Saga network

Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar

The Saga of Grettir the Strong, trans. not stated in the eBook; text corresponds to G. A. Hight's 1914 Everyman translation (attribution UNVERIFIED in-file) (1914). 93 chapters, 230 characters resolved, 213 distinct social edges (269 typed edge records across seven relation types — see Methods for why those two counts differ).

Network

Drag nodes, scroll to zoom, click a character for its profile, click an edge to read the sentences that support it.

119 characters · 213 edges (269 typed edge records)

Network summary

0.030Density
0.154Avg. clustering
3.172Avg. path length
6Diameter
14Communities (Louvain)modularity 0.466
-0.165Degree assortativity
75.0%Structural balance9/12 triangles balanced
18Articulation pointsbridge characters

Metrics are computed on the semantic layer only (kinship, marriage, friendship, conversation, conflict, killing, support) — the much denser sentence co-occurrence layer (227 nodes, 1236 edges) is a baseline, not a claim about social structure. See Methods for what each number does and does not mean.

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Chapter 54: Adventure With Lopt

Grettir went from Tunga up the Haukadal valley northwards to Kjol and was there for some time in the summer. For men travelling either to the North or to the South there was no certainty of their not being stripped of what they had on them, for he was hard pressed for the means of living. One day when Grettir was keeping to the North near Dufunesskeid he saw a man riding South along the Kjol valley. He was a tall man on horseback, riding a good horse with a studded bridle, and was leading another horse loaded with sacks. He had a slouched hat on his head, so that his face was not clearly seen. Grettir was very pleased to see his horse and his property, and went to meet him and asked him his name. He said it was Lopt, and added: "I know what your name is; you are Grettir the Strong, son of Asmund. Whither are you going?" "I have not made up my mind yet about that," said Grettir. "My present business is to know whether you will lay off some of the property which you are travelling with." "Why should I give you what belongs to me? What will you give me for the things?" "Have you not heard that I never pay anything? And yet it seems to most people that I get what I want." Lopt said: "Make this offer to those who seem good to you; I am not going to give my property away for nothing. Let us each go our own way." Then he whipped on his horse and was about to ride away from Grettir. "We shall not part so quickly as that," said Grettir, and seized the bridle of Lopt's horse in front of his hands, pulled it from him and held it with both hands. "Go your own way," said Lopt; "you will get nothing from me as long as I am able to hold it." "That shall now be tried," said Grettir. Lopt reached down along the cheek-strap and got hold of the reins between the end ring and Grettir's hands, pulling with such force that Grettir let go, and at last Lopt wrenched the whole bridle away from him. Grettir looked at his palms and thought that this man must have strength in his claws rather than not. Then he looked at him and said: "Where are you going to now?" He answered: "To the storm-driven den, over ice-clad heights, I ride to the rock and the rest of the hand." Grettir said: "There is no certainty to be had from asking where your dwelling is if you do not speak more clearly." Then Lopt spake and said: "I seek not to hide thy ways from thy ken. 'Tis the place which the Borgfirdings Balljokull call." Then they parted. Grettir saw that he had no strength against this man. Then he spoke a verse: "Illugi brave and Atli were far. Never again may such hap be mine! The bridle was torn away from my hand. Her tears will flow when I am afeared." After this Grettir left Kjol and went South to Hjalli where he asked Skapti for shelter. Skapti said: "I am told that you are acting with violence and are robbing men of their property; that ill becomes a man so highly connected as you are. It would be easier to negotiate if you gave up robbing. Now as I am called Lawman of this country, it would not be seemly for me to break the law by harbouring outlaws. I would like you to betake yourself somewhere where you do not need to commit robbery." Grettir said he would be very glad to, but that he could scarcely live alone owing to his fear of the dark. Skapti said he would have to content himself with something short of the best: "And trust no one so fully that what happened to you in the Western fjords may be repeated. Many have been brought to death by over-confidence." Grettir thanked him for his good advice and turned back to Borgarfjord in the autumn, when he went to his friend Grim, the son of Thorhall, and told him what Skapti had said. Grim advised him to go to the North to Fiskivotn in the Arnarvatn Heath, and he did so.

