Starkaðr: Nordic Heroes, #6

By Christopher Webster

Blessed by Odin, cursed by Thor, Starkaðr is the greatest of all Viking warriors. This version of his story is closely based on the original sources, mainly the Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus and Gautrek's Saga.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Book Blitz
• Release date: Jun 6, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227160492

Christopher Webster

In Conisbrough, in the West Riding, I spent most of my childhood, where there's an old castle, presiding over the local neighbourhood. The castle teased me with its mystery and got me interested in history. Later, at University, I took a Literature degree, choosing an option on Jane Austen and Regency Society, and also one on poetry: worlds which I loved to get lost in – and now I show appreciation by trying my hand at narration.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

LONG AGO, IN THE NORTHLANDS, there lived a Viking named Starkaðr. Some said he was born of the frost giants, while others claimed he was the grandson of a jotun [giant]. They even claimed that he possessed eight arms, each capable of wielding a sword or an axe with unmatched skill – but that is exaggeration! When a great, hulking warrior is dashed to the ground as though he was no stronger than a little girl, he needs to make up something to save face: – Son of a giant! – eight arms! – no wonder I lost the fight! But Starkaðr was human, even if he was the toughest Viking warrior in the Northlands. His remarkable qualities were a result of Odin’s favour, who gave him three gifts:

Óðinn mælti:

"Ég gef honum

styrk svo mikinn,

að enginn maður mun

geta sigrað hann í orrustu.

Ég gef honum list skálda,

svo að hann mun

samsetja vísur

jafn fljótt og

hann getur talað.

Ég gef honum líf jafn

langt og þrjú venjuleg líf."

Odin said:

"I give him strength

so great that no man

shall best him in battle.

I give him the art of poetry,

so that he shall compose verses

as fast as he can speak.

I give him a life as long as

three ordinarily lives."

Thor, jealous that a mere human should have almost as much strength as he, laid a curse on him;

Þór mælti:

"Ég hræði hann, svo að hann

mun gera þrjár illar verkfæri

ok deyja í rekkju sinni eins

og gamla konan,

ekki sem stríðsmaður."

Thor said:

"I curse him that he shall do

three evil deeds

and die in his bed

like an old woman,

not a warrior."

The gift of poetry was not unusual in a warrior, but, just as Starkaðr excelled all others in battle, so he excelled all others in extempore verse. Even Egill Skallagrímsson, the acclaimed bard in Egil’s Saga, could not quite equal him, so it is fitting that Starkaðr tell his story in his own words:

STARKATH AND VIKAR

Hversu ungum var

er faðir minn lézt

með allri sínni liðsveit í eldinum!

Þar liggr hann á Þrumu-ey

þessi mikli vígmaður,

Haralds konungs fylgismaður.

Fjori og Fyri, Freka jarls synir,

drápu frændr sína.

Þeir voru móðurbræður mínum,

og Unnar bræður.

Grani Hrosshárs hafði rænt mér til Hordalands

þegar ek var þrjú vetra gamall.

Svo óx ek upp á Aski

í níu langar vetrar,

án þess að sjá þá er mér kæru voru.

HOW YOUNG I WAS WHEN my father perished with all his