Saga Thing

Episode 16b - Grettir's Saga (Part 2)

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.

Episode 15b - The First Quarter Court Results

The results are in and your votes have been tallied.  Listen to the Quarter Court Results show to find out how your favorite candidates did.  John and Andy also take time to answer your questions about podcasting, sagas, and which character they each resemble most.  We'll provide links to some of the websites and other podcasts we mention on our own webpage www.sagathingpodcast.wordpress.com 

As always, thanks for listening!

Episode 16a - Grettir's Saga (Part 1)

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

Episode 15 - The First Quarter Court

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! 

Episode 14c - The Saga of the People of Vatnsdal (Judgments)

It’s time to put Vatnsdæla Saga on trial.  We've got plenty of bloodshed, a decent pile of bodies to count, too many nicknames for one episode, and much much more.  This saga also boasts the largest number of potential outlaws we've seen, which raises the question: Will Hrolleif's crimes continue to go unpunished?  John and Andy sift through all the villains and heroes for you.  But with so many excellent men to choose from, who will make the cut and join the ranks of the podcast's thingmen?  And just how many large cats do you think you could take out with Aettartangi?  The answers to many of these questions can only be found here in the conclusion to Saga Thing's coverage of Vatnsdæla Saga.