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Gunnar meets his future wife Hallgerðr Höskuldsdóttir at the Alþingi

Gunnar Hámundarson (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈkʏnːar ˈhauːˌmʏntarˌsɔːn]) was a 10th-century Icelandic chieftain. He lived in Hlíðarendi in Fljótshlíð and is probably better known as Gunnar of Hlíðarendi (Old Norse: Gunnarr á Hlíðarenda). He features prominently in the first half of Njáls saga, which tells of the chain of events ultimately leading to his death in battle.

He was married to Hallgerðr Höskuldsdóttir of Höskuldsstaðir in Laxárdal in Dalasýsla, who was known as Hallgerðr langbrók ("Hallgerður longpants"). He was her third husband. It was said that she had killed both her former husbands, but she had in fact only killed the first. Their marriage was considered imprudent by Gunnar's friend Njáll Þorgeirsson, because it was caused by lust and not practicality.

Gunnar the hero[edit]

Gunnar was a god-like warrior — he is described as nearly invincible in combat. According to Njáls saga, he was a powerful, athletic man "capable of jumping his own height in full body armour, both back and front". He was a skilled archer, and in close combat his weapon of choice was the atgeir, which scholars consider to have been a halberd or glaive of some sort. He was said to have taken this famed weapon in battle from a man named Hallgrímur, while on a Viking raid to the island of Eysýsla (Saaremaa in present-day Estonia - see detailed account on that page).

Gunnar was also a skilful stone-thrower, able to hit enemies between the eyes from meters away, and an excellent swimmer. There was supposedly no game at which he had an equal. He was said to enjoy the features of life, being a drinker. His behaviour was always polite, but firm — he gave good advice, and was kind and mild, yet he was not thought of as an intelligent man because of his way of talking. However, Gunnar's wise insights and deep understanding strongly suggested that he was as smart as he was handsome. He was loyal to his friends and kept good company. Gunnar has been called "handsome and beautiful of skin and had a straight nose, turned up at its tip. He was blue-eyed and keen-eyed and ruddy-cheeked with thick lustrous hair, blond and well-combed." He was described as the most beautiful man in the world, and as having no equal.

Gunnar's death[edit]

Gunnar was a close friend of Njáll Þorgeirsson of Bergþórshvol and came to him often for advice. Njáll told him not to kill two men of the same family — this would lead to his death. Njáll's prediction proved right. When Gunnar killed two family members of Gissur the White, the family sought vengeance and the men set out to Hlíðarendi to do murder. Njáll advised Gunnar to leave Iceland and head abroad to escape them. Initially, Gunnar intended to depart, but when he saw his homestead from the distance, he was so moved by the beauty of it that he changed his mind and decided to remain behind. This led to the epic battle in which Gunnar was killed.

When Þorgrim and a few other grudge-bearing men were scouting around Gunnar's house, Gunnar woke up and stabbed Þorgrim through a gap with his atgeir. Þorgrim returned calmly to his comrades, who asked if Gunnar was home. “Find that out for yourselves, but I am sure of, that his atgeir is home,” he said, and then fell down dead.

At first, Gunnar managed to fight off his numerous attackers with his masterful archery. When his bowstring broke in close quarters combat, he asked his wife Hallgerður for hair from her head to mend the bow. Gunnar had slapped her previously, when he discovered his wife had stolen food from a nearby farm during a famine, and she vindictively refused. He was thus forced to confront his attackers in hand-to-hand combat and was killed as a result.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Full text of Njáls saga with English translation
Pictures of Hlíðarendi in Iceland
Þorleifur Hauksson reads "Gunnarshólmi." 5:06; 3.3Mb
Njál's saga
Gunnarr Hámundarson Poetry attributed to Gunnar in Njáls saga

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Icelandic chieftain and poet}}
+{{no footnotes|date=May 2022}}
 [[File:Njal saga - Gunnar Hallgerdr.jpg|right|thumb|Gunnar meets his future wife Hallgerðr Höskuldsdóttir at the [[Althing|Alþingi]]]]
 [[File:Njal saga - Gunnar Ranga.jpg|right|thumb|Gunnar defends himself at Rangá]]
 {{icelandic name|Gunnar}}
-'''Gunnar Hámundarson''' was a 10th century [[Iceland]]ic [[Gothi|chieftain]].  He lived in [[Hlíðarendi]] in [[Fljótshlíð]] and is probably better known as '''Gunnar of Hlíðarendi''' (Old Norse: Gunnarr á Hlíðarenda).  He features prominently in the first half of [[Njáls saga]], which tells of the chain of events ultimately leading to his death in battle.
+'''Gunnar Hámundarson''' ({{IPA-is|ˈkʏnːar ˈhauːˌmʏntarˌsɔːn}}) was a 10th-century [[Iceland]]ic [[Gothi|chieftain]]. He lived in [[Hlíðarendi]] in [[Fljótshlíð]] and is probably better known as '''Gunnar of Hlíðarendi''' ({{lang-non|Gunnarr á Hlíðarenda}}).  He features prominently in the first half of [[Njáls saga]], which tells of the chain of events ultimately leading to his death in battle.
+He was married to [[Hallgerðr Höskuldsdóttir]] of Höskuldsstaðir in Laxárdal in [[Dalasýsla]], who was known as Hallgerðr langbrók ("Hallgerður longpants"). He was her third husband. It was said that she had killed both her former husbands, but she had in fact only killed the first. Their marriage was considered imprudent by Gunnar's friend [[Njáll Þorgeirsson]], because it was caused by lust and not practicality.
-== Lineage and family ==
-Gunnar was the son of Hámundr Gunnarsson and Rannveig Sigfúsdóttur (according to [[Njáls saga]]) or Rannveig Sigmundardóttur (according to [[Landnáma]]).   He had two brothers, Kolskeggr and Hjörtr, and one sister named Arngunnr, who was the wife of Hróar Tungugoði.
-He was married to Hallgerðr Höskuldsdóttir of Höskuldsstaðir in Laxárdal in [[Dalasýsla]], who was known as Hallgerðr langbrók ("Hallgerður longpants"). He was her third husband. It was said that she had killed both her former husbands, but she had in fact only killed the first. Their marriage was considered imprudent by Gunnar's friend [[Njáll Þorgeirsson]], because it was caused by lust and not practicality.
 == Gunnar the hero ==
-Gunnar was a great warrior &mdash; he is described as nearly invincible in combat. According to Njáls saga, he was a powerful, athletic man "capable of jumping his own height in full body armour, both back and front". He was a skilled [[Archery|archer]], and in close combat his weapon of choice was the ''[[atgeir]]'', which scholars consider to have been a [[halberd]] or [[glaive]] of some sort. He was said to have taken this famed weapon in battle from a man named Hallgrímur, while on a [[Viking]] raid to the island of [[Eysýsla]] ([[Saaremaa]] in present-day [[Estonia]] - see detailed account on that page).
+Gunnar was a god-like warrior &mdash; he is described as nearly invincible in combat. According to Njáls saga, he was a powerful, athletic man "capable of jumping his own height in full body armour, both back and front". He was a skilled [[Archery|archer]], and in close combat his weapon of choice was the ''[[atgeir]]'', which scholars consider to have been a [[halberd]] or [[glaive]] of some sort. He was said to have taken this famed weapon in battle from a man named Hallgrímur, while on a [[Viking]] raid to the island of [[Eysýsla]] ([[Saaremaa]] in present-day [[Estonia]] - see detailed account on that page).
-Gunnar was also a skilful stone-thrower, able to hit enemies between the eyes from meters away, and an excellent swimmer. There was supposedly no game at which he had an equal. His behaviour was always polite, but firm &mdash; he gave good advice, and was kind and mild, yet he was not thought of as an intelligent man because of his way of talking. However, Gunnar's wise insights and deep understanding strongly suggested that he was as smart as he was handsome. He was loyal to his friends and kept good company. Gunnar has been called "handsome and beautiful of skin and had a straight nose, turned up at its tip. He was blue-eyed and keen-eyed and ruddy-cheeked with thick lustrous hair, blond and well-combed." He was described as the most beautiful man in the world, and as having no equal.
