Why Is Your Axe Bloody?': A Reading of Njàls Saga

by William Ian Miller

Njals saga, the greatest of the sagas of the Icelanders, was written around 1280. It tells the story of a complex feud that starts innocently enough--in a tiff over seating arrangement at a local feast--and expands over the course of 20 years to engulf half the country, in which both sides are effectively exterminated, Njal and his family burned to death in their farmhouse, the other faction picked off over the entire course of the feud. Law and feud feature centrally in the saga, Njal, its hero, being the greatest lawyer of his generation. No reading of the saga can do it justice unless it takes its law, its feuding strategies, as well as the author's stunning manipulation and saga conventions. In 'Why is Your Axe Bloody?' W.I. Miller offers a lively, entertaining, and completely orignal personal reading of this lengthy saga.

Genres: History, Medieval, Nonfiction

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Jacob Lehman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the good fortune to have Professor Miller as a law student. He was as engaging a professor as this, his definitive discussion, meditation (and, at times, love letter) to Njal's saga. Miller focuses on the characters' motivations, assuming intentionality and care for the author in all confusing/perplexing elements, and highlighting the extent to which the author shows his own narrator's biases. Despite the density, it's a quick read: the emphasis on getting even, on status, and on comportment are imminently relatable, and Miller is humble about his own (prodigious) abilities to understand the mindset of the medieval Icelander. Read Njal's saga again, then read this book. Or just read this book.

[Angrboda Lyndasdottir · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an absolute delight. It's not a literary critique of a saga - it's a love-letter to a work of art. I hadn't read the source material, Njals saga, but Miller's treatment of the text has left me with an intimate understanding of the stories and the characters that only repeated readings for sheer pleasure could have given me. The saga is both larger than and completely true to life; the actors practically leap off the page. Miller's love for this story, this culture and the people who inhabit it is irresistible. Read this book.