Gripla - 20.12.2008, Blaðsíða 134

GRIPLA132
is made. These instances involve a comeback of the famous spear Grásíða.
Well-known to saga audiences from Gísla saga, it suddenly pops up dur-
ing a fierce dispute between Björn Þorvaldsson and Loftur biskupsson in
the winter of 1220–1221, and is recollected in Íslendinga saga. In 1221 their
flocks clashed in a mortal combat:
En er hann [i.e., Björn] kom aftr [to the battle], sáu þeir Guðlaugr
[one of Loftur’s men], at hann var berr um hálsinn. Hljóp Guðlaugr
fram ok lagði til Bjarnar með spjóti því, er þeir kölluðu Grásíðu ok
sögðu átt hafa Gísla Súrsson.
Björn is wounded, and Guðlaugur brings Loftur the news: “Loptr spyrr,
hver því olli. ‘Vit Grásíða,’ svarar hann.” Snorri Sturluson and his men,
who held grudges against Björn, celebrated the news, and composed some
verses; one of them refers to Grásíða.23 First of all we note Sturla’s phras-
ing: they “kölluðu” the spear Grásíða, and “sögðu átt hafa Gísla Súrsson.”
Sturla does not seem to credit the claim. But we must ask why Guðlaugur
and his men made it. Whether they themselves actually believed it is irrele-
vant, although a worthy question in itself; what matters is that they wanted
others to believe that they fought with Grásíða. The real question is thus
why they found that desirable. For luck or power of some sort? Believing
an old and renowned weapon legitimating their actions in some sense? The
story of Grásíða’s origins, not on skin yet at the time of the fight but prob-
ably circulating, makes the case even more interesting and mystifying. It
is somewhat demystified later in Íslendinga saga when Sturla Sighvatsson
fights his last fight with a Grásíða at Örlygsstaðir in 1238.24 Sturla sagnari-
tari does not indicate whether this is the same Grásíða as before, or if his
namesake claimed it to be the Grásíða. The latter seems likely, given the
description: “Sturla varðist með spjóti því, er Grásíða hét, fornt ok ekki vel
stinnt málaspjót.” During battle, Sturla has to constantly step on it to level
out the spearhead. He obviously did not choose it for its quality, and he
could easily have, as a powerful chieftain and leader of hundreds, fought
with new and excellent weapons. He chose not to. It is also noteworthy
that Gissur Þorvaldsson found a reason to pick it up. What we gather from
23 Sturlunga saga I, 280–282, 284.
24 Ibid., 435–436.