Legends of elves and goblins have been a core part of European folklore since the Middle Ages and Late Antiquity. These beings are not born from modern literature, but from oral traditions, medieval chronicles, ethnographic studies, and folkloric compilations made between the 12th and 19th centuries.
Although there is no proof of their physical existence, beliefs in them were real, persistent, and socially influential in different regions of Europe.
Historical origin of elves in European mythology
Elves appear documented in Norse and Germanic mythologies.
In the Icelandic Eddas and medieval Scandinavian texts, they are described as beings linked to nature, fertility, and forested areas.
In Ireland and Scotland, medieval sources identify them as the Aos Sí, inhabitants of pre-Christian hills and burial mounds.
Celtic traditions record the belief that these beings coexisted on a parallel plane to humans.
After Christianization, many stories reinterpreted them as invisible entities, neither divine nor demonic, but active in the natural world.
Goblins in Iberian and European popular tradition
Goblins are widely documented in the folklore of the Iberian Peninsula, France, Germany, and Central Europe.
In Spain, they receive different names depending on the region: "trasgos", "follets", "duendes domésticos" (household goblins) or "tardos".
The first written records appear in treatises from the Spanish Golden Age and in ethnographic compilations from the 19th century.
They were attributed the ability to inhabit houses, stables, and forests.
Popular beliefs describe them as mischievous entities, responsible for nocturnal noises, disappearing objects, or small household sabotages. They were not considered malicious, but unpredictable.
Traditional differences between elves and goblins
Although often confused, folklore establishes clear differences.
Elves are usually associated with open spaces, forests, and hills, and are attributed a nature more distant from humans. Goblins, on the other hand, are linked to the domestic and rural environment.
Folkloric sources agree that both share a direct relationship with nature and the invisible world, but fulfill distinct functions within oral tradition.
Documented folkloric testimonies and tales
During the 18th and 19th centuries, numerous ethnographers collected testimonies of supposed encounters with elves and goblins in rural regions of Europe.
In Scotland, Ireland, northern Spain, and the Alps, similar stories were recorded: lights in the forest, inexplicable sounds, small figures observed fleetingly, and environmental alterations.
These accounts are not considered proof, but rather evidence of the cultural weight of these beliefs in rural communities.
Presence in popular culture and oral transmission
Over time, these legends passed into literature, theater, and later, contemporary popular culture. However, their origin is not literary, but traditional.
Oral transmission allowed these stories to survive for centuries, adapting to each region without losing their common core.
A persistent European folkloric tradition
The legends of elves and goblins are not modern inventions or simple children's stories. They constitute a documented belief system that reflects the historical relationship between European communities and their natural environment.
Although today they are interpreted from a cultural perspective and also from fantasy, their social and symbolic impact was real and lasting.
