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Erlking (from Elf-king or Herla-king; German: ''Erlkönig'') is a name from Danish and German folklore for the figure of a spirit or "king of the fairies". While early stories feature the Erlking's daughter as a malevolent figure, Goethe's poem "Der Erlkönig" and those following it have the Erlking himself prey on small children. ==Origin== According to Jacob Grimm, the term originates with a Scandinavian (Danish) word, ''ellekonge'' "king of the elves",〔''Das Kloster'' vol. 9 (1848), (p. 171 )〕 or for a female spirit ''elverkongens datter'' "the elven king's daughter", who is responsible for ensnaring human beings to satisfy her desire, jealousy or lust for revenge.〔Lorraine Byrne, ''Schubert's Goethe Settings'', pp. 222-228.〕〔Joep Leerssen, "On the Celtic Roots of a Romantic Theme", in ''Configuring Romanticism: Essays Offered to C.C. Barfoot'', p.3. Rodopi, 2003. ISBN 90-420-1055-X〕 The ''New Oxford American Dictionary'' follows this explanation, describing the Erlking as "a bearded giant or goblin who lures little children to the land of death", mistranslated as ''Erlkönig'' in the late 18th century from ''ellerkonge''. Alternatively, the term may derive not from "elf-king" but from the name of ''Herla king'', a figure in medieval English folklore, adapted as ''Herlequin'', ''Hellequin'' in medieval French, in origin the leader of the Wild Hunt, in French known as ''maisnie Hellequin'' "household of Hellequin" (and as such ultimately identical with Woden), but re-cast as a generic "devil" in the course of the Middle Ages (and incidentally, in the 16th century also the origin of the Harlequin character). Sometimes also associated is the character of ''Herrequin'', a 9th-century count of Boulogne of proverbial wickedness.〔(harlequin ), at etymonline.com〕 The derivation from either ''eller-'' or ''herla-'' has not been resolved. Alternative suggestions have also been made, Halling (1836) suggested a connection with a Turkic and Mongolian god of death or psychopomp, known as ''Erlik Chan''.〔 Karl Halling, "Orientalisch, besonders persischer Ursprung deutscher Sagen", Anzeiger für Kunde der deutschen Vorzeit, vol. 5, 1836, (316 ).〕 English ''Herla'' is cast in the role of a king of the Britons who ends up spending three centuries in the realm of the elves (and thus missing the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain in Walter Map's ''De nugis curialium'' (12th century). The origin of the name ''Herla'' would be ''erilaz'' ("earl", Old Saxon ''erl''), also found in the name of the Heruli (so that German ''erl-könig'' would literally correspond to ''earl-king'') In German, the name was re-interpreted and associated with ''Erle'', the name of the alder-tree (suggesting a spirit haunting the forest). This form is now primarily known due to the 1782 ballad by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (and Schubert's musical adaptation), "Der Erlkönig". In this context, the term is also sometimes rendered in English as ''Erl-king''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Erlking」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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