Two insignificant farmers did as many had done before them and used magic staves for better fortune. Unfortunately, people who relied on magic suffered dearly when Christianity attacked their heathenry. Furthermore, the witch-hunt rampaging through Europe had made its way to Iceland and scaring the people. So, when Egill and Grímur were preparing magic spells, the devil was not a part of their ritual. Besides, the devil is a Christian belief, not a heathen one. Under those circumstances, the two farmers arrived at court to face the inevitable charges. Before they knew it, executing magic turned into a deadly confession.
Sorcerers
Oddný Þórðardóttir
Their case took a turn for the worse when people testified to their close friendships with Þórður, the biggest sorcerer of them all. Not to mention, they had been his Þórður’s apprentices in magic and it was he who had taught them to write.
What is more, while the men were burning alive, Þórður’s books were gathered by the authorities and thrown into the fire. Further, Þórður had in fact written many of them with his own hand and meant a lot to him and his daughter, Margrét. Thankfully, she was a bright young woman and was expecting this atrocious event. Moreover, she knew that it was only a matter of time before they came after her. After all, her father had taught her to read and write too. So with this in mind, she hurriedly gathered as many books as she could carry and ran off.
The accused
Egill Bjarnason
Whatever character Egill may have been, the people turned against him and accused him of misconduct. Several sheep had suffered a suspicious death at the neighboring farms Hlíðarhús and Kjörvogur. Having been tutored in magic by Þórður, people were certain he used witchcraft to kill the sheep. After rigorous questioning, he confessed to being in contact with the devil, and giving the devil a part of his own flesh so he could then command the devil to do his bidding.
As a consequence of his confession, Egill was found guilty and burned alive at the stake with Þórður.
Grímur Jónsson
Not only did Grímur have a reputation of practicing witchcraft, but also received a paper from Þórður with runes as well. The runes were symbols for protecting a person from fox bites. Unfortunately, this harmless practice was enough to bring him to witch court.
Again, executing magic turned into a deadly confession. Indeed, Grímur did in fact confess to killing a sheep using witchcraft, something he later recanted. However, he confessed to using spells and curses which he performed in front of the sheriff, Þorleifur Kortsson.
Dealing with the devil
To tell the truth, after speaking to the priest in private, it’s amazing what people feel the urge to admit to. In fact, Grímur confessed to the priest that he had commanded the devil to do evil. His confessions just kept going as if there was no end to his witchcraft. One of the things he confessed to was making another priest’s daughter so sick that it took her life.
Furthermore, Egill claimed he had made a deal with the devil with carvings, drawing of blood and nail cutting (possibly meaning that he cut his finger right above the nail and with the blood he wrote magic staves). With this Egill promised the devil he could use his flesh as long as he did whatever he asked. Egill now had full control of the devil.
The devil
The sheriffs and the Thingmen searched through the pages of Jónsbók (the Law of Iceland) and the King’s Letter from 1617 on sorcery for help. The letter was from Christian IV, the king of Denmark and Sweden who despised witchcraft.
The church officials fueled a general fear of the devil. Accordingly, they wrongfully integrated the devil into witchcraft practices. In contrast, sorcery had nothing to do with the devil, but rather the magical powers of the sorcerer himself.
Making a deal with the devil to perform witchcraft was not an Icelandic phenomenon. The idea of the devil was brought to the island with Catholicism/Christianity. Could the priest possibly have conjured up their confessions?
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