Viking Hoard Found in Scotland

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by rognvald

You mean like this Viking garden gnome?

No, the Danish for them, nissa sticks in my mind spelling I have no idea.

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by boatman61

More likely Portuguese from the Cod fishing ships of yesteryear..

Boatman,
Cars mentioned the DNA study citing the Spanish sailors. I can't find it . . . but its certainly possible, as your above quote, about the Portuguese cod fishermen who were prolific fish hunters of the North. You think they were tempted by those tall blonde Viking maidens? Or were they more interested in their couture and hairstyle so popular with the metrosexual males today?

[Andy73]

Originally Posted by rognvald

Dan,
Before international banking or the luxury of living in a protected fortress, people buried their valuables to protect them from theft.

I'm sure the people of Cyprus are happy with their banking protection

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Cadence

My wise ass remark. Can someone tell me what Danes call them?

Gnomes are called "nisser" in Danish. WE don't have them as paper doll chains that get wrapped around christmas trees. We have cut-out cardboard versions that are hung on picture frames, shelves etc. All the "nisser" are doing strange things as "nisser" are know to be practical jokers

[Astrid]

Dvergur is the term we had in Iceland; it actually means dwarf since gnome is a term and being introduced in 16th century literature. Dwarves, elves, trolls, etc. are grouped together under the term hidden folk, huldufólk.

[SaltyMonkey]

TROLLS and ELVES and GNOMES are all different. Please do NOT confuse these. It's very disturbing if you do.

[dpddj]

I suspect they'll find remnants that will prove this was one of Boatman's earliest deliveries.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Astrid

Dvergur is the term we had in Iceland; it actually means dwarf since gnome is a term and being introduced in 16th century literature. Dwarves, elves, trolls, etc. are grouped together under the term hidden folk, huldufólk.

Thanks! carstenb was also kind enough to respond. He answered what I recalled as a kid, nisser. I'll guess dvergur was a Norwegian name or a derivative of?

Thanks again.

[Astrid]

It comes from Old Norse dvergr.

TROLLS and ELVES and GNOMES are all different. Please do NOT confuse these. It's very disturbing if you do.

Not confusing them at all actually. The generic term hidden folk is used in Iceland to avoid calling them by what they are, as some believe this invites mischief if you catch their attention unknowingly. I believe the term Little People in Ireland serves the same purpose.

[SaltyMonkey]

An elf is a creature of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally imagined as a race of minor nature and fertility gods, who are often pictured as youthful-seeming men and women of great beauty living in forests and underground places and caves, or in wells and springs. They have been portrayed to be long-lived or immortal and as beings of magical powers.

A troll is a fearsome member of a mythical anthropomorphic race from Norse mythology. Originally more or less the Nordic equivalents of giants, although often smaller in size, the different depictions have come to range from the fiendish giants – similar to the ogres of England (also called Trolls at times, see Troller's Gill) – to a devious, more human-like folk of the wilderness, living underground in hills, caves or mounds. In the Faroe islands, Orkney and Shetland tales, trolls are called trows, adopted from the Norse language when these islands were settled by Vikings.

The meaning of the word troll is unknown. It might have had the original meaning of supernatural or magical with an overlay of malignant and perilous. Another likely suggestion is that it means "someone who behaves violently". In old Swedish law, trolleri was a particular kind of magic intended to do harm. It should also be noted that North Germanic terms such as trolldom (witchcraft) and trolla/trylle (perform magic tricks) in modern Scandinavian languages does not imply any connection with the mythical beings. Moreover, in the sources for Norse mythology, troll can signify any uncanny being, including but not restricted to the Norse giants (jötnar).

A goblin is an evil, crabby, or mischievous creature of folklore, often described as a grotesquely disfigured or gnome-like phantom, that may range in height from that of a dwarf to that of a human. They are attributed with various (sometimes conflicting) abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases goblins have been classified as constant annoying little creatures somewhat related with the celtic brownie.

According to "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English" the name is probably derived from the Anglo-French gobelin (medieval Latin gobelinus), which is probably a diminutive of Gobel, a name related to the word kobold. Goblin is also related to the French lutin[1]. In addition, there also exist various other alternative spellings of the word goblin, including: Gobblin, gobeline, gobling, goblyn, gobelinus (medieval Latin), and vulgus gobelinum (demon) (Latin).