About this episode

The episode explores a supernatural tale inspired by Laxdaela Saga and discusses its historical context.

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 . Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/JulietteHarrisson Buy my books! https://books2read.com/ap/nzeerp/Juliette-Harrisson Buy merch! https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/store 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…

Topics covered

• supernatural
• Norse mythology
• historical context
• witchcraft

Keywords

• Laxdaela Saga
• Herdis
• Gudrun
• Easter services
• draugr

Mentioned in this episode

Products: books, merch

Books & works: The Wife of Laxárdala's Tale, The Saga of the People of Laxardal, Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ages, Scandinavian Myths and Legends Vol. 3, Norwegian Stave Churches and their Pagan Antecedents, revue d’art canadienne

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