Dwarfs in Norse myth were dwarfish trolls and dark elves

The modern stereotype of the dwarf was codified by Tolkien. Prior to his legendarium, dwarfs were ill-defined in mythology and folklore. To put it simply: dwarfs were not distinguished from dark elves, gnomes, goblins, kobolds, trolls, et al like they are in Dungeons & Dragons. In myth and folklore these fairies are largely synonymous.

Some unique traits displayed by dwarfs in Norse myth included:

• The dwarfs were considered a type of elf. They were called dark elves, as opposed to the light elves.
• The dwarfs were considered misshapen and ugly, like goblins or trolls. Likewise, trolls were described as dwarfs when they were not giants.
• The dwarfs, trolls, and giants alike all turned to stone under sunlight. The dwarf Alvis said his kind referred to the Sun as "Dvalin's Delight" (presumably ironically).
• The dwarfs forged abstract concepts into magical equipment, which they presented to the gods on multiple occasions. This equipment included Freya's necklace, Thor's hammer, and Fenrir's chain.
• The dwarfs were themselves forged by the gods from the flesh of the first giant Ymir (i.e. the earth itself) and/or the maggots that spontaneously generated from his corpse.

In other folklore they gain a variety of other properties and magical powers. For example, some folklore claims they spend the daylight hours as frogs or that they are members of the Unseelie Court. (See Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology by Theresa Bane for more details.)

Research links

• https://www.dictionary.com/browse/dwarf
• https://www.dictionary.com/browse/troll
• https://pantheon.org/articles/d/dvergar.html
• https://pantheon.org/articles/s/svartalfar.html
• http://piereligion.org/pantheon.html
• https://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/sta25.htm
• https://abookofcreatures.com/2016/02/15/dwarf/
• http://www.thecompanyofgoblins.com/svartalfar.html
• https://norse-mythology.org/cosmology/the-nine-worlds/svartalfheim/
• http://nordicwiccan.blogspot.com/2013/02/svartalheim.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B3tsognir
• https://www.geek.com/culture/the-origin-of-the-species-dwarfs-1665473/
• https://dwarvenglory.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/maggots-of-the-earth/
• https://ogresvstrolls.wordpress.com/tag/dwarves-gnomes/
• https://www.timelessmyths.com/norse/beings.html#Dwarves
• https://wormstunggod.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/dwarf-dwarf-dwarf/
• https://artipeeps.wordpress.com/tag/dvalins-delight/
• http://www.norse-mythology.cba.pl/page,77,dwarfs.html
• https://www.vikingage.com/HTML/Our%20Friends%20the%20Dwarfs.html
• https://books.google.com/books?id=BYCeXcTjB1MC
• https://books.google.com/books?id=Y5FKDwAAQBAJ
• https://books.google.com/books?q=editions:ISBN0786471115
• https://dotrollsreallyexist.blogspot.com/2013/07/troll-dwarves-of-norse-mythology.html
• https://youtu.be/8VpY_MAT2B8

Nymphae and nymphi

In a previous post I mentioned that in Greek myth the nymphs have numerous male counterparts including centaurs, dactyls, tritons, satyrs, etc. To my knowledge, they have never been collectively referred to by a single name in contrast to nymphs. I suppose there is a first for everything.

The word nymph, which translates to "bride" and refers to myriad minor goddesses in Greek myth. It might interest you to know that nympha and nymphess are valid synonyms, and that the masculine inflection is nymphus, which translates to "bridegroom" and was a rank in the Mithraic mystery cult.

That was my fun fact for the day.