while our stem endures in Iceland.
THE END
[7]. Failing to find a better equivalent for the Norwegian “Herse,” I have used the word “Headman” wherever it seemed necessary to give Gunnar a title or designation. He is generally spoken of as “Gunnar Herse” in the Norwegian text; but where it could be done without inconvenience, the designation has here been omitted.
[8]. “I ærlig holmgang.” The established form of duel in the viking times was to land the combatants on one of the rocky islets or “holms” that stud the Norwegian coast, and there let them fight it out. Hence “holmgang”=duel.
[9]. “At knæsætte” = to knee-set a child, to take it on one’s knee, an irrevocable form of adoption.
[10]. The giants or Titans of Scandinavian mythology.
[11]. Breastplate.
[12]. “Draugen,” a vague and horrible sea-monster.
[13]. Literally the “blood-night.”