Njal's Saga Read Free Page B

is attacked in his home by forty men, Hoskuld Thrainsson is killed in
     a cowardly attack by five men who lie in hiding until he comes out in the morning to sow
     grain, and Njal and his family are annihilated by men who take no risks and burn them
     inside their house. Much blood is shed in the saga, but much of it is shamefully shed
     – not exactly what seekers after Viking adventure want to read.
    Rather than violent action, it is spiritual qualities that occupy the
     centre of interest in this saga – intelligence, wisdom, decisiveness,
     purposefulness, a shrewd business sense, the ability to give and follow advice, decency,
     a sense of honour. Njal says at one point, when he is calculating how to respond to the
     abusive language of the Sigfussons, ‘they are stupid men’ (Ch. 91).
     Those who plot evil, invent and pronounce gratuitous insults and envy the honest virtues
     of others are stupid. Between their stupidity and the clear-headedness of their
     antagonists lies the central conflict in the saga. It is emblematic that when Njal has a
     vision of some men about to attack Gunnar he reports that ‘they seem in a
     frenzy but act without purpose’ (Ch. 69).
    In our age of self-doubt, identity crises and existential uncertainty, it
     is refreshing to read about firm decision-making and purposeful action by men and women
     with a sure sense of themselves. Hesitationis treated with scorn in
Njála
, as when Hallgerd whets Brynjolf in Ch. 38: he falls silent,
     and she insults him by saying that Thjostolf (now dead) would not have hesitated. When
     Sorli Brodd-Helgason gives a feeble response to Flosi’s request for support,
     Flosi says ‘I can see from your answer that your wife rules here’
     (Ch. 134). Some men of course are temporarily caught in a dilemma, like Flosi in Ch.
     116, torn between blood vengeance and a peaceful settlement, or Ketil of Mork (Chs. 93
     and 112) and Ingjald of Keldur (Chs. 116 and 124), torn between conflicting allegiances.
     Their decisions are not easy, and we sympathize with them. But we are thrilled by men
     who do not stop to weigh the odds, like Kari outside the hall of King Sigtrygg of Orkney
     in Ch. 155: when he overhears Gunnar Lambason’s lying account of the burning,
     he dashes in and cuts off Gunnar’s head in a single blow. We also admire
     Gunnar of Hlidarendi’s change of mind: his decision to remain in Iceland
     rather than go abroad as an outlaw is taken quickly, resolutely and courageously (Ch.
     75).
    The good characters not only understand themselves and what is required of
     them, they also know what to expect of others, and often with remarkable precision. The
     fullest example of this is Njal’s instructions to Gunnar in Ch. 22, where he
     is able to predict step by step exactly what will happen when Gunnar comes in disguise
     to Laxardal. A small example is Kari’s ability to time the movement of Ketil
     and his men (beginning of Ch. 152). In between are many other cases where intelligent
     people show a keen ability to anticipate the actions and words of others.
    A concentrated form of such intelligence is prophecy, a gift reserved for
     a special group, according to the statement in Ch. 114 that ‘Snorri was called
     the wisest of the men in Iceland who could not foretell the future.’ An
     unusual number of persons in
Njal’s Saga
possess this gift. Njal is
     of course the main figure here. To mention just two examples: he knows that if Gunnar
     kills twice within the same bloodline and then does not keep the settlement for the
     second killing, he will be killed; he also knows, far in advance of the burning, what
     will be the cause of his death (Ch. 55). Hrut Herjolfsson is another man with prophetic
     power. In the opening chapter of the saga he is able to look at the young Hallgerd and
     predict both thatmany men will suffer because of her (and they do,
     not least Gunnar) and that she