The story of Burnt Njal From the Icelandic of the Njals Saga

CHAPTER LXXXIV.

OF EARL SIG­URD.

Sig­urd was the name of an earl who ruled over the Orkneys; he was the son of Hlod­ver, the son of Thorfinn the scull-​split­ter, the son of Turf-​Einar, the son of Rogn­vald, Earl of M[oe]ren, the son of Eystein the noisy. Kari was one of Earl Sig­urd's body-​guard, and had just been gath­er­ing scatts in the South­ern Isles from Earl Gilli. Now Kari asks them to go to Hrossey,[35] and said the Earl would take to them well. They agreed to that, and went with Kari and came to Hrossey. Kari led them to see the Earl, and said what men they were.

“How came they,” says the Earl, “to fall up­on thee?”

“I found them,” says Kari, “in Scot­land's Firths, and they were fight­ing with the sons of Earl Moldan, and held their own so well that they threw them­selves about be­tween the bul­warks, from side to side, and were al­ways there where the tri­al was great­est, and now I ask you to give them quar­ters among your body-​guard.”

“It shall be as thou choos­est,” says the Earl, “thou hast al­ready tak­en them so much by the hand.”

Then they were there with the Earl that win­ter, and were worthi­ly treat­ed, but Hel­gi was silent as the win­ter wore on. The Earl could not tell what was at the bot­tom of that, and asked why he was so silent, and what was on his mind.

“Think­est thou it not good to be here?”

“Good, me­thinks, it is here,” he says.

“Then what art thou think­ing about?” asks the Earl.

“Hast thou any realm to guard in Scot­land?” asks Hel­gi.

“So we think,” says the Earl, “but what makes thee think about that, or what is the mat­ter with it?”

“The Scots,” says Hel­gi, “must have tak­en your stew­ard's life, and stopped all the mes­sen­gers; that none should cross the Pent­land Firth.”

“Hast thou the sec­ond sight?” said the Earl.

“That has been lit­tle proved,” an­swers Hel­gi.

“Well,” says the Earl, “I will in­crease thy hon­our if this be so, oth­er­wise thou shalt smart for it.”

“Nay,” says Kari, “Hel­gi is not that kind of man, and like enough his words are sooth, for his fa­ther has the sec­ond sight.”

Af­ter that the Earl sent men south to Straumey[36] to Arnljot, his stew­ard there, and af­ter that Arnljot sent them across the Pent­land Firth, and they spied out and learnt that Earl Hun­di and Earl Mel­snati had tak­en the life of Havard in Thraswick, Earl Sig­urd's broth­er-​in-​law. So Arnljot sent word to Earl Sig­urd to come south with a great host and drive those earls out of his realm, and as soon as the Earl heard that, he gath­ered to­geth­er a mighty host from all the isles.