Trolls: Scandinavia’s Malevolent, Magical Outcasts | Monstrum
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While modern imagination might have you picturing trolls as ugly, hairy, rather unintelligent creatures their ancient folkloric counterparts were magical, intelligent, wealthy creatures of all shapes and sizes. Defined by their status as outsiders as well and the threat of violence they represent, this episode takes you through the Nordic sagas, Medieval laws, and literary influences that contributed to the endurance of these malevolent and magical Scandinavian monsters. #troll #trolls #scandinavianmythology #MonstrumPBS
Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka
Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Stephanie Noone
Illustrator: Samuel Allen
Editor: Sara Roma
Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.
The world is full of monsters, myths, and legends and Monstrum isn’t afraid to take a closer look. The show, hosted by Emily Zarka, Ph.D., takes us on a journey to discover a new monster in each new episode. Monstrum looks at humans' unique drive to create and shape monster mythology through oral storytelling, literature, and film and digs deep into the history of those mythologies.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Bruford, Alan. “Trolls, Hillfolk, Finns, and Picts: The Identity of the Good Neighbors in Orkney and Shetland.”
Bryan, Eric Shane. Icelandic Folklore and the Cultural Memory of Religious Change. Arc Humanities Press, 2021.
Jakobsson, Ármann. “Horror in the Medieval North: The Troll.” The Palgrave Handbook to Horror Literature, Eds. K. Corstorphine and L. Kremmel. Palgrave Macmillan: 2018, p. 33-43.
Jakobsson, Ármann. The Troll Inside You: Paranormal Activity in the Medieval North. Punctum Books, 2017.
Jakobsson, Ármann. “The Trollish Acts ÞORGRÍMR the Witch: The Meanings of Trol and Ergi in Medieval Iceland.” Saga-Book, vol. 32, 2008, pp. 39-68.
Letcher, Andy. "The Scouring of the Shire: Fairies, Trolls and Pixies in Eco-Protest Culture." Folklore, vol. 112, no. 2, Oct. 2001, p. 147.
Lindlow, John. Trolls: An Unnatural History. Reaktion Books Ltd, 2014.
LÖnngren, Ann-Sofie. “Trolls!! Folklore, Literature, and ‘Othering’ in the Nordic Countries.” Rethinking National Literatures and the Literary Canon in Scandinavia, edited by Heidi Grönstrand, et al., Cambridge Scholars Publisher, 2015.
Puhvel, Martin. “The Legend of the Church-Building Troll in Northern Europe.” Folklore, vol. 72, no. 4, Dec. 1961, p. 567-83.
Puhvel, Martin. “The Mighty She-Trolls of Icelandic Saga and Folktale.” Folklore, vol. 98, no. 2, Taylor & Francis Group, 1987, pp. 175-79.
Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend. Ed. Reimund Kvideland and Henning K. Sehmsdorf. University of Minnesota Press, 1988.
Tangherlini, Timothy R. “From trolls to Turks: continuity and change in Danish legend tradition.” Scandinavian Studies, vol. 67, issue 1, 1995, pp. 32-62.
To be fair, in Scandinavian countries "troll man" is literally just our word for wizard or sorcerer, just like we have words that translates literally to "troll woman" but means sorceress. In my language, Danish, these words are spelled "troldmand" and "troldkvinde".
In fact, in Danish, words starting with the prefix "trold-" don't necessarily refer to anything related to trolls, but rather as an old term for magic, such as "troldkraft" (lit. troll power, but means witchcraft). We have a similar verb, "trylle", which refers to spellcasting and magic and which can also be used as prefix, e.g. our word for magician/illusionist is "tryllekunstner" meaning "spell/magic artist".
My point is mostly that that Norwegian translation of LOTR referring to Gandalf as "trollmannen" is not indicating him having a relation to trolls in any way, it's just their term for wizard. Saruman and Merlin would also be referred to as such, just like The Wizard of Oz is called Trollmannen fra Oz in Norwegian.
And the word "trolddom" means magic
It's similar in Faroese, Trollabundin. I can thank Eivør for that. Though in Old Norse, one name for a type of magic is "sei[th]berend" (I'm sorry, I don't have access to an Eth in my keyboard). But thank you for your comment. I'm obsessed with Nordic languages and culture and I'm glad to have learned that.
