"Njal's Saga": Prelude to a Feud Quiz

Answer: Thief's

A violence-filled saga begins with a domestic scene of children playing. As they play, Hrut tells Hallgerd's father Hoskuld that he wonders how thief's eyes came into the family. The accusation of thievery in medieval Iceland was a heavy one, and men could be penalized for falsely accusing another, so insulting a child, and by extension her father, is a risky move for Hrut. Hallgerd's name is also spelled Hallgerdr or Hallgerš.

Many men will chase after her because of her beauty.

Answer: To retrieve an inheritance

His brother died, so Hrut has to get his inheritance before someone else does. Because of this, he has to delay his marriage to Unn for three years. While in Norway, he both gains help from and is hindered by Queen Gunnhild, which will have consequences for him and others later.

Answer: Thjostolf kills him with an axe.

Marriage against a woman's will never comes to good in Icelandic sagas. Arranged marriages are the norm, but the bride should have the power to refuse the man chosen as her bridegroom lest something bad happen. She tells her foster father Thjostolf what happened, as Thorvald slaps her so hard she bleeds. Slapping also tends to have consequences in sagas, and this retribution is heavy: Thjostolf picks up his axe and kills Thorvald.

When he returns, she asks why his axe is bloody, and he responds that she can now marry a second time.

Her kin ensure she approves her next husband.

Answer: He is unable to consummate the marriage.

Hrut has an affair with Gunnhild and lies when she asks whether he has a sweetheart in Iceland. Because he doesn't tell the truth about his betrothal, Gunnhild curses him to never have physical satisfaction with Unn. As a major reason for marriage is to produce children, Unn is able to divorce him for his failure to consummate the marriage. By law, she is supposed to receive her dowry back, especially as the fault is her husband's, but Hrut says he'll only give it up if he fights Unn's father, Mord Fiddle, over it. Both know the duel would result in Mord's death, so Mord declines.

Answer: Thjostolf kills him with an axe.

Glum slaps Hallgerd during an argument, and again, Thjostolf doesn't take kindly to his foster daughter being slapped and enacts disproportionate retribution. When it's done, she asks Thjostolf again why his axe is bloody, and the answer is the same: he has killed her husband.

This time, she isn't as amused, since she was happily married to Glum, so she sends him to her father, who kills him. This saga could be called "The Saga of the Bloody Axes", as so many deaths are perpetuated by axe.

Answer: Hrut returns the money without a fight.

Through some legal shenanigans devised by Njal, Gunnar sets up a "return the dowry or fight me" situation. This time, Gunnar is the better warrior and will have the upper hand if he and Hrut fight, so Hrut gives it up rather than die. Gunnar is also called Gunnar Hamundarson.

Answer: He has no beard.

It was the norm for men to grow beards in Iceland at this time; however, Njal is unable to grow one. He and his wife don't mind this, but it will play an odd role in sparking a feud later.

Answer: Yes

Unn waits three years between betrothal and marriage to Hrut, spends another three years in an unconsummated marriage, divorces, gets her dowry back after some time, and remarries seven years after her initial marriage (according to the timeline in the Magnusson translation). She marries Valgard and has a son, Mord. Although Gunnar gets Unn her dowry back, Mord always hates Gunnar.

Answer: A man divorces his wife and remarries.

Thrain's wife Thorhild notices him eyeing Hallgerd's daughter Thorgerd (daughter of Glum), so she recites a verse about it. He divorces her instantly and asks to marry Thorgerd. The guests don't think the instant divorce and eviction of Thorhild is unusual, and since both families agree to the new arrangement, the wedding becomes a double wedding for mother and daughter.

The "sword in the tree" incident occurs in "The Saga of the Volsungs", in which Odin places a sword in a tree at a wedding. The bride's husband is unable to claim it, but her brother can, and the husband's desire for the sword incites the saga's conflict. A different Unn dies during a feast in "Laxdale Saga".

Answer: Seating arrangements

Hallgerd believes she should sit in a better place than has been assigned for her, and she and Bergthora argue. It escalates, with Hallgerd insulting Bergthora's husband Njal for having no beard. Bergthora regards it worse that Hallgerd had her first (bearded) husband killed. Hallgerd demands that Gunnar avenge this slight, but he refuses to give in to Hallgerd's goading to fight his friend Njal. And so, the feud begins.