Egill Skallagrimsson was a renowned Viking poet and the protagonist of the saga “Egil’s Saga”. In the legend, he was also a farmer and a warrior, yet was always known as a person who held incredible power. His known life was based on the “Egil’s Saga”, and because sagas were sometimes fiction, some details of his life may be untrue.

A lot can be learned by this feared and revered man, most notably that he didn’t take crap from anybody. His first kill was somebody who cheated him in a game, where he struck him with a deafening blow that split his skull all the way to his teeth. While you should never do that to somebody, unless it’s a zombie and the world is under attack, you shouldn’t let people take advantage of you or play you for a fool. Stand up for yourself. Turn the other cheek, but do so with the firmness and grit that will make other want to strike themselves for crossing you in the first place.

Farmer, Warrior and Poet

egill skallagrimsson

Son of the Skalla-Grimr Kveldulfsson and Bera Yngvarsdottir, Egill Skallagraimsson was born and raised in Iceland as the son of a respected chieftain. His father was the enemy of the then king of Norway, Harald Faihair.

His first poem was composed at age three. It was believed that he had suffered from Paget’s disease because of his unusual behavior and features of his head.

His first kill was when he was seven years old, where he had taken an axe and split a local boy’s skull to the teeth for cheating on him in a game. Later in life he challenged Onundr to a holmgang, a traditional duel of that time, for not allowing Egill to claim his wife Asgeror’s part of Onundr’s inheritance. These kills already show Egill Skallagrimsson emerging as a formidable warrior, one who was not afraid to show his power.

King Eirikr Bloodaxe and his Queen Gunnhildr were Egill’s most hated enemies for much of his life. They gave great insult to Egill, who took his revenge by killing Baror of Atley, the king and queen’s retainer and kinsmen, respectively. Egill also killed the Queen’s brothers when they were ordered to slay Egill.

After the death of Harald Fairhair, Eirikr Bloodaxe declared Egill Skallagrimsson as an outlaw. Onundr was slayed in an attempt to capture Egill. However, Egill eventually managed to escape, killing the king and queen’s son, Rognvaldr, and as legend goes, setting a curse upon them, demonstrating his power over runes. In retaliation, Gunnhildr was also said to have put a curse upon Egill, causing him to become depressed and restless until they met again.

Not long after Egill’s escape, the king and queen were to flee by Prince Hakon, and set themselves up as king and queen of Northumbria, rivaling against the king of England, Athelstan. The legend goes on to tell of Egill’s eventual shipwreck in Northumbria and his sentence to death by Eirikr’s court. Egill Skallagrimsson avoided death by singing a drapa he had composed, telling praises of Eirikr, and the king albeit grudgingly let him go free.

Though he later served King Athelstan in the Battle of Brunanburh, Egill eventually returned to his family and farm in Iceland. Even up to his death, Egill was a holder of great power, especially in politics.

Death of Egill Skallagrimsson

Egill Skallagrimsson died in his eighties in Iceland. His last few acts involved burying silver and killing the servant who helped him do it.

He is a legend celebrated for his poetry and power over politics. Many historians consider him to be the writer of the best ancient Scandinavian poetry in history.

  • His dirge “Sonatorrek”, which was about his own son, was considered to be the starting point of “Nordic personal lyric poetry”.
  • When Egill cursed the king and queen, he raised a Nithing Pole against them as well.
  • In the legend, he was a well-known scholar of runes, and often used them in magical practices.

By Daniel

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