elf-maidens who welcome him and invite him to drink (or live) with them. He refuses to live with the elves and would rather believe in God (Christ). One of the elf-maidens asks him to wait, and goes to fetch a sword which she hides under her clothing as she asks him for a kiss. When Ólafur bends down to kiss her, she thrusts the sword under his shoulderblade to his heart. Ólafur spurs his horse and rides home to his mother; she asks why he is so pale; (he hedges at first); tells the truth; asks his mother to make his bed and his sister to dress the wounds. Thereupon he dies (and is buried along with his mother and sister(?)). Text The most widely known version of "Elveskud" is that published by Peder Syv in 1695, given here in modernised spelling: Translations These and other available translations by Borrow, Prior, etc., are listed in Syndergaard's survey: "Elfin Shaft", "Sir Oluf and the Elf-king's daughter", "Sir Olof in Elve-Dance" and "The Elf-Woman and Sir Olof" (two versions), ). "Sir Olof and the Elves", References in popular culture The ballad has inspired a very large number of reworkings in popular culture. Most famously, a translation of a Danish variant (DFG 47B, from Peter Syv's 1695 edition) into German by Johann Gottfried Herder as "Erlkönigs tochter" inspired Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's poem "Der Erlkönig", which developed the concept of the Erlking. The ballad was one of the inspirations for the 1828 play Elves' Hill by Johan Ludvig Heiberg. Other works inspired by "Elveskud" include Henrik Ibsen's 1856 play Olaf Liljekrans; Kristín Marja Baldursdóttir's 1995 novel Mávahlátur; Böðvar Guðmundsson's 2012 novel Töfrahöllin; and Steeleye Span's folk-rock song Dance with Me. References See also Elf-shot Scandinavian folklore Ballads Songs Folk Danish folk music Nordic folk music Norwegian folk music Year of song unknown Swedish folk songs Songwriter unknown