NR | 1 hr 26 mins | (Documentary) | USA | 2008
In Nordic mythology, "ragnarök" means "apocalypse," which is the general theme of the film. The film begins with a narrator from the early middle ages describing the origins of the world, the gods, and mankind; he then describes the apocalypse: Ragnarök. The story moves on to show us how 1,300 years ago the first Iceland settlers found the home of their gods on the island, an island shaped by unique lava formations and containing the violence and beauty of volcanoes and waterfalls. These mysterious places play a key part of the film, with the sagas of the first settlers are enacted; the film also touches upon the legend of Sigurs, the dragon slayer, who's tale is echoed in the Central-European Nibelungenlied. This is the dramatic, final installment of "The Myths and Sagas of the North" without moderation.
Director: Herbert Kafka
Stars: Herbert Kafka, Mathius Kafka
For licensing info contact Echelon Studios at sales@echelonstudios.us Echelon Studios has over 15,000 titles available for VOD platforms worldwide.
In Nordic mythology, "ragnarök" means "apocalypse," which is the general theme of the film. The film begins with a narrator from the early middle ages describing the origins of the world, the gods, and mankind; he then describes the apocalypse: Ragnarök. The story moves on to show us how 1,300 years ago the first Iceland settlers found the home of their gods on the island, an island shaped by unique lava formations and containing the violence and beauty of volcanoes and waterfalls. These mysterious places play a key part of the film, with the sagas of the first settlers are enacted; the film also touches upon the legend of Sigurs, the dragon slayer, who's tale is echoed in the Central-European Nibelungenlied. This is the dramatic, final installment of "The Myths and Sagas of the North" without moderation.
Director: Herbert Kafka
Stars: Herbert Kafka, Mathius Kafka
For licensing info contact Echelon Studios at sales@echelonstudios.us Echelon Studios has over 15,000 titles available for VOD platforms worldwide.
Category
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Short filmTranscript
00:00:00You
00:00:30You
00:01:00You
00:01:20At the end of my sinful life I would like to write down on skin those extraordinary events
00:01:30You
00:01:35Events once told to me by a young man whom I met by coincidence. I
00:01:40Didn't know his name or where he came from
00:01:44He had written a fragmentary account on his experience on couch him
00:01:48But told it to me with a wish that I would write it down one day and pass it on to future generations
00:01:55He told me then that his youth had challenged him to look for the tracks of ancient gods and heroes in Iceland
00:02:03It was also eager to find out who the people were that were in those days living in its lonely country
00:02:10Where they came from and what they had been going through
00:02:14I must admit that in the last years those fragmentary accounts
00:02:19Which I've kept together and studied thoroughly have upset and deeply affected myself
00:02:25Until this very day when I write them down from the viewpoint of my unforgettable friend
00:02:32In order to make things as simple as possible
00:02:42I've been riding for a few days through this rough country
00:02:46Still I seem to have reached my first destination
00:02:49From far away I can recognize
00:02:52Oscar the home of the gods
00:02:54But I want to go to find answers to the questions which have been bothering me for a long time
00:03:01My road took me to the north. I have been told that I would find this shiny place in that direction
00:03:08And really in my eyes Oscar now seems to be much brighter and more shiny than anything. I've ever seen
00:03:19I
00:03:43Go by foot the less part of the road
00:03:49I
00:03:54Enter a hole so lofty that I could scarcely see over it
00:03:58High above me. There is a beautiful stream of bright water
00:04:02On
00:04:16The other side I can see holes one dark the other one bright and I see man
00:04:22juggling with knives in a light coming from torches I
00:04:25I
00:04:32Can also see some other men they seem to be wondering about in a transparent glass I
00:04:46Also notice a group of armed men and even if I can't see them very clearly it seems to me that they're waiting for something
00:04:55I
00:05:02Then I see a face high above me which appeared like a ring of fire and asks me what business I had I
00:05:20Was eager to learn as I was wanted to bring up all my questions at once
00:05:26I
00:05:30Yet high one as I call him stops me and urges me to calm down
00:05:36Then I start asking what was the origin of things and what existed before in the beginning?
