Episode 16e - Grettir's Saga (Judgments)

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!

Episode 16d - Grettir's Saga (Part 4)

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 simple epilogue
and discuss its potential value for understanding the rest of Grettir’s Saga.
Along the way, we make reference to a few items of
interest.  First among these are the blog
sites featuring Drangey Island.  There
are some pretty impressive pictures on these blogs and stories about Drangey:
1.      http://stuckiniceland.com/north/the-outlaws-paradise/
2.      http://fooface.blogspot.com/2006/07/epic-climb.html
And if you want to take our advice and visit Drangey for
yourself, tours are available here: http://www.drangey.net/
Interested in the Brother Robert's 13th century Saga of Tristram and Isond?Or perhaps you'd like to start with Béroul’s The Romance of Tristan:And finally, we make reference to one of our favorite scholarly articles on Grettir's Saga, Kathryn Hume's "The Thematic Design of Grettis Saga" from The Journal of English and Germanic Philology 73.4 (1974): 469-86.  It's quite fascinating and worth a read.  Free to everyone with access to JSTOR.