ive alms from you, and you only give me abuse and insult without
any reward." And he pretended to be very much disgusted. Many felt pity
for him, but she said he was a very cunning rascal. When they all began
to beg for him she took out her purse, wherein was many a golden penny.
She shook out the money, saying: "Take that, fellow! It would not be
right that you should go unpaid for all my scoldings. You are now paid
for what you have done."

He gathered up the money and thanked her for her liberality. Spes then
went to the church, which was full of people. Sigurd proceeded with
energy and told her to clear herself of the charge which he had brought
against her.

"I pay no heed to your accusation," she said; "but I want to know what
man it was whom you pretend to have seen in the room with me, because
there is always some proper man near me; there is nothing to be ashamed
of in that. But this I will swear, that to no man have I given money and
that by no man has my body been defiled excepting by my husband and
by that beggar, who put his muddy hands upon my leg to-day when I was
carried over the ditch."

Many then were satisfied and declared that her oath was perfectly
good and that she was in no way disgraced by a man having touched her
unwittingly. She said she had to tell the story just as it happened, and
then she swore the oath in the words appointed for her. Many said that
she would be observing the saying that: Nothing should be omitted from
an oath. But she replied that wise men would hold that there was no
cause for suspicion. Then her relations began to talk with her and
said that it was a great insult to a woman of high birth that such lies
should be told about her and go unpunished, for they said it was an
offence punishable with death if a woman were proved to have been
unfaithful to her husband. So Spes asked the bishop to divorce her from
Sigurd, saying that she would not endure the lies which he had told.
Her kinsmen supported her, and with their help her request was granted.
Sigurd got little of the property and had to leave the country. So it
happened as usual that the weaker had to bow, nor could he accomplish
anything although the right was on his side. Spes took all the money
and was held in high esteem, but when men came to consider her oath they
thought it was not altogether above suspicion, and they concluded that
very skilful men had composed the Latin formula for her. They ferreted
out that