Earl Sigurd Hlodver's son busked him from the Orkneys, and Flosi
offered to go with him.
The earl would not have that, since he had his pilgrimage to
fulfil.
Flosi offered fifteen men of his band to go on the voyage, and
the earl accepted them, but Flosi fared with Earl Gilli to the
Southern isles.
Thorstein, the son of Hall of the Side, went along with Earl
Sigurd, and Hrafn the Red, and Erling of Straumey.
He would not that Hareck should go, but said he would be sure to
be the first to tell him the tidings of his voyage.
The earl came with all his host on Palm Sunday to Dublin, and
there too was come Brodir with all his host.
Brodir tried by sorcery how the fight would go, but the answer
ran thus, that if the fight were on Good-Friday King Brian would
fall but win the day; but if they fought before, they would all
fall who were against him.
Then Brodir said that they must not fight before the Friday.
On the fifth day of the week a man rode up to Kormlada and her
company on an apple-grey horse, and in his hand he held a
halberd; he talked long with them.
King Brian came with all his host to the Burg, and on the Friday
the host fared out of the Burg, and both armies were drawn up in
array.
Brodir was on one wing of the battle, but King Sigtrygg on the
other.
Earl Sigurd was in the mid battle.
Now it must be told of King Brian that he would not fight on the
fast-day, and so a shieldburg (1) was thrown round him, and his
host was drawn up in array in front of it.
Wolf the Quarrelsome was on that wing of the battle against which
Brodir stood; but on the other wing, where Sigtrygg stood against
them, were Ospak and his sons.
But in mid battle was Kerthialfad, and before him the banners
were home.
Now the wings fall on one another, and there was a very hard
fight. Brodir went through the host of the foe, and felled all
the foremost that stood there, but no steel would bite on his
mail.
Wolf the Quarrelsome turned then to meet him, and thrust at him
thrice so hard that Brodir fell before him at each thrust, and
was well-nigh not getting on his feet again; but as soon as ever
he found his feet, he fled away into the wood at once.
Earl Sigurd had a hard battle against Kerthialfad, and
Kerthialfad came on so fast that he laid low all who were in the
front rank, and he broke the array of Earl Sigurd right up to his
banner, and slew the banner-bearer.
Then he got another man to bear the banner, and there was again a
hard fight.
Kerthialfad smote this man too his death blow at once, and so on
one after the other all who stood near him.
Then Earl Sigurd called on Thorstein the son of Hall of the Side,
to bear the banner, and Thorstein was just about to lift the
banner, but then Asmund the White said, "Don't bear the banner!
For all they who bear it get their death."
"Hrafn the Red!" called out Earl Sigurd, "bear thou the banner."
"Bear thine own devil thyself," answered Hrafn.
Then the earl said, "`Tis fittest that the beggar should bear the
bag;'" and with that he took the banner from the staff and put it
under his cloak.
A little after Asmund the White was slain, and then the earl was
pierced through with a spear.
Ospak had gone through all the battle on his wing, he had been
sore wounded, and lost both his sons ere King Sigtrygg fled
before him.
Then flight broke out throughout all the host.
Thorstein Hall of the Side's son stood still while all the others
fled, and tied his shoe-string. Then Kerthialfad asked why he
ran not as the others.
"Because," said Thorstein, "I can't get home to-night, since I
am at home out in Iceland."
Kerthialfad gave him peace.
Hrafn the Red was chased out into a certain river; he thought he
saw there the pains of hell down below him, and he thought the
devils wanted to drag him to them.
Then Hrafn said, "Thy dog (2), Apostle Peter! hath run twice to
Rome, and he would run the third time if thou gavest him leave."
Then the devils let him loose, and Hrafn got across the river.
Now Brodir saw that King Brian's men were chasing the fleers, and
that there were few men by the shieldburg.
Then he rushed out of the wood, and broke through the shieldburg,
and hewed at the king.
The lad Takt threw his arm in the way, and the stroke took it off
and the king's head too, but the king's blood came on the lad's
stump, and the stump was healed by it on the spot.
Then Brodir called out with a loud voice, "Now let man tell man
that Brodir felled Brian."
Then men ran after those who were chasing the fleers, and they
were told that King Brian had fallen, and then they turned back
straightway, both Wolf the Quarrelsome and Kerthialfad.
Then they threw a ring round Brodir and his men, and threw
branches of trees upon them, and so Brodir was taken alive.
Wolf the Quarrelsome cut open his belly, and led him round and
round the trunk of a tree, and so wound all his entrails out of
him, and he did not die before they were all drawn out of him.
Brodir's men were slain to a man.
After that they took King Brian's body and laid it out. The
king's head had grown fast to the trunk.
Fifteen men of the burners fell in Brian's battle, and there,
too, fell Halldor the son of Gudmund the Powerful, and Erling
of Straumey.
On Good-Friday that event happened in Caithness that a man whose
name was Daurrud went out. He saw folk riding twelve together to
a bower, and there they were all lost to his sight. He went to
that bower and looked in through a window slit that was in it,
and saw that there were women inside, and they had set up a loom.
Men's heads were the weights, but men's entrails were the warp
and weft, a sword was the shuttle, and the reels were arrows.
They sang these songs, and he learnt them by heart: