Gunnhild, the Norwegian queen mother, casts a spell on Hrut that prevents him from consummating his marriage with Unn.

Njal devises a peddler disguise plan for Gunnar to trick Hrut into reciting a lawsuit and reclaim Unn's property.

Gunnar and Hallgerd meet at the Althing and negotiate a marriage arrangement, despite warnings from both Hrut and Njal.

Hallgerd and Bergthora feud at a winter feast at Bergthorshvol, triggering a cycle of retaliatory servant killings between the households.

Gizur the White and Geir the Godi declare Gunnar a full outlaw at the Althing after he refuses to leave Iceland.

Gunnar's horse throws him near Hlidarendi and he decides he cannot bear to leave Iceland as required by his exile.

Hallgerd refuses to give Gunnar a lock of her hair to restring his bow, citing a past slap, leaving him defenseless.

Gunnar's enemies breach Hlidarendi and kill him after a long and valiant single-handed defense.

Njal's sons Grim and Helgi return to Iceland with Kari Solmundsson, who marries Njal's daughter Helga.

Mord Valgardsson befriends the Njalssons and uses lies to turn them against their beloved foster brother Hoskuld Thrainsson.

The Njalssons ambush Hoskuld Thrainsson in his fields; he drops to his knees and forgives his killers as he dies.

Hildigunn wraps Hoskuld Thrainsson's blood-soaked cloak around Flosi's shoulders and demands he avenge her husband's death.

A settlement for Hoskuld Thrainsson's killing collapses at the Althing when Flosi insults Njal as Old Beardless.

Flosi and his men set Bergthorshvol ablaze, and Njal, Bergthora, their sons, and a grandson die in the fire.

Kari returns to Iceland, reconciles with Flosi, and marries Flosi's niece Hildigunn, cementing lasting peace between the families.

The saga opens with Gunnhild's curse on Hrut, which sets in motion the chain of events producing the villainous Mord Valgardsson. Gunnar of Hlidarendi becomes the saga's first great hero, whose friendship with the lawyer Njal is repeatedly tested by Gunnar's troublesome wife Hallgerd. Hallgerd's refusal to give Gunnar a lock of hair to restring his bow becomes the pivotal betrayal that seals his death at Hlidarendi. Gunnar's death destabilizes Iceland, eventually leading Njal's sons to kill their own foster brother Hoskuld Thrainsson, which drives Flosi to burn Bergthorshvol. The burning kills Njal, his wife, and most of his family, leaving only his son-in-law Kari Solmundsson to pursue vengeance. After years of bloodshed across Iceland and beyond, Kari finally reconciles with Flosi and marries Hoskuld's widow, bringing the long feud to a close.

The central blood feud from Gunnar's marriage to Njal's burning and final reconciliation.

Hrut predicts that his niece Hallgerd will grow up to cause great trouble for many people despite her beauty.

Hallgerd's foster father Thjostolf murders her first husband Thorvald after Thorvald strikes Hallgerd across the face.

Thjostolf murders Hallgerd's second husband Glum following a quarrel over Thjostolf's disrespectful behavior in the household.

Hrut kills Thjostolf to avenge Glum's murder, then Hoskuld negotiates compensation for Thorvald's killing to keep peace.

Gunnar sails abroad with Hallvard the White and defeats two notorious Viking brothers in battle in the Baltic.

Njal prophesizes upon Gunnar's return that Gunnar will be greatly envied and will need to defend himself frequently.

Njal detects a large armed group hiding in the woods near Hlidarendi and forces the men to retreat and pay compensation.

Hogni and Skarphedin visit Gunnar's burial mound and see his ghost reciting verses celebrating courage and calling for vengeance.

Skarphedin and Hogni arm themselves at night and kill Starkad and Thorgeir Starkadsson to avenge Gunnar's slaying.

Viking raiders attack Njal's sons Grim and Helgi at sea, but Kari Solmundsson arrives and rescues the Icelanders.

Njal visits young Hoskuld Thrainsson, who bears no bitterness about his father's killing, and Njal offers to foster him.

Njal proposes the Fifth Court as a new appeals body at the Althing, and Hoskuld Thrainsson is made one of the new godis.

Hoskuld Thrainsson marries Flosi's niece Hildigunn and the couple settle on land Njal purchases at Ossabaer.

