King Athelstan had Hakon baptized, and brought up in the right faith,
and in good habits, and all sorts of good manners, and he loved Hakon
above all his relations; and Hakon was beloved by all men. He was
henceforth called Athelstan's foster-son. He was an accomplished skald,
and he was larger, stronger and more beautiful than other men; he was
a man of understanding and eloquence, and also a good Christian. King
Athelstan gave Hakon a sword, of which the hilt and handle were gold,
and the blade still better; for with it Hakon cut down a mill-stone to
the centre eye, and the sword thereafter was called the Quernbite (1).
Better sword never came into Norway, and Hakon carried it to his dying
day.
ENDNOTES:
(1) Quern is the name of the small hand mill-stones still
found.
in use among the cottars in Orkney, Shetland, and the
Hebrides. This sword is mentioned in the Younger Edda.
There were many excellent swords in the olden time, and many
of them had proper names.