The burning of Njál saga

OF NJAL AND HIS CHILDREN

OF ASGRIM AND HIS CHILDREN

There was a man named Asgrim. He was Ellidagrim’s son. The brother of Asgrim Ellidagrim’s son was Sigfus.

Asgrim had two sons, and both of them were named Thorhall. They were both hopeful men. Grim was the name of another of Asgrim’s sons, and Thorhalla was his daughter’s name. She was the fairest of women, and well behaved.

Njal came to talk with his son Helgi, and said, “I have thought of a match for thee, if thou wilt follow my advice”.

“That I will surely,” says he, “for I know that thou both meanest me well, and canst do well for me; but whither hast thou turned thine eyes?”

“We will go and woo Asgrim Ellidagrim’s son’s daughter, for that is the best choice we can make.”

SIGMUND MOCKS NJAL AND HIS SONS

Now men ride home from the Thing; and when Gunnar came home, he said to Sigmund –

“Thou art a more unlucky man than I thought, and turnest thy good gifts to thine own ill. But still I have made peace for thee with Njal and his sons; and now, take care that thou dost not let another fly come into thy mouth. Thou art not at all after my mind, thou goest about with jibes and jeers, with scorn and mocking; but that is not my turn of mind. That is why thou gettest on so well with Hallgerda, because ye two have your minds more alike.”

Gunnar scolded him a long time, and he answered him well, and said he would follow his counsel more for the time to come than he had followed it hitherto. Gunnar told him then they might get on together. Gunnar and Njal kept up their friendship though the rest of their people saw little of one another. It happened once that some gangrel women came to Lithend from Bergthorsknoll; they were great gossips and rather spiteful tongued. Hallgerda had a bower, and sate often in it, and there sate with her daughter Thorgerda, and there too were Thrain and Sigmund, and a crowd of women. Gunnar was not there nor Kolskegg. These gangrel women went into the bower, and Hallgerda greeted them, and made room for them; then she asked them for news, but they said they had none to tell. Hallgerda asked where they had been over night; they said at Bergthorsknoll.

“What was Njal doing?” she says.

“He was hard at work sitting still,” they said.

“What were Njal’s sons doing?” she says; “they think themselves men at any rate.”

“Tall men they are in growth,” they say, “but as yet they are all untried; Skarphedinn whetted an axe, Grim fitted a spearhead to the shaft, Helgi rivetted a hilt on a sword, Hauskuld strengthened the handle of a shield.”

“They must be bent on some great deed,” says Hallgerda.

“We do not know that,” they say.

“What were Njal’s house-carles doing?” she asks.

“We don’t know what some of them were doing, but one was carting dung up the hill-side.”

“What good was there in doing that?” she asks.

“He said it made the swathe better there than any where else,” they reply. “Witless now is Njal,” says Hallgerda, “though he knows how to give counsel on every thing.”

“How so?” they ask.

“I will only bring forward what is true to prove it,” says she; “why doesn’t he make them cart dung over his beard that he may be like other men? Let us call him ‘the beardless carle’: but his sons we will call ‘dung-beardlings’; and now do pray give some stave about them, Sigmund, and let us get some good by thy gift of song.”

“I am quite ready to do that,” says he, and sang these verses –

Lady proud with hawk in hand.
Prithee why should dungbeard boys,
Reft of reason, dare to hammer
Handle fast on battle shield?
For these lads of loathly feature –
Lady scattering swanbath’s beamsö –
Shall not shun this ditty shameful
Which I shape upon them now.

He the beardless carle shall listen
While I lash him with abuse,
Loon at whom our stomachs sicken.
Soon shall hear these words of scorn;
Far too nice for such base fellows
Is the name my bounty gives,
E’n my muse her help refuses,
Making mirth of dungbeard boys.

Here I find a nickname fitting
For those noisome dungbeard boys –
Loath am I to break my bargain
Linked with such a noble man –
Knit we all our taunts together –
Known to me is mind of man –
Call we now with outburst common,
Him, that churl, the beardless carle.

“Thou art a jewel indeed,” says Hallgerda; “how yielding thou art to what I ask!”

Just then Gunnar came in. He had been standing outside the door of the bower, and heard all the words that had passed. They were in a great fright when they saw him come in, and then all held their peace, but before there had been bursts of laughter.

Gunnar was very wroth, and said to Sigmund, “thou art a foolish man, and one that cannot keep to good advice, and thou revilest Njal’s sons, and Njal himself who is most worth of all; and this thou doest in spite of what thou hast already done. Mind, this will be thy death. But if any man repeats these words that thou hast spoken, or these verses that thou hast made, that man shall be sent away at once, and have my wrath beside.”

But they were all so sore afraid of him, that no one dared to repeat those words. After that he went away, but the gangrel women talked among themselves, and said that they would get a reward from Bergthora if they told her all this. They went then away afterwards down thither, and took Bergthora aside and told her the whole story of their own free will.

Bergthora spoke and said, when men sate down to the board, “Gifts have been given to all of you, father and sons, and ye will be no true men unless ye repay them somehow”.

“What gifts are these?” asks Skarphedinn.

“You, my sons,” says Bergthora, “have got one gift between you all. Ye are nick-named ‘Dung-beardlings,’ but my husband ‘the beardless carle’.”

“Ours is no woman’s nature,” says Skarphedinn, “that we should fly into a rage at every little thing.”

“And yet Gunnar was wroth for your sakes,” says she, “and he is thought to be good-tempered. But if ye do not take vengeance for this wrong, ye will avenge no shame.”

“The carline, our mother, thinks this fine sport,” says Skarphedinn, and smiled scornfully as he spoke, but still the sweat burst out upon his brow, and red flecks came over his cheeks, but that was not his wont. Grim was silent and bit his lip. Helgi made no sign, and he said never a word. Hauskuld went off with Bergthora; she came into the room again, and fretted and foamed much.

Njal spoke and said, “‘slow and sure,’ says the proverb, mistress! and so it is with many things, though they try men’s tempers, that there are always two sides to a story, even when vengeance is taken”.

But at even when Njal was come into his bed, he heard that an axe came against the panel and rang loudly, but there was another shut bed, and there the shields were hung up, and he sees that they are away. He said, “who have taken down our shields?”

“Thy sons went out with them,” says Bergthora.

Njal pulled his shoes on his feet, and went out at once, and round to the other side of the house, and sees that they were taking their course right up the slope; he said, “whither away, Skarphedinn?”

“To look after thy sheep,” he answers.

“You would not then be armed,” said Njal, “if you meant that, and your errand must be something else.”

Then Skarphedinn sang a song –

Squanderer of hoarded wealth,
Some there are that own rich treasure,
Ore of sea that clasps the earth,
And yet care to count their sheep;
Those who forge sharp songs of mocking,
Death songs, scarcely can possess
Sense of sheep that crop the grass;
Such as these I seek in fight;

and said afterwards –

“We shall fish for salmon, father.”

“‘Twould be well then if it turned out so that the prey does not get away from you.”

They went their way, but Njal went to his bed, and he said to Bergthora, “Thy sons were out of doors all of them, with arms, and now thou must have egged them on to something”.

“I will give them my heartfelt thanks,” said Bergthora, “if they tell me the slaying of Sigmund.”

THE QUARREL OF NJAL’S SONS WITH THRAIN SIGFUS’S SON

Hrapp owned a farm at Hrappstede, but for all that he was always at Gritwater, and he was thought to spoil everything there. Thrain was good to him.

Once on a time it happened that Kettle of the Mark was at Bergthorsknoll; then Njal’s sons told him of their wrongs and hardships, and said they had much to lay at Thrain Sigfus’ son’s door, whenever they chose to speak about it.

Njal said it would be best that Kettle should talk with his brother Thrain about it, and he gave his word to do so.

So they gave Kettle breathing-time to talk to Thrain.

A little after they spoke of the matter again to Kettle, but he said that he would repeat few of the words that had passed between them, “for it was pretty plain that Thrain thought I set too great store on being your brother-in-law”.

Then they dropped talking about it, and thought they saw that things looked ugly, and so they asked their father for his counsel as to what was to be done, but they told him they would not let things rest as they then stood.

“Such things,” said Njal, “are not so strange. It will be thought that they are slain without a cause, if they are slain now, and my counsel is, that as many men as may be should be brought to talk with them about these things, that thus as many as we can find may be ear-witnesses if they answer ill as to these things. Then Kari shall talk about them too, for he is just the man with the right turn of mind for this; then the dislike between you will grow and grow, for they will heap bad words on bad words when men bring the matter forward, for they are foolish men. It may also well be that it may be said that my sons are slow to take up a quarrel, but ye shall bear that for the sake of gaining time, for there are two sides to everything that is done, and ye can always pick a quarrel; but still ye shall let so much of your purpose out, as to say that if any wrong be put upon you that ye do mean something. But if ye had taken counsel from me at first, then these things should never have been spoken about at all, and then ye would have gotten no disgrace from them; but now ye have the greatest risk of it, and so it will go on ever growing and growing with your disgrace, that ye will never get rid of it until ye bring yourselves into a strait, and have to fight your way out with weapons; but in that there is a long and weary night in which ye will have to grope your way.”

After that they ceased speaking about it; but the matter became the daily talk of many men.

One day it happened that those brothers spoke to Kari and bade him go to Gritwater. Kari said he thought he might go elsewhither on a better journey, but still he would go if that were Njal’s counsel. So after that Kari fares to meet Thrain, and then they talk over the matter, and they did not each look at it in the same way.

Kari comes home, and Njal’s sons ask how things had gone between Thrain and him. Kari said he would rather not repeat the words that had passed, “but,” he went on, “it is to be looked for that the like words will be spoken when ye yourselves can hear them”.

Thrain had fifteen house-earles trained to arms in his house, and eight of them rode with him whithersoever he went. Thrain was very fond of show and dress, and always rode in a blue cloak, and had on a guilded helm, and the spear – the Earl’s gift – in his hand, and a fair shield, and a sword at his belt. Along with him always went Gunnar Lambi’s son, and Lambi Sigurd’s son, and Grani, Gunnar of Lithend’s son. But nearest of all to him went Killing-Hrapp. Lodinn was the name of his serving-man, he too went with Thrain when he journeyed; Tjorvi was the name of Loddin’s brother, and he too was one of Thrain’s band. The worst of all, in their words against Njal’s sons, were Hrapp and Grani; and it was mostly their doing that no atonement was offered to them.

Njal’s sons often spoke to Kari that he should ride with them; and it came to that at last, for he said it would be well that they heard Thrain’s answer.

Then they busked them, four of Njal’s sons, and Kari the fifth, and so they fare to Gritwater.

There was a wide porch in the homestead there, so that many men might stand in it side by side. There was a woman out of doors, and she saw their coming, and told Thrain of it; he bade them to go out into the porch, and take their arms, and they did so.

Thrain stood in mid-door, Killing-Hrapp and Grani Gunnar’s son stood on either hand of him; then next stood Gunnar Lambi’s son, then Lodinn and Tjorvi, then Lambi Sigurd’s son; then each of the others took his place right and left; for the house-earles were all at home.

Skarphedinn and his men walk up from below, and he went first, then Kari, then Hauskuld, then Grim, then Helgi. But when they had come up to the door, then not a word of welcome passed the lips of those who stood before them.

“May we all be welcome here?” said Skarphedinn.

Hallgerda stood in the porch, and had been talking low to Hrapp, then she spoke out loud –

“None of those who are here will say that ye are welcome.”

Then Skarphedinn sang a song.

Prop of sea-waves’ fire, thy fretting
Cannot cast a weight on us,
Warriors wight; yes, wolf and eagle
Willingly I feed to-day;
Carline thrust into the ingle,
Or a tramping whore, art thou;
Lord of skates that skim the sea-belt,
Odin’s mocking cup I mix.

“Thy words,” said Skarphedinn, “will not be worth much, for thou art either a hag, only fit to sit in the ingle, or a harlot.”

“These words of thine thou shalt pay for,” she says, “ere thou farest home.”

“Thee am I come to see, Thrain,” said Helgi, “and to know if thou will make me any amends for those wrongs and hardships which befell me for thy sake in Norway.”

“I never knew,” said Thrain, “that ye two brothers were wont to measure your manhood by money; or, how long shall such a claim for amends stand over?”

“Many will say,” says Helgi, “that thou oughtest to offer us atonement, since thy life was at stake.”

Then Hrapp said, “‘Twas just luck that swayed the balance, when he got stripes who ought to bear them; and she dragged you under disgrace and hardship, but us away from them.”

“Little good luck was there in that,” says Helgi, “to break faith with the Earl, and to take to thee instead.”

“Thinkest thou not that thou hast some amends to seek from me?” says Hrapp, “I will atone thee in a way that, methinks, were fitting.”

“The only dealings we shall have,” says Helgi, “will be those which will not stand thee in good stead.”

“Don’t bandy words with Hrapp,” said Skarphedinn, “but give him a red skin for a grey.”

“Hold thy tongue, Skarphedinn,” said Hrapp, “or I will not spare to bring my axe on thy head.”

“‘Twill be proved soon enough, I dare say,” says Skarphedinn, “which of us is to scatter gravel over the other’s head.”

“Away with you home, ye ‘Dung-beardlings!'” says Hallgerda, “and so we will call you always from this day forth; but your father we will call ‘the Beardless Carle’.”

They did not fare home before all who were there had made themselves guilty of uttering those words, save Thrain; he forbade men to utter them.

Then Njal’s sons went away, and fared till they came home; then they told their father.

“Did ye call any men to witness of those words?” says Njal.

“We called none,” says Skarphedinn; “we do not mean to follow that suit up except on the battlefield.”

“No one will now think,” says Bergthora, “that ye have the heart to lift your weapons.”

“Spare thy tongue, mistress!” says Kari, “in egging on thy sons, for they will be quite eager enough.”

After that they all talk long in secret, Njal and his sons, and Kari Solmund’s son, their brother-in-law.

THRAIN SIGFUS’ SON’S SLAYING

Now there was great talk about this quarrel of theirs, and all seemed to know that it would not settle down peacefully.

Runolf, the son of Wolf Aurpriest, east in the Dale, was a great friend of Thrain’s, and had asked Thrain to come and see him, and it was settled that he should come east when about three weeks or a month were wanting to winter.

Thrain bade Hrapp, and Grani, and Gunnar Lambi’s son, and Lambi Sigurd’s son, and Lodinn, and Tjorvi, eight of them in all, to go on this journey with him. Hallgerda and Thorgerda were to go too. At the same time Thrain gave it out that he meant to stay in the Mark with his brother Kettle, and said how many nights he meant to be away from home.

They all of them had full arms. So they rode east across Markfleet, and found there some gangrel women, and they begged them to put them across the Fleet west on their horses, and they did so.

Then they rode into the Dale, and had a hearty welcome; there Kettle of the Mark met them, and there they sate two nights.

Both Runolf and Kettle besought Thrain that he would make up his quarrel with Njal’s sons; but he said he would never pay any money, and answered crossly, for he said he thought himself quite a match for Njal’s sons wherever they met.

