If you thought we were done with The Saga of the Sworn Brothers, you were mostly correct. In this episode, we fill in a few gaps in the story of what happened around Thorgeir Havarsson's death. We start with Thormod's þáttr, a tale about Thormod's visit to the court of King Cnut and his first meeting with his future BFF, King Olaf of Norway. We follow that up with Thorarin the Overbearing's þáttr, which tells of Thorarin's activities following his ambush on Thorgeir.
Along the way, we talk about the messy manuscript traditions associated with each tale, the characterization of King Cnut in the tales and sagas of Icelanders, the wonders of quantum cake, and our vague memories of George Burns' Oh, God! trilogy. We conclude the episode with a bit of fan fiction as we speculate on how the fragmentary tale of Thorarin the Overbearing might end and how it could tie into what we know from Fóstbrœðra saga.
Thanks to Jacob Foust for another great original illustration inspired by the stories of medieval Iceland. Follow him on Instagram where he's @skarphedin_illustrator.
Music Credits:
Intro: from “Death Awaits” by Billy Malmstrom
Poetry Music: "Death Awaits" by Billy Malmstrom
Outro: From “Óðinn” by Krauka
Episode 31d - The Saga of Bard the God of Snowfell (Judgments)
Saga Brief 20 - On Bard's Saga, Medieval Literature, and Dungeons and Dragons with Will Biel
Episode 31c - The Saga of Bard the God of Snowfell (Chapters 17-22)
Episode 31b - The Saga of Bard the God of Snowfell (Chapters 12-16)
1 Million Downloads (A Celebratory Chat with John and Andy)
Episode 31a - The Saga of Bard the God of Snowfell (chapters 1-11)
Saga Brief 19 - Sailing in the Viking Age Interview with Dana Dalicsak
Episode 30d - The Saga of Hord and the Holm-Dwellers (Judgments)
Episode 30c - The Saga of Hord and the Holm-Dwellers (chapters 29-41)
Episode 30b - The Saga of Hord and the Holm-Dwellers (chapters 16-28)
Saga Brief 18 - Women of the Viking World Interview with Jóhanna Katrín Friðriksdóttir
Episode 30a - The Saga of Hord and the Island-Dwellers (Chapters 1-15)
Saga Short 7 - The Tale of the Volsi
Saga Short 6 - The Tale of Thidrandi and Thorhall
Saga Short 5 - The Tale of Thorarin Nefjolsson
Saga Short 4 - The Tale of Thorstein Shiver
Saga Brief 17 - Vinland and the Vikings in the New World (Live at the Scandinavian Cultural Center in West Newton, MA)
Episode 29p - Egil's Saga (Judgments)
Episode 29o - Egil's Saga (Part 15)
Episode 29n - Egil's Saga (Part 14)
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