Orð og tunga - 2023, Qupperneq 14

Ármann Jakobsson: Cursing with trolls in Njáls saga 5
these meanings are interconnected and similar, and some may be old­
er than others, but the ‘core meaning’ of the word would have been of
little interest for those thirteenth­ and fourteenth­century Icelanders
who used the word. The word’s various meanings all co­exist in the
minds of the saga audience, who may not have regarded any single
one of them as the core meaning. So it is interesting to look at those
diverse meanings floating around in late­medieval Icelandic culture.
In thirteenth­, fourteenth­ and fifteenth­century sagas, the word
troll was used for heathen demigods (in Jómsvíkinga saga), berserks
(in Sörla saga sterka), cannibals (in Orms þáttr Stórólfssonar), hea­
thens (in Óláfs saga Tryggvasonar), heretics (in law codes), possessed
animals (in Hrólfs saga kraka), strongmen from distant countries (in
Kjalnesinga saga), antisocial defilers of wells and springs (in Hálfs
saga ok Hálfs rekka), giants (in Gunnars saga Keldugnúpsfífls), vam­
pires (in Harðar saga), witches (in Eyrbyggja saga) and unidentified
hostile beings on a killing spree (in Hrólfs saga Gautrekssonar). Last
but not least, people referred to their enemies as trolls (in Grettis saga)
without necessarily specifying which of the aforementioned twelve
types they mean.
What is abundantly clear from the list of diverse significations of
this single word is that a troll is not always a particular species or race
of humanoids. The list includes animals, paranormal beings and hu­
mans of other races as well as Icelanders. A troll might, therefore, be
human. There are trolls in several of the noble genealogies of Land­
námabók and the Sagas of Icelanders. A troll may be a Sámi or a Finn
but does not have to be. A troll might be an undead person who used
to be your neighbour. A troll might also be the pleasant­looking lady
who is your current neighbour.6 Today some may believe that the
trolls live in the mountains, but in medieval sagas they can also be
found on your doorstep, making every day slightly more dangerous
for everyone.
The only attributes all these beings share are a connection with
magic and their fundamental hostility. Medieval trolls may not all
be large, savage or physically strong, but they are all dangerous, and
they all either practise magic or are created by the magic of others.
Law codes from the late thirteenth century include a ban both on
awakening or raising a troll and on having supper with one (Diplo­
6 All these examples are taken from Ármann Jakobsson (2008), and further cases can
be found in the online dictionary of the Arnamagnæan Commission, Dictionary of
Old Norse Prose (= ONP online).
tunga25.indb 5 08.06.2023 15:47:14