so I thought about the custom of hanging a troll cross above the door. It is meant to prevent trolls, evil spirits and curses/ illnesses from entering the home.

Hanging the cross on the inside of your flat would mean that it keeps the bad things in by preventing it from leaving the door since trolls are used to avoid iron.

Hanging it on the outside on the other hand brings the wished results.

#Heathenry #norsePaganism #FolkMagic #FolkBelief

'"Ye canna' die wi' wild feathers."

In the old times in Northumberland (and beyond) it was believed that putting pigeon feathers, or those of any wild bird, in a pillow would prevent death coming at the proper time. A person on a wild feather pillow would linger in pain and suffering and be unable to 'cross over', so these should never be used.

This belief also seems to have held in Yorkshire, as Emily Brontë wrote in Wuthering Heights: "Ah, they put pigeons' feathers in the pillows; no wonder I couldn't die."

#Folklore #FolkloreThursday #Northumberland #NorthumberlandFolklore #Superstition #DeathLore #FolkBelief #NorthCountry

@folklore This is of course just one version of the many 'sleeping knights' stories we have across the British Isles (I know of at least two others locally). This is the only one I know of where the central figure is a woman. Just along the coast from Dunstanburgh is Bamburgh, named after the 6th-7th Century Queen Bebba. I'd like to imagine that there's a connection, although perhaps the sleeping queen of Dunstanburgh is even older.

The ruined fortress was actually built in the 14th Century, but there were older, pre-historic remains on the site.

#Folklore #FolkloreThursday #FolkHistory #FolkBelief #Northumberland