4/29/2023 0 Comments Draugen norse mythologyIn the Eyrbyggja saga, a famous Norse tome, the Draugr of Thorolf had swollen to the size of an ox and his body was so heavy that it could not even be moved without levers. ![]() In some stories, they sit on the chests of their victims bringing them just to the brink of suffocation over and over again. It is said that they loved causing trauma and pain to their victims and they weren’t just quick killers. This meant that shepherds were also popular targets for the Draugr. While roaming, they’d often make a snack out of the countryside creatures. They didn’t just attack humans, they also attacked livestock (as this makes the living’s lives a lot harder). Additionally, it was sometimes believed that they stole treasure to hoard back at their graves. In addition to turning their victims into more Draugr, they also reportedly enjoy the taste of blood. Their only goal in their undead-life seems to be to attack and kill humans. As mentioned above, they could grow at will and, in some versions of the myth, were able to shapeshift into animals or pass through walls and other obstacles without impediment. In fact, they are usually depicted with human-level intelligence (except imbued more deeply with anger and hate) and also had some magical powers. However, unlike contemporary zombies, they aren't mindless. Like contemporary zombie myth, it was also said that those who are killed by Draugr were destined to become Draugr themselves. Regardless of how they were in life, in death, they were only murderous and vengeful monsters with a thirst to attack humans at every chance. The Draugr were believed to be propelled from their graves to physically attack the living out of anger and envy. In addition to the smell and reanimation, Draugr also retain superhuman strength and the ability to increase their size at will. It is said they first appear from the graves as wisps of smoke and have the cloying stench of decay. Aswid they took out, hacked apart, burnt and scattered his ashes.In Norse Mythology, Draugr (also known as Draug and Draugen) are the ghosts of Vikings that rise from their graves to walk the world. Tale finished, he collapsed and was reburied by the warband, who left the treasures in the mound. They had battled for centuries, Asmund holding him off with his sword, but the distraction of the warrior's arrival meant that Asmund could finally slay Aswid. Asmund showed them the scars he had substained at his old friend's hands. He devoured his horse and his hound before turning on Asmund. He told them that Aswid had risen as a Draugr and come back. Lowering down their bravest warrior to the depths of the pit, they fled in terror as Asmund was raised out. Several hundred years later, with Viking society on the brink of collapse, a warband decided to raid the mound for the gold within. Asmund, respecting his promise, insisted on being buried with Aswid to safeguard his journey to the next life. They fought beside each other for many years, until Aswid sickened and died mysteriously. To show his gratitude, they became blood brothers and quested to destroy all of those who worked evil. He would have died, were it not for the kind intervention of Prince Aswid, who took him back to the hall of King Bjorn. Long ago, Prince Asmund of Iceland lost his way in a storm while hunting. The mound would then be opened to "purifying" sunlight. For this reason, many Norse warriors were buried at sea on a ship which was burned while sailing forth so their spirits could not come back. The only way to ensure a draugr doesn't come back is to sever the head from the neck, burn the body and dump the ashes into the sea. A Draugr must be wrestled into its mound by force, but even then may arise again. They are immune to all sorts of conventional weapons. Draugar are depicted as having either pitch black or pale white skin. Unlike the vampires of Eastern European lore, Draugr are savage nightwalkers who possess superhuman strength, the ability to alter their size at will, being able to escape from their mound as a wisp of smoke or become so enormous that they can crush their opponents easily. ![]() Views differ on whether the personality and soul of the dead person lingers within the draugr. ![]() Draugar were believed to be the bodies of the dead. A Draugr is a creature of Nordic mythology similar to a vampire, though the original Norse meaning of the word is "ghost".
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