[[beings]] | [[germanic-beings]] # Germanic Elves [[hall-a2007b]] ## Etymology From Proto-Germanic *albiz, of uncertain origin, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *albʰós “white” (compare related Latin albus) or *lbʰu- “skillful” (compare related Sanskrit ऋभुस् Ribhus, ṛbʰú-). Old English ælf Old Saxon alf, Middle High German alp, Old Norse alfr (Swedish elf). ## Info - On the possible connection between **Elves** & **Rbhus**, see: - Pro (a-kuhn) 1885, p110. - Pro (o-schrader) 1890, p163. - Con (a-hall) 2007, p54n1. - Con (m-west) 2007, p297. - There may also have been a female cognate akin to the Greco-Roman nymphs, Slavic vilas, the Huldra of Germanic folklore, and the Hindu Apsaras. [?] ## British [[hall-a2004]] in Medieval England ## AS ælf OE for Elf • Hostile, brought: ○ disease ælf-adl/sogoða ○ nightmares/magic influence of elves ælf-siden • Beautiful ○ ælf-scīnu 'elf-bright, elf-beautiful' "...Shippey observed (2003, p.57) [they] combine the ideas of exceptional danger and outstanding beauty and power." [the keys of middle earth, 204] ## Elf-Shot [[hall-a2005a]] ## Norse Alfir Sing. Pl. Trans. ON alfr alfir elf PG *albiz "elf, fairy" PIE *h₂elbʰós, *albʰós "white" • Ancestors had elf blood/sexual relations with elves • The ancestors, spirits of the dead ○ Called white because either (1) the dead were buried in white clothes, or, (2) death purifies you and makes you innocent again, (3) ~~the dead are pale~~ • The Land of the Elves ○ The mound, graveyard § No trees are cut and where no animal grazes ○ Where they wait to be reborn into the kin • One of the only beings (the other being Gods) which can be used in human names • Proficient at archery and hidding • The aurora Borealis in Scandinavia is known as "the road of the bees" and the "dance of the elves". ○ Elves were said to take the physical form of bees (fitting since bees hang around the burial mound). Elves' proficiency in archery = a bee sting • Associated gods: ○ Freyr (since he rules Álfheimr) Lord of the Elves ○ Odin (since in the poem Austrfaravísur the locals "fear Odin's wrath" during Álfablót when a Christian intrudes) ### Alfir (Light) "Dronke (1997, pp. 261-3 [The Poetic Edd. Volume II]) summarizes the characteristics of Old Norse Álfar in the following way (on the basis of brief references in verse and Snorri's Edda, hypothetical Indo-European etymology and the use of the word in Old Norse and Old English): (a) they make divine equipment for the gods; (b) they 'have joined the ranks of æsir ([they] appear in the same contexts...in stanza 49 of Vǫluspá...); (c) they have an important winter sacrifice devoted to them, the Álfablót, 'elf-sacrifice'; (d) they are associated with light." [Keys of Middle Earth, 203] "...Álfrǫðull, 'elf-glory', is the name of the sun in Vafþrúðnismāl..." [Keys of Middle Earth, 204] ### Dvergar (Dark Alfir) Dark Elves = Dwarves Dark = the rotting body m. Sing. Pl. Trans. ON dvergr dvergar "dwarf" PG *dwergaz PIE f. Sing. Pl. Trans. ON dyrgja dyrgjur "dwarf" dyrr-gja? "door-opening in the ground" The dead are located behind the door of the burial mound. • They produce and posses wealth (the dead are buried with all their valuables) ○ "crafted by a dwarf" = an object made and owned by a forebear for their afterlife (ie decedents) "...their role in the world hierarchy is that of serving spirits who support and sustain the cosmic order created by the gods (Motz, 1981-2, p.244). Their houses are not citadels or great halls like those of the gods and the giants, but individual stones or boulders, or sometimes earth. However, their role in the maintenance of the cosmic order is vital. Thus, they created the magical fetters which the gods used to constrain the monstrous wolf Fenrir who will kill Óðinn in the final battle. When the gods created the sky they put four dwarfs in each of its corners, so that the metaphor for the sky in poetry is 'burden of the dwarfs'. However, the dwarfs' superior skills are used for the service of other races. They do not have wives or families and are defined primarily as representatives of a profession useful to the gods and human heroes. Motz traced such features of the dwarfs to the religion of megalith builders of southern Scandinavia, northern Germany and the Baltic region (Motz, 1981-2 and 1983). The etymology of the word 'dwarf' is uncertain, but appears to have religious associations (Liberman, 2002.)" [The Keys of Middle Earth, p.126] [Referencing: Motz, Lotte. The Chanter at the Door in Mankind quarterly 22. and Liberman, "What Happened to Female Dwarfs" in Mythological Women eds. Simek and Heizmann] ## External Links [[rolinson2019-12-25]]