Episode 16d - Grettir's Saga (Part 4)

In the thrilling conclusion to Grettir’s Saga, we follow the slender armed Thorstein Dromund on his quest to avenge his brother. Thorstein’s adventures carry him from the shores of Norway to the bustling city of Constantinople, where the exiled King Harald Hardrada leads a rag tag bunch of Scandinavians called the Varangian Guard. And if you thought the Grettir’s Saga author would pass up the chance to throw in another giant of saga literature, you were sorely mistaken. Sadly, Harald is only featured in a cameo. The real story of the Grettir’s Saga epilogue is the love affair of Thorstein and Spes. Often referred to as the Spésar þáttr (The Tale of Spes “Hope”), the epilogue contrasts the epic ethos of the saga world with the more playful spirit of the continental romances. If you have ever encountered the famous story of Tristan and Isolde, where the two lovers consistently outwit Isolde’s bumbling husband, King Mark, you’ll feel right at home in the Spésar þáttr. Join us as we review this deceptively simple epilogue and discuss its potential value for understanding the rest of Grettir’s Saga.

Along the way, we make reference to a few items of interest. First among these are the blog sites featuring Drangey Island. There are some pretty impressive pictures on these blogs and stories about Drangey:

1. http://stuckiniceland.com/north/the-outlaws-paradise/

2. http://fooface.blogspot.com/2006/07/epic-climb.html

And if you want to take our advice and visit Drangey for yourself, tours are available here: http://www.drangey.net/

Interested in the Brother Robert's 13th century Saga of Tristram and Isond?

Or perhaps you'd like to start with Béroul’s The Romance of Tristan:

And finally, we make reference to one of our favorite scholarly articles on Grettir's Saga, Kathryn Hume's "The Thematic Design of Grettis Saga" from The Journal of English and Germanic Philology 73.4 (1974): 469-86. It's quite fascinating and worth a read. Free to everyone with access to JSTOR.