Saga Thing

In this fun-filled episode, John and Andy offer their judgments on The Saga of the People of Reykjadal and Killer-Skuta.  Listen and learn how a leather thong can really improve your spear-throwing distance.  It’s true.  You’ll also learn about the wonders of hearth bread with butter and be introduced to the BCDM, our newest method for calculating a saga’s body count.  It’s an action packed episode with plenty of laughs and some good discussion of history and literature.  Those of you who prefer a steady flow of action and laughs will have to forgive us for our scholarly tangents, but those with a genuine interest in saga literature will get what they came here for. For those interested in the ankyle, we recommend the following: “Throwing the Greek Dory: How Effective is the Attached Ankyle at Increasing the Distance of the Throw” There are a number of videos featuring the use of the ankyle/amentum.  We’ve selected the following two as the most reasonable illustrations of the tool. Ankyle for d

Come to Mývatn, where the scenery stuns, the flies bite, and swords sting! In this episode, we welcome Killer-Skúta back to Iceland.  Not bound by the conditions of the settlement established by Áskel on his deathbed, Skúta is free to wreak vengeance upon those who dishonored his family.  He’ll also have to contend with the various families in the region who don’t take so kindly to his handling of their kin folk. And that’s the story, more or less.  Killer-Skúta certainly earns his nickname in this one.  Along the way, you’ll also learn the worst way to die in Mývatn.  It's really unpleasant.  Enjoy!

In this episode, we travel to the northern districts of Thingey and Eyjafjord where the Askel the goði spends most of his time working out settlements to save the skin of his nephews.  You won't meet a more saintly Icelander than the wise Askel goði, but you might question his loyalty to Vemund Fjorleifarson.  But, as Vemund's uncle, poor Askel is caught between a rock and a hard place.  Will his support of Vemund cost Askel the ultimate price in the end, or will he make an honest man of his wayward nephew?  Find out as Saga Thing takes on the first half of The Saga of the People of Reykjadal and Killer-Skuta. Note: In the introduction, we mention the excellent blog The Saga-Steads of Iceland.  You can visit Emily Lethbridge's post on Reykjadal here.

It's time to put The Saga of Finnbogi the Strong on trial.  Join us as we review the saga's more violent moments, count up the dead, and shed some light on a few nicknames.  Who will be outlawed? Who will be chosen as thingman?  Will Andy and John agree on the quality of the saga? You'll learn all this and more in the Final Judgments.

Join us for the thrilling conclusion of The Saga of Finnbogi the Strong.  In the first part of this episode, we discuss Finnbogi's evolving relationship with the Norwegian Earl Haakon, his trip to Constantinople, and his pursuit of Alf's daughter Ragnhild.  Yes, Finnbogi's got his eye on the daughter of the man he killed on the way to Haakon's court.  The second part of this episode takes us back to Iceland, where Finnbogi finds that fame isn't all its cracked up to be.  With rivals emerging everywhere he goes, Finnbogi is forced to move from district to district in search of peace.  That turns out to be a real challenge after he crosses a powerful lunatic like Jokul Ingimundarson, who you might remember from the second part of our episode on Vatnsdæla saga.  There are many many feuds and fights in this part of the story.  We do our best to cover the ones that really matter.  We hope you enjoy this final part of our summary of The Saga of Finnbogi the Strong.  It was a lot of fun for us, which is why this epi

In this episode, we celebrate the life and accomplishments of the historical Rollo.  Known to many as the envious brother of the incomparable Ragnar Loðbrok in the History Channel’s Vikings.  While the historical Rollo may not have been Ragnar’s brother, Vikings gets a lot of things right.  As an exile from his homeland, Rollo earned the nickname “the Walker” by wandering throughout northern Europe raiding and conquering everything in his path.  Among his most significant conquests would come to be known as Normandy, a territory in northern France named for the Northmen led by Rollo in the late 9th or early 10th century.  Fearing further Viking aggression, the French King Charles the Simple turned over the city of Rouen over to Rollo and his men.  This simple act (get it?) provided the French with a buffer against future Viking attacks from the north.  Or so they hoped.  In this case, it worked out nicely.  Rollo and his fellow Vikings quickly rebuilt the territories they had ravaged and assimilated into Fren

The Saga of Finnbogi the Strong tells the tale of a farmer’s son who overcomes an ignoble birth and rises to become one of Iceland's greatest men, or so the saga author would have you believe.  This obscure and rarely discussed 14th century saga is thought to have been written in response to Vatnsdæla Saga, where Finnbogi comes off rather poorly.  In his own saga, Finnbogi proves to be an upright and noble figure who almost always does the right thing.  With superhuman strength, he’s capable of dispatching an angry bull with his bare hands, snapping the spine of an angry Norwegian bear, and coming out ahead in a seemingly endless feud with Vatnsdæla Saga’s brutish Jokul Ingimundarsson.   Finnbogi’s Saga deserves more attention than it has gotten in the past.  And that's why you come to Saga Thing.     References: John Kennedy, Review of Bachman/Erlingsson Translation of The Saga of Finnbogi the Strong, in Scandinavian Studies 64 (1992), 149. Phillip Pulsiano and Kirsten Wolf, Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclo

The Saga of the Greenlanders might be the shortest saga John and Andy have tackled, but that doesn't mean they don't have a lot to say about it.  In this episode, your stalwart hosts run through the usual categories and discuss the motivations behind Freydis' attack on Helgi and Finnbogi, debate the quality of Thorfinn Karlsefni's character, review some competing theories on Norse settlements in the North America, and share some recent scholarship that challenges our understanding of the conditions the Vikings dealt with in Greenland. There's a fair amount of nonsense as well.  Join us as we conclude our trip through the Vinland sagas. 

In this episode, John interviews Loretta Decker of L'Anse aux Meadows.  They discuss the archaeology of the site, the challenges of reconstructing Viking turf houses, and the value of the Vinland sagas for filling in the gaps.

Once again, the New World beckons.  In this episode, we travel with the children of Eirik the Red to Vinland.  Yes, every single one of Eirik's children make their own expedition to North America in search of fame and fortune.  This saga covers each of them.  Leif Eiriksson is the first of his siblings to make the trip, but he's not the first Viking to spot land in the New World.  According to this saga, that honor goes to Bjarni Herjolfsson (if you call it an honor, since he's later made fun of for not disembarking and checking things out).  Where's that spirit of adventure, Bjarni? That said, Bjarni may be wiser than we think, given how the journey turns out for most of the Viking explorers of Vinland.  Find out what happens when the Vikings meet the skraelings in the New World as Saga Thing takes on The Saga of the Greenlanders. If all of this sounds familiar, that's because we already traveled to Vinland and discovered America way back in episode 4 when Saga Thing covered The Saga of Eirik the Red.  You'd

At long last, it is time to put Grettir's Saga on trial.  Does the fight atop a whale carcass have enough appeal to win Best Bloodshed?  Will Grettir's Saga break the Body Count record currently held by Eyrbyggja Saga?  Will Andy and John outlaw Grettir or take him on as thingman?  Does Andy finally decide whether Grettir's Saga is better or worse than Gisli's Saga?  And will John ever stop talking about Nicknames?  This saga is full of memorable moments, witticisms, and wonders, which is why this judgment section ended up being so long.  But don't worry, there's plenty to laugh about and plenty to learn here.   We hope you enjoy this conclusion to Grettir's Saga as much as we enjoyed making it.  The journey's been long, but well worth the time spent.  We'll get to the Saga Brief about Grettir and Beowulf sometime soon.  For now, we need a break from this saga.  It's on to the Saga of the Greenlanders next and then Finnbogi the Mighty.  Until then!

In the thrilling conclusion to Grettir’s Saga, we follow the slender armed Thorstein Dromund on his quest to avenge his brother.  Thorstein’s adventures carry him from the shores of Norway to the bustling city of Constantinople, where the exiled King Harald Hardrada leads a rag tag bunch of Scandinavians called the Varangian Guard.  And if you thought the Grettir’s Saga author would pass up the chance to throw in another giant of saga literature, you were sorely mistaken.  Sadly, Harald is only featured in a cameo.  The real story of the Grettir’s Saga epilogue is the love affair of Thorstein and Spes.  Often referred to as the Spésar þáttr (The Tale of Spes “Hope”), the epilogue contrasts the epic ethos of the saga world with the more playful spirit of the continental romances.  If you have ever encountered the famous story of Tristan and Isolde, where the two lovers consistently outwit Isolde’s bumbling husband, King Mark, you’ll feel right at home in the Spésar þáttr.  Join us as we review this deceptively

The Saga of Grettir the Strong continues.  In this episode, Grettir arrives home in Iceland only to discover that his father has passed away, his brother has been slain by Thorbjorn Oxen-might, and that he himself has been outlawed for the accidental burning of Thorir of Gard's sons in Norway.  That's a lot to take in all at once.  As an outlaw, Grettir is forced to lurk in the wilds, hide in caves, and rely on the kindness of others for food.  Since Grettir's not terribly kind himself, he usually just steals what he needs.  Join us as we discuss the last of Grettir's adventures, including amazing feats of strength, battles with a troll-hag and a giant, and a rocky encounter with a witch.  Will Grettir get stumped by the witch's black magic? Will he go out in a blaze of glory? And will he ever recover from the embarrassment of his exposed manhood?  Find out in this episode of Saga Thing.

