Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Part One Ghosts and Monks
- Part Two Ghosts and the Court
- Part Three The Restless Dead
- Introduction
- Beowulf
- The ‘History of the Danes’ of Saxo Grammaticus
- The ‘History of the Events of England’ of William of Newburgh
- Laxdœla Saga
- Eyrbyggja Saga
- The Saga of Grettir the Strong
- The Fragmentary Tales of the Monk of Byland
- Part Four Ghosts in Medieval Literature
- Select Bibliography
Laxdœla Saga
from Part Three - The Restless Dead
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 May 2017
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Part One Ghosts and Monks
- Part Two Ghosts and the Court
- Part Three The Restless Dead
- Introduction
- Beowulf
- The ‘History of the Danes’ of Saxo Grammaticus
- The ‘History of the Events of England’ of William of Newburgh
- Laxdœla Saga
- Eyrbyggja Saga
- The Saga of Grettir the Strong
- The Fragmentary Tales of the Monk of Byland
- Part Four Ghosts in Medieval Literature
- Select Bibliography
Summary
This Icelandic saga tells the story of seven generations of settlers in the valley of Western Iceland known as ‘Salmon-River-Dale’. The saga was written down in the late thirteenth century, but the contents relate to a much earlier period: the first chapters deal with the departure of Ketill Flatnose, the ancestor of the chieftains of the Salmon-River men, from Norway in AD 890, while the death of Snorri the Priest, mentioned in the saga's last chapter, is dated to 1031. The early part of the work covers a time when, as with any period of settlement in new and unclaimed territory, fresh land is being opened up for farming and the landholders are zealous in the defence of their possessions against neighbours and new immigrants. It is in this context that one should read the saga's account of the haunting of his former homestead by the curmudgeonly farmer Hrapp. The haunting follows his insistence on being buried in the farmhouse doorway so that, in death as in life, he might keep watch over his lands. Similarly, it is only when there is further expansion of cultivated land into the wilderness to which Hrapp's body has been removed by the chieftain Hoskuld that Hrapp's ghost begins to walk again and cause problems for the succeeding generation.
Hrapp's Ghost
Chap. XVII
It is said of Hrapp that he became most violent in his behaviour, and did his neighbours such harm that they could hardly hold their own against him … but his power waned, in that old age was fast coming upon him, so that he had to lie in bed. Hrapp called his wife Vigdis to him and said, ‘I have never been of ailing health in my life, and it is therefore most likely that this illness will put an end to our life together. Now, when I am dead, I wish my grave to be dug in the doorway of my fire hall, and I want to be placed in it, standing there in the doorway. In that way I shall be able to keep a more searching eye on my dwelling.’
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Medieval Ghost StoriesAn Anthology of Miracles, Marvels and Prodigies, pp. 143 - 146Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2001