Elves
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In mainly Teutonic and Norse folklore, the elves were originally the spirits of the dead who brought fertility. Later they became supernatural beings, shaped as humans, who are either very beautiful (elves of light) or extremely ugly (dark / black elves). They were worshipped in trees, mountains and waterfalls. The Danish elves are beautiful creatures, but they have hollow backs. The Celtic elves are the size of humans. The belief in elves, or supernatural and invisible beings, is almost universal. Apparently, there has been no primitive tribe or race that has not believed at one time or another that the world was inhabited by invisible beings. Especially on the British Isles the belief was very profound. In stories from the 8th and 9th century there are many references to elves, or fairies as they are called there. The king of the elves, Oberon, and his wife Titania appear in some very important works of medieval literature, such as Huon de Bordeaux and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Originally a supernatural dwarfish being of Germanic mythology, an elemental spirit of the land, sea and forest, possessed of magical powers which it used for the good or ill of mankind. Later the name was used for a malignant imp, and then for fairy creatures that dance on the grass in the full moon, such as a mountain fay or, usually, as a small sprite. Mischievous elves are thought to bring evil, especially bad dreams. In recent times elves became popularized into larger creatures, near to the size of a human being, loving music and magic and are generally peaceful forest dwellers. In the middle-1800s Scandinavian writers such as Thile, Toplius, Rydberg sketched the elves' true role in modern life: fairies that are somewhat mischievous, but the true friends and helpers of Father Christmas (Santa Claus). They are the Christmas elves.
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