borgarfjör›uroutlaws have both in ancient times and more recently been known to hide in caves
such as Surtshellir located in rocky terrain (ur›).

EGILS SAGA

173

ﬁá stó› ¯nundr upp ok mælti: ‘Rétt segir ﬂú, Egill, ok ﬂat er okr ófallit atvera á ﬂví ﬂingi er synir okrir deila; skal okr ok aldri ﬂá skƒmm henda atvera ﬂeir vanskƒrungar at sætta ﬂá eigi. Nú vil ek, Steinarr, at ﬂú selir mér 3
mál ﬂessi í hendr ok látir mik me› fara sem mér líkar.’‘Eigi veit ek ﬂat,’ segir Steinarr, ‘hvárt ek vil svá kasta ni›r málum mínum,ﬂví at ek hefi á›r leitat mér li›sem›ar af stórmenni; vil ek nú svá at einu 6
lúka málum mínum at ﬂat líki vel Oddi ok Einari.’Sí›an rœddu ﬂeir Oddr ok Steinarr sín í milli; sag›i Oddr svá:
‘Efna vil ek, Steinarr, li›sem› vi› ﬂik ﬂá er ek hét at veita ﬂér til laga e›a 9ﬂeira málalyk›a er ﬂú vilt taka ﬂér til handa; muntu mest í ábyrgjask hverneg
mál ﬂín eru til komin, ef Egill skal um dœma.’ﬁá mælti ¯nundr: ‘Ekki ﬂarf ek at eiga ﬂetta undir tungurótum Odds;a 12
hefi ek af honum haft hvárki gott né illt, en Egill hefir margt stórvel gƒrt til
mín. Trúi ek honum miklu betr en ƒ›rum, enda skal ek ﬂessu rá›a; mun ﬂér
ﬂat hœfa at hafa eigi alla oss í fangi ﬂér; hefi ek enn hér til rá›it fyrir okr ok 15
skal enn svá vera.’‘Ákafr ertu um ﬂetta mál, fa›ir, en opt ætla ek at vit i›rimsk ﬂessa.’bSí›an seldi Steinarr í hendr ¯nundi málit ok skyldi hann ﬂá sœkja e›a 18sættask á svá sem lƒg kenndu til. Ok ﬂegar er ¯nundr ré› fyrir málum ﬂessumﬂá gekk hann til fundar vi› ﬂá fe›ga, ﬁorstein ok Egil.
ﬁá mælti ¯nundr: ‘Nú vil ek, Egill, at ﬂú skapir einn ok skerir um ﬂessi 21
mál svá sem ﬂú vill, ﬂví at ek trúi ﬂér bezt til at skipa ﬂessum mínum málum
ok ƒllum ƒ›rum.’Sí›an tókusk ﬂeir ¯nundr ok ﬁorsteinn í hendr ok nefndu sér vátta ok 24<fylg›i>c ﬂat me› váttnefnunni at Egill Skalla-Grímsson skyldi einn geraum mál ﬂessi svá sem hann vill, allt óskorat ﬂar á ﬂingi, ok lauk svá ﬂessum
málum; gengu menn svá heim til bú›a. ﬁorsteinn lét lei›a til bú›ar Egils 27
ﬂrjá yxn ok lét hƒggva til ﬂingnests honum.
Ok er ﬂeir Tungu-Oddr ok Steinarr kómu heim til bú›ar, ﬂá mælti Oddr:‘Nú hefir ﬂú, Steinarr, ok ﬂit fe›gar rá›it fyrir lyk› mála ykkarra. Nú 30
teljumk ek ór lauss vi› ﬂik, Steinarr, um li›veizlu ﬂá er ek hét ﬂér, ﬂví at
svá var mælt me› okr at ek skylda veita ﬂér svá at ﬂú kœmir málum ﬂínum
fram e›a til ﬂeira lyk›a er ﬂér hugna›i, hverneg sem ﬂér gefsk sættargjƒr› 33
Egils.’a This phrase is probably in this case a corruption of undir Tungu-Oddi; K and W
have: eiga undir Oddi (similar in Eyf3 and 458). b um – ﬂessa] fa›ir, ok mjƒkeinrá›r um ﬂetta mál, en satt segir ﬂú ﬂat at mér hafa ﬂín rá› vel í hald komit jafnan.
Nú skaltu ok fyrir rá›a, en eigi undrumk ek ﬂat ﬂótt vit bá›ir i›rumsk ﬂessa sí›ar K(q is defective, but almost the same; the W-redaction also has almost the same).
c Thus q and K (abbreviation in W).

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Steinarr segir at Oddr hefir honum vel veitt ok drengiliga ok ﬂeira vinátta
skal nú vera miklu betri en á›r; ‘vil ek kalla at ﬂú sér ór lauss vi› mik um ﬂat
3 er ﬂú vart í bundinn.’
Um kveldit fóru dómar út ok er ekki getit at ﬂar yr›i til tí›enda.

84. Af Egli ok ¯nundi sjóna
6 Egill Skalla-Grímsson gekk í ﬂingbrekku um daginn eptir ok me› honumﬁorsteinn ok allr flokkr ﬂeira. ﬁar kom ﬂá ok ¯nundr ok Steinarr. TunguOddr var ok ﬂar kominn ok ﬂeir Einarr. Ok er menn hƒf›u ﬂar mælt lƒgmálum
9 sínum ﬂá stó› Egill upp ok mælti svá:
‘Hvárt eru ﬂeir Steinarr ok ¯nundr fe›gar hér svá at ﬂeir megi skilja mál
mitt?’
12 ¯nundr segir at ﬂeir váru ﬂar.
‘ﬁá vil ek lúka upp sættargjƒr› milli ﬂeira Steinars ok ﬁorsteins. Hef ek
ﬂar upp ﬂat mál er Grímr fa›ir minn kom hingat til lands ok nam hér lƒnd ƒll
15 um M‡rar ok ví›a <um> hera›a ok tók sér bústa› at Borg ok ætla›i ﬂar
landeign til, en gaf vinum sínum landakosti ﬂar út í frá svá sem ﬂeir bygg›usí›an.b Hann gaf Ána bústa› at Ánabrekku ﬂar sem ¯nundr ok Steinarr hafa
18 hér til búit. Vitu vér ﬂat allir, Steinarr, hvar landamerki eru milli Borgar okÁnabrekku, at ﬂar ræ›r Háfslœkr.1‘Nú var eigi ﬂat, Steinarr, at ﬂú ger›ir ﬂat óvitandi at beita land ﬁorsteins
21 ok lag›ir undir ﬂik eign hans ok ætla›ir at hann mundi vera svá mikill ættleri
at hann mundi vera vilja ræningi ﬂinn, ﬂví at ﬂú, Steinarr, ok ﬂit ¯nundr
megu› ﬂat vita at Áni ﬂá land at Grími fe›r mínum; en ﬁorsteinn drap fyrir
24 ﬂér ﬂræla tvá. Nú er ﬂat ƒllum mƒnnum au›s‡nt at ﬂeir hafa fallit á verkum
sínum ok eru ﬂeir óbótamenn, ok at heldr ﬂótt ﬂeir væri frjálsir menn ﬂáværi ﬂeir ﬂó óbótamenn.
27 ‘En fyrir ﬂat, Steinarr, er ﬂú hug›isk ræna mundu ﬁorstein son minnlandeign sinni, ﬂeiri er hann tók me› mínu rá›i ok ek tók í arf eptir fƒ›urminn, ﬂar fyrir skaltu láta laust ﬂitt land at Ánabrekku ok hafa eigi fyrir fé.
30 ﬁat skal ok fylgja at ﬂú skalt eigi hafa bústa› né vistafar hér í hera›i fyrir
sunnan Langá ok vera brottu frá Ánabrekku á›r fardagar <ﬂessir>c sé li›nir,
en falla óheilagr fyrir <ﬁorsteini ok>d ƒllum ﬂeim mƒnnum er ﬁorsteini vilja
33 li› veita ﬂegar eptir fardaga, ef ﬂú vill eigi brott fara e›a nƒkkurn hlut eigi
halda, ﬂann er ek hefi á lagt vi› ﬂik.’
En er Egill settisk ni›r ﬂá nefndi ﬁorsteinn vátta at gjƒr› hans.
a Thus q; um heru› K. b Here W resumes after the lacuna (cf. p. 130).
and 463; ﬂessir inir næstu K. d Thus q, K and W.
1 Cf. Ch. 82: Háfslœkr ré› ﬂar landamerkjum at fornu fari.

c Thus q

EGILS SAGA

175

ﬁá mælti ¯nundr sjóni: ‘ﬁat mun mál manna, Egill, at gjƒr› sjá er ﬂú hefirgƒrt ok upp sagt sé heldr skƒkk.a Nú er ﬂat frá mér at segja at ek hefi allan
mik vi› lagt at skirra vandræ›um ﬂeira, en he›an af skal ek ekki af spara ﬂat 3er ek má gera til óﬂurftar ﬁorsteini.’‘Hitt mun ek ætla,’ segir Egill, ‘at hlutr ykkarr fe›ga mun æ ﬂví verri erdeildir várar standa lengr; hug›a ek, ¯nundr, at ﬂú mundir ﬂat vita at ek hefi 6
haldit hlut mínum fyrir ﬂvílíkum svá mƒnnum sem ﬂit eru› fe›gar. En Oddr
ok Einarr, er dregizk hafa svá mjƒk til ﬂessa máls, hafa hér af fengit skapna›arvir›ing.’
985. Af ﬁorgeiri
ﬁorgeirr blundr var ﬂar á ﬂinginu, systurson Egils, ok haf›i mikit li› veitt
ﬁorsteini í ﬂessum málum. Hann ba› ﬂá fe›ga gefa sér land nƒkkut út ﬂar á 12
M‡runum; hann bjó á›r fyrir sunnan Hvítá fyrir ne›an Blundsvatn. Egill
tók vel á ﬂví ok f‡sti ﬁorstein at hann léti hann ﬂangat fara; ﬂeir settu ﬁorgeirni›r at Ánabrekku, en Steinarr fœr›i bústa› sinn út yfir Langá ok settisk 15
ni›r at Leirulœk. En Egill rei› heim su›r á Nes ok skil›usk ﬂeir me› blí›skap
fe›gar.
Ma›r sá var me› ﬁorsteini er Íri hét, hverjum manni fóthvatari ok allra 18
manna skyggnastr.b Hann var útlendr ok lausingi ﬁorsteins, en ﬂó haf›i hannfjárgæzlur ok ﬂær mest at safna geldfé upp til fjalls á várum, en á haust ofan
til réttar. En nú eptir fardaga lét ﬁorsteinn safna geldfé ﬂví er eptir haf›i 21
verit um várit ok ætla›i at láta reka ﬂat til fjalls. Íri var ﬂá í fjárréttinum, enﬁorsteinn ok húskarlar hans rei› upp til fjalls ok váru ﬂeir átta saman.
ﬁorsteinn lét gera gar› um ﬂvera Grísartungu milli Langavatns ok Gljúfrár; 24
lét hann ﬂar at vera marga menn um várit. Ok er ﬁorsteinn haf›i litit yfirverk húskarla sinna ﬂá rei› hann heim, ok er hann kom gegnt ﬂingstƒ› ﬂá
kom Íri ﬂar hlaupandi í móti ﬂeim ok sag›i at hann vill mæla vi› ﬁorstein 27einmæli. ﬁorsteinn mælti at fƒrunautar hans skyldu rí›a fyrir me›an ﬂeir tala›i.
Íri sag›i ﬁorsteini at hann hef›i farit upp á Einkunnir um daginn ok sét til
sau›a, ‘en ek sá,’ segir hann, ‘í skóginum fyrir ofan vetrgƒtu at skinu vi› 30
tólf spjót ok skildir nƒkkurir.’ﬁorsteinn segir hátt svá at fƒrunautar hans heyr›u svá beint: ‘Hví munhonum svá annt at hitta mik at ek mega eigi rí›a heim lei›ar minnar, en ﬂó 33
mun ¯lvaldi ﬂikja ósannligt at ek synja honum máls, ef hann er sjúkr.’Íri hljóp ﬂá sem mest mátti hann til fjalls upp. ﬁorsteinn segir fƒrunautum
sínum:
36a q adds: ok oss heldr óhagfelld; skjót ok oss mjƒk óhagfelld K; W has: upp sagt sé
oss óhagfelld. b The following episode, about Íri, is not found in K or W, but most of
it is also preserved in q, and a whole parallel text to q is found in Eyf3.

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‘Lengja ætla ek nú lei›ina, ef vér skulum fyrst rí›a su›r til ¯lvaldssta›a.
¯lvaldr sendi mér or› at ek skylda finna hann; mun honum ﬂó eigi miklu
3 ﬂikja launa›r uxinn er hann gaf mér í fyrra haust at ek hitta hann, ef honum
ﬂikir máli skipta.’
Sí›an ri›u ﬂeir ﬁorsteinn su›r um m‡rar fyrir ofan Stangarholt ok svá
6 su›r til Gufuár ok ofan me› ánni rei›gƒtur. Ok er hann kom ni›r frá Vatni ﬂá
sá ﬂeir fyrir sunnan ána naut mƒrg ok mann hjá; var ﬂar húskarl ¯lvalds.
Spur›i ﬁorsteinn hverneg ﬂar væri heilt; hann sag›i at ﬂar var vel heilt ok
9 ¯lvaldr var í skógi at vi›arhƒggvi.
‘ﬁá skaltu,’ segir ﬁorsteinn, ‘segja honum, ef hann á vi› mik skylt erendi,
at hann komi til Borgar, en ek mun nú rí›a heim.’
12 Ok svá ger›i hann. En ﬂat spur›isk ﬂó sí›an at Steinarr Sjónason haf›i
ﬂann sama dag setit uppi vi› Einkunnir me› tólfta mann; ﬁorsteinn lét sem
hann hef›i ekki spurt ok var ﬂat kyrrt sí›an.
15

86. Heimbo› vi› ﬁorsteinﬁorgeirr er ma›r nefndr; hann var frændi ﬁorsteins ok inn mesti vinr; hannbjó í ﬂenna tíma á Álptanesi. ﬁorgeirr var vanr at hafa haustbo› hvert haust.
18 ﬁorgeirr fór til fundar vi› ﬁorstein Egilsson ok bau› honum til sín; ﬁorsteinn
hét fer›inni, ok fór ﬁorgeirr heim.
En at ákve›num degi bjósk ﬁorsteinn til farar ok váru ﬂá fjórar vikur til
21 vetrar; me› ﬁorsteini fór austma›r hans ok húskarlar hans tveir. Grímr hét
son ﬁorsteins; hann var ﬂá tíu vetra ok fór ok me› ﬁorsteini ok váru ﬂeir fimm
saman ok ri›u út til Fors ok ﬂar yfir Langá, sí›an út sem lei› lá til Aurri›aár.
24 En fyrir útan ána <er skógarholt langt ok mjótt; ﬂar liggr gatan eptir, en
vestr frá holtinu eru engjar af bœjum nƒkkurum. ﬁar>a var Steinarr á verki
ok ¯nundr ok húskarlar ﬂeira; ok er ﬂeir kenndu ﬁorstein ﬂá hljópu ﬂeir til
27 vápna sinna ok sí›an eptir ﬂeim ﬁorsteini. Ok er ﬁorsteinn sá eptirfƒr Steinars
ﬂá ri›u ﬂeir út af Langaholti; ﬂar er hóll einn hár ok óví›r; ﬂar stíga ﬂeir
ﬁorsteinn af hestunum ok sœkja upp á hólinn. ﬁorsteinn mælti at sveinninn
30 Grímr skyldi fara í skóginn ok ver›a eigi vi› staddr fundinn. Ok ﬂegar er
ﬂeir Steinarr koma at hólnum ﬂá sœkja ﬂeir at ﬂeim ﬁorsteini ok var› ﬂar
bardagi. ﬁeir Steinarr váru sex saman vaxnir menn, en inn sjaundi son Steinars
33 tíu vetra gamall.
ﬁenna fund sá ﬂeir menn er váru á engiteigum af ƒ›rum bœjum ok runnu
til at skilja ﬂá; ok er ﬂeir váru skil›ir ﬂá váru látnir húskarlar ﬁorsteins bá›ir;
36 fallinn var ok einn húskarl Steinars, en sárir sumir.

a Thus W, according to the reading of the last page of the codex by Jón Helgason

in his facsimile edition; similar in K.

EGILS SAGA

177

Ok er ﬂeir váru skil›ir leitar ﬁorsteinn at hvar Grímr var ok finna ﬂeir
hann; var Grímr ﬂá sárr mjƒk ok son Steinars lá ﬂar hjá honum dau›r. Ok er
3ﬁorsteinn hljóp á hest sinn ﬂá kalla›i Steinarr á hann ok mælti:‘Rennr ﬂú nú, ﬁorsteinn hvíti?’ segir hann.
ﬁorsteinn segir: ‘Lengra skaltu renna á›r vika sé li›in.’
Sí›an ri›u ﬂeir ﬁorsteinn út yfir m‡rina ok hƒf›u me› sér sveininn Grím; 6
ok er ﬂeir kómu út í holt ﬂat er ﬂar ver›r ﬂá andask sveinninn ok grófu ﬂeir
hann ﬂar í holtit, ok er ﬂat kallat Grímsholt, en ﬂar heitir Orrostuhváll sem
9ﬂeir bƒr›usk.
ﬁorsteinn rei› á Álptanes um kveldit sem hann haf›i ætlat ok sat ﬂar atbo›i ﬂrjár nætr, en sí›an bjósk hann til heimfer›ar. Menn bu›usk til at fara
12me› honum, en hann vildi eigi; ri›u ﬂeir tveir saman.
Ok ﬂann sama dag er Steinarr vissi ván at ﬁorsteinn mundi heim rí›a ﬂá
rei› Steinarr út me› sjó. Ok er hann kom á mela ﬂá er ver›a fyrir ne›an
Lambasta›i ﬂá settisk hann ﬂar á melinn; hann haf›i sver› ﬂat er Skr‡mir 15
hét, allra vápna bezt. Hann stó› ﬂar á melnum me› sver›it brug›it ok horf›iﬂá á einn veg, ﬂví at hann sá ﬂá rei› ﬁorsteins útan um sandinn.
Lambi bjóa á Lambastƒ›um ok sá hvat Steinarr haf›isk at. Hann gekk 18
heiman ok ofan á bakkann ok er hann kom at Steinari ﬂá greip hann aptan
undir hendr honum. Steinarr vildi slíta hann af sér. Lambi helt fast ok fara
ﬂeir nú af melunum á sléttuna, en ﬂá rí›a ﬂeir ﬁorsteinn it ne›ra gƒtuna. 21
Steinarr haf›i ri›it stó›hesti sínum ok <haf›i bundit hann; hestrinn var›lauss ok>b hljóp hann inn me› sjó; ﬂat sá ﬂeir ﬁorsteinn ok undru›usk, ﬂví atﬂeir hƒf›u ekki varir vor›it vi› fƒr Steinars. ﬁá ﬂvera›isk Steinarr fram á 24
bakkann, ﬂví at hann sá eigi at ﬁorsteinn hef›i um ri›it. Ok er ﬂeir kómu á
bakkann framanver›an ﬂá hratt Lambi honum fyrir melinn ofan, en ﬂatvara›isk Steinarr ekki; hann rasa›i ofan á sandinn, en Lambi hljóp heim. 27
Ok er Steinarr komsk á fœtr ﬂá rann hann eptir Lamba; en er Lambi kom atdyrum ﬂá hljóp hann inn, en rak aptr hur›ina. Steinarr hjó eptir honum svá
at sver›it stó› fast í vindskei›unum; skil›usk ﬂeir ﬂar; gekk Steinarr heim. 30
En er ﬁorsteinn kom heim ﬂá sendi hann um daginn eptir húskarl sinn út
til Leirulœkjar at segja Steinari at hann fœr›i bústa› sinn um Borgarhraun<ok vera í brottu annan aptan me› allt sitt>,c en at ƒ›rum kosti mundi hann 33
njóta ﬂess vi› Steinar, ef hann ætti fleira manna forrá›, ‘ok mun ﬂá eigi
kostr brottfer›ar.’
En Steinarr bjó fer› sína út á Snæfellsstrƒnd ok ﬂar setti hann bú saman er 36
heitir at Elli›a;d ok l‡kr ﬂar vi›skiptum ﬂeira ﬁorsteins Egilssonar.
a Written bóndi and omitting the following ok K and W. b Thus K and W. c Thus
K; almost the same in W. d W (Jón Helgason) adds: ok bjó hann ﬂar lengi sí›an;similar in K.

178

EGILS SAGA

ﬁorgeirr blundr bjó at Ánabrekku; hann veitti ﬁorsteini illar búsifjar í ƒlluﬂví er hann mátti. ﬁat var eitt sinn er ﬂeir hittusk, Egill ok ﬁorsteinn, at ﬂeir
3 rœddu margt um ﬁorgeir blund frænda sinn, ok kómu allar rœ›ur <vel>aásamt me› ﬂeim. ﬁá kva› Egill:

6

9

12

57. Span›a ek jƒr› me› or›um
endr Steinari ór hendi;
ek ﬂóttumk ﬂá orka
<arfa>b Geirs til ﬂarfar.
Mér brásk minnar systur
mƒgr; hétumk ﬂá fƒgru;máttit bƒls of bindask
Blundr; ek slíkt of undrumk.

ﬁorgeirr blundr fór í brott frá Ánabrekku ok fór su›r í Flókadal, ﬂví atﬁorsteinn ﬂóttisk ekki mega vi› hann eiga, en vildi ﬂó vægjask ﬂar vi›.c
15 ﬁorsteinn var ma›r órefjusamr ok réttlátr ok óáleitinn vi› menn, en helt
hlut sínum, ef a›rir menn leitu›u á hann, enda veitti ﬂat heldr ﬂungt flestumat etja kappi vi› hann. <Me› ﬂeim Tungu-Oddi var fátt sí›an mál Steinars
18 váru>.d Oddr var ﬂá hƒf›ingi í Borgarfir›i fyrir sunnan Hvítá; hann var
hofsgo›i ok ré› fyrir hofi ﬂví er allir menn guldu hoftoll til fyrir innan
Skar›shei›i.
21

87. Andlát Egils Skalla-Grímssonar

Egill Skalla-Grímsson var› ma›r gamall, en í elli hans ger›isk hann ﬂungfœrr
ok glapna›i honum bæ›i heyrn ok s‡n; hann ger›isk ok fótstir›r. Egill var
24 ﬂá at Mosfelli me› Grími ok ﬁórdísi.
ﬁat var einn dag er Egill gekk úti me› vegg ok drap fœti ok fell.e Konurnƒkkurar sá ﬂat ok hlógu at ok mæltu:27 ‘Farinn ertu nú, Egill, me› ƒllu, er ﬂúf fellr einn saman.’gﬁá segir Grímr bóndi: ‘Mi›r hæddu konur at okr ﬂá er vit várum yngri.’ha Thus K; val W. b Thus K and W. c W adds (omitting ﬂar): hann fyrir frændsemissƒkum; similar in K. d Thus K (same sense in W). e K adds: ﬂví stakksteinótt varme› veggnum. f K and W add: sér eigi fyrir fótum ﬂér ok. g K adds: ok ertu mjƒkor›inn eptir ﬂik; similar in W (ept is the last word of the saga in this manuscript;
AM 463 4to serves as a parallel text in the remainder). h K adds: ætla ek ok at ﬂeim
ﬂiki nú lítil<lar> tilsjá vert um kvensemi okra. Egill segir at svá var ﬂá komit, ok;similar in W.
Stanza 57. Once I won land from Steinarr with words. I thought then that I had
helped the son of Geirr. But my sister’s son has failed me for all his fine promises.
Blundr could not refrain from doing wrong. It amazes me.

EGILS SAGA

179

ﬁá kva› Egill:
58. Vals hefi ek váfur helsis,
váfallr em ek skalla,
blautr erum bergi
 fótar
borr, en hlust er ﬂorrin.

3

Egill var› me› ƒllu sjónlauss. ﬁat var einn hvern dag er ve›r var kalt um 6
vetrinn at Egill fór til elds at verma sik. Matseljan rœddi um at ﬂat var undr
mikit, slíkr ma›r sem Egill haf›i verit, at hann skyldi liggja fyrir fótum
ﬂeim svá at ﬂær mætti eigi vinna verk sín.
9‘Ver ﬂú vel vi›,’ segir Egill, ‘ﬂótt ek bƒkumk vi› eldinn ok m‡kjumsk vérvi› um rúmin.’‘Statt ﬂú upp,’ segir hon, ‘ok gakk til rúms ﬂíns ok lát oss vinna verk vár.’ 12
Egill stó› upp ok gekk til rúms síns ok kva›:
59. Hvarfa ek blindr of branda;bi› ek eirar Syn geira,ﬂann ber ek harm á hvarma
hnitvƒllum mér, sitja.
Er jar›gƒfugr, or›um,
or› mín konungr for›um
haf›i gramr at gamni,
Geirham›is mik fram›i.
ﬁat var enn eitt sinn er Egill gekk til elds at verma sik, ﬂá spur›i ma›r hannhvárt honum væri kalt á fótum ok ba› hann eigi rétta of nær eldinum.
Stanza 58. Ek hefi váfur helsis vals; em ek váfallr skalla; blautr erum bergis fótar
borr, en hlust er ﬂorrin.
helsis valr (vals is a correction for vafs), horse of the collar, i.e. the neck; bergis
fótar borr, (probably) penis (cf. Erik Noreen, 1922, 35–36); hlust is a correction inaccordance with K and W for lust (= desire, lust?) in M; ﬂorrin, diminished.
My neck quivers; I am inclined to fall and hurt my bald head; my penis is soft, andmy hearing is gone.
Stanza 59. Ek hvarfa blindr sitja of branda; ek bi› Syn geira eirar: harm ﬂann ber
ek á hvarma hnitvƒllum mér. For›um er jar›gƒfugr gramr haf›i or› mín at gamni,
fram›i konungr mik or›um Geirham›is.
Syn (the name of a goddess) geira (of the gore, triangular piece of cloth), woman;hnitvellir hvarma, clashing fields of the eyelids, i.e. the eyes; or› Geirham›is, wordsof the giant Geirham›ir, i.e. gold (see Skáldskaparmál 3).
I dodder around blind to sit by the fire; I ask for mercy of the woman: I have thisinjury in my eyes. In days of old when a noble ruler took pleasure in my words(poetry), the king endowed me with gold.

15

18

21

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EGILS SAGA

‘Svá skal vera,’ segir Egill, ‘en eigi ver›r mér nú hógst‡rt fótunum er ek
sé eigi, ok er ofdaufligt sjónleysit.’
3 ﬁá kva› Egill:

69

60. Langt ﬂiki mér;ligg ek einn saman
karl afgamall
á konungs vƒrnum.
Eigum ekkjur
allkaldar tvær,en ﬂær konur
ﬂurfa blossa.

ﬁat var á dƒgum Hákonar <jarls>a ins ríka ƒndver›um, ﬂá var Egill SkallaGrímsson á níunda tigi ok var hann ﬂá hress ma›r fyrir annars sakir en
sjónleysis.
15 ﬁat var um sumarit er menn bjuggusk til ﬂings, ﬂá beiddi Egill Grím atrí›a til ﬂings me› honum;b Grímr tók ﬂví seinliga. Ok er ﬂau Grímr okﬁórdís tƒlu›usk vi›, ﬂá sag›i Grímr henni hvers Egill haf›i beitt.
18 ‘Vil ek at ﬂú forvitnisk hvat undir mun búa bœn ﬂessi.’ﬁórdís gekk til máls vi› Egil frænda sinn; var ﬂá mest gaman Egils atrœ›a vi› hana. Ok er hon hitti hann ﬂá spur›i hon:
21 ‘Er ﬂat satt, frændi, er ﬂú vilt til ﬂings rí›a? Vilda ek at ﬂú seg›ir mér hvatværi í rá›agjƒr› ﬂinni.’‘Ek skal segja ﬂér,’ kva› hann, ‘hvat ek hefi hugsat. Ek ætla at hafa til
24 ﬂings me› mér kistur ﬂær tvær er A›alsteinn konungr gaf mér, er hvártveggi
er full af ensku silfri. Ætla ek at láta bera kisturnar til Lƒgbergs ﬂá er ﬂar erfjƒlmennast; sí›an ætla ek at sá silfrinu ok ﬂiki mér undarligt, ef allir skipta
27 vel sín í milli. Ætla ek at ﬂar mundi vera ﬂá hrundningar e›a pústrar e›abærisk at um sí›ir at allr ﬂingheimrinn ber›isk.’ﬁórdís segir: ‘ﬁetta ﬂiki mér ﬂjó›rá› ok mun uppi me›an landit er byggt.’
12

a Thus K and W. b The following episode about Egill’s plan to sow his silver at theAlﬂingi is not found in K or W, but on the other hand Eyf3 have a very verbose text
with the same content as M; cf. Egils saga 2001, 181–82.

Stanza 60: á konungs vƒrnum (defence) is probably a pun of the ofljóst kind; theking’s defence can be dúnn m. troop, and dúnn is also down or bedclothes of down
(cf. sofi hann á dúni, Grottasƒngr 5), and ligg á konungs vƒrnum probably means ‘Ilie in bed’ (interpretation by Ólafur M. Ólafsson, 1951, 122). Another case of ofljóst
in this stanza is ekkjur in line 5, which means widows; they can also be called hælar,which commonly means heels. Eigum ekkjur allkaldar tvær may be interpreted as ‘I
have two very cold feet’; ﬂurfa blossa, need flames (i.e. warmth).

EGILS SAGA

181

Sí›an gekk ﬁórdís til tals vi› Grím ok sag›i honum rá›ager› Egils.
‘ﬁat skal aldri ver›a, at hann komi ﬂessu fram, svá miklum firnum.’1
Ok er Egill kom á rœ›ur vi› Grím um ﬂingfer›ina, ﬂá tal›i Grímr ﬂat allt 3
af ok sat Egill heima um ﬂingit. Eigi líka›i honum ﬂat vel; var hann heldrófr‡nn.
At Mosfelli var hƒf› selfƒr ok var ﬁórdís í seli um ﬂingit. ﬁat var eitt kveld 6
ﬂá er menn bjuggusk til rekkna at Mosfelli at Egill kalla›i til sín ﬂræla tvá er
Grímr átti; hann ba› ﬂá taka sér hest; ‘vil ek fara til laugar.’Ok er Egill var búinn gekk hann út ok haf›i me› sér silfrkistur sínar. 9
Hann steig á hest, fór sí›an ofan eptir túninu fyrir brekku ﬂá er ﬂar ver›r ermenn sá sí›ast.
En um morgininn er menn risu upp ﬂá sá ﬂeir at Egill hvarfla›i á holtinu 12
fyrir austan gar› ok leiddi eptir sér hestinn; fara ﬂeir ﬂá til hans ok fluttu
hann heim. En hvárki kom aptr sí›an ﬂrælarnir né kisturnar ok eru ﬂar margar
getur á hvar Egill hafi fólgit fé sitt.
15
Fyrir austan gar› at Mosfelli gengr gil ofan ór fjalli; en ﬂat hefir or›it ﬂar
til merkja at í brá›aﬂeyjum er ﬂar vatnfall mikit, en eptir ﬂat er vƒtnin hafa
fram fallit hafa fundizk í gilinu enskir penningar; geta sumir menn ﬂess at 18
Egill muni ﬂar féit hafa fólgit. Fyrir ne›an tún at Mosfelli eru fen stór ok
fur›uliga djúp; hafa ﬂat margir fyrir satt at Egill muni ﬂar hafa kastat í fé
sínu. Fyrir sunnan ána eru laugar ok ﬂar skammt frá jar›holur stórar ok geta 21
ﬂess sumir at Egill mundi ﬂar hafa fólgit fé sitt, ﬂví at ﬂangat er optliga sénn
haugaeldur. Egill sag›i at hann hef›i drepit ﬂræla Gríms ok svá ﬂat at hann
haf›i fé sitt fólgit, en ﬂat sag›i hann engum manni hvar hann hef›i fólgit. 24
Egill tók sótt eptir um haustit ﬂá er hann leiddi til bana. En er hann var
anda›r ﬂá lét Grímr fœra Egil í klæ›i gó›; sí›an lét hann flytja hann ofan í
Tjaldanes ok gera ﬂar haug ok var Egill ﬂar í lag›r ok vápn hans ok klæ›i; 27<ok ﬂikir eigi verit hafa meiri afreksma›r í fornum si›, ótiginna manna, en
Egill sonr Skalla-Gríms. Hann var primsigndr ok blóta›i aldri go›>.a88. Grímr tók trú

30

Grímr at Mosfelli var skír›r ﬂá er kristni var í lƒg leidd á Íslandi.b Hann lét
ﬂar kirkju gera, en ﬂat er sƒgn manna at ﬁórdís hafi látit flytja Egil til kirkju
ok er ﬂat til jartegna at sí›an er kirkja var gjƒr at Mosfelli, en ofan tekin at 33
Hrísbrú sú kirkja er Grímr haf›i gera látit, ﬂá var ﬂar grafinn kirkjugar›r. En
undir altarissta›num ﬂá fundusk mannabein. ﬁau váru miklu stœrri en annarraa Thus W; similar in K.
hans ok heimamenn.

b K adds (similar in W): ok ﬁórdís kona hans ok ƒll hjón

1 These words are spoken by Grímr.

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EGILS SAGA

manna bein.a ﬁikjask menn ﬂat vita af sƒgn gamalla manna at mundi verit
hafa bein Egils.
3 ﬁar var ﬂá Skapti prestr ﬁórarinsson, vitr ma›r; hann tók upp hausinn
Egils ok setti á kirkjugar›inn. Var haussinn undarliga mikill, en hitt ﬂótti ﬂómeir frá líkindum, hvé ﬂungr var. Haussinn var allr báróttr útan svá sem
6 hƒrpuskel. ﬁá vildi Skapti forvitnask um ﬂykkleik haussins; tók hann ﬂáhandøxi vel mikla ok reiddi annarri hendi sem har›ast, ok laust hamrinum á
hausinn ok vildi brjóta, en ﬂar sem á kom hvítna›i fyrir, en ekki dala›i né
9 sprakk, ok má af slíku marka at hauss sá mundi ekki au›skœ›r b fyrir hƒggum
smámennis me›an svƒr›r ok hold fylg›i. Bein Egils váru lƒg› ni›r í útanver›um kirkjugar›i at Mosfelli.
1289. Endir Egils sƒguﬁorsteinn Egilsson tók skírn ﬂá er kristni kom á Ísland ok lét kirkju gera at
Borg; hann var ma›r trúfastr ok vel si›a›r. Hann var› ma›r gamall ok sótt15 dau›r ok var jar›a›r at Borg at ﬂeiri kirkju er hann lét gera.
Frá ﬁorsteini er mikil ætt komin ok margt stórmenni ok skáld mƒrg, ok er
ﬂat <kallat>c M‡ramannakyn ok svá allt ﬂat er komit er frá Skalla-Grími.
18 Lengi helzk ﬂat í ætt ﬂeiri at menn váru sterkir ok vígamenn miklir, en sumir
spakir at viti. ﬁat var sundrleitt, ﬂví at í ætt ﬂeiri hafa fœzk ﬂeir menn er
frí›astir hafa verit á Íslandi, sem var ﬁorsteinn Egilsson ok Kjartan Óláfsson,
21 systurson ﬁorsteins, ok Hallr Gu›mundarson, svá ok Helga in fagra, dóttir
ﬁorsteins, er ﬂeir deildu um, Gunnlaugr ormstunga ok Skáld-Hrafn; en fleiri
váru M‡ramenn manna ljótastir.
24 ﬁorgeirr son ﬁorsteins var ﬂeira sterkastr brœ›ra, en Skúli var mestr; hannbjó at Borg eptir dag ﬁorsteins fƒ›ur síns. Skúli var lengi í víking; hann var
stafnbúi Eiríks jarls á Járnbar›anum ﬂá er Óláfr konungr Tryggvason fell;
27 Skúli haf›i átt í víking sjau orrostur <ok ﬂótti hann vera inn mesti kappi okfullhugi. Fór hann eptir ﬂat út til Íslands ok settisk í bú at Borg ok bjó ﬂar til
elli ok kom margt manna frá honum. Ok l‡kr ﬂar ﬂessi frásƒgu>.d

a ﬁau – bein] en ﬂau bein váru svá mikil at ekki var líkt annarra kristinna manna

beinum ﬂeim er ﬂar váru í jƒr›u K (partly the same in W). b au›skœ›r is the probablereading of half-faded letters in M, and is confirmed by the early copies (and also
supported by K); on the other hand, W has the improbable variant au›sóttr. c Thus
K and W. d Thus K; similar in 463. The abrupt ending of the saga in Mö›ruvallabók
is clearly due to considerations of space at the bottom of the last column. On theother hand the texts of K and W have preserved the natural saga-ending.

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AFTERWORD
We are slow to realize that books
are written by authors; there aresome people, even very learned,
who never discover this.
PAUL V. RUBOW

The reader who enters the magic world of the Icelandic sagas will never be
the same again. There are various genres of sagas, but the Íslendinga sögur(Sagas of Icelanders, also called the Family Sagas) enjoy the greatest
reputation because of the high literary quality of most of the approximately
forty sagas extant. Egils saga Skalla-Grímssonar is considered one of thefinest examples of its kind, with its spell-binding story about the skald andviking Egill, together with three major poems, the first stanza of three others,
and a number of single stanzas (lausavísur).
Egils saga is unlike other Sagas of Icelanders in that most of it takes placeabroad. It begins with a long passage about the history of Egill’s forbears in
Norway and their flight from that country in order to settle in Iceland (thefirst 27 chapters). Egill himself is born in Iceland and belongs to the first
generation of Icelanders. He is at first described as a child prodigy; at only
three years of age he composes two stanzas in the intricate dróttkvætt metre.
Later in the saga there are four long passages describing Egill’s adventuresabroad. After his final journey abroad, the saga describes him as an old man
chiefly interested in poetry, but nevertheless capable of defending the interestsof his family when these are threatened.
A comparatively recent article about Egils saga states that the saga offers‘powerful impressions . . . of the northern world in the ninth and tenthcenturies’. The article goes on to say that ‘more so than any other saga of its
kind, Egla [Egils saga] is a work of history . . . Like Heimskringla, Egla
offers an informed vision of early Scandinavian and English history.’1
Egils saga may certainly be the work of a historian, but it does not followthat it may be equated with the Kings’ Sagas as a historical work. Twooutstanding early thirteenth-century works about Norwegian history, Nóregs
konunga tal (or Fagrskinna) and Snorri Sturluson’s history of the kings of
Norway (called Heimskringla by editors), are both real historiography by
the standards of the time. They are primarily concerned with facts, though
the authors permitted themselves to arrange the details to fit the desired
image of the king in question and to create an interesting story. For the sakeof entertainment they might occasionally include an episode of dubious
1 Hermann Pálsson, Dictionary of the Middle Ages IV (1984), 402–03.

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EGILS SAGA

reliability, and they had no qualms about presenting conversation andspeeches that had no historical foundation.
Egils saga has more affinities with the history of Norway and of Englandthan any of the other Sagas of Icelanders, although many of them havesomething to tell about honours received by their heroes at the court of theNorwegian king, or in the service of some other king. Egils saga describes,
or at least mentions, decisive events in the history of Norway: King Haraldr
hárfagri’s efforts to win the whole of Norway, culminating in the naval battle
in Hafrsfjƒr›r (Chs 3–4); how King Haraldr made his son Eiríkr supreme
king, and how King Eiríkr killed two of his brothers (Ch. 59), and later,when his brother Hákon arrived from England, went into exile (implicitly
caused by Egill’s curse, Ch. 59) and ruled Northumbria as the vassal of the
English King A›alsteinn (Ch. 61)—this resulted in Egill’s highly dangerous
visit to King Eiríkr, his arch-enemy (Ch. 61); King Eiríkr’s death on a viking
expedition in the British Isles (Ch. 69); King Hákon’s military expedition
into Vermaland and Gautland (caused by Egill according to his saga, Ch.
78); Hákon’s subsequent victory over the sons of Eiríkr in the battle ofFitjar in Stor›, and his death from the wound he received in that battle (Ch.
80); the constant hostilities and fighting between Earl Hákon and the sonsof Eiríkr; and lastly the death of King Haraldr Eiríksson together with thatof Arinbjƒrn, Egill’s staunch supporter, in the battle of Háls in Limafjƒr›r(Ch. 80).
Earlier there is a passage describing events in the history of England (Chs
50–55), where the two brothers, ﬁórólfr and Egill, together with a force of
their own men, played a decisive part as mercenaries in the army of KingA›alsteinn (Athelstan) in a great battle at Vínhei›r, where King A›alsteinn
won a decisive victory against the invading army of King Óláfr rau›i of
Scotland.
All the passages from the history of Norway have their parallels, some ofthem even verbatim, in Heimskringla (where there is no mention of Egill’sor his family’s disputes with the kings). This proves that there is some literary
relation between Egils saga and Heimskringla, but it proves nothing about
the historicity of Egils saga’s account of Egill’s or his family’s dealings
with the kings, and it is significant that neither Heimskringla nor any othersaga of Norwegian kings has anything to say about the killing of one ofKing Eiríkr’s sons by Egill.
The battle at Vínhei›r has some similarities with the great battle ofBrunanburh in 937, recorded in English sources, according to which King
Athelstan won a famous victory against invading Northmen supported byforces from Scotland and Wales (see the poem The Battle of Brunanburh inA F T E RW O R D

185

the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the description of the battle in William ofMalmesbury’s De Gestis Regum Anglorum). It seems reasonable to assume
an English source for the outlines of the episode in Egils saga, from theaccount of King Elfrá›r inn ríki (Alfred the Great) in Ch. 50 to the end of
the battle in Ch. 54 (see the present writer’s book, Litterære forudsætninger
for Egils saga, 229–53).
It has been customary to assume that Egils saga is primarily based upon
extensive oral traditions concerning the family at Borg, the estate of Egill’sfather Skalla-Grímr, who first settled there. According to this assumption
the mainstay of the tradition was Egill’s own verses and poems. This
conception reflects the attitude of the Icelandic people, who for centuries
regarded the Sagas of Icelanders as true stories handed down by faithfulstory-tellers for two or three centuries until they were written down by
conscientious scribes. This traditional view stems from the powerfuldeceptiveness of the sagas, which as a rule do not betray the presence of an
author and have, in the main, the appearance of truthfulness and objectivity.
In recent years, however, no serious scholar has inclined to this naive ideaof how great literature comes into being, notwithstanding a growing interestin the possible oral roots of the Sagas of Icelanders.
In order to understand better the nature of Egils saga, it is useful to recognize important likenesses and differences between it and the Kings’ Sagas.
1. The Kings’ Sagas originated in the lost works of Sæmundr (b. 1056)
and Ari (b. 1067). Both were priests (the former had studied on the continent)
and had access to foreign historical works in Latin. Ari had second-handoral information from Norway in the late tenth century and direct informationfrom early eleventh-century Norway (especially about King Óláfr digri, later
the Saint). Both Sæmundr and Ari may be assumed to have known, likelater writers of Kings’ Sagas, poems about the kings and other rulers. As wehave seen, various sections of Egils saga were also based upon written
historical sources about King Haraldr’s conquest of the whole of Norway
and the fate of his two immediate successors. The author of Egils saga also
had access to some version of Landnámabók (The Book of Settlements),
although he seems to have deviated from it intentionally. In spite of this useof historical material, however, what sets Egils saga apart from the Kings’
Sagas is the fact that considerable parts of the saga appear to be the productof imagination, based on earlier literature.
2. The role of the verses is fundamentally different. Contrary to the generalpractice in the Kings’ Sagas, where stanzas from contemporary poems about
the kings are quoted as evidence (sem Sighvatr segir, ‘as Sighvatr says’,etc.), the stanzas in Egils saga are merely a part of the story (ﬁá kva› Egill,

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EGILS SAGA

‘Then spoke Egill’, etc.), often an answer to a question or to some remark
addressed to the poet, or else are a comment on some situation. This meansthat the prose and poetry of Egils saga constitute an indivisible artistic whole.
Although scholars have disagreed on the question of whether the stanzas
in Egils saga are genuine ninth- and tenth-century poems, no scholar has
been able to accept all the stanzas as genuine. Even the diehard Finnur
Jónsson had to dismiss some of them on various grounds.2 Nevertheless, as
often as not it has been assumed that the saga writer believed that the stanzas
were genuine when he included them in the saga.
In the view of the present writer all the poetry of Egils saga is equallyauthentic, as probably most of it never existed before the saga was written.3
In any case the burden of proof lies with those who are unable to accept thesaga, prose and poetry, as an artistic whole, and who persist in the belief thatmost of the poetry spoken by Egill and others in the saga was handed downorally from the purported time of the events told in the saga.
What about oral traditions? The many references in Egils saga to what istold (svá er sagt, etc.) show that the author wanted his audience to believethat his story was founded upon what he had heard told. At one point hestates that Egill in advanced age was willing to speak about his journeys
and deeds (Ch. 80). It is impossible to know how truthful the author was inthese references to tradition; in some cases it seems to be an effort tostrengthen the credibility of an improbable story (for instance the incantation
Queen Gunnhildr had performed in order to force Egill to leave Iceland andvisit her, Ch. 61, and the story about the strange fate of Egill’s most precious
shield, Ch. 80).
It is the nature of oral traditions to change easily, and nobody among theaudience of the saga author would have dared to dispute his variant of any
tradition, and even less been willing to break the spell of an enthrallingstory. It is to be expected, considering how he treated his written models,that the author used oral tradition no less inventively. Unfortunately we canonly compare the saga with the author’s known written sources, but that isenough to reveal his creative mastery.
The great French romance writer of the twelfth century, Chrétien de Troyes,
always strove to describe his hero as a perfect man. This seems also to havebeen the aim of the authors of some Sagas of Icelanders, but certainly not
the author of Egils saga. According to the saga, Egill was ugly and avaricious,
a ferocious killer of men—not only in battle or in single combat—and
2 See Skj A I 603–04 (‘Uægte vers i sagaer’), where four stanzas from Egils saga
are relegated to the category of anonymous twelfth-century poetry.
3 Exceptions are the two stanzas (52–53) adopted from Jómsvíkinga saga in Ch. 80.

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187

deceitful. On the other hand he is described as a man who was deeply attachedto his wife, to a favourite son, and to his only friend, Arinbjƒrn.
On account of the poems ascribed to him in his saga, Egill has been called
the ‘greatest of all the scalds’.4 Sonatorrek, his poem on the loss of twosons, has been acclaimed as the greatest lyrical poem in Old Norse literature.5
The poem of praise about Arinbjƒrn is badly preserved in the only manuscript
which contains it (Mö›ruvallabók), but appears to have been a magnificent
poem in noble language and elevated style. The third preserved major poem,Hƒfu›lausn (Head-ransom), is in the runhenda metre (i.e. with end-rhyme),
which would be a unique phenomenon in tenth-century Old Norse poetry(apart from the second stanza of Egils saga, spoken by Skalla-Grímr, which,if authentic, would belong to the late ninth century).
Assuming that Egils saga, prose and poetry, is the work of one man, it
may be considered reasonable to ask whether Snorri Sturluson, who forvarious reasons has been considered the most likely author, could have writtensuch excellent poems as Sonatorrek and Arinbjarnarkvi›a, besides many ofthe best single stanzas. Snorri was acknowledged by his contemporaries as
a historian and an authority on skaldic poetry, and a poet himself. Except fora few single stanzas, his only preserved poem is Háttatal, a key to metres(102 stanzas), which at the same time was a poem of praise about King
Hákon of Norway and Earl Skúli. The unspectacular deeds of the two rulers
were not able to inspire the poet, yet there are many brilliantly written stanzas,
among them several stanzas describing sailing (19–22 and 77), and othersin various intricate verse-forms (comparable with stanza 32 of Egils saga,
attributed to Egill). Snorri also shows his expertise in runhenda, in fifteen
stanzas (80–94) exhibiting as many variations.
It should be kept in mind that if Snorri was the author of Egils saga, all
the poems in the saga would have been written by his pen. There are no
obstacles, either historical or linguistic, to assuming Snorri’s authorship of
the saga including the poems. On the other hand a well-known authority on
Old Norse poetry has doubted that any skald would have been able to ‘feign
Egill’s grief at the loss of his two sons.’6
Snorri Sturluson, however, would not have had to feign in this matter. He
himself had suffered the loss of a favourite son, Jón murti, who died in Norway
in 1231, after having received a wound in a drunken brawl. Snorri’s griefwould have been all the deeper since he had only himself to blame for Jón’s
4 G. Turville-Petre, Origins of Icelandic Literature (1953), 40.
5 By, among others, Jón Helgason, ‘Norges og Islands digtning’, Nordisk kultur
VIII B, Litteraturhistorie: Norge og Island (1953), 137.
6 Jón Helgason, ‘Höfu›lausnarhjal’, Einarsbók (1969), 157.

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EGILS SAGA

going abroad. The incident is told in Sturlunga saga (1946, I 342–43). In 1229
Jón had wanted to marry, and had asked his father for the necessary means.
Snorri refused to give him the property he asked for, but when Jón as a consequence decided to go to Norway, his father offered to give him what he had
asked, if he would stay. Jón declined, went abroad, and never came back.
Strangely enough, the incident has a near parallel in Egils saga (Ch. 38).
There it is Skalla-Grímr who offers possessions to his son, ﬁórólfr, if he will
abstain from his planned travel abroad. ﬁórólfr declines, goes abroad, anddies in battle in England.
The tragic loss of a favourite son is a recurrent motif in the mind of theauthor of Egils saga. It appears three times in his saga: 1. Kveld-Úlfr losesﬁórólfr, his son, 2. Skalla-Grímr loses his son, ﬁórólfr, and 3. Egill loses
Bƒ›varr, his much-loved son. In the saga Egill consoles himself by composing a long poem about his loss. The real-life counterpart could well havebeen Snorri, who may have found comfort for himself in the writing of
Egils saga.
Egils saga is an exceptional skald’s saga. Although it has been demonstrated that at least two of its more remarkable episodes were written under
the influence of a typical skald’s saga (viz. Hallfre›ar saga), it is not a sagaof frustrated love. It is rather a saga of passion and rebellion, and it is the
only skald’s saga to describe a successful union after a romantic elopement(that of Bjƒrn and ﬁóra, Chs 32–35). Then early in the saga the poet ¯lvir
hnúfa has to flee for his life because of his poems of love in honour of an
unattainable lady; it is regrettable that the saga does not give any specimensof the many mansƒngskvæ›i (love poems) that we are told ¯lvir composed
about Solveig in fagra. Egill too has his story of love with a happy ending(Ch. 56). Nevertheless, Egils saga, in spite of being a skald’s saga, does notconform to the pattern seen in Kormáks saga and Hallfre›ar saga, or
Gunnlaugs saga and Bjarnar saga (cf. the present writer’s two books, Skáldasögur, 49, and To skjaldesagaer, 35).
Before Egill is born (in Ch. 31) the saga tells the story of his family’s
fortunes in Norway, where ﬁórólfr, the brilliant son of Kveld-Úlfr, is killedin battle with King Haraldr. Kveld-Úlfr and Skalla-Grímr emigrate with
their family to Iceland after taking ferocious revenge.
After the advent of Egill the saga becomes the story of a single majorskald, with a wealth and diversity of poetry. In all, the saga attributes six
major poems to Egill, three of which are preserved entire in the various
texts of the saga: Hƒfu›lausn (Head-Ransom), Sonatorrek and Arinbjarnarkvi›a (though the text of this poem is defective), and in addition nearly 50
single stanzas. For two shield-poems we have only the first stanza (in Mö›ru-

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189

vallabók, Chs 80 and 81); and of Egill’s poem in honour of King A›alsteinnof England there is only a stanza plus a refrain (in Mö›ruvallabók, Ch. 55).
Most of the lausavísur (single stanzas) are in dróttkvætt form, which was
the one most highly esteemed, but Sonatorrek and Arinbjarnarkvi›a are in
kvi›uháttr and Hƒfu›lausn in runhenda. Altogether the impressive poetryof the saga and its various examples of deep respect for the skaldic art (íﬂrótt
vammi firr›a, the flawless art, Sonatorrek 24) make the saga a uniquemonument of skaldic poetry. This accords perfectly with the common viewthat Egils saga was written by Snorri Sturluson, the author of the Prose
Edda and the long poem Háttatal contained therein.

190

EGILS SAGAGLOSSARY
It is hoped that all words have been included except for some common pronouns andconjunctions. For compound words in the verses that are parts of kennings only theelements are generally glossed; the kennings are explained in the footnotes to the text.
The following abbreviations are used:
acc.
a.
adv.
aux.
comp.
conj.
dat.
f.
gen.
imp.
impers.
inf.
m.
n.
neg.
nom.

accusative
adjective
adverb(ial)auxiliarycomparative
conjunction
dativefeminine
genitive
imperativeimpersonal
infinitive
masculine
neuternegativenominative

num.
part.
pl.
poss.
pp.
prep.
pres.
pret.-pres.
pron.
sg.
subj.
sup.
sv.
vb.
wk.
wv.

numeralparticiple
pluralpossessive
past participle
preposition
present
preterite-present
pronounsingularsubjunctive
superlativestrong verb
verb
weak
weak verb

á1 prep. with acc. and dat. in, on, at, to afklæ›ask (afklæddisk, afklæzk) wv.
á2 see eiga1
md. undress; take off one’s outdoor
á3 (gen. ár) f. riverclothes (sea-going gear) 7/29
-a suffixed neg. with verbs not
afl n. strength; hafa afl vi› be a matchábyrgjask (ábyrg›isk) wv. md. be anfor 53/16; at afli in strength 25/17, forswerable for; be the one to pay; muntu
strength, according to their strength
mest í ábyrgjask it will be your respon25/18; tvau ƒfl ﬂín twice your strength;
sibility, it will be your affair 173/10
sakar afl power to contend or to pursue
a›alborinn a. (pp.) legitimate; menn
vengeance 149/15
a›albornir legal heirs 13/2
afla (afla›i, ƒflu›u, aflat) wv. with gen.
á›an adv. before, in the past
procure 49/2; gain 49/3
á›r adv. before; as conj. until
aflaga adv. unlawfully, illegallya›rir see annarr
aflífi a. indeclinable deadádrykkja f. the act of drinking to some- aflraun f. trial of strength; athletic comone; sitja fyrir ádrykkju with gen. sit
petitions or games
opposite someone as their drinking aflsmunr m. difference in strength
partner 68/28
afnám n. loss; removal; reserved portioná›u see æja(what is taken off before the division
af prep. and adv. from; offof spoils); at afnámi as a reserved porafarkostir m. pl. hard conditions, harshtion 17/34
terms or treatment 5/2
afnámsfé n. reserved portion of goods
afgamall a. very old, decrepit
65/27
afhallr a. sloping downwards; var afr n. buttermilk (?) 58/1, see note
ﬂangat allt nƒkkut afhallt it sloped afreksma›r m. outstanding man, very
away there rather on all sides 74/33
able manáfir f. pl. buttermilk 58/1 note
aftaka f. execution, putting to death, killingG L O S S A RY

191ágangr m. agression; ætlar til ágangs vi› aldregi/aldri adv. never, not at allmenn hans intends to ride roughshod aldrteigr m. span of life 162/1
over his men 87/16
aldrtili m. death; vér munim hljótaágjarn a. ambitious, impetuous, reckless
aldrtila af we shall suffer death fromágætagripr m. a most splendid object(someone), (someone) will prove fatal
167/14to us 6/23
ágætr a. renowned, noble; sup. ágætastr alfeigr a. fully doomed
noblest, highest in rank or worth 82/6; álfr m. elf
sup. n. very renowned ágæzt 69/10
alin (gen. álnar) f. ell (c. 49 cm); gen. ofáhendr a. (pp.) within reach, (able to be)measure nær álnar fyrir munn nearly
captured 46/8
an ell along the edge 169/19
áhlaup n. attackálit n. appearance; complexion; bjartráhyggja f. anxiety, concernálitum fair-skinned 166/12
áhƒld n. pl. power of resistance; ﬂér hafi› alklæ›na›r m. full suit of clothes
engi áhƒld vi› you will have no chance allfár a. very few; vetrum eigi allfám
against them, you will not be a matchquite a number of years 124/23
for them 70/21
allfeginn a. very gladaka (ók, óku, ekinn) sv. drive, travel with allfeginsamliga adv. very gladly
laden horses (pack-horses or horse- allfjƒlmennr a. with a very large number
drawn vehicles; e.g. sledges)of men, with a very large followingákafama›r m. eager, impetuous person allfrí›r a. very beautifulákafi m. eagerness, vehemence
allfúss a. very eagerákafliga adv. vehemently, mightily, very; allf‡siligr a. very desirable, very attracsup. sem ákafligast as quickly as postive
sible 46/13
allgla›r a. very happy, very gladákafr a. furious, vehement, ardent, eager; allgó›r a. very goodn. as adv. ákaft vigorously, furiously; allheimskr a. very foolishsup. sem ákafast very vigorously, as allilla adv. very badly disposed (til tohard (quickly) as possible
wards)
ákall n. claim
allillr a. very badakkeri n. anchor
allkaldr a. very cold
akr m. field, cornfieldallkátr a. very merry, in high spiritsákúrun f. oppression, tyrannyallkærr a. very affectionate; with dat.
ákve›inn pp. decided, agreed; geravery dear to someone 41/5
ákve›it come to an agreement, make allljóss a. very brightan agreement 10/1; ﬂvílíku fé sem allmikill (n. allmikit) a. very great 11/16;
ákve›it væri with such money as mightn. very much, a great deal 105/15 notebe agreed uponallmisjafnt adv. very variously, in veryala (ól, ólu, alinn) sv. beget; give birthdifferent ways
to; feed, give food toallmjƒk adv. very much, completely, quite
albúinn pp. completely readyallófr‡nn a. very frowning, very angryalbygg›r a. (pp.) fully settled
looking, very sullen
alda f. wave; ƒldu vegr way over the sea, allóhœgr a. very difficult 62/26
sea journey 103/14
allókátr a. very unhappy
aldavinr m. old friend
allóskyldr a. quite unnecessary; mér
aldr m. age; old age; allan aldr for all
allóskylt no part of my duty, I am untime, for ever 104/5; at aldri in age
der no obligation 3/29

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allóﬂarfr a. very unhelpful; oss muni alﬂjó› f. all the people, everyone
allóﬂarfr will do us a lot of harm alﬂ‡›a f. the majority of people; alﬂ‡›a
138/38manna most people 57/16; alﬂ‡›aallr (n. pl. ƒll) a. all; entire(ly) 117/16; n.
manns common people, people in genallt everywhere 165/7; in every way,eral; kunnigt alﬂ‡›u widely known,
entirely 28/13; allt í eyjunum throughuniversally known
out the islands (Orkney) 101/27; me› alﬂ‡›ulei› f. a well-used route, a majorƒllu entirely 21/24, 31/22; gen. alls as
routeadv. in all, altogether 36/35; alls til all ambátt f. slave-woman
tooámæla (ámælti, ámælt) wv. with dat.
allrei›r a. very angry, quite furious 97/15
blame
allsherr m. the general public, the whole ána see á3ánau› f. bondage; ganga í ánau› enter
nationinto bondage, undergo oppression 3/13
allskammr a. very short; n. as adv. eigi
allskammt not a very short way, quite anda›r (f. ƒndu›) a. (pp.) deadandaregg n. duck’s egg
a long way
andask (anda›isk, ƒndu›usk, andazk)
allsterkr a. very strong
wv. md. die; 1st person sg. ƒndumk
allstóror›r a. using very big words
37/34
alltí›rœtt a. n. much talked about; varmƒnnum alltí›rœtt um ﬂá fer› there andhlaup n. suffocation, choking (cf.
ƒnd2); Ármó›i var (impers.) vi› andwas much talk about that voyage 30/4
hlaup Ármó›r was almost suffocatedalltorsóttr a. very difficult to travel
133/31allungr a. very young
andir see ƒnd1
allvaldr m. sovereign, kingallvegligr a. very splendid, magnificent andlát n. death
andlit n. face
allvel adv. very well
allﬂungr a. very ill-disposed (til towards) andrar m. pl. snow-shoes, skis; probably
sg. (andri) at 165/3
86/4
almanna m. gen. pl. everyone’s, for andvi›ri n. head-wind; andvi›ri nor›rme› landi a contrary wind when traveveryone 161/8
elling northwards along the coast 26/9
álmr m. elm; bow made of elm
andvígr a. with dat. in opposition to,álnar see alinfighting against 149/11
álpt f. swan
alskipa›r a. (pp.) fully manned, fully andœrr a. breathing (blowing) furiously
angrbeittr a. (pp.) arduous, travelled withoccupiedpain
alspakr a. nickname all-wisealtarissta›r m. the place of the altar annarr (f. ƒnnur, n. annat) a. pron. other,second, another; one (of two) 158/8;(where the altar had been)a›rir menn other people; annan dag
alvápna›r a. (pp.) fully armedfrá ƒ›rum day after day 74/33; engi
alvara f. earnest; af alvƒru sincerely
annarr (sc. kostr) til no alternativealvæpni n. complete arms; all one’s
101/31; um annat in other cases 19/5;
weapons; me› alvæpni fully armed
annan veg the opposite way, in theályk›aror› n. pl. final words, concludopposite direction, the other side 105/3;
ing words 91/6
at ƒ›ru sumri the next summer; atalﬂingi n. general assembly (legislativeƒ›ru hverju every now and then; ƒ›ru
and judicative assembly for the whole
sinni next time; hvert at ƒ›ru one afterof Iceland held annually in late summer)

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another; annarr (ƒnnur) . . . annarr árna2 (árna›i, árnat) wv. earn 126/1(ƒnnur) one . . . the other 42/21
áróss m. estuary 30/8
annarr hvárr pron. one or other; acc. m. árvakr a. early waking
sg. annan hvárn 69/14; n. annat hvárt áræ›i n. daring
one of the two 100/8ásamt adv. together; kom ﬂat allt ásamt
annarr hverr every other; at ƒ›ru hverjume› ﬂeim they all agreed 34/27
every now and then 16/17
ásjá f. help 48/1
ánni see á3askasmi›r m. shipwright 30/29 noteannt a. n. eager; hví mun honum svá askma›r m. nickname a member of theannt at why should he be so eager orcrew of an ash-ship, viking
anxious to 175/33
askr m. 1. ash (tree). 2. ash-spear. 3. small
aptann (dat. pl. ƒptnum) m. evening
wooden vessel or dishaptr adv. aft; back; ganga aptr á lei› re- askraki m. hapax legomenon 17/35: eviturn the way they had come, retrace
dently some kind of animal fur; =their steps 132/11
askrakki, a kenning for squirrel?
aptrfer› f. journey backáss1 m. a god, one of the Æsirár1 n. year; season; ár gott a bountiful áss2 m. ridge
year, a good season 12/22
ást f. loveár2 adv. early; long agoástú›igr a. beloved, dear; ﬁorsteini var
ár3 f. oar
ok ekki vi› hann ástú›igt ﬁorsteinn
ár4 see á3
was not very fond of him either 166/14
árdegis adv. early in the dayástvinátta f. close friendshiparfborinn a. (pp.) legitimateástvinr m. close friend
arfgengr a. entitled to inherit
at1 prep. with dat. towards, beside; as;from; with gen. for, with 166/1; witharfi m. heir, songen. of personal name or pron. atarfljúgr a. who gets hold of an inheritBjarnar at Bjƒrn’s 56/37, at Arinance by lies
bjarnar 85/22, 161/10, at sín at his
arfr m. inheritance 10/10, 12/34; rá›ahome 95/1; at bónda ﬂess at the homefyrir arfi mínum decide who shall beof the farmer 138/4; at ﬁór›ar to the
my heir 11/8; til arfs tekinn made ahome of ﬁór›r 143/26; at Freyju atlegal heir 88/36; borinn til arfs legiFreyja’s, in the next world (see Gylfatimate 89/7
ginning Ch. 24); as adv. there 67/21
arghyrna f. evil axe 52/20
at2 n. incitement; battle
argr a. wicked
at3 conj. that; who 5/20, 56/19; whichari m. eagle
33/19?; when 50/2; even when 43/15;
arinn (pl. arnar) m. hearth(-stone); in pl.
seeing that, because, since 123/29; cf.
home
92/9
árma›r m. steward, agent
at4 adv. with comp. at meira the more
armr1 m. arm
armr2 a. miserable, wretched; sup. fara
81/28; ﬂess at meir the more because
allra manna armastr ‘go mostof this 146/5; at firr so far from 18/29;
wretched of all men’, be cursed for his
cf. ekki at manna no kind of men as abehaviour 133/33; gefi hann allra
result 6/33
manna armastr curse him and his gift -at suffixed neg. with verbs not
165/18atbur›r m. eventarmsími m. arm-band, arm-ringatfer› f. resolution, enterprise, energy,árna1 (árna›i, árnat) wv. travel 52/20
initiative194

EGILS SAGA

atflutning f. supply
hann it was easy to obtain his consent
atganga f. attack
56/36
atgeirr m. spear, lance, thrusting weapon au›s‡nn a. obvious
atgervi f. accomplishment, abilityau›sær (n. au›sætt) a. obvious
atgervisma›r/atgervima›r m. accom- au›veldr a. easy
plished, able, clever person
au›ﬂeystr a. easy to make flowathœfiligri a. comp. more fitting, a better aufúsa f. thanks, gratitude, pleasure 33/15
thing to do 31/4
auga n. eyeathƒfn f. activity, doings 73/10
augs‡n f. sightátján num. eighteen
auka (eykr, jók, jóku, aukinn/aukit) sv.
atkváma f. arrival
increase; with dat. add; ﬂótti eigi gó›um
atseta f. residenceli›smanni of aukit did not think there
atsitjandi m. (pres. part.) resident, poscould be one good man too many 57/18;
sessor, ruler
aukin ﬂrjú hundru› more than threeátrúna›r m. belief, faithhundred (360+) 128/25
átt1 f. family line
aurar see eyrir
átt2 see eiga1
aurm‡ill m. ‘earth-lump’, (precious)
átta1 num. eightstone, jewel in kenning for woman 85/6
átta2 see eiga1
ausa (jós, jósu, ausinn) sv. with acc. andáttgƒfga›r a. well-born
dat. sprinkle someone with something;átti, áttka, áttu, áttusk see eiga1
vatni ausinn sprinkled with water (aáttærr a. of (having) eight oars
kind of heathen baptism according to
atvinna f. (means of) subsistence
early poems and sagas) 42/13; jós . . .
au›be›inn a. (pp.) with gen. easily pervatni sprinkled it with water; jósu at
suaded (to undertake) 6/5
moldu poured earth over it 80/3; jósau›fundinn a. (pp.) obvious
slíku í augu oss upp threw that in myau›igr a. wealthy; wk. form as nickname
face 139/1
au›gi; sup. au›gastr
austan adv. from the east, i.e. from Norau›it pp. n. with dat. and gen. granted
way 163/1; fyrir austan on the eastern(by fate); er lífs var au›it who wereside 72/12; fyrir austan as prep. withdestined to live, who were curable 11/3,
acc. east of
82/20; haf›i ﬂeim optast or›it sigrs austma›r m. Norwegian
au›it they had as a rule been victori- austr adv. east, eastwards; in the eastous 25/36
130/2; austr landit the land to the eastau›kenndr a. (pp.) easily recognised
30/12
au›n f. wilderness, uninhabited area 5/9 austrœnn a. eastern, i.e. Norwegianau›r1 m. wealth; au›r fjár great wealth auvir›ask (auvir›isk) wv. md. become
41/22
worthless, make oneself worthless 31/5
au›r2 a. emptyávallt adv. always
au›skept a. (pp.) n. pl. easily fitted with ávar›r a. with dat. under the care of, beshafts
loved by 160/25
au›skœ›r a. easily damaged, easily in- ávít n. pl. rebuke
jured
axlir see ƒxlau›skœfr a. easy to smooth or planeáﬂjá (áﬂjá›i, áﬂját) wv. oppressau›sóttr a. (pp.) easily obtained (vi› áﬂján f. oppression, tyrannyfrom) 12/14; easily attacked, easy to ba› see bi›jaattack 182/9 note; var au›sótt vi› bá›ir (n. bæ›i, gen. beggja) pron. a. both

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ba›mr m. treebátr m. (ship’s) boatbá›u, bá›um see bi›jabatt see binda
baggi m. pack, bundlebau› see bjó›abági m. opponent, enemy
baugr m. 1. (gold) ring; pl. money,
bak n. back; um bakit out through his
wealth. 2. shield boss; an ornamental
back 96/33; horseback 99/22; á bakdisk around the boss of a shield; shieldbackwards, away 73/23
rimbakask (baka›isk) wv. bake oneself, keep baugskjƒldr m. a shield with an ornaoneself warm 179/10
mented boss or disk
bakki m. bankbautasteinn m. memorial stone
bakverpask (-verptisk) wv. md. turn one’s bazk see binda
back (vi› on) 6/32
bazt adv. best
bál n. fire, bonfire
be›it see bí›abálkr m. partitionbe›ja f. bedfellow
banahƒgg n. death-blowbe›r m. bed
banama›r m. slayer
beggja see bá›ir
banasár n. death-wound, mortal wound bei› see bí›aband n. band, cord; pl. bƒnd bonds; see bei›a (bei›ir, beiddi, beiddr, n. beitt)also bƒnd1wv. with gen. ask for, demand; beiddi
bani m. death; slayer
Egill Grím at rí›a til ﬂings me› honumbann n. prohibition; what is forbidden
Egill asked Grímr that he might (to let
122/20him) ride to the assembly with him
banna (banna›i, bannat) wv. forbid;
180/15; md. bei›ask with acc. and gen.
prevent 83/26 note; banna jar›ir at
ask someone for something for oneself,
byggja ok vinna forbid land to berequest, demandrented or worked 90/9
bei›ir m. one who asks for, demanderbanvænn a. life-threatening, mortal; beigaldi m. enfeebled person, weaklingclose to death, about to diebein n. leg; bonebar, báru see bera
beini m. hospitalitybar› n. prow
beinleiki m. treatment, hospitality; íbardagi m. battle
gó›um beinleika with hospitable treatbar›i m. a kind of ship
ment, treated hospitably 139/13
bar›isk, bar›r, barizk see berja
beinn a. straight; n. as adv. straight 92/31;
bark see bera
heyra beint hear clearly, distinctly
barki m. throat, windpipe
175/32; sup. sem beinst á ﬂá as straightbarmi m. brotheras possible at them 97/20
barn (pl. bƒrn) n. child; á barns aldri in beit1 f. grazing (of cattle)
beit2 see bíta
childhood, still a child 35/13
barnfóstri m. child-fosterer; barnfóstri beita (beitti, beitt) wv. 1. cause to bite,graze (animals); md. beittusk upp werehans the fosterfather of his child 101/1
grazed bare 168/30. 2. sail close to thebarnlauss a. childlesswind; tack; beittu sem ﬂverast sailedbarnœska f. childhood
as close to the wind as possible 46/19
báróttr a. undulated, wrinkled, ridged
beitat see bíta
barsk see bera
beitt see bei›a and beita
báru see bera
bekkr1 m. brook, stream
bastlína f. cord of bast
bekkr2 m. bench, seating platform
batna (batna›i, batnat) wv. improve

196

EGILS SAGA

bella (belldi, bellt) wv. with dat. deal in,
the chief cause of this was that 154/22;
display, utter 104/3
heldr en allt beri undan rather thanben f. wound
let everything slip away, rather than failbensœf›r a. (pp.) killed by wounds
completely 69/28; md. impers. ﬂat
benﬂi›urr m. wound-capercaillie, kenningbarsk at it happened 44/16; past subj.
for ravenbærisk at um sí›ir it may turn out inbera (berr, bar, báru, borinn/borit; past
the end 180/28; hvat sem í kann berask
subj. bæri) sv. bear, carry, bring; bark
whatever may happen, however it may
I carried 124/8 note; imp. beri 27/17;
turn out 90/25; pp. vel viti borinn bornwear 83/9; bear (witness) with dat. on
with much wit, very intelligent 8/8;
someone’s behalf 20/18; bera á throwborinn til arfs legitimate 89/7
over 63/35; bar ﬂar á loaded onto it ber›isk see berja
16/31; báru vápn á ﬂá used weapons berg n. rock, cliff
on them, brought their weapons to bear bergi n. drink; bergis borr fótar drippingon them, attacked them 141/15; bera
borer of the leg, penis 179/4
at hendi with dat. hand to, serve to bergsnƒs f. rocky projection, jutting rock134/21; bera fram make known 35/34; berja (bar›i, bƒr›u, bar›r/barit) wv.
bera fyrir consult, put (the matter) tobeat; pp. bar›r ofan beaten, hammered
18/1; bera ofan hurl down 140/28;
on the top 41/35; md. berjask fightbera saman put together 162/14; bera
89/26; past subj. ber›isk 180/28; imp.
upp announce 5/16; take up, unpack or
bersk 119/6; pp. barizk
unload, bring ashore 17/11; hafa upp berr see bera
borit fyrir ﬂér have told you 19/35; berserkr m. berserk, a warrior who fights
impers. bera at hendi with dat. befall
in a frenzy (cf. Heimskringla I 17; thesomeone 3/6 (‘though it is we who areword may imply that berserks wore
now in difficulty’); ﬂví at brá›um bar
skins of bears or assumed a bear-likeat because it happened very quickly
shape)
92/9; impers. with acc. bar ﬂá they berserksgangr m. berserk frenzywere carried 46/15; bar ﬂá skjƒldinn bersk see berja
af honum then the shield moved aside betr adv. comp. better; miklu betr muchfrom him (left him unprotected) 121/11;
better 6/29
mik haf›i hér at landi borit I hap- betri a. comp. better; with dat. of compened to come ashore here 47/24; beriparison betri mér better than me 43/31
svá at if it should happen 38/3; bera bezt adv. best
frá surpass: svá at ﬂat bar frá ﬂví sem bezta, it bezta adv. sup. very well, splena›rir menn váru much more than
didlyother people 81/6; bera fyrir come be- beztr a. sup. best
tween, get in the way 43/20; bera í milli bí›a (bei›, bi›u, be›it) sv. with gen. wait
come between (so as to hide the view)
for; bí›i nú engi annars let no one now
61/23; er lyptingar bar saman when
wait for anyone else 90/20; with acc.
the raised decks were parallel 92/10; at
undergo, experience; bí›a ró find peace
fundi y›ra mætti saman bera to meet
101/14; ek hefi aldregi be›it ró fyrir
up with you 90/24; svá bar til it so
I have had no peace at all because of it
happened 57/13; lei› ﬂeira bar svá til
104/38their route turned out to be such 32/33; bi›ja (ba›, bá›u, subj. bæ›i, be›inn) sv.
berr annat til something else is theask, tell, order; with gen. ask for 32/15;
cause 126/9; bar ﬂat mest til ﬂess atwith f. gen. ask for the hand of 2/14,

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12/11, propose to 53/5; ba› ﬁór› at
him 15/18; with suffixed pron. bu›umk
fara me› honum asked ﬁór›r if heoffered me 106/23; md. bjó›ask til volmight go with him 53/24; subj. ef
unteer (to help) 3/11
ﬁórólfr bæ›i Ásger›ar if ﬁórólfr were bjó›r m. offerer, one who offers or chalto propose marriage to Ásger›r 56/31;
lengespres. part. er ﬂér ﬂess ekki bi›janda bjórr m. beaver
there is no point in your asking, you bjórskinn n. beaver skinshould not be asking 105/23
bjósk see búa
bifa (bifa›i, bifat) wv. move, shakebjuggu see búa
bil n. moment; delay, hesitation; granda bjúgr a. bent, curved; bjúgr í vexti stoopbili act without hesitationing, crooked-backed 168/13
binda (batt, bundu, bundit) sv. bind, bjƒ› n. pl. landbind up; pp. bundit me› sér agreed bjƒrn m. bear
upon 9/38; um ﬂat er ﬂú vart í bundinn blakkr m. (black or pale-coloured) horse
as regards your obligations to me 174/3; blanda (blanda›i, blƒndu›u, blandat)ﬂá er ﬂeir váru bundnir me› the ones
wv. with dat. mix (with something)
they had been tied up with 64/20; md. blár a. dark blue or black
bazk í ﬂví at pledged himself to ensure, blása (blés, blésu, blásinn/blásit) wv.
guaranteed 21/32; bindask with gen.
blow; blása li›inu til have a horn
refrain fromsounded to call the men to 63/17
birki n. birch (tree)
blautr a. wet; soft
birtingr m. bright one, illustrious one
bleikr a. pale; as nickname 118/10
bíta (beit, bitu, bitinn) sv. bite; cut, blekkja (blekkti, blekkt) wv. deceive
pierce; with suffixed neg. beitat did not blétu› see blóta
bite, did not cut; ﬂeir er eigi bitu járn blí›a f. friendliness; me› blí›u on goodthose who were impervious to weapons
terms
10/34; bitu honum annan veg vápnin blí›r a. pleasant, friendly
weapons cut differently for him, his blí›skapr m. friendliness, kindness; me›strokes had more effect 28/13; bíta í
blí›skap with warmth, affectionately
bite on
175/16
bitrastr a. sup. sharpest
blik n. gleam, lightbjarg n. rock; cliff
blika (blika›i, blikat) wv. gleam
bjargask (bjarga›isk) wv. md. save one- blindr a. blind
self, manage; bjargask vi› slíkt sem bló› n. bloodtil er manage with what there is 57/38 bló›refill m. sword-point
bjargrifa f. cleft in a rock 98/23
bló›ugr (bló›g-) a. bloody
bjartr a. bright, fair (in colour)bló›øx f. nickname bloody axe
bjó see búa
blossi m. flamebjó› n. (small) table, tray
blót n. worship of (sacrifice to) heathenbjó›a (b‡›r, bau›, bu›u, bo›inn) sv.
gods
offer 18/1; threaten 112/17; bjó›a um blóta1 (blét, blétu, blótinn) sv. worship
58/29; sacrifice (to heathen gods)
invite, commission, depute 121/30;
69/22; blœtka ek ﬂví I do not sacrificebau› hann mér um ﬂat those were thefor this reason 153/17
instructions he gave me 52/6; bjó›a út
with dat. call out 10/18; pp. búinn ok blóta2 (blóta›i, blótat) wv. = blóta1
bo›inn ready and willing 15/39; honum blótma›r m. one who worships (sacrifices to) heathen gods, pagan
var ﬂat til bo›it it had been offered

198

EGILS SAGA

blótnaut n. sacrificial bullbrá1 see breg›ablundr m. doze; as nickname dozy 52/28 brá2 f. eyelashbrá› f. meatblœtka see blóta1
bo› n. bidding, order, command; message; brá›aﬂeyrr m. sudden or rapid thaw
offer; invitation; feast, banquet; what brá›liga adv. quickly, soon, straight away,
is permitted 122/20; bjó›a bo› makein hasteoffers, offer terms 62/24
brá›mælt a. (pp.) n. hastily spokenbo›a (bo›a›i, bo›at) wv. 1. summon. 2. brá›r a. quick; n. as adv. brátt soon 25/34;
bode; impers. sem honum haf›i fyrir
sup. sem brá›ast as soon, quickly, asbo›at as he had expected (suspected),
possibleas he had felt it would 23/4
brá›um adv. soon, quickly, suddenlybo›i m. breaker (on hidden rocks); ekki bragarlaun n. pl. reward for a poem
nema bo›a eina nothing but breakers brag› n. trick
46/19
brag›víss a. cunningbo›inn, bo›it see bjó›abragr m. poetry; poem
bogi m. bow
brák f. tool for currying (thrashing) hide;bógr m. shoulder
as nickname 54/31
ból n. abode; lair; camp 13/16
braka (braka›i, brakat) wv. creak, crack,
bólsta›argjƒr› f. building of a homemake a sharp noise
stead; bólsta›argjƒr› gó› a good place brandr m. 1. firebrand, burning log. 2.
to build a homestead 38/34(blade of a) sword. 3. prow of a ship
bólstrver› n. pillow-price, payment for
99/4
sleeping in a bed
brann see brenna1
brásk see breg›abóndadóttir f. farmer’s daughter
brast see bresta
bóndason m. farmer’s son
bóndi (pl. bœndr) m. farmer; at bónda brátt see brá›r
ﬂess at the home of the farmer 138/4 brattr a. steep
brau› n. breadbónor› n. proposal of marriagebor› n. board; table; var genginn til braut1 f. road, waybor›a had sat down to eat 33/2; side of braut2 see brjóta
ship, freeboard, the height of a ship’s breg›a (brá, brug›u, brug›inn) sv. withdat. cause to move quickly; change;side above the water; er nƒkkurir eru
leave off; breg›a búi (sínu) give up
bor›i see nƒkkurr; fyrir bor› overone’s household, give up one’s farmboard 38/6; sex menn á bor› six men
34/33, 167/8; draw (a knife or sword)on each side (twelve in all) 95/4; inn á
59/10; breg›a brag› use, play a trick
annat bor› in over one side 97/21
59/3; impers with dat. fail: létumk
bor›búna›r m. tablewarebrug›it caused me to fail, made mebor›róinn pp. rowed from the sides
unfit 31/17; brá vi› (adv.) skildinum
borg f. steep-sided hill; the rocky hill at
moved his shield in the way, warded it
Borg in Borgarfjƒr›r; fortress, fort, casoff with his shield 120/10; pp. brug›ittle (i.e. Móseyjarborg, 46/12) 46/2; city
til hálfs half-drawn 96/27; md. honborghli› n. gateway of a fortification or
brásk vi› she jerked away 54/35;
town
breg›ask with dat. fail someone 178/9
borinn, borit, borna, bornir see berabrei›r a. broad; comp. brei›ari
borr m. tool for boringbreki m. breaker, surf, wave breaking
bóta, bótum see bœtrover rocks
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brekka f. slopebrotthlaup n. running away; leita til
brenna 1 (brennr, brann, brunnu,
brotthlaups try to escape 105/14
brunninn/brunnit) sv. burn (intransi- brú f. bridgetive)
brú›fang n. wife
brenna2 (brennir, brenndi, brenndr) brú›fƒr f. the journey of the bridegroom
wv. burn (transitive)
and his party to fetch the bride frombresta (brast, brustu, brostinn) sv.
her family home 166/6
break, split (intransitive)
brú›kaup/brú›laup/brullaup n. wedding
breyta (breytti, breyttr) wv. with dat.
8/1 note; gera brú›laup til marry 45/4
change; ok breyttir vegir allir and all brú›menn m. pl. bridegroom’s party
the routes were changed (i.e. the usual brug›it, brug›um see breg›aroads were not passable) 131/34
brullaup see brú›laup
brim n. surfbrullaupsstefna f. arrangements (date)brími m. fire
for a wedding
brimill m. a kind of large seal
brún (pl. br‡nn) f. eyebrow
brimsorfinn a. (pp. of sverfa, svarf, brúnamikill a. heavy-browed, with bushy
surfu, sorfinn sv. file) surf-worn 41/35
eyebrows
bringa f. chest, breast 15/23
brunnit see brenna1
brjóst n. breast; forefront; front ranks; í brustu see bresta
brjósti í fylking fyrir merkjum kon- brutu see brjóta
ungs in the forefront of the troops in ad- bryggja f. gangplank; a plank laid acrossa ditch as a bridge; at bryggjunum byvance of the standards of the king 72/21
the fore and aft gangplanks 22/31; fram
brjóta (br‡tr, braut, brutu, brotinn/
at bryggjunni to the forward gangbrotit) sv. break, break down; pp. var
plank 36/22
brotinn had been broken down 100/23
brjótandi, brjótr m. one who breaks, bryggjuspor›r m. the (landward) end of
the gangplankbreakerbrynja f. mail-coatbroddr m. point (of spear or arrow)bró›ir (dat. sg. and nom. and acc. pl. br‡nn see brúnbrœ›r) m. brother; A›ils jarl ok ﬂeir bryntrƒll n. ‘mail-coat troll’, halberd; akind of long-handled axe or spear withbrœ›r Earl A›ils and his brothertwo blades and a spear-point so that one(Hringr) 77/7; ﬂá ¯lvi brœ›r ¯lvir andcould both cut and thrust with it
his brother 29/4
brynﬂvari m. ‘mail-coat piercer’, a kindbró›urdóttir f. nieceof spear with a broad, X-section blade;bró›urson m. nephew
also called a kesja
bró›urgjƒld n. pl. compensation for abr‡tr see brjóta
brotherbrot n. breaking; wreck, shipwreck; sigla bræddr a. (pp.) tarred
til brots wreck a ship deliberately, run bræ›ir m. feeder (cf. brá›)brœ›r see bró›ir
ashore under full sail 101/32
brœ›raleysi n. lack of brothers
brotinn, brotit see brjóta
brotna (brotna›i, brotna›r) wv. break brƒg›óttr a. cunning, full of tricks
bú n. estate (often pl.); farm 41/23; houseup, be broken
hold; haf›i til bús síns had for his farmbrott, á brott, í brott, brottu, á brottu
61/13
adv. awaybúa (b‡r, bjó, bjuggu, búinn/búit) sv.
brottfer› f. departure
1. prepare; equip 13/20; fit out 13/34;
brottfƒr f. departure

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búa til make preparations for 12/16; búna›r m. equipment; skipa búna›r
búa um prepare for burial, bury 28/29,
sinn ok vápna the furnishing of his
30, see to, set to rights 56/24; búa undir
ships and his weapons 13/26; decorabe behind 180/18; pp. ready 9/36; withtion, ornamentation, mounts 166/9
gen. búnir fer›ar sinnar ready to go bundit, bundnir see binda
35/27; ﬂar sem fyrir honum var búit búnir see búa
where they had been prepared for him búr n. storehouse
14/18; vel búinn at well endowed with bur›ir m. pl. strength, courage; (nobility
24/36; mey vel búna a girl finely attiredof) birth 116/3
117/19; alla vel búna all finely equip- burr m. sonped; svá at afli búnir so endowed with burt, í burt (= brott) adv. awaystrength 54/22; búit at treated 25/26; búsifjar f. neighbourly relations; veita
svá búit like that, as things were 123/31;
illar búsifjar with dat. be a bad (trouvi› svá búit with matters thus, in thisblesome) neighbour to 178/1
way 13/18; ﬂá væri búit vi› one could bústa›r m. farm-site 39/7
expect 45/34; var nú búit vi› at it almost búsums‡sla f. care of a farm 86/20
happened that 15/13; md. búask get búsvar›veizla f. care of a farm, looking
ready; with gen. get ready for 26/1;
after a farm
make ready (to sail), set out 26/12; um bús‡sluma›r m. one much concerned
búizk made ready 11/39; ekki hefi ek
with farm work; bús‡sluma›r mikillvi› ﬂví búizk at I have made no preparaa very industrious farmer 1/14
tions for, I had not expected to be going b‡ n. bee
to 104/33; bjuggusk nor›r set out b‡›r see bjó›anorth 26/11; bjósk um made himself bygg› f. settlement, settled area(s) 63/23
comfortable 61/14. 2. live, dwell; haf›i byggja1 (bygg›i, byggt) wv. settle in
30/3; inhabit, farm; md. byggjask bebúit á had lived in, had farmed 55/39
settled 5/8
búandi (pl. búendr) m. farmer
búandkarl m. peasant, small farmer, yo- byggja2 (bygg›i, byggt) wv. rent, let out;jar›ir haf›i hann byggt he had rented
kel 15/23
out the farms 86/28
bú› f. shelter, especially one for use at an
open-air assembly (which consisted of b‡r see búa
turf and stone walls over which an awn- byr›ingr m. coaster, cargo-ship
ing would be spread when they were in byr›r f. load, as much as a man can carrybyrgja (byrg›i, byrgt) wv. shut up, keepuse); temporary home
insidebú›arveggir m. pl. walls of a bú›
byrja1 (byrja›i, byrjat) wv. present,bu›u, bu›umk, bu›usk see bjó›aplead (mál sitt his case) 19/16
búendr see búandi
byrja2 (byrja›i, byru›u, byrjat) wv.
búfé (gen. búfjár) n. livestock
impers. with dat. get a fair wind; honum
búferli n. household, household goods
byrja›i vel he had a very favourable
and chattels 40/32
wind 23/32; byrja›i heldr seint abugr m. bend; í bug hringinum into thefavourable wind was rather slow incurve of the ring 81/17
coming 101/25; byrja›i ﬂeim nƒkbúinn, búit, búizk see búa
kurum mun seinna the winds were conbuklari m. buckler, small round shieldsiderably less favourable 36/2; byrja›ibúkr m. body
ﬂeim til gó›rar hlítar they got a (very)
búm see bú
satisfactory wind 143/6
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byrja3 (byrja›i, byrjat) wv. begin; byrja dagrá› n. propitious time, good opporfer› set out
tunity; betra dagrá› a more favourable
byrr m. fair wind; er byr gaf when theytime 16/36
got a favourable wind 23/27; liggja til dagsetr n. nightfall; um dagsetrs skei›
byrjar lie waiting for a favourable
round about sunset 145/11
wind 52/11; sigla byr gó›an sail with dagver›armál n. breakfast-time
a fair wind 36/3
dagver›r m. breakfast (the chief meal ofbyrvindr m. favourable windthe day, taken about 9 a.m.)bæ›i1 conj. both; n. of bá›ir pron. a. both; dala (dala›i, dala›r) wv. impers. becomebæ›i fyrir . . . svá ﬂat both because ofdented. . . and also because 65/22
dalmiskunn f. ‘valley-mercy’; dalmisbæ›i2 see bi›jakunn fiska ‘mercy of the valley-fish’,bægja (bæg›i, bægt) wv. with dat. opkenning for summer
pose, cause difficulty to; er ﬂeim bæg›i dalr m. valleyve›r when they got bad weather 66/20 danskr a. Danishbærim, bærisk see bera
darra›r m. spearbœjarli› n. the army from the town or dau›ama›r m. a person doomed to death;villageshafa at dau›amanni kill, have killedbœjarmenn m. pl. people of a town, towns104/17
peopledau›r a. deadbœn f. request 50/23
daufligr a. dullbœndr, bœndum see bóndi
degi see dagrbœr (gen. bœjar) m. farm; dwelling; deigr a. soft 52/17
home; town
deila1 (deildi, deilt) wv. divide; quarrel;
dispute (about) 91/3; deila um quarrelbœta (bœtti, bœttr) wv. repair, make betabout, dispute about 39/17; deila til
ter; mun ﬂat allt bœta til um ﬂat er it
quarrel to get, dispute for 124/9
will put everything right that 172/21;
compensate for 93/3; pay compensation deila2 f. dispute, quarrel, feuding
deild f. division; pl. strife, conflict 54/7,
for, make atonement for 31/20
disputes, quarrels 175/6
bœtr (gen. pl. bóta) f. pl. compensation;
atonement, recompense 32/15; bœtr á deili n. pl. marks, distinguishing features,details; vita deili á know of 12/6;
vinna remedy it, put it right 126/10
vissi/kunni ƒll deili á honum knewbƒ› n. battle
well who he was, knew all about him
bƒ›mildr a. ‘free with battle’, warlike
53/3, 144/23
bƒl (gen. pl. bƒlva) n. mischief, woe
deyfa (deyf›i, deyft) wv. (make) blunt
bƒnd1 n. pl. gods
bƒnd2 see band
deyja (dó, dóu, dáinn) sv. die; deyju vitbƒr›umk, bƒr›usk see berja
let us both diebƒrr (dat. bƒrvi) m. conifer
digr a. thick; stoutdá› f. daring deed, exploit; virtue
digull m. crucible, melting-pot
dá›mildr a. ‘free with daring deeds’, bold díki n. dike, ditch
daga (daga›i, dagat) wv. impers. dawn dimmr a. dim, dark
daglangt adv. all through the day
dirf› f. boldness, couragedagr (dat. degi) m. day; brightness; miklu dís f. lady, supernatural female, goddess
fyrir dag long before dawn 136/6; alla dísablót n. worship of (sacrifice to) the
daga throughout the day, all day anddísir
every day 168/29; til dags till dawn
djarfliga adv. boldly; comp. djarfligar

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djarfr a. bolddrekahƒfu› n. dragon’s head (as a figuredjúp n. deep waterhead on a ship’s prow); ok á drekadjúpr a. deep; comp. djúpari
hƒfu› with a carved dragon’s head on
dofi m. torpor, numbness
it 13/20
dólgr m. enemy
dreki m. dragon; warship, especially one
dómandi m. judge
bearing a carved dragon’s head on its
dómr m. judgment, sentence; bau› . . .
prow and stern 14/8
dóm konungs submitted the case to the drekka (drakk, drukku, subj. drykki,
king’s judgment 62/25; court: fóru
drukkinn/drukkit) sv. drink; drekka
dómar út the courts went into sessionaf, drekka ór drink off, drain; aldregi
174/4
drakk svá never drank so much 59/7;
dóttir (pl. dœtr) f. daughter
skyldi horn drekka a horn had to be
drafna (drafna›i) wv. decompose; dwindle
drunk (i.e. drained) 58/21; horn skyldi
draga (dró, drógu, subj. drœgi, dreginn/
drekka til hálfs a horn was to be shareddregit) sv. draw; drag; put on 156/5;
between pairs, they were to drink two
draga at collect together; draga at sér
by two, half each 69/32
assemble round oneself; draga fram drengiliga adv. valiantly, manfully
promote, lead on, side with 68/36; draga drengr m. (valiant) man, manly man;saman collect together 15/20; draga
drengr gó›r good fellow
undir sik take for oneself, keep, em- drengskapr m. decent behaviour, honourbezzle 19/2; impers. ﬂá mundi ﬂar til
able behaviour
draga things now seemed to be going drepa (drap, drápu, drepinn/drepit) sv.
in such a way, the outcome would be
strike; kill: at hann væri drepinn tosuch 23/3; er dró at ﬂví when it camebe killed 62/19; subj. at ek dræpa
to this 37/30; dró saman me› ﬂeim thehann that I had killed him 135/14;
gap between them began to close 92/20;
drepa fœti trip, stumble 178/25; drepa
md. dragask drag oneself (being woundhendi vi› wave away with the hand,ed or exhausted) 141/27; li› drósk til
signal (someone) to go away 165/1;
ﬂeira forces continued to join them
drepa ni›r with dat. strike, fling down
74/35; er dregizk hafa svó mjƒk til
78/5; drap hƒf›inu ni›r í feld sinn
ﬂessa máls who have concerned yourthrust his head down under his cloak,
selves (meddled, interfered) so muchburied his head in his cloak 84/14
in this affair 175/8
dreyri m. blood, gore
dragsí›r a. trailing along the grounddreyrrau›r a. blood-red
drakk see drekka
dreyrugr a. bloody
drap see drepa
drífa (dreif, drifu, drifinn) sv. drift;dráp n. slaying, killing
surge, throng
drápa f. a formally constructed poem in drjúgan adv. greatly, very muchat least 20 stanzas, usually with a stef dró, drógu, drógusk, drósk see dragaor refrains 82/23
drógseil f. dragging-rope, halyard
drápu see drepa and drápa
dróttinn m. lorddreginn, dregit, dregizk see draga
dróttinssviki m. traitor 73/12 note
dreif f. scattering; drepa á dreif with dat. dróttning f. queen
hush something up 15/30
drukkinn a. (pp. of drekka) drunk 15/25,
dreifa (dreif›i, dreif›r) wv. with dat. dis133/19
perse, separate into groups 63/16; md. drukkit, drukku see drekka
dreifask scatter 78/4
drúpa (drúpti, drúpt) wv. droop

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dr‡gja (dr‡g›i, dr‡gt) wv. carry out, d‡rshorn n. animal horn (for drinking
achievefrom)drykki see drekkadyrvƒr›r m. door-keeper
drykkja f. drink, drinking; drykkjur dæll a. easy; sup. n. as adv. ﬂótti nú sem
miklar much drinking 69/25; eigadælst mundi it looked as though now
drykkju vi› drink opposite to, share
would be the easiest time 71/17
toasts with 68/27
dœma (dœm›i, dœmt) wv. judge, give
drykkjustufa f. drinking room
judgment; adjudge, pronounce; dœmadrykkr m. drink; eiga drykk vi› drink
sér lƒg give him a just judgment, award
in company with 28/40
him his legal rights 88/10; dœma tildræpa, dræpi see drepa
handa with dat. adjudge to someone,dræpr a. who may be killed with impuaward someone in judgement
nity; dræpr hverjum manni liable to dœtr see dóttir
be killed by any man (without penalty) dƒgg (gen. dƒggvar/dƒggar) f. dew
94/14
dƒgun f. dawndrœgi see draga
døkkr a. dark
duga (dug›i, dugat) wv. help, avail; hafi e›a/e›r conj. or; but 96/2
ﬂit vel jafnan dugat you have always ef conj. if
served well 29/7; eigi mundi duga efla (efldi, efldr) wv. perform 101/13;
nema there was nothing for it but 5/37;
support, assist, back 171/14
en ﬂér muni duga at than that it will efna (efndi, efndr) wv. perform, carry out,
do for you to 116/12
fulfildul f. self-conceit, delusion
efni n. material; hvert efni ﬂeir hƒf›u ídúnn1 m. crowd, troop
um rógit in what their slander had condúnn2 m. down (feathers), bed
sisted 18/25; hér eru engi efni til ﬂessa
dvelja (dval›i, dvƒl›u, dvalinn) wv. dethere is no substance in that, this haslay, hold up; md. dveljask stay; impers.
no basis in reality 18/28; muni eigidval›isk ﬂeim they were delayedgjƒrr kunna at sjá efni sín will be able
63/26; pp. dvalizk
to see what is possible for himself (hisdylja (dul›i, duli›r) wv. with gen. conposition, i.e. his own limitations) noceal; dylr ﬂess ekki does not hide themore clearly 23/7; haf›i hann meirafact 49/32; md. dyljask í ﬂví hide thisefni um ﬂat allt en fyrr he took morefrom himself, deceive himself aboutpains over it all than before, made it all
this 105/33
even more magnificent than before
dylla f. field sow-thistle, sonchus arvensis;
23/22
as nickname 86/23
efniligr a. promising; sup. efniligstr
dyngja f. women’s apartment
efri a. comp. upper; inner 14/3; furtherd‡r1 n. (wild) animalinland; it efra (in) the upper or inlandd‡r2 f. of d‡rrpart 18/6, the upper or inland routed‡rgripr m. precious thing, valuable item
18/14; land it efra the higher landd‡rligr a. splendid
30/26; inn efra hlut ævi hans in the
dyrr (gen. pl. dyra, dat. pl. durum/
latter part of his life 154/26; inn efra
dyrum) f. or n. pl. doorway; door
hlut sumars in the latter part of sumd‡rr a. valuable, costly 83/9; splendid;
mer, late summer 168/29; á efra aldricomp. hálfu d‡rra en twice as expenadvanced in years
sive as 169/12; n. as adv. d‡rt at a high egg (dat. eggju, pl. eggjar) f. edge 52/16
price 106/5
eggja (eggja›i, eggjat) wv. incite, urge;

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EGILS SAGA

md. láta at eggjask um let himself be eigna (eigna›isk, eignazk) wv. md. gain
talked (goaded) into 104/8
possession of, geteggjan f. incitement
eik f. oak (tree); ship (made of oak)eggtog n. drawing of sword(s), i.e. (the eiki n. oak forest
beginning of) battle
eina adv. alone, on one’s own
eggver n. place for collecting birds’ eggs einart adv. continually, constantly
ei = eigi1 adv. noteinberni n. only child 8/17, 25/10
ei› n. isthmus, neck of landeinbúi m. lone dwellerei›ali› n. group of twelve men prepared einhamr a. ‘single-shaped’; eigi einhamr
to swear oaths
able to change one’s shape (= hamei›r m. oathrammr) 125/11 noteei›sœrr a. that may be sworn to, abso- einhver see einnhverr
lutely true 89/9
einka adv. particularly, exceedingly
eiga1 (á, átti, áttu, subj. ætti, átt) pret.- einkamál n. pl. confidential talk, privatepres. vb. have, own, possess; past withagreement
suffixed pron. and neg. áttka I did not einmenningr m. individual drinking, eachhave 166/24; pres. subj. eigi 161/4; past
man drinking from his own cup; var
subj. ef hann ætti if he had 177/34; áttidrukkinn einmenningr there was inwas married to 30/29 and note; átti bú
dividual drinking 133/15
owned estates 115/5; kalla›isk eiga einmæli n. pl. private talk 17/4; mælaeinn claimed that he alone ownedeinmæli speak in private 175/28
21/36; eiga eptir leave behind 40/39; einmæltr a. (pp.) unanimously said,eiga undir have dependent on 173/12;
agreed by all; eigi var um ﬂat einmælt
eiga drykk ok sess vi› ﬂá menn drink
people were not sure, not agreed 125/11
and sit in company with those men einn (n. eitt) pron. a. one; only; on one’s
28/39; eiga orrostur wage battles 2/24,
own; alone (i.e. without interference)
10/28; eiga stefnu hold a meeting 73/8;
19/37; a certain; mæltu ﬂar eitt um
with inf. have to, must; md. vi› eigask
were unanimous about it 73/12 note;deal with one another 19/37; áttusk vi›
hvárt ﬂeir munu allir einir ok whether
had with each other, exchanged 77/29,
they were all the same ones as 136/7;
79/22
ﬂeir einir menn at ﬂér munu› kenna
eiga2 f. possession; kasta eigu sinni á
only those men that you will be able toclaim possession of 20/29, take possesrecognise 91/21; ﬂat eina only that;sion of 86/29; lag›i eigu sína á tookekki . . . nema gó›s eina nothing but
possession of 40/38; kasta konungs
what is good 19/30; fáir í einu few
eigu á declare it the property of the king(men) in any one (tent) 74/26; ein um
126/14mína on my own 67/18; svá at einu
eigi1 adv. notonly in such a way 173/6; allt at einu
eigi2, eigi› see eiga1
all the same 87/25
eiginkona f. wife
einnhverr (f. einhver), einn hverr (f. ein
eiginor› n. possession; fá at eiginor›ihver) pron. a. one, a certain 47/37;
gain possession of 124/12
some one; any; each one 103/21; every,
eign f. possession; eign hans what wasany 169/18, 171/4; n. eitt hvert one, ahis 174/21; kasta›i konungs eign ácertaindeclared it the property of the king, ap- einrá›it a. (pp.) decided; ef ﬂit hafi› ﬂat
propriated it in the king’s name 114/19;
einrá›it if you have made up yourlausar eignir property (= lausir aurar)
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einrá›r a. arbitrary, self-willed, imperi- elna (elna›i, elnat) wv. grow stronger, getous, obstinate 173/17 noteworseeinrœnn a. singular in behaviour, unso- elska f. love, fondness
ciable, eccentricelskr a. with dat. fondly attached (at toeinstigi n. single-track pathsomeone) 53/19
einteiti a. quite cheerful, in a very good elta (elti, elt) wv. chasemood
elztr a. sup. oldest
einur› f. sincerity, honesty, straightfor- emk see vera
wardnessen conj. but, and; thaneinvaldi m. sole ruler, monarchenda1 see endi
einvaldskonungr m. sole king, absolute enda2 conj. moreover; and also, and if
171/18ruler
endask (endisk, enzk) wv. md. impers.
eir f. mercy, peace, relief
with dat. succeed; er engum hefir
eira (eir›i, eirt) wv. with dat. spare; dealƒ›rum enzk which nobody else has
kindly with; agree with; impers. be tolmanaged to do 24/38; endask til beerable: honum mundi eigi svá búit
(last) long enough; be sufficient (for)eira this would not do, he could not go
20/16, 103/21
on like that 133/27
eirarlauss a. merciless; n. as adv. deter- endi/endir m. end; til alls endis right tothe end, in the long run 23/4
minedly, without sparing oneself, without rest, without holding back 126/2 endilangr a. the whole length ofendr adv. once upon a timeeirarvanr a. merciless 99/2
eng (pl. engjar) f. and n. meadow
eirketill m. bronze cauldron
engi/øngr pron. neg. no one, no; ﬂeir
ekki1 m. sobbing, sorrowekki2 (gen. engis) pron. neg., n. of engi
engir none of them 7/2; dat. sg. n. ønguno, nothing, none; ﬂat ekki nothing,nothinganything 46/25; ekki af arfinum none engiteigr m. strip of meadow-landof the inheritance 10/14; ekki at manna Englandsfer› f. journey to Englandno kind of men as a result 6/33 (see at4); Englasker›ir m. diminisher (i.e. enemy)as adv. notof the English
ekkja f. widow
engva, engvan see engi
él n. storm (of snow or hail); (storm of) enn adv. still; yet; again; in addition; more
battleenni n. forehead
eldahús n. (= skáli) the main living-room ennibrei›r a. having a broad foreheadof a medieval house; a large public enskr a. English
room with fires in it; kitchen
enzk see endask
eldask (elda›isk) wv. grow oldeptir prep. with acc. after (of time); witheldaskáli m. = eldahús
dat. after (of place); along; eptir sem
eldhús n. = eldahús
according to what 20/18; as adv. ﬂar
eldr m. fire; lƒg›u ﬂar í eld set it on fire,
eptir along the side of it 176/24, aclit it 61/36; eldinn skal leggja í the firecordingly 89/12; eptir um daginn, um
is lit at 65/16
daginn eptir the following day, next
ella adv. otherwise
day 19/14, 61/30, 177/31 (cf. haust,
elli f. old age
vár1); eptir um morgininn the nextmorning 62/5; nema ﬂú sér eptir
ellifu num. elevenunless you stay behind 69/21; var ﬂá
elligar adv. otherwise
eptir this time remained behind 101/23
ellri a. comp. elder; older

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eptirbátr m. ship’s boat (usually towed
cause trouble between us, start a quarbehind the ship), pinnace
rel with me 112/18
eptirfƒr f. pursuit
ey f. island; dat. sg. eyju 31/10; allt í eyjuer = at3 14/1, 52/1 (2), 56/13 (2), 99/26 (2),num throughout the islands (Orkney)
115/9, 131/3 (2), 136/28, 180/21 (2); =101/28when 52/2; er . . . af ﬂví from which ey›a (eyddi, eyddr) wv. with dat. do away
46/25
with, destroyér = ﬂér pron. 2nd person pl.
eyjasund, eyjarsund n. island sound,era, erat see vera
strait between islands or between an
erendi/ørendi n. errand, business, misisland and the mainland 28/17, 97/14
sion (sometimes pl.) 5/16, 35/34; hvert eykhestr m. draught-horse, cart-horse
ﬂeira erendi var vor›it til konungs eykr m. draught animal; horse
what had been the result of their visit eyra n. ear; acc. pl. eyru 159/28
to the king 50/25; reason for coming; eyrir (pl. aurar) m. ounce (of silver), one
er hann ﬂóttisk erendi vi› eiga whomeighth of a mƒrk; eyrir gulls, an ounce
he wished to contact 5/14; ﬂess erendis
of gold, was the equivalent of one mƒrkat for the purpose of, in order to 34/24;
of silver; in pl. money, wealthgáfu sér erendi found reasons for going, eyrr f. sand- or gravel-bank (by a river orinvented pretexts for going 16/16
estuary)
erendislok n. pl. the outcome of an er- eystri a. comp. more easterly
rand; the outcome of an embassy 76/8 fá1 (fær, fekk, fengu/fingu, fenginn/
fengit/fingit) sv. get; give; find 16/36,
erfa (erf›i, erf›r) wv. honour (a dead
63/16; incur 156/4; lét of fengit caused
person) with a memorial feast or poem;
to be given 125/35; gain 11/15; meetat hann sé ekki erf›r that he shouldwith 11/1; impers. with neg. suffix
not be commemorated 146/14
færat one cannot find 137/11; with gen.
erfi n. funeral (memorial) feast, toast,
fekk manna til he got some men for it
drink
128/9, fengu/fingu sér got themselves
erfi›i n. trouble
23/1, 116/32, fekk til konu at gæta got
erfikvæ›i n. memorial poema woman to look after 47/34, bring,
erfilliga adv. toilsomely; hversu erfilliga
cause 136/32; with f. gen. marry 1/11,
with what great difficulty 132/27
52/24, 88/31; with pp. be able to,erfingi m. heir
manage to: fingu hvergi rétt hann né
erfinyti m. heir, son (= arfi); but erfinytja
hafit could neither unbend him nor lift
may be an adjective, inheritancehim at all 100/13; fengu ﬂeir beitt they
enjoying 166/24
managed to tack 101/29
ern a. vigorous
fá2 see fár1
errinn a. warlike, quarrelsome
ertingama›r m. a man to be provoked; fa›erni n. paternity; at fa›erni on thefather’s side
engi ertingama›r not a man to put upfa›ir (gen. fƒ›ur, dat. fe›r) m. father
with provocation 104/19
fága (fága›i, fágat) wv. cultivate; worerum, erumka see vera
ship; ﬂá ver›r eik at fága er undireta (át, átu, etit) wv. eat
skal búa you must cultivate that oak
etja (atti, att) sv. with dat. make fight;
you have to live under 126/20
etja saman cause to fight with eachother 172/35; etja kappi vi› match fagna (fagna›i, fagnat) wv. with dat.
welcome; fagna vel give a warm welone’s strength with, compete with, vie
come towith 24/36; etja vandræ›um vi› mik

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at fornu fari in or from early times,
fagna›r m. hospitable entertainment
from long ago
fagnafundr m. joyful meeting; joyful findfagr a. fair, beautiful; n. as substantive far2 n. passage, transport; track, footprints
heita fƒgru promise fair, make fine fár1 (n. fátt) a. 1. few; dat. sg. n. me› fáli›i with a small following 16/5; 2. unpromises 178/10
friendly, hostile; heldr var fátt me›
fagrbúinn a. (pp.) finely equipped or
ﬂeim brœ›rum relations were rather
dressedcool between the brothers 56/28; ger›fal see fela
isk fátt um me› ﬂeim Steinari he andfala (fala›i, fƒlu›u, falat) wv. offer to
Steinarr got to be on bad terms, theirbuy, ask to buy
relations became rather hostile 168/16
falda (felt, feldu, faldinn) sv. cover thehead, put on headgear; cover (with dat., fár2 n. hatred, hostility
fara (ferr, fór, fóru, subj. fœri, farinn/
with something)
farit) sv. go; travel, sail; carry on 17/27;
faldr m. head-dress
imp. far›u; fƒrum let us go; subj. fœrafall n. fall, death in battle; hverneg fall
ek I would go 149/11; hví fer›u why
hans yr›i how he fell 32/1
do you travel; with acc. travel overfalla (fellr, fell, fellu, subj. felli, fallinn/
120/21, suffer 77/17; with dat. movefallit) sv. fall; suit; drop (of the wind);40/32; svá er sagt at fœri skjƒldrinn
flow (of a river); falla til suit: svá sem
this it is said that happened to the shieldsakir falla til in accordance with their
166/6; fara á vald with gen. surrenderoffences 27/11, allir vel fallnir all well
to 2/29; fara af veginum lose the path
qualified 89/10, betr til fallinn better132/16; fara aptr turn back 137/23;
fitted for it 6/11; hafa fallit á verkum
fóru brott were taken away 133/18; ef
sínum have fallen as a result of theirnú fœri eigi hér it meira eptir if there
own actions, were responsible for theirwere not more (i.e. worse) to come withown deaths (have performed deeds thatit (in this affair) 23/6; fara fram takejustify their being killed, have forfeitedplace, be carried out 29/20, 58/20, with
their lives by their actions) 174/24; fell
dat. sínum rá›um fram farit carried
ﬂar li› margt af Eyvindi many ofout his own counsels, acted on his own
Eyvindr’s men fell there 70/26
86/31; fara fyrir give ground 120/18;
fallhaddr a. with hair that falls down,
fara me› look after, see to 128/9; atwith long hairhann fœri illa me› s‡slunni that hefalr1 a. available, to be disposed offalr2 m. socket of a spear-headcarried out his administrative duties
falsk see fela
badly, i.e. that he did not deal honestly
fám see fár1
with the payments 21/21; hann haf›ifang n. grasp; wrestling; at hafa eigi allame› at fara he brought with him, heoss í fangi ﬂér not to have all of us
came with 167/13; fara undan flee
against you 173/15; pl. fƒng provisions,
128/28; lét hann fara upp he had
supplies 12/21, 13/21; entertainment,
raised 26/23; á›r bor› skyldi upp fara
food and drink 14/5; resources, means,
before the time came for the tables toopportunity, possibility, ability 20/16,
be set up 67/8; fóru allt vel went very
24/21, 47/3; eptir fƒngum sínum in acwell 67/2; vel fórtu you proceeded well,cordance with his ability, means 14/26
you behaved well 20/9; ba› hann vel
fangvina f. (female) wrestling partner
fara bade him farewell 7/9; pp. farinnfann, fannsk see finna
ertu you are done for, finished 178/27;
far1 n. state, condition; activity, doings;
pp. with inf. farnir sofa gone to sleep

