Troll
A troll is a mythical creature of Scandinavian origin that has become a popular staple in the realms of legend, lore and fantasy. One of the most anthropomorphic fantasy creatures, trolls have been depicted in vastly different ways. From their Scandinavian fairy tales roots, in such tales as Three Billy Goats Gruff, trolls have achieved international recognition, and in modern fantasy literature and role-playing games, trolls are featured to the extent of being stock characters.
Overview
Throughout the ages, the differing renditions of trolls has fallen into two distinct categories. The first is that of the forest or mountain troll, a large, brutish and dumb creature that resembles man a disproportionately giant human. Often these creatures have exaggerated facial structures, such as jutting lower jaws and protruding brows, similar to the stereotypical image of a Neanderthal. The other type of troll is said to live underground, or in deep caves and caverns. They are smaller, sometimes smaller than humans, and often have disproportionately smaller features, such as short stubby arms and legs, although they tend to have a fatter abdomen. These type of trolls are often uglier and depicted as gross-looking, slimy being a favorite adjective as is a common reaction to things that dwell in underground and dark places.
Etymology
The meaning of the word troll is uncertain. It might have had the originally meaning of supernatural or magical with an overlay of malignant and perilous. Another likely suggestion is that it means "someone who behaves violently". In old Swedish law, trolleri was a particular kind of magic intended to do harm. It should be noted that North Germanic terms such as trolldom (witchcraft) and trolla/trylle (perform magic tricks) in modern Scandinavian languages does not imply any connection with the mythical beings. Moreover, in the sources for Norse mythology, troll can signify any uncanny being, including but not restricted to the Norse giants (jötnar).
The ambiguous original sense of the word troll appears to have lived on for some time after the Old Norse literature was documented. This can be seen in terms such as sjötrollet (the sea troll) as a synonym for havsmannen (the sea man) – a protective spirit of the sea and a sort of male counterpart to the female sjörå (see huldra).
Nordic Origins
Some scientists, such as Spanish paleoanthropologist Juan Luis Arsuaga theorize that Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons occupied the same area of Europe at the same time based on fossil evidence.[1]. The distinguished Swedish-speaking Finnish paleontologist Björn Kurtén has entertained and expanded this theory to determine that trolls are a distant memory of an encounter with Neanderthals by our Cro-Magnon ancestors some 40,000 years ago during their migration into northern Europe. [2] The problem with this theory is that neither Neanderthals or Cro-Magnons existed in this part of Europe during the ice-age. Most of Scandinavia was covered by a large glacier and the area was not occupied until much later.
A more plausible explanation for the troll myth, is that the trolls represent the remains of the forefather-cult which was ubiquitous in Scandinavia until the introduction of Christianity in the 10th and 11th centuries. In this cult the forefathers were worshiped in sacred groves, by altars or by gravemounds. One of the customs associated with this practice was to sit on top of a gravemound at night, possibly in order to make contact with the deceased. With the introduction of Christianity however, the religious elite sought to demonize the pagan cult, and denounced the forefathers as evil. For instance, according to Magnus Håkonsen's laws from 1276 it is illegal to attempt to wake the "mound-dwellers". It is in these laws that the word troll appears for the first time, denoting something heathen and generally unfavorable. This fits with the trolls in Norse sagas who are often the restless dead, to be wrestled with or otherwise laid to rest.
It is possible that both of these theories hold validity. Since there has been reasonable assertions that legends of dragons were based on ancient cultures discovering dinosaur bones, then it is possible that early man had some knowledge of Neanderthals and incorporated them into myth. The physiology of trolls, outside of the exaggerated size, does correlate to how Neanderthals probably looked; however, the forefathers theory holds just as much validity, and as with determining any beliefs of ancient cultures, there may not be just one source.
Gradually in Norse culture, we can discern the forming of two main traditions regarding the use of troll. In the first tradition, the troll is large, brutish and a direct descendant from the Norse jötnar. They are often described as ugly or having beastly features like tusks or cyclopic eyes. This is the tradition which has come to dominate fairy tales and legends, but it is also the prominent concept of troll in Norway. The second tradition is most prominent in southern Scandinavia. They are usually small, mysterious creatures that live in dark dwellings and are mischievous. Often than not, the trolls kept themselves invisible, and then they could travel on the winds, such as the wind-troll Ysätters-Kajsa, or sneak into human homes. Whereas the large, ogrish trolls often appear as a solitary being, the "small" trolls were thought to be social beings who lived together, much like humans except out in the forest. They kept animals, cooked and baked, were excellent at crafts and held great feasts. Like many other species in Scandinavian folklore, they were said to reside in underground complexes, accessible from underneath large boulders in the forests or in the mountains. These boulders could be raised upon pillars of gold. In their living quarters, they hoard gold and treasures. Opinion varied as to whether or not the trolls were thoroughly bad or not, but often they treated people as they were treated. Trolls could cause great harm if vindictive or playful, though, and regardless of other things they were always heathen. Trolls were also great thieves, and liked to steal from the food that the farmers had stored. They could enter the homes invisibly during feasts and eat from the plates so that there was not enough food, or spoil the making of beer and bread so that it failed or did not end up plentiful enough.
