The Saga of the People of Vopnafjord picks up where The Saga of Thorstein the White left off. It tells the story of two friends, Brodd-Helgi Thorgilsson and Geitir Lytingsson, and their rise to power. The two men share everything in the beginning, including a desire to have that which is not theirs. Their friendship only deepens when Brodd-Helgi marries Geitir's sister, Halla. Later, their son Bjarni is given to Geitir as foster-son. Things really couldn't be better between the two leading men of Vopnafjord.
But things fall apart, as they do in these stories, after Brodd-Helgi and Geitir begin to mistrust one another after a plot to rob a hapless Norwegian merchant crumbles. Their relationship suffers further when Halla becomes ill and Brodd-Helgi wastes no time arranging another marriage for himself, this time to Thorgerd Silver. The resulting animosity between Geitir and Brodd-Helgi proves too much for the district to bear. Men from both sides are drawn into the conflict and some even lose their lives. Though Geitir is reluctant to act as the aggressor, he is finally put on the offensive after some prodding by his thingmen. What happens next is lost in the great gap left to us in the manuscript. The saga picks things up again with the next generation from each family trying to pick up the pieces. Here we find Bjarni, the son of Brodd-Helgi, going head-to-head with Thorkel, Geitir's son. The two are not only kinsmen, they had also grown up together at Krossavik. Though Bjarni attempts to make peace with Thorkel, there's little that can be done to assuage the thirst for vengeance. Will Bjarni succeed in putting an end to this bloody and unfortunate feud? Or will Thorkel continue the cycle of violence and pass it on to the next generation? There's only one way to find out.
The Stone Armor Defense
The above image comes from Hurstwic's recreation of Brodd-Helgi's clever use of a stone slab to protect himself from Svart in chapter 2 of Vápnfirðinga saga. Read all about this and other creative battle tactics here.
For some more on this saga and its background, check out:
Chapter 13 of Jesse Byock's Viking Age Iceland - "Friendship, Blood feud, and Power: The Saga of the People of Weapon's Fjord"
Alan Berger's "Lawyers in the Old Icelandic Family Sagas: Heroes, Villains, and Authors" in Saga Book XX (1978-79): 70-79
And if you're interested in traveling to Vopnafjord and taking in all the sights yourself, maybe take a gander at a waterfall or two and pause for some fishing, then start here at https://www.visitvopnafjordur.com/en
Music Credits:
Intro Music - "Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Episode Summary - "Clash Defiant" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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 36m - Laxdaela Saga (chapters 65-71)
Episode 36l - Laxdaela Saga (chapters 59-64)
Episode 36k - Laxdaela Saga (chapters 52-58)
Episode 36j - Laxdaela Saga (chapters 47-51)
Holiday Special - The Tale of Frosti Snjokarlinn
Episode 36i - Laxdaela Saga (chapters 43-46)
Episode 36h - Laxdaela Saga (chapters 40-43)
Episode 36g - Laxdaela Saga (chapters 35-40, but actually only to 38)
Episode 36f - Laxdaela Saga (chapters 31-36)
Saga Brief 25: Saga Manuscripts and the Árni Magnússon Institute: An Interview with Svanhildur Óskarsdóttir
Episode 36e - Laxdaela Saga (chapters 24-31)
Episode 36d - Laxdaela Saga (chapters 20-24)
Episode 36c - Laxdaela Saga (chapters 14-19)
Episode 36b - Laxdaela Saga (chapters 7-13)
Saga Brief 24 - The Northman Interview with Robert Eggers and Sjón
Episode 36a - Laxdaela Saga (chapters 1-7)
Episode 35b - Third Quarter Court (Results)
Saga Brief 23 - Drinking in the Viking Age and the Sagas (Part II - How They Drank)
Episode 35a - Third Quarter Court (Review)
Saga Brief 22 - Drinking in the Viking Age and the Sagas of Icelanders (Part 1 - What Were They Drinking)
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