Master Builder Legends

from Scandinavia, Germany, and Austria Edited by

D. L. Ashliman
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Contents
1. Loki and the Master Builder (From The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson.
2. King Olaf and the Giant (Norway).

3. Esbern Snare and the Kalundborg Church (Denmark).

4. Who Built the Reynir Church? (Iceland).

5. Why the North Tower of Saint Stephen's Cathedral Remains Unfinished

(Austria).

6. Why the Tower of Wasserburg Church Remains Unfinished (Bavaria).

7. The Master Builder of the Wrzburg Cathedral (Bavaria).

8. Related Links.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Loki and the Master Builder

From The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson (Iceland)
In the early days of the settlement of the gods, when they had established
Midgard and made Valhalla, a builder came to them and offered to make a
stronghold so excellent that it would be safe and secure against cliff giants
and frost ogres, even if they got inside Midgard.
He stipulated that as his reward he was to have Freyja as his wife and
possession of the sun and moon besides.

The sir had a conference, and they struck this bargain with the builder. He
should receive what he asked for, if he succeeded in building the stronghold in
one winter. But if, on the first day of summer, any part of it was unfinished,
he was to forfeit his reward; nor was he to receive anyone's help in the work.
When they told him these terms, however, he asked them to let him have the help
of his horse, which was called Svadilfari, and acting on the advice of Loki, the
gods granted this to him.
He began building the stronghold the first day of winter, and by night used his
horse for hauling the stones for it. The sir were astonished at the size of the
huge boulders the horse hauled. It performed twice as much of that tremendous
task as the builder.
Now there were strong witnesses to their bargain. It had been confirmed with
many oaths, because the giant had not considered it safe to be among the sir
without promise of safe-conduct, if Thor should come home. At that time he had
gone into the east to fight trolls.
As winter drew to an end, the building of the stronghold had made good progress.
It was so high and strong that it could not be taken. By three days before
summer the work was almost finished.
The gods then sat down in their judgment seats and sought for a way out. They
recalled that it had been Loki who had given the advice to marry Freyja into
Giantland and also to ruin the sky and heaven by giving the sun and moon to the
giants. They threatened him with an evil death if he did not devise a plan
whereby the builder would forfeit his wages. Loki swore that he would do this,
no matter what it might cost him.
That same evening, when the builder was driving out after stones with his
stallion Svadilfari, a mare ran out of a wood up to the horse and whinnied to
him. The stallion became frantic and ran into the wood after the mare. The two
these horses galloped about all night, and the work was delayed.
The next day, when the builder saw that the work would not be finished, he flew
into a rage. As soon as the sir saw for certain that it was a giant who had
come there, they disregarded their oaths and called on Thor.
He came at once and raised the hammer Mjlnir aloft. Thor paid the builder his
wages, and it was not the sun and the moon. He struck him such a blow that his
skull shivered into fragments, and he sent him down to Niflhel.
Loki, however, had had such dealings with Svadilfari that some time later he
bore a foal. It was gray and had eight legs, and amongst gods and men that horse
is the best.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Notes:

* Source: Abstracted from The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson, translated by

Jean I. Young (Cambridge, England: Bowes & Bowes, 1954), pp. 66-68.

* Midgard (also spelled Migar) is the "middle kingdom" of Norse mythology,

the dwelling place of the gods.

* Valhalla is the home of fallen warriors in Norse mythology.

* Freyja is the Norse goddess of love.

* The sir (singular ss) were the most important family of gods in Norse
mythology.

* Loki appears repeatedly in Norse myths. His role is that of trickster,

shape-shifter, liar, and general troublemaker.

* Thor is the Norse god of thunder. Armed with his battle hammer Mjlnir, he
was a sworn enemy of giants, trolls, and elves. For more information see
Thor's Home Page.

