Christmas in Iceland - 15.12.1940, Qupperneq 16

SHORT BUT
GRUESOME
In a desperate effort to infuse some know-
ledge of Iceland’s interesting of somewhat
wierd history into the heads of our “Men-of-
the-Polar-Bear-Sign”, the following stories
have been extracted from the turbulent pages
of Iceland’s history books.
They are specially chosen, and though they
have of necessity been considerably shorten-
ed, they are calculated to be of a calibre not
easily forgotten. I think you will agree with
the Editorial Staff of “Christmas in Iceland
—1940” as regards this — after you’ve read
them!
Human Sacrifices.
Generally bulls or white horses were given
as sacrifices, but in cases of greater moment
nobler offerings were employed to appease the
offending Gods.
Before the shrine of Kialarnes, for instance,
there was a deep pit of well, the Blotkellda,
in which human victims were drowned.
In Western Iceland, the Blotstein, (stone
of sacrifice), still remains. It is of an oval
form, somewhat shrap above, and over this
the miserable victims had their backs broken
before they were slain!
Magic Arts.
This was forbidden in the Old Icelandic
Laws. Those convicted were tied up in a sack,
stoned to death, burnt, and their ashes were
then cast into the sea. The reason assigned
for this mode of punishment was that their
spectre might not disturb the living.
14
That the practise of magic was detested so
wholeheartedly is shown clearly in the story
regarding a chieftan, one Harold Haarfager,
who burnt his son, together with the whole
society to which he belonged, for such an
offence.
Escape of Gissur.
In the year 1253 there was raging in Ice-
land a bloody fued between the various chiefs.
One of them Gissur had his house surrounded
one night by 40 armed men. They forc-
ing their way into the house when they were
repelled by Gissur. Afraid lest the neighbours
should come to Gissurs assistance if they re-
mained long the raiders set fire to the house.
Gissur’s wife, trusting to the respect due to
her sex, tried to escape but was throw back
into the flames and perished.
Gissur meanwhile took refuge in a detac-
hed part of the building which from the mode
of its construction escaped the ravages of the
fire. In the room their was a large vessel full
of sour milk, (the usual beverage of the
country at that time — something like
“skyr”) in which he hid himself. When the
fire subsided his enemies searched the places
and even wounded him several times with
their spears when they prodded into the sour
milk. They failed to find him and persuaded
that he had perished in the ruins of his home,
left the district.
Thus Gissur — the individual the raid was
specially intended for — escapedwith his life
CHRISTMAS IN ICELAND