Jacqueline Simpson, Icelandic Folktales and Legends (Tempus Publishing, 2005)
Folktales are the rich oral tapestries woven by our ancestors to illustrate, explain, warn and entertain. A culture's folktales show the fabric of its peoples' fears or dreams, and provide a glimpse into their lives through the window of their imagination.
One of the wonderful things about folktales is that, despite differences from country to country and culture to culture, many elements are instantly recognizable. Ghosts and fairies pop up in tales from all over the world, as do trolls and giants, witches and monsters.
And those tales are what interested me the most in Icelandic Folktales & Legends. Jacqueline Simpson's translations first appeared in 1972; this new issue brings these classic tales to a brand new audience. With a very complete set of indexes and bibliography, the 224-page book is broken up into seven sections, based upon the nature of the 85 tales: 'The Hidden People' (or elves), 'Trolls', 'Water-Dwellers', 'Ghosts', 'Black Magic', 'Buried Treasure' and 'God and the Devil'.
Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien will recognize some of the themes he drew from for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The trolls in The Hobbit, and their destruction by the light of dawn, for instance, parallel closely with 'The Night Troll'. In this tale, a young girl foils a troll that's menaced a farm on Christmas Eve for many years. She tricks the troll into staying too long; when the sun comes up it is turned to stone. Compare this to Gandalf in The Hobbit, when he tricks three trolls into arguing with each other until the sun rises. 'Dawn take you all, and be stone to you!' he says as they realize they've been bested.
Though there are many cross-cultural similarities in folktales, one thing that may surprise readers is the Icelandic depiction of Elves, or 'The Hidden People'.
Folktales and Legends offers two versions of 'The Origin of Elves'. The first explains that 'The Hidden People' are descended from Adam and Eve's children. It seems that when God visited the first folk, Eve was ashamed because some of her children hadn't yet been washed. She kept them hidden them from God, even after he questioned her. Because she lied, he declared her hidden children would also remain hidden from the sight of men. So although Elves are drawn from the same stock as the rest of us, and Elves can see us, we can see them only when they want us to.
The second version explains that when the devil raised a revolt in heaven, those who supported him were cast down into hell. Those who supported God remained in heaven. Those who remained neutral were sent to live on earth in knolls, hills and rocks. They cannot live with mankind, and they don't have corporeal bodies, although when they will it, they can appear as humans.
The book's ghost tales might be another surprise. Though the spirits are usually malicious and frightening, the heroes often defeat them using rather un-supernatural means, such as wrestling them back into the ground.
One of the many things I found appealing in Icelandic Folk Takes is that Simpson doesn't just re-tell the stories; each is accompanied by explanations, notes and bibliographies that provide more information on similar Icelandic tales and where to find them.
Readers who are expecting lavishly written tales, aka the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen, will likely be disappointed. These are mostly simple stories, related as if they were being told to you by a favorite uncle one night around the hearth. Though it may seem simplistic, this style retains the integrity of the tales; making them 'fancier' would only detract from their authenticity.
In short, this is a fine book and a fine addition to any collection of folktales and mythology. Simpson's work is as important and inspiring now as it was when it was first released 33 years ago.
