1. Þat er upphaf 1 á sǫgu 2 þessi, at Hákon konungr Aðalsteinsfóstri 3 réð 4 fyrir Nóregi; ok var þetta á ofanverðum 5 hans dǫgum. 2. Þorkell 6 hét maðr; hann var kallaðr skerauki; 7 hann bjó 8 í Súrnadal 9 ok var hersir 10 at nafnbót. 11 3. Hann átti sér konu, er Ísgerðr hét, ok sonu iij. barna; 12 hét einn 13 Ari, annarr Gísli, þriði Þorbjǫrn; hann var þeira yngstr, ok óxu 14 allir upp heima þar. 4. Maðr er nefndr Ísi; hann bjó í firði 15 þeim er Fibuli 16 heitir, á Norðmœri; kona hans hét Ingigerðr, en Ingibjǫrg dóttir. Ari, sonr Þorkels súrdœls, biðr 17 hennar, ok var hón honum gefin með miklu fé. 18 5. Kolr hét þræll, 19 er í brott fór með henni. 20
6. Maðr hét Bjǫrn enn blakki, 21 ok var berserkr; 22 hann fór um land ok skoraði 23 á menn til hólmgǫngu, 24 ef eigi vildu 25 hans vilja 26 gera. 7. Hann kom um vetrinn 27 til Þorkels Súrdœls; Ari, sonr hans, réð 28 þá fyrir búi. 29 8. Bjǫrn gerir Ara tvá kosti, hvárt hann vill heldr 30 berjask 31 við hann í hólmi þeim, er þar liggr í Súrnadal ok heitir Stokkahólmr, 32 eða vill hann selja 33 hánum í hendr konu sína. 9. Hann kaus skjótt, 34 at hann vill heldr berjask, en hvártveggja 35 yrði at skǫmm, 36 hann ok kona hans; skyldi þessi fundr véra á þriggja nátta fresti. 37 10. Nú líðr til hólmstefnu framan; 38 þá berjask þeir, ok lýkr svá at Ari fellr 39 ok lætr líf sitt. 11. Þykkisk 40 Bjǫrn hafa vegit 41 til landa ok konu; Gísli segir, at hann vill heldr láta 42 líf sitt, en þetta gangi fram, 43 vill hann ganga á hólm við Bjǫrn. 12. Þá tók Ingibjǫrg til orða: “Eigi var ek af því Ara gipt, at ek vilda þik eigi heldr átt hafa. Kolr, þræll minn á sverð, 44 er Grásíða 45 heitir, ok skaltu biðja, at hann ljái 46 þér; því at þat fylgir 47 því sverði, at sá skal sigr hafa, er þat hefir til orrostu.” 48
Hann biðr þrælinn sverðsins, ok þótti þrælnum mikit 49 fyrir at ljá. 13. Gísli bjóst 50 til hólmgǫngu, ok berjask þeir, ok lýkr 51 svá, at Bjǫrn fellr. 14. Gísli þóttisk nú hafa unnit 52 mikinn sigr; ok þat er sagt, at hann biðr Ingibjargar, ok vildi eigi láta góða konu ór ætt ganga 53 ok fær hennar; nú tekr hann allan fjárhlut 54 ok gerisk mikill maðr fyrir sér. 15. Því næst andask 55 faðir hans, ok tekr Gísli allan fjárhlut eptir hann. 16. Hann lét drepa 56 þá alla, sem með Birni hǫfðu fylgt. 57
17. Þrællinn heimti 58 sverð sitt, ok vill Gísli eigi laust láta 59 ok býðr hann fé fyrir, 60 en þrællinn vill ekki annat en sverð sitt, ok fær ekki at heldr. 61 18. Þetta líkar þrælnum illa, ok veitir Gísla tilræði; 62 var þat 63 mikit sár. Gísli høggr í móti 64 með Grásíðu í hǫfuð þrælnum, svá fast, at sverðit brotnaði, 65 en haussinn lamðisk, 66 ok fær hvártveggi 67 bana.
3: Hákon konungr Aðalsteinsfóstri, King of Norway 935-61. The second element in his hame means the “fosterling” of the English King Æþelstan. According to some sagas, Hákon spent his childhood at the court of the english king. There is no British record of Hákon’s time in Britain and the name occurs only in later Scandinavian sources. ↩
4: réð, 3rd. sing. past, “ruled.” ↩
5: His last days (ofanverðir dagar) were therefore in the years 950-61. According to the calculation of G. Vigfússon (Safu til sögu Ísl. I, 362) Gísli came to Iceland near the year 955; this year also fits very well if one refers the words, ok var þetta, not to the Norwegian events mentioned below but most likely to the emmigration. ↩
6: Þorkell, is not known from from any other source. In S (The “long” version of GS.) he carries the nickname Gullhjálmr. ↩
7: skerauki, this nickname apears to be composed of sker (sea rock) and auki(augmentum) ↩
8: bjó, 3rd. sing. past, búa, “lived.” ↩
9: Súrnadal, today Surnadal, near the Súrnadalsfjǫrðr, a neighboring fjord near Halsfjord in Nordmøe. ↩
10: hersir, “lord; someone of high rank closely associated with the king.” ↩
11: nafnbót, “ennobling of name,” i.e. title. ↩
12: barna, gen. pl., “of children.” ↩
13: einn, is more common than fyrstr in enumerations. ↩
14: óxu, 3rd. pl. past, vaxa, “grew up.” ↩
15: firði, dat. sing., fjörðr, a “fjord.” ↩
16: Fibuli, a fjord in Nordmøe, somewhat farther north than Halsfjord; the name is preserved in the name of the farm Fevelen, (see Sproglig-hist. stud. tilegnede prof. Unger (1896) p. 44). ↩
17: biðr, 3rd. sing. pres., “proposes.” ↩
19: þræll, a serf, or slave. ↩
20: í brott–henni, “he went away with her. That is, he was given to her as property. ↩
21: _ enn_ blakki, “the dark,” of the color of the skin. The lexical range also allows for, “the pale,” or “the white,” as a foreboding of death. See the entry in Cleasby-Vigfusson. ↩
22: berserkr, A berserker; a wild warrior that appears to have had supernatural or ritual powers in combat; a characterization that appears regularly in the medieval sagas. ↩
23: skoraði, 3rd. sing. past, “challenged.” ↩
24: hólmgǫngu, a duel, sometimes referring to a specific ritual duel that takes place on a small island. ↩
25: vildu, 3rd. pl. past, “wished”. ↩
26: vilja, acc. pl., “wishes,” or his demands. Compare this nominal form with the verb, “vilja” in note 26. ↩
27: vetr, “winter,” or season. ↩
28: réð, since he was already married and the oldest of the brothers; the father was no longer able to manage the farm due to his age. ↩
29: búi, dat. sing., “household,” or farmstead. ↩
30: at hann vill heldr, is actually pleonastic. The construction of this sentence is rather awkward. See note 36. ↩
31: berjask, 3rd, pl. pres. mediopassive, “fight,” or do battle. ↩
32: Stokkahólmr, perhaps one of the small islands in the innermost part of Surnadalsfjord. ↩
34: kaus skjótt, 3rd. sing. past, kjosa, “chose.” Note the adjectival usage of skjótr. See entry 3 in CV. The scribe writes as if he meant segir instead of kaus. ↩
35: hvártveggja is ntr. “each of them.” ↩
36: yrði at skømm, to him through his cowardice, and to her as the berserker’s prize. ↩
37: á þriggja, gen., note that the first four cardinal numbers decline, the lexical form being, þrir. nátta fresti, “A delay of three nights.” ↩
38: framan. The starting point of the agreed time. ↩
39: fellr, inf. falla, means the same as láta líf; this expression literally means, “to fall down,” or, “to be struck down.” ↩
40: þykkisk, 3rd. sing. pres. mediopassive, “thought to himself,” or considered it to be. ↩
41: ↩ vegit, past participle, “won,” through through battle.
42: ↩ ĺáta, “give up,” or, to let go.
43: gangi fram, “to pass,” or, “to become reality.” ↩
44: sverð, a spear is made from this sword later in the saga. The same spear is mentioned as still existing in the 13th century in Sturlunga saga. ↩
45: Grásiða, “gray blade,” or, “The weapon with the gray blade;” the color of the iron. This is the name of the sword. ↩
46: ljái, 3rd. sing. pres. subj., “lend.” ↩
47: fylgir, 3rd. sing. pres., it “follows” that… ↩
48: orrostu, fem. sing. gen., “in battle.” ↩
49: þótti–mikit fyrir, “It was difficult for the slave,” or, “he was reluctant,” (to loan the sword.) ↩
50: bjósk, 3rd. sing. past. mediopassive, “prepared himself. ↩
51: unnit, past participle, “had won,” or accomplished. ↩
52: eiga lata–ganga, that someone married the widow of their brother occurs often in the literature. For example, Egil marries the widow of Þórólf in Egils saga, and later in our present saga when Børkr marries Þordis. ↩
53: “…he didn’t wish to let a good woman go.” ↩
54: fjárhlut, m. acc. sing., “share of the wealth.” See fé. ↩
55: andask, 3rd. sing. past. mediopassive., “died.” This is an idiomatic mediopassive usage of the verb meaning, “to breathe.” ↩
56: létdrepa, lét, 3rd. sing. past. Used here as a common auxiliary verb, “to let,” or to have something done. “He had” it be done that they were killed. ↩
57: þá alla–fylgt, these people are not mentioned before this; this would not have been necessary either because berserkers usually had a cohort; in the recension S, twelve are specified. ↩
59: laust, adj., with auxiliary láta, he “didn’t want to let it go.” ↩
60: býðr, 3rd. sing. pres., “offers.” ↩
61: fær, 3rd. sing. pres., from fá, to receive. at heldr, but rather, or “all the more.” But rather it was not given back to him, or returned to him. ↩
62: tilrœði, “attack;” or, “try to kill someone,” from ráða til (manns) “to attack someone.” ↩
63: var þat, “it grew to be” (the wound), “the wound, which he inflicted, came to be severe.” ↩
64: høggr, 3rd. sing. pres., from hǫggva; “strikes” with his sword. í moti; “against.” “Strikes into…the head.” ↩
65: brotnaði, 3rd. sing. past., “to be broken.” ↩
67: hvártveggi, that is, Gísli and the slave. ↩