Trolls, dwarves, ice ogres - extraordinary monsters of Scandinavian mythology

 Scandinavian mythology is full of extraordinary creatures. Some may be human-friendly, but many represent the unpredictable and terrible forces of nature. Tales of their origins have been preserved in the sagas, and there is still a place for trolls, elves, and dwarves in many folk beliefs and customs.

There is some difference between mythology and folklore. The first is more oriented towards general stories about the origins, principles of the functioning of the world, and sources of certain religious practices. It tells about gods, divine beings, epic deeds of heroes who are usually tied to gods by blood ties or otherwise. However, folklore is local folk tales. They are parables. Most often they relate to human interactions with other creatures, e.g. talking animals, nature spirits from the closest surroundings, e.g. a devil from a nearby forest, a lady from a local lake. In both cases, the storytellers and listeners do not necessarily literally believe what they are hearing, although they consider the beings in the stories to be somehow real.

This is a general characteristic to keep in mind, although it is sometimes difficult to tell a myth from a folk tale. Therefore, in this article, I will present monsters preserved in Scandinavian mythology and folklore. The most sophisticated monsters and strange creatures are found in every mythology. They cross the barriers of cultural and linguistic differences. In Scandinavian folk myths and beliefs, we will meet creatures strangely resembling those from Slavic or even Iranian stories. However, they have their own specificity that is difficult to confuse with any other.

1. Ancient beings - Jotuns

In the beginning, there were no living creatures. From the Magic Abyss of Ginnungagap emerged a realm of fire and ice. When the Manuspell fires met the Niflheim ice met at Ginnungagap, the ice hot melted, and the primeval ocean was formed. The first primitive being to emerge from this ocean was Ymir - the ancestor of all the Jotuns and grandfather of the first Aesir. The giant would reproduce spontaneously with all parts of the body. This is how the first generation of ice giants was born. One of Ymir's children was Bestla - Bur's wife and mother of Odin and his brothers. The Jotuns represent the chaotic forces of nature, the Asgardians (Aeses) the ordering forces. It was Odin and his brothers who killed Ymir, and from his body parts, they formed the Midgard, a world of humans, dwarves, and elves.

2. The terrifying children of Loki

A descendant of the Jotuns is also the god-for-sheer Loki. Adopted by the Aesir, he still plays tricks on them (most of them only amusing himself). Loki is not a typical jötun, he is intelligent and beautiful, knows how to express himself beautifully and changes form with ease. If he is a monster, it is only because of his amoral relations with the gods. However, the legacy of the Jotun monsters had fallen to his children. Loki's children are:

• Hel - a gloomy, half-rotten goddess of death, who was given over to the land of the underworld. According to Edd, after death, the souls of people who have achieved nothing and did not die in the field of glory go here.
• Jórmungand - the great serpent surrounding Midgard. He lives in the ocean that surrounds the world and is so big that it swallows its own tail by surrounding it. When he releases his tail from his mouth, Ragnarök will begin. The snake swallowing its own tail is a Greek alchemical symbol. There are many references to alchemy in Scandinavian mythology (at least the one written by medieval Icelanders).
• Fenrir - a terrifying wolf that the gods chained to a rock by magic. He will be released on the day of the great battle of Ragnarök
• Sleipnir - Odin's eight-legged mount that can move on any surface and can reach the land of the dead ruled by his sister Hel. Sleipnir gave birth to Loki when he transformed into a mare. In this way, he lured and distracted the stallion who had helped the mountain giant build a wall around Asgard. The price for building the wall in one year was the goddess Freja, which the giant was supposed to get in marriage. In this way, Loki served the Asgardians twice.

Who can you meet in forests, rivers, lakes?

In addition to the great mythical characters, there are creatures that the people of Scandinavia have believed for centuries. They live in forests, waters, and hide in the depths of the sea. We are talking mainly about monsters, but among the spirits of nature and the inhabitants of mountains and forests, you can also meet beautiful and helpful creatures. Helpful, at least, until they change their minds or get offended. This group includes:

