Njal's Saga (30 page)

‘I was saving that for Skarphedin,' she said.

Skarphedin came forward and did the closing rite for him. Then he spoke to his father: ‘Who do you say killed him?'

Njal answered, ‘Lyting of Samsstadir and his brothers must have killed him.'

Hrodny spoke: ‘Skarphedin, I place in your hands the vengeance for your brother, and even though he was not born in wedlock I expect you to do well and pursue this with the greatest zeal.'

Bergthora spoke: ‘You men act strangely – you kill when the cause is small, but in matters like this you swallow and chew until nothing comes of it. When word of this comes to Hoskuld the Godi of Hvitanes, he'll come and ask you to make a settlement, and you'll grant him that – but now's the time to take action, if you have the will.'

Skarphedin said, ‘Our mother's goading is well founded.'

Then they rushed out. Hrodny went into the house with Njal and was there that night.

To turn to Skarphedin and his brothers: they were on their way up towards the Ranga river. Skarphedin said, ‘Let's stop here and listen.'

Then he said, ‘Let's move softly, because I hear men's voices upriver. Now which do you prefer, to deal with Lyting or with his two brothers?'

They said they would rather deal with Lyting.

‘He's the bigger catch,' said Skarphedin, ‘and I wouldn't like it if he got away − I trust myself best to see that he doesn't'

‘If we get close to him,' said Helgi, ‘we'll fix it so he doesn't get away'

They went to where Skarphedin had heard voices and saw Lyting and his brothers by the side of a stream. Skarphedin at once jumped over the stream and onto the gravel slope on the other side. Hallgrim and his brothers were standing up above. Skarphedin swung at Hallgrim's thigh so hard that he took the leg off at once, and with his other hand he grabbed Hallkel. Lyting thrust at Skarphedin; Helgi came up then and caught the blow on his shield. Lyting picked up a stone with his other hand and hit Skarphedin with it, and Hallkel got free. He ran up the slope but could not manage except by crawling on his knees. Skarphedin smashed his axe at him and hacked through his backbone.

Lyting turned to flee, but Grim and Helgi went after him and they each inflicted a wound on him. He fled across the river to the horses and galloped off, all the way to Ossabaer.

Hoskuld was at home, and Lyting went to him at once. He told him what had happened.

‘This was to be expected of you,' said Hoskuld. ‘You acted very rashly. Here is the proof of the saying that the hand's joy in the blow is brief, and now it seems to me that you must be in some doubt as to whether you'll be able to save your life.'

‘It's true,' said Lyting, ‘that I barely escaped, but now I'd like you to arrange a settlement between me and Njal and his sons, one by which I could keep my farm.'

‘I'll do that,' said Hoskuld.

Hoskuld then had his horse saddled and rode with five others to Bergthorshvol. Njal's sons had come back by then and gone to bed. Hoskuld went to Njal at once, and they went off for a talk.

Hoskuld spoke to Njal: ‘I have come here to plead for Lyting, my aunt's husband. He has done you great harm: he has broken the settlement and killed your son.'

Njal spoke: ‘Lyting must think he has paid dearly with the death of his brothers. If I give him a chance, I do so for your sake, but first I set these conditions – that Lyting's brothers be treated as outlaws and that Lyting receive nothing for his wounds and also pay full compensation for Hoskuld.'

Hoskuld said, ‘I want you to decide the terms yourself.'

Njal said, ‘I'll do as you wish.'

‘Do you want your sons to be present?' said Hoskuld.

Njal said, ‘In that case we would not get close to a settlement, but they'll keep to whatever I decide.'
¹

Then Hoskuld spoke: ‘Let's settle the matter now, and you must offer peace to Lyting on behalf of your sons.'

‘So be it,' said Njal. ‘I want him to pay two hundreds in silver for the slaying of Hoskuld, and he may continue to live at Samsstadir, but it would seem to me wiser for him to sell that land and move away – not because I or my sons will break peace with him, but because someone may turn up there whom he had best avoid. So that it doesn't seem that I am outlawing him from the district, I'll allow him to stay here, but then he's responsible for himself.'

Then Hoskuld went home.

The Njalssons woke up and asked their father what had happened, and he told them that his foster-son Hoskuld had been there.

‘He must have made a plea on behalf of Lyting,' said Skarphedin.

‘Yes,' said Njal.

‘That's bad,' said Grim.

‘Hoskuld wouldn't have been able to shield Lyting,' said Njal, ‘if you had killed him, as you were meant to.'

‘Let's not blame our father,' said Skarphedin.

It has to be said that this settlement between them was kept.

There was a change of rulers in Norway. Earl Hakon had passed away, and in his place came Olaf Tryggvason.
¹
The end of Earl Hakon's life came when the slave Kark cut his throat at Rimul in Gaulardal.

Along with this came news of a change of religion in Norway: they had given up their old faith, and the king had also converted the western lands − the Shetlands, Orkney, and the Faroe Islands − to Christianity.

Many people were saying, and Njal heard them, that it was absurd to reject the old faith. Then Njal said, ‘It seems to me that this new
faith is much better, and that he who accepts it will be happy. If the men who preach this religion come out here, I will speak in favour of it.'

He said this often. He often went apart and murmured to himself.

That autumn a ship came into Berufjord in the east and landed at a place called Gautavik. Thangbrand was the name of the skipper; he was the son of Count Vilbaldus of Saxony. Thangbrand had been sent out here to Iceland by King Olaf Tryggvason to preach the faith. With him was an Icelander called Gudleif, who was the son of Ari, the son of Mar, the son of Atli, the son of Ulf the Squinter, the son of Hogni the White, the son of Otrygg, the son of Oblaud, the son of King Hjorleif the Womanizer of Hordaland. Gudleif was a great warrior and very brave, tough in every way.

Two brothers lived at Berunes. One was called Thorleif and the other Ketil. They were the sons of Holmstein, the son of Ozur from Breiddal. The brothers called men to a meeting and forbade them to trade with Thangbrand and Gudleif.

Hall of Sida learned of this; he lived at Thvotta in Alftafjord. He rode to the ship with thirty men and went straight to Thangbrand and said, ‘There's not much trading, is there?'

Thangbrand said that this was true.

‘Then I want to tell you why I have come,' said Hall. ‘I want to invite all of you to stay with me, and I will see if I can find a market for your goods.'

Thangbrand thanked him and went to Thvotta.

That same autumn Thangbrand went out early one morning and had a tent set up and sang mass in the tent and made a great show of it, for it was a major feast-day.

Hall said to Thangbrand, ‘In whose memory are you celebrating this day?'

‘The angel Michael's,' he said.

‘What features does this angel have?' said Hall.

‘Many,' said Thangbrand. ‘He weighs everything that you do, both good and evil, and he is so merciful that he gives more weight to what is well done.'

Hall said, ‘I would like to have him for my friend.'

‘That you may,' said Thangbrand; ‘give yourself to him today, in the name of God.'

‘I'll do it on this condition,' said Hall: ‘that you promise, on his behalf, that he shall be my guardian angel.'

‘I promise,' said Thangbrand.

Hall and all his household were then baptized.

The following spring Thangbrand travelled around preaching the faith, and Hall went with him. When they came west across Lon heath to Stafafell a man called Thorkel was living there. He spoke strongest of all against the faith and challenged Thangbrand to a duel. Thangbrand carried a crucifix rather than a shield, and yet the outcome was that he won the duel and killed Thorkel.

From there they went to Hornafjord and were guests at Borgarhofn, west of Heinabergssand. Hildir the Old lived there; his son was Glum, who later went to the burning with Flosi. Hildir and all his household took the faith.

From there they went to the Fell District and were given hospitality at Kalfafell. Kol Thorsteinsson, Hall's nephew, lived there, and he and all his household took the faith.

From there they went to Breida. Ozur Hroaldsson, another kinsman of Hall's, lived there and took the sign of the cross.
¹

From there they went to Svinafell, where Flosi took the sign of the cross and promised to support them at the Althing.

From there they went west to the Skogar district and were given hospitality at Kirkjubaer. Surt lived there, the son of Asbjorn, the son of Thorstein, the son of Ketil the Foolish. All these men, fathers and sons, had already become Christians.

After this they left the Skogar district and went to Hofdabrekka. Word of their travels had come there before them.

There was a man called Hedin the Sorcerer, who lived at Kerlingardal. The heathens there paid him to put Thangbrand and his companions to death, and he went up to Arnarstakk heath and performed a great sacrifice there. Then, when Thangbrand was riding from the
east, the earth split open under his horse; he leaped off the horse and climbed up to the rim of the chasm, but the earth swallowed up his horse with all its gear, and they never saw it again. Then Thangbrand gave praise to God.

Gudleif went looking for Hedin the Sorcerer and found him on the heath and chased him down to the river Kerlingardalsa. He came within range of him and threw his spear at him and through him.

From there they went to Dyrholmar and held a meeting there, and Thangbrand preached the faith, and Ingjald, the son of Thorkel Haeyjar-Tyrdil, became a Christian.

From there they went to Fljotshlid and preached the faith there. Veturlidi the Poet and his son Ari spoke strongest of all against them, and for this reason they killed Veturlidi. This verse was composed about it:

6.

The tester of shields                                                 
tester of shields:
warrior (Thangbrand)

took his victory-tools south                                                               
victory-tools:
weapons

to smite the Balder of weapons                                  
Balder of weapons:
warrior (Veturlidi)

in his smithy of prayers                                                                  
smithy of prayers:
breast

The brave battler for faith

brought down with a clang

his axe of awful death

on the anvil of Veturlidi's head.                                                                       
anvil:
crown

From there Thangbrand went to Bergthorshvol, and Njal accepted the faith, together with his household. Mord and Valgard fought hard against the faith.

They went west from there across the rivers and came to Haukadal and baptized Hall, who was then three years old.
¹

From there they went to Grimsnes. Thorvald the Sickly mobilized a band of men against them and sent word to Ulf Uggason to attack Thangbrand and kill him. Thorvald sent him this verse:

7.

I, Ygg of armour                                                                             
Ygg of armour:
warrior

send this order to Ulf–

I'm fond of the son of Uggi,

the steerer of steel                                                                            
steerer of steel:
warrior

that he crush the cowardly

blaspheming cur

against the loud lodge of Geitir,                                                      
Geitir:
a giant; his lodge: cliffs

and I'll look after another.

Ulf Uggason replied with another verse:

8.

Though the dear friend

of the drink of Odin's hall its                                                        
friend:
poet (Thorvald)

orders me, I am not                                                                 
drink of Odin s hall
poetry;

accepting the offered bait;

I won't fall for the fly

from the seafaring fellow;

bad things are brewing -

I'd better watch out.

‘I don't intend to be his puppet,' he said, ‘and he'd better take care that his tongue doesn't twist itself around his neck.'

After this the messenger returned to Thorvald the Sickly and repeated Ulf's words. Thorvald had many men with him and announced that he would lay an ambush for them on Blaskogar heath.

Thangbrand and Gudleif rode out of Haukadal and met a man who rode up to them. He asked for Gudleif, and when he met him he said, ‘You can thank your brother Thorgils in Reykjaholar that I'm letting you know that they have laid many ambushes for you, and also that Thorvald the Sickly is with his men at the brook Hestlaek in Grimsnes.'

‘That won't keep us from riding to meet them,' said Gudleif.