* The eight-legged horse borne by Loki was named Sleipnir and became a prized
possession of Odin. A picture of Odin astride Sleipnir is featured on the
famous Tjngvide picture stone from the Island of Gotland (Sweden).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------King Olaf and the Giant

Norway
King Olaf of Norway, engrossed in thought, wandered between mountain and valley.
He wanted to build a church whose equal could not be found far and wide, but he
realized that he could not do so without severely taxing his kingdom. While
sadly pondering this problem he met a man of curious appearance, who asked him
why he was so contemplative. Olaf revealed the problem to him, and the giant (or
troll) offered to accomplish the task for him within a certain time. His reward
would be the sun and the moon or Saint Olaf himself.
Olaf entered into this agreement, but then drew up plans that he thought would
be impossible to execute. The church was to be so large that seven priests would
be able to preach in it at one time without disturbing one another. The pillars

and decorations, both inside and out, were to be of hard flint, and so forth.
Soon such a church was standing there, complete except for roof and steeple.
Deeply concerned, Olaf again wandered through the mountains and valleys.
Suddenly, from within a mountain, he a child crying and a giantess comforting it
with the words:

Shush, shush,
tomorrow your father,
Wind and Weather,
will come home,
and he will bring you
the sun and the moon
or Saint Olaf himself!
Olaf returned home, elated with this discovery (for one can destroy an evil
spirit's power with his name). Everything was finished. The steeple had just
been set into place. Then Olaf called out:

Vind och Veder!

du har satt spiran sneder!
(Wind and Weather,
you have set the steeple on crooked!)
The giant fell from the top of the church with a horrible crash, and burst into
many pieces of flintstone.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------* Source: Jacob Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, vol. 1 (1876), p. 454. First
published 1835. Translated by D. L. Ashliman.

* In other variants the troll's name is Skaane, Tvester, Blster, or Sltt.

* The troll-built church is variously located in Seljord or Trondheim

(Norway), in Lund (Sweden) or in Kalundborg (Denmark).
* These legends are related to the fairy tales in which magic helpers lose
power over their beneficiaries/victims when the latter discover their
names. Examples include "Tom Tit Tot" (England) and "Rumpelstiltskin"
(Germany).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Esbern Snare and the Kalundborg Church

Denmark
When Esbern Snare was about building a church in Kalundborg, he saw clearly that
his means were not fully adequate to the task. But a troll came to him and
offered his services; and Esbern Snare made an agreement with him on these
conditions, that he should be able to tell the troll's name when the church was
finished; or in case he could not, that he should give him his heart and his
eyes.
The work now went on rapidly, and the troll set the church on stone pillars; but
when all was nearly done, and there was only half a pillar wanting in the
church, Esbern began to get frightened, for the name of the troll was yet
unknown to him.
One day he was going about the fields all alone, and in great anxiety on account
of the perilous state he was in; when, tired, and depressed, by reason of his
exceeding grief and affliction, he laid him down on Ulshj bank to rest himself
a while. While he was lying there, he heard a troll-woman within the hill saying
these words:

Lie still, baby mine!

Tomorrow cometh Fin,
Father thine,
And giveth thee
Esbern Snare's
eyes and heart
to play with.
When Esbern heard this, he recovered his spirits, and went back to the church.
The troll was just then coming with the half pillar that was wanting from the
church; but when Esbern saw him, he hailed him by his name, and called him
"Fin." The troll was so enraged at this, that he went off with the half pillar
through the air, and this is the reason that the church has but three pillars
and a half.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------* Source: Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology: Illustrative of the Romance
and Superstition of Various Countries (London: H. G. Gohn, 1850), pp.
116-117.
* This story is also told by H. A. Guerber in his Myths of the Norsemen from
the Eddas and Sagas (London: George G. Harrap and Company, 1909), pp.
240-241, and in a ballad entitled "Kallundborg Church" by John Greenleaf
Whittier (1807-1892).

* Kalundborg (also spelled Kallundborg) is a city in northwestern Sjlland

(Zealand). Esbern Snare's famous church, the Frue Kirke, built in 1170,
still stands.

* The female troll's verse in Danish is:

Tie stille, barn min!

