Lögberg-Heimskringla - 05.05.1995, Blaðsíða 5

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 5. maí 1995 • 5
^uthoi1 s Synopfís of Gvím I*eII’* Stovy
With this issue of Lögberg-Heimskríngla we conclude
Grímkell’s Story. L-H and its readers would like to thank Dr.
Kirsten Wolfofthe University Dept. of Icelandic and theheirs
ofRagnhiIdur Guttormsson for making this available to us.
This story takes place in Iceland,
930-1002. Grímkell goði brings
upon himself the enmity of Torfi,
the son of Valbrandr, a goði in a distant
community, when he interferes in a
quarrel between Torfi and a Norwegian
merchant whom the farmer had
defiauded out of a precious blue neck-
lace that Torfi later gave to his sister,
Signý. Ironically, Grímkell sees Signý
shortly after the quarrel and falls in love
with her. When Torfi hears that he is
interested in Signý, he hastens her
betrothal to Þorgeirr the Wealthy for fear
his father will consider Grímkell a better
match for his sister.
Fourteen years pass, and Signý has
become a widow. In 944 at the Alþingi,
Grímkell asks Valbrandr goði for the
hand of Signý in marriage, which
Valbrandr grants. Grímkell pays forty
hundred in silver, which was to be
equalled by the dowry paid by her kin-
dred, all this becoming the property of
the bride when she married Grímkell.
Torfi, who was not at the Alþingi and
who was not consulted about the mar-
riage, became very angiy when his father
gives him all her property with the
understanding that he pay the dowry on
which her father had agreed. All she
kept for herself was her good horse
Blackmane and her beautiful blue neck-
lace.
When the time comes for Signý to go
to wed Grímkell, neither Torfi nor
Valbrandr accompany her; nor does
Torfi send her dowry. Her good horse
Blackmane dies in an earth-slip the first
night away from home. Signý wants to
tum back home, but Kollr, her father’s
friend and her warden on the joumey,
persuaded her to keep on. The fact that
neither Valbrandr nor Torfi attended the
wedding at once caused an estrange-
ment and coolness between Grímkell
and Signý, aggravated by the loose
tongue of Sigmundr the Beggar.
Little Grímr, Signý’s cousin, goes
with her to Ölfus Lake, her new home,
as does her old foster-mother Þórdís.
Both try to mend matters between
Grímkell and his wife, and for a while
they succeed. A son, Hörðr, is bom to
them when they have been married
three years. But misunderstanding
creeps in again. This comes to a head at
a religious spring festival in 950, when
Hörðr, who is three and still has not
walked, takes his first steps and, stum-
bling at his mother’s knees, breaks her
blue necklace. In a fit of temper, Signý
lays a curse on the child. Grímkell, who
hears her, is greatly angered and sends
Hörðr away to be brought up by Little
Grímr who by now has a home of his
own in the community.
Signý resents this deeply. She is with
child again, and in the fall of the same
year requests Grímkell’s permission to
visit her brother Torfi, a joumey of some
days. Grímkell, secretly alarmed at the
change in her and her evident depres-
sion, gives his consent, but stipulates she
may stay only two weeks. Her old nurse
Þórdís and a couple of house-carls go
with her.
Torfi persuades her to stay the win-
ter. During the winter Þórdís dies. Signý
bears her child in the spring and dies in
childbed. Torfi, beside himself with grief
and remorse, vents his spleen on the
newborn child, and orders that it be
exposed. Sigurðr, a cousin whom he
entmsts with the task, takes the child to
Grímr, a son of Signý by her first mar-
riage, who lives under Torfi’s thumb in
his mother’s former home. Grímr names
the child Þorbjörg and sprinkles her
with water. This heathen rite was a form
of baptism, and after it had been per-
formed it became a murder to expose
the child. Grímr also sent Sigurðr
abroad, as he knew his life would be for-
feit as soon as Torfi found out.
Torfi was furious when he found out
that Þorbjörg’s life had been spared.
Next spring he sent her to Grímkell in
Sigmundr the Beggar’s scrip. Grímkell
did not allow Sigmundr to bring the
child into his house and sent him out
into drenching rain. Little Grímr took
pity on the child and took her in and
brought her up with Hörðr and his own
son Geirr.
Hörðr grew up to be an exceptionally
well-favored youth. He was handsome,
strong, well skilled in all sports. When
he was eighteen he sailed to Norway.
His father gave him plenty of money for
travelling. He became a viking and mar-
ried the daughter of the Earl of Gotland
in Sweden. He stayed abroad for fifteen
years.
In the meantime, Þorbjörg married
Indriði, a landowner and leader in his
district. At her wedding, Grímkell died
after setting fire to his hof and buming
up all his idols.
Hörðr came back from abroad in 980
with his wife Helga and son Grímkell,
five years old. He forced Torfi to pay
him his mother’s dowry, which his
father had willed to him, and went to
live at Breiðabólstaðr near Torfi.
For two years all went well; then one
of Hörðr’s neighbors was the cause of a
quarrel between Hörðr and Torfi. At the
next Alþingi Torfi had Hörðr declared
an outlaw. Hörðr bumed the home at
Breiðabólstaðr and moved to Geirr, his
old foster-brother who was also his
brother-in-arms. For three years they
headed a band of outlaws in Geirhólmr,
a small island in Whalefirth on the west
coast of Iceland. They carried out raids
on the mainland in true viking fashion
and carried off herds of cattle, sheep,
and hogs. One of their lawless acts was
an attempt to bum the home of Indriði,
Hörðr’s brother-in-law, which was
foiled by the foresight of Þorbjörg,
Hörðr’s sister.
Hörðr was embittered because when
he asked Indriði’s help to hold up his
case against Torfi at the Alþingi, Indriði
did not respond, but the perfidy of
Helgi, the son of Sigmundr the Beggar,
was to blame for his not knowing about
the help Indriði did offer him.
The outlaws were much hated by the
landowners on the mainland, and in 986
they determined to put an end to the
band. To put this into effect they held a
meeting, where Torfi was one of the
spokesmen, and urged the necessity of
killing the outlaws. Illugi and Indriði,
both married to Hörðr’s sisters, were
there also. Þorbjörg rode to the meeting
and told them she would see that who-
ever killed her brother Hörðr would
meet the same fate. But in spite of that
it was decided to entice the outlaws on
land and kill them next day. The whole
host rode to Whalefirth during the dark
autumn evening and camped on shore
out of sight of Geirhólmr.
Next day they sent a messenger to
Geirhólmr. The outlaws were glad to
hear they were going to be pardoned
and broke faith with Hörðr and went to
shore to meet their íate. After Geirr had
gone also, Hörðr felt he had to go, as
they were brothers-in-arms. After he
had killed twenty-two men the horde of
men finally surrounded him, and one of
their men sneaked up to his back, when
his axe had come off the handle, and
dealt him the death blow.
Helga was left in Geirhólmr with her
two small sons, Grímkell eight and
Björn four. She had seen some of the
struggle which was fought on higher
ground in sight of Geirhólmr, so she
knew how it must have ended. She tied
Bjóm on her back and swam together
with Grímkell to shore. Then she
climbed the mountains and rested in a
pass, called to this day Helga’s Pass.
From there she walked down into
Obítuary
Gisli Norman
Gisli Norman of the Creighton
Heritage Manor passed away
Saturday, January 21, 1995 at
the Flin Flon General Hospital at the
age of 99 years.
Gísli Peterson Norman was bom in
Iceland on June 19, 1895 to Pétur and
Ingunn Norman.
With his parents he moved to
Canada in 1900. After several moves,
the Norman family settled in
Winnipegosis where they ranched and
fished.
In 1916, at the age of 20, Gísli joined
the Two Hundred and Twenty- Third
Canadian Scandinavian Battalion and
served in World War I.
Gísli and Lilja Einarson were mar-
ried August 13, 1928. They moved to
Vances Island on Beaver Lake, which
was their home for a few years. Later,
they moved to the east shore of Beaver
Lake, now Denare Beach, where they
built their log house. This was their
home for many, many years. It was here
they raised their six children. Their
home was always open to travellers and
friends. The coffee pot was always on
and nobody left hungry.
Gísli’s favourite pastime was a good
card game. He was an avid hockey and
baseball fan as well.
He also enjoyed taxidermy and lap-
idary (stone jewelleiy) as well as hunting
and trapping. Gísli was also a member
of the First United Lutheran Church
and Royal Canadian Legion.
At 97 Gísli was the oldest living vet-
eran from World War I in the Flin Flon
area.
Predeceased by his parents Pétur and
Ingunn, one brother Ingi Norman, one
sister Mary Stevenson, step brothers
Stewart and Ivan Crearer, step sister
Annie Girling, half sister Bjorg
Goodman, one son Kris and one daugh-
ter Laura Heibert, he leaves to moum
the valley beyond to Indriðastaðr, the
home of Þorbjörg, Hörðr’s sister. Þorb-
jörg befriended her and hid her in an
underground secret chamber. When
her husband came home next day,
Þorbjörg heard all the news, also that
Helga and the boys must have
drowned, as they were not found in
Geirhólmr when men had been sent
there to kill them. In bed that night
Þorbjörg attacked her husband with a
dagger, slightly wounding him. To buy
indemnity for himself he went next
morning and killed Þorsteinn Gold-
Button, who had given Hörðr the death
blow in retum for his good ring. Þorb-
jörg told him he would be fully forgiven
if he would promise security to Helga
and her sons. He quickly gave the
promise, feeling sure that they had
drowned. Þorbjörg led him to the secret
room where they were hidden. Indriði
kept his word.
Helga stayed with them for four
years. During that time twenty men fell
in revenge for Hörðr, and his son
Grímkell also fell avenging his father.
When Björn was eight he and Helga
went to her brother in Gotland, who
was then Earl.
Bjöm went back to Iceland when he
was twenty and settled at Breiðaból-
staðr and became a good and useful cit-
izen of Iceland.
his passing his loving wife Lilja, daugh-
ter Inga McMaster, sons Peter, John and
Carl, and twenty-six grandchildren,
forty-six great grandchildren and six
great great grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Wedn-
esday, January 25, 1995 at 2 PM from
the First United Lutheran Church with
Pastor Lome Lissel officiating.
The organist was Arlene Milton who
accompanied the Lutheran Church
Choir.
Active pallbearers were Walter
Bowes, Tony Schlosser, Gib Smith,
Norm Dow, Mike Kryschuk and George
Schuman.
Honourary pallbearers were Kap
Goodman, Mindy Einarson, Ingi
Bjomson, Arthur Olson, Lloyd Good-
man, Fred Shwaga, Ralph Streitle and
Mathias Einarson.
Bob Collacott and Mike Kryschuk
were the ushers while Marge Schlosser
was the memorial registér attendant.
Following the graveside service and
Legion Rites at the Denare Beach
Cemetery, the Legion Ladies Auxiliary
served a lunch at the Legion Hall.
If friends so desire, memorial tributes
may be made to the Canadian Cancer
Society or the Children’s Wish
Foundation, c/o Carolyn’s, 115 Main
Street.
Blessuð sé minning hans.