Færeyinga Saga
Part 9
[48.] After the killing of Carl of Mœre and the evil deed wrought on Lawman Gille's booth-man, Thrond's kinsmen, Sigurd Thorlacsson, Thord the Low, and Geat the Red, were driven abroad and thrust out of the Færeys. Thrond gave them a sea-going ship and some chattels, but they thought they were poorly treated, and had high words with Thrond, saying that he had got hold of their father's heritage and would not give them any shares of it. Thrond said they had had much more than they had any right to, and told them that he had kept them for a long while, and often shared out goods and chattels among them, but got ill thanks for it. And now Sigurd and his mates put to sea. They were twelve together on board, and it was given out that they were going to make for Iceland. But when they had been a short while at sea a great storm sprung up, and the bad weather held on for nigh a week. All on land saw very well that this would be dead against Sigurd and his mates, and men boded ill of their cruise; and when the harvest-tide was over, wrecks of their ship were found on Eastrey. But when the winter came, ghosts were said to have been seen at the Gate and far and wide over Eastrey, and Thrond's kinsmen showed themselves pretty often, and men got great damage at their hands; some got their bones broken, and others bodily hurts. They beset Thrond so hard that he dared not go anywhere alone. There was great talk about this all the winter.
When the winter was gone, Thrond sent word to Laf Ossursson to fix a meeting between them, and they did so. And when they met Thrond said, "We got into great danger last summer, fosterson, and it nearly went as far as the whole folk-moot coming to blows. Now, fosterson mine," said Thrond, "I should like a law to be made by our advice, that no man shall bear any weapon to the moot when men are talking over their law business and peaceful matters." Laf said that was well said, "And I will talk over the matter with my kinsman, Lawman Gille." Now Gille and Laf were sisters' sons. So they met together and talked it over between them. Gille answered Laf in those words: "It seems to me risky to trust Thrond, but we will agree to this, that all we king's-men have our weapons, and some of them that follow us, but that the commonalty go weaponless." They settled between them that it should be so.
The winter passed, and in the summer men came to the moot at Streamsey. Now it happened one day that Laf and Gille walked from their booths to a height that there was on the island, and were talking together there, when they saw on the east of the island, under the sun, men walking up, a goodly company, to a headland there; they could see thirty in all go up. Fair shields and fine helms, axes and spears, glittered in the sunshine --- a most warlike troop it was. They saw, walking foremost, a big bold-looking man in a red kirtle, with a shield painted half blue and half gold. He had a helm on his head and a great halbert in his hand, and they thought they could tell him to be Sigurd Thorlacsson. Next to him walked a strong-built man in a red kirtle; he had a red shield withal; they thought they knew well enough who he was, namely, Thord the Low. The third man had a red shield with a man's face drawn thereon, and a great axe in his hand; this was Geat the Red. Laf and Gille went straight home to their booths. Sigurd and his men soon came up thither; they were all well weaponed. Thrond walked out of his booth to meet Sigurd and his fellows, and many men walked with him, all with their weapons. Laf and Gille had but few men against those that were with Thrond, but this was the greatest lack that few of them had any weapons. Thrond and his kinsmen now went up to Laf and Gille's following, and spake Thrond: "It hath so happened, fosterson Laf," quoth he, "that my kinsmen, who were driven so hastily out of the Færeys last time we met, have come hither, but we do not intend to be worsted by thee Gille this time. There are now two choices before you: the one to let me alone judge between you, but if ye will not have that, I will not stay my kinsmen from setting upon you as they will." Laf and Gille saw that they had not enough men to be a match for Thrond and his friends' host; they chose rather to handsel the whole matter to Thrond for him to make the award; and he gave his award at once, saying that he could do it as well then as later. "This is my award,' says he; "first, I will that my kinsmen be free to dwell in the Færeys where they like, though they have been driven out of the land. Weregeld I will take none from either side. The lordship over the Færeys I will settle in this way. I will have one third, Laf shall have another, and the sons of Sigmund the third, for this lordship has long been a bone of contention, a cause of ill-will. And I will offer thee, fosterson Laf," said Thrond, "to foster thy son Sigmund, and this I will do for thine own good." Laf answered, "As to the fostering of the child, that shall be as Thora wills, whether she will have her son go to thee or abide with us." So they parted. When Thora heard of the fostering, she said, "It may be that this looks otherwise to me than it does to you, but I cannot but choose this fosterage for my son Sigmund, if I am to have my way, for methinks Thrond in many ways outdoes other men." So Sigmund, the son of Thora and Laf, went to Gate to be fostered by Thrond. He was then three winters old, and bid fair to become a fine man; and there he grew up.
Of Thrond and his Kinsman.
[49.] In the days when Sweyn was king in Norway and Alfifa his mother with him, Thrond was at home in Gate, and his kinsmen Sigurd, Thord, and Geat the Red with him. It was said that Thrond was never married; howbeit he had a daughter whose name was Gudrun. When Thrond's kinsmen had been there some time, he fell into talk with them, and told them that he would not have them there any longer with their unthrift and idleness. Sigurd answered him ill, saying that he did nought but evil to all his kinsmen, and that he was sitting withal in their father's heritage. So they goaded each other to rage with hard words. And after this the three kinsmen left and went away into Streamsey, that is the thickest dwelt in of all the Færeys.
