The Story of Burnt Njal: The Great Icelandic Tribune, Jurist, and CounsellorDasent, George Webbe, Sir
General
The Story of Burnt Njal: The Great Icelandic Tribune, Jurist, and Counsellor
Dasent, George Webbe, Sir
Njáll Þorgursson, approximately 930-1011
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
borne 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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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