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-... Ormbunkskrans och Kattguldsväst...-
Today was boring.
Have some Swedish legends.
The Priest’s Daughter Who Knew Magic – Dalsland
The priest’s wife had died. One day the priest was out walking with his daughter. They passed a field, where seven men were ploughing.
“Dad, do you think I can stop the six ploughs?”
“Who taught you that?” the priest said.
“Mum did”, said the girl.
“Why not the seventh?” asked the priest.
“Firstborns are the horses and firstborn is the man, and rowan wood is in the plough”.
When they came home she asked, if he thought she could milk the precentor’s cows.
“Who taught you that?” asked the priest.
“Mum did”, the lass said.
“Show it to me”, said the priest.
So she put two knives in the wall. Then she started milking them, terribly much. Finally she told her father, that now there’s blood in the milk. “You keep milking”, said the priest. A couple of days later the precentor came to the rectory and said that both his cows had died. But the priest was honest enough to pay him for them.
Another tale that shows that clerks were thought to be all but against the workings of magic, and a kind of... Strange perception of the word "honest".
Firstborns were generally believed to protect and be protected from many kinds of magic. The rowan tree (or mountain ash; I chose the name "rowan" since it's closer to the Swedish "rönn") has been considered a plant with magical qualities ever since pagan times. In the Norse tales, Thor and Loki almost drowned on their way to the giant Geirröd in a river that was being flooded by giantess Gjalp when he is able to grab a branch of the rowan tree and heave himself up again.
In Swedish folklore, the rowan was therefore sometimes called "Torshjälp", Thor's help, and was used to protect from or attract thunder. It was also thought to be able to ward off diseases and magic. The farmers would drill holes in the ploughs and fill them with pieces of rowan wood to ensure a good harvest.
The Farmhand Whose Fingers Were Freezing – Närke
By eastern Sand in Nora parish there lived a man called Anders Perse. Once when he was in the stable, his farmhand came inside and was cold. So he told him to get a good move around to warm himself up. But his fingers were still freezing all the same.
Then the Tomte came in: “You can borrow my mitten, you can borrow my mitten” - and offered him a mitten.
“To hell with your mitten”, cursed the farmhand. But he shouldn’t have said that, because it didn’t take long before he went up and down from floor to ceiling and hurt himself so badly he died on the spot.
Tomten was a tiny man with a temper who helped the peasants with the farm. He was stubborn and easily angered, but as strong as several full-grown men and had good hand with the animals. As long as you treated him with respect and rewarded him, he would be benign towards you.
And you better, because as we can see here, he didn't really know where to draw a line for punishment... ._.
Skogsrået as a Widow – Östergötland
There was a man they called Olle Skytt. He lived there in Hästhagen by Lake Harg, and he was such a good marksman, that one. He just had to blow for a while in the gun pipe, and lots of animals would come and gather together around the cottage. Birds landed and sang on the chimney, and elks and hares would pass right outside the windows.
But when he was dead, the widow sat on the edge of the bed and cried, because she was thinking of herself and her three children, and what would happen to them. A terribly grand lady entered the room, and a long green train dragged behind her. She sat down next to the widow and told her:
“Oh, don’t cry! I have it worse. I have seven children with him, I do”, she said.
Mostly chose this because I find it terribly amusing, to be honest.
Skogsrået or Skogsfrun, the Lady of the Forest, was the ruler of the woods and animals in it. She is mostly described as an amazingly pretty woman, but with a tail or a back like a rotten tree trunk, and her favourite hobby is seducing men working in the forest. Those who fancy her, she can watch over and give good hunting luck. But sometimes this comes with a price, as a man bound to her might never be at peace away from the forest and go mad.
She is often referred to as being the Swedish version of the Norwegian Huldra. I never use this name even if it'd be convenient partly because there are huge similarities, but also differences between the two creature. And despite its popularity in modern culture, the amount of times the name "huldra" is used in Swedish folktales can be counted on one or two hands.
Have some Swedish legends.
The Priest’s Daughter Who Knew Magic – Dalsland
The priest’s wife had died. One day the priest was out walking with his daughter. They passed a field, where seven men were ploughing.
“Dad, do you think I can stop the six ploughs?”
“Who taught you that?” the priest said.
“Mum did”, said the girl.
“Why not the seventh?” asked the priest.
“Firstborns are the horses and firstborn is the man, and rowan wood is in the plough”.
When they came home she asked, if he thought she could milk the precentor’s cows.
“Who taught you that?” asked the priest.
“Mum did”, the lass said.
“Show it to me”, said the priest.
So she put two knives in the wall. Then she started milking them, terribly much. Finally she told her father, that now there’s blood in the milk. “You keep milking”, said the priest. A couple of days later the precentor came to the rectory and said that both his cows had died. But the priest was honest enough to pay him for them.
Another tale that shows that clerks were thought to be all but against the workings of magic, and a kind of... Strange perception of the word "honest".
Firstborns were generally believed to protect and be protected from many kinds of magic. The rowan tree (or mountain ash; I chose the name "rowan" since it's closer to the Swedish "rönn") has been considered a plant with magical qualities ever since pagan times. In the Norse tales, Thor and Loki almost drowned on their way to the giant Geirröd in a river that was being flooded by giantess Gjalp when he is able to grab a branch of the rowan tree and heave himself up again.
In Swedish folklore, the rowan was therefore sometimes called "Torshjälp", Thor's help, and was used to protect from or attract thunder. It was also thought to be able to ward off diseases and magic. The farmers would drill holes in the ploughs and fill them with pieces of rowan wood to ensure a good harvest.
The Farmhand Whose Fingers Were Freezing – Närke
By eastern Sand in Nora parish there lived a man called Anders Perse. Once when he was in the stable, his farmhand came inside and was cold. So he told him to get a good move around to warm himself up. But his fingers were still freezing all the same.
Then the Tomte came in: “You can borrow my mitten, you can borrow my mitten” - and offered him a mitten.
“To hell with your mitten”, cursed the farmhand. But he shouldn’t have said that, because it didn’t take long before he went up and down from floor to ceiling and hurt himself so badly he died on the spot.
Tomten was a tiny man with a temper who helped the peasants with the farm. He was stubborn and easily angered, but as strong as several full-grown men and had good hand with the animals. As long as you treated him with respect and rewarded him, he would be benign towards you.
And you better, because as we can see here, he didn't really know where to draw a line for punishment... ._.
Skogsrået as a Widow – Östergötland
There was a man they called Olle Skytt. He lived there in Hästhagen by Lake Harg, and he was such a good marksman, that one. He just had to blow for a while in the gun pipe, and lots of animals would come and gather together around the cottage. Birds landed and sang on the chimney, and elks and hares would pass right outside the windows.
But when he was dead, the widow sat on the edge of the bed and cried, because she was thinking of herself and her three children, and what would happen to them. A terribly grand lady entered the room, and a long green train dragged behind her. She sat down next to the widow and told her:
“Oh, don’t cry! I have it worse. I have seven children with him, I do”, she said.
Mostly chose this because I find it terribly amusing, to be honest.
Skogsrået or Skogsfrun, the Lady of the Forest, was the ruler of the woods and animals in it. She is mostly described as an amazingly pretty woman, but with a tail or a back like a rotten tree trunk, and her favourite hobby is seducing men working in the forest. Those who fancy her, she can watch over and give good hunting luck. But sometimes this comes with a price, as a man bound to her might never be at peace away from the forest and go mad.
She is often referred to as being the Swedish version of the Norwegian Huldra. I never use this name even if it'd be convenient partly because there are huge similarities, but also differences between the two creature. And despite its popularity in modern culture, the amount of times the name "huldra" is used in Swedish folktales can be counted on one or two hands.