The Eyrbyggja Saga on Thorod Thorbrandson

Chapter 1 - Herein Is Told How Ketil Flatneb Fares To West-Over-Sea. > Chapter 45 - The Battle In Swordfirth.

• attestation: Thorod Thorbrandson had a deep neck wound that prevented him from holding his head straight

  "Thorod Thorbrandson had so great a wound in the back of his neck that he might not hold his head straight"

Chapter 1 - Herein Is Told How Ketil Flatneb Fares To West-Over-Sea. > Chapter 48 - Of Thorbrand's Sons In Greenland.

• relationship: Thorod Thorbrandson remained in Swanfirth and married Ragnhild, whose lineage traced through Thord, Thorgils the Eagle, and Hallstein the Priest of Hallstein-ness

  "Thorod Thorbrandson abode behind in Swanfirth, and had to wife Ragnhild, daughter of Thord, son of Thorgils the Eagle, who was the son of Hallstein, the Priest of Hallstein-ness, the thrall- owner"

Chapter 1 - Herein Is Told How Ketil Flatneb Fares To West-Over-Sea. > Chapter 63 - Of The Walking Of Thorolf Halt-Foot. He Is Dug Up And Burned. Of The Bull Glossy.

• attestation: Thorod Thorbrandson occupied lands at both Ulfar's-fell and Orligstead in Swanfirth

  "Thorod Thorbrandson in Swanfirth, and had the lands both of Ulfar's-fell and of Orligstead"

• attestation: The tenant at Ulfar's-fell complained to Thorod at Karstead that Thorolf Halt-foot would depopulate the entire firth unless stopped

  "the bonder fared in to Karstead, and bemoaned himself of that trouble to Thorod, because he was tenant of him, and he said that it was the fear of men that Halt-foot would not leave off before he had wasted all the firth both of man and beast"

• attestation: Thorod's men used lever-beams to raise the body because it was too heavy to lift, then rolled it to the shore for burning

  "Thorod let set lever-beams under him, and thereby they brought him up from the howe, and rolled him down to the seaside, and cut there a great bale, and set fire to it, and rolled Thorolf thereinto"

• attestation: A cow broke her leg as Thorod rode past the milking-stead on his way home from the burning

  "as Thorod rode by the milking-stead a certain cow started from before him, and brake her leg."

• attestation: The cow could not be found when Thorod sent men to slaughter her in autumn

  "Thorod was minded to slaughter the cow, but when men went after her, she was nowhere to be found."

• attestation: Thorod discovered the cow was pregnant and decided to keep her alive rather than slaughter her

  "Thorod went to the byre and saw the cow, and laid his hand on her, and now finds that she is with calf, and thinks good not to kill her"

• attestation: The cow bore first a heifer calf and then a bull calf so large the birth killed her

  "the cow bore a calf, a cow-calf, and then a little after another which was a bull, and it went hardly with her, so big he was, and in a little while the cow died."

• attestation: Thorod's blind foster-mother, an old woman once renowned for second sight, recognized a troll's voice in the calf's cry

  "there was therein withal an ancient carline, Thorod's foster-mother, who was as then blind. She was deemed to have been foreseeing in her earlier days"

• attestation: The carline declared the bull calf's bellow was the voice of a troll and begged Thorod to kill it immediately

  ""The voice of a troll," quoth she, "and of nought else alive; do the best ye can and slay this boder of woe straight- way."

• attestation: Thorod refused to kill the calf, judging it too fine to destroy, but the carline pleaded again when it cried a second time

  "Thorod said he would nowise slay the calf; for that it was well worthy to be nourished, and that it would turn out a noble beast if it were brought up"

• attestation: Thorod agreed to kill the bull calf at his foster-mother's insistence, but secretly kept it alive and only slaughtered the heifer

  "Thorod let kill the cow- calf, and bear the other out to the barn, and withal he bade folk take heed that the carline was not told that the bull-calf was yet alive."

• attestation: The carline heard the bull bellowing outdoors and realized Thorod had deceived her about killing it

  "Then said the carline: "Ah, the troll was not slain then, and we shall have more harm of him than words can tell.""

• attestation: The carline reproached Thorod for ignoring her warning and declared it would be too late to slaughter Glossy in autumn

  ""Of no account dost thou hold my word concerning the slaughtering of the bull, foster-son." Thorod answered: "Be content, foster-mother," says he; "Glossy shall live on till autumn, and then be slaughtered, when he has got the summer's flesh oil him." "Over-late will it be then," says she."

• attestation: The carline sang a prophetic verse foretelling that the bull Glossy would cause Thorod's death

  "O foster-son mine, now full clearly I see it, That the horned beast in fetters is laying thy life."