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96/9; past inf. fóru 31/13; impers. fastna (fastna›i, fastnat) wv. betroth;slíkan mun hafi farit um annat it has
fastna sér betroth oneself to, becomegone with the same difference in otherengaged to 85/22 note
cases 19/4; fór ﬂat fjarri it was far fastr a. fast, firm; stuck; munu ƒll fƒstfrom the case 19/2; eigi hefir ﬂví fjarri
will all be kept 9/14; n. as adv. fast
farit sem things have not gone muchhard; tight; firm; ganga at fast be very
differently from what 24/33; svá væriactive or assiduous, go hard at it 58/23
farit at with dat. were so constituted fastrá›inn a. (pp.) determinedthat 37/22; hér er ﬂanneg til farit this fat1 (pl. fƒt) n. baggage 99/6; pl. clothingis the way things are here, this is how fat2 see feta
the land lies here 141/6; nú er svá til fátt see fár1
farit this is how it is 169/13; hverneg fé (gen. fjár) n. money, wealth, goods;
booty; fé allt er laust var all movefarit væri um what the circumstances
able property 63/25; sheep, cattle; pl.
were of 47/14; ﬂegar af fór veginum
fé mikil a great deal of property 83/12
when the path was left 132/1; er margar(sc. farar) ferr when many journeys fébœtr f. pl. compensation
are taken 52/2; md. impers. fórsk honum fe›gar m. pl. father and son 6/16; KveldÚlfr ok ﬂeir fe›gar father and son,vel he had a good voyage 127/4; fórsk
Kveld-Úlfr and Skalla-Grímr 24/31;
ﬂeim seint they made slow progressme› ﬂeim fe›gum between father and131/37; hverneg y›r fersk me› whatson 45/34
is done with it by you, what happens tofe›r see fa›ir
it after it is in your hands 138/26
féfang n. goods, valuables; loot; pickings,
farar see fƒr
profit; enrichment; til féfangs sér asfararbeini m. necessities or provisions forincome for themselves 71/19
a journey 117/24
fararefni n. goods for a journey, wares féfátt a. n. short of money; er ﬂér féfátt
are you short of money 99/25
to trade with abroad
farargrei›i m. help in preparing for a feginn a. happy, pleased; ur›u menn
honum fegnir people were glad to see
journeyhim 143/9
fararleyfi n. leave to go
fararmungát n. ale for a voyage 26/22 feginsamliga adv. joyfully, gladly, warmly, with great pleasurefarbann n. ban on sailing, embargo
fégjarn a. avaricious
fárbjó›r m. one who offers hostility
fardagar m. pl. ‘moving-days’, four days fégjƒf f. gift of moneyin the seventh week of summer when fégrimmr a. cruel to money
people taking up new employment or fegrstr a. sup. most beautiful; it fegrsta
very fineresidence would move house 174/31
féhir›ir m. treasurer
fargervi f. travelling gear, things
féhirzla f. treasure-chest, box for keepfarljóss a. light enough for travellinging valuables
farma›r m. seafarer, trader; farma›rfeilan m. nickname ‘little wolf’ (derived
mikill a great seafarer 44/14
from Old Irish) 40/36
farmr m. cargo; farm allan the whole
feitr a. fat; comp. feitaricargo 21/36
fekk, fekkt see fá1
farnir see fara
fastliga adv. firmly; fastliga komit firmly fela (fal, fálu, fólgit) sv. hide; impers.
ﬂegar er s‡n fal í milli ﬂeira Egils astied down, put where it cannot be got
soon as sight was hidden between themat 126/16

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and Egill (i.e. as soon as they lost sight festiliga adv. defiantly, vehemently, inof each other) 132/10; md. falsk hid
flexibly, stubbornly; rœ›a festiliga
himself 61/20
refuse to give way 168/26
félag n. fellowship; félag at eiga vi› festr f. mooring-cable; rope
konung to be in partnership with a (or feta (fat) sv. aux. with inf. be ablethe) king 23/15
fetill m. sword-strap, baldricfélagi m. fellow, comrade
féván f. likelihood of loot 65/38
félagsskapr m. fellowship, company; févƒxtr m. increase of wealth, profit; tilfriendshipfévaxtar sér to increase their wealth,félát n. loss of money or property 23/5
to make themselves wealthy 172/36
feldr m. cloakfi›r n. feathers, plumage
félítill a. short of money
fíflska f. tom-foolery, folly
fell, felli, fellu see falla
fimm num. fivefella (felldi, felldr) wv. cause to fall, kill fimmtán num. fifteen(in battle)
fimmti ordinal num. fifth
felt see falda
fimmtungr m. fifth partfen n. fen, bog
fingit, fingu see fá1
fingr m. finger
féna›r m. sheep, cattle
finna (fann, fundu, fundinn/fundit) wv.
fengin, fengit, fengna(r) see fá1
fengr m. haul, bootyfind; meet; notice, see; discover, invent;fengu see fá1
fundu ﬂeir eigi fyrr en they noticed
fer see fara
nothing until, the first thing (they) knew
fer› f. journey, travel, expedition; gen.
was that 22/32; hitt hefi ek fundit but
fer›ar for a (one’s) journey 35/27 (seethis I have noticed 17/1; ﬂikjask finnabúa); pl. travels, movements 4/23
surmise 14/4; finna ﬂat til erenda givefer›u see faraas the reason for one’s coming 74/5;
ferill m. track
pp. vel fundit well thought of, a good
ferma (fermdi, fermdr) wv. load (af with)idea 85/14; md. finnask meet; ﬂá er
ferr see faraﬂér funduzk when you met 15/23;
ferri adv. further off; hykk ferri I think
appear; be discovered 5/11; seem: eptir
it far from the case 164/19
sem y›r finnask sannindi til according
ferstrendr a. four sided, with four edges;
to what you think the truth is 20/19;
X-shaped in cross-section
fannsk ﬂat á it could be seen, it was
fések› f. fineobvious 16/13; fannsk ﬂeim ﬂat á they
festa1 f. pledge, security, guaranty: bau›realised 37/2; lét sér fátt um finnask
festu sína offered his security, guaranexpressed little pleasure, was rather disteed 62/25
pleased 54/10, seemed not very confesta2 (festi, festu, fest) wv. fasten; stickcerned, showed little concern 17/24 note,
fast; fix in the memory (i.e. festa í
feigned lack of interest 171/22; ﬂá
minni) 105/5; anchor; confirm; festa
myndi y›r margt um finnask then you
ﬂat me› sér confirm the agreement
would have been very impressed 19/1;
between them 123/11; festi konungiﬂá er honum fannsk mikit um whomdóm sinn pledged himself to accepthe was much taken with 44/17
ance of the king’s sentence 63/1; be- Finnfer› f. the right to travel among thetroth, become engaged to 85/22; md.
Lapps (to trade) 8/13
festask vi› take hold 65/19
Finnkaup n. (the right or licence to) trade
festar f. pl. engagementwith the Lapps

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Finnskattr m. the right to collect tribute fjárvar›veizla f. management of propfrom the Lapps (on the king of Norerty; fjárvar›veizlur búanda manageway’s behalf) 8/13; the Lappish tributement of the farmer’s property (or livepayments 18/37
stock?)
firar m. pl. men
fjón f. hatred, hostility
fir›i, fir›ir see fjƒr›rfjór›i ordinal num. fourth; it fjór›afirn n. pl. abomination, monstrous thing
hundra› i.e. another hundred 18/13
firr adv. comp. further; er at firr at . . . fjórir (n. fjƒgur) num. fourat (it is) so far from . . . that 18/29
fjƒ›r f. feather; blade (of a spear), spearfirra (firr›i, firr›r) wv. remove; vammi
headfirr›r free from blemish; md. firrask fjƒgur see fjórir
avoid, keep away from; firrask fund fjƒl n. multitude, large number
hans avoid meeting him 21/29
fjƒl› f. multitude, a large number
fiskifang n. catch of fish; fiskifang mikit fjƒl›i m. a large number
plenty of fish to be caught 38/27
fjƒlkunnigr a. skilled in magic
fiskimenn m. pl. fishermenfjƒlmenna (fjƒlmennti, fjƒlmennt) wv.
fiskr m. fish
assemble in crowds 74/27; take a large
fit f. water-meadow, wetland
following 87/37
fjall (pl. fjƒll) n. mountain; á fjalli in the fjƒlmenni n. (large) number of people
mountains or highlands, i.e. among the
21/1, 172/23; í fjƒlmenni in (a large)
Lapps 8/30
company 43/14; ok fjƒlmenni hansfjallbygg›ir f. pl. mountain dwellings
and the numbers of his troops, and how
fjalldalr m. mountain valley
numerous were his troops 73/11
fjallvindr m. wind blowing off the moun- fjƒlmennr a. (pp.) well attended; vartainsfjƒlmennt til large numbers of people
fjándi/fjandi m. enemy
went 57/5; comp. fjƒlmennri with afjándskapr m. hostility, hatredlarger following, with more men; sup.
fjár see féfjƒlmennastr most crowded
fjara f. foreshore; (í) milli fjalls ok fjƒru fjƒlsáinn a. (pp., see sá2) plentifully sownfjƒr n. life
between mountain and shore 38/27
fjƒrbaugsgar›r m. lesser outlawry, outfjárafl n. wealth 160/12
lawry for three years
fjárafli m. property; wealth; ?domesticfjƒrbaugssƒk f. charge or case meriting
animalslesser outlawry
fjárdráttr m. appropriation of wealth,fjƒr›r (gen. fjar›ar, dat. fir›i, pl. fir›ir,
embezzlement
dat. fjƒr›um) m. fjord; lyngs fjƒr›r,fjárforrá› n. pl. management of wealth,heather’s sea, is a kenning for earth 97/4
economic management 86/19
fjárgæzla f. care (charge) of the livestock fjƒrlag n. deathfjƒt n. = fet n. foot (length) 91/3
fjárheimta f. claim for money
fjárhlutr m. share of property, amount of flag› n. giantess, troll
flasa f. scale, splinter; flaw 52/19
property
flatr a. flat, smooth, with a level surface
fjarlægr a. far away 41/26
fjárréttr m. driving sheep; vera í fjár- flaug see fljúga
réttinum be driving the sheep 175/22 flaut see fljóta
fjarri adv. far off; fór ﬂat fjarri it is far fleinn m. shaft; light spear
fleiri a. comp. morefrom the case 19/2
fjárska›i m. loss of wealth, loss of property flestr a. sup. most; flest allt nearly all

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flet n. the raised floor along the side of a foldgnárr a. towering over the land?
hall (to sit or lie on); af fletjum ni›r fólgit see felafrom the house 148/4
fólk n. people; host; army; battle
fley n. ship, warship or merchantman
fór see fara
flimtun f. satire, lampooning
forbeini m. furtherance, help, service,
fljóta (flaut, flutu, flotinn) sv. float, bekindness 47/2
afloat 49/14; be flooded, be awash 60/20 for›a (for›a›i, for›at) wv. with dat. save;fljúga (flaug/fló, flugu, floginn) sv. fly;for›a sér escape; md. for›ask escapeflaug í vƒllinn it (Berg-¯nundr’s spear)(from), avoid
flew to the ground 96/24
for›um adv. formerly; in days of old, longfló› n. flood-tide, high-tideagofloginn see fljúga
forflótti a. in flight; ver›a forflótta be
flokkr m. troop
routed 76/20
flota (flota›i, flotat) wv. with dat. launch forkunnar adv. extremely
flot n. floating
formáli m. prefatory statement; proflotnar m. pl. sailors, men
nouncement; hƒf›u inn sama formála
flóttamenn m. pl. men fleeing, men in
used the same words or formula 133/22
flightforn a. ancient; at fornu, at fornu fariflótti m. flight; rout, men in flightin ancient times, long ago; í fornum
flugu see fljúgasi› in heathen times
flutning f., flutningr m. transport (gen. fornkve›it pp. said of old
object) 23/1, 116/32; passage (abroad) fornsƒgur f. pl. ancient stories, prehistoric
flutningsma›r m. spokesman, advocate;legends
vera flutningsma›r support the case forrá› n. management, control, charge
114/24
11/34 (pl.); taka til forrá›a take charge
flutti, fluttu see flytja
of, take control of 38/10; á ﬂínu forrá›iflutu see fljóta
up to you 83/15; ef hann ætti fleira
fl‡ja (fl‡›i, fl‡›u, fl‡i›r), wv. flee, takemanna forrá› if he had a greater folflightlowing 177/34; hér til forrá›a yfir toflytja (flutti, fluttu, subj. flytti, flutt) wv.
take charge of this area 16/3
1. move, convey; md. flytjask move fors m. waterfall(one’s dwelling). 2. proclaim; perform, forsending f. mission involving the cerdeliver; present, plead, support (mál atain death of the man sent 131/2; suicase) 33/22; flytja fram put forward,
cidal mission
present 87/41; pres. part. mundi flyt- forsjáll a. prudent, having foresightjandi ﬂess máls would support this fórsk, fórt, fórtu see farabusiness 56/32; fluttu enn á sƒmu lei› forspár a. prophetic, able to tell the futuremál ﬁórólfs continued to talk in the forstjóri m. manager; commander, leader;same way about ﬁórólfr and his doings
vera forstjóri fyrir be in charge of
18/36; flyttir mál ﬁórólfs fyrir honum
155/2; forstjóri fyrir búi in charge ofwould intercede on ﬁórólfr’s behalf
the farm 16/25; leader(ship)with him 49/34
forstofa f. entrance-hallflœ›armál n. high-tide line; ór flœ›ar- forstofudyrr f. pl. outer doors
máli above the high-tide line 57/27
fortƒlur f. pl. persuasion, argument 48/6;
flœ›r f. flood-tide, high-tide
representations, accusations 19/16
flƒsur see flasa
fórtu, fóru see fara
fold f. field; land
forvitnask (forvitna›isk) wv. md. find out

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forvitri a. very wiseek em at sér gerr superior to me, afóstbró›ir m. foster-brother; sworn
better man than I am 33/33
brotherframarliga adv. near the front
fóstbrœ›ralag n. fosterbrotherhood; var framaverk n. exploit, featﬂar allkært í fóstbrœ›ralagi there was frambyggjar m. pl. foredeck men, thosegreat affection between the fosterbroin the forward parts of the ship
thers 34/36; me› ykr var fóstbrœ›ra- fram›i see fremja
lag you were foster-brothers 47/23
framflutning f. maintenancefóstr n. fostering; at fóstri, á fóstri be- framganga f. courage
ing fostered
framgangr m. advancement; gefa framfóstra1 f. foster-daughter
gang promote 6/30
fóstra2 (fóstra›i, fóstrat) wv. foster
framgjarn a. eager, zealous; ambitious
fóstrfa›ir m. foster-father
frami m. renown; vinna til frama achieve
fóstri m. foster-son; foster-father 71/12
to one’s credit 31/27
fóstrson m. foster-son
framit see fremja
fótahlutr m. the lower part of the body framr a. forward; n. as adv. svá framt
fóthár a. long in the leg
so far; svá framt mátti kanna li›it sem
fóthvatr a. fleet of foot; comp. fóthvatarithe men could only be counted whenfótr (dat. fœti, pl. fœtr) m. foot, leg;(could not be counted until) 63/18
standa á mƒrgum fótum have more framstafn m. fore-stem, prow
than one leg to stand on 40/24; hver á fránn a. gleaming, flashingfœtr ƒ›rum one after another 64/3; dat. frásaga f. account, narrativeof measure ﬂremr fótum til skammt frásagnarver›r a. worth telling about
three feet too short (i.e. of reaching the frásƒgn (pl. frásagnir) f. narrative, acking) 27/32 (fet is commoner as a meascounture of length, and some manuscripts fregna (frá, frágu, freginn) sv. hear of,have fetum here; cf. fjƒt)learn; md. of fregnask be heard of, about
fótstir›r a. stiff in the legs
freista (freista›i, freistat) wv. with gen.
fox n. fox; fraud 52/18
try; find out
frá1 prep. from; about; as adv. about it; freki m. (name of a mythical) wolf
upp frá around 39/5; ﬂar út í frá round frekr a. greedy
about it, beyond it 174/16
frelsi n. freedom
frá2, frágum see fregna
frelsingi m. freedman; sometimes freefráfall n. deathman, or (in pl.) includes both: workmen
fram adv. forward; out; um fram in ad13/23
dition 17/34; langt um fram far ahead frem›arfer› f. glorious journey; in mestaof, far superior to 42/16; fram me›frem›arfer› a very successful expealong the side of 129/1; fram um past,dition 75/9
beyond 141/9; deyf›i eggjar fram frem›arfƒr f. glorious journey
went on making the edges blunt or fremja (fram›i, frƒm›u, framit) wv.
blunted the edges right to the end 124/4
perform; me›an ﬂat var framit while
framan adv. from the front; fyrir framan
it lasted 37/23; promote, honour, makein front ofwealthy 179/21
framanver›r a. the front part of, the outer fremr adv. comp. further, morepart offremri a. comp. further forward, nearer
framar adv. comp. further forward; framar
the door 14/3
en to a higher degree than; framar en fremstr a. sup. foremostG L O S S A RY

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frest n. delay; respite; á frestum after a fullhugi m. dauntless, courageous man
while 133/8
fullkominn a. (pp.) complete; absolute,
fresta (fresta›i, frestat) wv. wait, holdunconditional; full-grown; var hannon; with dat. put off, defer 120/19
svá fullkominn at afli he had reachedfrétta (frétti, frétt) wv. ask; hear, learn,such maturity in strength 42/19; fullfind out (um about)komnir at ﬂroska fully grown up 69/9
fri›land n. sanctuary, secure abodefullr a. full; til fulls fully, completelyfrí›leikr m. handsome appearance, beauty fulltí›i a. full-grown, adultfri›r m. peace; security; hálfs mána›ar fullting n. help, assistancefri›r a fortnight’s truce 63/8
fundinn, fundit see finna
frí›r a. beautiful, fine, good; frí›r s‡num fundr m. meeting; with gen. with somehandsome in appearance 7/16; sup.
one 21/29; á konungs fund to meetfrí›astr 144/20; n. frítt peaceful, quiet
with the king, to appear before the king137/22
32/20; verit á fund hans been to see
frilluson m. son of a concubine, illegitihim 8/25; til fundar vi› to meet; engagemate son
ment, battle 4/4, 10/27
frillutak n. in the phrase tekin frillutaki fundu, fundusk, funduzk see finna
taken as a concubine 88/20
fur›a f. amazing thing; er fur›a mikil it
frítt see frí›r
is astounding 88/28
frjáls a. free
fur›uliga adv. wonderfully, remarkably,
frjálsborinn a. (pp.) free-born
extremely
frumvaxta a. in one’s prime, grown up; fúrr m. fireﬂá vel frumvaxta at this time quite fúsliga adv. willingly
adult, just grown up
fúss a. willing, eager
fr‡ja (fr‡›i, fr‡t) wv. with dat. and gen. fustanskyrtill m. fustian (cotton) tunictaunt someone for lack of something; fylg› f. company; support
meir fr‡r ﬂú mér grimmleiks you fylgja (fylg›i, fylgt) wv. with dat. follow,
taunt (goad) me more into ferocity 68/39
accompany, go with; support; látafrægstr a. sup. most spoken of, mostsver›it hendi fylgja keep one’s sword
highly regarded
in one’s hand 123/16; lætr ﬂat fylgjafrændastyrkr m. support of kinsmen,
lets this go with it, makes known alsofamily backing 116/3
11/20; fylgja fram with dat. move onfrændgar›r m. ‘fence of kinsmen’,alongside 77/28; md. fylgjask vel keep
house, familyclose together, stand by each other 77/25
frændi m. kinsman
fylgjusamr a. with dat. attached to somefrændkona f. female relative, kinswoman
one; vera fylgjusamr with dat. gofrændli› n. members of one’s familyaround with someone, be someone’sfrændsemi f. kinshipfaithful supporter 47/36
frændsemistala f. family relationshipfylgsni n. hiding-placefrœkn a. valiant, bravefylki n. districtfrƒmu›r m. advancer, supporter
fylking f. battle formation, battle line
fugl m. bird
fylkir m. one who marshals troops, ruler,
full n. a vessel full of drink, cup-full 59/5,
king
9; Vi›ris full kenning for (the mead of) fylkja (fylkti, fylkt) wv. with dat. draw
poetry 159/4
up (troops) in battle formation
fulldrengiligr a. fully valiant, like a proper fylla (fylldi, fylldr) wv. fillman
fyrir prep. with dat. before; at the head

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of 20/11; fáir váru menn hans fyrir
honum fœzk had been brought up withhonum few of his men were ahead ofhim 68/21; fœddusk upp were brought
him 79/9; in spite of 113/23; with acc.
up 8/7in return for 135/21; before, off (the fœra1 (fœr›i, fœr›r/fœrt) wv. bring, convey; move; present to, perform in theestuary of) 24/8; past, along the coastpresence of (with dat.) 154/14; takeof 101/29; vestr fyrir on the west coast
away, take down 91/11; send; md.
of 40/6, to the west of 46/15; austr fyrirfœrask vi› exert oneself, use one’s
landit eastwards along the coast 46/20;
strength 64/8
nor›r fyrir Fjƒr›u north off Fir›ir; asadv. ahead, away (first) 23/36; in front: fœra2 see faraváru ﬂar alls sta›ar menn fyrir there fœri1 n. capability; er ﬂeim ﬂótti sitt fœrivera fyrir fjƒlmennis sakar whichwere men everywhere to block his paththey thought they could handle with
61/5; er . . . har›ast er fyrir where thetheir number 20/40; opportunity: fekk
opposition is toughest 78/30; vera fyrir
ekki fœri vi› never got an opportunity
be present, be there 122/11; be available
against 69/27, koma/komask í fœri get
40/3; because of it; fyrir vestan on thewithin range, have an opportunity 31/6,
western side (of the river) 39/24
34/17
fyrirkunna (see kunna) pret.-pres. vb.
with acc. and gen. blame someone for fœri2 see farafœri3, fœri› see fœrasomething 68/31
fœrive›r n. sailing weather; gott fœrifyrirtƒlur f. pl. persuasion, argumentve›r good weather for sailing 117/24
fyrirvega (fyrirvá, fyrirvágu, fyrirveginn) sv. with dat. forfeit (by fighting) fœrr a. capable; able to walk; usable, seaworthy; hvergi fœrr not at all able (tofyrirætlan f. plan
go anywhere) 32/11; at øngu fœrir fit
fyrr adv. comp. earlier, before; previfor nothing 61/32; fœrt um skóginn
ously; above (in a book); fyrr en as
passable through the forest 139/19
conj. before, until
fyrri a. comp. former, previous; í fyrra fœti, fœtr see fótrfœzk see fœ›asumar last summer
fyrst adv. sup. first; to begin with 63/14, fƒ›urarfr m. inheritance from a father
77/23; sem fyrst mátti hann as soon fƒ›urbró›ir m. paternal unclefƒ›urkyn n. father’s kin; at fƒ›urkyni
as he could 86/39
on the father’s sidefyrstr a. firstf‡sa (f‡sti, f‡st) wv. with acc. and gen. fƒ›ursystir f. paternal aunturge someone to do something; exhort; fƒlr (acc. m. sg. fƒlvan) a. pale
be very eager, be in favour 66/2; f‡sta fƒng see fang
ek ﬂik mjƒk hingatfararinnar I urged fƒr (pl. farar) f. journey; gera hans fƒr
gó›a make his journey worth while
you very strongly to come here 34/4
33/16; ﬂar í fƒr in company with themf‡siligr a. desirable
118/25f‡sinn a. desirous, eagerfƒrum see fƒr and farafæ see fá1fægir m. one who cultivatesfƒrunautr m. companionfær, færat see fá1fƒruneyti n. company; bjó›a fƒruneytifæri a. comp. fewer
sitt offer to accompany 137/6; skip gottfœ›a (fœddi, fœddr) wv. feed; give birthok fƒruneyti a good ship and goodto; md. fœ›ask (fœddisk, fœzk) becrew 9/35
born; be fed, be brought up; hƒf›u me› fƒt see fat

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gaf, gáfu, gáfumk see gefa
svá sem gekk as far as it was possible
gagarr m. dog
to go 38/19; impers. with dat. gekk
gagl n. gosling
ﬂeim léttara it got easier for themgagn n. advantage, benefit, produce, rev54/28; ganga til purpose, intend; sem
enue
honum haf›i til gengit in accordance
gagnvert prep. with dat. opposite
with his intention 14/10; ganga út turngakk see ganga
out: ﬂér mundi svá út ganga at it
gálgi m. gallows
would turn out for you so that 24/34;
gall see gjalla
md. gangask á attack each other,galt see gjalda
engage 79/5; gangask at engage ingamall (pl. gamlir) a. old; á gamals aldri
fight 123/25
in one’s old age
ganga2 f. walkgangr m. going, pacegamalmenni n. old people
gaman n. entertainment, pleasure 53/14; gar›r m. enclosed place, yard; fence,
wall; (large) dwelling, premises; palace;hafa at gamni take pleasure in 179/20
í hans gar›i in his keeping, owed bygamanleikr m. entertaining gamehim 48/29
gamli see gamall
gar›shli› n. entrance to an enclosure
gammr m. vulturegar›staurr m. fence-post
gandr m. wolf; enemy
ganga 1 (gengr, gekk, gengu/gingu, garpligr a. warrior-likegenginn/gengit) sv. go; imp. gakk gat see geta
102/18, gangi 58/15, gakk til go there gata f. path, way; gengu á gƒtu me› ﬂeim
17/9; travel 56/20; ganga á land (of thesaw them on their waywind) blow landwards 46/15; at hann gátu see geta
gangi á vini mína in his trampling on gaukr m. cuckoo
my friends 87/33; ganga af pass, cease, gaumr m. heed, attention
leave 37/24, 25; fyrst er af var gengit gaus see gjósa
immediately it left them 37/24; ganga ge› n. mind, disposition
eptir be proved true, come to pass 7/1; gefa (gaf, gáfu, subj. gæfi, gefinn/gefit)
ganga fram grow, increase 40/19;
sv. give; gáfumk gave me 153/25; gefa
gingu hart fram pressed forward vigsér erendi pretend to have business,orously, advanced strongly 18/16; gekk
find an excuse to go 16/16; gefa upp
fram fyrir ¯lvi had been going togive up; impers., of the weather, er byr
wards the door ahead of ¯lvir 60/22;
gaf when they got a favourable windganga í enter, join 33/28; ganga me›
23/27; md. gafsk honum he was given,máli support a case 127/11; ganga ofhe found 129/9; gefask upp surrender
fasten on 37/12; ganga til lands take
24/6; hverneg sem ﬂér gefsk sættarover a country (as a king), fight one’sgjƒr› Egils however Egill’s arbitration
way to power 35/15; ganga um see to,turns out for you 173/33; gefsk at has
oversee, supervise 1/15; ganga vi› withbecome, causes 160/6
dat. admit to, confess 47/18; ganga yfir gegna (gegndi, gegnt) wv. with dat. bebefall: eitt skal ganga yfir okr ﬁórólf
fit, be suitable; mean, signify; hverju
bá›a ﬁórólfr and I shall share the same(ﬂat) gegndi what was the reason (forfate 49/35, eitt skyldi ganga yfir ﬂáit) 16/38, 126/7
alla they should all share the same fate gegnt prep. with dat. opposite
62/24; impers. svá sem ganga mátti gegnum/í gegnum prep. with acc. through,as fast as it was possible to go 26/17;
past 51/34; as adv. throughout 125/28

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geigr m. trouble, harm, violence 45/34
I became 153/11; hvat í gerisk what
geiri m. gore, triangular piece of cloth
happens 131/4; impers. ger›isk it begeirr m. spear
came 12/21; gerask it was getting
geisli m. beam (of light)
57/15; pp. gerzk happened 23/14;
gekk see gangagjƒrzk taken place 62/3; í gjƒrzk
geld see gjalda
happened 115/30; hva› í haf›i gerzk
geldfé n. sheep producing no milk
what had happened 53/36
gelgja f. poleger›a f. woman’s head-dressgellir m. nickname ‘noisy person’
ger›ihamrar m. pl. cliffs that enclose or
gengileysi n. lack of support
fence
gengit, gengnir, gengr, gengu see ganga gerla adv. clearly, precisely, exactly
gera/gjƒra (ger›i/gjƒr›i/gør›i, ger›u/ gerr see geragjƒr›u, gerr/gjƒrr/gert/gƒrt/gjƒrt) gersemi f. treasure, precious thing
wv. make; do 18/29; cause 18/30; send: gert, gervar, gervir, gervu (pp.) see gera
gera or›sending send a message, send gerviligr a. accomplished, clever, gifted,
a request 114/24; gerir or›sending me›
handsome; sup. gerviligstr/gervisends with him, sends as well the religastr most accomplishedquest 11/18; build 41/23; perform 45/4; gerzk see gera
adjudge, award; imp. gjƒr svá vel be gestaskáli m. guest-hall, accommodation
so good 17/9, geri› act 20/18; gera at
for guests (gestir were royal retainers
make into 33/31, mend, fix 140/11; ﬂarof inferior rank to other hir›menn)at gjƒra do about it 89/13; nƒkkut gera gestr m. guest
at do anything for, help with 136/17; geta1 (gat, gátu, getit) sv. 1. get, receive;
subj. geti can get 151/21. 2. beget
ef ﬂú gerir ekki at um if you do nothing
88/28. 3. with gen. guess; at hann gat
about, if you don’t do something about
rétt that he guessed correctly 131/10;
170/19; gera eptir act in accordancesuggest, suppose 26/5; say, tell; mention:
with; gera menn frá sér send out (someekki er ﬂess getit we are not told, it isof one’s) men 72/37; gera fyrir send
not recorded 86/12, 100/27. 3. with pp.
for, send to waylay 137/7; gera til act
be able to, manage to, succeed in 94/25;
against 130/27; gjƒr›i sér um títtwith inf. get to, come to; as meaningcourted her 2/13; gjƒr›i sér svá mikit
less aux. getr at rigna it does rain 60/9
um was so taken with 2/16; gera um
mál arbitrate a case, pronounce judg- geta2 f. guess; eru ﬂar margar getur áhvar there have been many guesses
ment in a case 173/25; pp. var gjƒrr
about where 181/15
was made 93/25; váru gervar there
were held 13/28; váru gjƒr or› word gil n. gully, ravine
was sent 48/27; at sér gerr/gervir gildi n. feast
accomplished; vel at ykr gervir well gildr a. worthy; well off; ﬂikisk ver›amega gildr ma›r af may expect to beaccomplished (as warriors) 25/33; at svá
regarded as a man of consequence as agervu this having been done, after this,result 52/3
at this stage, with that 44/20, 54/6;
impers. ve›r ger›i hvasst the weather gingu see ganga
became stormy 38/14; ger›i ljóst it gipta (gipti, gipt) wv. give in marriage
cleared up 38/17; ger›i á there blew gíslar f. pl. sureties, hostage, guarantees
up 55/20; slíkt gerir at er that happens gista (gisti, gist) wv. stay as guest, stay
the night
to anyone who 146/5; md. gerask
become 4/21, be getting 53/16; ger›umk gisting f. night’s lodging

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gjafor› n. match 11/32 (usually of ahorse, used as a common noun 166/2
woman; here clearly of ﬁórólfr)gle›i f. merriment, good cheer
gjald n. payment, tribute 20/36; pl. gjƒld gle›ima›r m. cheerful, sociable person,compensation, repayment
a person who liked to enjoy himself
gjalda (geldr, galt, guldu, goldinn) sv. gle›ja (gladdi, gladdr) wv. gladden,
pay; repay; with gen. for something:make glad; md. gle›jask become cheerlétir hann eigi gjalda ﬂess er would
ful, cheer up
not hold against him what 50/6; verr glepja (glapta, glaptr) wv. seduce
af hendi goldinn paid over in poorer glíkr (= líkr) a. like; ekki ﬂví grjóti glíkt
quality 21/21; gjalda aptr sendimennƒ›ru unlike the other rock 41/36
hans manngjƒldum repay him in com- glíma f. wrestling; mjƒk at glímum very
pensation for his messengers 138/33
fond of wrestling 53/20
gjalla (gall, gullu, gollit) sv. resound, glitra (glitra›i, glitrat) wv. cause to shine
ring; twang; scream 67/20; pres. part. gljúfr n. pl. rocky ravine
clanging; as nickname gjallandi noisy, gluggr m. window
loud-voicedgl‡ja›r a. (pp.) gleeful, happy
gjálpa (gjálpa›i, gjálpat) wv. boast of glymja (glum›i, glumi›r) wv. resoundgjarn a. eager, desirousglær m. sea
gjarna adv. willingly, gladly
gløggliga adv. clearly, precisely, in detailgjósa (gaus, gusu, gosinn) sv. gush
gløggvingr m. miser, mean persongjƒf (gen. gjafar) f. giftglƒm f. noisegjƒfull a. liberalgnárr a. towering (above)gjƒr1 n. multitude, hostgnat n. clashinggjƒr2, gjƒra see gera
gneyptr a. (pp.) with one’s head bowedgjƒr›1 f. girdle
down, with bowed headgjƒr›2 f. (award of) arbitration
gnípa f. mountain-top, peakgjƒr›a, gjƒr›i, gjƒr›u, gjƒr›um see gera gnógr a. enough, plenty, plentiful; cf.
gjƒrhugall a. closely attentive (um to),nógr
keeping a sharp eye (on); careful, mind- gn‡ja (gnú›i, gnúit) wv. roar (of the sea)
ful; gjƒrhugall um cautious towards gn‡r m. din
4/32gnœgja (gnœg›i, gnœg›r) wv. with dat.
gjƒrr1 adv. comp. any more clearly 19/20,
supply plentifully with; pp. gnœg›r
more precisely, better 21/23
plentifully supplied with, full ofgjƒrr2, gjƒrt see gerago› n. (heathen) godgjƒrsamliga adv. completely, entirelygo›agremi f. wrath of the godsgjƒrzk see gerago›heimr m. the world of the gods
gla›a (gla›a›i, gla›a›r) wv. gladden, go›i m. one of 36–39 priest-chieftains incheer (i.e. with gifts)
pre-Christian Icelandgla›r a. glad, happy; shining, bright 107/23 go›lauss a. nickname godless, one who
gladdi see gle›jadoes not worship gods
glamm n. noisegó›mennr a. (pp.) attended by good (fine,glapmáll a. confused in speech, hesitantselect) people; var gó›mennt til ﬂeirarof speech
fer›ar all who went were a good classglapna (glapna›i, glapnat) wv. growof people 57/5
dim, begin to fail, grow weakergo›or› n. the office or authority of a go›iglapstigr m. false path, dangerous blunder go›or›sma›r m. a man holding a go›or›,glaumr m. noisy merriment; name of aa go›i

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gó›r (n. gott) a. good; pleasant 53/15 (1); grei›fœrr a. easy to pass; ﬂar var ekki(of land) fruitful, fertile 8/15; gó›r til
grei›fœrt út it was not easy to get out
generous with 6/1; var gott til there
there 65/22
was plenty of, it was easy to find 2/6, grei›i m. arrangement; geri grei›a á
53/15; var› ekki gott til fjár they didmálinu expedite the case, put the casenot get much plunder 23/33; er gott itright, bring about a just resolution tois good; var ﬂar gott at spyrja tí›endi
the case 87/6
it was easy to get news theregrei›r a. ready 89/9
gó›vili m. goodwill
greiniliga adv. precisely, in detailgoldinn, goldit see gjalda
greip see grípa
gólf n. the unboarded floor down the mid- grenja (grenja›i, grenjat) wv. howl, roardle of a medieval hall; skyldi um gólf grennir m. feeder
ganga they had to walk across onto the greppr m. man; poet
floor, take up their position on the floor grét see gráta(an honourable ritual) 68/28
grettir m. snake (originally perhaps
gólfﬂil n. floor-boards, wooden floor‘hisser, snarler’); as nickname 30/29
goti m. (the name of a legendary) horse greyfask (greyf›isk) wv. md. bend facegott see gó›r
down, stoop down
gra›ungr m. bull
greypr a. cruelgrafa (gróf, grófu, grafinn) sv. bury 28/7; gri› n. pl. truce; pardon; quarter; gefa
dig up 181/34
gri› spare 36/38, 37/6
gráfeldr m. nickname ‘greycloak’
grí›(r) f. greed (Grí›r is the name of agraftól n. pl. digging tools
giantess)gramr m. ‘fierce one’, ruler, kinggri›arof n. pl. breach of the peace, trucegranda (granda›i, grandat) wv. with dat.
breaking
injure, do harm to 94/26; with acc. 93/16 gri›ungr m. bull 123/36 notegrannligr a. slender of build, slim-looking gríma f. mask
granstœ›i n. the bearded part of the face; grimmleikr m. savagery, cruelty
granstœ›it where his beard was 81/4 grimmligr a. fierce-looking, fearful
grár a. grey
grimmr a. grim, cruel, angry
graslo›inn a. (pp.) thick with grass 61/12 grindr f. pl. pensgráta (grætr, grét, grátinn) sv. weep; grípa (greip, gripu, gripinn) sv. grasp;with acc. weep forsnatchgrávara f. grey fur; squirrel-skingripr m. object of value
grefill m. tool for digging
grjót n. stone, rock (usually collective);grei›a (greiddi, greitt) wv. make ready= arinn 160/9(til for this purpose), get together 16/27; gróa (grœr, greri, gróinn) sv. grow; heal
pay; grei›a af hendi pay out; grei›a gróf, grófu see grafa
fyrir look after 58/10; grei›a til um grúfa f. in the adv. phrase á grúfu facemake ready 61/24; vildi engan hlut
down 32/3
grei›a um ﬂetta mál would do nothing gruna (gruna›i, grunat) wv. suspect;
to settle this matter 87/21; md. speed,
impers. grunar mik I suspect
prosper: greiddisk fer› hans vel he had grund f. grounda good voyage 41/13; impers. greiddisk grunlauss a. unsuspecting; free from susﬂeim vel they had a good voyage 48/23;
picion; straightforward, honest; me›be paid: greiddisk miklu verr was
grunlaust œ›i with integrity
much more difficult to collect 20/36 grunn n. shallow, shoal

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grunnfƒll n. pl. breakers over a shoal 101/30
hœgt at gæta alls saman all this will
grunnr a. shallow; n. as adv. vinátta oknot be easy to keep an eye on 69/20; fá
kur Hákonar konungs stendr grunnt
konu til at gæta get a woman to lookthe friendship between me and King
after 47/34; gætti á bak ﬂeim shielded
Hákon is a shallow one 126/19
their backs 27/27; gæta sín fyrir guard
grunr m. suspicion; honum var grunr á
oneself from 103/6 note; gæta til takehe had a suspicion
care of, mind 96/35; til at gæta togr‡ta (gr‡tti, gr‡tt) wv. throw stones
cultivate it (i.e. my friendship) properlygrætr see gráta
29/10; gæta svá til at let us make suregrœr see gróathat 141/11; betr kunna at gæta begrœ›a (grœddi, grœddr/grœtt) wv. heal
more careful 33/29;(transitive); treat the wounds of 11/2, 28/31 gœ›a (gœddi, gœddr) wv. increase;grƒf f. dug-out room, cellar; grave
endow, enrich; gœddi hann rásina
grƒn f. moustache, hair round the mouth;
quickened his pace, put on a spurt 96/22
lips; pl. (of an animal) snoutgƒfga›r pp. with dat. honoured, adorned,
gu›r = gunnr
splendidly provided (with)gufa f. nickname sluggard, good-for- gƒfuglyndr a. noble-minded, munificent
nothinggƒfugr a. noble, splendid, fine, distinguldu see gjalda
guished; sup. gƒfgastr
gull n. goldgƒrt, gƒrzk see gera
gullbúinn a. (pp.) decorated with gold gƒtubreidd f. the breadth of a path(inlay)gƒtvar f. pl. gear, clothes
gullhringr m. gold arm-ring
gør›a, gør›i see gera
gullknappa›r a. (pp.) gold-buttoned
haddr m. hairgullknappr m. gold button
há› n. mockery
gullrekinn a. (pp.) inlaid with goldhá›i see heyja
gullro›inn a. (pp.) gilded
haf n. open sea, ocean
gullsauma›r a. (pp.) embroidered with hafa (hefr/hefir, haf›i, hƒf›u, subj. hef›i,gold thread
haf›r/haft) wv. have; use, sow (seed)gumi (pl. gumnar) m. man
40/12; receive 23/29; take; take (charge
gunnr/gu›r f. battleof) 130/18; imp. haf›u hann heim me›
gustr m. gustﬂér take him home with you 104/11;
gyr›r a. (pp.) girded
er hann haf›i when he wore it 166/18;
gæfa f. (good) luck (til to do something,hafa at use as, make into; hafa at
for something); bera gæfu til have any
dau›amanni kill 104/17; hafa ﬂat atluck with (or from) 6/4, 23/4; bar hannátrúna›i er ﬂeim var skapfelldast haveenga gæfu til he did not succeed, he
whatever belief was most agreeable tohad no luck in 33/33; bærim eigi gæfuthem 72/4; hafa í use for, take on 9/9;
til samﬂykkis did not have the good
hafa til ﬂess have for this plenty of
fortune to agree, have not been lucky
116/2; traust til haft had the backing
enough to get on well together 115/35;
for it 86/31; hefir uppi raises, broaches
pl. bera stórligar gæfur til have enor8/20; hafa vi› stand up to, hold one’s
mously good luck with it 14/32
own against 116/3; haf›i út haft hadgæfi see gefa
brought out (to Iceland) 124/19; pp. f.
gæta (gætti, gættu, gætt) wv. with gen.
heim hƒf› taken home 13/4; var hƒf›guard, look after, see to 40/14, 101/23;
was practised 52/27, 181/6; md. hafask
take care (of), watch; ﬂess mun eigi
at be doing

220

EGILS SAGAhaffœrandi a. (pres. part.) able to be
ﬂess many things supported this, were
sailed on the open sea, ocean-worthy
in favour of this, there was much to be
hafgola f. breeze off the sea, from out tosaid for it 12/12; halda upp maintainsea, sea-breeze
23/19, praise, speak highly of, keephafi› see hafa
talking about 43/34; halda til fulls vi›
hafi›r, hafit1, hafizk see hefja
stand up to, hold one’s own against
hafit2 see haf
169/18; with acc. keep; keep power
háfjall n. high mountain, mountain-top
over 4/12; halda Skotland af mér holdhafnleysur f. pl. harbourless coasts 46/19
Scotland under me (as his feudal lord)hafnligt a. n. likely to have a natural har76/3; keep up, maintain 129/16; ef ﬂúbour; ekki hafnligt there seemed to beheldr hann til ﬂess at if you support
no natural harbours, it was not a suithim in 87/33; pp. vel haldinn treatedable or attractive place for landing 30/7
well 64/24; haldnir provided for,hafskip n. ocean-going shiptreated 6/28; ﬂungliga haldin in a badhaft see hafa
way 136/11; md. haldask continue; behafvi›ri n. breeze from the sea
kept; helzk ferillinn the track conhaga (haga›i, hagat) wv. with dat. mantinued 140/3; helzk á vetrum lived
age, arrange; take care of; svá til hagathough the winters 40/21; helzk conat manage it so that 62/28; hagi› svá
tinued (to be), remained 29/25; haldask
til at bring this about that 69/14
vi› resist, stand up to; helzk ﬂá ekki
hagabeit f. grazing; eiga hagabeit own
vi› honum then nothing could stop him
the grazing, have the right to graze
77/34; heldusk were saved 101/33
170/9
haldinor›r a. discreet, silent; vera haldinhagi1 m. pastureor›r keep one’s own counsel 16/10
hagi2 m. manager, controller, organiser háleyskr a. from Hálogaland
111/9
hálfbergrisi m. half mountain-giant,hagr1 a. skilful
having almost the characteristics of a
hagr2 m. condition, situation
mountain-giant
hagstœ›r a. favourable
hálfr a. half; til hálfs half-way 69/32 (i.e.
haka f. china horn was shared between two people),haklangr a. nickname ‘long-chin’
81/2; hálft annat hundra› a hundred
hald n. support, backing 87/4; koma íand fifty or a hundred and eighty; hálfu
hald be helpful 173/17 noted‡rra twice as costly; hálfu djarfligar
halda (heldr, helt, heldu, haldinn/
twice as boldly
haldit) sv. with dat. hold; follow (a hálftrƒll n. ‘half-troll’, having a troll forroute at sea) 23/28; halda skipunum
one parent 1/3
hold a course, sail 30/8; keep, maintain; hálfﬂrítugr a. twenty-five (years old)
carry on with, continue 168/23; halda halla (halla›i, hallat) wv. impers. withinu sama um continue in the same way
dat. halla›i honum it tilted, heeled
as regards, carry on with 6/7; halda
over 97/21
teknum hætti carry on in the same way hallmæla (hallmælti, hallmælt) wv. with
171/6; halda á continue with, maintain,
dat. blame, criticise
pursue determinedly 80/20; heldu á ﬂví hallr a. sloping; bar hallan held (themáli urged the matter further 26/2;
shield) aslant or (the shield) turned
halda til make for 54/19, keep in 6/7;
aslant 96/24
halda til jafns vi› hold one’s own hálmr m. straw
against 24/37; margir hlutir heldu til halr m. man

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háls m. neck; ridge
er ﬂú ert handgenginn of whom you
hálsbein n. neck-bone
are a liegeman 6/38
hálsdigr a. having a thick neckhandtaka (handtók, handtekinn) sv.
haltr a. lame; as nickname 40/26
seize, capture
hamarr m. hammer; back of an axe; crag, handøx f. hand-axe, small axe
bluff
hanga (hekk, hengu, hanginn) sv. hanghamask (hama›isk, hƒmu›usk) wv. md. hánum pron. dat. sg. m. = honum
fly into a fury, go berserk (cf. ham- happlauss m. hapless, unlucky
rammr, hamremmi) 36/25; hamask hár1 (n. hátt) a. high; n. as adv. háttloud(ly)ﬂú nú at syni ﬂínum now you are goinghár2 n. hairberserk against your own son 54/34
har›fari m. nickname smart mover, hard
hamfagr a. fair skinned, fair of form
traveller
hamhleypa f. shapechanger, human in
har›fengr a. tough, hardy; hard to deal
animal shapewithhamingja f. luck (til to achieve something)hamingjumestr a. sup. having most luck, har›hendliga adv. with hard hand,harshlymost lucky
hamla1 (hamla›i, hamla›r) wv. maim, har›leitr a. harsh-looking
mutilate; váru hamla›ir at hƒndum har›r (n. hart) a. hard; fierce; harsh,e›a fótum had their hands or feet cut
rough 57/20; n. as adv. hart vigorously,
off 5/2strongly; sup. n. as adv. har›ast hardhamla2 oar-thong, thole-strap, a loop to
est, toughest
hold the oar in position against the row- hárfagri a. nickname finehaired
lock when rowing; lágu árar í hƒmlum hárhvass a. with an edge as fine as a hair,
the oars lay in the thole-straps, i.e. theyrazor-sharp 169/20
were in position ready for immediate harma (harma›i, harma›r) wv. lament
use 92/2
harmdau›i a. lamented
hamr m. shape, (outward) form; enclo- harmr m. grief; injury; harmr mikill asure, covering
great pity 57/37
hamrammr a. able to change one’s shape harri m. lord
(into that of a wild animal or the like; hárrœtr f. pl. the beginning of the hair,cf. Heimskringla I 18) 1/20, 32/30; able
the hair-line
to induce in oneself a berserk fury hart see har›r
125/11
hásalr m. high hall
hamremmi f. the berserk fury
háseti m. rower, oarsman (hár m. rowhamstoli a. transformed by a spell, out
lock)of one’s right mindháskasamligr a. dangerous-looking,handan adv. from beyond; fyrir handanominous, threatening
as prep. with acc. beyond, on the other hasla1 (hasla›i, hasla›r) wv. mark out
with hazel-sticks; hasla honum vƒllside ofchallenge him at an appointed battlehandargagn n. readiness to the hand; tilfield 74/6
handargagns so as to be ready at hand,
hasla2 f. hazel-stickready to pick up 45/35
handarkriki m. arm-pit; í handarkrika hásæti n. high-seat (= ƒndvegi)
hatask (hata›isk) wv. md. become filled
sér under his arm
with hatred (vi› towards)
handgenginn a. (pp.) with dat. pledged
to the service of (a king), as a hir›ma›r; hátt see hár1

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EGILS SAGA

hátta (hátta›i, háttat) wv. arrange
avenge someone; take vengeance forhattr m. hat, hoodsomethingháttr (dat. hætti) m. manner, habit, cus- hefnd f. vengeance 32/6; in pl. blood retom; halda teknum hætti carry on invenge (eptir with acc. for someone) 31/5
the same way 171/6; pl. behaviour 20/9 hefr see hafa and hefja
haugaeldr m. mound-fire (a fire shining hegla (hegldi, hegldr) wv. hail; past hegldu
above a grave-mound indicating burcovered with hail, showered down
ied treasure)hégómi m. nonsense, fancy; af hégóma
haugr m. burial moundin sport, insincerely, as a lie
haukr m. hawk
hei›inn a. heathen
hauss m. skull
hei›ir m. hawk
haust n. autumn; eptir um haustit the hei›r1 m. honourhei›r2 f. heath, moor
following autumn 181/25
hausta (hausta›i, haustat) wv. become heili m. brain
heill1 a. sound, whole, upright; unharmed,
autumnsafe; healed, cured; af heilu sincere,
haustblót n. autumn sacrificial feast
without guile, as it should be 14/34;
haustbo› n. autumn feast
hverneg ﬂar væri heilt whether peohaustdagr m. a day in autumn, an autumn
ple there were well, whether everythingday
was all right there 176/8; ba› ﬂá heila
haustlangt adv. for the whole autumn, (athittask bade them meet in health, said
any time) this autumn 71/5
au revoir 7/9
he›an adv. from here; away from me (orfrom this country) 103/10; he›an af, heill2 n. omen, luck, propitious future; pl.
leita heilla try to obtain good luck,he›an í frá from now ongood omens 69/22
hef›i, hefir see hafa
hefja (hefr, hóf, hófu, hafinn/hafi›r, n. heilsa1 (heilsa›i, heilsat) wv. with dat.
greet
hafit) sv./wv. lift 41/36; raise 100/13;
begin 56/30; hefja (upp/uppi) raise, heilsa2 f. (restoration to) health, cure
137/1 notepresent, put forward, broach 12/24, 28,
85/19; hefim eigi upp do not raise it heim adv. home, at home, in someone’s
home; heim til húss up to the house(the matter ) 126/28; hefja á rás set off
7/26; sœkja heim visit (someone) in
at a run 65/12; impers. with acc. hér
their home 156/8; sœkja heim at attack
hefr upp here begins; hóf honum(someone) in their home, attack (someheldr upp brún his brows lifted someone’s) home 25/30
what, i.e. he looked rather pleased
17/13; pp. út hafi›r carried out (for heima adv. at home; in one’s own home
15/6
burial) 8/5; md. hefjask begin, originate; hófusk upp til ófri›ar started a heimama›r m. a member of the household 16/20, 47/26
rebellion 71/15; pp. haf›i hafizk af
sjálfum sér had raised himself by his heiman adv. from home
own efforts, was a self-made man 7/22 heimanfer› f. journey from home; ger›iheimanfer› sína set out from homehefna (hefndi, hefnt) wv. avenge; ﬂá62/22; gera sína ﬂá heimanfer› set outmenn er ﬂeir áttu minna í at hefna
from his home on this errand, make thismen who less deserved their vengeance,
his reason for leaving his home 3/32
men against whom they had less cause
for vengeance 25/36; with dat. take heimanfƒr f. journey from home; ger›iheimanfƒr sína set out from home 7/25
vengeance on someone 53/38; with gen.