Like other Scandinavian folklore creatures they also feared steel. Apart from that they were hunted by Thor, one of the last remnants of the old Norse mythology, who threw Mjolnir, his hammer, causing lightning bolts to kill them. Though Mjolnir was supposed to return to Thor after throwing, these hammers could later be found in the earth (actually Stone Age axes) and be used as protective talismans.
Cultural Variations and Usages
Legends from the Middle Ages and earlier feature trolls of horrifying and even satanic proportions: church bells, crucifixes and even the name of Christ spoken aloud scared them, drawing a correlation between demons, fearsome creatures who had fallen from heaven and lived in the subterranean hell, and trolls, who dwelled in the dark underground. [3] In Spenser's The Faerie Queen,King Arthur, the symbol of a Christianity knight, defeats a giant troll, representing evil.
However, trolls became exceeding more popular in the late 19th century to early 20th century, when romanticism in Europe celebrated regional folklore and legend. These tales, and illustrations by artists like John Bauer and Theodor Kittelsen, would come to form the ideas most people have of trolls today. Asbjørnsen and Moe's collection features a number of traditional fairy tales where trolls hold princesses captive, such as The Three Princesses of Whiteland, Soria Moria Castle, and Dapplegrim, and two where trolls invade homes on Christmas Eve to make merry, Tatterhood and The Cat on the Dovrefell. Female trolls may conspire to force the prince to marry their daughters, as in East of the Sun and West of the Moon, or practice witchcraft, as in The Witch in the Stone Boat, where a troll usurps a queen's place, or The Twelve Wild Ducks, where she turns twelve princes into wild ducks. In other tales, the hero matches wits with the troll: Boots and the Troll, and Boots Who Ate a Match With the Troll.
More recently, trolls have become a staple in fantasy literature, most notably by British author J.R. Tolkien, who used the trolls in both The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings and J.K. Rowlings, the contemporary author of The Harry Potter series. Pop forms of fantasy, such as comic and role playing games (i.e. Dungeons and Dragons)commonly employ trolls as stock characters.
Footnotes
- ↑ "The Neanderthal's Necklace" Four Walls Eight Windows: New York, 2002
- ↑ "Dance of The Tiger: An Ice Age Story" ("Den Svarta Tigern") ALBA, Stockholm, 1978. Translation published by University of California, Berkley and Los Angeles, 1980
- ↑ Karina and Charlotte "Mythical Creatures Pages" http://msms.essortment.com/mythicalmonster_rmqe.htm Retrieved March 5, 2007
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Folktro från förr, Ebbe Schön (2001), ISBN 91-7203-420-3
- Troll och människa, Ebbe Schön (1999), ISBN 91-27-06873-0
- Svensk folktro A-Ö, Ebbe Schön (1998), ISBN 91-518-2892-8
- Trollmakter og godvette, Olav Bø (1987), ISBN 82-521-2923-4
- Camilla Asplund Ingemark's, The Genre of Trolls. The Case of a Finland-Swedish Folk Belief Tradition is the first doctoral dissertation in Finland on traditional forest trolls. Her research describes trolls according to the folklore of Swedish-speaking Finns. Ingemark compares the style and content of troll tales in folklore with biblical stories.
^ Q&A with Gary Gygax - Part I. EN World Forums. Retrieved January 27, 2006.
External links
- Trollmoon – The Scandinavian Troll in Art and Folklore
- Finland Travel Club - Moomin trolls
- The Moomin Trove - comprehensive lists of Tove Jansson's Moomin books
- http://www.trollshop.net/trolls Norway based website with articles and stories about Trolls
- Gourmander, painting by Hasse Bredenberg [1] [2].
- Världens största Trollmålning, mural by Rolf Lidberg [3].
- Trold, der vejrer kristenblod [4] [5], sculpture by Niels Hansen Jacobsen.
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