Of Elves and Dwarfs By Lotte Motz (Brooklyn College, New York City) Puzzling though well known to those acquainted with Old Norse myth is the partial fusion of two legendary families: the dwarfs and the elves. The images of dwarf and elf held by the inheritors of the tradition, which underlies the Norse documents, are on the whole of utterly dif- ferent beings: that of the former of a creature of great age and skill, a guardian of treasure in caves and mountains, that of the latter of a carrier of illness and nightmare (Norwegian: alvskot, German Alp- druck), but also at times of one clad in supernatural beauty and exud- ing the lure and seductiveness of lands forbidden to man, so in the poems: Erlkénig and La Belle Dame sans Merci. The Icelandic texts, our main source of mythical information, have provided a basis for such distinction by arranging elves and dwarfs into two separate famlies with, as in the Alvissmdl, separate languages. Yet we find among the dwarf-names of the poem Volospd such obvious elf-names as: Alfr, Ganddifr, Vinddlfr; a name meaning ‘king of the elves’ is held in some sagas by a dwarf!. Dainn, teacher of the elves, and thus an elf himself in the poem Hdvamal, reappears in the ‘Lay of Hyndla’ as a clever dwarf?, Volundr, a master smith like most dwarfs, carries the title ‘ruler of elves’*. Snorri Sturluson divides the family of elves into two branches, equating one branch with the dwarfs. It is the purpose of this paper to determine more precisely than has heretofore been done the nature of the fusion and to suggest a solu- tion to the puzzle (with the help of a non-Germanic parallel). First it will be necessary to investigate the two families. In turning to the Icelandic literature, in this attempt, we find that references to the figures of our discussion occur throughout the range94 Lotte Motz of the texts which thus offer us a number of approaches according to their own divergent attitude towards Germanic myth. Those poems of the Edda whose composition has been attributed to the pre-Chris- tian era would present mythical concepts in the words of those who still hold belief in Germanic religion (though the material might be treated freely) and could even contain elements of cultic practice. The writings of Snorri Sturluson (of the thirteenth century 1179-1241) and portions of the Heroic sagas (Fornaldar ségur, written from the thirteenth century onwards) show us mythical ideas and figures in the interpretation of Christian scholars through which we may gain access to the earlier form. The Heroic sagas, again, which based them- selves on Germanic story matter and the Riddara ségur which brought foreign tales to Scandinavia testify also to the development of our characters in literary imagination and in folk belief, the Riddara ségur indicating also the possible impact of the foreign themes upon the ancient Germanic figures. The Icelandic Family sagas, also dating from the thirteenth century onwards, are valuable guides to the intel- lectual life of the Icelanders and would further delineate the form of elf and dwarf as it existed within the framework of Icelandic thought (dwarfs, in fact, do not appear). Helpful to the restoration of an archaic concept are also the ways of language: word combinations, frozen formulae, conventions of poetic diction may employ words in a meaning which is lost from cur- rent usage and would thus indicate, in the case of a mythical figure, its former dimension. Strong testimony to the preservative power of poetry is the Skdldskaparmal of Snorri Sturluson in which are cited a number of ancient myths that had been encapsuled in the language of the poets. Both the word for ‘elf’ and the word for ‘dwarf’ appear as part of compound words, in frozen formulae (elves only) and in the language of the skalds. We may now turn to the evidence. Elves ‘Two derivations for the word dlfr have been suggested, one linking it to a root *rbhu- which is also found in the word Ribbhus, highly giftedOf elves and dwarfs 95 artisans of the Vedas, the other assuming a root *albh with the mean- ing of ‘whiteness, glow’, as in Latin albus‘, A small number of words has been formed with the word difr. Alfheimr, ‘world of the elves’ given by the gods to the god Freyr®, also a land ruled by the mythical ancestors of kings*, and the place where the elves dwell’. Alfrodull, ‘tay or rod of the elves’, a synonym for sun’. Alfrek, ‘that which chases away the elves’, dirt, excrement; ganga dlfrek—‘to perform one’s bodily functions’®. Alfablot, ‘sacrifice to the elves’, a religious ceremony performed still in the eleventh century in pagan households in Sweden”, Alfr may be found as name or part of a name, especially of mythical ancestors; king Alfr who ruled over Alfheim, was father to Alfgeirr, who was father of Gandalf, who was father of Alfhild; this line of kings comes down to king Harald Fairhair, the ruler of Norway". I Of the qualities of the elves we hear little in the mythical poems of the Edda. Though the alliterative formula Aesir ok dlfar occurs repeatedly it entails no further description of the action of the elves. We are told, for instance, in the Lokasenna that Aesir and dlfar have come together for a feast, and learn then the names of the gods at the banquet while the names of the elves are not revealed"?. Also in Snorri’s observation that both the names of gods and elves may be used in kennings for man, no elf name is given to illustrate the point’, One must assume from the absence of any activity that the elves had ceased to function, yet in their prime they must have been closely allied with the gods; geographic nearness may be deduced from the existence of a land ‘close to the Aesir and elves’ (land er heilakt | er ek liggia sé | dsom ok difom ner)", similar areas of power from Freyr’s moan that none of the Aesir and elves allow him to be at peace with his love (dsa ok difa | pat vill engi madr | pat vit samt siem)**. Close resemblance may also be inferred from Snorri’s statement, mentioned earlier, that both gods and elves may lend their names to kennings96 Lotte Motz for man. Suggestive of extreme likeness is the fact that both, elves and gods, head the gencalogical tables in those sagas of the North which trace the lineage of the ruling houses to the gods. Thus we hear that king Harald Fairhair of Norway had descended from Odin on his father’s side and from Alfr in the maternal line'*, At the time of their activity elves seem to have been associated with the sky and the light of the sun. It has been noted that one derivation of their name carries the meaning of ‘glow’ or ‘whiteness’. The sun was the elves’ instrument; Yngvi, in several accounts the brother of Alfr and thus an elf!’, is linked in name to Freyr, the god of sun and sky, also described as shining (skirr) and thus sometimes designated as: Yngvi-Freyr. This god also lives in Alfheimr. The two brothers, Alfr and Yngvi, kings of Sweden in the Heimskringla, are sons of the queen Dageidr who is daughter of king Day!*. Snorri names some elves ‘lightelves’ who are ‘fairer than the sun’ (par byggvir folk pat, er Ljdsdlfar heita ... Ljdsdlfar eru fegri en sdl)'®; one manuscript uses the word ‘whiter’ instead of ‘fairer’ evoking thus even more clearly the sense of light about the elves. Il. There exists also a completely different form of elf. 1. Snorri states that besides the light-elves who reside in the sky lives the race of black: Dokkilfar bia nidri i jérdu, en Dokkdlfar eru svartari en bik)? Of these he tells that they created the chain which holds the Fenris wolf elves down in the earth and darker than pitch (en and thus keeps off the doom of gods and men; this magic bond fashioned of such instubstantial matters as the noise of cats’ paws or the beard of women is yet so strong that it cannot be rent, growing the more in strength the more it is strained (SnE. Gylfag. 34). 'To these elves also the gods owe their most precious possessions: Sif’s golden hair, the boat Skidbladnir serving the sun god, the spear Gungnir and the ring Draupnir belonging to Odin, the hammer Mjollnir handed to Thor, and a boar with bristles of gleaming gold. Mysterious and effective as the forces commanded by the black-Of elves and dwarfs 97 elves are those of Vplundr, a master smith and also called a prince of elves, who was captured and maimed by king Nidud and then held enslaved on an island. Vglundr rises however to vengeance of monstrous proportions, killing the king’s sons, seducing the king’s daughter to flee afterwards the place of his humiliation as he ascends with triumph- ant laughter into the sky”. The elves here grouped together coincide completely, as will later be seen, with the dwarfs. 2. The word dlfr may extend its meaning. King Olaf, in bed, but still awake while his men are sleeping, notices suddenly that an ‘elf or some kind of spirit’ has entered through locked doors (Bd pétti ko- nungi einn dlfr eda andi nokkurr koma inn i hisit)**, We may interpret the word here to refer to any supernatural being. The same meaning is found in the Tristrams saga; here a man of king Mark’s retinue has seen the guilty lovers sleeping side by side in a forest and relates to the king that he didn’t know if they were human or divine or of the kin of elves (difa kyn)**, 3. Elves may be evil and resemble in this form the trolls. A king’s nurse uttering a curse in one of the Heroic sagas invokes a host of ill beings: Tréll ok difar | ok tofranornir | bar, bergrisar | to burn some- one’s dwelling’. A curse pronounced in a Riddara saga places elves among other monsters: moldbtia, skripi, flgd, fidndur®®. The same ill station is assigned to them in the Grettis saga where Hallmund recalls at the point of death with pride that in his lifetime he had vanquished: pursar, dvettir, hamarsbita, meinveettir, dlfa kind®. 4. A special kind of evil spirit is the incubus. A child is fathered by an elf on a king’s sleeping wife in the Bidriks saga: the pale, one-eyed Hégni who is called in abuse: son of an elf®”. 5. Peculiar to the romantic sagas (Fornaldar ségur and Riddara ségur) is the figure of the female elf (difkona). The hero Hrélf follows a hart through the forest into the mound of an elfwoman; there he finds her 7 ~ 748264 Arv 197398 Lotte Motz daughter in the throes of childbirth and relieves her through the touch of his hand; the mother then rewards him in gratitude with a magic and precious ring”. In bed, like king Olaf, king Helgi meets an elf in a storm-haunted night. As a beggar in rags, half perished with cold, she has entered the king’s room and asks for entrance also to the warmth of the king’s bed. When this is granted she changes into a fine and beautiful lady, who bears the king, later, in token of the memorable night, a girl child?*, Elsewhere female elves weave a cloak of magic properties (Méttuls- saga) or a garment of dazzling and surpassing beauty®*, Fiercer are the elves of the Samsons saga who steal wool to continue their weav- ing, but offer ransom when they are caught*!, and those of the Elis saga who have snatched a child from its cradle**. 6. Elves may recive sacrifices. ‘The Kormdks saga tells of a man who seeks help from a wise woman for his festering wound and is told to turn to the elves who live in a hill; he is to bring them the carcase of a bull and to redden their doors with the beast’s blood®*. King Olaf, a historic king who had ruled in Norway in the ninth century, was buried in Geirstad and worshipped and honored with sacrifices which were to bring fruitfulness to the land; he was given the name ‘Elf of Geirstad’ (Geirstadadlfr)*. We have already pointed to the dlfablét, a sacrifice which carries the name of the elves. 7. Accomplishment in singing and dancing is shown by elves of a Riddara saga who leave their mountain at the call of a king’s whistle to perform before him, The Middle High German word albleich, the English e/zring, the Danish dlfdans bear testimony to the presence of singing and dancing elves in Germanic folk belief. IIL. As was recognized by Snorri the poets used the world difr in kennings as they employed the names of the gods, i.e.; Vigalfr—elf of the fightOf elves and dwarfs 99 —warrior®, sverddlfr—elf of the sword—warrior®; in keeping with the antithetical qualities of the race of elyes the word difr appears as part of designation of a giant: bjargdlfr®®. The common feature of the elf figure shortly described in section II, 1-7 is their abode on and in the earth and their full vitality. Whether they are kind or harmful beings, theirs is a power to which men suc- cumb who consequently seek them in sacrifice or invoke them in curses. The female form has taken her traits from several areas; the magic of her gifts and her craft she shares with the dwarfs, but her particular talent of weaving more than cloth belonged to the Norns, the weavers of fate in Germanic tradition; a hart luring a hero and a crone transforming herself into a beauty may be met in the tales of the Celts; the stealing of children by elves or fairies is also a feature of folk belief. Thus ancient religion, current folk belief, and that which was imported as story matter have taken their part in shaping the figure. ‘The family of elves, as we have seen, is rent in two, one part living in the sky and lost to view, close to the gods and the light of the sun and the other on and in the earth and alive. It has earlier been noted that one may be guided through linguistic features to an earlier mean- ing of a concept and thus realize an earlier and faded significance of a mythical figure. It has been observed that we deduced, mainly through its imprint on the language, a functional and geographic closeness of the elves to the gods; we have noted the alliterative formula Aesir ok dlfar, the word Alfheimr which places their resi- dence into the skies, the name Alfr which parallels that of Odin as ancestor of kings, the practice of the skalds who employ the word ‘elf’ as they employ the names of gods; through the word difrodull we perceive the elves’ relation to the sun, through an elf’s name (Yngvi, the brother of Alfr) linkage with a bright and shining god of the sky. To the same aspect of the race we are directed by the learned men; in the histories and pseudo-histories of the northern countries we hear of the fair race of the elves and of names containing the syllable100 Lotte Motz -dlfr which figure in the genealogy of kings. The treatise of Snorri also ascribes to elves a station in the sky and a fairness whiter than the fairness of the sun. The sources which are witnesses to living thought, ‘on the other hand, have drawn the image of the other elves, the vital forces who work their potent spell from their habitation on the earth. Snorri saw the cleft within the group and gave it voice in his division into light and dark elves which is not elsewhere encountered**. Grimm felt the dichotomy when he stated: “Von den Wohnungen der Licht- elbe im Himmel wissen die Volkssagen nichts mehr’’#°, Some of the elf figures bear resemblance to a frequently encoun- tered image of the dead; like these dead the ‘Elf of Geirstad’ and the elf-folk of the Kermaks saga have their dwelling-place within a hill, are recipients of offerings and effect the wellbeing of men. We also hear that from their habitation in the hills the elves have not departed and that the difar of Iceland, the ellefoik of Denmark and the elfvor of Sweden have through the centuries rewarded those who brought them gifts‘t, Some scholars have assumed that, because of the shared features, there is identity between the family of elves and the souls of the departed, among them Jan de Vries who supports his view Ly pointing to the alf who is still present in a similar aspect in Dutch folk belief‘. While there probably was fusion between some elves and the an- cestral dead who dwell in mounds I cannot accept complete equation or descent of one group from the other, The word difr in the title of king Olaf (Getrstadadlfr), which for de Vries is adequate as proof of full identity, could have been used in the meaning ‘supernatural being’ (II, 2). The chieftain had been worshipped after his death and it is natural that he should be designated as one who has risen above the state of man. De Vries himself cites the case of Bardr, a settler in Iceland, who was venerated after death and was thereafter known as Snefellsdss*?; would one then, because of the word dss in the title of a dead man equate the Aesir of historic times with the souls of the deceased? It is true that elves who in the Kormdks saga are brought an offer-Of elves and dwarfs 101 ing share features with the dead who dwell in mounds; it is equally true that they resemble other spirits of the wilderness (the land- vzttir or landbiiar). It has also been assumed by some that the elves to whom venera- tion is accorded are thus adored as bringers of fertility; this function of the race is deduced from its relationship to Freyr, a god who brings - peace and rich harvests, and from the name of the cultic ceremony, the dlfablét. While it is true that spirits associated with the sun may also, as does Freyr, bring fruitfulness, such action of the elves is not, in fact, beheld. Of the difablét we know hardly. anything except for the time of its performance in the course of the year and the place of its enactment (on a farmstead)**. Undoubtedly it had at one time been intended for the elves, but we do not know to which of their manifesta- tions. It is also possible that the name remained, as it had elsewhere, when the figure designated by it, had become eclipsed. We do not know if the dlfablét.was rendered, at the time of the poem which cites it, to the elves, for the only god mentioned in relation to the cultic act of the eleventh century is Odin and he is not an elf. Of the feast of meat and blood which we know to have been offered to the elves (in the Kormdks saga) we also know that it was not for fruitfulness; if this offering was indeed related to the dlfablot of pagan times it had lost much of its character, for it was given, not as part of seasonal practices and not on a farmstead, at the advice of a witch, by one man in special circumstances. E. O. G. Turville-Petre suggests a view in which the two races of Snorri’s classification, the dark one and the light one, are two aspects of the same force, for the spirits of death are also those which bring new life‘‘. This paper agrees with the idea of a basic unity, under- standing the color symbolism to derive from Christian sources (ref. 39), and also with the coalescence of some elves with the dead, and, to some extent, with the spirits of fertility. It holds, however, that fundamental to the special quality of elves is the duality of the race with a habitation in the sky and a stated relation to light in one branch {the earlier form) and with a fully felt stream of