What are Elves? 

It always cracked me up that star trek was so obviously just high fantasy set in space, but its really hard to get fans to admit it. The vulcan are clearly just space elves. Long life, emotional control, wisdom, master craftsman, ancient... The Tellerite are obvious dwarfs, Ferangi are Goblin, Romulan are dark elves, klingon are orcs. The technology they use is also more similar to magic than sci-fi. They even have Q, the trickster diety... Its also funny that Star Gate actually dealt with the Norse gods directly, yet managed to make it feel like Scifi more than myth or fantasy.

In Filipino, we call them "Diwata". The term is generalized with Elves, Fairies, and Forest Spirits. They are usually depicted wearing bright white garments with pale skin that appear as if they are glowing. They are said to be benevolent and reward folk who take care of the environment. However, they can bring curses to people who violate their domain. Which is why when we were children, we were taught to respect forests and overgrown places and ask permission and say "tabi-tabi po" whenever we would even take a piss.

In the Indian Vedas they have the Ribhus whose name comes from the same Proto-Indo-European root as Elf. They are also connected with the sun, skillfulness and are artisans.

Random Folknames: the plant Elecampane was known as 'Elf-dock,' or 'Elf-wort,' & the Krummholz tree is known as 'Elfin-wood' or 'Elfin-tree.' Another term for when someone is bewitched is 'Elf-stricken.' ...a cool obsolete term that I think we should bring back into usage...Thanks for another fascinating video, skal!

I always felt there was a difference between elves and dwarves in the germanic tradition. One is linked to the heavens while the other dwelt beneath the earth and waters. Elves are the blessed dead and protectors of the community, while the dwarves are the chthonic craftsmen, givers of technical inspiration.

Elves are also a really important part of chinese mythology and culture. 仙 (xian) which are almost identical to the archetype of western elves are described; “as immune to heat and cold, untouched by the elements, and can fly, mounting upward with a fluttering motion. They dwell apart from the chaotic world of man, subsist on air and dew, are not anxious like ordinary people, and have the smooth skin and innocent faces of children. The transcendents live an effortless existence that is best described as spontaneous.”

This is one of the most underrated channels on RU-vid.

This ties into missing 411 so well it's really frightening.

Human being, lived along side other types of humanoid species for a considerably far longer period of time than we have been without them. So it makes sense that these myths come from that period of long prehistory when we coexisted with other hominoids.

In Ireland, they never speak of elves, but fairies. I was treated to some real rural believers when I was there for a couple months in 1988. Some rural people, at least at that time, still believed in them as much as anything. The old Irish monetary unit, the Punt, featured a watermark of a "Banshee," which was not depicted as a horrible demon-like female, but a beautiful young, but sorrowful woman (fairie) in mourning. The "Wail of the Banshee" was not a screech, but a moan of sorrow. They said that if someone was about to die, they would hear the "Cry of the Banshee." That way the listener was filled with dread.

I'm glad you made the connection with not only the daoine sìth, but the daemons of Hesiod and the roman Lares. When i first learned that elves were probably the great honored ancestors "residing" in the burial mounds of ages past, i was immediately reminded of the daemons. Hesiod's explanation of spirits of men from a golden age fits really well with the Elves of mythology.

The similarities with Hungarian elf / fairy mythology is interesting. In Hungarian the word for them is “tündér” meaning “shining/radiant” with a hint of it being a mirage. They are associated with swamps, forests and mounds. They are said to be beautiful, can be helpful but often lure young men into the forest with their lights. There are folk tales about their mounds leading to elven/fairy kingdoms. Many a hero gets an elven bride as his reward for his bravery and compassion, often aided by hares, cats, foxes and deers. They are also connected to dreaming and sleep in general. They really are a mixture of fairies and elves and loads of places and businesses are named “fairy/epf garden” or “fairy/elf way”. There is a popular legend about an entire geographical region in Transyilvania being part of an Elven Kingdom that was renamed to Swindler’s Isle after humans swindled the elves to get their land in some underhanded bargain.

