Автор литература - Njal's Saga

rightly summoned, and then he shall bring that witness before the

court, and then he may set the prosecution on its feet again; but

he will have to pay a fine of three marks for every man that he

has wrongly summoned; but he may not be prosecuted for that at

this Thing; and now thou shalt go back.”

He does so, and told Mord and Asgrim all, word for word, that

Thorhall had said.

Then Mord went to the court, and took witness, and swore an oath

that the greater part of the inquest was rightly summoned, and

said then that he had set the prosecution on its feet again, and

then he went on, “And so our foes shall have honour from

something else than from this, that we have here taken a great

false step.”

Then there was a great roar that Mord handled the suit well; but

it was said that Flosi and his men betook them only to quibbling

and wrong.

Flosi asked Eyjolf if this could be good law, but he said he

could not surely tell, but said the Lawman must settle this

knotty point.

Then Thorkel Geiti’s son went on their behalf to tell the Lawman

how things stood, and asked whether this were good law that Mord

had said.

“More men are great lawyers now,” says Skapti, “than I thought.

I must tell thee, then, that this is such good law in all points,

that there is not a word to say against it; but still I thought

that I alone would know this, now that Njal was dead, for he was

the only man I ever knew who knew it.”

Then Thorkell went back to Flosi and Eyjolf, and said that this

was good law.

Then Mord Valgard’s son went to the court and took witness. “I

take witness to this,” he said, “that I bid those neighbours on

the inquest in the suit which I set on foot against Flosi Thord’s

son now to utter their finding, and to find it either against him

or for him; I bid them by a lawful bidding before the court, so

that the judges may hear it across the court.”

Then the neighbours on Mord’s inquest went to the court, and one

uttered their finding, but all confirmed it by their consent; and

they spoke thus, word for word, “Mord Valgard’s son summoned nine

of us thanes on this inquest, but here we stand five of us, but

four have been challenged and set aside, and now witness has been

home as to the absence of the four who ought to have uttered this

finding along with us, and now we are bound by law to utter our

finding. We were summoned to bear this witness, whether Flosi

Thord’s son rushed with an assault laid down by law on Helgi

Njal’s son, on that spot where Flosi Thord’s son wounded Helgi

Njal’s son with a brain, or a body, or a marrow wound, which

proved a death-wound, and from which Helgi got his death. He

summoned us to utter all those words which it was lawful for us

to utter, and which he should call on us to answer before the

court, and which belong to this suit; he summoned us, so that we

heard what he said; he summoned us in a suit which Thorgeir

Thorir’s son had handed over to him, and now we have all sworn an

oath, and found our lawful finding, and are all agreed, and we

utter our finding against Flosi, and we say that he is truly

guilty in this suit. We nine men on this inquest of neighbours

so shapen, utter this our finding before the Eastfirthers’ Court

over the head of John, as Mord summoned us to do; but this is the

finding of all of us.”

Again a second time they uttered their finding against Flosi, and

uttered it first about the wounds, and last about the assault,

but all their other words they uttered just as they had before

uttered their finding against Flosi, and brought him in truly

guilty in the suit.

Then Mord Valgard’s son went before the court, and took witness

that those neighbours whom he had summoned in the suit which he

had set on foot against Flosi Thord’s son had now uttered their

finding, and brought him in truly guilty in the suit; he took

witness to this for his own part, or for those who might wish to

make use of this witness.

Again a second time Mord took witness and said, “I take witness

to this that I call on Flosi, or that man who has to undertake

the lawful defence which he has handed over to him, to begin his

defence to this suit which I have set on foot against him, for

now all the steps and proofs have been brought forward which

belong by law to this suit; all witness home, the finding of the

inquest uttered and brought in, witness taken to the finding, and

to all the steps which have gone before; but if any such thing

arises in their lawful defence which I need to turn into a suit

against them, then I claim the right to set that suit on foot

against them. I bid this my lawful bidding before the court, so

that the judges may hear.”

“It gladdens me now, Eyjolf,” said Flosi, “in my heart to think

what a wry face they will make, and how their pates will tingle

when thou bringest forward our defence.”

ENDNOTES:

(1) John for a man, and Gudruna for a woman, were standing names

in the Formularies of the Icelandic code, answering to the

“M or N” in our Liturgy, or to those famous fictions of

English law, “John Doe and Richard Roe.”

(2) “Gossipry,” that is, because they were gossips, “God’s sib”,

relations by baptism.

142. OF EYJOLF BOLVERK’S SON

Then Eyjolf Bolverk’s son went before the court, and took witness

to this, “I take witness that this is a lawful defence in this

cause, that ye have pleaded the suit in the Eastfirthers’ Court,

when ye ought to have pleaded it in the Northlanders’ Court; for

Flosi has declared himself one of the Thingmen of Askel the

Priest and here now are those two witnesses who were by, and who

will bear witness that Flosi handed over his priesthood to his

brother Thorgeir, but afterwards declared himself one of Askel

the Priest’s Thingmen. I take witness to this for my own part,

and for those who may need to make use of it.”

Again Eyjolf took witness, “I take witness,” he said, “to this,

that I bid Mord who pleads this suit, or the next of kin, to

listen to my oath, and to my declaration of the defence which I

am about to bring forward; I bid him by a lawful bidding before

the court, so that the judges may hear me.”

Again Eyjolf took witness, “I take witness to this, that I swear

an oath on the book, a lawful oath, and say it before God, that I

will so defend this cause, in the most truthful, and most just,

and most lawful way, so far as I know, and so fulfil all lawful

duties which belong to me at this Thing.”

Then Eyjolf said, “These two men I take to witness that I bring

forward this lawful defence that this suit was pleaded in another

Quarter Court, than that in which it ought to have been pleaded;

and I say that for this sake their suit has come to naught; I

utter this defence in this shape before the Eastfirthers’ Court.”

After that he let all the witness be brought forward which

belonged to the defence, and then he took witness to all the

steps in the defence to prove that they had all been duly taken.

After that Eyjolf again took witness and said, “I take witness to

this, that I forbid the judges, by a lawful protest before the

priest, to utter judgment in the suit of Mord and his friends,

for now a lawful defence has been brought before the court. I