Burial Rites

As Chapter 4 begins, Blondal writes to the Deputy Governor of Northeast Iceland to discuss the execution act that will be used to behead the three murderers. He asks who should be charged with the task and what should be done with the axe after the beheadings. Meanwhile, Toti is planning to go back on his promise to serve as Agnes’s advisor as their second encounter went no smoother than the first. However, it’s been two weeks and he has yet to write the letter. His father encourages him to not disgrace himself and to fulfill his obligation, and Toti knows his guilt and shame will drive him back to Kornsa. On his way back to the farm, Toti stops in Undirfill to talk to the Reverend Petur Bjarnason. While he waits, he talks to a woman who tells him that Natan once cured her sick child. It seems Natan was an herbalist who some revered as a healer, but others considered a devil-worshipping sorcerer. There were old rumors that he was named after Satan, but the priest changed his name to Natan. He tells the women in the church that he is Agnes’s spiritual advisor, and an old woman named Gudrun who knew Agnes has harsh words to say about her, claiming she’s a ruthless social climber.