In the Viking Age, Egill Skallagrímsson was more than just a local chieftain; he was a figure who forged his legacy through violent clashes, enduring poetry and complex family ties. Born around 904 at Borg in western Iceland, Egill belonged to the island’s first generation of settlers. His father, Skalla-Grímr Kveldúlfsson, had come to Iceland as a fugitive from King Harald Fairhair of Norway, establishing their family farm where Kveld-Úlfr’s coffin washed ashore, a detail that anchored their ancestry to the land.
A life of conflict and verse
Egill’s saga describes a childhood marked by aggression and precocity. At the age of three, he had already composed his first poem. By seven, after being cheated in a children’s game, he retaliated with lethal violence. The episode set the tone for a life punctuated by feuds, challenges and acts of both brutality and art.
His claims against Norwegian nobility would fuel further conflict. Married to Ásgerðr Björnsdóttir, whose family held substantial wealth in Norway, Egill found his attempts to secure her inheritance blocked, leading to deadly reprisals and duels that often ended with the death of his opponents. He became an outlaw in Norway after killing the king’s son, Rögnvaldr, and famously erected a níð-pole (nithing-pole) carved with curses and runes, directing his rage and misfortune towards Queen Gunnhildr and King Eiríkr Bloodaxe.
Pursued by his enemies, Egill’s fortunes took him far from Iceland. He sought refuge and fortune as a mercenary and raider abroad. In the service of King Æthelstan, he fought at Brunanburh, a decisive battle in what would become England, where his brother Þórólfr was slain. Æthelstan’s gift of two chests of silver partly compensated Egill for this loss, yet the grief found its deepest expression in “Sonatorrek” (The Loss of a Son), regarded as a foundational work of personal lyric poetry in the North.
Legend, poetry and runes
Egill’s role as a poet earned him renown that outlived his battles. In a dramatic episode in Northumbria, after being captured and sentenced to death by King Eiríkr, and at the urging of his ally Arinbjörn, Egill composed and performed a powerful praise poem. The poem, “Höfuðlausn” (Head Ransom), so impressed the king that Egill’s life was spared, a testament to the status of poetry in Viking society.
His surviving verses display intricate forms, including the use of end rhyme and complex metaphors known as kennings. Egill’s ability with poetic and magical runes also features in his story. His runic knowledge was said to avert poison, cure sickness and raise powerful curses, blurring the line between literature and sorcery in the Norse mind-set.
In his later years, Egill grew blind and withdrew from public life at his family farm near Mosfellsbær in south-west Iceland. According to his saga, as death neared, he buried his silver and ensured the secret remained by killing those who helped him. After Christianity arrived in Iceland, his remains were moved from their first grave to a new churchyard, the skull described as unusually large and strong, a detail that, some suggest, hints at his singular presence both in body and legend.
Sources
- Wikipedia
- Wikipedia (Icelandic) in Icelandic
