Þorbjörg Lítilvölva

In Norse mythology, Þorbjörg Lítilvölva was a renowned Greenlandic Norse seeress described in the Saga of Erik the Red. The saga contains an elaborate description of associated customs, the seeress’s behavior, and material culture such as her distinctive clothing.

According to the saga, times were tough in Greenland; hunters caught few animals, and some simply didn’t return at all. In the Scandinavian settlement lived a woman by the name of Þorbjörg, a seeress who people called 'the little völva'. She had nine sisters, all of whom held the gift of prophecy but Þorbjörg had outlived them all.

Every winter, Thorbjorg visited each farm to which she was invited in the district. She regularly received invitations from those who wanted to know their future, or the future of their farms. One winter, Thorkel, a major farmer, invited Thorbjorg to his farm, and he and his family began making preparations for her arrival:

A high seat was set for her, complete with a cushion. This was to be stuffed with chicken feathers.

When she arrived one evening, along with the man who had been sent to fetch her, she was wearing a black mantle with a strap, which was adorned with precious stones right down to the hem. About her neck she wore a string of glass beads and on her head a hood of black lambskin lined with white catskin. She bore a staff with a knob at the top, adorned with brass set with stones on top. About her waist she had a linked charm belt with a large purse. In it she kept the charms which she needed for her predictions. She wore calfskin boots lined with fur, with long, sturdy laces and large pewter knobs on the ends. On her hands she wore gloves of catskin, white and lined with fur.

When she entered, everyone was supposed to offer her respectful greetings, and she responded by according to how the person appealed to her. Farmer Thorkel took the wise woman by the hand and led her to the seat which had been prepared for her. He then asked her to survey his flock, servants and buildings. She had little to say about all of it.

That evening tables were set up and food prepared for the seeress. A porridge of kid’s milk was made for her and as meat she was given the hearts of all the animals available there. She had a spoon of brass and a knife with an ivory shaft, its two halves clasped with bronze bands, and the point of which had broken off.

References

• Kurz, Keneva. 2000. "Eirik the Red's Saga" (trans.) in The Sagas of Icelanders, pp. 653-674. Penguin Classics. ISBN 978-0-14-100003-9

External links

• "Þorbjörg lítilvölva". The Saga Museum. Retrieved 30 November 2014.