We also have the derived verb "trylleri" (magic arts) from "trolddom", used in nouns like "tryllekunstner" lit. sorcery artist - someone who performs sorcery for entertainment (like a conjurer of cheap tricks, which Gandalf isn't 😉🎆)
Yes. I assume it has its roots in the more generic, early sense of "troll", and the power of such beings, that's discussed in the vid
@@skyetoddmakeup If you're using Windows: Hold down ALT while typing 0240 on your numpad for ð and 0208 for Ð.
I like the idea that being a troll is more based around what one does than their appearance.
Helena Nyblom. the troll princess / the changeling Fair tale. A story about a troll who was born so beautiful that the parents did the changeling things and switch children. The troll live among human as a beautiful princess, while the human girl live among the trolls.
_Border_ is a really good movie, by the way.
Indeed agreed and here here good Sir!:-)
@@majesticgothitelle1802 - And then the Human Child lead Her Armies to Victory, crushing them all!
Sorry, couldna resist.
Right. Makes it even more relevant today.
I love that in Trollhunter, the troll hunter doesn’t have a mystical or tragic backstory. It’s just a government job that needed to be filled.
And the power lines !
Probably my most favorite found footage film of all time. I really love troll mythology if you couldn't tell by my username lol
Fun Fact: "Trolling" originally referred to the fishing technique of throwing out bait, and seeing who bites, not the mythical creature.
I came here to say this! I think that the name has endured (especially as a noun) through comparison to the monster, but it didn't begin that way.
Thanks for pointing that out so I don't have to. 👍
the internet needs more trolls. how else are we to educate the masses of the dangers of ignorance. that sh!tty behaviour equates to being a troll is surely a social media platform phenomenon born from poor policing of posts
@@seanbirtwistle649 Everyone on the internet is a troll if they post with hopes of getting a response.
...please don't respond to this, I don't wanna turn to stone.
HOLY CRAP! How did I not know this until now!
"Not much is worse than trolls."
- 13th Century Poet
Wisdom that holds true even to this day.
LOLz.
“They see me trollin, they hatin…tryna catch me writing dirty…”
So delighted you shout out Troll Hunter. I think it's one of the best found footage films in ages - really taps into that strange sense of loss for an older, weirder time; which I think is a common feeling for folklorists - there used to be magic in the woods....
Troll Hunter is one of the movies that makes me sad that I can't watch found footage movies due to motion sickness issues.
@@athena8794 I have the same issue, and also most first person video games. If a game is compelling enough I still want to play it (rare, but does happen), I can usually compensate for it by setting a time limit for playing - 15 - 30 depending on the game. Sadly, that doesn't always work as well with movies.
@@PhoenyxAshe I've found with First Person games that modifying the Field of View setting can help. It's a trial and error process, but generally a setting around 110ish works for me. Results in a bit of fish eye effect around the edges of the screen, but you don't notice after a while
@@athena8794 Yep, that's how I get better playability... to a point. Even then I need to take it in "bites" as it were. But then, I've always been a bit off-balance... =grin=
Such an underrated movie.
As a Norwegian, I approve of this video.
Btw, "trollmannen" is literally just the Norwegian word for "the wizard". We also sometimes call magic "trolldom", though we mostly use the word "magi".
I thought the same thing, in Sweden we have "trollkarl" as the most common term for "wizard". And "casting a spell" can be described simply as "trolla".
As a sweed i find it facenating that we have alot of similar but different words for things with a ancient history. I assume when i say "trollkarl" you understand that i ment a wizzard and when i say "trollkonst" I mean magic, in the same way i understand you when you say "trollmannen" or "trolldom". Not a revoloutionany thought by any means but still interestig in the ways we differ and are the same.
Wonderful show
Gandalf was one of many dwarf names in the epic sagas that Tolkien used. Yeah he hacked.
Yeah, for example Teller of Penn and Teller fame is referred to as having started his career as a "trollkarl" on the Swedish Wikipedia page for P&T.
To talk about trolls and not speak of their main thing in Swedish folklore...
The trolls tendency to steal human children, and leave one of their own, sometimes transformed to look like the human child, in its place. "Bortbytingar", meaning something like switched children, is a very common theme in Swedish fairytales. Something all parents should be aware of... We both have stories of children living in human families growing up to be a bit weird, or just stronger and taller than others, only to turn out not to be humans at all, but trolls. This was also often the explanation of "difficult children". We also have the stories about the human children, abducted and raised by trolls, usually in the context of them being saved by someone, whom they pay back with some of the trolls gold.
