It’s Just A Job – High Elves

This is a continuation of the It’s just a Job series.

Wikipedia defines High Elves as:

…a tall, slim and regal built race. They are seen as a noble race, and tend to be beautiful or handsome in appearance. Elves are a paled skinned race. Elves are strong and agile in comparison with humans and are often seen as more intelligent and wiser. Elves have a longer life span than humans do. Elves build refined weapons that are seen as master craftsmanship by other races. They use swords, bows and lances mainly they don’t like using crossbows or gunpowder weapons.

High Elves should be instantly familiar to mass audiences nearly everywhere in the world now thanks to Peter Jackson, who made them famous through his adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkein stole High Elves from Nordic mythology almost unchanged. He even gave them an undying land to escape to when they were weary of Middle Earth. Middle Earth was Tolkein’s version of Midgard, the Nordic mythological name for Earth. In Nordic mythology, the High Elves live in Álfheimr, apart from humans, but they interact from time to time.

Elves in modern, popular fiction have grown beyond this sketchy cultural framework into a staple race of high fantasy. They’re most often seen in all types of fantasy and paranormal romance.

I’ve yet to buckle under and add elves to my work, but I will probably need to at some time or another! When that time comes, I will have a good, long think about their history and origins, and how they interact with their world.

Apart from The Lord of the Rings, what stories do you like that have elves in them? Hit reply and let me know. If I haven’t read it myself yet, I’ll add it to my TBR pile.