"And that’s how I found myself at the mercy of three terrible trolls. And they all argued with each other about how they would prepare us. Roast on a spit or just sit on each of us and crush into a flat cake. They argued for so long that the first rays of the sun began to peek through the trees… Pooh! And turned the trolls to stone!» Bilbo Baggins, hood. film "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"
Troll (Swedish). “Troll” – “charm”, “witchcraft”, according to another version “huge”) – is a mythological creature of German-Scandinavian mythology. The definition is quite vague, because trolls are almost as popular as orcs or elves and therefore there are a great many different descriptions of trolls. For the most part, trolls are depicted as large, taller than human, ugly giants, covered with tough gray or green skin. But there are also images of trolls that are smaller than a person, this is how the Danes saw them. The main distinguishing feature and source of pride of trolls is the presence of a large nose. Moreover, trolls’ noses come in different shapes, for example, “shoe” type noses (apparently, the Moomins originated from them), “eggplant” noses, hanging down to the chin or even lower; in some renegades from upper Germany, the nose resembles an oyster mushroom and ends in a pig’s snout.
Traditionally, trolls are divided into two types: mountain and swamp (also known as forest). Mountain people trace their ancestry to giants, so they are very large, live mostly alone and gather together only at the call of the leader, for example, to start a war. The swamps are about the size of a person or even less.
The troll’s build resembles that of a human. His arms are as long as his legs, and sometimes even longer. Sometimes there are warts, growths, bumps, as well as mosses and even trees on the body. Skin color can vary from flesh pink to dark green and black. All trolls have good night vision, since they are still more active at night. For the most part, trolls are omnivores, but have a preference for meat, which is easily torn by powerful fangs that sometimes protrude from the jaw.
Trolls vary greatly in terms of fur. Some are bald or make do with a tuft of hair on their heads (which is usually braided), others are proud of their luxurious beards, while others are completely overgrown with hair, excluding only the face and hands. Moreover, this has nothing to do with weather conditions: in northern Norway naked trolls predominate, and in Germany we have seen hairy ones more than once.
2. Appearance
"When you talk about trolls, they’re probably standing outside the door listening.» An old Swedish proverb
Legends about trolls originated in northern Europe, mostly in Scandinavian countries such as Sweden and Norway. But this does not mean that other countries did not know about such creatures as trolls. For example, in Germany, for several centuries, they believed that if some kind of dirty trick happened, trolls were certainly involved in it. But most of all mentions of trolls are in Norway, where the image of the classic troll was formed. These creatures have penetrated almost all areas of the culture of this country. There isn’t a single souvenir shop that doesn’t have troll figurines, and the many rocks and mountain ranges that Norway is rich in often have trolls in their names, as people say they are fossilized trolls. For example, the national tourist road "Troll Staircase" (Trollstigen), stretching among the mountain peaks in the Norwegian region of Vestland, is one of the most popular attractions in the southwest of the country. The narrow route, 106 kilometers long, is an example of engineering art: the serpentine has 11 sharp turns, bordered by low fences made of natural stone. In some areas the road width does not exceed 3.3 meters. In Sweden, the Troll Temple (Trollkyrka) has been preserved, where, according to some information, sacrifices were made to the trolls. Others, however, argued that it was the trolls who prayed in this temple.
Moreover, trolls that turn to stone from sunlight are present mainly in Norwegian mythology, while in other countries trolls can easily walk around in daylight. Another feature of Norwegian trolls is the presence of several heads, the number of which can reach more than 10 pieces!
But let’s return to the pedigree of trolls. Trolls are vaguely akin to the Scandinavian giants (aka Jotuns), a tribe with which the aesir gods, led by Odin and Thor, waged a centuries-long war that was supposed to end with Ragnarok. Many trolls broke their alliance with the giants; some out of love of freedom, and some simply out of bad character. There are rumors that trolls have goblins, gnomes, and kobolds in their family; and several authors even claim that trolls are descendants of people and giants.
