''For other uses, see {{PAGENAME}} (disambiguation).'' image:Tro">
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Troll:''For other uses, see (disambiguation).'' A troll is a member of a fearsome humanoid race from Scandinavian folklore, and its predecessor Norse mythology, as in "Three Billy Goats Gruff [http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/billygoats/]," the well-known Scandinavian folk tale in which a troll living under a bridge torments some billy goats that want to cross. Grendel in the poem Beowulf is a closely similar creature. The word "Troll" is possibly derived from an old norse word meaning magic, ''cf''. Swedish language ''trolla'' Danish language and Norwegian language ''trylle'' ("perform magic tricks"). What is refered to as giants (''Jotun'') in Norse mythology, who were sometimes called trolls as well, have their closest mythological descendant in the trolls in Scandinavian folklore, where "troll" and "giant" are many times used synonymous. ==Trolls in Scandinavian Folklore== [[Image:Troll.jpg|right|thumbnail|250px|Statue of a troll at the Norwegian pavillion in Epcot, Disney World]] [[Image:John Bauer, 1915.jpg|thumbnail|250px|right|Trolls with an abducted princess (John Bauer, 1915)]] [[Image:naturaltroll1.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Stones with roughly man-like features could be explained by folklore as trolls petrified by sunlight or curses. This one can be seen on Hamary, Norway.]] [[image:Saabtrollsticker.jpg|thumb|150px||Sticker often found on older SAAB automobiles.]] According to a 1908 cyclopedia: "Trolls are Dwarfs of Norse mythology, living in hills or mounds; they are represented as stumpy, misshapen, and humpbacked, inclined to thieving, and fond of carrying off children or substituting one of their own offspring for that of a human mother. They are called hill-people, and are especially averse to noise, from a recollection of the time when Thor used to throw his hammer at them." In Sweden there are many places that are named after trolls, such as the town Trollhttan (Troll's hood) and the legendary mountain Trollkyrka (Troll church). Trolls are one of the most frequent creatures of Scandinavian fairy tales and more common than Elf, Dwarf, witches and giants (in the fairy tales, there is no clear-cut line between witches and female trolls, nor between male trolls and giants). They come in any size and can be as huge as giants or as small as dwarves. They are often regarded as having poor intellect (especially the males, whereas the females, ''trollkonor'', may be quite cunning), great strength, big noses, long arms, and as being hairy and not very beautiful (Once again, females often constitute the exception, with female trolls frequently being quite comely). In Scandinavian fairy tales trolls sometimes turn to stone if exposed to sunlight. (This weakness is shared by Norse svartlfar (''black elves'') and Norse dwarves.) Again, like many other species in Scandinavian folklore, they are said to reside in underground complexes, accessible from underneath large boulders in the forests or in the mountains. These boulders can be raised upon pillars of gold. In their living quarters, they hoard gold and treasures. The trolls sometimes abduct people to live as slaves or at least prisoners among them (in the fairy tales, they are especially fond of robbing princesses). These poor souls are known as ''bergtagna'' ("those taken to/by the mountain"), which also is the modern Scandinavian word for having been ''spirited away''. When (''if'') these people are let out from the trolls' captivity, they do not seem to remember anything from their time underground. Occasionally, the trolls even steal a new-born baby, leaving their own offspring – a changeling (legend) – in return. Another popular image is that of the troll (or giant) that throws large rocks on a church, demonstrating his hatred for Christianity. In Sweden, a large stone lying about seemingly randomly in the country (actually a remnant of the ice age) is called a "jttekast" (giant throw). The trolls were often considered enemies of the Church and sometimes even in league with the Devil, and could as such be scared or repelled with crucifixes, prayers or the sound of church bells. Tales also recollect of various kinds of trolls, depending on their Habitat (ecology). We have the ''sea trolls'' (who could give both bad and good luck to