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heimbo› n. invitation to stay with somebe at Borg?) 46/28; hét í Lundi wasonecalled Lundr 65/38
heimfararleyfi n. leave to go homeheita3 (heitti, heitt) wv. heat; brew: ﬂá
haf›i hann heita látit he had then been
heimfer› f. return home; attack on somehaving brewed 26/22
one in their home; er konungr lætrheimfer›ir veita whom the king has heitr a. hotpunished by attacks on their homes heitrofi m. breaker of promises
hekk see hanga
22/16
heimfƒr f. travel home; veita heimfƒr at hel f. the abode of the dead; death (cf.
Index of names)with dat. attack someone in their homeheld see halda
4/16
heldr1 adv. (comp.) rather, somewhat
heimili n. home
17/13; instead 139/17; heldr en rather
heimlei›is adv. homewards
than; at heldr any the more, even so;heimr m. world
ok at heldr ﬂótt and all the more if, in
heimrei› f. ride home, ride backspite of the fact that, even though 174/25
heimsœkja (heimsótti, heimsótt) wv.
heldr2 see halda
visit
heimta (heimti, heimt) wv. claim, de- heldu, heldusk see halda
mand, collect; ﬂóttusk ﬂeir hafa hann helgenginn pp. gone to the world of thedeadór helju heimtan they felt they had
reclaimed him from the dead 129/11 heljarskinn n. nickname dark-skinned
personheimull a. freely available; ﬂetta var
heimult gƒrt permission was granted hellusteinn m. stone slab
105/11; lét heimult skyldu ﬂat said helmingr m. halfthat would be provided, said they would helnau› f. dire distress, death-like grief
be welcome 135/28; skylt ok heimult helsi n. collar
helt, helzk see halda
right and proper 47/1
helzt adv. sup. most of all, chiefly; helzt
hein f. whetstonefyrir ﬂeim their main leader 53/24; sem
heipt f. hatred, spite; pl. 98/2; af heiptum
helzt var til which was the best availin hatred 163/11
able 15/30; helzt várn kost our best
heiptkvi›ir m. pl. spiteful words
option 21/29
heiptugligr a. spitefulheit n. threat 90/33; promise, vow 9/14; henda (hendi, hendu, hent) wv. catch;
find; henda mikit gaman at take great
ﬂessa heita these promises 83/19
pleasure in 53/14; impers. skal okr
heita1 (heitr, hét, hétu, heitit) sv. withtwo datives, promise something toaldri ﬂá skƒmm henda that disgrace
someone; Bár›i var heitit meyjunni
must never befall us 173/2
the girl was betrothed to Bár›r 8/21; hendi1, hendr see hƒndhaf›i heitit verit had been promised hendi2 see henda
9/30; er hann haf›i heitit which he had hengu see hanga
made 101/24; hétumk he promised me hér adv. here; equivalent to a dat. pron.
this 22/4; hér í landi in this country;
178/10; md. heitask promise oneself,
hér á ﬂinginu at this assembly; hér af
betroth oneself
in this matter, from thisheita2 (heitir, hét, hétu, heitinn/heitit)
sv. be called; er hann var eptir heitinn hera› (pl. heru›) n. district; settled area
whom he was named after 42/16; hét hera›sbóndi m. farmer of the district,at Borg was called Borg (was said tolocal farmer

224

EGILS SAGA

herbergi n. room, dwelling; pl. premises hertogi m. leader, commander
25/26herƒr f. war-arrow 3/23 (see note)herblástr m. a call to battle (on a trumpet) heslistƒng (pl. heslistengr) hazel stake
herbo› n. war summons, call to arms;(see hasla)fara herbo› go round with a call to hestr m. horsearms 3/23
hét, hétu see heita1, heita2
hétumk see heita1
herbú›ir f. pl. campherbúna›r m. weaponry, fighting equip- heyja (há›i, hái›r) wv. conduct, hold;wage, fight (a battle) 80/18
menther›a1 f. tempering; the hardened steel heyra (heyr›i, heyrt) wv. hear; heyra á
strip on the edge of an axe 51/34
listen to 167/17; md. heyrask be heard;her›a2 (her›i, her›r) wv. make hard,heyr›isk mér svá I think I heard him
make firm; her›i huginn plucked up
say, I understood him to say 12/29
his courage 102/5
heyrn f. hearingher›ar f. pl. shoulders
híb‡li n. pl. homestead, househer›imikill a. broad-shoulderedhigat = hingat
herfang n. booty
hildingr m. warrior, kingherfœrr a. fit for military service 5/22 hildr f. battleherfƒr f. raiding
hilmir m. king, chieftain
herhlaup n. rush to arms, mustering of hingat/higat adv. hither, to this place
troops; warfare
hingatfƒr f. journey hither
herja (herja›i, herju›u, herjat) wv. hinn pron. the other; hinir sex menn the
harry, raid; at ﬂeir heri eigi that they
other six men 136/7
should not raid 74/7
hinnig adv. to/in the other place
herklæ›ask (herklæddusk) wv. md. put hir› f. the king’s or earl’s personal folon armour
lowing or household; court, where theherklæ›i n. pl. armour
men are residing
herli› n. troops
hir›a (hir›i, hir›r) wv. keep, care for;herma›r m. warrior, fighter
put away; hir›a eigi not to care, not tohermannliga adv. in a warlike way
mind
hermannligr a. warrior-like, soldier-like hir›ir m. herdsman, shepherd
herna›r m. raiding
hir›lƒg n. pl. the fellowship of the king’s
hernuminn pp. taken by force, abductedcourt; ganga í hir›lƒg join the hir›heróp n. war-cry
9/21, 33/28
herr m. crowd; army; herr manns host hir›ma›r m. member of a hir›of men 74/31
hir›stjóri m. leader or captain of a hir›herra n. lord (used in addressing a king) hitta (hitti, hitt) wv. meet; reach; find,hersir m. lord, a man (and title) of highcome across; hittu menn at máli met
rank in early Norway
men to speak to 46/26, 101/35; md.
herskár a. 1. warlike. 2. exposed to raid;
hittask meet one another; pp. hizk met
landit var ﬂá herskátt the country waseach other 101/15
then exposed to raid 65/34
hjá adv. and prep. near, close by, with;herskip n. warshipcompared withherskjƒldr m. war-shield; fara herskildi hjaldr m. battle
harry 66/26
hjálmr m. helmet
hertaka (hertók, hertekinn) sv. capture; hjálpa (halp, hulpu, hólpinn) wv. with
abductdat. help; pres. part. hjálpandi helper

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hjalt n. hilthler n. listening
hjalti m. nickname (see Index under hleypa (hleypti, hleypt) wv. with dat.
Óleifr)cause to move quickly; make run,hjar›tík f. sheep-dog
chase, drive 89/22; cause to shoot forhjarn n. frozen snow
ward; ride swiftly; hleypti brúnunum
hjarta n. heart
shot his eyebrows
hjó see hƒggva1
hli›1 n. gateway; gap
hjón n. pl. members of a household; serv- hli›2 f. sideantshlí› f. mountain-side 23/29
hjuggu see hƒggva1
hlíf f. protection, shieldhjƒrr (gen. pl. hjƒrva) m. sword
hlífa (hlíf›i, hlíft) wv. with dat. protect;hjƒrtr m. hart; as nickname 35/11
spare; md. hlífask protect oneselfhla›a1 (hló›, hló›u, subj. hlœ›i, hla›inn/ hlít f. sufficiency, satisfaction; til gó›rar
hla›it) sv. with dat. load; pile up; hló›uhlítar very well, rather well, with goodat grjóti heaped stones round or overeffect 143/7
38/22; nær hla›inn almost completely hlíta (hlítti, hlítt) wv. with dat. rely on,
loaded 21/37
trust; skal ekki ƒ›rum mƒnnum nú
hla›a2 f. barn
at hlíta from now on it will not be enhla›hƒnd f. nickname ‘lace-arm’, one
trusted to other men (than myself)with lace adornment or brocade cuffs
170/36; put up with, submit to 135/23
on her arms 44/19
hljó› n. silence; hearing; í hljó›i quietly,hlam past of a vb. hlymja or *hlimain private, secretly 171/22
impers. clang, give a dull, heavy sound hljó›liga adv. silently
108/17hljó›r a. silent, taciturnhlátr m. laughter
hljóp, hljópu see hlaupa
hlaup n. jump; ﬂat var ekki annarra hljóta (hlaut, hlutu, hlotinn) sv. get, remanna hlaup it was not a leap withinceive 6/23; hon hlaut at sitja hjá she
the capability of other men, it was furdrew the lot (it fell to her lot) to sit (andther than anyone else could jump
drink) with 7/23; Egill hlaut at leika it
128/33; run, running; af/me› hlaupi byfell to Egill to compete 53/29; pres.
running, by flightpart. hljótandi
hlaupa (hleypr, hljóp, hlupu/hljópu, hló›, hló›u see hla›ahlaupinn/hlaupit) sv. run, jump; hlógu see hlæja
hlaupa á brott run away 64/26; hlaupa hlunnr m. plank (for supporting a ship orá kaf leap overboard into the water
for standing it on); a piece of wood
36/32; láta hlaupa ni›r drop 41/31;
forming part of a slipway (for launchhljóp á there came up, blew up 145/1;
ing ships and also for dragging themhlupu í attacked, swooped down on
ashore): rá›a skipi til hlunns drag a
20/40; hlaupit af landi á brott me›
ship ashore, beach a ship 125/20
taken it off abroad 138/23; hlaupa í hlupu see hlaupa
sundr break apart; pres. part. hlaup- hlust f. ear, hearing
andi; md. hlaupask á brott me› elope hluta (hluta›i, hluta›r) wv. cast lots for;with 47/11; hlaupask at run at eachdraw lots for, arrange by lots 7/19;
other, attack each other (cf. renna1)
hluta sæti draw lots for where they
123/23; pp. hlaupizk
should sit 67/8
hlaut see hljóta
hlutgengr a. capable (of doing one’s part)hlemmr m. trap-door
7/5

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hluti m. lot, fate; part 73/4; hverr minn hníga (hneig/hné, hnigu, hniginn) sv.
hluti skal ver›a what is going to hapsink down, fall dead; with suffixed neg.
pen to me 47/26
hnígrat allr he will not altogether comehlutr m. thing; part 30/28; portion; cargo
to nothing 117/16
106/21; lot 67/10; svá sag›i hlutr til hniginn a. (pp.) bowed down; ger›isk
the lot(s) decreed 67/11; condition,
heldr hniginn at aldri was getting
position: hlutr ykkar fe›ga mun æ ﬂví
rather old 53/16
verri er deildir várar standa lengr you, hnit n. clash
father and son, will be the worse off hnúfa f. nickname knob; snub-nose
the longer our disputes last 175/5; helt hnúpgnípa f. projecting, overhanging,hlut sínum did not let himself be tramphanging down peakled on 178/16; haldit hlut mínum held hnykkja (hnykkti, hnykktr) wv. pull viomy own 175/7; skar›r hlutr dimilently
nished condition, injury 97/4; share; at hodd n. hoard, wealth, gold
sínum hlut in accordance with his hof n. temple
share 82/1; sitja yfir hlut hans en- hóf 1 n. 1. moderation, restraint; at eigiætlir ﬂú hóf fyrir ﬂér of not showing
croach on his rights, oppress him, wrong
moderation 7/6; hafa ekki hóf vi› know
him 124/22; (part of a) cargo 106/21;
no moderation 50/11. 2. rule, judgment;en engan hlut illa and nothing badly
hafir engis manns hóf nema ﬂitt fol(i.e. he has never done me any harm)
low no one’s judgment, accept no one’s
18/29; part: áttu menn hlut at people
ruling, except your own 169/17
intervened 55/30; haf›i inn versta hlut
af had behaved very badly, was very hóf 2 see hefja
hofsgo›i m. temple-priest (in heathenmuch to blame 73/11
times)
hlutskipti n. share (of plunder) 17/32;hƒf›u hlutskipti mikit received a large hofshelgi f. sanctuary of a temple, templesanctuary
share (of booty), had plenty of booty
to share 2/4; til hlutskiptis li›i as the hófsmenn m. pl. moderate-minded men,
not too ambitious men 15/38
share of (each man in) the troop, tohoftollr m. temple-dues, temple-tax
share out among his troops 75/17hl‡›a (hl‡ddi, hl‡ddr) wv. with dat. 1. hófu, hófu›, hófusk see hefja
listen to; hl‡›a á listen to, pay atten- hógdrœgr a. easy to dragtion to, be influenced by 19/15. 2. obey. hógst‡rt pp. n. easy to steer; eigi ver›r
mér nú hógst‡rt fótunum I do not now
3. be permitted to someone; ﬂér mun
find it easy to control my legs 180/1
ﬂat ekki hl‡›a at you will not beallowed to 55/17; ﬂér láti› honum hógværr a. gentle, mild
hvetvetna hl‡›a you let him get away hold n. flesh
with everything 21/34; impers. be proper, hóll m. hillock
do: eigi mun hl‡›a svá búit this will hollr a. loyal; comp. hollari
not do, one cannot go on like that 123/31; hólmganga f. ‘island-going’, a duel held
according to traditional rules, often on
ﬂat hl‡›ir eigi it will not do 146/14
an island in a river (hólmr)hlynr m. maple (tree)
hólmgƒngulƒg n. pl. rules of duellinghlæja (hló, hlógu, hleginn) sv. laughhólmgƒnguma›r m. duellisthlœ›i see hla›a1hneita (hneitti, hneitt) wv. cut
hólmr m. (small) island; site of a hólmhnekkja (hnekkti, hnekkt) wv. drive
ganga 118/13, 14; ganga á hólm fightback
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hólmsta›r m. place for a duelhrí›1 f. while; um hrí› for a while; ahólmstefna f. appointment, meeting
while ago 23/18; í hrí›inni immediarranged for a duel; pre-arranged duel
ately, without a pause 100/23
holt n. small stony hill or ridgehrí›2 f. storm; attack; boutholtasund n. passage between stony hrinda (hratt, hrundu, hrundinn) sv.
with dat. push; hrinda fram launchridges41/30; hrinda upp lift; open (a door);
hopa (hopa›i, hopat) wv. draw back, reer hann fekk ƒndunni frá sér hrundit
treat
when he could breath out again 133/32
horfa (horf›i, horft) wv. turn, look (in acertain direction), stare; impers. ef vi› hringr m. ring (usually an arm-ring); circle
ﬂeim er horft if they are faced up to, if
they are resisted 78/28; heldr horfir hrís n. brushwoodóvænt it looks rather unpromising, the hrísablundr m. nickname 53/12 (cf.
blundr and the farm-name Hrísar)prospects are rather unpromising 87/36;
md. á horfask, horfask til look likely hristir m. shaker
hrjó›a (hrau›, hru›u, hro›it) sv. strip
34/7, 75/2
(a ship of men), disable 36/27, 142/37
horn n. (drinking-)horn; horn-fullhornklof n. tongs, clamp made of horn hrjóta (hraut, hrutu, hrotit) sv. fly, beflung; hrutu af flew off, apart 27/24
or to hold horn
hornklofi m. nickname; name for a raven hro›i m. that which treats roughly, buffeter (cf. hrjó›a)hosa f. legging; hose; pl. trousers
hro›it see hrjó›a
hót n. pl. threatshró›r m. (poem of) praise
hótun f. threatening, threatshra›byrja a. indeclinable with a strong hró›ugr a. glorious, renowned
following (wind); sigla hra›byrja sail hróf n. shed, shelter
hrópa (hrópa›i, hrópa›r) wv. slander
on a fair fresh breeze 28/23
19/15
hra›kvæ›r a. swift to compose
hross n. horsehrafn m. raven; name of a horse
hrosshƒfu› n. horse’s head
hrammr m. paw
hrapa (hrapa›i, hrapat) wv. with dat. hrosti m. malt mixed with hot water, mash(in brewing)
hasten on, rush (recklessly)
hrumr a. infirm, decrepit
hratt see hrinda
hrundit see hrinda
hrau› see hrjó›ahraustr a. tough, valiant; sup. hraust- hrundning f. pushing, shoving
hrutu see hrjóta
astr
hrygg› f. affliction, grief
hregg n. storm, strong windhryggr a. afflicted, grieved
hregn n. mountain, crag?
hrynja (hrundi, hruninn) wv. fall; janhreinn1 m. reindeer
hreinn2 a. clean
glehress a. hale, hearty, in good health; sup. hræ n. dead body, corpse, carrion; pl. reinn hressasti in very good healthmains (of a body) 37/14
hressa (hressti, hresst) wv. refresh, cheer; hræbarinn pp. (see berja) beaten into a
hressa sik, md. hressask cheer up, feel
corpsebetter, rouse oneself, pull oneself to- hræ›ask (hræddisk) wv. md. be afraid
gether 31/4, 57/15(of)hreysti f. valour, prowesshræsollr m. corpse-swill, bloodhreystima›r m. man of valourhræzlugœ›i n. pl. hapax legomenon,

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probably ‘ease owing to persuasion byhouse 4/24; pl. abodeintimidation’húsaskipan f. lay-out of the buildingshrœra (hrœr›i, hrœrt) wv. move (transi64/27
tive); md. hrœrask move (intransitive) húsbóndi m. master of a house, head of ahrœrr a. movable, moving?
householdhrƒnn f. wave
húsbúna›r m. furniture, fittings
hrør n. corpse; death
húsfreyja f. mistress of the house, farmhrøkkva (hrƒkk, hrukku, hrokkinn) sv.
er’s wife
give way; hrƒkk fyrir li› Óláfs Óláfr’s húskarl m. farmhand, workman
army fell back before them 79/32
húsveggr m. wall of a househú› f. hide
húsﬂing n. council, meeting of a king’s
huga›r a. courageous(or other leader’s) household or followhugbo› n. feeling, guess, presentimenting
hug›i, hug›isk, hug›u see hyggja
hva›an adv. from where
huglei›a (hugleiddi, hugleitt) wv. con- hvalakváma f. stranding of whales
sider
hváll m. hillock
hugna (hugna›i, hugnat) wv. please; hvalr m. whale
hefir mér til ykkar allir hlutir vel hvar adv. and conj. where; hvar sem
hugnat I have been pleased with you
wherever; sem hvar everywhere 110/9
in all respects 29/7; muntu láta ﬂér vel hvarf see hverfa
hugna you will be happy, you will not hvarfa (hvarfa›i, hvarfat) wv. stroll
mind, you will accept 99/29
abouthugr (gen. hugar) m. thought, mind; de- hvarfla (hvarfla›i, hvarflat) wv. wander
termination, courage; mér segir hugr
about 181/12
um I anticipate 6/24; ﬂat er mér bau› hvárgi (n. hvárki, hvártki, pl. hvárigir)
hugr um what my mind foreboded, aspron. neither
I expected (suspected) 7/1; leggja hvárki adv. and pron. n. neither
mikinn hug á um concern oneself hvarmr m. eyelid
greatly about, take great pains with hvárr pron. each (of two); which; hvárr
13/26; hafa ﬂungan hug á have an unﬂeira mundi hafa vegit annan eachfriendly regard for 49/20
must have killed the other 60/18; hvárr
hugsa (hugsa›i, hugsat) wv. think, re(sc. kostr) sem upp kemr whichever
flect, plan
way it turns out, whatever happens (i.e.
hugﬂokki m. thought, mind; mæla eptir
whether I am killed or not) 169/25; fáir
hugﬂokka sínum utter one’s true
hvárir saman in small groups fromthoughts, speak one’s mind 15/6
each side 128/29
hul›i, hul›u see hylja
hvárrtveggi pron. each of two, both;
hunang n. honey (for making mead)hvárrtveggi Úlfr both the men called
hundr m. dogÚlfr 141/29; margir hvárirtveggju
hundra› (pl. hundru›) n. hundred; probboth (those who had Danish ancestry
ably usually a ‘long’ hundred, i.e. 120
on both sides) were many, i.e. therehur› f. door; trap-door
were many who were Danish on bothhur›áss m. door-beam, one of the rafters
sides of their ancestry 72/18; í hvárraabove the doorway 51/36
tveggju li›i in the army of each, on both
hurfu see hverfa
sides; Mœri hváratveggju i.e. both
hús n. house; building; taka hús á withNor›mœrr and Sunnmœrr 4/15
dat. take someone by surprise in their hvárt adv. and conj. whether

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hvártki pron. n. neither; hvártki spjótit hvítna (hvítna›i, hvítnat) wv. go white,neither of their spears 123/24
whitenhvarvetna adv. everywherehvítr a. white; wk. form hvíti nickname
hvass a. sharp; of wind, keen, stormy
white, fair-haired or fair-skinned; fear38/14, 95/13; comp. hvassariful, cowardly
hvat pron. what; hvat mƒnnum, what hvƒtu›r m. inciterkind of men, who 46/30
hyggja1 (hyggr, hug›i, hugat) wv. think;hykk = hygg ek I think; hyggja at exhvata (hvata›i, hvatat) wv. with dat. hasamine 49/24, consider 107/5; hyggja
ten; encourage; hurry on with
til attend to 167/19; md. hyggjask thinkhváta vb. with dat. stick, thrustthat one; hyggjumk um I consider myhvatfœrr a. quick, fast; comp. hvatfœrri
position 150/25
hvati m. instigator, encourager
hvatr a. fast; sup. n. as adv. sem hvatast hyggja2 f. thought
as quickly as possible, straight away 61/1 hylja (hul›i, hul›r) wv. hide, conceal,
cover; fara hul›u hƒf›i go in disguise
hvé adv. how
or by stealth 102/3; hylja hræ cover a
hveiti n. wheat
dead body (to keep it from birds of prey
hverfa (hvarf, hurfu, horfinn) sv. turn; disand animals) 169/2
appear; hverfa aptr withdraw 141/19,
turn back 139/35; hverfa til embrace 7/8 hyrna f. axe with a horned blade
hyrning f. cornerhvergi adv. nowhere; not at all
hyrr m. fire
hverneg adv. how
hverr pron. a. who, which, what; each, hæ›a (hæddi, hæddr) wv. mock, speak
disrespectfully (at of, to)every; at ƒ›ru hverju see annarr
hverr; í inu ﬂri›ja hverju tjaldi in hæ›iligr a. ludicrous, contemptible,
shameful
every third tent 74/26; hverr á fœtrƒ›rum one on the heels of another, one hæli n. refuge 41/7
after the other 64/3; hvern mann er hæll1 m. heel; fara á hæl/hæli retreat, goback 79/15, 140/23; ganga á hæl givehann fekk everyone he could (get)ground 123/26
15/20; einn hverr see einnhverr
hæll2 m. widow whose husband has been
hversdagliga adv. generally, normallykilledhversu adv. howhæri a. comp. higher, taller
hvert adv. whither, to where
hvessa (hvessti, hvesst) wv. sharpen; hæstr a. sup. highest; n. as adv. hæsthvessa augun á look keenly at, fix hætta1 f. risk; lagt á hættu mikla vi› run
great risks against 25/35
one’s eyes on, glare athætta2 (hætti, hættu, hætt) wv. risk;
hvessir m. sharpener, inciterhætta til take the risk 18/2, take a risk
hvetja (hvatti, hvƒttu, hvattr) wv. urge;
in, venture on 134/8; til ﬂess hætta
subj. hvetti should urge me to it 31/16
venture, risk it 32/9, 87/25
hvetvetna pron. anything, everythinghætta3 (hætti, hættu, hætt) wv. with dat.
hví adv. why
or at and inf. leave off, stop, end; imp.
hvíla1 (hvíldi, hvílt) wv. rest; md. hvílask
rest oneselfhættuhvíla2 f. bedhætti see háttr and hætta3hættr a. dangerous; comp. miklu hættarihvíld f. rest
much more dangerous 140/22
hvílugólf n. bed-closethœfa (hœf›i, hœf›r) wv. 1. hit. 2. impers.
hvinn m. pilferer, thiefwith dat. befit, be suitable for
hvítbeinn a. nickname white-leg

230

EGILS SAGAhœfi n. fitness, convenience; er vi› ﬂeira hƒggsta›r m. place for a blowhœfi var which suited them 32/34
hƒggva1 (høggr, hjó, hjuggu, hƒgginn/hƒggvinn/hƒggit) sv. strike; hackhœgindi n. pillow(holes in); cut; cut down 36/24; slaughhœgr a. easy; comp. hœgri easier; rightter; behead; ok hƒggnar á lágir with(as opposed to left) 123/15; til hœgra
logs hewn and laid across them 139/10;
vegs on the right-hand side 79/8
hƒggvask til strike at one anotherhœngr m. nickname male fish; hook;hœngs maki is Ó›inn in disguise as a hƒggva2 see hƒggsnake 156/27, see note (and cf. Ketils hƒggvápn n. cutting weapon (sword oraxe)saga hœngs Ch. 1)hƒ›r m. nickname name of a god and of a hƒggvavi›skipti n. pl. exchange of blows,fight; ekki er at segja frá hƒggvalegendary king; original meaning probvi›skiptum there is nothing to tell
ably ‘warrior’(there is no need to tell) about thehƒf› see hafa
exchange of blows 140/26
hƒf›ahlutr m. the upper part of the bodyhƒl›r m. freeholding farmer (the highesthƒf›i see hƒfu›rank of free farmers in Norway; nexthƒf›ingi m. chief, leader, commander;
below the hersir)
chief person 15/17hƒf›ingliga adv. princely, like a prince, hƒlzti adv. far too, very
nobly; láttu ﬂér ver›a hƒf›ingliga vi› hƒll f. hall
act in princely fashion towards 103/2 hƒnd (dat. sg. hendi, pl. hendr) f. hand,arm; á hendr with dat. against; segja áhƒf›u, hƒf›um see hafa
hendr with dat. charge someone withhƒfn (pl. hafnir) f. harbour
19/7; ganga á hƒnd konungi enter thehƒfu› (dat. hƒf›i) n. head; til hƒfu›sservice of the king as a handgenginn
honum on its head, i.e. for killing itma›r 6/21; sœkja á hƒnd with dat.
95/40
seek (to enter) the service of 23/9; afhƒfu›ba›mr m. chief tree
hendi láta let go, give up 20/14; rei›ahƒfu›hof n. chief temple, high temple
af hendi/hƒndum hand over; at hendi
69/11
see bera; mér heim at hendi to myhƒfu›lausn f. head-ransom; also the namehand in my home 165/26; fyrir hƒndof Egill’s poem
with dat. on behalf of; fyrir hƒndum
hƒfu›sta›r m. chief place, principal town,
see kostr; selja í hendr hand over 7/14;
capitalí hendr with dat. into someone’s handshƒfugligr a. heavy
16/28; í hendr ﬂér at your hand, fromhƒfum see hafa
you 89/16; var› honum ﬂat vel íhƒfundr m. originator; judgehƒndum he made a fine job of it 16/2;
hƒgg (gen. pl. hƒggva) n. blow, stroke
myndi illa í hƒndum hafa would(with a weapon); slaughter 51/30
behave badly, would become infuriated,hƒggnar see hƒggva
would do something terrible 45/33; órhƒggorrosta f. fighting with hand to hand
hendi with dat. from the possession ofblows; ganga í hƒggorrostu engage in
178/6; taka hƒndum saman clasp
close fighting 63/31
hands, shake hands 123/11; til handahƒggrúm n. space for a blow; til hƒggwith dat. for someone, on someone’s
rúmsins in order to have room to strike
behalf; til beggja handa (sér) on botha blow 120/11
sides; ganga til handa give up, surhƒggspjót n. a spear with a cutting blade
render 10/31; ganga til handa with dat.
as well as a point; halberd

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submit to someone (as one’s liege-lord;gƒngu demanded an entrance, asked to
cf. handgenginn) 4/19, 34/24; undir
be admitted 105/11
hendr honum under his arms; drepa inngangr m. entrance
hendi vi› see drepa
inni1 adv. inside, in the building 27/17
inni2 n. dwelling, homehƒnk f. loop
innlendr a. residing in one’s country;hƒrpuskel f. scallop
gjƒr›ir Bjƒrn innlendan cancelledhƒrr m. linen thread, flax; bowstringBjƒrn’s outlawry, gave Bjƒrn the rightshƒttr m. hat, hoodof citizenship 88/38
høggr see hƒggva
innlenzkr a. native
í prep. and adv. in
innri a. comp. inner; róa fram in innrii›gjƒld n. pl. compensation
sundin row along through the inneri›gnógr a. absolutely sufficient; n. assounds, i.e. between the mainland andsubstantive with gen. i›gnótt absolutethe islands 91/26
sufficiency
írskr a. Irishi›ja f. activity, (hard) workísar m. pl. icei›juma›r m. hard-working mani›rask (i›ra›isk) wv. md. with gen. re- ísarn n. ironÍslandsfer› f. a voyage to Icelandpent of, regret 50/23
i›ri a. comp. inner; it i›ra the inner route ítr a. splendid, excellentígangsklæ›i n. pl. the clothes one is wear- íﬂrótt f. skill; fyrir sakar íﬂrótta hansbecause of his art, skills (i.e. as a poet)
ing
29/11
íhlutunarsamr a. interfering, inclined to
meddle; var ekki íhlutunarsamr did íﬂróttama›r m. a man of skills, an accomplished person; ger›isk hann íﬂróttanot get involved 124/21
ma›r um flesta ﬂá hluti he excelled
illa adv. badly, harshly; ƒllungis illa very
at most of the things 42/17
badly, not at all 60/7
ja›arr m. defence
illiliga adv. horribly
illr a. bad; evil; ﬂar var illt til hafna jafn a. equal; level 98/30; at jƒfnum aldri
for his age 53/30; jafn ok equal to, theharbours were hard to find, there wereequivalent of 168/19; halda til jafns
not many harbours 128/13
vi› hold one’s own against 24/37; n.
illskælda f. nickname ‘evil poet’, slanderjafnt as adv. equally; truly, exactly;
ous poet or plagiarist poetalways 121/21
illsƒgull a. evil-speaking
jafnaldri m. one of the same age, equalin pleonastic adv. with comp. 164/19
in age; ﬂeir váru mjƒk jafnaldrar they
inn adv. in, inside; inland; i.e. between
were of much the same age 8/11
the islands and the mainland 36/6; svá
inn allt á Raumaríki also right inland jafnan adv. always, continually, repeatedly
jafnfram adv. side by sidein Raumaríki 115/5
inna (innti, innt) wv. tell; speak of, re- jafngó›r a. equally good, as goodlate, give an account of; inna upp ex- jafnheimill a. just as much at one’s disposal; láta sér jafnheimilt make justpound, sum up 115/30
as free with 15/12
innan adv. inside; on board; prep. withjafningi m. equalgen. withinjafnkominn a. (pp.) having equal rights;
innanver›r a. inner, on the insidejafnkomnar til arfs entitled to equal
innast adv. furthest in, closest to the midshares of inheritance, as entitled to indle (of the hall)
herit as each other 87/12
innganga f. entrance; kraf›i sér inn-

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jafnlendi n. level ground
jól n. pl. Yule, midwinter feast in heathen
jafnligri a. comp. fairer, more equally
times
matched; er ﬂat miklu jafnligra it will jólabo› n. Yule banquet
be a much more equal fightjólagjƒf f. Yule-gift
jafnmargr a. an equal number (of men) jór m. horse
jafnmikill a. as much, so much; just as jós, jósu see ausa
much; jafnmikil í hvárn sta› just as jƒfurr m. ruler (king or earl), prince
much (of a trail), as many (footprints), jƒkull m. glacierin each direction 140/4
jƒr› f. earth, ground, land; pl. jar›ir
jafnskjótt adv. immediately
farms, estates 40/38, 86/28
jafnsnemma adv. at the same time 106/4 jƒtunheimar m. pl. the world of giants,
jafnvel adv. as well; likewise; even; jafngiantland
vel manna›r sem to have as fine manly jƒtunn m. giant
qualities as 9/20
kaf n. dive; á kafi (who were) in the wajara f. battle
ter 97/24; gengu á kaf plunged into thejar›a (jar›a›i, jar›a›r/jar›at) wv. burysea 143/36; hlaupa á kaf plunge intojar›gƒfugr a. noble in one’s lands 179/18
the water 36/33; lágu hestarnir á kafi
jar›hola f. hollow or hole in the groundthe horses sank deep into the snow
jar›langr a. nickname ‘tall man from
132/17
Jƒr› (place-name)’kafa (kafa›i, kafat) wv. dive under wajarl m. earl, nobleman next in rank to ater
kingkaf›i see kefja
jarlma›r m. man who is an earl, a man kafhlaup n. pl. deep snow (so that horsesof earl’s rank
sink deep in it)jarlsdóttir f. earl’s daughter
kaldr (n. kalt) a. coldjárn n. iron; pl. weapons 10/34
kalla (kalla›i, kƒllu›u, kalla›r/kallat)
járnsmi›r m. iron-worker, blacksmith
wv. call; imp. kalli 58/15; claim, believe
járnteinn m. iron spike; járnteinn var í
34/16; say; ok hann kalla›i and which
falnum there was an iron spike in (i.e.
he claimed 124/9; kalla til summon
through; perhaps across) the socket
37/31; lay claim to, demand 89/16,(this may have been to stop the spearclaim rule or power 71/17; er hannhead coming off the shaft, or as an adkalla›i til which he was claiming
ditional part of the weapon; ﬁórólfr is
115/21; md. kallask claim that one
said later to strike sideways as well as
21/36
thrust forwards with it) 76/37
kann see kunna
járnvafi›r pp. wound round with iron (cf. kanna (kanna›i, kƒnnu›u, kannat) wv.
vefja)
explore 30/11; search 61/16; investijartegn f. proof, evidence; authorisation,gate, inspect, count; kanna valinn
token (authorising something); jartegnir
search among the slain 37/1; md.
sínar til rá›s ﬂessa his authorisation
kannask vi› with acc. realise who(a ring or the like) for (authorising) thissomeone is 46/29; pp. kannazk
marriage 29/14; ﬂat til jartegna this is kannt, kanntu see kunna
the proof of it 15/26
kápa f. cloak
játa/játta (játa›i/játta›i, játat/játtat) kapalhestr m. hackwv. with dat. agree to; játta›i ﬂeim ﬂví kapp n. eagerness, zeal; kappi with eagergranted them this 75/15
ness 120/18; er konungi mikit kapp á
jaxl m. tooth, molar, grinder
ﬂví at the king is very eager to 5/19;

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competitiveness: fyrir kapps sakar out kem, kemr see komaof competitiveness 14/12; etja kappi kemba (kemb›i, kemb›r) wv. combvi› see etja
kenna (kenndi, kenndr/kennt) wv. 1.
kappi m. man of valour, fighting man
know, recognise: kenndi fer› fƒ›urkappsamr a. impetuous, excitable, comsíns saw his father arrive 172/14; feel
petitive37/25; impers. with gen. kenndi ﬂá
kappsem› f. excitability, headstrong naaflsmunar then the difference in strengthture
was felt (i.e. Egill proved to be stronger)
kappsma›r m. ambitious, headstrong and123/33. 2. teach; instruct 53/21; svá
competitive person 1/25
sem lƒg kenndu til as the law prekarfi m. carvel, a kind of ship betweeen ascribed, in accordance with law 173/19;
small rowing-boat and a large sailingkenna vi› name after: ok svá hera›itship
upp frá kenndu ﬂeir vi› fjƒr›inn andkarl m. man, male; old man
they also named the surrounding district
karlma›r m. man, maleafter the fjord 39/5
karlmannligr a. manly
keppask (kepptisk) wv. md. contend
karskr a. cheerful
ker n. large vessel, tub, vatkasta (kasta›i, kƒstu›u, kastat) wv. with keru see kjósa
dat. throw; throw down, throw away; kesja f. a spear with a long and broad
kasta akkerum cast anchors; kasta
blade
steini um megn sér throw a stone big- ketill (pl. katlar) m. cooking-pot
ger than one can handle, i.e. go too far, keypt, keypti, keyptu see kaupa
take on too much for one to handle keyra (keyr›i, keyrt) wv. thrust, fling;
115/33; kasta ni›r throw away, give
keyr›i hann ni›r fall mikit flung him
up, abandon 173/5; kƒstu›u or›um ádown heavily 53/33
ﬂá called across at them, hailed them kinn f. cheek
91/18; md. kƒstu›usk ﬂeir or›um á kinnungr m. the curved side of the shipcalled out to each other 132/22
towards the prow, bowkatlar see ketill
kippa (kippti, kippt) wv. pull sharply,
kátr a. cheerfulsnatchkaup n. bargain; trade; hann haf›i kaup kirkja f. churchƒll all the trading was in his hands 21/31 kirkjugar›r m. churchyard; churchyard
kaupa (keypti, keypt) wv. buy; pay forwall
12/31; pres. part. kaupandi buyer; pp. kista f. chest, box; coffinkomask at keyptu see koma
kjálki m. jaw-bone; ok svá allt um
kaupeyrir m. goods for trading
kjálkana similarly all round his jaws
kaupfer› f. trading voyage
81/5
kaupma›r m. trader, merchantkjaptr m. jaw
kaupskapr m. wares for trading, goods kjarr n. thicket, scrub
to sellkjarrskógr m. thicket, coppice, spinney
kaupskip n. merchant vessel, trading ship kjósa (køri/keri, køru/keru, kørinn/
kaupsta›r m. (market) town
kerinn) sv. choose 18/2
kaupstefna f. trading fair, marketkjƒlfari m. nickname ‘keel-farer’, seafarer
kefja (kaf›i, kaf›r) wv. impers. sink, go klaka (klaka›i, klakat) wv. twitter
under (cf. kaf, kafa)
klappa (klappa›i, klappat) wv. knockkefli n. long thin piece of wood, stick
kleif f. rocky ascent, steep slope; narrowkelda f. well; spring; bog
passage on a slope

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EGILS SAGA

klettr m. rock, cragklif n. cliff, cragklofar m. pl. pegs or forks holding theawnings on a ship 36/24
klofi m. nickname ‘one who cleaves or
splits’klyfja (klyfja›i, klyfja›r) wv. load withpacksklæ›ask (klæddisk) wv. md. dress oneself, get dressedklæ›i n. cloth; pl. clothes; stocks of clothklæ›na›r m. clothingkná, knegu, knáttu pret.-pres. vb. be
able, can; knáttak I could; as meaningless aux. knáttu did 82/12
knáliga adv. energetically, doughtily, valiantly
knattleikr m. ball-gameknatttré n. bat
kné (dat. pl. knjám) n. knee; um kné sér
across his knees; í knjám/kné sér on
his lap, in front of him (on the horse)
100/6, 145/8
knegum see knákneikja (kneikti, kneikt) wv. pull sharply
backwards 100/19; force backwards
133/29knerri see knƒrr
kneyfa (kneyf›i, kneyft) wv. quaff,
empty; kneyfa af drain 134/18
kníar m. pl. men
knífr m. knife
knjám see knéknƒrr (gen. knarrar, dat. knerri) m.
(merchant) shipknƒttr m. ballkolbítr m. coal-biter or coal-eater 32/28
koma (kemr, kom, kómu, subj. kœmi/kvæmi, kominn/komit) sv. 1. come;travel 103/12; subj. komi let (him/it)
come 120/8; svá kom became such
41/3; hvar koma skal how it shall beconcluded or settled 112/17; koma ábring up 49/38, get up (of the wind)95/13; koma at arrive (in the country)
38/36; sem ﬂeir hƒf›u at komit where
they had come to land 38/36; er athonum kom which came to him, which
was served to him 59/6; koma framturn up 7/26, emerge, find oneself 18/14;
komir ﬂú ﬂar ni›r you will decide
something, go and do something 45/22;
ﬂóttisk hart ni›r koma felt he hadsuffered greatly, it had turned out very
badly for him, he was in a bad way 78/2;
til minna komnir less deserving 33/16;
til kominn arfs entitled to inheritance,
legitimate, lawful heir 88/13; hverneg
mál ﬂín eru til komin how your casewill turn out, what will become of yourcase, what state your case will be in
173/11; koma undir come under thecontrol of 12/34; koma upp become
known, get out 15/32; hvat upp kemr
what turns up, how it turns out 104/25;
hvárr (sc. kostr) sem upp kemr whichever way it turns out, whatever happens
169/25; koma vi› land reach the coast
84/1; kom yfir got about 47/11. 2. withdat. bring; koma skipinu sail in (toland) 124/17; kom flótta jƒfri forced
flight on the earl 73/22; koma sér betr
be better off, improve one’s position or
one’s chances 23/9; koma fram bringforward 115/20; kœmir málum ﬂínum
fram advance your suits 173/32; atkoma lƒgum fram to make sure the law
was carried out 171/38; koma sér í getinto 14/24; ﬂér kœmi ﬂat í fri› vi› it(the poem) may bring you into reconciliation with 104/31; ﬂví muni óhœgt
saman at koma these will be difficult
to reconcile 126/26; koma ﬂví til lei›arbring it about 131/18; vi› hann or›um
at koma to discuss it with him 62/26.
3. impers. var ﬂar enn betra komit it
was an even better place 40/11; svá var
ﬂá komit that was what it had come to
178/28 note; kom svá the outcome was
8/21; kom ﬂá svá at then it came about
that, it resulted in 19/8; kom ﬂá svá ﬂvímáli the outcome of the business was
48/10; kom ﬂar ræ›u hans his talkturned to this, he brought the topic of

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conversation round to this 14/24; komgen. kosta ﬂar til risk on it 3/10
ﬂar brátt talinu the conversation soon kostabo› n. alternative choices; ger›i vi›
turned to this 162/26. 4. md. komask
hann ﬂetta kostabo› offered him theseget; komask at keyptu get what one
alternatives 130/30
has earned, get what one deserves, be kostna›armikill a. expensive; brátt ger›i
paid back 19/36; komask í kærleika
kostna›armikit it soon became exvi› win favour with 4/20; komask me›
pensive 12/21
carry away, take with one 29/38, 35/6; kostna›r m. expense; expenditure; heltór orrostu hƒf›u komizk had survived
upp kostna›i ƒllum sem fyrr spent
the battle 82/23; komask undan escapejust as much as before 23/19
3/4, 62/7; ﬂat er ﬂeir máttu eigi annan kostr m. 1. choice; opportunity (to acveg undan komask what they could
quire); chance; offer (of terms, condinot in any other way avoid, get out oftions); bau› ﬂeim kost á gave them the133/26; komask út get out 64/13;
choice 18/1; bu›u ﬂeim kost á at ofkomask vi› get the chance 65/31,
fered them the chance to, challenge
83/20; ef hann má svá vi› komask ifthem to 24/4; eiga inn sama kost fyrir
he gets the chance to do it 90/19
hƒndum have to face the same choice
kona (gen. pl. kvenna) f. woman; wife
3/9; sá engan annan sinn kost saw nokonr m. descendant; kind: alls konar all
alternative for himself 7/34, 100/37; ek
kinds of, margs konar many kinds ofætla mér vera gó›an kost I think mykonungaskipti n. change of kings
fate will be an honourable one 169/25;
konungasynir m. pl. kings’ sonssvá . . . at hann átti kost skógarins
konungdómr m. kingdom, kingship 2/29
so that he had the wood available (tokonungma›r m. royal personage
take cover in) 129/1; er ﬂér sá kostr
konungr m. kingbeztr you had better 127/18; ﬂat er
konungsbú n. king’s farm, royal estate
kostr var that was available 13/32;
konungsbœr m. king’s housechoice of wife, match: ﬂótti kostr beztr
konungsgar›r m. king’s court or resiwas considered the best match (said ofdence; the king’s treasury: gekk í
a woman, cf. kvennkostr) 8/17. 2. state,
konungsgar› became the property ofcondition, situation 77/18; pl. slíka
the king 121/7
kosti such conditions, such terms
konungsgjƒf f. the king’s gift
83/17; um mína kosti eina with only
konungsleyfi n. king’s leave, permission
my own resources 20/16
konungslú›r m. royal trumpet
kraf›i see krefja
konungsmenn m. pl. king’s men
krefja (kraf›i, krƒf›u, kraf›r) wv. ask
konungsnafn n. title of kingfor, demand, call upon (someone to do
konungsnautr m. the king’s gift 51/32
something)konungsskip n. king’s ship
kreppingr m. handful; eigi krepping
konungsson m. king’s son, prince
fullan not (even) a handful 3/34
konungss‡sla f. royal authority, admin- kristinn (n. kristit) a. Christianistration on the king’s behalf (probably kristni f. Christianity
including collection of taxes on the krókaspjót n. barbed spear
king’s behalf); konungss‡sla á fjalli krumr a. with numb fingers, stiff fromroyal authority in the mountains, i.e.
cold; as nickname 32/26
among the Lapps 8/30
krœkja (krœkti, krœktr) wv. with dat.
kornhla›a f. barn 13/34
hook
kosta (kosta›i, kostat) wv. spend; with krƒf›u see krefja

236

EGILS SAGAkrƒm f. chronic wasting sickness
say, declare it to be 161/5; kve›a á dekúfungr m. sea-snail shell 43/35
clare 14/21, decide, determine on
kuml (i.e. kumbl) n. (heathen) grave
45/10; kve›a á me› sér fix, arrange tokundr m. son
gether 32/19; impers. kve›it á (it was)kunna (kann, kunni, kunnu, kunnat)
decided on, arranged 56/37, 99/19; ﬂá
pret.-pres. vb. know, know how to; can,er á var kve›it when the arranged time
be able to; feel; impers. may; vera kanncame, on the appointed day 67/4; often
may be; alla kunna at dylja everyoneof uttering verses: kve›a recite it 104/28;
will be likely to conceal 15/31; kunnu
kve›a vísur improvise verses, utter
ﬂat at were able to 94/29, were careful
impromptu verses 43/25; hvat kve›r
to 53/20; kunna sér at have the senseﬂú nú? what are you now composing?
to 16/9; kunna fyrir have knowledge
84/17; compose 84/19; md. kvezk/of, be acquainted with, familiar withkvazk says/said that he139/7; kunna fyrir sér at vera know kve›ja1 (kvaddi, kvaddr) wv. greet; withgen. and acc. demand something from
how to behave 43/13; with dat. know,
someone or something 42/6
understand 69/19, kunna ﬂví be reconciled to this, be happy with this, accept kve›ja2 f. greeting; tók kve›ju hans responded to his greeting 19/24
this 141/36; subj. ef hann kynni sik
eigi if he did not behave himself 53/34; kveld n. eveningpres. part. allvel kunnandi very know- kveldsvæfr a. inclined to sleep in the evenings
ledgeable 56/10
kunnigr a. known (at for); familiar; var kvelja (kval›i, kval›r) wv. torment, torture
honum ﬂar allt kunnigt fyrir he waswell acquainted with everything there kvellisjúkr a. sickly, weak in health, subject to (minor) ailments
130/32; ﬂér mun kunnigt um you
kvellisótt f. (minor) ailment
must be acquainted with 64/27
kvenna see konakunningi m. acquaintancekunnleiki m. acquaintanceship, familiar- kvensemi f. amorousness, womanising
178/28 note
ity; Skalla-Grími var allr kunnleiki
á Brynjólfi Skalla-Grímr knew Bryn- kvezk see kve›ajólfr well 46/31; pl. ﬂar váru á›r kví f. narrowing enclosed space; long narrow pen
kunnleikar miklir me› ﬂeim they
were already (had become) well known kvi›a f. (narrative) poemkvi›lingr m. little poem
to each other 12/1
kunnr a. knowledgeable, familiar; comp. kvi›r1 m. verdict, saying, word
var mér enn kunnara um I was even kvi›r2 m. belly
kvígr m. bull-calf
more sure about 12/26
kvikfé n. livestock; ﬂat sem var kvikkva› see kve›afjárins what there was of livestock 40/5
kvaddi see kve›jakvikr a. alive
kván f. wife
kvánfang n. marriage 47/14; i.e. wife 11/28 kvittr m. rumour
kvángask (kvánga›isk) wv. md. get mar- kvæ›i n. poem; í kvæ›um hans in poems about him 50/36
riedkvæmi see koma
kvánga›r a. (pp.) married
kve›a (kva›, kvá›u, kve›inn) sv. say, kvƒ› f. claim, obligation
speak; declare (to be) 89/2, with suf- kyn n. kin, ancestry; family, relations;fram í kyn in her more distant ancesfixed pron. and neg. kve›ka I do notG L O S S A RY

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try, further back in her descent 88/14; kƒgull (acc. pl. kƒgla) m. joint (in the finhaf›i kyn átt tveim megum Gautelfar
gers and toes)
was descended from people on both kƒllu›, kƒllu›u see kalla
sides of Gautelfr 22/9; ﬂar átti hann kƒnnu›, kƒnnu›u see kanna
kyn hálft one side of his family came kƒr f. sickbed; leggjask í kƒr take to one’s
from there 77/22
bed, become bedridden 31/5; sveigar
kynfer› f. (also kynfer›i n.) kin, origin;kƒr that which causes trouble to a piece
inherited characteristics 7/12
of wood, axe 52/17
kynfrægr a. of famed kin, of high family kƒstr m. heap, pilekynni1 n. acquaintances, relations; á ek kƒstu›u see kasta
ﬂar slíkt kynni sem I have the same kør n. choice
relations there as 43/12; visit to friend køru see kjósa
or kinsman: at sitja at kynni stay on a lá1 see liggja
visit 165/11; kynnis leita pay a visit lá2 f. sea (near the shore); liquidlá›vƒr›u›r m. protector of land, king152/8
lag n. 1. thrust; vi› lagit at the thrust
kynni2 see kunna
kynsló› f. progeny, descendants
96/29. 2. due place, right position 81/19
kynsmenn m. pl. kinsmen; sinna kyns- lág f. log
manna of his line 71/10
lagabrot n. breaking the law; lagabrot
kynstórr a. of high ancestry, of a goodlandsréttar breaking the law of thefamilyland 90/12
kynvi›r m. family branch 153/7
lagaórskur›r m. legal decision, decisionkyrr a. quiet; undisturbed, peaceful; var
in accordance with the law
ﬂat mál ﬂa›an af kyrrt that was the lag›a, lag›ar, lag›i, lag›ir, lag›isk,
end of the matter 55/6; lét ﬂat kyrrt
lag›r, lagi›r, lagizk see leggja
vera did nothing about it, did not inter- lagnarskúta f. net-fishing boat
fere, let the matter rest 86/34; lét ﬂá lágr (n. lágt) a. low; n. as adv. in a low
vera kyrrt then let things be, did nothvoice
ing further then 6/12
lagt see leggja
kyrra (kyrr›i, kyr›r) wv. calm, make lágu see liggja
still; i.e. kill 120/7
lagvápn n. thrusting weapon (e.g. spear)
kyrrlátr a. gentle in disposition, quietly lambi m. nickname little lamb; having
disposed
many lambs
kyrrseta f. quiet life, retirementlam›isk see lemjask
kyrtill m. tunicland n. land; country; coast; me› landi
kytja f. hovel, small cottage
along the coast 10/19 note; ﬂar . . . ákærleikr m. (often in pl.) affection, friendly
land upp on the coast there 115/5; áterms; favour, good graces 4/20; í kærlandit out into the countryside 128/18;
leika mikla on very good terms 125/6
pl. lƒnd lands, estates; allra landakærr a. dear, intimate; vinátta kær closema›r one who had lived in various
friendship; gera máttu hann svá
countries 130/31kæran ﬂér sem ﬂú vill you can make landakostir m. pl. choice of land, availas close a friend of him as you like;able land 41/12
comp. n. as adv. kærra closer, on bet- landálfr m. land-elf, perhaps the same as
ter terms; sup. kærstr closest, mostlandáss 94/20
dear; very close
landamerki n. pl. boundaries between
kœmi, kœmir see koma
properties 168/19

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EGILS SAGA

landamæri n. boundary, border
rect male line)landáss m. god of the land (ﬁórr?) 93/16 langfe›gatal n. list of ancestors, pedigree;landbei›u›r m. he who claims land, i.e.
ﬂa›an kominn at langfe›gatali dethe kingscended from him in the direct male line
landeign f. land in one’s ownership 174/28;
130/5
estate, appertaining land 174/16
langr a. long; dat. pl. as adv. lƒngum forlandkostir m. pl. qualities of the land,
long periods 17/3; sund fur›uliga
resources in the land 30/4
langt a channel an enormously longlandnámama›r m. settler
way across 61/7; n. as adv. langt a longlandnyr›ingr m. north-east wind 26/8
way; a long time 180/4; mun eigi langt
landrá› n. pl. control of the land, rule
til at it will not be long before 3/6
over the land 93/20 notelangskip n. long-ship, viking warship
landrekstr m. being driven from the land, langskipssegl n. sail for a long-ship
exile
langvist f. long stay; vera langvistum
landsfólk n. inhabitants of the country,
reside a long time 62/28
local people
las see lesalandsgæzla f. government and defence of lasta (lasta›i, lƒstu›u, lastat) wv. centhe country 130/6
sure, criticise, blame
landskostr m. choice land, a choice of lastalauss m. without faults
land; available land; tekit sér lands- lát1 n. death
kosti taken possession of land for them- lát2 see láta
selves 34/31; vísa til landskostar with láta (lætr, lét, létu, látinn/látit) sv. 1.
lose; láta li› sitt be reduced in number
dat. allot land to 40/31
76/20; látit ríki sin fyrir lost theirlandskyld f. land-rent, rent from estates;
power to 71/16. 2. let, allow 21/34; imp.
at landskyldum sínum to collect thelát, láttu; lætka I shall not leave, allow
rents from his lands 125/24
119/15; accept, heed, comply with 150/13;
landsmegin n. strength of land, resources
muntu eigi ﬂat vera láta you will notof the land; hér er lítit landsmegin til
let ﬂat happen 50/16; lét ﬂat ok vera
ﬂess at ﬂér fari› the country here is notalso permitted it, agreed to it 120/13;
rich enough for you to travel through (i.e.
make, cause something to be done, haveto suppport you and your retinue) 16/3
something done: lét konungr fara til
landsmenn n. pl. inhabitants of the counannarra eyja ok lét leita hans the kingtry, local people
had men go to other islands and looklandsréttr m. law of the land; legal rights
for him 61/16; létu sí›an ganga aptr
in this country 122/26
á lei› then made their way back, used
landsvist f. permission to stay in the counthem (their skis) to go back 132/11; láta
try 142/26
af with dat. give up 2/16; láta af sér
landtaka f. landing, coming to shoretjƒldin take down one’s awnings (andlandtjald n. tent (for use on land rathersail) 70/23; láta at or›um with gen./than on board ship)poss. do as someone says 6/7; láta eptir
landvarnarma›r m. defender of the land,
leave behind 61/21; lét ﬂat eptir honum
man entrusted with the defence of thelet him have his way, indulged him incountry against invaders
this 53/25; láta sér engis ﬂikja vert um
landvegr m. overland routecare nothing about 68/37; hann skyldi
landvættr f. guardian spirit of a countryskammt til láta he would not leave it
landvƒrn f. defence of the land
long before 55/29; láta upp open 102/31,
langfe›gar m. pl. forefathers (in the di-G L O S S A RY

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145/18; with pp. létumk brug›it caused
lausar eignir property (= lausir aurar)
me to be unfit 31/14, lét tro›na caused laust1 see ljósta
to be trodden 74/2, lét kastat caused to laust2 see lauss
be thrown 163/13. 3. with acc. (and inf.) lax m. salmon
declare, say 17/24 note; láta illa yfir laxár f. pl. salmon rivers
express dissatisfaction about 8/2; láta laxvei›r f. salmon-fishingvel yfir express approval of 34/23, láz n. lace, tie, fastening 145/16
62/17; vel mega yfir láta should be leggi see leggja
pleased, satisfied, content 115/34; lætr leggja (leggr, lag›i, lƒg›u, lag›r/lagt/
lagi›r) wv. lay, place; set, fix, arrange
sér ﬂat skyldara makes that a greater
53/22; lay a course (at sea); leggja stefnu
duty, regards that as more importantarrange a meeting 48/27; leggja sver›i
58/11; láta ó›liga um be very impatientthrust with a sword 27/30; leggja áabout 131/30; láta stórliga behave
place on; á lagt vi› ﬂik imposed on you
arrogantly, speak aggressively 171/37;
174/34; lag›i á kostna› mikinn spentláttu ﬂér ver›a hƒf›ingliga vi› act inlavishly on it 13/30; leggja á hættu
princely fashion towards 103/2. 4. pp.
take a risk; lag›i hann allan hug á set
látinn dead 79/40; md. látask die; lézk,
his mind wholly on 48/9; leggja at saillétusk diedto land, approach the coast 63/10, 11,latti see letja
leggja at sail alongside 24/4; lƒg›u atlaufga›r a. (pp.) leafy, covered with leaves
annat skip sailed one ship alongsidelaug1 f. bath, hot springlaug2 see ljúga
22/30; leggja at velli, at jƒr›u killlauk see lúka
106/6, 7; leggja sver›i at thrust a sword
laukr m. herb; leek
into someone, stab someone with alaun n. pl. reward 20/3
sword 60/12; leggja fram give up,launa (launa›i, launa›r/launat) wv. withsacrifice 106/11; leggja fyrir lay upon,dat. of person and of the payment reforce to undertake 94/19; leggja til
pay; launa fullu repay in full 105/22
make for, set course for 24/9; make alaungetinn pp. illegitimate
suggestion, express an opinion: lƒg›ulaunstafir m. pl. secret staves, secret runes
menn ﬂar allmisjafnt til people exlausabrullaup n. ‘loose marriage’, impropressed very different opinions about
vised marriage 7/34 (see note)it 75/7; at ek leg›a ekki til ﬂess málslausaeyrir (pl. lausaaurar) m. chattel(s),that I did not interfere in this matter
movable property 41/9
115/34; leggja lof til award praise
lausafé n. = lausaaurar; money
10/36; leggja ﬂar or› til add one’s
lausaklæ›i n. pl. outer clothing
voice to it, give one’s support 47/29,
lausataug f. spare rope
85/14; lag›i mƒrg or› til argued stronglausingi m. freed slave, freedmanly for it 32/10; leggja gó› rá› til givelauss a. loose; láta laust give up; létu
good advice about; leggja stefnur
lausan dropped 143/33; free 37/6; órarrange meetings: váru ﬂar stefnur tillauss vi› quit, free of obligation towards
lag›ar meetings were arranged about
173/31, 174/2; lauss á velli unstable on
it 115/8; leggja fé til offer a reward for,the field, unsteady, not standing firm
put a price on 95/40; leggja undir sik
78/28; vera lausir í fylkingu fail tosubjugate 4/30, take possession of
keep in proper formation 78/26;
174/21; leggja út skipit um akkeri let
movable 63/25; lausir aurar money,
the ship ride at anchor out at sea 95/26;
movable assets 1/12 (cf. lausaeyrir);
leggja vi› accuse of, declare guilty of240

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or subject to: legg ek vi› I declare it totreat 120/6; lék hann heldr illa treatedinvolve 90/12; hvert rá› hann vildi
him rather roughly, gave him rather
leggja til vi› what advice he would
rough treatment 53/33; ﬂar leikr hugroffer to, what proposal he had for 47/38;
minn á I am interested in this, I have alƒg›u vi› landsmenn negotiated withmind to this 126/21; md. leikask vi›
the local people 63/7; pp. lagt til hafs
play against each other, compete withocean-going (fitted out for the open sea)each other
21/5; lag›ir til handargagns laid out leikmót n. meeting for games
ready for picking up 45/35; md. legg- leikr m. game, playjask lie down 31/5; pp. lagizk lain leiptr n. flash, lightning, brightness
down 36/17
leit1 f. search; search-party
leggr m. leg; mjƒk á legg komnir margir leit2 see líta
mostly or many of them quite grown leita (leita›i, leitat) wv. with gen. seek,
look for, search (for); go in search of
up 49/5
30/5; try to find, look out for 50/2; leita
legver n. lying place, place where one lies
sér seek (for oneself) 41/6; leita eptirlei›1 f. way; route, path; manner; hannkunni enga lei› he did not know theseek for, try to get; enquire, hold anroute 43/19; (at sea) course 22/36; sneri
enquiry; seek an opportunity, try (tohann inn af lei› he turned off hisbring something about) 90/24; leita
course in to land 24/28; segja lei› fyrir
eptir um enquire into, concern oneself
pilot 91/29; fara lei› sína/lei›ar sinnar
with, see to 130/11; hefir nƒkkurs í
go on one’s way; á lei› on the way;verit leitat has anything been tried
koma ﬂví til lei›ar bring it about; aka
136/14; leita til try to achieve 31/5, try
langar lei›ir go on long journeys (withto get to; go to see; leita um try to
pack-horses or horse-drawn vehicles)
obtain, seek to bring about 27/8; leitalei›2 see lí›amáls um vi› make enquiries about itlei›a (leiddi, leiddr/leitt) wv. 1. lead;from, bring it up with 166/22; vi› leita
drag, tow 38/18; lei›a fram bring fortry 62/21; var alls vi› leitat everythingward; leiddi hann til skips took, acwas tried 100/13; md. leitu›usk um
companied, saw him to his ship 24/31;
looked around, made a searchlei›a me› gjƒfum í brott see (some- leiti n. hill, raised ground, a rise in theone) on their way with gifts 154/17;
ground (hiding the view) 61/23
lei›a í lƒg make law. 2. bury 169/5
leitt see lei›a and lei›r
lei›angr m. levy (of men and ships for leizk see lítawar) 10/18; a warlike expedition by sea lék, lékusk see leika
94/3; róa lei›angr go on a naval expe- lemjask (lam›isk) wv. md. be injured;dition 94/13
hann lam›isk allr he was broken alllei›ask (leiddisk) wv. md. loathe; lei›isk
over 54/30
landáss may the land-god come to lendr a. ‘landed’, having lands; lendr
loathe 93/15
ma›r a man holding land in fief fromlei›r (n. leitt) a. hateful
the king
leifa (leif›i, leif›r) wv. leave (unused, leng› f. length (of space and time); gen.
undrunk)
as adv. leng›ar for any length of time,leiglendingr m. tenant farmer
indefinitely
leiguma›r m. tenant 6/34; paid workman lengi adv. long (time), for a long time;leika (lék, léku, leikinn) sv. play, take partætla ek mik ekki lengi munu I do notin a sport (vi› against) 53/29; leika vi›
think that I will spend much time 32/15

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lengja (leng›i, leng›r) wv. lengthen; atthe ice melts, when it thaws; md. leysask
vit leng›im líf okkart that we shouldtake one’s departure, get away 103/9;
lengthen our life, i.e. that we should go
leystisk dispersed 23/34; pp. leystsk
on living 146/11
escaped 62/9
lengr adv. comp. longer (of time)lézk, lézt see láta
lengra adv. comp. further; eigi lengra en li› n. support, troops, following; forces;ﬂú spur›ir no more than you asked
troop; me› fá li›i with a small follow47/18
ing 16/5; me› ekki li› with no forces,
lesa (las, lásu, lesinn) sv. pick up; catch,without a troop of men 67/1; li›it the
spread into; read
population, the inhabitants 63/15; oklesta (lesti, lestr) wv. damageli›i hans ƒllu and all his people 40/29;
lét, létir see láta
party: allir eins li›s all on the same side
letja (latti, lƒttu, latt) wv. (try to) dis88/6; help: er ¯nundi sé li› at thatsuade, urge (someone not to do somemight be of help to ¯nundr 89/17
thing) 51/38, 139/23; be reluctant, be lí›a (lei›, li›u, li›inn) sv. pass; impers.
against it 66/3; letjask láta let himself
er at honum lei› when his end drew
be stopped 69/20
near 35/20; tók at lí›a at ¯lvi thenlétta (létti, létt) wv. with dat. cease from,¯lvir began to grow dizzy 59/20; eigi
bring a halt to 23/13; stop; léttu eigi
lí›i langt it will not be long 116/8; lí›a(sc. sinni fer›) did not stop 132/13;
á draw to a close: um sumarit er á lei›impers. á›r létti before it (the converas the summer drew to a close 65/30;
sation) ended, at last, eventually 50/18
er at kveldi lei› when it drew towards
léttara adv. comp. lighter; more easily;
evening; er vetrinn lei› af when thegekk ﬂeim léttara it got easier for themwinter passed; lí›r af vetrinn the win54/28
ter passed; pp. li›inn past 74/36; er svá
léttiskip n. a light and swift ship
var li›it when this was about past 99/19
léttliga adv. readily 56/31
li›fœrr a. able-bodied (as seaman) 35/5;
léttr a. cheerful, pleasant, amiable; sup.
vel li›fœrr me› capable of just as muchá léttasta skei›i aldrs at one’s mostas, able to match 42/19
active age, in one’s primeli›safli m. support (of a troop of men),létu, létusk see láta
backingleyfa (leyf›i, leyf›r) wv. impers. permit; li›safna›r m. gathering of troops
er útgƒngu var leyft to whom an exit li›sem› f. assistance, support, advantage,
was permitted 27/4
usefulness, asset
leyfi n. leave, permission; at leyfi konungs li›sinni n. help
with the king’s permissionli›skostr m. military force; engan li›sleyna (leyndi, leyndr) wv. with dat. conkost til not enough forces for 24/5
ceal; fór ﬂat ekki leynt it was no se- li›sma›r m. follower, member of a troop
cret 15/21; md. leynask hide oneself,
57/17
conceal oneself; leynask í brott steal li›smunr m. difference in numbers ofaway
troops, odds
leynivágr m. hidden coveli›ssamandráttr (dat. -drætti) m. musterleysa (leysti, leyst) wv. with acc. loose,ing of troops
set free; redeem; untie; leysa sik make li›veizla f. support, help
oneself quits, redeem oneself; leysa af líf n. life; gen. sg. as adv. lífs alive
hendi discharge, pay over; leysa undan lifa (lif›i, lifat) wv. live; stay alive; lifa
release from; impers. er ísa leysir wheneptir survive

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lífgjƒf f. granting of life; lífgjƒf Egils the líta (leit, litu, litit) sv. look (at); líta á congranting of Egill’s life
sider; líta yfir look over, inspect; leit
lifna (lifna›i, lifnat) wv. come to lifevi› honum looked at him, gave him alífsháska f. danger to one’s life, mortal
look 29/1; md. leizk honum seemed todangerhim; md. impers. lízk mér seems to me;lífvænn a. likely to live
leizk svá á it looked (to him) as though;liggja (liggr, lá, lágu, past subj. lægi,hversu lízk ﬂér á? how do you like it?
leginn) sv. lie; ﬂar er ﬂeir lágu where
svá lízk mér á ﬂik you look to me
they (i.e. their ships) were lying 28/26; litask (lita›isk) wv. md. litask um look
liggja fyrir be available 48/4; er ﬂar
aroundliggja which belong to it, go with it lítill a. small, little; dat. sg. n. litlu a short
75/24; ﬂat mundi fyrir liggja the only
while; n. as adv. lítit little
thing to do was 76/10; mundu fyrir lítilmannligr a. unmanly, humiliating
honum liggja be the right thing for him litr1 a. coloured
54/11; ﬂœtti mér ﬂat rá› fyrir liggja litr2 m. colour
I think it would be advisable 48/4; liggja lítt adv. little, hardly
í engage in, spend time on; ﬂat til liggja lízk see líta
that would be proper, the right thing to ljó› n. songdo, justifiable 73/12; liggja und be ljó›r m. people
subject to 83/6; lágu mjƒk úti fyrir ljós n. light, lamp
often lay off the coast of 65/34; liggja ljóss a. bright, luminous; light (in colour);n. ljóst clear; obvious; light 61/2; (ofvi› be at stake, be possible to win 18/2
the weather) ger›i ljóst it cleared up
lík n. body, corpse
38/17; sup. segja it ljósasta give a verylíka (líka›i, líkat) wv. with dat. please;clear account 102/23
láta sér líka they will be happy, they
will be satisfied; ﬂat er mér líkar what ljósta (laust, lustu, lostinn) sv. strike
53/32; with dat. of weapon laust skildiI likenum vi› kesjunni struck his shieldlíkara adv. comp. more likely, more thanagainst the halberd 96/23; ljósta upp
likely, very likely 83/19
herópi raise a battle-cry 26/27
líkari a. comp. with dat. more like someljósundinn pp. (see vinda) bright-twisted,
thing
shining and twistedlíkastr a. sup. most likely; n. as adv. hvarlíkast var út at komask where it was ljótr a. ugly; sup. ljótastr
most likely they would be able to get ljúga (laug, lugu, loginn) sv. lie; betray;
break (peace) 109/22
out, where they could get out most easlo›brók f. nickname ‘shaggy breeches’
ily 64/12
líkindi n. pl. likelihood, probability; meir lo›inkinni m. nickname shaggy cheek,
hairy cheekfrá líkindum more extraordinary, morelo›kápa f. fur cloak
unexpected 182/5
líkliga adv. favourably; comp. líkligra lo›ólpa f. fur jacket
more likely; sup. líkligast most likely lof 1 n. praise
lof 2 n. permission
líkligr a. likely
lofa1 (lofa›i, lofat) wv. praiselíkr a. with dat. like (cf. glíkr)
lofa2 (lofa›i, lofat) wv. permit, allow
limar f. pl. foliage, (small) brancheslof›ar m. pl. men
limr m. limb (of the body)lófi m. palm of the handlind f. lime (tree)
lofkvæ›i n. praise-poem, eulogy
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lofsor› n. words of praise
lustu see ljósta
log n. flamel‡›r m. people; pl. l‡›ir men, peopleloga (loga›i, logat) wv. flame, blazel‡›skyldr a. subject, paying homage,logi m. flame
tributary 5/7
loginn see ljúga
lygi f. lie
logn n. calm (weather)lygn a. calm (weather)
lok n. pl. end; und lok fara die 31/13
l‡ja (lú›i, lúinn) wv. hammer, forge; l‡ja
loka f. bolt or bar for closing a door
járn vi› hammer iron on (i.e. use as an
lokarr m. plane (tool for shaping andanvil) 41/27
smoothing)lyk› f. end, conclusion; pl. ﬂær lyk›irlokinn, lokit see lúka
muni á ver›a at the end of it will be
lokhvíla f. bed-closet, private bedroomthat 6/23; at lyk›um in the end
lokrekkja f. bed-closet, private bedroom lykja (luk›i, lukt) wv. enclose, surround:lón n. lagoon
hƒf›u ﬂeir lukt um akra sína they had
lopt n. air, sky; á lopt aloft, into the air;put them (the ditches) round their fields
upper room
128/21losna (losna›i, losnat) wv. come loose; lykkja f. loop, turn, curve; lykkja var› á
scatter, break up
they came to a bend in it (sc. the fence)lú›i see l‡ja
63/33
lúfa f. thick and matted hair; as nickname l‡kr see lúka
shock-head (on the traditional origin of lyng n. heather
the name see Heimskringla I 97 and lypting f. a raised deck at the stern of anotes)
ship, quarterdeck, poop (where thelúka (l‡kr, lauk, luku, lokinn) sv. withsteersman stood) 36/24, 92/9
dat. shut; end; finish, conclude; lúka l‡sa (l‡sti, l‡st) wv. proclaim; describe;
aptr close, seal; var sí›an haugrinnl‡sa yfir make known, announce 51/37;
aptr lokinn then the mound was closed
display, perform, act with 19/34; impers.
up 2/28, 145/10; lúka upp open; reveal,
ﬂegar er l‡sa tók as soon as it begandeliver, pronounce 174/13; impers. withto grow light; at lítt var l‡st (sc. af
dat. sá fir›inum upp lúka saw thedegi) when (or and because) it was
fjord open up, saw into the fjord 38/13;
hardly light 92/9
lokit var skerjum ƒllum all the rocks læ n. injury
were finished, they were past all the lægi, lægi› see liggja
rocks 46/21; lokit er nú ﬂessi ætlan lægja (læg›i, lægt) wv. impers. with acc.
this plan has now failed 146/10; conabate 30/8; become calmer 38/17, 46/12
clude; er lokit var veizlunni when the lægri a. comp. lower; with dat. of comfeast was over; var eigi fyrr lokit enparison 83/2
this was not finished before 145/11; læsa (læsti, læst) wv. lockver›r ﬂá sem má hversu málum læt, lætka, lætr see láta
várum l‡kr our case will then end as it lœkjaróss m. mouth of a stream
may 87/26; ƒllu ﬂví máli var ﬂá lokit lœkr m. brook, small streamthat whole affair was then concluded lƒ› f. invitation(settled, finished with) 88/38; end; lauk lƒg n. pl. law(s); justice 122/26; sem lƒg
ﬂar svá er the outcome was that 115/9
váru til in accordance with the laws
lukt see lykja
11/13; ﬂat váru ok lƒg this was also inlund f. manner; allir á eina lund all inaccordance with law 123/3; muni lƒg
the same way, with one voice 17/20
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have a valid case 127/9; leita laga vi› máka see megaseek one’s legal rights from, seek for makendi n. pl. peace, quietness; í makredress against 87/8; í norrœnum lƒgum
endum smoothly 13/11
under Norwegian law or jurisdiction, maki m. equal, match; er ﬁórólfr ekkii.e. on Norwegian territory 70/7; unnaykkarr maki ﬁórólfr is more than yoursér laga grant him his rights according
match, you are no match for ﬁórólfr 25/33
to law, grant him justice 115/31
makligr a. proper, deservedLƒgbergsganga f. procession to (or from) mál1 n. speech 46/26; conversation; matter 26/2; subject 55/14; request 12/14;
the Law Rock (a ceremony at thearrangements 11/13; case 33/22; lawAlﬂingi) 166/20
suit 173/5; mál ﬂeira what they saidlƒgbrig›ir m. law-breaker
16/18; kalla til máls vi› sik call tolƒg›, lƒg›u see leggja
speak with one 33/3; ﬂessi mál thislƒgfengit pp. legally married 88/17
affair; um ﬂetta mál in this matterlƒgligr a. lawful, in accordance with law,
20/18; skipta (mestu) máli be (very)
just
importantlƒgma›r m. lawyer, one skilled in lawlƒgmál n. legal speech, legal formula; mál2 n. time, high time 165/24
mæla lƒgmálum perform the legal málaefni n. pl. the justice of the (our)causes 170/20
preliminaries, speak the legally remálaferli n. pl. lawsuits
quired words 174/8
málaleitan f. suit, demandlƒgr m. liquid; sealƒgræningr m. a person robbed or cheated málalyk›ir f. pl. conclusion of case(s)173/10of justice; láta ﬂik eigi lƒgræning (sc.
ver›a) at ﬂví máli not to let you be malargrjót n. pebbles 41/28
málavƒxtr m. state of a case; developcheated of your lawful right 127/35
ments in a case 115/30
lƒgsaga f. ‘law-speaking’, the office ofmáli m. (soldier’s) pay; gefa mála withlƒgsƒguma›rdat. enlist 71/18; ganga á mála me›lƒgsƒguma›r m. lawspeaker, the presienter the sevice of, take service withdent of the Icelandic parliamentmálmr m. metal; weaponlƒgvƒrn f. legal defencemáló›i a. furious in speech, using violƒn f. heap
lent language, rantinglƒttu see letja
málreitinn (sometimes written málmá see megarœtinn) a. (pp.) talkative 138/7
ma›r m. person, man; one; hverr ma›r
everyone; sumir menn some people málstufa f. council-chamber
26/5; gerask ma›r with gen. become malt n. malt (for brewing)someone’s liegeman, enter someone’s málugr a. talkative
service 4/29; gerask minn ma›r be- man1 see munu
come subject to me, become my vassal man2 n. woman, girl; wife
76/2; ver›a ekki at manna become no man3 see munakind of men as a result, never get on in mána›r m. month; hálfs mána›ar fri›ra fortnight’s truce 63/8
the world 6/33 (see at4)
magi m. stomachmáni m. moon
magna›r m. strengthener, increaser, in- mann- see ma›r
tensifier, enlarger
mannabein n. pl. human bones
mágr m. relative by marriage; son-in-law; mannadeili n. pl. details about people
father-in-law; brother-in-law
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manna›r a. having manly qualities, ac- mannval n. selection of men; mannval
complished 9/20
gott a fine company of men 12/18
mannafar n. men’s tracks
mannvir›ing f. renown, honour
mannaforrá› n. rule, authority, power mannvænn a. promising; inn mannvænmannalát n. loss of men
ligsti ma›r a most promising person
mannamunr m. distinction between peo- manrúnar f. pl. runic love-spellple; difference in rank or quality; mun mansmenn m. pl. bondsmen 27/2 (seeek at ﬂví gjƒra øngvan mannamun it
note)
matters not to me who I have to deal mansƒngr m. = mansƒngskvæ›iwith, I shall be no respecter of persons mansƒngskvæ›i n. love poem
90/3
mant see muna
mannbœtr f. pl. weregild, compensation mantu see muna and munu
for a slain person; hƒf›u aldregi tekit már m. (sea-)gull
mannbœtr had never accepted com- margr a. many; much, a great deal of;pensation for a killing (i.e. they wanted
margr ma›r many a man; n. margt a
only revenge) 70/3
great deal; many; margt manna many
manndómsmenn m. pl. men of honour,men 36/32; n. pl. mƒrgdecent men
mark n. boundary markmannfagna›r m. hospitable entertain- marka (marka›i, marka›r) wv. markmentout; note, infer, deduce, observe
mannfall n. loss of life
marklƒnd n. pl. forested areas 18/10
mannfjƒl› f. multitude of people
marksteinar m. pl. boundary stones (ofmannfólk n. people
a duelling ring; cf. 118/27)
mannfœr› f. conditions for men travel- marr m. sea
ling
mat see meta and matr
mannfƒr f. movement of men, men com- matask (mata›isk, mƒtu›usk, matazk)ing
wv. md. take food, eat; er ﬂeir ¯lvir
manngar›r m. ring of men; slá mannhƒf›u matazk í in which ¯lvir and hisgar› surround (a building) 24/10
men had eaten their meal 60/25
manngjƒld n. pl. compensation (for kill- matbor› n. dining-tableings)
matr m. food, meal; til matar sér as foodmannhringr m. circle of men: slá mannfor themselveshring um surround 26/27
matselja f. housekeeper
mannraun f. trial of courage, peril, dan- mátti, máttit, máttu see megagermáttigr a. mighty
mannsefni n. the makings of a man; it máttlítill a. weakfrí›asta mannsefni the makings of a me› prep. with, between; me› ﬂeim
most handsome man, a very fine man
Birni between him and Bjƒrn 48/8;
94/11
along; me› ánni fyrir vestan along themannska›i m. loss in men, human loss;
river on the western side, along the west
inn mesti mannska›i a very great lossbank of the river 39/24; fram me›mannsómi m. honour; recompense, honalong beside 61/24; allt me› sæ allourable settlement; mannsóma ﬂann
along the shore 41/28; me› ƒllu entirelynƒkkurn recompense of that kind, such me›al prep. with gen. between
recompense 31/21
me›alkafli m. ‘middle-piece’, the part ofmannspell n. destruction of men, loss ofthe sword-handle between the hiltlife
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me›alﬂræll m. average slave
melr m. bank of gravel or sandme›an conj. while, as long as
mennskr a. human; mennskr ma›r hume›fer› f. conduct, behaviour 20/6; pl.
man, human being
20/12
merki n. 1. banner, (battle) standard; bera
mega (má, mátti, past subj. mætti, mátt)merki ﬂitt be your standard-bearer
pret.-pres. vb. be able, manage; mættak
15/34; tak vi› merki mínu become my
I were able 149/10; máka I cannot;
standard-bearer 20/10. 2. sign; ﬂatmáttit could not; svá sem hann mátti
hefir or›it ﬂar til merkja this has
as far as he could 41/9; máttu you cantaken place there as an indication, as
33/18; could; sem ﬂeir máttu as fastevidence (in favour of this spot) 181/17
as they could 132/11; subj. megi; sem merkisma›r m. 1. person of note, notaﬂér megi› as much as you can, as best
ble person; inn mesti merkisma›r a
you can; impers. má vera it may be;
most distinguished man 11/32. 2.
má af slíku marka one can tell fromstandard-bearer 16/22
this 182/9; ﬂar er mátti wherever they merkistƒng (pl. merkistangir) f. standardcould 128/18; skjóta mátti they couldpole
be speared 40/9
merkr see mƒrk1 and mƒrk2
megin adv. on the side; sem eigi mætti mest adv. most; sem mest as much as
possibleƒllum megin at ﬂeim ganga where
they could not be attacked from all sides mestr a. sup. most; largest, tallest, greatest; kvenna mest a very tall woman
63/29; ƒ›rum megin on the other side
144/22
meginmƒrk f. main forest
meta (mat, mátu, metinn) sv. value;
megir see mega
meta mikils value highly 22/17; meta
megn n. strength, power, ability; ummeira value more highly 127/16; matmegn sér beyond one’s strength, moreﬂá mest valued them highest 68/25;
than one can handle
mat hann fyrir put a price on him ofmegum1 adv. on the side; tveim megum
on both sides 22/10; ƒllum megum
169/11; md. metask be reckoned asfrom all sides 77/27
metna›argjarn a. ambitious for honour
megum2 see mega
metna›r m. honours 6/2
mei›a (meiddi, meiddr) wv. hurt, injure metor› n. pl. esteem, honour 113/15 notemei›r m. tree (mostly in kennings for man) mettr pp. having eaten one’s fill; varmein n. nuisance, harm, injury, disease,mettr had finished his meal
sicknessmey, meyj- see mær
meinsemi f. sickness
mi›i see mjƒ›rmeir adv. comp. more; (ﬂess) at meir all mi›la (mi›la›i, mi›lat) wv. with dat.
the more, even moreshare out tomeiri a. comp. greater; n. as substantive mi›nættisskei› n. the period around midmore (i.e. a greater weight) 41/36; ﬂérnightmeiri menn men greater than yourself; mi›r1 a. mid, the middle of; sjór var ími›jum hlí›um the sea reached thesér meiri manna of more powerful
middle of the mountain sides (i.e. theypeople than himself 86/31; hitt er
were so far out that they could only see
meira what is more, what is worse
the top half of the mountains above the
15/12; at meira mann the greater man,horizon) 23/29; á ﬂann mann mi›jana greater man for this 106/1; at meiri
the man in his middlema›r any greater a man 119/8
mi›r2 a. comp. less 178/28; engu mi›r
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with dat. of comparison no less thanyou, to show my gratitude to you 19/27
86/20
minnka (minnka›i, minnkat) wv. impers.
mi›skammr a. short-waisted, short ofwith acc. lessen 30/8
body 168/13
minnst adv. sup. least
mikill (n. mikit) a. big, great, large; gera minnstr a. sup. least, smallest; minnstir
mikit um see gera; svá mikill ma›r
fyrir sér least important, of least acsuch a great man 33/31; mikill skipacountsmi›r a skilled shipwright; svá mikil misfenginn a. (pp.) mistakenly given,
er so big that, big enough for 14/1; dat.
given in vain or taken wrongly, handled
sg. miklu with comp. much; hversu
wrongly (?) 166/2 (cf. fá1)
miklu by how much, how much more miskunn f. mercy; til miskunnar so as
to be at my mercy 27/9
33/32; mikill fyrir sér powerful 54/32;
missa1 (missti, misst) wv. with gen. lose;n. as. adv. mikit greatly
suffer (loss) 23/5; hann hefir mikils
mikilleitr a. large-featured, with strongly
misst fyrir y›rum frændum he has
marked features 81/3
suffered a great deal (had great losses)
miklask (mikla›isk) wv. md. achieve
at the hands of your family 104/14
greatness, acquire fame, enhance one’s
missa2 f. loss
reputation 106/3
mjólk f. milk
mildge›r a. generous-minded
mildingr m. generous man, ruler, prince mjór (n. mjótt) a. thin, narrow; wk. form
as nickname inn mjóvi the slendermildr a. generous (af with; vi› towards);
2/11; gjƒr›isk ﬂar mjótt í milli it got
sup. inn mildasti most generous, very
narrow between them (i.e. between thegenerous
two fences; they got closer and closer
milli, millum prep. with gen. between; átogether) 63/32
milli, í milli 30/13, 38/27; í millum
76/1; sín í milli between each other, mjúkliga adv. mildly
together 6/16, 48/28; var ﬂar skammt mjúklæta (mjúklætti, mjúklætt) wv.
humble (sik oneself)hƒggva í millum there was a shortspace between blows, the blows fell mjúkr a. meek, pliable, gentle; comp.
munu ﬂér ver›a mjúkari en mér hafa
thick and fast 141/18; milli ok ﬁverár
ﬂeir vor›it they will behave more combetween it and ﬁverá 30/27; milli okpliantly to you than they have done toannarrar eyjar between it (the island)me 50/22
and another island 92/21; milli okskógarins between it (the river) and the mjƒ›drekka f. chest, box for valuablesmjƒ›r (dat. mi›i) m. meadwood 128/17
minn poss. a. my; m. pl. mínir my people mjƒk adv. much, a great deal, hard; very,
very much; pretty much, almost 8/11;
or myself 67/18
mjƒk hvern pretty well everyone 14/26
minna (minnti, minntr) wv. with gen.
remind; minna á remind about; md. mjƒl (dat. mjƒlvi) n. meal (what is produced from a mill)
minnask with gen. remember
minni1 a. comp. less; smaller; n. as adv. mjƒt n. pl. (correct) measureminna lessmó›a f. large riverminni 2 n. memorial cup, toast; fóru mó›erni n. motherhood; at mó›erni on
minni mƒrg fram there were many
the mother’s side
toasts drunk 58/20
mó›ir1 (gen. mó›ur) f. motherminning f. remembrance; til minningar mó›ir2 see mó›r1vi› y›r as a mark of friendship towards mó›r1 a. wearied, exhausted 57/34

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mó›r2 m. anger, passion
farit um annat there has been the samemó›urbró›ir m. (maternal) uncle
difference (i.e. between the things sentmó›urfrændr m. pl. kinsmen on theto the king and the things kept) withmother’s sideother things 19/4; mikilla muna vantmó›urkyn n. mother’s kin; at mó›urfalling far short 123/8; meira munakyni on the mother’s sidevant falling far shorter 33/36; fyrirmó›urætt f. the mother’s side of the familyengan mun not on any account 45/14;
mold f. earthger›i ﬂann mun allan er hann mátti
mór m. moor
made the most of that advantage 53/31;
mor› n. murder (concealed killing);nƒkkurum mun seinna considerablymor› fjár abundance of wealth 15/11
more slowly; engum mun minna in nomor›víg n. pl. murders (concealed killway lessings) 104/9
munr2 m. mind; joymorginn/morgunn m. morning; á morgin munu (mun/man, mundi, subj. myndi,
mundu) pret.-pres. vb. will, shall;tomorrow; (eptir) um morgininn themuna will not 111/3; munat it will notnext day; at morgni dags as soon as it
be 31/16; mantu, muntu you will;
was morning, at dawn
mundi would be 87/35; past inf. mundu
morgna (morgna›i, morgnat) wv. bewould 17/24 notecome morning; er morgna›i whenm‡gir m. oppressor
morning camem‡gja (m‡g›i, m‡gt) wv. oppress
morni = morgni, see morginn
mót n. meeting, til móts vi› with acc. to m‡kjask (m‡ktisk) wv. soften oneself;
become soft, soften; m‡kjumsk vér
meet someone 3/21; mót, á mót, í mót,vi› let us make a friendly compromise,móti, at móti, í móti adv. and prep.
let us be accommodating 179/10
with dat. towards; against; hér í mótiagainst this 22/5; fór til skips móti myndi see munu
mynni n. estuary, mouth
went to the ship to welcome 51/24
myr›a (myr›i, myr›r) wv. murder 139/1
mótgangr m. opposition, uprisingnotemu›r/munnr m. mouth; the steel edge ofmyrginvakr a. wakeful in the mornings,
an axe 51/34
an early riser
múgi m. crowd
myrkr a. dark; obscure; myrkt af nótt
mun see munu
dark nightmuna1 (man, mun›i, munat) pret.-pres.
vb. remember
myrkva (myrkti, myrkt) wv. get dark;
muna2 see munu and munr1
tók at myrkva af nótt the night beganmundr m. bride-price 12/31 (see note)
to get dark
mungát n. beerm‡rlendi n. boggy groundmunn, munni, munnum see mu›rm‡rr f. swamp, bog
munr1 m. difference (with gen.); fann mæg› f. relationship by marriage; sí›anmikinn mun á found a great differenceer mæg› haf›i tekizk me› ﬂeim Sigin it 40/20; nú ætla ek engan mun now
ur›i ok Bár›i since Sigur›r and Bár›r
I think there is no difference (between
became in-laws 12/2
them; i.e. they are as bad as each other) mækir m. sword
69/2; mikill munr mun ﬂess hafa verit mæla (mælti, mælt) wv. speak; say; imp.
at . . . mundi veizla fjƒlmennust themældu speak; hƒf›u mælt had agreed
feast must surely have been by far theupon, had stipulated 10/1; mæltu ﬂar
best attended 14/28; slíkan mun hafi
eitt um were unanimous about it 73/12

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note; hér í móti at mæla to contradict
come to land 95/14; impers. passive er
this 22/5; mæltu til vináttu mikillar
nát var› who were caught 79/34, 92/14;
milli sín promised great friendship to
md. násk be caught 73/12 noteeach other 68/6; mælti um nƒkkurum nábjargir f. pl. (cf. nár m. corpse) theor›um had some words to say about it
last rites, the last service to the dead,
5/30; md. hƒf›u vi› mælzk had said
closing the eyes mouth and nostrils of
to each other 43/23
the corpse 100/20
mær (acc. mey, gen. meyjar, dat. meyju) nábúi m. neighbour
f. girl
naddr m. spike, spearmæra (mær›i, mær›r) wv. praisená›i, ná›u see námær› f. praise, praise-poetryna›r m. snakemættak, mætti, mættir see mega
nafar see nƒfmœ›ask (mœddisk) wv. md. become nafn n. name; title
wearied, get tired; mœddisk hann fyrir nafngiptir f. pl. granting of titles 20/14
ﬂeim he became exhausted by them náfrændi m. close relative
54/27
náliga adv. nearly, almostmœ›i f. exhaustion; kenndi hann mœ›i nam, námu see nema1
nám see ná
he felt worn out 37/26
námgjarn a. eager to learnmœ›ir m. exhaustermœta (mœtti, mœtt) wv. with dat. meet; nánd f. neighbourhood, closeness; erhonum váru í nánd who lived nearjafnsnemma skal okr mœta bá›umhim, in his district
we will both have to be faced at once
106/5; md. mœtask meet each other nasir see nƒsnát see námƒgr m. son
nátta see nóttmƒl f. stones, gravel, shingle
náttból n. night-quarters; eiga náttból
mƒrg see margr
undir øxi minni get your night’s lodgmƒrk1 (gen. markar/merkr) f. forest 5/6;
wasteland; land, territory 156/28; mƒrking under my axe, i.e. be killed by myin = Finnmƒrk 13/12, 17/26
axe 170/16
mƒrk2 (pl. merkr) f. mark (8 ounces, or náttsta›r m. night-quarters; tók eigi
about 200 g., in weight or eight ouncesnáttsta› did not stop for the nightof silver in value)náttver›r m. supper, evening mealmƒtu›usk see matask
náttvíg n. pl. killings by nightná (ná›i, subj. næ›i, nát) wv. with dat. nau› f. distress; need; me› nau›um by
get, reach, manage (to do or get somenecessity 124/8
thing); get hold of, catch; obtain; ef nau›leytamenn m. pl. close relations
hann náir if he can, if he gets the(kinsmen and in-laws)
chance 34/16; ná›u ﬂeir ekki they nau›syn f. need, necessity
were unable 74/28; munu ﬂeir vera nau›synja-erendi n. pressing businessmenn er vér munum ná there will be nau›synligr a. pressing, necessary, im(other) men we shall be able to reachportant
31/7; at Eyvindr nái that Eyvindr nau›ungarsætt f. imposed settlement,
should have 29/18; ná lƒgum getcompulsory agreement, terms underjustice; eigi nát lƒgum failed to get ourduressrights according to the law 90/17; past naust n. boat-shed
subj. ek næ›a I might obtain 85/13; naustdyrr f. or n. pl. doorway of a naust
hvar vér nám ﬂá landi where we might naut1 n. bovine animal; bull, ox; in pl. cattle

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EGILS SAGA

naut2 see njóta
ní›ingr m. villain, base person, one guilty
nautagæzla f. care of cattle, watching ofof shameful deeds; vera hvers manns
cattlení›ingr be known to every man as ane neg. adv. notvillain 89/27
né conj. nor; and not; after neg. orní›ingsverk n. base, villainous, vile deed,ne›an adv. beneath; underneath; below;
villainy
fyrir ne›an prep. with acc. below
ni›r1 adv. down; undir fœtr sér ni›rdown beneath their feet 64/16
ne›ri a. lower; ina ne›ra lei›ina along
the lower route; rí›a it ne›ra gƒtuna ni›r2 (gen. sg. and nom. pl. ni›jar) m.
kinsman, descendant, son
ride below (lower down) along the path,ni›ri adv. down; undir ni›ri down below
ride (along) the path below 177/21
ní›stƒng f. insult-pole
nef n. nose
nefna (nefndi, nefndr) wv. name, give a nifl n. darkness
name to; er sá eigi nefndr his name is nipt f. sisternot recorded 169/6; ﬁorgeirr er ma›r níta (nítti, nítt) wv. with dat. refuse
nefndr there was a man called ﬁorgeirr; nítt see ní›anefna til nominate for; nefna sik give níu num. nine
one’s name; md. nefnask name oneself, níundi ordinal num. ninth
njósn f. reports 4/23; spy, scout, look-out,
give one’s name as
informant; til njósnar on the look-out,
negldr a. (pp.) nailed, studded
to spy 94/28; gera njósn with dat. keep
nema1 (nam, námu, numinn) sv. take;take possession of, claim 30/13; nema
someone informed, inform someone;
sér lƒnd take (possession of) land
halda njósnum, halda (til) njósn keep
34/32; learn, understand; apprehend;
watch
nema á brott abduct 45/2; nema sta›/ njósna (njósna›i, njósnat) wv. find out
sta›ar come to a halt, stop, pause;(by spying)nema vi› be a hindrance: láta fátt vi› njósnarma›r m. spy, scout
nema at let few things (i.e. nothing) njóta (n‡tr, naut, nutu, notit) sv. withstand in the way of 75/28
gen. benefit from, enjoy; be helped bynema2 conj. except; except that; but that,105/15 note, 135/16; hefir hann notit
unless; ekki nema nothing but 41/28
ﬂín at ﬂví it is thanks to (his friendshipnes n. ness, headlandwith) you 87/32; ﬂú lézt mín at njóta
nesnám n. raid on a headland; nema
you did it for my sake 127/34; subj.
nesnám raid headlands 24/24
njóti may he enjoy 112/9; njóta ﬂess
nest1 n., nesta f. brooch
ef hann ætti fleira mannaforrá› avail
nest2 n. provisions for a journey, foodhimself of his superior power 177/34
neyta (neytti, neytt) wv. with gen. use, njótr m. one who enjoys, benefits from,make use of 124/5; banna . . . allra
uses (with gen.)gagna af at neyta forbid . . . all (any njƒrr a. close; wk. f. njƒrva 154/7of) the revenues from them to be enjoyed nógr a. sufficient (til for it) 115/13; cf.
90/10
gnógr
ní› n. (degrading) insult
nónskei› n. the period of nones (3 pm);ní›a (níddi, nítt) wv. insult, libel, defame
um nónskei› the middle of the afterni›amyrkr n. pitch-darkness (the darknoon 145/23
ness of a moonless night)
nor›an adv. from the north; when comni›erfi n. funeral feast for a relative; drink
ing back from the north 26/6; fyrirof a relative 85/5
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side; with acc. north of; nor›an fyrir næstr a. sup. closest; next; honum it
past the north ofnæsta next to him 9/4
nor›astr a. sup. most northerly, furthest næstum adv. last time, the previous timenorth103/10nor›r1 adv. north, northwards; in the nætr see nóttnorth; nor›r fyrir northwards past (the nƒf f. fastening (at the end of beams)
coast of)nƒkkurr pron. a. some, any; a certain; er
nor›r2 n. the north; ór nor›ri from thenƒkkurir eru bor›i who are of any acnorthcount, who have anything in them 3/15;
norn f. norn (one of the female fates ofnƒkkurum mun seinna considerably
Norse mythology)
more slowly; ﬂrír nƒkkurir some threenorrœnn a. Norwegian62/14; n. nƒkkurt/nƒkkut anything
notit see njóta
136/17; something; about 99/18; ﬂeir
nótt (gen. sg. and nom. acc. pl. nætr; gen.
einir menn ef nƒkkut var til the only
pl. nátta) f. night
people if they (i.e. who) were of any
nú adv. now
importance 72/17
n‡gefinn pp. newly given, just givennƒkkut/nøkkut adv. at all 27/8; somen‡kominn pp. newly come, just comewhat, rathern‡r a. newnƒkkverr i.e. nøkkverr = nƒkkurr? orn‡sa (n‡sti, n‡st) wv. peer; n‡sa fyrir sér
the name of a dwarf? 147/11
look around one, be careful; md. n‡sumk nƒkkvi m. ship 147/12
hins I look closely at that 150/27
nƒs f. nostril; pl. nasir nosen‡skorinn a. (pp.) newly cut, newly tai- óáleitinn a. not encroaching; unaggressiveloredóargr a. not cowardly, brave; as nicknamen‡ta (n‡tti, n‡tt) wv. use (til for)inn óargi the Dauntless 1/2n‡tekinn pp. just taken; n‡tekit vi› just óask (ó›isk/óa›isk) wv. md. fear, be
received
afraid 80/5n‡tr1 a. usable; able; sup. inn n‡zti ma›r óaufúsa f. dissatisfaction; er mér er ƒlla most capable man 41/22
óaufúsa á which I would greatly disn‡tr2 see njóta
approve of, be greatly displeased at 45/22
næ›a, næ›i, næ›isk see náóblí›r a. unfriendlynæfr f. birch-bark; roofing made of birch- óbótama›r m. criminal who can be killedbark shingles
with impunity (without compensation
nær adv. and prep. with dat. near, nearby;
having to be paid), one not under thenearly, almost; soon after 51/5; nær ﬂví
protection of the law 174/25, 26
at present when 12/28; ﬂeim nær koma óbrotgjarn a. not easy to shatter; not
er would affect that one who (would
fragile, not likely to shatter, i.e. unforbe inflicted on someone close to the one
gettable 162/19
who) 32/5; hvergi nær nowhere near; óbygg›r a. (pp.) unsettled, uninhabitedas conj. when 13/31, 14/21, 105/6
ó› see va›anærgi conj. wheneveró›al (pl. ó›ul) n. patrimony, inheritednæst adv. and prep. with dat. next; closestate 5/4
est; last time 77/16; ﬂar næst next to ó›alborinn a. (pp.) legitimate, entitled tohim (her, them); næst ﬂví er next topatrimony; menn ó›albornir legal
where, closest to where; ﬂví næst next,
heirs 13/2 note
afterwards; sem næst as close as pos- ó›arsmi›r m. maker of poetry, poetsible
oddr m. point (of a spear or arrow)

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oddsk‡ n. cloud of the (spear) points,
the power of the king) 23/7; ofrefli li›skenning for shield 60/8
superior force of numbers, overwhelmoddviti m. leader
ing odds 90/1
ó›isk see óaskofreflisma›r m. person of superior power;ódjarfari a. comp. less bold; ódjarfari
honum ofreflismenn men of superiorsí›an í atgƒngu at móti oss after thatpower to himself 105/34
not as bold in resisting us 76/20
ofrhugi m. exceedingly great courageó›liga adv. furiously, impatiently; láta ófri›r m. war, hostilities, rebellionó›liga um be very impatient about ófri›vænn a. not peaceful-looking, hostile
131/31(fyrir to us) 95/14
ó›r1 (n. ótt) a. furious, wild; sup. ó›astir ofríki n. overbearing, arrogancemost violent, most frenzied 69/38
ofrkapp n. overbearingó›r2 m. poetry, poem
ófr‡nn a. ugly-looking, frowning, sullen,ó›ræ›i n. fury; mad behaviour; sudden
moroseattack?
ofsamenn m. pl. overbearing peopleódrukkinn a. (pp.) not drunk; at ﬂú sér ofsi m. overbearing, tyranny; as nicknameódrukkinn even when you are not
68/20
drunk 43/15
ofsnau›r a. too poor (at in), completelyódæll a. hard to deal withbereft (of)óeiruma›r m. violent, ruthless person
oftregi m. extreme sorrowof 1 adv. too, too muchófullr a. not full, wide open, emptyof 2 pleonastic particle 59/3, 18, 19, 71/4, ófœrr a. incapable (from drink)
73/22, 83/1, 89/7, 103/19, 106/18, ógerla adv. = ógjƒrla
107/4, 8, 9, 12, 108/3, 7, 110/12, ógildr a. not entitled to compensation for
111/20, 112/8, 113/3, 125/35, 126/3,
injury or death 122/25
149/6, 150/12, 153/26, 161/19, 166/26, ógjƒrla adv. not exactly; not clearly;
178/11, 12ógjƒrla veit (understatement) no oneof 3 prep. with acc. over, across; about;will know precisely, i.e. no one willaround; through; among 151/11; withhave any idea 95/13
dat. over 67/20; against 151/6
ógle›i f. melancholy, depression; takaóf n. a huge (exceedingly great) amountógle›i mikla become very depressed
21/1, 63/6
84/14
ófagr a. ‘un-fair’, ugly
ógn f. terror, threat; battleófallinn a. (pp.) unseemly, not fittingógnlauss a. without terror, unterrifying
ofan adv. above; down; down (from the ógrei›fœrr a. difficult to pass; honum
hills); fyrir ofan above; beyond, northvar› ógrei›fœrt um he found it difof 18/8; above, inland of; ﬂar á ofan
ficult to cross 43/18
on top of thatógrynni n. enormous quantity; ógrynni
ofanganga f. going down (to the ships)
fjár riches beyond count 13/18
63/17
óhagfeldr a. not favourable, not in one’sófarar f. pl. defeat, disasterinterestófarna›r m. misfortune, disasteróhagstœ›r a. unfavourable
ofdaufligr a. excessively dull, lonelyóheilagr a. ouside the law’s protection,
ofljóst n. a. as substantive ‘excessively
as an outlaw; able to be killed with imclear’, punning, using word-play (cf.
punity 174/32
Skáldskaparmál 109)óhryggr a. not sadofrefli n. superior force, heavy odds (i.e. óhœgr a. difficult, not without obstacles

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ójafn a. unequal, different; not equallyin a word with 1/18; kva› eigi or› saidfairnothing 126/6; me› ﬂeim or›um withójafna›arma›r m. unjust, lawless, overthis message, with these instructions
bearing person
130/20; gera or› send wordójafna›r m. injustice, overbearingor›ahnippingar f. pl. altercations, arguók, óku see aka
mentsókátr a. unhappy, gloomy, lacking cheer- or›askak n. rebuke, blame, hard words,
fulness
criticism 77/16
ókeypis adv. for free, without payingor›fœrr a. eloquent, good at speaking
ókunnr a. unknown (with dat. to some- or›hof n. temple of speechone)or›inn, or›it, or›nir see ver›aókynni n. improprietyor›rœ›a f. talk, information 16/14
ól see alaor›sending f. message; request; ef or›óleyfi n. no permission; at óleyfi with gen.
sendingar y›rar koma til if your dewithout someone’s permission, against
mand is sent for it 114/31
someone’s wishesor›snjallr a. eloquent; mun konungi ekólífi n. death; til ólífis to death, mortally
ﬂikja ekki or›snjallr the king will not
54/8
find me eloquent 32/15
ólíkligr a. unlikelyor›stírr m. renown 11/16
ólyfjan n. poisonor›tak n. speech, opinion; var eitt or›takómáttugr a. without strength, weak;allra they all agreed 76/9
comp. ómáttkari less strongor›víss a. witty, clever with wordsómun f. voice, soundórefjusamr a. straightforward, not deviómætr a. not valid; gera ómæt invalidate
ous; upright; guileless88/29óréttr m. not right, unjustón‡ta (ón‡tti, ón‡ttr) wv. spoil, make órífligr a. mean, paltry, contemptible
useless; md. ón‡task become useless, orka (orka›i, orkat) wv. act
be made uselessorlof n. permission; leave (to go) 9/29,
ón‡tr a. useless
11/17; mæla í orlofi speak freely, frankly
óp n. shout
15/3
opinn (n. opit) a. open; unprotected: at ormr m. serpent
hann kœmi í opna skjƒldu (at the back ormstunga f. nickname serpent-tongue
or side of the shields) konungs fylking- óró f. disturbance, trouble
inni so that he could attack the exposed orpit see verpa
flank of the king’s division 79/7
órr = várr poss. a. ouropinspjallr a. who speaks openly, freely orrosta f. battle
opna (opna›i, opnat) wv. open
orrostusta›r m. site for a battle, battleopt adv. often; comp. optar more often;
site
eigi optar never again; sem optar as órskur›r m. decision; veita órskur›
on other occasions; sup. optast most
make a decision, decide the matter 75/22
often, usually, mostly
ort, orti, ortu see yrkja
optliga adv. frequentlyósaka›r a. (pp.) unhurt, uninjured
ór prep. with dat. and adv. out of, from; ósannligr a. unfair, unreasonableór lauss vi› quit, free from obligation ósannr a. not guilty (at of what he wastowards 173/31, 174/2
accused of) 17/21
or› n. word; message; suit, proposal (of ósárr a. unwoundedmarriage) 8/20; koma or›um vi› get ósáttr a. unreconciled

254

EGILS SAGAósigr m. defeat; fara ósigr fyrir suffer
come on someone unawares, take somedefeat at the hands of
one by surpriseóskora›r a. (pp.) without reservation; óví›r a. not extensive, small in circumunconditional; n. as adv. allt óskorat
ferenceentirely without being challenged, with- óvinr m. enemy
out interference? without conditions? óvit n. unconsciousness; í óviti senseless,without restrictions? 173/26
unconscious 60/20
óskyldr a. unrelated; óskyldir menn okr óvitandi pres. part. unknowingly, uninpeople not related to us 12/35
tentionallyósleitiliga adv. without cheating, without óvitrari a. comp. less wise, more foolishheeltaps (draining the cup fully each óvægiliga adv. violently, furiously
time it was served)
óvænn a. unpromising, hopeless; unóslétta f. lack of smoothness; pl. ósléttur
likely; at ﬂat var ﬂá óvænt that there
furrows 82/15
was no likelihood or prospect 146/16;
ósterkari a. comp. less strongﬂótti honum sér óvænt til undanósætt f. lack of peace; í ósætt vi› in conkvámu it seemed to him that he had no
flict with, on bad terms withprospect of escape 102/2ósœm› f. dishonouróvænligr a. unpromising, having littleósœmiligastr a. sup. least honourable, thehope of successmost dishonourable
óx, óxu see vaxa
ótiginn a. not noble (of family): hvárt er óﬂokkasæll a. disliked, unpopulartiginn e›a ótiginn whether he is noble óﬂurft f. harm, annoyance; til óﬂurftar withor not 90/3 note
dat. to cause harm or damage to someoneótili m. harm, troubleóœ›ri a. comp. less high, lower (in rank)ótilleitinn a. (pp.) inoffensive, not inter- pallr m. one of the two platforms or raised
fering in the affairs of others, not enfloors along the two long sides of acroaching on others’ rights, not aggresmedieval hall on which people sat at
sivemeals; acc. pallinn ﬂann inn óœ›raótrúleikr m. disloyalty
the lower-rank bench 80/24
ótrúr (n. ótrútt) a. untrue, faithless, dis- penningr m. coin; penny (one tenth of anloyal
eyrir); hvern penning every penny, i.e.
ótryggr a. untrustworthy; ótryggt li›
all the valuables 22/2
margt many untrustworthy people 16/5 plógr m. plough; af plógi hverjum forótt see ó›reach piece of land that can be cultivatedóttalauss a. without fear or danger; ossby one plough 75/4
er óttalaust vi› we have no fear of prestr m. priest
135/19; var ﬂar allt óttalaust there was prímsigna (prímsigndi/prímsigna›i,
nothing to fear, they all felt secure 95/3
prímsigndr/prímsigna›r) wv. ‘primeóttask (ótta›isk) wv. md. fear; ekkisign’, administer a kind of preliminaryóttumk ek I am not afraid; óttask um
to baptism by making the sign of thesik be anxious, have fear about one’s
cross over a person; md. láta prímsafety 48/11; óttisk nú ekki at sér will
signask have oneself prime-signed 72/1
not be on their guard 76/18
prú›ligr a. splendid; sup. prú›ligstrótti m. fear; danger 22/32
most splendid, very splendidóvanr a. unaccustomed
pundari m. weigher, balance, scalesóvarligr a. imprudent
pústrar m. pl. punching, fisticuffs
óvarr a. unaware; koma á óvart with dat. rábenda (rábendi, rábendr) wv. bend orG L O S S A RY

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tie one thing to another as a sail is tied
at attack; rá›a fyrir rule over 3/19,
to a yardarm
decide about 11/8, be responsible forrá› n. 1. counsel, advice 85/16 (pl.); un173/30, be in charge of 22/12; rá›a til
dertaking; plan; proposal; taka ﬂat rá›
set out on 131/35; attack, make an attake that course 33/34, decide 41/9; ﬂat
tempt 137/21; have a final try, make itrá› sem the same course as 3/12; ger›ucome to a head 64/25; decide uponﬂeir ﬂat rá› decided 114/20; ger›i
63/12; enda ré› ok engi til and anyway
hann rá› sitt he made his plan, he madeno one else attempted it 128/33; with inf.
up his mind what to do 102/1; gjƒr›uundertake to 90/31; pp. var Brynjólfr
ﬂeir rá› sitt made plans together 20/38;
rá›inn til ﬂeirar fer›ar it was decided
ger›u menn ﬂat rá› me› gave thatthat Brynjólfr should go, Brynjólfr deadvice to or decided with 4/13; me›cided to go 8/26; var rá›in til farar had
rá›i konungs with the king’s consent
decided to go, it was decided that she
11/20; ekki at rá›i with gen. not withshould go 86/36; ﬂeir er til fer›ar váru
the consent of 47/11; what is advisablerá›nir me› honum those who were to64/2; sá hon ﬂat at rá›i she thought it
accompany him 118/22; md. rá›ask
was advisable, wise 11/33; ﬂœtti mér
decide for oneself; rá›ask ór give up
ﬂat rá› fyrir liggja I think it would be
1/8; rá›ask til decide to go (to); rézk til
advisable 48/4; oss mun ekki rá› itli›s vi› joined someone’s party 171/14
will not be advisable for us 71/5; mundinote; rá›ask um take counsel; past
ﬂeim hitt rá› this would be a betterrézk um 3/20. 2. interpret, read 136/26
plan for them 34/28; fara at rá›um vi› rá›ager›/rá›agjƒr› f. plan; decision;ﬂá use a sensible plan in attacking themprocedure; course of action; sitja í
141/5; vera í rá›um me› conspire withrá›ager› sit in council 75/7
41/1. 2. state of life; marriage, match rá›akostr m. marriage, match
9/30, 29/14, 18, 44/20, 47/19, 85/13; rá›ama›r m. ruler, regent (fyrir over),118/12; var ﬂat at rá›i gƒrt it (theman in charge (of) 35/12; pl. rá›amenn
match) was agreed on 53/6; pl. wedding
counsellors
8/21, 85/15, marriage agreement 9/38. rá›gjafi m. counsellor
3. rule; control, management 16/26; rá›ligastr a. sup. most advisable, the best
vera at rá›um be in charge 117/2; ƒllplanrá› the whole management (of a house- rá›stafi m. permanent homehold) 7/14
rak, ráku see rekará›a (ræ›r, ré›, ré›u, rá›inn/rá›it) sv. rammliga adv. strongly, firmly
1. advise; plan; arrange; with acc. ré›u rammr a. strong, mighty, powerful;ﬂat decided upon this 20/38 with dat.
rammr at afli of great strength
rule, decide 20/14; be in charge of; be ramri›inn pp. (see rí›a2) mightily ridden
in control of, possess 113/24; come topossess, gain 81/26; determine; ﬂar rán n. plundering, pillaging, robberyræ›r Háfslœkr it is marked by Háfs- rangindi n. pl. injustice, unfairness; dœmarangindi ﬂessi give this wrongful judglœkr 174/19; hvárt ræ›r ﬂú ﬂví arement 89/20
you responsible for this 172/22; rá›abo›i ok banni decide what is permitted ranglátr a. unrighteous, unjust
and what banned, i.e. be the supreme rangr a. wrong; at rƒngu wrongfully
76/1
authority 122/20; rá›a af make up
one’s mind, make a decision 102/5; rann see renna1rá›a af lífi kill, get rid of 25/31; rá›a rannsaka (rannsaka›i, rannsƒku›u,

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EGILS SAGA

rannsakat) wv. search thoroughly, inthe ship drift with the current 95/11
spect
rei›ask (reiddisk) wv. md. become angry
ránsfengr m. stolen goods, bootyrei›gata f. riding-track
rás f. running; taka á rás, hefja á rás rei›i1 m. gear, tack; harness; tackle, rigging;me› rei›a ƒllum fully equipped 11/23
run off, rush away, set off at a run 60/16,
rei›i2 f. anger
65/12
rasa (rasa›i, rasat) wv. stumble, tumble rei›inn a. prone to anger, hot-tempered
rata (rata›i, ratat) wv. stumble, fall rei›r a. angry; furious; with dat. angry withsomeone; inn rei›asti extremely angry(down), collapse 96/28
rei›skjóti m. mount, horse for ridingrau› see rjó›areifa (reif›i, reif›r) wv. enrich, enhance;rau›ablástr m. smelting of bog-ironpres. part. pl. reifendr 85/10
rau›r a. red; wk. form rau›i as nickname
reis see rísa
29/23, 72/9
reisa (reisti, reistr) wv. raise
rauf f. holeraun f. trial, experience, proof; at raun reist see rísta
um koma find out for oneself, prove reka (rak, ráku, rekinn) sv. 1. drive;
ofan rekit brought down (to the farm)
the truth of it 122/18
40/21; ok rak undan and hit it awayrausn f. splendour, high style of living
54/1; reka flóttan pursue those who
rausnarbú n. magnificent establishment
have fled 77/23; rak aptr hur›ina
rausnarsamligr a. splendid in style; bú
slammed the door to 177/29; impers.
haf›i hann rausnarsamligt he kept
rak skipit the ship drifted; pp. rekinn
house in fine style 154/24
upp drifted ashore 38/21. 2. perform,
raust f. voice; kve›a vi› raust declaim
carry out 102/14; take vengeance; ofloudlyrækak if I took vengeance 149/6; withré›, ré›u see rá›agen. reka réttar pursue (just) revenge,
refsing f. punishment
even the score 112/24
refsingalaust adv. without punishment,
rekavi›r m. driftwood
unpunishedreki m. driftwood
reginn m. name for a god
rekkja f. bed; bjuggusk til rekkna wereregn n. rain
getting ready for bed 181/7
regna›ar perhaps for rógna›ra, kenning
renna1 (rann, runnu, runninn) sv. run;for sword (see róg and na›r)
run away 177/4; rann á (of a wind)rei›1 f. riding; sá rei› ﬂeira SkallaGríms could see where Skalla-Grímr
arise 45/28; md. rennask at run at eachand his company rode 43/19
other, attack each other (cf. hlaupa)
rei›2 f. carriage
120/9; rennask á strike against eachrei›3 see rí›a1, ri›a2other 67/22
rei›a (reiddi, reiddr) wv. carry; reiddi renna2 (renndi, renndr) wv. make run;hann at baki sér let him ride behind
glide; md. renndusk hjá passed by one
him 53/26; lét val af mundu rei›a said
another 92/9; renndusk at collided
he felt that everything would end well
97/20
17/24 note; hand over; rei›a af hendi/ reri, reru see róahƒndum hand over 21/17, 18; skyldu rétt f. public sheep-fold, the pen for gathrei›a were supposed to pay 20/36;
ering the sheep in autumnrei›a ﬂar ór weigh out from it 127/30; rétta1 (rétti, rétt) wv. straighten 100/13;
stretch out 179/23; rétta yfir reach overswing (a weapon); rei›a upp raise, lift
81/16
into the air; impers. létu rei›a fyrir let