The trolls inherited remarkable strength from the giants; even if the troll turns out to be “only” as tall as a person, he can easily tear off a person’s arm or leg with one jerk. The trolls also inherited intelligence from the giants, or rather the lack thereof. There are many legends and stories about the stupidity of trolls. However, individual trolls (the smaller ones – perhaps due to kinship with gnomes or other tribes) are quite capable of rivaling humans in intelligence.
3. How to defeat a troll?
“What exactly is your job?? — My job is to kill any troll who violates the border and comes out to people. — In a sense, you are a real Norwegian hero. Don’t you think so? “No, you’re wrong.” Hood. movie "Trollhunters"
Despite the fact that the troll is large and tall, it cannot be said that he is clumsy and slow. Nimble hands and great strength help trolls easily climb trees and rocks. If you meet a troll, it is better to run and not hide, because the troll runs at the speed of a person, but can easily smell you with his big nose. If you still cannot avoid a fight with the troll, then take note of the following: as mentioned, the troll has very tough skin, but that’s not all. Wounds on the troll heal very quickly. An angry troll simply does not notice small wounds, medium ones heal instantly. And to apply heavy ones you need to try very hard. Some stories say that injuries such as cutting off limbs or even the head are not fatal for a troll, because they can easily grow back. But there is one sure-fire remedy against trolls – fire, because fire stops rapid regeneration. There is information that ringing bells or a cross scares off trolls, but only if it is used by a pious person. But at the same time, there is an opinion that trolls do not like Christians most of all and go into a frenzy if they smell Christian blood.
4. Trolls in literature.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
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“Trolls did not come into being by themselves, they were brought out by the Eternal Enemy under the cover of the Great Darkness: they were brought out as a mockery of the Ents, just as orcs mocked the Elves.” John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, appendices to The Lord of the Rings
In the most famous and popular fantasy world of Middle-earth, trolls are large and evil creatures who were brought out by Morgoth in the First Age as a counter to the giant intelligent trees of the Ents. These trolls are stupid and evil creatures that are only good for carrying heavy objects, doing hard physical work or fighting. Their skin is thick, difficult to penetrate, and their blood is black. The trolls of Middle-earth do not have any developed social life, they speak the Black Speech, which the orcs taught them, and in the sunlight they turn to stone. However, not all trolls turned to stone. Towards the end of the Third Age, Sauron developed a race of trolls who could live safely in the sunlight. These trolls took part in the Battle of Minas Tirith.
There are also more “intelligent” specimens – “The Hobbit” tells us about them. It’s easy to see that these trolls have mastered coherent speech, use fire, but otherwise are by no means thinkers.
Robert Lynn Asprin
In Robert Asprin’s series of humorous novels about the MYTH Corporation, there are only 2 trolls: brother and sister, Korresh and Tanada. Korresh matches the canonical troll in everything except his brains. He is very smart and intelligent, but for such a troll in a fantasy world it is impossible to find a normal job, so he took the nickname Big Grudge and pretends to be a stupid thug. But Tananda is not like that at all. This is a very colorful and spectacular girl with green hair, and very loving. Works as an assassin.
Tove Janson
The most original look at trolls appears in the series of books by Finnish writer Tove Janson "Moomins". They are small, peace-loving creatures living a peaceful, pastoral life. Outwardly they look like small humanoid hippopotamuses.
Terry Pratchett
In Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, trolls are silicon creatures. Moreover, their thinking depends on the surrounding temperature; in the cold, trolls acquire almost a superbrain. They feed mainly on stones, although they can also eat humans. Therefore, “the most valuable thing about trolls is their teeth”. They are made of diamond. Trolls turn to stone as they age.
There are also references to trolls in the works of Clifford Simak, JK Rowling, Paul Andersen, the poem “Peer Gynt” and others.
5. Trolls in music
“Hey, troll, get ready for Yule! Stop bending the spruce! Time to drink ale!"The troll bends the spruce, "The troll bends the spruce"
The most famous musical works about trolls are the ancient Scandinavian ballad “Herr Mannelig”, which tells the story of a trollin (female troll) who was in love with the knight Mannelig and wanted to become a man, and Edvard Grieg’s composition “In the Cave of the Mountain King”, as part of the suite “Peer Gynt”.
