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
Saga Brief 3: Krákumál
Episode 12b - The Saga of Bjorn Champion of the Hitardal People (Judgments)
Episode 12a - The Saga of Bjorn Champion of the Hitardal People
Episode 11b - Kormak's Saga Judgments
Episode 11a - Kormak's Saga
Episode 10b - The Saga of Hallfred Troublesome-Poet (Judgments)
Episode 10a - The Saga of Hallfred Troublesome-Poet
Saga Brief 2: Holmgang, or The Icelandic Art of Dueling
Episode 9b - The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue (Judgments)
Episode 9a - The Saga of Gunnlaug Serpent-Tongue
Episode 8: Bandamanna Saga (The Saga of the Confederates)
Saga Brief 1: The Blood-Eagle
Episode 7 - The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok and His Sons
Episode 6: The Saga of Hen-Thorir
Episode 5b - Gisli's Saga (Judgments)
Episode 5a - Gisli's Saga
Episode 4 - Eirik the Red's Saga
Episode 3b - Eyrbyggja Saga (Judgments)
Episode 3a - Eyrbyggja Saga
Episode 2: Hrafnkel's Saga
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