“So it may be,” says Runolf; “but so far as I can see, no man has been their match since Gunnar of Lithend died, and it is likelier that ye will both drag one another down to death.”

Thrain said that was not to be dreaded.

Then Thrain fared up into the Mark, and was there two nights more; after that he rode down into the Dale, and was sent away from both houses with fitting gifts.

Now the Markfleet was then flowing between sheets of ice on both sides, and there were tongues of ice bridging it across every here and there.

Thrain said that he meant to ride home that evening, but Runolf said that he ought not to ride home; he said, too, that it would be more wary not to fare back as he had said he would before he left home.

“That is fear, and I will none of it,” answers Thrain.

Now those gangrel women whom they had put across the Fleet came to Bergthorsknoll, and Bergthora asked whence they came, but they answered, “Away east under Eyjafell”.

“Then, who put you across Markfleet?” said Bergthora.

“Those,” said they, “who were the most boastful and bravest clad of men.”

“Who?” asked Bergthora.

“Thrain Sigfus’ son,” said they, “and his company, but we thought it best to tell thee that they were so full-tongued and foul-tongued towards this house, against thy husband and his sons.”

“Listeners do not often hear good of themselves,” says Bergthora. After that they went their way, and Bergthora gave them gifts on their going, and asked them when Thrain might be coming home.

They said that he would be from home four or five nights.

After that Bergthora told her sons and her son-in-law Kari, and they talked long and low about the matter.

But that same morning, when Thrain and his men rode from the east, Njal woke up early and heard how Skarphedinn’s axe came against the panel.

Then Njal rises up, and goes out, and sees that his sons are all there with their weapons, and Karl, his son-in-law too. Skarphedinn was foremost. He was in a blue cape, and had a targe, and his axe aloft on his shoulder. Next to him went Helgi; he was in a red kirtle, had a helm on his head, and a red shield, on which a hart was marked. Next to him went Kari; he had on a silken jerkin, a gilded helm and shield, and on it was drawn a lion. They were all in bright holiday clothes.

Njal called out to Skarphedinn –

“Whither art thou going, kinsman?”

“On a sheep hunt,” he said.

“So it was once before,” said Njal, “but then ye hunted men.”

Skarphedinn laughed at that, and said –

“Hear ye what the old man says? He is not without his doubts.”

“When was it that thou spokest thus before?” asks Kari.

“When I slew Sigmund the white,” says Skarphedinn, “Gunnar of Lithend’s kinsman.”

“For what?” asks Kari.

“He had slain Thord Freedmanson, my foster-father.”

Njal went home, but they fared up into the Redslips, and bided there; thence they could see the others as soon as ever they rode from the east out of the dale.

There was sunshine that day and bright weather.

Now Thrain and his men ride down out of the Dale along the river bank.

Lambi Sigurd’s son said –

“Shields gleam away yonder in the Redslips when the sun shines on them, and there must be some men lying in wait there.”

“Then,” says Thrain, “we will turn our way lower down the Fleet, and then they will come to meet us if they have any business with us.”

So they turn down the Fleet. “Now they have caught sight of us,” said Skarphedinn, “for lo! they turn their path elsewhither, and now we have no other choice than to run down and meet them.”

“Many men,” said Kari, “would rather not lie in wait if the balance of force were not more on their side than it is on ours; they are eight, but we are five.”

Now they turn down along the Fleet, and see a tongue of ice bridging the stream lower down and mean to cross there.

Thrain and his men take their stand upon the ice away from the tongue, and Thrain said –

“What can these men want? They are five, and we are eight.”

“I guess,” said Lambi Sigurd’s son, “that they would still run the risk though more men stood against them.”

Thrain throws off his cloak, and takes off his helm.

Now it happened to Skarphedinn, as they ran down along the Fleet, that his shoe-string snapped asunder, and he stayed behind.

“Why so slow, Skarphedinn?” quoth Grim.

“I am tying my shoe,” he says.

