Miller, William Ian. Kari and Friends: Chapters 145–55

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  • Author: Miller, William Ian
  • Title: Kari and Friends: Chapters 145–55
  • Published in: Why Is Your Axe Bloody?: A Reading of Njáls Saga
  • Place, Publisher: New York: Oxford University Press
  • Year: 2014
  • Pages: 276-93
  • E-text:
  • Reference: Miller, William Ian. Why Is Your Axe Bloody?: A Reading of Njáls Saga. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.

  • Key words:

Annotation

The chapter begins with a legal and literary analysis of the agreement achieved through arbitration that follows the battle at the Alþingi, and Síðu-Hallr‘s waiving of compensation for the death of his son and subsequent reward. Miller then explains Kári and Þorgeirr skorargeirr’s continued vengeance against the burners as their need to balance both sides’ death toll, and why Kári insists that Þorgeirr accept Síðu-Hallr‘s offer of a settlement. Björn í Mörk‘s character and comic role in the saga are than evaluated favorably. Miller then looks at Kári‘s grief, suggests that Kári’s violence is a response to “survivor’s guilt”, and compares Kári and Gunnarr, offering that their differences stem from them operating in different genres. The chapter than concludes with Miller explaining Flosi and Njáls saga’s author’s appreciation of Kári.

Lýsing

Kaflinn hefst á lagalegri og bókmenntalegri greiningu á samkomulaginu sem næst í gerðardómi eftir bardagann að Alþingi sem og niðurfellingu Síðu-Halls á bótum fyrir son sinn. Miller útskýrir hefnd Kára og Þorgeirs skorageirs á brennumönnum, þörf þeirra fyrir jafnvægi í dánartölum milli fylkinga og hvers vegna Kári krefst þess að Þorgeir samþykki sáttarboði Síðu-Halls. Litið er á persónu Bjarnar í Mörk og skoplegt hlutverk hans innan sögunnar jákvæðum augum. Miller fjallar í framhaldinu um sorg Kára og leggur til að ofbeldið sé einhvers konar sektarkennd eftirlifenda, hann ber saman Kára og Gunnar, hann segir að mismunurinn á þeim stafi af því að þeir aðhafast innan sitthvorrar bókmenntagreinarinnar. Kaflinn endar á því að Miller útskýrir hvers vegna Flosi og höfundur Njáls sögu hafa svo mikla mætur á Kára.

See also

References

Chapter 139: halda upp fébótum: "As long as the victor still figures he might have to pay the loser for his losses, we have not fully abandoned the world of feud for the world of war, even though the saga shows things moving in that direction." (p. 278).

Chapter 145: að renna eigi frá: "Kari is not at ease over surviving the Burning. He was not only outmanned by Skarphedin (who isn't?), as we saw, but also tellingly by his little boy Thord, who chose not to flee the flames, … . That it is not overreading to suggest that Kari might be motivated to overkill in order to kill his shame (or in modern jargon, his 'survivor's guilt') is that others accuse him of flight and cowardice." (p. 288).

Links

  • Written by: Yoav Tirosh
  • Icelandic translation: Andri M. Kristjánsson