Molbo story
Encyclopedia
A molbo story is a tale about molboers, the inhabitants of Molboland. Geographically this is an area called Mols
in Denmark, typically a kind of an ethnic joke
. The folklore
tales of the molboers called molbohistorier (molbo stories) have existed in Denmark at least since the 18th century. The first 13 molbostories were published in the book Beretning om de vidtbekiendte Molboers vise Gierninger og tapre Bedrifter (tales of the wellknown molboers wise and brave actions) in 1771 by the publisher Christian Elovius Magnor, who by permission of the Danish king Christian VII
had started the printing press
viborg bogtrykkeri in the Danish city of Viborg
. This folklore was originally passed on by oral tradition
, so its original authors and those who collected these stories for publishing is not known today. Many new molbostories have subsequently been made and published by other publishers. Norway
was at the time part of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway and as such was culturally influenced by Denmark, which probably helped to spread the stories across the kingdom. In molbohistorier all inhabitants of Molboland are portrayed as really stupid, and as such the word molbo is sometimes used to denote a stupid person in Norwegian
and Danish
. Molbohistorier have been published in many children's books mostly in Norwegian and Danish, but also in German, Spanish, French and English.
Here is an example molbo story quoted from Molbohistorier gamle og nye, by Oskar Braaten, Aschehougs utvalgte for barn nr. 11, Oslo
1941:
Mols
Mols is a small Danish peninsula located to the south of another peninsula, Djursland, located on the east coast Jutland. Two other peninsulas, Skødshoved to the west, and Helgenæs to the south, are adjacent to Mols....
in Denmark, typically a kind of an ethnic joke
Ethnic joke
An ethnic joke is a humorous remark relating to an ethnic, racial or cultural group, often referring to a stereotype of the group in question for its punchline....
. The folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
tales of the molboers called molbohistorier (molbo stories) have existed in Denmark at least since the 18th century. The first 13 molbostories were published in the book Beretning om de vidtbekiendte Molboers vise Gierninger og tapre Bedrifter (tales of the wellknown molboers wise and brave actions) in 1771 by the publisher Christian Elovius Magnor, who by permission of the Danish king Christian VII
Christian VII of Denmark
Christian VII was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death. He was the son of Danish King Frederick V and his first consort Louisa, daughter of King George II of Great Britain....
had started the printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
viborg bogtrykkeri in the Danish city of Viborg
Viborg, Denmark
Viborg , a town in central Jutland, Denmark, is the seat of both Viborg municipality and Region Midtjylland. Viborg is also the seat of the Western High Court, the High Court for the Jutland peninsula...
. This folklore was originally passed on by oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
, so its original authors and those who collected these stories for publishing is not known today. Many new molbostories have subsequently been made and published by other publishers. Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
was at the time part of the Kingdom of Denmark-Norway and as such was culturally influenced by Denmark, which probably helped to spread the stories across the kingdom. In molbohistorier all inhabitants of Molboland are portrayed as really stupid, and as such the word molbo is sometimes used to denote a stupid person in Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
and Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
. Molbohistorier have been published in many children's books mostly in Norwegian and Danish, but also in German, Spanish, French and English.
Here is an example molbo story quoted from Molbohistorier gamle og nye, by Oskar Braaten, Aschehougs utvalgte for barn nr. 11, Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
1941:
- The molbos have a long way to the forest so they must rise early to collect wood. One morning some of them drove to the forest to bring home a tree they had bought. But on the way the one who drove first happened to lose his axe, and when the others saw that, they thought he threw it away on purpose, so they threw away their axes as well. Now, as they stood in the forest, they had nothing with which to chop, they didn't know what to do at all, and they certainly didn't want to come home empty-handed. Finally one of them had the brilliant idea to pull the tree down; but as they hadn't brought a rope, one of them had to climb the tree and lay his head in the cleavage between two branches then the others were to pull his legs until the tree yielded. Very well, they pulled and they pulled, and eventually they all fell backwards, including the chap they had been pulling, only he had no head. This they couldn't fathom, they went searching and searching, but no, they didn't find the head, because it was stuck in the tree. Well, that couldn't be helped, now it was time to return home. And so they laid the headless man in the wagon and took him home to his wife and asked if she was sure that her husband had brought his head when he left home this morning. "I can't remember that right now!", said the wife; but then she thought for a while: "Oh yes, he did bring his head!" she said. "He ate cabbage with it this morning before he left."