GUARDIANS OF UNMARRIED WoMIW. 13 



thirty men. He came to Leka (Hogni's farm), and twenty 

 men went up to the farm, while ten guarded the ship. When 

 they came home Hogni received him well, and invited him to 

 stay there with his men ; he accepted, and went into the 

 stofa (daily room). When they had taken off their outer 

 clothes Hogni had a skap-ker (large vessel) with ale carried in. 

 Hildirid, his daughter, carried ale to the guests. Bjorgolf 

 called Hogni, and said : ' My errand hither is that I wish 

 thy daughter to go home with me, and I will marry her in 

 loose wedding.' Hogni saw he could do nothing but what 

 Bjorgolf wished. Bjorgolf bought her with an eyrir of gold. 

 . . . They had two sons, Harek and Hroerek, and Bjorgolf 

 died afterwards. Then Brynjolf, his son by the first wife, 

 sent her a\vay to her father. They were called Hildirid-sons, 

 and not by the name of the father. Brynjolf died, and 

 his son Bard got his death wounds in the battle of Hafrsfiord. 



c^ */ 



Bard had the king called to him, and said : ' If I die from 

 these wounds I ask you to allow me to dispose of my in- 

 heritance.' The king consented. Bard said : ' I wish my 

 companion and kinsman Thorolf to take all my inheritance, 

 lands and loose property ; I will also give him my wife and 

 niy son to bring up, for I trust him best of all men.' Thorolf 

 according to the wish of his friend married this wife, Sigrid, 

 daughter of Sigurd in Sandnes " (Egil's Saga, 7). 



The father or the guardian of the girl had the decision over 

 her marriage. If the father was dead the brothers were the 

 guardians of the unmarried sister. If she had neither father 

 nor brothers, her mother in connection with the nearest uncle 

 could give her away ; and as the maiden had no voice in the 

 matter, she could be forced by her father or guardians into a 

 marriage against her will. 



" Thorvald Usvifrsson, a rich man, demanded Hallgerd in 

 marriage from her father Hoskuld, an Icelandic chief. Hoskuld 

 told him that she was proud, but Thorvald said that did not 

 matter. Hoskuld did not ask his daughter, because he in- 

 tended to give her in marriage and betroth her to Thorvald. 

 When he told her, she said : ' Now^ I have found out what I 

 long suspected, that thou dost not love me so much as thou 

 always pretendest, as thou didst not think it worth while to 

 speak to me about this matter ; nor do I think this match as 

 high as you have promised me.' It could be seen that she 

 considered herself to be married beneath her rank " (Njala 10). 1 



1 Cf. also Hord, c. 3. 



