The svartalfer are the dark elves of Norse mythology.

They lived in Svartalfheim, the Land of the Dark Elves, in the north of Midgard, and below Nidavellir (Dark Home), where the dwarves lived.

According to Kevin Crossley-Holland, "No valid distinction though can be drawn between the dwarfs and the dark elves; they appear to have been interchangeable."