Eyrbyggja Saga by Hermann Palsson & Paul Edwards

Author:Hermann Palsson & Paul Edwards
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Sagas, Fairy Tales; Folk Tales; Legends & Mythology, History, Europe, Medieval, Literary Collections, Essays
Publisher: Penguin Books Limited
Published: 1989-07-15T05:26:22+00:00

35. NEW TROUBLES

Snorri the Priest had ignored Thorolf’s protests and continued to use Krakaness Wood, but Arnkel soon made it clear that in his opinion Snorri had no legal right to it, and that by handing it over to him Thorolf had cheated his rightful heirs.

One summer Snorri sent his slaves to work in the wood. They felled a great deal of timber, stacked it up, and then went back home. When the timber had begun to dry, though Arnkel said he was going to have it collected, this was not what he did. Instead, he asked his shepherd to find out and let him know when Snorri sent for it. When the timber was dried out, Snorri sent three of his slaves for it and told his friend Hauk to go along with them for support. So they all set off, loaded the timber on twelve pack-horses, and started back home.

Arnkel’s shepherd had been keeping an eye on their movements and told his master about them. Arnkel took up his weapons and set out after the slaves. He caught up with them at a place between the Svelg River and Holar. As Arnkel came up behind, Hauk jumped from his horse and thrust at him with his spear. The blow struck the shield, so he was unhurt. Arnkel jumped off his horse and drove his own spear into Hauk’s belly, and ever since, the place where Hauk died has been known as the Hauk River. When the slaves saw that Hauk had been killed, they ran for home, with Arnkel chasing after them as far as the other side of Oxnabrekkur. There he turned back and drove the pack-horses up to his own farmstead. He unloaded the timber, fixed the ropes on the pack-saddles, then set the horses free, and had them driven west along the hillside to make their own way back to Helgafell. The news spread, but nothing further happened, and things stayed quiet for the rest of the year.

In the spring Snorri the Priest brought a court action over Hauk’s killing at the Thor’s Ness Assembly, but Arnkel brought a counter-plea that since Hauk had been guilty of unlawful assault on him, no compensation should be paid. Each side appeared at the Assembly with a strong following, and the case was hotly contested. It was decided that since Hauk had been guilty of an unlawful assault, no compensation should be paid for him, so Snorri lost his case. After that people rode back home from the Assembly, but for the rest of the summer things remained tense.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.