I It REDEEM. I /; /, /.' ( 'HIMES. 579 



his plighted faith. 3. It is also&nithing-slayingif a man slays 

 another during a truce. 4. If a man strikes another against a 

 stone, or a timber, or a stump. f>. To burn a man in his house. 

 6. To plunder the slain, or take away a man's clothes and 

 weapons. 7. To murder a man. 8. To avenge thieves. These 

 things must be denied with settareid. Wherever a man 

 commits a nitliing -slay ing, he is an unholy outlaw and forfeits 

 every penny of his property, both land and movable property ; 

 he shall never come to the country, or the king, or the jarl, 

 unless he brings true war-news (of a hostile host coming) " l 

 (Gulath., 178). 



Men could be slain with impunity, and were irredeemable if 

 they were found guilty with the following women : 



" These women are seven (kinds). One's wife, then sister, 

 thirdly daughter, fourthly mother, fifthly stepmother, sixthly 

 brother's wife, seventhly son's wife. If a man finds a man with 

 one of these, he may slay him if he likes ; but he must tell 

 the man whom he meets first of it, and why he did it" 

 (Gulathing's Law, 160). 



The following wording seems to imply that to slay a 

 lawman under any circumstances, or run away with another 

 man's wife were ubota crimes : 



" It is also a nithing-sl&'ying if any one slays a lawman 

 who is ordained to tell people the law. That man strikes 

 down the rights of all men, for the lawman has duties to 

 all, poor and rich, w ? here he rules. . . . Men who are found 

 to be so deceitful as to run away with other men's wives are 

 ubota-menn." 



Such an outlaw was regarded as an enemy of society, and 

 lost his personal security with regard to every one of its 

 members ; from the earliest times he was called vary i veum 



t/ 



(wolf in the sanctuary), or skogar-man (forestman), so called 

 probably because he was deprived of intercourse with mankind 

 and left with the wild beasts of the forest, and could be killed 

 by any one who saw him. 



Grettir while in Norway had accidentally set fire t<> a 

 house in which there were some Icelanders who had been 



1 From the last paragraph we see 

 that announcing a hostile invasion of 



one's country was a redeemable case. 



2 p 2 



