#gloso

[widewobblyproductions]

Happy 3 year anniversary to my hamsome hoggy @reddinker!

Here's to many more years (and pounds) together <3

[bestiarium]

The Gloso [Swedish mythology]

In Sweden, specifically the two southern provinces of Skåne and Blekinge, there are tales of the Gloso, a strange monster that guards churchyards at night. Also called the Gluppso or Galoppso, this large hog has a row of razor sharp bristles on its back and the ability to breathe fire. The Gloso has a very unique method of killing its victims: it breathes fire onto their butt, causing the victim to jump up into the air. Then, the monster will run between their legs and saw them in half using the viciously sharp bristles on its back. Presumably, this is painful. But do note that I did not find old (or offline) sources that confirm this. 

So why does the Gloso do this? It is a kyrkogrim (a church grim): when the foundation of the church was laid, an animal was sacrificed and its soul transformed into the Gloso monster to guard the church and its graveyard. At least, that’s how the story goes. According to William Henderson (19th century), this used to be a relatively common practice in Britain and some other countries.

Such precautions were deemed necessary, as evil witches and sorcerers were known to sneak into churchyards at night to collect bones from the graves and scrape paint from the door of the church, both of which were potent ingredients for magical spells.

This very effective guardian does come with a price, however, as the monster occasionally digs up graves itself to feed on the corpses, and it sharpens its tusks on the gravestones.

Finally, I should mention a New Years ritual. On New Year’s eve, after the sun has set, if you visit 4 different churches (each in a different parish), walk around them in a counterclockwise fashion and blow through the keyhole, you can watch through the keyhole of the final church and supposedly see all the most notable events that will happen to you that year. Once you’ve seen that, the Gloso will appear. You can offer it a loaf of bread to pacify it, and if that doesn’t work, it will chase you.

During Christmas, Saint Thomas is said to ride a tamed Gloso into battle, killing trolls and other monsters with his holy sword. He is immune to the sharp back bristles of the beast. I find this interesting because it combines Christianity with ancient Nordic folklore.

Finally, a Gloso is always female. Hence the name ‘Gloso’ which is derived from an old Swedish term for ‘glowing sow’.

Sources: http://karlshuker.blogspot.com/2013/12/pigging-out-at-christmas-its-grim-with.html https://www.deviantart.com/loneanimator/art/The-Gloso-852596324 (not very reliable) Lecouteux, C., 2016, Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic.  (image source 1: Richard Svensson) (image source 2: Loneanimator)

[skrumpgoblin]

Gloso, The Staring Sow