Njal's Saga

by AnonYMous

  2. the shameful treatment … you Ljosavatn men: This refers to Skarphedin’s insult to Thorkel Bully in Ch. 120, when the Njalssons and Asgrim were going around asking for support at the Althing.

  3. a defence can turn into a prosecution: An alliterative saying in the Icelandic, referring to the way that the defendants in a lawsuit sometimes turn into prosecutors, if they find an error in the prosecution. This will in fact happen in Ch. 144, when Flosi’s side, the defendants, will bring charges against the plaintiffs for procedural violations.

  Chapter 139

  1. in-laws: Gizur was married to Skafti’s sister.

  2. when Skarphedin told me … over his death: Skarphedin said these things to Skafti in Ch. no.119

  3. Asgrim … killed his foster-brother Gauk: This was also referred to in Ch. 26; see n. 1 to that chapter.

  4. Few bring up the better if they’re aware of the worse: A proverb expressing the fact that when you want to insult someone you do not choose the least offensive thing about him.

  Chapter 141

  1. I’ll suggest a plan to you … the correct one: Eyjolf’s trick, though taken seriously by the author (see Ch. 143), cannot have been valid, since Flosi’s change of thing allegiance will come after the suit has already been brought in the correct quarter.

  Chapter 142

  1. both sides had put markings on their helmets: This is the only time in the family sagas that this motif occurs; the marking of helmets, so that one warring party can be distinguished from the other, sets the stage for the large-scale battle which will erupt in Ch. 145.

  2. I claim the right to correct all my wording until my entire suit is in correct form: Although most of the legal formulas in these passages can be found in Old Icelandic laws, there is no precedent for this appeal to the right to eliminate mistakes in wording. The importance of using the correct wording in a legal pronouncement lay behind Njal’s ruse in Ch. 22 (carried out by Gunnar in Ch. 23), and in The Saga of Hrafnkel Frey’s Godi, Ch. 10, for example, it is reported that Sam prosecuted his suit against Hrafnkel ‘in a faultless and powerful presentation’.

  3. in the presence of fon: ‘Jon’ was a common blank name in legal formulas, much like ‘John Doe’ in American legal usage. This conspicuously Christian name is an anachronism; ‘Jon’ would not have been in legal usage in the early eleventh century.

  4. he dismissed them for reasons … pleading the case: Thorgeir Thorisson (Njal’s nephew) is the original plaintiff, but he turned over the case to Mord Valgardsson. A relationship between a panel member and Thorgeir would be a breach of rules; a relationship to Mord is insignificant.

  5. Any man who owns three hundreds … owns no land: Here the saga reflects early Icelandic law; see Miller, Bloodtaking and Peacemaking, p. 117, for a translation of the relevant passage.

  Chapter 144

  1. for having brought a money payment into the proceedings: Flosi’s hiring of Eyjolf as a lawyer with a gold bracelet (Ch. 138) is considered in this saga to be an illegal bribe, though the formula used, ‘bringing money into court’, applies only to the bribing of judges. There is no indication in early Icelandic law that hiring legal services was forbidden.

  2. testimony that had nothing to do with the case: It is not clear what this testimony is.

  3. confiscation court: This was held two weeks after a pronouncement of outlawry, usually at the man’s house, to deal with property matters. The payments mentioned here gave the right to safe passage out of the country. The life-ring payment was one mark in silver, an eighth of which (one ounce) was the sustenance fee.

  4. They had to declare the court divided: Decisions by the Quarter Courts (thirty-six judges in each) had to be unanimous; in case of a split vote, as here, judgement was referred to the Fifth Court, where a simple majority could decide. On the establishing of the Fifth Court in order to resolve such impasses, see Ch. 97.

  5. Mord had called on nine men … to hear the suit: Neighbours to Thingvellir were chosen because the misdemeanours Mord is now charging Flosi and Eyjolf with took place at the Althing at Thingvellir.

  6. Their whole case will be invalid … to make judgement: See Ch. 97 for the stipulation that the Fifth Court had to be reduced from forty-eight to thirty-six members in order to make judgements.

  Chapter 146

  1. when you lowered yourself into a gorge … and killed seven men: This episode, from which Thorgeir earned his nickname ‘Skorargeir’ (Gorge-spear), has not come down to us in any medieval source, though the author seems to assume that his audience would know it. An attempt to recreate the episode appears in the nineteenth-century Saga of Holta-Thorir (Holta-Thorir was the father of Thorgeir and the brother of Njal).

