Njal's Saga (57 page)
Authors: Anonymous
2. The sons of Sigfus
3. Hallgerd's family
4. The Family of Njal and Bergthora
| Althing | The Althing, or general Thing (assembly) of all the free men in Iceland, met for two weeks every June from 930 â and continued in some form or other until the end of the eighteenth century. It was held in the south-west of the country at a spectacularly beautiful spot called Thingvellir (âassembly plains'), shaped by volcanic action and tectonic forces whose effect is visible on the surface. At the meeting place, between the chasm and the largest lake in Iceland, traces have been found of the foundation walls of booths, over which temporary covers could be raised. The booths consisted of walls made of turf and stone and imported timber which were covered with homespun cloth for the duration of the Althing in order to serve as temporary dwelling places for the various groups in attendance, each of which had its own booth - see for example note 2 to Ch. 136. The primary business of the Althing was the settling of disputes, but it was also a place where friends met, marriages were arranged, and property was exchanged. It was in effect the main social gathering of the year. The site of the Althing was hallowed, and fighting there was prohibited, which makes the battle in Ch. 145 especially serious. |
| compensation | Whether awarded by a court or by a mutual arbitrator or by self-judgement (as in Chs. 36â45), a cash payment was often awarded to the offended party. One hundred ounces of silver was normal compensation in the sagas and was the amount paid for Atli in Ch. 38 and Brynjolf in Ch. 40. In this saga, however, two hundred ounces seems to be the norm; see the payments for Thord Freed-man's son (Ch. 43) and Hoskuld Njalsson (Ch. 99), as well as the statement in Ch. 123 that the payment for the slaying of Hoskuld Thrainsson is to be âtriple compensation ⦠six hundred ounces of silver'. One character in the saga, Ljot Hallsson, gets fourfold compensation, specified as eight hundred ounces (Ch. 145); in this unusual case the money comes from voluntary contributions after Ljot's father, Hall of Sida, renounces any claim to compensation in order to bring about peace after the battle at the Althing. |
| duel | The Icelandic word bólmganga means âgoing to the island', probably because the area prescribed for the fight formed a small âisland' with clearly defined boundaries; it might also refer to the fact that small islands were originally favoured sites for duels. The rules stipulated that the two duellists strike blows in turns, the seconds protecting the principal fighters with shields. Shields hacked to pieces could be replaced up to three times. If blood was shed, the fight could be ended, and the wounded man could buy himself off for three marks. No duels are fought in Njal's Saga , but two challenges to a duel are made, and refused (Chs. 8 and 24). |
| Fifth Court | Around 1005 a Fifth Court was established as a kind of court of appeal to hear cases which were unresolved by the quarter courts. Details of the court's constitution and functions are described accurately in Ch. 97, but both the time (before rather than after the Conversion in the year 1000) and the person responsible (Njal rather than Skafti Thoroddsson) are out of accord with other historical sources. |
| foster-child/parent | Children were often brought up by foster-parents, who received either payment or support in return. Fosterage was thus important as a form of alliance, though fostered children were part of the family circle and the emotional bonds could be very strong, as between Njal and his fosterson Hoskuld Thrainsson. The term âfoster-' was also used for the relationship between household servants and the children they helped to raise. Njála has two such foster-fathers, the homicidal Thjostolf who brought up Hallgerd (Chs. 9â17) and the beloved Thord Freed-man's son who brought up the Njalssons (Chs. 39-42). |
| full outlawry | Outlawry for life, permanent outlawry. One of the terms applied to a man sentenced to full outlawry was skógarmaður , which means literally âforest man', even though in Iceland there was scant possibility of his taking refuge in a forest. Full outlawry simply meant banishment from civilized society. It also meant the confiscation of the outlaw's property to pay the prosecutor, cover debts and sometimes provide an allowance for the dependants he had left behind. A full outlaw, according to the formula in this saga, was ânot to be fed, nor helped on his way, nor given any kind of assistance'. He had lost all goods, and all rights. Wherever he went he could be killed without legal redress. According to one legal codex from Norway, it was âas if he were dead'. |
| godi | (Icelandic goði ) A local chieftain who had legal and administrative responsibilities in Iceland. It was a unique office, without precedent in Norway or exact parallel elsewhere. The origin of the office may lie in pagan religious duties, as the name (related to âgod') seems to indicate, but as time went on the godi's role became mainly secular. There were originally thirty-six godis, and after the division of the country into quarters in 965 there were thirty-nine; nine more were added when the Fifth Court was established. The godis were responsible for convening local assemblies (three in each quarter, four in the North Quarter) and were obliged to attend the Althing, where they appointed members of the quarter courts and sat on the Law Council. The first godis were chosen from the leading families who settled Iceland between 870 and 930. Neither Gunnar nor Njal is a godi, though they are prosperous farmers. |
