You've probably heard of elves before: you know, the short things with ears? Anyway, I wanted to find out what they were from and where they originated from.  

They were influenced by the Elves of Northern European mythologies, especially the god-like and human-sized Ljósálfar of Norse mythology. They appeared in medieval works such as Sir Orfeo, the Welsh Mabinogion, Arthurian romances and the legends of the Tuatha Dé Danann.   

What is Norse Mythology?  

Norse mythology is a set of beliefs and stories shared by Northern Germanic tribes. It was not handed down from the gods to the mortal. It had no scripture. The mythology was passed on from one generation to the next in the form of poetry. It continued to be passed down this way through the time of the Vikings.  

In simpler terms Norse or Scandinavian mythology is the belief and legends of the Scandinavian people.  

 But how did elves come around? Norse mythology has some of the earliest writings on elves and fairies. Snorri Sturluson was the first person to write about them in the Prose Edda . The elves in Norse mythology were called the Álfar and were believed to cause illness, have strong magic, and be very beautiful. Light elves were connected to the god Odin and were often seen to be kind. Dark elves were malevolent and often lived underground.   

The first Elves were awakened by Eru Ilúvatar near the bay of Cuiviénen during the Years of the Trees. This event marked the beginning of the First Age. They awoke under the starlit sky, as the Sun and Moon had yet to be created.    

After the medieval period, the word elf became less common throughout the Germanic languages, losing out to terms like Zwerg('dwarf') in German and huldra ('hidden being') in North Germanic languages, and to loan-words like fairy (borrowed from French).