Picture of Egill in a 17th century manuscript of Egils Saga

Egill Skallagrímsson (also Egill Skalla-Grímsson) was a viking and a skald. He was born in Iceland in the year 910 and died some time around the year 990. Egils saga (attributed to Snorri Sturluson, 1178 - 1241) tells the tale of his deeds. Egill is the great anti-hero of Icelandic literature, in many ways resembling his god, Odin, breaking his oaths, killing for trifles, and practicing sorcery.

Life

Painting of Egill in the viking center Fjörukráin, Hafnarfjörður, Iceland.

Egill was the son of Skalla-Grímur Kveldúlfsson ("Bald Grim") and Bera Yngvarsdóttir, and the grandson of Kveld-Úlfur ("Evening Wolf"). When Grímur arrived in Iceland, he settled at Borg, the place where his father's coffin landed. Grímur was a famous warrior and an enemy of Harald Fairhair of Norway.

Egill wrote his first poem at the age of three years. He exhibited berserk behaviour, and this, together with the description of his large and unattractive head, has led to the theory that he might have suffered from Paget's disease.

After Berg-Önundr refused to allow Egill to claim his wife Ásgerð's share of her father's inheritance, he challenged Önundr to a holmgang.

Egill killed Bárður of Atley, one of the king's retainers, thus making an enemy of Queen Gunnhildur, who never forgave him and did everything within her power to take revenge. Gunnhildur ordered her two brothers to kill Egill and Egill's older brother Þórólfur, who had been on good terms with both her and the king before.

That same summer, Harald Fairhair died, and in order to secure his place on the throne, Eirik Bolldaxe killed his two brothers. He then declared Egill an outlaw in Norway. Berg-Önundr gathered a company of men to capture Egill, but was killed in his attempt to do so. Escaping from Norway, Egill killed Rögnvaldr Eiríksson and then cursed his parents, setting a horse's head on a pole (níðstöng) and saying,

"Here I set up a níð-pole, and declare this níð against King Eiríkr and Queen Gunnhild," — he turned the horse-head to face the mainland — "I declare this níð at the land-spirits there, and the land itself, so that all will fare astray, not to hold nor find their places, not until they wreak King Eiríkr and Gunnhild from the land." He set up the pole of níð in the cliff-face and left it standing; he faced the horse's eyes on the land, and he rist runes upon the pole, and said all the formal words of the curse. (ch. 57)

Gunnhildur also put a spell on Egill, which made him feel restless and depressed until they met again.

Soon afterwards, Eirik and Gunnhild were forced to flee to Northumbria by Eirik's brother Hakon, where he was granted land by King Aðalsteinn. Egill was shipwrecked on a nearby shore and came before Eirik, who sentenced him to death. But Egill composed a drápa in Eirik's praise in the dungeon during the night, and when he recited it in the morning, Eirik gave him his freedom and forgave any vengeance or settlement for the killing of Rögnvaldr.

Egill had five children with Ásgerður Björnsdóttir: Þorgerður Egilsdóttir, Bera Egilsdóttir, Böðvar Egilsson, Gunnar Egilson and Þorsteinn Egilson. Before Egill died he concealed his silver treasure near Mosfellsbær.

Poems

• Egill's first poem (Egils saga ch. 40)

Þat mælti mín móðir,

at mér skyldi kaupa

fley ok fagrar árar,

fara á brott með víkingum,

standa upp í stafni,

stýra dýrum knerri,

halda svá til hafnar

höggva mann ok annan.

• Höfuðlausn (the head-loosening) with which he bought his life from Eirik Bloodaxe who had sentenced him to death in England.

• Sonatorrek ("son's loss") after the death of his son Böðvar who drowned during a storm

Egill bringing his son Böðvars to the gravehill of his father Skalla-Grímur

• Arinbjarnarkviða, dedicated to his companion Arinbjörn

Egill in popular culture

Egill remains a very popular figure in Iceland, with a Reykjavík pub named after him, as well as a beer brewery (Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson). Some people pertaining to the Asatru religion consider Egill a magician and holds a day of remembrance for him on December 9th.

External links

• Egil Skallagrimsson and the Viking Ideal (http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/1/777777122294/) by Christina von Nolcken
• Höfundur Egill Skallagrímsson (http://www.skolavefur.is/lok/almennt/ljodskald_man/Egill_Skallagrimsson/Forsida_hofundar.htm) (in Icelandic)
• Níð en Senna Formal insulting in Old Norse literature (http://loki.ragnarokr.com/pipsssen.htm) by Selvårv Stigårð