LL-L "Folklore" 2001.12.08 (01) [E]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 08.DEC.2001 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian L=Limburgish
 LS=Low Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
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From: Lone Elisabeth Olesen <baxichedda at yahoo.com>
Subject: Folklore

Hello all,

"Dawn Work" <dawn_work at uswest.net> wrote:

> Thank you, Reinhard, for your translation. It has
> rather the flavor of the
> "Erlkonig," doesn't it?  Actually, it is quite
> resonant with many other
> stories and descriptions of the Wild Ride or Wild
> Hunt. I am interested in
> the word "Helderbult." I have been thinking for
> several years about the
> Norse Goddess Hel, whose name according to some
> sources derives ultimately
> from a Gothic or proto-Germanic word similar to
> "halja," meaning
> "concealed, hidden." It gives us such English words
> as "helmet." The German
> folkloric figure Holla, on the other hand, seems
> related to the complex of
> words that have come down in English as
> weal/heal/whole/holy. In one Low
> Saxon dictionary (or was it Dutch),) if I remember
> correctly, the
> translation for the English word "Hell" was "hal,"
> which meant either
> "hell" or "bright."  The "illuminated knoll" that
> you refer to, Reinhard,
> seems to add another level of interest to my
> questioning. Does anyone out
> there have any theories as to which words amongst
> these all might be related?

This is probably not the answer you were looking for,
but if the first part of the word has something to do
with either "hel" or light, then both match the
impression I had reading the poem... There are many
folk tales from Denmark about the illuminated hills
were the "elle" people lived, and since the "Erlkönig"
is the same creature in German, it sounds to me like
there must be a connection there as far as
"illuminated knolls" are concearned. According to the
tales I have heard, there are two kinds of these
"illuminated knolls" or hills: 1. The "elle" or "erl"
people have a party of some sort (that's why you can
see the light) and humans are then lured there, but if
they attend the party, they will either die or come
back many years later, believing they have been there
only for a short while. (Most often it happens to
young men or women about to get married. The words
"erl" and "elle" are supposedly loans of "elf", but
these ones are bigger than the English elves and
definately evil).
2. Within the Scandinavian mythology, you also speak
of the "troll hill" where trolls and all sorts of
other evil creatures, including witches, have a party
and make a lot of noise. The scenes described in the
poem "De helderbult" reminded me of this. In this
case, the humans would be scared, like the mother in
the poem, and not feel attracted to the hill.
Hope this is of some sort of help...
Greetings, Lone Olesen

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