Original subtitles

The White Viking

A film by Hrafn Gunnlaugsson

Chapter 2 - A Fish On the Mountain

So, when I have finished building the Christ temple...

Then I will come to bless it.

If everything is as you say, I will ordain you as a priest.

You will have the same privileges as a heathen priest possesses.

Priests...

But my daughter?

The White Christ.

I am leaving Godbrandur's daughter in your custody.

Take her to the Roman convent.

She is the bait that will get Askur to Christianize the Icelanders for me.

She is Godbrandur's chain.

As long as she is a hostage,

he will never rise against me, but will build churches.

The Roman convent has turned even the worst witches to Christ.

Godbrandur's daughter is no witch!

Her beauty is one of a queen.

You will treat her accordingly.

I intend to baptize her myself.

Time will sweeten her.

I will dedicate my life and soul to the task.

If anything happens to the girl,

I shall send your soul to hell

and feed your body to my ravens.

Do not fail me again. - Have I ever failed you?

I have served you faithfully from the time I first met you.

In England, when you were just a wandering Viking.

Coming from Russia. An outlaw from Norway.

I baptized you. I gave you the tools of Christ.

My birds are hungry.

It was not my fault.

After the ravens have eaten a bishop,

they will desert Odin and turn to Christ.

Witch!

The King's order is clear. Not a hair shall be hurt on hear head.

The bishop brings here a woman bearing the fruits of her flesh?

Are you... expecting a child?

Children are born here all the time.

ICELAND THE YEAR 999

Is that Ljosavatn?

We need to fill water.

Runolfur, Svertingur's father lives here.

None of us will go ashore here.

Let them fill water and then we sail for Ljosavatn.

I want to meet my father and brother.

You will not find your father there.

He is at the outdoor Parliament. At the sacred place "Thingvellir'.

Our fathers will be there too.

Then let's sail for Thingvellir.

Thingvellir is in the mountains.

We can get horses at my father's. And ride to the Parliament at Thingvellir

Then we can ALL ride for Thingvellir.

Together.

Your father has not been sleeping well.

I'm riding on to the Parliament at Thingvellir to meet him.

Give my friend Askur something to eat while I get horses.

Where does this man come from?

From Norway with Svertingur Runolfsson.

Yes, I could tell by the smell.

What smell?

I'm quite satisfied with my own smell.

Last time a Norseman was here, the drinking water smelt like piss.

Get out of here, White Christ!

I'm not the White Christ. - Get out!

Listen to me!

Murderer! - Get rid of the smell of Christ!

Looking for Runolfur?

Then you've found him, White Christ.

You should fight by my side Svertingur Runolfsson

or you will break your oath to King Olafur in Norway.

Icelanders may swear what oath they like in Norway

to save their lives.

In these parts we cut down any messenger of the White Christ.

However, I will not kill the son of Thorgeir at Ljosavatn.

I do not need my father's name as protection.

This sword will do that well enough.

Bishop Thangbrandur killed this woman's father,

a crippled man and two cows with that sword.

I do not think you will increase its reputation or it yours.

Watch this ceremony carefully

so you will be able to be baptized with the utmost honour

when the his majesty the king will arrive.

Lord Christ, descend from heaven.

Appear before these humbled sinners

so they may see your glory and be cleansed.

Hallelujah!

Christ come to us and cleanse their

sinful bodies in the holy waters of Jordan.

Sanctus. Sanctus. Sanctus.

Veni creator spiritus sanctus.

His Majesty will baptize you himself.

Christ take these two repentant sinners into your protection

and make them your brides for the sake of your name.

Lord Christ, ye who punish us for our sins and misdeeds

walk before us now and forgive us.

May the Holy Ghost appear to confirm your acceptance

of these two shriven souls as your brides.

See it! See it!

Repeat after me:

I am a bride of Christ!

I choose to serve him humbly to my death.

I adore Christ!

Now you will put on this habit.

You are silent.

It is good to accustom oneself to silence.

The girls that come here have to learn to keep silent, and obey.

They shall never take you away from me.

The bishop is hungry.

Did you fast during your travels here?

Then we can expect the hunger to help Embla find her tongue soon.

She keeps quiet.

Really!

She isn't deaf or dumb is she?

She didn't say a word when I handed her the habit.

It doesn't matter if she is quiet or not,

as long as she doesn't run away.

She nearly killed one of my men on the way here.

