grettir the outlaw 33

grettir the outlaw 33

The man sat still, and The Hook could not drag him from his seat.

 

"Well!" exclaimed The Hook, "no one else has kept his place before me

to-day. Who are you?"

 

"Guest," answered Grettir shortly.

 

"A wished-for guest thou wilt be, if thou furnish some entertainment to

the company," said Thorbiorn Hook.

 

Grettir answered, "I am indisposed to make a fool of myself before

strangers. How am I to know, supposing that I give you a fall, that I

shall not be set upon by you or your kindred, and be unfairly treated?"

 

Then many exclaimed that there should be fair play.

 

"It is all very well your saying Fair-play now; but will you say

Fair-play, and stick to it, supposing I get the better of this man. You

are all akin, or friends, and I am a stranger to you all."

 

Again he was assured that no one would resent what he did.

 

"But see," said Grettir, "I have not wrestled for many years, and have

lost all skill in the matter."

 

Yet they pressed him the more.

 

Then he said, "I will wrestle with whom you will, if you will swear to

show me no violence so long as I am among you as a guest."

 

This all agreed to, and an oath of safe conduct was made, the form of

which is so curious that it must be given.

 

A man named Hafr recited the terms of the oath, and the rest agreed to

it.

 

"Here set I peace among all men towards this man Guest, who sits before

us, and in this oath I bind all magistrates and well-to-do bonders, and

all men who bear swords, and all men whatsoever in this district,

present or absent, named or unnamed. These are to show peace to, and

give free passage to the aforenamed stranger, that he may sport,

wrestle, make merry, abide with us and depart from us, without stay,

whether he go by land or flood. He shall have peace where he is, in all

places where he may be till he reaches his house whence he set out, so

long and no longer.

 

"I set this treaty of peace between him and us, our kinsmen male and

female, our servants and children. May the breaker of this compact be

cast out of the favour of God and good men, out of his heavenly

inheritance and the society of just men and angels. May he be an

outcast from land to its farthest limits, far as men chase wolves, as

Christians frequent churches, as heathen men offer sacrifices, as flame

burns, earth produces herb, as baby calls its mother, and mother rocks

her child; far as fire is kindled, ships glide, lightnings flicker, sun

shines, snow lies, Finns slide on snow-shoes, fir-trees grow, falcons

fly on a spring day with a breeze under their wings; far as heaven

bends, earth is peopled, winds sweep the water into waves, churls till

corn; he shall be banished from churches and the company of Christian

men, from heathen folk, from house and den, from every house—save hell!

Now let us be agreed whether we be on mountain or shore, on ship or

skate, on ground or glacier, at sea or in saddle, as friend with friend,

as brother with brother, as father with son, in this our compact. Lay

we now hand to hand, and hold we true peace and keep every word of this

oath."

 

Now, this formula is very curious. It must have been brought by the

Icelandic settlers with them from Norway, for parts of it are

inappropriate to their land. There are no Finns there, nor do fir-trees

grow there, nor is any corn tilled. But all that about Christians is of

later origin.

 

After a little hesitation the oath was taken by all.

 

Then said Grettir, "You have done well, only beware of breaking your

oath. I am ready to do my part, without delay, to fulfil your wishes."

 

Thereupon he flung aside his hood and garments, and the assembled

bonders looked at each other, and were disconcerted, for they saw that

they had in their midst Grettir Asmund’s son. They were silent, and

thought that they had taken the oath somewhat unadvisedly, and they

whispered the one into another, to find if there were not some loophole

by which they might evade the obligation to observe the oath.

 

"Come now," said Grettir, "let me know your purpose, for I shall not

long stand stripped. It will be worse for you than for me if you break

your oath, for it will go down in story to the end of time that the men

of Heron-ness swore and were perjured."

 

He received no answer. The chiefs moved away; some wanted to break the

truce, and argued that an oath taken to an outlaw was not legally

binding; others insisted that the oath must be observed. Then Grettir

sang:

 

"Many trees-of-wealth (_men_) this morn,

Failed the well-known well to know,

Two ways turn the sea-flame-branches (_men_),

When a trick on them is tried;

Falter folk in oath fulfilling,

Hafr’s talking lips are dumb."

 

 

Then Tongue-stone said, "You think so, do you, Grettir? Well, I will

say this of you, you are a man of dauntless courage. Look how the

chiefs are deep in discussion how to deal with you."

 

Then Grettir sang:

 

"Shield-lifters (_men_) rubbing of noses,

Shield-tempest-senders (men) shake beards,

Fierce-hearted serpent’s-lair-scatterers (_men_),

Lay their heads one ’gainst another,

Now that they know, are regretting

The peace they have sworn to to-day."

 

 

In these staves a number of periphrases for men or warriors are used—and

the use of these periphrases constitute the charm of these verses.

 

Then Hialti of Hof burst away from the rest, and said, "No, never, never

shall it be said of us men of Heron-ness, that we have broken an oath

because we have found it inconvenient to keep it. Grettir shall be at

full liberty to go to his place in peace, and woe betide him who lays

hand on him, to do him an injury. But an oath no longer binds us should

he venture ashore again."

 

All except Thorbiorn Hook, Hialti’s brother, agreed to this, and felt

their minds and consciences relieved, that he had spoken out as a man of

honour. And thus was seen how of those two brothers, rude and violent

though both were, Hialti had some nobleness in him that was lacking in

the other.

 

The wrestling began by Grettir being matched with Thorbiorn Hook, and

after a very brief struggle Grettir freed himself from his antagonist,

leaped over his back, caught him by the belt, lifted him off his legs,

and flung him over his back. This is a throw called "showing the white

mare," among Cornish wrestlers of the present day, and a very dangerous

throw it is, for it sometimes breaks the back of the man thrown. The

Hook, however, picked himself up, and the wrestling continued with

unabated vigour, and it was impossible to tell which side had the

mastery, for, though Grettir was matched against both brothers, and

after each bout with one brother fell to with the other, he was never

thrown down. After all three were covered with blood and bruises the

match was closed, the judges deciding that the two brothers conjointly

were not stronger than Grettir alone, though they were each of them as

powerful as two ordinary able-bodied men.

 

Grettir at once left the place of gathering, rejecting all the

entreaties of the farmers that he would leave Drangey. And, so, after

all but The Hook had thanked him for his wrestling and praised his

activity and strength, he departed. He was put across from Reykir to

his island, and was received with open arms by Illugi.

 

There now they abode peaceably, and Grettir told his brother and his

churl Glaum the story of what had taken place at the assize, and thus

the summer wore away.

 

There was much talk through the island of Iceland about this adventure,

and all good men approved the conduct of the men of the Skagafiord that

they had kept the oath they had so inconsiderately taken.

 

 

 

 

*CHAPTER XXXVII.*

 

*OF HŒRING’S LEAP.*

 

 

_The Piebald Ram—In want of Fire—Not born to be Drowned—Thorwald

aids Grettir—A Stratagem—Hœring climbs the Cliff—Hœring’s Leap_

 

 

The smaller farmers began seriously to feel their want of the islet

Drangey for pasture in summer, and, as there seemed no chance of their

getting rid of Grettir, they sold their rights to Thorbiorn Hook, who

set himself in earnest to devise a plan by which he might possess

himself of the island.

 

When Grettir had been two winters on the island, he had eaten all the

sheep except one piebald ram, with magnificent horns, which became so tame that he ran after them wherever they went, and in the evening came to the hut Grettir had erected and butted at the door till let in.