JOHN BAUER /

"Look at them," troll mother said. "Look at my sons! You won't find more beautiful trolls on this side of the moon." 1915

Some of you don't know Trolska Polska and I'm here to change that. If you like the goblincore aesthetic this might be your new favorite band.

Garmarna - "Herr Mannelig" [English Subtitles]

Å på min grav ska det stå: Som hon har längtat / På min grav ska det stå: Som hon har älskat / Ge tillbaks till det som allting kom ifrån / Som kärlek, värme, höjder och magi och elden / Som födde mig / Jag växte upp på / Eros, agape, philia

- Sara Parkman, Eros, agape, philia (2022)

Tonight’s folk vibe: Swedish

Fränder & Sutari - Across the Baltic Sea

Poland / Sweden, 2022, Polish folk / Swedish folk

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Very glad that actual physical copies of this LP now exists in the world; one of my favorite contemporary Scandinavian folk records in recent memory.

Folke Gullby - Cats (1954)

Fooduary Day 13: Kanelbullar (Swedish Cinnamon Roll)

So day 10 was supposed to be cinnamon rolls but CNY so instead I swapped out prompt 13, chocolate covered pretzels, because unless I wanted to do pretzels general the history tie in wasn’t very exciting. Meanwhile cinnamon buns open a door to more folk clothing and that’s the sort of thing that sparks joy. Cinnamon buns are super popular in the Scandinavian countries but in Sweden they are so popular that October 4th is Kanelbullens (Cinnamon bun) Day. The recipe for the buns dates back to the 1920s in the post WW1 recovery…and now I want cinnamon buns. I looked at photos of Swedish folk fashion and of course put a little cinnamon-bun spin on things… though the cheek swirl might be a little much.

I am the artist! Do not post without permission & credit! Thank you! Come visit me over on: instagram, tiktok or check out my coloring book available now \ („• ֊ •„) /

https://linktr.ee/ellen.artistic

Swedish woman, Sweden, by Cheyenne Production

Maybe I need to learn Swedish and immerse myself in all things SRF. Are they generally messy or boring?

Depends on how you define things. I would say they're boring 95% of the time, but then when there's a scandal, it's a scandal

Here are a few highlights:

In 1914, Gustaf V gave a speech to the people in which he opposed the government's politics & called for stronger Armed Forces (side note but it's a well-known fact that Gustaf was very worried about the growing tensions "on the continent" & I mean, the dude was right to be concerned). This led to a political crisis & the last political influence the monarch had was stripped. It's unclear who actually wrote the speech; some speculate it was Victoria since it was very well known that she was unhappy about the fact that she, as Queen, didn't have any real power.

In 1936, a woman named Anna wanted to file for divorce from her husband, Kurt. The reason? Her motivation was that her husband had cheated on her with King Gustaf V. This was during a time when homosexuality was illegal & divorce papers were open to the public, so even the hint that the monarch himself might engage in "homosexual acts"? Unthinkable! Long story short, the Court tried to come to an agreement with Anna & Kurt, but the couple continued to blackmail the Court for more & more money. In 1947, Kurt published a book about the "injustices" he had faced, but the majority of the copies of the book were bought by police. In 1951, after Gustaf V had died, Kurt wrote to the Chancellor of Justice to complain, upon which the Chancellor started an investigation. The investigation found that Kurt's "accusations were largely unfounded, but it was also clear that the Royal Court paid out large sums and took other measures with the apparent aim of silencing him." One year later, the Prosecutor-General charged Kurt & he was sentenced to 8 years in prison for extortion of the Royal Court. The whole thing is now nicknamed The Haijby Affair (after Kurt & Anna's last name) & has even been made into a movie.

In 1945, Prince Carl Johan asked for permission to marry the divorced journalist Kerstin Wijkman. They had met in 1939 & the prince fell head-over-heels for Kerstin, who couldn't give a sh*t about him at first. Gustaf V denied his grandson's request & the Royal Court tried to prevent the wedding from taking place by revoking Wijkmark's passport. When that didn't work, they started pressuring the US embassy, which meant that Carl Johan's cousin Folke Bernadotte was dragged into the whole thing. In the end, the two got married in 1946 & that meant that the Prince from then on was known as Carl Johan Bernadotte.

In the late 1950s, Princess Birgitta did something as controversial (for Swedish royal standards) as continuing her education with upper secondary studies. She studied at the School of Sport and Health Sciences for two years, where she met hockey & football player Sven Tumba. They denied it then, but rumours of a romance between the two swirled. However, decades later, they both wrote about the romance (which lasted for about a year) in their memoirs & Princess Birgitta was interviewed in a documentary about Tumba. Among other things, she reminisced about one time when the tabloids rang the doorbell & she had to hide in the wardrobe for about 10 minutes before Tumba had managed to chase them away.

