#nordic folklore

[emmarose17]

In May I worked on touching up my acrylic paintings. Here's my first attempt at the Nøkken sitting in a still body of water playing his fiddle.

[themeeplord]

Renlav troll

-

It was a while ago that I last drew a little troll like this. this one was so fun to create! I hope I can find the energy and motivation to draw more creatures/oknytt inspired by or from nordic folklore and stories.

[loki-erlking]

Anyone have any book recomdations with Folk Gods and Monsters? Folk horror books or simmilar things

[universalambients]

Larvik, 1839

[rodbaldander]

WATER MONSTERS: DAY 06

KRAKEN

"One of the best-known sea monsters, native to the frozen Nordic seas.

Shapeshifter, turns into a whale, a snake and even a ship.

They migrate to warm seas to breed, but it is uncommon in Brazil."

[zachfett]

Bramble: The Mountain King (2023, Dimfrost Studio)

An excellent, gorgeous (and very grim) Nordic folklore adventure, I'd highly recommend it especially if you liked Little Nightmares. Took me about 4 hours to beat, though I missed a couple secrets.

[alltingfinns]

It’s April. Which means Walpurgis is approaching. For those who don’t know, basically a Germanic (I think?) spring holiday, that is especially popular in the Nordic countries. In Sweden it’s generally celebrated with bonfires and copious amounts of alcohol. But more importantly for this post it is strongly associated with a traditional spring song, originally a 19th century poem set to an older folk melody. The poem is about the bitter sweetness of a lost love set against a background of nature in spring and with folkloric elements. Usually most people just sing the first verse, but the most beautiful recording of this song includes the second verse (time stamp 1:25) and that in particular has given me destiel brainrot for a while now.

Hjärtat vill brista, The heart wants to burst

Ack när den sista, Oh when the last

Gången jag hörde kärlekens röst, Time I heard the voice of love

Avskedets plåga, The agony of parting

Ögonens låga, The flame of the eyes*

Mun emot mun vid klappande bröst, Mouth against mouth by beating chests

*) In Swedish we don’t specify the ownership of body parts the way English does. If I’m moving an arm it’s generally assumed to be my own. This gives a little ambiguity in the text, is it the eyes of both of them or just the loved one or just the narrator?

It may just be the “agony of parting” or the overall bittersweetness of the song, but I keep thinking.

Side note: there’s a recurring bit of Strömkarlen (the man in the stream) playing his musical instrument, sharing the sorrows, as he watches/sighs over mountain and valley. This is a folklore figure also known as Näcken, a beautiful, young and naked man who stands in streams, rivers, etc. Using his musical instrument (usually a violin or similar) to lure his victims into drowning. Very popular art motif. Also comes in variations across Northern and Central Europe, including horses like the kelpie or bäckahästen (the brook horse).

[oneykah]

[hapalopus]

Hooooowww did people 1) hear the folksong Valravnen about a knight who's been transformed into a bird (likely an eagle, not a raven) and can only break the curse by killing a baby, 2) see that one (1) now-extinct noble family referred to their heraldic beast, a wolf/bird, as a 'valravn', and 3) read one single 1800s countryboy's explanation that valravnen is like an evil valkyrie, and SOMEHOW extrapolate from those three wildly unrelated sources that "The Valravn" (because it's never a folkloric concept with different interpretations, it's always a single specific creature) is a were-wolf/raven who haunts battlefields to drink the blood of slain warriors????

Please stop depicting 'the' valravn when you don't even know what it is, I'm begging on my fucking knees, I hate the way recent Danish folklore-inspired popculture has latched onto this figure and keeps depicting it in wilder and wilder ways😭😭

If you want a folkloric evil bird creature in your story please just use a fucking dragon or gammen. Use a damn cockatrice or vættehane, idgaf. Please just stop muddying the already-confusing lore of valravnen. The figure has been abused enough already and you are making my hobby as a folklorist very difficult😥

[emmarose17]

This is one of my favorite paintings I've done.

These are Huldra or Hulderfolk from Scandinavian folklore. Hulderfolk are seductive forest spirits and their name translates loosely to "hidden" or "secret". They're said to look like normal women with the only difference being the hole in their back that resembles a hollowed tree and the long cow-like tail which they hide under their skirts. If you encounter a Huldra and treat her with respect, she will be very helpful (sharing the best fishing spots or tending to your charcoal kiln), but mistreat her and the punishment will be severe (being beaten to death with her tail or taken into the mountains never to be seen again).

[sigyn-foxyposts]

"Oh..who is he?"

My huldra oc Thurl Halvorsen, original piece here ⬆️

[lordratgun]

Rot in the North - A Vaesen Game - NPCs

So I'm running a Vaesen campaign for @juk3box, @boomarrows and @leeminarium . And now I've made it a goal for myself to draw every NPC in the game, even if it's a dumb doodle. Enjoy.

[loki-erlking]

When the temperature rises to 71° Fahrenheit, local forest cryptids can be viewed emerging from hibernation.

[a-gnosis]

2: The Skogsrå from Bramble: The Mountain King

Bramble: The Mountain King is a horror and adventure game based on Nordic folklore. Naturally, the Skogsrå ("forest spirit", also known as the Huldra) is one of the bosses you have to fight. I think their design for the Skogsrå is really cool, even if they made her a bit more malicious than she was in folklore (she certainly was a dangerous creature, but she didn't kill people like that. Though considering it's supposed to be a horror game, the changes make sense).

[aifoemo]

N Ø K K E N

[witchyfashion]

Nordic Tales: Folktales from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark

A deluxe volume of 16 traditional Nordic folk tales that is sure to impress any fan of cultural and mythological literature with impactful and stunning illustrations by contemporary artist Ulla Thynell.   Welcome to a world of mystical adventure—where trolls haunt the snowy forests, terrifying monsters roam the open sea, a young woman journeys to the end of the world, and a boy proves he knows no fear.   Translated and transcribed by folklorists in the 19th century, this collection of traditional tales from the enchanting world of Nordic folklore comes to life with glowing contemporary illustrations that conjure dragons, princesses, and the northern lights. At once magical, hilarious, cozy, and chilling, Nordic Tales will enthrall fairy tale fans and captivate those interested in the rich history of Nordic culture.

https://amzn.to/3NTbx2g