Editing Dwarf (folklore) (section)

==Attestations==
===Eddic sources===
====Terminology====
Scholars have noted that the {{lang|non|[[Svartálfar]]}} ('black elves') appear to be the same beings as dwarfs, given that both are described in the ''[[Prose Edda]]'' as the residents of [[Svartálfaheimr]].{{sfn|Simek|2008|p=305}}{{sfn|Orchard|1997|p=35}} Another potential synonym is [[Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar|dökkálfar]] ('dark elves'); however, it is unclear whether {{lang|non|svartálfar}} and {{lang|non|dökkálfar}} were considered the same at the time of the writing of the Prose Edda.{{sfn|Lindow|2001|p=110}} The partial overlap of dwarfs in Eddic sources with elves is supported by the names of dwarfs recorded in the [[Dvergatal]] section of [[Völuspá]], which include Álfr ('Elf'), Gandálfr ('Wand-elf'), Vindálf ('Wind-elf'). Dvergatal further lists [[Yngvi]] – a [[Name of Freyr|name of the god Freyr]] who was given [[Álfheimr]], the home of the elves, to rule according to [[Grímnismál]].{{sfn|Barreiro|2014|p=35}}{{sfn|Orchard|2011|pp=6-7|loc = Völuspá: The prophecy of the seeress, Dvergatal ('The tally of dwarfs')}}

====Notable Eddic dwarfs====
{{main|List of dwarfs in Norse mythology}}
* [[Andvari]], a shapechanging dwarf featuring in the [[Völsung cycle]] who is extorted out of his treasure by Loki.{{sfn|Simek|2008|p=16}}
* [[Fjalar and Galar]], two brothers who murder [[Kvasir]] and brew the [[mead of poetry]] from his blood.{{sfn|Simek|2008|p=84}}
* [[Brokkr]] and [[Sindri (mythology)|Sindri]], brothers who craft [[Draupnir]], [[Gullinbursti]] and [[Mjölnir]] for the gods.{{sfn|Simek|2008|pp=46,285}}
* [[Sons of Ívaldi]], brothers who craft [[Gungnir]], [[Skíðblaðnir]] and [[Sif]]'s hair for the gods.{{sfn|Simek|2008|p=177}}
* [[Alvíss]], a dwarf who requested the hand in marriage of [[Thor]]'s daughter [[Þrúðr]]. Thor outwits him by keeping him talking until daybreak, whereupon he turns to stone{{sfn|Simek|2008|p=12}}
* [[Litr]], a dwarf kicked by Thor into [[Baldr]]'s funeral pyre for an unclear reason.{{sfn|Simek|2008|p=189}}

===Germanic heroic legend and sagas===
[[File:Pfizer (1843)-ed-Nibelungen Not-p091-sigfird&alberich-gezwerge.jpg|thumbnail|250px|right|[[Sigurd|Siegfried]] wrestling [[Alberich]], by [[Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld]]]]

====Continuity with older beliefs====
After the [[Christianisation of the Germanic peoples]], dwarfs continued in the folklore of Germanic-speaking areas of Europe and the literary works produced there.{{sfn|Lindow|2001|p=101}} Opinions on the degree of continuity in beliefs on dwarfs before and after Christianisation differ significantly. Some scholars, such as [[Rudolf Simek]], propose that the folk beliefs remained essentially intact in the transitional period, making later sources exceedingly informative on [[pre-Christian Germanic religion]]. In contrast, others, such as Schäfke, argue that there is no resemblance between Eddic and skaldic dwarfs and those in later sources.{{sfn|Simek|2008|pp=67-68}}{{sfn|Schäfke|2015|p=366}}

====Old Norse====
Dwarfs feature throughout both [[fornaldarsögur]] and [[riddarasögur]]. In [[Völsunga saga]], which details the events that unfold after [[Loki]] extorts treasure out of the dwarf [[Andvari]], to pay the [[wergild]] for his killing of [[Ótr]], a being whose brother [[Regin]] is also described in some sources as either resembling or being a dwarf.{{sfn|Mikučionis|2017|pp=82-83}}{{sfn|Volsung Saga|loc=Chapter 14 - Regin's tale of his Brothers, and of the Gold called Andvari's Hoard}} In [[Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks]], the sword [[Tyrfing]] is forged, and subsequently cursed, by a dwarf named Dvalinn, and another named Dulin in the [[Hauksbók]] manuscript.{{sfn|Crawford|2021|pp=13,137-139}}

====Middle High German====
In German literature, many dwarfs can make themselves invisible, typically via a "Tarnkappe" ([[cloak of invisibility]]), which has been suggested to be an ancient attribute of dwarfs.{{sfn|Lütjens|1911|pp=80-86}} Depending on the story, they may be hostile or friendly to humans.{{sfn|Lütjens|1911|pp=94-98}}

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 [[Sigurd|Siegfried]] and afterwards serves the hero. In ''[[Ortnit]]'', Alberich seduces the Lombardy queen, 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 the son of the dwarf king [[Nibelung]], originator of the Nibelung's treasure.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

The hero [[Dietrich von Bern]] is portrayed in adventures involving dwarfs. In [[Laurin (poem)|''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 (poem)|''Virginal'']], Dietrich rescues the dwarf queen Virginal from a force of invading [[Paganism|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#The "Heldenbuch-Prosa"|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.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

===Modern period===
Dwarfs feature in the modern folklore of Germanic-speaking regions of Europe, such as the [[Simonside Dwarfs]] in [[Northumberland]], who are sometimes believed to use lights to lure people off paths, akin to a [[will-o'-the-wisp]].{{sfn|Simek|2008|p=68}}{{sfn|The Simonside Dwarfs|p=543}}

Some dwarfs in modern folklore have been argued to belong to a broader group of smith-beings living within hollow mountains or in caves such as the [[Grinkenschmied]].{{sfn|Motz|1977|p=50}} These craftsmen can be referred to explicitly as dwarfs or terms that describe their roles such as {{langx|sv|bergsmed}} ('mountain smith'). Mounds in Denmark can also be referred to by names derived from their inhabitants, such as 'smedsberg' or 'smedshoie' ('smith's hill' or 'smith's mound').{{sfn|Motz|1977|p=52}} [[Anglia (peninsula)|Anglian]] folklore tells that one can hear a forge from within a mound and feel furnace fires under the earth, while in Switzerland, the heat can be attributed to the underground kitchens of dwarfs. In one example, the furnace's heat is believed to increase soil fertility.{{sfn|Motz|1977|p=53}}