raw power discharged102 Lotte Motz by those elves only who dwell on and in the earth. Equally unshared by other creatures of folk belief, as the memory of closeness to the gods, is the literary development of the elves and their many talents of singing, weaving, dancing and magic smithcraft. Dwarfs The word dvergr has been related to Olnd. dhvards, ‘a demoniac being’ or to a root *dhver- with the meaning of ‘damage’ which is also found in the Avestan word drva ‘a physical defect’ (A. Jéhannesson, Etymologisches Wérterbuch, Berlin 1956). No such inner contradiction as is apparent with the elves cleaves the image of the dwarf. There is, as in the case of the elves, little de- scription in the mythical poetry; yet what is said about the race does not stand in any contrast to the vivid and bountiful information of the sagas. Dwarfs are in both places strongly linked to stones and moun- tains. The Volospd places them in the final battle between gods and demons as helpless spectators ‘before their doorway of rock’ (stynia dvergar fyr steindurom)**, the same passage calls them ‘the wise ones of the wallike rock’ (veggbergs visir). In sagas they still dwell in the stone and the cave. The mountain opens in the Jarlmanns saga at the sound of a king’s silver whistle and emits a crowd of dwarfs and elves’. Dwarfs, who in the Bidriks saga are the teachers of Vglundr, can close their mountain against unwant- ed guests. A dwarf lures king Sveigdir into a stone which closes afterwards in an incident related in the poem Ynglingatal and in the Ynglingas saga where it was incorporated**. Skaldic poetry confirms the bond between the dwarfs and the rock in which they dwell, for kennings often testify to this relation: holm- leggjar hilvar—‘the lord of the mountain’ (this kenning refers to the dwarf Litr)°, Regins skdli—‘the hall of Reginn’—‘stone’®!, dvergrann —‘house of the dwarf’—‘stone’ (here a precious stone’)®?. The word dvergmdli of the sagas, ‘echo’ is based on the concept of the dwarf’s residence within the stone and of his voice as givingOf elves and dwarfs 103 answer from the cliffs*s. The place-name dverghamr, recorded in Ice- land, shows the affinity as still alive in the belief of the settlers™. Dwarfs also serve as cosmic pillars and this function restates the connection, for it is mountains which are seen, in some mythologies as the supporting columns of the sky (Atlas: a mountain range and the pillar of the sky in Greek tradition, Odyssey I, 53-4). We know of this role through Snorri (Zéku peir ok haus hans ok gerdu par af himin ... undir hvert horn settu peir dverg; peir heita sud: Austri, Vestri, Noréri, Suéri) and through kennings for sky, as Nidbyrér Noréra—‘the bur- den of the relative of Nordri’®, ‘Throughout their appearance in the texts dwarfs are credited with magic powers. Of the dwarf Biddrerir we know that he is a chanter, like Odin, of magic charms (er gél Biddrorir, | dvergr, fyt Dellings durom; | afl gél hann dsom, | en dlfom frama)®*. The dwarf Alviss of the Alvtssmal possesses the key to secret languages. Magic power over the forces of nature and the mysterious processes of life are still held by dwarfs of the sagas who can heal and curse in ways not approachable by ordinary men. The word dvergsndttira of the Géngu-Hrdlfs saga designates supernatural skills of healing and craftsmanship (dvergsndttiru hefi ek d kynstrum til lekidoms ok hagleik; £ 3, p. 230). Paramount among the talents of the dwarfs is their creativity. The boat Skidbladnir for the sun god Freyr is of their making*’, and the gate of the palace of Menglgd which mysteriously paralyzes the visi- tor who dares to enter ( figturr fastr | verdr vid faranda hvern | er hana hefr fra hlidi)°*. Snorri’s Edda teils us of the magic chain which fetters the Fenris wolf, the slim strand which belies its appearance of frailty, of golden hair which grows as if it were alive, of the hammer Mjollnir which returns to its owner, of the boar whose bristles penetrate the darkness of night, of a ship which may be folded and which is followed by a constantly fair wind, of a ring which begets more rings of its own ac- cord and of a spear with invincible thrust (SnE. Skdldsk. 35). Dwarfs also formed a golden boar for the goddess Freyja, according to the Hyndlolisd®.104 Lotte Motz In sagas we hear above all of invincible and precious swords forged by these masters of metalcraft. The sword Tyrfingr, given to a king, is described in the following manner: “This king had obtained from dwarfs the sword Tyrfing, the keenest of all blades; every time it was drawn a light shone from it like a ray of the sun; it could never be held unsheathed without being the death of a man and it had always to be sheathed in blood still warm upon it. There was no living thing, neither man nor beast, that could live to see another day if it were wounded by Tyrfing whether the wound were big or little; never had it failed in stroke or been stayed before it plunged into the earth and_ the man who wore it in battle would always be victorious if blows were struck with it; this sword is renowned in all the ancient tales.” The sagas also describe a necklace so splendid and beguiling that Freyja pays for it with the price of her love, magic shoes which could never be replaced*?, a magic trumpet®, and a knife that prevails even against enchantment*, Engaged in activity even more mysterious and godlike than that of producing magic objects are the two dwarfs who create life by shaping from clay the rest of their race at the world’s beginning®. Of the dwarfs’ originating and brief owning of the drink of magic wisdom and poetry we hear through Snorri®* and through a number of kennings which call mead the ‘drink’ of the dwarfs: Dverga drykkia*’, Dvatins veigar®, Regins drykkr®. The mead is also named ‘the cup’ or ‘the sea’ or ‘the wave’ of the dwarfs. It is only natural that a metalsmith, or even a potter, should be associated with fire, and thus we find the name Sindri (sindra, v. ‘to send out sparks’) to refer to the craftsman who forged in his smithy the gifts for the gods” and to a dwarf of a Fornaldar saga”. When in Snorri’s tale of the smithying of the treasures Loki wishes to halt the process, it is the fire he tries to disturb; from this we may realize the importance of the fires of the forge to the craft of the smith-dwarfs. Neither poems nor sagas tell us of cultic offerings to the dwarfs, These appear rather as such that are to be cowed and outwitted. Thus Alviss is tricked by Thor, whose daughter he had wished to wed, intoOf elves and dwarfs 105 staying until the light of day has come to destroy him. The: dwarf Andvari is caught in Loki’s net and forced to give up his treasure of gold’*. More precious than gold and jewels is the drink of inspiration which the dwarfs themselves had brewed from blood and honey and this too they must lose to save themselves”*. The sagas contain a re- current episode in which a dwarf is defeated by human strength and offers a priceless gift as ransom; at times he places a curse on the object. Grotesque and defeated, of low social esteem, dwarfs do not re- ceive the love of woman naturally : a woman is gained in the Gongu- Hrélfs saga through a dwarf’s magic skills and the submission of Freyja bought with a necklace. We have two accounts of the origin of the race; it arose from the blood of the giant. Brimir and the bones of the giant Bldinn when the cosmos was created‘, or dwarfs grew like maggots in the flesh of the giant Ymir and were then given men’s wit and features by the gods’®. That dwarfs came from the bones of the primeval being would again point to their closeness to the mountains, for elsewhere it is the mountains which have originated from a giant’s bones”*, Description of the dwarfs’ appearance, as that of the elves, occurs in the medieval prose accounts only; here dwarfs are seen as we still know them: stunted, ugly and grotesque. As elves incorporated features of non-Germanic tradition so the dimensions of the dwarf received extension in contact with the foreign tales. There appears in some of the imported sagas a dwarf who shares with his Scandinavian brother, the inhabitant of earth and mountains, mainly his stunted exterior, for he lives as part of a king’s retinue in palace or army camp and is treasured for his exotic appeal and pictures- que appearance. Such figures are the dwarfs of the Tristrams and Tveints saga’. It has been pointed out by Helmut de Boor that of the dwarfs of Norse tradition, though their contours are clearly drawn, we know only what belongs to the figure of the fairy tale”. The shape and sig- nificance of the earlier mythical force remains hidden in the shadows.106 Lotte Motz We may agree that dwarfs (and elves) are clearly pictured in the sagas only, embedded in the story matter of the Middle Ages, and that they are only fleetingly beheld in the poems of the gods. What we know of their earlier form is above all reconstructed through the traces left in the language of prose and poetry and through occasional random lines. And so we may assume that dwarfs (and elves) were no longer potent forces in the pantheon rendered by the Eddic poems. We may understand that elves and dwarfs belong to the same gene- ration of gods, i.e., to the seme layer of belief. There are more re- semblances: one subgroup of the elves (II, 1) completely coincides with the dwarfs; female elves may also resemble dwarfs in their