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Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar

May 17, 2023

In Norse mythology, Dökkálfar ("Dark Elves")[a] and Ljósálfar ("Light Elves")[b] are two contrasting types of elves; the dark elves dwell within the earth and have a dark complexion, while the light elves live in Álfheimr, and are "fairer than the sun to look at". The Ljósálfar and the Dökkálfar are attested in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, and in the late Old Norse poem Hrafnagaldr Óðins. Scholars have produced theories about the origin and implications of the dualistic concept.

Älvalek (Elfplay or Dancing Fairies) (1866) by August Malmström

Attestations

Prose Edda

In the Prose Edda, the Dökkálfar and the Ljósálfar are attested in chapter 17 of the book Gylfaginning. In the chapter, Gangleri (the king Gylfi in disguise) asks the enthroned figure of High what other "chief centres" there are in the heavens outside of the spring Urðarbrunnr. Gangleri responds that there are many fine places in heaven, including a place called Álfheimr (Old Norse 'Elf Home' or 'Elf World'). High says that the Ljósálfar live in Álfheimr, while the Dökkálfar dwell underground and look—and particularly behave—quite unlike the Ljósálfar. High describes the Ljósálfar as "fairer than the sun to look at", while the Dökkálfar are "blacker than pitch".[1][2]

As chapter 17 continues, Gangleri asks what will protect the beautiful hall of Gimlé, previously described as "the southernmost end of heaven", when the fires of Surtr "burn heaven and earth" (Ragnarök). High responds that there are in fact other heavens. The first called Andlàngr, he says, is "south of and above this heaven of ours" and "we believe" Gimlé is located in the third heaven "still further above that one", Víðbláinn. High adds that "we believe it is only light-elves who inhabit these places for the time being".[2][3]

Hrafnagaldr Óðins

There occurs an additional mention of the dökkálfar in the late Old Norse poem Hrafnagaldr Óðins ("Odin's Raven-galdr"), stanza 25.[4]

Theories and interpretations

As the concept is only recorded in Gylfaginning and the late poem Hrafnagaldr Óðins, it is unclear whether the distinction between the two types of elves originated with Snorri, or if he was merely recounting a concept already developed.

Question of Christian influence

The sub-classification perhaps resulted from Christian influence, by way of importation of the concept of good and evil and angels of light and darkness. Anne Holtsmark aired this view,[c] though with some reservation, since "good vs. evil" dualism is not confined to Christian thinking.[d] Aside from some additional observations to encourage the hypothesis,[e] Holtsmark has been credited with demonstrating that Snorri borrowed from Christian writings, specifically that "Snorri’s description of Víðbláinn [the third heaven populated by light-elves] was almost certainly influenced by (and possibly based on) the account of the angels in the Elucidarius."[8][f]

Dissenters of the view that the dark and light elves were a later invention, such as Rudolf Simek and Gabriel Turville-Petre, feel rather that "dark" and "light" aspects of the same beings not inherently unlikely, death and fertility cults often being closely related.[9][10]

Dwarfs

Since the Prose Edda describes the dökkálfar as being subterranean dwellers, they may be dwarfs under another name, in the opinion of a number of scholars such as John Lindow.[11][12]

The Prose Edda also uniquely mentions the svartálfar ('black elves'),[12] but there are reasons to believe these also refer to merely dwarfs.[g]

Consequently, Lindow and other commentators have remarked that there may not have been any distinction intended between dark-elves and black-elves by those who coined and used those terms.[h] Lotte Motz's paper on elves commingles, and hence equates "dark-elves" and "black-elves" from the outset.[14]

Grimm's trinity

Jacob Grimm[15] surmised that the proto-elf (ursprünglich) was probably a "light-colored, white, good spirit" while the dwarfs may have been conceived as "black spirits" by relative comparison. But the "two classes of creatures were getting confounded", and there arose a need to coin the term "light-elf" (ljósálfar, or hvítálfar—"white elves")[16] to refer to the "elves proper". This was counterpart to the "dark-elf" (dökkálfar, or svartálfar—"black elves").[17][i]

Preferring it over duality, Grimm postulated three kinds of elves (ljósálfar, dökkálfar, svartálfar) present in Norse mythology.[18]

But Grimm's "tripartite division" (as Shippey calls it) faced "trouble" in Snorri's statement that dark-elves were pitch-black, as this would lead to the "first reduction" that "dark-elves = black-elves". As a solution, Grimm "pronounce[es] Snorri's statement fallacious", and hypothesizes that "dark elves" were not really 'dark' but rather 'dingy' or 'pale'.[15][19] And while conceding that "such a Trilogy still [lacks] decisive proof,"[20] draws parallels from the white, brown and black subterranean in Pomeranian legend,[20] and the white, pale, and black troops of spirits come to claim souls in the tale of Solomon and Marcolf.[20][21]

See also

Notes

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ Old Norse: Dǫkkálfar, singular Dǫkkálfr
  2. ^ Singular Ljósálfr
  3. ^ "Anne Holtsmark has pointed out that he probably got his idea of light and dark elves from the Christian teaching of 'white' and 'black' angels",[5] "Men ikke alle alver er gode, fra synonymet andi, Lat. spiritus, har begrepet overtatt en tvedeling i «gode og onde ånder», Snorre kalle dem liósálfar og dokkálfar. Samme tvedeling er gjennomført i den kristne lære når det gjelder englene. Guds engler er i himmelen og djevelens i helvete, d.e. den flokken av tilhengere Satael førte med seg da han ble styrtet i avgrunnen, Elucidarius 1869, s. 12 "; translation: But not all elves are good, and from synonyms [Icel.] andi, Lat. spiritus, it has acquired the sense of the dichotomy of "good and evil spirits," Snorri calls them liósálfar and dokkálfar. The same dichotomy is implemented in the Christian doctrine regarding angels: the angels of God in heaven and the angels of the devil in hell, i.e., the flock of followers whom Satanel brought with him when he was plunged into the abyss, Elucidarius, 1869, p.12"[6]
  4. ^ Thus Grimm and Holtsmark described "angels" as a parallel phenomenon, at least in their preliminary thesis, Grimm allowing that "other mythologies have set up" this dualism also, and Holtsmark suggesting that the dichotomy inherent in similar Icelandic (andi) and Latin terms (spiritus) may have rubbed off onto "elves".
  5. ^ Such as: "Begge slags vesener blir beskrevet i ordlag som ellers blir brukt om engler og djevler," translation: Both types of beings [liósalfar and døkkalfar] are described in language otherwise used for angels and devils.[7]
  6. ^ By her own admission Holtsmark regarded the explanation of the third heaven as more challenging than the second heaven Andlangr, crediting Falk for the insight for connecting it to andlegr or "spiritual" heaven of the Elucidarius. "Falk har sikkert rett i at Andlangr er laget av andlegr himinn; det andre navnet er ikke så let å forstå, det tør også være laget for anledningen."[7]
  7. ^ Since Snorri says twice over that the World of Black Elves (Svartálfaheimr) are inhabited by certain dwarfs.[13] The dwarfs that crafted Gleipnir in Gylfaginning 34 and the dwarf Andvari in Skáldskaparmál 39 (Faulkes 1995, pp. 28, 100) are said by Snorri to live in the World of the Black Elves.
  8. ^ Lindow: "whether he [Snorri] intended a distinction between the dark-elves and black-elves is unknown."[11] Lassen: "Both these kinds of dwarfs (if they were different)"[12]
  9. ^ Stallybrass's actual phrasing in his translation was "recourse was had to composition, and the elves proper were named liosâlfar" (2: 444) for Grimm's "half man durch zusammen-setzung und nannte die eigentlichen âlfar liosâlfar." Grimm 1844, 1: 413

