Draugr are animated corpses that have come alive again, but with new, deadly powers. They are mentioned within both Norwegian and Icelandic saga material. They are characterized as black or blue, swollen, extremely strong, and often possessing magical powers (shape-shifting and seeing future for example). Draugr dwell within burial mounds/barrows - where corpses remain. The Norwegian term for draugr is haugbui, which literally translates to mound dweller.
Draugr were known to venture out at night and cause harm. To prevent draugr from wreaking havoc, special precautions were taken when dealing with corpses. For example, the eyes of the dead body would be firmly closed so that the corpse would not be able to determine the path it was brought on to prevent it coming back and causing harm. Draugr could crush people to death with their unnatural strength or decimate livestock. It was a jealousy of the living that was thought to motivate their actions and unnatural hunger.
Certain characteristics of the draugr have led some to draw parallels between draugr and the monster Grendel in Beowulf. Grendel has similar inhuman strength and shape-shifting powers. Draugr also, like Grendel, are protected by a mother spirit. Even Grendel's motivation in the story, jealousy of being excluded from Hrothgar's lively hall, is similar to the draugr's envy of the living. The character Grendel therefore can be understood to be a product of both Scandinavian supernatural beliefs and the social anxieties of continental Europe during the first millennium CE.
This was really cool to me, especially because I'm playing a video game right now where draugr feature pretty prominently. While they maintain the aspect of being dead and almost zombie like, the ones I was familiar with are not very powerful and are not very difficult to defeat, which seems to be the opposite of the ones you talk about
ReplyDeleteI love the draugr! The idea that corpses or improper burials can cause creatures or the undead to roam and cause harm is so fascinating to me. It shows a love and care to past loved ones and fears of being forgotten after death. Also the video game Skyrim has them as a common enemy so I see them a lot!
ReplyDeleteVery cool post.
ReplyDelete