Nj ála – The Saga of Burnt Njal

1. Njála – The Saga of Burnt Njal • Njala was composed around 1280, dealing with events from 930 – 1020 AD. • It is the longest, the most sophisticated, and perhaps the finest example of saga art – considered by some to be the national epic of Iceland. • Over 600 characters, from the sublime and tragic, to the sinister or simply comic. • Author is unknown, but most evidence points to a single composer who united several oral and written sources to compose his own work of art.

2. Njála – Basic Information • Njála can be divided into roughly three sections: • Gunnar’s exploits and death • Njal’s family and his death • Kari’s vengeance and reconciliation • The saga juxtaposes a heroic, Viking age mentality with a modern, Christian ethos. Some of the themes in the saga include: • Honor Law Luck Vengeance • Fate or Destiny Nobility of Character • Christian Charity Reconciliation Pride

3. Njála – History • Critics are divided as whether to treat Njála as a work of history or a work of literature. Obviously it contains elements of both, but generally one can say that the author uses historical events to explore aspects of human nature. • Some critics see Njála as a form of Historical Novel, as a work dealing indirectly with the concerns of the age in which it was created, the turbulent period when the Icelandic Republic collapsed (1262).

4. Njála – History • How did the saga come to be composed? • 250-300 year gap between the events of the saga and its composition. Oral history. • Many events are taken from later written sources, such as the conversion of Iceland, the legal debates, the battle of Clontarf in Ireland. • The “Free Prose Theory” – oral stories simply written down according to rules of oral narration. • The “Book Prose Theory” – a writer/editor collects oral tales and rearranges/adapts them for a written text that mirrors rules of oral narration.

5. Timeline of Icelandic History

6. Njála – Style and Form • Njála has been called “the finest example of art without art,” and “the despair of translators,” a masterpiece of story telling, smooth and plain. • A narrator exists, but conceals himself behind the apparently objective portrayal of characters. • The narrator presents no interior descriptions, explains no motivation, and provides no commentary (except that of “everyone” or “most people”). • Characters are what they say and what they do–most scenes contain important bits of dialogue!

7. Njála – Genre • Of the four great Icelandic family sagas (Egils saga, Eyrbyggja Saga, Laxdæla saga), Njála is the longest and most complicated. • Njála contains many different genres: • Saga of constitutional history and saga of law • Saga of the conversion of Iceland • Saga of family feud and violent lawlessness • Saga of heroic adventure • Saga of Christian reconciliation • Saga of pagan wisdom, fate and fatality

8. Njála – Verisimilitude • Njála, like all Icelandic family sagas, purports to represent real local history. • People are given real names and real family ancestries, which link them to real places. • Njal’s farm at Bergthorsknoll still exists, evidence of a burning there from the proper time. • “Factual” evidence provides the saga with a certain legitimacy – proof for the reader – though it is impossible to determine how much is really true. • Sagas a form of “serious entertainment.”

9. Njála – Foreshadowing • In Njála, as in most sagas, the authors are dealing with tales well-known to their audiences. • Suspense – what will happen next? – did not exist in a modern sense. • Elements of foreshadowing – dreams, omens, portents, etc. – exist to remind the audience of what is to come, and they provide the saga with coherence, uniting earlier and later episodes. • The attention of the audience is focused on how and why things happen, not on twists of the plot.

10. Njála – Plot Elements • According to scholar T.M. Anderson, there are 6 key elements to the narrative of family sagas: • Introduction • Conflict • Climax • Revenge (repeat as necessary) • Reconciliation • Aftermath

11. Njála – 1. • The saga begins with Mord Gigja (Fiddle), a powerful chieftain (goði), who lived at Rangriver Plains (Rangarvellir), in southern Iceland. • Mord has a beautiful daughter called Unn (3). • At Breidafjord, near Laxardal in West Iceland, lives Hoskuld Dala-Kollsson, who has a half-brother Hrut (3). • Hrut sees his niece Hallgerd, who is a beautiful young girl at the time (3) – the long silken hair will show up again at an important juncture in the saga.

12. The World of the Icelandic Sagas

13. Map of Iceland

14. Njála – 1-2. • Hrut makes an ominous comment about Hallgerd when he sees her (4): • “The child is quite beautiful, and many will pay for that; but what I don’t know is how the eyes of a thief have come into our family.” • Hoskuld and Hrut ride to the Althing, the national Assembly in Iceland, held at Thingvellir for two weeks in late June. • Hoskuld suggests that Hrut marry Unn, though he is unsure “whether we are meant to be happy together” (4).

