Seiðmenn Leprosy

Framar went to the ships, and he sailed out to the islands that lay closest to land. Framar had tents spread over his ships there. Then Framar put on merchant’s clothes, and went to the hall and asked for winter lodgings for himself. The king granted him that, and he took the name Gest. Often he watched for an opportunity to get into the king’s daughter’s bower, but he never managed to do it.

So it went on, until one day when he was walking away from the hall down a certain road. He heard human voices coming from down in the earth next to him. He saw the opening of an underground house, and went down and saw that there were three sorcerers.[61] He said, “It’s a good thing that we have found each other. I shall inform on you.”

They said, “Don’t do that, Framar. We will do what you want, in whatever way you want.”

Framar answered, “You must cast leprosy on me, but I must become healthy as soon as I want.”

“So be it,” they said. “It’s not hard for us to do this.” Then they altered all his flesh, so that he was nothing but scabs and sores from his feet to his neck. He turned away and went to the king’s daughter’s bower and sat down by the fence. The king’s daughter Ingigerd sent one of her serving-maids to the hall, and when she saw this wretched man, she turned back, telling the king’s daughter about this man, “and he must be in need of your mercies.” They went to the fence and the king’s daughter turned and looked at this pitiful man for a long time. They had not seen anyone with a sickness like his.

The king’s daughter said, “This man is wretched and very ill. But you’ll need to put on a better show before you can trick me—because I will recognize you, Framar, as long as both your eyes are whole in your head, whatever abomination you spread over yourself.”

She went back to her bower, but Framar went away to the sorcerers, and they took that loathsome illness from him. He went away and stayed quiet about what happened.


- The Saga of Sturlaug the Hard-Working (Sturlaugs saga starfsama), Chapter 25


("[61] The Old Norse word translated “sorcerers” is seiðmenn, i.e. men who practice seiðr. Seiðr is a type of magic, sometimes used to foretell the future or to protect someone in battle, but often used to create illusions and confuse enemies. According to Snorri Sturluson (Ynglinga saga ch. 7; Heimskringla, trans. Hollander, p. 11), its use was considered unmanly. There are instances in historical sagas of kings putting seiðmenn to death (e.g. Haralds saga hárfagra ch. 34; Heimskringla, trans. Hollander, pp. 88-89)." - Footnote included with translation)