Þorgerður brák

Þorgerðr brák (anglicised as Thorgerd Brak) is a character in Egils saga. Skilled in magic, she is the foster-mother of the tenth-century poet and saga hero Egill Skallagrímsson, and she sacrifices her life to save him by intervening when his father, Skalla-Grímr, is about to kill him.

Egils saga

Þorgerðr is a servant or slave of tenth-century Icelandic warrior and farmer Skalla-Grímr. She foster his young son Egill. The saga narrator describes her as 'an imposing woman, as strong as a man and well-versed in the magic arts.' Her nickname might come from Old Norse brák, a leatherworking tool. The nickname has also been thought to be Gaelic.

When Egill is twelve, Skalla-Grímr grows enraged while playing a ball game with Egill and his teammate Þorðr. Skalla-Grímr kills Þorðr and then seizes Egill. Þorgerðr accuses him of behaving like a shapeshifter (Skalla-Grímr and his father Kveld-Ulfr are rumoured to be able to take on the shape of wolves). When Skalla-Grímr leaves Egill to pursue her, she tries to escape by swimming, but Skalla-Grímr throws a boulder at her, killing her. Egill retaliates by killing Skalla-Grímr's farmhand.

Her namesake, Egill’s daughter Þorgerðr, also saves his life later in the saga when he is pining after the death of his sons.

Legacy Þorgerðr brák gave her name to Brákarsund and Brákarey in Iceland, which supposedly mark the spot where she died.

In 2008, Icelandic playwright Brynhildur Guðjonsdóttir produced a play, Brák, about Þorgerðr brák.