Yrsa Sigurdardottir - Last Rituals

"What document?" Thora asked. "There are hundreds here."

"It's an old letter to the Bishop of Roskilde from around the year 1500. We borrowed it from Denmark so it's important that it doesn't go astray."

"That sounds quite serious," Thora said. "Why didn't you approach the police about it? They could surely have located the document."

"This has only just come to lightI had no idea about it when I was being interviewed, otherwise I would have asked them to let me have it. By coming here I was hoping to avoid having to go to the police and to solve the problem more simply. I don't particularly want to give another statement. That's an experience I've had too much of already. The document is completely unrelated to the murder, I can promise you that."

"Maybe not," said Thora. "Unfortunately, I haven't come across it. But we haven't gone through all Harald's papers yet. It may well turn up."

Matthew hurried in holding some papers in one hand and sat down on the elegant sofa. With a flamboyant gesture he invited them to do the same. Thora sat in the armchair and Gunnar went to the sofa directly opposite Matthew. Thora described Gunnar's business to Matthew, who did little more than repeat almost verbatim what she had saidhe had not come across the document, but that didn't necessarily mean it wasn't there. Then he put the papers on the table. He addressed Gunnar in English: "You supervised Harald's research, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Yes and no, sort of," Gunnar said warily in heavily accented English.

"Oh?" snapped Matthew. "Isn't it clear who supervises which students for their dissertations?"

"Yes, yes. Of course," Gunnar said hastily. "He just hadn't got far enough to need supervision by the department staff. That was all I meant. Thorbjorn Olafsson had agreed to it. I watched from the sidelines, so to speak."

"I see. But I presume he presented an outline or idea for his theme, didn't he?"

"Oh, yes. He submitted an abstract, if I remember correctly, right at the beginning of his first term at the department. We examined the topic and broadly approved it. Thorbjorn followed it up. It was in his field."

"What was the dissertation going to be about?" Thora asked.

"A comparison between witch burnings in Iceland and elsewhere in Europe, mainly in what today is Germany. Witches were hunted most passionately there, so to speak. Harald had previously researched witch burnings, in connection with his dissertation at the University of Munich."

Matthew nodded thoughtfully. "Am I right in believing that the Icelandic witch hunts took place in the seventeenth century?"

"Yes. Actually, there are records of convictions for sorcery before that time, but the witch hunts proper only commenced in the seventeenth century. The first known burning was in 1625."

"That's what I thought," said Matthew, looking puzzled. He spread out the papers he had put down on the table. "I find it odd how little there is in Harald's papers about Icelandic witches being burned, and I can't understand his fascination with events from a much earlier period. Maybe you could enlighten me; you might be aware of a historical context that escapes us."

"What events are you referring to?" asked Gunnar as he reached over to look at the papers, which were photocopied articles from academic journals.

While Gunnar read, Matthew reeled them off: "An eruption in Mount Hekla in 1510, epidemics in Denmark around 1500, the Reformation in 1550, caves of Irish monks in Iceland before the proper settlement, and more of that nature. I can't see a direct connection, but then I'm not a historian."

Gunnar kept reading. When he had digested the subjects of all the papers he finally spoke: "They don't all necessarily have to be directly connected with his dissertation topic. Harald could have obtained these articles for another course he was enrolled in. Actually, the age of settlement is my specialist field and Harald did not attend my classes, which might have explained the article on Irish monks. But I would still conclude that these documents are connected with courses he took alongside his dissertation."

Matthew regarded Gunnar intently. "No, that's not the point. Most of these are from a file labeled Malleus you're presumably familiar with that name." Matthew pointed to the holes in the margins of the pages. "My conclusion was that he had collected all this in connection with witchcraft, somehow."

"Yes, I know the namecouldn't he simply have put it all in an old file and not got round to relabeling it?"

"Certainly," said Matthew. "But somehow I don't think he did."

Gunnar looked back at the papers. "I must confess it's not immediately apparent. My initial guess would be the link with the Reformationin a sense that was the precedent for witch hunts, just as in much of Europe. Religion began to change and these developments provoked a kind of spiritual crisis. Regarding the eruption and the epidemics, Harald could have been looking into the connection between the persecutions and the prevailing economic landscape. Natural catastrophes and diseases had a great impact on the economy in those days. Still, other eruptions, such as Hekla in 1636, and other epidemics much closer in time to the witch hunts would have been a more normal avenue of inquiry than the subjects of these articles." He tapped the papers on the desk.

"So he never mentioned this to you or Thorbjorn when you met to discuss his dissertation?" asked Thora.

"Not to me. Thorbjorn made no mention of it either after he met with Harald on his own," Gunnar said, then added: "As I told you, Harald was still developing his dissertation. His focus seemed to shiftapparently he even implied to Thorbjorn that he was more interested in the impact of the Reformation than in witch burnings, but nothing had been decided when he was murdered."

"Is that normal?" Thora asked. "Changing his mind like that?"

Gunnar nodded. "Yes, it's very common. Students start off zealously, then discover the topic isn't as exciting as they originally thought and choose a new one. We even have a long list of interesting research topics to let students choose from when they're stuck for ideas."

"Considering Harald's interest in witchcraft in general," Matthew said, gesturing at the artwork on the walls, "which he'd fostered from an early age, I doubt that the Reformation would have pushed it all out of his mind."

"Harald was a Catholic, as you undoubtedly know," Gunnar said, and Thora and Matthew nodded dutifully. "One of the main aspects of Lutheranism that fascinated him was the general decline in living standards in Iceland around 1550, especially among the poorest sections of the population. The Catholic Church had kept all its property and wealth in Iceland, but with the Reformation this all passed into the hands of the king of Denmark and the country became poorer as a result. Likewise, the Catholic Church acted as an almsgiver, providing food and shelter to those in greatest need. That was cut off with the switch to Lutheranism. Harald thought that was worth looking into because the Catholic Church is seldom seen in that light. He was also impressed that priests and bishops in Iceland were allowed to take mistresses and have children by themthis wasn't tolerated in other Catholic sees in Europe at that time, and still isn't, in fact."

Matthew seemed unconvinced. "Yes, maybe. But could it be that his meetings with Thorbjorn weren't very detailedperhaps Harald was cooking something up in his research that Thorbjorn, and presumably you, knew nothing about?"

"I wouldn't know about that, obviously," Gunnar replied. "But I didn't get that from my contact with him, at least. That's all I know. Of course he could have examined all kinds of topics without my knowledgeI didn't follow his every move, nor was I supposed to. M.A. students decide most things for themselves and work very independently. But I recommend that you discuss this with Thorbjorn if you want more information. I can arrange a meeting if you like."