I’m trying to remember. I know there were sagas about him. Icelandic, or somewhere northern european. He was notable for being a hero in a tricksy swashbuckling way as well as a magician, whereas most magicians play second fiddle and feel less honorable than fighters (Merlin, Gandalf, etc).
Do you know who I mean? I’ve tried googling, but without much success.
I believe the one you mean is called Njal. I’m buggered if I can remember any last or family name, though.
There’s also another one you could be thinking about, the Finnish wizard Väinamöinen in the epic Kalevala.
YES! Thankyouthankyouthankyou! It was Väinamöinen. I’m off to look him up. I hope he’s as cool as I remember. And that I can impress my clasicist friends.
Well, Njal’s saga is THE Icelandic saga and I recall those tended to be pretty good all-round.
I like Gisli myself.
I thought it was
Lemmankinan
:eek:
Originally Posted by Shade
YES! Thankyouthankyouthankyou! It was Väinamöinen. I’m off to look him up. I hope he’s as cool as I remember. And that I can impress my clasicist friends.
Compromise.
Call him “Bob”. 
Or “Tim!”
BOOM
Ah, the Kalevala! I want a Sampo! Lemmonkinan was my favorite!
Without the Kalevala, there would have been no Lord of the Rings!
I love the Kalevala. The bit where the main character deliberately gets swallowed by a giant to learn magic always amuses me.
Oh no! Was that the source of that MST3K movie?!?
(The Day the Earth Froze?)
Yup. That movie was based on a story from the Kalevala. It was a priceless episode.
Wow, this is fascinating. It’s amazing how the threads you think would get one reply tops turn out to be popular
Particularly if we get to make cheesy movie references, like “If he tries something, Väinamöinen will kill him.”