Egill Skallagrímsson Egill Skallagrímsson also known as Egil Skallagrimsson ( c . 910c . 990 ) was a Viking Age poet , warrior and farmer . He is also the protagonist of the eponym ous " Egil ' s Saga " . " Egil ' s Saga " historically narrates a period from approximately 850 - 1000 CE , being written somewhere between 1220 and 1240 . Life . Egill was born in Iceland , the son of Skalla - Grímr Kveldúlfsson and Bera Yngvarsdóttir , and the grandson of Kveld - Úlfr ( " Evening Wolf " ) . When Grímr arrived in Iceland , he settled at Borg , the place where his father ' s coffin landed . Grímr was a respected chieftain and mortal enemy of King Harald Fairhair of Norway . Egill composed his first poem at the age of three years . He exhibited berserk behaviour , and this , together with the description of his large and unattractive head , has led to the theory that he might have suffered from Paget ' s disease . At the age of seven , Egill was cheated in a game with local boys . Enraged , he went home and procured an axe , and returning to the boys , split the skull of the boy who cheated him , to the teeth . After Berg - Önundr refused to allow Egill to claim his wife Ásgerðr ' s share of her father ' s inheritance , he challenged Önundr to a holmgang . Later , after being grievously insulted , Egill killed Bárðr of Atley , a retainer of King Eirik Bloodaxe and kinsman of Queen Gunnhildr , both of whom spent the remainder of their lives trying to take vengeance . Seething with hatred , Gunnhildr ordered her two brothers to assassinate Egill and his brother Þórólfr , who had been on good terms with her previously . However , Egill slew the Queen ' s brothers when they attempted to confront him . That same summer , Harald Fairhair died . In order to secure his place as sole King of Norway , Eirik Bloodaxe murderered his two brothers . He then declared Egill an outlaw in Norway . Berg - Önundr gathered a company of men to capture Egill , but was killed in his attempt to do so . Before escaping from Norway , Egill also slew Rögnvaldr , the son of King Eirik and Queen Gunnhildr . He then cursed the King and Queen , setting a horse ' s head on a " Nithing pole " and saying , Gunnhildr also put a spell on Egill , which made him feel restless and depressed until they met again . Soon afterwards , Eiríkr and Gunnhildr were forced to flee to the Kingdom of Northumbria by Prince Hákon . In Saxon England , they were set up as King and Queen of Northumbria in rivalry with King Athelstan of England . Ultimately , Egill was shipwrecked in Northumbria and came to know who ruled the land . Egil sought out the house his good friend Arinbjorn where they armed themselves and marched to Eiríkr ' s court . Arinbjorn told Egil “ now you must go and offer the king your head and embrace his foot . I will present your case to him . ” Arinbjorn presented Egil ’ s case and Egil composed a short Drapa , reciting it with Eirikr ’ s foot in his hand , but Eirikr was not impressed . He explained that Egil ’ s wrongs to him were far too great to be forgiven so easily . Gunnhild called for the immediate execution of Egil , but Arinbjorn convinced the king not to kill him until the morning . Arinbjorn told Egil that he should stay up all night and compose a mighty drapa fit for such a king . In the morning Egil went before the king and recited a great drapa . Eirik was so surprised by the quality of the poem that he had no choice but to give Egil his life . Egill also fought at the Battle of Brunanburh in the service of King Athelstan . Ultimately , Egill returned to his family farm in Iceland , where he remained a power to be reckoned with in local politics . He lived into his eighties and died shortly before Iceland converted to Roman Catholicism . Before Egill died he buried his silver treasure near Mosfellsbær . In his last act of violence he murdered the servant who helped him bury his treasure . When a Roman Catholic chapel was constructed at the family homestead , Egill ' s body was re - exumed by his son and re - buried near the altar . Issue . Egill had five children with Ásgerðr Björnsdóttir : Þorgerðr Egilsdóttir , Bera Egilsdóttir , Böðvar Egilsson , Gunnar Egilsson and Þorsteinn Egilsson . In later years , Iceland ' s Myrar clan claimed descent from him . Poems . Apart from being a warrior of immense might in literary sources , Egill is also celebrated for his poetry , considered by many historians to be the finest of the ancient Scandinavian poetry and " Sonatorrek " , the dirge over his own son , has been called " the birth of Nordic personal lyric poetry " . His poems were also the first Old Norse verses to use end rhyme . The following works are attributed to Egill : The following is one of Egill ' s " Lausavísur " ( no . 3 ) , found in chapter 40 of " Egils Saga " : Runes . Egill was also a scholar of runes . His apparent mastery of their magic powers assisted him several times during his journeys . During a feast at Atla - isle , Bard ' s attempt to poison Egill failed when a rune carved by Egill shattered his poisoned cup . Runes were also employed by Egill during the raising of the Nithing Pole against King Eirik Bloodaxe and Queen Gunnhildr . At a companion ' s request , he examined a sick woman . A local land owner , after being denied her hand in marriage , had attempted to carve love - runes . Instead , he had mistakenly carved runes causing illness . Egill burned the offending runes and carved runes for health , and the woman recovered . He then sang a poem declaring that " Runes none should grave ever / Who knows not to read them . " External links . In English : In Icelandic :