Njal's Saga

by AnonYMous

  Then the man who did the summing-up summed up this testimony.

  Mord named witnesses and asked the judges to judge the case.

  Then Gizur the White said, ‘You will have to do more than this, Mord, because four dozen men have not the right to make a judgement.’

  Flosi said to Eyjolf, ‘What are we to do now?’

  Eyjolf answered, ‘It’s a tight spot to get out of, and we had best wait, for I suspect they are going to make an error in the prosecution: Mord asked for a judgement in the case at once, but they must first remove six men from the court; then they must invite us, before witnesses, to remove another six, but that we won’t do. Then they will have to remove another six men, but they will overlook this detail. Their whole case will be invalid if they don’t remove six, because three dozen is the right number to make judgement.’6

  Flosi said, ‘You are a clever man, Eyjolf, and few can equal you.’

  Mord Valgardsson named witnesses – ‘I call for witness that I remove six men from the court’ – and he named them all by name – ‘I deny you seats in the court, and I remove you according to the rules of the Althing and the law of the land.’

  After that he invited Flosi and Eyjolf, before witnesses, to remove another six men from the court, but they chose not to do so. Mord then asked for the case to be judged. When the case had been judged, Eyjolf named witnesses and declared the judgement, and their whole suit, invalid. He pointed out that three-and-a-half dozen had made the judgement, whereas it should have been three dozen – ‘we shall now bring charges against them in the Fifth Court and have them declared outlaws.’

  Gizur the White said to Mord, ‘You overlooked something very important when you made this slip. This is very bad luck. What shall we do now, my kinsman Asgrim?’

  Asgrim said, ‘We must send a man to my son Thorhall and find out what advice he has for us.’

  145

  Snorri the Godi found out how the lawsuits were going. He drew up his men between the Almannagja gorge and the Hlad booth, after he ordered what they were to do.

  To turn now to Thorhall: a messenger came to him and told him how things stood, how they would all be outlawed and how their suits for homicide had all been quashed. When Thorhall heard this he was so upset that he could not speak a word. He sprang out of his bed and seized his spear, Skarphedin’s gift, with both hands and drove it through his leg. Flesh and the core of the boil clung to the spear when he had cut open his leg, and a gush of blood and a flow of pus poured like a stream across the floor. He then walked out of the booth without a limp and moved so fast that the messenger could not keep up with him, all the way to the Fifth Court. There he came across Grim the Red, Flosi’s kinsman, and as soon as they met Thorhall thrust at him with the spear and pierced his shield and split it in two, and the spear passed through him so that the point came out between his shoulders. Thorhall threw him off the spear, dead.

  Kari Solmundarson caught sight of this and spoke to Asgrim: ‘Here comes your son Thorhall, and he has already killed a man – it would be a great shame if he alone had the courage to avenge the burning.’

  ‘That shall not be,’ said Asgrim. ‘Let’s attack them.’

  Shouts were heard through all their forces, and then a war-cry went up. Flosi and his men turned to face them and they urged each other on eagerly.

  To turn now to Kari Solmundarson: he went to face Arni Kolsson and Hallbjorn the Strong. When Hallbjorn saw him he swung his sword at him and aimed at his leg, but Kari leaped into the air and Hallbjorn missed him. Kari turned to Arni Kolsson and swung at him and hit him on the shoulder and split his shoulder bone and collar bone and cut right down into his chest. Arni fell dead at once. Then he swung at Hallbjorn and hit the shield and passed through it and cut off Hallbjorn’s big toe. Holmstein threw his spear at Kari, but he caught it in mid-air and sent it back, and that was the death of one of Flosi’s men.

  Thorgeir Skorargeir came up to Hallbjorn the Strong and made such a lunge at him with one hand that Hallbjorn fell over and had a hard time getting to his feet, and then he fled. Thorgeir next met up with Thorvald Thrym-Ketilsson and at once swung at him with the axe Battle-hag which had belonged to Skarphedin. Thorvald took the blow on his shield, but Thorgeir split the entire shield and the upper point of the blade hit his chest and went into his body, and Thorvald fell at once, dead.

  To turn now to Asgrim and his son Thorhall: with Hjalti and Gizur the White they made an assault on Flosi and the Sigfussons and the other burners. The fighting was fierce, and the out come was that Asgrim and his side pressed so hard that Flosi’s side turned away. Gudmund the Powerful and Mord Valgardsson and Thorgeir Skorargeir attacked the men from Oxarfjord and the East Fjords and Reykjadal; the fighting was fierce there too. Kari Solmundarson came up to Bjarni Brodd-Helgason; he grabbed a spear and thrust it at him, and it hit his shield. Bjarni jerked his shield to the side – otherwise the spear would have gone through him. He swung his sword at Kari and aimed at the leg; Kari pulled his leg back and turned on his heel, so that Bjarni missed him. Then Kari swung back at once. A man stepped in and brought his shield in front of Bjarni. Kari split the shield from top to bottom, and the point of his sword hit the man in the thigh and tore open his whole leg; he fell down at once and was maimed for as long as he lived. Kari then grabbed the spear in both hands and turned to Bjarni and thrust it at him, and Bjarni saw no other choice but to fall sideways away from the thrust, and when he got back on his feet he ran away.

  Thorgeir Skorargeir then attacked Holmstein Bessason and Thorkel Geitisson; the outcome of this was that Holmstein and Thorkel turned away. There was much jeering at them from Gudmund’s men.

  Thorvard Tjorvason from Ljosavatn received a great wound; his arm was pierced, and men thought that Halldor, the son of Gudmund the Powerful, had thrown the spear. Thorvard never received compensation for that wound as long as he lived.

  The crush of men was great. Though a few of the things that happened are told here, there were many more for which no stories have come down.

  Flosi had told his men that they should try to reach shelter in Almannagja gorge if they were overpowered, for there they could only be attacked on one side. But the band of men under Hall of Sida and his son Ljot had retreated in the face of the attack by Asgrim and his men, and they were going down along the east side of the Oxara.

  Then Hall spoke to Ljot: ‘This is a terrible business, my son – the whole Thing fighting. I want us to ask for help to keep the two sides apart, even though we might be blamed for this by some people. Wait for me at the end of the bridge, while I go to the booths to get help.’

  Ljot spoke: ‘If I see that Flosi and his men need help from us, I will run to them at once.’

  ‘You must do what you like,’ said Hall, ‘but I beg you to wait for me.’

  Then it happened that Flosi’s men broke out in flight, and all of them fled to the west side of the Oxara, and Asgrim and Gizur the White and all their forces went after them. Flosi and his men retreated between the Virki booth and the Hlad booth. Snorri the Godi had drawn up his men so tightly there that they could not go that way.

  Snorri the Godi called to Flosi, ‘Why are you in such a rush? Who’s chasing you?’

  Flosi said, ‘You’re not asking this because you don’t know the answer. Could it be you who’s keeping us from reaching shelter in Almannagja?’

  ‘I’m not keeping you,’ he said, ‘but I know who is, and I’ll tell you, without being asked, that it’s Thorvald Kroppinskeggi and Kol.’

  Both these men were dead and had been the worst sort of men.

  Snorri the Godi spoke again, to his own men: ‘Go at them now with sword and with spear, and drive them away from here. They’ll only hold out a short while when the others attack from below. But don’t pursue them – just let them have it out with the others.’

  Skafti Thoroddsson’s son was Thorstein Hare-lip; he was fighting alongside his father-in-law Gudmund the Powerful. When Skafti h
eard this he went to Snorri the Godi’s booth and was planning to ask Snorri to go along with him to separate the fighters. But just before he reached the door of Snorri’s booth the fighting reached its peak. Asgrim and his men were coming up from below.

  Thorhall said, ‘There’s Skafti Thoroddsson now, father.’

  Asgrim said, ‘I see that, son’ – and he quickly cast his spear at Skafti and hit him just below the thickest part of the calf and pierced both legs. Skafti fell at the blow and could not get back up. The only thing the men near him could do was to drag him, laid out flat, into the booth of a certain sword-sharpener.

  Asgrim and his forces were advancing so fast that Flosi and his men turned south along the river to the Modruvellir booth. A man named Solvi was outside one of the booths; he was boiling meat in a large cauldron and had just taken the meat out, but the cauldron was boiling at its strongest. Solvi caught sight of the East Fjords men as they fled – they had almost come up to him.

