Svartálfar
InNorse cosmology,svartálfar(O.N."black elves", "swarthy elves", sing.svartálfr), also calledmyrkálfar( "dark elves", "dusky elves", "murky elves", sing.myrkálfr),[1][2]are beings who dwell inSvartálfheim(Svartálf[a]heimr,"home of the black-elves" ).[3]Both the svartálfar and Svartálfaheimr are primarily attested in theProse Edda,written in the 13th century bySnorri Sturluson.Scholars have noted that the svartálfar appear to be synonymous with thedwarfsand potentially also thedökkálfar( "dark elves" ). As dwarfs, the home of the svartálfar could possibly be another description forNiðavellir( "dark fields" ).
Attestations
[edit]Thesvartálfarare almost only attested in theProse Edda(the word does appear inEktors saga ok kappa hans,but is presumably borrowed from theProse Edda).[4]Thesvartálfarmentioned inSkáldskaparmál35 are theSons of Ivaldi,whomLokiengages to craft replacement hair forSif,wife of the godThor,after Loki mischievously sheared off her goldentresses.[5]Ivaldi is often glossed as being adwarf.[6]
Svartálfaheimr( "world of black-elves" ) appears in theProse Eddatwice,[3][7]in each case as the place where certain dwarfs can be found to be living:[8]InGylfaginning33, the "world of black-elves" is where the dwarfs are sought by thegodsto craft the fetterGleipnirto bind the wolfFenrir.[9]And inSkáldskaparmál,39, the "world of black-elves" is where Loki encounters the dwarfAndvari.[10]
Theories and interpretations
[edit]Scholars have commented that, as both attestations mentioning the beings and location appear to refer to dwarfs,svartálfranddwarfmay simply be synonyms for the same concept.[11]ScholarJohn Lindowcomments that whether thedökkálfarand the svartálfar were considered the same at the time of the writing of theProse Eddais also unclear.[12]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^Michaud, Joseph Fr; Michaud, Louis Gabriel (1832). "Biographie universelle, ancienne et moderne; ou, Histoire, par ordre alphabétique"vol. 53. p. 143
- ^Crawford, Alexander (1891). "The Creed of Japhet". p. 19. W. Clowes and Sons, Limited.
- ^abFaulkes (1995),pp. 28, 100
- ^Hall, Alaric (2007).Elves in Anglo-Saxon England: Matters of Belief, Health, Gender and Identity,Anglo-Saxon Studies, 8. Woodbridge: Boydell, p. 24.
- ^Faulkes (1995),p. 96
- ^Larrington, Carolyne (trans.)(1996).The Poetic Edda.Oxford World's Classics.p. 132.ISBN9780192839466.
annotated index: "Ivaldi; a dwarf.Grimnismál43.1 "
- ^Finnur Jónsson (1911) ed.Edda,index under Svartálfaheimr (p.365)which cross-references to pp. 51, 175.
- ^Tolkien, J. R. R. (2012).The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun.Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.ISBN9780547504711.
- ^Faulkes (1995),p. 28
- ^Faulkes (1995),p. 100
- ^Lindow (2001),p. 110;Orchard (1997),p. 20 andSimek (2007),p. 305.
- ^Lindow (2001),p. 110.
Legend of the Dark Elf(Fantasy Book Series / Author 2023 - Valtyr)
References
[edit]- Faulkes, Anthony (trans.) (1995).Edda: Snorri Sturluson.Everyman.ISBN0-460-87616-3.
- Lindow, John(2001).Norse Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs.Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-515382-0.
- Orchard, Andy (1997).Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend.Cassell.ISBN0-304-34520-2.
- Simek, Rudolf(1984).Lexikon der germanischen Mythologie.Stuttgart: A. Kröner.ISBN3520368013.
- Simek, Rudolf (2007).Dictionary of Northern Mythology.Angela Hall (trans.).D.S. Brewer.ISBN978-0-85991-513-7.
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