Citations

  1. ^ Faulkes 1995, pp. 19–20.
  2. ^ a b Sigurðsson 1848, pp. 78, 80.
  3. ^ Faulkes 1995, p. 20.
  4. ^ Lassen 2011, p. 94.
  5. ^ Talbot 1982, p. 38.
  6. ^ Holtsmark 1964, p. 38.
  7. ^ a b Holtsmark 1964, p. 37.
  8. ^ Hall 2004, pp. 32–33.
  9. ^ Simek 1984; Simek 2007, p. 56
  10. ^ Turville-Peter, Gabriel, Myth and Religion of the North (1964), p. 231 apud Wilkin 2006, pp. 66–67
  11. ^ a b Lindow 2001, p. 110.
  12. ^ a b c Lassen 2011, pp. 105–6.
  13. ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (2012). The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0547504711.
  14. ^ Motz 1973.
  15. ^ a b Shippey 2004, pp. 6–8 presents an extract of Grimm's view on the classes of elves, with German text and Stallybrass's translation in parallel
  16. ^ Grimm (1883), Vol. 2, p. 445, "Thorlac. spec. 7, p. 160, gives the liosalfar another name hvítálfar (white elves) ; I have not found the word in the old writings."
  17. ^ (Stallybrass tr.) Grimm 1883, 2: 444
  18. ^ (Stallybrass tr.) Grimm 1883, 2: 444, "Some have seen, in this antithesis of light and black elves, the same Dualism that other mythologies have set up between spirits good and bad, friendly and hostile, heavenly and hellish, between angels of light and of darkness. But ought we not rather to assume three kinds of Norse genii, liosâlfar, dockâlfar, svartâlfar?"
  19. ^ (Stallybrass tr.) Grimm 1883, 2: 445
  20. ^ a b c (Stallybrass tr.) Grimm 1883, 2: 446
  21. ^ Hagen, Friedrich Heinrich von der; Büsching, Johann Gustav, eds. (1808), "Salomon un Morolf", Deutsche Gedichte des Mittelalters, vol. 1, Berlin: Realschulbuchhandlung, p. 28

References

  • Grimm, Jacob (1844). "XVII. Wichte und Elbe". Teutonic mythology. Vol. 1 (2 ed.). Göttingen: Dieterich. pp. 408–440.
  • —— (1883). "XVII. Wights and Elves". Teutonic mythology. Vol. 2. Translated by Stallybrass, James Steven. W. Swan Sonnenschein & Allen. pp. 439–517.
  • Hall, Alaric (2004), The Meanings of Elf and Elves in Medieval England (PDF) (Ph.D. thesis, University of Glasgow)
  • Holtsmark, Anne (1964). "Studier i Snorres mytologi". Skrifter Utgift av Det Norske Videnskaps-akademi I Oslo. Hist.-filos. klasse, ny serie, 4 (in Norwegian). Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. II.
  • Lassen, Annette (2011). Hrafnagaldur Óðinns (PDF). Translated by Faulkes, Anthony. Viking Society for Northern Research. p. 94. ISBN 978-0903521819.
  • Motz, Lotte (1973). "Of Elves and Dwarves". Arv: Tidskrift för Nordisk Folkminnesforskning. 29–30.
  • Sigurðsson, Jón, ed. (1848). Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. sumptibus Legati Arnamagnæani. pp. 78, 80. (edition cited for chapter numbering by Faulkes)
  • Shippey, TA (2004). "Light-elves, Dark-elves, and Others: Tolkien's Elvish Problem". Tolkien Studies. 1: 1–15. doi:10.1353/tks.2004.0015.
  • Talbot, Annelise (1982). "The withdrawal of the fertility god". Folklore. 93 (1): 31–46. doi:10.1080/0015587X.1982.9716218.
  • Wilkin, Peter (2006), "Norse Influences on Tolkien's Elves and Dwarves", in Di Lauro, Frances (ed.), Through a Glass Darkly: Collected Research, Sydney University Press, pp. 61–, ISBN 1920898549
  • —— (2008). "Norse Influences on Tolkien's Elves and Dwarves". Sydney Studies in Religion.

May 17, 2023
dökkálfar, ljósálfar, norse, mythology, dökkálfar, dark, elves, ljósálfar, light, elves, contrasting, types, elves, dark, elves, dwell, within, earth, have, dark, complexion, while, light, elves, live, Álfheimr, fairer, than, look, ljósálfar, dökkálfar, attest. In Norse mythology Dokkalfar Dark Elves a and Ljosalfar Light Elves b are two contrasting types of elves the dark elves dwell within the earth and have a dark complexion while the light elves live in Alfheimr and are fairer than the sun to look at The Ljosalfar and the Dokkalfar are attested in the Prose Edda written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson and in the late Old Norse poem Hrafnagaldr odins Scholars have produced theories about the origin and implications of the dualistic concept Alvalek Elfplay or Dancing Fairies 1866 by August Malmstrom Contents 1 Attestations 1 1 Prose Edda 1 2 Hrafnagaldr odins 2 Theories and interpretations 2 1 Question of Christian influence 2 2 Dwarfs 2 3 Grimm s trinity 3 See also 4 Notes 4 1 Explanatory notes 4 2 Citations 5 ReferencesAttestations EditProse Edda Edit In the Prose Edda the Dokkalfar and the Ljosalfar are attested in chapter 17 of the book Gylfaginning In the chapter Gangleri the king Gylfi in disguise asks the enthroned figure of High what other chief centres there are in the heavens outside of the spring Urdarbrunnr Gangleri responds that there are many fine places in heaven including a place called Alfheimr Old Norse Elf Home or Elf World High says that the Ljosalfar live in Alfheimr while the Dokkalfar dwell underground and look and particularly behave quite unlike the Ljosalfar High describes the Ljosalfar as fairer than the sun to look at while the Dokkalfar are blacker than pitch 1 2 As chapter 17 continues Gangleri asks what will protect the beautiful hall of Gimle previously described as the southernmost end of heaven when the fires of Surtr burn heaven and earth Ragnarok High responds that there are in fact other heavens The first called Andlangr he says is south of and above this heaven of ours and we believe Gimle is located in the third heaven still further above that one Vidblainn High adds that we believe it is only light elves who inhabit these places for the time being 2 3 Hrafnagaldr odins Edit There occurs an additional mention of the dokkalfar in the late Old Norse poem Hrafnagaldr odins Odin s Raven galdr stanza 25 4 Theories and interpretations EditAs the concept is only recorded in Gylfaginning and the late poem Hrafnagaldr odins it is unclear whether the distinction between the two types of elves originated with Snorri or if he was merely recounting a concept already developed Question of Christian influence Edit The sub classification perhaps resulted from Christian influence by way of importation of the concept of good and evil and angels of light and darkness Anne Holtsmark aired this view c though with some reservation since good vs evil dualism is not confined to Christian thinking d Aside from some additional observations to encourage the hypothesis e Holtsmark has been credited with demonstrating that Snorri borrowed from Christian writings specifically that Snorri s description of Vidblainn the third heaven populated by light elves was almost certainly influenced by and possibly based on the account of the angels in the Elucidarius 8 f Dissenters of the view that the dark and light elves were a later invention such as Rudolf Simek and Gabriel Turville Petre feel rather that dark and light aspects of the same beings not inherently unlikely death and fertility cults often being closely related 9 10 Dwarfs Edit Since the Prose Edda describes the dokkalfar as being subterranean dwellers they may be dwarfs under another name in the opinion of a number of scholars such as John Lindow 11 12 The Prose Edda