15. Njála – 2. • Hoskuld and Mord bargain over the proposed marriage between Hrut and Unn. They eventually settle on terms to ensure that Unn will live well and that she will keep her wealth (5). • The call witnesses to seal the bargain, the wedding to take place that summer. • Hrut soon learns, however, that his brother Eyvind has died, and that he must go to Norway to claim his inheritance. • Hrut meets with Mord, and they agree to postpone the wedding 3 years.

16. Njála – 3. • Harald Grey-Cloak is King of Norway (961-970 AD), and rules with his mother, Queen Gunnhild – cf. Egil’s saga (6). • Gunnhild promises Hrut her aid in recovering his money, and Ozur tells him it would be wise to accept her “generosity” (7). • Hrut meets the king, asks to become a retainer; Gunnhild supports his request. • That evening, Queen Gunnhild makes Hrut a proposition he cannot refuse…(cite9) • Hrut takes a place of honor; spends the winter.

17. Njála – 4-5. • A man named Soti has stolen Hrut’s inheritance; Gunnhild gives Hrut two ships and Ulf the Unwashed, and the king gives him another 2 ships to catch Soti. • Hrut sails into the pirate Atli Arnvidarson, and they fight a Viking sea battle (cite 11). • Hrut kills Atli, but Ulf the Unwashed dies. • Hrut takes great booty and some of Atli’s ships. • Meanwhile, Soti is found, arrested and hanged. • Hrut collects his inheritance, gives Queen Gunnhild half.

18. Njála – 6-7. • Hrut wants to leave Norway, lies to Gunnhild about the reason (12). • She is upset and curses him for lying (cite13). • Hrut returns to Iceland and marries Unn. • Their marriage remains unconsummated, and eventually Unn determines to divorce Hrut. • Unn visits her father at the Althing, tells him the reason for her marital unhappiness (cite 15f.). • Mord tells Unn the proper legal procedure for executing a divorce (cite16).

19. Njála – 8. • At the Althing, Mord puts forward a claim for the return of his daughter Unn’s dowry (and Hrut’s contribution to the marriage agreement!). • Hrut refuses to pay and challenges Mord to a duel – Holmganga, or island-going – which in the early years of the Icelandic Republic was an accepted means of deciding legal disputes. • Old Mord is afraid to fight the tough Hrut, so he lets his claim fall, earning nothing but ridicule. • Hrut keeps the money of Unn’s dowry. • Who was right and who was wrong?

20. The Legal Courts of the Althing in Republican Iceland

21. Njála – 9-10. • Hallgerd grows up to be a beautiful, but willful and impetuous woman (cite 18). • Hallgerd has been raised by her foster-father, Thjostolf, an insanely jealous and violent man. • Fostering another’s child was a way to cement bonds between families; the subordinate man usually did the fostering; the father kept final authority over the child. • Hoskuld, Hallgerd’s father, decides to marry her to young Thorvald, without informing her. • Hallgerd thinks the man beneath her, but agrees.

22. Njála – 10-11. • Thjostolf comforts Hallgerd, saying that he will help her to take care of this first marriage (20). • The wedding is large and happy, though Hrut senses that it will have no luck. • At the wedding, we are introduced to Svan, an evil magician related to Hallgerd. • Hallgerd is wasteful, but blames her new husband; in fury, he strikes her in the face (21). • Thjostolf fins Thorvald, insults him and then plants his axe in husband #1’s skull (cite 22). • The insult provided an excuse to begin the fight.

23. Njála – 12. • When Hallgerd sees his bloody axe, Thjostolf tells her that he has arranged it so that she can get a better marriage. • Hallgerd sends him to hide with evil Svan in the hills; Svan is impressed by the murder (23). • Osvif gathers his friends and family to seek vengeance against Thjostolf. • Svan uses magic to send fetches (fylgja) and fog against the party, and they turn back (cite 24) • Osvif goes to Hoskuld and asks for compensation; Hrut advises him to pay up and sets price (25).

24. Duty of Revenge and Right of Inheritance

25. Njála – 13-15. • Glum Olafsson now wants to marry Hallgerd; his brother warns him, but he persists (27). • Hoskuld tells Glum about all her assets and defects, and they discuss the matter with Hallgerd, who is not averse to the marriage. • The marriage starts out well and happy, and a daughter Thorgerd is born (29). • Thjostolf, meanwhile, wore out his welcome at Hoskuld’s house and went to visit Hallgerd. • Hallgerd talks Glum into letting Thjostolf stay with them at their farm.

