The Sagas of the Icelanders (71 page)

2
The story now turns to Thord who returned home to learn of the slaying of his son, for whom he grieved deeply.

His wife Gudrun said, ‘You had better declare Thorolf responsible for slaying the lad, and I will ride south to Tunga to my kinsman Bolli to see what help he is willing to offer us to gain redress.’

This they did. Gudrun was given a good welcome when she arrived at Tunga. She told Bolli of the slaying of her son Olaf and asked him to take over the prosecution of the case.

He answered, ‘It doesn’t look to me as if it will be easy to obtain honourable redress from those Northerners. What’s more, I have also learned that this man is now keeping himself where it will not be easy to search him out.’

Bolli did, however, eventually agree to take on the case, and Gudrun returned north. When she arrived home she told her husband Thord how things stood and for some time nothing more happened.

After Christmas a meeting was to be held in Skagafjord at the Thvera farm, to which Thorvald had summoned Starri of Guddalir, a friend of the Hjaltason brothers. Thorvald and his followers set out for the meeting, and as they passed Urdskriduholar a man came running down the slope towards them. It proved to be Thorolf, who joined Thorvald and his men.

When they had only a short distance remaining to Thvera, Thorvald spoke to Thorolf: ‘Take three marks of silver with you and wait here above the Thvera farmhouse. It will be a sign to you, when I turn the inside of my shield towards you, that it is safe for you to approach. The shield is white on the inside.’

When Thorvald arrived at the meeting he met Starri and they conferred together.

Thorvald spoke: ‘The situation is this: I want you to accept Thorolf Stuck-up for safekeeping and support. In return you will have three marks of silver and my friendship.’

‘The man you speak of,’ answered Starri, ‘is neither popular in my eyes
nor likely to bring much luck. But for the sake of our friendship I will take him in.’

‘You act well, in that case,’ said Thorvald.

He then turned his shield so that the inside faced away from him. When Thorolf saw this he came forward, and Starri took him under his protection. Starri had an underground shelter at Guddalir because he often sheltered outlaws. He himself had also been charged with offences left unsettled.

3
Bolli Bollason prepared to prosecute the slaying of Olaf. He made preparations for the journey and set out north to Skagafjord, accompanied by thirty men. He was warmly received when he arrived at Miklabaer.

He explained the reason for his journey, saying, ‘I intend to bring the case against Thorolf before the Hegranes Assembly, and I would like you to assist me.’

Arnor answered, ‘I don’t think, Bolli, that you’re headed for fair sailing, if you intend to prosecute a case here in the north against men as unjust as the ones involved here. They will defend the case by any means, whether just or not. But your case is certainly a pressing one, so we’ll do what we can as well to see it successfully concluded.’

Arnor collected a large number of men and accompanied Bolli to the assembly. The brothers also attended the assembly with a large number of followers. They had learned of Bolli’s journey and intended to defend the case. When people had assembled Bolli presented the charges against Thorolf. When it was the turn of the defence, Thorvald and Starri came forward with their followings, intending to block Bolli’s prosecution by force of arms and numbers.

Upon seeing this, Arnor led his followers between them, saying, ‘It is clear that so many good men should not be involved in the dispute as now appears likely, so that people fail to obtain justice in their cases. It is misguided to support Thorolf in this case, and you, Thorvald, will have scant backing if it comes to a show of force.’

Thorvald and Starri now saw that the case would be concluded, since they lacked the numbers to match Arnor and his men, so they withdrew. Bolli had Thorolf outlawed there at the Hegranes Assembly for the slaying of his kinsman Olaf and then returned home. He and Arnor parted the warmest of friends. Bolli remained on his farm awhile.

4
A man named Thorgrim owned a ship which had been drawn ashore in Hrutafjord. Starri and Thorvald went to pay him a call.

Starri spoke to the captain: ‘I have a man here whom I want you to transport abroad. You will have three marks of silver and my friendship as well.’

Thorgrim said, ‘It looks to me as though it will prove a problem to do so, but since you urge me to, I will take him on. He doesn’t look to me like a man to bring much luck, though.’ Thorolf then joined the merchants while Starri returned home.

To turn now to Bolli, who had been considering what to do about Thorolf, he felt he would hardly have followed the case to a proper end if Thorolf were to escape. He then learned that passage had been obtained for Thorolf aboard a ship. At that he made preparations to set out, placed his helmet on his head and his shield at his side. He held a spear in one hand and buckled on the sword Leg-biter. He rode north to Hrutafjord and arrived just as the merchants were completing preparations for their voyage. Soon a wind came up. As Bolli rode up to the entrance of the camp, Thorolf came out carrying his bedroll. Bolli drew Leg-biter and struck a blow right through him. Thorolf fell backwards into the camp and Bolli jumped on to the back of his horse. The merchants ran out and towards him.

Bolli spoke to them: ‘You would be best advised to leave things as they are, since it will prove too great a task for you to bring me down, and I’m likely to trim off one or two of you before I’m done in.’

Thorgrim answered, ‘I expect that’s true.’

They took no action, and Bolli returned home. He earned himself a great deal of honour by this, as men thought it quite an accomplishment to have the man outlawed in another district and then venture alone into the hands of his enemies and kill him there.

5
That summer at the Althing Bolli met with Gudmund the Powerful, and the two conversed together at length.

Gudmund said, ‘I want to say, Bolli, that it’s men like you that I want to count among my friends. I invite you to come north for a fortnight’s feast, and will be disappointed if you fail to accept.’

Bolli answered that he would certainly accept this honour from a man such as him and promised to make the journey. There were others who made him offers of friendship as well. Arnor Crone’s-nose invited him to a feast at Miklabaer. A man named Thorstein who lived at Hals, the son of
Hellu-Narfi, invited Bolli to stay with them on his way south again, as did Thord of Marbaeli. When the Althing ended Bolli rode home.

That summer a ship made land at Dagverdarnes and was drawn ashore there. Bolli lodged twelve of the merchant crew at Tunga over the winter and provided for them generously. They all remained there until Christmas had passed. Bolli then intended to make his promised visits to the north, had horses shod and made preparations for the journey. They were a party of eighteen, with all of the merchant sailors bearing arms. Bolli was wearing a black cape with his splendid spear, King’s Gift, in his hand. They rode northward until they reached Marbaeli, where Thord gave them a good welcome. They spent three nights there in festive hospitality. Then they rode to Miklabaer, where Arnor received them warmly. The festivities there were superb.

Arnor then spoke: ‘You have done well, Bolli, in paying me this visit. In doing so, I feel you have declared your great comradeship for me. And no better gifts will remain here with me than the ones you accept at parting. My friendship is also yours for the asking. But I suspect not everyone in this district feels well inclined towards you. Some of them, especially the Hjaltasons, feel they have been robbed of their honour. I intend to follow you north as far as the Heljardal heath when you leave here.’

Bolli answered, ‘I wish to thank you, Arnor my host, for all the honour you have shown me, and it will certainly improve our company if you ride along with us. We plan on proceeding peacefully through this district, but if anyone should make any attempt to attack us, we may well repay them in kind for their trouble.’

Arnor then got ready to accompany them, and they set out on their way.

6
To return to Thorvald, he spoke to his brother Thord: ‘You likely know that Bolli is now here in the district making visits. There are eighteen of them altogether in his party at Arnor’s, and they will be heading north over Heljardal heath.’

‘I know that,’ Thord replied.

Thorvald said, ‘The idea of Bolli passing by under our noses, without our making any attempt to confront him, irks me. I don’t know of anyone who has done more to diminish my honour than he has.’

Thord said, ‘You’re a great one for getting more involved in things than I care to. This is one road to be left untravelled, if I am the one to decide.
I think it’s far from certain that Bolli won’t know how to answer any attack you make.’

‘You won’t talk me out of it,’ Thorvald replied, ‘but you must decide your own course.’

Thord said, ‘You won’t see me sitting at home, brother, if you set out. And I’ll give you the credit for any honour we reap from the journey, or any other consequences.’

Thorvald began collecting men for the journey and formed a party of eighteen. They set out towards the route of Bolli and his party where they intended to wait in ambush.

Arnor and Bolli rode their way with their companions.

When they were only a short distance from the Hjaltasons, Bolli said to Arnor, ‘Isn’t it best if you turn back now? You have given us a more than fitting escort, and the Hjaltasons won’t try any treachery with me.’

Arnor said, ‘I won’t turn back, because something tells me Thorvald is intending to seek you out. What is it I see moving there? Aren’t those shields shining? That will be the Hjaltasons, and we will see to it that they will get no honour from this journey as it can be taken as a plot against your life.’

Thorvald and his brother and their men now saw that Bolli and his party were anything but fewer than they themselves were and realized that any show of aggression on their behalf would put them in a bad position. Their best course appeared to be to turn back, since they were not able to carry out their intentions.

Thord then spoke, ‘Things have now turned out as I feared, that this journey would make a mockery of us and we’d have done better to sit at home. We have shown our hostility to men and accomplished nothing.’

Bolli and his companions continued on their way. Arnor accompanied them up on to the heath and did not leave them until the route began to slope downwards to the north. He then returned home, while they continued down through Svarfadardal until they reached the farm called Skeid. There lived a man named Helgi, who was ill-tempered and not of good family, though wealthy enough. His wife Sigrid, who was a kinswoman of Thorstein Hellu-Narfason, was the more outstanding of the two.

Bolli and his party noticed a store of hay nearby. They dismounted and began to take hay to give their horses, taking rather little, and Bolli restrained them even more.

‘I don’t know,’ he said, ‘what sort of nature this farmer has.’

They took handfuls of hay and let the horses eat them.

One of the farm workers came out of the house, and then returned indoors and said, ‘There are men at your haystack, master, trying the hay.’

Sigrid, the farmer’s wife, said, ‘The only ones who would do that are men on whom one shouldn’t spare the hay.’

Helgi sprang to his feet and said furiously he would never let her allow others to steal his hay. He ran out immediately as if he were crazed and came up to where the men had paused in their journey. Bolli got to his feet when he saw the man approach, supporting himself with his spear, King’s Gift.

When Helgi reached him, he spoke: ‘Who are these thieves that harass me so, stealing what is mine and tearing apart my haystack for their mounts?’

Bolli told him his name.

Helgi replied, ‘That’s an unsuitable name and you must be an unjust man.’

‘That may well be true,’ said Bolli, ‘but you will have your justice.’

Bolli then drove the horses away from the hay, and told his men they would stay no longer.

Helgi said, ‘I declare that what you have taken has been stolen from me and you have committed an offence liable to outlawry.’

‘You will want us, farmer,’ said Bolli, ‘to make you compensation so that you will not prosecute us. I will pay you double the price of your hay.’

‘That’s nowhere near enough,’ he answered. ‘My demands will become more rather than less when our ways part.’

‘Are there any objects of ours, farmer, that you would accept as compensation?’ Bolli said.

‘I think there might be a possibility,’ Helgi answered, ‘that I would have that gold-inlaid spear which you hold in your hand.’

‘I’m not sure,’ Bolli said, ‘whether I care to give it up. I had other plans for it. And you can hardly ask me to hand over my weapon to you. Take instead as much money as you feel does you honour.’

‘There’s no chance of that,’ Helgi said, ‘and it’s best that you be made to answer properly for what you have done.’

Helgi then pronounced his summons and charged Bolli with theft and made it liable to outlawry. Bolli stood there listening with a slight smile.

When Helgi had finished his accusation, he asked, ‘When did you leave home?’

Bolli told him and the farmer then said, ‘In that case I consider you to have lived on others for more than a fortnight.’

Helgi then pronounced another summons, charging Bolli with vagrancy.

When he had finished, Bolli said, ‘You’re making much of this, Helgi, and I’d better make a move against you.’

Bolli then pronounced a summons, charging Helgi with slander, and another summons accusing him of trying to get hold of his property by treachery. His companions said they should kill this rogue, but Bolli said they should not. Bolli made the offences liable to outlawry.

After concluding the summons he said, ‘You will take this knife and belt from me to Helgi’s wife, as I’m told she spoke up for us.’

Bolli and his men then rode off, leaving Helgi behind. They came to Thorstein’s farm at Hals where they were given a fine welcome and a goodly feast awaited them.