Anonymous asked:
In Njal’s Saga, on page 154 of the Robert Cook translation, Njal says it would be unjust if his sons were killed now. Why is there antipathy between them and Thrain, and why should they be killed for it? (sorry if this sounds like a stupid question)
The tension between Thrain Sigfusson and the Njalssons begins while they are in Norway together. Thrain had served Earl Harkon well while there and formed a close relationship with him. The Njalssons came a little bit later, after spending some time in Orkney and Scotland. The source of their tension, though, would be the Icelander named Hrapp, who also comes to Norway.
To fast forward a bit, to page 146, Hrapp comes to the Njalssons and Thrain for help after causing a bunch of trouble for the earl. The Njalssons wisely reject his request for help, because Hrapp is obviously of the bad sort (*remember this*). After this, Hrapp goes to Thrain for help. Thrain hesitates (because he doesn’t want to dishonor the earl who he recently served so well), but eventually he seems to get pulled into helping him. After initially refusing to help Hrapp, it went as such:
“Hrapp said, ‘I’m going to stay here and be killed in front of your eyes, and for that you will receive the blame from all men.’
They could see the earl and his men coming. Thrain took Hrapp into his care and had a boat cast off to carry them out to the ship.”(1.)
When the earl came, he questioned both the Njalssons and Thrain. The Njalssons knew that Thrain had Hrapp, but did not say anything because Thrain’s life would be on the line. Yet, when Thrain was questioned, he acted as though he did not know where Hrapp was, of course. Thus, the earl turned back to the Njalssons, saying that he would force them to tell him the truth.
He doesn’t end up doing that, though. Instead he continues to search for Hrapp on Thrain’s ship, which is meant to be humorous. Yet, in the process, it seems that Thrain and Hrapp grew close, or at least acted as such. The earl speaks in frustration, but in doing so he offers some foreshadowing:
“This was not due to my lack of insight, but to the friendship between Thrain and Hrapp, which will drag them both to their deaths.”(2.)
Thrain returned to Iceland with Hrapp and all was more than good for them. Hrapp was even given a farm! He was a troublesome lad, but Thrain was good to him; they really had become close friends (*remember this*).
To return to the Njalssons, though, who were still in Norway, the earl came to punish them “since they must have been in on this with Thrain.”(3.) This results in them being pursued by the earl and his men, which leads to fighting and other troubles. Eventually friendship is restored between the Njalssons and the earl, but the fact still remains that it was Thrain who caused this strife due to his protection and friendship with Hrapp.
So, to finally answer your question, the antipathy between Thrain and the Njalssons was caused by Thrain’s decision to protect Hrapp at the expense of the Njalssons, who were left to deal with the earl’s anger. When the Njalssons return to Iceland, this shameful event provides the atmosphere needed for a feud with Thrain.
Ketil of Mork, Thrain’s brother, speaks with Njal shortly after the Njalssons returned, and there they speak of what had occurred. Ketil agrees to talk the matter over with Thrain, but Thrain showed him hostility and clearly refused to reconcile with the Njalssons over the shame he had brought them.(4.)
On page 154, when Njal says that “it would seem unjustified if they (his sons) were killed now,”(5.) he is speaking about the public eye. In other words, if a feud were to begin and the Njalssons killed, the public eye would currently favor Thrain,(6.) and the Njalssons would be further dishonored, for the community does not know about the events that occurred in Norway. The rest of Njal’s words in that passage serve to foreshadow, or rather to outline, how the rest of the feud will play out.
The Njalssons don’t actually deserve to be killed by Thrain, because it is Thrain who is acting in the ‘wrong’, at least from the author’s standpoint. It is likely that Hrapp’s contempt for the Njalssons (for not helping him early) rubbed off onto Thrain, since they (Thrain and Hrapp) were now close friends. So Thrain’s hostility could be explained by Hrapp’s own feelings against the Njalssons; bonds of friendship are very important in this saga. From Thrain’s perspective, though, the Njalssons deserve to be killed for not helping Hrapp.
I hope that clears things up for you a bit! I may have used too many words to explain it, but the answer is spread across (at least) nine pages, so I suppose this is much shorter in comparison to that. If you are still left wondering about anything, do not hesitate to ask! Njal’s Saga is my favorite saga, so I really do love talking about it.
FOOTNOTES:
1. Robert Cook trans., Njal’s Saga. (London: Penguin Books, 2001), 146. Thane’s reason for accepting to help Hrapp is another interesting point for discussion, but not exactly necessary for your question.
2. Ibid., 149.
3. Ibid., 150.
4. Ibid., 153. Ketil was received harshly by Thrain because he is actually Njal’s brother-in-law, which then shows that Thrain is also hostile towards the Njalssons and their kin.
5. Ibid., 154.
6. This is not only because the community did not know about the events that unfolded in Norway, but also because Thrain returned with great honor and riches due to his service to earl Harkon, thus raising his honor, or social status.
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