Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The Fearless Vampire Killers: A Note about the Icelandic Draugr and Demonic Contamination in Grettis Saga

2009; Routledge; Volume: 120; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00155870903219771

1469-8315

Ármann Jakobsson,

Gothic Literature and Media Analysis

Abstract In 1897 Andrew Lang referred to Glámr, one of Iceland's most celebrated mediaeval ghosts, as a "vampire" in his The Book of Dreams and Ghosts. This article examines the arguments for such a categorisation, which are mainly the similar function of vampires and the Icelandic ghosts. It goes on to examine the case of Glámr; in particular, how his condition as a supernatural Other has been transmitted from a previous unspecified demon and the implications this has for the character of the well-known saga hero Grettir who eventually becomes Glámr's "slayer." It argues that as Glámr had also been hired as a "vampire slayer" of sorts, Grettir and Glámr are in a sense doubles; and that the Glámr episode of Grettis saga highlights both his resilience in the face of evil but also the danger that goes with monster fighting and the lonely condition of the monster fighter. Notes [1] It is not only Lang who makes Glámr into a vampire of sorts, as Kristján Jóhann Jónsson (2007 Jónsson, Kristján Jóhann. 2007. "Skammdegis nótt er skuggalöng". In Mannamál: Greinar, frásagnir og ljóð í tilefni af sextugsafmœli Páls Pálssonar frá Aðalbóli 11. maí 2007, 103–9. Reykjavík: Hólar. [Google Scholar]) has recently noted, the Icelandic poet Grímur Thomsen (1895 Thomsen, Grímur. 1895. Ljóðmœli, Copenhagen: Gyldendal. [Google Scholar], 75) seems to believe that Glámr is an apparition of a corpse that is actually situated in Sweden. [2] After Lang himself, the first scholar to refer to Glámr as a vampire is, to my knowledge, Úlfhildur Dagsdóttir (2001 Dagsdóttir, Úlfhildur. 2001. Vampýrur allra landa sameinist (og fagnið), fyrri hluti: Blóðþyrstir berserkir: eða Vampýran, vinir og ættingjar. Lesbók Morgunblaðsins, : 10–11. 21 apríl [Google Scholar]), who touches briefly on the subject in an article in the Morgunblaðið daily newspaper, although Barber (1988 Barber, Paul. 1988. Vampire, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality, New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. [Google Scholar], 41) does mention him in his study. [3] The most detailed discussion on the similarities and differences between the two can be found in Keyworth (2007 Keyworth, David. 2007. Troublesome Corpses: Vampires & Revenants From Antiquity to the Present, Southend-on-Sea: Desert Island Books. [Google Scholar], 28–35); see also Keyworth (2006 Keyworth, David. 2006. Was the Vampire of the Eighteenth Century a Unique Type of Undead-corpse?. Folklore, 117: 241–60. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). [4] The word draugr is not used for Glámr in Grettis saga (or at least not in the manuscript used as a main text in the Íslenzk fornrit edition), or, for example, Þórólfr in Eyrbyggja saga. I am presently undertaking a more extensive study of the draugar vocabulary of mediaeval Icelandic. [5] In its present form, Grettis saga dates from the fourteenth century or even from the fifteenth century (Örnólfur Thorsson 1994 Thorsson, Örnólfur. 1994. "Um Grettis sögu". In Grettis saga, Reykjavík: Mál og menning. [Google Scholar], xxxviii). However, as Óskar Halldórsson (1977 Halldórsson, Óskar. 1977. "Goðsögnin um Gretti". In Sjötíu ritgerðir helgaðar Jakobi Benediktssyni 20. júlí 1977, Edited by: Kristjánsson, Jónas and Pétursson, Einar Gunnar. 627–39. Reykjavík: Stofnun Árna Magnússonar á Íslandi. [Google Scholar], 1982 Halldórsson, Óskar. 1982. Tröllasaga Bárðdæla og Grettluhöfundur. Skírnir, 156: 5–36. [Google Scholar]) has argued, the legends in it are obviously folkloristic and older than the saga (on the Grettir legend, see also Ólafur Halldórsson 1960 Halldórsson, Ólafur. 1960. Grettisfœrsla. Opuscula, 1: 49–77. [Google Scholar]; Hastrup 1986 Hastrup, Kirsten. 1986. "Tracing Tradition – An Anthropological Perspective on Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar". In Structure and Meaning in Old Norse Literature: New Approaches to Textual Analysis and Literary Criticism, Edited by: Lindow, John, Lönnroth, Lars and Weber, Gerd Wolfgang. 281–313. Odense: Odense University Press. [Google Scholar]). Hermann Pálsson (1980 Pálsson, Hermann. 1980. Glámsýni í Grettlu. Gripla, 4: 95–101. [Google Scholar]) has argued that some legends might be international, including the Glámr legend. [6] Like incubi, vampires may sometimes be regarded as primarily sexual predators (McClelland 2006 McClelland, Bruce A. 2006. Slayers and their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Death, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. [Google Scholar], 23 and 59–60). [7] In older scholarly literature, werewolves were frequently confused with vampires, and Perkowski (1989 Perkowski, Jan L. 1989. The Darkling: A Treatise on Slavic Vampirism, Columbus: Slavica. [Google Scholar], 37–53) does see some common features, although he also makes it clear that these are not the same types of creatures; werewolves are, on the contrary, often regarded as particular enemies of vampires (Pócs 1999 Pócs, Eva. 1999. Between the Living and the Dead: A Perspective of Witches and Seers in the Early Modern Age, Budapest: Central European University Press. Translated Szilvia Rédey and Michael Webb [Google Scholar], 129–34; McClelland 2006 McClelland, Bruce A. 2006. Slayers and their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Death, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. [Google Scholar], 107–8; Keyworth 2007 Keyworth, David. 2007. Troublesome Corpses: Vampires & Revenants From Antiquity to the Present, Southend-on-Sea: Desert Island Books. [Google Scholar], 205–16). [8] This is acknowledged by Maberry (2006 Maberry, Jonathan. 2006. Vampire Universe: The Dark World of Supernatural Beings That Haunt Us, Hunt Us and Hunger for Us, New York: Citadel Press. [Google Scholar]), who is no less commercially minded than Lang and somewhat inaccurate in some of the details, but to my mind he was very acute in focusing on the similar function of diverse supernatural creatures. [9] On the East European mora, see Pócs (1999 Pócs, Eva. 1999. Between the Living and the Dead: A Perspective of Witches and Seers in the Early Modern Age, Budapest: Central European University Press. Translated Szilvia Rédey and Michael Webb [Google Scholar], 31–4 and 44–9). For a recent discussion of the Old English examples, see Hall (2007 Hall, Alaric. 2007. The Evidence for Maran, the Anglo-Saxon 'Nightmares'. Neophilologus, 91: 299–317. [Google Scholar]). On the connection between vampires and witches, see Keyworth (2007 Keyworth, David. 2007. Troublesome Corpses: Vampires & Revenants From Antiquity to the Present, Southend-on-Sea: Desert Island Books. [Google Scholar], 185–204) and McClelland (2006 McClelland, Bruce A. 2006. Slayers and their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Death, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. [Google Scholar], 51–2). Klaniczay (1990, 168–88) argues for seeing the former as the successors of the latter, at least in East Europe. On the psychological background of mares, see mainly Jones (1931 Jones, Ernest. 