Tolkien had little use for the diminutive elven prettiness and whimsy found in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and in various Victorian fairy tales. He conceived a race of beings similar to humans but fairer and wiser, with greater spiritual powers, keener senses, and a closer empathy with nature. They are great smiths and fierce warriors on the side of good. Tolkien's Elves of Middle-earth should be seen as a representation of what human beings might have become, had they not committed the original sin, and they are v ...

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Elves in fantasy fiction and games, Elves in fantasy fiction and games - The Elves of Tolkien, Elves in fantasy fiction and games - Elves in role-playing games, Elves in fantasy fiction and games - Elves in fantasy literature

Read more here: » Elves in fantasy fiction and games: Encyclopedia II - Elves in fantasy fiction and games - The Elves of Tolkien

Including:

Elf - Characteristics of traditional elves
Elf - Elves in Norse mythology Elf - Scandinavian elves Elf - German elves Elf - English elves
Elf - Modern elves
Elf - Elves at Christmas Elf - Elves in modern fantasy
Elf - Notes

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The Elves of Tolkien also inspired a rich literature on elves in fantasy. Tad Williams's Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy focuses heavily on a long-lived, fair-skinned, magical race known as the Sithi, which are described as elves in all but name. Christopher Paolini's Eragon also features elves of a Nordic persuasion. Wendy and Richard Pini's long-running comic books Elfquest attempts to avoid the usual Tolkienesque elven clichés by placing their elves in a setting inspired by Native American rath ...

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Elves in fantasy fiction and games, Elves in fantasy fiction and games - The Elves of Tolkien, Elves in fantasy fiction and games - Elves in role-playing games, Elves in fantasy fiction and games - Elves in fantasy literature

Read more here: » Elves in fantasy fiction and games: Encyclopedia II - Elves in fantasy fiction and games - Elves in fantasy literature

Post-Tolkien fantasy elves (popularized by the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game) tend to be beautiful, fair, slender, and close in size to humans. A hallmark of fantasy elves is also their long and pointed ears. In gaming, and to some extent fantasy literature, elves as a rule have a greater depth of knowledge (especially regarding magic) than their human counterparts, due to a racial inclination as well as their extreme age. Typically, they are also capable warriors, especially skilled in archery, following Legolas, arguably Tolkien ...

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Elves in fantasy fiction and games, Elves in fantasy fiction and games - The Elves of Tolkien, Elves in fantasy fiction and games - Elves in role-playing games, Elves in fantasy fiction and games - Elves in fantasy literature

Read more here: » Elves in fantasy fiction and games: Encyclopedia II - Elves in fantasy fiction and games - Elves in role-playing games

The Elves of Tolkien also inspired a rich literature on elves in fantasy. The parodical Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett feature extradimensional creatures called elves, that go back to the old myths of cradle-robbing fairies. The Discworld elves have no imagination or real emotions, and therefore such things as children, artists and musicians fascinate them. They also have copper based blood and are extremely vulnerable to iron, and therefore use stone-headed elf-shot for their arrows. Though actually only vaguely humanoid in appe ...

See also:

Elves in fantasy fiction and games, Elves in fantasy fiction and games - The Elves of Tolkien, Elves in fantasy fiction and games - Elves in role-playing games, Elves in fantasy fiction and games - Elves in fantasy literature

Read more here: » Elves in fantasy fiction and games: Encyclopedia II - Elves in fantasy fiction and games - Elves in fantasy literature