30 Giants and Trolls

Giants and Trolls

A woman is confronted by giant trolls who attempt to carry her away.
Arthur Rackham (1867-1939), Freya and the Giants, 1910. Illustration for R. Wagner’s (1813-1883) The Valkyrie and The Rhinegold London: William Heinemann. 1910. Courtesy: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 8, 2022. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/48214/48214-h/48214-h.htm
A giant carries a sword in the air which is lit up by the sky, flames and waves surrounding him.
John Charles Dollman (1851-1934), The Giant with the Flaming Sword, 1909. Illustration from Hélène Adeline (H.A. Guerber’s Myths of the Norsemen from the Eddas and Sagas, Harrap Publishing, p. 27. “https://archive.org/details/mythsofthenorsem00gueruoft/page/n26/mode/1up” by Internet Archive retrieved October 8, 2022 is licensed under CC0 by 1.0.

 

A large giant towers over people on the ground while he walks through a corridor.
Henry Justice Ford (1860-1941), Sindbad the Sailor’s Third Voyage: Encounter with a Man-eating Giant, 1898. Illustration from The Arabian Nights’ Entertainment by Andrew Lang, Longmans, Green, & Co. 1898. “https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HJFord-giant-enters.JPG” by Wikimedia is licensed under CC0 by 1.0.

 

A giant peers down at an individual who shields their head as the wall crumbles beneath their feet.
Virginia Francis Sterrett (1900-1931), A Part of the Wall Crumbled with a Terrible Noise, date unknown. Illustration from Old French Fairy Tales by Virginia Francis Sterrett, p. 102. “https://archive.org/details/oldfrenchfairyta00sgrich/page/n101/mode/2up?view=theater” by Internet Archive is licensed under CC0 by 1.0.

Old French Fairy Tales (Project Gutenberg ebook Version).

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/30129/30129-h/30129-h.htm

 

A group of large trolls surround a small glowing girl who sits on a rock.
John Bauer (1882-1919), Trolls, 1915. Illustration from Walter Stenström’s The Boy and the Trolls or The Adventure in Among Pixies and Trolls, Ǻhlén & Ǻkerlund. Stockholm, 1915. “https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Bauer_1915.jpg” by Wikimedia is licensed under CC0 by 1.0.

“Look at them,” troll mother said. “Look at my sons! You won’t find more beautiful trolls on this side of the moon.” 1915

For more information about John Bauer’s illustrations please open the link below.

https://johnbauerillustrations.com/

Norse Myths and Tales

Popular Tales from the Norse Sir George Webbe Dasent (1817-1896).

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8933/pg8933-images.html

 

A troll hides behind a large collection of rocks and stares outward to a boat in the water.
John Bauer (1882–1918), Troll Hiding Behind Cliffs, unknown date. “https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Bauer_-_Troll_p%C3%A5_lur_(Troll_hiding_behind_cliffs).jpg” by Bukowskis is licensed under CC0 by 1.0.

 

A large troll stands with his hands together, gazing back towards the viewer.
John Bauer (1882-1919), An Old Mountain Troll, 1904. Illustration from Among Gnomes and Trolls by John Bauer,  1904, Åhlén & Åkerlund publishing house (now Bonnier Group). “https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8038562” by Wikimedia is licensed under CC0 by 1.0.

 

A glowing princess walks between two trolls on a pathway in the forest.
John Bauer (1882-1918), The Princess and the Trolls, 1913. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden. “https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_Bauer_-_The_Princess_and_the_Trolls_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg” by Google Art Project is licensed under CC0 by 1.0.

Swedish Folk Tales and Stories by Helena Nyblom can be found if you open the link below. The Translation from Swedish to English can be made.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/53173/53173-h/53173-h.htm

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John Bauer (1882-1918), the artist

The gifted artist John Bauer´s magical illustrations of Swedish fairytales and legends has a major influence on how we trolls, gnomes, pixies, fairies, and other forest deities are envisioned today in art, film, and literature. John Bauer’s forested fantasy world reflects a keen insight and sensitivity for the natural world. Tragically at 36 years old, John Bauer lost his life during a sea storm on Lake Vattern. The storm also claimed the lives of his son Bengt and his wife the artist and model Ester Ellquivst (1880-1918). John Bauer’s inspirational art can be seen at Jōnköping Art Museum, Jönköping, Sweden.

For more information about the Swedish artist John Bauer (born in Jönköping, southern Sweden) , please open the link below. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/TheodorKittelsen-Kvitebj%C3%B8rnKongValemon%281912%29.JPG

http://www.johnbauersmuseum.nu/diverse/english.html#:~:text=John%20Bauer%20%281882-1918%29%20was%20a%20Swedish%20artist%20chiefly,series%20is%20known%20as%20%E2%80%9DAmong%20Gnomes%20and%20Trolls%E2%80%9D.

For more of John Bauer’s illustrations, please open the link below.

https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-bauer

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A white bear walks through the forest with a crowned woman sitting on its back.
Theodor Kittelsen (1857–1914), White Bear King Valemon, 1912. “https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2123058” by Wikimedia is licensed under CC0 by 1.0.

 

The image of a forest troll is created through a collage of trees.
Theodor Kittelsen (1857-1914), Forest Troll, 1906, National Museum of Art, Architecture, and Design, Oslo, Norway. “https://www.nasjonalmuseet.no/en/collection/object/NG.K_H.B.03222” by National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

 

A princess sits on a wooden chair next to a window while picking lice from a troll who sits on a red chair beside her.
Theodor Kittelsen (1857-1914), The Princess Picking Lice from the Troll, 1900. National Museum of Art, Architecture, and Design. Oslo, Norway. “https://www.nasjonalmuseet.no/en/collection/object/NG.M.00554” by National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

 

A white horse in a misty forest basking near a pond
Theodor Kittelsen (1857-1914), The Nix as a White Horse, 1907. “https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Theodor_Kittelsen_-_N%C3%B8kken_som_hvit_hest.jpg” by Wikimedia is licensed under CC0 by 1.0.

1907 http://kittelsen.efenstor.net/albums/troll/normal_noekken_som_hvit_hest_01a.jpg

Nix (singular: Neck; feminine: Nixie) are spirits who dwell in quiet rivers and lakes in England, Germany, and Scandinavia. Their love of water is equaled only by their love of music, and their beautiful songs often draw listeners to the banks of their watery homes. See more

By Theodor Kittelsen – http://kittelsen.efenstor.net/albums/troll/normal_noekken_som_hvit_hest_01a.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1340860

For more information about the Norwegian artist Theodor Kittlesen please open the link below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_Kittelsen

For more information about artists’ depictions of fairy tale worlds, please open the link to the Norwegian National Museum of Art, Architecture, and Design.

https://www.nasjonalmuseet.no/en/collection/articles/fairytale/

Illustrations by Edmund Dulac (1882-1953) from Tales of the Arabian Nights Edmund Dulac

A large figure stands over a girl on a rock floating in the middle of a body of water.
Edmund Dulac (1882-1953),  Stories from the Arabian nights by Housman, Laurence, 1865-1959; Dulac, Edmund, 1882-1953, illustrator. Hodder & Stoughton. 1907 (p.6). Project Gutenberg. Public Domain. Illustrated books by Edmund Dulac in the Public Domain https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45907/45907-h/45907-h.htm

Illustrated books by Edmund Dulac in the Public Domain:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/45907/45907-h/45907-h.htm

Excerpt from The Fisherman and the Genie retold by Laurence Houseman (illustrated by Edmund Dulac). Stories from The Arabian Nights. Garden City Publishing Co. 1907.

A poor fisherman finds a mysterious vessel in his catch one day:

“The sight cheered him. ‘This,’ thought he, ‘I can sell in the market, where I may get for it enough to buy a measure of corn; and, if one is to judge by weight, what lies within may prove yet more valuable.

Thus reckoning, he prised out the stopper with his knife, and turning the vessel upside down looked for the contents to follow. Great was his astonishment when nothing but smoke came out of it. The smoke rose in a thick black column and spread like a mist between earth and sky, till presently, drawing together, it took form; and there in the midst stood a mighty Genie, whose brows touched heaven while his feet rested on the ground. His head was like a dome, his hand were like flails, and his legs like pine trees; his mouth was black as a cavern, his nostrils were like trumpets, his eyes blazed like torches, and his wings whirled round and over him like the simoon of the desert….” (Housman, 1907, pp.28-29).

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For the complete stories of The Arabian Nights (Housman and Dulac, 1907). Open the link below.

 

https://archive.org/details/storiesfromarabi00hous_0/page/n5/mode/2up

To see more of Edmund Dulac’s illustration from The Arabian Nights, please open the link below.

https://www.nocloo.com/edmund-dulac-stories-from-arabian-nights-1907/

Audio Version of The Fisherman and the Genie and other Tales (Internet Archive).

https://archive.org/details/storiesfromthearabiannights_1610_librivox#:~:text=Publication%20date%202016-10-07%20Usage%20Public%20Domain%20Mark%201.0,Mike%20Pelton%3B%20Stuart%20Bell%3B%20serenitylee%3B%20Calaeryn%20Llewellyn%20Williams

Sinbad the Sailor and other tales.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Sinbad_the_sailor_%26_other_stories_from_the_Arabian_nights_-_Dulac_frontispiece.jpg

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/47285/pg47285-images.html

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A giant in the clouds holding a sword holds his hand down to a man who sits in a landscape of mountains.
Rene Bull (1872-1942), Title unknown, 1898. Illustration from Tales from the Arabian Nights, Longmans, Green, & Co. “https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fisherman_2.jpg” by Wikimedia is licensed under CC0 by 1.0.

 

A three headed dog confronts a woman on a rocky hillside.
Edmund Dulac (1882-1953), Cerebus, the Black Dog of Hades, 1915. Illustration from Edmund Dulac’s Picture Book for the French Red Cross, Hodder and Stoughton, 1915, p. 146. “https://archive.org/details/edmunddulacspict00dulauoft/page/n145/mode/1up” by Internet Archive is licensed under CC0 by 1.0.

Cerberus, the triple-headed, snake-haired, black dog guarding the gates of Hades, was a mythological monster of fierce and terrible aspect. When the shades of the departed from the upper world were ferried across the River Styx by old Charon the boatman, Cerberus lay quiet and let them pass unchallenged. He knew them: they were shades brought in regular order, by Charon, and, as such, they were allowed to enter Hades. But, if they wished to retrace their steps, and gain the upper world again—this was a labour, this was a task not so easily accomplished, for Cerberus would bar their way; his mane would rise and his jaws would gape, and there was no passing this terrible gatekeeper.” ( Dulac, p. 93 in Edmund Dulac’s Picture-Book for The French Red Cross. Alpha Editions, 2021, p. 93).

Edmund Dulac’s Picture Book for the French Red

Crosshttps://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/45907/pg45907-images.html

 

A giant carrying a large sack full of a garden leans down next to a passerby in the forest.
Arthur Rackham (1867-1939), In a Twinkling the Giant put each Garden, and Orchard, and Castle in the Bundle as they were Before, 1916. Illustration for The Allies Fairy Book by Edmund Gosse, 1916, p. 48. “https://archive.org/details/b1625312/page/n47/mode/2up?curid=72827310” by Internet Archive is licensed under CC0 by 1.0.

 

A young girl stands with a sword and aims it towards a large winged creature with wings and talons.
John Tenniel (1820-1914), The Jabberwocky, 1871. Illustration from Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll, London: Macmillan, 1897-1890s. Carroll, L. (1832-1898). Through the looking glass and what Alice found there. 1897-1890s. London: Macmillan. “https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20137” by Wikimedia is licensed under CC0 by 1.0.

Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll (1832-1898)

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand:

Long time the manxome foe he sought —

So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head

He went galumphing back.

“And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!’

He chortled in his joy.

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

Retrieved March 28, 2023 Internet Archive. Public Domain.

https://ia800108.us.archive.org/12/items/Jabberwocky_201802/Jabberwocky.pdf

For more information about “Jabberwocky” please open the Wikipedia link below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabberwocky