Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings.   Today’s post is about the folkloric evolution of how Elves are perceived!   This will be far from a comprehensive deep-dive, as this is a vast topic.   Instead, I want to focus on different elements of Elvish Faerylore, including older Norse and Celtic folklore, Tolkien’s Elves, and Santa’s Elves so often discussed in the Yuletide season!   Obviously, I cannot do a deep dive into any one of those subjects in a single post (honestly, whole books can be written on this), but I do want to give as good an overview as I can.   I want to begin with this statement before I delve into folklore: while elves are very complex and are ever-evolving in their folklore, they remain associated with wisdom, fertility, and wealth.   I think this is why the fascination with them has never died down, well that, and the fact that they hold a beautiful energy and reverence for nature!

Now, onto the folklore and Tolkien.   Elves are found throughout Norse, Germanic, Anglo-Saxon, and Celtic folklore.   In the oldest tales, especially those of Norse mythology and the tales of the Faeryland known as Elfame (or Elphame) from Celtic lore, Elves were more often depicted as human-sized, with Tolkien’s Elves being very in line with the depiction of the folkloric Elves.   This is not a surprise, given that Tolkien was a folklorist, linguist, and medievalist in addition to being the author of The Lord of the Rings!    Tolkien took pains to portray his Fae-folk in Middle-Earth in alignment with earlier folkloric origins.   In fact, he did set the gold standard for how we look at Elves today, outside of the Yuletide season when Santa’s Elves are everywhere.      

The Norse Elves are divided into two types, either Light Elves or Dark Elves.   In the case of Celtic Elves, the most commonly discussed is the Queen of Elfame, who is even mentioned as having made pacts with Witches during the Scottish Witch Trails!   I do want to acknowledge the fact that Elf was often used as a catch-all term for various species of Fae Folk, just as Faery is used.   So, when it comes to Celtic folklore, you could use either Elf or Faery nearly interchangeably.   This is why Elfame is the name of one of the Otherworlds of Faery!   There is also a great amount of intermingling of the Norse and Celtic folklore tales with Germanic and Anglo-Saxon lore as well.    The tales of Elves are no exception, as we can see many tales of similar deities, Faery Queens and Kings, and Elvish Queens and Kings, being spread throughout all of these lands and cultures!   In fact, there could have been a good amount of influence from the Norse view of Elves on Scotland and the Scottish view of Elves.   The modern perception of Elves often does not realize that Elf (and the various versions of the word) was ever a catch-all term for many different types of Faery beings.   This is something else that harkens back to Tolkien, as his Elves have very specific appearances and abilities, narrowing down the definition of what an Elf is in our modern times!   So, interestingly, although he took pains to portray Fae Folk in alignment with their folkloric origins (as I stated earlier), he also went on to give us a more solid definition of what Elves are than what the folklore presents (no longer being a catch-all term).   This is a perfect example of how folklore evolves over time, as it is not a stagnant thing!

So, to end this post, I want to discuss Santa’s Elves.   Now, you may wonder how this older folklore of Elves that are so diverse, capable of being benevolent or causing the illness known as Elf-shot, became the way we view Santa’s Elves at Christmas.   There is a tradition of offerings being left out to Elves on Christmas Eve, which would likely be what inspired Santa’s Elves.   This could be related to older Norse Yule traditions, as the Yuletide season was a very important time in Norse myth and very connected to Odin.   While I do not want to chime in on that annual debate over whether Odin and Santa Claus are the same, I did have to mention Odin in connection to Norse Yuletide celebrations (as he was at the heart of them).   

The diminutive image of Santa’s Elves, often either very small in stature or very childlike, is likely the same evolution that led Faeries to be described as simply small-winged beings depicted in the Victorian era.   As I mentioned, both Faery and Elf are terms that can be used as catch-alls for many species of Fae Folk (and were for centuries), with their names also being the names of Otherworldly lands in which they reside.   So, it is not really a surprise that each would be simplified and made more sweet and simple into just one being rather than showing their true complexity.   As a side note, this again shows the difference in Tolkien’s respect for folklore, as his Elves are still very complex, even as they are more solidly defined!   Making the perception of Santa’s Elves so sweet can also be an attempt to lessen their true power in public perception (at least in part).   This is in alignment with how there was a demonizing or diminishing of Fae Folk and Faery Queens and Kings as Christianity became the prevailing religion.   No matter what, we can see that the perception of Elves and Faeries has evolved greatly over the years.   However, that does not mean they have lost their power, as many of us now remember the true power of the Fae Folk as we come back into alignment with the Natural World!

I hope you have enjoyed this short exploration of the large topic of how tales of Elves have evolved from old Folklore to the stories of Santa’s Helpers.   What is your favorite aspect of Elvish folklore?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!       

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the Brian Froud artwork titled Elfin Knight.   I found the artwork on https://www.wikiart.org/en/brian-froud/elfin-knight.

LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries  

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I will be doing my first-ever Herbal Tea Blending Class on December 29, 2024!   This is a live event hosted at the shop Phoenix Lane.   Here is the link to the event on Facebook if you are interested in learning from me in person: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19hU6vdFm3/

Further Reading

• Encyclopedia of Spirits by Judika Illes
• A New Encyclopedia of Fairies by Morgan Daimler
• Fairy Queens: Meeting the Queens of the Otherworld by Morgan Daimler
• Red Tree, White Tree: Faeries and Humans in Partnership by Wendy Berg
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien