Tag Archives: supernatural
Autumn is here and so are the ravens. Posted by hulda on Sep 19, 2012
Every year, as if heralding the oncoming autumn, ravens fly into towns in Iceland. They’ve lived all summer far away from humans but as the air grows cold they come back to live with us for the whole dark season. (A quick warning to begin with: this post will be full of raven photos.) There…
Ready, steady, recite! Posted by hulda on Sep 5, 2012
Did you know that the world tungl (= moon)* has been said to be the hardest word of Icelandic to rhyme? According to a story by Jón Árnason there’s only ever been one man capable of finding a rhyme for it, a famous skáld (= poet) called Kolbeinn Jöklaskáld (= Kolbeinn glacier poet). One time…
Sheep, shrubbery and Strandarkirkja. Posted by hulda on Sep 2, 2012
Now for the second part of our recent travels to the south! Hliðarvatn lakeside (pun intended) is not only fully of berries but of people picking them as well, yet they were almost impossible to see. The small hills and the thick undergrowth completely hid an adult, crouching person, and small children could run around…
Homosexuality in the viking era. Posted by hulda on Aug 16, 2012
Last weekend’s Gay Pride reminded me of another topic that I’ve been thinking of writing about for a while now: homosexuality in viking era Iceland. Despite of what some of the legends of the Norse gods such as Ása-Þór, Loki and Ódinn suggest, attitudes seemed to have been somewhat against it in everyday life and…
The trolls. Posted by hulda on Jul 16, 2012
Perhaps the most variable of all supernatural creatures of Iceland is tröll, a troll. Stories of them describe their size alone ranging from the size of a mountain to something resembling a very large human. Their behaviour varies likewise from friendly and loyal to solitary, hermit-like sages to beastly and violent man eaters. Sometimes trolls…
Is your neighbour an elf? Posted by hulda on Jun 22, 2012
Happy Midsummer/Solstice everyone! Unlike many European countries, this time of the year is not celebrated very much in Iceland, at least in comparison. There’s Þórláksmessa (the summer version of it – one is held on 20th June and another on 23rd December) held in the memory of Þórlák hinn helga Þórláksson, the patron saint of…
Beautiful and dangerous. Posted by hulda on Jun 5, 2012
Elves in the Icelandic lore are quite different creatures from what people have come to think of after reading Tolkien. Depending on the tale they can be either a little too interested in humans, kidnapping people or trying to lure them to live in their homes, which are built in rocks and cliffs, or even…