Iceland review - 2016, Qupperneq 68

66 ICELAND REVIEW
W I T C H H U N T S
people who believed in supernatural
forces and practiced ‘magic’ according
to age-old traditions, such as for medi-
cal purposes, were left alone by church
authorities. Then, the church created a
flipside to the accepted Christian world.
Out of contempt for women, homosexu-
als and other outcasts in society, and sup-
pressed sexual desires, witches became
the counter image of the Virgin Mary.
The witches were thought to partake in
child sacrifices, cannibalism and orgies
with the devil in black masses. In 1215,
heresy was made a violation against the
state and church, lighting the first flames
which with time turned into a wildfire
of persecutions, fueled by mass hysteria.
The persecutions in Iceland differed
from those on the European mainland.
They peaked when they were coming to
an end in most other countries, most-
ly due to the country’s distance from
the witch craze. In Iceland, the victims
were mostly male—just four of the 25
persons burnt at the stake since 1343
were women—indicating that the image
of the witch didn’t gain foothold here.
The alleged sorcery was deeply rooted
in heathen traditions, often including
‘magical’ runes as in the Icelandic sagas,
having little to do with demonic worship.
However, a similar percentage of the
population was burnt for witchcraft in
Iceland as in the other Nordic countries,
or 0.04 percent. In Iceland, 20 percent of
those charged for witchcraft were exe-
cuted, compared to 12 percent in Sweden
and 32 percent in Norway.
FIRE STARTER
Parliamentarian Ólína Þorvarðardóttir
argues in Brennuöldin, her 2000 PhD
thesis in ethnology at the University
of Iceland, that a mini version of the
European witch craze existed in the West
Fjords, where 68 individuals were taken
to court on charges of witchcraft, result-
ing in 16 executions by burning. In other
regions combined, the charges totaled 46
and nine individuals were sentenced to
death. As to why burnings were relatively
common in the West Fjords, historians
have argued that this may be related to
overcrowding of the few habitable areas
in the region. However, Ólína points out
that the region’s authorities were par-
ticularly ruthless.
Prior to becoming district commis-
sioner and executing the three men in
Trékyllisvík in 1654, Þorleifur Kortsson
studied in Germany, where the witch
craze had peaked in Europe and was no
doubt familiar with its ideology. Upon
his return to Iceland, he married into a
powerful family. He ruled a large part
of the West Fjords from 1652 to 1670,
and the other part of the region was
governed by his wife’s family. Þorleifur
was responsible for 19 executions by
burning. Páll Björnsson, who served as
pastor in Selárdalur, the West Fjords,
from 1645 to 1706, and his wife Helga
Halldórsdóttir, were among those who
threw logs on the flames. The writings
of Páll, who was educated in Denmark,
show that he was influenced by the
Malleus Maleficarum. Based on his and
his wife’s accusations, seven individuals
were sentenced to death by burning in
the region. When the West Fjords are
compared to the witch crazed Europe,
Ólína argues that Þorleifur played the
part of the Inquisition, Páll the part of
the church, and the local community
contributed with mutual accusations of
witchcraft and malice.
INTO THE FLAMES
In 1655, reverend Jón Magnússon at
Eyri in Skutulsfjörður (modern-day
Ísafjörður), the West Fjords, was
convinced that he was being haunted by
the devil, evoked by the father and son
at neighboring Kirkjuból, both named
Jón Jónsson. To justify his case against
them, he wrote Píslarsaga (And Though
This World with Devils Filled: A Story of
Sufferings in Michael Fell’s 2007 transla-
tion), describing hallucinations and the
excruciating pain he and other members
of his household were subject to.
“Sometimes it was as if I was being
squeezed and squashed under an enor-
mously heavy weight, as when a worm
is squashed or cheese is compressed, so
that every ounce of strength was drained
out of me; and along with the crushing
weight I felt as if my body were being
jabbed with small red-hot glowing nee-
dles, so densely spread over my flesh
that it seemed comparable to the feeling
of pins and needles. Sometimes I felt as
if I were being transfixed through the
side that I was lying on with a spike
which seemed to pierce through the
body between my ribs, so that I expected
it would be the death of me. Sometimes I
lay in a blazing fire, struggling for breath.
I felt sure that the flames from the fire
were leaping through my entire body,
especially my chest, and flashes of fire
seemed to erupt from my fingers, so that
I felt convinced that I was going to burn
to ashes.”
Ólína muses that the people of Eyri
actually suffered from a bad case of
influenza. However, certain that his
sufferings did not have natural causes,
Jón Magnússon sought assistance from
Þorleifur, who had the father and son
detained underground until they con-
fessed and were burned at the stake in
1656.
DYING FIRE
The execution of his namesakes didn’t
leave Jón Magnússon satisfied. He now
set his sights on Þuríður Jónsdóttir at
Kirkjuból, the victims’ daughter and sis-
ter. He wanted her tried and convicted as
well. Jón singled Þuríður out in church,
claiming to see “an aura of darkness”
around her, and chased after her to
find proof of her supernatural powers.
The minister proceeded to file charges
against Þuríður for witchcraft in 1658,
but Þuríður maintained her innocence.
Avoiding court, she fled Kirkjuból, seek-
ing refuge with friends of the family.
Nothing is known about her fate after
that, but her name ceases to appear in
legal documents.
“Of average build, fair in complexion,