Arson in medieval Scandinavia

In Iceland

The Icelandic law as codified in the Gragas states that the penalty for burning was full-outlawry (Old Norse skóggangr). Yet the literary sources make it clear that it was a commonly used tactic. At least some Icelanders considered quickfire dishonorable, hence when the enemies of Gunnar Hámundarson attacked his home they refused to burn him inside, despite the fact that it would have been faster and less costly in lives. Members of Gunnar's clan showed no such scruples when, around 1010, they burned Bergthorshvoll, home of Gunnar's erstwhile ally Njáll Þorgeirsson, his wife Bergþóra, his sons Helgi and Skarphéðinn Njálsson, and his grandson Þórður Kárason. It is because of this occurrence of quickfire that the name of the saga in Icelandic is Brennu-Njáls saga, "The Saga of the Burning of Njáll". One son-in-law, Kári Sölmundarson, escaped and later killed many of the burners. Here is the description of the arson of Njáll's house :

Then they took the vetch-stack and set fire to it, and they who were inside were not aware of it till the whole hall was ablaze over their heads. Then Flosi and his men made a great pile before each of the doors, and then the women folk who were inside began to weep and to wail. […]

Now the whole house began to blaze. Then Njal went to the door and said : "Is Flosi so near that he can hear my voice?"

Flosi said that he could hear it.

"Wilt thou," said Njal, "take an atonement from my sons, or allow any men to go out?"

"I will not," answers Flosi, "take any atonement from thy sons, and now our dealings shall come to an end once for all, and I will not stir from this spot till they are all dead; but I will allow the women and children and house-carles to go out."

— The Story of Burnt Njal}}

Another instance of quickfire is told in the Eyrbyggja Saga. According to it, in the late 10th century in Iceland, Ulfar, a freedman, was the victim of an attempted quickfire by thralls (slaves, or serfs) owned by his enemy Thorolf. Thorolf's own son, Arnkel Goði, captured the thralls in the act and had them executed the following day. Arnkel's rival Snorri Goði prosecuted Arnkel, at Thorolf's request, for the unlawful killing of the thralls.

The Sturlunga saga reports that in 1253, during the Age of the Sturlungs, the Flugumýri Arson was an unsuccessful attempt on the life of Gissur Þorvaldsson by his Icelandic enemies. This account is quite similar to what is told in Brennu-Njáls saga: an assault against a house is faltering, so the attackers have the idea to use fire against the besieged defenders. According to Lee M. Hollander, it is possible that this account inspired the narrative of the burning of Njáll. However, the episode of the burning of Njáll also appears in the Landnámabók and several other sources.

In mainland Scandinavia

In both Norway and Sweden, arson had the specificity of being used by kings, either during succession wars (such as the civil war era in Norway) or during attempts at unification and expansion of territorial control by a king (for instance Harald Fairhair in Norway or Ingjald Illråde in Sweden). According to the medieval Swedish ballad Stolt Herr Alf, Odin himself advised a king to kill one of his vassals with quickfire.

Sweden

In Sweden, at least three kings are told as having used quickfire as a way to kill their opponents. The semi-legendary king Ingjald Illråde (who may have reigned in the 7th century) used quickfire at least twice: first he used it to kill several invited petty kings in order to directly rule their territories, and lastly he used it to kill Granmar, the last independent king of Södermanland. The regnal list of the Westrogothic law gave the 11th-century Swedish king Anund Jakob (King of Sweden 1022 – c. 1050) the epithet "charcoal-burner" because of his methods. He was said to have been "generous in burning down men's homes".

According to the Orkneyinga saga and the Saga of Hervör and Heithrek, the exiled Swedish king Inge the Elder retook the Swedish throne by using quickfire against his pagan opponent Blot-Sweyn. This happened c. 1087 :

— The Saga of Hervör and Heithrek}}

The Altuna Runestone in Sweden also tells that a father and a son were burnt to death inside their home :

Norway

In the Heimskringla, Snorri Sturluson records many accounts of quickfire used in the struggles between powerful men in Norway. According to him, Harald Fairhair, the Norwegian king traditionally credited with unifying Norway at the end of the 9th century, often used quickfire, as an alternative to, and in addition with, battles. One of his first deeds was the killing, either by fire or with weapons, of four petty kings in a single quickfire raid. According to Snorri, this allowed Harald to seize control over "Hedemark, Ringerike, Gudbrandsdal, Hadeland, Thoten, Raumarike, and the whole northern part of Vingulmark". Later, Snorri recounts how arson was used to kill a rival king when a conventional armed expedition was not possible due to the season :

