82 WEAPONS. 



summer and winter, and I have fought in sixty battles, gene- 

 rally gaining victory ; the name of my sword is Bryntlivari, and 

 it has never been dulled " (Hromundar Saga Grreipssonar, 

 ch. 1). 



Grettir asked for a weapon, and Asmund, his father, 

 answered : 



" ' Thou hast not been obedient to me, and as I do not 

 k*now what thou wilt do with weapons, so I will not give 

 thee any.' Urettir replied : ' Then there is nothing to repay, 

 where nothing has been given.' Father and son parted with 

 little affection. 3 [any wished Urettir farewell, but few safe 

 return. His mother followed him on the way, and before they 

 parted she said : ' Thou art not fitted out from home, my 

 kinsman, as I would like, able as thou art ; it seems to me the 

 greatest want, that thou hast no weapon fit for use, and my 

 mind tells me that thou wilt need one.' She took an orna- 

 mented sword from under her cloak ; it was very costly, arid 

 said: 'This sword my grandfather Jokul owned, and the old 

 Vatnsdtelir, it used to give them victory. I will give thee the 

 sword ; use it well.' Urettir thanked her much for the gift, 

 saying he liked it better than greater valuables " (G-retti's 

 Saga, ch. 17). 



The jarl Viking said to his son Thorstein : 



" The only thing that gladdens me is that no man will 

 stand over thy scalp (have thy head at his feet), although 

 thou wilt have a narrow escape. Here is a sword, kinsman 

 Thorstein, which I want to give thee ; its name is Angrvadil, 

 and victory has always followed it, my father took it Irom the 

 slain Bjorn Blue-tooth ; I have no other remarkable weapons, 

 excepting an old spear which 1 took from Harek Jarnhaus, 

 and 1 know it is not manageable by any man " (Thorstein 

 Vikingsson's Saga, ch. 10). 



" When Viking drew it (' Angrvadil ' ) it was as if lightning 

 flashed from it. Harek seeing this, said : ' I should never have 

 fought against thee, if I had known thou hadst Angrvadil ; it 

 is most likely it will be as my father said, that we brothers 

 and sisters would be short-lived, except that one only who was 

 named" after him; it was the greatest misfortune, when 

 Angrvadil went out of our family ; ' and at that moment Viking 

 struck down on the head of Harek, and cleft him in two from 

 head to feet, so that the sword entered the ground up to the 

 hilt " (Thoistein Vikingsson, ch. 14). l 



1 Cfr. also Thorstein Vikingsson's Saga, ch. 15, 20. 