Finnish, but Swedish-speaking Humpa-Folk-Black Metal band Finntroll completely dedicated their work to trolls and in particular the troll king Rivfader, who fights Christian people. One of the regular participants in the group’s songs are also the priests Aamund and Ketil, who from album to album receive injuries of varying degrees of severity from trolls. The lyrics of this group are militant and violent and filled with numerous battles with Christian people who persecute and oppress trolls.
Another group, already Norwegian, called Trollfest is less militant than Finntroll, and focuses on the fun pastime of trolls, mainly violent drinking. Their music is more rollicking and fast, less dark than Finntroll’s.
Among the Russian groups, it is worth noting the folk-rock group “Troll Bends Spruce” and its permanent founder and leader Kostya “Troll” Rumyantsev. Starting as a folk rock band, TGE later made their music heavier, adding elements of hard rock and metal. The lyrics of their songs are filled with various mythical creatures, funny situations and humorous characters, without losing their fantasy orientation. The band’s early albums focused heavily on beer. High-flown speeches, songs and gratitude were dedicated to him in writing the album. The band themselves call their genre beer folk.
From neighboring countries, it is worth noting the Belarusian Folk-metal group Litvintroll, who combine in their work both texts in Belarusian and English. Litvintroll song lyrics usually have a fairy tale or fantasy plot.
5. Trolls in games
Trolls are also present in numerous games based on books (although in most cases based on films). This mainly applies to the Lord of the Rings series and its gaming incarnations in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth I – II. This wonderful real-time RTS, which pays great attention to the original sources: the eponymous. film and original books by John Tolkien.
6. Trolls in cinema
Here I would like to talk about one film that is made in the genre of pseudo-documentary about trolls. This is the film "Trollhunters", which, not surprisingly, was filmed in Norway. It tells the story of three students who travel to the most beautiful places in Norway in order to make a film about hunters and poachers. But as the action progresses, they meet a mysterious man who reveals to them the secret that trolls are not a myth at all. These creatures live in Norway in strictly designated places. They even have their own government organization called Troll Watch (Troll Watch) which is dedicated to covering up all traces of trolls and hiding them from humanity. So, moving from one place in Norway to another, the main characters make a film about trolls, finding themselves in increasingly dangerous situations.
I would like to note the production of the film, which is not exactly original (the films “The Blair Witch Project”, “Monstro”, “Chronicle” also use the view from the camera of the shooter), but made very high quality, since the guys filmed with semi-professional equipment. This film contains a lot of information about trolls and shows their different types. It is clear that the people who made this film have great respect and love for both the nature of Norway and its cultural heritage.
Thank you all for your attention!
“We want to protect Norwegian nature… maybe some people like electricity grids, but not me… In Norway we are for electricity, but against power lines. They don’t last long. There are trolls in Norway, so these lines need to be constantly updated. Such things.» © Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of Norway, Oslo, June 25, 2010.
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To write this article, the following materials were used: article by Andrey Lensky, magazine “Best Computer Games”, No. 8 (57), August 2006; Wikipedia, article “Troll”; article “Who are trolls?» from the official website of Vera Kamsha; article “Trolls” from the Wikipalantir website and some other Internet resources.
Best comments
How unusual it is to see bibliographies on blogs)
In general, a great article) However, when I came in, I thought that it would again be about Internet trolls)
Just recently I learned about another group that dedicated its creativity to trolls. This is the Spanish group Schwarzwald. They play fairly standard, but very playful Folk-Troll Metal. In their creativity they use the accordion, harp and all sorts of pipes very organically and interestingly. As far as I know, they only have one demo recording so far.
"Trollhunters" is a very cool movie. Probably one of those that I love to watch.I advise everyone to take a look.
haha the Swedes were right when compared to internet trolls.Although their supply is also not large “azaza, lalka, sasai.."Well, you understand.