pos- session of the skill of producing magic objects; one of the branches of the elf family lives like the dwarfs in the hills of the earth (II). (We disregard in this classification the courtly dwarf who is of foreign origin.) Both races live on in fairy tale and folk belief. There are more dissimilarities than resemblances. Elves were at one time closely stationed to the Aesir, dwarfs are very rarely cited with the gods; the texts give evidence of cultic offerings to the elves, but not to the dwarfs; great beauty is at times ascribed to the elves and ugliness always to the dwarfs; elves may be associated with light and dwarfs are almost always allied with darkness; elves triumph over men while dwarfs are defeated by them; the word difr is used in ken- nings for ‘man’, the word dvergr is not so employed. Alfr is also found as name or part of a name, but not the word dvergr; on the other hand few clf-names are given (Ddinn, Yngvi, Ganddlfr) while a host of dwarf-names has been transmitted. The concept of the dwarf is homo- gencous, the concept of the elf presents several and some contradic- tory aspects; elves have more readily than dwarfs absorbed foreign influences. We may conclude that elves were much more highly sta- tioned and have suffered many more changes than the dwarfs'®, In the second part of this paper I shall try to come closer to the mythical form of elf and dwarf which has been encapsuled in the creature known to us and reshaped by foreign tales and popular ima-Of elves and dwarfs 107 gination. I shall seek in this effort the help of an Indo-European tradition which presents us with its many-layered mythical figures and concepts, preserved from the effacement of time by works of literature, art and scholarship. The divine smith of the Greeks appears as a rather clear example of the ‘mythical smith’ as which we have also recognized the Germanic dwarf. In examining this figure we may hope also to illuminate somewhat the fate of the elves. I have relied strongly in my venture into a foreign field on.a book by Marie Del- court: Héphaistos, ou la légende du magicien. (Paris, 1957). Hephaistos is the artisan of mythical society; he has in fact become in Athens, the only place which adores him in cult, the patron saint of the artisans. As worker in metal, his association with metal craft ‘is so strong that at a certain time any work of metal is automatically attributed to him. He is a producer of arms; he fashioned, as such, the coat of Diomedes and the suit of armor for Peleus which, after the death of Patroclus, fell into the hands of the Trojans. When the god- dess Thetis visits him in his smithy to ask him for another set of arms she enumerates the items: a shield, iron pieces to protect the legs, a coat of mail, a sword®. Hephaistos also created other works of precious metal: a sceptre for Zeus and Agamemnon, a cup for Menelaus, a funeral urn for the ashes of Achilles, an amphora, offered to Dionysus and Thetis, a sickle for Demeter used by her to teach the Titans to harvest. Some of the products show magic power; the statue of Dionysus, which Eurypyle takes with him on leaving Troy, brings madness to those who look at it; bronze castagnettes made for Athena to give to Heracles can alone frighten off the birds of the lake of Stymphale; the terrible Egide fashioned for Zeus puts men to flight if held up before them. The smith god’s architecture also may consist of more than stone: a bolt which only Zeus can move locks the chamber of Hera; six singing enchantresses form part of the temple of Apollo at Delphi; four well springs rising in the palace of Aetes gush water, wine, oil and milk®!. This is the jewelry Hephaistos is said to have smithied: the fatal108 Lotte Motz necklace of Harmonia, originally Zeus’ love gift to Europa, which bestows irresistible beauty on its wearer, the magic crown given by Dionysus to Ariadne which is meant to seduce her and which saves Theseus in the labyrinth, for its light dispels the darkness. Hephaistos also fashioned Pandora’s crown of which however no magic qualities are reported. In participation in the working of cosmic order Hephaistos created the golden boat for the sun god Helios. A series of objects can best be described as automatons: they are artifacts of metal with a life of their own: servants made of gold in the shape of young women who support the divine smith in his stumbling walk, oxen with brazen feet who plow the furrows in which men grow from dragons’ teeth, a golden dog given to Alcinous to be guardian of the palace of Odysseus, and a man ‘of bronze for Minos to be the guardian of Crete. Automatons also are the objects which furnish Hephaistos’ smithy: three legged golden tables which move on their own accord and bellows which only need to be turned to- wards the fire to blow with the desired force®*. In Aeschylos’ Prometheus Hephaistos uses metal chains to fasten the rebellious Titan to his rock of torture; the chains ascribed him by Homer are less tangible and more powerful. In order to keep Ares. and Aphrodite frozen in the act of love and adultery he holds them immobile with an invisible net*; to Hera he sends at one time a throne from which she cannot free herself until he himself comes to release her. Like other divine smiths Hephaistos may stray from his special trade and turn potter and that is, when, according to Hesiod, he shapes the woman Pandora from earth*. Six or seven centuries after Homer Nonnus ascribes to the limping god objects of the same kind as those enumerated: the house of Electra, the necklace of Aphrodite, a cup and rings offered by Poseidon to Beroe, hunting nets for Ado- nis, a shield that resists any blow, a submarine forge with living bel-. lows and the living oxen made by the Cabires who are, according to this author, the sons of Hephaistos. This list shows how little hadOf elves and dwarfs 109 changed through the centuries, how Hephaistos had stayed, for the Greeks, a maker of things inhabited by the force to frighten and to numb, to repel danger and to act, though made of metal, like a being endowed with life®®. There is much similarity between the works of the Greek and the Germanic smith figure: all the objects produced by the dwarfs find a place within the categories of gifts given by Hephaistos. Some items are even identical, like the boat created for the sun god or the neck- lace for the goddess of love. Both smiths can breathe life into a form of clay: the woman Pandora and the dwarfs shaped from earth by Durinn and Meétsognir. Both gave form to'a golden object endowed with life: the golden servants of the smithy and: the golden boar of Freyr which can outrace a horse. Both craftsmen have built divine dwellings: the palace of Menglgd where none\but the awaited hero may enter, and.the chamber of Hera which only Zeus has leave to penetrate. Both smiths defeat darkness, for the crown of Ariadne il- luminates the night as do the bristles of the boar of Freyr. ~The most significant power wielded by the Greek and the Germanic smith is that which enables them to arrest movement; they are both masters of the deceptively slim or invisible chain. Hephaistos’ throne for Hera and the net thrown over Aphrodite and her lover possess the same invincible magic force as the chain Gleipnir which holds the Fenris wolf and the gate to Menglgd’s palace which fetters the intruder. That Hephaistos’ power to paralyze is part of conscious belief is attested by the phrase: ‘the chains of Hephaistos’ which is explained in the following way: “The chain of Hephaistos one says of inevitable matters: thus a man is constrained by his passions as if by the chains of Hephaistos, unbreakable, unentwinable, he remains caught.”’** Georges Dumézil has pointed out that there are two fundamentally different ways of behavior for the sovereign gods of Indo-European mythology: one is exemplified by Ouranos, the other by Zeus, one by Varuna, the other by Indra. Ouranos and Varuna are the gods of an older generation who rule by magic, whom Dumézil calls diewx110 Lotte Motz lieurs, and who are always overthrown by the more modern gods Zeus and Indra, aggressive gods, dieux combattants, who fight in the way of men in open battle with a man’s courage and a man’s cunning®?, Dumézil understands the account of such victory as the reflection in myth and literature of a new stage in the history of the world in which man has attained greater confidence in his powers and no longer feels himself a prey to the monstrous and mysterious forces which may, at any moment, seize and paralyze him®*, Dumézil points to the monstrous appearance of the older gods: less the personification of man, they are closer to the forces of chaos, the primeval antagonists of cosmic order. He considers Zeus and Indra as superhuman, but Ouranos and Varuna as essentially non-human, We too have encountered in the tales of the dwarfs a recurrent theme in which the smith-magician was overcome by an aggressive warrior. There is no doubt that by their powers to paralyze both the dwarfs and Hephaistos belong to the group of the ‘binding gods’; yet they are not sovereigns destroyed, but rather the servants of the new rulers who present their inestimable gifts. So the Cyclopes, also 2 subjugated race, forged the thunderbolt for Zeus, the smith of the Rig Veda (Tvastr) furnished the brazen club for the warrior god Indra, and the dwarfs offered to Thor the hammer Mjollnir. Like the dwarfs, the