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dwarf

Alvíss

The dwarf who comes to claim Thor's daughter as his bride. Thor keeps him answering questions about the names of things in every world until the sun rises and catches him.

Alvíss and Þrúðr by Frølich
Alvíss and Þrúðr by Frølich, Lorenz Frølich (1895). Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Alvíss ("all-wise") is the dwarf of Alvíssmál and is known only from that poem. He arrives to take home a bride promised to him while Thor was away, and is pale "round the nose", as if he had slept among the dead Alvíssmál 1-2. Thor says he looks like a giant and was "not born for the bride". As her father, Thor has the final say Alvíssmál 4.

Instead of refusing outright, Thor agrees to the marriage if Alvíss can answer every question he asks Alvíssmál 8. The rest of the poem is a list. Thor asks what the earth, sky, moon, sun, clouds, wind, calm, sea, fire, forest, night, seed and ale are called "in each and every world". Each time, Alvíss gives the name used by men, gods, Vanir, giants, elves, dwarves or the dead Alvíssmál 9-34. Ale, for example, is "'Ale' among men, 'Beer' the gods among", "Bright Draught" with giants, and "The Feast-Draught" with "Suttung's sons" Alvíssmál 34.

Thor praises the dwarf's learning and then springs the trap: the questions have lasted all night.

In a single breast I never have seenMore wealth of wisdom old;But with treacherous wiles must I now betray thee:The day has caught thee, dwarf!Alvíssmál 35

The poem is usually read as a learned catalogue of poetic synonyms (heiti) set in a thin story. It is the clearest case of Thor beating an opponent by talk instead of the hammer.

In the sources

Quoted from the hosted translations; each line is checked against the text when the site is built. Select a reference to read it in context.

Alvis am I, and under the earth My home 'neath the rocks I have
Alvíssmál 3 The dwarf introduces himself as a dweller under the earth.
Break it shall I, for over the bride Her father has foremost right
Alvíssmál 4 Thor, the bride's father, refuses to honour a promise made while he was away.
'Earth' to men, 'Field' to the gods it is, 'The Ways' is it called by the Wanes
Alvíssmál 10 A typical answer: the same thing has a different name among men, gods, Vanir, giants, elves and dwarves.
But with treacherous wiles must I now betray thee: The day has caught thee, dwarf!
Alvíssmál 35 Thor's trick works: daylight catches the dwarf.

Where the sources disagree or fall silent

  • The bride is never named in the poem. She is usually taken to be Thor's daughter Þrúðr, whom Snorri names (Skáldskaparmál 4), but that is an inference.
  • The poem says only that 'the day has caught' Alvíss. That he turns to stone, as many retellings say, is not in the text, though later sagas tell of dwarves and trolls turned to stone by sunlight.

Myths with Alvíss

Thor and the dwarf Alvíss A dwarf named Alvíss, 'All-Wise', comes to claim Thor's daughter as his promised bride. Thor agrees, if the dwarf can tell him what everything is called in every world, and keeps him answering until the sun comes up.

Related

Thor Þórr The thunder god, strongest of the Æsir: son of Odin and Earth, husband of Sif, and with his hammer Mjöllnir the gods' defender against the giants, until he dies killing the World Serpent. Þrúðr Daughter of Thor and Sif, known only from kennings. Poets called the giant Hrungnir 'Þrúðr's thief', hinting at a lost story of her abduction. Dwarves dvergar The underground smiths of Norse myth, made from the giant Ymir's flesh or blood; they forge the gods' greatest treasures, brew the mead of poetry, and fear the daylight. The giants (jötnar) jötnar The giants of Norse myth: the oldest race in the world, descended from Ymir, wise and often wealthy, enemies of the gods yet their kin, their wives and their mothers.