Saga Thing

Episode 29l - Egil's Saga (Part 12)

Put down the curds and loosen your belt. There's fancier fair on the menu today, friends. This episode provides a hearty feast of adventure and in-your-face surprises as Egil accepts an impossible mission to collect some long overdue tribute from Earl Arnvid in Varmland. After the king's men abandon him in hostile territory, Egil is forced to make his own way through the harshest of winter conditions toward the court of Earl Arnvid. Along the way, he'll make a few new friends and plenty of new enemies. Egil will also expose the dangers of playing with runes and make a little magic of his own.

At the end of the episode, we dip into the Rune Sack to share a few observations and insights from our devoted listeners.

Music Credits:

Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Summary Music – "The Great One Step" by The Victor Dance Orchestra

Preview - "Jotunheim" by Danheim

Poetry Music - "Fornheim" by Danheim

Outro Music - "Stormfront" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Selections from music by Kevin MacLeod licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 29k - Egil's Saga (Part 11)

This is our action packed dueling episode! Egil suits up for battle against a pale-skinned Swedish berserker hell bent on destroying the family of Arinbjorn’s sister. Then he tackles Atli the Short, whose magical invulnerability to weapons forces Egil to get creative in battle. And if the duels weren't enough, Egil and Arinbjorn go on a series of Viking raids in Saxony and Frisia.

 

Want to know more about the holmgang? Listen to our Saga Brief "Holmgang, Or the Icelandic Art of Dueling" and check out our further reading bibliography.

The image above is a sketch found in the 14th century Möðruvallabók (AM 132 fol. 61v). It reads: Hér berjast þeir Egill Skallagrímsson og Ljótur inn bleiki. [Here Egil Skallagrimson and Ljot the Pale fight.]

Music Credits:

Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Summary Music – "On the Mississippi" by The Prince's Band

Preview and Poetry Music - "Valravn" by Danheim

Outro Music - "Stormfront" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Selections from music by Kevin MacLeod licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 29j - Egil's Saga (Part 10)

 In this episode, we welcome Hákon Aðalsteinsfóstri Haraldsson (aka King Haakon the Good) to the throne of Norway. And with the deposed Eirik trying to find a new life for himself in Northumbria, you'd think there wouldn't be time to mess around with ol' Egil Skallagrimsson anymore. But Gunnhild holds a grudge. Cursing Egil to a restless life until he crosses paths with her once more, Gunnhild makes sure that she'll get the chance to avenge her son's death. Of course, she'll have to accomplish this vengeance through her husband, Eirik, and things don't always go as planned when Gunnhild puts Egil's head in Eirik's hands. Find out what happens when Egil meets Eirik and Gunnhild in York.

You can read Egil's "head ransom" poem here in the original. Pick up a copy of Egil's Saga in translation here and read along with us.

You've probably noticed that our latest episodes have been lacking the brilliant illustrations of our pal Matt Smith. That's because Matt's a success. He's got plenty of paid work to do with real deadlines. We're excited to see all the stuff he's been working on and look forward to his eventual return to Saga Thing illustration. In the meantime, we'd love to see more illustrations of the saga scenes and characters we encounter here at Saga Thing. If you feel inspired to illustrate something you've heard on the podcast, please send it to us through social media or our email address. Use the hashtag #SagaThingArt when posting on social media. If we get enough, I'll put together a special gallery on our website organized by saga. Any scene or character from any saga we've covered is fair game.

Finally, for those of you looking for a deeper dive into what we're talking about, check out our updated bibliography page here.

Music Credits:

Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Summary Music – “Rainy Day Blues” by Joseph C. Smith Orchestra

Preview Music - "Floki's Last Journey" by Danheim

Poetry Music - "Fornheim" by Danheim

Outro Music - "Stormfront" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Selections from music by Kevin MacLeod licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 29i - Egil's Saga (Part 9)

In this episode, Egil mourns the death of his brother, Thorolf, at least until someone offers him enough money to feel better about the whole thing. Shortly after that, our hero heads home and slips into a love-sick depression. While composing poetry helps him deal with his feelings, he won't feel better until the wedding bells ring (or is it until the wedding horn blows in this case?). Meanwhile, a new rival arrives to challenge Egil for Asgerd's Norwegian inheritance. Berg-Onund has married Asgerd's sister and takes the property that belonged to their father, claiming Asgerd is nothing more than a king's slave-woman. This insult forces Egil into action, resulting in a number of significant deaths and a sentence of full-outlawry from King Eirik and Queen Gunnhild. The story is heating up. Come along for the ride!

Music Credits:

Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

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

Preview Music - "Vanheimr" by Danheim

Poetry Music - Asgerd Poem from "Bittersweet" by Kevin MacLeod and Berg-Onund Poem from "Lifa & Dauðr" by Danheim

Outro Music - "Stormfront" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Selections from music by Kevin MacLeod licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

 

Saga Brief 16 - The Battle of Brunanburh (with Rex Factor)

In this very special Saga Brief, we are joined by Graham and Ali of Rex Factor for a discussion of the Battle of Brunanburh. This decisive battle pitted the Anglo-Saxons of Mercia and Wessex against the Scots, the Welsh, and the Vikings of the Danelaw and the Hiberno-Norse. It was the largest battle to be fought on English soil up to that time. Five kings and thousands of men lost their lives that day as King Athelstan of Wessex eliminated the threat to his growing kingdom and secured Anglo-Saxon control of Northumbria. The Battle of Brunanburh served as a rallying cry to the Anglo-Saxons who sought to reassert their claim over Britain and the establishment of a new national English identity.

This episode opens with a reading of the poem found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for the year 937.  After that, the conversation ranges from the tensions leading up to the battle, including a Welsh prophecy of victory, to the mystery of the battle's location, the little we know of the battle itself, and then to its aftermath and legacy.

If you are looking for more information about the Battle of Brunanburh from the English and Scottish perspectives, you'll want to listen to Graham and Ali's coverage of King Athelstan from their English Monarchs series and King Constantine II from their Scottish Monarchs series.

For those looking to dive deeper into the source material, we recommend Michael Livingston's wonderful book, The Battle of Brunanburh: A Casebook, where you can read all the sources from the Welsh prophecy of the Anglo-Saxons' defeat to the later, more imaginative histories we talk about.

 Be sure to follow Graham and Ali as they review the royal consorts of the English monarchs. You can keep up to date with their latest adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also see what we're up to by checking in with Saga Thing's social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Or send your comments to sagathingpodcast@gmail.com.

Music Credits:

Introduction – from Icelandic Folk Music: Tröllaslagur

Battle of Brunanburh music - "Ivar's Revenge" by Danheim

 

Outro – Ólafur Liljurós