We’re thrilled to kick off our first episode of Víga-Glúms saga, the last of the sagas of Eyjafjörð. Víga-Glúms saga is one of the great character-driven Íslendingasögur, often drawing comparisons to Egils saga. Now, whether that’s because it also happens to be a biographical saga or because it’s of a similar quality will have to be sorted out on the podcast across the overview and judgments. But we’re excited to start this new saga either way, and this first episode sets the stage beautifully for the arrival of the man who comes to be known as Killer-Glum.

Like so many sagas, Víga-Glúms saga opens not with the hero himself but with the adventures of the generations that came before him. These early chapters give us a sense of the family dynamics, the local tensions, and threads of fate that Glum will inherit and inevitably wrestle with as his saga develops.

Cast of Characters:

I’m going to try and include a cast of major characters in the show notes for each episode to help listeners keep track of things. In this first episode, we get to know Glum’s formidable ancestors, including:

• Helgi the Lean, Glúm’s great-grandfather and the most prominent settler in Eyjafjörð
• Ingjald Helgason, Glúm’s grumpy grandfather
• Eyjólf, Glúm’s mild-mannered but calculating father

Of course, this wouldn’t be Saga Thing without a few memorable supporting characters to make things interesting. This episode introduces some pretty interesting Norwegians:

• Hreiðar, a Norwegian merchant with a heart of gold
• Ívar, a Viking with a heart of red (also Hreiðar’s brother)
• A berserk with a notably low sense of self-worth, whose attempts at intimidation don’t quite land the way he hopes
• Vigfús, a powerful Norwegian hersir with a lovely daughter named Ástrið

And then, there are the Icelanders who will make Glúm’s life more interesting, and challenging:

• Þorkell the Tall, father-in-law of Glúm’s recently deceased brother
• Sigmund, son of Þorkell the Tall, and wannabe goði

Víga-Glúms saga is definitely a fun one that we’ve been saving for a while. We hope you enjoy this first episode!

Texts Discussed in This Episode

• Andersson, Theodore M. “Creating Personalities: The Saga Age Icelanders.” In The Growth of the Medieval Icelandic Sagas (1180–1280), 60–85. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2006.
• Johnston, George, trans. Viga-Glum’s Saga. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999.
• McKinnell, John, trans. Viga-Glums Saga: With the Tales of Ögmund Bash and Thorvald Chatterbox. The New Saga Library / UNESCO Collection of Representative Works, Icelandic Series. Edinburgh: Canongate/UNESCO, 1987.
• North, Richard. “Sighvatr Sturluson and the Authorship of Víga-Glúms saga.” In Analecta Septentrionalia, edited by Wilhelm Heizmann, Klaus Böldl, and Heinrich Beck, 256–80. Berlin and New York: De Gruyter, 2009.
• Turville-Petre, Gabriel, ed. Viga-Glúms Saga. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1960.

Listen and let us know what you think:

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Recent Interview Links

As promised, here are the links to our recent interviews:

Relevant or Irrelevant - "Podcasts and Teaching" (KALA broadcast portion)

Relevant or Irrelevant - "Podcasts and Teaching" (KALA podcast portion)

Vikingology - "It's a Saga Thing"

Music Credits

Intro Music – “Prelude and Action” by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Outro Music – “Stormfront” by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

A little Halloween treat for all you Saga Thing fans. You'll want to listen with headphones to get the full effect on these two spooky tales.

Listen and then share your thoughts on our social media:

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Music Credits

Intro Music - from “Death Awaits” by Billy Malmstrom

Outro Music - "Mythic Force" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hwæt a Movie is back! This time we dive deep into the uncanny valley epic Beowulf from 2007. Released at the height of Robert Zemeckis's motion-capture mania, this version of our favorite Old English classic promised to bring the poem to life like never before. It was slated to be an event like no other, at least for John and Andy.

In this star-studded and CG-saturated film, Ray Winstone voices a Beowulf who looks suspiciously like an action figure and swaggers like he just killed nine nicors. He's accompanied by the ageless Wiglaf, played by Brendan Gleeson. The great Anthony Hopkins plays a jovial but somewhat mad King Hrothgar, Robin Wright plays the deeply troubled Queen Wealhtheow, and John Malkovich does his best John Malkovich as Unferth.

But if we're honest, this is the Grendel family's movie from start to finish. Crispin Glover turns in a unforgettable performance as a Grendel who swells with anger and shrinks with vulnerability. Grendel's mother is a gold-dipped, shape-shifting femme fatale with stiletto feet. She's also very much Angelina Jolie. And then there's Grendel's little half-brother dragon. That's right, the dragon is part of the family!

Is this adaptation a clever deconstruction of heroism and myth-making? Or just an excuse to get Beowulf naked on an animated dragon? Zemeckis, Gaiman, and Avary take some bold liberties with the source material in this one, and we’re here to guide you through it all from the perspective of two curmudgeonly middle-aged medievalists.

As always, this episode of Hwæt a Movie includes a thorough summary and discussion of the film, a brief Q&A, and our final ratings: how well the film handles Beowulf, Grendel, and Grendel’s mother, plus our ever-important scores for faithfulness to the source and overall entertainment value.

Beowulf (2007) was a wild ride to discuss, and we hope you enjoy it half as much as Beowulf enjoys shouting his own name. Or at least as much as Zemeckis likes cleverly blocking Beowulf's bare bits from view with conveniently placed objects.

Once you’ve listened, let us know your thoughts. Is this the definitive Beowulf for the 21st century? Or just a fever dream in a damp cave?

And do you forgive us for being grumpy when it comes to Beowulf movies?

Reach out on social media and join the discussion:

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Or join others like you on Saga Thing’s unofficial official Discord

All music taken from the film for this episode is written and produced by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri.