Feuds: Feuds are a common occurrence in the sagas and play a key role in Vápnfirðinga. Feuds in medieval Iceland usually began as a retribution homicide over sexual transgression, insult, or physical injury (Firth). This initial homicide was followed by further murders by the victim's kin or allies. These retribution homicides could continue for generations and often did not end with legal settlement but rather with one side giving in to the power of the other. This helps explain why Thorkel was unwilling to accept compensation from Bjarni in order to end the feud. Doing so would have meant submitting to Bjarni's power and acknowledging him as the greater man. (Firth). Scholars disagree over the function of feuds in medieval Icelandic society. Some back William Miller's argument that chieftains engaged in feuds to "repay insult and injury within a framework of reciprocity" (Firth). Others agree with Samson and Sigurdsson's view that chieftains acted proactively in brutal competition with their neighbors.