Saga Thing

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.

 

 

Episode 19b - The Saga of the People of Reykjadal and Killer-Skuta (Part 2)

Come to Mývatn, where the scenery stuns, the flies bite, and swords sting! In this episode, we welcome Killer-Skúta back to Iceland.  Not bound by the conditions of the settlement established by Áskel on his deathbed, Skúta is free to wreak vengeance upon those who dishonored his family.  He’ll also have to contend with the various families in the region who don’t take so kindly to his handling of their kin folk. And that’s the story, more or less.  Killer-Skúta certainly earns his nickname in this one.  Along the way, you’ll also learn the worst way to die in Mývatn.  It's really unpleasant.  Enjoy!

Episode 19a - The Saga of the People of Reykjadal and Killer-Skuta (Part 1)

In this episode, we travel to the northern districts of Thingey and Eyjafjord where the Askel the goði spends most of his time working out settlements to save the skin of his nephews.  You won't meet a more saintly Icelander than the wise Askel goði, but you might question his loyalty to Vemund Fjorleifarson.  But, as Vemund's uncle, poor Askel is caught between a rock and a hard place.  Will his support of Vemund cost Askel the ultimate price in the end, or will he make an honest man of his wayward nephew?  Find out as Saga Thing takes on the first half of The Saga of the People of Reykjadal and Killer-Skuta.

Note: In the introduction, we mention the excellent blog The Saga-Steads of Iceland.  You can visit Emily Lethbridge's post on Reykjadal here.

Episode 18c - The Saga of Finnbogi the Strong (Judgments)

It's time to put The Saga of Finnbogi the Strong on trial.  Join us as we review the saga's more violent moments, count up the dead, and shed some light on a few nicknames.  Who will be outlawed? Who will be chosen as thingman?  Will Andy and John agree on the quality of the saga? You'll learn all this and more in the Final Judgments.

Episode 18b - The Saga of Finnbogi the Strong (Part 2)

Join us for the thrilling conclusion of The Saga of Finnbogi the Strong.  In the first part of this episode, we discuss Finnbogi's evolving relationship with the Norwegian Earl Haakon, his trip to Constantinople, and his pursuit of Alf's daughter Ragnhild.  Yes, Finnbogi's got his eye on the daughter of the man he killed on the way to Haakon's court.  The second part of this episode takes us back to Iceland, where Finnbogi finds that fame isn't all its cracked up to be.  With rivals emerging everywhere he goes, Finnbogi is forced to move from district to district in search of peace.  That turns out to be a real challenge after he crosses a powerful lunatic like Jokul Ingimundarson, who you might remember from the second part of our episode on Vatnsdæla saga.  There are many many feuds and fights in this part of the story.  We do our best to cover the ones that really matter.  We hope you enjoy this final part of our summary of The Saga of Finnbogi the Strong.  It was a lot of fun for us, which is why this episode ended up so long.

Incidentally, since Finnbogi does make his way down to Constantinople and we often find ourselves in Byzantium, our listeners might be interested in The History of Byzantium podcast.  He hasn't covered Emperor John yet, but he's getting closer to the period of the Varangian Guard.  We're looking forward to that.  In the meantime, check out his special episode on the city of Constantinople.  It covers the founding of the city, it's geographical significance, and the daily life of its people.  Great stuff!