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"Sharp the adder's tooth, but sharper Spake the sea king to his foes, Spake while savage brows grew darker, As he told the countless woes Which the bear's fierce cubs should bring To those who slew their father and their king." Then he described the retribution, and the lingering death of Ella under the agonies of the "rista oern" so vividly, that every Danish heart was filled with emulation.
Edmund has been much venerated in the eastern counties, and his shrine at Edmundsbury was greatly reverenced. The tale of the death of Sweyn, given in chapter 18, is a proof of this feeling, in which perhaps the legend partly originated. vii The Rista Oern.
This punishment was usual among the Northmen, and was called "at rista oern," from the supposed resemblance of the victim to the figure of an eagle. The operation was generally performed by the chief himself. It is thus described by Snorre: "Ad speciem aquilae dorsum ita ei laniabat, ut adacto ad spinam gladio, costisque omnibus ad lumbos usque a tergo divisis, pulmones extraheret."
Meanwhile let the minstrel be sought and brought before us, and he shall make us sport in a different mode." The "rista oern" whispered one in his ear. The ferocious king nodded, and his eyes sparkled with the expected gratification of his fierce cruelty. Meanwhile warriors were searching all the precincts of the camp for the destined victim.
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