The Legend of the Church-Building Troll in Northern Europe

ONE of the more persistent and folkloristically intriguing traditions of northern Europe concerns the reputed erection of mighty structures by supernatural creatures. But more than any of the other structures involved palaces, castles, bridges, etc. the Gothic churches, with their seemingly sky-piercing spires, have teased popular fancy into concluding that these must be the work of more than human hands. The spreading tradition, initially doubtless attached to exceptionally mighty structures, has subsequently frequently come to be attached to humbler churches. Apart from many tales concerning the erection of unspecified churches, literally hundreds of specified ones in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Germany, France, Holland, and yet other countries are reputed to have been built by supernatural agents. In Germany the builder is always the devil, and the pattern of this tale which far from always concerns churches is roughly as follows

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art history · Creatures · Legend · Natural (archaeology · Historical and Archaeological Studies · History