Yea, and since hope is dead, changed too to me.
What shall we do, if, each of each forgiven,		4440
We three shall meet at last in that fair heaven
The new faith tells of? Thee and God I pray
Impute it not for sin to me to-day,
If no thought I can shape thereof but this:
O friend, O friend, when thee I meet in bliss,		4445
Wilt thou not give my love Gudrun to me,
Since now indeed thine eyes made clear can see
That I of all the world must love her most?
THEN his voice sank so that his words were lost
A little while; then once again he spake,		4450
As one who from a lovesome dream doth wake:
Alas! I speak of heaven who am in hell!
I speak of change of days, who know full well
How hopeless now is change from misery;
I speak of time destroyed, when unto me		4455
Shall the world’s minutes be as lapse of years;
I speak of love, who know how my life bears
The bitter hate which I must face to-day,
I speak of thee, and know thee passed away,
Ne’er to come back to help or pity me.		4460
THEREWITH he looked up and those folk did see,
And rose up to his feet, and with strange eyes
That seemed to see nought, slunk in shamefast wise,
Silent, behind them, as the corpse they laid
Upon the bier; then, all things being arrayed,		4465
Back unto Bathstead did they wend once more,
As mournful as though dead with them they bore
The heart of Iceland; and yet folk must gaze
With awe and pity upon Bodli’s face,
And deem they never might such eyes forget.		4470
BUT when they reached the stead, anigh sunset,
There in the porch a tall black figure stood,
Whose stern pale face, ‘neath its o’erhanging hood,
In the porch shadow was all cold and grey,
Though on her feet the dying sunlight lay.		4475
They trembled then at what might come to pass,
For that grey face the face of Gudrun was,
And they had heard her raving through the day
As through the hall they passed; then made they stay
A few yards from the threshold, and in dread		4480
Waited what next should follow; but she said,
In a low voice and hoarse: Nay, enter here,
Without, this eve is too much change and stir,
And rest is good, is good, if one might win
A moment’s rest; and now none is within		4485
The hall but Oswif: not much will he speak,
And as for me, behold, I am grown weak!
I cannot vex him much. She stepped aside,
And the dark shade her raiment black did hide
As they passed through into the dusky hall,		4490
Afraid to see her face; and last of all
Went Bodli, clashing through the porch, but he
Stayed in the midst, and turned round silently,
And sought her face and said: Thy will is done.
Is it enough? Art thou enough alone		4495
As I am? Never any word she spake.
No hate was in her face now: For thy sake
I did it, Gudrun. Speak one word to me
Before my bitter shame and misery
Crushes my heart to death. She reached a hand		4500
Out toward the place where trembling he did stand,
But touched him not, and never did he know
If she had mind some pity then to show
Unto him, or if rather more apart
She fain had thrust him from her raging heart:		4505
For now those men came tramping from the hall,
And Bodli shrank aback unto the wall
To let them pass, and when the last was gone,
In the dim twilight there he stood alone,
Nor durst he follow her, but listened there,		4510
Half-dead, and but his breathing might he hear,
And the faint noises of the gathering night.
He stood so long that the moon cast her light
In through the porch, and still no sound he heard
But the faint clink of mail-rings as he stirred.		4515
Ah, she is dead of grief, or else would she
Have come to say some little word to me,
Since I so love her, love her! With a wail
He cried these words, and in the moonlight pale,
Clashing he turned: but e’en therewith a shriek		4520
From out the dead hush of the hall did break,
And then came footsteps hurrying to the porch,
And the red flare of a new-litten torch,
And smit by nameless horror and affright
He fled away into the moonlit night.		4525

