Elves: The Mystical History of European Folklore (Mysterious Legends & Creatures #16)

I'm in Missouri - a neighboring town is named Eldon...this gave me a little joy today.

List of elves in mythology: Albaz: demigod like elves. Dokkalfar: dark elves. Haltija: guardian elves. Huldufolk: elves with the power of invisibility. Ljosolfar: light elve Maa-alused: underground illusion elve Xindhi: fire elves

Thanks for keeping the world magical. It's important.

Here is food for thought: elves were an umbrella term in Scandinavian mythology and literature for a variety of mystical peoples. Freyr, Norse god of fertility, and a Vanir type god, was considered an elf on account of him ruling over Alfheimr, the realm of the elves. And other attestations told that dwarves were also known as "dark elves" because they lived beneath the earth, wherein no sunlight shined. Of course, dwarves were born from the bone marrow of the primordial jotunn Ymir. So, were elves also bone marrow munchkins?

Tolkien didn't really "revolutionize" the concept of Elves, in actuality the Santa-style elf is actually fairly modern ( specifically Victorian) concept whereas Tolken borrowed heavily from Norse myth therefore tolkien didn't really revolutionize anything, he just brought back something we had forgotten

Tolkien - My legacy will be told for centuries. Amazon - I will destroy your legacy

Last time I was this early, Sauron was still a good guy.

Santa's elves seem more like an elven-dwarven hybrid/mix, to be honest. Industrious crafters like the dwarves, and long-lived like the elves.

Here in the Malay peninsula, we, the Malay, have our own version of elves, the "Orang Bunian". Orang Bunians are forest spirits, said to live in a rainforest. They were tricksters, by the way, for they can lead travelers to be lost in the rainforests. What makes them dangerous are the fact that: 1. They are shapeshifters, being able to turn themselves into literally anything from animals to humans, especially those like your guide, your friends who followed you on a jungle trekking and so on. 2. There's a saying that the Orang Bunians have a knack for bringing unlucky travelers to their world. Because they can shapeshift, they can transform themselves into their human form, usually disguising themselves as one of your friends/guides to take you to their homeworld.

Been waiting for this magnum opus! :] The best portrayal was from Hellboy II Golden Army as they are based on Irish 'greater' Sidhe

It was considered that all ethereal creatures would be known as "The Elven", never specifying a race of people. Trolls, ferries, gnomes are all considered to be elven, those without an official title was considered to be elves.

It's sad that these stories are being lost through generations, less and less of us are interested in these old traditions and folklore. I kinda feel like they're dying out. Hopefully through it will make way for new ideas and stories that'll be remembered throughout the ages.

I feel like there are some differences between countries and especially languages. In German elf/ elves would translate to Elfe. But the concept I'd associate is more that of a fairy (often female, a little mischievous with insect or butterfly wings). Fairy however would translate to Fee, which to me is basically a Fairy Godmother. Tolkiens elves are actually translated as Elb (chosen by Tolkien himself if I remember correctly specifically to avoid the association with little winged creatures) and Christmas elves are Wichtel in German which would retranslate to imp. It confused me when I first learned English and the difference in concepts still fascinates.

Awesome, thanks for coming back & making another sweet video! Great channel!

In german folklore we split elves in two different groups. Believed to be actual people. High Elves and Dark Elves but we call them "Asen" and "Alben". We still use the word "Albtraum" wich means nightmare and originated from the word "Alben" (Dark Elves).

The toys actually come from China, CHI-NA. However, the horrible conditions are just as you described.

It’s interesting reading what everyone knows about elves.

There was a theory about my 3x great grandpa being an elf. It started with the fact that every article and book written about him talked about his beauty, his obsession with money (he was a county treasurer and a river was named after the fact that he buried barrels of silver all over his land, silver river), and ended with his bartender going insane, (my grandpa also owned a tavern), my grandpa getting arrested for shooting someone he said was annoying him, and saying the iron prison bars were "attacking" him. He was sent to an insane asylum, and there are 5 graves in my state with his name, date of birth, and different days of death. We don't know which is the real one. *He was from Scotland. Black hair, dark blue eyes (from reports). Everyone thought he was the most beautiful man they'd every seen, including men, but he was mean, and he could "talk the three talks" English, French, and gailic. The theory at the time in the lumber camp where he had his tavern was he was part love talker. His bartender was found naked in the Michigan swamp muttering nonsense.

Elves are also mentioned in Beowulf as one of the races who descended from Cain

They exist in the psychedelic realm. The elf’s are the selfs. They have pointy hats like the liberty caps in the English woods and fields. And when you return, you get a feeling that they’re still doing their thing on the other realm. They fix you