Elves in Anglo-Saxon England

Matters of Belief, Health, Gender and Identity
Erscheinungsjahr 2009
ISBN: 978-1-84383-509-7
Verlag: Boydell & Brewer Ltd

Buch, Englisch, Band 8, 238 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 371 g

Reihe: Anglo-Saxon Studies

Elves and elf-belief during the Anglo-Saxon period are reassessed in this lively and provocative study.

Anglo-Saxon elves [Old English ælfe] are one of the best attested non-Christian beliefs in early medieval Europe, but current interpretations of the evidence derive directly from outdated nineteenth- and early twentieth-century scholarship. Integrating linguistic and textual approaches into an anthropologically-inspired framework, this book reassesses the full range of evidence. It traces continuities and changes in medieval non-Christian beliefs with a new degree of reliability, from pre-conversion times to the eleventh century and beyond, and uses comparative material from medieval Ireland and Scandinavia to argue for a dynamic relationship between beliefs and society. Inparticular, it interprets the cultural significance of elves as a cause of illness in medical texts, and provides new insights into the much-discussed Scandinavian magic of seidr. Elf-beliefs, moreover, were connected with Anglo-Saxon constructions of sex and gender; their changing nature provides a rare insight into a fascinating area of early medieval European culture.

Shortlisted for the Katharine Briggs Folklore Award 2007

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hall, Alaric

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Volkskunde: Sitten, Traditionen, Mythen, Legenden
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder England, UK, Irland: Regional & Stadtgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction
A Medieval Scandinavian Context
The Earliest Anglo-Saxon Evidence
Female Elves and Beautiful Elves
Ælfe, Illness and Healing (1): the `Elf-shot' Conspiracy
Ælfe, Illness and Healing (2): ælfsiden
Anglo-Saxon Myth and Gender
Believing in Early Medieval History
Appendix 1: The Linguistic History of elf
Appendix 2: Two Non-elves
Works Cited
Index