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Nov 08, 2009 20:42

Okay, I'm a bit better now.

You know, I was planning on making this... Huge epic post with Swedish myths and legends; one from each province. But then I got so impatient that I decided to post the two I've translated so far. >3>;

In Swedish there is a word called sägen, which roughly translates to myth or legend, although I personally feel that ( Read more... )

folktales, translation

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Comments 18

ex_kleinod November 8 2009, 20:20:36 UTC
These were unexpectedly brutal...!

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taiyou_to_tsuki November 8 2009, 20:29:57 UTC
I don't think they're that bad...

... Then again, I have been rather blunted by these things by now, I suspect.

"And then she broke his fingers off!" "I ATE MY UNBORN BROTHER'S FOETUS!" "HE RODE FOR THREE DAYS AND NIGHTS WITH THE MAIDEN BOUND TO HIS SADDLE BY HER HAIR!!1"

It's just... The people of the past. They liked gory tales.

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ex_kleinod November 8 2009, 20:34:15 UTC
Well, especially the girls are drastically fucked over in old ages, so Ebbe killing mommy and daughter and new spouse off wasn't that surprising, but the ghost is really creepy.

the split head dangling down on the shoulder.

...yuck!

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taiyou_to_tsuki November 8 2009, 20:38:40 UTC
True in most cases, but I've found that in the Middle Ages there are surprisingly many stories about women fucking over men for such a presumably misogynistic society. And they often get a hefty reward for it too. Kill off fifty guys and become queen, yay!

Haha, I guess it shows that people really don't change. Although personally I feel that the old stories are more tasteful than the splatter movies that are produced nowadays...

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masanami November 8 2009, 21:44:30 UTC
Glad you're feeling better :)

I quite like those translations. Thanks for sharing them <3

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taiyou_to_tsuki November 8 2009, 21:58:32 UTC
Yes~~ I ranted a bit about how western folklore in modern media fails because it's so heavily censored, and then I felt better. xD

Thank you! I try my best. I like these stories and there are more to come, I'll probably have to make a collective post on all the translations in time...

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masanami November 8 2009, 22:08:53 UTC
Oh censorship, how I dislike you...

Yay, I am definitely interested in reading more. I've actually been reading some Norwegian folk/fairy tales recently and I rather enjoy those so these are a treat!

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taiyou_to_tsuki November 8 2009, 22:24:07 UTC
The censorship of folk tales is just... Incredible. It's fun to tell people about it, especially the Grimms' tales, since they're so anchored in people's childhoods. After a chat with me they will never look at Disney movies the same way again. xD

Until then you can check the "folktales" tag at my sidebar, I should have... Three more stories and other folklore-related schtuff there, mostly Swedish. But yeah, if you like Norwegian folktales you should enjoy Swedish ones, they're pretty much the same. xD NORWAY YOU ARE NOT A SPECIAL SNOWFLAKE WHATEVER YOUR NATIONALISTIC INHABITANTS WANT TO BELIEVE.

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kitsuneasika November 9 2009, 00:18:22 UTC
Oh! These were interesting. I can see why myth or legend wouldn't suit what these are exactly, though...

The second one was really sad, and the first I found fascinating.

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taiyou_to_tsuki November 9 2009, 14:33:03 UTC
No, I think the main problem I have with the words "myth" and "legend" is that myth is something that is proven untrue, and legend is too... Epic? It's too big. Sägner are about relatively small and everyday events, often, or as here; explaining origins of things and telling stories.

I picked stories I personally like and thought that other people would too. :3 I forgot to mention, that MArgareta Barnekow was indeed a real person, but whether she ever encountered any ghosts I do not know...

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kimuro December 19 2009, 01:52:18 UTC
Very interesting. I like the bit about the baroness's ring being found with the murdered man. Nice bit of detail.

I'm afraid I didn't really find them excessively gory - they just seemed like the sort of thing that would be found in folktales. And I MUCH agree with you about the censorship of fairy-tales. It's not so much for the kids, though, since little children have a strong sense of right and wrong and they very much want the bad guys to be punished right properly.

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taiyou_to_tsuki December 19 2009, 02:02:15 UTC
I found that rather charming as well, y'know, in modern ghost lore it seems like such a big thing that spirits are incorporeal... So that little twist was a fun detail, yes ( ... )

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malkhos December 19 2009, 02:19:43 UTC
There is a similar ghost story set in Macedonia, probably from the third century BC, reported by Phlegon of Tralles' Book of Marvels (second century) and in Proclus' (4th century) commentary of Plato's Republic. In that one the human is male and the ghost female and they have sex for three nights running until the girl's mother learns of it and goes to her tomb, finding the trinkets from her lover--and in that case the ghost cursing her since, she would evidentially have been brought back to life if the mother hadn't interfered.

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taiyou_to_tsuki December 19 2009, 02:29:02 UTC
Woah, that is quite hardcore. I consider myself to be relatively well-versed in ghostlore, at least from up here. Emphasis on "up here", because I've certainly never heard of, well, necrophilia in ghost stories from Scandinavia. Then again the age of your story might have something to do with it. :9

Interesting story though. Now, I can't say anything since I don't know the details of it, but I find it intriguing how it's implied that such a carnal activity as intercourse helps to bring back the dead, who are traditionally associated with a separate, incorporeal world ('Course, for all I know it could be "the power of love" as well, but... That is not as interesting. :D).

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malkhos December 19 2009, 02:48:50 UTC
Actually the story was adapted by Goethe as the Bride of Corinth:

http://web.uvic.ca/geru/487/corinth.html

In that version the dead girl is not just a ghost but a Lamia (vampire), a curse in Greek folklore put on any girl who dies childless. Why did she die childless, in fact a virgin? Her mother was an early convert to Christianity and forced her daughter to become a nun.

Sorry to go on like this, but it is one of my favorite ghost stories.

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taiyou_to_tsuki December 19 2009, 02:52:38 UTC
So I seriously need to brush up on my western literature, the only works by Goethe I've read are both parts of Faust. *Rubs palms*

No, no problem! I love ghost stories, so recommendations are always welcome. In fact, I've wished for a book with ghost stories from the same area as the one I translated here for Christmas, so I hope to be able to contribute more in the future... :D

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