Saga Thing

In this special episode of Saga Thing, John sits down with Cat Jarman, bio-archaeologist at University of Bristol, for a Saga Brief about the Viking burials near Wystan's church at Repton in Derbyshire. The graves, containing roughly 300 individuals, have long been associated with the Viking Great Army that wintered in Repton in AD 873-74. While radiocarbon dating should have confirmed that link between these graves and the 9th century Viking invaders, results from select skeletons have been frustratingly inconsistent. That's where Dr. Jarman and her colleagues come in. Find out how Dr. Jarman helped to resolve the problem by taking into account the "marine reservoir effect."  You can read Dr. Jarman's article "The Viking Great Army in England: New Dates from the Repton Charnel" in Antiquity vol. 92, no. 361, pp. 183-199. Antiquity is an open access journal, so everyone can read this one. Also check out these sites recommended by Dr. Jarman: lidarfinder.com - This site lets you explore Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) images of England. finds.org.uk - The Portable Antiquities Scheme website. You can search the database there for artifacts, Viking or otherwise, found by amateur archaeologists and detectorists. Music Credits: Opening song - “Rúnatal” by An Danzza Introduction - from Icelandic Folk Music: Tröllaslagur Outro – Ólafur Liljurós      

Which of Ref's many killings will be awarded Best Bloodshed? Where are all the Notable Witticisms? Will our protagonist survive the outlawry section? And how does this saga rank against the greats? There's only one way to find out. Join us as we pass judgment on The Saga of Ref the Sly. Picture: adapted from MS Stowe 17, “The Maastricht Hours” Music Credits: Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) 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 Thing returns with the wild adventures of Ref the Sly. Follow us as we track this wily character as he travels all throughout medieval Scandinavia leaving piles of wood shavings and bodies in his wake.  Picture: Taken from Grayson del Faro's recap of Ref the Sly on the Reykjavik Grapevine Music Credits: Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Summary Music - "Industrial Cinematic" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) 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/

  John and Andy return from a short break to update listeners on all the stuff that's been happening, what we've got planned for the immediate future, and to kick off the Saga Thing listener promotion contest. Yes, that's right, we're asking our loyal listeners to help us promote the podcast by spreading the word through creative expression. Evan Quinlan got the ball rolling without even realizing we were planning this. You can see his handywork in the image above. He's the first entry into the contest and the current leader. Do you have what it takes to unseat him? Winners of the contest will receive fabulous prizes! How exciting. Listen to the episode for more details.

Before we get back to the sagas of the Icelanders, we're pausing once again to provide you with some of the more interesting history and stories behind the History Channel's Vikings. We've got two lengthy Saga Briefs for you chock full of Vikings goodness ripped straight from the medieval sources that inform the show. We've already covered The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok, his death poem, Rollo and the Vikings in Paris, and the mythology surrounding the blood-eagle. This time around we've got our eyes on the Ragnarssons. As you'll learn, there are a lot of them. So many, in fact, that we don't even get to your favorites in this episode. That's right, you'll have to wait until next time to hear all about Ivar the Boneless, Ubbe, Bjorn, and Hvitserk. But never fear, there's plenty here to keep you entertained. Learn all about the origins of Sigurd's Snake-in-the-Eye. Discover the daring deed of Rognvald Ragnarsson. Ooh and aah over Ulvi's brief moment in the sun. Hear all about Hastein Ragnarsson, one of Ragnar's greatest and most trusted sons. And then there's Eirik and Agnar, Fridleif, Radbard, Dunwat, and even a few daughters to consider. There's also a good bit in here about Lagertha. We hope you enjoy! Credits: Intro - VioDance cover of "If I Had A Heart" by Fever Ray with Hardanger Violin  Closing Music - Logan Kendell's folk cover of "If I Had A Heart" by Fever Ray. To purchase a copy of the song, visit Logan Kendell's bandcamp page. Be sure to check out his other music while you're there. I highly recommend his cover of Cruzados' "La Flor de Mal."  

  Dr. Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson is a researcher in the department of Archaeology and Ancient History at Uppsala University in Sweden. You might recognize her name as the lead author of the recent article, "A Female Viking Warrior Confirmed by Genomics," which identified the famous Birka warrior of grave Bj 581 as a woman. It's no surprise that this revelation attracted a lot of attention from both scholars and fans of the Viking Age. In this special Saga Brief, Andy sits down to talk with Dr. Hedenstierna-Jonson about medieval Birka, grave Bj 581, and the exciting implications of this revelation.   Music Credits: Opening song - “Rúnatal” by An Danzza Introduction - from Icelandic Folk Music: Tröllaslagur Outro – Ólafur Liljurós    

 In this Saga Brief, John and Andy visit Seminole State College to talk about Thor in all his incarnations, from the Proto-Germanic god of thunder to the hammer throwing stud of the Marvel Comic Universe.  You can access the PowerPoint slides here: Thor Presentation. Special thanks to Michael Mendoza for inviting us and organizing this event. We are also grateful to Aaron Hanlin and the Grindle Honors Insitute at Seminole State College for generously funding our travel. And thank you to the students of Seminole State for your kind attention and enthusiasm.  If you're interested in having Saga Thing come to your university, contact us at sagathingpodcast@gmail.com. Music:  Intro to Saga Brief - from Icelandic Folk Music: Tröllaslagur Outro - Ólafur Liljurós

   The Second Quarter of our Saga Thing comes to a close with the results episode. In this special episode, John and Andy review your choices for Best Bloodshed, Nicknames, Notable Witticisms, Outlawry, Thingmen, and Final Ratings. Will Skarpheðin emerge as the poster boy for Saga Thing's Best Bloodshed and Notable Witticism categories?  What role might the Russians have played in the Thingmen voting? Does Njal's Saga maintain its position on the throne of saga literature? Or will another contender leave Njal's Saga in the dust on the way to the Fifth Court?  Along the way, we answer listener questions on a variety of fun topics. References for Grettir and  discussion Aðalheiður Guðmundsdóttir. "'How Do You Know if it is Love or Lust?' On Gender, Status, and Violence in Old Norse Literature." Interfaces 2 (2016): 189-209. Karras, Ruth Mazo. Sexuality in Medieval Europe: Doing Unto Others. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2017. Grettir's Saga discussion at 155-56. Ljungqvist, Fredrik Charpentier. "Rape in the Icelandic Sagas: An Insight in the Perceptions about Sexual Assaults on Women in the Old Norse World." Journal of Family History 40, no. 4 (2015): 431-47. Scudder, Bernard. Introduction to The Saga of Grettir the Strong, ix-xxxviii. New York: Penguin Classics, 2005. Short, William R. "The Role of Women in Viking Society." Hurstwic. http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/society/text/women.htm (accessed October 10, 2017). References for discussion of literacy in medieval Iceland: Hermann, Pernille. "Literacy." In The Routledge Research Companion to the Medieval Icelandic Sagas, edited by Ármann Jakobsson, Sverrir Jakobsson, 34-47. New York: Routledge, 2017. Quinn, Judy. "From Orality to Literacy in Medieval Iceland." In Old Icelandic Literature and Society, edited by Margaret Clunies Ross, 30-60. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Sigurðsson, Gísli. "Orality and Literacy in the Sagas of Icelanders." In A Companion to Old-Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture, edited by Rory McTurk, 285-301. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2005. Music Credits:

