“The king asked who he was. He answered he was an Icelander of the name Mani, who had come northward from Rúm (Rome). The king said: ‘Thou must know some wisdom, Tungli;[[252]] sit down and sing.’ He then sang the Útfarardrápa (poem on a voyage to the Holy Land) which Haldór Skvaldri made about King Sigurd Jorsalafari, and the poem was much liked and thought amusing. Two players[[253]] were in the stofa, who made small dogs jump over high poles in front of high-born men, and the more high-born they were the higher they jumped” (Fornmanna Sögur, viii.; Sverri’s Saga).
“Tuta, a Frisian, was with King Harald; he was sent to him for show, for he was short and stout, in every respect shaped like a dwarf” (Harald Hardradi’s Saga).
Horse-fights were a favourite amusement with the people. Several mares were kept near in order to make the horses fight more fiercely: each horse was led by the owner or the trainer. When they rose on their hind feet and began to bite each other, the men who followed supported and urged them on, partly by inciting them with a stick. Great chiefs often followed their stallions, and sometimes umpires were chosen, who in doubtful cases decided which horse had the best of it; to own the best horse was a great honour, and in such horse-fights many stallions were often led against each other.
“It happened one summer, as it often does, that there was a horse-fight (in Bergen, Norway). A man by name of Gaut of Mel, high of kin, a great friend of the Sturlungar, had received from Sturla a good horse; it was said by many to be the best in Norway. Arni öreyda, an Icelander, had sent the king a horse which he called the best in Iceland; and these horses were to fight. A large crowd of people gathered there. When the horses were led forth, each of them seemed to be very fine; they were let loose, and came together fiercely, and there followed a splendid fight, both severe and long; but when the fight had lasted some time, the king’s horse slackened. The king did not like this, as could easily be seen. Gaut went round the circle of men, and made good use of the one eye he had. Aron was present there, and with him Thorarin, his kinsman; they were much displeased at the defeat of the horse. Aron was the friend of Arni, but not of Gaut; he thought he knew why it was defeated. As they saw that the king did not heed his horse, they went to him, and Aron said: ‘Do not undervalue your horse, lord, for it must be most precious; but this is not the way of fighting he is used to.’ ‘What way is that?’ asked the king. ‘A man follows each horse, as it is led forth, with a staff in his hand, and strikes the horse’s quarters, and supports the horse when he rises.’ ‘If thou thinkest thou canst make the horse stand,’ said the king, ‘then go.’ Now Aron and Thorarin took off their overcoats, and took sticks in their hands; then they went to where the king’s horse stood outside the circle; they touched it with their sticks, and it started as if it knew why they had come; it rushed at the horse of Gaut, and the latter at it, and they came together violently. The horse of Gaut was now much pressed, for the king’s horse was supported with strength; and it was said that it so had the best chance. As day declined, the horse of Gaut slackened (its efforts), though it would neither retreat nor run. Aron and Thorarin pushed their horse the harder, till the horse of Gaut fell down from exhaustion and hard fighting, and never afterwards rose. Gaut could not remain quiet on account of his anger, and thought that Aron had killed his horse, and was greatly displeased; but one could see that the king liked it well. Then other horses were led forth, of which there is no account” (Biskupa Sögur, i.; Aron’s Saga, ch. 18).
Some kinsmen of the chief Glúm came to him one autumn, and a feast was made for them.
