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Þormóður Kolbrúnarskáld
born: 998 at Dyrðilmýr in Snæfjallaströnd in Iceland
died: 1030 at Stiklarstaðir in Norway
Society demanded that lost honor be recovered, but wise men knew that there was a proper time to do it. Grettir Ásmundarson said that a slave took vengeance immediately and a coward never. His implication was that a fool acted immediately without thought or restraint, while a coward never found the courage to act. A wise man waited until the proper moment. Þormóður was one such man who knew the proper moment to deliver the blow.
Þormóður traveled to Greenland to avenge the death of his foster-brother. He stayed Þorkell's farm and celebrate Yule there. Earlier during the celebrations, he had tussled with the slave Loðin, who people thought was paying too much attention to one of the women on the farm. On the morning after the feast, Skúfur and the other guests prepared to leave and go home, and only Þormóður and his friend Bjarni were still lying on the benches. Loðin and three companions came in to the hall to settle the score.
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As they came in, Lodin grabbed hold of Thormod's feet, tugged him down to the floor and dragged him across it. Bjarni leapt up, took hold of Lodin round the waist and threw him down hard. Then he cursed the others, who were still dragging Thormod and told them to let him go, and they obeyed him. Then the men left as if nothing had happened. When Skuf and Bjarni were ready to set off, Thorkel came out to the boat with them along with his men. Lodin was close by the ferry boat and handed over their garments. Thormod was also close by. And when it was least expected, Thormod drew out an axe from under his cloak and struck at Lodin's head so that he fell to the ground dead. Fóstbræðra saga, ch. 22 |
After being dragged around, Þormóður made light of the situation, saying he was used to much worse while playing skinnleikur, a rough-and-tumble skin-throwing game played on the benches in the longhouse. Yet, Þormóður was not going to allow this affront to his dignity go unpunished.
Þormóður waited for the proper moment, and as he boarded the ship to leave, he made his unexpected move. He drew a hidden weapon and struck a death blow. He and his companions drew in the gangplank. From on shore, the farmer Þorkell urged his men to attack if Þormóður was not handed over, but cooler heads prevailed. A settlement was reached and compensation paid for the slave.
The following summer, Þormóður traveled to the assembly in Greenland and achieved his ultimate goal: killing the man who killed his beloved foster-brother.
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©2013-2024 William R. Short |