Egil Skallagrimsson (c. 10th century)
“My stock
stands on the brink,
pounded as plane-trees
on the forest’s rim,
no man is glad
who carries the bones
of his dead kinsman
out of the bed.”
- A poem attributed to Egil Skallagrimsson in Egil’s Saga (chapter 79), recorded c. 13th century possibly by Snorri Sturluson, translated by Bernard Scudder. New York: Penguin Classics, 2004 edition.