After Geirroth and his older brother, Agnar, were stranded on an island, they were in the care of an old woman and her husband. The man later gave them a boat so they were finally able to make their way back home, but Geirroth got out of the boat first and pushed it back into the sea and away from shore, practically sending his brother to his death. Since their father had died while they were stranded, Geirroth became king.