That sounds a lot like the Changling stories about fairies/Fae (like in Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Nights Dream). Both trolls and fae probably have similar roots.
I came to the comments to mention this as well. We have the same stories in Norway.
They actually used the changling troll myth in Dreamworks: Trollhunters/Tales of Arcadia
Could be the folk explanation for mongoloidism or birth defects in children, and also open the door for infanticide. Many families were living on the edge of starvation and could ill afford to feed a person that would never contribute. But if the child is a troll child?
so Emil and Pippi longstocking are in reality trolls?
My stepdad, who is Norwegian, was told stories by his grandma of trolls who would kidnap little kids who went outside after dark. Ever since then, he's scared of being outside after dark.
Interesting, for us we were told of witches that would take the kids mostly babies and young children
Wise decision in omitting the details of Loki's method for preventing the troll from building the wall on schedule. That story would distract
Can you please tell us how? I like being distracted.
@@avariceseven9443 loki turned into a female horse and "had babies" with the trolls horse
@@avariceseven9443 He turned into a mare and seduced the troll's horse
@@1412JD WOW...i think loki is just using that excuse to have babies with a horse. lol
@@avariceseven9443 you can see it that way... and I am not telling you that you would be wrong! Lol loki always does hilarious stuff in the Edda.
He ended up giving his 8 legged horse baby as a gift to Odin. Yes, Loki is Sleipnirs Mom. And he gave his kid away as a present. The whole story is wild...
The term “Internet trolling” does not come from the creature. It comes from trolling, a type of fishing where you draw a line through the water hoping to lure a fish to bite. People would post provoking comments to message boards hoping to get a response.
Except that it's spelled trawling when referring to the fishing method.
Absolutely true, but 99.9% of people wouldn't know that's the proper spelling
John Bauer's artwork is how I was first exposed to trolls and Scandinavian mythology when I was still in elementary school. And it's because of his artwork that trolls became my favorite mythological creatures~ While his painting of Freya was used, I do wish some of his larger troll paintings had been used as well instead of his little farm troll sketch, buuuut that's just my bias talking~
sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bauer
Totally agree. They are amazing and I was disappointed when they never showed up. But I'm happy trolls got a video at all :)
The initial idea that a troll is defined by behavior instead of something like species is amazing. It's so different from most modern conceptions. Great video.
The evolution of the term "troll" is, in some ways, similar to the evolution of the term "fairy" in modern times. In ancient times, "fairy" or "faerie" was the generic term for magical beings. Elves, leprechauns, púca, dullahan and even banshees were considered to be faerie creatures. This term has evolved into modern times to mean tiny, human like creatures with wings (usually insect wings), whereas those creatures would have been specifically called pixies or sprites in the past. Language is interesting.
@@alexdillahunt6908 all very true but lots of people (my self included) still prefer the original definition of fairy
Viking is originated this way. While we associate it today with a specific race, nationality or caste of people, "viking" is a verb which means "to adventure" or "to raid by sea".
In a way, it is very similar to the term "pirate". But in that case it is more easily seen as a profession of what the people do rather than where they come from.
so, blaming "Trolls World Tour" for the "imminent destruction of the cinema" during the pandemic lockdown was kinda on brand.
BlameItOnTheTrolls
"Trolls exist! They steal your socks"
-Gobber, How to Train your Dragon
But only the left ones.
"...what's with that?"
@@AlexG32777 * 1.) Steal Left Socks*
*2.) ???*
*3.) PROFIT!!!*
Of course in the DreamWorks trolls franchise in the first holiday special the pop trolls do actually have a holiday related to socks titled "SOCK DAY" except they don't actually view as stealing they always leaves small sanddollars as payment.
Now that I think about it, the essential advice of "never feed the trolls" sounds like it could have been pulled straight from a fairy tale.
In the Midwest, Trolls seem to have become symbols of Scandinavian heritage. There's even one town near me, Mount Horeb, WI, which bills itself as "Troll Capitol of the World" and has dozens of troll sculptures and troll-themed shops in honor of the town's roots as a Norwegian immigrant community
I've been there, when my mom visited me on vacay years ago! I was living in Madison
@@LindaC616 I stop there on long bike rides sometimes, the Grumpy Troll brewpub is right off the bike trail and is a good lunch spot.
@@mattdeblassmusic I think I remember hearing about that bike trail. May have tried it once. We usually just went around Lake Mendota
The Danish word for magic, Trolddom. Has the word Troll in it. Another fun thing is that today the different trolls seem to inhabit different areas. Here in the flatlands we mostly talk about forest trolls, tricksters that would replace your child with one of their own. Meanwhile in the Mountains, Trolls are absolutely insanely massive, some of them so big that they are mistaken for mountains and trees will grow on them while they sleep. Usually the two types are considered cousins, along with being related to other creatures like nisser or the dancing elves. Gudenå, a river in Denmark is named after the Troll Gudar, who threw a giant rock trying to stop the marriage of his daughter to a human. The rock missed but created a hole in the ground where his namesake the river sprung From. 😁
Just a note about the Lund cathedral builder, he's actually known as Finn the giant, not Finn the troll. Though with such a vague definition of trolls I suppose there's no reason he can't be both.
He is known in swedish as *Jätten Finn* - Finn the Jötunn.
The word 'jötunn' is usually translated to 'giant' in english, but it's not very accurate. Jötunn are not particularly large in most stories. They can even be very attractive.
The certainly cutest version of Trolls can be found in Tove Jansson's Moomin series, where pretty much every character, with a few exceptions, is a small type of troll.
Love these Monstrum videos!
Another great modern use of trolls is in Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" series. They start off as mostly dull-witted, threatening monsters, but over time, a lot of them end up adapting to "modern" life and integrating into society. Being silicon-based life-forms, their brains work best in the cold, and heat and sunlight causes them to become sluggish, muddled, or even freeze up and "turn to stone."
There's also an amazing fan-film based on one of Pratchett's stories called "Troll Bridge" you can find on CZcams that's well worth a watch!
Mister Shine-Him DIAMOND!
I like Hilda's (the children's comic & netflix cartoon) interpretation of trolls. They are exists and mind their own business, but a major threat only when antagonized by human.
Misunderstood spirits of rock and stone that mean no harm "most" of the time.
So excited to see an episode on trolls! I've always loved Griegg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" and the imagery of a troll court under the Mountain.
You just radically changed trolls in my D&D game. Thank you.
PS: My players may hate you. Sorry about that.
The most terrifying moment in the life of an AD&D (1st edition) gamer is when they meet their first troll.
@@hallacar agreed. What do you mean the wound are healing!?!?! Also when you only have 20 hit points at third level (and you're the fighter) they do so.much damage.
Warhammer fantasy troll are better
internet 'trolling' was originally a reference to how fisherman used the term by 'baiting' and luring the gullible by trolling bulletin boards out of boredom and/or for sport.
"Trolling for newbies" is the expression I heard.
There are lots of salmon trollers in the PNW.
I've heard that term growing up on a lake in MI.
Fun realizing Grendel is a troll by any definition, ancient or contemporary
Trolled heorot so hard
Yeah I was surprised Beowulf wasn't brought up, as I've often seen Grendel and his mother referred to as trolls
He could easily be one of Tolkien's trolls from Middle-Earth, whose traits he seems to have inspired. And given that Tolkien did extensive commentary on the ancient legend as a professor at Oxford, a crossover could be easily conceived.
My Swedish great grandmother loved to tell me old stories from Scandavia. And Trolls were always prevelent. Wether it was as tricksters or monstrous evil doers, any story with a troll in it was always going to be fun.
The Hobbit was published in 1937 (featured trolls as giants that turned to stone in sunlight). Trolls in Dungeons & Dragons were lifted from Three Hearts and Three Lions, a 1961 novel by Poul Anderson, which had very tall (but perhaps not quite "giant") green skinned, regerating trolls.
I never would have guessed that trolls have evolved so much over their history. When I think of a troll, I'm reminded of Grendel from Beowulf. Freakish strong, upsetting the natural order of things, requiring a great hero to defeat, etc. So it is interesting to imagine trolls as more cunning or capable of shapeshifting or using magic. Not at all where I thought the video would wind up!
Maybe a few episodes on creature archetypes that transcend localities would be fun? Like house-spirits, for example. Dobbies, brownies, domovoi, kobolds and Klabautermann are all small creatures that live in/haunt specific places and are usually helpful but are offended when looked at. I've always wondered why there were so many of these things from so many places. There are even some yokai fit pretty close to this template.
I’d love to see a video on Orcs. “From Tolkien to modern fantasy”
Orcs existed before Tolkien, since at least Beowulf.
