Dwarf (folklore)
Dwarfs continue to feature in modern popular culture, such as in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and Terry Pratchett, where they are often, but not exclusively, presented as distinct from elves.
[3] Scholars in historical linguistics and comparative mythology have suggested that dwarfs may have started out as nature spirits, beings linked to death, or a blend of different concepts.
[5] Alternatively, linguist Guus Kroonen has suggested that it may derive from a verb *dwerganan ('to squeeze, press'), which might be attested in Middle High German zwergen.
A related Old English plant name, dweorge-dwostle (pennyroyal), might also suggest a belief in a dwarf-related malady or a connection with warding off the being responsible.
Additionally, early place names such as Dueridene (now Dwarriden), Dwerihouse (now Dwerryhouse), and Dwerffehole further hint at the presence of a supernatural concept of dwarfs, often associated with subterranean spaces.
[10][11] After the Christianisation of the Germanic peoples, dwarfs continued in the folklore of Germanic-speaking areas of Europe and the literary works produced there.
Some scholars, such as Rudolf Simek, propose that the folk beliefs remained essentially intact in the transitional period, making later sources exceedingly informative on pre-Christian Germanic religion.
[24] The dwarf Alberich plays a vital role in the Nibelungenlied, where he guards the Nibelung's treasure and has the strength of twelve men.
[25][26] Some dwarfs in modern folklore have been argued to belong to a broader group of smith-beings living within hollow mountains or in caves such as the Grinkenschmied.
[28] 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.
The scholar Ármann Jakobsson notes that accounts of dwarfs in the Eddas and the section of Ynglinga saga regarding Sveigðir lack prominence in their narratives and cohesive identity.
[36] Alvíss is described by Thor in Alvíssmál as being as unsuitable for wedding his daughter Þrúðr as he was "pale about the nostrils" and resembled a þurs.
[5] Norðri, Suðri, 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 holds up a corner of the sky, that was fashioned from the skull of Ymir.
[40] Some names suggest a small size, such as Nori and Nabbi, which have been translated as "tiny" and "little nub", respectively; however, it has been argued that this was not necessarily the general rule.
[42] In some German stories, the dwarf takes on the attributes of a knight but is most clearly separated from normal humans by his small size, in some cases only reaching up to the knees.
Some scholars have proposed that female dwarfs were not believed to exist; however, they are likely attested in charms dating to the early medieval period and are explicitly described in later saga material.
[53] It has been noted that it may not be that female dwarfs did not exist in the folklore of this period, only that no explicit references to them survive in preserved narratives.
[56] In Eddic sources dwarfs are attributed with creating magical treasures for the gods such as Mjölnir, Sif's hair, Draupnir, Gullinbursti, Skíðblaðnir, Gleipnir and Gungnir, while in Sörla þáttr they craft Brísingamen for Freyja.
Some legendary and romance sagas diverge from this, with dwarfs acting friendlily and helpfully; however, this is attributed to their lateness and likely do not represent perceptions that predate Christianisation.
In Völuspá they are referred to as 'masters of the rocks' (Old Norse: veggbergs vísir) and skaldic kennings for 'stone' include 'dvergrann' ('house of the dwarf') and 'Durnis niðja salr' ('the hall of Durnir's kinsman').
In Ynglingatal stanza 2 and the accompanying prose in the Ynglinga saga, a dwarf lures King Sveigðir into an open stone which closes behind them, whereupon he is never seen again.
[69][67] 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 Seyðisfjörður.
[74] 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.
[75][76] The item's function has been compared to the Sigtuna amulet I and Canterbury charm that seek to drive away a "lord of þursar" that is causing an infection, the latter explicitly with the help of Thor.
[81][82] In the case of dwarfs, this association has continued in places into the modern period, such as in the Norwegian words dvergskot or dvergskott which refer to an 'animal disease' and translate literally as 'dwarfshot'.
[87] Dwarfs are also present in other fantasy literature such as C. S. Lewis's Narnia stories, Terry Pratchett's Discworld and the Artemis Fowl novels by Eoin Colfer.
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, which differs from Tolkien's conceptualisation in that they are not particularly short, and are extinct.
Other games like Dragon Age and Warcraft present an image of dwarfs as stout, bearded mountain dwellers, separate from Elves.
