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Troll Cat
A troll cat is the familiar of a witch in Scandinavian folklore. Troll cats sucked milk from cows and spat it out in the witches' milk pails, and went into homes to lick up cream. Aside from cats, similar creatures include the milk rabbit, milk hare, and ball-shaped troll ball. Description Witches reportedly were able to create them from "human hair, nails, wood shavings, and the like",Kvideland and Sehmsdorf 176. and they were said to suck milk from cows and steal cream from households. Troll cats would then spit out the stolen milk into troughs next to the house.Lecouteux, ch. 5 The Norwegian names ''trollnøste'' and ''trollnøa'' indicate their shapes: those troll cats looked like balls of yarn.Alver 120. A other kind of troll cat had the appearance of a ordinary cat; but, unlike the ball-shaped troll cat, harming the cat-shaped troll cat would result in the same harm to the witch. In addition, it was thought that shooting a troll cat would cause milk to spray from its wound. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Familiar Spirit
In European folklore of the medieval and early modern periods, familiars (sometimes referred to as familiar spirits) were believed to be supernatural entities that would assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. According to records of the time, those alleging to have had contact with familiar spirits reported that they could manifest as numerous forms, usually as an animal, but sometimes as a human or humanoid figure, and were described as "clearly defined, three-dimensional... forms, vivid with colour and animated with movement and sound", as opposed to descriptions of ghosts with their "smoky, undefined form . When they served witches, they were often thought to be malevolent, but when working for cunning folk they were often considered benevolent (although there was some ambiguity in both cases). The former were often categorized as demons, while the latter were more commonly thought of and described as fairies. The main purpose of familiars was to serve th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scandinavian Folklore
Nordic folklore is the folklore of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It has common roots with, and has been mutually influenced by, folklore in England, Germany, the Low Countries, the Baltic countries, Finland and Sapmi. Folklore is a concept encompassing expressive traditions of a particular culture or group. The peoples of Scandinavia are heterogenous, as are the oral genres and material culture that has been common in their lands. However, there are some commonalities across Scandinavian folkloric traditions, among them a common ground in elements from Norse mythology as well as Christian conceptions of the world. Among the many tales common in Scandinavian oral traditions, some have become known beyond Scandinavian borders – examples include The Three Billy Goats Gruff and The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body. Beings A large number of different mythological creatures from Scandinavian folklore have become well known in other parts of the world, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hug (folklore)
In Scandinavian mythology, the hug refers to an individual's mental life, in some contrast to the soul, a term which carries more spiritual connotations. "''Hug''" is the Norwegian term; the Danish term is ''hu'', the Swedish ''håg''; Scandinavian languages have a word for soul that is cognate with the English. The ''hug'' is no simple concept and shows great variation, with different accounts and characteristics given in the literature from medieval literature to more recent folklore. It is central to the conception of magic, and can influence animate and inanimate objects. The ''hug'' manifests itself externally in a variety of possible forms; that of witches, for instance, sometimes took the shape of a cat.Alver 120. See also * Itse (Finnish paganism) *Troll cat A troll cat is the familiar of a witch in Scandinavian folklore. Troll cats sucked milk from cows and spat it out in the witches' milk pails, and went into homes to lick up cream. Aside from cats, similar creatures incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen
Peter Christen Asbjørnsen (15 January 18125 January 1885) was a Norwegian writer and scholar. He and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe were collectors of Norwegian folklore. They were so closely united in their lives' work that their folk tale collections are commonly mentioned only as "Asbjørnsen and Moe". Background Peter Christen Asbjørnsen was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. He was descended from a family originating at Otta in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal, which is believed to have come to an end with his death. He became a student at the University of Oslo in 1833, but as early as 1832, in his twentieth year, he had begun to collect and write down fairy tales and legends. He later walked on foot the length and breadth of Norway, adding to his stories. Jørgen Moe, who was born in Ringerike, met Asbjørnsen first when he was fourteen years old, while they were both attending high school at Norderhov Rectory. The building is today the site of Ringerikes Mus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johan Bojer
Johan Bojer (6 March 1872 – 3 July 1959) was a popular Norwegian novelist and dramatist. He principally wrote about the lives of the poor farmers and fishermen, both in his native Norway and among the Norwegian immigrants in the United States. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. Biography Bojer was born Johan Kristoffer Hansen in the village of Ørkedalsøren, now the town of Orkanger, Sør-Trøndelag county. The son of unmarried parents—Hans Christophersen Bojer and Johanna Iversdatter Elgaaen—he grew up as a foster child in a poor family living in Rissa near Trondheim, Norway. Bojer learned early the realities of poverty. His early years were spent working on a farm and working as a bookkeeper. After the death of his father in 1894, he took the surname Bojer. His literary work began with the publication of ''Unge tanker'' in 1893, and continued to gather strength through the 1920s. Because of the range of topics he addressed, he won critical a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tilberi
The tilberi (carrier) or snakkur (spindle) is a creature of Icelandic folklore, created by witches to steal milk. Only women can create and own them. The two terms are regional variants: both are used in eastern Iceland, 'tilberi' in the north and 'snakkur' in the south and west. There are no written mentions of the creatures before the 17th century, although one 17th-century writer mentions a witch being punished for having one in 1500. To create a tilberi, the woman steals a rib from a recently buried body early on Whitsunday, twists around it grey wool which she must steal for the purpose and keeps it between her breasts. (It is sometimes specified that the wool must be plucked from between the shoulders of a widow's sheep soon after its wool has been plucked.) The next three Sundays at communion she spits the sanctified wine on the bundle, which will come more alive each time.Simpson, pp. 170–71.. She then lets it suckle on the inside of her thigh, which creates a tell- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fuligo Septica
''Fuligo septica'' is a species of slime mold, and a member of the class Myxomycetes. It is commonly known as scrambled egg slime, or flowers of tan because of its peculiar yellowish appearance. It is also known as dog vomit slime mold, and is relatively common with a worldwide distribution, often being found on bark mulch in urban areas after heavy rain or excessive watering. Their spores are produced on or in aerial sporangia and are spread by wind. History and taxonomy The first description of the species was provided by French botanist Jean Marchant in 1727, who referred to it as "fleur de tan" (bark flower); Marchant also classified it as "des éponges" (one of the sponges). Carl Linnaeus called it ''Mucor septicus'' in his 1763 ''Species Plantarum''. The species was transferred to the genus ''Fuligo'' by German botanist Friedrich Heinrich Wiggers in 1780. Description and habitat Like many slime molds, the cells of this species typically aggregate to form a plasmodium, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Froghopper
The froghoppers, or the superfamily Cercopoidea, are a group of hemipteran insects in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. Adults are capable of jumping many times their height and length, giving the group their common name, but they are best known for their plant-sucking nymphs which encase themselves in foam in springtime. Taxonomy Traditionally, most of this superfamily was considered a single family, the Cercopidae, but this family has been split into three families for many years now: the Aphrophoridae, Cercopidae, and Clastopteridae. More recently, the family Epipygidae has been removed from the Aphrophoridae. Spittlebug nymphs These families are best known for the nymphal stage, which produces a cover of foamed-up plant sap visually resembling saliva; the nymphs are therefore commonly known as spittlebugs and their foam as cuckoo spit, frog spit, or snake spit. This characteristic spittle production is associated with the unusual trait of xylem feeding. Whereas most insec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norwegian Forest Cat
The Norwegian Forest cat ( no, Norsk skogskatt and ) is a breed of domestic cat originating in Northern Europe. This natural breed is adapted to a very cold climate, with a top coat of long, glossy, water-shedding hair and a woolly undercoat for insulation. The breed's ancestors may have been a landrace of short-haired cats brought to Norway about A.D. 1000 by the Vikings, who may also have brought with them long-haired cats, like those ancestral to the modern Siberian and Turkish Angora. During World War II, the Norwegian Forest cat was nearly extinct; then the Norwegian Forest Cat Club's breeding program increased the cat's number. It was registered as a breed with the European Fédération Internationale Féline in the 1970s, when a cat fancier, Carl-Fredrik Nordane, took notice of the breed and made efforts to register it. The breed is very popular in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, and France. It is a big, strong cat, similar to the Maine Coon breed, with long legs, a b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tilberi
The tilberi (carrier) or snakkur (spindle) is a creature of Icelandic folklore, created by witches to steal milk. Only women can create and own them. The two terms are regional variants: both are used in eastern Iceland, 'tilberi' in the north and 'snakkur' in the south and west. There are no written mentions of the creatures before the 17th century, although one 17th-century writer mentions a witch being punished for having one in 1500. To create a tilberi, the woman steals a rib from a recently buried body early on Whitsunday, twists around it grey wool which she must steal for the purpose and keeps it between her breasts. (It is sometimes specified that the wool must be plucked from between the shoulders of a widow's sheep soon after its wool has been plucked.) The next three Sundays at communion she spits the sanctified wine on the bundle, which will come more alive each time.Simpson, pp. 170–71.. She then lets it suckle on the inside of her thigh, which creates a tell- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witchcraft In Folklore And Mythology
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have used malevolent magic against their own community, and often to have communed with evil beings. It was thought witchcraft could be thwarted by protective magic or counter-magic, which could be provided by cunning folk or folk healers. Suspected witches were also intimidated, banished, attacked or killed. Often they would be formally prosecuted and punished, if found guilty or simply believed to be guilty. European witch-hunts and witch trials in the early modern period led to tens of thousands of executions. In some regions, many of those accused of witchcraft were folk healers or midwives. European belief in witchcraft gradually dwindled during and after the Age of Enlightenment. Contemporary cultures that believe in magic and the supernat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