fishermen, depending on whether you indulged them with treats), the subterranean ''mountain trolls'', hassling ''tiny-trolls'' as well as the humongous though sluggish ''Elder Troll'' ("Gammeltrollet"). In this context, the common troll should probably be dubbed a ''forest troll''. The following excerpts from the Danish Ballad of Eline of Villenskov describe the physical aspects of trolls within Scandinavian mythology: There were seven and a hundred Trolls, Out then spake the tinyest Troll,In a story in the Edda the poet Bragi Boddason encounters a troll-woman who hails him with this verse. They call me Troll;Young Scandinavia children usually understand the concept of trolls, and a way to teach children to brush their teeth is to tell them to get rid of the very small "tooth trolls" that otherwise will make holes in their teeth. This is a pedagogic device used to explain bacterium by the Norwegian author Thorbjrn Egner in his story ''Karius and Baktus''. Camilla Asplund Ingemark's, ''The Genre of Trolls. The Case of a Finland-Swedish Folk Belief Tradition'' is the first doctoral dissertation on traditional forest trolls received in Finland. Her research describes trolls according to the folklore of Swedish-speaking Finns. Ingemark compares the style and content of Troll tales folklore with biblical stories. In Shetland and Orkney tales, trolls are called trowe. ==Trolls in Nordic art, music and literature== [[Image:Trollet som grunner p hvor gammelt det er.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Troll pondering its age. (Theodor Kittelsen, 1911)]] Edvard Grieg, Norway's greatest composer, wrote several pieces about Trolls. ''In the Hall of the Mountain King'', and ''March Of The Trolls'', are two examples of this theme. Regarding his motivations, Grieg wrote: "The peculiar in life was what made me wild and mad...dwarf power and untamed wildness...audacious and bizarre fantasy." Grieg's former home, Troldhaugen ("The Troll's Hill"), is now a museum. Like Grieg, conductor Johan Halvorsen was a nationalist Norwegian composer. He wrote, ''The Princess and the Giant Troll'', ''The Trolls enter the Blue Mountain'', and ''Dance of the Little Trolls''. Geirr Tveitt was heavily influenced by Grieg's romanticism and cultural exploration of Scandinavian folklore and Norwegian folk-music. Tveitt's ''Troll Tunes'', includes works such as ''Troll-Tuned Hardanger Fiddle'', and ''The Boy With The Troll-Treasure''. Tragically, 80% of Tveitt's oeuvre was destroyed in a fire. In Sweden children's literature, trolls are not naturally evil, but primitive and misunderstood. Their misdeeds are due to a combination of basic and common human traits, such as envy, pride, greed, navet, ignorance and stupidity. In some early 20th century fairy tales, by Elsa Beskow, trolls are also depicted as an aboriginal race of hunters and gatherers who are fleeing the encroaching human civilisation. Where man makes a road, the trolls disappear. The Finland-Swedish author Tove Jansson has reached a world-wide audience with her Moomintrolls. In the genre of paleofiction, the distinguished Swedish-speaking Finland paleontology Bjrn Kurtn has entertained the theory (e.g. in ''Dance of the Tiger'') that trolls are a distant memory of an encounter with Neanderthals by our Cro-Magnon ancestors ~40 KYA during their migration into northern Europe. Spanish paleoanthropologist Juan Luis Arsuaga provides evidence for these types of encounters in his book, ''The Neanderthal's Necklace''. The theory that Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons occupied the same area of Europe at the same time in history has been confirmed by fossil evidence. Neanderthals may well have lived into historical times and may be remembered as trolls, but there is little evidence for this theory. Other researchers believe that they just refer to neighboring tribes. ==Troll dolls== A much more harmless variant of trolls are troll dolls, a type of toy doll that became a fad after its creation in 1959 by Denmark Woodcutter Thomas Dam. The fad underwent a revival in the early and mid-1970s, with many motorists hanging small plastic troll dolls from their front windshield or mirror. Although retaining the fabled ugliness of trolls, troll dolls are also cute and cuddly, according to some tastes. Some people collect them, they come in many colors and styles, with garish colored hair that sticks up on their heads, and some of the later ones having jewels imbedded in their bellies. ==American trolls== [[Image:Fremont_bridge_troll,_seattle,_washington,_usa.