The Sagas of the Icelanders (64 page)

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Olaf went out to meet Kjartan’s body as it was borne home. He sent messengers south to Borg to tell Thorstein Egilsson the news and ask him for support in prosecuting the slayers. In case powerful men were to throw their weight behind the Osvifssons, he said, he wanted to make sure he would still be able to determine the course of events. He sent similar messages north to his son-in-law Gudmund in Vididal and to the Asgeirssons, and told them that he had declared all of the men guilty of the slaying who
had taken part in the assault, with the exception of Ospak Osvifsson. Ospak had previously been outlawed for seducing a woman named Aldis, the daughter of Ljot the Dueller of Ingjaldssand. Their son Ulf later became a steward among King Harald Sigurdarson’s followers. His wife was Jorunn Thorbergsdottir, and their son Jon was the father of Erlend the Torpid, who was the father of Archbishop Eystein.

Olaf had declared his intent to prosecute the case at the Thorsnes Assembly. He had Kjartan’s body brought home and a tent raised over it, as no church had been built in Dalir district at this time. When Olaf learned that Thorstein had responded to his message at once and collected a large number of men, as had the men of Vididal, he sent word asking his neighbours throughout the Dalir for their support.

Many men gathered in answer to his call and Olaf sent them all to Laugar, saying, ‘I want you to show Bolli no less support, should he need it, than you would offer me, because if my guess is right the men from the other districts, who will soon be upon us, will feel they need to wreak their vengeance on him.’

Soon after things had been arranged in this manner, Thorstein and his company arrived, followed by the men of Vididal, all in a state of fury. Hall Gudmundarson and Kalf Asgeirsson were the most adamant in demanding that they attack Bolli and search out the Osvifssons until they were found, saying they could hardly have left the district. But when Olaf spoke determinedly against it, a message of conciliation was sent. Bolli agreed readily, and said Olaf should decide the terms for him. Osvif saw no possibility of protesting, as no support had come from Snorri. At a conciliation meeting held at Ljarskogar the judgement was awarded entirely to Olaf. He was to name whatever compensation he chose for Kjartan’s slaying, either fines or outlawry. The conciliation meeting was then dissolved. Bolli did not attend, on Olaf’s advice. The sentences were to be pronounced at the Thorsnes Assembly. Both the Myrar people and those from Vididal then rode back to Hjardarholt. Thorstein Kuggason offered to foster Kjartan’s son Asgeir, as consolation for Hrefna, who returned north with her brothers. She was wracked with grief, but maintained a dignified and courteous manner, conversing cheerfully with everyone. Hrefna did not marry again after Kjartan’s death. After returning north she lived only a short while, and it was generally said that she had been shattered by her grief.

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Kjartan’s body had remained a week at Hjardarholt. As Thorstein Egilsson had had a church built at Borg, he took the body home with him, and Kjartan was buried at Borg in the graveyard of the newly consecrated church, still in its white drapings.

The time soon came for the Thorsnes Assembly. The case against the Osvifssons was presented and all of them sentenced to outlawry. Atonement was made so that they might be transported from the country, but they were not allowed to return as long as any of the Olafssons or Asgeir Kjartansson were alive. No compensation was to be paid for Osvif’s nephew Gudlaug for having taken part in the ambush and attack upon Kjartan, nor was Thorolf to receive any redress for the bloody wounds inflicted on him. Olaf refused to have Bolli outlawed and pronounced a fine as his compensation. His sons, especially Halldor and Steinthor, protested angrily at this, and said they would find it difficult to dwell in the same district as Bolli in the future. Olaf said that as long as he were alive no difficulties would arise.

A ship beached at Bjarnarhofn belonged to a man called Audun Halter-dog. He was attending the assembly and spoke out, saying, ‘It could turn out that these men will be treated as much as outlaws in Norway if Kjartan’s friends there are still alive.’

Osvif then replied, ‘You, Halter-pup, will not prove much of a prophet, as my sons will gain the respect of worthy men, while you’ll be wrestling with the trolls before this summer is out, Halter-dog.’

Audun Halter-dog sailed abroad that summer and his ship was wrecked near the Faroe Islands. Everyone aboard was drowned and people said that Osvif’s prophecy had certainly been proven true.

