Þráinn

Also called: Thrain, Thráinn

Folklore and mythUndeadBarely movesSorceryMiddle Ages

Þráinn is the barrow-dwelling undead king of Hrómundar saga Gripssonar. Once a ruler in Gaul, he sits in his mound with the sword Mistilteinn until Hrómundr climbs in, wrestles him and burns the body. The tale was already being told as entertainment in 12th-century Iceland, which makes it one of the oldest datable draugr fights in the record.1 2

Battle it

First recorded

1119

A saga of Hrómundr was reportedly recited at a wedding at Reykjahólar in 1119; the story survives through the 14th-century Griplur rímur and later prose

Origin

Norse (Icelandic legendary saga)

Iceland

What causes it

Sorcery

A sorcerer-king who took his powers with him into the barrow.

How you become one

A king of Valland (Gaul) turned witch-king, entombed in a barrow.

How it moves

Barely moves

Remains in his barrow and grapples with the hero who breaks in.

Intelligence

Clever

Weak spots

being out-wrestled
burning the body

When did it first appear?

Ancient world Middle Ages 1500 to 1899 1900 to 1967 1968 to 1999 2000 to 2009 2010 to today

1119

A saga of Hrómundr was reportedly recited at a wedding at Reykjahólar in 1119; the story survives through the 14th-century Griplur rímur and later prose

field notes