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Bergþóra Skarphéðinsdóttir
Bergþóra Skarphéðinsdóttir (anglicised as Bergthora Skarphedinsdottir) was a 10th-century Icelandic woman who appears as a character in ''Njáls saga'' as an inciter of its main feud. ''Njáls saga'' Bergþóra is introduced in the saga as 'an exceptional and courageous woman, but a little harsh-natured.' She is the daughter of Skarp-Heðinn, and married to the lawspeaker Njáll Þorgeirsson. They have three sons: Skarphéðinn Njálsson, Skarp-Heðinn, Grímr, and Helgi. Njal also has an illegitimate son, Höskuldr Njálsson, with his concubine, Hróðný. Hróðný has a long-term relationship with Njal and views Bergþóra as her rival. The family lives at Bergþórshvoll, Bergþórsvoll. At an autumn feast hosted by Njáll and Bergþóra, Bergþóra enters into a quarrel with Hallgerðr Höskuldsdóttir, Hallgerðr Höskuldsdottir, the wife of Njáll's friend Gunnar Hámundarson. Despite Gunnar's and Njal's efforts to peacefully settle the disagreement, Hallgerðr and B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Njáls Saga
''Njáls saga'' ( ), also ''Njála'' ( ), or ''Brennu-Njáls saga'' ( ) (Which can be translated as ''The Story of Burnt Njáll'', or ''The Saga of Njáll the Burner''), is a thirteenth-century Icelandic saga that describes events between 960 and 1020. The saga deals with a process of blood feuds in the Icelandic Commonwealth, showing how the requirements of honor could lead to minor slights spiralling into destructive and prolonged bloodshed. Insults where a character's manhood is called into question are especially prominent and may reflect an author critical of an overly restrictive ideal of masculinity. Another characteristic of the narrative is the presence of omens and prophetic dreams. It is disputed whether this reflects a fatalistic outlook on the part of the author. The principal characters in the saga are the friends Njáll Þorgeirsson, a lawyer and a sage, and Gunnar Hámundarson, a formidable warrior. Gunnar's wife, Hallgerðr langbrók, instigates a feud that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lawspeaker
A lawspeaker or lawman ( Swedish: ''lagman'', Old Swedish: ''laghmaþer'' or ''laghman'', Danish: ''lovsigemand'', Norwegian: ''lagmann'', Icelandic: , Faroese: '' løgmaður'', Finnish: ''laamanni'', ) is a unique Scandinavian legal office. It has its basis in a common Germanic oral tradition, where wise people were asked to recite the law, but it was only in Scandinavia that the function evolved into an office. At first, lawspeakers represented the people, and their duties and authority were connected to the assemblies ( ''things''). For most of the last thousand years, however, they were part of the king's administration. Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241) of Iceland was a famous lawspeaker. He wrote about an 11th-century lawspeaker named Torgny, but historians doubt the account. Sweden In Sweden, this office was the most important one of regional governments, where each ''lagsaga'' (usually the same as the traditional province) was the jurisdiction of a lawspeaker who wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Njáll Þorgeirsson
Njáll Þorgeirsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was a 10th and early-11th-century Icelandic lawyer who lived at Bergþórshvoll in Landeyjar, Iceland. He was one of the main protagonists of ''Njáls saga'', a medieval Icelandic saga which describes a series of blood feuds. Biography Njáll was the son of Þorgeir gollnir Ófeigsson. His paternal grandfather had fallen out of favour with the king and therefore decided to leave Norway but as he had prepared and was about to leave when the king's errandmen came to him and took his life. After that his grandmother and their children and her brother left for Iceland. ''Njáls saga'' does not in important events contradict other sources but in details such as genealogy it sometimes contradicts the ''Landnámabók (, "Book of Settlements"), often shortened to , is a medieval Icelandic written work which describes in considerable detail the settlement () of Iceland by the Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries CE. is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skarphéðinn Njálsson
Skarphéðinn Njálsson (Modern Icelandic: ; Old Norse: ) was a semi-legendary Icelander who may have lived in the 10th century. He is known as a character in ''Njáls saga'', a medieval Icelandic saga which describes a process of blood feuds. The saga is now believed to have been composed in Iceland during the period from 1270 to 1290. The eldest son of Njáll Þorgeirsson and Bergþóra Skarphéðinsdóttir, he grew up at Bergþórshvoll in Rangárvallasýsla. The saga describes a series of feuds involving friends of Njáll and later also Njáll and his sons. Skarphéðinn is described as hardy and skilled warrior but also as an ill-tempered and sharp tongued man whose insults of potential allies at the althing ends up isolating Njáll and his family, leading to their demise as they are burned by their enemies inside their home at Bergþórshvoll. Biography At first the feud is fueled by the anger of Hallgerður Höskuldsdóttir, wife of Njáll's friend Gunnarr, who is sl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bergþórshvoll
Bergþórshvoll (Modern Icelandic: ; Old Norse: ; usually anglicized as ''Bergthorsknoll'') is an area in Vestur-Landeyjar in Rangárvallasýsla, Iceland. Bergþórshvoll is an important setting in the Icelandic saga '' Njál's saga'', the home and scene of the final burning of Njáll Þorgeirsson Njáll Þorgeirsson (Old Norse: ; Modern Icelandic: ) was a 10th and early-11th-century Icelandic lawyer who lived at Bergþórshvoll in Landeyjar, Iceland. He was one of the main protagonists of ''Njáls saga'', a medieval Icelandic saga which ... and his entire family. Antiquarian Sigurður Vigfússon (1828–1892) conducted an archaeological dig on the site at the end of the 19th century. Matthías Þórðarson (1877-1961) made an extensive excavation at Bergþórshvoll during 1927, 1928 and 1931. References External linksIcelandic site Sagas of Icelanders {{Iceland-saga-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hallgerðr Höskuldsdóttir
Hallgerðr Höskuldsdóttir was a 10th-century Icelandic woman and is a major character in ''Njáls saga''. According to ''Landnámabók'', she was the daughter of Höskuld Dala-Kollson and the sister or half-sister of Þorleikr, Olaf the Peacock, Helgi, Þúriðr and Þorgerðr. Her nickname there is ''snúinbrók'' (‘twisted breeches’). In ''Njáls saga'' Hallgerðr is the daughter of Höskuld, living at Höskuldstaðir in Laxárdal. Her mother is absent from the narrative, but it is mentioned that she has a maternal uncle who is a sorcerer. When she is a child, her uncle Hrútr predicts that many will suffer because of her beauty and offends her father by saying that she has “thief’s eyes”. As an adult, she is described as beautiful, with hair “so long that it could veil her whole body.” She is tall, resulting in her nickname ''longbrók'' (‘long breeches’). Her personality is “impetuous and wilful.” She is said to have been negatively influenced b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunnar Hámundarson
Gunnar Hámundarson () was a 10th-century Icelandic chieftain. He lived in Hlíðarendi in Fljótshlíð and is probably better known as Gunnar of Hlíðarendi (). He features prominently in the first half of Njáls saga, which tells of the chain of events ultimately leading to his death in battle. He was married to Hallgerðr Höskuldsdóttir of Höskuldsstaðir in Laxárdal in Dalasýsla, who was known as Hallgerðr langbrók ("Hallgerður longpants"). He was her third husband. It was said that she had killed both her former husbands, but she had in fact only killed the first. Their marriage was considered imprudent by Gunnar's friend Njáll Þorgeirsson, because it was caused by lust and not practicality. Gunnar the hero Gunnar was a god-like warrior — he is described as nearly invincible in combat. According to Njáls saga, he was a powerful, athletic man "capable of jumping his own height in full body armour, both back and front". He was a skilled archer, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Feud
A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted, injured, or otherwise wronged by another. Intense feelings of resentment trigger an initial Retributive justice, retribution, which causes the other party to feel greatly aggrieved and revenge, vengeful. The dispute is subsequently fueled by a long-running cycle of retaliatory violence. This continual cycle of provocation and retaliation usually makes it extremely difficult to end the feud peacefully. Feuds can persist for generations and may result in extreme acts of violence. They can be interpreted as an extreme outgrowth of social relations based in family honor. A mob war is a time when two or more rival families begin open warfare with one another, destroying each ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arson In Medieval Scandinavia
Arson in medieval Scandinavia (Old Norse ''hús-brenna ''or ''hús-bruni, ''"house-burning") was a technique sometimes employed in blood feuds and political conflicts in order to assassinate someone. In committing arson, a group of attackers would set fire to the home of an opponent, sometimes by quickly and surreptitiously piling wood, brush and other combustible materials against the exterior of a dwelling and set it on fire. Typically the attackers would surround the house to prevent the escape of its inhabitants, although women, the elderly, and small children were sometimes allowed to leave.''Njal's Saga'' § 129. In Iceland The Law of Iceland, Icelandic law as codified in the Gragas states that the penalty for burning was full-outlawry (Old Norse ''skóggangr''). Yet the literary sources make it clear that it was a commonly used tactic. At least some Icelanders considered quickfire dishonorable, hence when the enemies of Gunnar Hámundarson attacked his home they refused to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
