throughout the Norse world. According to Njál's Saga, one night a great din passed over Bróðir and his men on the Isle of Man, so that they all sprang up from sleep and dressed themselves. Until dawn, this din was accompanied by a shower of boiling blood, which scalded many of them even though they covered themselves with their shields. As a result, "a man had died on board every ship." On the second night, they awoke to a ghostly assault on their ships by flying swords, axes and spears. Again, this lasted till dawn, and a man died on every ship. On the third night, they were attacked by ravens with iron beaks and claws, once again causing a death in every ship. Bróðir consulted his brother Óspak, who believed that the signs indicated that much blood would be shed on both sides, that Bróðir's would all die speedily, that there would be a battle, and all his men would be dragged "down to the pains of hell." Bróðir was so angered by this that he planned to slay Óspak's men the next day. Seeing this plan, Óspak deserted his brother during the night with ten ships. He sailed around Ireland to Connaught, and up the River Shannon, to join Brian Boru as an ally. He told King Brian all that he had learned, took baptism, and gathered his men to come to Dublin with Brian's forces a week before Palm Sunday. Battle of Clontarf According to Njal's saga, Bróðir tried by sorcery to predict the outcome of the battle against Brian. He augured that if the battle were on Good Friday, King Brian would fall but win the battle; but if they fought on any day before, all who opposed Brian would be killed. Brian was unwilling to fight on Good Friday, as he would not fight on a fast day, but the Danes forced the battle to the Friday, which fell that year on 23 April. Thus, the two brothers, Bróðir and Óspak, met again at the Battle of Clontarf, on diagonally opposite wings. Bróðir had brought with him 1000 mail-clad Norsemen, and led the "murderous foreign Danes" alongside Earl Sigurd of Orkney. On the wing directly opposite Bróðir was Wolf the Quarrelsome, one of Brian's followers. Bróðir drove deep into the opposite wing, "and felled all the foremost that stood there", as his mail protected him