Saga Thing

With the death of Aud the Deep-Minded and the marriage of her son Olaf Feilan at the end of last episode, you'd expect that we'd be following up on the trajectory of Olaf's life in this one. Instead, we stick to the saga's structure and dive into the life of Olaf's nephew, Hoskuld, the son of Dala-Koll and Olaf's sister, Thorgerd. But don't worry, there's plenty of drama to delight you, even if th...

In this episode, John and Andy sit down with Robert Eggers and Sjón to chat about the stories behind their recently released saga-inspired film The Northman. That’s right, we’re talking to the director and co-writers of the biggest Viking film to be released since Kirk Douglas was a star! Stick around for the last 20-30 minutes where the four of us work together to put The Northman on trial Saga T...

Laxdæla saga holds a special place in the world of medieval Icelandic literature. Of all the Sagas of Icelanders, Laxdæla saga is second only to Njáls saga in the number of surviving manuscripts, suggesting an evergreen enthusiasm and interest in the saga from the time of its composition to the 21st century. While we don’t know for sure who wrote this incredible work of art, many have speculated t...

You voted for your favorites. Now it's time to hear the results. We discuss your choices and then answer some listener questions. Check out the results for yourself on our Third Quarter Court Results page here. Here are the Rus sources we mentioned: The Russian Primary Chronicle The Place of the Rus in Medieval Europe by Christian Raffensperger Music Credits Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by K...

Skál! It's time for the second part of our Saga Brief series on Drinking in the Viking Age and the Sagas. We've already covered what they drank. Now it's time to look into how they drank. In this episode, we discuss what they drank from and what they did while drinking. Of course, we can only scratch the surface here. There's so much more to say. Grab a glass of your favorite beverage and join us...

After 5 action packed years, it's time to meet once again at the Saga Thing Quarter Court. In this episode, we review the judgment winners and a few interesting facts about our journey through the last 10 sagas. Now it's time for you to rank the sagas and vote. Visit our polls here and make your choices as you listen or after you've heard it all.   The polls are open until March 15th (The Ides of...

In this long overdue Saga Brief, we discuss drinking in the Viking Age and the Sagas of Icelanders. This first part looks at what they were drinking and how it was perceived culturally. In the second part, coming soon, we'll look into the culture of drinking as we explore where and how they drank. Here is a short bibliography of the texts and studies referred to, either directly or indirectly, in...

It's time to put The Saga of Gunnar of Keldugnup on trial! And as much fun as it is to say Gunnars saga Keldugnúpsfífls, it's not one of medieval Iceland's better literary artifacts. We finally get to say what we've been thinking in our Final Ratings. But that's not all! Listen in and find out who wins Best Bloodshed, Notable Witticisms, and a hotly contested Nicknames. Speaking of hotly contested...

When last we left you, Gunnar had just killed a troll woman and a seemingly intelligent bear in an unknown frozen land (check out Jacob's great illustration of this and more of his work on his Instagram page ). The troll woman’s sister seemed kind enough and even warned Gunnar that there were more trolls about. In this episode, we find out how Gunnar does against a family of trolls and what kind o...

In this episode, we dive way down deep into the bag of Sagas of Icelanders to pull out a story that is rarely discussed or even read by experts much less casual fans of medieval Icelandic literature. That doesn't mean it's a bad saga, even if it's a little rough around the narrative edges. This one's got a lot of the fan favorites, including wrestling, surprise killings, a secret love affair, stor...

In this special Christmas episode of Saga Thing, John and Andy share a curious discovery from a very old journal. Few people know this, but 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (aka A Visit from St Nicholas) by Clement C. Moore was originally inspired by a famous Viking saga about a grumpy outlaw tangling with a supernatural monster. We discuss this exciting revelation and share the story in an effort...

If you thought we were done with The Saga of the Sworn Brothers, you were mostly correct. In this episode, we fill in a few gaps in the story of what happened around Thorgeir Havarsson's death. We start with Thormod's þáttr, a tale about Thormod's visit to the court of King Cnut and his first meeting with his future BFF, King Olaf of Norway. We follow that up with Thorarin the Overbearing's þáttr,...

The time has come to put Fóstbrœðra saga (The Saga of the Sworn Brothers) on trial. In this episode, we review the whole saga as we run through our favorite judgment categories: Best Bloodshed, Body Count, Nicknames, Notable Witticisms, Outlawry, Thingmen, and Final Ratings. Making this even harder than usual is the fact that Fóstbrœðra saga featured some pretty fantastic examples of the combined...

