A tale retold 
Bjarni and his sister Salvör 

The folktale “Bjarni Sveinsson og Salvör systur hans” was collected by Magnús Grímsson (1825–1860) in 1845, originally published in Íslenzk æfintýri by Magnús Grímsson and Jón Árnason (1852) and subsequently published in the second volume of Íslenzkar þjóðsögur og ævintýri by Jón Árnason (1864). It appeared in German translation in Isländische Volkssagen der Gegenwart by Karl Maurer (1860) and in English translation in the second volume of Icelandic Legends, by George E.J. Powell and Eiríkur Magnússon (1866). This version is heavily revised from Powell and Magnússon’s translation in order to conform more closely to the Icelandic original while at the same time modernizing the English.

There was a man called Sveinn who was a farmer in Skagafjörður. He was married, but the name of his wife was not mentioned. They were well off and had two children – a son named Bjarni and a daughter called Salvör. They were twins and they loved each other deeply. At the time of these events, they were about twenty years of age.

One summer at Jónsmessa – midsummer night – many of the people of Skagafjörður went up into the mountains and wilderness to gather Icelandic moss. Farmer Sveinn intended to let his son go with the others, but when Salvör heard of it, she insisted on going too. While her parents objected at first, they eventually gave in to Salvör’s entreaties, and so they both went to the mountains.

The night before they left, farmer Sveinn dreamed that he had two white birds, he was very fond of them. In his dream, he thought that the female bird was lost, and he missed her very much. Sveinn interpreted his dream to mean that he would soon lose his daughter, and this gave him great anxiety. Now he sought to prevent her from going to the mountains, but she continued with her entreaties until he let her go.

So the siblings went into the wildernesses and on the first day they gathered moss like the others, very happy and always together. But that night, Salvör suddenly fell ill, so she could not continue with the others. Bjarni stayed with his sister in the tent. Three days passed and Salvör grew increasingly worse. On the fourth day, Bjarni got another person to stay with his sister in the tent, and went out alone. When he had filled his bag with moss, he sat down under a great stone and leaned his cheek against his hand, thinking of his sister’s illness, very sad and anxious.

After sitting there a little while, he heard a loud noise, and, looking round, saw two men riding towards him at great speed. One was dressed in red clothes and rode a chestnut horse, while the other was dressed in dark blue clothes and rode a brown horse. They dismounted at the rock and greeted Bjarni by name. The man in red asked Bjarni what troubled him, but Bjarni would not say. When the man said he would not be worse off if he told him, Bjarni told him about his sister’s illness. “And now our companions are going home, and I shall be left alone with my suffering sister,” said Bjarni, “and I don’t know when she might die in my arms.”

“You are indeed in distress, Bjarni,” said the man in red, “and I heartily pity you. But will you not give me your sister?”

“No,” answered Bjarni, ‘‘I can’t. I don’t know your identity, and I don’t know where you’re from. Or where you’re from.”

“That is no concern of yours,” said the other man, who took from his pocket a box of gilded silver with a jewel in the lid, asking: “Will you not sell your sister for this box?”

“No,” answered Bjarni. “I’ll never give her to you no matter what you offer.”

“Very well,” said the man, “but take this box as a gift from me, as a reminder that you met a stranger in the mountains.”

Bjarni took the box and thanked the man for his gift. The strangers then rode off, while Bjarni went home to his tent.

In the morning, Bjarni’s companions returned homewards and left him alone with his sister. He did not dare to sleep, fearing that the strangers might steal Salvör from him. All that day, Bjami watched over her, but the ensuing night, he was overcome by sleepiness and could stay awake any longer. Lying down by his sister, he embraced her and clasped his arms round her, believing she could not be taken away without him noticing. Then he fell fast asleep.

But when he awoke, his sister was gone! He was seized with worry and searched for her all day, but he could not find her. That night, he rode home to his parents and told them the sad news.

“This was my foreboding,” said Sveinn. “It always foretells something that is going to happen.” Men were gathered together to search for Salvör, but in spite of careful searching, nothing was found of her. Everyone grieved the loss, for this maiden was so promising and the favourite of all.

Now time passed until Bjarni was thirty years old, married, and had begun farming. One autumn, his shepherd’s flock went missing and he searched for three days but found nothing. Bjarni then told his wife to prepare for him a week’s provisions, and good shoes, as he was going in search of the sheep himself. His parents were still alive, and they begged him not to go. But he told them to have no fear – and should not expect him to return until a week had passed. He then left and walked continually for three days until he came to a cave, where he lay down to sleep. When he awoke, a dark fog covered all the land around him. Still, he kept going, but after a while he lost his way.

After a long walk, he found himself in a large valley where the fog lifted. He saw in the valley a large and stately farm. He walked towards it and saw men and women engaged in haymaking on the meadows outside the homefield. He went up to the women – there were three of them, one being of a nobler look than the rest – and greeted them. He asked them if they thought he could get a night’s rest at the farm. They all answered yes, and one of them went home with him to the farm.

It seemed to Bjarni that this woman bore a resemblance to his sister, whom he had lost on the mountain. Then that whole episode came back to him, and he became sorrowful, but he let not the young girl see any signs of his renewed grief. When they came to the farmhouse, the girl took Bjarni inside and showed him into a room that was spacious and well-appointed. The girl got him a chair and asked him to sit down and wait. She went out, but returned in a moment with food and wine, which she put on the table before Bjarni. After he had eaten, the girl led him to his sleeping quarters, where there was a good bed ready for him. Bjarni went to bed, and the girl took off his wet clothes before bidding him goodnight and leaving. In bed, Bjarni wondered where he could be, and how this lovely young maiden could stir up memories of his former sorrow. Amid these sad thoughts, he fell asleep. 

Soon after, he awoke, hearing singing above him. He then heard someone reading in the attic above his bed, as is often the case in the countryside. Many people were singing there, both men and women, but one voice excelled all the others. This voice completely awakened Bjarni’s sorrow, for he thought he recognized the voice of his sister Salvör. He pondered this for a while, then fell soundly asleep again, until the little maiden, who had waited on him the evening before, woke him in the broad daylight of a sunny, beautiful morning. She brought him good clothes, persuading him to stay there that day, which was a Sunday. Then the girl went out.

While Bjarni was dressing, a young man entered the room in a coat of green cloth, well-dressed in every way. He greeted Bjarni, and proved to be very talkative.

“What are you journeying for?” asked the lad.

“I am searching for sheep,” said Bjarni.

‘‘I haven’t noticed them here in the valley,” the boy answered. “You will stay with us today and tarry here a little, for my father is going to conduct the service in the church.”

At this time, the girl opened the door and said: “Sveinn, do not tire the man with your chatter!” She then set the table for Bjarni, and when he had finished eating, she went out. 

Bjarni saw a large crowd of people streaming to the church, and the lad, taking him by the hand, led him to the church and showed him to a seat. Bjami looked around and recognized, next to him, the red-dressed man who had met him in the mountains. He then recognized the priest as the man who had been dressed in blue. There were many in the church, and most of the men were ugly and big. Some were dressed in sheep-brown knitted clothes. Then Bjarni took forth his costly box, and offered his neighbour a pinch of snuff, which he accepted.

In the front of the church, Bjarni saw a woman dressed elegantly, and thought that he recognized his sister Salvör. They gazed one at the other, and it seemed as if she smiled and wept by turns. And now Bjami deemed that he knew how this mystery was to be explained, and that he was, in truth, with his sister.

After the benediction, the young man took Bjarni by the hand and led him out. When they came out the door, there sat an old and ugly man who stepped on Bjarni’s foot, so that he fell. Then the young man ran into the church to the man in red and fetched him. The man in red took the man and dusted him off, but the boy led Bjarni to the house.

After a while, the red-clothed and blue-clad men came in, greeting Bjarni kindly and asking him if he knew them. He answered that he did, but a cloud passed over his mind as this recalled the time of his awful trial, the loss of his dear sister.

At this moment, the woman he saw in the church and thought to be his sister came in. She ran into his arms and said: “In our mother’s womb, we embraced each other; weeping, I was taken from your arms, brother; but now come back to you, joyfully.’’

Having greeted each other, Bjarni began telling her all that had happened in Skagafjörður since her disappearance.

Then the red-clad man said: “I took your sister, Bjarni, from your arms long ago, and married her to this man, clad in blue. He is my son and the priest of our valley, but I am the sheriff here. Now, I have taken your sheep, and led you here by my spells, so that you two siblings could meet tell each another your story since you parted. Tomorrow, I will guide you away and give you back your sheep, but stay here tonight and speak with your sister.” Bjarni did so.

In the morning, Bjarni bid farewell to his sister, amid many tears. The man in red accompanied him, and they drove the sheep before them. The man in blue also went with them, and they followed him down to the settlement. There they parted, speaking as friends. Then the man in blue said that he will send for Bjarni in the spring and that he should be ready for the journey. “Then you shall live with us in the valley.”

Bjarni returned home and told his parents and wife all about his journey and his plans, bidding them to keep it secret. When the time for their journey arrived, three men with horses came to Bjarni. That night, he went with all his household – his parents, wife, and children – to the valley, where there was a joyful reunion. Bjarni lived there for a long time, but when he was old, he returned to Skagafjörður, where he told this story and died at a good old age.