What Folk did at Herdholt after the Slaying.		4525A
OW in the hall next morn did Oswifbide
The while his messengers went far and wide
Asking for help; and all in hiding lay
Whose hapless hands had brought about that day,
Save Bodli; but for him, when back he came		4530
That morn, affrighted, Oswif called his name,
Beholding him so worn and changed, and said:
Stout art thou, kinsman, not to hide thine head!
Yet think that Olaf is a mighty man,
And though thy coming life look ill and wan,		4535
Good reason why, yet will I ask of thee
The staff of mine old age at least to be,
And save thy life therefor. Then Bodli smiled
A ghastly smile: Nay, I am not beguiled
To hope for speedy death; is it not told		4540
How that Cain lived till he was very old?
THEREWITH he sank adown into a seat
And hid his face. But sound of hurrying feet
Was in the porch withal; and presently
Came one who said: Oswif, all hail to thee!		4545
From Holyfell122 I come with tidings true,
That little will the wily Snorri do
To help us herein; for he saith the deed
Is most ill done, and that thy sons shall need
More help than they shall get within the land;		4550
Yet saith withal, he will not hold his hand
From buying peace, if that may serve thy turn.
WELL, well, said Oswif, scarce now first I learn
That Snorri bides his time, and will not run
His neck into a noose for any one.		4555
Go, get thee food, good fellow. Whence com’st thou?
Who followest, for thy face is long enow?
THE bearer of a message back I am
From Whiteriver, where Audun Festargram
Has well-nigh done his lading, and, saith he,		4560
That so it is he feareth the deep sea
But little, and the devil nought at all;
But he is liefer at hell’s gate to call123
With better men than are thy sons, he saith.
GOOD, Oswif said, that little he fears death!		4565
My sight clears, and I see his black bows strike
The hidden skerry. But thou next; belike
Thou hast ill tidings too: what saith my friend,
The son of Hauskuld? what shall be the end?
OSWIF, the man said, be not wroth with me		4570
If unto Herdholt nowise openly
I went last night; I fared with hidden head,
E’en as a man who drifts from stead to stead
When things go ill: so shelter there I gat,
And mid the house-carles long enow I sat		4575
To note men’s bearing. Olaf, an old man
He looks now truly, sat all worn and wan
Within the high-seat, and I deemed of him
That he had wept, from his red eyes and dim,
That scarce looked dry as yet; but down the board		4580
Sat Thorgerd, and I saw a naked sword
Gleam from her mantle; round her sat her sons,
And unto Haldor did she whisper once
And looked toward Olaf; Haldor from its sheath
Half drew his sword, and then below his breath		4585
Spake somewhat. Now looked Olaf round the hall,
But when his eyes on Kiartan’s place did fall
His mouth twitched, though his eyes gazed steadily;
He set his hand unto a beaker nigh
And drank and cried out: Drink now all of you		4590
Unto the best man Iceland ever knew!
Son, I am weary that thou hast not come
With gleesome tales this eve unto my home;
Yet well thou farest surely amid those
Who are the noblest there, and not so close		4595
They sit, but there is room for thee beside;
Sure, too, with them this eve is merry tide
That thou art come amongst them; would that I,
O son, O son, were of that company!
With outstretched hand and fixed eyes did he stare,		4600
As though none other in the hall there were
But him he named; the while mid shout and clank
All folk unto the man departed drank,
And midst the noise, withal, I saw no few
Who from their sheaths the glittering weapons drew,		4605
And through the talk of Kiartan’s deeds I heard,
Not lowly spoken, many a threatening word;
While with the tumult of the clattering place
So gathered white-hot rage in Thorgerd’s face,
That long it held her silent: then I saw		4610
A black form from the women’s chamber draw,
White-faced, white-handed; ever did she gaze
Upon the hall-door with an anxious face,
And once or twice as the stout door-planks shook
Beneath the wind’s stroke, a half-hopeful look		4615
Came o’er her face, that faded presently
In anguish, as she looked some face to see
Come from the night, and then remembered all;
And therewith did great ruth upon me fall,
For this was Refna; and most quietly		4620
She passed to Olaf’s side, and with a sigh
Sat down beside him there; now and again
An eager look lit up her patient pain
As from the home-men Kiartan’s name came loud,
And then once more her heavy head she bowed,		4625
And strove to weep and might not. In a while
She raised her eyes, and met grey Thorgerd’s smile
Scornful and fierce, who therewithal rose up
And laid her hand upon a silver cup,
And drew from out her cloak a jewelled sword,		4630
And cast it ringing on the oaken board,
And o’er the hall’s noise high her clear voice shrilled:
IF the old gods by Christ and mass are killed,
Or driven away, yet am I left behind,
Daughter of Egil, and with such a mind		4635
As Egil had; whereof if Asa Thor
Has never lived, and there are men no more
Within the land, yet by this king’s gift here,
And by this cup Thor owned once, do I swear
That the false foster-brother shall be slain		4640
Before three summers have come round again,
If but my hand must bring him to his end.124
THEREWITH a stern shout did her tall sons send
Across the hall, and mighty din arose
Among the homemen. Refna shrank all close		4645
To Olaf’s side; but he at first said nought,
Until the cries and clash of weapons brought
Across his dream some image of past days;
And, turning, upon Refna did he gaze,
And on her soft hair laid his hand, and then		4650
Faced round upon the drink-flushed clamorous men,
And in a mighty voice cried out and said:
Forbear, ye brawlers! now is Kiartan dead,
Nor shall I live long. Will it bring him back
To let loose on the country war and wrack,		4655
And slay the man I love next after him?
Leave me in peace at least! mine eyes wax dim,
And little pleasure henceforth shall I have,
Until my head hath rest within the grave.
THEN did he rise and stretch across the board,		4660
And took into his hand the noble sword,
And said: In good will wert thou given, O blade,
But not to save my son’s heart wert thou made.
Help no man henceforth! harm no man henceforth!
Thou foolish glittering toy of little worth!		4665
THEREWITH he brake the sword across his knee,
And cast it down; and then I minded me
How the dead man there bore not that fair blade
When unto grass of Swinedale he was laid.
But Olaf looked so great a man, that none		4670
Durst say a word against him. Gone is gone,
He said, nor yet on Bodli shall ye fall.
When all is ready, Kiartan’s voice shall call
For him he loved; but if it must be so,
Then unto Oswif’s base sons shall ye show		4675
That him they did to death left friends behind;
For this thing ever shall ye bear in mind,
That through their vile plots did all come to pass,
And Bodli but the sword they fought with was.
And therewithal he sat down wearily,		4680
And once again belike saw nought anigh.
WELL, Oswif, little more there happed that eve,
And I at dawn to-day their stead did leave,
To tell thee how things went. Now Bodli heard
The man speak, and some heart in him was stirred		4685
When of the woman’s oath was told, but when
The tale was ended, his head sank again
With a low moan; but Oswif said: Yea, true
Did my heart tell me, when I thought I knew
The nobleness of Olaf Hauskuldson.		4690
What shall be done now? As he spake came one
Panting and flushed into the hall, and cried:
Get to your arms in haste; Herdholt doth ride
Unto our stead in goodly company!
Then was there tumult as was like to be,		4695
And round the silent face of the dead man,
Hither and thither, half-armed tremblers ran
With poor hearts; but old Oswif to the door
Went forth unarmed, and Bodli scarce moved more
Than his dead foster-brother. Soon withal		4700
Did quiet on the troubled homestead fall,
For there was nought come but a peaceful train
To bring back Kiartan to his home again;
And there upon the green slope did they bide,
Whence Kiartan on that other morn had cried		4705
His scorn aloud; wherefrom were six men sent,
Who, entering now the thronged hall, slowly went,
Looking around them, toward the bier; but as
They drew anear it, from the bower did pass
A black-clad figure, and they stood aghast,		4710
For it was Gudrun, and wild eyes she cast
On this and that man, as if questioning
Mutely the meaning of some dreadful thing
She knew was doing there: her black gown’s hem
She caught up wildly as she gazed at them,		4715
Then shuddering cast it down, and seemed to seek
The face of Oswif; then as if to shriek
She raised her head, and clenched her hands, but nought
Of sound from out her parched lips was there brought,
Till at her breast she clutched, and rent adown		4720
With trembling hands the bosom of her gown,
And cried out, panting as for lack of air:
ALAS, what do ye? have ye come to bear
My love a second time from me, O men?
Do ye not know he is come back again		4725
After a long time? Ah, but evil heart
Must be in you such love as ours to part!
Then, crying out, upon the corpse she fell,
And men’s hearts failed them for pure ruth, and well
They deemed it, might she never rise again;		4730
But strong are many hearts to bear all pain
And live, and hers was even such an one.
Softly they bore her back amidst her swoon;
And then, while even men must weep, once more
Did Kiartan pass the threshold of the door,		4735
That once had been the gate of Paradise
Unto his longing heart. But in nowise
Did Bodli move amidst all this, until
Slow wound the Herdholt men around the hill;
Then stealthily his white face did he raise,		4740
And turned about unto the empty place
Where erst the bier had stood; then he arose,
And looked into the faces of all those
Who stood around, as asking what betid,
What dreadful thing the quivering silence hid;		4745
And then he staggered back unto the wall,
And such a storm of grief on him did fall,
With sobs, and tears, and inarticulate cries,
That men for shame must turn away their eyes,
Nor seem to see a great man fallen so low.		4750
WITH such wild songs home to the stead came now
The last load of that bitter harvesting,
That from the seed of lust and lies did spring.

Gudrun’s Deeming of the Men who loved her.		4753A
HUS have I striven to show the troublous life
Of these dead folk, e’en as if mid their strife		4755
I dwelt myself; but now is Kiartan slain;
Bodli’s blank yearning, Gudrun’s wearying pain,
Shall change but little now unto the end;
And midst a many thoughts home mustI wend,
And in the ancient days abide no more.		4760
Yet, when the shipman draweth nigh the shore,
And slacks the sheet and lets adown the sail,
Scarce suddenly therewith all way doth fail
The sea-clasped keel. So with this history
It fareth now; have patience then with me		4765
A moment yet, ere all the tale is told.
WHILE Olaf Peacock lived, his sons did hold
Their hands from Bodli; Oswif’s sons must pay
With gold and outlawry for that ill day,
And nothing else there happened to them worse		4770
Than o’er the sea to bear all people’s curse,
Nor know men aught more of their history.
Three winters afterward did Olaf die,
Full both of years and honour; then was not
Thorgerd’s fierce oath amidst her sons forgot;		4775
The golden ring, whose end old Guest foresaw,
Worn through the weary years with many a flaw,
Now smitten, fell asunder: Bodli died125
Manlike amidst his foes, with none beside
To sorrow o’er him, scarcely loth maybe		4780
The end of his warped life at last to see.
TURN back awhile; of her I have to tell,
Whose sorrow on my heart the more doth dwell,
That nought she did to earn it, as I deem.
Unto the Ridge, where on the willowy stream		4785
Her father’s stead looks down, did Refna go,
That, if it might be, she some rest might know
Within the fair vale where she wandered when
The bearded faces of the weaponed men
Were wonders to her child’s eyes, far away		4790
The wild thoughts of their hearts; her little day
Of hope and joy gone by, there yet awhile
She wandered once again; nor her faint smile
Would she withhold, when pitying eyes did gaze
On the deep sorrow of her lovely face;		4795
For she belike felt strong, and still might deem
That life, all turned into a longing dream,
Would long abide with her: happier she was,
But little time over her head did pass,
Before all smiles from off her face did fade,		4800
And in the grave her yearning heart was laid,
No more now to be rent ‘twixt hope and fear,
No more to sicken with the dull despair.
YET is she left to tell of, some might call,
The very cause, the very curse of all;		4805
And yet not I; for after Bodli’s death
Too dreadful grew the dale, my story saith,
For Gudrun longer at her house to dwell,
Wherefore with Snorri, lord of Holyfell,
Did she change steads. There dwelt she a long space,		4810
And true it is, that in her noble face
Men deemed but little signs of woe they saw;
And still she lived on long, and in great awe
And honour was she held, nor unfulfilled
Was the last thing that Guest deemed fate had willed		4815
Should fall on her: when Bodli’s sons were men
And many things had happed, she wed again,
And though her days of keen joys might be bare,
Yet little did they bring of added care
As on and on they wore from that old time		4820
When she was set amidst mad love and crime.
YET went this husband’s end no otherwise
Than Guest foresaw: at last with dreamy eyes
And weary heart from his grave too she turned.126
Across the waste of life on one hand burned		4825
The unforgotten sore regretted days
Long left behind; and o’er the stony ways
Her feet must pass yet, the grey cloud of death
Rolled doubtful, drawing nigher. The tale saith
That she lived long years afterwards, and strove,		4830
E’en as she might, to win a little love
From God now, and with bitter yearning prayer
Through these slow-footed lonely days to wear.
And men say, as to all the ways of earth
Her soul grew blind, and other hopes had birth		4835
Within her; that her bodily sight failed too,
And now no more the dark from day she knew.
THIS one more picture gives the ancient book,
On which I pray you for a while to look,
If for your tears ye may. For it doth tell		4840
That on a day she sat at Holyfell
Within the bower, another Bodli there
Beside her, son of him who wrought her care;
A travelled man and mighty, gay of weed,
Doer belike of many a desperate deed		4845
Within the huge wall of the Grecian king.127
A summer eve it was, and everything
Was calm and fair; the tinkling bells did sound
From the fair chapel on the higher ground
Of the holy hill,128 the murmur of the sea		4850
Came on the fitful south-west soothingly;
The house-carles sang as homeward now they went
From out the home-field, and the hay’s sweet scent
Floated around: and when the sun had died
An hour agone now, Bodli stirred and sighed;		4855
Perchance too clearly felt he life slip by
Amid those pensive things, and certainly
He too was past his youth. Mother, he said,
Awhile agone it came into my head
To ask thee somewhat; thou hast loved me well,129		4860
And this perchance is no great thing to tell
To one who loves thee. With her sightless eyes
Turned on him did she smile in loving wise,
But answered nought; then he went on, and said:
Which of the men thou knewest, who are dead		4865
Long ago, mother, didst thou love the best?
Then her thin hands each upon each she pressed,
And her face quivered, as some memory
Were hard upon her: Ah, son! years go by.
When we are young this year we call the worst		4870
That we can know; this bitter day is cursed,
No more such days our hearts can bear, we say.
But yet as time from us falls fast away
There comes a day, son, when all this is fair
And sweet to what, still living, we must bear.		4875
Bettered is bale by bale that follows it,
The saw saith. Silent both awhile did sit
Until she spake again: Easy to tell
About them, son, my memory serves me well:
A great chief Thorkel was, bounteous and wise,		4880
And ill hap seemed his death in all men’s eyes.
Bodli thy sire was mighty of his hands,
Scarce better dwelt in all the northern lands;
Thou wouldst have loved him well. My husband Thord
Was a great man; wise at the council-board,		4885
Well learned in law. For Thorwold, he indeed,
A rash weak heart,130 like to a stinging weed
Must be pulled up. Ah, that was long ago!
Then Bodli smiled: Thou wouldst not have me know
Thy thought, O mother; these things know I well,		4890
Old folk about these men e’en such tales tell.
She said: Alas, O son, thou ask’st of love!
Long folly lasteth; still that word doth move
My old worn heart: hearken one little word,
Then ask no more; ill is it to be stirred		4895
To vain repining for the vanished days.
SHE turned, until her sightless eyes did gaze
As though the wall, the hills, must melt away,
And show her Herdholt in the twilight grey;
She cried, with tremulous voice, and eyes grown wet		4900
For the last time, whate’er should happen yet,
With hands stretched out for all that she had lost:
I did the worst to him I loved the most.131

HEY too, those old men, well might sit and gaze
Upon the images of bygone days,
And wonder mid their soft self-pity, why
Mid such wild struggles had their lives gone by,
Since neither love nor joy, nor even pain,		5
Should last for ever; yet their strife so vain
While still they strove, so sore regretted now,
The heavy grief that once their heads did bow,
Had wrought so much for them, that they might sit
Amid some pleasure at the thought of it;		10
At least not quite consumed by sordid fear,
That now at last the end was come anear;
At least not hardened quite so much, but they
Might hear of love and longing worn away
‘Twixt birth and death of others, wondering		15
Belike, amid their pity, what strange thing
Made the mere truth of what poor souls did bear,
In vain or not in vain, so sweet to hear,
So healing to the tangled woes of earth,
At least for a short while. But little mirth		20
The grey eve and the strong unfailing wind
Might ask of them that tide; and yet behind
That mask of pensive eyes, so unbeguiled
By ancient folly any more, what wild
Strange flickering hopes ineffable might lie,		25
As swift that latter end of eve slipped by!
End of Vol. VI.
Printed by the Trustees of the late William Morris at the Kelmscott Press, and finished on the 18th day of February, 1897.

1Herdholt: Hjardarholt, Laxárdalur. The Laxárdalur (“Salmon-River Valley”) region, in northeast Iceland, follows the Lax River to the Hwammsfjorður. Among other things, the Laxdaela Saga reviews Herdholt’s ominous past. Under the name of Hrappstead (Hrappsstaður) it had belonged to the violent and disagreeable Hrappur, whose ghost allegedly haunted it after his death and killed a family who sought to settle there. Hrappstead and its environs lay fallow for some time thereafter. Olaf the Peacock bought the farm around the time of his marriage, and built a new farmstead, which he named Hjardarholt (“Herd-Wood,” or “Herd-Hill”).

2Olaf the Peacock: Ólafur Pái, or Ólafur Höskuldsson, was the illegitimate son of Hoskuld (Höskuldur) Dala-Kollsson and Melkorka, a slave who later revealed her identity as a princess of Ireland (Laxdaela Saga, Chapter 13). Hoskuld gave his son the name “Peacock” for, in his clothes and appearance, the Saga remarks, he “stood out from all other men.”

3Laxriver: The Laxá (“Salmon-River Valley”) flows into the Hwammsfjörður in northwest Iceland.

4Thorgerd: Thorgerður, Olaf’s wife, was the daughter of the noted poet and fighter Egill Skalla-Grímsson of Borg. Olaf courted her on the advice of his grandfather, King Myrkjartan of Ireland (Laxdaela Saga, henceforth LS, Chapter 22), and overcame her initial refusal to marry a concubine’s son. Thereafter they “came to love one another dearly” (Chapter 24).

5Egil, the mighty son of Skallagrim: The warrior-poet, hero of Egils Saga, negotiated Olaf’s marriage to his daughter Porgerður (Thorgerd) in Chapter 23 of the Laxdaela Saga. His home, Borg, lies on the Borgarfjörður, due south of Laxdale.

