BROADCASTS.com

b'In the thrilling conclusion to Grettir\\u2019s Saga, we follow the slender armed Thorstein Dromund on\\nhis quest to avenge his brother.\\xa0 Thorstein\\u2019s\\nadventures carry him from the shores of Norway to the bustling city of\\nConstantinople, where the exiled King Harald Hardrada leads a rag tag bunch of\\nScandinavians called the Varangian Guard.\\xa0\\nAnd if you thought the Grettir\\u2019s Saga author would pass up the chance to\\nthrow in another giant of saga literature, you were sorely mistaken.\\xa0 Sadly, Harald is only featured in a\\ncameo.\\xa0 The real story of the Grettir\\u2019s\\nSaga epilogue is the love affair of Thorstein and Spes.\\xa0 Often referred to as the Sp\\xe9sar \\xfe\\xe1ttr (The Tale of Spes \\u201cHope\\u201d), the epilogue contrasts the\\nepic ethos of the saga world with the more playful spirit of the continental\\nromances.\\xa0 If you have ever encountered\\nthe famous story of Tristan and Isolde, where the two lovers consistently\\noutwit Isolde\\u2019s bumbling husband, King Mark, you\\u2019ll feel right at home in the Sp\\xe9sar \\xfe\\xe1ttr.\\xa0 Join us as we review this deceptively simple epilogue\\nand discuss its potential value for understanding the rest of Grettir\\u2019s Saga. \\n\\nAlong the way, we make reference to a few items of\\ninterest.\\xa0 First among these are the blog\\nsites featuring Drangey Island.\\xa0 There\\nare some pretty impressive pictures on these blogs and stories about Drangey:\\n\\n1.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0 http://stuckiniceland.com/north/the-outlaws-paradise/\\n\\n2.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0 http://fooface.blogspot.com/2006/07/epic-climb.html\\n\\nAnd if you want to take our advice and visit Drangey for\\nyourself, tours are available here: http://www.drangey.net/\\n\\nInterested in the Brother Robert\'s 13th century\\xa0Saga of Tristram and Isond?Or perhaps you\'d like to start with B\\xe9roul\\u2019s\\xa0The Romance of Tristan:And finally, we make reference to one of our favorite scholarly articles on\\xa0Grettir\'s Saga,\\xa0Kathryn Hume\'s "The Thematic Design of\\xa0Grettis Saga" from\\xa0The Journal of English and Germanic Philology\\xa073.4 (1974): 469-86. \\xa0It\'s quite fascinating and worth a read. \\xa0Free to everyone with access to JSTOR.'