Thorgerd Brak Explained

Þorgerðr brák (anglicised as Thorgerd Brak) is a character in Egils saga. Skilled in magic, she is the foster-mother of the tenth-century poet and saga hero Egill Skallagrímsson, and she sacrifices her life to save him by intervening when his father, Skalla-Grímr, is about to kill him.

Egils saga

Þorgerðr is a servant or slave of tenth-century Icelandic warrior and farmer Skalla-Grímr. She foster his young son Egill.^{[1] [2]} The saga narrator describes her as 'an imposing woman, as strong as a man and well-versed in the magic arts.'^[3] Her nickname might come from Old Norse brák, a leatherworking tool.^[4] The nickname has also been thought to be Gaelic.^[5]

When Egill is twelve, Skalla-Grímr grows enraged while playing a ball game with Egill and his teammate Þorðr. Skalla-Grímr kills Þorðr and then seizes Egill. Þorgerðr accuses him of behaving like a shapeshifter (Skalla-Grímr and his father Kveld-Ulfr are rumoured to be able to take on the shape of wolves).^[6] When Skalla-Grímr leaves Egill to pursue her, she tries to escape by swimming, but Skalla-Grímr throws a boulder at her, killing her.^[7] Egill retaliates by killing Skalla-Grímr's farmhand.^[8]

Her namesake, Egill’s daughter Þorgerðr, also saves his life later in the saga when he is pining after the death of his sons.^[9]

Legacy

Þorgerðr brák gave her name to Brákarsund and Brákarey in Iceland, which supposedly mark the spot where she died. In 1997 a sculpture by Bjarni Þór Bjarnason depicting a brák (leatherworking tool) was installed at Borgarnes to commemorate her.^{[10] [11] [12]}

In 2008, Icelandic playwright Brynhildur Guðjonsdóttir produced a play, Brák, about Þorgerðr brák.^[13]

Notes and References

1. Egil's saga (trans. Bernard Scudder), The Sagas of the Icelanders (2007), p. 63.
2. Book: Looze . Laurence de . Egil, the Viking Poet: New Approaches to 'Egil's Saga' . Helgason . Jon Karl . Poole . Russell . Tulinius . Torfi H. . 2016-01-28 . University of Toronto Press . 978-1-4426-2124-4 . 100 . en.
3. Book: Classen, Albrecht . Magic and Magicians in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Time: The Occult in Pre-Modern Sciences, Medicine, Literature, Religion, and Astrology . 2017-10-23 . Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG . 978-3-11-055652-0 . en.
4. Book: Brink, Stefan . Thraldom . 2021-09-23 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-753235-5 . 216. 10.1093/oso/9780197532355.001.0001 .
5. Book: Iceland – Ireland: Memory, Literature, Culture on the Atlantic Periphery . 2022-02-07 . BRILL . 978-90-04-50533-9 . 171 . en.
6. Book: Lewis-Simpson, Shannon . Youth and Age in the Medieval North . 2008-11-30 . BRILL . 978-90-474-2404-8 . 156 . en.
7. Hall . Edith . 2006 . Drowning Act: The Greeks, Swimming, and Timotheus' Persians . Theatrical Cast of Athens . 255–287 . 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199298891.003.0009. 978-0-19-929889-1 .
8. Book: Smiley, Jane . The Sagas of the Icelanders . 2005-02-24 . Penguin UK . 978-0-14-193326-9 . en.
9. Egil's saga (trans. Scudder), p. 151.
10. Web site: 2018-08-07 . From Iceland — Miss Vanjie Of The North: A Borgarnes Monument To An Insignificant Saga Character . 2024-07-11 . The Reykjavik Grapevine . en-US.
11. Web site: The Icelandic Sagas Travel Guide Iceland Travel . 2024-07-11 . www.icelandtravel.is.
12. Web site: Brákarsund – Iceland Road Guide . 2024-07-11 . en-US.
13. Web site: Leikhús - BRÁK eftir Brynhildi Guðjónsdóttur . 2024-07-11 . www.mbl.is . is.