The Story of the Confederates
1882 translation into English by John Coles from the original Icelandic 'Bandamanna saga'.
Chapter 9 part 2
Then Úfeigr looked about and spake this ditty:
"Ill is man's fate
In old age to tumble;
Which all men depriveth
Of sight and wisdom.
I had the choice
Of able umpires;
Now's a wolf's tail
Left alone on the hook;
"And with me it has fared after the fashion of wolves, who eat each other up until they come to the tail, not knowing till then what they are about. I have had to choose between many chieftains, but now he alone is left from whom no one looks for aught but evil; and who has proved himself to be a man of unfair dealings beyond all others, and recks nothing what he does to gain money, if he only gets it; and it may be said in his excuse, for not having been particularly nice as to his share in this matter, that many a one has been netted in it, who was called a righteous man before, and has cast away from him his worth and manliness in exchange for iniquity and avarice. Now no one would expect me to choose him, from whom every man may look for evil, for there shall not be found another equally sly fellow in your company. Yet I must be content to choose him, every one else having been excepted." Egill spake, and smiled at the same time: "It befalls, as it has often befallen before, that honour comes to me, yet not because others intended it. Now, Gellir, we have to take our business in hand, let us stand up and go away and talk the matter over between us." They did so, and walked away thence and sat down. Then said Gellir: "What have we got to say about this?" Egill said: "It is my counsel to award a small fine, as I do not see what else we can do, since in any case we shall reap a little favour for this." "Shall it not be enough if we make the fine of the value of thirteen ounces of any current goods," said Gellir, "for this case was started very wrongly, and therefore it is all the better the less they shall be pleased with the award; but I am not eager to undertake the declaration of it, for I am afraid it will be received badly." "Do whichever thou choosest," said Egill, "to declare the award or to undertake the defence of it." "Then I choose," said Gellir, "rather to declare it." Now they went to meet the confederates. Then said Hermundr: "Stand we up, and listen to the shame that shall befall." Then said Gellir: "We shall not be wiser by waiting; it will all come to one thing, and my and Egill's award is, that a fine of thirteen ounces of silver be paid to us confederates." Then said Hermundr: "Did I understand it right, didst thou say thirteen tens of ounces of silver?" Egill answered: "Surely, Hermundr, thou wert not sitting upon thy ear for thou wert standing! thirteen ounces, certainly! and in such wares as are offerable only to paupers, for it shall be paid in rags of shields, and bits of broken rings, and in whatever trifles can be collected for it; and you may like the worst." Then said Hermundr: "Now, Egill, thou hast betrayed us!" "Is it so," said Egill; "dost thou find that thou art betrayed?" "Betrayed, indeed, I deem myself, and thou art the man I have to thank for it" Egill answered: "I deem it well to have betrayed a man who trusts in no one, not even in himself, the which I can prove, for thou didst hide thy money away, that thou intendedst that even though it should come into thy mind to look for it, you should never find it." Hermundr answered: "This is like thy other lies, Egill. Thou didst say the other winter, when thou earnest home after having been invited by me from your abode of poverty during Christmas, the which thou acceptedst gladly as might be expected; but when Yule was over, sadness settled upon thee, and no wonder, having to look forward to a return to starvation; but I, finding it out, offered thee to remain still with another man with thee, which offer thou tookst and wast very glad of it. But in the spring after Easter, when thou returnedst to Borg, thou spreadest the news, that thirty horses, turned out into ice and snow, and had all been eaten." Egill answered: "I think it would be difficult to say too much about the flaws of your household; but of these horses I think that few or even none were eaten. But that all men know, that neither I nor my people are ever of lack of food, though my circumstances as to money being not always equally easy. But of the state of thy own house, the less you say the better." "I should like," said Hermundr, "that we two should not have to meet next summer at the 'Þing' again." Answered Egill: "Now I will say that which I thought would never come over my lips, namely, to thank you for what thou hast said; for as to