Grettir - Gains sax

He then placed on the table all the hoard taken from the mound. There was one treasure which most caught Grettir's eye. It was a sax, a weapon so fine that he had never seen a better one, and he put it on the table last. Thorfinn raised his eyebrows when he saw the treasure and the sax. These were heirlooms that had never left the family.

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18. The Mound-Dweller

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Grettir said that he had no need for funds aside from some pocket silver. Thorfinn, saying that was understood, accompanied him down to the ship, where he gave Grettir the good sax. Grettir carried it as long as he lived, and it was a splendid treasure.

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20. The Sax

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The type of weapon mentioned here, the sax, is the same kind of broad, single-edged short-sword with which Grendel's mother attempts to kill Beowulf during the battle in her underwater lair.

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Explanatory Notes