  Solvi spoke: ‘What? Are they all cowards, these men from the East Fjords who are fleeing here?’ he said. ‘Even Thorkel Geitisson is running, and a lot of lies must have been told about him – many have said that he’s all valour, but no one’s running faster than him now.’

  Hallbjorn the Strong was near him and said, ‘You won’t get away with saying that we’re all cowards.’ He grabbed him and lifted him up high and plunged him head first into the cauldron. Solvi died at once. The pursuers then came towards Hallbjorn and he had to keep fleeing.

  Flosi cast his spear at Bruni Haflidason and hit him in the waist, and that was his death. He had been one of Gudmund the Powerful’s men.

  Thorstein Hlennason pulled the spear out of the wound and threw it at Flosi and hit him on the leg; Flosi’s leg was badly wounded and he fell down, but got back up at once.

  They retreated towards the Vatnsfjord booth. Ljot and Hall were crossing from the east side of the river with all their men. When they came to the lava a spear was thrown from Gudmund’s side and hit Ljot in the waist; he fell dead at once, and it was never found out who had done this killing.

  Flosi and his men retreated past the Vatnsfjord booth. Thorgeir Skorargeir said, ‘There’s Eyjolf Bolverksson, Kari. Reward him for accepting the bracelet.’

  Kari said, ‘That’s not far from what I’ve been thinking’ – and grabbed a spear and threw it at Eyjolf; it hit him in the waist and went through him. Eyjolf fell down dead at once.

  Then there was a lull in the battle. Snorri the Godi arrived with his men and Skafti, and they went at once between the two sides; then they were unable to fight. Hall joined them and also wanted to separate them. A truce was declared for the duration of the Thing. The bodies were laid out and brought to the church, and the wounds of those who were hurt were bound up.

  The next day men went to the Law Rock. Hall of Sida stood up and called for silence, and it was given at once.

  He spoke: ‘Hard things have happened here, both in loss of life and in lawsuits. I’ll show now that I’m a man of no importance. I want to ask Asgrim and the other men who are behind these suits to grant us an even-handed settlement.’

  He went on with many eloquent words.

  Kari spoke: ‘Even if all the others settle, I shall never settle, because you will want to set these killings against the burning, and we won’t stand for that.’

  Thorgeir Skorargeir said the same.

  Then Skafti Thoroddsson stood up and spoke: ‘You would have done better, Kari, not to have run away from your in-laws than to hold back from a settlement now.’

  Kari then spoke this verse:

  18.

  If I ran, warrior,

  why rebuke me?

  The weapon-storm pounded,

  by my power, on shields.

  Long, slender swords

  sang loud, while you,

  red-bearded softie,

  ran to your booth.

  Kari spoke another verse:

  19.

  When warriors lacked

  the will to stop fighting,

  Skafti the poet was pinned

  scared behind his shield,

  and the cooks dragged

  this dauntless hero

  flat on his back

  to the juggler’s floor.

  Kari spoke a third verse:

  20.

  Men who mount the sea’s elk sea’s elk ship, mounted by sailors

  have mocked the burning of Njal

  and of Grim and of Helgi–

  they did a great wrong;

  and now in the heather-decked

  hills of the hog hills of the hog allusion to Svinafell (Flosi’s home)

  all goes otherwise

  after the Althing.

  There was great laughter. Snorri the Godi smiled and spoke in a low voice, yet in such a way that many heard him:

  21.

  Skafti would shorten the fight,

  but then Asgrim shot his shaft; Holmstein fled unwillingly,

  Thorkel was forced to fight.

  Now they laughed even louder.

  Hall of Sida spoke: ‘All men know what sorrow the death of my son Ljot has brought me. Many will expect that payment for his life will be higher than for the others who have died here. But for the sake of a settlement I’m willing to let my son lie without compensation and, what’s more, offer both pledges and peace to my adversaries. I ask you, Snorri the Godi, and others among the best men, to see to it that a settlement is reached between us.’

  Then he sat down, and much good was spoken about his words, and everybody praised his good will.

