Bergþóra Skarphéðinsdóttir (anglicised as Bergthora Skarphedinsdottir) was a 10th-century Icelandic woman who appears as a character in ''

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 a ...

'' 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 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 offic ...

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 ...

. They have three sons: 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 Bergþórsvoll. At an autumn feast hosted by Njáll and Bergþóra, Bergþóra enters into a quarrel with Hallgerðr Höskuldsdottir, the wife of Njáll's friend

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 ...

. Despite Gunnar's and Njal's efforts to peacefully settle the disagreement, Hallgerðr and Bergþóra escalate it to violent proportions. The women repeatedly send men to kill members of each other's households. At first Bergþóra hires passers-by to carry out the killings, but she ends by goading her sons into carrying them out. The killings are escalated each time, reflected in the increasing amount of compensation set for each crime. The

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 ...

reaches its peak with people from Gunnar's household

burning Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combust ...

Njáll and his family inside their house. Bergþóra is offered the opportunity to leave the house, but chooses to remain with Njáll and share his fate. They retreat to their bed, commit their souls to God, and die in the fire.

Reception

Scholars have pointed out Bergþóra's loyalty and her position of influence. She is compared favourably to Hallgerðr as 'strong, sane and faithful' by Stefán Einarsson, but Hannett points out that Hallgerðr and Bergþóra are both described as 'hard-hearted'. Bergþóra's influence is demonstrated in her power over her household, which allows her to hire servants for use as assassins, and in her ability to goad her sons. It has been suggested that the thirteenth-century figure

Steinvör Sighvatsdóttir Steinvör Sighvatsdóttir (early 13th–century – 17 October 1271; Modern Icelandic: ; Old Norse: ), was the politically most influential woman in Iceland in the Age of the Sturlungs. She was also a skald and listed as such in ''Skáldat ...

might have influenced the portrayal of Bergþóra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergthora Skarphedinsdottir 10th-century Icelandic women