Human Affairs
A Righteous Fury
“Vigdis raised the purse and struck him on the nose with it, drawing blood; she accompanied this with a stream of derisive words, adding that he would never get the money back, and told him to clear off.” […]
Marriage
Britons and Celts
The Conscience of an Assassin
“Then after she had drained the lethal draught she immediately began: “But that witch’s potion ought not to suffice as full atonement for me who committed such a great crime. No! rather should I be tied to the tails of horses and dragged off to be hanged and this unspeakable body should be burnt to ashes in fires of thorns and the ashes scattered to the wind.” […]
Greek and Roman
Too Quick to Kill
“Fearful of awakening her, he softly entered the apartment and – perceiving two persons in bed – instantly concluded that his wife was disloyal. Without a moment’s pause, he unsheathed his sabre, and slew both.” […]
Human Affairs
The Beauty of Honor
“He stretched forth his hand, and they were quite red and rather darkened from blood and the cuts of weapons, but when he pulled back his sleeves, they were laden with gold rings up to his shoulders.” […]
Human Affairs
The Cuckold’s Ultimatum
“Now do one of two things: you kill him, or I’ll take him for my own husband and we’ll drive you away. He spoke seductively to me.” […]
Human Affairs
Who’s Been Singing in My Bed?
“Her husband replied, ‘It’s about time that you reveal the sort of woman that you really are. Where is the man whose voice was booming just now? I expect you think he sounds better than I do.'” […]
Human Affairs
A Murdered Beloved
“In an outburst of love which her weakness hardly allowed, she slid along like a snake, dragging her own completely bloody body up beside the lifeless corpse. As if he were alive, she gave him as many sweet kisses as she could and broke out into a sorrowful song.” […]
Britons and Celts
Just What Happens on a Wedding Night?
“Let, wing’d with pleasure, the soft minutes flow,
And lasting bliss no interruption know,
While with like heat, her faithful bosom warms;
For in his time he was the flower of arms.” […]
Britons and Celts
Wife-Swapping Brits
“Wives are shared between groups of ten or twelve men, especially between brothers and between fathers and sons, but the offspring of these unions are counted as the children of the man with whom a particular woman cohabited.” […]
Medieval Mentality
Odin’s Wives
“Earth is his daughter and his wife, and with her he had his first-born son, Asa-Thor, who is endowed with strength and valour, and therefore quelleth he everything that hath life.” […]