From a bog in Denmark. I forgot where on Sjælland this was.

a house built in 1709,
Lillehammer , Norway
AstaNor Photography

Valborg, also known as Walpurgis Night, is a holiday celebrated throughout Europe, taking place on the eve of May Day. Today the evening is one of camaraderie, festivities, and time spent gathered around large bonfires drinking with friends and strangers alike, until the bonfires die down and the night is capped off with pub-runs.

But the origins of the holiday are much darker.

The day gets its name from St. Walpurga, a mid-late 8th century Anglo-Saxon missionary to the Frankish empire who preached to the pagan Germanic tribes of the area. St. Walpurga was highly venerated after her death, especially in the Medieval Period. During this time, Europeans began lighting large bonfires to scare away the evil witches who supposedly gathered power during that night. This was in connection with St. Walpurga’s reputation for warding off witchlike pagans (pagans were often equated with witches at the time). This eventually led to a violent explosion of anti-witch sentiment throughout Europe.

Sweden in particular has a sinister history of witch-hunts which culminated during the 16th and 17th centuries. The starkest example of the witch mania in Sweden are the horrendous Torsåker witch trials. The neighboring parish’s Lutheran minister, Laurentius Christophori Hornæus, was summoned to the area to investigate accusations of witchcraft amongst the populace.

When Hornæus arrived in Torsåker, he held sermons in which the attendees were singled out by two boys at the door of the church who would identify the so-called witches by invisible marks on their foreheads. Through this dubious method, 65 women and 6 men were accused of witchcraft. The townsfolk then, using pikes to surround the accused, led the 71 people into the forest, where they were beheaded and burned at the stake. Their cries and pleas for mercy fell upon deaf ears— after the executions, the townsfolk walked away emotionlessly, as testified by Britta Rufina, an eyewitness to the massacre.

Text: Austin Main. Copyright 2021 Scandinavian Archaeology.

#pagan #heathen #norse #nordic #Denmark