Notes from mythologies about elves

Norse Myths

Santa Claus, Keebler cookies, and overloaded shelves. When one speaks of elves, the mind most often goes to those who work for Santa or Keebler, or those which hide from little children in the middle of the night. These are their roles in popular culture today, but it is likely unsurprising to read that their origins stem from sources much less merry and jolly. Rather, among the earliest depictions of the elven race are the early medieval sagas and poems of gods, wars, and even death.

Elves in Pagan and Christian Times

Germanic in nature, the mythology of the elven race comes from the pre-Christian Norse faith and language. In Old Norse, elves are called álfar, though this term can be divided into subcategories. It has long been believed that elves are creatures of goodness and light, however this is a misinterpretation of earlier texts. Elves in Norse literature are often described as beautiful, slim, tall creatures with pale skin and hair, and unknowable magical powers. The elves were very fluid creatures that did not adhere to normal gender or sexual roles. Further, sometimes these beings were considered gods or demi-gods, but they were also above the human race.

The elves were broken down into groups of light and the dark elves, likely first by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century (though not definitively). It is most probable that this division of the elven race arose when Christianity became dominant. In the pagan faith, elves were capable of both good and bad moralities, just like the Faer folk of ancient Ireland, England, and Scotland. Yet beings with dual natures did not translate well into the early medieval Christian religion. The closest comparison these writers could make was one with angels and demons—i.e., the followers of a good God versus the followers of a dark devil. Thus, the álfar were similarly divided into good and evil, or the ljósálfar and dökkálfar, respectively.

The Elves’ Homes

The good elves lived either above ground or in Álfheimr, one of the nine worlds of Norse mythology specifically for the elven race, while the dark elves lived like dwarves in the ground. Snorri goes so far as to reference a separate realm for the dark elves called Svartálfaheimr, thus explaining the use of svartálfar to describe the "black-elves" in his Prose Edda .

However, the use of svartálfar has been speculated by linguistic researchers as either synonymous with the dökkálfar or the dwarves; in the Gylfaginning (dictated in Snorri's Edda), the dwarf Andvari (who later creates the ring which causes strife between Brunhild the Valkyrie and her lover's wife, Gudrun) is described as being from Svartálfar. Thus it is not without merit to postulate that the dark elves themselves are merely dwarves—longstanding enemies of the elves—improperly renamed due to Christian misunderstandings.

Literary Works Interpreting the Role of Elves in Norse Mythology

One should be wary of the most valued texts referencing the Old Norse religion and elves. The aforementioned Snorri Sturluson is most often mentioned, as he was among the first authors who took the oral histories (i.e. sagas) of the pre-Christian Scandinavians and wrote them into a coherent codex. However, because of the second, third, and fourth-hand nature of the retellings of legends discussing elves and other aspects of Norse beliefs, and the fact that Snorri was trying to understand a pagan world through Christian eyes, much of the accuracy of his work is debatable. Nonetheless, Snorri's work continues to be respected, because the Icelanders were converted to Christianity later than other cultures, and it is believed that the original pagan beliefs prevailed longer, allowing for a shorter time gap between the oral and written traditions.

According to Ph.D. candidate Alaric Hall from the University of Glasgow (2004), the business of elves is one of the few instances in which Snorri's work is not as reliable as it is in other pre-Christian aspects. Instead, the poetry of the skalds (royal bards) is far more accurate regarding elves, as it is dated to the 9th century, just before the conversion of Iceland. In this poetry, the álfar (also sometimes written as álfr) are often mentioned in poems of mourning for fallen warriors. The earliest known skald, called Bragi inn gamli Boddason, provides álfr as an epithet for one of the strongest and bravest fallen warriors. (This is the equivalent of a warrior being called "god-like" or "shining" in Greek mythology.) It is therefore plausible that such an appellation indicates that elves were not merely an ethereal race wholly separate from humans, but valued as possessing skills and abilities humans could, and should, aspire to achieve.

A third valued work discussing Old Norse faith and elves is the Poetic Edda , a collection of tales written by an unknown author, likely written before Snorri's text in the 13th century. The estimated dating of such an ambiguously authored poem is estimated due to subject matter, the names of poets and the style and meter of the poetry. As such, the Poetic Edda 's estimated date could indicate that it was one of the many sources used by Snorri for his work—possibly in conjunction with the aforementioned poetry.

Despite the difficulty of recapturing the initial meaning of the álfar, whether light or dark, good or evil, or any combination of the two, the Nordic origins for elves has managed to survive in various forms because of the later efforts to preserve the Old North religion.

JRR Tolkien, renowned writer of The Lord of the Rings and advanced Anglo-Saxon and Germanic scholar, brought much of the accuracy of the ancient traditions into popular culture, seemingly endeavoring to do so without the biased Christian eye of historians like Snorri. While Tolkien's work is obviously fictional, it is a valuable example of an attempt to bring the ancient into the present. Jacob Grimm, one of the two brothers who collected Germanic fairy tales, is another pertinent individual relating to the survival of elven traditions.

Thanks in large part to the dedication of the skaldic poets and post-conversion writers, authors such as Tolkien are able to reconstruct facets of the Old Norse beliefs, combating the ever-persistent elven toy-makers, cookie bakers, and (somewhat creepily) grinning Christmas puppets.

By Ryan Stone

Bibliography

Amos, Ashley Crandell. 1980. Linguistic Means of Determining the Dates of Old English Literary Texts. Cambridge, MA: Medieval Academy of America.

Faulkes, Anthony (ed.). 1982. Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hall, Alaric Timothy Peter. 2004. "The Meanings of Elf and Elves in Medieval England." Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Glasgow.

Hollander, Lee M. 2010. The Poetic Edda: Volume 1 . University of Texas Press.

Grimm, Jacob. 1882–88. (trans. James Steven Stallybrass) Teutonic Mythology, 4 vols . London: Bell.

Kirk, Robert. 2006. (ed. John Matthews) The Secret Lives of Elves and Faeries: from the Private Journal of the Rev. Robert Kirk. Metro Books: New York.

Lindow, John. 2001. Handbook of Norse mythology . Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio.

Lindow, John. 2001. Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Poole, Russell Gilbert. 1991. Viking Poems on War and Peace: A Study in Skaldic Narrative. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Price, Neil. 2008. The Viking World . Routledge: London.

Sanmark, Alexandra. 2002. Power and conversion: a comparative study of Christianization in Scandinavia; Uppsala . Department of Archaeology and Ancient History: Uppsala University.

Thun, Nils. 1969. "The Malignant Elves: Notes on Anglo-Saxon Magic and Germanic Myth", Studia Neophilologica , 41: 378–396.

Tolkien, J. R. R. 1983. (ed. Christopher Tolkien) "On Fairy-Stories", in The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays . London: Allen & Unwin. pp. 3-83.

Turville-Petre, E.O.G. 1976. Scaldic Poetry . Oxford: Clarendon Press.

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ELVES

https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/elves/

“Meadow Elves” by Nils Blommér (1850) An elf (Old Norse álfr, Old English ælf, Old High German alb, Proto-Germanic *albaz) is a certain kind of demigod-like being in the pre-Christian mythology and religion of the Norse and other Germanic peoples.

The elves are luminous beings, “more beautiful than the sun,”[2] whose exalted status is demonstrated by their constantly being linked with the Aesir and Vanir gods in Old Norse and Old English poetry.[3] The lines between elves and other spiritual beings such as the gods, giants, dwarves, and land spirits are blurry, and it seems unlikely that the heathen Germanic peoples themselves made any cold, systematic distinctions between these various groupings. It’s especially hard to discern the boundary that distinguishes the elves from the Vanir gods and goddesses. The Vanir god Freyr is the lord of the elves’ homeland, Alfheim,[4] and at least one Old Norse poem repeatedly uses the word “elves” to designate the Vanir.[5] Still, other sources do speak of the elves and the Vanir as being distinct categories of beings, such that a simple identification of the two would be misguided.

The elves also have ambivalent relations with humans. Elves commonly cause human illnesses,[6] but they also have the power to heal them, and seem especially willing to do so if sacrifices are offered to them.[7] Humans and elves can interbreed and produce half-human, half-elfin children, who often have the appearance of humans but possess extraordinary intuitive and magical powers.[8][9] Humans can apparently become elves after death, and there was considerable overlap between the worship of human ancestors and the worship of the elves.[10][11]

The worship of the elves persisted centuries after the Germanic people’s formal conversion to Christianity, as medieval law codes prohibiting such practices demonstrate. Ultimately, then, their veneration lasted longer than even that of the gods.

