Iceland Part 3: Folklore, Legends & Mythical Beings
Expect the Unexpected
The culture of Iceland is richly influenced by folklore, legends of “hidden” beings, and ancient traditions that have passed from one generation to the next. Given its isolated geographical position in the sub-Arctic, Iceland remained largely unaffected by the modern world until WWII. Despite the historically remote location of their nation, Icelanders rank among the highest educated people on earth.
Icelanders are renowned for their belief in mythical beings – most notably the huldufólk (hidden folk), elves, and trolls. Statistics vary, but the majority of Icelanders agree on one point: They DO NOT DISBELIEVE that the legendary unseen beings coexist with them in a parallel dimension.
Given their raw beauty and enchanting folkloric charisma, it is not surprising that the Reynisdrangar sea stacks on the south coast of Iceland, attract visitors from around the globe. According to legend, the basalt rock formations have an unusual origin.
Long ago, three trolls named Skessudrangur, Laddrangur, and Langhamar moved from the Scandinavian Northlands to Iceland in search of a new life and more adventure. They established themselves in the rocks and caves near the black sands of Reynisfjara Beach on the southern shore of the island. This was not good news to the human residents in the area because trolls could wreak havoc and cause rampant fear to spread.
The trolls would turn into STONE if they were exposed to daylight, so all their mischief was done at night, mostly during the darkest hours.
Typically, trolls were grotesque-looking creatures of humanoid stature, with cantankerous, volatile dispositions and voracious appetites for eating human children. Usually quite dim-witted, trolls could become CHARMING TRICKSTERS when luring unsuspecting, innocent children into their caves to be eaten.
One dark night, the trolls, Skessudrangur, Laddrangur, and Langhamar, were being mischievous with a three-masted ship in the chilly North Atlantic waters off the shore of Reynisfjara Beach. They wanted to drag the big ship onto land and, no doubt, they had sinister intentions for the crew.
Their endeavor was proving to be more strenuous than they anticipated. Forgetting all about their nemesis - daylight - they got caught in the water as the first RAYS of SUNSHINE appeared on the horizon.
ALL THREE TROLLS TURNED TO STONE, along with the ship – creating the site in the water known as Reynisdrangar.
What keeps the folktales and legends of Iceland thriving, aside from the obvious curiosity of tourists?
Icelandic folklore tales and legends usually carry messages with MORAL LESSONS and VALUES or RESPECT for the ENVIRONMENT.
For example, the Legend of the Trolls of Reynisdrangar reinforces lessons for children. The coastal area surrounding Reynisfjara Beach has extremely rugged terrain riddled with lava fields, steep cliffs, basalt caverns, and caves. These areas would make TREACHEROUS playgrounds for children.
Furthermore, Reynisfjara Beach is notorious for its SLEEPER WAVES - huge, mega-powerful wave surges that appear WITHOUT WARNING and have claimed hundreds, possibly thousands, of lives over the years!
In fact, since 2017 Reynisfjara’s sleeper waves have caused five deaths, according to Reykjavik’s popular Grapevine Magazine.
Given such imminent danger, it is not surprising that Icelandic parents resorted to giving their children such stern admonitions to be home before dark and be wary of gruesome child-eating trolls living in the unstable rocks and caves on the beach.
Their steadfast belief in trolls has kept many children in Iceland safe.
Scare the snot out of the kids so they do what they’re supposed to do!?
Wow! That is a harsh way of accomplishing the goal.
Another reason that Icelanders remain attached to their folklore and legends is because they have exclusively kept and maintained their ORIGINAL LANGUAGE from its inception.
To put this in perspective, consider how difficult it is to read and understand a Shakespearean play that was written in the 1600s. Imagine trying to understand what someone wrote in the 9th century!
EVERY ICELANDER CAN READ THE ORIGINAL OLD ACCOUNTS WRITTEN IN MEDIEVAL TIMES OF LEGENDS AND FOLKTALES. There is no guesswork in what was said, no changing of the stories. The stories of old were written down in the Edda Manuscript of Prose by Snorri Sturluson c. 1220.
The famous Edda Manuscript of Prose, written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, contains the Icelandic Sagas that depict historical accounts of life in Iceland during the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries. In addition to being written in authoritative, realistic form, the Icelandic Sagas also have some elements of mythical fantasy, with bigger-than-life main characters and grand-scale battles or obstacles to overcome. Inevitably, the underlying themes of the Sagas are honor, glory, or revenge.
Mythical fantasy? Bigger-than-life main characters? Yes, in addition to its value as a historical record, the Edda Manuscript of Prose also contains stories about FERROCIOUS BATTLES between the Vikings and the huldufólk (hidden folk), elves, and trolls. These stories form the folklore tales that have been shared with EVERY Icelandic generation.
Given that Iceland’s most cherished and oldest history book contains accounts of mythical unseen beings, it is hardly surprising that for the past thirteen hundred years, many Icelanders claim they, too, have had PERSONAL EXPERIENCES with ethereal beings that live alongside them in a parallel realm.
Unless you’ve been living on an isolated island other than Iceland, even YOU have been exposed to the characters of the Icelandic Sagas. How? J.R.R. Tolkien drew from the stories in the Edda Manuscript when he wrote The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and C.S. Lewis did likewise when he wrote the seven novels that comprise the Narnia Chronicles. Both men studied Icelandic and Old Norse in order to interpret the Edda Manuscript before they wrote their famous books.
After Iceland became a Christian nation in the year 1000 AD it became necessary to integrate mythical beliefs in with the new government-mandated religion. A Biblical explanation was assigned to the origins of the huldufólk (hidden folk).
The story begins with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. One day God was walking in the garden and went to visit Adam and Eve. During the visit God asked to meet the couple’s children. Eve had been bathing the children, but she hadn’t finished bathing them all. So, she hid the unbathed children because she was too embarrassed to introduce them to God. Eve then introduced only the clean children.
“Are there any children I haven’t met yet?” God asked.
Eve said, “No.”
Of course, being omniscient, God knew that he was being tricked and declared, “Those who you hide from me shall also be hidden from men.”
Eve’s hidden children became invisible and fled to the hills, the moors, and the rocks.
Iceland’s huldufólk (hidden folk) are descended from these children. THEY CAN ONLY BE SEEN BY HUMAN EYES IF THEY WANT TO BE SEEN.
There is a distinction between the huldufólk (hidden folk) and the álfar (elves) in Iceland, although BOTH ethereal creatures are mistakenly called elves.
The álfar (elves) are the typical little fellows with bells on their shoes, pointy hats, and pointed ears. They are famous for helping Santa Claus at his North Pole toy workshop. There are thirteen different species of these spritely little guys and they range in size from three inches to three feet tall. Similar to the huldufólk, elves exist alongside humans in a parallel dimension. They make their homes in the rocks and, provided they are left alone they don‘t generally stir up trouble.
Be forewarned! Elves DO NOT like people messing with their environment and they don‘t hesitate to express their irritation. Icelanders can cite endless stories about the sudden CALAMITIES that have besieged those unfortunate enough to overstep the territorial boundaries of the elves. (eg. failure of equipment, rock showers & slides, inexplicable accidents, 70,000 dead fish deposited on the ground overnight, crop failures, loss of livestock, personal accidents, and many more problems.)
Hmmm... perhaps there‘s more to the Christmas Elf on the Shelf than meets the eye?
In contrast, the huldufólk closely resemble humans in appearance. However, on average, they tend to be tall, lean, fair-complected, and strikingly attractive.
Huldufólk are known to be more interactive than the elves and they can become visible to people when and if they choose to. Huldufólk have a longer life span than humans, but they do experience death. Although they live in the rocks, their lifestyle emulates that of their Icelandic human counterparts. They run their farms and fisheries, raise their livestock, value their families, take care of their children, and attend church.
The huldufólk are FIERCELY territorial about protecting their homes and their dwellings. They can be very NASTY enemies. The tales of their revenge have been told for centuries and Icelanders are careful to avoid triggering the wrath of the huldufólk.
The most publicized case of a territorial intrusion upon the hidden people involved plans to build a highway connecting the Reykjavik suburb of Garðabær to the Álftanes Peninsula on the Atlantic coast.
The huldufólk protested vehemently to Ragnhildur Jónsdóttir, a self-proclaimed elf interpreter. The planned highway would PASS RIGHT THROUGH the huldufólk’s rock, known as Ófeigskirkja.
For hundreds of years, this 70-tonne boulder served both as their guiding beacon through the rugged Gálgahraun lava field and as a significant huldufólk church.
Oh oh! Iceland, this sounds like a BIG PROBLEM!
Jónsdóttir promptly took the huldufólk’s concerned message to the appropriate authorities and the SUPREME COURT of ICELAND ordered the immediate HALT of the construction until the matter could be settled. Icelanders are SERIOUS about NOT messing with the huldufólk! (From thereon the boulder Ófeigskirkja became known as “The Elf Church.”)
EIGHT YEARS LATER the case was finally resolved in the Supreme Court of Iceland with an amicable agreement between the Elves (huldufólk) and the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration. With care and precaution the gigantic rock Elf Church known as Ófeigskirkja was moved to a new huldufólk approved location. The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration received so many inquiries about its position on the huldufólk that it created a five-page standardized reply.
According to Folklore professor, Terry Gunnell at the University of Iceland, the wide acceptance of the existence of elves in Iceland is understandable.
“This is a land where your house can be destroyed by something you can't see (earthquakes), where the wind can knock you off your feet, where the smell of sulfur from your taps tells you there is invisible fire not far below your feet, where the northern lights make the sky the biggest television screen in the world, and where hot springs and glaciers `talk.` In short, everyone is aware that the land is alive, and one can say that the stories of hidden people and the need to work carefully with them reflects an understanding that the land demands respect.”
I sincerely hope you have enjoyed this three-part series about Iceland, the Land of Fire and Ice. It is a beautiful country with a unique and fascinating culture. Please keep Icelanders in your prayers as they are currently dealing with several large volcanic eruptions.
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Thanks again for the read. I always learn something new. Didn't know that Icelanders can read ancient texts b/c their language hasn't changed over the years.
I like the mythology of the trolls. My wife, Auntie M, has a Spanish children's podcast and it would be fun to have a Troll episode.
Cheers
Hmm, I guess that this is a logical result of intelligent people with lots of time on their hands.
As always interesting and well written!