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Beware of the Elf! A Note on the Evolving Meaning ofÁlfar

2015/05/04 by Ármann Jakobsson · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · #Linguistics and language evolution

paper · doi:10.1080/0015587x.2015.1023511

openalex publication_date 2015/05/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29

Abstract

This article addresses the changing meaning of the word álfr (plural álfar) in Norse-Icelandic from the Middle Ages to the present day and notes that, contrary to the myth of a continuity in the Icelandic belief in elves propagated by popular journalism, this belief is framed within different paradigms of thought in different times.

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