In the final episode of our epic journey through Fóstbrœðra saga (The Saga of the Sworn Brothers) Thormod wraps up his business in Greenland and heads back to Norway and the loving companionship of his new BFF King Olaf. Unfortunately for Thormod and Olaf, there's another would-be king of Norway lurking out there with plans to seize the throne. Will Olaf and Thormod link arms and defeat the aggres...

In this episode, Thormod Kolbrun's-Poet sets out to avenge his sworn brother Thorgeir. But Thormod's in no hurry. First, he stops in Norway to bond with King Olaf. Then he travels to Greenland with a mysterious man called Gest to track down Thorgrim the Troll, one of Thorgeir's killers. Along the way, Thormod gets distracted by an attractive woman and things get a little messy. Eventually things g...

In this episode, Thorgeir heads home to Iceland against King Olaf's advice. Despite being a known outlaw, things go pretty well for Thorgeir at first. His visit takes a turn for the worst when he encounters Gaut Sleituson up north. Their brief meeting triggers events that will change the course of their lives and the trajectory of the saga itself. Before that though, we revisit a section of Gretti...

We're diving back into chapters 7-13 of The Saga of the Sworn Brothers (better known as Fóstbræðra saga). This time, we're featuring Thormod's side of the story. Whereas Thorgeir spends his time hacking and slashing his way toward a bad reputation, Thormod is exploring his romantic side, making moves on several local ladies who catch his eye. Will Thormod settle down to a quiet life of marriage an...

When last we left you, Thorgeir and Thormod had decided to go their separate ways. In this episode, we follow Thorgeir on his travels as an outlawed exile from Iceland. As you'd expect, Thorgeir gets up to some things that would make a Viking like Egil Skallagrimsson shake his head in frustration. Needless to say, he doesn't make a lot of friends along the way. He does, however, find one rather im...

Fóstbrœðra saga (or The Saga of the Sworn Brothers) tells the story of two men, Thorgeir Havarsson and Thormod Bersason, who are more concerned with success in this life than glory in the next. Together, they wander the countryside of 11th century Iceland causing trouble, damaging property, and taking what they want. Like Grettir, they soon find that this approach to living is not only outdated, i...

In this episode, a young Icelander travels to Norway to avenge his father like a true Viking (or at least a close approximation). Unfortunately for him, his target is one of King Magnus Barelegs' favorites. Listen in and find out if Gisl manages to catch his prey and get away with it. You'll also hear all about the great Icelandic bishop Jón Ögmundarson, discover the delights of suet sausages, and...

Welcome to the first in a series of special Saga Briefs on Interpreting the Past, a series that looks at modern interpretations and perceptions of the medieval. In this episode, John and Andy welcome two scholars, Dr. Verena Höfig (Assistant Professor in the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and Zachary Melton (Ph. D. student at the Un...

Welcome to the Saga Thing! It's time to put The Saga of Thord Menace on trial. Will Thord win Best Bloodshed for the many men he chops in half? Will his Body Count be high enough to earn him a respectable BCDM ranking? And will John ever stop talking about nicknames? There's only one way to find out! Music Credits Intro Music – “Prelude and Action” by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmu...

So, here's a change of pace. In this section, a small group of men are going to try to kill Thord Menace. But since this is the final episode in our summary of The Saga of Thord Menace, there are only two possible outcomes. Will Thord finish off the endless string of men waiting to ambush him? Or will the countless relatives of Orm finally get their revenge? Either way, we're putting this violent...

Lots of Viking style fun and medieval adventuring on this episode of Saga Thing. Join us for part 2 of The Saga of Thord Menace! Orm is dead and Skeggi of Midfjord is unable to avenge his awful nephew. It's time to see where all of this leaves Thord Menace. If the original illustrations for this chapter by @skarphedin_illustrator are any indication, things are going to get a little messy. Here's T...

Saga Thing returns from a much needed holiday break to tackle The Saga of Thord Menace. In this episode we meet the family of Thord, explore the formulas of saga writing, witness the assassination of Norwegian royalty, and learn how young Thord earned his menacing nickname. Oh, and we finally get to see some saga characters taking advantage of the lovely hot springs of Iceland. It's a great start...