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Illustration of Asvith
Original AI-made illustration based on the descriptions in the sources. Not an official design.
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Asvith

Also called: Aswid, Asuithus, Ásviðr, Aran
Folklore and mythUndeadVariesMiddle Ages

The story of Asmund and Asvith is a medieval Scandinavian tale of being walled up with a flesh-eating corpse. Two sworn friends agree not to be parted by death; the survivor enters the tomb and finds that the dead man wakes each night and eats whatever is alive. He ends it by cutting off the head and pinning the body. It is among the earliest European narratives in which a reanimated corpse is explicitly driven by hunger for flesh.12

Battle it
First recorded
1200
Saxo Grammaticus, Gesta Danorum, written around 1200; a parallel in the 14th-century saga of Egil One-Hand and Asmund Berserker-Slayer
Origin
Norse (Danish chronicle and Icelandic saga)
Denmark, Sweden, Iceland
What causes it
Never explained
Asmund says only that his friend's spirit came back from the underworld into the body.
How you become one
A dead man entombed with his horse and dog, and with his living sworn friend beside him.
How it moves
Varies
Rises at night inside the sealed tomb and attacks with tooth and nail.
Intelligence
Some intelligence
Weak spots
  • beheading with a sword
  • a stake through the body (Saxo)
  • burning to ashes (saga version)

When did it first appear?

Ancient worldMiddle Ages1500 to 18991900 to 19671968 to 19992000 to 20092010 to today1200

Saxo Grammaticus, Gesta Danorum, written around 1200; a parallel in the 14th-century saga of Egil One-Hand and Asmund Berserker-Slayer

field notes

What the sources say

1

Asmund had himself buried alive with his friend out of loyalty12

2

The corpse ate the horse first, then the dog, then turned on Asmund12

3

It slashed his cheek and tore off his left ear12

4

Swedish treasure hunters who broke into the tomb fled, taking the gore-covered Asmund for the dead man12

5

In the Icelandic version the dead man is called Aran and eats a hawk, a hound and a horse over three nights12

Could you outrun it?

Speed class from how the sources describe it (varies), not a measurement.

You, walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
You, jogging about 10 km/h (6.2 mph)
Asvith about 10 km/h (6.2 mph)
A fit adult sprinting about 24 km/h (15 mph)
A fast cyclist about 37 km/h (23 mph)

Sources

  1. Buried Alive with an Undead Corpse: A Medieval Tale - Medievalists.net
  2. Draugr - Wikipedia

Every fact on this page comes from these sources, written in our own words. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at [email protected].

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Folklore from the same lands

DraugrNorse, 1250GlámrNorse (Icelandic saga), 1300Deacon of MyrkáIcelandic, 1860GjengangerScandinavianHaugbúiNorse, 1250HjaðningavígNorse / Germanic

Same era: Middle Ages

VetalaHindu (Indian), 1070Revenant (medieval England)Medieval English, 1100UpiórSlavic, 1100Berwick revenantMedieval English / Scottish borders, 1198Buckinghamshire revenantMedieval English, 1198Byland Abbey revenantsMedieval English, 1400
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