also uniquely mentions the svartalfar black elves 12 but there are reasons to believe these also refer to merely dwarfs g Consequently Lindow and other commentators have remarked that there may not have been any distinction intended between dark elves and black elves by those who coined and used those terms h Lotte Motz s paper on elves commingles and hence equates dark elves and black elves from the outset 14 Grimm s trinity Edit Jacob Grimm 15 surmised that the proto elf ursprunglich was probably a light colored white good spirit while the dwarfs may have been conceived as black spirits by relative comparison But the two classes of creatures were getting confounded and there arose a need to coin the term light elf ljosalfar or hvitalfar white elves 16 to refer to the elves proper This was counterpart to the dark elf dokkalfar or svartalfar black elves 17 i Preferring it over duality Grimm postulated three kinds of elves ljosalfar dokkalfar svartalfar present in Norse mythology 18 But Grimm s tripartite division as Shippey calls it faced trouble in Snorri s statement that dark elves were pitch black as this would lead to the first reduction that dark elves black elves As a solution Grimm pronounce es Snorri s statement fallacious and hypothesizes that dark elves were not really dark but rather dingy or pale 15 19 And while conceding that such a Trilogy still lacks decisive proof 20 draws parallels from the white brown and black subterranean in Pomeranian legend 20 and the white pale and black troops of spirits come to claim souls in the tale of Solomon and Marcolf 20 21 See also EditClassifications of fairies Sundering of the Elves in J R R Tolkien s legendarium SvartalfarNotes EditExplanatory notes Edit Old Norse Dǫkkalfar singular Dǫkkalfr Singular Ljosalfr Anne Holtsmark has pointed out that he probably got his idea of light and dark elves from the Christian teaching of white and black angels 5 Men ikke alle alver er gode fra synonymet andi Lat spiritus har begrepet overtatt en tvedeling i gode og onde ander Snorre kalle dem liosalfar og dokkalfar Samme tvedeling er gjennomfort i den kristne laere nar det gjelder englene Guds engler er i himmelen og djevelens i helvete d e den flokken av tilhengere Satael forte med seg da han ble styrtet i avgrunnen Elucidarius 1869 s 12 translation But not all elves are good and from synonyms Icel andi Lat spiritus it has acquired the sense of the dichotomy of good and evil spirits Snorri calls them liosalfar and dokkalfar The same dichotomy is implemented in the Christian doctrine regarding angels the angels of God in heaven and the angels of the devil in hell i e the flock of followers whom Satanel brought with him when he was plunged into the abyss Elucidarius 1869 p 12 6 Thus Grimm and Holtsmark described angels as a parallel phenomenon at least in their preliminary thesis Grimm allowing that other mythologies have set up this dualism also and Holtsmark suggesting that the dichotomy inherent in similar Icelandic andi and Latin terms spiritus may have rubbed off onto elves Such as Begge slags vesener blir beskrevet i ordlag som ellers blir brukt om engler og djevler translation Both types of beings liosalfar and dokkalfar are described in language otherwise used for angels and devils 7 By her own admission Holtsmark regarded the explanation of the third heaven as more challenging than the second heaven Andlangr crediting Falk for the insight for connecting it to andlegr or spiritual heaven of the Elucidarius Falk har sikkert rett i at Andlangr er laget av andlegr himinn det andre navnet er ikke sa let a forsta det tor ogsa vaere laget for anledningen 7 Since Snorri says twice over that the World of Black Elves Svartalfaheimr are inhabited by certain dwarfs 13 The dwarfs that crafted Gleipnir in Gylfaginning 34 and the dwarf