This shows how the meanings of elf had changed, and was in itself influential: the usage is echoed, for example, in the house-elf of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter stories.

Compare with the following excerpt from an 1750 ode by Willam Collins: Very little material concerning elves or elben survives in Old High German beyond the mere noun form alp, plural alpî, elpî. The influence of Shakespeare and Michael Drayton made the use of elf and fairy for very small beings the norm. These are often called "elves" (älvor in modern Swedish, alfer in Danish, álfar in Icelandic), although the more formal translation in Danish is feer. [134] Meanwhile, A Midsummer Night's Dream promoted the idea that elves were diminutive and ethereal. However, it was his little helpers, inspired partly by folktales like The Elves and the Shoemaker, who became known as "Santa's elves"; the processes through which this came about are not well-understood, but one key figure was a Christmas-related publication by the German-American cartoonist Thomas Nast. When her warriors fell, she made them rise again to continue fighting. The elves (Old Norse: álfar, singular, álfr) are divine beings in Norse mythology. A hallmark of many fantasy elves is their pointed ears. In a few witchcraft trials people attest that these arrow-heads were used in healing rituals, and occasionally alleged that witches (and perhaps elves) used them to injure people and cattle. 450-1100)-language text, Articles containing Old Norse-language text, Articles containing Old High German (ca. [3] Accordingly, beliefs about elves and their social functions have varied over time and space.[4]. Goethe's poem then took on a life of its own, inspiring the Romantic concept of the Erlking, which was influential on literary images of elves from the nineteenth century on.

[128] This second kind of elf cross was worn as a pendant in a necklace and in order to have sufficient magic it had to be forged during three evenings with silver, from nine different sources of inherited silver. Snorri in the Prose Edda states that the light elves dwell in Álfheim while the dark elves dwell underground. The clearest English example is Elveden ("elves' hill", Suffolk); other examples may be Eldon Hill ("Elves' hill", Derbyshire); and Alden Valley ("elves' valley", Lancashire). In these elves are linked to the Æsir, particularly by the common phrase "Æsir and the elves". The word Mythology itself is derived from the Greek word “mythos”, meaning story of people, and “logos” which means speech. [71] They became associated with medieval chivalric romance traditions of fairies and particularly with the idea of a Fairy Queen. These all come from an Indo-European base *albh-, and seem to be connected by the idea of whiteness. The human queen who had an elvish lover bore the hero Högni, and the elf-woman who was raped by Helgi bore Skuld, who married Hjörvard, Hrólfr Kraki's killer. [63] However, this is now thought to be a misunderstanding: the image proves to be a conventional illustration of God's arrows and of Christian demons. [44], In later Old Icelandic, alfr' ("elf") and the personal name which in Common Germanic had been *Aþa(l)wulfaz both coincidentally became álfr~Álfr. A notable crux in the Old Norse mythology is the distinction of álfar and dvergar. The name translates literally from the German as "Alder King" rather than its common English translation, "Elf King" (which would be rendered as Elfenkönig in German).

[82] Many commentators have also (or instead) argued for conceptual overlap between elves and dwarves in Old Norse mythology, which may fit with trends in the medieval German evidence. Integrating elves into Christian cosmology without identifying them as demons. [17] A 2006 and 2007 study on superstition by the University of Iceland's Faculty of Social Sciences supervised by Terry Gunnell (associate folklore professor), reveal that natives would not rule out the existence of elves and ghosts (similar results of a 1974 survey by Professor Erlendur Haraldsson, Fréttabladid reports). Most of them have Low German connections. They would later go on to gain connections in Medieval European mythology, legend and folklore. Still, beliefs in elves persisted in the early modern period, particularly in Scotland and Scandinavia, where elves were thought of as magically powerful people living, usually invisibly, alongside everyday human communities. [34], The main medieval Germanic cognates are Old Norse alfr, plural alfar, and Old High German alp, plural alpî, elpî (alongside the feminine elbe). The Huldra are seen as beautiful women who lure human men into marrying them, and when they do so they will lose the hollow back and tail.

