Njal's Saga (51 page)

3.
He was compensated for long ago
: What Gunnar means is that Sigmund got what was coming to him for having defamed Njal and his sons.

4.
No one was ever
…
without right to compensation
: Anyone who repeated the slander would immediately be outside the law (i.e. an outlaw), and thus could be slain by anyone without fear of reprisal.

1.
There was a man
…
a great chieftain
: This impressive genealogy, which agrees with that in
The Book of Settlements
, looks back to Norway (Gizur's maternal grandfather Bodvar was a ‘hersir' or local leader in Norway as was his ancestor Bjorn Buna) and forwards beyond the time frame of the saga: Isleif Gizurarson was the first bishop of Iceland, 1056–80. Thord Beard (Thord Skeggi), Gizur's great-grandfather, was a settler in the south-west of Iceland.

2.
A man named Geir
…
from Mosfell
: Ketilbjorn the Old, a settler himself, was a son-in-law of the settler Thord Beard. Geir the Godi and Gizur the White were thus related: both are grandsons of Ketilbjorn the Old.

1.
a man named Otkel
…
were brothers
: Otkel's grandfather Hallkel was the brother of Ketilbjorn, the grandfather of Gizur the White and Geir the Godi; this relationship with Otkel explains why Gizur and Geir support him, and eventually turn against Gunnar.

2.
Lambi Sigurdarson
: Lambi has not been mentioned before, but he is the son of Sigurd Sigfusson who was mentioned in Ch. 34; he is therefore Thrain Sigfusson's nephew.

3.
The men of Mosfell
: This refers primarily to Otkel and his brothers Hallkel and Hallbjorn the White and his son Thorgeir, as well as Otkel's friend Skammkel, although Mosfell was in fact the farm of Otkel's powerful kinsman, Gizur the White.

1.
I know some things
…
that neither of you knows
: Mord has apparently learned about the food served at Hlidarendi to Gunnar's guests from Sida (see previous chapter).

2.
your grandfather Hallkel, who was a great hero
: See the duel referred to at the beginning of Ch. 47. By referring to this Hallkel, who was the brother of Ketilbjorn the Old, Skammkel is reminding Otkel of his kinship with Gizur and Geir.

1.
what you must have already decided
…
best for all
: The advice given by Gizur and Geir is not specified, but presumably it was to give Gunnar self-judgement. In any case, it is not reported truly by Skammkel, and the reader is in the same position as those who heard Skammkel's report, of not knowing what Gizur and Geir really advised.

2.
Summons Days for the Althing
: Summonses had to be made at least four weeks before the meeting of the Althing in late June.

1.
there's more to judge now
: In the interval since Gunnar offered to judge the case himself (in Ch. 49) he has had to endure the indignity of a legal summons.

1.
Runolf, the son of Ulf Aur-Godi
: Although he is presented here as if for the first time, Runolf was mentioned in Ch. 34 as a guest at the wedding of Gunnar and Hallgerd.

1.
You must report this
…
against the dead
: Kolskegg assumes that Gunnar will kill Otkel.

1.
There was a man named Skafti
…
in all matters
: Skafti Thoroddson was lawspeaker from 1004 to 1030 and is usually treated with great respect, but not in this saga, where he is treated with mockery. A key to his unpopularity may lie in Ari Thorgilsson's statement (in
The Book of the Icelanders
, Ch. 8):‘In his day many chieftains and great men were outlawed or exiled for manslaughter or assault as a result of his power and authority.'

2.
There are some slayings
…
found guilty
: Even if Otkel is, as Gunnar charges, guilty of outlawry, the other men whom Gunnar killed were not, and in those cases he is guilty.

3.
there is a charge of full outlawry
…
as I say
: Njal seems to have in reserve a complaint he can bring against Geir; he shows similar resourcefulness in Ch. 64.

1.
that was the name given to the boy
: This child, Hoskuld Thrainsson, the son of Thrain Sigfusson, will play a crucial role in the saga. He is not known outside
of Njal's Saga
. The only other character whose birth is reported together with the naming is Hoskuld's mother Thorgerd (Ch. 14). In both cases Hallgerd chooses a name from her father's side.

2.
Olaf Peacock
: The son of Hoskuld Dala-Kollsson and the Irish princess Melkorka; he figures prominently in
The Saga of the People of Laxardal
.

1.
Njal and my friend Helgi
: The ties between Njal and his son Helgi and Asgrim Ellida-Grimsson are strong: in Ch. 27 it was told that Helgi Njalsson married Asgrim's daughter and that Njal fostered Asgrim's son Thorhall.

1.
Steinvor
: She was introduced in Ch. 58 as the wife of Egil and the mother of their three sons, all now slain. She is also the sister of Starkad, who lost two sons in the fight with Gunnar at Knafaholar.

1.
choose Kol as the slayer
…
this is lawful
: The actual slayer of Hjort was the Norwegian Thorir (see Ch. 63), but the law permitted the citing of another man, as Njal here asserts.

2.
his brothers-in-law
: Gunnar's brothers-in-law (Hallgerd's brothers) are Olaf, Thorleik and Bard. They were mentioned at the end of Ch. 1, and Olaf
(Peacock) befriended Gunnar in Ch. 59; he will do so again in Chs. 70 and 75.

1.
Hjalti Skeggjason of Thjorsardal
: Hjalti Skeggjason is introduced abruptly here. He is mentioned widely in early texts, and although
Njal's Saga
does not say so,
The Book of Settlements
tells that he is the son-in-law of Gizur the White; this should place him on the side of Gunnar's enemies.