00:05:43Nothing existed. There was only open void
00:05:46Ginnungagap no earth nor sea nor skies nor stars
00:05:51And all father created the spirit of life
00:05:55in the north the land of ice and
00:06:25Water
00:06:32First there was a shimmering light at the horizon part of the Sun
00:06:36There he created the world of glow and heat which was called the world of musk
00:06:41But
00:06:53Between the north and the south say Taiwan there was a thundering stream of water that fell into the deep
00:07:11You
00:07:18Those waters begun to harden like slag
00:07:26Where the soft air of the heat met the frost so that it thawed and dripped then
00:07:31Life appeared in the drops of running fluid and grew into a giant cold image
00:07:37The grandfather of the gods who soon became the rulers of heaven and earth
00:07:45Then they discussed how they should get rid of the old giant
00:07:54And they killed him and with him all the other Giants died
00:07:58Two
00:08:06Of them though remained undiscovered and were able to wait since they knew that one day their time would come
00:08:12I
00:08:23Make clear to high one that he is telling me about great events and an amazing work which is made for great use
00:08:33Yet I still want to know how the earth was created
00:08:36From the Giants blood they made the sea and lakes and all the waters says hi one
00:09:07You
00:09:16From his bones they made the mountains rocks and pebbles they made from his teeth and jaws and those bones that were broken
00:09:36You
00:09:46They also took a skull and made the sky in the clouds from it
00:10:06You
00:10:16And from the rest of the sparks from the world of muspel they created the stars and gave stations to them
00:10:37You
00:10:41Now I want to know how mankind was created
00:10:49And the high one spoke once Odin the highest of gods was walking along the seashore with his brothers
00:10:56You
00:11:03All of a sudden they saw a huge tree standing in front of them and they liked it very much and
00:11:09Odin created from the tree the first man and gave him spirit life and feelings
00:11:16You
00:11:21They build up a wall
00:11:23Which nobody could climb over and was supposed to protect the world of man against that of Giants
00:11:28Both under and over the wall. There were loads of eyes
00:11:33At the bottom of the ice lies Nibrahim the land not only of eyes, but also the dance
00:11:39You there were the fog in the deepest gap is criminals and traitors have to suffer their punishment
00:11:54They're being accompanied to this place by innumerous creatures of the underworld
00:12:00Most of them criminals themselves who cannot find peace and wait for the newcomers with loud complaints
00:12:10You
00:12:21There is also the world of dark elves the land of night was and trolls
00:12:30During daytime they live in their caves underneath the earth and practice their crafts
00:12:36They make wonderful jewelry those are swords and other weapons
00:12:53In the night they come out of their caves and torture people
00:12:56You
00:13:04At the glimpse of the first daylight they disappear again
00:13:07Still those who are too slow turn forever to stone when the Sun shines upon them
00:13:26You
00:13:56You
00:13:58The land in which the humans live is called Midgard and in the middle of it the gods have built their residence
00:14:05Oscar and in the center stands the ash
00:14:09Yggdrasil the evergreen ash of the world which is invisible to man
00:14:20Thinking I'm very clever. I now ask which way leads from the earth to Oscar
00:14:27I
00:14:32One sees through my plan and answers
00:14:35That's not a very clever question since you took that way yourself the golden bridge called Biverus
00:14:47Here the gods live in 12 castles
00:14:50On the top in a kind of glass palace lives Odin the mightiest of all gods whom people also call Wotan
00:15:03Often when the night comes he goes for a ride
00:15:06Sometimes alone and sometimes with his followers
00:15:10Then you can see him at the distant horizon
00:15:21You
00:15:29It happened one day that he turned himself into a human and traveled to ourlessness in Norway
00:15:41The reason was that it had come to his ears that the people there had become some doubts about the old gods
00:15:48In those days a king called Oliver trick was and was in power in our sense
00:15:56Odin made it all the way to him without being recognized and told him all kinds of things
00:16:02For example stories of King Orkwood after whom ourlessness is named
00:16:07The legendary King Orkwood who could follow his family tree all the way back to the giant image
00:16:32You
00:16:37This king had possessed a holy cow from which he got some very healthy milk
00:16:52King Orwell's daughters were valkyries. They were skilled in magic and uncompatibly strong fighters
00:17:01Oh
00:17:23Valkyries accompany specially selected warriors after their death to Valhalla, which is a very famous building in Asgard
00:17:30There they have a wonderful time until the twilight of the gods when they will be called on duty
00:17:40That's at least what the seabed says
00:17:42You
00:17:55King trick or some became skeptical and had the grave opened
00:18:13Orkwood's bones were found but also the bones of a cow
00:18:18Then it became clear to King Trigger son that Odin himself had paid him a visit
00:18:28That's how gods turn to humans the circle of time and power is closed again
00:18:33The
00:18:37Sun is also circulating when she is swallowed by clouds in the sky but escapes quickly at the horizon
00:18:47Therefore I also ask high one why the Sun is moving so fast as if she wasn't here
