59 Folklore Swedish Elves

Tolkein s fantasy novels which included elves became popular elves have become more popular and tend to lean more towards the.

Folklore swedish elves. Elf plural elves in germanic folklore originally a spirit of any kind later specialized into a diminutive creature usually in tiny human form in the prose or younger edda elves were classified as light elves who were fair and dark elves who were darker than pitch. They are supernatural beings in germanic mythology and folklore elves were first attested in old english and old norse texts and are prominent in british and scandinavian folklore. In the 1890 s something changed in the way common scandinavians saw themselves and their culture. According to nordic folklore elves live in meadows and forests. It was believed that the dokkalfar lived in caves. In early modern folklore they were connected with fairies. More often portrayed as female elves were said to inhabit the meadows and forests of scandinavia where they were sometimes portrayed as tiny fairies transparent spirits or almost human.

They were often meant to scare children but even today they are essential and important to the modern northern society. ˈtɔ mːtɛ tomtenisse or tonttu finnish. There is a saying in sweden that the elves are dancing in the mist a result of their ethereal beauty and grace. Scandinavian folklore or nordic folklore is the folklore of norway sweden denmark iceland and the faroe islands it has common roots with and has been mutually influenced by folklore in england germany the baltic countries finland and sapmi folklore is a concept encompassing expressive traditions of a particular culture or group. It is generally described as being short having a long white beard and wearing a conical or knit cap in red or some other bright colour. The scandinavian folklore consists of a huge variety of creatures good or evil which have frightened people for centuries. The dokkalfar dark elves of norse mythology are considered to be some of the most frightening creatures of scandinavian folklore.

These classifications are roughly equivalent to the scottish seelie court and unseelie court. Elves originated in germanic folklore as various types of supernatural beings or spirits but perception of their identity developed to being small friendly and beautiful humanoid beings. Unlike the dwarves the elves are believed to be graceful ethereal beings. Although generally depicted as peaceful creatures and often portrayed as good in modern media there are some scandinavian tales in which elves are the perpetrators of wicked deeds. However their original identity was very different and stories of their cunning behavior related to humans tell of a dark and hostile nature. Is a mythological creature from nordic folklore today typically associated with the winter solstice and the christmas season.