Mistranslations in 'The Erlking'

The legend of 'The Erlking' (according to Wikipedia):
Goethe's poem is based on "Erlkonig's Tochter" ("The Elf King's Daughter" in English), a German translation (by Johann Gottfried Herder) of a Danish poem which is based on a Scandinavian tale (remember that while Denmark is the southernmost part of the region, Scandinavia in general is so far north that it reaches well above the Arctic Circle). In the original tale, the antagonist is the Erlking's daughter; she sent out female elves to lure and capture humans to "satisfy her desire, jealousy, and lust for revenge."


Mistranslations of 'The Erlking" (according to Wikipedia):
The original Danish word 'elverkonge' literally means 'king of the elves.' The title of the original Danish poem was mistranslated into German as 'erlkonig,' which means 'Alder king.' (The appropriate translation would have been 'elfenkonig,' which bears a striking reZemblance to King Alfin.) Goethe kept the word 'erlkonig' for his poem, but when that was translated into English, the title was mistranslated again as 'Erlking,' or 'Elf King.' So the title came full circle from being "Daughter of the King of the Elves" to "Alder King" back to "Elf King." (Note for later that the word 'daughter' was dropped off.)


Already we see countless mistranslations throughout the history of this poem, and also its connection with the far north. We also find the name of one of the characters (Kinbote's father Alfin) in what would have been the title of Goethe's poem had Herder translated accurately. Because of this mistranslation, however, we pick up the term 'alder king' along the way.