George Gordon ByronGwynned lies two days westwards; still further south, the weregeld calls. Mayhap with All-Father Woden's favour, my deeds may yet inspire the skalds.
About This Quote
In Old Norse, weregeld means “price of a man.” This is the price paid for a person to be killed, as opposed to a woman who can be bought as a slave. In some cultures, it was customary for a person to pay a high price to the person that he or she wanted to kill. This price can range from a few coins or even a horse. In this way, the killer would have the money to purchase a woman as a slave, and also have the money left over to buy more slaves or even pay off his debts.
In this case, Guthlaf had been captured by the king of the Geats and was being held prisoner. He wanted to be placed on trial so that he could have his own funeral and have his deeds sung about. The Geats King was willing to let Guthlaf go but would not release Guthlaf unless he would pay gold as a ransom for his freedom.
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