The Complete

Fornaldarsögur Norðurlanda

Legendary Sagas of the Northland

in English Translation

Svo er sagt af Grími loðinkinna, að hann var bæði mikill og sterkur og hinn mesti garpur. Því var hann loðinkinni kallaður, að kinn hans önnur var vaxin með dökkt hár, og með því var hann alinn. Ekki beit þar járn á. Grímur tók við búi í Hrafnistu eftir Ketil hæng, föður sinn. Hann gerðist ríkur að fé. Hann réð og nálega einn öllu um allt Hálogaland.

Haraldur hét einn hersir ríkur og ágætur í Vík austur. Hann átti Geirhildi, dóttur Sölga konungs, Hrólfssonar konungs úr Bergi af Upplöndum. Dóttir þeirra hét Lofthæna. Hún var kvenna fríðust og vel mennt. Þangað fór Grímur loðinkinni á skútu við átjánda mann og bað Lofthænu sér til handa. Var það að ráðum ráðið, og skyldi hann sækja brullaupið um haustið. En sjö nóttum fyrr hvarf Lofthæna burt, og vissi enginn, hvað af henni varð. En er hann kom til brullaupsins, saknar hann vinar í stað, er brúðurin var í burtu, og þóttist hann þó vita, að faðir hennar olli þar engu um. Þar sat hann þrjár nætur, og drukku þeirr og þó með lítilli kæti. Síðan fór hann heim í Hrafnistu.
 

Það hafði borið til fimm árum fyrr, að kona Haralds hersis hafði andast en hann fékk ári síðar norðan af Finnmörk Grímhildar Jösursdóttur og hafði hana heim til sín. Skjótt þótti hún þar öllu spilla. Illa var hún til Lofthænu, stjúpdóttur sinnar, sem síðar bar raun á. Grímur undi lítt við hag sinn, er hann spurði ekki til Lofthænu, festarkonu sinnar.

Það bar þá til sem oftar, að hallæri mikið kom á Hálogaland. Grímur loðinkinni bjóst þá heiman og fór á ferju sinni við þriðja mann. Hann hélt norður fyrir Finnmörk og svo austur til Gandvíkur. Og er hann kom í víkina, sá hann, að þar var nógur veiðifangi. Setti hann þar upp skip sitt og gekk síðan til skála og kveikti upp eld fyrir sér.

En er þeir voru í svefn komnir um nóttina, vöknuðu þeir við það, að kominn var stormur með svartahríð. Svo mikil grimmd fylgdi veðri þessu, að allt sýldi, bæði úti og inni. Um morguninn, er þeir voru klæddir, gengu þeir út og til sjávar. Sáu þeir þá, að á burtu var allur veiðifangi, svo að hvergi sá staði. Þóttust þeir nú ekki vel staddir, en ekki gaf á burtu. Gengu þeir nú heim til skála og voru þar um daginn.
 

Um nóttina vaknar Grímur við það, að hlegið var úti hjá skálanum. Hann spratt þá upp skjótt og tók öxi sína og gekk út. Hann hafði og með sér sem ávallt endranær örvarnar Gusisnauta, er Ketill hængur, faðir hans, hafði gefið honum. En er hann kom út, sá hann tvær tröllkonur við skip niðri, og tók í sinn stafninn hvor þeira og ætluðu að hrista í sundur skipið. Grímur mælti og kvað vísu:

Sú kvað vísu, er nær honum stóð:

