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Egill Skallagrímsson also known as Egil Skallagrimsson〔Thorsson, 3〕 (c. 904c. 995)〔Palsson and Edwards pp. 248-9〕 was a Viking-Age poet, warrior and farmer.〔 He is also the protagonist of the eponymous ''Egil's Saga''. ''Egil's Saga'' historically narrates a period from approximately 850-1000 CE, being written somewhere between 1220 and 1240.〔 ==Life== :''The following is based on the Icelandic saga "Egil's saga"; like many sagas, it can be unreliable as a source of historical fact.'' Egill was born in Iceland, the son of Skalla-Grímr Kveldúlfsson〔''Skalla-'' refers to his baldness and ''Grímr'' was a frequent name, being one of the names of Óðinn, but also being a heiti for ''snake'', ''billy-goat'' and ''dwarf''〕 and Bera Yngvarsdóttir, and the grandson of Kveld-Úlfr ("Evening Wolf"). His ancestor, Hallbjorn, was Norwegian-Sami.〔Pálsson, Hermann. "The Sami People in Old Norse Literature." Nordlit 3.1 (2012): 29-53. "The following nouns were used about people of mixed parentage:".."halftroll 'a half troll'. This is used as the nickname of Hallbjorn of Ramsta in Namdalen, father of Ketill hoengr, and ancestor of some of the settlers of Iceland, including Skalla-Grimr."〕 When Grímr arrived in Iceland, he settled at Borg, the place where his father's coffin landed. Grímr was a respected chieftain and mortal enemy of King Harald Fairhair of Norway. Egill composed 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.〔 〕 At the age of seven, Egill was cheated in a game with local boys. Enraged, he went home and procured an axe, and returning to the boys, split the skull of the boy who cheated him, to the teeth. After Berg-Önundr refused to allow Egill to claim his wife Ásgerðr's share of her father's inheritance, he challenged Önundr to a holmgang. Later, after being grievously insulted, Egill killed Bárðr of Atley, a retainer of King Eirik Bloodaxe and kinsman of Queen Gunnhildr, both of whom spent the remainder of their lives trying to take vengeance. Seething with hatred, Gunnhildr ordered her two brothers to assassinate Egill and his brother Þórólfr, who had been on good terms with her previously. However, Egill slew the Queen's brothers when they attempted to confront him. Gunnbildr's brother's names were Eyvind Braggart and Alf Aksmann. That same summer, Harald Fairhair died. In order to secure his place as sole King of Norway, Eirik Bloodaxe murderered 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. Before escaping from Norway, Egill also slew Rögnvaldr, the son of King Eirik and Queen Gunnhildr. He then cursed the King and Queen, setting a horse's head on a ''Nithing pole'' and saying, :"Here I set up a ''níð''-pole, and declare this ''níð'' against King Eiríkr and Queen Gunnhildr," — 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 Gunnhildr 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 carved runes upon the pole, and said all the formal words of the curse. (ch. 57). Gunnhildr also put a spell on Egill, which made him feel restless and depressed until they met again. Soon afterwards, Eiríkr and Gunnhildr were forced to flee to the Kingdom of Northumbria by Prince Hákon. In Saxon England, they were set up as King and Queen of Northumbria in rivalry with King Athelstan of England. Ultimately, Egill was shipwrecked in Northumbria and came to know who ruled the land. Egill sought out the house his good friend Arinbjorn where they armed themselves and marched to Eiríkr's court. Arinbjorn told Egill “now you must go and offer the king your head and embrace his foot. I will present your case to him.” Arinbjorn presented Egill’s case and Egill composed a short ''drápa'', reciting it with Eirikr’s foot in his hand, but Eirikr was not impressed. He explained that Egill’s wrongs to him were far too great to be forgiven so easily. Gunnhild called for the immediate execution of Egill, but Arinbjorn convinced the king not to kill him until the morning. Arinbjorn told Egill that he should stay up all night and compose a mighty ''drápa'' fit for such a king. In the morning Egill went before the king and recited a great ''drápa''. Eirik was so surprised by the quality of the poem that he had no choice but to give Egill his life. Egill also fought at the Battle of Brunanburh in the service of King Athelstan.〔"Egil's Saga." The Sagas of Icelanders. Penguin Books, 2000. 109-119. Print.〕 Ultimately, Egill returned to his family farm in Iceland, where he remained a power to be reckoned with in local politics. He lived into his eighties and died shortly before the Christianisation of Iceland. Before Egill died he buried his silver treasure near Mosfellsbær. In his last act of violence he murdered the servant who helped him bury his treasure. When a Christian chapel was constructed at the family homestead, Egill's body was re-exumed by his son and re-buried near the altar. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Egill Skallagrímsson」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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