THE SCENE: When King Agni invaded Finland wearing a cursed gold necklace, he experienced an early string of successes. When he forced the daughter of the slain Finnish king to marry him, though, his luck took a swift turn.
THE TEXT: King Agni harried far and wide in Finnland, subjecting it and making enormous booty. He took Skjalf, Frosti’s daughter, prisoner and carried her away. King Angi had [with him] the golden necklace which had belonged to to Visbur. King Agni proceeded to marry Skjalf. She prayed the king to make funeral feast for her father. So he invited many men of note and celebrated a great feast. He had become most famous through his expedition. Then there was a great drinking bout. And when King Agni had become drunk, Skjalf asked him to take care of the necklace he wore. So he seized it and bound it fast to his neck before he went to sleep. His tent stood close by the forest, with a high tree over it to shield it against the sun’s heat. Now when King Agni had fallen asleep, Skjalf took a thick cord and fastened it to the necklace. Then her followers took down the tent posts and threw the coil of rope over the limbs of the tree, then pulled, so that the king hung high in the branches; and that was the death of him. Skjalf and her men ran to a boat and rowed away.
– The Saga of the Ynglings, Snorri Sturluson, 13th Century AD
