FOOTNOTES:[1]Guðbrandr Vigfússon.[2]This word is invented like Laxdæla, Gretla, and others, to escape the repetition or the word Saga, after that of the person or place to which the story belongs. It combines the idea of the subject and the telling in one word.[3]Many particulars mentioned in the Saga as wonderful are no wonders to us. Thus in the case of Gunnar's bill, when we are told that it gave out a strange sound before great events, this probably only means that the shaft on which it was mounted was of some hard ringing wood unknown in the north. It was a foreign weapon, and if the shaft were of lance wood, the sounds it gave out when brandished or shaken would be accounted for at once without a miracle.[4]There can be no doubt that it was considered a grave offence to public morality to tell a Saga untruthfully. Respect to friends and enemies alike, when they were dead and gone, demanded that the histories of their lives, and especially of their last moments, should be told as the events had actually happened. Our own Saga affords a good illustration of this, and shows at the same time how a Saga naturally arose out of great events. When King Sigtrygg was Earl Sigurd's guest at Yule, and Flosi and the other Burners were about the Earl's court, the Irish king wished to hear the story of the Burning, and Gunnar Lambi's son was put forward to tell it at the feast on Christmas day. It only added to Kari's grudge against him to hear Gunnar tell the story with such a false leaning, when he gave it out that Skarphedinn had wept for fear of the fire, and the vengeance which so speedily overtook the false teller was looked upon as just retribution. But when Flosi took up the story, he told it fairly and justly for both sides, "and therefore," says the Saga, "what he said was believed".[5]Öresound, the gut between Denmark and Sweden, at the entrance of the Baltic, commonly called in English, The Sound.[6]That is, he came from what we call the Western Isles or Hebrides. The old appellation still lingers in "Sodor (i.e.the South isles) and Man".[7]This means that Njal was one of those gifted beings who, according to the firm belief of that age, had a more than human insight into things about to happen. It answers very nearly to the Scottish "second sight".[8]Lord of rings, a periphrasis for a chief, that is, Mord.[9]Earth's offspring, a periphrasis for woman, that is, Unna.[10]"Oyce," a north country word for the mouth of a river, from the Icelandicós[11]"The Bay," the name given to the great bay in the east of Norway, the entrance of which from the North Sea is the Cattegat, and at the end of which is the Christiania Firth. The name also applies to the land round the Bay, which thus formed a district, the boundary of which, on the one side, was the promontory called Lindesnæs, or the Naze, and on the other, the Göta-Elf, the river on which the Swedish town of Gottenburg stands, and off the mouth of which lies the island of Hisingen, mentioned shortly after.[12]Permia, the country one comes to after doubling the North Cape.[13]A town at the mouth of the Christiania Firth. It was a great place for traffic in early times, and was long the only mart in the south-east of Norway.[14]Rill of wolf—stream of blood.[15]A province of Sweden.[16]An island in the Baltic, off the coast of Esthonia.[17]Endil's courser—periphrasis for a ship.[18]Sigar's storm—periphrasis for a sea-fight.[19]Grieve,i.e., bailiff, head workman.[20]Swanbath's beams, periphrasis for gold.[21]"Thou, that heapest hoards," etc.—merely a periphrasis for man, and scarcely fitting, except in irony, to a splitter of firewood.[22]That is, slew him in a duel.[23]This shows that the shields were oblong, running down to a point.[24]"Ocean's fire," a periphrasis for "gold". The whole line is a periphrasis for "bountiful chief".[25]"Rhine's fire," a periphrasis for gold.[26]"Water-skates," a periphrasis for ships.[27]"Great Rift," Almannagjá—The great volcanic rift, or "geo," as it would be called in Orkney and Shetland, which bounds the plain of the Althing on one side.[28]Thorgrim Easterling and Thorbrand.[29]"Frodi's flour," a periphrasis for gold.[30]"Sea's bright sunbeams," a periphrasis for gold.[31]Constantinople.