Also called Gardsvor, Tunkall, Tuftekall, the Farm Guardian.
The tale
In Norwegian tradition the gardvord, or tunkall, is the guardian of the farm, often thought to be the spirit of the man who first cleared and settled it. He might live in a mound on the farm or under the guardian tree, the tuntre, which could not be cut. Offerings of ale and porridge were made to him, and he kept watch over the farm as long as it was well kept.
When they are met
- Christmas Eve
- at harvest
- when moving into or leaving a home
Staying on their good side
- porridge with butter
- milk or ale at the foot of the farm's guardian tree, or water
- a kept, orderly home
Honouring them, or keeping safe
- Choose a tree or corner of your garden as the guardian place and care for it.
- Leave porridge out on Christmas Eve and thank the spirit of the house.
- Never cut down an old guardian tree without great care; the old farms said it would bring bad luck.
What their tales teach
- protecting the home
- honouring those who lived there before
- household luck
Symbols
- a guardian tree on the farm
- the first settler's mound
- a bowl of porridge
Overlaps closely with the nisse or tomte, which is already covered separately.
Sources
- Kvideland and Sehmsdorf, Scandinavian Folk Belief and Legend
- Simek, Dictionary of Northern Mythology
More Norse folklore
- Huldra The hidden woman of the forest
- Nisse The little old man of the farm
- Draugr The restless dead of the sagas
- Trolls The old dwellers in mountain and stone
- Valkyries The choosers of the slain
- Fossegrim The fiddler beneath the waterfall
- Nøkken The fiddler in the still water
- Mara The spirit who rides sleepers