Friday, 28. July 2006
The Folklore of the Orkney Islands

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The Orkney Islands lie off the northern tip of Scotland where the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet.

Orkney's folklore is a tangled web of interconnecting threads, combining elements of Norse, Scottish and Celtic myth.
Although on first glance it seems that the Norse lore is by far the most prevalent influence, this is not necessarily the case...

There is absolutely no doubt that the impact of our Norse predecessors' arrival on the islands was considerable.

Each longship that pulled into Orkney waters brought not only the settlers but also their distinct language, customs, traditions and beliefs.

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These people carried with them epic tales of giants, dwarfs, trolls and numerous other magical creatures from their homelands. As the generations passed, with each retelling these creatures were transplanted from the dramatic glaciars, mountains and fjords of Scandinavia into the low, rolling hills of the Orcadian landscape.

The Folklore of the Orkney Islands (English)

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The situation surrounding Orcadian fairy lore is somewhat complex.

Generally speaking, the term "fairy folk" was simply a blanket term used to refer to a wide range of supernatural creatures. Of these, the trows were the most common.

To the Orcadians of yesteryear there was no distinction between the terms "trow" and "fairy". So it is not uncommon to encounter what is obviously the same tale, or legend, with a "trow" in one instance, but a "fairy" in the next.

So does Orkney's "fairy" lore simply recount the exploits of the islands' trows?

In most cases, yes.

The Fairy Folk in Orkney Lore (English)


What is a Trow?

The tales surrounding the trows are probably the best known, and widespread, element of Orkney folklore.

In many cases practically indistinguishable from the fairy folklore found throughout Northern Europe, the archetypal trow was an ugly, mischievous, little creature that resided in the ancient mounds scattered across Orkney.

Although some tales declared that a trow could pass for a human - although usually old, wizened or deformed, in general, they were said to be short, ugly, stunted creatures, considerably smaller than a man.

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The Trows (English)
Category: Faeries & Nature Spirits | Fairy Tales & Fables |




2006 Glastonbury Symposium

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The 2006 Glastonbury Symposium kicks off this weekend. Speakers include Alan Alford, Andy Thomas and Graham Hancock - the event is pretty much a sell-out, but if you're in the area and interested, there may be tickets at the door for individual lectures.

Hopefully there'll be some audio or at least an article about it after the event, for us poor people which lives on somewhere else on the globe.


2006 Glastonbury Symposium - A weekend conference in Glastonbury, South West England, 28th-30th July 2006 - Investigating Crop Circles and Signs of our Times. (English)
Category: Events & Meetings | Mysteries & Enigmas |


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