428 CHAMPIONS AND BERSERKS. 



made so much of himself : he answered that he was as great a 

 one as any of them. At these words their anger and eagerness 

 (to fight) increased. But the King told them to be quiet that 

 night ; they began to frown, and howled loudly, and said to 

 Svipdag : ' Darest thou fight us ? Then thou wilt need more 

 than mere big words and boasting. We will try how much 

 there is in thee.' Svipdag answered : ' I will consent to fight 

 one at a time and will see if more can be done.' The King 

 was well pleased that they should do this. Queen Yrsa said : 

 ' This man shall be welcome here.' The Berserks answered 

 her : ' We knew before that thou didst want to send us all to 

 Hel, but we are too big to be killed by words alone or 

 ill-will.' 



" In the morning began a hard liolmganga, and there was no 

 lack of heavy blows ; the new-comer knew how to use his 

 sword with great strength and the Berserks gave way. Svipdag 

 killed one, and another wanted to avenge him but suffered the 

 same fate, and Svipdag did not stop before he had slain four ; 

 then Adils said, ' Great loss hast thou caused to me, and now 

 thou shalt pay for it,' and he asked men to rise and kill him. 

 The Queen got men and wanted to help him, and said that 

 the King could see that there was much more skill in him 

 alone than in all the Berserks. The Queen made peace 

 between them, and every one considered Svipdag to be a man 

 of great prowess. Now he sat on the lower bench opposite the 

 King, by the wish of Queen Yrsa. He looked round and 

 thought he had not done harm enough to the Berserks, and 

 wished to urge them to fight, and thought it likely that if 

 they saw him alone they would attack him ; it was as he 

 thought, for they began at once to fight. The King came 

 when they had been fighting for a while and parted them. 

 Afterwards the King outlawed the remaining Berserks as they 

 could not all together fight a single man, saying he had not 

 before known that they were great only in boasting. They 

 had to go, but threatened to make warfare in the realm of 

 King Adils. The King replied that he did not care for their 

 threats. 



"Adils asked Svipdag to help him as much now as all the 

 Berserks had done before, especially as the Queen wanted him 

 in their place. Svipdag stayed there for some while " (Hrolf 

 Kraki, c. 18, 19). 



" Now the winter passed, and the time came when the Ber- 

 serks of King Hrolf were expected home. Bodvar asked 

 Hjalti about their customs ; he answered that it was their habit 

 when they came home to the hird to walk first up to the king, 

 and then to every man, and ask if the man thought himself 



