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[Persephone]

Elves have a long, intricate history in Iceland. They are found within the history of Iceland as early as The Bronze Age. The Vanir, (fertility gods) and elves, some speculate could belong to an old Scandinavian religion, which later replaced The Vanir with Æsir. A poem from around 1020, the Austrfaravísur ('Eastern-journey verses') of Sigvatr Þorðarson, mentions that, as a Christian, he was refused board in a heathen household, in Sweden, because an álfablót ("elves' sacrifice") was being conducted there. However, we have no further reliable information as to what an álfablót involved, but like other blóts it probably included the offering of foods, something Icelandic people still do today, later Scandinavian folklore retained a tradition of sacrificing treats to the elves. From the time of year (close to the autumnal equinox) and the elves' association with fertility and the ancestors, we might assume that it had to do with the ancestor cult and the life force of the family. Others would agure that The common Norsemen of this time worshipped The Vanir, while Priest and Warrior Cate worshipped  Æsir.


The Icelandic mythographer and historian Snorri Sturluson seems to have referred to dwarves (dvergar) as "dark-elves" (dökkálfar) or "black-elves" (svartálfar); whether this usage reflects wider medieval Scandinavian belief is uncertain.Elves who are not dark-elves are referred to by Snorri as "light-elves" (ljósálfar);  The earliest preserved description of elves comes from Norse mythology. In Old Norse they are called álfar(singular, nominative case: álfr), and although no older or contemporary descriptions exist, the appearance of beings etymologically related to álfar in various later folklore strongly suggests that the belief in elves were common among all the Germanic tribes, and not limited solely to the ancient Scandinavians. Evidence for elves in Norse mythology outside Snorri's work, and in earlier evidence, comes from Skaldic poetry, the Poetic Edda and legendary sagas. Here elves are linked with the Æsir, particularly  through the common phrase "Æsir and the elves", which presumably means "all the gods". The Edda mentions another class of beings, inferior to the gods, but still possessed of great power; these were called Elves. The white spirits, or Elves of Light, were exceedingly fair, more brilliant than the sun, and clad in garments of a delicate and transparent texture. They loved the light, were kindly disposed to mankind, and generally appeared as fair and lovely children. Their country was called Alfheim, and was the domain of Freyr, the god of the sun, in whose light they were always sporting. The black or Night Elves were a different kind of creatures. Ugly, long–nosed dwarfs, of a dirty brown color, they appeared only at night, for they avoided the sun as their most deadly enemy, because whenever his beams fell upon any of them they changed them immediately into stones. Their language was the echo of solitudes, and their dwelling–places subterranean caves and clefts. They were supposed to have come into existence as maggots produced by the decaying flesh of Ymir’s body, and were afterwards endowed by the gods with a human form and great understanding. They were particularly distinguished for a knowledge of the mysterious powers of nature, and for the runes which they carved and explained. They were the most skillful artificers of all created beings, and worked in metals and in wood. Among their most noted works were Thor’s hammer, and the ship “Skidbladnir,” which they gave to Freyr, and which was so large that it could contain all the deities with their war and household implements, but so skilfully was it wrought that when folded together it could be put into a side pocket.

The Irish slaves while in Iceland believed in Hill fairies or the good people, this set of beliefs helped shape the elves Iceland knows today as well. Some in Iceland know old tales of Irish slaves, that ran to hid in the hills, and became elves over time even. Hill fairies,Good People,and possible Irish Slaves in hiding, would go on to shape the title that would come synonymous with elves in Iceland, huldufólk.

Elves or  huldufólk, today in Iceland that have been spotted are described as small lanky creatures, very pale children, and small humans in old garments. They are said to be out in the open just as the birds are, but most humans can't see them, and mostly children ever do. In fact there is a story a little boy told about how he went with the elves into their little house and played with their children and their toys, that were described as advanced. That would make sense as the elves' calendar is believed to be around the year 5022 in Iceland. Many Elf seers claim to see them on tables, in houses, in gardens, in trees and especially in large boulders or groupings of rocks, where they are said to live.

The Icelandic people take the areas in which these elves live very seriously. If construction or some sort of landscaping of any type for any reason happens in Iceland, an elf seer is often sent out to said site, some of these sites are already known for elf activity. Often the construction is rerouted another way if it is deemed an interference with the elf's home, or the boulder or rock form itself is moved if possible. Complications have been know to come up when this procedure is ignored, the locals have found out. Equipment malfunction, missing or broken equipment, and other misfortunes have happened while building on or near an elf's home. Construction workers have watched bull dozers shut down right in front of the rocks.  Once, a farmer who dug up rock to use for the basement of his farmhouse, used an elf's home. All his neighbors said “this is not a good idea. you know you shouldn't do that,” they told him. “You know elves live there.”
The farmer didn't believe in elves, though. Shortly after he moved into the house, his daughter became mysteriously ill and died. The sad farmer sold the house to a Catholic priest and moved away. The priest forbade anyone to disturb the rocks on the farm, and no one has since. According to elf seer Erla Stefansdottir,Elf Central in Iceland is this town, just a few kilometers southwest of Reykjavik, the Iceland capital. The town, she said, has the richest elf and spirit populations in all of Iceland. Elves, gnomes, dwarves, angels, light-fairies and the hidden people are all classes that live there.To learn more about Hafnarfjordura's wee population, visitors can sign up for the town's Hidden Worlds tour, a guided walk of about 90 minutes. It includes a stroll through Hellisgerdi Park, where the paths wind through a 7,000-year-old lava field planted with tall trees and potted bonsai trees in summer, and said to be peopled with the town's largest elf colony. Sounds fun to me!

People in Iceland have a pretty optimistic attitude toward elves. For those that aren't believers they say there is no way of completely dissmissing their exsistence, and see no reason to. Many of the people allow the light attitude of the belief to remain strong culture's sake. Another reason may be children are some of the elves' biggest fans and followers. Many Icelanders can smile, often remember talking of how they once themselves, saw an elf as a child.