Norway’s Trolls: Mischief in the Mountains
Visitors do not travel far through Norway before meeting a troll. They appear beside roads, outside gift shops, in hotel lobbies, and throughout towns such as Honningsvåg. Some are ugly and menacing; others are cheerful characters with enormous noses, shaggy hair, and broad smiles. Today they make amusing photographs and popular souvenirs, but their ancestors occupied a much darker place in Norwegian folklore.
Trolls originated in the oral traditions of Scandinavia. Because these stories evolved over many centuries, there is no single description of a troll. Some were enormous creatures resembling giants. Others were roughly human-sized, although usually misshapen and frightening. They might have long noses, tails, multiple heads, or only one eye. Most lived far from settled communities, hiding in mountains, caves, deep forests, or beneath the ground. The old stories reflected Norway’s dramatic and sometimes threatening landscape. Before modern roads, lights, and weather forecasting, the wilderness could be dangerous and mysterious. Strange rock formations, echoes from the mountains, unexplained noises, and travelers who disappeared could all be attributed to trolls. A troll transformed uncertainty into a creature that people could describe, fear, and perhaps outwit. Although trolls were powerful, they were rarely clever. Many folktales feature an ordinary farmer, traveler, or young boy defeating a troll through courage and intelligence rather than strength. Trolls were also believed to dislike Christianity and the sound of church bells. In many stories, daylight was their greatest enemy. If caught outside when the sun rose, a troll might be turned permanently into stone. Norway’s strangely shaped cliffs and boulders could therefore be explained as unfortunate trolls surprised by sunrise. During the nineteenth century, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe traveled through Norway collecting traditional stories. Their published folktales helped preserve the trolls and other legendary characters that had previously been passed from one generation to another by word of mouth. Artist Theodor Kittelsen later created some of the best-known images of Norwegian trolls. His creatures often seemed to emerge directly from the landscape, as though mountains, roots, and moss had suddenly come alive. Trolls also became part of Norwegian literature, music, and national identity. Henrik Ibsen included the Mountain King and his troll court in Peer Gynt, while Edvard Grieg’s famous music, “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” gave that strange underground world its unforgettable sound. Their presence survives in Norwegian place names, including Trollstigen, the Troll’s Road; Trolltunga, the Troll’s Tongue; Trollfjord; and Trollveggen, the Troll Wall. These names continue the old association between trolls and spectacular natural formations. The colorful figures displayed around Honningsvåg are much friendlier than the trolls of the ancient stories. Yet they still belong here. Surrounded by bare mountains, restless Arctic weather, and the mysterious light of the far north, it is easy to understand why generations of Norwegians imagined that something strange might be living just beyond the next ridge. Honningsvag - > |
