Chapter 1
Herein Is Told How Ketil Flatneb Fares To West-Over-Sea.
Ketil Flatneb was hight a famous hersir (1) in Norway; he was the son of Biorn Rough-foot, the son of Grim, a hersir of Sogn. Ketil Flatneb was a wedded man; he had to wife Yngvild, daughter of Ketil Wether, a hersir of Raumarik; Biorn and Helgi were hight their sons, but their daughters were these, Auth the Deep-minded, Thorun the Horned, and Jorun Manwitbrent. Biorn, the son of Ketil, was fostered east in Iamtaland with that earl who was called Kiallak, a wise man, and most renowned; he had a son whose name was Biorn, and a daughter hight Giaflaug. That was in the days when King Harald Hairfair came to the rule of Norway. Because of that unpeace many noble men fled from their lands out of Norway; some east over the Keel, some West-over-the-sea. Some there were withal who in winter kept themselves in the South-isles, or the Orkneys, but in summer harried in Norway and wrought much scathe in the kingdom of Harald the king.Now the bonders bemoaned them of that to the king, and prayed him deliver them from that unpeace. Then Harald the king took such rede that he caused dight an army for West-over-the-sea, and said that Ketil Flatneb should be captain of that host. Ketil begged off therefrom, but the king said he must needs go; and when Ketil saw that the king would have his will, he betook himself to the faring, and had with him his wife and those of his children who were at home. But when Ketil came West-over-the-sea, some deal of fighting had he and his, and ever got the victory. He laid under him the South-isles, and made himself chief over them. Then he made peace with the mightiest chiefs West-over-the-sea, and made alliances with them, and therewithal sent the army back east. But when they met Harald the king, they said that Ketil Flatneb was lord of the South-isles, but that they wotted not if he would drag the rule west of the sea to King Harald. But when the king knew that, he took to himself those lands that Ketil owned in Norway.
Ketil Flatneb gave his daughter Auth to Olaf the White, who at that time was the greatest war-king West-over-the-sea; he was the son of Ingiald, the son of Helgi; but the mother of Ingiald was Thora, the daughter of Sigurd Worm-in-eye, the son of Ragnar Hairy-breeks. (2) Thorun the Horned he gave in wedlock to Helgi the Lean, the son of Eyvind the Eastman and Rafarta, the daughter of Kiarfal, King of the Irish.
Chapter 2
Of Biorn Ketilson and Thorolf Most-Beard.
Biorn the son of Ketil Flatneb was in Iamtaland till Kiallak the earl died; he gat to wife Giaflaug the earl's daughter, and thereafter fared west over the Keel, first to Thrandheim and then south through the land, and took to himself those lands which his father had owned, and drove away the bailiffs that King Harald had set over them. King Harald was in the Wick when he heard that, and thereon he fared by the inland road north to Thrandheim, and when he came there he summoned an eight-folks' mote; (3) and at that mote he made Biorn Ketilson outlaw from Norway, a man to be slain or taken wheresoever he might be found. Thereafter he sent Hawk High-breeks and other of his warriors to slay him if they might find him. But when they came south beyond Stath, the friends of Biorn became aware of their journey and sent him tidings thereof. Then Biorn got him aboard a bark which he owned, with his household and chattels, and fled away south along the land, because that this was in the heart of winter, and he durst not make for the main. Biorn fared on till he came to the island called Most which lies off South-Hordaland, and there a man hight Rolf took him in, who was the son of Ornolf the Fish-driver. There lay Biorn privily the winter through. But the king's men turned back when they had settled Biorn's lands and set men over them.
Chapter 3
Thorolf Most-Beard Outlawed By King Harald Hairfair.
Rolf was a mighty chief, and a man of the greatest largesse; he had the ward of Thor's temple there in the island, and was a great friend of Thor. And therefore he was called Thorolf. (4) He was a big man and a strong, fair to look on, and had a great beard; therefore was he called Most-beard, and he was the noblest man in the island.In the spring Thorolf gave Biorn a good long-ship manned with a doughty crew, and gave him Hallstein his son to bear him fellowship; and therewith they sailed West-over-the-sea to meet Biorn's kindred.
But when King Harald knew that Thorolf Mostbeard had harboured Biorn Ketilson the king's outlaw, then sent he men to see him and bade him begone from his lands, and fare as an outlaw even as Biorn his friend, but if he come and meet the king and lay the whole matter in his hand. This was ten winters after Ingolf Arnarson (5) had fared out to take up his abode in Iceland, and that faring was grown to be very famous, because that those men who came out from Iceland told of good choice of land therein.
