Words have always had immense power in Iceland and few things were more terrifying than to have a poet condemn you in verse. Words could also be used to keep away evil spirits, and some such texts are in direct contrasts with what the clergy taught. There are invocations that are supposed to drive ghosts back to where they came from, others to keep spirits at a distance or to guard the livestock from foxes. Mixed with such material are catholic prayers that survived among the common people.

 

Some spells are a strange mix addressed to the holy trinity and Mary the mother of God as well as Thor, Odinn and other heathen deities. Other texts include a blend of medieval mysticism and corrupted Latin and for ages people thought that excerpts from the Vulgate Bible on vellum had the power to keep evil at bay.

 

In the Sorcerer�s Cottage you can also hear the voices of some of those that were brought up in pre-industrial times in Strandir, telling stories of ghosts and elves. These come from the folklore collection of the Arnamagnean Institute in Reykjav�k.