Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri

In Nordic mythology, Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri (Old Norse pronunciation: [ˈɔustre, ˈwestre, ˈnorðre, ˈsuðre])[citation needed]; are four dwarfs who hold up the sky after it was made by the gods from the skull of the jötunn Ymir.

[4] The longest description of the dwarfs is given in Gylfaginning from the Prose Edda, when after the death of Ymir, Odin (in his guise as Þriði) describes the creation of the sky: óku þeir ok haus hans ok gerðu þar af himin ok settu hann upp yfir jörðina með fjórum skautum, ok undir hvert horn settu þeir dverg.

[6] In Skáldskaparmál, Snorri Sturluson says that one can refer to the sky or the heaven with kennings such as Old Norse: erfiði eða byrði dverganna ("Toil or burden of the dwarfs") and hjálm Vestra ok Austra, Suðra, Norðra ("Helm of Vestri and Austri, Suðri, Norðri").

[9] Scholars have proposed that Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri are depicted holding up the sky on a hogback stone in Heysham in Lancashire, although this interpretation remains debated.

[12] The term is widely believed by scholars to originate in the traditions of Austri, Vestri, Norðri and Suðri, whose roles parallel the holding up of the main roof beam.