Whale Laws & Lore

In the sixth season of the TV show Vikings, a whale has washed up on shore. One character, Kjetill, claims it for his own. Others insist that the bounty be shared—it was an enormous source of food and materials—but Kjetill refuses, and even kills those who want to share it. Unlikely?

Not really. Both Icelandic tales Grettissaga (the Saga of Grettir) and Fóstbræðrasaga (the Saga of the Sworn Brothers) relate the incident of a long-lasting feud between two families when the rights to a beached whale turns to conflict.

The situation would be easily resolved if the ownership of the beach itself were not in dispute. Iceland at the time was a newly inhabited country and land rights were not always firmly established. Without having community agreement as to the rightful owner of the land on which a resource was found, conflict could easily arise.

I also promised in yesterday's post to discuss the "downside" of whale lore. I was referring to the other part that whales played in the past: as frightening supernatural creatures. In Friðþjófssaga (the Saga of Friðþjóf), Friðþjóf and his crew are at sea and trying to reach land. They are hindered by a whale, but not just any whale. This whale has two witches riding its back, sent to harass Friðþjóf by an evil king who is his enemy.

The witches should not surprise us. Every European culture (and others) have supernatural creatures and magic practitioners in their lore. Tomorrow let's look at some of the supernatural lore peculiar to Iceland.