Table of contents

1. The Family And Early Wars Of Onund The Son Of Ofeig2. The Battle Of Hafrsfjord3. Meeting Of Defeated Chiefs In The West And Marriage Of4. Fight With Vikings Vigbjod And Vestmar5. Visit Of Onund And Thrand To Eyvind In Ireland6. Death Of Bjorn; Disputes Over His Property In Norway7. Murder Of Ondott Crow, And The Vengeance Therefor8. Onund And Asmund Sail To Iceland9. Onund Settles In Kaldbak10. Ofeig Grettir Is Killed. Visit Of Onund To Aud The11. Death Of Onund. Disputes Between The Sons Of Onund And Of12. Battle At Rifsker13. Thorgrim Settles At Bjarg And Marries. His Son Asmund14. Asmund'S Children. Grettir'S Childhood15. Games At Midfjordvatn16. Grettir Kills Skeggi And Is Outlawed For Three Years17. Grettir Sails For Norway And Is Wrecked On Haramarsey18. Adventure In The Howe Of Kar The Old19. Berserks At Haramarsey20. Thorfinn'S Return. Grettir Visits The North21. Adventure With A Bear22. Grettir Kills Bjorn And Is Summoned Before Jarl Sveinn23. Grettir Kills Hjarrandi24. Grettir Kills Gunnar. His Friends Rally Round Him And Save25. Events In Iceland. Thorgils Maksson Attacked By The26. The Feud With The Foster-Brothers Is Taken Up By Asmund27. Sentences On The Foster-Brothers28. Grettir'S Visit To Audun In Vididal; Offers His Services29. Horse-Fight At Langafit30. Thorbjorn Oxmain And The Fray At Hrutafjardarhals31. Grettir'S Vain Endeavour To Provoke Bardi32. The Spook At Thorhallsstad. Glam The Shepherd Killed By A33. Doings Of Glam'S Ghost. Awful Condition Of Vatnsdal34. Grettir Visits His Uncle Jokull35. The Fight With Glam'S Ghost36. Thorbjorn Slowcoach At Home37. Grettir Sails For Norway And Kills Thorbjorn Slowcoach38. Grettir Fetches Fire--The Sons Of Thorir Are Burnt39. Grettir Appears Before The King And Fails To Undergo The40. Adventure With The Berserk Snaekoll41. Thorsteinn Dromund'S Arms42. Death Of Asmund Longhair43. The Sons Of Thorir Of Skard Are Slain By Atli And Grim44. Settlement Of The Feud At The Hunavatn Thing45. Atli Murdered By Thorbjorn Oxmain46. Sentence Of Outlawry Passed Upon Grettir At The All-Thing47. Grettir Returns To Bjarg--Sveinn And His Horse48. Death Of Thorbjorn Oxmain49. Grettir Visits Thorsteinn Kuggason And Snorri Godi50. Grettir Winters With Thorgils At Reykjaholar In Company With51. Grettir'S Case Overborne At The All-Thing52. Grettir Is Captured By Farmers And Released By Thorbjorg53. Grettir Winters In Ljarskogar With Thorsteinn Kuggason54. Adventure With Lopt55. Grettir In The Arnarvatn Heath. Death Of Grim The Forest-Man56. Treachery And Death Of Thorir Redbeard57. Attack On Grettir By Thorir Of Gard With Eighty Men58. Grettir Visits Bjorn The Hitdale Warrior And Takes Refuge59. The Chastisement Of Gisli60. The Battle With The Myramen61. Grettir Winters Under The Geitland Glacier62. Hallmund Is Killed By A Forest-Man Named Grim63. Grettir'S Meeting With Thorir On The Reykja Heath64. Ghosts In Bardardal65. Adventure With A Troll-Woman66. Grettir Slays A Giant67. Visit To Gudmund The Mighty68. Fight With Thorodd The Son Of Snorri69. Grettir'S Last Visit To Bjarg And Journey With Illugi To70. The People Of Skagafjord71. The Bondis Claim Their Property In Drangey72. Grettir Visits The Thing At Hegranes73. Visit Of Thorbjorn Angle To Drangey74. The Fire Goes Out In Drangey75. Grettir Swims To The Mainland For Fire76. Adventure Of Haering In Drangey77. Grettir'S Case Before The All-Thing78. Thorbjorn'S Foster-Mother79. The Spell Takes Effect80. The Spell Continues To Work81. Thorbjorn Again Visits Drangey82. The Last Battle--Death Of Grettir And Illugi83. Thorbjorn Visits Grettir'S Mother At Bjarg84. Thorbjorn Is Exiled At The Thing85. Thorbjorn Goes To Norway And Constantinople86. Grettir'S Death Avenged By His Brother Thorsteinn87. The Lady Spes88. Adventures Of Thorsteinn And Spes89. The Ordeal90. Thorsteinn And Spes Return To Norway91. Absolution In Rome92. The End Of Thorsteinn And Spes93. The Testimony Of Sturla The Lawman