1 Arv Nordic Yearbook of Folklore 2017 2 3 ARVARV Nordic Yearbook of Folklore Vol. 73 Editor ARNE BUGGE AMUNDSEN OSLO, NORWAY Editorial Board Lene Halskov Hansen, København; Fredrik Skott, Göteborg; Suzanne Österlund-Poetzsch, Helsingfors (Helsinki); Terry Gunnell, Reykjavík Published by THE ROYAL GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS ACADEMY UPPSALA, SWEDEN Distributed by eddy.se ab VISBY, SWEDEN 4 © 2017 by The Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy, Uppsala ISSN 0066-8176 All rights reserved Articles appearing in this yearbook are abstracted and indexed in European Reference Index for the Humanities and Social Sciences ERIH PLUS 2011– Editorial address: Prof. Arne Bugge Amundsen Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages University of Oslo Box 1010 Blindern NO–0315 Oslo, Norway phone + 4792244774 fax + 4722854828 e-mail: [email protected] http://www.hf.uio.no/ikos/forskning/publikasjoner/tidsskrifter/arv/index.html Cover: Kirsten Berrum For index of earlier volumes, see http://www.gustavadolfsakademien.se/a Distributor eddy.se ab e-post:[email protected] Box 1310, 621 24 Visby Telefon 0498-25 39 00 http://kgaa.bokorder.se Printed in Sweden Textgruppen i Uppsala AB, Uppsala 2017 5 Contents Articles Herleik Baklid: Hazel Rods in Graves . 7 Isak Lidström: Batting “Runders” on the Island of Runö. The In- corporation of English Bat-and-Ball Games into a Traditional Easter Celebration . 27 Anders Gustavsson: Folk Culture at the Interface between Emerg- ing Public Health Care and Older Forms of Healing. Health and Illness in a Coastal District of Western Sweden in the Nine- teenth Century . 51 Lucie Korecká: Óðin stoyttist í jörðina niður – Magic and Myth in the Faroese Ballads . 91 Arne Bugge Amundsen: The Reformation and Rituals . 115 Book Reviews Adjam, Maryam: Minnesspår (Isak Lidström) . 135 Blaakilde, Anne Leonora & Gabriella Nilsson (eds.): Nordic Seniors on the Move (Sverker Hyltén-Cavallius) . 136 Frykman, Jonas & Maja Povrzanović Frykman (eds.): Sensitive Objects (Sven-Erik Klinkmann) . 139 Hagberg, Louise: När döden gästar (Christina Sandberg) . 145 Helkama, Klaus: Suomalaisten arvot (Maija Mäki) . 148 High, Steven: Oral History at the Crossroads (Robert Nilsson Mohammadi) . 150 Jönsson, Lars-Eric & Fredrik Nilsson (eds.): Kulturhistoria (Ane Ohrvik) . 152 Jönsson, Lars-Eric & Fredrik Nilsson (eds.): Skratt som fastnar (Camilla Asplund Ingemark) . 153 Kaliff, Anders & Julia Mattes: Tempel och kulthus i det forna Skandinavien (Olof Sundqvist) . 156 6 Klinkmann, Sven-Erik, Blanka Henriksson & Andreas Häger (eds.): Föreställda finlandssvenskheter (Anders Gustavsson) . 160 Klintberg, Bengt af: Kvinnan som inte ville ha barn (Ørnulf Hodne) . 162 Koskihaara, Niina, Maija Mäki & Kirsi Sonck (eds.): Osumia (Helga Lähdemäki) . 168 Kuurne, Jouni & Märtha Norrback (eds.): Mikael Hisinger. Rese- dagbok (Henrik Brissman) . 170 Ney, Agneta: Bland ormar och drakar (Elisabeth Östnäs) . 172 Palmenfelt, Ulf: Berättade gemenskaper (Sven-Erik Klinkmann) . 175 Ringdal, Siv: Kroppens transformasjoner (Anders Gustavsson) . 178 Sandberg, Christina: Med döden som protagonist (Tora Wall) . 180 Strand, Karin: Brott, tiggeri och brännvinets fördärv (Patrik Sand- gren) . 181 Westvall, Maria: Musiker och folkbildare (Alf Arvidsson) . 184 Hazel Rods in Graves 7 Hazel Rods in Graves1 Herleik Baklid Abstract During archaeological excavations of older cemeteries in Scandinavia hazel rods have been found in some of the graves. This article discusses the reason for placing them in the graves together with the deceased. The rods appeared in varying number and in different positions, e.g. under, on top of or next to the deceased and sometimes in a cross formation. Most of the rods were found in graves from the early Christian period, but they also occurred in graves from the Middle Ages and the early nineteenth century. Based on the results of the description and an- alysis of the rods, sagas and tradition records, it is argued that the rods were placed in the graves to prevent the spirits of the dead from coming back to haunt. Keywords: archaeology, cemeteries, graves, rituals, hazel rods, the dead, spirits, Scandinavia In the summer of 1988, an archaeological excavation was performed in parts of the Heddal Stave Church Rectory grounds in Telemark, Norway. At this site thirty graves were excavated, but dating them posed problems. Several factors contributed to this – the grave’s directional placement, the shape of the coffins, and the position of the corpse’s arms. In addition to this sticks, or wooden rods made from the tree species hazel, were also found in some of the graves (Brendalsmo et al. 1989:31ff). Hazel rods placed in graves can be traced back to pre-Christian times, but this practice has mostly been associated with the early Christian period, i.e. eleventh century (see e.g. Krogh 1965:14; Eide 1974:230; Mårtensson 1980:57). However, it was eventually possible to determine, through archival studies and written source material, that the graves