fjöll öll ok hólar váru fullir af landvéttum

[Kyrre]

Religious practices and worship of and at natural landmarks such as hills, rocks, mountains, sacred groves etc. played an important part in Old Norse religions and was closely connected to the belief in various spirits and deities thought to dwell in these places. In this seminar paper I take a close look at what literary sources tell us about the Old Norse nature spirits called landvættir who were thought to live in the natural landscape and seen as having an important role for the land's well-being and protection as well as being able to influence the life and prosperity of its human inhabitants. I then mention examples of some related mythological beings who share characteristics with these spirits of the land, especially with regard to inhabiting certain landmarks. In the final part of my paper I consider the famous álfar and finish by looking at the development of meaning that finally led to the contemporary image of álfar or elves as inhabiting the Icelandic landscape as well as the popular place they inhabit in the contemporary imagination regarding Icelandic culture.