Njal's Saga

by AnonYMous

  Thangbrand asked whether the people were willing to accept the faith, and all the heathens spoke strongly against it.

  ‘I will give you a chance,’ said Thangbrand, ‘to prove which is the better faith. We will build three fires – you heathens bless one, I’ll bless another, and the third will be unblessed. If the berserk fears the one which I blessed but walks through your fire, then you must accept the faith.’

  ‘That’s well spoken,’ said Gest, ‘and I’ll agree to this for myself and my household.’

  When Gest had said this, many others agreed, and there was loud approval.

  Then word came that the berserk was nearing the house, and the fires were built and kindled; men took their weapons and jumped up on the benches and waited. The berserk came charging through the door with his weapons. He advanced into the room and walked at once through the fire which the heathens had blessed and came up to the fire which Thangbrand had blessed, but did not dare to walk through it and said that he was burning all over. He swung his sword towards the benches, but on the upswing it stuck fast in the crossbeam. Thangbrand struck him on the arm with his crucifix and a great miracle happened: the sword fell from the berserk’s hand. Then Thangbrand drove his sword into the berserk’s chest, and Gudleif hacked at his arm and cut it off. Many men then came up and finished off the berserk.

  After this Thangbrand asked whether they were willing to accept the faith. Gest said that he intended to keep what he had promised. Thangbrand then baptized him and all his household and many others.

  Thangbrand asked Gest’s advice about whether he should go to the fjords further west, but Gest discouraged him and said that people there were rough and vicious to deal with – ‘but if this faith is destined to take hold it will take hold at the Althing. All the chieftains from the whole land will be there.’

  ‘I have already spoken at the Thing,’ said Thangbrand, ‘and there I had the most trouble of all.’

  ‘But still, you’ve done most of the work,’ said Gest, ‘even though others may be destined to make the faith law. As they say, a tree doesn’t fall at the first blow.’

  Gest gave Thangbrand good gifts, and then Thangbrand went south again.

  He went first to the South Quarter and from there to the East Fjords. He was a guest at Bergthorshvol, and Njal gave him good gifts. Then he rode east to Alftafjord, to Hall of Sida. He had his ship repaired, and the heathens called it Iron Basket. Thangbrand sailed abroad on this ship, with Gudleif.

  104

  That summer at the Thing Hjalti Skeggjason was outlawed for mocking the gods.1

  *

  Thangbrand told King Olaf about the hostile acts of the Icelanders against him and said they were such sorcerers that the earth broke open under his horse and swallowed it up. King Olaf was so angry at this that he ordered all men from Iceland to be seized and put in a dungeon, and he planned to put them to death. But then Gizur the White and Hjalti came forth and offered to stand as pledges for these men and to go to Iceland and preach the faith. The king was pleased with this and all the Icelanders were released.

  Gizur and Hjalti then prepared their ship for the journey to Iceland and were soon ready. They came to land at Eyrar when ten weeks of the summer had passed. They found horses at once, and men to unload the ship. They rode to the Thing, thirty in all, and sent word to the Christians to be ready for them.

  Hjalti stayed behind at Reydarmuli, because he learned that he had been outlawed for mocking the gods, but when the others came to Vellandkatla, below Gjabakki, he came after them and said he did not want to let the heathens think that he feared them.

  Many Christians rode out to meet them, and they rode to the Thing in a large company. The heathens had also assembled a company, and the whole assembly came close to breaking out in a fight, but that did not happen.

  105

  There was a man called Thorgeir who lived at Ljosavatn; he was the son of Tjorvi, the son of Thorkel the Long.1 His mother was called Thorunn, and she was the daughter of Thorstein, the son of Sigmund, the son of Gnupa-Bard. Gudrid was his wife; she was the daughter of Thorkel the Black of Hleidrargard: his brother was Orm Box-back, the father of Hlenni the Old from Saurbaer. Thorkel and Orm were sons of Thorir Snepil, the son of Ketil Brimil, the son of Ornolf, the son of Bjornolf, the son of Grim Hairy-cheeks, the son of Ketil Haeng, the son of Hallbjorn Half-troll from Hrafnista.

