The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany
"The King of Elfland's Daughter" is a fantasy novel by Lord Dunsany that intertwines elements of Irish mythology with a lyrical narrative. The story begins with the Parliament of Erl, who, after centuries of stagnation, seeks a magical ruler. To fulfill this wish, Alveric, the son of the current Lord, embarks on a quest to Elfland to marry Lirazel, the daughter of the King of Elfland. Armed with a magical sword crafted by the witch Ziroonderel, Alveric successfully brings Lirazel back to Erl, where she struggles to adapt to the customs and temporal nature of human life.
As Lirazel grapples with her dual existence, tensions arise when her father, the King of Elfland, sends a spell to reclaim her, recognizing the inevitable passage of time on Earth. This conflict deepens when Alveric's attempts to integrate Lirazel into Erl society lead her to read the spell, drawing her back to Elfland. The narrative culminates in Alveric’s desperate quest to retrieve Lirazel, highlighting the themes of longing, the clash between the magical and the mundane, and the consequences of crossing boundaries. Ultimately, the story reflects on the nature of love, identity, and the sacrifices made in the pursuit of happiness across worlds.
The King of Elfland's Daughter
First published: 1924
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—heroic fantasy
Time of work: Indeterminate
Locale: Erl, a village in Elfland
The Plot
A poet, novelist, and playwright (he worked with William Butler Yeats at the Abbey Theatre), Lord Dunsany draws upon Irish fable and myth to situate the story of The King of Elflands Daughter. The novel opens with the Parliament of Erl asking for a “magic” lord to rule them because for seven hundred years there has been “no new thing.” To accommodate them, their present Lord asks his son Alveric to “pass the fields we know” into Elfland in order to marry Lirazel, the kings daughter. Alveric’s father gives him his ancient battle sword for his journey, but Alveric knows that only a magical sword can prevail against the King of Elfland. He visits the witch Ziroonderel, who fashions a new enchanted sword from thunderbolts.
Traveling east to the Elfin Mountains along the border of Elfland, Alveric stops at an old leatherworkers cottage to obtain a scabbard for his magical sword. The old man makes the scabbard but refuses to discuss matters pertaining to Elfland. Alveric thanks him for his hospitality and strides away. Once inside Elfland, Alveric succeeds in fighting Lirazels guards. Lirazel falls in love with Alveric’s powerful grace and chivalry, and she elopes with him back to Erl. Unfortunately, Lirazel cannot easily adjust to the vastly different customs of Alveric’s people or to Earths passage of time. She never quite fits into Erls community. When their child Orion is born, the witch Ziroonderel becomes his nurse and protects him with her magic.
The King of Elfland, recognizing that his daughter will age and eventually die on Earth, writes a powerful spell in order to call her back to Elfland. He hands it to the troll Lurulu and orders him to cross the border and give the rune scroll to the princess. Lirazel takes the scroll and locks it in a casket; she resists reading it, instinctively knowing that its enormous power can reach beyond the confines of Elfland and draw her back. Nevertheless, when Alveric forces her to worship “Christom things,” she intuits that she can never be happy in Erl and finally reads the scroll. A wind from Elfland releases her from the materiality of Earth and blows her back to Elfland, away from “the fields we know.”
Although the quest clearly is futile, Alveric remains determined to reclaim his elfish bride and the magic he has lost. He embarks on a quest for the Elfin Mountains and leaves Orion in the care of Ziroonderel. His magic sword, having once crossed the border, now gives away his presence. The King of Elfland makes the Elfin border ebb so that Alveric, obsessed with the retrieval of Lirazel, is doomed to wander without hope of success, his swords magic warning the king of his approach.
Orion, as his name suggests, becomes a hunter and eventually leads Erl. Orion’s magical nature ultimately asserts itself when he recruits Lurulu and other Elfland trolls in hunting unicorns near the border. The Parliament of Erl, once solicitous of magic, begins to realize that Orion’s nature draws magical creatures across the border. Afraid of “overmuch magic,” they plead with Ziroonderel to give them a spell against the increasing presence of witchery. When she refuses, they go the Christian friar (Freer) to curse the magic Orion attracts and protect them from its influence.
Lirazel, though secure once again in Elfland, still longs for the earthly things she has abandoned, particularly her husband and her son. She pleads with her father for the last great rune that will call them across the border and into her safekeeping. Although reluctant to give up his greatest weapon against the passage of time and the power of material things, he relents. With the last of his runes, the king calls Orion and Alveric back to Lirazel and extends the boundary of Elfland into Erl until Erl passes beyond “the fields we know” and “out of all remembrance of men.” Only the holy place of the Freer and his garden remain untouched by the kings rune.