Legal proceedings over the burning collapse at the Althing and erupt into the violent and unprecedented Battle of the Althing.

Earl Sigurd of Orkney and fifteen of Flosi's companions die fighting King Brian's forces at the Battle of Clontarf in Ireland.

The saga's secondary storyline begins with Hallgerd's destructive nature, foretold by her uncle Hrut, which manifests early in the murders of her first two husbands by her foster father Thjostolf. Gunnar proves his heroic reputation through raiding abroad before facing increasingly dangerous enemies at home, with Njal using his legal genius and prophetic insight to protect him repeatedly. After Gunnar's death, supernatural forces assert themselves when his ghost appears in his burial mound and encourages his son Hogni and Njal's son Skarphedin to seek vengeance. Meanwhile, Njal's sons encounter Kari Solmundsson at sea and bring him to Iceland, and Njal works patiently to make his foster son Hoskuld Thrainsson a respected godi with a worthy wife. The legal system collapses spectacularly at the Althing following the burning, erupting into unprecedented armed combat on sacred ground. The saga's violence then spreads as far as Ireland, where many of the burning's perpetrators die fighting in the catastrophic Battle of Clontarf.

Key supporting moments from Hallgerd's early misdeeds to the Battle of Clontarf.

Unn divorces Hrut after their failed marriage and later weds Valgard the Grey, giving birth to the villainous Mord Valgardsson.

Gunnar disguises himself as a peddler and tricks Hrut into reciting a legal summons, allowing Unn's property to be recovered.

Hallgerd orders her slave Melkolf to steal food from Otkel, and Gunnar slaps Hallgerd when he discovers the theft.

Njal warns Gunnar that he will die if he ever kills twice within the same bloodline and then breaks the resulting settlement.

Mord Valgardsson schemes to goad Gunnar into killing within the same bloodline, knowing it will fulfill the prophecy of Gunnar's death.

Blood appears on Gunnar's halberd as a prophetic omen before he rides into an ambush and kills Thorgeir Otkelsson.

The Ranga district court sentences Gunnar and Kolskegg to three years of exile for the killing of Thorgeir Otkelsson.

Thrain Sigfusson hides the outlaw Hrapp aboard his ship, causing Earl Hakon to pursue and seize Njal's sons as accomplices.

Skarphedin ambushes and kills Thrain on the frozen Markarfljot River to avenge the Njalssons' mistreatment in Norway.

Iceland's Althing formally adopts Christianity as the foundation of Icelandic law, and Njal's household receives baptism.

Valgard the Grey returns from abroad, shames Mord for being unmanly, and instructs him to plot the destruction of the Njalssons.

Mord Valgardsson conceals his own role in Hoskuld Thrainsson's killing, a fact that invalidates the prosecution's lawsuit against the Njalssons.

Kari escapes the burning of Bergthorshvol by rushing to a nearby stream and hiding in a hollow by the water.

Kari bursts into Earl Sigurd's feast hall in Orkney and beheads Gunnar Lambason for giving a false account of the burning.

Flosi completes a pilgrimage to Rome and receives papal absolution; Kari later makes the same journey before the two men reconcile.

The saga turns on a series of pivotal revelations, beginning with Unn's failed marriage to Hrut, which produces the scheming Mord Valgardsson who orchestrates many of the saga's worst disasters. Gunnar's story pivots on the theft Hallgerd orders and his retaliatory slap, planting the seed of her eventual revenge through withholding her hair at the moment he needs it most. Njal's prophecy about Gunnar's death, combined with Mord's deliberate scheme to make it come true, illustrates how fate and human manipulation intertwine throughout the saga. The Njalssons' troubles in Norway, caused by Thrain sheltering the outlaw Hrapp, create enmity that leads Skarphedin to kill Thrain and ultimately to the murder of Hoskuld Thrainsson. Mord's concealment of his own guilt in Hoskuld's killing corrupts the legal proceedings and prevents any peaceful resolution, making the burning inevitable. Kari's escape from the flames and his relentless pursuit of vengeance, ending in his pilgrimage to Rome, closes the saga's arc of guilt, exile, and hard-won reconciliation.

Critical decisions, prophecies, and hidden revelations that drive the saga's tragedies.