BATTLE OF DUNHEIDI. I |.l 



' King Humli said 



' We shall not Who alone 



Slay the messengers On a journey go.' 



" Gizr said : ' The Hunar cannot, nor can their hornbows 

 make away with us.' He pricked his horse with his spurs, and 

 rode to Angantyr, went before him and greeted him. The 

 king asked if he had found the Huna-host. ' Gizr replied : ' I 

 spoke to them, and summoned them to battle-field on Dun- 

 heath in Dylgja-dales.' Angantyr asked how many warriors the 

 Hunar had. Gizr answered : ' Great is their mass ; thirty-three 

 fylkings, five thousand men in each fylking, thirteen hundred 

 in each thousand, a hundred and sixty men in each hundred.' 



" King Angantvr then had a war-arrow sent, and sent men in 



(_> O *i 



every direction, and summoned every one who was willing to 

 help him and could wield weapons ; thereupon he went to I)un- 

 heath with his men, and had fifty thousands ; the Huna-host 

 came against him, and it is said that the odds were so great at 

 first, that seven were against one of Angantyr's men. Both 

 raised their war-booths, and slept during the night. 



"Next morning they prepared for battle and drew up their 

 arrays; the horns were blown so that they were heard twenty 

 miles away in every direction, and the land shook as if hang- 

 ing by a thread. Then the array closed ; first spears and 

 arrows, shafts and gaflok (a kind of arrow), cross-bo\vs and pole 

 staffs (poles with iron points) were shot, and all that could 

 kill a man was aloft, and that went on for a long time. When 

 the shooting ceased they drew their swords, and a hard hand- 

 to-hand fight began, and" kept on all that day ; then they went 

 to their war-booths in the evening. Now a third of Angantyr's 

 men had fallen, but few of the Hunar; warriors gathered 

 round Angantyr by night and day from every direction. Early 

 in the morning they began the fight, and it was no less hard 

 than the first day; there was many a shield broken, many 

 a brynja torn, and many a good rider lost his life ; thus it 

 went on all day; again more men fell on Angantvr's side. 

 and the night ended the fight. In the same way it went on 

 the third day; they fought till night, and the Hunar had 

 better success. The" fourth day they called all their men by 

 the blowing of horns to the battle-field, and began the light 

 wifh an immense beating of drums and sounding of horns, 

 and then there was a great slaughter among the men of 

 Angantyr. Gizr the Old saw this, and could not stand it ; 

 he rode forward into the Huna-host, as if lie \\ere very young. 

 and slew so many that it would take a long time to enumerate 

 them; no shield was so hard, and no armour so safe, that 



