Myths of Northern Lands
By H. A. Guerber
CHAPTER XXV
THE ELVES
The Realm of Faery
Besides the dwarfs there was another numerous class of tiny creatures called Lios-alfar, light or white elves, who inhabited the realms of air between heaven and earth, had their palace in Alf-heim, and were gently governed by the genial god Frey. They were lovely, beneficent beings, so pure and innocent that, according to some authorities, their name was derived from the same root as the Latin word "white" (albus), which, in a modified form, was given to the Alps, those snow-covered mountains, and to Albion (England), because of her white chalk cliffs which could be seen from afar.
The elves were so small that they could flit about unseen to care for the flowers, birds, and butterflies; and as they were passionately fond of dancing, they often slipped down to earth on a moonbeam, to dance on the green. Holding one another by the hand, they danced round in circles, thereby making the "fairy rings," which could easily be discovered, as the grass grew greener and more luxuriant in the places their little feet had trod.
"Merry elves, their morrice pacing
To aërial minstrelsy,
Emerald rings on brown heath tracing,
Trip it deft and merrily."
WALTER SCOTT
If any mortal stood in the middle of one of these fairy rings he could, according to the popular belief in England, see the fairies and enjoy their favor; but the Germans and Scandinavians vowed that the unhappy man must die. In connection with this superstition, they tell how Sir Olaf, riding off to his wedding, was enticed by the fairies into their ring. On the morrow, instead of a merry marriage, his friends witnessed a triple funeral, for his mother and bride both died of grief when they beheld his lifeless corpse.
"Master Olof rode forth ere dawn of the day
And came where the Elf folk were dancing away.
The dance is so merry,
So merry in the greenwood.
And on the next morn, ere the daylight was red,
In Master Olof s house lay three corpses dead.
The dance is so merry,
So merry in the greenwood.
First Master Olof, and next his young bride,
And third his old mother - for sorrow she died.
The dance is so merry,
So merry in the greenwood."
MASTER OLOF AT THE ELFIN DANCE (Howitt's tr.)
Fairies or Fays
The god Frey, the lord of the light-elves
These elves, who in England were called fairies or fays, were also enthusiastic musicians, and delighted especially in a certain tune which was known as the elf dance, and which was so irresistible that no one could hear it without dancing. If a mortal, overhearing the air, ventured to play it, he suddenly found himself incapable of stopping and was forced to play on and on until he died of exhaustion, unless lie were deft enough to play the tune backwards, or some one charitably slipped behind him and cut the strings of his violin. His hearers, who were forced to dance as long as the tones continued, could only pause when they ceased.
The Will-o'-the-wisps
In the North, in the mediaeval ages, the will-o'-the-wisps were known as elf lights, for these tiny sprites were supposed to mislead travelers; and popular superstition claimed that the Jack-o'-lanterns were the restless spirits of murderers forced against their will to return to the scene of their crimes. As they nightly walked thither, it is said that they doggedly repeated with every step, "It is right"; but as they returned they sadly reiterated, "It is wrong."
Oberon and Titania
In later times the fairies or elves were said to be ruled by the king of the dwarfs, who, being an underground spirit, was considered a demon, and allowed to retain the magic power which the missionaries had wrested from the god Frey. In England and France the king of the fairies was known by the name of Oberon; he governed fairyland with his queen Titania, and held his highest revels on earth on Midsummer night. It was then that the fairies all congregated around him and danced most merrily.
"Every elf and fairy sprite
Hop as light as bird from brier;
And this ditty after me
Sing, and dance it trippingly."
MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS DREAM
(Shakespeare)
These elves, like the brownies, Huldra folk, kobolds, etc., were also supposed to visit human dwellings, and it was said that they took mischievous pleasure in tangling and knotting horses' manes and tails. These tangles were known as elf locks, and whenever a farmer descried them he declared that his steeds had been elf-ridden during the night.
Alf-blot
In Germany and Scandinavia sacrifices were offered to the elves to make them propitious. These sacrifices, which consisted either of some small animal, or of a bowl of honey and milk, were known as Alf-blot, and were quite common until the missionaries taught the people that the elves were mere demons. The sacrifice once offered to them was then transferred to the angels, who were long entreated to befriend mortals, and propitiated by the same gifts.
Many of the elves were supposed to live and die with the trees or plants which they tended, but these moss, wood, or tree maidens, while remarkably beautiful when seen in front, were hollow like a trough when viewed from behind. They appear in many of the popular tales, but almost always as benevolent and helpful spirits, for they were anxious to do good to mortals and to remain on a friendly footing with them.
Images on Doorposts
In Scandinavia the elves, both light and dark, were worshiped as household divinities, and their images were carved on the doorposts. The Norsemen, who were driven away from home by the tyranny of Harald Harfager in 874, entered their ships, taking these carved doorposts with them. Similar carvings, including images of the gods and heroes, decorated the pillars of their high seats which they also carried away. The exiles showed their trust in their gods by throwing these wooden images overboard when they neared the Icelandic shores, and settling where the waves carried the posts, although the spot scarcely seemed the most desirable. "Thus they carried with them the religion, the poetry, and the laws of their race, and on this desolate volcanic island they kept these records unchanged for hundreds of years, while other Teutonic nations gradually became affected by their intercourse with Roman and Byzantine Christianity." These records, carefully collected by Sæmund the learned, form the Elder Edda, the most precious relic of ancient Northern literature, without which we would know comparatively little of the religion of our forefathers.
The sagas relate that the first Norse settlements in Greenland and Vinland were made in the same way, - the Norsemen piously landing wherever their household gods drifted ashore, - many years before the voyage of Columbus and the accredited discovery of America.