ORVAR-ODD

Orvar-Odd has been mentioned before, in the discussion of the legends of Tyrfing.1 His father’s father, Ketil Hæng (i.e., “milt salmon”), was a son of Hallbjorn Sea-Troll and a grandson of Ulf Uarge. Ketil grew to man’s estate on his father’s farm on the island of Rafnista (now Ramsta) in Naumdølafylke. As a lad he was little liked by his father; he lay continually by the hearth, poking the fire and doing nothing useful. At length he gained his father’s respect by a successful combat with a dragon and by other deeds of prowess. On an expedition to Finmark he killed the king of the Finns, Gusi, and got possession of his three arrows, which had the virtue of always hitting the mark and of returning of their own accord to the hand that sent them forth. These arrows later passed from father to son in that family. His son Grim Loddinkinn lived at Rafnista after his father and likewise did many wonderful deeds. He was wedded to Lopthœna, a daughter of the chief, Harold of Viken. Their son Odd was born on the farm Berrjod in Jæren, where his parents had gone ashore on a voyage to Viken. At Berrjod Odd remained under the care of his father’s friend Ingjald together with Ingjald’s son Asmund, who became his best friend. At an early age Odd was an expert bowman. A prophetess once foretold that his foster father’s horse, Faxi, was to bring about his death after the space of three hundred years. To make the prophecy void, Odd killed the horse and buried it in a valley near Berrjod. Some time later he went with Asmund home to his father’s house and got from his father the arrows of Gusi; the great feats he performed with them earned him the name of Orvar-Odd (Arrow-Odd). Odd now traveled far and wide in search of adventure. In Bjarmiland he and his companions took a mass of silver from a burial mound, but were hard pressed when the men of the land came over them with superior numbers. They were nevertheless saved by the valor of Odd, who with his mace made great havoc among the hostile ranks. After many combats with Giants and Vikings he at length came into conflict in Sweden with the Viking Hjalmar the Proud; the struggle ended with their becoming sworn brothers, whereupon they stood by each other loyally in many battles. The most remarkable of these was the battle of Samsey against the sons of Arngrim,l where Hjalmar fell. Odd here killed eleven of the brothers with his mace. He had already lost his friend Asmund on an earlier expedition to Ireland. Odd avenged his death upon the Irish and prepared to carry the king’s daughter Olvor off by force. But she persuaded him to absent himself for a year; in return she was to give him a shirt that iron would not sunder, and that would afford protection against fire, hunger, and other evils. A year later Odd came back again, received the shirt, and took the king’s daughter to wife for the space of three years; they got a daughter whom they named Ragnhild. After Hjalmar’s death Odd journeyed far and wide to the west and to the south and far east into Russia as well. In the south he allowed himself to be baptized and afterward wedded the princess Silkesif, to whose father he had lent aid. When he had grown old, he longed to see his father’s estate once more, and so sailed with two ships to Rafnista, where his daughter Ragnhild’s son was then living. On the return voyage he went ashore at Berrjod to visit his foster father’s estate. There he came across an old skull of a horse. “Surely, that cannot be Faxi’s skull!” said Odd, striking it with his sword. At that a serpent crept out and stung him to death. And thus the sibyl’s prophecy was fulfilled.