Post by gloriousbattle on Aug 14, 2011 10:50:58 GMT -6
How is it that D&D elves have pointy ears?
There have been a lot of tropes for elves and faeries that arise out of the Middle Ages. The pointy-eared "fox-elf" is only one. Another of at least equal popularity was the "Green Man" as from the following:
From Wikipedia, "Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight":
Significance of the colour green
In the 15th-century Saint Wolfgang and the Devil by Michael Pacher, the Devil is green. Poetic contemporaries such as Chaucer also drew connections between the colour green and the devil, leading scholars to draw similar connections in readings of the Green Knight.[28]
Given the varied and even contradictory interpretations of the colour green, its precise meaning in the poem remains ambiguous. In English folklore and literature, green was traditionally used to symbolise nature and its associated attributes: fertility and rebirth. Stories of the medieval period also used it to allude to love and the base desires of man.[29][30] Because of its connection with faeries and spirits in early English folklore, green also signified witchcraft, devilry and evil. It can also represent decay and toxicity.[31] When combined with gold, as with the Green Knight and the girdle, green was often seen as representing youth's passing.[32] In Celtic mythology, green was associated with misfortune and death, and therefore avoided in clothing.[33] The green girdle, originally worn for protection, became a symbol of shame and cowardice; it is finally adopted as a symbol of honour by the knights of Camelot, signifying a transformation from good to evil and back again; this displays both the spoiling and regenerative connotations of the colour green.[33]
Also, interestingly, the first movie representation I saw of Tolkien's work (Rankin-Bass version of "The Hobbit") uses the Green Man trope, and not the pointy eared one:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnmKS-cGt8E&feature=BFa&list=PLC726C109E5863860&index=8 at 4:10.
The fact is that Tolkien does not seem to have used either trope. Most of the descriptions of elves simply involve them being "fair" (probably refers to beauty rather than light skin), "bright eyed" and "tall." Occasionally, from the greatest among them, like Galadriel and Luthien, we get some hint that they might also glow with a supernatural light, though this is debatable.
Since Gary, what ever he may have said about Tolkien in his old age, was clearly enormously influenced by the professor (for those of you who think otherwise, why did the earliest editions of Chainmail and D&D have Balrogs?) why do you think that the "fox eared elf" elf trope gained ascendence?
This has interested me to the point that I have recently made a new miniatures army of green-man elves, and have converted my D&D game to the Green-Man trope, with mild rules modifications:
Green Man Elves: All elves are of the "Elf Class", as they can all use magic. They also have permanent true seeing, and can naturally turn invisible (as the second level Elf spell) once per day. However, they are vulnerable to iron/steel and silver. They take a penalty when hit with weapons made of these metals (1 point to armor class and take +1 damage per die when hit with iron or steel, 2 points to armor class and take +2 damage per die when hit with silver), and their armor and weapons must be made of strange elven alloys, so they cost twice as much, and only 1 in 6 magic weapons, shields or suits of armor found are of this elven make.
We'll see how this owrks out.
There have been a lot of tropes for elves and faeries that arise out of the Middle Ages. The pointy-eared "fox-elf" is only one. Another of at least equal popularity was the "Green Man" as from the following:
From Wikipedia, "Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight":
Significance of the colour green
In the 15th-century Saint Wolfgang and the Devil by Michael Pacher, the Devil is green. Poetic contemporaries such as Chaucer also drew connections between the colour green and the devil, leading scholars to draw similar connections in readings of the Green Knight.[28]
Given the varied and even contradictory interpretations of the colour green, its precise meaning in the poem remains ambiguous. In English folklore and literature, green was traditionally used to symbolise nature and its associated attributes: fertility and rebirth. Stories of the medieval period also used it to allude to love and the base desires of man.[29][30] Because of its connection with faeries and spirits in early English folklore, green also signified witchcraft, devilry and evil. It can also represent decay and toxicity.[31] When combined with gold, as with the Green Knight and the girdle, green was often seen as representing youth's passing.[32] In Celtic mythology, green was associated with misfortune and death, and therefore avoided in clothing.[33] The green girdle, originally worn for protection, became a symbol of shame and cowardice; it is finally adopted as a symbol of honour by the knights of Camelot, signifying a transformation from good to evil and back again; this displays both the spoiling and regenerative connotations of the colour green.[33]
Also, interestingly, the first movie representation I saw of Tolkien's work (Rankin-Bass version of "The Hobbit") uses the Green Man trope, and not the pointy eared one:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnmKS-cGt8E&feature=BFa&list=PLC726C109E5863860&index=8 at 4:10.
The fact is that Tolkien does not seem to have used either trope. Most of the descriptions of elves simply involve them being "fair" (probably refers to beauty rather than light skin), "bright eyed" and "tall." Occasionally, from the greatest among them, like Galadriel and Luthien, we get some hint that they might also glow with a supernatural light, though this is debatable.
Since Gary, what ever he may have said about Tolkien in his old age, was clearly enormously influenced by the professor (for those of you who think otherwise, why did the earliest editions of Chainmail and D&D have Balrogs?) why do you think that the "fox eared elf" elf trope gained ascendence?
This has interested me to the point that I have recently made a new miniatures army of green-man elves, and have converted my D&D game to the Green-Man trope, with mild rules modifications:
Green Man Elves: All elves are of the "Elf Class", as they can all use magic. They also have permanent true seeing, and can naturally turn invisible (as the second level Elf spell) once per day. However, they are vulnerable to iron/steel and silver. They take a penalty when hit with weapons made of these metals (1 point to armor class and take +1 damage per die when hit with iron or steel, 2 points to armor class and take +2 damage per die when hit with silver), and their armor and weapons must be made of strange elven alloys, so they cost twice as much, and only 1 in 6 magic weapons, shields or suits of armor found are of this elven make.
We'll see how this owrks out.