In this episode we follow Grettir through three of his most famous battles against an undead Kar the Old, a giant Norwegian bear, and Iceland's most famous draugr, Glam.  We also catch Grettir stumbling in a clumsy fight for fire that will eventually seal his fate as an outlaw forever.  This one runs a little longer than the average episode of Saga Thing, but with so much excellent material to cover, we just couldn't resist.

The results are in and your votes have been tallied.  Listen to the Quarter Court Results show to find out how your favorite candidates did.  John and Andy also take time to answer your questions about podcasting, sagas, and which character they each resemble most.  We'll provide links to some of the websites and other podcasts we mention on our own webpage www.sagathingpodcast.wordpress.com  As always, thanks for listening!

In this epic multi-part episode, we tell the story of Iceland’s most famous and longest surviving outlaw, Grettir Asmundarson.  Join us as we trace his life, from its tempestuous beginning to its tragic end.  Before we delve into his amazing exploits as an adult, we must look back to his origins. In traditional saga fashion, we begin with his great grandfather, Onund Treefoot.  We follow Onund’s efforts to resist the increasing power of King Harald Fairhair and his struggles to come to terms with the loss of his property and his leg.  Forced to redefine his own identity and to make a new life in foreign lands, he emerges as the truest hero in the saga, renowned as “the bravest and most agile of all the one-legged men in Iceland.”  From Onund, we wend our way through battles over whale corpses, murder, and legal cases in the genealogy until we arrive at Grettir himself.  We’ll look briefly at Grettir’s inglorious youth, his troubled relationship with his father, Asmund, and the events leading up to his first o

Join us as we gather at the Saga Thing law rock for a Quarter Court to review the judgments for the first 10 sagas of the podcast (Hrafnkel through Bjorn Champion of the Hitardal People).  After reviewing the greatest hits from each category, we turn it over to you, our loyal thingmen, to judge the winners.  Cast your vote for Best Bloodshed, Nicknames, Notable Witticisms, Outlawry, and Thingmen by visiting our website sagathingpodcast.wordpress.com between June 12th and July 19th.  We'll present the results at the end of July or beginning of August.   In that episode we will also make time to answer your questions about all the saga things you care to ask about and to share any comments you might have.  Send comments and questions to our email sagathingpodcast@gmail.com or to our Twitter (sagathingpod) or Facebook (sagathingpodcast).  We look forward to hearing from you! 

It’s time to put Vatnsdæla Saga on trial.  We've got plenty of bloodshed, a decent pile of bodies to count, too many nicknames for one episode, and much much more.  This saga also boasts the largest number of potential outlaws we've seen, which raises the question: Will Hrolleif's crimes continue to go unpunished?  John and Andy sift through all the villains and heroes for you.  But with so many excellent men to choose from, who will make the cut and join the ranks of the podcast's thingmen?  And just how many large cats do you think you could take out with Aettartangi?  The answers to many of these questions can only be found here in the conclusion to Saga Thing's coverage of Vatnsdæla Saga.

Join us for the second half of the epic tale of the Vatnsdal chieftains and their family over six generations. In this episode, we clumsily attempt to trace the final three generations of this remarkable family.  We’ve crammed a lot into this episode and we barely scratch the surface.  We pick up the story with the seven children of Ingimund Thorsteinsson (led by the bickering brothers Thorstein and Jokul) as they seek revenge against their father’s killer and begin a career as luck-favored witch-killers. Along the way, they encounter a particularly impressive villain named Thorolf Sledgehammer and his clowder of ornery cats.  With the district safe from evil-doers, the saga shifts to the next generation.  This section begins with the sons of Thorstein Ingimundarson, Ingolf and some other guy.  Ingolf Thorsteinsson is the important one.  He’s the handsome Don Juan of Iceland who melts hearts and enrages menfolk across the north of Iceland. Ingolf may be a bit narcissistic, but he backs up his boasts with imp

The Saga of the People of Vatnsdal tells the story of one family over 5 generations (though John will insist on counting 6).  We begin with Ketil the Large challenging his son, Thorstein, to find out what's lurking in the woods and killing everybody.  Thorstein turns out to be a very lucky fellow who is soon married to the daughter of a famous earl in Gotland.  Thorstein's son, Ingimund, is the central figure of this episode of Saga Thing.  We follow Ingimund from his noble youth, through his glory days as a Viking, all the way to his eventual death in the Vatnsdalur region of northern Iceland.  Will he go peacefully or will he suffer a violent death?  There's only one way to find out. This episode features giants, witches, and transcendental Laplanders.  We've also got epic battles, or at least references to epic battles, seduction, or at least attempts at seduction, and bloodshed...there's definitely bloodshed.