and the hazel rods in Heddal originated from the early nineteenth century (Nøstberg 1993:30ff). Al- though this may give clues about continuity, I shall not pursue or thema- tize that here. Instead, I will ask the question; why were hazel rods placed in graves, or in other words, what was the justification for placing them in the graves? Burial rods are not exclusively found in Heddal or in Norway, but also in Sweden, Denmark, England, Germany and France (see e.g. Mårtensson 1980:56ff; Krogh 1965:13ff; Daniell 1997:167; Gilchrist & Sloane 2005: 8 Herleik Baklid 171ff; Hägg 1997:120f; Doppelfeld 1964:11f). However, in this article, I have chosen to refine the study to the Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish burial-rod material. This choice has been made partly on the basis of the fact that according to the literature, these three countries offer the most comprehensive finds of burial rods, and partly on the basis of a methodological consideration, as there should be a defined geographical correspondence between the burial- rod material and the source material available to discuss the rationale. In the following, I will first offer a description and analysis of the present burial-rod material from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Then, on the basis of the results from the description and analysis of the rod material, I shall discuss the reasoning for placing these rods in the graves. Description and Analysis The burial rods are essentially revealed through archaeological excava- tions of older, abandoned cemeteries. The scope of the investigations ranges from the excavation of a few dozen graves to over 2100 graves (cf. Brendalsmo 1989:24; Brendalsmo et al. 1989:45; Mårtensson 1980:25 and 65). It should also be noted that in general, the cemeteries have not been totally excavated. In some places, like for example Heddal, only some of the graves have been archaeologically investigated (see e.g. Bren- dalsmo et al. 1989:30, Anderson & Göthberg 1986:1f; Cinthio 2002:235). Furthermore, there are some critical aspects related to the source material. First of all, the rods may have rotted after lying in the soil for hundreds of years, and secondly, the weather conditions during the excavations, such as precipitation and rain, may have contributed to the rods being difficult or impossible to detect (cf. Brendalsmo et al. 1989:18). These circum- stances though, will have hardly any particular impact on the result of this study. In Norway burial rods have been found at the following locations: St. Clement’s Church, Oslo, St. Gregory’s Church and St. Olav’s Church, Trondheim, St. Peter’s Church, Tønsberg, Heddal Stave Church, Tele- mark and at the Guddal Church in Sogn og Fjordane (Eide 1974:205 and 230; Long 1975:16, Christophersen & Nordeide 1994:108f; Anderson & Göthberg 1986:12f; Brendalsmo 1989:23 and 26; Brendalsmo et al. 1989: 16f; BMKS Christie 1970:2; cf. Müller 1984:71). In Sweden burial rods have been found at St. Stephen’s Church, Kattesund Church, the Holy Trinity Church and Lund Cathedral, Lund, and at Skara Cathedral, Skara (Mårtensson 1980:56ff; Cinthio 2002:83; Welin 1889:122; cf. Müller 1984:71f). In Denmark rods have been found at the Trans Church and Hørning Church, Jutland, and at the Franciscan Monastery in Svendborg on Funen (Krogh 1965:13ff; Kristensen 1994:94; cf. Müller 1984:72). Hazel Rods in Graves 9 1. Excavation sites for burial rods in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. This map was created by Executive Officer Trond Lerstang, Uni- versity College of Southeast Norway. Most of these sites were archaeologically excavated in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. I will not claim that this list of finds is complete and exhaustive. But the amount of available excavated burial-rod material is so extensive that it pro- vides a sufficient basis for discussing the formulated questions. The Number of Graves with Rods The number of excavated graves with rods vary considerably between exca- vation sites. The table demonstrates that most graves with rods are found in Lund in Sweden. In the three cemeteries of St. Stephen’s Church, Kattesund Church and the Holy Trinity Church, rods were found in respectively 52, 139 and 111 graves. In Norway, however, the number is significantly lower. Most graves with rods are found at the St. Gregory’s Church in Trondheim with Table 1. The number of graves at each of the churches and with the proportion of graves containing rods. 10 Excavation site Number of The total number Percentage of Source Baklid Herleik graves with of excavated graves contain- rod finds graves ing rods Norway: St. Clement’s Church, Oslo 3 152 2.0 Eide 1974:198 and 205 St. Gregory’s Church, Trondheim 21 253 8.3 Christophersen and Nordeide 1994:108f St. Olav’s Church, Trondheim 3 389 0.8 Anderson and Göthberg 1986:1 and 12; cf. Christophersen og Nordeide 1994:97 and 108 St. Peter’s Church, Tønsberg 3 24 12.5 Brendalsmo 1989:23 and 26 Heddal Stave Church, Telemark 4 34 11.8 Brendalsmo et al.