LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

and why art thou here so early?’ She said: ‘Rise from the bed of my rival and walk out with me, with her, and with thy sons.’ They rose and went out. Skarphédin (Njal’s son) said: ‘Let us take our weapons with us.’ Njal said nothing; they ran in and came out armed with their weapons. Hródný walked in front till they came to the sheephouse. She went in and told them to follow her. She took a creeping light (lantern) and said: ‘Here, Njal, is thy son Höskuld. He has got many wounds and now needs to be healed.’ Njal said: ‘I see marks of death on him but no marks of life. Why hast thou not given him nabjargir as his nostrils are open?’ She answered: ‘I intended that for Skarphédin.’ Skarphédin walked to the corpse and performed the nabjargir. Then he said to his father: ‘Who, sayest thou, has slain him?’ Njal answered: ‘Lýting of Sámsstadir with his brothers has probably slain him.’ Hródný said: ‘I intrust it to thy hands, Skarphédin, to avenge thy brother. I expect thou wilt do thyself honour though he is not legitimate, and that thou wilt take the revenge into thy hands’ ” (Njala, c. 98).

      Before putting a body in the mound hel shoes were put on for the journey to Hell.

      “Thereafter Gisli and all his household made ready for the mounding of Vestein, his brother-in-law. He intended to mound him in the sand plain … below Sæból. When they were on their way with the corpse Thorgrím with many men joined him. When they had made the mound Thorgrím godi walked to Gisli and said: It is now the custom, brother-in-law, to tie Hel-shoes on the feet of men before they are mound-laid. For it was said that they (the shoes) should go to Hel when the man was dead, and therefore a man who dresses much when he goes out, or is long in dressing, is said to prepare for Hel. Thorgrím said: I will do this with Vestein and tie the Hel-shoes on his feet. When he had done it, he said: I know not how to tie Hel-shoes if these are unfastened” (Gis Súrsson’s Saga).

      In the weird description of the burial of Sigurd and Brynhild¹⁹⁴ we see that the mound was reddened with blood, and that human beings were burned with them on the pyre.

      I will ask of thee

      Only one boon;

      It will in the world

      My last one be;

      Let so wide a burgh

      Be raised on the plain

      That under us all

      It be equally roomy,

      Beneath us all who shall die

      With Sigurd.

      Surround that burgh

      With tents and shields,

      With welsh linen, finely painted,

      And Welsh people (thralls);

      Burn the Hunnish one¹⁹⁵

      At my one side.

      Burn at the other side

      Of the Hunnish one

      My servants,

      With good necklaces,

      Two at his head

      And two hawks;

      Then all is

      Equally shared.

      Let there yet lie between us

      A ring-wound weapon,¹⁹⁶

      A sharp-edged iron

      As it before was laid,

      When we both

      Stepped into one bed

      And were called

      Husband and wife.

      The shining hall-door,

      The ring-ornamented¹⁹⁷

      Will not then

      Strike him on the heel¹⁹⁸

      If my retinue

      Follows him hence;

      Then our journey

      Will not be poor.

      For there follow him

      Five bond-maids,

      Eight servants,

      Of good kin,

      My bond-nurse,

      And the inheritance¹⁹⁹

      Which Budli gave

      To his child.

      Much have I told,

      More would I tell,

      If fate

      Gave more time for speaking;

      My voice decreases,

      My wounds swell,

      I told only truth,²⁰⁰

      Now I will cease.

      (Third Song of Sigurd.)

      Another custom no less imposing was to bury the chiefs with their carriages and horses, so that they might make their entries driving into Valhalla, or riding on horseback; and it was considered honourable to go to Odin with many slain.

      “The second day after the battle (of Bravoll), in the morning, King Hring caused a search to be made among the slain for the body of King Harald, his kinsman, and a great part of the slain host lay on the top of it. It was mid-day before the search was completed and it was found. King Hring took the body of his kinsman, and washed the blood from it, prepared it magnificently, according to old custom, and laid it in the waggon which King Harald had in the battle. He then raised a large mound, and caused the body to be carried in the same waggon with the horse which King Harald had in the battle, and thus he had him driven to the mound. There the horse was killed. Then King Hring took the saddle he himself had ridden on and gave it to King Harald his kinsman, and bade him do as he liked, either ride to Valhalla or drive. He held a great feast to celebrate the going away of his kinsman. Before the mound was closed, King Hring bade all his high-born men and champions who were present to throw into the mound large rings (gold and silver) and good weapons, to honour King Harald Hilditönn, and the mound was carefully closed” (Sögubrot of Fornkonungum).²⁰¹

      If circumstances allowed, the deceased seems to have been placed on a bed prepared for the purpose, until the burial could take place.

      “Glúm also went home with his men, and had the dead carried into an outhouse, where Thorvald’s body was prepared more honourably than the others, for clothes were laid under him, and he was sewed up in a skin” (Viga Glúm’s Saga, c. 23).

      In a large burial chamber at Lower Aure, Norway, were found the remains of a chair, thus confirming the accounts of the Sagas about men being placed on their chair in the grave. Some of these chambers were occasionally built of wood.

      “Aran, a foster-brother of Asmund, died suddenly. Asmund had a mound raised over him, and placed at his side his horse with saddle and bridle, his standards, and all war-dress, his hawk and dog. Aran sat on a chair in all his armour. Asmund let his chair be put into the mound and sat down upon it, and then the mound was closed. The first night Aran rose from the chair, killed the hawk and the dog, and ate them both. The second night he rose, killed the horse and cut it to pieces, tearing it much with his teeth; he ate the horse, the blood streaming down from his mouth; he invited Asmund to eat with him. The third night Asmund began to feel sleepy; and suddenly Aran seized his ears and tore them off. Then Asmund drew his sword, and cut Aran’s head off; and afterwards burned him to ashes. He thereupon went to the rope and was drawn up, and the mound was closed; Asmund took with him the property which had been placed in the mound” (Egil and Asmund’s Saga, c. 7).

      “Angantyr had a large mound raised below the Havada-mountains, at the place where the king had been slain. It was built with timber, and was very strong” (Hervarar Saga, c. 16).

      Sometimes the body of a man was divided into several portions, and each of these buried in different parts of the country.

Скачать книгу