Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 17, 1906.djvu/409

 Custom and Belief in Icelandic Sagas. 393

Glum dreamt that many men came to Thvera to meet Frey. They said to him, " We are thy dead kin, and we ask Frey that thou be not driven from Thvera, but he answers proudly and angrily, and remembers now Thorkell the Tail's ox gift." Glum never thought so well of Frey after that.

4. {Gisli Siirssofis Saga, 964). Thorgrim meant to

have an autumn-feast at the Winter-Nights, to welcome the winter and to sacrifice to Frey. In the same saga it is said of Thorgrim that " snow never remained, and it never froze, to the south of his howe, because Frey protected him on account of the sacrifices."

5. ( Waterdale Saga, 872). Ingimund had a silver lot

in his purse, with Frey's image on. It disappeared from his purse, and was seen by the Finns in their trance at the place in Iceland where he afterwards settled. He said, " Frey will let his image come where he wishes his seat of honour." There are a few other references to gods, where there is no record of actual sacrifice.

1. {Hallfreds Saga, 996.) A crew of Icelanders de-

tained by Olaf Tryggvason vowed " to give Frey much money if they got to Sweden, Thor or Odin if they got to Iceland ; but if they did not get away from Norway, the king should have his way." Similarly in the Laxdczla, about the same time, Kjartan becomes Christian on the understanding that he will pay some worship to Thor next winter in Iceland.

2. {Gisla Saga, 958.) The form of the Foster-brother

Oath called "all the gods to witness"; and in the Waterdale (935) those who failed to keep an appointment for the holmgang, or single-combat, were threatened with " the anger of the gods and the name of truce-breaker." Similarly, in the old