Dansinn í Hruna - The Dance in Hrunakirkja church upcountry in South Iceland - Icelandic Folklore

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In my last travel-blog I showed you Skinnastaðarkirkja church in NE-Iceland and told you about the strange happenings in the church, which we read about in our folklore.

Very similar folklore tells us about Hrunakirkja church, upcountry in South Iceland.

Top photo: Hrunakirkja church

Inside Hrunakirkja church

I found this folklore in Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar - the Collection of Folklore of Jón Árnason, Volume II, page 11. It is called Dansinn í Hruna or the Dance at Hruni.

I translated it into English, but also found out that there is an English translation on the information sign by Hrunakirkja church:

"Once upon a time there was a minister at Hruni in Árnessýsla county, who was fond of jollification and partying.

Hrunakirkja church

When the congregation had gathered in the Hrunakirkja church on Christmas Eve, instead of saying Mass for the first part of the night, this minister would customarily hold a big dance for the churchgoers.

There was drinking, card playing, and other types of indecent gaiety until the wee hours of the morning.

The altarpiece in Hrunakirkja church - the light wasn't good for taking photos

The priest had an old mother, Una was her name. She profusely opposed her son's conduct and often reprimanded him.

But he paid no attention to her and continued this misconduct for many years.

One Christmas Eve the dancing carried on further into the night than usual. His mother, who was both second-sighted and psychic, went to the church and told his son to stop this game and start saying Mass.

Beautiful chandeliers inside Hrunakirkja church

The minister answered that there was still ample time for saying Mass and said: "One more round-dance, mother".

His mother then returned back to the farm. The same thing repeated itself thrice, the mother went to the church and asked her son to remember God and stop before it was too late.

His answer was always the same: "One more round-dance, mother".

Lovely wall lights in Hrunakirkja church

But as his mother walked through the aisle away from her son for the third time she heard somebody saying a verse, which she learnt by heart:

"Hátt lætur í Hruna,

hirðir þangað bruna;

svo skal dansinn duna

að drengir megi það muna

Enn er hún Una

og enn er hún Una"

Inside Hrunakirkja church

Meaning (I use the translation on the information sign at Hruni):

"Loud the mirth at Hruni,

Lads sport beneath the moon-o,

They'll dance to such a toon-o

Men won't forget it soon-o

There'll be none left than Una

There'll be none left than Una"

Hrunakirkja church

When Una exited the church she saw a man standing outside by the door.

She didn't recognize him and disliked his looks and gathered that he was the one who had composed the verse.

Una was startled as she gathered that this must be the Devil himself and that now things were going from bad to worse.

Una took her son's riding horse and rode hastily to the nearest minister and asked him to come with her and try to solve this predicament and save her son from the imminent danger.

The minister rode with her and brought with him many men, as his congregation, who had attended the mass on Christmas Eve, had not left him yet.

Hrunakirkja church - the spires up close

As they reached Hruni the church and the graveyard had sunk into the ground with all the people inside the church, but they heard howling and yelling coming from the ground.

It is still possible to see remnants of a house on top of Hruninn. Hruninn is the name of the hill above the farm Hruni and the farm gets its name from the hill.

The story goes that after this incident the church was moved below the hill Hruninn to its current location.

Never again was there dancing in Hrunakirkja church on Christmas Eve."

(Translated into English from Þjóðsögur Jóns Árnasonar - the Collection of Folklore by Jón Árnason)

Hrunakirkja church and the graveyard

You can see the similarities between these two tales which are said to have happened both in NE-Iceland at Skinnastaðarkirkja church and at Hrunakirkja church upcountry in South Iceland.

The beautiful Skinnastaðarkirkja Church in NE-Iceland - Icelandic Folklore

Hrunakirkja church

The old churches in Iceland were turf churches, but the beautiful timber church at Hruni dates back to 1865.

The church was renovated in 1908, it was clad with corrugated iron and a bigger church tower was added to it.

The first mention of a church at Hruni was around the year 1200. In the age of the Sturlungs, the chieftain of the Haukdæla clan, Þorvaldur Gissurarson, was a priest at Hruni.

And his son Gissur, the only earl of Iceland, was born here at the Hruni manor. Gissur was the one who had the noted Snorri Sturluson killed, his ex-father-in-law.

The Historic Reykholt in West Iceland & Snorri Sturluson - the most influential Icelander