non-combattant helpers of the hero, Hephaistos does not take part in warfare. ‘There are other ways in which Hephaistos belongs to an older ge- neration of gods. We have several accounts of his birth: according to Hesiod he was born ‘without the help of tender love’ by Hera alone; he was thus, like Ouranos, brought forth by earth without a father. In Homer Hephaistos springs from a normal union between Zeus and Hera, yet there is always a feeling of trouble and hostility between him and his father. In general the poets follow the version of Hesiod®*, Aeschylos considers Hephaistos the offspring of the sun. In a schol- ion to the Aeneid he is said to be conceived before the marriage of Zeus and Hera in illegal intercourse; when Hera gives birth to He-Of elves and dwarfs qr phaistos she declares, to save appearances, that she had conceived him without 2 father. It seems quite clear that in the stories of the birth of Hephaistos we glimpse the picture of a more archaic Hera, an old earth and mother goddess, sufficient in herself for the creation of life, who was made to combine with a later deity. of marriage. In one episode He-. phaistos appears not only as the son, but as the husband of the earth, and that is when he sheds his seed upon her thus. begetting a son, Erichthonius, a monster. Here is completed the image of the earth goddess whose son is also her youthful consort. As in Greek mythology the earth herself created the sky Ouranos, the sea Okeanos and the other Titans who largely correspond to the features of the physical universe, so in Germanic mythology the sky and other regions of the world of men sprang from one primeval being, which in this tradition is masculine. It is only natural that the less anthropomorphic deities who closely resemble natural phenomena should come forth through asexual ac- tivity while the gods shaped in the image of man are begotten, in marriage or adultery, through the union of male and female. In this way also dwarfs belong to the more archaic generation; for they do not have mother or father, but grew from the bones and the blood. of a giant and some of them from the earth (dr igrdo or, é igrdo). It was stated earlier that we receive through mythical poetry no description of the dwarfs’ appearance. What we know about the shape of dwarfs has been taken from the medieval sagas and from the evid- ence of folk belief which shows them as the stunted beings which we know. With view to the many resemblances between Hephaistos and the dwarfs it seems permissible to search the Greek accounts both verbal and pictorial, for clues to the dwarfs’ external shape. Among the Greek gods Hephaistos is the only one to show physical deformity; according to Homer he can hardly walk without the sup- port of the two servants whom he himself has created. The defect is at times represented in painting by the direction of his feet, one of them pointing forward and the other backward®, sometimes both112 Lotte Motz pointing backward®; he is also pictured stretched out on a mule, as if he were lying on a bed, in an attitude which suggests extreme fatigue or feebleness®?. Some objects, especially those of the classical period of Greek art, represent a Hephaistos as beautiful and robust as any dweller on Olympus. It is not likely that his defect had been forgotten, but rather that classical art no longer tried to be realistic and could not bear to portray ugliness®*, It is especially interesting, in the light of our endeavor, to find that one archaic vase renders Hephaistos as a dwarf™; this shape also is attested by some literary documents; Herodot equates the lame smith with Ptah, the Egyptian god of jewellers; this Ptah is a dwarf, mis- shapen, with large head and crooked legs. It is not the Hephaistos of high mythology to whom Ptah is likened, but rather those grotesque representations of the god, developments of popular belief, which artisans, especially smiths, were in the habit of hanging up near their forge to dispel the evil spirits. Herodot recounts the outrage committed by Cambyses against the religious feelings of the Egyptians: “He entered the temple of He- phaistos whose image he turned in derision; it resembled in effect completely those patéques which the Phoenicians put on the prows of their tririmes; for those who have never seem them I explain: it is the shape of a pygmy ...95 We can thus see that on one hand the artists idealized the figure of the divine smith to make him beautiful while on the other hand po- pular imagination emphasized his grotesqueness and made him, who was himself a sorcerer and maker of charms, a charm against evil spirits. ‘The resemblance to Germanic legend is striking; for both mani- festations are here present: the lameness attached to the figure of Volundr and the development into a pygmy; there exists no beautified smith figure, but neither was there a tradition of sculptural or pic- torial idealization. Whatever the development, it originated in the deformity whichOf elves and dwarfs 113 seems to be part of the concept of the mythical smith. One may wonder at the presence of a mutilated god in a group which is meant to be eternally young and beautiful. Georges Dumézil observes the pre- sence, in the Indo-European pantheon, of some physically defective figures, the defect resting with the arms or the eyes®*. He points to Odin one-eyed and Tyr one-armed of Germanic myth, Cocles and Scaevola of Roman legend, Lug and Nuada of the Celts, and Baha and Savitr of India. In these cases the mutilation, self-willed or in- flicted, was the price paid for a certain acquisition. The value of voluntary suffering and its permanent effect, mutila- tion, is clearly recognizable in Irish. legend: queen Medbh, endeavor- ing to turn her six children into. magicians, had the boys’ right foot and the girls’ left eye amputated; after seven years of apprenticeship these cripples were able to produce magic lances*?; The Edda states it quite clearly: Odin had to give his right eye before he was allowed a sip of the well of wisdom (SnE. Gylfag. 15). Greek legend tells of Tiresias, struck by blindness and then consoled for his suffering by the gift of prophecy; to be sure, his affliction was not self-willed, yet his case still testifies to the validity of the payment. Death and its symbol, mutilation, play an important part in the initiation ceremonies which men must undergo, in some societies, be- fore attaining the status of magician. The disfigurement may be slight, such as the extraction of a tooth or the piercing of the tongue; yet the man who suffered it is said to have completely emptied his inside and to have had it refilled with new organs so that through his symbolic death and following rebirth he has entered into a new mode of exist- ence®, The gift acquired at such price by Hephaistos is obviously that of magic smith craft. A rationalistic explanation has, to be sure, been brought forward to explain the lameness of the smith: that it was the disabled man who had to stay at home while his well-shaped brothers would go off to the wars®*. This view, however, does not account for the mutilation of non-artisan gods, nor the fact that other workmen enjoy good health, nor the actual prowess needed to work the anvil. 8 ~ 744264 Ary 1973114 Lotte Motz Understanding the presence and significance of a mutilated god in the divine family one will be less disappointed than Jan de Vries in one of the suggested etymologies for the word dvergr. We have noted earlier that it was derived by some from a root which also underlies the Avestan word drva, ‘a physical defect,’ a ‘disease’; related are Lett. drugt, ‘collapsing’ and Finnish turka, turk ‘cripple’. To de Vries this linkage seems unsatisfactory, for it conveys no idea of the dwarf’s shortness. If, however, as we assume, deformity was the para- mount feature and short size only one aspect or development of such mutilation, the etymology is most logical and satisfactory. Hephaistos is also closely related to fire, appearing as its master and also in identity with the living flames. His powers are displayed in an episode of the Jiiad in which his mother begs him to restrain the raging waters of the river Scamander which threaten to engulf the plains. In answer to her plea Hephaistos sets up such an enormous blaze that the plains turn dry and the trees grow scorched. The Greek god did not lose his association with the fire and is pic- tured as the flame itself in an Orphic hymn which addresses him as “potent fire which burns in bright flames”. His alliance with fire is one of the reasons for his alternation with Prometheus in some con- texts; for Prometheus had brought the flame to men which, in the version of Aeschylos, he had stolen from Hephaistos’ forge. Germanic tradition also has associated the dwarfs with the fire, as seen in the dwarf-name Sindri, and in the picture painted by Snorri of the dwarf’s mighty blowing of his bellows (SnE. Skdldskap. 