Njals Saga and Its Christian Background: A Study of Narrative Method. Germania Latina VIII

Download or read book Njals Saga and Its Christian Background: A Study of Narrative Method. Germania Latina VIII written by A. Hamer and published by Peeters. This book was released on 2014-12-31 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Njals saga is universally recognised as the greatest and most complex of all the sagas of Icelanders (Islendingasogur). The originality with which the writer composed his narrative has led to its being likened to a novel created by an author who certainly used sources, although identifying which parts of the saga descend from oral and which from written sources has proved difficult. The 'Christian background' of the title of this study refers to the ecclesiastical texts (including Scripture and its exegesis, church liturgy and the liturgical year, and hagiographical and apocryphal writings) which, it is argued, were used by the author of Njals saga as he both created a bipartite structure, using familiar Christian metaphors to help unify the work; and developed his central thematic concern: that good legal judgement depends upon justice and mercy acting together, as in divine judgement. It is this which finally redeems Skarphedinn Njalsson.