First they were detestable monsters and soldiers of evil, now they’re fantasy Klingons
After Tolkien the most impactful orc fiction was world of Warcraft, which popularized the idea of orcs as not evil monsters but honorable warrior people.
that, actually explains "a troll in central park" a bit, a good troll that was an outcast
Way to go again, dr Emily! But, I'm somewhat surprised you getting into so much detail on our Scandinavian trolls and how they were depicted, without touching on the legendary imagery created by Swedish illustrator John Bauer - the by far most iconic and most influential depictions of trolls in the history of Sweden, and his version of the creatures is definitely the one that instinctively comes to mind to us, his countrymen, to this day. But maybe these images aren't as familiar to people outside of Scandinavia, which would explain it, of course.
I was in the dollar store and I found in the DVD bin a copy of 'Troll Hunter'.
I literally was so happy I ran home and watched my purchase with Glee while drinking dollar store cream soda and eating a dollar store burrito. A better night there has not been foretold of in Prophecy! LOL. You Rock Dr. Z!
If trolls could become Christians in the stories, does that evince the existence of troll souls? Trolls in Heaven and Hell? Or did they stop being trolls if/when they converted?
A human could be a troll.
In terms of general consciousness, although they've only impacted Anglo-American culture very slightly, i think you missed a critical point in not mentioning Tove Jansson's Moomintrolls, who are enormous both in Scandinavia and Europe, and the Japanese East.
Trollmann is just norwegian for wisard and yes Gandalf is a wisard isn’t he?
Trollkarl in Swedish
Today it's used for wizard or magician like with card tricks and stuff. But I suspect that it was used more like warlock with a negative and evil connotation in earlier times. Therefore troll.
Saruman: "Smoke rises from the mountain of Doom. The hour grows late and Gandalf the Troll rides to Isengard seeking my counsel. For that is why you have come, is it not… my old friend?"
You're trollman, Harry
The defining characteristic of internet trolls is that they are trying to provoke a reaction. They're not just being jerks to be jerks, they're being jerks to get a rise out of you. If you fall for the bait, then you have fed the troll. They want attention, and you are giving it to them. They don't seem to care whether it's good or bad attention, as long as it's attention. Most people are guilty of doing this from time to time, but indulging in trolley behavior is one thing. Doing it all the time, consistently and constantly is the hallmark of a true internet troll. Don't feed the trolls kids.
What a load of bollocks!
Also - Don't be the trolls , kids
I think one major trait of trolls which you failed to mention but that's pretty interesting is the fact that at least some trolls can't be exposed to sunlight less they be turned to stone.
It's a very well known trait at least here in modern Norway and you can see it in everything from how the trolls are defeated in the Troll Hunter movie to how you can often find mountains or other geological structures with troll themed names.
Think one of my favourite examples of this is a tale surrounding the mountains that stand along the northern norwegian Helgeland coast, explaining how and who they were before their fate, how they ended up where they stand today and even giving its own takes on the hella interesting geological features some of the mountains possess
don't know why but....I LOVE the background "storytime" music themes! Sets the mood so good
"they often lurks at the border of civilization"
"They are antisocial creature"
Why are you calling me out..?
I never realized how much I love trolls. Ogres are really cool too. I'd like to see an episode about ogres sometime.
I'd kind of like to see how Tolkien thought up orcs and how others interpreted them. With at least a mention to Warhammer 40k
Since the orcs from Warhammer fantasy are the reason why orcs are green, they sure will be mentionned.
Gary Gygax created trolls as characters that people could roll play, meaning you roll dice to determine certain abilities. That's where the term originally came from and it never ceases to amaze me that the younger generation doesn't know that! (I'm 58 btw)
Well done
I've researched your claim and find you to be 100% correct. Gygax created trolls, the Norse are just a bunch of posers.
Thank you for including at least a passing mention to D&D... many of the monsters you have discussed have been used to varying degrees... and some (such as Baba Yaga) are known and feared by nearly all D&D players... especially us how have played for 40 years.
Now they are child friendly and are super colorful in glitter and sparkle with amazing singing talents
God im never watching those movies.
Think I'll stick to the hobbit.
Just like about any other monster nowadays.
I.l stick with Troll Hunter.
Thank you for the educaton. I've wondered what the deal was with Scandi and Trolls for ages.
Also, I hope you don't mind my appreciation of this Morticia Addams-esque dress; it's very suitable for spooky story telling!
