The Fiddler and the Waterfall: The Quest for Inspiration in Norwegian Legends of Fiddlers

Abstract

Tracing cultural affinities between stories recorded in the Northern Isles of Scotland (especially Shetland) and those found in the wider Nordic world, the author examines legends and beliefs connecting fiddle music and the supernatural. Tales tell of would-be musicians learning tunes from supernatural masters, and in some legends these are demonic figures with whom the musician must fight for his life. Many stories suggest a belief that running water – a stream, a mill, a waterfall – can provide artistic inspiration, and that such environments possess a liminal quality where natural and supernatural worlds meet. The author argues that stories asserting the supernatural origins of fiddling skills and tunes likely go back to a shared Nordic, rather than mainland Scottish tradition.