[transl. Ger. erl-könig (lit. alder-king), an erroneous rendering by Herder of the Danish ellerkonge, ellekonge, i.e., elverkonge, elvekonge king of the elves. Cf. ELLE-MAID.]
1797. Scott, trans. Goethe’s Erl King, Pref. Poet. Wks. (1848). The Erl-King is a goblin that haunts the Black Forest, in Thuringia.
