Once there was a student at the Seminary at Hólar. His name was Loftur; he
practised magic, and tried to interest others in this practise. Loftur kept
to his sorcery studies until he had learned everything contained in the spell-book
Grįskinna (Grey-skin-cover). Then he sought to gain even more hidden knowledge
from other sorcerers, but nobody knew more than he did.
Early one winter Loftur spoke to a schoolmate, who was thought to be brave,
and asked him to help in calling back to life the ancient bishops. The student
did not want to do this,
but Loftur threatened him with death if he did not agree. The student asked
Loftur how he would be able to help, as he knew no magic. Loftur answered that
he was to just stand in the belfry and hold the bell rope. He was forbidden
to move at all, but rather was to watch Loftur and then ring the bell as soon
as he saw Loftur make a hand signal.
Loftur explained that he wanted to raise the dead because: "Those who have mastered
magic in the way I have can only employ it to work evil, and they will surely
perish when they die - and yet if one knows enough, the Devil will no longer
have any power over a man and must serve him, without getting control over the
sorcerer. Anyone who knows that much can use his knowledge as he will. But this
knowledge is hard to come by now, ever since The Black School was closed, and
Bishop Gottskalk the Evil had the book Raušskinna (Red-skin-cover) buried with
him. This is why I plan to call him from the dead and get the book from him
by magic."
After others had gone to their beds they went to the church, beneath the moonlight.
The student stopped in the belfry. Loftur went up into the pulpit and began
chanting. The long dead bishops arose from their graves, one after the other,
and some of these begged him to stop, but Loftur did not stop his chant. Three
of the dead bishops wore crowns, the first, the one in the middle, and also
the last one.
Despite all this, Gottskalk still did not come from his grave - so Loftur started
chanting as never before. He turned the words of the Psalms into praises for
the Devil and made a sorry confession of all his good deeds. The three crowned
dead bishops kept as far away as possible from Loftur and faced him with their
hands raised - the other dead bishops looked at them and kept their gaze away
from Loftur. At last a heavy sound was heard, and a dead man arose bearing a
staff in his left hand and a red book under his right arm. He did not waer a
crucifix on his chest, and he looked unkindly at the other dead bishops. He
gazed at Loftur, who chanted all the more during this. Gottskalk moved
a little closer to Loftur and said scornfully: "You chant well, my son, and
better than I would have expected. But you will not get my Raušskinna." Loftur
then seemed to turn himself inside out and chanted in a way he had never done
before. He changed The Blessing and The Lord's Prayer into praises for the Devil,
and the church shook like a straw in the wind. The student, watching in the
belfry, thought he saw Gottskalk move again closer to Loftur and he seemed
to thrust a corner of the book towards the magician. He had been frightened
all this time but now he shook with his terror. He thought he saw the bishop
lift the book and Loftur stretch out his hand. So he pulled the bell rope as
hard as he could and everything that had appeared vanished into the floor with
a whispering sound.
Loftur stood still for a while in the pulpit. Then he staggered down and found
his companion, and said: "Now the worst has happened. I could have waited for
the dawn and the bishop would then have had to let go of the book, but he was
too strong for me. He made me so wild that if I had but chanted one stave more
the whole church would have collapsed into the ground - and that was what
he wanted. I saw the faces of the crowned bishops and became worried, but I
knew that you would faint by the bell rope and ring the bell. The book was so
close, I thought I could reach it. I tried my best and even managed to touch
a corner. But I could not get a good grip to hold it. Things must be as they
are, and thus I will be doomed."
Loftur felt sure he would die on a certain Sunday. His friends advised him to
flee and ask help from the priest at Stašastašur, who was thought very religious
and had helped people in trouble before. Loftur stayed with the priest until
that Sunday arrived. On this day the priest had to leave home to give the last
rites to an old friend and Loftur felt so ill that he could not go with the
priest but stayed behind in his home. No sooner had the priest had left than
Loftur became well. He walked to the next farm and there got the farmer to take
out his boat and go fishing with him. Although there was no wind that day, the
boat has never been seen since. One man thought he had seen a grey furred
hand rise from the sea when the boat had just been launched, grab the
stern where Loftur was sat, and pull everything under the waves. But who can
say for sure?
Source : A popular Icelandic folktale retold here by Shaun D. L. Brassfield-Thorpe