| Abstrakt: |
Heiðr, the magician living in the land of the Bjarmar who appears in Hauks þáttr hábrókar, is seldom considered as a giantesses or troll, as she is not explicitly described as such in this short text. The only mention of trolls in the þáttr appears later in the text, moreover, this reference is quite indirect, as it refers to Heiðr’s sorcery alone.The witch from Gandvík is anyway a perfect example for a few features that are typically connected with the native populations of Scandinavia and the far North. Her skill in fortunetelling and magic, her exuberant sexual conduct, even her taste for Norse delicacies and especially butter are to be found in a number of other sources. Her otherness compared to Scandinavians is explicit in her physical appearance, where her giant size coexists with horrendously large lips: a monstrous mouth that marks her as different and undesirable – and yet she proves extremely helpful for those who come to her looking for help, since her magic can effectively save her protégés from the pagan sorcery deployed by Haukr‘s opponents. Examining her character, the interpretation of her name connecting heiðr to heiðinn appears quite difficult to dismiss. Within the short scope of the þáttr, her appearance and actions could almost turn her into a symbol for Heathendom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
