I, like everyone else, came to your Grapevine because of the volcano, but stayed for the stories; the more I see and hear about Iceland, the more I fall in love with it! Thank you Valur for bringing us into your wonderful world of mysterious folklore and starkly frozen beauty!!! 💕💞💓💗💖xxx
Have you watched the Norwegian film "Troll Hunter"? It stars Otto Jesperson and is very clever and funny. Done in the mock documentary "blair witch project" style. Many of those trolls have attributes you mention. I really enjoyed it,.
I really loved today’s stories about The Trolls. Especially the last one. It is a good reminder to not judge someone by their appearance and that a kindness can really have an impact on people … and Trolls. ♥️🇮🇸 … hope that you may do a video about The Hidden People/ Elves. 😉 Thank You Valur for these Excellent Stories and Thank You to Art for these Awesome Videos. Hi to Polly. 🐶😘👋
The troll who cried "This is my name!" to an anxious woman who finally guesses his name and he stomps himself right into the earth..----> This story is nearly exactly like "Rumpelstiltskin." That cannot be a coincidence.
One way of keeping kids (of all ages) interested during a trip to Iceland is to play 'spot the troll' in the lava fields. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to start seeing faces in the rock. Fun - at least until the light starts going and the fog rolls in... then the trolls start to become a bit too real. So which are tougher? Icelandic trolls or Norwegian trolls?
Thanks for doing this, Valur! I know I could get the books, but I love that you tell them while also showing off parts of Iceland. I recognize the lake you featured in this video and it gave me a warm feeling of familiarity. But yes, I’ll end up getting the books just because the stories are so rich in Icelandic lore. And, of course, there’s the ever lovable Polly!
What a nice story and a great spot for the video. A place where you can expect trolls. At least Polly is trying to find one. I have a book with illustrations from Brian Pilkington. It is about the Last Troll in the region of Borgarfjördur/Fossatún. His illustrations are so beautiful.
Thanks for sharing, sound similar to some people I've experienced in life ... so far, at eighty year on this planet. My GrandMaMa, told me these stories as well, over and again.
Thank you Valur, I too started to see your channel because of the Geldingadalir volcano 🌋. Your folklore and traditions are so interesting for me that I have subscribed to your channel. I really enjoy the way you speak English and I am impressed by how well you speak it. I don't think that I will be able to visit Iceland (but I would love to), so I am very thankful for your wonderful views of Reykjavik and other places. I too come from an island community and love our lifestyle, but sadly much of our native culture was destroyed about 180 years ago. Thank you from my island home of Tasmania.
Awesome landscapes behind. So obvious the land was once covered totally by glaciers and ice. Wonderful iron rich red volcanic rock underfoot. It all looks so beautiful on a good weather day w snow :)
So beautiful, it takes my breath away. Just one question. I get it: huge trolls who go from flesh to stone and back, eat humans, are terrified by bells; the thing that puzzles me is: Why are there small chains on the four corners of the church? To keep it in place?
I enjoyed this very much. Can you tell us the location? (NM, I figured it out from the name on the sign.). Beautiful cinematography as always, Art. And yes, after hearing the second story, I will always do my own wool.😂😳
I love watching anything that the Reykjavic Grapevine puts out. Especially when it's Valur & Polly & Art. It keeps me occupied while waiting for the next volcano. Happy New Year to everyone. Stay healthy & stay alive. 💖💖💖💖💖
My Dad is actually named after a giant Troll from Germany. A long, long time ago there lived a mighty troll named Bodo in the bohemian forest. One day Bodo saw the beautiful trollgirl Emma. He then said to himself: "Emma must become my wife. If she will not marry me, I will have to force her to." Bodo went to Emma's father and asked for the hand of his daughter. But the father did not agree. Bodo was full of anger. He thought: "How could I make Emma my wife?" He hid behind a Boulder and thought: "When I see her again, I will hunt her until she is out of breath. She has to become my wife, before there will be a full moon." Soon after Emma would ride by on her snow-white Horse. Bodo jumped out in front of her and smiled gruelly: "Emma, have you thought about it? Will you be my wife?" Emma did not say a thing, she lead her horse and rode away quickly. All the way through the thurungian forest, into the Harz-Mountainrow. Bodo followed her on his own horse, he was coming closer, soon he was only a hundred meters behind her. Emma whispered into her horses ear: "hold out, and save my life!" The horse jumped from mountain to mountain as quickly as it could. But suddenly it stood up, before it, there was a deep black canyon. The next mountain was too far across. Bodo was now imminently close: "You cannot escape!" he yelled. "You must become my wife, if you want it or not!" So she thought: "I'd rather be dead, than be his wife." She petted her horse once more and pushed her spores into its sides. The horse jumped in a huge arch and landed on the mountaintop on the other side. While it landed, it stomped its hoove deep into the mountain's stone. The mark is still visible today. Only the heavy golden crown that Emma wore on her head fell into the depths below. Bodo did not want to let Emma escape, so he jumped after her. But he fell deep into the mountain and drowned in the Harzriver, which is called Bode to this very day. The tale says, that Bodo was turned into a black hound and protects the crown until today. Many younglings have tried to save the crown from the Bode. They all had to die. When in dark nights the storm howls and deroots the pines, you can hear Bodo's howl too.
Would you please do a story about Selkolla, the seal head woman demon who lives near Holmavik? I stumbled across a stone in the hills west of there once. On it was a plaque with a description of a seal head woman demon thing and I'd like to know more. I've watched the video made by Sigurdur Atlason but perhaps its time this strange seal woman head thingy had some more exposure?
Funny, I always imagined Trolls as male. Like giants are usually described as males. Interesting to hear that in Iceland they are often described as females. Then, just as a free tipp, since in stories about Iceland the subject may come up more often: in English, there are no "sheeps". Both singular and plural is called "sheep". There can be the word "sheep's" of course, as in "the sheep's eyes...", which can again refere to one sheep or to many sheep. Its one of those trap door words that every language has, that gets you just when you think you have understood the rules of the language. :)
I was in Iceland October 2021 traveling the island in and Rv. One night my group pulled over in the middle of no where to see the northern lights. We stood outside for a while enjoying the night's. I went to pee behind the rv and I heard noises and felt like someone was watching me. I started hearing the rv door open and close. So I thought everyone went inside. When I finished up I went to the front to enter the rv and I saw someone standing there that I thought was my uncle still watching the lights. I continued inside and found that everyone was already inside the rv. I have no idea what was standing there but iv never been more sure of something in my life that it was real
Thanks for the stories. The second one reminds me of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumpelstiltskin. Did the Grimm Brothers ever visit Iceland? I like how the Icelandic stories pivot around religion (priests, Christmas Eve). It seems that they were designed to honor and and take jabs at the same time.
Which book in the RVG shoppe are these stories in? And are they originally from the tales Jón Árnason collected? Also, what happens to the magic belt of attraction after the story?
