Everything about Scandinavian Folklore totally explained
Topics in
Scandinavian folklore |
| Stories |
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| Beings |
| Askfru, Bäckahästen, Changeling, Deildegast, Draug, Elf, Erlking, Fossegrim, Gjenganger, Hacker, Havsfru, Huldra, Huldrefolk, Hyldefolk, Kraken, Mara, Moss Folk, Myling, Nisse, Nix, Skoggra, Skrømt, Troll, Vætter, Will o' the wisp, Vardauge, Ysätters-Kajsa |
| People |
| Askeladden, Blenda, Disa |
|
Scandinavian folklore is the
folklore of
Sweden,
Norway,
Denmark,
Iceland, the
Faroe Islands, and the
Swedish speaking parts of Finland.
In Scandinavia the term 'folklore' isn't often used in academic circles, instead terms such as
Folketro (folk belief (older Almuetro)) or
Folkesagn (folk tales) have been coined. In common speech, it's simply referred to as
den Gamle Tro (the old belief), or perhaps
sæd skik og brug (customs, the way). It evolved from
Norse paganism, and it's in technical terms, labelled low-mythology, while the
norse mythology is called high-mythology. High-mythology builds on low-mythology in its parts. The
Christianization of
Scandinavia around the
10th century meant that the high-mythology more or less phased out of use. This process may have been quite rapid because these never were the beliefs of the lower classes.
Iceland and the
Faroe Islands are not a part of Scandinavia (although they're
Nordic countries) but should nevertheless be regarded as Scandinavian in folkloric terms. The folklore/religion of
Finland and of the
Sami people are clearly related to Scandinavian folklore/religion, but have retained an independent character. Because of their common
Germanic origin, Scandinavian folklore shows a large correspondence with folklores elsewhere, such as in
Canadian folklore,
England and
Germany among others. Most of what has survived there might be found, of a similar nature, in the Baltic countries.
In Scandinavian folklore, belief in the old gods still exist, but not in the form they show in high
mythology. Some of the ones known in both form of mythology are (
Odin (
Oden) is for example said to lead the
Wild Hunt;
Thor (
Tor) still chase
trolls with his
thunder, both are in this context regarded as "jægere" (hunters), and we see also
Ull (as Ul) and
Hønir (as fx. Hown) in this role. Also do fx. Loki as a housegod of the housefire show up, and sometimes ones sees Freyja, as examples. A large number of different
mythological creatures (or rather
races, since few of them can be considered animals) from Norse mythology continue to live on, surprisingly little affected by Christian beliefs, even though the wicked ones at times find an ally in the
Devil or had problems with
Christian symbols. Nothing was surer, though, to scare these beings than a piece of
steel, such as a strategically placed pair of scissors or a knife, or with salt and fire. The stories about the livings and doings of these beings, and their interaction with humans, constitute the major part of Scandinavian folklore. Even the helpful
tomte,
nisse,
gårdbo or
gårdbuk could turn into a fearsome adversary if not treated with caution and respect. Many of them blend into each other when their morals and/or place of residence are similar, and equally when one moves from one region in Scandinavia to another (the same is true for
Norse mythology).
Beings of Scandinavian folklore
Perhaps most abundant are the stories about the race of
trolls, a cunning and deceitful people, living in the forestlands. Trolls are generally not fair to behold, even though the female
trollkonor could appear quite attractive until you spotted the tail. When large, they're interchangeable with
giants (
jotner,
jättar or
jætter), who live even farther from society (since they can't stand the sound of
church bells) typically in the mountains (
The fjells). In older tales, it becomes clear however that the word troll/trold simply means someone who eats human flesh etc. and engage in the worst crimes in society such as rape.
The race of
dwarves (or
dark/black elves) live on as
wights (
vättar or
huldrefolk), although with somewhat different characteristics. Wights live underground, often right next to human settlements, and are commonly a menace to their ground-dwelling neighbors. The
tomte or
nisse is a good wight, who takes care of the house and barn when the farmer is asleep, but only if the farmer reciprocates by setting out food for the
nisse. If the
nisse is ignored or maltreated, he can sabotage a lot of the work on the farm. More correctly maybe, is it to say that many of the terms in Nordic beliefs can be used broadly about many different set of beings, and one first know for sure what there are meant, when seen in context - fx can an Elver be labeled dværg (dwarf) in some contexts, but only because they in common lore are a head smaller than common people, and the same applies with the nisse, because they're no taller than a 5 year old child. Vætter can be used as a loose word about nearly all beings in the old belief, as well as "Underjordiske" " (the hidden ones).
Elves are in some parts mostly described as female, beautiful residents of forest and meadows, skilled in
magic and illusions. Particularly in Denmark, they've merged with the dangerous and seductive
huldra or
skogsrå, the "keeper of the forest", here often called hylde.
Water spirits can be found in, among others, the
nix (
näcken or
nøkken), a water spirit who was also believed able to transform into a predatory
kelpie (
bäckahäst).
In Scandinavian folklore,
dragons are commonly known as
lindworms, and are monstrous serpents with or without hind legs. In Norway and Denmark, they typically live in the ocean, and here, tales of marine monsters appear to be most plentiful, although a famous specimen is also said to reside in the Swedish lake
Storsjön. The Norwegian lake
Seljordsvatn is also famous for its claimed inhabitant, a serpent known as
Selma. The coasts of Norway are reportedly also haunted by the terrifying
Kraken, as well as the ghastly
draug.
The
myling is the ghost of a child
left to die in the wilderness, and the
mara is a wraith said to cause
nightmares and
sleep paralysis. Stories also recollects of
will o' the wisps (
irrbloss,
lyktgubbar or
lygtemænd), often assumed to be the spirits of people who had drowned in lakes and
marshes. According to some stories, they could lead a lost wanderer to a death similar to their own; according to others, they could lead him home.
These are only a few of the beings, and only shortly explained.
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