The dead of Fróðá

The Fróðá episode of Eyrbyggja saga is the nearest thing in medieval literature to a zombie outbreak. One death leads to another, the dead return in growing numbers and they occupy the farmhouse, crowding out the living. The solution is distinctively Icelandic: the revenants are prosecuted under common law at the door of the house, accept the verdict and walk out, after which a priest purifies the building. It combines epidemic logic with a legal system that even the dead obey.12

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