Viking Sagas - Great Dialogue
The excerpts are from the
translations at The
Online Medieval and Classical Library.
My comments added in black.
Flosi
snatched the spear from him, and launched it at Ingialld, and it fell on his
left side, and passed through the shield just below the handle, and clove it all
asunder, but the spear passed on into his thigh just above the knee-pan, and so
on into the saddle-tree, and there stood fast. Then Flosi said to Ingialld, "Did it touch thee?
"It touched me sure enough," says Ingialld, "but I call this a
scratch and not a wound." [So there.]
Then Ingialld plucked the spear out of the wound, and said to Flosi, "Now
bide thou, if thou art not a milksop."
Then he launched the spear back over the river. Flosi sees that the spear
is coming straight for his middle, and then he backs his horse out of the way,
but the spear flew in front of Flosi's horse, and missed him, but it struck
Thorstein's middle, and down he fell at once dead off his horse.
Njal's Saga
Now
Thorgisl (Hermundson) smites a stroke on him down his nose from the brow, and
said: “Now hast thou gotten a good mark befitting thee; and even such should
more of you have.” Then spake
Thorgisl (the Hewer): “Nought good is the mark; yet most like
it is, that I shall have the heart to bear it manfully; little have ye
yet to brag over.” And he smote at him so that he fell and is now
unfightworthy.
Heitharviga Saga
Now
Eyolf smiteth at Odd, and it came on to his cheek and on to his mouth, and a
great wound was that. Then spake
Eyolf: “Maybe the widow will think the kissing of thee
worsened.” Odd answereth:
“Long hath it been not over good, and now must it be much spoilt forsooth; yet it may be that thou wilt not tell thereof to
thy sweetheart.” And he smote at
him, so that he gat a great wound.
Heitharviga Saga
Then
Steinthor Olafson leapt at Bolli, and hewed at his neck with a large axe just
above his shoulders, and forthwith his head flew off. Thorgerd bade him
"hale enjoy hands", and said that Gudrun would have now a while a red
hair to trim for Bolli.
The Laxdaela Saga
"Here
I bring you your axe," said Thorgeir. Then he struck at Thorfinn's neck and
cut off his head. [Hell of a way to start a conversation]
Grettir's Saga
It
was raining hard, so he did not go outside, but stood holding both the
door-posts with his hands and peering round. At that moment Thorbjorn sidled
round to the front of the door and thrust his spear with both hands into Atli's
middle, so that it pierced him through. Atli said when he received the thrust:
"They use broad spear-blades nowadays."
[Great last words!]
Then he fell forward on the threshold.
Grettir's Saga
Kol
thrust at him with his spear; Kolskegg had just slain a man and had his hands
full, and so he could not throw his shield before the blow, and the thrust came
upon his thigh, on the outside of the limb and went through it.
Kolskegg turned sharp round, and strode towards him, and smote him with his
short sword on the thigh, and cut off his leg, and said, "Did it touch thee
or not?"
"Now," says Kol, "I pay for being bare of my shield."
So he stood a while on his other leg and looked at the stump.
"Thou needest not to look at it," said Kolskegg; "'tis even as
thou seest, the leg is off."
Then Kol fell down dead.
Njal's Saga
Thorgrim
the Easterling went and began to climb up on the hall; Gunnar sees that a red
kirtle passed before the windowslit, and thrusts out the bill, and smote him on
the middle. Thorgrim's feet slipped from under him, and he dropped his shield,
and down he toppled from the roof. Then
he goes to Gizur and his band as they sat on the ground.
Gizur looked at him and said, "Well, is Gunnar at home?
"Find that out for
yourselves," said Thorgrim; "but this I am sure of, that his bill is
at home," and with that he fell down dead. [More
great last words]
Njal's Saga
Thorgeir
lifted the axe, "the ogress of war," with both hands, and dashed the
hammer of the axe with a back-blow into the head of him that stood behind him,
so that his skull was shattered to small bits.
"Slain is this one," said Thorgeir [Nothing
like stating the bloody obvious]; and down the man fell at once, and was
dead.
Njal's Saga
There
sat also a very handsome man with long hair, who twisted his hair over his head,
put out his neck, and said, "Don't make my hair bloody."
A man took the hair in his hands and held it fast. Thorkel hewed with his axe;
but the viking twitched his head so strongly that he who was holding his hair
fell forwards, and the axe cut off both his hands, and stuck fast in the earth.
The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway
King
Magnus received a wound, being pierced by a spear through both thighs above the
knees. The king laid hold of the shaft between his legs, [Oh
how easy to take that phrase out of context!] broke the spear in two, and
said, "Thus we break spear-shafts, my lads; let us go briskly on. Nothing
hurts me."
The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway
