Are they? I've never heard of elves of any colour in Norse mythology. Lots of different "otherlanders", but nothing resembling the elves of anglo-saxon and/or celtic tales. I would be thrilled to hear more of this! I see that Wikipedia tells of Norse elves, but I don't want to trust Wikipedia on subjects I don't know.
In any case I don't think elves are much considered in modern Scandinavian folklore. The otherlanders in more modern Norwegian/Swedish lore resemble pixies and leprechauns more than anything else, and the only fairy-like creature I can find is Huldra.
Are they? I've never heard of elves of any colour in Norse mythology. Lots of different "otherlanders", but nothing resembling the elves of anglo-saxon and/or celtic tales. I would be thrilled to hear more of this! I see that Wikipedia tells of Norse elves, but I don't want to trust Wikipedia on subjects I don't know.
In any case I don't think elves are much considered in modern Scandinavian folklore. The otherlanders in more modern Norwegian/Swedish lore resemble pixies and leprechauns more than anything else, and the only fairy-like creature I can find is Huldra.
This is interesting. There seems to be a modern trend to polarize old mythologies into good and evil, from what I can tell, and that really doesn't jive with the actual myths or folklore. I'm not terribly familiar with Norse mythology, but I don't recall it being polarized in that way.
I think this is a modern type of folklore coming about, and possibly from the U.S. Also from adapting old myths and ledgens to children's folklore-ish stories , and maybe even video games.
Ehh, I'm not an expert, so what do I know...
* What I can do is read up on elves in a more credible, non-Wikipedia source; which seem to point to elves being of Teutonic mythology...
I can also read up on Norse mythology, at least an overview.
Last edited by Bugbear; 17th November 09 at 06:06 AM.
I tried to ask my inner curmudgeon before posting, but he sprayed me with the garden hose…
Yes, I have squirrels in my brain…
Originally Posted by thanmuwa
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