Gallows humor

      "When the attackers approached the house they were not sure whether Gunnar was at home, and wanted someone to go right up to the house to find out.  They sat down on the ground, while Thorgrim the Easterner climbed on to the roof.  Gunnar caught sight of a red tunic at the window.  He lunged out with his halberd and struck Thorgrim in the belly.  Thorgrim dropped his shield, lost his footing, and toppled down from the roof.  He strode over to where Gizur and the others were sitting.
     "Gizur looked up at him and asked, 'Is Gunnar at home [(Hvárt er Gunnar heima)]?'
     "'That's for you to find out,' replied Thorgrim.  'But I know that his halberd certainly is [(Vitið þér þat, en hitt vissa ek at atgeirr hans var heima)].'
     "And with that he fell dead."

     Njal's saga 77 (trans. Magnus Magnusson & Hermann Pálsson (London:  Penguin Books, 1960), 169).  Original (which I know nothing about) from the critical edition upon which the above translation is based:  Brennu-Njáls saga, ed. Einar Ól. Sveinsson (Reykjavík : Hið íslenzka fornritafélag, 1954), 187.