female dwarf mythology

Instead, it is with our own notion of what a dwarf was. A prime example of this is the tale of how Thor got his hammer in the Skldskaparml of the Poetic Edda. The Prose Edda, however, gives them an even more inglorious origin. He is a shapeshifter and can change into a white horse, letting young children ride on his back and then jumping with them back into his pond. Credit: Axel Kirch Where are dwarves from in Norse mythology? Services rendered to them were often repaid by gifts of gold from their hoards; but those who stole their treasures either met with great misfortune thereafter or found the gold turned to dead leaves when they reached home. Tolkien, continues to link dwarves to their Norse roots through their imagined culture and connection to smithing. Made famous by J. R. R. Tolkien, the dwarves and the elves originate from Norse Mythology. Some, such as Alviss and Gandalfr, refer to the elves, or alfar. Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia. 6 . Mythological Norse people, items and places, List of figures in Germanic heroic legend, Anthropomorphic wooden cult figurines of Central and Northern Europe, Sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_dwarfs_in_Norse_mythology&oldid=1149509762, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "the one who works with metal fragments; blacksmith", "the dormant one", "the one slumbering", "Torpid", Hard work, An (undefined) part of a sword, "The one buried in the famous stone-heap", "The famous one buried in the stone-heap". In European folklore, dwarf-like earth spirits called gnomes guarded underground treasures. dwarf, an individual who is much below the ordinary stature or size for his ethnic group or species. Tolkien, J.R.R. Mare is a female Vette who gives people bad dreams at night by sitting on them in their sleep. Frigg was the Queen of the Viking pantheon, the wife of Odin, and the mother of the beloved god, Baldr. After Otr was accidentally killed by Loki, the Aesir repaid Hreidmar with the cursed ring Andvarinaut, plus the gold made by the ring. Another origin might go back to hunter-gatherer times, when perhaps only those with physical defects would be available to do anything other than hunting and gathering. Fafnir and Regin killed their father for the cursed ring Andvarinaut. "[6] In later writings, Tolkien directly states that his female dwarves have beards "from the beginning of their lives", as do the males.[7]. [35], In Middle High German heroic poetry, most dwarfs have long beards, but some may have a childish appearance. Maybe female protagonists that are short, heavily built and have beards are not appealing? Fossegrimmen, or just Grim (Foss is Norwegian for Waterfall), is a water-creature. Some stories portray them as old hags and others depict them as young maidens or middle-aged women. In Ynglingatal, it is told how King Sveigder is lured into a stone by a dwarf. A dwarf is a mythical creature, appearing most frequently in Norse mythology. The trolls were able to smell the blood of a Christian man, and basically, they stood for anything of the old times, which the new religion condemned. Faulkes, Anthony (transl. Looking for more great information on Norse mythology and religion? They were often meant to scare children, but they are essential and important to modern northern society even today. Upon the arrival of Christianity around the 1300s, the stories changed. The dwarves were short, burly people who forged metals in their underground homes. Male Dwarf Names. Her voice is incredibly beautiful and alluring, causing people to forget everything and never be able to experience happiness like hearing the voice again. In the Norse belief system, valkyries were supernatural women who determined who lived and died on the battlefield. They often shy away from human contact, choosing to stay in their underground dwellings, although they occasionally will test a human, and if they are able to gain their trust, the dwarf will reward the human with a treasure. [78], The conception of diseases as being caused by projectiles from supernatural beings is widespread in Germanic folklore through time, such as in the phenomenon of elfshot, in Wi frstice, where they are thrown by elves, se and witches, and in the Canterbury charm in which an infection is caused by the 'wound-spear' (Old Norse: sr-vara) used by the "lord of ursar". When people think of the dwarves, a common image springs to mind. Humanoid in form, but short and stocky, they are connected with the Earth and are often said to be miners, engineers, and craftsmen. The Prose Edda names many dwarves, but four are given special importance. [52] In saga material, dwarf children are also seen. Demeter (Greek origin) meaning "the mother earth". and ed.) The story starts with the trickster god Loki cutting the hair of Thor's wife, Sif, leaving her bald. Scandinavian Folklore consists of many creatures, good or evil, which have frightened people for centuries. Placenames derived from dwarf or cognate: Dwarfs feature in modern tellings of folklore such