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"The Troll." A statue under the north end of the Aurora Bridge in the Fremont, Seattle, Washington of Seattle, Washington, USA.]] Scandinavian folk-tales involving trolls such as "Three Billy Goats Gruff" are familiar to other European and European-derived cultures. In the US and Canada, the old belief in trolls is parallelled by a modern belief in Bigfoot and Sasquatch. Many statues of trolls adorn the downtown business district of Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, leading to the town being dubbed ''The Troll Capital.'' There is also a neighborhood on the northeast side of Fargo, North Dakota which is named ''Trollwood''. In the David the Gnome animation series, trolls persecute gnomes. In the TV mini-series ''The 10th Kingdom'', trolls are the ruling race of the 3rd kingdom, having large pointy ears and noses, wild hair, poor intelligence and a love of shoes and leather. ==Modern fantasy trolls== ===In literature=== In J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, trolls (Middle-earth) are very large (around 9 feet tall) and immensely strong humanoids of poor intellect. They are divided in many kinds: hill trolls, mountain trolls, snow trolls, cave trolls and stone trolls, all of which turn to Rock (geology) when exposed to sunlight. In ''The Lord of the Rings'', a new breed appears, called the Olog-hai. Unlike the old trolls, they are capable of movement under sunlight. In the ''Discworld'' books by Terry Pratchett, trolls (Discworld) are large creatures who are composed of, and eat, rock. They have a cultural tendency towards violence, and their intelligence is inversely proportional to the temperature, making them quite unintelligent in warm climates. Their size increases with age, from pebbles to mountains. They have had a bad reputation of eating people, but this stereotype is untrue, as trolls are unable to digest anything but rock; they do, however, have to pay special attention to avoid unintentionally crushing humans to a pulp in order to become socially acceptable. The bar 'The Mended Drum' has trolls for security. They are called "splatters" because when a trolls tries to bounce a human, they tend to make them splatter. In the world of Harry Potter, trolls are giant monsters that kill everyone they encounter. In ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' Harry and Ron Weasley save Hermione Granger from a full-grown mountain troll. In the film, the troll was animated with computer-generated imagery. There are a few other subsequent mentions of trolls; for example it was rumored that Harry's Firebolt, which Dolores Umbridge "confiscated" was guarded by trolls. "Security trolls" are also mentioned in several places - apparently they can be hired as guards. ===In games===
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In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, troll (Dungeons & Dragons) are tall and skinny monsters with large, pointy noses and green skin. In D&D, trolls steadily regeneration (biology) all damage unless it is caused by acid or fire. (This version of troll originated with the Poul Anderson story ''Three Hearts and Three Lions''.)
In the Earthdawn role-playing game, trolls are a tall, muscular and honorable race which players can role-play. Earthdawn trolls have curling horns like goats, lots of body hair and enlarged lower canines.
In the Shadowrun role-playing game, trolls are also a race available to player characters.
In computer games with a fantasy theme, trolls appear in many shapes and dispositions. In one of the most successful MMORPG, EverQuest, trolls are one of the choices for players to assume as their character. In Dark Age of Camelot, trolls are also a player race but appear more like a rock golem although they appear among the ranks of the Norse "Midgard" side.
Most computer games adopt the Dungeons & Dragons type of troll, with regeneration of some sort.
Warhammer Fantasy Trolls are similar to Dungeons & Dragons Trolls. In additon, they have highly corrosive stomach acid that can dissolve anything from flesh and bone to rocks and metals. There are many different varieties of Troll, such as slimy River Trolls and magic resistant Stone Trolls. Trolls are rather stupid, and are typically allied with Orcs.
