Trolls

Culture and Development

by Joyce McCaffrey

LIS309LEA

May 4, 2004

Troll Magic

Trolls have a variety of tricks to use when they are angry or unhappy with events. In the tale “The Sailors and the Trolls” by Lise Lunge-Larson the troll was able to send gifts that would fulfill his wishes despite the fact that he was not present. (Lunge-Larsen 1999) The ability to transform themselves into rain and storms, fierce animals or beautiful young ladies is often seen in tales as well as is the facility to forecast the future and use supernatural force.(Monstrous)

Placing a curse on a place or person is another form of magic. If a troll curses a farmer’s field, it will not bear food, a cursed lake will have no fish and a cursed person or animal will not bear young.(Davis 1997)Trolls can also bring in a thick fog over a small area. When this occurs, the traveler is unable to see. This allows the troll to abduct someone without being noticed.

Another type of trick is using the stock. This was a copy of a human that could actually function like one. Sometimes trolls like the Kunal-Trow of Norse Orkney have to take a human wife because the troll wives are infertile. The troll will go to the victim's house and leave a wooden replica of his victim that is good enough to fool most humans except priests. (Davis 1997) He then brings the human wife back to his home.

Some trolls were able to hide their hearts in locations other than their bodies. In this way they could not be killed. In the tale"The Troll with No Heart in His Body" by Lunge-Larson, the troll has hidden his heart in a very unusual place such that he will be safe forever. Only a clever princess and her suitor are able to extract the location of the heart from the troll and defeat him once they had found his heart.(Lunge-Larson 1999)

Trolls also had some brew that when consumed would put a spell on the unknowing consumer. The spells would allow the trolls to do what they pleased with their victims. Marrying a troll or losing one's life would be two such consequences of drinking the concoction.

Bibliography

Davis, G. (1997). Norse Trolls--Monstrous Foes for Viking Adventure, The GURPS Newsletter.
Lunge-Larsen, L. (1999). The Troll with No Heart in His Body and Other Tales of Trolls from Norway. Boston, MA, Houghton Mifflin Company.