[32]Hlada or Lada, and sometimes in the plural Ladir, was the old capital of Drontheim, before Nidaios—the present Drontheim—was founded. Drontheim was originally the name of the country round the firth of the same name, and is not used in the old Sagas for a town.[33]The country round the Christiania Firth, at the top of the "Bay".[34]A town in Sweden on the Göta-Elf.[35]The mainland of Orkney, now Pomona.[36]Now Stroma, in the Pentland Firth.[37]By so doing Hrapp would have cleared himself of his own outlawry.[38]"Prop of sea-waves' fire," a periphrasis for a woman that bears gold on her arm.[39]"Skates that skim," etc., a periphrasis for ships.[40]"Odin's mocking cup," mocking songs.[41]An allusion to the Beast Epic, where the cunning fox laughs at the flayed condition of his stupid foes, the wolf and bear. We should say, "Don't stop to speak with him, but rather beat him black and blue".[42]"Sea-stag," periphrasis for ship.[43]"Sea-fire bearers," the bearers of gold, men, that is, Helgi and Grim.[44]"Byrnie-breacher," piercer of coats of mail.[45]"Noisy ogre's namesake," an allusion to the name of Skarphedinn's axe, "the ogress of war".[46]Rood-cross, a crucifix.[47]His son was Glum who fared to the burning with Flosi.[48]"Forge which foams with song," the poet's head, in which songs are forged, and gush forth like foaming mead.[49]"Hero's helm-prop," the hero's, man's, head which supports his helm.[50]It is needless to say that this Hall was not Hall of the Side.[51]"Wolf of Gods," the "caput lupinum," the outlaw of heaven, the outcast from Valhalla, Thangbrand.[52]"The other wolf," Gudleif.[53]"Swarthy skarf," the skarf, orpelecanus cardo, the cormorant. He compares the message of Thorwald to the cormorant shimming over the waves, and says he will never take it. "Snap at flies," a very common Icelandic metaphor from fish rising to a fly.[54]Maurer thinks the allusion is here to some mythological legend on Odin's adventures which has not come dawn to us.[55]"He that giant's," etc., Thor.[56]"Mew-field's bison," the sea-going ship, which sails over he plain of the sea-mew.[57]"Bell's warder," the Christian priest whose bell-ringing formed part of the rites of the new faith.[58]"Falcon of the strand," ship.[59]"Courser of the causeway," ship.[60]"Gylfi's hart," ship.[61]"Viking's snow-shoe," sea-king's ship.[62]"Boiling Kettle," This was a hver, or hot spring.[63]This was the "Raven's Rift," opposite to the "Great Rift" on the other side of the Thingfield.[64]"Warrior's temper," the temper of Hauskuld of Whiteness.[65]"Snake-land's stem," a periphrasis for woman, Rodny.[66]"He that hoardeth ocean's fire," a periphrasis for man, Hauskuld of Whiteness.[67]"Baltic side." This probably means a part of the Finnish coast in the Gulf of Bothnia.[68]"Wild man of the woods." In the original Finngálkn, a fabulous monster, half man and half beast.[69]"Sand," Skeidará sand.[70]"Sand," Mælifell's sand.[71]"Nones," the well-known canonical hour of the day, the ninth hour from six A.M., that is, about three o'clock P.M., when one of the church services took place.[72]"Son of Gollnir," Njal, who was the son of Thorgeir Gelling or Gollnir.[73]"My friends," ironically of course.[74]"Helmet-hewer," sword.[75]John for a man, and Gudruna for a woman, were standing names in the Formularies of the Icelandic code, answering to the "M or N" in our Liturgy, or to those famous fictions of English Law. "John Doe and Richard Roe".[76]"Gossipry," that is, because they were gossips,God's sib, relations by baptism.[77]"Swinestye," ironically for Swinefell, where Flosi lived.[78]This is the English equivalent for the Icelandic Hrepp, a district. It still lingers in "the Rape of Bramber," and other districts in Sussex and the south-east.[79]"With words alone," The English proverb, "Threatened men live long".[80]"Sea crags." Hence Thorgeir got his surname "Craggeir".[81]"Pilgrimage to Rome." This condition had not been mentioned before.[82]"Shieldburg" that is, a ring of men holding their shields locked together.[83]"Thy dog," etc. Meaning that he would go a third time on a pilgrimage to Rome If St. Peter helped him out of this strait.[84]"Helmgnawer," the sword that bites helmets.
[1]Guðbrandr Vigfússon.
[1]Guðbrandr Vigfússon.
