Talk:Elf
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- In some mythologies there are also dark elves, sometimes known as Drow, which are wicked and evil. Elves are enemies of the goblins.
In what mythologies, outside of AD&D? AD&D is a gaming system, not a source of legitimate folklore. In much actual folklore, there is little distinction between elves, goblins, trolls, and other gremlins; they're all various kinds of little gremlins, or occasionally big gremlins, with (I think) no fixed speciation (as it were), as there is in Tolkien's works or those derivative of them. --LMS
- I have seen references to "dark elves" in books on Norse mythology.As for the name Drow, I have never heard of it. Your are quite correct that elves, goblins, trolls, etc blend together. I suspect that many are regional variants, e.g., trolls may be the Norwegian version of elves. Poor scholarship and migration of peoples have probably confused once-seperate traditions. -- hajhouse
No, it is true that the "races" blend together. However, they are not regional variants. In the old days, a Scandinavian farmer distinguished between a variety of creatures, such as tomte, troll, Nixie, wight, elf, etc. The difference was that they represented different ideas. The Tomte lived at the farm and helped the farmer during the night. The Troll was the danger that lurked in the forest or in the mountain. The Nixie was the danger that dwelt in rivers and lakes, the wights was a general name for different spritits in nature, and the elves were females that could bee seen dancing over bogs, in the evening, when the mist rose. The Huldra was the female that seduced men who walked in the forest, etc. etc. Wiglaf
In norse mythology there also were dark elves called svartalfar. Ausir 20:56, 19 Apr 2004 (UTC)
In Norse mythology, the elves are regarded as the alfs and dwell in Alfheim, or the realm of the light elves. As recognized in J.R.R. Tolkien's literary masterpiece The Lord of the Rings, the elves are seen as tall and beautiful beings that are far superior to Men in lore, architecture, song, and magic. They too will have apart in Ragnarok as they fight their evil counterparts, the dark elves who dwell in the underground world of Svartalfheim.
Sal Della Villa- June 4, 2004
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Elves and Trolls...
There is a distinct difference between Elves and Trolls.
Elves in Norse Mythology are portrayed as fair to behold, slim and possessed of magical powers. A troll, or Grendel, is a large brutish creature with a love of human flesh.
In folklore Elves are portrayed as Pixies and are still generally better-looking then trolls. Personally, an Elf is Tolkein's representation, as are Trolls or Grendels. The 'Elves' and the shoe-maker are nothing more than pixies.
No offence to anyone, but these different races have only been merged and confused by people telling stories, folk who are not altogether interested in the true source. It's much like Chinese Whispers, where a little of the truth changes with each retelling.
- When we're talking about fiction and folklore, every source is a true source. The shoe-maker elves and similar diminutive, industrious elf traditions (Santa's elves come to mind) actually have a lot more to do with Norse elves than English pixies. Likewise, Norse trolls varied between dwarf and giant, mischievous and evil. -- Perey 04:25, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)
The Drow.
The Drow are chiefly in Dungeons and Dragons and do not appear in any myth or religion. They were based loosely on the concept of a Dark Elf... or Evil Elf.
They live underground, have black skin and white hair, practising torture frequantly.
Is an elf with its head between its legs a goblin?
Paolini?
This view is shared by Christopher Paolini "Eragon" who also believed in the Norse elves and has written about elves in his book.
Is this of particular significance? It seems like a poorly-written "me too" inclusion of someone's favoured author. Recommend that someone familiar with Paolini revises it, expands it to explain why Paolini's not just another author who's "written about elves", or deletes it entirely if need be.
Other
Less popular sources talk of a battle between the elves and other mystical creatures. Elves in theese stories are often depicted as small defensless beings living in trees. They are forced to this new habitat by loss of battle between the gnomes and pixies. Also in this tale pixies are described as fearsome beings with claws and blades at the tips of there wings.
Fixed the link
To the Wiki Commons page. --Kross 06:42, Mar 26, 2005 (UTC)
I just wanted to say that I very much appreciated this article; while there may be room for improvement, as it stands it's an excellent piece of work.
Just A Comment
This article is fantastic. I've begun research on a fantasy world that I am creating for a series of novels, and this article has set me on track as far as Elves are concerned. I have a number of books on Elves set to arrive at a later date for more in-depth research, but this article, again, has set me off with a great start. - Matt S.
I agree; this article really is quite good. Harkenbane 10:57, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC)