Interpretation of "elves"

[The Real Makarni]

No: HPFGUIDX 46671


> You grew up on Tolkein elves. Which are a fairly recent literary 
inovation 
> (around WWII, although he might not have been the first 
person to apply the 
> term "elf" to that particular style of being.) Actually, Dobby and 
Winky are 
> elves very much in the English folklore tradition. What Tolkein 
called 
> "elves" would have been refered to as the Sidhe. 

Tolkien's elves are not a fairly recent literary creation- Tolkien 
based much of his world on Norse and Germanic legends, 
including the elves.

There are two main streams of elves- the Norse elves (or 
Tolkien elves, if you will), who are noble, human-like and wise, 
and then the house-spirit elves which  Jodel explained very well, 
and I would just like to point out the story of the Elves and the 
Shoemaker as another possible foundation for JKR's house 
elves  (BTW, these elves are specifically *house* elves- does 
this mean there are other types of elves?). JKR has simply 
chosen to base her elves on a different mythology than Tolkien 
and other writers.

Roo, who, after reading the new Fantastic Posts section and 
realising that Lily's sexiness has *never* been discussed, would 
like to make it known that he thinks that Lily is BY FAR the sexiest 
woman in the Potter series.