Elves or Elf-life beings are present in the folklore of many European people, they have different names, but similar characteristics. The Slavic people call them Vili, Romanians call them Zâne (the Dark Elves are called in Romanian Iele). The Ancient Greeks called the Elves Nymphs, Nymphe in Ancient Greek meaning both Elf and bride, both Elves/Nymphs and brides are dressed in white. In modern Greek mythology, the Elves are called Nereids (in Antiquity Nereids were only the water Nymphs, not all Nymphs). In Romania and Greece there very recent testimonies of Elves, of the feared ”women in white” or the ”brides”.

In African mythology elves are called Yumboes as they elves in the mythology of the Wolof people in Senegal. They are also called 'Bakhna Rakhna', which means "Good People." They are described as being about 2 feet tall with silver hair, yellow eyes and pearly-white skin as they’re skin and hair are white due to the spirits of the dead human attaching themselves to them. Pretty much it seems that there is an elf in almost every part of the world as I only thought it to be a European thing based on movies and Tolkien.

Now the Elf sickness comes from eating too many of those ultra processed cookies.

In Sweden elves are dancing and forming the fog clouds over bogs and lakes in the early morning

Modern Tatars still have names - Alfiya (exalted), Eldar (master), Elmira (beautiful), Alfira (exalted), Sariya (night clouds), Sohel (star), Enje (pearl), Emilia (ray of light) , Albina (light), Ainur (crescent light), Almir (leader), Elfer (divine nectar), Elvir (protector). Don't you think that there are somehow too many coincidences for the people living near the Ural Mountains?

It's amazing how many ancient stories are so similar.

Nothing is better, then another video on mythical creatures by Fortress!

Thanks to this I’ll never be able to see Freya in God of War without knowing that shes technically being called “Lady Lady”.

-Realizing that they could not destroy the Elvin beings, the Malevolent devised an alternate strategy. Instead of trying to destroy what could not be destroyed, the Malevolent used a powerful curse which would imprison the Elf spirit-beings into the bodies and minds of human beings thus negating the Elves' ability to remember themselves let alone remember and use their incredible abilities. ....But over time, some imprisoned Elf soul-spirits began to remember.... Time comes when it sees fit.

One of the ancient Egyptian gods was Bes, a dwarf, who was unusual in being portrayed face-on rather than in profile. He was a god of dance, fun, and mischief, but had the power to dispel evil not only from the home but from one's dreams. He was often invoked to protect women in childbirth. The god originally came from the area of the Dogon tribe.

They are The Pleiadians

Ask the Icelanders! They are friends with them. But the pointed ears are an Disneys invention. The Greek have known the Satyrs, who had goat feet and pointed ears.

This is such a great video. Elves are arguably one of, if not the, most fascinating races in Fantasy. At least they are my favorite.

I've read "Alvin" is from Saxon for "friend or friend of elves." Elves are absolutely, totally cool in every way. The good people are beautifully spiritual.

The solar disc also looks very much like a symbol in Tibetan Buddhism. First time I am here. Subscribed 💖

*_How the hell have I overlooked this channel?_* You have earned a subscriber, mate. Excellent video, interesting, entertaining and informative.

I have some old german folk lore books, they are described as deons whose sin was great enough to be pulled down from heaven but not great enough to be pulled into hell.

In Germany, Elves are called Elfen/Elben/Alben. In Germany is a river called the Elbe, a mountain range called the Alpen and the number 11=Elf. Apparently there are connections there.

If the Elves were linked to the moon, and they were said to impregnate women, and elf shot was a sickness, could elf shot be the period? You bleed when you are shot with an arrow, hormonal changes, and the cleansing of the uterus could be seen as a sickness, it's also a time for fertility to be renewed, so if it was believed that elves were involved, and they would come to impregnate, the link that they make women sick to get them to have their babies makes a lot of sense. It would even make sense if they saw mood changes during the period as an elf trick to get the man to leave so the elf could impregnate her.

So the origin and literal meaning of Elvis Presley's name can be interpreted as "Elf-Wise and Priestly". That seems apropos for someone who cast a spell of sorts over a great number of people. This presentation does a good job of explaining and connecting a number of Indo-European mythical concepts, and helps provide a window into the world our ancestors inhabited and their thoughts about how it was organized in a spiritual manner.

Moral of the blacksmith story. Don’t keep slaves. Then they can’t kill your children. I think that was the message of Exodus too.

Weiland's escape was probably added to the legend in the Middle Ages by analogy with the Greek Daedalos' escape from the Labyrinth which was a very well known myth often represented in the middle of Gothic cathedrals as Daedalos was the medieval architects' autoproclaimed forefather and protector.

I'm always super happy to see a new video by you pop up. You make some of the best videos of this type, and on a quite broad array of subjects. I always know I'm in for something fascinating and enjoyable, that also teaches me things I never would have learned elsewhere.

This was great, I learned so much from this video even though I’ve seen other content on elves before. You really covered everything and connected the dots. Thanks, as always…Stand Tall!

Always enjoy the history behind my ancestral mythology. Thank you!

The Cherokee speak of the Nunne'hi--'The People Who Live Anywhere' or 'The People Under the Hill' and are described intriguingly as almost identical as Tolkien's Elves. And of course, there are the Turehu in Maori folklore of Aotearoa/NZ, interestingly these beings even MORE resemble the Elves of Middle Earth. I find it interesting; perhaps LOTR tourism could provide the actual Turehu/Eldar a way to assimilate into modern society!

17:03 It's actually very interesting up until the 17th century all fruits and even some nuts and mushrooms were all referred to as apples. So they probably weren't referring towards the type of apples that we're familiar with. 🙂

Elf as a form of alb (white) is one possibility. Another possible source for the word "elf" is as a term for river, like the Elbe. "Elves" could have simply been river folk. The Vanir, another source of elves in lore, could have been people who lived in marshy deltas (van being linked to fen in this case). This would be different from people who lived by lakes, in forests, on hills, on plains, or in valleys. An "alfred," for example, would then be a river guide. An alfric would be a king of a river settlement. As river folk would spend time making cordage, nets, and knots, they would probably be excellent weavers, which was associated with higher civilization or "magic."

I've been building a fantasy setting primarily rooted in the original, mythical conceptions of various fantasy tropes, and your videos have been a huge help in this. You're about to force me to completely change my take on elves, aren't you? Edit: I actually won't have to change much if anything. You've given me some new ideas, though, so thanks.

My grandmother was swedish. And its so enjoyable to actually listin to someone educate the viewers using proper pronunciation and true knowledge of what is being spoken about. Im so irritated by people who are educating others that don't know what the hell they're talking about in can't even say it right. FOR THIS I LOVED THE VIDEO SO MUCH. AND I EVEN LEARNED A COUPLE OF THINGS TO. IM SUBSCRIBING CAUSE I WANT TO SEE AND HEAR MORE OF WHAT YOU MAY OFFER US IN THE FUTURE. THANK YOU

17:37 Star Wars Tattoo of the Empire on the sea elf maiden model. 😂 noice!

Great work, as usual! I am glad to see your channel is climbing in subscribers, you deserve it!

One of my favorite places on RU-vid! Definitely one of the places to learn about our ancestors! Thank you for all your hard work!

I just found you, and have subscribed. Your research, content and voice are amazing, so I'll be sharing.

When you think about dwarfs are, the kenning "black elves" makes perfect sense: they are miners, and miners' work blackens their skin with dust.

Wow! Incredible video!! Really loved this deep dive. Keep up the amazing work, Sir

Utterly spellbound by your new episode thank you Kevin ❤😊

Thor has red hair. Would be nice for a mythology channel to depict the mythological Thor and not the Marvel blond. (Minor quibble. I love the channel. Keep up the great work).

I love all the information, and I love the beautiful pictures that grace your video. And you have a very smooth, easy to listen to voice :) Loved it!!!!!

Impressive use of linguistics in a very valuable academic treatment of the subject. Thank you!🙏

we call them tetangga, which literally means "neighbors" because they live next to us in the forests or woods. we used to trade home-cooked foods or grains etc.

