Having run afoul of King Harald Fair-Hair, Haral Ottarsson sold his farm in Norway and immigrated to Iceland with his two sons, Ottar and Porolfur. His third son, Kjartan, would arrive years later after a series of nautical mishaps. They would settle on the Breidafjord, in western Iceland, on what would one day be known as the Nose Penninsula. This is their story.
THE SAGA OF THE HARALSSONS
In the year 935 AD, Kjartan and Porolfur met at Ottur's farm to prepare for the Spring Assembly at Thorsnes. It was a joyous occasion, because Kjartan and Porolfur were unmarried and had spent six lightless winter months with no one to talk to but their hapless Irish slaves and some sheep. They were entertained by Kjartan, who once again told them the story of the year he spent living alone on a frozen rock in the North Atlantic. The experience had left him a strange and unsettling man. Nonetheless, there was much mirth at his expense.
The journey to the Thorsnes Assembly would take just a few hours if the brothers owned a boat. Sadly, this was not the case. Instead they were forced to circle the Hvammsfjord by horse, which would take them the better part of a week. They set off the next morning.
On the first night of their trip, they found lodging with their neighbor, Grimmur Hakisson, and his daughter Porinna. Over horns of ale, Grimmur told the brothers about a bear that had been terrorizing his sheep. Ottar noted that since Iceland uses spools of rough-spun woolen cloth as currency, this bear was a serious threat local economy. Kjartan was determined to impress Grimmur's broad-shouldered daughter, and thus swore to kill the bear with violence.
Angus, Grimmur's slave, led the brothers up the mountain to the site of the bear attack. The bear appeared on a nearby cliff and shouted in Norse, "Just walk away!" It then pelted the brothers with large stones before disappearing up the hill. Angus fled in terror.
Determined to prove his might to Odinn, the All-Father, Ottar clenched his Norse sword in his teeth and scaled the cliff hand-over-hand. His brothers, being far more prudent, opted to follow the bear's trail on horseback.
A chase ensued, but Ottar quickly closed and confronted the bear, who was under the control of Grimmur Hallbjornsson, a notorious outlaw (not to be confused with their host, who was also named Grimmur). Following the murder of his wife, Grimmur had been exiled to the interior of the island, where he lived a meager and wretched existence. An elf woman took pity on him and gifted him the company of a magical polar bear. This turned out to be more of a curse than a blessing, as polar bears require quite a lot of food, of which there is little to be had in Iceland.
Ottar had no interest in the outlaw's sad tale and decided to teach this bear some manners. He lunged at the beast with his sword and was quickly struck down by its monstrous paw. The outlaw called off the beast and tended to Ottar's wound. From this day hence, Ottar would be known as "Scar-Gut."
Kjartan and Porolfur arrived and confronted the outlaw over the mauling of their brother. Grimmur offered aid them in killing the bear if they would allow him to escape when the deed was done. They came to an agreement and Poroful quickly wrote a poem to chronicle their exploits.
Ottar was rendered useless by his wound, so he gave his spear to Kjartan. Porolfur kept the bear occupied by smacking it in the face with his shield. With a mighty thrust, Kjartan jammed his spear into the beast's eye, killing it instantly. He returned the spear to Ottar, who named it "Bear Apalin." They rejoiced!
The outlaw thanked the brothers and disappeared into the rocky wilderness. The brothers returned to Grimmur Hakisson with the bear pelt. There was much celebration, and their praises were sung at the Thorsnes Assembly.
NEXT CHAPTER: The brothers burn down Ireland for fun and profit. The Irish just can't catch a break in Pendragon or Mythic Iceland.
