Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Photography and portraiture - What is the strangest elf you have ever seen or read?

What is the strangest elf you have ever seen or read?

This indicates that the elves have been replaced by fantasy writers and become a semi-magical Robin Hood image with bows and arrows, blond hair and blue eyes. This stereotype has existed since J.R.R Tolkien published The Hobbit in 1936. In sharp contrast, everything else becomes conspicuous.

Tolkien borrowed his own elves and dwarves from Norwegian (especially Icelandic) literature. Because ancient materials provide little information about the characters of these peoples, Tolkien created a lot of background stories for the terms he borrowed based on his understanding of Norwegian myths and legends.

To my surprise, contemporary Icelanders never seem to stop believing in this down-to-earth natural spirit; We are going to Iceland to find the answer to your question.

To my surprise, contemporary Icelanders never seem to stop believing in this down-to-earth natural spirit; We are going to Iceland to find the answer to your question.

Buildings such as the Elf Church seem to be the features of the natural landscape in human eyes, including ancient stumps, bushes, boulders and rock formations. Believers say that the dwellings of elves need to be protected from development in order to maintain a good relationship with these spiritual beings. This photo was taken by photographer Ragnhildur Jonsdottir in Calgaraorn lava area of Iceland.

There are other elves. Some people think that they have the height of human beings and can be willful in their relations with the people around them. It is considered unwise to offend them, just like the Irish elves or Manetho in the Great Lakes region of North America.

I mean those Icelanders who were born and raised in Iceland. Find a cute elf for your bookshelf? Stay away from these elves; They are serious people. It is likely that they have existed in Iceland for at least as long as humans.

Jacqueline Simpson is a visiting professor at the Sussex Center for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy at the University of Chichester. She said that the word alfar first appeared in Icelandic records and in Viking poems about 1000 AD. Ancient literature did not reveal much information about what elves did; Their main concern is the activities of God. More elaborate stories appeared in the folklore of 16 and 17 centuries, and matured with time.

Elves are different from the little people who are usually portrayed as Santa's assistants in American mythology. Simpson and other experts said that unlike the elves in Britain and other parts of Europe, the life style and appearance of Icelandic elves are very similar to those of human beings.

Simpson said, "You have to look carefully to make sure it is an elf, not a human." When she was an undergraduate, she began to study ancient Icelandic, and later compiled a book full of translations of Icelandic legends. When people find elves, they usually put on "clothes hundreds of years ago", and then many stories really come alive.

The way of life of elves is very similar to that of Icelanders, and their way of life is also similar to that of Icelanders. At least most of the time, their houses and other property are hidden from people's sight. But in their fierce territory, if we want to maintain a good relationship with them, we need to respect the landscape, because perhaps, an elf, a barn, or a village seems to win our attention as a unique or standing stone, or another strange landscape.