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Egil Skallagrímsson (
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlement ...
: ; Modern Icelandic: ; 904 995) was a
Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...
war poet, sorcerer,
berserker In the Old Norse written corpus, berserker were those who were said to have fought in a trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the modern English word '' berserk'' (meaning "furiously violent or out of control"). Berserkers ...
, and farmer.Thorsson, 3 He is known mainly as the
anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actio ...
of '' Egil's Saga''. ''Egil's Saga'' historically narrates a period from approximately 850 to 1000 AD and is believed to have been written between 1220 and 1240 AD.


Life

Egil is born in
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...
, to Skalla-Grímr Kveldúlfsson and Bera Yngvarsdóttir; he is the grandson of Kveld-Úlfr (whose name means "evening Wolf"). Another of his ancestors, Hallbjörn, is Norwegian- Sami. Skalla-Grímr is a respected chieftain, and mortal enemy of King
Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from  872 to 930 and was the first King of No ...
of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
. He migrates to Iceland, settling at Borg where his father Kveld-Úlfr's coffin lands after being ritualistically set adrift as Skalla-Grímr's boat approached Iceland. Skalla-Grímr and wife Bera had two daughters, Sæunn and Þórunn, and two sons, Þorolfr and Egil. Egil composed his first poem at the age of three years. He exhibits berserk behaviour, and this, together with the description of his large and unattractive head, has led to the theory that he might have suffered from Paget's disease, which causes a thickening of the bones and may lead eventually to blindness. At the age of seven, Egil is cheated in a game with local boys. Enraged, he goes home, procures an axe, and, returning to the boys, splits the skull to the teeth of the boy who had cheated him. After Berg-Önundr refuses to allow Egil to claim his wife Ásgerðr's share of her father's inheritance, he challenged Önundr to a man-to-man fight on an island (a ''hólmganga''). Berg-Önundr refuses the challenge but is later killed along with his brother Hadd by Egil. Egil is later to kill the last of the brothers, Atli the Short, by biting through Atli's neck during a holmgangr. Later, after being grievously insulted, Egil kills Bárðr of Atley, a retainer of King Eiríkr Bloodaxe and kinsman of Queen Gunnhildr, both of whom spend the remainder of their lives trying to take vengeance. Seething with hatred, Gunnhildr orders her two brothers, Eyvindr Braggart and Álfr Aksmann, to assassinate Egil and his brother Þórólfr, who has been on good terms with her previously. However, Egil slays the Queen's brothers when they attempt to confront him. In spring Þórólfr and Egil prepare a large warship and raid along the Eastern route (''Austrvegr''), where they win much wealth and have many battles. In
Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia ...
they make a peace for half a month and trade with the men of the land (ch. 46). That same summer, Haraldr Fairhair dies. In order to secure his place as sole King of Norway, Eiríkr Bloodaxe murders his two brothers. He then declares Egil an outlaw in Norway. Berg-Önundr gathers a company of men to capture Egil, but is killed during his attempt to do so. Before escaping from Norway, Egil also slays Rögnvaldr, the son of King Eiríkr and Queen Gunnhildr. He then curses the King and Queen, setting a horse's head on a '' Nithing pole'' and saying :"Here I set up a ''níð''-pole, and declare this ''níð'' against King Eiríkr and Queen Gunnhildr,"—he turned the horse-head to face the mainland—"I declare this ''níð'' at the land-spirits there, and the land itself, so that all will fare astray, not to hold nor find their places, not until they wreak King Eiríkr and Gunnhildr from the land." He set up the pole of níð in the cliff-face and left it standing; he faced the horse's eyes on the land, and he carved runes upon the pole, and said all the formal words of the curse. (ch. 57). Gunnhildr also puts a spell on Egil, cursing him to feel restless and depressed until they meet again. Soon afterwards, Eiríkr and Gunnhildr are forced to flee to the Kingdom of Northumbria by Prince Hákon. In
Saxon England Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when it was united as the Kingdom of ...
, they become King and Queen of
Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
in rivalry with King Athelstan of England. In time, Egil is shipwrecked in Northumbria and learns who rules the land. Egil seeks out the house of his good friend Arinbjörn, where they arm themselves and march to Eiríkr's court. Arinbjörn tells Egil "now you must go and offer the king your head and embrace his foot. I will present your case to him." Arinbjörn presents Egil's case and Egil composes a short ''
drápa A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionall ...
'', reciting it with Eiríkr's foot in his hand, but Eiríkr is not impressed. He explains that Egil's wrongs to him were far too great to be forgiven so easily. Gunnhildr calls for the immediate execution of Egil, but Arinbjörn convinces the king not to kill him until the morning. Arinbjörn tells Egil that he should stay up all night and compose a mighty head-ransom poem or ''drápa'' fit for such a king, a poem in praise of his enemy. In the morning Egil goes back before king Eiríkr and recites the great ''drápa''. This twenty-stanza long head-ransom poem appears in Chapter 63 of '' Egils saga''. Eiríkr is so surprised by the quality of the poem that he decides to give Egil his life, even though Egil has killed Eiríkr's own son. The complex nature of these poems, with complex poetic metres and metaphors (including kennings), as well as the fact that they were often about kings reliably attested in the historical record, provides some basis for supposing that they might have been composed by a historically real Egil Skallagrímsson, descending more or less unchanged through
oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and Culture, cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Traditio ...
from the time of their composition to the writing of ''Egils saga''. ''Egils saga'' and some other Icelandic sagas appear to hang on a skeletal framework of such complex poetry, a spine of historical truth. Egil also fights at the Battle of Brunanburh in the service of King Æthelstan; his brother Þórólfr dies there, for which Egil receives two chests of silver from Æthelstan in compensation. Ultimately, Egil returns to his family farm in
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...
, where he remains a force to be reckoned with in local politics. He lives into his eighties, grows blind, and dies shortly before the Christianisation of Iceland. Before Egil dies he buries his silver near
Mosfellsbær Mosfellsbær (, colloquially Mosó) is a town in south-west Iceland, east of the country's capital, Reykjavík. The town of Mosfellsbær is a 15-minute drive from midtown Reykjavík. The district includes the Leiruvogur cove, which forms part of ...
. In his last act of violence he kills the servants who help him bury his treasure. When a Christian
chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...
is constructed at the family homestead, Egil's body is exhumed by his son and re-buried near the
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...
. According to the saga, the exhumed skull bone was hit with an axe, and it only turned white, showing the strength of the warrior, but also, according to one modern interpretations, suggesting the traits of Paget's disease.


Physical appearance

In chapter 55 of Egil's Saga, his appearance is described as follows


Issue

According to ''Egils saga'', Egil has five children with Ásgerðr Björnsdóttir: Þorgerðr Egilsdóttir, Bera Egilsdóttir, Böðvar Egilsson, Gunnar Egilsson and Þorsteinn Egilsson. In later years, Iceland's Mýrar clan claimed descent from him.


Poems

Apart from being a warrior of immense might in literary sources, Egil is also celebrated for his poetry, considered by many historians to be the finest of the ancient Scandinavian poets and '' Sonatorrek'', the dirge over his own sons, has been called "the birth of Nordic personal lyric poetry". His poems were also the first Old Norse verses to use
end rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...
.Jansson 1980:26-27 The following works are attributed to Egil: #''Aðalsteinsdrápa''. ''
Drápa A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionall ...
'' for the Anglo-Saxon
King Æthelstan King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...
. #'' Höfuðlausn'' ("The Head Ransom", sometimes referred to as "Head-Ransom"), with which Egil bought his life from Eiríkr Bloodaxe, who had sentenced him to death in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. #'' Sonatorrek'' ("The Loss of a Son"). After the death of his son Böðvar who drowned during a storm. #''
Arinbjarnarkviða Egil Skallagrimsson 17c manuscript. ''Arinbjarnarkviða'' is a skaldic poem by Egill Skalla-Grímsson in praise of his friend Arinbjörn. The poem is preserved in Möðruvallabók but not in other manuscripts of ''Egils saga ''Egill's Saga'' ...
''. Dedicated to his companion Arinbjörn #''Skjaldardrápa''. #''Berudrápa''. #''Lausavísur''. #Fragments The following is one of Egil's ''Lausavísur'' (no. 3), found in chapter 40 of ''Egils Saga'':


Runes

Egil was also a scholar of
runes Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, and for specialised ...
. His apparent mastery of their magic powers assisted him several times during his journeys. During a feast at Atla-isle, Bard's attempt to poison Egil failed when a rune carved by Egil shattered his poisoned cup. At a companion's request, he examined a sick woman. A local land owner, after being denied her hand in marriage, had attempted to carve love-runes. Instead, he had mistakenly carved runes causing illness. Egil burned the offending runes and carved runes for health, and the woman recovered. He then sang a poem declaring that "Runes none should grave ever/Who knows not to read them." As for the sick young woman, in addition to burning the runes, Egil ordered her to be lifted out of bed and her old bedding to be thrown away and replaced with new sheets. Recovery was swift. Runes were also employed by Egil during the raising of the Nithing Pole against King Eirik Bloodaxe and Queen Gunnhildr.


Egil in popular culture

* The Icelandic brewery Ölgerðin Egil Skallagrímsson is named after him. * There is a talk show on Icelandic television called ''Egil's Silver'', named after Egil's hidden treasure (the title is also a play on words with the host's name being Egil.) * "Egil's Silver" is also the name of a song by
Megas Magnús Þór Jónsson (born 7 April 1945), better known by the stage name Megas, is a vocalist, songwriter, and writer who is well known in his native Iceland. Interest in music Being an admirer of Elvis Presley, Megas welcomed the arrival of r ...
, from his first album. * In the Society for Creative Anachronism Barony of Adiantum there is an "Egil Skallagrimsson Memorial Tournament" held annually on memorial day weekend. * The novelist Poul Anderson (a member of the SCA) wrote '' Mother of Kings'',New York: Tor (, ), 2001, 2003 a historical fantasy centered on Gunnhildr and the long feud that she, Eirikr, and their children had with Egil. The novel is based on '' Heimskringla'' and '' Egils Saga''. * "Egil Saga" is a song on the album ''Licht'' by the German band,
Faun The faun (, grc, φαῦνος, ''phaunos'', ) is a half- human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were spirits (genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their ...
. The lyrics are taken from " Egils Saga" and tell the story of the girl made sick by the runes and how Egil cured her. * Egil Skallagrímsson is a character in the historical fiction series Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell, who settles in Northumbria for a time as a close friend and ally to a fictionalized Uhtred of Bebbanburg. Similar to his historical counterpart, he fights at the Battle of Brunanburh, alongside his brother Thorolfr and Lord Uhtred.


Footnotes


References

*Jansson, Sven B. (1980). ''Runstenar''. STF, Stockholm. *Palsson, Hermann and Edwards, Paul (Translators), ''Egil's Saga'' 1976, Penguin Classics *Thorsson, Örnólfur, ed. (2000). ''The Sagas of the Icelanders'': A Selection. New York, New York: Penguin Putnam.


External links


Poems
at Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages website In
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
:
Egil's saga
- English translation (W. C. Green) at the Icelandic Saga Database, with original Old Norse and Icelandic text
Egil Skallagrimsson and the Viking Ideal
by Christina von Nolcken, from a
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
website
Egil's Bones
from a
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the Californ ...
website
Text of the saga
translated into English by Rev. W. C. Green in 1893, from the Northvegr Foundation In Icelandic:
Egils saga
��Text of Egils saga at the Icelandic Saga Database, modern spelling and Old Norse version

with modern spelling

{{DEFAULTSORT:Egill Skallagrimsson 10th-century Vikings 900s births 990s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain Viking warriors 10th-century Icelandic poets