Saga Shorts 2 - The Tale of Thorstein Bull's-leg

For our second episode of Saga Shorts, we've chosen the brilliant "Tale of Thorstein Bull's-leg" (Þorsteins Þáttr uxafóts).  As one of the longer þættir, this one defies categorization. It tells the story of Thorstein Oddnyarson, a child abandoned at birth who grows up to be a hero in the court of King Olaf Tryggvason.  Along the way, he'll find his parents, do battle with the undead, raid the home of a troll family, experience a miracle, almost drown in vomit, and fight a pagan bull.  It's got everything you could want in a saga and more, all wrapped in a nice little Þáttr sized package.

For this episode, we used George Clark's translation, "The Tale of Thorstein Bull's-Leg," in The Complete Sagas of Icelanders, Vol. 4, ed. Vidar Hrinsson (Reykjavik: Leifur Eiriksson Publishing, 1997), 340-54.

We mention Elizabeth Ashman Rowe's "Þorsteins þáttr uxafóts, Helga þáttr Þórissonar, and the Conversion þættir," Scandinavian Studies 76, no. 4 (2004): 459-74.

Music Credits:

Intro: From “Death Awaits” by Billy Malmstrom

Outro: From “Óðinn” by Krauka