Grímur tók þá eina af Gusisnautum og skaut þá, er firr honum stóð, svo að hún fékk þegar bana. Feima mælti: "Illa fór nú, Kleima systir."
Hún veður þá upp að Grími. Hann höggur þá til hennar með öxinni, og kom á herðarblaðið. Hún kvað við hátt og hljóp inn með fjörum. Grími varð laus öxin við höggið, og stóð hún föst í sárinu. Grímur hljóp eftir, og bar hvorki með þeim sundur né saman, og allt þar til að þau komu að björgum stórum. Þar sá hann framan í björgunum helli mikinn. Þar var einstigi upp að ganga, og hljóp hún þar upp sem sléttan völl. Og í því er hún hóf sig til hlaups upp í björgin, hraut öxin úr sárinu. Grímur tók hana þegar upp, og varð hann að krækja öxinni í annað sporið, er hann stóð í öðru, og las sig svo eftir skaptinu, og svo komst hann upp í hellinn. Þar sá hann brenna bjartan eld, og sátu tvö tröll við eldinn. Það var karl og kerling. Þau spyrndust í iljar. Þau voru í stuttum og skörpum skinnstökkum bæði. Gerla sá hann, hversu þau voru í sköpun bæði í millum fótanna. Hann hét Hrímnir, en hún Hyrja. En er Feima kom inn í hellinn, heilsuðu þau henni og spurðu, hvar Kleima, systir hennar, væri.
Hún svarar: "Gettu þessna, hún liggur dauð út með fjörum, en ég særð banasári. En þið liggið inni og fletist hér við eld."

Jötunninn mælti: "Þetta hefir verið lítið fremdarverk, að drepa ykkur, aðra sex vetra, en hina sjö. Eða hver hefir gert þetta?"

Feima svarar: "Þetta hefir gert illmennið Grímur loðinkinni. Eru þeir feðgar meir lagðir til þess en aðrir menn að drepa niður tröll og bergbúa. En þó að hann hafi nú þetta gert, þá mun hann þó aldrei ná Lofthænu, konu sinni. Og er það nú gaman, svo skammt sem nú er á millum þeirra."

Grímnir mælti þá: "Því veldur Grímhildur, systir mín, og er henni flest til mennta gefið."

Þá mæddi Feimu blóðrás, og féll hún dauð niður. Í því gekk Grímur inn í hellinn og hjó til Hrímnis karls svo hart, að af tók höfuðið. Þá spratt Hyrja kerling upp og rann á hann, og tóku þau að glíma, og var þeirra atgangur bæði harður og langur, því að hún var ið mesta tröll, en Grímur var rammur að afli. En þó lauk svo, að hann brá henni á loftmjöðm, svo að hún féll. Hjó hann þá af henni höfuðið og gekk af henni dauðri, fór síðan til skála síns.

It’s said of Grim Shaggy-Cheek that he was big and strong and quite dauntless. He was called Shaggy-Cheek because one of his cheeks was covered in dark hair, and he was born like that. No iron could cut him there. Grim took over the farm at Hrafnista after his father Ketil Trout. He became rich. Besides that, he was virtually sole ruler over the whole of Halogaland.

Harald was a noted and powerful lord down south in Oslo Fjord.[1] He was married to Geirhild, daughter of King Solgi, who was the son of King Hrolf of Berg in the Uplands. Their daughter was called Lopthoena. She was the fairest of women, well bred and accomplished in skills and refinements. Grim went there in a boat with eighteen men and asked for Lopthoena’s hand in marriage. That was agreed and the wedding set for autumn. But seven nights before the big day, Lopthoena vanished, and no one knew what had become of her. And when Grim came to the wedding, he had something of a shock to find his bride gone, but he felt sure that her father had nothing to do with it. He stayed there three nights and they drank but with little joy. Then he went home to Hrafnista.

Five years earlier, it happened that Harald’s wife had died, and a year after that he married Grimhild Josur’s daughter from Finnmark in the north and brought her home with him. Soon she seemed to spoil everything. She hated her stepdaughter Lopthoena as would become apparent later.

Grim was not too happy with his life when he heard nothing about Lopthoena, his bride-to-be. Then, as so often happens, there came a great famine to Halogaland. Grim Shaggy-Cheek got ready to set out and went in his boat with two other men. He headed north for Finnmark and so east to Gandvik,[2] and when he entered the bay, he saw there was plenty of fish there. He drew his boat onto land and then walked up to a shelter and lit himself a fire.

But when they’d gone to sleep for the night, they were woken by a storm and a blinding blizzard. Such bitter cold came with this storm that everything froze, inside and out. Come morning, when they were dressed, they went out to the sea. Then they saw that all the fish had gone, leaving not a trace. They didn’t think they were in such a good spot now, but there was no wind to sail away. So they went back to the shack and spent the day there.

