The Story of the Heath-Slayings
(Heitharvega Saga)

Preface

Heitharvega saga, as a literary product, is unquestionably the oldest of all the sagas of Iceland. Unfortunately it has come down to us in a sadly mangled state. Ours being the first attempt at an English rendering of the difficult original, we consider that a concise account of the "fata libelli" containing it, is in place at the head of our prefatory remarks.

It was acquired by purchase from Iceland by the Royal Academy of Antiquities in Sweden, through the agency of the Icelander, Jon Eggertsson, in the year 1682. (1) It is now incorporated in the Royal Library at Stockholm, bearing the signature 18 among the Icelandic quartos. At the time of its purchase it may or may not have been a perfect book, probably the latter was the case; (2) at any rate, when Arni Magnusson ascertained its existence in Sweden, after 1722, it was but a remnant of a book, consisting of thirty-six leaves. Of these the first 25-1/2 contained a fragment of the story of Slaying Stir and the saga of the Heath-slayings complete, with the exception of one leaf (see our translation, Chapter XXXIV). The remaining 12-1/2 leaves contained the text of the saga of Gunnlaug the Wormtongue, the best existing of that saga.

Arni Magnusson having applied to the Swedish Academy for the loan of the MS, obtained, fortunately, only the first twelve leaves of it, the obvious reason being that those leaves had become disconnected from the rest, of the existence of which, for a long time afterwards, no one had the least idea. Of these twelve leaves Arni caused his able amanuensis, Jon Olafsson from Grunnavik (1705-1778), to take a copy, in the latter part of the year 1727; but original as well as copy were both destroyed in the Copenhagen conflagration of 1728. In the following year Olafsson wrote down from memory the contents of the destroyed leaves, from which we have drawn the brief introductory matter to the story. On a journey of antiquarian research to Stockholm in 1772, Hannes Finnsson (son of the famous Church historian of Iceland, Finnur Jonsson) discovered the lost remainder of the precious fragment, the best edition of which is Jon Sigurdsson's in the second volume of Islendingasogur, 1847. On his edition our translation depends.

Of all the Icelandic sagas this is the most quaint in style. The author knows not yet how to handle prose for the purpose of historical composition. In one and the same sentence allocutive speech and historic narrative are blended together in the most unconscious manner. The author assumes tacitly all throughout that the reader knows all about his tale; hence he hardly ever takes the trouble to add to the Christian names of the actors the patronymic. In one instance this confidence in the reader's knowledge carries him even so far as in chap. xxxix. to refer to a person mentioned in the beginning of chap. xxxvi. (Thorod Kegward) as "he". This, more than any other Icelandic saga, affords us an insight into what the saga-telling was like during the period of oral tradition. It was the common property of teller and listener alike. This the former knew, and need not be on his guard against disjointed, loopholed delivery; the listener's knowledge supplied all troublesome little details, the teller took care of facts, characters, dramatic action.

We deemed we had no choice but to let our translation represent the peculiarity of the style of the original as faithfully as possible.

With regard to the plot of the story, it is as dramatically arranged a plot as there is in any existing Icelandic saga, and much more naively than in any. The sage of Lechmote, Thorarin, a most perfect type of a devoted foster-father, half distrustful of the ability of his fosterling, arranges the whole thing most quietly and carefully at his Willowdale retreat. He makes his fosterling pray for atonement for his brother, with the most dignified moderation, at the Althing, until, as he calculated, the rash and reckless Gisli should turn everybody's sympathy in favour of Bardi, which, in the event of a blood-feud, would be of the greatest avail to him. Next there were two important things to look to. Since at the hands of the men who stood next to make honourable satisfaction for the slaying of Bardi's brother, Hall, nothing but insult was obtained instead of atonement, and peaceful arrangement was thus excluded,.the revenge must be of the most insulting nature possible. No insult could exceed that of being fought, wounded, slain by one's own faithful weapon. So Thorarin secures, in a very slippery way, the best weapon possessed by Gisli's father, Thorgaut, (3) and hands it to Bardi, while from another among the Gislungs he obtains also one for his son Thorberg, weapons that make good execution in the Heath- battle. The second point was to be well informed as to the doings of the Gislungs and other folk in Burgfirth, without arousing any suspicion of espionage with a view to a sudden raid upon the country. For this purpose the old foster-father caused two pet-horses to be removed from their pastures at Thingvellir during the last Althing at which Bardi craved atonement for his brother, while their owner, Thord of Broadford, from the North country, was attending to public business there. Burgfirth being the nearest country-side with fine pastures to the tracts of Thingvellir, everybody would naturally suppose that Thord's pets must have strayed thither and, not turning up, did elude search hidden in some of Burgfirth's many valleys. Thus Thorarin had a specious pretext for repeatedly sending his spies to Burgfirth to inquire, in Thord of Broadford's name, for these horses while, in reality, they went to find out all about the Gislungs and their numerous allies. These plans of Thorarin, carefully veiled from the outset, are first allowed to come out in their true aim and importance in the story, when the hour of action has struck, and the effect is really artistic. In much the same wary vein are conceived Thorarin's last injunctions as to the tactics to be adopted by Bardi. One third of his company of eighteen was to be stationed up at the Bridge by Biarnisforce as a last reserve, the second third midway between this spot and Goldmead, and the last third, consisting of Bardi himself, his two brothers, two fosterlings of his own house, and his housecarle Thord -- as being the most obedient to Bardi's word -- were to make the attack on the mowers of Goldmeed, Gisli and his brothers. On the field of deed, therefore, no one knew that the attacking party consisted of more than six, and this, Thorarin accurately calculated, would serve to rouse the ardour of the pursuit to such an extent, that those who got first ready would not care to lose time by waiting for reinforcements coming up. Thus the Southerners plunged into the fight against great odds, and got the worst of it.

Our saga tells of events which throughout the whole saga-age of Iceland most seriously threatened to disturb the general peace of the land. A family feud had developed into a state of war between North and South, and it was really due to the cool peacemaker of Saelingsdale-tongue, Snorri, that the end was peace instead of prolonged civil feud. After the general manner of our saga, his interest in Bardi's affair seems at first to have something mysterious about it. Bardi meets him in the dusk with dropped visor, as he is crossing the Blanda in company with Thorgils Arison his brother-in-law, and forthwith Snorri tricks Thorgils, who knows nothing of Bardi's presence, into solemnly proclaiming truce for all present, whereby Thorgils unwittingly dissociated himself from his kindred and friends of Burgfirth as an active ally in case of continued feud. Then Snorri goes to Lechmote, and the two deep chiefs take counsel together, when, we may take for granted, Bardi's alliance to Snorri was first bespoken, and the latter's goodwill in the forthcoming blood-suit secured. Circumstances favoured Bardi all round now. Snorri was not forgetful of old grudges. At the head of a band of four hundred strong the Burgfirthers had foiled him but a few years before when seeking to serve a lawful summons on the slayer of his father-in-law. In the blood-suit which afterwards he brought into court at the Althing, he was non-suited by Thorstein Gislison, backed by his Burgfirth kin and neighbours. Then he took Thorstein's life, but came ingloriously out of the blood- suit, as the Ere-dwellers' story clearly hints. Bardi's case was therefore Snorri's opportunity for restoring his shaken prestige. And when at the Althing the Burfirthers saw that he had thrown the great weight of Broadfirth into the scale of the Northlanders, they had no choice but peacefully to make the best of a serious case. In the light of this situation only we can understand, how the Burgfirthers could put up with such a galling award as to have four of their well-born men that fell in the Heath-fight left unatoned.

A remarkable popular tradition, linked to our saga, lives still in the country of Hunawater, to the effect that, after the battle of the Heath, Bardi built up the work to this day called Burg-Work, and there defended himself against the Burgfirthers, being twice attacked by them in force. The learned Paul Vidalin (1667-1727), in his "Skyringar yfir fornyrthi logbokar theirrar er Jonsbok kallast," p. 625, s.v. "virki", thus recounts the legend, as told him by his uncle, Gudbrand, son of Arngrim Jonsson (1568-1648): "So it is said, that Bardi Gudmundson of Asbiornsness caused the same work to be reared against expected attacks by the Burgfirthers, after he had avenged his brother Hall, and this, people aver, is related in the story of the Heath-slayings. Bardi set out watches in two places, one on Thorey's-nip, to keep a look-out on the Burgfirthers should they ride over Two-days' Heath, the other on Rednip, watching their ride over Ernwater Heath, whether descending into Willowdale or Waterdale. As soon as aware of their approach, the watches were to light a beacon. Even as he had guessed the Burgfirthers made their appearance (by what road the tale does not say), and Bardi with his followers went into the work, which the attackers besieged, making several attempts to carry it, but being repulsed, resolved to starve those within it, and invested it for a fortnight; but the besieged being plentifully provisioned, the Burgfirthers had to retire, having effected nothing. This narrative by Gudbrand Arngrimson, according to tradition, says that the statement is found in the story of the Heath-slayings." Vidalin was evidently much interested in this tradition, and collected further evidence relating to it which, though evidently later, agreed in all essential points with his uncle's.

This Gudbrand was born in 1639 (ob. 1719), and was thus forty- three years of age, when Jon Eggertsson secured the MS. of our story in Iceland. Gudbrand's father was in his day by a long way the most learned man in Iceland, his great rival, Bishop Brynjolf, appearing on the scene first towards the close of Arngrim's life. He was a collector of MSS. and author of standard works upon the history and antiquities of his country. A learned contemporary of his was Magnus Olafsson, priest of Vellir and Laufas (1591-1636), both livings being within the diocese of Holar, of which Arngrim was "officialis" for five-and- thirty years (1596-1628). These two men knew one another well enough; and both were ardent pursuers of one and the same line of study. Now Magnus made himself famous in the literary world by compiling a rearranged edition of the "Prose Edda" from "Codex Wormianus", which goes by the name of "Laufas Edda". Into this edition is incorporated a strophe and a half by Guest, son of Thorhall, the slayer of Stir, in which the killing of Stir in particular is commemorated. This being the only edition of "Edda" containing these verses, it is evident that they were culled from a copy of our saga at least six-and-forty years before that copy which Jon Eggerrsson secured left the country, in all probability a good many years earlier. Now Jon Eggertsson got his copy from the Northland, so presumably it was the same that Magnus Olafsson had used for his "Edda". It stands obviously to reason that Arngrim the Learned should have known of this work in his friend's possession, and should have obtained the loan of it, and thus a possible link between the tradition known to his son, Gudbrand, and "Heitharviga saga" itself would be obtained. On the obliterated page of the original of our saga (Chapter XXXII) there certainly is reference made to Bardi's bargaining with friends and kindred for supplies for a "seta", body-guard, but apparently it seems to refer to Asbiornsness. So much seems certain, however, that what Bardi required must have been very considerable, since one man contributed no less than twelve wethers.