Editing Elf (section)

=== Medieval and early modern German texts ===

{{Main|Alp (folklore)}}
[[File:Margarethe-Luther-1527.jpg|thumb|upright|Portrait of Margarethe Luther, believed by her son Martin to have been afflicted by ''elbe'' ("elves")]]

The [[Old High German]] word ''alp'' is attested only in a small number of glosses. It is defined by the ''Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch'' as a "nature-god or nature-demon, equated with the [[Faun]]s of Classical mythology{{nbsp}}... regarded as eerie, ferocious beings{{nbsp}}... As the [[Mare (folklore)|mare]] he messes around with women".<ref>"Naturgott oder -dämon, den Faunen der antiken Mythologie gleichgesetzt{{nbsp}}... er gilt als gespenstisches, heimtückisches Wesen{{nbsp}}... als Nachtmahr spielt er den Frauen mit"; {{harvp|Karg-Gasterstädt|Frings|1968}}, s.v. ''alb''.</ref> Accordingly, the German word ''Alpdruck'' (literally "elf-oppression") means "nightmare". There is also evidence associating elves with illness, specifically epilepsy.{{sfnp|Edwards| 1994}}

In a similar vein, elves are in Middle High German most often associated with deceiving or bewildering people in a phrase that occurs so often it would appear to be proverbial: {{lang|gmh|die elben/der alp trieget mich}} ("the elves/elf are/is deceiving me").{{sfnp|Edwards|1994|pp=16–17, at 17}} The same pattern holds in Early Modern German.{{sfnp|Grimm|1883b|p=463}}<ref>In Lexer's Middle High German dictionary under [http://woerterbuchnetz.de/Lexer/?sigle=Lexer&mode=Vernetzung&lemid=LA00984 alp, alb] is an example: Pf. arzb. 2 14b= {{harvp|Pfeiffer|1863|p=44}} ({{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I0QSAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA44|title=Zwei deutsche Arzneibücher aus dem 12. und 13. Jh.|last=Pfeiffer|first=F.|year=1863|place=Wien|contribution=Arzenîbuch 2= Bartholomäus" (Mitte 13. Jh.)}}): "Swen der alp triuget, rouchet er sich mit der verbena, ime enwirret als pald niht;" meaning: 'When an ''alp'' deceives you, fumigate yourself with [[verbena]] and the confusion will soon be gone'. The editor glosses ''alp'' here as "malicious, teasing spirit" ({{langx|de|boshafter neckende geist}})</ref> This deception sometimes shows the seductive side apparent in English and Scandinavian material:{{sfnp|Edwards| 1994}} most famously, the early thirteenth-century [[Heinrich von Morungen]]'s fifth ''[[Minnesang]]'' begins "Von den elben wirt entsehen vil manic man / Sô bin ich von grôzer liebe entsên" ("full many a man is bewitched by elves / thus I too am bewitched by great love").{{sfnp|Edwards|1994|p=13}} ''Elbe'' was also used in this period to translate words for nymphs.{{sfnp|Edwards|1994|p=17}}

In later medieval prayers, Elves appear as a threatening, even demonic, force. For example, some prayers invoke God's help against nocturnal attacks by ''Alpe''.{{sfnp|Hall|2007|pp=125–26}} Correspondingly, in the early modern period, elves are described in north Germany doing the evil bidding of witches; [[Martin Luther]] believed his mother to have been afflicted in this way.{{sfnp|Edwards|1994|pp=21–22}} As in Old Norse, however, there are few characters identified as elves. It seems likely that in the German-speaking world, elves were to a significant extent conflated with dwarves ({{langx|gmh|{{linktext|getwerc}}}}).{{sfnp|Motz|1983|loc=esp. pp. 23–66}} Thus, some dwarves that appear in German heroic poetry have been seen as relating to elves. In particular, nineteenth-century scholars tended to think that the dwarf Alberich, whose name etymologically means "elf-powerful," was influenced by early traditions of elves.<ref name=weston/>{{sfnp|Grimm|1883b|p=453}}