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Illustration of The dead of Fróðá
Original AI-made illustration based on the descriptions in the sources. Not an official design.
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The dead of Fróðá

Also called: Fróðá wonders, Fróðárundur, Frodis-water hauntings
Folklore and mythUndeadShamblesMiddle Ages

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

Battle it
First recorded
1260
Eyrbyggja saga, written in the mid- or late 13th century
Origin
Norse (Icelandic saga)
Iceland
What causes it
Other
Death spreads through a household after the dying wishes of a woman named Thorgunna are ignored; each new victim joins the walking dead.
How you become one
Members of the household sicken and die after meeting the dead shepherd, then return themselves.
How it moves
Shambles
The dead walk into the hall in a body each night, sit down by the fire and shake mud from their clothes over the living.
Intelligence
Some intelligence
Weak spots
  • a formal lawsuit at the door of the house, sentencing each revenant to leave
  • holy water and Christian rites

When did it first appear?

Ancient worldMiddle Ages1500 to 18991900 to 19671968 to 19992000 to 20092010 to today1260

Eyrbyggja saga, written in the mid- or late 13th century

field notes

What the sources say

1

It starts with a dead shepherd who attacks Thorir Wooden-leg; Thorir dies and walks too12

2

A seal's head rises through the floor and has to be hammered back down12

3

The dead take over the fire at the Yule feast for nights on end12

4

Servants and farmhands keep dying while the haunting lasts12

5

The chieftain Snorri advises a 'door-court': the dead are summoned, tried and leave one by one12

Could you outrun it?

Speed class from how the sources describe it (shambles), not a measurement.

The dead of Fróðá about 3 km/h (1.9 mph)
You, walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
You, jogging about 10 km/h (6.2 mph)
A fit adult sprinting about 24 km/h (15 mph)
A fast cyclist about 37 km/h (23 mph)

Sources

  1. Eyrbyggja saga - Wikipedia
  2. Draugr - Wikipedia

Every fact on this page comes from these sources, written in our own words. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at [email protected].

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Folklore from the same lands

DraugrNorse, 1250GlámrNorse (Icelandic saga), 1300AsvithNorse (Danish chronicle and Icelandic saga), 1200Deacon of MyrkáIcelandic, 1860HaugbúiNorse, 1250HjaðningavígNorse / Germanic

Same era: Middle Ages

VetalaHindu (Indian), 1070Revenant (medieval England)Medieval English, 1100UpiórSlavic, 1100Berwick revenantMedieval English / Scottish borders, 1198Buckinghamshire revenantMedieval English, 1198Byland Abbey revenantsMedieval English, 1400
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