InNorse mythology,Dökkálfar ("Dark Elves")[a] andLjósálfar ("Light Elves")[b] are two contrasting types ofelves; the dark elves dwell within the earth and have a dark complexion, while the light elves live inÁlfheimr, and are "fairer than thesun to look at". The Ljósálfar and the Dökkálfar are attested in theProse Edda, written in the 13th century bySnorri Sturluson, and in the late Old Norse poemHrafnagaldr Óðins. Scholars have produced theories about the origin and implications of the dualistic concept.
In theProse Edda, the Dökkálfar and the Ljósálfar are described in chapter 17 of the bookGylfaginning. In the chapter,Gangleri (the kingGylfi in disguise) asks the enthroned figure ofHigh what other "chief centres" there are in the heavens outside of the springUrðarbrunnr. Gangleri responds that there are many fine places in heaven, including a place called Álfheimr (Old Norse 'Elf Home' or 'Elf World'). High says that the Ljósálfar live in Álfheimr, while the Dökkálfar dwell underground and look—and particularly behave—quite unlike the Ljósálfar. High describes the Ljósálfar as "fairer than the sun to look at", while the Dökkálfar are "blacker than pitch".[1][2]
As chapter 17 continues, Gangleri asks what will protect the beautiful hall ofGimlé, previously described as "the southernmost end of heaven", when the fires ofSurtr "burn heaven and earth" (Ragnarök). High responds that there are in fact other heavens. The first calledAndlàngr, he says, is "south of and above this heaven of ours" and "we believe" Gimlé is located in the third heaven "still further above that one",Víðbláinn. High adds that "we believe it is only light-elves who inhabit these places for the time being".[2][3]
There occurs an additional mention of thedökkálfar in the late Old Norse poemHrafnagaldr Óðins ("Odin's Raven-galdr"), stanza 25.[4]
As the concept is only recorded inGylfaginning and the late poemHrafnagaldr Óðins, it is unclear whether the distinction between the two types of elves originated with Snorri, or if he was merely recounting a concept already developed.
The sub-classification perhaps resulted fromChristian influence, by way of importation of the concept ofgood and evil andangels of light and darkness.Anne Holtsmark aired this view,[c] though with some reservation, since "good vs. evil" dualism is not confined to Christian thinking.[d] Aside from some additional observations to encourage the hypothesis,[e] Holtsmark has been credited with demonstrating that Snorri borrowed from Christian writings, specifically that "Snorri’s description ofVíðbláinn [the third heaven populated by light-elves] was almost certainly influenced by (and possibly based on) the account of the angels in theElucidarius."[8][f]
Dissenters of the view that the dark and light elves were a later invention, such asRudolf Simek andGabriel Turville-Petre, feel rather that "dark" and "light" aspects of the same beings not inherently unlikely, death and fertility cults often being closely related.[9][10]
Since theProse Edda describes thedökkálfar as beingsubterranean dwellers, they may bedwarfs under another name, in the opinion of a number of scholars such asJohn Lindow.[11][12]
TheProse Edda also uniquely mentions thesvartálfar ('black elves'),[12] but there are reasons to believe these also refer to merely dwarfs.[g]
Consequently, Lindow and other commentators have remarked that there may not have been any distinction intended between dark-elves and black-elves by those who coined and used those terms.[h]Lotte Motz's paper on elves commingles, and hence equates "dark-elves" and "black-elves" from the outset.[14]
Jacob Grimm[15] surmised that the proto-elf (ursprünglich) was probably a "light-colored, white, good spirit" while the dwarfs may have been conceived as "black spirits" by relative comparison. But the "two classes of creatures were getting confounded", and there arose a need to coin the term "light-elf" (ljósálfar, orhvítálfar—"white elves")[16] to refer to the "elves proper". This was counterpart to the "dark-elf" (dökkálfar, orsvartálfar—"black elves").[17][i]
Preferring it over duality, Grimm postulated three kinds of elves (ljósálfar,dökkálfar,svartálfar) present in Norse mythology.[18]
But Grimm's "tripartite division" (as Shippey calls it) faced "trouble" in Snorri's statement that dark-elves were pitch-black, as this would lead to the "first reduction" that "dark-elves = black-elves". As a solution, Grimm "pronounce[es] Snorri's statement fallacious", and hypothesizes that "dark elves" were not really 'dark' but rather 'dingy' or 'pale'.[15][19] And while conceding that "such a Trilogy still [lacks] decisive proof,"[20] draws parallels from the white, brown and black subterranean inPomeranian legend,[20] and the white, pale, and black troops of spirits come to claim souls in the tale ofSolomon and Marcolf.[20][21]
