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Svartálfar

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Ancient History,
Classical History and Mythology

   In Norse mythology, the svartálfar ("black elves") or dökkálfar (" dark
   elves") are supernatural beings (Old Norse " vættir," wights) that are
   said to reside in the underground world of Svartálfheim. They, like the
   trolls, are often corollated with the dvergar (" dwarves") and their
   home is often considered to be the same as Nidavellir, the underground
   of Midgard, though not as far down as Hel.

Dwarves as black elves

   According to Kevin Crossley-Holland: "No valid distinction though can
   be drawn between the dwarfs and the dark elves; they appear to have
   been interchangeable." Confusion between unrelated, mythologic entities
   does arise over time, for example in the stories of the trolls
   (ogre-like beings that are also confused with dwarves).

   Svartálfar have acquired their name because they were seen as the
   light-avoiding counterparts to the common elf, living in Álfheim.
   Snorri Sturluson, author of among other things the Prose Edda, at times
   refer to these elves as ljósálfar ("light elves").

   The term black/dark elf might rather be suggestive of their place of
   residence than of their presumed nature, although they are described as
   greedy and troublesome for humans, in comparison to the angelic (light)
   elves. Besides their underground lives, svartálfar had many of the same
   traits attributed to them as the dwarves. These include growing from
   the maggots of Ymir's flesh, turning to stone when exposed to daylight,
   and being human-like, but ugly and misshapen.

Later influences

   The Nightmare, by Swiss-English artist Henry Fuseli (1781) is probably
   influenced by the German idea of a wicked Alb (elf) sitting on a
   dreamer's chest during sleep paralysis.
   Enlarge
   The Nightmare, by Swiss-English artist Henry Fuseli ( 1781) is probably
   influenced by the German idea of a wicked Alb (elf) sitting on a
   dreamer's chest during sleep paralysis.

   Like many mythologic elves, regardless of morality (though much closer
   to the dire variaties in particular), dark elves are often said to be
   responsible for many of the maladies befalling humanity. In particular,
   bad dreams are said to be within the domain of the dökkálfar, as
   indicated by the German word for nightmare, "Albtraum" (Elf Dream). It
   is said that the dark elves will sit upon the dreamer's chest and/or
   whisper the bad dreams into the sleeper's ears. In Scandinavia, the
   creature responsible for this is known as the Mara.

The Dualism of Light and Dark

   The word álf (pl. álfar) derives from the same Proto-Indo-European root
   word from which the Latin albus (white) derives. The original meaning
   of the word is significant to the character of the álfar of Norse
   mythology, who retained their light-derived, divine status. Often
   related or compared to the Vanir (fertility gods) in nature, the elves
   can be found in association with divinities throughout the Eddas.

   The álfar are divided, as are faerie beings in many mythologies,
   between "Light" and "Darkness," which are often related to the
   dualistic principle "Good" vs. "Evil," though that is a leap of logic.
   From the parallelism, though, we derive the two forms of álf: Light (or
   High) Elves and the Black (or Dark) Elves (compare the Seelie and
   Unseelie Courts of the Sidhe in Celtic mythology, the Angels and Demons
   of Christianity, and the Devas and Asuras of Hinduism). Do note that
   Dark Elves, for being dark and/or light avoiding, are sometimes
   characterized as evil and so are sometimes maligned, but at the same
   time are said to aid both Light Elves and the Æsir at Ragnarök.

   Further, it should be noted that the dualism of Light/Darkness
   correllates to the "struggle between Good and Evil," the Light Elves
   are often made into the "good guys," while the Dark Elves (and even
   Dwarves) are the "bad guys." Such a simplistic view, however, fails to
   evaluate the Eddas correctly, for the Elves (both Light and Dark),
   Dwarves, Æsir, Vanir, and Jotuns are capable of "good" and "evil." The
   only truly "evil" beings in the Norse Mythos (if evil can be applied to
   a near elemental force) are the Fire Giants ("demons"), who are
   responsible for the destruction of the old, imperfect world at Ragnarök
   and the birth of the much better world in the space remaining (an
   ultimately good function).

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svart%C3%A1lfar"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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