Trollkyrka ("
Troll
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
's church") is a secluded
butte
__NOTOC__
In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word mea ...
-like rock in the heart of the National Park of
Tiveden
Tiveden is a long and wide densely forested rocky ridge in Sweden, throughout history notorious for its wilderness and dangers; historically a hiding place for outlaws. In historic times it, along with Tylöskog and Kolmården, formed the border b ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, which served as a pagan sacrificial ground (
horgr, see also
blót
(Old Norse) and or (Old English) are terms for " blood sacrifice" in Norse paganism and Anglo-Saxon paganism respectively. A comparanda can also be reconstructed for wider Germanic paganism.
A ' could be dedicated to any of the Germanic god ...
) for centuries after Christianity became the dominant religion in Scandinavia. It may have been used as late as the 19th century, when popular tradition still held the mountain to be off-limits for Christians.
According to Lidman (1972:52) old people used to say: "No Christian can go there. The mountains of the troll church belong to the heathen
troll
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
s. If a Christian ventures there, he will come to grief."
In fact, local tradition relates that the mountain was used not long ago for heathen rites and that anyone who was not initiated and saw it risked either to be buried in a bog in the forest or sworn into the brotherhood. These precautions clearly indicate that the rites took place as late as the period 1604–1735, which was a time when there was a penalty of death on practising such rituals. The rites are described in a folk poem documented by the folklorist Carshult (1941) when he documented the traditions on
Skaga stave church
Skaga stave church is a twice rebuilt medieval stave church in Tiveden, Karlsborg Municipality, Sweden. The original chapel was built in the 1130s during the Christianization of Scandinavia, but it was demolished in 1826 to combat persistent p ...
. It has later been published in Karlsson (1970:62) and Lidman (1972:52).
See also
*
Blót
(Old Norse) and or (Old English) are terms for " blood sacrifice" in Norse paganism and Anglo-Saxon paganism respectively. A comparanda can also be reconstructed for wider Germanic paganism.
A ' could be dedicated to any of the Germanic god ...
References
*Carshult, B.G. (1941) ''Undenäsbygden genom tiderna''.
*Karlsson, S. (1970) ''I Tiveden'', Reflex, Mariestad.
*Lidman, H. (1972) ''Gudanatt, dagar och nätter i Tiveden'', Askild & Kärnekull, Stockholm.
External links
The Trollkyrka Folk-Poem
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Scandinavian folklore
Norse paganism
Religious places