Other Origins: Denmark.
Other Names: The Danish name is Ellerkonge.
Element: Air.
Appearance and Temperament: Erlkonig means "Elf King," and that is how he appears, as an Elf with a huge golden crown and expensively tailored clothing. He is seen only by someone just before death.
Time Most Active: All year.
Lore: The Erlkonig (Earl-koe-neeg) is like a Beansidhe in that he warns of the approach of death. But instead of warning everyone within hearing range, he appears only to the one about to die.
The Erlkonig has long been a part of Germanic folklore; his origins go far back into the dark years of history.
In 1815, Austrian composer Franz Schubert immortalized the Elf King legend when he set to music the famous ballad poem Erlkonig by J.W. von Goethe.
In this eerie and intense song, a father is riding through a fierce snowstorm clutching his young son near him for warmth. But the boy hides his face in his father's cloak and is fearful. When the father asks what is wrong, the child replies that he sees the Elf King.
The father, of course, tells him he is merely seeing mist, but the Elf King calls to the boy to come and play, and the boy, nearing panic now, clutches even more tightly at his father, who tells him he is hearing only rustling leaves.
Finally the boy tells his father that "the Elf King has hurt me." The father grows disturbed at hearing this, and presses on for home.
It is not until the final stanza of the song, when the father reaches the courtyard of his own house, that he finds the child is dead.
Like the Fylgiar of Iceland who also foretells death, the condition of Erlkonig presages what sort of death it will be.
If he looks pained, the death will be a painful one. If he appears serene, so will the death be.
Free Forum Hosting
Important Announcement
First 
