Saga Thing

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/

We want to share this little treat of a þáttr with you all before we release the Judgments episode for The Saga of Víga-Glúm. The Tale of Thorvald Chatterbox (Þorvalds þáttr tasalda) is a gem from the Flateyjarbók biography of King Ólaf (Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar en mesta).

If Thorvald's fantastic revivification and battle prowess with a ship's oar left you wanting more, then this fast-paced Saga Short might just satisfy your craving. Thorvald journey's to Norway starts out like many other tales of Icelanders visiting Norwegian royalty. And, of course, with King Ólaf Tryggvason involved, this one includes plenty of pressure to abandon the Norse gods in favor of the much stronger and kinder (sometimes) Christian god. The story follows Thorvald as he sets off on a mission to prove himself to the king by tracking down Bárð the Stout, a fiercely independent figure who has already made two of the king's troops of emissaries disappear. 

Will Thorvald live up to the reputation of the capable Icelandic retainer so thoroughly established in other tales? Or will he succumb to the strength and will of the powerful Bárð the Stout? And what's all this about Bárð's beautiful daughter Thora? There's only one way to find out (assuming you don't want to just read the story yourself). Grab your headphones and enjoy Saga Thing's retelling of The Tale of Thorvald Chatterbox!

Listen and then share your thoughts on our social media:

Sagathingpodcast on Facebook

Sagathingpodcast on Instagram

Sagathingpodcast on Bluesky

Saga Thing’s unofficial official Discord

Music Credits

Intro Music - from “Death Awaits” by Billy Malmstrom

Outro Music - From “Óðinn” by Krauka

When last we left Glúm, he was enjoying the fruits of his violent labors against the men of Espihóll and sharing an enigmatic verse about his personal body count. When Þorvarð the Troublemaker hears about this, he's quick to set Þórarin on the case, forcing Glúm to swear an oath that he played no part in the killing of Þorvald Hook.

Will this oath clear Glúm of any guilt in the matter or will his clever phrasing prove to be his undoing? Listen and find out for yourself (though if you've been listening to the past 5 episodes, you should have a pretty good idea of where this is heading for our story's hero).

We may have missed our March deadline for finishing Víga-Glúm's Saga but we got there in the end.

Enjoy this grand finale!

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/

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/

At long last, we return . . . to the prophecy about the cousins Steinólf and Arngrím. Oddbjörg. What could possibly break the bond of these BFFs? Hopefully Arngrím’s wife can make some sense of their little feud and help heal the fracture in their relationship.

Speaking of fractures, this is the episode where things really pop off between Glúm and the men of Espihóll and we begin rushing headlong toward the climax and conclusion of this saga. Here’s a little map of the region to help you make sense of the major locations featured in this episode.

Along the way, we talk about the sudden appearance of a skytningr (an inn or tavern) in the saga and fall into a discussion of how exactly that word works in the contexts of Víga-Glúm’s saga, with special reference once again to Jesus Fernando Guerrero Rodriguez’s dissertation Old Norse Drinking Culture.

Rodriguez, Jesús Fernando Guerrero. Old Norse Drinking Culture. PhD Dissertation. University of York, 2007.

Check out the oldest surviving manuscript copy of Víga-Glúms saga on handrit.is.

There’s also stuff here for fans of dream interpretation and even Norse mythology, specifically Thor’s battle with Hrungnir the jötunn.

Thor and Hrungnir by Carl Emil Doepler

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/

Poetry Music - "Dark Times" 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 episode, we catch up with an old friend called Killer-Skuta. You might remember him from The Saga of the People of Reykjadal and of Killer-Skuta. We'll revisit a familiar story from that saga where Killer-Skuta makes an attempt on the life of Killer-Glum and try to make sense of how it ended up in this saga (and that one). That leads to an inevitable conversation about saga writing, manuscript collecting, and art.

Once we put Killer-Skuta to bed, we're right back into the main narrative of Viga-Glum's Saga. The main focus of this episode is the mysterious case of the missing livestock. The prime suspect is a wily freedman named Hallvard who sets up a farm between the properties of Halli the Old and his son Bard. And while everyone else in the district would like to see Hallvard put in his place, there's one man standing in the way of justice and he's got a powerful father.

How will Glum escape the clutches of the violent Killer-Skuta? And will Hallvard get fat on the livestock of his neighbors or will he finally face justice? And when will we ever get back to those kindly cousins who are destined to kill each other? Find out in this episode of Saga Thing!

Listen and let us know what you think:

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/