|
ELVES
An elf is a kind of fairy. Many people believe fairies are
little people with magical powers who can control what humans
see and experience.
Elves first appeared in Germanic folklore. These elves were
pranksters. According to legend, they would cause diseases and
give people bad dreams. In fact, one German word for nightmare
is alpdrucken (ALF-droo-ken), which means
"elf-pressure."
The legend of elves spread across Europe. In Denmark,
Norway, Sweden, and Finland, elves became associated with
Christmas. In these countries, people say elves are small and
mischievous. They wear red clothing and have long beards. To
stop them from playing pranks, the story goes, you have to
give elves a bowl of porridge on Christmas Eve.
Originally a race of minor gods of nature and fertility,
elves are often pictured as youthful-seeming men and women of
great beauty living in forests and other natural places,
underground, or in wells and springs.
|
|
Elves have been portrayed
to be long-lived or immortal, and they always have magical powers
attributed to them.
Following the success of J.R.R. Tolkien's
epic The Lord of the Rings—where a wise, angelic
people named elves play a significant role; they have
become popular characters of modern fantasy. The belief in
elves, or supernatural and invisible beings, is almost universal.
Apparently, there has been no primitive tribe or race that has not
believed at one time or another that the world was inhabited by
invisible beings.
 |
AMERICAN ELVES: Today in the United States, many people believe that elves
work with Santa Claus in the North Pole. Here, the elves help
make Christmas presents.
|
 |
BRITISH ELVES (ADDLER): They were divided into two classes — the rural Elves,
inhabiting the woods, fields, mountains, and caverns; and
the domestic or house-spirits, usually called Hobgoblins and
Robin Goodfellows.
|
|
DANISH ELVES (ALVER / ELVEFOLK): In Denmark, people say that elves can be seen only by cats. |
|
FINNISH ELVES (TONTTU / TONTUT): |
|
GERMAN ELVES (ELFEN / ALBEN /
ELBEN): These elves were pranksters. According to
legend, they would cause diseases and give people bad
dreams.
|
 |
ICELANDIC ELVES (ALFAR / HULDUFOLK
/ YULE LADS): In Iceland, elves are called yule lads. Starting on December
12, a new lad visits each day until Christmas. These elves
play tricks on people. Because of these tricks, each elf gets
a name like Door Slammer or Sausage Stealer. Kids in Iceland
don't mind the pranks, though. The lads leave behind presents.
|
|
NORWEGIAN ELVES (ALV): |
|
SCANDINAVIAN/NORSE ELVES (ELVERE
/ ELLEFOLK): |
 |
SWEDISH ELVES (ALVA / ALVOR): |
The elfish civilization reached the peak of its development
around the year 600 BCE. A few decades later, wars with
Phoenicians and Celts, combined with inner strife, brought
fourth its demise, and the British Isles became dominated by
Celtic tribes immigrating from continental Europe, absorbing
the Elfish population.
Variants:
-
alver or elvefolk (Denmark)
-
tonttu and tontut (Finland)
-
elfen, elben and alben
(Germany)
-
addler (Great Britain)
-
álfar, álfafólk and
huldufólk (Iceland)
-
alv (Norwegian)
-
elver, elvere or ellefolk
(Scandinavia)
-
älva, älvor (Swedish)
I met a
little Elf-man once
Down where the lilies blow.
I asked him why he was so small,
And why he didn't grow.
He
slightly frowned, and with his eye
He looked me through and through.
"I'm quite as big for me," said he,
"As you are big for you."
John Kendrick Bangs,
The Little
Elf
|
