Gripla - 01.01.1977, Page 18

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GRIPLA
Njála is undoubtedly later than Alexanders Saga, and there is no
obstacle to its author having been inspired by the narrative of the
earlier work. It seems as though he took the springtime dream of the
young warrior king, surveying his land of heart’s desire, and in Njála
transformed it to the autumnal vision of the weary champion who
returns home to die.
3. AT BERGÞÓRSHVOLL
We are now at Bergþórshvoll. At this point in our journey the best thing
we can do is to read the account of the burning of Njáll in the saga.
Let us begin with the arrival of Flosi and his men on the evening of
the attack.
They meet at Þríhyrningshálsar, a very suitable rendez-vous, and
leave for Bergþórshvoll at about 6 p.m., reaching the homestead ‘fyrir
náttmál’—that is, a little before 9. This would be a reasonable time for
the journey according to knowledgeable men who lived in the age of
horse-transport. One may suppose that Flosi and his party rode fast, to
get to their objective before news of their coming reached the friends of
Njáll and counter-measures could be taken.
Here they enter the ‘dalr í hválinum’—the valley in the hill, as the
saga puts it—tie up their horses, and wait ‘til þess er mjok leið á
kveldit’—until the evening was far advanced. They intended to use the
cover of darkness for their work. This account cannot be understood
in any other way than implying that Flosi and his followers hid there:
a hundred men and about two hundred horses. Admittedly there is a
depression in the hill, but it is hardly more that fifteen by twenty metres.
It might have been deeper once and its banks might have been higher,
but this does not help: a hundred men and two hundred horses could
never have found room there.
But since Njála has always been what I call living literature the
people of the district have corrected the saga: they maintained that
Flosi waited east of the hill, and named the place Flosalág (this was
once larger than it is now, for it has been reduced by the river Affall).
But of course this correction of a later age will not do. It is unsupported
by any ancient authority. It is mere wishful thinking, like all the names
from later times at Bergþórshvoll associated with Njáll, Höskuldr, Flosi
etc. I shall be returning to the ‘valley in the hill’ later. But apart from