Icelandic Yule Lad - Gryla
The ogress Grýla, mother of the 13 Yule Lads · hand-painted figure designed by Brian Pilkington · about 15 cm (5.9 in)
Grýla is not a Yule Lad and she is not kind. She is the one Icelandic children are warned about in December. This is the figure for the person who likes the dark half of the story best, and for the collector whose row of brothers still has no mother standing behind it.
Grýla, in short
Any four Yule Lads ship free to the US, Canada and Europe (orders over $149)
- Free shipping over $149 — US, Canada & Europe
- US & Canada — duties & taxes settled at checkout
- Ships worldwide from Iceland with tracking
- Designed by Brian Pilkington
- With Leppalúði, the tallest of the sixteen
- Window box with an English booklet
Grýla is the ogress of Icelandic folklore and the mother of the thirteen Yule Lads. She is on record from the 13th century, and in poems from the 17th century on she comes down before Christmas to look for naughty children, whom she eats.
Brian Pilkington's figure gives her horns, a hooked nose, a patched black dress and a rough staff. In her other hand is a sack with a child's head looking out of the top, and one hoof shows under her hem. She is painted by hand, stands about 15 cm (5.9 in) tall and comes in a window box with a small English booklet about the family.
Her husband Leppalúði is sold separately, or see the set of all 16 figures.
Product facts
- Character
- Grýla, the ogress who is mother of the thirteen Yule Lads. She is not a Yule Lad herself
- Height
- about 15 cm (5.9 in)
- Base
- round and red-rimmed, with GRÝLA in gold letters
- Design
- Brian Pilkington
- Brand
- Sólarfilma
- Finish
- painted by hand
- In the box
- the figure in a clear window box, with a small booklet in English about the 13 Yule Lads, Grýla, Leppalúði and the Yule Cat
- Good to know
- a display figure, not a toy. There is a child in the sack, as there is in the old stories
- EAN
- 5690666388205
Shipping, duties & returns
Shipping — DHL Express worldwide, fully tracked. Rates & times
US & Canada duties — collected at checkout; nothing to pay on delivery. How it works
Returns — unused items in original condition within 30 days; see our returns policy.
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Why you'll love it
- On record since the 1200sThe National Museum of Iceland traces Grýla to the 13th century, where a verse in Sturlunga saga describes a monster with fifteen tails. She was tied to Christmas later, in poems of the 17th and 18th centuries.
- The horns come from the folk talesJón Árnason's 19th-century collection gives her horns like a goat, long curved nails and ears that hang to her shoulders. Pilkington's Grýla has the horns, and a hoof besides.
- Three husbands, one of them eatenHer first husband, Gustur, did not last. She is said to have eaten him. The second was Boli. The third is Leppalúði, father of the Yule Lads, who has a figure of his own in this series.
- Reported dead, but do not count on itSeveral Icelandic Christmas songs say Grýla has died. Some of them add that she could come back if the number of naughty children goes up.
- Mother of far more than thirteenOld rhymes name at least 72 children of Grýla besides the Yule Lads, according to the University of Iceland's Science Web. Leppur, Skreppur, Langleggur and Leiðindaskjóða are the four named most often.
- No bill at the door in the US or CanadaDuties and taxes for both countries are settled at checkout, so the total you pay us is the whole price.
Popular together
Made to be used together. One click adds both to your cart.
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Grýla with all thirteen sons
The set of 16 brings her whole household in one order: every Yule Lad, Leppalúði and the Yule Cat. It costs less than buying the figures one by one and ships free to the US, Canada and Europe.
Icelandic Yule Lad - Gryla Yule Lads Figures - Set of all 16
$572.90 for both
Questions people ask before they buy
Who is Grýla?
Is she one of the Yule Lads?
What is in the sack?
Is she too frightening for children?
How is she packed, and what if she arrives broken?
What will shipping and duties cost me?
Her thirteen sons, her husband and the cat
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