OT: Souls (was OT: Corpses, etc.)

Hallo!

As I read several posts about which beings have souls or not
(or are believed to have souls or not by other races),
this reminds me at how hardships the British Elves had experienced
in history tie in with ideas about Elves having souls or not.

Today, of course, hardly anyone thinks that Elves are any different
from other humans regarding possession of souls, but this has
not always been the case.  In older times, Elves were often seen
as magical beings, in pagan times as occupying a middle position
of some sort between Men and Gods.  When Christianity arrived
in Britain, people were unsure into which category of Christian
demonology to put the Elves.  Some identified them with the
Nephilim (human-angel bastards briefly mentioned in the Genesis),
others considered them fallen angels or yet something else.
Many people believed that Elves had no souls, a belief still
cultivated by Oliver Cromwell and his followers in the mid-17th
century.  Of course, the Elves themselves always were sure
that they had souls.

Greetings,

Jörg.