Magic in National Museum of Iceland

In the National Museum of Iceland, you can find a collection of "Magical objects" with Runes carved into the wood.

The headboard has lots of protective symbols on it and unfortunately, my lack of runes knowledge is very lacking. i can only second-guess their meaning.

In the collection are various manuscripts from around the 17th century (I think) so relating to the witch craze that swept Scotland and Europe at the time.

Birds of a Feather

In the 17th century, knowledge of various kinds was respected in Iceland. Some sought forbidden knowledge in sorcery and paid the price.

The Icelanders had their own literature in their native language in the Middle Ages. In the 17th century, they started once again to write about Icelandic history and nature, in both Icelandic and Latin.

Witchcraft and the fear of it came to Iceland from Europe. It appears to have been a more intellectual pursuit in Iceland than elsewhere and most of those who practised witchcraft in Iceland were men who read secret books and made magical inscriptions to harm their enemies. In the 17th century, 24 people were burned at stake for sorcery: 23 men and one woman.

Mask

Also at the Museum is a 17th-century roughly carved wooden Mask. Its purpose is unknown. It may have been a child's toy or used during some kind of performance. It could also have been used to add colour to imaginative tales of ghosts and other fantastical creatures. It would have been unnerving to come face to face with this visage in the shadowy farmhouse passages at Stóra-borg, where the mask was unearthed during archaelogical research.