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Sunday 18 November 2012

Norse Mythology

Coming slightly closer to home, these are some mythological beings from Norse legend, just because the Vikings and their lore are ever so entertaining


The Bergkonge

The Bergkonge, also known as the Mountain King, is a creature of lore that can assume the shape of a man wearing nothing but a cape made of leaves. He appears in the forests, seduces women who he finds alone, and brings them into the mountains with him. The women are never seen again. In its non-human form, the Bergkonge was said to have been monstrously huge, and kind of arachnid- or lizard-like, roaming in the forests and mountain ranges.


The Huldra

The Huldra is almost the female version of the Bergkonge, attracting men with her beautiful human form, long blonde hair, and crown of flowers. However, she also had a cow's tail, which made most men run in the opposite direction once they saw what was behind her. If you weren't fast enough and she caught you, the Huldra would take you up to the mountains and keep you captive up there until you agreed to marry her in a church of God. Once marrying her, she lost her tail, BUT she also turns into an incredibly ugly woman, which I find funny because it doesn't exactly take a mythical creature for that to happen sometimes.. But carrying on, in return for her being ugly, she would gain the strength of 10 men, so, quite useful.


The Troll

Trolls are kind of similar to ogres, but less aggressive, and mainly from Norway as opposed to England. There are different kinds of trolls though, some that looked like the ogres, and some that were smaller, more devious, and more human-looking. Often it was the ones that looked like the humans that were the most dangerous, although they usually live in the wilderness, in mounds, hills, caves, and mountainsides. Or the other kinds of trolls, the forest ones that like to hibernate near deep springs or rivers. Trolls were said to be temperamental, explaining the situation in the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff, in which a troll refused to let a small family of hungry goats cross his bridge to eat some grass.




juuuust kidding. here, for real:



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