Elves
Elves (also Albe , Elben ) are a very heterogeneous group of mythical creatures in mythology and literature .
Elves are nature spirits that originally come from Norse mythology . In Old Norse they are called álfr , ahd. Alb , altengl. ælf , Danish elve ; the kymrische (Welsh) word is Ellyll "the [very] Other", Irish Ailill .
etymology
The origin of the word is not entirely clear. The common Germanic form is * albaz next to * albiz .
Two approaches are justifiable regarding the relationship of the root * alb :
- like Old High German elbiʒ , Old Norse elptr , Russian lébed (лебедь) "swan" and Latin albus "white", for the Indo-European * albh "shine, be white", in the sense of "light figure , white fog figure"
- to the old Indian rbhúh , a class of mythical craftsmen, with a basic meaning “skillful, hardworking” (related to the Latin labor = work), with a motivation of * albaz as “craftsman, magical helper”, there are also elves, as well as dwarves as artful blacksmiths be valid.
The German word Elfen goes back to Old German Alb or Elb in the singular or Elbe or Elber in the plural. From the feminine form "Elbe", the weak plural "Elbe" was also formed in the 16th century. In the 18th century, the word forms were replaced by the English form "elves". The form "Alb" can still be found today with a limited meaning in the word nightmare .
Elves in mythology
Light albums and black albums in Norse mythology
The albums are often mentioned in the Snorra - Edda (Scandinavian gods and heroic sagas around 1220) in connection with the Nordic dynasty of the Aesir .
|
ása ok alfa |
the sir and albums |
In the Snorra-Edda a distinction is made between light and black albums , names that strongly reflect their sentiments.
“Sá er einn staðr þar, er kallaðr er Álfheimr. Þar byggvir fólk þat, er Ljósálfar heita, en Dökkálfar búa niðri í jörðu, ok eru þeir ólíkir þeim sýnum ok miklu ólíkari reyndum. Ljósálfar eru fegri en sól sýnum, en Dökkálfar eru svartari en bik. "
“There is a place called Álfheim. The people called light albums live there. But the black albums live below in the earth and are unequal in face and even more unequal in their functions. The light albums are more beautiful than the face of the sun; but the black albums blacker than bad luck. "
Whether Snorri already found this classification or developed it himself is controversial. In any case, the albums are particularly tied to fertility, as they are assigned to the fertility god Freyr.
|
Álfheim Frey |
Álfheim gave it to Frey
as a tooth gift |
The dark albums are added later, which is a rather negative hybrid of the two.
Other authors have a hierarchy in which the sir are at the top, the albums second and the dwarfs last.
Still others put the albums close to the dwarfs, since álfr is in fact a word part of some dwarf names, e.g. B. Álfr, Gandálfr, Vindálfr etc. The dwarf Alberich from the Nibelungenlied is a good example. Only one author puts albums close to the giants .
A demonic side of the albums lies in the word lumbago , which is a translation of the older expression Albenschuss , as well as the word nightmare that is still used today .
However, there are far more positive accounts of the albums than negative ones. In the heroic saga of Wieland the blacksmith , Wieland is referred to as the leader and compatriot of the albums, which had to do with his artistry as a blacksmith. In the ancestral line of King Harald Fairhair there are also names derived from the term albums (Álfr, Álfgeirr, Gandálfr, Álfhild). For a long time, Álf was a common part of Nordic names. Old English poetry uses ælfsciene to mean beautiful. A kenning calls the sun an album wheel.
The Brothers Grimm already pointed out that the division of Snorri was equal to the dualism of the Christian worldview of angels and devils. Christian influences cannot be ruled out, but with such general classifications, assumptions about takeovers should be made with caution. However, it cannot be ruled out that this contrast between the light and black albums comes from another cult of the dead and fertility. At least this is found in Anglo-Saxon sources.
Today this form of belief in albums is still widespread in Iceland (as Huldufólk ).
Álfablót
Sacrifices were made to the albums called álfablót in the time of pagan Europe . Little is known about it. The álfablót was local and run by women; strangers were not allowed in. Since it was dedicated to the elves as omnipresent powers and it was run by women, it is believed that it was about ancestors and fertility. They were probably victims of the black albums. The only news of the festival is from Sigvat , the skald of Olaf the Holy . The skald makes a journey to the east, and then the following happens to him:
"Þá kom hann að öðrum garði. Stóð þar húsfreyja í durum, það hann ekki ðar inn koma, segir að þau sættu álfablót. "
“Then he came to another farm. If the housewife stood in the doorway, she said that he was not allowed to come in, the elven sacrifice was being held. "
Álfheimr
The old Norse word Álfheimr means "world of albums". Snorri Sturluson imagined this place as the residence of the light albums ( old Icelandic ljósálfar ), as a heavenly region. (Gylf 16). According to Grm 5, Álfheimr is Freyr's apartment and one of the gods' dwellings in Asgard , the fortress of the Nordic gods.
Medieval ideas
In the late Christian-Occidental Middle Ages, completely different fears grew around the term Alb (Alp). He was seen as a nocturnal monster, as an evil dwarf, as a kind of incubus or succubus , the pure opposite of the fairy , which, strictly speaking, can also be regarded as an albin, possibly as a light alb (here, too, we therefore come across the idea of Christianity again ). He is commonly described as a demon or the ghost of a recently deceased.
Occasionally there is the idea that a woman who has used a certain form of obstetrics turns into a nightmare after death or earlier and then has to wander around in the form of an animal or in the form of an ugly goblin .
