THE SCENE: Olaus Magnus, the Archbishop of Uppsala, casually provides a quick description of Oddi the Dane, who was a pirate, wizard, and raging anti-capitalist.
THE TEXT: Oddi the Dane, a great pirate, was so learned in the arts of magic that, roaming the deep sea without a ship, he often capsized enemy vessels through the tempests which he stirred up by his incantations. Therefore, to avoid stooping to a trial of strength with pirates at sea, he would cause the waves and winds to rage by means of his sorcery and induce them to wreck his foes. This man was as cruel to merchants as he was indulgent to farmers, having one opinion of the purity of country life and another of the squalid ways in which men gain their money.
– A Description of the Northern Peoples, Olaus Magnus, 16th Century AD