26. Njála – 16-17. • Nasty Thjostolf refuses to work, and when Hallgerd takes his side, Glum quarrels with her and slaps her (31). • She is upset, but loves Glum deeply and forbids Thjostolf from doing anything. • Thjostolf waits for a moment alone, then axes beloved Glum, husband #2 (cite 32). • When Hallgerd sees the bloody axe, she guesses the truth and laughs! • Thjostolf runs away to Hrut for protection – Glum’s family is very powerful!

27. Njála – 17-18. • Hrut does not care for Thjostolf’s madness, and kills him straight away (33). • Brother Thorarin comes to ask for compensation for Glum – his claim is weak because Hrut has already killed Thjostolf – but he is given gifts by Hoskuld and Hrut (34). • These gifts are a sign of great generosity of spirit. • Petite Unn, meanwhile, has squandered her wealth. Her father is dead and so she turns to assistance to another relative – Gunnar.

28. Njála – 19-21. • Gunnar Hamundarson of Hlidarendi; a farmer and an ideal hero (cite 34f.). • Njal Thorgeirsson of Bergthorshvol, wealthy and wise, and extremely skilled at law, but could not grow a beard (cite 35f.). • Njal had a wife, Bergthora, who was courageous, but more than a little harsh-natured. • Impoverished Unn comes to Gunnar for aid – she wants his assistance to recover her dowry from Hrut (36). • Gunnar goes to his friend Njal for advice.

29. Njála – 22-24. • Njal gives Gunnar very precise directions for a legal assault against Hrut – basically a trick to get Hrut to recite the summons to revive the case legally (37f.). • Gunnar carries out Njal’s instructions. • Hoskuld has a dream of ahuge bear – Gunnar’s fetch (40), and he suspects something is afoot. • Hoskuld and Hrut realize that it must have been Gunnar – acting on the advice of his friend Njal. • Gunnar presents the case at the Althing, but instead challenges Hrut to a duel (42).

30. Njála – 24-25. • Hrut has no chance against Gunnar, so he gives in and pays up, seething with anger. • Hrut and Hoskuld foresee only bad luck and trouble for Gunnar and his ill-gotten money (42). • Gunnar gives Unn her dowry back. • Unn then married Valgard and had a son, Mord, who was malicious and cunning (43). • Njal’s three sons are: • Skarp-Hedin – extremely strong, scathing, and ugly • Grim – strong and handsome • Helgi – strong, handsome and even-tempered

31. Njála – 26-30. • Njal marries his son Helgi to Thorhalla and takes her brother Thorhall as a foster son, teaches him law. • Gunnar and his brother Kolskegg travel abroad, leaving their farms Njal’s hands. • Gunnar travels to Norway at the time of Earl Hakon Sigurdarson (970-995), raids in Baltic. • They soon meet other pirates and engage in a Viking sea battle (48). • Gunnar attacks other Vikings in a second battle (49f.), and is again victorious.

32. Njála – 31-32. • Travel abroad was necessary to prove the worth of a hero. The author of Njála probably was not well acquainted with the rest of Scandinavia. • Foreign countries have an exotic, legendary feel in this saga – magical lands of larger-than-life adventures. Gunnar’s adventures in the Baltic establish his reputation as a great warrior. • Gunnar travels to Denmark and meets King Harald Gormsson. Exchange of gifts (50). • Gunnar travels to Norway and meets Earl Hakon, who also gives him gifts.

33. Njála – 32-33. • Gunnar returns home to Iceland a famous man – but Njal warns him that many people will be jealous of his good fortune (52). • Gunnar will now be tested again. He “wants to get along well with everyone,” but he will have to defend himself. • Gunnar goes to the Althing against the advice of Njal. He makes a very strong impression. • Gunnar meets Hallgerd, who speaks to him boldly, and they fall instantly in love (53). He thinks about marriage at once.

34. Njála – 33-34. • Gunnar makes his way to his old adversaries Hrut and Hoskuld and inquires about Hallgerd’s hand in marriage. • Hrut is not averse to the match, but wants to be “entirely honest” about Hallgerd – so that he does not get Gunnar as his enemy later… (54). • Njal is displeased when he hears about the plan – prophesy that she will cause trouble (54). • A large wedding takes place; a guest, Thrain Sigfusson, is smitten by 14-year-old Thorgerd (Hallgerd’s daughter), divorces his wife and asks for Thorgerd’s hand immediately (56).

