excerpts from icelandic sagas

njal remained silent

  Njal remained silent while Gunnar told him everything. Then he spoke: ‘You must not let her have her way in everything.’ Gunnar said, ‘You make the judgement yourself.’ Njal said, ‘It’s going to be hard for you to atone for all of Hallgerd’s misdoings, and another time the effects will be greater than now, […]

his halberd is at home

  Gunnar saw a red tunic at the window and he made a thrust with his halberd and hit Thorgrim in the waist. The Norwegian lost his grip on his shield, his feet slipped and he fell off the roof and then walked to where Gizur and the others were sitting on the ground. Gizur […]

thorhall’s leg

To turn now to Thorhall: a messenger came to him and told him how things stood, how they would all be outlawed and how their suits for homicide had been quashed. When Thorhall heard this he was so upset that he could not speak a word. He sprang out of his bed and seized his […]

gone

Kolskegg spoke: ‘You don’t need to look: it’s just as you think, the leg is gone.’