(c) Örjan Westin 1998.
The origin of the Trolls in Britain is unknown. Some say that they have lived here since time immemorial, some say they came with the Saxons or the Irish. Some scholars even maintain that they are entirely mythical creatures, sprung from the minds of gullible, drunken peasants who have been frightened by a bear or a boar in the woods far from the learned centers of culture.
Most common people do believe in their existence, though, especially in Cambria and Anglia, where the sightings have been most frequent. From what they tell, there appear to be not one, but two different kinds of Trolls. The tales do differ a lot between the east and the west, and the two kinds of Trolls are referred to as Mountain (in Cambria) and Woodland (in Anglia) Trolls.
The differences lie mostly in the areas of culture (or lack thereof), philosophy and way of life. In appearance and general behavior the Mountain and Woodland Trolls are very much alike, although the former tend to be bigger and more rash.
Trolls are big, with a typical height between eight and twelve feet. They are tall and has broad shoulders, are very strong, and have great endurance. Quite surprisingly, they are not clumsy, despite their size, and can display amazing agility. They are built like very powerful humans, but have longer arms, which they sometimes employ in movement, especially in rough terrain.
Their bodies are covered in thick fur, black or brown, and they do not wear clothes at all. On the head the fur grows into a mane, resembling hair, which they leave unkempt. The males also have beards. The color of their skin varies between green-gray and brown. Their hide is very tough, and gets tougher as they age. If anything, they find the climate too warm, but it seems they are too stubborn to move farther north. It is rumoured that there exist coats made from troll skin. These are said to be very warm and providing its new bearer almost as good armor as it's first owner.
Their faces are most often very ugly, like a parody of a man. Their ears are huge and pointed, their noses long and broad, their foreheads low. They have broad mouths with thick lips and large, yellow teeth. Their eyes are small, and the eyebrows are very hairy.
They seldom clean themselves, cannot swim, and do not like getting wet. Because of this, their appearance melts well into the terrain. The Woodland Trolls are often covered with straws, leaves, dirt and moss, the Mountain Trolls with dust and dirt.
As they grow older, the color of the fur starts to fade and turn gray, and it is reputed that the king of the Woodland Trolls is almost completely white. In this statement lies the most unsettling fact about trolls: they do not die of age, nor do their powers wane as the years go by. Apparently, they reach their full height at the age of fifty, but their strength continues to grow, although their agility lessens with the centuries. One old Troll was seen fetching dinner from a Lord's pastures, leaving with one full-grown bull under each arm. Thus encumbered, he could not climb over the low wall surrounding the field and fell flat on his face. He shrugged, dropped one of the bulls and left, climbing with the help of his one free arm, coming back for the other bull later.
Fortunately, they mate for life and do not try to find another mate if, as sometimes happens, their partner is killed or incapacitated. Furthermore, their fertility is low - few couples have more than one child. The old ones are less agile than the young are, but bigger and stronger.
Apparently, Trolls find languages easy to learn. Reports tells us about Trolls being able to speak and understand both Cymri, Latin and Saxon, as well as their own language. They only seem to lack a bit of vocabulary, which has been explained by their limited intellectual gifts. They would not, it is reasoned, learn words concerning concepts they do not understand. Other say that they only use words which has a Trollish equivalent.
They seldom concern themselves with the finer points of grammar; examples of this are the use of sentences like "I is hungry", "You hurt" and "I eat sheep". They do not bother much with temporal distinctions either. The two last sentences above could be both past, present and future tense: "You has been/are/will get hurt" and "I have eaten/am eating/will eat sheep".
Their voices are surprisingly smooth, unless, of course, they are upset, and deep. They do not seem to be able to sing - their own speech is very monotone - but are reported to enjoy listening to a softly sung ballad or lullaby, which may be a reason why they abduct maids. One common folk story tells of a milk-maid who, after being abducted by a Troll, sung it to sleep, escaped and fetched her lord who promptly disposed of the Troll, who was kept drowsy by the maid's soft song during the battle. Unfortunately, this approach would not work for a man singing, since Trolls generally seems to prefer sopranos.
As has been stated earlier, Trolls are not animals. They can communicate and have societies with, to stretch the definition of the word a bit, ethics and rules. Generally, the Mountain Trolls are less intelligent and 'civilized' than their Woodland cousins are, but even among these you find a rather developed, for want of a better word, culture. Although different in sophistication, all Trolls share some common traits. These are the following:
All Trolls are very curious and are often willing to put off an easy meal to pursue a question or to gather new knowledge. They are, reputedly, fond of riddles and seem to be especially interested in all aspects of nature. If a plant or herb has some special properties, a Troll will know.
Unfortunately, they appear to be very jealous when it comes to knowledge. They might be ready to tell you what you want to know, but the answer always has a prize. It is possible to try to trick a Troll to reveal something out of pride, by showing doubt of their knowledge, but this could be dangerous. If the Troll realizes you are trying to fool it, it might tell you a lie, or become furious and attack without preamble.