as Walt Disney's 1937 film based on the folktale recorded by the Brothers Grimm. [4] Turville-Petre, E.O.G. The Prose and Poetic Eddas, which form the foundation of what we know today concerning Norse mythology, contain many names of dwarfs. The first dwarfs in Norse mythology. This interpretation is paralleled in Wi Dweorh XCIIIb (Against a Dwarf XCIIIb) in which a harmful dwarf's sister is called to prevent him from causing an afflicted person's illness. Dwarfs are sometimes described as short; however, scholars have noted that this is neither explicit nor of relevance to their roles in the earliest sources. But older sources, which are closer to what the Vikings thought and believed, usually emphasize the valkyries warlike aspects and their agency over life and death. This has been suggested to be a key differentiator between dwarfs and elves in pre-Christian Germanic religion, who maintain reciprocal and positive relationships with gods and humans; Kormaks saga describes how food was to be shared with elves to heal sickness and Austrfararvsur records an lfablt being held around the early 11th century in Sweden. If your favorite fictional dwarf is missing, don't be salty- just add it to the list so that other people can vote for for it too . Daniel McCoy 2012-2019. [21] Depending on the story, they may be hostile or friendly to humans. Speaking of Russian mythology creatures, it is worth mentioning the bylinas as one of the material proofs of Slavic mythology. [31] The prose of the Ynglinga saga describes a dwarf sitting, standing and speaking, leading to the proposal that at the time of writing, dwarfs were believed to, at least sometimes, have a human-like form. The modern English noun dwarf descends from Old English: dweorg. [75] A similar inscription dating between the 8th and 11th century is found on a lead plaque discovered near Fakenham in Norfolk, which reads "dead is dwarf" (Old English: dead is dwerg), and has been interpreted as another example of a written charm aiming to rid the ill person of the disease, identified as a dwarf. Other characteristics of dwarves include long (but mortal) life, antipathy to Elves and distrust to other races. The original concept of Dwarves is very difficult to determine. The dwarves of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer act as a sort of earthworm, tunneling through soil and loose rocks and getting nutrition thereby, excreting the earth as fast as they eat it. Together, this suggests that dwarfs could be conceived of as loving and protective of their children by the saga authors. Anatoly Liberman connects the Germanic word with Modern English dizzy, suggesting a link between the etymology and their role in inflicting mental diseases on humans, similar to some other supernatural beings in Germanic folklore such as elves. The first detailed description was made by the Danish writer and biologist Erik Pontoppidan in 1752. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. [4] They turn to stone if exposed to the rays of the sun.[5]. Alkonost, who gets her name from the Greek demigod Alyclone, is a creature with the body of a bird and the head of a woman. Interpreting the dwarves as a subset of the elves would explain some of the incongruities in their stories. he also has a foster son named Sigurd. Lindow, John: Handbook of Norse Mythology; 2001 (p. 98). So it is said in the Vlusp: In Norse mythology dwarves are mostly seen as selfish, greedy, and cunning. The idea that dwarves cannot be in the sunlight is not mentioned anywhere else and many named dwarves live aboveground. Our modern view of the dwarves comes almost directly from the characters in these stories. They prefer to live underground and/or in mountainous areas. The Virgin Mary threw steel in the water! [77] Despite the Christian elements in the Wi Dweorh charms, such as the saints called upon for help, their foundations likely lie in a shared North-Sea Germanic tradition that includes inscribed runic charms such as those found in Ribe and Norfolk. The dwarves were demonized by these writers while the elves were seen as characters of goodness. The plural form, dwarfs, has been traced to the seventeenth century. Elves were often seen as physically lesser, as well. Conversely, in Sigurar saga gla, the human Hlfdan is cursed after he throws a rock at a dwarf child, breaking its jaw and is subsequently visited by the child's father in a dream who curses him. [55] They further created the Mead of Poetry from the blood of Kvasir, which grants skill in poetry to those who drink from it. It can appear as a dwarf creature typically having green clothes and hair, living underground or in stone heaps, and characteristically exercising magic powers to benevolent ends; as a diminutive sprite commonly in the shape of a . [53], In German heroic legend, male dwarfs are often portrayed as lusting after human women. Dwarfs remains the most commonly employed plural. 2003. Competing etymologies include a basis in the Indo-European root *dheur- (meaning "damage"), the Indo-European root *dhreugh (whence, for example, modern English "dream" and German Trug "deception"), and scholars have made comparisons with Sanskrit dhvaras (a type of "demonic being"). For this poll we've created a list of the greatest dwarfs of all time, featuring dwarfs you know from movies, television, video games and more. In Slavic mythology, the Kikimora is a legendary monster creature that is represented as a female house spirit. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed. In the universe of The Elder Scrolls, "dwarves" (or Dwemer) are presented as a race of subterranean elves, whose culture was centred around science and engineering, that differs from Tolkiens conceptualisation, in that they are not particularly short, and are extinct. He has been a guest speaker on numerous national radio and television stations and is a five time published author. All rights reserved. [32] In skaldic and Eddic sources, it has been noted that their roles are what define them rather than their physical appearance, which has no great relevance. Many modern views of dwarves have been inspired by Tolkien's works. 939-967). While some, such as Surt and Thiazi, are villainous characters, however, others are friends of the gods. Dwarfs on the other hand according to these sources are asocial and there are no records of them receiving blts or other gifts in this period. [67][65] The presentation of dwarfs living within stones continued into modern folklore surrounding specific landscape features such as the Dwarfie Stane, a chambered tomb located on the island of Hoy, and the Dvergasteinn in Seyisfjrur. In one example, the heat of the furnace is believed to increase the fertility of the soil . It has been suggested that this would imply that dwarfs could be very tall, however, it has been noted that the sky could have been conceived of as being close to the earth at the horizon. Otr is the son of Hreidmar, Otr has two brothers Regin and Fafnir. "[4], Scholars have noted that the Svartlfar ('black elves') appear to be the same beings as dwarfs, given that both are described in the Prose Edda as the residents of Svartlfaheimr. The origin of dwarves in Norse mythology is linked to a rather famous Old Norse tale. The form "dwarfs" is generally used for human beings affected by dwarfism; the form "dwarves" is used for the mythical people described by Tolkien and other authors. Dwarves in Tolkien's works are long-lived, living nearly four times the age of humans (about 250 years), but are not prolific breeders, having children rarely and spaced far apart, and having few women among them. Although she was an earth goddess, the goddess Sif in Norse mythology is most known for her golden hair. Jomfru Maria kastet styaal i vatn! She is a common belief in Germanic folklore and appears in many different shapes. [6] Svartlfaheimr ("world of black-elves") appears in the Prose Edda twice, [3] [7] in each . They are also vengeful and Hervarar saga relates that when king Svafrlami had forced the dwarves Dvalin and Durin to forge the magic sword Tyrfing, the dwarves cursed it so it would bring death to Svafrlami and cause three evil deeds. A terracotta stand depicting a Gorgon, one of three female monsters capable of turning people to stone, created circa 570 B.C. When Loki needed to acquire golden hair for Sif, for example, he visited two groups of characters who are most often interpreted as dwarves. Afra is an Arabic female dwarf name that means "the color shade of the earth". Some were troll-like villains like Alviss, while others were industrious inventors like the sons of Ivaldi. The dwarves lived in their own part of Midgard, a place no human could find. In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien gives many of the dwarves names taken directly from the Norse Eddas. [2] Although dwarrow has passed from the language, both "dwarfs" and "dwarves" are in current use. There is no Santa in the shape of a fat, bearded guy who lives at the North Pole in the Scandinavian Christmas tradition. While the stories are inconsistent in regards to the role of the dwarves, they are equally as contradictory about their origins. Sources have gradually given Dwarves more comical and superstitious roles [1]. [56][57] John Lindow noted that stanza 10 of the Poetic Edda poem Vlusp can be read as describing the creation of human forms from the earth and follows a catalogue of dwarf names; he suggests that the poem may present Ask and Embla as having been created by dwarfs, with the three gods then giving them life. However, most dwarf names are unisex and therefore make your work easier. This type of ambiguity between various races is not uncommon in Norse mythology. It was a time when people feared nature because we were becoming more industrialized. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. More generally, the pygmies of Africa, the short Inuits, Sami (Lapps), the Asian Dropa pygmies of Tibet, short rain forest natives, people with dwarfism, and similarly short people may have had a hand in the origin of dwarf legends. The Aesir gods killed a dwarf for his disrespectful behavior during the funeral of. While their strength is sometimes noted, their height rarely is. Yet another water creature, this one is something you really wouldnt want to meet when youre out in your boat. They could be heard moving about the lower levels and were sometimes seen by miners, who took care to placate them by gifts of food. He is also said to be a talented musician, playing the violin so that the villagers can hear him at night. Ilvatar (who represents God) gave them life after speaking to Aul about what he had done and seeing that he was both humble and repentant. These creatures are typical pranksters but can easily be befriended, and around Christmas, they have the same function as Santa in Western traditions. The idea of dark and light elves may have originated with writers who were familiar with Christian notions of angels and demons. Common uses. The banshees are female spirits in Celtic mythology, that possess a powerful and chilling shriek and a ghastly appearance. They are most familiar from the Norse myths and sagas, where they were called the dvergr. Among the many irreplaceable treasures created by them are: Mjollnir, the hammer of Thor; Gleipnir, the chain that bound the wolf Fenrir when all other fetters failed; Skidbladnir, a ship which belongs to Freyr and always has a favorable wind; Gungnir, the spear of Odin; Draupnir, a ring owned by Odin; the Brisingamen, a magnificent necklace owned by Freya; and the long, golden hair of Sif, Thors wife. In Teutonic and especially Scandinavian mythology and folklore, the term dwarf (Old Norse: dvergr) denoted a species of fairy inhabiting the interiors of mountains and the lower levels of mines. Austri Norri, Suri, and Vestri (Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western) are the four dwarves that hold up the sky. They often appeared in ballads throughout Scandinavia, such as in Eline af Villenskov, Sir Thynne, and the Heimskringla, where they are described as friendly creatures that are often kind towards humans, incredibly wealthy and rich, but also very ugly. More ambiguous are the dwarfs found in attendance on ladies in romances. Both The Hill Man at the Dance and The Dwarfs Feast tells of a dwarf presenting a human with an allegorical treasure, while The Dwarf Stealing Corn and The Dwarf Borrowing Bread are anecdotal stories that revolve around their mischievous behavior.[4]. They were principally famous for their skill in all kinds of metalwork and the forging of magical swords and rings, but they were also credited with profound wisdom and secret knowledge, having power to foresee the future, assume other forms, and make themselves invisible. The day after, all the graves were open, and the churchyard was covered in seaweed. Dellinger meaning "the gleaming one like Clarus". The gender of a dwarf is usually derived from the name itself. (For the physiology of dwarf human beings, see dwarfism. Eitri is a dwarf who helped create three of the precious objects of the Gods. If the dwarves were, in fact, virtually indistinguishable from elves, how did they come to be seen as such opposites in later works? They were small people, often pictured as little men with long beards, who were master smiths, and made the swords, shields, and armor for the gods themselves. [5] Ivaldi is often glossed as being a dwarf. Many dwarves in Norse legends were known for their inventiveness and skill in metalworking and other crafts. She is a flirtatious young girl who is neither good nor evil. [72], The 8th century Ribe skull fragment, found in Jutland, bears an inscription that calls for help from three beings, including Odin, against either one or two harmful dwarfs. [26] Anglian folklore tells that one can hear a forge from within a mound and feel furnace fires under the earth, while in Switzerland, the heat can be attributed to the underground kitchens of dwarfs. According to Skldskaparml, due to the role of dwarfs in crafting the drink, poetry can be referred to by kennings such as "the Billow of the Dwarf-Crag", "Thought's Drink of the Rock-Folk", "the Drink of Dvalinn", "the Dwarves' ship" and the "Ale of the Dwarves". Those with dwarfism might become permanent craftsmen, and an association between crafting and dwarfism might have developed. Living below ground, particularly with the hot forges associated with metalsmithing, they were seen as demonic in comparison to the near-godly elves. In the 1890s, something changed in the way common Scandinavians saw themselves and their culture. The dwarves were a race of creatures known in many Germanic cultures. Their major distinction was not their size and appearance, but their behavior and where they lived. The Scandinavian words for Nightmare are Norwegian Mareritt, Danish Mareridt, Swedish Mardrm, which directly translated means Mare-ride and Mare-dream. [37] Regin, a figure identified as either a dwarf or resembling a dwarf, is a similar size to the hero Sigurd on both the Ramsund carving and carvings from the Hylestad Stave Church. Household dwarfs were kept by the early pharaohs of Egypt and still