the friendship of good and worthy men.”
“I will let you all know,” said Flosi, “that I will do according
to the word of Hall, my father-in-law, and other of the worthiest
men, that he and others of the best men on each side, lawfully
named, shall make this award. Methinks Njal is worthy that I
should grant him this.”
Njal thanked him and all of them, and others who were by thanked
them too, and said that Flosi had behaved well.
Then Flosi said, “Now will I name my daysmen (1): First, I name
Hall, my father-in-law; Auzur from Broadwater; Surt Asbjorn’s son
of Kirkby; Modolf Kettle’s son,” — he dwelt then at Asar —
“Hafr the Wise; and Runoff of the Dale; and it is scarce worth
while to say that these are the fittest men out of all my
company.”
Now he bade Njal to name his daysmen, and then Njal stood up, and
said, “First of these I name, Asgrim Ellidagrim’s son; and
Hjallti Skeggi’s son; Gizur the White; Einar of Thvera; Snorri
the Priest; and Gudmund the Powerful.”
After that Njal and Flosi, and the sons of Sigfus shook hands,
and Njal pledged his hand on behalf of all his sons, and of Kari,
his son-in-law, that they would hold to what those twelve men
doomed; and one might say that the whole body of men at the Thing
was glad at that.
Then men were sent after Snorri and Gudmund, for they were in
their booths.
Then it was given out that the judges in this award would sit in
the Court of Laws, but all the others were to go away.
ENDNOTES:
(1) The true English word for “arbitrator,” or ” umpire.” See
“Job” ix. 33 — “Neither is there any daysman betwixt us,
that might lay his hand upon us both.” See also Holland’s
“Translations of Livy”, Page 137 — “A more shameful
precedent for the time to come: namely, that umpires and
dates-men should convert the thing in suit unto their own
and proper vantage.”
122. OF THE JUDGES
Then Snorri the Priest spoke thus, “Now are we here twelve
judges to whom these suits are handed over, now I will beg you
all that we may have no stumbling blocks in these suits, so that
they may not be atoned.”
“Will ye,” said Gudmund, “award either the lesser or the greater
outlawry? Shall they be banished from the district, or from the
whole land?”
“Neither of them,” says Snorri, “for those banishments are often
ill fulfilled, and men have been slain for that sake, and
atonements broken, but I will award so great a money fine that no
man shall have had a higher price here in the land than
Hauskuld.”
They all spoke well of his words.
