![]() The special role Tolkien accords to the interplay of fate and free will in his Middle-earth writings has often been discussed by his commentators. Elf-beliefs, moreover, were connected with Anglo-Saxon constructions of sex and gender their changing nature provides a rare insight into an intractable but fascinating area of early medieval European culture. In this way, it illuminates constructions of group identity in the pivotal first centuries of Anglo-Saxon culture and interprets the cultural significance of elves as a cause of illness in medical texts, affording new insights into the much-discussed Scandinavian magic of seiðr. ![]() Adducing comparative material from medieval Ireland and Scandinavia, the book argues for a dynamic relationship between beliefs and society. It traces continuities and changes in medieval non-Christian beliefs with a new degree of reliability, from pre-conversion times to the eleventh century and beyond. Integrating linguistic and textual approaches into an anthropologically-inspired framework, Elves in Anglo-Saxon England reassesses the full range of evidence. "Anglo-Saxon elves (Old English ælfe) are one of the best attested non-Christian beliefs in early medieval Europe, but current interpretations of the evidence derive directly from outdated nineteenth- and early twentieth-century scholarship.
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