Imorgen kommer Fin,
Fa'er din,
Og gi'er dig Esbern Snares
ine og hjerte
at lege med.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Who Built the Reynir Church

Iceland
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------A certain farmer once lived at Reynir, in the district of Myrdal. He was ordered
by the bishop to build a good church near his farmhouse, but had so much
difficulty in getting enough timber before the hay making season, and then so
much trouble in finding proper builders, that he feared he should be unable to
finish the work before the winter.
One day as he was walking in his field, thinking sadly over the matter, and how
he should excuse himself to the bishop for failing to obey his bidding, a
strange man, whom he had never seen before, met him, and stopping him, offered
him his services in building the church, declaring that he should require the
services of no other workman.
Then the farmer asked him what payment he would require for such labor, and the
man made the following condition -- that the farmer should either find out his
name before he had finished the church, or else give him his son, who was then a
little boy six years old. The farmer thought these easy terms enough, and
laughing in his sleeve, gladly consented to them.
So the strange builder set to work, and worked with a will, by day and by night,
speaking but little to anybody, until the church rose beneath his hands as
quickly as if by magic, and the farmer plainly foresaw that it would be finished
even before the hay making was over.
But by this time he had rather changed his mind about the payment he had before

thought so easy, and was very far from feeling glad that the end of the church
building was so near; for do what he would, ask whom he would, and search the
country round as he would, and had done, he could not, for the life of him, find
out the name of his quick-handed mason. Still the church went on not a whit
slower for his anxiety, and autumn came, and a very little more labor would
finish the building.
One day, the last day of the work, he happened to be wandering outside his
field, brooding in deep grief over what now seemed to be the heavy price he
would have to pay to his master builder, and threw himself down upon a grass
mound which he came to. He had scarcely lain there a minute, when he heard
someone singing, and listening, he found that the voice was that of a mother
lulling her child, and came from inside the mound upon which he had flung
himself down. This is what it said:
Soon will thy father Finnur come from Reynir,
Bringing a little playmate for thee, here.
And these words were repeated over and over again; but the farmer, who pretty
soon guessed what they meant, did not wait to hear how many times the mother
thought fit to sing them, or what the child seemed to think of them, but started
up and ran with all speed, his heart filled with joy, to the church, in which he
found the builder just nailing the last plank over the altar.
"Well done, friend Finnur!" said he, "how soon you have finished your work!"
No sooner had these words passed his lips than friend Finnur, letting the plank
fall from his hand, vanished, and was never seen again.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Notes:
* Source: Jn Arnason, Icelandic Legends, translated by George E. J. Powell
and Eirkur Magnsson (London: R. Bentley, 1864). Translation slightly
revised by D. L. Ashliman.

* Reynir is near the town of Vk on the coast of south central Iceland.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Why the North Tower of Saint Stephen's Cathedral Remains Unfinished

Austria
Hans Puchsbaum, a journeyman mason in the Viennese Cathedral Construction Guild
of Saint Stephen, was in love with Maria, the beautiful daughter of Master

Builder Hans von Prachatitz, who since the year 1430 had been directing the
construction of the south tower. The proud builder had selected the son of a
wealthy burgher to marry his daughter and was thoroughly opposed to her affinity
for Hans Puchsbaum.
"If you can finish the north tower at the same hour that I complete the south
tower, then you may take Maria to wife," thundered hard-hearted Prachatitz to
his journeyman. This condition was practically impossible. No one would be able
to complete such a construction project in so short a time. The hopes and dreams
of poor Puchsbaum disappeared. In despair he stood there and murmured to
himself: "Only the devil could complete such a masterpiece. I shall leave this
city, and Maria will belong to another man."
He had scarcely spoken these words when the Evil One appeared before him. "I
will help you build the tower, but during the entire construction time you may
not utter the name of God nor that of any of any of His saints, otherwise your
soul will belong to me," was the offer made to him by the Spirit of Hell.
Plagued with a bad conscience, Hans asked himself if he should build a house of
God with the help of Satan. But his love of Maria conquered all doubts, and he
entered into the pact with the devil.
The townspeople of Vienna watched in amazement as the north tower scaffolding
grew upward and the construction advanced rapidly. Puchsbaum himself was the
most industrious of all the workers. Day and night he mixed mortar and set
stones into place. The tower, growing ever higher, was decorated by the most
glorious stone figures. Puchsbaum adhered rigorously to the conditions set by
the devil, and it appeared less and less likely that the builder would have to
surrender his soul.
Then the Evil One resorted to trickery. Assuming Maria's shape, he walked across
Saint Stephen's Square with his head bowed. Hans Puchsbaum, who was standing
high above on the scaffolding, recognized Maria. Forgetting his oath, he called
out her name. Immediately the heavy beams broke apart and Puchsbaum fell to the
ground. The tower remained unfinished. No one dared continue with the devil's
work.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------* Source: Elisabeth Jaindl, Der Stephansdom im alten Wien: Geschichte und
Geschichten (Korneuburg: Kellner Verlagsgesellschaft, n.d.), pp. 27-28.
* Jaindl's title for this legend is "Hans Puchsbaum, der Baumeister von St.
Stephan."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Why the Tower of Wasserburg Church Remains Unfinished

