Elves
The elves have been with us for a very long time. In the fantasy genre they have enjoyed a long and prosperous reign as the most popular mythical beings, the rock stars of heroic literature. Where would the fantasy world be without them? When a writer needs a class of supernaturals who are not unlike men, yet different in some way, touched with a special magic beyond the reach of men, he welcomes the elves onto his pages or, in some cases, makes up a new race of beings who are called by a different name, yet seem suspiciously elvish.
........In his book, The Broken Sword, author Poul Anderson informs us that the mystic folk can be traced back to the Icelandic Eddas which describe a race of elves, the alfar, who were tall and fair and served the Aesir in Asgard. He further notes that these elves of Norse mythology inspired Professor Tolkien to develop his own benevolent elves. Tolkien's elves have been the standard among writers in the genre for decades. A quick glance at wikipedia will also reveal that he is credited with bringing back the older terms elven and elvish instead of using elfin and elfish which were conceived by Edmund Spenser. Tolkien's elves are without a doubt the most famous in the genre, and this is not surprising when we consider that his works legitimized and, in a sense, created the fantasy genre as we know it today, and for this we owe him our thanks. Thank you Professor.
........There are hundreds of stories about elves. In contemporary fiction, Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword is among the earliest and most memorable. Unlike Tolkien's cheery woodland beings, Anderson's elves are flawed and cunning. They have no fondness for mankind and use their magical crafts to serve their own purposes. Their apparent self-interest makes them seem very similar to the humans they loathe.
| Artwork | E-mail........C.J. Cherryh's The Dreaming Tree describes a race of ancient elves who are generally feared by men. Cherryh's elves are more compassionate than Anderson's aloof mystics, though less sociable than Tolkien's kindly forest dwellers. They are suspicious of men, but they are not wicked. Ultimately, they help mankind to overcome a great evil.........
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