THE GIANT BEHIND THE WATERFALL
The giants lingered longer in the Far North than elsewhere. About
two hundred years after the death of Charlemagne there was living
in Iceland a saga hero named Grettir the Strong. He was the most
powerful man ever known in the north country. More than once he had
overcome dreaded Berserks in their battle fury; on a narrow path on
a cliff face he conquered a huge bear with his naked hands, holding
off the infuriated beast by the ears till he could topple it over the
precipice; but his strength and high spirit brought him great reverses
and caused him to be an outlaw for much of his troubled life.
During his wanderings through the wild unknown regions as a forest man,
he spent one winter under the Geitland glacier where the hot springs
made a fair grassy valley; and here he was intimate with a giant named
Thorir, whose daughters were glad to see him because not many people
came there.
Finding it dull, he resumed his travels, and came into Bardadal. Here
at Sandhaugar dwelt then Steinvor, a widow with young children. The
place had an evil name from a strange happening.
Two winters before Steinvor had gone as usual to celebrate Yule at
the neighboring town of Eyjardalsa, while her husband, Thorsteinn the
White, stayed at home. Men lay down to sleep in the evening, and
in the night they heard a great noise in the room near the bondi's
(farmer's) bed. No one dared to get up to see what was the matter,
because there were so few of them. The mistress of the house returned
home the next morning, but her husband had disappeared and no one knew
what had become of him. So the next season passed. The following winter
the mistress wanted to go to mass, and told her servant to stay at
home; he was very unwilling but said she should be obeyed. It happened
just as before; this time the servant disappeared. People thought it
very strange and found some drops of blood upon the outer door, so they
supposed that some evil spirit, or troll, must have carried off both
the men.
This story had spread all through the district. It came to the ears of
Grettir, who being well accustomed to deal with ghosts and spectres
turned his steps thither and arrived on Yule-eve at Sandhaugar. He was
disguised as was now his custom, because his enemy Thorir had set a
price on his head, and called himself Gest.
The lady of the house saw that he was enormously tall, and the servants
were terribly afraid of him. He asked for hospitality; the mistress
told him that food was ready for him but that he must see after
himself. He said he would, and added:
"I will stay in the house while you go to mass if you would like it."
She said: "You must be a brave man to venture to stay in this house."
"I do not care for a dull life," he said.
Then she said: "I do not want to remain at home, but I cannot get
across the river."
"I will come with you," said the pretended Gest. So she made ready to
go to mass with her little daughter. It was thawing outside; the river
was flooded and was covered with ice.
"It is impossible for man or horse to cross," said Steinvor.
"There must be fords," said Gest. "Do not be afraid."
"First carry the maiden over; she is lighter."
"I don't want to make two journeys of it," said he; "I will carry you
in my arms."
She crossed herself and said: "That is impossible; what will you do
with the girl?"
"I will find a way," said Gest.
Taking them both up, he set the girl on her mother's knee, while he
bore them both on his left arm, keeping his right arm free.
So he carried them across. They were too frightened to cry out. The
river came up to his breast, and a great piece of ice came against him,
which he pushed off with the hand that was free. Then the stream became
so deep that it broke over his shoulder, but he waded on vigorously
till he reached the other bank and put them on shore.
The mistress reached Eyjardalsa for mass and everyone wondered how she
had crossed the river. She said she did not know whether it was a man
or a troll who had carried her over. The priest said it was certainly
a man, though unlike other men. "Let us keep silent over it; may be
that he means to help you in your difficulties."
She stayed there that night.
Meanwhile Grettir had waded back. It was nearly dark by the time he
got home to Sandhaugar and called for some food. When he had eaten
something he told the servants to go to the other end of the hall. Then
he got some boards and loose logs and laid them across the hall to make
a great barricade so that none of the servants could get across. No one
dared to oppose him or to object to anything. The entrance was in the
side wall of the hall under the back gable, and near it was a cross
bench upon which Grettir laid himself, keeping on his clothes, with a
light burning in the room. So he lay till into the night.
Towards midnight he heard a loud noise outside, and very soon there
walked a huge troll-wife into the room. She carried a trough in one
hand and a rather large cutlass in the other. She looked around the
room as she entered, and on seeing Grettir lying there she rushed at
him; he started up and attacked her furiously.
They fought long together; she was the stronger but he evaded her
skilfully. Everything near them and the panelling of the back wall were
broken to pieces. She dragged him through the hall door out to the
porch, where he resisted vigorously. The troll-wife wanted to drag him
out of the house, but before that was done they had broken up all the
fittings of the outer door and borne them away on their shoulders.
Then she strove to get to the river and among the rocks. Grettir was
terribly fatigued, but there was no choice but either to brace himself
or be dragged down to the rocks.
All night long they struggled together, and he thought he had never met
with such a monster for strength. She gripped him so tightly to herself
that he could do nothing with either hand but cling to her waist.
When at last they reached a rock by the river he swung the monster
around and got his right hand loose. Then he quickly seized the
short sword he was wearing, drew it, and struck at the troll's right
shoulder, cutting off her right arm and releasing himself. She sprang
among the rocks and disappeared in the waterfall. Grettir, very stiff
and tired, lay long by the rock.
At daylight he went back to the hall and lay down on his bed, blue and
swollen all over.
When Steinvor came home she found the place all in disorder. She went
to the stranger and asked him what had happened, and why everything
was broken to pieces. He told her the whole adventure, just as it had
happened. She thought it a matter of great moment and asked him who
he was. He told her the truth, said that he wished to see a priest,
and asked her to send for one. She did so; Steinn the priest came to
Sandhaugar and soon learnt that it was Grettir, the son of Asmund, who
had come there under the name of Gest.
The priest asked him what he thought had become of Steinvor's husband
and servant who had disappeared; Grettir said they must have been taken
among the rocks. The priest said he could not believe that unless he
gave some evidence of it. Grettir declared that later it would become
known, and the priest went home. Grettir lay many days in his bed, and
the lady did all she could for him.
He himself always declared that the troll woman sprang among the rocks
in the waterfall when she was wounded, but the men of Bardadal have a
tale that day dawned upon her while they were wrestling, so that when
he cut off her arm she lost her powers and is still standing there on
the mountain in the likeness of a hideous woman. However that may be,
the dwellers in the valley kept Grettir's secret so that he was safe
from his enemies and the blood-feud while he lay helpless.
One day that winter, after Yule, Grettir went to Eyjardalsa and met
Steinn, to whom he said:
"I see, priest, that you have little belief in what I say. Now I wish
you to come with me to the river and see for yourself what probability
there is in it."
The priest did so. When they reached the falls they saw a cave up under
the rocks. The cliff was there so steep that no one could climb it, and
it was nearly ten fathoms down to the water. They had a rope with them.
"It is quite impossible for any one to get down there," said the priest.
Grettir answered: "It is certainly possible; and men of high mettle are
those who would feel themselves happiest there. I want to see what
there is back of the fall. Do you mind the rope."
The priest said he could do so if he chose. He drove a stake into the
ground and laid stones against it.
Grettir now fastened a stone in a loop at the end of the rope, and
lowered it from above into the water.
"How do you mean to go?" asked Steinn.
"I don't mean to be bound when I come into the fall," Grettir said. "So
my mind tells me."
Then he prepared to go; he had few clothes on, and only a short sword;
no other arms. He jumped from a rock and got down to the fall. The
priest saw the soles of his feet, but after that did not know what had
become of him.
Grettir dived beneath the fall. It was very difficult swimming because
of the currents, and he had to dive to the bottom to get behind the
pouring wall of water. There was a rock where he came up, and a great
cave behind the fall in front of which the water streamed down.
He went into the cave, where there was a large fire burning, and a
horrible great giant, most fearful to behold, sitting before it.
As Grettir entered the giant sprang up, seized a halberd and struck at
him, for he could both strike and thrust with it. It had a wooden shaft
and was of the kind called "heptis-ax." Grettir struck back with his
sword and cut through the shaft.
Then the giant tried to reach up backwards to a sword which was hanging
in the cave, and at that moment Grettir struck at him and cut open his
lower breast and stomach so that all his entrails fell out into the
river and floated down the stream.
The priest, who was sitting by the rope, saw the water all thickened
and bloody and lost his head, making sure that Grettir was killed.
He left the rope and ran off home, where he arrived in the evening
and told them for certain Grettir was dead, and said it was a great
misfortune to have lost such a man.
Grettir struck few more blows at the giant before he was dead. He then
entered the cave, kindled a light and explored. It is not told how much
treasure he found there, but there is said to have been some. He stayed
there till late into the night, and found the bones of two men which he
carried away in a skin.
Then he came out of the cave, swam to the rope and shook it, thinking
the priest was there; finding him gone he had to climb up the rope hand
over hand, and so reached the top.
He returned to Eyjardalsa and carried the skin with the bones in it
into the vestibule of the church, together with a rune-staff, upon
which were most beautifully carved the following lines:
Into the fall of the torrent I went;
Dank its maw towards me gaped.
The floods before the ogress' den
Mighty against my shoulder played.
And then:
Hideous the friend of Mella came,
Hard were the blows I dealt upon her.
The shaft of Heptisax was severed,
My sword has pierced the monster's breast.
There too it was told how Grettir had brought the bones from the cave.
When the priest came to the church on the next morning, he found the
staff and all that was with it and read the runes. Grettir had returned
to Sandhaugar.
When Steinn met Grettir again he asked him exactly what had happened,
and Grettir told him. He declared the priest had held the rope very
faithlessly, and Steinn admitted that it was true.
Men felt no doubt that these monsters were responsible for the
disappearance of Thorsteinn and his servant, nor was there any haunting
or ghost-walking there afterwards; Grettir had evidently cleared the
land of them.
The bones were buried by the priest in the churchyard. Grettir stayed
that winter in Bardadal, though unknown to those who sought his blood.