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462 WIGHTS AND ELVES.
oak knot-holes, egepind), the elfin is bound to make her appear
ance, Molb. Dial. 99 (see Suppl.).
In name, and still more in idea, the elf is connected with the
of form.
ghostlike butterfly, the product of repeated changes
An OHGr. gloss (Graff 1, 243) says : brucus, locusta quae nondurn
volavit, quam vulgo albam vocant. The alp is supposed often
to assume the shape of a butterfly, and in the witch-trials the
name of elb is given by turns to the caterpillar, to the chrysalis,
and to the insect that issues from it. And these share even the
names of gute holden and bose dinger (evil things) with the spirits
themselves.
These light airy sprites have an advantage over slow unwieldy
man in their godlike power (p. 325) o vanishing or making
themselves invisible. 1 No sooner do they appear, than they are
snatched away from our eyes. Only he that wears the ring can
get a sight of Elberich, Ortn. 2, 68. 70. 86. 3, 27. With the
light elves it is a matter of course, but neither have the black
ones forfeited the privilege. The invisibility of dwarfs is usually
lodged in a particular part of their dress, a hat or a cloak, and
when that is accidentally dropt or cast aside, they suddenly
become visible. The dwarf-tales tell of nebelkappen (Deut. sag.
nos. 152-3-5), of gray coats and red caps (Thiele 1, 122. 135),
of scarlet cloaks (supra,
3
p. 451n.). Earlier centuries used the
words helkappe, helkeplein, helkleit (Altd. bl. 1, 256), nebelkappe
(MS. 2, 156 a . 258 b
; Morolt 2922. 3932) and tarnkappe. By Alberieh
s and afterwards Sigfrit s tarnkappe (Nib. 98^ 3. 336, 1.
442, 2. 1060, 2) or simply kappe (335, 1)
we must understand
not a mere covering for the head, but an entire cloak ; for
in 337, 1 we have also tarnhut, the protecting skin, and the
1
Hujus tempore principis (Heinrici duels Karintliiae)
in montanis suae
ditionis gens gnana in cavernis montiuni habitavit, cum hominibus vescebantur,
ludebant, bibebant, choreas ducebant, sed invisibiliter. Literas scribebant, rempublicam
inter se gerebant, legem habentes et principem, fidem catholicam profitentes,
domicilia hominum latenter iutrantes, hominibus consedentes et arridentes.
. . . Principe subducto, nihil de eis amplius est auditum. Dicitur quod
gemmas gestant, quae eos reddunt invisibiles, quia deformitatem et parvitatem corporum
erubescunt. Anon. Leobiens. ad ann. 1335 (Fez 1, 940 a ).
2 01. Wormius s pref. to Clausson s Dan. transl. of Suorre, Copenh. 1633 : derfor
sigis de (dverger) at hafve hdtte paa, huormid kunde giore sig usynlig. Other
proofs are collected in Ir. Elfenm. Ixxiv. Ixxv. A schretel wears a rotez keppel on
him (not on his head), ibid. cxvi. Eollenhagen s bergmannlein wear little white
shirts and pointed caps, Froschmeuseler xx. v b . Maugis, the Carolingian sorcerer,
is called lerres (latro) o le noir chaperon.