Trolls in Medieval Literature

Trolls in Medieval Literature

From Bone and Sickle by Al Ridenour

April 27, 2026 · 46 min · Episode 160

About this episode

This episode explores the depiction of trolls in medieval literature, contrasting them with their 19th-century folktale counterparts and examining their cultural significance.

Trolls, as presented in medieval literature, are vastly different from the creatures we encountered in our last episode’s collection of 19th-century Norwegian folktales. These Viking Age trolls are more vividly and gruesomely described, and the “troll-women,” who frequently appear, are akin to witches. We begin the show with a traditional song from the Faroe Islands, “Trøllini í Hornalondum,” telling the story of St. Olaf battling trolls on the coast of Norway. While the ballad presumably originated in Norway, it was first recorded by the Danish priest and historian, Anders Sørensen Vedel, in his 1591 publication, Hundredvisebogen , (the Book of 100 Ballads.”) While St. Olaf (King Olaf II) is regarded as the saint who drove paganism from Norway, but this struggle was ongoing with trolls continuing to embody the old pagan world as belied by various tropes — their dislike of church bells, and fear of crosses. We’ll next look at an interesting case from Iceland presenting a direct conflict between a church and troll. It was collected by the “Grimm of Iceland, Jón Árnason, a librarian and museum curator who published several collections of folktales, beginning…

People in this episode

Host: Al Ridenour

Topics covered

  • medieval literature
  • trolls
  • folktales
  • Viking Age
  • paganism
  • St. Olaf

Keywords

  • trolls
  • medieval literature
  • folktales
  • St. Olaf
  • paganism
  • Icelandic Folktales
  • Viking Age

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Hundredvisebogen, Icelandic Folktales, St. Olaf’s Journey, Trøllini í Hornalondum, Dingtuna Church

Places: Norway, Faroe Islands, Iceland

More episodes of Bone and Sickle

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Bone and Sickle podcast page.