Thank you for this. It is very concise, readable, and hits the major troubling points concerning the authorship of L&C. I will be pointing people here in the future when this topic comes up! :D

Something that's always bothered me about L&C--well, there are lots of things that bother me about L&C, but this is definitely a biggie--is this: As you note, that Aelfwine was quite possibly a Christian. Whether sixth- or tenth-century, England was only nominally Christian at that point, and outside the urban centers, people practiced a form of paganism flavored by Christianity. Aelfwine's tone in L&C is one of admiration and respect. He is presenting the Eldar as a culture worth looking up to.

What is his agenda? It is interesting that so much of what he presents of the Eldar--the sexual conservatism, the emphasis on marriage and children, the traditional gender roles--mirror Christian belief. How convenient. So why is he presenting these wonderful, beautiful, and ethereal people to his countrymen? What is he hoping to convince them of, at this point in history where Christianity had only achieved a foothold in some parts of his country? If he'd discovered beliefs or behaviors that went against his own religious views, would he have presented them?

Aelfwine has always struck me as a very untrustworthy narrator for this reason.

Now off to finish my very L&C noncompliant International Day of Femslash story. >:^)))