Editing Troll (section)

==Norse mythology==
In Norse mythology, ''troll'', like ''thurs'', is a term applied to ''[[Jötunn|jötnar]]'' and is mentioned throughout the Old Norse corpus. In Old Norse sources, trolls are said to dwell in isolated mountains, rocks, and caves, sometimes live together (usually as father-and-daughter or mother-and-son), and are rarely described as helpful or friendly.<ref name="ORCHARD1997167">Orchard (1997:167).</ref> The ''[[Prose Edda]]'' book ''[[Skáldskaparmál]]'' describes an encounter between an unnamed troll woman and the 9th-century [[skald]] [[Bragi Boddason]]. According to the section, Bragi was driving through "a certain forest" late one evening when a troll woman aggressively asked him who he was, in the process describing herself:
<blockquote>
{|
|
<small>[[Old Norse]]:</small>
:''Troll kalla mik''
:''trungl sjǫtrungnis,''
:''auðsug [[jötunn|jǫtuns]],''
:''élsólar bǫl,''
:''vilsinn [[Völva|vǫlu]],''
:''vǫrð nafjarðar,''
:''hvélsveg himins –''
:''hvat's troll nema þat?''<ref name="LINDOW-22">Lindow (2007:22).</ref>
|
<small>Anthony Faulkes translation:</small>
:'Trolls call me
:moon of dwelling-Rungnir,
:giant's wealth-sucker,
:storm-sun's bale,
:seeress's friendly companion,
:guardian of [[grave|corpse-fiord]],
:swallower of heaven-wheel;
:what is a troll other than that?'<ref name="FAULKES-132">Faulkes (1995:132).</ref>
|
<small>[[John Lindow]] translation:</small>
:They call me a troll,
:moon of the earth-[[Hrungnir]] [?]
:wealth sucker [?] of the giant,
:destroyer of the storm-sun [?]
:beloved follower of the seeress,
:guardian of the "nafjord" [?]
:swallower of the wheel of heaven [the sun].
:What's a troll if not that?<ref name="LINDOW-22"/>
|
|}
</blockquote>
Bragi responds in turn, describing himself and his abilities as a skillful [[skald]], before the scenario ends.<ref name="FAULKES-132"/>

There is much confusion and overlap in the use of Old Norse terms ''jötunn'', ''troll'', ''þurs'', and ''risi'', which describe various beings. [[Lotte Motz]] theorized that these were originally four distinct classes of beings: lords of nature (''jötunn''), mythical magicians (''troll''), hostile monsters (''þurs''), and heroic and courtly beings (''risi''), the last class being the youngest addition. On the other hand, Ármann Jakobson is critical of Motz's interpretation and calls this theory "unsupported by any convincing evidence".<ref name="JAKOBSSON06">Ármann Jakobsson (2006).</ref> Ármann highlights that the term is used to denote various beings, such as a jötunn or mountain-dweller, a witch, an abnormally strong or large or ugly person, an evil spirit, a ghost, a ''[[Black people|blámaðr]]'', a magical boar, a heathen demi-god, a demon, a [[brunnmigi]], or a [[berserker]].<ref name="JAKOBSSON08">Ármann Jakobsson (2008).</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ármann Jakobsson |url=https://www.academia.edu/32484922 |title=The Troll Inside You: Paranormal Activity in the Medieval North |publisher=punctum |year=2017 |location=Earth, Milky Way [sic] |doi=10.21983/P3.0175.1.00 |archive-date=2024-07-09 |access-date=2023-12-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709192340/https://www.academia.edu/32484922 |url-status=dead }}</ref>