Critical Analysis

Word count: 917

Brodman, B. Doan, J.E. (2013) The Universal Vampire: Origins and Evolution of a Legend, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p3-p4

In The Universal Vampire, The very history of the concept of Vampires is explored not only the classical appreciation of the beast as known and popularised by the Nosferatu or Dracula but historically comparable beasts from across the world. It is in Iceland that the Northern European comparable beast is found within various saga literature spread throughout the 12th to 15th centuries and the various sub genres therein.  The Icelander’s sagas, King’s sagas, mythical-heroic sagas, knight’s sagas and romance (classical adventure) sagas all feature tropes typical of the European Fairytale.

Within these sagas however, there are 36 preserved texts containing episodes that feature the vampiric revenant – The Draugr, even it’s name is comparable to the most famous of vampires, Dracula. These texts mainly feature bloodshed, whether through mutual killings, communal conflicts, court scenes and outlaws who meet a violent end. Despite these seemingly mundane features of these texts the Icelandic people refer heavily to supernatural and magical goings on, whether it be magical blades, mythical berserkers and prophetic dreams or werewolves and even the living dead. These living dead are then divided into subspecies the Howe-Dweller, a spirit that spends it’s posthumous existence in it’s howe enjoying what it’s funerary possessions offer it. A creature that is defensive and takes no interest in the living whether human or animal it is content to leave them be and will not act aggressively. In fact these undead creature is said to only act with violence when it’s burial mound and by association it’s possessions are at risk to grave robbers and the like. The author also suggests that due to the immense strength of the Howe-Dweller that it could be seen to the adventurous and glory seeking as a way to test their strength, as such a creature would make an epic trophy.

Now, however, we come to the second species undead Icelandic Spirit, the Draugr, an umbrella term for any undead creature that leaves it’s grave and willingly acts with malice and mischief and violence, whether physically or mentally, upon the living. Further displayed in the name which has linguistic roots in Indo-European etymology with the word dhreugh which translates as “to harm; to damage”.  Other names for the undead featured in Icelandic correlate more precisely to the creature that we are more commonly aware of such as wraiths, phantoms and revenants. In the descriptions of the Draugr within these texts they display traits identifying them as living corpses and exhibiting similar behaviours to Vampires, as outsiders and troublemakers in their behaviour before they become violent. These traits of otherness and maintaining a separate life from the mainstream of humanity are tropes often found amongst Vampiric tales today, and the oldest Vampiric creatures are often described today as appearing as nothing more than living corpses.

This description of the Draugr appears to be far more useful and common in the modern depictions of the Vampire. This is a violent beast that in it’s heart of hearts is nothing more than a violent monster meant to scare the most primal and basic part of a person. Yet it could be argued that whilst this Draugr makes up the basic core of the modern vampire in media, there as been an additional psychological amendment to the beast. the modern Vampire retains the violence, the power and the otherness yet it seems to have gained an upperclass mystique, a nobility afforded to the aristocracy by the aristocracy. They have become anti heros, displaying the same dark triad of personality traits as other such anti heros from The Batman to James Bond.

The Draugr it could be argued have evolved from undead corpse spirit to the midnight aristocracy of the modern legend, where before they were mindless violence and otherness towards mankind. they have become machiavellian master manipulators in media. These new monsters able to guide the course of history in their own narratives to gain there preferred outcomes rather than commit acts of violence and be threatened and attacked in response. But it’s not only the machiavellian intelligence and manipulations that the society has offered them, it has also redefined them, no more are they corpses (excepting of course the very oldest in most media). Now these midnight lords, are beautiful and wealthy, eternally young and eternally vibrant. Where the Draugr of Iceland were terrible monsters to fear in the night, now they have become creatures to aspire to, ignoring the blood sucking and permanent need to commit murder. They now embody success, power and all the hallmarks of happiness for many people, and now it’s obtainable, in the narratives.

The universal tropes of violence and undead ultimately mixed with the universal desire for immortality and power, and where once there was a universal fear of the undead society has evolved and with it so too the Draugr into a source of inspiration whether it be from fear of the unknown or aspiration to something better. This is an almost visual evolution in storytelling and I find it inspiring and would love to be able to incorporate in some way into my work. I should be able to adapt these monstrous traits and the subsequent evolution from beast to nobility into a villain, but I must say I find it more interesting to try to adapt such a trope and thematic discourse into protagonist, if not a hero than at least an anti hero.