Chapter 17

ällkuon, ällkuon, est du her inn,

saa ska du herud paa 15 iegepinn!

(elf-woman, art thou in here, so shalt thou come out through 15 oak knot-holes, egepind), the elfin is bound to make her appearance, Molb. Dial. 99 (see Suppl.).

In name, and still more in idea, the elf is connected with the ghostlike butterfly, the product of repeated changes of form. An OHG. gloss (Graff 1, 243) says: brucus, locusta quae nondum volavit, quam vulgo albam vocant. The alp is supposed often to assume the shape of a butterfly, and in the witch-trials the name of elb is given by turns to the caterpillar, to the chrysalis, and to the insect that issues from it. And these share even the names of gute holden and böse dinger (evil things) with the spirits themselves.

These light airy sprites have an advantage over slow unwieldy man in their godlike power (p. 235) of vanishing or making themselves invisible. (47) No sooner do they appear, than they are snatched away from our eyes. Only he that wears the ring can get a sight of Elberich, Ortn. 2, 68. 70. 86. 3, 27. With the light elves it is a matter of course, but neither have the black ones forfeited the privalege. The invisibility of dwarfs is usually lodged in a particular part of their dress, a hat or a cloak, and when that is accidentally dropt or cast aside, they suddenly become visible. The dwarf-tales tell of nebelkappen (Deut. sag. nos. 152-3-5), of gray coats and red caps (Thiele 1, 122. 135), of scarlet cloaks (supra, p. 451n.). (48) Earlier centuries used the words helkappe, helkeplein, helkleit (Altd. bl. 1, 256), nebelkappe (MS. 2, 156ª. 258b; Morolt 2922. 2932) and tarnkappe. By Alberîch's and afterwards Sigfrit's tarnkappe (Nib. 98, 3. 336, 1. 442, 2. 1060, 2) or simply kappe (335, 1) we must understand not a mere covering for the head, but an entire cloak; for in 337, I we have also tarnhût, the protecting skin, and the schretel's 'rôtez keppel' becomes in H. Sachs 1, 280b a 'mantel scharlach rot des zwergleins.' Beside invisibility, this cloak imparts superior strength, and likewise control over the dwarf nation and their hoard. In other instances the cap alone is meant: A Norwegian folk-tale in Faye p. 30 calles it uddehat (pointed hat?), and a home-sprite at Hildesheim bears the name of Hôdeken from the felt hat he wore. Probably the OHG. helothelm (latibulum), Gl. Hrab. 969ª, the OS. helith-helm, Hel. 164, 29, AS. heolðhelm, Cod. Exon. 362, 31, hœlðhelm, Cædm. 29, 2, ON. hialmr [[hjalmr - helm]] huliz (an Eddic word for cloud), Sæm. 50ª, (49) and the AS. grîmhelm, Cædm. 188, 27. 198, 20. Beow. 666, all have a similar meaning, though the simple helm and grîme (p. 238) already contain the notion of a covering and a mask; for helm is from helan (celare) as huot, hood, or hat, from huotan (tegere). No doubt other superior beings, besides elves and dwarfs, wore the invisible-making garment; I need only mention Oðin's hat with turned-up brim (p. 146), Mercury's petasus, Wish's hat, which our fairy-tales still call wishing-hat, (50) and Pluto's or Orcus's helmet (Aidoj kuneh, Il. 5, 845. Hesoid, Scut. 227). The dwarfs may have stood in some peculiar, though now obscured, relation to Oðinn, as the hat-wearing pataeci, cabiri and Dioscuri did to Jupiter (see Suppl.).

From such ability to conceal their form, and from their teazing character in general, there will arise all manner of deception and disappointment (conf. Suppl. to p. 331), to which man is exposed in dealing with elves and dwarfs. We read: der alp triuget (cheats), Fundgr. 327, 18; den triuget, weiz Got, nicht der alp, not even the elf can trick him, Diut. 2, 34; Silvester 5199; die mag triegen wol der alp, Suchenwirt xxxi. 12; ein getroc daz mich in dem slâfe triuget, Ben. 429; dich triegen die elbin (l. elbe, rhyme selbe), Altd. bl. 1, 261; elbe triegent, Amgb. 2b; diu elber triegent, Herbort 5b; in bedûhte daz in trüge ein alp, Ir. elfenm. lvii.; alfs ghedroch, Elegast 51, 775. Reinh. 5367, conf. Horae Belg. 6, 218-9; alfsche droch, Reinaert (prose lxxii.ª). In our elder speech gitroc, getroc, âgetroc, abegetroc, denotes trickery especially diabolic, proceeding from evil spirits (Gramm. 2, 709. 740-1). (51) To the same effect are some other disparaging epithets applied to elves: elbischez getwâs, elbischez âs, elbischez ungehiure, as the devil himself is called a getwâs (fantasma) and a monster. So, of the morbid oppression felt in sleep and dreaming, it is said quite indifferently, either: 'the devil has shaken thee, ridden thee,' 'hînaht rîtert dich satanas (Satan shakes thee to-night),' Fundgr. 1, 170; or else the elf, the nightmare (52): 'dich hat geriten der mar,' 'ein alp zoumet dich (bridles thee).' And as Dame Holle entangles one's spinning or hair (p. 269), as she herself has tangled hair, (53) and as stubbly hair is called Hollenzopf; (54) the nightmare, rolls up the hair of men or the manes and tails of horses, in knots, or chews them through: alpzopf, drutenzopf, wichtelzopf, weichselzopf (of which more hereafter), in Lower Saxony mahrenlocke, elfklatte (Brem. wörtb. 1, 302), Dan. marelok, Engl. elflocks (Nares sub v.), elvish knots, and in Shakspeare to elf means to mat: 'elf all my hair in knots,' K. Lear ii. 3. Here will come in those 'comae equorum diligenter tricatae,' when the white women make their midnight rounds (supra, p. 287). The Lithuanian elf named aitwaras likewise mats the hair: aitwars yo plaukus suzindo, suwele (has drawn his hair together). Lasicz 51 has: aitwaros, incubus qui post sepes habitat (from twora sepes, and ais pone). Some parts of Lower Saxony give to the wichtelzopf (plica plonica) the name of selkensteert, selkin's tail (Brem. wörtb. 4, 749), sellentost (Hufeland's Journal 11. 43), which I take to men tuft of the goodfellow, homesprite (gesellchen). (55) In Thuringia saellocke, Prætorius's Welbeschr. 1, 40. 293 (see Suppl.).

The Edda nowhere represents either âlfar or dvergar as mounted, whilst our poems of the Mid. Ages make both Elberich and Laurîn come riding. Heinrich von Ofterdingem bestows on them a steed 'als ein geiz (goat),' and Ulrich's Alexander gives the dwarf king Antilois a pony the size of a roe, (56) Antilois is richly dressed, bells tinkle on his bridle-reins; he is angry with Alexander for spoiling his flower-garden, as Laurîn is with Dietrich and Wittich. The Welsh stories also in Crofton Croker 3, 306 say: 'they were very diminutive persons riding four abreast and mounted on small white horses no bigger than dogs' (see Suppl.).

All dwarfs and elves are thievish. Among Eddic names of dwarfs is an Alþiofr, Sæm. 2b; Alpris, more correctly Alfrîkr dvergr, in Vilk. saga cap. 16, 40. is called 'hinn mikli stelari'; and in the Titurel 27, 288 (Hahn 4105), a notorious thief, who can steal the eggs from under birds, is Elbegast (corrupted into Elegast, Algast). In our Low German legends they lay their plans especially against the pea-fields. (57) Other thefts of dwarfs are collected in Elfenm. xcii. xciii., and their longing for children and blooming maids is treated of, p. civ. cv. Dwarf-kings run away with maidens to their mountains: Laurîn with the fair Similt (Sindhilt?), Goldemar or Volmar with a king's daughter (Deut. heldensag. 174, Haupt's Zeitschr. 6, 522-3); the Swed. folk-lay 'Den bergtagna' (-taken) tells of a virgin, who spends eight years with a mountain-king, and brings him seven sons and a daughter, before she sees her home again. (58) The following legend from Dorste near Osterode, it will be seen, transfers to dwarfs what the Kindermächen No. 46 relates of a sorcerer:---Et was enmal en mäken int holt nan arberen egan, da keimen de twarge un neiment mêe. Da se na örer hülen keimen, da verleifde sek de eine twarg in se, un da solle se öne ok frien, awer iest (erst) wollen de twarge de andern twarge taur hochtit bidden, underdes solle dat mäken in huse alles reine maken un taur hochtit anreien. Awer dat mäken, dat wolle den twarg nich frien, da wollet weglopen, awer dat se't nich glik merken, tug et sin teug ut un tug dat ne strawisch an, un da sach et ne tunne vul hunig, da krup et rinder (hinein), un da sach et ok ne tunne vul feddern, un da krup et ok rinder, un da et wedder ruter kam, was et gans vul feddern, un da leip et weg un steig upn hoagen boam. Da keimen de twarge derbunder (darunter) vorbi, un da se't seichen, meinen se, et wöre en vugel, da reipen se't an un sêen:

'Wohen, woher du schöäne feddervugel?'

'Ek kome ut der twarges hüle.'

'Wat maket de schöäne junge brût?'

'Dei steit metn bessen un keret dat hus.'

'Juchhei! sau wil wie ok hen.'




ENDNOTES:

47. 'Hujus tempore principis (Eeinrici ducis Karinthiae) in montanis suae ditionis gens gnana in cavernis montium habitavit, cum hominibus vescebantur, ludebant, bibebant, choreas ducebant, sed invisibiliter. Literas scribebant, rempublicam inter se gerebant, legem habentes et principem, fidem catholicam profitentes, domicilia hominum latenter intrantes, hominibus consedentes et arridentes.........Principe subducto, nihil de eis amplius est auditum. Dicitur quod gemmas gestant, quae eos reddunt invisibiles, quia deformitatem et parvitatem corporum erubescunt.' Anon. Leobiens. ad ann. 1335 (Pez 1, 940ª). Back

48. Ol. Wormius's pref. to Claussön's Dan. transl. of Snorre, Copenh. 1633: 'derfor signis de (dverger) at hafve hätte paa, huormid kunde giöre sig usynlig.' Other proofs are collected in Ir. Elfenm. lxxiv. lxxv. A schretel wears a rôtez keppel on him (not on his head), ibid. cxvi. Rollenhagen's 'bergmännlein' wear little white shirts and pointed caps, Froschmeuseler xx. v(b). Maugis, the Carolingian sorcerer, is called 'lerres (latro) o le noir chaperon.' [[thief (latro = thief in Latin) of the black hat]] Back

49. Fornm. sög. 2, 141 says of Eyvindr the sorcerer: 'giörði þeim hulidshialm,' made for them a mist, darkness. hulinhialmr, Fornald. sög. 3, 129; kuflshöttr 1, 9. 2, 20. See Rafn's Index sub v. dulgerfi. Back

50. A weighty addition to the arguments for the identity of Wuotan and Mercury; conf. p. 419 on the wishing rod. Back

51. Daz analutte des sih pergenten trugetieveles, N. Bth. 44; gidrog phantasma, O. iii. 8, 24; gedrog, Hel. 89, 22; tievels getroc, Karl 62ª; 'ne dragu ic ênic drugi thing,' Hel. 8, 10. The dwarf Elberich (Ortn. 3, 27. 5, 105) is called 'ein trügewîz': conf. infra. bilwîz. Back

52. Our nachtmar I cannot produce either in OHG. or MHG. Lye gives AS. 'mære fæcce' incubus, ephialtes, but I do not understand fæcce. Nearly akin is the Pol. mora, Boh. mura, elf and evening butterfly, sphinx. In the Mark they say both alb and mahre, Adalb. Kuhn, p. 374. French cauchemare, cochemar, also chaucheville, chauchi vieilli (Mém. des Antiq. 4. 399; J. J. Champollion Figeac patois, p. 125); Ital. pesaruole, Span. pesadilla, O. Fr. appesart; these from caucher (calcare), and pesar (to weigh down). Back

53. In Kinderm. 3, 44, Holle gets her terrible hair combed out, which had not been combed for a year. A girl, whom she has gifted, combs pearls and precious stones out of her own hair. Back

54. Hess. Hollezaul (for -zagel, tail), Hollezopp, Schmidt's Westerw. idiot. 341. Adelung has: 'höllenzopf, plica polonica, Pol. koltun, Boh. koltaun.' Back

55. Ogonezyk Zakrzewski, in his Hist. of plica polonica (Vienna, 1830), observes, that its cure also is accomplished with superstitious ceremonies. In Podlachia the elftuft is solemnly cut off at Easter time and buried. In the Skawina district about Cracow, it is partially cropped with redhot shears, a piece of copper money tied up in it, and thrown into the ruins of an old castle in which evil spirits lodge; but whoever does this must not look round, but hasten home as fast as he can. Superstitious formulas for the cure of plica are given by Zakrzewski, p. 20, out of an Old Boh. MS. of 1325. Back

56. Wackernagel's Basel MSS. p. 28. Back

57. Deut. sagen. nos 152, 155; to which I will here add two communicated by Hr. Schambach. The first is from Jühnde, near Göttingen:---Vor nich langer tid gaf et to Jüne noch twarge. Düse plegten up et feld to gan, un den lüen de arften (leuten die erbsen) weg to stelen, wat se üm sau lichter konnen, da se unsichtbar wören dor (durch) ene kappe, dei se uppen koppe harren (hatten). Sau wören nu ok de twarge enen manne ümmer up sin grat arftenstücke egan, un richteden öne velen schâen darup an. Düt duerde sau lange, bet hei up den infal kam, de twarge to fengen. Hei tog alsau an hellen middage en sel (seil) rings üm dat feld. As nu de twarge unner den sel dorkrupen wollen, fellen önen de kappen af, se seiten nu alle in blaten köppen, un wörren sichtbar. De twarge, dei sau efongen wören, geiwen öne vele gaue wore, dat he dat sel wegnömen mögde, un versproken ene mette (miethe) geld davor to gewen, hei solle mant vor sunnenupgange weer (wieder) an düse stêe komen. En ander man segde öne awer, hei mögde nich gegen sunnenupgang, sundern schon üm twölwe hengan, denn da wöre de dag ok schon anegan. Düt dê he, und richtig wören de twarge da met ener mette geld. Davon heiten de lüe, dei dei mette geld ekregen harren, Mettens. [Epitome:---Dwarfs at Jühnde preyed on the pea-fields; wore caps which made them invisible. ne man at high noon stretched a cord round his field. Dwarfs, creeping under it, brushed their caps off, became visible and were caught; promised him money, if he came there again before sunrise. A friend advised him to go as early as 12, for even the day (of the dwarfs?) was begun. He did so, and got his meed.]........The second story is from Dorste in Osterode bailiwick:---En buere harre arften buten stan, dei wören öne ümmer utefreten. Da word den bueren esegt, hei solle hengan un slaen met wêenrauen (weidenruten) drupe rüm, sau sleugde gewis einen de kappe af. Da geng he ok hen met sinnen ganzen lüen, un funk ok enen twarg, dei sîe (sagte) tau öne, wenn he öne wier las lan (wieder los lassen) wolle, sau wolle öne enn wagen vul geld gewen, hei möste awer vor sunnenupgange komen. Da leit ne de buere las, un de twarg sîe öne, wo sine hüle wöre. Do ging de buere henn un frang enn, wunnir dat denn die sunne upginge? Dei sîe tau öne, dei ginge glocke twölwe up. Da spanne ok sinen wagen an, un tug hen. Asse (as he) vor de hülen kam, do juchen se drinne un sungen:-----Dat ist gaut, dat de büerken dat nich weit, dat de sunne üm twölwe up geit!--- Asse sek awer melle, wesden se öne en afgefillet perd, dat solle mêe (mit) nömen, wîer (weiter) können se öne nits gewen. Da was de buere argerlich, awer hei wolle doch fleisch vor sine hunne mêe nömen, da haude en grat stücke af, un laud et upen wagen. Asser mêe na hus kam, da was alles schire gold. Da wollet andere noch nae langen, awer da was hüle un perd verswunnen. [Epitome:---A farmer, finding his peas eaten, was advised to beat all around with willow twigs, sure to knock a dwarf's cap off. Caught a dwarf, who promised a waggon full of money if he'd come to his cave before sunrise. Asked a man when sunrise was? 'At twelve.' Went to the cave, heard shouting and singing: ' 'Tis well the poor peasant but little knows that twelve is the time when the sun up goes!' Is shown a skinned horse, he may take that! Gets angry, yet cuts a great piece off for his dogs. When he got home, it was all sheer gold. Went for the rest; cave and horse were gone.]........ The remarkable trysting-time before sunrise seems to be explained by the dwarf-kind's shyness of daylight, which appears even in the Edda, Sæm. 51b: they avoid the sun, they have in their caves a different light and different time from those of men. In Norse legends re-appears the trick of engaging a troll in conversation till the sun is risen: when he looks round and sees the sun, he splits in two; Asbiörnsen and Moe, p. 186. [The märchen of Rumpelstilzchen includes the dwarfs' song, ' 'Tis well,' etc., the splitting in two, and the kidnapping presently to be mentioned.] Back