6Two maidens, Thurid, Thorbiorg: Morris omits two other sisters, Bergpóra and Porgerður, mentioned in LS, Chapter 28. Thurid later married Geirmund the Noisy (Chapter 29), who deserted her and left his sword “Leg-Biter,” which he foretold would “bring about the death of the man in your family who would be the greatest loss.” She later unwisely gave it to her cousin Bolli (Chapter 30), and he later used it to kill Kjartan.

7Whom Thorleik, Olaf’s brother, called his son: Olaf’s foster-father Hoskuld (Höskuldur) had preferred Olaf to Thorleik (I>orleikur), his son by his wife Jorunn, and contrived to leave much of his estate to him. In an effort to make peace, Olaf offered to foster Thorleik’s son Bolli, and he and his wife Thorgerd raised him with their four daughters and five sons.

8Bathstead- In Laugar (“Baths”), seven miles roughly north of Hjardarholt.

9Oswif Ósvifur Helgason, the son of Helgi and Nidbjörg, described in LS, Chapter 32 as “a great sage.” He and his wife Pórdís had five sons and one daughter, Guðrun, the “shrewdest and best-spoken of all women.”

10That are but names: In the Laxdaela Saga, these were Ospak, Helgi, Vandrad, Torad, and Thorolf (Chapter 32).

11who erst called Tyndarus her sire: Helen of Troy.

12Guest: Gestur Oddleifsson, “a great chieftain and a very wise man, and prescient in many ways” lived west of Laugar at Hagi, Barðastrand (LS, Chapter 33). He appears also in the Njáls Saga.

13the Thing: The Icelanders founded their Althing or law-giving assembly in 930 A. D. shortly after the landnám or settlement of the country. The power to make laws at the Althing rested with a Law Council, composed of chieftains and their nominees, but all land-holding adult males (a distinct minority of the population) could participate in its annual summer sessions.

14kirtle: in this context, a man’s tunic or coat worn in the Middle Ages. The word survives in modern Icelandic with another meaning (“gland”).

15Thickwood: Thykkvaskógur, south of Hjardarholt and the Haukadale River, was the home of Gestur’s sister Pórunn, her husband Armoður, and their sons Öruólfur and Halldór.

16ere the upland men/ Bore axe against them: Icelanders imported Norwegian timber to their relatively bare, windswept land.

17byre: cow barn.

18this man full well shall know that lore: According to LS (Chapters 74, 76), Gudrun married her fourth husand Thorkel (Porkell Eyjólfsson) on the advice of Snorri the Priest. Thorkel sought trimber in Norway for a large church in his district, but drowned in the Breidafjörður, (the bay into which the Hwammfjörður opens) on his way home.

19areded: read, interpreted.

20The kestrel hangs above the mouse: The kestrel is a small European falcon which hovers against the wind before it swoops down on its prey.

21Olaf Hauskuldson: Olaf Peacock, see note 1. 2.

22The Erse king’s daughter: Melkorka, brought by Hoskuld as a concubine to Iceland, where she gave birth to Olaf, whom she later persuaded to verify his royal lineage in Ireland.

23silk and gold: Morris adds this description of the fifty-year-old Olaf Peacock and his “gear.” The LS describes his penchant for regal dress (in this case, scarlet clothes, a gilded helmet and an embossed sword) in Chapter 23.

24Thord the Short: Þórður Gestsson, who accompanies his father to the Thing, observes him weeping as they leave Hjardarholt and asks the reason (Chapter 33; cf. 11. 602 ff. below).

25he brought/ Over the sea: As mentioned in the note to 1. 139 above, Icelanders often sought wood in Norway for their homes, but Olaf Peacock was not among them. Hrappstead contained woodlands, as the name “Hjarðarholt” suggests, and Olaf built his new farmhouse “using timber hewn from the forest as well as driftwood” (Chapter 24).

26painted fair: The art of elaborate woodpainting was widely practiced in Iceland and Norway.

27Baldur: Norse god of fertility and vegetation. According to the Edda, Baldur was Odin’s second son and the wisest of the Aesir, killed through Loki’s malice.

28Frey: Frey, twin brother of Freya, and like his sister a god of fertility, used the boar Gullinborsti (“Goldenbristle”) to pull his chariot.

29Niörd: According to the Edda, Niörd was the father of the twin gods Frey and Freya, and governor of the wind, sea, and fire.

30Thor: Odin’s son, god of thunder, and the strongest of the Aesir, whose fights with giants are described in the Prose Edda.

31Heimdall: Norse god, one of the Aesir, father of mankind and enemy of Loki, whom he will someday fight to the death at Ragnarök, the “twilight of the gods.” The sound of his Gjallarhorn could be heard throughout the world.

32Odin: eldest god of Eddic mythology, god of poetry, war, magic, and the dead.

33The Midgard Worm: Killed by Thor in Snorri’s Gylfaginning, the Miðgarðsormurinn lived in the primeval ocean and wound itself around the world.

34strife in the giants’ land: Thor’s wars with giants and the Evil One appear in the Prose Edda.

35the Evil One: probably Loki.

36all these well wrought: the descriptions of mythological carvings are Morris’s addition. In the LS, Gestur simply “looked all over the house and admired it, and said that nothing had been spared for it” (Chapter 33).

37A Greek king’s bead was wrought: Morris added these testimonials to the Icelanders’ cosmopolitan trading habits.

38An the Black: Án svarti, one of Olaf’s smiths, wounded in the ambush of Kjartan Ólafsson in Svinadale.

39and a curse with it: see 1. 19n. above.

40cairn: stone pyramid, here used as a grave marker.

41Thorvald: According to Chapter 34 of the LS, Thorvald was a wealthy man who lived at Garpsdalur. As I remark in the headnote, Morris romanticized Gudrun’s motives and aggravated Thorvald’s offence.

42the Hill of Laws: Lagafell, or place of judgment. At least three places bore this title in medieval Iceland, one near Reykjavík, one on Kollafjörður, and one in Laxárdalur. Gudrun would have gone to the latter.

43Thord: In the LS (Chapter 35), Guðrun urged him (Porður Ingunnarson of Saurbaer) to divorce his wife Auð, and the resulting feuds that followed eventually led to Thord’s death from sorcery. Morris omits the sordid details of Thord’s divorce and also the fact that Gudrun and Thord had a son, whom Gudrun later gave over to be fostered by Snorri the Priest.

44in his cairn forgotten: According to the LS, Þórður and nine other men who drowned with him were buried at Haugsness (Chapter 35).

45stithy: forge or smithy.

46As when we wandered laughing hand in hand: No childhood association between Kjartan and Guðrun appears in the LS.

47kirtle-hem: for women, a long outer skirt.

48Olaf Tryggvison: Ólafur Tryggvason (968–1000) assumed the throne in 995 after Earl Hakon was killed. During his brief reign, he Christianized Norway, Iceland, the Faroes, the Shetlands and the Orkneys. “The Story of King Olaf Tryggvison” later appeared in vol. 1 of Morris and Magnússon’s translation of the Heimskringla (1893).

49Hacon: Hákon Sigurðsson (c. 940–995), the last pre-Christian ruler of Norway, successfully defended Norway against Danish invaders (c. 985) (cf. “The Story of Harald Greycloak and of Earl Hakon the Son of Sigurd” and “The Story of Olaf Tryggvison” in Morris and Magnússon’s edition of the Heimskringla, vol. 1). Hakon appears as the liege lord of Höskuldur in LS, Chapter 9.

50Burgflrth: Borgarfjörður, south of Hjardarholt.

51White-river: one of three Icelandic rivers named Hvítá, this one flows west to the Atlantic north of Reykjavík and Akranes.

52let the rough salt sea/ Deal with me as it will: According to the sagas, Scandinavian women sometimes accompanied seamen on their voyages.

53Skalds: narrative poets.

54Kálf: According to the LS, Kálfur Ásgeirsson was a first cousin once removed of Grettir Ásmundsson, the protagonist of Grettirs Saga, which Morris and Magnússon published in translation in 1869. Later in the LS, Kálfur introduces Kjartan to his sister Hrefna, and becomes Kjartan’s brother-in-law.

55flushed with joy and pride: Olaf’s pride is Morris’s addition. In the LS, “when Olaf heard about this new venture he felt that Kjartan had decided on it rather hastily, but said he would not interfere” (Chapter 40).

56Sat the Greek king: Constantine VIII—the most likely candidate, if Morris had a specific “Greek king” in mind—-was co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 976 to 1025, and ruled alone from 1025 to 1028.

57Drontheim: now Trondheim or Trondhjem. In 997 A. D., Olaf Tryggvason founded Niðarós at the mouth of the Nið river, and built there a Gothic residence and wooden church. Construction of the Gothic Nidarosdomen, Norway’s largest and most venerable stone church, began at the same site in 1170.

58all folk should how before the Rood: In the LS (Chapter 40) as well as Morris’s poem, the news came as a complete surprise to the disembarking Icelanders. Morris added the prior good reports of Olaf.

59the Nid: Niðarós meant “harbour of the Nid.”

60when Yule-tide comes: Jól, or yule, was a pre-Christian midwinter solstice holiday. According to the LS, Kjartan and his men attended a Yule/Christmas sermon by King Olaf, after which Kjartan asserted that “all our welfare depends on our believing that he whom the king proclaims is the true God” (Chapter 40).

61And listened smiling: This incident is absent from the LS, though it portrays Kjartan as more receptive to the new religion than Bolli. It is he, for example, who suggests that the Icelanders attend a Christian service.

62great church: Olaf Tryggvason’s new church (see fn. l. 1272).

63as by him the man went: In the LS, the two men competed in a swimming and water-wrestling contest, after which the king offered Kjartan a cloak.

64the king to Kiartan sent: Morris rearranged the LS’s sequence of encounters to make the Icelanders witness a church service first, then meet King Olaf in his palace, a change which mitigates the apparent opportunism of their conversion. Kiartan is also more restrained and consistent than the LS’s Kjartan. Morris’s character urges his men to “set on” the king, but the latter threatened more openly to burn him and his followers in their residence.

65to curse all the dead men of my race: Kiartan’s concern is another one of Morris’s additions.

66The wise saves blow by blow: Here Kiartan proposes that he and his followers burn the house over their heads, a common practice in Icelandic feuds.

67Harald Fair-hair: “The Story of Harald Hairfair” appears in Heimskringla, vol. 1. Haraldur (“Hárfagri,” 850–933) ruled Norway from 885 to about 900, then ceded the kingdom to his sons, who warred against each other after his death.

68beneath just laws to live: Several Icelandic settlers were refugees from what they considered Harald Fair-hair’s oppressive rule. The early chapters of Egilssaga describe the departure of one such aggrieved family for Iceland.

69Atli’s Hall: an allusion to the final conflict of the Volsunga Saga, in which the Niblung warriors under Gunnar and Hogni perish in Atli’s Hall, and Gudrun later takes revenge on Atli and her sons by him for the murder of her brothers (Chapters 36–38). Morris and Magnússon’s translation of the Volsunga Saga appeared in 1875.

70The German bishop: This may be an oblique reference to Thangbrand, Pangbranður, “the Saxon priest” sent by Olaf to Iceland to compel conversions in “The Story of Olaf Tryggvison,” Chapter 80. He seems to have been Olaf’s court priest, and may have been the priest who attends Olaf in Chapter 71 of “The Story of Olaf Tryggvison.” A certain Sigurd, however, is the only bishop mentioned in the original tale.