me, it has been foretold, that I shall die of old age, but the sooner the trolls take you, the better." Then spake Styrmir: "He, who tells the worst of thee, Egill, tells the truest tale, even he who calls thee a rogue." "That is all right," said Egill; "the more thou blamest me, and the more proofs thou bringest in support of it, the better, because I was told that at a banquet you amused yourself by choosing your equals, and that thou choosest for thy equal none but myself. Now it is certain," said he further, "that thou hast about thee some mighty garments to clothe thyself in, about which other people know nothing; and thou must have the best knowledge of thyself as of thy other matters. But in this we are unlike to each other, that we both engage in lending other people assistance, and I give all I can, sparing myself in nought, but thou takest to thy heels, as soon as a few blacklegs are aloft. It is also true that my household always lies heavily on me, and I spare food to no man, but thou art stingy of meat, as may be seen from this, that thou hast a bowl, which is called 'Meatsome,' the contents of which no one knows about, no matter how many may be the visitors to your house except thou alone. Now it is no dishonour to me that my servants endure hardships when want is at the door, but it is a greater dishonour to starve one's household when there is nothing lacking. Now look about and try to see who that man is." Then Styrmir was silent. Next Thórarinn stood up, and Egill spoke and said: "Hold thy peace, Thórarinn, and sit down, and put no word in in this matter, for I shall have such reproaches to lay on thee, as that thou wouldst wish that thou hadst better been silent." Thórarinn answered: "Let wholesome rede be taken whencesoever it come;" and he sat down and was silent Then said Thorgeirr: "All men see, that this is a vain award and a foolish to make only thirteen ounces of silver and no more for such a great case as this is." "But I thought," said Egill, "that thou wouldst find this award a right significant one, as indeed thou shalt find out, if thou lookest about, and thinkest for thyself, for thou wilt surely not have forgotten, that at the Leet of Rangá, the son of a cot carl left thee with marks of thirteen bumps upon thy pate, for which thou didst award to thyself thirteen ewes with lambs, which reminder I should have thought thou wouldst not deem a bad one." Thorgeirr was silent, but Skeggbroddi and Járnskeggi would have no exchange with Egill. Then Úfeigr sang a song in order that this "Þing" and the end of this affair should be borne in mind by many. And Egill answered: "Thou mayest well boast, that never did one man set his course against so many chieftains combined against him."
Now after this people went home to their booths. Then spake Gellir to Egill: "I would that we both should keep together with our men." And so they did. Now during the remainder of the "Þing," there was much secret enmity about, and the confederates were most highly indignant at the turn their affair had taken. But the awarded money nobody would have. And thus people rode away from the "Þing."
Chapter 11
Now Úfeigr and his son Oddr met, the latter fully ready to put to sea, and Úfeigr said that he had allowed self-doom to the confederates. Oddr answered: "Shame on thee for such a settlement, wretch that thou art!" Answered Úfeigr: "But all is not lost, kinsman;" and then tells him the whole matter as it had gone, and therewith all, that a wife had been promised to him. Then Oddr thanks him for his avail, confessing, that he had prosecuted the suit far beyond whatever he had thought could be possible, and promises that henceforth he shall never be in lack of money. "Now shalt thou go," says Úfeigr, "even as thou hast intended, but thy bridals shall be at Melr within six weeks." After that father and son parted in much love, and Oddr puts to sea, sailing with a wind at will north to Thorgilsfjörðr, where there were some traders riding at anchor. Now the wind fell, and they lay there for some nights. Oddr thought that a fair wind was slow in coming about, so he went upon a high mountain, and saw that wind blew another way out in the main. So he returned to his ship of burden, and bade them move out of the firth. The Eastmen mocked them, saying it would be a slow process for them to row all the way to Norway. Oddr answered: "What do you know but that you may have to wait for me all the time here?" And as soon as they came outside the firth, the wind stood fast and fair; nor had they to shift a sail until they came to Orkney, where Oddr bought both malt and corn, and having dwelt there for a while, made the ship ready for sea again.
