Friday, 7 October 2011

Book Friday

This will be a biweekly feature where I will share books that are not particularly popular, but that I have enjoyed

To start off will be a classic from my teenage years

Njáls saga – Author unknown (Icelandic folk tale)

This is a smashing tome that was thought to be penned in 1270 -1290, and contains copious amounts of blood feud fuelled violence, scheming and cunning. Stated simply it is a Viking Sopranos, and it is a complex tale that focuses around the lives of several Icelandic figures. The most pivotal of these are Gunnar Hámundarson, Icelandic chieftain and supreme warrior, unmatched by any foe and Njáll Thorgeirsson, cunning and intelligent lawyer,  who using his unsurpassed skill, manages to get Gunnar off the hook several times (one of which involves getting off on the technicality that the crime was tried in the wrong part of Iceland).

Gunnar Hámundarson

This tale is very interesting for a number of reasons. Like most sagas it contains feats of thrilling combat, involving fierce and skilled warriors, described in an exciting way. What makes Njal’s saga interesting is its coverage of the political and cultural fabric of Iceland during the late dark / early medieval ages. It contains many scenes where disputes are (temporally) settled, not by arms, but through the courts. In addition the various chieftains go to the Althing to discuss the government of Iceland, which offers an insight into the first parliamentary democracy in the world (Iceland had no Kings at this time). A major theme of Njal’s saga was the conversion of the Icelandic peoples to Christianity and the methods of the missionaries against the more committed heathens (which of course are very biased towards Christianity).   In addition there is also the timeless tale of the carnage that can be caused by excessive pride and honour.


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