Magical Creatures of Scandinavia: Beyond Trolls

For centuries, the people of Scandinavia have believed that beyond their thresholds lay another world, inhabited by supernatural beings. While trolls — the most famous of these creatures — have become emblematic of the Nordic countries over time, they are far from the only magical inhabitants. The forests of Sweden, the hills of Denmark, the mountains of Norway, and the seas that lap their shores all harbour their own magic creatures.

The systematic collection of Scandinavian oral folklore first emerged during the Romantic era. Throughout the 19th century, compendiums of folk tales, medieval ballads, and local legends were published. Writers, poets, composers, and artists drew inspiration from narratives about magical creatures, reinterpreting and reshaping them to imbue ancient motifs with contemporary relevance.

The images of magical creatures remain an integral part of today’s Scandinavian cultural heritage. In Sweden, Christmas presents are delivered to children by the jultomte, a traditional gnome-like figure, while in Denmark and Norway this role falls to the household spirits — julenisse.

The oil field discovered on Norway’s continental shelf in 1979 was named ‘Troll’, while the renowned Swedish outdoor clothing company Fjällräven named one of its collections ‘Bergtagen’ — a term literally meaning ‘taken to/by the mountain’ which in Scandinavian folklore refers to those who were abducted by subterranean creatures.

This lecture will introduce you to the narratives of Scandinavian folk traditions, exploring the magical creatures that inhabit fairy tales, small folklore stories — tales of alleged encounters with nature spirits — and medieval ballads.

During the lecture we shall examine how trolls evolved from terrifying giants into guardians of nature, explore who the ‘subterranean creatures’ really are, and discover what happens when a human crosses paths with the hidden inhabitants of wild places.

Furthermore, we shall explore the works of authors, artists and composers whose creative output was inspired by tales of magical beings, including Hans Christian Andersen, Henrik Ibsen, Selma Lagerlöf, John Bauer, Theodor Kittelsen and Edvard Grieg.

Lecturer 

Olga Ermakova is a developer of such courses as ‘Norwegian Poetry’ and ‘Literature in Nynorsk’. She has been teaching ‘History of Scandinavian Literature in the XVI–XIX Centuries’ for over twenty years. The lecturer’s research expertise encompasses Norwegian literature and oral folk traditions of the XVII–XVIII centuries, religious texts, contemporary Norwegian literature, and the reflection of Norwegian national identity in language and literary works. 

The event will be held online in Russian with simultaneous translation into Spanish.

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