1.
heaviness came over them and they could do nothing but sleep
: Being overcome by sleep while
en route
to a fight is a literary motif in the sagas. The sleep may be accompanied by a dream, as with Gunnar in Ch. 62, or may provide a pause in which the party being attacked can gather forces, as in this case.

1.
Ormhild, Gunnar's kinswoman
: Ormhild is mentioned in
Njal's Saga
only in this chapter; from
The Book of Settlements
we know that she is the daughter of Gunnar's sister Arngunn and Hroar the Godi of Tunga – see Ch. 19.

1.
it was called ‘wound rain
…
great battles
: ‘Wound rain' is another word for ‘blood rain', which occurs frequently as an omen of death in Old Icelandic literature, very likely under Irish influence. For similar omens, see Chs. 127, 156 and 157. The Olvir to whom Gunnar refers here is Olvir of Hising, who helped him in Sweden (see Ch. 29).

1.
a second time
: The second notice has to do with the wound, whereas the first had to do with the assault. The filing of such distinct complaints in cases of homicide is in accord with early Icelandic law, which the language of this passage follows closely. See
The Laws of Early Iceland
, p. 148, and Chs. 135 and 141–2 of this saga.

1.
They went there
…
that this was so
: Again in Ch. 142 a panel of nine members is reduced to five, but there it is because four members are disqualified. Here the point seems to be that a panel for the prosecution (nine men) can become a panel for the defence if four members are eliminated.

2.
Gunnar and Kolskegg were to go abroad
…
the slain Thorgeir
: Gunnar is declared an outlaw in the next chapter for breaking this agreement, but he is not at this point an outlaw, although the arbitrated three-year exile is similar to that of lesser outlawry. Under official outlawry, Gunnar could be killed with impunity by anyone at all for failing to go abroad; under this arbitrated settlement only the kinsmen of Thorgeir Otkelsson would have licence to kill him.

3.
Gunnar gave no indication that he thought this settlement unfair
: In fact the settlement is unfair, as these words imply. Njal had just shown that Gunnar was not the aggressor in the battle. Njal could have gone on to win acquittal for Gunnar, but instead chose to allow the case to be arbitrated, probably thinking of what would be best for Gunnar in the long run.

1.
‘
Lovely is the hillside
…
I will ride back home and not leave'
: In
Alexanders saga
, translated into Icelandic by Bishop Brand Jonsson in the late thirteenth century from the long twelfth-century Latin poem
Alexandreis
by Walter of Chatillon, Alexander is also moved towards a fateful decision by a beautiful view; the fact that the phrase ‘pale fields' occurs in both texts has led some scholars to claim a direct literary borrowing by the author of
Njal's Saga
.

2.
‘
I made a promise
…
I shall keep this promise'
: The incident Hjalti refers to was recounted in Ch.
66
.

1.
‘
Then I'll recall
…
for a long or a short time'
: Gunnar had slapped Hallgerd in Ch. 48, over the matter of the stolen cheese, and she promised at that time to pay him back. Earlier she had been slapped by her first husband, Thorvald (Ch. 11) and by her second husband, Glum (Ch. 16).

2.
Thorvald the Sickly
…
Hestlaek in Grimsnes
: This slaying will be reported in Ch. 102.

1.
how Gunnar behaved after the slaying of your kinsman Sigmund
. In Ch. 45, after Skarphedin killed Gunnar's relative Sigmund Lambason, Gunnar restrained himself from seeking compensation, until eventually Njal persuaded him to do so.

1.
All the facts were weighed
…
they were fully reconciled
: The self-judgement granted to Hogni by Mord was set at the same value as the penalties levied against Skarphedin and Hogni for the slaying of Starkad and Thorgeir.

2.
the case between Geir the Godi and Hogni
: Geir must have brought a separate suit against Hogni for the slaying of his son Hroald.

3.
Hogni
…
is now out of the saga
: In spite of this statement, Hogni appears again in Chs. 93 and 109.

1.
King Svein Fork-beard
: King of Denmark from 986 to 1014.

2.
the Varangian guard
: An élite corps of Scandinavians and other foreigners in close attendance on the Byzantine emperor.

1.
Melkolf
: Possibly Malcolm II (1005–34).

1.
Mainland
: The modern name for Icelandic
Hrossey
(Horse island), the main island in Orkney.

1.
Thorgerd Holda-bride
: Thorgerd and her sister Irpa (mentioned shortly after) were semi-divine figures associated with the family of the earls of Lade.

2.
Thrain
…
was not certain what the earl would place highest
: Thrain is not sure whether the confidence he has already earned with the earl, by killing Kol, will cause the earl to trust him now in the matter of Hrapp.

1.
the tribute money
: The earls of Orkney owed tribute to Norway, and it was mentioned in Ch. 86 that Kari would be carrying this tribute money from Earl Sigurd to Earl Hakon.

1.
the effect of every action is two-sided
: Njal shared this same proverbial wisdom with his wife in Ch. 44; it indicates his awareness, central to the meaning of the saga, that blood vengeance is not a definitive resolution of a conflict.

2.
we must put out such a wide net
: The meaning of this metaphorical expression, based on net-fishing, is that they must proceed with care and patience.

3.
cast-off hag
: The unusual word translated here as ‘cast-off hag', Icelandic
hornkerling
, appeared in Ch. 35, when Hallgerd refused Bergthora's request to move aside for Thorhalla Njalsdottir. Skarphedin recalls that fateful scene and asserts that Hallgerd is indeed what she earlier said she was not.