The Sagas of the Icelanders (74 page)

7
Sam had his horse fetched for him, and rode up the valley. He rode to a farm where he gathered some people together and declared Hrafnkel responsible for the killing. Hrafnkel heard about this and found it ridiculous that Sam had taken on a case against him. He did not make any move for the moment.

That summer passed and the following winter. But in the spring, when the Summons Days arrived, Sam rode from his home up to Adalbol and gave Hrafnkel a summons for the murder of Einar. After that Sam rode down the valley and summoned neighbours to ride to the Althing with him. He then stayed at home until people started preparing to leave for the meeting.

Hrafnkel then sent people down the valley and summoned men. He got seventy men from his Thing district. With this company, he rode east over Fljotsdal heath, past the end of the lake, directly across the ridge into the Skridudal valley, and then up Skridudal and south over Ox heath to Berufjord. They then took the usual thingman route to Sida. Going south from Fljotsdal, it is a seventeen-day journey to Thingvellir.

After Hrafnkel had ridden out of the district, Sam started looking for followers. Apart from the men he had summoned, those that he found most prepared to go were unattached men. Sam gave them weapons, clothes and provisions. He took another route out of the valley. He went north to the bridges, crossed the bridge and Modrudal heath, and arrived in Modrudal where they stayed for one night. They then rode to Herdibreidstunga, above Blafjoll into Kroksdal, and from there south to Sand. They came down into Sandafell, and from there went on to Thingvellir. Hrafnkel still had not arrived. He came later because he had taken a longer route.

Sam set up a temporary booth for his men, nowhere near the place where the people of the East Fjords usually camped. Sometime later Hrafnkel arrived at the Althing. He set up his booth in his usual place and heard that Sam was already there at the Thing. He found this ludicrous.

This Thing was particularly well attended. Most of the chieftains in Iceland were there. Sam sought out all of the chieftains and asked for their help and support, but they all gave the same reply. None of them felt that they owed Sam anything to make it worth their while entering into a dispute with Hrafnkel, and risking their honour. They said that most of the Thing disputes that people had entered into with Hrafnkel had ended in the same way: he had routed everyone in the legal cases they had taken up with him.

Sam went back to his booth. He and his uncle were in a heavy mood and feared that this matter would go in such a way that they would gain nothing
from it but shame, dishonour and ridicule. The two kinsmen were so troubled that they could neither sleep nor eat. All the chieftains had refused to offer them support, even those people that they had expected would provide them with assistance.

8
Early one morning, old Thorbjorn woke up. He awakened Sam and asked him to get up straight away, and not go back to sleep. Sam got up and put his clothes on. They went out, and down to the Oxara river, below the bridge. There they washed themselves.

Thorbjorn said to Sam, ‘I suggest that you have them collect our horses and that we get ready to go home. It is now obvious that we will get nothing other than ridicule.’

Sam answered, ‘That’s very good! All you wanted to do was have a dispute with Hrafnkel. You didn’t want to take the alternative which many others would have gladly accepted if they had to seek redress for a close relation. You questioned the courage of those of us who didn’t wish to enter into this matter with you. Now I will never give up until I see that there is no hope that I can do anything.’

When this speech ended, Thorbjorn was so moved that he burst into tears.

Then, on the west side of the river, some distance further down from where they were sitting, they saw five men walking together from a booth. The man in front was tall, but not particularly strongly built. He was wearing a leaf-green tunic and carrying an ornamented sword in his hand. He was a man with regular features, a ruddy face and an air of distinction, with light chestnut hair and good eyes. This man was easily recognizable because he had a light streak in his hair on the left side.

Sam said that they should get up, and cross over to the west side of the river to meet the men. They walked down beside the river, and the man in front greeted them first and asked them who they were. They introduced themselves.

Sam asked these men for their names. The man in front was named Thorkel, and he said he was the son of Thjostar. Sam asked him about his family background, and where he lived. He said both he and his family came from the West Fjords, and that his home was in Thorskafjord. Sam asked if he was a godi. He said that was far from the case.