71Are all these things but words: Kiartan’s open skepticism is Morris’s addition.

72Ingibiorg: Ingibjörg was Tryggvi’s daughter by Astrid (Ástriður), described in the LS as “the loveliest woman in all Norway” (Chapter 41).

73till some news should free: In the LS, King Olaf held Kjartan hostage while Thangbrand journeyed to “convert” the Icelanders. Thangbrand retreated to Norway when he encountered resistance, but King Olaf sent him back the next summer, this time accompanied by two Icelandic converts who were more effective missionaries. When news of the successful conversions arrived in Norway the following summer, Olaf permitted the hostages to leave.

74manslayer: In the LS, Thangbrand “preached the faith with bland words and harsh measures; he killed the two men who opposed him most” (Chapter 41).

75Hall of the Side: With Gissur Hvíti (Gissur Teitsson) and Hjalti Skeggjason, Síðu-Hallur was one of the first three Icelandic converts (LS, Chapter 41). Gissur and Halli also appeared in Njáls Saga.

76the truth of Christ’s fair lore to show: see 1. 1685n. According to the LS (Chapter 42), “they preached the faith in long and eloquent speeches” at the Althing, and effected many conversions. Bolli returned to Iceland with Gissur and Hjalti.

77A pledge with other three: According to the LS (Chapter 41), the four hostages were Kjartan Olafsson, Halldór Gudmundsson, Kolbeinn the son of Porðar Freysgoða, and Svertingi the son of Runólfs ur Dal.

78sad and sour: In the LS, Bolli says he would gladly wait a year for Kjartan but is uncertain when his friend will be released. Bolli also remarks bluntly to Kjartan that “you are giving little thought to the pleasures that Iceland has to offer while you are sitting and talking with Ingibjörg the king’s sister.” Morris also lengthens and renders more dramatic the account of their farewell.

79Say we shall meet again!: In the LS, Kjartan tells Bolli only to “[G]ive my greetings to my kinsmen, and also to my friends.”

80raiment red as blood: Red was then the Norwegian royal color.

81Still may he find/ A woman worthy of his loveliness: In the LS, Guðrun responds that Kjartan’s possible royal marriage is “good news—‘for Kjartan can only be truly fulfilled if he wins a good wife.’”

82Would God I were a liar!: In the LS, Bolli observes that Kjartan “could easily have entrusted me with some message for you if it had mattered all that much to him” (Chapter 42). He seeks the aid of Olaf Peacock and Osvif when Gudrun rebuffs him.

83Snorri’s wiles: Snorri Porgrimsson (c. 963–1031), Goði (pre-Christian “priest”) and chieftain of Helgafell, who fostered Guðrun’s son Porður and maintained a lifelong alliance with her family. Morris invented his role in urging Christianization on his fellow Icelanders at the Althing.

84a thousand years agone: Iceland converted to Christianity about 1000 A. D.

85And show thee such a wonder of a bride: Morris added Kiartan’s speech about his marital intentions. In the LS, Ingibjörg had heard of Guðrun, for she sent the coif to “Guðrun Osvif’s-daughter.”

86Micklegarth: Mikligarður, Constantinople, in Byzantium.

87crown her fair head with it: In the LS, Ingibjörg gives the coif with the words, “I want the women of Iceland to see that the woman whose company you have been keeping in Norway isn’t descended from slaves.”

88hawsers: large ropes used to tow or secure a ship.

89mine eyes of things to come may see: In the LS, King Olaf explicitly asserts that “They have been alotted a dire destiny, Kjartan and his kin, and there is no altering their fate.”

90Gudmund of Asbiornsness: in the LS, Gudmunð Solmundarsson of Viðidalur, second husband of Kjartan’s sister Puriður.

91Refna, his daughter: Hrefna Ásgeirsdóttir, the daughter of Ásgier Æðikollur (hothead), a Bidalur farmer, is described in LS, Chapter 44 as “the loveliest of women.”

92she is well, and wed: Morris adds Kiartan’s shock and regret that Gudrun has married. The Saga-Kjartan hears the news when he arrives, and shows his chagrin through his growing estrangement from Bolli.

93that rich coif: In the LS, the coif is not displayed before Hrefna and Kjartan’s wedding day.

94Nor durst he touch the ring: This ancillary narrative is Morris’s addition. In the LS, the theft of Hrefna’s headress and Kjartan’s sword has already estranged the two families, and Porhalla brings the news of Kjartan’s travels.

95what thou hast done: In the LS, Guðrun explicitly regrets her marriage, but precipitates all the quarrels between the two families and uses threats of divorce to goad Bolli to join the attack on Kjartan. Desires for status and property are Kjartan and Guðrun’s most immediate motives, and Bolli and Olaf Peacock try vainly to keep the peace.

96Come rather: In the LS, “Olaf begged him not to be offended with his own kinsmen: ‘Don’t forget, Kjartan, that you have loved no man so much as your foster brother Bolli; and it is my wish that you come. You cousins will soon make it up once you meet one another again’” (Chapter 44).

97Blood-red for shame at first: The Saga-Bolli “went up to Kjartan and embraced him, and Kjartan accepted his greeting” (Chapter 45).

98Three goodly horses: The LS describes these as white, with red ears and a red forelock, and Olaf “begged him [Kjartan] to accept the horses—‘

99well stuffed with lies,/ At Ospak’s hands: Morris added the jealous plots of Gudrun’s brothers and heightened the role of Ospak. In the LS, Guðrun is her family’s only plotter.

100the Southlands: either southern Iceland, or the British Isles. “Northmen” harried the latter in substantial numbers in this period.

