Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend (Volume 15) (The Nordic Series)

by Reimund Kvideland

Book Overview

An entertaining collection of over 400 folk tales of legends, stories, and magic. Translated from the original Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish, this highly acclaimed work is perfect for bedside or... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816619670
• ISBN13: 9780816619672
• Release Date: February 1991
• Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press
• Length: 456 Pages
• Weight: 1.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.1" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

The Art of the Folklore

A sure good folklore was thought to be deeply rooted in the soul of the people as a natural force. The threads of kinship are woven together in these Scandinavian beliefs and legends. They do represent rural oral traditions. This is a book of extreme importance to anyone interested in Scandinavian history. Dag Stomberg St. Andrews, Scotland

Reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm

"Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend", Kvideland & Semsdorf editors. A fascinating collection of over 400 Scandinavian folktales and stories. To paraphrase what the Editors state in the introduction, this compellation is one of the first modern collections of tales covering the totality of Scandinavia, vs. several others that are country specific. Not unlike Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's collection of folk tales, these stories run the gambit of morality plays, teaching tools for children and adults to just interesting and fun. Some are simple common sense applications to everyday life. Unlike many of the Grimm's stories, (or Sturluson's works, for that matter), most of these stories have not got that heavy handed Christian Church influence that so often changes the original intent of the tale. Conversely, the stories that do deal with Church subjects, the Devil etc, have not been modernized to the point where the original folk wisdom fails to shine through. The majority of these tales are stories that had been told around camp fires and villages for a thousand years or more. These stories have evolved as time went on, as all oral traditions do. Now, having said this, it must be remembered that these works have been written down for several hundred years or so and have an oral history that stretches back into the mists of ,"AGO", as in," Once upon on a time, a long, long time ago". This was a time when children, or adults for that matter, were not sheltered from the realities of life, sickness and death. Some of the tales are quite, (no pun intended), Grimm. So, if you have a wimpy sheltered child that needs a trophy for placing 12th in a race so their self-esteem wont be shattered and the rest of their lives ruined, you may want to find another venue for story time. Another aspect of the book I enjoyed was that while most of these stories were rather brief, all were well remarked on and footnoted. This was a delightful change from many of the works available today. All and all, highly recommended for anyone interested in the folk history of Northern Europe. In Frith, Spence The Elder "Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc" M. Addams

A collection of Nordic folk-belief

Inside this tome of ancient lore you will find a vast sampling of common mythological and folk belief from all across the region of Scandinavia and Iceland. The subject matter varies from superstitions, magical practices, supernatural beings, and regional and national legends. The subject matter is vast, there is only brief discussion of the historical and cultural significance of the topics and tales within, but this book would become an entire encyclopedia of Nordic folklore, if that were the case. This is the type of book which will surely spark your interest for further research into the subject. An observation on folklore, pertaining to contemporary pop-culture and religious perceptions: Many readers will recall the idiotic fussing which certain types of "Christians" made over the "Harry Potter" books, in recent years. This book features a few stories about Saemundr the Wise, an Icelandic Catholic priest, ...who was ALSO a WIZARD. There is a large cycle of folklore about Saemundr, in which he utilizes his skills as priest and as a WIZARD, to decieve the devil. In fact, one of the primary stories of Saemundr, describes the circumstances of his training: When Saemundr was studying in France to become a priest (probably at Troyes), the Black School appeared in that area. It was run by the devil, and the student learned Black Magic. The Black School was a stone and earth mound-like structure, which materialized at certain places and times in the mortal world. Only a small number of students could enter. Once inside, the Black School disappeared, and the students were sealed up inside for a long period of time (a year, or several years). There was absolute darkness inside, the only light being the illuminated words on the pages of the books, which glowed like fire when read. A large hairy hand would frequently appear and provide food or books to the students. At the end of the alloted time, the door (a hatch in the ceiling) would open and the students would rush out, as the devil would calim the last one out. Saemundr announced that he would be the last. The door opened, the students climbed the latter, and escaped. Saemundr had hung his coat on his shoulders, and rushed up the latter behind the others. The devil said "You are mine!" and grabbed the coat. Saemund slipped out, and dove through the door. The door slammed shut behind him. Other variants of the tale, say that Saemundr did indeed stay, and learned even more Black Magic from the devil. Now, Saemundr was a Medieval super-hero. Every tale about him describes how he used his intellect, religion, and MAGIC ...to defeat the devil. The tales most often involve Saemundr using his skills and status to rescue a member of his church. Saemundr ...is a CHRISTIAN WIZARD! These Saemundr tales date back to the time when the Viking Sagas were finally being written down in Iceland (early Middle Ages). Yet, ...some silly old church-ladies will have you believe, that reading Harry Potte