‘Are you a farmer then?’ said Sam.

He said that he was not.

Sam said, ‘What sort of person are you then?’

He answered, ‘I’m unattached. I came home the year before last. I’d been abroad for six years, and been to Constantinople. I am a sworn follower of the Greek Emperor but am now staying with my brother whose name is Thorgeir.’

‘Is he a godi?’ asked Sam.

‘Certainly. He’s the godi for Thorskafjord and a number of other places in the West Fjords.’

‘Is he here at the Althing?’

‘Certainly he’s here.’

‘How many men has he got with him?’

‘Seventy men,’ said Thorkel.

‘Have you any other brothers?’ said Sam.

‘There’s a third.’

‘Who is that?’ said Sam.

‘His name is Thormod,’ said Thorkel, ‘and he lives in Gardar in Alftanes. He is married to Thordis, the daughter of Thorolf Skallagrimsson of Borg.’

‘Will you give us some support?’ asked Sam.

‘What kind of support do you need?’ said Thorkel.

‘The support and the might of chieftains,’ said Sam, ‘because we are involved in a lawsuit with Hrafnkel the Godi about the slaying of Einar Thorbjarnarson, and we can trust in our pleading of the case if we have your assistance.’

Thorkel responded, ‘As I said, I am no godi.’

‘Why were you passed over, when you are the son of a chieftain just like your brothers?’

Thorkel said, ‘I didn’t say that I didn’t own it. I passed my position of authority over to my brother before I went abroad. Since then I have not taken it back, because I think it is in good hands as long as he takes care of it. You go and speak to him. Ask him for help. He has a firm temperament, is a good comrade and is in all ways a well-accomplished, ambitious young man. Such people are most likely to offer you support.’

Sam said, ‘We won’t get anything from him unless you plead with him alongside us.’

Thorkel said, ‘I promise to stand with you rather than against you because I think it’s necessary to bring a suit after the slaying of a close relative. Now you go off to the booth, and walk inside. Everybody will be asleep. You will see two leather sleeping sacks placed across the floor at the far end of the booth. I just got out of one of them, but my brother Thorgeir is sleeping in the other. He has had an enormous boil on his foot ever since he came to
the Thing, and so he hasn’t slept much at night. But the boil burst early this morning, and the core of the boil came out. He has been sleeping ever since, and has got his foot stretched out from under the sack on to the foot-board at the end of the bed because of the inflammation in his foot. Have the old man lead you as you go into the booth. He looks rather decrepit to me, both in terms of sight and age. And then, man,’ said Thorkel, ‘when you reach the sleeping sack, you should stumble badly, fall on to the foot-board, grab the toe that is bandaged, jerk it towards you and see how he reacts.’

Sam said, ‘You may be giving us good advice, but this does not feel like the advisable thing to do.’

Thorkel responded, ‘You are going to have to do one thing or the other: either you accept what I propose, or you don’t come to me for advice.’

Sam said that it would be as he advised.

Thorkel said, ‘I will come along later, because I am waiting for my men.’

9
Sam and Thorbjorn set off, and came into the booth. Everyone in there was sleeping. They saw immediately where Thorgeir was lying. Old Thorbjorn went first, stumbling badly. When he came towards the leather sleeping sack, he fell on to the foot-board, grabbed at the sick toe and jerked it towards himself. This woke Thorgeir. He sprang up in the sack and demanded to know who was going around so clumsily that they trampled on the feet of people who were already unwell.

Sam and Thorbjorn were speechless, but then Thorkel rushed into the booth and said to Thorgeir, his brother, ‘Don’t be so fast and furious about this, kinsman. It won’t do you any harm. For many people, things go worse than they intend, and many, when they have a lot on their minds, just don’t manage to be careful enough. Your excuse, kinsman, is that your foot is sore and has been very painful. You’re the one who has felt it most. Now it may well be that the old man is in no less pain at the death of his son, but he can’t get any compensation, and lacks the wherewithal himself. He’ll be the one who feels it most, and it can be expected that a man who has a lot on his mind will not always be careful enough.’

