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Discover what Vikings did when they were at home in this fun medieval history and literature podcast about the Icelandic sagas. Hosted by two medieval literature professors with beards.
Episodes
Tuesday Sep 22, 2015
Tuesday Sep 22, 2015
The Saga of Grettir the Strong continues. In this episode, Grettir arrives home in Iceland only to discover that his father has passed away, his brother has been slain by Thorbjorn Oxen-might, and that he himself has been outlawed for the accidental burning of Thorir of Gard's sons in Norway. That's a lot to take in all at once. As an outlaw, Grettir is forced to lurk in the wilds, hide in caves, and rely on the kindness of others for food. Since Grettir's not terribly kind himself, he usually just steals what he needs. Join us as we discuss the last of Grettir's adventures, including amazing feats of strength, battles with a troll-hag and a giant, and a rocky encounter with a witch. Will Grettir get stumped by the witch's black magic? Will he go out in a blaze of glory? And will he ever recover from the embarrassment of his exposed manhood? Find out in this episode of Saga Thing.
Thursday Aug 13, 2015
Thursday Aug 13, 2015
In this episode we follow Grettir through three of his most famous battles against an undead Kar the Old, a giant Norwegian bear, and Iceland's most famous draugr, Glam. We also catch Grettir stumbling in a clumsy fight for fire that will eventually seal his fate as an outlaw forever. This one runs a little longer than the average episode of Saga Thing, but with so much excellent material to cover, we just couldn't resist.
Thursday Jul 23, 2015
Thursday Jul 23, 2015
As always, thanks for listening!
Friday Jul 17, 2015
Friday Jul 17, 2015
In this epic multi-part episode, we tell the story of Iceland’s most famous and
longest surviving outlaw, Grettir Asmundarson.
Join us as we trace his life, from its tempestuous beginning to its
tragic end. Before we delve into his
amazing exploits as an adult, we must look back to his origins. In traditional
saga fashion, we begin with his great grandfather, Onund Treefoot. We follow
Onund’s efforts to resist the increasing power of King Harald Fairhair and his struggles
to come to terms with the loss of his property and his leg. Forced to redefine his own identity and to
make a new life in foreign lands, he emerges as the truest hero in the saga,
renowned as “the bravest and most agile of all the one-legged men in
Iceland.” From Onund, we wend our way
through battles over whale corpses, murder, and legal cases in the genealogy until
we arrive at Grettir himself. We’ll look
briefly at Grettir’s inglorious youth, his troubled relationship with his
father, Asmund, and the events leading up to his first outlawry. Will Grettir learn to control his temper and
put his strength to good use? Or will he flout the norms of society and
continue to make his own way more difficult?
Find out as Saga Thing takes on Grettir’s
Saga (chapters 1-20).
This handy genealogy will help you keep some of the names straight in your minds
Wednesday Jun 10, 2015
Wednesday Jun 10, 2015
Join us as we gather at the Saga Thing law rock for a Quarter Court to review the judgments for the first 10 sagas of the podcast (Hrafnkel through Bjorn Champion of the Hitardal People). After reviewing the greatest hits from each category, we turn it over to you, our loyal thingmen, to judge the winners. Cast your vote for Best Bloodshed, Nicknames, Notable Witticisms, Outlawry, and Thingmen by visiting our website sagathingpodcast.wordpress.com between June 12th and July 19th. We'll present the results at the end of July or beginning of August.
In that episode we will also make time to answer your questions about all the saga things you care to ask about and to share any comments you might have. Send comments and questions to our email sagathingpodcast@gmail.com or to our Twitter (sagathingpod) or Facebook (sagathingpodcast). We look forward to hearing from you!