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Something a little more whimsical today, as we take a look at Santa's helpers.
The concept of elves survives in modern folklore, albeit in a more Victorian idealised way, in the form of Father Christmas's elf helpers. But to the Anglo-Saxons, elves (ælf in Old English) were powerful semi-divine magical beings who dwelt in otherwordly forests and who were thought to influence and guide the world of men. They were believed to cause hiccoughs (known as ælfsogoða to the Anglo-Saxons), or sometimes more serious unexplained ailments, through their magic. After Christianisation we find the Anglo-Saxon concept of elves become demonised, but there is no real evidence that the Anglo-Saxons perceived them in a negative way. The Old English word ælfādl "elf sickness" was used as a term for nightmares, but such things were believed to be inflicted particularly on those people who broke the rules and norms of society. Indeed, Alaric Hall* argues that these powerful beings "not only helped to demarcate boundaries of acceptable behaviour (whether by good or bad example), but that they were viewed as an active force in policing at least some of those boundaries." The Anglo-Saxons also used the word ælf-scīene which literally translates as "elf-bright" but was used to mean "beautiful" or "radiant".
The same theme appeared in Germanic, Norse and Celtic belief, and each of these cultures preserved this element in their names.
The Anglo-Saxon word ælf, which is where our word elf derives from, was used in several names:
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Masculine: Ælfbehrt - "elf + bright" |
Feminine: Ælfflæd (Elfleda) "elf + beauty" |
The Norse and Germanic cognates were alfr and alf found in the names: Alf, Alfarinn (Alvarin) "elf + eagle", Alfbern "elf +bear", Alfher (Alfarr) "elf + army", Alffinnr (Alfinn) "elf + wanderer", Alfþórr (Aldor) "elf + thunder", Alfvaldr "elf + rule", Alfwin "elf + friend". And the feminine Alfhild (Alvilda) "elf +battle", Alfrun "elf + secret", ÁsælfR "elf + deity" and AuðælfR "elf + fortune".
The Gaelic Ailill (modern Oilill) "elf" was a very popular male name in early Ireland, borne by no less than ten warriors in the Finn-tales, and two saints. Ailillán and Aillén "little elf" are diminutives, while Ailleann is a feminine form. The Welsh ellyll (plural ellyllon) is a related cognate.
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The scientific name for reindeer is Rangifer Tarandus. Different types include the Svalbard reindeer, Peary caribou and the Tundra caribou.
The familiar names of Father Christmas's reindeer came first from the famous poem A Visit from St. Nicholas or Twas the Night Before Christmas, published anonymously in 1823. It was later credited to Clement Clarke Moore, but there is some debate over whether it was actually written by Henry Livingston Jr. The poem lists the names Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.
It is said that Donner was originally Dunder, the Dutch word for "thunder," while Blitzen was Blixem, the Dutch for "lightning." They were later changed to their German counterparts, most likely to better rhyme Blitzen with Vixen.
This last part echos Norse mythology, in which it was said that the god Thor would ride his chariot through the sky during a thunderstorm, pulled by two goats: Tanngrisnir "teeth-barer" and Tanngnjóstr "teeth grinder".
Robert L. May is credited with adding Rudolph to the list of Santa's reindeer with his poem Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in 1939. Rudolph, or Rudolf, derives from the Germanic name Hrodulf, comprised of the elements hrod “fame” and wulf “wolf.” Its international forms include: Roelof, Roel (Dutch), Rodolphe (French), Rodolfo (Italian, Portuguese), Rodolphus (Latin), Rodolfo and Rodolfito (Spanish).
The Old Norse cognate Hróðólfr became contracted to Hrólfr, which, itself, styled several variants. The most famous is Rolf, but there is also the Latinised Rollo -- famously borne by the Viking leader who became the first Duke of Normandy. The Normans then brought the name to Britain in the forms Roul, Rou and Roulf.
For diminutives we have Rudi in Germany, Ruedi in Switzerland and Ruud in the Netherlands. In Britain it is more commonly used in the spelling Rudy.
