Grettir The Strong

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The Saga of Grettir the Strong

Originally written in Icelandic, sometime in the early 14th
Century. Author unknown.

This electronic edition was produced, edited, and prepared by
Douglas B. Killings (DeTroyes@AOL.COM), June 1995. Document
scanning provided by David Reid and John Servilio.

CHAPTER I

THE FAMILY AND EARLY WARS OF ONUND THE SON OF OFEIG

There was a man named Onund, the son of Ofeig Clumsyfoot, who was
the son of Ivar Horsetail. Onund was the brother of Gudbjorg,
the mother of Gudbrand Knob, the father of Asta, the mother of
King Olaf the Saint. His mother came from the Upplands, while
his father's relations were mostly in Rogaland and Hordland. He
was a great viking and used to harry away in the West over the
sea. He was accompanied on these expeditions by one Balki, the
son of Blaeing from Sotanes, and by Orm the Wealthy. Another
comrade of theirs was named Hallvard. They had five ships, all
well equipped. They plundered the Hebrides, reaching the Barra
Isles, where there ruled a king named Kjarval, who also had five
ships. These they attacked; there was a fierce battle between
them, in which Onund's men fought with the utmost bravery. After
many had fallen on both sides, the battle ended with the king
taking to flight with a single ship; the rest were captured by
Onund's force, along with much booty. They stayed there for the
winter, and spent the succeeding three summers harrying the
coasts of Ireland and Scotland, after which they returned to
Norway.

CHAPTER II

THE BATTLE OF HAFRSFJORD

At that time Norway was very disturbed. Harald Shockhead, the
son of Halfdan the Black, till then king of the Upplands, was
aiming at the supreme kingship. He went into the North and
fought many battles there, in which he was always victorious.
Then he marched harrying through the territories to the South,
bringing them into subjection wherever he came. On reaching
Hordland he was opposed by a motley multitude led by Kjotvi the
Wealthy, Thorir Long-chin, and Soti and King Sulki from South
Rogaland. Geirmund Swarthyskin was then away in the West, beyond
the sea, so he was not present at the battle, although Hordland
belonged to his dominion.

Onund and his party had arrived that autumn from the western
seas, and when Thorir and Kjotvi heard of their landing they sent
envoys to ask for their aid, promising to treat them with honour.

They were very anxious for an opportunity of distinguishing
themselves, so they joined Thorir's forces, and declared that
they would be in the thickest part of the battle. They met King
Harald in a fjord in Rogaland called Hafrsfjord. The forces on
each side were very large, and the battle was one of the greatest
ever fought in Norway. There are many accounts of it, for one
always hears much about those people of whom the saga is told.
Troops had come in from all the country around and from other
countries as well, besides a multitude of vikings. Onund brought
his ship alongside of that of Thorir Long-chin in the very middle
of the battle. King Harald made for Thorir's ship, knowing him
to be a terrible berserk, and very brave. The fighting was
desperate on either side. Then the king ordered his berserks,
the men called Wolfskins, forward. No iron could hurt them, and
when they charged nothing could withstand them. Thorir defended
himself bravely and fell on his ship fighting valiantly. The
whole ship from stem to stern was cleared and her fastenings were
cut, so that she fell out of the line of battle. Then they
attacked Onund's ship, in the forepart of which he was standing
and fighting manfully. The king's men said: "He bears himself
well in the forecastle. Let us give him something to remind him
of having been in the battle." Onund was stepping out with one
foot on to the bulwark, and as he was striking they made a thrust
at him with a spear; in parrying it he bent backwards, and at
that moment a man on the forecastle of the king's ship struck him
and took off his leg below the knee, disabling him at a blow.
With him fell the greater number of his men. They carried him to
a ship belonging to a man named Thrand, a son of Bjorn and
brother of Eyvind the Easterner. He was fighting against King
Harald, and his ship was lying on the other side of Onund's.
Then there was a general flight. Thrand and the rest of the
vikings escaped any way they could, and sailed away westwards.
They took with them Onund and Balki and Hallvard Sugandi. Onund
recovered and went about for the rest of his life with a wooden
leg, wherefore he was called Onund Treefoot as long as he lived.

CHAPTER III

MEETING OF DEFEATED CHIEFS IN THE WEST AND MARRIAGE OF ONUND

There were then in the western parts many distinguished men who
had fled from their homes in Norway before King Harald, for he
declared all who fought against him outlaws, and seized their
property. As soon as Onund had recovered from his wound, Thrand
went with his party to Geirmund Swarthyskin, who was the most
eminent of the vikings in the West. They asked him whether he
was not going to try and regain his kingdom in Hordland, and
offered to join him, hoping by this means to do something for
their own properties, for Onund was very wealthy and his kindred
very powerful. Geirmund answered that Harald had such a force
that there was little hope of gaining any honour by fighting when
the whole country had joined against him and been beaten. He had
no mind, he said, to become the king's thrall, and to beg for
that which he had once possessed in his own right. Seeing that
he was no longer in the vigour of his youth he preferred to find
some other occupation. So Onund and his party returned to the
Southern Islands, where they met many of their friends.

There was a man named Ofeig, nicknamed Grettir. He was the son
of Einar, the son of Olvir the Babyman. He was a brother of
Oleif the Broad, the father of Thormod Shaft. Another son of
Olvir was named Steinolf, the father of Una, whom Thorbjorn the
Salmon-man married. A third son of Olvir was Steinmod, who was
the father of Konal, the father of Alfdis of the Barra Isles.
Konal's son was named Steimnod; he was the father of Halldora,
whom Eilif, the son of Ketil the One-handed, married.

Ofeig Grettir married Asny, the daughter of Vestar, the son of
Haeing. His sons were Asmund the Beardless and Asbjorn, and his
daughters were named Aldis, Aesa, and Asvor. Ofeig had fled from
the wrath of King Harald into the West over the sea, along with
his kinsman Thormod Shaft and all their families. They ravaged
far and wide in the western seas. Thrand and Onund Treefoot were
going West to Ireland to join Thrand's brother, Eyvind the
Easterner, who had command of the Irish defences. Eyvind's
mother was named Hlif; she was the daughter of Hrolf, the son of
Ingjald, the son of King Frodi, while Thrand's mother was Helga,
the daughter of Ondott Crow. The father of Eyvind and Thrand was
Bjorn, the son of Hrolf of Ar. He had had to leave Gautland
because he had burnt in his house Sigfast the father-in-law of
King Solvi. Then he went to Norway and spent the winter with
Grim the Hersir, a son of Kolbjorn the Sneak, who wanted to
murder him for his money. Thence Bjorn went to Ondott Crow, who
lived in Hvinisfjord in Agdir. There he was well received,
stayed the winter, and went campaigning with Ondott in the summer
until his wife Hlif died. Eventually Ondott gave Bjorn his
daughter Helga, and Bjorn then no longer went out to fight.
Eyvind had taken over his father's ships and become a great chief
in the western parts. He married Rafarta, the daughter of the
Irish king Kjarval. Their sons were Helgi the Lean and
Snaebjorn.

When Thrand and Onund came to the Southern Islands they found
there Ofeig Grettir and Thormod Shaft, with whom they became very
friendly, for each thought the others had risen from the dead,
their last meeting having been in Norway when the war was at its
worst. Onund was very silent, and Thrand, when he noticed it,
asked what was on his mind. Onund answered with a verse:

"No joy is mine since in battle I fought.
Many the sorrows that o'er me lower.
Men hold me for nought; this thought is the worst
of all that oppresses my sorrowing heart."

Thrand said: "Why, you still seem as full of vigour as ever you
were. You may yet settle down and marry. You shall have my good
word and my interest if you will only tell me whom you fancy."

Onund said he behaved nobly; but said there had once been a time
when his chances of making a profitable marriage had been better.

Thrand said: "Ofeig has a daughter named Aesa; we might mention
it if you like."

Onund said he would like it, and soon afterwards Ofeig was
approached on the subject. He received the proposal favourably,
saying he knew the man to be of good lineage and to have some
wealth in movable property, though his lands were not worth
much. "But," he said, "I do not think he is very wise. Why,
my daughter is quite a child."

Thrand said that Onund was more vigorous than many a man whose
legs were sounder.

So with the aid of Thrand the terms were settled. Ofeig was to
give his daughter a portion in cash, for neither would reckon
anything for his lands in Norway. Soon afterwards Thrand was
betrothed to the daughter of Thormod Shaft. Both the maids were
to remain plighted for three years.

Then they went on fighting expeditions in the summer, remaining
in the Barra Isles during the winter.

CHAPTER IV

FIGHT WITH VIKINGS VIGBJOD AND VESTMAR

There were two Vikings from the Southern Isles, named Vigbjod and
Vestmar; they were abroad both summer and winter. They had eight
ships, and harried mostly round the coast of Ireland, where they
did many an evil deed until Eyvind undertook the defence of the
coast, when they retired to the Hebrides to harry there, and
right in to the Scotch firths. Thrand and Onund went out against
them and learned that they had sailed to an island called Bot.
Onund and Thrand followed them thither with five ships, and when
the vikings sighted them and saw how many there were, they
thought their own force was sufficient, so they took to their
arms and advanced to the attack. Onund ordered his ships to take
up a position between two rocks where there was a deep but narrow
channel, open to attack from one side only, and by not more than
five ships at once. Onund was a very wily man. He sent his five
ships forward into the channel so that, as there was plenty of
sea room behind them, they could easily retire by merely backing
their oars. One ship he brought under an island lying on their
beam, and carried a great stone to a place on the front of the
rock where it could not be seen from the enemy's ships. The
Vikings came boldly on, thinking they had caught them in a trap.
Vigbjod asked who they were that he had hemmed in. Thrand
answered that he was a brother of Eyvind the Easterner, and the
man with him was his comrade, Onund Treefoot. The vikings
laughed and said:

"Trolls take the rascal Treefoot
and lay him even with the ground.

Never yet did I see men go to battle who could not carry
themselves."

Onund said that could not be known until it was tried. Then the
ships came together. There was a great battle in which both
sides fought bravely. When the battle was thick Onund ordered
his ships to back their oars. The vikings seeing it thought they
were taking to flight, and pushed on with all their might, coming
under the rock just at the moment when the party which had been
dispatched for that purpose arrived. They launched upon the
vikings stones so huge that nothing could hold against them. A
number of the vikings were killed, and others were so injured
that they could fight no more. Then the vikings tried to escape,
but could not, as their ships were in the narrowest part of the
channel and were impeded both by the current and by the enemy's
ships. Onund's men vigorously attacked the wing commanded by
Vigbjod while Thrand engaged Vestmar, but effected little. When
the men on Vigbjod's ship had been somewhat reduced, Onund's men,
he himself with them, prepared to board her. On seeing that,
Vigbjod spurred on his men resolutely. He turned against Onund,
most of whose men gave way. Onund was a man of immense strength
and he bade his followers observe how it fared with them. They
shoved a log under the stump of his leg, so that he stood pretty
firm. The viking dashed forward, reached Onund and hewed at him
with his sword, which cut right through his shield and into the
log beneath his leg, where it remained fixed. As Vigbjod bent
down to pull his sword clear again, Onund dealt him a blow on his
shoulder, severing his arm and disabling him. When Vestmar saw
his comrade fall, he sprang on to the outermost ship and escaped
along with all who could get on to her. Then they examined the
dead. Vigbjod had already expired. Onund went up to him and
said:

"Bloody thy wounds. Didst thou see me flee?
'One-leg' no hurt received from thee.
Braver are many in word than in deed.
Thou, slave, didst fail when it came to the trial."

They took a large quantity of booty and returned to the Barra
Isles in the autumn.

CHAPTER V

VISIT OF ONUND AND THRAND TO EYVIND IN IRELAND

The following summer they made ready for a voyage to the West, to
Ireland. At the same time Balki and Hallvard sailed westwards,
to Iceland, where they had heard that good land was available for
occupation. Balki took up some land at Hrutafjord, and had his
abode in two places called Balkastad. Hallvard occupied
Sugandafjord and Skalavik as far as Stigi, where he lived.

Thrand and Onund went to visit Eyvind the Easterner, who
welcomed joyfully his brother Thrand; but when he heard that
Onund had also come, he became very angry and wanted to fight
him. Thrand asked him not to do so, and said it would ill become
him to quarrel with men from Norway, especially with such as had
given no offence. Eyvind said that he had given offence before,
when he made war on Kjarval the king, and that he should now pay
for it. The brothers had much to say to each other about the
matter, till at last Thrand said that he and Onund should share
their fortune together. Then Eyvind allowed himself to be
appeased. They stayed there a long time in the summer and went
with Eyvind on his expeditions. Eyvind found Onund to be a man
of the greatest valour. In the autumn they went to the Hebrides,
and Eyvind made over to Thrand all his share in their father
Bjorn's patrimony in the event of Bjorn dying before Thrand.
They stayed in the Hebrides until they married and some years
after.

