Ívarr, an Icelander, lived at the court of king Eysteinn, who liked him much.
His brother Þorfinnr went to Norway too, but he was jealous of Ívarr and soon came back.
Before his departure, Ívarr asked him to tell the woman he loved to wait for him.
He then proposed his support so that he could marry the woman, but Ívarr explained that she was his brother's wife.
Eysteinn made many unsuccessful attempts to find how he could take Ívarr's mind out of his sadness and eventually suggested that they could talk about the woman every day, for a grief could be relieved if it was shared.