We have Carl Gustaf's younger years... That man loved & still loves to party. This caused concern during his time as Crown Prince & then at the beginning of his time as monarch. He was seen by many as an immature womanizer of a party prince who, therefore, was unfit to rule. The Social Democrat-led government famously threatened with "We're one penstroke away from a Republic!" (which, if you ask me, was more PR than an actual threat, but then again, this was like 10-20 years before I was born, so...)

Speaking of Carl Gustaf, in 1989, he made the Norwegians angry by criticising their PM & the fact that they allowed seal hunting. He commented: "If Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland cannot take care of the seal problem, how will she be able to take care of the Norwegian people?"

Then there was the praising of Sultan Hassanal Bolikiah in 2004 during a state visit to Brunei (which to be fair, he just did his job & repeated what the Foreign Office told him to say).

In 2008, he caused a national outcry because not only did Prince Carl Philip shoot an elk during the annual royal hunt, but the monarch also decided to voice his opinion on the very sensitive topic of wolf hunting (no, seriously, it's an incredibly sensitive topic & not one to bring up during family dinners). Apart from getting in trouble with the public, Carl Gustaf also got in trouble with his patronage, WWF.

Do I even need to bring up 2010 & "Have you ever visited a strip or sex club?" which caused him to hit a record low in popularity. At least it gave us this iconic meme.

Honourary mention goes to when Prince Daniel (then only Daniel Westling) needed kidney surgery, so Crown Princess Victoria called her "brothers", Crown Prince Haakon & Crown Prince Frederik & was like "Hey, can you guys help me with a thing? Oh yeah, nothing big, just tricking all of the Nordic press so my fiancée can get surgery in peace." So, to cause a distraction, the three went on a trip to the Arctic while Daniel was admitted to the hospital. However... he was spotted by someone; a journalist called up the Court & was like, "I know, I will publish this; just give me a comment." Their ruse was up, so instead of pretending everything was fine & distracting the press so they couldn't publish about what was happening in Stockholm, Victoria spoke about how difficult it was & that she (obviously) was worried but that Haakon & Frederik were very supportive of her & a big help during that trip.

In 2013, just like in 2023, he got into trouble for "not wanting Victoria as heir". During an interview, the reporter asked if he was still upset about the constitutional change, to which he answered: "Of course. I think it's simple. A constitutional law that works retrospectively, that's weird."

In 2014, Princess Madeleine's apartment was renovated. What was supposed to cost 2.5 million SEK ended up costing 6.8 million SEK. Then, in 2018-2019 renovation works started again, which ended up costing around 5 million SEK. A wall between Madeleine's apartment & the apartment next door was going to be taken down & the family wanted a walk-in closet, a new bedroom, a bathroom & a wardrobe (different one from the named walk-in closet, so two wardrobes were on the wishlist). This ended up creating an argument between the National Property Board & the Royal Court, where the former thought Madeleine had "too high standards". The Royal Family didn't end up paying from their own pockets & this story has now become known as the time the Swedish taxpayers paid for Madeleine's walk-in closet.

If you're still reading, thank you & I hope you enjoyed all of this tea!

I started reading IBWR and I am loving it, but most of all: I am LIVING for those pages in chapter two where you drew them in a classic Swedish style! LIVING! They are absolutely gorgeous! The style, the colors, the symbolisms! NNNNGGGFFF! Fantastisk! Lavish eye candy.

And thank you!! I had a lot of fun using Swedish folk art as a style for Theodore's dream! :)

I like using more abstract and surrealism for dreams! Since dreams can get so wacky and subconscious-messaging! :D

this scene, if anyone's curious:

in blood we rise <- read it here!

You know that feeling when your just happily crafting along and it’s going fine. The weather is the perfect kind of ambiance that you want (sunny, stormy, pattering if a soft rain idk you do you), the pattern is understandable and you’re generally enjoying yourself.

Then it happens. There’s a knot on your thread.

Now in Swedish folklore there are three (3) kinds of thread knot, depending on the situation.

Number 1: the love knot (kärleksknut).

This is a kind of knot that is easily undone. Usually the thread just went over itself and made a little slip knot that you can just tug the end of. It means someone who likes you is thinking of you and it made your thread tease you about it. Might be slightly bothersome, might also make you think of them back.

Number 2: the envy knot (avundsknut).

Perfection will always attract envy. The lesson is that faults in your work is not only fine, but encouraged. Lest you should draw the gaze of the evil eye, or even worse - the gods.

An envy knot in Swedish folklore is usually caused by humans who are envious of your work. It’s the kind of knot where however you pull it it won’t release and you end up making it tighter until you just cut the thread off to make a new start after it.

Number 3: the troll knot (trollknut)

This is comparable to the other two just a knot that happens on its own. But instead of humans it’s blamed on trolls. The trolls are fickle and you can never really know what they want. But they’re hindering your progress in the project so it’s probably not your best they have in mind. Watch out.

Source: institutet för språk och folkminnen (ISOF)

Johan Tirén (Swedish, 1853 - 1911) North Swedish knitting girl in a forest, 1886