ASMUND KEMPIBANE

In Sweden ruled a mighty king named Budli. Before him once came two men who gave their names as Olius and Alius; they boasted of their superior skill as smiths, and the king therefore bade them forge for him one sword each, swords that would cut anything they touched. The sword made by Alius met all tests imposed by the king; but the edge of Olius’s sword bent a little under trial. Budli accordingly bade Olius forge a better one; the smith did so, but against his will, and foretold when he had finished that the sword should be the death of the two sons of the king’s daughter. The king in anger struck at him with the sword, but in a twinkling the two smiths had disappeared. Budli, intent on bringing the prophecy to naught, caused the swords to be sunk in Lake Mälaren near Agnafit.
King Hildebrand in Hunaland had a warlike son named Helgi, who paid court to Budli’s daughter Hild. Budli looked with favor on his suit and later found in Helgi a staff for his old age in times when it was hard for him to defend his realm. Helgi and Hild got a son who was named Hildebrand; the boy, put under the fostering charge of his father’s father, gave early promise of becoming a great warrior. Once while Helgi was absent at the wars in which he lost his life, Budli’s land suffered an inroad by enemies; the Danish king Alf with a large army entered Sweden and slew the old king. The king’s daughter Hild was bestowed upon Alf’s bravest warrior, Aki, as a reward for his valor; they had a son, Asmund by name, who even in early youth became known as a famous Viking. Asmund’s half brother Hildebrand had by that time fared far and wide and by mighty deeds had earned the name of Hun-Champion. Having learned of the death of his mother’s father Budli, he set out for Denmark to wreak vengeance upon Alf. Aki and Asmund chanced to be off on a Viking foray just when the king most needed their aid; for no one could resist the doughty Hildebrand. In Berserk rage he broke the ranks of Alf. The king himself fell in battle, leaving a daughter named Æsa. When Aki and Asmund returned, Hildebrand had already departed. All was now quiet for a time.
Asmund soon paid court to Æsa but found a powerful rival in Eyvind Skinnhall, a rich and mighty man. Æsa promised to wed that one who the next autumn should be able to show her the fairest hands. Eyvind during the summer took his ease and never removed his gloves from his hands; but Asmund spent the time in Viking raids that brought him both honor and booty. In the autumn they both presented themselves before Æsa for the purpose of showing her their hands. Eyvind’s were white and fair: Asmund’s, on the contrary, were filled with scars and gashes, but his arms were adorned with rings up to the very shoulders. Æsa decreed that Asmund had the fairer hands and promised to wed him if he would avenge her father’s death upon Hildebrand Hun-Champion. To do so, she said, he must find the sword that had been sunk in the waters at Agnafit, for this weapon alone would prevail against Hildebrand’s. Asmund set forth on his quest; at Agnafit he met an aged peasant who still remembered the spot where the sword had been submerged, and with the old man’s help he fetched it up from the deep.
In the meantime Hildebrand had brought the counts of Saxony to a sorry pass. Each year he bade his Berserks challenge the counts’ men to combat, the penalty being a landed estate each time the Saxons were worsted. In this way they were losing both their men and their lands; at last they had but twelve estates left. In the nick of time Asmund came to their aid, promising to take up the battle against Hildebrand. When the day set for the combat drew near, Hildebrand sent one of his Berserks out against Asmund; but Asmund promptly shore him through the middle. The next day Hildebrand sent two Berserks out against him, but they met the same fate. Hildebrand gradually raised the number to eight, but Asmund continued to carry away the victory. In a fury of rage Hildebrand despatched against him the remaining eleven Berserks all at once; these too Asmund succeeded in cutting down. When this news reached Hildebrand, his Berserk madness came over him, so that he even slew his own son. Afterward he advanced up along the banks of the Rhine to meet Asmund himself, bearing on his shield the tally of all the men he had killed during his whole life. Asmund came out to the onslaught, and a long and fierce combat ensued. At last Hildebrand’s sword was shattered on Asmund’s helmet. Hildebrand himself, stricken with many wounds, then chanted a lay revealing to Asmund that they two were brothers, born of one and the same mother. Praying that he might be buried in Asmund’s clothing, Hildebrand died. Little joy did Asmund take in what he had done. He at once returned to Denmark and there found that Æsa had a new suitor. She was glad to see him; and when he had laid his rival low, he took her to wife. In the course of time he added still more to his renown.