{"product_id":"9781843835097-elves-in-anglo-saxon-england","title":"Elves in Anglo-Saxon England","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMatters of Belief, Health, Gender and Identity\u003cbr\u003eElves and elf-belief during the Anglo-Saxon period are reassessed in this lively and provocative study.\u003cbr\u003eElves and elf-belief during the Anglo-Saxon period are reassessed in this lively and provocative study.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non-Christian beliefs in early medieval Europe, but current interpretations of the evidence derive directly from outdated nineteenth- and early twentieth-century scholarship. Integrating linguistic and textual approaches into an anthropologically-inspired framework, this book reassesses the full range of evidence. 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, and uses comparative material from medieval Ireland and Scandinavia to argue for a dynamic relationship between beliefs and society. Inparticular, it interprets the cultural significance of elves as a cause of illness in medical texts, and provides new insights into the much-discussed Scandinavian magic of seidr. Elf-beliefs, moreover, were connected with Anglo-Saxon constructions of sex and gender; their changing nature provides a rare insight into a fascinating area of early medieval European culture. Shortlisted for the Katharine Briggs Folklore Award 2007\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57425590124918,"sku":"9781843835097","price":19.36,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_39359932.jpg?v=1772908393","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781843835097-elves-in-anglo-saxon-england","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}