Elves - Another name by which trooping fairies in are known. They can be divided into the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. An elf (plural elves) is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings (wights, vættir) endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind. In medieval Norse mythology, they appear to have been divided into light elves and dark elves, difficult to delineate from the Æsir (gods) on one hand and the dvergar (dwarves) on the other.
In early modern and modern folklore, they become associated with the fairies of Romance folklore and assume a diminutive size, often living mainly in forests but also underground in hills or rocks, or in wells and springs. 19th-century Romanticism attempted to restore them to full stature, making them men and women of great beauty, often depicted as very young.
From their depiction in Romanticism, elves entered the 20th-century high fantasy genre in the wake of the published work of J. R. R. Tolkien (especially the posthumous publication of hisSilmarillion where Tolkien's treatment of the relation of light elves, dark elves and dwarves is made explicit).
The "Christmas elves" of contemporary popular culture were popularized during the 1870s in the United States, in publications such as Godey's Lady's Book. The earliest preserved descriptions of elves comes from Norse mythology. In Old Norse they are called álfar (nominative singular álfr). Crossbreeding was possible between elves and humans in the Old Norse belief 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. The saga of Hrolf Kraki adds that since Skuld was half-elven, she was very skilled in witchcraft (seiðr), and this to the point that she was almost invincible in battle. When her warriors fell, she made them rise again to continue fighting. The only way to defeat her was to capture her before she could summon her armies, which included elvish warriors The Old English form of the word is ælf (pl. ælfe, with regional and chronological variants such as ylfe and ælfen). Words for the nymphs of the Greek and Roman mythos were translated by Anglo-Saxon scholars with ælf and variants on it.
Old English tradition preserves the ylfe exclusively as mischievous, harmful beings. 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").
In relation the beauty of the Norse elves, some further evidence is given by old English words such as ælfsciene ("elf-beautiful"), used of seductively beautiful Biblical women in the Old English poems Judith and Genesis A. Although elves could be considered to be beautiful and potentially helpful beings in some sections of English-speaking society throughout its history, Old English evidence also attests to alignments of elves with demons, as for example in line 112 of Beowulf. On the other hand, oaf is simply a variant of the word elf, presumably originally referring to a changeling or to someone stupefied by elvish enchantment. Very little material concerning elves or elben survives in Old High German beyond the mere noun form alp, plural alpî, elpî. Middle High German has a feminine singular elbe and a pluralelbe, elber, but the word becomes very rare, mostly surviving in the adjective elbisch, and is replaced by the English form elf, elfen via 18th century German translations of Shakespeare's A Midsummernight's Dream. The masculine alp survives in German with a shifted meaning of "nightmare".
Found in many places throughout the world, elves are very plentiful in Scandinavia, many parts of Europe, and more recently, the United States. They are a very long lived race and are gifted with sharper senses, grace, agility and perceptions than humans. They excel in the arts and crafts, including the art of magic which they define as the gathering, focusing and directing of natural energy. In general, they dislike technology and live close to nature in an idyllic setting, respecting and working with all aspects of nature.
Physically, elves are generally the same height as humans or taller but slighter in build. (There are some exceptions to this rule however and a much shorter variety of elves does exist.) In appearance, their faces might seem to be more angular than humans and they do have the more pointed ears so often depicted in books and movies. They prefer to wear medieval-type clothing but have also been known to enjoy wearing a more modern style of clothing such as jeans, on occasion.
They are divided into two basic groups now: the Seelie–those that want to work with humans to heal the planet we both share and the Unseelie–those who would rather solve the problem by eliminating humans all together. It is recommended that you avoid contact with the Unseelie altogether.
In early modern and modern folklore, they become associated with the fairies of Romance folklore and assume a diminutive size, often living mainly in forests but also underground in hills or rocks, or in wells and springs. 19th-century Romanticism attempted to restore them to full stature, making them men and women of great beauty, often depicted as very young.
From their depiction in Romanticism, elves entered the 20th-century high fantasy genre in the wake of the published work of J. R. R. Tolkien (especially the posthumous publication of hisSilmarillion where Tolkien's treatment of the relation of light elves, dark elves and dwarves is made explicit).
The "Christmas elves" of contemporary popular culture were popularized during the 1870s in the United States, in publications such as Godey's Lady's Book. The earliest preserved descriptions of elves comes from Norse mythology. In Old Norse they are called álfar (nominative singular álfr). Crossbreeding was possible between elves and humans in the Old Norse belief 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. The saga of Hrolf Kraki adds that since Skuld was half-elven, she was very skilled in witchcraft (seiðr), and this to the point that she was almost invincible in battle. When her warriors fell, she made them rise again to continue fighting. The only way to defeat her was to capture her before she could summon her armies, which included elvish warriors The Old English form of the word is ælf (pl. ælfe, with regional and chronological variants such as ylfe and ælfen). Words for the nymphs of the Greek and Roman mythos were translated by Anglo-Saxon scholars with ælf and variants on it.
Old English tradition preserves the ylfe exclusively as mischievous, harmful beings. 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").
In relation the beauty of the Norse elves, some further evidence is given by old English words such as ælfsciene ("elf-beautiful"), used of seductively beautiful Biblical women in the Old English poems Judith and Genesis A. Although elves could be considered to be beautiful and potentially helpful beings in some sections of English-speaking society throughout its history, Old English evidence also attests to alignments of elves with demons, as for example in line 112 of Beowulf. On the other hand, oaf is simply a variant of the word elf, presumably originally referring to a changeling or to someone stupefied by elvish enchantment. Very little material concerning elves or elben survives in Old High German beyond the mere noun form alp, plural alpî, elpî. Middle High German has a feminine singular elbe and a pluralelbe, elber, but the word becomes very rare, mostly surviving in the adjective elbisch, and is replaced by the English form elf, elfen via 18th century German translations of Shakespeare's A Midsummernight's Dream. The masculine alp survives in German with a shifted meaning of "nightmare".
Found in many places throughout the world, elves are very plentiful in Scandinavia, many parts of Europe, and more recently, the United States. They are a very long lived race and are gifted with sharper senses, grace, agility and perceptions than humans. They excel in the arts and crafts, including the art of magic which they define as the gathering, focusing and directing of natural energy. In general, they dislike technology and live close to nature in an idyllic setting, respecting and working with all aspects of nature.
Physically, elves are generally the same height as humans or taller but slighter in build. (There are some exceptions to this rule however and a much shorter variety of elves does exist.) In appearance, their faces might seem to be more angular than humans and they do have the more pointed ears so often depicted in books and movies. They prefer to wear medieval-type clothing but have also been known to enjoy wearing a more modern style of clothing such as jeans, on occasion.
They are divided into two basic groups now: the Seelie–those that want to work with humans to heal the planet we both share and the Unseelie–those who would rather solve the problem by eliminating humans all together. It is recommended that you avoid contact with the Unseelie altogether.
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