by Sue Bluze

Created on: March 25, 2007   Last Updated: April 30, 2007

THE MYSTERY AND LEGENDS OF THE TROLLS

Throughout Scandinavian mythology and folklore runs a thread about Trolls and in fact pop into many shops in Scandinavian countries and you can buy your own cute little troll even though the legends paint them as being terrible, frightening and often very smelly!. Trolls are even featured in the story-lines of J K Rowling's Harry Potter books.

But what is a Troll and what is the story behind the myth and folklore? The fjord region in Norway is the place where legends say many trolls make their home. Some of these trolls are nuisances to the farmers and peasants, some are mean and nasty, some will leave you alone unless you do something to them.

A troll is a fearsome member of a mythical race from Scandinavia. They range from fiendish giants or ogres to a devious, more human-like folk of the wilderness, living underground in hills, caves or mounds.

Nordic literature, art and music has adapted trolls in various stereotypes often in the form of an aboriginal race, endowed with oversized ears and noses. From here, as well as from Scandinavian fairy tales such as: Three Billy Goats' Gruff, trolls have achieved international recognition.

The meaning of the word troll is uncertain it might have had the original meaning of supernatural or magical. An old Swedish word, trolleri was a particular kind of magic intended to do harm. Moreover, in the sources for Norse mythology, troll can signify any uncanny being, including but not restricted to the Norse giants.

There are two main traditions regarding trolls. In the first tradition, the troll is large, an ogre or giant. They are often described as ugly or having beastly features like tusks or a singe eye in the middle of the forehead. This is the tradition which has come to dominate fairy tales and legends, but it is also the prominent concept of troll in Norway. As a rule of thumb, what would be called a "troll" in Norway would in Denmark and Sweden be a "giant"

The second tradition is most prominent in southern Scandinavia. What would be called trolls in southern Sweden and Denmark would be called huldrefolk in Norway and vitterfolk in northern Sweden).

These trolls are very human-like in appearance though sometimes it was said they had a tail hidden in their clothing. A frequent way of telling a human-looking troll in folklore is to look at what it is wearing: Troll women in particular were often too elegantly dressed to be human women moving around in the forest. They could attract human

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