58. But she-dwarfs also marry men; Ödman (Bahuslän, p. 78-9, conf. Afzelius 2, 157) relates quite seriously, and specifying the people's names:---Reors föräldrar i Hogen i Lurssockn, some bodde i Fuglekärr i Svarteborgssockn; hvars farfar var en skött, ok bodde vid et berg, ther fick han se mitt på dagen sitjande en vacker piga på en sten, ther med at fånga henne, kastade han stål emellan berget ok henne, hvarpå hennes far gasmade eller log in i berget, ok öpnade bergets dörr, tilfrågandes honom, om han vill ha hans dotter? Hvilket han med ja besvarade, ok efter hon var helt naken, tog han sina kläder ok hölgde ofver henne, ok lät christna henne. Vid afträdet sade hennes far til honom: 'när tu skalt ha bröllup, skalt tu laga til 12 tunnor öl ok baka en hop bröd ok kiött efter 4 stutar, ok kiöra til jordhögen eller berget, ther jag håller til, ok när brudskänken skall utdelas, skall jag väl ge min'; hvilket ok skedde. Ty när andre gåfvo, lyfte han up tacket ok kastade en så stor penningeposse ther igenom, at bänken så när gådt af, ok sade thervid: 'ther är min skänk!' ok sade ytterligare: 'när tu skal ha tin hemmagifta, skaltu kiöra med 4 hästar hit til berget ok få tin andel.' Tå han sedermera efter hans begäran kom tit, fik han kopparkättlar, then ene större än then andre, tils then yttersta störste kättelen blef upfyld med andra mindre; item brandcreatur, som voro hielmeta, af hvilken färg ok creaturslag, som äro stora ok frodiga, the än ha qvar på rik, i Tanums gäll beläget. Thenne mannen Reors far i Foglekärsten benämd, aflade en hop barn med thenna sin således från berget afhämtade hustru, bland hvilka var nämnemannen Reor på Hogan; so har Ola Stenson i stora Rijk varit Reors systerson, hvilken i förledit år med döden afgik. [Epitome:---Reor's father dwelt, etc. One, an archer, lived near a hill, saw one day at noon a fine girl sitting on a stone; to get her, he three three steel between her and the hill. Her father opened the door of the hill, asked him if he wanted his daughter. He answered yes, and as she was naked, threw some of his clothes over her; had her christened. Father: 'At thy wedding bring ale, bread and horseflesh to my hill, and I will give thee a wedding gift.' This being done, he lifted their roof and threw in a great sum of money. 'Now for house-furniture, come here with four horses.' The man did so, and received copper kettles of all sizes, one inside the other, etc., etc. By this wife, thus fetched from the hill, he had many children; one was Reor, whose nephew O.S. died only last year.] Back