#swedish folklore

[oliviarampaige]

“Näcken”

Day 10 - Black Lagoon

The water sings and calls.

[the-evil-clergyman]

The Changelings, from Cyrus Graner's Among Gnomes and Trolls 7 by John Bauer (1913)

[obligatedart]

Prince Steve is lost in the deep dark forest.

Decided to draw Steve inspired by Ayes and Kleo’s fic However Wild - and heavily inspired by the art of John Bauer.

The fic is a fairytale, so I wanted to infuse this piece with some Swedish fairytale vibe, as a little twist is my own :)

[super-antelope]

Bramble: the mountain king + John Bauer paintings

Part 2/2

[xlownenbemy]

He is free, and you thought it was a good idea to steal what is his.. to take the object of his power away from him.

But now.....Now he has found it. And you are not safe.

[mattievictoria]

If you’re local to the Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley area, I’ll have this drawing I did in a show at the Carter Sexton art supply store! The theme for the show was “Mythos”, so of course I had to draw a Skogsrå (aka a Huldra) a type of forest nymph from Scandinavian folklore.

[mugoki]

(source / source)

[yoga-onion]

Legends and myths about trees

Legendary tree deities (21)

Skogsrå – the fatal nymph of the Scandinavian forests

The Skogsrå (Swedish: lit. 'the Forest Rå'), Skogsfrun ('the Mistress of the Forest'), Skogssnuvan, Skogsnymfen ('the Forest Nymph'), Råndan ('the Rå') or Huldran, is a mythical female creature of the forest in Swedish folklore.

It appears in the form of a small, beautiful woman with a seemingly friendly temperament. She appears like a woman from the front but seen from behind she often has a tail and a hollow back or skin like tree bark.

Those who are enticed into following her into the forest are never seen again. It was said that any human man who had intercourse with the Skogsrå became an introvert, as his soul had remained with her. If the seduced man is a hunter, he may be rewarded with good luck in the hunt, but should he be unfaithful to the Skogsrå, he will be punished with numerous accidents. He may put an end to a stormy night caused by her vengeance by firing a shot against her. Late folklore in Nyland, Finland describes silver bullets as effective means of killing a skogsrå.

Tolkien describes the Old Forest, a space filled with deep-rooted mysteries and danger in Middle-earth, as follows:

“The ground was rising steadily, and as they went forward it seemed that the trees became taller, darker, and thicker. There was no sound, except an occasional drip of moisture falling through the still leaves. For the moment there was no whispering or movement among the branches; but they all got an uncomfortable feeling that they were being watched with disapproval, deepening to dislike and even enmity. The feeling steadily grew, until they found themselves looking up quickly, or glancing back over their shoulders, as if they expected a sudden blow.”

– J.R.R. Tolkien FOTR. Ch. 6

木にまつわる伝説・神話

伝説の樹木の神々 (21)

スクーグスロー 〜 スカンジナビアの森に住む致命的な妖精

スコーグスロー（ｽｴｰﾃﾞﾝ語: 森の‘ロー’）、ｽｺｸﾞｽﾌﾙﾝ（「森の愛人」）、ｽｺｸﾞｽﾇﾊﾞﾝ、ｽｺｸﾞｽﾆﾝﾌｪﾝ（「森の妖精」）、ローンダン ‘ロー’またはフルドラは、スウェーデンの民間伝承に登場する神話上の森の女性の生き物である。

小柄で親しみやすそうな雰囲気をした美しい女性の姿で現れる。スクーグスローは前から見ると普通の人間だが、後ろから見ると尻尾があったり、背中が窪んでいたり、樹のような肌をしていたりする。

彼女に誘われ、森へ行った者は二度と帰ることはない。スコーグスローと交わった男性は皆、魂が彼女の中に置き去りにされているため、内向的になると言われている。狩人がスクーグスローと関係を持つと、獲物に恵まれる幸運を得ることもあるが、スクーグスローを裏切った場合、様々な事故が狩人に襲い掛かる。そんな時は狩人はスコーグスローに向けて銃を撃つことによって、事故の連続を止められるかもしれない。フィンランドのナイランドに伝わる晩年の伝承では、スコーグスローを殺す効果的な手段として銀の弾丸が描かれている。

トールキンは、中つ国において根深い謎と危険に満ちた空間である「古き森」を以下のように描いている:

「地面がどんどん高くなり、進むにつれ、木々はより高く、より暗く、より太くなったように見えた。静まり返った葉の間から時折水滴が落ちる以外は、何の音もしなかった。しばらくの間、枝の間からささやき声や物音は聞こえなかったが、彼らは皆、自分たちが不愉快な目で見られているような不快な感覚に襲われた。その感覚は次第に大きくなり、気がつくと、突然の一撃を予期しているかのように、素早く顔を上げたり、肩越しにちらりと後ろを振り返ったりしていた。」

- J.R.R.トールキン FOTR. 第6章

[fornasedensgudar]

"No forest belongs to man."

[oliviarampaige]

“Kärrhäxan”

Day 31 - Rest In Peace

A goddess reborn seated on her throne.

↟ ↟ ↟

Character from Bramble: The Mountain King. Such an amazing little game - highly recommend it for anyone who’s a fan of folk horror.

[the-evil-clergyman]

Illustrations from When the Troll Mother took care of the King Storbyk, for Among Gnomes and Trolls 8 by John Bauer (1914)

[a-gnosis]

The records preserved in the Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore show that in the old farmer society of the 19th and early 20th century, there were many different notions about who Lucia really was. Since this time of the year was already associated with trolls, the dead, and evil spirits, the Lucia figure was sometimes seen as a frightening one. At some places she was believed to lead the Lussi Ride, a company of ghostly or supernatural beings that rode across the sky during the Lussi Night (a kind of variant of the Wild Hunt). Of course I couldn’t resist to try to draw that.

[super-antelope]

Bramble: the mountain king + John Bauer paintings

Part 1/2

[xlownenbemy]

Nicklas!!!

Finally made a proper pose for him😁😁😁

[thatpinkweirdo]

The fact that in Bramble The Mountain King the concept art for Näcken gives him CLOTHING! But in the game the Skogsrå doesn't is sooo funny to me beacuse ive always thought of them as:

Skogsrå: PUT ON SOME CLOTHING!

Näcken: I would rather die.

[survivethejive]

Folklorists in 19th century England and Sweden recorded ancient pagan rituals of hanging animals in trees, in accordance with known ritual sacrifices for the Viking god Odin. The pagan rituals survived for much longer than people realise!