296 



HORSES WAGGONS. 



She (Grimhild) 1 asked 

 Who would go 

 To saddle the horse, 

 To horse the waggon, 

 To ride the steed, 

 To fly the hawk, 

 To shoot arrows 

 Of the yew-bow. 2 



Then on a horse 



Was every warrior seen, 



And into waggons 



Welsh (foreign) wives were lifted. 



We rode seven days 



Over the cold land, 



And other seven 



We pressed the waves, 



And the third seven 



We stepped on dry land. 



(Gmlninar Kvida, ii. 18, 35.) 



"King Sigurd of Hringariki had two children, a daughter 

 Ragnhild, and a son Guthorm. Haki the Berserk slew him 

 arid took his son and daughter home with him. Halfdan the 

 black sent one hundred men for them, who fetched them and 

 burned the hall of Haki. They tented a very fine waggon, and 

 put Ragnhild and Guthorm in it " (Halfdan the black's Saga, 

 ch. 5). ' 



" One summer King Eirek had a feast made at Uppsalir. 

 Then he had two waggons driven to the place where he sacrificed 

 to the god called Lytir. It was customary for the waggon to 

 stand there during the night and for the god to come in the 

 morning. Now Lytir did not come as he usually did, and the 

 king was told that he disliked to do so. The waggon stood 

 for two nights and he did not come. Then the king began to 

 offer much greater sacrifices than before, and the third morning 

 they became aware that Lytir had come. Then the waggon was 

 so heavy that the horses fell dead from exhaustion before they 

 could pull it to the hall. The waggon was then put on the 

 middle of the floor of the hall, and the king walked to it with 

 a horn, and welcomed Lytir, and said, he wanted to drink to 

 him and was very anxious that he should undertake the 

 journey, and that he would give him large gifts as before " 

 (Flateyjarbok, i. 579-580). 



"When he was ready to ride away two white horses with 

 black ears were led forward, they belonged to Thord Breidavad 

 and had disappeared that summer at the Thing " (Heidarviga 

 Saga, c. 20). 



' The queen ' Yrsa ' had twelve horses led forward, they 

 were all brown except one which was white as snow, and on this 

 one Hrolf was to ride. They were the best horses of King 



1 Grimhild had asked her sons Gnnnar 

 and Hb'gni to pay wcregitd to (iiidnin 

 because they had slaiu her husband, 



Sigurd Fafnisbani. 



- This shows that bows of yew as well 

 as of elm were used. 



