| Dopkalfar | |
| Other Names: | |
| Svartalfar Dark Elf |
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| Images: | |
| – | |
| In
Norse mythology, elves are referred to as Alfar, and there are two groups of such
elves, each the opposite of the other. The Dopkalfar are
described as dark in pitch and dwell beneath the ground,
underneath waves of the ocean, or in gloomy forests; the
term "dark elves" refers to their abodes and
not to their appearance or moral character. They were
often associated with dwarves, trolls, and other subterranean creatures. When
exposed to sunlight, the Dopkalfar would turn to stone,
or will be trapped in the surface world until nightfall.
Dark elves could be helpful or not, depending on their
mood. They sometimes appeared as very beautiful, though
pale, humanlike wights in noble clothes, or as deformed
and wretched. The Dopkalfar are thought to be great
magicians and teachers of magic, and it may have been to
their abodes that Odin refers when he says that he
learned his wisdom from the "men, very old men, /
who dwell in the wood of the home." The relationship
of Dark-Elves with dreams and delusion has led today to
the understanding that their land, Svartalfheim, is
mirrored in the human soul by the subconscious, the realm
of shadows where thoughts and dreams are forged into
being. Aelfsiden translated means
"nightmare." The Dopkalfar's opposites are the Ljosalfar, and their Scottish counterpart is the Unseelie Court. |