Kotkel Family Kills Kid

Eldgrim was about to leave and prodded his horse, but when Hrut saw this he raised his halberd and struck Eldgrim between his shoulder blades. The mail-coat split asunder at the blow and the halberd cut right through the body. Eldgrim fell from his horse dead, as might be expected. Hrut buried the corpse at the spot called Eldgrimsholt (Eldgrim’s rise), south of Kambsnes.

Afterwards Hrut rode to Kambsnes to tell Thorleik the news. Thorleik responded with anger and felt that he had been put to shame, while Hrut thought he had done him a real service. Thorleik said his actions were not only badly meant, they would also have serious consequences. Hrut said he could do as he chose, and the two parted on the worst of terms.

Hrut was over eighty when he killed Eldgrim, and gained a great deal of respect as a result of the deed. The fact that Hrut rose in esteem did not improve Thorleik’s feelings towards him. Thorleik was convinced that he himself would have had the best of Eldgrim, since Hrut had made short work of him.

Thorleik then approached his tenants, Kotkel and Grima, to ask them to take some action to discredit Hrut. They agreed readily and promised to get right to work. Thorleik returned home and shortly afterwards Kotkel, Grima and their sons set out at night for Hrut’s farm, where they began to practise strong magic rites. As the magic proceeded, the inhabitants of the farmhouse were puzzled by the sounds. The chants were sweet to the ear.

Only Hrut realized what the sounds meant and told his household that no one was to leave the house to see what was going on, ‘but everyone is to remain awake, if he possibly can, and if we manage to do so no harm will come to us’.

Eventually, however, they all fell asleep. Hrut managed to keep awake the longest, but finally even he fell asleep. Hrut’s son Kari was twelve years old at the time and the most promising of his children. He was a great favourite with his father. Kari slept lightly and uneasily, as the incantations were directed at him. Eventually he sprang to his feet and looked outside. He went outside into the magic and was struck dead immediately. The next morning Hrut awoke, along with the rest of his household, to find his son was missing. His dead body was found a short distance from the entrance to the house. It was a great blow to Hrut and he had a burial mound made for Kari.

He then paid a visit to Olaf Hoskuldsson to tell him what had happened. Olaf was furious at the news and said it showed great foolishness to have allowed such evildoers as Kotkel and his clan to settle so close by. He also said that Thorleik had repaid Hrut badly for his actions, and that things had doubtless turned out worse than Thorleik intended.

Olaf said that Kotkel and his sons should be put to death at once – ‘even though it’s already too late’.


- The Saga of the People of Laxardal (Laxdæla saga), Chapter 37


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Note: Though other terms are used here, the original text is referrring specifically to a seiðr user. This is because of a translation choice, explained below. The following quotes are taken from the Glossary section of The Sagas of Icelanders: A Selection, the compilation which includes the translation of this source that I've used.

"magic rite: seiður: The exact nature of magic ritual, or seiður, is somewhat obscure. It appears that it was originally only practised by women. Although there are several accounts of males who performed this rite (including the god Odin), they are almost always looked down on as having engaged in an ‘effeminate’ activity. The magic rite seems to have had two main purposes: a spell to influence people or the elements (as in The Saga of the People of Laxardal, chs. 35–7, and Gisli Sursson’s Saga, ch. 18), and a means of finding out about the future (as in Eirik the Red’s Saga, ch. 4). There are evidently parallels between seiður and shamanistic rituals such as those carried out by the Lapps and Native Americans. See also seeress.

"magician: seiðmaður: Literally means ‘a man who practises seiður’. See also magic rite."