— Harald Harfarger's Saga, chapter 12.}}

In contrast with Icelandic accounts of quickfire in the Brennu-Njáls saga and the Sturlunga saga, where it is used when a siege becomes difficult, accounts given by the Heimskringla of arsons in Norway rely heavily on surprise, and setting fire to the targeted house is the first thing done. Thus, surprise and good knowledge of the target's whereabouts are at a premium. This is shown by this account of an attempt by Gregorius Dagsson to kill Hákon herðibreiðr, who at that time (during the civil war era in Norway) vied for succession with Ingi Haraldsson :

King Hakon and Sigurd escaped, but many of their people were killed. Thereafter Gregorius returned home to Konungahella. Soon after King Hakon and Sigurd went to Haldor Brynjolfson's farm of Vettaland, set fire to the house, and burnt it. Haldor went out, and was cut down instantly with his house-men; and in all there were about twenty men killed. Sigrid, Haldor's wife, was a sister of Gregorius, and they allowed her to escape into the forest in her night-shift only; but they took with them Amunde, who was a son of Gyrd Amundason and of Gyrid Dag's daughter, and a sister's son of Gregorius, and who was then a boy about five years old.

— Saga of Hakon Herdebreid (Hakon the Broad-Shouldered), chapter 13.}}

Popular culture

• In Vikings, Ragnar Lothbrok murders his "former" enemy Jarl Borg's warriors by burning their couters.
• In Saxon Stories, and its TV adaptation, The Last Kingdom, the house of the adoptive father of the protagonist Uhtred of Bebbanburg, Earl Ragnar, burns in similar fashion.

References

Bibliography

• Bennett, Lisa. “‘The Most Important of Events’: The ‘Burning-In’ Motif as a Site of Cultural Memory in Icelandic Sagas.” Journal of The Australian Early Medieval Association, 3, no.1 (2007): 69–86.
• Cook, Robert, trans. Njal's Saga. Penguin Classics, 2002.
• Lang, Samuel, trans. "Ynglinga Saga, or The Story of the Yngling Family from Odin to Halfdan the Black". Heimskringla. London, 1844; with corrections and edits by Douglas B. Killings; as published by northvegr.org, 2007.
• Palsson, Hermann and Paul Edwards, trans. Eyrbyggja Saga. Penguin Classics, 1989.
• Short, William R. and Reynir A. Óskarson. Men of Terror: a comprehensive analysis of Viking combat. Westholme, 2020, pp. 218-223.
• Tirosh, Yoav. “Feel the Burn: Lönguhlíðarbrenna as Literary Type‑Scene..” Średniowiecze Polskie i Powszechne 9 (2017): 30-44.

References

1. Sturluson, Snorri. (1844). "Heimskringla".
2. Gunnar Karlsson et al, ed. ''Grágás Lagasafn íslenska þjóðveldisins''. Mál og menning, 1992. p.264, K.109.
3. ''Njal's Saga'' § 77.
4. Anonymous. (1861). "The Story of Burnt Njal".
5. ''Eyrbyggja Saga'' § 31.
6. Ker, W.P.. (2008). "Epic and Romance". BiblioBazaar (2008 reprinting).
7. Anonymous. (1998). "Njals saga". Wordsworth Editions.
8. See, however, Bennett (2007) and Tirosh (2017) for other such similarities. Tirosh suggests that these burnings represent literary [[Type scene. type-scenes]].
9. Lönnroth, Lars. (1976). "Njáls saga: a critical introduction". University of California Press.
10. Sturluson, Snorri. (July 22, 2011). ["Heimskringla"](http://lind.no/nor/index.asp?lang=&emne=asatru&list=&vis=Snorre}}, [http://lind.no/nor/index.asp?lang=&emne=asatru&vis=s_e_ynglingesoga ''Ynglinga Saga''] {{webarchive).
11. [http://www.home.ix.netcom.com/%7Ekyamazak/myth/norse/kershaw/Kershaw1s-hervor-and-heithrek.htm The ''Saga of Hervör and Heithrek'', in ''Stories and Ballads of the Far Past, translated from the Norse (Icelandic and Faroese)'', by N. Kershaw.Cambridge at the University Press, 1921.] {{webarchive. link. (2006-12-27)
12. Jansson, S. B. F. (1987). ''Runes in Sweden''. {{ISBN. 91-7844-067-X p. 150
13. Sawyer, Birgit. (2003). "The Viking-Age Rune-Stones: Custom and Commemoration in Early Medieval Scandinavia". Oxford University Press.