In the Warcraft series of PC games from Blizzard Entertainment, Trolls are an agile, mohawk-sporting, sentient race. They are savages, wielding axes and spears and practicing voodoo. There are five varieties of trolls in Warcraft. The green Forest Trolls of Zul'Aman (the Hinterlands), the icy blue Ice Trolls of Northrend and Khaz Modan, the large Dark Trolls of Ashenvale, the mysterious Desert Trolls of Tanaris, and the numerous Jungle Troll (Warcraft). Of the many tribes of Jungle Trolls, the Darkspear Tribe was exiled from their native Stranglethorn Vale, and allied with the Horde (Warcraft) when their new island home came under attack. The Trolls of Warcraft are different from most representations of Trolls in that they are extremely clever and are one of the craftier races in the game.
Games Simon the Sorcerer and King's Quest portray trolls that guard bridges, who are repelled with the help of goats (a reference to the folk tale). In The Secret of Monkey Island, the main character Guybrush Threepwood encounters a troll who does not allow him to use a bridge. Shortly after, it is revealed that the troll is just a man, resembling George Lucas, in a costume.
===In heavy metal music===
Troll metal is black metal music dealing with trolls, goblins and related subjects. Finntroll is one of the most famous troll metal bands. Singing Trolls relate their hate of humans, especially Christians, which is for them a plague to eradicate - and to eat.
Legendary creatures
Norse mythology
Nordic folklore
Two Jungle Troll (Warcraft)s from the MMORPG World of Warcraft. |}Troll"In J. R. R. Tolkien's world, trolls are very large (around 9 feet tall and 350lbs) humanoids of poor intellect." - I can't believe I'm writing this :-), but a 9-foot humanoid would be expected to weigh a lot more than 350 lbs (square-cube law) even if not made of "stone". Polar bears weigh something like 1,000 lbs +, if I remember correctly. :''Perhaps they were made of breeze blocks ;-) User:Quercusrobur'' : Well, I guess that imaginary worlds need not always comply with real-world phenomena (though I have difficult realizng why a figure of 500lbs or 800lbs couldn't have been given instead for greater consistency). However I do not recall anywhere in The Hobbit or LotR that would anyhow describe the Trolls' weights (or indeed any other physical property of these creatures), where does this figure come from, anyway? --user:Uriyan It comes from me guessing. :) change it. --user:TomCerul ---- Nevermind, what I had written. I checked the facts. Sorry. ------ This is as irrelevant as it can be but, where in LotR is it mentioned that orcs are corrupted elves? I remember Saruman saying it in the movie, but I do not have recollection of having read that in the book.--User:AstroNomer :Yes it is definatlely in the book. Don't ask me where, but I clearly remember reading it somewhere in LOTR User:Quercusrobur ::Two towers chapter IV "TREEBEARD", about two pages from the end of the chapter. ::''"Will you really break the doors of Isengard?" asked Merry.'' ::''"Ho, hm, well, we could, you know! You do not know, perhaps, how strong we are. Maybe you have heard of Trolls? They are mighty strong. But Trolls are only counterfeits, made by the Enemy in the Great Darkness, in mockery of Ents, as Orcs were of Elves. We are stronger than Trolls. We are made of the bones of the earth. We can split stone like the roots of trees, only quicker, far quicker, if our minds are roused! If we are not hewn down, or destroyed by fire or blast of sorcery, we could split Isengard into splinters and crack its walls to rubble."'' :: not that it *really* matters for the article :-) // User:OlofE 16:09, 7 May 2004 (UTC) :It isn't in LOTR, but it is clearly stated in ''The Silmarillion''. Since that is the pre-LOTR history of Middle-earth, it applies to LOTR also. However, since J. R. R. Tolkien didn't release Silmarillion while he was living, one could argue that he meant to take this out before it was released. User:Jketola ---- In the silmarillion