The final chapter of the Saga of the Volsungs follows Sigurd as he finds that navigating relationships with the in-laws is way, way more hazardous than fighting a dragon. He finds the famliy he never had, but generations of betrayal and murder finally catch up with what has been perhaps the most honorable of the Volsungs...you know, minus that one tiny murder he committed. Also, if someone with nothing to gain from it tells you a ring is cursed, you should absolutely believe them.
In the creature of the week, you'll see why funeral homes should be surrounded by catnip and toy mice in order to keep this giant, spectral Celtic cat from stealing souls.
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It is I, yet again, come to ask the mighty Jason to expand my knowledge stores from yon fount of wisdom.
I have listened to thine saga of the great and murderous Volsungs, and here are my most prominent and SUPER SERIOUS questions.
1. Given your brief description of weregilds and Norse “murder law”, would it not make sense for Sigi to immediately confess to the murder of his neighbor’s thrall, Bredi? He was just a thrall after all.
Certainly paying a fine, or buying his neighbor a new thrall is preferable to uh, BEING HUNTED DOWN BY ANGRY MEN WITH AXES, SWORDS AND ARROWS.
and i get it, if Sigi did confess, then he wouldn’t be chased away, and then we wouldn’t have a story. But I gotta say, for a son of Odin, Sigi is kinda dumb.
2. I just want to say that King Helgi and King Hoddbrodd (Hotrod sounds more awesome imo) had some legendary insults in their parley.
If someone told me that they sired 9 wolves on me , and they were the father of them all. He’s basically calling me his bitch. Yeah i’d be pissed.
also , the whole “you are not able to say much of worth, or speak of ancient lore.” actually IS a good burn. remember that the Norse society had values. few of them, but values nonetheless.
a. courage and steadfastness in battle. b. commitment to their own family or clan c. knowledge of poetry, runes and tales.
essentially if someone said i was bad at telling stories, or couldn’t tell a good joke, i’d be about ready to throttle them.
the other insults are kinda wordy and meh.
please invent a better Norse insult NOW.
3. While Helgi went on to become a famous Volsung killer, what of his little brother Hamand? (Hammond?)
Did he found Jurassic Park?
Did he recover the wolfskin berserker cloaks used by Sigmund and Sinfjotli earlier?
Did he share them with Regin?
I find it a bit unfair that Otr became an Otter and Fafnir became a Dragon. Like what did Regin become– petty? (also headless)
4. I find Sigurd’s “Get Rich or Die Trying” attitude refreshing and boisterous. I feel he and 50 Cent may have been best friends in another reality.
That being said, I don’t think Fafnir had poison breath. Maury Povich’s polygraph machine revealed that that was a lie! the “helm of terror” was probably the fear of poison to keep people from trying to kill Fafnir.
I mean, even Odin and Regin meant to warn Sigurd bout what? poisonous dragon blood?
okay so Sigurd built some extra runoff holes so he wouldn’t drown in the blood. but he still got COVERED in it. and Sigurd was fine.
sooo….no poison blood? i think Fafnir’s true strength was his terror. that alone deterred anyone from his gold hoard.
my question to you is THUS: would you rather have Gram (Norse equivalent of lightsaber + claymore) or would you rather be so scary that no one dares even THINK about messing with you?
Gram? or Helm of Terror?
5. lets keep this simple. would you rather eat a dragon heart so you can hear birds and talk to them?
or would you rather drink a fancy mead and forget your wife for awhile?
luckily i don’t have to choose. every fortnight i frolic in the forest whistling at the birds until i regain my sanity.
this happens alongside the “mead of forgetfulness” i drink (Jim Beam i think it’s called) whereupon i stumble aimlessly cursing the gods and shouting at passersby. i forget a lot of things during such an event, like my pants, but i always speak with the birds.
i never forget how to whistle.
tweet, tweet. : )
until next time Jason! please answer those 5 questions/requests.
First of all, I want to say I love your show. I’m graduating this December with my bachelor’s in English. Mythology and folklore has always been a passion of mine, and I love your renditions of them.
In college, I took a mythology class where I wrote a large paper about cats in mythology. I had a huge section over the cat sith (or sidhe). Through researching it, I came to realize that there’s a huge chance that T. S. Eliot based a character in Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (the inspiration for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats) on this myth. Mr. Mistoffolees is a black cat with a white chest who possesses magical powers. It makes a lot of since since Eliot spent a lot of time in the UK. Just thought I’d share this fun tidbit of information.
Amazing podcast! I started listening for a class but i will definitely be a repeat listener
I LOVE THIS PODCAST!!! Thank you so much for doing this, it’s amazing. I found my favorite thing to listen to, I am obsessed. Love and support from Spain.
What was your primary source for the Volsung stories? I’d love to do more research.
I used a few other translations and versions as well, but the Penguin Classics version, https://amzn.com/0140447385, is my favorite and by far the most accessible. There’s a free public domain translation out there, but it is a rough read. Also, check out this version of the Prose Edda: https://amzn.com/0140447555 for much more on Norse mythology and some of the supplemental stories I used for this series.
I loved this series. I am only on episode 9, but I had to come back to these. You’ve done amazing work and even better at helping keep track of who is who is a story filled with similarly named people. You’re fantastic!
Jason, I have been listening to your podcast while cook in a kitchen I work in and I have to say I am thoroughly impressed. I will continually listen and learn. Thank you for the time and effort you put into this.