by Nils Bergslien (1853-1928)
Fossegrim, also known simply as the grim (Norwegian) or Strömkarlen (Swedish), is a water spirit or troll in Scandinavian folklore. Fossegrim plays the fiddle, especially the Hardanger fiddle. Fossegrim has been associated with a mill spirit (kvernknurr) and is related to the water spirit (nokken) and is sometimes also called näcken in Sweden. It is associated with river streams (Swedish name "Strömkarlen" means "The water stream Man") and particularly with cascading streams (foss in Norwegian) and mill races.[1] [2] [3]
- ^ "Scandinavian näcken, nøkk, strömkarl, Grim or Fosse-Grim". Nightbringer.se. Retrieved June 1, 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Benjamin Thorpe, Northern Mythology: comprising the principal popular traditions and superstitions of Scandinavia, north Germany, and the Netherlands, 3 vols. London: Lumley, 1851–52, OCLC 656592812, Volume 2 Scandinavian Popular Traditions and Superstitions, p. 23.
- ^ Eugen Mogk, Mythologie, Grundriß der germanischen Philologie 1, Strasbourg: Trübner, 1891, OCLC 162976637, p. 1028 (in German) equated them, but Reimund Kvideland and Henning Sehmsdorf, Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend, Nordic Series 15, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1988, ISBN 9780816615032, p. 248, distinguish the "mill sprite" as a mischievous creature who punishes grinding on Christian holy days.