Hrolf Sleep Thorn

Hrolf was moved by Vilhjalm’s tale of woe, and he said that he didn’t have the heart to kill him, although he deserved it. The princess said that this was a bad idea, “because he has an evil look about him, and he will prove to be evil.”

Vilhjalm now traveled with them and made himself very obliging—but it was always dangerous for him to come close to Dulcifal, because he bit and kicked at Vilhjalm if he came within reach.

They traveled until they were only one day’s journey from Jarl Thorgnyr. They took shelter for the night in some woods and raised a brush shelter that evening. Hrolf and the princess had lain together every night, with a naked sword between them. Vilhjalm stuck Hrolf with a sleep-thorn that night. In the morning he got up early and took Dulcifal and saddled him, and Dulcifal would accept only this from Vilhjalm. Hrolf was lying in his armor, with the cloak Vefreyja’s Gift on the outside. Ingigerd stood up. She pounded on Hrolf and couldn’t manage to wake him, try as she might. She went out of the shelter and wept. Vilhjalm saw that and asked whether she might not be pleased with Hrolf in bed. She said, “I’m quite pleased with him, but he’s sleeping so soundly that I can’t manage to wake him.”

“Then I’ll wake him,” said Vilhjalm.

He tore down the shelters, and then he chopped both of Hrolf’s feet off and slipped them into his clothes. Hrolf kept on sleeping. The princess asked what had just broken. “Hrolf’s lifespan,” said Vilhjalm.

The princess said, “May you have the worst life of anyone. That was the vilest deed ever done. You must expect evil from evil.”

Vilhjalm said, “You have two options: pick whichever one you prefer. One is for you to come with me to Jarl Thorgnyr and assent to what I say, because I think there’d be little honor for me in going back to Russia. The other is for me to kill you where you’re standing.”

She decided not to choose death while she had the option to live, but she felt that Vilhjalm was capable of any evil. She said that she would go with him and not speak out against what he said, as long as he didn’t dishonor her with his words. She had to swear to this with an oath.

Vilhjalm wanted to take Dulcifal, but it wasn’t possible, because he bit and kicked in all directions so that Vilhjalm could never get near him, and he couldn’t get at Hrolf because of the horse. He couldn’t travel with Hrolf’s sword because of its weight. Hrolf was left behind, and they went on their way. The princess found it a heavy burden to leave, and a terrible thing to part with Hrolf in such a bad way.

[...]

Now we must tell about Hrolf. He lay as if dead until the evening, because the sleep-thorn was stuck in his head. Vilhjalm hadn’t taken it out. Dulcifal stood over him, saddled and bridled, until he walked up to Hrolf and rolled him around the field with his head, and that’s when the sleep-thorn fell out. That woke Hrolf up, and he discovered that both his feet were gone, his shelter had been torn down, and Vilhjalm had left with the princess. The sword Hreggvid’s Gift was lying there. Hrolf felt that matters had taken a terrible turn, but he roused himself and took the life-stone and scraped it over his stumps. That quickly took the burning out of the wounds. Hrolf dragged himself towards the horse, who lay down. Hrolf managed to roll himself into the saddle, and then Dulcifal stood up.

Hrolf rode until he came to the estate of his friend Bjorn, for he didn’t want to ride to the fortress, and it seemed a long way to his own castle. Dulcifal lay down as soon as he came into the yard; Hrolf took off his bridle and dragged himself into the house, which he found quite opulent. Hrolf entered the kitchen and threw himself down on a seat in the shadows, and lay there for a while. Then he saw a woman walking and tending the fire. This woman appeared to be dark blue, as were her clothes, and severely swollen. She poked up the fire.


- The Saga of Hrolf the Walker (Göngu-Hrólfs saga), Chapters 24 and 25