In 1851, Benjamin Thorpe made an ill-considered statement, doubting the authenticity of Peter Christen Asbjørnsen's Norwegian Hulder Tales and Folk Legends.
In his preface to the second edition of the first volume of these Norwegian stories (1859), Asbjørnsen takes issue with Thorpe's comment, demonstrating a provenance of European folklore that goes back to the worship of Freya among the Germanic peoples.
165 years later, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen's defence of the Norwegian legend has all-but negated my ability to suspend disbelief when reading modern fantasy or fairy tales. Many of these stories, disconnected from their folkloric roots, now ring hollow.
“The Girl Who Stole the Troll’s Bellweather Cow” is an unpublished variant of “Askeladden Who Stole the Troll’s Silver Ducks, etc.” in which there is very little male participation; the lead is a girl who is advised by a crone in the forest to travel to a troll’s mountain, where she kills the troll’s daughter, the troll’s wife, and then the troll, before taking the sun back to the king. There is no romantic interest.
Just tooted this, but should perhaps say why: a good piece by an excellent folklorist who writes a lot on folklore and humour. His stuff's worth checking out. #folklore
#WritersCoffeeClub 15. June: Is your work child or teen-friendly, or does it contain themes more suited for mature audiences?
Let me see: Prejudice. Racism. Familial treachery. Mockery. Bullying. Sedition. Heresy. Astrology. Necromancy. Satanism. Pre-marital sex. Implied cross-species sex. Misogyny. Kidnapping. Accidental and intentional injury. Death by misadventure. Torture. Murder. Dismemberment. Decapitation. Accidental and intentional cannibalism.
So yes. It is certainly child- and teen-friendly, for it contains themes more suited for mature audiences. We still read folktales and legends for our children, n’est-ce pas?