Races of fantasy: elves, fairies, gnomes, trolls, orcs. Books of a genre of a fantasy

Reading fantastic stories, people not only can travel to other worlds, but also get deeper acquainted with mythology. Few people think that many races of fantasy have their history from those distant years, when there was no written language and history passed on to each other only verbally. Since then, many of the invented heroes have changed and found a new role in modern literature.

Elves

Little charming elf-pranksters who hide in the grass and closely follow the travelers, have been known for a long time. Legends and fairy tales developed about them. They became the heroes of the songs. The real flowering of these creatures survived during the reign of Queen Victoria. Then the artists turned to mythology for stories and heroes. And the charming elves decorated many works.

However, such as before, the elves had to live shortly. Exactly before the appearance of the works of JRR Tolkien. In his works, the writer radically changed the face of the elves, leaving them only a close relationship with nature. Now they were already growing from people and were not inferior to them in the art of swordplay. Among the many elves described by the professor, the most popular is Legolas. Through this character, readers will know who the forest elves are.

The forests are much darker than the plains. The most terrible enemies can find themselves shelter under the branches. Therefore, forest elves are obliged to have a good command of weapons. They have to defend the boundaries of their possessions. In some works, elves can understand the language of plants and animals and call on the forces of nature to help themselves.

This race differs from others in its incredible beauty. Elves are aristocrats of fantasy world. That men, that women have subtle, expressive facial features. Their long hair can be any shade. Sometimes even such as does not occur in humans. And an elf can always be distinguished from any other creature by sharp lugs.

It's rare when elves become negative characters. Despite their somewhat arrogant, engendered by immortality, they are much more often on the side of good. But this does not apply to the dark elves. Races of elves can be different. Like their abilities and goals.

Alva - another race

Alva appears in German-Scandinavian mythology. According to the beliefs of these tribes, beings are inferior spirits of nature. They do not have the same strength as the aces. But at the same time, they can benefit or harm a person, if they so choose.

In early beliefs, the alva are beautiful children of the forest. They resemble their description of elves. The same beautiful, similarly have a high connection with nature. Books of the fantasy genre were not created then. However, there were enough myths. They said that the aliens live in the world of people or in their own country. They possess magical powers and can independently defeat some evil beings who hunt alvos and humans.

Some time later, the tribes began to attribute to the forest spirits a force capable of determining how much the harvest would be a year. In order not to starve, people performed special rituals and offered sacrifices.

The Alves were divided into dark and light. The first lived under the earth, the second - on earth and heaven. The Dark Ones were skillful blacksmiths. With light, no one could compete in the art of folding and singing songs.

Even after the adoption of Christianity, the alva did not fade from the memory of people. They still inspire artists and writers, although now the aliens are almost mixed in art with the elves.

Gnomes

Races of fantasy were in many ways supplemented and reworked by Tolkien. Although a lot of time has passed since the release of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and many other works, the influence of the great writer has not weakened.

Gnomes also appeared in the writings of Tolkien. But they were much closer to their mythological origin than the elves. Few races of fantasy have retained this feature. Gnomes are hardworking folk, who carefully hide from human eyes. As a rule, they live in the mountains and are engaged in the extraction of jewelry. Therefore, the belief is widespread that gnomes are very rich.

Growth of these creatures about the waist of a man. They wear long beards and simple clothes suitable for work. These creatures do not differ in special friendliness. But they can not be called enemies of man either. After the release of The Lord of the Rings, many followers of Tolkien wrote in their novels about the rivalry between elves and gnomes. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine two more unlike creatures fighting on the side of good.

Orcs

If other races of fantasy can perform on different sides, but more often compete for good, then the orcs are usually represented as negative characters. The orc war with humans and elves is reflected in many works. These creations appeared for the first time in the distant 17th century in a collection of Jambattista tales. A few centuries later the Orcs were given a second chance to gain a foothold in the world of literature. This time they appeared in the novels of Tolkien.

Orcs are distant relatives of goblins and trolls. They look good. They can not be called handsome, like elves. Because much more often they become villains in fantasy stories than heroes. Wars of the orcs against other races often become the central theme of the plot. Motives for collisions can be different. But during the battles the orcs do not know mercy. However, there are exceptions. Lyman Frank Baum in his works about the country Oz also used the image of the orc. And this character helped the main characters. He even knew how to fly, which was not the case in previous works.

Hobbits

Races of fantasy have different ages. Some have appeared in the distant past, when parents came up with stories for their children before going to bed. Others were created specifically for fantasy novels. So the hobbits did not exist in the literature before Tolkien told them about them.

These creatures are not just kind, but also simple-hearted. As a rule, they live in villages and build burrows. They are about the same height as dwarves. Being below an ordinary person, hobbits hide from a higher race and try not to expose themselves to danger once again. Therefore, little is known about them. In some historical chronicles, they do not appear at all.

Hobbits are the most self-motivated people. No races of fantasy do not like to receive guests like these creatures. They always have food in the bins. They grow everything they need for cooking with their own hands. Labor hobbits are not afraid.

Although this fellow likes to stay at home and stay away from danger, they often end up in adventure. However, very soon after leaving their native village they start to regret that they went on such a long journey. But, as a rule, there is no way back for them anymore.

Cyclops

Books of the fantasy genre differ from others by an incredible number of different enemies and friends. One of the ambiguous characters is the Cyclops.

Initially, a giant with one eye was only a villain. He was met by heroes who went to distant lands for treasure. On the island of Sicily, they were waiting for unusual creatures, which were called cyclops. These creatures ate exclusively meat.

On the island the Cyclopes were engaged in cattle breeding. But they did not refuse human flesh if they were hit by unfortunate travelers. Cyclops did not have a special mental capacity. Another weakness was that they had only one eye. All this gave the heroes a chance to escape from the bloodthirsty creatures.

However, in a series of books about Percy Jackson, created by writer Rick Riordan, the Cyclops appear in a different way. In the novels appears a character called Tyson. And this time the Cyclops' eye does not strike with rage. Tyson is a good friend of the protagonist. And with him passes through all adversity. After all, Tyson himself is not just a Cyclops, he is the son of Poseidon.

Fairies

For a long time, the magic creatures were only of interest to children. They existed in fairy tales and could help the main characters at the most unexpected moment. Books of the genre of fantasy breathed new life into the heroes of myths and legends. So it happened with the fairies.

Before the adoption of Christianity, many tribes inhabited forests and fields with unusual creatures. Some were useful, others could harm a person. Fairies - one of such ambiguous characters. They can live apart, and maybe families.

The forest fairy tries to live with its family. Such a community is a real kingdom, headed by a wise ruler. These creatures spend their lives for songs, dances and various games. It is very difficult for a person to hear the sounds of their merry holidays, but it is possible. To do this, you need to find a clearing on which there are traces of the presence of fairies, and listen.

There are also those creatures who refuse to live with their congeners. Some of them remain in the forest. They become boggarts and can harm an occasional traveler. Others go closer to the human dwelling. If the forest fairy does not like to work, then the domestic fairy sees this as the meaning of her life. In general, these beings find it very difficult to live without communication. If for some reason you can not stay in the forest, then the fairy is looking for other reasonable races. She can become attached to both the child and the adult.

Having found his new home, the fairy tries to do everything in order to help its owners. However, these creatures are very irritable and can not stand ingratitude. Noticing the help of fairies, the owners of the house should leave for her a saucer with milk. Otherwise, it will take to destroy the crops, throw stones and destroy household utensils.

One of the most famous fairies - Dinh-Dinh, appeared in the tale "Peter Pan." It is just a class of home creatures. She is attached to her friend Peter, but when he does not pay attention to her or thanks for help, Dinh-Din is angry and tries to take revenge.

Trolls

Often, negative characters in different fantasy stories and myths do not differ in mental abilities. Trolls stand out especially against their background. These giants are stupid, but very strong. Therefore, they are dangerous for travelers and villagers, next to whom these creatures settled. Often facing gnomes and trolls. Although it seems that the low-growth creatures can not cope with such an enemy, the inhabitants of the mountain dungeons are skillful warriors and can stand up for their house.

These creations were created on the Scandinavian Peninsula. In those distant times believed that there is a race that was created from the rock. Their only weakness lies in the sunlight. Falling under the rays, the trolls turn back into stone.

These ugly creatures differ from all other enemies of human beings in that their face is adorned with a huge nose. Trolls eat human flesh. Because it is so dangerous to cross them on forest paths. But not only under the canopy of trees can you see the troll. Some of them live in cities under the bridge. These creatures are different from their forest relatives. They are not afraid of sunlight, respect money and often kidnap human women. There are even legends about the children that people gave birth to from trolls.

