The Saga of Gudmund the Grunch

A holiday saga for all to enjoy

About Gudmund the Grunch, a very bad boy.

Forgive the bad rhymes and meters offbeat.

We're scholars, not poets, it's just a fun treat.

Music Credits

Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (now with sleigh bells)
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4236-prelude-and-action
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Gudmund the Grunch Theme - from "Krampus's Workshop" by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5518-krampus-s-workshop

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Outro Music - "Jólakötturinn" performed by Ragnheiður Gröndal

Saga Short 8: The Tale of Audun and the Bear

In this Saga Short, we journey with Auðun of the Westfjords, an Icelander who gives everything he has to purchase a polar bear in Greenland. Why buy a polar bear, you ask? Well, what makes a more impressive gift for a king than a polar bear? In this brilliant and widely anthologized þáttr, Auðun will travel throughout Scandinavia, suffer the pangs of hunger and poverty, visit Rome, survive a debilitating illness, gain the love of a wealthy benefactor, and get the better of a certain hard-minded king. Join us for this holiday gift-giving special as we discuss The Tale of Auðun and the Bear!

When you're finished you might enjoy watching this cute animated version of the story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPEsQGC4T0c

And if you're one of those types that like to peruse some good bibliography:

Antonsson, Haki. "The Construction of Auðunar þáttr Vestfirzka: A Case of Typological Thinking in Early Old Norse Prose." Scandinavian Studies 90, no. 4 (2018): 485-508.

Fichtner, Edward G. “Gift Exchange and Initiation in the ‘Auđunar Þáttr Vestfirzka’.” Scandinavian Studies 51, no. 3 (1979): 249-72.

Miller, William Ian. Audun and the Polar Bear: Luck, Law, and Largess in a Medieval Tale of Risky Business. 1. Vol. 1. Medieval Law and Its Practice. Boston, MA: Brill, 2008.

Pálsson, Hermann, ed. Hrafnkel's Saga: and Other Stories. Translated by Hermann Pálsson. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1971.

There ya go.

Music Credits:

Intro: From “Death Awaits” by Billy Malmstrom

Outro: Snæfinnur Snjókarl by Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson