9 Dwarfs

[Jordan Tucker]

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. They are often depicted as miners, smiths, armorers, tailors, carpenters, artisans and mechanics.

The modern English noun dwarf descends from Old English: dweorg. It has a variety of cognates in other Germanic languages, including Old Norse: dvergr and Old High German: twerg. According to Vladimir Orel, the English noun and its cognates ultimately descend from Proto-Germanic *dwergaz.[1] A different etymology of dwarf traces it to Proto-Germanic *dwezgaz, with the r sound being the product of Verner's Law. 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.[2]

For forms earlier than the Proto-Germanic reconstruction, the etymology of the word dwarf is highly contested. Scholars have proposed theories about the origins of the being by way of historical linguistics and comparative mythology, including the idea that dwarfs may have originated as nature spirits, as beings associated with death, or as a mixture of concepts. 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").[3]

Modern English has two plurals for the word dwarf: dwarfs and dwarves. Dwarfs remains the most commonly employed plural. The minority plural dwarves was recorded as early as 1818. However, it was later popularized by the fiction of philologist and legendarium author J. R. R. Tolkien, originating as a hypercorrective mistake. It was employed by Tolkien for some time before 1917.[4] Regarding his use of this plural, Tolkien wrote in 1937, "I am afraid it is just a piece of private bad grammar, rather shocking in a philologist; but I shall have to go with it."[4]

After the Christianisation of the Germanic peoples, dwarfs continued in the folklore of Germanic-speaking areas of Europe and the literary works produced there.[16] Opinions on the degree of continuity in beliefs on dwarfs before and after Christianisation differ significantly. 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. In contrast, others, such as Schfke, argue that there is no resemblance between Eddic and skaldic dwarfs and those in later sources.[3][17]

Dwarfs feature throughout both fornaldarsgur and riddarasgur. In Vlsunga saga, which details the events that unfold after Loki extorts treasure out of the dwarf Andvari, to pay the wergild for his killing of tr, a being whose brother Regin is also described in some sources as either resembling or being a dwarf.[18][19] In Hervarar saga ok Heireks, the sword Tyrfing is forged, and subsequently cursed, by a dwarf named Dvalinn, and another named Dulin in the Hauksbk manuscript.[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.[21] Depending on the story, they may be hostile or friendly to humans.[22]

The dwarf Alberich plays a vital role in the Nibelungenlied, where he guards the Nibelung's treasure and has the strength of twelve men. He is defeated by Siegfried and afterwards serves the hero. In Ortnit, Alberich seduces the Lombardy queen, spawning the hero Ortnit. The dwarf then aids Ortnit in his adventures after revealing to the hero that he is his father. In Das Lied vom Hrnen Seyfrid, Siegfried is aided by the dwarf Eugel, who is the son of the dwarf king Nibelung, originator of the Nibelung's treasure.[citation needed]

The hero Dietrich von Bern is portrayed in adventures involving dwarfs. In Laurin, he fights against the dwarf King Laurin at the dwarf's magical rose garden. He later rescues a woman whom Laurin had kidnapped. A similar plot occurs in the fragmentary poem Goldemar. In Virginal, Dietrich rescues the dwarf queen Virginal from a force of invading heathens. The dwarfs Eggerich and Baldung play a role in aiding Dietrich in the poem Sigenot: Baldung gives Dietrich a magical gem that prevents him from being bitten when thrown into a snake pit, whereas Eggerich helps Dietrich and Hildebrand escape. In the Heldenbuch-Prosa, a dwarf takes Dietrich out of this world after the death of all the other heroes, a role given to Laurin in some different versions of Dietrich's end.[citation needed]

Dwarfs feature in the modern folklore of Germanic-speaking regions of Europe, such as the Simonside Dwarfs in Northumberland, who are sometimes believed to use lights to lure people off paths, akin to a will-o'-the-wisp.[23][24]

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.[25] These craftsmen can be referred to explicitly as dwarfs or terms that describe their roles such as Swedish: bergsmed ('mountain smith'). Mounds in Denmark can also be referred to by names derived from their inhabitants, such as 'smedsberg' or 'smedshoie' ('smith's hill' or 'smith's mound').[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. In one example, the furnace's heat is believed to increase soil fertility.[27]

Rather than existing a "true" single nature of a dwarf, they vary in their characteristics, not only across regions and time but also between one another in the same cultural context. Some are capable of changing their form entirely. The scholar rmann Jakobsson notes that accounts of dwarfs in the Eddas and the section of Ynglinga saga regarding Sveigir lack prominence in their narratives and cohesive identity. Based on this, he puts forward the idea that dwarfs in these sources are set apart from other beings by their difficulty to be defined and generalised, ultimately stemming from their intrinsic nature to be hidden and as the "Other" that stands in contrast with humans.[28]

Based on the etymology of dwarf, it has been proposed that the oldest conception of a dwarf was as exclusively a formless spirit, potentially as in the case of disease-causing dwarfs; however, this view is not seen in the oldest manuscript accounts.[30] In the quotation of Vlusp in the Prose Edda, the dwarfs emerge as beings with human form (mannlkun), while in the Codex Regius manuscript the first two dwarfs created either dwarfs or people with human forms.[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. It nonetheless appears to have been recognised as a dwarf; however, that may have been due to its behaviour instead of its physical appearance.[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 significant relevance.[33]

Many dwarf names in Eddic sources relate to light and brightness, such as Dellingr ('the gleaming one') and Glinn ('glowing'). Stories do not explain these names, but it has been theorised that they refer to the fires in the forges the dwarfs work, or to haugaeldar ('grave mound fires') that are found in later Icelandic folklore. In contrast, Snorri describes dkklfar (which are typically identified as dwarfs) as "blacker than pitch".[34] Alvss is described by Thor in Alvssml as being as unsuitable for wedding his daughter rr as he was "pale about the nostrils" and resembled a urs.[35]

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 short.[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 holds up a corner of the sky, that was fashioned from the skull of Ymir. 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.[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.[29] Dwarf names in Eddic sources include Fullangr ('tall enough') and Hr ('high'); however, the terms are ambiguous and do not necessarily mean the dwarfs were conceived of as tall relative to a human.[38] 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.[39]

Not all late sagas involving dwarfs describe their size, but all that do describe them as short.[40] 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.[41] Despite their small size, dwarfs in these contexts typically have superhuman strength, either by nature or through magical means.[42] Anatoly Liberman suggests that dwarfs may have been initially thought of as lesser supernatural beings, which became literal smallness after Christianization.[43]

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