Njála, 041: Difference between revisions

From WikiSaga
Jump to navigationJump to search
No edit summary
No edit summary
 
(2 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 30: Line 30:
"What is it then?" says Thord.
"What is it then?" says Thord.


"Thou must be a 'fey' man," says Njal, "and thou must have seen the fetch <ref>''' must have seen the fetch ''':  "Though Njál can not see the goat, he accepts the fact that Thord sees it; in this perception – which admits both the empirical and non-empirical – there is apparently no sense of inconsistency or contradiction. Njál also knows that the goat is a fylgja." [[Editing Greenway, John L.. The Wisdom of Njál]] (s. 18) </ref>that follows thee, and now be ware of thyself."
"Thou must be a 'fey' man," says Njal, "and thou must have seen the fetch <ref>''' must have seen the fetch ''':  "Though Njál can not see the goat, he accepts the fact that Thord sees it; in this perception – which admits both the empirical and non-empirical – there is apparently no sense of inconsistency or contradiction. Njál also knows that the goat is a ''fylgja''." [[Greenway, John L.. The Wisdom of Njál]] (p. 18) </ref>that follows thee, and now be ware of thyself."


"That will stand me in no stead," says Thord, "if death is doomed for me."
"That will stand me in no stead," says Thord, "if death is doomed for me."
Line 88: Line 88:
„Hvað er það þá?“ segir Þórður.  
„Hvað er það þá?“ segir Þórður.  


„Þú munt vera feigur maður og munt þú séð hafa fylgju þína,“<ref>''' munt þú séð hafa fylgju þína ''':  "Though Njál can not see the goat, he accepts the fact that Thord sees it; in this perception – which admits both the empirical and non-empirical – there is apparently no sense of inconsistency or contradiction. Njál also knows that the goat is a fylgja." [[Editing Greenway, John L.. The Wisdom of Njál]] (s. 18) </ref> segir Njáll, „og ver þú var um þig.“  
„Þú munt vera feigur maður og munt þú séð hafa fylgju þína,“<ref>''' munt þú séð hafa fylgju þína ''':  "Though Njál can not see the goat, he accepts the fact that Thord sees it; in this perception – which admits both the empirical and non-empirical – there is apparently no sense of inconsistency or contradiction. Njál also knows that the goat is a ''fylgja''." [[Greenway, John L.. The Wisdom of Njál]] (s. 18) </ref> segir Njáll, „og ver þú var um þig.“  


„Ekki mun mér það stoða,“ segir Þórður, „ef mér er það ætlað.“  
„Ekki mun mér það stoða,“ segir Þórður, „ef mér er það ætlað.“  

Latest revision as of 22:17, 16 April 2018


Chapter 41

There was a man whose name was Sigmund. He was the son of Lambi, the son of Sighvat the Red. He was a great voyager, and a comely and a courteous man; tall too, and strong. He was a man of proud spirit, and a good skald, and well trained in most feats of strength. He was noisy and boisterous, and given to jibes and mocking. He made the land east in Homfirth. Skiolld was the name of his fellow-traveller; he was a Swedish man, and ill to do with. They took horse and rode from the east out of Hornfirth, and did not draw bridle before they came to Lithend, in the Fleetlithe. Gunnar gave them a hearty welcome, for the bonds of kinship were close between them. Gunnar begged Sigmund to stay there that winter, and Sigmund said he would take the offer if Skiolld his fellow might be there too.

"Well, I have been so told about him," said Gunnar, "that he is no betterer of thy temper; but as it is, thou rather needest to have it bettered. This, too, is a bad house to stay at, and I would just give both of you a bit of advice, my kinsman, not to fire up at the egging on of my wife Hallgerda; for she takes much in hand that is far from my will."

"His hands are clean who warns another," says Sigmund.

"Then mind the advice given thee," says Gunnar, "for thou art sure to be sore tried; and go along always with me, and lean upon my counsel."

After that they were in Gunnar's company. Hallgerda was good to Sigmund; and it soon came about that things grew so warm that she loaded him with money, and tended him no worse than her own husband; and many talked about that, and did not know what lay under it.

One day Hallgerda said to Gunnar, "It is not good to be content with that hundred in silver which thou tookest for my kinsman Brynjolf. I shall avenue him if I may," she says.

Gunnar said he had no mind to bandy words with her, and went away. He met Kolskegg, and said to him, "Go and see Njal; and tell him that Thord must be ware of himself though peace has been made for, methinks, there is faithlessness somewhere."

He rode off and told Njal, but Njal told Thord, and Kolskegg rode home, and Njal thanked them for their faithfulness.

Once on a time they two were out in the "town," Njal and Thord; a he-goat was wont to go up and down in the "town," and no one was allowed to drive him away. Then Thord spoke and said, "Well, this is a wondrous thing!"

"What is it that thou see'st that seems after a wondrous fashion?" says Njal.

"Methinks the goat lies here in the hollow, and he is all one gore of blood."

Njal said that there was no goat there, nor anything else.

"What is it then?" says Thord.

"Thou must be a 'fey' man," says Njal, "and thou must have seen the fetch [1]that follows thee, and now be ware of thyself."

"That will stand me in no stead," says Thord, "if death is doomed for me."

Then Hallgerda came to talk with Thrain Sigfus' son, and said, "I would think thee my son-in-law indeed," she says, "if thou slayest Thord Freedmanson."

"I will not do that," he says, "for then I shall have the wrath of my kinsman Gunnar; and besides, great things hang on this deed, for this slaying would soon be avenged."

"Who will avenge it?" she asks; "is it the beardless carle?"

"Not so," says he, "his sons will avenge it."

After that they talked long and low, and no man knew what counsel they took together.

Once it happened that Gunnar was not at home, but those companions were. Thrain had come in from Gritwater, and then he and they and Hallgerda sat out of doors and talked. Then Hallgerda said, "This have ye two brothers in arms, Sigmund and Skiolld, promised to slay Thord Freedmanson; but Thrain thou hast promised me that thou wouldst stand by them when they did the deed."

They all acknowledged that they had given her this promise.

"Now I will counsel you how to do it," she says: "Ye shall ride east into Homfirth after your goods, and come home about the beginning of the Thing, but if ye are at home before it begins, Gunnar will wish that ye should ride to the Thing with him. Njal will be at the Thing and his sons and Gunnar, but then ye two shall slay Thord."

They all agreed that this plan should be carried out. After that they busked them east to the Firth, and Gunnar was not aware of what they were about, and Gunnar rode to the Thing. Njal sent Thord Freedmanson away east under Eyjafell, and bade him be away there one night. So he went east, but he could not get back from the east, for the Fleet had risen so high that it could not be crossed on horseback ever so far up. Njal waited for him one night, for he had meant him to have ridden with him; and Njal said to Bregthora that she must send Thord to the Thing as soon as ever he came home. Two nights after, Thord came from the east, and Bergthora told him that he must ride to the Thing, "But first thou shalt ride up into Thorolfsfell and see about the farm there, and do not be there longer than one or two nights."

References

  1. must have seen the fetch : "Though Njál can not see the goat, he accepts the fact that Thord sees it; in this perception – which admits both the empirical and non-empirical – there is apparently no sense of inconsistency or contradiction. Njál also knows that the goat is a fylgja." Greenway, John L.. The Wisdom of Njál (p. 18)

Kafli 41

Sigmundur hét maður. Hann var Lambason Sighvatssonar hins rauða. Hann var farmaður mikill, kurteis maður og vænn, mikill og sterkur. Hann var metnaðarmaður mikill og skáld gott og að flestum íþróttum vel búinn, hávaðamaður mikill, spottsamur og ódæll. Hann kom út austur í Hornafirði. Skjöldur hét félagi hans. Hann var sænskur maður og illur viðureignar. Þeir fengu sér hesta og riðu austan úr Hornafirði og luku eigi ferð sinni fyrr en þeir komu í Fljótshlíð til Hlíðarenda. Gunnar tók vel við þeim. Þar var frændsemi mikil með þeim. Gunnar bauð Sigmundi að vera þar um veturinn. Sigmundur kvaðst það þiggja mundu ef Skjöldur væri þar, félagi hans.

Gunnar svaraði: „Svo er mér frá honum sagt,“ sagði Gunnar, „að hann sé þér engi skapbætir en þú þarft hins heldur að bætt sé um með þér. Er hér og vönd vistin og vildi eg ráða yður ráð frændum mínum að þér hlypuð eigi upp við frameggjan Hallgerðar konu minnar því að hún tekur það margt upp er fjarri er mínum vilja.“

„Veldurat sá er varar,“ segir Sigmundur.

„Þá er að gæta ráðsins,“ segir Gunnar, „en mjög munt þú verða reyndur og gakk með mér jafnan og hlít mínum ráðum.“

Síðan voru þeir í fylgd með Gunnari.

Hallgerður var vel til Sigmundar og þar kom að þar gerðist svo mikill ákafi að hún bar fé á hann og þjónaði honum eigi verr en bónda sínum. Og lögðu margir það til orðs og þóttust eigi vita hvað undir mundi búa.

Hallgerður mælti til Gunnars: „Eigi er gott við að una við það hundrað silfurs er þú tókst fyrir Brynjólf frænda minn enda skal eg hefna hans ef eg má,“ segir hún.

Gunnar kvaðst ekki vilja skipta orðum við hana og gekk í braut. Hann fann Kolskegg og mælti til hans: „Farðu og finn Njál og seg honum að Þórður sé var um sig þótt sættir séu því að mér þykir eigi trúlega vera.“

Hann reið og sagði Njáli en Njáll sagði Þórði. Kolskeggur reið heim og þakkaði Njáll þeim trúleika sína.

Það var einhverju sinni að þeir voru úti, Njáll og Þórður. Þar var vanur að ganga hafur um túnið og skyldi engi hann í braut reka.

Þórður mælti: „Undarlega bregður nú við,“ segir hann.

„Hvað sérð þú þess er þér þykir með undarlegu móti?“ segir Njáll.

„Mér þykir hafurinn liggja hér í lægðinni og er alblóðugur allur.“

Njáll kvað þar vera eigi hafur og ekki annað.

„Hvað er það þá?“ segir Þórður.

„Þú munt vera feigur maður og munt þú séð hafa fylgju þína,“[1] segir Njáll, „og ver þú var um þig.“

„Ekki mun mér það stoða,“ segir Þórður, „ef mér er það ætlað.“

Hallgerður kom að máli við Þráin Sigfússon og mælti: „Mágur þætti mér þú vera,“ segir hún, „ef þú dræpir Þórð leysingjason.“

„Eigi mun eg það gera því að þá mun eg hafa reiði Gunnars frænda míns,“ segir hann. „Mun og þar stórt á liggja því að vígs þess mun verða brátt hefnt.“

„Hver mun hefna,“ segir hún, „hvort karl hinn skegglausi?“

„Eigi mun það,“ segir hann, „synir munu hefna.“

Síðan töluðu þau lengi hljótt og vissi engi maður hvað þau höfðu í ráðagerðum.

Einu sinni var það að Gunnar var eigi heima og þeir félagar. Þar var kominn Þráinn frá Grjótá. Þá sátu þau Hallgerður úti og töluðu.

Þá mælti Hallgerður: „Því hafa þeir heitið félagar Sigmundur og Skjöldur að drepa Þórð leysingjason en þú hefir mér því heitið, Þráinn, að vera við staddur.“

Þeir gengu við allir að þeir höfðu þessu heitið henni.

„Nú mun eg gefa ráðið til,“ sagði hún. „Þér skuluð ríða austur í Hornafjörð eftir fé yðru og koma heim um þing öndvert en ef þér eruð heima mun Gunnar vilja að þér ríðið til þings með honum. Njáll mun vera á þingi og synir hans og svo Gunnar. En þér skuluð þá drepa Þórð.“

Þeir játtu að þessi ráðagerð skyldi fram koma. Síðan bjuggust þeir austur í fjörðu og varaðist Gunnar það ekki og reið Gunnar til þings.

Njáll sendi Þórð leysingjason austur undir Eyjafjöll og bað hann vera í braut eina nótt. Hann fór austur og gaf honum eigi austan því að fljótið var svo mikið að langt var um óreitt. Njáll mælti við Bergþóru að hún skyldi senda Þórð til þings þegar hann kæmi heim. Tveim nóttum síðar kom Þórður austan.

Bergþóra sagði honum að hann skyldi til þings „en nú skaltu upp í Þórólfsfell og sjá þar um bú og vera þar eigi lengur en eina nótt eða tvær.“


Tilvísanir

  1. munt þú séð hafa fylgju þína : "Though Njál can not see the goat, he accepts the fact that Thord sees it; in this perception – which admits both the empirical and non-empirical – there is apparently no sense of inconsistency or contradiction. Njál also knows that the goat is a fylgja." Greenway, John L.. The Wisdom of Njál (s. 18)

Links