00:18:55The high one answers
00:18:57As it says in Siebel's vision the Sun can only flee since her pursuit is close behind her
00:19:03and
00:19:18There are two wolves who are now still hidden in the stones
00:19:21But one day they will follow her and the winds will then become wild and rage on every side
00:19:33And
00:19:42Where does the wind come from I know asked although he is as powerful as he is you never see him
00:19:49And
00:19:58High one answers and rhymes
00:20:00the one who squats at the end of the sky is
00:20:04Known as engulfer of corpses a giant in eagle form
00:20:10They say from his wings comes the wind of this world
00:20:19And
00:20:21You
00:20:23You
00:20:45Thus speaks high one and he would like to come to an end
00:20:49We have never told anybody as much as we have told you but let me finish by telling you that from now on
00:20:56You will find truth more than the dark and the evil which will have the following look
00:21:02Odin the mightiest of all gods has as I already told you his throne in the highest glass palace of Asgard
00:21:09His son who is called Baldr is the best and the sweetest spoken of the gods
00:21:15Still soon Baldr is being troubled by dark shadows right and fear of death
00:21:21Odin doesn't know what to do and writes with his followers to the world of the dead in order to ask Sibyl for advice
00:21:45When Odin and his followers enter the world of darkness they soon find the way and ride down to the deep
00:22:07They ride deeper and deeper until they reach Sibyl's grave which is surrounded by strong guards
00:22:15They
00:22:19Hear Sibyl say that Baldr is being expected in the world of the dead his time will soon be up
00:22:25He will be killed by his brother
00:22:28That's how Odin's son will enter the world of the dead
00:22:32first through a dark canyon
00:22:35accompanied by shadowy creatures
00:22:45And
00:22:52To the river which flows from the border between the lands of the living and the dead
00:23:07As soon as Baldr crosses this river he has reached his final destination
00:23:15With
00:23:19Baldr's death the darkness gains more power and signs of evil indicate the end of time
00:23:25You
00:23:38This message gives me a bad feeling
00:23:40And I ask high one one last question about the end of times and if there will be any gods or man left on earth
00:23:54I will answer you for the last time and make use of what you have learned and tell the truth to others and
00:24:01Then he describes the end of times and I listen filled with anxiety
00:24:08And all of a sudden high one has disappeared
00:24:15And I find myself standing in the wasteland again
00:24:19The truth about the end of times as my friend describes it in the fragments
00:24:23He left me seems to me so horrible that I will hold it back until at the end of my own account
00:24:31In those days man sincerely believed in their gods
00:24:35They left their ideas behind in the form of drawings or other illustrations on stones
00:24:49In
00:24:52Those days my young friend asked me to study his writings very carefully
00:24:56In order to pass on a true picture of those people to later generations to come
00:25:04The story of those people begins in Norway
00:25:18The
00:25:22Vikings as the men of the north were cold had in those days already sailed the seas for a long time
00:25:30They were eager to discover new countries both for expanding their power and for trading
00:25:35After
00:25:46Scotland and East Anglia, they reached the coast of a huge island
00:25:58The inhabitants did not believe in the same gods
00:26:01They worshipped another God for whom they had built special houses, which they called churches
00:26:07The Vikings conquered the country hardly with a lot of bloodshed
00:26:11More and more ships filled with people landed at the coast of England
00:26:30Many
00:26:34Churches were destroyed and burned down and according to the timetable of the locals the Vikings split up the country between
00:26:42themselves in the latter part of the 8th century
00:26:51In several cases they took local women as their wives and soon they also built up a well-working administration
00:26:58With the help of their handicrafts and their fresh goods they established a new culture
00:27:04Some of them were so outstanding the stories were soon told of their heroic deeds
00:27:34These news also reached Amelsnes where Harald Fairhair ruled in the meantime with an iron hand
00:28:00This King's legal practice was very aggressive
00:28:04He also took land away arbitrarily from the people and everyone who disobeyed his orders had to pay with his life
00:28:12For one man this situation had become unbearable
00:28:16It was a great Viking, Nattdorf, who used the opportunity to escape Harald Fairhair's
00:28:22Jurisdiction and sailed from Norway with all his belongings towards the west
00:28:27He and his people got into a terrible storm and drifted in northerly direction
00:28:41After some scary days they reached a cracky coast that seemed very uninviting and without any tracks of human settlement
00:28:57They almost sailed around the whole island
00:29:13Before they found a place to land
00:29:17What they found was something they had never seen before
00:29:22A country furrowed with torrential rivers and deep canyons
00:29:33Overtopped by mountains covered with ice
00:29:37They sensed that this was the land of their gods
00:29:40They didn't have any other choice but to go on
00:30:10I feel that I've become more and more involved in the adventures which I'm now processing.
