A scholarly exploration of “deviant” or non-standard Norse burials– delving into beliefs of the unquiet dead, malevolent spirits, sorcery, ceremonial dedications, and apotropaic rituals for safely interning those who died in inauspicious circumstances.
Definitely a good read for those interested in the idea of restless corpses stirring in their cairns, or sorceresses buried with their items of power, secured firmly beneath stones for protection, or wanting inspiration for Viking-Age burials of peculiar individuals. (Funny, in all the cinematic depictions of Viking funerals, I don’t recall ever seeing a man walking backwards to light the pyre, stark naked and covering his anus… a dreadful oversight I feel.)
image: from source publication, artist’s renderings of some of the burials discussed in the text
Gardeła L. (2013): The Dangerous Dead? -Rethinking Viking-Age Deviant Burials
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