Dwarf (folklore)

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For other uses, see Dwarf.

Two dwarfs as depicted in a 19th-century edition of the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá
(1895) by Lorenz Frølich.
In Germanic folklore, including Germanic mythology, a dwarf is an entity that
dwells in the mountains and in the earth. The entity is associated with wisdom,
smithing, mining, and crafting. Dwarfs are sometimes described as short and ugly.
However, some scholars have questioned whether this is a later development stemming
from comical portrayals of the beings.[1] Dwarfs continue to be depicted in modern
popular culture in various media.

Contents
1 Etymology
2 Norse mythology and later folklore
3 Anglo-Saxon medicine
4 Middle High German heroic poetry
5 Scholarly interpretations
6 Modern influence
7 See also
8 Notes
9 References
Etymology
The modern English noun dwarf descends from the Old English dweorg. It has a
variety of cognates in other Germanic languages, including Old Norse dvergr
[ˈdwerɡz̠] and Old High German twerg. According to Vladimir Orel, the English noun
and its cognates ultimately descend from Proto-Germanic *dwergaz.[2] 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: allegedly, dwarfs inflicted mental diseases on humans, and in this
respect did not differ from elves and several other supernatural beings.[3]

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").
[1]

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 since 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]
(For Tolkien's literary creations, Dwarf (Middle-earth).)

Norse mythology and later folklore

Norse mythology provides different origins for the beings, as recorded in the
Poetic Edda (compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources) and the
Prose Edda (written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century). The Poetic Edda poem
Völuspá details that the dwarfs were the product of the primordial blood of the
being Brimir and the bones of Bláinn (generally considered to be different names
for the primordial being Ymir). The Prose Edda, however, describes dwarfs as beings
similar to maggots that festered in the flesh of Ymir before being gifted with
reason by the gods. The Poetic Edda and Prose Edda contain over 100 dwarf names,
while the Prose Edda gives the four dwarfs Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri (Old
Norse 'North, South, East, and West') a cosmological role: they hold up the sky.[1]
In addition, scholars have noted that the Svartálfar (Old Norse 'black elves')
appear to be the same beings as dwarfs, given that both are described in the Prose
Edda as the residents of Svartálfaheimr.[5]

Very few beings explicitly identifiable as dwarfs appear in the Poetic Edda and
Prose Edda, and they have quite diverse roles: murderous creators who create the
mead of poetry, 'reluctant donors' of important artifacts with magical qualities,
or sexual predators who lust after goddesses.[6] They are primarily associated with
metalsmithing, and also with death, as in the story of King Sveigðir in Ynglinga
saga, the first segment of the Heimskringla—the doorways in the mountains that they
guard may be regarded as doors between worlds.[7] One dwarf named Alvíss claimed
the hand of Thor's daughter Þrúðr in marriage, but he was kept talking until
daybreak and turned to stone, much like some accounts of trolls.[8]

After the Christianization of the Germanic peoples, tales of dwarfs continued to be

told in the folklore of areas of Europe where Germanic languages were (and are)
spoken.[9] In the late legendary sagas, dwarfs demonstrate skill in healing as well
as in smithing.[10] In the early Norse sources, there is no mention of their being
short; in the legendary sagas, however, they are "small and usually ugly".[1]
Anatoly Liberman suggests that dwarfs may have originally been thought of as lesser
supernatural beings, which became literal smallness after Christianization.[11] Old
Norse dwarf names include Fullangr ('tall enough') and Hár ('high'), whereas Anglo-
Saxon glosses use dweorg to render Latin terms such as nanus and pygmaeus
('pygmy').[12][13]

Dwarfs in folklore are usually described as old men with long beards.[13] Female
dwarfs are hardly ever mentioned. Dvalinn the dwarf has daughters. The 14th-century
romantic saga Þjalar Jóns saga gives the feminine form of Old Norse dyrgja, but the
few folklore examples cited by Grimm in Teutonic Mythology may be identified as
other beings.[14][15] However, in the Swedish ballad "Herr Peder och Dvärgens
Dotter" (Swedish 'Sir Peder and the Dwarf's Daughter'), the role of supernatural
temptress is played by a dwarf's daughter.[16]

Anglo-Saxon medicine
The Anglo-Saxon charm Wið Dweorh (Against a Dwarf) appears to relate to sleep
disturbances. This may indicate that the dwarf antagonist is similar to the
oppressive supernatural figure the mare which is the etymological source of the
word "nightmare" or possibly that the word had come to be used to mean "fever".[12]
[17] In the Old English Herbal, it translates Latin verrucas, warts.[12]

Middle High German heroic poetry

In Middle High German heroic poetry, most dwarfs have long beards, but some may
have a childish appearance.[18] In some stories, the dwarf takes on the attributes
of a knight.[19] He is most clearly separated from normal humans by his small size,
in some cases only reaching up to the knees.[20] Despite their small size, dwarfs
typically have superhuman strength, either by nature or through magical means.[21]
Many dwarfs can make themselves invisible, typically via a "Tarnkappe" (cloak of
invisibility), which seems to be an ancient attribute of the dwarfs. They also
possess other magical objects and often appear as master smiths.[22] Typically,
they live inside of hollow mountains, though in some cases, they may live above the
ground.[23] Depending on the story, they may be hostile or friendly to humans.[24]
Male dwarfs are often portrayed as lusting after human women. In contrast, female
dwarfs seek to possess the male hero in the legends.[25]
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 queen of Lombardy,
thereby 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 Hürnen Seyfrid,
Siegfried is aided by the dwarf Eugel, who is son of the dwarf king Nibelung,
originator of the Nibelung's treasure.

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.

Scholarly interpretations
John Lindow noted that stanza 10 of the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá can be read as
describing the creation of human forms from the earth and follows a catalog 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.[26]

Modern influence

The Seven dwarfs sing "Heigh-Ho" in the 1937 Disney film Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs.
There were seven dwarfs in the Brothers Grimm's fairy tale Snow White. Walt
Disney's 1937 film based on the story, is one of the most well-known adaptations
today.

Most dwarfs in modern fiction closely follow those of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord
of the Rings, where the dwarves (Tolkien's spelling) were distinguished from elves.
Most modern fantasy media have continued this distinction, beginning with TSR's
Dungeons & Dragons. Dungeons & Dragons calls the dwarfs "dwarves" and the dark
dwarves "duergar". They are also present in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia,
in both the books and the film adaptations.