  2. Thorgeir made his brothers go east … truce-breakers: Thorgeir does not want his brothers Thorleif Crow and Thorgrim the Tall to be associated with his continuing vengeance against the burners, since they agreed to the settlement over the burning (see Ch. 145).

  3. one third: In Ch. 145 it was agreed that the compensation for Njal would be threefold (i.e. 3 × 200), and twofold for Grim and Helgi, a total of 1,400. Hall seems to be saying that Thorgeir would have to have an equal share with his brothers, which would come to an additional 700 ounces. But the meaning of Hall’s statement is not certain. See Glossary under ‘compensation’ for the rates paid in this saga.

  4. his son: Leidolf the Strong. Thorgeir had killed both Leidolf and Thorkel Sigfusson in the skirmish reported earlier in this chapter.

  Chapter 147

  1. your part in all this should not be better than good: Kari is saying that what Thorgeir has done so far in the way of revenge is ‘good’, but that to be ‘better’ would mean more killing, and Kari does not want that for Thorgeir.

  2. the orders of exile or district banishment: In Ch. 145 Flosi was sentenced to stay abroad for three years (‘lesser outlawry’, in effect), while Gunnar Lambason, Grani Gunnarson, Glum Hildisson and Kol Thorsteinsson were given permanent exile (‘full outlawry’). The exile sentence here could refer to Flosi, for the same word is applied to his sentence directly afterwards, but ‘district banishment’ does not seem to fit the cases of permanent exile and must refer to other sentences fixed after the battle at the Althing.

  3. the pilgrimage to Rome: It was not mentioned before that Flosi’s sentence included a trip to Rome.

  Chapter 149

  1. remember the dream I told you … in that dream: See Flosi’s dream in Ch. 133.

  Chapter 150

  1. the death of the head of the household. The head of the household at Skal, a farm apparently close to the scene of the battle, was the ‘good farmer’ Gunnar, slain just above; this man appears only here.

  Chapter 152

  1. Then we will have killed fifteen men … killed together: The victims of Kari’s revenge correspond to Flosi’s dream in Ch. 133 – though not all the names were given there, and Kari does not here count the men slain at the Althing, presumably because that large-scale battle, initiated by Thorhall, was not an act of personal revenge. Here is the scorecard of those slain

  Slain by Kari and Thorgeir (Ch. 146) – second group in Flosi’s dream:

  1. unnamed

  2. Thorkel Sigfusson

  3. Sigurd Lambason

  4. Mord Sigfusson

  5. Leidolf Hamundarson

  Slain by Kari in company with Biorn (Ch. 150) – third group in Flosi’s dream:

  6. Modolf Ketilsson

  7. unnamed

  8. Lambi Sigurdarson

  9. Thorstein Geirleifsson

  10. Gunnar of Skal

  Slain by Kari in company with Bjorn (Ch. 151) – fourth group in Flosi’s dream:

  11. Glum Hildisson

  12. Vebrand Thorfinnsson

  13. Asbrand Thorfinnsson

  Still to be slain – fifth group in Flosi’s dream:

  14. Gunnar Lambason (Ch. 155)

  15. Kol Thorsteinsson (Ch. 158).

  Chapter 154

  1. Brian was t
he name of the king … Kincora: This marks the beginning of the ‘Brian episode’ (Chs. 154–7), which recounts events in Ireland culminating in the battle of Clontarf (1014). Gilli is known only from this saga, but Sigtrygg (d. 1035), Olaf Kvaran (d. 981), Kormlod (d. 1030), and Brian are attested historical figures. The character of Kormlod (Irish Gormflaith) and her plan to have Brian killed correspond to the Irish sources. She was first married to Olaf Kvaran, Sigtrygg’s father; her third marriage, which ended in divorce, was to King Brian, who died at Clontarf.

  2. Brian had a foster-son named Kerthjalfad … the bravest of men: Kylfir is not otherwise known, but the three sons of Brian as well as Kerthjalfad (Irish Toirdhelbach) are known from Irish sources, where Kerthjalfad is Brian’s grandson, the son of Margad. Ulf Hraeda’s Norse name makes him an unlikely brother to Brian, but it has been suggested (by J. H. Lloyd, New Ireland Review, 1907, p. 52) that ‘Ulf hraeda’ is merely a corruption of ‘Murchad’, one of the sons of Brian. Working against this theory is the fact that the name ‘Margad’ in this passage must represent Murchad. Contrary to what the saga says, Kormlod was the mother of one of Brian’s sons, Dungad (Donnchad).

