Fin (legend)

To get the work done, an agreement was made between a holy man and a troll or giant with dire consequences for the loser.

[2] When there was only a half pillar left to erect before the church would be completed, Esbern became afraid, because he did not know the troll's name.

/ Tomorrow cometh Fin, / Father thine, And giveth thee / Esbern Snare's / eyes and heart / to play with.

The troll was busy setting up the half pillar that remained for the church, and when Esbern saw him, he called out "Fin".

The Imperial diplomat Erich Lassota von Steblau had been imprisoned in Sweden and was on his way back to continental Europe when he stopped in Lund and made a passing mention of the legend.

Saint Lawrence became more and more concerned, and to lessen his anxiety he one day took a long walk outside the city.

Enraged, Finn and his wife started shaking the foundation pillars in the crypt, but the force of the saint was stronger, and the whole family was petrified, frozen in motion.

[3] A only slightly later account of the legend which is basically consistent with that of Wolf exist in a hand-written manuscript today in the archives of the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities.

According to one account available in English, a holy man named Laurentius came to what is now known as Lund from Saxony to build a Christian church.

As he began his work, a giant named Finn, who lived with his family in the area called Helgonabacken (or Hills of Helgona), offered to help him construct the church.

But, mark well my condition, oh, wise man: If you cannot tell me, you must give to my little ones the two small torches -- the sun and the moon -- that travel yonder over heaven's expanse."

[1] As Corylander pointed out in 1750, it's improbable that the statues in Lund Cathedral were meant to depict Finn and his wife.

The most commonly held theory today is that the carving represents the biblical figure Samson, who sacrificed himself by toppling the pillars of a Philistine temple.