Trolls are generally very proud creatures. If challenged, they almost always responds, even in the face of overwhelming odds. It will remember any slights and is not inclined to forgive. If you make an enemy of a Troll, there can be no reconciliation. You can hardly force a Troll to obey your command; their pride will not admit it.
Paired with their pride, Trolls do have honor, although their definition of the concept is not the correct one, as used by our knights and lords. There is nothing in their code to stop them from stealing cattle or to kill someone out of mere irritation.
But their hospitality is absolute. Once invited to a Troll's home, you are seen not as a guest, but as a family member, all throughout the duration of your stay. This might well be the reason why very few men have been offered this honor. Most Trolls would find it difficult to see what normally would be a meal as a brother instead.
Furthermore, an oath or a vow given by a Troll is not a promise, but a fact. If it is possible at all to fulfill, it will be done, and if not, the Troll will perish trying. It is hard, though, to extract this prize from a Troll. The only way would be to do the Troll a great favor, something it couldn't have done by itself. A Troll does always pay its debts, whether he owes revenge or assistance.
But be wary of lending a Troll assistance unasked for; if you presume he need help and step in to lend a hand, his pride might get hurt, in which case he will acknowledge a debt of the former kind mentioned above.
A Troll will normally eat anything that isn't too hard to chew. Trees and rocks are generally left alone, and when they catch a larger animal or a person, their first action is to rip off the head and throw it away. It is speculated that this is because they do not like the taste of brains.
A Troll is usually hungry all the time, but since this is the normal state for a Troll, they have learned to ignore it. A Troll pursuing another matter may pass a stack of hay or a herd of sheep without being distracted.
What lies behind the stories of Trolls turning into stone when exposed to the sun is the fact that Trolls get drowsy when out in daytime, they are normally a nocturnal species. Added to this, there is the peculiar fact that Trolls sometimes, for reasons unknown, can stay in one place for a very long time. Some say this is because their stubbornness - if a Troll decides to wait for something, it will not lose interest.
Others, often naive romantics, claim that it has searched solitude to contemplate some problem beyond our fathoming. This does seem, in view of what we know of Trolls' intellectual gifts, quite improbable. However, after enough time has passed, it will be undistinguishable from the surrounding terrain, overgrown with moss and grass, surrounded by trees and bushes.
Stories tell of travelers seeking shelter from the wind behind a rock, a rock that wakes when a fire is lit against its side. Thus awakened, the Troll is often furious at having been disturbed and attacks at once. After the disturbance is removed, however, the Troll is likely to return to its former, dormant state.
Common folk say that in order to prevent a Troll's entry to a house, you should put a horseshoe over the door, since Trolls cannot stand the presence of cold iron. Strangely enough, this does not seem to be superstition. Reliable reports tell that a Troll, chasing people, will turn away once the people reach the sanctuary beyond the horseshoe. On the other hand, they do not react this way when threatened with a sword or an axe.
There has been reports of changelings too, when a Troll has made an, in its own opinion surely fair enough, exchange of babies. Apparently the Troll doing such an exchange believes its newfound parents will rear its own child. Obviously, this is seldom the case. The Troll-baby is, as far as we can tell, almost always put to death, making an agreement to reverse the exchange with the Troll impossible.
The shock the parents receive when they find an ugly Troll-toddling in the crib instead of their beloved child could only be surpassed by the child's horror when facing the abductor. This is why many a baby has a horseshoe or some other item of iron in the crib, since Trolls, as we've said earlier, cannot stand cold iron.
This might sound strange in view of their appearance, but Trolls apparently enjoy beauty more than many men, particularly the fragile kind of beauty. Flowers, butterflies, birds and does can captivate them in mid-stride. They never hurt beautiful women or children, although many maid and playing child have been shocked and frightened when noticing a lumbering Troll watching them intently from the woods. In fact, sometimes they bring women and children as guests, or rather, abductees.
First we must be aware that an enraged Troll does not stop fighting until the threat is no more. It won't become unconscious, but continues to fight with its full power until dead. On the other hand, a Troll does not fight for reasons other than self-defense or when hunting its prey. Unfortunately, they consider humans prey, although they tend to avoid stalking an armored knight. This is not because of fear, a concept they do not understand, but rather because the food comes in an inconvenient package.
As with some animals, you can try to fool a Troll that you are dead, in which case it will not need to defend itself. But if you do, you can only hope that it doesn't decide it has the time for a quick snack.
Normally, they fight with their bare hands or use a club, which has a reach, combined with the Troll's long arms, at least twice the length of a knight's. On their fingers they have sharp claws which often carry infections. These claws cannot penetrate a metal armor, though. Some Trolls have acquired great swords or spears. A fight with a Troll armed such is to be avoided, since they often have trained up an impressive skill over the years, wielding the weapon single-handedly and using whatever they find nearby (trees, sheep or unconscious knights) as a shield.