35). Fire may be many things: a destroyer or purifier, a demonic force, or a charm against demons. It is at times said to hold procreative powers as sexual force, seen in the legends where women have con- ceived after a spark had landed on their lap'®. Possibly because of this connection with fire there is a Hephaistos of phallic significance. As phallic force he created Erichthonius from the earth, as phallic force he awakened the goddess of spring from the wintry soil, an act which is symbolically present in those pictures where Hephaistos raises Pandora from the ground. As phallic force also he is marriedOf elves and dwarfs 115 to Aphrodite or Aglae, the most beautiful of the Charites; as phallic force Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, is married to the spring nymph Maia and not, as has been suggested, because of the contrast of beauty and beast. On paintings also Hephaistos is surrouned by sexual symbols, riding an ithyphallic mule, escorted by Silenes and Satyrs, wearing the Pilos (a round felt hat); the cultic feast dedicated to him is a f-rtility festival. No overtly phallic significance is attached to the Germanic smith figure. It must, as some other aspects, have been obscured; a memory of association with the love goddess may be discerned in the late, historizing account in which dwarfs buy Freyja’s love for a necklace. It might be that at one time the love of the goddess went normally to the creator of magnificent jewelry. Weak descendant of a phallic force might be the dwarf Méndull of a Heroic saga who lusts after the women of men, but must use magic skills to obtain his goal. Prob- ably magical was the power exercised by Volundr also, over the prin- cess, who later moaned that she had no force to strive against him; could it have been physical force she lacked against a cripple? (Ek vetr hdnom|vinna kunnakjek vxtr hénom|vinna mdttak)', But also in the Greek tale Aphrodite’s love no longer goes to the craftsman, her legal husband, but to Ares, the warrior. Surprising in a god who is dark and ugly and lives in the bowels of the earth are certain resemblances with the sky god Ouranos. Like him Hephaistos has begotten a child upon the earth; like him he was born by earth alone; his underground smithy is starry as the sky, while the heavens are conversely called: ‘the anvil’ or ‘the son of the anvil’. Tvastr, the divine smith of the Rig Veda, similarly exhibits features of an old sky god and the dwarfs of our texts appear related to the elves, which seem to have been ancient gods of the sky. In his youth Hephaistos has not had a happy time!®2. In some ac- counts Hera, ashamed of her ill-favored child, tosses him as new born infant into the sea where the goddesses Thetis and Euronyme receive and teach him his craft. In a variant to this story the is hurled to the earth by his father. and nurse hii crippled chil116 Lotte Motz In another episode of the Iliad Hephaistos is flung from Olympus by Zeus when, as a young man, he defends his mother in a marital argument", In this tale he is said to have landed on Lemnos and to have been comforted, as he lay wounded in both legs, by the Sintians. A scholion to the Aeneid shows Hephaistos as the illegitimate son of Zeus and Hera; in this version the mother sends him off and gives him in apprenticeship to Cedalion where he learns his craft of work- ing in bronze. One realizes that there is always something shameful or unpleasant about Hephaistos’ youth; whether his lameness is the cause or the result of his fall the two notions are always connected. His removal from this parents is related to his apprenticeship to either ‘Thetis or Cedalion or to the Sintians, magicians living in Lemnos. The incidents of Hephaistos’ removal from home and parents point in two directions: to a theme of legend where children destined for a great fate are exposed to cruelty and harshness in extreme youth like Romulus, Oedipus or Perseus, or to the actual social custom of exposing ill-shaped children. A close analogy also to the unhappy events of Hephaistos’ youth appears in the story of young Dionysus. This god escapes the cruel persecution of Lycurgus by leaping into the waters of the sea where he is received by Thetis and Euronyme the goddesses who had also comforted Hephaistos'*, Dionysus shows other resemblances to the god of the forge; the two appear in pictorial representations frequently in the same procession with identical implements and attendants so that it is difficult to differentiate them'®*. To understand this we must realize that they are both gods of magic: Hephaistos’ is the magic of smith craft, while Dionysus’ is the magic of ecstasy. It has been shown recently that in some primitive communities the calling of smith and of the master of ecstasy (the shaman) enjoy similar prestige as leaders of the community, and are seen as related because of their common power over the mysterious forces and pro- cesses of life’, It is to the role played by these magicians at a certain level of cultural development, in the social and ritual life of the village,Of elves and dwarfs n7 that we must refer the resemblance of the gods which left its traces not in the literary texts, but in the imagery of cups or vases. It is also as part of the magician’s initiation that we may understand the trials of the youthful gods. Removal from society is the first step in this ceremony. During his isolation the candidate must suffer tribulations so severe as to be almost fatal; he is thought to undertake a visit to the kingdom of the dead to acquire from them their wis- dom and is also thought on his return to have gained a new personality; he may be asked to perform a miracle on his re-entry into his group in order to prove himself. We may find in the legends of Hephaistos, though dispersed over various episodes, all the steps encountered in the actual ritual of initiation; in his plunge from the sky he was removed from society; by entering the submarine grotto of the sea or the caves of the earth he suffered symbolic death; for a definite time he stayed, like the novice, to learn the secrets of his craft with Cedalion or Euronyme; in the end Hephaistos returned to Olympus in the procession of Dionysus where he performed the miracle of freeing Hera from her enchanted throne. The Germanic dwarfs parallel Hephaistos’ separation from society in the loneliness of their dwellings which are as far removed from human habitation as they are from the seat of the gods. One may under- stand the mountain, the home of the dwarfs, not only as cosmic pillar, but also as symbol of the non-human wilderness from which the future magician draws his spiritual sustenance. Vglundr, the master smith, lives in similar fashion, far from the king’s court in the ‘valley of the wolf’ or an island of the sea. Sometimes dwarfs live in the earth and such residence may be compared to the earth cave or the sea grotto of Hephaistos (dwarfs may also live in a body of water). Germanic myth offers no parallel to the fall from heaven suffered by Hephaistos, an event which occurs in the life of a number of non- Indo-European smith figures!*’. Yet there exists in Norse myth a race which was banished from the skies even though the account is lost. The elves have left their celestial dwellings for the earth. When118 Lotte Motz we meet them there, they often are accomplished metalsmiths and artisans like Vglundr who is called their prince, or like Alfrigg (ruler of elves) who fashioned Pidrik’s magnificent sword. It has earlier been stated that the word dvergr may carry the mean- ing of ‘physical defect’, and one could assume that some gods fell from the heavens, were thereafter called ‘the crippled ones’ and became the magicians of metalcraft. One might in this way understand the change of residence of these gods and their fusion with the dwarfs. We may return to Turville-Petre’s suggestion of understanding the terms ‘black elves’ and ‘light elves’ as symbolizing two aspects of the same beings; in continuing the thought we may remember that Snorri unequivocally equates the black elves with the dwarfs, so that dwarfs and light elves are of the same kind. We know that dwarfs live in the earth and light elves in the sky. It is, however, not impossible for one divinity to reside in both places; so the sun god of the Sumerians, Schamasch, descends nightly into the underworld to rise in the morn- ing. One may thus be able to assume that there existed in Germanic legend also the story of the descent of the light elves, which changed their aspect, and which was lost. An echo of such a tale could be heard in a statement of Snorri’s Gylfaginning ; here Skirnir (skirr—bright, shining’), the messenger of the Freyr, is sent to the world of the black elves to find a means of constraining the Fenris wolf; the journey caus- es the production of the chain Gleipnir, a magic bond. (pd sendi Alfédr pann, er Skirnir er nefndr, sendimadr Freys, ofan i Svartdlfa~ heim til dverga nokkurra ok lét gera fjétur pann, er Gleipnir heitir)*®, One might state it differently: the descent of a sky dweller into the earth engendered a process of magic smith craft. It might be argued that such a theory as is here proposed to ac- count for the origin of the dwarfs contradicts the versions of the Eddas where dwarfs spring from the body of the giant. We have seen, however, from the example of Hephaistos, that differing accounts may exist side by side. Creation from the body of primeval being be- longs to legends which tell of the birth of the cosmos and its regions: the mountains, the sea, the sky. The dwarf is both: a feature of natureOf elves and dwarfs 119 (spirit of the mountain) and an anthropomorphic being; as mountain he was shaped from giants’ bones, as magician and master of metal craft he was flung from heaven. It might also be argued that the race of elves merely ceased to exist, that the name remained and was given to a number of supernatural beings, among them the dwarfs. Such sequence would account for dwarfs being called ‘elves’, but not for elf-names to be found among the names of dwarfs, as: Alfrigg, Ddinn, Alfr and his brother Yngvi. A more serious objection to the theory may be raised on the basis of the passages where dwarfs and elves are named together: the dwarf Diddrerir chants for Aesir and elves; Dvalinn teaches the dwarfs, as Déinn teaches the elves; Norns are descended from Aesir, elves and dwarfs!