The Eyrbyggja Saga on Thorolf Halt-foot
Chapter 1 - Herein Is Told How Ketil Flatneb Fares To West-Over-Sea. > Chapter 8 - Of Thorolf Halt-Foot.
relationship: Thorolf son of Biorn Blinding-snout was a viking who arrived in Iceland after his mother Geirrid
"Biorn, son of Bolverk Blinding-snout, had had Geirrid to wife, and their son was called Thorolf, and was a mighty viking; he came out some time after his mother"
attestation: Thorolf challenged Ulfar the Champion to holmgang for his lands because Ulfar was old and childless
"he challenged Ulfar the Champion for his lands, and bade him to the holm-gang because he was an old man and a childless"
attestation: Thorolf Halt-foot settled at Hvamm in Thorsriverdale and was the most wrongful of men
"Now he set up house in Hvamm in Thorsriverdale. He took to himself the land after Ulfar, and was the most wrongful of men."
relationship: Thorolf Halt-foot's son was Arnkel; his daughter Gunnfrid married Thorbein of Thorbeinstead
"Thorolf Halt-foot had three children; his son was called Arnkel, but his daughter Gunnfrid, whom Thorbein of Thorbeinstead up on Waterneck east from Drapalith had to wife"
relationship: Thorolf Halt-foot's other daughter Geirrid married Thorolf son of Heriolf Holkinrazi; their children were Thorarin the Swart and Gudny
"Another daughter of Thorolf was Geirrid, whom Thorolf the son of Heriolf Holkinrazi had to wife. They dwelt at Mewlithe; their children were Thorarin the Swart and Gudny."
Chapter 1 - Herein Is Told How Ketil Flatneb Fares To West-Over-Sea. > Chapter 30 - Of The Evil Dealings Of Thorolf Halt-Foot.
attestation: Thorolf Halt-foot became increasingly malicious and unjust in his old age, straining relations with his son Arnkel
"Thorolf Halt-foot that he began to get exceeding old, and became very evil and hard to deal with by reason of his old age, and full of all injustice, and things went uneasily enough betwixt him and Arnkel his son"
attestation: Thorolf and Ulfar shared a common meadow on a neck of land between their properties
"Thorolf and Ulfar had a meadow in common upon the neck"
attestation: Thorolf exploited Ulfar's weather forecast, rushing to save all the hay including Ulfar's share while Ulfar's men mowed elsewhere
"Then he bade carry Ulfar's hay withal into his garth; and they did as he bade them"
attestation: Thorolf used three draught-oxen and worked through the day to steal Ulfar's hay
"Thorolf Halt-foot carried hay with three draught-oxen the day through, and by the third hour after noontide they had saved all the hay that was his"
attestation: Thorolf visited Ulfar specifically to extract his weather forecast, riding to Ulfar's-fell to ask about the coming summer
"Thorolf rode in to Ulfar's-fell to find Ulfar the bonder"
attestation: Thorolf rose early and misread the weather as threatening, ordering his thralls to rush the hay harvest
"Thorolf arose, he looked out and saw that the weather was thick, and deemed that the dry tide was failing, and called to his thralls to rise and carry the hay together"
attestation: Thorolf refused to compensate Ulfar, declaring the freedman already too wealthy
"Thorolf said the thrall was far too rich already"
attestation: Thorolf blamed Ulfar for the entire conflict and vowed revenge against him
"Thorolf liked matters a great deal worse than before, and laid the whole thing on Ulfar, and said he should feel him therefor"
Chapter 1 - Herein Is Told How Ketil Flatneb Fares To West-Over-Sea. > Chapter 31 - Of Thorolf Halt-Foot And Snorri The Priest.