In the night, Grim wakes to hear laughter right outside the hut. He jumped up quick and got his axe and went out. He also had with him, as ever, the arrows Gusir’s Gifts, that his father Ketil Trout had given him. But when he came out, he saw two troll-women down by the boat, tugging one at either end of it, and they seemed set on shaking it to pieces. And Grim spoke this verse:
 
“What names do they bear,
those basalt-dwellers
who want to shake
my ship to bits?
More dreadful dames
I don’t think I’ve seen,
a pair more appalling
in appearance, to date.
 
The one nearest him said this verse:
 
“Bashful they call me,
born up north,
from the High Fell,
Frosty’s daughter.
So superior
my sister here,
Splodge they call her,
she’s come to the sea.”
 
Grim said:
 
“Worst of women,
you won’t get far,
giant maidens,
when I get mad.
Before sun-up
I’ll send you straight
to wolves, a tasty
treat for sure.”
 
Splodge said:
 
“Before we fared
our father cast spells;
it was he who drove hence
the herds of the wave.
You mortal men
will never make it
safe home from here
if that’s not your fate.”
 
Grim said:
  
“I’ll promise the pair of you
a speedy piercing,
steel bolts for starters
and spikes that strike.
They’ll find out then,
will Frosty’s girls,
whether point or paw
will prove the best.”
 

Then Grim took one of Gusir’s Gifts and shot the troll who stood furthest from him so that she died. Bashful said, “That went badly, sister Splodge.”
Then she wades up to Grim. So he hacks at her with the axe and it hit her shoulder-blade. She gave a yelp and raced in along the beach. Grim lost his grip on the axe and it stuck fast in the wound. Grim gave chase—he couldn’t catch her but neither did she manage to shake him—and so it went on till they came to some big cliffs. Then he saw, there in the cliff-face, a great cave. There was a narrow path leading up into it, and she raced up it as fast as if she was running on level ground. And as she leapt up into the cliff, the axe slipped out of the wound. Grim picked it straight up, and he had to hook the axe in one crack while he put his foot in the next, and he hauled himself up by the handle, and in this way he got up to the cave.
He saw a bright fire burning there, and two old trolls sat by the fire, a male and a female, with the souls of their feet touching. They were both dressed in short smocks made of shrivelled skins. He couldn’t help seeing what they each had between their legs. He was called Frosty and she Fiery. And when Bashful came into the cave, they greeted her and asked where her sister Splodge was.
She answered, “Get this: she’s lying dead out on the shore and I’m mortally wounded. And here are you two, lying by the fire.”
The giant said, “That wasn’t much of a feat, killing you two little girls, one six and the other seven. Who did this anyway?”
Bashful answered, “It was that wicked man, Grim Shaggy-Cheek—he did it. Him and his father are more to blame than most for killings of trolls and mountain giants. But still, even though he’s done this, he still won’t ever find his woman Lopthoena. And it’s funny to think how close they are now.”

Then Frosty said, “That’s my sister Grimhild’s doing. She is most accomplished.”

Then Bashful got faint from loss of blood and she fell down dead. That instant, Grim stepped into the cave and hacked so hard at Frosty that he took his head off. Then the woman Fiery jumped up and ran at him, and they wrestled hard and long, for she was a big huge troll, and Grim a powerful man. But the upshot was, he caught her out and threw her over his hip so she fell. Then he cut off her head and, leaving her dead there, he went back to his shack. 

