Автор литература - Njal's Saga

still they could get nothing done.

So it went on for a while, then they took a rest, and made a

second onslaught. Gunnar still shot out at them, and they could

do nothing, and fell off the second time. Then Gizur the White

said, “Let us press on harder; nothing comes of our onslaught.”

Then they made a third bout of it, and were long at it, and then

they fell off again.

Gunnar said, “There lies an arrow outside on the wall, and it is

one of their shafts; I will shoot at them with it, and it will be

a shame to them if they get a hurt from their own weapons.”

His mother said, “Do not so, my son; nor rouse them again when

they have already fallen off from the attack.”

But Gunnar caught up the arrow and shot it after them, and struck

Eylif Aunund’s son, and he got a great wound; he was standing all

by himself, and they knew not that he was wounded.

“Out came an arm yonder,” says Gizur, “and there was a gold ring

on it, and took an arrow from the roof, and they would not look

outside for shafts if there were enough in doors; and now ye

shall made a fresh onslaught.”

“Let us burn him house and all,” said Mord.

“That shall never be,” says Gizur, “though I knew that my life

lay on it; but it is easy for thee to find out some plan, such a

cunning man as thou art said to be.”

Some ropes lay there on the ground, and they were often used to

strengthen the roof. Then Mord said, “Let us take the ropes and

throw one end over the end of the carrying beams, but let us

fasten the other end to these rocks and twist them tight with

levers, and so pull the roof off the hall.”

So they took the ropes and all lent a hand to carry this out, and

before Gunnar was aware of it, they had pulled the whole roof off

the hall.

Then Gunnar still shoots with his bow so that they could never

come nigh him. Then Mord said again that they must burn the

house over Gunnar’s head. But Gizur said, “I know not why thou

wilt speak of that which no one else wishes, and that shall never

be.”

Just then Thorbrand Thorleik’s son, sprang up on the roof, and

cuts asunder Gunnar’s bowstring. Gunnar clutches the bill with

both hands, and turns on him quickly and drives it through him,

and hurls him down on the ground.

Then up sprung Asbrand his brother. Gunnar thrusts at him with

his bill, and he threw his shield before the blow, but the bill

passed clean through the shield and broke both his arms, and down

he fell from the wall.

Gunnar had already wounded eight men and slain those twain (1).

By that time Gunnar had got two wounds, and all men said that he

never once winced either at wounds or death.

Then Gunnar said to Hallgerda, “Give me two locks of thy hair,

and ye two, my mother and thou, twist them together into a

bowstring for me.”

“Does aught lie on it?” she says.

“My life lies on it;” he said; “for they will never come to close

quarters with me if I can keep them off with my bow.”

“Well!” she says, “now I will call to thy mind that slap on the

face which thou gavest me; and I care never a whit whether thou

holdest out a long while or a short.”

Then Gunnar sang a song:

“Each who hurts the gory javelin

Hath some honour of his own,

Now my helpmeet wimple-hooded

Hurries all my fame to earth.

No one owner of a warship

Often asks for little things,

Woman, fond of Frodi’s flour (2),

Wends her hand as she is wont.”

“Every one has something to boast of,” says Gunnar, “and I will

ask thee no more for this.”

“Thou behavest ill,” said Rannveig, “andthis shame shall long be

had in mind.”

Gunnar made a stout and bold defence, and now wounds other eight

men with such sore wounds that many lay at death’s door. Gunnar

keeps them all off until he fell worn out with toil. Then they

wounded him with many and great wounds, but still he got away out

of their hands, and held his own against them a while longer, but

at last it came about that they slew him.

Of this defence of his, Thorkell the Skald of Gota-Elf sang in

the verses which follow —

“We have heard how south in Iceland

Gunnar guarded well himself,

Boldly battle’s thunder wielding,

Fiercest foeman on the wave;

Hero of the golden collar,

Sixteen with the sword he wounded;

In the shock that Odin loveth,

Two before him tasted death.”

But this is what Thormod Olaf’s son sang —

“None that scattered sea’s bright sunbeams (3),

Won more glorious fame than Gunnar,

So runs fame of old in Iceland,

Fitting fame of heathen men;

Lord of fight when helms were crashing,

Lives of foeman twain he took,

Wielding bitter steel he sorely

Wounded twelve, and four besides.”

Then Gizur spoke and said, “We have now laid low to earth a

mighty chief, and hard work has it been, and the fame of this

defence of his shall last as long as men live in this land.”

After that he went to see Rannveig and said, “Wilt thou grant us

earth here for two of our men who are dead, that they may lie in

a cairn here?”

“All the more willingly for two,” she says, “because I wish with

all my heart I had to grant it to all of you.”

“It must be forgiven thee,” he says, “to speak thus, for thou

hast had a great loss.”

Then he gave orders that no man should spoil or rob anything

there.

After that they went away.

Then Thorgeir Starkad’s son said, “We may not be in our house at

home for the sons of Sigfus, unless thou Gizur or thou Geir be

here south some little while.”

“This shall be so,” says Gizur, and they cast lots, and the lot

fell on Geir to stay behind.

After that he came to the Point, and set up his house there; he

had a son whose name was Hroald; he was base born, and his

mother’s name was Biartey (4); he boasted that he had given

Gunnar his death blow. Hroald was at the Point with his father.

Thorgeir Starkad’s son boasted of another wound which he had

given to Gunnar.

Gizur sat at home at Mossfell. Gunnar’s slaying was heard of,

and ill spoken of throughout the whole country, and his death was

a great grief to many a man.

ENDNOTES:

(1) Thorgrim Easterling and Thorbrand.

(2) “Frodi’s flour,” a periphrasis for “gold.”

(3) “Sea’s bright sunbeams,” a periphrasis for “gold.”

(4) She was a sister of Thorwald the Scurvy, who was slain at

Horsebeck in Grimsness.

77. GUNNAR SINGS A SONG DEAD

Njal could ill brook Gunnar’s death, nor could the sons of Sigfus

brook it either.

They asked whether Njal thought they had any right to give notice

of a suit of manslaughter for Gunnar, or to set the suit on foot.

He said that could not be done, as the man had been outlawed; but

said it would be better worth trying to do something to wound

their glory, by slaying some men in vengeance after him.

They cast a cairn over Gunnar, and made him sit upright in the

cairn. Rannveig would not hear of his bill being buried in the

cairn, but said he alone should have it as his own, who was ready

to avenge Gunnar. So no one took the bill.

She was so hard on Hallgerda, that she was on the point of

killing her; and she said that she had been the cause of her

son’s slaying.

Then Hallgerda fled away to Gritwater, and her son Grani with