tales and legends

Trolls, elves, ghosts, hidden people, magicians, sea monsters...

Icelandic literature is full of these characters from oral traditions. Depending on their mood, they can live peacefully—as long as they're left alone—play naughty tricks, or become downright menacing.

The collection of these oral stories was carried out in the 19th century by Jón Árnason and Magnús Grímsson, a colossal work which allowed their exhaustive edition, which still widely irrigates the collective imagination.