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Viga-Glum's Saga

CHAPTER XXIII

WHILST they were fighting a man came up at full speed, wearing a hood of skins, with a sword in his hand. He came where Thorvald Tafalld had fallen before Eystein, and rushing at the latter, gave him a death-blow. Then he joined himself to Glum’s side, and Glum called out to him, “Good luck to you Thundarbenda! I made a good bargain when I bought you. You will pay me well to-day for the outlay.” Now Glum had a thrall who was called by that name, and that is why he spoke thus; but in reality it was Vigfuss, Glum’s son, though few or none except Glum himself knew him, for he had been three winters outlawed and living in concealment, so that most people thought he had gone abroad. It happened that whilst Glum was getting away he fell, and lay on the ground, and his two thralls lay over him, and were killed with spear-thrusts; but at that moment Márr with his men came up. Then Thorarin got off his horse, and he and Márr fought, without any other men meddling with them. Glum sprung up, and joined heartily in the fight, and there was then no advantage of number on either side. A servant of Thorarin’s, named Eirik, who had been about his work in the morning, came too his mater’s aid with a club in his hand, but without other arms of offence of defence; and Glum suffered much by him because his men were injured both in person and in their arms by that club which he bore. It is told too that Halldor, Glum’s wife, called on the women to go with her, saying, “We will bind up the wounds of those men who have any hope of life, whichever party they belong to.” When she came up Thorarin was just struck down by Márr, his shoulder was cut away in such fashion that the lungs were exposed. But Halldor bound up his wound, and kept watch over him till the fight was over.
        Halli the fat was the first who came up to interfere, and may men were with him. The end of the combat was that five men of those from Espihole were killed, that is to say, Thorvald the crooked, Arngrim, Eysein, Eirik, and Eyvind the Norwegian. On Glum’s side there fell Thorvald Tafalld, Eyiolf son of Thorleif, Jöd, and the two thralls. Thorarin got home with his people; Glum also returned with his men, and had the dead carried into an outbuilding, where the utmost honour was done to the body of Thorvald, for garments were placed under it, and it was sewn up in a skin. When the men had returned, Glum said to Halldora, “Our expedition to-day would have been successful, if you had staid at home, and if Thorarin had not escaped with his life.” She replied, There is little of life in Thorarin, and if he lives you will not be able to remain in the district long; but if he dies you will not be able to remain in the country at all.” After this Glum said to Gudbrand, “You got much honour by your prowess to-day in killing Thorvald the crooked, and you did us good service.” Gudbrand replied that nothing of the sort had happened; he had only defended himself as well as he could. “Oh,” said Glum, “that is all very well. I saw clearly what took place; a mere child in age to kill such a champion as Thorvald! You will always be talked of for this deed. I got credit abroad in the same way for killing the Berserker.” “I never slew Thorvald,” answered Gudbrand. “It is no use trying to conceal it, my good friend, you gave him the wound which killed him. Do not shirk the good luck which has fallen to you.” Glum maintained his point with Gudbrand till the latter believed what he said, admitted that he had done it, and thought it an honour to himself, so that it could no longer be concealed, and the death was formally laid to his charge. This seemed to those who took up the suit for Thorvald’s slaughter to be less promising than had been expected: Thorvald was chosen as the man whose death was to be avenged.
        People report a speech of Glum’s--”One thing I do not like, and that is that Márr should have his head tied up, though he has gat a bump on it.” What he called “a bump” was in fact a cut crosswise over his head. Márr’s answer was, “I should not need this so much if I had lain down and use a couple of thralls as a shield.” “Well, my lad,” said Glum, “our field Hrisateig (Bush acre) was hard to mow to-day.” Márr replied, “It will turn out a bad mowing for you in one way, for you have mowed the land at Thverà out of your own hands.” “I do not think you know that for a certainty,” rejoined Glum. “I may not know it, but it will turn out for you as if I did now it,” was Márr’s answer. Now, when Helga, Glum’s sister, heard the tidings, she came over to Thverà and asked how her son had borne himself. “There was no better man,” said Glum. “I should like to see him dead,” said she, “if that is all that is left for me.” they allowed her to do so, and she caused him to be lifted into the waggon, and tenderly handled, and when she got home she cleansed his wounds and bound them up, and dealt with him in such a way that he recovered his speech.
        The law was then that if an equal number of men were killed on either side they were set off against each other, though there might be a difference in the men themselves; but if one party had the worst of it they had to select the man for whom atonement was to be demanded. If anything however, happened to turn up afterwards, by which it would have seemed better to have made a different choice, they could not change their selection. When Thorarin heard that Thorvald Tafalld was alive, he chose his own brother Thorvald the crooked, as the man to be atoned for. When, however, he found a little afterwards that the latter’s death was laid to the charge of Gudbrand, he would gladly have selected another man, but he had to abide by his first choice. Then they found Einar the son of Eyiolf, and Thorarin told him he should now take advantage of that agreement which they had formerly made with each other. Einar replied, “My mind is the same now that it was formerly when Bárd was killed.” he then took up the suit to carry it on at the Thing, in the summer, and he made the charge against Glum. Thorarin was laid up with his wounds the whole summer, and so was Thorvald Tafalld, but they both recovered. Glum had a great number of men with him at the Thing, and so in fact had both parties. An attempt was now made by persons of consideration connected with both sides to bring about a settlement of the case. The suit was compounded on these conditions, that is to say, that the death of Steinolf was to be considered as atoned for, if Vigfuss, Glum’s son, were proclaimed free from his penalty. Gudbrand, however, was convicted of the death of Thorvald, and Glum got him taken abroad. They returned home with affairs in this condition; but Thorvard and Thorarin were very much dissatisfied, and the latter thought he had obtained no honourable satisfaction for the death of his brother Thorvald. Glum remained at home much looked up to, and in the course of the winter there got abroad a stanza which he had lately composed:

She asks--he nymph that pours the wine--
the deeds of death that I have done.
They’re past and gone, those deeds of mine;
But no man yet has talked of one. (1)

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