Gripla - 01.01.1984, Page 97

DISPUTE RESOLUTION IN THE SAGAS
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others resolve problems. The three types of resolution discussed in this
article—direct resolution, arbitration, rejected resolution—serve as sim-
plified categories of resolution found in the sagas.
DIRECT RESOLUTION
Direct resolution was usually a face-to-face agreement between the con-
cerned parties. The meeting might take place in or out of court, but a
settlement reached privately was often legitimated later at an assembly.
The category of direct resolution is divided into the two subcategories
of resolution with violence and resolution without violence.
Direct resolution with violence.—In an example from Ljósvetninga
saga (ÍF 10, A, ch. 9; C, ch. 19), Guðmundr inn ríki kills Þorkell hákr
because of an insult. Here as elsewhere in the sagas, the ramifications of
a violent resolution depend upon the importance of the person killed
and the responses of powerful figures in the region and elsewhere on
the island. In this instance Guðmundr, before acting against Þorkell, has
to be prepared to placate those who hold the right to vengeance. Follow-
ing the advice of his foster brother Einarr Konálsson, he decides to
prosecute a series of cases against the thingmen of another enemy, the
goði Þórir Helgason. By doing so Guðmundr will amass enough wealth
to pay for the vengeance he intends to inflict on Þorkell.
In the sagas, the imposition of fines is presented as a practice sharply
limiting the amount of violence, insult, and aggression that could be
successfully carried out. This literary information is in agreement with
the lawbooks; a large part of Grágás is devoted to cataloging the fines
and punishments to be levied for different forms of aggressive action.
Although it is unclear from the sources to what degree the entries in the
lawbooks were observed, the family and early Sturlunga sagas consist-
ently imply that an individual could not hope to settle more cases
against him than he could pay for.
The sagas detail many other examples of the planning and execution
of successful resolutions. Njáls saga, with its usual artistic blend of
social detail and convincing character delineation, offers an example in
which the dictates of honor were weighed against the costs of achieving
vengeance. As the result of the burning of Njáll, a direct resolution, the
prosecutors of the burners and the burners themselves sought support
for the coming court case at the Althing. Ásgrímr Elliða-Grímsson and