abounded at the courts of the Ptolemies. The word dwarf appears in numerous forms in the old languages of Europe: In Middle Dutch is is dwerch, in contemporary Dutch it appears as dwerg; in Old High German it is twerg, while in Middle High German it is dwerch or dwarch. The elves lived in a deep forest nearby the castle of Fry, the god of fertility, called Alvheim. The dwarves are pitch-black in appearance and live underground in Svartalfheim,[2][3] a place which was probably thought of as a labyrinthine complex of mines and forges. Seen as minor or lesser beings, the dwarves eventually came to be thought of as physically smaller and less attractive. In the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini the dwarves are made out to be a proud and powerful race, with a complex government, religion, and culture. The image of the Valkyrie is one of the most enduring of the Norse Era. A dwarf (PLdwarfs or dwarves) is a type of supernatural being in Germanic folklore, including mythology. [36], In the early Old Norse sources, dwarfs are typically described vaguely, with no reference to them being particularly small; in the legendary sagas and later folklore, however, they are often described as being short. In Neil Gaimans American Gods, for example, the dwarf Alviss appears as a character who surprises the main character by being taller than the average man. Of course your favorite cartoon dwarfs are included, but this list doesn't only feature animated characters that can talk. Instead, the difference between Alfheim and Svartalfheim is often interpreted as a light world on the surface and a dark world below ground. Medieval myths depicted gnomes as creatures resembling little old men, often with hunched over backs. Dwarfs are also widely referenced in these sources as having family relations to others such as being brothers and sons. Kraken is probably a creature most people will recognize. While both races were known in the myths and folklore of many Germanic cultures, they are most familiar from the Norse legends. Draugen, from Norse draugr meaning ghost. A dwarf (Old Norse dvergr, Old English dweorg, Old High German twerg, Proto-Germanic *dwergaz [1]) is a certain kind of invisible being in the pre-Christian mythology and religion of the Norse and other Germanic peoples.No one really knows what the word "dwarf" and its cognates originally meant, but there's no indication that it had anything to do with a small stature, a characteristic . Idunn, the goddess of youth, is usually called an elf instead of a dwarf. These dwarves fill an archetypal role often taken by giants or gods in other cultures. In orsteins saga Vkingssonar, this family love is extended to the human Hlfdan who develops a fostering relation with the dwarf Litr, likely with Hlfdan as the foster son. Tolkien writes his dwarf-women are "in voice and appearance, and in garb if they must go on a journey, so like to dwarf-men that the eyes and ears of the other peoples cannot tell them apart. Other times they were viewed as working for humans as craftsmen and engineers. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. It is said that Adam and Eve had many children and that one day, when Eve was bathing her children, God came to visit. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Many names listed for the dwarves also give credence to the idea that they were closely related to the elves. Updates? But how were they really depicted in Norse mythology? It nonetheless appears to have been recognised as a dwarf, however that may have been due to its behaviour as opposed to its physical appearance. Dwarfs were of various types, all of small stature, some being no more than 18 inches (45 cm) high and others about the height of a two-year-old child. (Oxford Press, 1971. It was said that the dwarfs forged Gleipnir the chain that was used to shackle the mighty wolf Fenrir. The svartlfar mentioned in Skldskaparml 35 are the Sons of Ivaldi, whom Loki engages to craft replacement hair for Sif, wife of the god Thor, after Loki mischievously sheared off her golden tresses. Regin is the son of Hreidmar and he has two brothers, Otr and Fafnir. The dwarf is an example of creatures who have some mystery attached to them, some ability or nature that transcends the known world, suggesting the existence of creatures and a world beyond this physical realm. These beliefs persisted in Germanic folklore, in which the gods were no longer worshipped both other aspects of the pagan worldview persisted. [20], In German literature, many dwarfs can make themselves invisible, typically via a "Tarnkappe" (cloak of invisibility), which has been suggested to be an ancient attribute of dwarfs. and ed.) By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. p. 81. [3], Norri, Suri, Austri and Vestri are four dwarfs, potentially depicted as four anthropomorphic figures on the hogback stone in Heysham in Lancashire, that according to the Prose Edda each hold up a corner of the sky, that was fashioned from the skull of Ymir.

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