There are also in the Heimskringla notions about a line of local kings who rule over lfheim, situated between the Gautelfr and the present border between Norway and Sweden on the Swedish westcoast. The last king is named Gandalf.
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Modern fantasy literature has revived the elves as a race distinct from fairies. Fantasy elves are different from Norse elves, but are more akin to that older mythology and to the Irish sdhe than to folktale elves.
The Svartalfar live in Svartalfheim. In some sources they are identified with the dwarfs of Nidavellir, who likewise had a reputation as skilled smiths. In general, however, elves and dwarfs are distinguished in surviving Norse literature.The Harry Potter book series by J. K. Rowling features house-elves that resemble brownies or goblins more than modern high-fantasy elves. Rather like the elves in The Shoemaker & the Elves, Rowling's house-elves are released from servitude when they are given clothes.Buy elven jewelry online in the largest elvish storeThe Brothers Grimm fairy tale The Shoemaker & the Elves is probably the most famous original elf tale. The elves are only one foot tall in this story, naked, and like to work on shoes, as leprechauns do. When the shoemaker rewards their work with little clothes, the elves are so delighted, that they run away and are never seen again. (This tales is echoed in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter stories: see below.)The term lfsciene ("elf-shining") is used in the Old English poem Judith referring to elven beauty. On the other hand oaf is simply a variant of the word elf, presumably originally referring to a changeling or to someone stupefied by elvish enchantment.In Denmark the elves seem to have merged with the Huldra and are beautiful females who can dance a man to death. If you see them from the back, they are hollow.The twentieth-century philologist and fantasy writer J. R. R. Tolkien had little use for Shakepearean fairy portrayals or for Victorian diminutive fairy prettiness and whimsy, aligning his elves with the god-like and human-sized elves of Norse mythology, the Ljoslfar. He conceived a race of beings similar to humans but fairer, with greater spiritual powers, keener senses, and a closer empathy with nature. They are great smiths and fierce warriors on the side of good. Tolkien's Elves of Middle-earth are not deathless and can be killed by injury, and while they are sufficiently long-lived to be called immortal by humans, they do age.In USA, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the modern children's folklore of Santa Claus typically includes diminutive, green-clad elves as Santa's assistants. They wrap Christmas gifts and make toys in a workshop located in the Arctic. In this portrayal, elves slightly resemble nimble and delicate versions of the dwarfs of Norse mythology. However, the elf legends are in fact, even older than Saint Nicholas, the bishop on whom Santa Claus was originally based.
