By Alfreda Duffy
Editor's Note: The Icelandic Roots Writing Group is assigned a topic monthly to craft a story. Today, this submission by our Alfreda Duffy makes one wonder if legends are just legends, or are they real?
!["Lagarfljót Wyrm monster" in VisitAusturland [website].
Retrieved from: https://www.east.is/en/place/lagarfljotsormurinn](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c8da92_b5cfb474e4164954ae9d8affc7e800a0~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_980,h_728,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/c8da92_b5cfb474e4164954ae9d8affc7e800a0~mv2.jpeg)
Iceland’s Lagarfjlót Wyrm goes back all the way to the 14th century to a time when the scholars of Iceland were writing down the sagas for the first time, conserving them on vellum for future generations. Today because of those efforts the sagas are a National Literary Treasure. What about this story about a Wyrm then, is it part of this literary gem where sagas such as Grettir’s Saga or the Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok, depict heroes who fought monsters? Or is it part of folklore, just like the Loch Ness Monster? Although a distant cousin to the infamous Nessie, Iceland’s Wyrm has one advantage over it: the sightings of Iceland’s serpent have been recorded since 1345 whereas Nessie only goes back to the 1870s. That makes it well over 500 years older.
From these descriptive sightings, this wyrm appears to me to be much larger in size than its Scottish cousin. In fact, one sighting depicted his humps arched so high in the sky that a ship with its full sails open could easily pass under one domed hump. During the 16th century Bishop Oddur Einarson, who wrote about this sighting, also claimed when the Wyrm slapped them down on the water with such force, it created a mini tsunami, destroying several farms nearby.
Other sightings described the Wyrm’s humps as islands, some large and some small. Or they thought they were overturned ships swaying from side to side. One incident described in earlier centuries was when its head suddenly appeared it blew out blue smoke. Later when humans and livestock mysteriously disappeared and thought dead, there had to be a reason this was happening. To these superstitious survivors, the only valid answer was to attribute these deaths to this monstrous Wyrm. Is it any wonder any further sighting became a bad omen? These deaths sent a strong message to the locals…and they remain vigilant even now. Today, there are signs around the lake telling tourists about this legendary serpent. Or are they meant as a warning? Makes one wonder.
The story of the Lagarfjlót Wyrm is an ancient tale indeed, and today it is embedded in Icelandic folklore. One such tale written in a book called Icelandic Folk and Fairy Tales by folklorists May and Hallberg Hallmundsson tells us how the worm/snake may have originated.
"At one time, long, long ago, there was a woman living on a farm in the Lagarfljót district, close by the stream where it broadens into a lake. She had a grown daughter. Once, she gave her daughter a gold ring.” The woman instructed her daughter to catch a snake and keep the gold ring underneath it in her linen chest (as, apparently, one did long ago in rural Iceland). She did so, “but when the girl went to look at her ring again, the snake had grown so large that the chest was beginning to come apart. Then the girl was frightened, and she picked up the chest with everything in it and threw it into the lake. A long-time passed, and gradually people became aware that there was a serpent in the lake, for it was beginning to kill both people and animals crossing the waters." (There are no snakes known to live in Iceland…usually this monster is referred to as a wrym or a serpent.)
This narrow lake stretches 140 km from its source, the Eyjabakkafjökull glacier, to Héraðsflöí Bay. With the innermost section forming the deepest part, up to 112m with about 90m of this depth below sea level. This part of the lake is known as the home of a serpent, the Lagarfjlót Wyrm. But if you look at the map the lake looks more like a long narrow river. People would need to cross that river, would you not think? 140km is a long way around it.
Today there is a bridge near the largest town called Egilsstaðir which is close to the deepest part. Over the centuries though, including today, people still needed to cross this river. And they do…usually wherever it is most shallow. Just like my langafi Petur Runolfsson (IR#I264798) would have done in the 1930s.
Petur and his wife Palina Bjornsdottir (IR#I337736) were pioneers in the Interlake area of Manitoba and built up a successful farm. After she died in 1922, he was not content living there, so he sold up and in 1927, returned to this very area to retire. To a place he felt at home in— N-Mulasýsla where they were both born. Where they both worked on several farms, met, got married and had two children. And where they emigrated from. He would have been quite familiar with the stories about the Lagarfjlót Wyrm, yet that never stopped him or others from crossing the river or stream. Sadly, on the 16th of July in 1937, while crossing it, he drowned.* Those currents were obviously moving swiftly and strong that day, for his body was lost for many months. Finally found, he was laid to rest on the 10th of June 1938 in the Kirkjubæjar cemetery, which is in the parish of Kirkjubæjar, in the municipality of Tunguhreppur. The very same parish where he married Palina.
Thankfully, there is another legend about this wrym. Long, long ago, after this serpent was accused of killing some people, as well as some livestock, local leaders imported two men from Finland. As you know, in those days Finland was known to dabble in the black arts. These two men used their magical skills to tether the worm’s head and tail securely, so the serpent was now only able to raise its humps in anger. This legend is comforting to me, for it gives me a reason, if it exists, as to why it stays put in the deep part of the lake. I shudder to think that people like my langafi could have had an encounter with such a creepy creature while crossing the lake.
Sightings even today, are still newsworthy, and some are even being videotaped. Look up the Lagarfjlót Wyrm on YouTube. Very believable footage which is frightening and eerie to watch. But experts say it is only the ice breaking up, with the currents and the wind interacting.
In retrospect, after looking at this long narrow lake on the map again I am wondering maybe… just maybe…these myths began because the original description was that it looked like a long worm/wyrm, or snake. Or maybe it was interpreted as a wyrm worming its way through the country, dividing farms from each other. From stories I have read about the children in this country, they were given responsibilities at an early age, even as far back as the 14th century or earlier. By creating a story like this, it was a way to keep their children safe. To frighten them on purpose, to make them think twice about crossing this river. The parents, I am sure, knew about the strong currents it could have.
Since there is no hard evidence that proves the legend of the Lagarfjlót Wyrm is a true story, all we can gather from these “newsworthy” sightings and the folklore collected over the centuries is that whatever it is, it is a monstrosity. The question is, should we continue to fear its presence? What do you think? Fact or fiction?
*A special thank you to Icelandic Roots for discovering how Petur Runolfson died and when he was buried.
Sources
"Lagarfljót Wyrm monster" in VisitAusturland [website]. Retrieved from: https://www.east.is/en/place/lagarfljotsormurinn
"Lagarfljot Worm" in Cryptid Wiki [website]. Retrieved from: https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Lagarfljot_Worm
"The Serpent of Lagafljót" in The Icelandic Times [website]. Retrieved from: https://icelandictimes.com/the-serpent-of-lagarfljot/
"Lagarfljót Travel Guide" in Guide to Iceland [website]. Retrieved from:
"The Lagarfljot Wyrm" in Visit Egilsstaðir [website]. Retrieved from:
"The tale of the Wyrm in Lagarfljot" in lagarfljotsormur [website]. Retrieved from: https://lagarfljotsormur.com/the-tale-of-the-wyrm-in-lagarfljot