Draugr

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A draugr is a corporeal undead from Norse mythology. Draugrs were believed to live in the graves of dead vikings, being the body of the dead. Views differed on whether the personality and soul of the dead person lingered in the draugr. As the graves of important men often contained a good amount of wealth, the draugr jealously guarded his treasures, even after death.

1 Traits
2 Means of prevention
3 Speculation
4 Folklore
5 Popular culture
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Traits

All draugrs possess superhuman strength, the ability to increase their size at will and the unmistakable stench of decay. They were also noted for the ability to rise from the grave as wisps of smoke. The draugr slew their victims through various methods including crushing them with their enlarged forms, devouring their flesh, and drinking their blood. Animals feeding near the grave of a draugr were often driven mad by the creature's influence. ^[1]

Some draugr were gifted with immunity to the usual weapons. To defeat a draugr, a hero was often necessary, since only such a man had strength and courage enough to stand up to so formidable an opponent. The hero would often have to wrestle the draugr back to his grave and so defeat him, since weapons would do no good. A good example of this kind of fight is found in Hrómundar saga Gripssonar.

It is said that the draugr, even when defeated, would come back, requiring the hero to dispose of the body in unconventional ways. The most preferred method was to cut off the draugr's head, burn the body, and dump the ashes in the sea, the emphasis being on making absolutely sure the draugr was dead and gone. This may be related to the traditional practice of killing vampires seen in other cultures.

The draugrs were said to be either hel-blár ("death blue") or, conversely, nár-fölr ("corpse-pale"). ^[1]

Some draugrs were able to leave their dwelling place, the burial mound, and visit the living during the night. Such visits were universally horrible events, and often ended in death for one or more of the living, and warranted the exhumation of the draugrs tomb by a hero.

A subtype of the draugr was the haugbui. The notable difference between the two was that the haugbui was unable to leave its grave site and only attacked those that trespassed upon their territory. ^[1]

[edit] Means of prevention

A pair of open iron scissors were placed on the chest of the recently deceased while straws or twigs might be hidden among their clothes. The big toes were tied together or needles were driven through the soles of the feet in order to keep the dead from being able to walk. Tradition also held that the coffin be lifted and lowered in three different directions as it was carried from the house to confuse the draugr's sense of direction.

The most effective means of preventing the return of the dead was the corpse door. A special door was built on, through which the corpse was carried feet-first with people surrounding it so the corpse couldn't see where it was going. The door was then bricked up to prevent a return visit. It is speculated that this belief began in Denmark and spread through out the Norse culture. The belief was founded on the idea that the dead only enter through the way they left.

[edit] Speculation

Dr. John Tanke has theorized that the words dragon and draugr might be related. He notes that both the serpent and the spirit serve as jealous guardians of the graves of kings or ancient civilizations. Dragons that act as draugrs appear in Beowulf as well as in the stories of Siegfried.

[edit] Folklore

Arguably, the best known draugr in the modern world is Glamr, who was defeated by the hero of the Grettis Saga, as the saga includes a short account of him as a living man, and a full account of his haunting, up to the intervention of Grettir who wrestled him back to death.

A somewhat ambivalent, alternative view of the draugr is presented by the example of Gunnar in Njál's saga:

"It seemed as though the howe was agape, and that Gunnar had turned within the howe to look upwards at the moon. They thought that they saw four lights within the howe, but not a shadow to be seen. Then they saw that Gunnar was merry, with a joyful face".

In the Eyrbyggja Saga a shepherd is assaulted by a blue-black draugr. The shepherd's neck is broken during the ensuing scuffle. The shepherd rises the next night as a draugr. ^[1]