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274 RELIGION OF THE NOETHMEN.
king hewed him right over the shoulders. "The
sword did not bite_; it seemed only to raise the dust
on the reindeer frock."* The Orkneian Jarl Harald
Hdkonsson died, it is stated, by dressing himself in
charnied clothing made by his own mother and her
sister, but which was intended for his step-brother
Pal Jarl.f Swords were sometimes so charmed,
say the accounts, that success in" battle always fol-
lowed the men who wielded them, and the
wounds they made could not be healed xmtil
they were touched by a so-called life-stone (lifsteinn),
which accompanied the sword. In the use of this
kind of charmed swords, there were many things to
be observed when they were to have the proper
effect. Thus, for example, the renowned sword
Skofnung, which was taken out of Hrolf Eraki's
burial mound, was not to be drawn in the presence
of woman, nor so that the sim could shine upon the
hilt, or it would lose somewhat of its peculiar
virtue.:]:
Magic-skiUed women used sometimes to pass their
hands over the bodies of persons going to battle, in
order to discover by this means what place upon
them was most liable to be wounded. It was be-
lieved that they could feel a protuberance in every
such place, and then a special protective remedy
was applied to the spot. If no such protuberance
was perceived, it was thought, accordingly, that no
danger was to be apprehended.
* Snor.: 01. Hel. S. 204, 240.
Orkney. S. p. 144. ,
f
i Laxd. S. 67.