Njál's saga

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For the film, see Brennu-Njálssaga (film).

Njál's saga (also known as "Brennu-Njáls saga" or "The Story of Burnt Njál") is the most famous of the Icelandic sagas. The saga is sometimes referred to as Njála in Icelandic.

This epic of Icelandic literature from the 13th century describes the progress of a 50-year blood feud. Its author is believed to have been an inhabitant of southeast Iceland, although little more is known. It has a deservedly high reputation as the greatest of the Icelanders' sagas. The breadth of its subject matter and the referentiality within the text indicate that the author must have been an extremely well-read and literate individual.

It details events which were supposed to have occurred between 930 and 1020, and thus covers the period of Christian conversion in 1000, as well as detailing events at the Battle of Clontarf outside Dublin in 1014.

Although agreeing in broad terms with known history and referring to many minor locations which can still be found along south Iceland, scholars continue to search for clues to indicate which portions accurately reflect actual events and which reflect the art of storytelling. At worst it is an historic novel giving a vivid picture of an unfamiliar system. It shows the destructive nature of blood-feuds, and the methods used by the Icelandic Commonwealth to try to resolve them. It also extends beyond Iceland, including a brief and not-very-historic description of the Battle of Clontarf and the death of Brian Boru.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In a story as complex and broad as this one, it is impossible to encapsulate the extent of the action. It tells a tale wherein Icelanders cross the North Sea to Scandinavia, a queen curses a marriage, men are slain on points of principle, and the men leave their native land to seek fortune elsewhere, where sorcery is commonplace and jealous women set men to killing each other. It is a story about the obligations of bloodlines and what happens when ordinary people are confronted with violence. It is, moreover, about friendship, wherein the two friends Gunnar Hamundarson and Njal Thorgeirsson remain loyal friends despite the best efforts of enemies to drive a wedge between them. In the end, however, the relentless logic of honor and jealousy result in Njal and his supporters being burned alive as they defend the family farmhouse.

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