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248 EELIGION OF THE HOETHMEN.
Egil cast himself fiercely down upon him and bit his
throat asunder. Thus did Atli give up his life.
Egil sprang up immediately and rushed to the place
where the sacrificial ox was standing, seized with
one hand the chops, and with the other the horn,
and wrested it around so violently that the feet of
the animal came up into the air and its neck was
broken. Then Egil took possession of all the lands
about which the quarrel had been."*
It appears, however, that the holmgang was
mostly attended with a great many more circum-
,
stances than those above described.
The Icelandic Skald Kormak Ogmundsson, was
embittered against his fellow-countryman Bersi—
commonly called Holmgang-Bersi—because the latter
had married SteingerSa, a woman whom Kormak
loved. He therefore challenged Bersi to a holmgang
in a fortnight upon LeiSholm. "When the
appointed time was come they rode to the place of
meeting, each with fifteen men. Many others had
also assembled to see the fight. " Now they took a
fellci (a kind of large cloak) and spread out under
the feqt of Kormak and Bersi. Bersi said, 'Thou
hast challenged me to a h61mgang, Kormak ! but I
offer thee single combat (einvigi). Thou art a young
and inexperienced man ; the holmgang is attended
with difiSiCulties, but the single combat is by no
means !' Kormak said, ' I do not fight better in
single combat; I wUl try the h,61rcig9,ng, and in
everything measure myself with thee.' ' Have thy
« Egil's S. 68.