ONUND
There were then in the western parts many distinguished men who had fled
from their homes in Norway before King Harald, for he declared all who
fought against him outlaws, and seized their property. As soon as Onund
had recovered from his wound, Thrand went with his party to Geirmund
Swarthyskin, who was the most eminent of the vikings in the West. They
asked him whether he was not going to try and regain his kingdom in
Hordland, and offered to join him, hoping by this means to do something
for their own properties, for Onund was very wealthy and his kindred
very powerful. Geirmund answered that Harald had such a force that there
was little hope of gaining any honour by fighting when the whole country
had joined against him and been beaten. He had no mind, he said,
to become the king's thrall, and to beg for that which he had once
possessed in his own right. Seeing that he was no longer in the vigour
of his youth he preferred to find some other occupation. So Onund and
his party returned to the Southern Islands, where they met many of their
friends.
There was a man named Ofeig, nicknamed Grettir. He was the son of Einar,
the son of Olvir the Babyman. He was a brother of Oleif the Broad, the
father of Thormod Shaft. Another son of Olvir was named Steinolf, the
father of Una, whom Thorbjorn the Salmon-man married. A third son of
Olvir was Steinmod, who was the father of Konal, the father of Alfdis
of the Barra Isles. Konal's son was named Steimnod; he was the father of
Halldora, whom Eilif, the son of Ketil the One-handed, married.
Ofeig Grettir married Asny, the daughter of Vestar, the son of Haeing.
His sons were Asmund the Beardless and Asbjorn, and his daughters were
named Aldis, Aesa, and Asvor. Ofeig had fled from the wrath of King
Harald into the West over the sea, along with his kinsman Thormod Shaft
and all their families. They ravaged far and wide in the western seas.
Thrand and Onund Treefoot were going West to Ireland to join Thrand's
brother, Eyvind the Easterner, who had command of the Irish defences.
Eyvind's mother was named Hlif; she was the daughter of Hrolf, the son
of Ingjald, the son of King Frodi, while Thrand's mother was Helga, the
daughter of Ondott Crow. The father of Eyvind and Thrand was Bjorn, the
son of Hrolf of Ar. He had had to leave Gautland because he had burnt
in his house Sigfast the father-in-law of King Solvi. Then he went to
Norway and spent the winter with Grim the Hersir, a son of Kolbjorn
the Sneak, who wanted to murder him for his money. Thence Bjorn went
to Ondott Crow, who lived in Hvinisfjord in Agdir. There he was well
received, stayed the winter, and went campaigning with Ondott in the
summer until his wife Hlif died. Eventually Ondott gave Bjorn his
daughter Helga, and Bjorn then no longer went out to fight. Eyvind had
taken over his father's ships and become a great chief in the western
parts. He married Rafarta, the daughter of the Irish king Kjarval. Their
sons were Helgi the Lean and Snaebjorn.
When Thrand and Onund came to the Southern Islands they found there
Ofeig Grettir and Thormod Shaft, with whom they became very friendly,
for each thought the others had risen from the dead, their last meeting
having been in Norway when the war was at its worst. Onund was very
silent, and Thrand, when he noticed it, asked what was on his mind.
Onund answered with a verse:
"No joy is mine since in battle I fought.
Many the sorrows that o'er me lower.
Men hold me for nought; this thought is the worst
of all that oppresses my sorrowing heart."
Thrand said: "Why, you still seem as full of vigour as ever you were.
You may yet settle down and marry. You shall have my good word and my
interest if you will only tell me whom you fancy."
Onund said he behaved nobly; but said there had once been a time when
his chances of making a profitable marriage had been better.
Thrand said: "Ofeig has a daughter named Aesa; we might mention it if
you like."
Onund said he would like it, and soon afterwards Ofeig was approached on
the subject. He received the proposal favourably, saying he knew the
man to be of good lineage and to have some wealth in movable property,
though his lands were not worth much. "But," he said, "I do not think he
is very wise. Why, my daughter is quite a child."
Thrand said that Onund was more vigorous than many a man whose legs were
sounder.
So with the aid of Thrand the terms were settled. Ofeig was to give his
daughter a portion in cash, for neither would reckon anything for his
lands in Norway. Soon afterwards Thrand was betrothed to the daughter of
Thormod Shaft. Both the maids were to remain plighted for three years.
Then they went on fighting expeditions in the summer, remaining in the
Barra Isles during the winter.