Sävborg, Daniel. Konfliktlösning och religion i Njáls saga

• Author: Sävborg, Daniel
• Title: Konfliktlösning och religion i Njáls saga. Slutreplik till Lars Lönnroth
• Published in: Gripla 25
• Year: 2014
• Pages: 251-7
• E-text: Academia.edu
• Reference: Sävborg, Daniel. "Konfliktlösning och religion i Njáls saga. Slutreplik till Lars Lönnroth." Gripla 25 (2014): 251-7.

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Annotation

This article is Daniel Sävborg’s response to a debate between himself and Lars Lönnroth about the interpretation of a fundamental theme in Njáls saga: the dichotomy of two different mentalities regarding the settlement of conflicts and the role of religion in the saga. These two ideals are represented by two parts of the saga itself, as divided by Sävborg: a first part (heathen) and a second (Christian). Sävborg states that the description of the heroes in the saga is an example of how the mentality changes from heathen to Christian in the course of the story, seeing the problem in the fact that there is no defined separation between the two points of view; Lönnroth has tried to find a solution to said problem by stating that the heathen heroes (e.g. Höskuldr and Gunnar) can be seen as “noble heathens”, meaning that they represent a sort of Christian mentality and behaviour even though they are explicitly heathens in the saga. By this example, Lönnroth has described a shift in the points of view in the story: in conflict settlement and religion, the ideal of vengeance (present in the heathen part of the saga) is replaced by the ideal of love and reconciliation (belonging to the Christian part of the saga). Sävborg questions Lönnroth’s thesis by arguing that Lönnroth doesn’t provide a plausible explanation as to why and in which way this shift in perception of conflict/religion really comes into existence.

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References

Chapter 129: Eigi vil ég út ganga : " Lönnroth låter sagans förmenta “förändring av mentaliteten” i kristen tid exemplifieras av att Njáll själv väljer att brännas inne i sitt hus hellre än att kämpa mot fienden. Njálls skäl, såsom han själv formulerar det i sagan, är emellertid: „Eigi vil ek út ganga, því at ek em maðr gamall ok lítt til búinn at hefna sona minna, en ek vil eigi lifa við skǫmm“. (Lönnroth exemplifies the saga‘s supposed “shift of mentality” in Christian time by the fact that Njáll himself choses to be burnt inside his house rather than to fight against the enemy. Njáll‘s reason, which he himself explains in the saga, is in fact: „I don‘t want to go out, because I am an old man and little fitted to avenge my sons, but I don‘t want to live with shame). (p. 255)"

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• Written by: Mariateresa Esposito
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