35. Njála – 35-36. • Feud: Gunnar is a guest at Njal’s farm, and their two wives start a quarrel over seating arrangements (57), but Gunnar breaks it up. • First violence: while Gunnar and Njal attend the Althing, Hallgerd sends her servant Kol to kill Bergthora’s servant Svart (58f.). • The message is sent to Gunnar at the Althing; he asks Njal to name his own compensation (59). • When Skarp-Hedin sees the money, he says “it may turn out to be useful,” and grins (61). He has all the best “one-liners” in the saga.

36. Njála – 37-38. • Retaliation I: Bergthora sends her man Atli to kill Kol (62). • Skarp-Hedin has his usual comment (63) – Njal pays Gunnar the same compensation set earlier. • Atlistays despite the risk, asks only that no slave-payment be made as compensation (63). • Retaliation II. Hallgerd engages Brynjolf the Unruly to kill Atli (64). • Njal sets compensation here at 100 ounces of silver (up from 12 ounces for the slaves). • Bergthora’s men fight more fairly than Hallgerd’s men.

37. Njála – 39-42. • Retaliation III. Bergthora sends Thord Freedmansson to kill Brynjolf the Unruly (67). Thord a peaceful man and foster-father to all of Njal’s sons – escalation! • Njal gives Gunnar his money back as settlement. • Peaceful Thord has a vision of a bloody dead goat – Njal says that was his fetch, a vision that his death is now fated (69). • Retaliation IV: Hallgerd sends her son-in-law Thrain and Sigmund and Skold to kill Thord; Thrain stays back while the other two slay Thord (71) – a “grave crime.”

38. Njála – 43-44. • Njal assesses Thord’s death at 200 ounces of silver – double compensation; Gunnar pays. • Njalssons agree to keep the settlement, but their tolerance has reached its limit. • Insult to Injury: Hallgerd thinks up an insult to Njal and his sons, and Sigmund sets it to verse (74). Repeating publicly such an insult would absolutely demand vengeance to restore honor! • Gunnar is furious when he hears the slander, but the Njalssons are outraged – goaded by Bergthora, they pursue Sigmund (75f.).

39. Njála – 45. • Retaliation V: Skarp-Hedin kills Sigmund himself, while Grim and Helgi dispatch Skuld. Step-brother Hoskuld stays back (77). • Skarp-Hedin sends Sigmund’s head to Hallgerd! • Gunnar declares that the actions of the Njalssons were justified and does nothing about the deaths. • Three years later, Njal brings the matter up, insists on paying for Sigmund (200 ounces, but nothing at all for Skuld). • Njal and Gunnar have maintained their friendship despite their wives’ feud – uncommon restraint!

40. Njála – 46-49. • Petite Unn’s son Mord Valgardsson introduced: cunning, vicious and jealous of Gunnar (79). • Otkel and scoundrel Skamkel refuse to sell to Gunnar in a time of famine. • Gunnar picks up worthless slave Melkolf, whom Hallgerd sends on an errand of theft and arson at the home of Otkel and Skamkel (81). • Gunnar is outraged to find stolen cheese at home and slaps Hallgerd – she vows vengeance! (82). • Otkel and Skamkel go to evil Mord – who takes their money to find evidence of Hallgerd’s theft.

41. Njála – 49-51. • Gunnar goes to Otkel and offers generous compensation for his wife’s cheese theft, but Otkel is goaded by Skamkel into rejecting it. • Skamkel goes to chieftain Gizur the White and asks him to set the compensation for Gunnar—but lies about Gizur’s advice when he returns to Otkel: issue a summons at Althing! • Showdown at the Althing: legal and semi-legal maneuverings by Gunnar and Njal (87ff.). • Gunnar is awarded self-judgement, and declares all sins have cancelled each other out (89). • Everything is quiet “for a while.”

42. Njála – 52-54. • Otkel rides an unruly horse into Gunnar and draws blood – an inflicted wound which would give cause for retribution. Gunnar tells his neighbors so that he will have witnesses. • Gunnar hears that Otkel is passing back nearby and has heard of insults (crying) spread by Skamkel; he takes his magic halberd and makes short work of the entire group (cite 92f.). • Brother Kolskegg arrives to kill one of the eight. • Gunnar unsure if he is less manly than others because he is more reluctant to kill (93)!

