The Wife of Laxárdala's Tale

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/JulietteHarrissonBuy my books! https://books2read.com/ap/nzeerp/Juliette-HarrissonBuy merch! https://www.julietteharrisson.co.uk/storeCreepy 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 KunzAlternative translation available at: https://sagadb.org/laxdaela_saga.enStephen A. Mitchell, Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ageshttp://viking.archeurope.com/settlement/iceland/the-early-medieval-church-at-seydisfjordur/G. K. Lund, Scandinavian Myths and Legends Vol. 3: GhostsMichael 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/42631152Illustration of Gudrun meeting a ghost: Andreas Bloch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit julietteharrisson.substack.com