However, from the early modern period onwards, elves started to be prominent in the literature and art of educated elites. [129] A 2006 and 2007 study by the University of Iceland's Faculty of Social Sciences revealed that many would not rule out the existence of elves and ghosts, a result similar to a 1974 survey by Erlendur Haraldsson. [141], English and German literary traditions both influenced the British Victorian image of elves, which appeared in illustrations as tiny men and women with pointed ears and stocking caps. The Huldra are beautiful, elf-like women who were harmful in their interactions with human men. [78][79] The pairing is paralleled in the Old English poem Wið færstice[67] and in the Germanic personal name system;[66] moreover, in Skaldic verse the word elf is used in the same way as words for gods. [90] As his most prominent deed in the poem is to rape Böðvildr, the poem associates elves with being a sexual threat to maidens. Since belief in supernatural beings is so ubiquitous in human cultures, however, scholars no longer believe such explanations are valid.

the áss] has power, the álfar have skill, and vanir knowledge".

The masculine alp survives in German with a shifted meaning of "nightmare". In his turn, J. R. R. Tolkien recommended using the older German form Elb in translations of his works, as recorded in his Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings (1967). The 10th century Metrical Charm "Against A Sudden Stitch" (Wið færstice) offers remedy against sudden pain (such as rheumatism) caused by projectiles of either ése or ylfe or witches (gif hit wære esa gescot oððe hit wære ylfa gescot oððe hit wære hægtessan gescot "be it Ése-shot or Elf-shot or witch-shot"). The most famous name of this kind is Alboin. This fits well with the word ælfscȳne, which meant "elf-beautiful" and is attested describing the seductively beautiful Biblical heroines Sarah and Judith. [142], As American Christmas traditions crystallized in the nineteenth century, the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (widely known as "'Twas the Night before Christmas") characterized St Nicholas himself as "a right jolly old elf". This in turn inspired Goethe's poem Der Erlkönig. Elb (m, plural Elbe or Elben) is a reconstructed term, while Elbe (f) is attested in Middle High German. Tolkien, J.R.R., Letter #27 (writing to Houghton-Mifflin circa March–April 1938. This aspect of German elf-belief largely corresponds to the Scandinavian belief in the mara. "De fagra flickorna på ängen". The idea also occurs in later traditions in Scandinavia and beyond, so it may be an early attestation of a prominent tradition. [24][25] Research has shown, however, that stories about elves have often been used as a way for people to think metaphorically about real-life ethnic others. Elf Elf Az északi mitológia egyik leggyakoribb lénye mostantól karakterként. They therefore give people an unusual degree of access to ideas of elves from older traditional culture. By Lake Tisnaren, I have seen one of those. Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. The elf makes many appearances in ballads of English and Scottish origin, as well as folk tales, many involving trips to Elphame or Elfland (the Álfheim of Norse mythology), a mystical realm which is sometimes an eerie and unpleasant place. From their depiction in Romanticism, elves entered the 20th-century high fantasy genre in the wake of the published work of J.R.R. In Denmark and Sweden, the elves appear as beings distinct from the vetter, even though the border between them is diffuse. [135], Early modern English notions of elves became influential in eighteenth-century Germany.
[145] Despite the obvious fictionality of fantasy novels and games, scholars have found that elves in these works continue to have a subtle role in shaping the real-life identities of their audiences. The earliest preserved description of elves comes from Norse mythology. It seems likely that in the German-speaking world, elves were to a significant extent conflated with dwarves (Middle High German: getwerc). They are often skilled archers. Elfish beings appear to have been a common characteristic within Indo-European mythologies. These terms, like their relatives in other European languages, are no longer clearly distinguished in popular folklore. They would later go on to gain connections in Medieval European mythology, legend and folklore. The conclusion of Grimm is that the classification "elf" can be considered to "shrink and stretch by turns". However, oral traditions about beings like elves remained prominent in Scandinavia into the early twentieth century. Tolkien's writing has such popularity that in the 1960s and afterwards, Elves speaking an Elvish language similar to those in Tolkien's novels (like Quenya and Sindarin) became staple non-human characters in high fantasy works and in fantasy role-playing games. They include a fleeting mention of elves seen out riding in 1168 (in Sturlunga saga); mention of an álfablót ("elves' sacrifice") in Kormáks saga; and the existence of the euphemism ganga álfrek ('go to drive away the elves') for "going to the toilet" in Eyrbyggja saga. They make the toys in a workshop located in the North Pole. The Icelandic mythographer and historian Snorri Sturluson referred to dwarves (dvergar) as "dark-elves" (dökkálfar) or "black-elves" (svartálfar). According to the Norse tales, the universe is composed of nine realms, one for each of the races of beings: gods, giants, men, and more., men, and more. [68][69] As well as appearing in medical texts, the Old English word ælf and its feminine derivative ælbinne were used in glosses to translate Latin words for nymphs.



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