Saga Stories #5: Volcanoes in the Sagas 

That's so good to hear! Sparking new interest in Iceland and its unique medieval literature is exactly what this video series is about. Hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories videos in the future. Very best wishes, from Matthew Roby and the Reykjavík Grapevine team

Yes, as you can see we had all weathers that day... so I couldn't resist making that comment at the end!

Thank you for your continued support! Glad you are finding them enjoyable and useful. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you for your very kind words. It's great to see that the videos are being enjoyed all over the world! And yes, the landscape and weather were exceptionally co-operative that day. Like you said, the snow was right on cue! Thank you for your interest in the series and we hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories in the future. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Yes, it was a surreal, unforgettable experience. Definitely the most interesting Saga Stories location so far. Thank you for your interest!

Thanks for your interest! Yes, this was my favourite location for filming a Saga Story so far. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

@@TheReykjavikGrapevine I wonder, do students get to come here for any school excursions or study groups? or is this all just too familiar? 🤣

I recently saw that there's a primary school in Akranes on Hvalfjörður that does assignments on this saga, probably because they're so close to some of its main sites. Maybe they go and see the island on field trips but, as you say, many of them will already have seen it even if they don't know its significance.

@@TheReykjavikGrapevine I think it' so 'cool' if the next generation know their countries past, language, and the origins of their culture. so MUCH HAS BEEN LOST TO THE WORLD GLOBALLY AND WE SHOULD REVIVE WHAT WE CAN! (oops sorry 4 caps lock) I love this series, it makes me wish I could go back in time. 🤨

Yes, this must have been the most exciting location for any of the Saga Stories videos so far. We'll always aim to keep up the beautiful scenery, but this one will be tough to beat!

Obviously the context is quite different, but you're quite right: the study of Icelandic history, including the geological history since settlement, has always relied on the literary sources as well as the physical evidence.

@@TheReykjavikGrapevine It was the 'tales from old times' in the US Pacific Northwest that tied the wave marks on mountain sides and ghost forests to giant tsunamis, then to records of an 'orphan tsunami' in Japan that awakened us to the dangers of the Juan de Fuca plate and Cascadia earthquakes...

@@slateslavens I imagine the Native Americans would also have some enthralling tales to tell us, is there a place to find them? 🤔

@@johnzuijdveld9585 If there is, I'm not aware of it. but you can get a bit of a feel if you look into the history of Pacific Northwest tsunamis and earthquakes. We're currently holding our breath and practicing for the next 'big one' expected to be at least 9.0. It's a couple hundred years over due.

@@slateslavens Yes, I've been watching 'Dutchsince' lately where he shows the progression of quakes from near New Zealand (don't know why they are the culprits!) 😀. . all around the fault lines to Europe and the US.west coast. I guess 'The Big One' is inevitable at some point and I was stunned to learn that Y/stone is only 1 of 3 'super volcanoes' in the area (oops I hope you knew that already!) 🤐 Also he shows that there are SO many volcanoes in the west and mid/west. so who knows eh? But the centuries are littered with ppl. claiming that "THE END IS NIGH' and it has spelt doom for some minorities, but never for most! For what it's worth, horses say "neigh" . . which is similar to Dutch for NO! 😶

Yes, for all the violence and antagonism in the sagas, there are also inspiring moments of unity and decency. But, as Tolkien said so compellingly, I'm confident that the same mixture is to be found everywhere, if we look hard enough.

Absolutely, it’s just quite refreshing honestly. I treat everybody with dignity and respect it just seems that we’re moving away from that. I am definitely very impressed with Icelanders. It just gives me a lot of hope. Thank you for the reply

Thanks very much. We're glad you enjoyed it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you for your continued interest in the series. We'll keep them coming! Very best wishes, from Matthew Roby and the Reykjavík Grapevine team

Thank you for your kind words, and for your continued support! Hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories coming soon. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Yes, Snorri goði's statement is especially interesting in that regard! Obviously his flippancy is exaggerated for comedic effect, but one of the possible notions underlying his words -- that earthquakes and volcanoes were ordinary and not necessarily religiously significant phenomena -- is an important one to recognise. Of course, not all medieval Icelanders saw it that way, but it seems that some certainly did. Thanks for watching. It's great to see the videos are being enjoyed all around the world!

It's our pleasure. Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks for your interest and feedback. We really appreciate it. Yes, perhaps in this video more than any other Saga Stories episode so far, the landscape really brings the literature to life! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thanks for your continued support, Wanda. Yes, it was a strange day. They always say you need to go out prepared for all four seasons in Iceland, and that was certainly true: from balmy sunshine to a blizzard!

