Fögr Kveðandi (The Witch Song That Sank a Ship) | Old Norse Viking Ritual Music

Viking music in Old Norse about Gríma and Kotkell, the witch family of the Laxdæla saga: a Norse galdr curse that sank a ship in the Viking Age. Dark Nordic folk and pagan ritual music with a völva (Norse witch) voice, a cappella female choir and whispered chant, for meditation and deep focus. The fifth ritual of Erilaz Rites, for lovers of Norse mythology and Viking history: a song so beautiful that whoever hears it dies. Late in the 10th century, a family of sorcerers came to Iceland from the Hebrides: Kotkell, his wife Gríma and their two sons. When Þórðr Ingunnarson, husband of the famous Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir, tried to have them outlawed for witchcraft, they gathered in the dark and chanted galdr all night. A storm rose over Breiðafjörður, Þórðr's ship broke apart, and not one of his men reached the shore. Later they sang against the household of Hrútr, who ordered everyone to stay inside. But his twelve-year-old son Kári could not sleep. The saga says the chant was beautiful to hear. He went out to listen, and fell dead. Kotkell and Gríma were stoned and buried under a cairn still called Skrattavarði, the Sorcerer's Cairn. This is saga literature, written in Iceland in the 13th century, not documented history (Laxdæla saga, ch. 35–37). The lyrics are original, written in Old Norse. The refrain "fögr er kveðandi" (beautiful is the chant) echoes the saga's own words. Headphones on. If this ritual called to you, subscribe to the channel and enter the circle. Leave your like, tell us in the comments where you are listening from, and turn on the bell so you never miss a new ritual. #VikingMusic #Seidr #Volva #FogrKvedandi #NorseMusic