German folklore German folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Germany over a number of centuries. Seeing as Germany was divided into numerous polities for most of its history, this term might both refer to the folklore of Germany proper and of all ...

, the Weiße Frauen (, meaning White Women) are

elf An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic peoples, Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in Norse mythology, North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda'' ...

-like spirits which may derive from

Germanic paganism Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological dating, chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the Bri ...

in the form of legends of light elves (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

: ''Ljósálfar''). The

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

Witte Wieven are traceable at least as far back as the 7th century, and their mistranslation as ''White Women'' instead of the original ''Wise Women'' can be explained by the Dutch word wit also meaning white. They are described as beautiful and enchanted creatures who appear at noon and can be seen sitting in the sunshine brushing their hair or bathing in a brook. They may be guarding treasure or haunting castles. They entreat mortals to break their spell, but this is always unsuccessful. The mythology dates back at least to the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and was known in the present-day area of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Origins

''Weiße Frauen'' literally means "white ladies" in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

. The association with the color white and their appearance in sunlight is thought by

Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He formulated Grimm's law of linguistics, and was the co-author of the ''Deutsch ...

Grimm 1835, Chapter 32, pp 2-3. to stem from the original Old Norse and Teutonic mythology of

alven An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''. In medieval Germanic-speaking ...

(

elves An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''. In medieval Germanic-speakin ...

), specifically the bright ''Ljósálfar''. These "light elves" lived in Álfheim (part of heaven) under the fertility god

Freyr Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested Æsir, god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, prosperity, fair weather, and good harvest. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was ...

. As mythology evolved, elves no longer lived in Álfheim but lived on earth in nature. The White Women also may represent ancient beliefs in ancestral spirits or older native goddesses and nature spirits, such as the Idis for example.

noted in particular they might come from

Holda "Frau Holle" (; ; also known as "Mother Holle", "Mother Hulda" or "Old Mother Frost") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in ''Grimms' Fairy Tales, Children's and Household Tales'' in 1812 (KHM 24). It is of Aarne–Thompson� ...

, " Berhta, white by her very name" and Ostara. According to ''Grimm's Teutonic Mythology'' and to the ''Mythology of All Races'' Series, the enchantment under which they suffer "may be a symbol of the ban laid by

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

on the

divinities Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

of the older faith." Similar in name to the Witte Wieven of

Dutch mythology The mythology of the modern-day Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg has its roots in the mythologies of pre-Christian (e.g. Gaulish (Gallo-Roman) and Germanic) cultures, predating the region's Christianization under the influence of the Franks i ...

, the Weiße Frauen may have come from the Germanic belief in

disen Disen is a neighborhood divided between the boroughs of Bjerke and Nordre Aker in Oslo, Norway. Disen was originally a manor south of Grefsenåsen. The name stems from dís in Norse mythology. Disen farm was parceled out as a residential area f ...

or land wights and

.Reginheim 2002.

Related beings

Grimm notes the image of the ''Weiße Frauen'' basking in the sun and bathing "melts into the notion of a water-holde [i.e.

] and Nix (water creatures), nixe". The ''Weiße Frauen'' also have counterparts in both name and characterization in neighboring countries: In the Netherlands they are known as the '' Witte Wieven'', and in France as the '' Dames Blanches''. Their

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

equivalent are the ''

Witte Wiwer The ''witte Wiwer'', Eckstein: ''Grütze''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 3 Freen-Hexenschuss''. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1201. ''witte Wîwer'', Wilhelm Mannhardt: ''Wald ...

''. There are also many legends in

regarding ''Weiße Frauen'', which are actually equivalent to the legends of White Ladies,

ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In the Alpine regions of Austria and Southern Germany they are called ''Salige Frauen'' or just ''Salige'' (''Salkweiber, Salaweiber'').

Notes

Sources

* Bellows, Henry Adams.
Grimnismol
'.

' (Princeton: Princeton UP, 1936), pp. 85–107. * Crossley-Holland, Kevin. ''The Norse Myths''. New York: Pantheon, 1980. * Grimm, Jacob (1835). ''Deutsche Mythologie'' (German Mythology); From English released version ''Grimm's Teutonic Mythology'' (1888); Available online by Northvegr © 2004-2007, Chapter 32, page
23
* Marshall Jones Company (1930). '' Mythology of all Races'' Series, Volume 2 ''Eddic'', Great Britain: Marshall Jones Company, 1930, pp. 221–222. * Reginheim
Witte wieven. 2002.
(in English) File retrieved 03-08-2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Weisse Frauen German legendary creatures Elves Female legendary creatures br:Intron Wenn fr:Dame blanche (légende)