Thank you! Hope this video series is bringing back nice memories. We haven't covered many of the mythological material yet, but we hope to do so in future episodes. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

It's great to hear that the videos are reaching such a wide audience, including some people who are already self-professed language or literature buffs! My skill with Modern Icelandic is still developing, but of course I agree that it's a fascinating language, in terms of both inflection and compounding. Thank you for your continued interest and support and we hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories in the future! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Yes, it was quite difficult to turn my back on it... and not only because of its beauty, as you can imagine! Thanks for your interest. Glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

I know what you mean: perhaps this is something about the repeated refrain at the end of each stanza? This is a standard element in Scottish, Irish, and English ballads, but it's actually not that common a feature in Old Norse-Icelandic skaldic or Eddic verse. As I understand it, refrains do become common in some later traditions, especially the rímur, which are like the Scandinavina equivalent of the ballad. Anyway, it does have a very interesting aural effect in this poem! Thanks for your interest and we hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories in the future. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

@@TheReykjavikGrapevine Again I can imagine this saga being recited or acted out with great gusto!

Thank you very much for your continued interest and support in the series!

Love it

Yes! Filming this episode was actually my first opportunity to meet her in person (in dog?). I was thrilled when she chose to do a cameo!

An excellent point! Some of Art's drone footage really demonstrates this well. I also very much appreciated Polly's cameo: it was like a seal of approval from the Grapevine's #1 personality. Thanks for your interest! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

@@TheReykjavikGrapevine "a cave that they had never seen before" that no-one knew about. Could it have been a not quite cold lava tube where 2 points of hot lava still glowed in the darkness? . . . Whoooooo 😮

I literally came to this comment section to make note of Polly's photo bomb.

Thank you for your interest, and for your kind words. It's much appreciated! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Yes, she brightens every video!

@@TheReykjavikGrapevine And now Polly is Iceland’s most famous dog?

I think some of the dogs in the sagas (especially Gunnarr's dog Sámr) might be slightly more famous, but no more beloved!

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Quite an achievement for an 8-day-old: this volcano is surpassing even the best saga heroes in precociousness! Thanks for watching and we're glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Hope that you can make a visit soon. It'll be here waiting for you!

Já einmitt! Thanks for watching!

It's Geldingadalir!

Thank you for all your kind words. Our goal with this series is to get more people interested in the sagas, so it's wonderful to read comments like this. We'll keep the videos coming for you! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thanks you for your interest in the series. We'll keep them coming and we hope you stay tuned to enjoy them! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Takk. Ég hlakka til fleiri sögusagna!

Thanks for your kind words. Glad you enjoyed it. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Haha, me too! Glad you enjoyed the video, and I hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories coming soon!

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thanks so much for your kind words. We're glad you enjoyed it and we hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories in the future! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you for your continued interest in the series! Yes, there are several more videos in the pipeline and the next one should be up in a week or so. Hope you'll enjoy it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you for your interest in the series. Hope you'll enjoy them! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you for your interest. Yes, it was an extraordinary experience! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Perhaps a series entitled "Extreme Bibliophiles!"?

Thanks for your interest in the series, and for your kind words. Hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories videos coming very soon! All best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

Yes, this poem is not widely available in translation, I'm afraid. Thank you for your interest in the series -- hope you enjoyed them. We'll keep them coming! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Glad you liked it!

My pleasure! Thanks for your interest. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you! Glad you liked it. For more information about the conversion stories, you can check out our previous Saga Stories video on Þingvellir. Hope you'll enjoy it, and that you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories in future. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Yes, I was honoured when she chose to do a cameo in my video! Thanks for your interest and we hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories coming soon. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Yes, this experience really brought home the fact that there's no better place to be researching Old Norse-Icelandic literature than here. Thanks for your interest and we hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories in the future. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

@@TheReykjavikGrapevine I shall. Thank you for making these videos. I really enjoy how much time and effort is put into researching and preparing all of this information into nice little episodes for everyone to easily digest. I honestly haven’t a clue about a lot of Nordic Icelandic culture and history, but I quite enjoy your presentation. Your voice is very nice and I love hearing speakers provide proper pronunciations of non-English words.🙂

Thank you for your kind words!

Thank you. Yes, I think the landscape really brings this poem to life! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you for your kind words. Glad you enjoyed it. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thanks very much. Glad you enjoyed it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

No, I think I'd have scarpered too! Thanks for watching. We're glad you enjoyed it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

There are a few dogs in the literature, some of which are quite important: Garmr (who kills the God Týr according to the Prose Edda); Snati (Gestr's fighting dog in Bárðar saga); Sámr (Gunnarr's intelligent dog in Njáls saga); and Vígi (the dog belonging to Óláfr Tryggvason).

Let's hope Bob remains a contender for the name. I heard they might be asking for suggestions from the general public in Iceland, so there's still a chance!

Thanks very much! The goal of this series is to bring the sagas to a wider audience, so I'm thankful that you took the time to watch and appreciate it :)

Thank you! That's exactly the formula we're going for with this series. Hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories in the future!

@@TheReykjavikGrapevine most definitely!

Thank you for your interest, and for your kind words. We hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories in future. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you so much for your kind words. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

It's our pleasure. Glad you enjoyed it!

