In TROLLRÚN: A Discourse on Trolldom and Runes in the Northern Tradition, Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold opens the door to landscapes little known outside of Scandinavia. These landscapes are populated by mythical beings and land spirits which offer a quite different approach to the Northern Tradition than what is usual. Here the Aesir have taken a backseat in favour of discussions on the wider tapestry of Northern wisdom, such as trolldom, seidr and the legacy left by the Black Books of magic under the larger theme of ‘What the Trolls told’, comprising the first part of TROLLRÚN. This is followed by a presentation of the Elder runes, runology, and rune magic, all rooted in Scandinavian ideas of the use of runes and their magic. TROLLRÚN views this landscape through the eyes of the cunning arts, where the ice, the frost, the midnight sun, and the majestic mountains and fjords become the orchestra of TROLLRÚN’s wisdom, drenched in the powerful atmosphere of the magical north. 

Contents

Introduction by Johannes Gårdbäck

A Presentation of Trollrún by Claude Lecouteux

Part I: TROLLATÁL

Chapter One: The Northern Tradition

Chapter Two: Old Norse Cosmology

Chapter Three: Trolldom

Chapter Four: Magical Beings of the North

Chapter Five: A Genealogy of Trolls

Chapter Six: The Northern Observance

Chapter Seven: The Stars and Wells of Yggdrasil

Chapter Eight: The Way of Seidr

Chapter Nine: The Black Books of the North

Part II: RUNATÁL

Chapter Ten: Origin of the Runes

Chapter Eleven: Magical Runes and Runic Magic

Chapter Twelve: Runic Cryptology

Chapter Thirteen: The Secret of the Runes

Chapter Fourteen: Bureus and the Noble Runes

Appendix A: On the Symbolism of the Rune-drum

Appendix B: The vargulf and Lycanthropy in the North

Appendix C: Correspondences between runes and Trees of the North

Bibliography

Index