Superb. Brilliant and thought provoking. Tolkien , especially at the end of his life , pondered over the true nature and origins of the elves and their immortality.

Great imagery and stories. Thank you

My bedside book from when I 7 until well in my teens was "Götter und Helden der Germanen" (Peterich, 1955). From what I learned there, the Germanic tribes, at least the ones of the early Middle Ages, believed in two types of elves, the light elves and the dark elves. The dark elves were said to be terrible to behold and the light elves beautiful as the sun. But that's where the similarities end, as both were dwarves. The dwarf Alberich was an elf, so much so, that his name is the origin of "Oberon". Thus, the dark elves would have been the dwarfs and the light elves would be fairies and sprites. Of course, the lines are fuzzy and time mixed things up a lot. Tolkien and our modern image of the "elves" is very influences by the Irish Tuatha de Danaan, who were actually the gods of the pre-Christian Irish, but as interpreted by Christian monks a few centuries later. Something that is 100% modern is the idea of Elves with pointy ears. Specially with these donkey ears that seem to be the latest hype in depicting elves.

You’re content is always excellent.. I intend to use many of your videos for my history class for my children and for the teaching of our families personal history.

Wonderful as ever. Sometime could we have an outline of fairy lore - are they the same as elves but Celtic instead of Germanic? Also, where does one find the numerous beautiful images that appear in these uplifting Fortress of Lugh videos? ?

Such a good video. Thank you. Your narration and the added sounds were great

Thank you. Indepth, though a somewhat convoluted mix of origins and influences, it is with great gratitude you provide us with such insight, sewing the threads together.

They are animistic beings or "nature spirits", amd they form and fashion what we call Nature. Each element uas its own apecific being associated wirh it. Elves take care of flowers, plants and trees.

Amazing video! 😊 very interesting and informative.

Fantastic assembly of diverse information. Thank you!

I've thought about this and have come to the tentative theory based mostly by what they are and what they say. They can't lie - but twist the truth. They're not good enough for Heaven but not bad enough for hell. Most can be described as living (not spirits, though they cavort with spirits) but with long life. And they live in a pocket dimension. I think they are the last of the Nephilim.

Fantastic video. This is quite grounding for me. Been working on a fantasy world off on the side and this has really really helped. It was all very interesting, but the end part tied it all together for me; When you mentioned the conscious and unconscious mind. The Jungian understanding of the human psyche is the model that my world is build upon (different realms representing different aspects of (un)consciousness). Watching this has really validated some of the threads I've been fraying at with regards to unravelling and understanding the essence of profound meaning within mythology and fantasy literature. Berserk is a perfect piece of fiction regarding this; Because on the surface it's "Swish-CLANG Big Sword goes chop chop", then you learn the deeper psychological notions the artist was hinting at through his depictions of particular trees in certain scenes. Thanks for this particular piece of the puzzle.

Hey Kevin you caught my attention with this video I'm finding it very informative 👍👍👍.

Fascinating and very interesting. I've subscribed and am looking forward to more of these captivating stories.

polynesian mythology, fillipino mytholgy and malaysian mythology also have their own versions of elves? hakuturi (polynesian), engkanto & dalaketnon (fillipino) and orang bunian (malaysian)

Thanks for the awesome video! 🙂👍

I really enjoyed your narration and the gorgeous artwork. It was a beautifully done video.

again ..Such amazing work my friend, I have to say your work is getting better....keep it up.

This is one of a handfull of channels I subscribe to.

Tolkien essentially defined modern folklore in western culture. When I hear "elf" I immediately think of LotR, the mental association is just that strong.

I can't tell you how grateful I am for your work. You are one of the best channels on RU-vid.

Fantastic clarification abundant here! Thank you!

Question about Thjalfi and Roskva. If they are elves, may it explain why they stay as kids while traveling with Thor? Thats the first time I Heard of it and I find it very cool idea. Kinda makes sense Thor would stop at home of elves to sleep i , or have servants that are elves and not mortals. Other gods could make fun of him for having regular humans as servants. Btw. I like the idea that Ivaldi was just a Vanir god of fertility and he just got around both elves and dwarves like Zeus. Could explain how his soms knew gods and could create stuff even gods could use. Wayland is also named Volund and considere god of Smith in saxon/germanic folklore. And since most gods are related to Odin, I like the idea Volund was Odin’s another bastard son from an elf woman. Or related to Vanirs.

