Elf/Elves is often used as a general term for fairies especially in the Nineteenth anglo-saxon litterature. The king of the elves, Oberon, and his wife Titania appear in important works of medieval literature, such as Huon de Bordeaux and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
In early modern and modern folklore, they became associated with the fairies of Romance folklore and assumed a small size, often living in forests, underground in hills or rocks, or in wells and springs. 19th-century Romanticism attempted to restore them to full stature, often depicting them as very young, probably adolescent (lack of facial hair on male elves), men and women of great beauty.
According to the Norse Edda, te white spirits, or Elves of Light, were exceedingly fair, more brilliant than the sun, and clad in garments of a delicate and transparent texture. They loved the light, were kindly disposed to mankind, and generally appeared as fair and lovely children. Their country was called Alfheim, and was the domain of Freyr, the god of the sun, in whose light they were always sporting.
The black or Night Elves were a different kind of creatures. Ugly, long-nosed dwarfs, of a dirty brown colour, they appeared only at night, for they avoided the sun as their most deadly enemy, because whenever his beams fell upon any of them they changed them immediately into stones. Their language was the echo of solitudes, and their dwelling-places subterranean caves and clefts. They were supposed to have come into existence as maggots produced by the decaying flesh of Ymir’s body, and were afterwards endowed by the gods with a human form and great understanding. They were particularly distinguished for a knowledge of the mysterious powers of nature, and for the runes which they carved and explained.
They were the most talented artisans who worked in metals and in wood. They created Thor’s hammer and the ship “Skidbladnir,” which they gave to Freyr, which was so large that it could contain all the deities with their war and household implements, but when not needed it could be folded together and fit into a side pocket.
Elves vary in size from 4’10″ and 5’8″. Male and female elves are hard to discern, at first glance. Both sexes usually have big, expressive beautifully colored eyes. They wear their hair long and free, have graceful, fragile features and are of extraordinary beauty. Male elves don’t have any facial hair. Very typical for elves are their pointed ears, and high cheekbones. In modern descriptions, elves are either light or dark, the light elves having star-like eyes, faces brighter than the sun, and golden-colored hair; the dark elves are pitch black and have sometimes fluorescent eyes, this quality being indicative of their dealing with black magic. Both are attractive, in appearance at least. Elves prefer greens and greenish-greys while dark elves prefer blacks, dark grey, and sometimes silver.
Dark or light, the elf race is rarely seen and if so, elves only appear on certain times and in areas untouched by man. The light elves are a peaceful, nature-loving who love beautiful things and often try themselves in the arts of drawing and music. The black or dark elves are also called “Drow”. Beautiful, agile, proud, dexterous and extremely deadly, they are the Drow Elves of the underworld.
In comparison to humans, elves are stronger and have an exceptional constitution and endurance. When they grow older they seldom get weaker, instead they become wiser and even more fair. Elven senses, especially of hearing and sight, are much keener and more intense than those of Men and are highly resistant to extremes of temperatures.
Some elves are said to be immortal. The number of years elves live varies from 100 years to over 1000. It is said some elves end their lives of their own will when they feel they must or if they think that their life’s goal has been reached. Of course elves may also die when they are seriously wounded but in general elves heal very quickly. Death on the other hand is nothing an elf fears. The fact of death is interpreted by the elves as a return to nature.
Elves live in forests while dark elves live in deep underground caves. In spring they celebrate the blossoms and during the summer they swim in the rivers. Elves usually settle in dense forests or at wooded lakes and lead quiet lives without interfering directly in other races activities and struggle for domination.