But all the same, I am not allowed to harm a hair on her head.

She is one of his treasures.

Privileges are always a liability here.

You lick the King's feet.

I do not have to lick his feet.

Olafur is like a child to me.

I baptized him in England

when he was only a wandering Viking

on his way from Russia.

Outlawed from Norway.

I gave him the cross and the White Christ to conquer the Norsemen.

But he is like a child.

Children can become troublesome if you take away their playthings.

Like when birds peck.

The ways of King Olafur are inscrutable to me.

I think the small witch with the green eyes wasn't cleansed properly

shouldn't I...

I'm keeping her for myself.

I see we have an invalid here...

Gunnar.

I bought these trousers in Rouen.

They would suit you well.

A shawl that the girls will adore.

Hey, that honey is expensive!

Why own Ljosavatn if a man cannot get honey?

Own it?

So, you have taken over the chieftainship?

My father has given me his sword.

How do you like my new house?

Such a house should be hung with tapestries

worthy of the French King himself.

What king is that?

I will own all of this.

Alone.

You alone?

Why do you ask?

You had a brother in Norway?

Had?

Have you news of Askur?

It costs a great deal I0 sail to Iceland.

If Askur is the man I think, he will be here before you know it.

Askur is here? In Iceland?

The King has baptized him into the Christian faith.

He has great plans for him here.

My father declared bishop Thangbrandur outlaw at the Parliament.

I would not wish him to outlaw his own son.

He will claim the farm.

I did not build the new house for Askur to claim it.

Gunnar.

Askur will inherit Godbrandur's estate in Norway.

What is some small holding in Norway compared to this?

The estate of the chief Lawspeaker of Iceland!

I have a book for your father.

What is this book?

It is a law book.

But there is nothing in it about inheriting estates.

I will take it to him.

I promised to tell him about Askur's wedding.

And that is all he will hear about!

Ketill brings bad news from Norway, mother.

We should consult the birds.

Hard to get a reply from birds already cooked.

All news from Norway are bad.

I have heard that Olafur who calls himself king,

has cut out one of his eyes, just to mock the great Odin!

If you tell my father anything of my brother's travels, you are a marked man.

I won't be eating any honey while this bastard is in Iceland.

Thorgeir food! Boiled fowl.

He is senile!

He has almost stopped eating.

He won't speak to anyone.

He just lies there.

Thorgeir!

He just lies there.

You have a visitor.

I'll leave your food here.

Thorgeir.

Thorgeir.

I bring you news of your son, Askur.

I am bringing you a gift from him.

Is the girl beautiful?

And well developed?

Good for bearing children.

We have always chosen our women with great care in our family.

But I have to be content with that witch.

She even tries to poison my food all the time.

Like when she and her son poisoned my horse's feed.

Even though it was marked for Odin.

Were they appreciative when you brought them the carving of Freya?

They thought it very well made

and said that she guarded within her the treasure that is unborn life.

So Askur knows why I didn't come to the wedding.

He knows that your horse collapsed on a flat road.

Did Askur say anything about visiting his father?

Not that I heard of.

But he thinks this gift will make you happy.

A man so easily deceived

and who does not attend his eldest son's wedding

only because his horse breaks its leg on the way to the ship.

Thinks that Odin has hindered his travels.

I am not worthy of receiving any gifts.

But are you not curious to see what he sends you?

No. No.

Askur will not trick me out of my bed.

If he has sent me something, it is only to bring me to Norway

and I cannot go anywhere.

I am forced to stay here, rotting, into the darkness of hell.

This gift will not take you to Norway.

If anywhere, it is Ireland.

Askur took this book there, as plunder, during a Viking raid.

So Askur knows

that if a book is anywhere in my vicinity

it will not remain unread for long.

The Irish are Christian and do not know how to use a sword.

But no one wields a pen better than they do.

Askur has inherited my wisdom.

He sees into your soul even though he has never set eyes on you.

How about that wandering outlawed Viking that calls himself the king of Norway?

King Olafur has his warriors piss on the holy relics of the great Odin, to desecrate them

and convert Norway to worship the White Christ.

His soldiers would be hard pressed to find places to befoul

here in Iceland.

It hasn't been long since Iceland was settled

50 no place has become hallowed ground of Odin - yet.

But in Norway there are sacred powers in every stone.

I will rot on this godforsaken island that will never see happiness.

Is anyone here?

Is there anyone here?