Thanks for the shout to religion tying people to their pasts! I'm currently a PhD student in sociology, and one of my interests is sociology of religion. In my readings, I've come to the conclusion that one of the stabilizing influences religion has upon society is its ability to create a sense that we share particular things with our ancestors -- even though we realize that a lot has changed since the legendary deeds and encounters of those ancestors. I feel that this connection to the past -- real or imagined -- helps stabilize peoples' lives in a chaotic present while facing uncertain futures.
I love how this program have explained me that a lot of "established" creatures are in fact umbrella terms for the sobrenatural
Fairies, jinns, demons and now Trolls.
Thank you Doctor Z!!!
Might just point out that the reason Gandalf is referred to as "Trollmannen" in norwegian is because the usual norwegian word for wizard is trollmann, I don't even think we have any other words for wizard!
I remember running into one of these things. My friend and I were traveling and just trying to get where we needed to go. In comes this grumpy, old thing from under his bridge and giving us a hard time. And my friend is a simian who wears footwear, so life is hard enough for him. We _did not_ need that troll to complicate things further.
I didn't know Fiore had a troll problem, learn something new everyday!
I'm afraid your life is a cartoon my friend, I'm envious.
I'm a little bit surprised that Netflix's animated series Trollhunters wasn't mentioned. It uses some of the old mythology of trolls, while also putting its own spin on parts of troll mythology.
As a Modern Heathen, I was curious about your take on Trolls- and you did a wonderful job. To this day, we still leave offerings for Landvaettir, and perform rites of protection from Trolls and other ill wights (mainly symbolic but very real for some in my kindred.)
trolls are real
I live in Lund and everyone, even the cathedral and the local municipality, calls Finn a giant. Jätten Finn, Finn the giant.
One of my top favorite series on CZcams.
That tale of the troll building a church and demanding the sun and the moon, that's taken straight from the myth of the giant who rebuilt the walls of Asgard, and demanded the sun, the moon, and fair Freya in marriage... and who was prevented from earning them by Loki turning into a mare to drive his horse away (and later gave birth to Sleipnir)
I could listen to Dr. Zarka all day long..... and she's really easy on the eyes too.
This was an awesome addition! Thanks, Dr. Z!
All of this is in equal measure creepy and wonderful. But because I am that kind of nerd, the first thought I’ll have on hearing the word “troll” will always be, “Hide your babies and your beadwork!”
"Trollemannen" means "the wizard" and Danish and Swedish names for wizard are similar
Yep, in Swedish it's "trollkarl" and "karl" is just another word for "man". "Trolla" is a verb for "do magic".
Trollkarl in swedish (karl = man). And when you do magic in sweden, you do "trolleri".
And in Norwegian.
fun fact the fairytale Billy Goat's Gruff inspired one of Stephen King's most popular novels IT
There's one Hungarian book, which is essentially a collection of Icelandic sagas with trolls in it. But it has a kind of explanation to the folklore, and my gods, I love it. Like, how we CANNOT exactly describe trolls... fascinating.
Great video, loved it! :)
I love that you mentioned Troll Hunter, and its filmed in my own home country of Norway.
Also I am very happy that you also mentioned Peer Gynt and the Norwegian fairy tales folktales and by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe, trolls have also appeared in the Norwegian short film by Ivo Caprino "The Ashlad and the Hungry Troll" from 1967.
My earliest memory of the word "Troll" on the internet was back in the List Serve days.
People would "troll" as the verb used in fishing for dragging bait behind a moving boat. They would put up an intentionally contentious post and wait to see who would bite..
The people who did this were soon refered to as trolls, which had the commonly associated meaning of the mythical troll.
That's my memory of it, at least.
I AM SO HAPPY THAT YOU MENTITON J.R.R TOLKIEN!! HE WAS THE BEST!!
Love the video. Also, shout out to the dresses you have been wearing recently, they are great!
3:05 god this looks haunting as hell
7:16 "Trolls could become Christians." Ok, but...are you sure that it was not the other way around? :-p
By the way, I love your work, miss Z.
Here is a monstruous BONJOUR from France. ;-)
You could argue that pre-christians viewed christians as trolls, pushing their faith onto others.
@@MrPopoCoalti you could say the same thing about Muslims and Jews and other faiths and religions too! Especially Muslims and Mormons.
@@michaelwall3393 exactly.
