For the poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, see Erlkönig. For Schubert's composition, see Erlkönig (Schubert).
Statue depicting the Erlking in the ancient graveyard of Dietenhausen, in Keltern, Germany.Monument to Goethe's "Erlkönig" in Jena at the place where the rider in the poem supposedly met the Erlkönig
In European folklore and myth, the Erlking is a sinister elf who lingers in the woods. He stalks children who stay in the woods for too long, and kills them by a single touch.
The name "Erlking" (German: Erlkönig, lit. 'alder-king') is a name used in German Romanticism for the figure of a spirit or "king of the fairies". It is usually assumed that the name is a derivation from the ellekonge (older elverkonge, i.e. "Elf-king") in Danish folklore.[1] The name is first used by Johann Gottfried Herder in his ballad "Erlkönigs Tochter" (1778), an adaptation of the Danish Hr. Oluf han rider (1739), and was taken up by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in his poem "Erlkönig" (1782), which was set to music by Schubert, among others.[2] Goethe added a new meaning, as "Erl" does not mean "elf", but "black alder" – the poem about the Erlenkönig is set in the area of an alder quarry in the Saale valley in Thuringia. In English translations of Goethe's poem, the name is sometimes rendered as Erl-king.
Herder's rendering of the Erlking and the Scandinavian original. The antagonist in Goethe's "Der Erlkönig" is the Erlking himself rather than his daughter...
Fairy King or king of the fairies may refer to: Oberon the Erlking (Danish elverkonge "elf-king") Fairy King (horse) Fairies Mythological king This disambiguation...
goblins from English, Scottish, and Pilgrim folklore and literature. The Erlking is a malevolent goblin from German legend. The trasgu is a Northern Spanish...
Tolkien's legendarium Elvenking (band), an Italian folk/power metal band Erlking, a german/danish folklore fairy Erlkönig, a poem by Goethe This disambiguation...
Ork, poltergeist, bogeyman, Will-o'-the-wisp, various Feldgeister, and Erlking. Famous individual Kobolds are King Goldemar, Hinzelmann, Hödekin, and...
passed, but he is ambushed by one of the necromancers and the Erlking set free. When the Erlking launches the Wild Hunt, Thomas gets caught in their path and...
Global Information
