''Brands þáttr örva'' (''The Tale of Brand the Generous'') is a very short ''
þáttr
The ''þættir'' (Old Norse singular ''þáttr'', literally meaning a "strand" of rope or yarn)O'Donoghue (2004:226). are short stories written mostly in Iceland during the 13th and 14th centuries.
The majority of ''þættir'' occur in two compend ...
'' which tells how king
Haraldr Sigurðarson put Brandr Vermundarson's generosity to the test. It may have been written at the end of the 13th century.
Brandr, who was nicknamed "the Generous" (''inn örvi''), came from
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
to
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. The
skald Þjóðólfr Arnórsson, who was Brandr's friend, had praised him to king Haraldr, saying "that it was not clear that any other man was better suited to be king of Iceland because of his generosity and outstanding personal qualities".
[Anderson, Theodore M. "The King of Iceland ". ''Speculum''. 74:4 (1999), p. 923.] Haraldr then told Þjóðólfr to ask Brandr for his coat. Brandr gave it without a word. The king next asked for his axe inlaid with gold and Brandr gave it, still without uttering a word. He finally asked for his tunic. Brandr, still silent, gave it but kept one sleeve. The king said that Brandr must have cut off the sleeve of his tunic because he thought that the king had only one hand—the hand that takes, not the other hand that gives. Admitting that Brandr was wise and magnanimous, he offered him honours and presents.
References
Hermann Pálsson (1990) "Brands þattur örva," ''Gripla'', 7, pp. 117-30.
Lindow, J. (1993) "Brands þáttr ǫrva" in Pulsiano, P. and Wolf, K. (eds.) ''Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia'', New York: Garland, p. 56
Available at Google Books
External links
Old Icelandic text, edited by Guðni Jónsson, at heimskringla.no
Old Icelandic text, in Vigfusson, G. and Powell, F. Y. (1879) ''An Icelandic Prose Reader with Notes, Grammar, and Glossary'', Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp.143-144
Faulkes, A. (2007) Stories from the Sagas of the Kings: Halldórs þáttr Snorrasonar inn fyrri, Halldórs þáttr Snorrasonar inn síðari, Stúfs þáttr inn skemmri, Stúfs þáttr inn meiri, Völsa þáttr, Brands þáttr örva. With introduction, notes and glossary, London: Viking Society for Northern Research
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Þættir