The Alb can cause severe damage to a victim. During the night he lies down on the chest of a sleeper who then gets breathlessness and nightmares ( formerly called nightmares ) due to the oppression . But it can also penetrate the human body through the mouth at night and soak up the blood. He especially likes cow or mother's milk.
According to popular belief, elves also put changelings on people.
Elves in fantasy worlds
Elves at Tolkien ("Elves")
The Elves (Quendi) at Tolkien are potentially immortal (if not killed), human-like beings. Tolkien worked out the languages of the Elves (see Languages and Scripts in Tolkien's World ) with great attention to detail; in fact, the linguist Tolkien created the world of Middle-earth , including the peoples living there, to provide a background for his languages.
The Tolkien Elves are based partly on elements that come from Nordic mythology, but also partly on Christian, philosophical and theological thought games. Although the Elves are basically designed as "better" people due to their immortality, immunity to illness, superior intelligence, physical and psychological strength and skill, on closer inspection they show the same character flaws and inadequacies that are also common to humans . Tolkien rejected the idea of elves as tiny, flower-dwelling, even winged, fairy-like beings, as an inappropriate belittling. "Elf", as the term used in English is, Tolkien found inappropriate, because in his eyes it created exactly this association. To avoid this, he suggested in his Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings the "correct" form Elb / Elben, which goes back to Jacob Grimm, for the German translation by Margaret Carroux .
Elves in newer fantasy worlds
In modern fantasy literature, especially in role-playing games , beings often appear (mostly referred to as 'elves' or, more rarely, as 'elves', this also varies with commissioned translators) who are more or less based on Tolkien's elves. The elves are mostly among the "good", nature-loving and peaceful peoples who have occasionally allied themselves with humans. However, they are also portrayed as belligerent when, for example, they are fighting for their survival or the continued existence of their natural habitat - often forests.
What many modern fantasy worlds have in common is that the elves have pointed ears, are often petite and gifted with music, and are durable. As a cultured people, they often appear in front of people, for example as an "older race". In many cases they can work magic and appear very attractive to people. Incidentally, the representation of elves in the various fantasy worlds ranges from anarchistic, reclusive barbarians with good looks to warlike, Indian-like tribes or advanced cultures to small, winged "flower elves". The height of the elves described varies from “significantly larger than humans” to “very small”.
A representation of elves, which is much more closely based on the earlier common, rather negative representation of elves in folklore than on Tolkien, can be found in Terry Pratchett's Discworld - Roman Lords and Ladies . They are mean, playful and cruel like cats, but sensitive to iron and “iron love”, which is permanently magnetic material. This aversion to metals, which is also received in some other works, alludes to the sensitivity of folk fairy creatures, which in earlier legends can be fought with fire and steel. In modern fantasy, elves often have an antipathy or even enmity against the metalworking dwarves, who are also taken from Tolkien's depiction as bearded blacksmiths and miners.
Some works also differentiate between several different elven peoples, some of which differ greatly from one another - for example, high elves and wood elves can exist in the same world: the former as high culture and with a focus on magical arts, the latter hunters and trackers living in seclusion in the forest. Examples for the representation can be found in the role-playing game genre ( Warhammer Fantasy , Dungeons & Dragons , The Elder Scrolls, etc.), where different types of players are to be addressed. The positive ideals of the elven peoples of the dark elves or drow are turned into the opposite. Depending on the interpretation of the topic, these evil elves have turned away from the “true path” of the elves, there has been a political split or they have already been born as members of an “evil” race of elves.
A connection between human and elf is usually referred to as a half-elf (e.g. in the pen & paper role-playing games The Black Eye , Dungeons & Dragons or in the computer game Regnum Online ).
See also
literature
- Helmut W. Pesch : Elvish. Grammar, writing and dictionary of the Elven language by JRR Tolkien. Bastei Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 2003, ISBN 3-404-20476-X .
- Anja Arendt: The story of the elves & elves. Heel, 2004, ISBN 3-89880-165-9 .
- Jeanne Ruland, Murat Karacay: Elves, fairies, gnomes. The great book of nature spirits. Schirner, 2003, ISBN 3-89767-139-5 .
- Jacob Grimm: German Mythology. Complete edition. Marix Verlag, Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 978-3-86539-143-8 .
- Wilhelm Vollmer: Dictionary of Mythology , pages 3197ff, digital library volume 17, Directmedia Publishing Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89853-117-1 (electronic resource).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Helmut Birkhan : Nachantike Keltenrezeption. Praesens Verlag, Vienna 2009, ISBN 978-3-7069-0541-1 , p. 546.
- ↑ Wolfgang Pfeifer: Etymological Dictionary of German. 8th edition. dtv, Munich 2005. Keywords "Alb" and "Elf".
- ^ Friedrich Kluge , Walther Mitzka : Etymological dictionary of the German language . 21st edition. de Gruyter , Berlin 1975, ISBN 3-11-005709-3 , p. 163 .
- ↑ Lokasenna verse 2.
- ^ Translation by Heusler.
- ^ Adapted translation by Simrock.
- ↑ Jens Peter Schjødt: Relations mellem aser and vaner and ideological implications . (The relationship between Asen and Vanen and its ideological implications.) In: Nordisk hedendom. Et symposium. Odense 1991, pp. 303-319, 306.
- ↑ Grímnismál verse 5.
- ^ Jan de Vries: About Sigvat's Álfablót stanzas. In: Acta Philologica Scandinavica. 7 (1932/1933) p. 169 ff.