Gunnlaugr ormstunga

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Gunnlaugr ormstunga was an Icelandic poet, born ca. 983. His life is described in Gunnlaugs saga, where several of his poems are preserved.

From an early age he proved himself impetious, audacious, brave, tough and a skilled poet, particularly concerning derogatory poems, which earned him the cognomen ormstunga, "wormtongue". Due to a quarrel with his father, Illuge, Gunnlaugr left his home at the age of 12 to stay for some time with Þorsteinn Egilsson at Borg, the son of Egill Skallagrímsson. There, he became acquainted with Þorsteinn's daughter Helga the fair, who was reputedly the most beautiful woman in Iceland and her hair was so ample that she could hide herself in it.

When Gunnlaugr was eighteen and went abroad, Helga became his fiancée, on the condition that she would wait no more than three years for Gunnlaugr. He visited Norway, England, Ireland, Orkney and Sweden. In Sweden, he stayed with King Olof Skötkonung, and met his rival the Icelandic champion and skald Hrafn Önundarson

It would take four years (1005) for Gunnlaugr to return to Iceland and Helga. Since, Gunnlaugr had been gone for more than three years, Helga had against her will been married to Gunnlaugr's enemy Hrafn. Their marriage was unhappy. Gunnlaugr and Hrafn met at the althing of 1006 and Gunnlaugr challenged Hrafn on a holmgang. The duel, which was a draw, was the last one that was allowed in Iceland, because from that day, holmgangs were forbidden by law.

In order to settle their dispute in blood, the two champions went to Norway, where they met in the spring of 1008. Gunnlaugr defeated Hrafn, but was so badly wounded that he died. He was only 25. Helga was later remarried, but could never get Gunnlaugr out of her mind. Her greatest pleasure was to rest her eyes on a sumptious coat that Gunnlaugr had given her. One evening, she rested her head on her husband's shoulder, spread the coat in front of her, and watched it for a while. Thereafter, she fell back into her husband's embrace and was dead.

This article contains content from the Owl Edition of Nordisk familjebok, a Swedish encyclopedia published between 1904–1926 now in Public Domain. [1]