page 50 it states that Orcs were believed to be bred from the demented and warped Elves caught by Morgoth in the first age. ---- Why "Olog-Hai"? Aren't they "Uruk-Hai"? -- User:SGBailey 23:16 Jan 9, 2003 (UTC) :Uruk-Hai are the orcs ---- How do we know that Tolkien's trolls enjoy eating hobbits when they have caught only one, misidentified it as a "burrahobbit," and let it escape uneaten? And what's special about olog-hai speech--they don't talk like cockneys? --Alex Clark ---- This article should be moved to Troll (mythology), and the disambiguation moved here. This would follow the policy in Wikipedia:disambiguation, since this mythological usage doesn't seem to be the "primary topic" these days: look at how many articles link to Internet troll). User:Goatherd 16:27, 21 Feb 2004 (UTC) :Primary topic where? In Internet discourse yes. However, most people in the :Western world would think of the being Troll and wouldn't probably know the :meaning Internet Troll. User:Wiglaf ::Yes, but Wikipedia is presumably used mostly by people familiar with Internet discourse? But it's no big deal. User:Goatherd 15:52, 22 Feb 2004 (UTC) :::I agree with Wiglaf. It should definitely remain here. User:Ausir 21:09, 7 May 2004 (UTC) ==Absolutes== I have made some changes here. First and foremost, I have changed the "always" in the sentence ''"They are however always regarded as having poor intellect (especially the males, whereas the females, trollkonor, may be quite cunning), big noses, long arms, and as being hairy and not very beautiful"'' to an "often", because trolls are simply not that firmly defined so as to motivate an "always". I have read several tales depicting handsome and relatively intelligent trolls. (I also added the words "great strength" here). To continue on the same theme, I changed the "generally" in ''"In Scandinavian fairy tales trolls generally turn to stone if exposed to sunlight"'' to a "sometimes". I, as a swede, has ''never'' read a tale where a troll has turned to stone, but a great many stories with trolls being out and about in broad daylight. --User:Dnalor 01:10, 7 Apr 2005 (UTC) == Troll: comment == Web troll: Could someone define troll as used on the web? Is it someone trolling for valid e-mail addresses, or someone trying to get attention, or exactly what? :See Internet troll. If not defined there, ask *them* ;] --User:Kooo 15:12, Dec 4, 2004 (UTC) ==John Bauer image== I have to say I don't much like :Image:The changeling, John Bauer, 1913.jpg - it's very murky and it's not at all clear what it shows (where's the changeling?). Is it really necessary to include this image? -- User:ChrisO 17:43, 26 Jun 2004 (UTC) :LOL, first you add a picture of an ugly Norwegian stone troll, which you have the gall to put on the top, but you botch it so User:David Gerard has to invene, and then you complain about a famous painting by one of Sweden's most beloved artists. Go see an optician for crying out loud.User:Wiglaf :: The issue isn't whether or not he's "one of Sweden's most beloved artists". The issue is whether the picture is clear, striking and informative. The first image (of the princess) certainly qualifies but I don't think the second qualifies on any of those grounds. I suppose we'll have to agree to differ... -- User:ChrisO 21:53, 26 Jun 2004 (UTC) ::: It's a good painting, but I shrunk it to 250px and that may have been too small. I've set it to 300px. Possibly we could just take the bottom half as detail and make it 350px wide - User:David Gerard 22:15, 26 Jun 2004 (UTC) Yes, it's a good painting. ChrisO might consider clicking on Wikipedia images. This leads to enlarged versions which are much easier to discern.User:Wiglaf ==More on images== We have too many images for our own good. In particular, many of them don't fit into the sections they are right next to. The "Changeling" image is already used in the Changeling article, which is a good and exhaustive article, so I don't see any problems in dropping that one, especially since we already