Annan dag eftir var veður gott. Gengu þeir þá um fjörur og sáu, hvar rekin var reyður mikil. Gengu þeir þangað og tóku til hvalskurðar. Litlu síðar sá Grímur, hvar tólf menn gengu. Þá bar brátt að. Grímur heilsar þeim og spyrr að nafni. Sá kveðst heita Hreiðarr hinn hvatvísi, er fyrir þeim var, og spurði, hví Grímur vildi ræna hann eigu sinni. Grímur kveðst fyrr hafa fundið hvalinn.
"Veiztu eigi," sagði Hreiðarr, "að ég á hér reka alla?"
"Eigi veit ég það," sagði Grímur, "en hversu sem er, þá höfum að helmingi."
"Eigi vil ég það," sagði Hreiðarr. "Þér skuluð gera annaðhvort, ganga frá hvalnum ella munum vér berjast."
"Fyrr gerum vér það," sagði Grímur, "en missa allan hvalinn," fóru síðan til og börðust, og gerðist þar hin harðasta sókn. Hreiðarr og hans menn voru bæði stórhöggvir og vopnfimir, og innan lítils tíma féllu báðir menn Gríms. Var þá bardagi hinn harðasti, en þó lauk svo, að Hreiðarr féll og allir menn hans. Grímur féll og bæði af sárum og mæði. Lá hann þar nú í valnum í fjörunni og ætlaði sér ekki nema dauða.
En er hann hafði eigi lengi legið, sá hann, hvar kona gekk, ef svo skyldi kalla. Hún var eigi hærri en sjö vetra gamlar stúlkur, en svo digur, að Grímur hugði, að hann mundi eigi geta feðmt um hana. Hún var langleit og harðleit, bjúgnefjuð og baröxluð, svartleit og svipilkinnuð, fúlleit og framsnoðin. Svört var hún bæði á hár og á hörund. Hún var í skörpum skinnstakki. Hann tók eigi lengra en á þjóhnappa henni á bakið. Harðla ókyssilig þótti honum hún vera, því að hordingullinn hékk ofan fyrir hváptana á henni.
Hún gengur þangað að, sem Grímur lá, og mælti: "Lágt fara nú höfðingjarnir Háleygjanna, eða viltu, Grímur, þiggja líf af mér?"
Grímur svarar: "Varla kann ég það, svo ámátleg sem þú ert, eða hvert er nafn þitt?"
Hún svarar: "Ég heiti Geirríður Gandvíkurekkja. Máttu það ætla, að ég er hér nokkurs ráðandi um víkina, og ger þig greiðan í öðru hvoru."
Grímur svarar: "Það er fornt orð, að frekur er hver til fjörsins, og mun ég það kjósa að þiggja líf af þér."
Hún greip hann þá upp undir skinnstakkinn og hljóp með hann sem eitt lébarn og svo hart, að hann var vinds fullur. Hún létti eigi fyrri en þau komu að helli einum stórum, og er hún lét hann niður, sýndist Grími hún slíkt að ámátlegri en fyrr.
"Nú ertu hér kominn," sagði hún, "og vil ég, að þú launir mér, að ég barg þér og bar hingað, og kyssir mig nú."
"Það má ég engan veg gera," sagði Grímur, "svo fjandlega sem mér líst nú á þig."

"Þá mun ég enga þjónustu þér veita," sagði Geirríður, "og sé ég, að þá ertu skjótt sem dauður."

"Það mun þá þó vera verða," sagði Grímur, "þó að mér sé það mjög í móti skapi."

Hann gekk þá að henni og kyssti hana. Eigi þótti honum hún svo ill viðkomu sem hún var hrímugleg að sjá. Þá var komið að kveldi. Bjó Geirríður þá sæng og spurði, hvort Grímur vill liggja einn saman eða hjá sér. Grímur kvaðst heldur vilja liggja einn saman. Hún kveðst þá enga stund vilja á leggja að græða hann. Grímur sá, að það mátti honum eigi nægja, og kveðst þá heldur mundu hjá henni liggja, ef sá væri á baugi. Gerði hann þá svo. Batt hún áður öll sár hans, og þóttist hann hvorki kenna sviða né sárinda. Það þótti honum undarlegast, hversu mjúkfingruð hún var, svo ljótar hendur sem honum sýndist hún hafa, því að honum þótti þær gammsklóm líkari en mannshöndum. En þegar er þau komu í sæng, sofnaði Grímur.

En er hann vaknar, sá hann konu svo fagra liggja í sænginni hjá sér, að slíka þóttist hann varla séð hafa. Hann undraðist, hversu lík hún mátti vera sköpuð Lofthænu, festarkonu hans. Niðri fyrir stokkinum sá hann, hvar lá sá hinn illilegi tröllkonuhamur, er Geirríður Gandvíkurekkja hafði haft. Raun-máttlítil var þá þessi kona. Hann stóð upp skjótt og dró haminn fram í eldinn og brenndi upp að kolum.

Síðan fór hann til og dreypti á konuna, þar til að hún raknaði við og mælti: "Nú hefir hvorttveggja okkar vel: Ég gaf þér líf fyrir öndverðu, en þú komst mér úr ánauðum."

"Hversu komstu hér, eða með hverju móti er um hag þinn?" sagði Grímur.

Hún svarar: "Litlu síðar en þú varst farinn úr Vík austan frá Haraldi, föður mínum, mætti Grímhildur, stjúpmóðir mín, mér, svo talandi: "Nú skal ég það launa þér, Lofthæna, að þú hefir sýnt mér þrjósku og þverúð, síðan er ég kom í ríkið. Læt ég það verða um mælt, að þú verðir að hinni ljótustu tröllkonu og hverfir norður til Gandvíkur og byggir þar afhelli og sitjir þar í stóðrenni við Hrímni, bróður minn, og eigist þið við bæði margt og illt, og hafi það verr, sem verr herðir sig. Þú skalt og vera hvimleið öllum, bæði tröllum og mönnum. Þú skalt og," sagði hún, "í þessari ánauð vera alla þina ævi og aldrei úr komast, nema nokkurr mennskur maður játi þér þeim þrem hlutum, sem þú beiðir, sem ég veit, að enginn mun vera. Sá er hinn fyrsti að þiggja að þér líf, sá annarr að kyssa þig, og sá er hinn þriðji að byggja eina sæng og þú, sem öllum mun first um fara."Nú hefir þú þessa hluti alla við mig gerva, enda var þér og skyldast. Nú vil ég, að þú færir mig í Vík austur til föður míns og drekkir til mín brullaup eftir því, sem ælað var."

Síðan fóru þau heim til skála Gríms, og var þá nógur veiðifangi. Lá þá hvalur í hverri vík. Hlóð hann nú ferju sína, og er hann var búinn, hélt hann frá landi, og voru þau tvö á skipi, Grímur og Lofthæna. Tók hann þá til listar þeirrar, er haft hafði Ketill hængur, faðir hans, og aðrir Hrafnistumenn, að hann dró upp segl í logni, og rann þegar byrr á. Sigldi hann þá heim í Hrafnistu, og þóttust menn hann hafa heimtan úr helju.

Next day the weather was good. They went to the shore and saw that a big rorqual had run aground. They go down there and start cutting up the whale. After a while, Grim saw twelve men coming. They approached at speed. Grim hails them and asks their names. They leader says he’s called Hreidar the Rash, and asked why Grim was trying to make off with his property. Grim says he found the whale first.
“Don’t you know,” said Hreidar, “that I own whatever drifts ashore here?”
“I don’t know about that,” said Grim, “but be that as it may, we’ll still take half.”
“I don’t think so,” said Hreidar, “You’ve got two choices: leave the whale, or we’ll have to fight.”
“We’d rather do that,” said Grim, “than lose a whole whale.”
So they got to it, and fought, and that was the toughest set-to. Hreidar and his men dealt out heavy blows, and were nifty with their weapons too, and it wasn’t long before both of Grim’s men fell dead. Then a mighty battle ensued, but in the end, Hreidar fell and all his men. Grim fell too, from wounds and weariness. He lay there now among the dead on the beach, expecting nothing but death for himself too.
But he’d not been lying there long, when he saw a woman coming—if you could call her a woman. She couldn’t have been more than a seven year old girl, going by her height, but so fat, Grim doubted he could have got his arms around her. She was long-faced, hard-faced, hook-nosed, with hunched up shoulders, black-faced and wobbly-jowled, filthy-faced and bald at the front. Both hair and hide of her were black. She wore a shrivelled leather smock. It barely reached down to her buttocks. Hardly kissable, he thought, as she had a big bogie dangling down in front of her chops.
She went over to where Grim lay, and said, “The chiefs of Halogaland are in a bad way now, unless, Grim, you want to be saved by me?”
Grim answers, “I’m not sure about that, you being so ugly. What’s your name, anyway?”
She says, “I’m called Geirrid Gandvik-Bed; be aware that I have some say around the bay. So make up your mind, one way or the other.”