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rétta2 (rétti, rétt) wv. let (a ship) drift; rí›r m. rider (as second half of compound)
pp. fann rétt lík found the body where
134/21it had drifted ashore 145/8
ri›vaxinn a. (pp.) burly
réttindi n. pl. justicerif n. rib
réttlátr a. righteous, justrifna (rifna›i, rifnat) wv. split (uppréttr1 m. rights, privileges 1/13, rank 2/29;
open) 51/34; tear open (intransitive)
justice 88/23, 112/24, 126/22; vit fáim
145/16eigi rétt we get no justice 12/36
rigna (rigndi, rigndr) wv. rain
réttr2 m. drifting; being beaten by waves; ríki n. power, rule 6/31; realm, kingdom;lƒg›u ﬂeir ﬂá (sc. skipit) í rétt thenauthority; imperiousness; at var›veita
they let the ship drift 95/11; pl. hƒf›uríkit to look after his area of rule 35/31
réttu stóra had to let themselves drift ríkisma›r m. powerful man, leader, noblea great deal 45/37
man
réttr3 a. right; just; upright; true; erat rétt ríkismunr m. disparity in power; sá ríkisit is not right; hverjum manni var réttmunr at such a disparity in power that
it was correct (legal) for any man 123/3;
12/36
at réttu truly, according to law, legally; ríkr a. powerful; sup. ríkastr; as nickn. as adv. rétt correctly
name inn ríki the Great 71/9
reykr m. smoke
ringr a. bad, poor, miserable
reyna (reyndi, reynt) wv. experience; try, rísa (reis, risu, risinn) sv. rise; ﬂótti snemma
put to the test; reyna at experience
risit thought they had to get up early 42/2
from, find in 19/18; en ﬂá reyndi hann rísta (reist, ristu, ristinn/ristit) sv. cut;mik than he then found me to be 20/8;
carve; reist á rúnar carved runes on
reynt ver›a be put to the test 25/34; ef
it; reist ór skildinum it (the spear) cut
ﬂat ﬂarf at reyna um skipti if it comesa slice out of the shield
to the test in dealings 127/20; hvar hann ristnar see rísta
hef›i ﬂess verit staddr at hann haf›i risuligr a. grand, stately, imposing
mest reynt sik what were the circum- rít f. shield (with engraved decoration)
stances under which he had been most rita (rita›i, ritat) wv. write
severely tested 163/6; reyna me› okr rjó›a (r‡›r, rau›, ru›u, ro›inn) sv. redput each other to the test, fight it out
den, make red; pp. dat. pl. ro›num
169/26; md. reynask prove oneself tomade red with bloodbe, turn out to be; ef mér reynisk if I rjúfa (rauf, rufu, rofinn) sv. break up,
find 9/19
disperse, disband
reyndar adv. in fact, actually
rjúka (rauk, ruku, rokinn) sv. (emit)
reynir m. rowan-treesmoke; pp. rokinn smoky, sooty 52/21
rézk see rá›a
ró f. peaceri› n. steps, staircase
róa (reri, reru, róit) sv. row; use oarsrí›a1 (rei›, ri›u, ri›inn) sv. rub, smear;
26/6; var róit me› hann he was rowedrei› á bló›inu rub blood in them 59/11 ro›na (ro›na›i, ro›na›r) wv. go red
rí›a2 (rei›, ri›u, ri›inn/ri›it) sv. ride; ro›num see rjó›a
rí›a at attack on horseback 75/6; rí›a ró›r m. rowing; taka ró›r take to thefyrir ride on ahead, in advance 76/17;
oars, start rowing
rí›a rei›gƒtur ride along riding-tracks; ró›rarferja f. rowing-boatpres. part. rí›andi rider
ró›rarlei›i n. rowing course; tóku ró›rarri›lask (ri›la›isk) wv. md. break up intolei›i took to the oars 57/21
small groups, disintegrate, fragment ró›rarskip n. ship propelled by oars

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ró›rarskúta f. a fairly large ship prohóf rœ›u ﬂá began discussing, raisedpelled by oars
the question 56/30; koma á rœ›u vi›
rof n. breach, gap
bring up the question with 49/31; eigi
rofna (rofna›i, rofna›r) wv. break up,
miklu sí›ar en rœ›an haf›i verit notgive way
much later than when the conversation
róg n. strife; slander
had taken place 126/32; md. rœddusk
rokinn see rjúka
ﬂá ekki vi› then did not speak to eachroskinn a. (pp.) full-grown, adult
other 55/6
rósta f. brawl, fightrœ›a2 (rœddi, rœtt) wv. talk, speak; md.
rœ›ask vi› speak to one anotherroknu see rjúka
rœgja (rœg›i, rœg›r) wv. slander
rót f. root
rotinn a. (pp.) rotten, decayed; i.e. hav- rœtask (rœttisk) wv. md. impers. rœttisk
af vel it had good results, it turned out
ing lost his hair 120/22
well (perhaps implying it made him
ruddi, ruddu see ry›ja
talkative) 163/4 (cf. málreitinn)
rufu see rjúfa
rúm n. place, seat; bed; space, (enough) rƒ› f. row, linerƒ›ull m. wheel, disk; sunroom
rúmr a. roomy, spacious; er rúmr inn- rƒgn n. pl. the (heathen) godsrƒnd (pl. randir) f. rim (of a shield);
gangs has wide entrances 126/16
shield; reisa rƒnd vi› raise one’s shieldrún f. rune, runic letter, runic symbol
against (cf. English ‘lift a hand against’),rúni m. confidant, sharer of secrets; friend
oppose, set oneself up against 142/15
runnr m. bush; = tree, as half-kenning forrƒskvask (rƒskva›isk) wv. md. mature
man 59/2
sá1 see sjá1
runnu see renna1ry›genginn a. (pp.) rusted, gone rusty sá2 (sæ/sái, seri/søri, sáinn) sv. with dat.
ry›ja (ruddi, rutt) wv. clear (a way)sow, scatter
77/33; clear (a ship of cargo), unload sá3 demonstrative pron. that
30/10; clear (a ship, or part of a ship, safali m. sable(-fur)of men, i.e. kill all the men on it) 36/32 safna (safna›i, sƒfnu›u, safnat) wv. withdat. gather; md. safnask be gathered;r‡ma (r‡mdi, r‡mdr) wv. make moresafnask saman congregate, gather toroomy, make more space on, clear
gether; pp. safnazk fyrir gatheredr‡nni (gen. r‡nnis) f. knowledge
forces to protect themselves 63/9
ryskja (ryskti, ryskt) wv. shake roughly
safna›r m. gathering, hostræ›r see rá›asaga f. story; saga; reportræfr n. roofsag›i, sagt see segjarækak see rekaræna (rænti, rænt) wv. plunder; with acc. sáinn see sá2
and dat. rob someone of something; saka, sakar, sakir see sƒk
deprive someone of something 122/26 saklauss a. innocentræningi m. robber; victim of robbery: saltkarl m. salt-producer
mundi vera vilja ræningi ﬂinn would saman adv. together; einn saman on
one’s own; fáir hvárir saman in small
put up with being robbed by you 174/22
groups from each side 128/29; sexræsir m. instigatorsaman six altogetherrœ›a1 f. conversation 13/5, 14/24; pl.
talks 67/2, talk, manner of talking samflot n. sailing together; heldu mjƒk69/19, speech, what one says 138/10;
samfloti sailed pretty much close torœ›um Egils to what Egill said 84/13;
gether 37/29; gekk brátt fram ór sam-

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flotinu soon raced ahead of the other sárr a. wounded; n. as adv. sárt harshly
ships 90/30
120/6
samlag n. confederation; binda samlag sásk see sjá1
sat see sitja
sitt make an alliance 3/18
sát f. ambush
sámleitr a. dark-looking
samlendr a. living in the same country; satt see sannrok væri annarr samlendr vi› mig sátt1 = sættwhen there was someone else living in sátt2, sátta›u see sjá1
sáttr a. reconciled, in agreement, on goodthe same country as I 18/31
termssammœ›ri a. born of the same mothersamneyti n. social contact, social inter- sátu see sitja
sáttmál n. pl. words of reconciliation;
courseváru borin sáttmál milli ﬂeira peacesamr a. same; slíkt sama similarly
terms were negotiated between themsamt adv. together
101/7
samtog n. drawing together (at once,
against one another) or coming to- sau›fé n. sheep (collective)sau›r m. sheep
gether, meetingsamt‡nis adv. in neighbouring fields, as sáum see sjá1
saurigr a. dirty
neighbours
sax n. short sword; pl. í sƒxum in the partsamﬂykki n. concord, agreementof a ship next to the prow (in battle more
sandr m. sand; i.e. beach 71/1; pl. theexposed than the prow) 10/26
sandy stretches of coast (on the south
sé see sjá1 and vera
coast of Iceland) 30/7
sanna (sanna›i, sƒnnu›u, sannat) wv. sé› see vera
affirm, confirm 22/4; md. sannask sef- = sif- relationship, related (by marriage)
prove truesannindi/sannyndi n. pl. truth (til about sefask (sefa›isk) wv. md. calm down,cease to be angryit) 20/19; evidence 87/41; justice; ﬂarsannyndi til justice in the claim, a just sefr see sofa
seggr m. man
claim 12/29
segja (segir, sag›i, sƒg›u, sagt) wv. say,sannligr a. right, fairtell; imp. seg›u; segja til inform of,sannr (n. satt) a. true; reliable; n. sattrequest, specify 131/15; ﬂá er ﬂú kannt
truth, what is true; hafa fyrir satt holdmér sjálfr til segja whatever you may
as true, be convinced, believe 100/8; ityourself specify to me 82/9; segja lei›sanna the truth 15/32; til sanns for
fyrir pilot 91/29; sag›i frá mikit . . .
certain; fyrir sƒnnu haf›r justly acat told at length about how 5/38; segja
cused, justly reported 19/33; sƒnn vitni
upp pronounce 175/2; past subj. seg›i;reliable evidence or witness; sup. sanpres. part. segjanda er allt sínum vin
nastr most true
(proverb) you can tell everything tosannsparr a. ‘sparing of fairness’, iniquiyour friend 85/11
toussannspurt pp. n. truly learned; ﬂú hefir segl n. sailsannspurt you are correctly informed seglbúinn a. (pp.) with sail set, ready to
sail
47/19
sei›a (seiddi, seiddr) wv. cast a spell; lét
sannyndi see sannindi
ﬂat sei›a at cause it to happen by witchsár n. wound; liggja í sárum be confined
craft that, cast a spell so that 101/13
to bed by wounds

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sei›r m. sorcery, divination; incantation, sendifer› f. errand, mission; hƒf›u sendimagic song; sei› efla cast a spell 101/13
fer›ir konungs allar were always sent
seil f. band or stringon the king’s missions 22/13
seinkan f. delay; var ﬂeim ﬂá seinkan sendifƒr f. = sendifer›
mikil at hestunum then the horses de- sendiligr a. suitable for sending, fit forlayed them very much 132/18
making gifts of, presentableseinliga adv. slowly, reluctantly; taka sendima›r m. messenger, ambassador
seinliga be slow to respond, be less than sending f. something sent; gift; sending
enthusiastic, give no reply 180/16
konungs what the king had sent as aseinn a. slow; n. as adv. seint slowly; late;
gift 56/13; dish, course (served to indisvarar seint was slow to answer 89/1;
vidual guests)
hann mun seint at vinna inni it will sendir m. sender
be difficult enough to defeat him inside senn adv. together, at once
27/19; ﬂá frændr mundi seint at sénn see sjá1
tryggja mega it would be hard ever to sér1 pron. reflexive dat. oneself; (drekka)sér (drink) on one’s own 67/9
be able to trust that family 62/27; kómu
seint heim came back late, were late sér2 see sjá1
returning (understatement), i.e did not sér3 see vera
come back 170/25; var› ﬂat seint it sérhverr pron. each one
took a long time 61/15; comp. n. as adv. sess m. seat; eiga sess vi› sit alongside
28/40
seinna later, more slowly
set n. seat; platform (for sitting on)
sék see vera
sét see sjá1
séka see sjá1
sel n. shieling, shed in the mountain pas- setit see sitja and set
ture
setja (setr, setti, settr) wv. set, put, place;selfƒr f. keeping of cattle in a shieling;
establish; set up; setja lƒg establish laws;
hafa selfƒr use a shed in the mountainvar sett bor› a table was set up; ok settpasture for the milch cows (or sheep)
á vist and food was placed on them
181/6
133/12; setti hann eptir had left him
selir see selja
behind 94/7; setja fram launch 23/24,
selja1 (seldi, selt) wv. give; sell 23/19,
46/13; settr fyrir allt gullknƒppum í
30/20; with dat. hand to; selja af hendi
gegnum ni›r ornamented with gold
give up; selja í hendr with dat. handbuttons all the way down the front
over to someone 51/18, 167/8; selja til
125/28; setja ni›r sort it out, settle itvar›veizlu put into safe keeping 131/29
172/34; setja upp beach 25/3; svá velselja2 f. willow
sett sem treated as well as if 45/8; setti
selvei›r f. seal-catching
ﬂar yfir hƒfﬂingja set over it as leaders,selver n. place for catching seals
put in charge of it 73/16; setti mennsem conj. as; when; which; likeyfir appointed men (presumably jarls)sém see vera
to rule over 2/31; var ﬂar yfir settr was
semja (sam›i, saminn) wv. settle, agree
put in charge 138/20; impers. setti hannto; md. semjask agree together; hversu
dreyrrau›an he flushed blood-red
semsk me› oss konungi how the king33/37; md. setjask sit down; establish
and I get along together 6/9
oneself; settisk ﬂá í kyrrsetu thensenda (sendi, sendr/sent) wv. send; er
retired 93/23; sezk í taken over 115/7;
Haraldr sendi whom Haraldr had sent
setjask um kyrrt settle down 35/16,
6/17
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setr n. seat; setting (of the sun)sigrfƒr f. victorious journey; fara sigrfƒr
sétti ordinal num. sixth
be victorious (ironic understatement) 7/2
sex num. six
sigrmál n. prize of victory
sextán num. sixteen
sigróp n. shout of victorysey›ir m. cooking-pit, earth oven 61/35 sigrsæll a. victorious, successful in batsezk see setjatle; as nickname inn sigrsæli the vicsí adv. continually; sí- prefix always,
torious 71/12
continual(ly)sík n. ditch, inlet, trench, canalsí› adv. late; i.e. never (again) 126/3
síldfiski f. herring fishingsí›a f. side; coastsíldver n. herring fisherysi›a›r a. (pp.) cultivated; vel si›a›r well silfr n. silver
mannered, well behaved 29/6
silfrkista f. chest (full) of silver, moneysí›an adv. afterwards, then; sí›an (er) as
chest
conj. after, since
silki n. silk
sí›ar adv. comp. latersilkislœ›ur f. pl. long trailing gown of
sí›ast, sí›arst adv. last; very late, last
silk
thing
sími m. cord, ropesí›astr, sí›arstr a. sup. last
simull (pl. simlar) m. ox
sí›ir f. pl. in the phrase um sí›ir in the sindr n. slag (from a forge); mikit sindrend
hjá a big pile of slag by the side of it
sí›la adv. late 4/13 note
41/35
si›r m. custom; ﬂat var engi si›r it was síngirnd f. covetousness
not the custom, it was not considered sinn1 n. time; at sinni for the present 90/5;
this time 62/21
acceptable 165/11; religion: í fornum
sinn2 (n. sitt) poss. a. reflexive his, her,si› in heathen times
its, their; me› allt sitt taking all his
sí›r1 (acc. m. sg. sí›an) a. long, hanging
lowpossessions and peoplesí›r2 adv. comp. less; ﬂví sí›r . . . at the sinni n. company, fellowshipless . . . in that; eigi sí›r no less; ﬂat sitja (sat, sátu, setinn/setit) sv. sit; stay;sí›r vera munu that is less likely
sitja at sit watching, look after 168/29;
si›venja f. custom; ﬂann sem ﬂá var
sitja at jƒr›u rule over the land 164/13;
si›venja til in accordance with the cussitja at landi rule one’s land 156/12;
tom of the time 11/4
sitja fyrir be on the look-out for, (trysifjar f. pl. affinity, relationship by marto) find 40/11; sitja yfir hold possesriage
sion of 114/30; sitja yfir hlut hanssíga (seig, sigu, siginn) sv. sink, glide,
encroach on his rights, oppress him,move slowly; láta síga ofan lower; md.
wrong him 124/22; sitja skar›an hlutláta undan sígask give ground, retreat
with dat. suffer a diminished lot at
77/11
someone’s hands 97/1
sigla1 (sigldi, siglt) wv. sail; use sails 26/6 sívaf n. continuous wrapping; vefja sívafi
sigla2 f. mast
wrap up completely (so that what issigling f. sailingwrapped is entirely covered) 140/12
signa (signdi, signdr) wv. make a sign síz conj. sinceover, consecrate 59/9
sízt adv. sup. least of all; not at all
sigr m. victory; hafa sigr be victorious síﬂƒgull a. ever-silent, dumb 44/1
sigra (sigra›i, sigrat) wv. defeat; be vic- sjá1 (sér, sá, sá, sénn/sét; past subj. sæi)sv. see; realise 73/14; sjám let us see;torious262

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with suffixed pron. and neg. séka ek til sjónlauss a. blind
I do not look for, I do not want 121/19; sjónleysi n. blindness
sátta›u you did not see; imp. sé look sjór (gen. sjóvar) m. sea 23/29
17/9; má ek eigi á manni sjá I am no sjúkr a. sick; wounded 28/31
judge of men 169/17; sjá eptir um look sjƒt n. pl. dwelling(s), home(s)after, take notice of 130/10; sjá fyrir sjƒtull m. seat, ledge 117/15
with dat. look after, take care of 35/21; ska›i m. harm, damage; loss 23/14; ska›i
decide 102/23; sjá til look at 16/35,
mikill a great pity
look towards 46/19; ok sét til sau›a skafa (skóf, skófu, skafinn) sv. scrape,and had been looking after the sheep
shave
175/29; sjá um take care of, see to skaka (skók, skóku, skekinn) sv. shake
131/29; at sjá lítt vi› in not avoiding, skakkr a. one-sided, unfair
in not guarding against, not caring skal see skulu
about 62/20; yfir sjá have a look at, skálaglamm n. nickname ‘scales-tinkle’;oversee, keep an eye on 20/12, sjá yfir
probably originally referring to thesee to it 15/36; impers. sér one can see,scales used to measure the amount of
there can be seen 160/17; pp. sét
reward for a poem 164/9
obvious, clear 159/9; md. ef ﬂit sjáizk skalat see skulu
tveir á if the two of you meet face to skáld/skald n. poetface 169/22; sjásk heldr fyrir rather skáldaspillir m. ‘destroyer of poets’ orto watch out, go carefully 139/17; sjásk‘spoiler of poets’ (i.e. plagiarist); asum look around 14/3
nickname 29/22
sjá2 see vera
skáldfé n. poet’s reward, reward for asjá 3 demonstrative pron. this 24/39,
poem
50/10, 138/38
skáldskaparlaun n. pl. reward for poetrysjaldan adv. seldom
skáldskapr m. poetrysjálfala a. ‘self-feeding’, without being skáli m. hall, the main living-room of afedmedieval housesjálfr a. pron. self, oneself, himself etc.; skalli m. bald head; bald-headed person;vi› sjálft close by, just by 141/23; gen.
sá skalli this bald-head 34/17
pl. sjálfra sinna his own
skalt, skaltu see skulu
sjálfrá›i a. of his own free willskammlauss a. without disgrace; adv.
sjálfvili m. free-will; me› sjálfvilja, atphrase at skammlausu without dissjálfvilja sínum of his (their) own achonour 74/10
cord
skammr a. short; as nickname 51/11,
sjálfviljandi pres. part. of one’s own ac114/30; n. as adv. skammt a short way;cord
a short time; skammt til a short way tosjám see sjá1
41/26 note; til skammt too short 27/32;
sjár (gen. sjávar) m. sea
hann skyldi skammt til láta he would
sjau num. sevennot leave it long before 55/29; fyrirsjaundi ordinal num. seventh; á sjaundaskƒmmu not long ago
vetr i.e. six years old
skammtala›r a. (pp.) brief-spoken; vera
sjó›r m. purse; áttu einn sjó› shared theskammtala›r have a brief interview
same purse, were partners 1/7
19/17
sjón f. sight; pl. eyes; frí›r sjónum hand- skap n. mind; til skaps konungs to pleasesome in appearance
the king 20/4; í móti skapi contrary tosjóni m. nickname the sharp-sighted one
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ﬂikja móti skapi whom the king will skeggøx f. ‘bearded axe’, axe with an exbe displeased about (if they are killed)
tended lower point on the edge of the
31/8; er mér næst skapi I would preblade
fer 45/19; hvat honum er í skapi what skei› n. 1. space of time; period; annat
is in his mind 19/21; í gó›u skapi in askei› every now and then, time andgood moodagain 81/2, 132/17; um dagsetrs skei›
skapa (skapa›i, skƒpu›u, skapat) wv.
round about sunset 145/11. 2. stretch
shape, form; assign fate; at ﬂú skapirof landeinn ok skerir that you alone decide skeika (skeika›i, skeikat) wv. swerve,
173/21; pp. at skƒpu›u in accordance
turn aside; turn out; láta skeika atwith fate 27/15; in accordance with theskƒpu›u leave things to take their own
course of nature; normal, natural 24/40
course (literally let it turn out in accordskapfelldr a. (pp.) to one’s mind, agreeance with fate) 27/15
able; sup. 72/5
skein see skína
skapit see skepja
skeinusamr a. dangerous, likely to cause
skapleikr m. disposition
wounds or damage
skaplíkr a. like in character
skelfa (skelf›i, skelf›r) wv. make tremskaplyndi n. mind, temper, character
ble with fear, frighten
25/19; mood; hann haf›i ok gott skap- skelfiknífr m. frightening knife
lyndi til ﬂess he also had the right skelfir m. shaker
temperament for this 154/25; bera eigi skelkr m. fear; skaut (impers.) skelk ískaplyndi til at have not the disposibringu with dat. ‘fright shot into theirtion to, be in no mood to 28/39; disposibreasts’, they were panic-stricken 15/23
tion, behaviour? 55/18
skella (skelldi, skelldr/skellt) wv. slam;skapna›r m. what is due, what is depp. upp skelldr inlaid up to the top 51/20
served; skapna›ar vir›ing the honour skelﬂunnr a. thin as a shell, i.e. sharp
they deserve 175/8
skemmri a. comp. shorter; sup. skemmstr
skapstórr a. proud-mindedshortest; n. as adv. skemmst the shortest
skapt n. shaft, handle 52/21
distance; fyrir skemmstu shortly before,skaptker n. large vessel, vatjust beforeskar› n. gap; notch, a piece broken out skemmta (skemmti, skemmt) wv. withof something
dat. entertainskar›r a. (pp.) diminished, cut; impaired skemmtan f. entertainment
skarsk, skáru see skera
skemmtiligr a. entertaining
skati m. generous man, prince
skemmubúr n. private bed-chamberskattgildr a. tributary, paying tributeskenkja (skenkti, skenkt) wv. with dat.
skattgilda (skattgildi, skattgilt) wv.
serve with drink
make tributary, lay tribute upon
skepja (skap›i, skapit) wv. make; haf›iskattkonungr m. tributary kingsjálfr sér laun fyrir skapit had himskattlƒnd n. pl. tributary lands
self taken his reward for it 20/3
skattr m. tribute, tax, payments of tax, sker n. skerry, rock covered at high wareceipts of tax
ter, reefskaup n. mockery, contemptskera (skar, skáru, skorinn) sv. cut;
skaut1 n. square piece of cloth or skirt ofshape; dig 128/21; at ﬂú skapir einna cloak 67/10
ok skerir that you alone decide 173/21;
skaut2, skauzk see skjóta
skera up carve out; send round 3/22;
skegg n. beard
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sker›ir m. one who diminishes, i.e. kills
um mál decide about (settle) a caseskí› n. (long) piece of wood; ski
122/25; impers. ﬂeim var skipat í theyskí›gar›r m. fence, stockade
were accommodated in, assigned to 9/9,
skí›i n. shire, district
19/12; md. skipask change: skipask áskikkja f. cloak
betri lei› take a turn for the betterskildagi m. terms, conditions
104/13; skipu›usk í sæti sín took theirskildi, skildir see skjƒldr
seats 67/13; skipask vi› yield to, beskilja (skil›i, skil›r/skilit) wv. part; sepamoved, swayed by (it) 48/6
rate; skilja rœ›u end a conversation skipaherr m. fleet of warships, naval
13/5; distinguish; understand; hearforce
174/10; describe; til skilit stipulated skipakostr m. supply of ships, choice of
88/35; skilit sér reserved to himself
ships
86/28; impers. ﬂá myndi brátt skilja skipali› n. naval force
vega ﬂeira their ways would soon part skiparar m. pl. crew
37/32; lei›ir skil›i the paths separated skipasmi›r m. shipwright
140/4; skil›i me› ﬂeim they parted, skipfƒr f. the sailing of a ship; pl. travelwere separated; mikit skili hamingju
ling by sea
okra svá sem there will be as much skipkostr m. space on the ship 57/18
difference in our luck as 170/20; md. skipstjórn f. command of a shipskiljask be parted, be separated 78/29; skipstjórnarma›r m. commander of askil›usk parted (from each other) 54/6;
ship, captainskiljask vi› part, leave off, turn away skipta (skipti, skipt) wv. with dat. 1. di80/3; impers. honum haf›i ﬂat skilizk
vide; share out; skiptu ﬂeir leitinni
he had understoodthey divided up into search parties 61/22;
skillingr m. shilling, coinimpers. var mƒnnum skipt til leiks
skilna›r m. parting
people were divided into teams for
skína (skein, skinu, skinit) sv. shine;
playing 53/26; li›i var skipt the force
skinu vi› gleamed in the sun
was divided; ﬂeim var skipt í móti theyskinnavara f. peltry, fur-ware
were set to compete against 54/25. 2.
skip n. shipchange; exchange; máli skipta be of
skipa (skipa›i, skipu›u, skipat) wv. with
importance 5/35; mér mestu málidat. arrange, marshal, array; assign
skipta most important to me, of greatest(someone) a seat, place 9/4; skipa
concern to me 33/19; allmiklu skipta
málum settle cases; with acc. occupy
make a very great difference, be very
9/1; man (a ship), provide with a crew
important 105/15 note; engu ﬂiki mér
49/41; skipa jar›ir put estates in order,
skipta it makes no difference to me;make provision (arrangements) for
svá at vetrum skipti mjƒk mƒrgum
estates to be managed 124/11; pp.
so that it was a matter of very manyskipa›r filled with; vel skipa›r well
winters; skipta me› deal with: var ﬂar
manned 9/9; skipat hir› sinni manned
ok me› skyldum at skipta we were(it) with his personal following 10/24;
also dealing with relations 12/33; slíkt
skipa til arrange: skipu›u ok til bús
sem hann á a› skipta such as he hasme› Sigrí›i also put the household (orto face 23/7; vi› hverja ﬂeir eigu a›
the farm) in order together with Sigrí›rskipta who they are up against 50/12;
28/31; skipa til ríkis put in charge, set
ef ﬂví er at skipta if it should come toup as ruler 4/30; er hér skipat til verka
that, if that is how it must turn out, if
allra all jobs have been assigned; skipa
that is in question 106/10. 3. dispense,G L O S S A RY

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decide 104/25. 4. md. skiptusk divided
hesti skotit undir einn mann one manthemselves up; skiptask vi› exchange;
was mounted in haste 100/14; lét skjóta
skiptumsk we engaged (in fighting)hesti undir mann had a man quickly
163/11
mounted 145/21; md. skauzk undanskipti n. change; separation; arrangement;
shoved off from 61/28
division, sharing out; pl. dealings 115/34; skjótr (n. skjótt) a. quick, speedy; fast;exchange, fight; skipti vár sona Eiríks
fast-sailing; n. as adv. skjótt quickly;
dealings between me and the sons ofsoon; sup. skjótast quickest; sem
Eiríkr 127/20
skjótast as quickly as possible; var ﬂat
skipun f. disposal, arrangement, array,
ﬂar skjótast af at segja to put it asmarshalling 78/21
briefly as possible; er y›r ﬂat skjótast
skipveri m. member of a crew, crewman;at segja the simplest thing for you topl. skipverjar ship’s crew 37/31
say 3/30
skíra (skír›i, skír›r) wv. baptiseskjƒldr (dat. skildi/skjaldi, pl. skildir)skírn f. baptism
m. shield
skirra (skirr›i, skirr›r) wv. with dat. skóf see skafa
prevent, avert
skógarháls m. wooded ridgeskírskota (skírskota›i, skírskotat) wv. skógarholt n. wooded hill or ridge
refer to, appeal to; ﬂat skírskota ek skógarklettr m. crag with trees on it
undir ﬂik I call you to witness 90/7
skógarma›r m. outlaw
skjaldargjƒf f. gift of a shieldskógarnef n. outskirts of a wood, a proskjaldborg f. shield-wall
jecting piece of woodlandskjaldi see skjƒldr
skógarrunnr m. thicket
skjaldﬂili n. partition, thin panelskóggangssƒk f. a charge punishable byskjálgr a. squinting; as nickname 29/22
full outlawry (permanent exile)
skjóta (sk‡tr, skaut, skutu, skotinn) sv. skóglauss a. bare of woods
with dat. shoot; move something skógr m. woodquickly; skjóta augum roll one’s eyes skók see skaka
119/3; skjóta mátti they could be skolbrúnn a. dark-browed, with dark
speared 40/9; fling 51/36; skjóta á witheyebrows or with crooked brows
dat. set up, organise 91/9; skaut skildi- skór (pl. skúar) m. shoe
num fyrir sik brought his shield quickly skora (skora›i, skorat) wv. challenge;in front of him 96/22; skutu fyrir bor›
skora á mann challenge a man 121/1;
threw (it) overboard 38/6; sk‡tr ni›rer hann haf›i til skorat that he hadthrusts down 98/23; skaut ni›r threw
challenged (his opponent) for 121/3
down 133/10; skaut til rá›a fƒ›ur síns skorinn see skera
referred it to her father’s advice 85/16; skorta (skorti, skort) wv. impers. withsk‡tr málinu til Gulaﬂingslaga transacc. be lacking 41/12; hann mundi
fers the case to the law of Gulaﬂing
ekki fé skorta he would not go short
87/21; skotit var til konungs órof money 23/15; skorti eigi there wasskur›ar it was referred to the king’s
no lack of; past subj. ﬂá skyrti eigi theydecision 115/9; skutu út bryggjunum
should not go short
shoved off the gangplanks 22/35, skot n. narrow passage between wall and55/23; skaut yfir brúnni threw thepanellingbridge (back) across 128/36; impers. skotit see skjóta
with dat. something is shot 15/23; ﬂeim skozkr a. Scottish
var skotit they were flung 64/5; var skrei› f. dried fish

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EGILS SAGA

skrei›fiski f. cod-fishingtant, urgent; comp. skyldara a greater
skreyja f. nickname ‘boaster’ (?)
duty, more necessary 58/11
skrifa (skrifa›i, skrifa›r) wv. write; skyli see skulu
decorate, paint, depict; hann var skrif- skyn n. features, details; sag›i skyn áa›r fornsƒgum it had scenes frommáli sínu explained his case 115/20
ancient stories depicted on it 165/6
skynda (skyndi, skyndr) wv. hasten,skript f. picture, depiction
make hasteskrƒkberandi m. (pres. part.) bearer of skyndiliga adv. quickly; sup. sem skyndifalsehood, liar
ligast as quickly as possible
skúa see skór
skyndir m. hastener
skuldaheimtur f. pl. calling in debts; skyr n. a kind of milk product, similar to
haf›i hann skuldaheimtur he colyoghurt
lected debts 57/11
skyraskr m. bowl for skyr
skulu (skal, skyldi) pret.-pres. vb. shall; sk‡ra (sk‡r›i, sk‡rt) wv. flow, stream
be going to 42/6; must; skalat must not; skyrti see skorta
subj. skyla, skyli; inf. en ﬂú munt hér sk‡tr see skjóta
deyja skulu than that you will here skær m. horsehave to die 103/22
skœra f. fightskunda (skunda›i, skundat) wv. with skƒllóttr a. bald, bald-headed
dat. hasten, hurryskƒmm f. shame; er skƒmm fœr›i at
skúta f. a kind of light but fairly large ship
ﬂeim who was bringing shame on themskutbryggja f. the aft gangplank
59/7
skutildiskr m. serving dish, trayskƒmmu see skammr
skutr m. stern (of a ship)skƒr f. hairskutu see skjótaskƒruligr a. imposing, fine-looking; sup.
skygg›r pp. polishedinn skƒruligsti very splendid
skyggn a. sharp-sighted; comp. skyggnri skƒrungr m. outstanding person; impormore sharp-sighted; sup. skyggnastr
tant or influential person; skƒrungr
most sharp-sighted
mikill a very outstanding person 1/10
skyla see skulu
slá (sló, slógu, sleginn) sv. strike; forge;skyld f. tax, rent, due
sleginn fram broddr ferstrendr withskyldarerendi n. urgent business, importhe point at the end forged with fourtant business 83/16
edges 76/35; with dat. cut, untie, castskylda, skyldi, skyldu, skyldu› see
off 22/35; slá landtjƒldum pitch tents
skulu
78/8
skyldr (n. skylt) a. related (by kinship); slátrfé n. animals for slaughteringbound, obliged: hann er ekki ﬂess sle›i m. sledge
skyldr he is under no obligation to do sleggja f. sledge-hammer
this, it is not his duty to do this 131/11; sleginn see slá
skylt er ﬂat at ek fara I am under an sleit see slíta
obligation, I have a duty, to go 118/17; sleita f. cheating; drekka vi› sleitur drink
hann væri skyldr til it was his duty;
unfairly, cheat in drinking (drinking lessfrændi skyldr close kinsman 29/29;
than one’s share) 69/34
var ﬂar ok me› skyldum at skipta we sleppa (slapp, sluppu, sloppinn) sv. slip;
were also dealing with relations 12/33;
fail; ef in fyrsta slyppi in case the firstdue; required by duty; skylt ok heimultshould fail 137/8
right and proper 47/1; necessary, impor- slétta f. level groundG L O S S A RY

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sléttr a. level; smooth; sƒg›u sínar farar snarla adv. quickly, keenly, with a dasheigi sléttar told of their not trouble-free snarpr a. harsh, tough; sup. toughest; intravels, told of the difficulties they had
snarpasta very toughhad (or said their travels had not been snarr a. fast; tightly twisted; sup. n. aseasy?) 23/2
adv. sem snarast as quickly as he couldslí›r n. pl. sheath, scabbardsnei› see sní›aslíkr a. pron. such; the same; n. slíkt such snekkja f. warship of medium size
things 19/35; slíkt sama in the same snellt adv. sharply
way 7/2; slíkir menn men like you snemma/snimma adv. early, soon; at an
127/19; slíka sem ﬂú ert men such as
early ageyou 87/17
snemmbúinn a. pp. ready early or soon;
slíta (sleit, slitu, slitinn/slitit) sv. tear: atvar› ekki snemmbúinn was delayed
eigi slíti d‡r so that animals do not tear
45/28, was not ready early (i.e. in the
96/36; slíta hann af sér fling him off;summer) 101/25
impers. with dat. var slitit gildinu the sneri, snerisk, sneru see snúa
feast was brought to an end
snerra vb. make more powerful; pres.
sló› f. trail, tracks, footprints
part. snerrandi one who makes moreslógu see slá
powerful
slyppi see sleppasní›a (snei›, sni›u, sni›inn) sv. cut
slyppr a. weaponless 24/22
snimma = snemmaslœ›ur f. pl. long trailing gown
snjallr a. eloquent; n. as adv. snjallt elosløngva (sløng›i, sløng›r) wv. with dat.
quentlysling, flingsnjár/snjór (pl. snjóvar) m. snowsmámenni n. insignificant persons, small snjólauss a. free from snowfry
sno›inn a. bald; ger›isk enn sno›innsmár a. small; smáir sandar (stretches
went on getting bald(er) 86/20
of) fine sand 41/28
snót f. ladysmáskip n. small ship
snúa (sn‡r, sneri, sneru, snúit) sv. turn,smásveinn m. small boy
go 22/36; with dat. sn‡ ek ﬂessu ní›i ásmávi›i n. small trees, shrubbery, thickethƒnd I direct this insult against 98/18;
smeygjask (smeyg›isk) wv. md. slide
impers. with dat. turn; sneri mannfalli
oneself, squeeze oneself 64/9
í li› Kyrjála the Karelians began to sufsmí›artól n. pl. smith’s tools
fer heavy casualties 18/17; md. snúask
smi›ja f. smithy, workshop
turn oneself; impers. er svá snerisk
smi›judyrr f. pl. entrance to a smithy
when it turned out 14/32
smi›juverk n. smithying, iron-working snær m. snow
smi›r m. smith, worker in metal or wood; snœri n. cord, stringmakersofa (sefr, svaf, sváfu, sofinn) sv. sleep;smjƒr n. butterpres. part. sofandi asleep
snaghyrndr a. (pp.) with curved (crescent- sókn f. attack 37/26; prosecution, bringshaped) blades
ing of lawsuits 172/2
snara (snara›i, snarat) wv. turn quickly, sól f. sun; ok sól farin and the sun had
twist
risen 61/14; vi› sól at daybreak 170/2;
snarfari m. nickname swift mover, swift
fyrir ina ﬂri›ju sól before the third
traveller
sunrise, within three days 171/18
snarfengr a. quick to achieve, quick to sólarfall n. sunset
act
sólarupprásarskei› f. the period of sunrise

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EGILS SAGA

sóma (sóm›i, sóm›r) wv. beseem, be spjót n. spear
seemly, be proper
spjótshali m. (the end of) the spear-shaft
sómafƒr f. honourable journey, a journey spjƒll1 n. pl. wordsspjƒll2 n. pl. damage
bringing honourspjƒr n. pl. spears
sómi m. honour
spor n. track, footprint
son/sonr (dat. syni, pl. synir) m. son
sonargjƒld n. pl. compensation for a son sprakk see springa
sonarsynir m. pl. grandsons, sons of sons spretta1 (spratt, spruttu, sprottinn) sv.
spring up
sópa (sópa›i, sópat) wv. sweep; md.
sópask mjƒk um, make a clean sweep spretta2 (spretti, sprett) wv. with dat.
make spring up; spretti frá lokunniof, collect with great success 13/21
flung open the bolt (or bar)sorg f. grief
springa (sprakk, sprungu, sprunginn)sótt1 f. sickness, diseasesótt2, sóttak, sóttan, sótti, sóttisk, sóttu
sv. spring, split, breaksee sœkja
spur›i see spyrja
sóttdau›r a. dead of sickness; ver›a spurn f. report; hafa spurn af be insóttdau›r die of disease
formed, have heard 5/18
spá f. prophecy, incantation, song
spyrja (spyrr, spur›i, spur›u, spurt)
spakr a. wise; wk. form as nickname inn
wv. ask; hear, learn, be informed 23/30;
spaki 162/22
spur›i ef asked whether 55/13; spyrjaspánn m. fragment; brotna í spán break
til hear about; spur›u vér ﬂat til or›ato pieces 101/34
hans we were told that he had saidspánn‡r a. quite fresh, not at all tired
21/26; spyrja tí›endi get news 94/17;
141/35spyrja at tí›indum ask about news;
spara (spar›i, spƒr›u, sparat) wv. spare;md. ﬂat spur›isk it was heard; ﬂá erekki af spara not hold back from, spare
spur›isk when it was learned; en mér
no effort 18/24
spyrsk á ﬂann veg til I hear quite othersparr a. sparing; to be spared; comp. mér
things reported 6/31
hefir verit í hvern sta› son ﬂinn spar- sp‡ja1 (sp‡r, spjó, spjó, spúinn) sv. spew,
vomit
ari til ósœm›ar your son is one whom
I have always least wished to cause sp‡ja2 f. vomitspƒng (pl. spengr) f. spangle, thin plate
dishonour to 172/27
of metalspellvirki n. mischiefspƒnn f. span
spengr see spƒng
spenja (span›i, spani›r) wv. allure, staddr a. (pp.) placed, positioned; vi›
staddr present, there; nær staddr
attract, draw; spenr und sik draws topresent, near by; hvar sem ﬂeir váru
himself, makes his own 74/3
staddir wherever they happened to be
spenna (spennti, spennt) wv. clasp;
63/18
spenna á put roundspilla (spillti, spillt) wv. with dat. spoil; sta›festa1 (sta›festi, sta›fest) wv. fix,
agree on; md. sta›festask settle down,
damage; spilla fyrir with dat. ruin
live permanently 52/5; be adopted, besomeone 69/1; mikit um spillt caused
agreed on 73/12; sta›festisk ﬂat um
great damage, made things worse 86/4;
rá›ager› ﬂeira it was decided as tomd. spillask vi› get worse 136/18
their plan, they decided on this course
spjalli m. someone who chats with, intiof action 34/33
mate, friendsta›festa2 f. fixed abode, permanent resispjó see sp‡ja

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dence; taka sta›festu settle down, staytries to defend him 91/13; standa í stickpermanently 83/16
in; er hér stendr milli máls mannasta›it see standa
which is a matter of disagreement besta›r m. place; town; til sta›ar into stortween people here 172/21; haf›i í milliage 129/31; í hvárn sta› in each place,sta›it sættar had come in the way ofon each side, in each branch (of thereconciliation 88/38; ﬂar standa samanroute) 140/4; í hvern sta› on every
there is amassed there, it amounts to,occasion, always; in each direction, i.e.
there is involved 83/12; standa til movein each group 61/22; nema sta›/sta›artowards, make for, face towards? takecome to a halt, stop, pause; alls sta›ar
up a position near? 78/35; tend towards:
everywhere; annars sta›ar elsewhere;
ﬂat stendr ﬂó til vánar it may neverí alla sta›i in every respecttheless improve or there may be somestafa›r a. (pp.) striped 21/6
expectation of that (i.e. reward) 49/28;
stafn m. stem (of a ship); vera í stafni
hugir ﬂínir standa ﬂar til er Haraldr
stand at the prow, have one’s position
er Eiríksson your mind is set on (yourat the prow 10/24, 50/32; fyrir stafn
sympathies are all with) Haraldr Eiríksin front of (over) the prow 41/31
son 127/17; standa til arfs eptir standstafnbúi m. one whose position was at thein expectation of being someone’s heirprow of the ship, forecastle-man
25/10; er upp stó› who were still standstafr m. post 64/5, 8; stave, letter, symbol;
ing (i.e. had not been killed) 10/31; stó›pl. wall-posts, wall
ﬂar ekki vi› nothing could withstandstakk see stinga
it 140/28; standa yfir extend over,stakkr m. stack (of hay)prevail (in) 88/24, 101/28; md. stó›sk
stakksteinóttr a. with scattered stones,vi› withstood, resisted 111/9. 2. weigh;with stones here and there
stó› hvárr mƒrk each weighed 8
stál1 n. steel; pl. weapons
ounces or each was worth a mark 83/8
stál2 n. stem (of a ship) 98/29, 99/4
starf n. work, labour; occupation
stallr m. pedestal, platform, ledge; altar starfsma›r m. worker; starfsma›r gó›r
standa (stendr, stó›, stó›u, sta›it) sv.
hard-working man 57/25
1. stand; continue, last; imp. statt ﬂú statt see standa
upp stand up; stendrat does not stand; staup n. lump of metal; (drinking-)glass
stendr á hendi mér weighs me down staurr m. stake, pole
152/12; stó›u á honum stuck in him stef n. a line or group of lines repeated at
28/1; standa af arise from, be caused
intervals in a poem; refrain
by 50/9; stendr ﬂó nú á›r œrin óró af stefna1 f. appointment; (arranged) meeting; the time arranged for a meeting;ﬂér you have already caused quite
er at ﬂeiri stefnu kom/kemr when theenough trouble as it is 45/23; er ﬂeim
appointed time came 10/3, 85/23stœ›i vandræ›i af ﬂví from which
trouble might arise for them, which stefna2 (stefndi, stefndr) wv. 1. go in acertain direction, sail, lay a course for;could cause them trouble 46/25; ﬂótti
stefna til make for; stefna í móti go
af honum minni ógn standa he wasagainst; stefndu ﬂeir li›inu su›r they
considered less threatening 72/26; er
led their troops south 128/10. 2. sumeptir hƒf›u sta›it which had remainedmon, announce; summons; stefna ﬂing
unpaid 57/14; sem á›r hefir eptir
with dat. summons someone to ansta›it which had been in arrears, notassembly, appoint an assembly to hear
been paid 138/20; fyrir honum villa case against someone 87/21; stefna
standa tries to protect or withold him,

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EGILS SAGA

sƒk/sƒkum bring a prosecution/prose- stó›hestr m. stallion
stó›sk, stó›u see standa
cutions
stefnudagr m. appointed day; ﬂá er mjƒk stofa see stufa
var komit at stefnudegi ﬂeim when stofudyrr f. pl. doorway of a stofa
the appointed day was very near 57/6 stokkr m. log; the edge (supporting plank)of one of the platforms or benches along
stefnufƒr f. summoning-journey, the rethe sides of the buildiing
quired visit to the home of the accusedstokksendi m. end of a log
to summons him to an assembly
stefnulag n. arrangement for a meeting stolit see stela
stóll m. seat
steig see stíga
stórau›igr a. very wealthysteindr (n. steint) a. (pp.) painted
steinn m. stone; precious stone, jewel: stórbú n. pl. great estates
settr steinum (it was) ornamented with stórfé n. great wealthprecious stones, (it had) jewels set in it stórhaf n. mighty ocean
stórlátr m. haughty, proud, having a high165/8
opinion of oneself
steinó›i a. very violent, furious
stórliga adv. mightily, extremely; selfstela (stal, stálu, stolit) sv. steal
importantly, very confidently, arrostendr, stendrat see standa
gantlystengr see stƒng
stórligr a. great, mighty, powerfulsterkligr a. strong-looking
sterkr a. strong; wk. form as nickname stórmannligr a. munificent; sup. it stórmannligsta in the most splendid way(inn) sterki 9/5, 30/23; comp. sterkari;
19/13
sup. sterkastr
steypir m. one who casts down, feller, stórmargr a. very many, a huge number ofstórmenni n. munificent person; person
destroyerof means; a man of consequence; stórstíga (steig, stigu, stiginn/stigit) sv. step;menni mikit a man of great consesteig á bak mounted his horse 99/22;
quence 12/20; margt stórmenni many
bratt stiginn steep to climb 159/11
important people; ok flest allt stórstigama›r m. robber, highwayman
menni including nearly all the imporstígr m. pathtant people 69/12
stilla (stillti, stilltr) wv. arrange, settle;
manage; stilla svá til at arrange it stórmikill a. a very large amount ofin such a way that 141/5; stilltu ﬂau stormr m. stormÁsger›r um Ásger›r and ﬁorsteinn stórr a. large, great; (of wind) strong
46/14; powerful 15/37; gƒrt stórt til
watched for (availed themselves of) an
saka done much to offend, committed
opportunity 166/17; pp. stilltr controlgreat offences; ger›i stórt the sea rose,led, moderate
there came great waves, it grew roughstilliliga adv. composedly, in a control145/1; dat. pl. as adv. stórum mightily
led way, calmly
stinga (stakk, stungu, stunginn) sv. with stórvel adv. right well, most generously;
hann hefir marga hluti gjƒrt stórvel
dat. stick, thrust; prod
til mín he has granted me great favours
stir›r a. stiff, rigid
18/29
stjóri m. stone anchor 41/31
stórvirki n. pl. great achievements
stjórn f. rule; administrative duties
stóryr›i n. pl. big words
stjúpdóttir f. stepdaughterstórætta›r a. of a great family, of highstó›1 n. herd of (breeding) horses
stó›2 see standabirthG L O S S A RY

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strandhƒgg n. raid on the coast; cattle
acc. something gets stronger 101/26
taken by vikings to be slaughtered on stœrir m. increaser, one who makes somethe beach 129/3; hƒggva strandhƒgg
thing greaterslaughter and carry off cattle from the stœrri a. comp. larger
coast 24/25
stƒ›ull m. milking-pen
strangr a. harsh, severe; as nickname stƒ›va (stƒ›va›i, stƒ›vat) wv. stop, halt
68/20; sup. f. strƒngust very severe(transitive)
strengja (streng›i, streng›r/strengt) wv. stƒng (pl. stengr) f. pole; as nickname afasten, bind tight; strengja heit withtall thin person
gen. make a solemn vow about 2/20 støkkva1 (stƒkk, stukku, stokkinn) sv.
leap, spring; støkkva frá spring clear
strengr m. (ship’s) cable, mooring 22/35
77/33, fall back in a rush, run awaystrí›ir m. tormentor
129/9; støkkva ór landi flee the counstrƒnd f. shore, coast; bank (of a river)try 163/19
studdi see sty›ja
støkkvandi m. (pres. part. of støkkva2
stu›ill m. prop, supportwv.) driver, impeller
stufa/stofa f. work-room; living-room; alarge apartment separate from the rest støkkvir m. sprinkler, flingerof the dwelling for working and eating; su›r adv. south; su›r fyrir Jótland southwards past (the west coast of) Jutland
um alla stufu in all (the other) parts of
70/12; su›r í land to the south of thethe room 133/12
country
stukku see støkkva
stund f. while, time; length of time; sultu see svelta
stundu sí›ar somewhat later 40/25; á sumar (pl. sumur) n. summer; at ƒ›ru
sumri the next summer 8/22
ﬂessi stundu in that time (i.e. a week)
105/33; gen. as adv. stundar very; dat. sumlekla (i.e. sumblekla) f. lack of feasting, lack of beer 58/28
pl. as adv. stundum sometimes
stuttr a. short; n. as adv. stutt shortly, summu see svimma
sumr a. pron. some; sumir . . . sumir
snappishly
some . . . while some 66/2
sty›ja (studdi, studdr) wv. support
sumsta›ar adv. in some placesst‡fa (st‡f›i, st‡ft) wv. cut off
sund1 n. swim, swimming; á sund into
styggliga adv. crossly, angrily
the water; á sundinu as adv. in the
styggr a. cross, morose, ill-tempered,water, swimming 36/34
withdrawn; harsh in demeanour; showsund2 n. sound, strait; sea; liquid; in innri
ing anger or displeasure; resentful
sundin the channels between islandsst‡ra (st‡r›i, st‡rt) wv. with dat. steer (aand the mainland 91/26
ship); rule; command; ma›r sá erst‡r›i the steersman, captain 23/38; sundalei› f. the route along the sounds,
between the islands and the mainlandpres. part. st‡randi steersman
116/24st‡ri n. steering-oar, rudder; vi› st‡ri at
the tiller 97/15, with steering oar in sundr, í sundr adv. apart, in pieces
sundrleitr a. varied; ﬂat var sundrleitt
position 92/1
it varied 182/19
st‡rima›r m. leader, captainsunnan adv. from the south; fyrir sunnan
styrkja (styrkti, styrkt) wv. support
on the south side (of); sunnan undir
styrkr m. support
under the south side ofstyrr m. battle
sunnanver›r a. southernstœ›i see standastœra (stœr›i, stœrt) wv. impers. with súpa (saup, supu, sopinn) sv. drink

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EGILS SAGA

svá adv. so; so that; thus; as follows; svá sveitarhƒf›ingi m. leader of a troop, ofok also
ficer, captainsvágƒrr a. (pp.) so done; n. as substantive sveitungar m. pl. members of a sveit
such treatment 135/23
20/15; ok hans sveitungar together
svaf, sváfu see sofa
with his men 89/21
svala f. swallow
svelga/svelgja (svalg, sulgu, sólginn) sv.
svalbúinn a. (pp.) full of coldness
swallow; svalg stórum drank deeply,
svalg see svelga
took great draughts 146/7
svalr a. coolsvell n. (lump of) ice
svar n. reply; veita svƒr ﬂessu máli give svelta (svalt, sultu, soltinn) sv. starve, goa response, respond to that matter
hungry122/22sver› n. sword
svara (svara›i, svƒru›u, svarat) wv. sverfa (svarf, surfu, sorfinn) wv. fileanswer, reply; svara vel with dat. re- sverja (sór, svarinn) sv. swear; sverja
spond politely, friendlily to; ﬂví máli
ﬂar eptir affirm it by oath 89/12; withvar vel svarat ok líkliga this suit was
gen. swear to something 83/3
received warmly and with good prom- sverrir m. one who behaves in a hostile
ise of success 8/21; svara engu makemannerno reply 16/35
svig n. bend, curve, detour; fara svá í svig
svarfa (svarfa›i, svarfat) wv. with dat.
vi› made such detours near 16/17
upset, spoil, destroy
svik n. pl. fraud, deceit, betrayal
svartbrúnn a. black-browed, with black svíkja (sveik, sviku, svikinn/svikit) sv.
eyebrows
betray, deceive, cheatsvarteygr a. black-eyedsvimma (svamm, summu, summit) sv.
svartr a. black; dark, swarthy; as nickswim
name black-haired 2/19, 86/23
svipstund f. brief moment
svefn m. sleep
svívir›ing f. disgracesvefnhús n. sleeping-quarterssvænskr a. Swedish
svefnskemma f. sleeping-apartment
svƒ›usár n. a fairly serious but not deep
sveifla (sveifla›i, sveiflat) wv. with dat.
wound, flesh-woundswing (til at something)svƒr n. pl. reply
sveigir m. one who bends or swings, svƒr›r m. scalp
wielders‡n f. sight, vision; visibility; at s‡n insveigja (sveig›i, sveig›r) wv. bend
appearance 33/7; dat. pl. as adv. s‡num
sveigr m. thin pliable rod, switch 52/17
in appearance; apparently, evidently
sveinaleikr m. boys’ game
9/20
sveinn m. boy; servant, attendants‡na (s‡ndi, s‡nt) wv. show; md. s‡nask
sveit f. train of followers, retinue, troop;
seem; seem right or appropriate 63/2
company (of armed men) 6/28; saman
note; ﬂá er honum s‡ndisk thoseí sveit together in (each) group 63/13;
whom he thought most suitable 73/19;
sveitum in groups 63/16; district: ﬂar
ef okr s‡nisk if we think fit 146/13
í sveit in that district 53/15
synda (synti, synt) wv. swim
sveitarbót f. asset to the group, advan- s‡ndr a. (pp.) sighted, having eyesight;
tage to the companys‡ndr lítt having poor sight, dimsveitardrykkja f. drinking in common,sighted, nearly blind 168/11
drinking where a cup is passed round syngja (sƒng, sungu, sunginn) wv. sing;
the whole company 69/31
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syni, synir see sonsættabo› n. offer of terms
synja (synja›i, synjat) wv. with dat. and sættargjƒr› f. arbitration, determination
gen. refuse someone something 44/20,of the terms of settlement
118/12sættu see sætas‡nn (n. s‡nt) a. clear, obvioussœfa (sœf›i, sœf›r) wv. put to death, kill;s‡ruker n. tub of sour whey
md. sœfask be killeds‡sla1 (s‡sla›i, s‡slat) wv. work, be busy; sœkja (sótti, sótt) wv. seek, visit; fetch,occupy oneself (um with); do, be doing;
take; procure; pursue, press (a matter);ekki munum vér hér um s‡sla we will
pursue, carry on (an activity) 40/7, 42/1;
not do anything (more) about this thing
attack 140/26; sóttak I attacked; sœkja
90/4
sakir be prosecutor in a lawsuit 123/5;s‡sla2 f. activity, work; administrative
sóttu ákaft exerted themselves (atauthority; administrative duties
rowing) mightily, rowed hard 92/18;
s‡sluma›r m. 1. worker; s‡sluma›rsótti ﬂat mál mjƒk pressed this mattermikill diligent, hard-working manstrongly 32/18; sœkja nor›r ﬂagat go
57/25. 2. pl. s‡slumenn king’s agents
north there (or for it) 10/2; sœkja nor›r(tax collectors) 13/8
ﬂangat rá›it go there to the north forsystir f. sister
the wedding (or to fetch the bride) 8/22;
systurson m. sister’s son, niecesœkir eyru alﬂjó› (dat.) reaches everysæ›i n. seed; pl. hafa sæ›i plant crops
one’s ears 159/28; sœkja at attack: sótti(probably barley) 40/12
eldrinn at ﬂeim the fire attacked themsæfœrr a. sailable; ve›r var eigi sæfœrt
27/28; sœkja eptir pursue; sœkja framthe weather was not possible to go toadvance; pp. láta um sóttan pay a visit
sea in 117/22(on someone) 156/8; md. sœkjask
sæi see sjá
attack each other; be crossed: er sóttisk
sær m. sea
hafit when they got further out to sea,sæta (sætti, sættu, sætt) wv. with dat. 1.
when they had nearly crossed the sea
undergo; sæta afarkostum accept
37/30; sóttisk ﬂat skjótt it took holdharsh terms 5/2; sæta afarkostum af(spread) quickly 27/20
get harsh treatment from 90/18; sæta sœm› f. honour 3/14, 77/19; væntu vit
refsingum be punished 41/6. 2. waylay,
okr sœm›ar we expected our due 12/33
ambush 70/20
sœmiligr a. decent, honourablesæti n. seat; seatingsƒ›la (sƒ›la›i, sƒ›lat) wv. saddlesæti› see sætasƒ›ull m. saddle
sætt/sátt f. reconciliation, agreement; sƒg›u see segja
atonement; pl. settlement 48/28; terms, sƒgn f. story, report; ﬂat er sƒgn mannaconditions of truce (me› ykr ﬁórólfi
people say
between you and ﬁórólfr) 27/8; tók sƒgull a. talkativesættir fyrir accepted atonement for sƒk f. cause; offence; lawsuit; charge,
48/10; tók sættum fyrir agreed toprosecution; contest, battle; af sƒkum
terms on behalf of 48/12; var í sættbecause of; af ﬂeim sƒkum for thosetekinn was atoned for, had been alreasons; fyrir sƒkum with gen. for thelowed settlement 48/16; var ﬂat at
sake of; fyrir sakar/sakir with gen.
sættum these terms were agreed
because of 29/11, for the sake of 14/12;
sætta (sætti, sætt) wv. reconcile 62/18;
with regard to, in view of 21/1; fyrir
md. sættask be reconciled; sættask á
aldrs sakir in view of (our) age 24/40;
reach a settlementum viku sakir for the space of a week

