The Njál's Saga on Sigmund

The Story Of Burnt Njal > 1. Of Fiddle Mord > 7. Unna Separates From Hrut

• relationship: Sigmund was Auzur's son and Hrut's kinsman

  "Unna spoke to Sigmund, Auzur's son"

• attestation: Sigmund agreed to take Unna to the Thing only if she promised to ride back west and not act against Hrut

  "thou must promise to ride back west with me, and to have no underhand dealings against Hrut or myself."

The Story Of Burnt Njal > 1. Of Fiddle Mord > 41. Sigmund Comes Out To Iceland

• relationship: Sigmund was the son of Lambi, grandson of Sighvat the Red, a great voyager and skilled man

  "There was a man whose name was Sigmund. He was the son of Lambi, the son of Sighvat the Red. He was a great voyager, and a comely and a courteous man; tall too, and strong."

• attestation: Sigmund was noisy, boisterous, and given to jeering, making him contentious

  "He was noisy and boisterous"

• attestation: Sigmund came to stay with Gunnar and became his close companion at Lithend

  "Sigmund came to Iceland"

• attribution: Sigmund predicted Njal's sons would seek vengeance rather than Njal himself

  ""Not so," says he, "his sons will avenge it.""

The Story Of Burnt Njal > 1. Of Fiddle Mord > 44. Sigmund Mocks Njal And His Sons

• attestation: Sigmund composed elaborate verses mocking Njal as beardless and his sons as 'dungbeard boys'

  "Here I find a nickname fitting For those noisome dungbeard boys"

• attestation: The verses mocked Njal's beardlessness and implied he was unmanly

  "Him, that churl, the beardless car"

• attribution: Sigmund acknowledged he was reluctant to break his bond with Gunnar but did so anyway

  "Loath am I to break my bargain Linked with such a noble man"

The Story Of Burnt Njal > 1. Of Fiddle Mord > Endnotes:

• attestation: The kenning 'Swanbath's beams' is a poetic periphrasis for gold

  ""Swanbath's beams" -- periphrasis for gold."

• attestation: The verse kenning about 'heaping boards' is ironic when applied to a firewood splitter

  ""Thou, that heapest boards," etc. -- merely a periphrasis for man, and scarcely fitting, except in irony, to a splitter of firewood."

The Story Of Burnt Njal > 1. Of Fiddle Mord > 45. The Slaying Of Sigmund And Skiolld

• attestation: Sigmund and Skiolld were caught outside in the morning catching horses

  "That same morning both Sigmund and Skiolld rose up and meant to go to the studhorses"