Anne Godlid

Anne Godlid, born ca. 1773 and died November 4, 1863, was a well known Norwegian storyteller from the county of Telemark. She was a valuable source for collectors like Jørgen Moe and Magnus Brostrup Landstad. The folklorist Rikard Berge wrote of her: "She carried with her one of the greatest treasures of old folklore found in one single person. Therefore, her name is worth remembering."

Anne came from a line of storytellers in Seljord. She grew up with at least three siblings, one of whom went to sea. This brother, Nerid, was believed to have drowned near the coast of China. From him, Anne inherited a binocular, and some stories. In her younger years, Anne served at several farms, and learned a lot of stories and songs wherever she went. The story goes that she was hard to scare, and at some point she was nearly killed by an angry she-bear. She had also a great constitution, and was hardly sick during her long life.

Anne was not pretty, and on her older days, she was "one of the ugliest creatures one could see". She was small, but coarse with a big nose. Her hair was cut short like a mohawk. But she got married eventually, to Jørn Øvsttveiten. They had two children, Ingebjørg, who lived to adulthood, and Olav, who died in his youth.

Jørgen Moe found her during the harvest late 1842, while he was still seeking for employment. She was getting the hay indoors, and Moe had to help her to get to her. When the work was done, she told him stories and fairy-tales, and he wrote them down. But he was not thorough enough, and got only four or five stories down. One of them was The Master Maid. Many of her stories were long and elaborate, and Moe didn't manage many that night, and had to move on. They never met again.

Magnus Brostrup Landstad had her on visit for eight days, and recalled how much she was able to remember. "It is not possible to write it all down, what´s inside that grey head", he noted. Olea Crøger wrote down a number of songs after her. It was Landstad who recommended her to Jørgen Moe.

On her later days, she went crooked down with a staff, often mumbling to herself. It was said she communicated with the secondary world, and went at once in both worlds.

From Anne, about hundred stories are written down. There is an amount of uncertainty about her actual knowledge, but it was known to be very great. She had a fabolous memory, Landstad recorded after meeting her. Some ballads and songs are also written down from her memory, and she gave many stories on to her grandson, the storyteller and fiddler Olav Tjønnstaul.

Anne died in 1863, and reckoned herself to be about 90 at the time. The actual date of her birth is somewhat disputed.

Source

Rikard Berge: Norsk Sogukunst (Norwegian art of storytelling), Aschehoug 1924.