  Snorri the Godi stood up and made a long and wise speech and asked Asgrim and Gizur and the others who were behind the case to accept a settlement.

  Asgrim spoke: ‘I resolved, after Flosi forced his way into my house, that I would never accept a settlement with him, and yet now, because of your words, Snorri, and those of other friends of mine, I will not hold back.’

  In the same way Thorleif Crow and Thorgrim the Tall said that they would accept a settlement and urged their brother Thorgeir Skorargeir to settle also, but he held back and said he would never part from Kari.

  Then Gizur the White said, ‘Now Flosi must decide for his part whether he wants to agree to a settlement that some men will not be a part of.’

  Flosi said he wanted to settle – ‘the fewer good men I have against me,’ he said, ‘the better I like it.’

  Gudmund the Powerful spoke: ‘I for my part offer my hand in promise of compensation for the slayings that occurred here at the Thing, provided that the suits for the burning are not left out.’

  Gizur the White and Asgrim and Hjalti spoke the same way, and under these terms a settlement was made.

  It was referred by handshake to a panel of twelve men. Snorri the Godi was in charge of the arbitration and other good men were with him. The slayings were weighed against each other, and the imbalance was settled by payment. They also arbitrated the suits for the burning. Threefold compensation was to be paid for Njal, and twofold for Bergthora. The slaying of Skarphedin was weighed equally against the slaying of Hoskuld the Godi of Hvitanes. Twofold compensation was to be paid for both Grim and Helgi. There was to be single compensation for all the others who were burned.

  No payment was awarded for the death of Kari’s son Thord.

  Flosi and the rest of the burners would have to leave the country, but not be obliged to leave that summer unless they wanted to, and if they did not go by the time three years had passed, he and the rest of the burners would become outlaws for life, and their outlawry would be proclaimed either at the Spring Assembly or the Autumn Assembly, whichever men preferred.

  Flosi was to stay abroad for three years. Gunnar Lambason, Grani Gunnarsson, Glum Hildisson, and Kol Thorsteinsson were never to have the right to return.

  Flosi was asked if he wanted to be paid for his own wound, but he said he would not use his own body to make money. Eyjolf Bolverksson’s death was not to be compensated
for, on account of his unfairness and wrong-doing.

  All this was then agreed on by handshake, and never broken.

  Asgrim and his men gave Snorri the Godi good gifts; he had won great respect from this case. Skafti was not compensated for his wound. Gizur the White and Hjalti and Asgrim invited Gudmund the Powerful to visit them. He accepted the invitations and each of them gave him a gold bracelet. Gudmund then rode back north and had the praise of all men for the way he acted in this affair.

  Thorgeir Skorargeir asked Kari to come with him, but first they rode north with Gudmund as far as the mountains. Kari gave Gud-mund a gold brooch and Thorgeir gave him a silver belt, both excellent treasures, and they parted in great friendship. Gudmund rode on to his home up north, and he is now out of the saga. Kari and Thorgeir rode south from the mountains and down to Hreppar and from there to Thjorsa.

  To turn now to Flosi: all the burners rode east to Fljotshlid. Then Flosi told the Sigfussons to look after their farms. Flosi heard that Thorgeir and Kari had ridden north with Gudmund, and they took this to mean that Kari and Thorgeir were going to stay up north. The Sigfussons then asked if they might go east to the Eyjafjoll district to collect money which was owed to them at Hofdabrekka. Flosi gave them permission but begged them to spend as little time there as possible. Then he rode up past Godaland and to the mountains and north of the glacier Eyjafjallajokul; he did not stop until he had come home to Svinafell.

  To tell now about Hall of Sida: when he had allowed his son’s slaying to go without compensation, and did this for the sake of a settlement, everyone assembled at the Althing paid him compensation, and it came to no less than eight hundred ounces of silver, four times the usual amount. All the others who had been with Flosi got no compensation for their losses and they were not at all pleased at that. The Sigfussons stayed at home two days, and on the third they rode east to Raufarfell and stayed overnight there. They were fifteen in number and had no fear for their lives. From there they rode east late in the day and planned to reached Hofdabrekka in the evening. They made a stop in Kerlingardal and there they fell into a deep sleep.