How has the idea of an elf changed since the viking age

Reference no: EM133283581

Assignment:

Supernatural and folktale beings, such as elves, ogres, trolls, and giants, have no independent reality outside the human imagination and therefore are indefinite and mutable.

Unlike real phenomenon, what a supernatural being is may vary in the imagination of one individual to another, across cultures, and over time. To begin to understand how the Norse imagined these beings, we must examine our own imaginations of them and how they may or may not correspond to the Norse imagination. Read the following texts on the changing imagination of elves beginning with the "Poem of Volund" from the Poetic Edda, an Old Norse legend about the elf, Volund, who is a highly enigmatic character.

The article by Armann Jakobson briefly explores the evolving meaning and understanding of elves, from the Viking Age through the generation of a more concrete category of the "elf" rooted in the recording of folklore in the 18th and 19th centuries and the varied meanings in contemporary Icelandic society. As our understandings of the supernatural reflect contemporary concerns and imaginations, how we conceptualize of the supernatural, especially in popular media, can reveal underlying assumptions in society. Andrew Smith points to one such example in his short blog post on how Peter Jackson's casting decisions on elves in the Lord of the Rings movies intersects with contemporary notions of race

• The Poem of Volund. Poetic Edda. Translation by Carolyne Larrington.

• Jakobsson, Armann. 2015. "Beware of the Elf!: A Note on the Evolving Meaning of Álfar." Folklore 126:215-23.

• Smith, Andrew. 2015. What race is an elf? Manchester Policy Blogs.

Questions:

1. Based purely on your reading of the "Poem of Volund," what attributes seem to characterize Norse elves? What remains unclear about the nature of Norse elves?

2. How has the idea of an elf changed since the Viking Age? Is there a singular conception of what an elf is?

3. What do you imagine when you think of an elf? How many examples of different versions or depictions of elves can you identify? Do you imagine elves as having an ethnic or racial character or identity?

4. Finally, if you did the earlier extra-credit assignment to draw an elf, how has your imagination of an elf changed? Would it be easier or harder for you to draw an elf after having done the readings?

Smith 2015 What race is an elf.

Jakobsson A 2015 Beware of the Elf.

Volundarkvida

Reference no: EM133283581

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