112 WAR CUSTOMS. 



before the capes ; another of their customs was never to put up 

 tents on board, and never to reef the sail in a storm. They 

 were called Half's Eekkar (champions), and he never had 

 more than sixty on board his ship " (Half's Saga, c. 11). 



Houses were frequently burnt as revenge with the enemy 

 inside, but it was the general custom to let women, servants, 

 and also individuals of the family, against whom no grudge 

 was harboured, or from whom no revenge was feared, get out 

 of the house before it was fired. 



Flosi, an Icelandic chief, who had surrounded the house of 

 Njal, and was going to set fire to it, said to Njal : 



' I will not be reconciled to thy sons ; and now it shall be 

 fought out with us, and I will not go away before they are all 

 dead, but I will allow women and children and huskarls (ser- 

 vants) to go out.' Njal went in and said to his people : ' Now 

 all who are allowed shall go out. Go out, Thorhalla, Asgrim's 

 daughter, and all who are allowed with thee.' Thorhalla 

 said : ' Now Helgi and I part otherwise than 1 thought for 

 a while, but nevertheless I will urge my father and brothers 

 to avenge the men slain here.' Njal said: 'Thou wilt act 

 well, for thou art a good wife.' Then she went out, with,many 

 others 



" Flosi said : ' I will offer thee to go out, Njal bondi, for thou 

 deservest not to be burnt.' Njal said : ' I will not go out, for I 

 am an old man, and little able to avenge my sons, but I will 

 not live with shame.' Flosi said to Bergthora : ' Go out, house- 

 wife, for I will by no means burn thee.' Bergthora answered : 

 ' I was young when I married Njal, and I have promised him 

 to let the same overtake us both.' Then they both went in. 

 Bergthora said : ' What shall we now do ? ' ' We will go to 

 our bed,' said Njal, ' and lie down. I have long been fond 

 of rest.' She then said to the boy Thord Karason : ' Thou 

 shalt go out and not be burnt with us.' The boy answered : 

 'Thou hast promised me, grandmother, that we should never part 

 while I wished to remain with thee, and I like it much better 

 to die with thee and Njal than to live after you.' She then 

 carried the boy to the bed. Njal said to his bryti (steward) : 

 ' Now look where we lie down, and how 1 make our bed, for I 

 intend not to move from here, whether smoke or flame pains 

 me, then thou canst guess where our bones are to be found ' 

 (Xjala, c. 129). 



Here we have an account of the death of Thorolf, one of the 

 greatest blots on the character of Harald Fairhair. 



