The elves are some of the most beautiful beings in Norse mythology......
In fact it is said that they are more beautiful than the sun. The elves lives in the realm of Alfheim one of the nine worlds in Norse mythology, the God Freyr is their ruler of Alfheim. The elves are minor Gods of nature and fertility, and they have the power to make humans ill but also to cure them with their vast knowledge of magical powers.
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According to Norse mythology, the universe is composed of nine realms (which we have already mentioned on a previous post), one for each of the races of Norse beings: men, elves, gods, giants, dwarves, and more. Among the most fascinating realms is Alfheim, the world of the elves, which was ruled over by Freyr, the Vanir god of virility and peace. Some Icelandic literary works sometimes refer to Alfheim as Ljosalfheim to mean the world of the Light elves. Unfortunately, not much is mentioned about Alfheim, aside from the fact that it was a world full of light and glamor.
Elves are known as immortal demigod-like beings, but they die if their sacred oak tree was cut. These ones are light beings. Light elves are mostly portrayed as a light haired, blue eyed with a close link with nature creatures. Pointy ears were also one of the main characteristics. The luminous creatures are also known as โmore beautiful than the sunโ.
The Light elves dwell in a heavenly world which was located at the southernmost part of heaven while the Dark elves resided underground in caves and dirty environments. The light elves were very beautiful to look at and had fair skin, while the dark elves had a pitch black appearance that seemed to scare other beings away.
According to the Vikings and Norse researchers, the light elves are somewhat connected to the Aesir gods. They believed that the elves were demigods or angels, which explains why the light elves are often mentioned in Icelandic literary works in an alliterating phrase alongside the Aesir gods and goddesses. All in all, the Light and dark elves played a significant role in Norse mythology and were greatly valued by the Vikings and all other races of beings in Norse mythology.
Read up on Alfheim,Aesir gods, Dark Elves on our next posts.
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