412 



RELIGION.-SACRIFICES TO THE ALFAR, ETC. 



who took Ama Ymi's daughter from Ymisland, and married 

 her; their son was Hergrim, called half-Troll. He was some- 

 times with the mountain Risar, and sometimes with men ; 

 he had the strength of a Jo tun ; was much skilled in witch- 

 craft and a great Berserk ; x he carried off Ogn Alfasprengi 

 from Jotun heim and married her ; they had a son called 

 Grim. Starkad then lived at Olfossar ; he was by kin a Thurs, 

 and like them in strength and nature ; his father was Storkvid. 

 Ogn Alfasprengi was betrothed to Starkad, but Hergrim took 

 her from him while he was travelling north over Elivagar ; 

 when he came back he asked him to give him back his wife, 

 and at the same time challenged him to ' holmganga.' 2 They 

 fought at the uppermost waterfall at Eydi. Starkad had 

 eight hands, and fought with four swords at once. He won the 

 victory, and Hergrim fell. Ogn was looking on, and when 

 Hergrim had fallen she stabbed herself and would not marry 

 Starkad. Starkad took all the property of Hergrim with him, 

 and also his son Grim, who grew up with him, and was both 

 tall and strong. King Alf, who ruled in Alfheimar, had a 

 daughter Alfhild. At that time the land between Gautelf and 

 Eaumelf was called Alfheimar. One autumn there was a great 

 disablot (sacrifice to the Disir) 3 at King Alf s, and Alfhild went 

 to it ; she was more beautiful than any other woman, and all the 

 people in Alfheimar were handsomer than other people at that 

 time ; but in the night, as she was reddening the librg with 

 blood, Starkad Aludreng took her away to his home. Then 

 King Alf invoked Thor to seek for Alfhild, and Thor killed 

 Starkad, and made Alfhild go home to her lather, and Grim 

 the son of Hergrim with her. When Grim was twelve winters 

 old he went into warfare and became one of the greatest 

 warriors ; he married Bauggerd, the daughter of Alfhild and 

 Starkad. He settled on an island in Halogaland called Bolm, 

 and was therefrom called Eygrini Bolm ; their son was Arn- 

 grini Berserk, who afterwards lived in Bolm, and was a most 

 famous warrior " (Hervarar Saga, c. 1). 



" King Eirik Bloodaxe and Gunnhild came the same evening 

 to Atli, where Bard had prepared a great feast for him, and 

 there was to be a disablot. There was much drinking and 

 feasting in the hall. The king asked where Bard was, for he 

 saw him nowhere. A man replied : ' Bard is outside helping 



1 See Vol. ii., p. 423. 



2 A kind of duel. See p. 563. 



3 The worship of the Lares and Penates, 

 the household deities who watched over 

 the personal and pecuniary interests of 

 individuals and families, was the most 

 prominent feature of the Etruscan my- 



thology, whence it was borrowed by the 

 Romans. Thence it was also, in all 

 probability, that the Romans obtained 

 their doctrine of an attendant genius 

 watching over every individual from his 

 birth. (See Dennis's ' Etruria,' vol. i., 

 p. 59.) 