  Chapter 155

  1. The tables … were all covered in blood: This scene resembles Ch. 118 of Snorri Sturluson’s Saga of Saint Olaf, in which Asbjorn Sigurdarson comes to an island where King Olaf is celebrating and overhears Thorir Sel telling how Asbjorn held up when Thorir cleared his ship. ‘Thorir said, “He held up pretty well, but when we took his sail he wept.” And when Asbjorn heard this he drew his sword at once and rushed into the hall and swung at Thorir. The blow hit him on the neck; the head fell on the table in front of the king, and the body fell at his feet. The tablecloths were covered with blood, both above and below.’

  2. one of your followers: Kari is referring to Helgi Njalsson.

  3. Flosi then took over … his account was trusted: This scene must be understood in the light of the beginning of Ch. 130, where Gunnar Lambason leaped on the wall of the burning house, saw Skarphedin inside and asked if he were crying. Skarphedin denied that, but admitted that his eyes were smarting (from the smoke). Here the same Gunnar Lambason declares outright that Skarphedin was crying, and Kari cuts off his head for this. Flosi, though not an eye-witness to that earlier scene, presents an unbiased version of what happened, and is believed because of his stature as a man of honour.

  4. King Sigtrygg promised him his mother and the kingdom: The kingdom which Sigtrygg offers to Earl Sigurd along with his mother’s hand – and later, with remarkable diplomacy, offers to Brodir – is the Norse kingdom of Dublin, of which Sigtrygg himself was king.

  5. Brodir: Known in the Irish sources as Brodar, but Ospak (with his Norse name meaning ‘Un-wise’) is not known and might have been invented to provide a contrast with Brodir. Ospak is a pagan who recognizes the goodness of King Brian, refuses to fight him, and eventually joins him and is baptized − a typical Conversion narrative. Brodir on the other hand is a Christian, even a deacon, who becomes a pagan, fights against the saintly king and receives divine retribution.

  Chapter 157

  1. together with Hrafn the Red … what happened: The names Hrafn the Red, Erling of Stroma and Harek are otherwise unknown. The mention of Harek in particular gives the impression that the author is working from another source which he abridged. The same can be said about the man on an apple-grey horse who appears a few lines later, a blind motif as it stands in this saga. One remembers perhaps the supernatural figure on a grey horse in Ch. 125, though the man who talks to Brodir and Kormlod here is likely to be an ordinary man.

  2. the army came out of the town … in the centre: The army that came out was the combined army of the Norse and Leinstermen. Dublin was a Norse city-state. According to Irish sources, Sigtrygg (Sitric) remained in the stronghold of Dublin during the battle.

  3. Brodir was then taken prisoner … they were all pulled out of him: The torture and killing of Brodir, an apostate Christian, recall the evisceration of two earlier apostates, Judas and Arian, as recorded in religious literature. See Thomas D Hill, ‘The Evisceration of Bróðir in “Brennu-Njáls saga” ’, Traditio, 37 (l98l), pp. 337–44.

  4. these verses: This poem usually goes by the name ‘Darraðarljoð’ (Song of Dorrud). Thomas Gray (1716-71) translated it as ‘The Fatal Sisters’, referring to the valkyries who sing the song and weave the fabric which corresponds to the battle of Clontarf (called ‘Brian’s battle’ here). The poem is based on the similarities between weaving on a loom and fighting on a battlefield, and even the terminology is similar: the word ‘shaft’ in stanza 3, for example, suggests both the heddle rod on a loom and a spear shaft. The valkyries are engaged in two activities simultaneously: weaving a fabric made of men’s intestines and describing (even directing) the battle.

  Chapter 158

  1. Modolf the eastern route: By way of Switzerland and Germany.

  Chapter 159

  1. the western route: By way of France.

