So… Inga The Finnish-American told me on a Nordic forum website for kids (not saying her username on that forum) about Lyrical Sagas, and I decided to listen to one. Basically, Sagas are Icelandic and Faroese stories that can be both sung and read, and they’re mostly from the Viking age.
I decided to start off with some of Inga’s recommendations, I decided to listen to the Saga of Sigmundskæði Eldra. I already knew the basic story of the saga because one of my favorite songs is based off it. (Sigmundskevi by Harald Foss) Basically the song is about some Norwegian king who was responsible of spreading Norwegian culture to the Faroe Islands in the Viking age.
One thing I like about the Sagas is that they sound interesting. Most of the stanzas are different, with the main stanza line. The sung versions of Sagas mostly Acapella with the exception of drums, and there is a lot of ambience (for example, if there is a fight you can hear swords clashing, if there is a travelling scene you could hear the ocean) so that is nice, it makes it feel like you are the main character.
The worst thing about them tho….. They’re super long. The Saga i’m currently listening to is 35 minutes long. One of the Sagas I have in my playlist is 3 hours long. This is a problem because let’s say I am doing my schoolwork while listening to a saga, as this doodle portrays
Well, let’s say I get called to dinner or I have my therapy sessions. My school computer only allows a few songs on Youtube, and you can’t look at channels or save your watch history. Well, that means I have to listen to all 3 hours of the same Saga once I return. Another problem is that my very unorganized, chaotic Autistic mind will be confused on what happened.
Overall, Sagas are good IF
- You have a lot of time
- You can understand any Nordic language
- You Like stories
- Your brain can handle a lot of information about the story, even after not doing anything with it
- You like Vikings
(also, FYI Sagas can be both Non-Fictional and Fictional, I always thought all sagas are fictional, but I guess not :0)
