Just because you haven’t seen something doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist!

Icelandic trolls have always been reclusive but they’ve become even more so with the encroachment of humans on their island. According to folktales throughout the ages, trolls have been deservedly feared.

In the more than thirty years that illustrator and author Brian Pilkington has been exploring Icelandic folklore, however, a more characterful, tranquil creature has emerged – a reticent, serene and highly intelligent being living in harmony with nature. These creatures go around barefoot, even in the coldest of winters, because they like to have their feet firmly planted on the planet they revere so much.

Trolls – Philosophy and Wisdom is a beautiful collection of paintings showing trolls in Icelandic nature along with their words of wisdom. Of Pilkington’s many books concerning Icelandic folklore, this is his tenth about Icelandic trolls.