OOOHHHHHH Dr. Zarka! I have been waiting for this one!!!!
Why?
You see, I am a bit of a folklorist myself - more specifically, I am the artist-in-residence at The Troll Hole Museum in Alliance Ohio. We give guided tours of our 9 room 2 floor museum talking about the folklore of Trolls, and we also happen to have the Guinness World Record for the world's largest collection of Troll Dolls!
I have been illustrating special poster about magical/mythical creatures and their similarities to other creatures for over 2 years and am intending on sending you a copy when it is complete (a couple of the included creatures were inspired by your Monstrum series)!
Allow me to formally invite you for a tour.
I will personally show you around! GREAT videos!
Cheers!
Dr Z, your episodes are always informative and enjoyable. Keep them coming. Thank you and have a great day.
Trolls have also played a role in stories about how the Scandinavian lands came to be.
In "Danish Folktales", Just Mathies Thiele writes:
The lake Tissø, found on Zealand, Denmark, is said to have been created when a troll moved away from the area of Kundby because of the constant ringing of church bells. On the neighbouring island he found a man, who came from Kundby. The troll asked the man to bring a letter back to Kundby, which he agreed to.
When the man returned, water started spilling out of the seal of the letter, and he only barely escaped the water masses as the seal broke. The troll had captured an entire lake in the letter as a revenge on Kundby church. But God spared Kundby as they were devout Christians, and instead diverted the waters to a meadow close by, thus creating Tissø.
Due to the name "Tissø", where "tis" is a Danish word for pee as well. Thus, another story goes that a female troll (with the oddly specific name of Marie) sat between the towns of Store Fuglede and Lille Fuglede, and peed all she could which created the lake, according to the University of Copenhagen.
There are also many stories explaining the giant rocks found around the country, often they were thrown by trolls aiming to destroy the churches and their ringing bells.
@13:54 This is very interesting to me; in both Norwegian and Danish, and perhaps Swedish as well, the word for "sorcery" is "trolddom," spelling varies, meaning literally troll-dom or troll-ism, and a sorcerer is a troldmand, a troll man, and a sorceress a troldkvinde, troll woman. The magic mirror in stories like HC Andersen's ice queen, or grimm's snow white, is "troldspejlet," the troll mirror - trolls are very magical!
Hi Dr. Emily, can you tell us about Ogres, or are they interchangeable with Trolls?
Trolls are something French, with a different story behind them.
Not sure about other countries but in sweden we don't have a direct word for ogre so it's translated to a swamp troll or man-eating giant.
@@TheSaneHatter did you mean ogres?
Some...
After seeing the more sympathetic side of trolls I would love to see a video on the monstrous side of mermaids. Like we saw in The Lure.
Love this channel.
Thank you PBS, for all the education you have provided over the years.
Thank you so much for sharing your work here. I have always been into folklore and your entries give such good and informed information. This Troll one was great.
Actually live close to a mound with a 19th century folktale about the trolls. Its called the brides mound after the tale.
The legend goes as the newly weds crossed the mound in their carriage, the trolls emerged greedy for their wedding gifts or perhaps to abduct them to devour or replace them. The pair drove as fast as they could but trolls are unnaturally fast they came across a frozen lake, even though the ice was new and maybe unstable they drove the carriage straight onto the lake, the trolls dared not pursue and the newly weds got away, since that day the mound where the trolls dwell has been known as the brides mound.
In the rural farmers communities outside the cities folklore was alive and well up until industrialisation kicked off in Scandinavia in the early 20th century
Another great video! There's so much to consider with trolls and y'all did a great job of covering a lot of fascinating stuff. I'm interested in how Moomintroll (and his family, the Moomins) fit into this. They're called trolls but are very different than a lot of the conception discussed here. Also, I'm curious how trolls came to be associated with riddles!
My grandfather was Norwegian, born in the early 1900s, and he used to tell me all kinds of stories about clever and mischievous trolls. I always love seeing the stories and lore of trolls being explored again as an adult.
I'm glad you mention Troll 1986. That movie needs more attention.
As a Warhammer and Warmachine/Hordes tabletop gamer who collects a Troggherd for Age of Sigmar (Troggoth being the new name for Trolls in that game) and a Trollbloods army for Hordes I thouroughly enjoyed this look into the history of a monster that I keep finding myself coming back around to!
So it sounds like there was a significant amount of overlap and similarities between Nordic Trolls and Irish/Celtic Fae originally. This actually meshes well (though probably accidentally) with one of the more prominent fantasy portrayals of Trolls today. In World of Warcraft, the Trolls are one of the original sentient races of Azeroth, and the Night Elves (and all subsequent flavours of elves) evolved/mutated from them.
My Troll (rp'ed as half Orc, half Troll) Fire Mage, Taysha, says "hey Mon"
I live for new episodes of Monstrum. Another great one, Dr. Z!
One of my favorite unlikely fringe theories is that some Troll stories and traditions are based on now extinct archaic species of humans.
My favorite version of trolls will always be those in the Discworld books.
Glad to have found this channel!
There is a small Island in northern Iceland called Drangey that is said to be the petrified remains of troll cattle caught in the sun when being transported to new pastures by its troll owners. Not only that the story goes that medieval Icelandic holy man and Bishop Guðmundur the Good once tried to bless the cliffs of Drangey, where the locals gathered eggs, when Guðmundur was rappelling down the final cliff a giant hairy paw carrying a massive knife appeared out of a crevice in the rock and tried to cut through his rope allowing him to leave if he agreed not to bless the final cliff stating that "Bless no more, Gvendur Bishop*. Even the evil need some place to be". He obeyed the troll and since then that side of the island is known as Heiðnaberg or "Heathen Cliff".
*Trolls and the undead not being able to speak the name of God (the Guð in Guðmundur) is a thing in Icelandic folklore see also The Deacon of Myrká where a revenant calls his fiance "Garún" because he can't say "Guðrún"
My favorite folkloric creature, there is a lot about Trolls you didn't cover, which I find odd. This video is great but leaves out some key elements. Troll was indeed simply a name for 'magical being' in many Scandinavian countries, most notably Denmark and Norway, much as the English/Irish/Scottish Faerie or Fae. There were some distinct types however. The large, often strong and ugly Trold or Troldfolk were distinct from the Huldrefolk (hidden folk), who were smaller than Humans and more like their British Faerie counterparts. At some point Huldra or Hulder became a distinct class of entity, a succubus-like female forest spirits (evil nymphs, though kind to those who tend charcoal fires). Another surprise was that there was no mention of the artist John Bauer. Bauer lived from the late 1800's into the early 1900's and is best known for his illustrations in the book 'Among Gnomes and Trolls', a collection of Swedish folktales and mythology. The so-called 'Bauer Troll' is very distinctive and instantly recognizable by its long, bulbous nose and thick head of hair covering the rest of its facial features (and sometimes more). Bauer and his family were killed when a ship they were on capsized and so connected with Troll art was he that people in Sweden assumed the Bauers' unfortunate passing may has been caused Trolls displeased with his renderings.
I have done a lot of personal research on Trolls. I love them. Also the Trolls in the book Gnomes by Wil Huygen and illustrated by Rien Poortvliet! Those are iconic as well!
WOW, I really liked this episode! I learned a lot about the Troll! As usual, Great Video! Thanks Dr. Z!
Fascinating! Let's not also forget the very best of the earth trolls, Ludo, from Jim Henson's 1986 film "Labyrinth"! Brian Froud's trolls are by far my favorites, personally. =3
I am right with you on finding those dolls hideous and disturbing.
Troll and Yokai have some similarities. Yokai was used to explain things that cant be explained, and was feared, and is now basically Pokemon
Wow, my favorite Monstrum so far. Love the pop-culture drop-ins at the end, especially the troll dolls.
Has monstrum changed to a weekly schedule? If so I’m all for it.
I think it was just the Halloween Special. As awesome as that would be, I don’t think it’s weekly
Love your videos, thank you!
Should be noted that internet trolls are named after trawling (because they're baiting you to react), not troll, the creature.
Im glad they immediantly addressed the fact that the synonym of "Troll" was originally not used for a specific monster.
Here in germany theres ALOT of old movies and other media that tend to refer to most monster simply as trolls (or "Trolle" if your german).
But just like the "Oni's" of Japan, Trolls nowadays simply refers to an archetype of an infamous creature. Something that may or may not be for the better depending on the context haha.
That was so fun! My son ( age 10 ) and I really enjoyed that. As I watched this I wondered if Rumplestilskin is supposed to be a troll? Emily, Do you know?? Also, how about a Monstrum about knomes?!
Amazing video, thanks for this
I loved your channel! Great job!!!