Editing Álfheimr (section)

==Attestations==
Álfheim as an abode of the Elves is mentioned only twice in [[Old Norse]] texts.
===Grímnismál===
The [[Eddic poem]] ''[[Grímnismál]]'' describes twelve divine dwellings beginning the stanza&nbsp;5 with:

{| width="75%"
! width="25%" | [[Old Norse]] text{{sfn|Grímnismál (ON)|loc=Stanza 5}}
! width="50%" | [[Henry Adams Bellows (businessman)|Bellows]] translation{{sfn|Bellows|2004|loc=Grimnismol stanza 5}}
|-
|
:{{lang|non|Ýdalir heita,}}
:{{lang|non|þar er Ullr hefir}}
:{{lang|non|sér of görva sali;}}
:{{lang|non|Alfheim Frey}}
:{{lang|non|gáfu í árdaga}}
:{{lang|non|tívar at tannféi.}}
|
:[[Ydalir]] call they the place where [[Ullr|Ull]]
:A hall for himself hath set;
:And Alfheim the gods to [[Freyr]] once gave
:As a tooth-gift in ancient times.
|}

A tooth-gift is a gift given to an [[infant]] on the cutting of the first tooth.{{sfn|Bellows|2004|loc=Grimnismol stanza 5 notes}}

===Gylfaginning===
In the 12th&nbsp;century Eddic prose ''[[Gylfaginning]]'', [[Snorri Sturluson]] relates it in the stanza&nbsp;17 as the first of a series of abodes in heaven:

{| width="100%"
! width="50%" | [[Old Norse]] text{{sfn|Gylfaginning (ON)|loc=Chapter 17}}
! width="50%" | [[Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur|Brodeur]] translation{{sfn|Sturluson|2018|loc=Gylfaginning, chapter 17}}
|-
|
{{lang|non|Margir staðir eru þar göfugligir. 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.}}
|
Many places are there, and glorious. That which is called Álfheimr is one, where dwell the peoples called Light-Elves; but the Dark-Elves dwell down in the earth, and they are unlike in appearance, but by far more unlike in nature. The Light-Elves are fairer to look upon than the sun, but the Dark-Elves are blacker than pitch.
|}

Later in the section, in speaking of a hall in the Highest Heaven called [[Gimlé]] that shall survive when heaven and earth have died, explains:

{| width="100%"
! width="50%" | [[Old Norse]] text{{sfn|Gylfaginning (ON)|loc=Chapter 17}}
! width="50%" | [[Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur|Brodeur]] translation{{sfn|Sturluson|2018|loc=Gylfaginning, chapter 17}}
|-
|
{{lang|non|Svá er sagt, at annarr himinn sé suðr ok upp frá þessum himni, ok heitir sá Andlangr, en inn þriði himinn sé enn upp frá þeim, ok heitir sá Víðbláinn, ok á þeim himni hyggjum vér þenna stað vera. En Ljósálfar einir, hyggjum vér, at nú byggvi þá staði.}}
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It is said that another heaven is to the southward and upward of this one, and it is called [[Andlangr]]; but the third heaven is yet above that, and it is called [[Víðbláinn|Vídbláinn]], and in that heaven we think this abode is. But we believe that none but Light-Elves inhabit these mansions now.
|}