Saga Thing

". . . and they both were killed." This promising but enigmatic sentence fragment opens Þorsteins saga Síðu-Hallssonar as it comes down to us.

Let's be honest, the Saga of Thorstein Siðu-Hallsson has had a rough time surviving the centuries. This one only survives in a few paper manuscripts from the 17th century, and even these are missing the beginning and ending. The fact that we've got any part of this saga to cover on the podcast is something of a minor miracle. 

And despite all of that, this saga still has an interesting story to tell. Join us as we work our way through the first two chapters. Only two chapters? Sure, but look at all we accomplish along the way:

We introduce the saga and its critical reputation

We dive into some manuscript studies to find out what exactly happened to the this saga

We tell the story of Thorstein's family, including that of his famous father Siðu-Hall, and imagine what might have come before in the saga's opening chapters

We also revisit the famous Battle of Clontarf where King Brian Boru met his fate and the Vikings lost their hold over Ireland.

You might find that there's a bit more Njal's saga here than you expected, but it doesn't hurt to visit old friends to help you better appreciate new ones.

At some point, we mention the supposed raven banners of the Bayeux Tapestry and pause to look at some pictures. As promised, here they are so you can judge for yourself.

So, while we may only cover two chapters of this brief saga, we still cover a lot of ground. Plus, there's plenty of bad voice acting (as always).

Listen for yourself and let us know what you think:

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Music Credits

Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Poetry Music - "Bittersweet" and "Nerves" by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Outro Music - "Stormfront" by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In this special Saga Brief recorded live at the University of Central Oklahoma, we explore an often-overlooked pillar of Viking Age society: the horse.

(John wanted to call this presentation "A Horse for the Norse, with Sources (of course)," but Andy shot that down.)

While our discussion is grounded in saga narratives and archaeology, we offer a wide-ranging discussion of how horses helped shape the literature, culture, and history of medieval Iceland. Along the way, we cover the following categories:

Everyday Use

Status

Masculinity

Horse-Fighting

Ritual Action and Religious Belief

Of course, any one of these could be a book-length study on its own. We’ve done our best here to provide a broad overview of the horse’s place in medieval Iceland and beyond. Naturally, that “beyond” allows us some wiggle room to talk a little about Anglo-Saxon England (and to maybe squeeze in a Beowulf reference or two).

As you’ll hear, horses are far more than livestock and convenient tools. They emerge across the literary, historical, and archaeological record as vital mediums for social, political, and spiritual identity. More than that, this talk explores a relationship between the human and horse that is deeply personal. We hope you enjoy!

A very special thanks to Reid Weber and the sponsors of this event:

The Medieval Society at the University of Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts

Scandinavian Club of Oklahoma

Sons of Norway

The slides for this presentation, including a brief bibliography, are available as a .pdf in our show notes for this episode at sagathingpodcast.wordpress.com.

Once you’ve listened, reach out via our social media and share your thoughts on horses in the sagas:

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Music Credits:

Introduction – from Icelandic Folk Music: Tröllaslagur

Outro – Ólafur Liljurós

Hwæt a Movie! returns with yet another adaptation of the epic Old English poem Beowulf.

This time, we've got Outlander, a surprisingly fun tale of an alien crash-landing in 8th century Norway as he hunts down the monstrous Moorwen that killed his family. Of course, the Moorwen had some cause to be angry after a genocidal attack on the Moorwen planet. But let's not dwell on how it all started. Outlander is also a Beowulf story wrapped up in a neat little sci-fi package!

This time around, Jim Caviezel stars as Kainan (our space Beowulf). You might know Caviezel from 2002's The Count of Monte Cristo or from 2004's The Passion of the Christ. He's joined by the beloved John Hurt as Rolhgar (I legitimately thought he was called Hrothgar through the whole movie and I'm only learning as I write this that he was Rolhgar...), the talented Sophia Miles as Freya, the dreamy Jack Huston as Wulfric, and the inimitable Ron Perlman as Gunnar.

As always, we provide an extensive summary (prepared with exhaustive detail by John) and discussion, a brief Q&A inspired by the film, and then our final ratings categories for the film's take on Beowulf, Grendel, and Grendel's mother. We conclude by rating the film for its faithfulness to the source material and then for its overall entertainment value.

Like some of our other Hwæt a Movies, this one runs a bit long. There's just so much to talk about as we get deeper and deeper into the Beowulf movie swamp.

As of right now, you can watch Outlander for free on YouTube here.

Let us know what you think on our social media:

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Or join others like you on Saga Thing’s unofficial official Discord

In this very special Saga Brief, we sit down with Ármann Jakobsson (one of our favorite saga scholars) to discuss his latest book, Minor Characters in Icelandic Sagas (Palgrave Macmillan). Following the theme of the book, we dive into the many overlooked and often nameless characters who so often breathe life and meaning into the sagas.

Since we have mentioned Ármann so many times on the podcast, we also take advantage of the opportunity to revisit his extensive bibliography, including The Troll Inside You, A Sense of Belonging: Morkinskinna and Icelandic Identity c. 1220, and his reimagining of the life of Þórólfr bægifótr in Glæsir. 

Of course, it wouldn't be a Saga Brief interview without a little discussion of the sagas and their place in Icelandic culture. And all of this leads to a brief philosophical exploration on the power (and potential peril) of doubt as a driving force in human society. 

All of this and more awaits you (like which great saga character Ármann finds most boring)!

Once you've listened, reach out via our social media and let us know about your favorite minor characters in the sagas we've covered.

Sagathingpodcast on Facebook

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Saga Thing’s unofficial official Discord

Music Credits:

Introduction –from Icelandic Folk Music: Tröllaslagur

Outro – Ólafur Liljurós

It's finally time--time to bring the saga of Viga-Glúm before the Saga Thing for judgment. Join us as we hand out the awards for Best Bloodshed, Notable Witticism, Best Nickname, and more. Can Andy forgive this story for its wanton cruelty to animals? Will John reward or punish the saga for the weaselly trickery of Thorvard Pot-Stirrer? Who will the two judges choose to join their mead halls? And just who the heck was that masked Thundarbenda, anyway?

Listen and let us know what you think on our various socials:

Sagathingpodcast on Facebook

Sagathingpodcast on Instagram

Sagathingpodcast on Bluesky

Saga Thing’s unofficial official Discord

Music Credits

Intro Music – “Prelude and Action” by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Outro Music – “Stormfront” by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/