Bavaria
The Wasserburg town hall was built more than 600 years ago. A legend is
connected to the history of this building.
At Wasserburg they were building a church and a town hall at the same time. Thus
they engaged many masons and construction workers, and instructed the masters to
not delay.
Two diligent stonemasons, named Hans and Stephan, took charge of the work. The
older one, Hans, supervised the construction of the church; the younger one,
Stephen, the town hall. Both were experienced in the art of building, having
participated together in the construction of many a marvelous structure, also in
southern Europe. They proceeded once again together with the plans, extending to
one another the hand of true friendship and swearing that they would help each
other like good brothers, without hate and without envy.
Because every good work should be rewarded, if it is to advance and succeed, the
man who finished his project first was promised a reward, provided that the work
was worthy and without blemish.
Do you want to know what kind of reward it was to be? A very unusual reward,
neither of gold and silver, nor a medal of honor: It was the mayor's beautiful
daughter.
Both stonemasons had cast their eyes on the girl at the same time, and this was
no secret to her father. Because both were skilled and upright people, the mayor
did not care if his daughter would take the one or the other as a bridegroom.
Thus he promised her to the one who would first complete his building. However,
the bride-to-be was not consulted in this matter. In her heart she had already
chosen Stephen, the younger man.
As luck would have it, Stephan completed his building first. The town hall was
finished, but the church tower's steeple was still missing. The competition was
over. Stephan was to take home the mayor's wealthy and beautiful daughter as his
bride.
This was a difficult test of friendship. Hans accepted his fate without envy and
complaint, devoting himself to his friend as before. But Stephan could not see
it the same way. He did not feel right surrounded by good fortune while his
friend was unhappy. Thus he walked about sadly and despondent, thinking to
himself how he might be freed of his misery.
One day he disappeared. In his room, instead of himself, there was a stone
statue of him and a written message, in which he extended his final greetings to
his friend and to his bride-to-be. He revealed to them his decision to join a
distant monastery.
The legend does not tell us if Hans took home the abandoned bride. However, the
friend appears to have lost all joy in his work, because the church tower's
steeple is missing even today.

The statue of loyal Stephen is still preserved in the town hall of Wasserburg.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------* Source: Hans Sponholz, Drei Frauen und zwei Riesen: Sagen aus Bayern um
Burgen, Schlsser und Kapellen (Hof [Saale]: Oberfrnkische Verlagsanstalt
und Druckerei GmbH, 1978), pp. 30-32.

* Sponholz's title for this legend is "Die Baumeister zu Wasserburg."

* Sponholz's source: Alexander Schppner, Sagenbuch der bayerischen Lande:

Aus dem Munde des Volkes, der Chronik und der Dichter (Mnchen, 1874),
III/1264.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Master Builder of the Wrzburg Cathedral
Bavaria
Like so many other master builders , the master builder of the Wrzburg
Cathedral completed his temple contruction with the help of the devil.
In order to eternalize himself, and in an act of proud arrogance, he sculpted
himself and his wife in bed on the ceiling of the right aisle of the cathedral.
After completing this work he sprained his foot while climbing down. He cursed
his sculpture, and for this reason the devil carried him away.
The depiction the the master builder next to his wife in their marriage bed is
still there, but it can be seen only on Sundays and holidays at half past ten in
the morning when the sun illuminates the picture in the corner.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------* Source: Hans Sponholz, Drei Frauen und zwei Riesen: Sagen aus Bayern um
Burgen, Schlsser und Kapellen (Hof [Saale]: Oberfrnkische Verlagsanstalt
und Druckerei GmbH, 1978), pp. 77-78.

* Sponholz's source: Alexander Schppner, Sagenbuch der bayerischen Lande:

Aus dem Munde des Volkes, der Chronik und der Dichter (Mnchen, 1874),
II/269.
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