Chapter 4
Thorolf Most-Beard Comes Out To Iceland, And Sets Up House There.
Thorolf Most-Beard made a great sacrifice, and asked of Thor his well-beloved friend whether he should make peace with the king, or get him gone from out the land and seek other fortunes. But the Word showed Thorolf to Iceland; and thereafter he got for himself a great ship meet for the main, and trimmed it for the Iceland-faring, and had with him his kindred and his household goods; and many friends of his betook themselves to faring with him. He pulled down the temple, and had with him most of the timbers which had been therein, and mould moreover from under the stall whereon Thor had sat.Thereafter Thorolf sailed into the main sea, and had wind at will, and made land, and sailed south along and west about Reekness, and then fell the wind, and they saw that two big bights cut into the land. (6)
Then Thorolf cast overboard the pillars of his high-seat, which had been in the temple, and on one of them was Thor carven; (7) withal he spake over them, that there he would abide in Iceland, whereas Thor should let those pillars come a-land.
But when they drifted from off the ship they were borne towards the westernmost firth in sight, and folk deemed that they went in sooth no slower than might have been looked for.
After that came a sea breeze, and they sailed west about Snowfellsness and stood into the firth. There see they that the firth is mighty broad and long, with great fells rising on either side thereof. Then Thorolf gave name to the firth and called it Broadfirth. He took land on the south side of the firth, nigh the midmost, and laid his ship in the creek, which thereafter they called Templewick.
Thereafter they espied the land and found on the outermost point of a ness north of the bay that Thor was come a-land with the pillars. That was afterwards called Thorsness.
Thereafter Thorolf fared with fire through his land (8) out from Staff-river in the west, and east to that river which is now called Thors-river, (9) and settled his shipmates there. (10) But he set up for himself a great house at Templewick which he called Templestead. There he let build a temple, and a mighty house it was. There was a door in the side-wall and nearer to one end thereof. Within the door stood the pillars of the high-seat, and nails were therein; they were called the Gods' nails. Therewithin was there a great frith-place. But off the inmost house was there another house, of that fashion whereof now is the choir of a church, and there stood a stall in the midst of the floor in the fashion of an altar, and thereon lay a ring without a join that weighed twenty ounces, and on that must men swear all oaths; and that ring must the chief have on his arm at all man-motes.
On the stall should also stand the blood-bowl, and therein the blood-rod was, like unto a sprinkler, and therewith should be sprinkled from the bowl that blood which is called "Hlaut", which was that kind of blood which flowed when those beasts were smitten who were sacrificed to the Gods. But round about the stall were the Gods arrayed in the Holy Place.
To that temple must all men pay toll, and be bound to follow the temple-priest in all farings even as now are the thingmen of chiefs. But the chief must uphold the temple at his own charges, so that it should not go to waste, and hold therein feasts of sacrifice.
Now Thorolf called that ness Thorsness which lieth between Swordfirth and Templewick; on the ness is a fell, and that fell Thorolf held in such worship that he laid down that no man unwashed should turn his eyes thither, and that nought should be done to death on the fell, either man or beast, until it went therefrom of its own will. That fell he called Holy Fell, (11) and he trowed that thither he should fare when he died, and all his kindred from the ness. On the tongue of the ness whereas Thor had come a-land he made all dooms be held, and thereon he set up a county Thing.
And so holy a place that was, that he would nowise that men should defile the field with blood-shedding, and moreover none should go thither for their needs, but to that end was appointed a skerry called Dirtskerry.
Now Thorolf waxed of great largesse in his housekeeping, and had many men about him; for in those days meat was good to get both from the isles and from the take of the sea.