For our second episode of Saga Shorts, we've chosen the brilliant "Tale of Thorstein Bull's-leg" (Þorsteins Þáttr uxafóts).  As one of the longer þættir, this one defies categorization. It tells the story of Thorstein Oddnyarson, a child abandoned at birth who grows up to be a hero in the court of King Olaf Tryggvason.  Along the way, he'll find his parents, do battle with the undead, raid the home of a troll family, experience a miracle, almost drown in vomit, and fight a pagan bull.  It's got everything you could want in a saga and more, all wrapped in a nice little Þáttr sized package. For this episode, we used George Clark's translation, "The Tale of Thorstein Bull's-Leg," in The Complete Sagas of Icelanders, Vol. 4, ed. Vidar Hrinsson (Reykjavik: Leifur Eiriksson Publishing, 1997), 340-54. We mention Elizabeth Ashman Rowe's "Þorsteins þáttr uxafóts, Helga þáttr Þórissonar, and the Conversion þættir," Scandinavian Studies 76, no. 4 (2004): 459-74. Music Credits: Intro: From “Death Awaits” by Billy Malmstrom Outro: From “Óðinn” by Krauka

From 2015-2017 we covered a grand total of 10 sagas.  You listened.  You laughed.  You cried.  And when each saga was finished, you heard John and Andy pass judgment on the characters and their actions.  Now it's your turn to be heard. As always, the Quarter Court reviews the winners from the past 10 judgment episodes.  The polls will be open until September 30th.  At that time, John and I will close them down and review the results in the judgment section of the Second Quarter Court. Remember to send your questions for that special judgment episode.  You can reach us via email at sagathingpodcast@gmail.com or on Facebook and Twitter. Vote HERE as you listen.   Remember, voting closes on September 30th. Get in while you can. Music Credits:Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)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/

   It's time to put The Saga of Droplaug's Sons on trial.  We've got spears flying through dung beetles and testicles left and right in this episode.  If that's not enough for you, there's a man running across the heath in nothing but a bed sheet.  And don't even get me started about Helgi D.'s heroics on the battlefield or his brother Grim's hole digging prowess.  But will either brother make it out of our outlawry section and into the ranks of Andy and John's thingmen?  And if you had to guess, is John more of a Grim or a Helgi kind of guy?  There's only one way to find out! Music Credits: Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) 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/

It’s time for the thrilling conclusion to The Saga of Droplaug’s Sons.  This episode begins with an ambush as Helgi Asbjarnarson finally catches up with Helgi Droplaugarson.  You won’t want to miss this epic battle.  It provides some of the more detailed descriptions of battle we’ve encountered on this podcast.  If you follow us on Twitter, then you already know something of who gets hit where.  Poor, poor, Thord Cormorant.  If you listen carefully, you can still hear the shrieking. And if that’s not enough, we’ve also got Helgi D. doing his best impression of Lurtz, a secret resurrection,  and murder most foul.  And just because we love you, we’ll throw in some hnefatafl, a timely fart, meditations on the character of Vikings in the sagas, and John reading from the Middle English Geste of Robyn Hode.  Follow the link and scroll down to the bottom (lines 1787-1820) so you can follow along. Heck, we've even got an appearance by Don Knotts as Mr. Furley from Three's Company. While this episode doesn’t dwell on genealogies like the first part, you still may want to consult Andy’s handy Droplaugarsona saga genealogy to help keep things in order. Music Credits: Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Episode Recap – “Perfect Rag” by Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton (1924) Helgi’s Poem – “Drums of the Deep” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Grim’s Poem – “Bittersweet” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) 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/

In this episode, we continue our series of stories from the Northeast of Iceland.  This time around, Helgi Droplaugarson goes head to head with the powerful chieftain Helgi Asbjarnarson.  While Helgi D. makes life difficult for his rival by undercutting him at every chance he gets, Helgi A. takes it all with patience.  Does Helgi A. have a good reason for holding back?  Or is he just biding his time as he waits for the right moment to attack?  There's only one way to find out.  Listen, as Saga Thing presents The Saga of Droplaug's Sons! The first part of this episode provides a bit more information on family connections and genealogies than usual.  Please use Andy's handy genealogy to help you through it. Music Credits: Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Episode Summary - "All This" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) 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/

