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Understanding Elves

The characters known as 'Elves' are some of the most difficult to understand in Medieval writing because of their unique and non-human like behavior that seems to make the humans look like primitive beasts. What do you think about the role of Elves in the main storyline?

Elves is often used as a general term for fairies especially in the XIXth anglo-saxon literature. The king of the elves, Oberon, and his wife Titania appear in some very important works of medieval literature, such as Huon de Bordeaux and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ref. https://faerie.monstrous.com/elves.htm

Elves Understanding

I think you must be very carerful to avoid cliche with Elves.

You may wish to think about changing the name of the race altogether in fiction writing.

Elves are quite a non-descript lot as far as myth is concerned. Originally they seemed to have been just spirits; the Norse myths refer to them but seem to then mix them up with Dwarfs.

Tolkien seems to have taken the Irish Daoine Sidhe and perhaps the Vanir of the Norse myths (who joined up with the Aesir to form the gods of Asgard); the former were a fair godlike people, the latter a godlike and beautiful race associated with the sky.

Medieveal literature seems a bit of a mish-mash; Oberon (Auberon) was supposedly a half-dwarf and not an elf at all if you look at earlier ideas...

Confusing isn't it?

Dubhdara

Edited: dubhdara on 5th Jun, 2004 - 3:32pm