have a John Bauer image, TrollI am a troll. TrollHello ''Troll'', Wikipedia:Welcome, newcomers to Wikipedia! I hope you like the place and decide to Wikipedia:Wikipedians. Drop us a note at Wikipedia:New user log so we can meet you and help you get started. If you need editing help, visit Wikipedia:How to edit a page. For format questions, visit our Wikipedia:Manual of Style. If you have any other questions about the project then check out Wikipedia:Help or add a question to the wikipedia:Village pump. User:Mark Richards 00:40, 26 Mar 2004 (UTC) ==usernames== My first name has "jen" in it, my last name has "god" in it, also I'm an atheist. Therefore, NO. User:Jengod 00:58, Mar 26, 2004 (UTC) ==vfd== Dear troll, we apparently have different ideas about what is useful. How about we discuss your p.o.v. on talk pages before you run around nominating everything I've done for deletion. Obscure topics are not necessarily useless. Also, have I offended you in some previous life? User:Jengod 01:03, Mar 26, 2004 (UTC) == warning == Please stop harassing users. Consider this your first warning. Future acts of harassment may result in the banning of your user name for a length of time. User:Kingturtle 01:04, 26 Mar 2004 (UTC) ==Offensive Username== Your username contains the term troll in it. That is very defamatory to trolls, as they are all above you. You should change your username immediately, ro I wil have to excommunication you! muahahaha! User:Ugen64 02:13, Mar 26, 2004 (UTC) : I was going to do this too, but you beat me to it.... by mere moments. Silly edit confict. Darn you, ugen64!!! :) - User:Fennec Troll#REDIRECT Wikipedia:What is a troll See other meanings of words starting from letter: TTA | TB | TC | TD | TE | TF | TG | TH | TI | TJ | TK | TL | TŁ | TM | TN | TO | TP | TR | TS | TU | TW | TX | TY | TZ |Words begining with Troll: Troll Troll Troll Troll Troll Troll(Black_Metal_Band) Troll.Ltd Troll.Ltd Troll2 Troll2 Troll3 Troll3 Troll5 Trollaxor Trollaxor Trollbait Trollbuster TrollE TrollE Trollech Troller Troller's_Delight! Troller's_Delight_! Troller_T4 Troller_T4_2.8_Turbodiesel Troller_Trolling_Rodriguez Troller_Veculos_Especiais_S/A Trolley Trolley Trolley Trolley Trolley-bus Trolley-pole Trolleybus Trolleybus Trolleybuses Trolleypole Trolleys Trolley_(disambiguation) Trolley_bus Trolley_car Trolley_cars Trolley_car_suburb Trolley_coach Trolley_dodger Trolley_park Trolley_pole Trolley_problem Trolley_problem Trolley_Square Trolley_Square. Trolley_wire TROLLFLOYT Trollhammaren Trollhammer Trollhammer Trollhattan Trollheim's_Grott Trollhttan Trollhttan Trollhttan,_Sweden Trollhttan_Municipality Trollhttan_Municipality Trollie_Wallie Trolling Trolling Trolling Trollinger Trolling_considered_harmful Trolling_for_fish Trolling_for_soup Trolling_for_soup Trolling_group Trolling_Motor Trolling_Motor Trolling_motor Trolling_motor Trolling_motor Trolling_organisation Trolling_organization Trolling_poll Trolling_poll Trollius Trollius_europaeus Trollius_europeaeus Trollkore Trollkyrka Trollkyrka Trollkyrka_poem Trollminator TrollmootsOfEnts Trolloc Trolloc_(Wheel_of_Time) Trollope Trollope_(disambiguation) TrollQueen TrollQueen Trolls Trolls Trollse.cx Trollshaws Trollstigen Trolls_(Discworld) Trolls_(Middle-earth) Trolls_(Warcraft) Trolltalk Trolltalk TrollTech Trolltech Trolltech TrollVandal TrollVandal Trollveggen TrollWarning TrollWarning Troll_(automobile) Troll_(automotive) Troll_(band) Troll_(black_metal_band) Troll_(disambiguation) Troll_(disambiguation) Troll_(Discworld) Troll_(Dungeons_&_Dragons) Troll_(Dungeons_&_Dragons) Troll_(Dungeons_and_Dragons) Troll_(Dungeons_and_Dragons) Troll_(Middle-earth) Troll_(Middle-earth) Troll_(movie) Troll_association Troll_automobile Troll_bait Troll_Bridge_(movie) Troll_Doll Troll_doll Troll_Metal Troll_Metal Troll_metal Troll_metal Troll_oil_field Troll_organization Troll_organization Troll_Platform Troll_Refaim Troll_Silent,_Troll_Deep Troll_star Troll_Wall Troll_war |
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