86 THE BIRTH AND BRINGING-UP OF CHILDREN. 



" Helgi, son of Thorgils, was a tall, strong and hardy man ; 

 he was fine-looking and stout. He did not talk much in his 

 youth, and was even then overbearing and headstrong ; he was 

 ingenious and whimsical. It is said that one day, when the 

 cattle were at the milking-place, a bull was there which 

 belonged to the farm, and that another bull came, and they 

 butted each other. The young Helgi was outside, and saw 

 that their bull was defeated, so he went away and fetched an 

 iron spike and tied it to the forehead of the bull, and thus it 

 defeated the other. From this he was called Brodd-Helgi, 

 and he was more skilled than any other man who grew up in 

 the district " (Thatt of Thorstein the White, c. 1). 



" Thorolf in his old age married Unn, and by her had a son 

 named Stein. This boy Thorolf dedicated to his friend Thor, 

 and he was therefore called Thorstein " (Eyrbyggja, c. 7). 



" Thorstein was married to Thora, and by her had a son, who 

 was water-sprinkled and named Grim ; his father gave him to 

 Thor, saying he would become hofgodi (temple-priest) ; he was 

 on that account called Thorgrim " (Eyrbyggja, c. 20). 



When a woman gave birth to a child the household and 

 neighbours had to be present. 



" Housemaids and neighbouring women shall be at the bed- 

 journey of every woman until the child is born, and not leave 



it before they have laid it to the breast of the mother 



No woman shall have her child at the breast longer than three 

 fasts, 1 but shall have it until the third one. If her husband 

 says that she must take her child from the breast and his 

 wife has such power that she will not obey his words, she is 

 liable to pay three marks of her own property. If he does 

 not heed it any more than she, then they are each to pay three 

 marks of their property " (Borgarthing Law, 3). 



The children of prominent families were said to be born 

 with weapons, which seem to have been specially made to be 

 given at the time of birth ; and the animals born that day 

 were also given to the child as a birth-gift. 



" Hlod, the son of King Heidrek, was brought up with King 

 Humli, his mother's father, and was the most handsome and bold 

 of men. But it was an old saying at that time that a man 

 was born with weapons or horses ; this was said about the 



1 Three fasting-times. 



