Thordis Markusdottir (''Þórdís Markúsdóttir''), known as Stokkseyrar-Dísa (1668–1728), was an Icelandic magician (

Galdr A (plural ') or (plural ) refers to a spell or incantation in Old Norse and Old English respectively; these were usually performed in combination with certain rites.The article ''Galder'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1992) Etymology and or ...

master). She is known in history for her alleged magical powers. She is the subject of a least ten different folk

saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

s depicting her experiments within magic or

. Thordis Markusdottir belonged to the elite of the Iceland and was the grandchild of sheriff Torfi Erlendsson of Stafnes and related to Thormodus Torfæus, historian of the King of Denmark. She lived in

Stokkseyri Stokkseyri () is a small in Southern Iceland, with a population of around 445. Overview Founded around 900 AD by the settler Hásteinn Atlason, it was an important fishing and trading village in previous times. The town is founded on the Great ...

, thereby the name Stokkseyrar-Dísa. Some of the sagas around her centers on her magical duels with Eiríkur í Vogsósum.

References

*Ghosts, Witchcraft and the Other World: Icelandic Folktales I, Iceland Review Library, 1977 - 91 sidor * *Íslenzkar þjóðsögur og æfintýri (1862) þjóðsögur, ritstjóri Jón Árnason {{DEFAULTSORT:Stokkseyrar-Disa 1668 births 17th-century Icelandic people 18th-century Icelandic people 1728 deaths 17th-century Icelandic women 18th-century Icelandic women Witchcraft in Iceland