14 h 33 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 14 h 33 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if keeping your honour means destroying the peace your family needs?
In medieval Iceland, a quarrel spreads beyond the people who begin it. Families, neighbours, and allies take sides. Gunnar has strength and courage, but his friend Njal sees dangers that fighting cannot solve. In The Story of Burnt Njal, friendship faces the relentless demands of family loyalty and revenge.
Njal seeks peace through legal advice, compensation, and settlement. Yet Hallgerd, Gunnar’s wife, and Bergthora, Njal’s wife, draw their households into bitter conflict. At the Althing, Iceland’s national assembly, witnesses and procedure matter as much as powerful supporters. Every agreement faces a hard test: will anyone let an injury rest?
What you’ll discover
- Strength meets its limits Follow Gunnar, whose generosity and fighting skill cannot protect him from the consequences of feuds.
- Peace requires more than courage Watch Njal use foresight and law to protect the people he loves.
- Households drawn into conflict See how Hallgerd and Bergthora’s hostility pulls servants and dependants into violence.
- The struggle at the assembly Enter legal disputes where witnesses, careful procedure, and gathered support can shape a settlement.
- Mercy against old obligations Explore how the arrival of Christianity raises questions without simply ending the duty of revenge.
Who will love it
Readers who love sagas, family feuds, courtroom drama and Viking voyages, and anyone curious how a society ruled by law and honour argued, fought and made peace.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A marriage cursed before it begins
- Law can be won by cunning
- Gunnar's gifts and a dangerous wedding
- Two households trade killings and pay for them
- Gunnar's enemies close in
- A beloved hero faces his own choice
- Vengeance passes to a new generation
- What the saga is really about
- How the story is told
Who’s who
- NjalA beardless, wise farmer and the best lawyer in Iceland, who foresees events and works to keep the peace.
- GunnarA peerless fighter and loyal friend who wants peace but finds feuds closing in around his home.
- HallgerdaA beautiful, proud and grasping woman whose quarrels and schemes keep setting the households against each other.
- SkarphedinnNjal's eldest son, fearless and sharp-tongued, who carries an axe called the Ogress of War.
- BergthoraNjal's strong-willed wife, who will not give way to Hallgerda and urges her sons to avenge insults.
- KariA brave Hebridean who marries Njal's daughter and stands by her brothers in every danger.
- MordA crafty schemer who spreads rumours and sets neighbours against one another.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 14 h 33 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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La saga de Njal el Quemado
by Anónimo; George Webbe Dasent (traductor) · 1280
An uncle sees trouble in a beautiful girl's eyes, and two loyal friends face feuds that test their bond.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
A girl plays on a hall floor, and her uncle remarks that many will suffer for her beauty. That one sentence sets a whole saga in motion.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A marriage cursed before it begins
The saga opens with two brothers, Hauskuld and Hrut, and with Hauskuld's daughter Hallgerda. Hrut looks at the child and predicts that her beauty will cost many people dearly. Hauskuld takes offence, and the first crack opens in the family.
Hrut then woos Unna, daughter of the great lawyer Fiddle Mord. He travels to Norway to claim an inheritance and wins the favour of the queen mother, Gunnhillda. She sends him home with a gift and a spell, which says he will never enjoy the woman he loves in Iceland.
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What is Njal's Saga about?
It follows a feud in medieval Iceland between families linked by marriage and friendship. Njal, a wise lawyer, and Gunnar, a great warrior, try to keep peace while quarrels, killings and lawsuits widen around them.
Why is Njal called Burnt Njal?
The name points toward danger still to come. Njal lives at Bergthorsknoll with Bergthora, gives wise advice freely and helps Gunnar settle quarrels that threaten their friendship.
Is Njal's Saga a true story?
The saga tells of Icelandic families, but its story alone cannot establish which events are historical. Alongside farms, family ties and lawsuits, it includes spells, prophetic dreams and uncanny visions. Njal's foresight matters as much to the telling as his knowledge of law.
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