History Literature / TheSagaOfTheSwornBrothers

* AnAxeToGrind: The saga takes its time to describe the weapons of the young Thorgeir Havarson, of which the foremost is "a broad axe, a mighty weapon, keen-edged and sharp, with which he had sent many a man to dine in Valhalla" (i.e. killed them). The saga also somewhat apologetically comments that "[i]n those days, very few men were armed with swords". The poetical description of Thorgeir's weapons is undermined by the fact that at this point, Thorgeir is still a teenager who has not yet killed anyone, much less sent them "to dine in Valhalla" (a place that neither the author nor the audience of the saga believed in). This suggests the entire passage is tongue-in-cheek, and that likely teenage Thorgeir simply cannot afford a sword, and that his "mighty weapon" is actually a completely ordinary battle-axe.

* TheSouthpaw: Thormod, a lefthander and "not a strong man", is able to kill the great warrior Thorgrim Troll with an axe borne in his left hand, and afterwards makes a poem about the deed which specifically mentions it was done left-handed. This suggests Thormod credits success to his left-handedness, because Thorgrim did not expect an attack from a man carrying a weapon in his left hand.

* TheBerserker: In the Battle of Stiklestad, Thormod (who has already made clear that he intends not to survive King Olaf) always fights in the front line without armour or shield, instead wielding a large axe with both hands, with which "he hack[s] his way through the ranks of the enemy". His behavior earns him "great acclaim for his bravery". Nevertheless he is still unwounded when King Olaf has fallen, much to his own regret. ''Flateyjarbók'' furthermore adds that Thormod folds up his tunic under his belt in the front, but lets it hang low in the back because he intends to only go forward and never retreat; that "so many men fell by Thormod's hand that naming them all would take far too long"; and that stays unwounded because the enemies are scared to face him.

* TheBerserker: In the Battle of Stiklestad, Thormod (who has already made clear that he intends not to survive King Olaf) always fights in the front line without armour or shield, instead wielding a large axe with both hands, with which "he hack[s] his way through the ranks of the enemy". His behavior earns him "great acclaim for his bravery". Nevertheless he is still unwounded when King Olaf has fallen, much to his own regret. ''Flateyjarbók'' furthermore adds that Thormod folds up his tunic under his belt in the front, but lets it hang low in the back because he intends to only go forward and never retreat; that "so many men fell by Thormod's hand that naming them all would take far too long"; and that he is unwounded by the end of the battle because the enemies are scared to face him.

Somewhat more than a decade after UsefulNotes/{{Iceland}} has converted to UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}}, best friends Thorgeir Havarson and Thormod Bersason grow up together in the Icelandic Westfjords. Teachings of love and forgiveness are, alas! all wasted on Thorgeir and Thormod, who feel they are not cut out for a pacifist lifestyle, and intend to shape their lives in the ways of the vikings of old. As they believe it is their destiny to die fighting, the two make a pact that whoever of them lives longer will avenge the other, and seal the deal by performing the rites of ''fóstbrœðralag'', sworn brotherhood.

* DeathSeeker: Before the Battle of Stiklestad, Thormod tells King Olaf that he would rather die than outlive Olaf, in a way that suggests he actually expects Olaf to lose the battle. In the battle, Thormod always fights in the front line without wearing armor or using a shield; despite this, Thormod is still unwounded when King Olaf has been killed and most of his remaining warriors retreat. As he laments that he has not made good on his promise to die with the king, he is struck in the chest by an arrow, and "is glad of the wound because he knew it would prove fatal". Thormod dies from the arrow a short while later. In ''Flateyjarbók'', Thormod even helps a troop of survivors to escape from the battlefield, but refuses to go them with himself, and instead prays to Olaf (whom he already assumes to be a saint) to not let him get away from the battlefield alive. Immediately afterwards he is struck by the fatal arrow.