A folk tale from Whale Fjord
Rauðhöfði (Redhead)
In ancient times, it was very common in the Suðurnes region to go out to Geirfuglasker to hunt birds and collect eggs. These trips were considered dangerous and had to be made in good weather, as the skerries were far from land, surrounded by very rough seas.
Once, as often happened, a boat went out to Geirfuglasker. Some stayed on the boat while others went up on the skerries to collect eggs. The sea quickly became rough, so they had to leave sooner than they wanted. The egg collectors barely made it back to the boat, except for one. He came down last from the skerry because he had gone the farthest, thinking there was no rush. He was the son and breadwinner of a widow who lived at Melaberg in Hvalsnes-parish, a strong man in his prime.
When the man reached the boat, the sea had gotten so rough that he couldn’t be brought aboard, no matter how hard they tried. The crew had to leave him behind, believing him doomed unless they could soon retrieve him. They returned to land and told others what had happened, planning to go back to the skerries as soon as the weather allowed. But all summer, they couldn’t get back due to the rough seas and storms. Eventually, they gave up hope of ever seeing him alive again.
Time passed until the following summer. Then, the people of Nes went to Geirfuglasker as usual. When the egg collectors reached the skerry, they were surprised to see a man walking there, as they had expected no one.The man approached them, and they recognized him as the man from Melaberg who had been left behind the previous summer.
They were astounded and eager to know what had happened. The man gave vague answers, saying he had stayed on the skerry and had not suffered much.He asked them to take him back to land, which they gladly did.
The man from Melaberg was cheerful but rather quiet. When they reached land, there was a joyful reunion, and everyone marveled at the event, though the man gave no clear account of his time on the skerry.
Time passed, and people stopped talking about this strange event. Late in the summer, on a fine day when there was a service at Hvalsnes, a surprising event occurred.A large crowd was at the church, including the man from Melaberg.
When people came out of the church, they found a prepared cradle with a baby in it at the church door. A fine cover, unfamiliar to anyone, lay over the cradle. Everyone was astonished, and no one approached the cradle or the baby, nor did anyone claim to know anything about it.
The pastor came out, saw the cradle and the baby, and was just as puzzled as the others. He asked if anyone knew who had brought the cradle and baby or if anyone wanted him to baptize the baby. No one knew anything about it, and no one cared whether he baptized the baby or not.Since the pastor found the events concerning the man from Melaberg strange, he questioned him more thoroughly than the others. The man responded dryly, saying he knew nothing about the cradle or the baby and didn’t care about either.
At that moment, a beautiful and striking woman standing nearby grabbed the cover from the cradle, threw it into the church, and said, “The church shall not pay.”
She turned to the man from Melaberg and angrily said, “But you shall become the worst sea monster.”She then took the cradle with the baby and disappeared, never to be seen again. The pastor took the cover and had it made into an altar cloth for the church, which remained there for a long time and was considered a great treasure.
The story now turns to the man from Melaberg.
The words of the unknown woman shocked him so much that he immediately ran from the church to his home. He didn’t stop there but continued northward in a frenzy until he reached Hólmsberg, west of Keflavík, a high and steep cliff by the sea.When he reached the edge of the cliff, he paused.
He suddenly grew so large and swollen that the cliff cracked beneath his feet, and a large rock broke off and fell into the sea with him. In an instant, he transformed into a massive whale with a red head, as he had been wearing a red cap when he changed. From then on, he was called Rauðhöfði (Redhead). The rock that fell with him into the sea still stands near the cliff and is called Stakkur.
Some say that later, at Melaberg, after his mother asked about his winter on the skerry, he claimed to have stayed in an elf home in Geirfuglasker, where he was well-treated but couldn’t find peace. He said he had considered throwing himself into the sea to end his misery when a beautiful girl appeared, offering him shelter and saying she was from the elf folk of Geirfuglasker.
He stayed with her but was allowed to return home the next summer. He said the elf girl had told him she was pregnant with his child and asked him to ensure the baby was baptized if she brought it to the church where he was. If he failed, she warned, he would pay dearly. Some say he told this to his mother in private one summer, others say he mentioned it as he walked from Melaberg to the church, and some say he confided it to a trusted friend.
It is not mentioned why he disobeyed the elf woman’s order regarding the baptism.
Returning to the story of Rauðhöfði, he settled in Faxaflói Bay, causing great harm to men and ships, making the sea between Reykjanes and Akranes dangerous. His attacks on ships and men were numerous and severe, and no one could stop or drive him away. Many suffered because of him, though the names of those he killed are not recorded.
Recently, he had been staying in the fjord between Akranes and Kjalarnes, now called Hvalfjörður (Whale Fjord). An old priest lived at Saurbær on the shore of Hvalfjörður. He was blind but otherwise healthy. He had two sons and a daughter, all grown and promising, and he loved them dearly. The priest was wise and perceptive. His sons often fished in the fjord.
One day, they encountered Rauðhöfði, who drowned them both. The priest was devastated by the loss of his sons and learned how they died. One fine day, he asked his daughter to lead him to the fjord, which was not far from their home.
She did, and the priest took his staff. He made his way with his daughter’s help to the shore, setting his staff in the tidal zone and leaning on it. He asked his daughter how the sea looked. She said it was calm as a mirror. After a short while, he asked again. The daughter said she saw a black streak on the sea, like a large fish approaching the fjord.
As the streak neared, the priest asked his daughter to lead him along the shore, which she did. The streak kept pace with them until they reached the innermost part of the fjord. As the water shallowed, the daughter saw a massive whale swimming into the fjord as if driven or led.
When the fjord ended and Botnsá River flowed into it, the priest asked his daughter to lead him up the river’s western bank. She did, and they climbed the hillside with the whale struggling in the shallow water.
As they reached the gorge where Botnsá flows from Botnsheiði, the whale’s progress shook the earth like an earthquake. The waterfall there is named Glymur, and the heights above are called Skjálfandahæðir (Shaking Heights). The priest did not stop until he drove the whale into the lake that Botnsá flows from, now called Hvalvatn (Whale Lake).
The mountain by the lake is called Hvalfell (Whale Mountain). When Rauðhöfði entered the lake, he burst from the strain and was never seen again. Large whale bones found by the lake are said to confirm this story. The priest then returned home with his daughter, and everyone thanked him for his deed.