Chapter 32
The Slaying Of Ulfar;
Thorbrand's Sons Claim The Heritage.
So it is said that this happened
next to be told of, that Orlig of Orligstead fell sick, and when his sickness
grew heavy on him, Ulfar his brother sat ever by him. Now of that sickness
he died; but when he was dead, Ulfar sent forthwith for Arnkel, who went
straightway to Orligstead, and he and Ulfar took to them all the
goods that lay together there. (1) But when Thorbrand's
sons knew of the death of Orlig, they went to Orligstead, and laid claim
to those same goods that there lay together, and claimed as their own what
their freedman had had; but Ulfar said that it was his due to take the heritage
after his brother. They asked what part Arnkel would take in this matter.
Arnkel said that Ulfar should not be robbed of any man while their fellowship
lasted and he might have his will.
Then Thorbrand's sons fare away, and first out to Holyfell, and told this to Snorri the Priest, and prayed him for his help in the case; but he said that he would not thrust into strife with Arnkel for this case, whereas they had done their part so slippery, that Arnkel and Ulfar had first laid hands on the goods. Then Thorbrand's sons said that he would rule there no longer if he did not heed such things as this.
The next autumn Arnkel had a great autumn feast in his house, and ever his wont was to ask Ulfar his friend to all biddings, and to see him off with gifts.
Now the day that men should depart from the feast at Lairstead, Thorolf Halt-foot rode from home, and went to see his friend Cunning-Gils, who dwelt at Thorswater-dale at (2) Cunning-Gils- stead, and bade him ride with him east to Ulfar's-fell-neck, and a thrall of Thorolf's went with him, and when they came on to the neck Thorolf said:
"There will be Ulfar going from the feast, and belike he will journey with seemly gifts about him. Now would I, Cunning-Gils," said he, "that thou go meet him and waylay him under the garth (3) at Ulfar's-fell, and slay him, and therefor will I give thee three marks of silver, and pay all weregild for the slaying; and then, when thou hast slain Ulfar, thou wilt have of him those good things which he has had of Arnkel. Then shalt thou run along Ulfar's-fell out to Crowness, and if any pursue thee let the wood cover thee, and then come and see me, and I shall see to thee that thou shalt take no harm."
Now whereas Cunning-Gils was a man of many children and very poor, he took the bait and went out under the towngarth at Ulfar's-fell, and there he saw how Ulfar came up from below with a good shield and a fair-dight sword that Arnkel had given him. So when they met, Cunning-Gils prayed to see the sword, and flattered Ulfar much, and said he was a great man, since he was deemed worthy to have such seemly gifts from chiefs. Ulfar wagged his beard, and handed to him the sword and shield. Cunning-Gils straightway drew the sword and thrust Ulfar through, and then took to his heels and ran out along Ulfar's-fell to Crowness.
Arnkel was out a-doors and saw how a man ran bearing a shield, and thought he should know the shield, and it came into his mind that Ulfar would not have given it up of his own good will. Then Arnkel called to his folk to run after the man; "and therewith," says he, "if this has befallen by my father's redes, and this man is Ulfar's banesman, then shall ye slay him, whoso he is, and not let him come before my eyes."
Then went Arnkel up to Ulfar's-fell, and there they found Ulfar dead. Thorolf Halt-foot saw Cunning-Gils run out along Ulfar's-fell with the shield, and thought he knew how it had fared between him and Ulfar. Then said he to his thrall that followed him: "Now shalt thou go to Karstead, and tell Thorbrand's sons to fare in to Ulfar's-fell, and not let themselves be robbed this time of their freedman's heritage as before; because Ulfar is now slain." So thereafter Thorolf rode home, and deemed he had done a good piece of business.
But those who ran after Cunning-Gils took him beneath a cliff which leads up from the sea. There they had a true tale out of him, and when he had told them all as it was, they slew him, and thrust him into earth beneath the cliff, but took his spoil and brought it to Arnkel.
Now the thrall of Thorolf came to Karstead, and told Thorbrand's sons the message of Thorolf, and so they went in to Ulfar's-fell; but when they came there, lo, there was Arnkel before them and many men with him. Then Thorbrand's sons gave out their claim to the goods that Ulfar had owned; but Arnkel brought forward against it the witness of those who were near at the handsel Ulfar had given him, and said that he would uphold it, because he said it had never been lawfully called in question, and bade them make no claim to the money; for he said he would hold to it, even as if it were his father's heritage.
Then Thorbrand's sons saw no choice but to come away, and they went once more out to Holyfell and found Snorri the Priest, and told him how things had befallen, and prayed for his help. Snorri said things had gone as before, that they had been one move too late in the game for Arnkel; "and ye shall not," said he, "grip out of Arnkel's hands aught of these goods, seeing that he has already got the chattels to him; and as to the lands, they lie about as near to one as to the other, and he will have them who has the strongest hand. And this is to be looked for herein that Arnkel will have the greater share of that, as in other dealings with you; and to tell truth, ye may well bear what many endure, because Arnkel rules now over every man's fortune in this countryside, and will do while he lives, whether that be longer or shorter."
Thorleif Kimbi answered: "True say'st thou, Snorri, and I deem it is to be excused in thee, though thou dost not set our matter with Arnkel right, since thou hast never held thine own against him in any due case that ye have had to do with together."
Thereafter Thorbrand's sons
fared home, and took these things right heavily.
Chapter 33
Of The Death Of Thorolf Halt-Foot.
Now Snorri the Priest let work Crowness wood, and let much wood cutting go on. Thorolf Halt-foot thought that the wood was spoilt thereby, and rode out to Holyfell, and bade Snorri give back the wood, and said that he had lent the wood and not given it. Snorri said that would be clearer when they bore witness who were by at the handselling, and said that he would not give up the wood unless they gave it against him. Then Thorolf took himself off, and was in the worst of minds. He rode in to Lairstead to see his son Arnkel.Arnkel gave his father good welcome, and asked his errand there. Thorolf answered: "This is my errand, that I see it is amiss that there should be ill-liking betwixt us, and now I will that we lay that aside, and take to kindly ways. For unseemly it is for us to be at enmity together; and moreover it seems to me that we should be great men here in the district with thy hardihood and my good counsel."
"The better it would like me," said Arnkel, "the closer we should draw together."
"Now will I," says Thorolf, "that this shall be the beginning of our peace-making and friendship, that we two claim Crowness wood of Snorri the Priest. It seems to me very ill that he should rule our fortune, but now he will not give up to me my wood, and says I gave it him; and therein he lies," says he.
Arnkel answers: "Thou didst that for no friendship to me when thou gavest Snorri the wood, nor shall I do so much as for thy slandering to quarrel with Snorri about it; and though I wot that he has no due title to the wood, yet will I not that thou have so much for thy lust for evil as to gladden thee by strife twixt me and Snorri."
"Methinks," said Thorolf, "that this comes rather from thy poor heart than because thou begrudgest me sport over your strife."
"Think whatso true thou wilt," said Arnkel, "but as things stand, no strife will I have with Snorri for the wood."
Therewith father and son parted, and Thorolf fared home and liked his lot exceeding ill, and thought that now he might scarce get his oar in.
Thorolf Halt-foot came home in the evening and spake to no man, but sat down in his high-seat and would eat no meat that night, and he sat there after men went to bed, and in the morning, when men arose, there he sat on still, and was dead.
Then the housewife sent a man to Arnkel, and bade him tell him of the death of his father. Then Arnkel rode up to Hvamm, and some of his home-men with him. And when they came to Hvamm, then was Arnkel ware that his father was dead, and sat in his high-seat. But the folk were all full of dread, because to all folk his face seemed loathsome.
Now Arnkel went into the fire-hall, and so up along it behind the seat at Thorolf's back, and bade all beware of facing him before lyke-help was given to him. Then Arnkel took Thorolf by the shoulders, and must needs put forth all his strength before he brought him under. After that he swept a cloth about Thorolf's head, and then did to him according to custom. Then he let break down the wall behind him, and brought him out thereby, (4) and then were oxen yoked to a sledge, and thereon was Thorolf laid out, and they drew him up into Thorswater-dale, and it was not without hard toil that he came to the stead whereas he should lie.
There they laid Thorolf
in howe strongly; and then Arnkel rode to Hvamm and took to himself all
the goods that were heaped up there, and which his father had owned. Arnkel
was there three nights, and nought happed to tell of the while, and thereafter
he rode home.
ENDNOTES:
(1) "(Arnkel and Ulfar) took to them all the goods (of Orlig) that lay together
there." Orlig was the freedman of Thorbrand of Swanfirth, and so was Ulfar.
The law relating to a freedman's heritage, as it is preserved in Gragas,
provides: "A man shall take heritage after his freedman, and after his freedwoman,
unless to them has been born a son or a daughter; if the children be legitimate,
the heritage falls to the son; if there be no son, then it falls to the
daughter. But should they (freedm. or freedw.) die without issue, their
goods shall return back to him who gave them their freedom. Should the children
of a freed person die without issue, their goods have still to revert to
the giver of the freedom, as much thereof, to wit, as the freed persons
owned when they died, but should their goods amount to more, then that (the
excess) fails to the kinsmen of the freed persons' children," etc., i. a.
227, and elsewhere to the same effect. It is clear that a brother, being
a freedman, could not in law inherit a brother who also was a freedman.
Thorbrand of Swanfirth was therefore in his right, for he was still alive,
in claiming the goods of Orlig, to which Ulfar had no title. Arnkel's interference
here was lawless and selfish, seeing that all Ulfar's goods were handselled
to him (Chapter XXXI) in a manner that, at least by Thorbrand, was not regarded
as good in law. Back
(2) "at", read in. Back
(3) "Under the garth" = under the
wall surrounding the homefield, tungarthr. Back
(4) "Then he let break down the wall
behind him and brought him out thereby." The death of Thorolf took place
very much in the same way as that of Egil's father, Skallagrim, whose temper
was somewhat akin to that of Thorolf, being tainted with weird lycanthropy,
though his character was of a higher type. Skallagrim called on Egil to
pay him the weregild for Thorolf his son, who, in high command in Athelstan's
army, had fallen fighting in the battle of Vina, and which the king had
entrusted to Egil for the father. But Egil was not quite ready to give it
up, -- in fact, never meant to do so. So Skallagrim, having a large hoard
of money, makes up his mind to pay the son out, and by night rides to a
certain bog-pit, whereinto he sinks his two chests full of money, and afterwards
rides home by midnight, goes in his clothes to bed, but is found the next
morning sitting in his seat in the hall, dead and stark. Egil goes round
by the aisle of the hall, and seizes Skallagrim from behind, and lays him
down in the seat and gives him lyke help, i.e., closes his eyes and mouth.
Then he bids the southern wall to be broken through, whereby they carried
Skallagrim headforemost out into the open. In both these cases the proceedings
are practically the same. Both these men died within the same century, Skallagrim
early in it, Thorolf late. It would seem that in those times it was customary
to teach him who was supposed to be likely to walk again a way to the house
which did not lead to the door of it, but to the obstructing wall -- a custom
which seems to trace its origin to the imagination that ghosts being brainless
were devoid of initiative. To this day the belief exists in Iceland that
the spirit of the dead visits all localities on earth where the person has
been, before it passes to its final destination. This journey is supposed
to take a miraculously short time. Back
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