Draugr Talk - July 10 7:30pm
tinyurl.com/UndeadViking
Draugr – The Viking UndeadJuly 10, 7:30pm BST.
If you’ve missed my Draugr talks or even heard them before, you’ll not want to miss this extended, expanded event about the Viking undead.
This time I’ll be partnering with the award-winning professional storyteller – Jason Buck.
So join us on 10 July for an evening of discussion and stories, live and online (or watch later), direct to your…
So a couple weeks ago someone asked if I had done a post on draugar yet. I hadn’t so put it on my list and have finally gotten up the energy and time to put it together. So here it is.
A draugr (plural draugar) is a reanimated corpse. They are not properly ghosts as they are corporeal creatures. In 1946, Chadwick published an essay in which he divided Norse revenants into two types: draugar, reanimated corpses that roam far from their burial places, and haugbui, reanimated corpses that stick inside or near their burial mounds (howes). Overall though, draugr tends to be used by scholars when referring to any reanimated corpse in Norse folklore so for simplicity’s sake, I’ll stick to using it mostly for the rest of this.
A draugr is created when a spirit refuses to ‘move on’ so to speak. The soul remains in the body, allowing it to continue to act after death. Armann Jakobsson attributes the soul’s refusal to leave as being an act of greed and selfishness, and the draugr’s actions illustrate these notions. Many draugar are found guarding the treasures buried with them inside their burial mounds (and with good reason perhaps as their graves are often pilfered). Their greed is so great they must ensure they don’t lose their wealth even if they can’t use it anymore. Other draugar tend to be more parasitic. Rather than guarding their burial spots they roam around causing harm and destruction to those they encounter. Generally, these draugar were violent or otherwise antisocial and unpleasant individuals in life whereas the former variety seem to largely have been elite and highly thought of individuals, such as jarls or kings, who were buried with great honor and riches. One thing that all draugar share though is an increased physical strength. In addition, their bodies are totally intact aside from occasionally becoming larger and heavier with darker and more terrifying faces. They are also frequently described as being “coal-blue” in appearance. However, despite the lack of decay, many draugar have a foul odor about them. As Jakobsson notes that this most devils in Christian writings are associated with the smell of sulphur, this particular detail might be due to Christianization causing monsters to become demons of some sort.
In addition to their extraordinary strength, draugar possess numerous other abilities. One of these is their ability to change form, namely into seals, a cat that sits on your chest and grows heavier till it crushes you, and a disfigured grey horse. According to Chadwick, the haugbui variety of draugar have an association with poetry. In numerous tales, they are known to recite bits of skaldic verse. Contained within Flateyjarbók is the tale of Thorkell who wanted to tell the tale of a dead skald in a burial mound nearby but couldn’t come up with anything. In his dreams one night, the haugbui of the howe came to him, grabbed his tongue and recited verses, and then commanded him to go forth and make his own poetry. Thorkell awoke and wrote the poem and became a great skald. Some draugar also have vampiric qualities about them. For instance in Eyrbyggja saga, the draugr Þórólfr goes around seemingly infecting followers as the people in the region are turned the typical coal-blue of the draugar and are seen in his company. *
A majority of draugar are not reanimated by necromancy. They occur naturally, for lack of a better term, revived through the power of their souls alone. In the barrow-bound varieties, they are often inert whenever graverobbers break in. It’s only once the infiltrator has made their selections and turned to leave that the draugar leap up and attack from behind. In addition, the more malevolent wandering types of draugar are often buried before returning, so clearly there is at least some short waiting period before the soul decides to resume movement, and that decision appears to be made based upon a trigger. The malevolent variety are simply amoral individuals so they reanimate much more quickly than the watchers. However, some draugar are made ‘artificially’ via necromancy. For instance, the sorceress Skuld raises an army against her half brother, and through magic she enchants them so that when her soldiers are killed they immediately return as draugar, making them far more dangerous.
Probably the most famous draugr in the sagas is Glámr from Grettis Saga. Glámr was an incredibly unpleasant individual who was employed as a shepherd in a valley that was being plagued by some monster (probably a troll since pretty much all monsters in Norse lore can count as a troll bwahaha). Glámr was not afraid of the creature. He was attacked by the monster and successfully slays it but is killed in turn. Glámr is buried where his body fell since no one could seem to move it. He then came back as a revenant and proceeded to wreck havoc, killing both men and cattle. He also would destroy buildings by “riding” on them, linking him to witches and maras that caused madness by riding on men. He was eventually killed by the outlaw-hero Grettir. However, in the last moment of the fight Glámr manages to curse Grettir who is forever haunted by the sight of Glámr’s horrifying eyes. Another fairly well-known draugr is Hrappr. He demanded to be buried beneath the doorway of his home so that he could keep watch over it. His orders are ignored and in anger he returns to guard his home, causing trouble to all he encounters. An example of a draugr that should properly be labelled as haugbui can be found in a tale recorded by Saxo about two foster-brothers, Asuitus and Asmundr, who made a pact that when one died the other would sit in the barrow with them for three days. Asuitus dies and as promised Asmundr joins him and watches in horror as Asuitus’ corpse comes to life and devours the animal sacrifices placed in the howe. On the third night, Asuitus comes after his brother.
Because of their incredibly savage nature and supernatural strength, draugar are difficult creatures to slay but the methods of stopping them are relatively straightforward. Cutting off one’s head stops the body. One can then cremate the remains thereby totally destroying the body. Another option apparently was to place the severed head underneath the corpse’s buttocks. According to Jakobsson:
Once the monster has been defeated, Gestr cuts “höfuð af Raknari ok lagði þat við þjó honum” (the head of Raknarr and put it by his buttocks). This is one way of expelling a ghost permanently, and, according to Grettis saga, Grettir Ásmundarson is also aware of this method. Placing the head in this position must have something to do with the relationship between hell and the buttocks, also seen in the aforementioned tale of Þorsteinn skelkr and, for example, in the tale of Þorleifr jarlaskáld in Flateyjarbók. The rear end is often considered to be the demonic “other face” of humanoids, so maybe here is a way to unite both faces.
In addition, the above methods can be taken on a corpse to prevent it from returning as a draugr. (This was frequently done for members of society who were likely to return as draugar, namely outlaws, witches, and trolls.) Most haugbui are found sitting upright in thrones or other chairs inside their barrows, and Hrappr wanted to be buried standing up. This implies that burying a corpse on its back or upside down would also prevent it from becoming reanimated. In addition in Egil’s Saga, it’s implied that treating the deceased with full honors can placate the spirit and prevent it from wanting to return to exact revenge as Egill takes great care with his father’s funeral rites - even going so far as to break down a wall of the house to move the body. According to Chadwick, giving ‘suttee’ to a draugr can also act as a way to soothe the restless dead. However unlike the practice in India where the term comes from, it doesn’t have to be the deceased’s wife who is sacrificed nor does it need to be a true death; others can be put in her place and sometimes only a symbolic death and laying with is required.
The draugar are interesting creatures in that they add new wrinkles into the Norse beliefs about death and the afterlife. Most assume that in Norse belief you go to Valhalla if you died in battle, to Hel if you died of old age or sickness, and to Ran’s halls if you died of drowning. However, draugar indicate some souls not leaving the body. They don’t go anywhere after death. Furthermore, draugar can be made out of those who die of any cause, including the ones that are supposed to cause your soul to go to another realm. In addition, the image of haugbui living on in their howes with their possessions around them indicates the concept of a dwelling for one after death. Why else would they need their riches? In The Road to Hel, Ellis outs forth the argument that the way that draugar fight continuously in the grave and are impervious to most wounds links these creatures and their barrows to the einherjar and Valhalla as there are clear parallels. However, there’s another wrinkle added in when one considers the tale in Olaf’s Saga. King Olafr died due to plague and was buried in a great barrow. One night he appeared in the dreams of a man named Hranr, foster-son of Olaf’s great grandnephew, and ordered Hranr to enter his (Olaf’s) barrow, cut off the draugr within’s head, and to take his treasures. Then Hranr is to go to his brother’s pregnant wife and give her the items and tell her to name the baby she’s expecting “Olaf”. She gives birth to King Olaf the Holy. Clearly this story is meant to indicate that reincarnation and the transmigration of the soul were also part of Norse beliefs about death. But until then, his soul is trapped within his corpse.Perhaps this is why great men were sent off in funeral pyres on their ships: to free their souls so they could move on to another realm.
*I wanted to note that the physical appearances and the magical abilities of draugar also strongly parallel those of trolls. And unsurprisingly, like most monsters in Norse lore, draugar are often referred to as trolls. In addition, when they cause cattle and people to go mad, they verbs “trylla” and “trollrida” are used, further connecting them to trolls. Like trolls they shapeshift and have ties to poetic verse as well as rage and superhuman strength. Like trolls, Glámr has a malevolent gaze that can cause madness. In addition, Jakobsson notes that most creatures categorized as draugar are not referred to as such in the Old Norse. Rather they are called troll, ghost, revenant, and various other things. Additionally, the dragon Fafnir is functionally a draugr in multiple senses. My point? Simply that these terms are very fluid and that Norse monsters had a lot of overlap in function.
Sources:
The Road to Hel: A Study of the COnception of the Dead in Old Norse Literature by Hilda R. Elliss
Vampires and Watchmen: Categorizing the Mediaeval Icelandic Undead by Ármann Jakobsson
The Fearless Vampire Killers: A Note about the Icelandic Draugr and Demonic Contamination in Grettis Saga by Ármann Jakobsson
The Hoard of the Nibelungs by Hilda R. Ellis
Awkward Adolescents: Male Maturation in Norse Literature by Carolyne Larrington
Norse Ghosts (A Study in the Draugr and Haugbui) by N. K. Chadwick
Cold as the land of the dead, thrice kissed by Hel, the dragon came! Draugr and vaettir arose from their barrows and follow in its wake! Thrice kissed by Hel, the hearts and swords of the most valiant berserkers break!
—From a runestone in Donnermark
As we wrap up our theme of “the undead” for the month of April on The Monster Guys Podcast, we travel to the land of the Vikings!
It’s the Viking Undead this week, specifically the Draugr (“spirit”, “ghost”, “phantom”, or more closely translated as “revenant”). Also known as Aptrgangr (“again walker” or “after goer”), Draugen (if by sea), and haugbui (“mound dweller”).
We recapture the essence of one of the most powerful, and perhaps … perfect, monsters in mythology.
Is it a zombie as some propose? A vampire, as still yet others describe it? Or a witch, for its magical prowess? Or … is it all of those, and then more?
You decide as D.C. & C. Michael McGannon venture by land and sea to discover the terrifying … Viking Undead!
Art: Theodor Kittelsen (1857-1914), “Draugen: The Sea Troll”, 1887.
