Gripla - 20.12.2009, Blaðsíða 234

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þá er gǫrt er”, says Njáll, “once a deed has been done there will always be
two opinions as to whether it was justified or not” (Ch. 91).56
Wisdom is a prominent virtue in old Icelandic literature and is distin­
guished from mental capacities exercised for ignoble objectives. njáll is
introduced in these terms: “vitr var hann ok forspár, heilráðr ok góðgjarn,“
or as it says in the long-winded English translation: “He was learned and
had the gift of second sight. He was benevolent and generous in word and
deed, and everything which he adviced turned out for the best” (Ch. 20).57
In his case, wisdom is related to good advice and is thus primarily practical
wisdom. Mǫrðr Valgarðsson, on the other hand, is said to have been “slœgr
maðr í skapferðum ok illgjarn í ráðum“; “He was a sly and wily fellow and
the worst troublemaker” (Ch. 25).58 As Byock puts it, he “skillfully uses the
political tools of his own society to his own advantage,”59 while caring less
about how they may affect his fellow men in the process. Mǫrðr is neither
guided by an unconditional demand of honour nor is he benevolent in his
dealings. He lacks the virtue of góðgirnd, benevolence. But he can play the
game to his own advantage. In fact, he exhibits a certain type of intellec­
tual virtue but is lacking in moral virtue. In Njála, a man is not regarded as
wise or prudent unless his advice is given with benevolence or góðgirni. If
they are given with malevolence, illgirni, it is mere cleverness or knavery.
Sociological analyses of the sagas which reduce honour to a response to
received opinion and conflate social success with moral virtue have difficul­
ties in separating such clever scoundrels from social heroes.
The deliberation of benevolent men in the sagas has two major aims.
The first is that a man can bring conflicts to a resolution in such a way that
his honour is increased or at least not damaged. An example of this is the
plan that Njáll lays out for Gunnarr in his dealings with the brothers Hrútr
and Hǫskuldr. The plan is quite cunning and implies deception and play-
acting in order to lead Hrútr into a trap. this deliberation is mainly instru­
mental or strategic, finding the necessary means to reach a desired end.
56 Brennu­Njáls saga, einar ólafur Sveinsson, ed., 226. Njal’s Saga, translation by C.f.
Bayerschmidt and L. M. Hollander, 181.
57 Brennu­Njáls saga, einar ólafur Sveinsson, ed., 57. Njal’s Saga, translation by C.f.
Bayerschmidt and L. M. Hollander, 40.
58 Brennu­Njáls saga, einar ólafur Sveinsson, ed., 70. Njal’s Saga, translation by C.f.
Bayerschmidt and L. M. Hollander, 49.
59 Byock, Feud in the Icelandic Saga, 200.