Grim answers, “There’s an old saying, that everyone’s greedy for life. I’ll chose to be saved by you.”
She snatched him up under her smock and ran with him like a baby, and so hard the wind filled it. She didn’t stop till they came to a cave in a big cliff, and when she let him down, she seemed to Grim just as ugly as before.
“Now you’re here,” she said, “and I want you to pay me back for saving you and bringing you off the beach, so kiss me now.”
“No way, I can’t do that,” said Grim, “you seem so fiendish to me.”
“Then I can’t help you,” said Geirrid, “in which case, I see, you’re as good as dead.”

“Well, I’ll just have to do it then,” said Grim, “though I’d really rather not.”

So he went to her and kissed her. She didn’t seem as bad to touch as she was to look at. And now it was evening. Geirrid made up a bed and asked whether Grim wanted to lie on his own or with her. Grim said he’d prefer to lie on his own. She says she didn’t want to waste any time healing him then. Grim saw this wouldn’t help him very much, and says in that case he’d rather lie with her, if those were his options. And that’s what he did. First she bound all his wounds, and he felt neither pain nor burning. He was amazed at how soft-fingered she was, how gentle, with such ugly hands as she seemed to have, which looked to him more like vulture’s claws than human hands. And the moment they were in bed, Grim slept.

But when he wakes, he saw such a beautiful woman lying in the bed beside him, he could hardly remember seeing anyone so pretty. He was surprised at how much she looked like Lopthoena, his betrothed. Down on the floor at the foot of the bed, he saw that hideous troll-husk Geirrid Gandvik-Bed had worn. There wasn’t much strength left in that one now. He got up quick and dragged the husk onto the fire and it burnt to ashes. Then he went over and dripped water on the woman till she came to and said, “Now we’re both alright. First I saved your life, and then you rescued me from this.”

“How did you get here? And for that matter, how did you end up like this?” said Grim.

She answers, “Not long after you left my father Harald in Oslo Fjord, my stepmother Grimhild met me and said, ‘Now I’m going to pay you back, Lopthoena, because you’ve shown me nothing but strop and stubbornness ever since I came to this country. This I do solemnly pronounce: May you turn into the ugliest troll-woman and vanish north to Gandvik and live there in a side-cave right next door to Frosty, my brother, and quarrel long and hard the pair of you, and may whoever is least able to keep their spirits up come off the worst. Also, you will be detested by all, trolls and men alike. And what’s more,’ she said, ‘you will be in this plight for the rest of your life and never get out, unless some human man agrees to these three things when you ask him (and I know there won’t be anyone to do that). This is the first: to let you save his life. This second: to kiss you. And this the third: to sleep in the same bed as you, you who will fare worse than anyone.’”
“Now,” said Lopthoena, “you’ve done all this for me, even though you had to. And what I want now is for you to take me home to my father in the south and then drink the wedding feast with me, as was intended.”

They went back to Grim’s shack, and there was plenty of game to be had now. A whale lay in every bay. He loaded his boat and when he was ready, put out from land, with the two of them on board, Grim and Lopthoena. He then began to use that trick that Ketil Trout, his father, had had—and other Hrafnista men too—of hoisting sail in calm weather, and a fair breeze began to blow. And he sailed home to Hrafnista, and people felt they’d got him back from the dead.

Litlu síðar kom Grímur í Vík austur, og fór Lofthæna með honum. Grímhildur réð þá nálega öllu ein austur þar. En þegar Grímur kom, lét hann Grímhildi verða tekna og færðan belg á höfuð henni og barða grjóti í hel, því að hann hafði áður sagt Haraldi hersi, hversu farið hefði. Gerði hann þá brullaup til Lofthænu og fór heim síðan í Hrafnistu. En Haraldur hersir kvæntist í þriðja sinn og fékk Þórgunnar Þorradóttur.

Eigi höfðu þau Grímur og Lofthæna lengi ásamt verið, áður þau áttu dóttur þá, er Brynhildur hét. Hún óx upp í Hrafnistu og var hin fegursta mær. Unni Grímur henni og mikið. En er hún var tólf ára gömul, bað hennar sá maður, er Sörkvir hét og var Svaðason, Rauðfeldssonar, Bárðarsonar, Þorkelssonar bundinfóta. Hún vildi ekki ganga með honum, og fyrir það skorar Sörkvir Grím á hólm. Grímur játar því. Sörkvir var sygnskur að móðurætt, og þar átti hann búum að stýra. Á hálfsmánaðar fresti átti hólmgangan að vera.

Ásmundur hefir hersir heitið í Noregi. Hann réð fyrir þeim bæ, er á Berurjóðri heitir. Hann var kvongaður maður og átti þann son, er Ingjaldur hét. Hann var hinn fræknasti maður og var löngum með Grími loðinkinna, og var með þeim vinátta mikil, en þó var Ingjaldur þeirra eldri, en miklu sterkari var Grímur. Ingjaldur fékk þeirrar konu, er Dagný hét, dóttur Ásmundar, er við Gnoð var kenndur, en systur Óláfs liðsmannakonungs. Við henni átti hann þann son, er Ásmundur hét, er síðan var fóstbróðir Odds hins víðförla, er var með Sigurði hring á Brávelli, er öðru nafni hét Örvar-Oddur.

Í nefndan tíma kom Sörkvir til hólmsins við tólfta mann. Það voru allt berserkir. Þar var Grímur þá og kominn og Ingjaldur með honum og margir háleygskir bændur. Gengu þeir á hólm, og átti Grímur fyrr að höggva. Hann hafði sverðið Dragvendil, er faðir hans hafði átt. Sá hét Þröstur, er skildi hélt fyrir Sörkvi. Grímur hjó svo mikið hið fyrsta högg, að hann klauf skjöldinn að endilöngu, en blóðrefillinn nam vinstri öxl á Þresti og sneiddi svo um þvert manninn í sundur fyrir ofan mjöðmina hina hægri, og hljóp svo sverðið á lærið Sörkvi, að tók undan honum báða fæturna annan fyrir ofan kné, en annan fyrir neðan, og féll hann dauður niður. Þeir Ingjaldur snúa nú að þeim tíu, sem eftir voru, og léttu eigi, fyrr en þeir voru allir drepnir. Þá kvað Grímur vísu:

Not long after, Grim headed south to Oslo Fjord, and Lopthoena went with him. By now Grimhild had practically taken over the running of everything down there. But when Grim came, he had Grimhild taken and a bag put on her head, and stoned to death, having first told Lord Harald what had happened. Then he celebrated his wedding with Lopthoena and went home to Hrafnista. And Harald married a third time and took Thorgunn Thorri’s daughter.
Grim and Lopthoena hadn’t been together long, before they had a daughter, and she was called Brynhild. She grew up at Hrafnista and was the prettiest of girls. Grim loved her a lot. But when she was twelve years old, a man called Sorkvir asked for her. Sorkvir was the son of Svadi, the son of Raudfeld, the son of Bard, the son of Thorkel Bundinfoti. She didn’t want to go with him, and so Sorkvir challenged Grim to a duel. Grim agreed. Sorkvir’s family was from Sogn on his mother’s side, and he owned farms there. The duel was to be in half a month’s time.
There was a chief in Norway called Asmund. He was lord of Berurjodr. He was a married man and had a son called Ingjald. Ingjald was a brave man indeed, and he was always staying with Grim, and there was great friendship between them, and though Ingjald was the older of them, Grim was much stronger. Ingjald married Dagny, sister of Olaf Fleet-men’s King, and daughter of that Asmund known as Gnodar-Asmund, after the ship Gnod. With her he had a son called Asmund, who later was foster brother to Odd the Traveller, who was with Sigurd Ring at Bravellir, and his other name is Arrow-Odd.
At the appointed time, Sorkvir came to the duelling-island with eleven men. They were all berserks. Grim had come too, and Ingjald with him and many Halogaland farmers. They went to the island and it was Grim’s turn to strike first. He had the sword Dragvendil, which had belonged to his father. The man who held the shield in front of Sorkvir was called Throst. Grim hacked so hard on his first blow that he split the shield top to bottom, and his blade sliced Throst right through from his left shoulder to just above the right hip, cutting into Sorkvir’s thigh so as to take off both legs, one above the knee, one below, and he fell down dead. Now Ingjald and the others turn on the remaining ten, and didn’t stop till they’d killed them all. Then Grim chanted this verse:
 
