Tóuvers Klemusar Bjarnasonar
Abstract
1. IN 1690 an action for sorcery against a man named Klemus Bjarnason was sent from the hérað thing at Strandasýsla to the Althing. Klemus was condemned to death but through the intercession of the Amtmaður (superior magistrate), Christian MUller, the execution was stayed and the case sent on appeal to the king. By order of the king's letter, dated May 5, 1691, Klemus was spared, but banished from Iceland for life; Klemus died in Copenhagen in the winter 1691-92. According to Jón Halldórsson from Hítardalur, the Landfógeti, Christoffer Heidemann, stood behind Amtmaður Miiller's decision to postpone the death sentence. The judgment of 1690 was the last death sentence for sorcery passed in Iceland.
2. The case of Klemus was investigated at the local hérað thing of 1689 and 1690. The transcript from the hérað court is preserved in the Þjóðskjalasafn Islands (the National Archives). The second part of the article describes the investigation at the hérað court. From the records we see that Klemus was accused of having caused the sickness of Guðrún Arnadóttir, the wife of Kolbeinn Jónsson, and Olöf Jónsdóttir, the wife of Jón Bjarnason. At the second hirað thing in 1690 the accusations against Klemus were expanded to include the further charge that Jón Bjarnason's child had been tormented by an unclean spirit during the winter of 1689-1690, and that this was caused by Klemus. Further, Klemus was charged with threatening that if he should survive these accusations he would take the life of the man who was most active against him. It was attested that Klemus had Iong been held in ill repute, and was suspected of sorcery. From the records it seems that the enmity found its source in a dispute over driftwood which Klemus was accused of having secretly taken. Klemus was required to swear an oath of denial, but men could not be found to affirm his oath. In this state, the case was sent to the Althing.
3. Among the new charges which were added at the Althing in 1690 was the acknowledged use by Klemus of a verse called Tóuvers, a prayer which he admitted having learned and recited over his sheep. The Althing judgement does not quote Tóuvers, but the prayer has been preserved among the case documents which were sent to Copenhagen. The verse is printed in the third part of this article, together with a contemporaneous Danish translation. The verse is also preserved in another source, a manuscript from the East Fjords dating from around 1839. In this nineteenth century manuscript it is said that the purpose of the verse is to ensure a successful roundup of sheep from the summer pastures. The verse was most likely meant to be read in the spring when the sheep are turned loose in the mountains. In the article I argue that the verse is of foreign origin. In support of this position are the words of the spell (sœringarorðin) which are directed clearly against the wolf, an animal which is not found in Iceland where foxes were the major threat to sheep. In the article I compare Swedish and Norwegian prayers which appear to be related to the Icelandic one. The Icelandic verse is divided into three parts: The first is in direct discourse. Here the farmer or the person who himself goes with the sheep delivers the prayer. What is said may indicate an accompanying action or a ritual in order to strengthen the words, but this, however, is not clear. Next comes a narrative section which uses the terms: 'Dys' or 'Des' (dís7), the holy (dyrleg, dyra) mother ('den hellig Moder' in the Danish translation). I take the position that the reference is to the Virgin Mary, who is known for protecting her sheep from predators. In the third section the words of the spell (sœringarorðin) are set forth as a request. The verse ends with the name of the deity. According to Klemus the verse was to be read three times forward and three times backwards while making the holy sign of the cross.
