Gripla - 20.12.2012, Blaðsíða 187

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the story then focuses on Þiðrandi, síðu-Hallur’s favourite and most
promising son, who is described as possessing qualities not only different
from what is normally admired in pre-Christian Icelandic society but also
conspicuously akin to Christian virtues. Among other things, Þiðrandi is
said to be litillatr ok bliðr við huert barn (ólafur Halldórsson 1958–2000 2,
145), “unassuming and kind to every child”, which recalls Hallur’s descrip-
tion of himself as lítilmenni, “no great hero”, in Njáls saga ch. 145 (íf 12,
408; CSI 3, 194) (see below).27 Þiðrandi is eighteen years of age when the
events described in the þáttr happen.
During the Winter nights, people are told not to go outside of the
house no matter what happens, and the evening proceeds as expected.
once everyone has gone to bed, however, there is a knock on the door and
at the third knock, Þiðrandi gets up to answer and breaks the prohibition
by going outside. there, he sees nine black women riding towards him
from the north, all carrying drawn swords. He also sees nine white women
on white horses riding towards him from the south. the black women get
to him first and attack him; he defends himself bravely but is left almost
dead at the end. People later come out of the house and find him; he tells
them what has happened and then dies, after which he is buried according
to heathen traditions.
Afterwards, síðu-Hallur asks Þórhallur what he thinks this means and
Þórhallur answers by saying that there will be a siðaskipti, a change to the
way of life, and the new way will be “better” (siðr betri).28 the black horse-
riding females are referred to as dísir and as fylgjur, the heathen guardian
spirits of síðu-Hallur’s family who, according to Þórhallur’s interpretation,
have come to claim Þiðrandi as their share before being ousted by the new
faith. But the white ones are “better dísir” (betri) who would have helped
him, though komuz eigi við at svá bunv (ólafur Halldórsson 1958–2000 2,
27 the description of kjartan, another early Christian Icelander, in Laxdæla saga ch. 28, is
similar: hverjum manni var hann lítillátari ok vinsæll, svá at hvert barn unni honum (íf 5, 77),
“he was the humblest of men, and so popular that every child loved him” (CSI 5, 38).
28 similar predictions regarding the coming of Christianity to Iceland occur in other sagas,
for example in Laxdæla saga ch. 33, where Gestur oddleifsson interprets Guðrún’s third
dream as indicating a change of faith: í þat mund muni orðit siðaskipti, ok muni sá þinn bóndi
hafa tekit við þeim sið, er vér hyggjum, at miklu sé háleitari (íf 5, 90), “there will be a change
in religion around that time and this husband of your will have adopted the new religion,
which seems to be much nobler” (CSI 5, 45).
st MICHAeL AnD tHe sons of síÐu-HALLuR