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/
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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