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In 948 the Icelandic Viking warrior Egil Skallagrimsson fell out with the Norwegian King Erik Blood-Axe Haraldsson, and was condemned by Erik to death. How did he avoid his punishment?

Answer: He only escaped execution by composing a eulogy in Erik’s honour, entitled the Hufuolausn (Head Ransom). That Erik forgave him as a result of his poetry is less bizarre than it sounds, as Skallagrimsson’s poems are considered amongst the greatest of all old Icelandic poetry.

Source: The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia by David Crystal

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