Gripla - 20.12.2012, Page 196

GRIPLA194
— which Ljótur definitely has. It is, at any rate, somewhat hard to believe
that this otherwise little-mentioned son of síðu-Hallur comes to such a
martyr-like end entirely by coincidence.
the second interesting aspect of Ljótur’s story is Hallur’s reaction to
his son’s death. the day after, Hallur pleads eloquently and persuasively
for settlement, saying that he is prepared to claim no compensation for
Ljótur and yet give pledges of peace in order to find a peaceful solution.
the emotional cost of the unhappy situation in which Hallur suddenly
finds himself, although it is not described explicitly, should not be underes-
timated; it is a remarkable trait of his that he is able to react with such calm
when subjected to so distressing a turn of events. Arguably, this reaction
is comparable to his decision to convert which followed relatively soon
after Þiðrandi’s death. this kind of level-headed and restrained conduct
was admired by heathens and Christians alike and cannot be considered a
“Christian reaction” as such but Hallur’s emphasis on maintaining peace as
well as his description of himself as lítilmenni, “no great hero” (íf 12, 408;
CSI 3, 194) nonetheless highlights his Christian allegiances.53 After Hallur
has forgone his claim to compensation in this way, everyone at the Alþingi
contributes something to compensate him anyway. What he eventually
receives amounts to quadruple compensation (íf 12, 414).
In Njáls saga, Hallur is held up as a good example of someone who
seeks peace and is willing to give up his personal claims for something for
the sake of the greater community. It is not necessarily his Christian beliefs
that inspire him to do this but it is certainly behaviour that is in accordance
with Christian morals. the reward he receives speaks for itself: because
he was willing to forgo compensation, he was compensated four times as
much as anyone else. In a very practical sense then, the story emphasizes
how much one can gain by “weighing good more heavily than evil”, or, in
this case, peace more than revenge; in that sense, Hallur may be said to act
in a manner similar to st Michael.
53 see n. 27 above.