Автор литература - Njal's Saga

Then Mord Valgard’s son took witness. “I take witness,” said he,

“to this, that these nine neighbours whom I called on these suits

which I have had hanging over the heads of Flosi Thord’s son, and

Eyjolf Bolverk’s son, have now uttered their finding, and have

brought them in truly guilty in these suits.”

He took this witness for his own part.

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

that I bid Flosi Thord’s son, or that other man who has taken his

lawful defence in hand, now to begin their defence; for now all

the steps and proofs have been brought forward in the suit,

summons to listen to oaths, oaths taken, suit declared, witness

taken to the summons, neighbours called on to take their seats on

the inquest, defendant called on to challenge the inquest,

finding uttered, witness taken to the finding.”

He took this witness to all the steps that had been taken in the

suit.

Then that man stood up over whose head the suit had been declared

and pleaded, and summed up the case. He summed up first how Mord

had bade them listen to his oath, and to his declaration of the

suit, and to all the steps and proofs in it; then he summed up

next how Mord took his oath and his vouchers theirs; then he

summed up how Mord pleaded his suit, and used the very words in

his summing up that Mord had before used in declaring and

pleading his suit, and which he had used in his summons, and he

said that the suit came before the Fifth Court in the same shape

as it was when he uttered it at the summoning. Then he summed up

that men had borne witness to the summoning, and repeated all

those words that Mord had used in his summons, and which they had

used in bearing their witness, “and which I now,” he said, “have

used in my summing up, and they bore their witness in the same

shape before the Fifth Court as he uttered them at the

summoning.” After that he summed up that Mord bade the

neighbours on the inquest to take their seats, then he told next

of all how he bade Flosi to challenge the inquest, or that man

who had undertaken this lawful defence for him; then he told how

the neighbours went to the court, and uttered their finding, and

brought in Flosi truly guilty in the suit, and how they brought

in the finding of an inquest of nine men in that shape before the

Fifth Court. Then he summed up how Mord took witness to all the

steps in the suit, and how he had bidden the defendant to begin

his defence.

After that Mord Valgard’s son took witness. “I take witness,” he

said, “to this, that I forbid Flosi Thord’s son, or that other

man who has undertaken the lawful defence for him, to set up his

defence; for now are all the steps taken which belong to the

suit, when the case has been summed up and the proofs repeated.”

After that the foreman added these words of Mord to his summing

up.

Then Mord took witness, and prayed the judges to give judgment in

this suit.

Then Gizur the White said, “Thou wilt have to do more yet, Mord,

for four twelves can have no right to pass judgment.”

Now Flosi said to Eyjolf, “What counsel is to be taken now?”

Then Eyjolf said, “Now we must make the best of a bad business;

but still we will bide our time, for now I guess that they will

make a false step in their suit, for Mord prayed for judgment at

once in the suit, but they ought to call and set aside six men

out of the court, and after that they ought to offer us to call

and set aside six other men, but we will not do that, for then

they ought to call and set aside those six men, and they will

perhaps overlook that; then all their case has come to naught if

they do not do that, for three twelves have to judge in every

cause.”

“Thou art a wise man, Eyjolf,” said Flosi, “so that few can come

nigh thee.”

Mord Valgard’s son took witness. “I take witness,” he said “to

this, that I call and set aside these six men out of the court”

— and named them all by name — “I do not allow you to sit in

the court; I call you out and set you aside by the rightful

custom of the Althing, and the law of the land.”

After that he offered Eyjolf and Flosi, before witnesses, to call

out by name and set aside other six men, but Flosi and Eyjolf

would not call them out.

Then Mord made them pass judgment in the cause; but when the

judgment was given, Eyjolf took witness, and said that all their

judgment had come to naught, and also everything else that had

been done, and his ground was that three twelves and one half had

judged, when three only ought to have given judgment.

“And now we will follow up our suits before the Fifth Court,”

said Eyjolf, “and make them outlaws.”

Then Gizur the White said to Mord Valgard’s son, “Thou hast made

a very great mistake in taking such a false step, and this is

great ill-luck; but what counsel shall we now take, kinsman

Asgrim?” says Gizur.

Then Asgrim said, “Now we will send a man to my son Thorhall,

and know what counsel he will give us.”

ENDNOTES:

(1) An old English law term for asylum or sanctuary.

144. BATTLE AT THE ALTHING

Now Snorri the Priest hears how the causes stood, and then he

begins to draw up his men in arry below “the Great Rift,” between

it and Hadbooth, and laid down beforehand to his men how they

were to behave.

Now the messenger comes to Thorhall Asgrim’s son, and tells him

how things stood, and how Mord Valgard’s son and his friends

would all be made outlaws, and the suits for manslaughter be

brought to naught.

But when he heard that, he was so shocked at it that he could not

utter a word. He jumped up then from his bed, and clutched with

both hands his spear, Skarphedinn’s gift, and drove it through

his foot; then flesh clung to the spear, and the eye of the boil

too, for he had cut it clean out of the foot, but a torrent of

blood and matter poured out, so that it fell in a stream along

the floor. Now he went out of the booth unhalting, and walked so

hard that the messenger could not keep up with him, and so he

goes until he came to the Fifth Court. There he met Grim the

Red, Flosi’s kinsman, and as soon as ever they met, Thorhall

thrust at him with the spear, and smote him on the shield and

clove it in twain, but the spear passed right through him, so

that the point came out between his shoulders. Thorhall cast him

off his spear.

Then Kari Solmund’s son caught sight of that, and said to Asgrim,

“Here, now, is come Thorhall thy son, and has straightway slain

a man, and this is a great shame, if he alone shall have the

heart to avenge the burning.”

“That shall not be,” says Asgrim, “but let us turn on them now.”

Then there was a mighty cry all over the host, and then they

shouted their war-cries.

Flosi and his friends then turned against their foes, and both

sides egged on their men fast.

Kari Solmund’s son turned now thither where Ami Kol’s son and

Hallbjorn the Strong were in front, and as soon as ever Hallbjorn

saw Kari, he made a blow at him, and aimed at his leg, but Kari

leapt up into the air, and Hallbjorn missed him. Kari turned on

Arni Kol’s son and cut at him, and smote him on the shoulder, and

cut asunder the shoulder blade and collarbone, and the blow went

right down into his breast, and Ami fell down dead at once to