Egil's Saga
"The message said that Egil Skallagrimsson had a matter to attend to with him. Atli took his weapons; so did all the men who were fit to fight, and they went outside.
Under the ancient custom every man had the right to challenge another to a duel, whether to prosecute a case or defend it.
After that they prepared themselves for the duel. Egil came forward wearing a helmet on his head and carrying a shield in front of him, with a halberd in his hand and his sword Slicer tied to his right hand."
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An eventful and dynamic saga which begins with King Harald the Fair-Hair's campaign to unify Norway into a single entity, the upheavals caused by this attempt resulted in the migrations of many families who sailed out to England, Iceland and the Orkneys.
Egil himself is a curious blend of savagery and poetic sensibility, he participates in numerous Viking raids, man-to-man trails by combat, and a feud with Harald's son Eirik the Bloodaxe in York, yet at the same time he brings each of these events into song, fashioning legends as he lives them, keenly aware that he IS the heritage.
I'd recommend this one to anyone looking for an introduction to the sagas.
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