Welcome to the first episode of Saga Shorts, a side project of Saga Thing where John and Andy review the þættir of medieval Iceland.  In this episode, we provide a brief introduction to þættir and the difficulties one faces when trying to define the genre.  If you’re not interested in those technical details, just skip ahead to 10:10, where we begin our review of Þorsteins þáttr stangarhöggs (The Tale of Thorstein Staff-struck).  This fun little tale tells the story of an old Viking’s son named Thorstein who gets into some trouble with Bjarni Brodd-Helgisson, the local goði, after killing 3 of his farmhands.  Bibliography Harris, Joseph. “Genre and Narrative Structure in Some Íslendinga þættir.” Scandinavian Studies 44 (1972): 1-27. Harris, Joseph. “Þættir.” In Dictionary of the Middle Ages, vol. 12, edited by Joseph R. Strayer, 1-6. New York: Charles Scribner, 1989. Jakobsson, Ármann. “The Life and Death of the Medieval Icelandic Short Story.” Journal of English and Germanic Philology 112 (2013): 257-91. Kristjánsson, Jónas.  “Íslendinga þættir.” In Eddas and Sagas: Iceland’s Medieval Literature, translated by Peter Foote, 299-309. Reykjavík: Hið íslenska bókmenntafélag, 1997. Miller, William Ian. “A Case Study of the Sagas as Sources: Þorsteins Þáttr stangarhöggs and the Politics of Accident.” In Bloodtaking and Peacemaking: Feud, Law, and Society in Saga Iceland, 51-76. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990. Rowe, Elizabeth Ashman. “The Long and the Short of It.” In The Routledge Research Companion to the Medieval Icelandic Sagas, edited by Ármann Jakobsson, Sverrir Jakobsson, 151-63. New York: Routledge, 2017. Rowe, Elizabeth Ashman and Joseph Harris. “Short Prose Narrative (þáttr).” In A Companion to Old-Norse-Icelandic Literature and Culture, edited by Rory McTurk, 462-78.  Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005. Music Credits: Intro: From “Death Awaits” by Billy Malmstrom Outro: From “Óðinn” by Krauka

It's time to put the Saga of the People of Vopnafjord on trial.  Who will go home with the honor of Best Bloodshed?  Does this saga have the numbers to overtake the Saga of the Greenlanders in Body Count Density? Who has the best Nickname? Was anyone witty enough to earn the prize? Will Brodd-Helgi make it through Outlawry?  And who will be selected to join John and Andy as thingmen?   Along the way, we get into a few digressions (I know, you're shocked). Among the more interesting digressions is a brief follow up on our Viking spearheads discussion from Njal's Saga.  We delve into the terminology once again and review different types of spearheads as well as their appearances in the sagas, with special emphasis on Egil's Saga.  You can find lots of information out there on Viking spearheads if you look.  Most of it isn't terribly helpful in identifying what each of the original terms actually means.  We recommend Hurstwic's page on the subject as a good primer. They've got a great page on Viking spears and a more specific page on the types of spears discussed in this episode. We also pause to talk about the exciting new exhibit at the Reykjavik City Museum, Viking Animals, which opened this week.  The exhibition is based on the research of Lara Hogg, who shares my fascination with the place of animals in early Icelandic life.  Just look at all those cattle skulls.  I wonder if Brodd-Helgi helped her prepare this part of the exhibit.  If you're in Iceland any time soon, swing by the Reykjavik City Museum and check it out.  If not, then follow the exhibit's progress on Twitter @VikingAnimals or on the exhibit's blog. Next time on Saga Thing, we'll play with the Tale of Thorstein Staff-Struck in our new side series tentatively titled Saga Shorts.  That will be followed soon after by a two-part episode on The Saga of Droplaug's Sons, which features many of the same characters from the Vopnafjord episode.  Music Credits: Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) 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/