Episode 19c - The Saga of the People of Reykjadal and Killer-Skuta (Judgments)

In this fun-filled episode, John and Andy offer their judgments on The Saga of the People of Reykjadal and Killer-Skuta.  Listen and learn how a leather thong can really improve your spear-throwing distance.  It’s true.  You’ll also learn about the wonders of hearth bread with butter and be introduced to the BCDM, our newest method for calculating a saga’s body count.  It’s an action packed episode with plenty of laughs and some good discussion of history and literature.  Those of you who prefer a steady flow of action and laughs will have to forgive us for our scholarly tangents, but those with a genuine interest in saga literature will get what they came here for.

For those interested in the ankyle, we recommend the following:

“Throwing the Greek Dory: How Effective is the Attached Ankyle at Increasing the Distance of the Throw”

There are a number of videos featuring the use of the ankyle/amentum.  We’ve selected the following two as the most reasonable illustrations of the tool.

Ankyle for distance

Slo-mo ankyle

As promised, I’m including the recipe for hearth bread that John mentions in Notable Witticism:

Thorgeir Butter-Ring’s Bread

Ingredients

3 cups whole wheat or rye flour

2 cups white or all-purpose flour

3/4 cup steel-cut or rolled oats

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups water

 

Items Needed

Baking Stone

Large Bowl

Wooden Spoon

Oven (I mean, go ahead and hearth-bake the bread if you want to be a stickler for accuracy).

 

Instructions

Mix together both kinds of flour, the oats, the salt, and the baking soda in a large bowl.

Gradually add water while stirring with a wooden spoon until it is stiff and difficult to stir further. NOTE: do not use an automatic mixer for this step. Seriously, how many 10th century Icelanders do you think had a KitchenAid?

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough (you may want to wet or flour your hands for this step). Stop when dough is malleable and thoroughly integrated.

Form the dough into a round or oval shape on a baking stone and place it in the oven. NOTE: The oven is still cold at this point.

Now set the oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit (190 Celsius), and bake for 55-70 minutes (depending on elevation and oven).

Take the bread out of the oven when it looks, you know, bready (I’m not a cook. Also, it’s unlikely that actual 10th century Icelanders, who cooked their bread in fire ashes or on a hearth-stone, were overly fussy about exact timing. Eyeball it). Let it cool on a rack.

Eat the bread while it’s warm. And of course, Thorgeir Butter-Ring recommends using plenty of butter, but I found cheese, honey, or apple slices works fine too.