

#THE BLACKWELL GHOST HOW TO#
It was believed that, if a dead person was carried through the front door, their ghost would remember how to enter and exit the house and come back to haunt the house. The Saga shows that, upon death, a hole was cut in the wall closest to where the corpse was and the body was removed from the house through the hole.For example, Geirrid, the sister of Geirrod of Ere, had workers build her a large vestibule hallway in which she could examine all the men that passed by in attempts to find a future husband. They could own property, become merchants, court their own marriages, and command legions of sailors. Women represented in the Saga are prominent and strong-willed characters.These trials brought an end to the hauntings that occurred at Frodis-water.


Chapter 55 of the Saga shows Snorri and his nephew Kiartan summoning Thorir Wooden-leg and other ghosts with coming and going about Frodis-water without permission and despoiling men of their lives and good fortune.
#THE BLACKWELL GHOST TRIAL#
Snorri is also seen putting ghosts on trial for their hauntings. Snorri Goði, in particular, was the head chieftain on Snæfellsnes and dealt with local disputes over firewood, blood feuds, and property distribution. There was normally a local chieftain who oversaw property boundaries, settled disputes between landlords and blood feuds, and prosecuted criminals. Eyrbyggja Saga shows the Norse system of legalities on Snæfellsnes which used a trial by jury system.Snæfellsnes is a peninsula in western Iceland. 37), the author tends to focus on Arnkel's ultimately more successful rival Snorri, who was not only an early champion of Christianity on Snæfellsnes but also an ancestor of the Sturlung family, who dominated Icelandic politics in the first half of the 13th century. Although the goði Arnkel, who is a kind of tragic hero in the saga, is praised above any other character ( að hann hefir verið allra menna best að sér um alla hluti í fornum sið og manna vitrastur, ch. Many of the places, events, and people are quite real, but the story includes fantastical episodes with elements of folklore, including sorcery, possessed livestock, and revenants. There is also internal evidence that the author of the saga knew of Laxdœla saga and Egils saga.Īs is the case with all Icelander sagas, Eyrbyggja Saga should not be taken as a reliable historical record, but as a narrative with a basis in oral family history. The narrative begins at the time of the Norse settlement in Iceland as early as the 9th century, but most of the events take place towards the end of the 10th century and the early 11th century. The saga was most likely written in its entirety in the mid- or late-13th century, but historians have not yet been able to pinpoint an exact date. Sections of the Eyrbyggja Saga have survived in fragments from the 13th century and in numerous manuscripts from the 14th century. It also mentions a journey by Guðleifr Guðlaugsson and his crew to Great Ireland, which was said to exist beyond Vinland. The saga includes several references to the colonization of Greenland and one reference to an expedition to Vinland. The saga is characterized by a distinct interest in old lore, rituals, pagan practices and superstitions. Nevertheless, it is valued for many reasons, including its historical and folkloric elements. The Saga is usually not regarded as artistically equal to Egil's saga, Njáls saga and Laxdæla saga. Another main interest of the Eyrbyggja Saga is to trace a few key families as they settled Iceland, specifically around the Snæfellsnes peninsula. Snorri was the nephew of the hero of Gísla saga, and is also featured prominently in Njáls saga and Laxdœla saga. The most central character is Snorri Þorgrímsson, referred to as Snorri Goði and Snorri the Priest. The title is slightly misleading as it deals also with the clans from Þórsnes and Alptafjörðr on Iceland. It was written by an anonymous writer, who describes a long-standing feud between Snorri Goði and Arnkel Goði, two strong chieftains within the Norse community that settled in Iceland. Eyrbyggja saga ( Old Norse pronunciation: Icelandic pronunciation: ( listen)) is one of the Icelanders' sagas its title can be translated as The Saga of the People of Eyri.
