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40 Real People Executed for Witchcraft

Tim Flight October 15, 2019 27 min

38. The Greenland authorities executed Kolgrim for stealing someone’s wife (sorry, ‘witchcraft’) in 1407

All that remains of the cathedral at Gardar, Greenland, where Kolgrim was executed. Wikimedia Commons

In 1406, a wealthy Norwegian merchant called Torgrim Sölvesson came to Greenland with his wife, Steinunn Ravnsdotter. The following year, Steinunn fell in love with a local man from the town of Gardar called Kolgrim. Besotted, she left Torgrim to live with her new lover. Bad luck, Mr. Sölvesson? Apparently not. Being rich, Torgrim was able to accuse Kolgrim of using witchcraft to seduce Steinunn. Why else would she leave him? Well, local authorities couldn’t think of a more logical explanation, and soon Kolgrim burned to ashes in Gardar’s execution site. Heartbroken, Steinunn died insane soon after.

Written by

Tim Flight

I am a freelance historical and literary writer based in West Yorkshire, UK. I read for a funded PhD in English at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) and graduated in 2016. I am a former lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London. My publications include peer-reviewed articles in academic publications, and pieces in mainstream magazines such as History Today and Fortean Times. For more information, please see www.drflight.co.uk