Tradition / Region: Icelandic Mythology
Alternative Name: –
Category: Cow

The Myth

Thorgeir’s Bull was a powerful magical creature created by the Icelandic sorcerer Thorgeir the Wizard. To make it, Thorgeir flayed the hide from a newborn calf while it was still alive. He then placed inside the hide the bones or essence of eight different creatures—a bird, a man, a dog, a cat, a mouse, and two kinds of sea beasts, together with the calf itself—giving the Bull the combined nature of nine beings. Because of this, it could travel on land, in the sea, or through the air, and could appear in whatever form suited it best.

Thorgeir intended the Bull to help him win a feud with a woman named Gudrun after she rejected him. The Bull relentlessly hunted her, making her life miserable. Even when she fled between farms with armed escorts, it continued to pursue her. It tormented her so severely that she eventually died, and afterward her ghost was said to haunt the place where she had suffered.

After Gudrun’s death, the Bull remained devoted to Thorgeir and carried out his commands. It was used to stampede other people’s cattle, scatter horses, and perform acts of destruction. However, it also became increasingly dangerous to its own master. Whenever Thorgeir ordered it to perform some task, it would later return and attack him in revenge. Even Thorgeir, despite his magical knowledge, struggled to defend himself from the creature.

One day the Bull tried to kill Thorgeir. He fled into his house while his wife held their infant child. Believing the Bull wanted a sacrifice, she begged him to offer one of their heifers instead. Thorgeir released the animal, and the Bull tore it to pieces, sparing the family.

The Bull could also change shape. It sometimes appeared as a man, a dog, a grey cat, or even a black puppy, but most often it took the form of a gigantic horned bull draped in a flayed hide. Its appearance was so terrifying that anyone who saw it was filled with fear.

According to tradition, the Bull remained with Thorgeir until his death, and some claimed it was seen crouching upon his chest as he lay dying before vanishing forever.

Sources

Simpson, J. (Comp.). (1972). Icelandic folktales and legends. University of California Press.

The Myth

The Nauthveli, also called the Ox-Whale, is one of Iceland’s feared illhveli (“evil whales”) and is said to be the second largest of these monstrous sea creatures. Like the other evil whales, it is considered inedible, and tradition warns that merely speaking its name aloud can summon it.

The Nauthveli is a massive toothed whale with a black-and-white body resembling a cow. Its enormous head resembles that of a bull, bearing two large nodules, while its long body narrows into a worm-like tail without fins.

Its most terrifying feature is its voice. When hungry, the Nauthveli lets out an immense bull-like bellow that echoes across the sea and coastline. The sound resembles the roar of enraged cattle and can be heard over great distances. Its vibrations shake the ground and are powerful enough to knock oars from sailors’ hands. Whenever its bellow is heard, people refuse to sail.

Like all evil whales, the Nauthveli attacks boats and delights in killing people, but it has a particular craving for cattle. Its supernatural bellow hypnotizes cows and bulls, compelling them to run over cliffs and plunge into the sea. Once they reach the water, the whale toys with them like a cat playing with a mouse before biting them in half and devouring them.

The creature is also drawn to cattle carried aboard ships. One legend tells of a Nauthveli that relentlessly pursued a vessel near Grímsey until the sailors released the single cow they were transporting. The animal immediately leapt into the sea, satisfying the monster.

After the Nauthveli has been heard, cattle are traditionally kept locked away for several days until its enchantment fades. In areas where the monster was believed to roam, herding cattle near the coast was discouraged. According to tradition, sacrificing a single bull or cow would appease the Nauthveli, making the sea safe once more.