Young Herdis is disturbed by a terrifying dream of an angry witch, but it is not the first time her grandmother Gudrun has encountered something supernatural in her long and colourful life… Inspired by Laxdaela Saga, especially Chapter 76, this short story is followed by a chat about its historical context, including Roman Catholic Easter services, ancient Norse witches and wizards (and their staffs with a knob on the end) and the mysterious Norse draugr.
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Creepy Classics music written and performed by Ed Harrisson (C)
Books and sources:
The Saga of the People of Laxardal and Bolli Bollason’s Tale, ed. with Introduction y Bergljót S. Krisjánsdóttir, trans. Keneva Kunz
Alternative translation available at: https://sagadb.org/laxdaela_saga.en
Stephen A. Mitchell, Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ages
http://viking.archeurope.com/settlement/iceland/the-early-medieval-church-at-seydisfjordur/
G. K. Lund, Scandinavian Myths and Legends Vol. 3: Ghosts
Michael F. Reed, ‘Norwegian Stave Churches and their Pagan Antecedents’, RACAR: revue d’art canadienne / Canadian Art Review , 1997, Vol. 24, No. 2, (1997), pp. 3-13 https://www.jstor.org/stable/42631152
Illustration of Gudrun meeting a ghost: Andreas Bloch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
