THE SAGA OF BURNT NJAL: The Saga of Burnt Nial

Anon E Mouse

Mar 2010 · Abela Publishing Ltd

About this ebook

What is a Saga? A Saga is a story, or telling in prose, sometimes mixed with verse. There are many kinds of Sagas with varying degrees of truth. There are the mythical Sagas, the historical Sagas of the kings of Norway, and then there are Sagas relating to Iceland narrating the lives, the feuds and the ends of mighty chiefs who dwelt in the districts of the island. These were told by men who lived on the very spot, and told with an exactness as to time and place. The Saga of Njal is one of these. Of all the Sagas relating to Iceland, this tragic story bears away the palm for truthfulness and beauty. To use the words of one well qualified to judge, it is, when compared with all similar compositions, as gold to brass. In this Saga we learn of the sad story of Njal's fate, Gunnar's peerlessness and Hallgerda's infamy, of Bergthora's helpfulness, of Skarphedinn's hastiness, of Flosi's foul deed, and Kari's stern revenge. To tell a story truthfully was what was looked for from all men in those days; but to tell it properly and gracefully, and to clothe the facts in fitting diction, was given to few, and of those few the Saga teller who first threw Njal into its present shape, was one of the first and foremost. As for truthfulness, there are many other Sagas relating to the same period in which the actors in our Saga are mentioned by name and in which their deeds are corroborated. But, of all the Sagas, none were so interesting as Njal, whether as regarding the length of the story, the number of ranking chiefs who appeared in it as actors and the graphic way in which the tragic tale is told.

About the author

Sir George Webbe Dasent (1817–1896) was a translator of folk tales and contributor to The Times. born 22 May 1817 at St. Vincent, West Indies, the son of the attorney general, John Roche Dasent. His mother was the second wife of his father, Charlotte Martha was the daughter of Captain Alexander Burrowes Irwin.

He was educated at Westminster School, King's College London, and Oxford University, where he was a contemporary of J.T. Delane, whose friend he had become at King's College. On leaving the university in 1840 he was appointed to a diplomatic post in Stockholm, Sweden. There he met Jakob Grimm, at whose recommendation he first became interested in Scandinavian literature and mythology.