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EGILS SAGA

105/28; vera munu ykr ﬂikja sakar
hand or arm), the arm was severed 24/15;
til ﬂó at you will think you have reason
taka af nafni ok veldi deprive of title
enough to 25/31; til saka as offence;and power 72/23; tók lítit af ƒllu didsvá sem sakir falla til in accordance
not say much about all this, was reservedwith their offences 27/11; í sƒkum vi›
about it all 84/13; sem af tók as fast as
guilty of offences towards; er hannhe could 28/16; taka ofan dismantle
mun kalla at í sƒkum sé vi› hann with
30/16; taka ok begin to 30/10; taka til
whom he thinks he has a score to settle
begin 63/13, take up, take on 86/19; tók
34/16; gefa sƒk with dat. make a charge
til hennar took hold of her, reached out
against someone; gæfi Birni eigi ﬂetta
his hand to her 67/23; taka hendi til
at sƒk did not hold this against Bjƒrn
reach with the hand to 76/37; taka til
47/28; sœkja sƒkum bring lawsuits
segls trim the sail, set sail 95/15; takaagainst; sƒkum sœkjask bring lawsuits
um fót with dat. embrace someone’s
against one anotherleg (or foot) 102/34; taka upp pick up,sƒkk see søkkva
choose (the lots) 67/10; put on 7/30;
sƒkunautr m. adversary
assume 2/29, adopt (a course of action):
sƒl n. pl. dulse, edible seaweed
hann myndi ﬂat ver›a upp at takasƒx n. pl. the position in a warship next
he would have to adopt the course
behind the prow
45/26; ﬂenna kost upp taka accept
sƒrvar m. pl. warriors
these terms, agree to these conditions
søkk n. treasure; jewel
131/17; take possession of, seize 86/27,
søkkva1 (sƒkk, sukku, sokkinn) sv. (in116/30; taka upp fé fyrir with dat. totransitive) sinkconfiscate someone’s property, rob
søkkva2 (søkkti, søkkt) wv. (transitive)
someone 22/15; taka upp bor›insinkremove, take down the (trestle-) tables
søkkvi m. sinker, destroyer; brœ›ra
102/20; váru bor› upp tekin tables
søkkvi fratricide 94/21
were set up 133/12; taka vel with dat.
-t neg. suffix with verbs not
welcome, be pleased to receive 16/17;
ta›a f. hay from a manured fieldtók vel rœ›um Egils responded welltaka (tekr, tók, tóku, tekinn/tekit; past
to what Egill said 122/3; taka vel vi›
subj. tœki) sv. take; receive 95/2; accept;
receive warmly 68/29; taka vi› withtekr . . . svá sem extends . . . as far as
dat. accept, receive; catch, prevent, cut
does 18/5; with dat. receive: taka ﬂví
off 141/9; take someone into one’smáli react to the matter 56/30, tók ﬂví
home (cf. heimama›r); sem hann tók
léttliga responded favourably to itvi› as much as it (the boat) would hold56/31; adopt (a course of action); begin
97/14; pp. halda teknum hætti keep
68/30; get (a wind) 26/8; imp. taki hest
up an established custom; md. takask
minn get my horse! 165/19; taka (at)come about 12/2; take place; skyldu
with inf. begin 30/8; tók hann at búa
takask was to take place 8/22; subj.
her sinn he was beginning to get histœkisk might be successful, might bearmy ready 75/5; taka á respond, receive
achieved 75/28; begin 18/16, 27/27;
66/2; tók hús á ﬂeim surprised themtakask at or›um begin to speak/talkin the house, seized the house with them
together 95/35, 162/26; takask í hendr
inside 4/24; en taka á slíku than getting
clasp hands, shake hands
involved in this sort of thing (?profit- tal n. speech; conversation; taka tal sín íing by this sort of thing) 172/36; tók
milli have a private talk together 6/16;(impers.) af it took off, severed (thekom ﬂeim í talit got them to talk, sent

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for them to join the conversation 131/5
mƒnnum heard no news from anyonetala (tala›i, tƒlu›u, talat) wv. talk, speak;
23/29; hvat . . . tí›enda what news
talask vi› speak together
73/20; er ﬂetta var tí›enda when thistal›i see telja
took place 94/12; ﬂau tí›endi er suchtalhl‡›inn a. (pp.) easily persuaded, easevents that 28/39
ily talked over 68/35
tí›r (n. títt) a. frequent; common, poputalit see telja and tal
lar; customary; dear; n. as adv. títttálkn n. (piece of) whalebone, baleenfrequently, rapidly; customary, usual; ertannfjƒl› f. multitude of teethﬂá var mƒnnum títt at fremja thattannlitu›r m. tooth-stainer
men at that time used to turn their handtár n. tearto 42/18; gera sér títt vi› be(come)taug f. rope
friendly with, make much of 47/35;
taumar m. pl. reins (of the horse, Glaumr,gjƒr›i sér um títt became fond of her,
which is the head-word in the kenningbegan to cultivate her, court her 2/14;
for poetry) 166/2
hvat títt er what has happened 65/10;
teigr m. strip of grassy grounder honum títt um fer› sína he isteinn m. twig
anxious about getting on with his
tekinn, tekit, tekizk, tekr see takatravels 17/9; y›r mun vera títt at sofa
telgja (telg›i, telgt) wv. carve, cut
you will be wanting to get some sleep
telja (tal›i, talit) wv. tell, talk; declare,
57/33; erum títt at I am eager to, I wantreckon, enumerate; telk I consider; er
to 134/7; dat. pl. as adv. tí›um freﬂat ekki talit that is not taken into
quently; sup. n. as adv. sem tí›ast as
account; telja af turn against, reject,
quickly as possible, immediately 58/15
forbid 181/3; telja at um express dis- tiginborinn a. (pp.) of noble ancestry
pleasure at, raise objections to 68/14;
88/13
telja fyrir with dat. talk to (in order to tiginn a. noble (of descent)persuade, try to persuade), urge, encour- tign f. rank, title
age 31/4; telja sér claim, declare to be tigr/tugr/tøgr m. (a group of) ten; ﬂrír
one’s own 115/26; telja til claim, detigir thirty; acc. pl. ﬂrjá tigu thirty, áttamand 115/25; telja upp reckon up; md.
tigu eighty; hálfr ﬂri›i tigr twentytelsk mér ﬂat helzt í hug I am inclined
five; á níunda tigi in one’s eighties
to think 126/23; teljumk ek I consider til1 prep. with gen. to, for; til ﬂess . . . atuntil 68/36; with gen. of personal namemyself 173/31
til ﬁóris to ﬁórir’s home 45/2, til sín totemja (tam›i, tƒm›u, tamit) wv. tame,
his home 95/1 (cf. at1); as adv. availtrain; tƒm›u vi› skaplyndi sitt trained
able 57/38
them to match their own spirit 25/18
teng›amenn m. pl. relatives by marriage til2 adv. too; veryteng›ir f. pl. relationship by marriage, tilbeini m. help; vera í nƒkkurum tilbeina me› assist in some (any) way 41/2
affinity
tilbúinn pp. ready (to sail) 26/20
tennr see tƒnntí›endasaga f. report of (these) events tilger›ir f. pl. merits, causes, circumstances, what leads up to ittí›endi n. pl. news, events, facts 16/11;
gerask til tí›enda happen that was tilkall n. claim, demand; veita tilkall
present a claim, make a demand 115/6
noteworthy 23/14; ver›a til tí›enda
happen (that is noteworthy); var› ekki tilsjá (gen. tilsjá) f. attention, care, regard
178/28 notetil tí›enda nothing noteworthy happened 36/3; hƒf›u ekki tí›endi af tilskipan f. arrangement

276

EGILS SAGA

tiltak n. recourse, use, employment; illr toti m. nickname; perhaps toti twig; postiltaks bad to resort to, not much help
sibly referring to the shape of his beard
127/19tra› see tro›atiltœkiligastr a. most expedient 73/9
trana f. crane (bird)tiltœkr a. at hand, ready to use
trau›r (n. trautt) a. reluctant; n. as adv.
tilƒflun f. providing of supplies
hardlytimbr n. timbertraust n. help, support (til for it); ber ektimbrstokkr m. beam, balk, log
eigi traust til ﬂess I cannot with contimbrveggr m. wooden wall
fidence, I dare not 55/17; til trausts
tími m. time; ﬂeim ﬂótti tími til it seemed
Berg-¯nundi to protect or support
to them a good time to 9/11; var allra
Berg-¯nundr 94/8; sátu vér ﬂá í meiratíma (his) life would be over 149/8
trausti vi› konung then I enjoyedtítt see tí›rmore favour with the king 126/18; í
tíu num. ten
trausti Arinbjarnar in the care, undertjá (tér/tjáir, té›a/tjá›i, té›r/tjá›r) wv.
the protection of Arinbjƒrn 114/9
avail; ekki mundi tjá it would be no traustr a. reliable, strong; comp. traustariuse 127/21; tjá›um helped me 113/19; tré n. woodef ﬂessum skal ekki tjá if it is not going tréborg f. palisade, stockade
to help this one 50/16
tregr a. reluctant; mjƒk erum tregt it istjald (pl. tjƒld) n. awning (on a ship forvery hard for me 146/20
shelter at night) 36/24; tent
trételgja f. nickname wood-cutter ortjalda (tjalda›i, tjƒldu›u, tjaldat) wv.
wood-carver
rig the awnings (on a ship, for night treysta (treysti, treyst) wv. test (thetime) 11/38; spread awnings overstrength of), try, pull at 64/8
171/26; pitch tents; pp. tjaldat with tro›a (tra›, trá›u, tro›inn) sv. transiawnings rigged 26/20, 49/14
tive tread (on); pp. lét tro›na caused
tjaldsta›r m. site for pitching tents
to be trodden 74/2
tjóa (tjóa›i, tjóat) wv. avail; skal nƒkkut tró›vi›r m. brushwood (for insulation
tjóa will it be any use, will it do any
between rafters and shingles) 65/20
good 27/8
trú f. (Christian) faithtjƒrn f. pool, small lake
trúa (trú›i, trúat) wv. with dat. trust; betók, tóksk, tóku, tókusk see takalieve; ﬂví mundu heldr af trúa he was
tólf num. twelve
rather inclined to believe this about ittólfti ordinal num. twelfth; er honum var trúfastr a. faithful, firm in the (Christian)inn tólfti which was his twelfth 54/23;
faith; as nickname 71/30
me›/vi› tólfta mann in a party of trúleikr m. fidelity, loyalty; me› trúleik
twelve, with eleven others 51/25, 84/6
faithfully 15/38
tóm n. (enough) time
trúligr a. to be relied on; ﬂótti Hákoni
tómr a. empty
konungi ﬂeir allir saman ekki trúligir
tóptir f. pl. site of a dwelling 161/16;
King Hakon thought that none of themremains of a building, walls of a former
could be trusted 130/25
building 30/17
trúna›r m. trust, belief; festa trúna› á
torfyndr a. difficult to findwith dat. give credence to 16/14
torlei›i n. difficult journey, way filled tryggja (trygg›i, tryggt) wv. confirm
with obstacles 103/4
48/28; make trustworthy 62/27
torsóttr pp. difficult to achieve
tryggr a. faithful, loyal; safe; reliable;
torveldr a. difficult to manage
trustful 153/11

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trƒ› f. trodden groundeigi mega um ﬂik tœla does not thinktrƒll n. troll
he can manage you, cope with you 55/16
tugr = tigrtœmask (tœm›isk, tœmzk) wv. md. with
túlka (túlka›i, túlkat) wv. plead (a case);
dat. to fall to someone (of an inherittúlka mál ﬂitt speak on your behalf
ance, arfr)
tún n. enclosed field; paved area, farm- tƒlu›u, tƒlu›usk see talayardtƒm›u see temja
tunga f. tongue; (of land): tungu ﬂá alla tƒng f. (smith’s) tongs
the whole tongue of land 53/8
tƒnn (pl. tennr) f. tooth; me› tƒnnum
túngar›r m. wall or fence of a tún
sér (poss. dat.) with his teeth
tunglskin n. shining of the moon; tungl tƒs n. helper? 160/28
bráa is a kenning for eyes 156/17
tøgr = tigr
tungurœtr f. pl. roots of the tongue; eiga úlfgrár (n. úlfgrátt) a. wolf-grey
ﬂetta undir túngurótum Odds have úlfr m. wolf
this dependent on what Oddr says 173/12 úlfú› f. wolfishness, savagery
tuttugu num. twenty
um1 prep. with acc. and adv. over; across;around; through; concerning, about;tveir (f. tvær, n. tvau) num. two; acc. m.
with, for; during; um fram in addition
tvá; gen. tveggja; dat. tveim, tveimr;
17/34; beyond, superior to: um framtvau ƒfl ﬂín twice your strength
hvern mann better than everyone else
tvennr num. double, twofold; sendimenn
15/10; um ﬂat er at the time whentvennr two parties of messengers;
16/29; with dat. um vetrum in thetvennar lei›ir two routes; segja tvennt
winters 1/28
til say different things, differ in opinion(s); tvenn ok ﬂrenn double and um2 pleonastic particle (= of 2) 82/17,
148/8, 14, 20, 150/20, 152/4, 153/2, 16,treble, i.e. abundant 159/23
22, 155/23, 156/8, 26, 158/4, 14, 159/8,
tvímenningr m. pairing for drinking 7/19
26, 160/10, 22, 162/2
tvítugr a. measuring twenty; drápa
tvítug a formally constructed poem of umbo› n. (delegated) authority
umbúna›r m. (preparation for) burial,
twenty stanzas 104/28
burial rites 11/3
tvítugsaldr m. the age of twenty
tvítugsessa f. ship with twenty rowing- umhverfis adv. around, all roundummerki n. marking out; (pl.) boundary
benches (twenty oars each side)marks; allt til ummerkja to mark out
tyggva (tƒgg, tuggu, tugginn) sv. chew
the entire boundaries 74/19
t‡ja (t‡›i, t‡t) wv. impers. avail; mér
mundi ekki t‡ja it would be of no avail umrá› n. discussion; pl. consultation
for me, it would do me no good 47/25; umrœ›a f. discussion; lag›i í umrœ›uvi› hann went and had a talk about it
mun ﬂér ﬂat ekki hér t‡ja it will bewith him 168/24
of no use to you here 88/22
tylft f. a body of twelve; ﬂrennar tylftir umsjá f. supervision, care; veita honumumsjá look after him 56/20
three groups of twelve
tylftarei›ar m. pl. oaths sworn by twelve ums‡sla f. assistance, mediation; héthann sinni ums‡slu vi› fƒ›ur sinnmenpromised to use his influence with hist‡na (t‡ndi, t‡nt) wv. with dat. lose; md.
father 49/39
t‡nask perish; pp. t‡nzk 37/3
ums‡sluma›r m. hard worker; ums‡slutysvar adv. twicema›r mikill a very industrious, entertœki, tœkisk see takaprising man 1/27
tœla (tœldi, tœlt) wv. deal with; ﬂikisk

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una (un›i, unat) sv. be content; una vi›
ok út both inland (along the fjords?)
be content with 31/21; una illa be disand out (west) along the headlands (?—contented, feel miserable 64/25
in both directions along the coast?)
und1 f. wound
38/20
und2 = undiruppfœzla f. upbringing, fostering
undan prep. with dat. away from 61/28; uppganga f. going ashore; ré›u til uppas adv. awaygƒngu decided to go ashore 63/12
undankváma f. escapeupphaf n. beginning, opening (at of it)
undarliga adv. strangely, unusually
upphlutr m. upper part, top
undarligr a. surprising
uppi adv. up; megi uppi vera, mun uppi
undinn see vinda
will live, be current, be rememberedundir adv. and prep. under, underneath104/5, 180/29
undirkonungr m. tributary king, vassal uppivƒzluma›r m. aggressive man, troubleking
makerundirma›r m. subordinate, subject, vas- upplenzkr a. from Upplƒnd
saluppnæmr a. helpless, at someone’s
undirskemma f. lower store-room
mercy
undr n. wonder, spectacle; an amazing uppreist f. uprising, rebellion; advancething; ﬂat gefsk at undri with dat. it
ment, honour, recompense, reparation
has become a matter of wonder to34/25; sona uppreist marga plenty ofsomeone 160/6; shame, scandal; pl. enup and coming sons 116/10
ver›a eigi at undrum so as not to dis- uppréttr a. straight up, erect
grace himself 134/2
uppsát f. beaching, berthing; berthundrask (undra›isk) wv. md. be aston- uppvƒxtr m. growth; dat. sg. í uppvexti
ished (at), be amazed (at), marvel (at);in their growing-up
eigi undrumk ek I shall not be sur- ups f. eaves
prised at 173/17 noteur›arma›r m. outlaw 172/24 (see note)
undvargr m. ‘wound-wolf’, kenning for ur›u, ur›umk see ver›aaxe 52/19
úrigr a. wet
ungmenni n. young people, children
urﬂjó› f. mankind; (the common) people
ungr a. young; á unga/ungum aldri at a út adv. out; see upp; west; out to Iceland:
young agekoma út arrive in Iceland 40/25
unna (ann, unni, unnt) pret.-pres. vb. 1. útan adv. (from the) outside, on the outwith dat. and gen. grant someone someside; from the west, eastwards; fyrir
thing 115/31; unni oss hér af rétts willútan west of 30/12, keeping outside
let us have justice in this matter 126/22;
55/22; um útan round the outside 88/2;
impers. ef mér skal ﬂess unna if that
prep. with gen. outside; útan lands(i.e. to fight against an equal number)abroadis granted to me 90/2. 2. with dat. love; útanfer› f. journey abroad (from Iceland)
md. unnask love one anotherútanlendis adv. abroadunni see unnaútanver›r (n. útanvert) a. the outer part
unnit, unnu see vinnaof, the edge ofunnr f. waveútar adv. comp. further out (nearer theunz conj. untildoor); towards the door; útar frá on
upp adv. up; aloft, in the sunshine; ashore,
the further side (of him)
inland; up to the top 51/20; upp frá útbeit f. grazing, pasturageinland from it, around 39/5; bæ›i upp útbor›i m. the seaward side (with dat. of)

G L O S S A RY

279útbú n. outlying farm; subsidiary, depend(i.e. last time) 51/38; wain (constelent farmlation)útbyr›is adv. overboard
vágr m. bay; waveútfall n. outward movement of the tide; vágskorinn a. (pp.) indented with baysútfall sjávarins ebb-tide 92/21
vaka (vak›i, vakat) wv. be awake, stayútfallsstraumr m. tidal current, current
awake; be alert; wake up; vƒku vér wefrom the outgoing tide (ebb-tide)watchútfiri n. pl. shallowly sloping beach; vak›i see vekjaútfiri mikil a long distance between vakna (vakna›i, vƒknu›u, vaknat) wv.
high tide and low tideawake, wake up (intransitive)útganga f. exit
val see vel and valr1
valbƒst f. metal plate on the hilt of a sword?
útgangr m. way outúthlaup n. rush to arms, hasty expedition vald n. power, authority; á vald with gen.
under the authority of 2/29; ganga áúti adv. out; outside; at sea
vald with gen. submit to someone, putútkváma f. arrival in Iceland 40/37
oneself at someone’s mercy 112/23;
útlagi m. outlaw, banished personme› valdi by forceútleg› f. outlawry, banishment; í útleg›
konungs under sentence of outlawry valda (veldr, olli, valdit; past subj. ylli)
sv. cause; veldr is the causefrom the king 88/33
útlei› f. the outer (westerly) route, the val›i, vali›, valit see velja
open sea route (outside the islands) 23/28 váljúgr a. woefully lyingútleizla f. leave-taking (with farewell valkƒstr m. pile of men slain in battle
valr1 m. (bodies of) the slain 37/1; val
gifts) 14/15
allra ﬂeira all their bodies 28/7
útlendr a. foreign
valr2 m. falconútlenzkr a. foreign
valr3 m. (name of a mythological) horse,útlægr a. banished, outlawed
used as a common noun 179/2
útró›r m. rowing out to sea; lét sœkja
útró›ra had fishing boats put out 40/7 vamm n. blemishvámæli n. reproach, blame; criticism;útsynningr m. south-westerly (wind)slanderútver n. remote, outlying fishing groundván f. expectation, what is to be expected;uxi (pl. yxn) m. ox 51/30
hope; ﬂér var engi ván lífs af mér youúﬂokkasæll a. disliked, unpopular; hated
had no hope of life from me 103/10; er
vá see vegay›r er li›s at ván from whom you canvábei›a f. one who asks for evil, evildoer
expect support 3/11; at nƒkkurrarva›a (ó›, ó›u, va›inn) sv. rush 36/24
uppreistar var af ván that they mightva›ilsund n. fordable channel 92/20
be expected to revolt 4/34; vissu sér
vá›ir f. pl. clothes
engis ótta ván did not suspect any danváfa f. shaking
ger 22/32; lét ﬂess ván indicated thatváfallr a. inclined to fall dangerously;
he expected 50/9; ﬂat var vís ván thatváfallr skalla inclined to fall and hurt
was quite as was to be expected 14/31
my bald head 179/3
vanda (vanda›i, vƒndu›u, vandat) wv.
vaf›i see vefja
choose carefully; complain (um about
vagn m. waggon, carriage; ﬂá var gottit, i.e. the work, what was done) 42/1;
heilum vagni heim at aka (proverb) it
vanda›i mjƒk li› picked out the best
was good to have driven home in atroops 50/31; pp. vanda›r mjƒk very
whole (unbroken) vehicle, it was a goodfinely madething you returned home in one piece

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EGILS SAGA

vandar see vƒndr
pect, be prepared for; vƒru›usk ekki
vandi m. duty, obligation: er ﬂér miklu
were not on their guard 22/32; varask
meiri vandi á vi› you have a much
ﬂat be on one’s guard against this 7/6;
greater obligation towards 105/23
varask at segja ﬂat ekki take care tovan›i m. custom, what is usual; en attell nothing 46/25
van›a than at normal timesvára1 (vára›i, várat) wv. become spring;er vára tók when spring set in 45/16
van›isk see venjask
vandliga adv. carefully, exactly, in detail vára2, várar see várr
varat see vera
vándr a. wicked, evilvar› see ver›a
vandræ›i n. trouble 46/26
vandsettr a. (pp.) difficult to place; eru var›a1 (var›a›i, var›a›r) wv. 1. be liable to, be punishable by; impers. léty›r vandsettir menn it is difficult forvar›a fjƒrbaugsgar› declared (deyou to find (suitable) people to appoint
manded) lesser outlawry as the penalty
16/2
171/17. 2. impers. be of importance,
vangr m. plain, field
matter; hvat man var›a? what will it
vanmáttr m. weakness, poor healthmatter? why not? 146/2
vann see vinna
vanr1 a. with gen. lacking; n. meira var›a2, var›ak see verja1
var›hald n. keeping watch; hafa
muna vant falling far shorter 33/36
var›hƒld have watch kept 14/36
vanr2 a. accustomed; n. vant accustomed;usualvar›i see vara1, verja1, verja2
vanskƒrungr m. insignificant person, var›menn m. pl. watchmen
mean-spirited person, ineffective person var›veita (var›veitti, var›veitt) wv.
look after, take charge ofvápn n. weapon
vápna (vápna›i, vápna›r/vápnat) wv. var›veizla f. keeping; selja til var›veizlu
put into safe keeping 131/29
arm, provide with arms; pp. vápna›r
varfleygr a. cautious in flying
armed; md. vápnask arm oneselfvarfœrr a. careful, taking carevápnlauss a. without weapons
vappa (vappa›i, vappat) wv. waddle, vargr m. wolf; criminal, (full) outlaw
vári m. defender? trusty one, i.e. friend?
toddlevárir see várr
var see vera
vár1 n. spring; um várit in the spring varit see verja2
57/14; eptir um várit the following varmr a. warm
várn see várr
spring 40/31, 55/9
vár2 pron. 1st person pl. gen. our, of us; varna (varna›i, varnat) wv. with gen.
see also várr
refuse; reject 31/21; varna vi› keep
vara1 (var›i, var›r) wv. impers. with acc.
clear of 152/22
expect; ﬂá er hann var›i minnst when varna›r m. goods, cargo
he was least expecting it 79/9; mundi varnar see vƒrnmik annars vara af y›r I would have varningr m. wares, goods
expected something other from you varr (n. vart) a. aware (with gen. or vi›
106/7of); wary 133/4; ver›a varr with gen.
vara2 see vera
become aware of 47/13; hann var›
vara3 f. wares, goods; ljós vara white fur,skjótt varr he soon found out, realised
ermine (or sheepskin and wollen goods?)
79/17; ver›a varr vi› find out about
vara4 (vara›i, vƒru›u, varat) wv. warn
16/11; become aware of 30/5, 66/14;(vi› against); md. varask beware; exur›u ﬂar ekki vi› menn varir did notG L O S S A RY

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find any people there 63/25; gjƒr›i ve›rabálkr m. constant adverse wind,ekki vart vi› sik did not make his
continuous stormy weather 57/20
presence known, did not draw attention ve›rfastr a. weather-bound, held up by
to himself 23/36; gera vart vi› let
the weather 117/25
anyone know, make it known 45/32; ve›rseygr a. wind-sucking
er vart var› vi› when it became aware ve›setja (ve›setti, ve›sett) wv. mortgage,of 128/18; vamma varr cautious ofpledge as security for a loan
blemishes, who avoids blemishes 152/23 vefja (vaf›i, vafi›r) wv. wrap; windvárr poss. a. ourround; entangle: vefja ƒll mál fyrir ﬂér
várra, várt see várr
tangle up all your cases 89/15
vart see vera and varr
vefr m. web, woven fabric on the loom
vartat, vartu, váru, váru› see vera
vega (vá, vágu, veginn/vegit) sv. strike,varú› f. precaution; til varú›ar as a prekill; gain by fighting; pres. part. vegandi
cautionkillervárum see vera, vár1 and várr
veggr m. wall; at veggjum as regards thevárut see vera
walls
várﬂing n. spring assembly, a local as- vegliga adv. in a grand, magnificent way;sembly held by three go›ar in May
sem vegligast in the most splendid way
vás n. fatigue from wetness and bad
possible 35/25
weather 57/34
vegr1 m. honour 3/13; ﬂótti Finnum
miklu minni vegr at the Lapps werevaskligr a. of valiant or gallant bearing
much less impressed by 20/35
vatn (pl. vƒtn) n. water; lake
vatnfall n. flowing water, river; flow of vegr2 m. way; road; adv. phrases hinn veg
otherwise, the opposite; annan veg
water; allt ﬂat land er vatnfƒll deila
otherwise, different; á veg away; af
til sjóvar all the land bounded by rivvegum ƒllum from all directions 160/18;
ers that flow down to the sea (in Borgartveggja vegna on both sides, in allfjƒr›r), all the land from the watersheds
directions; á einn veg in one direction,
down to the sea, i.e. the whole catch(always) in the same direction 177/17;
ment area 39/2
ví›s vegar in all directions
vátr a. wet; hƒf›u mjƒk innan vátt tookvegsamliga adv. honourably, decently
in a lot of sea water 57/21
vegsamligr a. honourable; sup. in vegvatt see vinda
samligsta most magnificent
vátta (vátta›i, váttat) wv. bear witness tovegsem› f. honour
váttnefna f. naming of witnessesvei›a (veiddi, veiddr) wv. catchváttr m. witness
vaxa (vex, óx, óxu/vóxu, vaxinn/vaxit) vei›ima›r m. fisherman, hunter, fowler
sv. grow, increase; vex mér ekki í augu vei›istƒ› f. fishing and hunting ground;
allt var ﬂat ﬂá kyrrt í vei›istƒ› at that
I am not overawed, I do not fear 87/8;
time everything was undisturbed there
pp. vaxinn (full-)grownin the fishing and hunting places 40/10
vé1 n. sanctuary; vegit í véum killed
someone in a sacred place 70/1
vei›r f. catch; er vei›r mundi í vera who
vé2 n. banner, standard 108/4
would be worth hunting 36/13; til vei›avébƒnd n. pl. sanctuary bands or bonds,
for fishing, to fish
sanctuary barrierveig f. (strong) drinkve›r n. weather; wind 46/14, 95/11; pl. veit1 see vita
101/26; sigla bjart ve›r sail in fine veit2 f. ditch
veita (veitti, veitt) wv. give, perform;
weather 36/4

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EGILS SAGA

grant; carry out; make (an attack) 15/25, velli, vellir see vƒllr
37/26; provide; offer; help, support, vélræ›i n. trick, plot, treachery 15/29;
stand by; (var) veitt ﬂeim it stórmanndeceit, deceitfulness 69/19 note
ligsta they (were) entertained in the vélt see vélamost splendid way 19/12; ﬂá skal ek velta (valt, ultu, oltinn) sv. roll over, tumﬂat veita honum then I shall bring it
ble; velta láta overthrow, bring down,
about for him, I shall ensure for him
put down 87/17
106/3; veitum honum svá at honum veltask (veltisk) wv. md. turn oneself, rolllíki do what he wants 78/31; impers. withoneself
dat. veitti ﬂat heldr ﬂungt flestum vendi see vƒndr
most found it rather hard 178/16; md. vendiliga adv. carefully, minutely
veitask at stand by each other 106/4 venjask (van›isk) wv. md. with dat. get
veizla f. feast, entertainment for the kingused to; van›isk Einarr optliga at
and his retinue when travelling round theganga Einarr made a habit of frequently
country 13/28; fara at veizlum travel
going 162/27
round the country receiving entertain- ver1 n. place where one isment 22/21; pl. revenues 8/29; adminis- ver2 imp. of vera
trative authority (delegated by the king); ver3 n. sea
taka veizlu gó›a receive splendid vera (er, var, váru, subj. væri, verit) sv.
be; emk I am; erum is to me 31/11,
entertainment or hospitality 95/2
134/7, 179/4, are to me 159/17; sék I
veizt, veiztu see vitaam (subj.) 153/20; vƒrum = var mér
vekja (vak›i, vƒk›u, vak›r) wv. waken,
was to me 148/13; vera eigi fyrir keep
arouse; vak›i ﬂat mál brought up theout of the way of 16/9; subj. ok værisubject 55/14
when there would be 18/31; imp. verveklingr m. weakling 160/28
be 20/11; with suffixed neg. era, erat
vel/val adv. well; vel var ﬁórólfr hér(it) is not, vara, varat was not; erumka
ﬁórólfr did all right here 69/1; ver ﬂú
it is not to me 113/2; vartat at you werevel vi› do not take it amiss, be indulnot there 67/21; várut were not; subj.
gent 179/10; vel mikill pretty big 51/31
at ek sjá ﬂar fyrir that I am there
véla (vélti, véltr) wv. betray, trick, cheat;
before him 38/3; at ek sék that I am
véla um manage, make do with, have
153/20; ﬂó at ﬂér sé› though you beto rely on 20/16; pp. véltr tricked
103/2; at ﬂú sér ódrukkinn even when
163/22 note; nú eru vit vélt we haveyou are not drunk 43/15; at hann sé
been tricked, cheated 146/8; pres. part.
ekki erf›r that he should not be comvélandi deceiver, trickster; one whomemorated 146/14; vera at be engaged
uses underhand methods
in, be involved in 29/39, have a handveld, veldr see valda
in 31/6, 37/8; imp. ver ﬂú vel vi› doveldi n. power
not take it amiss, be indulgent 179/10
velfararminni n. farewell cup
velja (val›i, vƒl›u, vali›r) wv. choose; ver› n. price; vi› litlu ver›i for a low
price 30/21
pp. valit choice, picked, carefully chosen; n. pl. vali› efni choice material ver›a (ver›r, var›, ur›u, subj. yr›i,or›inn/or›it/vor›inn/vor›it) sv. be159/22
come; take place, happen; turn out
velkja (velkti, velkt) wv. impers. with acc.
24/41, 50/25; ur›umk lei› became
to be tossed about (at sea) 45/38
hateful to me, I got tired of 117/10; er
vell n. gold
ﬂar ver›r (var›) which is (was) to bevellau›igr a. extremely rich

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found there 32/32, 38/22; impers. er
defend oneself in a lawsuit 123/4; md.
‡msar (sc. farar) ver›r er margar (sc.
verjask defend oneself
farar) ferr that the more one travels, verja2 (var›i, vƒr›u, varit) wv. with dat.
invest; lay out; spend: varit ﬂar til fé
the more varied the results 52/2; ver›r
miklu spent much money on it 24/2;
ﬂá sem má let it turn out as it may
ﬂví mun mér vera ƒllu bezt varit it
87/26; past subj. yr›i come about 32/1;
will all be (laid out) to my best advanekki mundi af sætt ver›a nothing
tage 19/28; var›i fé sínu í lausaeyri
would come of any settlement 45/14;
turned his possessions into movablever›a at with dat. become a source ofproperty 41/9; stake, risk (til on it)
134/2; var› fyrir ﬂeim áróss an estu169/24; entrust (to someone) for disary appeared before them, they came
posal, dispose of 114/8
to (found) an estuary 30/8; yr›i fyrirstood in front (of him), was before (him) verk n. deed; work; job, task; á verki atwork 176/25
32/6; ver›a gott til get plenty of; var›
ekki gott til fjár did not get much booty verkna›r m. work; ek vil hafa verkna›
af ﬂér I want you to do a job for me, I
23/33; ver›a vel vi› with acc. takewant to get some work out of you
something well 23/14; láttu ﬂér ver›a169/14vi› make yourself act towards 103/2;
pp. or›inn, or›it happened; turned out; verkstjórn f. supervision of work
become; váru vísir or›nir had found verma (verm›i, vermt) wv. warmout 37/1; vera or›inn eptir sik be worn Vermalandsfer› f. journey to Vermalandout 178/27 note; as aux. with inf. ver›a vermskr a. of Vermaland; pl. as substantive inir vermsku the Vermalanders(at) have to, must; impers. ver›r at one
140/28must 104/20; forming impers. passive
er nát var› who were caught 79/34, verpa (varp, urpu, orpinn/orpit) sv. withdat. throw
92/14
verr1 m. husband; pl. menver›ir see vƒr›rver›leikr m. merit, desert; pl. haf›i verr2 adv. comp. worsever›leika til deserved 62/19; hef›i verri a. comp. worse; n. as adv. verra
worsehann ver›leika til he would have deverstr a. sup. worst; n. as adv. verst worst,
served 135/14
leastver›r1 (n. vert) a. with gen. worth; worthy,
deserving (of something); with inf. vert see ver›r
135/21; lítils ver›r unimportant, in- vestan adv. from the west; in the west;
significant; nƒkkurs vert worth anyfyrir vestan on the western side (of),thing, of any importance 33/20; engis
west of; to the west 18/4?
vert of no importance; ok vert væri vestanver›r a. the western side ofand would be due 33/36; ek em engis vestr adv. west; in the west; vestr fyrir. . . annars af ver›r I have deserved
west off (the coast of) 40/6
nothing else, this is nothing less than I vestri a. comp. more westerly
have deserved from you 19/31; sem vert vestrvíking f. raiding in the British Isles
var as was fitting
vetr m. winter; year: fám vetrum á›r aver›r 2 see ver›a
few years earlier; sjau vetra at the agever›r 3 m. meal, foodof seven 53/13
verja1 (var›i, vƒr›u, varit) wv. defend; vetrgata f. winter route, path used in wintervar›ak mik with dat. I defended my- vetrgestr m. winter-guest
self from 92/26; verja sakar fyrir sik vetrgri› n. winter-quarters, lodging for284

EGILS SAGA

the winter; vit Egill munum hafa eitt vígvƒllr m. battlefield, field of battle
vetrgri› bá›ir Egill and I shall both vík f. small bay
spend winter in the same house 68/16 vika f. week
vetrvist f. winter lodging; til vetrvistar víking f. raiding, piracy; liggja í víking
to stay the wintergo on viking raids
vex see vaxa
víkingabœli n. haunt of vikings
vexti see vƒxtr
víkingr m. raider; piratevi›1/vi›r1 prep. and adv. with; against; víkingsefni n. material for a viking, theat, by, close to; in exchange for; in return
makings of a viking, one likely to befor; in response tocome a great vikingvi›2 see vi›r2
víkja (veik, viku, vikinn) sv. go, turn;ví›a adv. widely, in many places; ví›a um
impers. with dat. feninu víkr at upp
lƒnd from many quarters 10/19
the fen reaches up to it (the ridge) 141/7
vi›arhlass n. load of wood
vikustef n. a week’s notice, a week’s waitvi›arhƒgg n. woodcutting, felling trees víkverskr a. from the Vík (the land eividdi m. name of a giant, = ví›ir ‘wide
ther side of Oslofjord)one’, the sea (Ægir)vildr a. agreeable; comp. honum varví›lendi n. open ground, extensive area
ekki vildara af ván he could expectvi›r1 = vi›1
nothing better 93/2
vi›r2 m. tree; wood; plank; ok lag›ir yfir vili1 (gen. vilja) m. wish, willvi›ir with planks laid across (the vili2 see vilja
ditches) 128/23; vi› margan a great vilja (vill, vildi, viljat) wv. wish, want;vill ﬁórólfr if ﬁórólfr is willing 27/9
deal of timber 144/34
vilja›r a. (pp.) intentioned, disposed;vi›r3 see vinna
ví›r (n. vítt) a. wide, broad; extensive;
miklu verr vilju› much worse disn. vítt as adv. far 135/23
posed, much more hostile 87/36
vi›reign f. dealings (with), management; vilkvæ›r a. willing to compose poetry orillr vi›reignar difficult to deal withcomposing in praise of (um)43/2
villask (villtisk) wv. md. go astray, losevi›rœ›a f. conversation, talkone’s way; be mistakenvi›skipti n. dealings; encounter; gó›r villr a. wild, wrong; with gen. of respectvi›skiptis good to deal withfara villar vega go astray, lose theirvi›sta›a f. resistance, opposition 11/2;
way 98/20; villr sta›ar astray 107/21
haf›i enga vi›stƒ›u could put up no villtr a. (pp.) lost, led astray (cf. villask)
resistance 4/17
vín n. winevi›taka f. opposition, resistance 63/16, vina f. (female) friend
66/1; pl. vi›tƒkur reception
vinátta f. friendship 23/4; friendly overvíg n. fight, battle; killing, slayingtures 6/32, halda menn til vináttu vi›
vígaferli n. pl. warlike activities, fights
keep people friendly towards, urge peovígama›r m. fighting man, fighter
ple to be friendly towards 6/7; leggja
vigg n. horseme› sér vináttu establish friendshipvígligr a. warlike-looking; comp. vígligri
between themselves 75/4
more warlike-looking; sup. vígligstr vinda (vatt, undu, undinn) sv. twist;
most warlike-looking
wring 61/13
vigr f. spear
vindfrekr a. greedy for wind 42/10
vígr a. able to fight, capable of bearing vindlítill a. with little wind, not windy
weapons
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vindskei›ar f. pl. barge-boards; decora- vir›uliga adv. honourably, respectfully,
tive boards above an entrance
splendidly
vindugr a. windy
virgill m. loop (of rope)
vingamei›r m. windy tree
vísa1 (vísa›i, vísat) wv. with dat. direct,
assign (til to a place) 53/6
vinga›r a. (pp.) standing in friendly revísa2 f. verse, stanza
lations with, popular withvingask (vinga›isk, vingazk) wv. md. vísa3 see vísi
vísi m. ruler
make friends (vi› with)
vingjƒf f. friendly gift, gift of friendship víss (n. víst) a. certain; aware; var víss
vor›inn ﬂessa tí›enda had learned thisvingott a. n. friendly relations, friendnews 102/1; n. as adv. víst certainly
liness 125/13
vinmæli n. friendly words, words of vissa, vissi, vissu see vita
vist f. food 23/12 (pl.); lodging; stay,friendshipabode: hér í landi vistir hans his stayvinna (vinnr/vi›r, vann, unnu, unninn)
ing in this country 127/13; at vistum
sv. win, gain; conquer; defeat, overto stay 86/9; ﬂar skal vist hafa sem ek
come 27/19; carry out, do; cause, makeem must stay in the same place as I do
148/20; vinnak I achieve, bring about;
56/19
past subj. ynni eigi would not beat54/22; achieve 31/27; perform, do 41/3; vista (vista›i, vistat) wv. lodge, board,find board and lodging for 84/5; md.
work, cultivate 90/10; bœtr á vinna
vistu›usk took board and lodging forremedy it, put it right 126/10; ﬂat atthemselves
okr vinni which will serve us 90/5 note;vann til earned 126/12; with pp. cause, vistafar n. domicile, residence; lodging
make; lofat vísa vann I caused the ruler vit n. intelligence; vel viti borinn bornwith much wit, very intelligent 8/8; á
to be praised 107/1; md. impers. last,vit with gen. to visit, to see
be sufficient (til for it): svá sem til
ynnisk as long as there were enough vita (veit, vissi, vissu, vitat) pret.-pres.
vb. know; 2nd pers. sg. veiztu you(sc. women) 67/9
know 21/23; láta ﬂá vita let them know
vinr m. friend
65/9; vita til know about, be aware ofvinrei› f. riding of friends, friends riding
the position of 37/29; vita nƒkkut til
160/17know anything about 16/38; ﬂóttisk
vinskapr m. friendshiphann vita he felt certain 79/16; impers.
vinsæll a. popular, belovedógjƒrla veit no one can tell 95/13; with
vinﬂjófr m. one who is false to his friends
acc. and inf. 117/13
vir›a (vir›i, vir›r/virt) wv. value; regard,interpret 14/10; ne vir›ak I did not viti m. beacon, fire
worry about 98/1; vir›a lítils hold in víti n. punishment; reproach
low esteem 8/9; vir›a mikils value vitja (vitja›i, vitjat) wv. with gen. callon, visit; claim 9/30, 38, 11/17, 114/20;
highly 48/5; pp. vir›r vel af mƒnnum
fetch 114/37; vitja heita claim the fulof good repute, highly esteemed 99/13;
filment of promises 101/24; with sufmd. vir›ast vel with dat. be well
fixed pron. ek vitjak I will come andthought of by, be highly esteemed by 9/5
accept 83/19
vir›ar m. pl. men
vitni n. witness; evidence 13/1 (pl.), 20/18;
vir›iligr a. fine; sup. most splendid
kom fram vitnum me› sér supported
vir›ing f. esteem; rank; honour
his case with evidence (or broughtvir›ingama›r m. man of rank, importantforward witnesses with him) 115/20
person

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vitnisbur›r m. witnessvƒnu›r m. one who diminishes somethingvitor› n. confidence; pl. vera í vitor›um(vana wv. diminish)me› be in the confidence of 41/2vƒr›r (pl. ver›ir) m. guard; guardian;vitr a. wise; sup. vitrastr wisest
váru eigi gengnir á vƒr›inn had not
vítt see ví›rmanned the watch 26/25; halda vƒr›víxl n. in the phrase á víxl across each other,á keep watch, keep a look out 36/9
crosswise; (with necks) crossed 51/31 vƒr›u see verja1, verja2
víxla (víxlti, víxltr) wv. exchange (blows), vƒrn f. defencevƒrr f. wake (of a ship); pl. sea
engage (with weapons)vƒrum see vera
vor›inn, vor›it see ver›avƒxtr (dat. vexti) m. growth, size, shape;
vóxu see vaxa
vel í vexti well-proportioned 81/7; vi›væg› f. mercy, forbearancevƒxt Egils to Egill’s size 125/29
vægja (væg›i, vægt) wv. give way (vi›to); vægja fyrir give way; give in to ‡bogi m. yew-bow (= ‡r)
53/21; md. vægjask ﬂar vi› give way, ydda (yddi, yddr) wv. pierce (so that the
point shows through the other side) 96/33
be tolerant, avoid confrontation 178/14
vænligr a. promising-looking, fine- yfir prep. and adv. over; acrossyfirbœtr f. pl. compensation
looking; sup. vænligstrvænn a. promising, likely (to succeed); yfirhƒfn f. outer clothing; tunic or cloak
7/30
handsome; sup. vænstr very beautiful,most beautiful; n. as adv. most promis- yfirkonungr m. supreme king, high kinging, most likely to succeed, best 63/10, yfirlát n. honour, favour; treatment, entertainment; hƒf›u ﬂá mest yfirlát af
64/27
were at that time most highly favouredvænta (vænti, vænt) wv. with gen. exby 69/8
pect; hope foryfirlit n. outward appearance; at yfirværi see vera
litum in outward appearance; gen. asværingjar m. pl. Varangians, Scandiadv. yfirlits in outward appearance
navians who served in the imperial
guard in Constantinople; possibly a yfirlæti n. = yfirlát
word for snakes (‘sleepy ones’?), whose yfirma›r m. master, lordyfirsókn f. dominion, rule (the duty ofland is gold 91/4
travelling round to oversee) 50/29
væta f. wet, wetness, rainyfrinn a. abundant, very greatvætr pron. nothing; not; no‡gr a. fierce-looking, vicious 52/16; cruelvætt f. weight; weighing; raising
82/18vætti n. witness
ylli see valdavættki adv. not at all‡miss (pl. ‡msir) a. various; stukku
vƒk›u see vekja‡msir ór landi they fled the countryvƒl›u see velja
alternately 163/19; dat. pl. as adv.
vƒllr (gen. vallar, dat. velli, pl. vellir) m.
‡msum alternately 81/11
field, open level ground; ground; battlefield; at velli lag›ir felled to the ground, ynglingr m. prince (see Index)
killed (cf. leggja) 106/6; ekki munu yngri a. comp. younger; sup. yngstr
youngest
ﬂikja vígligri á velli at sjá will notseem more warlike to see on the field, ynni, ynnisk see vinna‡r m. yew; bow made of yew (= ‡bogi)
i.e. in appearance 116/7
vƒndr (dat. vendi) m. 1. stick, rod; mast; ‡ra (‡r›i, ‡r›r) wv. foam, froth; pres.
part. ‡randi
tree. 2. stripe 21/6

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yr›i, yr›i› see ver›aﬂekkr a. agreeable, liked; erumka ﬂekkt‡ring f. liquid
I do not like 152/1
yrkja (yrkir, orti, ortu, ort) wv. cultivate; ﬂél f. filework 5/6; compose (poetry); ekki var ﬂengill m. kingort nothing was composed 104/37
ﬂeygi adv. yet not‡rr m. (or f. ?) aurochs
ﬂeysa (ﬂeysti, ﬂeystr) wv. cause to gush‡tir m. pusher, thruster
out, spew out; make rush on‡tri a. comp. outer; more westerly; the ﬂi›urr m. capercaillie
westerly side, further west; it ‡tra (on) ﬂiggja (ﬂá, ﬂágu, ﬂegit) sv. receive (atthe seaward side 18/6
or af from) 11/18, 104/30, 114/4,
yxn see uxi
165/25, 174/23; accept 48/32; ﬂák I
ﬂá1 adv. thenreceived
ﬂá2 see ﬂiggja
ﬂiki, ﬂikir, ﬂikisk, ﬂikja, ﬂikjask, ﬂikﬂa›an adv. from there
jumk see ﬂykkja
ﬂagat see ﬂangat and ﬂegja
ﬂili n. partition
ﬂag›i see ﬂegja
ﬂilja f. plank; undir ﬂiljum ni›ri down
ﬂagmælskr a. silent
under the decking 91/22
ﬂagna (ﬂagna›i, ﬂagnat) wv. become ﬂing n. meeting, assemblysilentﬂinga (ﬂinga›i, ﬂingat) wv. hold a meetﬂák see ﬂiggja
ing; have a discussion, conference
ﬂakit see ﬂekja
ﬂingbrekka f. assembly-slope, where theﬂakka (ﬂakka›i, ﬂƒkku›u) wv. with dat.
public stood at the assembly
thankﬂingfer› f. journey to the assembly, goﬂakksamliga adv. thankfully, gratefully
ing to the assembly
ﬂangat/ﬂagat adv. thither, in that direc- ﬂinghar›r a. tough in battle
tion 64/17
ﬂingheimr m. the assembly at the ﬂing,
ﬂanneg adv. this way, like thisthe people attending the assembly
ﬂar adv. there; about it 2/22; ﬂar sem ﬂinglok n. conclusion of an assembly,
hann er from him 77/19
how the assembly concluded
ﬂarf, ﬂarft, ﬂarftu see ﬂurfa
ﬂingma›r m. member of a go›i’s followﬂarfr a. useful, needed
ing, one attending a go›i’s assemblyﬂáttr m. strand
ﬂingmannali› n. men belonging to a loﬂaut see ﬂjóta
cal assembly; ﬂingmannali› sitt theﬂegar adv. immediately; conj. whenmen belonging to his assembly, his folﬂegit see ﬂiggja
lowersﬂegja (ﬂag›i, ﬂƒg›u, ﬂagat) wv. be silent, ﬂingnest n. provisions for the duration ofremain silent
the assembly
ﬂegn m. subject, follower, manﬂingskƒp n. pl. rules of procedure at asﬂeima = ﬂessum, dat. sg. m. demonstrasemblies, conduct of an assembly
tive pron.
ﬂingstƒ› f. assembly-site
ﬂeir pron. they; in apposition with a ﬂingvƒllr (dat. ﬂingvelli) m. the plain or
singular name ﬂeir Kveld-Úlfr Kveldfield where the assembly was heldÚlfr and his son Skalla-Grímr 35/3
ﬂjá (ﬂjá›i, ﬂjá›r) wv. enslave
ﬂekja (ﬂak›i, ﬂakit) wv. thatch, cover, ﬂjó› f. peopleroof
ﬂjó›ann m. ruler, kingﬂekkjask (ﬂekk›isk, ﬂekk›usk) wv. md. ﬂjó›lei› f. high road, main (coastal) route
accept, consent to 7/29
(on the sea) 36/7; komit af ﬂjó›lei›

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away from the main shipping route 94/17 ﬂremr see ﬂrír
ﬂjó›lygi f. great lie; common treachery ﬂrennr a. threefold, three (groups); treble
ﬂjó›rá› n. splendid plan
ﬂrettán num. thirteen
ﬂjó›skati m. very generous man, great ﬂrevetr a. three winters (years) old
princeﬂri›i ordinal num. third; ina ﬂri›ju menn
ﬂjófr m. thiefa third party of men 130/19
ﬂjóna (ﬂjóna›i, ﬂjónat) wv. with dat. serve ﬂri›jungr m. third; hafa ór hlutskipti
ﬂjónn m. servant
ﬂri›jung vi› li›smenn have from theﬂjónusta f. service
share-out of the booty one third (of what
ﬂjónustufullr a. faithful in service
was divided) among his followers 17/34
ﬂjónustuma›r m. servant; gerask hans ﬂrif n. pl. thriving
ﬂjónustuma›r enter his service, swear ﬂrífa (ﬂreif, ﬂrifu, ﬂrifinn) sv. grab (tilloyalty to him 5/1at) 54/35
ﬂjónustusveinn m. servant
ﬂrifreynir m. thriving rowan tree
ﬂjóta (ﬂaut, ﬂutu, ﬂotinn) sv. emit a loud ﬂriggja see ﬂrír
sound; howl; roarﬂrima f. uproar, clash (of battle)
ﬂó1 adv. yet; ﬂó at althoughﬂrír num. three; acc. pl. ﬂrjá, ﬂrjár, ﬂrjú;
ﬂó2 see ﬂvá
gen. ﬂriggja; dat. pl. ﬂrem, ﬂremr
ﬂoka1 (ﬂoka›i, ﬂokat) wv. move (at near) ﬂrjátigi num. thirty
77/26
ﬂrjóta (ﬂraut, ﬂrotinn) sv. impers. withﬂoka2 f. fog
acc. come to an end 38/16, 39/24; erﬂokkasæll a. popular (af with) 69/8
ﬂrotin ván ﬂótti ﬂess when it seemed
ﬂokkr m. thought, mind
past hope of it 170/25; fail 161/2
ﬂola (ﬂol›i, ﬂolat) wv. suffer, put up with ﬂróa (ﬂróa›i, ﬂróa›r) wv. develop, ma(with dat., from someone)
ture, increase; md. ﬂróask increase,ﬂollr m. treegrowﬂora (ﬂor›i, ﬂorat) wv. dareﬂroski m. maturity 69/9
ﬂorn1 m. thorn; thorn-tree
ﬂrotinn see ﬂrjóta
ﬂorn2 m. brooch or clasp (as worn by both ﬂrótthar›r a. firm in strength, of endurmen and women)
ing valour
ﬂorp n. village
ﬂruma f. thunder; as nickname 23/38
ﬂorrinn see ﬂverra1
ﬂrútna (ﬂrútna›i, ﬂrútnat) wv. swell up
ﬂótt conj. though, although; if
ﬂrymja (ﬂrum›i, ﬂrumit) wv. lie, extend;ﬂótti, ﬂóttisk, ﬂóttu, ﬂóttumk, ﬂóttusk
remain?
see ﬂykkja
ﬂrymr m. noise, dinﬂóttú = ﬂótt ﬂúﬂræladráp n. killing of slaves
ﬂramma (ﬂramma›i, ﬂramma›r) wv. ﬂrælka (ﬂrælka›i, ﬂrælkat) wv. enslave
walk heavily; flap heavily
ﬂræll m. slave; sá er mik mætti gera at
ﬂraut see ﬂrjóta
ﬂræli sér ef vildi who could make me
ﬂreif see ﬂrífa
his slave if he wished 18/32
ﬂreifa (ﬂreifa›i, ﬂreifat) wv. touch (at ﬂrælsgjƒld n. pl. compensation for aon), handle(slain) slave
ﬂreklunda›r a. (pp.) having a spirit of ﬂrƒmr m. edge, rim
fortitudeﬂrƒngr a. narrow; er ﬂrƒngr brottfarar
ﬂrem see ﬂrír
has narrow exits 126/17
ﬂremjar f. pl. part of a sword, perhaps ﬂrøngra adv. comp. more narrowly, in aedges
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ﬂungbærr a. (literally) heavy to carry 96/26; ﬂverra2 (ﬂverr›i, ﬂverr›r) wv. cause to(metaphorically) hard to support, harddecrease or diminish
to bear 62/20
ﬂvers adv. across; ﬂvers fyrir ﬂeim atﬂungfœrr a. infirm, finding it hard toright angles across their path 39/32;
walkﬂvers til straight across towards 61/24
ﬂungi m. load, cargo; var ﬂar á til ﬂunga ﬂví at conj. because; ﬂví . . . at for this
there was on it as cargo 114/40
reason . . . that 133/1
ﬂungliga adv. heavily; in a state of suf- ﬂvílíkr a. such; ﬂvílíkr svá sem suchlike
fering; svá ﬂungliga haldin in such a
as 175/7
bad way 136/11
ﬂviti m. stone
ﬂungr a. heavy; weighty; significant 134/9; ﬂ‡ (gen. pl. ﬂ‡ja) f. slave-woman
unfriendly 49/20; sup. in ﬂyngsta very ﬂ‡borinn a. (pp.) born of a slave-woman;hard going; n. as adv. ﬂungt hard,ﬂ‡borin at mó›erni slave-born on the
difficult; taka ﬂungt respond in a cold,
mother’s side, born of a slave-woman
hostile manner 87/31; sup. ﬂyngst
87/19
undir árum heaviest to row 90/29
ﬂ‡›ask (ﬂ‡ddisk) wv. md. with acc. be
ﬂunnb‡lt a. n. sparsely populated
friendly to, make friends with someone
ﬂunnskipa›r pp. thinly manned; hƒf›u5/38, 6/32
ﬂunnskipat were short-handed 92/19 ﬂ‡fi n. theft
ﬂurfa (ﬂarf, ﬂurfti, ﬂurft; past subj. ﬂykk› f. thickness; hvárt ﬂau stó›u
ﬂyrfti), pret.-pres. vb. need; havemƒrg e›a fá á ﬂykk›ina whether theyreason to 48/11; ﬂarftu ekki you do not(the tents) were many or few rows deep
need; with gen. need, be in need of 1/17;
74/31
with acc. 117/22; impers. be necessary ﬂykkja/ﬂikja (ﬂikir, ﬂótti, ﬂóttu, subj.
12/21; ekki ﬂurfti ﬂá gri›a at bi›ja it
ﬂœtti, ﬂótt) wv. seem; be thought;
was no use then suing for quarter 79/25
impers. ﬂiki mér it seems to me 180/4;
ﬂurka (ﬂurka›i, ﬂurka›r) wv. dryﬂœtti mér I should have thought 48/4;
ﬂurr a. dry
sér mikit ﬂikja he found it hard, wasﬂurs m. giant; as nickname 32/28
disappointed 130/35 note; md. ﬂykkﬂvá (ﬂó, ﬂógu, ﬂveginn) sv. wash 79/40
jask think oneself, think that one;
ﬂvengr m. thongﬂikisk thinks that he 55/16, thinks
ﬂverask (ﬂvera›isk) wv. md. turn across,himself 15/10; ﬂikjumk I think myself;
go to one side
I seem, I feel; seems to me; ek ekki
ﬂvergƒrr a. obstinate, awkward
eiga ﬂóttumk I did not think that I had,
ﬂverpallr m. cross-bench; platform along
I thought I had no 149/14
the gable-end of a house, usually to seat ﬂykkleikr m. thickness
women
ﬂykkr a. thickﬂverr a. across; contrary 101/29; um gólf ﬂykkt adv. closely, densely; standa
ﬂvert straight across the floor (the open
ﬂykkt stand close together 77/25;
space beteen the high-seats) 133/28;
comp. ﬂykkra thicker, denser
um ﬂvera gƒtuna across the path; n. ﬂylja (ﬂul›i, ﬂulinn) wv. recite, chantas adv. tók ﬂessu máli svá ﬂvert ob- ﬂyngst, ﬂyngsta see ﬂungr
jected so strongly to this matter 127/21; ﬂyrfti see ﬂurfa
sup. n. as adv. sem ﬂverast as directly ﬂyrnifótr m. nickname ‘thorn-foot’as possible across the wind 46/20
ﬂyrsta (ﬂyrsti, ﬂyrst) wv. impers. withﬂverra1 (ﬂvarr, ﬂurru, ﬂorrinn) sv. growacc. one is thirsty; seg›i hann sik
less or fewer, diminish
ﬂyrsta said he was thirsty 59/8

