Njal's Saga

Longest and greatest of the Icelandic family sagas. Written about 1280, it relates events purported to have taken place in Iceland between about 940 and 1020. The saga has two main climaxes: the killing of the hero Gunnarr at his farm at Hlidarendi and the burning of Njall and his family at Bergthorshvall.

Archaeological investigations have confirmed the latter event but while parts of the saga are undoubtedly based on historical fact, its author has also drawn lavishly from many sources, both native and foreign, for literary motifs.