| godord | The authority and rank of a godi, including his social and legal responsibilities towards his thingmen. A godord could be sold or inherited or divided or temporarily loaned out; it was not an elective office. |
| halberd | (Icelandic atgeirr ) The weapon seems to have resembled a halberd, even though no specimens of this combination of spear and axe have been found in archaeological excavations in Iceland. Gunnar's halberd, the only one in this saga, has magical powers (see Ch. 30). |
| hersir | A local leader in western and northern Norway; his rank was hereditary. It is likely that the hersirs were originally those who took command when the men of the district were called to arms. |
| homespun | For centuries wool and wool products were Iceland's chief exports, especially in the form of strong and durable homespun cloth. It could be bought and sold in bolts or made up into items such as homespun cloaks. There were strict regulations on homespun, as it was used as a standard exchange product and often referred to in ounces, meaning its equivalent value expressed as a weight in silver. See notes 1 and 2. to Ch. 2. |
| horse-fight | A popular sport among the Icelanders, which seems to have been practised especially in the autumn. Two horses were goaded to fight against each other until one was killed or ran away. Understandably, emotions ran high, and horse-fights commonly led to feuds, as in Ch. 59. |
| hundred | A âlong hundred' or one hundred and twenty, reflecting the early custom of counting by twelve rather than by ten. The expression, however, rarely refers to an accurate number, rather a generalized âround' figure. |
| Law Council | The legislative assembly at the Althing made up of the godis, for the purpose of reviewing and passing legislation. |
| Law Rock | The raised spot on the slope at the Althing at Thing-vellir, where the lawspeaker is thought to have recited the law code, and where public announcements and speeches were made. |
| lawspeaker | The Icelandic word lögsögumaður means literally âthe man who recites the law', referring to the time before the advent of writing when the lawspeaker had to learn the law by heart and recite one-third of it every year. If he was unsure about the text, he had to consult a team of five or more âlawmen' who knew the law well. The lawspeaker presided over the assembly at the Althing and was responsible for the preservation and clarification of legal tradition. He could exert influence but was in no sense the ruler of the country. |
| lesser outlawry | This differed from full outlawry in that the lesser outlaw was only banished from society for three years. Furthermore, his land was not confiscated, and money was put aside to support his family, which made it possible for him to return later and continue a normal life. When leaving the country he was allowed to stop at three farms on a direct route to the ship which would take him abroad. Anywhere else he was fair game and could be killed without redress. He had to leave the country and begin his sentence within three summers after the verdict, but once abroad he regained normal rights. |
| panel | A kind of jury that delivered a verdict on the facts, motives and/or circumstances behind a case. They were not as important as witnesses, but could still carry a great deal of weight, especially if there were no witnesses to a particular action. The panels were composed of âneighbours' to the scene of the incident or the home of the accused. Nine-man panels were called for more serious cases, five-man for less important ones. The verdict was by majority decision. |
| quarter | Administratively, Icelandic was divided into four quarters based on the four cardinal directions. |
| Quarter Court | Four quarter courts were established at the Althing in c . 965. The godis appointed thirty-six men to each of the quarter courts, whose decisions had to be unanimous. |
| self-judgement | To grant self-judgement is a legal procedure in which â in lieu of third-party arbitration â the offender allows the offended person himself the right to determine the amount of compensation to be paid. |
| shieling | A roughly constructed hut in the highland grazing pastures away from the farm, where shepherds and cowherds lived during the summer. Milking and the preparation of various dairy products took place here, as did other important farm activities like the collection of peat and charcoal burning. |
| Spring Assembly | The local assembly, held each spring. There were thirteen in all and they were the first regular assemblies to be held in Iceland. Lasting four to seven days between 7 and 27 May they were jointly supervised by three godis. The Spring Assembly had both a legal and an economic function. It included a court of thirty-six men, twelve appointed by each of the godis, where local legal actions were heard, while major cases and those which could not be resolved locally were sent on to the Althing. In its other function it was a forum for settling debts, deciding prices and the like. Godis probably used the Spring Assembly to urge their followers to ride to the Althing. There were also autumn gatherings at the same locations. |
| Thing | See Althing. |
| thingman/men | Every free man and landowner was required to serve as a thingman (âassembly man') by aligning himself with a godi. He would either accompany the godi to assemblies and other functions or pay a tax to cover the costs of those attending. A man was not obliged to be the thingman of the nearest godi, and he could change his allegiance whenever he wished. This option becomes the basis of a legal ruse devised by Eyjolf Bolverksson in Ch. 141 and employed by him, without success, in Ch. 143. See also Ch. 107, n. 1. |
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