[2]This word is invented like Laxdæla, Gretla, and others, to escape the repetition or the word Saga, after that of the person or place to which the story belongs. It combines the idea of the subject and the telling in one word.
[2]This word is invented like Laxdæla, Gretla, and others, to escape the repetition or the word Saga, after that of the person or place to which the story belongs. It combines the idea of the subject and the telling in one word.
[3]Many particulars mentioned in the Saga as wonderful are no wonders to us. Thus in the case of Gunnar's bill, when we are told that it gave out a strange sound before great events, this probably only means that the shaft on which it was mounted was of some hard ringing wood unknown in the north. It was a foreign weapon, and if the shaft were of lance wood, the sounds it gave out when brandished or shaken would be accounted for at once without a miracle.
[3]Many particulars mentioned in the Saga as wonderful are no wonders to us. Thus in the case of Gunnar's bill, when we are told that it gave out a strange sound before great events, this probably only means that the shaft on which it was mounted was of some hard ringing wood unknown in the north. It was a foreign weapon, and if the shaft were of lance wood, the sounds it gave out when brandished or shaken would be accounted for at once without a miracle.
[4]There can be no doubt that it was considered a grave offence to public morality to tell a Saga untruthfully. Respect to friends and enemies alike, when they were dead and gone, demanded that the histories of their lives, and especially of their last moments, should be told as the events had actually happened. Our own Saga affords a good illustration of this, and shows at the same time how a Saga naturally arose out of great events. When King Sigtrygg was Earl Sigurd's guest at Yule, and Flosi and the other Burners were about the Earl's court, the Irish king wished to hear the story of the Burning, and Gunnar Lambi's son was put forward to tell it at the feast on Christmas day. It only added to Kari's grudge against him to hear Gunnar tell the story with such a false leaning, when he gave it out that Skarphedinn had wept for fear of the fire, and the vengeance which so speedily overtook the false teller was looked upon as just retribution. But when Flosi took up the story, he told it fairly and justly for both sides, "and therefore," says the Saga, "what he said was believed".
[4]There can be no doubt that it was considered a grave offence to public morality to tell a Saga untruthfully. Respect to friends and enemies alike, when they were dead and gone, demanded that the histories of their lives, and especially of their last moments, should be told as the events had actually happened. Our own Saga affords a good illustration of this, and shows at the same time how a Saga naturally arose out of great events. When King Sigtrygg was Earl Sigurd's guest at Yule, and Flosi and the other Burners were about the Earl's court, the Irish king wished to hear the story of the Burning, and Gunnar Lambi's son was put forward to tell it at the feast on Christmas day. It only added to Kari's grudge against him to hear Gunnar tell the story with such a false leaning, when he gave it out that Skarphedinn had wept for fear of the fire, and the vengeance which so speedily overtook the false teller was looked upon as just retribution. But when Flosi took up the story, he told it fairly and justly for both sides, "and therefore," says the Saga, "what he said was believed".
[5]Öresound, the gut between Denmark and Sweden, at the entrance of the Baltic, commonly called in English, The Sound.
[5]Öresound, the gut between Denmark and Sweden, at the entrance of the Baltic, commonly called in English, The Sound.
[6]That is, he came from what we call the Western Isles or Hebrides. The old appellation still lingers in "Sodor (i.e.the South isles) and Man".
[6]That is, he came from what we call the Western Isles or Hebrides. The old appellation still lingers in "Sodor (i.e.the South isles) and Man".
[7]This means that Njal was one of those gifted beings who, according to the firm belief of that age, had a more than human insight into things about to happen. It answers very nearly to the Scottish "second sight".
[7]This means that Njal was one of those gifted beings who, according to the firm belief of that age, had a more than human insight into things about to happen. It answers very nearly to the Scottish "second sight".
[8]Lord of rings, a periphrasis for a chief, that is, Mord.
[8]Lord of rings, a periphrasis for a chief, that is, Mord.
[9]Earth's offspring, a periphrasis for woman, that is, Unna.
[9]Earth's offspring, a periphrasis for woman, that is, Unna.
[10]"Oyce," a north country word for the mouth of a river, from the Icelandicós
[10]"Oyce," a north country word for the mouth of a river, from the Icelandicós
[11]"The Bay," the name given to the great bay in the east of Norway, the entrance of which from the North Sea is the Cattegat, and at the end of which is the Christiania Firth. The name also applies to the land round the Bay, which thus formed a district, the boundary of which, on the one side, was the promontory called Lindesnæs, or the Naze, and on the other, the Göta-Elf, the river on which the Swedish town of Gottenburg stands, and off the mouth of which lies the island of Hisingen, mentioned shortly after.
[11]"The Bay," the name given to the great bay in the east of Norway, the entrance of which from the North Sea is the Cattegat, and at the end of which is the Christiania Firth. The name also applies to the land round the Bay, which thus formed a district, the boundary of which, on the one side, was the promontory called Lindesnæs, or the Naze, and on the other, the Göta-Elf, the river on which the Swedish town of Gottenburg stands, and off the mouth of which lies the island of Hisingen, mentioned shortly after.
[12]Permia, the country one comes to after doubling the North Cape.
[12]Permia, the country one comes to after doubling the North Cape.
[13]A town at the mouth of the Christiania Firth. It was a great place for traffic in early times, and was long the only mart in the south-east of Norway.
[13]A town at the mouth of the Christiania Firth. It was a great place for traffic in early times, and was long the only mart in the south-east of Norway.
[14]Rill of wolf—stream of blood.
[14]Rill of wolf—stream of blood.
[15]A province of Sweden.
[15]A province of Sweden.
[16]An island in the Baltic, off the coast of Esthonia.
[16]An island in the Baltic, off the coast of Esthonia.
[17]Endil's courser—periphrasis for a ship.
[17]Endil's courser—periphrasis for a ship.
[18]Sigar's storm—periphrasis for a sea-fight.
[18]Sigar's storm—periphrasis for a sea-fight.
[19]Grieve,i.e., bailiff, head workman.
[19]Grieve,i.e., bailiff, head workman.
[20]Swanbath's beams, periphrasis for gold.
[20]Swanbath's beams, periphrasis for gold.
[21]"Thou, that heapest hoards," etc.—merely a periphrasis for man, and scarcely fitting, except in irony, to a splitter of firewood.
[21]"Thou, that heapest hoards," etc.—merely a periphrasis for man, and scarcely fitting, except in irony, to a splitter of firewood.
[22]That is, slew him in a duel.
[22]That is, slew him in a duel.
[23]This shows that the shields were oblong, running down to a point.
[23]This shows that the shields were oblong, running down to a point.
[24]"Ocean's fire," a periphrasis for "gold". The whole line is a periphrasis for "bountiful chief".
[24]"Ocean's fire," a periphrasis for "gold". The whole line is a periphrasis for "bountiful chief".
[25]"Rhine's fire," a periphrasis for gold.
[25]"Rhine's fire," a periphrasis for gold.
[26]"Water-skates," a periphrasis for ships.
[26]"Water-skates," a periphrasis for ships.
[27]"Great Rift," Almannagjá—The great volcanic rift, or "geo," as it would be called in Orkney and Shetland, which bounds the plain of the Althing on one side.
[27]"Great Rift," Almannagjá—The great volcanic rift, or "geo," as it would be called in Orkney and Shetland, which bounds the plain of the Althing on one side.
[28]Thorgrim Easterling and Thorbrand.
[28]Thorgrim Easterling and Thorbrand.
[29]"Frodi's flour," a periphrasis for gold.
[29]"Frodi's flour," a periphrasis for gold.
[30]"Sea's bright sunbeams," a periphrasis for gold.
[30]"Sea's bright sunbeams," a periphrasis for gold.
[31]Constantinople.
[31]Constantinople.
[32]Hlada or Lada, and sometimes in the plural Ladir, was the old capital of Drontheim, before Nidaios—the present Drontheim—was founded. Drontheim was originally the name of the country round the firth of the same name, and is not used in the old Sagas for a town.
[32]Hlada or Lada, and sometimes in the plural Ladir, was the old capital of Drontheim, before Nidaios—the present Drontheim—was founded. Drontheim was originally the name of the country round the firth of the same name, and is not used in the old Sagas for a town.
[33]The country round the Christiania Firth, at the top of the "Bay".
[33]The country round the Christiania Firth, at the top of the "Bay".
[34]A town in Sweden on the Göta-Elf.
[34]A town in Sweden on the Göta-Elf.
[35]The mainland of Orkney, now Pomona.
[35]The mainland of Orkney, now Pomona.
[36]Now Stroma, in the Pentland Firth.
[36]Now Stroma, in the Pentland Firth.
[37]By so doing Hrapp would have cleared himself of his own outlawry.
[37]By so doing Hrapp would have cleared himself of his own outlawry.
[38]"Prop of sea-waves' fire," a periphrasis for a woman that bears gold on her arm.
[38]"Prop of sea-waves' fire," a periphrasis for a woman that bears gold on her arm.
[39]"Skates that skim," etc., a periphrasis for ships.
[39]"Skates that skim," etc., a periphrasis for ships.
[40]"Odin's mocking cup," mocking songs.
[40]"Odin's mocking cup," mocking songs.
[41]An allusion to the Beast Epic, where the cunning fox laughs at the flayed condition of his stupid foes, the wolf and bear. We should say, "Don't stop to speak with him, but rather beat him black and blue".
[41]An allusion to the Beast Epic, where the cunning fox laughs at the flayed condition of his stupid foes, the wolf and bear. We should say, "Don't stop to speak with him, but rather beat him black and blue".
[42]"Sea-stag," periphrasis for ship.
[42]"Sea-stag," periphrasis for ship.
[43]"Sea-fire bearers," the bearers of gold, men, that is, Helgi and Grim.
[43]"Sea-fire bearers," the bearers of gold, men, that is, Helgi and Grim.
[44]"Byrnie-breacher," piercer of coats of mail.
[44]"Byrnie-breacher," piercer of coats of mail.
[45]"Noisy ogre's namesake," an allusion to the name of Skarphedinn's axe, "the ogress of war".
[45]"Noisy ogre's namesake," an allusion to the name of Skarphedinn's axe, "the ogress of war".
[46]Rood-cross, a crucifix.
[46]Rood-cross, a crucifix.
[47]His son was Glum who fared to the burning with Flosi.
[47]His son was Glum who fared to the burning with Flosi.
[48]"Forge which foams with song," the poet's head, in which songs are forged, and gush forth like foaming mead.
[48]"Forge which foams with song," the poet's head, in which songs are forged, and gush forth like foaming mead.
[49]"Hero's helm-prop," the hero's, man's, head which supports his helm.
[49]"Hero's helm-prop," the hero's, man's, head which supports his helm.
[50]It is needless to say that this Hall was not Hall of the Side.
[50]It is needless to say that this Hall was not Hall of the Side.
[51]"Wolf of Gods," the "caput lupinum," the outlaw of heaven, the outcast from Valhalla, Thangbrand.
[51]"Wolf of Gods," the "caput lupinum," the outlaw of heaven, the outcast from Valhalla, Thangbrand.
[52]"The other wolf," Gudleif.
[52]"The other wolf," Gudleif.
[53]"Swarthy skarf," the skarf, orpelecanus cardo, the cormorant. He compares the message of Thorwald to the cormorant shimming over the waves, and says he will never take it. "Snap at flies," a very common Icelandic metaphor from fish rising to a fly.
[53]"Swarthy skarf," the skarf, orpelecanus cardo, the cormorant. He compares the message of Thorwald to the cormorant shimming over the waves, and says he will never take it. "Snap at flies," a very common Icelandic metaphor from fish rising to a fly.
[54]Maurer thinks the allusion is here to some mythological legend on Odin's adventures which has not come dawn to us.
[54]Maurer thinks the allusion is here to some mythological legend on Odin's adventures which has not come dawn to us.
[55]"He that giant's," etc., Thor.
[55]"He that giant's," etc., Thor.
[56]"Mew-field's bison," the sea-going ship, which sails over he plain of the sea-mew.
[56]"Mew-field's bison," the sea-going ship, which sails over he plain of the sea-mew.
[57]"Bell's warder," the Christian priest whose bell-ringing formed part of the rites of the new faith.
[57]"Bell's warder," the Christian priest whose bell-ringing formed part of the rites of the new faith.
[58]"Falcon of the strand," ship.
[58]"Falcon of the strand," ship.
[59]"Courser of the causeway," ship.
[59]"Courser of the causeway," ship.