ENDNOTES:
(1) "HERSIR" we have left untranslated because we know no English term whereby
to render it properly. That it is derived from "herr", a collective noun
meaning multitude of people, cannot be doubted. The termination "-sir" is
indicative of the agent, and here would originally point to the agent as
ruler, commander, gatherer together. In support of this is the word "hersing",
a collected multitude, crowd. In time the hersir became not only ruler of
men, but a lord of the territory within which his herr had its habitation,
which territory was called "herath", and only in the capacity of such a
territorial lord the historical hersir is known. Before the days of Harold
Hairfair he appears to have been an independent kinglet or tribal chief,
who in his person with the secular sway over his people combined the sacerdotal
office of pontifex maximus. After Hairfair's day the hersir was reduced
to a royal liegeman, and between him and the king there was set up a new
dignity, that of the earl, to whom jurisdiction over so and so many hersar
was assigned. The Icelandic "Gothi" was another form of the hersir of Norway,
but the title hersir could not be used, because in Iceland "herath" as a
lordship with definite boundaries never existed; there it merely signified
country-side, district. Thus, while in Norway the title of hersir pointed
especially to the secular character of the ruler of men in a defined herath,
in Iceland the title of Gothi indicated in particular such a person's sacerdotal
quality. Back
(2) "Ketil Flatneb gave his daughter Aud to Olaf the White, who at that
time was the greatest war-king west-over-the-sea; he was the son of Ingiald
the son of Helgi, but the mother of Ingiald was Thora, the daughter of Sigurd
Worm-in-eye, the son of Ragnar Hairy-breeks." We have here an instance of
the manner in which Icelandic aristocrats would connect their ancestors,
of the period prior to the settlement, with famous legendary royal races,
such as the Ynglings of Sweden and Norway, or heroes such as Ragnar Hairy-breeks,
or Sigurd the Volsung. The descent of Olaf the White, as our story has it,
is evidently due to Ari the Learned, because, so far as it goes, it agrees
both with his "Islendingabok", ch. 12, and with "Landnama", ii, ch. 15,
and, most probably, the notice about the mother's kindred of Ingiald is
due to the same source, namely, the lost greater "Islendingabok" of Ari,
of which the one now existing is confessedly an abridgment. In a contemporary
Irish record, "Three Fragments" ed. by O'Donovan, 1860, pp. 127, 195, which
scholars agree in regarding as generally a trustworthy source for Irish
history, the descent of Olaf is also given, and, as the following table
shows, there is an irreconcilable discrepancy between the two sources:
Irish record Icelandic Record
Halfdan Whiteleg, Sigurd Ring, a king of
King of Upland the Wick, in Norway
| |
Godfred Gudrod Ragnar Hairy-breeks
| | |
Godfred Olaf Sigurd Worm-in-eye
| | |
Ragnall Helgi married Thora
| |
Godfred Ingiald
| |
Olaf (no surname) Olaf the White m. Aud
By the Icelandic family-tree Aud and her numerous kindred in Broadfirth united in their veins all the blue blood of antiquity. But in that respect it is an awkward circumstance, that the Irish record does not know Aud as a wife of Olaf at all, but says that he was married to the daughter of King Aedh of Ireland, the successor of Maelsechlainn, which lady's name, however, it does not give. Both the great historical critics, Johannes Steenstrup (Normannerne, ii, 120-121, 374-375), and Gustav Storm (Kritiske Bidrag til Vikingetidens Historie, 119), agree in rejecting the Icelandic genealogy of Olaf the Dublin king, and accepting the Irish. Back
(3) "He fared by the inland road north to Thrandheim, and when he came there, he summoned an eight folks' mote." This assembly consequently consisted of spokesmen from the eight folks (fylki), which formed the political as well as the geographical extent of what, for want of a better name, we might perhaps term the province of Thrandheim. These eight folks were, taken in order of their geographical position, from south to north: the folk of Orkdale (Orkdaela-fylki); of Gauldale (Gauldaela-f.); of Strind (Strinda-f.); of Stiordale (Stjordaela-f.); of Skaun (Skeyna-f.); of Verdale (Verdaela-f.); of Spar-biders (Sparbyggja-f.); of Aun (Eyna-f.). All these folks had their common folk-mote at the Thing of Eres (Eyrathing) within the site of the present city of Drontheim. Back
(4) "He had the ward of Thor's temple there in the island, and was a great friend of Thor. And therefore was he called Thorolf." In all probability the case with Rolf had been the same as with his kinsmen, that, when he was dedicated to his tutelary god, his name was lengthened by adding Thor's name to it. His own son, who first was called Stein, he dedicates to Thor under the name of Thorstein (Chapter VII). Thorstein again had a son, called Grim, who on being given by the father to Thor, was named Thorgrim. That it was a common custom to give to children the name of a god, is attested to by Snorri in Ynglinga Saga, ch. 7: "From Odin's name was derived the name of Audunn, and in that manner men gave names to their sons. But by Thor's name is called he who hights Thorir or Thorarin, or other names may be added thereto, as Stein-Thor or Haf-Thor with alterations in sundry other ways." Another record, Hauksb6k, says: "Men of lore say, that it was the custom of ancient folk to derive the names of their sons or daughters from names of the gods, as Thorolf or Thorstein or Thorgrim from the name of Thor; so he who first hight Odd was from Thor named Thorod, even as Thormod sang of Snorri the Priest and his son Odd, whom he (Snorri) called Thorod; such, too, is the case with Thorberg, Thoralf, Thorleif, Thorgeir; and yet more names are derived from the names of the gods, though most be so from that of Thor. In those days men were much in the wont of having two names, for that was thought most likely to lengthen life and give good luck; even should some folk curse them by the name of the gods, this was held to be of no scathe since they had another name (to trust in)," from Biorn of Skardsa's "Anall eptir Hauksbok, AM. 115, 8vo., printed as "2 Anhang" to "Eyrbyggja Saga", ed. Vigfusson, 1864). If proof were wanted to show how, beyond all comparison, Thor was the most popular deity with the heathen Icelander, a reference to the index of personal names in our saga, and, for that matter, in all Icelandic sagas, will suffice. Even in the present day Thor is, in this respect, beaten in the record by only one saint -- St. John. Back
