Eyrbyggja Saga
Page 23
Chapter 53
Now Men Die At Frodis-Water,
More Wonders.
This happed next to tell of
at Frodis-water, that the shepherd came in exceeding hushed. Little he said,
and what he said was peevish; so men deemed it most like that he was bewitched,
for he fared in distraught wise, and was ever talking to himself; and so
things went on awhile.
But when two weeks of winter
were worn, the shepherd came home on a night, and went straight to his
bed and lay down, and in the morning when men carne to him he was dead.
So he was buried at the church there.
A little after that great
hauntings befell; and on a night as Thorir Wooden-leg went out for his
needs, and turned off aside from the door, when he would go in again,
he saw how the shepherd was come before the door. Then would he go in
again, but the shepherd would nowise have it so; and Thorir was fain to
get away, but the shepherd went at him, and got hold of him, and cast
him homeward up against the door. At this he was affrighted exceedingly;
yet he got him to his bed, and he was by then grown coal-blue all over.
Now from this he fell sick
and died, and was buried there at the church; but ever after were the
twain, the shepherd and Thorir Wooden-leg, seen in company, and therefrom
were folk full of dread, as was like to be.
After Thorir's death a house-carle
of Thorod fell sick, and lay there three nights or ever he died. Then
one after another died, till six were dead; and by then it was hard on
the Yule-fast, though at that time there was no fasting in Iceland.
Now the pile of stock-fish
was so heaped up in the buttery that it filled it up, so that the door
might not be opened, and it went right up to the tie-beam, and a ladder
was needed to get the stock-fish from the top.
So one evening when men
sat by the meal-fires, they heard how the stock-fish was being riven out
of its skin, but when men looked thereto, they found there nought quick.
But in the winter a little before Yule, goodman Thorod went out to Ness
after his stock-fish. They were six together in a ten-oarer, and were
out there night-long.
The same evening that Thorod
went from home, it fell out at Frodis-water, when the meal-fires were
lighted and men came gathering into the hall, that they saw how a seal's
head came up through the floor of the fire-hall. A certain home-woman
came forth first and saw that hap, and caught up a club that lay in the
doorway, and drave it at the seal's head; but it rose up under the blow,
and glared up at Thorgunna's bed-gear.
Then went a house-carle
thereto, and beat on the seal, but at every blow it kept rising till it
was up as far as below the flappers. Then fell the house-carle swooning,
and all that were thereby were fulfilled of mighty dread.
Then the swain Kiartan ran
thereto, and took up a great sledge- hammer and smote on the seal's head,
and great was that blow, but the seal only shook its head and looked round
about; but Kiartan smote one blow on another till the seal sank down therewith,
as if he were at the knocking down of a peg; but he smote on till the
seal went down so far that he might beat down the floor over the head
of him. And so indeed it fell out the winter through, that all the portents
dreaded Kiartan the most of all.
Chapter 54
The Death Of Thorod Scat-Catcher;
The Dead Walk At Frodis-Water.
The morning that Thorod and
his men went out westaway from Ness, they were all lost off Enni; the ship
and the fish drave ashore there under Enni, but the corpses were not found.
But when this news was known at Frodiswater, Kiartan and Thurid bade their
neighbours to the arvale, and their Yule ale was taken and used for the
arvale. But the first evening whenas men were at the feast, and were come
to their seats, in came goodman Thorod and his fellows into the hall, all
of them dripping wet. Men gave good welcome to Thorod, for a good portent
was it deemed, since folk held it for sooth that those men should have good
cheer of Ran if they, who had been drowned at sea, came to their own burial-ale;
for in those days little of the olden lore was cast aside, though men were
baptized and were Christian by name.
Now Thorod and his company
went down the endlong sitting-hall, which was double-doored, and went
into the fire-hall, and took no man's greeting, and set them down by the
fire. Then the homemen fled away from the fire-hall, but Thorod and his
folk sat behind there till the fires slaked, and then gat them gone. And
thus it befell every evening while the arvale lasted, that they came to
the fire. Much talk was hereover at the arvale, and some guessed that
it would leave off when the feast was over. The guests went home after
the feast, and somewhat dreary was that household left.
Now the evening that the
guests went away were the meal-fires made as wont was. But when they burned
up, in came Thorod and his company all dripping wet, and they sat down
by the fire and fell to wringing their raiment. And so when they were
sat down, in came Thorir Wooden-leg and his six followers, and they were
all be-moulded, and they shook their raiment and cast the mould at Thorod
and his folk.
Then the home-men fled away
from the fire-hall, as might be looked for, and had neither light nor
warm stones nor any matter wherewith they had any avail of the fire.
But the evening next after
were fires made in another chamber, and it was deemed that they would
be less likely to come thither, but it fell not out so, and all went in
the same way as the night before, and both companies came to the fires.
