Jump to content

Rådande

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rådande or löfjerskor are tree spirits in Swedish faerie mythology, similar to the dryads and hamadryads of Greek and Roman mythology.

In Swedish folklore, a is a spirit connected to a place, object or animal; examples are the skogsrå (a forest being) and sjörå (a water being). Thus, the word rådande or råande may derive from and ande, "spirit".[1] It may also be a corruption of trädande (plural trädandar), meaning tree spirit). and råd-ande (with a hyphen) are attested in Jacob Mörk's political satire novel "Adalriks och Göthildas Äfventyr" published in Stockholm in 1742.

Benjamin Thorpe translates rådande as "elf" and identifies them with löfjerskor, or grove-folk. He explains that sacred groves were supposed to be protected by deities. A tree that grew unusually fast was a "habitation-tree" or boträd, and an invisible Radande was believed to live in its shade, rewarding those who cared for the tree and punishing any who harmed it.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "RÅDANDE". Svenska Akademiens ordbok. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  • Mörk, Jacob-Henrik (1742). Adalriks och Göthildas Äfventyr. Stockholm.
  • Thorpe, Benjamin (1851). Northern Mythology, Comprising the Principle Popular Traditions and Superstitions of Scandinavia, North Germany, and the Netherlands. Vol.2 Scandinavian popular traditions and superstitions. London: Edward Lumley. pp. 71–73.