1931. Nightmare, Witches and Devils, New York: Norton. [Google Scholar]) and Hufford (1982 Hufford, David J. 1982. The Terror That Comes in the Night: An Experience-Centered Study of Supernatural Assault Traditions, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. [Google Scholar]). [10] The variety of vampire legends must be stressed. Some vampires may be restricted to travelling in the night, whereas others are not. There is also much variety in how vampirism is transmitted—see Perkowski (1989 Perkowski, Jan L. 1989. The Darkling: A Treatise on Slavic Vampirism, Columbus: Slavica. [Google Scholar]), Barber (1988 Barber, Paul. 1988. Vampire, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality, New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. [Google Scholar]), Keyworth (2007 Keyworth, David. 2007. Troublesome Corpses: Vampires & Revenants From Antiquity to the Present, Southend-on-Sea: Desert Island Books. [Google Scholar]) and McClelland (2006 McClelland, Bruce A. 2006. Slayers and their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Death, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. [Google Scholar]). [11] This indeed is one of the links between Dracula and Frankenstein (McClelland 2006 McClelland, Bruce A. 2006. Slayers and their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Death, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. [Google Scholar], 17–21). [12] The Swedish origins of Glámr may or may not be important. Sweden was Christianised later than the other Scandinavian countries and it may have carried it with it a stigma of heathenism. However, there are very few Swedes mentioned in Icelandic sources, and it would be extremely incautious to claim on the basis of few examples that there were commonly-held prejudices against them (Sverrir Jakobsson 2007 Jakobsson, Sverrir. 2007. Strangers in Icelandic Society 1100–1400. Viking and Medieval Scandinavia, 3: 141–57. [Google Scholar], 144 note 4). [13] It is worth noting that the calf, Glæsir, which may be a reincarnation of the ghost Þórólfr bægifótr, is also distinguished by its grey hide (Eyrbyggja saga 171). [14] McClelland (2006 McClelland, Bruce A. 2006. Slayers and their Vampires: A Cultural History of Killing the Death, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. [Google Scholar]) has done the most extensive research on vampire slayers, but Keyworth (2007 Keyworth, David. 2007. Troublesome Corpses: Vampires & Revenants From Antiquity to the Present, Southend-on-Sea: Desert Island Books. [Google Scholar], 142–8) also devotes a chapter to them. On the related witch-sniffers, see Pócs (1999 Pócs, Eva. 1999. Between the Living and the Dead: A Perspective of Witches and Seers in the Early Modern Age, Budapest: Central European University Press. Translated Szilvia Rédey and Michael Webb [Google Scholar], 143–49) and Sanders (1995 Sanders, Andrew. 1995. A Deed Without a Name: The Witch in Society and History, Oxford and Washington, D.C.: Berg. [Google Scholar], 74–83). [15] This has been noted by Orchard (1995 Orchard, Andy. 2003. Pride and Prodigies: Studies in the Monsters of the Beowulf-Manuscript, First published 1995 Toronto: University of Toronto Press. [Google Scholar], 168). [16] This is also the case in Kjalnesinga saga where the monster fighter Búi Andríðason both fights a hideous blámaðr, referred to as a troll (35–36 [Jóhannes Halldórsson 1959 Halldórsson, Jóhannes, ed. 1959. "Kjalnesinga saga". In Íslenzk fornrit, Vol. XIV, Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornritafélag. [Google Scholar]]), and is later himself referred to as a troll (ibid. 39; cf. Ármann Jakobsson 2008 Jakobsson, Ármann. 2008. The Trollish Acts of Þorgrímr the Witch: The Meanings of Troll and Ergi in Medieval Iceland. Saga-Book, 32: 39–68. [Google Scholar], 45 and 47). [17] See, for example, the recent in-depth analyses of Hume (1974 Hume, Kathryn. 1974. The Thematic Design of Grettis saga. Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 73: 469–86. [Google Scholar]), Viðar Hreinsson (1992 Hreinsson, Viðar. 1992. Hver er þessi Grettir?. Skáldskaparmál, 2: 77–106. [Google Scholar]) and Poole (2004 Poole, Russell. 2004. Myth, Psychology, and Society in Grettis saga. Alvíssmál, 11: 3–16. [Google Scholar]).