And the consent of her father.
(Half’s Saga).
“Many things were forbidden in their laws (Half’s champions) so that they might become the greater champions. One law was, that no one of them should have a sword longer than two feet, so close was the fight to be; they had saxes made, so that their blows might be heavier. No one of them had less strength than twelve average men together. They never captured women or children. No one of them should dress his wounds until one day had passed (from the time he got it). No man of less strength or bravery than has been stated was accepted. They made warfare widely about the country, and were always victorious. King Half was eighteen summers on warfare, and always gained the victory. It was their custom always to lie before the capes; another of their customs was never to put up tents on board, and never to reef the sail in a storm. They were called Half’s Rekkar (champions), and he never had more than sixty on board his ship” (Half’s Saga, c. 11).
Houses were frequently burnt as revenge with the enemy inside, but it was the general custom to let women, servants, and also individuals of the family, against whom no grudge was harboured, or from whom no revenge was feared, get out of the house before it was fired.
Flosi, an Icelandic chief, who had surrounded the house of Njál, and was going to set fire to it, said to Njál:
‘I will not be reconciled to thy sons; and now it shall be fought out with us, and I will not go away before they are all dead, but I will allow women and children and húskarls (servants) to go out.’ Njál went in and said to his people: ‘Now all who are allowed shall go out. Go out, Thórhalla, Asgrim’s daughter, and all who are allowed with thee.’ Thórhalla said: ‘Now Helgi and I part otherwise than I thought for a while, but nevertheless I will urge my father and brothers to avenge the men slain here.’ Njál said: ‘Thou wilt act well, for thou art a good wife.’ Then she went out, with many others....
“Flosi said: ‘I will offer thee to go out, Njál bóndi, for thou deservest not to be burnt.’ Njál said: ‘I will not go out, for I am an old man, and little able to avenge my sons, but I will not live with shame.’ Flosi said to Bergthóra: ‘Go out, housewife, for I will by no means burn thee.’ Bergthóra answered: ‘I was young when I married Njál, and I have promised him to let the same overtake us both.’ Then they both went in. Bergthóra said: ‘What shall we now do?’ ‘We will go to our bed,’ said Njál, ‘and lie down. I have long been fond of rest.’ She then said to the boy Thord Karason: ‘Thou shalt go out and not be burnt with us.’ The boy answered: ‘Thou hast promised me, grandmother, that we should never part while I wished to remain with thee, and I like it much better to die with thee and Njál than to live after you.’ She then carried the boy to the bed. Njál said to his bryti (steward): ‘Now look where we lie down, and how I make our bed, for I intend not to move from here, whether smoke or flame pains me, then thou canst guess where our bones are to be found’” (Njala, c. 129).
Here we have an account of the death of Thorólf, one of the greatest blots on the character of Harald Fairhair.
“They (King Harald and his men) came to Sandnes (estate of Thorólf Kveldulfsson) after sunset, and saw a tent-covered longship afloat in front of the bæ, and knew that it belonged to Thorólf. He was about to leave the country, and had let his parting-ale be warmed.[[116]]
“The watchmen of Thorólf sat inside drinking, and nobody was on the watch. The king (Harald Fairhair) surrounded the hall with a circle of men; then they raised a war-cry, and a blast was blown on the king’s horn. When Thorólf and his men heard this, they rushed for their weapons, for all the weapons of every man hung above his seat. The king had proclaimed at the door of the hall that women, young men, old men, thralls and bondmen should go out. Sigrid, wife of Thorólf, the women who were inside, and the men who were allowed, went out. Sigrid asked if the sons of Berdlukari were there; they both stepped forward and asked what she wanted. ‘Follow me to the king,’ she said. They did so; and as she came to him she asked: ‘Is it of any use, lord, to try to reconcile you with Thorólf?’ The king answered: ‘If Thorólf will surrender unconditionally he shall be spared, but his men shall be punished according to their guilt.’ After that Ölvir Hnufa entered the hall, and told Thorólf the terms of the king. Thorólf replied quickly that he would accept no hard conditions nor reconciliation from the king. ‘Ask him to give us leave to go out, and let it then go as fate decides.’ Ölvir told the king the answer of Thorólf. The king said: ‘You must set the hall on fire; I will not lose my men in fighting against him outside, for I think he will cause us a great loss of men if he gets out, though he has fewer men than we.’ Then fire was set to the hall, and it burned quickly, for the timber was dry and the walls tarred, and the roof was thatched with birch-bark. Thorólf bade his men break off the wainscoting, get at the gable-beams, and then break the weather-boards. When they got hold of the beams, one of these was taken by as many men as could get hold of it, and pushed out at the corner so strongly that the clamps fell off outside, and the walls broke, leaving a large opening. Thorólf went out first, then Thorgils gjallandi (loud-speaking), and all, one after the other. A most severe fight began, and for a while it was impossible to see who would win, because the house protected their backs. Many of the king’s men were killed before the house began to burn; then the fire attacked Thorólf’s men, and many of them fell. Thorólf ran forward and dealt blows on both sides, and there was little need to dress the wounds of those whom he wounded. He pushed forward to where the king’s standard was, and at that moment Thorgils gjallandi fell. When Thorólf came to the shieldburgh he thrust his sword through the standard-bearer and said: ‘Now I stepped three feet too short (I should have stepped three feet longer forward).’ Swords and spears struck him, and the king himself dealt him a fatal wound, and Thorólf fell down at his feet. The king ordered that they should leave off killing the men, which was done. He then made his men go down to the ships, telling Ölvir Hnufa and his brother: ‘Take Thorólf, your kinsman, and give his body a becoming preparation, and bury the others who have fallen, and let the wounds of such as are likely to live be dressed. Let nothing be taken hence, for it is all my property.’ He went down to his ships, and with him most of his men, and they began to dress their wounds, and the king walked about the ship and looked at them. He saw where a man was dressing a slight wound, and remarked that Thorólf had not given that, for his weapons bit quite another way. ‘I think that few can dress the wounds he gave, and the death of such men is a great loss’” (Egil’s Saga, c. 22).