Tuesday 2 August 2011

Þorgeirr Hávarsson: A Headless Footnote

Fóstbræðra saga ('The Saga of the Sworn-Brothers'), which is set for the most part in the West Fjords and which I wrote about earlier this year in May when I was there (see post of 14th June), tells the story of two immensely strong and brave warriors and friends (Þórmóðr Kolbrúnarskáld Bersason and Þorgeirr Hávarsson) who swear to avenge each others' deaths...

One place I could not visit when I was exploring Fóstbræðra saga locations around the West Fjords was the site where Þorgeirr fought his last battle, died, and was buried...because this place is in north-east Iceland, on the peninsula called Melrakkaslétta ('Arctic fox plain'). Þorgeirr is attacked by his enemies there in the bay/harbour called Hraunhöfn, on board his ship: there is a violent battle and Þorgeirr kills 14 men before eventually being overcome. Once fallen, Þorgeirr's head is chopped from his trunk by a man called Þórarinn ofsi ('the overbearing').

Hraunhafnartangi, looking south
Þorgeirsdys is to the left of the lighthouse as pictured

The saga narrator tells us how further bodily mutilation is inflicted on Þorgeirr's corpse out of anatomical curiosity: 'Some men say that they cleaved him to the heart and wanted to see what it was like, him being the courageous man he was, and men say that his heart was rather small; and some men believe it to be true that the heart of a courageous man is smaller than that of a coward, because men say there is less blood in a small heart than a big one, and say that the amount of blood in a heart is concomitant with fear, and men say thus the heart of a man drops/throbs in the breast when the blood and heart is stirred up in a man' (Svá segja sumir menn, at þeir klyfði hann til hjarta ok vildu sjá, hvílíkt væri, svá hugprúðr sem hann var, en menn segja, at hjartat væri harla lítit, ok höfðu sumir menn þat fyrir satt, at minni sé hugprúðra manna hjörtu en huglaussa, því at menn kalla minna blóð í litlu hjarta en miklu, en kalla hjartablóði hræzlu fylgja, ok segja menn því detta hjarta manna í brjóstinu, at þá hræðisk hjartablóðit ok hjartat í manninum; Fóstbræðra saga, ed. Björn K. Þórólfsson and Guðni Jónsson, Íslenzk fornrit 6, Reykjavík 1943, ch. 17 pp. 210-11). In the version of the saga found in the manuscript called Hauksbók, Þorgeirr's heart is said to be no bigger than a walnut, hard as a callous, and without any blood in it... 

After the battle, Þórarinn ofsi rides off to Eyjafjörður with Þorgeirr's head in a bag: Þórarinn and his men amuse themselves en route by taking the head out and mocking it...until they take fright at its horrible appearance (its eyes stare back at them, open-wide, and the tongue lolls out of the open mouth) and they bury it not far from a place called Naust. Back on Melrakkaslétta, local men clear up the aftermath of battle, burying the men who have fallen right there because the nearest church at that time was a long way away. 

Þorgeirsdys looking east
There is a lighthouse on Hraunhafnartangi ('Lava-harbour-point') now, and not far from it is a huge stone cairn, known as Þorgeirsdys ('Þorgeirr's cairn'). The peninsula is bleak and windswept, grey boulders piled up high along the shoreline and endless driftwood and tangles of old fishing-nets that have been washed ashore. I walked out to the cairn, after having read a small notice that explains why the cairn is so huge: it is a tradition to add a stone to the cairn, and then to walk clockwise around it, making a wish for others' happiness and good luck while doing so. My stone added, and my wishes sent up to the sky, I wandered back to the Embulance -- thinking about Þorgeirr and the distance between his head and body, and feeling somewhat vulnerable as far as my own head was concerned as angry arctic terns (kría in Icelandic) dive-bombed and screeched angrily at me for disturbing their otherwise completely uninhabited patch...

