ABSTRACT
For a time I tried to find evidence of the possessions left by Guðrún at her death. After an extensive search of sheriffs' archives, I concluded that Guðrún had probably died destitute. In view of the fact that at the end of her life she was a pauper for some years, and that she had lived into her eighties, all indications were that she had died in poverty. In addition I was of the view that elderly people in her position would rapidly use up their assets, bartering them in exchange for various necessities – not least if they were no longer able to work or were even suffering from dementia. But by chance I came across evidence that the assets left by Guðrún had been auctioned off in Eyjafjörður, six months after her death. This document, in the auction register of the Öngulsstaðir district, provides an interesting coda to Guðrún's story. 1 It seems that Guðrún was far from destitute when she died; while the possessions she left were not of much intrinsic value, they are valuable to this story. Thus Guðrún Ketilsdóttir continued to take me by surprise, even after I had devoted several years of my life to searching out the different elements of the life of this unusual woman.
