Saga Thing

Episode 32c - The Saga of Thord Menace (chapters 10-14)

So, here's a change of pace. In this section, a small group of men are going to try to kill Thord Menace.

But since this is the final episode in our summary of The Saga of Thord Menace, there are only two possible outcomes. Will Thord finish off the endless string of men waiting to ambush him? Or will the countless relatives of Orm finally get their revenge? Either way, we're putting this violent saga to bed.

This action packed episode features the return of Skeggi of Midfjord, who quickly proves that he's no pushover. And when he draws, that legendary Viking sword, blood must flow. Will Eid once again be the voice of reason in the feud between his two fathers? Or will Skeggi and his crew put an end to the menace of Thord?

There's only one way to find out!

Thanks again to the brilliant Jacob Faust for his work illustrating this story for us. You can find more of his work on Instagram, where he's @skarphedin_illustrator.

Music Credits

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

Review Music - "The Royal Vagabond Medley" by Jocker's Dance Orchestra

Outro Music - "Stormfront" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4421-stormfront
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Episode 32b - The Saga of Thord Menace (chapters 6-9)

Lots of Viking style fun and medieval adventuring on this episode of Saga Thing. Join us for part 2 of The Saga of Thord Menace!

Orm is dead and Skeggi of Midfjord is unable to avenge his awful nephew. It's time to see where all of this leaves Thord Menace. If the original illustrations for this chapter by @skarphedin_illustrator are any indication, things are going to get a little messy.

Here's Thord getting to know Orm's business partner, Indridi.

And here's an action shot of Thord's meeting with Ozur.

Music Credits

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

Review Music - "The Royal Vagabond Medley" by Jocker's Dance Orchestra

Poetry Music - "Crowd Hammer" by Kevin MacLeod

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

Outro Music - "Stormfront" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4421-stormfront
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

 

 

Episode 32a - The Saga of Thord Menace (chapters 1-5)

Saga Thing returns from a much needed holiday break to tackle The Saga of Thord Menace. In this episode we meet the family of Thord, explore the formulas of saga writing, witness the assassination of Norwegian royalty, and learn how young Thord earned his menacing nickname. Oh, and we finally get to see some saga characters taking advantage of the lovely hot springs of Iceland. It's a great start to a saga that rarely gets the attention it deserves. Join us for The Saga of Thord Menace!

Our thanks to Bryan Foust for returning to share his talents with us once again. Check out his work on Instagram, where he's known as @skarphedin_illustrator.

And, as promised, some bibliography on saints and hagiography, courtesy of John. Blame any issues with citation style accuracy on him. I'm just cutting and pasting this time.

Dubois, Thomas A. Sanctity in the North: Saints, Lives, and Cults in Medieval Scandinavia. University of Toronto Press, 2008.

 

Egilsdóttir, Ásdis. “Happy Endings: The (Para)Normality of Miracles.” Ármann Jakobsson and Miriam Mayburd, eds. De Gruyter, 2020.

 

Egilsdóttir, Ásdis. “The beginnings of local hagiography in Iceland : the lives of Bishops Þorlákr and Jón.” Lars Boje Mortenson, ed. The Making of Christian Myths in the Periphery of Latin Christendom (c.1000-1300). Museum Tusculanum Press (University of Copenhagen), 2006.

 

Grønlie, Siân. The Saint and the Saga Hero. Cambridge University Press, 2017.

 

Phelpstead, Carl. Holy Vikings. ACMRS Press, 2007.

 

Wellendorf, Jonas. “Ecclesiastical Literature and Hagiography.” Ármann Jakobsson and Sverrir Jakobsson, eds. The Routledge Companion to the Medieval Icelandic Sagas. Routledge, 2019.

 

And if you’re looking for a more general introduction to the phenomenon of medieval saints’ cults, you really can’t do better than Peter Brown’s The Cult of the Saints (University of Chicago Press, 1981).

 

Music Credits

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

Outro Music - "Stormfront" by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4421-stormfront
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

 

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