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
A Quick Chat in Reykholt from the Saga Conference 2018
Saga Brief 14 - Medieval Archery with Patricia Gonsalves and Stephen Fox
Saga Short 3 - The Tale of Jokul Buason
Episode 26c - The Saga of the People of Kjalarnes (Judgments)
Episode 26b - The Saga of the People of Kjalarnes (Part 2)
Episode 26a - The Saga of the People of Kjalarnes (Part 1)
Saga Brief 13 - The Repton Viking Burials: An Interview with Cat Jarman
Episode 25b - The Saga of Ref the Sly (Judgments)
Episode 25a - The Saga of Ref the Sly (Summary)
Saga Brief 12 - Catching Up with Saga Thing (Now With a Listener Contest!)
Saga Brief 11 - The Lesser Ragnarssons
Saga Brief 10 - "Female Viking Warrior" Interview with Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson
Saga Brief 9 - Thor: The Intersection of Viking Mythology and Popular Culture (Live)
Episode 24b - Second Quarter Court Results
Saga Shorts 2 - The Tale of Thorstein Bull's-leg
Episode 24 - The Second Quarter Court
Episode 23c - The Saga of Droplaug's Sons (Judgments)
Episode 23b - The Saga of Droplaug's Sons (Part 2)
Episode 23a - The Saga of Droplaug's Sons
Episode 1 - Thattir Intro and The Tale of Thorstein Staff-Struck
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