Автор литература - Njal's Saga

no quarrel with Gunnar; “and besides,” says Thorir, “ye seem to

need much help here, when a crowd of men shall go against three

men.”

Then Egil went away and was wroth.

Then the mistress of the house said to the Easterling, “In an

evil hour hath my daughter Gudruna humbled herself, and broken

the point of her maidenly pride, and lain by thy side as thy

wife, when thou wilt not dare to follow thy father-in-law, and

thou must be a coward,” she says.

“I will go,” he says, “with thy husband, and neither of us two

shall come back.”

After that he went to Thorgrim his messmate, and said, “Take thou

now the keys of my chests; for I shall never unlock them again.

I bid thee take for thine own whatever of our goods thou wilt;

but sail away from Iceland, and do not think of revenge for me.

But if thou dost not leave the land, it will be thy death.”

So the Easterling joined himself to their band.

61. GUNNAR’S DREAM

Now we must go back and say that Gunnar rides east over Thurso

water, but when he had gone a little way from the river, he grew

very drowsy, and bade them lie down and rest there.

They did so. He fell fast asleep, and struggled much as he

slumbered.

Then Kolskegg said, “Gunnar dreams now.” But Hjort said, “I

would like to wake him.”

“That shall not be,” said Kolskegg, “but he shall dream his

dream out.”

Gunnar lay, a very long while, and threw off his shield from him,

and he grew very warm. Kolskegg said, “What hast thou dreamt,

kinsman?”

“That have I dreamt,” says Gunnar, “which if I had dreamt it

there, I would never have ridden with so few men from Tongue.”

“Tell us thy dream,” says Kolskegg.

Then Gunnar sang a song:

“Chief, that chargest foes in fight!

Now I fear that I have ridden

Short of men from Tongue, this harvest;

Raven’s fast I sure shall break.

Lord, that scatters Ocean’s fire! (1)

This, at least, I long to say,

Kite with wolf shall fight for marrow

Ill I dreamt with wandering thought.”

“I dreamt, methought, that I was riding on by Knafaholes, and

there I thought I saw many wolves, and they all made at me; but I

turned away from them straight towards Rangriver, and then

methought they pressed hard on me on all sides, but I kept them

at bay, and shot all those that were foremost, till they came so

close to me that I could not use my bow against them. Then I

took my sword, and I smote with it with one hand, but thrust at

them with my bill with the other. Shield myself then I did not,

and methought then I knew not what shielded me. Then I slew many

wolves, and thou, too, Kolskegg; but Hjort methought they pulled

down, and tore open his breast, and one methought had his heart

in his maw; but I grew so wroth that I hewed that wolf asunder

just below the brisket, and after that methought the wolves

turned and fled. Now my counsel is, brother Hjort, that thou

ridest back west to Tongue.”

“I will not do that,” says Hjort; “though I know my death is

sure, I will stand by thee still.”

Then they rode and came east by Knafaholes, and Kolskegg said,

“Seest thou, kinsman! Many spears stand up by the holes, and men

with weapons.”

“It does not take me unawares,” says Gunnar, “that my dream comes

true.”

“What is best to be done now?” says Kolskegg; “I guess thou wilt

not run away from them.”

“They shall not have that to jeer about,” says Gunnar, “but we

will ride on down to the ness by Rangriver; there is some vantage

ground there.”

Now they rode on to the ness, and made them ready there, and as

they rode on past them, Kol called out and said, “Whither art

thou running to now, Gunnar?”

But Kolskegg said, “Say the same thing farther on when this day

has come to an end.”

ENDNOTES:

1. “Ocean’s fire,” a periphrasis for “gold.” The whole line is

a periphrasis for “bountiful chief.”

62. THE SLAYING OF HJORT AND FOURTEEN MEN

After that Starkad egged on his men, and then they turn down upon

them into the ness. Sigurd Swinehead came first and had a red

targe, but in his other hand he held a cutlass. Gunnar sees him

and shoots an arrow at him from his bow; he held the shield up

aloft when he saw the arrow flying high, and the shaft passes

through the shield and into his eye, and so came out at the nape

of his neck, and that was the first man slain.

A second arrow Gunnar shot at Ulfhedinn, one of Starkad’s men,

and that struck him about the middle and he fell at the feet of a

yeoman, and the yeoman over him. Kolskegg cast a stone and

struck the yeoman on the head, and that was his deathblow.

Then Starkad said, “‘Twill never answer our end that he should

use his bow, but let us come on well and stoutly.” Then each man

egged on the other, and Gunnar guarded himself with his bow and

arrows as long as he could; after that he throws them down, and

then he takes his bill and sword and fights with both hands.

There is long the hardest fight, but still Gunnar and Kolskegg

slew man after man.

Then Thorgeir, Starkad’s son, said, “I vowed to bring Hildigunna

thy head, Gunnar.”

Then Gunnar sang a song:

“Thou, that battle-sleet down bringeth,

Scarce I trow thou speakest truth;

She, the girl with golden armlets,

Cannot care for such a gift;

But, O serpent’s hoard despoiler!

If the maid must have my head —

Maid whose wrist Rhine’s fire (1) wreatheth,

Closer come to crash of spear.”

“She will not think that so much worth having,” says Gunnar; “but

still to get it thou wilt have to come nearer!”

Thorgeir said to his brothers, “Let us run all of us upon him at

once; he has no shield and we shall have his life in our hands.”

So Bork and Thorkel both ran forward and were quicker than

Thorgeir. Bork made a blow at Gunnar, and Gunnar threw his bill

so hard in the way, that the sword flew out of Bork’s hand; then

he sees Thorkel standing on his other hand within stroke of

sword. Gunnar was standing with his body swayed a little on one

side, and he makes a sweep with his sword, and caught Thorkel on

the neck, and off flew his head.

Kol Egil’s son, said, “Let me get at Kolskegg,” and turning to

Kolskegg he said, “This I have often said, that we two would be

just about an even match in fight.”

“That we can soon prove,” says Kolskegg.

Kol thrust at him with his spear; Kolskegg had just slain a man

and had his hands full, and so he could not throw his shield

before the blow, and the thrust came upon his thigh, on the

outside of the limb and went through it.

Kolskegg turned sharp round, and strode towards him, and smote

him with his short sword on the thigh, and cut off his leg, and

said, “Did it touch thee or not?”

“Now,” says Kol, “I pay for being bare of my shield.”

So he stood a while on his other leg and looked at the stump.

“Thou needest not to look at it,” said Kolskegg; “‘tis even as

thou seest, the leg is off.”

Then Kol fell down dead.

But when Egil sees this, he runs at Gunnar and makes a cut at

him; Gunnar thrusts at him with the bill and struck him in the

middle, and Gunnar hoists him up on the bill and hurls him out

into Rangriver.

Then Starkad said, “Wretch that thou art indeed,” Thorir