“When they made ready to go home, Glúm gave his kinsman Bjarni a red stallion, six winters old, and said he would give him another if any horse surpassed this one. They went home from the feast, and Bjarni at once fed it on hay, and it was very well kept there. The next summer he was very curious to know how it would fight. He talked about having a fight against a horse owned by Thorkel Geirason of Skörd, and it was decided that they should make the horses fight at Midsummer at Máfahjalli. Thormód and his son Eyjúlf had a grey stallion with a mane of a different colour, and always sold horses begotten by it, but did not like to use it in a horse-fight. It is said that once the stallions of Thormód and Bjarni met and bit each other so that they were all bloody. The servant of Bjarni came to him and said that he had seen the two stallions bitten, and red all over. Bjarni sent word to Thorkel that they would not have the horse-fight, as his stallion was no longer able to fight. Bjarni supposed that Eyjúlf and his father Thormód had made the horses fight, as they could not have maltreated each other thus by themselves, and therefore offered to have a horse-fight when eight weeks of the summer had passed. Thormód asked his son to decide whether to do it or not, for he wanted the fight. The horses were led forward, and the fight went on well till eleven rounds had passed. Then Eyjúlf’s stallion took hold of the jawbone of Bjarni’s, and held on until Bjarni came up and struck it off. Eyjúlf turned round and struck the stallion, and the stick rebounded heavily from the horse and hit Bjarni’s shoulder. The horses were parted at once. Eyjúlf went to Bjarni and said this mishap had not been wished by him. ‘I will show whether I did this intentionally or not. I will give thee sixty rams if thou wilt not blame me for this, and then thou canst see that I did not wish this to happen.’ Bjarni said that he had caused it himself, and thought they had not made the stallions bloody. Then they went home. In the autumn at the réttir (sheep-meeting) Eyjúlf took out sixty rams. Thormód asked what he was going to do with these. Eyjúlf answered that he had given them to Bjarni. Thormód said, ‘The blow was heavy, nor is the payment little.’ As soon as he had said this Bjarni turned to him and struck him a death-blow, and would not receive the sheep” (Vemund’s Saga, ch. 23).[[254]]
These horse-fights occasionally led to a struggle.
“In the summer a large horse-fight (hestathing) was appointed at Langafit above Reykjar, and thither came many men. Atli of Bjarg (Gretti’s brother) had a good horse, with a dark stripe along the back, and of Keingála’s breed (a famous mare which had been owned by Gretti’s father). Father and son thought a great deal of the horse. The brothers Kormak and Thorgils of Mel had a brown horse, fearless in fight. The horse of the brothers and that of Atli from Bjarg were to fight against each other. There were also many other good horses. Odd Úmagaskald, a kinsman of Kormak, was to attend the horse of the brothers during that day; he had become a strong man, was very proud, overbearing, and reckless. Gretti asked his brother Atli who should attend to his horse. ‘I have not quite decided that,’ Atli said. ‘Do you wish me to stand near it?’ Gretti asked. ‘Be very quiet, then, kinsman,’ Atli added, ‘for we have to deal with proud men.’ ‘They will have to pay for their overbearing,’ continued Gretti, ‘if they do not keep it within bounds.’ These horses were now led forward, while the others were standing tied together near the bank of the river, which was there deep.
“The horses bit each other savagely, and afforded the greatest amusement. Odd followed his horse eagerly, while Gretti retreated and seized the horse’s tail with one hand, holding in the other a staff, with which he whipped him.... The horses while fighting moved towards the river; Odd thrust at Gretti with the staff, and hit his shoulder-blade, which was turned towards him. The blow was so violent that the flesh was bruised, but Gretti was only slightly wounded. At that moment the horses rose high on their hind legs. Gretti jumped under the haunch of his horse and thrust his staff into the side of Odd, with such force that three of his ribs were broken, and he fell into the river with his horse as well as all the others. Men swam out to him, and he was pulled up from the river. At this there was much shouting. Kormak and his men and those from Bjarg seized their weapons; when the men from Hrutafjord and those from Vatnsnes saw this they interceded, and they were parted, and went home threatening each other; but they nevertheless kept quiet for awhile. Atli spoke little of it, but Gretti was rather loud-spoken, and said they would meet again, if he had his way” (Gretti’s Saga, ch. 29).
“Wherever a man makes the horse of another fight without the owner’s permission he shall pay the loss that ensues and öfundarbót[[255]] to the owner, according to lawful judgment. If the hurt is valued at half a mark, he shall pay full rett according to law, as if it were done from hatred or envy. Every man shall answer for himself at a horse-fight, whoever may have the fight. If a man strikes a horse without necessity at a horse-fight, he shall pay öfundarbót to the owner; and if the horse is damaged by it, he shall pay indemnity for damages and rett-of-envy to the owner” (N. G. L., ii. 126).