huldufólk
In Nordic folklore, including the Northern Isles, hidden-folk (Faroese and Icelandic: ; Norwegian: ), mound-folk (, ), mountain-folk (, ; ), subterraneans (, ; Gutnish: di sma undar jordi, "the small underground"; , roughly "grounders"), among other names (, Insular Scots: trow, drow), are collective names for a loose race or conglomeration of elves, wights, brownies (Nordic: nisse), trolls, and thereof. They are supernatural beings that live in nature. They look and behave similarly to humans, but live in a parallel world. They can make themselves visible at will. cites a 19th-century Iceland
Key facts
- Mythical creature.name
- Hidden-folk
- Mythical creature.image
- Jumping after Hildur.jpg
- Mythical creature.caption
- Engraving of a man jumping after a female elf into a precipice.
- Mythical creature.Grouping
- Mythological
- Mythical creature.Similar_entities
- Elf, hulder, fairy, mermaid, pixie, sprite, leprechaun
- Mythical creature.Habitat
- Various
- Mythical creature.Country
- Iceland, Faroe Islands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
16 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Hidden folk
- Finnic names
- Origins
- Holidays
- Icelandic and Faroese folklore
- Contemporary Iceland
- Tourism
- Recent incidents
- Intentions
- Significant sites
- Modern cultural references
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
In Nordic folklore, including the Northern Isles, hidden-folk (Faroese and Icelandic: ; Norwegian: ), mound-folk (, ), mountain-folk (, ; ), subterraneans (, ; Gutnish: di sma undar jordi, "the small underground"; , roughly "grounders"), among other names (, Insular Scots: trow, drow), are collective names for a loose race or conglomeration of elves, wights, brownies (Nordic: nisse), trolls, and thereof. They are supernatural beings that live in nature. They look and behave similarly to humans, but live in a parallel world. They can make themselves visible at will. cites a 19th-century Icelandic source claiming that the only visible difference between normal people and outwardly human-appearing is, the latter have a convex rather than concave philtrum () below their noses. An analog myth are the trolls being discerned by their large noses.
In Faroese folk tales, hidden people are said to be "large in build, their clothes are all grey, and their hair black (the same description is also given for draugrs in Faroese folklore). Their dwellings are in mounds, and they are also called Elves." Some Icelandic folk tales caution against throwing stones, as it may hit the hidden people.