“Let us get on ahead,” says Kari; “methinks he will not be slower than we.”

So they turn off to the tongue, and run as fast as they can. Skarphedinn sprang up as soon as he was ready, and had lifted his axe, “the ogress of war,” aloft, and runs right down to the Fleet. But the Fleet was so deep that there was no fording it for a long way up or down.

A great sheet of ice had been thrown up by the flood on the other side of the Fleet as smooth and slippery as glass, and there Thrain and his men stood in the midst of the sheet.

Skarphedinn takes a spring into the air, and leaps over the stream between the icebanks, and does not check his course, but rushes still onwards with a slide. The sheet of ice was very slippery, and so he went as fast as a bird flies. Thrain was just about to put his helm on his head; and now Skarphedinn bore down on them, and hews at Thrain with his axe, “the ogress of war,” and smote him on the head, and clove him down to the teeth, so that his jaw-teeth fell out on the ice. This feat was done with such a quick sleight that no one could get a blow at him; he glided away from them at once at full speed. Tjorvi, indeed, threw his shield before him on the ice, but he leapt over it, and still kept his feet, and slid quite to the end of the sheet of ice.

There Kari and his brothers came to meet him.

“This was done like a man,” says Kari.

“Your share is still left,” says Skarphedinn, and sang a song.

To the strife of swords not slower,
After all, I came than you,
For with ready stroke the sturdy
Squanderer of wealth I felled;
But since Grim’s and Helgi’s sea-stagö
Norway’s Earl erst took and stripped,
Now ’tis time for sea-fire bearersö
Such dishonour to avenge.

And this other song he sang –

Swiftly down I dashed my weapon,
Gashing giant, byrnie-breacher,ö
She, the noisy ogre’s namesake,ö
Soon with flesh the ravens glutted;
Now your words to Hrapp remember,
On broad ice now rouse the storm,
With dull crash war’s eager ogress
Battle’s earliest note hath sung.

“That befits us well, and we wilt do it well,” says Helgi. Then they turn up towards them. Both Grim and Helgi see where Hrapp is, and they turned on him at once. Hrapp hews at Grim there and then with his axe; Helgi sees this and cuts at Hrapp’s arm, and cut it off, and down fell the axe.

“In this,” says Hrapp, “thou hast done a most needful work, for this hand hath wrought harm and death to many a man.”

“And so here an end shall be put to it,” says Grim; and with that he ran him through with a spear, and then Hrapp fell down dead.

Tjorvi turns against Kari and hurls a spear at him. Kari leapt up in the air, and the spear flew below his feet. Then Kari rushes at him, and hews at him on the breast with his sword, and the blow passed at once into his chest, and he got his death there and then.

Then Skarphedinn seizes both Gunnar Lambi’s son, and Grani Gunnar’s son, and said –

“Here have I caught two whelps! but what shall we do with them?”

“It is in thy power,” says Helgi, “to slay both or either of them, if you wish them dead.”

“I cannot find it in my heart to do both – help Hogni and slay his brother,” says Skarphedinn.

“Then the day will once come,” says Helgi, “when thou wilt wish that thou hadst slain him, for never will he be true to thee, nor will any one of the others who are now here.”

“I shall not fear them,” answers Skarphedinn.

After that they gave peace to Grani Gunnar’s son, and Gunnar Lambi’s son, and Lambi Sigurd’s son, and Lodinn.

After that they went down to the Fleet where Skarphedinn had leapt over it, and Kari and the others measured the length of the leap with their spear-shafts, and it was twelve ells (about eighteen feet, according to the old Norse measure).

Then they turned homewards, and Njal asked what tidings.

They told him all just as it had happened, and Njal said –

“These are great tidings, and it is more likely that hence will come the death of one of my sons, if not more evil.”

Gunnar Lambi’s son bore the body of Thrain with him to Gritwater, and he was laid in a cairn there.