THE SCENE: According to Olaus Magnus, certain tribes of Northmen tried to communicate with their gods by grievously wounding human sacrifice and then using them as a messenger to the gods as he lingered between life and death.
THE TEXT: Here, they solemnly asserted, a god Bleyxis was ruler, and to him they constantly sent, in a boat propelled by five rowers, some emissary chosen by lot from among themselves, giving him instruction which would enable them to obtain their needs from the generous deity. The way in which the emissary was dispatched was as follow: certain of them held a number of sharp spears pointing upwards, and others, seizing the hands and feet of the man who was fated to be sent, threw him on top of them, giving him orders while he was still alive which he must follow when he came into the god’s presence. After he had expired by being thrown on the spear points in the manner I have related, they delivered his corpse to the sea’s abyss with the help of the five oarsmen.
– A Description of the Northern Peoples, Olaus Magnus, 16th Century AD
