Saga Thing

Nov 14 2024 193 ep. 83 mins 17.7k
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Saga Thing is a podcast for people who love history, literature, Vikings and all things medieval. In each episode, the hosts review a saga from medieval Iceland and then dig in to categories for discussion, including: Best Bloodshed, Body Count, Notable Witticisms, Nicknames, Outlawry, Thingmen, and Ratings.

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Saga Short 13 - The First Tale of Halldor Snorrason

Nov 14 2024 83 mins  
Saga Thing returns once again to the tales of Icelanders from the sagas of Norwegian kings with a surprise double feature of tales involving Halldór Snorrason, the son of Snorri goði and longtime companion of King Harald "harðráða" Sigurdsson. We open with The Tale of the Story-wise Icelander [Íslendings þáttr sögufróða], a fun little story about an Icelander who makes a

Hwaet a Movie 4 - Grendel (2007)

Oct 23 2024 128 mins  
Hwæt a Movie returns with the Beowulf film you didn’t know you needed to see: SYFY’s Grendel. Released at the start of 2007, ahead of Beowulf: Prince of the Geats and Robert Zemeckis’s Beowulf, Grendel rides the wave of Beowulf-mania that was sweeping nation back then. Or perhaps it started the craze? And while you might think based on the title that this film picks up where

Episode 39c - Valla-Ljot's Saga (Judgments)

Oct 01 2024 95 mins  
It's time to put Valla-Ljot's Saga on trial. How will this brief story that's less than a single Hrafnkel hold up under scrutiny? Is there enough violence for a proper round of Best Bloodshed and Body Count? With only a few nicknames, how will John stretch his section out to the usual length? What kind of surprise reveal does John drop on Andy at the start of Thingmen? And how does

Episode 39b - Valla-Ljot's Saga (chapters 6-9)

Sep 03 2024 89 mins  
We’re back, and not a moment too soon! After the pot-stirring life and unceremonious death of Halli Troublemaker at the hands (and axe) of Valla-Ljöt Ljotolfsson, Halli’s older brother Hrolf Jaw retaliated by having Ljöt’s nephew Thorvard killed by a squad of murderers at a market. Now the whole valley’s on edge, waiting to see whether a carefully-brokered truce between L

Episode 39a - Valla-Ljot's Saga (chapters 1-5)

Aug 23 2024 95 mins  
While we may have finished Svarfdaela Saga, we're not done with the most tumultuous valley of medieval Iceland just yet. In this episode, we pick up with the next generation. The lead actors in this little drama are Halli, the grandson of Karl the Red, and Ljot (aka Valla-Ljot), the son of Ljotolf the godi. And though the tensions between Karl and Ljotolf's families had cooled at t

Hwaet a Movie - Episode 3 - Beowulf and Grendel

Aug 04 2024 123 mins  
It's time for the third installment of our side project known as Hwaet a Movie! In this episode, we give the Saga Thing treatment to the 2005 Canadian-Icelandic film Beowulf and Grendel. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and watch it (even if our review might not cast it in the brightest light). The film stars Gerard Butler as Beowulf, Stellan Skarsgård as Hrothgar,

Saga Short 12 - The Tale of Thorleif Earl's Poet

Jul 19 2024 102 mins  
Though Svarfdaela Saga itself is behind us, the story of the inhabitants of the Tumultuous Valley continues. In this episode, we follow Thorleif Asgeirsson, one of Klaufi's killers and the brother of Yngvild. As you'll discover, Thorleif has that independent spirit that Icelanders carry with them into the courts of Norwegian rulers. He's also got a talent for poetry, which serves h

Saga Brief 26 - The Post-Classical or Rogue Sagas: Interview with Dr. Rebecca Merkelbach

Jul 03 2024 78 mins  
Join us for an in-depth interview with Dr. Rebecca Merkelbach, Assistant Professor of Old Norse-Icelandic Studies at the University of Tübingen, Germany. Her latest book, Story, World and Character in the Late Íslendingasögur: Rogue Sagas, offers a fresh perspective on the often overlooked "post-classical" sagas. We delve into the complex and fascinating nature of these sagas, e

Episode 38h - Svarfdaela Saga (Judgments)

Jun 23 2024 99 mins  
After 7 exciting episodes (they were exciting, right?), we're finally ready to put Svarfdaela Saga on trial. As usual, we drag the text to the Saga Thing and review it through our judgment categories: Best Bloodshed Body Count Nicknames Notable Witticisms Outlawry Thingmen Final Ratings How does Svarfdaela Saga stack up against the 30+ other sagas we've reviewed so far? Do we judge

Episode 38g - Svarfdaela Saga (chapters 22-27)

Jun 06 2024 99 mins  
This is it. We've reached the end of Svarfdaela Saga. In this episode, we discuss the aftermath of Karl the Red's death. Will Ljotolf step up and retake control of the valley? Or will a new contender emerge to challenge his authority? And what becomes of Skidi and Yngvild? The answers may shock you. Seriously. This is a tough one for a number of reasons. We've mentioned that the en