From the foot of Þorgeirsdys

12 comments:

  1. Siiiis, we miss you. You're adventures and the latest saga sounds epic and wonderful. Keep your icey spirits high and keep the rab kit close! Can't wait to speak/ see you soon. Love bro xxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Guys!! I am Belinda. I live in Chicago USA. I am very excited today and do not know where to start my testimony from. I was a poor woman with 3 kids and found it difficult to pay my bills and feed my kids. My husband left me and the kids for another woman and ever since then we were living in pain and hunger but just few days ago i came across a testimony of a man who got a blank ATM card from Mr.Alexander so i immediately contacted him for the same type of ATM card and i am very happy to announce to the world that i am living a fulfilled life.This blank ATM card can withdraw up to 10,000 dollars and more daily without you having any account with any bank. I have been able to buy a house and start my own business with this blank ATM card. The card works in all countries and  that  is  the good  news.  Make  your  order  today  via  Alexander's  email  address :alexanderhackers01@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good day everyone reading this, My name is Sarah Keith and I am from the USA. I want to give a short testimony on how I was able to get a legit blank ATM card! As at last week I urgently needed money to pay my kids bills and get some stuffs for the home, I was having no where to get any help so I was online and I saw a post that Mr Alexander is giving out blank ATM card, So I have to give them a try because I needed money urgently I copied his email address and sent her a personal message applying for the blank card, I got a reply from him and I sent them all what they asked me to my greatest surprise they really delivered the card to me in my door steps, I got the card and went straight to the nearest ATM machine to give a try and it really works,I made a lot of money from the card!! Now am doing great and living good life with my family please if you are out there in need of help urgently please contact Mr Alexander  via email:alexenderhackers01@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good day everyone reading this, My name is Sarah Keith and I am from the USA. I want to give a short testimony on how I was able to get a legit blank ATM card! As at last week I urgently needed money to pay my kids bills and get some stuffs for the home, I was having no where to get any help so I was online and I saw a post that Mr Alexander is giving out blank ATM card, So I have to give them a try because I needed money urgently I copied his email address and sent her a personal message applying for the blank card, I got a reply from him and I sent them all what they asked me to my greatest surprise they really delivered the card to me in my door steps, I got the card and went straight to the nearest ATM machine to give a try and it really works,I made a lot of money from the card!! Now am doing great and living good life with my family please if you are out there in need of help urgently please contact Mr Alexander  via email:alexenderhackers01@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello Guys!! I am Belinda. I live in Chicago,USA. I am very excited today and do not know where to start my testimony from. I was a poor woman with 3 kids and found it difficult to pay my bills and feed my kids. My husband left me and the kids for another woman and ever since then we were living in pain and hunger but just few days ago i came across a testimony of a man who got a blank ATM card from Mr.Alexander so i immediately contacted him for the same type of ATM card and i am very happy to announce to the world that i am living a fulfilled life.This blank ATM card can withdraw up to 10,000 dollars and more daily without you having any account with any bank. I have been able to buy a house and start my own business with this blank ATM card. The card works in all countries and  that  is  the good  news.  Make  your  order  today and start living a good life, his email address is alexanderhackers01@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello Guys!! I am Belinda. I live in Chicago,USA. I am very excited today and do not know where to start my testimony from. I was a poor woman with 3 kids and found it difficult to pay my bills and feed my kids. My husband left me and the kids for another woman and ever since then we were living in pain and hunger but just few days ago i came across a testimony of a man who got a blank ATM card from Mr.Alexander so i immediately contacted him for the same type of ATM card and i am very happy to announce to the world that i am living a fulfilled life.This blank ATM card can withdraw up to 10,000 dollars and more daily without you having any account with any bank. I have been able to buy a house and start my own business with this blank ATM card. The card works in all countries and  that  is  the good  news.  