Word of the Day -- Dvergar

Dvergar or Norse dwarves (Old Norse dvergar, sing. dvergr) are entities in Norse mythology associated with rocks, the earth, deathliness, luck, technology, craft, metal work, wisdom, and greed. They are sometimes identified with Svartálfar ('black elves'), and Døkkálfar ('dark elves'), due to their apparently interchangeable use in early texts such as the Eddas.

While the word "Dvergar" is related etymologically to "dwarves", the early Norse concept of Dvergar is unlike the concept of "dwarves" in other cultures. For instance, Norse dwarves may originally have been envisaged as being of human size. They are not described as small before the 13th century, when the later legendary sagas portrayed them as such, often as a humorous element.


In later Scandinavian folklore, other kinds of nature spirits (Vættir), like the Troll and the Nisse, take over many of the functions of the Dvergar.