Curses have a long and colorful history. Some of the oldest examples of writing from ancient Egypt and Greece are curses written on papyri or clay tablets for someone who wanted revenge on an enemy. I say “for someone” since literacy was not widespread in the ancient world. This is probably part of the reason that words, and especially written words, were thought to hold power.
The Vikings also believed that the spoken and written word held power and could not only describe destiny but also shape it [read more here]. Therefore, it may be no surprise that the practice of cursing was alive and well in the ancient world.
Read on for a brief insight into the nature of the Norse curse, starting with curses spoken by skalds and witches, moving on to written curses, runic stave curses, and the infamous Níðstang, an elaborate curse tradition still alive and well in modern Scandinavia.
How to Utter a Curse
Skalds and bards were greatly respected in the Viking world and their power to move people with their word was thought to have a semi-supernatural origin. Bragi, the Norse god of bards, may originally have been a famous human poet who was chosen to live among the gods for his talent [read more about Bragi here].
But according to the sagas, the words of skilled skalds not only had the ability to entertain but could also curse.
It is clear that the Vikings believed in the potency of spoken curses. In the medieval law codes of Iceland and Norway, composing the kinds of insulting and dangerous verses, like those described above, was outlawed.
But it is also clear that they believed that curses were more powerful when spoken and written words were combined.
Take, for example, an Icelandic poem about a man called Thorleifr. The wealthy Icelandic man arrived in Norway, where he was treated badly by Jarl Hakon, who confiscated his wealth and had his men killed. Thorleifr escaped to Denmark where he learned the art of poetry and made a name for himself as a famous skald.
When he was ready, Thorleifr returned to Norway and the court of Hakon, where he was not recognized, but his new reputation preceded him. He offered to create a poem praising Hakon. But when he began to speak, he started insulting the Jarl and then cursing him. Initially, this caused the legs of the Jarl to itch uncontrollably. Then all the lights in the hall went out and the weaponry hanging on the walls came alive and started attacking Hakon’s men.
When the lights came back on, Hakon had lost half of his hair and half of his beard, which was considered highly shameful for a Viking warrior.
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