Looking for more great information on Norse mythology and religion? While this site provides the ultimate online introduction to the topic, my book The Viking Spirit provides the ultimate introduction to Norse mythology and religion period. I’ve also written a popular list of The 10 Best Norse Mythology Books, which you’ll probably find helpful in your pursuit.

References:

[1] Orel, Vladimir. 2003. A Handbook of Germanic Etymology. p. 13.

[2] Snorri Sturluson. The Prose Edda. Gylfaginning 17.

[3] Turville-Petre, E.O.G. 1964. Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. p. 231.

[4] The Poetic Edda. Grímnismál, stanza 5.

[5] Hall, Alaric. 2007. Elves in Anglo-Saxon England. p. 36.

[6] Turville-Petre, E.O.G. 1964. Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. p. 232.

[7] Kormáks saga.

[8] Þiðreks saga.

[9] Hrólfs saga kraka.

[10] The Poetic Edda. Völundarkvíða.

[11] Óláfs Saga Helga. In Flateyjarbók.

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TimelessMyths

http://www.timelessmyths.com/norse/beings.html

The elves were also called álfar. The elves were a race of mythical beings, who were, in a way, lesser deities. They weren't exactly gods in the normal sense, but they did possessed powers. They are similar to Roman household deities, such as the Penates and Lares, where people prayed to them to protect home and household.

People also prayed to the elves for healing, as it was the case for Kormak in the Kormaks Saga (13th century). Kormak had wounded Thorvard. The witch Thordis advised Thorvard to allow the elves to heal him, he sacrificed a bull at the elf's mound. He first slaughtered the bull, then sprinkling the blood around the mound, before preparing the meat for elves to feast on. The sacrifice was known as álfablót or "elf's sacrifice".

There are some scattered references of elves in the Poetic Edda, but their roles in Norse myths were minimal, at best. Snorri Sturluson mention how the gods created a world for which they were to live in, and the difference between the light-elves (ljósálfar) and dark elves (dokkálfar) or black elves (svartálfar), but nothing about individual elf.

What we do know is that the elves or light-elves lived in one of the Nine Worlds, called Alfheim. The Vanir god Freyr has his palace and hall in Alfheim, where he ruled as their god. It was said that the gods gave Alfheim to Freyr, as payment for losing his tooth.

...Alfheim the gods gave to Freyr in bygone days as tooth-payments. Grimnir's Sayings 5, from The Poetic Edda translated by Carolyne Larrington

There are other types of light-elves such as muntælfen (mountain elf), landælf (field elf), wæterælfen or saeælfen (water nymph) and wuduælfen (wood spirit).

There are several different types of elves, and they seemed to be related to the dwarves, because Snorri referred the black elves (svartálfar) as dwarves, or the black elves are not elves at all. The black elves lived in a different world called Svartalfheim, while the dwarves lived in Nidavellir.

As to the dark elves (dokkálfar), Snorri says that they were black than pitch and lived underground. They are unlike the light-elves in appearance and nature.

I should also mentioned that in the Eddaic poem, titled Volundarkvida – the "Lay of Volund", the master smith Volund (Wayland) was known as the Lord of Elves. Which type of elves did he belonged to? Or is he really the lord of dwarves, who were known as black elves (svartálfar). Since Volund/Wayland was a master craftsman/smith, a skill often attributed to the dwarves, then Volund could very well be the Lord of the Svartálfar. Volund was popularly known in English speaking countries as Wayland.

The truth is that the writers in the Norse myths don't have much to say about the elves. Their roles were developed more later in folklore, fairy tales and in the world of fantasy novels, such as by the novelist J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

		Dain
		Wayland (Volund), see German Heroes.

Dain

An elf. As far as I can determine, Dain is the leader of the elves in the world of Alfheim. His name is mentioned in the Havamal ("Sayings of the High One"), along with Odin.

Odin for Aesir, and Dain for the elves, Dvalin for the dwarfs, Asvid for the giants, I myself carve some. Havamal 143, from Poetic Edda translated by Carolyne Larrington

The carving referred to mastering the magic of runes. See Sacrifice: Hanging and Runes in the Search for Wisdom page about more on runes, as well as article on Odin

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