@rickthesicilian asked:
“I had no idea that elves were ancestor spirits. Could you elaborate on this (or provide a source that can in your place)? Also, what implications does this have for Freyr? He was at one point said to be the “ruler of the elves,” or something similar, iirc. Does this give him lordship over the afterlife or dead in some way? (Actually, scratch that first part. I just found your prior post about gods and races.)”
The Elusive Nature of the Elves
One thing about elves in norse mythology is that they are quite elusive and mysterious. They never seem to be given a great deal of direct attention, rather they linger around the peripherals. That being said, Frey’s relationship with the elves is equally lacking in details. From what I currently know, there are not many references in our surviving sources that link Freyr to elves and Alfheim. Here is one reference, from Grímnismál, stanza 5:
“Alfheim the gods gave to Freyr
in ancient days as a tooth gift.”Even Alfheim itself is not often discussed in our surviving sources. Our knowledge about elves generally comes in bits and pieces from various accounts. Due to the fact that elves are generally on the outskirts of our mythological accounts, the best we can do is piece together a theory of what role elves actually had. In order to understand Frey’s relationship with elves, this must be done first.
In the prose edda, this is all we get about elves and their home-world Alfheim:
“High said, ‘There are many magnificent places there. One is called Alfheim. The people called the light elves live there, but the dark elves lie down below the earth. They are different from the light elves in appearance, and far more so in nature. The light elves are more beautiful than the sun, while the dark elves are blacker than pitch.”
So, what is left is to make sense of this. Out of the entire book, this is all Snorri provides about the Elves and their home-world. Any other references are without detail. He never says that elves are the ancestors of the dead, but there are some accounts of beings quite similar to elves that suggest this. Also, the practice of ancestor veneration that I mentioned also suggests this. Elves seem to be beings without any physical description, taking on the characteristics of light (or the lack thereof). My suspicion is that Snorri is treating them like the dead spirits, good (light) and bad (dark). However, there is no real evidence to say so concretely.
Snorri was a Christian man who admired his tradition and his people’s history. However, even if he admired these traditions, he lived nearly three-hundred years after Iceland had already converted to christianity. That being said, it is possible that some areas had become blurred and so he described them the best that he could. Historical memory often comes with holes and blurs. Nothing is ever quite clear or they way that they should seem. So, to understand elves, perhaps we should look at beings that are similar to them.
The landvættir (land wrights) somewhat fit this spirit role. They are spirits quite connected with the earth itself, protecting the land they dwell in. Landnámabók, The Book of Settlements, states that the dragon-prows of ships must be removed when close to land for fear that they would disturb these spirits. However, these spirits take on many forms, often not even human forms. For example, in Olaf Tryggvason’s saga, the four landvættir that protect Iceland are described: a dragon, bird, bull, and giant. Although Snorri does not describe the Elves to look like humans, he does not make them seem like animals either.
To get back to the point, elves seem to be spirits rather than physical beings. They are described as light and are never given a detailed image. It is not surprising, then, that elves might be the spirits of the dead ancestors. There are actually terms that have been used to describe them, and even sacrifices specifically made to them. I believe this information comes from the Icelandic sagas. Iceland kept a longer hold on these traditions and some aspects of ancestor veneration even lasted into Christian times. Here is a term that has been used to refer to female ancestors:
- dís (pl. dísir) – a female guardian angel, goddess
- dísablót – a sacrifice to the dísir
Frey’s Role with the Elves
So, before I get too far off-track, let us return to Freyr. He is said to have inherited the realm of the elves, so what does that mean? He is a god of fertility and pleasure, meaning peace and prosperity. He also does have an association with light when you think about gullinbursti. I also believe he is said to be attributed with a Yule tradition of bringing the sun back after the winter solstice. the relationship between Freyr and elves is never stated outright, so we have to make our best attempt now that we have laid out some more information gathered from various places.
To finally answer your question, I would suggest that the relationship is more in that spirits, whether elves or ancestors, have a connection with this world and prosperity. Perhaps the reason Freyr rules over the elves is because the spirits still serve the earth (protecting its prosperity) as landvættir. Perhaps it is because the spirits of the dead become like light, which allows the growth of more life. It is difficult to summarize the connection in such a condensed statement, but I would say the relationship has something to do with spirits and prosperity.
I do not think this gives Freyr any control over the afterlife or the dead in general. Rather, I believe it has something to do with a “cycle” of sorts; a relationship rather than an authority. Harvest is a similar process of growth, experience, and removal. Freyr is associated with this process. If you think of elves and sprints in this way, it does not seem to odd to pair them with the natural cycle of the earth. Our ancestors grew, lived, and died. However, they laid out a foundation that allowed our prosperity to exist today. Similarly, the elven ancestor spirits would protect and provide our prosperity, along with Freyr.
Conclusion
I understand that this discussion got quite complicated, and I do apologize if it is way more than you intended to receive. I am honestly not quite sure what to think about it myself still. It is no simple relationship, especially since the sources we have left the matter open-ended. If you get anything out of my answer, just know that elves in norse mythology are quite mysterious. There is not much told about them, so even their connection with Freyr is left in a blur. Also, this is just my interpretation on the material, so I am sure there are other interpretation floating around out there. I also believe that this subject requires a much more detailed and in-depth study that dives into multiple sagas and other accounts. What I have provided is simply a summary of what that would be.
Anyway, thank you very much for asking! I hope my answer was helpful.
Sources (in order of appearance):
- Andy Orchard trans., The Elder Edda: A Book of Viking Lore. (London: Penguin Classics, 2011), 51.
- Grímnismál, stanza 5.
- Snorri Sturluson, Prose Edda, translated by Jesse L. Byock. (London: Penguin Classics, 2005), 28.
- Angus A. Somerville and R. Andrew McDonald ed., The Viking Age: A Reader (Second Edition). (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2014), 68.
- Geir T. Zoëga, A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic. (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2004), 88.
- (general source) Jennifer Dukes-Knight, “Norse Mythology,” lecture, Viking History, University of South Florida, 2015.
A Brief Look into Freyr and the Elves.
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