Light-elves dwell in Álfheimr; dark-elves (dwarves?) beneath the earth. The boundary between categories is unclear in the sources.
The alvar, elves, are divided in the Eddic texts into light-elves and dark-elves, a distinction Snorri formalizes in Gylfaginning. The light-elves are said to be fairer than the sun and dwell in Alfheimr, the world given to the god Freyr as a tooth-gift according to Grimnismal 5. The dark-elves are described as blacker than pitch and associated with subterranean spaces, which makes the boundary with dwarves fluid.
Freyr's lordship over Alfheimr is one of the clearest attestations of the elves' divine status. In Skirnismal, Freyr's messenger Skirnir travels through Alfheimr on his way to Jotunheimr to woo the giantess Gerdr. The elves are thereby within Freyr's sphere of protection and share his association with fertility and light.
Alvíssmál provides an indirect picture of the elves' place in cosmological taxonomy. In the poem, the dwarf Alvíss answers Thor's questions about what things are called among gods, elves, Vanir, and jotnar. The elves' names for things differ systematically from the gods', suggesting a clear cultural and ontological distinction between the two groups.
The source material provides no clear narratives of individual elves' actions, unlike the dwarves. They appear rather as background figures in the cosmological geography. In Old English material, elves are more actively linked to disease and malice, but in Old Norse material their character is more neutral or positive. This difference has prompted discussion about whether Norse and Anglo-Saxon elf-beliefs are truly comparable.
Sources in the Eddas
- Grímnismál 5
- States that Alfheimr was given to Freyr as a tooth-gift by the gods.
- Alvíssmál
- Lists the elves' alternative names for natural objects, providing lexical evidence of their distinct identity.
- Skírnismál
- Skirnir travels through Alfheimr on Freyr's errand, linking elves and Vanir.
- Gylfaginning 17
- Snorri's bipartite division of elves into light-elves and dark-elves with their cosmological geography.
- Völuspá 48
- Mentions elves in connection with Ragnarok, showing their place in the sequence of the world's end.
Interpretive traditions
A What we know
The light-elves dwell in Alfheimr and belong to Freyr's domain, confirmed by Grimnismal 5.
Elves and dwarves are nominally distinct categories, but Snorri conflates dark-elves and dwarves.
Alvíssmál confirms that elves were counted as a distinct people with their own vocabulary.
B What we think we know
It is debated whether the dark-elves (svartalfar) constitute a third people or are identical to dwarves.
It is debated whether pre-Christian elf-cult was directed at dead ancestors or nature spirits.
C What we do not know
The elves' role in living religious practice during the Viking Age is virtually unknown.
Whether the distinction between light-elves and dark-elves is an old tradition or a Snorrian systematization is unclear.