The Saga of Glámr the Icelandic Draugr

What Is the Legend of Glámr the Icelandic Draugr?

In Sabine Baring-Gould’s 1863 edition of the Grettis Saga, retitled Iceland: Its Scenes and Sagas, he prefaces the chapter on Glámr with the following warning: “I give this story as a specimen of a very remarkable form of Icelandic superstition. It is so horrible that I forewarn all those who have weak nerves to skip it.” 

The chapter is titled “The Valley of Shadows” and opens with a bewildered farmer named Thorhall. It is the 11th century, and Thorhall cannot keep a shepherd to watch over sheep on his farm in Iceland.

The reason is simple: a wight haunts the fields and terrorizes the shepherds. In Norse mythology, a wight is an otherworldly entity that haunts the living world, causing mischief and chaos. This wight is not different.

Thorhall thinks his bad luck has broken when he hires a Swedish shepherd named Glámr, who is incredibly strong and “tall as a troll.” Glámr’s formidable presence on the moors keeps the haunting at bay, but the wight soon returns. 

Glámr makes the mistake of not fasting during Yuletide, believing it’s a superstition. Later that evening, he’s attacked by the wight. Despite Glámr’s immense size and strength, he’s killed by the wight, who leaves him in the snow to die. Unfortunately for Glámr, this isn’t the end of his story.

Thorhall and a group of men attempt to move Glámr’s body for burial, but he’s too heavy and is left at the scene of his death. After three days, Thorhall goes with a priest to retrieve Glámr’s body, but it’s gone. 

Oddly enough, Glámr’s body was found in a different location shortly after. That’s when the real terror began. Thorhall realizes that Glámr has become a Draugr, and it’s up to the hero-robber Grettis to defeat the undead Glámr.

The History of the Draugr

The Draugr (also spelled draugen, draugur, or dreygur) is believed to be derived from a Swedish word that loosely translates to “a pale, ineffectual, and slow-minded person that drags himself along.” Draugrs appear throughout the Norse sagas, so Glámr is just one of many. 

The Vikings believed Draugrs were the reanimated corpses of individuals placed in burial mounds. Rather than zombies, these entities were closer to vampires, who had strange and unusual powers that separated them from the living. 

It was thought that the Draugr lived in their burial mound and protected the treasures they were buried with. However, some individuals would commit Haugbrott, which was the act of robbing a burial mound. In these instances, the Draugr could attack the would-be robber to protect what was theirs, even if it was hundreds of years after their death.

Draugrs are described as being “corpse pale,” “blue as death,” and “coal black,” depending on the saga they appear in. In all cases, Draugrs “swell” and grow larger after death, adding to their ghastly appearance. The only sure way to kill a Draugr is to decapitate it, which is vividly depicted in the Grettis Saga.

The Grettis Saga

The vast majority of the Norse sagas were written in the 13th and 14th centuries based on accounts of events in the 11th century. The earliest known manuscript of the Grettis Saga is dated 1400 A.D., making it one of the final installments in the sagas. Grettis is known for fighting off Draugrs and other monsters. This Nordic outlaw becomes aware of Glámr midway through the saga and travels to Thorhall’s farm.

After terrorizing Thorhall’s farm as a Draugr throughout the winter, Glámr seems to go into hibernation. However, the following Yuletide he murders the shepherd who replaced him. 

When Grettis arrives at the farm and encounters Glámr, he describes the entity as having glazed-over eyes, rotting flesh, and a beard that has continued to grow even in death. On top of all that, his nose has fallen off. ‘

The two engage in battle, with Glámr mocking Grettis for thinking he can win. In the end, Grettis stabs Glámr in the throat with his dagger and subsequently decapitates him. Grettis and Thorhall burn Glámr’s body and scatter the ashes in a remote area.

However, Glámr’s death was only the beginning of Grettis’ problems. Before he dies, Glámr curses Grettis and tells him that he will experience nothing but bad luck for the rest of his life. This turns out to be true, and Grettis spends the rest of his life as an outlaw. Grettis lives the remainder of his life on a remote island, where he is eventually found by his enemies and killed.

Haunted Holidays

As the days of winter grow shorter and shorter, the Grettis Saga and other Norse mythologies offer the perfect creepy comfort stories. Glámr, the Icelandic Draugr, also starkly reminds us to respect the traditions of the holidays and never assume that they’re all just silly superstitions. 

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Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Grettis-saga

https://multoghost.wordpress.com/2018/12/02/glamr/

http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ghosts.shtml

https://www.scandinavianarchaeology.com/the-draugr/

https://sagadb.org/grettis_saga.en2