History
The Peasants Push Back
“Suddenly the king’s men cast off their cloaks and unsheathed their swords, but the villagers, seeing what was coming, surged forward vehemently with their weapons.” […]
Mild
Britons and Celts
Priorities Clarified
“While Bevis was carrying out his responsibilities one day, the king’s son, like the fool that he was, went to the stables and attempted to untie Arundel. The horse kicked him so hard with a back hoof that the young man’s brains were splattered against the stable wall.” […]
Human Affairs
Earning a Seat at the Table
“The king had ordered them not to fight back. So I grabbed hold of Bodvar and braced my feet against the footboard. I hunched my shoulders and strained with my arms. I tried then with all my strength, but he sat perfectly still and there was no way I could budge him.” […]
Britons and Celts
A Cloak of Fishscales Sparks a War
“Clad in this kind of garment, he secretly entered the magnates’ bedrooms by night in the form of an angel and amazingly deluded their sense or rather their understanding, wide-awake as they were.” […]
Human Affairs
The Decency of Crooks
After the battle, Thrandur proposed that they should kill the boys, Sigmundur and Thorir.
“I’m not going to kill them,” replied Bjarni evenly.
Thrandur frowned, “If they go free, someday these boys will be the death of nearly every man here.”
Bjarni answered, “I wouldn’t kill them any more than I would kill myself.” […]
Supernatural
The Ghosts of Iceland
“These spectres make those who are ignorant of their death receive them as though they were alive and offer their right hands; nor is the mistake detected before the shades have vanished.” […]
Viking
Hamlet’s Viking Funeral
“O valiant Amleth, and worthy of immortal fame, who being shrewdly armed with a feint of folly, covered a wisdom too high for human wit under a marvellous disguise of silliness!” […]
Britons and Celts
Single Combat with Honor
“Their shields were split and broken, their coats of chainmail torn and damaged. They turned their horses around and rushed at each other again.” […]
Britons and Celts
Live Free or Die: Unicorn Edition
“It can be killed but never subdued alive. And if ever by the exertion of hunters it happens to be taken alive, it immediately dies.” […]
Viking
Pirate v. Pirate in the Far North
“Here Sigmundur showed his skill; he tossed his sword with a flourish aloft and he caught it with his left hand, holding his shield in his right. He slashed at Randver with his sword and cut his right leg clear off below the knee. Randver pitched over, and Sigmundur gave him a blow to the neck which severed off his head.” […]