“One summer King Ivar Vidfadmi went with his host west from Sweden to Reidgotaland, and landed in Selund. He sent word to his son-in-law Hrœrek to come to him; he told this to Aud his wife, who asked if he intended to go to meet his kinsman and invite him to a feast on shore. In the evening, when King Hrœrek retired, Aud had prepared a new bed with all the clothes in it new, and placed it on the middle of the floor; she requested him to sleep therein, to remember what he dreamt, and tell it her in the morning; and she made herself another bed. In the morning, when asked about his dream, ‘I dreamt,’ he said, ‘that I was standing near a forest, beside a fine level field, and there saw a stag. Then a wild beast, with a mane like gold, ran out of the forest; the stag thrust its horns under the shoulder of the beast, and it fell dead. Thereupon I saw a large dragon fly to where the stag was, at once seize it in its claws, and tear it asunder. Then I saw a she-bear with her cub, which the dragon wanted to take, but the bear defended it; and then I awoke.’ She answered: ‘This is a remarkable dream; and beware thou of King Ivar, my father, that he does not deceive thee when thou meetest him, for thou hast seen kings’ fylgjas, and there will be fights with them, and it will be well if this stag is not thy own fylgja, which seems most likely to me”[[342]] (Sögubrot, c. 2).
“That morning Thorstein awoke in his room, and said: ‘Art thou awake, Thórir?’ ‘I am,’ answered Thórir, ‘but have slept till now.’ Thorstein said: ‘I want to get ready to go away from this room, for I know that Jökull will come hither to-day with many men.’ ‘I do not think so,’ said Thórir, ‘and will not go; but how hast thou found it out?’ ‘I dreamt,’ said Thorstein, ‘that thirty wolves ran hither and seven bears, with an eighth red-cheeked bear, which was large and fierce; with them also were two she-foxes, which ran ahead of the flock and were rather fierce-looking; I disliked them most. All the wolves attacked us, and it seemed to me that at last they tore all my brothers asunder, except thee alone; but nevertheless thou didst fall. Many thought I was killed by the bears, but I killed all the wolves and the smaller she-fox; then I fell. What thinkest thou this dream signifies?’ said Thórir. ‘I think,’ said Thorstein, ‘that the large red-cheeked bear is Jökul’s fylgja, but that the other bears are the fylgja of his brothers, and all the wolves I have seen are men with them, for they are likely to show the tempers of wolves to us. With regard to the two she-foxes, I do not know the men who have those fylgja; I think they have lately come to Jökul, and they must be disliked by most men’” (Thorstein Vikingsson, c. 12).
The child of an Icelandic woman by name of Orny, having been exposed,[[343]] was saved by a bondi named Krumm, and by him raised as his own, and called Thorstein. One day when the boy was seven years of age Krumm went with him to Krossavik, where the grandfather of the boy, Geitir, lived. While there he rushed forward on the floor, as is the habit of children, stumbled and fell. As Geitir laughed, the boy asked him why he found it so funny. Geitir answered:—
“‘It is true; for I saw that which thou didst not see.’ ‘What was it?’ said Thorstein. ‘I can tell thee. When thou camest into the room a young white bear followed thee, and ran before thee on the floor; when he saw me he stopped, but thou didst rush on and stumble over the young bear; I think thou art not the son of Krumm, but of higher kin’”[[344]] (Fornmanna Sögur, iii. p. 113).
“He (Thórhalli) dreamt a dream and went northward to Finni. When he came to the door he said: ‘I should like thee to explain a dream which I have dreamt.’ Finni said: ‘Go; I will not hear thy dream,’ and pushed the door and said: ‘Go away as quick as thou canst, and tell it to Gudmund of Mödruvellir, or else thou shalt be driven away with weapons at once.’ Then he went away to Mödruvellir. Gudmund had ridden that day out into the district and was expected home that night. Einar, his brother, lay down and fell asleep. He dreamt that an ox, very fine-looking, with large horns, walked up through the district; it walked up to Mödruvellir and went to every house of the farm, and at last to the high-seat, and there fell dead. Thereupon Einar said: ‘This forebodes great tidings, and this is the fylgja of a man.’ Then Gudmund came home, and it was his custom to go to every house of the farm bœr. When he had come to his high-seat he leant back and talked with Thórhalli, who told him his dream. Then he rose in the seat when food was brought. It was hot milk, warmed with stones. Gudmund said: ‘This is not hot.’ Thorlaug said: ‘Now I do not know where thy liking for the heat comes from.’ He drank again and said: ‘This is not hot.’ Then he sank backward and was dead. Thorlaug said: ‘This is great tidings, which will be heard widely; no man shall touch him, and often has Einar had forebodings of lesser tidings.’ Then Einar came and prepared the body and said: ‘Thy dream, Thórhalli, has no small power,[[345]] and Finni has seen in thee that the man to whom thou didst tell the dream would be death-fated, and he liked Gudmund to become so. Cold must he have been inside, as he did not feel anything’” (Ljósvetninga, c. 21).
The country as well as the people had its guardian spirits, or Landvœttir, by which it and its inhabitants were protected, and which were supposed to assume different shapes. What the Disir and Hamingja were to the family, the Landvœttir were to the whole or a large tract of the country; and though they were sometimes attached to special men, whom they followed, they were more closely connected with the land than with the people, and there was a heathen law in Iceland preventing the people from disturbing them.
They were subordinate to the guardian gods of each country, and excited dreams in men, and on behalf of the guardian god watched over those places at which they dwelt; they especially liked to dwell on mountains, and sometimes the dead were assigned places with them.[[346]]
“It was the beginning of the heathen laws that men should not go with a head-ship (with dragon-heads) out on the main sea, or, if they did, they should take the heads off before they saw land, and not approach it with gaping heads and yawning snouts, that the landvœttir might not be frightened” (Landnama, c. 7)
These landvœttir sometimes loved special men, and followed them.
“Björn (an Icelander) dreamt one night that a rock-dweller came to him and offered to enter into partnership with him, and he consented. Thereafter a he-goat came to his goats, and they increased so much that he soon became very rich. After this he was called He goat Björn. Second-sighted men saw that all landvœttir followed He-goat Björn to the Thing, and Thorstein and Thórd (his brothers) to hunting and fishing” (Landnama, iv. c. 12).