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ﬂyrstr a. thirsty
so as to 40/27; md. ætla›isk hann at
ﬂyss m. uproar, clamour, riot
fara made up his mind to go 2/25;
ﬂægir m. one who pushes; one who illætlask fyrir intend, plan to do 45/17;
treatse›a hvat ﬂeir mundu fyrir ætlask andﬂœtti, ﬂœttisk see ﬂykkja(asked or wondered) what was theirﬂƒgn f. silence
intention, what they were up to 5/32
ﬂƒgull a. silent 84/14 noteætlan f. thought; purpose; planﬂƒgﬂu see ﬂegja
ætt f. family, family line; í allar ættir onﬂƒkk f. thanks; til ﬂakka y›varra to win
all sides of her family 88/13
your gratitude, for your benefit 19/29; ætta see eiga1
vel lag›i Egill í ﬂƒkk skáldskap sinn ættborinn a. (pp.) descended; ættborinn
betr of better descent, more highly bornvi› marga menn with his poetry Egillætterni n. descent; family, kin
pleased many men 44/9ættgengr a. characteristic of one’s famﬂƒkku›u see ﬂakka
ily; ﬂér er of mjƒk ættgegnt at you
ﬂƒrf f. need; ﬂƒrf erat mér til I have noare taking too much after your familyneed for 52/22; til ﬂarfar with dat. forin, this runs too much in your family
the benefit of 178/8
62/19
æ adv. always; æ ﬂví verri ever the worse;
æ ﬂess at meir all the more because of ætti see eiga1ættleri m. degenerate person, disgrace orit 146/5
discredit to one’s family 174/21
ægir m. sea, ocean (cf. Index)æja (á›i, á›u, áit) wv. with dat. rest and ættsmár a. of low birthættstórr a. of high birth
bait (when travelling with horses)
ævi f. life; allt um hans ævi throughout
ær f. ewehis life 72/24; langa ævi for a long timeæsta (æsti, æst) wv. with acc. and gen.
154/18ask someone for something; pres. æstiœ›i n. nature, disposition, mind
ek I request 107/3
ætla (ætla›i, ætlu›u, ætlat) wv. think, œ›ive›r n. furious wind, storm
intend; consider, suppose 99/24; ﬂarftu œ›ri a. comp. higher; betterﬂat ekki ƒ›rum mƒnnum at ætla you œgir m. ‘terrifier’, dreadful man, warrior
need not suspect anyone else of it 170/32; œgishjálmr m. helmet of (inspiring) terror
with inf. ek ætla mik skulu I think I œpa (œpti, œpt) wv. shout; jeer
shall 6/25; ætlu›u at ﬁórólfi intended œrinn (n. œrit) a. sufficient, plentiful,enough; œrit myndi eitt til bana would
to attack ﬁórólfr 28/20; megu ﬂér ﬂatalone have been adequate to cause hisætla you must expect 34/16; ætla til
death 32/2; n. œrit as adv. sufficiently;
expect 77/19, intend to carry out 87/16,
œrit marga plenty of 116/10 note
intend to go 28/17; at ætla til at a guess
170/17; ætla›i ﬂar landeign til deter- œsiliga adv. furiously, with mad speed
mined what land should belong to it, œskualdr m. (period of) youth; af œskualdri past his youth 57/11
allotted (assigned) land to it 174/15; pp.
hverneg fer› ﬂeira hef›i ætlu› verit ƒ›ru, ƒ›rum see annarr
how their journey had been intended, ƒflu›u see afla
i.e. the purpose of their journey 36/39; ƒl n. ale
ﬂá var ætlat then it was intended, then ƒl›r n. ale
the plan was 15/25; haf›i svá ætlat ƒll, ƒllu, ƒllum see allrfer› sína at he had made the journey ƒllungis adv. altogether
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ƒló›r a. crazy with drink
53/22; á ƒndver›um dƒgum in theƒlselja f. female cup-bearer, serving-girl
early years (of) 180/12
ƒlsmi›r m. maker of ale, brewer; = Ægir ƒnnur see annarr
149/7 (see Lokasenna, introductory ƒptnum see aptann
prose; Hymiskvi›a)ƒr› f. crop, produceƒlteiti f. entertainment over drink; at ƒr›igr a. difficult, tough; causing enmity,ƒlteiti as entertainment with their drinkunfriendly
ing 43/25
ƒrmálugr a. loquacious, who talks tooƒlunn m. mackerelmuch; sup. ƒrmálgastrƒlva (ƒlva›i, ƒlva›r) wv. impers. with ƒrn (gen. arnar) m. eagleacc. one gets drunk 60/3
ƒr (pl. ƒrvar) f. arrowƒnd1 (pl. andir) f. duck 39/9
ƒrr a. open-handed, munificent; quick,ƒnd2 (pl. andir) f. breath
ready (with gen. to do something); acƒndu› see anda›rtive; excitable; sup. ƒrvastr most genƒndu›usk, ƒndumk see andask
erous, most munificentƒndvegi n. high-seat; annat ƒndvegi ƒxl (pl. axlir) f. shoulder
the second (lower) high-seat 9/2; gagn- øngr pron. neg. = engi
vert sér í ƒndvegi in the high-seat ørendi see erendi
opposite himself, i.e. in the second ørendr a. dead(lower) high-seat 58/18; í ƒndvegi ørendreki m. messenger, ambassador
gegnt konungi in the high-seat op- ørlygi n. battle
posite the king 80/25
ørnefni n. place-nameƒndvegisma›r m. the one sitting in the øruggr a. secure; determined (í ﬂví on
high-seat (opposite the lord), i.e. in thethis) 45/38
chief guest-seatørver›r a. unworthyƒndver›r a. the early part of; á ƒnd- øx f. axever›an vetr for early in the winter øxarskapt n. axe-handle

292

EGILS SAGAINDEX OF NAMES
A›alsteinn inn sigrsæli, inn trúfasti (Athel- Arngeirr of Hólmr, son of Bersi go›lauss 86stan), son of Edward the Elder, English Arnvi›r, king in Sunmœrr 3–4
king 924–939 71–76, 78–83, 86, 92, Ásbjƒrn jarl 4
99, 101, 105, 113–16, 125–30, 180Ásgautr jarl 4A›ils (dat. A›ísli) jarl in Wales 72–73, Ásgeirr Knattarson 144
76–80Ásger›r, daughter of Bjƒrn BrynjólfssonAg›ir, southern Norway 10
47–48, 50, 56, 83–88, 93, 99–101, 115,
Agli see Egill
122, 124, 145, 154, 166–67
Áki inn au›gi, a Dane 64–65, 68, 70
Askma›r see Álfr askma›r
Akrar (‘cornfields’) on M‡rar (at ¯krum) 40 Askr, farm on Fenhring 51, 84, 87, 95, 122
Aldi, island in Fir›afylki, Norway (Alden) Áslaug Guttormsdóttir 35
94Ásn‡ Vestarsdóttir 30Áleifr (= Óláfr rau›i) 80
Atl(a)ey, island off Fjalir, Norway 57–58,
Álfgeirr jarl in Northumbria 72–76
61Álfr inn au›gi 137–40
Atl(a)eyjar-Bár›r see Bár›rÁlfr askma›r, son of ¯zurr toti 69, 89
Atli inn mjóvi, jarl in Gaular 2, 4
Áli, sea-king 113
Atli inn skammi, son of ﬁorgeirr ﬂyrnifótrÁlptá, river on M‡rar 86
51, 114, 116, 122–24
Álptanes, headland and farm on M‡rar Au›bjƒrn, king in Fir›afylki 2–4
39–41, 43, 99, 143, 176–77
Au›i, legendary king 89
Álrekssta›ir, farm near Bergen (Aarstad) Au›unn illskælda, poet 9
in Hƒr›aland, Norway 48, 94
Aurland, farm in Sogn 44–45, 48–49, 55,
Álof/Ólƒf Dagsdóttir 51, 88
56 n., 88, 116, 122, 143Álof Erlingsdóttir 51 n.
Aurri›aá, river on M‡rar 176Álƒst (Alsten), island in Vefsnir in Háloga- Austr-Ag›ir, southern Norway 35
land 8, 11, 16, 29, 31 n.
Austrvegr, the countries east of the BalticÁnabrekka, farm near Borg on M‡rar 39,
23, 49, 63, 70
125, 168, 171, 174–75, 178
Bar›i Gu›mundarson see Víga-Bar›i
Andakíll, district on the south side of Bár›r of Atl(a)ey (Atl(a)eyjar-Bár›r, BárBorgarfjƒr›r 39, 55ø›r) 58–60, 62, 68
Andakílsá, river in Borgarfjƒr›r 39
Bár›r inn hvíti/sterki Brynjólfsson 7–12
Áni, farmer at Ánabrekka 32, 39, 125, 174 Bárø›r see Bár›r
Arinbjarnarnautar (‘gifts of Arinbjƒrn’), Baugi, giant 161 n.
a long silk gown 125, 166
Baugr, Hœngr’s foster-brother 30
Arinbjƒrn hersir ﬁórisson 56–57, 62–63, Beigaldi (= Beigaldasta›ir in W), farm on
68–69, 84–94, 101–02, 104–06, 112–
M‡rar 39
14, 117–18, 125, 131, 155, 158, 159 n., Beigaldi see ﬁór›r beigaldi
160 n., 161, 163
Beitsjór, northern Norway (Beitstadfjord) 26
Ármó›r skegg, farmer in Ei›askógr 132– Bera, daughter of Egill Skalla-Grímsson
37, 142
124, 144
Arnaldr, farmer in Ei›askógr 132
Bera Yngvarsdóttir 25, 42–43, 47–48, 54,
Arnfi›r, jarl in Halland 66
99
Arnfi›r, jarl in Orkney 101
Ber›la (Berle), farm on the island Brimangr
Arnfi›r/Arnvi›r, jarl in Vermaland 130,
(Bremangerlandet) in Fir›afylki 1
138, 142
Ber›lu-Kári 1–2, 4, 8, 10, 27

INDEX

293

Bergﬂóra, daughter of Óláfr pái 144
Brei›afjƒr›r, western Iceland 143–44, 162
Berg-¯nundr, son of ﬁorgeirr ﬂyrnifótr, Brekka (171) see Ánabrekka
see ¯nundr
Brekkur, farm on Fljótshlí› (undir BrekBersi go›lauss 86
kum = under the slopes) 30
Berudrápa, ‘shield poem’ 167
Brenneyjar, islands at the estuary of the
Bileygr, a name of Ó›inn 152
Gautelfr 68
Bjálfi (Brunda-Bjálfi), father of Kveld- Bretar, inhabitants of Bretland 71, 77
Úlfr 1
Bretland (Wales) 72
Bjarmaland, the land around the White Brynjólfr Bjarnarson, hersir in Aurland
Sea 5044–48, 50, 55, 88
Bjarnartƒ›ur (‘Bjƒrn’s manured fields’), Brynjólfr Bjƒrgólfsson 7–8, 10–12, 20
near Borg 47
Brynjólfr Helgason 56
Bjƒrgólfr, lendr ma›r on Torgar 7–8, 12 Byr›a, island off Naumudalr (Bjørø) 23
Bjƒrn (ﬁorbjƒrn) inn digri 168
Bƒ›varr, son of Egill Skalla-GrímssonBjƒrn, hersir at Aurland 44
124, 144–46Bjƒrn (at Haugi), king in Sweden 104
Dagr inn au›gi 51
Bjƒrn Arngeirsson Hítdœlakappi (‘cham- Dalir (Brei›afjar›ardalir) 165
pion of the people of Hítardalr’, western Dalir (Gu›brandsdal(a)r), central Norway
Iceland) 86
116
Bjƒrn (dat. Birni) hƒl›r Brynjólfsson 44– Dalla, daughter of ¯nundr sjóni 168
51, 56–57, 68, 84–90, 115, 122
Danakonungr (king of the Danes) 23, 72
Bjƒrn inn austrœni, settler in Brei›afjƒr›r Danir (Danes) 70, 72, 142
162Danmƒrk (Denmark) 23, 65, 70, 125,
Blindheimr, farm on Hƒ› (actually on Vigr,
129–30, 142, 163
island off Raumsdalr (Vigra)) 116
Digranes (Borgarnes), in Borgarfjƒr›r 39,
Bló›øx see Eiríkr bló›øx52, 54, 100, 145
Blund-Ketill, son of Geirr inn au›gi 53 Dofrafjall, in Norway (Dovrefjeld) 115–
Blundr see ﬁorgeirr blundr
116, 132
Blundsvatn in Andakíll 175
Dragvandill, sword 114, 119, 123–24
Borg on M‡rar (see Glossary) 39, 41, 43, Draupnir, a magic ring 161
46–47, 51–52, 54–55, 86, 99–101, 145, Dyflinn (Dublin) 45–46
154, 165, 167–71, 174, 176, 182
Dyflinnarskí›i (the area round Dublin) 5
Borgarfjƒr›r, western Iceland 38–41, 46, Egill (dat. Agli, Egli) Skalla-Grímsson 34
51–52, 86, 99, 124, 143, 172 n., 178
n., 42–44, 53–73, 77–106, 112–46,
Borgarhraun (Eldborgarhraun, north of
154–55, 162, 165–68, 171–75, 178–82
M‡rar) 39, 177
Egill ﬁorsteinsson 168
Borgarmenn, people of Borg 54
Ei›askógr, on the border of Norway andBorr, father of Ó›inn 97
Vermaland 130–32, 135, 139–40
Bragi (Boddason, inn gamli), Norwegian Ei›sjór, in Norway 4 (see note)poet 104
Einarr skálaglamm Helgason, Icelandic
Bragi, god of poetry 112
poet 162–66
Brák see ﬁorger›r brák
Einarr (Teitsson), go›i in Stafaholt 171–75
Brákarsund, out from Digranes in Borgar- Einarsnes, on Borgarfjƒr›r 145fjƒr›r 54–55
Einbúabrekkur, near Gljúfrá 40
Brei›abólsta›r, farm on Fljótshlí› 30
Einbúanes, near Gljúfrá 40
Brei›afjar›ardalir, valleys in from Brei›a- Einkunnir, hills in Borgarfjƒr›r 39, 175–fjƒr›r (Dalir) 144
76

294

EGILS SAGA

Eiríkr alspakr, lendr ma›r in Norway 144 Finnmƒrk, north of Norway (Lappland) 8
Eiríkr jarl Hákonarson 182
n., 17–19, 21
Eiríkr bló›øx, son of Haraldr hárfagri, Fir›ir (Fir›afylki, Fjar›afylki; Fjordane),king in Norway 48–51, 56–58, 61–62,
western Norway 1 n., 2, 4–5, 15, 24–
68–70, 86–89, 91–94, 98, 100–06, 108–
25, 31, 44–45, 49–50, 68–69, 84, 122,
110, 112–16, 122, 125, 127, 156
125, 161, 163 n.
Eiríkssynir, sons of Eiríkr bló›øx and Fitjar, farm on Stor› 48, 154
Gunnhildr 129–30, 154, 163
Fjalir, area north of Sogn 4, 69
Ekkill, sea-king 134
Fjar›afylki (Fir›afylki) 3, 4, 88, 101, 155
Elduei›, in Norway (Namdalseid, isthmus Fljótshlí›, southern Iceland 30
between Beitsjór and Naumudalr) 26 Flókadalr, in Borgarfjƒr›r 53, 178
Elfr, Elfrin, river in Sweden (Gautelfr) 24 Flókadalsá, river in Borgarfjƒr›r 40
Elfrá›r inn ríki (Alfred the Great; also Flókadalsáróss, where the river flows into
written Álfrá›r, A›alrá›r), king in EngHvítá 53
land (d. 901) 71–72Flæmingjaland (Flanders) 71
Elgr (a name for Ó›inn) 151
Fold(in) (the land at the end of Oslofjord)
Ella, king in Northumbria, d. 867 (Ælle)24
82, 83 n.
Fors (Langárfors) 41, 176
Elli, personification of old age 31 n.
Freyja (goddess) 92 n., 112 n., 145; at
Elli›i, farm on the south side of SnæfellsFreyju = at Freyja’s, in the next world
nes 177(Gylfaginning 24/30)
Embla, primeval woman 163
Freyr (god) 93, 110–11, 160
Endill, sea-king 165
Fri›geirr, son of Gy›a ﬁórisdóttir 116–19,
England 21–22, 71–74, 77, 100–01, 114,
121, 127
117, 125
Frigg (goddess) 147
Englakonungr, king of the English 23
Frísir (Frisians) 128–29
Englandskonungr, king of England 71
Frísland (Friesland) 70, 128
Englar (the English) 74, 80, 106, 107 n. Fró›i, legendary king 111
Erlingr inn au›gi from Ostr 51 n.
Fró›i, foster-son of King Eiríkr 94–97
Eyrarfloti, the merchant fleet lying off Furusund, in Fir›afylki 22
Eyrr 23Færeyjar (Faeroes) 5
Eyrarsund (Øresund), between Sweden and Gaular, area in western Norway 2, 69
Sjælland) 65
Gautar (the people of Gautland (Götland),Eyrr (Skáneyrr; Skanør, Skåne, now insouthern Sweden) 153
Sweden) 23–24
Gautelfr, river in Sweden 22
Eyvindr skáldaspillir, son of Finnr skjálgi, Gautland it vestra (Västergötland), southernpoet 29
Sweden 142
Eyvindr lambi, son of Ber›lu-Kári 1–2, Gautr, a name of Ó›inn 150
6, 9–10, 28–29
Geirham›ir, giant 179
Eyvindr skreyja, son of ¯zurr toti 69–71, 86 Geirlaug, daughter of Eyvindr lambi 29
Faravi›, king in Kvenland 17–18, 20
Geirmundr heljarskinn, Icelandic settler
Fenhring, island off Hƒr›aland in Norway
144(Askø) 51, 95, 122
Geirr inn au›gi, son of Ketill blundr 52–
Fi›r (Finnr) (inn) skjálgi, son of Eyvindr
53, 178
lambi 29
Geirshlí›, farm in Flókadalr 53
Finnar (Lapps, Sami) 13, 17, 20–21
Gestill, sea-king 99
Finnland (Lappland) 18
Gjálp, giantess 109

INDEX

295

Glaumr, legendary horse 166 (see Glos- Gufunes, near Mosfell, south-west Icesary)land 143
Gljúfrá, river in Borgarfjƒr›r 39–40, 172, Gufuskálar (near Gufuá) 143
175
Gufuskálar, farm on Rosmhvalanes 143
Gná, goddess 31
Gulaﬂing, western Norway, one of fourGo›rekr, jarl in Northumbria 72, 73 n., 74
assembly-places in Norway in theGormr (inn gamli), king of the Danes 65
Middle Ages 87, 94, 115, 122
Granahli›, at Ánabrekka 169
Gulaﬂingslƒg, the law of the area covered
Granasta›ir, on Digranes 39, 53
by Gulaﬂing 87, 122
Grani, Skalla-Grímr’s workman 32, 39, Gull-Haraldr see Haraldr Knútsson
53
Gunnarr, son of Egill Skalla-Grímsson
Grani, Steinarr’s slave 168–69
124, 146
Grí›r, giantess 109 n.
Gunnarr Hlífarson 167
Grímarr, son of Grímr Grímólfsson 39
Gunnhildr, daughter of Bjƒrn hƒl›r 51, 84,
Grímarssta›ir, in Andakíll, south of88
Hvítá 39
Gunnhildr, queen of Eiríkr bló›øx, daughGrímólfr, Skalla-Grímr’s workman 32, 39
ter of ¯zurr toti 51, 57–58, 62, 68–70,
Grímólfsfit, in Borgarfjƒr›r 39
86–89, 93–94, 98, 100–01, 104–05,
Grímólfslœkr, stream or brook in Borgar115–16, 125fjƒr›r 39
Gunnhildr, daughter of Hálfdan jarl 29
Grímólfssta›ir, in Borgarfjƒr›r 39
Gunnlaugr Hrómundarson 86
Grímr, Skalla-Grímr’s workman 32
Gunnlaugr ormstunga, son of Illugi svarti
Grímr, son of Bár›r Brynjólfsson 10168, 182
Grímr Grímólfsson 39
Guttormr, son of Sigur›r hjƒrtr 35–37
Grímr Heggsson 53–54
Gy›a, sister of Arinbjƒrn hersir 117–18
Grímr lo›inkinni, son of Ketill hœngr of Gylfi, sea-king 165 n., 166
Hrafnista 114
Gƒndul, valkyrie 119
Grímr (Skalla-Grímr) Kveld-Úlfsson 1, 5, Haddr, son of ﬁorgeirr ﬂyrnifótr 51, 94,
25, 31–44, 46–48, 50–56, 68–69, 86,
96–97
99–101, 114, 145, 168, 174, 182
Hafnarfjƒll, on the south side of BorgarGrímr Svertingsson at Mosfell, lawspeakerfjƒr›r 39
1002–03 144, 167, 171, 178, 180–81 Hafrsfjƒr›r, battle-site in Rogaland 10, 16
Grímr inn háleyski ﬁórisson 38–39, 86 Háfslœkr, stream between Borg and ÁnaGrímr, son of ﬁorsteinn Egilsson 168,
brekka 39, 168, 170, 174
176–77
Haki, sea-king 110
Grímsá, river in Borgarfjƒr›r 39–40, 54 Hákon inn gó›i A›alsteinsfóstri, son ofGrímsholt, near Leirulœkr on M‡rar 177
Haraldr hárfagri, king of Norway 71,
Grísartunga, Stafholtstungur, Borgarfjƒr›r
100–01, 114–15, 122, 125–27, 130,40, 175
132, 142, 154
Gríss lausingi 32, 40
Hákon Hla›ajarl (9th century) 4
Grjótgar›r, son of Hákon Hla›ajarl 4
Hákon jarl inn ríki Sigur›arson (d. 995)
Gu›mundr Sƒlmundarson 144
163–64, 180
Gu›ﬂormr Dagsson 35 n.
Háleygjafylki (Hálogaland) 15
Gufuá (written Gufá, Guf á 39, 143, 176), Hálfdan hvítbeinn, king in Norway 130
river in Borgarfjƒr›r 38–39, 143, 176 Hálfdan svarti, king in Norway, father ofGufudalr, north-west Iceland 144
Haraldr hárfagri 2, 9, 35, 158
Gufufjƒr›r, north-west Iceland 144
Hálfdan jarl 29

296

EGILS SAGA

Halland, southern Sweden (earlier belong- Helgi Rau›a-Bjarnarson 166
ing to Denmark) 66
Helgi ﬁorfinnsson 137, 142
Hallbera, daughter of Úlfr inn óargi 1
Helsingjaland, in eastern Sweden (HälsingHallbjƒrn hálftrƒll, son of Úlfr inn óargi 1land) 5, 18
Halldórr, son of Óláfr Hƒskuldsson 144 Her›la, island off Hƒr›aland 95, 97–98
Hallgeirr, on Hallgeirsey 30 n.
Her›luver, island off Hƒr›aland 95, 97
Hallgeirsey, on the south coast of Iceland Herjólfr Hœngsson 30
30 n.
Herlaugr, king in Naumudal 2
Halli, son of ﬁorsteinn Egilsson 168
Herlaugr, son of Hákon Hla›ajarl 4
Hallr Gu›mundarson 144, 182
Hersteinn, son of Atli jarl inn mjóvi 2
Hallsteinn, son of Atli jarl inn mjóvi 2
Hildir of Hildisey 30
Hallvar›r har›fari 22, 24–26, 28, 35–37 Hildirí›arsynir (Hárekr and Hrœrekr) 8,
Hálogaland (Helgeland), northern Norway
10, 12, 14, 16–18, 20–21, 25, 29
2, 7–8, 11, 13–15, 18, 20–21, 29
Hildirí›r, daughter of Hƒgni of Leka 7–
Háls, in Limafjƒr›r 129, 163
8, 12
Haraldr gráfeldr, son of Eiríkr bló›øx 127, Hildisey, farm on Landeyjar, southern
129, 155, 163
Iceland 30
Haraldr Gormsson, king of the Danes 65, 70 Hildr, valkyrie 110 n., 133
Haraldr lúfa/hárfagri, son of Hálfdan Hísing, island in the estuary of the Gautsvarti, king of Norway 1 n., 2–11, 13,
elfr 22, 25
15–16, 18–19, 22–26, 28–29, 31–32, Hjaltland (Shetland) 5, 46
34–35, 37, 40, 46, 48–49, 62, 71, 93, Hjar›arholt, farm in Laxárdalr, Brei›a100, 103–04, 130
fjar›ardalir 144–45
Haraldr Knútsson (Gull-Haraldr) 163
Hjƒrleifr (foster-brother of Ingólfr) 30
Hárekr Bjƒrgólfsson (see Hildirí›arsynir) Hjƒrleifr, son of ﬁorsteinn Egilsson 168
8, 12, 14–16, 18–19, 21–22
Hla›ir, in ﬁrándheimr (Lade) 26, 28
Hárr (a name of Ó›inn) 60
Hlér (= Ægir) 85
Haugar, farm in Stafholtstungur, Borgar- Hlí›arendi, farm on Fljótshlí› 30fjƒr›r 40
Hlín, name of a goddess 84
Haugasund, in Rogaland (Haugesund) 93 Hlƒkk, valkyrie 62
Heggr of Heggssta›ir 53–54
Hof, farm on Rangá in eystri 30
Heggssta›ir, in Andakíll 53
Hólmr (farm near Hítarvatn in Hítardalr,Hei›r (Mosfellshei›r), south-west Iceland
western Iceland) 86
144
Hólmsteinn, son of Atli jarl inn mjóvi 2
Hel, daughter of the god Loki, presiding Hrafn, name of a horse (used as a common
over the world of the dead 62, 109 n.,noun) 167
154 n.
Hrafn Hœngsson, first lawspeaker in IceHelga Helgadóttir 30 n.
land (930–49) 30, 40
Helga, daughter of Ketill hœngr of Hrafn- Hrafn, son of ﬁorsteinn Egilsson 167
ista 7
Hrafn ¯nundarson see Skáld-Hrafn
Helga, daughter of Óláfr feilan 167
Hrafnhildr, daughter of Ketill hœngr ofHelga ﬁorfinnsdóttir 136
Hrafnista 29
Helga in fagra, daughter of ﬁorsteinn Hrafnista, island in Naumdœlafylki in
Egilsson 167, 182
Norway (Ramsta) 1, 7
Helgi Hœngsson, of Vƒllr 30
Hrafntóptir, on Rangá in ‡tri 30
Helgi Óttarsson 162
Hrifla, son of ﬁorsteinn Egilsson 167
Helgi Rannveigarson 56
Hringaríki (Ringerike), eastern Norway 35

INDEX

297

Hringr, jarl in Wales 72–73, 76–78, 80 Ívi, sea-king 103
Hrísar, farm in Flókadalr 53
Jamtaland, western Sweden (Jämtland) 5,
Hrísbrú, farm in Mosfellssveit, south-west
18
Iceland 181
Jar›langssta›ir, farm in Borgarfjƒr›r 39
Hróaldr, jarl in Fir›afylki, grandfather of Jarlsnes, unidentified place in Wales 77
Arinbjƒrn 2, 4, 160
Járnbar›inn, Eiríkr jarl’s ship 182
Hrollaugr, king (later jarl) in Naumudalr 2 Játmundr (Edmund, son of Edward the
Hrómundr, brother of Grímr inn háleyski
Elder), English king 940–946 125
86
Játvar›r (Edward the Elder, son of KingHrœrekr Bjƒrgólfsson of Torgar (seeAlfred), English king 901–924 71–72
Hildirí›arsynir) 8
Jófrí›r Gunnarsdóttir 167
Huginn, one of Ó›inn’s ravens 113
Jórvík, in Northumbria (York) 72, 101,
Humra, river in England (Humber) 101
114, 156
Húnﬂjófr, king in Nor›mœrr 3
Jótland, in Denmark (Jutland) 68, 70, 86
Hváll, Hvállinn (Stórólfshváll), Stórólfr Jótlandssí›a (the western side of Jutland) 70
Hœngsson’s farm, southern Iceland 30 Jƒr›, wife of Ó›inn 97 n.
Hvalseyjar, islands off M‡rar 40Jƒrundr go›i (son of Hrafn heimski) 30
Hválslœkr, on Fljótshlí› 30
Kári see Ber›lu-Kári
Hvanneyrr, farm in Andakíll 39
Katanes (Caithness in Scotland) 5
Hvítá, river in Borgarfjƒr›r 39–40, 53, Katli dat. of Ketill
144, 175, 178
Ketill blundr 52–53
Hvítárvellir, farm on Hvítá (see Vellir) 53 Ketill gufa 143–44Hœngr see Ketill hœngr ﬁorkelsson
Ketill hƒ›r 91–92
Hƒ›, island off Sunnmœrr (Hareidland) 116 Ketill kjƒlfari 38Hƒ›r, a god 81
Ketill hœngr of Hrafnista, son of HallHƒgni, farmer in Leka 7, 8
bjƒrn hálftrƒll 1, 7, 29, 114Hƒr›afylki (Hƒr›aland) 88
Ketill hœngr, son of ﬁorkell NaumdœlaHƒr›aland, western Norway 10, 21–22,
jarl, Icelandic settler (also called Hœngr),
48, 50–51, 55, 87, 93–94, 116, 122, 126,
29, 30143, 154, 167 n.
Kilir, mountain range in Finnmƒrk 18
Hƒr›ar, inhabitants of Hƒr›aland 167
Kirjálaland, in Finland (Karelia) 18, 20
Hƒskuldr Dala-Kollsson 144
Kirjálar (Finnish Karjala, Karelians) 17–18
Illugi svarti, father of Gunnlaugr orms- Kjartan Óláfsson 144, 182
tunga 86Kjƒtvi inn au›gi, king in Ag›ir 10
Ingibjƒrg, daughter of Haraldr hárfagri 29 Knarrarnes, headland and farm off M‡rar
Ingirí›r, queen of King Óláfr kyrri 56
39, 41
Ingólfr (Arnarson), the first Norse settler Kollsveinn, son of ﬁorsteinn Egilsson 168
in Iceland 30, 34, 38
Kolr 130
Ingunn, Hœngr’s wife 30
Kóranes, on M‡rar 143
Ingvi, sea-king 164
Kóri, slave of Ketill gufa 143Írakonungr, king of the Irish 144
Kormákr, son of ¯gmundr Galtason, poetÍrar (Irish) 71, 101168
Íri, ﬁorsteinn Egilsson’s freedman 175 Krumr see ﬁorbjƒrn krumrÍrland (Ireland) 5, 34, 143
Krumshólar, farm in Borgarfjƒr›r 39Ísland (Iceland) 5, 30, 38, 40–41, 46–49, Krumskelda, by Krumshólar 100
51, 53, 55, 86, 93, 99, 103 n., 114, 116, Kúrir, people of Kúrland 63–64
124, 128–29, 143–44, 154, 165, 181–82 Kúrland, in the eastern Baltic area 63, 77

298

EGILS SAGA

Kveld-Úlfr (Úlfr Bjálfason) 1–3, 5–7, 23– Mósey, in Shetland (Mousa) 46
25, 31–40, 50
Móseyjarborg (Broch of Mousa) 46
Kvenir, inhabitants of Kvenland 17 (see Mosfell, farm below Hei›r, south-westnote), 18
Iceland 144, 167, 171, 178, 181–82
Kvenland 17–18, 20
Mostra(r)sund, harbour in Halland 23
Kvígr, brother of Heggr 54
Muno›arnes, farm in Stafholtstungur,
Kylfingar, a Finnish tribe east of the Baltic
Borgarfjƒr›r 40
13
M‡ramannakyn, Skalla-Grímr’s family
Lambasta›ir, farm on M‡rar 99–100,
168, 182
143–44, 177M‡ramenn, the people of M‡rar 54, 182
Lambi ﬁór›arson 143–44, 177M‡rar (‘marshes’), Skalla-Grímr’s landLangá, river on M‡rar 39, 41, 86, 174–76
taking west of Hvítá 39–40, 143, 174–75
Langaholt, near Leirulœkr 176
M‡rkjartan, Irish king 144
Langárfors, farm on M‡rar 86Mœrir, people of Mœrr 3–4, 7
Langavatn, north-east of M‡rar 175Mœrr (Nor›mœrr–Raumsdalr–Sunnmœrr),Langr, ﬁórólfr Skalla-Grímsson’s sword 76
in Norway (Møre and Romsdal) 3–4,
Laufi, a sword 134
116, 119, 121, 126
Laugardalr, south-west Iceland 40
Na›r (serpent), Egill Skalla-Grímsson’sLaxárdalr, in Brei›afjar›ardalir 144
sword 77, 79–80, 119
Laxfit on Grímsá 54
Náinn, dwarf 147
Leirulœkr, farm on M‡rar 41, 86, 175, 177 Narfi, giant 85
Leiruvágr, in Kollafjƒr›r near Reykjavík Nari, son of the god Loki 109
167
Naumdœlafylki (Naumudalr) 2, 15
Leka, island off Hálogaland 7–8, 17
Naumdœlir, people of Naumudalr 3
Lí›andisnes (Lindesnes, southern Nor- Naumudalr (Namdalen), between ﬁrándway) 24
heimr and Hálogaland 2, 16, 18, 26, 28
Limafjƒr›r (Limfjorden), in Jutland 129, Naustanes, near Borg (Skipatangi) 100
163
Naustdalr, in Fir›afylki (Naustdal) 4
Listi (Lister), on the southernmost part of Nes (pl.), headlands on the southern side
Norway 62
of Faxaflói, western Iceland 143, 171–
Ljótr inn bleiki, Norwegian berserk 116,
72, 175
118–21, 126–27
Njƒr›r (a god) 93, 160
Lundr (Lund), town on Skáney (Skåne, Nor›imbraland (Northumbria) 72, 73 n.,
now in Sweden) 65–66
75, 101
Lundúnir (London) 114
Nor›menn (Norwegians) 18, 72, 141
Lygra, island north of Bergen (Bjƒrgvin) 48 Nor›mœrr (Nordmøre), in Norway 3Lƒgberg (Law-rock), at the Alﬂingi 166, Nor›rá, river in Borgarfjƒr›r 39–40
180
Nóregr (Norway) 2, 18, 23, 35, 40, 45–
Markarfljót, river in southern Iceland 30
49, 50 n., 52, 68, 71, 83–84, 86, 93–94,
Melkorka, daughter of the Irish king M‡r100, 103 n., 105, 114–15, 125, 129–30,
kjartan 144
138, 143, 154–55, 163
Merkjá, river on Fljótshlí› 30
Nóregskonungr (king of Norway, Hákon
Mi›fjar›areyjar, islands in Borgarfjƒr›r 41
gó›i) 138, 141
Mímr (Mímir), mythological character 153 Normandí (Normandy), in France 5
Móbil Hallgeirsdóttir 30 n.
Oddbjarnarlei› (unidentified) 30 n.
Móei›arhváll, southern Iceland 30
Oddbjƒrn askasmi›r 30 n.
Móei›r Hildisdóttir 30
Oddr (Tungu-Oddr) 39, 167, 171–75, 178

INDEX

299

Oddr einbúi 32, 40
Rau›a-Bjarnarsynir (Trefill and Helgi) 166
Ó›inn (a god) 31 n., 60 n., 80 n., 85 n., Rau›sgil, farm in Reykjadalr in Borgar92 n., 93, 97 n., 106, 107 n., 108, 111,
fjƒr›r 53
112 n., 137 n., 147 n., 150 n., 151 n., Raufarnes, in Borgarfjƒr›r (Rau›anes) 41
152 n., 153 n., 154 n., 157 n., 161 n., Raumaríki (Romerike), eastern Norway115
164 n., 167 n.
Raumsdalr (Romsdalen), western NorwayÓ›inssalr 35 n.
4, 116
Ófeigr grettir 30
Reykir inir efri (pl.)(Kópareykir), in ReykjaÓláfr feilan 40, 167
dalr in Borgarfjƒr›r 53Óláfr kyrri, son of Haraldr har›rá›i, king Reykjadalr/Reykjardalr (Reykholtsdalur)of Norway (d. 1093) 56
53, 171Óláfr rau›i, king of the Scots 72–79, 80 n., Reykjadalsáróss, where the river flows
101
into Hvítá, Reykja(r)dalr 53
Óláfr trételgja (wood-cutter/carver), Reykjanes, south-west Iceland 38, 41(legendary) king in Sweden 130
Reykjardalr see ReykjadalrÓláfr, son of Haraldr hárfagri, king in Reykjarhamarr, on the south side of BorgarNorway 93
fjƒr›r 145Óláfr pái Hƒskuldsson 144
Rogaland, between Ag›ir and Hƒr›alandÓláfr Tryggvason, king of Norway 995–
in Norway 10, 48–49, 93, 126
1000 182
Rosmhvalanes, on Reykjanes 143Óleifr halti (hjalti in other sources) 40, Róta, valkyrie 85
53–54Rƒgnir (= Ó›inn) 92
Ólƒf see ÁlofRƒgnvaldr, son of King Eiríkr bló›øx 94–
Ónerir, a giant (= Ónarr, father of Jƒr›?) 84
95, 97
Orkneyjar (Orkney) 5, 46, 101Rƒgnvaldr Mœrajarl 4
Ormr inn sterki Stórólfsson 30
Rƒkkvi, sea-king 162
Orrostuhváll (‘battle hillock’), near Leiru- Salbjƒrg, daughter of Ber›lu-Kári, wifelœkr 177of Kveld-Úlfr 1Óslóarfjƒr›r (Oslofjord) 115, 129
Sandnes, farm on Álƒst in Vefsnir, HálogaOstr, island in Ostrarfjƒr›r (Osterø) 51 n.
land 8, 10–13, 18, 20–21, 25–26, 28–
Ostrarfir›ir, in Hƒr›aland 32
29, 31Ósvífr inn spaki 162, 165
Sandvík, on Digranes in Borgarfjƒr›r 54Óttarr, son of Bjƒrn inn austrœni 162
Sau›ey, island near Atl(a)ey in Norway 61
Ragi, son of Óleifr halti 40
Sau›ungssund, in Fjalir 91
Ragnarr lo›brók 72
Saxland (Saxony) 71, 128
Ragnarr Guttormsson 35
Selalón, west of M‡rar 39
Ragnhildr, daughter of King Eiríkr bló›øx Serkr Brynjólfsson of Sogn 56
101
Sighvatr rau›i 29
Ragnhildr Guttormsdóttir 35
Sigmundarnes, by Nor›rá 40
Rán, goddess, wife of Ægir 148, 149 n. Sigmundarsta›ir, farm in Borgarfjƒr›r on
Rangá in eystri (river in southern Iceland)
the south side of Hvítá 40
30
Sigmundr, farmer at Sigmundarsta›ir 40
Rangá in ‡tri (river in southern Iceland) 30 Sigrí›r Sigur›ardóttir of Sandnes, wife ofRannveig, wife of ﬁóroddr go›i 144
Bár›r, later of ﬁórólfr Kveld-Úlfsson,
Rannveig, daughter of ﬁór›r of Aurland 56
and finally of Eyvindr lambi 8, 11–12,
Rannveig, daughter of ﬁór›r son of Rannveig,
27–29
King Óláfr kyrri’s mother-in-law 56 Sigtryggr snarfari 22, 24–25, 36–37

300

EGILS SAGA

Sigur›r, lendr ma›r on Sandnes 8, 10–12 Steinarr, son of ¯nundr sjóni at ÁnaSigur›r hjƒrtr 35
brekka 39 n., 168–78
Sigur›r Eysteinsson, jarl in Orkney 46 Steindórr, son of Óláfr Hƒskuldsson 144
Sigur›r Guttormsson 35
Steinssund, western Norway 91
Sigur›r, son of Haraldr hárfagri, king in Stor›, island off Hƒr›aland 154
Norway 93
Stórólfr Hœngsson at Stórólfshváll 30
Sigvaldi Strút-Haraldsson, jarl in Den- Stórólfshváll see Hváll
mark 164, 165 n.
Stórólfsvƒllr (Hvolsvöllur), southern IceSkáld-Hrafn (Hrafn ¯nundarson) 168, 182
land 30
Skalla-Grímr Kveld-Úlfsson see Grímr Straumfjƒr›r, fjord and farm on M‡rar 41
Skapti ﬁórarinsson, priest (12th century) 182 Su›reyjar (Hebrides) 5, 46
Skapti ﬁóroddsson, lawspeaker 1004–30 Sumarli›i Herjólfsson 30
144
Sunnmœrr (Sunnmøre), in Norway 3, 4Skar›shei›r, south of Borgarfjƒr›r 178 Svartr, slave of Ketill gufa 143
Skarnssund, in Norway 26 (see note)
Sveinn Brynjólfsson 56
Skegg-ﬁórir, in Her›la in Norway, see ﬁórir Svíakonungr, king of the Swedes 23, 104
Skorrey, island off M‡rar 143
Svíaveldi, the realm of the Swedes 130
Skorri, Ketill gufa’s slave 143
Sygnafylki (Sogn) 88
Skotakonungr (king of the Scots) 72, 73 Syn (goddess) 179(see Ólafr rau›i)S‡r (a name for Freyja) 92
Skotar (Scots) 71–73, 77–79, 101, 109 Sæheimr, farm in Hƒr›aland, north of
Skotland (Scotland) 5, 72, 75–76, 101
Bergen (Seim) 48
Skr‡mir, Steinarr ¯nundarson’s sword 177 Sæunnr, daughter of Skalla-Grímr 42, 86
Skuld, norn 85Sƒlvi klofi, son of King Húnﬂjófr of Nor›Skúli, son of ﬁorsteinn Egilsson 168, 182
mœrr 3, 4
Snarfari = Sigtryggr snarfari 37
Tjaldanes, near Mosfell 181
Snæfellsstrƒnd, the south side of Snæfells- Torgar (Torgø), island off Hálogaland 7–8,
nes, western Iceland 168–69, 177
11–12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 29
Sogn (Sygnafylki), in Norway 6, 44, 48– Trefill (ﬁorkell trefill) Rau›a-Bjarnarson
49, 55–56, 69, 116, 122, 124–25, 143
166
Sognsær, fjord in Sogn (Sognefjorden) 36, Tryggvi Óláfsson, king in the Vík 142
45, 48, 91
Tungu-Oddr see Oddr
Sólskel, island off Nor›mœrr 4
Túnsberg, town in Vestfold, Norway
Sólundir, islands off Sognsær (Solund(Tønsberg) 35, 93øyar) 35
Tveggi, a name of Ó›inn 154
Solveig in fagra, daughter of Atli inn Úlfr see Kveld-Úlfr
mjóvi 2Úlfr, name of two brothers 138, 141
Són, a vessel containing the mead of Úlfr inn óargi, grandfather of Kveld-Úlfr 1
poetry (Skáldskaparmál 3) 161
Ullr, god 134
Sonatorrek (poem), ‘the irreparable loss Upplƒnd, in Norway (Oppland) 2, 23, 25,of sons’ 154
31, 115, 132
Sta›r (Stadtland), headland on the boun- Uppsala, Sweden 37 n.
dary of Sunnmœrr and Fir›afylki 4Útsteinn (Utsten), manor of King Haraldr
Staf(a)holt, farm by Nor›rá in Borgarhárfagri on an island off Rogaland 48
fjƒr›r 171 and noteVáfu›r (a name of Ó›inn) 164
Stakksm‡rr, marsh near Borg 168–69
Vágar, islands off Hálogaland (Østvågø,Stangarholt, farm in Borgarfjƒr›r 39, 176
Vestvågø) 21

INDEX

301

Vƒllr, farm on Rangárvellir, southern
Valdres, in Upplƒnd 31
Iceland 30
Valgar›r at Hof, son of Jƒrundr go›i 30
Vƒrl, island off Sunnmœrr (Valderø) 118
Váli son of Ketill gufa 144
Yggr, a name of Ó›inn 157
Valland (France) 5, 77
Ynglingr (descendant of Yngvi) 37 n., 156
Valr, mythological horse 179
Yngvarr, of Fir›ir, Icelandic settler 25, 40–
Vár, goddess 112 n.
41, 43, 44 n., 99
Varmalœkr, farm near Flókadalr 40†rr, daughter of Geirmundr heljarskinn
Vatn, lake or pool in Gufuá 176
and wife of Ketill gufa 144
Vefsnir, fjord in Hálogaland (Vefnsfjord)ﬁjórsá, river in southern Iceland 30
8, 18
Vellekla (‘lack or shortage of gold’, a ﬁóra hla›hƒnd, daughter of Jarl Hróaldr
in Fir›afylki 44–48, 51, 87–88
poem) 164ﬁóra, daughter of ﬁórir hersir 114
Velli dat. of Vƒllr
Vellir (acc. Vƒllu; = Hvítárvellir) in Borgar- ﬁóra, daughter of ﬁorsteinn Egilsson 168
ﬁórarinn, brother of Ragi Óleifsson 40
fjƒr›r 144
ﬁórarna see ﬁórƒrnusynir
Vémundr, king in Fir›afylki 4
Vermaland (Värmland), in central Sweden ﬁorbergr, son of Óláfr pái 144
ﬁorbjƒrg, daughter of Óláfr pái 144
130, 138, 142
ﬁorbjƒrn digri see Bjƒrn inn digri
Vermundr ﬁorgrímsson 144
ﬁorbjƒrn hornklofi, Norwegian poet 9
Vestarr Hœngsson 30
Vestfold/Vestrfold, the west side of Oslo- ﬁorbjƒrn krumr, son of ﬁórarna 32, 39ﬁórdís, daughter of Óláfr feilan 40
fjord 22, 35
ﬁórdís Yngvarsdóttir 99
Vestrlƒnd, the British Isles 5
Vetrli›i Sumarli›ason, Icelandic poet 30 ﬁórdís, daughter of ﬁorfinnr strangi 86
Véﬂormr, a dubious name in Arinbjarnar- ﬁórdís stƒng ﬁórisdóttir 39
ﬁórdís, daughter of ﬁórólfr Skalla-Grímskvi›a, 160
son 84, 86, 100, 144, 167, 178, 180–81
Viddi, a giant 42 (see Glossary)Ví›im‡rr, farm in Skagafjƒr›r, northern ﬁór›r, error for ﬁóroddr 144 n.
ﬁór›r, brother of Hallvar›r har›fari and
Iceland 166
Sigtryggr snarfari 22, 24
Vi›rir, a name of Ó›inn 106–07, 159
ﬁór›r beigaldi (Beigaldi), son of ﬁórarnaVi›urr, a name of Ó›inn 146, 147 n.
32, 39Víga-Bar›i Gu›mundarson 144
Vík (Víkin, the land either side of Oslo- ﬁór›r of Aurland, son of Brynjólfr 44, 55,
56, 88, 90, 116, 122, 124 n., 143
fjord) 2, 10, 23–25, 35, 70, 94, 114–ﬁór›r gellir, son of Óláfr feilan 40, 167
15, 124, 128–30, 142–43
Víkverjar, inhabitants of the Vík 24, 93 ﬁór›r Granason 53–54
ﬁór›r, son of Rannveig, daughter of ﬁór›rVili/Vílir, brother of Ó›inn 112, 153
of Aurland 56
Vína, a river in Bjarmaland (the Northernﬁór›r, son of ﬁorgeirr lambi (ﬁór›r LambaDvina) 51
son) 99, 143
Vína, a river on Vínhei›r in Englandﬁór›r, son of ﬁorsteinn Egilsson 168(Wen?) 80
Vínhei›r, unidentified place in England 74 ﬁorfi›r strangi at Langárfors 68–70, 77,
79, 86
Vínuskógar 74
Vitar, rock and small islands off Fir›ir in ﬁorfinnr, farmer at Ei›askógr 132, 135–
37, 142
Norway 94
ﬁorgeirr, farmer on Álptanes, kinsman ofVors, in Hƒr›aland 31–32
ﬁorsteinn Egilsson 176Vænir (Vänern), lake in Sweden 130 n.

302

EGILS SAGA

ﬁorgeirr blundr, son of Geirr inn au›gi 53, ﬁorsteinn, son of Egill Skalla-Grímsson
175, 178
34 n., 39, 124, 146, 166–78, 182
ﬁorgeirr, brother of Hallvar›r har›fari and ﬁorsteinn, son of ﬁóra and Eiríkr alspakr
Sigtryggr snarfari 22, 24
114–16, 124, 129–31, 142–43, 167
ﬁorgeirr jar›langr of Jar›langssta›ir 32, 39 ﬁórunn, daughter of Skalla-Grímr 42, 52–53
ﬁorgeirr lambi of Lambasta›ir 99
ﬁorvaldr ofsi 68–69
ﬁorgeirr, son of ﬁorsteinn Egilsson 168, 182 ﬁórƒrnusynir 32
ﬁorgeirr ﬂyrnifótr at Askr 51, 84, 90, 91 n. ﬁrándarholt, farm in Flókadalr 53
ﬁorger›r, daughter of Bjƒrn inn digri 168 ﬁrándheimr (= ﬁrœndalƒg) 2–4, 8, 10–11,
ﬁorger›r brák, slave-woman of Skalla18–19, 25, 28, 35, 100, 115, 130
Grímr 54ﬁrándr, slave of Steinarr at Ánabrekka
ﬁorger›r, daughter of Egill Skalla-Gríms169–70
son 124, 144–46, 154
ﬁruma, island off Austr-Ag›ir, southernﬁorgils gjallandi (dat. ﬁorgísli) 16–17, 21–
Norway 23
24, 35–36
ﬁrœndalƒg (n. pl.)(= ﬁrándheimr; Trøndeﬁorgils ¯gmundarson 168
lag, district in Norway) 2ﬁórhallr go›i Oddason 144ﬁrœndir, people of ﬁrœndalƒg 93ﬁórir (Skegg-ﬁórir) 95, 98
ﬁundr (Ó›inn) 31, 80
ﬁórir haklangr, king in Ag›ir 10
ﬁurí›r dylla, daughter of Gunnlaugr Hróﬁórir ﬂruma 23–24
mundarson 86
ﬁórir ﬂurs of ﬁurssta›ir 32, 39
ﬁurí›r, daughter of Óláfr pái 144
ﬁórir hersir, son of Hróaldr jarl in Fir›a- ﬁurssta›ir, near Borg 39
fylki and father of Arinbjƒrn 2, 34, 44– ﬁverá, river in Borgarfjƒr›r 39
50, 56–58, 61–63, 66, 68–70, 84, 88– ﬁverá, river in southern Iceland 30
89, 114, 159
ﬁverárhlí› (hlí› = (hill)side), in Borgarﬁórir, son of Ketill kjƒlfari 38fjƒr›r 86
ﬁorkell Gunnvaldsson 166
ﬁyrnifótr see ﬁorgeirr ﬂyrnifótr
ﬁorkell Naumdœlajarl 29
Ægir, personification of the sea 149, 152 n.
ﬁórlaug, daughter of Hrafn Hœngsson, ¯gmundr Galtason 168
Lawspeaker 30¯gvaldsnes (Avaldsnes), farm on Kƒrmt
ﬁormó›r, slave of Ketill gufa 143–144(Karmøy), Rogaland 48
ﬁormó›r, follower (húskarl) of ﬁorsteinn ¯krum see Akrar
ﬁóruson 167¯lfus, area of south-west Iceland 144
ﬁormó›r Kleppjárnsson 168¯lvaldr, farmer at ¯lvaldssta›ir 175–76
ﬁormó›ssker, rocks off M‡rar 143¯lvaldssta›ir, by Gufuá in Borgarfjƒr›r 176
ﬁóroddr go›i (Eyvindarson) in ¯lfus 144 ¯lvir, ﬁórir hersir’s servant 57–62
ﬁóroddr Hrísablundr, son of Geirr inn ¯lvir hnúfa, son of Ber›lu-Kári, Norweau›gi 53
gian poet 1–2, 4–6, 9–10, 16–17, 19,ﬁóroddr, son of Tungu-Oddr 167
27–29, 31–34
ﬁórólfr Kveld-Úlfsson 1–2, 6–7, 9–21, ¯nundr (Berg-¯nundr) 51, 84, 86–90,
23–29, 31–33, 35–36, 38, 42, 50 n.,
94–97, 104, 114, 115 n., 122
104, 114¯nundr sjóni, farmer at Ánabrekka, sonﬁórólfr Skalla-Grímsson 42–43, 47–52,
of Áni 39, 125, 131, 168, 172–76
55–57, 62–63, 65–73, 76–80, 82–84, ¯zurr toti, father of Queen Gunnhildr and86, 100, 114of the brothers Eyvindr skreyja and Álfrﬁórr (god) 31, 93 n., 94 n.
askma›r 51, 69
ﬁorskafjƒr›r, north-west Iceland 144¯zurr Eyvindarson 144