“Here we’ve hewn,
hacked down to earth,
twelve berserks
bad men, gloryless.
Though for brawn and brute-power
Sorkvir was best
of those warriors,
and Throst second.”
 
And he also said:
 
“In my father’s footsteps
I’ll follow first;
my daughter won’t
be wed by force.
to any man,
young pine of velvets,[3]
without scalps cloven,
not while Grim lives.”
 
Now Grim went home from the duelling-isle, and Ingjald to Berurjodr. Not long afterwards his father died and he took over the whole property and became a great farmer, and his hospitality was legendary.     

A few years earlier, Bodmod Framarsson had died, leaving his wife Hrafnhild—who then went home to Hrafnista to live with her brother, Grim—and a daughter called Thorny. Her son was Thorbjorn Whalebone, the father of Broad Ketil, father of the Thorny who married Hergils Button-Arse.

There was a man of note called Thorkel. He was jarl of the Namdalen province. He went to Hrafnista and asked to for the hand of Hrafnhild. She married him. Their son was Ketil Trout, who burnt Harek and Hraerek, the sons of Hildirid, in their own house after they slandered his kinsman Thorolf. After that, Ketil went to Iceland and took land there between Thjorsa and Markarfljot, and he lived at Hof. His son was Hrafn, the first lawspeaker in Iceland. His second son was Helgi, father of Helga, who married Oddbjorn Askasmith, the Shipwright. His third son was Storolf, father of Orm the Strong and Hrafnhild, who married Gunnar Baugsson. Their son was Hamund, father of Gunnar of Hlidarendi, and their daughter Arngunn, who married Hroar Tungugodi, the chieftain of Tungi. Their son was Hamund the Lame.

Vedrorm, son of Vemund the Old, was a great lord. He asked for the hand of Brynhild, daughter of Grim Shaggy-Cheek. She went with him. Their son was Vemund, the father of Vedrorm, who fled King Harald[4] to Jamtland and cleared the forest to live there. His son was Holmfast, and Vedrorm’s sister was called Brynhild. Her son was Grim, who was named after Grim Shaggy-Cheek.
Those kinsmen, Grim and Holmfast, went raiding in the west and killed Jarl Asbjorn Skerryblaze in the Hebrides, and took as booty Olof, his wife, and Arneid, his daughter, and Holmfast got her and gave her to his kinsman Vedrorm, and she was a servant there, until Ketil Thrym married her and took her out to Iceland. The place called Arneidarstadir in the Austfjords is named after her. Grim married Olof, daughter of Thord the Waddler, who had been married to the jarl.
Grim went to Iceland and claimed Grimsnes, all the way up to Svinavatn, and he lived four years at Ondverdunes, and afterwards at Burfjall. His son was Thorgils, who married Helga, the daughter of Gest Oddleifsson. Their sons were Thorarin of Burfjall and Jorund of Midengi. Grim fell to Hallkel, Ketilbjorn of Mosfjall’s brother, in a duel under the Hallkelshollar hills.
Grim Shaggy-Cheek lived at Hrafnista, as has been said. With his wife, he eventually had a son called Odd. Odd was fostered with Ingjald at Berurjodr. He was later called either Arrow-Odd, or Odd the Traveller. Grim was considered a man of no small consequence. He was strong in body and very daring though he tended to keep himself to himself. He died of old age.

And here ends the saga of Grim Shaggy-Cheek.