Roberta Writes: An Encounter with Norwegian Trolls for d’Verse – Open Link Night 373 #poetry

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I had to attend a memorial service for a family member yesterday so I couldn’t join this live meeting which is held once a month. It is a lovely gathering so I recommend it to fellow poets. I will try to join the December meeting (although I may be in Japan on the relevant date).

Bjorn‘s prompt for d’Verse Open Link Night was this:

Troll and child by John Bauer (1882-1918)

John Bauer is one of the most loved artists and illustrators we have in Sweden. His style is truly unique, and his way of painting magic woods stands as a model how real forests should look like. The children stories he illustrated are often less known than the images, but I believe he often described the trolls more as societal outcasts than evil creature which is why my choice of picture was one of a troll mother and her child. John Bauer met an early death together with his wife and son on a boat accident on lake Vättern.

You can join read the other poems for this d’Verse challenge here: https://dversepoets.com/2024/11/07/open-link-night-373-live-edition/

It perfectly suited my poem, An Encounter with Norwegian Trolls which I wrote during my visit to Norway in May this year. This poem was originally published on Masticadores USA by editor Barbara Leonhard here: https://masticadoresusa.wordpress.com/2024/09/01/an-encounter-with-norwegian-trolls-a-garland-cinquain-by-robbie-cheadle/. I really enjoyed researching Norwegian trolls and writing this poem on the flight home.

Picture caption: Three female troll figurines wearing knitted beanies

During a recent trip to Oslo, Norway, I came across some cute troll figurines in a souvenir shop. I purchased a few and they led me to look up a bit about Norwegian Trolls. I included the knowledge I gleaned into the following poem. Although the troll figurines are more cute than scary, I’ve included a few pictures of them.

Old Norse
Warrior Bolg (Note 1)
Overrunning farmlands
Pillaging homes, produce, and crops
Beware!
***
Forest
Troll tradition
Formidable Skogsra (Note 2)
Occupying burial mounds
Avoid!
***
Twin males
Dangerous pair
Mean, mythical creatures
Turned to rock through light exposure
Justice!
***
Wrothmir (Note 3)
Human eater
Hideous appearance
Dwelling in isolated caves
Run fast!
***
Troll’s toss
Favourite game
Of aggressive females
Ringing church bells will banish them
Fearsome!
***
Old Norse
Troll tradition
Mean, mythical creatures
Dwelling in isolated caves
Fearsome!

Note 1 – Bolg means pain or horror in the Common Tongue of Norway. A male troll.
Note 2 – Skogsra means forest one in Old Norse. A female troll
Note 3 – Wrothmir means defender or protector. Its origin is unknown. A gender-neutral troll.

Copyright © 2024 Robbie Cheadle
All Rights Reserved


About Trolls

Trolls are entrenched in Scandinavian folklore. Numerous tales are recorded about trolls in which they are described as being old, very strong, slow, and dim-witted. Sometimes, the stories describe them as being man-eaters which are turned to stone by exposure to sunlight.

This extract from The Hobbit illustrates JR Tolkien’s thoughts about trolls:

“Mutton yesterday, mutton today, and blimey, if it don’t look like mutton again tomorrer,” said one of the trolls.

“Never a blinking bit of manflesh have we had for long enough,” said a second. “What the ‘ell William was a-thinkin’ of to bring us into these parts at all, beats me – and the drink running’ short, what’s more,” he said jogging the elbow of William, who was taking a pull at his jug.

William choked. “Shut yer mouth!” he said as soon as he could. “Yer can’t expect folk to stop here for ever just to be et by you and Bert. You’ve et a village and a half between yer, since we came down from the mountains. How much more d’yer want? And time’s been up our way, when yer’d have said ‘thank yer Bill’ for a nice bit o’ fat valley mutton like what this is.” He took a big bite off a sheep’s leg he was roasting, and wiped his lips on his sleeve.

Picture captions: My male troll figurines purchased in Norway

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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75 thoughts on “Roberta Writes: An Encounter with Norwegian Trolls for d’Verse – Open Link Night 373 #poetry”

  1. Trolls is one mythical creature that Norway and Sweden share and it is the same name “Troll”. Another mythical creature is called “skogsrå” in Sweden and “Huldra” in Norway but as far as I know it is the same creature. Other ones like “Näcken” in Sweden and “Fossegrim” in Norway are similar but not exactly the same. The photos are nice and the poem is delightful and fun to read.

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  3. The word “Troll” has been confiscated by social media. Far from the original meaning of living under a bridge and grabbing unsuspecting passerby’s.

    Are you going to create any fondant Trolls Robbie?

    Sorry to hear you lost a family member Robbie.

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    1. HI Wayne, thank you for your kind words. I agree that media, mainly film media, has abused the definition of trolls although I did enjoy the original Shrek. I have made trolls out of fondant before. There are trolls in two of my Sir Chocolate books and in Haunted Halloween Holiday. I will include them in a post for you. Hugs

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      1. Thank you, Roberta, for your answer and am quite ok. but more and more convinced that it’s very important to have a little bit of fun in this world full of problems! The very best to you Martina🤣👏

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  16. My deepest sympathy for the loss of a loved one. What I especially appreciate about trolls is that they often represent the darker aspects of human nature, which allows us to confront our fears in a safe and fantastical way. A wonderful post, as always, Robbie.

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  17. I have a couple of Trolls given to me by my lovely Norwegian neighbours. She said it is good luck to have a troll figure in your house. So they can’t be all bad. Sorry to hear about the loss of a family member.

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  26. I’ve always been confused about trolls – in some literature they are scary and mean, yet the ones we can buy are rather cute and confuddled. You explain the different impressions perfectly, and your poems show the scary ones. Many many years ago a friend of my guy gave him a (rather large and incredibly ugly) troll for “good luck.” Hmmm. Two years later my guy mailed it back to his friend and said “sending good luck to you.” They’ve been sending this troll back and forth for 25 years. Not sure who has the most luck now. ;–0

    So sorry to learn about the death in your family. Sympathy and big hug sent your way. ❤

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    1. Thank you, Pam. I am sure it is Disney who created the cute trolls just like they made mermaids and fairies nice and sweet. In the original legends, all of these creatures are mean and behave badly towards humans. Mermaids ate human flesh. The story of your hubby’s ugly troll is funny. I have seven so I should have a lot of good luck.

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  28. I feel like a know trolls a little better now, Robbie, and the need to avoid them maybe! I love the pictures of the happy and friendly trolls. Their position as societal outcasts in Bauer’s stories rather than merely evil made me think of how vampires figure in my daughter’s novel, taking a trope and turning it on its head to a certain extent. Bolg, skogara, wrothmir: how those words play on our imagination just by their sounds. 🙂

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