Folklore Icelandic Trolls

Quite an unsettling troll indeed and the reason why most children behave well in december.

Folklore icelandic trolls. Another creature from scandinavian folklore that many would be familiar with is the troll. The reason is of course perfectly clear. An enormous black cat prowls iceland on christmas eve and eats anyone who doesn t follow this simple rule. Many trolls lived in the remote mountains of the island and came down to forage for food.

According to icelandic folklore trolls lived in the mountains and only came down from them to forage for food. Cut off from the rest of the world for centuries icelanders developed a rich storytelling tradition and stories about elves and hidden people are still part of their heritage today. Everywhere you look in iceland evidence of trolls can be found at least according to folklore. Icelandic and faroese folklore several scholars have commented on the connections between hidden people and the icelandic natural environment.

Whilst the physical appearance of the troll may differ from one tale to another it is generally agreed that they are huge and ugly. Later in scandinavian folklore trolls became beings in their own right where they live far from human habitation are not christianized and are considered. In icelandic folklore gryla is known to eat children. The majority of icelanders believe in or at least refuse to the deny the existence of elves trolls and other hidden beings.

Trolls thrive in rocky and mountainous terrain around craggy outcrops and lava fields. According to icelandic folklore these pillars actually used to be trolls. Old icelandic folklore states that every icelander must receive a new piece of clothing for christmas or they will find themselves in mortal danger. Like elves trolls become enraged when one does them harm but one can expect to be richly rewarded when helping a troll in need.

Many of iceland s unique natural features are attributed to the actions of trolls like naustahvilft. Benedikz in his discussion of jón árnason s grouping of folktales about elves water dwellers and trolls together writes. A troll is a being in norse mythology and scandinavian folklore in old norse sources beings described as trolls dwell in isolated rocks mountains or caves live together in small family units and are rarely helpful to human beings. Habitually described as big stupid and greedy but sometimes kind and wise the trolls of day and night occupy an immense portion of icelandic folklore.

While dragging a three mast ship towards land the trolls were taking too long to reach the shore and at the break of.