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!

Yes, it was stunning: my favourite location for shooting a Saga Stories video so far! Thank you for your interest and support! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you for your continued interest in the series. Yes, there are several more videos in the pipeline and the next one should be up in a week or so. Hope you'll enjoy it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

@@TheReykjavikGrapevine Dr. Roby, I've been telling my sons about your videos - as they were teaching me Uwe Rosenberg's game "A Feast for Odin." Your telling on location have illuminated the sagas - thanks for producing more. I look forward to them.

Thank you. Yes, Art certainly knows his craft!

Yes, it was a stunning place to film. I could have stayed and stared at it all day! Thanks for watching! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Those Icelandic churches are so cute!

Our pleasure; we're glad you enjoyed it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

We really appreciate your interest and kind words. Thanks for watching! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

You are very welcome! It's great to see that the videos are being enjoyed all around the world!

Yes, the landscape and the literature really complemented each other that day! Thanks for your interest and we hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories coming soon. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

@@TheReykjavikGrapevine I am so touched that you wrote to me, thank you.

Thank you for your interest! We've got many more Saga Stories planned so we hope you stay tuned. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you so much for your continued support. We'll keep them coming! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you for your interest. We're glad to see that you went back and checked out our earlier Saga Stories videos. Hope you'll stay tuned for more! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

@@TheReykjavikGrapevine could you please tell me which one had the reading said at a funeral? I really would like to take it down to keep or slightly modify for a funeral. I just do not know what one it was, hope it was not this one or I will feel silly. I was truly moved but then forgot to get back to it before I listened to others. I have told several people to hear you and see the back ground. Perfect mix. A Family in Idaho USA with two young sons, the mother has Scandinavian heritage I hope will want to listen together.

Are you referring to Egill Skalla-Grímsson's poem in commemoration of his sons? The poem is called Sonatorrek. I read a bit of it in my video on Egils saga, but you can find translations of the whole poem in English online. It's in chapter 81 of the whole saga text on this site: sagadb.org/egils_saga.en.

@@TheReykjavikGrapevine found it, I so very appreciative thank you. I am new to the culture here in SW England. What I have possibly by way of return... May I offer 2 incidents of the necessities of oral memory I have noticed here historically? To me Obviously the Welsh are still distinctively different than the Brits. But song and reciting very alive w yearly competitive events that move around the country. Otherwise strongly impressed i that in pre lititure society.... men were required to be able to recite 9 generations of ancestors....I understood for the sake of property boundaries disputes or legal situations needing settled. The English memory story surviving in a religious calendar now fading, is called 'Beating the Bounds'. (I think same as Anglican Rogation Sunday). A country densely settled and funded on Parish size units (no speration of church and State) note: Sunday attendence times past unwavering compulsory. Serious yrly obligation of no doubt leading men and sons??? Ritual designated day walked the Parish boundary limits of the governed unit. So here is the Good bit: beside logical big geographical objects, like rock, streams, big oak tree....those place markers memorised...the young boys were beaten with a stick (?) At the points long est. to bed in strong memory w pain + visual! Nerologically lodged in the manchild's mind held tight for the next generation. Deep in the trauma mind below cognitive memory recall. I just found it fascinating. Don't tryst my preceptions of my understanding. I notice currently lingering is a token yrly short Sunday church group walk. I assume carry on symbolically strike objects trying to continue race memory? Tribe cohesive event while insuring no land encroachment. But what do I know??? I know a Saga poem I will keep part of alive. Gratitude a western American 23 yrs in Uk PatRicia Saxton. SpocksDaughter 'turning the wheel'....no editing must hurry on

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You're very welcome, as always!

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it!

Many thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you very much! Spreading the word about Old Norse-Icelandic literature is exactly what this series is about, so it's great to read comments like this one. Thanks for watching and we hope you'll stay tuned for more Saga Stories coming soon. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you very much for your interest. Glad you enjoyed it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you, as ever, for your interest in the videos. I'd never heard of lava tubes before, so thank you for the insight. Geology is hardly my area of expertise, but perhaps this could be a naturalistic explanation for the visions! Thanks again. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you! We're glad you're enjoying them and hope you'll stay tuned for more. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

It's wonderful to hear that the videos are reaching so many people and touching them in so many different ways. It makes it all worthwhile! There should be a video on Snorra Edda at some point which will address some mythical figures. Thanks for watching and I hope you'll stay tuned for more.

It's our pleasure. Glad you enjoyed it! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you for your interest, though credit for the poem itself must go to to the translator, Marvin Taylor, and -- ultimately -- to the original Icelandic poet! Hope you enjoyed it and will stay tuned for more Saga Stories in future! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Thank you! Cheers! Best wishes, from Matthew Roby

Yes, we have plans to tell some stories from the Prose Edda. Thanks for your continued interest and support. Best wishes, from Matthew Roby