> (Havamal 145 "a gift demands a gift")

Ey sér til gildis gjöf.

Excellent! You're thinking like a true Viking now. I imagine that
would be exactly the sort of traditional wisdom Bergþóra (or the
author) was appealing to. There's a few verses in Hávamál which
express a similar idea.

Glík skulu gjöld gjöfum.

And more ominously:

Vin sínum
skal maðr vinr vera
ok gjalda gjöf við gjöf.
Hlátr við hlátri
skyli hölðar taka
en lausung við lygi.

But as they say, the Devil can quote scripture.

> Hann kveðst þess vera albúinn og kvað þegar vísur þrjár eða fjórar

og voru allar illar.

Too wicked to repeat in the saga, I guess ;)

> "Þér synir mínir eigið allir eina gjöf saman.
> "To you - sons of mine have but one gift between you.

'þér' "you" here is 2nd person nominative plural (which happens to be
identical in form with dative singular "to thee", just to keep us on
our toes). So it's just "You, my sons, have one gift between you."

> "Gersemi ert þú," sagði Hallgerður, "hversu þú ert mér eftirlátur."

This made me laugh.

> It looks as if the pace is hotting up again - I shall not care to

invite Beggarwomen into my homestead - after this

Ah, maybe we should be slow to blame the traveling women this time:
they saw a chance and took it. A bit naughty, but still -- if that's
what it takes to get some sympathy off their social betters? At least
they were careful to tell Bergþóra in secret, so really it was up to
her what she did with the information. Although I suppose it would
have got out one way or another, it being THAT kind of story.

> (why can she not shut up until dinner is over - gives you indigestion)

;) Kind of ironic too coming from Sk.H., considering how easily he
gets manipulated into violence.

LN