Styrbiorn the Strong · Chapter
XI: Jomsburg Seawalls explained
Styrbiorn, standing on the seawall at Jomsburg, watches his fleet struggle through a stormy sea.
What happens
Styrbiorn, standing on the seawall at Jomsburg, watches his fleet struggle through a stormy sea. He reveals to Biorn Asbrandson that he has lost his kingdom and dishonored a queen, and in a fit of despair casts his sword into the sea. Biorn pledges to stay with him.
Themes in this chapter
Honor and Shame
Styrbiorn's confession of having 'foully belied a Queen' and lost his kingdom underscores a deep sense of dishonor and shame.
Fate and Prophecy
Biorn calls Styrbiorn 'fey,' suggesting an ominous fate, and Styrbiorn questions the afterlife punishment for adulterers.
Power and Ambition
Styrbiorn speaks of dominion and power, vowing to conquer kings, even as he admits there is no good in the world.
Characters to notice
- Styrbiorn the Strong
Stands on the seawall, brooding and despairing; confesses his loss and dishonor; casts away his sword.
- Biorn Asbrandson
Approaches Styrbiorn on the seawall, questions his actions, and pledges to stay with him.
Key passages
“I dallied with a whore, and I lost a kingdom.”
I slept with a woman of low repute, and as a result I lost my kingdom.
Styrbiorn's blunt confession to Biorn about his downfall.
“I have foully belied a Queen, and lost that which all the world and the kingdoms of the world might not avail to purchase again for me.”
I have slandered and wronged a queen, and lost something irreplaceable.
Styrbiorn corrects his earlier statement, revealing deeper guilt and loss.
“Men of lore will tell thee that adulterers when they come to die must wander in streams of venom, at the strand of corpses remote from the sun, in that castle which is woven of the spines of snakes.”
Scholars say that adulterers after death will suffer in a venomous, sunless place made of snake spines.
Styrbiorn reflects on Norse mythological punishment for adultery.