She is fair and beautiful but wild and has a long cow-tail that hides behind her back upon meeting a human. Gylfaginning 17 & 34. In early literary sources, only males are explicitly referred to as dwarfs, although they are described as having sisters and daughters, while both male and female dwarfs feature in later saga literature and folklore. Gurevich, Elena: (Introduction to) Anonymous. The image of dwarves living below ground remains popular, but in Norse mythology this seems to be one of the major differences between them and the elves. More ambiguous are the dwarfs found in attendance on ladies in romances. Here is a list of (almost) all Slavic mythical creatures. When Loki needed to acquire golden hair for Sif, for example, he visited two groups of characters who are most often interpreted as dwarves. Many grammarians prefer "dwarfs," many fantasies prefer "dwarves." (1996). [note 1][50] As Norns are also female, this could mean that dwarfs were conceived of by the author of the poem as able to be female, it is not clear whether either their mother (or mothers) are dwarfs, or if they themselves are considered dwarfs just because they are descended from dwarfs. They often appeared in ballads throughout Scandinavia, such as in Eline af Villenskov, Sir Thynne, and the Heimskringla, where they are described as friendly creatures that are often kind towards humans, incredibly wealthy and rich, but also very ugly. Dwarfs remains the most commonly employed plural. Why So Many Mythological Monsters Are Female - Smithsonian Magazine Other games like Dragon Age and Warcraft present an image of dwarfs as stout, bearded mountain dwellers, separate from Elves. Top Russian Mythological Creatures - Meet the Slavs Clues given in Norse texts seem to indicate that the dwarves were thought of as similar to the elves, or even as a subgroup of that race. Eitri and his brother Brokkr, then crafted a boar with golden bristles Gullinbursti, a gold ring Draupnir, and Thors hammer Mjlnir. Many of the female jotnar, however, are described as exceptionally beautiful and become the wives and mothers of Aesir and Vanir gods. The Dwarf is also common in Germanic mythologies, fairy tales, fantasy fiction, and role-playing games, and recently were made popular by the collective works of twentieth century fantasy author J.R.R. [52] In saga material, dwarf children are also seen. [25] These craftsmen can be referred to explicitly as dwarfs or terms that describe their roles such as Swedish: bergsmed ('mountain smith'). Their knowledge of metallurgy might have seemed magical to the northerners, whose lifestyle was still neolithic; the southerners' superior weapons and armor might well have been perceived as enchanted. In fact, the names of some dwarves imply that they are exceptionally large rather than shorter than the average human. Their major distinction was not their size and appearance, but their behavior and where they lived. Your email address will not be published. Kvasir, for example, was murdered by two dwarves who brewed his blood into the Mead of Poetry after he was invited to their home as a guest. And in Old Frisian it appears as dwirg.