Astral Codex Ten

Njal’s Saga

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Njal’s Saga

Article

Njal’s Saga is a recurring book in the Astral Codex Ten archive, appearing 5 times across 5 issues between June 16, 2023 and July 26, 2024. The archive places it in contexts such as “I found Njal’s Saga hard to follow”; “Each of these 500 relevant Icelanders is profiled in loving depth. And if there are 500 characters in Njal’s Saga”; “Njal’s Saga is the book for you”. It most often appears alongside ACX, Atlanta, Bitcoin.

Metadata

  • Category: Books
  • Mention count: 5
  • Issue count: 5
  • First seen: June 16, 2023
  • Last seen: July 26, 2024

Appears In

Source Context

Recovered passages from the original issue text. When the raw archive preserved outbound links inside the source passage, they are listed directly under the quote.

Your Book Review: Njal’s Saga
June 16, 2023 · Original source
I found Njal’s Saga hard to follow. Halfway through, a friend reassured me it wasn’t my fault. The medieval Icelanders had erred in releasing it as a book. It should have been the world’s wackiest Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney spinoff1.
Inline links: 1
Not that he’s anywhere to be found in the first quarter of Njal’s Saga. The story starts with Njal’s friend’s wife’s aunt’s father. From there we learn the genealogies, histories, and annoying feuds of everyone in southwestern Iceland. Everyone sounds like a minor Lord of the Rings character. Here’s Valgard the Grey (Njal’s friend’s wife’s ex-husband):
There are only about 40,000 people in medieval Iceland. The book focuses on the Southwest Quarter, so let’s say 10,000 there. Each of our characters is a large landowning farmer with many children, servants, tenants, etc; if he is patriarch of a 20 person household, then there must be about 500 such patriarchs. Each of these 500 relevant Icelanders is profiled in loving depth. And if there are 500 characters in Njal’s Saga, and n people can have n(n-1)/2 possible two-person feuds, that’s 124,750 possible feuds. Of these, about 124,749 actually take place over the course of the saga (Njal and his friend Gunnar are best buds, and refuse to feud for any reason).
Open Thread 281
June 18, 2023 · Original source
2: Comments of the week are Erica, Anthony, Worley, and Neuromancer on the textual history of Njal’s Saga and how it was influenced by later Christians.
Inline links: Erica, Anthony, Worley, Neuromancer
Vote In The 2023 Book Review Contest
September 08, 2023 · Original source
1: Cities And The Wealth Of Nations / The Question Of Separatism 2: Lying For Money 3: Why Machines Will Never Rule The World 4: Man’s Search For Meaning 5: Njal’s Saga 6: Public Citizens 7: Safe Enough? 8: Secret Government 9: The Educated Mind 10: The Laws Of Trading 11: On The Marble Cliffs 12: The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich 13: The WEIRDest People In The World 14: The Mind Of A Bee 15: Why Nations Fail 16: Zuozhuan
Inline links: Cities And The Wealth Of Nations / The Question Of Separatism, Lying For Money, Why Machines Will Never Rule The World, Man’s Search For Meaning, Njal’s Saga, Public Citizens, Safe Enough?, Secret Government, The Educated Mind, The Laws Of Trading, On The Marble Cliffs, The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich, The WEIRDest People In The World, The Mind Of A Bee, Why Nations Fail, Zuozhuan
Book Review Contest 2023 Winners
September 15, 2023 · Original source
Njal’s Saga, reviewed by Scott Alexander. This one got the most votes, but I’m disqualifying it because it seems in poor taste for me to win my own contest.
Inline links: Njal’s Saga
Your Book Review: Real Raw News
July 26, 2024 · Original source
And I mean the actual cut-your-head-off death penalty, none of that “outlawry” silliness from Njal’s Saga.