• Elves - in folk beliefs usually smaller and wilder than those of the old sagas. In Iceland, more than 50% of the inhabitants believe in their existence. They imagine the elves as creatures that grow up to a meter high, wearing old-fashioned clothes and living in rocky castles. One of them is Álfaborg, a rock in the Borgarfjörður-Eystri fjord in eastern Iceland.
• Nisse or Tomte - is the name of a creature similar to the Polish dwarf. He is the height of a small child, wears a gray beard and a red cap. Nisser looked after the houses at night and in the absence of residents. The price for the help was small gifts. They brought gifts to children during the Christmas period. Nowadays, it is these creatures that are called elves in the workshop of Santa Claus.
• Huldra - a female demon living in forests. She is in the form of a beautiful woman. It can only be recognized by its tail. Fox or cow. Huldras were usually friendly to forest workers such as lumberjacks and charcoalers, and also helped fishermen by forest lakes and rivers. One of the legends has it that these are the children of Adam and Eve, who were hidden from God by the first people because they did not manage to bathe them before the presentation. As punishment, they were hidden forever in forests and underground. They were distinguishable from humans by their tails. Huldra can kidnap a man who has fallen in love with her into his world. If she marries a man, her tail will fall off and she will live like any other woman. She will only avoid the church.

However, many creatures in Scandinavian mythology can pose a threat to humans and are unlikely to be involved with. These are:

Trolls - these are probably the creatures most often associated with Scandinavian folklore. In folk tales, they are usually big, stupid, and ugly. They resemble the very mythological jotuns living in Utgard. Trolls live in mountains and forests and have their own castles. Under this name - depending on the region and when the story was written - very different creatures can hide. You can imagine them as descendants of the Jotuns - giant, ugly creatures that hate humans. They can also be viewed as malicious spirits taking various material forms. For example, Reimund Kvideland mentions a cat troll that was created by a witch from human hair, wood shavings, and drops of blood.

Over time, trolls have acquired some of the characteristics of other creatures, are human-sized or smaller, and turn to stone in the sun. They can block a path or jump out from under a bridge, demanding a puzzle to be solved before they let the traveler through.

• Pesta - plague in female form. She appears in a village or town dressed in black, with a scythe and sometimes with a broom in her hand. The broom meant the plague would wipe out the entire family of this world.
• Nokken - a creature that lives in rivers and lakes, sometimes called a water troll. He lures people into the water with his singing. Especially dangerous at night. In Swedish folklore, he is described as a beautiful man luring women into the water to drown them. He can also kidnap children, turning into a white horse and lifting them into the depths on his back.
• Fossegrim - Nokken's cousin, who prefers streams, rivers, and especially waterfalls. He plays the violin beautifully and will gladly teach others to play the violin if they offer him food. So he is much friendlier than Nokken.

The inhabitants of Scandinavia, especially its coasts, are people of the sea, so their bestiaries could not be without sea creatures. Among the monsters waiting for sailors and fishermen going to the sea, the most monstrous is the Kraken, also known as hafgufa - the sea fog. This creature is in the form of a huge octopus, or maybe a giant crab. It is a huge island and it can swallow people and even whole ships and whales! 

The stories of the great sea monster were so convincing that Linnaeus included him in the first edition of his Systema Naturae.

Fortunately, the Kraken lives far from the shores and is reluctant to show themselves to people. Besides, there are only two individuals of this species. However, other dangers await the sailors. For example, the soul of a sea drowned man called Draugen. The spirit of the drowned man is stuck with algae, emerging from the water in his boat, he makes a terrible scream. During night storms, it can draw fishermen into the water.

Scandinavian mythology is a paradise for authors of fantasy novels, RPG players, and visual artists. Although the times of the world expansion of the people of Scandinavia are long gone, their myths and folklore are invariably popular all over the world. It is difficult to enumerate all the works in which there are threads from this mythology.

Much of the Tolkien world is based on Scandinavian (including Finnish) myths. Mainly thanks to the books of this English author, the threads found their way into global culture. Most of all, he restored the elves to their serious and more human face.

The creators of Marvel comics, i.e. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, Belgian author Jean Van Hamme and Polish cartoonist Grzegorz Rosiński in the cult "Thorgal" or more modern authors such as Neil Gaiman. The latter, known from dark fantasy tales, recently published his interpretation of "Norse Mythology". Characters from Scandinavian folklore, along with creatures from Celtic, Greek, and other mythology, found their way into the general imagination also thanks to the series about "Harry Potter" by J. K. Rowling.

Nowadays, every child knows what types of elves are, what distinguishes a dwarf from a dwarf, and where to meet a troll. Nevertheless, it is sometimes worth remembering original folk and mythological tales straight from Scandinavia.

Bibliography:

• Cassandra Eason, Fabulous Creatures, Mythical Monsters, and Animal Power Symbols. A Handbook, Greenwood Press 2008
• Reimund Kvideland, Scandinavian folk belief, and legend, Minneapolis 1988
• Artur Szrejter, Germanic Mythology, Warsaw 1997
• Rich Warren, More Than Half of This Country Believes in Elves for Real, in: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/believes-elves-exist-mythology, accessed October 5, 2021