the jaws of the Sea-Reek (hafgufa), the other monster that Ögmundr had sent by magic to intercept the party. Barkman Oddr becomes Barkman (naefrmaðr, 'birch bark man'), a sort of wildman dressed in bark. He arrived in Hunaland and meets King Herrauðr, where his true identity was soon revealed due to his heroic actions. After defeating the king of Bjalkaland ("pelt country"), who used to pay tribute to the king of Hunaland, he married the Herrauðr' daughter Silkisif and became the next king. Death After all this, Oddr became homesick and went back home. Walking over the grave of Faxi, he mocked the old prophecy, but tripped over the skull of a horse from which a snake appeared. The snake bit him and he died. Analysis The saga includes several stories, such as the voyage of Ottar from Hålogaland to Bjarmaland, the legend of Hjalmar's foster-brother (originally named Söte), Starkaðr, Ketil Höing, Odysseus and Polyphemus, Sigurd Jorsalfare and the Rus' ruler Oleg of Novgorod (the attack on Bjalkaland). The motive of Örvar-Oddr's mocking the prophecy and death has parallels in the Primary Chronicle, which describes the manner of the death of Oleg (also of Varangian origin) in similar terms. Oleg's death from "the skull of a horse" is also the subject of one of the best known ballads in the Russian language, written by Alexander Pushkin in 1826. Ögmundr Flóki owned a cloak made from the beards of kings he collected, as did the giant of Mont Saint-Michel, enemy of King Arthur in Brittany. See also Hrafnistumannasögur Explanatory notes References Citations Bibliography (First English translation) External links Proverbs and proverbial materials in Örvar-Odds saga The Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus on Orvar-Odd The Old Norse text of the Saga Tyrfing cycle Legendary sagas Heroes in Norse myths and legends