When Icelanders converted to Christianity after the decision of þorgeier the Lawgiver at the þing in 999, they allowed for private worship of pagan beliefs; public worship was reserved for Christianity. This view south from Starmyri, in the East of Iceland…

… shows just what remains of that decision, as it has worked itself out over 1,000 years +. The trolls are still watching out to sea! They’re not public, of course. That’s reserved for the separation into logical categories that is the Christian legacy, and yet there they are, only remaining in the land, where the Norse settlers placed them, after they brought them with them. Only 4% of Icelanders profess a belief in the other people, the Huldúfolk, but privately, well, that’s another matter. You simply can’t help it. That’s quite the story of survival!