Elfshot

In English folklore, elf-arrows, elf-bolts and pixie arrows^[3] were names given to discovered arrowheads of flint, used in hunting and war by the Pre-Indo-Europeans of the British Isles and of Europe generally.^{[citation needed]} The name derives from the folklore belief that the arrows fell from the sky, and were used by the elves to kill cattle and inflict elf-shot on human beings.^[4]

Elfshot or elf-shot is a medical condition described in Anglo-Saxon medical texts (notably Wið færstice) believed to be caused by elves shooting invisible elf-arrows at a person or animal (most often cattle), causing sudden shooting pains localized to a particular area of the body.^[5] Modern diagnoses might include rheumatism, arthritis, muscle stitches or cramps. The Old English spell Gif hors ofscoten sie, "if a horse is elf-shot," meaning some kind of internal injury, may be an allusion to the magical elf-shot. However, the term aelfsogoða, which describes the internal pain from jaundice or a disorder of bile, is perhaps a more suitable fit. The notion of an elf causing the pain by shooting an arrow is not supported in the sources, although there is evidence of belief that a pain could be caused by an elf, with a possibility of a charm being used for exorcism.^[6] It was associated both with Neolithic flint arrowheads and the temptations of the Devil.^[2] Possible prevention or curing of elf-shot included visiting Church on the first Sunday of the season,^[7] or using a charm made of feverfew, red nettles, and waybread. All have vaguely spear-shaped leaves, which, by the Law of Similarity, may have suggested their use as a remedy for pains attributed to elf-arrows.^[8] When dealing with cattle, a sewing-needle folded into a page torn from a psalm-book, and placed into the beast's hair, was an option as well.^[9]

When not fired by elves, there exist historical claims of witches firing them as well; these elf-arrows were allegedly given to witches by the Devil, who asked them to fire them - with their thumb, as opposed to a bow - in his name.^[9] This was the case with the Scottish 'witch' Isobel Gowdie.

Belief in, or mentions of, elf-shot persisted into the 20th century,^[8] in Scotland, though more modern elves seem to have concentrated their attentions on animals.^[10]

Elf-arrows were sometimes worn as amulets, occasionally set in silver, as a charm against witchcraft.^[9]

See also

• Arrowhead
• Fairy riding – paralysis in livestock, attributed to fairies
• Projectile point – component of any projectile weapon, including arrows and spears
• Thunderstone (folklore) – flint arrowheads once thought to have fallen from the sky

Further reading

Davidson, Thomas ‘Elf-Shot Cattle’, Antiquity 30 (1956), 149-155

Davidson, Thomas ‘The Cure of Elf-Disease in Animals’, Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 15 (1960), 282-291

Dowd, Marion ‘Bewitched by an Elf Dart: Fairy Archaeology, Folk Magic and Traditional Medicine in Ireland’, Cambridge Archaeological Journal 28 (2018), 451-473

Goodrum, Matthew R. ‘Questioning Thunderstones and Arrowheads: The Problem of Recognizing and Interpreting Stone Artifacts in the Seventeenth Century’, Early Science and Medicine 13 (2008), 482-508

Hall, Alaric ‘Calling the shots: The Old English Remedy ‘gif hors ofscoten sie’ and Anglo-Saxon ‘Elf-Shot’’, Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 106 (2005a), 195-209

Hall, Alaric ‘Getting Shot of Elves: Healing, Witchcraft and Fairies in the Scottish Witchcraft Trials’, Folklore 116 (2005b), 19-36

McGowan, Joseph ‘Elves, Elf-shot, and Epilepsy: OE ælfādl, ælfsiden, ælfsogeþa, bræccoþu, and bræcsēoc’, Studia Neophilologica 81 (2009), 116-120

Piper, Stephanie ‘A Little Mystery, Mythology, and Romance: How the “Pigmy Flint” Got Its Name’, Open Archaeology 8 (2022), 145-158

References

This page was last edited on 4 April 2024, at 12:03