With modern urbanisation and industrialisation, belief in elves declined rapidly, though Iceland has some claim to continued popular belief. Elves started to be prominent in the literature and art of educated elites from the early modern period onwards. These literary elves were imagined as tiny, playful beings, with William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream a key development of this idea. In the eighteenth century, German Romantic writers were influenced by this notion of the elf, and re-imported the English word elf into the German language. From the Romantic notion came the elves of modern popular culture. Christmas elves are a relatively recent creation, popularized during the late 19th century in the United States. Elves entered the twentieth-century high fantasy genre in the wake of J. R. R. Tolkien's works; these re-popularised the idea of elves as human-sized and humanlike beings. Elves remain a prominent feature of fantasy media today.
With modern urbanisation and industrialisation belief in elves declined rapidly though Iceland has some claim to continued popular belief Elves started to be prominent in the literature and art of educated elites from the early modern period onwards These literary elves were imagined as tiny playful beings with William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream a key development of this idea In the eighteenth century German Romantic writers were influenced by this notion of the elf and re-imported the English word elf into the German language From the Romantic notion came the elves of modern popular culture Christmas elves are a relatively recent creation popularized during the late 19th century in the United States Elves entered the twentieth-century high fantasy genre in the wake of J R R Tolkien's works; these re-popularised the idea of elves as human-sized and humanlike beings Elves remain a prominent feature of fantasy media today