  Plot Summary

  The twin peaks of Njal’s Saga, the death of Gunnar (Ch. 77) and the burning of Njal (Chs. 129-30), suggest a two-part division, and indeed it has been thought that the author worked with two main sources, now lost, a ‘Gunnar’s Saga’ and a ‘Njal’s Saga’. Such a division is obvious and reasonable, and provides interesting parallels and contrasts, but does not do justice to the vastness and complexity of the saga, or to the fact that its two chief figures are not introduced until Chs. 19 and 20. Gunnar dies in Ch. 77, and Njal dies thirty chapters before the end of the saga. Other attempts to divide the saga have resulted in three sections (Gunnar’s death, Njal’s death, Kari’s revenge) or as many as eleven. All such attempts are arbitrary, and in the summary analysis that follows the lines drawn attempt to follow the natural breaks, the rises and falls in the text.

  Chs. 1−18 deal with three different narrative strands: Hrut’s betrothal and marriage to Unn, and their divorce (Chs. 2, 6-8); Hrut’s adventures abroad and his amorous encounter with Queen Gunnhild, who puts a spell on him which makes it impossible for him to satisfy his wife sexually (Chs. 2-6); and Hallgerd Hoskuldsdottir’s first two marriages, one forced and unhappy, the other voluntary and happy, both of which end with the husband’s death at the hands of her troublesome foster-father Thjostolf (Chs. 9-17). Hrut distinguishes himself as a splendid warrior abroad and a wise adviser to his hapless brother Hoskuld at home, but Unn and Hallgerd have a more far-reaching influence on the course of the saga. In the curiously split first chapter, these two women, one from the south and the other from the west of Iceland, are introduced and juxtaposed. Of Unn we learn merely that she is the daughter of the law expert Mord and that she is the best marriage prospect in the district. Of the young Hallgerd we learn that she has long hair and is beautiful – and has thief’s eyes (an accurate prophecy, see Ch. 48). In the final chapter (18) of this group, the shortest in the saga, we learn that Unn’s father Mord has died (this neatly balances his introduction in Ch. 1 and provides a frame for the section); his attempt to regain Unn’s dowry has failed, and she quickly squanders the wealth she has inherited. The section thus ends with one divorced and impoverished woman and another woman who has, directly or indirectly, caused the deaths of two husbands.

  Chs. 19-34 cover Gunnar Hamundarson’s life up to and including his wedding. The introduction of new characters, Gunnar in Ch. 19 and Njal in Ch. 20, seems to mark a fresh beginning, but in fact – and this is typical of Njála – the apparent closure of the previous section was only a setting for further complications. Gunnar himself will advance the thwarted careers of both women. He aids his kinswoman Unn to regain her dowry from Hrut (Chs. 21–4), by employing an unnecessarily elaborate scheme devised by Njal, and when this legal approach fails, by challenging Hrut bluntly to a duel, just as Hrut had challenged Mord in Ch. 8. His success in regaining the dowry raises Unn’s standing in the marriage market (though the saga does not say so), with immediate results: in Ch.25 a ‘devious and unpopul
ar man’ named Valgard comes into the saga and marries her. Of their son Mord it is said that ‘he will be in this saga for a long time’ and that ‘he was bad to his kinsman, and to Gunnar worst of all’. This comes as harsh irony after the conclusion of the previous chapter, when Gunnar took no payment from Unn but stated that he would count on support from her and her kinsmen. In another of the harsh juxtapositions of which the author is fond, the rest of Ch. 25 and Chs. 26–7 introduce Njal’s sons and describes the marriages arranged for them, as if to say that the Njalssons as well as Gunnar will be the objects of Mord Valgardsson’s malice. And so it proves.

  The journey abroad of Gunnar and his brother Kolskegg (Chs. 29–31) is the perfect model of its type: Gunnar wins not one but two sea battles against Vikings and is favourably received by two rulers, in Norway and in Denmark. But like other journeys abroad in this saga, it leads to trouble at home: in the fateful meeting at the Althing (Ch. 33), Gunnar’s newly acquired fame and splendour attract the eye of Hallgerd, and they become engaged – quite against the wishes of Njal, who predicts that ‘Every kind of evil will come from her when she moves east.’ The wedding takes place in Ch. 34 and is remarkable for two things: (1) The seating arrangement, with Gunnar flanked on one side by the Sigfussons (his mother’s brothers) and others who will plague him, and on the other side by Njal and his sons – this foreshadows later disaster, in particular the clash between the Njalssons and the Sigfussons; (2) the unexpected interruption when Thrain Sigfusson divorces his wife and becomes engaged to Hallgerd’s daughter (by her second marriage), Thorgerd Glumsdottir.