A certain man had his dwelling there, whose name was Thorhall the Wealthy; he had a wife whose name was Birna; she was forenamed Streamsey-Birna; she was a very proud, handsome woman. Thorhall was then an old man. Birna had been wedded to him for the sake of his goods. Thorhall had money out on loan with nearly every man about, and got little for it in most cases. Sigurd, Thord, and Geat came to Streamsey and went up to talk with Thorhall. Sigurd offered him to get in his money from those who paid him worst, if he would give them the half of all he got; but if he had to go to law with them, he was to have what was needed for going to law paid besides, and the franklin was to have half of what he got. Thorhall thought it a hard bargain, but they drove it at last. And now Sigurd would go far and wide on the Færeys getting together Thorhall's money, and going to law over it when he thought it needful to do so; so that he soon got together a great deal of money and became very wealthy. Sigurd and all those kinsmen were now with Thorhall for a long time. Sigurd and Birna would be often talking together, and men said that all was not right between them. They were there all the winter. In the spring Sigurd told Thorhall that he should like to set up housekeeping with him, but Thorhall was not very eager over it, till the goodwife put in her word, then the goodman gave in and let her have her way. They took their own way greedily. Thorhall was thrown overboard, and she and Sigurd managed everything just as they liked.
The Slaying of Thorhall.
[50.] That summer it happened that a ship came out to the Færeys and was knocked to pieces off Southrey, and much of the lading was lost. There were twelve men on board, and five were lost, but seven came safe to land. One of these was called Hafgrim, and Bearngrim and Hergrim were with him; they were all brothers, and masters of the ship. They were hard put to it for food and everything else that they needed. Sigurd, Thord, and Geat went to meet them, and Sigurd said that they were in evil plight and bade them all home to his house. Thorhall talked to Birna about it, and said that he thought it was a rash thing to do. Sigurd said he would keep them at his own smart. So there they abode, and were right well kept, yea, better than Thorhall. Goodman Thorhall was stingy, and there were often words between him and Bearngrim. One evening, as men were sitting in the hall, goodman Thorhall and Bearngrim had words. Thorhall was sitting on a bench and he had a stick in his hand; he was waiving it about talking angrily, and his sight was bad, and the staff came down on Bearngrim's nose. He grew mad with rage, and caught at his axe to drive it into Thorhall's head. Sigurd leapt up at once and caught hold of Bearngrim, and said that he would set them at one, and brought it about that they were set at one. They were there all through the winter, but they were never very friendly with Thorhall after that. The winter passed; then Sigurd said that he would give them something towards their cruise, and gave them a good merchant-ship which he and Thorhall owned together. Thorhall took this very ill till the goodwife talked him over. Sigurd gave them food for their cruise also, and they went on board; they lay on board their ship all night, but lived at the homestead in the daytime. When they were bound, it happened one morning that they went up to the homestead. Sigurd was not at home that day, but abroad on his stewardship after some business that was pressing. They were up there all day. But when Sigurd came home and went to meat, the merchants had already gone down to their ship. When Sigurd sat down to the board he asked where yeoman Thorhall was; they told him he must be asleep. "It is an unkindly sleep," says Sigurd. "Is he clad or not? We will wait for him to meat." Then they went to the hall, and there lay Thorhall in his bed fast asleep. When they told Sigurd this, he sprang up and went to Thorhall's room, and it was soon seen that Thorhall was dead. Sigurd stripped the clothes off him, and saw that the bed was bloody all over, and found a wound under his left arm. He had been smitten to the heart with a thin blade. Sigurd said this was the worst of evil deeds, and that that wretch Bearngrim must have done it, thinking to revenge himself for the blow he got from the stick. "And we will now go down to the ship and be revenged on them, if we can." The kinsmen took their weapons, Sigurd having a great axe in his hand, and ran down to the ship. Sigurd called out in wrath and sprang on board the ship. The brothers jumped up at once when they heard the cursing and swearing. Sigurd ran at Bearngrim and hewed straight at his breast with the axe in both hands, so that the axe-blade went right into his body, and so he got his death wound. Thord the Low hewed at Hafgrim's shoulder with his sword, and clove him down to the ribs, so that his arm fell down, and there he got his death. Geat the Red hewed at Hergrim's head with his axe, and clove him down to the shoulders. When they three were all dead, Sigurd said that they would go no further with the others that were yet alive, but that he would have the goods the brothers had left; and right little it was. Sigurd and his kinsmen went home with the goods, and Sigurd makes out that he has well avenged goodman Thorhall. Nevertheless Sigurd and his kinsmen were ill-spoken of in the matter of the slaying of Thorhall.
Sigurd now took Birna to wife, and set up his homestead with her. Thorhall and Birna had a good many children.
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