Christ has come!

You will accept baptism into the faith of the White Christ.

I shall prove who is the stronger, the White Christ or Odin.

I've had enough of these White Christs

coming here every year now.

And this one...

- will kill!

You can't kill him!

That is Thorgeir's son, Askur.

He sailed here with us.

Thorgeir's boy?

Looks more like him than that other oaf he calls his son.

The King of Norway has forced him to turn us Christians.

If you refuse, he will have to fight you.

And if you kill Askur, the king will soon know.

One can' kill anyone anymore!

The White Christ has come!

You want to give him the same treatment as Thangbrandur got?

I call upon you to accept baptism!

That ride didn't do much to calm that fool who calls himself bishop

and he was twice as crazy when you had finished with him.

Not quite so cocky...

I will prove who is stronger, White Christ or Odin.

Get rid of him, wife,

but don't involve me.

Accept baptism or die!

I've come to challenge chieftains and destroy temples!

Be careful, mother.

Greetings my good man.

Is there anything I can help you with?

Children erected this nithing pole for bishop Thangbrandur

when he was here last year.

It hasn't been taken down yet.

Aren't you the White Viking himself?

Isn't that the costume the White Christ uses in battles?

It suited Thangbrandur better than it suits you.

But Thangbrandur told me...

He wished me to be regarded a bigger fool than himself.

I shall kill him!

Foolish he may be, but he pissed into our drinking water

and killed all our chickens and geese in the name of the White Christ.

Then he said he had killed heathen giants,

all covered in feathers.

Is this not the place of the Parliament?

The Parliament closed yesterday.

I want to address the Parliament.

Then you will have to wait for twelve months.

The Parliament gathers only once every summer.

Why don't you come on in?

Where is your husband?

My husband?

He is down on the coast, cutting up whales.

Come. He will not be back till the autumn.

Are you and your people Christian, or...?

I don't know what happened between my husband and Thangbrandur

after he destroyed our temple.

But Thangbrandur fought against sin all night long, in this house.

And I fought at his side

and it was a great battle.

The whole house was shaking till we won!

Then he baptized me with the holy seed of the word.

I feel I need to be baptized again.

That custom of letting travelers sleep in the housewife's bed

is certainly kept alive here!

Let us hope sin will have its victory this time.

Or we will not get any sleep tonight.

What do the birds say?

Dead birds do not speak much.

Askur is older than me and can demand the chieftainship.

He has the right of the firstborn.

Your father would not be chieftain if he had not married me.

And he never mentioned that Norwegian whore when we were to marry.

Vicious tonges whispered that your father had married

the chieftainship and not me.

My father has always preferred Askur over me, even though he's never seen him.

The whore's son shall not inherit the chieftainship.

That whore was in the King's family.

Icelanders do not bow to any king!

The ravens of the great Odin changed the horse's mind

and made it collapse on a flat road

and kept my father from going to Norway.

Let them chase Askur from the country before my father knows he is here.

Fowl and ravens. Fowl and ravens.

Filled with sorrow. Filled with sorrow.

Pick out his eyes. Pick out his eyes.

Fowl and ravens. Fowl and ravens.

Filled with sorrow. Filled with sorrow.

Pick out his eyes. Pick out his eyes.

Pick out his eyes. Pick out his eyes.

What are they saying?

What are they saying?

There is a fish on the mountain.

And the mountain has no roots.

The birds do not spit no more and rocks don't cry

With women's beards and down from cats

The fish on the mountain will be caught.

Mend the nets...

Mend the nets...

What does that mean?

Mend the nets...

Mend the nets...

Mother!

White ravens do not live long!

Me?

Alone?

Freyr has arrived!

Volundur! The greatest carpenter of Iceland!

Such an abundance of splendid idols,

no one crafted before he did.

If the belief in the great Odin at Valhalla dies

your work dies with it.

I do not make the blót sacrifices myself.

I would prefer it if you didn't chant these rhymes.

If the belief in the great Odin dies

your work dies with it.

Stop that!

No one carves fairer idols than Volundur.

Even though carving idols is interesting and pleases the chiftains

I do not make the blót sacrifice.

The messengers of the White Christ will tremble before your idols

should they dare to come here.

May the same idols save me from the messengers of the White Christ.

I do not know how to carve the likeness of Christ

and would become impoverished and idle.

Don't worry brother.

I will kill any White Christ who might wander here.

Killer-Hrappur fears no man!

