Gripla - 01.01.1977, Page 11

EINAR ÓL. SVEINSSON
JOURNEY TO THE NJÁLA COUNTRY,
7TH AUGUST 1973
Parts 1 and 3 of the following paper were delivered during the course of a short
excursion to the Njála country made under the auspices of the Saga Congress of
1973. These parts are substantially as then delivered, with only some minor verbal
alterations. At the time I had also intended to say a few words about Gunnars-
hólmi and the approximate locality which I believed the saga-writer to have had in
mind in this context, but owing to circumstances which need not be discussed here,
and in which lack of time was a factor, this part of my talk was never given. How-
ever, it seems to me appropriate to include it here in the form intended. It is
printed in brackets.
1. AT HLÍÐARENDI
When foreign scholars come to Iceland they see with their own eyes the
country where the Sagas of Icelanders took place. Instead of imaginary
scenes, they have the reality; sometimes bright and vivid with a rare
beauty of sunlight and landscape. This reality, though changeable, will
be cherished by most, for in it they find themselves encompassed by the
very scene where the sagas are said to have happened.
At this, and other sites of Njála we shall visit today, I propose to
consider how far the landscape and local features harmonize with the
saga narrative, and whether there are any discordant notes to be de-
tected.
My first point is made by the Icelandic poet Bjarni Thorarensen in
lines composed early in the nineteenth century:
Söm er hún Esja,
samur er Keilir,
eins er Skjaldbreið
og á Ingólfs dögum.
Unchanged Esja,
and Keilir also;
Skjaldbreið the same
as in Ingólf’s day.
This will apply to most mountains in Iceland: they will not have
changed much since those times. Of course, there are some, such as