101But about England and King Ethelred: Aethelred II (reigned 978–1016) became King of England in his youth, and conducted a long but inconclusive campaign against the Vikings, before King Sweinn of Denmark overran England and drove him into exile in 1013. It is plausible here that the members of the party—speaking before the millenium—would express an interest in early and intermediate stages of these conflicts.

102Haldor: Halldór Ólafsson, Kjartan’s brother and inheritor of Hjardarholt.

103they sat hand in hand: Morris added the tale-teller’s inaccurate description of the Thorleikson household. or this is a magnificent gift.’ But Kjartan flatly refused.” Morris’s Kiartan is less conspicuously grudging and unfilial.

104She died not wholly joyless: Kiartan’s sympathy is another Morrisian addition. In the LS, Puriður points out to Kjartan that Hrefna’s father Ásgeir is a “noble man of good family,” and that the family “live in splendor,” and encourages him to seek her out. Morris’s Thurid praises Refna’s beauty rather than her social standing.

105An the Black: Án svarti, one of Olaf’s smiths, see 1. 537n. In the LS, his brother Án hvíti recovers the sword after Olaf and Kjartan have ordered him to ride back with the Bathstead party and observe any suspicious behavior.

106skinkers: drawers or servers of liquor; here, unsavory characters.

107the rover’s weapon: “Leg-biter,” see 1. 19n.

108Shallfolk remember less that we have striven: The Saga-Kjartan, by contrast, disregards Olaf’s counsels and besieges Bathstead for three days, then compels a neighbor to sell him land already promised to Bolli and Guðrun. Kiartan’s theft of cattle in Morris’s poem seems less small-minded.

109forgive me that I talk of this: Refna’s fear that Kiartan does not love her is entirely Morris’s invention. The Saga-Kjartan’s attacks on Bathstead have nothing to do with his wife’s emotions.

110His love for Refna: In the LS, Kjartan and Hrefna have a son, Ásgeir. Morris suppressed this emotional and familial complication.

111Thorhalla: In the LS, Porhalla the Gossip and her sons “were great talebearers,” but “the Osvifssons thought very highly of them” (Chapter 32). Morris elaborated her role considerably, but the Saga-Pórhalla does report that “Kjartan enjoyed nothing better than talking about his purchase of land from Thorarin” (Chapter 47).

112Knoll: Kollifjall in the Fellsströnd district, northwest of Hvammsfjördður.

113Swinedale: Svinadalur is north of Laugar, site of the Oswif/Bodli/Gudrun farmstead.

114Then Gudrun turned: In the LS, Guðrun tells her brothers and husband that “Kjartan can well afford to be as bold as he pleases, for it has been proved that no matter what insult he thinks up, there is no one who dares stand up to him,” and “you just sit at home pretending to be men, and there are always too many of you about” (Chapter 47). She also threatens Bolli with divorce to induce him to join in the ambush.

115Thorarin: In the Saga Kjartan forced Pórarinn at Tunga to sell him land he had promised to Bolli.

116a goodman of the dale: Morris expanded this incident from one in the LS (Chapter 49). Porkell and his shepherd boy observed the preparations for the attack, but Porkell declined to warn Kjartan, for “[T]hey can do one another as much harm as they please for all I care.”

117down fell Thorolf: In the Saga, Kjartan’s spear severs Thorolf’s upper arm.

118with a limb/ Shorn off by Kiartan’s sword: According to the IS, “Kjartan hacked off Gudlaug’s leg at the thigh, and that was enough to kill him” (Chapter 49).

119Gudrun, mine own love: The Saga-Kjartan makes no mention of Guðrun during the fight and expresses no wish to die. He does laconically suggest to Bolli that “You would be bettter to give your help to one side or the other and find out how well ‘Leg-Biter’ can do.” When Bolli finally turns on him, he tells him that “It is an ignoble deed, kinsman, that you are about to do,” but adds that “I would much rather accept death at your hands, cousin, than give you death at mine.”

120the sword was thrust: This is an obvious oblique echo of the Crucifixion-scene in which the centurion thrusts a spear into Jesus’s side (John 19:34). See also 1. 4494, “Thy will is done.”

121to our stead: The body is borne in the Saga to Saelingdale Tongue, probably to the farm Kjartan had recently bought from Thorarinn.

122Holyfell: Helgafell lies in the Fellsströnd district at the northwest tip of Hvammsfjörður.

123liefer at hell’s gate to call: In the LS (Chapter 51), the Thorsness Assembly condemns Ósvífur’s sons to outlawry, and raises money for their passage to Norway, but Auðun festarhundur (fetter-hound) refuses to take them with him.

124If but my hand must bring him to his end: Morris invented this dinner-hall scene. In the LS (Chapter 53), Eorgerdur waits until her husband dies to goad her sons to vengeance.

125Bodli died: The gruesome account of Bolli’s murder mentioned in the headnote above appears in LS, Chapter 55.

126from his grave too she turned: In the LS, Guðrun’s fourth husband Porkell Eyjólfsson died in a voyage from Hrutafjördur with timber he had brought with him from Norway.

127the huge wall of the Grecian king: Between 328 and 813 A. D., Constantine and his successors built a series of fortifications to protect Constantinople.

128the holy hill: Snorri Goði built a church of Helgafell, a “holy mountain,” near the ocean.

129thou hast loved me well: The LS characterizes Bolli Bollason (Chapter 70) as Guðrun’s favorite son.

130A rash weak heart: The Saga-Guðrun tells Bolli that she has “Nothing at all to say” about Þorvaldur (Chapter 78).

131loved the most: See the headnote’s comments about the provenance of this line, p. 279. Morris ended the Huntington manuscript with an ornamental flourish extending down the length of the page.