In this article I am diving into a part of Scandinavian culture and folklore that is as old as the vikings. Likely another name for the jotnar, trolls were as real to the vikings as they were to Christians much later.
Through the passage of time, we have lost some of the nuance of what, or who the jotnar really were. However, throughout the stories in Norse mythology, jotnar shows up in all different shapes and sizes. As you’ll come to learn, so do trolls, only they kept on living for centuries after the Viking Age.
Being part of Scandinavian folklore, trolls, just like nisser and dverger (dwarf-like beings), alver (the elves), vetter (evil spirits) and tusser (underground dwellers) can all be traced back to the Viking Age. In the Viking Age, most of the other worldly beings, like the jotnar, elves, and dwarves have somewhat fluid roles. I will show how the same holds true for the trolls, and that both good and bad trolls were part of nature.
The Trolls in Old Norse Texts
When looking to old Norse texts and poems for answers it’s best to keep a few things in mind. While ancient to us, the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson was written down a couple of hundred years after the Viking Age ended. Snorri was also a devout Christian, writing about heathens and their beliefs.
Furthermore, we know for a fact that much of the history from then has been lost. In the different poems and sagas there are sometimes references to other stories that we have no knowledge of. This lack of insight and sources means we might never truly know all the facts.
With these caveats, there are some really interesting things we can find in the sources, and some things we have to try and read between the lines. One place to start is with what Snorri Sturluson wrote about trolls. For one, it seems that according to him, most if not all trolls were women. However, there are some holes in this way of organizing them that need looking into.
The Troll-Wives of Snorri Sturluson
Throughout the part of the Prose Edda known as the Skáldskaparmál, Snorri uses troll in place of jötun for female jotnar innumerable times. Also found in Skáldskaparmál there is a section known as the Nafnathulur, or list of names. Basically listing names and kennings for all manner of beings and objects, it was meant to help aspiring skalds.
Found in verses twelve through sixteen, Snorri gives a list of no less than sixty Troll-Wives. Worth noting is that there is no corresponding list of Troll-Men. Furthermore, while there is a list of male jotnar, there is no list of jötun females. Many of the names in the list of troll women are those of both famous, and infamous jötun women. I am including the list below.
Troll-Wives
12. Of the troll-wives I shall
tell the names
Gríðr and Gnissa,
Grýla, Brýja,
Glumra, Geitla,
Gríma and Bakrauf,
Guma Gestilja,
Grottintanna.
13. Gjálp, Hyrrokkin,
Hengikefta,
Gneip and Gnepja,
Geysa, Hála,
Hörn and Hrúga,
Harðgreip, Forað,
Hryggða, Hveðra
and Hölgabrúðr.
14. Hrímgerðr, Hæra,
Herkja, Fála,
Imð, Járnsaxa,
Íma, Fjölvör,
Mörn, Íviðja,
Ámgerðr, Simul,
Sívör, Skríkja,
Sveipinfalda.
15. Öflugbarða
and Járnglumra,
Ímgerðr, Áma
and Járnviðja,
Margerðr, Atla,
Eisurfála,
Leikn, Munnharpa
and Myrkriða.
16. Leirvör, Ljóta
and Loðinfingra,
Kráka, Varðrún
and Kjallandi,
Vígglöð, Þurbörð;
we will name
finally Rýgi
and Rifingöflu.
Trolls Were Jotnar, but Not All Jotnar Were Trolls
However, this is not to say that all jötun women in Snorri’s view were trolls. There are a great many well known female jotnar that are missing from this list. One thing several of them have in common is that they are jotnar known to be lovers of the gods.
Trolls even figure in the family of the god Tyr. When he and Thor went to visit Tyrs’ father to borrow an immense cauldron, they met Tyrs’ grandmother. She was described as being a giant jötun with nine hundred heads, clearly a troll.
Based on this, it seems that in Snorri’s view, all trolls were jötun females, but not all female jotnar were trolls. Typically the ones described as beautiful, and consorts of the likes of Freyr, Odin and Njord were not trolls. However, interestingly making it onto the list of troll-wives is Järnsaxa, lover of Thor and mother to the immensely strong Magni.
Besides Järnsaxa, there are a few other well known jotnar among the mentioned troll-wives. Hyrrokkin for example is the giant jötunn who pushed Baldurs’ burial ship into the sea when Thor wasn’t strong enough. Other than those two though, most of the jötun trolls are either known as evil, or they have really literal and derogatory names.
Top among the list of evil jotnar is possibly Grýla, known (especially in Iceland) to hunt and eat children. Later she would interestingly come to be closely associated with Christmas. Another more ominous name is Myrkritha (Dark rider), suggestive of someone riding through the darkness. Finally I want to include a more lighthearted, but no less cruel name, Bakrauf. Translated literally it would be ‘Behind cleft’, so basically that unlucky troll wife was named Butt-crack.
Bragi Encounters a Troll woman
In another part of the Skáldskaparmál, Snorri includes an exchange between the god Bragi and a Troll woman. It is used as a way of explaining a type of poetry. Like so many of the Old Norse poems, you almost need a handbook at the ready to understand the meaning. This exchange comes about late one evening when Bragi is out walking, and happens to meet a troll woman.
The troll woman hailed Bragi like this:
“They call me a troll,
moon of the earth-Hrungnir,
wealth sucker, of the giant,
destroyer of the storm-sun,
beloved follower of the seeress,
guardian of the “nafjord”
swallower of the wheel of heaven.
What’s a troll if not that?”
Bragi responded:
“Skalds do call me
Vidurr’s Shape-Smith,
Gautr’s Gift-Finder,
Bard not faulty,
Yggr’s Ale-Bearer,
Song’s Arrayer,
Skilled Smith of Verse:
What is a Skald but this?”
Other Species of Trolls
So, there seems to have been quite a fluid definition of who amongst the jotnar actually were trolls. In the same way, it’s not entirely certain that the trolls were only found among the jotnar.
Another group of beings found in the Norse myths that share many traits with trolls are the Dwarves, or Black elves (Svartálfar). Much like the jotnar, the Black elves knew magic. They also, like the jotnar, had a special relationship with stone, or mountains.
I haven’t found any direct link between Black elves and trolls. However, people’s understanding and idea of trolls evolved over time. As it did, they might have taken on many of the traits and customs previously attributed to Black elves.
The Black elves typically are believed to live underground, often using stones as a portal/doorway to their underground realm. This is much the same as at least later trolls, who would often live in caves.
Then there is the idea that trolls would turn into stone in sunlight, which is basically something “everybody” knows today. This could hardly have been the case for jotnar back in the Viking Age though. Both jötun men and women would turn up during daytime, so apparently not worried about the sun. Having said that, some jotnar were actually made of stone, yet would walk and talk like other jotnar.
The Dwarf Álviss Turning to Stone in Álvissmál
There is at least one story about an unlucky Black elf who is caught outside in the sunlight, and then turning to stone. Part of the Poetic Edda, the Álvissmál tells the story of the dwarf/Black elf Álviss (meaning all wise). There is some prelude to the story that has been lost, but he shows up at the god Thor’s door, demanding his daughter Thruds’ hand in marriage.
Apparently he has been promised her by others then Thor, and he challenges Álviss’ claim since he wasn’t there to promise her away. Then they agree that Thor will ask him some questions, and if Álviss can answer all of them, he will get to marry Thrud. Then Thor goes through a number of different questions, and as it turns out, he is really just stalling for time.
In the end, Álviss is able to answer all of Thor’s questions. However, as Thor points out rather triumphantly, he has forgotten the time, and the sun has risen. Realizing his mistake, Álviss then turns to stone.
Thor makes the observation about him being caught out in a way that implies this is a known fact. Black elves turn to stone in sunlight.
While hardly conclusive, it does seem like Black elves might, if nothing else, at least be part of the ancestry of the more modern trolls.
The Evolution of the Viking Age Trolls
As I’ve pointed out already, trolls were a definite thing in the Viking Age. We don’t quite know for certain if there were some strict rules about who were trolls, but it seems quite fluid. However, as the Viking Age ended, the belief in trolls and their power stayed strong.
In the 13th century law code created by the king Magnus the Lawmender (Magnus Lagabøte), trolls are mentioned several times. Frankly, trolls are mentioned once, and ‘trolldom’, meaning troll-sorcery, is mentioned twice.
One thing that was outlawed was to sit outside at night, conjuring up trolls to do your bidding. Furthermore, anyone caught using ‘trolldom’, or falsely accusing someone else of using it would also be punished. This seems very much a prelude to the much later witch trials conducted by the good Christians of the 16th and 17th centuries.
I really find this a fascinating aspect of how belief in both the gods and the broader Norse mythology evolved over time. Even though we today draw a convenient line, ending the Viking Age in 1066, the Vikings of the time wouldn’t have recognized this. For them, time went on, and even if they were more or less forced to adopt a new god, the old gods and beliefs lived on.
As time went on, trolls evolved into coming in different shapes and sizes, from the small ‘nisser’ living close to people, to the large mountain trolls. Trolls were firmly a heathen thing, and so apparently at times would throw large boulders at churches. This was reported well into the 16th and 17th centuries in Scandinavia.
I for one hope I will come across a friendly troll some day, certainly they are still out there, up to their usual mischief.
Featured image in Public Domain “Trolls by John Bauer 1915”
