A question about elves and dwarves

[overnight]

Why is it that Elves and dwarves do not get along well? Did TOlkien start this idea or are there other literary works before TOlkien that have this thread? Can't we all just get along?

 

[Buskanaka]

basically tolkien invented dwarves and elves as we know them, what most people think of when they think of elves and dwarves is Tolkien's elves and dwarves.

 

[elven, warrior]

yep thats true, i like playing (in rpg) as a elf but dwarf are stroinger by tolkeins impression of them

 

[cyberwing]

overnight,
actually yes, there are many old, old fairy tales and legends that mention dwarves and elves. So no, Tolkien did not invent them, he simply adapted them to his own world. Many writers have done this, I myself adapted both species to the world of my first novel.
Perhaps the natural tendency to make them fuss is the fact elves were usually associated with forests and the earth, while dwarves were always associated with caves, tunnels, caverns, rare ores and minerals. One living above the earth and one below the earth. Above and below being natural opposites. You could certainly make elves and dwarves great friends in your world! Although, for example with Tolkien, it gave the longstanding relationship built between Legolas and Gimley a more brilliant showcase, at least IMHO.
These are ofcourse only one writers opinions.
~Cyberwing

 

[Buskanaka]

what i meant was that tolkien basically invented the elves and dwarves present in todays popular culture. It's funny that the original elves, in celtic mythology anyway, were actually bad!

 

[Flames]

I think elves are viewed as more political and self-preserving, whereas dwarves are more territorial and oppurtunistic.

 

[elven, warrior]

yep

 

[cyberwing]

yes I agree Buskanaka, it depends on which myths and legends you read. Some of the legends portray the elves as wicked and bad, others they are good and rescuing people out of terrible fixes! *shrug* So I would say you could write them any way that suited your own world or story.

 

[Firefall]

Tolkien was actually the one who created the enmity between dwarves and elves. I think it was a war between the glittering caves of Aglarond. The dwarves believed the elves had betrayed them and the elves believed the dwarves had a warlike intent.

 

[onikirimaru777]

I'm almost possitive that the original idea for elves and dwarves came from old european folktales and nature spirits, as in the fay and the elementals as well.

 

[Vulgivagus hagiographus]

What Buskanaka is saying is that the dwarves and elves that we see in modern fantasy were created by Tolkien. I mean, in "The Elves and the Shoemaker" you hardly picture those fellows looking like Legolas! I've actually got an idea for a story (not roleplaying) that would have an elf in it, but he would be more the shoemaker type (about six inches tall).

As for Tolkien style fantasy, elves and dwarves will fight even after they have developed boilogical warfare and nuclear warheads.

 

[elven, warrior]

lol

 

[cyberwing]

I made my elves and dwarves a bit different in my novels but to each their own!

 

[overnight]

Thanks for the replays they helped me understand the subject more.