00:30:24My young discoverer, as I would also like to call him, was deeply convinced of the truth
00:30:29of the gods, but now wanted to find out more about the settlers, who at that time came
00:30:35to this country.
00:30:37And I myself also became deeply touched by the destiny of some of those men.
00:30:52There were already some settlers spread over the island and along with them came some horses,
00:30:57which often was the most worthful thing they had.
00:31:10There was a man who had settled in the east.
00:31:13His name was Hrabkak.
00:31:14He had many horses, one of them being especially dear to him.
00:31:19It was a stallion called Freyfaxen.
00:31:22He dedicated half of his horse to the god Frey.
00:31:31From then on, he alone was allowed to ride on Freyfaxen and he made an oath to bring
00:31:43about the death of any man who rode it without his permission.
00:31:58At the same time, another man called Einar lived in a nearby valley.
00:32:02He got into trouble and started working for Hrabkila's shepherd.
00:32:07One day, Einar went out to look for some sheep that had been missing for a while.
00:32:37As the stallion was standing there, Einar decided to disobey his master and took the horse.
00:32:45Einar thought that Hrabkila could not find out and he would get away with it.
00:32:59But Hrabkila finds out that Einar has taken the stallion against his will.
00:33:05The day after, he goes to his shepherd and kills him.
00:33:25Later at the General Assembly, Hrabkila was sentenced to great outlawry.
00:33:35And had to leave his farm and move away from his valley.
00:34:06In his outlawry, Hrabkila then hears the news that his enemies have taken revenge
00:34:11by pushing his beloved stallion over a cliff and killing it, as well as burning his temple.
00:34:17Hrabkila sees his beloved stallion in front of him.
00:34:25And to him it is clear, he has to go back and take bloody revenge in order to restore his honor.
00:34:35At the same time, there was another man called Þóróf.
00:34:41He prepared a big ship for the journey to Iceland.
00:34:48With his family and all his goods, he reached the western shore of Iceland
00:34:52and put into land on a peninsula which was given the name Snæfellsnes.
00:35:05The end of the peninsula was overtopped by a mountain covered with snow which got the name Snæfellsnes.
00:35:29They sailed into a fjord where they walked upon the shore.
00:35:32The fjord was extremely broad, so they named it Bredafjord.
00:35:38Þóróf cast his high-set pillars overboard and promised Þór
00:35:42that he would settle where the pillars would be washed ashore.
00:35:55He built his farm by a cove called Hopsfjord, where he found good land for his cattle.
00:36:02Þóróf built a farm nearby and called it Eyðr.
00:36:18Another settler built a farm nearby and called it Eyðr.
00:36:21Later on, all the stories from this area were called Eyðrpigasaga after that farm.
00:36:32Close to his farm, Þóróf had a temple built, a place where they worshipped their gods and told stories about them.
00:36:44They also told many stories of the lives of other settlers.
00:37:02There was a mountain close by which the settlers called Helgafell.
00:37:18It was the holy mountain, but also the throne of the local chieftain,
00:37:23the wise man who could communicate with the gods and was responsible for legal practice in the area.
00:37:30It was also believed that every man would go there when he died.
00:37:38One day something strange happened here.
00:37:40From the holy mountain, a woman's voice was heard in the valley and everybody was sure that she was alive.
00:37:46The locals discussed the matter and decided to find the woman.
00:37:50As they came to the river, they discovered a woman in the water. She was dead.
00:38:06For a long time they could hear her voice from the mountain in the night and they were frightened.
00:38:20To Swedish brothers, Hadli and Lichnir also came to Bredafjord.
00:38:32Because of their great size and strength they were called berserks.
00:38:44They tested their strength on each other almost every day.
00:38:50They worked for a farmer called Stihl and helped him as a farmer by collecting the sheep.
00:39:02It happened that one of the berserks, Hadli, fell in love with Stihl's daughter, Austis.
00:39:10Stihl was not at all ready to give his daughter to a berserk.
00:39:18Austis was a young woman of firm character and strong willed.
00:39:38One rainy day Stihl walked over to the holy mountain Helgafell in order to consult wise man Snorri Gordi.
00:39:46Stihl told the wise chieftain the whole story and he listened carefully.
00:40:16The Gordi then gave Stihl a very clever advice.
00:40:30The berserk should get the assignment of building a field wall over the lava,
00:40:34where they would have to push aside some huge rocks which were thought to be impossible.
00:40:40If they against all expectations managed to carry out this job, Hadli should be allowed to marry Austis.
00:40:46The farmer Stihl agreed on that.
00:40:58The berserks got the assignment and started working.
00:41:10After a short talk they started building the wall and the impossible happened.
00:41:24The berserks carried out the task successfully.
00:41:28The farmer Stihl on the other hand became so furious that he decided to kill the berserks,
00:41:40rather than to give his daughter to one of them.
00:41:44This he did in a malignant way and threw the dead bodies in a deep pit in the lava.
00:41:50But he never found happiness in life and later became a victim of murder himself.
00:42:02His daughter though married a wise chieftain in the area.
00:42:12There is also the story of a man called Björn who lived in this region as well.
00:42:24He loved a married woman called Thurid. She was Norrish Gordi's younger sister.
00:42:34As often as he could Björn ran over the mountains to meet his beloved one secretly.
00:42:44Soon this story got around and Björn was supposed to be killed.
00:43:04Yet he was able to protect himself and in self-defense he killed one of his enemies.
00:43:12For this he had to pay a high price. He had to leave the country with no return.
00:43:18And all this belongs to the saga of the people of Bredafjord which I call Eribekja saga.
00:43:42Eribekja
00:43:56In those days my friend who was eager for knowledge could not know that many stories of those and other similar events found their way to the middle of Europe.
00:44:06Whether they were told by merchants that had picked them up is difficult to say.
00:44:10In any case similar stories to those which I have written down can also be found in central European books.
00:44:18In those days times were very difficult and life was often marked by hardship and starvation.
00:44:42This does not condemn me my arrogance but it fills me with gratification that at this time people had already been Christianized.
00:44:50But still those stories are in many aspects marked by our pagan ways.
00:45:00In the manuscripts there is a story of Sigurd the dragon slayer.
00:45:12One day a poet told the story of his life and called him Sigrid.
00:45:30In these legends I also recognize many of the Icelandic landscapes.
00:45:36Therefore I would like to go briefly into the matter.
00:45:40Sigrid was at that time on his way to a mountain in which there was to be a treasure hidden inside.
00:45:46The mountain similar to a castle was protected by dragons who were the guardians of the treasure.
00:46:14Sigrid managed to slay the dragons and then he bathed in their blood.
00:46:22After that he caught sight of the treasure which continuously fell down the mountain hill.
00:46:37Sigrid took possession of the treasure and carried it to the court in Worms.
00:46:49There the Nibelungs were sitting on a king's throne.
00:47:00Sigrid rode with a great triumph into Worms and the following years were years of peace and wealth.
00:47:30He took the king's daughter Queen Will for a while but still envy and jealousy began to escalate.
00:47:59They were further stirred up when the king of the Nibelungs needed Sigfrid's cunning to become Brunnhild from the north as a wife.
00:48:18Yet she soon discovered a deception and in Hagen von Trondheim a brave warrior she found an ally.
00:48:25They decided to kill Sigfrid.
00:48:29In the meantime the king of the Nibelungs also supported a plan to kill Sigfrid since he had become too powerful.
00:48:36In pretense they organized a hunt in a nearby forest.
00:48:48And then the treasurer's Hagen used the opportunity to kill Sigfrid.
00:49:07Sigfrid's dead body was placed on the stairs in front of his widow's cream hills room and her lamentation was without an end.
00:49:38Hagen then sank the treasure of the Nibelungs in a river called Rhine.
00:49:44No one else was ever supposed to take possession of the treasure.
00:49:55After that Grimhild was obsessed by the thought of taking revenge.
00:49:59It therefore suited her fine that King Edsel from the east asked for her hand.
00:50:05She agrees without hesitating and starts her journey.
00:50:09She is accompanied by a few abiders.
00:50:11They traveled up the river Donau and often enjoyed the hospitality of friendly rulers who possessed land at the riverside.
00:50:37After a long journey Grimhild meets her husband on a huge plain and moves as his wife to his court.
00:50:52In pretense she invites her kinsmen to waltz.
00:50:55Among them is Hagen who is very skeptical.
00:50:59This was to become the last journey of the Nibelungs.
00:51:25As they arrive at Edsel's court Grimhild immediately gives an order to kill them all.
00:51:30She herself is also killed with a sword.
00:51:58And this is the end of the Nibelungs saga.
00:52:01The story of their life, their distress and their death.
00:52:10Brothers will fight and kill each other.
00:52:12Sons of sisters will cut their blood bonds.
00:52:15Ill is the fate of man says Sibyl's vision.
00:52:20While I'm writing these lines I feel an increasing darkness in my mind.
00:52:30My companion from earlier days also again and again came across some incidents where killing of kinsmen and feuds in families had partly horrible and dreadful consequences.
00:52:44In his notes I found the story of a woman named Gudrun.
00:52:48Her family came from Norway to Iceland with a short stop in Scotland on the way and settled in a fjord where there was fertile ground and a river filled with fish.
00:53:02Therefore they named the area Laxardalur or Salmon River Valley.
00:53:18There was also a mountain where elves lived.
00:53:32It wasn't until she grew old that Gudrun realized how horrible mistakes she had made in her younger days.
00:53:44These events which I will now tell you about caught up with her again and again also in her dreams.
00:54:14Gudrun had fallen in love with a man called Kjartan and they had a relationship.
00:54:29But Bodli who had grown up with Kjartan was also in love with Gudrun and therefore Gudrun always had visions where she saw both men.
00:54:46It happened one day that both Kjartan and Bodli had to travel for trading to the court of the Norwegian king.
00:54:53Bodli sailed earlier back to Iceland. He spread the lie that Kjartan had found a new love in Norway.
00:55:01As Gudrun hears this she gets so furious that she spurs her brothers and Bodli on to kill Kjartan after his return to Iceland.
00:55:13After that Bodli marries Gudrun but soon she discovers this terrible intrigue.
00:55:27But too late.
00:55:46Later when she is asked by her son whom she had really loved the most she says that she will only tell this to him.
00:55:54Her son asks her to do so. Then she says though I treated him worst I loved him best. Probably meaning Kjartan.
00:56:11Gudrun lived to a great age. She died at Helgefell and is buried there. And this is the end of the story.
00:56:21In those days my young friend said to me I hope that no one here will harm another neither cause misfortune or death or swing the sharp edged sword even if he finds his brother's murder abound.
00:56:38Now when I have almost gone through all his notes I understand his words completely.
00:56:49His pride almost costed him his life but he was also industrious and arduous and I've never known a better warrior.
00:56:57Thus spoke once a woman called Þjólhild about her husband Eirik after he had been banished from Iceland for the slaying of two men.
00:57:14He waited until it got dark.
00:57:21And then he rode with some of his Arbeiders to the west.
00:57:29Next day he reached the Hadland's knifelessness where the people from Bredafjord lived.
00:57:38Eirik selected a group of men that were strong fearless and skilled in handicrafts.
00:57:49With them he wanted to seek the land which was mentioned in old tales and supposed to be located further to the north.
00:58:05Once they had made their ship ready they sailed away.
00:58:14After some journey they approached an island where they were greeted by ice and darkness.
00:58:45After sailing for some time southwards along the coast they found halfway suitable land for settlement.
00:58:54They named the land Greenland and there they built a Viking colony.
00:58:59Many years later when Eirik's children came to Greenland he one day told them his story.
00:59:05He was a really good storyteller. He told them about their mother Þjólhild, his own heroic deeds, the discovery of Greenland and many other things.
00:59:35It was a beautiful day in Greenland and I wanted to go and see it.
00:59:40I started looking for a place where I could spend the rest of my life.
00:59:44I decided to go to a place called Sleipnir.
00:59:47It was about a thousand meters from Eirik's house.
00:59:50I went to Eirik's house in Sleipnir.
00:59:53There I met a man named Eirik. He was a young man.
00:59:58And when I was there I met his guest.
01:00:04I met his guest.
01:00:10His son's name was Leif.
01:00:12He was a very good listener and also had the blood of a discoverer in his veins.
01:00:21Some years later as he was a grown up man he sailed from Greenland further westwards and became the first white man that ever set his foot on the new continent.
01:00:34He called the land Vinland and spent a few years on this unknown continent.
01:00:41The Vikings stayed in Greenland for a very long time. Also Eirik and his wife.
01:01:11Until an epidemic broke out killing a lot of people.
01:01:24And here ends also this saga.
01:01:27By reading the notes I can see that my friend was mostly taken with those men who rather wanted to risk their lives than to leave their country.
01:01:42I will now try to give an exact account of those events from the notes and the stories the young man entrusted me with.
01:01:50There was a man called Gunnar who lived on the farm Hlyðarendi in southern part of Iceland.
01:01:56People called him Gunnar on Hlyðarendi.
01:02:02One summer Gunnar came home from the outing with some friends.
01:02:15In front of his people he offended his wife Hallgríðr by slapping her in the face.
01:02:21In this moment he could not foresee the consequences of his act.
01:02:30Gunnar who was by nature a man of peace was involved in many battles in his home region where several men were killed.
01:02:40With his brother he was sentenced to outlawry and to leave the country.
01:02:45Which in those days was the worst that would happen to an Icelander.
01:02:50One day both of them rode together as most people assumed for the last time from the river hill towards the coast where a ship was waiting ready to take them abroad.
01:03:21Gunnar and Hallgríðr were on their way to Iceland.
01:03:25Gunnar and Hallgríðr were on their way to Iceland.
01:03:28Gunnar and Hallgríðr were on their way to Iceland.
01:03:31Gunnar and Hallgríðr were on their way to Iceland.
01:03:34Gunnar and Hallgríðr were on their way to Iceland.
01:03:37Gunnar and Hallgríðr were on their way to Iceland.
01:03:40Gunnar and Hallgríðr were on their way to Iceland.
01:03:43Gunnar and Hallgríðr were on their way to Iceland.
01:03:46Gunnar and Hallgríðr were on their way to Iceland.
01:03:56During the ride many thoughts would have gone through Gunnar's head and he became more and more reluctant to leave his home.
01:04:16During the ride many thoughts would have gone through Gunnar's head and he became more and more reluctant to leave his home.
01:04:33As the brothers rode down to the plains it happened that Gunnar looked back up to his farm at Líðrendi.
01:04:39Then he said to his brother, how lovely is the hillside.
01:04:43I will ride back home and not go anywhere at all.
01:04:46It was simply impossible for him to leave his home country.
01:04:57His brother couldn't convince him of the opposite.
01:05:00He had to go abroad alone.
01:05:09I will ride back home and not go anywhere at all.
01:05:32In the end Gunnar paid this decision with his life.
01:05:36His enemy sneaked at him one night and after his wife refused to help him in a crucial moment they killed him.
01:05:58My friend never revealed to me from where he knew all those stories and details.
01:06:03His knowledge though made a deep impression on me.
01:06:07I heard about a man named Grettir who lived in the north.
01:06:19There a ghost with the name of Glaumr was causing a lot of trouble.
01:06:23He had been a shepherd before he died and was frightening the farmers in the area quite a lot.
01:06:29One night Glaumr came to the farm where Grettir was staying.
01:06:48He fought with the ghost and won which made the farmers very grateful to Grettir.
01:06:58Since they could now take up their normal life again.
01:07:14Because of a certain injustice Grettir had to live as an outlaw for 20 years.
01:07:28As such he wandered through the country always at the risk of being caught.
01:07:59In the end he landed in the hands of his enemies who killed him.
01:08:08The young man once told me that he would not have felt at ease if he wouldn't have visited Grettir's grave and then added.
01:08:16I am deeply moved by some man's destiny.
01:08:20But what touched me most was that of a family living in the fjords in the northwest.
01:08:26You will find their story in my notes.
01:08:46And as a matter of fact when I am writing these lines I feel exactly the same.
01:08:52Because this is an extremely sad story.
01:08:56It is the story of the brave Gisli and his devoted wife Odel.
01:09:06Their ancestors had moved from Norway here to Högadal.
01:09:14One day Gisli and Odel arranged a family feast in order to adjust some serious differences.
01:09:27Gisli and Odel
01:09:45Gisli does all he can to improve the atmosphere in the family.
01:09:49But his attempt fails.
01:09:57Gisli and Odel
01:10:09Gisli's brother-in-law is murdered in a malignant way because of jealousy.
01:10:14And Gisli has no other choice than to take revenge by killing one of his kinsmen.
01:10:19For that he is sentenced to outlawry.
01:10:27I imagine that the outlaw was in a terrible situation.
01:10:32All the flames fiery love had roused were put out again
01:10:37when Gisli was forced to say goodbye to his home and his beloved wife.
01:10:56Gisli and Odel
01:11:19Gisli seeks shelter in an abandoned fjord in order not to be found.
01:11:27Gisli and Odel
01:11:53He leads a very cautious life.
01:11:56And only enters inhabited areas in order to get some food and catch some fish in the rivers which he mostly eats raw.
01:12:27Gisli and Odel
01:12:30Gisli and Odel
01:12:53In bright summer nights he wanders about with sword and shield
01:12:57looking for places where he can easily hide very quickly if necessary.
01:13:28But still he becomes more and more troubled by bad visions and dreams.
01:13:41Again and again he sees a woman who shows him many bonfires.
01:13:46For Gisli the fires indicate his own lifetime.
01:13:58More and more often he dreams that one fire after another is getting smaller or going out.
01:14:13It is now clear to him that his days have come to an end.
01:14:28His hunters have already discovered his track and Gisli's wife Odel also hears that conspiracy plans are being made.
01:14:36She and her stepdaughter try to help Gisli when he is attacked by his enemies.
01:14:42Odel fights for her husband's life and even kills one man herself.
01:14:47In that moment Gisli is in no doubt how well married he is.
01:14:52There are always more and more attackers.
01:14:55Gisli manages to kill some of them but in the fight he gets severely wounded himself.
01:15:02As he longs for a pause an attacker gives him the death blow.
01:15:25To be continued...
01:15:55To be continued...
01:16:25To be continued...
01:16:55To be continued...
01:17:25To be continued...
01:17:55To be continued...
01:18:00To be continued...
01:18:05To be continued...
01:18:10To be continued...
01:18:15To be continued...
01:18:21Before it is enwrapped by threatening clouds.
01:18:36And Sibil rises from a grave and calls upon every god and hero in Valhalla for the final battle.
01:18:43It is Ragnarok, the time when the world comes to an end.
01:18:51In vain Thor slides his hammer against the giants since the order of the world is dispersing.
01:19:05An abandoned ship comes sailing over the sea. It is made of finger and toenails of the dead.
01:19:21The earth begins to tremble. Hot blazes can be seen all around.
01:19:26And with greed they swallow the land that once was shaped by the gods with wise providence and great order.
01:19:50And with greed they swallow the land that once was shaped by the gods with wise providence and great order.
01:20:20In the canyons all the waters break through and rush down into an endless deep.
01:20:50Finally the mountains burst and the sun and the moon are swallowed by the flames.
01:20:55This is the apocalypse. Hell opens up and gobbles the dead.
01:21:21The world of gods and man have sunk.
01:21:26To be continued...
01:21:56To be continued...
01:22:26Reflected by a new brightness.
01:22:29And one day the gods will return and create a new world with new humans.
01:23:00As he had handed the last notes over to me, he asked me to put them into comprehensive words and pass them on
01:23:07so that they would be told over and over again.
01:23:13Then he looked at me for the last time with a sad look in his eyes, stepped upon his horse and rode away.
01:23:30And even though my eyes are getting very tired, I can still see his face very clearly for me.
01:23:38But now I will close my book.
01:23:46If it should ever be discovered, then those stories should be told until the end of times.
01:23:59To be continued...
01:24:29To be continued...
01:24:59To be continued...
01:25:29To be continued...
01:25:59To be continued...