Gripla - 01.01.1984, Page 100

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GRIPLA
is intimidated by her aggressive neighbors into granting a sjálfdœmi that
results in her losing a highly productive field.
ARBITRATION
Depending on the details of the feud and the intention of the sagaman,
a single individual or a group of individuals might arbitrate. When an
arbitrator is introduced in the sagas the focus of the narrative often
shifts from the disputants to the arbitrator. Thus it is in Eyrbyggja saga
(ÍF 4, ch. 10) when Þórðr gellir arbitrates between the Þórsnesingar and
the Kjalleklingar. In most instances when arbitration had a chance of
success, supporters of the feudants united to aid the arbitrator. Usually
the farmers and chieftains who backed the arbitrator were concerned
primarily with achieving a resolution that adjusted for the new status
quo but did not seriously disturb the balance of power.
As an often public form of resolution, arbitration usually depended
on negotiation and compromise, with the desired, though not always
obtainable, outcome that the honor of all parties would remain un-
impaired. At times arbitration was a face-saving device allowing both
parties to withdraw from a critically dangerous situation. What has not
been fully appreciated in studies of the sagas is that arbitration was both
a socially responsible procedure and a highly profitable activity. Power-
ful men made themselves available as arbitrators—acting as brokers
for the society—not only to maintain the status quo but also to reap
whatever advantage and remuneration they could from the problems of
others. Guðmundr dýri, Guðmundr inn ríki, Þórðr gellir, Jón Loftsson,
and Snorri goði are a few of many arbitrators mentioned in the family
and Sturlunga sagas who successfully used the practice to increase their
power and wealth. When not arbitrating the quarrels of others, these
individuals were often engaged in feuds of their own, wherein they had
to rely on their peers for arbitration.
Arbitrators are often referred to in the sagas as góðviljamenn or góð-
gjarnir menn (men of goodwill, good faith, or good intention). They
usually had kinship or other forms of alliance with one party and often
with both parties. In arbitration, the reputation and at times the power
of the intervening arbitrator came into question, and his influence would
rise or fall in accordance with his success. Descriptions of arbitration
are found throughout the family and Sturlunga sagas. Guðmundar saga