Автор литература - Njal's Saga

tripped and threw him off. He turned with his face up towards

the Lithe and the homestead at Lithend, and said, “Fair is the

Lithe; so fair that it has never seemed to me so fair; the corn

fields are white to harvest and the home mead is mown; and now I

will ride back home, and not fare abroad at all.”

“Do not this joy to thy foes,” says Kolskegg, “by breaking thy

atonement, for no man could think thou wouldst do thus, and thou

mayst be sure that all will happen as Njal has said.”

“I will not go away any whither,” said Gunnar, “and so I would

thou shouldest do too.”

“That shall not be,” says Kolskegg; “I will never do a base thing

in this, nor in any thing else which is left to my good faith;

and this is that one thing that could tear us asunder; but tell

this to my kinsman and to my mother that I never mean to see

Iceland again, for I shall soon learn that thou art dead,

brother, and then there will be nothing left to bring me back.”

So they parted there and then. Gunnar rides home to Lithend, but

Kolskegg rides to the ship, and goes abroad.

Hallgerda was glad to see Gunnar when he came home, but his

mother said little or nothing.

How Gunnar sits at home that fall and winter, and had not many

men with him.

Now the winter leaves the farmyard. Olaf the Peacock asked

Gunnar and Hallgerda to come and stay with him; but as for the

farm, to put it into the hands of his mother and his son Hogni.

Gunnar thought that a good thing at first, and agreed to it, but

when it came to the point he would not do it.

But at the Thing next summer, Gizur the White, and Geir the

Priest, gave notice of Gunnar’s outlawry at the Hill of Laws; and

before the Thing broke up Gizur summoned all Gunnar’s foes to

meet in the “Great Rift.” (1) He summoned Starkad under the

Threecorner, and Thorgeir his son; Mord and Valgard the Guileful;

Geir the Priest and Hjalti Skeggi’s son; Thorbrand and Asbrand,

Thorleik’s sons; Eyjulf, and Aunund his son. Aunund of Witchwood

and Thorgrim the Easterling of Sandgil.

The Gizur spoke and said, “I will make you all this offer, that

we go out against Gunnar this summer and slay him.”

“I gave my word to Gunnar,” said Hjalti, “here at the Thing,

when he showed himself most willing to yield to my prayer, that I

would never be in any attack upon him; and so it shall be.”

Then Hjalti went away, but those who were left behind made up

their minds to make an onslaught on Gunnar, and shook hands on

the bargain, and laid a fine on any one that left the

undertaking.

Mord was to keep watch and spy out when there was the best chance

of falling on him, and they were forty men in this league, and

they thought it would be a light thing for them to hunt down

Gunnar, now that Kolskegg was away, and Thrain and many other of

Gunnar’s friends.

Men ride from the Thing, and Njal went to see Gunnar, and told

him of his outlawry, and how an onslaught was planned against

him.

“Methinks thou art the best of friends,” says Gunnar; “thou

makest me aware of what is meant.”

“Now,” says Njal, “I would that Skarphedinn should come to thy

house, and my son Hauskuld; they will lay down their lives for

thy life.”

“I will not,” says Gunnar, “that thy sons should be slain for my

sake, and thou hast a right to look for other things from me.”

“All thy care will come to nothing,” says Njal; “quarrels will

turn thitherward where my sons are as soon as thou art dead and

gone.”

“That is not unlikely,” says Gunnar, “but still it would mislike

me that they fell into them for me; but this one thing I will ask

of thee, that ye see after my son Hogni, but I say naught of

Grani, for he does not behave himself much after my mind.”

Njal rode home, and gave his word to do that.

It is said that Gunnar rode to all meetings of men, and to all

lawful Things, and his foes never dared to fall on him.

And so some time went on that he went about as a free and

guiltless man.

ENDNOTES:

(1) “Great Rift,” Almannagja — The great volcanic rift, or

“geo,” as it would be called in Orkney and Shetland, which

bounds the plain of the Allthing on one side.

75. THE RIDING TO LITHEND

Next autumn Mord Valgard’s son sent word that Gunnar would be all

alone at home, but all his people would be down in the isles to

make an end of their haymaking. Then Gizur the White and Geir

the Priest rode east over the rivers as soon as ever they heard

that, and so east across the sands to Hof. Then they sent word

to Starkad under the Threecorner, and there they all met who were

to fall on Gunnar, and took counsel how they might best bring it

about.

Mord said that they could not come on Gunnar unawares, unless

they seized the farmer who dwelt at the next homestead, whose

name was Thorkell, and made him go against his will with them to

lay hands on the hound Sam, and unless he went before them to the

homestead to do this.

Then they set out east for Lithend, but sent to fetch Thorkell.

They seized him and bound him, and gave him two choices — one

that they would slay him, or else he must lay hands on the hound;

but he chooses rather to save his life, and went with them.

There was a beaten sunk road, between fences, above the farm yard

at Lithend, and there they halted with their band. Master

Thorkell went up to the homestead, and the tyke lay on the top of

the house, and he entices the dog away with him into a deep

hollow in the path. Just then the hound sees that there are men

before them, and he leaps on Thorkell and tears his belly open.

Aunund of Witchwood smote the hound on the head with his axe, so

that the blade sunk into the brain. The hound gave such a great

howl that they thought it passing strange, and he fell down dead.

76. GUNNAR’S SLAYING

Gunnar woke up in his hall and said, “Thou hast been sorely

treated, Sam, my fosterling, and this warning is so meant that

our two deaths will not be far apart.”

Gunnar’s hall was made all of wood, and roofed with beams above,

and there were windowslits under the beams that carried the

roof, and they were fitted with shutters.

Gunnar slept in a loft above the hall, and so did Hallgerda and

his mother.

Now when they were come near to the house they knew not whether

Gunnar were at home, and bade that some one would go straight up

to the house and see if he could find out. But the rest sat them

down on the ground.

Thorgrim the Easterling went and began to climb up on the hall;

Gunnar sees that a red kirtle passed before the windowslit, and

thrusts out the bill, and smote him on the middle. Thorgrim’s

feet slipped from under him, and he dropped his shield, and down

he toppled from the roof.

Then he goes to Gizur and his band as they sat on the ground.

Gizur looked at him and said, “Well, is Gunnar at home?

“Find that out for yourselves,” said Thorgrim; “but this I am

sure of, that his bill is at home,” and with that he fell down

dead.

Then they made for the buildings. Gunnar shot out arrows at

them, and made a stout defence, and they could get nothing done.

Then some of them got into the out houses and tried to attack him

thence, but Gunnar found them out with his arrows there also, and