Gripla - 2022, Page 95

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Although a murky business in modern eyes, the detailed preparation
of the dueling ground might suggest that the rigorous establishment of
prescribed dimensions brought the site into cosmic order, enhancing what
human justice might achieve. Yet despite such an appeal to superior pow-
ers, participants also opportunistically seek expedients that will tip the
scales of such justice in their favor: charms and spells to assure corporeal
invulnerability, and the use of weapons with magical properties. Even
such post-duel matters as fines imposed on the loser are accompanied by
recourse to healing stones that repair the injury of combat.
Moderation and the Measure of a Man:
Judicial Duels and Proxies
Kormákr engages the help of his uncle Steinarr in addressing the matter
of the fine owed Bersi after the duel. This Steinarr does in the most pro-
vocative matter, by appearing at the assembly and sitting in Bersi’s place,
dressed in a bear-skin cloak and giving his name as Glúmr or Skúmr. The
disguise mocks Bersi’s name; the name is Odinic and thus a poet’s and
fighter’s; the usurpation of a customary seat is a denial of social stand-
ing. Little wonder that a challenge to another duel ensues. The dialogue
is revealing. A variety of synonyms, allied words, and graphic images of
measurement have been deployed in the saga thus far. Another term at
home in this cluster is the verb meta ‘to assess value’ (cf. English mete).
It is introduced early in the saga when the servant woman in Steingerðr’s
company remarks on Kormákr’s expression of interest: “Ambáttin mælti:
‘Jafnaðarþokki er með ykkr, en þó muntu dýrt meta hana alla’” (The serv-
ant said, “So, you have some liking for one another; but you surely will set
a high price on her as a whole”).49 As in other cases of the interdependence
of verse and prose, the poet himself promptly uses the word in a stanza
in which he assesses Steingerðr’s value as greater than those of Iceland,
Denmark, England, and Germany. Meta does not recur in the saga until
the exchange between Steinarr and Bersi now under consideration. Its
explicit naming and use in dialogue is significant for the saga’s theme.
After an impromptu stanza, Bersi, as the man challenged, continues: “…
en auðsætt er þat, at þér frændr ætlið mér at fyrirkoma; er ok vel, at þú
49 Kormáks saga, ch. 3, 213.
RINGING CHANGES