Elves

Elves
	;
Other Names	Elf, Alfr, Alf, Alv, Alfur
First Appearance	Germanic Folklore
Created by	Unknown

Origin[]

Elfland 3578 — Cover to *The King of Elfland's Daughter*, a 1924 novel by Lord Dunsany.

Elves are a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore.

In medieval Germanic-speaking cultures, elves were thought of as beings with magical powers and supernatural beauty, ambivalent towards everyday people and capable of either helping or hindering them. Beliefs varied considerably over time and space and flourished in both pre-Christian and Christian cultures. The word elf is found throughout the Germanic languages. It seems originally to have meant 'white being'. However, reconstructing the early concept depends largely on texts written by Christians, in Old and Middle English, medieval German, and Old Norse. These associate elves variously with the gods of Norse mythology, with causing illness, with magic, and with beauty and seduction.

In Middle English and early modern Scottish evidence, while still appearing as causes of harm and danger, elves appear clearly as humanlike beings. They became associated with medieval chivalric romance traditions of fairies and particularly with the idea of a Fairy Queen. A propensity to seduce or rape people becomes increasingly prominent in the source material. Around the fifteenth century, evidence starts to appear for the belief that elves might steal human babies and replace them with changelings.

The Norse god Freyr was associated with elves. In particular, Álfheimr (literally "elf-world") is mentioned as being given to Freyr in Grímnismál.

For a long time, views about elves in Old Norse mythology were defined by Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, which talks about svartálfar, dökkálfar and ljósálfar ("black elves", "dark elves", and "light elves"). For example, Snorri recounts how the svartálfar create new blond hair for Thor's wife Sif after Loki had shorn off Sif's long hair. 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.

Famous fairy tales about elves include "The Elves and The Shoemaker" which is a set of fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm about a poor shoemaker who receives much-needed help from three young helpful elves.

ElvesfromSCCTM — Example of Christmas Elves.

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." 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. Thus in the US, Canada, UK, and Ireland, the modern children's folklore of Santa Claus typically includes small, nimble, green-clad elves with pointy ears, long noses, and pointy hats, as Santa's helpers. They make the toys in a workshop located in the North Pole.

As the fantasy genre continued to evolve, elves soon became a popular staple of fantasy races, being depicted as more stoic, noble, and enigmatic in nature with an exotic allure. A good portion of this modern portrayal can be traced back to the pioneering success of Lord Dunsany's 1924 fantasy novel "The King of Elfland's Daughter", in which the otherworldly Princess Lirazel falls in love with a human Prince from the earthly Kingdom of Erl and sires a half human son before being called back to her transdimensional homeland by her omnipotent father, the eponymous King of Elfland.

A list of elves found on the wiki can be viewed here.

Public Domain Appearances[]

All published appearances of Elves from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.

Some notable appearances are listed here:

Public Domain Literary Appearances[]

Poetic Edda
Prose Edda
Beowulf
The Faerie Queene (1590)
The Elves and the Shoemaker, by the Brothers Grimm (1812)
The Elf of the Rose, by Hans Christian Andersen (1839)
“The Elves’ Gift,” by Arthur Crosby (Jan. 1874)
Princess Nobody, by Andrew Lang (1884)
“The Little Elf” a.k.a. “The Little Elf‐man,” by John Kendrick Bangs (1893)
The King of Elfland’s Daughter
The Worm Ouroboros, by E. R. Eddison (1924)

Public Domain Theatrical and Musical Appearances[]

Tam Lin (16^th century)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare (1590s)
The Elfin Knight (17^th century)
The Queen of Elfland’s Nourice (17^th century)
Lady Isabel and the Elf‐Knight (18^th century)
Thomas the Rhymer (first printed 1803)

Public Domain Film Appearances[]

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (December 6, 1964)

Public Domain Comic Appearances[]

Four Color Comics #69, 90-91, 128, 175, 205, 254, 525, 607, 1062
The Adventures of Jo-Joy in a Present for Santa
Santa Claus Parade
Fairy Tale Parade #3, 6, 8
Spunky #2
Peter Rabbit #16, 29
Bullwinkle #209
Calling All Kids #2
Zoo Funnies v1 #7
Punch and Judy v2 #1, 6
Frisky Fables v1 # 1, v5 #4
Ribtickler #9
Holiday Comics #2
Timmy Timid Ghost #44
Mighty Bear #2
Prize Comics #49
Animal Comics #13
Lil' Ghost #3
Frisky Animals #51
Strange Mysteries #19
Hunk #6
Space Detective #4
Ha Ha Comics #49
Big Shot #97
Wilbur Comics #2
Black Terror #21
Nursery Rhymes #10