The legend of Carl Pølse and 'Skinken', described below, are two short, orally transmitted stories that often have their roots in real people or events, but over time have been embellished with supernatural or improbable elements.
Carl Pølse is part of Asdal’s history, even though he is purely a legendary figure. One of the legends tells how Carl Pølse lured ships to run aground on the coast by lighting fires on the beach. The sailors on board believed they had reached Skagen and steered straight toward the shore, causing the ships to wreck, after which Carl Pølse could plunder them. The robberies came to an end, however, when he was placed in a “spiked barrel,” a barrel whose interior was studded with nails, and then rolled down a cliff. Where the barrel stopped, he was buried.
In another legend, it is said that Carl Pølse, as a ghost, tries to reach Asdal Hovedgaard, his earthly home. On nights when the full moon coincides with high tide, a light can be seen moving across the hills. This is Carl Pølse holding a lantern. The “Lantern Man” walks from his grave down to the beach and then trudges with long, weary steps toward Asdal Hovedgaard. But he never quite reaches it and disappears where he comes to. This is entirely in line with folklore, which says that only at midnight can a dead person rise from the grave, and he must be “home” again before the last cock crow, or else he must return to the earth on the spot and remain homeless forever.
The story of C.P.’s pork firmly belongs in Asdal’s legendary history, but it has particular relevance in that the ham bone that is displayed is truly very old and is said to be the original. Moreover, the legend has a special fascination and is one of our best-known medieval tales.
Erik Pontoppidan (1698–1764) provides the following version of the story in Danske Atlas: At Asdal hangs one side of a wild boar with half its head and feet attached, which has been there for several hundred years, while the other side hangs at Birkelse. The account is as follows: “Two brothers lived there, one at Asdal and the other at Birkelse. On one of their estates, a wild boar was struck, ran over, and died on the other’s land. After arbitration and judgment, the boar was thus divided between them, and each part was hung up as a reminder.”
Of particular interest is the description of Carl Pølse’s pork, as recounted by Count Christian Rantzau (owner of Asdal 1726–1771) in response to a letter from Pastor Basballe (priest in Horne-Asdal 1716–32, later died as a priest in Gamtofte on Funen in 1738). Count Rantzau had owned Asdal since 1622. He was a learned man and familiar with Asdal’s history stretching far back in time. The Count’s reply to Mr. Basballe on 19 September 1729: “The mentioned side of pork still hangs there, but I am not aware that anyone has any superstition about it. Old people say that it is from a wild boar that was shot on the property of Asdal or Odden, after which the owners of the lands each claimed it. In the matter, it was judged that the boar should be divided between the two farm owners, and of that boar, the half part is the one that still hangs at Asdal.”
Above the front door of the main house at present-day Asdal, a dried ham is kept, said to be the sad remains of the mentioned side of pork.
