Tímarit Þjóðræknisfélags Íslendinga - 01.01.1967, Page 62

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TÍMARIT ÞJÓÐRÆKNISFÉLAGS ISLENDINGA
the foundation of Egill’s praise
about Arinbjörn. Such a poem of
praise was easy to compose because
the themes, three or four of them,
lay ready on the poet’s tongue. First
of all Arinbjörn’s generosity and
hospitality had to be dealt with,
then his loyalty is praised. Finally,
one would expect to get a descrip-
tion of Arinbjörn’s bravery. Unfor-
tunately, this point is not discussed
in the preserved text of the poem.
The final stanza of the poem
reminds one of Exegi monumenium
ære perennius, by Horatius. Egill’s
words which seem to defy an Eng-
lish translation run as follows:
Hlóðk lofköst/þanns lengi stendr/
óbrotgjarn/í bragar túni.
After his encounter with King
Eiríkr, Egill’s adventures had
reached their climax. Yet fate so
willed it, that he was still to under-
go the stiffest test of his life as a
family man and Viking.
Egill had many children, among
whom there were two sons Böðvar
and Gunnar. Böðvar was the oldest
of his children, big, handsome and
strong as his uncle Þórólfr had
been. Böðvar was Egill’s favorite.
One day Gunnar was taken ill and
died. Shortly after Böðvar, the
favorite son, was drowned with five
of Egill’s farmhands in a furious
storm. Next day as the bodies of
those who had been drowned were
washed ashore, Egill rode for his
boy and took his body to his father
Skalla-Grímr’s mound where he
buried him.
“Then — says the saga — Egill
rode home to Borg, and when he
arrived there he went straight to
the bedcloset in which he was wont
to sleep. He lay down and shut the
door with the bolt. No one dared to
speak to him ...
The day after, Egill did not open
the closet, and he took neither food
nor drink. Thus he lay all that day
and the night after, no one dared to
speak to him. But the third morning
at daybreak, Ásgerðr (his wife) had
a man ride to Hjarðarholt to tell
Þorgerðr (his oldest and most re-
sourceful daughter) about the whole
matter. The messenger got there
early in the afternoon and told
Þorgerðr that she should come
south to Borg as soon as possi-
blo. Þorgerðr immediately had a
horse saddled and let two men ac-
company her to Borg. They rode
during the evening and all night till
they reached Borg. There, Þorgerðr
at once entered the sitting room.
Ásgerðr greeted her and asked
whether they had had supper.
Þorgerðr says with a loud voice:
“I have had no supper, nor shall I
eat anything before I am gathered
to Freyja. I do not know better
what to do than does my father. I
don’t care to live on after my father
and. my brother.”
Then she went to the alcove and
called out: “Father, undo the door,
I want to go where you go.” EgiH
undid the door and Þorgerðr en-
tered. She locked the door behind
her and lay down on the other bed
that was in there. Then Egill said:
“You do well, daughter, if you wish
to íollow me where I go, and yon
show me your great love. How could
I wish to live after this sorrow?”
Both were silent for a while. Then