22 dvalin
how many references to Dvalin the dwarf refer to the
same character.
D valin (2)
One of the two dwarfs who crafted
the great sword Tyrfing. The other was Durinn
(2). The dwarfs were forced to make the sword for a
powerful king and, in revenge, they put a curse upon
it. The story of that curse in the lives of the sword’s
owners forms the center of an Icelandic heroic
legend. It is told most completely in the manuscripts
of the H ervarar saga .
D valin (3)
One of the four deer that live within
the limbs of the World Tree, Yggdrasil, gnawing at
its leaves and branches, reaching the highest leaves
by stretching their necks. The other three deer are
Duneyr, Durathror, and Dain (3). They are found
in the story of Yggdrasil told in G riminismal , part of
the P oetic E dda , and retold by Snorri Sturluson in
G ylfaginning .
D valin ’ s D elight
The ironic name given by
the dwarfs to the Sun. Dwarfs, gnomes, trolls, and
other denizens of underground caves are terrified of
the Sun, for it turns them to stone. They must never
be caught aboveground in daylight.
See also Alvis.
dwarfs The small, ugly, misshapen creatures
made at the creation from the grubs in the giant
ymir’s dead body. They were given the realm of Svar-
talfheim (land of the dark elves) in which to live.
The gods put them in charge of Earth’s underground
treasures: precious metals and gems. They were
master craftsmen and fashioned many treasures for
the gods (see “Treasure of the Dwarfs under Loki).
The poem V oluspa lists many dwarfs’ names,
most repeated by Snorri Sturluson in G ylfagin -
ning , but few of them are ever heard of again in the
surviving records of Norse myths. Among the more
memorable ones are
• Alvis, who, like many of the dwarfs, had a vast
store of knowledge and poetically listed the
various names for the 13 most important words
in the medieval Scandinavian vocabulary
• Brokk and Eitri, who fashioned various gifts
for the gods
• Dvalin, one of the dwarfs who made the
Brisinga men coveted by the goddess Freya
and who was turned into stone at sunrise
• Andvari, the dwarf who was tricked by Loki
into giving up his gold hoard, upon which he
then placed a curse
• Lit, the dwarf who was inadvertently cremated
on Balder’s funeral pyre
• Nordi, Sudri, Austri, and Vestri, the four
dwarfs who were bidden to hold up the four
corners of the sky
Here is the list of dwarfs named in Voluspa:
Ai, Alf, Althjof (Mighty Thief ), An, Anar, And-
vari, Aurvang, Austri, Bifur, Bild, Billing, Bofur,
Bombur, Bruni, Buri, Dain, Dolgthrasir, Dori,
Draupnir, Duf, Durinn, Dvalin, Eikinskjaldi
(Oak Shield), Fili, Fith, Fjalar, Fraeg, Frar
Hornbori, Frosti, Fundin, Gandalf (Magic Elf ),
Ginnar, Gloi, Hannar, Har, Haugspori, Hepti,
Heri, Hlaevang, Hliodolf, Hoggstari, Jari, Kili,
Lit, Loni, Mjodvitnir (Mead-wolf ), Moin, Mot-
sognir (the Mightiest), Nain, Nali, Nar, Nidi,
Niping, Nordri, Nori, Ny, Nyr, Nyrad, Ori,
Radsvid (Swift in Counsel), Regin, Skafid, Skir-
fir, Sudri, Svior, Thekk, Thorin, Thrain, Thror,
Vestri, Vigg, Vindalf (Wind Elf ), Virvir, Vit,
Yngvi