Strandir and Magic

\fyou don't want a man to visit your abode, carve this stave on a piece of rowan wood when the sun is at its zenith, walk three times around the house the way the sun turns and three times against the suns route holding the rowan with the carving and sharp thorn grass and then lay both on the gable above the door.
From a 17th century grimoire in Stockholm. Photo: Antikvarisk-Topografiska Arldvet.

The Hero fell on his head His limbs all in pain Wresding with the sorcerers of Strandir Is not an easy task
A n old quatrain from West-Iceland

74

S o r c e r y has been associated with the people of Strandir for centuries and probably some of the inhabitants of the region have rejoiced in this image while others have resented it. But Icelandic folklore is proof of the fact that the image did not originate in the area. Almost all of the tales of sorcery in Strandir were recorded outside the region. Various reasons have been mentioned that could explain the image, that it is an area far from the main centers of administration and the two episcopal seats, and that the '^stic landscape and harsh climate where people were constantly grappling ^ith the elements had produced a population in more contact with nature and old traditions. However, a survey of the region's history reveals that the Icelandic version of the European witchcraze that played such an impor'^ant part in Icelandic history in the late 17th century had much to do with treating the image of Strandir as the home of sorcerers. But at the same time the possibility cannot be ruled out that the image is much older. For several centuries after the settlement of Iceland very few documents 'Mention Strandir, when they do it is as often as not in connection with the ^^Pernatural. In the contemporary sagas of the 13th century we find the