  The Christians covered their booths, and Gizur and Hjalti were in the booth of the men from Mosfell. The next day both sides went to the Law Rock and both Christians and heathens named witnesses and declared themselves no longer bound by law to the other, and there was such an uproar at the Law Rock that no one could hear anyone else.

  After this men went away, and everyone thought things looked most precarious. The Christians chose Hall of Sida as their lawspeaker, but he went to Thorgeir the Godi of Ljosavatn and gave him three marks of silver to proclaim the law, though this was a risky step, since Thorgeir was a heathen.

  Thorgeir spread a cloak over his head and lay this way for a whole day, and no one spoke to him.2 The next day people went to the Law Rock.

  Thorgeir asked for silence and spoke: ‘It appears to me that our affairs will reach an impasse if we don’t all have the same law, for if the law is split asunder, so also will peace be split asunder, and we cannot live with that. Now I want to ask the heathens and the Christians whether they are willing to accept the law that I proclaim.’

  They all assented to this. Thorgeir said that he wanted oaths from them and pledges that they would stick by them. They assented to this, and he took pledges from them.

  ‘This will be the foundation of our law,’ he said, ‘that all men in this land are to be Christians and believe in one God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – and give up all worship of false idols, the exposure of children, and the eating of horse meat. Three years’ outlawry will be the penalty for open violations, but if these things are practised in secret there shall be no punishment.’3

  A few years later all of these heathen practices were prohibited, so that they could be practised neither openly nor in secret.

  Thorgeir then talked about the keeping of the Lord’s day and fast days, Christmas and Easter and all major feasts. The heathens considered that they had been greatly deceived, but the new law took effect and everybody became Christian in this land.

  After this people went home from the Thing.

  106

  It happened three years later that Amundi the Blind, the son of Hoskuld Njalsson, was present at the Thingskalar Assembly. He had himself led from one booth to another. He came to the one where Lyting from Samsstadir was; he had himself led into the booth and up to where Lyting was sitting.

  He spoke: ‘Is Lyting of Samsstadir here?’

  ‘What do you want of me?’ said Lyting.

  ‘I want to know,’ said Amundi, ‘what compensation you will pay me for my father. I was born to him out of wedlock and I have received no compensation.’1

  ‘I have paid full compensation for the slaying of your father,’ said Lyting, ‘and your father’s father and brothers took the money, while my brothers went without compensation. I committed an evil deed, but I paid heavily for it’

  ‘I’m not asking,’ said Amundi, ‘whether you paid them compensation – I know that you made a settlement with them. I’m asking what compensation you will pay to me.’

  ‘None whatsoever,’ said Lyting.

  ‘I don’t find that to be just before God,’ said Amundi, ‘seeing that you struck so close to my heart. I can say this – if I were sound in both my eyes, I would either have compensation for my father or take blood revenge, and may God now settle between us.’

  After that he went out, but as he reached the door he turned and faced back into the booth; at that moment his eyes were opened.

  He spoke: ‘Praise be to God, my Lord. Now it can be seen what He wants.’

  After that he rushed back into the booth until he came up to Lyting, and
hit him in the head with his axe so that it sank all the way to the back edge, and then he pulled it towards him. Lyting fell forward, dead on the spot. Amundi went to the door and when he reached the very place at which his eyes had opened, they closed again, and he was blind all the rest of his life.

  After that he had someone bring him to Njal and his sons. He told them of the slaying of Lyting.

  ‘You are not to be blamed for that,’ said Njal, ‘for such things are preordained, and when they occur they are a warning not to decline the claims of close kin.’

  Njal then offered to make an agreement with Lyting’s kinsmen. Hoskuld the Godi of Hvitanes worked on them to accept compensation, and the case was turned over to arbitration. Half of the normal compensation was disallowed on account of the just cause which Amundi was thought to have. After that they made pledges of good faith, and Lyting’s kinsmen pledged good faith to Amundi.

  People then rode home from the Thing, and for a long time it was peaceful.

  107

  Valgard the Grey returned to Iceland; he was still a heathen. He went to his son Mord at Hof and spent the winter there.

  He spoke to Mord: ‘I’ve been riding far and wide in this district, and I can hardly recognize it as the same. I went to Hvitanes and saw many new booths and great changes. I went also to the place of the Thingskalar Assembly, and there I saw all our booths falling apart. What’s the reason for this scandal?’

  Mord said, ‘New godords and a fifth court have been created, and people have stopped being my thingmen and gone over to Hoskuld.’1

  Valgard spoke: ‘You’ve repaid me poorly, with your unmanly handling of the godord I turned over to you. Now I want you to repay them in a way that will drag them all to their deaths. The way to do this is to turn them against each other with slander, so that the Njalssons kill Hoskuld. Many men will take action for this slaying, and the Njalssons will be killed because of it’

  ‘I won’t be able to bring that off,’ said Mord.

  ‘I’ll give you a plan,’ said Valgard. ‘You must invite the Njalssons home and send them away with gifts. You must begin spreading slander only when the friendship between you is strong and they trust you no less than they do each other. You will be able to take vengeance against Skarphedin for the money they took from you after Gunnar’s death. You will regain your authority only when these men are all dead.’

  They agreed with each other that this plan should be carried out.

  ‘I wish, father, that you would accept the faith,’ said Mord. ‘You’re an old man.’

  ‘I don’t want to,’ said Valgard, ‘and in fact, I would like you to renounce the faith and then see what happens.’

  Mord said he would not do that. Valgard broke Mord’s crosses and all his holy objects. Then Valgard fell sick and died and was buried in a mound.

  108

  Some time later Mord rode to Bergthorshvol and met Skarphedin and his brothers. He spoke to them in flattering tones and talked all day and said he wanted to see much more of them. Skarphedin took all this well, but said that Mord had never made this effort before. Eventually, Mord entered into such great friendship with them that neither side took a decision unless the other agreed.1 Njal was always displeased when Mord came there, and he always let his dislike be known.

  One day when Mord came to Bergthorshvol, he spoke to the Njalssons: ‘I’ve arranged a memorial feast for my father, and I want to invite you Njalssons and Kari, and I promise that you will not go away without gifts.’

  They promised to come. He went home and prepared the feast. He invited many farmers, and the feast was well attended. The Njalssons and Kari also came there. Mord gave a large gold belt buckle to Skarphedin and a silver belt to Kari, as well as good gifts to Grim and Helgi.

  They came home and praised these gifts and showed them to Njal. He said that they would end up paying the full price for them −‘and see to it that you don’t pay him what he wants.’

  109

  A short time later Hoskuld and the Njalssons exchanged visits, and the Njalssons invited Hoskuld first.

  Skarphedin had a dark-brown horse, four years old, big and handsome. It was a stallion and had not yet fought another horse. Skarphedin gave this horse to Hoskuld, along with two mares. The others gave Hoskuld gifts, too, and affirmed their friendship with him.

  Then Hoskuld invited the Njalssons to visit him at Ossabaer. He had many guests from the neighbourhood, and there was a large crowd. He had torn down his hall, but had three storehouses, and they were arranged for sleeping in.

  Everyone whom he had invited came to the feast; it went very well. When people were ready to go home, Hoskuld chose good gifts for them and went along with the Njalssons on their way. The Sigfussons and all the others accompanied him. Both sides said that no one would ever come between them.

  Some time later Mord came to Ossabaer and asked Hoskuld to talk with him. They went apart for a talk.

  Mord spoke: ‘There’s a big difference between you and the Njalssons: you gave them good gifts, but they gave you gifts in great mockery’

  ‘What proof do you have of that?’ said Hoskuld.

  ‘They gave you a dark-brown horse, which they called an untested colt, and they did that in mockery because they consider you untested, too. I can also tell you that they envy your godord. Skarphedin took it over at the Thing when you failed to come to a meeting of the Fifth Court. He doesn’t ever intend to part with the godord.’

  ‘That’s not true,’ said Hoskuld. ‘I took it back at the autumn assembly’

  ‘That was Njal’s doing, then,’ said Mord. ‘But they also broke the agreement with Lyting.’

  ‘I don’t think they can be blamed for that,’ said Hoskuld.1

  ‘You won’t deny’ said Mord, ‘that when you and Skarphedin went east to the Markarfljot an axe fell from under his belt and that he had planned to kill you with it’

  ‘That was his wood-axe,’ said Hoskuld, ‘and I saw him put it under his belt. And for my part let it be said here and now that no matter what evil you speak of the Njalssons I will never believe it. And even if you happen to be telling the truth and it came down to their killing me or my killing them, I would much rather suffer death from them than do them any harm. You are the worse a man for having spoken these things.’

  Mord then went home.

  Some time later Mord went to see the Njalssons and said many things to the brothers and Kari.

  ‘I’ve been told,’ said Mord, ‘that Hoskuld said that you, Skarphedin, broke the agreement with Lyting, and I’ve also found out that he thought you were plotting to murder him when the two of you rode east to the Markarfljot. And I don’t consider it less of a murder plot when he invited you to a feast and put you in the storehouse which was farthest from the house and had wood carried to it all night long and was planning to burn you inside. As it turned out, Hogni arrived during the night and nothing came of the plan because they were afraid of him. Then Hoskuld and a large band of men went along with you on your way – he was going to make another attempt on your life and had put Grani Gunnarsson and Gunnar Lambason up to it, but they lost heart and didn’t dare to attack.’

  When he said these things they objected at first. But eventually they believed him, and great coldness grew up on their part towards Hoskuld, and they barely spoke to him when they met. Hoskuld made no reaction to this, and so it went on for a time.

  Hoskuld went east to Svinafell for a feast that autumn, and Flosi welcomed him. Hildigunn was also there.

  Flosi said to Hoskuld, ‘Hildigunn tells me that there is great coldness between you and the Njalssons, and I don’t like that at all, and so I propose that you don’t ride back west, and I’ll give you the farm at Skaftafell and send my brother Thorgeir to live at Ossabaer.’

  ‘Then some would say,’ said Hoskuld, ‘that I was fleeing out of fear, and I don’t want that.’2

  ‘Then it is very likely’, said Flosi, ‘that this will lead to great trouble.’


  ‘That’s too bad,’ said Hoskuld, ‘for I would rather die without the right to compensation than that many should come to harm because of me.’

  Hoskuld made ready to go home a few days later, and Flosi gave him a scarlet cloak trimmed with lace down to the hem. Hoskuld rode home to Ossabaer. There was peace for a time. Hoskuld was so well liked that he had hardly any enemies, but the same unpleasantness between him and the Njalssons continued all that winter.

  Njal had taken Kari’s son, called Thord, as his foster-son. He had also fostered Thorhall, the son of Asgrim Ellida-Grimsson. Thorhall was a vigorous man and resolute in everything. He had learned the law from Njal so well that he was one of the three greatest lawyers in Iceland.3

  Spring came early that year, and men sowed their grain early.

  110

  It happened one day that Mord came to Bergthorshvol. He and the Njalssons and Kari went apart to talk. Mord slandered Hoskuld as usual and added many new tales and kept provoking Skarphedin and the others to kill Hoskuld and said that Hoskuld ould beat them to it if they did not act at once.

  ‘You shall have what you want,’ said Skarphedin, ‘provided that you go along with us and take part.’

  ‘I’m ready to do that,’ said Mord.

  They made a firm pact and agreed that Mord should come there that evening.

  Bergthora asked Njal, ‘What are they discussing out there?’

  ‘I’m not in on their planning,’ said Njal, ‘but I was seldom left out when their plans were good.’