The Norwegian tradition of naming a child after a grandparent or great-grandparent is still very much in existence. The purpose of this practice is to allow the dead to live on in the next generation. My own child will be named either after my maternal grandmother or grandfather, so the following story from Sunnmøre was of some interest to me when I read it:
Lars Osnes from Ulstein was married to Johanne Roppen. Johanne bore a son, and she wanted to name him Elling after her father. It was winter then, during cod season. One stormy day two boats from Ulstein with many fine men on board disappeared at sea. There was great sorrow in the village when it happened.
Johanne was not related to any of the men who were lost. Nonetheless, she was disturbed at night. She thought that she saw a man in an oilskin come into her house and walk over to the cradle where her little boy was lying. He was not baptized yet. This happened night after night.
Johanne went to the woman next door and asked her for help. Her name was Lisbet Osnes.
“Well, I suppose you know what he wants,” said Lisbet.
Yes, Johanne did, to be sure. “He wants me to name the boy after him, but the child is to be christened Elling after my father,” Johanne said.
“I’m going to give you some advice,” said Lisbet. “Heat up a baking griddle until it is red-hot and put it by the threshold before you go to bed tonight.”
Johanne did that. She had just fallen asleep, when she was suddenly awakened by a horrible scream coming from the doorway. The dead man had burned himself.
She neither heard nor saw him again. But the little boy became sickly. He would not thrive anymore. He remained a half-wit all his days and they called him Crazy Elling.
This was supposed to have happened around 1850 (p. 98).
The consequences of not observing the desires of the dead to live on produced a half-wit, even though the claims of the dead in this case were not rightful. Johanne’s initial desire to commemorate her father by naming her son Elling was undermined as the child came to be known as Crazy Elling.
A final precaution
A more recent tale comes from Bergen during the 1970s, cautioning parents to be ever watchful of the fate of their child. This sort of tale is not unique to Norway – we’ve all heard stories of inattentive parents letting their babies fall to their deaths out of windows or into swimming pools. The lesson here in particular is to caution new parents against putting their own interests before the welfare of their children:
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