Drangey

Norðurland vestra · Island · Natural site

As Bishop Guðmundur the Good blessed the cliffs of Drangey, a grey claw slashed at his rope and growled: 'Even the wicked must have somewhere to dwell.'

Drangey is a sheer-sided rock island in the middle of Skagafjörður, famed from Grettis saga as the last refuge of the outlaw Grettir the Strong, who by the saga's account was brought down there with the help of sorcery. The island was held to be so thick with evil beings that fowlers plunged to their deaths when unseen hands cut their ropes, and Bishop Guðmundur the Good was summoned to consecrate the cliffs. As he was lowered along the rock face, a grey, shaggy arm with a knife reached out of the cliff and begged him to stop his blessing: the wicked, too, must have somewhere to dwell. The bishop left that section unconsecrated, and it is still called Heiðnaberg, the 'heathen cliff', which climbers avoid. Boat tours visit the island in summer.

FAQ

Where is Drangey located?

Drangey is in Norðurland vestra, Island.