Now when he was ready, easterly winds blew up, and they sailed away. They had a fair wind all the way, and coming back found the traders lying there still. Thereafter Oddr sailed west by the land, and came to Miðfjörðr, having then been away for seven weeks. Now people prepared for the bridals, whereat there was no lack of good provisions and plentiful. Crowds of people gathered thither, amongst others Gellir and Egill and a host of other great folk. The bridals went on in a right fair and lordly fashion, and people thought that not a better bridal feast had they ever given in Iceland. And when the feast came to an end, people were sent off with lordly gifts, the most bountifully bestowed being those which fell to Gellir's share. Then said Gellir to Oddr: "I should much wish that Egill were dealt well with, for he is worthy of it." "Me-seems," said Oddr, "that my father has done well to him already." "Do thou it better still," said Gellir; and so he rode away, and his people. Next Egill rides away, and Oddr, seeing him off, thanks him for his assistance, saying: "It is not in my power to do as well to thee, as thou art worthy of; but yesterday I ordered sixty wethers and two oxen to be driven south to Borg, where they will be awaiting thee when thou comest home, and never shall I think that I have done enough for thee as long as we both live." Now they part, Egill mightily pleased; and they join friendship, and so Egill goes home to Borg.
Chapter 12
This same autumn Hermundr gathered a band together, and went out to the Leet of Hvammr, being minded to go to Borg at the same time, and to burn Egill in his house. And when they came out along Valafell, they heard something, as if a string of a stringed instrument had snapped up in the mountain. Thereat Hermundr felt ill with a sting under the armpit, so that they had to turn about in their journeying, and by degrees the sickness grew heavier on him. But when they came up by Thor-gantstaðir, they had to lift him off his horse and to send for a priest to Síðumúli. And when the priest came, Hermundr had already lost his speech, but the priest remained with him. And once, when the priest bent down over him, he heard his lips muttering: "Two hundred in the gorge, two hundred in the gorge;" then he died, and the end of him was even such as we have now set forth.
Now Oddr sat at home in much lordliness and love of his wife. But all this time nothing had been heard of Úspakr. Svala was married to a man, who hight Már, and was the son of Hildir, and set up a house at Svalastead. Bjálfi was hight a brother of his, a half crazy fellow, but right mighty of his hand. Bergthór was called one, who dwelt at Böð-varshólar; he had summed up the case, when Úspakr was made guilty. Now at Böðvarshólar, one evening, it so happened, when people sat round the fires, that a man arrived there, and, rapping at the door, bade the good man come outside. The bonder soon was aware that the arrival was none but Úspakr, and said that he was not minded to go outside. Úspakr challenged him hard to come outside, but nowhither did he move, but forbade all his men to go out, and thus they parted. But in the morning, when the women went to the byre, they found there nine cows wounded to death. This was bruited about far and wide. But again, as time wore on, it so happened, that a man walked into the house at Svalastead, and into the chamber in which Már was sleeping; this at an early hour in the morning. The man stepped up to the bed, and stabbed Már with a glave, so that it pierced the hollow of his body. The man was Úspakr himself.
Just as he was turning about for the door, Bjálfi sprang up, driving into him a whittling knife. Úspakr went along to a stead called Borgar-hóll, and there gave out his manslaughter, whereupon he went away, and nothing more was heard of him for a while. The slaughter of Már was spoken of far and wide, and ill in all places. Then there happened a startling thing, that five of the best stud horses belonging to Oddr were found all dead, and the deed was saddled on Úspakr. Yet for a long while still nothing was heard of him. But in the autumn, when people went about mountains to gather up wethers, they came upon a cavern within certain rocks, wherein they found a man dead, and beside him standing a bowl full of blood, that was as black as pitch to look on. This was Úspakr, and people thought that the wound dealt him by Bjálfi had become his bane, but that he had come by his end from starvation as well; and that was the close of his life. It is not on record that any blood suit followed the slaughter of Már, nor the killing of Úspakr.
Oddr dwelt at Melr to old age, and was accounted of the worthiest of men; and from him are descended the men of Miðfjörðr, Snorri Kálfson among them, and many other great men. From the aforestated time, there was the best love and most desirable kinship between Oddr and his father. And thereby this story comes to an end.