In this episode, we follow Thorolf Skallagrimsson to Norway with his newfound friend, Bjorn Brynjolfsson. While visiting Bjorn's father-in-law, Thorir the Hersir, they encounter a young Eirik Bloodaxe, heir to the throne of an aging King Harald Fairhair. Eirik and Thorolf soon become close friends and history appears poised to repeat itself. But there's something different about the future King Eirik. He's willing to befriend Thorolf against his father's better judgment. And he even offers his father's former foe, Skallagrim Kveldulfsson, a fine axe as a gesture of friendship. Perhaps things will turn out different this time? Along the way, we'll also encounter an old Saga Thing favorite, Queen Gunnhild Mother of Kings. Stay tuned to the end of the episode for a refresher on Gunnhild's greatest hits from previous episodes of Saga Thing.
We don't cover a lot of chapters in this one, but we make up for it in discussion. You'll hear our first impressions of Egil, discussion of the parallel structuring of Egil's Saga, a listener theory about the three seashells Egil received from his grandfather, and several interpretations of King's Gift, the axe King Eirik sends to Skallagrim. Here are the promised images of the Mammen axe head:
Thanks, as always, to Matt Smith for the great Egil's Saga character portraits. If you'd like to know more about Matt and his work, visit his website and follow him on Twitter.
And thanks to Danheim, a Nordic folk/Viking inspired music project, for letting us use his music. Check the credits below for links to the songs. If you're interested in hearing more from Danheim, visit his webpage or Youtube channel.
Music Credits:
Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Summary Music - "The Vamp" by the Rega Dance Orchestra
Preview Music - "Gungnir" by Danheim
Poetry Music - "Ulfhednar" by Danheim
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/
Episode 38f - Svarfdaela Saga (chapters 18-21)
Episode 38e - Svarfdaela Saga (chapters 14b-17)
Episode 38d - Svarfdaela Saga (chapters 10-14a)
Episode 38c - Svarfdaela Saga (The Big Lacuna)
Episode 38b - Svarfdaela Saga (chapters 6-10)
Episode 38a - Svarfdaela Saga (chapters 1-6)
The Yule Lads
Hwaet a Movie - Episode 2 - The 13th Warrior
Episode 37e - The Saga ofHavard of Isafjord (Judgments)
Episode 37d - The Saga of Havard of Isafjord (chapters 19-24)
Episode 37c - The Saga of Havard of Isafjord (chapters 11-18)
Hwæt a Movie! - Episode 1 - Beowulf (1999)
10th Anniversary of Saga Thing (Part 2) - How Well Do You Know Your Co-Host (with Totalus Rankium)
10th Anniversary of Saga Thing
Episode 37b - The Saga of Havard of Isafjord (chapters 6-11)
Episode 37a - The Saga of Havard of Isafjord (chapters 1-5)
Saga Short 11 - The Tale of Bolli Bollason
Episode 36o - Laxdaela Saga (Judgments)
Episode 36n - Laxdaela Saga (chapters 72-78)
Saga Brief 24 - Slavery in the Viking Age (Live Presentation at the University of Connecticut)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Irish Songs with Ken Murray
History Obscura
Historycal: Words that Shaped the World
The Rest Is History
Lore