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A central motif in “Askeladden and the Good Helpers,” the ship that is as good to sail on land as in water is often thought to hail from Skíðblaðnir of Norse myth. 1/4
#FairytaleTuesday
https://norwegianfolktales.blogspot.com/2017/03/askeladden-and-good-helpers.html
#FairytaleTuesday
https://norwegianfolktales.blogspot.com/2017/03/askeladden-and-good-helpers.html
Skíðblaðnir, is “the finest of ships.” Built at the behest of Loki by the dwarfen sons of Ivaldi, of wood from the sacred ash tree Yggdrasil, Skíðblaðnir always has a favourable wind, and is built to store in a pouch. There is, however, no record of it sailing on land. 2/4
The idea of the ship that is as good to sail on land as on water probably comes from St Olaf’s Saga, where Olaf has his men dig a narrow channel through the lowland of Agnafit so that his ships may escape from Lake Mälaren in Sweden. 3/4
Knut Liestøl cites Norwegian folk legends and ballads, which relocate Olaf’s escape to various bits of Norway, as well as exaggerating his feat – ascribing his ship with the ability to sail over land. This later king’s saga is thus the probable source of Askeladden’s ship. 4/4
