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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Fae Creatures Norwegian Lore

What I am about to tell you about is not much known for those who are unfamiliar with norse mythology or scandinavian lore in general.

Most on here are familiar whit fae, fairies, or elves or even trolls for that matter, i'm will tell a bit about what they are called in my home country Norway and give the norwegian and english name if possible and a small description about what they can do and how they look like.

In norwegian we don't call these creatures for fae in general but rather "underjordiske" = those who live beneath the ground "vetter"= part of the same meaning but these are more known to be a smaller kind and "huldrefolk" = was a common phrase for such creatures

Rise = is a known as a shapeshifter who could change forms from a hideous shape of a man in to a beautiful white horse, known for luring children and maidens a like lure them into his little lake by the moors or the deep forest, his goal to drown them and then eat them

Fossekall = or directly translated to a waterfall bard, this one could be seen as young boy playing on a wooden flute and could trick children to his roaring waterfalls and make them drown

Nøkken = this one actually has gotten an english name already better known has the Nix just like the Waterfall bard and the Rise he lures children and some maidens on to their main territory water and their main goal is to drown them and then eat them but the Nix also has another dwelling spot more specifically a well.

Lys Alver = Light elves known for living in the forest and being able to help people whit getting better crops and a better harvest, sacrificial gifts was a regular occurence about a 1000 years ago when scandinavians was not completely converted in to christianity as of yet. their looks are variously described but mostly known for being fair and light haired sound familiar does it?

Svart Alver = Black elves in comparison to the light elves these kind of elves are discustingly ugly creatures they usually keep themselves away from sun light and prefer dark murky mountain caves instead of a bright clearing
Dverger = Dwarves now these are familiar to you i hope? and as in most stories and myths they are known as very good handcrafters whit making different tools and armours described as a having the height of a child

Huldra = is in a way the norwegian version of a siren she resides in the forests and being fair and kind to those who show her respect but those whom disrespect her she can become dangerous and vengeful. she is described as a beautiful looking woman long hair and a pretty dress a beautiful smile but the only thing that is different about her is that if you are lucky you might be able to see her cow tail this is the only way to know that she is not a regular human woman a lot of en over the centuries have claimed to be seduced by Huldra which was usually caused by using her alluring charms to get young and fair men even those poor married ones to follow her into the forest and get the men in to a trance like state so they could have sex whit her.

Nisse = can be somewhat compared to the leprechaun in irish folklore but the norwegian nisse does not have a pot of gold at hand, but is mostly seen as a farm guardian whom when the farmer is ill the nisse makes sure the animals on the farm are well and might even feed the animals the nisses main job is to watch the humans and the animals welfare while being on the farm but the only pay a nisse demands is once a year on the 24th december or christmas eve is to get a bowl of porridge and some fruit, this can be seen as a thank you for what the nisse helps the farm whit, but if you do not give porridge to the nisse oh then i do feel sorry for you, then nasty pranks are on their way. some say it is about the size of a small child whit a beard and a top hat is usually red, can look like a little old man.

Jotun\Troll = this is the norwegian version of giants but unlike giants in other cultures, norwegian giants actually die when the sun rays hit them and they turn to stone or some say they turn in to mountains.

Ok this is what i have for now but there are many other things I can tell you because this is just a small part of the norwegian fae creatures

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