The Walking Dead, Part 3
Gunnora Hallakarva
gunnora at bga.com
Fri Aug 30 12:23:50 PDT 1996
The Walking Dead: Draugr and Aptrgangr in Old Norse Literature
Part III: Precautions Against the Walking Dead
While the haugbui was often content to remain within its grave,
harming only those who trespassed upon its domain, the draugr was known to
venture outside the mound, causing great harm to the living. Fear of the
malevolent actions of the dead was very real in Scandinavia. Precautions
taken to prevent the dead from rising again were practiced from the Viking
Age to the present century:
"...in old-fashioned homes [certain antique practices] were
very carefully followed; a paid of open scissors laid on the
dead person's chest, small pieces of straw laid crosswise
under the shroud. The great toes were tied together so that
the legs could not be seperated. Needles were run into the
soles of the feet, and when the coffin was carried out, the
bearers, just within the threshold of the door, raised and
lowered it three times in different directions so as to form a
cross. When the coffin had left the house, all chairs and
stools on which it had rested were upset, all jars and sauce-
pans turned upside down, and when the parson in the church-
yard prays for the rest of the dead, he is supposed to bind the
dead to the grave with magic words, to keep him fast"
(H.F. Feilberg, "The Corpse-Door: A Danish Survival," in
Folklore 18 (1907), p. 366).
Further, special "corpse-doors" were to be found in homes, bricked-up
openings that could be torn open for the removal of the coffin, feet-first,
and then closed firmly again to deny the dead access to the home, since it
was believed that the unquiet dead could only return the way they had come,
and by carrying the body out feet-foremost, the living further protected
themselves from the dead by denying them a clear view of the path taken to
burial (Ibid, pp. 364-369). The very same precautions are recorded in
Eyrbyggja Saga:
Arnkel went into the living room and across the hall to get
behind Thorolf. He warned everyone to be careful not to go
in front of the corpse until the eyes had been closed. Then
he took Thorolf by the shoulders and had to use all his
strength
before he could force him down. After that he wrapped some
clothes around Thorolf's head and got him ready for burial
according to the custom of the time. He had a hole broken
through the wall behind Thorolf and the corpse was dragged
outside (Palsson and Edwards, Eyrbyggja Saga, p. 114).
See next post for Part IV: Draugr Attacks and Slaying the Undead
Gunnora Hallakarva
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"Better the Hammer than the nail." --- Kief af Kierstead
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