[60]"Gylfi's hart," ship.
[60]"Gylfi's hart," ship.
[61]"Viking's snow-shoe," sea-king's ship.
[61]"Viking's snow-shoe," sea-king's ship.
[62]"Boiling Kettle," This was a hver, or hot spring.
[62]"Boiling Kettle," This was a hver, or hot spring.
[63]This was the "Raven's Rift," opposite to the "Great Rift" on the other side of the Thingfield.
[63]This was the "Raven's Rift," opposite to the "Great Rift" on the other side of the Thingfield.
[64]"Warrior's temper," the temper of Hauskuld of Whiteness.
[64]"Warrior's temper," the temper of Hauskuld of Whiteness.
[65]"Snake-land's stem," a periphrasis for woman, Rodny.
[65]"Snake-land's stem," a periphrasis for woman, Rodny.
[66]"He that hoardeth ocean's fire," a periphrasis for man, Hauskuld of Whiteness.
[66]"He that hoardeth ocean's fire," a periphrasis for man, Hauskuld of Whiteness.
[67]"Baltic side." This probably means a part of the Finnish coast in the Gulf of Bothnia.
[67]"Baltic side." This probably means a part of the Finnish coast in the Gulf of Bothnia.
[68]"Wild man of the woods." In the original Finngálkn, a fabulous monster, half man and half beast.
[68]"Wild man of the woods." In the original Finngálkn, a fabulous monster, half man and half beast.
[69]"Sand," Skeidará sand.
[69]"Sand," Skeidará sand.
[70]"Sand," Mælifell's sand.
[70]"Sand," Mælifell's sand.
[71]"Nones," the well-known canonical hour of the day, the ninth hour from six A.M., that is, about three o'clock P.M., when one of the church services took place.
[71]"Nones," the well-known canonical hour of the day, the ninth hour from six A.M., that is, about three o'clock P.M., when one of the church services took place.
[72]"Son of Gollnir," Njal, who was the son of Thorgeir Gelling or Gollnir.
[72]"Son of Gollnir," Njal, who was the son of Thorgeir Gelling or Gollnir.
[73]"My friends," ironically of course.
[73]"My friends," ironically of course.
[74]"Helmet-hewer," sword.
[74]"Helmet-hewer," sword.
[75]John for a man, and Gudruna for a woman, were standing names in the Formularies of the Icelandic code, answering to the "M or N" in our Liturgy, or to those famous fictions of English Law. "John Doe and Richard Roe".
[75]John for a man, and Gudruna for a woman, were standing names in the Formularies of the Icelandic code, answering to the "M or N" in our Liturgy, or to those famous fictions of English Law. "John Doe and Richard Roe".
[76]"Gossipry," that is, because they were gossips,God's sib, relations by baptism.
[76]"Gossipry," that is, because they were gossips,God's sib, relations by baptism.
[77]"Swinestye," ironically for Swinefell, where Flosi lived.
[77]"Swinestye," ironically for Swinefell, where Flosi lived.
[78]This is the English equivalent for the Icelandic Hrepp, a district. It still lingers in "the Rape of Bramber," and other districts in Sussex and the south-east.
[78]This is the English equivalent for the Icelandic Hrepp, a district. It still lingers in "the Rape of Bramber," and other districts in Sussex and the south-east.
[79]"With words alone," The English proverb, "Threatened men live long".
[79]"With words alone," The English proverb, "Threatened men live long".
[80]"Sea crags." Hence Thorgeir got his surname "Craggeir".
[80]"Sea crags." Hence Thorgeir got his surname "Craggeir".
[81]"Pilgrimage to Rome." This condition had not been mentioned before.
[81]"Pilgrimage to Rome." This condition had not been mentioned before.
[82]"Shieldburg" that is, a ring of men holding their shields locked together.
[82]"Shieldburg" that is, a ring of men holding their shields locked together.
[83]"Thy dog," etc. Meaning that he would go a third time on a pilgrimage to Rome If St. Peter helped him out of this strait.
[83]"Thy dog," etc. Meaning that he would go a third time on a pilgrimage to Rome If St. Peter helped him out of this strait.
[84]"Helmgnawer," the sword that bites helmets.
[84]"Helmgnawer," the sword that bites helmets.