CHAPTER VI

DEATH OF BJORN; DISPUTES OVER HIS PROPERTY IN NORWAY

The next thing that happened was the death of Thrand's father
Bjorn. When the news of it reached Grim the Hersir he proceeded
against Ondott Crow and claimed Bjorn's estate. Ondott held
Thrand to be the rightful heir of his father, but Grim contended
that Thrand was away in the West. Bjorn, he said, came from
Gautland, and the succession to the estate of all foreigners
passed to the king. Ondott said that he would hold the property
on behalf of Thrand, who was his daughter's son. Grim then
departed, having effected nothing by his claim.

Thrand, when he heard of his father's death, prepared to leave
the Hebrides, and Onund Treefoot decided to go with him. Ofeig
Grettir and Thormod Shaft went to Iceland with all their
belongings, landing at Eyrar in the South. They spent the first
winter with Thorbjorn the Salmon-man, and then occupied
Gnupverjahrepp. Ofeig took the outer part lying between the
rivers Thvera and Kalfa, and lived at Ofeigsstad near Steinsholt,
while Thormod took the eastern part, living at Skaptaholt.
Thormod's daughters were named Thorvor and Thorve; the former
afterwards became the mother of Thorodd the Godi at Hjalli,
Thorve of Thorstein the Godi the father of Bjarni the Wise.

We now return to Thrand and Onund, who sailed back from the West
to Norway. A strong wind blew in their favour, so that they
arrived at the house of Ondott Crow before any one knew of
their journey. He welcomed Thrand and told him of the claim
which Grim the Hersir had raised for Bjorn's estate.

"To my thinking, kinsman," he said, "it is better that the
property should go to you than to the king's thralls. It is a
fortunate thing for you that no one knows of your having come
here, for I expect that Grim will make an attack upon one or the
other of us if he can. I should prefer if you would take over
your property and stay in other countries."

Thrand said that he would do so. He took over the property and
prepared to leave Norway. Before leaving he asked Onund Treefoot
whether he would not come to Iceland. Onund said he wanted first
to visit some of his relations and friends in the South.

"Then," said Thrand, "we must part. I should be glad if you
would give my kinsmen your support, for our enemies will
certainly try to take revenge upon them when I am gone. I am
going to Iceland, and I want you to come there too."

Onund said he would come, and they parted with great friendship.
Thrand went to Iceland, where he met with a welcome from Ofeig
and Thormod Shaft. He took up his dwelling at Thrandarholt to
the west of Thjorsa.

CHAPTER VII

MURDER OF ONDOTT CROW, AND THE VENGEANCE THEREFOR

Onund went to Rogaland in the South and visited many of his
relations and friends. He lived there in concealment with a man
named Kolbeinn. He there learned that King Harald had taken all
his property and given it into the charge of a man named Harekr,
one of his officials. Onund went by night to Harekr's house and
caught him at home; he was led to execution. Then Onund took
possession of all the loose property which he found and burnt the
building.

That autumn Grim the Hersir murdered Ondott Crow because he had
not succeeded in getting the property for the king. Ondott's
wife Signy carried off all their loose property that same night
to a ship and escaped with her sons Asmund and Asgrim to her
father Sighvat. A little later she sent her sons to Hedin, her
foster-father in Soknadal, where they remained for a time and
then wanted to return to their mother. They left at last, and at
Yule-tide came to Ingjald the Trusty at Hvin. His wife Gyda
persuaded him to take them in, and they spent the winter there.
In the spring Onund came to northern Agdir, having learned of the
murder of Ondott. He met Signy and asked her what assistance
they would have of him. She said they were most anxious to
punish Grim for the death of Ondott. So the sons were sent for,
and when they met Onund Treefoot they all joined together and had
Grim's doings closely watched.

In the summer there was a beer-brewing at Grim's for a jarl named
Audun, whom he had invited. When Onund and the sons of Ondott
heard of it, they appeared at his house unexpectedly and set fire
to it. Grim the Hersir and about thirty men were burnt in the
house. They captured a quantity of valuables. Then Onund went
into the forest, while the two brothers took the boat of their
foster-father Ingjald, rowed away and lay in hiding a little way
off. Soon jarl Audun appeared, on his way to the feast, as had
been arranged, but on arriving he missed his host. So he
collected his men around him and stayed there a few nights, quite
unaware of Onund and his companions. He slept in a loft with two
other men. Onund knew everything that was going on in the house
and sent for the two brothers to come to him. On their arrival
he asked them whether they preferred to keep watch on the house
or to attack the jarl. They chose to attack. They then battered
the entrance of the loft with beams until the door gave way.
Asmund seized the two men who were with the jarl and threw them
to the ground with such violence that they were well-nigh killed.

