Jawnomicon

Hyldemoer

Also called Hyldemoder, Hylde-Moer, Hyldeqvinde, Elder-mother, Eldermother.

Hyldemoer, the Danish Elder-Tree Mother, is the guardian spirit of the elder bush who must be asked permission before her tree is cut, picked, or burned.

At a glance

Tradition
Danish folklore
Region
Nordic Regions (place of origin)
Trait family
The Hearth-Bound

Near this figure

Traits

Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.

Behaviour

  • Offended by disrespect to dwelling
    why

    Cutting or picking without asking was said to invite misfortune — illness, toothache, bad luck, or a haunting that followed the offender home.

  • Bound to a specific household location
    why

    She is pictured as an old woman residing in or beneath the bush, and the custom surrounding her treats any elder growing near a farmhouse or in a garden as inhabited property rather than free timber, so that using it at all was a matter requiring her consent first. Before cutting elder wood, picking its flowers or berries, or otherwise disturbing the tree, custom required speaking to her aloud and asking leave, then waiting as though for an answer before going ahead.

Curses

  • Curse infliction
    why

    Cutting or picking without asking was said to invite misfortune — illness, toothache, bad luck, or a haunting that followed the offender home.

Roles

Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.