Scandinavian Changelings

The Folklore Society: devoted to the study of folklore since 1878--not just traditions of the past but also things currently passed on.

The Folklore Society

On Scandinavian legends and folk beliefs about changelings from court records, customs and rites, and memorates

Scandinavian ChangelingsA Folklore Society online talkbyTommy KuuselaTuesday 6 May, 19:00 BSTA Scandinavian belief in changelings can be traced from the Middle Ages until fairly recent times. Stories about changelings were still being recorded by folklore collectors as late as the 1900s. People have actively believed that a supernatural being could and would exchange its offspring for a human child. Different supernatural beings were accused of exchanging human infants with their own.Among these changers trolls and social beings living under the earth (subterranean beings) are the most common, but different types of being could be blamed for stealing and exchanging human children with their own. There are folk legends about changelings from all over Scandinavia, including migratory legends.In this talk, I will look at stories of changelings from Scandinavia and concentrate on those that are not strictly folk legends, but rather stories that spring from everyday folk belief: including court records, customs and rites, and memorates. These cases make it clear that parents fully believed that their children had been changed. From these records we learn of acts that were meant to force counter exchanges, leading to charges of murder, superstition or witchcraft.Tommy Kuusela is a folklorist and historian of religion. He defended his PhD on giants at Stockholm University in 2017. Kuusela has written close to 70 articles on his research interests, Scandinavian folklore and Old Norse religion. He is the host of Sweden’s biggest podcast on folklore, När man talar om trollen (Speaking of Trolls). Tickets £6.00 (£4.00 for Folklore Society members with the Promo Code)Every ticket sold helps to support the work of The Folklore SocietyImage: from Theodor Kittelsen. I tekst, tegninger og malerier, Gyldendal: Oslo 1945 (p. 223); photo T. Kuusela.

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