Toell the Great ( et, Suur Tõll) in

Estonian mythology Estonian mythology is a complex of myths belonging to the Estonian folk heritage and literary mythology. Information about the pre-Christian and medieval Estonian mythology is scattered in historical chronicles, travellers' accounts and in eccles ...

is a great giant hero who lived on the Baltic Sea island of

Saaremaa Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the isla ...

Legend

He lived in Tõlluste village with his wife Piret. He tossed huge rocks everywhere, mostly aiming for his archenemy Vanatühi or other enemies of Saaremaa people. Tõll was king of Saaremaa but he lived as a common farmer. He often visited his brother Leiger on the neighboring

Hiiumaa Hiiumaa (, ) is the second largest island in Estonia and is part of the West Estonian archipelago, in the Baltic Sea. It has an area of 989 km2 and is 22 km from the Estonian mainland. Its largest town is Kärdla. It is located within ...

(Dagö) island. He was so tall that he could almost walk there (The Soela strait has passageways only 2-3m deep, and is about 6km across). His walking stick was a 5 fathom

spruce tree A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfamil ...

trunk. Tõll was always kind and ready to help, but very hot-tempered. He loved to eat cabbage, drink beer and go to the

sauna A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...

(his wife was always busy gathering him sauna stove rocks).

Death

When an enemy decapitated him, he put his head on his sword and walked to his grave, which is supposed to be somewhere in Tõlluste. When Tõll died, he promised to rise from grave and help people in case of war. But naughty children made fun of him by yelling "Tõll, Tõll, wake up, there is a war in the yard". Tõll rose, grew angry and went back to his grave, swearing never to come back.

Theories

It is supposed that stories about Toell the Great are based on historical very tall elder of Saaremaa. Sometimes he is connected with local German (or Germanized) noble family Toll. Some members of that family are told to have been very tall (more than 2.10 meters). Tõll and Toll can be found as surnames in present day Saaremaa.

Modern day

In Ninase village there are two old windmills reshaped into the figures or Tõll and Piret. Newlyweds of Saaremaa go there to pay tribute to the mythical heroes of their island. Suur Toll

* Toell the Great has inspired the cartoon movie '' Suur Tõll'' (Tallinnfilm 1980). * Icebreaker ''Suur Tõll'' is a museum ship in Tallinn. * As of 2009, three of Estonia's most high class hotels (

Pädaste Pädaste (german: Peddast) is a village on the Estonian island Muhu. It is located on the southern coast of the island by the Gulf of Riga. Administratively, Pädaste belongs to Muhu Parish, Saare County Saare County ( et, Saare maakond or ''S ...

Manor, Swissôtel Tallinn, and Hotel Schlossle) have begun to offer the Suur Tõll special to tourists upon request. This consists of a six-hour, custom-tailored sauna session and three cabbage-inspired meals per day, complete with two pints of some of Estonia's finest beers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toell The Great Estonian mythology Estonian folklore Saaremaa Estonian giants