"
It is perfectly in keeping with the character of Norse womanhood in the
saga age that Ingeborg should refuse to defy her brother's authority by
fleeing with Frithjof and yet deeply mourn his departure without her.
The family feeling, the bond of blood, was exceptionally strong; and
submission to the social code which made the male head of the house the
arbiter of his sister's fate was bred in the bone. It is, therefore,
perfectly natural that, when King Ring has beaten her brothers in
battle, and exacted Ingeborg as the prize of victory, she yields
unmurmuringly to their decree.
Frithjof, in the meanwhile, distinguishes himself greatly in the Orkneys
by his strength and prowess, gains Earl Angantyr's friendship, and
returns with the tribute. As he sails into the fjord, a sight greets him
which makes his heart quail. Framnaes, his paternal estate, is burnt to
the ground, and the charred beams lie in a ruined heap under the smiling
sky. The kings, though they had pledged their honor that they would not
harm his property, had broken faith with him; and Ingeborg, in the hope
of gaining whom he had undertaken the perilous voyage, was wedded to
King Ring.
Pages:
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348