After I thought about all the topics that I could do for my project, I think I have decided on doing Elves and Elf stories.  I chose this topic partly because I am a huge J.R.R. Tolkien fan, but also because I read a lot of other fantasy novels that contain stories about elves.  I find them interesting because there seems to be such a dual standard in stories about elves.  Some authors find them kind, peaceful and recluse, while other authors portray them as wicked, fierce, and extravagant.  However, in all stories I have read, Elves are beautiful and extremely smart creatures, whether they are gorgeous beyond explanation as Galadriel in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings or tyrannically handsome in Norton and Lackey's Elvenbane.  They sometimes seem to be the superior race in novels, and likewise always appear to be the oldest race.  I would like to find out why that is so, and if perhaps there is an originating story or myth as to why they are portrayed that way.  There are supposed to be some great Scandinavian and Celtic myths about elves.  I wonder if that is where the modern day stories of elves got their histories of elves from.  Of course each author has taken the myth and made it his or her own, but is that the library of knowledge that they draw from?  I will definitely look into that with my storybook.


So I think this is what I want my frametale to be.  I want to have this really old and wise elf, Elthindur, who is very unique among all the Elves.  You see, not only has he been around since the beginning of time, but his presence has been lived through the lives of many different elves.  What I mean is that he is a different person in each different story I will tell.  Essentially it is the same elf, but he has lived many lives and done many things through each significant character in the stories I will tell.  Kind of like the “Quantum Leap” guy, if you get my drift.  This way I will be able to tell each story in first person and tie them together in my storybook.  Also, since it is one elf’s life, I can do timelines: stories of elves from ancient history to the modern authors.

For my first story, I am going to take a Scandinavian myth and retell it.  I am going to take this myth and make it the originating story of elves.  Every race has to begin somewhere, right.  I will tell how the lives of the elves were at the very beginning of their existance.  The elves in this story are not the tall, blonde haired elves that may be familiar to those of you who have seen or read Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.  These elves are small and mischievious.  I will also give some insight into some magic the elves possess, along with other special abilities.

My second story is an Icelandic myth.  The Vanir are the agriculture and fertility gods of Iceland.  In this story, a group of the elves from the first story travel to the icelandic region and come into contact with the Vanir.  This story has the Vanir changing the elves from the small creatures of the first story into the tall and regal elves, like in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.  The Vanir also give the elves the knowledge of agriculture, and even beer brewing.

My third story is a Native American (Algonquin, specifically) myth.  In this story the elves who lived among the Vanir have traveled to North America for the first time.  They have come into contact with the Algonquin Native Americans, and live among them.  In North America, Elthindur meets a great creature named Glooskap, who has traveled from the North.  Glooskap steals the most beautiful of all the elves, Summer, and takes her back to his homeland.  Upon returning, Glooskap uses his magic and the help of Summer to drive Winter away.

My fourth story is a modern retelling.  It is about how the Elves in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings leave Middle-Earth to travel to the land of Valinor, where only the elves and a few special others are permitted.  In this story I will explain how elves in my previous stories split into three groups, with Elthindur in the last group.  The three groups travel very far to come to the shores of the ocean that separates Middle-Earth from Valinor.  Here a great hunter named Orome helps them traverse the ocean.

My fifth and last story is also a retelling from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.  In this story, Elthindur's group of elves return to Middle-Earth from Valinor.   The reason they return is because of  the great  War of the Ring.  I will tell how the War of the Ring began, how the elves played into this story, and how the war finally ended.  There will be several references to other races in this story as well.  Finally, my storybook will end here, so I will conclude my frametale.  I will tell how the elves finally leave Middle-Earth for good, excepting only a few, like Elthindur. 




I think that people may enjoy a topic about elves mainly because of Lord of the Rings.  Before that movie came out, unless you had read the books or were interested in other fantasy novels, I really don’t believe elves were that popular.  They may have been looked at as Santa’s little helpers or tiny things with wings like fairies.  I hope that by reading my storybook people will become more acquainted with elves through the centuries, and that I will learn a great deal about their history as well.