[3]: 79 Eirekr, son of King Vilhjálmr of Valland (today's Normandy), falls in love with a maiden whose image Gestr, a mysterious stranger at his father's court, had shown him.
[3]: 76 As edited by White[6] and translated by Lavender,[3]: 88 the riddle included in the saga runs: “Ek vilda reyna svinnu þína, Gestr, því settumst ek í sæti þitt; eða hvat heitir hringrinn?” Gestr svarar: “Af sindri ok seimi var sægrími gjörr, eða hvat er þetta?” Konungsson svarar: “Þat er sindr harðast, er leikr um hjarta manns, hugarangr allmikit, en rautt gull er seimr, en lýsigull er sægrími; en hringrinn er gjörr í minning þess manns, er hugarangr hefir haft, at hann skuli því oftar minnast sinna harma, er hann sér hann fyrir augum sér, ok kalla ek hann Gáinn.”"I wanted to put your nature to the test, Gestur, and for that reason I sat in your chair.
Gestur answers: "From iron-slag and gilt thread Sægrímir was made.
The prince answers: "The hardest of iron-slags is that which plays upon the heart of a man, in other words great sorrow.
[3]: 88 n. 34 The Stories for All Time project[7] and Philip Lavender[3]: 79 list the following 47 surviving manuscripts of the saga: