King Erik and Queen Gunnhild did eventually catch up with Egil, capturing the Viking warrior when he washed ashore after a shipwreck. Thrown into a dungeon and sentenced to be executed the following morning, Egil flexed another powerful muscle—his mind. He spent the entire night composing a poem called Head Ransom, praising Erik and requesting a pardon for his crimes. The poem was so moving that when Egil was done reciting it, Erik gave him a full pardon and let him go free. Gunnhild still thought he should die horribly, but that’s Gunnhild for you.

To understand how a guy got off death row with nothing more than a sweet poem and a winning smile, it’s important to understand that to the Vikings, poetry, writing, runes, and story crafting were all considered gifts from Odin himself. These arts were thought to be highly magical, brought to the world from Valhalla itself, and people who were talented in them were favorites of Odin. So when Egil publicly recited a poem describing the king’s numerous heroic deeds, Erik realized he was being immortalized not only in verse but with the gods themselves. The king did not forgive Egil for his crimes, but he did grudgingly release him.

After his many years of adventuring, fighting, and singing, Egil returned to Iceland to raise his four children, share his wisdom with travelers, heal the sick, and settle occasional disputes. He accumulated massive amounts of wealth and property, owned a huge, successful farm in Iceland, and lived like royalty until he died of illness at the age of eighty.

Today, more than for his sword arm, Egil Skallagrimsson is remembered as one of the most eloquent poets of the Viking Age.

Once with eight I battled

Eleven faced I twice,

Made for wolf a meal,

Myself the bane of all.

Shields shook by sword-strokes

Smitten fast and furious;

Angry fire forth-flashing

Flew my ashen spear.

I LIKED THE ORIGINAL BETTER

Although an army of teachers consider it the greatest work of fiction ever written, Shakespeare’s Hamlet was actually based on a Danish legend written down by historian Saxo Grammaticus in the twelfth century, about three hundred years before Shakespeare penned the remake.

TRIAL BY COMBAT

The holmgang was a Viking duel fought to avenge one’s honor against a hated adversary. Two warriors would get together, draw a big circle, and then duke it out inside the circle with swords and shields until someone either gave up or died. One foot stepping out of the circle counted as yielding (surrendering honorably), and two feet out counted as running away. Fleeing, declining a challenge to a duel, and peeing your pants in the middle of a fight were all considered acts of ultimate cowardice.

KNOW YOUR VIKINGS

NAME:

Egil Skallagrimsson

RANK:

Viking hero, berserker, and skald

RELIGION:

Pagan

BORN:

Iceland, around 910

DIED:

Natural causes, Iceland, around 990

AREAS OF OPERATION:

Iceland, Norway, France, Germany, Denmark, England, Scotland

NOTEWORTHY:

Wrote some of the greatest poetry of the Viking Age and once killed a dude by biting him in the throat