THE SCENE: Outnumbered but undaunted, the hero Asmund the Champion-Slayer earns his name.
THE TEXT: That was now told to Hildibrand, and he said: “It does not seem to me to be surprising, that one man should have victory over two. Now I will send four men against him.”
The champions said that it was evident to them that they would cut him apart in four places, and they now rode to the battlefield with good helmets and shining armor, and sharp swords. Now the news came to Asmund and the dukes. The asked him to ride with as many men. He said that he did not want to do that, and said that it was most likely, that soon there would only be one standing against him. And they soon met.
Asmund said: “It is obvious that you consider it of little importance, that you drew up four against one, and you can’t be called champions, but rather assemblymen.” They were very angry at his words, and attacked him there, and the sword that he bore cut armor and helmets as easily as birch bark, and did not spare the bones or flesh of men, if they were wielded by men who had strong arms and good hearts. They got great wounds from him, and almost at once he then killed the four, and drove the horses out to the river.
– The Saga of Asmund the Champion-Slayer, Viks, 14th Century AD