Asgrim rushed at the jarl and demanded of him weregild for his
father, for he had been in league with Grim and took part in the
attack when Ondott was murdered. The jarl said he had no money
about him and asked for time. Asgrim then placed the point of
his spear against his breast and ordered him to pay up on the
spot. Then the jarl took a necklace from his neck and gave it to
him with three gold rings and a velvet mantle. Asgrim took the
things and bestowed a name upon the jarl. He called him Audun
Nannygoat.

When the farmers and people about heard of the disturbances they
all came out to help the jarl. Onund had a large force with him,
and there was a great battle in which many a good farmer and many
a follower of the jarl were slain. The brothers returned to
Onund and reported what had occurred with the jarl. Onund said
it was a pity they had not killed him. It would, he said, have
been something to make up for the losses which he had suffered
from King Harald. They said the disgrace was far worse for the
jarl as it was, and they went off to Surnadal to Eirik Beery, a
Landman there, who took them all in for the winter. At Yule-tide
they had a great drinking bout with a man named Hallsteinn,
nicknamed Stallion. Eirik opened the feast and entertained them
generously. Then it was Hallsteinn's turn, and they began to
quarrel. Hallsteinn struck Eirik with a deer's horn, for which
Eirik got no revenge, but had to go home with it, to the great
annoyance of Ondott's sons. A little later Asgrim went to
Hallsteinn's house and gave him a severe wound. All the people
who were present started up and attacked Asgrim. He defended
himself vigorously and escaped in the dark, leaving them under
the belief that they had killed him. Onund and Asmund, on
hearing that Asgrim had been killed, were at a loss what they
could do in the matter. Eirik's advice was that they should
betake themselves to Iceland, for it would never do for them to
remain in the land where the king could get at them. This they
determined to do. Each of them had his own ship and they made
ready for the voyage to Iceland. Hallsteinn was laid low with
his wound and died before Onund sailed with his party. Kolbeinn,
the man who was mentioned before, went in the ship with Onund.

CHAPTER VIII

ONUND AND ASMUND SAIL TO ICELAND

Onund and Asmund set sail directly when they were ready and their
ships kept together. Onund said:

"Hallvard and I were aforetime deemed
worthy in storm of swords to bear us.
With one foot now I step on the ship
towards Iceland. The poet's day is o'er."

They had a rough passage with cross winds, mostly from the south,
so that they drifted away to the north. They made Iceland right
in the North, at Langanes, where they regained their reckonings.
The ships were near enough to each other for them to speak
together. Asmund said they had better make for Eyjafjord, and
this was agreed to. They kept under the land and heavy weather
set in from the south-east. Just as Onund was tacking, the yard
was carried away; they lowered the sail and were driven out to
sea. Asmund got under the lee of Hrisey, where he waited until a
fair wind set in which took him up to Eyjafjord. Helgi the Lean
gave him the whole of Kraeklingahlid, and he lived at South-Glera.
A few years later his brother Asgrim came to Iceland and took up
his residence at North-Glera. His son was Ellidagrim the father
of Asgrim.

CHAPTER IX

ONUND SETTLES IN KALDBAK

Onund Treefoot was driven away from the shore for several days,
after which the wind shifted and blew towards the land. Then
they made land again, which those of them who had been there
before recognised as the western coast of the Skagi peninsula.
They sailed in to Strandafloi, almost to Sudrstrandir. There
came rowing towards them a ten-oared boat with six men on board,
who hailed the sea-going ship and asked who was their captain.
Onund told them his name and asked whence they came. They said
they were the men of Thorvald from Drangar. Then Onund asked
whether all the land round that coast was occupied; they answered
there was very little left at Sudrstrandir and none at all in the
North. So Onund asked his men whether they would seek some land
further to the West or take that of which they had just been
told. They said they would first explore a little further. They
sailed in along the coast of the bay and anchored off a creek
near Arnes, where they put off in a boat to the shore.

Here dwelt a wealthy man named Eirik Snare, who had taken the
land between Ingolfsfjord and Ofaera in Veidileysa. On hearing
that Onund had arrived in those parts, he offered to let him have
such portion as he needed from his own lands, adding that there
was little land which had not already been taken up. Onund said
he would first like to see what there was.

Then they went further into the bay past some fjords and came to
Ofaera, where Eirik said: "Here is what there is to see. From
here down to the lands of Bjorn is unoccupied." A high range of
mountains, on which snow had fallen, rose from beside the river.
Onund looked at the mountains and spoke a verse:

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