In the afternoon two champions who were thought the strongest wrestlers attacked him at the same time; they wrestled valiantly, but could not throw Ivar, and after awhile both men fell. All the people were greatly delighted at this spectacle. When the wrestlers stopped they thanked them for their exhibition, and it was the opinion of all that Ivar’s two opponents together were not as strong as he, so Ivar was proclaimed the champion in wrestling.
That evening the scalds sang before an admiring crowd the deeds of great warriors, and every one present was dressed in his best attire.
The games of ball were by far the most popular of all; they were to last two days, for there were so many competitors. There were three kinds of ball games, called Knattleik, Soppleik, and Skofuleik, respectively. This last game was a winter one, and was played on the ice, week after week, by the people of a single herad, and was a source of great amusement. All these games were considered more or less dangerous, as the balls were of wood or of scraped horn enclosed in leather, and were sent back with tremendous force by the bat.
Hord, a great ball-player from the island of Zeeland, had sent a challenge to the men of Gotland to compete for the championship. Men of equal strength were chosen on both sides, so that the chances might be even.
The game was played in this way: A man threw the ball into the air, and then struck it with a bat, sending it a long distance; another caught it with his hands, and sent it back, but this the opposite side sought to prevent by shoving him aside, or by throwing him down, or striking the ball away from him. If the ball went beyond the bounds, or fell on the ground, the man who had knocked it had to go and fetch it.
Hjalmar was a great ball-player, and wherever he had competed for the championship in ball games he had been victorious. It was generally conceded that he was the best player in Engel. Hord was considered the best ball-player in Zeeland; he was very popular and a very strong man. The contest began very eagerly; both sides had ten men each, and were very jealous of each other, and the game became very rough. The Gotlanders won the victory, but four men of Zeeland and three men of Gotland had been badly hurt in the contest.
Other games of ball were taking place in different parts of the field at the same time.
The fourth day the crowd seemed greater than ever, and many other men wanted to play. Among these were two unknown men, who came to Yngvi, and, after saluting him, said their names were Hrafn and Krak, and they hailed from the island of Bornholm; they boasted that no one could play better than they did. After hearing their boasting, many invited them to play; they said that they were rather rough-handed players, but that they could not help it, for they were strong men. The champions of Yngvi said that they did not mind that, and would take care of themselves, whatever might happen. The two brothers went to the games, and generally had the ball; they played very savagely, as they had said, and pushed men and knocked them down roughly, so that when the evening came many were bruised or maimed.