(5) Read Ingolf Ernson. Back
(6) "They saw that two big bights cut into the land." We have added the word "two", which is required both by situation and context. The edition reads ™ "sa their at skarust i landit inn firthir storir." The older reading, we take it, was: "sa their at skarust i landit inij firthir storir," and that an inadvertent scribe made of inij = inn ii, i.e., inn tveir (two), simply inn. Our conjecture is borne out by the text itself, which in line 28 says: "they" (the pillars) "were borne towards the westerntnost firth," "sveif theim til ens vestra fjartharins", where the comparative, in connection with the definite article, makes it quite clear, that the westernmost firth was one of two firths already mentioned in the text. This is also proved by the position of the ship. It must have been on the latitude of Snowfellness; it had passed Reekness, the southern boundary of Faxebay, and now had in view the mountain ranges which formed the southern and northern littoral of Broadfirth. These two are the only big bights that cut into western Iceland, and no other bight or bay could be seen from on board Thorolf's ship. Back
(7) "Thorolf cast overboard the pillars of his high-seat... and on one of them was Thor carven." This is a general custom with the oldest settlers of Iceland while the island was still altogether, or to a great extent, a no man's land; but among the later settlers it gave way to other methods of land-take, when land was obtained under one form or another of contract. Ingolf Ernson, the first settler, set the example, and so strong was his faith in the fortune that would be in store for his kindred if he settled where his high-seat pillars should come aland, that for three years he searched for them, and having passed through the best parts of the southern country, did not hesitate to plant his abode on the barren ness where, at last, the pillars were found ("Landnama", i. 7-8). It is even related that a settler hearing, after ten or fifteen years, of the discovery of his high-seat pillars at the opposite end of the land, sold his estates, and took up his abode where they were found, though that was within the land-take of another settler ("Landnama", ib.). Hallstein, son of Thorolf Mostbeard, who came to Iceland before he had become a householder (ch. vi.), and therefore had no high-seat pillars to plant in a new house of his own, made a vow to Thor, the family god, that he would deign to send him "high-seat pillars". Whereupon a tree drifted upon his land which was "sixty-three ells long and two fathoms round", and out of that he made high-seat pillars for himself, and supplied material for the same to "almost every house throughout the byfirths," the firths that cut into the northern littoral of Broadfirth ("Landnama", ii. 23). There is a large number of instances relating to the high-seat pillars in connection with land-take in Iceland which we cannot enumerate here. Let it suffice to refer the reader especially to the "Landnamabok (Ingimund the Old, iii. 2; Crow (Kraku)- Hreidar, iii. 7; Lodmund the Old, iv. 5; Thorhad the Old, iv. 6; Hrollaug Rognwaldson, iv. 9, etc.), and for the solitary instance of a chief buried at sea on the voyage to Iceland, performing the function of Thor's pillars, to "Egilsaga", ch. xxvii. The high-seat itself (ondvegi) was at this time arrayed in the middle of one of the side- benches of the hall; there was the chieftain's seat proper, on the nobler bench (ondvegi at aethra bekk), and the high-seat on the less noble bench (ondvegi a uaethra bekk), each facing the other. Of the term "ondvegi" no satisfactory etymology has yet been found, nor is likely to be, until a misconception of long standing concerning the position of the wall against which it had its place is removed. In the story of Olaf the Quiet, King of Norway, 1066-93, it is stated, that in his day the high-seat in Norwegian halls was removed from the side wall to the dais at the inner gable end. The sagaman adds, that heretofore the highseat proper, or the king's seat, always must "face the sun" ("Fornmannasogur", vi. 439-40). From this it has been inferred that the high-seat always was on the northern side-bench of a hall, and that inference proceeds from the idea that the hall always turned east and west, which is obviously out of question. The front of a hall was always that one of its side-walls on which were the two doors with which halls with the high-seats on the side-benches were furnished. Built on the sea or lake shore, on the bank of a river, or on the underland of valleys, the front of the hall ran parallel with the line of the shore, and the course of the running water, and, where these determinating causes were not present, with the line of the highway. Consequently, its front could face at a right angle any point of the compass, whereby then it is given that with the high-seat bench the case was the same. In a sword-age, when halls were built just as much for defensive purposes as for the comfort of the inmates, it stands obviously to reason, that the chief's seat should be planted where he could most easily command the view of the two weakest points of his stronghold, the two doors. That point was the middle seat on the bench which ran along the wall that was opposite to that through which the doors led into the hall. On that bench, therefore, we take it, the high-seat was always found. This diagram shows the position of the high-seat, and its bearing towards the doors.
__________________________________
| high-seat |
| -----------------[]------------------ |
| nobler * bench |
| * * |
| * * |
| * * |
| * * |
| * * |
| -----------------[]------------------ |
| * less noble bench * |
| high-seat |
|________________________________|
With regard to the derivation
of "ondvegi" we can offer but a slight hint: "ond" may be the term "ond"
= porch, entrance hall, or the mutated adv. "and-" = against, opposite
(so the Oxford Dictionary), as in "ond-verthr", onward; "vegi", which
sometimes goes into "ugi", as "verthr" into "urthr", seems to be a collective
neuter, formed from "vegr", way (cf. -menni from mann-, thythi from thjoth,
birki, bjork, etc., etc.), and should thus mean "ways". If we suppose
that here, as in innumerable other instances in Icelandic, the noun which
everyone had always in mind in speaking, was left out, namely, "saeti",
seat, so that "ondvegi" stood instead of "ondvegis saeti", then we should
have a perfectly intelligible expression for "the" seat, where the two
ways met that lead up to the chief from either "ond" or door. Back
(8) "Thorolf fared with fire through his land." See vol. i., xliwxlvi.
Back
(9) "Which is now called Thorsriver;" so the old edition. We now prefer
the reading of the last edition: "Which he called." Back
(10) "Settled his shipmates there." The original expression, "bygthi thar
skipverjum sinum", is more technical: he gave lands to his crew, whom
he made his tenants. For an exhaustive account of the various relations
between various kinds of tenants and their land-settling landlords, see
K. Maurer, "Entstehung des islandischen Staats". Back
(11) "That fell he called Holy Fell, and trowed that thither he should
fare when he died and all his kindred from the ness." This belief in an
earthly paradise after death seems to have been chiefly confined to the
Broadfirth folk. The "Landnama", on the authority of the lost saga of
Thord the Yeller, records that the kindred of Aud the Deep-minded shared
this belief with the Thorsnessings. "She worshipped at Cross-knolls, where
she had crosses raised up became she was baptized and truly Christian.
Her kindred afterwards had great worship for those knolls, and a temple
was reared there when the service of sacrifice began to be done, and they
trowed that they would die into the knolls, and therein was Thord the
Yeller laid (buried) before he (*) took up his chiefship as is told in
his story." -- Landnama ii 16, p. 111. Of Sel-Thorir, too, who, on his
journey for the family abode which a mermaid had ordered to be planted
where Thorir's mare, Skalm, should lie down under her loads, had lived
for a year among the Broadfirth settlers, the "Landnama" (ii, 5) says,
that he and his heathen kindred died into the Rocks of Thor (Thorsbjorg).
See endnote 1 to Chapter XXVIII. (*) This "he" must refer to Thord the
Yeller's son, Eyolf the Gray, and the "Landnama" passage must owe its
senseless statement to the fact that the scribe did not know the sense
of leitha = to bury, which, however, is a well-established one, e.g.,
Steinar's burying of his slave, Grani: "Steinar leiddi hann thar upp i
holtunum" = Steinar buried him there up in = among the hillocks. "Egilsaga",
ch. 84. His story, of course, means Thord the Yeller's saga. Back
<< 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.
|