"Elveskud" or "Elverskud" (; Danish for "

Elf-shot Elfshot or elf-shot is a medical condition described in Anglo-Saxon medical texts (notably ) believed to be caused by elves shooting invisible elf-arrows at a person or animal (most often cattle), causing sudden shooting pains localized to a par ...

") is the Danish, and most widely used, name for one of the most popular ballads in Scandinavia.

Origins and distribution

The origins of the ballad are agreed to be considerably earlier than the earliest manuscripts, in the Middle Ages, but there is little consensus beyond this. Many scholars suggest a Breton or French origin but the routes by which it came to and was disseminated within Northern Europe are unknown. The ballad has close parallels across Europe (the closest English-language parallel being "

Clerk Colvill "Clerk Colvill" or "Clerk Colven" (Roud Folk Song Index, Roud 147, Child ballad, Child 42) otherwise known as "The Mermaid", is a traditional English-language folk ballad. This ballad was one of 25 traditional works included in ''Ballads Weird and ...

"). The earliest surviving manuscript is

Karen Brahes Folio Karen Brahes Folio (Odense, Landsarkivet for Fyn, Karen Brahe E I,1, also known as Karen Brahes Foliohåndskrift) is a manuscript collection of Danish ballads dating from c. 1583. The manuscript contains the following names, presumed to be of its o ...

, a Danish manuscript from the 1570s; the earliest surviving Swedish version is from the 1670s. At least seventy Scandinavian variants are known; over forty come from Denmark, and seventeen from Sweden. It is also widely known as: * "Herr Olof och Älvorna" ("Sir Olof and the Elves", Swedish). * "Elf-Qvinnan och Herr Olof" ("The Elf-Woman and Sir Olof", Swedish). * "Kvæði af Ólafi liljurós" ("Song of Ólafur lily-rose", Icelandic). * "Olaf liljekrans" ("Olaf lily-wreath", Norwegian). * "Ólavur riddarrós og álvarmoy" ("Ólavur knight-rose and the elf-maiden", Faroese).

Summary

In the summary of ''The Types of the Scandinavian Medieval Ballad'', :: Olav rides out at dawn and comes upon elves dancing in the woods. One of the elf maids invites him to dance with her, but he refuses and tells her that he is to be married the next day. She puts a fatal sickness on him. When he comes home he is dying. He expresses his last wishes. Not all versions precisely fit this summary. For example, in many Danish versions, Olav does dance with the elves, sometimes to death; in some versions in Denmark, Norway and Sweden Olav's death is at first concealed from his bride, but eventually she finds out; in the Icelandic versions, the bride is not mentioned at all, and Olav's refusal to dance arises from his Christian faith. In one Faroese variant, Olav is implied to have been romantically involved with the elf-woman for some time; it also begins with his mother predicting his death. Vésteinn Ólason's summary of the Icelandic variants of the ballad, generally known as "Kvæði af Ólafi liljurós", is :: Ólafur rides along a rocky hillside, meets four elf-maidens who welcome him and invite him to drink (or live) with them. He refuses to live with the elves and would rather believe in God (Christ). One of the elf-maidens asks him to wait, and goes to fetch a sword which she hides under her clothing as she asks him for a kiss. When Ólafur bends down to kiss her, she thrusts the sword under his shoulderblade to his heart. Ólafur spurs his horse and rides home to his mother; she asks why he is so pale; (he hedges at first); tells the truth; asks his mother to make his bed and his sister to dress the wounds. Thereupon he dies (and is buried along with his mother and sister(?)).

Text

The most widely known version of "Elveskud" is that published by

Peder Syv Peder Pedersen Syv (also spelled Siuf) or in Latin Petrus Petri Septimius (22 February 1631 – 17 February 1702) was a Danish Philology, philologist, folklore, folklorist, and priest, best known for his collections of Danish proverbs and folk s ...

in 1695, given here in modernised spelling:

Translations

These and other available translations by Borrow, Prior, etc., are listed in Syndergaard's survey: * "Elfin Shaft", * "Sir Oluf and the Elf-king's daughter", * "Sir Olof in Elve-Dance" and "The Elf-Woman and Sir Olof" (two versions), ) * "Sir Olof and the Elves",

References in culture

The ballad has inspired a very large number of reworkings. Most famously, a translation of a Danish variant ( DFG 47B, from Peter Syv's 1695 edition) into German by

Johann Gottfried Herder Johann Gottfried von Herder ( ; ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a Prussian philosopher, theologian, pastor, poet, and literary critic. Herder is associated with the Age of Enlightenment, ''Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism. He wa ...

as "Erlkönigs Tochter" inspired

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

's poem "

Erlkönig "Erlkönig" is a German poetry, poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It depicts the death of a child assailed by a supernatural being, the Erlking, a king of the fairy, fairies. It was originally written by Goethe as part of a 1782 ''Singspiel' ...

", which developed the concept of the

Erlking In European folklore and myth, the Erlking is a sinister elf who lingers in the woods. He stalks children who stay in the woods for too long, and kills them with a single touch. The name "Erlking" (; ) is a name used in German Romanticism for ...

. The ballad was one of the inspirations for the 1828 play ''

Elves' Hill ''Elves' Hill'' () is a comedy by Johan Ludvig Heiberg, with overture and incidental music by Friedrich Kuhlau (Op. 100), which is considered the first Danish national play. History ''Elves' Hill'' was commissioned by Frederik VI for the we ...

'' by Johan Ludvig Heiberg. Other works inspired by "Elveskud" include

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

's 1856 play '' Olaf Liljekrans''; Kristín Marja Baldursdóttir's 1995 novel '' Mávahlátur''; Böðvar Guðmundsson's 2012 novel '' Töfrahöllin''; and

Steeleye Span Steeleye Span are a British folk rock band formed in 1969 in England by Fairport Convention bass player Ashley Hutchings and established London folk club duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. The band were part of the 1970s British folk revival, ...

's folk-rock song "Dance with Me".

References

{{authority control Scandinavian folklore Folk ballads Danish folk music Norwegian folk music Year of song unknown Swedish folk songs Songs with unknown songwriters