A Wicked Troll that Enchanted Icelandic Priests – Folklore Friday

All Things Iceland

This episode is part of my Folklore Friday series, where I am sharing fascinating stories from Icelandic folklore on Fridays throughout 2024.

A Troll Lurking in Iceland’s East Fjords

Mjóifjörður (or narrow fjord) used to have up to 100 inhabitants centuries ago but it is now only about 14 people live there. During the winter it is common for the roads to be completely blocked off and the inhabitants can only be reached by boat.

The troll of this story was said to be around centuries ago when there were more people living in the fjord. She lived in a beautiful gorge called Prestagil. It‘s said tha the troll would use her magical powers to make the priests of the church in small farm called Fjörður go mad.

Priests Enchanted by a Hungry Troll

Her routine was to wait fo the pastor to be at the pulpit of the church on Sunday and then she would wave her hand outside the pulpit window. The pastor would see this and it would somehow enchant him to say:

Tear out my guts and my heart

Off to the gorge I’ll depart

Tear out my lust and my seed

To Mjóifjörður gorge I shall speed

After saying this, the priest would run out of the church as fast as he could into the gorge where the troll lived and was never seen again. Due to the Troll telling a traveler once that she was nibbling on the head of a former priest of the Fjörður, news spread that the troll was eating the men.

Several priests took the position over the years and each one disappeared after being enchanted by the troll. Naturally, priests became too afraid to serve there because they didn’t want to become Troll food.

A Brave Priest Comes Along

Finally, a priest volunteered even though he knew of the danger. What this priest did differently than the others was that he came up with a plan. Before his first mass, he assembled a group of men that normally attended the church.

He instructed them to do the following: When the troll tried to enchant him, six men will hold him back from running out of the church, another six will ring the church bells, and ten men will hold the church doors shut.

The fateful Sunday arrived and just as expected, the Troll waved her hand at the pulpit window. The priest immediately became enchanted and said the rhyme.

All of the men jumped into action. While the men held the priest back from fleeing the church, the other men rang the church bells like crazy. When the troll heard the bells she fled into the gorge and was never seen again.

Random Fact of the Episode

Klifbrekkufossar is a seven tiered waterfall in Mjóifjörður that is worth seeing if you are in the area and have time to drive into this fjord.

Icelandic Word of the Episode

Prestagil – Pastor’s Gorge

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