Make  your  order  today and start living a good life, his email address is alexanderhackers01@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. GET YOUR BLANK ATM CARD Get $5,500 USD every day, for six months! See how it works Do you know you can hack into any ATM machine with a hacked ATM card?? make up your mind before applying, straight deal... Order for a blank ATM card now and get millions within a week!: contact us via email address::alexanderhackers01@gmail.com We have specially programmed ATM cards that can be used to hack ATM machines, the ATM cards can be used to withdraw at the ATM or swipe, at any store or POS. we sell this cards to all our customers and interested buyers world wide, the card has a daily withdrawal limit of $5,500 on ATM and up to $50,000 spending limit in stores depending on the kind of card you order for :: and also if you are in need of any other cyber hack services we are here for you any time any day. Here is our price list for the ATM CARDS: Cards that withdraw $5,500 per day costs $380 USD Cards that withdraw $10,000 per day costs $665 USD Cards that withdraw $35,000 per day costs $3,550 USD Cards that withdraw $50,000 per day costs $5,500 USD Cards that withdraw $100,000 per day costs $8,000 USD Make up your mind before applying, straight deal!!! The price include shipping fees and charges, order now: contact us via email address::alexanderhackers01@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. GET YOUR BLANK ATM CARD Get $5,500 USD every day, for six months! See how it works Do you know you can hack into any ATM machine with a hacked ATM card?? make up your mind before applying, straight deal... Order for a blank ATM card now and get millions within a week!: contact us via email address::alexanderhackers01@gmail.com We have specially programmed ATM cards that can be used to hack ATM machines, the ATM cards can be used to withdraw at the ATM or swipe, at any store or POS. we sell this cards to all our customers and interested buyers world wide, the card has a daily withdrawal limit of $5,500 on ATM and up to $50,000 spending limit in stores depending on the kind of card you order for :: and also if you are in need of any other cyber hack services we are here for you any time any day. Here is our price list for the ATM CARDS: Cards that withdraw $5,500 per day costs $380 USD Cards that withdraw $10,000 per day costs $665 USD Cards that withdraw $35,000 per day costs $3,550 USD Cards that withdraw $50,000 per day costs $5,500 USD Cards that withdraw $100,000 per day costs $8,000 USD Make up your mind before applying, straight deal!!! The price include shipping fees and charges, order now: contact us via email address::alexanderhackers01@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. PLEASE READ!!!
    Hello Everyone, I'm Lucy, 32 Years Old. I live in Virginia,USA. I have 2 kids and I had to look after them after my husband died in a road accident. I was working as an accountant until I lost my job last year due to Covid-19, I had not paid my bills and my kids were scared of getting evicted from the house. So one morning I was online trying to find a new job that I can work and get paid hourly. Then I came across Mr. Sebastian comments on how he helped many people get their blank ATM card that changed their life for good. I decided to contact Mr Sebastian for same blank ATM card since it was difficult for me to feed my kids and pay their bills i emailed him at (sebastianhackers01@gmail.com) and they responded immediately i agreed to their terms and conditions and believe me to my greatest surprise i received my card in 2 days delivered by DHL and i went straight to the nearest atm machine i was able to withdraw $10,000 instantly with no trace of getting caught i was happy and now i have used the card to withdraw $100,000 and i keep renewing my card every time it expires.Thank you Sebastian if you need his help out there contact him now: sebastianhackers01@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. All thanks to Mr Anderson Carl for helping with my profits and making my fifth withdrawal possible. I'm here to share an amazing life changing opportunity with you. its called Bitcoin / Forex trading options. it is a highly lucrative business which can earn you as much as $2,570 in a week from an initial investment of just $200. I am living proof of this great business opportunity. If anyone is interested in trading on bitcoin or any cryptocurrency and want a successful trade without losing notify Mr Anderson Carl now on Whatsapp: +1(252)285-2093 Email: andersoncarlassettrade@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. Victim of a BTC Scam? Contact Ultimate Hacker Jerry to recover your Lost Bitcoin.

    Have you ever been a victim of a scam? or have you Suffered a loss from a Fraudulent Ponzi Scheme? I implore you to Contact Ultimate Hacker Jerry, A Certified hacker and Lost Crypto Recovery Expert. I once fell victim to an online imposter who convinced me to invest in a phoney Cryptocurrency scheme by claiming to have made large profits from the plan. My Trezor wallet contained $219,100 in Crypto that I lost, I had been reporting to the Authorities tirelessly for a longtime without getting assistance before I finally got in touch with Ultimate Hacker Jerry. Fortunately after a serious conversation with Ultimate Hacker Jerry all my funds were recovered back.
    I recommend this Expert to any victim who has lost Crypto to any fake online Ponzi Scheme..

    Get in touch with ULTIMATE HACKER JERRY
    Through ; Mail (Ultimatehackerjerry@seznam. cz)
    WhatsAp, (+1,5/20,2827,15,1)

    ReplyDelete