attestation: Thorolf Halt-foot got his thralls drunk at Yule and offered them freedom to burn Ulfar alive in his house
"at Yule-tide had Thorolf a great drinking, and put the drink round briskly to his thralls, and when they were drunk, he egged them on to go up to Ulfar's-fell and burn Ulfar in his house, and promised to give them their freedom therefor"
attestation: Thorolf rode to Holyfell and asked Snorri the Priest to prosecute Arnkel for killing the thralls, offering to share the blood-fines
"now will I be thy close friend, Snorri, if thou wilt but take up the blood-suit for my thralls whom Arnkel let slay, nor will I bespeak all the blood-fines for myself"
attestation: Thorolf offered Snorri the Crowness woodland -- the most valuable property in the district -- as payment for prosecuting Arnkel
"I know thou wouldst fain have Crowness, and the wood thereon, which is the best possession in the countryside. Lo, I will handsel thee all that, if thou wilt but take up the suit for my thralls"
attestation: Thorolf was dissatisfied with the small compensation, accusing Snorri of weak prosecution
"I had no mind when I gave thee my land, that thou wouldst follow up my suit with so little manhood, and I wot that Arnkel would not have withheld from me such boot for my thralls if I had left the matter to him"
attestation: Thorolf departed threatening future trouble for the district
"Most like it is that I shall not seek to thee in cases again; nor yet shall the woes of you folk of this country lie utterly asleep"
Chapter 1 - Herein Is Told How Ketil Flatneb Fares To West-Over-Sea. > Chapter 32 - The Slaying Of Ulfar; Thorbrand's Sons Claim The Heritage.
attestation: Thorolf Halt-foot hired Cunning-Gils to ambush and kill Ulfar on his way home from Arnkel's feast, offering three marks of silver
"Now would I, Cunning-Gils," said he, "that thou go meet him and waylay him under the garth at Ulfar's-fell, and slay him, and therefor will I give thee three marks of silver, and pay all weregild for the slaying"
attestation: Thorolf sent his thrall to summon Thorbrand's sons to seize Ulfar's inheritance before Arnkel could claim it
"Now shalt thou go to Karstead, and tell Thorbrand's sons to fare in to Ulfar's-fell, and not let themselves be robbed this time of their freedman's heritage as before; because Ulfar is now slain"
Chapter 1 - Herein Is Told How Ketil Flatneb Fares To West-Over-Sea. > Chapter 33 - Of The Death Of Thorolf Halt-Foot.
attestation: Thorolf went to his son Arnkel at Lairstead proposing they reconcile and jointly claim Crowness wood from Snorri
"He rode in to Lairstead to see his son Arnkel"
attestation: Thorolf proposed combining Arnkel's martial ability with his own counsel to dominate the district
"we should be great men here in the district with thy hardihood and my good counsel"
attestation: Thorolf accused Arnkel of cowardice rather than acknowledging his refusal was principled
"this comes rather from thy poor heart than because thou begrudgest me sport over your strife"
Chapter 1 - Herein Is Told How Ketil Flatneb Fares To West-Over-Sea. > Chapter 34 - Thorolf Halt-Foot Walks; The Second Burial Of Him.
- attestation: After Thorolf Halt-foot's death, people feared being outdoors after sunset due to his ghost
"After the death of Thorolf Halt-foot many folk deemed it worse to be abroad as soon as the sun was getting low"
Chapter 1 - Herein Is Told How Ketil Flatneb Fares To West-Over-Sea. > Chapter 43 - Of Egil The Strong.
- attestation: An eagle swooped down and carried off Egil's deerhound, flying to the howe of Thorolf Haltfoot and vanishing under the mountain
"the erne swooped on the hound, and took him up in her claws, and flew back west over the firth straight for the howe of Thorolf Haltfroot, and vanished there, under the mountain"
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: Thorolf Halt-foot's haunting had made the surrounding lands uninhabitable, beginning immediately after Arnkel's death
"the haunting of Thorolf Halt-foot, that men deemed they might not abide on those lands. Lairstead withal was voided, because Thorolf straightway took to walking as soon as Arnkel was dead, and slew both men and beasts there at Lairstead"
attestation: After Lairstead was abandoned, Thorolf Halt-foot extended his haunting to Ulfar's-fell
"when all things were waste there, Haltfoot betook himself to Ulfar's-fell, and wrought great trouble there"
attestation: When Thorolf Halt-foot's body was exhumed, it was found unrotted and monstrous: blue as hell, big as a bull
"Thorolf's howe; and he was even yet unrotten, and as like to a fiend as like could be, blue as hell, and big as a neat"
attestation: The fire took a long time to catch on Thorolf's body, and the wind scattered the ashes widely
"burned all up to cold coals; yet long it was or ever the fire would take on him. There was a stiff breeze, which scattered the ashes wide about as soon as the bale began to burn"