Can you make a video about the man Snorri Surrelson himself? I guess a video about him could also in general be a video about Iceland's preservation of Old Norse tales and Language

Very fascinating video; thanks for posting.

I love the visuals throughout this doco

Germanic tribes lived next to Northern tribes, which they considered to possess magical powers. With shamans of which some were light and some dark. The light ones ascended to the sky and the dark ones descended to the underground. Hunted with bows and arrows. Some had darker appearance and some fair. Some were shorter and some taller and some even considerably so. Some lived in dugouts and still traditionally do so today. Pointy ears they did not have, though.

This channel just doesn’t stop pumping out quality content. Brilliant work. I pretty much discard the negative connotations from Christian texts on Elves. Just Christian’s trying to demonise (quite literally) our heritage.

This is a wonderful video. Thank you! You got another follower!!

Thank you this is one of the best covering of this

To be fair, Geoffrey Chaucer said a lot of things...

RU-vid suggested this video and I needed a break from what I was researching, well you connected this to what I am researching, haha. May I know your sources connecting Freyr to Iranian and Zoroastrian beliefs? Thank you.

I love this kind of videos, it's soo interesting to know the origins of word and myths 😊👍❤️

These stories are so beautiful

This is awesome ❤

This is very good, but you have made a few mistakes that you might like to clear up. Firstly, the "original name of Britain" was not Albion, but attested to be something close to the modern Welsh 'Prydain' "Prettanikē" in the earliest Greek accounts. Similarly, 'Albion' does not conclusively refer to "the white cliffs of Dover". There are two reasons for this being unlikely. The first was that the crossing to Dover was mostly seen as a stretch of dangerous and hazardous sea, so that the route via the Scilly Isles to Cornwall and Devon was preferred by many. There are no chalk deposit cliffs in that region, so their sight of Britain would not be accounted as 'white'. Secondly and more importantly, Bernhard Maier in 'The Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture' stresses that the word 'Albion' is probably cognate with Middle Welsh 'elfydd', meaning world or land, possibly also with 'Albiorix', the name of a Gaulish god with the possible meaning of 'king of the World/land.' The Celtic foundation of the name Albion probably referred to Britain being the world "above ground", illuminated by the sun, parallel to the "world below" of the Otherworld. There is a third possibly that Albion derives from 'Alba" meaning 'mountain', a word that remains in our modern 'Alps' and 'Albania', though many linguists dismiss this possibility. If you were to say the oldest "attested" name was 'Albion', then that is more factually correct, however in doing so you are allowing foreign writers to dictate the name of a land inhabited by speakers who later corrected once trade began to Πρεττανία (Prettanía) and Βρεττανία (Brettanía 'Britain'), Βρεττανός (Brettanós 'Briton'). However, Britain was inhabited before Celtic expansion from Europe and thus the name that its aboriginal people gave to the land is lost to us, but undoubtedly its oldest name.

Thanks for the video 📹 love its info. It's a part of our past and future 🎉🎉🎉

Oh and... watching this video help me remember how beautiful and Rich the Swedish language is. Its been almost 40 years since ive heard true Swedish again. I cannot stress to you what a pleasure it was. Its been so long I swear that have actually forgotten 80 to 90% of what i use to know. Sad really

Elf means The white, inmediately brings to my mind "the white people" by Arthur Machen 😊 awesome vídeo as usual muy friend!!!!

I wonder how this connects (if at all) with the history and philology of "gnomes." When Tolkein first began writing his mythology in 1917, he names the noldor 'gnomes' before he changed their name to 'elves.'

Excellent work!

Absolutely fascinating as always 👏

Type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology.

The artwork and depictions in this video are spectacularly beautiful

So much information on this topic we'll done on your energy I enjoyed the way you tolled this story thankyou

Beautiful video and stories :)

If I was elven, I wouldn't want to live with humans either