Njal's Saga

Earl Sigurd, and some men with him. Then Hareck took his horse

and rode to meet the earl. Men saw that they met and rode under

a brae, but they were never seen again, and not a scrap was ever

found of Hareck.

Earl Gilli in the Southern isles dreamed that a man came to him

and said his name was Hostfinn, and told him he was come from

Ireland.

The earl thought he asked him for tidings thence, and then he

sang this song:

“I have been where warriors wrestled,

High in Erin sang the sword,

Boss to boss met many bucklers,

Steel rung sharp on rattling helm;

I can tell of all their struggle;

Sigurd fell in flight of spears;

Brian fell, but kept his kingdom

Ere he lost one drop of blood.”

Those two, Flosi and the earl, talked much of this dream. A week

after, Hrafn the Red came thither, and told them all the tidings

of Brian’s battle, the fall of the king, and of Earl Sigurd, and

Brodir, and all the Vikings.

“What,” said Flosi, “hast thou to tell me of my men?

“They all fell there,” says Hrafn, “but thy brother-in-law

Thorstein took peace from Kerthialfad, and is now with him.”

Flosi told the earl that he would now go away, “For we have our

pilgrimage south to fulfil.”

The earl bade him go as he wished, and gave him a ship and all

else that he needed, and much silver.

Then they sailed to Wales, and stayed there a while.

ENDNOTES:

(1) “Shieldburg,” that is, a ring of men holding their shields

locked together.

(2) “Thy dog,” etc. Meaning that he would go a third time on a

pilgrimage to Rome if St. Peter helped him out of this

strait.

(3) “Helmgnawer,” the sword that bites helmets.

157. THE SLAYING OF KOL THORSTEIN’S SON

Kari Solmund’s son told master Skeggi that he wished he would get

him a ship. So master Skeggi gave Kari a longship, fully trimmed

and manned, and on board it went Kari, and David the White, and

Kolbein the Black.

Now Kari and his fellows sailed south through Scotland’s firths,

and there they found men from the Southern isles. They told Kari

the tidings from Ireland, and also that Flosi was gone to Wales,

and his men with him.

But when Kari heard that, he told his messmates that he would

hold on south to Wales, to fall in with Flosi and his band. So

he bade them then to part from his company, if they liked it

better, and said that he would not wish to beguile any man into

mischief, because he thought he had not yet had revenge enough on