™, One can only answer that the.alliterative formula: zsir ok dlfar, might have carried the race into an area where, according to the theory here proposed, they should not exist. Dwarfs do not show in their life pattern the parallel to the Greek god’s triumphant reentry into society, but remain lonely outcasts. Only Volundr is allowed an exultant flight, as he rises like the son of Dedalus (another smith figure) from his lonely prison into the sky. The context is that of Germanic heroic tales: revenge for insult and injury. We have been able to find some very clear parallels between the Germanic and the Greek smith figure; we have not been able, possibly because of the sparsity of Germanic legend and the many changes suffered by the ancient figures, to draw a complete picture of the changing of the elves into dwarfs and to establish fully the connection. It is hoped that even in its tentative form the idea will find adherents and give answer to some questions. References 1. Didriks saga, H. Bertelsen ed., Copenhagen 1905-11, I, 34; Sérla pdttr, f 1; the name is Alfrigg. 2. Hdvdmal 143; Hyndloliéd 7. 3. Velundarkeida 10,3 difa liddi; 13, 4 visi dlfa; 32,2 vbsi difa.120 ° . Jan de Vries, Altnordisches Etymologisches Worterbuch, - Grimnismdl (attributed to the pagan era) 5, 4-7; Alfheim Frey / gafo Lotte Motz iden 1961. { ardaga / t(var at tannféi. . Hversu Noregr byggdist, f 2 p. 83; this Heroic saga traces, as do others, the ancestry of the kings to the gods, but turns these gods into men, as the gods become men, the mythical regions are placed on earth; similarly Hluga saga Gridarfostra, f 3, p. 420. . SnE, Gylfaginning 17; Sé er einn stadr par, er kalladr er Alfheimr; par byggvir f6lk pat, er Ljésdlfar heita. Snorri’s Edda citinganum- ber of myths which underlie the poetic images, often cites sources which are competely lost to us. . For Skirnis 4, 4~5; pviat Alfrodull / Iysir um alla daga; Vafpridnicmdl 47, 1-2; Eina déttur / berr Alfrgdul. The word has been translated as ‘elfbeam’ by Lee Hollander, and as Elfenstrahl by G. Neckel; both Eddic poems are generally ascribed to pagan times each of them containing the adventure of a god befitting his character; Freyr gaining victory in love and Odin in wisdom. . Eyrbygeja saga, is 3. p. 11; this saga is especially valuable for the gleaning of information concerning the religious practices of the Icelandic settlers. . The poet Sighvatr relates how he was turned away from several households in his journey through Gautland (about 1018) because of the difablét celebrated within, ‘The poem has been incorporated into the Heimskringla of Snorri Sturluson; Bjarni Adalbjarnarson ed., Reykjavik 1941, vol. II, p. 136; Austrfarar visur, skj. 1 (B) p. 221, 57. « Hversu Noregr byggdist, f 2, p. 83; Asmundarsaga kappabana, f 1, p. 389; in the ‘historical’ introduction to this Heroic saga king Alfr rules over Denmark; the entire race of elves has been turned into humans in some Heroic sagas, the Alfa zttir said to be more beautiful than other men, so in the Sdgubrot of fornkonungum, f 1, p. 362. . Lokasenna, prose introduction (generally attributed to the pre-Chris- tian era). . SnE, Skdldsk. 31; Mann er ok rétt at kenna til allra dsa-heita ... Vel pykkir kent til alfa; Skdldskap. 1, at vér kéllum Odin eda Por eda ‘Ty eda einhvern af sum eda Alfum. . Grimnismdl 4, 1-3. . For Skirnis 7, 4-6; sat R; Neckel uses the form samt, “that we be to- gether”.a 18. 19. 22. Of elves and dwarfs 1a . Huersu Noregr byggdist, £ 2, p. 83-84. . Heimskringla, as in ref. 10, vol. I, p. 40; Helgakvida Hundingsbana I, 52, 3-4; in a list of dwarf-names appearing in the Volospd the names Alfr and Yngvi stand next to each other; Saxo Grammaticus speaks, in his Gesta Danorum, of two close relatives with the names: Alfr and Yngvi. Heimskringla, as in ref. 10, vol. I. p. 40; Snorri preceded this history of Norwegian kings with an account of the legendary kings in the first part of his work (Ynglinga saga). SnE, Gylfaginning 17; fegri: hvitari U; Snorri also unequivocally places the elves’ dwelling place into the sky: en hinn iii himinn sé enn upp fré peim, ok heitir 84 Vidbl4inn, ok a beim himni hyggjum vér penna stad vera, en Ljésdlfar einir hyggjum vér at nu byggvi pa stadi. . SnE, Gylfaginning 17. . The Lay of Volundr belongs to those poems of the Edda which treat of men i.e., those historic and mythical figures which had been both, kept alive and transformed, in the memory of the people and the poems sung in their honor. Such a figure is Volundr who may also be met in the English tradition, who is said to have come to the North from Germany and who is everywhere a craftsman of magi¢ skills. Volundr appears also in the saga of Bidrikr (of the thirteenth century) and has here learned his art from the dwarfs; in German sources he has been called wiso alf and has been associated with king Alberich (as he is associated with Alfrigg in the Norse saga). We may thus assume the following: that Vglundr has close relations with elves and with dwarfs and that he was alive in the Germanic tradition at the time of composition of his lay (which may go back to the sixth century). Norna-Gests pdttr, f 1, p. 307; we have noted that the Heroic sagas contain accounts in which mythical figures had been incorporated by scholars into human history. The same sagas also possess le- gendary material which had lived on in poetry and oral prose tales and which had thus undergone a less conscious transformation than the figures of the cuhemeristic genealogies. We would find, in fact, through this material (in contrast to the evidence of the names and of the mythographers) a way to the living and developing form of the figures of our discussion.122 Lotte Motz 23. Tristrams saga, x 1, p. 174, chap. 65; (one of the foreign sagas of French provenience). 24. Bésa saga ok Herrauds, f 3, p. 294; the curse is held to be very old. 25. Sigurdar saga pigla, r 3, p. 111, chap. 64 (a Byzantine romance); we may note that there is little difference, in the treatment accorded to dwarfs and elves, between the foreign and the Germanic romantic sagas. 26. Grettis saga, is 6, p. 205; this saga about a historic Icelander contains a wealth of folk material. 27. Pidriks saga, as in ref. 1, pp. 319 ff; this saga is based above all on German heroic tales. 28. Géngu-Hrélfs saga, f 3, p. 197 29. Hrélfs saga kraka, f 1, p. 27-29. 30. Méttuls saga, x 1, p. 259, chap. 4; Elis saga ok Résamundu, r 4, p. 128, chap. 67 (both of French provenience). 31. Samsons saga fagra, r 3, p. 384, chap. 15 (matter of Britain). 32. Elis saga ok Résamundu, t 4, p. 62, chap. 29. 33. Kormdks saga, is 6, p. 378. 34. Flateyjarbék, Christiania 1860-68, 3 vol. II, p. 7. 35- Jarlmanns saga ok Hermanns, t 6, p. 220, chap. 17; dwarfs are included in the group. 36. Sturla bérdarson, skj. II (B), 121, 13, 1; thirteenth century. 37. Eyvindr skaldaspillir, skj. (B) 62, 14, 1; tenth century. 38. Stjérnu-Oddadraumr, skj. II (B) 229, 11, 6; thirteenth century. 39. Here there is indeed the recognition by a mythographer of earth dwelling elves; possibly this form of elf (II, 1) belongs to an ancient stage of the elves’ evolution; there was no reason for Snorri to designate dwarfs as ‘black elves’ unless he knew something about such connection. The ‘lightness’ which is ascribed by Snorri to one branch of the family has been noted as quality of the elves in other sources; the ‘blackness’, however, seems to be peculiar to his classification. One wonders if in his juxtaposing of ‘black’ to ‘white? he was influenced by the imagery of religious Christian writers. Dag Strémbick has pointed to the juxtaposition of ‘black’ and ‘white’ legendary figures in other works of Icelandic literature with the colors holding the symbolic value of ‘good’ and ‘evil’, and he has understood this phenomenon with reference to the same symbolism in Christian documents, as in the Apokalypse (ch. 19). “Tidrande och diserna”’, Folklore och Filologi, Uppsala 1970 pp. 166-40. 41. 43 45: 47 48. 49 50. si. 52. 53. 