Study › Runes & Norse › The Elves
The elves (álfar) of Norse belief are bright, half-divine beings, often named in the same breath as the gods. The light elves live in Alfheim; the dark elves live below the earth.
Who are the elves in Norse mythology?
The elves (alfar) are luminous, half-divine beings of Norse belief, often named in the same breath as the gods. The sources divide them into light elves (ljosalfar), fairer than the sun and dwelling in Alfheim, and dark elves (dokkalfar or svartalfar), black as pitch and dwelling below the earth — the latter often taken to be the same as the dwarves.
Elves, health and the land
Elves were closely bound to fertility, health and the land, and received their own sacrifices (the alfablot) in the old religion. They could bless or afflict: sickness might be called 'elf-shot'. Shadowy and beautiful, the elves occupy the borderland between the gods and the natural world, powers to be honoured and not offended.
Their world is Alfheim; the dark elves are often taken to be the dwarves. Their feast was held at Vetrnætr.
Questions
Where do the elves live?
The light elves in Alfheim; the dark elves under the earth.
What is elf-shot?
A sickness thought to be caused by the elves.