by Cheresse
Jacqueline Simpson risked the wrath of the Queen of the Fairies at 12:00 Saturday afternoon with a bold dive into the history of Man's interaction with the Lords and Ladies, and the differing interpretations of elves and their actions.
Her treatise was entitled Elves: Nasty or Nice? and examines the developing perceptions that men have had of elves. She began by describing elves as many listeners are most familiar with them—through authors J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, and T. Pratchett. Rowling writes elves as oppressed servants, Tolkien's elves are seen as angelic or saintly beings, and Terry's are vicious folk.
Simpson continued with a history of the word elf, which predates the Norman invasion of England. The word from which it was derived means 'white,' indicating that elves were initially seen as bright people. She cited the Icelandic Edda as the sole non-Christian source for information on Elves in Northern Europe, and linked them with the gods rather than men. She further divided the elves into two parts—the Bright elves, who live in the beautiful, light places of the world, and the Dark elves, who are as black as pitch and live underground.
Later Anglo-Saxon texts and customs give more of an indication of how men regarded the Fair Folk. Many names used derivations of the word elf, such as Alfred or Elfric, which suggests that elves were regarded as benign. However, medical texts from the same period have several terms for certain ailments that imply elves as the cause of maladies. There is also the concept of 'elf-shot,' in which a human, a cow or another animal that has provoked the wrath of an elf experiences a sudden, sharp pain.
The Normans introduced the words fey and fairy, and the word elf fell out of common usage (although Simpson tells us they are interchangeable words). They also introduced the tradition of avoiding the use of the name fey, and titles such as 'the Fair Folk' and 'the Little People' became common.
Simpson also discussed the view of the Church towards fairies. The official stance of the Church was that elves were demons, although laymen did not always maintain this point of view. However, for every story of an elf that bestowed good luck or brought prosperity, there is one to describe the wrath of an insulted fairy or an unprovoked kidnapping of some young woman or child.
Simpson's information on the elves is often contradictory—a point she was sure to make in her lecture. Depending on the folklore of the region, their size ranges from three feet to average human height, their appearance can be beautiful or flawed, their wealth is highly debated and it is not even known whether elves reside in some far-off land or close to us, as neighbours.
Simpson's lecture was peppered with interesting and entertaining anecdotes on what to do when encountering the Fair Folk. She suggested that much may be accomplished through being a good, polite neighbour and making sure not to insult the elves in some way. The man who followed the instructions or advice of his little neighbours might find himself full of wealth and luck, while he who insulted the fairies might find that all his luck had fled. In some cases, an insulted fairy might even hit the man upon the head; if so, he would take ill and die a year and a day from the date of insult.
Simpson's view of elves was none too kind at times, a fact which rubbed raw with the Lords and Ladies. The Queen herself arrived to monitor Simpson's lecture, and was none too pleased with what she heard. Simpson, fortunately, was well-prepared with a poker of cold iron and so fended off the Queen's advance. This reporter may safely say that many in the hall seemed frozen with terror; one lady swooned, and many looked stricken as though elf-shot in the peculiar manner which Simpson described. Simpson, however, seemed unaffected both by the Queen's curse and her promise that the score would soon be settled.
Simpson's full treatise, Elves: Nasty or Nice is available from the stall of Cunning Artificers at Sator Square.
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