Elves: The Nature of Culture
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An elf markswoman from the Wesnoth fantasy setting, created by Kathrin "Kitty" Polikeit
Differences and similarities in elven culture across fandoms.
When you dive into the world of fantasy, a being that you will likely stumble across is an elf. Now these elves aren’t like Santa’s elves. They don’t sit in workshops making toys and drinking hot chocolate, and they sure as heck aren’t wasting their time sitting on your shelf, spying on you.
The elves I am talking about are often associated with works of fiction like Lord of the Rings and games like Dungeons and Dragons. They are typically described as tall, elegant, ethereal beings. Now, while a lot of fandoms agree on certain details around elven culture, there are many ways to change the culture in such a way that you stay true to the race while still being original.
In general, elves tend to be connected with nature. It used to be that they were more associated with the fae, but over time they took on their own culture. How the culture is formed depends on the work they are in.
Today, for the sake of brevity, I will be looking at elven culture in The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien and The Riftwar Saga by Raymond E. Feist. One series is much more popular than the other, but their elves are close enough to find some interesting similarities.
In both series, elves are seen as “the first people”. These humanoid beings do not experience time like humans do, Tolkien’s elves even being immortal outside of combat situations. As such, they are said to have seen the beginning of the other races’ civilizations. This is where the lore differs. Where Tolkien depicts a race separated based on where they traveled, Feist depicts a race torn apart by the spiritual paths they took.
As I researched the different types of elves in Tolkein’s lore, I noticed that a lot of the separation was established based on who went where. Some traveled from Middle Earth, the land in which the Lord of the Rings series takes place, to Aman in what is called the Great Journey. Some, like the Nandor, abandoned the journey partway through while others didn’t leave Middle Earth at all.
While there may be some differing opinions about certain types being better than others, they all remain elves, and are similar to each other.
Feist’s elven lore speaks of spiritual paths taken. The Moredhel are elves that searched for power from a dark god. They wished to rid the land that they perceived as gifted to them by the Dragon Lords, their former masters, of the humans and dwarves that had stolen it. Meanwhile the Eledhel chose the path of light, living peacefully in their forest kingdom, only fighting to defend themselves and their way of life.
The way these elves developed, based on travel experience, or religious beliefs, makes for very different cultures despite being the same race.
Emily-Rose Moskau
Emily-Rose is a student at Algonquin College. Her favourite genre to read and write is fantasy. In her free time she can be found surrounded by various creative projects, be it visual art, sewing, baking, or writing.
