Norse dwarves

thumb|A depiction of Sigurð slaying Fáfnir on the right portal plank from Hylestad Stave Church, the so-called "Hylestad I", from the second half of the 12th century In Germanic heroic legend and folklore, Fáfnir was a dwarf or other type of humanoid who had shifted into the hamr of a Germanic dragon (a worm, "serpent", in period nomenclature) in order to protect a treasure, eventually being slain by a member of the Völsung family, typically Sigurð.

thumb|right|200px|This part of the Drävle Runestone is held to depict Andvari. In Norse mythology, Andvari (12th c. Old Norse: ; "careful one") is a dwarf who lives underneath a waterfall and has the power to change himself into a pike (gedda) at will.

thumb|Alvíss puts a ring around the arm of Þrúðr, by Lorenz Frølich Alvíss (Old Norse: ; "All-Wise") was a dwarf in Norse mythology.

thumb|Sigurd killing Regin in an engraving from the Hylestad Stave Church thumb|The decapitated Regin in the Ramsund carving In Norse mythology, Reginn (; often anglicized as Regin or Regan) is a son of Hreiðmarr and the foster father of Sigurð. His brothers are Fáfnir and Ótr.

In Norse mythology, Hreiðmarr (Old Norse: ; anglicized as Hreidmar) is a dwarf. He is featured in the Völsunga saga and in Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda.

In Norse cosmology, svartálfar (O.N. "black elves", "swarthy elves", sing. svartálfr), also called myrkálfar ("dark elves", "dusky elves", "murky elves", sing. myrkálfr), are beings who dwell in Svartálfheim (Svartálf[a]heimr, "home of the black-elves"). Both the svartálfar and Svartálfaheimr are only attested in the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. Scholars have noted that the svartálfar appear to be synonymous with the dwarfs and potentially also the dökkálfar ("dark elves"). As dwarfs, the home of the svartálfar could possibly be another description for Niðavelli

thumb|Alberich seduces the king's mother (a scene from Ortnit, 1480 woodcut) thumb|Alberich (with whip) drives on the Nibelung dwarfs, who collect gold and other treasures. ([[Arthur Rackham, 1910)]] thumb|Sigurd|Siegfried wrestles with Alberich ([[Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1843)]] In German heroic legend, Alberich () is a dwarf. He features most prominently in the poems Nibelungenlied and Ortnit. He also features in the Old Norse collection of German legends called the Thidreksaga under the name Alfrikr. His name consists of the elements alb ("elf") and ric "power" or "ruler". It is equi

dwarf of Norse mythology

Four dwarfs who hold up the sky in Nordic mythology

In Norse mythology, Brokkr (Old Norse: , "the one who works with metal fragments; blacksmith", anglicized Brokk) is a dwarf, and the brother of Eitri or Sindri.

In Norse mythology, Dvalinn (Old Norse: ) is a dwarf (Hjort) who appears in several Old Norse tales and kennings. The name translates as "the dormant one" or "the one slumbering" (akin to the Danish and Norwegian "dvale" and Swedish "dvala", meaning "sleep", "unconscious condition" or "hibernation"). Dvalinn is listed as one of the four stags of Yggdrasill in both Grímnismál from the Poetic Edda and Gylfaginning from the Prose Edda.

Norse mythical character

Four stags in the Prose Edda

group of dwarven smiths from Norse mythology

Norse mythical character

norse mythical characters

thumb|Billingr's girl watches on while Odin encounters the bitch tied to her bedpost (1895) by Lorenz Frølich. In Norse mythology, Billingr or Billing is the father of a maiden (whose name is not provided) desired by Odin. According to stanzas 96-102 of the poem Hávamál from the Poetic Edda, Odin was told by the maiden to meet her after nightfall when it would be safest and she would give herself to him, but when Odin returned he found the path blocked by warriors with swords and burning torches. When he came back at daybreak he discovered that the maiden was gone and had left a female dog tie

In Norse mythology, according to the Gylfaginning, Annar (Old Norse Annarr 'second, another') is the father of Jörð (Mother Earth) by Nótt (the Night). The form Ónar (Old Norse Ónarr 'gaping') is found as a variant.

thumb|King Svafrlame Securing the Sword Tyrfing In Norse mythology, Durinn (Old Norse: ; or Durin) is a dwarf according to stanza 10 of the poem Völuspá from the Poetic Edda, and repeated in Gylfaginning from the Prose Edda. He was the second created after the first and foremost dwarf Mótsognir.

thumb|Brokkr (top right) works the [[bellows while Eitri (in the foreground) fashions Mjölnir; at top left, Loki enters in the form of a fly. Illustration by Arthur Rackham, 1907.]]In the Old Norse religion, Eitri (Old Norse: ; or Sindri) is a dwarf and the brother of Brokkr. According to Skáldskaparmál, when Loki had Sif's hair, Freyr's ship Skidbladnir and Odin's spear Gungnir fashioned by the Sons of Ivaldi, he bet his own head with Brokkr that Eitri would not have been able to make items that matched the craftsmanship of those mentioned above.

right|thumb|300px|Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's burning ship, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) Litr (also Lit; Old Norse: , 'colour, appearance') is the name borne by a dwarf and a jötunn in Norse mythology.

dwarf in Norse mythology

In Norse mythology, Mótsognir (Old Norse: , "he who drinks in might"), also found as Móðsognir (; Hauksbók manuscript variant), "he who drinks in courage", is the ruler of the dwarves. In Völuspà 10, he is identified as mæztr um orðinn dverga allra, "lord of all the dwarves". According to Snorri Sturluson in Gylfaginning 14, which seeks to explain this verse, "the dwarfs had taken shape first and acquired life in the flesh of Ymir and were then maggots, but by decision of the gods they became conscious with intelligence and had the shape of men though they live in the earth and in rocks. Modso