Iceland Archives - Bone and Sickle

Trolls in Medieval Literature

April 27, 2026 boneandsickle ballads, EPISODE, folk tales, folklore, Germanic, Iceland, legends, literature, medieval, Middle Ages, monsters, Norse, Norse religion, Norway, saints, storytelling, troll-cats, trolls, witchcraft, witches

Trolls, as presented in medieval literature, are vastly different from the creatures we encountered in our last episode’s collection of[…]

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The Seeress: Germanic Tribes, Vikings, and Witches

May 13, 2022 boneandsickle EPISODE, folklore, Germanic, history, human sacrifice, legends, Norse religion, Odin, pagan, paganism, prophecy, Ragnarök, sagas, Scandinavia, Seeress, seidr, Völva, witchcraft, witches

In pagan Germanic cultures, the seeress played an extremely important role, not only as a clairvoyant, but also often fulfilling[…]

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Mermen and more Marvels of the Northern Seas

April 19, 2021 boneandsickle cryptozoology, draug, EPISODE, folklore, history, legends, mermaids, mermen, monsters, nautical, revenant, sagas, Scandinavia, sea monster, superstition, undead

In this episode, we continue our survey of supernatural sailors’ lore of the North with a look at mermen, Iceland’s[…]

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