'Njáls saga' is universally recognised as the greatest and most complex of all the 'Íslendingasögur'. The saga is a late example of the genre, and by the time of its writing (between ca. 1270 and ca. 1295), the narrative conventions of the 'Íslendingasögur' were well established. But while the author of 'Njáls saga' was clearly familiar with these conventions, he chose at times either to treat them with considerable freedom (for example, the motif of the young Icelander who finds favour at the Norwegian court is treated in a radically original way in the story of Hrútr Herjólfsson), or to ignore them completely ('Njáls saga', for example, does not open with the expected prologue in Norway); other 'Íslendingasögur' fall into three main types: biographies of heroes, histories of dynasties, and regional histories, but 'Njáls saga' cannot be simply categorised in these terms.
The present study seeks to contribute towards knowledge concerning the extent to which the author of Njáls saga used written texts, by looking for sources for the saga narrative within written literary genres which had no associated oral traditions.
Author(s): Andrew Joseph Hamer
Publisher: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: X+302
Table of Contents p. i
Preface p. iv
Abbreviations p. v
Introduction
0.1 The 'Íslendingasögur': convention and creativity p. 1
0.2 The question of origins p. 3
0.3 Early vernacular prose in Iceland p. 4
0.4 The oral background p. 6
0.5 'Njáls saga' p. 8
0.6 'Njáls saga' and its sources p. 11
0.7 'Njáls saga' and 'Laxdoela saga' p. 17
Chapter 1: 'Laxdoela saga': shipwreck and salvation
1.1 Text and author p. 21
1.2 Shipwrecks and drownings p. 30
1.3 Þorkell Eyjólfsson and Kjartan Óláfsson p. 33
1.4 The death of Þorkell Eyjólfsson p. 36
1.5 The penitence of Guðrún Ósvífrsdóttir p. 38
1.6 The death of Kjartan Óláfsson p. 45
1.7 Unnr and Guðrún p. 49
1.8 Conclusions p. 52
Chapter 2: Pre-Christian Society in 'Njáls saga'
2.1 Introductory p. 55
2.2 Law and legal judgement p. 56
2.3 Honouring one’s debts: Hrútr Herjólfsson p. 59
2.4 Vengeance and Feud p. 62
2.5 Hallgerðr HQskuldsdóttir p. 67
2.6 The curse on Hrútr Herjólfsson p. 75
2.7 The conflict over Unnr’s dowry p. 85
2.8 Conclusions p. 88
Chapter 3: Justice and Mercy
3.1 Introductory p. 90
3.2 Haraldr Greycloak and Brian Boru p. 92
3.3 The battle of Clontarf p. 95
3.4 The conversion of Síðu-Hallr p. 100
3.5 'Njáls saga' and other accounts of the Conversion of Iceland p. 101
3.6 Hallr’s demands p. 108
3.7 Michaelmas p. 111
3.8 Hallr’s humility p. 113
3.9 Þórhallr Ásgrímsson: justice at the Alþingi p. 118
3.10 Last-minute repentance: Ingjaldr of Keldur p. 123
3.11 The blind Ámundi HQskuldsson p. 124
3.12 Conclusions p. 133
Chapter 4: Metaphors of growth and productivity
4.1 Introductory p. 135
4.2 The 'bleikir akrar' of Hlíðarendi p. 135
4.3 Metaphors of poor harvest p. 143
4.4 Þangbrandr and the seed of God’s word p. 145
4.5 MQrðr Valgarðsson p. 153
4.6 Weeds at Bergþórshváll p. 155
4.7 Flosi Þórðarson p. 161
4.8 Conclusions p. 170
Chapter 5: Reaping anger and sowing love
5.1 The saga’s bipartite structure p. 172
5.2 Two sowing scenes p. 173
5.3 Gunnarr’s fall p. 176
5.4 The falling horse p. 182
5.5 The death of HQskuldr Hvítanessgoði p. 186
5.6 A suggested source for the death of HQskuldr p. 190
5.7 The death of Gunnarr p. 198
5.8 A suggested source for the bipartite structure p. 201
Chapter 6: The Burning: Njáll and Skarpheðinn
6.1 Introductory p. 208
6.2 Background: Njáll welcomes Christianity p. 209
6.3 Njáll’s fatal decisions p. 216
6.4 Skarpheðinn and the chieftains p. 222
6.5 Skarpheðinn and Víga-Hrappr Qrgumleiðason p. 223
6.6 Skarpheðinn and the universal debt p. 225
6.7 Skarpheðinn and the berserk Ótryggr p. 228
6.8 Skarpheðinn’s death p. 231
6.9 Skarpheðinn and the penitent thief p. 234
6.10 Njáll’s death p. 241
6.11 Conclusions p. 245
Chapter 7: Closing Remarks
7.1 Conclusions from the study p. 247
7.1.i 'Njáls saga' and 'Laxdoela saga' p. 247
7.1.ii The author’s creativity p. 248
7.1.iii The theme of judgement p. 249
7.1.iv The author’s learning p. 251
7.2 A suggestion concerning the saga’s early reception p. 252
Bibliography p. 265
Summary p. 291
Nederlandse samenvatting p. 296