Thorgeir answered, ‘I don’t see how he can blame me for that. I didn’t kill his son, so he shouldn’t be taking it out on me.’

‘He didn’t mean to take it out on you,’ said Thorkel. ‘He came towards you harder than he intended, and has paid the price for his weak-sightedness, just when he was hoping for a little support from you. It is noble to extend generosity to an old man in need. For him it is not greed, but necessity that
makes him bring a suit for the killing of his son. All the other chieftains pare refusing to give their support, which shows just how ignoble they are.’

Thorgeir said, ‘Whom are these men accusing?’

Thorkel answered, ‘Hrafnkel the Godi killed Thorbjorn’s son without cause. He commits one evil deed after another, but refuses to give any man just recompense.’

Thorgeir responded, ‘I will act just like the others, because I know there isn’t a thing that I owe these men to make me wish to enter into a dispute with Hrafnkel. It seems to me that every summer he treats those who have cases against him in the same way. Most of those people gain little honour, if any, by the time things have been concluded. It goes the same way for everyone. I expect that’s why most people act unwilling towards somebody whom they are not drawn to through any necessity.’

Thorkel responded, ‘It may be that I’d act in the same way if I were a chieftain, and that I wouldn’t like the idea of entering a dispute with Hrafnkel. But I don’t think so, because I prefer competing with someone who has routed everyone else. And, to my mind, my honour, like that of any chieftain who can get the better of Hrafnkel in any way, will grow rather than diminish, even if things go the same way for me as they have for others, because I can take what has happened to many before me. Who dares wins.’

‘I see how you are inclined,’ said Thorgeir, ‘and that you want to help these men. I will now pass over to you our godord and our position of authority. You will have it as long as I have now had it, and after that we will both share it equally between us, so you can help those that you wish.’

‘It strikes me,’ said Thorkel, ‘that the longer our godord is in your hands, the better. There is nobody I’d care to have it more than you, because in many ways you’re the most accomplished of us brothers, while at this time I am undecided about what I want to do with myself. You know, kinsman, that I haven’t really taken part in anything since I came back to Iceland. I can now see how much my advice is worth. I have now spoken all the words I mean to utter for the time being. It may be that Thorkel Streak will find a place where his words are more appreciated.’

Thorgeir responded, ‘I see where things are heading, kinsman. You are displeased, and I can’t stand knowing that. We’ll assist these men whatever comes of it, if that’s what you want.’

Thorkel said, ‘I only ask for what seems to me were best granted.’

‘What do these men think they are capable of doing to ensure that their case goes through?’ asked Thorgeir.

‘As I said,’ said Sam, ‘we need the backing of chieftains, but I will be in charge of presenting the case.’

Thorgeir said that made it easy to help him: ‘Now it’s a matter of preparing as correct a case as possible. But I think that Thorkel would like you to visit him before the court convenes. Your persistence will then reward you with consolation, or disgrace, or yet more anguish and torment. Now go home, and be cheerful, because you are going to need to be so if you mean to enter a dispute with Hrafnkel. Keep your heads high for a while, but don’t tell anyone that we have promised to give you assistance.’

They then walked home to their booth and both were in very high spirits Their men were amazed at this sudden change in mood, because they had been so depressed when they went out.

10
They stayed there until the court convened. Then Sam summoned his men and went up to the Law Rock where the court was set. Sam went boldly up to the court, and immediately began calling forth witnesses, prosecuting his case against Hrafnkel the Godi in full accordance with the true law of the land, in a faultless and powerful presentation. After this, the Thjostarssons arrived with a large force of men. Everyone present from the west of the country joined them, which showed how popular the Thjostarssons were.