54 55- 57. Of elves and deoarfs 123 191. See also, Anne Holtsmark, Studier i Snorres mytologi, Oslo 1964. Jacob Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, vol. I (1875), p- 376. Jan de Vries, “Van Alven en Elfen”, Nederlandsche Tijdschrift voor Volkskunde 36 (1931), pp. 3-30; also W. von Unwerth, Untersuch- ungen iiber Totenkult und Odinnverehrung bei Nordgermanen und Lappen, Breslau 1911, p. 30. . de Vries, Aligermanische Relgionsgeschichte, Berlin 1936 vol. II, pp. 373-14- de Vries, “Uber Sigvats Alfablétstrophen”, Acta Philologica Scandina- vica 7 (1932-33), Pp. 169-180. dina . E. O. G. Turville-Petre, Myth and Religion of the North, London 1964, Pp. 231. From the Middle Ages onwards there have been various theories concerning the nature of the elves (in the English tradition); C. S. Lewis has noted four ways of classification: 1. te consider them spirits of sea, air or water (corresponding to'the Latin Undinae, Nymphae, etc.); 2. to consider them fallen angels; 3. toconsider them. the dead, or those who died a certain kind of death; 4. to consider them devils or demons. No agreement was ever reached and C. S. Lewis notes: “As long as the Fairies remained, they remained evasive.” The Discarded Image, Cambridge 1967, pp. 122-38. . Volospd 48, 5-6; U has the reading: steins dyrum, “the doors of the stone”; the poem has been attributed to the end of the pagan or the beginning of the Christian era. Jarlmanns saga, t 6, p. 220. Pidriks saga, as in ref. 1, pp. 76 ff. Heimskringla, as in ref. 10, I, p. 27; Ynglingatal, bidddlft 6r Hvini, skj. (B) 7, 2; ninth century. Hallar-Steinn skj. (B) 534, 1, 1, twelfth century. Grettir Asmundarson, skj. (B) 287, 2, 4; eleventh century. Jatgeirr Torfason, skj. II (B) 93, 8; thirteenth century. Jarlmanns saga, x 6, p. 223, chap. 18; Sigurdar saga pégla, 3 p. 122, chap. 7; Mdgus saga jarls, r 2, p. 341, chap. 49. Olafur Lérusson, Nordisk kultur V, Stockholm 1939, P- 72- SnE, Gylfaginning 8; Hallfrodr, skj. (B) 156, 26, 3; tenth century. . Hdvamdl 160, 2-5. Grimnismdl 43; ivalda synir / gengo { ardaga | SkiObladni at skapa / skipa betst / skirom Frey / nytom Niardar bur.124, 58. 59 72. Lotte Motz Figlsvinnzmdl 10 (this is indeed a late poem, ascribed by R. C. Boer to the end of the twelfth century and even to later times by others; it is said to be built on motifs of older mythical poems; it may how- ever still contain some ancient material); the constructors of the wicket are not actually called ‘dwarfs’ but ‘the sons of Solblindi’; en hana prir gordo / Sélblinda synir; we may notice the resemblance to the phrase: ‘sons of Ivalde’. Hyndlolidd 7, 5-10 (this poem too has often been attributed to the Christian era, but it contains at least one reference to ancient cultic practice: the reddening of the altar with blood, and may elsewhere have preserved archaic concepts); par er goltr gléar, / gullinbursti Hildisvini, / er mér hégir goréo / dvergar tveir, / Déinn ok Nabbi. . Hervarar saga ok Heidreks, f 2, p. 1; translation by Christopher Tol- kien, The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise, London 1960. . Sérla pdttr, £ 1 pp. 367-368. . Vilmundar saga vidutan r 6, p. 17, chap. 8. . Mdgus saga jarls, + 2, p. 268 (based largely on a French tale), chap. 31. . Iugi saga Tagldabana, is 3, p. 459. . Volospd 10; bar var Métsognir / metstr um ordinn | dverga allra, | en Durinn annarr; / peir manitkon / morg um gordo, / dvergar, 6r igrdo, / sem Durinn sagdi. This is however only the reading of one ms. R; only half of the mss. give the dwarfs credit for the creation. Skdldsk. 1. Stirsson, skj. (B) 104, 36, 3, tenth century. aukr Valdisarson, skj. (B) 539, 1, 4, twelfth century. . Harald harfagri, skj. (B) 5, 1, 7, tenth century. . SnE, Skdldsk. 35; this name occurs however in one of the mss. only (r) and is even there a late addition; the others have the name Aeitri. . Porsteins saga Vikingssonar, £ 3, pp. 61 ff. The word is related to English ‘cinder’; the noun sindr is translated as: dross, slag. Reginsmdl, prose introduction (this poem, like that of Velundr, deals with men and not with gods, often the heroes of the migratory period whose life story and character have absorbed legendary features; the poems of this section are pre-Christian while the connecting prose passages are of the twelfth or thirteenth century). Andvari, a dwarf, lives in a waterfall in the shape of a pike; Loki, in need of gold, ensnares him there; Hann kom til Ranar ok fekk net hennar ok fér pa til Andvarafors ok kastadi netino fyrir geddona.73 4 75+ 76. 7 78. 79 80, 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. Of elves and dwarfs 125 SnE, Shdldsk. 1, the dwarfs Galarr and Fjalarr who had originally created the mead, had also killed the giant Gillingr and his wife; to escape death at the hands of their son Suttungr the dwarfs gave the mead as ransom. Volospd 9; p gengo regin gll { a rgkstéla, / ginnheilog god, / ok um pat geettoz; / hverr skyldi dverga, / dréttir skepia, / 6r Brimis b160i / ok 6r Bléinns leggiom. No two mss. agree on the reading of the last two lines. Concluding from the variants—for which I refer to Neckel’s text—we see, that except in the case of T, we deal with only one giant, either Brimir or Bldinn; the lines read either: ‘the flesh of Brimir and black bones’ or: ‘the bloody surf and the bones of Bldinn’; there is thus no need to assume two slaughtered beings, as is usually done; that only one giant was sacrificed would also be more in keeping with the general mythical theme. SnE, Gylfaginning 14; these dwarfs live in stone and earth. Grimnismdl 40; Or Ymis holdi / var igrd um skopod, / en ér sveita ser, / bigrg 6r beinom. Vafpridnismdl 21; Or Ymis holdi / var igrd um skgpod, / en ér beinom bigrg. 11, pp. 146-48, chap. 59; r 2, pp. 53-54, Chap. 11. Helmut de Boor, “Der Zwerg in Skandinavien”, Festschrift: Eugen Mogk, Halle 1924, pp. 536-557. De Boor denies to the dwarfs any existence in the folk belief of the Scandinavian people. This parti- cular point has been refuted by I. Reichborn-Kjennerud, “Den gamle dvergetro,” Studia Germanica, A. E. Kock, Lund 1934, pp. 278-288. German legends cited by Jacob Grimm also point to con- tinued folk belief in dwarfs in Germany. The split within the elf family, its aspect of beauty as well as of hide- ousness, may be perceived also in the English tradition. Turville- Petre points out that in the poem of Beowulf elves are classed with the monsters (line 112) but that the OE word aelfsciene indicates their unearthly beauty; as in ref. 44, p. 231. Iliad XVI. Apollonius of Rhodos, as quoted by Delcourt (ref. 85) p. 53+ Iliad XVII. Odyssey VIII. Hesiod, Works 78-80. Marie Delcourt, Héphaistos, ou la légende du magicten, Paris 1957, p 53 Arsenius, as quoted by Marie Delcourt, as in ref. 85, p. 63.126 87. 88. 89. 9. 92. 93- 95- 96. 98. 99. ror. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. Lotte Motz Georges Dumézil, Mitra-Varuna, Paris 1948, p. 140. Dumézil, as in ref. 87, p. 140. Delcourt, as in ref. 85, p. 32- . Frangois vase, beginning of the sixth century; Brommer, group 2, number 1. Corinthian Amphoriscos, National Museum Athens, Brommer I, 1; Caeretan Hydria, Kunstgewerbemuseum Wien, Brommer I, 5; Laconian cup, Rome, Brommer I, 3. Amphora, (now lost) Castellani Collection, Brommer I, 4. Delcourt, as in ref. 85, p. 112. . Crater of the Louvre, Louvre, Brommer III, 4. Herodot III, 37; quoted by Marie Delcourt, as in ref. 85, p. 112. Dumézil, as in ref. 87, pp. 163 fi. . Marie-Louise Sjoestedt, Diewx et héros des Celtes, Paris 1940, pp. 105, 47, 85. Marcel Mauss, “L’origine des pouvoirs magiques", Année sociologique V (1902-03), Pp- 1-140. ‘Ulrich von Willamowitz-Méllendorf, “Hephaistos”, Nachrichten der Gesellschaft d. Wissensch. Gottingen 1895, Heft 3. Thus we have a legend told by several Roman authors of a young girl sitting by the fire; after a spark has landed on her lap she conceives and bears a son who is exposed after birth, but later found by women who come to fetch water; he founds a city after he has grown and is considered the true son of Vulcan. References to the authors of such tales are given by Delcourt, as in ref. 85, p. 215. Volundarkvida 41, 7-8. Iliad XVIII, Hymn to Apollo. Iliad I. Iliad V1. Such representation occurs whenever Hephaistos is shown in his re- turn to Olympos, in the train of Dionysus, to free Hera. It is one of the most frequently depicted scenes of Hephaistos’ life. We find it, among others, on the Frangois vase and on the Corinthian amphoriscos. Leopold von Schroeder already earlier noted the strange fellowship and resemblance between the gods. Mysterium und Mimus im Rig Veda, Leipzig 1908, p. 454. Mircea Eliade, Shamanism; the archaic techniques of ecstasy, London 1964, pp. 470 ff. So with the Bobos and Dogons of Africa where smiths play an im-Of elves and dwarfs 127 portant role in the religious and social life of the tribe. Harry Tegnaus, Le héros civilisateur, Uppsala 1950, pp. 16, 42. 108. SnE, Gylfaginning 34. 109. Féfnismdl 13, Sumar ero dskungar, / sumar Alfkungar / sumar deetr Dvalins. Abbreviations R—Codex Regius, 2365 4°. r—Codex Regius 2367 4°. T—Codex Trajectinus, A1374. U—Codex Upsaliensis, rr. f—Fornaldar sigur Noréurlanda, Gudni Jénsson, ed. Reykjavik 1959, 4 vol. is—Islendinga sigur, Gudni Jénsson, ed. Reykjavik 1946-7, 13 vol. skj—Den norsk-islandske skjaldedigtning, Finnur Jonsson, ed. Copenhagen 1912, A, B, 2 vol. SnE—Edda Snorra Sturlusonar, Finnur Jénsson, ed. Cope n 1907. 1—Riddara sigur, Bjarni Vilhjalmsson, ed. Reykjavik core ae Eddic poems as in Edda; die Lieder des Codex Regius nebst verwandten Denkmalern, Gustav Neckel, ed. Heidelberg 1927. Greek sources as quoted by Marie Delcourt.KUNGL. GUSTAV ADOLFS AKADEMIEN ARV Tidskrift for Nordisk Folkminnesforskning JOURNAL OF SCANDINAVIAN FOLKLORE Vol. 29-30, 1973-74 EDITOR Dag Strémback, UPPSALA Under medverkan av / In collaboration with Bo Almgvist, pusLin, Brynjulf Alver, BERGEN, Nils-Arvid Bringéus, cunD, Laurits Bodker, KOPENHAMN, Carl-Martin Edsman, uppsata, Sverker Ek, GOTEBORG, John Granlund, srockoim, Bengt Holbek, KOpENHAMN, Lauri Honko, 480, Bengt R. Jonsson, stocKHorM, Anna Birgitta Rooth, uprsata, Folke Strdm, GOTEBORG, Einar ©. Sveinsson, REYKJAVIK, K. Rob. V. Wikman, 480 THE ALMQVIST & WIKSELL PERIODICAL COMPANY, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN