Njal's Saga, Chapters 60-77

I hadn't realized there was a glossary in the back of the book. The Thing, apparently, is a meeting that happened between all the free men of Iceland once a year, where friends met and disputes were settled. Not quite as mysterious as I thought, but it makes a lot of sense.

These chapters continue, and end, the tale of Gunnar.

Gunnar gets into some more fights, each time being ambushed by about thirty men, killing a bunch, wounding some more, and getting a friend killed, yet winning in the end. The first time he gets away by charging the men who attacked him of outlawry, but the second time he's sentenced to three years abroad. He chooses not to go, even though he'd killed two people from the same bloodline and Njal had had a prophecy that if he did that, then broke his settlement, he would be killed.

That's what I find interesting about the death of Gunnar. In the end he sort of slayed himself by doing several stupid mistakes. First he didn't listen to Njal's advice, then he didn't listen to his mother's advice, and in the end it was his own exhaustion that killed him. I guess that since no man could kill him, he had to kill himself.

R.I.P., Gunnar.

Another thing I found appalling was Hallgerd's behavior towards Gunnar in the end. He asks for some hair to make a bow string, believing that as long as he has a bow he can save himself. She replies that she had not forgotten his slap, years ago, and so she fed him to the wolves. I find this horrible and ruthless, and I hope she ends up dying a slow and painful death. Njal was right; she brought nothing but evil the the East.