It is believed that such Scandinavian monsters can change their size. Some of them reach three meters, others are the same as the gnomes. The small ones live in forests and mountains. Because of this, gnomes and trolls often quarrel.

But not in all fantasy books Scandinavian monsters harm people and other races. In some trolls appear charming creatures. Thus, a whole family appears in the series of books by Tuve Janson. The central character is the young Moomin-Troll. View Tuve Janson is the most original among all writers who have ever created works about trolls. She presented Scandinavian creatures with small, sweet, respectful family values.

Giants

Any race of the old world had anything to do with religious beliefs. Paganism was present in many cultures. And everywhere, where they believed in many gods, there were also giants. In many ways they were like people. But only their growth was huge. The giant could easily destroy a whole settlement of people, if he needed something for some reason. There is no single-valued appraisal of these creatures. The race of giants can act both for good and for evil.

The giants were represented as the children of the gods. The ancient Greeks believed in the Titans, who were born by the inhabitants of Olympus and became the parents of the new generation. The Slavs loved stories about the heroes, who were also ranked among the giants. The Scandinavians were waiting for the last war, when the gods and people would start the battle and destroy each other. During the battle, an important role was attributed to the Yotunam. These creatures were tours, analogues of the titans.

Each nation created its own stories about giant giants with enormous power. Over time, these beliefs were not destroyed. They stayed to live in literature and not only. In many fantasy books this race appears. Some researchers are sure that this is not without reason. They are trying to prove that the ancestors did not come up with creatures that are much higher than humans and differ tremendously. For this, they travel the world and try to find skeletons of humanlike creatures.

Minotaurs and Centaurs

The most diverse races lived for a long time near people. Some were friendly, while others abducted departed from the villages of travelers and vagabonds. It's no wonder that in the mythology of many peoples there are creatures that were born by human women from other races. So there were centaurs and minotaurs.

A long history has a minotaur. Fantasy in recent years represent it in different roles. However, our ancestors believed that he was an embodied evil. Minotaur is a monster with a bull's head and a human body. He fed on people's meat. Minotaur was a growth from a mighty man, but he had much more power. In this monster was unusually mobile and could develop a good speed. The smell of the minotaur could reveal where a man was hiding from him. Yes, and his vision was not bad. All this made the minotaur mortally dangerous for any person.

According to ancient Greek mythology, the minotaur was born by Queen Pasipha, the wife of Minos. This ruler fell in love with a bull that was sent to people by Zeus or Poseidon. The newborn so scared everyone who saw him that it was decided to build a labyrinth for him. Minos took care that no one else saw the terrible son of his wife.

Minotaur grew in its walls, never leaving them. The labyrinth became an alternative to an ancient prison. As punishment, the criminals were sent to be eaten by the Minotaur. And every nine years, among the young people, seven young men and women were chosen, who also became an offering to the monster. And none of the maze did not return alive. In some sources it is indicated that people were being poked out of their eyes so that they could not find a way out. But even without this frightening procedure it was impossible to get out of the huge labyrinth.

The Minotaur could live like that for many years. These were sent to Theseus, a brave young warrior. The handsome captivated the heart of Princess Ariadne. And she gave him a ball that could bring the young hero out of the maze. Theseus with the help of cunning and strength overcame the Minotaur and was able to return to the people. So one of the most terrible monsters in ancient mythology did not become. But he still lives in various fantasy books and films.

Other creatures that connect a man and a tamed beast are centaurs. These creatures appeared in ancient mythology. And already then the narrators impressed their listeners with the way the centaur looks. These were creatures with the body of a horse and four hoofs. But where the ordinary horse has a neck, the centaur has a human torso and a head. In some traditions these creatures also have a pair of hands.

The centaurs appeared in a variety of ways. They were intemperate creatures who were always ready to have fun, drink and take part in the battle. Some of them became educators of heroes and instilled in the future saviors of the human race a love of battles and the ability to stand up for themselves and their loved ones. Others, on the contrary, opposed the heroes and represented a considerable danger for them.

The way a centaur looks, inspired many artists and writers. These creations often appear in pictures and literature. They also became heroes in a series of novels about Percy Jackson. In addition, in one of the books they helped the magician Harry Potter.

Mythology gave rise to many fantasy races. Over the years, they have changed a lot both externally and internally. In different works, they can appear in the image of heroes, and in the form of eerie monsters, ready to destroy all life in its path. But all the same they all amaze the reader's imagination and force him to turn to mythology in search of primary sources.