+Gunnar was also a skilful stone-thrower, able to hit enemies between the eyes from meters away, and an excellent swimmer. There was supposedly no game at which he had an equal. He was said to enjoy the features of life, being a drinker. His behaviour was always polite, but firm &mdash; he gave good advice, and was kind and mild, yet he was not thought of as an intelligent man because of his way of talking. However, Gunnar's wise insights and deep understanding strongly suggested that he was as smart as he was handsome. He was loyal to his friends and kept good company. Gunnar has been called "handsome and beautiful of skin and had a straight nose, turned up at its tip. He was blue-eyed and keen-eyed and ruddy-cheeked with thick lustrous hair, blond and well-combed." He was described as the most beautiful man in the world, and as having no equal.
 == Gunnar's death ==
@@ Line 21: / Line 19: @@
 Gunnar was a close friend of [[Njáll Þorgeirsson]] of [[Bergþórshvol]] and came to him often for advice. Njáll told him not to kill two men of the same family &mdash; this would lead to his death. Njáll's prediction proved right. When Gunnar killed two family members of Gissur the White, the family sought vengeance and the men set out to Hlíðarendi to do murder. Njáll advised Gunnar to leave Iceland and head abroad to escape them. Initially, Gunnar intended to depart, but when he saw his homestead from the distance, he was so moved by the beauty of it that he changed his mind and decided to remain behind. This led to the epic battle in which Gunnar was killed.
-When Þorgrim and a few other grudge-bearing men were scouting around Gunnar’s house, Gunnar woke up and stabbed Þorgrim through a gap with his [[atgeir]]. Þorgrim returned calmly to his comrades, who asked if Gunnar was home. “Find that out for yourselves, but I am sure of, that his [[atgeir]] is home,” he said, and then fell down dead.
+When Þorgrim and a few other grudge-bearing men were scouting around Gunnar's house, Gunnar woke up and stabbed Þorgrim through a gap with his [[atgeir]]. Þorgrim returned calmly to his comrades, who asked if Gunnar was home. “Find that out for yourselves, but I am sure of, that his [[atgeir]] is home,” he said, and then fell down dead.
 At first, Gunnar managed to fight off his numerous attackers with his masterful archery. When his bowstring broke in close quarters combat, he asked his wife Hallgerður for hair from her head to mend the bow. Gunnar had slapped her previously, when he discovered his wife had stolen food from a nearby farm during a famine, and she vindictively refused. He was thus forced to confront his attackers in hand-to-hand combat and was killed as a result.
-== Gunnar as a literary character ==
-Gunnar Hámundarson is generally considered to be the archetypical "light hero" of the [[Icelandic sagas]] (as opposed to "dark heroes" such as [[Egill Skallagrímsson]]). His manliness, courage and heroic demeanor are exaggerated, and he seems to have no ignoble weaknesses.
-Gunnar is admired as a hero because of his heroism, virtue, and loyalty to his homeland.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://spangenhelm.com/viking-legends-gunnar-hero/|title=Viking Legends - Gunnar the Hero|date=2016-09-09|work=Spangenhelm|access-date=2018-02-02|language=en-US}}</ref>
 ==See also==
-{{portal|Poetry}}
+{{Portal|Poetry}}
 *[[Gunther]]
@@ Line 44: / Line 36: @@
 * [http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/Jonas/Gunnar/mm/Gunnar-THH.au Þorleifur Hauksson reads "Gunnarshólmi." 5:06; 3.3Mb]
 * [http://www.snerpa.is/net/isl/njala.htm Njál's saga]
-* [http://skaldic.arts.usyd.edu.au/db.php?table=poems&id=11043 Gunnarr Hámundarson] Poetry attributed to Gunnar in ''Njáls saga''
+* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060824121507/http://skaldic.arts.usyd.edu.au/db.php?table=poems&id=11043 Gunnarr Hámundarson] Poetry attributed to Gunnar in ''Njáls saga''
-{{authority control}}
+{{Authority control}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunnar Hamundarson}}
 [[Category:Icelandic male poets]]
-[[Category:Viking Age poets]]
 [[Category:Viking warriors]]
-[[Category:Skalds]]
+[[Category:10th-century Vikings]]
-[[Category:10th-century Icelandic people]]
 [[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
 [[Category:Year of death unknown]]
 [[Category:10th-century Icelandic poets]]
+[[Category:Goðar]]

Latest revision as of 22:12, 16 November 2023

Gunnar the hero[edit]

Gunnar's death[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]