Editing Elf (section)

==== Other sources ====

[[File:Glasgow Botanic Gardens. Kibble Palace. William Goscombe John - 'The Elf', 1899.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|[[Glasgow Botanic Gardens]]. Kibble Palace. [[Goscombe John|William Goscombe John]], ''The Elf'', 1899.]]

The appearance of elves in sagas is closely defined by genre. The [[Sagas of Icelanders]], [[Bishops' saga]]s, and contemporary [[saga]]s, whose portrayal of the supernatural is generally restrained, rarely mention ''álfar'', and then only in passing.{{sfnp|Jakobsson|2006|p=231}} But although limited, these texts provide some of the best evidence for the presence of elves in everyday beliefs in medieval Scandinavia. They include a fleeting mention of elves seen out riding in 1168 (in ''[[Sturlunga saga]]''); mention of an ''álfablót'' ("elves' sacrifice") in ''[[Kormáks saga]]''; and the existence of the euphemism ''ganga álfrek'' ('go to drive away the elves') for "going to the toilet" in ''[[Eyrbyggja saga]]''.{{sfnp|Jakobsson|2006|p=231}}{{sfnp|Tolley|2009|loc=vol. I, pp. 217–218}}

The [[Kings' sagas]] include a rather elliptical but widely studied account of an early Swedish king being worshipped after his death and being called [[Olaf Geirstad-Alf|Ólafr Geirstaðaálfr]] ('Ólafr the elf of Geirstaðir'), and a demonic elf at the beginning of ''[[Norna-Gests þáttr]]''.<ref>{{harvp|Jakobsson|2006|pp=231–232}}; {{harvp|Hall|2007|pp=26–27}}; {{harvp|Tolley|2009|loc=vol. I, pp. 218–219}}.</ref>

The [[legendary saga]]s tend to focus on elves as legendary ancestors or on heroes' sexual relations with elf-women. Mention of the land of [[Álfheimr (region)|Álfheimr]] is found in ''[[Heimskringla]]'' while ''[[Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar]]'' recounts a line of local kings who ruled over [[Álfheim]], who since they had elven blood were said to be more beautiful than most men.<ref>''[http://www.northvegr.org/lore/viking/001_02.php The Saga of Thorstein, Viking's Son] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050414154443/http://www.northvegr.org/lore/viking/001_02.php |date=14 April 2005 }}'' (Old Norse original: ''[http://www.snerpa.is/net/forn/thorstei.htm Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar]''). Chapter 1.</ref><ref name=ashman_rowe/> According to ''[[Hrólfs saga kraka]]'', [[Hrolf Kraki|Hrolfr Kraki]]'s half-sister [[Skuld (princess)|Skuld]] was the [[half-elf|half-elven]] child of King Helgi and an elf-woman (''álfkona''). Skuld was skilled in witchcraft (''seiðr''). Accounts of Skuld in earlier sources, however, do not include this material. The ''[[Þiðreks saga]]'' version of the [[Nibelung]]en (Niflungar) describes [[Hagen (legend)|Högni]] as the son of a human queen and an elf, but no such lineage is reported in the Eddas, ''[[Völsunga saga]]'', or the ''[[Nibelungenlied]]''.{{sfnp|Jakobsson|2006|p=232}} The relatively few mentions of elves in the [[chivalric sagas]] tend even to be whimsical.{{sfnp|Þorgeirsson|2011|pp=52–54}}

In his ''Rerum Danicarum fragmenta'' (1596) written mostly in Latin with some Old Danish and Old Icelandic passages, [[Arngrímur Jónsson]] explains the Scandinavian and Icelandic belief in elves (called ''Allffuafolch'').<ref name=skjold/>
Both Continental Scandinavia and Iceland have a scattering of mentions of elves in medical texts, sometimes in Latin and sometimes in the form of amulets, where elves are viewed as a possible cause of illness. Most of them have Low German connections.{{sfnp|Hall|2007|pp=132–33}}{{sfnp|Þorgeirsson|2011|pp=54–58}}<ref name=simek2011/>

Sometimes elves are, like [[Dwarf (folklore)|dwarves]], associated with craftsmanship. [[Wayland the Smith]] embodies this feature. He is known under many names, depending on the language in which the stories were distributed. The names include ''Völund'' in Old Norse, ''Wēland'' in Anglo-Saxon and ''Wieland'' in German. The story of Wayland is also to be found in the ''Prose Edda''.<ref name="Manea">{{cite web |last1=Manea |first1=Irina-Maria |date=2022-03-08 |title=Elves & Dwarves in Norse Mythology |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1695/elves--dwarves-in-norse-mythology |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=worldhistory.org |publisher=[[World History Encyclopedia]]}}</ref>