The Story of Grettir the Strong | Page 8

was healed, but went with a wooden
leg all his life after; therefore as long as he lived was he called Onund
Treefoot.

CHAP. III.
At that time were many great men west over the Sea, such as had fled
from their lands in Norway before King Harald, because he had made
all those outlaws, who had met him in battle, and taken to him their
possessions. So, when Onund was healed of his wounds, he and Thrand
went to meet Geirmund Helskin, because he was the most famed of
vikings west there over the Sea, and they asked him whether he had any
mind to seek after that kingdom which he had in Hordaland, and
offered him their fellowship herein; for they deemed they had a sore
loss of their lands there, since Onund was both mighty and of great kin.
Geirmund said that so great had grown the strength of King Harald,
that he deemed there was little hope that they would win honour in
their war with him when men had been worsted, even when all the folk
of the land had been drawn together; and yet withal that he was loth to
become a king's thrall and pray for that which was his own; that he
would find somewhat better to do than that; and now, too, he was no
longer young. So Onund and his fellows went back to the South-isles,
and there met many of their friends.
There was a man, Ufeigh by name, who was bynamed Grettir; he was
the son of Einar, the son of Olvir Bairn-Carle; he was brother to Oleif
the Broad, the father of Thormod Shaft; Steinulf was the name of Olvir
Bairn-Carle's son, he was the father of Una whom Thorbiorn
Salmon-Carle had to wife. Another son of Olvir Bairn-Carle was
Steinmod, the father of Konal, who was the father of Aldis of Barra.
The son of Konal was Steinmod, the father of Haldora, the wife of Eilif,
the son of Ketil the Onehanded. Ufeigh Grettir had to wife Asny, the
daughter of Vestar Haengson; and Asmund the Beardless and Asbiorn

were the sons of Ufeigh Grettir, but his daughters were these, Aldis,
and Asa, and Asvor. Ufeigh had fled away west over the Sea before
Harald the king, and so had Thormod Shaft his kinsman, and had with
them their kith and kin; and they harried in Scotland, and far and wide
west beyond the sea.
Now Thrand and Onund Treefoot made west for Ireland to find Eyvind
the Eastman, Thrand's brother, who was Land-ward along the coasts of
Ireland; the mother of Eyvind was Hlif, the daughter of Rolf, son of
Ingiald, the son of King Frodi; but Thrand's mother was Helga, the
daughter of Ondott the Crow; Biorn was the name of the father of
Eyvind and Thrand, he was the son of Rolf from Am; he had had to flee
from Gothland, for that he had burned in his house Sigfast, the
son-in-law of King Solver; and thereafter had he gone to Norway, and
was the next winter with Grim the hersir, the son of Kolbiorn the
Abasher. Now Grim had a mind to murder Biorn for his money, so he
fled thence to Ondott the Crow, who dwelt in Hvinisfirth in Agdir; he
received Biorn well, and Biorn was with him in the winter, but was in
warfare in summer-tide, until Hlif his wife died; and after that Ondott
gave Biorn Helga his daughter, and then Biorn left off warring.
Now thereon Eyvind took to him the war-ships of his father, and was
become a great chief west over the Sea; he wedded Rafarta, the
daughter of Kiarval, King of Ireland; their sons were Helgi the Lean
and Snaebiorn.
So when Thrand and Onund came to the South-isles, there they met
Ufeigh Grettir and Thormod Shaft, and great friendship grew up
betwixt them, for each thought he had gained from hell the last who
had been left behind in Norway while the troubles there were at the
highest. But Onund was exceeding moody, and when Thrand marked it,
he asked what he was brooding over in his mind. Onund answered, and
sang this stave--
"What joy since that day can I get When shield-fire's thunder last I met;
Ah, too soon clutch the claws of ill; For that axe-edge shall grieve me
still. In eyes of fighting man and thane, My strength and manhood are
but vain, This is the thing that makes me grow A joyless man; is it
enow?"
Thrand answered that whereso he was, he would still be deemed a
brave man, "And now it is meet for thee to settle down and get married,

and I would put forth my word and help, if I but knew whereto thou
lookest."