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/
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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