What do we imagine when it comes to Scandinavia? High snow-capped mountains, transparent fjords, beautiful waterfalls, severe cold sea. Oh yeah! This is an infinitely beautiful, but very harsh region.
Nowadays, all of Scandinavia (Sweden, Denmark and Norway) is famous for its high standard of living. But back in ancient times, people who lived in this vast northern territory had to make considerable efforts to simply survive: it’s hard to grow anything on bare rocks (especially when winter lasts for six months); to catch fish in the open sea, you need to be able to masterfully control a fragile boat and be able to predict an impending storm; in order to hunt in a dense forest, you need to navigate it well (so as not to get lost in an elementary way) and be able to defend yourself from the then numerous predatory animals in these parts.
Dangers awaited everywhere, and many of them gradually took on a concrete form. Who is terribly cracking in the forest with tree branches, sometimes dropping whole trunks? Of course, this is a huge troll. And who drank milk from a cat's bowl? This is, without a doubt, the Nissa Brownie. The music of the water that you hear standing at the waterfall is the fossegrim violin.
Various evil spirits are in folklore of any nation, but among the Scandinavians it is special - to match this amazing land. Let's get to know her.
10. Fossegrim
The spirit of the waterfall fossegrim (from the words foss - "waterfall" and grim - "scary, harsh") is relatively harmless. Outwardly, he is almost a man. Fossegrim is a brilliant musician (singing the strings of his magic violin, you can hear not only the rumbling of water falling from a height, but also the sound of the wind, the rustling of pines and fir trees, the quiet murmur of a stream, a mountain echo ...), and he is also an unsurpassed teacher.
Village violinists came to him specially to study. But in order to convince Fossegrim to arrange a lesson, he needs to give a large ham (best of all - stolen), throwing it into a waterfall.
If the offering will be generous enough and like the spirit of the waterfall, then he will grab the musician and will lead him with his hand with a bow until he learns to play so that trees begin to dance around.
Oh yes! Sometimes Fossegrim steals beautiful young girls.
9. Werewolf (varulv and manbjorn)
Werewolves are found in the folklore of most European peoples (and not only European), but the Scandinavian varulva and manbjorn have some features.
Varulv is a wolf man, manbjorn, respectively, is a bear man. Both the warulva and the manbjorn are both “voluntary” (you can turn into a wolf, for example, if you crawl on your stomach through a belt made of hanged skin, which was dug from the grave on the night from Thursday to Friday), and “forcibly turned” (to for example, a man offended a local sorcerer, who turned him in revenge into a bear for 5 years).
The Varulva are usually very bloodthirsty, they not only cut livestock in the shape of a wolf, but they also love human beings.
But the manbjerns are quite adequate (they are fully aware of who they really are, do not touch close people and neighbors) and even sometimes raise small children (found in the forest or stolen) in their den.
By the way, the Norwegian manbjorn can turn not only into a brown, but also into a polar bear.
8. Havman
In Scandinavian folklore, of course, there was a place for both mermaids (haffroix) and sea witch (margyugre). Like similar characters from other countries, they drown people and generally like to cause them all kinds of troubles.
But in the Scandinavian legends another sea creature is mentioned - hawman (“sea man”). He is much more loyal to people: for example, a hawman often warns sailors about the approach of a storm (according to legend, a gale will blow from the side where he will be seen).
Havman is quite powerful in appearance and boasts a magnificent beard and long hair. In addition, he sings perfectly and knows how to play the harp (which he sometimes uses for "selfish" purposes - to lure the girl he likes in the sea).
In Scandinavian folklore, there are many stories about how an ordinary woman lived for several years at the bottom of the sea with a hawman and gave birth to children from him (or even broke his heart, leaving people on land for land).
7. Nyokk
Nyokk (or nyukr) - Scandinavian watermark. He looks like a shaggy man with a tangled green beard, protruding ears and huge burning eyes. But in fact, the neokk may look like anyone or anything - he is a master of reincarnation.
Since the Nyokk is very cruel and treacherous, he is mainly engaged in luring people to the water in order to drown him. So, the Scandinavian water can turn into a slippery stone in the bed of a mountain river, and a person stepping on it will certainly fall into the rapids; or in a raft that will go under water immediately after someone emerges into it to a depth; or into a tree bending over water to shake off the children who climb on it into the water.
But most often the neokk turns into a beautiful white horse, affectionate and obedient. She may even lie down on the ground so that it is easier to climb onto her back. But as soon as a person does this, the horse will take him to the very middle of a river or lake with one leap. They say that so many children disappeared.
6. Zwerg
Dwarf zwergs in Scandinavia were considered natural spirits - the patrons of the mountains. Sometimes they were called black alves (unlike other representatives of the "hidden people" - white alves or elves).
The zwergas look like little bearded men. They live in mountain caves, very deep underground, and therefore the sun is dangerous for them, they say, its rays not only blind or burn the zwergs, but they are even able to turn these creatures into stone.
Tsverghi, despite their modest size, have tremendous power. In addition, they are the best craftsmen on earth in a variety of crafts, because they not only know how to extract metals and precious stones from rocks, but also possess the magic that helps them make beautiful objects.
It was the tsvergas who forged many of the attributes of the Scandinavian gods: the necklace of Freya, the spear of the Gungnir for Odin, the hammer of Mjolnir for Thor, the golden hair of Siv, etc.
5. Draug (draugr)
All Scandinavian peoples have terrible legends about the living dead - dragoons or dragrags. Norwegian dragoons are most often drowned sailors. Since no one has ever found their bodies (and never buried), they cannot find rest, therefore they rush along the waves in half-wrecked boats, screaming loudly and pitifully.
It’s easy to recognize a dragug - instead of a head, he has a lump of algae. Sometimes they go ashore and try to drown someone alive from anger and powerlessness.
In Sweden and Denmark, a warrior who has died in battle and who has not completed some of his earthly affairs may become a dragoon; meanly murdered and then not betrayed to the earth, according to traditions, man; a person who during his life was very angry and cruel, or someone cursed, etc. (that is, basically, anyone).
Draugers look as it should be for the dead - half-decayed flesh hangs from the bones, terrible wounds are visible at the fallen soldiers, water flows from the drowned streams. And they, of course, are very cruel: they attack lone travelers, they can devour a person alive.
Sometimes prophetic abilities are attributed to draugrams (and, yes, some of them still have glimpses of reason and the ability to speak).
4. Mara
The Scandinavians believe that if at night they suddenly feel something warm and shaggy under their side, and then a terrible burden suddenly falls on their chest (or in a dream a person sees terrible nightmares - yes, those that begin to suffocate) - and wakes up in sweat), - so the mara came.
According to various beliefs, mara is either an evil spirit or a completely living person (usually a woman) with a werewolf ability. So, mara can come in the form of a beautiful young girl, or an ugly old woman, or even a headless monster in general. She also knows how to turn into animals (most often, into a cat).
Where does Mary come from? There are several versions here: for example, a girl born in sin can become a mara; the old virgins turn into mar (sometimes - after death), they especially like to torment the young and beautiful, as a kind of "revenge" for their uncomplicated life; a girl, too unwilling, may become too much in love with a girl, to whom the object of her sighs does not pay attention; a maru-spirit can be sent by an unkind person who wants to harm someone; etc.
3. Huldra
Some beautiful girls in Scandinavia and to this day eagerly joke that there were hüldras in their family.
The fact is that the "forest brides" of the huldras are beauties that are difficult to find among ordinary girls. They are always chic - long and fluffy hair, tender and funny eyes, delicate white skin. And they sing beautifully.
But they have in appearance (and how without it?) And a couple of serious shortcomings: firstly, the hüldra must have a cow (or horse) tail, which she carefully hides; and secondly, judging by some beliefs, she has an ugly (rotten and sunken) back.
If the hüldre liked the guy, then she will follow behind him invisibly for weeks (after all, she knows how to be invisible to everyone except one specific person) until he marries her or until she gives birth to a child from him.
The huldras make excellent wives - faithful and very hardworking. And their tail, as a rule, falls off in the church at the wedding (though, at the same time, dazzling beauty fades, because the huldra becomes an ordinary person).
2. Nisse
The most famous in Scandinavia are the home-made nisse (yes, yes! This is an analogue of our, well-known, brownie). They are represented, most often, in the form of little men in red caps.
If a nyssa started up on the farm, its owners were very lucky, because he is an excellent worker. Nisse always looks after the cows and sheep in the stable, makes sure that the owner cleans the horse after work (these creatures love horses the most!), Tidy up the house and even wash the dishes if the hostess is very tired for the day.
The main thing is to treat the Nissa with respect, never scold it, and still remember to leave a bowl of delicious cereal with butter and a little beer every Thursday.
If you are angry with Nyssa with something, blame yourself. He will begin to mischief: beat dishes, stomp at night in the attic, pull the cat by the tail and tease the dog in the yard so that it starts barking.
And in fact, Nyssa are not only brownies. There are church nisse (which at night tidy up in the church and make sure that mice do not gnaw organ bellows), and ship (they predict the weather and warn the captain about the storm with noise and roar in the hold, and can also wake the watchman so that the ship does not board aground).
Well, Christmas nisse toss obedient children in small shoes small gifts - a couple of coins, a handful of sweets, etc.
1. Troll
But perhaps the most beloved character in Scandinavian folklore is the troll. Everyone who has ever been to Denmark, Sweden, and especially to Norway (!) Knows that the word “troll” is found there in many geographical names, in advertising, in the names of shops and other institutions.
One of the most popular souvenirs in these countries is also a troll (in the form of figures, pictures on magnets and key rings, etc.).
According to legend, trolls are the descendants of the Jotun giants who once quarreled with the Scandinavian aces. Since then, alas, they have degenerated and become very stupid, so the current trolls are quite easy to fool (which is what many characters in Scandinavian fairy tales do).
Most of all, trolls amaze with their gigantic dimensions - they are as high as a mountain, and therefore are able to easily tear up a tree with a root, dam a river with one huge boulder, etc.
When the trolls fight among themselves, the landscape around them can change quite noticeably - trying to hit their foe with an ax, the troll can accidentally cut a gorge or, throwing a whole mountain, and then lifting it and putting it in place, make a deep hole, where a little later a lake is formed.
By the way, trolls live in more often forests or in the mountains, because they do not like noisy and fussy people. And the only thing the trolls are afraid of is the sun's rays, from which they turn into stone. For example, in Norway there is the Trolltind mountain range - these are petrified trolls who once walked tipsy from a wedding (of course, a Troll) and did not notice that dawn had arrived.