Having grown up in the West/Oertha I didn't hear "troll" for gate till after I had been in the SCA more than a decade, and then it was in an article about why one shouldn't use it (insulting to the people working there to call them after a creature with a reputation for being mean, stupid, and ugly). Therefore I was kind of surprised when I moved to Nordmark (Sweden), and they were using the term. Then I learned a bit more Swedish...
troll (noun): "a fat, clumsy, and stupid supernatural creature with a tail" (word dates to the 12th century)
trolla (verb): "work with supernatural power (often said of mythological figures)" (e.g. magic)
So here in Sweden it isn't so much that the gate is called the troll, but more the signing in process is called "trolla in", because it marks that moment when one leaves behind the everyday world and the event magic starts.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2023-06-07 05:27 am (UTC)troll (noun): "a fat, clumsy, and stupid supernatural creature with a tail" (word dates to the 12th century)
trolla (verb): "work with supernatural power (often said of mythological figures)" (e.g. magic)
trollkarl (noun): "magician, sorcerer" (karl = man)
So here in Sweden it isn't so much that the gate is called the troll, but more the signing in process is called "trolla in", because it marks that moment when one leaves behind the everyday world and the event magic starts.