CHAPTER CI.

OF THORGEIR OF LIGHTWATER.

There was a man named Thorgeir who dwelt at Lightwater; he was the son of Tjorfi, the son of Thorkel the long, the son of Kettle Longneck.  His mother’s name was Thoruna, and she was the daughter of Thorstein, the son of Sigmund, the son of Bard of the Nip.  Gudrida was the name of his wife; she was a daughter of Thorkel the black of Hleidrargarth.  His brother was Worm wallet-back, the father of Hlenni the old of Saurby.

The Christian men set up their booths, and Gizur the white and Hjallti were in the booths of the men from Mossfell.  The day after both sides went to the Hill of Laws, and each, the Christian men as well as the heathen, took witness, and declared themselves out of the other’s laws, and then there was such an uproar on the Hill of Laws that no man could hear the other’s voice.

After that men went away, and all thought things looked like the greatest entanglement.  The Christian men chose as their Speaker Hall of the Side, but Hall went to Thorgeir, the priest of Lightwater, who was the old Speaker of the law, and gave him three marks of silver to utter what the law should be, but still that was most hazardous counsel, since he was an heathen.

Thorgeir lay all that day on the ground, and spread a cloak over his head, so that no man spoke with him; but the day after men went to the Hill of Laws, and then Thorgeir bade them be silent and listen, and spoke thus—­

“It seems to me as though our matters were come to a dead lock, if we are not all to have one and the same law; for if there be a sundering of the laws, then there will be a sundering of the peace, and we shall never be able to live in the land.  Now, I will ask both Christian men and heathen whether they will hold to those laws which I utter”.

They all say they would.

He said he wished to take an oath of them, and pledges that they would hold to them, and they all said “yea” to that, and so he took pledges from them.

“This is the beginning of our laws,” he said, “that all men shall be Christian here in the land, and believe in one God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, but leave off all idol-worship, not expose children to perish, and not eat horseflesh.  It shall be outlawry if such things are proved openly against any man; but if these things are done by stealth, then it shall be blameless.”

But all this heathendom was all done away with within a few years’ space, so that those things were not allowed to be done either by stealth or openly.

Thorgeir then uttered the law as to keeping the Lord’s day and fast days, Yuletide and Easter, and all the greatest highdays and holidays.

The heathen men thought they had been greatly cheated; but still the true faith was brought into the law, and so all men became Christian here in the land.