Few medieval works hold a mirror so unsparingly, and so tenderly, to what it means to be human. Written in thirteenth-century Iceland, Njal's Saga follows two neighbors — Gunnar of Hlidarendi, a warrior of unrivaled grace, and Njal Thorgeirsson, a wise counselor whose mastery of law cannot save him — through a story of friendship, pride, vengeance, and costly forgiveness. Here are the famous scenes: a wife's refusal to give a strand of hair to her doomed husband; the quiet courage of a family awaiting flames; and the slow work of reconciliation after blood has been spilled. This new edition offers the saga in clear, present-day English, faithful to the original's terse beauty, dry humor, and hard-won hope. Part of The World Scriptures Library.