Saga Stories #4: Njáls Saga
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- čas přidán 18. 02. 2021
- Join Dr Matthew Roby ( / matthewhroby ) on a trip to the countryside around the town of Hvolsvöllur in south-east Iceland, as he walks you through three stories from perhaps the most famous Icelandic saga of them all: Brennu-Njáls saga. This saga is extremely long and complex, featuring a dizzying array of characters and storylines. We hope this video will give you a sense of the intricate way in which the saga weaves all these narrative threads together to produce a masterpiece of epic proportions.
The first story is that of Gunnarr’s feuds and last stand, which is told at the site of his farmstead, Hlíðarendi, about 15km east of Hvolsvöllur. The second tells of the killing of Þráinn Sigfússon on the frozen Markarfljót river, about 15km south of Hlíðarendi. The third and final story is that of the burning of Njáll and his family at their farmstead, Bergþórshvoll, about 20km south of Hvolsvöllur.
Buy "Njáls Saga" in English: shop.grapevine.is/products/nj...
To watch, hear, and read more about the sagas, you can find Dr Matthew Roby’s blog at:
Website: www.matthewroby.com
Facebook: / matthewhroby
Twitter: / matthewhroby
Instagram: / matthewharoldroby
If you are struggling to understand the Icelandic names of people or places in this video, don’t forget to turn on closed captioning.
HA HA HA HA HA I LOVE that! "Well I don't know if Gunnarr is home but his halberd certainly is" That's so similar to what I think of as Dutch humor! 😊
@Witchfinder Nielsen Ah yes! ordinary mortals, but we are a talking about REAL VIKING men! 🤣
I have given up on idiotized TV shows so I like it when CZcams passes on something as interesting as this my way. Very colorful folklore
Thanks for your interest! I'm glad you found it interesting. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby.
Same, i left the corrupted mainstream some years ago.
In the void i found My roots.
í norður jarðvegi, ég á rætur mínar
@@TheReykjavikGrapevine: Could this Njal be the legendary Niall of the Nine Hostages, the raider who took Saint Patrick from his family in Wales, to slavery in Ulster...?
@@NobleKorhedron I highly doubt it. The old Irish name Níall isn't unique enough for one to claim that those two distinct historical figures would have anything to do with each other, much less be the same person (and I also think Niall of the Nine Hostages is supposed to be from centuries before Njáll Þorgeirsson).
Njáll Þorgeirsson does have a name of Irish origin, from old Irish Níall, and that is interesting, but it wasn't super unique as there were a lot of Irish slaves early in the settlement which gave us a couple of Irish loan names
Wonderful! Plus I love the stories being told right on location - look forward to the next one!
Fast becoming a favourite part of the Grapevine repertoire.
That's a high compliment indeed. Thank you so much for your interest!
Enduring stories that are as fresh today as they were centuries ago. Thank you, you make it real.
Beautiful Cinematography and narrated sagas. Thanks
When I visited Reykjavik in October of 2018 I met a Polish girl who lived in the city and she handed me a book called Njals Saga, I flew back home to Seattle and read the book in about 2 months (not too fast) but I absolutely loved it. Great VIDEO!
I love these Saga Stories. I hope he keeps doing them
I very much appreciate your videos, which serve me as accompaniment to my readings of the sagas. It has always intrigued me how a society so permeated with violence came to be one of the most advance and peaceful of our times.
Loved the translation of the line about Gunnarr seeing his house. Excellent channel!
Thank you very much!
Thank you! Seeing the river as the story is told was amazing!
Thank you for your great work. It makes an Icelander very proud to see our stories presented to the English-speaking world in such thorough and visually pleasing manner.
Takk fyrir! Bestu kveðjur, Matthew Roby.
A great telling of a great saga. Thank you.
I'm watching every single one I got to go to iceland a place still so close to the gods thanks for this series respect from New Zealand 🇳🇿
Hot weather here in Durban, South Africa. Family members seaching and wathing SAGA again, wonderful story and unique way of telling. Takke.
Thanks so much for your continued support! It's great to hear that the videos are being enjoyed all around the world! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby.
Great video. Heading to iceland in June 2024 . Only quick stay . On a cruise ship . This video wants me to jump ship and stay. I love folk tales. Would love to listen to more over a glass of spirits to toast the dead ❤
what a great resource, filmed on location and everything! thanks so much!
I love these videos. Great synopsis of each of the sagas that have been covered. I've read many of the sagas and the longer ones can be difficult reading, starting with the genealogy of so many characters that you've forgotten half of them by the time they are introduced into the story (at least that's been my experience).
So I love these videos, because I think they will inspire more people to read the sagas, and for those who don't have the time or inclination to read them, they can at least learn about these wonderful stories and characters from Icelandic history.
Thanks so much for doing this. And doing it from locations in the stories adds a lot to the videos.
Yes, those genealogies can be brutal... even some of the most seasoned saga scholars would agree! And yes, that's absolutely our goal: to bring the magic of the sagas to a broader audience. Thank you very much for your interest and please stay tuned for more! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby.
@@TheReykjavikGrapevine: Is it me, or do the Icelandic/Old Norse you're speaking sound like Welsh...?
Thanks again. Very interesting. Great camera work. Beautiful scenes.
You are bringing these wonderful sagas to life! I spent a glorious March day following the route of Njáll saga, ending with a sunset climb up Stóri Dímon. The view over the countryside was glorious, and I could feel the spirits of the saga characters there with me. Thank you for taking me back to these beautiful locations, Dr. Roby. 🇨🇦❤️🇮🇸
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Yes, the scenery around there is so lovely, but it takes on a whole new layer of beauty once you discover its literary significance. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby.
Oh look! There is a tiny orb of light following along beside you as you walk down the river bank! It is not a reflection of the sun because it continues right over the rocks! I think you have a little fairy following you! How lovely! I've never seen one before!
If it had to happen anywhere, it would be in Iceland! I just hope it's friendly.
Another great episode! Thank you!
Dr Roby is a wonderful narrator. I have loved Najls Saga since I found it in a set of books in my elementary school. At that time I didn’t understand much beyond the very basic story line. I’ve read it in several translations and had it explained, but this is definitely perfect for reading before studying the Saga!
Thank you for your interest! This is definitely our goal: helping a wider audience to appreciate the sagas. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby.
A very talented story-teller.
Once again, thank you Dr. Roby! I can't wait for the next episode.
Very well narrated. Thanks for your hard work, Dr Roby. A very enjoyable experience listening to you tell the saga.
Thank you very much. It is time-consuming but rewarding work! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby.
Hello, I found this while surfing over the Grapevine magazin. I like the kind of presentation by M. Roby very much. He has such a "living" way of telling these sagas. And the pictures in the background are beautiful and reminding me of my visit of Iceland two years ago. Thank you. Dr. Roby!!!
This was awesome, thank you!
Excellent format and delivery!
Much appreciated!
Put common search words like ”history” in you titles and I am sure you will have much more views. I only found you because of Gelingadalur eruption. Your Saga videos are fantastic, I hope for more! 🌝
The scenery is spectacular. The large snow-capped mountain behind Roby in some of the scenes is Eyjafjallajokull - a large volcano. Behind it and not visible is Katla - another massive volcano. Eyjafjallajokul erupted last in 2010 (grounded European flights as some may recall) and Katla in 1918. The characters of Njals Saga may have seen these giants erupt (one would have to check their volcanic history).
Thank you! I’ve read an English translation . I still don’t understand the character’s actions, but I’m from 2021 and the US. Seeing the places was a help in simply seeing Iceland.
I appreciate this video for demonstrating how the characters’ names are pronounced although there is little chance of me replicating it. 😂
Wonderful story and excellent presentation! Thank you SO much! :)
Terrific telling, thank you
Telling the stories while on site brings a new depth to them, I enjoyed this so thank you.
Incredible video! I just read this and was looking for something to help wrap my head around it. I loved the great storytelling, it really highlighted the main events and I have a much greater understanding and enjoyment for this saga now.
Cool saga, bro.
I love how you can go to places that are marked as real sites of sagas. The videos make me keen to visit this one next. Now that I realize if you’re already used to Canada, the weather is actually “normal”, then there’s no reason not to go off-season... Visit at a normal human pace, not like crazy tourist season, right? Gets you day-dreaming...
Yes, the Icelanders have done a great job of marking sites from some of the most famous sagas, especially Njáls saga and Egils saga. And yes, I feel really lucky to have been able to visit all these beautiful locations, and see many other natural wonders besides: waterfalls, Northern lights, and now a volcano! Thanks for your interest! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby.
Dr. Matthew! You bring The Sagas to life.
Thank you so much for this wonderful series of videos. For most of my life, I have been fascinated with Iceland - to the extent that I sometimes joke that in my previous life, I must have been an Icelander - and in this life I retain faint memories of that former life. I've read all the Icelandic sagas, several (including Njall's Saga) more than once. Your videos are excellent encapsulations of these ancient, complex, and astonishing stories. Please do not stop posting your videos!
fine direction and photography - I don't know much about the Sagas but I appreciate the enthusiasm.
Very interesting to hear the story of this Saga!
this is beautiful
Just love your sagas! So informative. I imagine being alive in the eras you talk of!!!. Whether I would have lived to an old age remains in the imagination!! Excellent, thank you
Marvellous story telling in such an exquisite landscape, really brings it to life. This is a treasure I’ve only just stumbled upon so looking forward to watching the rest of them :)
I very much enjoy the telling of these Icelandic Saga Stories! They remind me very much of the Saga of Hrolf Kraki and the Saga of Beowulf.
Thank you very much! That's an interesting point; what similarities were you thinking about? Hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories coming soon.
@@TheReykjavikGrapevine mostly in the way there was lots of plotting and scheming on the parts of the perceived "villians" in the Icelandic Sagas, and the heroics of the perceived hero/hero's. The main difference I've noticed is the lack, so far, of any monstrous villains, like Grendel and his demonic mother from Beowulf or Hrolf Krakis evil witch half sister. Are there any such creatures in any of the Icelandic Sagas? I've just recently ordered a book that deals with them but it will be several days before I receive it.
Thank you for the sagas study norse and the old ways so these are great thank you 🙏
Glad you like them!
Very interesting saga, well done.
This is the best summary of the saga I've found so far and I really enjoyed the presentation.
But... you managed to skip over all my favourite scenes! The tension at the Althing, with Thorhall finally snapping and kicking off the battle is terrific stuff.
Skarp Hedin was always my favourite character from this saga.
Thank you. I really enjoyed the telling and the setting
Our pleasure! Thanks for watching and we hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories coming soon.
There is an Irish story of a man marrying a Silkie. She tells him she will stay as his wife as long as he never raises a hand to her and if he should do so three times, she will return to the sea. It happens thru three separate occasions that he accidently slaps her, grabs her as she starts to fall, and grabs her shoulder. After which she reminds him of her agreement and she slips away that very night. In another medieval story there is again a series of three slaps at which a bewitchment falls upon the man and a wife is lost..
Thank you for these references. There are definitely similar folkloric resonances in the story of Hallgerðr too, as she is also slapped three times, though by three different husbands. In each case, the slap ultimately leads to the husband's death, even in one instance when this is NOT Hallgerðr's intent. One could even read it as if Hallgerðr is the object of some kind of spell or fate, according to which all men who hit her are doomed to die. And of course, it's also a compelling commentary against domestic abuse. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby.
@@TheReykjavikGrapevine From a psychic point of view, one would say that her psychic energy is really dangerous to men, but with the conditions of those days, so many things could cause death that the people of the time did not understand and blamed women for, saying they were witches, etc. Even now in New Guinea, a tribe that is a head-hunting tribe will blame a person or woman met on a jungle trail for murder if, shortly after, some harm or illness befalls one of their own family or tribe. This even leads to tribes attacking tribes. Mexican boys I have had in my ESL classes believe that their fiercely budding sexual desire for girls, causing them to constantly think of a girl, is caused by the girl herself bewitching them!! In this day and age such ignorance of causality and emotional desire is astounding to me! But it explains a lot about the abuse of women worldwide throughout the ages. Perhaps it would be a good idea for men to believe that they will die if they hit women! LOL!
Well medival Iceland is unique in the topic of witch persecusion, men were statistically in more danger of being accused and found guilty of black magic, out of 22 such cases in Iceland only 2 were women
This is awesome ❤️❤️
Takk fyrir!
Njálssaga is my favorit saga. I was so happy when I visited Hlídarendi for the first time. But I didn´t know till now where exactly the epic battle between Njálssynur and Thráinn was held despite I remember all details of Skarphédins heroic deeds (and of course using Thráinns teeths during burning of Bergthórshvoll). Sagas are so great literature! I can´t understand icelandic teenagers why they hate them at school. I fell in love with sagas when i was sexteen and they inspired me to start to write my own books! We have nothing like sagas in Czech, unfortunatelly... Matthew, please, can you prepare something about Gunnlaugssaga Ormstunga? This is my second favorit saga. And about Gíslasaga? I have named cat Gísli becouse of hero of this saga.
great stuff!
Dear Dr Roby, that was so wonderful, you have made my day week and year in fact 😀Learning Íslensku has been a hobby of mine for many years and since the lockdowns I have been making a daily effort to improve. Njalssaga has always been my favourite saga and recently my wife bought me the saga in the Íslensk Fornrit edition (beautiful book and she also bought me Egil).
I also subscribed to Hlusta.is and have been listening to the saga as an audiobook.
My friend Guðrún lives just outside of Hvollreppi and recently drove to Hliðarendi and sent me some photos. I have also been looking around there in Google Earth (but you cant get close to the kirk).
So I found your wonderful series and when I saw you standing right there I almost got teary ha ha. It was a real treat to follow you and the panning camera and finally get a look around at the surrounds.
If I may ask a couple of questions - Are there remains of Gunnar´s house? I saw old walls or foundations there behind you. In EV Gordon there is an unattributed frontispiece old ink sketch of Hliðarendi that seems to show a foundation wall.
Also through my own amateurish translation from the Íslenkz Fornrit notes I picked up that Samr was buried in his own haug and an early archeologist dug into the mound, found dog bones but (later?) these were declared to be from the 1300´s?
Another story Guðrún told me was that men started digging into the mound where Gunnar was reputed to be buried and they kept stopping because that saw the kirk on fire each time they dug. Great story!
I haven´t been able to locate good archeological resources pertaining to this site. Are they available only in Íslensku?
Any help or links you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
Kærar þakkið fyrir mig Dr Roby, you are doing a fantastic job and I for one greatly appreciate it. Kindest regards, David
Listened intently!👏👏👏
Thank you!
Awesome series!
Thank you for your interest. We'll keep them coming!
This was a great piece of preparation for my upcoing exams. Thank you, professor!
I came to the Grapevine because of Geldingadir, (think thats how its spelt), now I am listening to Icelandic Sagas. You should release these as audiobooks :D These are the sort of stuff that I like to listen to when driving!
Very good
Wonderful story and gorgeous video! For some reason Njal's saga is not in the huge book "Sagas of Icelanders" I bought before our trip. So I bought an old translation and I didn't like the saga. Our Icelandic guide was appalled that I said so, so when I got back I bought another translation and it truly was one of the best sagas! Would love to go back and see the site you read from!
Yes, it is odd that it doesn't appear in that big Penguin collection, but I suppose Njáls saga is so long that at least it's absence allowed the editors to include a greater variety of sagas. You're right: it is truly a masterpiece, but it's so complex that it can be difficult to appreciate the first time round. Glad you're enjoying the videos! Best wishes,
Matthew Roby.
Thanks Mathew for telling the stories from the Brennu-Njáls saga.
I love watching you pick your way around the frozen landscape - makes me wonder if Iceland ever gets warm
No mention of Brodir and Ospak of Man? I realize it's not part of the main story, but it's got the plot and scale of a hollywood epic. Brother vs brother, religious fanatics, supernatural events, an enormous battle, and the fate of a whole country decided by the actions of a single person. Problem is it's not set in Iceland...
What's the intro song with the Wax Statues?
Wow such a good pronunciation!!!- an Icelander
this video was shot at high noon! ;-)
Thank you , dear Doctor , for this. Did not the Monty Pythons do a spoof on Njals saga?
Yes, who could forget Njorls saga? Sponsored by the North Malden Tourist Board.
man, Iceland is a small island on Earth but it's also a different planet all by itself ...
i also wonder how in some scenes of this video, three cameras are working at the same time but none could be seen by the other two all working simultaneously!?
That's the magic of cinema ;)
Me gusta
Mörthur the murthdörer!
Odin auga is Getting thirsty, Ymir is feelin an itch,
The people seem very cruel & rugged. Lots of revenge, jealousy, & deceit.
I came here to learn how to pronounce the names while reading the saga in portuguese
My family has connections with the Njàls
Hi Dr Robi, I love this video and I asked a couple of questions below using my channel account Wing Chun Mind Force. I would love your feedback😀 I have studied Íslenzku for 45 years by myself here in isolated Australia. Your videos mean a lot to me! Bless bless
Hi David! I apologise for my prolonged absence from the comments sections: the past few months have been exceptionally busy for me! However, I'll get to your questions when I can. Thanks for your interest in the videos and I hope you'll stay tuned for more coming very soon. All best wishes, from Matthew Roby
@@TheReykjavikGrapevine thanks Matthew very kind of you to reply, I am having so much fun at the moment because I've broken through some kind of mental barrier in my Icelandic reading and I'm finding that I can read the sagas with some help in normalised Icelandic and even Old Norse in the Íslenzk Fornrit editions I have ( Njal and Egil).
My spoken Icelandic is pretty rough of course because I get very little chance to use it. I look forward to your reply and may I make a suggestion - it would be really really amazing if somebody like you could do some in-depth archaeological videos about famous saga spots like Hliðarendi og Bergþórshváll etc
Þakka þér kærlega fyrir svar þitt😀
the oldnorse seem more similar to swedish than modern icelandic.. it makes sense! /fellow viking from Sweden
Old Norse is similar to all the present-day Scandinavian languages, but it's closest to modern Icelandic, especially in the use of case declensions. Thanks for your interest in the series. We hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories in the future. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby and the Reykjavík Grapevine team
story se jada to ye jagah intresting lg rhi ha.
Read the Sagas 3 + times.....never had any trouble....there always come a joker that plays at being more catholic than the pope a tries to prove everybody else wrong (dumb).....a prime example in front of u....