S5E6 Volsung Poems: Sinfjotli and Helgi (Solo Short Part 2 of 4)David continues his series of shorts, deep diving into the Poems of the Poetic Edda which inspired the Saga of the Volsungs. Sinfjotli and Helgi were the older half brothers of Sigurd the dragon slayer. They were Sigmund's first sons and set the stage for the fate which led Sigurd to become a hero. Helgi has three poems, The first Poem of Helgi Hundingsbani, The Poem of Helgi Hiorvardsson, and A second Poem of Helgi Hundingsbani.The Helgi poems feature different takes on the same story. The hero Helgi meeting his valkyrie l ..read more

In this episode, Shawn discusses the kingdom of Kent, the first of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England post-Roman Britain as told by Bede's "Ecclesiastical History of the English People" and the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle".  Shawn delves into the legendary figures of Kent's inception, focusing on the brothers Hengest and Horsa, whose lineage traces back to the All-Father, Odin. He discusses King Aethelberht of Kent, the pioneering Anglo-Saxon monarch to embrace Christianity, setting a precedent for future rulers.  The discussion extends to King Ecbert of Wessex, whose familial ties to ..read more

In this episode, Shawn and David delve deep into the immersive world of the Vikingverse with its creator and our special guest, Ian Sharpe. In this discussion, we uncover the alternate history where the norse religion and culture thrives, not succumbing to the influence of Christianity in the Dark Ages. Ian shares insights into his creation, spanning two books, a comic book series, and most recently, a role playing game called "When the Wolf Comes". Check out the Vikingverse --> https://vikingverse.com/ Ways to support us: If you have been enjoying our show, please write a 5 star review o ..read more

In this episode, Shawn and David delve deep into the immersive world of the Vikingverse with its creator and our special guest, Ian Sharpe. In this discussion, we uncover the alternate history where the norse religion and culture thrives, not succumbing to the influence of Christianity in the Dark Ages. Ian shares insights into his creation, spanning two books, a comic book series, and most recently, a role playing game called "When the Wolf Comes". Check out the Vikingverse --> https://vikingverse.com/ Ways to support us: If you have been enjoying our show, please write a 5 star review o ..read more

S5E3 Volsung Poems: Ottar/Otter (Solo Short Part 1) David isn't quite ready to put the Saga of the Volsungs to rest. This is the first of a series of shorts on the Poems of the Poetic Edda which inspired the Saga of the Volsungs. As Shawn and I found in Season 4, Saga of the Volsungs has a few inconsistent parts, where the author appears to have tried to reconcile multiple sources into a coherent story. So David is back to interpret the original sources to see what meaning can be found in the original poems. Part 1 looks at Otter/Ottar. Two different figures with a similar name, who both ar ..read more

For our 100th episode (shit!!), Shawn discusses the origin of the sun and the moon, along with the origins of night and day in Norse Mythology, as told by Gylfaginning in Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda. (Also with some stanzas from the Poetic Edda poems, Völuspá and Vafþrúðnismál. In it Shawn also explores the idea of looking to the divine when humans cannot currently explain something, and compares humans of 10,000 looking with a sense of wonder when looking at the sun and the moon, with humans today asking ourselves what happened before the universe started expanding, and what happens after ..read more

In this episode, Shawn and David finally put the Volsung series behind them with and episode on,,,, the Volsungs. A recap of the series where we discuss the overall themes of the tragedy, and where we discuss what may seem to be the evilness of women, which seems to REALLY be the easy manipulation of men (gods we are stupid sometimes).... They also give a recap of the main players of the series. Also, Odin seems to play a part in the death of many of his descedents. The pair discuss his involvement while also discussing whether or not he has an endgame in mind or if the endgame is just a gam ..read more

Shawn and David finally wrap up the "The Saga of the Volsungs". Where Gudrun, fresh off of losing her 2 brothers, plots revenge on her husband Atli. After she takes care of him (and ugh her 2 sons with him), she then finds herself married for a 3rd time to a King Jonakr. Svanhild, daughter of Sigurd and Gudrun, also plays a part and does her fucked up duty as a princess in the dark ages and becomes bethrothed to a king way above her age. This leads to many more problems for the family. Including the deaths of 2 OTHER sons of Gudrun, and a step son,,,,, Also Shawn forgets the actor "Kevin Cos ..read more

In this episode, Shawn and David discuss Chapters 28 & 29 of the Saga of the Volsungs. Gudrun taunts Brynhild on having won the better man (Sigurd) while also trying to convince Brynhild that her true love, Sigurd, isn't that great and Brynhild's husband, Gudrun's brother, is actually quite a catch. Brynhild's anger and resentment grow until she becomes defeated and depressed. When her husband is not able to cheer her up she ends up trying to kill him, so they send in Sigurd who unsuccessfully tries to convince her that her life is not all that bad. She ends up cursing them all and prayin ..read more

David presents part 4 of 4 short episodes on the Ring of Power. A Jungian interpretation of Wagner's 4 part Opera inspired by the high German version of Saga of the Volsungs (Nibelungenlied - Song of the Nibelung).This episode has been a long one in the making and it is a long short. It begins with a summary of the final portion of Siegfried's journey, which parallel's Sigurd's journey at the end of Saga of the Volsungs. David includes his interpretations on the archetypes in the story and the underlying meaning of betrayals, curses, and love potions. Jean Shinoda Bolen gave a family system in ..read more