Andvari in Skaldskaparmal 39 Faulkes 1995 pp 28 100 are said by Snorri to live in the World of the Black Elves Lindow whether he Snorri intended a distinction between the dark elves and black elves is unknown 11 Lassen Both these kinds of dwarfs if they were different 12 Stallybrass s actual phrasing in his translation was recourse was had to composition and the elves proper were named liosalfar 2 444 for Grimm s half man durch zusammen setzung und nannte die eigentlichen alfar liosalfar Grimm 1844 1 413 Citations Edit Faulkes 1995 pp 19 20 a b Sigurdsson 1848 pp 78 80 Faulkes 1995 p 20 Lassen 2011 p 94 Talbot 1982 p 38 Holtsmark 1964 p 38 a b Holtsmark 1964 p 37 Hall 2004 pp 32 33 Simek 1984 Simek 2007 p 56 Turville Peter Gabriel Myth and Religion of the North 1964 p 231 apud Wilkin 2006 pp 66 67 a b Lindow 2001 p 110 a b c Lassen 2011 pp 105 6 Tolkien J R R 2012 The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ISBN 978 0547504711 Motz 1973 a b Shippey 2004 pp 6 8 presents an extract of Grimm s view on the classes of elves with German text and Stallybrass s translation in parallel Grimm 1883 Vol 2 p 445 Thorlac spec 7 p 160 gives the liosalfar another name hvitalfar white elves I have not found the word in the old writings Stallybrass tr Grimm 1883 2 444 Stallybrass tr Grimm 1883 2 444 Some have seen in this antithesis of light and black elves the same Dualism that other mythologies have set up between spirits good and bad friendly and hostile heavenly and hellish between angels of light and of darkness But ought we not rather to assume three kinds of Norse genii liosalfar dockalfar svartalfar Stallybrass tr Grimm 1883 2 445 a b c Stallybrass tr Grimm 1883 2 446 Hagen Friedrich Heinrich von der Busching Johann Gustav eds 1808 Salomon un Morolf Deutsche Gedichte des Mittelalters vol 1 Berlin Realschulbuchhandlung p 28References EditEdda Snorri Sturluson Translated by Faulkes Anthony Everyman 1995 ISBN 0 460 87616 3 Grimm Jacob 1844 XVII Wichte und Elbe Teutonic mythology Vol 1 2 ed Gottingen Dieterich pp 408 440 1883 XVII Wights and Elves Teutonic mythology Vol 2 Translated by Stallybrass James Steven W Swan Sonnenschein amp Allen pp 439 517 Hall Alaric 2004 The Meanings of Elf and Elves in Medieval England PDF Ph D thesis University of Glasgow Holtsmark Anne 1964 Studier i Snorres mytologi Skrifter Utgift av Det Norske Videnskaps akademi I Oslo Hist filos klasse ny serie 4 in Norwegian Oslo Universitetsforlaget II Lassen Annette 2011 Hrafnagaldur odinns PDF Translated by Faulkes Anthony Viking Society for Northern Research p 94 ISBN 978 0903521819 Lindow John 2001 Norse Mythology A Guide to the Gods Heroes Rituals and Beliefs Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 515382 0 Motz Lotte 1973 Of Elves and Dwarves Arv Tidskrift for Nordisk Folkminnesforskning 29 30 Sigurdsson Jon ed 1848 Edda Snorra Sturlusonar sumptibus Legati Arnamagnaeani pp 78 80 edition cited for chapter numbering by Faulkes Shippey TA 2004 Light elves Dark elves and Others Tolkien s Elvish Problem Tolkien Studies 1 1 15 doi 10 1353 tks 2004 0015 Simek Rudolf 1984 Lexikon der germanischen Mythologie Stuttgart A Kroner ISBN 3520368013 2007 Dictionary of Northern Mythology Angela Hall trans D S Brewer ISBN 978 0 85991 513 7 Talbot Annelise 1982 The withdrawal of the fertility god Folklore 93 1 31 46 doi 10 1080 0015587X 1982 9716218 Wilkin Peter 2006 Norse Influences on Tolkien s Elves and Dwarves in Di Lauro Frances ed Through a Glass Darkly Collected Research Sydney University Press pp 61 ISBN 1920898549 2008 Norse Influences on Tolkien s Elves and Dwarves Sydney Studies in Religion Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dokkalfar and Ljosalfar amp oldid 1125517967, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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