The Mare (Maran) is an evil female spirit who visits men or animals at night – hence the term ”nightmare”. She is riding her victims, making them sweaty, out of breath and with a feeling…
The elves in Nordic Folklore are usually described as very small, female beings, dressed in shimmering white and with wings, often dancing on a misty field. But as with other supernatural beings, they can change…
The Huldra is a female supernatural being in the Nordic Folklore (although as with the Nix it is a species, not a single entity). The Norwegian name Huldra comes from Huld, a völva in Norse…
Next up among our mythic creatures is the Nix (Swedish: Näcken). The Nix is a water creature, who lives in lakes, rivers, streams and brooks, and tried to lure people into the waters to drown.…
The Nordic ”Tomte” or ”Nisse” has no really good translation to English. The closest might be hobgoblin, elf or gnome. But since it is a specific Nordic creature, I will call it Tomte. The Swedish…
Up until early spring 1543, everything had seemingly gone Nils Dacke’s way. Since midsummer the previous year, he had led the largest and most successful peasant revolt ever in Swedish history, known as the Dacke…
After the introduction of Nils Dacke and the beginnings of the revolt, let’s turn to the rebellion that bears his name. The king, Gustav Vasa, was not particularly worried about the news of a revolt…
The picture above is a reconstruction of Nils Dacke, a suggestion of what he might have actually looked like. It is based on what is said to be an contemporary image of him, painted originally…
Although peasants indeed had been a driving force – and the most important military force in Engelbrekt’s rebellion – noblemen had been involved and with time taken over the movement. The first true peasants’ revolt…
Engelbrekt, the leader of the rebellion, was dead. With his death, the fragile unity amongst the rebel leaders was gone. Karl Knutsson Bonde became the sole Captain of the armed forces and managed to outmanouver…