Snorri Sturluson is described as a “model of productivity” who lived “three lifetimes” in one.
1. Vikingology Podcast’s “It’s a Saga Thing!” centers on John Sexton and Andy Fringer, the hosts of Saga Thing, and their conversation about Icelandic sagas and Beowulf.
2. CJ Adrian and Terry Barnes host the discussion, while John Sexton is identified as a professor of English at Bridgewater State University and Andy Fringer as the Director of Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies and a professor of English at Bridgewater State University and the University of Mississippi.
3. The episode asks whether Beowulf belongs in the same literary sphere as the Icelandic sagas or whether it sits in a different tradition.
4. John says the quick answer is “no” for him, because Beowulf only fits if you cast a very wide net across Northern European, Scandinavian, or Icelandic literature.
5. The guests note that Beowulf is chronologically much older than the sagas, which were written down centuries after the events they describe.
6. John says the sagas were mostly written down in the 13th and 14th centuries and later edited in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries.
7. Andy points out that the saga narratives often present events from the 9th and 10th centuries, which means the texts post-date the period they portray.
8. The conversation returns to the idea that sagas preserve oral narratives but also include invention shaped by politics, religion, and regional pride.
9. The hosts say that saga characters can be used to show that “we have the better heroes” or that one region is better than another.
10. John and Andy argue that medieval studies benefits from both historical and literary methods because neither discipline alone gives a complete picture.
11. Andy says the two of them chose medieval studies for their PhDs because they wanted those different disciplinary angles together.
12. They describe Saga Thing as a continuation of their graduate-school habit of teaching themselves Old Norse and reading sagas together.
13. John says the podcast originally began as a way to prepare students for the sagas, with the judgments meant as a jokey review at the end of each episode.
14. Andy explains that the judging format became its own feature after they realized they were not finishing the project in the 40 episodes they first expected.
15. The guests list the judgment categories as best bloodshed, notable witticism, protagonists, antagonists, and nicknames.
16. John says the podcast has pushed them into “deep dives” on obscure saga features that might otherwise have become articles or notes.
17. The tone is conversational and scholarly, with CJ Adrian and Terry Barnes steering the discussion from jokes about black holes to close textual questions.
18. John and Andy speak with a mix of academic precision and informal banter, especially when they describe grad school, the origins of the podcast, and the saga judgments.
19. People interested in medieval literature, Icelandic sagas, and Beowulf.
20. Listeners wanting a polished narrative arc or a short celebrity-style interview.