No!

No!

Never!

Go away, White Christ!

Christ cleanses us of our sins with pain.

Those who wish to be like him

not only cleanse themselves,

but all those whose lives they have touched.

Great mother Freya, grant me strength until Askur's return.

You have desecrated the robe, Christ wanted you to wear.

You heathen bitch!

Please! Don't...

I am in charge here!

I told you she is one of the king's treasures.

His treasures!

If you cannot think of yourself,

think of your unborn child.

It will starve too!

When you have Christ at your side, you have nothing to fear.

Use him

as King Olafur does.

Are you the brave warrior who challenged feathered monsters

at the house of Runolfur the Strong? The great fish on the mountain?

I am here to baptize the Icelanders in the name of the White Christ.

I should like to be baptized by such a well known hero.

You are notorious already.

I then baptize you in the name of the White Christ.

White Christ...

White Christ...

Cold and wet is your kiss, oh Christ but I am now yours.

Great is your power,

fish on the mountain.

You are now a Christian and shall follow him in silence!

We thank you for the sacred piss of Thangbrandur

that we drank in the name of Christ

and the fish on the mountain.

In silence, I said!

Is this a Christian symbol that gives you great strength?

Can I keep it?

No!

Give it to me.

No!

Who gave it to you?

A woman who rules the world.

The mother of God?

He is one.

One?

Then how about the Holy Spirit?

Doesn't he have a rod as large and stiff as a horse's?

Isn't it so?

Where are you heading?

To Ljosavatn.

Then we'll ride together.

This woman you say rules the world, is she as beautiful as Freya?

Even more beautiful.

What is her name?

Her name is Embla.

The White Christ has news of your daughter.

Godbrandur.

Your daughter Embla is well.

I have ordered my humble servant bishop Thangbrandur to place her

in the Roman convent. There she will be protected from danger.

And there she will see my glory.

The Roman convent?

In the convent all young maids learn to obey the word of God.

They are brides of Christ.

The bride of Christ?

The brides of Christ do not care for the pleasures of the flesh,

only the holy word.

White Christ has chosen her as his bride himself.

Such honour cannot be described in words.

She is a descendant from Odin.

But White Christ, please let me see my daughter.

When you meet your daughter,

you will yield and kneel at her feet.

That is all I can tell you.

I will hide here.

You will assist me if needed.

What do you mean?

One of the White Christs is on his way now. Just carry on.

The fish is on the mountain.

Come!

That is Thorgeir the chieftain working.

Are you Thorgeir?

Thorgeir? What do you want with him?

He is my father. I am Askur.

Who told you I was Thorgeir?

The old woman that led me here.

I am not Thorgeir. Volundur is my name.

Caught like a fish on the mountain.

Killer Hrappur!

Killer Hrappur! Your brother has been killed!

The white raven has killed your brother in the smithy!

Calm down, Killer Hrappur.

My father will determine a sentence cruel enough for him!

Father, here is the White Christ.

The messenger of the Norwegian King.

He has slain Volundur, your carpenter.

Pronounce judgment now!

He slew my brother in an ambush.

I demand to kill this Christian hound now!

If he is a missionary of the King, we should take this up at the Parliament.

I will not wait a year! Pronounce judgment now!

I am not a rash man

and I am old and tired.

You are the Lawspeaker and have the power to pass judgment.

I'm not sure I can think of a sentence harsh enough for him.

He deserves to die slowly. Very slowly.

First we'll cut out his eyes

and then we'll chop off his limbs

one by one.

We'd only be doing him a favour by dismembering him.

These missionaries long for a death like that.

Such men do not deserve to die with honour.

No.

The worst punishment is to have to crawl back to King Olafur

after the miserable failure of his mission.

I therefore sentence this man

to be outlawed from Iceland for life.

Send him back to Norway.

I would rather have the pleasure of cutting him to pieces.

But Thorgeir Lawspeaker is right.

Tell the King, when you crawl at his feet

that you were caught like small fry in a net here in Iceland

when you were killing defenseless and innocent people.

A shame that such a handsome man

should be a lackey of the King and kill people

simply because they do not worship the same gods.

Who pays for your brother's fare?

He who buys honey!

You shall sail now!

Honey?

Now we'll all eat honey!

Fowl and ravens. Fowl and ravens.

Filled with sorrow. Filled with sorrow.

Pick out his eyes. Pick out his eyes.