43. Njála – 55-58. • Njal gives Gunnar some good advice at “the start of his career of killing” (94). • Geir the Priest prepares a court case against Gunnar for the slaying of his relative Otkel. • Gunnar declares the actions null and void (Otkel was outlaw); accuses Geir of misuse of the law! • Njal persuades them to reach a settlement (97). • New Conflict: • Starkad wants to pit his Red Stallion against Gunnar’s Black Stallion, but Hildigunn warns him about Gunnar’s “good luck” (99).

44. Njála – 58-61. • Gunnar agrees to the horse-fight, but Njal warns him that it will have consequences. • Horse-fight leads to a real fight; Thorgeir knocks out Black’s eye, and Gunnar puts Black down. • Gunnar challenges Ulf Uggason at the Althing and thus wins a case for his friend Asgrim – Gunnar is earning more and more enemies! • Njal warns Gunnar to be cautious and to take the Njalssons with him to prevent any attack (102f.). • Gunnar visits Asgrim without the Njalssons; Starkad gets a posse of 30 men for ambush.

45. Njála – 62-67. • Gunnar has a dream of fighting a pack of wolves; sees his youngest brother Hjort fall (105). Fate. • Knafahills Ambush: 30 vs. 3, but the odds are not good enough: 14 attackers perish, Hjort falls at the hands of the Easterner Thorir (106f.). • Njal plans a legal defense for Gunnar – assign counter-claims for those he has killed (108). • Showdown at the Althing: Njal outmaneuvers his opponents, eventually Hjalti Skeggjason arranges a settlement to avoid bloodshed (112). • Evil Mord Valgardsson plots to defeat Gunnar.

46. Njála – 67-70. • Mord’s jealousy (and knowledge of Njal’s omens) lead him to manipulate others against Gunnar – especially sons of the slain: Thorgeir Otkelsson and Thorgeir Starkadsson. • Both Thorgeirs plot an ambush of Gunnar, but Njal has a vision of sleeping fetches (115). He scares them away and threatens a court case! • Njal arbitrates that case at the next Althing– famous quote about law in Iceland (cite 117). • Njal wins the dispute and takes the money – in case Gunnar needs to pay it back later… (117).

47. Njála – 70-73. • Olaf the Peacock gives his friend Gunnar three gifts, including the dog, Sam (117). • Evil Mord Valgardsson and both Thorgeirs plot again – seduce Gunnar’s relative Ormhild to get his threats (and thus justify retaliation)! • Ambush at Rang River: Gunnar & Kolskegg kill several, including Thorgeir Otkelsson (119f.). • Njal warns Gunnar that he has violated his warning not to kill twice in the same family!(120). • Gizur the White charges Gunnar with Full Outlawry! (cite 121)

48. Njála – 74-75. • Njal manages to arrange a settlement through arbitration (see p. 122): • Compensation determined and paid (same amount previously paid to Gunnar!) • Gunnar and Kolskegg sentenced to Lesser Outlawry – leave for three years, or else! • Njal reminds Gunnar that he must leave Iceland or bad things will happen (cite 122). • Gunnar makes plans to leave, but finds himself too homesick to leave (cite 123). • Gizur the White proclaims Gunnar a Full Outlaw.

49. Njála – 75-77. • Gunnar’s enemies now make open plans to attack him – no fear of retribution since he is outlawed. • They threaten a neighbor of Gunnar’s to lure out his dog Sam, which they kill (126). Gunnar hears the howl and prepares for a fight. • Black Humor: “Is Gunnar at home?” (126). • Gunnar thinks of humiliating them while besieged in his own home! (127). • An attacker severs his bow string – he asks Hallgerd the Vicious for some hair, but she refuses, citing his previous slap (128).

50. Njála – 77-79. • “…until at last they killed him.” (128) • “The slaying was spoken badly of in all parts of the land, and his death brought great sorrow to many.” • People hear singing in Gunnar’s burial mound; Skarp-Hedin and Hogni Gunnarsson investigate and watch him singing triumphantly inside (130). • Skarp-Hedin takes the song as a portent – Gunnar wants vengeance! He and Hogni set out at once. • More pagan imagery: magic halberd sings, talk of Valhalla, two ravens accompany the heroes. (131). • They kill many, Mord the Coward begs for mercy.