14 h 33 minAudiobook2 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 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.
Is it for you?
Readers drawn to family rivalries, courtroom struggles, and morally complicated heroes will enjoy a saga where every settlement faces another test.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
Who’s who
- NjalA skilled legal adviser who tries to protect his family and friends through foresight, compensation, and peaceful settlements.
- GunnarNjal’s brave and generous friend, whose fighting ability cannot shield him from the consequences of feuds.
- HallgerdGunnar’s proud wife, whose hostility towards Bergthora helps draw their households into repeated conflict.
- BergthoraNjal’s strong-willed wife, fiercely loyal to her household and unwilling to accept Hallgerd’s insults.
- SkarphedinNjal’s formidable son, whose courage and sharp tongue make him a dangerous participant in family disputes.
- The AlthingIceland’s national assembly, where legal skill and political support shape the struggle between settlement and revenge.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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La Saga de Njáll le Brûlé
by Anonyme ; George Webbe Dasent (traducteur)· 1280
Friendship and law face the demands of family revenge.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
In medieval Iceland, a quarrel rarely belongs only to the people who start it. Families, neighbours, and powerful allies become involved, and each injury creates another claim for payment or revenge. The Story of Burnt Njal follows this growing pressure through the lives of two friends: Gunnar, a brave and admired farmer, and Njal, a wise adviser whose skill in law makes him valuable to everyone around him.
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Questions about La Saga de Njáll le Brûlé
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Is The Story of Burnt Njal the same as Njal’s Saga?
Yes. The Story of Burnt Njal is an English title for the Icelandic work commonly called Njal’s Saga. It follows Njal, his friend Gunnar, and their families through connected feuds in which personal honour and legal settlements repeatedly collide.
Is Njal’s Saga a true story?
The saga draws on Icelandic history, remembered people, and traditions about events around the tenth and early eleventh centuries. It is also a carefully shaped literary narrative, written centuries later. Its conversations, motives, and individual episodes should not be treated as a direct historical record.
Who wrote The Story of Burnt Njal, and when?
The author is anonymous. Njal’s Saga is generally dated to the late thirteenth century, well after the period it depicts. It belongs to the Icelandic family sagas, prose narratives concerned with households, kinship, disputes, and the settlement of Iceland.
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