Sam prosecuted his case at the court until Hrafnkel was invited to come and make his defence, unless somebody else was present who wished to make a legal defence on his behalf in accordance with the true law of the country. There had been much applause for Sam’s case, so nobody said that they wished to do this.

People ran to Hrafnkel’s booth and told him what was happening. He reacted immediately, summoned his men and set off for the court. He did not think there would be much defence. He intended to discourage small fry from prosecuting cases against him, and was going to break up the court, and drive Sam off the case. But this turned out to be impossible. There was such a crowd in the way that Hrafnkel could not get anywhere near. He was forced back by the sheer weight of numbers so he did not manage to hear the case of those who were prosecuting him. It was therefore difficult: for him to present any legal defence for himself.

Sam prosecuted his case to the full extent of the law, until Hrafnkel was finally sentenced to greater outlawry at this Thing meeting.

Hrafnkel went to his booth, had his horses fetched and rode off from the Thing, greatly displeased at the way things had ended because this had never happened to him before. He rode east across Lyngdal heath, and then east to Sida, and did not stop until he came home to Hrafnkelsdal. He then settled back down at Adalbol, and acted as if nothing had happened.

Sam stayed at the Thing and strode about very haughtily. Many people were pleased, even though Hrafnkel had ended up being humiliated. They remembered that Hrafnkel had treated many people unfairly.

Sam waited until the Thing was dissolved, and people started preparing to go home. He thanked the brothers for their support. Thorgeir asked Sam with a laugh how he felt things had gone. Sam said he was pleased.

Thorgeir said, ‘Do you think you’re any better off now than before?’

Sam answered, ‘I think Hrafnkel has suffered such dishonour that he will be ridiculed for a long time to come. There are also many possessions involved.’

Thorgeir said, ‘No man is a full outlaw as long as the confiscation court has not been held, and that has to take place at his home. It must be done fourteen days after Weapon Taking.’

Weapon Taking is when a Thing is dismissed and the people all ride home again.

‘But I expect,’ said Thorgeir, ‘that Hrafnkel has now reached home, and that he means to stay on in Adalbol. I expect that he means to keep his position of authority from you. And you probably intend to ride home and settle back down on your farm as best you can, if you manage to settle at all. I expect that you have succeeded in so far as you can call him an outlaw. But I also expect that he will be wielding the same terror over other people that he did before. The only difference is that now you find yourself set even lower.’

‘That won’t ever bother me,’ said Sam.

‘You’re a courageous man,’ said Thorgeir, ‘but I don’t think my kinsman Thorkel means to leave you in the lurch. He means to help you until this business between you and Hrafnkel has come to an end, so that you can live in peace. Indeed, we feel duty-bound to accompany you to the East Fjords this one time since we have been most involved until this point. Do you know any route to the East Fjords that is not commonly used?’

Sam said that he would take the same route that he had taken from the east.

Sam was very pleased about this. Thorgeir chose his party, and had a following of forty men. This party was well equipped with weapons and horses.

They then set off, and all rode along the same route until they arrived in Jokulsdal in the last part of the night, and crossed the bridge over the river. This was the morning that the confiscation court was supposed to be carried out.

Then Thorgeir asked how they could best take Hrafnkel by surprise. Sam said that he knew a way of doing this. He immediately turned off the track and went up on to the mountainside and along the ridge between Hrafnkelsdal and Jokulsdal until they came out below the mountain that stands above Adalbol. There were some grassy gullies running up on to the heath there, and a steep slope going down the mountainside into the valley. There below stood the farm.

Sam dismounted there and said, ‘It is my advice that you dismount and let our horses go free. Have twenty men watch the horses. We’ll take sixty men and run down to the farm as fast as possible. We’ll go faster if we don’t take the horses, because it’s very steep. I don’t expect there will be many people awake.’

They did as Sam advised. That place has since been called Hrossageilar (Horse gullies).