appears to have been married soon after Egil's final return in 952: indeed, both she and Bera were married before Bodvar's death in 960.
Ch. LXX.—Eric. . .had fallen] 950 or thereabouts was the year of his death: Athelstan died in 940.
Ch. LXXI.—the king's treasury] A neat proverb 'rumr ingangs en throngr brott-farar.'
He must tend] I who live in Norway must bend to Norway's king.
Ch. LXXII.—intersected] This description of the flat country and its dykes is surely by one who had seen such. It is not quite plain what the 'large stakes or poles' were for. The old editor says 'partim palis defixis (vallis) arva circum sepiebant.' But this sense would surely have been more clearly expressed by our Saga-writer by skid-gard, or some such word. More likely the large stakes were set in the dykes here and there to support and strengthen the banks; perhaps where the bridges were.
his shield behind] So he describes Eric as doing in Headransom, st. 14.
Arinbjorn went] This is the last we see of him in the Saga.
Ch. LXXIII.—Vermaland] In the south of Sweden.
cleared] 'eversis silvis ad cultum humanum accommodaverat' is a note in the old edition. The nickname 'tree-cutter' one may suppose was given to Olaf from his energy as a pioneering backwoodsman. That there was still much work for the axe to do is plain from the description of the forest country through which Egil makes his way.
Arnvid] It is mentioned in 'Njalssaga,' ch. v., that 'Arnvid had kept back the taxes from Hacon Athelstane's fosterchild, and both father and son had fled away from Jemtaland to Gothland.'
a sending to death] 'forsending': the prefix has much the same force in some words as the German ver in verrathen, etc. The mission we may say was something in purpose like Bellerophon's with the 'fatal tokens.'
Ch. LXXIV.—sledges] We come upon quite a different scene in this winter journey: a very graphic one of the horses floundering in the snow, etc.
no beer] The same treatment and deceit as in the case of Bard, ch. xliii. The rites of hospitality were much prized in those rude times, and any infringement of them resented.
Ch. LXXV.—Helga] There is a curious mixture of superstition and common-sense in Egil's prescription and treatment of the invalid. We shall see in ch. lxxix. that the runes had been wrongly written by a suitor.
leek-tending] This is one explanation of the kenning 'leek-linden' for a woman; that women had to look after the kitchen-garden with leeks, etc., in it.
Ch. LXXVI.—six men] those spoken of in last chapter: two parties, one seen by Thorfinn, one by his house-carle.
Ch. LXXVIII.—Egil took] A most remarkable resource by way of defensive armour. In the note to the Arna-Magnæan edition a similar ex- pedient is quoted from another Saga.
fresh as ever] The expression is spán-nyir 'span-new': the 'span' being as in 'spick and span.' Spánn means 'chip': but the compound seems to be used of quite other things than wood: e.g., of wine.
Ch. LXXIX.—Gautland] part of western Sweden; written sometimes 'Gothland' and 'Gottland.
for that winter] Nor indeed did he go abroad any more.
Ch. LXXX.—in the district] A paragraph about a Kettle Gufa and his family has been omitted, as it does not bear upon Egil's history. And all the marriages of Egil's children have been thrown into this chapter, so as to begin ch. lxxxi. with Bodvar's death.