The Osvifssons journeyed abroad that summer and none of them ever returned to Iceland. With the case thus concluded, it was Olaf who gained in stature as a result of having ensured that those who deserved the most severe punishment, the Osvifssons, paid the price, while sparing Bolli because of his close family ties. Olaf thanked his supporters warmly for their assistance. At Olaf’s suggestion Bolli purchased the farm at Tunga. Olaf is said to have lived another three years after Kjartan’s slaying. After his death, his sons divided up the property, with Halldor taking over the farm at Hjardarholt. Thorgerd, their mother, lived with Halldor and was filled with hatred towards Bolli, feeling she had been sorely repaid for raising him.

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The following spring Gudrun and Bolli set up house at Saelings-dalstunga, which soon became an impressive farm. A son born to them was named Thorleik. Even as a young lad he was very handsome and precocious.

Halldor Olafsson lived at Hjardarholt, as was mentioned earlier, and acted as leader for his brothers in most matters. The spring Kjartan was slain Thorgerd Egilsdottir sent a young lad related to her to work as a servant: for Thorkel of Hafratindar. The boy looked after the sheep during the summer. Like others, he was very grieved at the loss of Kjartan, but he could never mention his name in the presence of Thorkel, who generally spoke scornfully of Kjartan, saying he was cowardly and lacked daring. He often imitated Kjartan’s reaction at being dealt his wound. The boy was greatly upset by this and went to Hjardarholt to report it to Halldor and Thorgerd and ask them to take him in.

Thorgerd told him he should remain in the position until the winter came, but the boy said he could not hold out any longer, ‘and you wouldn’t ask me to if you knew how much it tortures me’.

At that Thorgerd sympathized with him and said that, for her part, she could offer him a place.

Halldor said, ‘Don’t pay any attention to the boy; he’s of no consequence.’

To this Thorgerd replied, ‘The boy may be of little consequence, but Thorkel’s behaviour has been nothing but despicable. He knew of the men of Laugar waiting there to ambush Kjartan and wouldn’t warn him, but instead enjoyed himself watching their encounter and now adds insult to injury. There’s little chance of you brothers ever doing much to get revenge against a more powerful opponent if you can’t even deal with a miserable swine of the likes of Thorkel.’

Halldor had little to say in reply but told his mother to do as she liked regarding the boy’s position.

A few days later Halldor left Hjardarholt accompanied by several men and went to Hafratindar where he attacked Thorkel in his farmhouse. When Thorkel was brought outside to be killed, his behaviour was anything but courageous. Halldor prevented the men from taking anything and returned home afterwards. Thorgerd expressed her pleasure at his actions, feeling that this action was better than none at all.

The summer passed without event, despite the strained relations between Bolli and the Olafssons. The brothers showed Bolli nothing but hatred, while he attempted to avoid coming into conflict with the Olafssons and their
relatives in every way he could without sacrificing his own honour, for he had no lack of ambition himself. Bolli kept a large number of servants and lived in style, for he did not lack wealth.

Steinthor Olafsson farmed at Donustadir in Laxardal. His wife was Thurid Asgeirsdottir, who had earlier been married to Thorkel Kuggi. Their son Steinthor was called Groslappi (Groa’s Layabout).

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Late in the winter following the death of Olaf Hoskuldsson, Thorgerd Egilsdottir sent word to her son Steinthor, asking him to pay her a visit. When he answered her summons, his mother told him she wished to travel to Saurbaer to visit her friend Aud. She told Halldor to accompany them as well. They made a party of five, with Halldor escorting his mother. They rode along until they were passing the farm at Saelingsdalstunga.

Thorgerd turned her horse towards the farm and asked, ‘What is the name of this farm?’

Halldor replied, ‘You’re hardly asking for an answer you don’t already know, Mother; the farm is called Tunga.’

‘Who is it lives here?’ she asked.

He answered, ‘You also know that only too well, Mother.’

She answered with a snort. ‘What I do know,’ she said, ‘is that here lives Bolli, your brother’s slayer, and not a shred of resemblance do you bear to your great ancestors since you won’t avenge a brother the likes of Kjartan. Never would your grandfather Egil have acted like this, and it grieves me to have such spineless sons. You would have made your father better daughters, to be married off, than sons. It shows the truth of the saying, Halldor, that “every kin has its coward”. I see only too well now that fathering such sons was Olaf’s great failing. I address my words to you, Halldor,’ she said, ‘because you’ve taken the lead among your brothers. We will turn back now; I made the journey mainly to remind you of what you seem to have forgotten.’

Halldor then answered, ‘You’re the last person we could blame, Mother, if it did slip from our minds.’

Halldor had little else to say, although his hatred for Bolli swelled.

The winter passed and the summer came. When the time of the Althing approached, Halldor declared he and his brothers would attend. They rode together in a large company and set up their booth at Olaf’s site. The Althing was uneventful. Also attending were the northerners from Vididal, the sons of Gudmund Solmundarson. Bardi Gudmundarson was eighteen
at the time and a big, strapping man. The Olafssons invited him to come back to Hjardarholt and urged him to accept. His brother Hall was not in the country at the time, and Bardi was more than willing to accept their invitation, as the kinsmen were good friends. After the Althing Bardi rode westward with the Olafssons to Hjardarholt, where he stayed for the remainder of the summer.

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Halldor soon confided to Bardi that the brothers were planning an attack on Bolli, adding that he could no longer stand merely to listen to his mother’s taunts – ‘I won’t try to hide the fact, kinsman Bardi, that it was not least because we hoped for your help and support that we invited you to come home with us.’

Bardi replied, ‘It will bring you no credit if you renege on a settlement made with your own kinsman. Besides that, Bolli will be no easy mark; he always has a large number of men about him, and is himself the best of fighters. Nor does he lack clever advice, both from Gudrun and Osvif. All in all it looks like anything but an easy task to me.’

Halldor said, ‘We scarcely need anyone to make things more difficult for us. I wouldn’t have brought the matter up if we weren’t already determined to seek our revenge on Bolli. And I don’t expect you, kinsman, to back out on making this trip with us.’

Bardi replied, ‘I know you’d think it unsuitable for me to refuse, and if I can’t manage to convince you otherwise, I won’t let you down.’

‘You make me a good answer,’ Halldor said, ‘just as I’d expect of you.’

When Bardi said that they would have to plan the attack wisely, Halldor said he had learned that Bolli had sent most of his servants off, some north to a ship in Hrutafjord and others down to Strond – ‘I’m also told that Bolli himself is at the shieling up in Saelingsdal with only some servants who are making hay there. It looks to me as if there’ll be no better time to confront him.’

Halldor and Bardi agreed on this.

A man named Thorstein the Black lived in Hundadal in the Dalir district of Breidafjord. He was both wealthy and wise and had long been a friend of Olaf’s. Thorstein’s sister Solveig was married to a man called Helgi, the son of Hardbein. Helgi was a big, strong man who had sailed on many merchant voyages. He had only recently settled in Iceland and was staying on his brother-in-law Thorstein’s farm. Halldor sent word to Thorstein and
Helgi, and when they arrived in Hjardarholt he told them of his plans and preparations and asked them to come along.

Thorstein was not in favour of the plan. ‘It’s a terrible loss if you kinsmen continue killing one another off. There are now few men the equal of Bolli in your family.’

Thorstein’s words were to no avail. Halldor sent word to Lambi, his father’s half-brother, and told him of his plans when he arrived. Lambi supported the project enthusiastically. Thorgerd, mistress of the house, was another who never flagged in encouraging them to make the journey. Kjartan would never be properly revenged to her mind, she said, until Bolli paid with his life.

Soon afterwards they made ready for the journey. The four Olafssons, Halldor, Steinthor, Helgi and Hoskuld, were accompanied by Bardi, Gudmund’s son, Lambi was the sixth, Thorstein the seventh, Helgi his brother-in-law the eighth, and An Twig-belly made up the ninth. Thorgerd also got ready to accompany them.

When they protested, saying this was no errand for a woman, she replied that she intended to go along, saying, ‘No one knows better than I do that it is likely my sons will require some urging yet.’ They replied that she would have to decide for herself.

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The nine of them then set out from Hjardarholt, with Thorgerd making it a party of ten. Following the shore, they reached Ljarskogar early in the night, but did not slow their pace until they arrived in Saelingsdal shortly after dawn. In those days the valley was thickly wooded. As Halldor had been told, Bolli was in the shieling. The buildings stood down by the river, on the spot now known as Bollatoftir (Bolli’s ruins). There is a large hill which extends back from the shieling up to the ravine Stakkagil. Between this hill and the mountain slopes there is a large meadow, called Barm, where Bolli’s farmhands were haying.

Halldor and his followers approached Oxnagrof, across the plain Ranar-vellir and above Hamarengi, which was opposite the shieling. They knew that there were many people staying at the shieling, so they dismounted and planned to wait there until they had left to pursue their day’s tasks.

Bolli’s shepherd had gone out to see to the flocks up on the mountain early that morning. He caught sight of the men in the wood and their tethered horses, and suspected that anyone who moved so secretively could hardly be on a peaceful errand. He headed straight back to the shieling to tell Bolli of the
men’s arrival. Halldor, who was a man of keen sight, saw him running down the hillside towards the shieling.

He told his companions that this would be Bolli’s shepherd, ‘who will have seen our movements. We’ll have to cut him off so he won’t be able to give them a warning at the shieling.’

They did as he suggested. An Twig-belly was the first to catch up with the boy. He lifted him up into the air and then threw him forcefully to the ground, breaking his spine when he fell. They then rode up to the two buildings of the dairy, a sleeping cabin and a storehouse. Bolli had been up early that morning to give instructions for the day’s work, then had gone back to bed after the farmhands had set off. The two of them, Gudrun and Bolli, were alone in the sleeping cabin. They awoke at the noise of the men dismounting and heard them discussing who should be the first to enter the building and attack Bolli. Bolli recognized the voices of Halldor and several of his companions and told Gudrun to leave the cabin. The encounter at hand, he said, could only prove to be poor entertainment for her.

Gudrun replied that she felt she could look upon whatever happened, and said she would not prove any hindrance to Bolli though she remained near him. Bolli said he intended to have his way this time, and Gudrun left the building. She walked down the slope to a small stream and began to wash some linen. When Bolli was alone in the cabin he collected his weapons, placed his helmet on his head and picked up his shield and sword Leg-biter. He had no coat of mail.

Halldor and the others discussed how to go about the attack, as no one was eager to be the first to enter the cabin.

An Twig-belly then spoke: ‘Others in this company may be closer kin to Kjartan, but in none of your minds do the events of Kjartan’s death stand out as clearly. I remember thinking, as I was carried home to Tunga and assumed to be dead, and Kjartan was slain, how gladly I would strike back at Bolli if I got the chance. So I’ll be the first one to enter.’

To this Thorstein the Black answered, ‘Those are courageous words, but discretion is the better part of valour. Bolli is not simply going to stand still when attacked. Despite the fact that he has few men to back him up, you can expect him to put up a good defence. Bolli is not only strong and an excellent fighter, he also has a sword that never fails him.’

An Twig-belly then entered the cabin in a quick rush, holding his shield over his head with the narrow end foremost. Bolli struck him a blow with Leg-biter, cutting off the tail of the shield and splitting An right down to his
shoulders and killing him immediately. Lambi followed on An’s heels, with his sword drawn and a shield before him. At that moment Bolli jerked Leg-biter loose from An’s wound, and as he did so his shield slipped to one side. Lambi used the moment to strike him in the thigh, giving him a bad wound. Bolli responded with a blow at Lambi’s shoulder. The sword cut down his side and put him out of action. He never regained the full use of his arm. At this same instant Helgi Hardbeinsson entered, bearing a spear whose blade was a full ell in length, with iron wound around the shaft. When Bolli saw this, he threw down his sword, took his shield in both hands and went towards the doorway to meet Helgi. Helgi lunged at Bolli, and the spear pierced both the shield and Bolli himself. Bolli leaned against the wall of the cabin. Halldor and his brothers then came rushing in, followed by Thorgerd. Bolli spoke: ‘Now’s the time, brothers, to come a bit closer than you have done,’ and added that he expected that his defence would soon be over. It was Thorgerd who answered, and urged them not to hesitate to finish Bolli off and to put some space between trunk and head.

Bolli was still leaning against the wall of the cabin, holding his cloak tightly to contain his entrails. Steinthor Olafsson rushed at him and struck him a blow on the neck just above the shoulders with a great axe, severing his head cleanly.

Thorgerd said, ‘May your hands always serve you so well,’ and said Gudrun would be busy awhile combing Bolli’s bloody locks.

They then left the cabin.

Gudrun then walked away from the stream and came up towards Halldor and his party, and asked for news of their encounter with Bolli. They told her what had happened. Gudrun was wearing a long tunic, a close-fitting woven bodice and a mantle on her head. She had bound a shawl about her that was decorated in black stitching with fringes at the ends. Helgi Hardbeinsson walked over to Gudrun and used the end of her shawl to dry the blood off the spear with which he had pierced Bolli. Gudrun looked at him and merely smiled.

Halldor said to him, ‘That was a vile thing to do, and merciless of you.’

Helgi told him to spare his sympathy, ‘as something tells me that my own death lies under the end of that shawl’.

Gudrun followed them a short way and talked to them as they untied their horses and rode off, then turned back.