Fin is a troll

Troll

A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. In origin, the term troll was a generally negative synonym for a jötunn , a being in Norse mythology...

 in a legend from Kalundborg

Kalundborg

Kalundborg is a city with a population of 16,434 in Kalundborg municipality in Denmark and the site of its municipal council. Kalundborg is on the main island Zealand, with Copenhagen, but opposite on the far western edge....

, Zealand, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. The legend also exists in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, but it instead has a giant from Lund

Lund

-Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund...

, with the name Jätten Finn ("Finn the Giant").

The legend

The legend tells how Esbern Snare was building a church in Kalundborg. It was hard work, and a troll, who was passing by, offered his services. Esbern accepted; however, the troll's condition was that Esbern should be able to figure out the troll's name by the time the church was finished; if he could not, the troll would take his heart and his eyes.

The troll was strong, and after a few days, there was only a half pillar

Column

A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...

 left to erect before the church would be completed. Esbern became afraid, as the name of the troll was still unknown to him. Wandering the fields in great anxiety, he laid himself down on Ulshøj bank to rest. While there, he heard a troll-woman within the hill singing these words:
Lie still, baby mine! / Tomorrow cometh Fin, / Father thine, / And giveth thee / Esbern Snare's / eyes and heart / to play with.

Esbern returned immediately to the church. The troll was busy setting up the half pillar that remained for the church, and when Esbern saw him, he called out "Fin". The troll was so angry that he threw the half pillar through the air, and this is the reason that the church has only three and a half pillars to this day.

Variations

According to the Swedish tradition, when the man (a monk) returned and said the name, Jätten Finn became angry and wrapped his arms around a pillar in order to pull it out and destroy the cathedral. But at that moment he was turned into stone, and that is why there is a stone man hugging a pillar in the Lund Cathedral

Lund Cathedral

The Lund Cathedral is the Lutheran cathedral in Lund, Scania, Sweden. It is the seat of the bishop of Lund of the Church of Sweden.- History :...

 this day (probably this carving actually represents Samson from the Bible).

See also

• Finntroll
  Finntroll
  Finntroll is a folk metal band from Helsinki, Finland. They combine elements of black metal and folk metal. Finntroll's lyrics are mostly in Swedish, the only exception being the song "Madon Laulu" on Visor Om Slutet...
  
  
• Rumpelstiltskin
  Rumpelstiltskin
  Rumpelstiltskin is the eponymous character and protagonist of a fairy tale which originated in Germany . The tale was collected by the Brothers Grimm, who first published it in the 1812 edition of Children's and Household Tales...
  
  
• Giant Finn
• Fionn mac Cumhaill
  Fionn mac Cumhaill
  Fionn mac Cumhaill , known in English as Finn McCool, was a mythical hunter-warrior of Irish mythology, occurring also in the mythologies of Scotland and the Isle of Man...