The Genre of Trolls - Doria

children or banishing trolls from their abodes (R II 325; SLS 22, 11; SLS
213, 184; SLS 280: 635–636; SLS 299: 33–34; SLS 338: 21–22). If the trolls are
in a capricious mood, and decide to delude a human walking in the wilds,
the illusion can be dispelled by saying “Jesus, bless me”, as in the story of a
woman thinking herself stranded on a rock so high and steep she hardly
dared descend it. Yet when she uttered the name of Jesus and asked for his
blessing, the rock vanished and she found her feet were planted on level
ground (Freudenthal 1889: 197). Other supernatural beings are likewise fond
of such pranks (Granberg 1935: 91–93). One woman unintentionally banished
the trolls by mentioning the name of Jesus (SLS 56: 153), and the
mere act of addressing the troll may have a similar effect (SLS 374: 11–12).
Being a pilfering breed, trolls steal both humans and cattle. One way of
getting the latter back is to cast the collar of the bell cow and three ignited
sticks into the oven; then the troll can no longer detain the cow, and it will
return home (Bygdeminnen 1912: 56–57). Things belonging to the bell cow
were generally important in rituals aimed at recovering cattle stolen by supranormal
beings (Forsblom 1926).
A woman pursued by a troll absolutely smitten with her finally managed
to fend it off by ingesting particular herbs, e.g. asafoetida and castor (SLS
215, 250; cf. Granberg 1935: 183–198). Another girl barely escaped being married
to the troll by guessing its name on the morning of the wedding:
130
En flicka blev en gång bortrövad av ett troll, som förde henne till sin boning i ett berg.
Trollet fattade behag till flickan och sade, att hon måste gifta sig med honom. Hon
tiggde och bad att slippa fri, men han lät icke beveka sig; varken böner eller tårar hjälpte.
Slutligen sade han dock till henne: “kan du gissa mitt namn innan vår bröllopsdag,
skall jag återge dig friheten.” Flickan gissade gång på gång. Hon nämnde namn på
både fåglar och djur, men det rätta fann hon ej. På morgonen av den dag, bröllopet
skulle stå, hörde hon trollet, som trodde, att hon sov, säga:
Min hustru kan gissa både fåglar och djur,
men icke kan säga herr Vippumbur.
Då bad hon att få gissa ännu en gång, vartill trollet samtyckte. Hon nämnde då hans
namn, och trollet måste giva henne friheten. (Bygdeminnen 1910: 41–42)
A girl was once abducted by a troll that brought her to its dwelling in a hill. The troll
started fancying her and said that she had to marry it. She begged and pleaded to be
released, but it did not relent; neither pleas nor tears helped. Finally it nevertheless said
to her: “if you can guess my name before our wedding day, I will give you back your
freedom.” The girl guessed again and again. She mentioned the names of both birds
Description of the Troll Tradition