Toell the Great in Estonian mythology

Estonian mythology

Estonian mythology is a complex of myths belonging the Estonian folk heritage and literary mythology.Information about the pre-Christian and medieval Estonian mythology is scattered in historical chronicles, travellers' accounts and in ecclesiastical registers...

 is a great giant hero who lived according to the legend on the Baltic Sea island of Saaremaa

Saaremaa

Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...

 (Ösel).

Legend

He lived in Tõlluste

Tõlluste

Tõlluste is a village in Pihtla Parish, Saare County in western Estonia....

 village with his wife Piret. He tossed huge rocks everywhere, mostly aiming for his archenemy Vanatühi

Vanatühi

In Estonian mythology, Vanatühi is a/the devil or god of the underworld, a giant farmer who is more stupid than malevolent. He is outwitted by his servant Kaval Ants . He is also the worst enemy of Toell the Great, hero of Oesel, who is decapitated during a battle with Vanatühi's forces...

 or other enemies of Saaremaa people. Tõll was king of Saaremaa but he lived as common farmer. He often visited his brother Leiger on the neighboring Hiiumaa

Hiiumaa

Hiiumaa is the second largest island belonging to Estonia. It is located in the Baltic Sea, north of the island of Saaremaa, a part of the West Estonian archipelago. Its largest town is Kärdla.-Name:...

 (Dagö) island. He was so tall that he could almost walk there (The distance is something about 5 to 6 km long). His walking stick was a 5 fathoms spruce tree

Spruce

A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...

 trunk.
Tõll was always kind and ready to help, but very hot-tempered. He loved to eat cabbages, drink beer and go to the sauna

Sauna

A sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities....

 (his wife was always busy gathering him sauna stove rocks).

Death

When an enemy decapitated him, he put his head on his sword and walked to his grave, which is supposed to be somewhere in Tõlluste. When Tõll died, he promised to rise from grave and help people in case of war. But naughty children made fun of him by yelling "Tõll, Tõll, wake up, there is a war in the yard". Tõll rose, grew angry and went back to his grave, swearing never to come back.

Theories

It is supposed that stories about Toell the Great are based on historical very tall elder of Saaremaa. Sometimes he is connected with local German (or Germanized) noble family Toll. Some members of that family are told to have been very tall (more than 2.10 meters).

Modern Day

In Ninase village there are two old windmills reshaped into the figures or Tõll and Piret. Newlyweds of Saaremaa go there to pay tribute to the mythical heroes of their island.

• Toell the Great has inspired several and cartoon movie "Suur Tõll" (Tallinnfilm 1980)http://imdb.com/title/tt0475747/.
• "Suur Tõll" is also the name of the biggest preserved steam icebreaker
  Icebreaker
  An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
  
   in the world, built in Stettin in 1914. Main article (in Estonian): Suur Tõll (laev).