The third evening Kiartan gave counsel to make a long fire in the fire-hall,
and meal-fires in another chamber. So was it done, and this availed thus
much, that Thorod and his folk sat by the long fire and the home-men by
the little fire; and so things went till over Yuletide.
Now it befell that more
and more were things going on in the stock-fish heap, and night and day
men might hear how the stock- fish was torn. And after this the time came
when need was of stock-fish, and men went to search the heap; and the
man who went up thereon saw this to tell of, that up from the heap came
a great tail as big as a singed neat's tail, and it was short- haired
and seal-haired; he who went up on to the heap caught at the tail and
tugged, and called on other men to come help, him. So folk fared up on
to the heap, both men and women, and tugged at the tail, and got nought
done, and they thought none otherwise than that the tail was dead; but
lo, as they pulled, the tail drew down through their hands, so that the
skin came off the palms of those who had the firmest hold thereon, and
nought was known afterwards of that tail.
Then was the stock-fish
heap taken down, and every fish therein was found torn from the skin,
so that there was no fish found in his skin in the lower part of the heap;
but nought quick was found therein.
After these haps Thorgrima
Witch-face, the wife of Thorir Wooden- leg, fell sick and lay but a little
while or she died, and the very same evening that she was buried, she
was seen in the company of Thorir her husband. Then the sickness fell
on folk anew after the tail was seen, and more women than men died; and
yet six men died in that brunt. But some fled before those hauntings and
ghosts. At harvest-tide there had been thirty serving-folk there, but
eighteen were dead, and five fled away, and but seven were left behind
at Goi.
Chapter 55
A Door-Doom At Frodis-Water.
Now when those wonders had gone
so far, one day Kiartan went east unto Holyfell to go see Snorri the Priest,
his mother's brother, and asked rede of him what he should do in the matter
of those wonders that had fallen on them. At that time was come to Holyfell
the priest that Gizur the White had sent to Snorri the Priest. So Snorri
sent the priest out to Frodis-water with Kiartan, as well as his son Thord
Kausi, and six men more. Thereto he added the counsel to burn Thorgunna's
bed-gear, and summon all those who walked, to a door-doom; and he bade the
priest sing the hours there, and hallow water and shrive all folk. So these
summoned men from the nighest steads on the road, and came to Frodis-water
on the eve of Candlemas at such time as the meal-fires were lighted.
By then had goodwife Thurid
fallen sick even in such wise as those who had died.
Now Kiartan went in straightway
and saw how Thorod and his folk sat by the fire as their wont was. So
he took down Thorgunna's bed-gear, and went into the fire-hall, and caught
up brands from the fire, and went out therewith, and then was all the
bed-array burned that Thorgunna had owned.
Thereafter Kiartan summoned
Thorir Woodenleg, and Thord Kausi summoned goodman Thorod, in that they
went about that household without leave, and despoiled men both of life
and luck; all were summoned who sat by the fires.
Then was a door-doom named,
and these cases put forward; and it was done in all matters even as at
a doom of the Thing: verdicts were delivered, cases summed up, and doom
given.
But as soon as the sentence
on Thorir Woodenleg was given out, he arose and said: "Here have I sat
while sit I might;" and thereafter he went out by the door before which
the court was not set.
Then was the sentence on
the shepherd passed. But when he heard it he stood up and said: "Go I
now hencefrom; I ween erst it had more seemly been."
And when Thorgrima Witch-face
heard the doom on her ended, she also arose and said: "Here while abiding
was meet I abode."
Then they charged one after
the other, and each arose as the sentence fell on him, and all said somewhat
at their going forth; but ever it seemed by the words of each that they
were all loth to depart. At last was judgment given on goodman Thorod,
and when he heard it he stood up and said: "Meseems little peace is here;
so get us all gone otherwhere ;" and therewith he went out.
Then in walked Kiartan and
his folk, and the priest bare hallowed water and the holy things throughout
the house, and on the next day they sang all the hours and mass with great
solemnity, and so there was an end thereafter to all walkings and hauntings
at Frodis-water. But Thurid got better of her sickness so that she was
healed.
In the spring after these
wonders Kiartan took to him serving- folk, and dwelt long after at Frodis-water,
and was the greatest of the doughty.
<< Previous Page
Next
Page >>
© 2004-2007 Northvegr.
Most of the material on this site is in the public domain. However, many people have worked very hard to bring these texts to you so if you do use the work, we would appreciate it if you could give credit to both the Northvegr site and to the individuals who worked to bring you these texts. A small number of texts are copyrighted and cannot be used without the author's permission. Any text that is copyrighted will have a clear notation of such on the main index page for that text. Inquiries
can be sent to info@northvegr.org.
Northvegr™ and the Northvegr symbol are trademarks and service marks
of the Northvegr Foundation.
|