Now after this the brothers Thorgrim and Thorgeir shared their
possessions. Thorgrim took the chattels and Thorgeir the land;
Thorgrim betook himself to Midfirth and bought land at Biarg by the
counsel of Skeggi; he had to wife Thordis, daughter of Asmund of
Asmund's-peak, who had settled the Thingere lands: Thorgrim and
Thordis had a son who was called Asmund; he was a big man and a
strong, wise withal, and the fairest-haired of men, but his head grew
grey early, wherefore he was called Asmund the Greyhaired. Thorgrim
grew to be a man very busy about his household, and kept all his men
well to their work. Asmund would do but little work, so the father and
son had small fellowship together; and so things fared till Asmund had
grown of age; then he asked his father for travelling money;
Thorgrim said he should have little enough, but gave him somewhat of
huckstering wares.
Then Asmund went abroad, and his goods soon grew great; he sailed to
sundry lands, and became the greatest of merchants, and very rich; he
was a man well beloved and trusty, and many kinsmen he had in Norway
of great birth.
One autumn he guested east in the Wick with a great man who was called
Thorstein; he was an Uplander of kin, and had a sister called Ranveig,
one to be chosen before all women; her Asmund wooed, and gained her by
the help of Thorstein her brother; and there Asmund dwelt a while
and was held in good esteem: he had of Ranveig a son hight Thorstein,
strong, and the fairest of men, and great of voice; a man tall of
growth he was, but somewhat slow in his mien, and therefore was he
called Dromund. Now when Thorstein was nigh grown up, his mother fell
sick and died, and thereafter Asmund had no joy in Norway; the kin
of Thorstein's mother took his goods, and him withal to foster; but
Asmund betook himself once more to seafaring, and became a man of
great renown. Now he brought his ship into Hunawater, and in those
days was Thorkel Krafla chief over the Waterdale folk; and he heard
of Asmund's coming out, and rode to the ship and bade Asmund to his
house; and he dwelt at Marstead in Waterdale; so Asmund went to
be guest there. This Thorkel was the son of Thorgrim the Godi of
Cornriver, and was a very wise man.
Now this was after the coming out of Bishop Frederick, and Thorvald
Kodran's son, and they dwelt at the Brooks-meet, when these things
came to pass: they were the first to preach the law of Christ in the
north country; Thorkel let himself be signed with the cross and
many men with him, and things enow betid betwixt the bishop and the
north-country folk which come not into this tale.
Now at Thorkel's was a woman brought up, Asdis by name, who was the
daughter of Bard, the son of Jokul, the son of Ingimund the Old, the
son of Thorstein, the son of Ketil the Huge: the mother of Asdis was
Aldis the daughter of Ufeigh Grettir, as is aforesaid; Asdis was as
yet unwedded, and was deemed the best match among women, both for her
kin and her possessions; Asmund was grown weary of seafaring, and
was fain to take up his abode in Iceland; so he took up the word, and
wooed this woman. Thorkel knew well all his ways, that he was a rich
man and of good counsel to hold his wealth; so that came about, that
Asmund got Asdis to wife; he became a bosom friend of Thorkel, and
a great dealer in matters of farming, cunning in the law, and
far-reaching. And now a little after this Thorgrim Greypate died at
Biarg, and Asmund took the heritage after him and dwelt there.
HERE BEGINS THE STORY OF THE LIFE
OF GRETTIR THE STRONG