The Second Quarter Court

From 2015-2017 we covered a grand total of 10 sagas.  You listened.  You laughed.  You cried.  And when each saga was finished, you heard John and Andy pass judgment on the characters and their actions.  Now it’s your turn to be heard.

As always, the Quarter Court reviews the winners from the past 10 judgment episodes.  The polls will be open until September 30th.  At that time, John and I will close them down and review the results in the judgment section of the Second Quarter Court.

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Remember to send your questions for that special judgment episode.  You can reach us via email at sagathingpodcast@gmail.com or on Facebook and Twitter.

And now the voting!

Remember, voting closes on September 30th. Get in while you can.

Music Credits:
Intro Music – “Prelude and Action” 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 20l – Njal’s Saga (Judgments)

At long last, it is time to put Njal’s Saga on trial.   You’ve listened to the saga summary for nearly a year.  Now, find out who will take home the prestigious Best Bloodshed and Notable Witticism trophies. Discover exactly how many bodies hit the floor (give or take a few).  Learn interesting facts you never knew you needed to know, like who among the many candidates for Nicknames turns out to be related to Hamlet of Denmark.  Review the crimes of the saga’s villains and consider along with the hosts who most deserves a sentence of outlawry. If you could only take one man or woman from the saga as your thingman, who would you choose and why?  Listen as John and Andy debate the question and finally select a new ally to join their formidable bands of thingmen. Is this, as many scholars agree, the very best of the Sagas of the Icelanders? Only John and Andy can decide.  Join us now for the epic judgments of Njal’s Saga!

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Episode 20k – Njal’s Saga (Part 11)

 

Kari Solmundarson

 

The epic journey through Njal’s Saga finally comes to an end.  In this episode, we follow Kari Solmundarson on his quest to avenge the deaths of everyone he was forced to leave behind in the burning house.  His targets are Flosi and the Burners.  With so many against him, the odds aren’t in his favor.  But Kari is known throughout Iceland for his unmatched bravery and fearlessness.  His pursuit of the burners carries him from Iceland to the British Isles and then on to Rome.  Along the way, we’ll take a brief detour to Ireland for a glimpse at the historic Battle of Clontarf.  Though this may be the end for our little summer saga, there’s plenty here for everyone to enjoy.  In addition to the revenge, the battles, and the blood, you’ll want to keep listening for the world’s strangest mathematics word problem and a brief discussion on Entish naming practices.  Enjoy!

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Promised References from this episode:

The Icelandic Saga Map

The Irish History Podcast – Episode 11: Brian Boru, The Battle of Clontarf, and the Aftermath

William Ian Miller’s Why Is Your Axe Bloody?

Music Credits:

Intro Music – “Prelude and Action” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Previous Episode Review – “Whispering” by Paul Whiteman

Episode Summary – “Satiate – Percussion” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Hrafn’s Clontarf Report Poem – “Teller of Tales” 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 20j – Njal’s Saga (Part 10)

In this, the penultimate episode in the Njal’s Saga summary, we follow Flosi and the Burners as they bounce around the region seeking support for the inevitable legal case against them.  Meanwhile, a slightly singed, but recovered Kari Salmundarson prepares his own case against the burners.  And who better to help him than Thorhall Asgrimsson, the young protégé of Njal himself.  Unfortunately, Thorhall’s got a nasty infection in his leg and the case falls to Morð Valgardsson.  The threat of violence permeates the proceedings as Morð and Eyjolf trade legal barbs and try to out maneuver one another.  Will justice be served as cooler heads prevail?  Or will the hallowed site of the Alþing be desecrated with the blood of those too slow to dodge an incoming spear?  Find out as Saga Thing takes on Njal’s Saga, chapters 133-145.

This episode is full of interesting scholarly tidbits and legal minutiae.  We’ve also got the usual nonsense, like old movie references and bad jokes.

Thanks to George Hook for the picture of the Althing from his trip to Iceland. This image is on the information sign for Snorri’s Booth.

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Music Credits:

Intro Music – “Prelude and Action” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Previous Episode Review – “My Sin” by Ben Selvin and his Orchestra

Episode Summary –  Drums of the Deep 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/

 Links:

Some background on Macrobius’ Dream Theory from the British Library.

Check out The Viking Answer Lady Website for lots of fun facts about medieval Scandinavia.

Here’s her page on measurements that John references.

We’ve also got a select bibliography for Njal’s Saga for all the books and articles we reference.