Chapter 22

Of The Egging-On of Thurid.

"Go on dighting the board," said he, "and speak not thereof before other men."

But Thurid (1) said that to those sons of hers he should deal no portion of breakfast, but she would deal it.

Kollgris did even so, and set forth the board, a trencher for each man, and set meat thereon.

Then went in Thurid and laid a portion before each of those brethren, and there was now that ox-shoulder cut up in three.

Taketh up Steingrim the word and said: "Hugely is this carved, mother, nor hast thou been wont to give men meat in such measureless fashion. Unmeasured mood there is herein, and nigh witless of wits art thou become." (2)

She answereth: "No marvel is this, and nought hast thou to wonder thereat; for bigger was Hall thy brother caryen, and I heard ye tell nought thereof that any wonder was that."

She let a stone go with the flesh-meat for each one of them; and they asked what that might betoken. She answereth: "Of that ye brethren have most which is no more likely for avail than are these stones (for food), insomuch as ye have not dared to avenge Hall your brother, such a man as he was; and far off have ye fallen away from your kinsmen, the men of great worth, who would not have sat down under such shame and disgrace as yea long while have done, and gotten the blame of many therefor."

Then she walked up along the floor shrieking, and sang a stave:

     "I say that the cravers of songs of the battle
     Now soon shall be casting their shame-word on Bardi.
     The tale shall be told of thee, God of the wound-worm,
     That thy yore-agone kindred with shame thou undoest;
     Unless thou, the ruler of light once a-lying
     All under the fish-road shall let it be done,
     That the lathe-fire's bidders at last be red-hooded.
     Let all folk be hearkening this song of my singing."

That was on a Sunday when it lacked five weeks of winter.

So they leap a-horseback and ride away out of the home-mead.

Now see those brethren of Thurid their mother, that she was gotten aback of the horse that they called Yokeard, and had called to her a housecarle for her fellow, a man not named, but of whom it is said that he had no bottom of wits.

Then said Bardi: "This turneth toward mishap that she has taken to this journey; and this might we well lack; so now let us seek rede and help her to come down (off the nag)."

Then he calleth to him his home-men Olaf and Day.

"Now shall ye two," said Bardi, "ride to meet her, and talk with her seemly and fair; but do as I bid you. Ye shall say that it is well that she has come on the journey with us, and bid the house-carle give her good following. Ye shall steady her in the saddle, and so ride until you come as far forth as Saxlech;" it falls out of Westhope-water and down into Willowdale-water. A piece of road whereon folk are wont to give spur to their horses, leads to the brook from the north, and also forth from it; "and then shall ye spring her saddle-girths. Day shall do that, making as if he would girth up her horse, when ye come to the brook; then down with her from horseback, so that she fall into the brook, saddle and all; and bring the horse away with you."

So they rode to meet her, and greeted her well. She saith: "So it is ye two, who betake you to this, to ride to meet me and honour me, rather than my sons?"

"They bade us do this errand," say they.

She says: "For this cause am I come on this journey, that then meseemeth the less will certain great deeds fall short, whereas there shall be no lack of egging on now, and forsooth there is need thereof."

They say that it will be of much avail this her faring with them. So they rode till they came up to Saxlech; then spake Day: "Thy follower is but a natural, Thurid, and he has not so girthed thine horse that it will do; it is a mighty shame to have such a thing as he to follow doughty women."

"Do thou girth the horse better, then," says she, "and follow me thereafter."

He falls to now, and springs the girths of the carline's horse, and so she, saddle and all, falls into Saxlech, even as those fellows had been bidden. Thurid ran no risk of hurt there, and crawled out of the brook. The two men rode away, and had the horse with them. Thurid got home in the evening with her house- carle, and was nowise fain of her errand.

Cahpter 23

How Foster-Father And Foster-Mother Array Bardi.

They straightway fall to talk, and the fosterer and fosterling come to speech. "Nay, foster-father," saith Bardi, "great is the sword which thou layest there across thy knee."

"Hast thou not seen me have this weapon before, thou heedful and watchful?" saith Thorarin. "So it is, I have not had it before. And now shall we two shift weapons; I shall have that which thou now hast."

So did they; and Bardi asks whence it came to him. He told him, with all the haps of how it fared betwixt him who owned it and Lyng-Torfi, and how he had drawn him in to seek the weapons. "But Thorberg my son hath the other weapon, and Thorbiorn owns that, but Thorgaut owns that which thou hast. Most meet it seemed to me, that their own weapons should lay low their pride and masterful mood; therefore devised I this device, and therewithal this, that thou mightest avenge thee of the shame that they have done to thee and thy kindred. Now will I that thou be true to my counsel with me, such labour as I have put forth for thine honour."

Now ride they into the home-mead of Burg unto Eyolf, the brother- in-law of those brethren. There were two harnessed horses before the door when Bardi came into the garth; and on one of them was the victual of the brethren, and were meant for provision for their journey; and that was the meaning of the new-slain flesh- meat which Bardi let bring thither erst; but Alof their sister and Kiannok, Bardi's foster-mother, had dight the same.

Now Eyolf leaps a-horseback and is all ready to ride into the home-mead from the doors. Then came out a woman and called on Bardi, and said that he should ride back to the doors, and that she had will to speak with him; and she was Alof, his sister. He bade the others ride on before, and said that he would not tarry them.

So he cometh to the door and asketh her what she would. She biddeth him light down and come see his foster-mother. So did he, and went in. The carline was muttering up at the further end of the chamber, as she lay in her bed there. "Who goeth there now?" says she.

He answereth: "Now is Bardi here; what wilt thou with me, foster- mother?"

"Come thou hither," saith she; "welcome art thou now. Now have I slept," saith she, "but I waked through the night arraying thy victual along with thy sister. Come thou hither, and I will stroke thee over."

Bardi did according to her word, for he loved her much.

She fell to work, beginning with the crown of his head and stroked him all over right down to the toes.

Bardi said: "What feelest thou herein, and what art thou minded will be, that thou strokest me so carefully?"

She answereth: "I think well of it; nowhere meseemeth is aught in the way of a big bump, to come upon."

Bardi was a big man and stark of pith, and thick was the neck of him; she spans his neck with her hands, and taketh from her sark a big pair of beads which was hers, and winds it about his neck, and draggeth his shirt up over it.

He had a whittle at his neck in a chain, and that she let abide. Then she bade him farewell; and he rideth away now after his fellows; but she called after him, "Let it now abide so arrayed, as I have arrayed it; and meseemeth that then things will go well."


ENDNOTES:

"Sa. einn veit, es vitha ratar ok hefir fjolth um farith, hverjo gethi styrir gumna hverr, sa es vitandi er vitz; i.e.:"

"one wot I, who wanderth wide and many farings fareth, to know what mind each man may wield that wots he's wise of wits." (*)

Given a negative turn to the last line of the strophe, we have exactly Steingrim's half-despairing reproach to his mother, which even in the context of the original stands out convincingly as an endeavour of a pious son to veil by a venerable quotation of exquisite delicacy the direct rude term which passion prompted, namely, "vitlaus" = mad, maniacal. (*) To let the last line refer to the experienced and observing traveller, as the Corpus Poeticum, i., p. 3, does, makes this fine strophe quite meaningless. Back