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 34c - The Saga of Gunnar of Keldugnup (Judgments)
Episode 34b - The Saga of Gunnar the Fool of Keldugnup
Episode 34a - The Saga of Gunnar the Fool of Keldugnup (chapters 1-5)
’Twas the Night Before Christmas - A Visit from Glam
Saga Short 10 - The Tales of Thormod and Thorarin the Overbearing
Episode 33g - The Saga of the Sworn Brothers (Judgments)
Episode 33f - The Saga of the Sworn Brothers (chapters 23-24)
Episode 33e - The Saga of the Sworn Brothers (chapters 18-23)
Episode 33d - The Saga of the Sworn Brothers (chapters 13-18)
Episode 33c - The Saga of the Sworn Brothers (chapters 7-13 with Thormod)
Episode 33b - The Saga of the Sworn Brothers (chapters 7-13 with Thorgeir)
Episode 33a - The Saga of the Sworn Brothers
Saga Short 9 - The Tale of Gisl Illugason
Saga Brief 21 - Interpreting the Past Series (Part I) - Modern Perceptions of the Viking Age with Verena Hoefig and Zachary Melton
Episode 32d - The Saga of Thord Menace (Judgments)
Episode 32c - The Saga of Thord Menace (chapters 10-14)
Episode 32b - The Saga of Thord Menace (chapters 6-9)
Episode 32a - The Saga of Thord Menace (chapters 1-5)
The Saga of Gudmund the Grunch
Saga Short 8: The Tale of Audun and the Bear
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